#but he can still have a place in the fandom if you're determined to write or draw him :3

[nmnoir]

Something I see a lot in the UTMV fandom nowadays is people talking about canon. "Canon Nightmare wouldn't act like that," "Ink is morally gray," that type of stuff.

The issue is that UTMV started out as a community project and will continue to be a community project. Fanon is incredibly important to certain pillars of the fandom. People are allowed to interpret the characters differently!

It's important to recognize the source material and respect it, but you must also respect different creator's stories. This isn't a community based around one big canon source material. It's based around countless comics, animations, characters, and fanfics that have been shared for years now.

People are not just going to abandon ideas they have loved for years because of the canon of the source AU. I LOVEE seeing canon Nightmare stuff, but I love dadmare or any other interpretation just as much!

In the UTMV fandom, canon and fanon literally have to coexist. It's no fun otherwise.

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Precious Truths: Part 4

Fandom: Bridgerton

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x F!Reader

Summary: After your father finds out you’ve been writing under a male pseudonym, he threatens to marry you off to an atrocious man unless you find yourself a husband within a month’s time.

A/N: I will not be taking tags for this series!

Series Masterlist

The next day, your Aunt Eliza takes you to the modiste for new dresses. The ones you had gotten earlier in the season "wouldn't do anymore" according to her. Now, you had to stand out more, make yourself look more appealing. Corsets were tighter, hugging your figure more and making you breathe less.

Your aunt is holding up some fabric against you when Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton enters the shop with an annoyed Eloise following her.

"Good afternoon, Lady Bridgerton," you greet the woman with a kind smile.

She observes the fabric held against you, "Well, that is a beautiful fabric. It goes well with your eyes."

"Thank you," you give her a small nod.

Violet clears her throat, "I assume things are...well now?" The dowager does her best to be discreet.

"As well as they can be, Lady Bridgerton," you respond.

After Aunt Eliza brought you home, your father was asleep, still cradling a bottle of brandy in his hand.

You confessed to Aunt Eliza about your secret identity, about your writings. She was proud to know that you never truly gave up on poetry as well as how famous your words were becoming. However, she was saddened that you felt the need to hide your ongoing love for poetry from her. She expressed that she would have helped you, that you didn't need to hide that love from her, especially since she also loved your mother like her own sister.

Aunt Eliza became even more determined to help you out of the situation.

Although your father and Aunt Eliza are siblings, none of the luxuries of your father's lordship well onto her. She also never found someone to marry, becoming a spinster and learning to become content with it.

She can only do so much to help you, given that your father still has the funds to help. Thankfully, your Aunt Eliza had stepped in to help manage the finances.

"Remember, dear, if there's anything you need, you let me know. We are happy to help," Violet says as she places a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Thank you, Lady Bridgerton. Your family has always been so kind to me."

Violet gives a smile and greets your aunt, the two moving towards a shelf of silks that catch their eyes. You move to Eloise with a grin, whose face is the complete opposite of yours, "Everything alright, El?"

She groans, "You disappoint me. Mama, says you're taking this season more seriously now and that I should do the same. I blame you for this!"

You let out a deep breath, "My condolences, but, trust me, this wasn't the plan either."

The young Bridgerton steps closer to you and whispers, "What happened? Anthony and Benedict were talking about you this morning when we were breaking fast."

You blow air out of your mouth, "My father threatened to marry me off to my dreadful cousin if I am unable find a husband within a month's time."

Eloise makes a pondering face and then asks, "Is it the cousin that visited a few summers ago? He tried to best Anthony in everything?"

You scrunch your face in distaste, "The very same."

Eloise shudders, "God, he was...appalling."

"Yes, and there is absolutely no chance I am marrying him. So, you see, I'm lacking a choice." You give her a pointed look and she nods.

"Oh, Y/N," Eloise hugs you, "We shall both get through this together."

Aunt Eliza calls from the door, "Y/N, make haste! We must continue!"

Your shoulder slump forward, "I'm coming!" you give Eloise a wave and follow your aunt out.

______________________________

Benedict's in the sitting room, sketching in his notebook. He's sketching a pair of eyes, ones soft and full of wonder. The very pair that belongs to you, the eyes that he loses himself in.

"Here," parchment falls over the sketch and Benedict sits up, looking at Anthony, who's given him the paper.

"And this is...?"

"The list of eligible men for Y/N."

Benedict gulps as he reads of the names, sitting up to read the list "No to Harris," he says with a shake of his head and then grimaces, "Absolutely not to Woodrich."

"What's wrong with them? They're from good standing families, no scandals-"

"That you know of. I hear Harris has been visiting the brothels far too often lately. Woodrich apparently invested in the empty mines that Lord Featherington spoke of last season. So he has no money."

Anthony gives his brother an annoyed expression, "I shall cross them off the list, but the rest of them?"

Benedict hands the paper back to his brother, "I suppose they're alright. But Y/N gets the final say, obviously."

"So you have truly decided you won't do anything about this whole ordeal?" Anthony asks his brother in disbelief.

Benedict stands with a sigh, "Yes, brother. I have. I won't do anything but assist in Y/N's search for a husband. That is final." He steps aside, striding out of the room in annoyance.

Hyacinth, who sits with Gregory playing a game of chess, shakes her head, "I always thought Y/N and Benedict would get married."

Anthony nods, "As did I, Hyacinth," he murmurs and also exits the sitting room.

____________________________

No longer were you able to be a wallflower when it came to balls, soirees, luncheons, etc. You and Penelope had been wallflowers together since both of your debuts. However, now Penelope is on her honeymoon with Colin, so you are left to fend for yourself.

You now stood more towards the front, more accessible and noticeable. You hated it. You hated how people looked at you when you attended the next ball with your new gown and different hairstyle.

When you saw the Bridgertons, you immediately rush up to them, clinging onto Benedict's arm.

"Please dance with me," you beg in desperation, yearning for some sense of familiarity.

"Of course," Benedict takes your gloved hand and leads you to the dancefloor. When he looks over his shoulder, Kate is winking at him and he rolls his eyes.

You curtsey as Benedict bows before the next dance, a waltz. With the strings, you and Benedict move as one. Swaying to the melody, bringing each other in close.

"Thank you, Ben, for dancing with me."

"Of course. It is tradition at this point, is it not?" he gives you that cheeky grin that always makes your heart flutter.

You sigh, "Might be the last time I get to dance with you for a while. I should probably prioritize potential suitors."

Benedict's smile slowly fades, "Yes, well, Anthony came up with an impressive list. I overlooked it as well. You might find some of them...agreeable."

You hum as you circle Benedict, "Are any of these men here now?"

Benedict takes a quick glance around the room, "A few of them. Shall I introduce you?"

You shake your head, "No. Thank you, but it is probably best I do that myself. You might scare them off," you give him a smirk and he chuckles.

"That is a fair argument. If I am quite honest, I don't think any man will truly be worthy enough for you."

You arch a brow at him, "Oh?"

He nods, "You're...everything and so much more."

The way he says those words, you feel like there's something more to them. He relayed them to you so breathlessly and he's looking at you with a gaze that makes you feel as though you two are the only ones in the room.

As the dance nears its end, you and Benedict are face to face, so close to lips touching. However, when he inches closer to you, you pull away and curtsey.

"Thank you for indulging me, Mister Bridgerton," you walk away from him without another word, fanning yourself as you grow warm.

[captainsophiestark]

Slow Dancing In A Burning Room

Bill Weasley x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Harry Potter

Summary: Bill Weasley and his new wife have their wedding reception interrupted by Death Eaters and news of the Ministry falling. Things look bleak when they escape to Shell Cottage, but they find a way to keep each other going.

Word Count: 1,015

Category: Angst, Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Weddings were supposed to be happy. They were supposed to be joyful celebrations, with all the people who mattered most. Even in the midst of a brewing war, I thought Bill and I would get that. One night of a break before returning our attention to all the terrible things going on in the world.

I guess I should've known better.

One minute, I was twirling across the dancefloor in the arms of my new husband, sharing a smile as the rest of the world faded away. In that moment, despite everything going on outside of our wedding, the world felt perfect.

The next minute, a glowing lynx had burst through the ceiling and into the middle of the dancefloor, announcing the fall of the Ministry of Magic and the death of the Minister along with it. The reception descended into chaos, people screaming and running as the protective enchantments around the giant tent fell one by one. It had been absolute chaos, and I barley remembered Bill grabbing my hand and getting us both out of there as the Death Eaters arrived.

Now, I sat on the sofa in Shell Cottage, where we were supposed to start our honeymoon. The place had glowed with warmth and coziness the first time we'd visited, but now it seemed all too dark, cold, and deserted.

"I just let my dad know we're alright," Bill said, coming back into the living room. He'd stepped outside to send a Patronus to his dad, to make sure the family wouldn't worry about us. "Hopefully we'll hear back from him soon."

I nodded, a little numbly, as my new husband crossed the room and waved his wand to start a fire in the fireplace. Once he'd finished, he came to sit next to me on the couch. We both stayed there for a few long moments, shoulder to shoulder and staring into the flames. I have no idea how long we would've stayed there on our own, but another glowing Patronus shot into the room not much later, this one the familiar shape of a weasel.

Bill's dad's voice came from the Patronus to tell us the rest of the family was safe, and that they'd be in touch when they could. A bit of the weight lifted off my chest, but a lot of it still remained. As the light of the Patronus and Arthur's voice faded, the darkness crept back in, despite the fire.

"Y/N?" I looked up to see Bill's concerned face. "Love, you're crying."

I raised a hand to my cheek to find he was right. Tears were streaming down my face, and the second I was forced to recognize it, a dam broke inside me.

I fell forward into Bill's chest as I sobbed, and he wrapped his arms around me. He held me tight, rubbing one hand soothingly up and down my back.

"It's going to be alright," he muttered into my hair, his own voice miraculously calm. I just cried harder.

"How can you say that, Bill?" I wailed. "We almost got killed at our own wedding, and now the Ministry has completely fallen. How can you possibly say that we're going to make it through this alright?"

He took a deep, shaky breath, then gently pulled me back from him enough that he could look me in the eye. His eyes shone and his eyebrows were furrowed, mirroring the distress I felt. But there was a grim set to the line of his mouth that signaled a quiet, unbreakable determination.

"We will make it through this," he promised. He gripped my shoulders a little tighter, leaning in until we were almost nose to nose. "We will get to our happy ending, no matter what."

I laughed a little through the tears, Bill's absolute conviction so ridiculous it brought a smile to my face.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked. He grinned.

"Because it's us. We just got married. That means we're a team, for the rest of our lives, against anything else the world wants to throw at us. And I happen to know that we make a fantastic team. I personally pity anyone who bets against us."

I giggled again, leaning into Bill as he leaned into me. No one else in the world could've lifted my spirits in this moment, other than the man sitting beside me. Which, of course, was no small part of the reason I'd married him.

"Come on," Bill said after a minute, standing and holding out his hand to me. "I believe we were in the middle of something before those bastards crashed our wedding."

I shook my head, still smiling anyway as I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. Still in my wedding dress, and with Bill still in his suit, we came together in the middle of the living room in Shell Cottage to finish the slow dance that had been interrupted. His arms wrapped tightly around me and I rested my head on his chest while the last of the tears dried on my face.

"You're right," I mumbled, my voice barely loud enough for him to hear. "You're right, we will get through this. And I'll personally make sure anyone who tries to hurt us comes to regret it."

Bill huffed a laugh and tightened his arms around me.

"I have absolutely no doubts about that."

I pulled back to smile into the face of the man I loved, and after a moment, he leaned in and kissed me. We stayed like that for a long time, swaying in the middle of our living room, kissing occasionally, but mostly just enjoying the fact that we were still here, together and whole, after everything that had happened.

In the warm, flickering glow of the firelight, the darkness of the cottage started to regain its cozy feeling, and a tiny spark of joy for the thought of the future rekindled itself in my chest.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

Harry Potter Taglist: @valkyriepirate

[elvisabutler]

who's my princess?

fandom: austin butler rating: m pairing: austin butler x older female reader word count: 2169 warnings: jokes about being a sugar baby. heavy use of the nickname princess and baby boy. praise kink. faint d/s elements but not quite, you'll see in the fic. oral ( female receiving, attempted male receiving. ). public sex acts. no use of y/n. author’s note: welcome to day 4 of ally’s wet hot smut summer, praise kink with austin butler x older female reader. so here's the thing with this fic, i have been struggling to write it— and austin in general for the past week/two weeksa. to the point where i actually skipped ahead to rooster x reader titty fucking that i already posted on another account. i'll post it here once i finish my austin degradation kink day, promise. anyway what i ended up finally settling on with this fic was doing austin with an older female reader. you can read how much older however you like or if you want could ignore my reference to it being an older female reader. it also erred more toward plus size but can still be read a little more explicitly as not plus size. anyway, i hope y'all enjoy this fic even if it's a lil more niche for the fandom. as always, i do enjoy your comments and reblogs and tags and they are my writing life blood to be quite honest. there was also three different versions of this moodboard and i am still not sure i'm in love with this one. also i'm not completely back from my impromptu vacation but i wanted to post this before i tossed it in a fire or something.

"They think you're my sugar baby, you know," you murmur against the shell of Austin's ear, watching as his jaw muscle tenses just so at the implication.

His eyes slide across the room, taking in the looks people are giving the two of you. It's not that he isn't used to the looks, the slight judgment that people pass when they think he's merely just a kept boytoy but this time it hits different. For Vanessa, as much as he loved her and as much as he supposes she loved him there was always quite a kernel of truth there. It rubbed him the wrong way some days but at the same time it allowed him to slowly prove his acting chops without necessarily worrying about if he'd have a place to stay if things went horrendously wrong. But for you? For his gorgeous girlfriend? Oh, he wasn't a boytoy in the slightest. Sure, you could have made it so he was a kept man again. You could have allowed him to live in the lap of luxury and only come up for projects that were artsy and true cinema that he could sink his teeth into. No, instead he told himself he'd treat you, he'd make sure you were taken care of by him. You were older, you didn't need a partner to spoil you and cater to your every want and need. You didn't need these things but he was determined to give them to you. After all what sort of romantic partner would he be if he didn't spoil the love of his life.

"Hm," he hums softly, turning his head just enough to look you in the eyes. "Of course. They know I'm younger than you. They think I found another sugar mama to support me. If only they knew. Think they'd believe us if we told them?"

There's something so inviting and enrapturing about Austin's gaze that has you shivering just ever so slightly in delight and arousal. "About what?"

It's a dangerous game you're playing, teasing him like this but you can't help it. You want to rile Austin up in the same way he has with you on so many occasions. His tongue darts out to wet his lips before he bites his lower one. "Is my Princess playing dumb? Is she trying to be coy? Tease me?"

You smile softly and shrug, attempting to look as innocent as can be, "maybe. What are you going to do about it, baby?"

"Baby?" Austin moves to pull turn you around and pulls you closer to him, his hands settling on your plush hips and squeezing. "I think there's only one baby here, and it's not me, Princess. You don't have to tease to get what you want, you know that. My good girl knows that."

A shaky inhale is your only response for a moment as Austin smirks, his eyes dancing with a certain mixture of arousal and amusement that he only gets when he looks at you. Things between you are always a little playful, the joys of being old enough to not care about what other people think of you but it's still a delight to see after failed relationships before him. Maybe that's why you hadn't had a relationship that lasted this long before him. Maybe the universe was just having you wait for him. It takes you a moment to collect your thoughts even as you feel your arousal slowly dripping from your vagina, slowly dampening the underwear you're wearing.

"Your good girl does, but maybe I want to be bad today. Maybe I want you to show me and everyone else how desperate you always are for me," you practically purr out the last words and Austin's grip tightens just that little bit more as he moves one hand down to your behind and squeezes partially as a warning and partially as a promise.

"How desperate I am for you? How drenched are your panties? Would they stick to that pretty little pussy of yours? That pussy that was made for my cock? The one that could never be satisfied by any other cocks before mine?" His words are quiet but so deadly that you can't help the whine that leaves you even as your hand moves to cup the front of his slacks. You're in public but between the two of you, you're making your way to an empty corner with no one the wiser about what's happening. It should be mortifying the way Austin has you acting like a teenager and yet you remember that you're doing the same for him. You're both acting as if you don't have a care in the world, as if Austin and you both aren't at least partially in the public eye.

The thing is in this moment it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because all anyone is going to see is you and him having your hands all over each other because you're so in love and practically obsessed with one another that you're both needy. Even if the way you're needy is subtly different between the two of you.

"Somewhere private." The words tumble out of your mouth when you finally make it to that corner and realize that your hand is trying to undo his slacks and his hand is trying to lift of your dress as if no one would be watching. Austin looks at you with blown pupils and huffs out a breath of air from his nose before he nods, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the room and into regrettably the nearest closet he can find.

You start to drop to your knees, thinking this has to be something quick between the two of you, a quick blowjob that'll ruin your panties that he'll steal and put in his pocket for the rest of the night until you can get home. Except Austin's grip on your arm stops you, pulls you back up into a standing position even as your eyebrow arches upward in a simple unspoken question.

"I didn't ask for you to suck my dick, Princess," he murmurs, leaning over you just enough that he practically pins you to the door. "You want to be good for me, don't you? Make up for how bad you just were?"

In another time and place you'd maybe be embarrassed about how quickly you nod. In another time before Austin you'd have scoffed and shook your head. As it is all you want is to hear Austin tell you how good you are with those plush lips of his. All you want to feel his lips upon your skin, sucking hickies on it, his teeth biting your skin and leaving small indentations. You merely want all of Austin in this moment. "What—what do you want then?"

A simple question and a request for direction. You can't be his good girl, his bestest girl, his flawless girl without direction. You might be accidentally bad.

His hand moves to cup your chin and pulls you in for a featherlight kiss before moving down to your neck kissing there. You don't realize what's happening until you feel his hands cup your breasts as he places kisses along the tops of them exposed by your dress. You see his body starting to inch closer and closer down to the floor as he trails kisses down your body, setting every inch of your skin they touch ablaze with a fire that burns starting from your aching vagina. It clenches around nothing, wanting something— anything— near it and being deprived even as his lips are so close to it that he could tongue you through the fabric of your dress.

"Aus—" you start to whisper his name only to be cut off with a shaky exhale as you feel his fingertips against your calves and against your knees. You feel his fingers press into your plush thighs and bite your lip to stop yourself from whining only to have Austin remove his hands from them. "What—"

"Good girls are loud for their boyfriends. For their baby boys," he smirks and you can tell even in the low light of the closet. Any other time and you might lightly tap his face to smack it off of him but right now it has your thighs clenching together and him laughing. "You're my good girl, aren't you, Princess? My goddess of a woman. The cougar who sunk her teeth into me? I just want to hear you. I want everyone to know that I'm bringing you such immense pleasure with my tongue that you can't help but scream."

You are about to say something before Austin's head is under your dress faster than the words can come out. They're quickly forgotten in the haze and loud groan that leaves your lipstick covered lips as his fingers— those long fingers you've sucked and nipped at before— find themselves buried in your pussy. Austin plays you like a musical instrument, earning sighs and whimpers and every noise in between to form a symphony that bounces off the walls of the closet. You feel your orgasm starting to inch closer and closer before he pulls out his fingers and you keen loud enough that you hear people on the other side of the door wondering what's going on.

Austin chuckles and if you could see his eyes you're certain you would see them blown with arousal but still somehow sparkling with pure mirth. His laughter is a warm gust of air against your thigh but somehow a cool balm against your dripping cunt. Your thighs are sticky with arousal but not release and you almost want to cry before you feel Austin's breath focusing closer and closer to where you want it. "It's like a fountain down here."

The words are said with a bit of awe before he continues, "this all for me pretty girl? All for me, ma'am? If breathe just right can I get another drop?" He teases even as he lets out the smallest puff of air against your clit. "Oh. I can. So responsive. Such a good responsive woman. Couldn't ask for anyone better to be on my arm and in my bed. Maybe I should marry you. Keep you all to myself."

"Austin, please." You plea as your hands move to his hair, ruining whatever hairstyle his stylist had crafted in one fell swoop of your hands clenching at the strands.

"What my Princess wants, my princess gets," he jokes before his tongue finds its way to your throbbing clit.

The noises between your legs sound obscene with his tongue and chin and everything sliding against the arousal between your legs. He eats you out like a starving man, one of his hands moving to curl inside you as his mouth sucks your clt. It's too much and too little all at once. Your thighs tighten around his head as your hands tighten in his hair and you hear Austin moan as he shifts just enough to have his cock press against your calf. He's in control but at the same time so are you. You're making him so desperate he needs to hump your leg to get relief and he has your cunt spasming even though you haven't come just yet. You're sure you're saying words or perhaps it's just gibberish as Austin's fingers curl just so, pressing against that spot that has the coil in your lower abdomen wounding tighter and tighter. His thrusts against your legs are becoming more stuttered and your hands yank at his hair to try and pull him away so you don't come all over his face only to have him use his one free hand to grab your ass and force you grind down on his face. Somehow the brush of his nose against your clit and the way his tongue moves just so in tandem with his fingers against that spot of yours has you shouting his name even as you try and muffle it just a little. Your body shakes with aftershocks, thighs twitching against his head and lower stomach feeling like it's pulsating from the intensity. It takes both of you far longer than you'd like to admit to catch your breath and even as you do, Austin looks every bit as wrecked as you do before he opens his mouth.

"Think they still think I'm just your sugar baby?" The joke comes easily and with a soft smile. "Because that was some loud screaming, Princess. I was proud of you for it."

You can't help but look off to the side in embarrassment before you feel Austin's hand on your chin, forcing you to look at him. You swear you smell your own scent on his hand and you can't help but lick your lips. "Maybe, but I don't— Let them. Because it doesn't change that I'm your good girl, does it?"

"Never."

taglist: @ab4eva, @blurredcolour, @butlersxbirdy, @precious-little-scoundrel, @eliseinmemphis, @prompted-wordsmith, @lookingforrainbows, @araxw, @thatbanditqueen, @ellie-24, @austinbutlersgirl67, @heartbrake-hotel, @ccab, @18lkpeters, @slutforsomegoodlettuce, @dkayfixates, @kendralavon7, @chasingwildflowers, @slowsweetlove, @kxnnxy, @meetmeatyourworst, @purejasmine, @stylespresleyhearted, @powerofelvis, @amydarcimarie, @thegettingbyp2, @austinswhitewolf, @richardslady121 and @mrs-butler

[themusicsweetly]

Thank you for posting videos, pictures, and the Tribeca panel commentary on twitter. It is much appreciated. 🙏🏻

[ Anonymous #2 asked ]: Sarah, would you mind writing a S701 review since you were at the premiere last night? Don't mind spoilers and you can warn others if they don't want to read. Loved it when you did it before. Thanks!

Hello Anons! Thanks so much for both your asks! I hope you don't mind me combining both your asks.

You're so welcome, Anon #1! I so glad so many people enjoyed my posts about it! I'm very grateful that I've been able to go to these events for several years now. I know that so many of you don't get that opportunity, so I try to do what I can to bring it to you all even if only virtually. Things are always so much more fun when they're shared, anyway. After all, that's what fandom should be about! 💜

For anyone who missed it, you can check out my Twitter page for my full coverage of 92Y and the Tribeca Festival. But here's some GIF spam from my favorite of the videos I was able to capture this week!

Anon #2, yes of course I'll write up a summary of my thoughts. I know you said you don't mind them, but I will try my very best to not include any spoilers in it as I know it really does ruin it for some. But just in case:

~~~POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR OUTLANDER 7x01 BELOW~~~ ~~~SERIOUSLY, DON’T @ ME THAT I DIDN’T WARN YOU~~~

Outlander 7x01, "A Life Well Lost"

As Caitriona + Sam have mentioned previously in interviews, 7x01 picks up right where 6x08 left off. No time jump or anything, which I was really glad for. The opening scene was SHOCKING and used something that I thought was really clever and really rude all at the same time lol. I can tell you that the audience gasped because of it. I feel this bit was extremely effectively done. Caitriona's micro-expressions really made it for me.

One thing that surprised me — and perhaps it shouldn't simply because Outlander has always been full of this — was that there were so many small moments of humor in this episode, despite the obvious dire situation Claire and Jamie are in (but really, when aren't they lol). There's a new small side character that both Claire and Jamie get to interact with that provides much needed comedic breaks. Even Jamie's menacing looks add to this. Claire especially, I feel, gets to use her biting wit (or just straight up cursing) to add some humor to the tenseness. There's one particularly funny scene that takes place on a boat and involves an interrupting officer that I so loved! The entire audience burst out laughing when we saw it.

While Caitriona + Sam were obviously amazing, I'll say the surprising standout actor in this episode wasn't them. I won't say who, but it's someone we're well acquainted with. There are moments straight out of the book that this actor just fully nails. We're so lucky to have such strong actors filling these side character roles and s/he is just fantastic. Their sincerity and conviction sold me completely.

As book readers can probably guess from the title and from where we are in the timeline, we know basically what will happen in this episode — and they to stick pretty well to it. Even so, it is still so satisfying to get to see it played out on screen. Claire's despair, hope, and heartbreak. Jamie's torment, anger, and determination. The relief of it all. It's all played so, so well across Caitriona + Sam's faces and in their line delivery. Sam said during the Tribeca panel that Jamie is perhaps "more frail" in this episode, and I think that can be said for both of them. Despite them being well versed in separation, I think every subsequent one after their 20 year split wears on them more and more. And they both play that so expertly, making the time that we do see them together just that much sweeter. I don't think it's too spoilery to say that yes, they do share several scenes together this episode so dinna fash!

As for Brianna and R*ger, their scenes are pretty well separate from the Jamie x Claire scenes. I don't really have much to say about them, except that they move certain other storylines that will become more important later on in the season forward. And only just so. While it was important to do so, honestly it felt a bit filler-like. That said, I am actually pretty excited for certain arcs for Brianna and Jemmy later on (while also hoping they don't include that storyline for R*ger... sorry, not sorry) and this brought them maybe half a step closer to it.

Other than the moment on the boat I had mentioned earlier, there are two scenes toward the end which I really loved. One was such a sweet moment straight out of the book with some really great book lines that I had very much wanted to hear. it is Classic™ Jamie x Claire, so you know Caitriona + Sam knocked it out of the park. The second is not a book scene (I believe?? I don't remember it anyway), but was a great one for Sam / Jamie. It's how the episode ends and I told a new friend I had met in the Tribeca line that the final moment of the episode reminded me of Batman's cape swooshing over the camera turning everything black. Lol take from that what you will!

Some other random thoughts:

Jamie x Claire are SO. SOFT. They say separation makes the heart grow fonder? Really, it makes those two grandparents softer AND I LOVE IT.

I LOVED seeing Caitriona + Sam's names appear as Executive Producers! The entire audience was singing along to The Skye Boat song and then burst out cheering when that came up.

I really hope Major MacDonald's wig gets snatched by Adso at some point because F him lol

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the episode. Some might say it's a bit slow, which I wouldn't disagree with. But knowing that 1) they had to get this part over with the tie up the Season 6 cliffhanger; and 2) this is really going to be a jam packed season of action and emotion, I think I'm okay with that. I've heard it from more than one source that 7x02 is even better than 7x01 so I'm really excited! I'm also really excited to meet our newer cast members, as none of them featured in the premiere episode. The Hunters especially will be so much fun to watch!

Hearing Caitriona + Sam speak about not only this season, but their journey with Outlander overall makes me so grateful that the quality is still there after seven seasons. They're clearly still so passionate about these characters and are determined to do them justice in every way to the very end. And I think that most definitely shows up in their scenes. I'm super curious to see if there's anything noticeably different or better now that they've been promoted to Executive Producers. And of course, to see Caitriona's first foray into directing!! Until then, I'm looking forward to you all seeing the first episode for yourselves 💜

[oneofthemillionarmy]

Masterlist | Once Upon a Time, You were a Princess

Hello old friends. This a rebloggable masterlist for this Disney x BTS crossover scenario series. This series is a retelling of tales as old as time. Each of these series, you're in the place of the infamous Disney princesses, meeting the dreamy prince (or not a prince). These retellings happen in the same world, so you'll be revisiting a few cameo characters in different scenarios through easter eggs. They're also consecutively released in order for the timeline, however unnecessarily needed to read them all. Since it's been at least a year since I announced this scenario series, I'm sure no one even remembers or cares at this point but I'm okay with that. I'm just hoping to see this through. I'll be posting upcoming summaries below for the other unreleased scenarios I have in my workshop, so perhaps it keeps your interest afloat...hopefully not for years to to come. I think these titles/summaries might revise as time goes.

It's been so long, and perhaps majority of the BTS fandom within Tumblr has moved on, particularly the writers to Ao3, but I'm still here. Even when no one reads, I'll still be writing. Tumblr has always been a since of individual space for me through different blogs I have. To anyone who's been following me since 2016 or so, thank you if you are still here. You give my blog the pulse it needs.

Please enjoy, Princesses!

The Thief of Agrabah | Jasmine!you x Djinn!Seokjin - You, Jasmine, is the leader of the Forty Thieves in search of the Djinn in the lamp. When you release the Djinn from the lamp, he makes a deal with you to break the rules for your first two wishes as long as you wish him free in the third one. That may be harder than when you first agreed.

Lips as Red as Blood | Snow.White!you x Childhood.sweetheart.stable.boy!Jungkook - You, Snow White, has become a vampire, and Jungkook is determined to change you back. But is he ready to make the hard decision, if he can't?

The Classic Tale | Sleeping.Beauty!you x Wizard!Yoongi - You, Sleeping Beauty, has been cursed to sleep by day, and be a dragon by night. Yoongi is the amateur wizard, ready to make his wizarding debut to lift your curse.

When the Clock Strikes | Cinderella!you x Prince!Hoseok - You, Cinderella, a time-travelling assassin, is sent back to 1876, where you are tasked to ignite the war that leads to the Jung kingdom's downfall.

Murdered by Song | Ariel!you x Prince!Taehyung - You, Ariel, are not the innocent mermaid, but a viscious siren hell-bent on revenge against the Prince Taehyung.

Truth as It Can Be | Belle!you x Beast!Namjoon - You, Belle, are a modern day supernatural detective, you’re drawn to the infamous prisoner known as the Beast of Incheon. Convinced of his innocence, you dig deeper, risking everything to uncover the truth behind his tragic past and redeem his name.

Agent Magnolia | Mulan!you x Crime.boss!Jimin - You, Mulan, are a CIA agent tasked to go undercover to stop a war before it even starts again st the elusive terrorist group, The Huns. Can your disguise evade the sharp eyes of your new group captain?

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I hope I do not bother you, but I'd like to ask a thing (if you already answered this in another ask I'm sorry) because you seem to be the most qualified person to answer. In a retelling, when how much is too much changing? I am writing two whole Arthurian fics and while I mostly mix and match from different versions there are some things I fully changed (one of the most egregious, for example, being Palamedes dying early in Post-Vulgate fashion and Safir as the one who slays the Questing Beast and the killing being an expression of vengeance instead of newly-found peace despite this definetely not being the case in the original text). I think what I changed works better for plot reasons but I am a bit uncomfortable with it, especially when it comes to characterization. But on the other hand there are so many different versions that I find it hard to say if I am ruining it or not because even in the canon plots and characters' personalities change a lot but I don't want to do something that ends up being "in name only". When is too much too much?

Hello! I don't know about being the most qualified person to answer, but I can certainly give you my answer! I've explained this a little bit before here and here, but can elaborate again for you, especially because I think those characters and that text in particular should be handled with care.

Before you determine what amount of reinterpretation constitutes the right balance, pause everything, and pinpoint your audience. Are you writing fanfiction for your own self-fulfillment and enjoyment? Maybe also for a handful of friends who share your ideas? In that case, there are no rules, do whatever you want. That's your space, your story, and you bear no responsibility to uphold some unquantifiable standard of characterization "accuracy." Fandom is your sandbox and you can build whatever castle you want! Be free!

The next thing to determine is what characters you're changing and why. Not all changes are created equal! For example, if you wanted to absolve Arthur of the May Day Massacre to write a more honorable King, it's not all that drastic a change. There are many texts, old and new, in which that narrative beat never occurs. If noble Arthur serves your story better than morally gray or evil Arthur, and it can be done without compromising the Arthurian fabric from which you sample, go for it. Alternatively, if you decided to incorporate additional violence into the story, especially if attributed to a character who had not previously done those things (such as rapist Gawain, ie, inverting his Maiden's Knight role he's known for), you're going to have a harder time selling the reader on it. Generally speaking, a positive or neutral change will always be easier to sell than a negative one.

This is especially important if you intend to publish something you write for a broader audience. That's a different matter, in my opinion. In that regard, the thing you create is contributing to an Arthurian body of work that's meant to stand on its own. Fanfiction exists in a writing niche which assumes a base knowledge from the reader, you may not necessarily explain what Camelot is, or what chivalry means, or who Palomides is. That's fine and dandy. It's for fun!

But with a published book standing alone on the shelf, the author is expected to establish the framework of the world their story takes place in. That may or may not align with "canon" and therefore maintain or depart from the expected. This is where your decisions as an author matter. While Arthuriana is anachronistic by design as a literary tradition that's evolved alongside its authors, the moment you decide on an era to write in (if you put a year to it or imply one based on what historical aspects emerge), you now bear responsibility to depict that as accurately as you can. Even if it's a mishmash of "Medieval" spanning a few centuries, it should still bare resemblance to the era. Particularly in our current political climate with constant misinformation and even disinformation spreading, it's important to do the research necessary to create something genuine so as to avoid misrepresenting the past and the people in it. For example I think it would do a disservice to an Arthurian story to ignore religion, particularly one about Palomides or his brother Safir. To write them as areligious is to ignore the role in the Arthurian narrative they were created for. They're Saracen, (even if Palomides converts in some versions), and to ignore the way religion and race interconnect in Medieval society would be disingenuous.

[Idols in the East: The Saracen Body by Suzanne Conklin Akbari]

And, more to your point, that aspect informs character. The stories define Palomides by his religion, by his race, and how that impacts him in the face of a rivalry with Tristan, a white Christian, for the love of Isolde, another white Christian. This isn't to say that you're obligated to depict racism, or to put the characters into situations that oppress and hurt them, but to write something "race blind" is to erase the character's identity, and that would be too great a change, for me personally, to get by.

That being said, if you're writing in 6th century Britain, your research might lead you to think, "Hey wait a minute, Islam doesn't exist yet! But Palomides and Safir are written as Muslims, so how can I stay true to both the era I'm writing in and the characters if that anachronism is built right in?" Well, that's where you have wiggle room to be creative! Perhaps they're Zoroastrians or follow one of the many Berber religions that existed at the time. Even Tristan could reasonably be written Pagan in this era, as he has in many retellings before you sent this ask. Maybe Tristan's Mithraic or Druid or Jewish and that in and of itself helps mitigate some of the tension between the characters as neither are Christian. All of this should be handled with great care, of course, but the point is that there aren't really straight answers about what changes are worth making.

Your discomfort in this isn't unjustified. I've been there. But it doesn't mean you're doing anything "wrong." It's not a crime to conceptualize changes. I had a lot of anxiety writing Ragnelle and her brother Gromer as Zoroastrians. But I went on to find an editor who studied the religion, and asked my Zoroastrian mutual for help, who put me in touch with a practitioner that agreed to beta read my books and inform me on my handling of it. There's no perfect story, but all you can do is give it your best effort.

I don't think it'll benefit you to worry about "ruining" the story with changes such as Safir pursuing the Questing Beast. That sounds awesome! And your plan about vengeance is baked right into the source material, as the Post Vulgate indicates that QB had killed all of Palomides's brothers before he finally defeated her, so your story has some textual basis in a medieval source. (Not that you need it to be "allowed" to write that, but it may help your anxiety to know!)

[Post Vulgate Quest for the Holy Grail: 87. Galahad and Bors Chase the Questing Beast and Meet Palamedes and His Father, Esclabor the Unknown.]

One other thing I'll point out is choosing the language you use matters a lot. You can have some characters behave a certain way toward Palomides or Safir or this "futile" quest that resembles historical prejudice while utilizing word-choice throughout that signals to the reader you, the author, know what you're doing and understand the nuances at play. Reading broadly will help you with this so much. Not just non-fiction for your research, but other Arthurian retellings as well. I personally didn't love Persia Woolley's handling of Palomides in her Guinevere Trilogy. He was referred to as "the Arab" throughout which seemed like a "lesser evil" placeholder for "the Saracen." It's usage acted as a generalized umbrella term to other Palomides and didn't indicate his area of origin beyond constantly reminding the reader that he wasn't white. (Whereas Gawain was "the Orcadian" and Lancelot "the Breton," which differentiated their white cultures from one another while homogenizing Palomides with every other Eastern person in the story as a monoculture.) Furthermore, many characters were afraid of him (I mean literally making the sign of the cross and hiding when he walked in the room), which isn't consistent with a Post-Roman Britain, in which the population would have been mixed. I prefer the handling of Numidian Sagramore in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. Sagramore, as a Black man, is a part of Arthur and co's community, even if the Saxons themselves are unnerved by him. He's respected by the narrative. It's usually better to be specific (Numidian Sagramore versus Arab Palomides) particularly if that character is a minority and the word is leaving the mouth of a white character. This article discusses this aspect at length and really eased my own concerns depicting these characters and doing them justice.

[Saracens and Black Knights by Maghan Keita]

Here's another example of generalized versus specific language.

[Sword of Lancelot 1963: Merlin refers to "the Orient."]

[The Adventures of Sir Lancelot 1956: Merlin refers to "the Iberian Peninsula."]

So in my opinion, as long as you don't white wash Palomides or Safir and avoid writing them as "exotic" or "mysterious" or in some way barbaric in the pursuit of the Questing Beast, you're fine. Even in La Tavola Ritonda, Percival pursues QB for a time before Palomides picks up the quest, which is the opposite order in which that occurs in Post Vulgate where Percival and the other grail knights assist Palomides to defeat her at the very end. Many versions don't maintain the incest-monster aspect of QB from Post Vulgate either, like in Perlesvaus or Moriaen, she's just a monstrous creature and that's sufficient to tell the story the author has in mind. Even from a characterization standpoint, Malory wrote Palomides as volatile and melodramatic, having fits in the woods over his grief from which only Tristan could coax him out of, where in La Tavola Ritonda, Palomides is mostly chill and sweet, to the point Dinadan teases him for being a push-over haha! In regards to Safir, there's far less textual source material to base him off of than Palomides, so you have even more creative freedom! Literally the spectrum is so vast you can pretty much characterize however you desire if you keep in mind what the core of the character is and why that's important to their identity and the historical significance of that identity. (Even if it's something you have to bulk up, such as you will for Safir.) If you're ever unsure, it's never a bad idea to ask! Plenty of historians, or medievalists, Arthurian enthusiasts, or people of different cultures would love to discuss this subject. You might have to dig a little, but I can't imagine it'll be harder than my search for a queer Zoroastrian beta reader willing to read a trilogy-length Wedding retelling haha! It'll benefit your writing to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known so others can give you feedback. Share some passages with a trusted few and gauge their reactions. Read what other people have done and take notes about the way they chose to characterize Palomides or Safir—did [aspect] resonate with you? Or did [aspect] ring false? Exploitative? Hollow? Why? Then step back, take another look, and go from there. It's about vibes and can't be defined, but you'll know when you know.

Hope this helps. Good luck and have a nice day!

[xjulixred45x]

Hello!Can I please ask for a request for generator rex with Rex and a male (or gender neutral if you prefer) evo reader jealous of Circe? Male reader thinks he’s not worthy but he’s still very protective of Rex and always stays beside him making sure he’s safe and happy. Thank uuu so much for writing for this fandom btw~

Hello sweety! Thank You for the Request!

Rex Salazar x Male! Evo! Reader who is Jealous of Circe

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: Male

Warnings: Jelousy, insecurity, Fluff.

okay, technically you already knew Circe.

It was hard not to when every time she and Rex were in the same place, Rex would run to her and try to convince her to leave Van Kleiss.

and that's why I don't bother you.

for a while.

At first your own relationship with Rex was somewhat similar, him trying to convince you to join Providence.

and you found it fun in a way, it became a kind of game that you really enjoyed because you honestly didn't trust Providence, but you trusted Rex.

He seems like a good guy after all.

and in a way Rex thought the same about you, an Evo boy who had a lot of potential but seemed to be "wasting" it instead of helping people.

He tried to make you see things from his perspective, but he could never make you trust Providence. But he already assumed it, but he was fine with at least having you as an ally.

and thus a beautiful friendship was born.

Noah may be Rex's "normal" best friend, but you were his Evo best friend. best friend, yes.

For the first time in a long time you had a friend, which made a new side of you awaken, wanting to protect him, if Rex ran into you on a mission, you would make sure he finished it and suffered as little damage as possible.

Rex always wanted to protect you too, but you never gave him the chance, you would always be the one to throw yourself into danger with a smile on your face knowing that your friend would be okay. friend.

Why did this word start to bother you?

Rex would OBVIOUSLY scold you afterwards, especially if you threw yourself in front of some dangerous Evo like the Pack or even Van Kleiss, he is already reckless enough, why would you be reckless too? Youre supose to be the smart one! He says.

It's around these moments that you realize that you see Rex in a different light. and understand WHY referring to him as a friend bothers you.

Damn.

You see him MORE than as a friend.

and you also realize something else.

You don't feel like you can do anything about it.

Rex is a great guy, a great MAN, who constantly helps people and tries to save the EVOS even when the government wants to exterminate them. Even when the world is against him, he is a good person.

and you...you only live your life causing problems and you only started to do something useful when he arrived, but apart from that you don't feel like you are someone...worthy.

But when you see when Rez goes after Circe trying to save her from Van Kleiss.

Circe, the same one who has saved his life on several occasions. a person who does have a chance to live a good life with him.

You're not lying to yourself, you're obviously upset when Rex drops everything to go after Circe, but if you were in her situation you'd do the same thing.

However, you don't realize that Rex himself also begins to see you in a different light.

Only unlike you, he's pretty determined to do something about it.

Rex greatly appreciates your protection, he is used to being the one who protects others, so seeing that you treat him like someone who also deserves that same care warms his heart.

In general, he really likes being able to be a normal teenager around you and being THE SAME with you. Seeing how happy you are with just his happiness gives him a serotonin boost.

He also fell hard.

but at the same time he is dense, he does not realize that his efforts to help Circe can be seen as a further interest, and yes, perhaps at the beginning it was like that, but because of how time has passed and he has met more people , has met you, can tell that Circe doesn't interest him in the same way.

But he wants to help her, he won't let Van Kleiss mess with vulnerable people.

but then he notices that you get bitter every time the topic of Circe comes up.

It's not that you get defensive or anything like that, but that you....shut down so to speak.

and he tries to find out what's wrong with you, but either you change the subject or you simply don't respond, which rather than taking him away from the topic makes him cling more.

It's a day he talks about it with Bobo and Noah that makes the connection.

You are jealous.

LIKE OF HIM-

IN THE SAME WAY HE LIKES YOU!

Very happy.

Rex is quite direct, so as soon as he realizes this, he will go straight to telling you everything that is on his mind. It doesn't matter the answer, you have to say it.

and when you tell him your reasons why you were jealous or insecure, he will be quite confused.

Why would you think that you are not worthy? YOU? NOT BE WORTHY OF LOVE? Partly he can't believe it, because you always seemed confident, but he understands that one can pretend a lot beneath a smiling face.

He assures you that, first of all, Circe is nothing more than a friend who he should help, because she was an important part of his investment in society, but that you should never EVER feel jealous of her, you are you, after everything and he loves you.

(It would be quite ironic if you and Circe became friends after she left with the Evos in Hong Kong, in a quieter environment and with the passage underfoot. Rex doesn't know whether to be relieved or scared).

In general, Rex tries to make the relationship equitable, both protect and take care of each other, both physically and mentally.

Regardless of everything, You two handle it very well.

Thank you for Requesting/Reading❤️

[furiousgoldfish]

Hello. So, I have a narcissistic father that's very controlling and very selfish, and I'm 17(Turning 18 in August next year), and I plan on moving out the second I become 18. Only a few problems though...

What if my father decides to hurt himself and then call the cops and frame me for it? 2. What if he tries to hold me hostage and then beat me to the point where I can't physically move and I'm forced to stay with him? 3. What if he decides to kill me before I can leave? Narcissists can do anything to you and get away with it.

Also, I have a MAJOR problem with two narcissists here on Tumblr. They are both artists, and since July of last year, they and their flying monkeys have been on a smear campaign against me, and they're trying to find my new account, so they can try to destroy what little joy I get from being on here sometimes. The are very determined and very obsessed with "spreading the truth" about me, including one narcissist that claims to "hate abusers to the core," while taking part in baiting, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse that another narcissist started against me. I'm also apparently their scapegoat now; whenever they get criticized about their behavior, it's apparently "always me." Any tips for dealing with fandom-wide smear campaigns and covert malignant narcissists online?

Okay, so based on your ask, I can tell that you've been through some extreme scenarios and that fearing the worst, most insane action from your father, is common and normal in your case, and you have to be ready for it.

If your father tries to frame you for injury that he inflicted, you need to have an alibi. If you can prove you were in a different place, different address, with someone else knowing where you are, there's no trace of struggle on you, no trace of fighting with him, he won't be able to prove it.

If he tries to hold you hostage as an adult, I believe police should be on your side here; in a case this extreme you should be able to access the services of a violence center. The thing is, I don't believe this to be extremely likely because in this case, if he's caught, he'll face jail time. Narcissists will do extreme things to keep you at home, but they're very aware that if they're caught doing extreme violence, beating someone bloody or holding them hostage, that it would incriminate him, and make him look very very bad. Once he tries to keep you like that, he would have to prevent you from escaping forever, and it would be near impossible to keep you like that forever, you'd eventually be able to escape and tell everything to the police. That would be a very scary scenario for him. Narcissists usually do these extreme things to children, expecting children to not be able to remember, verbalize, understand it's not normal, or to tell anyone, small children are the only safe targets for such extreme violence. Once you have cognitive function and enough understanding of language and human rights that you can tell you're being held hostage, they'll unlikely do to it as directly; they'll try to guilt you, lower your confidence, sabotage you from getting a job, trigger you in vital moments, convince you that you'll die if you leave. They'll use more covert tactics that can be disguised as 'concerned parent' or 'obsessively attached parent' rather than to incriminate themselves. Still, I don't know your father, and it's possible he might just be completely insane; in that case you need to have it in writing, that if you disappear, this is who is holding you, send that to your friends or anyone you know, with instructions to call the police.

Again killing you would have him face jailtime, so it's unlikely unless he's just completely insane, or if you running away also means jailtime for him because you already have too much atrocities to tell. In that case you need to pretend that you have no intentions of leaving, and try to act like you're resigned to stay, like you're planning all kinds of things from home - until the very moment when you can be away and in location he can't reach. If he isn't suspecting that you're trying to get away, he won't have time to prevent it or to try to murder you. You should plan your escape when he's not at home, pretend you're going just to the store or to visit someone, or something inconspicuous, have a bag of your stuff stashed outside where you can grab it without being seen, and jump into a car/cab/train/vehicle where someone can take you to safety. Don't tell your final location to anyone. Block his number. Answer your phone to other people, at least for first week, so they can't report you missing. But don't let them lecture you or tell you that you should be going back home, only reply so they know you're safe.

If anyone else has more experiences like this and better advice, please share, I only know escaping and then keeping my location hidden from everyone, and using a fake name so I cannot get found.

I'm sorry about the smear campaign, best I can advise is to not engage. Sadly there's no anti-measure that really works, if you don't engage at least they can't tell which part of the campaign actually triggers you and makes you feel awful. I suspect the real-life situation is much more urgent, but it sucks they ruined your online space as well.

[erisenyo]

I'm the 'facets anon' and while I absolutely LOVED your answer, I think I formulated the question wrong.

With 'How many facets can a character lose to still be considered the same character and not just someone with the same name?' I wished to ask how many aspects of a character can be changed from the get go.

F.E. if Zuko was an only earthbending child who grew up on a farm with only a mother can he really be considered Zuko?

I will admit that my question wasn't motivated by the ATLA Fandom, but you're one of my favorite authors, so I wished to gather your opinion

Ohhh interesting question anon! Basically, how much of an AU can your AU be before it's becoming original fiction?

I hate to say that the answer is 'it depends'...but I think it depends on what you consider to be the "core" aspects of the character, and how thoughtful the author is about understanding the impact of any changes. The line between "unrecognizable AU" and "character study" hinges a LOT on the author's awareness of what's changing.

Sticking with the Zuko example -

is it his history/backstory? (Zuko in any world needs to have an absent mother, an abusive father, be cast out of home/his family and try to return to it?)

Is it his characterization? (Zuko in any world needs to have huge big emotions, a heart of goodness, the need to please, a determination to do well, stubborness?)

Is it his narrative growth? (Zuko in any world needs to grapple with his identity and place in the world, needs to learn to trust his own judgment and ethics?)

(There are probably other categories as well)

I think you can change a lot of those, and still be writing 'Zuko', as long as you're very clear to your reader what you're changing. But you probably do need to hold *some* of the above constant, and I can see what that constant piece is flexing depending on what's changed.

For example - a world where Ozai died when Zuko was a baby, Azulon decided to broker peace decades ago, and now Zuko isn't heir, grew up with affirmation and positivity in his life that allowed his goodness to blossom (aka, change his entire backstory, put him in an environment where different aspects of his character come to the fore)...You are probably still going to be dealing with the same narrative arcs (who am I, what's my place in the world, learning to trust himself), and the other character traits that come to the fore will still be (or should be) his character traits (not brand new ones).

Even if you go "what if Zuko is everything Ozai wants him to be"...you're probably going to end up in a similar place arc-wise and and personality-wise, because of who *Ozai* is, and Azula, and Ursa

And if you're going okay, Zuko is totally different and so is everyone around him and so is the world and so is the family history/dynamics and so is the plot...then you're probably in original fiction territory, because you haven't held any aspect of canon constant, and it's probably no longer in conversation with canon if you're changing every aspect of canon.

So for it to stay 'Zuko', I'd say it comes down to 1) are you clear on what is still tied to canon, 2) are you clear on what you're changing, and 3) are you clear on how those changes are going to impact other elements of the character/other characters/plot/etc.

And the better you are at explaining those changes and their impact, the more you're going to be able to change and still have things feel tied to canon, because you're bringing your reader along with you.

Even if you don't change much, if you just dump me into a 'this Zuko had loving support as a child' AU, I'm going to be confused because I am in an alternate universe without understanding *what* is alternate.

But if you are changing the setting, the family relationships, the plot, and then seeing how Zuko's character changes as a result...now it's a character study! We love character studies!

So your "Zuko as an only earthbending child who grew up on a farm with only a mother" example *could* still be Zuko, depending on how critical you think firebending vs earthbending is to his character, palace royalty vs common origins, an abusive family dynamic, being an older brother.

I can see ways to make it work (he's still full of huge emotions, struggles with his place in the world, wants to matter and make an impact but doesn't know how, feels like he can't live up to the expectations on him but is going to try anyway even if it kills him, feels like his bending will never be good enough, wants to fight in the war)--I just need to bring the reader along with me.

[stuckinthesmalldoor]

i'm proud of you for simply trying

FANDOMS: Haikyuu

PAIRINGS: Oikawa Tooru x Reader

TYPE: Fluff | Angst | Crack | Platonic | Romantic | None: Hurt/Comfort

TAGS/WARNINGS: mentions of unhealthy coping mechanisms (self harm through cutting, smoking and vaping) and addiction

SYNOPSIS: Oikawa catches you falling back but old habits die hard and you don’t seem to care

NOTES: This will be part of a flood pick me ups. If you see some posted on ao3 my account is ONLY Ciphered_Entity

I usually try to write only for the ships itself and not x readers but I do enjoy reading them a lot just going through a tough time right now that I can’t be bothered to pretend what I’m writing isn't about me.

Masterlist

"Stop it." He spoke firmly, a tone he'd never use on you often. You looked at him slowly, slitted lazy eyes refusing to grow any wider. You look him up and down before releasing the smoke that had sat in your mouth.

"C'mon will you stop that." Oikawa struts towards you, everything about him screaming a serious and calm determination but you know he is anything but.

You take a hit anyway, watching the pen light up at the bottom before holding it in for a moment. He takes it out your hand.

You arch your eyebrows at him before releasing the vapors again. "It was that, cigarettes or cutting. take your pick to which you'd prefer because I'm sure as hell not feeling well enough to do neither." You spoke quick and unkindly, in absolutely no mood to compromise or talk it out.

Then you sigh, "I'm sorry, It's just getting bad again with everything and not having much alone time at home with relatives staying there's no time to be myself..."

Oikawa follows with a sigh of his own, wiping down his face, he's dissapointed, something you expected but also something you can't take right now.

"I of all people know the pressure there is to be perfect, to hide the hobbies and characteristics deemed as flaws but I also know how fucking exhausting it is, to hold a wall against everyone you know, keeping track of how much each individual can know about you..." He kneels down infront of you know, straightening your legs so he isn't blocked by your propped up knees. He places the vape down beside you hoping you take the hint not to take it just yet.

"I know its exhausting, you've expressed this before feeling like the jack of all trades but master of none...and I guess somewhere along that line you forget how impressive it truly is to be good at so many things. You're a honor student athlete, who can write, and sing, and however many instruments you've picked up over the years. You can even make something out of the bare minimum." He smiles his head and eyes pointing to your desk with the piling hobbies you've gained over the years.

"But I know, I know how tough you always want to seem, how put together you want to portray yourself as and don't get me wrong you truly are but when you know you need a break, when you're on the edge of surpassing burn out, you never show it, you never show you need help, you're so independent you'd rather rely on your unhealthy, deeply unhealthy," He takes the vape in his hands, using it to point at you. "coping mechanisms hoping it will be the solution but you know it isn't so why do you still do it?"

You're sat in silence now, just staring at him, you want to be annoyed, you've heard this speech hundreds of times by the few friends who know but looking into his eyes causes your body to betray your head and pull him into a hug and sob. it's awkward his knees lift from the ground slightly but his body doesn't his torso is stretching to reach your chest to lean forward and give you access to resting your head on his shoulders nonetheless he steadies himself and tolerates the pain.

"I just need something to control in my life, everything I've ever been good at was always somehow turned into something others could benefit out of but cutting was my little secret, cigarettes were my friend when I felt lonely, I couldn't just- I can't just." Your whole body rattles from your sobs, months worth of tears releasing at this very moment at you mess your words up, mirroring your foggy mind.

Oikawa coos at you, using the silence as an opportunity to scoop you up into a comfortable position, opting for sitting you on his lap as he switches places with you. You sob for a moment before speaking, still slightly interrupted by the tremors of your body and hics deep in your chest.

"I'll throw away the cigarettes and try to lessen how much I vape. I can't guarantee a complete stop but I'll try." You almost whisper with how squished your face is in the crook of his neck but he hears it, he heard enough to know what you were implying. He rubs up and down your back.

"I'm proud of you for simply trying." He kisses the closest body part he can which ends up being your shoulder.

[acoldsovereign]

I see Eren...

I have a question as a humble anon. Im curious but, how do you feel about him as a character? And how AOT ended? I feel like your answer will be fun to hear. :) I had mixed feelings but idk. Seeing him made go "oh no" because like, I forgot the existed, lol sorry but also because of all the infighting that happened in the fandom. So I was wondering if you had any thoughts?

*ignore my typos if there's any

SUBJECT MATTER: OOC talks / fandoms // sender: anonymous // status--always open!

{{ Oof. Okay, so--I think I'm not the best person to ask about this because when THAT happened in the fandom, I was highly confused as to why people hated it. I legit didn't understand. I had to go back and re-read the manga and I still didn't understand why people were pissed? But looking back on it, I can see it. Before I continue on that point, I'll answer you:

I adore Eren. He's my poor little meow meow. My smol angry husbando. He's a complex, traumatized, aggressive, violent fucker. I love him. Many of my current muses are on the spectrum of 'ready for violence for whatever reason'. I think it's okay to like him. Folks don't owe you a ten page essay rife with sources as to why they like or don't like a character. Moral judgements shouldn't be made about what piece of fiction someone engages with; you're not their parent and shaming isn't cool, whether you're fine with what they like or not. Very rarely will you change their mind, and instead of blocking them/moving on, you're just making yourself upset/creating an unsafe/unwelcomed environment from those who think and engage with the source material differently from you. Putting the rest under a read more because spoiler territory.

With that said, the ending was fine--I quite liked it! It's tragic and sad for sure, but I had no illusions about Attack on Titan ending horrifically. It's a dark fantasy story that began with what's left of humanity defending itself from flesh-eating monsters picking them off one by one. If . . . you thought a story like that would have a happy ending (or would have romance in it--a complaint I saw in many, many places), I have to ask why. Why is that where your mind is when there's death and destruction on every page? Then the plot twist--Titans are actually people, and they were created and planted in strategic places around the world because of [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS]. It's so fucked. You'd be lucky if your favorite character survived to the END. (Which, didn't happen for me. As I said, Eren gets love around here because I adore how layered he is. I did mourn another character who died earlier, though. And Eren's response to her fate broke my heart; yet another thing the fandom twisted around and made into something it's not). Point is--there is no real 'moral lesson' to AOT. It's a dark story made to entertain. The theme is "senseless violence begets senseless violence". It's funny because I was talking about this recently with the Eren I write with (@scarlxtleaves). Isayama himself in many interviews stated he just made it because he wanted to. Many times he was pressed for an answer and that's what he kept saying. There was one interview I remember where he did give a 'proper' answer (a generic answer about hope/optimism/determination, I think? Don't quote me on that), but it was because he was pressed for one--as if people couldn't just take him at his word. It's a bit sad, honestly. Not everything needs to be so deep--which brings me back to the fandom.

I think many people took the ending out of context, Eren out of context and used the manga as a way to attack Isayama. Many people were upset their ships didn't happen, some felt betrayed that Eren turned out be the ultimate villain/antagonist, some even went as far to send him hate mail, tell him his manga was horrible, that he should d*e, etc etc. Again, in hindsight, I understand all of this. I got whiplash too. 😂 I was like "for real??????? Y'all deadass rn???? Someone say SIKE" but nope, that's who he was--which encouraged me to reread and rewatch EVERYTHING. It all clicked and I went "how the hell did we not see this?!" 😭 So yeah, I get that Eren doing the Rumbling is extreme--but that's the point, he's BEEN that extreme since chapter and episode 1. We just didn't pay attention and thought he was bluffing. That's not the character's fault. And it doesn't mean he's written badly. He's not.

We just thought he wasn't gonna stand on business. Eren Yeager stood on that shit, 10 toes down. Genocide IS extreme (it always is, no doubt about it--and I'm not a fan of those who call Eren fans/appreciators genocide apologists because whoa??? Buddy, it's not that serious???? Again, we're not in school, we're not getting tested for morality or what have you, please take a chill pill. You're NOT getting a medal for being more moral or 'gooder' of a human than me because of . . . what character I like??????), but I get it. Don't blindly cheer him on but also: AOT Earth is NOT equivalent with our Earth. The cast is dealing with abnormal situations that we don't (people turning into giant weapons/human eating monsters, a government conspiracy to continue using SAID monsters, a even more secret plan by multiple world governments/nations to wipe out a defenseless island of people who have NO direct connection with the vile Empire that spawned them, etc etc). So if you're gonna put Eren on a crucifix, put the Marleyan government on that shit first. They LITERALLY are the reason why Eren's mom (and many innocent people) died/became mindless killers (the Titans), which made him want to kill them all in the first place. Put Grisha Yeager on that shit too, because he was a deadbeat ass father who ONLY had Eren just to pass on the Attack and Founding Titans BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD HIM TO. He's the same thing as Gaara's father from Naruto. Same reasons why they had their youngest sons. EXACT SAME. Unlike Rasa, Grisha never apologized to Eren. Not once for bringing him into such a cruel world, not once for forcing the Titan serum on him, not EVEN for SHORTENING HIS LIFESPAN (Eren would die at 23 or until someone else killed/ate him for his Titan powers), none of it. Annie, Reiner, Berthold--they BROKE. The wall. And allowed the Smiling Titan in--the same one that ate Eren's. Mom. Like, c'mon now!

[ofstarsandvibranium]

omg please write more of the jamie x mcadoo!reader i love the protective family member dynamic!! especially with a character like isaac!🤍

Meet Cousin McAdoo

Fandom: Ted Lasso

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x F!Reader

Summary: You're visiting your cousin, Isaac, in Richmond for a few weeks. During your stay, you become familiar with the little city as well as its very own AFC Richmond football club.

A/N: I was going to do a bunch of headcanons but i suddenly got bit with the writing bug and it ended up being a full fledged fic. Whoops!

Isaac walks into the locker room with a determined look on his face. A majority of his team was already there, so he stands in front of everyone and hollers, "Oi! Listen up!" he waits until he sees that all eyes are on him, he continues, "My cousin is visiting Richmond for a few weeks. She's comin' over here so I can show her around. I want all of you," he points around the room, "to be on your best behavior. Understand?"

"What's happenin'?" asks Jamie as he walks in.

"Isaac's cousin is visiting, so be your best behavior," Sam says, catching the striker up.

Jamie grins, "Aren't I always on me best behavior?"

The guys roll their eyes as Jamie makes his way to his cubby, getting ready for practice.

Everyone's on the pitch when Higgins comes out, "Sorry, team, can I have a moment?"

"WHISTLE!" Roy yells, which causes everyone to pause.

Higgins speaks up, "Isaac, your cousin is here."

Isaac looks confused, "She's not supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"HI ISAAC!" you yell from Rebecca's office window. You're waving your arms excitedly.

"I thought you were comin' tomorrow!" He yells up at you.

"Surprise!" you're giggling, "I'll be down in a bit!"

Isaac nods and gives you a wave.

The boys are back to practice when you join Roy on the sidelines of the pitch, "Nice to meet you, Coach Kent," you don't offer a hand to him. You know, from what Isaac's told you, he isn't fond of touching people.

He nods and grunts, which you don't take personally.

Isaac, lightly jogs over to you, "Hey, cousin!" he goes to hug you but you stop him.

"Ew! Don't hug me, weirdo. You're all gross and sweaty."

"Pft," he puts out his fist and you fist bump him, "It's good to see you."

"Thanks for letting me stay with you while I'm here."

Isaac shrugs, "Of course."

"WHISTLE! WHISTLE!" Roy cries out and you look at him, bewildered, then back to Isaac, "Does he-"

"He's allergic to metal," Isaac answers swiftly.

"Interesting," you say with a nod.

"Take a five minute break!"

At Roy's words, Colin comes up to Isaac's side, "Hi! I'm Colin. Isaac's-"

"Best mate! It's so nice to meet you!" you shake his hand and the rest of the boys follow.

You meet Jan Maas, Richard, Sam, Dani, etc. etc. The meeting goes by quickly as Roy yells for everyone to get back to drills.

Isaac gives you a wave as he heads back onto the pitch. You stand on the side watching everything.

"Isaac," Dani catches his Captain's attention.

"Yeah, bruv?"

"You and your cousin do not look alike."

"We're not blood related. Her aunt married my uncle. We're cousins by marriage but still family nonetheless."

"Your cousin is very attractive," Jan Maas states in his usual Dutch bluntness.

Isaac's eyes narrow at Jan Maas and grabs his shirt by the collar, "Don't talk about my cousin like that."

Jamie joins in, "But he's right, Isaac. Your cousin's mad fit!"

Isaac pauses his drill and looks at the boys around him, "You all listen to me and listen well, none of you are worthy enough for my cousin. So stay away. Got it?" The angry and protective look on Isaac's face was enough to make the guys nod and scurry away, not wanting to be the receiving end of their captain's potential anger.

____________________

After Isaac's showered and changed, he gives you a tour of the place. His knowledge is lacking since there are certain places he hasn't been to before, but he tries his best. When he tells you the team has a therapist, you're very impressed, especially since Isaac admits to going a few times himself. You find it very admirable.

The tour then ends at the locker room after Isaac makes sure that everyone's decent.

You pout a little, "Dammit, Isaac, I wanted to see some fit naked footballers!" Isaac looks at you with disgust while some of the guys chuckle.

"You still can if you want!" Bumbercatch responds, but gulps after Isaac shoots him a look, "Just kidding."

You snort, "I was joking too, but thanks for the offer." You nudge Isaac, "Can we grab something to eat now? I'm starving."

"Yeah! Actually," he turns to Sam, "Are we good?"

"A table is already waiting for you at Ola's."

"Sweet. Thanks, bruv!" Isaac goes over to Sam and they do a typical 'bro hug'.

"It was nice meeting all of you! I'll probably see you again during my time here!" you wave at the team and they all wave back as you and Isaac exit the locker room.

All eyes are following you out. You look back and your eyes catch the blue-gray eyes of none other than Jamie Tartt. He gives you a shy smile and you give him a wink before you continue following Isaac out.

"Oi!" Colin thumps Jamie's head, "Isaac said to be on your best behavior."

"All I did was smile at her! She's the one that winked at me!" the striker explains, defending himself.

"I'm keeping an eye on you Tartt," Colin says before walking out of the locker room as well.

[amalgamgooze]

A Look At Battle Poses in the MOTHER, Paper Mario, and Mario and Luigi series

I've run into a small problem with my game regarding the battle scene--specifically regarding the art for it. I haven't really done many "in combat" sketches, so I'm lacking familiarity of what sorts of poses characters have. In my mind, the battle takes place looking down from the side, similar to the Mario and Luigi series of games. We'll get to that later, though--I find that when looking at stuff like this, it's best to look at several sources, no matter what your target is.

I've decided that it's time to multitask and write a post at the same time as my research. So, here we go!

=======================

the MOTHER series

In all three MOTHER games, the battles take place facing the enemy, often without art for your own party. The enemies have no animation, but that doesn't detract from their quality--even a still image conveys a ton of personality, as seen below:

MOTHER combat (from Wikipedia)

Earthbound/MOTHER 2 combat (from Earthbound Fandom wiki)

MOTHER 3 combat (from The Cutting Room Floor wiki)

Throughout the MOTHER series, enemies in battles are posed in a way that just somehow "feels right". Often times, enemies aren't drawn in the middle of an attack--instead, they're drawn almost as if you're in a face-off with them. (One notable exception to this is the Cop from Earthbound--he's drawn mid-karate chop.)

Enemies flash briefly when they're acting, and most enemies in MOTHER 3 have different sprites based on which direction they're facing, but other than that, the battle graphics for the enemies in these games are pretty simplistic. (The background of the latter two games are a whole other beast to tackle, though...)

This sort of approach works best in a traditional turn-based RPG like MOTHER. Not much needs to be conveyed other than what you're fighting, and the enemy designs only make battles more intriguing.

=======================

the Paper Mario series

In this post, I'll just be looking at the first two games--Paper Mario, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (specifically the GameCube version--the remake looks cool, but I'm trying to avoid much media on it until I get around to playing it!).

Paper Mario Combat (image from RPGFan)

Paper Mario: TTYD Combat (image from Super Mario Files blog)

(pssst! That last image comes from a really cool post that goes into depth on TTYD's audience mechanic--it's a fantastic read, especially for anyone interested in workshopping their own unique battle mechanics!)

These battles also have animation--characters shift around when idling, and have unique animations for each move they perform. That sort of animation is crucial to the "Action Command" mechanics of these games--where timed button presses during attacks can increase the amount of damage you deal or reduce damage taken. Without animations, it'd be pretty difficult--if not impossible--to determine the timing for those action commands.

Stance-wise, the games approach combat from the side--though the characters do face out toward the camera more than if they were looking at each other. For instance, we can see both eyes of all the characters in the above screenshots. If they were truly facing each other, we'd likely only see one eye--which would probably look awkward with the designs of enemies.

That suspension of disbelief is necessary for the game's artstyle to work as it does--at least in my opinion. After all, we don't really ever see a Goomba directly from the side in Mario often, at least in the non-3D titles. Even though the anatomy and movement don't quite make sense through an analytical lens, they still move in such a fashion that doesn't look bizarre. (I'd wager it'd look more bizarre if they were animated without keeping those in mind!)

I'm no animation expert, but I'd also guess that achieving that sort of still-canny effect with unrealistic movements comes from studying cartoonish animation--as opposed to wholly realistic.

=======================

the Mario and Luigi series

The camera angle and poses are incredibly similar to the Paper Mario examples from above--except the camera is slightly higher and looks down on the battle a little. This ends up revealing the floor that the battle takes place on top of.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (from GameSpot)

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team (from GameStop)

The posing's a bit more interesting in these games. Whereas Paper Mario's characters tend to face the same general direction the entire time (because of the game's artstyle), Mario and Luigi's characters, especially our protagonists, change the direction they're facing a lot.

Here's a good example. I've annotated the spritesheets for Mario's hammer attack (from Dream Team)--note how Mario's stance shifts from when he pulls out the hammer to when he swings it.

This spritesheet is from Spriter's Resource--I highly recommend checking out the rest of the sheets for this game (and other games too) for how they ended up animating their characters.

Skimming through the rest of the spritesheets shows that the brothers tend to have side-view sprites when countering or preparing for an attack. On the other hand, their idle sprites are bouncy, fluid dances that shift between side-on and skewed stances.

Again, heavy utilization of basic animation concepts (like anticipation and follow-through) makes these sprites as pretty as they are. As for the stances themselves, my takeaway is that skewed stances are best for the spaces between action, and side-on stances seem to work well when in action.

=======================

conclusions

Yes, there's a million other games I could look at too. I've just chosen the three above series because they're the games I've played the most--and I'm also somewhat trying to imitate the styles of them.

Regardless, one big takeaway was that I need to stop stressing over realistic movement so much--especially since I'm aiming toward a more cartoonish artstyle. Also, forcing my characters to face the same direction throughout the battle just isn't going to work--it just doesn't make sense for a game with dynamic "action command"-heavy turn-based battles like the one I'm making.

Here's hoping that this study of games will help me the next time I sit down with my graphics tablet!

[battlinghurricanes]

hey if this is in any way invasive i apologize i do not mean to make you uncomfortable & obviously you do not have to answer…

for some reason the obsession i had with the iliad a year or so ago has come back full force & im looking everywhere for content lol so i was going through my likes and some tags and i found one of your posts about a gender hektor fic and fuck i got so excited lol i searched for it on ao3 & i didn’t find it so i guess it never got published

but i just had to ask did it ever get finished? what was it about?

anyway i love all of your work! youre a very talented writer and you’re literally carrying the hektor/andromache ao3 tag on your back !!!!!! so thank you 4 that

Ohhh this is very sweet, I'm so touched that you've found my writing so enjoyable and care to know more about it <3!!! Thank you so much for the kind words!

You're right, I never finished my Hektor gender fic so it hasn't been published. At the moment, I'm neck deep in another Very Long fic for a different fandom that I'm adamantly hoping I can finish, so I'm not currently working on this one. However, I am genuinely determined to finish it some day because I have a majority of it written, more of it planned out, and it means a lot to me. I reread the wip several weeks ago and there are a few small places I want to rework now, but I think it's very strong and it deserves to be finished up. Right now it's at ~18k words.

Essentially, the fic is a rather indulgent take with Hektor sometimes finding an urge to see himself in a new light, and grappling as that leads him towards more femininity. The initial idea rooted itself in the concept of gentleness and delicacy in the midst of a war, and how the extremities of war would really warp and alienate those concepts. I see Hektor struggling with gentleness, both as something he fears he doesn't deserve to receive anymore (alongside deeply longing for it in the midst of all the violence), and something he fears he's not capable of embodying in a meaningful way. The fic's mostly focused on him finding and longing for that in aspects of femininity, but also involves how that internal conflict shapes so many other parts of his life. I found the emotional core compelling enough to write, and even though looking at it through the lens of gender queerness is still quite indulgent and improbable, I do find it fits it surprisingly well, too. It’s also a Troy Wins au, because it felt a lot more satisfying to explore that way.

For you my friend, I'll share some excepts that I particularly like c:

“...you cannot keep shirking your duty ... why you feel the need to waste your time on jewelry and perfume and daintiness ... no- that’s not...you need to focus on the war on our doorstep...”

Hektor berates Paris for the nth time, even when he knows it’s no use. But his little brother simply refuses to muster himself and do what he needs to do to help the city. It makes their relationship grow more and more contentious.

That grieves him, in truth.

Hektor’s exasperation and increasing anger towards Paris is well familiar by now. It leaves him prickly and drained when they fight. Though, in the past months, he’s noticed something else and something new.

Not always, only in some particular moments, he feels something else towards Paris. The sight of him puts a tight, aching cinch in his chest. He can’t identify it, can’t prevent it. He tried once to allow for it, but when he opened his mouth, the feeling didn’t find its place in the words rebuking Paris for his avoidance of battle.

So now he always swallows down the inexplicable sensation, ignoring it, and hoping it will someday go away.

-

It’s quite difficult to grasp the full picture in the little mirror, so abruptly he tosses it aside and kicks around his big, bronze plated shield from where it rests against the wall.

The shape distorts the images somewhat, and the scratches obscure it, but in it Hektor sees himself donned in the flowing dress. His lips purse into a thin, tight line as he all but glares at his reflection. It’s not... repellant; in fact, on a solely surface level, he finds it kind of nice. But with that comes an overpowering feeling that he should not be wearing this. Much less have put it on himself. It may not be disgusting on him, but he is disgusting in it.

The cadence of his breathing has gone so strained and unnatural that a choked gasp escapes him as he hurriedly tugs off the dress. Hektor puts it back into Andromache’s chest as neatly as he can manage then reclaims his own clothes, and he hates himself for missing the sensation of the dress.

-

The feeling only grows as he lopes down the palace halls, distracted and thrown off track. No one he crosses paths with presumes to interrupt him, at least, until he bumps into Deiphobus, who always presumes he could use a disruption.

Deiphobus reverses direction to fall in step with him. “You look agitated,” he informs him bluntly.

“I am agitated,” Hektor growls.

“I was just about to guess that-! Ohh, I know you so well.” Hektor rolls his eyes. “Luckily for you, I have some wine that pairs perfectly with agitation, you just have to try it.” Slinging an arm across his shoulders, Deiphobus steers him towards his room and Hektor decides he could damn well use some wine right now.

Dei pours them both a cup once they reach his room. He sits, but Hektor stays on his feet as he takes a long, unceremonious draught before setting the wine aside, earning an amused snort.

“Do you think I would make a good king?”

Deiphobus cocks his head and he eyes him sharply. “Yeah,” he states like it’s obvious.

“Now?” Hektor clarifies demandingly. Dei furrows a brow, and Hektor can tell he doesn’t take his meaning. “Do you believe that as I am now?” he elaborates. “I’m not talking about when we were young, when I spent most all my time preparing to be king one day. For as anxious as I was about it then, even I ultimately believed I could be a good king. Maybe not great, but good.”

He juts his chin frustratedly to stretch the tight muscles of his neck. “That was a long time ago. Do you think the same holds true now?”

Deiphobus purses his lips in a thin, tight line, staring acutely at Hektor, watchfully. The piercing gaze is his only answer. Hektor waits as well for a minute. Then asks, “Do you think I’m a good warrior?”

Deiphobus blinks once. “Yes,” he replies.

“I think so too,” Hektor states. “Not just good, but great. And I’m beginning to fear what makes a great warrior, makes a bad king.”

-

Her fond attention weighs on him, not heavy but grounding. “You’re very pretty and I like you a lot. Anything after that would be redundant, really.”

Hektor turns his head and the clink of gold chimes in his ears and the cool touch of metal brushes his neck for a heartbeat. He tries to focus on the prickling in his fingers and the flutter of heart, he tries to glean something from his reaction, but it can’t hold his attention. Perhaps part of what’s stopped him from grasping the nature of his feelings is that the unfamiliar sensation of unfamiliar adornments keep him acutely alert and aware of himself. Their physical presence is demanding.

“How do you like them?” Andromache inquires. Hektor licks his lips and hesitates, unsure what he thinks. “How do you feel?” she offers instead.

“...Tense,” Hektor elects to answer. It’s not a condemnation, disparaging the experience. He doesn’t feel... uncomfortable, like he had before, like he expected to feel. Andromache’s company blunts the harshest sharp edge of his self loathing, though he is still tense.

“Well, that’s never all that uncommon for you,” she comments. That’s... true enough, really. Hektor is a bit prone to- oh, fine- extremely prone to tension and stress. He blames it on his raucous family, mostly.

He considers himself as objectively as possible. “Wearing these feels like I’ve been preened.” He picks the word as best he can. The finery feels like particular care has been doled onto him.

“Good, you deserve to feel pampered,” she declares heartily. The words catch Hektor off kilter. He takes in and releases a measured breath.

He wears the earrings for the better part of an hour until one snags his hair and he carefully removes them.

-

He exhales, then smiles softly and pecks another kiss to her skin. “You’ll want for nothing while you’re with child. I’ll give you anything and everything you ask.”

“Oh?” Andromache returns. When Hektor looks up and meets her eye, though muted by tiredness, he sees humor glinting there. “Do you mean to say that all this time before now, you’ve been willing to deprive me?”

Disguising the warmth running through his heart, Hektor sticks his nose up with a huff. “That’s such a harsh way to put it. I’ve always been willing to give you almost anything.” Andromache hums pointedly. “But yes, now that you’re pregnant, if you even go so far as to try to cheat again to suggest that the horses love you more than me...” He dramatically takes in and releases a deep, steadying breath. “I will let you.”

“Oh such noble sacrifices you’re willing to make for me now,” Andromache crows, rolling her eyes, “where did I find such a selfless husband?” She pokes the tip of his nose. “I have never once cheated to gain the horses’ favor- for your information- because I’ve never needed to. Every one of them loves me the most.”

Hektor pinches his expression and swallows like he’s forcing down something sour. Gazing at her, he bravely says, “Yes, of course they do, dear.”

Andromache snorts loudly and Hektor breaks with a wide grin. He snuggles up beside her and she drags up the blankets, shielding them from the chill. “I don’t think we can afford to stop competing over the horses. If they stop receiving their regular bribes, they’ll hate both of us.” Hektor hums in concession. “I fear that bodes ill for how spoiled our baby will be,” she muses.

Hektor tilts his head thoughtfully. “Oh, I don’t think it’s cause for worry. I think the horses turned out great, and the gods know they’re all just big babies.”

Andromache’s shoulders shake with laughter. “You’re a fool!” she informs him.

Hektor gazes at her dark eyes, his mind swimming with warm fondness. “A happy one,” he declares, and Andromache shivers then pulls him into a kiss.

-

He feels like there’s nothing of him left. He has no avocations. He barely has any friends, at least any that aren’t his family too. Not that they mean less to him, but his family above all he feels obliged to, always he has put them above himself. They have needed him to. He can never truly separate that from any one of them, despite- because of- his endless love for them.

Of the rest... several already died. His companionship with Polydamas started fracturing early in the war. When Podes would implore that they drink together, he had to decline so many times he eventually stopped asking. Only Eniopeus and Helen really put up with him still. (She’s technically family too.)

If he could be detached, severed from his responsibilities, his family, his home, Hektor imagines he’d simply fade away, hollow and untethered on his own. Hektor can’t define himself outside of Troy. Brother. Leader. Protector. Trojan. Troy Troy Troy.

He doesn’t feel... bitter about losing those parts of himself, after all, they’re worth nothing in the face of what he can- what he needs to do for Troy. And yet, that does little to keep him from feeling empty and pained at their absence. It leaves him wounded and wanting even as he tells himself over and over that things are better this way, that the needs of his people deserve his time and strength over his trifling wants. Every last piece.

But Hektor’s only mortal and a mortal heart is selfish and fragile.

[honeymochibubbletea]

Oh? So you're sad that there's almost no one in this fandom? Well guess what, here's a crack ship idea for you: Dr. Phantasmo x Coffee candy cookie! Muhehehehe! >:3

(yes, i know: this won't magically bring more fans to the Telltown fandom but I thought that this would make you chuckle a little bit and continue to give you more inspiration to make art for this small fandom! Please, don't give up! 🥺)

Holy. Fucking. Shit bro! This, now THIS is what i am talking about!

Yes just:

☆~Fucking Y E S~☆

And like, this one crackship actually makes a little bit of sense, come on, COME ON, just, just HEAR👏ME👏OUT👏:

Phantasmo does like coffee a lot, doesn’t he? And coffee candy cookie is made of coffee, so: it would be a match made in heaven! Like, Phantasmo would never try to hurt her or experiment on her because her scent would be intoxicating to him (he would be sort of a little addicted to her coffee scent) and she would have a big and strong ghost to protect her from whoever or whatever tries to hurt her in any way!

And like, i have now some ideas i cooked here for you guys!

Here’s two versions: the human one (where coffee candy cookie is a human and her name would be Dottie) and the cookie one!

☆~Dr. Phantasmo with Dottie~☆:

So, like: you would be probably thinking, “ah but Honey mochi, if Phantasmo would be over heels for coffee candy cookie because of her scent as a cookie, how and why would he be over heels for her as a human if she doesn’t smell like coffee?” And ahahaha! Allow me to explain it to you >:)

I’m still figuring it out but, like, Dottie wouldn’t be a normal ordinary human: she would be a humanoid cookie person! (Basically, she would look like a human but have the features of a cookie: like, instead of blood, she would have coffee jam for example) So she would still have her coffee scent! ;D

With that out of the way, we can begin the headcanons!

These two would have met in a cafe where Phantasmo was looking (as usual) for victims for his experiments. He would quickly steal (because of course he isn’t going to pay for something he can’t even drink) a bag of coffee beans to make at home when he instantly smelled a delicious coffee scent coming from a apparently human girl…?

At first he was confused as to why and how this scent was coming from her. But quickly his confusion would become a curiosity and he was determined to find out how and why this girl has a strong coffee scent

He would overly confidently approach her and start some small talk with her:

Phantasmo: hello there darling~ I couldn’t help but notice that you have a strong scent of coffee coming from you, could i know how and why is that possible~?

Dottie: . . .I… w-who are you…?

Phantasmo: Ah~ where are my manners~? Dr. Phantasmo but… you especially may call me Phanta~

Dottie’s face goes pale from fear: she has heard about this infamous individual before. She quickly tries to get up to get out of there but Phantasmo had already grabbed her arm and lifted it above her head:

Phantasmo: Ah~ Ah~ Ah~ we don’t want to bring any… unnecessary attention, do we now darling~?

Dottie desperately tries to punch him and now the whole cafe was looking at the two and some people from the staff were trying to help her out, but Phantasmo (who honestly was having his patience on a thread with this whole situation) pulled out a gun and pointed at Dottie (don’t worry! The gun is fake, but no one needs to know about this besides Phantasmo):

Phantasmo: if any of you DARES to approach us, she dies~ am i clear? Good.

And when no one dared to challenge him, Phantasmo very calmly lifted effortlessly Dottie and placed her over his shoulder and started to float away with her as his hostage

She would yell and punch Phantasmo’s back until she would get tired of panicking so much and just, kind of give up

Aaaaand on my next post i’ll write more about CCC “human” version, i promise (it’s because it’s already midnight as i am writing this and i’m tired as fuuuuuck hahaha…)

☆~Dr. Phantasmo with Coffee Candy Cookie ~☆:

These two would have met when CCC was looking for her girlfriend (Baguette Cookie) and somehow ended up in Phantasmo’s plate (also going to explain better how on my next post). Just when he picked her up to eat her (yes, yes i know, I KNOW: Phantasmo can’t CANONICALLY eat nor drink anything but this is all just some silly headcanons, soooo… on MY headcanons he can eat and drink, okay? Okay.) she desperately tries to shout and plead for her life

Phantasmo looked around to see who was talking with him, he just shrugged it off and when he was about to eat her, he opened his eyes and saw that the cookie he was going to eat was… alive…? He looked at her confused but also intrigued

He brought her closer to his face and started to examine her more closely:

Phantasmo: my… are my eyes and ears deceiving me or did you just… talked right now…?

CCC: …Y-yes… i am a living being you k-know…! You should be more careful when picking up cookies to eat! Some are alive!

Phantasmo: …My my… i must have really gone insane! Look at me: talking with a cookie! Gosh… but oh well, it’s like the saying: “if you’re crazy, just embrace your craziness” or something like that… say my delicious little “friend”, how in the world are you alive?

CCC: I… it’s because of the life powder that the witches use to create us… or so i believe is that…

Phantasmo: pfft, always magic… why don’t people just use the good old science to create life anymore? Well, it’s been a fun little chat with you but now i’m going to eat yo-

CCC: N-NO!!! Please don’t! I’ll do anything, ANYTHING j-just… don’t eat me… please…

Phantasmo: pffft buahahahahaha!!! Now that’s a good one: how exactly do you plan on being USEFUL for me~? I mean, you’re just a little treat in my eyes~

CCC: h-hey…! I can be u-useful…! Just please, give me a chance!

Phantasmo: hmm… yeah… maybe, just maybe you could be useful to me~ answer me this: how exactly do i, let’s just say, take your life powder out of you~?

CCC: W-well… we cookies also have soul jams but these two things are fused with our dough so… w-wait… y-you are… you are not REALLY considering doing what i think you are going to do… are y-you…?

Phantasmo: Hehehe~ it was “nice” meeting you~

To be continued… on my next post :p