#idiots having a miscommunication is one of my least favourite tropes and yet this

[river-muse]

Next round of wall-of-text commentary arrives! This turn is In leaps and bounds.

Gotta say, the POV change in favour of Dante here is a gamechanger. The repressed desire to shake some sense into Vergil is extremely present in each scene, wonderful job there.

ch1. Oh you just FEEL it in the first chapter how hard Dante is concentrating on the jukebox instead of whatever Vergil wants to ask. Well done, well done my fair lady.

The entire 'Nero distraught and Vergil calming him' scene is great. It's a low blow that Dante automatically expected things to go south, even after he saw for himself how much Vergil cares for his son, but that's just how the twins do of the beginning of this. At least Vergil was spared that blow by his own wrong assumption, which Dante quickly adapted to, otherwise it would have been even more heartbreaking.

ch.2...this is just pure miscommunication pain. Thing is, Dante was actually genuinely curious there... Ooof. Also a good pain response check on Dante there, he's been badly burned and that pain is still blinding him. Vergil cornered himself into the worst questions there, and then got on the aggressive defence. Double ow. Delicious pain, all of this.

ch.3 pfff good child story trope, and the final line says it all really xD

ch4. solstice chapter. It's funny how the twins know what's illegal but don't mind about doing it anyway xD. Again, delicious pain at seeing the two let their sleeping dogs lie, in fact, they are actually forcing those dogs to the ground.

No idea where Vergil learned strategy, but I think the best move when hunted down and when your positions are known (as he and Dante confirmed for each other) is to go on the defence, instead of endlessly running himself into the ground, corners and ambushes. Especially, if he thinks he is targeted more. Bait and switch might've worked if there was only one pursuer, but that would require knowing of the attack beforehand, and cooperation between the twins, which they are not yet capable of, I don't think.

Obviously, this silence is brought on by emotional issues too, I just wanted to point out that strategy-wise Vergil is an idiot. It's also very clear to see how much Dante is struggling to keep this thoughts to himself there, he tries so hard just to enjoy the holiday with family together (instead of shaking some sense into Vergil, which has frankly never worked and never will, he is an idiot through and through, impenetrable to common sense from the outside)

ch. 5 Everything about the park chapter is my favourite thing. Absolutely everything about it is perfect. Little Nero on the playground, how he really wants to do everything himself to impress Vergil, but ends up asking for help, which he may not like, but needs to learn how to do. Dante's little brother instinct to annoy his bro at the mention of pizza. The way Nero nails that Vergil wanted to spend time with Dante too (kids can be so smart like that). The way Dante still cannot believe his fortune at having his bro and nephew in his life (even on rare surprise occasions), extremely bittersweet. Everything is great here, and while the bridges are most certainly building, the present and slowly rising tension between the twins is very evident.

(Birthday three-parter commentary next, this is long enough as it is)

Hello again!!! Waking up to these really gets my brain buzzing and ready to do my actual job faster than normal you have No Idea. xD I'll try not to write too many paragraphs in return but OOUUGHH you had some really good commentary here and I won't be able to address it all.

There was a response I gave a comment a long time ago along the lines of "DMC is just Miscommunications: The Musical to me" and it still holds strong because Wow the shit twins are having to re-learn how to interact with each other in this fic.

Reading the line "they are actually forcing those dogs to the ground" for the Winter Solstice chapter knocked me tf out and rewired something in my brain that is SUCH a good way to put it. Chewing on my phone because it's going to live rent free in my head for quite possibly the rest of the series. There are just some things that have to be left alone to keep the peace, and they very much want to try to do that even if it ends up being topics that they're going to have to talk about eventually. Vergil's also still stuck in the travel to survive tactic, which as he spent his youth like that and about five years after the Temen-Ni-Gru doing the same it's become a case of "old habits die hard". He's not aware that his tactic is flawed as all hell. But also both times he's spent extended time in a place where he's felt safe has Always Gone Bad(his childhood home and [redacted (: ] even though the second time he wasn't present for the "going bad" part), so I forgive him for thinking that defending a place is deadlier than keeping on the move.

The POV swaps are fun for me! They're also entirely fuled by my own ulterior motives. Either to hide another character's motivation/thoughts, to show someone else's perspective, or because the POV character's inner conflicts need to be understood because those color how they interact(I'm looking at you, Lady.).

I'd actually felt like the park chapter was the weakest of them with how many times I had to edit it, so I'm flattered that you enjoyed it as much as you did! Some scenes are entirely to get a point across even if they're handled in character and those stand out like a sore thumb to me because I see through my own goals.

Thank you for the comments!! I'm going to rotate these in my head as fast as possible while working on dice <3

Take care, have a good day, and I look forward to your next ask!

[trek-tracks]

Jim may be groggy from having been, you know, clinically deceased for a bit, but his genius brain makes it through the resurrection intact and he figures out surprisingly quickly through the looks on Bones and Spock's faces and the not-very-good obfuscation and deflection attempts that a) he should definitely be dead right now, and b) his inexplicable continued existence in the mortal plane means that Bones has accomplished something way out of line with the tenets of his profession, and something that's likely to get him in very real trouble. 

So, after thanking Spock for saving his life and gauging Bones' reaction (tense and self-deprecating), he asks Bones to give him and Spock a moment alone in the room; besides, you look like you could use a break, Jim says. Maybe grab a cup of decaf this time, Bones. I’ll be fine for a few minutes. Bones agrees, but Jim thinks he looks decidedly unhappy and reluctant about it, even through his usual joke about terrible hospital coffee and caffeine being its only reward. 

Bones leaves the hospital room with his remote monitor, on the verge of a breakdown that hospital coffee, even caffeinated, is not going to solve. He's just seen Jim warmly thank Spock and practically ignore him, aside from studying him for an uncomfortable minute, with a gaze that could be interpreted as accusing. Now Jim doesn't want him in the room. 

Best case scenario, he's been replaced, after all he's done. Worst case, Jim expressly hates him for his actions. Maybe Jim was at peace wherever he was, and “Doctor McCoy” pulled him back to a harsh universe of responsibility and judgment, where he has to face the reality of thousands dead on the ground, none of whom the doctor had thought about breaking his oath to resurrect. 

For his part, Jim waits a few seconds after Bones has left, and turns to Spock, whose open expression indicates that he seems to believe Jim’s intention is to continue his thanks. Spock readies himself to say, Gratitude is unnecessary - or, perhaps, illogical - but is taken aback when Jim interrupts him not with gratitude, but with a plea. 

Please don't turn Bones in, Spock. I don't know what he did; you know better than I do because, well, you were there, and I was dead. I know that I shouldn't be here now, which means he broke every rule in the book. He always feels he has to do that for me. I don’t know why. I didn't thank him because I didn't know how he'd take it; he lets guilt eat away at him when he thinks he’s done something wrong, and I didn't want to make it worse. He looked awful. I know you could probably throw the book at him and get him kicked out of Starfleet. I know you have every right to put it in your report, like after Narada. I understand that. But I can't let you do that to him. 

Perhaps Spock should have anticipated this, but it momentarily floors him. It takes his breath away to know that Jim thinks so little of him, and to know that Jim has real, precedented reason for doing so. Spock wonders if Jim's earlier thanks to him was merely an attempt to gain Spock's favour in advance of this request. If this is how Jim sees him - as someone whose utility is limited to teaching him to be unfeeling in the face of death, as someone who might get between Jim and McCoy’s friendship - then it seems, logically, that Spock is a liability on the Enterprise. 

 Spock passes Bones in the hall on the way out, after assuring Jim he has no plans to "throw the Doctor under the bus," as the strange idiom goes. Jim had smiled at him warmly after that - of course he had, in relief for what that means for McCoy’s future. 

The Captain's time is yours, Doctor, he says to McCoy without warmth. The fragile friendship and understanding they'd developed, especially in the past two weeks, seems to have disappeared.

It figures, thinks Bones. Jim is upset about what I've done, and now Spock agrees with him. I probably need to find another job, if I still have a license after this. 

I think I'll let him rest a while, Spock, Bones says, heading to his office to plan out the rest of his life, as Spock vanishes down the corridor. Best thing for him.

Jim wonders why Bones hasn't come back.

[imaginarydragonling]

Haikyuu!! Fic Recs: IwaOi Ship

***Disclaimer: This is based on my own personal reading and preferences and is thus (1) skewed by my personal tastes; and (2) hopelessly incomplete. If there is a fic you really love that you would like to share, please feel free to reblog/comment/message me to let me know!***

***WARNING: This list contains nsfw and explicit content so please read at your own discretion and take note of the author’s tags!***

This is a big ship. You have been warned.

Conquering the Great King is the first in the five works that comprise @suggestivescribe‘s Breaking the Rules series. It is a “tobacco scented blessing” with prose and imagery that will stay with you. Iwaizumi and Oikawa both have their own baggage, and it’s a roller coaster ride of emotion as they fall in love and struggle to make space in their lives for each other. I fell in love with suggestivescribe’s writing style in the opening chapters and I stayed in love because of their characters. You want to cheer for Oikawa as he grows as a person, and Iwaizumi turns out to be a surprising romantic. If that’s not enough to convince you to give this a read, there is also the smoking hot smut to keep you sizzling. Oh, also — a giggling drunk Suga ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Need more IwaOi? @frenchibi has got you covered! You’ve got something I need is but one example — there’s everything you need in a good IwaOi fic: cute childhood shenanigans, some angst, and tooth-rotting fluff. Her characterization is spot on and I fell in love with them as they fell in love.

If you are looking for more angst, apologies has it. It’s short and there is unresolved hurt, but that just means you get to imagine your own ending! Or beg her to throw the rest of us a bone and at least confirm that there’s a happy ending in there somewhere! I wanted to cry after reading this which inspired me to do art for it (shameless plug: you can see my art here).

Next, the angst train continues on with  tongue tied by izayas ( @shizuos on tumblr). Miscommunication is the name of the game here, along with a fair bit of Denial, Denseness, and Dumb boys. Kuroo and Kenma feature heavily in this story as well, but for this post, I am going to highlight Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s story. They are both idiots. Circles are run, triangles are loved, no square dancing is had, but be prepared to pull at your hair and scream into your pillow. izayas’ writing gives you an insight into our characters’ heads and their inner turmoil, so much so that even as you are frustrated with them, you understand where they are coming from and why they do (or don’t do) what they do. It’s a wild and wonderful journey, and it’s not quite over yet.

I Choose You by TripsH is a Soulmate AU which is told from Iwaizumi’s POV. Just over 9.3 thousand words long, this one-shot sweeps you along as Iwaizumi grows up next to Oikawa, the quest of meeting your soulmate hanging over their heads. If the Soulmate AU trope is your thing, please give this a read!

kittebasu (chanyeol)’s fic to be first, to be best is another one shot that will have you sympathizing with Iwaizumi because he has to deal with a trash can of a human being for a best friend even as you shout at him for how dumb and dense and deaf he can be. The character voices are spot on and kittebasu (chanyeol)’s writing injects humour into every sentence and brings this fic to life. Bonus: There is DaiSuga and Daichi actually being an honest to god Good in the world and the Sawamura-Iwaizumi friendship is everything every fan who couldn’t pick between Karasuno and Seijoh could want.

Last, but certainly not least on this list is The Best I Ever Had by @findingschmomo. This fic holds a special place in my heart because this was the first piece of fanfiction I ever read that made me realize that there was this whole wonderful world of fandom behind my favourite shows. This story is a gift and more. It starts some years in the future, when Oikawa and Iwaizumi have drifted apart due to time and space. Their reunion and struggle to re-define their relationship are what this fic is all about, and findingschmomo does a masterful job balancing hope of the future with the angst of reconciliation. I hope you will love it as much as I do.

If you enjoyed the story, please leave a comment on the fic to let the author know! Have a fic you really love that you would like to share or scream about? Let me know with a reblog/comment/message!

Happy reading!

Dragonling’s Haikyuu!! Fic Recs Masterpost