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rei-ismyname · 1 month ago

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I loved your Exodus Was Right essay and wanted your thoughts abt if/when Hope summers will be back. Exodus and Hope were my favorite duo during Krakoa and I really thought it was gonna be her in the last Krakoan egg

Hey there!

Thanks! It's a piece I'm really proud of and had a great time researching and writing it. In case you missed it, here it is. Oh boy, do I have thoughts!

Hope and Exodus are faves of mine too. Hope was mostly a background character before Immortal X-Men while Exodus had a mini arc/great moments and generally being extra, he didn't receive a lot of depth. Fortunately, Kieron Gillen saw the opportunity for an odd couple made up of the mutant Messiah (who thinks it's bullshit/has already done the job) and the true believer whose remixed Catholicism has her superceding The Prophet Magneto and Jesus Christ The Nazarene Mutant in importance.

Fuck, I love them so much and could talk about them forever but I should answer your question. TW a shit load of blasphemy below the cut.

I miss them so much.

My cynical answer is 'in about 3.5 years when they decide to stripmine Messiah Complex and/or Second Coming and redo it with a new coat of paint.'

My slightly less cynical, more pragmatic answer is 'in some dogshit event/time travel one shot/mini that undoes the wonderful White Hot Room utopia like they did with Tempus in Timeslide.' I don't trust editorial to recognise the extradimensional Krakoa's importance as the one solid W the mutants got. Children and C listers left behind while the main characters fought for the future of everything, nobodies who learned from the mistakes the Quiet Council and others made. Just mutants who lived without the threat of genocide or capitalism and built a post-scarcity society then resurrected ALL the dead mutants and came back for everyone else.

Just as R-LDS shits on the mutant miracle (and makes Hope/The Five look incompetent) I fear that Marvel has difficulty telling superhero soap opera with oppression analogy and endless misery apart. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to drag it out the back and shoot it in the head. Err, maybe that one is even more cynical.

The thing is that Hope was a really interesting character concept that had solid development and an interesting arc until about the second act of AvX. Generation Hope was especially great. After that, she spent a bit of time in X-Force but it didn't last very long and she didn't have a hook. In many ways, Messiah Complex to AvX was a complete arc for her as the Messiah who reversed M Day with Wanda, even though they didn't really stick the landing.

She languished for a few years and eventually showed up leading the MLF murking populists with Zombie Banshee. I thought her actions were in character and her disillusionment with life in general was a fantastic beat. She shot Cyclops in the eye and optic blasted Logan away - I love that for her. Unfortunately Rosenberg didn't do much with that and she was mostly just there for the rest of the run though interestingly Age of X-Man had her as a pseudo-religious figure and symbol. part of the creation myth.

HoxPoX was huge for her as a symbol and plot device that made her the most important person on the island, but she wasn't really explored as a character. The Five were in the background here and there, often in resurrection scenes. They got a closer look in X-Factor but weren't part of the cast. Hope was mad at young Cable for killing her dad, but it only came up once and she didn't spend much time on the moon. Gillen zoomed out and looked at her whole history, identifying that her story wasn't done yet. The Quiet Council wasn't a representative body, but Hope (nudged by Exodus) insisted that she be The Five's voice on the council. It was a genius idea, as she was a counterpoint to their feet of clay and it put her centre stage. I really need to write about Immortal X-Men more as it's fantastic and underrated, with Hope and Exodus' dynamic a highlight. After Judgement Day they really started to hit it off and Sins of Sinister drove a wedge between them, though it didn't last. Hope kicking the shit out of Exodus was excellent, but the peak was them as leaders in the White Hot Room (with Destiny as a almost a Greek chorus hating every second.)

When X-Men Forever, RotPoX and Uncanny 700 was done and dusted, her arc really was complete and all her history welded together to make sense. An unbroken circle of fire with the Phoenix - birth and death - willingly sacrificing herself so everyone could live. That her presence is felt in the WHR closes the loop and writes a coda for her decades long Messiah arc, even the shit parts.

Exodus begging to die in Hope's place

A big part of me really wants to let that be the end of her story, a comic book character who truly gets to end on a high note. It sucks that she died but at least she had agency and went out with a bang. Her story has been told and now she's a symbol, or at least she should be. If they bring her back I'd want that to be established first.

How I'd do it is to have Exodus' religion actually take off. They're a great couple (not like that) and squeezing more juice out of that orange is definitely possible. Hope didn't really like the Acolyte thing and thought Exodus was crazy (he kinda is NGL,) though she eventually leant into a little bit. I wanna see how she'd react to a full fledged religion with her as the Messiah figure. She's been struggling with those expectations since Second Coming, hated by strangers, resented by unbelievers - heretics who thought she was the antichrist tried to kill her before she was even born. Consider what Scott Summers' attitude towards Hope was right from the start up to AvX - he believed without proof that Hope was destined to save the mutants. That's faith right there. He lost his faith when The Romans The Avengers meddled and created The Phoenix Five but Hope was the real deal.

As I detailed in Exodus was right, Hope rebirthed the Phoenix and the Phoenix impregnated her mother. Immaculate conception shit. She saved the mutant race in AvX and all of existence through bringing the Phoenix back. Her presence in the White Hot Room can be felt in an unexplainable way - enabling resurrection of 16 million slain mutants, some of whom returned to Earth. That's beyond miraculous, it's divine - Hope is much better than Jesus, lol, and Exodus somehow called it. As much as he can be trusted as a reliable narrator, he had a vision of The Phoenix in the 12th century. He reconstructed his faith around it and faith is a powerful thing. Religions have been started from a lot less and all Hope's miracles have proof.

Rasputin IV would join up in a heartbeat, maybe Cypher the golden idiot too. Not sure how Exodus would do as self-appointed Pope but he's grown a lot and there's a good chance he'd reconstruct his faith again without the Catholicism. Human nonsense. Jesus has been holding out on a second coming for 2000+ years, whereas Hope had access time travel and did it in a few years. Jesus resurrected a couple, that's a lazy afternoon for Hope. She shoots bad faith assholes like Selene in the head and Jesus would never. Jesus died for our sins, but Hope died for our lives. There were 250K Krakoans and 16 million mutants returned in the White Hot Room - that's a huge base of potential followers. I'm an atheist but if Hope resurrected me and I watched her die rebirthing the Phoenix I'd believe the hype. Maybe even subscribe to Exodus' newsletter.

No boring holy wars or wackadoo fundamentalism. No exploding communion wafers written by someone who doesn't understand religion at all, let alone Catholicism. No inquisitions or crusades, except against Mister Sinister. Schisms, though? Hell yeah. I wanna see Exodus get excommunicated for declaring himself an anti-pope. I want arguments over the canonisation of Magneto, a reformation to include Louise Spalding as a prophet and objections to Apocalypse as Satan. Quibbling over Exodus' translation of scripture and the disaster of writing the new new testament. A rando former Zoroastrian getting all Manichean. Jean being like 'sure, I'm the Holy Spirit. Glad you're having fun.' White Hot Roomers and Krakoans with very different perspectives, maybe even an East-West Schism deal. Exodus trying to canonise his dead boyfriend. Everyone calling bullshit on his vow of celibacy (Krakoa is for lovers!)

I need it to break containment ('wow, that really is some Messiah shit') and then another schism over whether humans are allowed. Mutant supremacists becoming the minority. Reverent predictions of the Second Krakoan Age. Sure, we could take the obvious predictable route of having it be a violent disaster, but I want it to go really well. It's the mutant link to the numinous and metaphysical, not some dreary temporal modern nation state. It's Hope, faith, love, and saving the fucking world. Everyone is important.

That should be democratic and complicated! Secularists with purely cultural involvement trying to decentralise the faith. Pagan offshoots that celebrate Krakoa the miracle genius loci but reject Hope's divinity. A strong movement from Buddhists arguing that they have a duty for a Bodhisattva Vow - to bring the Second Krakoan Age to the entire universe.

Arguments - Is Cable, who raised the Messiah, a prophet? What about Cyclops, the prodigal Grandfather who's married to the Phoenix and hosted the Phoenix when the Messiah doubted herself? The rest of the Phoenix Five? What about Destiny? Sure, Hope is the Messiah, but is Phoenix the Holy Spirit? Is Mass/Scripture in English or Latin? Or Krakoan? There's plenty of other gods cruising around and wandering the earth - how do they feel about that? Someone would float the idea of a polytheistic pantheon. And on and on and on.

So yeah, I'd set that up, make it a wondrous thing that unifies a lost people. Then have Hope return for some kind of save everyone mission, and be like 'what the actual fuck dude? Stop kneeling and chanting please, I'm not the fucking Messiah. Get out of my way, I need it to do the thing to save all of existence ... ... ... FUCK! Goddamn it. What's that? Yeah, I did that. No I haven't been in Heaven, I've been in the White Hot ... God fucking damnit. How many of you motherfuckers are there? I can't deal with this.' Hope manifests some Phoenix flame in anger and believers start speaking in tongues and chanting 'Exodus was right' in Krakoan that's drifted 15-20 years from the Krakoan Hope knows.

I want to really lean into the Messiah thing and explore the tension of a living Messiah. The awkwardness of being worshiped and the inevitable ecclesiastical drift. I want to see Exodus committed to building the mutant church and dealing with people actually listening to him for once. Continuing his growth as an altruist who cooperates with people - balanced against the fact that he is literally a prophet. This will never, ever happen, but I would love it so much. Would she reject it completely? Her messianic works and link to the divine are empirical, plus it seems to be a positive force in the world. How would believers react to the rejection, to her presence? Does it matter?

It'd be the equivalent of the Second Coming of Christ, except he's a gun girl that grew up drinking piss who DEFINITELY performs miracles on the reg (even by mutant standards.) Exodus would be delighted yet troubled. A symbol that's walking around swearing and picking their nose is more complicated than a perfect dead Messiah.

#x men #x comics #krakoa #hope summers #exodus #x men forever #immortal X-Men #destiny #religion #marvel #comics #asks #quiet council #magneto #tw blasphemy

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fanatical4creation · 11 months ago

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INVERTED!Poppy!!!

Finally made her up, I was just putting it off and putting off designing her but then I took my pen, my new laptop and drew it, now look at her!!!

Alright let's start shall we?

Design:

"OMG FANATICAL WHY DOES POPPY LOOKS LIKE A FRISK-" Shhhhh, you need to calm down, i'll explain everything;

Alright, bare with me: The original Poppy mentions in an animation, that she's talking to her therapist, that people usually thinks she's a Chara, but she's none! And I think, I theorize, I suppose that the reason why she looks like a Chara is bc an Frisk was drawing her (you know her lore?), so supposing that the whole concept of Invertedverse is that the original universe Underswap, that Frisk who drew her is an Chara, so if the Frisk drew a Chara in the original, here the Frisk that is now a Chara would draw a Frisk....... so, that's the logic here.;

Even though Poppy is still not a Frisk nor a Chara, but I don't think I translated that into her design, maybe I'll redo it sometime.

Her clothings are intriguing. It's her original teenage/adult clothings but with some green and a purple cloak or cape, whatever that is. This cloak represents her importance inside OmegaTimeline, that reminds me;

View from back Ω:

Made it with wind because it's cool, plus, her silhouette is cool too

Story:

Core was the "ruler" of Omega Timeline, everyone would look for them when there was a problem and needed help, everybody trusted them, but they put Poppy on their place... Core is a very mischievous character, no one really knows why they put Poppy in charge.

Omega citizens theorize that the reason is because Core was lazy, or that they didn't like the attention, or maybe they wanted to focus fully on recruting people, even thought after Poppy got in charge Core was rarely seen interacting with people and also the numbers of new survivors to get to the OT decreased.

Poppy tries her best to help remain peace within Omega Timeline, even if it requires all of her energies, thought she could really use some help, she thinks that the reason why her parent is more absent while she was in charge was because they knew she could everything alone, and that she should do it.

She doesn't have many friends, and the old ones got far away because she's too busy working signing papers, solving problems, financing projects, etc, etc.

Character:

She suffers. That's the truth, she just needs a vacation and a hug from her girlfriend.

She doesn't like parties... just thought it was important to mention.

Poppy doesn't like her parent, almost hates them even, they seem so irresponsible, imature and a coward, after just letting their daughter in charge of a (practically) country in surprise, it's expected for her to feel that way

Poppy has to be the clueless character in the whole Invertedverse, the reason is that she's so busy at work, or too busy being tired, and she usually gets information on what's going on from Core, but Core have been very silent lately, wonder why...

She has the hobby of playing board games, dancing and origamis!

She likes to cook more for others than herself

Sometimes she would visit the Madame T's orphanage, mainly to see Cadence and her friends, but also to donate and all of that things famous ppl do in orphanages idk.

Even thought she does a lot of hard work sometimes she'd take credit over someone elses work unintentionally, i mean, she's kind of the president.

She can't lie, like literally, maybe it's just her morals, or maybe it's a supernatural force idk.

She also keeps taping her fingers in hard surfaces all the time, I think it's anxiety.

Oh yeah, her full name is still Poppy Marusina, but she can also be called Iris Marusina, or maybe I'll change that to her original name, idk

Poppy (c) fmsdraws

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theharrowing · 2 months ago

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White Lies 3: There you are

Yoongi is everything you could ask for. He is attractive, confident, and smart. And his partner Taehyung is as possessive as he is beautiful. Too bad a relationship would be a major conflict of interest.

You need to have them, at all costs.

🤍 Yoongi x Female Reader x Taehyung

🤍 word count: 9k + screencaps of conversations

🤍 college au, cop au, partial social media au with a lot of written story, strangers to lovers & established relationship, yandere, hurt/comfort, smut, fluff, angst, slash, poly, minor character injury & death, graphic violence, nsfw, 21+.

🤍 warnings: the morning after being drugged (forensics test is done, see more info in note below). kissing, phone sex (sort of), masturbation (sort of), semi-explicit thoughts. mc is a bit of a mess but she's our mess. 😤

🤍 note: wow hi sorry for the 16 months in between updates 😅 to say life has been hectic is an understatement. reminder: mc's fake name is Sandra. she won't be called this throughout the entire fic but we are still establishing relationships. also Taehyung & Yoongi have all kinds of aliases for now - that will also change soon. hang in there!!! i had to redo all the screencaps for the earlier chapters and while doing so i reworded some messages & provided a little more context, so if you feel like you want a refresher, go check those chapters out! Josie's character calls mc "bella" which is pronounced like "beya".

🤍 also note: mc has a forensics examination done to test for sexual assault. in the biz/true crime media it's called a rape kit. this is done off screen and there are not a lot of details provided but if you still feel the need to skip those bits, please do so. 💜 your safety comes first. i can happily tell you any details you might miss in those bits if you want, you can even dm me on anon and ask. this goes for any possible triggers in anything i write.

🤍 this is a sequel to Boy Blue! i highly recommend that you start at the beginning!!!

🤍 beta read by @neoneunnajimin

🤍 posted april 2025 | read on ao3

PREVIOUS | INDEX | NEXT

Waking up with a splitting headache is cause enough for concern, but sitting up in your bed and realizing you have no idea how you got here or what time it is, is worse. Instantly, your body goes into panic mode, tensing up and taking inventory of any aches and pains, trying to determine what it went through.

As you sit up some pretty stark hints begin to reveal themselves. For one, you are fully clothed. Both of your phones are with you – one on your pillow and the other in your pocket – and your purse is on your bedside table along with a full glass of water.

You remember sharing a drink with Cody and then the details become fuzzy. There is a split moment in your memory where you think you can picture yourself standing in front of a soda dispenser holding onto tiny paper cups filled with ketchup, but when did you go to a place with ketchup? And were you alone?

You reach for the phone that is on your pillow to see what it can offer in terms of hints. Two calls were received from an unknown number at 10:49 and at 11:24. The first of the two calls was not answered but the other one was, and you were on the call for just under three minutes.

Could that have been Cody? But why was he calling you?

You sit up and fish your actual phone from your pocket. Seokjin has already sent a text this morning and you bypass it for now; it is still early enough that you can feign being asleep while you continue to sort this mess out. In fact, your 8:00 alarm still has ten minutes before it goes off, giving you plenty of time to go into detective mode before your 10:20 class this morning.

You open up the app that monitors both your doorbell camera and the camera that is tucked away in your living room bookshelf, and you select the last capture that was made from your hallway at 11:25. The video that pops up makes your heart sink.

Closing your apartment door, with his head down enough that his black baseball hat obstructs his face, is Cody. The camera captures him saying, "I have left your humble abode," before he turns and walks to the stairs.

What was Cody doing at your apartment? You only had two drinks and a shot; how could you have gotten so drunk that you forgot about this?

You select the second to last clip and sure enough, there you are stepping up to the door with your head tipped forward, muttering, "Thank you. Small gold key." Cody unlocks your apartment door and then you both enter.

This feels wrong. Your hands tremble as you back out of this camera and select the one in the living room. It is a little more sensitive to motion and sound, and you are unsurprised when you click on the last video and it is eight minutes long.

In the footage the two of you enter the apartment – you stumbling over your steps and him as calm and collected as can be. You kick out of your boots, flinging them to the side while propping yourself against the wall, and he has a hand on your arm to keep you steady, then he toes from his sneakers, saying, “Just want to get you a glass of water, okay?”

You are the first to hobble away, in the direction of your bedroom. Cody pulls his phone from his pocket, thumbs around like he is sending a message, and then his phone's flashlight comes on, shining directly into the camera but not bright enough to obstruct the image of him. He looks up as if surprised by the mistake, muttering, "Shit," as he pans his phone left to right rather quickly, and then he shuts it off and walks deeper into the apartment. Your heart pounds as he disappears from the frame and you listen intently for whatever comes next.

It is a relief when you hear the kitchen sink running, then you hear the sound of a cabinet door closing. The water shuts off and you hear the faint sounds of footsteps, followed by seconds of silence and then distant voices. Although you are unable to make out what the two of you say from the end of the hallway – presumably from your bedroom – you are able to pick up on the tone of your voice, which is even and calm. His voice is too soft and deep to hear clearly.

Minutes pass and then footsteps can be heard coming back down the hallway. You think that you can hear him say, "It was nice meeting you, Sandra," and then he comes into frame speaking into his phone. This must be the second phone call.

"Sorry the night ended this way," he says as he continues to the front door. “If you ever want drinks and a burger again let me know. I’m just a short cab ride away.”

He steps into his shoes as he speaks, wiggling his heel into place. Then he reaches for the front door, opens it, and hovers. You watch as he stands perfectly still for a couple of seconds and then turn back around. His gaze appears to be scanning the room, but for what, you are unable to say. And although you know that the camera is hidden well within your bookshelf, you could swear he looks into it and stares for just another second. Then he turns back around, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out your keys. He hangs them onto a hook and then walks out, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"What the fuck?" you mutter under your breath.

Something about this night is not right and you immediately thumb through your phone and dial Josie. She should be on her way to the lab right now and you hope that she is alone.

Josie picks up on the third ring. "Good morning, sunshine!"

"Josie," you mutter, squeezing your eyes closed. "Can you…fuck. Do you think you can do a blood test for me?"

Through a chuckle, Josie asks, "A blood test?"

"And maybe a urine test? I think I was drugged last night."

"Whoa whoa, slow down," Josie says, voice laced with concern. "What happened? Did you meet what's-his-face on a date?"

"Vante, no. I didn't meet him. I mean, I went to meet him but I think he stood me up." You sound frantic, and as you speak, sweat pools on your forehead and palms. "I ended up chatting with some other guy instead and we shared a drink and a shot, but I blacked out."

"I mean, you are a lightweight," she chides, making you chuckle nervously. This is Josie's way: to tease you until you feel less frantic. And it works. Your shoulders drop and you shake your head, letting out a deep breath.

"I know,” you laugh somewhat forcefully, allowing the faintest of smiles. "But this is different. I swear I didn't drink very much. I wasn't out for more than a few hours but I know I nursed my drinks. And we only had one shot."

"Have you told Seokjin?"

You grimace, feeling awkward as you admit, "No."

Josie hums, then says, "I'm actually not at the lab right now. Special Victims needed me to process something for one of their cases, but they have me over in Queens for the day."

"Shit," you mutter, feeling hopeless.

"Oh, I know! I'll call the nurse at your school and speak with them. I'll tell them that you have already met with a case worker about getting a forensics kit done and let them know that you will be coming in. They should be able to get you situated. I will swing by on my way back to the office in a few hours and take care of it for you."

Although you are certain you were not assaulted, you agree with Josie's offer to have a full forensics kit done, which includes a rather thorough examination. You just hope that you will be able to keep it all under wraps and that nothing will be reported to any of the higher-ups. You are not one hundred percent clear about who on campus knows that you are an agent and who thinks you are a student. As far as you have been able to glean, only the dean has spoken in a way that suggests he is in on it. But part of keeping your persona in check is not actively seeking confirmation that someone is unaware; you operate as if everyone is.

Still, it is too good of an offer to pass up. "Thanks, lovely," you say with a smile.

"Anything for you, bella," Josie sing-songs, making you smile even harder.

You say your goodbyes and get ready for the day. In case something happened last night, you keep the same clothing and underwear on but swap your flannel for a warm oversized blue sweater. You also pack a pair of underwear to change into once the examination is complete.

Then you think of something to tell your boss.

For a Wednesday morning campus is packed. There is some sort of event in the quad with live music and various tables that appear covered in informative brochures and colorful freebies, but you are disinterested in what is happening. Likely, it is something to get students excited for exams, with snacks and plastic trinkets to brighten their moods. You swerve through groups of students and head straight toward the nurse's office in the centermost building on campus. In the somewhat horseshoe-shaped area, it is the building that all paths lead to. Anxiety simmers as your heavy footfalls carry you up a short incline and through automatic sliding doors.

Ahead and to the left is a lady sitting at a computer and you slow your steps as you make your way toward her, eyes adjusting to the dimmer indoor lights. The woman is older with curly greyish-blonde hair and she types for a while before lifting her gaze to notice you.

"I should have an appointment with the nurse," you say, sliding your backpack from your shoulders with the intent to pull your student ID card from the smallest front pocket.

The woman nods her head to the door behind you and says, "You can go on in."

Nervously, you nod, mutter a thanks under your breath, and bounce the fairly heavy backpack to adjust it in place on your back. As you turn to make your way into the nurse's office the edges of your vision blur and you feel your head get foggy. Now is certainly not the time for a panic attack but it is hard not to fear for the worst as you reach for a metal handle and turn, then pull the heavy wooden door open. There is a small waiting room with some black leather chairs and you glance around, wondering if you should have a seat. You are relieved to find nobody else is waiting.

With a deep, fortifying breath, you shuffle over to a stiff armchair by a window and wait. You decide that if the tests come back with a positive result you will spill the beans to your boss and get the police involved. Either way, you are back at square one.

* * *

You were a wreck during your first two classes, barely able to focus during set design and missing so many keys in piano that you begin to worry that maybe you are not cut out for this whole undercover college student thing. And now that Josie has your samples in hand, you feel nauseated and lament going to your next class. Sure, you have experienced the stress of college before but you have never done all of this with test results looming over you. Not this kind of test, anyway.

The moment piano class is over you check your email, wondering whether Min's pupil has gotten back to you. At this point, you are less worried about the undercover job than you are about acing your piano exam. You may not actually be gunning for a degree but that does not mean you want a poor grade for all your efforts.

There is a part of you that finds your anxiety funny. Why you are worried about grades for a fake degree is beyond you, and you chalk it up to needing something to keep your mind busy.

Deciding you have no stomach for costume design, you shoot your professor a message letting her know that you are feeling under the weather and then quickly make your way through campus, shivering as a gust of afternoon breeze hits you. You keep your eyes on the sidewalk, clenching your phone in one hand and your black backpack strap in the other, just beside your armpit, as you walk quickly toward the bus stop.

A short bus ride to the train station, and you pop underground for three stops before surfacing a block and a half from your apartment. Your phone buzzes to life once you come about halfway up the steps from the underground station and you check to find Josie has sent you a text.

Josie's news has assuaged most of your concerns but you still cannot shake the fact that you blacked out, lost time, and allowed a strange man into your home. You are thankful that nothing went wrong but the fact that so many things could have gone terribly wrong weighs on you. One thing is for certain, you are not going to leave a drink unattended with a stranger ever again. And no more accepting drinks that you do not watch the bartender make and hand over, preferably directly into your own hands. These are survival tips you have always been aware of, especially in your line of work, but never have you considered that you could fall victim.

As you dangle gold earrings in front of your pierced lobes your phone vibrates. Ordinarily, you do not hear from Josie until she is on her way to the club and you are confused by who could be contacting you this early.

You hope beyond hope that it is not Cody. The possibility even causes your hand to stall beside your hip before you finally reach into the pocket of your tight blue jeans and pull the device out.

The text is not from Cody, but you are just as surprised by what you find. Steeling yourself, you take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Although you know that accepting any invitation from Vante is best for the sake of your mission, you are not eager to bend to his will whenever he commands you to.

From the way he texts, it seems clear that this man is definitely Vante. Or, at least, the man with whom you were texting when the two of you first matched on tinder. It does not assuage your indignance, but it does make you wonder whether there could be something here for you to work with.

You think it over, weighing whether a night with this man would be worth missing a ladies night with Josie. He is your target, after all. If he is who he says he is...

You should go for it.

Your heart is a caged animal behind your ribs and you almost feel ridiculous for allowing a man to get to you the way he seems to have a knack for doing. You almost lament the thought that the deep, rough voice who spoke to you on the phone two nights ago might not be attached to this eager texter. But if it is both Vante and Min who you are communicating with then your chances of being in the company of both men seems high. You cannot even begin to wrap your head around the thought that you get butterflies like this from two separate men.

With a deep exhale you fan yourself with your hands and continue to get ready. Feeling flustered over a man who you have been instructed not to become attached to is not going to get you anywhere.

Your phone buzzes as you apply lip gloss, this time with a text from Josie to say that she is on her way. You take in your simple outfit of a tight black tank top tucked into a white high-waisted tennis skirt, and do a little twirl, admiring the flash of thighs and the way your curves are highlighted. You grab a black silk bomber jacket with floral watercolor print and slide your feet into some loosely laced black boots, then you tuck your lipgloss, phone, and wallet into the pockets of the jacket and slide your hands inside. The walk through your building, down the steps, and out the lobby is short, and you quickly make your way to the curb with your hand out, delighted when it only takes a moment for a cab to pull over.

The ride to the club is quick and you stare out the window, watching brick and cement buildings pass by. The streets are still busy for a Tuesday but scarce compared to the weekends, with far fewer food stalls and people milling about. Even the club is much slower and as the cab pulls to the curb you do not see anyone, including Josie, waiting outside. You suppose she has probably gone inside, so you pay for the ride with your phone, thank the driver, and get out into the cool night air.

The music coming from the club is much tamer than it is on the weekend and you wish you had dressed a little more casually. But, of course, Josie put thoughts of Daniel in your head, and if you are being honest, it really has been far too long since you have let loose and had a little fun.

A security guard sits on a stool just inside the door, and you pull out the ID with your fake identity to show him. Once inside, you glance around the space and find Josie leaning against the bar, holding a tall mixed drink while an identical one sits waiting for you. Although you wave to Josie, your eyes scan the bartenders. There are two women on staff and you are instantly disappointed to see that Daniel is not working. You do your best not to show your disappointment, however, approaching Josie with a pep in your step and a wide smile.

Josie holds her arms out and wiggles into a hug, swaying in a way that matches the tempo of the music playing – some indie pop song with delicate female vocals that feels out of place in a nightclub, but that fits the more relaxed vibe.

"Damn, bella, you look cute tonight!" Josie says as she lets you go and takes a step back, eyeing your outfit.

You roll your eyes and shake your head, attempting to be modest, while taking in her gorgeous low-cut black velvet dress with long sleeves and a short a-line skirt. The dress has shimmery stars covering its surface and you rub your hands over the shoulders, feeling as the velvet goes soft and rough beneath your palms.

"You look cute tonight," you say, squeezing Josie's shoulders before leaning against the bar and reaching for your drink. "I love this dress."

"It low-key gives Miss Frizzle," Josie says as she grabs her drink and pulls the straw to her lips.

You laugh, nodding in appreciation of such a timeless reference. "Fitting, since you are our little science wiz."

Why Josie finds it wise to drink Long Island iced tea on Tuesday night is beyond you, and you pick up the tall thin glass and take a sip through the straw, instantly recoiling from the strength and sweetness.

"These girls don't fuck around!" Josie says, clearly laughing at your reaction. "They don't make it as strong as Daniel but they make it sweeter."

At the mention of Daniel you must pull a minuscule enough expression for Josie to notice because she mock-pouts and says, "Aweee, are you sad the hot bartender isn't here to flirt with you and give us free drinks?"

Affronted, you scoff, hold your hand to your heart, and ask, "Excuse me?"

Josie laughs. She says, "Don't worry, I saw him around here somewhere," and you instantly look over your shoulder and begin to scan the place, trying your hardest to get a peek.

When Josie bursts out laughing even more you sigh and realize she is just picking on you. Although you have the urge to smack your lovely friend, you pout instead and say, "Not funny."

Josie's entire face is scrunched up in delight, but she widens her eyes as if pleading with you to say, "I'm serious, though." Nodding her chin, she says, "He's right there."

At this point you are unwilling to turn and look. You are determined that Josie is making fun of you some more, and you have already worn your eagerness on your sleeve.

So when a deep voice says, "Well, hello, there," in your ear, you gasp and flinch, causing Josie to laugh even harder.

Daniel walks around until he is standing beside the gap between you and Josie, and you catch his gaze dropping down to your boots before he blinks and looks you in the eye.

"Ladies," he says, smiling wide at Josie and back at you. "What brings the two of you here on a Tuesday night?"

"Great question," you mutter as you lift your strong mixed drink and take a hearty sip from the straw, filling your mouth with sugar and booze, and feeling the cold of the drink all the way down your throat.

"I had a breakthrough at work and decided to have a drink to celebrate," Josie supplies, nice and vague. "But we probably won't be out long. I, for one, am exhausted."

This part is news to you and you widen your eyes as if to ask Josie what she is talking about. She simply ignores you, flashing her winning smile at Daniel.

"Well I have some things to finish up here," Daniel says, cocking his head to the side, to where you assume he was before this moment. "But if you're still here in, say, twenty minutes, I would love to share a drink with you two."

You open your mouth to say that you may still be here, but Josie is louder, saying, "She will definitely be here."

"Sounds good," Daniel says through a chuckle. He turns to walk away, then twists back and mutters, "See you soon," with a wink, causing your entire face to burn bright hot.

The moment he is out of earshot you give your friend a light smack on the arm, whisper-yelling, "What are you doing?"

Josie is a giddy, giggly mess, and she drinks back the remainder of her Long Island in one sip then sets the empty glass on the bar. "I'm giving you space to have a little fun," she says, causing you to feel a range of emotions all at once.

All of this has been her idea – from coming out to the club to abandoning you so you can have a drink with a handsome man who you hardly know – so you do not feel guilty about her choices. But you do feel a tinge of something akin to regret at the thought of her choosing to leave so soon.

"I'll have another drink and we can dance while you wait for him," she insists, turning to the bar to flag down one of the tenders. You accept this proposal but choose to nurse your drink for the time being. After all, you need to attempt to be more present in class tomorrow.

With the dancefloor less crowded and the DJ playing hits from the 90s and 00s the two of you spread out and goof around, pulling out all the stops with dance moves from your yesteryears, taking turns fishing for one another and rolling your legs in tootsie rolls. Winded from a very eager attempt at the running man, you bend with your hands on your knees and laugh, catching your breath. Josie is all but collapsed into a tall table laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

This is nice, being out with a friend and letting go of your inhibitions the way you used to. Typically the club is so crowded that all you can manage is a wiggle here and there on the dancefloor. Time has flown and you are surprised to glance toward the bar and find Daniel standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his attention on you.

"I think we have an audience," you say, too happy to feel embarrassed.

Josie pulls out her phone and checks the time, then yawns dramatically and says, "Damn, I sure am tired!"

With a roll of your eyes, you shake your head. Once Josie gets something in her mind there is no going back, so rather than try to convince her that you would like to spend more time together, you follow her off the dancefloor and prepare to say your goodbyes. Josie wraps you in a nice tight hug as Daniel kicks off the bar and approaches.

"Take good care of this one," she says to him, making you roll your eyes again.

Daniel says, "Of course," in Korean, then he clears his throat and says, "You have my word," in English while slightly bowing his head.

As Josie walks away you approach the bar eager for water, watching from the corner of your eye as Daniel follows.

"Josie doesn't speak Korean," you tease, half turning your attention to him while waiting for one of the bartenders.

"I wouldn't think so," he says with a chuckle. "After a long day it sometimes feels a little muddy on the tongue to be bilingual."

You hum and nod. "I know what you mean."

"I spent the evening meeting with a couple who are scouting the club for an event and they switched a lot between both, so now my wires are all crossed."

"Tongue twisted," you say with a smile, catching a glint in Daniel's eye before one of the bartenders approaches. You turn to her and say, "Just water for me," while Daniel holds up a pint of golden beer to silently let her know that he is already taken care of.

Suddenly the noise of the club feels overwhelming rather than welcoming. Perhaps it is the shift from dancing like a fool with Josie to standing still and struggling with what to say to this man who has only ever served you drinks. Yes, he is beautiful and he smells like a masculine athletic body spray, but his presence isn't quite as titillating as you always imagined it might be.

A glass of cold water is set before you and you mouth, thank you, as you take it and drink back half of its contents. The chill works a shiver up your spine and you close your eyes for a beat and take a deep breath. As you open your eyes and turn to Daniel his gaze is fixed on you and smoldering hot.

"Wanna go someplace a little more quiet?" he asks.

You nod, unsure where this someplace could possibly be, and he turns away from the bar and leads you to a door along the nearby wall marked Employees Only. Although it is a reprieve from the club as the door is shut and all the noise is drowned out, you feel extra awkward standing in this much smaller space.

There is a desk, a leather chair, and several grey metal filing cabinets. Strewn about are stacks of paperwork and other stationery, and along the walls are cardboard boxes spilling over with branded shirts, cardboard coasters, and other bar paraphernalia. Daniel walks over to the desk and lean-sits with his legs outstretched. Rather than take the chair, you step close to him and lean against the wall.

"Tell me about yourself," Daniel says as he lifts his beer to his lips and has a sip, never taking his eyes off you.

His attentive stare makes you squirm and you rack your brain for information. "Currently I am studying theater arts and music."

Daniel's eyes widen and he cracks a smile. "That's…interesting."

You roll your eyes and mutter, "Shut up," feeling an odd sense of defensiveness despite smiling.

"I thought you were older," he says, straightening up.

You hum and nod. "I am. Took some time off to help with my father's veterinarian office and did a little traveling before finally settling on a major. So, compared to my classmates I am definitely several years older."

"Man, everyone's talking about traveling today, it's giving me the itch," Daniel says as he lifts his beer to his lips. He takes a drink and says, "That couple I was telling you about were talking about living in Japan. One of them is a model and just spent time in Italy."

You straighten up, feeling your blood go cold. What are the odds? "This couple…did you say they were Korean?"

"Yeah!" Daniel beams. "They were very eccentric but clearly have a knack for throwing parties. It should be fun."

Daniel gulps back the rest of his beer, slowly draining the glass of its golden contents. Your mind races with questions to ask about this pair but they all seem too strange to ask unprompted and you cannot imagine Daniel would give their names or physical descriptions outright.

Think, you berate yourself. Put your detective skills to the test and think. You suppose it is not outside the realm of possibility for you to pretend to know an eccentric globetrotting Korean pair. After all, if these are your targets then one of them works at the same university that you attend, giving you reason to be acquainted with him.

You lick your lips, steady your breathing, and decide that the best course of action is to pretend to recognize the pair based on his description. But you are surprised when Daniel stands up straight and delicately takes the glass of water from your fingers, setting it on the desk and interrupting your plan.

"Enough of this talk," he says, stepping so close the heat radiates from his body. "I didn't bring you in here to chat about clients."

Fingertips graze over your chin and you instinctively tilt your head toward him, letting out a shaky breath as you ask, "Oh?"

"I see the way you look at me," Daniel utters softly, lips mere inches from yours. All thought screeches to a halt and you stare at his lips in shock. Is he really about to do this? "I like you, Sandra. From the moment you first sauntered up to my bar I have fantasized about bringing you back here and pressing you against this wall."

You say nothing, merely lick your lips once more. You have thought of it too – of course you have. Daniel touching you just as he is now. Daniel slotting his lips to yours and stealing away your breath. But now it feels so abrupt and strange. And honestly, you hate the thought of being romanced by someone who doesn’t know your name.

"May I?" he asks, leaning closer and gently wafting warm breath over your mouth.

Like a fool, you nod, eager for his touch despite not feeling wholly present and receptive. After the last few days your life has been a whirlwind and rather than feeling like an exciting reprieve, Daniel's presence only seems to add to your anxiety. Still, you close your eyes and tilt your chin forward. When Daniel's lips meet yours, you suck in a gasp and allow him to press and lick and tease.

It feels good the way he very delicately urges your mouth to move for him. Tiny sparks ignite causing you to tense and then relax into the touch. But it is not Daniel's sharp features and deep voice you picture as his tongue dances over the length of yours and sends a shiver through you. It is Vante's sultry photos and alluring flirtation that cause your body to react. As Daniel's fingertips graze down the lengths of your arms you imagine Min's skilled musician hands playing you like one of his well-loved instruments. Daniel groans and deepens the kiss and you remember the way the mysterious deep voice on the phone hummed and chuckled in your ear before asking what you were wearing.

Your hands lift as Daniel's fingers dance from your fingertips to your waist. As you bring your arms up to drape over his shoulders Daniel's palms press into your hips, thumbs digging in circles over your hips and catching on the fabric of your skirt. You struggle to hold your balance, gasping and whimpering as Daniel's kiss becomes sloppy and somewhat frantic. You know he is picturing you bent over this desk or sitting at the edge with your skirt hiked up and inviting him to have a taste. The thought is enticing but it also feels wrong. All of this feels wrong.

With a gasp, you tilt your head back and turn it to the side just enough to evade another eager press of lips against your mouth. Daniel's nose grazes over your jaw and his lips mark your throat and neck with spit, causing you to shiver and smile. You are at war with your senses and you wish that you could easily let go and allow him to have you any way he pleases. But you cannot, for the life of you, stop thinking about them.

"Sorry," you all but whisper, sliding your arms from Daniel's shoulders and attempting to gain your composure. "This feels great, really," his fingers graze over your hips and move closer to your heat, "but it's moving a little too fast."

This slows Daniel's movements to a stop but he remains pressed against you. He nods as his lips trail slow warm kisses just below your ear. You wish you could fully lose yourself to the feeling.

"Alright," he mutters, finally standing up tall and giving you a measly amount of space. "I get it."

Daniel looks positively wrecked and you question your decision, absolutely swooning over how his lips are pinkened from use and his hair is slightly disheveled. There is a light sheen of sweat over his neck and you imagine marking the skin and tasting its salty tang. But alas, he is not the one you imagine with your eyes closed and if you are going to remain professional and not get attached to those phantoms who linger in the depths of your innermost desires, then allowing another man to distract you and fill you with wild fantasies is probably not the best course of action.

"Thank you," he says, leaning forward to press one last kiss against your forehead. The move feels a bit odd and somewhat patronizing, and you smile, fighting back the urge to chuckle.

"Thank you," you say, doing your best to sound sweet.

You are sweaty and aroused and confused and you need to remove yourself from this situation and go home. When Daniel finally takes a step back and gives you space, you reach for the water and drink half of its remaining contents then pull your phone from your jacket pocket and begin to order a cab.

"I can give you a ride," Daniel offers, and you consider it for a moment before deciding that you would like to keep the number of men who know where you live to a minimum for the time being.

"It's alright," you insist, confirming your address and watching as a car icon appears on a map and begins making its way toward your location marker. "I have an early morning so I should run. Lost track of time. But this was really fun and I hope to see you soon."

Daniel seems taken slightly aback by how quickly your mood has shifted and he watches as you shove your phone into your pocket and rub your hands down your front to straighten yourself out. Feeling a bit guilty for how eager you are to jet, you stand on your toes and press a kiss against Daniel's jaw, then quickly turn for the door.

In a rush, you are out into the loud club, and your heart riots in your chest. Everything feels off balance and you make your way quickly past the bar to the open door, sparing a glance at nothing and nobody as you keep your head down and speed toward the exit.

As you step outside your phone buzzes and you are delighted to see that your cab is close. You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and weigh the idea of making a really, really bad choice. What if you did reach out to Vante and tell him all about how pent-up you feel? What if you allowed the deep, rough voice you heard the night before to lull you into pleasure as your hands pinch and squeeze and caress your body.

The car pulls to the curb and you hop in quickly, wasting no time to strap into the seatbelt and rest your head back. You absolutely should not reach out to Vante. But god, you want to. As the city lights pass and you quickly arrive to your apartment, you weigh the pros and cons. Realistically you could be forward on the phone and more reserved in person. Is it really a big deal allowing a disembodied voice to get you off, even if that voice belongs to a target with whom you should absolutely not form any sort of relationship?

You pay for the cab ride on your phone as it pulls in front of your brownstone, thanking the driver as you hurriedly and haphazardly slide out onto the sidewalk and scurry to the front door. Your fingers fumble with your keys as one hand grips tightly to your phone. An evil little voice in your head echos text him, text him, text him, taunting you with a world of possibility.

What could one innocent message hurt?

As you make your way to the second story and ready your key, you make your decision. You are full of frenetic energy that just your hands and toys alone will not satiate. You need to hear that voice again, regardless of which of those men it may belong to. In a rush of fabric you drop your jacket in the middle of the living room, kicking your boots off in different directions as you shuffle to your bedroom. You must be a sight to behold and you laugh softly at the thought of replaying the footage of this entrance on the camera app.

In your room, you climb onto your bed, sitting against the wall with a pillow wedged behind your back. There is a tremble in your hands as you lift your phone and type and delete multiple messages before settling on a simple emoji. It takes your breath away to see how fast Vante responds and you close your eyes to take a deep breath before reading his reply.

It takes under a minute for your phone to ring and you take in a fortifying breath. You still have time to back out. You can decline or ignore this call and continue not crossing this threshold. He may understand if you are shy and apologize…but you do not want to back out.

You accept the call and slowly lift the phone to your ear, eager to hear the man on the other side. Silence hangs briefly and you will yourself to lick your lips and softly say, "Hello, V."

The deep, rough voice you remember says, "There you are," and your arms instantly break out in goosebumps.

"Sorry," you utter, squeezing your eyes closed, "I feel shy."

"So you said," he responds with a soft chuckle. "But you have me now, and you are hearing my voice. Are you satisfied?"

What a loaded question. You grin and bite down on your lip, doing your best not to loudly swoon as reality settles over you and you formulate just how far you can safely take this interaction without losing your wits entirely.

"I suppose…" you tease. Perhaps he will eagerly play along and supply you with what you need without you having to ask for it. You absentmindedly dance the fingertips of your free hand up your thigh, teasing just below the hem of your skirt. You feel electric but far from satisfied and you add, "It's a start, anyway."

The man hums, filling you with warmth. It is dangerous the way he sounds in your ear and your lips fall open on the sound. "A start? So, tell me, what can I do to fully satisfy you, pretty?"

Why must he force you to ask for it? You take another deep breath and feel the way it fills you. Your head absolutely spins as you formulate your request.

"I need…" You lick your lips.

"You need…" he taunts back, drawing out the words.

"I feel pent-up, V…" you admit, eyes still squeezed shut.

A pleased hum fills your ear and works a shiver along your spine. Is this how he sounds when he moans? Or is it even more pretty? "And my voice excites you?"

Your lips flounder slightly before you swallow your pride and whisper, "Yes."

His voice sharpens ever so slightly as he says, "Ask nicely for me."

Your eyes flutter open and you take in the dark room, grounding yourself in your familiar surroundings. You can still back out. You can change your mind. But you won't. Not now that you have already come so far.

"Please," you ask sweetly, a bit desperately.

"Are you home?"

Your voice is barely above a whisper. "Yes."

"So early."

You feel inexplicably sheepish. "Yeah...wasn't feeling it tonight."

"Fair enough. Are you alone?"

"Yes."

A brief pause, then, "Are you touching yourself?"

You shake your head and say, "No," as your eyelids flutter closed and you continue to dance your fingers over your thigh.

"Do you want to be touching yourself?"

Your breath hitches. He is so forward and yet it is precisely what you need. "Yes."

"What are you wearing for me, baby?"

Baby. That's new. You like the way it sounds on his tongue.

"A tank top and skirt," you say, dragging your fingertips higher up your thigh.

"Bra and panties?"

"Yes. Thin. Cotton. Matching set." Suddenly you are incapable of stringing a full sentence together and you are relieved that he does not seem to mind.

"Color?"

You smile to yourself. "White."

"White," he says in a gruff voice, as if the image affects him the way his voice affects you. You hum in agreement and he says, "So if you happened to be wet for me I would be able to see it through the thin fabric."

"Yes," you say on reflex because you imagine that what he says is likely true.

"Are you?" he asks, and you hesitate, unsure precisely what he is asking before he clarifies and adds, "Wet for me."

"I am," you admit as warmth floods your neck and cheeks.

"Touch your panties," he softly commands, "for me."

You drag your fingers higher over the crest of your thighs until finally, they graze over your slit, causing you to sigh happily to the touch.

"Such a good girl," he praises and you swell with pride, touching yourself more firmly. "I can hear the way you breathe with pleasure. Don't hold back, baby. Tell me how it feels to touch yourself to my voice."

"Feels good," you groan, swirling your fingers over your clothed clit.

"Do you enjoy being told what to do?" he asks, taking you by surprise.

Your fingers hesitate then continue as you mull over how risky of a question this could be. "Yes," you finally admit.

"There is nothing that turns me on more than a beautiful, eager, submissive toy in my bed. Is that what you desire, baby? To be praised and used like a fuck doll?"

You should not give this information to a man who is potentially dangerous. You should absolutely not admit to the way this question fills you with a hot, deep arousal that courses through you like lava.

As you open your mouth but fumble around syllables, unsure whether to confess to just how much his words affect you, there is a sound from the other end of the line like a door closing and a voice calling out.

"Shit," the man says, ripping you from your thoughts. "My roommate is home already."

"Oh," you say, trying not to sound too disappointed. This so-called roommate must be his husband.

"I, uh…I gotta go, baby. So sorry."

"No worries," you say, swallowing thickly and taking a deep breath. It is probably for the best that this conversation was interrupted where it was.

"Finish what you started and tell me all about it on our date?" he asks teasingly.

"Oh my god," you say, embarrassed. There is no way you would be able to talk about this to his face. Not on a first date, anyway.

"Sleep sweet, pretty," he says, giving you goosebumps. This phrase sounds familiar, but from where? "We'll chat soon. Text me if you're feeling lonely."

"Alright," you say and you hang up before any more words can be exchanged. Everything about this interaction – about this entire night – feels fucking weird. You have the distinct feeling that there is something you are forgetting but nothing comes to mind and it fills you with anxiety.

You opt to shower off this day and climb into bed with your favorite bullet vibrator. You remember only the intriguing things the deep voice belonging to Vante or Min has said to you and selectively forget everything else. There is plenty of time to unpack this mess tomorrow. For now, you must sleep.

* * *

Your classes are a blur. All you can focus on is getting through the day and arriving to the practice rooms at 5 p.m. The events of last night replay in your mind and you do your best to shut them out but it is hard not to think about Daniel's lips and V's (Min's?) voice and your fingers… You fidget with the hem of your sweater sleeves and dig your fingernails into your palms in an attempt to stay present. For the most part your efforts fail.

By the time you make it to the practice rooms your nerves are so alite that you have to shake out your hands and silently pep talk yourself. You're okay, you're okay, you are going to be okay. It is not as if you are going to see Min today. Relax.

A tall man with dark skin and a wide, welcoming smile greets you. "You must be Sandra," he says while lifting a hand for you to shake.

"Yes," you say, taking his hand. His shake is firm and brief.

"Mateo. Follow me."

Mateo wears a mustard yellow beanie, a blue sweater, and blue jeans. He leads you into a wide-open practice space that contains a brown upright piano on one side of the room and a desk on the other. You approach the piano instinctively and sit on the bench while Mateo grabs a wooden chair and pulls it close.

"Tell me what you want to focus on and then we will assess where you're at," he prompts, and you take a deep breath.

"Speed, mostly," you say, imagining what might be easy to fake being bad at. "And fluidity. I am getting the notes but it still feels clunky."

"Common issues," Mateo assures with a smile, making you smile in return. "Can you play the song that I have provided?"

You turn to the piano and observe the book sitting open on the rack, finding Mozart's Turkish March. You smile, holding back a grin because yes, you absolutely can play this song.

Feigning sheepishness, you nod once and settle on the piano bench facing the keys. You start slow at first, taking care to make mistakes with your thumbs and middle fingers. Although your attempt sounds better than you would like considering you are in a tutoring session, you are proud of your performance as you huff out sigh after sigh of frustration. At the end of the second page, you squeeze your eyes shut, shake out your hands and take a deep breath.

"Sorry," you mutter. "Nervous."

"No sweat at all," Mateo says kindly. "You're not as bad as you might think you are."

Great, you think, perhaps I should be worse.

You open your eyes and begin again from the top. This time you allow yourself to be a little better, taking it slower and hitting more correct notes.

Mateo says, "Very good," filling you with confidence as you continue on to the second page.

You get close to the bottom of the page when you notice a figure entering the room, and when you lift your eyes for a brief moment the world screeches to a halt and your hands clumsily strike discordant keys before stopping entirely. Silence hangs as a familiar man gives a wry smile and nods his head to Mateo, muttering something you are unable to hear.

"Mister Theodore," Mateo says as he stands and approaches Min, who walks over to the desk on the far side of the room. Is that…his desk?

The two of them quietly exchange words before Min takes his leave, holding onto a folder and quickly exiting the room. You feel warm all over, hands prickling with sweat as you watch his retreating form and recall everything you know about this man from his file.

He is beautiful and slender in a dark button-up shirt and slacks, commanding the room without having to audibly speak a word. You hold your breath in anticipation to hear his voice but he is in and out with hardly a sound, gone just as fast as he arrived.

“Apologies,” Mateo says as he takes his seat, pointing with an open palm toward the piano. “Please continue.”

On the plus side, Min’s sudden appearance has caused a tremble in your hands that is strong enough that you genuinely make mistakes while playing. At least your need for a tutor sounds believable. What are the odds that his desk is right there?

lie down in the fire with me i burn everything frequently if it don't feel good when you first get in wait 'til it gets under your skin

🎵 visit the playlist

hello, hello!!! how are we feeling???

some housekeeping: you may notice that the mc had a realization at the end of the last chapter that she forgot about in this chapter. that was the drugs. you also have notice that the blood test came back negative. that was not an error on my part. more will be explained in the future.

i might do a short TaeGi POV chapter to show where their heads are at and why the call was cut short at the end of the chapter 😈😈😈

QUESTIONS??? CONCERNS??? REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THIS SITE, BUT LIKES ARE ALSO SUPER APPRECIATED!!! 🤍🤍🤍 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! I LOVE YOU! DRINK SOME WATER AND STRETCH YOUR NECK!!!

tags will be on a separate reblog! 🤍 visit the master post to read the warnings & request to be tagged!

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#yoongi x reader #taehyung x reader #taegi x reader #taegi #taegi smut #bts poly #bts angst #bts dead dove #bts smut #bts social media au #undescribed #undescribed images #fic: white lies #Spotify

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sometimeslwish · 14 days ago

Text

Something Just Like This (With Zayne)

And last but not least: doctor sexy. Like I mentioned before, his took the longest. I started writing, got stuck and then BAM rain pour of ideas. His word count was the highest until I got to Caleb's.

Word count: 1,830

Tags: voice acting, just general +18 content, nothing too explicit, just mentions of fluff, smut and angst, Yvonne has a cameo as his script writer, low-key freaky Zaynie inzaynie.

Social media handles

Youtube

Started as winterrambles, later changed into winterdoctorasmr.

Instagram

macaronsforzayne – it's his personal account. He barely posts anything, it's mostly stories where he mentions something that happened (probably because of Caleb) and his medical notes.

Twitter

winterdoctorasmr – Caleb forced him to have one. He interacts when tagged (mostly by Caleb, sometimes fans) and sometimes posts sneak peeks of coming audios. If anything happens that he can't post, you'll hear it there first.

How it starts

Caleb bribes him into being a background character for one of his audios with an ungodly amount of macarons. It does so well that Caleb ends up pestering him about doing audios. If he was already insufferable with Caleb's constant compliments during the filming and editing process, he's even worse now as his fans ask about him. Zayne doesn't budge until he makes a mistake on a sleep deprived night and posts a video of one of his medical rambles. It had been a long day and a long night, he wasn't able to fall asleep and with his sleep riddled mind he didn't notice he posted the video of his ramble until Caleb barges in hours later and wakes him up. He's gotten a couple hundred followers over the last few hours and the comments range from other medical students praising him, to Caleb's fans going crazy over the fact he's a med student, to complete strangers praising his voice because it was soothing. Caleb, once again, insisted, and this time, Zayne didn't say no but he didn't say yes either.

— It starts with more medical rambles, then it turns into study sessions because it's actually helping him with his memory.

— As he keeps doing them, more of his personality comes through. Little jokes, the dry wit, he goes from rambling about medical things to mentioning little things; a poem he read, a stupid joke Caleb made, a comment about an animal he saw or the climate or scenery.

— It takes him a while before he does a script, he's quite picky and meticulous about what he does and how he does it. A long time follower offers him a script, one that perfectly fits him. He's a bit reluctant, a bit stiff and monotone and he has to redo a lot of lines, but his voice gradually softens as he gets used to it and starts having fun. He hates the editing process, it feels weird to hear his voice and it takes him a while to get the hang of it, but he powers through.

— Zayne asks the follower to be his script writer. They talk about payments and schedules, both being med students, and once everything is settled, the show kicks off. Yvonne and him are the perfect duo, bouncing ideas off of each other and filling in the gaps the other leaves.

Channel

— Shades of blue, minimalistic. His profile picture is an image of some macarons he ate.

— The editing is quite simple, a thumbnail with the title, an image of a male character and the important tags. He edits them so the thumbnail fades to black after 10 seconds and the audio starts. It's always straight to the point.

— Posts whenever he can, always on a monday. The posts are inconsistent for the first year, but as he adjusts his time and figures out something that works for him, they turn into biweekly posting.

— The videos slowly go from strictly M4F to the occasional M4A and M4M as he starts testing his comfort zone. He uses “darling, snowflake, dear/dearest” and “my love” religiously as pet names, so he doesn't need to adjust when the change happens. His page becomes a mess of the three by the second year of voice acting, with some scripts even having three versions and the occasional M4TM or M4TF.

— Beside his chronic pain audios being the most famous, there's also: the Linkon Doctor series (a man who dreams about an alternate life and fears losing control of himself) Master of Fate (a demigod shifu teaching other demigods how to control their abilities) and The Foreseer (an immortal high priest to a fallen religion who is locked in a lost tower and plagued by visions no one can hear)

— The first time he ever did a non-human audio it was because a fan showed him a script they wrote with him in mind (Master of Fate). It was unconventional for his usual scripts, he played a more expressive and joyful character, but he learnt he quite enjoyed it so he indulges in playing different types of creatures from time to time.

— During october, he'll play elves, vampires, medieval healers, demigods, the occasional ghost and sometimes a winter related creature. He's played being your android assistant, a butler and even a cat hybrid (Caleb wrote the script for that one). It's like there's a check list of creatures he wants to try.

His sfw content

— The medical related things are still there, but it's not the center of it like it was with his medical rambles. He's more of a coworker now, sometimes even a classmate. Study sessions are still a thing, but it sounds more like you're doing it with him than you watching/listening to him.

— There's lots of strangers to lovers. The fans love how his voice warms up as the relationship progresses, it's what they praise him the most for.

— For the amount of sweets he consumes, he sure does act out a lot of angst, you'd think he's allergic to happiness. Hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort, character deaths, chronic pains. He dons a very caretaker role, often taking care of the listener in his own ways. Sometimes there's arguments and break ups, all of those related to his lack of time, but he never raises his voice during those. As realistic as a va can get with relationships, I suppose.

— When he's not doing angst, he's doing: Very domestic established relationships, dinner dates and trying out sweets, little quiet moments where you cuddle and soothe each other. The fans like how quietly and calmly dominant he is, and they especially enjoy when his voice gets a little warning edge when pushing his buttons.

— On the instances he writes his own script, he gets to show a little bit more of his dry wit and sass. The fans eat the banter up every time.

— Lots of winter vibes and themes, the fans call his channel a husband material gold mine.

His nsfw content

It took him two years to even consider that aspect of the voice acting. By then, Greyson had joined the mantle as his video editor, so when he makes a comment about it, Zayne practically reboots on the spot and gives him a sidelong glance.

— He can't stop thinking about it after. Not because he wants to, he was content with what he was doing but, how is he supposed to do that when all he's ever done is kiss and go on dates that didn't go past a second one?

— So, he tries in secret, makes the conscious effort to record himself whenever he masturbates because if he's going to do this– if he's going to pretend to moan into the mic, he's gonna do it properly. He starts looking at scripts centered on first times, dusts off his editing skills and cringes at himself when he hears his own moans and lines. If he thought the simple voice acting felt weird, this feels worse for him. He's quietly throwing away scripts and deleting videos as he does the usual planned ones.

— He finally manages to make something he's not uncomfortable with and when he posts it, the second part is linked to a different app, one that requires you to pay. It comes as a surprise to everyone. Greyson is flabbergasted, Yvonne has a weird glint in her eyes that he doesn't like and Caleb just pats him on the back with a little too much force.

— It unfolds from then on. He does a second after the fans ask for it, then a third, and before he knows it, he's making one every 6 to 8 videos.

— He tries to keep it sweet and gentle, soft and warm and playful and loving like he usually is with the rest of his content but he makes a particular comment on one of them that makes the fans go crazy and call him daddy or sir in their usual half-serious half-joking manner and before he knows it, he's dived a bit too deep into reading and researching about bdsm dynamics and now he's making light bondage videos and soft dom content on particularly rough days.

— He focuses mostly on being a pleasure dom, but being a brat tamer seems to be something he has on his dna so he also does that. There's daddy kink audios, sir kink (the fans speculate about which one he might like more, he doesn't give any hints), a bit of temperature play and lots of orgasm control. It's very rare for him to not be in control in his audios, but when it does happen, the fans talk about it for weeks on end because they love how needy he gets.

— The first time he did an audio where he wasn't being a dom while the listener rode him, he got so hard he actually moaned. A genuine, honest to god moan that took him by surprise. He had to take a step back to calm down– rub one off– for a little bit before continuing.

Extra things

— Sometimes his fans offer him scripts, he doesn't always fill all of them but he always shows gratitude. When he doesn't fill them, depending on the fans wishes, he might make a post talking about the script, Caleb is always the first to comment on those. It never fails to give the writer a boost in the community.

— Doesn't show his face on social media and barely posts anything outside of the va content. You may catch a picture of a cat, his glasses, or his notes, maybe even the back of his head (props to Caleb for the picture) or a random body part of his, but you never get to see his face. He's very careful about it and has been incredibly assertive about not wanting to show or reveal his face, so the fans stay respectful.

— Caleb strings him along a lot when he goes to conventions, even though he doesn't interact much with people. They never announce that they're going and they keep a pretty low profile but sometimes they still get recognized and chat with a follower. He was a very anxious baby the first few times he went and kept quiet most of the time because he was terrified of being recognized, he only whispered to Caleb when absolutely necessary. He's grown more relaxed ove r time as he's gone and met other va's.

Series masterlist.

#somsplaylist #love and deep space #love and deepspace #l&ds #lads #lnds #lads fanfic #lads headcanons #zayne headcanons #zayne #zayne love and deepspace #love and deepspace zayne #l&ds zayne #lads zayne #lnds zayne #zayne lads #zayne fanfic

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librarylexicon · 3 months ago

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hi! i'm one of those insane people who got into dc via seeing tumblr posts and going "huh these tropes seem like they are tailor made to get me obsessed" but was too intimidated by the volume of comics, and instead read the wikipedia pages of like 20 characters and dove right into fanfiction after. but i've been finding myself getting more and more frustrated with fanfics that are of the "i ignore canon entirely" variety and more and more curious about aspects of canon that are only brushed upon in fanfic. i kinda want to get into the comics but the amount is just. overwhelming. i don't really know where to start, both in regards to the timeline and where to actually find the comics to read. can i ask you for recommendations? if you don't have the time or inclination, no pressure, just delete this ask XD. thank you!

Hi! I'm glad you asked! I've had this ask sitting in my box for a little while because I've been working on redoing a Batfamily comics reading guide I made for my sister back in 2019 to get her into reading comics (it worked). Here is the reading guide, which is currently complete up to the No Man's Land section:

There's a lot of info in the guide to get you started (especially regarding your second point of where to actually find the comics to read), so I'll just address your first point (the timeline) here under the cut by providing an extended summary of events. There are spoilers ahead, but it's a useful read if you're the kind of person who likes to see the big picture before delving in. Warning: it's long!

The Timeline

(Most of the comics mentioned below have been bolded in the reading guide, so should be easy to find and read.)

Batman and Batfamily comics are old. Batman and Robin have both been around for over 80 years. Does this mean you need to read every comic since 1940? Absolutely not! For comic book reasons, there have been several mainstream continuities throughout the years, one after the other, but the best place to start is directly after the universe-rebooting event called Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986, which established a new continuity known as Post-Crisis. Don't try to read that comic, just trust that it happened. You don't have to read every single one of the comics listed here, especially if you already know some context from fandom (like who's who), but these are the ones most important to the Batfamily mythos.

Origin and early years

Start your Batman reading journey with Batman: Year One, which documents the origin and first year of Batman, establishes his working relationship with Jim Gordon and introduces Selina Kyle (Catwoman). There are many stories capturing Batman's earliest years, the best of which are Batman: The Man Who Laughs (where he meets the Joker for the first time), Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequel Batman: Dark Victory.

Dick as Robin

Dick Grayson, a young acrobat, is introduced in Batman: Dark Victory when Haly's Circus comes to Gotham and his parents fall to their deaths before his (and Bruce's) eyes during their trapeze act, and he comes into his own as the first Robin in the superb one-shot Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet. You should also read Batman: Ego for an excellent dissection of both Bruce and Batman. Other high quality Dick!Robin stories that flesh out this period and establish Bruce and Dick's relationship are Robin: Year One, Batman: Grimm (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #149-153) and Year One: Batman/Scarecrow. Also a good read around this time are the three Halloween stories by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (who created The Long Halloween and Dark Victory) collected in Batman: Haunted Knight. Lastly, a natural companion to Robin: Year One is Batgirl: Year One, starring Barbara Gordon, Jim's daughter-slash-adopted-niece.

Jason as Robin

Bit of a timeskip here. By now, Dick's been Robin for six years or so (sources vary), and Jason Todd is introduced in Batman (1940) #408-409 and faces Two-Face in #410-411. There are some fun Jason stories in Detective Comics (1937) #569-574. To see what Dick's up to at this time, read Nightwing: Year One, and also check out Batman #416 for an alternate story of how Dick and Jason meet.

A new Gotham vigilante, Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) is introduced right around here in Huntress: Year One, and Barbara Gordon (who by now has retired from being Batgirl) is shot by the Joker and left paralysed from the waist down in Batman: The Killing Joke. A good Jason!Robin story that slots in here is Batman: The Cult, before the tension between Bruce and Jason is raised in Batman #425-426. Finally, Jason's life and short-lived career as Robin are permanently ended by the Joker in Batman: A Death in the Family.

Aftermath

Bruce is straight up not having a good time right now. He's mourning his kid, the Joker is still at large, he's sans both a Robin and a Batgirl, and he's accused of treason in the character study comic Batman: Blind Justice (Detective Comics #598-600). Sometime later, Dick Grayson (who is sort of estranged from Bruce and has been hanging out with his Titans friends for years) returns to Gotham in the fantastic Batman: Year Three (Batman #436-439), which retells Dick's origin (with some contradictions to other stories listed here, because that's just the nature of comics) and deals with Dick's parents' killer, Tony Zucco, possibly getting parole. Look out for a cute cameo in this one, but don't worry if you miss it – it'll come up again.

Noticing Batman's increased brutality in the wake of Robin's death, a precocious thirteen-year-old named Tim Drake bursts into the narrative when he hunts down Dick at Haly's Circus in the seminal Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City (Batman #452-454) is a good solo Batman story from around this period, and Batman: Rite of Passage (Detective Comics #618-621) and Batman: Identity Crisis (Batman #455-457) are defining stories for Tim's pre-Robin period as he explores who he is and who he wants to be. (Specifically, Tim's mother is killed and his father is left paralysed.)

Tim as Robin

(Note: Tim is Robin up until Damian is, but I've split Tim's Robin tenure into multiple sections so that it's easier to follow.)

Now that Tim has officially taken up the mantle, Bruce sends him to train in Paris, where he makes enemies of his own and chooses the bo staff for his weapon in the 1991 Robin miniseries. Around this time, Barbara Gordon reinvents herself as Oracle in Oracle: Year One (The Batman Chronicles #5). Tim debuts as Robin with Batman in Gotham in Batman #465, works cases with Bruce in stories like Batman: Shadow Box (Batman #467-469), and even tackles the Joker when Batman is out of town in Robin II: The Joker's Wild.

Other good stories from this period are Batman: Electric City (Detective Comics #644-646), a character study of Tim's relationship with his dad in Batman #480, and a Batfamily teamup and Nightwing cameo in Batman: The Last Arkham (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4). Stephanie Brown dubs herself the Spoiler to spoil the plans of her father, third-rate villain Cluemaster, in Detective Comics #647-649, and Huntress returns with her unorthodox methods in Detective Comics #652-653.

Next up, the sprawling epic that is the Knightfall Saga. Jean-Paul Valley, a graduate student with a family legacy causing him to be beholden to a lifetime of conditioning known as "the System", debuts in Batman: Sword of Azrael. Batman, who has been overworking himself due to increasing pressures from all sides, finds himself increasingly worn out in the stories collected in Batman: Prelude to Knightfall. (Around this time, Robin also forges an unlikely friendship with Huntress in Robin III: Cry of the Huntress.)

In Batman: Knightfall, a huge Arkham Asylum breakout pushes Batman to his limits, and when he finally returns home, mentally and physically depleted, he finds a new enemy waiting to destroy him. It's not pretty. While Bruce recovers, he appoints Jean-Paul Valley to be Batman to Tim's Robin in Batman: Knightquest. Unfortunately, with the System still active, Tim finds himself increasingly sidelined and Jim Gordon breaks ties with this new, inappropriately ruthless Batman. A lot of things happen, but Bruce eventually returns (and so does Nightwing, yay!) in Batman: KnightsEnd.

Right after KnightsEnd but before the next story, there's a DC-wide event called Zero Hour, in which the universe is destroyed and remade. From a Doylist perspective, this is an opportunity for DC to smooth out some oddities with their Post-Crisis timeline and eliminate any plot elements they were dissatisfied with. Among other things, the murderer of Bruce's parents, who had previously been established as a random mugger named Joe Chill, is retconned to be unconfirmed (naturally, this changed later). You don't have to read the main Zero Hour comic, which is a five-issue limited series numbered in reverse order, but there are interesting crossover issues in the various Batfamily comics that are ongoing at this time, including Tim!Robin solving a case with Dick!Robin in Robin (1993) #10. The main reason I mention Zero Hour is because it explains why there are key differences between early Post-Crisis comics like most of Jason's run and post-Zero Hour comics like Nightwing: Year One. The answer is retconning, and it'll come up again and again. Such is the nature of trying to maintain longevity and internal consistency for comics that never end.

Okay, back to the main events! In what is my favourite comic of all time, Bruce rights wrongs by asking Dick to temporarily be Batman instead of Jean-Paul (yay!), and Dick and Tim grow close as Batman and Robin and as honorary brothers before Dick and Bruce finally see eye to eye in Batman: Prodigal. When Bruce is ready to be Batman again, he dons a new, darker suit (which is very close to the suit in the Tim Burton movies that were popular at the time) in Batman: Troika. Alfred, who voluntarily left Bruce's employ in Knightquest, is persuaded to return to Gotham by his best friend, none other than Dick Grayson, in Nightwing: Alfred's Return. Later, Dick does some soul-searching of his own (and gains a new costume!) in the 1995 Nightwing miniseries, and three concurrent stories in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #46-47, Batman #527-528 and Detective Comics #693-694 lay the groundwork for the dramatic next stage of Gotham history.

No Man's Land

What's up next for Gotham? It's a plague! Dubbed the Apocalypse Virus and otherwise known as the Clench, this plague ravages Gotham in the Batfamily crossover Batman: Contagion, which is followed by a resurgence in Batman: Legacy. It's dramatic, it's whumpy, it's mesmerising and it's pretty great.

By this point, you'll be familiar with the regular cast of characters and can read more of their solo comics at your leisure. There's Batman for Bruce and Detective Comics and Batman: Shadow of the Bat for higher chances of him teaming up with others. Tim's solo comic, Robin (1993), has been going since Knightfall, and Dick's excellent long-running comic Nightwing (1996) begins here. Read Robin for Tim's teenage adventures (skateboarding, making friends in school), family ups and downs (his dad is mercurial, but at least he has a cool stepmother, Dana) and love life (he starts dating Steph) and read Nightwing for Dick striking out on his own in the neighbouring city of Blüdhaven, where he eventually joins the police academy to fight crime from a different angle. (There's also the Azrael comic, which may appeal if you find yourself liking Jean-Paul Valley, but as I haven't read much of it, I make no promises about its quality.)

Continuing the notable Batfamily crossover events, Nightwing has a dalliance with Huntress in Nightwing/Huntress, and a massive earthquake devastates Gotham in Batman: Cataclysm. The consequences of this spin into Batman: Aftershock, Batman: Road to No Man's Land and the sprawling, ambitious epic that is Batman: No Man's Land, in which Gotham is declared no longer part of the United States. Within this year of danger, chaos and political limbo, we are introduced to a silent young woman, daughter of the assassin David Cain. With Barbara's blessing, she comes to live at Oracle's base (the Clock Tower) and becomes the second Batgirl. (Also during this period, Steph gives birth to a baby from a former boyfriend, and Tim – in disguise – gets himself stuck in No Man's Land to help her. It's complicated.)

New Gotham

This, along with the previous section, is one of my favourite periods in Batfamily comics. Many of the solo comics just mentioned are at their peak in terms of storytelling, characterisation and plot development, and several more excellent series begin here, including the family-focused Batman: Gotham Knights and the first ever perpetual Batgirl series for the new Batgirl, who would come to be known as Cassandra Cain. Both series are well worth reading!

Batman: Evolution (Detective Comics #742-750) touches on the fallout of the No Man's Land and rebuilding "New Gotham", and Bruce unwillingly gains a personal bodyguard named Sasha Bordeaux in Batman: A Walk in the Park (Detective Comics #751-752), which of course complicates his nocturnal activities as Batman. Soon after, Jim Gordon is shot in Batman: Offcer Down, and (unrelatedly) Dick and Barbara, who have been having off-the-chart levels of UST for years, finally call their flirting what it is: dating. Also at this time, Bruce has been rekindling his relationship with his pre-No Man's Land girlfriend, Vesper Fairchild.

In Joker: Last Laugh, the Joker decides to go out with a bang in when he finds out he's apparently suffering from terminal brain cancer. The theme of family is explored in Batman: Gotham Knights, with Bruce offering to adopt Dick (at long last) in Batman: Matatoa (Batman: Gotham Knights #16-17). And then a secret threatens to tear the Batfamily apart when Bruce is accused of murdering Vesper Fairchild in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?, eventually prompting him to drop the Bruce Wayne identity completely (this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move) and become Batman full-time as he goes on the run in Bruce Wayne: Fugitive. Eventually the murder is solved and the murderer is accounted for, and these two stories are probably my favourite Batfamily crossovers ever. They're so juicy and get to the heart of everything I love about each member!

The excellent Bruce & Dick comic Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne fits somewhere around here, as well as Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's beautifully drawn and critically acclaimed Batman: Hush, which touches on Bruce's on-again, off-again relationship with Selina Kyle. Around this time in the Nightwing comic, Dick's life has been on a downward spiral for months because of a multitude of factors, including losing his girlfriend, his day job, his circus family, his apartment building and more. This is also where the villains Blockbuster and Tarantula are prominent.

Over in Robin, Tim's father discovers that Tim is Robin and demands that Tim give up the mantle, which he reluctantly does. This results in Bruce offering the job to Steph, driving a wedge between her and Tim. Her tenure as Robin is short-lived for several reasons, and all this leads into the mega-crossover Batman: War Games, in which a massive gang war breaks out in Gotham and Tim's sort-of girlfriend, Darla Aquista, is killed. By the time the dust settles, Steph is (believed) dead, Dick temporarily gives up his Nightwing mantle to work for the mafia (yup), Barbara and Jim leave Gotham and Tim's father is murdered in the DC-wide crossover Identity Crisis, resulting in Tim and Cassandra relocating to Blüdhaven, effectively sealing the breakup of the Batfamily. War Games is followed up by Batman: War Crimes, which is included here for timeline reasons and not much else.

Batman's pretty much all alone in Gotham again, right? Time for somebody else to return. Someone who's been haunting the narrative all these years. Yup, in the wake of the gang war, when rival mob bosses are vying to wrest control of the city, a new crime lord emerges in Batman: Under the Hood: the Red Hood, who turns out to be Jason Todd, back from the dead, and no longer a boy in a yellow cape but instead a ruthless, hypocritical murderer with a chip on his shoulder and no qualms about stabbing Batman's allies. (For more about Jason between his death and return to Gotham, read Red Hood: Lost Days.)

Lastly, there's a DC-wide event called Infinite Crisis, which shakes up the whole DC Universe and leads to Batman, Nightwing and Robin taking a trip around the world for a whole year. (Infinite Crisis also kills off Tim's best friend, Conner Kent/Superboy. Tim's really going through it at this time, poor guy.) Oh, and Blüdhaven is razed by a bomb during Infinite Crisis as well. Yup.

One Year Later

(Disclaimer: it's been a while since I read this period and this one beyond it.) After a year away from Gotham, Batman, Nightwing and Robin return, and Bruce adopts Tim (at long last) in Batman: Face the Face. I'm sure this happy-ish period is going to last, right? Well, the very next story is Batman and Son, in which Bruce learns he has a young son named Damian, who is the child of Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul (Batman's currently dead, formerly immortal nemesis of League of Assassins fame). Damian and Tim instantly don't hit it off – rather, Tim is friendly until the bratty and hostile Damian reveals himself to be a murderer and attempts to kill Tim. Of course, Bruce doesn't take kindly to this, and Damian eventually goes back to live with his mother.

Also, during the year the others were away, Cassandra was brainwashed and became evil because of Deathstroke and DC Editorial (this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move). Later, Bruce adopts her in the otherwise mediocre 2008 Batgirl miniseries. There's a lot of complicated stuff around this time, such as Steph being retconned as Alive All Along and returning to Gotham in Robin: Violent Tendencies (Robin #170-175, Robin/Spoiler Special), Dick relocating to New York and having a mediocre run in Nightwing, Tim having a new black and red Robin suit to honour Superboy's death, Tim struggling mentally and trying to clone Conner(!) and revive Steph, his dad and Conner, Ra's al Ghul coming back from the dead (again) and trying to use a younger body (Damian or Tim) to stabilise his form in Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, and Bruce tackling the criminal organisation known as the Black Glove in Grant Morrison's Batman R.I.P.

DC-wide events once again have consequences (hooray) in Final Crisis, in which Batman dies. Is he dead for good? Well, this is comic book land, so probably not, but in the meantime, the public can't know that either Batman or Bruce Wayne have died. Hush masquerades as Bruce Wayne (long story) and the Robins battle it out for the mantle in Batman: Battle for the Cowl. Despite Tim's pleas, Dick refuses to become Batman, resulting in an imposter Batman who shoots to kill taking centre stage. This impostor turns out to be Jason, who fights first Tim, then Dick, the latter of whom defeats him. Against Bruce's wishes in his will, Dick becomes the new Batman, and Damian becomes Robin at his side.

Damian as Robin

This new status quo, also known as Batman: Reborn, marks the start of several new series, including Red Robin and Batgirl (2009). Red Robin stars Tim as a deeply unreliable narrator in his new title of Red Robin in his grief-fuelled efforts to gather evidence that Bruce is not dead, while Batgirl follows Stephanie Brown as she becomes the third Batgirl under Oracle's tutelage, the pair of them working out of the Batcave.

Dick, Damian and Alfred have relocated to the penthouse in Wayne Tower and operate out of the underground bunker. Dick and Damian's rocky partnership develops into an unlikely yet compelling and heartfelt bond in Batman and Robin (2009) as they tackle a plethora of villains, including Professor Pyg and Red Hood (again). And where is Cassandra Cain? Sidelined again! She gave up Batgirl for Steph, on Bruce's request, and now goes by Black Bat, though we don't see much of her for Editorial Reasons (sigh).

This being comics, Bruce doesn't stay dead for long, and with both Tim and Dick (separately) discovering evidence that Bruce is not dead, just lost in time (yup), they work together to bring him back alive. I don't pretend to remember all the intricacies of how this works, but you can read about Bruce's journey in Batman: Time and the Batman (Batman #700-703), Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne and Bruce Wayne: The Road Home. It's long and complex and honestly reading Grant Morrison's writing tends to do my head in.

There are a handful more stories after Bruce's return, including some hugs and heartfelt reunions (yes, really!) and the excellent Batman: The Black Mirror story starring Dick as Batman, but even though this is a really cool new status quo with a bunch of interesting implications going forward, the universe doesn't really stabilise, because we're up to 2011 by now, and the world gets hit by another DC-wide crossover called Flashpoint. Except, this is the biggest one since Crisis on Infinite Earths that I mentioned way back at the beginning, and so everything gets rebooted. EVERYTHING.

Batman and Detective Comics and other long-running comics are cancelled and their number restarted from #1, and many series are cancelled and just never reinstated. This new universe, known as the New 52, sets a new status quo that worked in some aspects but not so much in others. Many changes from the universe we just came from are just jumps that happen without explanation, such as Dick's return to being Nightwing (except now he's red instead of blue), Jason being an anti-hero with a bat on his chest instead of a villain, everyone being younger and closer in age, Steph and Cass being minimised and essentially replaced, and many more frustrating retcons that are confusing and/or illogical. But hey, at least the new Batman and Robin comic (starring Bruce and Damian) and Scott Snyder's Batman run (introducing the Court of Owls) are good! Note: the New 52 was soft rebooted in 2016 to become the current continuity, known at its inception as DC Rebirth, which reintroduced many Post-Crisis elements to mainstream canon.

Duke Thomas? He wasn't introduced until the New 52. Harper and Cullen Row? New 52. Tim being bisexual and dating Bernard? Rebirth, though Bernard was inspired by a very minor character of the same name from Tim's long-running Robin comic. Forever Evil, Spyral and the Grayson comic? New 52. Kate Kane (Batwoman)? She appeared during Batman: Reborn, but she wasn't established as Bruce's cousin until the New 52. Many such cases.

And so, right before Flashpoint is where the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity ends after twenty-five years, with Bruce as Batman and running a worldwide initiative called Batman Incorporated in Batman Incorporated (2010), Dick as Batman in Gotham, Damian as Robin, Tim as Red Robin, Steph as Batgirl, Cassandra as Black Bat, Barbara as Oracle and Jason as Red Hood (and full villain, not reformed in any way, shape or form). In this continuity, Bruce adopted (in order) Jason, Dick, Tim and Cassandra, and of course Damian is his biological son. It's my favourite continuity, and I hope you enjoy it too.

...And I apologise belatedly for the wall of text.

#dc #dc comics #batman #batfamily #post crisis #asks #afanbeingatheart

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affixjoy · 1 year ago

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Today I continued my Star Trek journey by rewatching Star Trek (2009) and boy howdy do I have some thoughts.

So first off, I saw this for the first time when I came out in 2009. It wasn’t my first experience with Star Trek, but it was probably my first with Kirk and Spock and that gang. I remember liking it a lot.

Now that I’ve watched all of TOS and a few of the movies with the original cast my feelings are a little more complicated.

Overall, fun movie! I imagine they had to have felt the weight of recasting and redoing such iconic characters, and in a lot of ways they succeeded. It certainly got younger people like me interested in the franchise!

💫 Spock: I do love this version of him. His “live long and prosper” to the VSA is perfectly bitchy and I’m obsessed with it.

💫BONES!! if you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that somehow Bones snuck up on me as my favorite character. I love his intro here, and I think Karl Urban gets the tone just right. This really is a buffet for the McKirkers out there, I can see how this led to 1000 academy era fics of them.

💫Kirk: oh Jim. Jimmy Jim Jim. Baby boy. What are you doing. How did being played by Chris Pine (who is incredibly hot) make you LESS attractive??

Obviously this Kirk suffers from some Kirk drift and the added trauma of losing his dad. He’s so much angrier, so much less sweet and nerdy. Rewatching this now I can see why I was so hesitant to like him in TOS because he’s a lot less lovable here.

💫 I get it’s an emergency and they had to for plot reasons, but almost all of Pike’s staffing choices make no sense. Sure, Spock as acting captain, I get that. But everyone else?? Imagine being one of the other people there who has been with starfleet for years and seeing him hand Kirk the role of first officer. The ship can’t be entirely cadets can it?? Imagine the group texts going around after like “thank god he didn’t die because I really need to bitch about this.”

💫 I love all three Uhuras (tos, aos, and snw) and I get why they made her Spock’s love interest here because they’ve got fun chemistry! They have a lot in common, they’re both hot and smart, I get it. But cmon guys, that man is a 6 on the Kinsey scale. You keep pairing him with women and it doesn’t work.

💫 I feel like they worked in lots of little references to classic trek, from plot stuff to smaller details like when Spock enters from the turbolift at the end in a very TMP way. I love that, it makes me feel like the people making the movie really care about the stories and the characters. When Spock Prime says good luck I felt all the weight of his relationship with his Jim and how it changed him. So lovely and touching.

And just how close they made Kirk and Spock stand, especially towards the end of the movie. They were always glued to each other in TOS and JJ must have known us Spirk shippers needed something to latch on to 😅

💫 There’s too much action in this movie for me. We didn’t need to see Scotty beamed into the water tank. The best sf stuff is always story based, I don’t need extravagant fights and cgi shit. I’m sure there are people who watch science fiction for the spectacle but I’m here for the ideas and the feelings.

💫 goddddd everything with Vulcan and losing Amanda. Rip all our hearts out why don’t you. Spock’s mom dying is just heartbreaking. I know they had to lose someone we knew to make the destruction of the planet more real to us as viewers but so crushing to see it.

💫 Old Spock 😭😭😭

He knows right away who Jim is and expects that Jim found him on purpose.

Old Spock just launched right in to the mind meld huh. To me this really says that he and his Jim are on very casual mind meld terms and he’s not fully understanding that this Jim is not his Jim.

Think about how fucking weird all this must be for old Spock. How heartbreakingly strange it would be so see a young version of your husband and send him to a young version of yourself. Meeting all your old friends young selves, years after you’ve lost them all.

And from here out it’s just miscellaneous thoughts I jotted down while watching that don’t fit great anywhere else:

⭐️I love when the redshirt is so excited to get the Romulans and Kirk gets this look like… that’s why you’re here? Dude the battle not the appeal here. A nice glimpse of how this Kirk is similar at heart to TOS Kirk.

⭐️Love you Sulu and your fencing skills

⭐️I love when they stop the lift for emotional reasons.

⭐️“Our destinies have changed” goddddd great speech Spock

⭐️Jim has the look of a man who is frequently escorted places by security

⭐️Spock wants to break Kirk so bad 😂

⭐️When Jim slaps Spock’s back and Spock has a look of “I think that just awakened something in me.”

⭐️Spock you’re calling him Jim already? You slut. (Delighted, affectionate)

Overall I think it’s a fun movie but it misses a lot of what’s at the heart of the classic Trek I love. They try to do everything too fast and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m excited to rewatch the next two and see how these versions of the characters change!

#spirk #star trek #james t kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #star trek 2009 #nyota uhura #not a bad movie!#but missing a lot of the vibes I love #I get why people love it and I get why people hate it.#mckirk

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ganondoodle · 6 months ago

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i have seen people talk about how hard it is to draw anything if you have aphantasia (which is good to talk about and true and valid and also intersting to read and this post isnt to devalue that, two things can coexist etc etc)

i personally struggle with the opposite; i have incredible imagination, i'd say it's my best and only "inate talent", (this is not a brag ..) all stories i think about are movies, i can stop them, change camera angle and poses, rotate ever object however i want, place lighting sound and voices, even styles, i switch from ghibli to botw to fortiches style, even into the style of a comic i recently read which wasnt even animated, the only thing that only works half the time is music-

and that all might sound fantastic, but its a mess, it goes too fast and too quickly, things never play out one way, theres interruption, involuntarily sudden changes to other subjects, i feel like struggling to keep an angry horse on one path, it makes me waste HOURS each day just reversing and redoing a scene like im a movie director wizard in my head, theres no ONE finished version, it changes everytime yet i go back over and over again to make it better, i forget most of it within a few hours anyway; even IRL when someone tells me about a memory and they are not sure if i was with them during it once they start to explain trying to make me remember it instead i will imagine it, in the end i wont be sure if i actually remembered or if i just imagined it too real, it scares me how much i forget and cant remember only for my mind to make shit up, makign me doubt my own memory (its weird how it works, i have horrible geographical memory, when i drive somwhere i have known my entire life i need to remember the path to it by imagining driving it, i remember significant things but not the path to them or how they connect or in what order, i have to go through it in my head every single time)

by far the worst part though is that extreme disconnect between whats in my mind and what i can do, just because i can imagine things like that doesnt mean i can draw it (god i WISH), nothing i have ever drawn is how it was in my head, the few things you get to see are the ones i won the fight against myself with to keep going and say 'good enough' at some point the speed is a problem too, the things playing in my head, sometimes even multiple at the same time, play like, again, a movie, whatever im trying to draw is rarely ONE thing, its a whole scene that plays over and over, i want to draw it all but it wont work bc my mind is too fast and i am too slow, it makes me try to skip ahead and get things done as fast as possible, it NEVER works (also too much, theres so many things in my head, i have almost the entirety of the totk rewrite in my head already, novels worth of lore and story for my other projects, its overwhelming how much is in there that i cannot get out and on paper)

its why comics take me so long to make, why detailed paintings are so rare, its the rare times i can force myself to try and tune out my mind and just work on what is in front of me, usually works for a few hours .. if i can manage to reach that sort of focus at all, its why basic sketches of characters are so much easier to do bc i dont have to fight as hard to just draw a character doing nothing- as soon as i want to make it a sketch page of things and scenes the movies are back and are there to haunt me until i cry and give up after hours of trying to keep up with my mind that i will never be able to catch up to (and this is only about drawing .. )

i know skill and speed increase over time, but i wont ever get to where my mind is, its always ahead and trying to skip and jump towards it only makes me stumble and fall flat on my face- maybe its ADHD, maybe its the autism, maybe its the depression, maybe its just me, maybe its just all of that

what im trying to say is, head full, too much thought, too fast, never able to translate it into viewable things in the way and speed as my head works, i explode

#ganondoodles talks #personal #and then i play video game bc its easier than fighting my mind #and feel guilty like the worlds gonna crush me for wasting hundreds of hours on that #bc what could i have done in all that time instead (if my focus was there .. if i was able to keep up with my mind)#its probably either just whining #or ............... incredibly common among non neurotypicals #and here i am complaining #i just want to do so many things but CANT I CANT AND CANT BUT I WANT AND CANT ARGH

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inactivewattpadauthor · 8 months ago

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Johnny Cage x Writer Reader: Basically What The Author Going Through

Warning: Venting. Title is self explanatory ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your eye twitched as you hear the front door to the studio open and close. Just another noise is needed to distract you. Again! Fucking frustrating.

"Baby, I'm home!" Johnny calls happily for you, grunting as he drops his duffle bag aside, filled with his props or outfits or guns, or wherever the fuck job he came from today.

You didn't call back. Grumbling as you forced yourself to lock in on the page before you. You were about to pull out your hair. Nothing has came to your mind for the past hours... days.... WEEKS!

Only one draft is needed nearly one day a week. So why are you always scarce?

Footsteps thumped to your little office den. "Oh, don't tell me you're still nesting here." Johnny enters and frowns as he was very much told silently.

The death look you gave him just checking up on you.

"Y/n, you're still trying to think of what to write for your paper-"

"You don't get it, you pretty boy bastard!" You hissed.

"Easy, easy." The actor held his hands up in pacifist. "Okay, if it's this bad, why don't you just... step down for a bit. This was an off and on thing for you, right?"

"Okay, yes! It is an on and off hobby for me. But I start caring too much. I don't want to stop, at the same time, I can't keep up. And if I can't keep up, I'll have to redo it all over again."

You pace around the room and speak so fast for him. The concerned blind guy only just follows you with his eyes. Looking at you like the weird hysterical young woman you are.

"It's not like I can force myself to just write ANYTHING. I'm too bougie to be posting dog shit plots. It gets obvious." You add on.

"Okay, are your emails open for your readers? Maybe they can help-"

"𝐍 𝐎."

"Okay, got it." Cage cleared his throat and looked away.

"I already feel pressured since I don't feel that motivated. I don't need more pressure being added onto me like that. I don't miss that feeling."

You stop to breath before furrowing your eyes.

"My emails are always opened to my beloved readers. I like hearing what they have to say and think of my work. But I know the second I decide to take requests, I'm going to be the next Cory."

"Who?" Johnny raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay!" You held your face in your hands and took deep, deep breaths. Finally, you'll stop talking very fast and crazy.

"I... I don't want to stop posting stories. But... without any passion to write... and how I can't think of what to write. I don't think it's possible anymore. I keep telling and telling that I'm running low on pages, that writer's block is itching me, I still force myself to keep up the every six days expectation. And I end up having to post something I feel is crappy or too overused."

You stopped there not knowing what else to say. But it felt some sort of good on your part.

Johnny got to speak. "Look, Y/n. I get what you're saying. And it's okay if you end up slowing down. You'll get back to it whenever your mind is ready. But you can't be too harsh with yourself because that's what makes the fun turn into some nasty prison cell, whatever."

He pats your shoulders reassuringly.

"There's so many other important things you have to do in life. So, who cares if you post a day late. Or two. Or a month. Or maybe even a year and a half. It's your call. Tell all those self expectations to fuck off!" He half jokes and holds a middle finger up with the exclaim.

"Right." You smile.

Wow that feels so much better our chest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you :') I wish my creativity didn't go down otherwise I would try harder.

It's like the only time I get motivated is if I'm feeling freaky and decide to write about Fujin, and thats an example of overused. Ik some of yall like it, but I try to post different characters.

#mortal kombat 11 #mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #mk imagine #mortal kombat imagines #mortal kombat headcanons #mk headcanons #johnny cage #johnny cage x reader #goddesswritings

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arthur-lesters-music-stand · 1 month ago

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Intro Post!

I'm not going to do it all right this second, but for anyone curious, this is the side blog to @mythiclover. I'm honestly more active here than there, especially regarding audio dramas + other fandoms. I hope to redo this intro post soon to be much neater. In the meantime, enjoy my ramblings from when I first started this blog lol.

Btw, the best tags to look at on my blog are #music stand posting (for any of my original content or thoughts in tags), #John Doe, and #original fanfiction, just saying 😉.

Hi, I'm Arthur Lester's Music Stand, jumping from the Kayne Train onto the tracks at dangerously high speeds!

This is my side blog, focused mostly on the audio drama, Malevolent, but may feature some other fandoms, too. Again, mostly audio dramas, such as The Magnus Archives/Protocol, Wolf 359, Sherlock & Co., The Silt Verses, and hopefully more soon!

For some further context, I am making this blog hot and fresh off the heels of Malevolent episode 52, "The Wager", a.k.a. the "grand finale" of season 5! I have found audio drama fandom blogs to be some of my favorite to interact with, and finally felt inspired to stop being a lurker and become an active member of the community. (For the record, no shade to fandoms of movies, tv shows, or books, but I think the inherently limiting and unique nature of audio dramas pushes for more creativity and need for audience engagement than the others. Just my two cents on the topic!).

Why am I Arthur Lester's music stand? Well, you may already be familiar with "limb posters" if you're in the fandom, which are folks who take on the names of our dear protagonist's, Arthur Lester, body parts, sometimes for roleplay purposes, mostly just to be silly. Spoilers for episode 52, but that spawned a new genre of Malevolent blogs, which are themed after different instruments the multiverse of Lesters might play in Kayne's orchestra.

I thought, wouldn't this be funny? I don't make art or fanfiction (yet), I'm not huge into making my own original posts, and I don't usually have much to add to anyone else's (though, I am trying to be more sociable!). However, I am great at reblogging! What a more fitting theme, to be someone who showcases some of the best work this fandom has to offer, as the very man's music stand?

So long story short, that's my deal, and that's what I'm doing here.

I believe I have asks open, so feel free to drop me a message, if you please! I have no real goal, other than to have fun with one of my favorite stories and fandoms ever, so if you'd like to further that goal in any way, I'm open for business! I'm also not opposed to attempting roleplay, either taking up certain characters or somehow being the music stand, although I'm not entirely sure how that would work lol.

Thanks for reading, have fun!

#Malevolent #Podcasts #Audio drama #Arthur Lester #John Doe #Kayne #Arthur Lester's Music Stand #Ourthurchestra

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zenkindoflove · 8 months ago

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Fanfic Writing Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me in this fanfic tag game, @bonecarversbestie!

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing

Generally I start with a inspiration scene. A moment that stands out in my head that I can't stop thinking about. Then I design a story around that scene. If I'm writing a one-shot, I tend to be very loosey goosey with planning and just sort of write what is coming out with a general trajectory in mind. For multichapter fics, I'm much more meticulous. I always come up with an ending first so that I have a beacon to head to. I then do a high level outline which is usually what are the things that need to happen each chapter. Then as I get into the chapters, I will do more detailed outline of what things need to happen per chapter. I end up redoing the outline a few times as the story progresses.

I write the whole first draft from start to finish of either a one-shot or a chapter. I then do a major edit where I focus on bigger changes like adding in scenes or taking away whole sentences. It's my "does this make sense" edit. Then the next two edits are more wordsmithing/looking for typos. I tend to read out loud for these edits.

I'm also pretty big on writing in order. I almost never write out of order. If I do get inspo/idea for something that happens later, I'll write down lines of dialogue or details but I don't delve into writing the whole the scene then.

When I post multichapter fics, I write as I post. So when I post a chapter, usually I haven't started on the first draft of the next chapter.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Both. See above for my plotting process. But so much happens as I write that surprises me. And I end up making on the fly changes and redoing the outline often as new things arise as I'm writing.

What do you listen to when you are writing?

Depends. Sometimes I listen to music to focus. Often instrumental or something that will put me in the mood for the scene. Other times I listen to nothing and that helps me focus.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

Coke Zero which I often forget about as I get into the groove and then it gets flat/warm.

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

I think Summer Heat (Elucien + Erixius) is probably my favorite fic because it has a lot of characters that I really enjoyed writing and exploring and it's two romance stories occurring at the same time. I'm excited to get back into it. It's also just a really fun fic.

I also am really proud and always excited when I talk about Dear Lucien, Dear Elain: an Epistolary Fic because I wrote it with @crazy-ache and I think it's super unique and very fun and romantic.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

I'm going to cheat and choose one Elucien and one Erixius fic.

Dancing Barefoot (Elucien) - This is the first modern AU Elucien fic I've ever written and I think it's a really solid, smutty one shot. I also have some Jassa in it who were surprisingly really fun. I think you should read it because I did a great job capturing that feeling of forming a crush in a night and falling into exploring those feelings with a total stranger.

The Jewel of The Forest House (Erixius) - I really love this fic because I think it's a good blend of comedy, fluff, and angst. And I think if you're a dog lover, you will love it too.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I was listening to a podcast last night with the comedian Matteo Lane. He was talking about advice he received in art school that he applies to all creative things that he does. It was: You are not working on the masterpiece. You are working towards it.

Basically - do not get stuck in the fussiness of perfection as you write. You always will have chances to change and alter your writing. A lot of good writing happens in the editing. And just because something doesn't feel perfect, doesn't mean it isn't worth sharing. Especially in fanfiction, this is a hobby where we are all trying to have fun and support each other. It's natural to get in your head, feel vulnerable and insecure, compare yourself to others, etc etc. But you can't let that pull you down and suck the joy out of writing. Write the things that inspire you. Things you want to read, and the process of writing will become more fun. And the more you write, the easier it gets. It takes time to find your voice, and the only way you will find it is to write a lot.

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

I'm always looking to improve my metaphors and lyrical prose in a way that feel authentic, natural, and appropriate for the scene. There are some writers I really admire who do it so well and every time I read their work, I get inspired.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Jurian!!! And Vassa. Actually in that fic, Dancing Barefoot that I recc'd, that was the first time I ever wrote them and I really had a crazy amount of fun with their dynamic. I also surprisingly enjoy writing Rhysand because I like playing between his nurturing side and being a shit. I thought about saying Eris, but I think it wasn't a surprise once I dived in. I always loved that man, and I danced around him for a bit out of intimidation, but I always knew once I dug in and found who he is inside of me, I would love it.

No pressure tags: @jules-writes-stories , @lucienarcheron , @starsreminisce, @sapphiresandgold, @lovely-vanserra-sunshine, @avabrynne , @highlordofkrypton

#fanfic writer tag game

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britt-kageryuu · 1 year ago

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An unusual amount of people are watching Donnie doing some programming. He had explained that he was challenged to make a game within a relatively short time frame, but hadn't explained what the game was supposed to be about yet.

His model is seated at a desk, and only seen from the torso up. Wearing a very comfy looking purple hoodie with a few pride pins, Nonbinary, Ace, and Progressive Flage, his mask, and his goggles/headphones.

"Okay, so I know what I'm planning for this game is way more than it needs to be, and I don't have a good chunk of the 'story' figured out. But I had a burst of inspiration for the game. I just need to make it actually make sense, even in this very obviously fictional setting." Donnie explains as he continues to switch between the programming screen, and a section of the environment filled with lots of random notes of what the area might be for.

The chat is tossing around their speculations of what the game is about. Especially since one of the Notes says "Need to finish mock up model, and check for potential copyright issues."

Donnie is now very focused on part of the program that has a tag saying it's for a enemy AI, and a reminder to not go to far. "Before anyone asks about these notes and tags. I need to remind you that Shelldon started as an AI assistant that could control some devices like the Roomba through bluetooth, and look at him now! My handsome robot Son who is very very very smart." He continues to gush about Shelldon and River for a few minutes, "I almost forgot my point, SHELLDON had a glitch early on that caused him to stop listening to anyone, and almost lead a Roomba army out onto the world... He was fixed very quickly, and I only had to deal with him acting like a teenager for a few weeks as a side effect."

As he talked he opened a file titled 'VT Game Assets WIP', there were multiple files each labeled like 'coffee shop', 'studio AB', 'stage 1-5' and looked through a few different 'enemies' folders to figure which one he should use in the environment labeled 'New Start Entertainment'.

"Though really the only reason I'm getting through this as quickly as I am, is because we have a huge library of random props, outfits, and of course environments. All made by Mandarin and I for no real reason other than 'just incase'." Donnie takes a moment to stretch after sitting still for like 3-4 hours. "This game as a whole would probably be judged for how quickly it's coming together and assuming it's not worth their time."

He then pulls up the fighting system- a plain mannequin fighting what could be described as a feral possessed plush toy. Once again catching some more attention and sparking some more debates in what the game was about if it needed a combat system to continue.

"Well that seems to be working properly for now, we just need to adjust for the other parts of the main setting. And actually finish the protagonist and other characters models so I don't just have a mannequin placeholders. It looks too much like we're copying that one cartoon that's getting big."

Donnie gets hyper focused on the programming and ignores chat and donations for the next hour. With the occasional muttering about what needs to changed, or they need to redo some of the textures and art assets because they aren't lining up properly.

Chat somehow never figure out what the game was about, and still continued to cheer Donnie on for working on the game.

-----------------

Masterpost Part 2

#vturtles!#vtuber au #rottmnt au #tmnt au #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie #rise donatello #rise donnie #rottmnt fanfiction #tmnt fanfiction #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2018 #rise tmnt #rise of the tmnt #tmnt rise #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt

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twistedtummies2 · 29 days ago

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Ranking Sora's World Forms - "Least Good" to Best

We’re nearly at the end of Kingdom Hearts Month, and I think it’s time to turn our attention to someone important that I haven’t really focused on so far: the main protagonist of the series, Sora. While there are many heroes in the KH franchise, both original and pre-conceived, Sora is the primary hero at the center of the story. He’s not the main character of every game or mode, but at the end of the day, the story of Kingdom Hearts is the story of Sora and his coming to grips with his destiny. Sora is a more interesting protagonist than I think a lot of people give him credit. Many dismiss him as a dork and a goober, but the thing is…well, I think that’s the POINT. Sora is a sort of comic hero, in a way: he’s a big, excitable child, even as he enters young adulthood, who trusts too easily and sees things as stark black and white a lot of the time. He’s enthusiastic, can be mischievous, and is altruistic almost to a fault. He’s not meant to be the brightest bulb of the bunch or the ultimate badass: he’s a loveable dork who just happens to have gained phenomenal power, and he has to learn to use that power and balance what it means with the things he wants to do and wishes he could be. He’s not the most complicated character of the series, but that’s because he’s not MEANT to be: he is a light who tries to shine in a dark world, a ray of innocent sunshine fighting to peek through the clouds…the one spot of innocence that, despite constant hardship, can never be FULLY lost. At least, that’s the way I see him. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, I dunno. XD ANYWAY…when I was working out what lists to do or redo for this month, I decided I would need to give Sora some kind of spotlight moment. A suggestion from a friend led me to one particularly fun thing about the character that helps make him and Kingdom Hearts fun to play; the different forms Sora takes. Now, I’m not talking about things such as Valor Form or Antiform, which are combat-specific appearances. I’m referring to the World Changes: the different costumes and bodies Sora takes on as he travels to different worlds. While Sora’s appearance as a human being in very, VERY strange clothing seems to be typically accepted in most Worlds, there are a few where, for one reason or another, he gains a whole new appearance to better match that universe. Ever since the first KH game, this was something that people who enjoyed the story really enjoyed seeing: all the different ways our main character would change whenever he ventured to someplace different. And as the series has gone on, this has been pretty consistent. So far, there are eleven different forms Sora has changed into on his travels, so I decided it would be fun to look at all of them and rank my personal favorites of them. This won’t really be based on gameplay (at least not too much) or on Sora as a character, it’s really just a matter of what outfits and new appearances I think look the coolest. On that note, I do like all of these designs, to some degree or another, so I can’t really say any of them are bad; it’s just different degrees of awesome. With that said, let’s waste no more time! Here are Sora’s Alternate Forms, from “Least Good” to Best!

11. San Fransokyo.

There are two reasons I rank the San Fransokyo Sora lowest of the bunch. First of all, I have no great connection with “Big Hero 6.” I was already an adult when the film came out, and it took me a while to even see it…in fact, I didn’t see the movie until AFTER the release of “Kingdom Hearts III.” So, unlike most of the other worlds here (the keyword being “most”), I didn’t really have a great, strong, excited urge to see Sora in this universe and in some cool form. This isn’t too big a problem, to be honest, but the second issue is that…well…this barely even counts as an “Alternate Form.” Literally the only change to Sora’s appearance in this World is that he gets a spiffy new set of goggles, and that’s it. To be fair, it’s understandable why: the style of “Big Hero 6” is already influenced strongly by anime, so Sora already looks like a character who fits in with that world without much difficulty. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with Sora’s baseline, it’s just that this really isn’t a full change like the others: it’s just an added accessory, and that’s it. It’s fine, it just almost doesn’t count, so it takes bottom tier.

10. Space Paranoids.

Just like San Fransokyo, I didn’t have a personal connection to the film “Tron” before I played “Kingdom Hearts II.” At the time, it was a relatively obscure film, and it’s inclusion in KHII was a surprise to many who either didn’t know about it or had long forgotten it. Just like with KHIII, I didn’t watch the movie till after the game was done. Just like with San Fransokyo, I do think I need to rank this one lower, as a result…but to its credit, a.) KHII did make me WANT to watch Tron, and I picked up the movie and watched it soon after playing it, and b.) unlike the previous pick, this IS a full form change, and quite a substantial one. Sora’s glowing blue, slightly robotic-looking costume, with patterns resembling computer circuitry, and helmet with swept back horns, make for an interesting combination, especially when combined with his monochrome skin and hair. I also like how his keyblades become similar patterned when you enter this world. Admittedly, something about the design feels vaguely Power-Rangers-esque to me - I’m not entirely sure WHY, it’s difficult to pin down - but it still works with the universe in question. Ultimately, the only reason it takes such a low rank is…well…I just like other looks more, simple as that. Sorry, Space Paranoids fans. XD

9. Atlantica.

I know I said I wouldn’t be bringing gameplay into this, but…unfortunately, Atlantica is a rare case where the alternate form DOES, in fact, affect the gameplay, and (vice-versa) the gameplay affects it. To mesh with the undersea world of Atlantica, Sora turns into a bare-chested merman, with a blue dolphin-like tail, and while it’s a cool look…every visit to Atlantica in the KH universe is sort of infamous for its gameplay flubberies. In one of the visits, in “Chain of Memories,” we don’t even see Sora change, which is both a curse and a blessing. (A curse because it takes some of the fun out of it, a blessing because no swimming controls.) The look has become something of a fan favorite, despite Atlantica’s notoriety, and I can understand why…but I think it’s hard for me to fully enjoy it simply based on the memories of Atlantica’s foolery, so it ranks lower on the list.

8. Monstropolis.

Despite what I said earlier this month, I’ve come to the conclusion that Monstropolis - despite being misnamed (it really should have just been called “Monsters Inc.,” since we spend the entire level in the factory) - might be my favorite of the Disney Worlds from KHIII. It had the best use of its resident villain, the best Disney Party Members in the game, connected decently enough to the main plot…and had one of the coolest new looks for Sora that’s been made. Sora’s Monstropolis form meshes the anime-esque style of his character design - complete with signature jacket, gloves, and spiky hairdo (albeit made out of what look like fins of some kind) - with the fluffy, cuddly, but still peculiar designs of the creatures in the original Pixar film. It’s a great combo that makes for a very memorable new design, and it was fun to see it in action alongside Mike and Sulley. He’s also, in my opinion, absolutely freaking adorable. How can something with no visible nose be so adorable? I don’t know, but they found a way!

7. Toy Box.

If "Monstropolis" is my favorite Disney World from Kingdom Hearts III, then "Toy Box" is a very, VERY close second favorite. Everyone was hyped for the Toy Story World in KHIII, myself included. For the most part, it didn’t disappoint, as it was home to some of the best scenes, a couple of fun bosses…and not only gave us a great new look for Sora, but also put it to use within the story itself. In “Toy Box,” Sora takes on the form of an action figure version of himself…but what’s really cool is that, in this world, he’s not just some random action figure. He’s part of a brand! In the “Toy Box” universe, we find out there’s a popular series featuring a character called “Yozora” (a clear parody of Sora himself), and it’s this character that Sora’s toy form is meant to resemble. It’s later revealed that Yozora is actually a physical character, as well, and he ends up appearing as an optional battle in the “ReMind” DLC. I love how bizarrely meta all of this is - the kind of charming confusion only KH can provide in its own baffling, utterly insane way - and it makes the Toy Box world, and the form Sora takes on, feel a little more special as a result. If the simple visual of Sora as a living action figure isn’t cool enough, the Yozora lore will hopefully do the trick.

6. Christmas Town.

For most English-speaking players, we didn’t know this form was even a thing until the Final Mix version of KHII became available in our countries. For a time, this form was exclusive to Japan: in KHII, along with visiting Halloween Town, we also get to visit Christmas Town…but in the initial international releases of the game, the characters all stayed in their Halloween forms, and the music stayed the same as well. I can understand why, with the former at least - it’s not as if Jack Skellington magically changes into Sandy Claws upon entering Christmas Town, and you’d think he’d be a bit surprised upon seeing his pals, who he’s only seen in their Halloween forms, change appearance so suddenly - but I think most people can agree we felt kind of left out of the fun. Thankfully, that did eventually change, and now everyone gets to see what the Christmas Town form is like. What I love about the Christmas Town forms is they have to juggle three different things together: while Donald’s look as a ducky snowman is pretty much pure yuletide, both Sora and Goofy have outfits that essentially combine elements of their base forms, their Halloween forms, AND the Christmas holidays together. For Sora, he has the dark colors, the sunken-and-glowing eyes, and bottoms of his Halloween form…but now he’s also wearing a Santa cap and jacket, and loses a few of the other, more menacing physical traits. It’s a great combo of all three elements, and excellently balanced. I was very pleased to see it added into the North American release.

5. The Grid.

As much as I love Space Paranoids - and I do, generally, think it was a better world - I honestly liked the look of Sora’s costume for the “Tron: Legacy”-influenced revamp, The Grid, even more. It’s hard for me to say why, exactly, since I generally like Space Paranoids more (just as I like the original Tron more than its sequel), but this look is just great to me. It’s very similar, but a bit sleeker and more organic in appearance. I miss the horns on the helmet, but generally speaking, this is my favorite of the two designs. Again, I’m not really sure why, so it’s hard to say much. Sometimes, you can just like something because…you just like it. I guess that’s how I feel about this one. Moving on.

4. The Caribbean.

Of all the different outfits and forms found in KHIII, The Caribbean was my favorite. That’s probably odd to many people, since it’s arguably the most simple aside from San Fransokyo: Sora doesn’t turn into some other creature, he just changes clothes. In The Caribbean, Sora dresses up in a stereotypical pirate outfit, vaguely reminiscent of Jack Sparrow’s own costume. He looks a little grungier, as if he’s been on the high seas along time, but that’s the only noticeable, major physical change. So, why do I like it so much? Simple: I just really like the look of a good ol’ fashioned pirate outfit! It just looks COOL, plain and simple! I don’t really have much else to say, to be honest: while I don’t think The Caribbean was KHIII’s finest level, I don’t think it was the worst either, and one of my favorite elements of it was definitely getting to see this new look.

3. Halloween Town.

Well, if you know me, then this one ranking in the top three should not have been a surprise. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I’m generally known for my love of the creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, and altogether ooky (snap fingers twice here). So, naturally, the Halloween Town World, and the look Sora takes on when he goes there, would be a big, BIG favorite of mine. Upon entering Halloween Town, each of the three main characters takes on a form inspired by a classic monster archetypoe: Goofy resembles Frankenstein’s Monster, Donald turns into a Mummy, and Sora becomes a Vampire. (Which is the closest we’ve gotten so far to having Dracula in Kingdom Hearts. I’m fine with that.) The design manages to mingle the anime-ish style of Sora (and the KH universe, in general) with Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s own unique aesthetic from “Nightmare,” creating a very unique and memorable look indeed. It’s one of the first I think of when I think of Sora and Kingdom Hearts, so it definitely deserves a lot of attention here.

2. Timeless River.

This seems to be a fan favorite skin for Sora; so much so that, when the character was surprisingly brought over for “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” this form was provided as an alternate look for the Keyblade Master. “Timeless River” is a World based on the classic cartoon “Steamboat Willie,” with a few references to other old Disney cartoons thrown in. Fittingly, Sora’s look in this world His facial features resemble those common in such cartoons, and his body becomes slimmer and more “toony” in appearance, in the style reminiscent of old “rubber hose” animation. He also, in fitting with the monochrome environment, loses all his color, his entire form taking on a grayscale palette. While our visit to Timeless River was brief, the aesthetics of the World - so unique from anything else in the game, and in reference to one of the most famous Disney cartoons of all time - really made an impact on people, and made this a favorite World for many, myself included. Sora’s form here was one of the many things that made this visit fun.

1. Pride Lands.

Okay, so, first of all…(takes a deep breath)…OH MY GOD, HE IS SO CUUUUUTE! WOOK AT DA WITTLE KITTY-CAT, D’AWWW, I JUST WANNA SNUGGLE ‘IM AN’ GIVE ‘IM BELLY WUBS AND TWEATS, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Ahem. There. Got that out of my system. NOW, speaking more analytically…Sora’s lion form in the Pride Lands seems to be another that many fans enjoy, with its own unique following. It’s not hard to understand why, since a.) again, SUCH an adorable little guy, b.) it’s one of the few forms, if not the ONLY form, that feels like it really leans totally into the Disney side of it all. He basically looks like a Lion King character, just with a funny mane and a necklace. Heck, if you took the necklace off, you wouldn’t even think much of that mane, especially given how the LK universe has evolved and all the hair/mane styles we’ve seen as a result at this point. Other forms blend the anime and the Disney and World styles together, but the Pride Lands look just goes totally for the look of the world, and I love it. Finally, c.) much like the Merman form from Atlantica, this form does affect the gameplay, but it does so in a way that is much less obtrusive. You can’t change into your Drive forms in this World, nor can you use any Summons. However, they make up for this by giving you a couple abilities and stat changes that are easier to grasp than the swimming mechanics of Atlantica, and help a lot…and you also have the option of having Simba on your team for much of your time in this World, and he’s pretty darn awesome as far as Party Members go. However, the main reason this takes top spot is simply this: when I think of Sora and his other forms, this one - arguably the single most drastic of them all - is the one I think of first, and I’d love to see the games do more changes like this in other titles. A “Great Mouse Detective” world where Sora becomes a mouse, a “Robin Hood” world where he becomes an anthropomorphic version of his lion form…the possibilities are endless! If nothing else, with so many other great things in the LK universe to mine, it would be great to see this World and this form return in the future. It’s without a doubt My Favorite Alternate Form of Sora.

#disney #square enix #kingdom hearts #kh #kingdom hearts month #sora #forms #costumes #skins #video games #best #favorites #list #countdown

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pixeldistractions · 6 months ago

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upcoming stories and plans and stuff

Hello, friends, who wants a long texty progress report?!?

Nobody? Well, you’re getting one anyway! 🤪

First, Thanksgiving is about to plow through everybody’s motivation for a week or two, right? Happy Turkey day to all who celebrate! 🦃 Then Christmas and New Year will be right behind it. 🎄☃️🎄 Let’s not set the bar too high, right?

In my noveling life, I have made exactly 800 words of progress on Miserable Ghost Story last month because my brain is stuck on Boxes and Squares instead. (B&S stories got about 12,000 words added, for a comparison.) Oops. I keep going back and forth on what to focus on first. MGS is a good little book, and if I could focus, it would be quick to finish and get out the door, but I’m just so damn obsessed with my B&S characters. My stupid brain writes what it wants to write about. 😖

And mostly, in writing, I feel like it’s a good idea to go where the energy wants to go. When a story is calling, it’s a lot easier to work on something that is calling than trying to force something that is not calling.

But I think also why I’m so obsessed with the story and getting through book 5 is because I feel like it’ll free up my brain a little to work on other things, both in sim stories and otherwise. There’s this mid-story climax point we’ve been building toward and we’re almost there!

So, plow ahead forward? Right? Right???

But wait…

Now I’m kind of picking at some things from book 1 that never got to be part of the blog version, and I want them to be. Some things that were part of old gameplay stories that I want to revise and expand.

Don’t redo old stories… don’t redo old stories… don’t redo old stories!!!

Except I kind of want to go back and redo old stories. 😂🤣😂🤣😵

I guess I’m a bit of a completionist. I know the blog version is not going to include everything from the novels—it could never—but it should include the important things. The things that develop characters and explain motives and maybe just a little bit of the absolutely precious fluff that deserves to be illustrated with sims, just because.

And I do intend to leave the blog version up when the novel version is published (because I’m an indie author and I do what I want!), so I want them both to be as full as they can be for their format.

Because, at the end of the day, this sims story version is here to please me, and please you guys, and it serves no other purpose than that, really. So, it would make me happy to go back and redo some of those earlier pre-story sections, like before even My Sweetheart. So I think I will.

Because I really do want to get back to Colette in #5.3 and she really does need to get laid! But funny enough, after her shock in #5.2 pt 10, then drafting Colette in #5.3, I felt like she was wanting to dig so much into her history of that time and the failure of that relationship. So I’ve been spending a lot of time in that era anyway.

So, a quick flashback story first??? (I said quick, but I didn’t say little. It’s not really very little. But with the writing done and grabbing a few select pictures, I think I can post it quick.)

The flashback story begins almost one year ago in story time, on Maria’s birthday. It’s an expansion/retelling of this gameplay post, which was their first real story on the blog (not as supporting characters), with Maria and Jordan in their flirty coworkers era, and Jordan and Colette in the last months of their quickly deteriorating togetherness. Then it also fills in the gaps in and around “my sweetheart #2” and what drove Jordan to decide to ultimately blow up his life.

As it stands, it’s about 10,000 words (I’m so so sorry! I promise they’re good ones? 😬😬😬) and will be split into 3 chapters of 4-6 parts each.

Some characters are super excited to be back in this era:

Look at her absolutely cheesing at this man! 😆

Girl, stop and get back to work! You’re not even getting a kiss out of him for another 8 months!

Others are not so happy to be back in this time of their life:

He’s like, “Why, oh god why are you doing this to meeeeee?!?!?”

So, coming soon. Unfortunately, I need to build something for the first part, but this is a real historical save point, so all their other houses and locations are ready to be filmed in.

#non sims #and sims #on writing #this is why i've got nothing #jordan #maria #colette

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zahri-melitor · 9 months ago

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