#idk might develop this into a fic because i am having feelings about this

[celestial-alignment]

I need to sleep but I'm thinking about how in the original Bardock movie, when little Vegeta found out his world was destroyed, they believed he was the only survivor at the time. Who knows how long it was before he was reunited with Nappa and Raditz, but for what probably felt like a lifetime, that little guy believed he was completely alone.

Fast forward to when he meets his son from a future where HE is the only survivor (aside from his mom), because the world was decimated by the androids.

Just wondering if those two dots ever connected for Vegeta or if that was a big part of why he was so god damned mean to Trunks. It's a lot of trauma and toxic indoctrination to work through.

[reignpage]

how do you think jjk men are with embarrassing moments during sex? like if something embarrassing that happens to either them or their partner, do they play it off, try to inject humor, swear off sex to be a monk?

i read a similar post by an author advocating for well, not just more realistic depictions of sex in fics, but to include some of the awkwardness present in them too?? their post included geto’s hair getting stuck in butt cracks, Toji pulling a muscle, Nanami losing his boner, and Choso full on shitting himself accidentally to help with reader’s embarrassment over queefing 😭😭😭

like yes it’s funny and bonkers but cuz sex isn’t always the passionate sexy fuckfest we see in fics/movies, people don’t always cum at the same time, yes you DO need lube AND prep, foreplay DOES matter, dryness or losing an erection midway no matter how horny you are is common yano?? 😤😤

lowkey wanted to go anon lest you call me perpetually horny 😭 but ignore me if my shit’s getting old

own your shit bae, no pun intended. ur horniness could never get old. I like these questions cause they're like brain teasers. okay okay lemme have a go

Gojo:

says a cringy line

I can totally see him trying something new that he thinks would be super sexy like

"oh yeah? you like that? you're such a dirty whore, aren't you? come on, cum and show me who you're daddy is."

reader will pause and stare at him like, did you hear yourself?

gojo will have a moment of realisation and give himself the ick. even he has limits.

he collapses on top of reader and begs her to forget that, will be a blushing mess.

he'll think about it once in a while and cringe

but in the moment, he'd throw a tantrum if you can't stop laughing and making fun of him.

"it wasn't that bad! you're being mean, seriously. I just got caught up, okay? stop laughinggggg"

gets very pouty, protests, and you have to seduce him back, really compliment the hell out of him

then he'll force you on top and make you take the lead so he doesn't give himself another opportunity to be embarassing

Geto:

trying to switch positions in a tight space and then you accidentally rest your elbow on his long hair and he almost rips outs chunks

probably gets irritated because you've damaged his brilliant hair

takes a breather and then starts back up again

punishes you during sex

will crack a smile if you do

"yeah, alright, laugh it up. but if I develop a bald spot, neither of us will be laughing."

will make sure that never happens again

might even pull your hair during sex to show you how it feels (not too hard obvi)

Choso:

might get too subby lol

like "am I a good boy mommy? am I doing good? I don't want my mommy to be mad at me" and he's in tears

idk how to write mommy kinks lol

and you both have a moment of clarity where it's like, damnnn you okay? didn't know you had trauma like that

he'll get very shy and embarrassed

might even start crying, trying to run away

you'll have to reassure him it's fine and then just go slowly and gently, having more loveydovey sex

late at night, he'll ask you if you really didn't mind because he doesn't want you to be freaked out or think he's not a man

but I imagine it'd become a kink you indulge him once in a while

just gotta teach him it's okay, just don't spring it on someone mid act lol

Toji:

trying a really acrobatic fucking position, whether in the living room or in the shower, gets his footing wrong and slips, smacks his head against the wall, takes you down with him

he knocks himself out

you have to wrangle his 200 pound or something body in to a safe lying position and wait for him to come to

when he does and he remembers what happens

bro is in denial

no he didn't slip

no he didn't overestimate himself

no it didn't hurt

no he's not embarrassed stop asking him

gets very grumpy and will storm off, grumbling under his breath

comes back calmer

neither of you mention it but it hangs in the air as you both prepare dinner together

once sat across each other, you make an eye contact and you burst out laughing

he rolls his eyes but he's got a smile on his lips

"yeah yeah, what fucking ever. you try lifting your heavy ass up whilst you're balls deep"

next time tho, he gets you back by forcing you to endure vanilla sex, going very slow and shallow and overly sweet

makes you beg for him to fuck you normally

he'll consider it

Nanami:

drunk sex, becomes wayyyy too emotional

"sweetheart, you're the most beautiful thing in the entire world, I love you so much do you know that? I honestly -hiccup!- c-can't live without you, oh goodness, please don't make me live without you!"

he's still inside, he's not even thrusting anymore, he's just crying into your neck like a baby

you're brushing his hair, shushing him, orgasms forgotten

might vomit on you a little

wakes up with a killer hangover and a night full of memories he wishes he could erase

"oh god, honey. I'm so terribly sorry. I can't believe I did something so ridiculous. no I know loving you openly isn't ridiculous, but I wouldn't be wrong to say crying, leaving you unsatisfied, forcing you to care for a man child, and cherry on top, vomitting on you is just a little ridiculous."

has to go make it up to himself for being a terrible husband

will spoil you for the rest of the week

or anytime he remembers

might actually drink less because of it lol

Sukuna:

he'd kill you if he did something embarrassing

pray he never does

[hwonnrinji]

i wanna be yours

lara raj x fem!reader (7th member of katseye)

req: @lararajjj

a/n: first fic omg. i hope it met your expectations <3 and sorry if it seemed rushed, i had a science project due 😕 i'll probably make another version in the future when my writing develops better

{ synopsis } : you like love lara. you know that in every corner of your heart– yet you bang your head on the wall every night, replaying all the flirty comments lara said to you, wishing that it wasn't all jokes.

{ extra } : fluff, romance, slight jealousy, tw: a bit of arguing (sorry if this wasn't what you wanted, it just occured to me to add it in the fic)

wc: idk, it's probably a lot, i'll count later

═══════════════════════════

"aren't you looking mighty fine today?" a familiar voice called out to you, the tone laced with tease. you immediately froze at the comment, too busy calming your racing heart that began to surpass the limits of beats per minute. "gosh, makes me wanna have you all to myself."

"nice joke," you mumbled. you took in deep breaths, quite hyper aware that your face is flushing redder than a tomato. "get back to practice, lara."

"aw, are you blushing, y/n?" her arm wrapped itself around your waist and pulled you closer. as if you weren't already close enough...

"no? what're you on about." you tried to break free from her hold, only to have her pull you back. as the warmth of her chest seeps into your back, your breathing falters and your heart began to stutter.

"lara, let go."

"you're so worked up today. what's wrong, hm?" she whispers, her voice leaving a tingling sensation on your skin. you let out a shuddering breath as you looked down to see her hands clasped on your stomach, the fabric of your sweatshirt wrinkling due to how tight lara was holding you against her.

"you two! stop flirting and get back to practice," sophia shouted, having been fed up with the lack of focus. what a save, you thought to yourself. lara reluctantly let go– but not without a pout, and went back to her position in the back.

"you enjoyed that, didn't you?" megan teased.

"great, another one." you rolled your eyes, your hands on your hips. what's with everyone and teasing nowadays? megan gave you a sympathetic pat on the back, something you don't need at the moment.

"why won't you tell her how you feel?"

"it's not that easy, meg. if she doesn't feel the same, everything will be ruined."

"stop being so negative would you?" despite megan's best efforts to play off the situation, you still can't help but feel your heart burning with want. you want to be able to hold lara's hand just because. you want to finally be able to kiss those lips you've been dreaming of at night.

and more importantly, you want to be able to call her yours. call her yours and say 'i love you' forever.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

2:38 AM

you lightly cursed under your breath when the keypad beeped too loud as you entered the passcode, hoping it didn't wake an of the girls. you held the handle and turned it, pushing the door inward to enter the house.

taking off your shoes and leaving them at the entrance, you tiptoed through the hall to make your way to your shared room with yoonchae and sophia. the leader might scold you later but all you need to do is to make it back in one piece.

"ahem."

"fuck." you turned around to see lara standing at her doorway, her duck onesie basically asking, urging, you to laugh and wake up the whole house. she raises an eyebrow, seemingly demanding to know where you were to be back this late. "i...was at a friend's house?"

did it seem convincing? no, definitely not with the way you were dressed.

did you try to make it seem convincing? well yes! you always gave your best.

"like hell you were." she looked at you up and down, and you swear, swear on your life, that she was checking you out rather than just looking at you outfit. "where were you? who were you with? you reek of alcohol..." she trails off, every gear in her head turning to know where you could've possibly be at this late into the night.

"ok, look. i was at some get together. it's no big deal, i got a little intoxicated but–"

"i don't care what you were doing. who were you with?" she interrupted you.

"why does that matter?" you furrowed your brows, your patience thinning by the second this conversation went on. "why do care about who i was out with?"

"y/n, just tell me! it's not that hard." her voice raised in volume and you hear sheets shuffling from yoonchae and sophia's room. you secretly crossed your fingers, playing out your cards, hoping that the leader didn't wake up.

"and it's not hard to tell me why you're so nosy about my life!"

"can't i be worried? you're probably hanging out with the wrong people if you're sneaking out!" lara exclaimed. now you're seething. how can she make assumptions like this? especially knowing how you were with people.

"tell me why you're suddenly caring now? out of all the times that you snuck out, i never once mentioned it. i never asked you who you were out with, what you were doing, all that nonsense. that's because i know you!"

lara was taken aback, the way you snapped was foreign almost. your calm, collected demeanor faded right before her eyes and she doesn't know what to do. your chest heaved in anger, your eyes began to get tingly and your vision turned blurry.

"why're you acting all jealous now?" your voice got quieter as tears prickled at the corner of your eyes. great, now the alcohol was getting to you.

"what do you mean?" lara questioned.

"what i mean is," you paused, wiping the tears from your eyes. "why are you only acting jealous now? i tried and tried to get you to be jealous by being close to the girls but nothing ever worked."

"and maybe, i thought you didn't feel the same way, but god fucking damnit, lara! you say one thing and your body language says the other."

"you– you like me?" she pointed a finger at herself and you shake your head. she didn't get the point. maybe she never will.

"fuck liking you, i love you."

lara's face fell and you hope she finally understood the reasons why you look at her like she hung the stars. like she hung your stars. the stars that hang in your sky and spell out her name.

"you're such an idiot." and with that, you turned around and went into your room, leaving lara to stand by herself to process everything you just said. you didn't pay attention to the empty bed on yoonchae's side, or the missing pair of noise canceling headphones on your desk, or sophia's bed having more than one person in it.

you had enough for tonight.

"good night, y/n." despite being muffled by yoonchae's hoodie, sophia's voice still rang through the silent room. it buzzed through your ear like another pop-up ad.

"good night, soph."

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

the next few days were awkward for you, lara, and everybody else. they all heard the conversation you two had, and no one dared to bring it up, not even the mighty leader. wherever lara stayed was where you would leave. you couldn't even bear to stay alone with her for a minute.

"hey, me and the girls are going out." daniela briefly told you as she put on her shoes. you stopped midway bringing the spoon full of cereal to your mouth, looking to the side to see everybody dressed up— but no lara.

oh no.

"im coming with–"

"no. your ass is staying here to work things out with lara." manon pointed an accusing finger at you, only putting it down aftee being told to by sophia. yoonchae only waved to you, quickly leaving because she wanted shotgun, the others racing after her.

"but–"

"you'll do what i say, y/n," sophia said before going out the door, completely leaving you alone with a sleeping lara in her room.

"well shit," you cursed. you hurriedly finished your cereal, placing it in the sink then rushing to your room. if you were in your safe haven, then no one can bother you until everybody gets home. great idea.

. . .

it was, in fact, not a great idea. when lara woke up, you heard her go into the bathroom to get ready for the day despite it already being twelve in the afternoon. you know her morning routine step by step, so after washing up, she'll definitely get breakfast. definitely.

she'll pass by your door, thinking you went with the others. you just need to stay quiet-

"i know you're in your room, y/n."

what. the. fuck.

"sophia told me you're here." of course she did. you slowly got up from your place on the floor, quietly sliding over to the door. "open the door."

your hand reached out but it never quite made contact with the handle. your nerves got to you. what if this go wrong? what if your friendship never goes back to how it was? what if, what if, what if...

"if you don't open this door, i will."

well, you can't have a broken door, can you? you finally held onto the handle, turning it and slightly opening the door, peeking out the crack to see lara.

"what?" you asked.

"let me come in."

"no."

"y/n, im serious."

"...fine." you stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing her to come inside. she sat on the beanbag on the floor, so you sat on the bed furthest away. neither of you wanted to address the elephant in the room, brushing off the actual elephant plushie sitting on yoonchae's bed.

"you're wearing my sweater?" lara started. you blushed and looked down to see that indeed, you were wearing her sweater than you stole from her.

"what about it?"

"nothing."

a beat passed and none of you said anything else. the silence was awkward and it was slowly killing a part of you. the part of you that wants to rush over and jump into her arms. the part of you that wants to tell her all your pent up feelings.

"so, you like me?"

"love, but who cares. wasn't it obvious?" you looked at her, her gaze meeting yours without even meaning to do so. you look away, but she doesn't. she keeps staring like you were the one who created her world.

"then it should've been obvious that i love you too."

"hm?!" you face scrunched up in confusion, looking like an frowning kitty. "you what?"

"i love you too, idiot." lara rolled her eyes, leaning back into the beanbag. "it developed when you stopped sleeping over in my room. i think it was because i missed having you as a pillow."

you couldn't help but chuckle, quickly collecting yourself and returning your face back to neutral. "why didn't you say anything?" the question was a bit hypocritical but you had a good reason for why you chose to stay silent about your feelings.

"better question, why didn't you?"

"i was scared. i mean i had every right to be. look at you, then look at me. a gorgeous girl and adam sandler female version," you confessed. your fingers fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, loose threads everywhere but you love it.

"what if i told you i like the way you look?"

"quit lying for once."

"im not." lara got up and walked over to you, sitting down right next to you on the bed. the mattress dipped from the added weight. "you're really pretty. if anything, i should've been the one who was scared to make a move."

"yet you made every move in a chess guide book."

"stop flaming me, would you?" she laughed, making you laugh along as well. she took in a deep breath, turning her head to look at you. "im sorry for getting a little nosy that night."

"forgiveness pending.."

"and that's fine." her hand found yours in the middle, intertwining your fingers with her's. her hands feel cold. she scoot in a little closer, her hips making contact with yours. "you'll forgive me in the end, right?"

"whatever helps you sleep at night." you joked. she lightly smacked your arm but even so, she still gave a little giggle.

"what does this mean? labels and all."

"we'll figure it out." you turned you head to finally face her, the distance between your faces just inches away. "but what we know for sure right now is..."

"that we can officially kiss and make up?" lara perked up, a little too hopeful. you smile, leaning in.

"yeah, sure. let's go with that." your lips finally connected with hers and goodness, you wished you spoke up a little sooner because kissing her felt just right. it felt like cereal and milk for breakfast, or a fancy steak dinner on an anniversary. or chocolates and flowers on valentine's day. everything perfect can't even sum up to the feeling of this.

and nevertheless, you want the feeling to remain the same forever and ever. in this life or another.

(a/n: #rushed because of a science poster)

[farshootergotme]

Now that I have the confidence to send you asks, fully expect me to bug you periodically from here on out

Anyways- do you think Dick qualifies as a scapegoat? Cause I 100% think he's a scapegoat. People always try to shove the 'golden child' role onto Dick, and it always confused me cause like. He doesn't fit it at all if you actually look into what a golden child is.

Dick is definitely one of the scapegoats of the batfamily (Jason being the other) and it makes me sad that people always label him a golden child when he's the exact opposite. Seriously- he's hit, beaten, unfairly blamed, lashed out at, not told about important things (Jason or being replaced, Jason dying, Jason's funeral, probably other things, i wouldn't be surprised), etc. Definition of a scapegoat to me.

It's also why I hesitate to label him the 'favorite' even when the comics try to say otherwise. Mostly because... favorite children aren't really treated this way. Favorite weapon, maybe, as I've said in a post I've made before, but that's it. Bruce wouldn't kill for him or any of his kids. He's come close, yeah, but he's also come close to killing the Joker too after Jason's death and had to be threatened into not doing it. Every time, it's in a strong surge of emotion, and the second Bruce thinks rationally- well, he doesn't do it. Dick isn't at all unique, Bruce wouldn't kill for him either.

I think Bruce is the most proud of Dick, and has a unique relationship with him due to knowing him the longest and the parentification, but I don't think that makes him the favorite. Maybe to the other batkids, but probably not in reality.

I don't think Bruce really HAS a favorite- Dick is probably the closest to it, but still.

Though, if you wanna play around with angst and fanon ideas, maybe both Dick and Jason are the favorites and that's why Bruce treats them the worst? Dunno, it'd make a fun fic, even if it's not really grounded in canon (though I ignore RHATO and Comic UTRH).

Idk. Just,, gestures. Dick is a scapegoat to me.

Hope my 2 am rambling made sense lol

Okay, I see you, but I'll argue:

Dick Grayson is both the scapegoat and the golden child.

Now, you might not believe this since he doesn't tend to be both at the same time, and it isn't common for these roles to exist within the same individual. But Dick Grayson is praised and favored as much as he's blamed and pushed.

A golden child is the one who carries most of the expectations in the family. The parent expects them to be perfect, make no mistakes, take on roles they're pushed into with no issue (thus parentification can happen), and continue on and on to be good enough and meet the criteria so they don't make the parent disappointed.

The love is conditional hence they develop this unhealthy perfectionism and self-esteem and self-worth issues that will follow them till adulthood even when they're out of that environment and living their own lives.

The reason why a parent might choose a specific child (or children) to be the favored one is because they tend to see this child as an extension of themselves. And consequential to this, they will project their insecurities onto said child and force them to improve—be the best—where they fall short. All of their capabilities are overvalued, making the parent see them as special and much better than the rest, causing the unrealistic expectations a child must hold and fulfill so as not to “fail” their parent(s).

Although this child might seem like the favorite and who could do no wrong on the outside, the love they receive isn't something they can take for granted.

When a golden child underperforms or isn't as good as they're expected, the parent’s demeanor might change. They will feel the disappointment and fear this might cause the treatment they get to change. Sometimes the child might even fear abandonment or rejection from their parent as a result of their failures.

The mix of all this turns into a person who's over-competent, hard-working and someone that tends to take charge of things so they aren't at risk of failing, making them ‘natural’ leaders in any group they might be part of.

Sounding familiar yet?

Now, let's move on to the scapegoat:

A scapegoat child is the one that is blamed by all the things that go wrong in the family. They are constantly criticized and shamed by things they might've not even been part of, but somehow they're now involved and taking all the blame for the others so there are no consequences for anyone but them.

(All the blame also messes with their perception of certain events, making them prone to self-blame for the problems that occur in the family or their behaviors towards them.)

The scapegoating in the family may be due to subconscious projection from the parent when they're dealing with difficult emotions such as shame, guilt, rage, etc. They feel threatened by their own feelings and therefore they will try to escape from them by externalizing those feelings and making them their scapegoat’s problem.

Because of this treatment, the scapegoat might become an outsider in the family, feeling excluded and isolated from the rest. And for this, when push comes to shove and they're going through a rough patch, they will not have any reliable support they can go to inside the family as they'll be ignored or otherwise unfairly treated, having their feelings be invalidated.

Like the golden child, there's some aspects the scapegoat shares with the former:

Being treated differently by the parent/family.

Having unrealistic expectations placed upon them.

Being pushed into roles or responsibilities the child isn't meant to take.

Fear of expressing how they feel.

Self-worth issues and low self-esteem.

Although they're usually roles that are considered opposites, they aren't as incompatible as one might think. A child can alternate between being a scapegoat or the golden child, and this usually happens when the parent is very emotionally unstable, commonly due to a disorder such as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) or borderline personality disorder (BPD).

(I have so many thoughts about the latter applying to Bruce, but I will refrain from elaborating to not make this longer than it needs to be)

Having all I've said until now in consideration, I'm sure you've noticed how Dick meets both criterias—dare I say the golden child more often than the scapegoat.

Bruce is always speaking about how Dick is “better than him” and “the thing he's ever done right”, but in both of these statements you can see he's taking who Dick is and making it as something that's part of him, comparing Dick's accomplishments to his and putting him in this pedestal, and because of this projection happens and Bruce starts seeing Dick as an extension of himself.

This is why, when he or Dick fail, Dick will suddenly become the scapegoat, contrasting with the former golden child position he was in.

Here you can see the high expectations, praise for his accomplishments, his siblings feeling like Dick is better than them (i.e. treated differently than the rest), and you can also see how when he doesn't meet the expectations, he's met with disappointment (see: Alfred disappointed he's not as bright as he usually is) or judgment (see: Bruce angry at him because he isn't committing to his cause as much as he expects him to).

And these are examples of Bruce being too harsh on Dick and expecting him to do better, blaming him for his brother's death, and in result Dick having a habit of blaming himself and accepting mistreatment, thinking it must be his fault.

More often than not, Dick is put on a pedestal by his family and even his friends sometimes. They praise and love him, but when there's occasions in which he's acting less than perfect, the treatment towards him can change.

Dick Grayson can be the golden child as much as he can be the scapegoat.

[leashybebes]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

tommy must live in a perpetual state of confusion over buck

do you think the longer buck allies the more tommy realises that "oh, he really is like this but he's definitely some flavor of queer"? because i see tommy maybe gently testing buck's jealousy to see what it'll take to make him break

oooookay once again this is not a snippet (sorryyyyy) but is more me attempting to understand wtf is going on in tommy's head throughout all this that he keeps "sure, okay"-ing himself into ridiculous situations with buck, so apologies for just unloading the contents of my brain on you

there are a few things i've been chewing on in terms of figuring out how tommy reacts to the buck of it all, which i hope will make it make sense that i actually don't think tommy pushing or testing for jealousy is on the cards in this fic (although i do love the idea!)

so first of all, this is a younger tommy than we've seen interact with buck in canon (of course), so whatever happened to make him Like That in the breakup hasn't happened yet (and won't, because i am a slut for a HEA). he's newly out and in my experience, a lot of newly out people, particularly people who are a bit older have something of a second adolescence. so yeah while this means he's incredibly horny (horny enough to let a self-proclaimed straight guy give him the absolute best sex of his life) it also means he just wants to have fun!! and buck is SO. MUCH. FUN. he's spent so long so tightly controlled that he's trying really hard to just go with the flow.

second, when i say newly out tommy, i mean newly out. like, it's one thing to "stop lying about who i am" - to me, there's a non-zero chance that just means "stop making up girlfriends" rather than "actually grapple with the life-long process of coming out (again and again and again)". so in my head (and it might come up in the fic, idk yet) the scene early on where he tells buck he doesn't want the cute girl's number because he's gay is probably one of the first times he actually said the words out loud. which ties into...

third, we know tommy was work friends with sal (at least and again, don't know that it'll come up in the fic but for the record, he 100% had a monstrous crush on him, like it made him ILL how much he wanted sal, i will hear no arguments), and that he developed good - again, work-based - friendships with hen and chim, but i feel like for a deeply closeted guy under dadt with a shitty childhood buck might be his first actual friend who knows all of him and likes him. spends time with him. doesn't care that he's gay. actively supports his gayness. doesn't recoil and in fact actively encourages tommy to talk about it. so i think tommy is just...deeply, deeply grateful for this confusing train wreck of a man

fourth, while i think there are definitely times that tommy thinks "he...he's flirting with me, right? is something gonna happen here?" this is a guy who has spent his entire adult life not looking at that kinda thing. not letting himself wonder if a guy (particularly a friend) is into him. or really, even if he's into them. he's really, really good at compartmentalising, and buck's pretty insistent that he's straight, so tommy's taking that at face value. hey, buck makes compelling arguments ("tommy, straight men have prostates too!")

aaaaand there we have the contents of my brain as it relates to one tommy kinard. even in my own incredibly stupid AUs, i am frankly obsessed. i want to gnaw on him. i'll settle for having buck do it instead.

[cecilysass]

Hello! You once told me that I could always ask you for fic recs so here I am! I’ve only seen up to S2E17 so idk if you have anything that doesn’t deal too heavily after that. Minor spoilers/references are okay, just nothing major. I’m also not a smut person generally. If you can’t think of anything that fits those criteria, feel free to ignore this! I hope you have a lovely day:)

Okay, I am SO EXCITED about this question, but also nervous, because I don’t want to accidentally include something that will spoil you. I am going to throw a few recs out, and maybe others will think of more?

Universal Invariants by syntax6 This is so, so good. It’s a classic. A novel-length casefile, plus an AU riff on season 1 and 2 through the abduction arc, so I think you are entirely good with spoilers. The big change from canon is that Scully is still with her boyfriend, Ethan. (If you don't know Ethan, he is a character that was originally in the Pilot but cut from the actual show.) There are... other changes from canon, but you’ll see. There's some smut, but it’s not the focus. And there's a sequel to this, too, which you will definitely eventually want to read, but you're going to have to finish season 5 first.

the progression (and regression) of first names by skuls Scully works through some early identity issues in relation to Mulder. This author (skuls) is always delightful, always recommended.

Center Mass by kateyes224 This fic provides a painful, in character explanation for what might have happened between them after the Pilot that could have resulted in so much subsequent slow burn. Hot and angsty, but not really smutty.

Early On by sunflowerseedsandscience This is also an AU season 1 with Ethan, but this one is more focused on Scully slowly feeling her attention stray from Ethan as her relationship with Mulder develops. It's a series with ten (short) parts. It's very engaging. There are some smutty parts.

Eight Things That Could Have Happened In Oregon by Stephen Greenwood No spoilers here, only things that didn't happen but might sound like spoilers. This is wistful, a little sad, beautiful, odd. The First Year by mldrgrl Their first New Year's Eve, not long after the Pilot. I love the hesitant vibe here.

Still Feeling My Father Ascend - cecily_sass This is my own fic, so I am being kind of a self promoter recommending it to you. But it’s a Beyond the Sea post ep, and I know my own work pretty well lol, so I know there’s no later spoilers, or only really minor things that won’t be meaningful until later. It was written for a prompt for an early season fic exchange.

And I'm not going to recommend it exactly, but I do want to mention that one of the first works of XF fanfic was actually written in 1993 and published online in 1994, so during season one. It's called The Sound of Windchimes by Sarah Stegall. It's got some serious CW (noncon) and some pretty wild content (I've read it), but if you're brave or curious and interested in fan history, you can check it out. Here's the fanlore page, which includes links.

***

Obviously I can come up with SO MANY MORE fics as you get further along. So just let me know. I would say most XF fic is probably written about seasons 5 / 6 / 7 for whatever reason, so once you're in that range, everyone can give you tons. Anyone have any other favorite early season fic they can recommend? It's sometimes tricky because sometimes early MSR has later details embedded in it...

[pricemarshfield]

2024 fic wrapped

i was tagged by @wetcatspellcaster to do this tag game, and i will take any excuse to talk about myself and my writing so hell yeah. let's do it to it. y'all know the drill, below the cut because i'm a yapper. like genuinely good God this is too long

if you got tagged in this but don't have time to read the full post, i shared a fic of yours that i loved this year :) but also i'm tagging you in the game if you want to participate! and if i didn't tag you but you want to do it, consider yourself tagged :)

What's been your biggest learning point this past year?

i feel like i somehow discover this every year but writing's way more fun when you write what you want to read. like whoaaa stepping away from taking requests i don't care about and writing the characters i'm obsessed with is...easier AND more enjoyable? that's crazy. who ever could have guessed this

but also on a more serious answer, i think i've learned that treating my writing as an internal deadline is just not sustainable and doesn't even work. (it works on collaborative projects with ACTUAL deadlines, to be clear to my lovely fellow zine and other project contributors fjdlkf, just not My Personal Fics For Fun.) sure it'd be nice to update every week, or every month, but viewing my hobby like that just stresses me out and then i put off thinking about it and writing at all. writing because i want to and because i enjoy it means i write more and, more importantly, that i enjoy the process of doing it. it also helps that my commenters who were nasty about updates all basically fell off lmao. bye babes, hope you've learned etiquette in whatever fandom you're on now

How has your writing developed this past year?

i think i've gotten MUCH better at hitting character voices this year, which is one benefit of latching onto the nastiest man in the world (raphael) and the weirdest woman to ever exist (my own oc, tav, light of my life and my soul and all that fun stuff). they're so strange and unusual, and i Have to get them right, and because of that when i go back to write...idk, poppy or someone, it's so easy. SO easy. oh, a rich bitch lesbian with an inferiority complex? easy work. tav's experiencing divine madness while fighting a devil to the death but like in a way where they're both horny about it. after writing that (and doing so the way i wanted to!), i find my voice for EVERYBODY is a lot easier to sink into.

i also think i got better at the flow of my sentences and i could not tell you why. i just feel it in my heart. this might just be because of the projects i'm working on Right Now but whatever, if it fits, it fits

Good writing habits?

no longer writing to beat a self-imposed deadline but writing because i want to. not forcing myself to work on a wip if the muse isn't there and instead working on something i AM inspired for or just doing something else. being more intentional with my word choice in ways that will not make sense until chapter 20 of these longfics but I'M kicking my feet and giggling so who care. making sure not All of my wips are for one fandom (or even for fandom at all) so that way if i'm burned out on bg3 or something, i can still write because i want to.

Bad writing habits?

starting so many new wips rather than finishing a fic, oh my god, we're at so many, i think we're at 45 (FORTY-FIVE. NOT A TYPO, NO HYPHEN MISSING) bg3 wips and easily more than half are raphtav alone and it's gonna be at 50 by the end of the month because i have so many ideas and so little time. (more than half of those are multichapter wips. help.) refreshing for comments even when it's been like two minutes rather than not being externally motivated (i. am trying). outlines being a fic in their own right (which is fun but not the purpose of an outline and a habit i am trying! to break).

Favorite thing you wrote?

i am picking like 6 things and no one can stop me #selflove

talk was supposed to be a 3k MAX pwp oneshot to break writer's block, and by god did all 18k words of it accomplish that goal. incredibly nsfw, raphael/tav/haarlep and tav is a freak about it and also not a good person, and i had So Much Fun writing it. it was posted on my birthday as a present to Myself and i might do the same this year with one of the other wips. EXPLICIT before anyone clicks on it, it's not that kinky compared to some other fic out there but it is Very explicit

The Complicated Woman Podcast: Tracker O'Shaughnessey was an exercise in form as much as it was a fic. i used to be a transcriptionist, and i'd been wanting to write a transcript-format fic for Ages, and so when i joined a zine literally named the complicated woman podcast i just had to. that wasn't even the point of the zine but i Did have to. and it slaps! it's been my sample for every (read: one) d20 project i've applied to since and also i love tracker and fig so very much.

eat your young, aka my tav's bad end, has haunted me for more than a year, and FINALLY. i began posting it. updates are going to be slow because every time i sit down to write, tav psychically attacks me with new ideas to make everything worse, and it's great but it takes a minute. both chapters are more than 7k. Help Me (but don't actually because i love it). a lot of people have written "astarion ascends so tav goes to raphael"--which, given fandom, not necessarily a surprise--but i am SO fond of my take on it because tav is so unwell. allying with the devil as "pragmatism". but watch out! you might start to like the guy! (and then. other things). cw canon-typical raphael (but no major archive warnings other than violence)

the ghost of her is a weird little second-person durgezel piece and i'm kind of obsessed with it. it's my durge arcaena's bad end, which is if she Doesn't give into bhaal and lae'zel chooses to go back to vlaakith. i don't know that it's the Best thing i've written but it is one of my Favorites, and that's what matters.

welcome! everything is fine. is my the good place au, and it was supposed to be a oneshot. yes i know that it says 27 chapters. yes i know that just the first two chapters are almost 16k. but it was SUPPOSED to be a oneshot. however the idea of this fic is what launched raphael from "hell yeah, devil with a villain song" to living rent-free in my mind so not really a surprise that it. escalated. (thank you @wretcheddthing, you horrid enabler who Chose to send me "raphael in the good place" when i had just finished house of hope and was unwell about it, and know that this continues to be your fault). making astarion/minsc "soulmates" in this is the funniest decision i've ever made, and i cannot WAIT to get to more of the raphael/tav dynamic in this (she knows, he doesn't know she knows) and also the astarion/tav dynamic but that i can't elaborate on because spoilers. not that a lot of people are reading this one fjdklfjd but that's okay, i'm writing it for me.

this one piece i've shared with maybe 4 people about my oc and her backstory before the world ended slapped severely and i should write more of it.

and then my last answer is one i can't share yet because it's unposted. but it's gonna be sooo fun

Favorite reads?

this one's going to be even longer. i have so much love in my heart, and also i read a lot more than i wrote this year, and i wrote [checks numbers] yikes! i'm not admitting that number!

fic

any and all of these fics are ones i enthusiastically recommend, if i were to gush about why i love all these fics i would hit tumblr's character limit (which. presumably exists) so i've just marked fandom, pairing, and if it's explicit. tags can tell you more <3 so many of these are from my friend molly fjfkd hiiiii molly sorry for tagging you a million times

Against the Tide by domestic_ice - fantasy high, adaine-centric genfic.

and i, reaching by @prettyaveragewhiteshark - arcane, caitlyn/vi, explicit.

Blood in the Wine by @atrueneutral - baldur's gate, raphael/tav, explicit (or will be! it's a slow burn and a VERY good one at that)

break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored by @danielmolloystits - interview with the vampire, armand/daniel & daniel/lestat, explicit.

call me any, anytime by nevermore_evermore - fantasy high, fig & sandra lynn & fabian.

cat scratch fever strut by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, gale/tav(/haarlep), explicit.

Cooler Than Me by @wetcatspellcaster (hi yes i know you tagged me but i did love this fic dearly this past year, so!) - baldur's gate, astarion/tav.

Dying in slow motion by @librivore42 - dragon age, choose your own adventure.

esmeltar red supernova by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, karlach/lae'zel/shadowheart, explicit.

give the devil his due by thatsparrow - the devil went down to georgia (yes the song).

i wanna tear you apart by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, lae'zel/shadowheart, explicit.

let me be your friend(ly) fire by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, astarion/shadowheart(/tav but mostly shadowstarion), explicit.

lie down & get fleas by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, raphael/tav, explicit.

make a mess, lioness by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, raphael/tav, explicit.

of street names & subway wall prophecies by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, astarion/shadowheart, explicit.

Part of the Hoard by tangerine_blast - fantasy high, adaine-centric genfic.

Pieces Still Stuck In Your Teeth by @wetcatspellcaster - baldur's gate, astarion/tav.

rewind & play it back by @danielmolloystits, interview with the vampire, armand/daniel.

Sansûkh by determamfidd - lord of the rings, Many pairings.

teeter by @pouralaura - baldur's gate, raphael/tav, explicit.

to forgive is human and failure is divine by @dalgursbate - baldur's gate, lae'zel/shadowheart, explicit.

the war you've come to wage against my sins by @prettyaveragewhiteshark - baldur's gate, mizora/tav.

Warding Bond by @bravestworriers - fantasy high, fig/gorgug, explicit but like Barely. it's mostly about the Dynamics and the Messiness of it all (compliment)

when you move (how the whole world moves) by @goldfyshie927 - arcane, caitlyn/vi, explicit.

who will burn who by @pouralaura - baldur's gate, raphael/tav, explicit.

"Good Boy" by AkbaalKiin - baldur's gate, raphael/haarlep, explicit.

truly everything from the fantastic @reallyhatethiswebsite - can find their stuff collated on ao3 here! a lot of it's explicit (and Good at that)

books/comics/graphic novels/you get the gist

i did NOT read enough this year, and that's one of my resolutions for the next year. i physically felt the lack this last year, i Need to read more. what happened to being the girl who got only books for hanukkah for 8 years huh...gonna return to my roots. half of these are rereads too :( i need to dive into a novel again, it'll fix me

Hellblazer's first/original run by a variety of authors (i am not recommending it. but i enjoyed reading it)

Here by Richard McGuire

Last Flight by Liane Merciel

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

The Sawbones Book: The Hilarious, Horrifying Road to Modern Medicine by Dr. Sydnee McElroy and Justin McElroy

Tevinter Nights by a variety of authors

Biggest win?

finding joy in writing fic again! wahoo, thanks baldur’s gate and d20 ficoff and also d20 zine jam and also all the zines and things i signed up for last year! 🤸

Goals for the new year?

finish personal problem because i need it done please god. it’s been too long. i also want to run a fic-focused fanevent of some kind that doesn’t require discord (i’ll join discords, and i get why events require it, but i want to run something for the discord-avoidant among us. maybe a bg3 exchange <- i am not committing to this yet no one @ me). also i’m gonna finish this lucanis/veryl (my rook)/spite wip if it kills me because i need to exorcise that energy before it makes me fixate on a game that, much as i am enjoying it, is easily my least favorite in the franchise lol. though maybe i'll finish it and it'll change my mind

Your favorite words of the year, aka the words you check each chapter for, making sure you didn't repeat them 788 times?

adverbs, just generally. sorry that ostensibly is a fun word and it's funny to make my 8 intelligence tav use it incorrectly! sue me! i also loved what you added to it by sharing your favorite turns of phrase, dr. wetcat, so i’ll do the same 🤸

"Hubris and ambition both dog his steps even in the retelling, making him out to practically be Karsus reborn, in overreach and skill." from welcome! everything is fine. (sorry gale. for this and also for everything that's gonna happen in this fic...tav's not a fan of wizards and also not of gale specifically </3)

"The look has something wild to it, the whites of her eyes flashing like a cornered animal's, even as she visibly schools her expression into something less vulnerable." from in truth tempest can never be tamed (for real cw on graphic depictions of violence if you choose to read this one, that archive warning is Very Much Needed)

"You can have my simpering submission, my perfect, obsequious obedience, knowing you'll have earned none of it." from talk. this one is my favorite because i love writing characters who are so annoying that they're using the word "obsequious" in bed <3 AND the fic is still hot. go me

"The pawn shop, while also not hiring, let her loiter in the cool air for almost an hour before she had to make the trek back, and she could have cried from the mercy if she’d had any water left in her." from my aforementioned zombie oc piece wahoo. i miss this oc, i should write more of her

"Familiar, alive, and hot in her chest, heart beating and burning and beating ever forward." from what a horror i've become, which i know says it was posted in 2025 but it's from a zine that i worked on last year so! in this post it goes

What are you excited for in the new year?

i get to write more niche stuff for myself and my favorite people hooray. you love to see it. also i'm writing for a fangame which is just incredibly rad and that'll be coming out this year, so hell yeah. also d20 ficoff 2025!! i'm helping mod it! AND i get to write more of my beloved tav khoury, the world's worst woman! fuck yeah! honestly most of all i'm excited to have a year where i'm excited to write? had that stupid catfish situation + a few rude anons that kinda sucked the joy of writing fic from me for a minute and it's nice to have it back.

[luxerians]

Hi!!

Just wanted to share my thoughts with you about The Last Mask...

Honestly, I absolutely appreciate how you've built everyone's relationship with Reader (Let's just call her our girl) and how she sees and loves everyone.

I LOVE HER RELATIONSHIP WITH GIHUN!! Like, it's SO PURE, yet so ANGSTYYY especially if he's in love with her but he doesn't realize it, yet. It absolutely killed me how he was yelling for her, imagining all the bad things Frontman can do to her (cuz he doesn't know it's Youngil), not wanting her to sacrifice herself. I love how he sees her as the first light he's seen in three years. Like, really I wouldn't mind if the sequel to this fic became a Gihun fic or if you wrote an alternative route where our girl chooses Gihun. Because she's super innocent and pure, she has a strong moral compass - stronger than Gihun himself, which is saying a lot because that's the man who didn't use the prize money because it's blood money - so I wouldn't find it out of place for her to choose Gihun. He's all gangsta and "I'm taking down the gamemakers!" until he lays eyes on her, he's all pookie.

AND HOW YOUNGIL LOVES HER!! That man is GREEDY for her! He'd manipulate his way into her heart and love every part of her. Baby's gonna be super hurt once she finds out who he is, though. I'm so torn, rn. Because Inho's protected her so many times, he'd tear apart anyone who touches her or so much as looks at her the wrong way - he already did multiple times. But idk, I'm afraid that he'd kill for her, but he wouldn't die for her, yk?

Youngil and Our Girl are just so Let The World Burn coded.

"I'd let the world burn

Let the world burn for you

This is how it always had to end

If I can't have you then no one can."

While Gihun and Our Girl are so Runaway, and The Night We Met coded.

"I was listening to the ocean

I saw a face in the sand

But when I picked it up

Then it vanished away from my hands....

But I kept running for a soft place to fall."

This is just his unrequited love for her (if he's in love with her, and I totally believe he is).

"I had all and then most of you

Some and now none of you

Take me back to the night we met

I don't know what I'm supposed to do

Haunted by the ghost of you."

This is when he watched her be taken away from him.

I hope I didn't bother you with this. I'm just so mesmerised by the pure emotion you expressed with your words in that fic. I'm too hooked, really.

Have a nice day/night!

Hi there! First of all, I am delighted to see this long ask! My eyes went all heart-eyes seeing this!

Anyway, I knew a lot of readers assume Gi-hun develop feelings for the reader. To be honest, if the reader meets Gi-hun from Season 1, I'm sure they would be in sync with one another very, very well. S1 Gi-hun would love to be with her. One reader in Ao3 also asked to have me write a story of what it would be like if this reader enters the game with him in S1 because the two of them would hit it off. Super-kind and happy-go-lucky couple. Even this S2 Gi-hun actually sees her in a different light. In Chapter 15, you might not see much but the reader's disappearance (and also Young-il's death and the failed revolt, of course) really affected him.

Young-il and reader, on the other hand, is another beautiful thing. One is the moon, the other is the sun. Young-il is fiercely protective of her considering everything he went through. He wouldn't want to lose something precious a second time, not even to Gi-hun. Some readers noticed that tiny interaction when Young-il subtly brushed off Gi-hun's hand away from your shoulder in Mingle game, and I'm glad yall noticed it because I wrote it that way. I like to write subtle things and let readers find it because that's how I enjoy Harry Potter. Simple English writing and subtle hints in the early books but eventually it all came to a full circle in the later books. And yes, even if Young-il is no longer Young-il and he has gone back to his prime form, he still protects her... in a way. There is a reason why he let her play this hide and seek game.

Anyway, I love those songs you referred to both Gi-hun and reader, and also Young-il and reader. It matches well!

And please, by all accounts, BOTHER ME AGAIN with this long ask! Thank you so much for giving my story a chance and writing down this ask! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

[catboygirljoker]

Questions 1, 21, 23 and 25 for Xiggles on that character questions meme (surprised if no one sent any about him already)

oagh thank you !! i havent received any asks for that ask game yet actually!

character ask game :o)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

[vibrating] i have a normal and countable number of things i like about him. for right now: hes representative of many of my favorite things about KH.

one of those things is its thematic depth—he has really interesting interactions with a lot of my favorite themes in the games, including identity/personhood, fatalism, authority figures failing those under their authority, also a lot of the Christian themes/motifs (and the ways those themes are played with), also the ways in which characters parallel each other or act as foils to each other. lotta stuff to dig into there!

another thing i like about KH is its sprawling, epic scope. and luxubar is present for or has a hand in nearly every single plot element in the games. call that bitch humpty dumpty the way he was always there

another thing that characters, like. fuck up? they make mistakes and are wrong about things. they lose sight of their noble goals or do the wrong thing in pursuit of them and end up being unable to achieve those goals. they spread lies and misinformation on accident or on purpose. and boy howdy luxubar has made a lot of mistakes and told a lot of lies. hes a complicated messy flawed character!

all of that AND he's Fucking Weird!!! just a fully bizarre person who says weird shit! even if you dont know anything about his backstory he's still one of the most memorable and fun characters in the series!

in terms of what i dont like about him. 99% of the things someone might criticize about him, i would respond with "yeah thats the point, thats why he rules as a chracter". but if someone said "i hate xigbar because hes a misogynist" i wouldnt even have a response. like yeah. he says some weird "haha girls am i right" shit in Days. i Dont like how he talks to Aqua in BbS. the only thing i could really say is "xigbar is a misogynist because he is in a game series written by misogynists and you have to correct for that" but i still kinda grimace every time he talks to or about a female character. really hoping thats not intentional and future games wont continue to characterize him that way

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

oh man i could give a dozen different answers for this...in developing his overarching story in my current fic, im really enjoying exploring the like. existential horror of his Whole Deal with the added wrench of "trans man in a cis man's body". no body dysphoria at the cost of total alienation from his body and from potential community with other trans people. unable to participate in conversations about transness; unable to explain why. especially since my other protagonist [oc lamia] is transmasc and has his own complicated relationship with gender and his own body. much too think about !!!

i dont really know how to answer the "what i dont like" part of the question lol...like i write fic as a way to explore a piece of media and its characters. saying something like "i wish he had [x] characteristic so i could do [y] plot thing" feels like saying "i wish this person im interviewing had said something different so i could write this interview differently". like idk! im doing literary criticism, effectively, my writing is responsive to the character, i just writes him like i sees him

23. Favorite picture of this character?

oh MAN i could give a million different answers for this.... right now im thinking a lot about this half second pose he has in DDD.

just something very funny to me about seeing him giving a thumbs up. the supportive smiler.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

ive answered this question here! relinking because theres a video clip involved lol. primarily my first impression of him was "evil little league coach". that was before i even played Days, he's REALLY an evil little league coach in that game. it's remained basically true for him to me this whole time.

now whenever i see him im just like "THE BITCH HIMSELF <3 <3 <3 <3 <3" and i kick my legs and smile and grin and clap and play.

[snicker-dooodless]

RAMBLE ABOUT UR ARCANE EKKO SELFSHIP!!! DO IT WHILE IM STILL FRESH IN THE FANDOM (I have finished watching it don't worry)

I AM 100% INTERESTED IN THEM PLEASE RAMBLE💖💖

Well…if you insiiist…

This is REALLY long, don’t feel pressured to read all of it. At this point it might as well be a fic but just with my ramblings

OKAYOKAYOKAYOKAY

So my sona’s name is Abigail and goes by Abbie (name pending!) and she is a rich bitch. She’s not from Piltover, she’s still from Zuan so her family isn’t THAT rich, but I would think her family has connections to the people that work with Silco (you know the guys at the long table??? Idk what they’re called) so they’re more well off than the average family in the under city. Definitely a bit spoiled, but here’s the thing, Abbie does her best (her parents don’t really let her) to work for herself, sure she’s well off, but she doesn’t want her family to be why she gets anywhere in life, she wants that all to be her and her alone.

So when Silco starts to reign and shimmer becomes something she doesn’t really know what to do. Sure, she does her best to be independent, but she’s still a smug, cocky, and spoiled brat, so worried for her own safety, she works for Silco. Not one of his right hand men, he probably doesn’t even know her name, BUT she does do some of his dirty work for the reward of Shimmer. (I haven’t watched season 1 in a while so sorry if this isn’t correct at all, at this point I’m making up my own cannon) and she gets ADDICTED. Not really in the strength way, but in the way that it makes her feel worthy. She doesn’t use enough to become super strong or whatever, but to just give her that rush.

Luckily, she stops herself before it gets to a point that it would be deadly, BUT I think the overuse of shimmer would cause a huge scar on her face. Her face that her family prided themselves on, her face that she was taught that was the most important thing about her, her face that she used to survive on the streets.

So breaking out of her shimmer addiction, now with self esteem issues, she joins the firelights, not because she needs their support (that’s what she keeps telling them anyway) but because she thinks they need her support.

Ekko, when he first meets her, HATES her, and I mean HATE. What does she know about struggling? Her whole life was given to her, unlike him who had to work for it all.

And in turn, Abbie hates him, she hates that he doesn’t even take a second glance at her to try to see past her rich background. To see how hard she actually tries. We love a good enemies to lovers

It doesn’t help that Abbie HATES training for fighting. She never fought physically in her life, her main talents are manipulation (her parents didn’t get that rich by being completely honest after all, they taught her a thing or two) This only makes Ekko thinks she’s a spoiled brat even more

But surprisingly, Ekko’s the first to fall. I think it starts (or at least when the hatred starts to dwindle) when he spots her babysitting and playing with the kids. Instead of being her usual snobby self, not wanting to get dirty, she’s letting their dirty hands play with her hair that she cares so much about, her clothes, hell she even rolled in the mud with them. Ekko usually sees her fussing over her looks (again, her parents taught her that) so seeing her throw out her worries for some kids really makes him question his first impression about her.

He doesn’t despise her now, he doesn’t enjoy her, they’re not friends (Abbie still hates him) but there’s at least a little of respect there. Instead of seeings her as ‘that one firelight recruit who’s just a rich brat who’s used to having everything handed to her’, he now sees her as ‘spoiled brat who’s not used to this kind of stuff but is good with kids’ an improvment.

But when he actually starts falling for her is when he sees how hard she was actually trying this whole time. Character development goes brrr because when she first joined she hated training, but trying to prove to Ekko that she’s worth something (not because she feels like she needs to prove herself to him, she’s just being petty) she starts training. So when Ekko stumbles in on her training until the middle of the night, exhausted, he just stares for a moment, noticing the bags under her eyes, the sweat dripping down her forehead, how tired her arms looked yet she still kept going. He left before she could notice him, but strangely he started to smile at her through the halls of the base, laughing at her sarcastic remarks instead of scoffing, and now she spots him staring at her with a dopey smile.

Abbie, takes a bit more long to start to actually like him, but she definitely falls harder. Honestly, at first (and even afterwards, although she would never admit it,) she admired Ekko. unlike her who was handed everything, he worked for everything. He made this beautiful society all on his own, not with the help of almost anyone. She almost wants to be like him.

So it’d be an understatement to say she was hurt when he didn’t hide his distaste for her, calling her spoiled, which was true but the least he could do was pretend he didn’t mind her. So her dislike towards him was mostly out of petty, she is very much petty almost all the time, I’m really not hiding the fact that if I met her irl I would punch her (which is somewhat concerning since she’s my own sona)

But she starts falling for him when she’s playing with some of the kids and he joins in (I definitely imagine a scenario, not necessarily at this specific point in their relationship, maybe when they’re actually a thing, where they play the classic knight saves the princess game with the kids) she just pauses when she sees the tough guy leader mask fall off and a soft and caring guy shine through, a guy whose own childhood got stolen from him. She doesn’t fall for him right away, but her pettiness at least starts to chip away.

But what really does it for her is when he asks her to help him with some paper work (nothing fancy, just food shipments and plans for future missions) because she, out of anyone there was used to paper work (again, her family background). She does it, expecting him to be nit picking at everything over her shoulder, but instead, he joined in, putting in his own ideas while…listening to hers. Something no one else in her past did before. If she ever gave her own ideas in any family meetings or whatever they would have, her parents would just brush it off, brush her off.

It would probably end with her falling asleep and him leaving his jacket on her for a blanket, and when she wakes up and realizes she recognizes his smell on the jacket, she knew she was in deep shit.

Usually I like making my self ships fumbling between the ‘friends (…or more…?)’ stage. But I love imagining them as a power couple, often arguing like an old married couple.

I think that when they both gained feelings for each other they would both hide them from each other, knowing that with how the world was at the moment, romance should be the last thing on their minds. I honestly think the way they would confess is if someone (maybe Ekko) would be talking and let something about their feelings slip unintentionally, cue the other just slowly turning their head to stare at them. They continue walking, trying to ignore how awkward everything was now, before Abbie slowly bumps him with her shoulder, intertwining their pinkies together, and slowly they awkwardly transition into friends but now they sometimes kiss and cuddle and hold hands and giggle while whispering to eachother during firelight meetings and sleeping in the same bed.

I like to think that Abbie had never loved literally anyone else in her whole life. Her family she thought she loved, but really, the only feelings she had for her parents were respect, they raised her, she respected them for that, but she didn’t love them, and they didn’t love her. But Ekko, Ekkos she loves. And that scares her. She knows she’s not perfect, especially her looks that she thought was the best part of here so she worries about not being enough for him.

—————————————————————————

Sorry for the rambling, here’s just some general headcanons now.

>Ekko used to call her princess in a taunting way, but after getting together, he uses it as if he thinks it’s actually true, he wouldn’t doubt it if she was actually secretly one of the princesses that he’s read in the fairytales

>Other than princess, Ekko also calls her babe, brat (when they’re acting like a old married couple) firefly, shortie, etc

>Abbie calls him clock boy, captain, handsome, knight in shining armor, light of my life (usually when’s eh broke something or is asking him for something)

>Heimerdinger giving them knowing smirks whenever they whisper during meetings? Heimerdinger giving them knowing smirks whenever they whisper during meetings!!

>Speaking of Heimerdinger, he would so give Ekko ‘advice’ on how to make Abbie swoon, all to fancy and old school stuff that Ekko would want, but Abbie’s fancy so wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

>Ekkos favorite spot to kiss her would probably be her forehead, or her scar, while whispering about how he finds her beautiful even with it

>Abbies likes the classics. Loves kissing him on the lips. Also loves to tease him by kissing the back of his hand to fluster him

(I don’t know a good ship name for these two yet, please tell me if any of y’all can think of any lmao)

[graciereadshannigram]

re: audhd, heuristics, emotional processing, and critical thinking*

hooo boy, can't wait for all the nuance here to be completely missed but walk with me for a minute? (tl;dr at the bottom)

in psychology, there’s this idea of mental heuristics, right? they’re the shortcuts your brain uses to make decisions or problem solve faster. and thinking about it, for someone with audhd (hi hello that is me), those shortcuts are probably even more important because we’re already using up so much processing power just dealing with daily stuff.

which brings me to emotional processing and critical thinking.

to paraphrase one of my fav tiktokers, jasminesgarden23, "if you're feeling triggered, your critical thinking shuts down." so when strong emotions like fear, shame, or disgust** get triggered, critical thinking stops being a priority! dealing with the Emotion and coming back to baseline becomes the priority.

and the bigger the emotion, the more our brain looks for the quickest way out, and that's when mental heuristics (like black-and-white thinking) really start to take over.

instead of spending a bunch of energy processing every angle of a situation, we can just jump to an either/or conclusion. it’s not great for nuance, but it definitely saves on brainpower. like, you don’t have to get stuck in the messy middle of a problem if you can just label it good or bad, right or wrong, move on.

i mean, we see this all the time with Tumblr Discourse™️, right?

for example, "if you read [insert 'problematic' ship or kink/tag here] fics, you’re automatically a bad person."

boom, a mental heuristic.

because why sit in the discomfort of processing a complex issue when you can just label something good or bad and move on?

it doesn't require deeper critical thinking, it validates your emotional trigger, and allows you to process and move on in a less energy-intensive way.

(i'm guessing disgust is a big driver in this particular example, but so might be this idea of moral justice, this feeling of wanting to be a 'good' person, which is a whole other topic to explore another time)

(this particular heuristic is also completely invalid on multiple levels, don't come at me please).

and i want to emphasize that our brains evolved these mental shortcuts for a reason! they can be useful! they can also be incredibly harmful.

but the thing is, if you develop an over-reliance on these shortcuts, and aren't interrogating why and when you're using them and whether or not they're helpful or harmful, when are you supposed to practice your critical thinking skills? and if you aren't practicing, critical thinking could remain this energy-intensive task.

idk man, would love to respectfully and thoughtfully discuss with others if you're interested in it. (on tumblr??? you ask? yeah maybe not the best platform, but here we are!)

tl;dr: black-and-white thinking is a mental shortcut that conserves energy, especially for audhd brains, but it becomes even more tempting when strong emotions like disgust or fear are involved. while it simplifies complex issues, it could possibly weaken critical thinking over time, making it harder to deal with nuance without getting overwhelmed.

*i am heavily relying on my undergraduate degree in psychology, my master's degree in social & behavioral sciences, and my career in qualitative psych research, but have done exactly zero extra research before word vomiting my thoughts up. so like. take this with a grain of salt.

**these primary emotions are sometimes expressed via anger, a secondary emotion

[honeyhotteoks]

just saw your response about writing a book and dreams and i wanted to ask like-- do you think you'd ever change careers to do that? im in the middle of trying to change careers right now and the market is straight doggy doodoo in the us, but also maybe egg on my face for applying right before the holidays. id like to think to those of us with wants and dreams there is a place. i think you're a bit older than i am, and i guess i want your opinion as someone a little more sage. idk sorry if this is too personal - i have noticed you like to keep your personal and kpoppie fandom life separate, so i wont press :3! happiness to all

such a great question!! so let me answer your question in a few parts bc honestly, the way careers and life work out in your twenties is so goddamn weird lol

so i went to school for literature and intended to go for the professor path, but realized pretty quick id be poor forever. so i bopped around job to job for a while feeling pretty unfulfilled, probably through my mid twenties. then i accidentally fell into a job at a small company where they let me switch over to the software dev team bc i surprisingly liked it / was good at it, and thats what ive been doing since. im 30 now, and to be honest, i make pretty good money doing that plus im able to fully work remotely and kind of have a flexible schedule.

so to answer your question….. no, i don’t think i would be willing to take the risk right now to try switching for writing but that’s largely because i finally like my job and im a little risk adverse as a person when it comes to my own finances.

i think realistically if i ever tried writing professionally it would be something i did in my off time like fic and then if i was able to make money doing that then maybe id switch paths. i have the flexibility for that given what i do, but thats just me.

for you, being a little younger in age and maybe your career though id give you this advice (as someone who changed careers) - you might need to start low on the totem poll to get into the career path you want, especially when switching, but do not let yourself work at lower pay for too long. no matter how great the company is etc., jobs that hire low experience and let you sink or swim are great for experience but they will never, ever pay you what you’re worth no matter how nice your bosses are. so if you get your foot in the door, crush it and get that resume built, and then get out in 1-2 years.

the other thing i’ll say is know your worth now. every job and degree gives you resume builders and skills you don’t even realize are marketable. focus on getting good at interviews so once you land one, you’ll get farther. people hire people they like, i guarantee im not the best developer but i am really personable and honest in an interview and it’s always got me a call back.

i would also say, career changing takes time. don’t be afraid to make money doing something you don’t love while you try for something else. it took me 2 years to transition from a job i didn’t love to doing something i enjoy for good money now, and it’s not my total dream job, but it affords me the time and money to enjoy my passions and that’s a good fit for me.

anyways i don’t know if this was helpful, but please don’t be shy to dm me here or on twt, i’d be happy to talk about my experiences or give you more advice on your situation.

i know it’s tough out there, but you got this! for the majority of my twenties i was really lost and struggling, but i promise if you stay the course and be honest with yourself the path in front of you gets clearer and easier to walk. 💗

[soaps-mohawk]

To hop on previous ask, can only omegas get pregnant? What about female betas like Dr. Keller? If she had a mate- alpha, beta, or omega- who was male, could she feasibly get pregnant? I know there's fics where a/b/o were like a secondary gender so a man who presented as an omega might get pregnant because they have both sets of parts- though i've seen some backlash on that from people calling it transphobic, but that's neither here nor there.... woops, let that train get away from me XD anyway, i would be curious to hear your take and/or how that might work in your version, or even just your version in this particular fic. Are Betas basically seen as the enders of family lines? Oh oh! And how does the passing on of family lines work? Is it strictly patriarchal where the sons' names are always taken by the bride or is it the alphas, male or female, who "continue" the family line? I'm thinking about Mulan 2 where because she was the only child, all of her ancestors would no longer be honored because she'd have to go to her husband's ancestors after the marriage (meaning Mushu would be out of his guardian job- again- which of course leads to highjinks of him trying to break them up before the wedding, and here i am getting distracted again...)

Sorry for the long and rambly ask. Hope you're doing well, or at least taking time to recover if things aren't going as well as they could be. Remember, you are important, and you don't have to "earn" rest, nor do you have to have anything "bad" happen to earn it either. Idk if i said that right, but i'm gonna stop 'cause this ask is too long already XD

<3<3 - crow anon

Alphas, betas, and omegas can get pregnant! It's just omegas that are only fertile during their heat cycle, but they can get impregnated by alpha, beta, or even another omega during that time. Alphas and betas are more like us regular humans, as they can get pregnant at any point and don't rely on a heat/rut cycle for fertility. Though the standard pairing is alpha/omega (and that's what gives the status of purebred for alphas and omegas that have that parentage), as we've seen in the fic there can be alpha/beta pairings (Price's parents), or beta/beta pairings (Gaz's parents), and like in the last ask, in a larger pack you might have beta/omega or even omega/omega pairings.

Things like adoption, fostering, surrogacy, and (for the rich) IU and IVF, still exist in the world of the fic. Let's take Laswell and her wife for example. They're both betas and if they decided they wanted a pup at some point, they could go a lot of routes like adoption or IU or surrogacy. With the IU/surrogacy options, they'd have a choice of an alpha or beta donor (if they cared about the potential presentation of their pup later on, which I don't think they really would.)

And I know someone is going to ask, if the omega has male anatomy, and the alpha has female anatomy, the omega will be the one impregnating the alpha. Male omegas still go through heat cycles, but it's more like a male alpha's rut, and they're still only fertile during the heat cycle and could only impregnate their alpha during that time. The male omega will still feel the intense instincts to care for the pup, even if they themselves didn't birth the pup. Same with adoption at any age (I think I did talk about this at one point), omegas will develop those intense instincts to care for pups that aren't their own. Even from outside a pack.

As far as family line goes, that's a bit trickier. It really depends on the type of pack. The more normal, small pack with just two people would be closer to what we'd expect from a marriage in our world. In traditional alpha/omega packs, the omega would take the name of the alpha, and that's probably the case in most alpha/beta packs too. Beta/beta packs it would probably be whichever has the cooler name lmaoo, or they might just keep their own names. It's kind of just up to personal preference.

In larger packs though, obviously you've got multiple people with multiple names and they're not just all going to take the pack alpha's name (as we see with the pack in the fic, they don't all have Price's name). Some might choose to do so, for many different reasons, but it's less expected of them versus like in a traditional pack. Omegas might, simply to show off status/claiming. There wouldn't really be any benefit to it, like they wouldn't suddenly have rights because they're mated to an alpha or part of a pack. Just like in marriages in our world, it's a simple paper that shows proof of claiming and then if the parties change their names/etc that's entirely up to them.

I hope this makes sense lol I could write a whole novel about this stuff lol.

[silly-goose-kid]

🍄🍬🎨🌻 :)))

🍄 - share a headcanon for one of your favourite ships/pairings

AUGHHH this is weirdly hard to pick a specific headcanon… okay hm. akito weighted blanket when toya needs grounding/comfort, hair ruffles and pats and kisses et cetera we know the drill. toya often little spoons despite being taller, because akito likes the sensation of holding him; he’s at neck level when they do this and will cover the back of toya’s neck in little kisses. toya really likes watching akito sleep, because he’s always so focused and energetic and driven in the day; it’s very very nice to watch him just be peaceful and soft when he’s sleeping.

🍬 - post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

OHH GOODNESS I don’t have many unpopular opinions I’m a basic bitcg… i feel bad being mean to popular characters lmao

not exactly a popular character buyuuuuut people should do more with harumichi. is he a good dad NO!!!! is he fucking trying Yes. badly? probably but still. there’s sooooo much interesting stuff you can do with him and toya’s Slowly developing relationship and people don’t use that enough (yes i am absolutely guilty of using him for angst but can you blame me my point still stands)

🎨 - link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

OOOO OKAY. hrm. need to think and get links

cuddles - yes i know who sent this ask no i do not care. any akitoya soft cuddles art gets me… same artist akitoya sleepy doodles auuuugh 😭😭 they’re so comfort

staying warm - everyone knew I would link them who cares. gestures of love through gift giving and knowing someone so well, the colour palette with all the browns… again just comfort and love auuuugh

sneepy - can you tell i like cuddles. this one is girltoya so extra flare but just… morning snuggles… toya rarely waking up before akito so it being a nice thing for her to watch him sleep DUMB SLEEPU AKITO help.

also: anything by @/actual-rowlet, @/xulips, and @/buunyuwu (on Instagram)!! might reblog tomorrow to add more when I have better wifi + not sleepy!!!

🌻 - tag someone you appreciate but don’t talk to on a regular basis

HMMM…. idk if i have anyone like this i talk to most of my moots… most people like this are my ao3 commenters not all of whom have tumblr (that i know of). if any of you are reading this: @v1bri i do know your tumblr, flamboyanceiskey, cinnamaow, akitosbiggesthater, and kamisai, I LOVE YOU!!!! there are def others that im forgetting but i loooove all my frequent/recurring commenters so much, it means sm to me that people appreciate my fics <33 also @chifuyunohnashi as an author!!!! one of my favs ever, got me reading a ship I don’t even like

TY OOMF!! <33

also as a treat, on that point about harumichi: a reeeeeeally old wip I wanna finish under the cut

[knockyasocksoff2022]

ADA -> PM Switch deal fic poll

I already wrote a Tanizaki Port Mafia AU (where he decides to join on his own), so besides him, who should I write about. I'm talking about being selected for the transfer, not voluntarily joining. (Excluding Yosano, ofc as well as Kenji, and Kyouka b/c just nO!)

Might include ships, but might not depending on the person.

Here are some ways I think each member could be good in the PM:

FUKUZAWA

no extra training required

knows Mori

and is at least somewhat familar with Yokohama's underground

Kunikida and/or Ranpo could take over the ADA

he canonically has bloodlust

and only stopped killing because he knew it was BaD

people would be AFRAID

it's be really interetsing b/c if he goes Ranpo might follow

and then where would the ADA be?

Prob tortured Fukumori

slowburn (idk how good I am at writing slow burn but we'l see . . .)

rekindling of old failed toxic love that was killed before it could really get anywhere or see if it could bloom into sometjing pure

now they have to figure it out in their new circumstances

and if it even can work

but first they'll have to admit that there's still even the faintest hint of something there

and even then Mori will have to WORK for Fukuzawa's love (don't worry)

RANPO

while he has no combat training he is hella smart

we don't even need to say that

kind of reminds me of Elise

so i don't think Mori would have that much of a problem dealing with him

though i HIGHLY doubt mori would do that to Fukuzawa

unless he picked him because he actually wanted Fukuzawa and knew he’s volunteer in his place

ranpo could be and (somewhat is for the ADA) a brillaint strategist

he could be an analyst

the PM's enmies would cower in fear and so would any traitors

ranpo could deduce their location and plans in seconds

people would fear him for his mind alone

even if it took a bit for them to realise exactly how scary he actually so

if Mori did pick him Fukuzawa might follow him and transfer as well so . . .

Two for One?

I probably won’t write him b/c he’s already in the mafia in one of my other fics

but maybe I could write where Mori picks him and Fukuzawa volunteers instead

maybe Mori even knew that would happen.

either way, like i said, if he picks one he’ll prob get both

KUNIKIDA

he's organised and efficient so he could easily manage trading operations domestic and overseas

he's smart even if we may not see alot b/c of dazai and Ranpo

he could probably pickup languages easily

i think he'd be great at undercover work since he's actually capable of being subtle

and he used to being around *normal* people more and has better social skills

i feel like he's the type where he can look totally differnet with a diff hair style (or colour) or even if he just take soff his glasses or doesn't wear his little vest or something

and his ideals don't align exactly with the law, only what he thinsk is right

he’s willing to do what is necessary to get the job done

if joining the pm and controlling Yokohama’s underworld means less crime and violence overall then he’ll do it

i still think he wouldn’t kill but

he'd prob be really good at interrogation and combat missions that didn't involve killing (like theft or kidnapping for information/money or something)

I don't think he'd be the perfect fit but if they wrapped or broke him enough he could be absolutley terrifying in the mafia

No ships

Kuni has way higher standards (58 criteria to be percise) and these FREAKS meet none of them

DAZAI

people ahve so many opinions and theories that I'm not even going to get into this

his story, emotions, and lore are so complex I'm not even going to try b/c I feel like i won't do hima nd his character development justice

maybe some other time

NAOMI

I know I said I wouldn't do Junichirou

but if you're getting one, you're getting both

they're a package deal

and what's not to love

besides Jun's crazy killer skills

Noami is smart, savage and a little cruel (how she treats Jun when he's seasick) and unhinged

(thinking of the time she suggested Atsushi do sexual stuff for his entrance exam)

not to mention Dazai tutors her

if you can't have Dazai, why not have his student?

(I swear that's canon, correct me if I'm wrong though

)

she has the potential to be heartless, sadistic, and terrifying

She also likes to see people (Junichirou, at least) squirm and be uncomfortable or suffer to some extent.

idk

maybe that’s just their dYnAmIc though

(thinking again of how she treats him when he says no to her and is clearly uncomfortable. Also when she talks loudly and obviously about sexual stuff in front of others.

im not sure if it’s intentional or if she really is that insensitive or unaware of how it makes others feel

i suspect the former

I prob won't write her either

but maybe if I focus on her story more it won't seem TOO repetitive

Idk

what the people want, the people get

but we just know sooo painfuly little about her (aside from her in relation to Jun since their *thing* is kinda her whole personality *cringe*)

unlike some I still like her

If i did there would be no ships

idk even who to ship her with in the mafia

or maybe i'd be BOLD and go for the ewwie incest

idk

if not then prob very abckground Tachizaki

ATSUSHI

obviously, his ability

it's the full deal: stength, speed, agility, regeneration

the perfect partner for sskk

the thing last Mori needs for his SKK 2.0

his combat skills are a little haphazard (relying on brute force mostly) but Kunikida has been taring him in martial arts a little even though they have hardly has any time with all the CHOAS

you're prob thinking "NO WAY! He litterly says he needs to save people to live! That's liek hsi whole thing!"

you're right

but if Mori or the other executives wrapped him i think

b/c he's so insecure

they could convince him

(kind of like they did Kyouka, only her will is stronger than Atsushi's)

that violence and destruction and killing is his purpose and what he was born for.

But, I doubt Mori would go the route of telling him it's all he's good for and that if he doesn't do it, he's good for nothing again.

He knows it didn't work the first time and it's too easy to reverse esp since Atsushi has already been with the ADA.

I think Mori would set about convincing him that he deserves to let his anger out for all the world has done to him

that the world is his enemy and that he should punsih it

that people deserve his wrath for allowing a society where he could be treated the way he has been exists

Prob slowburn eventual SSKK

on this blog we say Aku is just fine, perfectly okay, and doing well

They're still going to fight like angry cats

Aku will prob realise his feelings when he finds himself misisng Atsushi's old personality

idk

meanwhile Atsushi is just drowning in the brainwash

the "bliss" of anger and he's too unaware even to fight it

still SSKK become partners

and knowing them, it's to the point where only they don't know they are together

them "not-dating" will prob be like their messed up theray and break Atsushi's trace or smth

maybe they hide the fact that he's not mid controlled or whatever form Mori

Atsushi might still decide to stay just to keep any other agency members form geing tansferred

and who knows he may even learn to like it

idk

i haven't thought to far ahead yet

it's too late and i should be in bed but

ANYWAYS here you go!

[starry-mist]

S6e12 thoughts:

The brief flashback…okay we didn’t get the Charah and Rex meet cute, but I have conceded that aging Charlie down would be far more challenging than it was to just throw a wig on Mayko to bring back Sarah’s s1/2 hair.

The “hostage” situation somehow took even less time than I thought it would.

Holy crap. That nonverbal communication between Charlie, Sarah, Jesse, and Rex in the first scene. Just, wow. But in particular I loved Charlie’s quick thinking, the way he indicated to Sarah where Rex was with just a glance, her barely-perceptible nod, and the takedown. The takedown was a thing of beauty.

I love the subtle reassurances between Charlie and Sarah, again mostly with their eyes, but also with the tiniest hint of physical contact, and the brief moment when Charlie’s mask slips with the “you didn’t know that…I didn’t know that” lines when Sarah is talking about how she was never in actual danger.

A house scene! Yay! They were so cute and flirty. I will extend it with fic. (I’m also developing a headcanon based on all of two scenes as to why Sarah didn’t like working with Det. Porter, which might make it in.)

I picked out the killer right away, but my suspicion as to motive was incorrect (I figured it would have something to do with Gabriel being trans, so the “actually I kidnapped my daughter and he found out” kind of came out of left field.)

Sarah working to exonerate the guy who held a knife to her throat, because of course she would, because she’s Sarah. Ugh I love her so much.

Charlie…not that I’m complaining, but is there no dress code for him anymore? Because the number of undone buttons just to expose that extra little bit of chest hair…again, not complaining, but he’s gone totally feral.

And Charah once again with the workplace PDA. I am forever here for it. (I would be especially here for it leading to a baddie targeting one or both of them thanks to knowing their weakness but I am a complicated light whump/heavy angst-loving being.)

Next week’s promo:

I want to be excited for the travel to Toronto (which might actually be filmed more in Hamilton, IDK) but it looks like Charlie and Sarah will likely spend a lot of it separated and I don’t know how into that I am. I’m doubting the wife is really the “bad guy” (my money is on Stuart from Letterkenny who we saw in the promo.) I’ll be happy if they end the episode with Charah in the big city together for a scene or two but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Also, honestly, how many best friends does Sarah have now? Because it’s starting to feel like a lot…