#i think 7 of these are fleshed out and im still interested in writing them
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Tell us why you ship Jeon, coward ❤️❤️❤️
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME
Alright so i guess im actually doing this after all (i think i already answered a similar question not long ago but it was very cluttered)
So instead of going full analysis mode on you guys im gonna write down the main points (note that i am discussing RE2 Leon here) :
The chaotic evil/lawful good ship trope, where person A abides by a set of rules, wishes to help others and right all that is wrong, and person B is the embodiment of chaos, entirely focused on their own needs and desires and completely lacking empathy
It makes for an interesting dynamic, the constant back and forth keeps people like me
invested for a long time
Now there might be some of you who might be wondering - why Leon specifically? Personally i don’t have an exact answer to that since you could argue that there are several characters in DbD who contrast Ji-Woon’s colorfulness
But somehow Leon stands out the most, with his nearly obnoxious self-righteousness and naivety (not using this as a way to describe him as dimwitted by the way)
I should also add that Leon seems to be fascinated by mysterious flashy people, so denying that he wouldn’t be curious about Ji-Woon would be funny to me
I’m a firm believer of “opposites attract” (be they as enemies, friends or lovers)
Ji-Woon is naturally playful so he’d enjoy messing around with someone like Leon (no i’m not talking about s*x)
Just imagine batman and joker but if batman was a rookie with the personality of a golden retriever (he can still kick your ass) and joker was a self-absorbed idol (insert the joke of him being “jared leto joker’s handsome twin” here)
I like to believe that jeon is interesting mostly because of my (and other people’s) portrayal of them :) that includes the aus i come up with anddd my modern setting thing where they re grossly in love with each other (plus ji woons reactions to leons affections)
I worked a lot on fleshing them out as a ship instead of going the bland “canon” route
That doesn’t mean that i did it by myself of course! I appreciate all the love and support on both my fics and art and i hope everyone following me enjoys my future content with them!! I haven’t a clue how long i’ll keep shipping jeon but as of now they re on my mind 24/7 and i hope it stays that way hahah
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Ok since two people asked
Why Lloyd is my least favorite ninja and how I rewrite him
Notes:// you know the rodeo by now, long post so it’s going to be under a read more, and I’m not gonna tag this with Lloyd because of the criticisms I have against his character, if you don’t want to hear Lloyd be critiqued then don’t reas the post
Why I don’t like Lloyd
Maybe it’s because I’m a Kai kinnie or maybe it’s because I have a bias agaisnt the younger sibling but Lloyd has never really been a favorite of mine
He was enjoyable in s1 but after that he kinda lost all personality for me and I stopped enjoying him
I think this is mostly for two reasons:
1. His screen time
2. His “character arcs”
I’ll go ahead and knock out his screentime here because it pretty much speaks for himself
Lloyd takes up so much screentime in the show that it’s actually jarring, he’s the character with the most seasons, having s1-2, s4, s8-11, and finally s14 ((the island special)). Which I think makes lloyds writing flaws all the more noticable
A big reason, albeit a bit of a petty one, for why I don’t like him is because he constant hyjacks other characters plots and makes them about him, this happened with Kai in both s4 and s11
Even if he’s not the main focus of a season, he always has a side plot focusing on him like in s3 and s12
The writers need to include Lloyd in other seasons is making it harder for the other main characters to actually have enough screentime to grow and develop on there own
And as a side effect of this, Lloyd gets to become the most important character in every season he is, taking roles from other characters who needed them
My best example is Cole being leader, he was set up and established as leader in the pilots and s1, and he did pretty good in it! Cole being a leader is a interesting concept that I would have loved to see been developed
But after Lloyd grew up they threw that plot point into the trash so they could have the mystical green ninja be leader even though throughout s1-7 he hardly actually talks to the main cast and him being leader doesn’t add any interesting dynamic like cole and kais rivalry despite Kai being a sort of right hand man to Coles leadership.
And in s1-s7 especially everything literally revolves around Lloyd to the point where his existence is more important than everyone else’s, and everyone’s motivations are to protect him.
Again I understand he is important, he’s the green ninja, but you have to let your other characters grow and develop, Lloyd is not the only main character in your show
Like for fuck sakes I don’t need 3 arcs about Lloyd and his dad, can I finally have another Kai season
Lloyds character arcs honestly kinda suck
Im going to be honest with you
Lloyds kinda an ass
The reason I like jay more then Lloyd even though jay has been way more mean spirited then Lloyd throughout the entire series is because you can atleast make the argument that jay doesn’t know when his jokes can hurt. And the show doesn’t portray jay as in the right, he gets what he deserves for some of the meanier things he says.
The same can’t be said about Lloyd
Lloyd says things to the other ninja that is honestly so mean spirited it’s jarring to hear it from him
Best example being when Lloyd told Kai to get over his shit when Kai was grieving in s4
But what makes it so frustrating is that the show always portrays Lloyd like he’s in the right which is why a lot of his character arcs feel flat or uninteresting
The only time this doesn’t apply is in s2 and in s3, in s2 the show paints Lloyd as being unfair to Misako when he RIGHTFULLY gets mad at her for abandoning him, I’ll get back to this later
The second time in s3 is when he’s traveling with Garmadon and having to be taught to balance his powers, which is actually one part of s3 I really liked, it was nice to see these two bond and have Garmadon teach Lloyd something that wu would other wise not teach him. And it’s a real shame the season cut it short AGAIN
The biggest example of the show making Lloyd seem in the right no matter what is in s4, Lloyds whole arc there was to learn how to view things from a different perspective and appreciate the things others have done for him. And this is would work if the show decided to do the same.
Again back to that scene with Lloyd and Kai in s4, the show treats Lloyd as if he’s in the right and it’s never addressed after this. Even though this is supposed to be the beginning of lloyds arc where he’s supposed to learn to view things from a different perspective
This scene would have worked if
1. The show didn’t paint him in the right for this, either by having Lloyd apologize or having the show acknowledged how it might have hurt Kai
2. If the plot Lloyd has remained a side plot instead of taking up the entire focus
Seriously, s4 could have been the ONE season where you can have a Lloyd side plot thats not forced and yet they fucked it up and made it the entire focus of the season thanks a lot.
To quote what I said in my Nya anayalsis awhile back
“I’m not upset that he has a flaw, just that it’s not recognized as one”
Lloyd would work way better as a character if the show just let him have consequences for his actions
Ever since he grew up and got the green ninja role he’s been treated like he can’t do no wrong which is clearly not true
But since we’re already on this topic
Hurting Lloyd doesn’t make him a good character
I feel like Tommy ((and sometimes the fandom)) really misunderstand what the use of suffering for in a story
There atleast 3 reasons writers make there characters suffer
1. To undergo a arc and realize where they have been wrong or to give a character a lot more depth to expand upon
2. If the story is a fallen hero one and the character suffers because of his Huberius
3. If the story is a tragedy
Ninjago is neither a fallen hero story or a tragedy and his pain doesn’t develop him as a character
A lot of writers don’t understand that suffering isn’t what makes a character good, it’s what pushes them to become good, you can’t just throw a character at the wall and expect them to instantly be a well written fleshed out character
A lot of the suffering Lloyd has to endure is mostly for no reason and it’s really mean spirited because it adds nothing to the plot, it’s just there to hurt him
Let’s bring up s11 as an example, Lloyd didn’t HAVE to fight the ice emperor from a writing standpoint, if anything it should have been kais battle because his lose of power and Zane going evil would have been a perfect reflection of s4 and tie it up after it ended kais character a bit open ended
But no let’s have Lloyd do it instead because haha isn’t trauma COOL and HIP
Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of your stories have to end on a happy ending or anything like that, if your a writer then your allowed to do whatever you want with your personal writing
What I am saying is that ninjago is an actual SHOW made by PROFESSIONAL writers and they can’t understand the concept of a story structure
And the lack of actually addressing his trauma is really bringing down Lloyd as a character
Because it comes to a point where you understand why Lloyd is sometimes mean or distrustful of other people and it’s frustrating because you know that it’s flaws of him that are never going to be fixed because there writers want there trauma baby
How I would rewrite him
I’ve seen a lot of people suggest Lloyd become a villain in a future season and you know what, I sort of agree
But not in the way you think
I feel like it would be way more compelling if Lloyd was a villain but is still a ninja, instead of Lloyd switching sides, the show is switching perspectives
More or less I want Lloyd to be a reflection of the “true” villain, which is how wu ((and subsequently Lloyd)) put small Victories as more important then the ninjas life, passion, and desire, and how there black and white thinking of good and evil ends up to a lot of problems because there’s a lot of grey area there choosing to ignore
I want Lloyd to start of being loyal to wu’s philosophy and the protagonist, for random example let’s say Kai, sudden turn on these ideas in order to look outside the box to find if there truly is a better way to protect people without harming himself
I want Lloyd to be upset over what he thinks is a turn to the dark side when in reality, it would make his motivations make sense and not make his turn to “villainy” be out of character.
And over the course of the season he starts to realize how wus and subsequently his leadership has hurt the others and himself, and have him reflect on if all the pain they suffer through just to clean up wus mistakes is really worth it like wu says, or if there’s a better way like kai says
As for Lloyds actual character himself, I’d like for his flaws to be more noticeable
Have Lloyd be a gifted kid who gets praise when he doesn’t deserve it but still kinda acts like a brat because he’s still mentally like 10
Have him be a control freak who follows the rules way to strictly and is all serious when they have to do missions
Have his idealization of wu be realized and critiqued because honestly wu sucks ass
Would this make his character less like able? Maybe, but then he’d actually have depth and something to improve on
He can still have his s3 and s4 arcs, it’s just now they’re more important because he’s actually learning to be better
AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IM PURPOSEFULLY MAKING LLOYD WORSE SO THAT KAI LOOKS BETTER
ILL HAVE YOU KNOW AWHILE BACK I MADE A POST SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT KAI AND HIS FLAWS SO THERE (/hj /lh)
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This is completely random, but just seeing people talk about Steven Universe made me think about it overall and how I feel in comparison to Adventure Time. I don't dislike SU; its objectively good and I give it a 7/10. but I don't particularly like it's writing for a good chunk of it, and vastly prefer Adventure Time's storytelling (not that there is this-or-that ultimatum between them, but its sort of like a Mario vs Sonic, Marvel vs DC kind of thing fandom wise since a lot of folks shifted their interest to SU over time.)


I love the groundbreaking Steven Universe has done. I love the LGBT+ representation, and the discussion of niche topics. But a lot of cohesive storytelling and characterization was sacrificed for 'making a point' or 'being a metaphor' when the two concepts arent mutually exclusive. SU hit its mark exceptionally well sometimes, but toward the end the executions got very sloppy (and sometimes patronizing) when trying to 'say something'.
Adventure Time, however, does it very well, integrating things organically, each piece of the series building upon the established foundation to whatever message it wants to convey, and the HBO mini-series only amplifies that.

I know the wedding plotline for Ruby and Sapphire was the ultimatum for SU. And I hate that it was because....Unpopular Opinion time....I didn't even really enjoy the wedding?
Don't get me wrong, it was cute, and I love Ruby and Sapphire as a couple but it felt so shoehorned to me. Especially since Fusion was always this ethereal, ultimate connection of love and basic Earth Marriage seemed like such a weird step backwards in comparison.
Meanwhile in Obsidian, Marceline singing her song to Bubblegum while they were trapped in a volcano had so much love and intimacy, with so much of that meticulous groundwork for their current relationship's setup backing it up that it nearly made me cry.
-I understand that SU taking a leap of faith was priority and taking a stand for representation, and ultimately I respect and approve of their choice.
- I understand the way some things went were often because of compromise and unwanted input from the network. (Not all their writing choices, but I guess mostly just how the ending of the main series and Future went)
- and I understand that Adventure Time downplayed their gay relationship drastically because of CN (mainly referring to them denying Marcy/Bubblegum confirmation by a staff member way back) and were only able to fully flesh Bubbeline out toward the end and afterwards (with Obsidian) while SU did the exact opposite.
Im less critical of the way things went toward the ending of the series because I know why they went as awkward as they did, but it still gutted a lot of what the show could've been.
I commend them for doing what they did despite the imperfections but not-great storytelling just really makes or breaks a series for me, personally.

I've watched both series in full recently over quarantine and I guess my vast preference for AT over SU is very objective; AT's story was better to me, more fleshed out in both the world and characters, and made me feel more things. Obsidian and Together Again still gives me goosbumps everytime I watch it, where SU:Future falls flat for me toward the end in an awkward way. I understand the paths taken were different in nature, and each series has its flaws, but ultimately I think AT ended up with a better told story in the long run and executing its topics well.
I appreciate what SU has done and the path its made for cartoons will never be forgotten.

but AT was a trailblazer in a different way for stories, emotions, concepts, and relationships, some of it even making the way for SU later on, and it will always just be my favorite.
#adventure time distant lands#adventure time#finn the human#jake the dog#steven universe future#steven universe#fandom
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idea dumping for ms almond,,
just cuz i keep thinking abt it and writing it on here helps me draft and flesh it out a bit owo
- i am gonna start refering to her as almond!! just cuz its such a cute name. i love
- mostly cuz the character of penny bun was originally meant to be like a love rival for mochi, but almond progressed a lot since then so i wanna seperate her character from the basic bitch beta idea,,.
- anyway, almond is in the rat witch’s guild!! im thinking of naming the rat witch brie. name her after cheese
- shes super pretty/quite popular. her mother is an accountant and her dad runs a medical practice. like a REALLY GOOD medical practice (think doctor tofu from ranma), and is passing it on to almond
- so almond is kind of the doctor/medical unit of the story. everyone goes to her to get fixed up when mochi cant do it. its SUPPOSED to be only for brie and her guild but sometimes coco or oscar pops up like “yo mochi is tired today can you help me patch up this huge scar on my arm-” and at first shes like “brie said no” but then does it anyway (they probably bring her food for exchange)
- brie loves her a lot!!!! precious baby!!!! even though brie acts more baby than almond, she still sees her as “beautiful bff baby girl!!! protect at all costs!!!!” and doesnt let her fight. “let pink love guy get his ass kicked instead!! i dont wanna see you hurt!!!” brie tells her
- i think almond probably had an almost life-ending experience early on in the guild, and since brie loves her so much, shes like “no. no more fight 4 u��
- despite this, almond is still quite spunky about it. shes the “i’m a healer, but- *cocks gun*”
- so only has medical/protective magic. im thinking its laced into her nail polish maybe??? capable of healing/patching, and creating barriers/shields. she finds ways to use this to be offensive sometimes.
- shes kinda similar to oscar in this aspect, as for a long time, the only magic tool oscar has is a witchs medallion capable of defensive magic only. theyre the support units
- in her normal life outside the guild, shes very pretty and popular wherever she goes!! shes like the female counterpart to lime
- im thinking brie sent almond to wessport high school to spy and see who the hell is going there that has such a strong magical pressence. there she became part of the drama club.
- as the residental doc, she doesnt care about blood. in fact, shes very ok with it. shes there at the drama club, passing the actors a bottle of ketchup, and going “make it goreier. sell the act”
- everyone is horrified with fake blood everywhere and shes like “ah yes, anatomically correct.”
- shes also capable of doing that FAKE “oh no...,.whatever shall i do 🥺” ACT THAT MOCHI DOES ALL THE TIME (refer to episode 7)!!!!! but by the time shes introduced lime already sees through this shit.
- shes a lot better at doing said act than demanding/asking things of people. like when she needs something, and someone is bothering her for a date, she goes “oh no.,..i cant reach that box way up there...can you grab it for me? 🥺👉👈” and it WORKS
- once she used it on oscar. he had a lil crush on her. she forgot her lunch money and was like “ah...i forgot money for lunch...” and oscar is like “UHH I CAN PAY IF YOU WANT-”
(speaking of oscar, below are beta ideas for a potential almond/oscar pairing):
- they only went on that 1 date and she told him she wasnt interested afterwards. oscar was bummed for a bit, but got over it
- oscar is the bane of her offensive defensive magic because his barriers are SO MUCH STRONGER than hers she gets SO FUSTRATED
- these two also potentially have a fake dating trope going on. once there were too many people harassing her for a date, she ran up to oscar, grabbed his arm and went “sorry!! already have a boyfriend!! i love him very much!! 🥰”
- he just kinda looked at her, saw what was going on, and went along with it, cuz theyre technically enemies, but gee being harassed like that sucks. not that he would know.
- so he pulls out that sorta creepy side of himself and goes “oh??? people harassing my girlfriend??” with a malicious tone, and they back off.
- i think something else also happens regarding her lack of boyfriend. she has like 5 sisters so im thinking theyre like “get a bf already lmfaooo!!!” and wont stop bugging her about it.
- when oscar finds out, hes like “just use me.” and shes “??? what”. he repeats with the sunshine smile, “just use me! it doesnt have to be real, just say im your boyfriend to shut them up! i dont care!” hes a good heart boy. he helps where he can.
- so she does. theyre not really bf/gf but she says they are and he goes along with it cuz its free and not hurting anyone, and she can relax finally. he does use this to get free medical care from her when he needs it though
- catch her start to catch feelings by accident
- catch oscar being soft but also extremely stupid and having no idea
- i keep thinking about a scene where shes fixing him up, lecturing him about being more careful or something, and spills by accident saying something like “*blah blah blah* my boyfriend *blah blah blah*” and he stares for a moment, before going “your.....your fake* boyfriend....right...?”
- and she stops for a bit, before realizing what she said, then goes “yeah of course! duh! thats what i meant! fake boyfriend!”
- and later that night shes like “fake boyfriend. thats all he is. fake boyfriend.”
- shes the most obvious tsun. very much the “idiot!!! its not like i ACTUALLY like you!!! i dont care!!!! *cares very much*” type.
- only exception is for the pink love mage guy. when she says she doesnt care abt him, she actually really does not care
#oscar/almond idea dumping specifically#almond butter!!!#i think ill go with that name#anyway my head keeps saying almond/oscar szo im gonna run with it for a little bit#bpp#bullet point post#almond#text#beta
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DEANCAS FIC REC
(last updated 7/1)
FINALLY. this is like. just a place for me to rec and write excessively abt the fics i've been reading lately. it won't be organized but it WILL be very earnest and i'll keep it updated as i find/remember more. also i have obnoxiously high standards when it comes to fic so these ARE the cream of the crop, if u will. the god tier. the s tier.
very loosely organized into "newer fic" and "classics." these are subjective categories. do what you will
✨ = new fic on the list
💖 = in my brain rent free!
CURRENTLY READING
these are the fics that i’m currently reading! may or may not get recced. usually i read the first couple paragraphs/lines and if i like the writing it gets bookmarked and put on this list.
lazarus needs a robe of scarlet thread by herrosesneverfall, 90k, canonverse au. dean starts getting stigmata. when i was getting back into spn there were a LOT of religious fics flying around bc that was the Hot Topic of Discussion. this was one of them
Three weeks ago, Dean woke up in a pine box. He thought dealing with the nightmares was going to be the most difficult part of his new life after Hell, but at least they were something he could understand. Something he could deal with. Something he deserved.
Then he began having agonizing visions of crucifixion. Wounds appeared on his body out of nowhere. Wounds that refused to heal and coated his skin with the sickly sweet smell of roses.
Stigmata are said to be the marks of saints, but Dean is not a saint and the wounds are only the beginning.
kingdom come by ahurston, 8.7k, coda to 15x18. cas gets to go home. im gathering all the s15 fix-its to my heart and holding them close
Cas wakes up on the coast of Maine. He makes his way home.
hunger by ellispark, 10.8k, s13 au. dean grieves cas, post s12 finale. perfect writing perfect awful heartwrenching characterization so far on dean’s end especially towards jack. nuanced emotional writing
Dean takes his meal and throws it away, plate and all. He's not hungry. How can he even begin to eat, knowing what he kept from Cas — what he kept from both of them?
They could have had something, and now all Dean has is this gaping, empty hole in his stomach, in his chest, and he has to learn to breathe and eat and move around it.
the law of equivalent exchange by awed_frog, 60.8k, canonverse. cas loving dean in all permutations of humanity, throughout time.
“And what’s the point of it?”
“Of love? There isn’t one. Loving is its own purpose.”
NEWER FIC
“newer” just means “i discovered it in 2020/2021 after coming back to spn fandom” so it very well could have been published before 2015 but really who’s checking. not me that’s for sure.
💖 so says the sword by komodobits, 85k, s4 au. cas guards the michael sword in the beautiful room. this is easily the MOST obvious rec on this entire list but it was the first fic i read when i got back into spn this year and jesus christ it set the bar sky fucking high. the way they create a coherent mythology out of the mess that is spn canon is incredible.
The briefing was simple: ‘Stand guard over the Michael Sword until the battle is ready to commence. Await further instructions.’
Castiel doesn’t mind working security duty; he was briefed shortly after the initial salvation of the Sword from the pit, and again before taking up his position. He knows what to do. However, it’s easy to forget that the green room isn’t real. Time moves differently there, the space ever-changing to make a prison of mountains, cathedrals, salt flats, orchards, and whatever Castiel was led to believe about Heaven’s greatest weapon—Dean Winchester is something entirely unexpected.
assimilation by komodobits, 5.6k, coda to 12x01. mary meets dean and cas and they go to find sam. such good character studies of all three of them. the best mary pov fic i’ve read
Mary always thought you were supposed to be able to tell. That you could just look at someone and know they were – you know. One of that sort. It’s not supposed to happen to her son.
cuckoo and nest by komodobits, 10k, ambiguously canonverse. dean and cas navigate relationship anxiety. cute, in character, and their relationship is realistic and the conflict well-written and emotionally nuanced and really really really good.
For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental.
It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.
💖 one white lie by komodobits, 11k, au. cas panics when trying to ask dean out and has to fake being a jehovah’s witness. it’s adorable and hilarious and it’s been ages since i actually got butterflies at a kiss in a fic but this did it. it did it. it felt like someone swaddled my soul in a cashmere blanket and kissed me on the forehead
Castiel takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell. He doesn’t need to run through what he’s going to say – he’s already planned and edited and rehearsed it a thousand times. He is going to ask Dean Winchester out to dinner. If it’s not too forward, he’ll say, perfectly charming. You see, I’ve seen you around the neighbourhood and you always seem so earnest and I’d really like to get to know you bette— The door swings open, and Castiel panics.
He intends to excuse himself. He means to apologise and come back some other time. However, in a moment of blind fear, what comes out of his mouth instead are the words, “Could you spare a moment for Jesus Christ?”
a crash course in someone else’s history by annie d (scaramouche), 11.5k, set during s6. cas comes to as his s4 self without any memories of the past two years and has to figure out what the fuck is going on. it’s kind of like so says the sword. you’ll know it when you get to it.
Castiel is captured inside a trapping circle of holy oil set by Dean and Sam Winchester. The brothers call him "Cas", claiming that he has amnesia and that he is obligated to help them take down Crowley to atone for his betrayal of them. It's the strangest story Castiel's ever heard, and one he doesn't have time for because he's only just raised Dean from Hell and has work to get back to.
💖 cas and dean’s adventures in gardening by ahurston, 19k, post-canon au. a series featuring dean and cas living in the bunker, human. cas is very into plants. i read this yesterday actually and it made me smile SO much it’s just so lovely and sweet. i’m also a sucker for any fic where cas has a garden. he deserves a fucking garden okay
In this post-God world, everything is different. A little quieter, a little softer. Cas grows a garden, Dean cooks, and they take care of each other.
tall grass by aeli_kindara, 57k, post-s12. dean and cas live in the bunker on their own, and cas grows a garden. i did say i love fics where cas has a garden. plus domesticity, plus some good case fic, PLUS dean and cas’ relationship is so gentle and good
“I think we should have a garden,” Cas says.
Dean looks up from his beer. He hasn’t had that much to drink, but Cas still has a vague look of unreality about him, a splash of living color that doesn’t fit in the bunker’s echoing stillness. Dean didn’t hear him coming. A lot of the time, Cas is so unobtrusive it feels like Dean has the bunker to himself, with Sam away.
Dean shakes his head to clear it. “A — garden?” he repeats.
in a week by renrub, 2.3k, post 15x18. cas is in the empty. dean saves him. this is genuinely the best “dean pulls cas out of the empty” fic i’ve read so far like conceptually this entire thing just fucks. when cas is cycling through the barn scene. god. SO well written
Castiel is outside a barn covered in sigils. He frowns. This isn’t right. This has never been something he repented for.
i won’t even wish for snow by annie d (scaramouche), 5.6k, college au. cas goes to the winchesters’ for christmas. honestly scaramouche fics belong in the classics section bc she’s like an og deancas writer but whatever. mistletoe! banter! good in-character au! this fic’s got it all
It’s the third year that Castiel’s spending Christmas with his best friend’s family, and he expects it to be much like the previous two. Then mistletoe happens.
convenient husbands by annie d (scaramouche), 39k, canonverse au. cas is a phoenix, dean is a hunter. they get married and have a sick psychic bond. unexpectedly fluffy considering how the fic starts and i love the banter so much and dean/cas’ relationship gets fleshed out and organically developed it’s very cute
"It's only temporary, right?" Dean says. "Just until you're healed up, and then we'll never have to see each other again. So what do you say, Castiel, do you want to marry me or not?"
cinderwings by bendingsignpost, 181k, cinderella au. cas goes to a masquerade ball to save his people from an eternity trapped in a void. he meets prince dean. i can’t tell u how much this fic drew me in - thru good worldbuilding, but mostly thru cas’ social awkwardness. like it works PERFECTLY to his advantage in this fic and reading how expertly he manipulates social situations w/o any fucking idea what he’s doing is both hilarious and inspiring
Under the cover of a masquerade ball, Castiel has five nights to recover the key to his people's freedom. The world has changed greatly in the six centuries since their banishment into the void, but the task isn't impossible. Unfortunately for Castiel, this is going to involve talking to people - especially the Knight Prince who has taken an interest in Castiel and his "costume" wings.
as the crow flies by bendingsignpost, 3.4k, au. dean and cas go on a roadtrip. cas has wings! it’s so dreamlike and meandering and the slowburn is so good. honestly it reminds me of stevebucky/stevesam post tws era roadtrip fics if ur hip LMAO
Cross country road trips with Cas are the best.
long-term relationship by bendingsignpost, 2.7k, au. dean and cas have a Serious Conversation about their relationship.
Castiel says, budging over to make room for Dean on the couch, “I thought we should have a serious talk about our relationship.”
Reflexively, Dean laughs.
Castiel does not.
“Uh, Cas... you know we’re not dating, right?”
all this and heaven too by ftmsteverogers, 7k, ambiguously canonverse. dean is trans. dean and cas are fucking and lowkey hiding it from sam. perfect character study PERFECT trans dean fic it’s so fucking well-written
“Hey,” Dean said. “I’m not ashamed of you, okay?”
Cas raised skeptical eyes to meet his.
“I mean it,” Dean insisted.
“I understand you mean it,” Cas said. “But I don’t think it’s any better if you’re only ashamed of yourself.”
💖 the love story of the runner up by margo_kim, 4.7k, ambiguously canonverse. cas tries dating other men. bear with me here. this is an outside pov fic from an oc named miguel who is WONDERFULLY characterized and very endearing like i find outsider/oc pov to be on Thin Fucking Ice bc it always ends up as fandom/author self-insert but miguel is his OWN MAN. he gets his own lil arc and everything. dean and cas are concentrated perfectly crystallized versions of themselves and the little glimpses we get of them are amazing. ALSO i wrote like 9k of an spn vent fic (basically the same premise but w an oc named marcus) back in like. freshman yr of hs. so when i first opened this fic i was like what the fuck someone’s been in my google docs. very weird experience 10/10 regardless
“So you saw a white man in a trench coat pop out in an alley,” Paul says, “and you thought, what, ‘I want to see where this is going’?”
“If you get hung up on details like that,” Miguel says, “it will take a very long time to get through this story.”
For a very weird era in his life, Miguel dates an angel who is in love with another man.
sunshine by northernsparrow, 8k, set during s13. dean and cas have a long conversation about their Profound Bond. the description left me off-balance (it really. really truly says “dean is straight in this fic” like okay bro WEIRD hill to die on) but it pulled through w the relationship study and reassurance and snuggles. a sweet fic
One-shot with a single conversation between Dean and Castiel, set in a late-S13-ish world. Gabriel, Cas, Sam & Dean are all living in the bunker together, Gabe's been cracking certain jokes, Sam's found a certain book, Cas is injured and isn’t healing... and it's all making Dean wonder if his angel friend might have some sort of a "bond" with... somebody? Whatever that means.
Maybe it's time for a talk.
💖 still life by catchclaw, 16.5k, post-s8. cas, newly human, goes to live on his own for a while. he and dean maintain a relationship thru the phone. this is LITERALLY the only first person fic i fucking respect okay like i was skeptical! i really was! but the pov is PERFECT and also my man kevin tran is in this fic and i love him and miss him very much. oh and cas going off to explore humanity on his own..............perfect arc. very much in character we love that for him
Dean'd always thought that falling in love was a capital letter kind of thing, an Important Event you carved into the calendar of your life and never, ever forgot. But with he and Cas, it wasn't that simple.
it’s mostly cowardice, and bad timing by ferritin4, 1.6k, pre-canon. actually this one is just a dean study it’s not deancas but i spent an entire night looking for it and i need someone else to read it too. dean is smart!!! SAY THAT
Dean gets his GED.
a list of reasons the bunker shouldn’t get a sofa by lizbobjones, 5.6k, set during s12. sam and dean and mary and cas haul a sofa back to the bunker. cute domesticity and fluff
Let me count the ways that this is a terrible idea.
no kingdom to come by domesticadventures, 16.8k, canonverse. dean and cas deal with being stuck in quarantine in different ways. this is the one and only quarantine fic i’ve read and it’s really good lmao. dean and cas’ relationship is so organic and tentative in this one
“We should fuck,” Dean says.
Cas looks up from where he sits on his bed, hair still damp from the shower, frowning as he places a finger on the page of his book to mark where he left off.
There are a million things Cas could say here; Dean has rehearsed them. After lunch, his restlessness had given way to a vague panic, a dread that matched his every step and crept along with him from room to room. Eventually, he had returned to his bedroom and spent the rest of the afternoon pacing back and forth, playing out all the possible scenarios. When Cas asks him Why? or Are you being serious? or when he sighs and says, in that way he has, Dean, he knows exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to shrug casually, like he isn’t invested in the answer, like he isn’t desperate for an outlet, and say, Why not? He’s going to raise an eyebrow and say, What, are you not interested? He’s going to crowd into Cas’ personal space, he’s going to shove himself right up in there and whisper Cas against his ear.
Instead, Cas says, carefully, “Okay.”
till the juice runs by deathbanjo, 8.4k, canonverse. it’s like dean’s being cursed to have bad hookups with men. SUCH a funny fic and the deancas tension is so simple and sweet and GOOD. plus cas is so enjoyably characterized here he’s so human and worn in and experienced in his own unique way. perfect use of rowena too
Apparently whoever drew up the venn diagram of Dean’s sex life decided the circle labelled ‘good sex’ and the one labelled ‘sex with men’ should be kept far apart.
turn of the year by kototyph, 3.9k, canonverse au. sam and dean get stuck out in the middle of nowhere on the winter solstice. what i wouldn’t give for a full 80k of this verse actually. also i went on a kototyph binge after reading shut up put your money where your mouth is and they have a SOLID spn repertoire
Fifteen minutes later, Dean gets back in the car with empty hands and ice in his fucking eyebrows. “Get the map out,” he says through chattering teeth, sticking numb fingers under his arms.
Sam holds up the battered 1995 Rand MacNally they keep in the side pocket, turned to a page of uninterrupted green. “We’re going to die,” he announces.
💖 bullets in the gun by kototyph, 4.9k, canonverse au. cas is a cop (i know. still) who gets kidnapped by dean in an unfortunate turn of events. GOD this fic is SO FUNNY. cas’ canny and strategic escape attempts render him a very active VERY funny pov character plus the hate attraction to dean is PERFECTLY WRITTEN VERY BELIEVABLE. dean’s kindness also shines thru even as he literally holds cas hostage like!!!! PERFECT characterization. both of them are so LIKABLE here. if you read anything on this list read this
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to need to borrow your car.”
as you will by kototyph, 1.8k, victorian au. cas endures a proposal mishap. it’s cute it’s funny it’s sweet!
"No?" Castiel echoes, dumbly.
and if i was looking too? by kototyph, 2.6k, au. cas is undercover where dean works. this fic is just so cute like. bird angels.................
There are some things Castiel hasn't told Dean, and there are some things he doesn't need to.
the most important thing by northernsparrow, 94.5k, s10 au. amnesiac cas raising claire until he comes across someone familiar. claire is so well characterized here i really loved her arc thruout this fic. she just wants her dad back and u can’t even blame her the author rlly does an amazing job creating realistic and heartbreaking motivations for her. oh and dean and cas (esp cas characterization!) are sweet in this but honestly the highlight IS claire for me
Jimmy Novak remembers nothing of the last six years. Reunited with his troubled daughter Claire, he's struggling to raise her on his own. The most important thing is to make Claire happy. But why does he keep having these dreams of wings, and of two men in a black car? (Canon-divergent from S10E11, when we first met Claire again and Dean was still struggling with the Mark of Cain. Takes places several months later).
there’s only one sure thing that i know by blinkiesays, 20.3k, post-s5. dean goes to help cas out in ohio and they end up building a home together. i love the writing it’s rlly funny and sweet.
Dean doesn't even get halfway through explaining before Bobby starts laughing. When he lets himself think about it for more than five seconds, Dean can almost see Bobby's point: he's faced down demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, and Satan himself and now he's been defeated by the God damn Midwest.
💖 to an angel, love and worship are the same thing by geminisage, 10.3k, post s15 fix it. dean grieves cas - and then cas gets brought back back from the empty. i didn’t have this in my bookmarks so i MISSED it the first time around on this list but this was another one of the fics i came back to spn fandom to. it’s so fucking unique?? it actually reads like spn like i think fic tends to soften dean/cas up and makes them more emotional + emotionally intelligent than is ever shown in the show. here the dialogue/characterization adheres RIGOROUSLY to their communication in canon in that dean’s not overtly emotional, and cas is very reserved. they have to negotiate their relationship exactly like they would in the show. it’s all clipped conversation and anger and hurt and (warning btw) LOTS of internalized homophobia on dean’s end but it’s SO worth it. dean navigating his [GESTURES VAGUELY] everything is compellingly written, emotionally true, and PERFECTLY characterized. cas characterization also amazing like u rlly feel the quiet devoted bittersweet love. ok this was long clearly it’s a good fic go read it now
Just as Dean knew they would, the weeks do stretch into months, and then into a year. Grief never gets easier, Dean knows from experience, but you do get better at it. After all, you can get used to anything.
the violin house by teh_helenables, 8.5k, post-s5. dean and cas build a home after stull. so slow and lovely and sweet and gentle. i need to put this here so that i don’t forget it tbh. it’s very much dean as a war wife cas as the husband away on the front
The Apple Pie Life is a slow process, but Dean and Cas are getting there—until Cas is called for battle and Dean is forced to wait.
💖 muscle memory by komodobits, 18.9k, au. amnesiac cas wakes up three years in the future with dean in his kitchen. komodobits DOES NOT FUCKING MISS!!! i CRIED at the end of this i had NO INTENTION OF CRYING the rest of the fic isn’t even SAD i just had to sit there at the end of it w tears dribbling down my face. INSANE work of art
Dear Castiel,
Hello – it’s Castiel. This must all seem very confusing, and I’m sorry for that. Dean says to tell you that this isn’t some kind of ‘time-travel stunt’, although I’m sure that won’t be your first thought. I know it wasn’t mine. I’ve told Dean to leave now, as this is my notebook and I want everything in it to come from me – or rather, from you. I know you think it's the fifteenth of January, 2010, but it isn't. At the time of my writing this, the date is the fourth of October, 2013. Dean Winchester is your boyfriend of a year and a half, and you no longer work at the library, and in early 2010 you were hit by a car and hospitalised. I’m sorry.
a.k.a the 50 First Dates Dean/Cas AU where Castiel wakes up on a day just like any other, except that three years have passed without his knowing, and Dean Winchester is in the kitchen wanting to marry him.
don’t forget the experience points by annie d (scaramouche), 10.8k, au. cas is sam’s work friend, and he and dean get to know each other. genuinely an adorable fic. i adore cas’ characterization in this it’s snarky AND awkward AND confident in a way that i absolutely believe he would be if he had 30 yrs of human life under his belt
It's because Dean was an awesome brother than he took such an interest in Sam's new friend. No, really. What happened afterwards was mostly an accident.
actus fidei by manic_intent, 5.6k, canonverse au. dean’s a priest, cas is still his angel. i was HOOKED from the description alone like That’s Everything I Love in One Sentence. Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the very first time that Castiel manifests in front of Father Dean Winchester, he gets as far as "Rejoice, for you are blessed-" before Dean shoots him with a salt-loaded shotgun.
not with a bang but a yelp by strange_estrangement, 1.4k, canonverse. team free will leave yelp reviews. this isn’t d/c actually it’s just a crack-ish fic but the formatting is cool and the references are SO funny and so well done
What happens when you visit dozens and dozens of motels every year? You leave Yelp reviews.
the courtship of combat by bendingsignpost, 18.2k, medieval a/b/o au. cas is politically coerced into fighting in a courtship melee for prince dean's hand, and he teams up with two unexpected allies to do it. I KNOW HOW THE ABO THING SOUNDS but i swear it's done well - it's by bendingsignpost so ofc he puts his own spin on the premise. im absurdly into it. PLUS jack is in it!!!!!!! it's technically an unfinished series but the first part is so good just on its own
When pressed upon to mate for a political alliance, Commander Castiel dares to refuse his king. As “I do not wish to mate at all” is clearly the wrong thing to say, Castiel takes the other path and lies. “You must know my affections lie elsewhere, my king.”
King Michael studies Castiel’s face long and hard. Then, with a nod, he snaps his fingers, pointing to Castiel. “The Winchester omega.”
“Yes,” Castiel says with no real recollection of who that is.
The ruse of an unavailable omega works well enough, right up until that omega is no longer unavailable. Then, with what seems to be his entire nation cheering him on toward victory, Castiel must enter the melee to win his mate. Backed by allies, training, and his own natural talents, the only question is how well he can contrive to fail.
four letter word for intercourse by bendingsignpost, 194.7k, au. dean calls a sex hotline. OH BOY solid characterization excellent plot/premise like bendingsignpost is so good at turning absurd premises into realistic, believable fiction. also sex hotline fic is usually a BIG turn-off bc of the power dynamics/one-sidedness of a relationship based on sex work but. BUT. bendingsignpost does it well! it’s not weird at ALL i started reading and was immediately reassured abt its intentions and its plot direction
As a grease monkey turned college freshman, Dean's constantly three seconds away from being stressed out of his mind. It hardly helps that he's finally figuring out his sexuality in his thirties.
What might help with that stress is a little phone number (and a big credit card bill). If he can't figure out how to be bisexual in person, he can at least give it a go over the phone, right?
(It's probably a bad idea, but he really can't help himself.)
the tunnel of love by xylodemon, 21.4k, post-canon. case fic! dean and cas have to kiss on a loveboat to solve a case >:)
"We might," Cas starts slowly, pausing like he's choosing his words. "We might have to kiss."
Dean just stares at him.
when you have a future. by firebog, 17.6k, post-s8. dean and sam and cas learning to be human post-apocalypse. reminds me of robotmango’s writing! it’s kind of eccentric and very very sweet and funny.
Sam closes Hell. Castiel closes Heaven. The heroes save the day. There's no Heaven or Hell waiting to cause the next big disaster. There's no more end of the world. There's only a squirmy feeling in his chest that feels a lot like freedom. So, now what?
(Things I promise you in this fic: dog poetry, rabbits, and fluff)
six inch heels by alitneroon, 2.3k, canonverse. dean does drag! excellent fucking character study. prose is fantastic
Dean does drag on a whim, and ends up in way over his head.
sharing is caring by gateskeeper, 2.5k, canonverse. five times dean and cas shared something and one time they didn’t. look. sometimes u just need some saccharine tropey fluff. it’s VERY well written
Sam knows that Dean and Cas have shared a lot together, but ever since Cas became human permanently, it seems like they've been sharing a lot more.
Or: five times Dean and Cas shared something special and one time Dean refused to.
💖 empty spaces by schmerzerling, 60k, au. dean has to take care of his dying father, and takes up running to cope. that’s just the beginning. HEAVY trigger warnings for ED (specifically anorexia) and suicidal thoughts. there is a happy ending, but dean has to fight to make it there. god. okay. this is a dark fic. it’s also one of the most well-characterized fics i’ve ever read. dean’s spiral is excruciatingly accurate and written with the kind of wry compassion that comes from either extensive research or extensive experience. it’s also completely immersed in dean’s perspective - dean’s relationship w his dad, dean’s relationship w food scarcity, etc. it’s incredible. it’s kinda scary. it’s deeply sad. cas is explicitly autistic and it’s ALSO incredibly accurate and loving, and makes cas so true to his canon self. ugh. and i burst into TEARS at some of the accompanying art, which is so sparse and lonely and beautiful. 100/10 experience one of the best fics i’ve read this year
Dean is fine. The way he sees it, things are simple. He had a house and a family and food in his stomach, and now he doesn't. And yeah, that's a downer, but he's not going to let that stop him from being fine, because he's in control of the situation. He definitely doesn't need anyone to save him. And it's not like the weird guy with the nice butt from down the road is the knight-in-shining-armor type, anyway.
broken road by thegeminisage, 109.6k, 14x13 au. dean makes a wish and gets more than he bargained for. a lot of “john comes back” fics are kinda short on nuance, which this author has talked about a lot - and oh MAN does this fic deliver on nuance. john’s abuse is absolutely present, but his pov makes him a complex character instead of a flat caricature for dean to reject. and the way this fic resolves really makes it clear that the priority is dean’s emotional well-being over all else!!! this isn’t about dean taking the path fandom thinks he should take w his abuser (killing john, punching john in the face, etc), this is abt dean coming to terms w his abuse and finding his own emotionally satisfying way of resolving it. also dean and cas are in an established relationship and it’s very slow and sweet.
A 14.13 Lebanon rewrite. When Dean uses a wish-granting pearl to try and kill the archangel Michael before he can escape the cage in Dean's head, they instead wind up with a newly-resurrected John Winchester.
It's been more than a decade since John died, and a lot has changed: Mary is alive, Sam and Dean have what passes for a proper home in the Men of Letters Bunker, and they're living with angels. John doesn't know angels are real, he doesn't know about the fragile new relationship between Dean and Castiel, and most of all, he doesn't know that Dean said yes to Michael, or that Dean's plan to defeat Michael would send him to a fate worse than death.
Now Dean must contend with both his father asking questions he can't answer, and his loved ones learning about the darker truths of his childhood, all while constantly battling the archangel trapped inside him. But Dean coming to terms with his history may be the difference between this being the beginning of a journey—or the end.
home is not a place by imogenbynight, 6.8k, post-s11. human cas struggles with belonging, and dean struggles with their relationship. this reads a lot like komodobits’ cuckoo and nest, but it’s its own sweet little thing. they watch movies!!! very cute
In which Dean is the oblivious one for a change.
love: a retrospective by xylodemon, 40.7k, post-s12. dean tries to deal w cas’ absence after s12 and reflects on their relationship thru the years. this was written before s13 aired, so - no spoilers - but jack plays a different role than he ends up playing in canon. it’s kinda fun seeing ppl’s theories pre-s13 tbh. makes me VERY glad that they took jack in the direction they did in show. anyway this is THEE definitive “they’ve been fucking all along” fic
Pretending Cas is just his friend has been the only thing keeping Dean's head on straight for years. He never realized how much doing that depended on him making himself scarce in the morning ─ not until Cas came back and moved into the bunker.
✨💖 if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee, 37k, post-s15 fix-it. cas gets broken out of the empty - and he immediately makes a break for it. new fave fix-it!!!! the writing is so understated and so straightforward - SO in character for cas tbh - that every single emotional beat feels like a PUNCH. and there are so many amazing character moments it made my chest seize the fuck up!!!!! perfect characterization perfect relationship moments perfect cas/jack parenting moments. the yearning over the phone is OFF THE CHARTS and spocklee makes the most of that tension!!!! PLUS old canon characters get to make fun appearances!!!!! i cannot recommend this shit enough
After the Empty, Cas has to spend some time alone. Orpheus tries to convince Eurydice over the phone that it’s okay to turn around now.
✨ before and after breakfast by spocklee, 10.5k, post-canon. dean and sam and cas tackle a monster of the week case with unexpected consequences. perfect pov perfect relationship moments SUCH GOOD TENSION. again this writing style just lets the tension dial up to 1000% every word is meaningful and it makes my chest hurt!!! spocklee SHOULD have blown up during the spn renaissance and i STAND by that
The monster of the week is a ghost who hates meat, alcohol, and feeling yourself. Guess who it is during the commercials.
CLASSICS
isn't it cool how every person has diff fics they consider "classics?" anyway these are required fucking reading. if u've been around these will prob be old news.
💖 asunder by rageprufrock, 23k, au. dean and cas go to sam's wedding. i reread this once a year like a religious ritual.
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)
💖 the girlfriend experience by rageprufrock, 15k, set during s5. dean teaches cas how to be human. mostly the sex part. literally the gold fucking standard of s4-5 era deancas fic and for deancas fic in general, personally
While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
okay, cupid. by orange_crushed, 4.5k, au. dean tries to sign up for an ok cupid profile and has a revelation. as soon as i put this entry down i realized this entire fic rec was an exercise in futility, because if i could i'd literally just rec everything orange_crushed/robotmango has ever written. still one of THEE best authors in this fandom. go read all her fics. i’ll put the highlights here
"The dating thing?" Dean frowns. "Online dating is for weirdos. Robots. Dudes hanging out in their basements."
"You hang out in your basement."
"I have an air hockey table down there,” Dean says, icily.
💖 pwp: pie without plot by orange_crushed and majorenglishesquire, 82k, post-s8. sam and dean and cas quit hunting for a little bit to open a bakery. this is my comfort fic. i love it so so much.
he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says "thank you" and cas says "you’re welcome" very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything
💖 la cucina by orange_crushed, 4k, post-s8. dean gets into cooking for a newly human cas. it's so gentle and loving and kind and makes me tear up every time. YES food is a comfort item and expression of love for dean. no i don't want to talk about it
Dean turns around and Castiel is picking through the jars, turning them over carefully to read the labels, totally engrossed. Dean watches him.
"Is there," Dean says, "uh, anything in there you like?" Castiel looks up at him and then back at the apples, sitting in a basket on the counter in their golden skins, ripe and pretty. Castiel smiles up at Dean.
"I don’t know yet," he says.
today, your barista verse by orange_crushed, 13.6k, coffeeshop au. a series of short sweet lovely fics where cas is a barista and dean is a smitten customer. literally the only coffeeshop au i respect
"Is that-"
"My number," says Dean, because he's a fucking champion, he's cool, he's collected, he's Captain Smooth of the USS Smoothtania, that's right. He is definitely not leaning against the counter for moral support. Cas doesn't looked seduced or impressed, though. He does not look like a dude who just met Captain Smooth and wants to ride the loveboat. He looks puzzled.
fata morgana. by orange_crushed, 6.6k, post-s9. dean is the king of hell. bela and cas team up to find him. bela pov. yeah you fucking heard that right BELA POV. BELA AND CAS!!!!!!!!!! makes me lose my mind i love everyone in this stupid desolate fucking hell wasteland.
The endless asphalt and broken road, the empty land and piles of human garbage, the unwanted ends of life, the cracked toys and broken screens and burning cars and gravel. Dean Winchester is the king of hell.
"Oh," says Bela.
That changes certain things.
💖 gran fury. by orange_crushed, 5k, pacific rim au. sam and cas pair up in a last ditch mission to save the world. permanently damaged me at age 15 and i've never recovered. major fucking angst warning.
They sit in silence and Castiel passes him the bottle. There’s not much left to say. Sam takes a gulp and it burns going down, like the cheap shit it is. He holds the bottle up against the light. He can see the Fury through it, distorted like a funhouse mirror. She’s a tomb but Sam loves her. Loves everything that’s left.
"To the end of the world," he says.
"To the end of the world," says Castiel.
💖 shut up (put your money where your mouth is) by kototyph, 24k, au. dean and cas get drunk married in vegas. dean renovates cas' house. this fic is SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered/expected and the entire series is fucking adorable go read it RIGHT now
Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
not part of the plan by annie d (scaramouche), 338k, arranged marriage au. cas is slated to marry a noble from the winchester house. things spiral out of control. if you’re looking for an extensive well-developed political au, this is fucking it. i love reading about political machinations so this was FASCINATING to me.
Castiel's spent most of his adult life keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. This is a deliberate choice on his part, because as a cousin of the King, he'd rather stay unimportant and forgotten. This changes abruptly when King Michael decides that he has a better use for Castiel: he is to be wed to a noble member of the neighboring Republic, as part of an agreement between their two nations.
Castiel knows he has to obey, but that doesn't mean he won't rebel in what small ways he can. Unexpectedly, his actions end up having far-reaching consequences.
💖 all things shining by askance and standbyme, 142k, au. sam and dean and cas go on a hunt that's not really a hunt, and against all odds good things happen. it's beautifully written and has scenes that literally make my heart leap out of my chest with joy and awe it's just WONDERFUL it's a wonderful fic. incredible mythology too omg i found that the authors actually created the myth the entire story is based on - like they don’t pull a random one from history, they made one up THEMSELVES. they even self-published it on amazon if ur curious
Something in the world is waking up.
It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago.
Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.
💖 broadway musical by griftings, 12.4k, crack. romcom where cas is supposed to play matchmaker to dean and jo and well. you know. it actually made me cackle out loud when i read it again so you know it's still good. absolutely one of the funniest fics i’ve read
This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.
The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.
Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.
the five people you meet in heaven by chevrolangels, 22k, ambiguously canonverse. dean dies and goes to heaven and meets five people from his life. NOT a post-finale fic but still horrifically sad. i remember sobbing hysterically when i first read this so
Heaven is white.
Well. Isn’t that fucking stereotypical.
Dean isn’t really sure how he got here. Or even why he’s here. And hell, for all the times the Winchesters have died, he thinks he ought to know the drill by now. But what he doesn’t know is when most folks go, they find something different.
There’s a system God put in place. That when you’re gone (for good), there are a couple things you gotta do first. There are five people waiting for you.
They are the five people you meet in heaven.
any port in a storm by microcomets, 53k, post-s8. dean and cas go on a haunted cruise for a case. you know what happens next. also the art is by anobviousaside and it's gorgeous
The angels have fallen, leaving Castiel graceless and Dean with, well, more of other people’s problems. When a string of couples goes missing on the east coast, Dean and Cas decide to investigate—and find themselves trapped and hunted on a couples’ counseling cruise. Although battling monsters at sea is dangerous enough, sorting through emotional baggage proves to be far more deadly. (And, in which Cas embarks to find his missing grace and Dean is put out. Not necessarily in that order.)
a turn of the earth by microcomets, 95k, pre-canon au. cas is on the run from the empty and crash lands in dean's life. at one point he punches john in the face. a fucking beautifully written character study of pre-canon dean, honestly.
Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.
Frigging fantastic.
(Or, in which Castiel gets stuck in Dean’s timeline preseries and Dean kind of hates it—until he doesn’t.)
unfinished duet by microcomets, 5.8k, canonverse. sam observes dean and cas throughout the years. i remember this breaking my heart back in 2013!
Sam watches Dean and Cas over the years and notices a few things. (Or, Dean and Cas unscripted.)
💖 ergative/absolutive by glassedplanets, 8k, college au. dean and cas are best friends who meet in an astronomy class. i'm never not thinking about this fic it's so sweet and the friends to lovers is so soft and believable
He really shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like this about his best friend who literally just broke up with his girlfriend, but he knows he’ll blame it on sleepiness in the morning. He always does.
a certain light by flightagain, 24k, au. cas works at the gas n sip. dean is a customer. this author’s writing style is so lonely and heavy but it’s very lovely
Castiel works at the Gas-n-Sip. There are half-price nachos and flickering lights, there are office-workers and werewolves stopping by for snacks. Dean is a frequent customer, and his office might be haunted.
the one thing you can’t lose by majorenglishesquire, 5k, ambiguously canonverse. dean can pull cas around and it’s adorable. character study-ish. very sweet.
You know what I like a lot? The thought that Dean can just tug Cas anywhere at any time and Cas, who can lift tons without effort, who can demolish things with the light of his grace, who has battled and gone to war, has defended and broken, will just let Dean do it.
brother lover by twentysomething, 4k, set during s4/s5. dean’s jealous of sam and cas’ budding relationship. this fic is so tropey but it does it well and it’s funny as fuck
However- and it doesn't happen a lot- they have to invoke 'I saw her first.’
his fucking kids by 8sword, 3k, canonverse au. dean and cas raise claire and emma together. yes, claire novak. yes, emma of 7x13 spice girls fame. this was the first kidfic i read for spn i think. obvs written before jack or claire actually came back into the picture but it was the TEMPLATE of kidfic for me for ages
Jesus, the school should just have a parking spot labeled, “Reserved for the Novak-Winchesters,” because Dean’s getting sick of having to cruise around the parking lot looking for a spot every time he gets a call from the principal about Emma.
💖 what has eight tentacles and isn’t allowed to eat pie? by annie d (scaramouche), 16k, post s8. dean gets turned into an octopus. another fic that was SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered i fucking love when that happens. it isn’t even about dean being an OCTOPUS like NO. NOT EVEN. it’s ACTUALLY about the bunker and building a home and a community and a family and about PHYSICAL COMFORT and you can actually feel the world expanding at the end of this fic like a gusty sigh of relief it’s SO WONDERFUL. kevin is in this fic. ellie is too and i had to look her up but THIS is her!!!! danay garcia u were too hot to stay on this show but i love you and miss u
Dean watched an anime porn about this once, but real life turns out to be way less interesting.
Or, the one where Dean gets turned into an octopus.
💖 a beginner’s guide to communing with the dead by suspiciousflashlight, 77k, canonverse au. dean is a cop who summons a powerful entity to help him solve a cold case. oh my god i can’t believe i didn’t put this on here i love this one so much. the writing bowls me over it’s so confident in its worldbuilding like you’re IMMEDIATELY plunged into dean’s pov (FLAWLESSLY executed throughout the fic btw) and you just learn about the world as you go!! and it’s such a fascinating world!!! i love the magic i love the typical bureaucratic red tape procedures i love normalizing the supernatural. i ESPECIALLY love monsters as normal people in a society. at one point there’s this exchange
“Monsters,” says Cas finally. “Beyond the Wall there are monsters.” “You mean, like, vampires and djinn and stuff?” Cas shakes his head. “Those aren’t monsters, those are just people.”
those lines have stayed with me for years. i think about them every time i rewatch an episode of spn.
Maybe it's the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it's the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it's his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn't matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he's going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn't started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that's not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there's no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom's old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.
dean’s list by almaasi, 3k, canonverse. dean makes a list. short and sweet. i read this so much in 2015 that it literally got engraved into my brain line by line and rereading it caused synapses to fire that havent felt anything in years
Dean writes out a list of men he would go gay for. Sam has a suggestion to make.
💖 the path of fireflies by museaway, 63.7k, post-s8. dean and cas open a charming bed and breakfast in vermont. no, literally. another CLASSIC. i think about the food in this fic all the time...........maple bacon baked french toast......the cinnamon rolls.....it literally sounds so good
After his humanity is restored, Dean wakes up in bed with Castiel, a wedding ring, and no memory of the past twelve years.
long nights in cold months by pyrebi, 2.3k, au. dean’s an insomniac and cas works at walmart. i forgot i had this fic ALSO basically memorized. holy shit. pineapple in the fruit aisle.....................anyway it’s short and sweet and the “plot” resolves in such a satisfying way
When you're an insomniac, you get used to the "what the hell are you doing up, man?" look. Dean just hopes the guy who's stocking the shelves will stop giving it to him long enough to help him find some damn pineapple.
incredibly single & ready to mingle by imogenbynight, 3.6k, au. dean and cas meet on facebook. short cute au!!!!!!
Sam uses Facebook like the social media junkie he is. He's befriended literally every person he's ever had a conversation with since he got an account, which means that approximately—Dean checks—eight hours ago, he shared this horrible photo with something in the vicinity of nine hundred people. The caption below the picture reads “incredibly single & ready to mingle ;)” and roughly half of them have liked it.
Dean has never been so embarrassed in his life.
💖 unknown quantities by xylodemon, 8.5k, post-s8. after a post-case tryst, dean has to figure out his and cas’ relationship. human cas fics hold a special place in my heart. funny AND good dean pov AND a misunderstanding that i actually think works!!!!!
No one ever tells Dean anything.
(or: Dean Winchester and the not-relationship crisis of 2014)
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20 Questions: Writer’s Edition
tagged by the beloved @myrmidryad
this is a LONG one so here’s a cut to avoid do you love the colour of the sky syndrome
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
101 after a recent purge... no one may know about my Past
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
329004! used to be about 350k but again... purge
3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
on ao3 i’ve written for (chronologically) doctor who, skyfall, discworld, les mis, star trek, lord peter wimsey, marvel (various), in the flesh, red vs blue, roosterteeth rpf, check please, hockey rpf, star wars, daredevil, rivers of london, dishonored, emmerdale, dirk gently, holby city, hot fuzz, kj charles, guardian, the covert captain, taskmaster rpf, good omens, ghosts, roswell new mexico, leverage, schitt’s creek, the magicians, 9-1-1, it chapter two, the magnus archives, the old guard, the mandalorian, the ritual, the locked tomb
way back on the pit of voles i wrote for twilight, harry potter, hetalia and xmen first class. and on the newsround chatrooms i wrote exclusively harry potter fic about my oc neville and luna’s daughter
as you can tell i am not prone to staying in one fandom writing wise, i tend to end up with one complete fic and seven abandoned wips concealed deep in my google drive
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
finally see what it means to be living (captain marvel, carol/maria, i really hit the zeitgeist with this one i think i was something like the fifth fic in the ship tag)
do whatever you think (the magnus archives, this series is actually #2-7, then #8 #9 and #11 for me so i’m going to cheat a bit)
standing in a world of my own (daredevil, matt/foggy/karen, another zeitgeist hit! really miss writing for daredevil actually... it’s a perennial fave)
a winding road that stretches towards the truth (iron man, tony/rhodey, i STILL don’t know when this got so many kudos. i swear i looked away when it was at 100 and suddenly it ended up here)
where the long shadows grow (star trek aos, kirk prime/spock prime, thank god some people are checking the prime kirkspock tag is all i’m saying!)
5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
i don’t really Do angsty endings... possibly a blanket of stars just because i ended it on something of a cliffhanger and then completely zoned out of rnm for long enough that i forgot where i was going with it. there was definitely the intention of fixing things but then i just... did not do that. and now the show is on s3 and i’m over a season behind! life comes at you fast
6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
where the long shadows grow, because it reunited kirk prime and spock prime and they DESERVE TO BE HAPPYYYY. i’m a complete sucker for presumed dead/back from the dead stories, actually, so on a similar theme i have two (TWO) daredevil fics which follow the trope, one about ray coming back post-s2 (might never be normal again) and one about foggy and matt reuniting post-endgame (in the corner, taking up space). this is the only time i will ever acknowledge endgame ever again
7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
i do write crossovers! in fact i am often roundly mocked by my friends for the increasingly esoteric nature of my crossovers. way back in secondary i wrote a twilight/labyrinth crossover where angela was sarah and jareth’s daughter because i had a massive crush on a girl who liked both twilight and labyrinth. however, since that has been comprehensively scrubbed from the internet, i think my craziest crossover is probably part three of ‘traced upon the skies’, already an esoteric crossover of rivers of london and hot fuzz, when i added in a crossover with the horror movie ‘the ritual’ just because i wanted rafe spall’s character to be happy
8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
EXTREMELY rarely and only with extreme embarrassment. i will not be any more specific than that
9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
i used to really struggle with doing this, to the point that i had over 300 comments just. lingering in my inbox unanswered. so i decided to give those up and just commit to answering them from then on, which has been working fairly well for about a year and a half now. i love getting comments but i get overwhelmed really easily and struggle with replying in a way which feels meaningful without getting in my head about it!
10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?
yes lmao it was for a harry potter fic on ff.net where harry got sorted into hufflepuff instead of gryffindor. it wasn’t a very good fic but i think the fact it was clearly written by an 11 year old should have scared off at least some of the less flattering comments.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
i don’t... think so? i don’t know how i’d find out to be honest, my vanity googling is rarely very effective
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
yes! as bronze may be much beautified (skyfall, mallory/bond) got translated into chinese, i was extremely pleased. i think it’s mandarin but the ao3 page for the translation doesn’t say and my mandarin is.................. extremely poor
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
also yes! me and jess little-smartass have written a lot together, although only our star trek/les mis series has been published, more’s the pity. we spent a lot of les mis fandom time workshopping aus and we were always extremely correct about all of it, imo
14. What’s your all time favourite ship to write for?
oh god. i think probably kirk/spock, although there’s some recency bias to that since i reread space manhattans recently and was reminded of my love for them. i really like writing jon/martin but i’ve mostly done that from outsider pov which is a bit different to writing shipfic, i think. joe/nicky from tog was also something i really liked writing but i struggle with plotting longer fic with them
15. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
i recently went through my abandoned fic folder so i actually have a few options for this. the obvious choice would be ‘any of the hockey ones’ but i did delete most of those just for my sanity. more recently i started writing a vaguely smutty pre-the thing mac/fuchs fic for alex @milkdrinker5000 which i really WANT to finish but am struggling with. most obscure answer (even beyond the thing) and most likely to remain unfinished is the insanely in depth post-tog booker/copley fic i had planned out back in about october. i wrote a good 6-7k of that one and then i realised it was going to be, like, difficult, and decided if i was going to put that much work into something it may as well be the novel im meant to be writing
16. What are your writing strengths?
once a friend told me i had an excellent facility for dialogue and ive thought about it every time i write ever since. i love writing dialogue and i think i’m good at knowing what sounds ic and what is right out.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
one of the things i struggled with for a really long time, and honestly still have trouble with, is depicting action in words. once i wrote a hockey fic which featured multiple hockey games and i spent probably four times as much effort editing those to make sense and be interesting that i’ve ever done on a talkier scene.
18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
i’ve done it but only when i knew more or less what i was talking about - i did italian at school so i felt confident using it for nicky in something particular and real. i try not to italicise when i drop in words from other languages, which is what i usually do when i’m using a language i haven’t studied in depth (for example, joe’s use of arabic in some of my fic), and to only use words which i’ve heard used by native speakers in that context. i think if you don’t feel confident using another language, generally speaking, you shouldn’t do it. and for god’s sake don’t use google translate for a full sentence
19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?
harry potter on the newsround chatboards. ariana lovegood-longbottom my sweet child
20. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?
this used to be an easy question because hands down the fic i was proudest of on posting it was i’ll be seeing you. i spent a year and a half on research and writing! but these days i do cringe a little at my hockey fic, and i think i’m prouder of some of my shorter works. let’s do a curveball and say layer on layer, down on down, which is my favourite of my rnm fics and the one i like most from a narrative voice perspective. getting michael right was stressful and i’m still proud i got it down for a TIME LOOP FIC, my absolute favourite trope
tagging @little-smartass and @leescoresbies just in case they want to try this
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Im the list anon again and boy do I have more for you but this time I also have some questions as well if your time allows and you are willing to answer of course. First with the other things I loved:
1) the fact that Ron warmed up to Draco so quickly! I genuinely think thats so much in character. Ron is not a distrustful person and as a middle child as they come is very easygoing and would for sure make stupid jokes at Draco
2) The patronus. My god the Patronus. I seriously put the phone down and made a small slow clap during that chapter. At first I was like hmmmm *insert unsure kombucha girl face* because almost all fanfics have him with a dragon patronus and leave it at that (and lets be honest at this point my expectations of you were quite high dont blame me blame your bloody brilliant writing) but then, and I dont know if you did this on purpose or not (I have a feeling you did) but the fact that the dragon was the same (pale white) wounded but still feral dragon that Hermione FREEED (!) from a bank (£££) dungeon, malnourished and used for its nature, surrounded by darkness, wealth and misery!! And it was Hermione who broke its chains!!!!! Is just *chefs fucking kiss* slow clap*
3) the way you describe sex scenes are so natural! Ive never read a fanfic or book that doesnt make me gag a little bit (I am not a fan of smut at all but ill go with it because of a good story) until I read yours. Its so simple but yet intricate and you make the entire act so intriguing and normal and intimate. Bravo.
4) I LOVE SASHA. I love that Theo fell for her head over heels and the way you portrayd her reminded me of a friend of mine who works as a sous-chef in London so I always pictured her when reading it!
5) Dracos inner voice is ON POINT. Like I genuinely think you shoud own the rights to that character now.
6) Ill say it again. I love Ginny. You should also own the rights to her character too.
7) my interest for Quiddich (even when reading the books/wathcing the movies) was on par, if not lower than Hermiones. You managed to get me interested in that too so yes another slow clap to you
7.1) Also such a clever career for Draco!! Made si much sense!
Now to some questions
A) What was the deal with Malfoy referring to Ginny as Weasly and refusing to aknowledge her Potter surname. And why did everyone kept correcting him? It was hilarious granted but I wanted to know whether the reason you included this time and time again had to do wih something deeper? Or was this included as just a funny recurring joke?
B) Why did you choose for Draco to have a “fantasy” to produce a patronus and not for example for him to have had to do that after theyd exchanged “i love yous”. Very interesting angle and i liked that it was sort of a loophole to all the ‘death eaters cant have patronuses’ but quite curious on the thought process
C) Why did you opt for Draco to remove his mark? Do you think that stands as reward for him more or for Hermione? Very smart solution by the way
D) if you have the time- Could you please elaborate a tad more on what the soul-bonding means? Why was it so taboo? At furst hand it seems like a very romantic/amazing thing to do with your partner right?
Lastly- Do you ever itch to make a second part to this? And in the most acceptable case that you dont, I always wondered what you had in mind for them in the future- because of the soul bonding thing, you mentioned that the generational curses will be erased, which means I guess that the Malfoys can have more than one child now, and girls as well. (I cannot believe im asking for this as I am the one to avoid any pregnancy fanfics but) do you imagine them with children and if yes, how many? How do they integrate muggle devices(I know youd agree wit me that Hermione would definitively bring some muggle stuff over!) and which devices would Draco really secretly like?
Pleasewriteasecondpartwhereyouelaborateyourthoughtsonthisthankyou.
Ok rant done. :D
List anon! You’re back with another amazing ask. I’ll do my best!
1.) I like to think Ron matured a lot post-war (not enough to stop making terrible jokes, though.)
2.) Regarding your beautiful analysis of my specific dragon breed for Draco’s patronus: How many points would you like for your Hogwarts house of choice? I will add that according to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Ironbelly’s scales are normally a metallic grey. I will also add that I subscribe more to book canon than movie canon. In the book version of events of the Gringotts escape, Harry breaks the chains and Hermione (with eventual help once the boys catch on) destroys the ceiling so it can have a way out. The partially blind dragon does the rest of the work on its own.
3.) Thank you, that’s very flattering.
4.) Does your friend also get you into fancy restaurants and can they make salted caramel bread pudding???
5.) Thank you, it was one of my favorite aspects of writing this story.
6.) Thank you, she’s so fun to write and flesh out from her book portrayal.
7.) Haha, I felt so validated by that line of dialogue in Cursed Child when Draco tells Harry he wanted to play quidditch professionally, but wasn’t good enough.
Now to some answers:
A.) It’s definitely a recurring joke. It’s up to the reader to interpret Draco’s actions here: is he doing it to be a massive troll? Or is he genuinely not retaining the information of her married name because he considers this fact so unimportant that he does not bother to keep it in his brain? Troll, snob, or both, you can decide!
B.) I’ll address the second part of this first, because it was not intended as a loophole. I 1000% do not understand the “death eaters can’t have patronuses” thing. It makes absolutely no sense. Snape has a Patronus. But beyond that… Umbridge has a Patronus (a cat). If we’re letting that woman have a Patronus, then yeah, I think Draco can cast one. As for the vision that Draco used to conjure it… up to you whether that’s a fantasy or a glimpse of a certain ritual actually working. Draco’s thoughts on the matter: “An image of such striking tangibility that he might have already lived it, or perhaps experienced time in such a way that he lived it now.”
C.) I wanted Draco to have a choice, obviously a recurring theme for him in RN. For my characterization of him, that symbol on his arm causes him nothing but shame and self-loathing (see the end of chapter 36 during his heart-to-heart with Hermione). He’d already exercised almost every known avenue to rid himself of it before Hermione entered his life (he lists these in chapter 44). Hermione already loved him (and has told him so) by the time she’s figured out how to remove it: “I love the man you are today and I will love that man tomorrow, bare forearm or not. I simply wanted you, for once, to have the choice. It’s your body.”
D.) Ooh anon, you are tempting me here. I really hate to be coy, but you might see some future writing on this very topic.
I can at least answer the taboo part: I think soul magic in general (horcruxes, the use of unicorn blood) is quite taboo in the HP universe. As no one knows what happens after death (not even ghosts, Nearly Headless Nick says as much when Harry asks him point-blank in OoTP) I think most magical folk would think the intense ritual (blending magical cores) an unnecessary thing anyway. As Draco explains in chapter 48, since no one actually knows the effects or if it works, it’s considered a bit over-the-top since it’s probably futile anyway. It is also not a Vow with a death component; Narcissa is obviously alive in this story even though Lucius is already dead. I wrote the generational curse protection theory in as a dig at Cursed Child for the way they handled Astoria’s character.
The idea of it I think is romantic, but I will stress it is very dependent upon the intent of the two participants. To quote Draco in chapter 48 again: “To twine one’s soul to another showed a willingness to not only physically tether one’s self during your time here on earth, but to commit to a blending of your magical cores, putting faith in your magic to recognize its bonded counterpart in another life. Should other lives even exist.”
If you re-read Draco’s experience during the bonding ceremony in chapter 51 (starting from this bit: “The cognizance of his own powers never felt sharper, more familiar, but suddenly another power pulsed within to join with his.”) you might find it bears a resemblance to the trajectory of their relationship.
Lastly- I’ve left Draco and Hermione to their wedded bliss. I’ve got nothing planned for them beyond where they are in the final lines of chapter 51. I don’t have that itch to write more into their future because it would feel forced. Draco laid out his two envisioned futures with Hermione in chapter 48 when they discuss having or not having children. They are happy and content in the life they chose together. That’s all I ever wanted for them.
You will see more from this story though. I have an entire series of one-shots and outtakes from the published Remain Nameless timeline that I’ll start posting soon.
Thank you so much list anon! These were fun to answer!
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Part of Your World - Chapter 2
Ben!Prince Eric x Mermaid!Reader
Summary: Prince Ben is trying to escape an arranged marriage. A young mermaid wants to escape the sea. Their paths cross and they may just be what the other is looking for.
Word Count: 4.6k
Tag List: @psychosupernatural, @someone-get-a-medic, @bensrhapsody, @deakyclicks, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession, @minigranger, @crazyweirdocalledfriday, @the-moving-finger-writes, @assembledherethevolunteers, @rose-writes-prose, @queenlover05, @26-7-49, @drowsebaby, @im-an-adult-ish, @queen-paladin, @rogerina-owns-me, @mirkwoodshewolf, @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye, @radiob-l-a-hblah If you’d like to be added, let me know!
A/N: Y’all I’m sorry this chapter took so long. See this post for everything that’s been going on in my life
Warning(s): Mild descriptions of violence
Moodboard
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 here we go!!!
“What was that?” Ben wondered, sitting up a little straighter.
“Not sure,” Ari replied, releasing Kay and getting to her feet.
Ben followed suit and they walked over to the ledge together. Neither of them noticed the mermaid pressing herself up against the side of the ship, holding her breath and praying they didn’t look down.
Behati emerged from her quarters and walked out to join the crew. She had one hand behind her back.
“Eric,” she said.
Ben turned to face her.
“If that really is your name,” she said.
The color drained from his face. “What are you talking about?”
“I found this among your things,” she replied, and brought her hand forward. She held up his ring. “The crest of the royal family is on it.”
While Ben had not worn any jewelry during his escape, he had packed his ring just in case he needed it. It was an heirloom worn by every prince in his father’s line. It was silver, with mermaids on the side, holding up the crest in the middle. There were diamond chips on the four corners of the crest, and the mermaids had tiny emeralds for eyes.
“You had no right to go through my things!” he argued.
“You are a guest on my ship!” she shot back. “I had every right. Who are you? The prince? A lord? Who?”
“There are other things to worry -”
“Whoever is on that ship can wait until morning when we can see,” she snapped. “Tell. Me. Who. You. Are. Now!”
Ben shrunk away, his back hitting the ledge.
“Okay,” he conceded. “You guessed right. I’m the prince.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “So. Benjamin is your name.”
From below, your heart gave a flutter. Prince Benjamin. What a handsome name!
“Ben’s fine,” he said nervously.
“Well, Ben, we’re taking you home,” she said firmly. “I won’t be followed and charged with kidnapping the prince.”
“No, please!” Ben cried. “I can’t go home yet!”
“Why?” she demanded.
He hesitated, looking away for a moment. He locked eyes with Ari, who placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“She can’t understand if you don’t explain,” she said. “And she can’t trust you unless you trust her.”
He looked back at Behati.
“My father is forcing me to get married,” he admitted.
You stiffened at that word. Married?! That wasn’t good news for you.
“He keeps bringing all these princesses and high born ladies to visit, hoping I’ll fall for one of them,” he went on. “But they’re all...dreadful. And he’s sort of run out of options now.”
Behati softened. She approached him slowly, took his hand, and pressed the ring into his palm. Then she curled his fingers around it.
“Was being honest really so hard?” she teased. Then she became serious. “Ben, I understand wanting to escape. Probably better than most people. I hope you’re not under the impression that I lack empathy or compassion.”
“It’s just...I don’t know you very well yet,” he chuckled.
“Know this,” she said. “I don’t turn my back on people in need. Being forced into a marriage...that’s terrible. Even princes have their share of trouble, eh?”
It was such a dramatic shift in her, it was throwing Ben off balance. Behati had become suddenly very soft. Even stranger, he liked knowing that she had it in her.
“They do,” he agreed.
“You may remain on my ship for as long as you need,” she said. “Or as long as you’re useful.”
She winked and released his hand. She stood in the center of the deck and looked up at the starry sky. Ben looked as well as he slipped his ring back on. He had never seen so many stars.
“It’s a beautiful night,” the captain said. “There should be music.”
The crew cheered. Ari went to grab her fiddle. Ben shrugged and decided to join the merriment. You pulled yourself forward again to watch.
You watched them all night, fearful that leaving now meant your last chance to see humans up close would pass. Behati, Ben, and the others played music, danced, drank, told stories, and laughed. It seemed that with honesty, came the beginnings of friendship. It almost made you sick with envy. And yet, you could not pull yourself away.
They carried on all night. The golden hush of the morning came over the water, and the sun began to peek over the horizon. Ben had fallen asleep against the mast, and much of the crew was now lazily plucking at instruments or dozing softly. Behati was still awake. She retrieved a spyglass from a strap on her hip and she looked over at the ship that was approaching from the night. It was time to find out who they were.
She knew almost all the other pirate captains. They had an agreement. Since Behati’s interest was not in riches, they left her alone. In return, she left them alone, but with one condition - they could not trade people. Any pirates she caught dealing in the slave trade would be challenged. And she had never lost a battle.
Ben stirred awake. He looked up and saw Behati checking things out. Relief came over him. He had enjoyed himself during the night, but the concern about the other ship was still eating at him. He scrambled to his feet and walked over to stand beside her.
“Who are they?” he asked. “Do you know?”
Her mouth was turned into a deep frown. She lowered the spyglass, looking ready to spit a bullet. Ben had never seen such anger.
“Slavers,” she said slowly.
“How do you know?” he wondered.
“The insignia,” she told him.
She held out her arm and pulled up her sleeve. He stepped back, horrified. The skin was deformed by a deep scar - a brand.
“Are they other pirates?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “These are the professionals.”
“That’s not right,” he said. “My father outlawed slavery years ago.”
“If you think slavery ended because your father signed a piece of parchment, you are a fool, little prince,” she retorted. “He may have signed the law, but he hasn’t enforced it. The navy is too busy fetching princesses to patrol the waters apparently.”
Ben swallowed as he watched the ship coming closer.
“You know how to use that sword you carry?” Behati asked.
“I’ve been trained,” he told her. “But I’ve never had to use it...y’know...in earnest.”
“Well, brace yourself,” she warned. “We’re commandeering their ship.”
She turned to face the crew. She put her index finger and pinky in her mouth and whistled. Ben flinched at the sharp, high pitched ring, but the rest of the crew perked up.
“Wake up, ladies!” she shouted. “It’s liberation time!”
Everyone immediately got to work. The anchor was hoisted and the sails were opened. You clung to the rope you’d used to climb the ship in the first place and held on as the ship began to move. You were scared, for sure, but mostly you were excited. You just hoped it wasn’t too dangerous.
After what felt like years, the ships were stopped astride each other. You were still firmly on Behati’s, but within a few yards of being sandwiched between them.
Ben looked between Behati’s hard expression and the smirk of the captain on the opposite ship. He was an older man - probably around the king’s age - but with a leathery complexion and an ugly sneer. His hair was gray and frayed at the ends. He had a look in his eye that struck Ben as evil.
“Captain Behati, I gather,” the man said. “I’d say your reputation precedes you, but you’re much more beautiful in person.”
“Shove it,” Behati returned harshly. “Surrender your ship, and I won’t hurt you.”
“‘Fraid I can’t do that, love,” the man replied. “I’ve got cargo to deliver.”
“People aren’t cargo, slaver,” she snapped.
“Now, we can be respectful, can’t we?” he said. “My name is Captain Reginald, and I -”
Behati interrupted him with a swift drawing of her sword. “I don’t care what your name is. Release your prisoners or I will feed you to the sharks.”
“Not before I introduce you to a friend of mine,” he replied. “Say hello to Davy Jones for me!”
Reginald went for the pistol on his hip. Ben saw that the old captain’s finger went right to the trigger. He whipped it out with surprising speed for his age and immediately squeezed it. Ben dove in front of Behati, and felt the flesh on his right shoulder explode before tumbling over the side of the ship and into the darkness of the sea.
“BEEEEEEEEEN!”
Behati’s cry was the last thing he heard before everything went black.
The sounds of a battle erupted above you. You watched in horror as Ben’s body fell right past you and hit the water with a sickening splash. Without hesitation, you dove in after him. As soon as you hit the water, you saw a small, shiny object glint above him. It was the ring.
You snatched it from out in front of you and slipped it on your finger. Then you swam hard after Ben’s sinking form. With the help of your fins, you reached him quickly, wrapping your arms around his chest, and pulling with all your might. Your muscles ached from the weight of him and the resistance of the water, but you pushed vigorously back toward the surface. You just hoped it wasn’t too late.
When you broke through, Ben began to cough, to your great relief. At least he was alive. Water sprayed from his mouth and he struggled to inhale, but he was alive. His eyes barely opened and he looked at you.
“Thank you,” he said blearily.
“Come on,” you replied. “We have to get you back on board.”
He mumbled something more that you didn’t understand. The sounds of what was going on up on the ships unnerved you. Swords clanged as they clashed. Explosions rang out - just like the ones that had sent Ben overboard. It was not a sound you were familiar with and it made your stomach flip. People cried out with anger and pain. Others hit the deck with a wound. Would putting Ben back on the ship be safe?
You looked up and saw that the commotion was coming from the other ship, not Behati’s. But if you climbed straight up, you would be seen. So, resituating Ben in your arms, you swam toward the bow to go around Behati’s hip and get him up from the other side.
You started out and Ben let out a soft groan with the movement.
“I’m sorry, Ben,” you told him desperately. “Hold on just a little longer!”
He muttered some more under his breath. His eyes fluttered as he glanced over to look at you, but he couldn’t keep them open.
Your body was screaming with the effort of pulling him along. Ben was larger than you, and muscular, not to mention all the clothes he had on were weighing him down even more. You were only halfway there and already exhausted. You pressed on. You couldn’t let him die.
Panting, you reached the other side. Thankfully, there was a net ladder hanging down. You kicked toward it and grabbed a lower rung.
The wake from the rocking of the ships made emerging from the water more difficult. Especially since your primary concern was keeping water out of Ben’s mouth. The last thing he needed was to swallow a bunch of sea water - or worse, get it trapped in his lungs.
There was another rope hanging down beside the net ladder. You used that to strap Ben securely to your body. Then you began to climb. It was the most difficult climb of your life. Your arms were on fire with how hard they were working, and it felt like there were miles between you and the top. Grunting, panting, and sweating - which you had never experienced before - you fought your way up.
After hauling him up you dragged yourself - Ben attached - over the railing. You flopped onto the deck on your side and caught your breath. You gulped in the air and released it heavily, before swiftly getting to work to untie the rope. Your skin was red from it rubbed you raw, but you couldn’t focus on the sting. Ben was lying alarmingly still.
You tossed the rope back over the side and then rolled the prince onto his back. You put your ear beside his mouth. Low, rattling breaths were just barely escaping.
“Ben,” you said gently, placing a hand on his chest. “Ben, are you in there?”
His eyes slowly opened once more. They were a beautiful shade of green. You held his gaze in that moment, and everything around you seemed to stop. It was just you and Ben, connecting, meeting for the first time.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut, turned onto his left side, and coughed up more water. When he was done, he winced and grabbed his wounded shoulder before falling onto his back once more.
“Wh...who are you?” he wondered groggily.
“Shhh, don’t talk now,” you replied. “Help is coming.”
Ben’s vision was blurry. Your face moved in and out of focus, but he was certain he had never seen you before. He had never seen anyone that beautiful in his life.
You looked around for anyone who could help, but Behati and her crew were all on the other ship. Although, things had quieted down significantly. A majestic form came flying through the air, and you recognized it as Behati. She landed with a loud thud and she looked up, meeting your eyes.
You gasped and threw yourself overboard, hoping she would chalk up what she saw to her imagination. You sailed through the air and twisted yourself into a diving position so you hit the water smoothly. It felt soothing on your hot, aching body. Before you returned to the depths, you poked your head out and listened. You heard Behati rousing Ben. Satisfied, you swam down.
Ben was waking up gradually. He hurt all over. He distinctly heard Behati above him, fretting like a mother hen, but still managing to insult him.
“You idiot, Benjamin!” she scolded. “Getting yourself shot to protect me?! For what? Some chivalrous glory?! I could -”
“Behati, please,” he groaned. “I did it because you’re my friend.”
He looked at her and saw watery eyes and almost smirked, but he was in too much pain.
“It hurts,” he winced.
“Take him to my quarters,” she said.
Ari put his injured arm around her shoulders and eased him to his feet. He looked at the captain.
“What about the captives?” he asked her.
She smiled. “All free. I never lose.”
“Where will they go?” he wondered.
“Home, I suppose,” she said. “I gave them the ship.”
“Did you let any of the slavers live?”
“All but the captain,” she replied.
“Tell the ones you freed to take the ship to the capital - to my father,” he said. “There the slavers can answer for their crimes, and we can get the people back to their homeland by royal escort.”
Behati’s smile widened and her eyes shone.
“You really are a prince,” she said.
“As proof of their authority, let them take this,” he began again, reaching for his right hand.
He blinked when he saw there was nothing on it.
“Oh no!” he cried. “My ring is gone!”
Behati frowned. “It must have come off in the water. I’m so sorry, Ben.”
“S’alright,” he returned. “I have a seal in my bag. Will you write up a document, and I can sign it for you?”
“Kay, write the necessary letters,” Behati said. “Ari, you and I will tend to that wound.”
She put his free arm over her shoulders and together, the women carried him into the captain’s quarters. They lay him upon her desk. Then Behati retrieved some rum from the shelf on the wall. She handed it to Ben.
“You might want this while we stitch you up,” she said.
He sat up and took a swig, making a sour face as it burned its way down his throat. She laughed.
“What’s the matter?” she teased. “Nothing that strong in the palace?”
“No,” he wheezed. “We usually just have wine.”
She and Ari exchanged a look and laughed.
“Keep drinking, little prince,” Behati instructed. “We’ll have you patched up in no time.”
“Bottom’s up,” he replied, and drank again.
***
You rocketed away from the scene as fast as you could swim. When you were safe within the depths, you stopped to catch your breath again. You needed to take in everything that just happened. You snuck to the surface, watched humans for an entire night, just barely saved the prince's life, and now you were on your way home after being gone for hours. Oh, no. You were definitely in trouble again.
Well, you had to face the music. You weren’t going to put it off this time. Plus, the sooner your father finished yelling at you, the sooner you could get some sleep. Your eyelids already felt heavy.
As you made your way home, you kept thinking about Ben and that moment you had locked eyes on the ship. Something electric had sparked between you. There was something there that you could barely explain, and yet you felt it. It wasn’t just that he was handsome, there was more to him than that. You wanted nothing more than to see him again, and know all there was to him.
You slowly swam to the throne room, once again peeking inside to see the kind of mood your father was in. He was swimming back and forth in front of his throne, hand on his chin, eyes on the floor. He was worried.
“Father?”
He whipped around, took in the sight of you, and flew over to gather you up in his arms.
“Y/N!” he cried. “Where in the seven seas have you been, child?! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
He pulled away and looked you up and down. His mouth turned down into a frown when he spotted the angry red marks on your skin from the rope of the ship. They had calmed a lot, but not enough.
“Y/N, what’s this?” he asked. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Before I explain, promise me you won’t get mad,” you began.
“I will make no such promise!”
You sighed. It was worth a shot.
“Father, I…” you trailed off. Now was the time to be honest or lie your fins off. “I was exploring another shipwreck.”
Better to lie for now. If he found out what you had done in its entirety, he might kill you.
“Y/N!” he shouted. “We’ve discussed this! You’ve got to let go of your silly dreams of humanity! It’s childish, it’s dangerous, and deliberate disobedience of the law! I think you’re trying to give me a heart attack at this point!”
“I just have an interest!” you shot back, throwing your hands up. “What’s so wrong with that?!”
Your father snatched your wrist out of the water and drew it closer to him. You gulped. You’d forgotten Ben’s ring was on your finger.
“What...is this?” you father demanded.
“Something I found in the shipwreck,” you told him. “Just a trinket.”
He examined your form once again. “You’re lying to me. This ring has no signs of age on it. Those rope burns were not from loose rope. Where have you been?!”
You wrenched your arm free and cradled the ring to your chest. You narrowed your eyes at him.
“I was at the surface,” you said defensively. “And I’m glad I was there. I saved a young man who might have drowned if I -”
“DON’T!” Triton bellowed. “THIS TIME YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR!”
You shrank back, frightened.
“Father, h-he might have died!” you argued.
“And GOOD RIDDANCE!” he shouted. “What need do we have for one more lousy human, huh?! Do you really think yourself a hero for saving that animal’s life?!”
“He’s not an animal, he’s a prince!” you returned.
“I’ve tried to be understanding, I’ve tried to be patient with you, Y/N, but nothing works!” he cried, exasperated. “But so help me, I am going to get through to you!”
“What are you going to do, ground me?” you challenged. “Well, I’m a grown woman!”
“Fine, if you want to be grown and independent of me, then so be it,” he snapped. “Guards!”
Two young mermen swam in from the corridor.
“Arrest the princess,” Triton said. “Take her to the outpost.”
You gasped. “Father, no!”
The outpost was an open area far away from the palace. Prisoners were chained by the fin to a solitary post hammered into the ocean floor. It was isolating and terrifying.
“You broke the law, Y/N,” your father said. “And you will face the consequences. Anyone who makes contact with humans gets twenty four hours at the outpost.”
The guards each took one of your wrists and clapped irons around them. You could see the conflict in their eyes as they did so. To arrest a member of the royal family was something unheard of. But your father’s point was to make an impression. And he did.
You shot him one last pleading look, but he turned away. The guards led you out of the throne room, out of the palace, and through the town. The other merpeople watched in shock as the princess was escorted out of her own kingdom. You saw Lorelai as you passed her place and looked away, hot tears forming in your eyes.
You didn’t fight when the guards put a chain on the end of your tail, where it met your fins, and then attached it to the post. One looked on with sympathy.
“We’re sorry about this, princess,” he said. “But if you’d just obey your father, this wouldn’t happen. He’s only trying to keep you safe.”
“Just go,” you said moodily. You had no desire to comfort him about what he was doing, or validate your father in any way.
With a sigh, they left you there. You allowed yourself to break down after that. You were tired, emotional, and just wanted to relax. And now, you were being punished for what you considered as doing the right thing. You gazed at the ring and recalled again Ben’s eyes. As you looked at the chain around your tail, you decided this was worth it. You still did not regret saving his life, and you were more resolved than ever to see him again. As soon as you could.
But for now, you had to close your eyes. Your weariness was catching up with you. So you laid down and slept off everything.
***
“Who saved me?” Ben asked as Behati finished the last stitch on his shoulder. Ari had already left to continue her regular duties.
“What do you mean?” she returned.
“Someone saved me,” he said. “A woman. I didn’t recognize her but she had to be one of yours, right?”
“Ben, every member of my crew was on Reginald’s ship,” she explained. “No one was on board or in the water.”
“That’s impossible,” he insisted. “I remember someone carrying me...sort of dragging me around...and then when we got back on deck, I saw her.”
“What did she look like?” Behati asked.
“I’m not sure, it’s all sort of fuzzy,” he said. “But I know I saw her. She spoke to me and everything.”
Behati took a moment. She saw the mermaid on the ship, caring for Ben and gazing longingly at him. She always knew that mermaids existed, but this was the first one she had ever seen up close. Behati did not want to reveal her in case it meant trouble for the rest of the merpeople.
“I don’t know what happened, Ben, but when we got back, you were already there and safe,” she said. “No one was around.”
Ben frowned. He knew what he remembered. Though he could not recall the full picture of the woman, she had to be real. He could not have survived without her.
“Why is it so important to you?” Behati asked.
“Because something...happened,” he said. “We locked eyes and for a moment, I felt like...never mind, it’s stupid.”
“Ben,” she said assuredly, taking his hand. “It’s not. Tell me.”
“I felt like I’d found the woman of my dreams,” he said.
She almost smiled, but faltered. “I hope she’s out there, then. I really do.”
***
You woke almost an hour later. As you stretched, you felt...watched. Which seemed impossible since there was nowhere for anyone to hide out here. Even so, you couldn’t shake the eeriness.
“Hello?” you called out, feeling stupidly cautious.
“Triton’s daughter,” said a raspy, spine chilling voice. “All chained up on the outpost? How cruel.”
“Who are you?” you demanded.
You sounded braver than you felt. You did not recognize this voice.
“I represent someone who can help you, princess,” the voice continued. “Someone who’s been keeping an eye on your situation.”
“Who?” you pressed.
“Sycoria,” the voice said.
From the foggy depths, it approached and came into view. It was an eel. The large, yellow eyes blinked at you as it came closer.
“The sea witch?” you questioned, though you knew the answer.
“Yes, child,” the eel replied. “She can get you what you want.”
“Why does she care what I want?” you wondered.
“Sycoria has sympathy for all creatures in need,” he explained with an over-kindness that made your skin crawl. “Come with me and see what she can do for you?”
“I can’t go anywhere,” you said. “I’m chained here.”
You pointed to the irons.
“I’ll make quick work of that,” the eel said.
He flicked his tail and the chains evaporated. The bubbles floated away and you watched them go, amazed.
“Now, are you coming?” he asked with a toothy grin.
You looked up, remembering the surface. Then you looked at the ring.
“This may be your only chance to see him again,” the eel said. “Are you willing to let that go out of a little thing like fear?”
You narrowed your eyes.
“I’ll see Sycoria.”
“That’s a girl,” the eel said. “Come with me.”
He swam off. You had to hurry to follow him. A jolt of nerves almost made you stop. But this was your shot at being human, at earning Ben’s love. You would never get another. You forced yourself onward.
You swam behind the eel for nearly an hour. Finally, you reached a cave. It was glowing an ominous violet color. You came to a halt at the mouth.
“Don’t be shy,” the eel said. “Go on in.”
You gulped. If your father knew about this, he would lose his head. But, he didn’t understand you. He would never understand that what you felt with Ben in that split second meant the world to you. You entered the cave.
It was dark at first, but you maintained your pace toward the spooky glow. When you reached the end of the entrance tunnel, it almost took your breath away. It was similar to your collection cove, only much bigger, and filled with more oddities than you could even imagine. Bits and bobs of things you had never seen before.
“Um, hello?” you said nervously.
“Ah, the princess,” said another mysterious voice. It was smokey and alluring.
From around the corner, she entered. The half woman, half octopus sea witch. She was thin and tall, with wild, white hair and vivid purple eyes. Her lips were drawn into a wide smile.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
#ben hardy#ben hardy imagine#ben hardy x reader#ben hardy x you#roger taylor#roger taylor imagine#roger taylor x reader#roger taylor x you#BoRhap#borhap boys#borhap boys x reader#borhap boys imagine#borhap boys x you#BoRhap cast#borhap cast x reader#borhap cast imagine#borhap cast x you#part of your world series
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The jungle of the inn keepers door bell caught Thoralds attention and he looked up from his mead hopefully. A woman stood in the doorway, an unsure look on her face as she peered into the dimly lit inn. Remembering the description his employer gave, Thorald jumped to his feet and hurried to her, extending a hand in welcome. "Are you Arisa Bear-Tooth?" He asked and the woman nodded. "In the flesh" she said cheerfully.
He led her to the table he had occupied earlier and called for the serving girl to bring him two tankards of hunningbrew mead. Taking a deep swig of her drink, Arisa sighed happily.
"It's been awhile since I had some good mead. But let's get to business..Why did you want to interview me?" She asked.
Thorald nodded, "You're the dragonborn, the one the Greybeards called for, m’lady. The people of Skyrim want to know more about you and my employer, The Black Horse courier,wants to be the one to tell your story. Please allow me to be the one to tell it"
Arisa looked down at her tankard for a moment then took a deep breath. " Alright. But if your expecting tales of daring adventure, you're going to be disappointed.."
He shook his head, "I just want your take on things, m’lady, Nothing more. " She smiled at him and he noticed the amusement in her eyes. "You can call me Arisa, m’lady is so formal." she said. He nodded slowly. "Ok then.. Arisa, let's get started." He pulled out a leather bound journal and pheasant quill out of his bag. Placing them on the table, he readied himself to write.
1. What is your full name?
"Arisa laenhal Bear-Tooth."
2. "Do you know why you named that?"
"My father and mother fell in love with the name. Had I been a boy, my father wouldve given me a Nordic name, since I tend to look like my mothers race more. (Noting his confusion, she shrugged.) I am half nord/half mer. I look like my mother more then my father, Tho there are some traits he passed along.(she pulled back her hair and Thorald noticed her pointed ears from her mer ancestry) . My middle name is in honor of my bosmer grandmother. I've never met her tho. She passed before my birth. As for my surname, myfather insisted that I take my mothers. He said he didn't want me to suffer the prejudice he faced, especially when dealing with my mothers people."
3. "Are you single or taken?"
Looking down at her mead, she sighed. "Single and I'm only interested in one person. And I don't want discuss who it is."
The jingle of the door bell made them look up. A tall lean dark haired nord with messy circular black war paint around his eyes stood in the doorway. He glanced at them then walked to the bar, the innkeeper Hulda, greeting him fondly. Thorald recognized him, one of the companion's from Jorvaskkr. As he turned back to Arisa, he noted the wistful look on her face. Could this be the person she was talking about earlier? Maybe this could be in a future story! He mentally rejoiced at the thought.
4. "Have any powers or abilities?"
"Since I'm the dragonborn, I can shout like the dragons, without needing training to use the Thuum . I'm very good with destruction and conjuration spells. And according to Eyorland Grey-mane, I'm not bad at working the forge.
5. (Taking a chance)."Stop being a Mary sue. Give me the details, Arisa. "
"You might want to not ask me in that tone or consider the interview over." He apologized, noting the hard look in her eyes and inwardly cringing. Don't blow this,you idiot! You might never get another chance to ask her anything again. he thought.
6.,"whats your eye color?"
" blue."
7. "Hair color? "
"Dark brown."
8. "Have any family members? "
"My father, Rilgor NightSky and my mother, Elena Bear-Tooth. I am a only child.
9." Oh, how bout pets?"
"I have my horse, Stepper. He's a good horse, very reliable and runs like the wind when I need him too."
10. Moving on to something different, Are there things you don't like?"
Laughing , she said " Spiders and Draugr overlords. Been poisoned and blown off my feet too many times to count."
11. "Do you have any activities or hobbies you like to do?"
"Tinkering with the dwemer automatons I find, I also like to try to create new spells. My attempts have been a hit or miss so far."
12." Have you hurt anyone on purpose before? "
"I've tried not to."
13. "Ever…killed anyone before? "
Not if they didn't deserve it.
14. "What kind of animal are you? "
(She grinned and Thorald noticed that her canines seemed a bit longer then normal.) "What do you think?" . "How bout we skip that question?" He said hastily. He didn't want to know.
15. " Name your bad habits?"
(She shrugged.) Procrastinating is one thing I can think of. And blowing my money on things I enjoy. That wouldnt be a problem but I tend to overspend and then I find myself broke until the next job comes along..
16. "Do you look up to anyone at all?"
I have great respect for my shield brothers and sisters of Jorvaskkr. I have learned a lot from them.
17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?
I enjoy men and women.
18. Do you go to school?
I study with Vignar Grey-mane and Vilkas. They are teaching me the history of tamriel. Vilkas is also trying to teach me how to handle the transactions for the guild. (She frowns slightly) That's not going so well to be honest.
19. "Do you ever want to be married and have children?"
"I don't know...I would like to get married but children? I'm hardly ever home so I'm not sure. I guess it just depends.
20. "Do you have any fanboys or girls? "
I'm not sure.
21. What are you most afraid of?
Hmmm.. I guess letting life pass me by.... And losing people who are precious to me.
22. "What do you usually wear?
Depends on the weather, but I prefer light clothing and armor.
23.whats one food that tempts you?
Snowberry Crostata. Tilma makes the best but Huldas isn't that bad either.
24. "Am I annoying to you? "
(Shrugs) I've dealt with worse.
25. "Well, it's not over.! "
(Another shrug) it's fine.
26.what class are you(low/middle/high?"
When I was with my parents, I was, considered middle. Living in whiterun.. I guess you could say im still middle. I own breezehome and im still able to provide for myself.
27.
"How many friends do you have? "
Im friendly with the whiterun citizens and I can count on my shield brothers and sisters to back me up so quite a few.
28.
"What are your thoughts on pie? "
The only pie sold in whiterun is apple and I am just not a fan of it. Sometimes Hulda will give me one for helping her cut firewood bithe I just give it to Farkas or Vilkas when I see them.
30.
"Favorite drink?"
It's some brew Farkas made. He's calls it the sabrecat stunner. It's really strong but man, so good.
31.
"Whats your favorite place?"
Hmmm.. I have to say Jorvaskkr. It's noisy but there's something comforting about it. Plus, Tilma is a great cook!
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♦ -♒- ൠ for your v??? :)
Vic is actually @shinycorvidae's but I write for her sometimes (needed her help for this though--so she gets the credit for these <3)
♒️ Cooking/Food headcanon V. fucking. loves. food. Before she lived in NC, and before she worked for Militech, she didn't have a lot of variety or opinions in food but they made it work. She was a nomad living in the Sonoran desert. Food was scarce. Only have opposum? Shove a stick through the meat and make kabobs. Grasshoppers? Great raw or roasted. Bahidaj? Still one of her favorite foods. So she definitely learned to be resourceful at a young age and savor what you did get. She hated Militech rations. She was outright offended. 'here have these nutrition blocks'. Excuse me?? These... somehow have no flavor? Like they don't taste bad or good...they just don't taste?! THE FUCK. WHAT OFFENSE IS THIS? Might as well just suck all the color out of life while you're at it. It'd be more 'efficient'. Fuck. She was ecstatic moving to NC and being able to try 50 billion different cultures food. And street food. And fast food. And 24/7 access to food. And Mama Welles's cooking. The whole city is fucking food heaven. She's not picky either. All food is good. That donut on a bench? Scrumptious. Fancy dinner at a restaurant? Well there’s s not enough on this plate to be called a meal, but its tasty. Sketchy neighbors cookies? What a nice gift. Dumpster chips? Its a sealed bag, why would they toss this?! She also cooks for the boys most nights because they're useless. She's not a master cook but shes got the basics down.
🔹Quirks/Hobbies headcannons: Hobbies are an interesting subject with V. Most hobbies require more resources than V had growing up. Shes also super left-brained so a lot of art endeavors end in disaster. So she doesn't have conventional hobbies per say? But she has interests. V loves reading classic literature--War and Peace, All Quiet on the Western Front, Lord of Flies, Wuthering Heights--Anything written pre--2000. Especially if theres war or action in it. V has definitely stayed home some nights to finish a book while the boys go out clubbing. On quiet days V will read out loud to the boys. The brats pretend to not care but Hiro has definitely sheepishly asked her to read out loud. Those are good days with Vs fingers threading through Hiros hair absentmindedly, while Johnny plucks at chords, tinkering on a new song quietly enough you can still hear Vs voice reading. She also sinks her free time into trying to build a community in their mega building. Little old lady down the hall has a broken A/C? Break in and fix it or talk to they lovely men down the hall about their adoption process. She recommended they just find a kid off the street but they want to do it the "right" way. The adoption agency might suffer a cyberattack later that week. Barry and her have weekly tea/gossip time. Some quirks? V has a little quirk with her speech. If she's confused or curious she makes a questioning sound and tilts her head like a dog instead of talking like a normal person. Examples: Hiro punching a man im the face as he trys to roofie Vs drink. V completely oblivious, thinking Hiro just punched a random stranger. "?" Or. "V!! where did you get those cookies!?" "? The nice man in that alley" Shes also terrified of any needles, medical or tattoo. She had to be put under for all of her tattoos. And Johnny usually has to hold her down while Hiro jabs her with a hypo/gives her stitches.
ൠ Random headcanon: V's mantis blades are one of her most prized possessions! They were her fathers from when he was in the military. He got them when he turned twenty for "excellent actions in the service of the state". 50 years later when he died, V took his mantis blades off his corpse and had a ripperdoc graft them on to her own body. They don’t fit perfectly and they're old as sin, but they're the perfect back-up weapon for V. She loves the fact that you could strip her naked and throw her in an empty room and she's still armed. She views them as a safety blanket almost, a final ace up her sleeve, even though she rarely uses them. When shes anxious she rubs her thumb up and down the seam of them, a reminder that she's never powerless. The boys know if she comes home bloody with her blades still settling, her mission went beyond sideways. V's a sniper. She usually comes home without a drop of blood on her....they also drive Viktor fucking nuts. Have you ever tried getting replacement parts for 60 year old cyberware?!
Thanks for asking!! These were great for fleshing Vic out more <3
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So, how was Pokemon Shield?
Before I start, this is going to cover the main game, not post-game. Sorry, no talk about Dickhead Swordward and Shieldbert. Also, if it wasn’t obvious already, massive spoilers ahead.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT READ THIS POST
I’m not going to ramble for hours about this, because to be honest, my thoughts about this are much briefer than they are for gen 7/Alola. Not to say there’s not much going on in this game, just that if you were expecting a super professional and profound review of the game from me, you may or may not be disappointed.
I will do my best to be articulate, though.
I’ll start with the rivals, the most obvious choice the begin with being: Hop.
Hop is definitely not like Hau like so many people were desperate to make me believe pre-release. In fact, while their arcs are similar, there’s a biiig difference. That difference, to me, is their changes in character. Hau had a big ass crash, yes, but his character change was pretty damn gradual. With Hop, after Bede puts him down, well, you can pretty much tell he’s not the same guy right off the bat the next time you talk to him. I absolutely adore Hope and I’m glad he got as much screen time and focus as he did. His arc was fantastically written and beautifully handled all the way to the end. All I can say is, another cinnamon roll for the collection.
Then there’s...Marnie.
Now, I don’t hate her, far from it. I adore her very much as well. The problem is that it seems she doesn’t get much time to flesh out like Hop did. A problem that goes both ways between her and Bede. Of course when I got to the seventh gym and met big brother Piers I actually did like the dynamic they were going for. Buuut I really wish they had given Marnie just a little more time to herself before that. I just didn’t feel like they did enough with her and...that’s a damn shame considering how popular she was upon her first reveal. Of course, again, this isn’t to say I don’t think she’s still just the cutest little punk goth button ever.
Sigh...and now it’s time for me to talk about Bede.
Look, from what I could tell, half the fandom was nuts for him, the other half was sick to death of a generic douchebag rival that adds no flavor to the table. But I’m a little torn on this one. Like I said, him and Marnie share an awful side effect of Hop’s arc being the most prominent...they don’t get enough time or everything that happens in their arcs feels...rushed, by comparison, at least in my opinion. So the thing is, when Bede gets disowned by Chairman Rose, of course my first reaction is “You had it coming, you were being a shit.” But then Opal...takes him in? And...acts as though Oleana manipulated him? I guess I could perhaps see what they were going for here, and, I’ll admit it, I kind of adored their dynamic, albeit a short interaction between them. And I did find it rather cute at the League when he was all flustered about being trained by Opal, having to continue training because everyone was cheering for him. But the thing is...his arc is kind of...broken? Like, I want to feel bad for him, and I want to feel invested in Opal taking him in and showing him the ropes of the Fairy Gym but...it just doesn’t work like it should. Which is odd considering Bede gets considerably more time to flesh his arc than Marnie, at least, that’s how it seemed to me. I do think the general story and Hop’s own arc really just forced the writing’s hand in sweeping Bede’s arc by as fast as possible. He could’ve been an interesting diversion of expectation, but...oh well.
Speaking of gyms, how do I feel about the gym leaders?
Well, Milo is a fucking cinnamon roll, and I do think I’ve settled on shipping him with Nessa because...I mean...c’mon now. Short bean boy, toll ocean gal? Perfect for each other ♥
I don’t really...feel anything towards Kabu. His design is bland, his personality didn’t stick out to me at all, but I guess they can’t all be iconic gems when you think about it.
Then...there’s my baby boy Allister. And lawd, my dudes, if Hop ain’t my new son well then Allister sure as fuck is. I did HC that he was mute like Red before the game came out and, well, his personality and dialogue are pretty good despite not being what I was hoping. I mean, c’mon, how can you not love that adorable little face? Or that he’s so socially introverted he keeps a collection of masks to make absolute sure his face is hidden? I am going to be quoting “Crumbs, that’s aces” forever now.
Opal was an interesting woman, I definitely think there could’ve been more to her relationship with Bede but I already discussed that. My dad thought she was kinda scary and creepy but she reminds me of that old lady from Spirited Away so I ain’t bothered all that much lol. She was nice enough, I do like her humbleness and that she’s willing to admit it’s definitely time for her to call it quits. And yes, I have seen that official art of her when she was younger. She is a fucking QUEEN ♥ ♥ ♥
Then comes Melony...hoooo boy my lesbian ass is fallin’ so hard it physically hurts me in ways you will never imagine in your life. Wicke wishes she was this thicc. In all seriousness though, I am pretty curious about that son of hers. I heard you can meet him in Sword but I’ll have to wait and see that for myself. Aside from being the newest love of my life, she’s absolutely adorable and wholesome. I know her card reveres her as strict, but, she just looks like a cinnamon roll.
Piers...oh Piers, where do I even begin? His design is fucking on point, for one thing. And his relationship with his sister Marnie is just so cute and so much fun to watch. As unfortunately left field as it was for me, I did like his arc about not being a good Gym Leader and wanting his sister to take over for him. It was sweet and kinda sad but I just love him so much. For the first Dark Type Gym Leader, not bad guys, not bad at all. Also omg Piers slay me with your metal, king plsssss
Finally, there’s Raihan and...omg he’s so great. This mother fucker not only takes selfies in the middle of a match, not only bombards you with weather effects therefore making him a fun and challenging opponent, but this dude is also beefin’ with our head champ? SIGN ME UP, FAM. For real though, like, I loved battling with Raihan the most out of anybody that I fought. I definitely haven’t felt this much fun battling a Gym Leader in years. And I will forever be torn as to whether or not I want to ship him with Leon >3>
Speaking of the chadster, I ain’t talked about ‘im yet. Or Sonia, for that matter. Honestly, they’re both pretty great.
But Leon is the fuckin’ MVP this gen, I’ll tell you what. He’s such a bro he tells Rose his “Day of Destiny” bullshit can fuck off til our match is over. Of course, I do like his ditzy and dorky sides too. Like his snapback collection or how easily he gets lost seriously Leon it’s just a straight fucking line to your house how do you fuck that up. But he ain’t just a bro to the main character, naw, he a bro to his actual bro, Hop. And I fuckin’ love it. Their interactions are so investing and entertaining and wonderful to watch. It’s almost kind of magical, in a way. I think he is without a doubt my number one favorite Champion of all time now.
But as for Sonia, well, I dunno...maybe I’m nitpicky or remembering things wrong but she seemed to drop her disdain for researching the legend of the “Darkest Day” like a hat at some point. Granted, I still think her character arc while it wasn’t even needed was very well done. I loved listening to her dork out about the legends, her research, all of it. It was spectacular. And ever since I first found out she was childhood friends with Leon before the game even came out, ladies and gents, these two have dun been my OTP. The only one still challenging that notion is Raihan at this point, lol.
And now...we get to Oleana and Chairman Rose.
Oleana is just...kind of a nothing character for me, personally. Even after knowing about her Garbardor and all that, sorry fam, she ain’t doin’ it for me. She was a red herring so overblown and obvious it has since been laughable that anybody thought she was gonna be this gen’s Lusamine. She is just...some really crazy lady who happens to be passionate about her job. Ok.
Rose, however, is an absolute bastard. And I love it. However, I do have a problem with this, as it sort of connects to my earlier point with Bede. His relationship with Bede is...I don’t even know if I could call it a father-son relationship. I mean, yeah, he basically adopted him, but he disowns him at the drop of a hat. Granted, what Bede did was wrong, but...really? I guess that’s just how much of a dick he is, but, there’s no closure to that. Even after finding out what a horrible, deplorable man Rose is, Bede never talks to him after he’s disowned. Maybe this was meant to be a “Well it’s better he moves on to the next chapter of his life as soon as possible” sort of thing. But his sudden taking under Opal’s wing did not accomplish that feeling with me. So it feels sort of...hollow, to me. There’s no conclusion, follow-up, it’s almost as if Bede didn’t even know who Rose was anymore after Opal scooped him up. And yeah, Bede says “Everything has gone wrong since I met you” but...here’s the problem; That’s as much as he goes into being affected by Rose. It’s not too important, I guess, but it’s something that bothered me, personally. Rose’s motivations seem...ok, I guess. It’s about what I was expecting. Seriously though, his battle theme has no business being that good.
Those are all my thoughts on the characters, at least any that were all that worth talking about. Without further ado: Allow me to introduce y’all to my babies...

As I mentioned on Monday, my team consists of an Appletun, Centiskorch, Greedent, Hatterene, Inteleon, and an Eiscue. And I only just now realize like 5 out of 6 of them have names that start with a “C” lmao.
First up, we have my very first darling: Chastity
There’s a few things one should know about this slick little bitch:
Big shock, she was a huuuge cry baby as a Sobble. Like, mortified of pretty much everybody. Total mama’s girl. But as a Drizzile she was just a total grump goth binch. The only one of my Pokemon in my camp she would give the time of day is her dear friend Chariot, who at the time was a Hattrem. They pretty much grew up together and they’re besties now.
But now that Chastity is fully grown, well...she’s a little...flirtatious. Oh, no, not with the boys on her team. No no no. Every camp we step onto she’s just flirtin’ like a mad woman. She even managed to seduce my dad’s Cinderace who was already a huge playboy
Still, I can’t stay mad at this cute little brat. She’s still a total mama’s girl at heart and I love her to death. Btw, her Snipe Shot is ridiculously strong, though that’s probably because she’s still holding a Mystic Water haha
Up next is our resident lady in waiting: Chariot

I found Chariot in the Motostoke Outskirts and she has always been a picky snob even as a Hattena. She only ate small portions unless it was Whipped Cream Curry. Though nowadays I’m sure she only eats in such small portions to maintain her figure...
As I said before, she and Chastity have pretty much always been best friends. I definitely love to imagine her always hassling Chastity for her less than lady-like behavior though, haha. Chariot was weirdly sleepy as a Hattrem, though. Like...she dozed off a lot. She must’ve been getting plenty of beauty sleep for her evolution lol.
I used to have a Toxtricity on my team named Ripper before I found an Eiscue for the League, and she seemed quite enamored with him. At least for the long period he was with us, she talked to him 50% of the time when I stopped for a little break. It was incredibly adorable, though I fear what might happen if I leave them alone at a daycare for too long... <(⚆_⚆;)>
As a grown Hatterene, she’s rather dainty and conversative. I’m actually surprised, lately she’s starting to talk to some of her other fellow team mates lately. I suppose she’s not as stuck-up as she pretends to be, haha.
Up next we have our looonnnggg boy: Mushu

I picked up Mushu at Kabu’s gym. He was pretty shy as a tiny Sizzlipede and often avoided talking to most of his team mates. He was pretty spooked by a lot of them, actually, particularly Ripper for reasons I never quite understood. I guess when Ripper was still a baby, Mushu didn’t understand why he cried so much and was terrified of the loud noises he made lol.
However, he grew into a long boi rather quickly and he’s pulled us through some pretty tough spots in the gym challenges so I like to spoil him with lots of play time. He’s got a Jolly nature and honestly, it shows a lot more now that he’s all grown up. He loves to play and races with his team mates pretty much all the time. Rip Caramel, your utter annihilation will not be forgotten. He’s a very sweet and almost gentle boy and I honestly feel bad for all the battering he’s had to take before because I was a little too eager to take on opponents way out of my league.
A couple of fun facts about him before we move on:
His favorite curry in the curry dex is Smoked Tail Curry, which he always eats in gigantic portions. He freaking loves camping on Route 6 or in Stow-On-Side, I guess he really loves the heat.
Up next is my precious dumpling baby: Caramel
I first caught Caramel on Route 5, and I love love looove my baby apple pie. He’s such a chill and adorkable little dragon and I’m not one to pick favorites but...oh, who am I kidding? He’s totally my favorite.
As an Applin he was just too cute. He was a little slow and none of his team mates seemed to understand him so they tended to leave him by himself. So I ended up having to give him lots of attention so he wasn’t too lonely. And gosh was he just the cutest little baby apple. Of course, he wasn’t an Applin for very long, so there’s not much to speak of regarding his early stages.
However, once he evolved, he became a fucking tank. Caramel can take hits like a freaking champ and since I gave him Draco Meteor he’s practically an unstoppable beast. Of course, by heart, he’s a Lax boyo and enjoys the littlest things in life: Like the nice breezes in the Wild Area, or his Apple Curry, even if it’s snowing something fierce outside he’s all about it. And I just- argh he’s so fuckin’ cute! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Up next we’ve got the chunky cheeked baby: Peter Griffin Conker
Conker is a Gentle boy who’s been with me since the very beginning at Route 1, and it fits since objectively he’s probably the weakest Pokemon I’ve got on my team. But that’s ok, because he’s definitely scored us a couple of hard gym challenges just like Mushu has. He was definitely useful for buying some time when I needed it, that’s for sure.
He was pretty chattery as a Skwovet, even if some of his team mates weren’t all that talkative looking at you, Chastity. This probably comes as no surprise, but he’s always had a bottomless stomach. Seriously, he’s eaten large portions even as a baby Skwovet and it baffles me. Guess he’s just a really hungy boy, lol.
As a fully grown, chunky Greedent, he’s pretty slow. Like, really slow. Even when he runs it’s like a snail tracking through peanut butter and molasses. And it’s too cute to watch. I really wish I could give him belly rubs tbh, he looks like the type that’d enjoy those, haha. These days he’s best friends with my Eiscue, Cubert. They usually race each other after they have lunch.
And finally, one of my greatest MVP’s: Cubert

Cubert joined us very late in the game on Route 10. And while unfortunately he ended up taking Ripper’s place, I knew he’d be a good addition to the team. I’ve given him Hail and Aurora Veil, which is super useful for battle prep. It’s pretty lucky I was able to find this little guy waddlin’ around up there on my way to Wyndon.
As I said before, he was pretty anti-social with everybody at first. Though I’m sure that’s because he was so new by the time we got to the League. Thankfully, Conker got him out of his shell and they’re best friends. He still seems a little shy around the others, and even myself, but I’m just glad he’s got somebody to talk to. Not much to say about him unfortunately, since he’s so reserved and tends to keep to himself, but I’m sure that’ll change eventually with time.
Now that’s everyone that’s on my current team, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my boy Ripper at all, so, allow me to introduce an old friend who’s been livin’ in retirement for the past few days:
I first picked up Ripper at a Nursery while I was omw over to Hulburry, I believe. So Ripper was with us for a damn long time until I picked up Cubert. Initially I had hoped he’d be a High Key Toxtricity, but I’ll take what I get. Besides, he was more than helpful with quite a lot of battles, especially Opal’s gym.
He was pretty loud as a Toxel, which should come as no surprise. Always throwing tantrums and never really seemed to eat anything bigger than a small portion of whatever curry I cooked, so he was picky just like Chariot was. All around a bastard baby, really. He didn’t really start getting onto the battle field until he evolved, in all honesty.
But once he did, hoo boy, he was killin’ the competition like a pro. I feel pretty bad I didn’t take him into the League with me, but I felt like Cubert would’ve been more useful so I swapped ‘im out. I’ve been pulling him back out of the PC box for some more training lately to help him catch up to make up for it, though. And he seems pretty happy about it, so bygones are bygones I suppose.
And it seems he’s still very much taken with Chariot. Sigh, young love, so adorable. Anyways, respects to the OG madhouse that got me through some toughies, you did good out there buddy. ;w;
Alright, well, that’s just about all I have to discuss, for now. I hope this wasn’t too droning of a post or anything. But before you head out, I’ve got a little surprise. Since this was such an interesting experience, I’m opening a new Tumblr based on my journey that will follow my Trainer OC Luna and her adventures through Galar. If you’re curious to check it out, click here. I don’t really have an upload schedule, so just keep your eye out for any posts in the future. Hope you guys enjoy it!
#pokemon#pokemon sword and shield#discussion board#appletun#inteleon#hatterene#eiscue#greedent#centiskorch#toxtricity#god this is long#I'm so tired#maybe I'll talk about the post game soon idk#prolly not
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Zion info - warning: long
triggers: Eating Disorders ; Self Harm
info on zion -
note, i do and am continuing to do research on DID. i am in no way making fun of or glamourizing DID. if you or someone you know has DID and you notice im doing something teribly wrong or some of my information is wrong, please feel free to speak up if you wish. i only wish to learn more
Name: Zion Birthdate: Sep 15, 2000 Pronouns: He/They Favorite Color: #ee799f
Description:
Your basic tiktok Eboy. 5 ft 7. 19 years old. Yaoi webtoon artist. Snake owner. Video gamer. Has DID MOTTO: I'm here for a good time, not a long time - Bisexual - Submissive but bratty.
Acts like he has maybe 2 brain cells to rub together. Born in Australia but moved to South Korea with his mother after his parents divorced. Speaks Korean perfectly but still has his aussie accent when talking in English.
Is in university as an art major, minoring in dance
is allergic to cats.
His snake is a Sunbeam snake named Ra [ PHOTO ]
His mother hates his snake and once tried to sell it online but Zion found the listing and chewed her out- things are now tense between the two over this matter.
Mother has no idea he draws yaoi online for income
Piercings: - Ampallang [ NSFW if you google ] - Labret [ PHOTO ]
Tattoos: - One very bad koala tattoo thanks to Atlas, about 2 inches tall, on the upper part of his ass. Thanks Atlas- TATTOO
Clothing style: Varies.
Formal style is often consisting of capes (Not like super hero capes) and button down shirts. Rings. Chokers & chains. Think Eboy meets goth vibes i guess?
I.E.: Photo One || Photo 2
"Dressed up" consists of over sized torn shirts, knee highs / tights, and heeled boots.
I.E.: Photo One || Photo Two His more casual look consists of over sized shirts that slide down his shoulders and skinny jeans. Chokers, chains, & charms. Lots of oversized sweaters & bat wing shirts. Like Eboy meets homeless man xD
I.E.: Photo One || Photo Two Shoeware consists solely of black boots (heeled & flat) Jewelry = just google eboy jewelry xD Locked necklaces, dangly chain earrings, leather chokers.
Owns a collection of messenger bags of varying styles that he always has one of on. - [ Keeps his drawing tablet in there along with a notebook & other misc items. ]
Almost always has Ra on him- around his neck, curled around his forearm, around his wrist. Sometimes hell clean out his bag and put a soft towel in it for him to sleep in it (youll see him carrying his notebook & tablet in his hand during these cases).
Is Far sighted, so has to wear glasses for reading/drawing/etc. Owns thin framed round glasses:
Zion in Glasses
Zion has three things that he tends to hide from people.
He has a major eating disorder. He's been hospitalized twice for bulimia, once when he was 12 (in for 6 months) & then again at 16 (in for a full year).
He has DID, with 3 altars. Ace (Protector), Atlas (Persecutor), Rue (Gatekeeper). I'll include notes on them below
Zion can't feel pain, never has. His alters do however and if injured, Ace will tend to attempt to front to draw attention to it or get him fixed up. As a result of this, Zion has to be extra careful about physical activities because he can seriously hurt himself and simply not realize.
DETAILS ON ALTERS:
Atlas - Persecutor
Roughly 19/20 years old
He/Him
Heterosexual
Fronts when the host is in a state of upset (mentally low, depressed, ED is getting bad)
First appeared when Zion was 13, just after his first stint in the hospital
Purposely binge eats to make the system sick, is homophobic, purposely starts fights with all of Zions friends to push them away
Outted him to his mother
Hates Ra. Will hurt/release/kill him if given the chance.
Will destroy Zions altar if given the chance
Tell people he's sleeping with that he has some std, that hes only fucking them because he pities them.
Will cheat on partner if Zions dating
Dresses like a complete eboy - long sleeved shirts layered under a dark over sized shirt. Light wash jeans, chains.
Will often poke holes in the body (new piercings)
Allergic to soy
+ Triggers / None
- Triggers / The host (Zion) being in an extremely negative head space ; his ED flaring up badly ; Being ANGRY
Often writes in marker. When texting, he curses alot & often speaks in short speech {k. ttyl. w/e.}.
Will start or end messages with a middle finger emoji.
ex of handwriting: [ PHOTO ]
Ace - Protector
24
He/Him
Has 20/20 vision
Fronts when Zion is stressed or just really needs to step back
First appeared when Zion was 8 right around when his parents started to fight all of the time
Is the dominant one of the system {As in sexually. Zion is typically a bratty bottom, but Ace is dominant & a top}
Personality is alot more relaxed, more of an observer than a talker
Is the one most likely to try to act like the host rather than out them as having DID
Is non religious but respects the hosts choices
Is more preppy in the way he dresses - slacks rather than jeans, polos & button up shirts.
Gay af
Allergic to Almonds
+ Triggers / Certain Songs (Wrong by Max ; Flesh by Simon Curtis )
- Triggers / The host (Zion) getting hurt ; Zion being in very stressful situations ; Zion being in situations where he could get hurt
When texting, he starts or ends the message with a book emoji to specify its him.
Always ends sentences with punctuation
ex of handwriting: [ PHOTO ] Rue - Gatekeeper
Younger? Approximately 16/17
She/Her
Sexuality unsure
Paints over Atlas' pages when he's being rude
Keeps Atlas in check in the inner world.
Locks away traumatic memories so they don't trigger Zion
As she grows stronger, can control who fronts & when (meaning she could keep Atlas from fronting)
Is heavily interested in Augustes work [ @absque-nocte ]
Is very interested in dark topics (death, blood, etc)
Clothing style is alt goth. ( See: Zions dressed up style above )
+ Triggers / Talking about death or blood ; Night time (New moons esp)
- Triggers / Atlas being active
Childish, often written in paint markers. Metallic or glitter preferred.
When texting,ends the text with a skull emoji. Hops topics at random
ex of handwriting: [ PHOTO ]
Zion hand writing example: [ PHOTO ]
Alter visual head cannons:
Ace: Brown hair, brown eyes, always very well put together. About 5′8 (Same height as Zion). Slightly paler than Zion himself.
[ PHOTO ]
Atlas: Black undercut hair, tattoos & piercings, blue eyes. Paler. 5′10.
[ PHOTO 1 ] [ PHOTO 2 ]
Rue: her hair is shoulder length. Black eyes & kitty fangs. Short, like around 5ft. Very pale.
[PHOTO ]
Note: they don’t look that way outside of the inner world, but this is how they perceive themselves.
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giyushino week wrap up!
aaaaand that’s a wrap!! thank you to the moderators of giyushinoweek, and to everyone who liked/reblogged/commented on/sent me asks about my fics!!
it was a wild ride to write 8 fics in basically a week or so; i keep saying the fics were hastily or frantically written but LMAO considering how little fic i put out nowadays and how long it usually takes me to write because i edit as i go (which means i take f o r e v e r ), i was seriously just screaming like I JUST GOTTA DO IT I JUST GOTTA GO WITH IT I DON’T HAVE TIME the entire time haha. it was really good to be able to just think of a thing and run as far as i could with it, though!! it’s been quite a long time since i was able to do that, and it was really nice to have a project to work on in the back of my head. <3
ideally, if i work myself up to it, i’d like to revisit all of these and spruce them up to post to ao3, but we’ll see. :’)
under the cut is just some thoughts on my process during this and also writing each of the fics, if you’re interested! favorite prompt, the most difficult parts to write, what the fic was originally was, things like that.
thank you again, everyone!! back to hibernation and occasional slow snail pace writing i go, haha.
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re: writing process -i tried writing a fic per day during the week before the actual event, which...kind of worked!! ideally, i was going to write a mostly complete fic each day, and then spend the week of the event editing each one before i posted it. what really ended up happening was that i partially wrote several, but not all of them, during the previous week, and then spent the week of finishing up, editing, or writing the whole thing more or less the day before the prompt was “due”, LMFAO. my weekday schedule is pretty structured because of work--I have maybe an hour or two of free time before i have to sleep--so i doubled down a bit more on the weekends. i know like it wasn’t imperative that i meet the “deadline”, but i really, really wanted to!! i figured i’ve written a fic per day for fandom weeks before so why can’t i do it again, but BOY i don’t know who i was back then. i mean, i still did it (yay!) but it seemed so much easier then?? either i was just writing more back then or less afraid or...something, or it’s just been so long that i don’t remember what i felt, LOL.
-i was really quite nervous in the beginning to post the fics, since again, they’re pretty hastily written and my usual writing process is much more “careful” and drawn out. but, it was also freeing as the week went on to just post and not worry, because the point of the week was to have fun, and not necessarily to write the best work i expected of myself within a limited time. (oh, how the perfectionist in me still hisses, though.) still, i’m glad people liked them, and even the extra notes that i just kinda spit out for some of them. :’) i do wish that some had gotten more attention than others, but those ones don’t show up in the tags and i’m not sure why, so. alas.
re: the fics -confession: as of now, i feel pretty neutral about all of them, since i wrote them in a frenzy. at some point i’ll probably go back and read them and feel differently (and catch my mistakes! oh no!), haha. -a lot of them ended up being AU, which is...??? unexpected?? but i think it was just easier to put them in an entirely different setting, so i could play a bit more loose with their characters, haha.
day 1 - glance (or hug) -this one...im pretty sure was one of the ones i waited until the last possible minute to finish up. it’s pretty basic event-wise, one of the few more regular slice-of-lifey ones for the week. it was surprisingly hard to get down the “movement” of it all; a glance is hard to describe in detail and in any other way, but i had really wanted to create kind of this...fleeting, almost nostalgic atmosphere in the back and forth of “he keeps looking, she keeps missing”, if that makes any sense. oof, it’s still hard to describe what i had wanted to achieve even outside of the fic!!
day 2 - soulmate (or family) -this one was SUPER HARD to write!!! originally i had wanted to go with a “A sees flashes of what B sees” soulmate prompt, because i figured that would be SO disorienting and would be fun to play with. but i ended up not being able to run with that one. i had also wanted to do the “soulmates write on themselves and the words show up on the other’s arm” idea, based off of what i had started in a 100 word drabble i did, but that deserved wayyyyyy more exploration and angst i was able to write in the time i’d allotted. i do like the “tattoo” soulmate aus the best, i think, and i did want to explore the one i did more, buuuut. alas. soulmates aus are something i prefer to read rather than write, i think, they can get so complicated!!
day 3 - AU (or touch) -i’ve already made enough notes on this haha, but this ended up being a little too ambitious!! it wasn’t originally supposed to stop where it did, but i just...kinda got stuck and couldn’t bring myself to continue it, because i knew it would just keep going and needed more thinking out. so i just stopped it at the scene break, and hoped it would be decent enough. :’) surprisingly people seemed to enjoy this one most of all????? or maybe it was just the au itself that was a appealing, haha. regardless, i was surprised at the amount of notes this got!
day 4 - demon & wedding -soooooo this might’ve been my favorite prompt LMAO, like when i realized what i wanted to do for this day, i got excited because like, oooh yeah, pain. definitely wanted to go in on this to flesh out and explore various aspects more than i did, but i think of all the ones i wrote, i might be the most pleased with this one so far.
day 5 - moon (or angst) -honestly, it’s a surprise i didn’t choose angst for day 5. writing about shinobu’s death would’ve been so easy, but i’ve seriously been putting it off since i started writing for kimetsu no yaiba. both “a blade of honey” and “if not cut at dusk”, which are my longer fics, were intended to be about shinobu’s death scene and turned into something completely different, and i ended up avoiding it for day 5 even though it could’ve been so easy. it’s denial, probably! anyway, shinobu’s MAD BOLD here. she would never. maybe. there’s two shinobus that i think about--the "usual” one, modeling herself after kanae, and one who’s more in line with her younger self/inner feelings. i think i went with the latter for a lot of these fics, because i didn’t have to be as careful with dialogue. giyu might’ve suffered character-wise, though, woops. but again, maybe shinobu would, in the vein that she wants to win and have the last laugh, haha. still, i feel more like she wouldn’t. :P oh, also, do you remember ages ago, when AMVs were still widespread, that scene that was everywhere in naruto where hinata’s bathing/training at the waterfall and it’s like really pretty and cool and stuff? yeah. that’s what i wanted this one to be, a little, LMFAO. genuinely surprised that people thought this one was pretty spicy!!
day 6 - kiss (or ocean) -confession: i wrote all of this while i was at work LOLLLL. it was a slow day, i promise. this might’ve been the easiest one to come up with, because the “quick, kiss me!” to escape situation is a classic. the characterization is preeeetttyyyyy loose here, but it was also kind of fun, honestly. my day 5 and day 6 run in pretty similar veins though, so i had kind of wished the endings were a bit more distinct from each other.
day 7 - date (or crossover) -honestly i had wanted to do like, a soul eater crossover!! really i was planning out an au, but i think a crossover specifically has characters of two series interacting, and then i was Tired and was like, i can’t do that. crossovers aren’t something i usually read, either, so the planning got too complicated and i gave up. the date idea was also one that came much later and one that i finished up last minute; i’d wanted to make it a little more cohesive and come up with better things for sabito’s list, but. eh. it got longer than i expected too! ideally there would’ve been more of the college life, and sabito and makomo. i thought about doing another additional notes for this, but there was wasn’t enough i had wanted to add on. really it was just the majors for them i’d been playing with--shinobu as a med student (possibly a minor in horticulture/botany, SOMEHOW), sabito & giyu as hydraulic engineering majors (sabito more on fieldwork, giyu more on research), and makomo as a marine veterinary student. shrug!! the lines of “you do realize we were set up, right” and “this was a date, tomioka-san” were the highlight for me, haha. and i’m inordinately fond of the title.
day 8 - halloween (or n*sfw) -sexy stuff isn’t my forte at all!!!! so halloween it was, but. i was thinking of skipping out on this one, and then was like, oh what the hell, you’ve come this far, of course you’re going to go the last leg, too. already wrote enough notes on this one too, but yeah, this one really was quick, and just barely meets the prompt, i think, lmao. ended up being more of a fantasy au, which was fun, though there was a lot left unexplored. ultimately just glad that i was able to come up with something for the last stretch. :)
please feel free to drop me an ask if you have any thoughts or comments! i’d love to hear your thoughts on the fics for the week, if you’d like to share. :)
thanks for reading!!
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2 big posts in one day? it’s more likely than you think!!!
Moze gameplay breakdown babey here we go
shit sorry i forgot my tl;dr the first time i posted this: the tablet is big important and might have eridian writing on it, it ties into the temple, the loot gun, the tablet in tannis’s infirmary on sanc-iii, and the planet holograms in Eleseer from TPS. also you get a special melee tool to break the purple crystals that i'm like 70% sure are Eridium and also, you’re never gonna believe this, but I talk about Atlas for a little bit because of it.
“lair of the harpy”
ah harpies. I’m shifting into Percy Jackson mode
just putting this out there
anyway as for what “Lair of the Harpy” means in bl3? Well we’ve seen in the We Are Mayhem trailer a bunch of flying Maliwan bots (i am assuming rn that those are Maliwan, anyway)
these green fucks
(u can tell that’s Jakobs Manor cause of the railing on the left) so i imagine that’s why it’s called the Lair of the Harpy. Could also be the lair of some evil woman character, idk lmao.
Far more interesting than the Harpy thing, to me anyway, is this:
i wonder if that’s gonna lead us to the psycho basement with tv heads being hanged where the Hammerlock siblings are standing in front of the fireplace
i wonder...
nah but for real. I would almost bet money that the Vault on Eden-6 is in that giant volcano/mountain area. It just feels right. we’ve seen it both dormant (the leaked footage) and active (the 3rd trailer) so I imagine opening the Vault would cause it to activate. Tho I’m still hoping onto the hope that it’s a moon pool. Just saying, Randy, if you’re reading this... just saying.
we also see this glowing sparkle icon again, which I think pretty much confirms from the We are Mayhem trailer that those will show us where the Moxxi crew quests are.
we see an enemy called “Shredder Fanatic”, personally I’m a fan of Splinter, but to each their own. Uhhh but for realsies they probably deal some blade damage or have a high RoF weapon.
a cool detail I noticed about the minimap is that elevated areas won’t get discovered until you reach that level. Thank god lol
part of this camp is made out of an old sailboat, which i think is pretty fuckin rad
makes me wonder if we’re ever going to see the areas of Pandora affected by the flash freeze again. How long do seasons last on Pandora again? I swear it was like 5 years or smth. oh well lol
i wanna know what this big thing is!! it looks cool. they mentioned that eden-6 was going to have a shitload of broken-down ships, so maybe this is related to it?
another look at what i'm assuming is Jakobs Manor. this is very hard because I keep getting distracted by the gameplay lol I’ve seen this video seven times! it shouldn’t be that enthralling!! and yet!
the combat music in this area is so fucking solid btw i am jamming the hell out
in awe at the size of this place. I’m digging the elevated hallway. i am very much getting a hogwarts vibe from here. the far right looks like an observatory, even.
“Big Donny’s Chop Shop - Open 7 Days” lmao
a gramophone and it looks like we can interact with it! i hope it plays classical music while we go on a murder spree
some sort of bridge? i assume that’s how you actually get up to Jakobs Manor. that may be why our quest is “go to Jakobs Manor”, we gotta fix the bridge before we can.
A Typhon journal!!!
No audio, though :(
From the radio: “catastrophe lead [???] to a lets play (flay?). Craving some meat in a bite sized package? then try festy flesh meats with a bandit on the go. hey, we know you want it, but do you have the time to hunt it down? ...”
-moxxi speaking about her crew challenge i can’t understand the radio here-
[different voice] “... for an exciting announcement from the CoV’s own ministers of murder: Pain and Terror! Those guys are cooking up one hell of a sh-” [player turns off radio] I gonna assume he was about to say “show” cause they’re a Penn and Teller reference. These are the guys from the arena with the giant skull thing, i think i have talked about them before?
Eden-6′s version of the shock cactus?
El Dragon Jr.
OwO are those the same purple rocks as Promethea?
They look like they are growing out of a stone tablet, i mean look at the green light. also they have that same star pattern inside them as Amara’s arms and Maya’s phaselock!!! Which makes me think it’s raw Eridium just... growing out of a stone tablet. which IS WILD!!!
AND WHAT IS MOZE HITTING IT WITH?!
FUCKING ENERGY BLADE
that is not her normal melee weapon, BY THE WAY
she normally uses her Stab! knife!!!
when u try to break the purple rocks on Promethea, iirc the player character can say something to the effect of “have to come back here later”, so it’s possible later in the story we get something (the glowing red/orange/yellow) energy sword to break the purple rocks (eridium???). and yes you KNOW i pointed out the colors because Atlas.
After meleeing it, Moze says “let’s open you up” so im wondering if maybe those stone tablets come into play later? the (eridium?) crystals explode into sparkly purple powder
glowing green!!!! It’s weird, I feel like these are eridian ruins/tablets growing eridium or some shit. we’ve seen the ruins have lines of color across them before, but never strictly on one side. and also never saw them grow eridium. i wonder if that is a reaction to us opening the second vault on pandora? eridium grew on pandora from the 1st one, now it’s spreading because of the second? I deffo think Eridium is from the second dimension (it started growing on pandora after the opening of the Vault) and it’s our key to getting there.
OwO
hey doesn’t that look familiar? I’ll give u like
10 seconds
...
...
yeah it’s the symbol from the gun
YEAH BABEY
AND GUESS WHAT
YOU KNOW HOW THE GUN WAS TIED TO THE TEMPLE
YOU KNOW HOW I WAS TALKING ABOUT TANNIS’S FLOOR TILE IN HER INFIRMARY ALSO BEING TIED TO THE TEMPLE AREA???
LET ME GO GRAB IT
THE TEMPLE
AND YOU KNOW I WAS REPLAYING TPS THE OTHER DAY FOR MY ANGEL ANALYSIS AND
FUCKING
ASGHDJUYKFDJTYHSRTAGR
THAT’S LABELING A PLANET IN THE HOLOGRAM
AAAAAAAAAAAAA THE ERIDIANS GAVE US A LOOT SPEWING GUN BUT THE GUN MAKES SENSE BECAUSE VAULTS VOMIT UP LOOT ALL THE TIME BUT IT’S NOT LIKE THE LOOT WE GOT WAS AROUND WHEN THE ERIDIANS CREATED THE VAULTS
ALSO I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT CORPSE IN THE TEMPLE IS TYPHON NOW AND THE BOOK IS HIS JOURNAL. WHY WOULD MAYA BE GIVING THE JOURNAL TO THE LITTLE GIRL? IS SHE ALSO RELATED TO TYPHON?
OKAY SORRY I GOT EXCITED but uh yeah idk if that writing/those symbols being the same was intentional or not but it exists and i'm losing my mind over it
i also just wanna know why the rocks are growing eridium and glowing green like what the fuck are your SECRETS
Aurelia shows up as you cross the checkpoint at the bridge, so it’s pretty much 100% confirmed the Hammerlocks are helping us with the jakobs thing. considering Aurelia is contacting us and not Alistar, im REALLY worried about the shot in the We Are Mayhem trailer where he has red eyes. please don’t hurt him. also i love how Aurelia calls herself a rich bitch. she makes that shit rhyme lol
another look at that big tower thing. May be a different one, actually. idk!
round the corner and see a little camp on the left. through that tunnel up ahead leads us here
we head to the right and Zer0 ECHOs us, asking us to kill someone to complete a crew challenge
The target’s name is Heckle (and his rage name is Hyde)
Interestingly he has a megaphone strapped to his mouth
wild.
Lots of stuff! Zer0 sends you mail for killing the target and you are informed that the Crew Challenge is completed. You also get a challenge completed for doing it. You ever notice the actual gameplay of borderlands is very tied to yellow and blue? the color of the title is yellow and the vault symbol for it is red (except for TPS). just odd to me idk
looks like a little envelope icon appears under your minimap when you have mail in your inbox!
we can see some cryo freezing the swamp water here! that’s my favorite thing. the electricity is cool, but ice is cooler.
i love the way this dude runs. also we now know that his pickaxe is to burrow his way into the ground
looks like it will create a huge pink cloud so you know when its about to happen, giving you time to stop it. nice.
getting closer. guess that wasn’t an observatory after all. Awww mannn
lootsplosion from the loot tink
bigger lootsplosion from his bag
i believe this is our first look at an ‘artifact’ which are replacing relics from bl2 and oz kits from tps. and like the interviews said, they’ll be effecting movement! this one turns your slide damage into cryo damage, lets you deal more radiation damage overall, and allows you to slide faster and further. i wonder how broken this can get on a downwards slope with a super high level slide relic. let’s break the sound barrier!
anyway, that’s all i saw that caught my eye. I still haven’t completed my Mask of Mayhem analysis, I was kinda hoping something during E3 would help me figure out who those mystery robed maliwan guys are on it, but alas we got nothing of real substance. oh, i also gotta finish that mural piece... aw fuck
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OC interview - Arisa Bear-Tooth
Tagged by @avaleon
thank you ava ❤❤❤
So i kinda changed the wording and made an intro so its long 🤷♀️
Tagging @opal-bee @malwa1216 @malmalsass @@shadowtigers @tasharenecarna @bosdansefanatic @danse-or-farkas @alexaberkeley
Rules
1. Choose an OC. 2. Answer them as that OC. 3. Tag 5 people to do the same. Doing as many as i want
The jingle of the inn keepers door bell caught Thorald’s attention and he looked up from his mead hopefully. A woman stood in the doorway, an unsure look on her face as she peered into the dimly lit inn. Remembering the description his employer gave, Thorald jumped to his feet and hurried to her, extending a hand in welcome. "Are you the Dragonborn ?“ He asked and the woman nodded. "In the flesh”, she said cheerfully.
He led her to the table he had occupied earlier and called for the serving girl to bring him two tankards of mead. Taking a deep swig of her drink, Arisa sighed happily, “It’s been awhile since I had some good mead. But let’s get to business..Why did you want to interview me?” She asked. Thorald nodded, “You’re the dragonborn, the one the Greybeards called for, m’lady. The people of Skyrim want to know more about you and my employer, The Black Horse courier,wants to be the one to tell your story. Please allow me to be the one to tell it”
Arisa looked down at her tankard for a moment then took a deep breath. “ Ok” She said, “But if your expecting tales of daring adventures and woes, you’re going to be disappointed..” He shook his head, “I just want your take on things, m’lady, Nothing more. ” She smiled at him and he noticed the amusement in her eyes. “You can call me Arisa, m’lady is so formal.” she said. He nodded slowly. “Ok then.. Arisa, let’s get started.” He pulled out a leather bound journal and pheasant quill out of his bag. Placing them on the table, he readied himself to write.
1.“ What is your full name? ” Arisa Laenhal Bear-Tooth.
2. “Do you know why you named that?” My father and mother fell in love with the name Arisa. Had I been a boy, my father would’ve given me a Nordic name, since I tend to look like my mothers race more. (Noting his confusion, she shrugged.) I am half nord/half mer. I look like my mother more then my father, Tho there are some traits he passed along(she pulled back her hair and Thorald noticed her pointed ears from her mer ancestry) . My middle name is in honor of my bosmer grandmother. I’ve never met her tho. She passed before my birth. As for my surname, my father insisted that I take my mothers. He said he didn’t want me to suffer the prejudice He faced, especially when dealing with my mothers people.
3. “Are you single or taken?” (Looking down at her mead, she sighed.) Single and I’m only interested in one person. And I don’t want discuss who it is. (The jingle of the door bell made them look to see who it was. A tall lean dark haired nord with black war paint around his eyes stood in the doorway. He glanced at them briefly then walked to the bar, the innkeeper, Hulda, greeting him fondly. Thorald recognized him, one of the companion’s from Jorrvaskr. As he turned back to Arisa, he noted the blush on her cheeks. Could this be the person she was talking about earlier? Maybe this could be in a future story! He mentally rejoiced at the thought)
4. “Have any powers or abilities?” I can shout like the dragons. I good with destruction and restoration spells. And according to Eyorland Grey-mane, I’m not bad at working the forge.
5. (Taking a chance).“Stop being a Mary sue. Give me the details, Arisa. ” Might want to not ask me in that tone or consider the interveiw over. (He apologized, noting the hard look in her eyes and inwardly cringing. Don’t blow this,you idiot! You might never get another chance to ask her anything again, he thought)
6.,“Whats your eye color?” Hazel blue
7. “Hair color? ” Dark brown
8. “Have any family members? ” My father, Rilgor Nightsky and my mother, Elena Bear-Tooth. I am an only child.
9.“ Oh, how bout pets? I have my horse, Stepper. He’s a very good horse, very reliable and runs like the wind when I need him too.
10. Moving on to something different, Are there things you don’t like?”
Giant spiders and draugr. Been poisoned and blown off my feet too many times
11. “Do you have any activities or hobbies you like to do?” Tinkering with the dwemer automatons I find, I also like to try to create new spells. My attempts have been a hit or miss so far.
12.“ Have you hurt anyone on purpose before? ” I’ve tried not to.
13. “Ever…killed anyone before? ” Not if they didn’t deserve it.
14. “What kind of animal are you? ” (She grinned and Thorald noticed that her canines seemed a bit longer then normal.) “What do you think?” (How bout we skip that question? He said hastily. He didn’t want to know)
15. “ Name your bad habits?” (She shrugged.) Procrastinating is one thing I can think of. And blowing my money on things I enjoy. That normally wouldn’t be a problem but I tend to overspend and then I find myself broke until the next job comes along..
16. “Do you look up to anyone at all?” I have great respect for my shield brothers and sisters of Jorrvaskr. I have learned a lot from them.
17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual? I enjoy men and women.
18. Do you go to school? I study with Vignar Grey-mane and Vilkas. They are teaching me the history of tamriel. Vilkas is also trying to teach me how to handle the transactions for the guild. (She frowns slightly) That’s not going so well to be honest.
19. “Do you ever want to be married and have children?” “I don’t know…I would like to get married but children? I’m hardly ever home so I’m not sure. I guess it just depends.
20. "Do you have any fanboys or girls? ” I’m not sure. I don’t think I do.
21. What are you most afraid of? Hmmm.. I guess letting life pass me by…. And losing people who are precious to me.
22. “What do you usually wear? Depends on the weather, but I prefer light clothing and armor.
23.whats one food that tempts you? Snowberry Crostata. Tilma makes the best but Huldas isn’t that bad either.
24. "Am I annoying to you? ” (Shrugs) I’ve dealt with worse.
25. “Well, it’s not over.! ” (Another shrug) it’s fine.
26.what class are you(low/middle/high?“ When I was with my parents, I was, considered middle. Living in Whiterun.. I guess you could say im still middle. I own Breezehome and im still able to provide for myself.
27. "How many friends do you have? ” Im friendly with the whiterun citizens and I can count on my shield brothers and sisters to back me up sooo quite a few.
28. “What are your thoughts on pie? ” The only pie sold in whiterun is apple and I am just not a fan of it. Sometimes Hulda will give me one for helping her cut firewood and I just give it to Farkas or Vilkas when I see them.
29.Favorite drink? It’s some brew Farkas made. He’s calls it the Sabrecat Stunner. It’s really strong but man, so good. You can taste the sweetness of snowberries in it.
30.“Whats your favorite place?” Hmmm.. I have to say Jorvaskkr. It’s noisy but there’s something comforting about it. Plus, Tilma is a great cook!
31. “Are you interested in anyone?” (Sighs) yeah, but I don’t think he notices…
32.“Im sorry, that was a stupid question. ” It’s ok, I don’t mind.
33.Would you rather swim in a lake or an ocean? “ Lakes. Actually Lake illinata is one of my favorite places to camp at.
34. "What’s your type? ” Tall, dark haired, and they have to have some more of interest in non battle related things.
35. “Any fetishes?“ Well, I like… Wait,.. I don’t think the people of Skyrim need to know THAT.
36. Camping or outdoors? Both, you can’t camp without being outdoors..
Looking over his journal, Thorald nodded to himself. Everything looked ok and he would do a rewrite when he got back to Solitude. Rising up from his chair , he extended his hand and shook Arisa’s. "Thank you Dragonborn, I appreciate you allowing me to interview you” She nodded, "No problem…it was interesting" She said. He flashed her a smile, “I’ll have the paper sent to breezehome as soon as im done.Well, I have to go but I wish you health and happiness on your journeys, my friend.”
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Homestuck Liveblog #181
UPDATE 181: Meat
A long time ago, I finished reading Homestuck. It was quite the long tale, and it was rather enjoyable! At the time I thought there ‘d be nothing else, because Act 7 seemed like quite the final chapter – or if there was anything, it’d be bits and pieces that wouldn’t warrant a liveblog. Yet here we are! Turns out, after this long, there’s epilogues. In plural, as you can see. Somehow, there are now epilogues and they’re said to be quite long, too. After taking a cursory read that made me read more than I thought I would, here I am, reopening this liveblog to explore the epilogues.
What I have read so far...is not particularly enticing or even likable, at least in terms of enjoyment, really, but there’s something about the writing that makes me want to continue. Credit where it’s due, yeah. Still, I’m interested in seeing where this is going, and now, I’m posting my thoughts here for everyone to see. Here we go! So, let’s start with the epilogue liveblog!
You know, before that, I should note that now the story has its own URL instead of being into the old mspaintadventures website. Kind of late in the game for this change, Mr. Hussie. I mean, the story is over, and although there’s a whooole lot of new content, it seems a bit senseless to have this in its own domain. Then again, the rest of the mspaintadventures stories were kind of...hidden away in the website? I don’t remember links to them, when I used to read Homestuck. Maybe Homestuck getting its own domain is for the better. I do wonder if this is a hint more stuff will come in the future. The extra-epilogue. The postscript-extra-content. The seriously-guys-this-is-the-end chapter.
There are two epilogues, it seems. One is meat, the other is candy. I immediately notice this is related to the cherubs’ food. I wonder if it means one epilogue will be...bloodier? Crueler? More chaotic and violent? I mean more like something Caliborn will like, while the other will be more to Calliope’s tastes. I’ll start with the meat epilogue, simply because it’s to the left.
From what I can tell at a glance, there are no images, but there are colored words, most likely from conversations between characters. That should be fine, although Homestuck was pretty visual at times, its strength was the writing and characterization.
Well then! The very first paragraph already beats most of Homestuck in terms of extremely descriptive stuff. Heck, this reminds me of Worm, with its extensive paragraphs about bugs and how they crawl on people and cause all sorts of nasty effects. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Meat was definitely the right choice, you think, as grease drips down your chin. The meat is cold and undercooked, so you have to grab it with both hands while you rend it apart with your incisors. It bursts in chunks, filling your mouth with blood and your throat with mangled knots of gristle and long strings of muscle fiber. You take big bites, almost too big to swallow, so big that you choke on the meaty mulch and hock some of it up into your nasal cavity. You sneeze out a gooey rope of phlegm and flesh. You stop for a moment to wipe your face, but your chin is still slippery after you swipe the mess away. Slivers of meat catch between your teeth as you masticate with bestial enthusiasm. You use your thumbnail to fish them out.
...am I eating this meat straight from the cow.
Apparently the person who is eating meat that’s almost raw is John, who I guess gained a taste for raw meat at some point. Maybe he’s trying to emulate Jade’s canine half, for all I know. He’s with Roxy and Calliope, the later providing the meat. I suppose cherubs wouldn’t know about cooking meat. Speaking of cherubs, eating meat reminds John of Lord English, and he gets so sick thinking of Lord English he decides he knows what he must do. Alright! Didn’t waste any time dilly-dallying around!
JOHN: i have to go back and kill lord english.
ROXY: u sure?
JOHN: i think so. it will probably be hard. but i think it’s the right thing to do.
JOHN: everyone is counting on me.
When is this epilogue set? Before Act 7? I thought by now Lord English was dead and gone, not that it still was something that needed to be done. Then again, it’s not like Lord English’s death was shown on screen, if I remember correctly. Maybe this is after Act 7 and he’s going back in time with his retcon powers. I suppose he’d still have them.
Roxy seems disappointed, so I suppose she knew this had to be done at some point. Given John’s retcon powers, it’s not impossible this is the last time she sees John if things go wrong. Calliope is more accepting, saying it’s John’s decision. Time to leave?
Seriously, things have gotten quite more descriptive now. Still unsure if that’s good or not.
The farewell is quite unsatisfying, and the moment passes without John being able to make it better, so he goes to prepare himself and write a note for Roxy as a farewell and/or apology. Not only to her, to all of his friends. It’s like he’s aware the chances he’ll return here aren’t that high. I wonder if John would die here at the end. It’d be quite...something!
In this epilogue, there’s a Troll Kingdom, which I imagine is ruled by the trolls who survived Homestuck, raising the grubs created by ectobiology. Dave and Karkaroni are there, Dave lives with the trolls, I suppose because his relationship with Karkaroni now includes living in his hive.
KARKAT: NOT NOW DAVE. JAKE’S ASS IS ON TV AGAIN.
DAVE: stop ogling jakes ass this is important
KARKAT: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHOSE ASS I SHOULD STOP OGLING.
Apparently the reason why Jake’s ass is on TV again is because he and Dirk have a show involving rap battles and robot wrestling, which I suppose is the natural progression from when Jake used to get said ass kicked by a robot. People like the show, and I’m already convinced it’s partly because of the schadenfreude of seeing Jake losing against robots – because no way Dirk is losing, hah
Karkaroni has a few choice words for the fake gladiatorial show, and points out this show is all about zooming onto Jake’s ass. Maybe ‘pumpkin patch’ is an euphemism. Either way, the relevance of the TV show is eclipsed by the announcement Jane is running for president of the entire Earth. Aha, truly the wretched pastry baroness’ descendant.
DAVE: i dunno crocker is just an ambitious woman i guess
KARKAT: THIS SOUNDS FUCKING AWFUL.
DAVE: oh it is
DAVE: it absolutely is
DAVE: also like
DAVE: dont tell her i said this but
DAVE: i think shes basically a fascist
...well then. Oh all things that could have been used to describe Jane from what I remember of her, ‘fascist’ didn’t come not even close. Then again, it’s not like Karkaroni had any meaningful contact with Jane, and all Dave did was call her hot, which isn’t really the epitome of camaraderie and intimidate knowledge. They both even admit to that.
DAVE: oh also shes a fucking xenophobe
KARKAT: OF COURSE SHE’S A XENOPHOBE!
...ah.
...
Did I miss something? Was there something between Act 7 and these epilogues that revealed Jane harbors xenophobic inclinations? Why am I having to ask aloud ‘hey is Jane a xenophobe’
KARKAT: DAVE, I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE NOTICED, BUT
KARKAT: A LOT OF HUMANS ARE???
DAVE: yeah ive noticed
Well, that part isn’t really surprising. Humanity just has a knack for looking down on other people, I can only imagine how it’d be when it’s about other sapient species. If aliens ever make contact with humanity it’ll be a social mess.
Since letting Jane claim the spot of president of Earth is not good, apparently, Dave wants to stop her, eliciting laughter from Karkaroni who is already imagining Dave running against her. No, Dave couldn’t handle that responsibility, no way.
DAVE: anyway no
DAVE: im not running
DAVE: you are
Hm...unless Karkaroni got over the many issues he had from his leadership attempt during Sgrub this can’t end well. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t like the idea, precisely because he doesn’t feel like he has what’s needed to be a leader. It’s not that he would lose horribly – Karkaroni actually is rather popular. I suppose all of the Homestuck survivors are popular – it’s that he doesn’t feel ready and he seems to hate the attention. Understandable.
KARKAT: MAYBE I DON’T ACTUALLY LIKE BEING FAMOUS?
KARKAT: AND MAYBE THAT’S AS GOOD A FUCKING REASON AS ANY *NOT TO RUN FOR THE FUCKING PRESIDENCY OF EARTH*?????
KARKAT: NOT TO MENTION THE IDEA OF AN ELECTION IS KIND OF A FUCKED UP AND WEIRD THING TO ME CULTURALLY ANYWAY, AND I’M STILL KIND OF GETTING USED TO THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST... “CHOOSE” THEIR FUCKING LEADERS AND NOT HAVE THE SAME OLD MERCILESS BITCH IN POWER FOR SEVERAL MILLION YEARS.
Perfectly valid reason. I mean, it’s not something kind of inconsequential as being the class president of sophomore year in school or whatever it’s like up there in America. It’s president of the entire planet. If Karkaroni wins there will be consequences, even if he steps away immediately. Either he commits to this fully, or he simply shouldn’t run.
DAVE: ok ill just be the one to come out and say it
DAVE: shes going to be a fucking disaster for the economy
So Jane’s a republican. Haha! Ah, I shouldn’t touch this not even with a ten-foot pole. Nevermind that.
DAVE: i guess i have to admit
DAVE: part of this
DAVE: for me personally
DAVE: its
KARKAT: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING DAVE
DAVE: its about obama
Somehow, I didn’t even bat an eye with Dave described part of the reason why this is personal for him is because Obama didn’t get to be president due to, you know, the end of the world. I find it in-character, somehow. This isn’t the first time Dave extols Obama’s virtues, and after quite an extensive diatribe, he says maybe Obama reincarnated in Karkaroni. Thaaaat has to be the most Dave-y encouraging thing he could have ever thought. It’s for things like these that I like Dave, haha
Apparently only humans have tried to get to high offices, because no other species has even tried. They lack ambition, and given what I remember from Sburb, that’s believable. The only species that could come close to taking part in this are the trolls, and they’re not used to elections. No wonder humans have the high spots of politics.
DAVE: karkat dont stereotype
DAVE: remember the mayor
DAVE: remember how at one point a long time ago he raised an army and rebelled against an evil king
KARKAT: OH YEAH
KARKAT: SOMEHOW I ALWAYS FORGET HE DID THAT.
KARKAT: KIND OF MIND BOGGLING, REALLY.
KARKAT: HOLY SHIT, I MISS THE MAYOR.
DAVE: me too
Ah, yeah...I miss him too. I wonder what happened to him.
The government is in charge of troll reproduction through cloning, I suppose because the mother grub isn’t ready yet. In the meantime, the balance of power will get entrenched to the point where even when there’s a functional mother grub, humans will restrict troll population so they don’t take over the planet and make the horrors of Alternia happen. No lie, that’d be pretty bleak for humanity. Last time the horrors of Alternia were forced onto Earth everyone died. No troll right now would try, buuuut yeah, that’s not going to be forgotten...for a while.
Somehow, Dave’s arguments about how Jane has zero business acumen, is sinister, and trolls are getting the raw end of the deal are actually getting Karkaroni to pay attention, until he finally caves, simply because it’d make Dave happy. That’s sweet. But yeah, this is...not what I expected what would happen in the epilogue. Well then!
DAVE: aw yeah
DAVE: you wont regret it this is gonna be dope
DAVE: i think we have a great shot too
DAVE: with my political savvy and economic genius and outrageous flair for subversive anti establishment messaging and propaganda, and your big loud fucking mouth...
KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK
DAVE: um i guess also your charisma and likability and shit
KARKAT: YEAH.
KARKAT: YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT...
KARKAT: I’M PRETTY SURE I CAN FAKE THOSE THINGS WELL ENOUGH.
DAVE: oh also
DAVE: your weirdly sincere humility
KARKAT: I PREFER THE TERM “SELF LOATHING” ACTUALLY.
DAVE: ok lets try to avoid that phrase on the campaign trail too
KARKAT: THIS ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE A PAIN IN THE ASS.
I’m not a political strategist, but if Karkaroni is going to run on a platform about how Jane sucks and there’s inequality towards the trolls, I’m not entirely certain it’s good there’s a shadowy human pulling the strings in the campaign. Kind of seems like bad optics to me. Then again, can’t say I know where this is going so let’s just wait and see.
Yup, Dave definitely will be the brains behind this presidency. They already agreed he’ll write what Karkaroni will say, even though he should improvise and speak from the heart, like he tends to do. Not a bad idea, it’s part of what makes him endearing.
DAVE: time to talk some strategy
DAVE: we need to rally as much high profile support to our cause as we can
DAVE: but there are some uh
DAVE: “lines of loyalty” to figure out
KARKAT: WHAT?
DAVE: i mean which of our friends are going to side with us and which ones will side with jane
It’s a safe bet to think the New Wonderteam will side with Jane and the Original Flavor Wonderteam with Dave and Karkaroni. Calliope likely will stick with Roxy, so she’d be on Jane’s side. All the living trolls would go with Karkaroni, so...overall? It seems to me the advantage is clear. Dave is slightly less optimistic than me, but he does think they can get many on their side.
...okay, what happened to Jade? What kind of twisted scenario involved her to the point where neither Dave nor Karkaroni want to talk about her? I’m almost afraid of finding out.
So there are four kingdoms, if I understand this correctly: one for humans, one for trolls, one for...carapaces, I guess, and one for the consorts, which would be aaaaaall the silly reptiles and amphibians from Sburb.
Jake’s support will be pivotal, and since I’m already betting he’ll be on Jane’s side out of, you know, being friends with her for quite some time, it seems like she’ll have the edge there. Then again, it’s true Jake is fairly timid, so there’s also a chance he’ll refuse to take a side. I’m starting to think any sane person would stay the heck away from any side in this mess, honestly. These two haven’t even announced Karkaroni as a candidate yet I already kind of dread what’s coming. I don’t know, it’s just this...constant atmosphere that something’s pretty wrong. I don’t really like it.
During all this, Dave receives a call from Dirk, so he calls back to ask what’s going on. This page ends with Dirk abut to insinuate he needs Dave to cut his head off again. I see these two’s weird pseudofamilial relationship is as messed up as ever. Charming.
So, back to the more Homestuck-y stuff. John zaps back to the story, apparently he agreed with Rose what needed to be done. First he makes sure Aranea won’t be up to shenanigans, taking off that ring of life from her finger. Good! Then he stashes Gamzee into the fridge again. Good! Everything’s fine over here. John zaps to the next plot point.
Ah, I have to read just two paragraphs to know what moment is this. The conversation below confirms my thoughts. Wait, I have to get the image for this moment:
There we go. Boy was it a pain to find it now that the long outline list is gone.
I think in Homestuck they had noticed John hanging out above them, and this time they see three of them, one of the Johns being an adult version. That’s going to be difficult to explain. Questions are asked, and evil Jade is zapped away to maybe get ready for the fight against Lord English, hopefully she won’t still be evil when the time comes, even if she technically is against Lord English and wants him dead. John is here to talk with Dave, anyway. If I recall correctly, Dave was supposed to give the final blow with that sword with the Welsh name, so my guess is that John is here for that. Get ready, Dave, you’re going to fulfill the fate you didn’t want in the first place! But at least I’m fairly certain John will be more successful at this than evil Jade was.
Turns out I’m not wrong about why John is here. In fact, the narration even says this:
Dave’s eyebrows descend beneath his sunglasses. You feel pretty bad because you’re about to completely circumvent the life-changing epiphany he’s just had that you know for a fact will make him a happier, chiller, and altogether more well-balanced human being.
Pretty unfortunate, really. It sucks to be Dave.
As I said before, Jade is zapped away to parts unknown, and Dave is informed of how everyone was spending their lives as normal adults with no big problems and a fairly peaceful life. Clearly John left the present before Dave and Karkaroni started their political war against Jane. Oh well. Off you go, Dave, get ready for a fight with Lord English. In the meantime, John will gather the rest of the team.
You know, I’m starting to realize I had a lot more to say about Dave and Karkaroni’s new political adventures than about the more familiar Homestuck-y messing around John is doing with the plot. I guess it’s because, as strange as the other plotline is, it just has...a lot other stuff to comment about that hasn’t been present in Homestuck before? Hm.
Yup, Dirk immediately asks for his decapitation as a solution for the tremendous defeat he has suffered at Jake’s hands, defeat that shouldn’t have happened because, as Dave states, Jake is pretty awful at everything. Either the show is rigged or Dirk must have quite a lot in mind for him to not even make an effort.
Yep, it’s rigged. I hope Jake knows. That guy never had a break during the game, hopefully he’ll get a break now. Speaking of Jake, he has to take the brunt of entertaining everyone while Dirk takes the call in the middle of the show. Whatever he has to talk about must be somewhat urgent, if he felt like calling Dave in the middle of it.
This narration sure is calling attention to Jake’s ass a lot, I lost count of how many paragraphs include something about it. Hussie, is there something you’d like to share with the class? Last time I checked the story he didn’t seem particularly interested in Jake’s ass, or in...Jake in general, really.
It seems what Dirk is doing here is intentionally making himself the villain of this show, but it’s not because he’s throwing Jake a bone or anything. No, it turns out there are more sinister goals here, or at least they’re sinister for Dave and Karkaroni’s newfound political ambitions.
DIRK: The point is, this is much less about me, and more about providing a foil for Jake’s heroism and charisma.
DIRK: It’s very important that his popularity continues to be cultivated, to maximize his political capital.
Sounds like they were planning Jane’s campaign for quite a while, if they went so far as to make Jake the hero of their show just for political capital. I bet that was the plan all along, right from the very first time this was broadcasted. How long ago was that, I wonder? But yeah, as Dave predicted, Dirk is fully on the Jane corner of this mess. He’s fully aware of Jane’s flaws and theoretical fascist/xenophobic tendencies, I presume, and he believes Jane’s the best for the current situation of the world. Whether he’s right or not...well...until proven otherwise I believe that too, yeah.
DIRK: We’ve all had our fun here, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that civilization on Earth C is hardly a sustainable proposition.
DIRK: Just beneath the surface, it’s quite a dangerous and unstable place.
Won’t lie, that never crossed my mind at all. From the way Act 7 ended, and how happy the ending was supposed to be, I simply thought things were going to be just peachy. I’m interested in knowing just how exactly it’s a quite a dangerous and unstable place. Care to explain, Dirk?
Guess not. I hope he explains how he knew what Dave and Karkaroni are planning, then. They took this decision like ten minutes ago.
DIRK: I think your heart is in the right place, but the dude is a complete amateur.
DIRK: He’ll get eaten alive. I also have a hard time imagining he even wants the job.
DIRK: Really, it’s an awful idea for him to even run. Think about how much it’s going to inflame the interspecies tensions on this planet. Is that what you want?
DIRK: I’m happy for both of you, really. It’s nice that you encourage and support each other in this way. But you’re sending him on a fool’s errand which can only end badly.
To be perfectly honest, other than the part about inflaming interspecies tensions on the planet, that was more or less what I thought. So far I agree. Even the part about inflaming interspecies tensions sounds plausible.
You know, it’s kind of fun both sides have a savvy Strider political operative. These two are more alike than Dave would like to admit, really.
The reason why Dirk is calling is because he wants to dissuade Karkaroni from running, even if he doesn’t say it. He admits Jake is not under Dirk’s beck and call, though. Does that really change anything? Dirk may not be on Jake’s good graces, but perhaps Jane is? Either way, this is a call to subtly dissuade and it’s not going to work because Karkat is stubborn as hell once he gets his head into something and he did. Tough luck.
The call is over, Dirk is back into the staged fray, so Jake thinks about Dirk’s capricious nature.
DIRK: Sorry for the momentary diversion, Jake. Now where were we?
JAKE: Momentary??? Gadzooks man you were on the phone for half a friggin hour!
JAKE: I know you like to get the crowd all hot and bothered but we are supposed to be professionals here!
...no wonder the crowd was starting to get so upset. Half an hour?! Just how slowly were the Striders talking?
Jake pulls out rhymes that honestly reminds me of Dave’s old rapping convos from like Act 1 or 2, peppered with old-timey sayings. It’s the kind of thing that makes me wonder how Jake is popular all over the planet. It’s said it’s out of pity, but goodness, that must be a metric ton of pity. The rap fight ends with Dirk sedating Jake to take another call. Geez, no wonder you’re not on his good graces anymore, Dirk.
Aaaanyway, back to John. He has gathered everyone back at his childhood home, ready to start the discussion on how to get rid of Lord English once and for all.
Jake is sort of ruining the mood anyway by bouncing away on your old Green Slime pogo. Doesn’t he realize how dangerous that thing is? Of course not. The fool.
To be frank that thing looked fun to me, even though I wouldn’t ride it without a helmet. John needs to appreciate more the painful playground elements in his life.
It’s nostalgic to read a convo with the kids. I hadn’t realized until now I missed Jade’s goofy mannerisms. Jade was always someone I was so fond of. Heck, all of the kids are people I’m fond of, although I’m less fond of Dirk and Jake than the rest. My opinion of Homestuck may not be as high as it once was, but the characters are something I still appreciate.
John answers a question: what happens to the people from the timelines they all left? Who knows. They may have stopped existing, which I’m sure is something they’d have liked to know before, but there’s nothing that can be done about that. Better start planning so they don’t die horribly and make nothing matter, alright.
The planning is mostly disorganized and structureless, although some common themes that often recur involve you and your original three friends leading the charge, since you are the oldest and wisest, and therefore the strongest, with the exception of Jade, whose gaudy array of powers make her the most formidable of the group, bar none. Aside from that, it appears the consensus is that the melee will likely devolve into an absolute free-for-all—at least going by the general patterns of incoherent banter, shit-talking, and points of pedantic tactical disagreement plaguing the jam session.
Sounds about right. I still think Jade would be very useful in the fight as long as she’s actually there and not...getting knocked out by mailwomen-turned-winged-dog. Maybe this time there’ll actually be something about the kids getting into a fight with Lord English. I’m not really going to hope for that too much, given how Hussie is not into catering to orderly narratives, but eh. No harm in dreaming.
The reunion ends when Jake eats dirt when he falls from the pogo, and in all this there wasn’t even a word about the plan. Not a good omen for the ‘show everyone fighting Lord English’ dream, really. The kids all talk together, some of them meeting each other for the first time, while John wistfully stares at Dad Egbert who is visible through the window.
The sun is hitting the glass in such a way that you can’t see his face.
Ah, yes, how could I forget the eternal sun that was in Dad’s vicinity all the time, that’s why his face always appeared mostly blank. That’s why the sun was right beside the Homestuck letter logo, it’s always there. Besides, if it’s a bad idea to go talk with Dad Hebert, may I ask why they’re all gathered in this yard, one week before the meteors strike? I know I’d be alarmed if I looked out of the window and saw seven hooligans and one adult hanging out in my yard.
There are other things to be wondering about, anyway, like the fact John may not be seeing these as real versions of his friends. Then again, in my opinion, he’s thinking a bit too hard about this. Of course he’d feel kind of detached, simply because of the age difference. That’s hard to overcome. Is it time to leave and go possibly die? Grab hands and hope it’ll go okay!
No, seriously, why am I taking like a page for John’s retconning and like three and half for Dave and Karkaroni’s Elect-a-Troll 20XX? Oh well. Dirk is still in the stadium, apparently their shows always ends in a riot, making me wonder how are they popular with people. Public disorder doesn’t really paint a good image of you. The caller is Rose, and she’s not feeling happy.
ROSE: The bottom line is this.
ROSE: I am ascending, and it is terrible.
Is Rose reaching Nirvana? How else am I supposed to interpret ‘ascending’? It’s not like she’s not a higher existence already, what with godhood and all.
What’s going on is that Rose is being plagued from visions and a higher awareness of her alternate selves’ lives and tribulations, giving her something close to omniscience when it’s about the universe, and Dirk is going through that too, which I suppose helps explain how he knew what Dave wanted to do. That’s what Dave will have to go against? Good luck to him.
I have to wonder if Dirk being such a stalwart Jane supporter is fueled by his recent omniscience. Maybe he knows something Dave and Karkaroni don’t, maybe the warning he gave them was something he foresaw. That aside, then he also must have known how useless it was to call Dave and that it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Having omniscience must seriously suck. At least Dirk has a way to work with his omniscience in a way that won’t wreck him apart, and I’m curious what it’s going to be. That said, though, a story about Dirk and Rose having foreseen a nasty future and working to stop it even at the cost of a few valuable friendships would be interesting. I’d read that.
Any conversation that will come from this will be at the studio later. I for one am looking forward to it, I admit. It’s an interesting topic, rich with possibilities and potential for development. It’s a shame these are epilogues, though. In the end, this will go nowhere, I imagine. Isn’t it a pity when you come across an idea or a plot that could span an entire story, but you know it’s not likely to come to fruition? Real shame, that.
I think I’ll stop for now. I have read only seven pages out of forty-three or so, but this should be enough for now. I can’t say I have been...enjoying this. I’m interested, but not really happy so far. Maybe it’s because a couple rather questionable things have come out of the blue and for the life of me I can’t make them fit with the characters or the story. Strange.
Also, something about the writing style is...off. It’s far more descriptive than Homestuck usually was. Most of the time it’s nice, other times I wonder if it was necessary. Still, I wonder where this will go, so at least the epilogues have that on its favor. Just for that, I think liveblogging it will be worth it.
Still, these epilogues are non-canon, aren’t they? If they’re canon can you please tell me that? Thanks, readers! So, for the time being, this update ends here.
Next update: next time
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