#but not really whump--it's more setup for future whump

[ladyluscinia]

I have been turning over the question of how I would "fix" S2 - more conceptually than with intention at the moment - and more and more my conclusion is just scrap it entirely and go a different direction.

Like as much as I enjoyed 2x01 - 2x03 (maybe even 2x04 and 2x05, too) from an audience perspective (specifically as someone who enjoys darker content, toxic relationships, black humor, and the potential of generally fucked up plot beats) it kinda hinged a lot on my expectation that they were doing it with intent to deliver a satisfying story resolution in the end. I couldn't guess exactly how on the spot, but that's not really my problem as an audience member - I can just enjoy guessing along the journey until we get there.

Whereas looking back as a writer, struggling with the lack of resolution (successfully executed or even just projected), those episodes are just too many problems built into the foundation. I very rarely say this but I will agree with the antis that watching Edward go on a multi-phase apology tour to try and make amends to each character would be tonally a disaster to deal with and not particularly satisfying on a character level, either. I mean, I like Edward? I don't want his primary plotline being him getting kicked repeatedly and wallowing in guilt? But I also don't see a clean way to wrap up all that with perfunctory apologies and then behaving better in the future AND to sell any kind of found family, "these people will be celebrating at your wedding"-energy between Edward and the breakup boat crew. Not while treating any of them as mentally ok, at least.

Handwaving Frenchie's box is not actually funny at all if it's explicitly full of unaddressed traumatizing memories of a guy he works for / hangs out with on a daily basis?

I think I was right in my pre-S2 thinking that Kraken era needs to be predominantly violence directed toward people outside the crew, and while the remaining crew can be unhappy they probably shouldn't feel abused. I'm still not sure if Izzy's leg could be made to work with some context changes, but the offscreen additional toes lines definitely need to be struck out. Like, fucked up Kraken era could be interesting in more trauma focused fics that explored it as whump or darker adventure stories, but I don't think canon benefits from the harsh genre shift. Especially not if we want to keep forward movement for BlackBonnet as the main arc of the show.

There's just too much setup baggage on the route they chose, and I can't figure out a satisfying answer for what to do with it that doesn't require temporarily dropping the romance, the comedy, or both from this romcom 🤷‍♀️

Better to remove the problem at its source and just reimagine Kraken era entirely.

[isthemedia]

Poolverine-Yoink! (2/2)

Part 2 is now done.

Here's Part 1. And here's the Ao3 link.

@manicpixxiedreambitch

@ineffablestardust

@saspas-corner

@angelbonezs

Since ya'll wanted to be tagged when part 2 was done.

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

‘Not today…not tomorrow…not now,’ Wade’s groggy mind repeated. His joints ached. He could hear a ringing that wasn’t typical tinnitus. He grabbed at the back of his neck, the skin feeling too tight. ‘Really laying it on thick there ain’tcha madam/sir author? Is this whump? I feel like this can be classified as whump.’

(Whump is more hurt than comfort. So no, not really.)

‘Well I’m calling it whump, even if it’s not tagged that.’

(You can go ahead and do that, even though it’s wrong.)

Wade sighed as he curled up a bit tighter. Skin felt like it was prickling if exposed to air. That staticky feeling of just too many eyes watching. He could hear the door of Al’s room creak open. The shuffling of her feet…

“Yer too damn quiet right now,” Al complained. “An’ I know yer still here,” she added, her cane smacking alongside the bed. She stopped when she hit the pile of blankets. “Oh lord this again?”

She didn’t get an answer. No witty reply or snide retort. Heaving a sigh, Al continued on. “I’m headin’ ta bingo, and I’m gonna call Vanessa-she can explain this nonsense ta Logan.” It may have sounded like complaining, but the tone in her voice was clear. It was that ‘don’t worry, help is gonna be on the way deary’ tone. 

And really? Bingo at what…this early in the morning?

‘What time is it even?’

(Early enough.)

‘Lazy establishing setup.’

Wade shifted somewhat, the bed frame of the pull-out creaking as he did. Right, how was Logan going to take this? He should handle this. Maybe? 

Well, Vanessa should be able to handle it, she had no fear with the somewhat feral wolverine he brought home. She did tease him about how he went full ‘White Woman’ and took a wild animal home under the guise of ‘you’re mine now’. He guessed she wasn’t entirely wrong. 

But he also wasn’t expecting Logan to stay as long as he did. He’s read the comics-and sure even though this Logan is from a different universe it almost seemed ingrained in all of them to just-leave some day.  

It wasn’t a bad thing that he stayed. Hell no! If he could he would strap Logan down and make sure he’d never leave. He loved having him around. Al did too. And how could he deprive dearest little miss Mary-Puppins from her other papa? 

The frame of the pull-out creaked again. Oh, speak of the devil. Wade could feel how the pull-out shifted, the weight of the other occupant being removed. But made sense when they’re-what 200-300 plus pounds thanks to a metal skeleton. 

Really no logical way for a shitty pull-out to hold the both of them without collapsing or even warping the frame, yet it still stood.

He wondered if they could use that as sort of a marketing ploy, maybe convince Logan into some centerfold-esque poses just for added effect. Well, effect and future spank-bank material, but he wouldn’t need to know the latter. 

“Come on!” Wade felt the kick given to the pull-out, it jostled the whole thing. Welp, good luck with the Peanut, cause he wasn’t moving. Threaten him with a good time all you want. 

Snikt.

‘And out comes the steak knives. Would stabbing me reset this? Haven’t been stabbed during any of these moods.’

(Pretty sure stabbing would just make you feel worse.)

‘So gonna be a fic with no stabby-stab? And am I even gonna talk? How can you have a Deadpool fanfic where I don’t talk?’

(It’s character introspection.)

‘Sounds like you just don’t wanna come up with quips for me.’

The mattress creaked slightly. Oh, that’s Vanessa. Al really did call her. Such a sweet old blind bat she is. 

Wade could hear them-somewhat over the ringing in his ears that changed to something more akin to the old dial-up sound of the internet. Logan sounded less growly now too.

 Ah Vanessa, the one who can soothe the savage Logan.  

It was weird what his ears would pick up when he was like this. Full conversations happening just outside his makeshift fort of blankets? Nah, that wasn’t important enough. The sound of something being slid across the sheets though? Yeah, could hear that. 

‘And yoink!’ Wade snatched whatever Vanessa slid over to him. Hey! He didn’t have this one! Of course she’d know that. ‘And another for the collection. Ya know I don’t think anyone is gonna get the reference. You’re dating yourself.’

(At least someone is dating me.)

‘Ooof self burn. Ya sure you don’t need the hurt/comfort tag?’

Vanessa just knew what to get-she still remembered. Sure it didn’t work out between them. It stung for a long time. Longer than Wade wanted to admit, but it wasn’t like Vanessa wanted him out of her life. She had to drill it into his head that even if they weren’t romantically involved anymore, didn’t mean she didn’t love him. It was just a different love. 

He sorta got that. He was feeling that too. Feeling it during the Time Ripper thing. During the time in the Void. 

Felt it when he came across Logan. Oh, that was something he still needed to unpack…too bad he was a lazy asshole after a vacation. Eh, it’ll eventually get unpacked-granted, he’ll probably wait until the last minute…like always. 

Vanessa was always going to be special. He would drop everything if she needed him, and vice versa it seemed. But Logan…Logan was something else. He wasn’t sure what he was yet. Sure, he knew what he wanted Logan to be-at least he was pretty sure what he wanted him to be. But that wasn’t gonna fly with Disney and Marvel-or the legion of dudebros who think he and Logan are total and complete masculine heterosexuals. They really need to pick up a comic.

Ah, something else was being pushed towards him. ‘And yoink again!’ Hey, weren't these things discontinued? Sheets were gonna need to be changed after this. At least this time around it would be a more common reason than needing to change them cause they tried to reenact the bed scene from ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. Maybe they should just buy red sheets. Same logic should apply to them like his suit.

Almost on instinct, Wade felt something shift in the bed. ‘Yoink!’

Only this time, there came a high pitched, noticeable yelp. Oh! Oh sweet baby little angel Mary-Puppins! 

“Shhh shhh. Oh baby girl I’m sorry,” he cooed as he cuddled the shaking pup. He could hear Logan laughing-the asshole! Some other papa he was! Frightening their little baby. His free hand sneaking out of the mess of blankets to flip him off. 

OH! And THAT just made him laugh more? Asshole! When this whole mood thing is done he’s demanding a divorce and child support!

--

Everything was quiet in the apartment. Slowly Wade peaked out from the blankets. Logan was asleep. Al’s door was closed. Mary-Puppins was having little Dogpool dreams.

The apartment was dark, saved for the stray glow of the streetlights filtering in through the busted blinds. 

Carefully, silently Wade slipped out from the mound. Not the worst start to this, though he was tempted to give Logan a smack for making him scare poor, sweet, little Mary-Puppins earlier. The prick-and he laughed the whole time! The super mega prick! 

Wade sighed as he looked over. Logan looked peaceful, or well as peaceful as he could be. Brows were still furrowed, muscles twitching as if ready to go all fight-or-flight. But he wasn’t having a nightmare, so to Wade it meant it was peaceful.

He could save the smacking for another time. He’ll even drop the divorce threat. Cuddles and kisses from Mary were always a plus for him anyway-so it kinda worked out.

Right, he got up for a reason. Treading with light footsteps across the apartment, as to not make a single floorboard creak, he made his way to the bathroom. Hey maybe the merc with the mouth, but he knew how to move quietly . Kinda needed too in that line of work. 

He brushed his teeth, and washed his face. “Ya know, the static feeling from being watched, doesn’t help when there’s like actual readers for this.”

(Semantics, se-mahn-tics. Sides, like you’d let me just keep you as an unmoving lump of blankets for another 3k words.)

“Eh true.”

Wade made his way back, trying to figure out what was the best way to climb back in without waking Logan. He didn’t need to wake him by accident. Even if he wasn’t having a nightmare, it was a bad idea ta just wake up a sleeping wolverine. 

He didn’t wanna get a gut full of adamantium claws again, thank you very much. It wasn’t like Logan meant to do it on purpose. Logan’s mind is always somewhere else when he’s suddenly and rudely woken up like that. So Wade couldn’t blame the guy. Hell, he WOULDN’T blame the guy. 

‘I’ll just blame you.’

(Again no stabbing is happening in this one.)

‘But you are making allusions to it happening before.’

(Oh just go back to your musings and pining.)

‘Fine, I will,’ Wade huffed before looking back over to the sleeping form taking up the other half of the pull-out.

Logan looked better these days-not that he didn’t look good ‘cause goddamn Hugh was still working it even after all this time. It was more of how relaxed he was now. Had a bit of weight put back on him too-‘happy weight’, that was the term right? Or something like that. 

Urban dictionary would help him. Just needed to steer clear of the raunchy side of it. At least this time around.

Wade took it as a sign that Logan was happy here. Maybe if he stayed happy enough he wouldn’t want to leave. He really didn’t want Logan to leave. 

Logan matched his crazy in a way Vanessa did and in ways she didn’t. In ways she just couldn’t. 

Logan didn’t need to change anything about himself. Didn’t need to be a ‘good guy’-he was plenty good enough so shut up Jean. 

Al loved him too. She might not have said it aloud, but Wade can tell she does. 

Sure he was a little feral. Sure he would rather have booze than an actual meal some days. Sure there were times Wade would wake up with a set or two of claws in his chest. But that was fine. Normalcy was for losers anyway. 

What was normal about two slightly fucked up mutants with regenerative powers, a coke addicted blind elderly woman, and the world’s ugliest yet sweetest dog? Who needed normal in a home like this?

Logan didn’t need to be tamed. All Wade wanted was for Logan to just, feel like he belonged. That Logan had his own little Logan-shaped hole carved out here, Junji Ito style but without the horrific implications.

He was certain if Logan did try to leave, he would follow him-funny sitcom stalker style, and drag him back home. Cause even though Logan wouldn’t want to admit it, this shitty little one bedroom apartment was his home now. Al, Mary-Puppins, and him were family now. 

How Logan has his own toothbrush, coffee mug, he got a cupboard just for his booze, and everything. 

There was definitely some codependency between them. Wade was pretty sure of that. That time in the Void-being almost torn apart by the Time Ripper-the fact that he turned around when Wade called him.

But hey, a little codependency never hurt anyone. Besides,  that would just be another thing to add to the ever growing list of things wrong with one Wade W. Wilson.. He’s pretty sure Logan doesn’t mind it either.

The pull-out didn’t even creak as Wade climbed back in. Not a single sound when he settled back under the blankets.

‘That is some lazy writing there.’

(Hey, be thankful I decided to be nice and not wake the sleeping Logan.)

Wade peaked out again, just to make sure Logan was still sound asleep. Fingers itched to just trace down his sleeping face, through the coarse facial hair and sideburns. Though last time he tried that Logan literally bit off two fingers off. Really didn’t wanna go through that again either. 

Hopefully Logan doesn’t get fed up with this whole thing. Just walk out and leave. To be fair it is kind of a golden opportunity for him if he decided too. Wade hoped this wasn’t going to last much longer. 

--

So, Logan did leave. Well not leave-leave. Jerk decided to head out and restock since they managed to empty the bag Vanessa brought. Dammit, he could be a sweet guy. Why does nobody pay attention to that? Honestly. 

Logan said Al was off to the laundromat-they both knew what that was code for. He also warned Wade that he was setting Mary by him so there wasn’t a repeat from yesterday. Alright, all is forgiven now. 

He didn’t pull Mary under the blankets this time, but he did reach out to give her pets. She seemed content with the arrangement as well, licking all along his hand to his wrist. Seemed she forgave or just forgot the scare from before. 

He slipped his hand back under the blankets. He was thinking-dangerous thing he knows-but he was trying to come up with an idea. A plan to convince Logan that there was no reason to leave. He had a few brewing, but was pretty sure he would end up skewered, or beaten down, or torn apart if he tried any of those.

So his new plan? Well it was a bit crazy. Crazy and yet so simple. Simply just tell Logan. It worked before. It worked quite a few times before. 

So his chances were pretty high about it working again. Just a simple ‘you can stay here as long as you like’. Hmm but that made it seem like he could still leave. 

Maybe a ‘hey, surprise I think I love you…so don’t leave.’ Nah that kinda sounded desperate.

‘You got everything you need right here, besides the housing market is shit right now.’ Eh, that made it sound like this thing was an obligation. 

Wade’s thoughts were cut off when he heard the sound of something being slid across the sheets. ‘And yoink,’ he snatched the offering. ‘Awww Peanut went all the way to that corner store that sold the weird flavor chips. He spoils me.’

Another sound. 

Oh…

Wade felt himself smile as he reached out again, and placed his hand over Logan’s. Damn the guy was hot. Well, not just hot like that, but like he was a furnace. Wade’s thumb rubbed small circles over Logan’s knuckles, feeling the lone scars his body had-where those claws would poke out from. He could feel a knot just behind those knuckles. 

Maybe a good ole massage was in order for him. Would be the least Wade could do as a thanks for him. 

“Yer gonna need to let go or I’m gonna need ta stop pettin’ Mary if you need somethin’ else,” Logan’s voice rumbled. Well, Wade couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let the attention Mary was getting from her other papa just stop. He gave Logan’s hand a pat before giving an ‘okay’ gesture, before slipping back under the blankets. “You get so damn spoiled,” he heard Logan say under his breath.

Yeah, maybe just telling him was the best plan. He just needed to find the right words now. 

--

‘Captain’s log, Star date….I dunno the author didn’t give me one.’

(Dates are pointless for fanfics.)

‘It appears the author wishes to deflect from criticism of their laziness in doing a proper establishing setup.’

It’s been four days into this little funk of Wade’s. He was pretty sure he was ready for it to be over. The only issue was that once this was done, then he’d need to figure the next thing. The asking Logan to stay thing.

He wasn’t sure if he was quite ready for that yet. That familiar sound broke his train of thoughts again. ‘Aaaaand yoink!’

“Jesus!” 

Oh Laura came by too. Awww he didn’t mean to startle the baby wolverine. Logan and Vanessa were laughing-they could be real assholes sometimes. Loving assholes but still assholes all the same.  

The creaking of the bed frame, the dip in the mattress. Logan was potentially putting himself into yoinking-range. If that happened, well, there would be no way Wade could resist if he did. 

“You miss him talking, don’t you?” Wade could hear the smirk in Laura’s voice. She’s such a cheeky kid. He’ll take blame for that. Bad influence and all.

“Dunno what yer talkin’ about,” Logan grumbled. 

“Suuuure you don’t.” 

Logan huffed and shifted slightly. Oh? Just a bit more Wolvie. He felt the mattress dip a bit more-BINGO! “SHIT! I forgot!” 

Both hands shot out and grabbed an arm. Logan absolutely let his guard down, cause there was no way Wade could have pulled this off if he didn’t.

And if Logan had his guard down, that meant he was truly relaxed here. More than that, he felt safe here. And why wouldn’t he? He had the one and only Deadpool here to keep an eye on him. Well okay, the one and only that mattered. None of those variants to worry about. 

Man, that shocked look on his face was definitely doing things. Wondered if he could see it more. He felt himself smiling. He knew it was that dumb lovestruck smile he’d give Vanessa when they were together-only slightly different. Cause this one wasn’t for her, this smile was for Logan. “Got too close there Peanut.” Dear fuck was that his voice? ‘Hey next time, write something where I’m not nearly silent for four days. It’s murder on the vocal cords.’

“Yeah, figured,” Logan said softly. “Better?”

“Hmm…a bit,” Wade murmured. Fuck it, he’s in for it now. “Gonna talk your ear off, cause I had a lotta thoughts goin’ through my head during all this.” Wade dragged two fingers along Logan’s jaw, carding through the cause hair of his beard. This time without worrying about losing them this time.

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Wade leaned down. Not exactly the Spider-man kiss, but it was close enough. He felt Logan’s breath hitch.  ‘Please, stay here? Don’t feel like you need to run away. There’s space just for you.’

“...ready ta come out? Say hi ta Laura and Vanessa?” Logan asked as they pulled apart. Wade almost wanted to say no. He wanted to kiss him again. 

But he’d be lying if said he didn’t want to see them. Four days of next to no social interaction was killer. He was gonna need to call Peter and Dopinder too. Maybe make Logan walk with him to the X-Mansion so he could see Yukio and bother Ellie. Maybe watch an episode or two of the Great British Bake-off with Colossus.  “Yeah, ‘m pretty sure I’m good,” Wade nodded. 

Logan shifted and pulled the blankets back and off of himself as he sat up right. Wade pulled them back just enough to uncover his head. He shifted and shimmied across the mattress till he could comfortably lean against Logan-and he wasn’t pushed off. Score!

“Hey,” Vanessa greeted softly. 

“Hey,” Wade gave her a soft smile. Definitely a different smile than before. He could feel it, and she could definitely see it. 

“Missed ya. Seems like Logan did a good job at taking care of ya.” 

“Hmmm he did,” he laid his head on his shoulder. “Thanks Peanut, I owe ya.” 

“Nah,” Logan shrugged slightly, jostling Wade slightly-almost like he was teasing him. Or maybe Wade was getting his hopes up. “ Deal enough with my shit, the least I can do.” 

Wade hummed, then straightened up some when he felt something shift under the blankets. No way, was Logan…okay yeah-yeah maybe this was gonna work out. “yoink,” Wade said softly as he took Logan’s hand, threading their fingers together. 

Logan had a perfect spot, right next to Wade. 

[hell-heron]

Day 3 - Childhood/Pre-Canon recs!

As this is a genre I very cheerfully enjoy/devour I feel like it could be useful to have a little reclist of these that are pleasing to the Throbb population...

Canon Divergences/Elaborate Scenarios

Carry Me Home - Theon gets a chance to escape Winterfell, but is forced to choose between doing so and saving Robb's life. Very high-angst but a very insightful idea on how they came to be so close even as that's an incredibly painful existential choice to Theon, and foreshadows their future theme of impossible choices and uncomfortable loyaties so well.

Pretty Little Thrall - Maron instead of Theon is the hostage sent to Winterfell, but a year into his captivity he escapes taking little Robb as a thrall. This goes from childhood to their adult romance and has a lot of excellent Robb angst/whump, as well as a more innovative setup for the role-reversal trope

Wolf or Kraken? - Another role reversal, this one has a more classic setup with Balon demanding Robb as hostage after winning the rebellion and has a lighter/comedy-fluff tone. It's 10 lovely chapters of slice of life and friendship and something I really love is how it's not more miserable/dreary than it was for Theon to be a Winterfell, it just is.

First Meetings/Very Early Precanon

Hey, Brother - Ten year old Theon attempting to figure out how he's expected and how he wants to relate to his new foster brothers. Very insightful about Theon's past baggage with brotherhood and Robb and Jon are such two adorable little brats.

without a sudden calm will overset - Very shortly after Theon's arrival to Winterfell, he has to deal with the Stark family in full festivity as the birth of a third child is celebreated. My own fic so no compliments for this one.

Executions Angst

By The Sword - Robb and Theon are taken to see their first execution and Theon has a little panic attack. Introspectively very beautiful and great contrast with Robb's innocence and attempts to understand, OT this also has a very lovely nugget of joy for Greysnow shippers.

Don't Lose Your Head - A character study of Theon's trauma with beheadings not limited to pre-canon nor to Theon&Robb's relationship, but the conversation Theon and Robb have in this is strikingly beautiful and atmospheric, and I love the detail of Theon having the fantasy of Robb mourning him once he's executed as coping mechanism

Miscellaneous fluff

both are windy - Once again my fic, no compliments. Theon receives a letter from home informing him his sister has become a captain and vents all his baggage on Robb

Puppy Love - More recent pre-canon, Robb ropes Theon into taking care of bb!Grey Wind and the two reluctantly develop a bond. Super sweet.

with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair - Theon wins a little mock-tourney at Winterfell and crowns Robb his queen of love and beauty. Delightful bit of little-baby-pining and very fun look into how Theon navigates the North's suspicion of him

[whumping-valentine]

🦌 Fawn and Hunter - Part 3 🦌

"Restless Nights"

Content: Paranoid whumpee, fear of being SAed, uhhh idk this is mostly setup for the next chapter which will be much more whumpy.

1,100 words

(Not) continuing on with my part-a-day challenge (to the fullest) but I'll try to get a part out on the regular! Congrats, you now know what I'm like as a content creator! Rule of thumb, if I ever say "I'll try to—" or "I will be—" you can count on me to never deliver!

However, in my own defense, I've been working my job a shit ton recently, and am also working on a 12 book series, and also working on the series for Valentine that I'll be posting here, and drawing a lot, so I'm pretty busy, lol. But as always, excuse my writing quality for this mini series, I just shit these out into Google Docs and then copy and paste them here.

With that said, I humbly bring you all part 3! The next part is where the whump is really gonna start coming through, so stay tuned for that (and the eventual off-the-rails plot I thought of at 3 am while trying to sleep)

       Fawn was in a state of shock, and they knew it, too. They didn’t feel very much besides the anxiety that coursed through their veins. They should be frightened, and feel disgusted. They should be crying, and panicking, and trying to find a way out. Yet all they could do was sit up right on the old dirty mattress, hugging their knees to their chest as they stared into the pitch black darkness of Hunter’s basement.

       Eventually they fell back against the mattress, hands over their chest as their heart beat wildly, yet they felt nothing. Not even tired. Sleep was nowhere near on their mind. All they could think about was their own stupidity. How they managed to walk right into a psychopath’s literal trap. Thoughts of the future wavered through their mind, and none of the scenarios were favorable.

       Were they going to be killed? No, Hunter alluded to it, but said they were too pretty, whatever the hell that means. Was that really the only thing keeping them alive? What if they accidentally piss them off? What if they grow bored of them? But… What do they even want with them in the first place? Something nice to look at? A pretty pet? Where they going to be raped? They didn’t even want to consider the thought.

       Fawn couldn’t hear a single sound other than the sound of their own breathing and heartbeat. They couldn't even see their own hands in front of them. There were no windows, no connections to the outside world. It was sensory deprived hell, and as the minutes ticked away they felt like they were going insane.

       They couldn’t take it anymore, and sat up, slowly getting up to stand on their one good foot. They wobbled and felt weak, but once they got their footing they slowly hopped to where they saw the light string. Reaching out blindly in the darkness, they felt it in their hands, and pulled it. A click rang through the air, and the basement was illuminated, albeit dimly, but they could at least see.

       The basement was full of all kinds of clutter, like tools, weapons, boxes, taxidermied animals, bones, fur rugs, and mounted animal heads. There were a bunch of spiders, cobwebs, and cockroaches scurrying around. Good thing they weren't afraid of bugs. At least they had some company.

       The mattress was torn and covered in blood and dirt. Lots of dried blood, actually. How many others were here before them? How many others spent their last nights on this same, tattered bed? It all felt too surreal. It couldn't be real. This was a horror movie, or a true crime documentary in the making, and they were the next subject. Why them of all people? Life isn't fair.

They began to carefully and quietly sift through the various things Hunter kept down there. Looking through the boxes, opening drawers, peeking behind furniture. Inside a metal cabinet were multiple folders and papers. The papers being....

       ...Missing posters?

First came confusion, then came the wide eyed terror and the sinking of their heart. In shock their shaking hands dropped the papers, and when they got their bearings, picked them back up, examining them.

       There were some from different places, but most of them came from the same nearby town that Fawn had just moved to. They could recall seeing some of them around town, or in newspaper ads. Even conversations with the locals about how people often go missing... The oldest one of the bunch was ten years ago. The most recent was only from 6 months ago.

       Fawn felt sick to their stomach. Asking how many people were here before them was supposed to just be rhetorical.

       Fawn grabbed a knife that was sitting on one of the tables, and turned out the lights. It was old and rusted, but just having a weapon in their hands at least gave them the illusion of safety. They clutched it tightly in both of their hands, sitting on the mattress. They were restless and anxious, with their wide eyes staring towards the door in darkness. They could hear the floorboards creak above them, and they hoped and prayed Hunter wouldn't come back down the stairs.

       Especially if they thought they were asleep.

       Though much like Fawn, Hunter wasn't able to rest their eyes, either. However, while Fawn's may have been from fear, Hunter was far too excited. They tossed and turned, but all they could think about was their latest victim. When they remembered they had a bag with them that they removed, they jumped out of bed immediately.

       Moonlight was shining through the trees, seeping into the decrepit cabin through cracked and boarded up windows. Hunter went to the kitchen and picked Fawn's bag up off of the floor, curious to rummage through their things.

       It was filled with snacks and water bottles. There was a change of clothes, a pocket knife, a book on plant identification, binoculars, and finally, they hit the jackpot. A phone with no passcode! Just who was their little Fawn, really?

       Their lockscreen was a photo of two cats cuddling, looking like they took it themself at a shelter. Much to Hunter's dismay, it didn't seem like they had any social medias, but they did have lots of things in their gallery!… though they were mostly just photos of animals. They couldn't find a real name or anything that was truly personal.

       It wouldn't matter much even if they did have socials, because there was no signal out here. It wouldn't connect to the internet. Maybe they had something in their calendar?... no, nothing. No birthdays or events, except for some things relating to the Animal shelter. 

       Their phone was so void of anything that it was almost frustrating. Either they didn't use technology much, or they had absolutely nothing going on in their life besides their volunteer work. I mean, they didn't even have a passcode, Hunter was disappointed, to say the least.

      A weak knock coming from the basement door startled them out of their dissatisfaction.

      "Uhh… Hunter?" A meek, muffled voice called.

      "What?"

       "I… have to pee."

      "Okay."

      "I need a bathroom."

      ��"No you don't. You have a change of clothes right here, you can change in the morning."

       "What?!" Fawn was appalled, "But—"

       "You should be happy you're alive and shut up. Piss on the floor and go to bed."

       "But—"

       "Piss on the floor and go to bed." Hunter repeated, much more stern. It was silent for a moment before quiet thumps could be heard limping down the stairs. Poor injured thing.

       Hunter had a feeling this recent capture was going to be quite an interesting one. They listen well enough, but don't seem to really grasp the situation they've found themself in. It wasn't a worry, that just meant training them was going to be all the more enjoyable.

       Hunter smiled.

       They were going to have fun tomorrow.

[stupidcanofpeaches]

okay!! finished s3 bitches!!

highlights:

lila and diego take the spotlight!! best messy couple hands down. dad diego!!

sloane and luther were honestly really heartwarming

blackout drunk five

the wedding episode was pretty fun if bittersweet

allison getting her happy ending after all the shit? i realize that this might be a controversial take

uhhhh five's arm getting cut off? just for a few minutes but the whump potential is there!!

reginald was a magnificient bastard, really enjoyed seeing more of him in action this season

more spotlight on luther in general! the moon flashback, more emphasis on his stress eating which i found really relatable

bitchy ben was fun!

allison's villain arc although with Big Caveats

harlan bc i actually kinda enjoyed him reconnecting with viktor

did not like:

the way the sparrows were handled? not enough time to really get to know the character, especially marcus who was offed almost immediately. the dynamics and parallels were interesting, but they were gone way too quickly despite their interesting designs and potential. i would've loved more flashbacks with them at least, like the dojo sparring match

i'll fully admit i did not expect them to actually kugelblitz stanley. i really did not.

allison's villain arc goes right here too bc while i feel that she was long overdue for it and its been brewing since s2, and i do like that they showed her trauma more in-depth, but they had her cross a boundary with barely any repercussions. the whole thing with luther was uhhh. uncomfortable. though i do like that at least they showed him to be freaked out and angered by what happened, stress eating and almost fearful the moment he saw her after the incident. being a shitty sister as she said does not cover it, and luther forgave her way too easily. they Could Have Handled It Better

harlan and the mothers storyline that served as the catalyst for the kugelblitz was interesting and worked fine as a setup for an apocalyptic scenario but i can't help but feel like there could've been more? idk what else i want and what i would've done considering the limited runtime of the show honestly, so i might be just complaining

five the founder?? goes against his character and i suppose it might be a setup as to why the total reset was bad in the longrun and that future slash past founder five is somehow aware of this and is probably a survivor of a similar scenario sans arm which our five recovered after the reset but but butttt. i don't get it. it just goes against his established character traits, with his persistent focus on saving his family and his complete and utter wilingness to do anything to save them. i can mostly understand him being exhausted and eventually giving up when it seems like there is really no way out this time but not fully, not to this point. i can't help but feel like he would've been all for going to the hotel oblivion if there was even a slim chance of saving everyone, not voting to stay and die right there. idk. him getting that tattoo just to complete the loop also led nowhere - you could cut it out and it wouldn't have changed a thing bc he still would've saw the symbols and recognized the sigil on the floor of the hotel oblivion. curious but im not a fan.

[unchartedperils]

Hi. I’m back into Tomb Raider after 4+ months away. And do I have yet another WIP Fanfic in the works:

As you know, I love to kidnap my video game women. Including one certain Lara Croft. 2013 gets too much hate for it (even if they sorta went overboard first 20 mins with Torture Lara Croft Simulator 2013), but Lara eventually toughens up enough to save her friends and destroy the curse that is Yamatai and it’s Sun Queen.

When I finally played 2013 last year, some bad plot and aged/broken at times gameplay aside…it’s a brilliant and unique game that begins the road to this new Lara Croft being A SURVIVOR who still wants to honor her father, but in the right way.

In particular did I really love her surrogate father-daughter relationship with Conrad Roth, a English Royal Marine turned sailor and freelance treasure hunter. Roth was her dad’s best friend and bodyguard, promising to look after Lara upon Richard’s death. He’s watched Lara grow up into a young woman who’s too set for adventure. But his Endurance Expedition and it’s unfortunate marooning will not only test their relationship, but their bonds with the rest of the crew as well.

In essence, Conrad Roth is Lara Croft’s counter to Victor “Goddamn” Sullivan and his relationship with Nathan Drake.

With all of that said, let’s get to the fic setup: this is a planned Tomb Raider 2013 Fix It/AU. As usual with most of my fics, expect “Damsel Whump” a tad more often or two than even 2013 showed. Aka more Lara Croft and you guessed it: She WILL be properly BOUND AND GAGGED (likely too alongside her best friend Samantha Nishimura in THAT SCENE included).

But it’s not just damsel whump I want to feature: I want to do what 2013 unfortunately failed to do beyond certain dialogue and a very few select moments (unfortunates over half of Lara’s development in the Survivor Trilogy is via her Survivor comics set before and in-between 2013/Rise+Rise/Shadow) and that is CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. I want to tell more about Lara and Roth’s bond as well as the rest of the gang, including Lara’s best friendship Sam and how she is always doing her best even in the face of danger to boost Lara’s fragile confidence up.

Btw I will go ahead and spoil one plot point in which I want to do: I want Roth to LIVE PAST 2013 and INTO RISE. Granted, thanks to the events of my current WIP (crossover with Uncharted post-Lost Legacy featuring Sam Drake and Chloe Frazer), Roth will still perish. But I feel like he deserves more time to shine before his eventual demise in Lara’s arms.

And I will give one more major plot point I want to develop: Lara’s other mentor in 2013 is Dr. James Whitman, an American archeologist who to not say too much…doesn’t have the most outgoing or caring personality. How does he get to this point and will his and Lara’s bond ever be repaired? Find out already in this opening chapter!

With all that said and done, here’s Chapter 1 of Tied Up Tomb Raider 2013: Bondage of the Sun Queen! Chapter 1 alone contains creepy behavior including non consensual touching and oogling, kidnapping, non consensual bondage, and implied rape. But expect in future chapters the strong language, violence with blood, gore, and featuring of major character deaths through the fic to come along with of course more non con (won’t do explicit rape compared to many of my darkest stuff here, but for those fans of my darkest stuff: I’ll likely do some oneshot stuff or even short chapter AUs of Lara, Sam, and maybe even Joslin Reyes having their way with 😈)!

Oh and PS, hope you enjoy the manips down below too in addition to our opening chapter. PPS, now I’m wanting to write a weird out of left field crossover between Tomb Raider 2013 and Grand Theft Auto down the line. Read the captions and you’ll tell the potential plot bunny. 😏

[whumpitywhumpwhump]

Here’s Mafia Week, Day 2! Prompt: “Take care of it.”

Simon was stretched out on the couch, long legs taking over all of the cushions. The TV was playing some zany sitcom that he couldn’t be bothered to give a shit about, and instead he was reading an article on his phone about the DA.

Well, he was actually scrolling to see the photos from the press conference because Beck was in a few of them, and he always looked so sexy in that navy suit of his, broad shoulders accentuated by his collar, matching tie cutting a crisp line down his front. Simon admired the way his boyfriend’s muscles were extremely visible through his sleeve and through the legs of his pants, and speaking of his pants, there’s a picture that caught him in profile and his rear looked—

“Simon.”

Pat strode into the living room, voice booming through the space. Simon clicked his phone shut and looked up. He hadn’t realized his uncle was over at the house—he must be staying for dinner tonight.

“Hey, Uncle Pat.”

“Move your legs.”

Simon swung his legs down off the couch, and his uncle dropped down heavily beside him. With the older man sitting so close, Simon could feel the muscles tightening between his shoulder blades. More likely than not, Uncle Pat was still upset with him for his stunt at the roulette the other night.

“You picked a good day to swing by. Ma’s making tortellini, with Nona’s special recipe and everything. Said she just felt like cooking.”

Trying to make small talk with Uncle Pat worked sometimes—the old man did like to talk. However, this was not one of those times.

“I’m not staying for dinner. I need you to do something for me.”

Simon let his blink drag a few extra seconds, gathering himself. His uncle would never assign him anything too dangerous—Ma would kill him if anything happened to Simon, and besides, he was supposed to run the family business when Uncle Pat croaked anyway.

“You remember the Johnson sting we talked about last week?”

He did. Emile Johnson owed them money—he was one of their money launderers, since he owned a cash-only business and was a bit of a pushover. Since he always payed them in change, and no one wanted the job of counting out $1500 in dimes, it was months before anyone noticed that there was money missing. Not only was Johnson a pushover, he was an idiot too. No one with common sense would intentionally cross Uncle Pat.

So they’d whacked him. If Simon remembered correctly, last night some of the guys were supposed to go over there and deal with him.

He nodded, loose strands of black hair falling across his cheek.

With a disapproving look, his uncle said, “You really need to cut your damn hair, Simon.” He shook his head, then continued, “Anyway, Johnson. As it turns out, the fool wrote down every transaction with us, with our names attached. Leroy made sure to grab it from the store, but I have him slated for another hit this afternoon, so he dropped it off. I need you to get rid of it.”

“Alright.”

That wasn’t bad at all. Simon disposed of evidence all the time for Uncle Pat, so he knew the drill. Go get the stuff, put it in a lock box, put the l9ck box in a slightly bigger lock box, fill it with wet cement, close it and toss it into the river. No one would think to dredge it up from down there.

“I can take care of it tomorrow, where’s it at?”

“No. You take care of it today. I need that thing gone. It’s in the air vent in the basement over at the Mayor’s office, since Beck was still at the office when Leroy drove past. Go get it, and take care of it, Simon.”

His uncle’s tone left no room for question, so Simon called out to his mother that he might not be back for dinner (which sucked ass, since he really wanted some tortellini), and rushed out the door.

As he walked down the street, he unlocked his phone and opened his text messages. He scrolled down to the conversation listed as, “NORTH RIVER PHONE COMPANY”, the one where there should be monthly messages about his phone bill. When he clicked on it, however, a window popped up, asking him for a password (thank you, modern privacy technology), and behind that screen, he accessed his text conversation with Beck.

They hadn’t texted in a few days. After their moment in the alley, they had parted ways, and Simon could sense that Beck was still at least a little upset with him for stepping in. As if he was going to watch his uncle kill his boyfriend for something that wasn’t even his fault. He gave Beck his space, letting him take some time to breathe and think things out for himself. That always helped him; he hated when Simon hovered too closely over him.

It had been enough time, though, so he shot off a text.

Hey, babe. Doing an evidence pickup @ your office—wanna grab dinner after? We can pick up from that new food truck?

He locked his phone screen again, and kept walking.

 Simon never once walked slowly in his life, and he didn’t exactly live far from the Mayor’s office, so he was already at the front door of the building when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Hey. I’m working on papers in my office rn. I brought the stuff up here earlier, so just come up.

He caught the elevator up to the third floor, and traipsed down to Beck’s office. His boyfriend was hunched over his desk, red pen in hand, papers strewn about. He looked stressed.

“Everything alright?”

Beck jumped. “Shit, Simon, I didn’t hear you come in.” He paused, running a hand through his blonde curls and sighing. “I’m fine, just trying to take care of something for the boss.”

His eyes made it clear to which boss he was referring—Uncle Pat must have sent him something over earlier.

Simon slung his body across the empty chair in Beck’s office, swinging one leg over the arm of the chair. His foot swung up and down, bouncing to beat only he could hear. He’d willingly sit here all night, just staring at Beck’s soft features. Pale lips, round face, deep green eyes—he even had a cute scar on the side of his jaw, which Simon had yet to learn the cause of.

Beck must have had other plans, though, because he swept all his pages together, paper-clipped them, slid them into the false bottom of his desk drawer, and stood up.

“Let’s just get out of here. Here’s that case you needed.” He pulled a battered brown briefcase out from behind his desk and passed it to Simon.

“Do you have—”

“Supplies? Yeah, in my car. Let’s go.”

Beck led him out and down to the car. The two drove down to the docks, chatting easily. Then they pulled up in front of the food truck, and Beck turned the car off.

“Let’s eat.”

“Ok, but I’m taking this with me. I’m not just gonna leave it sitting out in the car.” Simon grabbed the briefcase and took it along as they waited in line. They enjoyed the warm breeze and the fading sunlight.

The man working held out their trays of hot dogs and fries drenched in ketchup—Beck couldn’t hold both at the same time, they were so big and unwieldy. Simon set the case down, to help Beck hold them, and then the two walked back to the car. They slid in and devoured their dinner. It was every bit as greasy and delicious as they had hoped. Simon groaned, pleased.

Beck put the key back in the ignition, then paused.

“Wait, babe. You didn’t deal with the case yet.”

Simon’s stomach did a backflip, then a twist. “Shit, shit, shit.” He jumped out of the car and jogged back over toward the now-closed food truck, but his briefcase was gone.

“No, fuck, where—”

“Simon?”

“Beck, it’s gone, dammit, Uncle Pat’s gonna kill me if someone gets their hands on it. Fuck.”

“Just—uh, just lie. Tell him you did drop it in the river, but someone must have seen you or something.”

“He’s not stupid, Beck.”

“I know, I just—”

“No, I just won’t let him find out. When it surfaces, and it will, I’ll go find it and get rid of it. That’s all.”

Simon skin crawled with the uncertainty of it all, but he pushed it down and walked back to Beck’s car.

“Just take me home babe.”

[cobwebsandcathair]

This or That: Fanfiction Edition

tagged by @omnishambolichologram​ - cheers! 

I felt the need to link to a few of my absolute most favourite fics from various fandoms so ... that’s a thing that happened. 

Slow burn or love at first sight: The burn makes the payoff that much greater, the slower the better. I want to be in physical pain by the time they kiss 100k words later. 

Fake dating or secretly dating: I’ve recently read a couple of really good fake dating fics but I probably liked them so much because the fake dating turned into secretly dating. And apparently I have a thing for coming out scenes and/or others finding out. 

“Oh no, there’s only one bed” or long distance correspondence: I mean, come on. Bonus points if they wake up accidentally cuddling and/or the whole thing was a setup by their friends to push them together. Long distance isn’t much fun, unless it’s a small part of something much longer. 

Hurt/comfort or amnesia: Has to make up at least 90% of the stuff I read, probably because I’m drawn to cursed/disabled/mentally ill/fucked up characters in the first place.  --The Golden Bird by pierrot_dreams, original, E (very, very E), currently 170k - take those tags seriously, because I guarantee you WILL be triggered 

Enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers: Again, I’ve read some excellent ETL fics lately but the ‘enemy’ part is always based on miscommunication (hello my beloved #stupidboys tag). I don’t do actual enemies (fuck off Drarry). Give me more of that slow-burn, childhood-best-friends, one-sided-pining plzkthx. --And they were right in front of you the whole time by Ihavecoldhands, Evak, T, 18k

Mutual pining or domestic bliss: I feel kind of cheated if a fic ends without a bit of domestic bliss, but I rarely read things that are entirely that. Mutual pining, particularly when it’s third-person limited and the pining is clearly mutual but the narrator misinterprets it or thinks they’re imagining it. 

Smut or fluff: If I read a smutty one-shot there’s a very high likelihood that fluff is also in the tags. I like smut as much as the next guy but if there’s no feelings involved then I’m just not interested. N’awws before phwoars. --Mondays at Sixteen by @folerdetdufoler​, Evak, E, 163k - copious amounts of both smut AND fluff, what more could you want

Fantasy AU or modern AU: I’m super picky about fantasy and sci-fi in general because worldbuilding is of vital importance and it’s too often poorly done. I’m also not really a fan of real-world magic or supernatural elements in a fic if they’re not part of the canon (including Hogwarts AUs). Modern AUs are a pretty safe bet and some of them are AMAZING. --There Are No Gays in Football by Malu_3 (Grainne), Merthur, E, 213K --Keep the Key Within Reach by SpiritsFlame, Mercy, E, 62k  --If You Look to Your Left, You Will See by unoriginal_liz, Thommy, E, 144k

Alternate universe or future fic: Future fic meaning a continuation of canon, or future as in set in the 24th-and-a-halfth Thentury? Either way, I’d pick AU. Especially when canon makes all AUs technically canon also (thank you Julie Andem). 

Canon compliant/missing scenes or fix-it: I have TWO absolute-most-favourite fics to add here, one of each, so I can’t really choose between them.  --Trauma Medicine by Kispexi2, Mal/Simon, E, 168k - missing scenes; very possibly the best fanfic I’ve ever read in my life --Grow In The Openings by mindabbles, Wolfstar, E, 33k - because the only acceptable post-Marauders Era fic is a fix-it fic 

Reincarnation or character death: Not really a fan of either but FUCK character death. No. Just no. Unless that character happens to be a canonically-dead hologram, or a canonically-dead wizard who is then brought back to life. 

One-shot or multi-chapter: I’ll go for either but the longer the better. 450k slow burn angst with a happy ending? Yes hello that is my name. 

Time travel or isolated together: I’m up for both but the only example I can think of is that Hornblower epic in which Archie didn’t die but he and Horatio were beamed up to the Enterprise, Beverly saved his life, they hung out with Riker and Troi and then Picard married them. (In the unlikely event someone knows this fic, LINK PLEASE.)

High school romance or middle-aged romance: Some of my absolute favourite fics are the latter, but given that my two most beloved ships mostly take place in high school, I have to say the former.  --In Case The Scene Gets Nasty by zarah5, Brendon Urie/Ryan Ross, E, 90k - I know people are squicky about RPF, and rightfully so, but this is hella AU and I shamelessly adore it 

Arranged marriage or accidental marriage: Not a big fan of either, but the old What Happens In Vegas trope can be entertaining. 

Sci-fi AU or magic AU: Really not into either; see above. HOWEVER, this is a good excuse to link to another favourite with supernatural elements which put me off reading it for ages, but god I’m glad I did.  --Burning For Your Touch by cuteandtwisted, Evak, M, 257k

Neighbours or roommates: Both have potential for shenanigans and different forms of tension. 

Body swap or gender-bend: I have fond memories of a few Wolfstar body swap fics back in the early 00s (and of course, Rimmer and Lister). I’m all for gender-bending if canonically cis characters are written as trans or non-binary. 

Angst or crack: Never really got into crack, although there has been the odd one I’ve liked. I prefer to have my heart ripped out, shredded into tiny pieces and slowly put back together again. 

Apocalyptic or mundane: Mundanity tends to make the stakes internal rather than external, with more potential for angst and whump, and that’s basically where I live. But if we’re talking post-apocalyptic, then I have to recommend:  --Stars Fell On Alabama by saddle_tramp, original, E, 104K

I don’t know who to tag. If you’ve read this far, consider yourself tagged. 

[queenangst]

weekly fic roundup! (bnha) #1

since people seem to ask me for fic recs & bc i want to support my fellow gen/whump writers, i’m going to try to do a weekly roundup of all the fics i read every week when i can. i pretty much only read: genfic + whump fic. most fics are recently published/updated, though some may not be. 

since this is my first roundup, i’m also including fics i read in late december. week(s): december 21-jan 11 

fics:

Interrogations by scythian

gen; 574 words; 1/1 complete; dabi & tsukauchi

Dabi is caught and most likely never getting out. He may have a chance to save someone.

thoughts: two of my favorite characters working together. short and sweet. and the setup is truly [chef’s kiss]. 

Presumed Dead by Cornflower_Blue

gen; 4k; 1/3 ongoing

Chargebolt- What the hell was that?! 1:49 AM Insomniac- Bakugo just kicked in Midoriya’s door and started screaming 1:50 AM Insomniac- Don’t ask me why 1:50 AM Insomniac- I don’t know 1:50 AM Chargebolt- @LordExplosionMurder what the hell dude, I heard you in my room 1:50 AM

A villain attacks Midoriya's apartment complex and everyone is left to deal with the fallout.

thoughts: a really, really well-done premise and work. i don’t typically read chatfics, but the balance between texts and action was fantastic in this work. the plot is also very different from what i’d usually expect of a chatfic, and the play between povs, chat/prose, and turn of events made for a wonderful and gripping read. i’m looking forward to see the rest of the fic!

in the gold of day by curious_cat

gen; 1.9k; 1/1 complete; aizawa & class 1-a (3-a)

Class 3A faces the final test before they become full-fledged pro heroes. Aizawa has some emotions about this.

thoughts: this is such a sweet and satisfying read. it’s a great look into the growth of the class & aizawa getting emotional, a bittersweet parting in a transition in life. i love that the focus is less on graduation itself, but more on the students and their relationship with their teacher. made me so happy to read. 

sometimes quiet is violent by wellthengetouttathesoupaisle 

gen; 1k; 1/1 complete; todoroki & aizawa

“How are you?” Kirishima asks, in a cursory, casual manner.

From there, Todoroki speculates. Fine, he might reply, and Kirishima will sense that something is off, that something is wrong, and he will say, are you sure, Todoroki?

And then Todoroki will have two options. The first will be to lie, and say, yes, of course. Why would you think otherwise? And the other will be, no, I’m not. Thank you for noticing. Thank you so, so much.

thoughts: this fic is an older one, from 2018, but it was still a gem to find. while short, the emotions are cutting and clear; todoroki’s desire to be seen while at the same time pretending to be fine creates a conflict that was wonderfully resolved. 

darken your door by beeclaws

gen; 7k; 3/3 complete; izuku & aizawa, izuku & shinsou

Aizawa tries to go get popcorn and instead gets an uncomfortable encounter with a student's estranged father.

thoughts: there isn’t a fic by this author that i’ve read so far that doesn’t seem to cut to the core. i really love hisashi fics that explore the complex (and awful) relationship izuku has with his father, and this really delivers. narratively, the setup in three parts and the various encounters—as well as the way the story unfolds—really, really works, and the way the words craft themselves is a complete delight. 

Rest Can Never Dwell by ChiwiTheKiwi

gen; 2.7k; 1/1 complete; izuku & aizawa

Midoriya Izuku not showing up to class will always be a cause for concern. The reason behind it on this particular day is not quite the life-threatening scenario Shouta had in mind.

Nevertheless, he'll do what he can to lift the burden, and he would only do the same if it were any of his other students.

thoughts: i love kiwi’s work, and this fic is no exception! whump and comfort... a nice read that has everything you’d want. you really feel for the characters!

The Erasure of Eraserhead by RomaStache 

gen; 44.7k; 11/? ongoing; aizawa & mic, aizawa & all might; aizawa & class 1-a

Being a hero is about averting tragedies and saving the people you can- but sometimes that’s just not good enough. The USJ Massacre resulted in too many body bags with too few answers, sending shockwaves that threatened to topple the entirety of hero society. At the center of the storm, UA homeroom teacher Eraserhead is given an unexpected opportunity to set things right. Sent back in time by a former student’s powerful quirk, teenager and aspiring hero Aizawa Shouta must dramatically alter the timeline to avert a tragic future.

Reliving the last 15 years of his life is a price he’s willing to pay.

thoughts: i was sent this fic and it was one of my highlights of the week. wow. needs to mention it is technically a crossover fic, but mostly for the time-travel mechanism (i’m not familiar with erasure). i love it. the angst and comedy in this one go hand in hand, and i think it’s absolutely brilliant. i personally love reading angst, so every chapter was a blast & there were so many funny moments and jokes that sometimes i forgot the premise is a complete tragedy. i teared up laughing. brilliant. 

[antialiasis]

Guns Akimbo

This was a deeply ridiculous, silly, trashy movie and I kind of loved it. The only reason we watched it was that I saw some intriguing whump gifs from it the other day, and Shadey likes to make me happy, so he went and suggested we actually watch it. I figured it’d basically be some random action movie with some good Daniel Radcliffe getting shot in there. Instead it’s this nutty off-the-wall action comedy with an uncannily New Zealand sense of humour (I kept being kind of reminded of the humour of Taika Waititi’s films, even though he had nothing to do with this).

After introducing the paper-thin setting (vague near-future where handwave everyone just likes to watch livestreamed illegal murdergames for unexplained reasons), Daniel Radcliffe gets guns surgically bolted onto his hands and is forced to participate in the game, and from there the movie just never stops gleefully poking fun at how ridiculously impractical and un-badass it would actually be to have guns bolted onto your hands. Every time he tries to awkwardly pick up a phone between the muzzles of two guns and then manipulate the touch screen with his nose just kills me. He spends a while running around in his underwear, a bathrobe and giant tiger-paw slippers while trying to escape from a teenage girl trying to kill him. Everything is awkward and ridiculous while the action movie protagonist with guns bolted to his hands is kind of a pacifist trying really hard not to kill anyone even when there’s someone literally trying to kill him, something that instantly endeared me to him (along with all the general freaking out and screaming and suffering and getting guns bolted onto his hands). It’s just non-stop alternating dark hilarity and Daniel Radcliffe whump and I am here for it. The plot was very generic overall but I didn’t really care because I was just having so much fun. Not every joke was to my taste but a whole lot was exactly my sense of humour.

I did enjoy the second half somewhat less; the main character continues to have awkward gunhands, freak out and get shot and abused to hell and back, but kind of gives up on the pacifism without the movie bothering to make it mean much (kind of predictable, but I was rooting for it to do better), there’s a lot more just big gory action scenes which never particularly appeal to me, and at the end the (pretty boring) villain does this whole speech about how “YOU WERE WATCHING BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO BE SOMEONE, AND I MADE YOU SOMEONE, YOU’RE FAMOUS NOW”, and I really expected/wanted the movie to make a point of how the villain is pulling this clichéd pretentious speech entirely out of his ass because like, the main character was the epitome of just wanting to go home for the entire movie and sincerely appeared to enjoy zero seconds of any of this. But it kind of didn’t, and then ended with him becoming a vigilante running around for real trying to bring down other murdergame branches, which, ehhhhh, it just felt like it was undermining everything preceding it a bit. If they’d actually wanted it to be true that he always wished to be someone and this was thrilling for him on some level, I don’t think they really showed it at all. Just a little before the end he’s lying on a rooftop after being repeatedly shot, choking on his own blood (this is a good bit), and I can’t help but wonder if originally he was supposed to just die there and then someone in the process was like “Dude, you can’t just kill him at the end”, so they wrote in an extra scene where he turns out to be fine and becomes a vigilante but didn’t really write a character arc to build that up.

Also Nix (the teenage girl trying to kill him) sort of has this tragic backstory setup and heroic sacrifice thing but she spends most of the movie just being kind of a remorseless mass murderer and her character just never properly landed for me; sure, it’s a very silly movie and all, but I totally cared about Miles and getting him home and un-gun-handsed, whereas I never managed to care about her. At that point, why bother with the tragic backstory and heroic sacrifice, you know. I wanted to care but alas.

Why have I even written this much about this ridiculous movie, oh my god.

“No one is killing fuckboy here!”

“Yay!”

“Except for me, of course.”

“Oh.”

[plounce]

do you have any molly or widomauk fic recs? You have good characterization taste & I miss him and need to recover from seeing caleb/nott/molly as a relationship tag

well after that gutpunch of a closing line, here are my offerings:

… under a cut because there are a LOT. rifled through my bookmarks and subscriptions for this. hope you like these! my ultimate personal faves are bolded. newer additions are starred.

massive widomauk indulgence (oneshots & completed fics)

take your kid gloves off - oh this is SUCH a fave!! teacher au. really good mature emotions… still has the pining that makes fic great but it doesn’t feel soap opera-y as some do. read this please.

my only sunshine - soulmate au! i can be very picky about soulmate aus but this one really agreed with me. follows canon where it can. this was great!! very tender and sweet and hurts at the right parts and is so good at the right parts

twisters chasing storms - written in the week between ep 25 and ep 26. beau centric with side wm. the remaining members of the m9 have to deal with doing what they must to get them back. kind of dark but just like. oof. i reread this a bunch. really good character work in this. (violence warning)

Caleb, huddled on the cart over Molly’s books, says what Beau has been thinking all along: “Jester and Fjord and Yasha were not terrible. This—” and he gestures around at all of them, “—is a terrible combination.”

“That’s slander,” says Molly. “I’m a good person. And—you know, you’re—you’re not all great, sure, but you do good things. I like you.”

The rest of them look at him.

“Okay, that was weak,” he admits.

any clever ideas? - molly and caleb make out in the evening nip in order to dissuade cree from talking with molly. it is SO GOOD and just. rules. it hits those trope buttons perfectly. i LOVE this one 

strictly ballroom - UNDERCOVER AT A FANCY DRESS BALL… DANCING… PINING… JEALOUSY… this is SUCH an indulgent fave and i just enjoy it so much. this is a FUN read. THIS is what i enjoy fic for

discover us safely destroyed - an interesting character study from the zadash arc

our early days - pre relationship. figuring each other out and being tender and protective. taking care of each other. (violence warning)

the crossroads - caleb falls in battle and has a conversation in limbo (without knowing he’s in limbo). very bittersweet and so like… OOF

hopscotch - a lot of the m9 body swap. good character stuff. the differences in molly and caleb’s brains in terms of memory capabilities is… ouch! ouch!! it’s really good. “you’re my friends. i trust you.”

let’s dance - this one is an older one one, and cute! dancing!

comfort walks softly on little cat feet - h/c. an older one, and very sweet.

strange light - a good coda to the cali ep, which was hard to find. measured characterizations with some molly details i adore - his love of theatrics, and keeping copies of lucien’s wanted posters that he’s torn down and using them for kindling.

a street cat named frumpkin - a cute little modern au with side wm! hooray for kitties.

familiar comfort - frumpkin pov. implied wm. really super excellent. i LOVE frumpkin pov stuff

until you set your old heart free - modern with magic… established relationship… molly gets rezzed and returns home… ohhhhhhhh. oh my heart 

take me back into your arms - molly gets rezzed! tam lin setup! hell yeah! power of love babey!!

kiss me once, kiss me twice - a series for kiss prompts!! so sweet. this one has some really heartwarming modern au installments that i just adore

something new for me and you - this one recently wrapped up! a good multichapter, probably the peak modern urban au in the tag. very detailed and has some very good themes about like… feeling love and feeling deserving of relationships and having to grapple with being bond to the people you’re close to. ALSO has background claysol which you KNOW i’m a BIG SUCKER for. very charming!

*indelible - modern au! tattoo parlor stuff, which can be very hit or miss for me, but this was such a sweet, lovely au with a lot of like. recovery stuff in it? for both of them. very nice.

*meet me in the woods - OOF this has such such delicious piiiining… yearning! molly Noticing caleb’s hands and the two of them slowly growing closer. it was such a sweet read and i enjoyed the whole thing like a soft blanket.

*boats and birds - i love this! such a great snapshot of molly (swinging from the ropes on the ball eater, and being a bit reckless & unlucky in his circus tricks - that’s my bitch!), and such a lovely, telling interaction between him and caleb. i loved that “did you just tell a joke? well, it was a good one” bit, and i love fics that revisit it with a bit more future tenderness. this is the line that won me completely over to this fic:

Because Molly is an idiot and likes to pretend that he has a chance of breaking through the ten layers of trauma Caleb wears like a second skin to find the person underneath and convince him he’s worth something, he takes a minute to appreciate the view.

*matryoshka - immediate fixit after molly’s death, which rules. molly’s ghost gets to carpool in caleb’s body before they rez him. i think this scenario was written enjoyably but with appropriate weight as well, which could be very hard to find. pre-relationship, which i always enjoy - i love me some people meandering towards feelings. it also has some very interesting lucien theory tidbits sprinkled in, which i enjoy.

*cat magnet - molly gets turned into a cat for a hot minute and cuddles up to caleb. short and fun and not weird (thank goodness).

*devil’s tongue - i’m always a bit bashful/hesitant about reccing explicit stuff, but this one has such excellent and caring characterization that i feel correct in putting it on this list. the best explicit ship fics always have an element of knowing that the characters aren’t losing their personalities once they get in bed, and this one has both characters as like. people. the d/s stuff does not overwhelm the characters or the fic and is very light - you see that these are real people in an equal relationship trying to help each other feel good (and i’m a judgmental bastard about fic, so you can take my word on this). AND it has some linguistic stuff about infernal as the actual plot, which i can be a sucker for.

*a thin line - molly gets injured, caleb sews him up, they dance around a conversation before actually Talking About Stuff and becoming closer. excellently written h/c. this is an early wdmk fic, but actually writes the characters pretty well in hindsight! op rules. it’s interesting to see what the author manages to get right, and the backstory elements they made up are still engaging and consistent for the molly & caleb they have written.

*heartfrost - molly lives au, taking place around ep 72. molly is resistant to fire, so he’s vulnerable to cold. he has a bad time with that, and with grieving for yasha as well. caleb takes care of him. this was just sweet h/c whump, and reading molly getting his feelings validated by caleb was *kisses fingers* very good.

*limerence - caleb accidentally casts a spell that makes everyone who sees him fall in love with him - except the party lesbians and… molly, for some reason. isn’t it strange that a love spell doesn’t alter molly’s behavior towards caleb??? synopsis aside - i really enjoy how this fic took the fact that molly canonically wouldn’t pursue caleb because he sees caleb isn’t in a good place to have that; molly’s respect for consent with regards to relationships shines through here and agh i love him. also, i am beau in this fic.

**VWOOP! (every time a bell rings, a tiefling gets their wings) - a really interesting take on the soulmate au involving true name stuff (the author has some notes at the end about “true names” which made me :) about the concept in terms of identity and meaning, so dw about deadname snarls yk). wings! soulmates! friends with benefits that accidentally evolve into feelings!

**the fool, reversed - i’m a hack who loves to see molly slotted into present canon just for fun. this one has him being abducted with yasha by obann, and in dealing with the trauma afterward accidentally discovering his incorporeality bloodhunter powers. good stuff.

**the skin beneath the facade - this one is so self indulgent and i love it. fake dating at a fancy party! kissing! POISON! A CAT! fun fun fun read.

WIPs that i am subscribed to and really enjoy, and are good reads already: 

the prophet of tortham - LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS ONE… god i just love it. molly scrambling to be the best scammer he can and rolling miracuously well, while trying to solve a mystery! very perceptive caleb and perfectly slow burn widomauk. it’s an au where molly pretends to be an actual fortuneteller to a lord that the rest of the m9 work for. i’ve been adoring this one so far, such a great molly.

there’s a ghost in my lungs - vague future canon! the m9 finds molly again, but the empire put a bunch of stuff in his head and the gang seeks to cure him, all while getting tangled up in a town plot and festivals. very good widomauk pining. side note: the “winter soldier au” tag has nothing to do with marvel at all besides the basic premise of what’s up with molly, but for the vast majority of the fic he is himself (changed somewhat after what he’s gone through, but his wonderful self). i’ve been keeping up with this one for a long time and i’ve been loving it.

Caleb blinks, as if coming out of a Frumpkin trance. Beau knows better, though, she’s seen him staring at Molly like Molly’s a lighthouse in the dark, and he’s a man paddling desperately back to shore.

we circle by night - a far-flung-future caleb travels back in time and accidentally averts molly’s death! and there’s a splintered timeline. slow burn widomauk starts kindling but caleb’s dealing with uh… pretending he’s not an older and higher-level wizard inside a canon age caleb body. VERY good. love it.

fractured moonlight on the sea - molly is a selkie and doesn’t know it!! i looooooove this so far and can’t wait for more, this is such good like… pining for stuff you don’t know, romantically and sealwise.

map to alexandria - modern music au! very good writing of like. human emotions. very good relationship themes. this is my good buddy mauve @phantomsteed‘s fave fic!

the gay and wondrous life of caleb widogast - this is a modern with magic childhood friends road trip au! it is also fjollygast, and i really enjoyed it. extremely good and well-written pining and relationship drama, that luckily has been resolved. from what i’ve detectived, it seems like it’s been put on permanent hiatus after canon has diverged a lot from what the author was working from. but it stopped at a very good point and is a fave. extremely delicious pining.

wilderswans’ 30 day nsfw challenge - this is such a great series with a lot of character work and like… stuff about intimacy and it’s really good and tender! early relationship. really sweet and well-written!

**the names that make us - soulmate au! with twists and turns. starts out as bren/lucien and will become caleb/molly. looking forward to it.

molly focused:

true north - molly and yasha relationship stuff… i love them. platonic soulmates. a grand adventure!

visions in lightning, voices in thunder - yasha and molly again, but this time more of a snapshot. implied wm and by. yasha’s aasimarness interacts with ukatoa’s dreams in a nasty and cool way. this one has a line that alwaaaaaays gets me right in the gut

“I’d keep an eye on him, if I were you. There’s still some sharp edges to him.”

Molly chuckled. “I’m well acquainted with sharp edges.”

Yes, and you cut yourself on them all the time, Yasha thought to herself. If he cuts you, will you bleed for him?

also if you haven’t… you should read my high school au oneshot where beau and molly are siblings ;) if you want some numbers to back my self promotion it is the 9th highest kudos’d wm fic on ao3 atm… AND it’s a oneshot. blue gatorade rights

OH and as an edit: here’s my more serious in tone wdmk fic, canticle. it is very good and self indulgent. molly character study and repressed pining. ep 25/6 divergent au, as one does. inspired by twisters chasing storms, recced above.

[friendlylocalwhumper]

Ive seen you’ve written some really good Merlin whump in the past; would you ever consider writing more in the future? Or are you focusing mostly on your oc’s rn? Sorry to bug you I’m probably in your ask box way too much lol your the main whump blog I read

it’s very unlikely that i’ll write fandom whump again, but it’s possible! maybe if i were to rewatch some merlin, or reread some of my favorite merlin whump fics, or if i just come upon a whump scenario that would work far better with merlin than with any of my ocs. merlin’s got some great setup for the whump i love, though, so i’d say if the inspiration strikes, you might see a merlin fic or two from me floating around!