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wonderlandwalker · 2 months ago

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Second Chances | Eddie Munson x Reader

Stranger Things Masterlist / Inbox Summary: Eddie royally screws up your first date (read part 1 here) Content Warnings / Tags: fluff (i think), swearing, the worst luck ever, no use of y/n, henderson!reader, reader is described to have some freckles idk, prolly a lot of spelling errors that I'll fix later read now at your own will Word Count: 1.4k A/N: so I kinda went through some trauma this past month but I just started ADHD meds and surprise surprise they work. Still didn't proofread this and am purely posting it cause I literally just wrote all of it in one go and I have poor impulse control even the meds can't fix that

He was late, and he only knew he was late because Wayne had gotten home and wondered what he was still doing at home. Now normally Wayne wouldn't have bothered grilling the guy, but Eddie hadn't been able to shut up about this for a week. Turns out this day was the day the kitchen clock had decided to stop working, resulting in a TV remote being flung at it the moment Eddie realised, because, of course, it had to be today, of course, his luck would run out again. But Wayne wouldn't let him give up that easily, because as he said it: "fate can go fuck itself, go over there and grovel", which honestly wasn't such a bad idea. So here he was now, definitely speeding, definitely more nervous than he already was, and definitely praying to any god who would listen for help. Because this was your first date, a date he didn't think would happen in the first place and he has already managed to screw it up without even being there. In an after thought he came to the further realization that he definitely did not want to face Dustin any time soon, the boy had become oddly protective of you once his friends actually clued him in on what was happening, which was obvious to everyone -except as established Dustin- with the way Eddie's eyes would trail after you every time he managed to spot you. He was trying to hype himself up, talk some confidence into himself and find a good way to apologize, not that he thought there were any. But just as he turned the corner to your block he heard it, he heard the worst possible sound on earth at this moment, he heard the sirens to Hopper's car. For a sweet small second, he allowed himself to believe Hopper wasn't after him, there was someone else committing a traffic violation on the other side of the street. Yeah, that's exactly what was going on, on the other side of this very much empty street was a car with a bunch of teens hooking up and Hopper had turned on his siren as a warning so he could put his clothes back on. Thinking about it, that wasn't even such a wild idea, like, that has happened to him before, well, except for the empty street anomaly. Right, time to face the music: Eddie came to a stop only about a hundred meters away from your house and rolled down his window as Hopper approached. Eddie shook out face to rid himself of the nerves and turned on his best smile. "So what's your excuse this time?" The Police Chief began to ask. Eddie quirked up at the question "It's not like the other times Jim I promise." Hopper looked him up and down squinted his eyes at him, cocking his head down just the slightest bit "How many warnings have I given you this month kid?" Eddie sighed, he knew where this was going. "Two" "Which makes this?" "The third" Eddie answered, dragging out his words. "Third warning kid, gotta write you up today" Hopper began to grab the police pad in his back pocket to write up the incident report, but Eddie was not above begging, at least not currently. "Listen, Jim-, Mr Hopper-, Sir, you can give me the ticket but can you please give it to me sometime else-" he was frantically moving his hands while talking now "- I'll even come by the station and pick it up myself tomorrow morning first thing but I have to-" And of course, things had to get worse:

The gods hadn't listened to his hasty prayers, because he could see Dustin in your open front door attempting to push you outside while pointing at Eddie's van. And he could tell the moment you spotted him because he could feel a small nerve entering his system, he could feel your presence connecting with his. And Hopper was asking him to please step out of the car right now. So he did, he stepped out and saw you give him a small wave which he tried to return except Hopper was snapping him out of the trance you still had on him from the other side of the street. So Eddie gave it one last-ditch attempt "Hopper please" "Alright let's hear it, what's your excuse?" Eddie's eyes brightened with the bit of hope he had just grabbed. "I have a date" he tried to explain "A date with who?" The chief wasn't gonna admit it, but the kid had grabbed his interest. So Eddie started rambling about how you two had met and how it should be your first date and then he caught your eyes again and he couldn't hear it but his mind filled in the blanks as he watched your soft giggling while looking at the situation unfold and he felt all his tension drop out of his body at once, he felt at ease from the way your eyes searched his, instantaneously so. "Wait a second, Claudia's daughter?" Hopper was looking over at the porch now too as your mother came out of the house as well. "That's not a great first impression" "Tell me about it" Eddie was trying to ignore reality as hard as he could right now. "Alright here's what's gonna happen, giving you one more warning but it's coming out of your tolerance next month" Hopper had assumed his dad stance, a hand on his hip and the other pointed straight at Eddie, and if he hadn't been oh so terribly grateful right now he would have been tempted to make fun of him for it. "Yes, yes! Definitely that please!" Hopper released one last sigh before he spoke back up "Go on over there then" Eddie took the olive branch and ran away with it before he could change his mind. With his van performing some emergency parking down the road he ran over to you just as you shooed off Dustin, and now he stood face to face with you, he stood close enough to count the fading summer freckles on the bridge of your nose and to smell the perfume he had started associating with you, and he wanted more time to admire how well he could see you right now but he had more pressing business. "I'll make this up to you I promise" He knew his promise probably wasn't worth much, but he had to try anyway. He had already started internally debating if it was worth getting down on his knees to beg as a smile cracked on your face. "This is exactly what Dustin predicted would happen" You were full-on grinning now, and it took him a second to comprehend that you weren't upset, you were amused, and he was confused. "He what?" "When he found out we had a date this weekend he tried to convince me you'd be at least an hour late with the Hopper on your ass I'm just stunned at his accuracy" Maybe this really was his year after all "So you're not upset?" "I'm just upset I owe that nosy dipshit money now" And now Eddie was laughing too because you started asking him if he wanted to just skip his reservation which you guys had missed anyway and go to the drive-in because you had heard they were playing Monty Python. So Monty Python it was as he drove there and got both the sweet and the salty popcorn because he wasn't sure which you'd prefer and spent the rest of the evening what he'd say was the perfect time. But he wasn't done yet, he had promised to make things up to you and this was only the beginning for him, a beginning to many good times ahead.

[@saradika-graphics still being my go-to for dividers] Taglist: @vicurious28, @arlxtoa, @em0220, @madyoghurt, @saturnsbxtchx, @maskofmirrors

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nikkithebard · 4 years ago

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Your Angel Ellipsis

Geraskier short fic, post S1E6, post mountain-break up, hurt/little comfort, fix-it-fic, angst, angsty thoughts, featuring HSK, open ending, 2.6k words

Rating: T (Mature language)

A/N: I am totally 100% open to fic ideas if anyone wants to share some. Feel free to send an ask with a prompt, I don’t mind in the slightest. (I have never uploaded my work here before)

The bard moved with about as much grace as a broken-legged turtle, holding his lute case close to his chest. It was the only thing around him that felt even remotely real. Everything else had faded into whispers across his skin. The wind, the dirt, the others who remained on the mountain still. The soles of his boots had been worn thin, slipping over the rocky dust of the ground. Jaskier ignored it. He was far too disinterested in anything that wasn’t the very person he was distancing himself from.

Jaskier cared for Geralt of fucking Rivia.

And all he had gotten was shouts, demeaning language, and a wish fit for a djinn.

Oh, how far he’d thrown himself into this wolf’s den. He feared he’d die of heartbreak--again--if he didn’t die from the hunger and dehydration that came with getting lost climbing down a fucking mountain. How far had he gone? Felt like he had been descending in circles rather than going straight down.

Jaskier heard his own words in his mind, reverberating.

You did your best. There’s nothing else you could have done.

Who would have known the words were better suited to him and not the witcher? But, it was true. There was nothing else the bard could have done to change the outcome of this dragon hunt. He tried to talk Geralt out of this, tried to convince him this was too dangerous a task. As per usual, Geralt cared little for Jaskier’s opinion and carried on. Was that his fault, too?

His foot slipped on a larger boulder and he fell. Catching himself before he could do any serious damage, Jaskier decided to take a seat, the sun beating down on his back. Rivulets of sweat pooled around the collar of his chemise. Opening the case, Jaskier made sure his lute was alright. Of course it was, but a peek wouldn’t hurt.

The lute, as it always did, sang back at him through its dark wood, enchanted to no end. Pointless to think it would ever break, really. He withdrew the instrument, strumming the melody he had been crafting for weeks now. It had started out as a metaphor for some sort of unrequited love. As of late, it had been slowly turning it into something much sourer. With naught but the help of a sorceress he watched portal herself away nearly an hour or two ago. Jaskier was still dumbfounded that Geralt was so entrenched in the most awful example of the fairer sex.

“The fairer sex,” Jaskier mumbled to himself, strumming to the opening melody of his latest tune. “How, when she’s as unfair as a thief? A bandit?” He tilted his head, pondering. “A crook?”

Very rarely did lyrics fall into his lap so perfectly, yet the poet learned early on in his life to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Taking out his pen and notebook, he scratched off the first line of his original ballad, writing in the better one.

Jaskier sighed, unable to keep his mouth shut even if there was no one around to listen, “Bollocks, there I go again, rewriting yet another love ballad. Not that it matters, when you spend over twenty years stooped in what others would refer to as a pile of shit, perhaps every tune comes off as identical, yeah? All the words collide and all the notes fall into unbridled repetition--” He stopped, his own voice crashing into his ears, “Twenty years? Is that right?” He scoffed, fingers absentmindedly moving over the strings of his lute, “Can’t be, I don’t even--I can’t be over forty, can I?” He tried to shake the thought from his mind, yet he simply couldn’t get away from the passage of time. The time he had spent trailing a witcher that threw him away like a tankard of spoiled ale. “What...am I doing?”

Over twenty years, Jaskier had spent chasing a man for nothing. For nothing, because there was nothing else he could have done. The years dripped into his mind, at first a simple leak. In seconds, a stream. In minutes, a broken dam of thoughts and images dancing across the landscape of his brain.

At first, he had only longed for a muse after a particular dry spell of wordless thoughts that had plagued him after he arrived in Posada all those years ago. Jaskier had been coming down from a small bout of fame he founded for himself and the money had run out too quickly. And it was then that he had caught sight of the White Wolf. Only, then, he had nary a clue of who the man was. Jaskier saw armor, swords, a very interesting shade of hair. He was intrigued. As the day passed and Jaskier crafted the song that shot both of their names into the stratosphere, he realized he cared little for the money, the recognition, the women. Yes, it was damn welcome, but he found himself missing something.

It didn’t take him very long to admit the thrill of the adventure--wanderlust, to be specific--was the answer to a question he asked himself too many times. And so, when he and Geralt found each other again, he made it a point to tag along. Geralt didn’t appear to care all that much and let Jaskier do as he pleased. Only when Jaskier droned on and on about any random crap that came to mind--which was purely to spur any sort of response from the silent witcher, he wanted to get to know him--did Geralt stir enough to shut him up.

As time went on, years apparently, Jaskier found himself caring less and less for the songs. He just wanted to follow the witcher. His friend, though Geralt refused to verbally reciprocate the fact. After a while, he only wished for his company, to hear the incredible feats and adventures that befell the witcher. It wasn’t until they started to become tight on money and ended up sharing rooms together that Jaskier realized his fascinations went beyond friendly. When they were alone, with a roof over their heads and safety in their minds, Geralt would always relax a bit. He would speak, joke, smile even.

Jaskier thought he was insane in the beginning. To think he could feel anything more than a curious nature. But, no, it became quite apparent.

Jaskier cared for Geralt of fucking Rivia.

And it had become his fatal flaw.

Geralt, it seemed, truly cared nothing for the troubadour that brought him fame and coin.

And it was painful. Of course it was. The two had fought a multitude of times in the past, but this was different somehow. To blame his own destiny on the bard that had only wanted to leave this damn mountain, to leave the witch to her inevitable demise, wanted the witcher to be safe.

Perhaps that was why he had very obviously confessed himself to the witcher. Using the excuse that he had to work out what pleased him when he had done so years before. All to stave off the knowledge that his confession had been viewed as material for his next song. That his love was nothing more than musings to be ignored.

Jaskier never thought he would be faced with his unrequited affection so harshly, though he figured it would come down on him eventually. He strummed the lute, an acute anger creeping up his spine.

The fairer sex, they often call it.

But, her love’s as unfair as a crook.

It steals all my reason,

Commit every treason

Of logic with naught but a look.

He had written a majority of it a night or two ago, when Sir Eyck had gone off to shit in the woods and Yennefer had gone off to “get her beauty sleep”. Scratching off lines and writing over them, as he had gotten so used to for a long time.

Never getting the chance to tell Geralt how he felt, what he wanted, what he needed. Came to a point where he no longer thought it was ever going to happen. Watching Borch, Téa, and Véa fall to their presumed deaths--and nearly watching Geralt follow suit--changed that. He knew there would never be such a delight as “the right time”, especially if this hunt had proven to be so deadly. Jaskier wanted to say his feelings outright, hoping a song would help him in that regard. Alas, nothing ever worked out that way.

Jaskier settled for asking Geralt to allow him the opportunity to prove himself as a worthy travel companion, stretching his tone across the word “companion” to give it a different meaning. Geralt did not catch on and if he did, made no move to show it. And he was shot down.

It made him upset, knowing he had lost the battle for the witcher’s affections long before the bard had even agreed to take part. Rigged and unjust, but he should have known better than to love someone he knew damn well now didn’t care.

A storm breaking on the horizon,

Of longing and heartache and lust

She’s always bad news,

It’s always lose, lose

So tell me love, tell me love,

How is that just?

But, Jaskier cared for the witcher before they had met the witch. And, still, he had lost. He had nothing else but their friendship, and even that was gone now. It wasn’t his fault. Not this time. All at once, everything had gone to shit, more so than it had before whenever Yennefer’s influence on Geralt made his vision turn red. Always lashing out at everyone, always angry, never ever good for him.

The lute was strummed harder, the instrument making the troubadour’s emotions known to anyone within range.

But the story is this,

She’ll destroy with her sweet kiss, her sweet kiss.

The bard repeated the line, filling the melody appropriately. There was nothing else he could do but let the song continue. He was a bard, all he knew was to let the music escape him, else he might explode. Jaskier heard rustling behind him and chose to ignore it, too caught up in his emotions to stop the tenor of his own voice. If he could just finish the damn song, he would feel better.

He wouldn’t be so angry that he had completely wasted over twenty years of his life. Destroyed his own path whilst following Geralt down his. Getting them free rooms, free meals, making him famous, helping him scrounge up coin for better armor, making him hair tie after hair tie from the leather of old strappings. Fixing baths, cleaning and stitching up wounds, sleeping in the same fucking bed together. And he still lost to a lusty bitch with a hankering for destruction.

Jaskier had lost to a woman that never spent more than a few hours with the witcher at a time. A woman that caused him pain, not healed him of it. A woman that would outlive him and still cause Geralt heartache without respite. Melitele damn her.

Her current is pulling you closer

And charging the hot, humid night.

The red sky at dawn is giving a warning, you fool!

Better stay out of sight.

The troubadour's tune faltered, voice breaking as memories of the past flooded through him again. Asking Geralt a favor in bodyguarding him while being told he was not the White Wolf’s friend, which stung despite the bard’s nonchalance. Learning that Geralt needed nothing out of life. Jaskier telling the witcher that someone--the use of a gender-neutral pronoun had been a flirt, but still remained true to his heart--may want him. “I’m weak, my love, and I am wanting.” Jaskier’s tone changed, filling with longing and desire. He knew he had a penance for lofty things. Good clothing, fine wine, upstanding company. But, he steadily gave it all up, choosing a life of grime and dirt and blood. The rustling behind him came closer.

If this is the path I must trudge,

I welcome my sentence,

Give to you my penance,

Garrotter, jury, and judge.

And his chorus repeated over and over, driving home his emotional distress at losing the one person in this godsforsaken world that was still willing to deal with his bullshit. Jaskier knew, now, that Geralt had never truly been willing and was only ever acting in line with his morals. Geralt only saved him from the djinn because it was the right thing to do. Geralt chose not to harm Jaskier out of pure annoyance because it was simply wrong and unjust.

Yet, Jaskier couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps Geralt sometimes acted outside of his moral compass. The banquet, the event that had really changed the course of the witcher’s life, had been the only inexplicable act Jaskier could not explain. The witcher had helped him free of his coin, in the most minute way. Nothing in their initial understanding of the event had even the slightest to do with what was the textbook definition of a witcher.

Was it due to the fact that, even if Geralt would never admit it, they truly were friends?

Jaskier had little time to continue his reverie, a soft hum from behind breaking through his thoughts.

“I will never understand why I am oft referred to as a ‘garrotter’.” Gravelly voice, low toned, and calm. Jaskier froze, music stopping. How much had he heard? And even more, he caught on to the metaphor immediately.

Jaskier cleared his throat, refusing to look, “It also means ‘killer’ or ‘hunter’.” He said plainly. “Not to mention your name matches the sound of the word a bit.”

“Hmm.” Geralt said, “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that.”

It was a wonder they were even speaking. Jaskier was always so quick to forgive the witcher, though. Yes, he was still hurt and angry. On the other hand, he would fight to keep their friendship and wouldn’t let their squabbles get the better of them. He would just have to bottle his pain, again. Well, maybe put the cork back on the bottle if he was being truthful. He’d let enough spill out of him over the last few days and the song didn’t help.

Geralt walked, moving in front of the bard, gear in hand, “The long way down is safer, but we have a lot of ground to cover.” Face emotionless, golden eyes stared down at the distraught bard.

The bard shook his head, not knowing how to proceed, “Geralt--”

“I’m sorry, Jaskier.” The witcher cut in before the troubadour could make a long-winded speech. His name always sounded intimate when it crossed over the witcher’s lips. Never casual, always private and personal.

Jaskier gave a pained smile, blue eyes still rimmed red with sadness, “Good, that’s all I wanted.” No, it wasn’t. He kept that bit to himself. He stood, placing the lute back into its case and placing the strap on his back.

Geralt gave him another straight look, but his eyes always displayed the man’s thoughts and emotions. He knew Jaskier was lying, especially if he had been paying attention enough to know the truth behind the bard’s lyrics, “Hmm.”

They continued down the mountain together, both silent for once. It wasn’t until they had reached the bottom that Jaskier finally fell into a mindless chatter. His thoughts were becoming too heavy and it wasn’t appropriate when he had company.

They didn’t talk about the song, not for a long time. And when they did, there was no turmoil or miscommunication on either end.

There was only an understanding.

#the witcher #geraskier #witcher fic #gerlion #geralt of rivia #jaskier #i dont normally post this stuff #fanficition but my work #witcher netflix #geraskier fic #geralt x jaskier #dandelion #my fic #wiedźmin #help the anxiety of posting this is killing me #i love these idiots #i made my own fucking apology for you geralt #fix it fic

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gameofdrarry · 4 years ago

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Wizards Hearts Recs: Potions Master!Draco

Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here.

Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!

📜 esto quod es, fortis et liber by DragonGirl87 Rated: Explicit Words: 29,453 Tags: Animagus, Wolves, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content Summary: One fateful late-night run ruined Harry Potter's life...or did it? When the wolf in him threatens to turn life as he knows it upside down, he's left with no choice but turn to Draco Malfoy for help. Can his former Hogwarts nemesis fix his problem? And more importantly, will they be able to keep their hands and paws off each other? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love by aibidil Rated: Explicit Words: 80466 Tags: Auror Harry Potter, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Politician Hermione Granger, WWW Owner Ron Weasley, Case Fic, Potions, Potions Theory, Amortentia, Love Potion/Spell, Lust Potion/Spell, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Pensieves, Consent, Consent Issues, Enthusiastic Consent, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Wizarding Literature, Legal Drama, Courtroom Drama, Wizengamot, Wizarding Politics, Wizarding Law, Wizarding Traditions, Potions Attack, Politics, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Feminism, Men's Rights Movement, magical university, Magical Internet, Science, Chemistry, Communication, Soul Bond, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Pining, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Post-Hogwarts, HP: EWE, Dildos, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Falling In Love, Patronus Summary: In which a group of wizards' rights activists goes on the offensive after a prohibition against love potions, forcing the magical world to confront the horror of magic's role in sexual assault and the murky legal nature of consent. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Draco are swept together to solve the case, and in the process they're made to confront their own love and lust—with and without potions. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Cup of Tea by undercoverwarlock Rated: Teen and Up Words: 18976 Tags: Professor Harry Potter, Professor Draco Malfoy, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Ten Years Later, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Harry Potter Has PTSD, Complete Summary: Professor Harry Potter knew Draco Malfoy had changed in the ten years since the war. He was only beginning to find out just how much. A multi-chapter fic of tea dates, comfort and finding each other after years of being alone. Complete work as of 17 August 2020. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Dragon's Arms by ani_mage Rated: Explicit Words: 22650 Tags: Post-War, PTSD, odd jobs!Harry, Potioneer!Draco, tattooed!Harry, Trans Character, Clubbing, Grimmauld Place, Secrets, references to canonical child abuse, Angst, Happy Ending, Coming Out, Face-Fucking, Rimming Summary: Since the war, Harry’s been living on the fringes of the Muggle world and alienated from the Wizarding world. Draco’s struggled his whole life to satisfy his father’s idea of what it means to be a “Malfoy Man” in the Wizarding world, never comfortable in the role. Can they help each other find a place where they feel at home? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 what the body wants is coolness by lastontheboat Rated: Teen and Up Words: 13428 Tags: Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, First Time in Public, draco overthinks things, harry is affectionate, Beach Quidditch, no smut just fade to black, HP Drizzle Fest 2020, Community: hp_drizzle, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE Summary: "Are you done primping yourself yet?" Draco asked, feeling mulish. "We can still meet your friends on time if we leave now, but we'll have to walk quickly." Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a beach day, Draco," he said patiently. "Not a pureblood society event." "Yes, well, not all of us have the goodwill of the rest of the wizarding world to fall back on when we commit acts of social barbarism." ~~~ Draco and Harry have been seeing each other for months, and Harry decides the best way to tell their friends is to bring Draco to a group beach outing. Draco's given up enumerating all the ways this plan could go wrong. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Fountain of Youth by nebulyre Rated: Explicit Words: 85912 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Professors, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Harry Potter, For Science!, Potions Accident, Explicit Sexual Content, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love ,Humor, Romance, Happy Ending Summary: Fifteen years after he left, Draco Malfoy returns to Hogwarts as a Potions Master for one purpose: to find an ancient potion rumoured to be the Fountain of Youth. Everything is fine. ...Until he meets the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and some odd potions experiments keep throwing them together in compromising situations. "Draco’s heart had skipped a beat. Despite the mess, and the dirt, and the sweat, and the tatters, Potter still looked...good. He wasn’t supposed to look good. He was supposed to be covered in warts and boils and missing all of his teeth and turning into a troll and...not this. Lean and muscled and delicious and fucking devouring Draco with his eyes. Merlin. Had he been looking at Potter like that too?" ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Of Green Eyes and Namesakes by glitteringvoid Rated: Teen and Up Words: 10639 Tags: Potioneer Draco Malfoy, Angst, Panic Attacks, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Hurt/Comfort, Animagus Harry Potter, Happy Ending, Getting Together, Oblivious Draco Malfoy, Pining Draco Malfoy, Cats, H/D Fan Fair 2019, Secondary Theme: Pet Fair Summary: Who would have thought that Draco Malfoy could grow to like having a cat around, especially an obnoxious one with eerily familiar green eyes? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 We Take Care of Each Other by keyflight790 Rated: Explicit Words: 54308 Tags: BDSM, bdsm club, Dom Neville Longbottom, Dom Draco Malfoy, Top Draco Malfoy, Top Neville Longbottom, Bottom Harry Potter, although it might seem like hes a dom at first, Sub Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin makes an appearance, as does Luna and Rolf, but not...sexually, Set in 2009, So Teddy is turning 11, just for context, Draco is the only one who penetrates Harry though, in case you were concerned, but Neville is there.. a lot, Flogging, Rimming, Will tag all of these in chap notes as well, for squicks and such, this is pretty indulgent, For the Writer, learn all of keyflights kinks, by reading this fic, note: every BDSM club is slightly different, so if this isnt your experience, no problemo, but please don't judge the writer on their experiences, and notes and research, More tags to follow, dom/sub dynamics, Safewords, Sex Toys, past trauma discussions, TW: Panic Attacks, Panic Attacks, draco is a bit of a switch, but he doms in this fic, Spanking, Daddy Kink, TW: spousal abuse (Narcissa and Lucius mentioned in chap 10), TW: Breakdowns, daddy Neville Longbottom, Little Theodore Nott, Anal Sex, Praise Kink, Choking, Masturbation, self love, did i mention theres spanking?, theres spanking, harry gets spanked by, Daddy Dom Neville Longbottom, Talks of Death, Suicidal Thoughts, discussions of dying, Harry talks about his canon death and rebirth Summary: Draco has been having panic attacks for years, until his best friend, Pansy, welcomes him into a whole new world. And he thought being a wizard was neat. Being a dom was even better. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Hello, Hogwarts too? by countingcr0ws Rated: Teen and Up Words: 12988 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Professor Harry Potter, Professor Draco Malfoy, Post-Hogwarts, Hogwarts Professors, Auror Harry Potter, Curse Breaker Draco Malfoy, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Good Narcissa Black Malfoy, Obsessive Harry Potter, Obsessive Draco Malfoy, Banter, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Romantic Soulmates, Epistolary, Snarky Draco Malfoy, Snarky Harry Potter, Sexual Humor, Undercover Missions, Harry Potter is Obsessed with Draco Malfoy, Humor, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Smitten Harry Potter Summary: "Hello, Hogwarts too?" Harry is stumped by his first words soulmark. If they don't recognise him, surely they're not from the UK? So he packs up and goes searching. Two jobs and a recurring injury later, he decides to settle down. Working through his jealousy of his friends, he also reunites with Malfoy, who is now teaching seventh year Potions in Hogwarts. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 his hand (in mine) by musingsofaretiredunicorn Rated: General Words: 1126 Tags: Humor, Secret Santa, Hands, this turned into so much hands oh god, Hand Massage, Smart Harry, who is Aware of what Draco is doing, but does not mind it one bit ;), draco is a bit of a disaster, but he gets it together eventually, Professor Draco Malfoy, Draco teaches potions, of course, Professor Harry Potter, Flying Instructor Harry Potter, he also does tutoring sessions for the smol children who struggle w flying Summary: Draco makes an attempt at Secret Santa. He’s not quite clear on the details. Aiming for nonchalance, Draco says, “Oh, look. You’ve finally got something to help those dreadfully chapped hands.” He wants to feel good about that delivery, but he doesn’t. Harry squints at him. “Yes, Malfoy, thank you, Malfoy, I’m forever in your debt, Malfoy.” ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 It's Been Draco For Awhile by oceaxe Rated: Explicit Words: 15562 Tags: Mutual Pining, auror!Harry, Potions Expert!Draco, Partially Epistolary-ish, "Love Potion", Friends to Lovers, oh my god they were roommates, Second person POV Summary: What harm can a love potion do if you're already in love? In which Harry finds out that it's not a love potion but it can do quite a lot of harm, and Draco finds out how fiendishly difficult it is to fend off his flatmate's advances when all he wants is to give in to them. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 the best kind of bad by M0stlyVoid Rated: Mature Words: 3040 Tags: Drarry Discord Writers Corner Drabble Challenge, Secret Relationship, Kinda, Morally Ambiguous Character, Case Fic, Auror Harry Potter, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Fire, Crimes & Criminals, References to Drugs Summary: Neither of us were known for our ability to be subtle, and it wasn’t long before the Deputy Head Auror’s relationship with the department’s primary Potions consultant was a universally known, if politely unacknowledged, truth in the whole of the Ministry. Hermione shook her head at me but said I looked happier than I’d been in a long time. I was. It wasn’t until Draco’s biggest rival in the Healing Potions sphere went up in flames that I began to wonder at our recent string of luck. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Teenage Wasteland by GallaPlacidia Rated: Mature Words: 51212 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Sexual Abuse, Werewolf Harry Potter, Down and Out Draco Malfoy, fear of Hell, Veritaserum, H/D Erised 2020, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic abuse (not between drarry!), mild Church of England conversion, alcoholism of an oc character, look I know the tags are scary but I promise it's not as dark as you're thinking, srsly it's actually quite uplifting by the end, Harry Potter plays the Piano freakishly well, potions master draco, Feminist Draco, a decent amount of teenage girl angst, prolonged and continual jokes about the 2000 classic film Coyote Ugly Summary: Draco never thought he’d end up as the sole guardian of a troubled teenage girl. Harry never thought he’d end up a werewolf. Being twenty-two is hard. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 An Everlasting Rain by triggerlil Rated: Teen and Up Words: 1410 Tags: Amortentia, Potions, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Harry Potter, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Tumblr Prompt, Getting Together, Friends to Lovers, POV Draco Malfoy Summary: Soon the potion had turned a pearlescent white, and as steam rose from the cauldron, he waited—slowly, as if with tender trepidation, the potion unfurled. Or the story in which everything comes together accidentally, slowly, and then suddenly, all at once. ❤️ Read on AO3

#potions master draco #drarry #drarry recs #game of drarry #wizards hearts #wh masterlist

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inkribbon796 · 5 years ago

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Cat and Mouse

Summary: Abe is on the trail of the madman Wilford Warfstache, time is an illusion, and the drinks are free.

A/N: (Looks through fics) Huh, I haven’t written Abe in a while, well, time to fix that.

Abe vaulted over a couple trash and screamed at Wilford as he chased him down. “Dammit Wil, stop running for five seconds, you ass!”

“Alrighty then,” Wilford almost purred in Abe’s ear. Then Abe was shoved forward, almost into the busy street in front of them. “Tag!”

The detective screamed, but fortunately stopped short of getting hit. Abe was one part terrified by his newest near death experience, and another part furious. “Wil!”

“Don’t you know how the game is played, old sport?” Wil chuckled, standing directly behind Abe. “Or have you gotten bored by our game.”

“I’m not playing around, douchebag,” Abe stood up, people giving the two of them a wide berth, other bystanders had their phones out and were recording them.

Wilford just laughed at Abe’s words and anger.

“You’re under arrest,” Abe told him.

Wilford looked a little puzzled by that, “That’s an interesting game, how do you play.”

Hovering somewhere in-between wanting to laugh, scream, and bludgeon Wil to death with a brick; Abe took out his cuffs. “It’s a simple game, you turn around and let me put you in these cuffs and take you down to the station.”

“Kinky,” Wilford grinned. “But I can’t play for long, I have someone to get back to.”

Abe fought the urge to just chuck the cuffs at Wil’s head, “No, you asshat, I’m bringing you to jail and this time you’re going to rot them longer than a couple hours.”

“Well how long is this game going to take?” Wilford questioned. “Darky’s going to get a touch upset if I don’t make it back in time for dinner.”

“I’m not playing games!” Abe spat. “You’re going to jail.”

Wilford shrugged, “Well now I’m confused is this a game or not?”

“It’s not,” Logic announced himself before he struck Wilford in the back with a TASER.

Time seemed to unnaturally clip itself forward, as if a force of nature physically jumped from one place to the next.

Abe’s feet landed on a roof. Wilford’s feet were landing on the opposite roof, still running away from them.

“What the?” Logan was almost knocked flat on his face.

“You’re not getting away,” Abe shouted, chasing after Wil as if nothing was wrong with them suddenly being on the roof. Abe seemed to clip through reality itself, as if the space in-between the two roofs folded enough for Abe to be able to jump to the next roof. “Get back here.”

“Detective! Wait it’s—” Logic called out.

Abe was already mid jump when he was calling out, his feet leaping from a concrete roof, and landing on the old cobblestone of Egoton’s Little Koreatown district.

On the other side of town.

“Wil! You’re not getting away that easily,” Abe threatened. “Stop running and just let me arrest you!”

Wil physically burst his way through a firework kiosk that five seconds ago hadn’t been there and a huge mortar firework in his hands, one big enough to almost be a cannon, as he whirled around to face Abe. “Arrest this!”

Abe cursed, trying to stop in time to avoid getting shot.

Logic dashed out of the nearby alleyway, summoning up some kind of holographic shield and bouncing the firework up to explode harmlessly up into the air.

Wilford, slightly smokey, huffed and pouted at the logical Side, “What was that for?”

Logic was panting from his run all over town, “I have been pursuing the two of your for three hours, and I am not going to do so again.”

“All that for little ol’ me,” Wilford chuckled. “Well aren’t you a delight?”

“Hasn’t been that long,” Abe defended, but Logan just looked over at him, his anger almost palpable through the visor and mask shielding his identity.

Wilford carefully set down the mortar and smiled, starting to inch back. Abe caught the action and immediately started chasing him again. This time Logic was able to keep up as the three ran through the street and appeared in a nightclub as if they’d been inside of it for at least a couple of minutes. Logan looked a little disorientated, but Abe began to try and push through the crowd, they parted almost immediately, showing Wilford was sitting at the bar with a huge smile.

The patrons all had his mask on, already under Wil’s mad influence.

“Detective and friend,” Wil greeted, martini in hand. “Nice of your two to drop by.”

“Wilford M. Warfstache,” Logan began. “We’re here to place you under arrest for: murder, theft, fraud, evading arrest, and conspiracy to commit murder. You have a right to remain silent—”

“Blah blah blah,” Wilford took his hand and pantomimed Logic talking, as Logan kept trying to read him his rights so they could actually arrest him.

“Hey, Warf has the right, doesn’t mean he’s got the ability,” Abe suggested sardonically.

“I suppose,” Logan sighed. “Are you going to come quietly, or are we going to have to make a scene?”

Wilford held up his martini, “I’d like to have a couple drinks instead. What about it gentlemen? Care to join me? This establishment usually gives me drinks for free?”

“Barkeep?” Wil called over his shoulder and a man with short-cut curly brown hair walked out. His lack of a mask was both a relief and disturbing for Logic.

“Yes, Sir?” The bartender sighed, clearly he was somewhat used to Wil’s antics but wasn’t ordering him out of his bar entirely.

“They give you free drinks because you have enthralled them,” Logic reminded. “They literally cannot deny you.”

Wilford just stared at him, confused, “So is that a no on the drinks. What about you Dave?”

“My name is Abe,” Abe spat back.

“Ahh, Steve, take a load off, have a drink,” Wil dismissed, trying in vain to get the straw of his drink into his mouth.

“Not my name,” Abe told him. “It’s Abe.”

“If you’re not going to come quietly, we’ll literally drag you to the station by force,” Logan warned.

“If you two insist on ruining a good time,” Wil shrugged, and then waved his hands and all the enthralled bar patrons seemed to move as if they had marionette strings attached to their bodies, or were zombies.

“Dammit,” Abe hissed, putting away his gun to take out a TASER. He didn’t want to kill the people under Wilford’s control. “Wil, just get over here and let me arrest you.”

“No can do boys, Darky says I’ve hit my quota,” Wil kicked back on the bar stool, and leaned back on the counter. “He told me if I got arrested again this month I was going to sleep in the cellar and I hate it down there.”

Abe and Logan fought their way through the crowd, trying to gently stun the entranced bar patrons. The Detective, as always, was the first to reach Wil.

Wil smiled, clearly excited to get into another fist fight with the detective, he set his martini down. Abe jumped at Wil, managing to punch him across the face. Their fight lasted just long enough for Logan to try and approach the two of them, trying to disable Wil, hoping that it would free the bar patrons and help them arrest Wil.

Unfortunately Wilford seemed to be inching closer to the nearest window, something that Abe was trying not to let happen.

“I don’t think so!” Abe pulled out his TASER and jammed it into the center of Wil’s chest. There was something familiar about the act that was trying to spark something in the Detective’s mind, but Wil did everything he could to ignore it.

Reality twisted and bent itself around Wil again, and suddenly Abe found himself slamming shut the bars of Wil’s personal cell in the police station, triumphant with himself. Once the bars were closed the whole cell gave a light hum, Marvin’s spell now working to keep Dark from getting in, or Wil from getting out.

“There you sick freak,” Abe told Wil who had a rather smug look on his face.

“Quite the good game wasn’t it?” Wil chuckled.

Logan was shaking his head, suddenly disoriented as he stumbled his way to the nearest phone to check that everyone at the bar was still okay.

“A game?” Abe balked. “I had to TASER about a dozen people, who didn’t deserve it by the way. You are a menace to society, and I look forward to transporting you back to jail, formally, again.”

“Everyone at the bar seems to be recovering,” Logan finally announced.

“Least no one died,” Abe took a calming breath. Wil was behind bars, no one was dead.

At the Detective’s words, however, Wil let out a booming laugh, “My dear detective, what type of game did you think we were playing?”

“We’re not playing a game!” Abe shouted. “You’ve shot and killed people. You should be stuck in a cell for all of time. I look forward to seeing you rot behind bars for the rest of your unnatural life.”

“So angry,” Wil chuckled. “Why? You won this round, ol’ friend.”

Abe’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his skull. “I’m going to kill you.”

Logan pulled him back, “Go and take a break outside, I’ll watch him for a bit.”

The Detective glared at Logan, but left, slamming the door behind him.

“So angry,” Wil’s voice was almost a purr. “Did something happen?”

“Get some rest, Warfstache,” Logan told him. “There will be time for another game later.”

Wil’s smile got wider as he walked over to the little bench that doubled as a bed. “I like how you think.”

By the time Abe walked back in, taking his time to smoke outside, Wilford. Who seemed to actually be asleep and Abe looked relieved. “Ugh, that was like pulling teeth. How long do you think we’ll have him?”

“Based on Warfstache’s statement and the fact that he seems to be actually sleeping? A couple hours at best, it depends on if Dark will free him quickly.” Logan looked over at the clock. “At least we won’t have to immediately deal with Dark storming into the station.”

“Think we could get him too?” Abe dared to hope.

“Only if we could adequately get the scope of Dark’s powers and abilities, his ability to use the Void even if trapped in an anti-magic force field is disconcerting, I think it exists in his very being.

“Well, that’s my allowance of hope for the day,” Abe decided. “I’ll start the guard rounds.”

“I’ll remain here for as long as I can,” Logan offered.

“Thanks,” Abe told him and Logan stayed in the room as the Detective rounded up some of the offices and guards. The routine was well established at this point.

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #markiplier #Thomas Sanders #Abe the Detective #Wilford Warfstache #Logan Sanders #magically tampering with the bounds of reality #Logan's not used to it #objects appearing out of hammerspace #fireworks

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imagining-supernatural · 5 years ago

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DeanxReader Oneshot Masterlist

( * means this one has been translated into Spanish)

back to DeanxReader Masterlist

~*Bitter – High School aged reader helps Dean solve her parents’ murders, and Dean tries to help her grieve (angst & fluffish)

~*Twenty-One – On your 21st birthday, you celebrate at the bar, but after a few drinks you accidentally let a little secret slip. Sam and Dean might not be able to get over it, and you might have just lost your best friends (angst & fluff)

~*Wingmen – High School AU where Dean gets jealous of all of the dates you’ve been going on (implied smut)

~*Dean’s Stupid Face – Dean can’t speak, so he keeps making stupid faces instead. (Pure fluff!)

*Break On Me – You are having a horrible day and Dean drives over five hours to be there for you (angst)

~*Ex To See – There’s a hunt in your old hometown where you run into your ex. Instead of being the mature adult that you are, you start reverting back to your petty high school self. (fluff)

*Rodeo Hospital – A hunt brings you and the Winchesters together, Dean ends up in the hospital, and angst abounds

*Sit Talking Up All Night – You and your boyfriend are drifting apart, and all it takes is one night and a heart to heart to start fixing the relationship (fluff & angst)

*Hairy Situation – Dean constantly makes fun of your short hair, and on one hunt you get so fed up that you start arguing with him in a coat closet and… well… it’s a coat closet. I think y’all know where this is going ;)

High Noon July Guy – Dean comes into the diner where you work and gets an instant crush on you (fluff)

Waiting – Dean distracts you from your anxious waiting for news from your publisher by teaching you to change the oil in Baby (fluff)

The Bag Man – You speak multiple languages, which often comes in handy on cases (the end is super fluffy, guys. Just sayin…)

~*Notes – CoffeeShop!AU, Barista!Dean, Artist!Reader… need I say more? (FLUFF)

Life Among The Strings – You call Dean in to help with a ghost in your apartment, and he isn’t about to say no to hearing you play violin again (implied smut)

*Away From Redemption – After Swan Song, you help Dean get his drunk ass into bed, but you are both lost in your own pits of depression for this arrangement to last very long (Super Angst)

Love Hurts – The reader is in love with Dean, but knows that he’ll never feel the same way, especially with the feelings he’s fighting about Amara. (Episode 11x13)

*12x02: Mamma Mia – You tell Dean that you’re leaving after you get Sam back, but Dean doesn’t want you to (angst)

*12x03: The Foundry – You comfort Mary, Sam, and Dean all separately after Mary leaves the Bunker (angst)

*Humor Me – After you nearly die, Dean goes into Super Overprotective Boyfriend Mode (fluff)

Break Up With Him – Dean calls you while you’re on a date with your boyfriend and tells you that he loves you (fluff)

*Lego Castle – You come home from a hunt with Sam to find that Dean spoiled your daughter like crazy while you were gone (fluff)

We Survive – You and Dean resolve to keep going on after nearly everyone you’ve ever loved has died (angst)

*Headless Bodies and Bodiless Heads – You mean the middle of a vampire nest isn’t the best place for Dean to declare his love for you? (fluff)

Well-Oiled Hunting Machine – After noticing Dean slipping up on hunts, you think your bad hunting skills have a negative effect on him, so you try to leave (angst)

I Don’t Want To Ruin That – College AU where you’ve been pushing Dean away because of your feelings for him (angst ish? Fluff ish?)

*How Many Tennis Balls? – Dean is too damn adorable and it’s not helping you prepare for your grad school interview (FLUFF)

~*You’re Not There – Dean thinks through memories of you and the impact you had on his life (angst, fluff, implied smut)

*Deliberate Beauty of Humanity – Angel!Reader and Dean cuddling and ticklish wings and it’s hot and beautiful and fluffy and implied smut and wonderful

*252: Break Myself – Dean needs your comfort, but when he shows up on your porch, he finds out that you’re dating someone (angst)

*423: Contagious – After breaking up with you to protect you from his life, Dean is a dark storm cloud (angst with a hopeful ending)

*548: Down With Me – Just a glimpse of a woman in an bar gives Dean strange visions of a future with her (fluff)

*Jealous!Dean Imagine – Imagine when someone flirts with you, and Dean pulls you into his lap to show that you’re his (FLUFF)

*672: Fifteen – You get brought into the police station for a murder you didn’t commit, and who shows up but your high school crush who broke your heart, pretending he’s FBI?

*26: Alive [Acoustic] – Dean was the first one to say “I Love You.” (Fluff)

*1999: Somebody Told Me – Dean heads off on a hunt by himself to get his head on straight, but you aren’t letting him go without telling you what’s been up with him lately (fluff)

*12x13: Family Feud – You and Dean are fighting over… something… but the events with Gavin and Fiona make you realize that you don’t want to fight with him anymore (angst)

*The Other Side of the Bar – Bartender!Dean AU where he has a bet with you each night to see who can keep a straight face the longest. In Sam’s words, “This was the weirdest damn flirting he’d ever seen.” (FLUFF)

The Edge of Possibility – This is your last night with Dean before he heads off to find his own way in life (bittersweet angst)

~*2571: “4:12″ – You’re having a existential crisis about how nonsensical life is and Dean talks you down from throwing away all of your art

*12x17: The British Invasion – Ketch gets on your nerves, Eileen is your awesome new friend, you tease Sam about Eileen, and Dean is an awesome boyfriend. (this summary sucks, but the fic doesn’t, I promise)

What A Weird Hunt – Sam gets bit by a bewitched lamp, and Dean bursts in after the fighting with a giant box of condoms (fluff)

You’re a Freaking Badass – After dealing with annoying people at the third wedding reception in a month, you vent to Dean about societal expecations (fluff)

~Bitch, I Might Be – Classic “Dean helps Reader sleep” plot (FLUFF)

~*Should’ve Gone To Voicemail – You wake up with a giant hangover and a phone call from a very irate ex-boyfriend (Crack)

~*Roll With It – After drunkenly asking Dean to become your housewife and telling him that you deserve kisses every day, you have to deal with him the next day to return his jacket (FLUFF)

~*Ineffable – in·ef·fa·ble - adjective - too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words. (Implied smut)

~*When A Clock Stops – You have to end things with Dean now that you’re engaged to someone else (Angst, implied smut)

*Takes One To Know One – You’ve been going through a sex-drought recently, and Dean, your best friend, is starting to look a little too tempting. In order to not ruin your friendship, you head to the bar to find someone to break your dry spell

*Dress – Dean and the reader have a conversation about how women buy dresses with the intention of someone taking it off of them just before she leaves for a date. (implied smut)

~*Fibonacci Demons – In therapy, the reader reminiscences about how Dean has helped her want to get better and beat her demons. (detached angst)

A Hell of an Offer – Prompt: “You look so sexy when you’re ignoring me.” (Fluff)

*Wine, Memories, and a Dance – It’s the reader’s first Valentine’s day without her father and Dean spends it with her (Flangst)

Heat of the Moment – The reader and Sam confront Dean after Jack tells them that Dean said he would kill Jack (Rewrite of the last scene in 13x03) (angst)

*The Unexpected – Dean expects a normal quiet morning with his neighbor, but is surprised when her apartment is teeming with people and life and the kind of life he never imagined she’d be a part of

*12x20: Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes – Dean heads off to help Max and Alicia right after the reader dumps a big surprise on him

*Hot Mama – After a conversation with Dean about Thor, he decides to tag along to the store with you and have some fun (Fluffy husband!Dean x Pregnant!Reader)

~*Ever Since – A cute little fluffy drabble based on the song Sleeping Beauty by Dylan Scott (FLUFF!!)

*She’s A Beauty, Such A Cutie – Help yourself to a cute drabble based on the song Can’t Take Her Anywhere by Dylan Scott (Fluff)

*Grand Canyon Kisses – Heard you wanted a cavity inducing drabble based on the song Back by Dylan Scott (FLUFF)

*Our Own Little Secret – Tossing a fun little drabble your way based on the song Freak Show by Dylan Scott (implied smut)

*A Couple Of Them Beer Buddies – Enjoy a domestic little drabble based on the song Beer Buddies by Dylan Scott

*Crazy As You Want To Be – Did someone order a cute, domestic drabble based on the song Crazy Over Me by Dylan Scott?

*Pistols and Promises – Some idiot demons think threatening Dean’s girl is a smart idea

Breaking Rules -- Friends-with-benefits to lovers

Once In A Lifetime -- Dean remembers the first night he met you

The Books - You come back from a hunt to overhear Sam and Dean talking about the Supernatural books… which you have become a part of.

Multitasking - Dean’s daughter goes off on her first hunt without him and he is a mess

#deanxreader #oneshot masterlist

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nightingaletrash · 5 years ago

Note

Hi! I am rather new to modding Oblivion and I was wondering if there is any mods you would recommend for it? Or maybe just your mod list, if you are comfortable with sharing that? Your Oblivion characters always look so beautiful, especially Iriana. Anyway, I hope you having a wonderful day! :)

It’s ironic you ask Nonnie, considering I’m wrestling with Oblivion myself and failing atm XD

Still, I’m happy to drop some recommendations for mods I use and can usually get to cooperate with me ^-^

First off, you’ll want the Official Oblivion Patch, the Unofficial Oblivion Patch, the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch, and the Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches (if you have the GOTY edition). They fix a bunch of issues in the game, and some mods require them to be installed, so they’re a solid place to start.

The rest are under the cut because boy this got long o.o

Character Creation:

I cannot recommend Nuska’s Oblivion Character Overhaul enough. It’s an absolute must have for me as it deals with Oblivion’s potato faces beautifully. And, thanks to the hard work of other modders, it is possible to customise OCO further. I’ll list those in just a second. You’ll also need the Oblivion Script Extender and Blockhead to get it to work.

I also use the HGEC Female Body for my OCs - if you use that mod or any other body mods, there are some additional files provided by Nuska that make OCO compatible with them. They’re located in the optional files for OCO, and the description for those will tell you what order you need to install them in.

Now, my other OCO Mods that I recommend:

Orsimer Overhaul for OCOv2 - merges OCO and Orsimer Overhaul for a look I personally love for orc characters. It can be a little hit and miss with getting it to work on my end, so you’ll need to decide if you want to have a go at wrestling with it, but I personally think it’s worth a try

OCOv2 Martin and Adoring Fan Fix - I’m not a huge fan of OCO’s take on Martin, so I prefer this one even though it makes him look a bit too young imo

Unique Face Features for OCOv2 - Adds some warpaints, scars, freckles, and other kinds of face markings to the cc. iirc they’re tweaked with the age slider

Warpaint for OCOv2 - adds some more Skyrim warpaints

Seamless for OCOv2 - removes the very visible neckseam on characters. Whether or not I can get this one to work is usually hit and miss for me ^^”

New Brows for OCOv2 - exactly what it says on the tin ;)

New Eyes for OCOv2 - new eye texture replacements, along with some optional files to customise them a little

Better Necks for OCOv2 - adds some detailing to the neck and throat of the character model. Not a requirement ofc, I’m just a sucker for detail

OCOv2 Male Beard - adds some actual beards to the cc

Hairstyle mods can vary in quality, and some only come available as wigs. I only use a couple myself.

Sidenote, wigs tend to make your characters look like they have no ears so you’ll need a mod that adds equip-able ears - I’ll have one recommended further down.

ANiceOakTree’s Hairstyles for Oblivion is a mod that adds hairs as wigs. There’s a few styles in different colours, and it’s the one I use for Iriana. You create your character with whatever hair, it doesn’t matter, and then travel to either Vilverin, which is the Ayleid Ruin literally opposite the Sewer Exit after you finish the tutorial, or in the Cheydinhal Chapel near the doors.I usually tend to go to Vilverin, as it’s closer for me and the chest is literally down the stairs from the entrance, plus it counts as stealing from the chapel so I’d recommend the ruin if you’d rather not get in trouble for wanting nice hair.

Zinni_s Braided Redguard Expanded is good if you plan to play as a Redguard and would like a braided style. It’s added to the cc, so you don’t need to go looking for it ^^

Chakaru Wigs 2.0 is a bit trickier. You need to access the Testing Hall in order to find them, and I can’t remember exactly which room they’re in. They’re located in a chest directly opposite the door, however, so it narrows the search a little. If I get to the point where Oblivion is cooperating with me, I’ll add the location here.In order to access the Testing Hall, open the console and type ‘coc testing hall’ (if that doesn’t work try removing the space between testing and hall, I forget which is the correct way), and then in the centre of the main room, find the door labelled Hawkhaven, go through it, and fast travel to return to Cyrodiil.

I’ve not used the Cazy Hair Pack in some time now, but it’s still worth a mention. It adds some new hairs to the cc, so no looking around ruins and testing halls to find them ^^

Armour and Clothing

Ordinarily I would never download Apachii Goddess Store, but it is where I get Iriana’s ears. On the ground floor, there’s a container full of equip-able ears you can take free of charge, and iirc they match to your character’s skintone.

Belphe’s Travelling Gear (the female version) is another mod I wouldn’t usually use, but it looks surprisingly good on Iriana sooooo. There’s a few mods on this page you can try out if you’re interested, but I have no idea how to install the ones without esp files, so I can’t help you if you want any of those.

This is my favourite remodel of the Archmage Robes (I could do without the titty physics, but it’s very unnoticeable most of the time so it’s survivable). Because of the unfortunate physics aspect, it does require Coronerras Maxiumum Compatibility Skeleton, but otherwise it’s a brilliant remodel. However, the Archmage Robes present a problem with equip-able ears - as they take up an amulet slot and these robes don’t let amulets show, you will have missing ears with these robes. There’s another mod I use to fix this, which I’ll get to late.

Alternatively, there is a male replacer for the Archmage Robes that I like but (obviously) have never used if you’re making male characters

The Triss Armour Retexture is another great mod, and I personally like to use the Dark Brotherhood variant for my DBH characters as opposed to actual Shrouded Armour. They can be a pain to obtain as you need to fight your way through some bandits in Fort Cedrian, then locate the bag in the Mausoleum, but they are worth the trouble.

Assorted Protective Female Armours is another must imo as it fixes the ridiculous boobplates and some textures for some of the game’s heavy armours.

If you used the HGEC Body for female characters, then you’ll want to grab the Vanilla Amulets Fix for HGEC as it’ll fix how amulets fit on that body.

Spike4072s Female Sheogorath Regalia is a great mod if you’d rather keep the iconic Sheogorath look on a female character rather than have it swapped out for a dress.

Shrouded Armour Cowl is another great mod for DBH characters; I use it with the Dark Brotherhood Triss Armour, seeing as the hood doesn’t really mix with it.

Sinblood_SonjaArmourTweaked is another good female armour mod; it looks good, and is reasonably functionable.

Other Mods

Oblivion Reloaded is a fantastic mod; primarily it’s a graphics extender mod, and it really does make the world of Oblivion look amazing.

Alternative Start is a great mod, and it functions very much like its Skyrim counterpart. If you want to do the Main Quest but start elsewhere, after a certain number of days pass you’ll receive a message to meet someone in a set period of time at the Temple of the One. That will put you in the tutorial and set up the Main Quest. Word of warning, miss that meeting and I don’t think it’s possible to do the Main Quest at all so just be careful.

Oblivion XP is an absolute must if you struggle with Oblivion’s levelling system like I do. XP is awarded for defeating foes, discovering locations, completing quests, stealing things, etc. It’s installed with Oblivion Mod Manager, so make sure you grab that.

Kvatch Rebuilt is a pretty damn good mod which offers a questline to rebuild the city of Kvatch and give it a ruler. That ruler can even be the player, depending on some choices you make. The voice acting isn’t stellar, but it’s worth it to see Kvatch restored.It requires the Engine Bugs Fixes so make sure to grab that.Also, make sure you pick up Compatibility Patches for OCO to avoid too many weird faces around Kvatch and other places.

Reneers Guard Overhaul is also a pretty useful mod if the ever-charming behaviour of the Oblivion Guards gets a bit wearing. They’ll no longer chase you to the ends of Tamriel, and a crime committed in Cheydinhal won’t get you attacked in Leyawiin (kinda like how Skyrim manages crime).

No Anachronistic Main Quest Comments is good for immersion; you won’t have people saying how a city might not go the way of Kvatch after the Oblivion Crisis is over.

Now, the amulet issue with the Archmage Robes. I fixed that with the Summonable Private Quarters, which provides a station where you can mess with slots for armour/clothing sets. There’s lots of use for this mod besides just making your amulets and ears visible, but this is what I primarily use it for.To make it work you need the Core files of Cobl, so manually download that and move the core folder into Oblivion’s Data folder.

I also use a couple of animation mods, namely Staff Animation which changes the PC’s idles and the way they move when holding a staff so it looks less awkward.

There’s also the Heroic Female Idle Replacer which is less stiff than the vanilla female idle. Otherwise I recommend searching through the Oblivion Nexus’ animation tag and finding any mods that suit you and your characters best.

Project Oblivion Gate Destruction Spell is useful if you get tired of diving into gates over and over again when you just want to get on with the game. Just cast the spell and poof, no more gate and you still get the Sigil Stone. It’s good for when you’ve already played the game over a few times.

The Elder Scrolls Online Imports is a must have if you love ESO like I do. It adds some bits of lore, creatures, and locations from ESO.

Better Cities makes the cities of Cyrodiil more varied and interesting, though it might be a bit troublesome at times. I’ve had the occasional problem with this mod, purely based on load order so just keep that in mind. Otherwise it’s a gorgeous mod with a lot of effort and creativity put into it.

Vanilla Staff Replacer isn’t necessary if you’re not playing a mage, but I really enjoy it personally ^^

I’m going to add Black Horse Colour Overhaul because it honestly bugs me that the black horses in Oblivion aren’t black

Companion Vilja is a mod I haven’t actually used yet, but I’ve got installed for this playthrough because I’ve been meaning to play it forever. Apparently Terry Pratchett himself contributed to this mod, so that should speak for its quality.

I hope this was helpful to you Nonnie, and good luck with modding Oblivion ^^

#anon #oblivion #modding #mod recs #long post

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blackbeltkitten2ficsnships-blog · 6 years ago

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Bad, bad Alphonse Capone (Chapter 3)

Scarface Versus Snorky.

Fandom/Movie/Series/Ect: Night At The Museum

Setting: Larry is still the night guard, several exhibits from the Smithsonian are at the Museum of Natural History

Pairing(s): Eventual Capoleon, Jedtavius, Teddy/Sacagawea

Characters: Al Capone, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ivan the Terrible (Awesome), Larry Daley, Teddy Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Jedediah Smith, Octavius, Ahkmenrah, Shaka Zulu, several Zulu tribe members, Dr. Richard McPhee, several Mobsters, Antonio Villalobos, Mariana Villalobos, Ramón Espina, Doctor Jess McClain, Docteur Alain Chaput

Genre/Warnings: Some slightly graphic violence, Foul language, Fic inspired by a song, I’ll come up with more tags later, Chapter names may change later

Notes: I listened to the song “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce about a thousand times and decided I just HAD to make a fic. The reason Al and the boys get made into color (as a plot point) is so everyone can see what happens to Al.

If anyone is OOC or this reads like a Dick & Jane, this is my second posted fic and I haven’t done much writing in the NATM field. (Disclaimer: I don’t own the song, nor the characters.) (If anything suddenly changes, I had to fix a mistake I missed.)

(I am starting to see why they say “The beginning and end are easy, the middle is hard.” this chapter is either going to be good, or real fucking boring, you decide.)

Word count: 1,300

Summary: Al and the boys practically beg (Though they won’t stoop so far as to say they were actually begging.) for him and his gang to be colored up like everyone else. Finally one day they get a paint-job, despite McPhee’s ever-present paranoia; Capone and the gang being popular in grey-scale. Several weeks after they finally get what they want, Al gets in a fight, and doesn’t come out of it well. Luckily for him Napoleon is compassionate enough to put up with Al’s grating personality to help him.

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Last Chapter

Thank God Larry got a bottle of fleshtone latex for Halloween.

Disguising Al’s stitching for every morning was far easier than he’d thought it would be.

Al was ready for this nightmare to be over. ‘Change his bandages once a day.’

Napoleon is nothing if not dutiful. He’s done just as prescribed, every day, the past couple days. Al is getting sick of it.

Al sits on the desk, slapping Napoleon’s hand away for the second time.

“Quit tryna mollycoddle me, I can do it myself!”

“I plan to do as Docteur Chaput told, you cannot stop me.”

Al slaps his hand away again.

Everyone hears an angry screech from the office.

“They were doing so well...” Teddy sighs, unwrapping himself from Sacagawea.

“I thought it was amusing, their little vendetta. Now it’s annoying.” She chuckles.

“I laughed the first time as well, but since they’ve been consistently interrupting our evenings...” Teddy rubs his temples.

“We really should go see what they’re doing. If Al breaks his stitching it could make things worse.” Sacagawea stands and pulls Teddy off of the bench and through the doorway.

“Come on! Really guys?” Larry stares at the two.

“He keeps changin’ my bandages, and I already told him, I can do it myself!”

Napoleon puts all of his weight on Al’s stomach and tightens his grip on Al’s chin, dangerously close to the wounds on his cheek, making Al squint.

“I told the docteur I would change them, I refuse to go back on my word!”

Larry sighs and scrubs a hand over his face.

“Get up, guys. Al, let Napoleon dress your wounds.”

“Aw, come on!”

Napoleon grins triumphantly once they’re both righted.

“Sit.” Napoleon points at the desk.

Larry gives them both a pointed look and leaves, meeting Teddy and Sac in the hallway and closing the door.

“I have a question.”

“Shoot, Nippy.”

“When I described your injuries, you looked and sounded... Distraught. Why?”

Al’s eyes search the wall over Napoleon’s shoulder. “It’s nothing, Shortstack...”

Napoleon knits his eyebrows together but doesn’t press on. He’s seen trauma, mild to severe, physical and emotional, and thinks he should give Al some time before asking again.

That doesn’t mean he won’t look into Al’s history to see if that gives him any information, though.

Napoleon walks towards Al’s room. He spots a group of Al’s gangsters near by. He catches a fleeting bit of their whispered conversation, where they lean on the wall opposite the Al Capone exhibit.

“Damn, Big Boy looks rough. I ain’t never seen him this bad.”

“Yeah, even when they first started callin’ him Scarface he didn’t look so... Depressed?”

“Least we can do is start callin’ him Snorky again, what do ya say, Ralph?”

“Best idea you’ve had in a while, Tony.”

Napoleon looks into the room from the doorway.

Al is looking at a hand mirror dejectedly, lifting the latex carefully and examining the stitches.

Napoleon gets a few steps into the room before Al’s men grab him by the arms.

“Ehi! Miullu, i idioti!“

Al almost drops the mirror. He spins around and holds up a hand to keep the gangsters from dragging Napoleon to the door.

“French Toast, what the Hell are ya doin’ here?”

“I wanted to remind you to meet me in the office, evidently your men dislike my commitment.”

“Nippy, don’t be dramatic, I told em to keep everyone out. Thanks for remindin’ me though...”

“Monsieur Daley, can you teach me how to use that, uh, laptop?”

“Yeah sure, what do you want to look up?”

Napoleon fumbles for a moment.

“No that’s alright, you don’t have to tell me. Here, sit... Now see the keys? Press them gently to make words...”

Napoleon accidentally runs twelve W’s into the search bar, causing Larry to snicker.

“Now you know that can happen, use the backspace to erase all but one.”

Napoleon is a little less heavy-handed this time.

There, now if you can manage to spell everything well enough- Don’t give me that look, I know how spelling worked back in your days. Anyway you should get the results you want. Press the enter key when you wanna make it search.”

Larry holds the mouse and slides it around.

“Use this to click on things-” He deliberately clicks it a few times. “-And that little X in the corner will close everything.”

“Grazie, Monsieur Daley.”

“No problemo. I’m gonna go do a round, catch you later.”

Larry pats him on the back and walks off

Napoleon, backspacing the remaining W and, carefully selecting keys, types out ‘Al Capone injuries’.

The little circle spins, then ‘The infectious disease that sprung Al Capone from Alcatraz.’

“I hope the tablet got rid of that...”

Napoleon moves the little hand down and clicks on one link simply titled ‘Al Capone’, and hopes for the best.

Luck is on his side. To the right side of the screen is what is presumably a photo of Al when he was older, in black and white. He’s wearing a nice dark grey three piece suit, a shiny, striped tie, white shirt and pocket square, and a shiny watch chain. He’s also gained weight and lost hair. The banner under the photo reads ‘Al Capone in 1930.’

“Yet he pokes at me because of the paintings I commissioned when I was in my forties. It must run in Italian blood... Or it’s all the bread and cheese.”

Al was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

“That’s not very far from the museum, is it? I wonder if I could convince Larry to take Al and myself there..”

His parents, Teresa and Gabriele, immigrated from Angri, Italy.

He had eight siblings, six brothers and two sisters.

He did well in school but had difficulty following the rules at his parochial Catholic school. He was expelled permanently at fourteen for hitting a female teacher.

“At least I didn’t hit my teachers, u mo Diu.“

He worked at a bowling alley and a candy store, and was influenced Johnny Torrio, whom he later regarded as a mentor.

First he got involved with the Junior Forty Thieves, then the Bowery Boys. Then he joined the Brooklyn Rippers, and after that the powerful Five Points Gang.

He was employed by mentor and racketeer Frankie Yale, who tended bar at a dance hall and saloon called the Harvard Inn.

“Saloon? I thought that was only in the West in the eighteen seventies?”

Al inadvertently insulted a woman while working at the door of a nightclub in Brooklyn and was slashed by her brother Frank Gallucio.

“Oh...”

Napoleon opens a new tab, searches ‘Al Capone scars’ and pulls up a photo that marks each slash with a number.

They match scarily close to the fresh ones on the side of Al’s face now.

Napoleon’s mouth falls open slightly and his eyebrows pull together. He switches back to the other tab.

The wounds caused people to give him the nickname ’Scarface’ which Al loathed. His close friends called him 'Snorky', a word for sharp dresser.

“Ay Nippy, watcha doin’?”

Napoleon quickly closes out the browser and shuts the laptop, none-too-gracefully. Al smirks at him.

“Thought we were gonna meet in the office, what have ya been doin’?”

“Nothing, I was looking something up. None of your concern.”

“Mhm, ‘lookin’ something up.’ Be sure clear the history when you’re done.”

Al spins around and saunters off towards the office.

“So, Short Stuff, did you enjoy ‘lookin’ something up.’? Was it... Sexy?”

Napoleon pulls the latex off roughly.

“It was informative. The two photographs I looked at were... A bit attractive. No contest with the real thing, though.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Al pulls a knowing smirk. He doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does though.

Docteur = Doctor

Ehi! Miullu, i idioti! = Hey! Let me go, you idiots!

Monsieur = Mister

Grazie = Thank you

U mo Diu = My God

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Last Chapter

#NATM #night at the museum #al capone #napoleon bonaparte #jedediah #octavius #larry daley #teddy roosevelt #ahkmenrah #dr mcphee #jedtavius #capoleon #eventual capoleon #ivan the terrible #ivan the awesome #fanfic #Bad bad Alphonse Capone

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jestbee · 7 years ago

Text

Of dogs and Disobedience

Title: Of Dogs and Disobedience Words: 2870 Summary: The five times they tried to have rules for their dog, and the one time they gave up.

Authors Note: Today has been a great day and I hyped about the tour and possibly seeing it with my pals. So, to @ineverhadmyinternetphase and @charlottekath who inspired me to write this by talking about much domestic dnp n dogs in the group chat. I am weak and I caved and now this exists. No regrets!

Also, though I never really intended them to be linked, I’ve kind of got a series of dog fics now. ‘Of dogs and something’ fics. They could all be the same universe if you like. Established fan and dogs! Read the others here: Of Dogs and Solutions Of Dogs and Bathtimes

[AO3 link for this fic]

Fic under the cut

Enjoy!

Dan often tells him that he's more badly behaved than the dog. He steals food off Dan's plate, tracks muddy shoe prints through the hallway, and if Dan is gone for too long, bounces around him upon his return until Dan gives him some attention. At least, this is where Dan draws the parallels.

He doesn't seem to mind though. And while there are no clear cut rules for Phil, not really because despite the comparison Phil isn't actually Dan's pet, there are rules for Winston.

1. No tidbitting from the table.

2. No jumping up.

3. No sitting on the sofa.

4. No sleeping in their bed.

5. No going in the gaming room

"But he's just a puppy," Phil argued, scratching him behind the ears and grinning when his pink little tongue flopped out.

"Exactly," Dan replied, crouching down as well and stroking him, "he has to learn."

It isn't that Dan hates the dog. Far, far from that. Phil knows Dan loves Winston, is absolutely head over heels about the damn thing, but for some reason he's intent on having him be a good boy and- thanks to the internet- thinks a constant, consistent approach to household rules is the way to go about it.

There is lies the problem. Because, although Phil is quite open about his flippant attitude towards the rules, he does try to stick to them all the same.

He suffers the cocked head and longing stares as he eats, the wide brown pleading eyes aimed at his slice of pizza.

"Sorry little man," he says, hitching his plate higher out of his way, and trying to eat quickly so that Winston doesn't think he's neglecting him, "no tidbitting allowed."

But Dan. Dan, with his sharp clearing of his throat as soon as Phil looks like he's about to waver, his vocal announcing of the rules at every given opportunity, Dan, is the worst.

Phil is home from his meeting. A pointless one because he knows he doesn't really want to get involved in a solo project right now, not when the second bathroom is still being renovated and they're debating that extension on the back to make the kitchen bigger. He wants to settle for a while, make the space their own, but he'd promised Jo at the management company he'd go along anyway. Network she'd said you never know for later on down the line. He knows that's sensible, so he'd gone, but he's tired now and he just wants to come home.

He knows as soon as he gets in that Dan has been cooking. The smell of food is spiralling through from the kitchen and he's never been more thankful in the knowledge that Dan will have left some for him.

He stumbles through the hallway, kicking off his shoes and placing them on the rack in the space under the stairs and pads onto the cool whites tiles of their kitchen floor. Hand picked, of course, the exact shade of white as the counters because aesthetics, Phil.

"Did you cook? Amazing. I'm famished--" he stops.

Dan is sat at their breakfast table, the round glass one with the chunky pine legs. He's bent over, Winston's tan little body and swishing tail by his feet and he's--

"Are you feeding the dog your dinner?"

Dan straightens up, wide-eyed and alert like he's been caught in the act. Because he has.

"No."

"I thought we said no tidbitting," Phil

"I wasn't," Dan maintains, and Phil pretends to go along with it.

They're both coming home late this time. They'd popped out for a coffee with friends hours ago. It's takes them longer to get into the city these days and they always misjudge what time the rush hour traffic is going to hit on the way back. It means they get caught in the rain, and they're gone a little longer than they truly intended but they're still smiling when they come in through the door, shedding wet coats and shaking out their hair.

Winston is ecstatic. Bouncing around their ankles, shimmying up onto his hind legs, tongue lolling a yappy little bark escaping his mouth every few second.

"Shhh boy," Phil is saying, trying to encourage him to stop jumping, getting caught in his own coat in the process.

"Did you miss us?" Says Dan, his own coat abandoned on the antique chair they'd picked up at that place last summer. The one they said they were going to fix up, but haven't. The one that looks good anyway, a little shabby around the edges but charming nonetheless. Definitely more Phil's aesthetic than Dan's, but it works.

He's bent at the waist, slapping his hands against his knees, laughing as Winston props his paw up there, jumping and barking in time with their frivolity.

"Hey," Phil says, "No jumping up?"

Dan continues laughing, and Phil joins in.

Dan is ill. He's picked something up from somewhere. From going outside he reminds Phil at various intervals, I told you we shouldn't do that. There has been much coughing on Dan's end and much rolling of his eyes on Phil’s as Dan huddles on the couch and whines periodically for coffee or food or a warmer blanket. But Phil is the dutiful partner, bringing him things with only the smallest amount of mocking about his fragile state.

He's on his way back from the kitchen, the mash potatoes and gravy Dan just had to have when he was ill clutched in a steaming bowl, when he spots Winston up on the couch. He's curled into the curve of Dan's abdomen, rounded and he's hunched over, coughing forlornly and stroking at Winston's ears. They look cozy. The blanket tucked up under his chin, the rhythmic way Dan is petting at his fur, comfortable and close. Phil pauses for a moment in the doorway watching the nest of his little family and smiling.

"He's up on the couch," Phil says, the barest hint of a smirk and his eyebrows definitely not raised.

"I'm sick," Dan says, coughing weakly in demonstration. "Leave me alone."

"Okay," Phil says, handing him the bowl.

He strokes Winston's head twice, the pup butting his head into his hand, then reaches to run his fingers through Dan's hair.

"Are you petting me now?" Dan says, poking the fork into the potatoes.

"Maybe," Phil says.

Dan hums, taking a bite.

Phil rearranges them on the sofa so that Dan's legs are draped over his lap and Winston repositions so he can be near to them both. They stay like that for a while, and Dan begins to perk up.

Phil doesn't often go away alone these days. Most of the time Dan goes with him, or they go away just the two of them but, when there is work and the commitments that go with deciding that yes, you do want that extension to make the kitchen bigger, one of you sometimes has to skip the family barbecue and stay home. It being Phil's parents that were hosting, Dan drew the short straw and had to stay home and suffer the awkward encounters with builders.

Phil gets back on the Monday morning because travelling on the Sunday is always busy, Dan and he knows he's in for it because he's back later than they'd agreed he would be.

It's dark in the hallway, and there is no clattering sound of tiny paws on the wooden flooring of the lounge where Winston's basket is, which should have been his first clue. Phil puts his bag down, heads straight to the bedroom because if the house is in darkness, and there is silence in the living room, Dan has most likely gone to bed. Phil doubts Dan would have left the house, but he's just going to check anyway.

The scene in their bedroom has the breath catching in Phil's throat.

Dan's curly head pokes up from their sheets, bare arm hooked over the top, fingers curled into a loose fist. Winston is tucked up under his arm, his nose nuzzled into the juncture of his jaw and shoulder. He lifts his head as Phil enters, face alert at first then tail wagging as he recognises Phil.

"Hey boy," Phil says in a whisper. "I didn't think you were allowed on the bed."

Winston cocks his head and wags his tails some more as if he knows exactly what he's getting away with but that if Dan, the mean one, had allowed him then well, what was Phil going to do about it?

Phil isn't going to do anything, just chuckle lightly in the darkness at them both and contemplate getting a snack before he goes to bed himself.

He decides against it. Disappearing instead for a spell to brush his teeth, knowing he'd only get the riot act from Dan if he snuggled up to him to sleep without doing so.

Once he's in pyjamas, teeth brushed, contacts out, he heads back to the bedroom and crawls into the king sized bed. They'd invested in the bigger one when they got the house. It's a solid wood thing with a light grey wash to it, the headboard an actual thick branch. It's perfect, matching the rest of the silver-grey aesthetic they haven't moved away from since the last place, only much bigger. When Dan spotted it he fell in love instantly. Phil took a bit more convincing, mostly over the price tag considering it was some sort of obscure furniture designer Dan knew the name of but pretty much no one else in the world did (or at least that was Phil's argument at the time). He has to admit he likes it, especially at moments like this, bone tired from travelling, sinking into the soft mattress on a bed that is big enough for the length of them both without hanging off the edge and wide enough for them both to stretch out. That, and he had a sleep-warmed Dan next to him, which is always great, regardless of the bed.

Dan hums a sound as Phil curls close, mostly still asleep, but a little bit awake.

"How'd the kitchen go?" Phil asks, getting as close as he can with Winston between them.

Winston lifts his head from Dan's chest, turns his neck, sniffs at Phil who pets him absently, before settling down between the two of them, close enough that he can touch them both. He lets a breath out of his nose, noisy, sounding like a little contented sigh.

"S'good," Dan says, voice muffled as he scoots closer, mouth obscured partly by the pillow and partly by Phil's shoulder.

"Okay," Phil says, a hand up in Dan's hair, the duvet tucker around them both.

He scratches blunt fingers into Dan's head absentmindedly and Winston sighs again like he's jealous.

"Did Winston steal my side of the best while I was gone?"

"He's not allowed on the bed," Dan counters.

Phil glances down at Winston, a circle of fluff in the space between their bodies. "Alright," he agrees.

Actually, keeping Winston out of the gaming room is difficult for both of them, but with the mass of wires and the many many expensive pieces of kit that could get damaged, they both agree it's best that the puppy isn't running around.

Winston doesn't get the message straight away though, and the whining at the door, the tentative scratching of his claws against the door. It's painful to say the least, and they pretty much break that rule simultaneously and without much fuss.

They're mid gaming video, and the whining at the door is loud enough that microphone is going to pick it up.

"We're not bad dog parents," Phil is saying, animatedly, "But he'll injure his little paws if we let him in, or he'll trip over a cable or something. He's clumsy. He gets that from me."

"He can't get that from you Phil," Dan insists.

"He can, and he did."

Dan rolls his eyes affectionately, but Winston whines behind the door and is isn't long before he's rolling backwards in his chair and opening the door.

He brings him back in, cradled in his arms and lickign at his face.

"He can come play with us," Dan says, "I'll sit him on my lap, he won't get hurt."

"We can take turns," Phil corrects him, "he can sit with me when you're playing."

"Okay."

It's the first time Winston is featured on the gaming channel, but it wasn't the last.

They're heading back from a walk. Winston has gotten really good at not pulling on the lead and he's trotting along happily on the end of his black lead that matches his collar. That's been Dan's input. The bone shaped tag hanging from it with Winston's name and their contact information written on it had been Phil's.

"Oh, you're finally back," comes a voice from their porch as they walk up the drive, rounding the willow tree in their front garden.

"Oh god," Dan says beside him, "We totally forgot. I'm so sorry."

"No worries, you're not too late."

"Hi Louise," Phil says, offering the arm not currently holding Winston's lead for a hug.

"Oh hello," Louise says, ducking down in lieu of hugging him, "aren't you a cutie!"

"This is Winston," Dan says, his voice proud. "He's the best."

Louise tickles him under the chin and he pushes his furry head into her hand in response, licking at her a little bit.

"He's precious," she says.

They go inside, Louise relieving Phil of the lead to walk Winston inside, babbling to him all the time in baby talk.

"You're doing that mum thing," Dan notes.

"Yeah, just missing when my babies were really babies. Terrible twos have hit for the little one and I'm just… well, this isn't the easy bit. You guys have got it best with this one, he's lovely… aren't you. Aren't you just lovely."

Winston yaps once and wags his tails to show that, yes, he is lovely.

They make their way to the kitchen, Dan flicks the kettle on and fetches biscuits from the cupboard, arranging them on the plate. When they're settled around the table, drinks poured and Winston sitting at his feet, Louise gets around to asking about the renovations.

"Well, it looks a lot different in here from the last time I was here," she says.

"Yeah," Phil says, jumping up, because this is the part he likes best. He explains how it was before, what the concept was. That they're wanted to just knock through entirely but the wall was load bearing so they're settled for a lintel, made a feature of it with the spot lights. How they're chosen to keep the extension roof space open into the gable to give it that extra ceiling height, why they'd chosen to put windows in on both sides, rather than just one as the original builder has suggested. He's gesticulating wildly, he knows, but well, she'd asked.

"Don't mind him," Dan says, picking up a biscuit and breaking a bit off, "he always gets like this. He's so excited about it."

"So were you," Phil points out, "Mister we-must-have-the-exact-white-tiles-to-match-the-counters."

"Aesthetics, Phil, I've told you." He laughs, reaching down with the bit of biscuit to an awaiting Winston who scoops it from his palm delicately.

"Did you just--"

"What?" Dan asks Louise, her face incredulous.

"Did you just feel the dog biscuit from your hand?"

Phil scoffs, "Yeah," he says, "Except we're supposed to have a rule where we don't do that."

Dan shrugs.

Later Louise points out when Dan lets Winston up on the couch, when he lets him into the gaming room while they film a video and he curls up in the corner.

"You spoil him you know," Louise says, "He'll run riot."

"He already does," Dan says fondly.

"Yeah," Phil agrees, "We don't mind. He's kind of… he's like us."

"One of the family," Dan grins, looking over at him.

Phil grins back at there's a moment between them before Louise clears her throat. "Um guys?"

Dan laughs awkwardly.

"Besides," he says, "If I can put up with how badly behaved Phil is, a disobedient puppy is nothing."

Phil shoves at him lightly and Dan's smile lasts the entire time Louise is setting up the camera. And then some.

Most days, Dan insists Phil is still more badly behaved than the dog. Some days, Phil counters it with how badly behaved Dan is, and that if he's just stuck to the rules, the dog wouldn't be badly behaved anyways. Winston demands attention and despite their best efforts it's obvious who is really in charge in their house and he often runs circles right around them. He goes where he wants in the house, sits where he wants, sleeps where he wants, and they spoil him rotten. And to be honest, they wouldn't have it any other way.

#my fics #phanfic #phan #dnp #dan and phil #phanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #fic #phan fluff #domestic phan

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dove-annarchie · 7 years ago

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A Slow Damage headcanon theory compilation by Ann

It’s late and I’m supposed to write short stories instead of a long rant about a game that’s not even out. But after watching the Slow Damage PV another hundred times and seeing that the N+C fandom is kinda dead. I decided to add my little, possibly going to remain unseen theories/headcanons/speculations/guesses etc. for the fans waiting for something new.

Note that nothing of what I’ve written is to be taken at face-value, it’s just my speculation and feel free to correct me on anything or share your theories with me. Anything to make this agonizing period of waiting a bit less agonizing!

First, these guesses wouldn’t be as strong without @shinocchidesu’s text decode on the PV and the inverted sketches @bara-mink (sorry, for some reason i couldn’t tag you :C) made to get a new perspective on the images, and they look clearer!. Kudos to them!

To start this trip, I may warn you this is gonna be long as heck. Be prepared.

We’ve got to start with the ambience. N+C has something like a track record regarding crapsack worlds, dramatical murder and maybe false alkanet being the exceptions (and even then, Dmmd was dark as fuck despite the cheery, colorful world it was in). Togainu no Chi was a post-war dystopia, Lamento was a story in a world that was slowly dying, and sweet pool’s world was fairly ordinary but the darkness on the plot was the product of the characters’ doing.

Slow damage seems to be the game where both the characters and the world around them are grimdark as hell.

Taking the PV at face value, the characters seemed suspicious, the music and effects were unsettling and the background left an impression (at least in me) that nothing was fine. Looked kind of like a decadent city, or a red-light district, just an urban zone full of crime. If I had to compare it to explain myself better, think of Dragon Palace in Omerta Chinmoku no Okite (another BL, mafia themed VN).

(what looks like an urban environment in the pv):

(omerta’s dragon palace, for comparison):

A crime-filled ambience is an ideal place for a dark plot with troubled characters.

Moving along with the characters, we see 4 of them (at least if there’s not a hidden twin, clone or doppelganger). None of them look 100% sane to me. The flashing visuals and slightly off-key music and sounds are likely to hint that at us, or maybe it’s the kanji, for the Japanese-speaking people? They’re either very involved with crime, or their hands aren’t clean enough to disprove any guilt. At least for me, since these are my deductions.

Moving on, I’m going to talk about the people we see in the PV. Starting with:

My thoughts about him? When there’s crime, there should be cops. He looks like a detective or cop to me. He also seems to be middle aged, or older than the MC at the very least. Old enough to have been a father? Who knows. But he reminds me of Motomi (TnC) and Kiryuu (Omerta) for some reason. I’ll call him Kiryu for now.

The words deciphered by shinocchidesu in their post read:

Sins, guilt, depression, self-loathing, to hide something, mask.

If I tie this to his assumed position in the law, Kiryu must have committed a crime himself and/or gotten someone killed. It was either an accident or intentional, whether in a moment of weakness or fully aware of what was going to unfold. In any case. It seems like Kiryu desperately wants to hide it, or forget it. Or the disgust he felt with himself after doing it.

Affection, mercy, silence, determination to be…

What if his route is like a healing process, maybe not just for Kiryu, but also for whatever the MC went through before? Maybe by taking his route, if he has one, we can make him move on or remind him that the past is in the past, and that he can still find worthy things in his life (Like the MC?). he’s going to feel more positive with the MC around him, he may quickly take a liking to him. Maybe because he reminds Kiryu of someone from his past? Is being romanced by the MC like a chance to symbolically or internally fix everything that went wrong?

Next is…

My thoughts about him? Looks like the typical pretty boy every anime media must have. Longish hair? Check. More delicate face structure? Check. Mischievous smile? Check. He also seems to have piercings, or maybe it’s the rough lines of the sketches. I’m going to call him Shi for now, read the explanation ahead.

The deciphered words read:

Unrestrained, unstoppable pleasure, blood, bone, flesh, violence.

This doesn’t spell good.

I’m going to stretch my deductions a lot and state that maybe Shi was (or is) a cannibal, or a serial killer. I see him as a hedonistic fuck who doesn’t care about other people’s wellbeing as long as he’s having a blast. Maybe he was under the influence of drugs. All of this spells that Shi was an outright criminal, the kind of pleasure-seeking person who will go to the extreme just to feel new sensations, even if they’re morally wrong. Shi wants to feel thrilled, he has no barriers or chains. He’s a free man and not even the police can keep him from having his way. He’s sassy, brash, carefree and confident. Has a joyful and fun façade to hide his bloodthirstiness and the misery it caused him.

Or we can take the other side and imply he was being forced to be like this. Maybe he was part of a cult or a very toxic group who indulged in killing and intoxication. He’s used to this, even if he doesn’t want to be. Maybe the MC can help him withdraw from his passions or push him deeper into it while joining him. I still don’t have this clear.

Self-denial, build and rebuild, hidden aesthetic.

Shi lives very frugally. Because of his criminal status he has to constantly relocate, but it’s not like he has important things to leave behind. Much like Nine told Aoba in dmmd re:connect, Shi can build and destroy his (outer) world whenever he wants or needs to and he doesn’t lose much by that. The build and rebuild part can also apply to his possible murderous intents, since he destroys lives in order to build up his pleasure. Possibly being with the MC may inspire a desire to settle down, despite the risk, and having legitimate reasons to do the opposite. A possible bad end might be joining in the bloody debauchery and being dominated by Shi?

Next one…

My thoughts about him? A classic character; the kichiku megane. Other than Ugajin (also from Omerta) and the yaoi manga with that name, I cannot make any comparisons due the fact I haven’t seen many examples of this archetype. Unless he turns out to be a caring, if amoral sweetheart, I’m betting my cat’s life that he’s going to follow the trope to a T. Stoic, sadistic, cruel and uncaring, but smart, sophisticated, desirable and maybe hiding a very tiny good heart. He looks like a high-ranking criminal, or yakuza or mafia or I dunno, he looks not like a lowlife thug, but more like an evil hidden-in-plain-sight kind of criminal. He can afford to look elegantly amoral. It took me a while to give him a decent placeholder name, so I’m just calling him Kenji for now.

Let’s analyze his phrases.

To put on, not being himself, inerasable past, acted out truth, hatred towards their own.

This one’s a little more complicated to me even if it seems to be explicitly spelled out. Kenji’s self-hatred must stem from a typical traumatic experience. Maybe his family/race/clan/group did something awful and he was one of the few who regretted letting it happen? And that’s why he’s involved with crime? Because he sees himself as nothing but another apple that rot far away from the tree and he can’t do better than commit more crimes?. A little part of himself knows that while he’s scum, or at least related with the real scum, he didn’t commit atrocities like his kind so he can afford to be a little bit better. He desperately tries to distance himself from his clan, erasing his past and not wanting the horrible truth to be discovered. He doesn’t need to have a higher moral ground, he’s content with not doing horrible things directly. And he clings to that.

Cruel, thorough confrontation, continuous obsession.

Rule of three dictated these might refer to Kenji’s relationship with the MC. While MC doesn’t look like a career criminal, he’s still at the very bottom of the barrel, living in the crime-ridden urban settlement on a filthy studio (assuming he’s an artist). While Kenji can flaunt of being sophisticated and respected. If the kichiku megane aspect is played straight, Kenji won’t limit his cruelty with the MC, maybe seeing him as just another ruffian undeserving of even mere eye contact, much like he sees the people working for him. MC will keep clashing with Kenji, causing the yakuza to become enticed and attracted to the young (?) smoker. As if he’s “deserving” of him. I don’t have much else, sorry.

And finally…

Now let’s go with the hooded person, who I’m assuming it’s the MC, and if he isn’t and turned out to be the main antagonist or some shit like that, welp, then screech in my ear and call me Rachel.

I’m basing my guesses from the teaser images rather than the kanji.

The first one is simplistic. We see a person in a hoodie sporting a macabre smile, standing in the middle of a street with distorted figures which must be buildings. The colors are limited, classical red, black and white, aiding the macabre aesthetic of the picture. The black figures seem to sink onto the ground and lose consistency. As seen on the N+C website, the title of the game is written twice; once in white and then in black, right over the white katakana in an irregular way that may be meant to add to the “instability” of the image.

I don’t see much symbolism other that this being N+C’s way of saying “yo, we gon fuck your mind up but you gotta wait for it ;) also if you don’t speak Japanese then you’re doubly screwed fam”

The second one is more complex and gives us a very good look at the aspects and symbolism. We see the hooded person in much clearer detail. Looks definitely masculine (it’s a yaoi game, duh). He’s sitting on a stool, in a crooked posture, looking depressed and defeated, smoking while avoiding eye contact with the camera. Smoking was believed to reduce stress, but that was debunked a while ago, so he has pent up a ton of anxiety added to the usual problems with his already underprivileged lifestyle. Behind him there are numerous canvases (assuming he’s an artist, or at least a hobbyist) with a huge black one right behind his back, they show no images other than empty whiteness and some shadows, their meanings being that either he gave up, those easels are representing emptiness and gloom, he became disillusioned and he’s reflecting on stuff, or that there are multiple problems in his life that are unimportant or self-inflicted and thus cause him small amounts of misery but not to an extreme extent, and this one big black canvas right behind his back represents factor that started, prolonged or keeps fueling his bitterness and internal struggle.

I want you to save me./Do you want to be saved?

In a world of crime, a young man has the chance to make things right. Anything he could do may make things better or worse. Is he talking to himself? Is someone else asking him that? All the above?

By who? By me?

He’s doubtful and depressed. He started at the bottom and he’s still in the bottom (that was unintentional). But can he push his frustrations aside and face the music?

That concludes my analysis and helped quench my impatience a little bit. I should repeat that this is not to be taken at face value nor I’m saying this is 100% canon official information. It’s just another guessing game to see if I can give you an idea of what to expect. I dunno, I just wrote this for fun C: thanks for reading!

#slow damage #my posts #n+c #hooo boy that was long

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getoffthesoapbox · 7 years ago

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[VKM Spec] Slogging Through VKM 11

Whelp, VKM 11 has arrived and it was...underwhelming, to say the least. There are a few tidbits of interest which I’ll be covering below. If you’re looking for indepth analyses on the parallels and intricacies of Haruka and Juri and Kaien please check out @soulisthirsty‘s post which covers the specifics of that trio in more depth.

I despise all levels of the Kuran incest family shenanigans and prefer to spend as little time analyzing them as possible to keep my blood pressure down. ;) Ancient obasans have to watch out for these things, you know!

In the meantime, for anyone who hasn’t read the translations or seen the spoilers, please check them out on @alldempretties‘s blog before proceeding to read below. =)

This post has been tagged anti cross kaien and anti ky for anyone who would like to blacklist it from the tags. Fair warning: I won’t be using any visuals because this chapter isn’t up to snuff panel-wise. Hino got a bit lazy with this one.

On Present Kaien - Melodrama Ridiculous

Why Hino decided to dedicate a full 40 pages to Kaien is...quite beyond my ken. Regardless, here we are.

As many perhaps are aware, Kaien is one of my most detested characters, and this chapter does little to fix this. He’s no better than the noble vampires, running around worshipping his purebloods at the expense of common sense. But we’ll get to that in a minute. For now I’d like to focus on the present and how ridiculous this whole set up is.

Hino makes a big hairy deal about Kaien’s reaction to the doctor’s news (the doctor is absolutely preposterous and unprofessional), and then she drags out Kaien’s long memory sequence about his loved ones. A larger deal is made out of Kaien’s “illness” than Yori’s funeral! Sometimes Hino’s lack of common sense is stunning.

Kaien plays up his illness in order to manipulate Yuuki into giving him a whole host of things she wouldn’t ordinarily give him. Dates to the park with Ai (I noticed Kaien didn’t invite Zero to these), old massage coupons, photo album sorting, great screenings with everyone important assembled. For a guy who’s dying, he sure has a lot of unfinished business.

It’s hard to know if Hino actually intends to kill him off or if this whole scenario was created in order to give Yuuki a reason to be sorting photos and creating this screening for Kaien. Zero seems to be under the impression that it’s much ado about nothing, which I’m inclined to agree with, much as it pains me.

I find it interesting that Kaien still calls Zero “Kiryuu-kun” while he calls Yuuki “Yuuki” and Kaname “Kaname-kun.” It’s clear he’s still on the pro-Kaname boat and the anti-Zero boat as far as Yuuki is concerned, as is fitting for his Kuran-obsessed character. He’s always placed Kaname and Yuuki above Zero, even though Zero was entrusted to his care.

Sadly, I doubt he’ll be dying anytime soon. I was really hoping to get rid of one of the detestable characters, but no, Hino only commits to killing off the decent ones. Thanks for spoiling my fun, Zero. ;)

On Past Kaien - A Long Life with Little to Show for It

My current theory on why Hino insisted on rehashing old exposition of Kaien’s past (Kaien takes photos, Juri wields anti-vampire weapons, Kaien was friends with Haruka and Juri, Kaien started the school for Juri, Kaien was in love with Juri) is to remind the readers of all these things that occurred over the course of the original series. If I don’t think of it this way, I’ll want to tear my hair out over having to reread the same old information again.

Regardless, we do clarify a few things. Kaien gets inspired by Isaya to take photos. Isaya��s words about capturing happy times of your loved ones are probably meant to echo into the future to Zero and Yuuki during their happy times (and to reflect upon the present as an unhappy time despite appearances).

We also find out that Kaien’s become exhausted with his illustrious career as the Ten Thousand Slayer. He’s more like a pureblood than a human, and his comrades begin to pull away from him thanks to that. Kaien also begins to sympathize more with the purebloods than he does with the hunters.

The academy is an idea he cooked up to help create a better world for Juri. Unfortunately it isn’t something she can take advantage of--she’s an adult woman who finished her school days long ago. But the focus is on the idea of a bright future and her encouragement of his plan.

It’s interesting that he admits the results weren’t all that great, even though he did manage to plant a bit of a seed toward that future. His academy was an abysmal failure and his methods brought no peace at all, but he did provide the environment for the next generation to begin building on the ruins of what he’d attempted. It will not be his generation who saves the future, but Zero’s, Aidou’s, and Yuuki’s. Out with the old, in with the new.

Though his accomplishments are meager, he seems content with them, and that’s probably as good as he deserves.

On Kaien vs. Kaname Anti-Mirrors - Interference vs. Acceptance

A few interesting similarities between Kaien and Kaname cropped up this chapter. The similarities weren’t too intense, but they were there.

Kaien, like Kaname, began to see life as dull and gray and ashen. He, like Kaname, wanted to do away with himself. Like Kaname, he was saved by the bright personality of a Kuran woman.

However, the two men differ in a very significant way which the chapter highlights. Kaien watched Haruka and Juri, and although he wished for Juri’s love, instead of choosing to interfere between them, he chose to search for a way he could help both of them be happy and free them of their burdens.

Kaname, on the other hand, watched Zero and Yuuki together and tried to take what Yuuki gave freely to Zero for himself. He interfered with Zero and Yuuki’s natural trajectory and did everything in his power to derail it from its inevitable course. He chose to add to their suffering, and even in his final moments he wasn’t able to truly free either of them. Kaname is in this sense much closer to Rido than to Kaien, despite him and Kaien having similar beginnings.

On Kaien vs. Zero Anti-Mirrors - The Failed Savior vs. The Vampire Knight

Now this was an incredibly pleasant surprise! For a chapter with so little substance, to find this nugget was a real pleasure.

Throughout the chapter, Hino places small hints that Kaien’s and Zero’s trajectories are meant to be compared. They’re not parallel trajectories because Zero corrects Kaien’s mistakes and is meant to succeed where Kaien failed.

In the chapter, it’s made clear that Kaien falls under the spell of the pureblood lifestyle and forgets himself. He loses touch with what’s important to the hunters, and loses their confidence. They grow distant from him and no longer connect with him.

Then we switch to the present and we see the exact opposite going on with Zero. Zero has not forgotten who he is and what he stands for--although he tolerates and accepts vampires, he is still first and foremost focused on the good of humanity. His hunters respect him and joke with him--a sign of a good superior is when subordinates feel they can tease them. Although Zero himself is a vampire and is dating a pureblood, his subordinates are not suspicious of where his loyalties lie, unlike Kaien. Zero is a healthier person than Kaien, in spite of all his losses in life, and this more grounded nature of his enables him to succeed within both the hunter and vampire circles.

Moreover, in the past Kaien has a significant scene where he watches Haruka and Juri and compares them to birds drenched in the rain who have lost something important. His heart goes out to them, and he recognizes in them the same loneliness he has in himself. He decides he wants to save them from their burdens. Unfortunately, Kaien fails because Haruka and Juri die long before his academy can bear any fruit. His purpose and meaning and the people he wanted to save vanish at the same time, leaving him unable to save anyone. Hino highlights this with the color spread--Kaien is outside the deep dark forest, trying to reach in to his friends. They both look at him, but ultimately cannot join him.

This was such a great find for me, because it implies that Zero will succeed where Kaname failed. I’ve reiterated several times that I believe Zero failed as the Vampire Knight in the original series. He was meant to save his birds who forgot the song of happiness--Kaname and Yuuki. But he failed thanks to not recognizing his duty soon enough and to Yuuki’s memory wipe. As such, his burden to save the two of them has been shifted to VKM. Unlike Kaien, though, Zero wants to make a better world for Ai, not just Yuuki. Zero is working for the future deliberately, not for the present. This is a completely different perspective than Kaien’s, and it will allow Zero to flourish and to achieve his goals where Kaien couldn’t.

I firmly believe by the end of the story Zero will succeed where Kaien failed and save not only Yuuki and the world at large but also Kaname. Zero is the seed Kaien planted without knowing it, and the one who--through assisting with the cure, encouraging cooperation between the vampires and hunters, never forgetting himself or his duty, making the world a better place for Ai, and leaving his fragment to help Yuuki with Kaname--will bring forth the “bright future” Juri wished for her daughter and shine a light on the deep dark forest at last. Only Zero can do this, and I have faith in him to take on the responsibility at last!

On Haruka & Juri - The Birds Whose Happiness Went Extinct

I won’t dwell on the parallels between Haruka/Juri and the pairings. I’m honestly in the camp that believes the real Haruka and Juri were more akin to Kaname and Yuuki, and that the idealized Haruka and Juri that Yuuki wished for are what’s akin to Zero and Yuuki. But I really have no stake in the game, so whatever floats people’s boats.

However, there are some callbacks and interesting points I’d like to explore with these two.

For one, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on how purebloods lose their ability to find happiness as they age and as the duties placed on them increase. Honestly, I’m of the opinion that this is thanks to purebloods refusing to accept their duties and constantly running away from their responsibilities, but Hino wants us to pity them, so pity them we shall by god. I’ve never in my life felt bad for her purebloods--they’re all rich, wealthy, and beautiful. They all create their own destruction because they’re selfish beings who don’t know how to do good in the world. Honestly, a great majority of their suffering is of their own making.

Regardless, Hino uses Haruka and Juri to remind us of a couple of callbacks to Kaname and Yuuki. On the cover page of the chapter, she’s placed Haruka and Juri deep within the gnarled trees of the deep dark forest. Haruka and Juri, like Kaname and Yuuki after them, fell into the deep dark forest. Further, Haruka and Juri are compared to drenched birds clinging to each other in the rain, an image very similar to the “birds who have forgotten the song of happiness” Hino used for Kaname and Yuuki back in Night 91′s title. She goes further with Haruka and Juri to indicate that something has gone extinct within them--likely the love of life and the appreciation of its possibilities.

This all hints that Haruka and Juri’s “happiness” is the facade of two lonely people whose love isn’t enough to overcome their long lives and their responsibilities. My personal opinion has always been that this is because Juri doesn’t actually love Haruka--he was just the best of two bad options. After centuries together, she grew fond enough of him that he helps ease her loneliness, but I doubt he was her true love. (I don’t think any of her options were her true love, but that’s beside the point.)

I also found it interesting that Haruka and Juri do not seem to be placing Kaname’s happiness as a priority. Instead all their focus is on Yuuki. This places an extra meta burden on Yuuki as a character--she now has to find happiness not only for herself, but for her parents as well. She is their hope, and they died for that hope. It’s now even more imperative that she find her happiness with the man she chose--Zero. Baby steps!

What I find interesting is that Haruka and Juri’s wish for Yuuki led her directly to Zero, not Kaname. Their method for helping her find happiness delivered her right to just the right man for her. That cannot be a coincidence.

Interestingly, Kaien seems to have tried to subvert the true wish of Haruka and Juri--for Yuuki to find her own happiness--by trying to substitute Kaname and Yuuki for Haruka and Juri in his life. This may explain why he pushed Yuuki to Kaname and supported their reunions at the expense of Yuuki’s mental health and wellbeing and even preferences. It also explains why he wasn’t too keen on Zero and Yuuki as a couple. Kaien was invested in seeing Yuuki and Kaname find the happiness Haruka and Juri weren’t able to, but that wasn’t what Haruka and Juri wished for Yuuki. They wanted her to find a happiness and a bright future that could only be had within Kaien’s academy. A future with Kaname was not that future--a future with Kaname would have ended up the same way Haruka’s and Juri’s did. They didn’t wish a pureblood life of misery upon their daughter--they wished a life of light and joy.

On Ichiou - Evil or Misunderstood?

Poor Ichiou. Hino wants us to hate him so badly she makes Haruka act all hostile to him, but the guy really doesn’t do anything bad this chapter. All he does is remind Haruka of the duties he’s shirking in order to play with Juri at things he shouldn’t be doing. I honestly feel for Ichiou; can you imagine how many unruly purebloods he has to deal with all the darn time? It’s no wonder he gets power hungry later--his job’s thankless!

I’m not the type to hate characters just because other characters hate them. I usually get suspicious when characters are painted as too over-the-top evil. No one is entirely evil. Ichiou probably got just tired of the purebloods and their childish ways and wanted at least a little something for his trouble. Bless the poor man.

On the Screening - What the Future Holds

I suspect Kaien’s going to die before they can host the screening in his lifetime. I think that’s going to be something Yuuki picks up throughout the 900 years of her life, and she’ll add photos of everyone--including her happy life with Zero, Ai, and Ren. Likely Kaname will be the one who gets to watch this compilation of all his loved ones’ lives, maybe toward the end of the story after he’s come to terms with all he lost and never had and is ready to heal and move forward.

Since Isaya mentioned that it’s good to have photos of your loved ones from happy times, this is an indicator that we’ll be getting a significant portion of our photos from the Zero/Ren/Ai days. It also implies that we’re not in the happy times yet, because no one’s been taking photos. (This also ties back to the very first cover from VKM 1, which was a huge stack of photos from the past.)

It would also be nice if we did get to have that amusement park date with Kaien, only Zero goes along and Kaien finally admits to himself that he was wrong to push Yuuki with Kaname--that she’d already found the perfect person for her. =P It’d be nice to see him recognize that Zero is the one who brings the joy out in Yuuki the way Haruka brought it out in Juri, since Kaien can’t seem to attach to anyone unless they remind him of Haruka and Juri. *sigh*

On Zero & Yuuki - The Return of the Public Masks

The time lapse between VKM 10 and 11 appears to be about a week or two. We have no idea what went down during that time, but clearly Zero and Yuuki haven’t broken up and are still together.

This chapter has some striking similarities to Night 50 from the original series. In that chapter, after the small 6-month time skip, we skipped ahead another 6 months to see Yuuki, Aidou, Kaname, and Aidou’s father have a small meeting. Yuuki and Kaname are pleasant to each other, showing none of the difficulties they have behind closed doors. Zero and Yuuki in VKM 11 remind me of that, though in a healthier way (Zero’s not encouraging Yuuki to kiss him or put on a show of affection for the guests).

Still, I think it’s fairly clear that Zero and Yuuki in this chapter are in “public mode.” They’ve just gone around announcing to the world that they’re dating, so they need to keep up appearances, regardless of how things may or may not be proceeding behind closed doors.

The preview for August’s chapter indicates there’s trouble in paradise as expected. Zero and Yuuki are good at hiding their true feelings in public, but this also may be a case where their genuine concern for Kaien makes them both “forget” their problems temporarily and allows their relationship to return to its natural flow when they’re not putting their issues in the foreground.

Either way, it was truly a treasure to see them bickering cutely and acting like an old married couple. Zero chewing out his hunter boys was adorable too. It was a nice break from the storm that’s sure to come this way soon.

On Aidou - The Rising Winds

Hino makes sure to remind us at the tail end of the chapter that trouble is on the horizon.

We now know Aidou hasn’t had a chance to test his Kaien theory yet. Whether he’ll get to or not remains a mystery, but next chapter’s preview implies Zero’s going to get involved in the research soon. All is proceeding according to plan for the Zero/Ren cure theories. ;D

Hino ending the chapter on a sad note is to prep us, I think, for what’s to come. Aidou’s going to be throwing himself into work, and likely Zero will be joining him as Yuuki finds more and more excuses to escape the demands of the relationship through the photo sorting for Kaien.

It would be incredibly nice for Aidou to unload on Zero all the complaints us Zeki critics have with Zero and Yuuki’s progress. ;) If Aidou did that, I think I at least would feel much better about where Zero and Yuuki are currently as a couple. When the narrative faces the problems squarely, it’s easier to sit back and just enjoy the ride.

It would be nice if next chapter could take us back into the future with Kaname. I’m still waiting to find out if my Zero fragment theory is even remotely possible, lol. Guess I have no choice but to keep waiting. In the meantime, full speed ahead with the Zero/Ren cures! Until next time!

#vampire knight #vampire knight memories #vkm spec #vkm speculation #zeki #anti cross kaien #anti ky #vkm chapter review

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