#it’s not a total copy obvs

[abyssruler]

shut up. 🗣️🗣️‼️‼️‼️

i love your writing style so much, like, what?

thanks you! my writing style is a little bit silly and a mix of all my favorite writers’ writing style because before i started posting fics, i read a lot of fanfics, like, a lot. would probably number at more than 10 million words or so. probably a lot more tbh, since i spent majority of the pandemic reading fics. so i kinda adapted a mix of their writing styles unconsciously, and i only realized this after i read a new update of one of my fav writers and thought holy crap we have the same style of writing outlandish and silly things. so yeah!

[kase-san]

was strongly considering spending money on a way to digitize records (i dont own a single one and have no interest in starting a collection) all because i wanted to get a good audio file of a single demo from a limited release vinyl record from my fave band, more so for archiving purposes than anything else. but luckily, seeing that ep already massivley hiked up in price plus the absurd shipping cost of it snapped me out of that dream horribly fast

[mirkoisnotdead]

Total Mirko island

hey thats me

[andrewknightley]

i love spy stories but i hate james bomb and every carbon copy of james bomb wanna be. he sucks stopppp stop putting a bland guy in a suit give me some fucking flavour

[kp-alice]

The Fall of the Undefeated One

Summary: Your boss is the epitome of a workplace bully, pressuring everyone to work overtime even through sick days and family emergencies. Most infuriatingly, though, no one has ever dared to go against him - until now, that is.

AKA blackmailed boss!sub!Yunho x sadistic!dom!f!reader

Word count: 5 505

Warnings: While I made it obvious multiple times that this is all roleplay, I still want to give a huge warning for !!!!!CNC!!!!!, blackmailing, forced feminization, pegging, taking photos during sex, crying, begging and just resisting in general (though Yunho is just pretending obv), blowjobs (f rec), Yunho gets slapped once, checking in on each other mid-scene, some pretty dark dialogue (esp at the end)

A/N: This fic is the fifth part of my sub!Yunho Kinktober 2024! The event's masterlist can be found here.

"So you're absolutely, totally, one hundred percent sure you want to do this?"

"I've only told you like fifty times but yes, I am definitely, completely, one thousand percent sure."

"And you'll tell me if you want to stop?"

"Just like you'll tell me if you want to stop."

"Alright, then. See you next Friday, 'boss'."

You were sitting in your office, checking various reports and scheduling meetings for next week as usual. As Mr. Jeong's secretary, you had your own office instead of sharing a cubicle with other employees. It didn't stop you from chatting with them during lunch break, however, which led you to some very interesting information.

Contrary to your initial belief, it wasn't just you who your boss decided to be extra stern towards. As you quickly realized, the entire department was permanently overworked and underpaid, all thanks to the one man at the top. And the most infuriating thing about it all? No one dared to stand up against him. Even if they were living off 3 hours of sleep every day, even if they were denied holiday to visit their families in a dire situation, everyone just hung their heads low and obliged. The company had an incredible reputation, after all, and nobody wanted to lose a chance to write it down in their resume during their next hunt for a job. And even if someone did decide to stand up for themselves, all it took was the smallest, vaguest threat from Mr. Jeong about how other hiring companies would hear about this behavior and all protests would immediately cease.

There was nothing you could do about it, either. All you could do was just watch on as the bullying went on, shaking your head in quiet disappointment.

Until you'd also been wronged by your boss.

"What do you mean, 'paid overtime'?" Mr. Jeong mocked you right to your face. "What you call overtime, I call the bare minimum, sweetheart. I don't care if your mother is sick or your rent is past due, you only get paid for the work you've done, no charity. If you think this is too much for you, feel free to leave anytime. Don't expect to be hired anywhere else, though, every reputable company around here would love to hear my opinion on your performance before hiring you."

You were stunned, rage quietly boiling within at the audacity of the asshole in front of you. Every day for the past month and a half, because of his impossible demands, you'd been working two to four hours extra just to meet each deadline. You barely had time to sleep, let alone actually live your own life and talk to friends and family, and this is how he decided to treat you?

"Glad we settled that, then. Now go make yourself useful and bring me those copies from yesterday's meeting, will you?"

That day, you decided that your boss, Mr. Jeong Yunho himself, would pay dearly; both for what he'd done to you and to the other workers.

For the next three weeks, you dug through every file and article you could find in the office and online, desperately searching for anything big you could use against him. And, by some miracle, you found one. A real big one, in fact.

This was it. You had him in the palm of your hand, even if he didn't know it yet.

A knock came at your door, making you look up from the report you were currently working on.

"I expect to hear a very good reason for coming here right this instant, Miss L/N," was the first thing he said as he walked into the room, visibly angered. God forbid he had to approach someone for once instead of everyone crawling to him.

"Oh, don't worry Mr. Jeong, I'm sure you'll find what I'm about to tell you very interesting," you smirked as you spoke, gesturing for him to sit down on the small couch near your desk.

"Get to it then, darling, I really don't have time for this," Mr. Jeong commanded, yet again slipping a condescending pet name in to try and throw you off. Typical.

It wasn't you who was surprised, however, when you suddenly stood up, walked over to the door, and locked it. "Be patient, Jeong. If you don't want to fuck up any more than you already have, I suggest you behave yourself."

His mouth hung open, fully taken aback by this new attitude of yours. Perhaps you had a death wish, speaking to him like that, or maybe, you had just gone completely insane. Either way, he was excited to show you why you should never, ever, do that again.

But before he could say anything, you were already back at your desk, turning your laptop to face him.

"As your hard-working and thorough secretary, I've gone back on some reports and files from this year, and you'll never believe what I found!" You said with fake excitement, eyes shining. "If you look really closely, you can see each worker's salary, and then here is the amount of money they should have actually been given each month according to the government-mandated minimum wage. Care to explain why those numbers are vastly different and why none of us were notified about a raise in salary, Mr. Jeong?"

Yunho's eyes widened as he scanned the document, recognizing the spreadsheet he'd secretly made for himself to keep track of all the cuts he'd been taking from everyone's salaries. He could have sworn he'd kept the file fully private, likely even password-protected, yet, somehow, you'd managed to get your hands on it.

"Why are you- how did you get that?!" He finally said, trying to suppress the sudden anxiety churning his stomach. "Those are private files and you have no right to be looking through them! Go pack your things immediately, because you are fired - and I'm being very merciful with that decision."

"Oh, if only it was that simple, Jeong," you replied cunningly. "You can fire me all you want, but once these files go public, your reputation, company, and maybe even life will be over, I'm afraid. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Yunho gritted his teeth, looking down as he considered his options.

"...Alright. What do you want me to do?"

Despite your best efforts, you barked out a laugh at his question, too amused by the cold facade he was still fighting so hard to keep. "There we go, finally on the right path! You're not the one making demands here, Jeong, I am. If you want to preserve everything you've managed to build so far, you better start listening to me and me only."

Yunho let out a deep, frustrated sigh, refusing to admit you were right. If any of this information were to get out into the public, his entire professional life would be over in an instant. Just as you'd said, he was completely at your mercy right now.

"Well, what do you want then? Money? A promotion? A transfer to a different company? What?"

"Strip."

...

Yunho's entire world paused the second you'd said it, freezing him in place. He had to have heard you wrong, right? There was simply no way you could have said something like that to someone like him.

"W-what?"

You let out a sigh yourself, frustrated with how uncooperative your superior was being. This was the guy demanding Herculean tasks from his subordinates on a daily basis?

"I said strip, Jeong."

His breath hitched at your angry tone, chest tightening to an almost painful degree.

"Y-you can't be serious, there's no way that-"

"What part of 'I can ruin your entire career in seconds' did you not understand?" You spat, sending a shiver down Yunho's spine. "The company or your pride, your choice."

A heavy silence hung in the air for an uncomfortably long time, turning Yunho's cheeks a deep red. He didn't know what was worse - the fact he was actually considering doing it or the fact that you knew he was considering it, judging by his lack of a response.

"...How much?"

You looked at him in confusion, swinging one leg over the other before leaning closer to his nervous form. He was clearly nervous, playing with his fingers, one leg bouncing up and down.

"'How much' what?" You finally asked back.

"How much do I have to take off?"

You snorted at the question, making him look up into your eyes. "What do you think, Jeong? Just stand up and start undressing; I'll tell you when to stop."

Yunho gulped at your words, eyes shaking. Never in your years of dating had he seen such a cold, sadistic expression on your face. Somehow, it was both incredibly intimidating and extremely arousing.

Trying his best to ignore his trembling hands, he stood up on two weak legs and reached for his suit jacket. A whimper threatened to spill past his lips as he finally undid the first button, feeling like he could just break down and cry right now from the overwhelming humiliation.

"Oh my god," you marveled, leaning back to enjoy the show, "you're actually doing it! And here I was worried I'd have to threaten you with something even bigger, yet all it took was a few words and you're already doing whatever I say."

"You know very well it's not just a 'few words'!" Yunho hissed indignantly. "If my entire future didn't depend on this, I would never-"

"Shut the fuck up and do as you're told before I get angry, Jeong," you growled back, making him immediately back down again. His hands were visibly shaking now, eliciting a few quiet curses from him as he struggled with the remaining button.

At last, he was able to get the garment off, looking at you to see if he could stop now. But your expression remained stoic, leaving him with no other choice.

Tears of humiliation stung in his eyes as he began working on his shirt but he bit them back, absolutely refusing to cry in front of you. Soon, the shirt joined his discarded suit jacket on the floor.

"Wow," you said appreciatively, unabashedly ogling his chest. "Who would have thought the office asshole had such nice tits. This is even more fun than I had imagined."

It took every ounce of willpower in him not to react to your comment, desperately wanting to but knowing it would just make everything so much worse.

"What are you waiting for?" You asked impatiently. "I didn't say you could stop yet, did I?"

"Miss L/N, you can't possibly be serious-"

"What would your family think if they found out how you treat your employees? Your father is a reputable business owner himself, isn't he?"

"I- well, yes, but- fuck," Yunho muttered to himself, trying not to let the growing despair take over. His pristinely ironed pants pooled around his feet before he stepped out of them and gave you one more hopeful look. When he was met with nothing, he sighed, taking off his socks as well before looking up again. Surely, this had to be enough, right? Right?

Silence.

Yunho's hands shook at the realization of what the silence implied, unable to bring himself to remove the last piece of clothing he still had on. Your gaze on him was unwavering, watching his every move and expression like a hawk ready to swoop in.

Which is why you also noticed the signs of genuine anxiety in him very quickly.

"What's your color, Jeong?" You asked as neutrally as you could, not wanting to fully break the scene but still wanting to check in on him.

"Green, it's green, I just-" Yunho took a deep, shaky breath, balling his fists by his sides, "I just can't get my hands to listen to me, I'm sorry."

"Listen, Jeong," you began, standing up to approach your shaking lover. "I'm going to be very generous right now and take it off for you, okay? But you can't expect me to help you with everything you're the one in trouble. Understood?"

Yunho gave you a quick, thankful nod, lips pressed into a thin line as he watched your fingers slip under the waistband of his underwear. Then, in one swift motion, you tugged the garment down, leaving him completely bare in front of you.

"There you go," you whispered softly, stepping back to admire the view. Yunho's hands did their best to cover himself but it was not exactly effective, considering your amused face. "What? Feeling shy? Don't worry, sweetheart, I have just the clothes for you."

Yunho was confused by the sudden, surprisingly nice gesture until he saw the clothes in question.

"Go on," you encouraged, shoving the clothes into his arms, "make yourself pretty."

A tear rolled down his eye as he looked at the mix of pink and white, but he quickly turned away and wiped it off, still trying to keep some semblance of dignity.

"Now, Jeong," you began, back in your office chair, one leg crossed over the other, "I'm going to give you a choice. I'm afraid you have no say in what's going to happen next, but you can decide how it will go. Do you want it the easy way, or the hard way, hm?"

Yunho meekly sat on the couch, keeping his hands in his lap to prevent the pink skirt from riding up even higher than it already had. The white thigh highs on his legs didn't do much to keep him warm, sending small shivers up his spine.

"The easy way, please."

"Good boy," you praised him, though there was no actual warmth to your words. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I say so."

Yunho complied, feeling like this was one of the simpler tasks you could have given him, yet it also gave him no clue as to what to expect. He didn't dare think about what might happen, fearing you were going to subvert his expectations anyway.

And subvert them you did.

"Open, Jeong."

Yunho's mouth hung agape as he looked at your hips, fully bare save for the leather harness secured around them. What stood out even more to him, though, and quite literally at that, was the silicone cock fastened to said harness.

"Come over here and get on your knees, if you'd be so kind."

Yunho was yet again frozen solid, unable to process what he was seeing. "I-I'm sorry, but have you gone absolutely insane?"

You chuckled at his incredulous tone, taking a step toward him. "Oh? I thought you just said you wanted to do this the easy way, what's with the attitude?"

"I don't know if you forgot who the fuck I am, L/N," Yunho gritted through his teeth, leaning forward to try and match your tone, "but you better snap out of this power trip right now or-"

"Or what?!" You finally snapped, startling the man back into his seat. "What are you going to do, Jeong? Lose your entire career because you were too proud to be under someone for once? Is that what matters to you the most?"

Yunho panted as he looked at you with nothing but disdain.

Letting out a sigh, you gestured back to your laptop, clicking over to the next tab in your browser. "Since you couldn't play nice, let me up the ante a bit. If you look over here, you can see a few emails that are ready to be sent at any minute. A lot of them, in fact. Wanna know who they're addressed to?"

He stayed silent, refusing to play your disgusting games.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you anyway," you grinned, scrolling down the list. "Here we have each of your family members, every single employee in your company, your 20 biggest competitors, journalists, workplace inspectors, and a few dozen more big contacts. With a single click, they'll all learn the truth within minutes, evidence included."

Yunho's face fell at the sight. "Y-Y/N, Miss Y/N, please..."

"Begging won't change my mind, Jeong," you spat, leaving the tab open as you walked back in front of him, "but actions just might."

Tears once again threatened to spill past his eyes, throat squeezing uncomfortably tight as he suppressed them. He couldn't cry. Not like this, not in front of you.

Swallowing back a whimper, Yunho slowly shuffled forward, all the way to the edge of the couch, before sinking down to the floor. You watched on with a satisfied smirk, lips curling even further up as his eyes met the fake cock in front of him again.

Oh god, he was really going to do this.

Trying to keep his hands as steady as possible, he reached for the strap-on, feeling it under his fingertips before wrapping a hand around the base. Angling the tip to his mouth, Yunho closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh before finally diving forward.

You stared at him in awe as his lips wrapped around the sizable tip, brows furrowing while he tried to push deeper. "There you go, good boy," you praised in a sickly sweet tone, resting one of your hands in his hair. His other hand that wasn't gripping the base of your cock fisted his skirt instead, likely trying to keep his gag reflex at bay while he sunk further down.

When his lips met his own fist, he let his throat rest for a bit, trying to breathe as best as he could despite the big piece of silicone in his mouth. After a few long, uncomfortable seconds, he decided to start moving again, giving a few experimental bobs with his head. On the fourth one, though, he audibly gagged, throat spasming while he quickly dove back up for air. You silently watched as he coughed and gasped for air, leaning to the side with his palms against the floor.

Once he got his breathing under control again, he looked up at you, meeting your gaze for the first time in a while. You smiled back down at him, a genuine smile this time, and used the opportunity to mouth a quick "All good?" to him. His eyes sparkled in excitement as he happily nodded back, calming any potential worries.

A quick tug at his hair was all it took for him to snap back into the scene.

"Did I say you could stop, Jeong? We haven't even gotten to the main course yet."

Just as Yunho began asking what you meant by that, he was shoved back onto the dildo, giving him no more than a second to prepare. You slid back into his mouth with ease, not too deep to make him choke, but deep enough to get his attention again. "Or do I have to show you another incentive to keep going?"

With a small grunt, Yunho shook his head as best as he could given his position and got back to work. He made sure you saw as he diligently sucked on the tip, swirling his tongue around it before pushing further down. If he had no choice but to do this, he might as well get it over with. Soon enough, he could almost take the whole thing in his mouth. You caressed his hair gently, a small show of praise that wouldn't break the scene too much.

The hand in his hair quickly turned more domineering, however, as you suddenly tightly clutched the strands, warning him of what was likely to come.

His prediction turned out to be spot-on as you began to pull him back up by his hair, only to push him back down again and start all over. Yunho could do nothing but let you move him as you wanted, desperately willing his lungs and throat to calm down so that he wouldn't choke again. Or too badly, at least.

Small, wet sounds filled the room as you moved him up and down on the strap-on, using both hands now to steady his head while you picked up the pace. A tear or two rolled down his cheeks this time, but you knew it was no reason to celebrate just yet. These were just a natural response to you fucking his throat, not a sign of you actually breaking him.

That would have to come later, it seemed.

"On the couch," you ordered curtly, pulling him off you at once. He was left hunched over, face bright red and lungs heaving for air.

Once your words finally registered for him, he willed his limbs to move again, crawling up on the couch. You wasted no time with him anymore, manhandling him into the desired position.

As much as he hated to admit it, Yunho's fight was faltering. His tightly clenched jaw had relaxed, giving way to the tired pants leaving his body. All snarky remarks and threats were long gone, his head too much of a muddy mess to come up with anything smart to say. You could feel it too, how much more pliant he'd grown under your touch, letting you press his upper half into the couch cushions.

When he heard the click of a bottle cap opening, some of that fight rushed back, only to leave just as quickly with a single reminder from you about what was at stake for him.

Yunho let out a quiet grunt as a finger breached him from behind, still hell-bent on hiding his reactions from you. He knew you'd revel in it, in every moan and beg and whimper, which is exactly why he could never give any of it to you. Until that dam broke, he could pretend he still had some dignity left.

"I advise you to relax as much as you can, Jeong," you spoke softly, burying your finger inside of him to the last knuckle before pulling back again, "otherwise this is going to hurt quite a bit."

"You're sick," Yunho spat back but quickly shut up again as you pressed in a second finger, causing a whine to almost push past his lips.

"So? What are you gonna do about it?" You asked back. The satisfaction within you only grew when he had nothing to say to that, too scared to admit the truth.

So far, Yunho was faring quite well. The biggest sign of this having even the slightest effect on him was how hard he was gripping the couch cushions, but that was about it. And it was exactly because of that that you began to grow bored.

Time to make him speak up.

Curling your fingers, you began angling your hand this way and that way, until-

"Fuck!" Yunho cried out, involuntarily clenching around your hand. You watched as his thighs quivered and his back arched, trying to simultaneously push back against you and fight the urge to do so at all costs.

"What was that?" You taunted, focusing on that specific spot you'd found while your other hand roamed along his hip. "Is someone starting to enjoy themselves? And here I thought I was the sick one?"

"Shut- ah! Shut the fuck up!" Yunho moaned out, eyes tightly shut as he tried to fight the onslaught of pleasure. He knew he couldn't help it, that it was just his body's natural reaction to being stimulated, and yet, he couldn't help but feel betrayed by it as well. He fought so hard to keep any and all noises at bay, only to then completely crumble without any say in the matter.

Then, without warning, your fingers pulled out of him, leaving him empty and clenching around nothing. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to get up, to run far away from whatever the fuck this was, yet his mind knew very well it would be of no use. Not when your hand was back on his hip again, bringing his ass closer as you poured more lube over his hole.

"Hmm, no, this won't do," you thought out loud, looking at the way Yunho was presenting for you.

In the blink of an eye, he was flipped on his back, legs forced apart to accommodate you between them. Your strap was now peeking at him from behind his own half-hard cock, making his cheeks heat up. How was that thing bigger than he was? Moreover, what the hell were you planning to do with it?

"Say cheese!"

A bright light flashed into Yunho's eyes, making them squint in discomfort. When they managed to refocus, however, he was met with a sight somehow even more horrifying than all the evidence on your laptop.

A camera.

You were holding a camera and taking photos of him with it. Photos of him in a state like this.

"W-what are you- what?" Yunho stumbled out, voice laced with genuine horror.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Jeong?" You asked back, flipping his skirt up to show his prepped and needy hole. Another click and a flash of light.

The third snap finally managed to break him out of his trance, and his hand immediately shot up to grab your wrist.

"Ow! What the-" You hissed out in pain, almost dropping the camera to the ground. "That shit's expensive, you idiot!"

Yunho either didn't hear your words or simply ignored them, too busy trying to wrestle the camera from your hand. Doing sexual favors for you to save his business was one thing, he was already too deep in to stop that, but this? Oh, no, no no no, he was not going to just let you get even more dirt on him. Sure, he might have sold his body today to try and save his career, but he was NOT letting you trap him into a vicious cycle of blackmailing. He knew exactly how these things went, he knew you wouldn't be satisfied with just today, he knew you'd just keep demanding more and more from him and that-

A sharp sting dug into his cheek, the force of the slap turning his head to the side.

"I fucking told you to let go!"

The tight grip on your wrist eased up as you broke Yunho out of his spiral, preventing him from getting too deep into whatever inner chaos he tried to enter. His confused eyes met yours, studying your stern expression for a moment before he settled back into the scene, giving you a small nod as a sign to keep going.

"Before you try any of that shit again, I'll have you know that all of the photos I take on this are automatically backed up on my laptop. Breaking it does nothing except piss me off even further, and I don't think you want that, sweetheart."

Your hand slid up to grab his face, squishing his cheeks together.

"Now just accept your fate and let me take my pictures, hm? I don't think you want these to end up on the news tomorrow."

Yunho had no words left. No matter how his mind tried to twist this, there was no lie left that would convince him he had any sort of upper hand in this scenario. From the moment he walked into your office, his fate was sealed. Unlike everywhere else in his life, he didn't hold any power here. No amount of threats or intimidation could ever get him out of your grasp unless you yourself decided to let him go. He was yours to do with as you pleased.

All of those thoughts swirled around in his head as he lay under you, dressed like a girl, his entire body on display while you took as many photos as you wanted. He almost started to leave his body for a second, feeling too helpless to stay present in the moment any longer, but the feeling of cold, wet silicone pressing against him stopped him from doing so.

"Please..." Yunho said so quietly you almost didn't hear it, but it made you smile nonetheless.

"Please what, Jeong?"

Yunho took a deep breath but choked on it midway through as, finally, the first real tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Please don't do this, please."

Your pupils blew wide open at the sight before you, feeling a sudden high you'd never felt before. He - your boyfriend, the man everyone knew as a strong, independent, reliable guy, was now crying under you, lips trembling as he begged with a wobbly voice. Thanks to all the reassurances throughout the scene and the obvious hard-on between his legs, you didn't have to worry about his comfort or safety, letting you truly focus on the mental rush you were currently experiencing. The insane amount of trust between you felt almost palpable in that moment, an indescribable wave of tenderness so twisted yet so sweet it was almost overwhelming.

"Just let it happen, Jeong," you finally breathed out, eyes lidded as you reached down between the two of you. "Just let go and take it."

Yunho let out a watery whimper as you finally breached him with your strap, not caring to hide his noises anymore. He had nothing more to lose, after all.

The atmosphere shifted into something more quiet and subdued, yet simultaneously a thousand times more intense. Just like him, you had no more condescending comments and mean remarks left in you as everything had already been said.

Yunho was yours for the taking, and take you did.

With each snap of your hips, you pushed him further into that soft, pliant headspace of his. You could feel his muscles relax, going almost limp from the rush of it all. There was nothing in his head anymore, nothing but the physical sensations you were providing. More tears escaped his eyes as you leaned closer, hitting that sweet spot inside him with even more precision. Yunho rewarded each jab at his prostate with a small, punched-out noise, too hazy for anything more than that.

You watched his hips buck up when you wrapped your free hand around him, the other pulling him towards your thrusts by his hip. His breath hitched at the sensation, face scrunching up as you began to stroke up and down.

"Ready to cum, babe?" You whispered tenderly, causing him to open his eyes again.

"Yes, please," Yunho sniffled weakly, reaching up to grasp your shoulders for support.

Getting your sweet boyfriend over that imaginary edge took no more than two minutes after that, already too pent up from everything up until now to hold it any longer. You held him close as he seized up, chest arching into yours while he spilled into your hand.

You reached behind you for the tissue box on your side table, careful not to jostle Yunho around too much. He wrapped his legs around your waist, feeling too tender and small to let you go.

"Don't worry hun, I'm not going anywhere," you comforted him as you turned back around. You quickly wiped your dirty hand with one of the tissues before leaning forward and dabbing his tears away with another one. Handing him a third one, you helped him lift his head up to blow his nose before throwing all three tissues into a nearby bin.

As much as you wanted to debrief with him right then and there to make sure he really enjoyed himself, one look into his eyes assured you he was nowhere near ready for that right now. He looked content and comfortable, sure, but his eyes were still too distant for any complicated discussions and introspections.

So, you simply asked him what to do next.

"Can we just cuddle for a bit?" Yunho asked meekly, a small pout on his face as he extended his arms out for a hug. "We can clean up and talk after, but I just really need you right now."

You took him up on his offer with zero hesitation, snuggling into his embrace as close as you could. The position was a bit awkward from your position, given you were still lodged inside of him, but oh well.

A few minutes of curling up with your precious love bug never hurt anyone.

taglist: @justconniez @domribo @another-random-fanfic-blog @imrllytootiredforthis

Thank you for reading! And remember, feedback is always very appreciated! <3

[axeoverblade]

Could you do headcanons about Miles, Gwen, Pavitr, and Hobie having a tall and scary/intimidating s/o who is actually a big sweetheart? How they meet, first impressions, and dating stuff?? If that’s too much, no prob, alter it however you need to! :)

B. F. G

ATSV! squad x gn! reader

Synopsis! Never judge a book by its cover

MASTERLIST

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none!

Word count: unavailable

Authors comment: BONUS:GWEN, super cute lol hope this is what you wanted enjoy <3

Do not copy! All rights reserved to ©axeoverblade

ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜᴛ

1610 MILES

Bro is scared of nothing (think Simba from look king “I laugh in the face of danger”)

So when he sees you out on patrol, it throws him off that he became so on guard

You’re making the hairs on the back of his neck stand

Would never tell you this but at first you were gonna be a bad guy

So when you helped a lil kid cross the street and paid for them to get ice cream, he was a wee bit confused

Tailed you for a long time on different days, and always saw you doing good things .

So at first he develops a lil identity crush, not a romantic crush on you

Like he thinks it’s cool that you have this presence about you and it’s completely different from how you actually are

He meets you as spider man before as himself

You actually helped him, not a lot but enough where you interacted with him for a bit and he thanked you for helping

You just stopped a guy from stealing an older woman’s purse by tripping the thief and returning the purse

Miles saw it as you could be the next spider man

Suddenly you keep seeing spiderman all the time (totally by accident and not because he learned your routine)

Talk to him so often you develop nicknames for each other.

Been months since you’ve known him and he like is obsessed with you, full on in love and everything

So he decides to reveal who he is

Obv you accept him, give him a hug saying you won’t tell anyone

So now you guys hang out as friends

Casually flirts with you all the time (he’s trying so hard to make u like him even though u alr do)

Makes u meet his parents

miles forgot your looks don’t match your personality

HIS PARENTS ARE SO ON GUARD

His dad gave you that look

The one that screams “ stay away from my child and take your thuggish activities out this house” when you first walked in

kinda made you sad cause you thought they didn’t like you and you haven’t even talked to him yet

After they get to know you through the night his parents legit love you

Say how much of a good influence you must be on Miles and tell Miles to be more like you

Tell you to come by anytime

(They could easily tell miles likes you and vise versa but don’t say anything)

So Miles finally works up the balls to confess

Happy moments and a kiss

Overall good day

When your walking hand in hand down the sidewalk and keep getting weird stares because of the high contrast in your auras it confuses people

but then you and Miles both smile and its the same super big bright smile, people get why you’re together

HOBIE BROWN

When he first saw you, standing as tall as him in the store with that “I’ll kill you if you come near me” energy he thought you would be an issue honestly

Thought you were cool but def though you were gonna try and fight anyone near you or something

He wasn’t in his suit cause he was washing it and was lowkey upset you caught him when he was just going to the store to restock his snacks instead of out on duty

But he was excited for what ever you were gonna do when you passed him because he wanted to fight today

“Accidentally” bumps into you to see how you respond

But when you smile at him sweetly, apologize, and keep it moving, bro is confused

Walks right back up to you and starts talking to you

Digs the inconsistency between your personality and your looks

Also digs just your looks

He thinks you're super attractive

Was quick to get with you, he knew he wanted you after that first convo at the store

You guys click so well aesthetically cause even though your brooding walking around and he looks all chill (and mischievous) like nothing can bother him, the way you two are holding hands with your thumb rubbing the back of each others palms is a dead give away you two are on the same page

Sometimes he sees you and is just like “you don’t match”

He never explains what he means by it but says it’s a good thing

Wasn’t scared at all to tell you he was spiderman

You two def go on swinging dates where he just takes you everywhere

Overall fun and happy times

PAVITR PRABHAKAR

He was a little nervous when he first saw you

Not because of your energy but because he thought you didn’t like him

Like you looked like if anyone approached you, you would rip their head off

So maybe he was a wee bit scared of how you looked

But he knew better than to judge appearances. Bro is so intuitive that he doesn’t need a meesily appearance to tell him who you are on the inside

So he walks up to you and says hi

The big smile that graces your face makes him smile big too

Happy he followed his intuition to just approach you

At first you two are just good friends

Anytime you two are in public you get weird looks

Like what’s this jolly looking fellow doing with you

Then you laugh at his antics all happily and they get it

You actually confessed first

As “intuitive” as he was he didn’t notice your feelings

Doesn’t take him by surprise though

Oh my gosh he is so happy and pda-ing in public and everyone is like are you sure you two are supposed to be together

But then your face lights up with this look of joy every time you look at him and people have no choice but to mind their business

It’s a good thing opposites attract, even though personality wise you two are very similar

Really happy he approached you despite his fear otherwise he would’ve never met the love of his life

BONUS! GWEN STACY

Gwen thought you were cool at first

Your height is what would’ve intimidated her not your aura

Like she isn’t scared or anything, just a little bit more on guard around you

she first met you at one of the band get together cause you were one of the band members friends

She didn’t want to judge on appearance though so she tries her best to keep her opinion about you to a minimum until she actually talked to you

Happy she did

saw you get up and get waters for everyone because “we should stay hydrated”

Thought it was cute how sweet you were

She approaches you and you two become friends quick

You two meet up regularly outside of band meets

Wouldn’t tell you that she found you super attractive (and vise versa)

Like not even looks, just you as a whole

Gives her scary dog privileges honestly

Likes yes she can one hundred percent defend herself and is more than capable

But no one even looks her way anymore when your with her

Made her happy to be left alone in the streets now

So you actually have to confess first

Sweetest confession ever got her flowers

She ofc says yes cause she had a crush on you too

You bake together all the time, even if one of you are good or bad; or both are good or bad at baking, you two are having fun

Meeting her dad was a given

At first he could’ve sworn you were a murderer

wasn’t feeling you at all

Then he had a convo with you and was like “oh okay I get it”

He loves how sweet you are and hopes you rub off on his daughter cause “she isn’t nice enough to him”

Happy relationship :)

©axeoverblade

[princessfroslass]

I was thinking of established Huskerdust again and I stumbled across drama potential-

Ok so- in ep2 we are shown that Val didn't let Angel flirt with anyone that wasn't a potential client (how shocking I know) AND that when upset, Angel either drinks himself to oblivion, gets high or just....hear Val's messages. Which often leads to the former anyways. It's a cycle, y'all know the gist.

I genuinely believe that Husk wouldn't give a shit that his partner is a sex worker. He DOES care he is safe obv, but other than growling/glaring at randos at the street that say the nastiest shit imaginable while Angel is.... existing, he respects Angel's autonomy and trusts him enough to know that he is a professional, and that he only makes love to him.

Angel at the other hand, is all kinds of fucked up. He had been told for years that his duty was to get as many clients as possible- but he was on thin ice anyways due to Val's possessiveness. So he was always walking on eggshells based on what Valentino he had to deal with that day: the greedy pimp that saw him as little more than a profit machine, or the overly possessive, check-your texes and pin your location and fights with random dudes at the street that say hi- boyfriend.

Angel KNOWS that Husk isn't Val at all- starting by the fact that he had no control over him whatsoever, he could just cut the relationship out- something he obviously couldn't do with Val. But trauma it's a bitch, particularly when you try to cut your eons-long substance abuse, and there are times where these things get mixed on a catastrophic therapy-need explosion.

So there are times when, late at night, Angel would grab his phone and start to read the messages Val sent him- even long past their contract broke. He totally has photos of the two of them before shit hit the fan that he had tried to erase for years- and now that he is an committed relationship, there is little voice at the back of his head that sounds ALOT like Valentino's whispering that he is a *insert the most derogatory, slut-shamy term you can think of here* and that Husk would get tired of it eventually and leave- or snap and turn onto the abusive fest he was used to. And at this point, he doesn't know which one is worst.

It just gets worse when one day he notices Husk was not only awake and noticed what he was doing on his phone, but looked so...sad. Like wet kicked kitten sad. Before Angel tries to bullshit his way out of the situation he made up in his head however, Husk clarifies he doesn't see this as Angel refusing to let go of a ex- but as him having been hurt so badly by someone that should had treated him well and he is copying with it (badly), so no- he is not fucking jealous he is just sad about it all. Cue the cuddles and eventually, even if it'd take time, Angel might be able to erase the pics and chats.

[moonsidesong]

quick design note draft thingys for miss mari because I Am Never Satisfied With My Own Designs but she is very nice and i like her and i need to draw her more

just a fun headcanon obv, since the games always have set colors on the player characters, but i like to think of a lot of the way inkfish naturally present their colors as a genetic thing, especially in how tentacle colors work! mari's secondary/gradient color is always a warmer tone, but ruby and jade's are always a cooler tone, and some people (like squid sisters/OTH/etc) have totally unrelated colors for the main body of the tentacles and the actual ink color is in the gradient part at the end. i also like to think those traits are something you could get temporarily changed though, kind of like hair dye irl.

i also feel like there'd be a lot of little genetic mutations that end up in family lineages (like mari's eye color, in this example) but if it looks cool the squid fashion world ends up finding a way to artifically copy it so it's not actually very special to have those mutations naturally lol

[bluewings55]

No charmix redesign…

But a Sirenix redesign of my first Sirenix redesign!

I finished the Flora, Bloom Roxy and my Sona first so imma compare them with the old and new styles:

Note: i got inspired by bethnan.draws on Instagram. Obv i didn’t steal/copy her designs, i did however used similar/same inspiration she had, but obv changed a few things to keep it original.

Main changes: i kept the tail/skirt, but made them more transparent and a little longer. In general the colors are more simplified. I also went with a more bathsuit/bikini design too. I also removed the leggings cus they were a little too much. I also made the hair longer cus i like long hair :3 and i changed the wings too.

Generally, i have a power concept: i believe that certain fairies have more power depending on the transformation. (´neutral´ transformations like Enchantix or Mythix are excluded from this) They are more ˋconnected´ to their source so they are more powerful. The opposite works for fairies who have the opposite power, they feel less connected and are a little weaker bc of that. Imma tell you who has the most connection and how i symbolised it with shoes. Barefoot = more connected, sandals = less connected, shoes = least connected

Old VS New:

So for Roxy, i used a more simpler design. I did keep the beta fish look, but used a moon tail rather than a krontail. I made her hair longer and more colorful to fit her aesthetic more. I made her look more fishy and barefeeted cus i believe her animal powers are nature based, so she feels a lot more connected to the aquatic creatures that live there.

For my Sona, i went with a more simpler look too, making her look more similar to those dragon sea slugs (they so fcking pretty omg). Due to her dragon powers (read sona profile to find out more) she actually has scales on her body. Her element is the sky, so she doesnt feel as connected to the ocean so she wears sandals. Other than that, her look stayed pretty much the same, only her wings changed from silhouette

Old VS New:

Ok, i gave Bloom some leafy dragon seahorse elements, but in a totally different way ofc. Ofc, shes part dragon so she has scales too! Bc she has the power of the dragon flame, shes the least connected to the Sirenix transformation bc Fire is the opposite of water, indicated by her shoes.

You can have your opinions about this, i believe in this. No i dont hate Bloom or make her weak for fun. This rules counts to all the transformations and i will obv say whos weaker and stronger in what transformation. And just cus Bloom is weaker doesn’t mean she can’t kick ass. So haters don’t leave any nasty comments, this just feels more realistic to me.

Back to the topic: I made her hair more punky, kept her outfit pretty much the same since i adore the pink/plum colors on her.

My dear Flora looks as gorgeous as always. She too is more connected to the ocean due to her nature powers. The only changes i really did are the streaks in her hair and her wings.

[writing-for-life]

Is there a place to read the Sandman comics (and The spin offs, because I really wanna meet Hope- she's in Overture, right?) online? Preferably for free?

I'd love to have actual physical copies, too, it's just easier to read on my phone.

Hey, here’s a guide to what’s available for everyone interested (it’s fairly up to date bar the new Netflix paperbacks that now have all 6 books published, not just 4/5 as mentioned in the article).

The best way to read them online is probably if you get one of the many editions available for Kindle/e-readers. There are the new, Netflix stickered paperbacks I mentioned (books 1-6, Overture is in book 6) that are also available online. In my opinion, those are currently the best way to collect the whole run plus all the additional volumes/storylines like Dream Hunters and Overture online. I have the whole run as first edition floppies and TPBs and then bought the Deluxe hardcovers to prevent handling the first editions too much. I bought the six online volumes (because they’re great for on the go or referencing on here) when Amazon had an offer on and got all of them for a total of £20 (roundabout $25), but they are more expensive at the moment (one book is between $15 and $20 right now, so that’s obviously a lot more expensive). Might be worth keeping your eyes open if they put a deal on again at some point.

Then you get Overture in collections like the Deluxe or the 30th anniversary edition for Kindle, too. Or all individual comics (there are 6 issues for Overture, but you get the whole run #1-75 as individual issues via Comixology).

If it has to be free, you’ll need to try your local library (some might have an online copy, but DC is arsey about online versions of their stuff via Libby etc, so I’m not sure if you’d have much luck. DC Infinite have them all, but you’d need to pay for it obvs).

You get pirated copies on fishy sites if you do a Google search. If that’s a path you want to go down is up to you.

@saiyanblood2 ask answered

[weaselbeaselpants]

Is it true that parts of Lily Orchard's 'iconic' "SU is Garbage and here's why"-video were directly stealing from another person's take down of the show?

The story I remember reading somewhere was: a black woman creator was criticizing the show's racism/portrayal of race from her perspective -> LO copied or quoted beat-for-beat bits from said video -> said creator voiced in LO's comments that LO had stolen from her and also -> said creator was uncomfortable with how Lily was handling the Stevonnie topic and found her to be the one making it creepy??? -> Lily blocks, mutes the comments of and makes a hate campaign against said creator for the crime of calling Lily out on her bs -> said creator goes quiet because she kept getting heat from Lily's base.

Is any of this true?

I think, understandably, said creator did not want to be associated with Lily or was tired of getting flaq from Lily's fans, and that may be the reason said creator doesn't want to talk or have their name given out. Understandable. But- I need receipts. I can't cont making this claim confidently if I just don't know the story. I promise if anyone gives me said creator's name (may have changed by now) I won't bother them, name them here or anywhere. I respect privacy and also I totally get wanting to be away from all this.

If Lily ever did a plagerism or not is what I'm trying to get to the bottom of, but I know Lily's [bad] takes against SU are rooted in real criticisms made by not-shit critics that Lily took and made horrible in her uniquely Lily way.

As I've mentioned before I like the Diamonds as villains and characters and even I found the finale arc uncomfortable. I think Steven Universe mishandled the topic of genocide and pacifism, besides just having bad pacing. Other critics have meaner or nicer things to say than I do but the point is it's totally normal and not a mark against you to hate the Diamonds and find the show offensive. Where Lily doubled down and went way WAY too far is when she basically insinuated it couldn't just be bad writing but that Sugar was actually a 'fascist sympathizer' herself; WHICH ofc led to Jewish people being upset with Lily, Lily not apologizing to said people and saying they were just butthurt, which led to mine and other's vibe that Lily was being antisemitic and still is, because she really REALLY can't swallow her pride. Fans obv didn't like this language, but also a lot of critics and 'antis' didn't like it either prolly because being dismissive of marginalized people's takes is kind of bad. There's a difference, even in 2018-2019 tymes, between saying 'ick I hate this [x]-liberal creator for being a false ally, ect ect' and saying 'I'M not saying Rebecca Sugar is fascist, but I WILL SAY-'. THAT was what was shitty and still is shitty about how she handled that situation. Lily was taking a criticism that can/does have validity and being needlessly mean and accusatory with it.

@lillian-v-orchard @mikailaandlilyorchard @opinated-user come pm or dm me about this. Same with anyone else in the know who knows more than I do. I want to know I'm not mandela effecting myself or that I got the info from a biased source. Thanks.

[ingravinoveritas]

Hi! :) So, about posting habits and copying:

Georgia posts this screenshot of someone asking her to tell David that they're in love with him/want to marry him (not sure anymore, but I'm counting on you to remember haha), responding yeah, I'll get right to that, or something akin to that.

It's funny enough and her reply doesn't come across as anything more than humorous, in my opinion, especially since we've seen this theme for years, on Twitter and Instagram. It's on-brand-Georgia.

Her tone, albeit the sarcasm, is still pretty nice, playing the ball back by pretending that she's not telling David because then she'd have to compete with the person who wrote in. I'm sure whoever texted her this was giggling at their phone when Georgia responded. I'm not sure if the same thing will be the case with fan interaction number two, however: Cue, Anna.

Because now, a few days later, Anna posts what is pretty much the same interaction with a fan (about Michael, obv.), but all the charme is gone? Or is that just me?

Let's get something straight, though: The fan message she got was a lot less "sweet" than the one Georgia received (how many kisses does it take for a message to become either passive aggressive or just too hyper or even kind of insincere in tone?), so I won't be too harsh on her for responding in kind (xxxx). Still, had me cringe a little.

Thing is, the more or less blatant copying of Georgia's social media voice keeps fascinating me. Whilst, at most times, it's obvious but still fine as its own thing, this time the whole post really just seemed too...Georgia. Firstly, because it really is like a total replica, secondly because Georgia has worn the "playfully possessive"-badge for years now. I'm not saying that Anna is just pretending to also be that, I genuinely don't think that's true, at least not fully, but what I am saying is that she's clearly aware of this sort of humour being well-received within the fandom and also very intentional about timing. It's always... funny? Noticable? exactly when these "replica posts" appear.

Although, in this case we also have to consider that she responded at the time she got the message (or a day later, at most), so the timing isn't really on her. In fact, this might just be a fan actively going for having the same interaction with Anna that another fan had with Georgia, basically setting her up. Especially considering how the DM was worded - again, it seemed a little too intentional/over the top.

(But yeah, a couple of hours earlier: The Tennant's face sitting post (and, whew lol), so is this trying to somehow keep up with their dynamic again?)

I want to stress that I don't think that any of this is a bad thing. There's literally no harm in her trying to cater to the fandom with this tone of voice and seeming a bit unoriginal. And what do we know, maybe she and Georgia really are that similiar, it's not like Georgia's humour and interactions are that singular. But I'm still having a different response to Georgia's posts in comparison to Anna's, even though they are so similiar, and that's what it comes down to.

Maybe that's completely unfair towards Anna (to some degrees it must be, since Georgia simply has been around longer and therefore claimed her kind of tone, if that's even a thing), but maybe it also comes down to authenticity - or a lack thereoff?

(Grouping these together since they are related.) Well, I hadn't seen AL's story this morning until I got your message @wanderingsemi, so thank you for the heads up. And it is, as you said, an almost exact replica of an Insta story Georgia posted a week ago. Let's get the visual up here, so folks can see both stories:

So, the first thing I will say is that I often have difficulty with discerning people's tones online, as the lack of vocal inflection/other indicators tends to make things challenging. I appreciate you sharing that Georgia's tone came across as humorous to you, because while I definitely did get the sarcasm, I also felt a sense of contempt coming from Georgia's reply, too. I do agree, however, that her response was very much "her," in her trademark style, and is something we've come to expect over the last few years now.

It's probably worth mentioning that these are both odd/weird things to send to your fave's partners. I know social media has largely eroded a sense of boundaries in a lot of fans, but it's just an awkward thing to say overall. (I submit that it's actually more awkward/inappropriate than RPF, because RPF is fantasy and is not something any of these people would come into direct contact with unless they went looking for it.) That being said, while neither Georgia nor AL can control the things fans send to them, they can choose to respond (or not) to said comments. So thinking about your Ask, @armangelus, we have Georgia here essentially doing the same thing as AL--being possessive of David in response to a random DM--yet the results are wildly different.

Which then brings me to AL's response. Going back to our discussion on tone, I am not sure that I interpreted the message AL got as being "less sweet" than the one Georgia received, as they seem incredibly similar to me. I'm not sure the message-sender was actually being passive-aggressive, but because AL seemed to look at it that way, it is then reflected in her response (and is fitting with her past responses/personality, which has been passive-aggressive on multiple occasions).

For a little backstory (and this largely comes from @problematicwelshman, whose blog is well worth reading for a lot of tea related to Michael and AL going back to 2019): AL's social media was entirely scrubbed when her and Michael's relationship first came to light (end of June 2019). This also coincided with Michael's longtime PR person quitting, and a seeming overhaul of AL's social media presence. Initially, though, a lot of her posts were in her own voice, but they did not seem to go over well/she was not connecting with the fandom (see this post for links to examples, most of which involve belittling Michael/making fun of his weight and appearance).

Then in mid-2021, this all shifted with an event Michael appeared at for the 150th birthday of the Royal Albert Hall. Suddenly AL was praising and complimenting him in ways she never had in any of her past posts. This also happened to coincide with Georgia starting the #Shebergs hashtag (which sounds like an iceberg, a.k.a. the thing that took down the Titanic, so I'm still not sure why that was chosen as a portmanteau of AL and Michael's names), as well as AL promoting Last Train to Christmas, a movie of Michael's that she appeared in that was released at the end of 2021. So this was another social media overhaul/PR effort, seemingly perfectly timed with AL having something to promote and trying to advance her acting career.

But what this was also the start of is what you alluded to, which is that inauthenticity. I can completely understand you having a different reaction to AL's story than Georgia's, because as you said, that charm is not there, which I think is because it's Georgia's charm, not Anna's. And as much as she might copy Georgia's tone or the types of content she posts, you can't really copy charm--it's either something you have, or something you don't. I think it also ties into the other thing you referenced, which is the "playfully possessive" thing. It actually is something that Anna has copied, also on multiple occasions (see below)...but much like with this story, it doesn't come across the same way as when Georgia does it:

(Another notable thing about the response on the left is that AL was not even tagged in the original tweet, which also copies Georgia's pattern of randomly replying to fans on Twitter--usually as a result of searching David's name, which she has been known to do.)

So yes, I think we can definitely see a clear pattern here, which has seemingly only become more blatant as of late. And while I agree there is no harm on one level of trying to appeal to the fandom, I don't think it's unfair to AL at all because there is such a clear, agenda to what she is doing that becomes more obvious as you look back over the past few years. That, in my opinion, is what makes it seem so forced and not genuine, and is why one might feel a different reaction to her post versus Georgia's.

Those are pretty much my thoughts, rambling as they were. I appreciate both of you sharing yours as well so that we could have this discussion. Thanks for writing in! x

[comtedelafere]

So I just read this afternoon that Ray Stevenson has died at the age of 58 (which is absolutely no age, the poor fella, what a shock).

I'm not gonna pretend to know much about his back catalogue of work or say I was an especial fan or anything disingenuous like that, but I do really want to talk for a quick moment about the one role I really know and love him for - Porthos in the 2011 adaptation of The Three Musketeers.

Now, I know and you know that this version of The Musketeers is massively unpopular for a whole host of reasons - most notably the silly airship storyline (personally, I have such a well-trained suspension of disbelief that I can 100% deal with the airship aspect of it, but I totally get why it's an unpopular addition to the story) - but I will happily die on the hill that it is the closest combination of writing and portrayal of the Core Four yet (sorry, BBC version). Logan Lerman's d'Artagnan was a cheeky 19-year-old rascal who thought he was all that and a bag of chips and didn't care who knew it. Matthew Macfadyen's Athos was sullen and morose (but in a really hot way obvs, cos yknow - Athos) and didn't waste a word of dialogue. Luke Evans' Aramis was quiet, sober, extremely spiritual and didn't go around trying to seduce everything that moved the whole time.

But Ray Stevenson's Porthos? Oh. Oh this was sublime. Up until this adaptation, Porthos had more often than not been played as the comic relief: the large, overweight, affable drunk of no fixed IQ whose prowess at fighting was more down to luck and subtle slapstick than his good judgement. This version of Porthos couldn't have been further away from those portrayals.

He was a quick-witted, smart, physically powerful and agile fighter, whose hand-to-hand combat skills were so notorious that he never needed to use his sword. My absolute favourite moment that showed this fact so beautifully was at the end of the big fight scene with the Red Guards ("Four against FORTY? And you beat them like a drum?! *snort*!" oh, Louis!) when the Guards were reeling a bit, and trying to decide whether to go another round. At that point, Porthos casually pushed his sword from the scabbard with his thumb by about 2 inches - and that was enough to send the Red Guards running for the hills!! I screamed!! Perfect characterisation!! Porthos to an absolute T!!!!!

Not only that, but his version of Porthos was an unashamed yet impoverished dandy, a dedicated follower of fashion who took his time to choose exactly the right cut of new clothes in exactly the right colours - while his rich, married lover happily picked up the tab for him. He understood the way the right clothes and the right combination of appearance and demeanour in any given scenario could give him the upper hand, not only in fighting but also in all of his interpersonal relationships and encounters.

This is the Porthos I had wanted for years. This is the Porthos I cheered and applauded for when I finally saw the version that had lived in my head all those years had finally made it to the screen.

Don't get me wrong, of course the BBC Musketeers owns a huge part of my heart and soul and I love so much about them - but the 2011 Musketeers was so special because for me it was probably the very first time I finally got to see the Musketeers as the book described them, rather than just as the standard accepted carbon copies that had been passed down by Hollywood over the decades, and which bear little to no resemblance to the actual characters in the book. I have no idea if I've actually seen any of Ray's other performances or not, to be honest. Porthos may not be his finest hour onscreen, I really don't know. It may not be the part he's best known for. But if nothing else, Ray finally gave the world a Porthos that Dumas would have recognised.

Despite the fact the film as a whole was received poorly, his portrayal was a genuine gift, and I am privileged to be able to remember him as having given this Musketeer fangirl the abject joy of finally seeing Porthos played as he should have been all along. Not as a large, loud drunk who was just there to be big, strong and funny - but as a highly skilled, intelligent, audacious soldier with a sharp sense of humour and an even sharper dress sense; and who, rather than simply bringing up the rear as The Other Guy or the Big Fella, showed that he was quite possibly the Musketeers' MVP.

Thank you, Ray. Goodnight, and rest well.

[literaticat]

i know a lot of writers lament about publishing nowadays, especially the promotion of yourself on social media. But are there things in contemporary publishing that you are glad changed and would NEVER want them to be 'like it used to be'?

Totally!

First of all, when I started as an agent, email querying and submitting was JUST coming into play as a normal thing, and there was pretty scant info about agents and whatnot online (no QueryTracker or anything like that) -- before around Y2k, authors had to, you know, type their queries, do research on agents in physical books, mail queries through the post -- and worse, agents had to print out full manuscripts and post THOSE to editors. Booo! So, a bigger barrier for entry to authors, a bigger pain in the ass for agents and editors, and all around, yuck.

Contracts -- when I started, most all contracts were still required to be multiple copies of wet ink signatures on paper -- the printing, the mailing, what an UNBELIEVABLE pain that was. (And while this was STARTING to change ten years ago or so, it didn't change across the board until the pandemic, honestly.)

Payments and statements -- when I started, no publisher or agency had direct deposit. They'd send us paper checks, and we'd in turn send paper checks to authors. All the hundreds and hundreds of pages of royalty statements came on paper, which we'd have to copy and send to authors, or scan into our own computers to email and file the paper somewhere. (I still have multiple large filing cabinets STUFFED with paper statements and contracts I'm afraid to get rid of!) -- This started to change maybe 10 years ago, as the largest publishers got electronic statements under control and some publishers and agencies got direct deposit, and then the pandemic happened, and now almost (ALMOST) everyone has both. This means people get their money more swiftly and safely, and I'm not swimming in piles of horrible paper statements come royalty time, THANK GOD.

Also, in my early days and before that, there was a LOT more open, toxic behavior tolerated. Straight up racism, misogyny, handsy men... you get the picture. Like, obvs there's still definitely some misguided statements that get made by publishers, micro-aggressions for sure exist in corporate workplaces, etc, but -- trust me when I say, back in the day, people were absolutely unafraid to say VILE things in totally matter-of-fact ways, like, just MACRO-AGGRESSIONS during business meetings and stuff, which I HOPE and believe they'd think twice about today or face repercussions for. There was also a huge drinking culture in publishing back in the day, which is far less normal today -- that can't have helped! So while, yes, I do miss the lavish parties and dinners we used to have, I definitely DON'T miss some of the stuff that came with that!

[gogandmagog]

Thoughts on Readying Rilla? Any good nuggets? Surprises?

I have been choke sobbing (this is not an exaggeration) for days trying to get through this! Because, Walter. 🥺 I’ll make a proper informative post when I’ve finished reading it and share what I’d guess most people will find interesting, but for now, here’s the biggest highlights/things that have stuck out!

Ken Ford’s middle name is, presumably, Selwyn. He was initially referred to as Selwyn all over the first manuscript before Maud went back, and crossed it all out in favour of Kenneth. (This is obv occasionally in Montgomery’s nature, to have people go by their middle names, and also have a surname as a middle name, like Walter Cuthburt Blythe.)

Di Blythe’s happy ending was an engagement to a foreign soldier overseas. She wrote to Anne about it. (This was crossed out but remained in the notes, likely an omission for word count?)

The girl on the cover is Rilla from ‘Montgomery’s own eyes’ in the same way Evelyn Nesbit is Anne. In Maud’s own copy of the 1921 edition of RoI, this picture was discovered; it was a newspaper clipping that Maud cut out and wrote ‘Rilla’ on. The girl remains unidentified!

Walter’s last letter to Rilla. Ya’ll, the first draft Maud has was so painful for me. She crossed out things that… were certainly meaningful, and also shift the perspective a little. Sharing more on this after the cut!

Anyone who has read the RoI chapter “And so, good-night” will be prepared to remember that the night before Walter went over the top, he heard the Piper. This is hard enough to swallow. What follows in bold is what Maud has kept in the book we all have and the italics is what was redacted:

“Rilla, I tell you I saw him - it was no fancy - it was no illusion. I heard his music and it was all I could do to prevent myself from rushing after him. I wanted to follow him - (…)”

Okay. Are you crying about the implications here? I was. I am. 🥺 I still need some time to sit with it.

Another spot that hurts? His mentions of Una. In the original Last Letter, he mentions thinking of Una’s eyes. Let’s quote again here, same formula as before:

“To-morrow when we go over the top, I’ll think of you both — of your laughter Rilla-my-Rilla, and the steadfastness of Una’s blue eyes – somehow I see her very plainly to-night, too.”

In the existing RoI book, instead of ‘her’ he saw only ‘those eyes.’ Here’s the edit demonstrated in Readying Rilla: (apologies for the colour here, I’ve only got an LED lamp to read by at the moment)

If Montgomery had left it as Walter seeing a manifestation of her fully … Una would have joined the ranks of both Rilla and Ingleside, which Walter wrote earlier in the same Last Letter that somehow they both were vividly close to him that night. That he could see them clearly, like it or she was right before him. Adding Una to that list… the significance can’t be overlooked. 😭 It’s so weighty.

I’m just in a total slump over it. 😭 (I generally try avoid RoI overall because it makes my heart and head and eyes hurt.)

[forgottenarthur]

OOC | Arthur & Marian

MOOOOOOMMMM!!! eeeee! so happy to have her here heehee ok so!! arthur and marian! as we both already know all too well arthur's got some issues but one thing he's really got down pat is that he loves his family v much and would do literally anything for them!!!! and marian is the stars in the sky as far as he's concerned!!! she deserves the whole world and he hates watching her miss out and honestly just wants to fix it for her!!!!! she just has to say 'i want--' and he's already out there tryna make it happen!!!

ok so im abt to crash so imma copy & paste some stuff from a [ comment i did recently to ciara ] bc i ended up talking a lot abt my hc's re: arthur and marian and, obv, this was all before you were talking abt taking her so obv this is all 100% just hc's and id be delighted to change any and everything around now that you're here, but i figured it might be a good jumping off point!! ok so:

DIATRIBE TIME: arthur def sees himself as the head of the ~marian branch~ of the varmont household if you will – the mini household within roderick’s household in a way…idk how to describe it hahah but he’s the eldest son in a profoundly patriarchal/primogeniture setting, and so they’re ~all his responsibility to look after, including his mother in a way since she’s a woman!!!

honestly idk if arthur can really even articulate how grateful he is to ciara for ~being there honestly!!! i think marian probs tries but ultimately its different like they’re both responsible for e/o and she’s not a varmont by birth and, even growing up as bart’s kid rather than roderick’s, ciara at least knows the burden of #growingupvarmont  arthur, offhandedly: wow, i bet its nice to be bart’s kid me: *winks*

[re: the revelation of arthur's potential true parentage:]

and also itd def reshape his views of his own mother, who he’s always i think been super protective of, and always felt kinda brokenhearted for bc he felt it i was sooooo obv that she loves roderick sooo much and frankly waY more than roderick loves her, but then it turns out she was sleeping around w someone else??!!??! (nm that roderick was too alkjsdfakljsdf) and even the rationale would feel sordid and materialistic to him, like just an excuse or at worst, a grasping powerhunger grab for the throne etc so yeah!! his notions of both his ~biological parents will be shattered akjadsfkljdsfsd just a generally fun time for everyone honestly!!

so yeah like i said these were musings from before and are totally flexible and all of them represent only arthur's ~impressions which may or may not be correct at all anyway (we already know his impressions re: his dad DEF aren't right hahahaha) so yeah obv lots of stuff we can do but these were some notions i already had locked and loaded so, since im abt to crash (hopefully anyway! i have an early morn tmrw hahaha), i thought id share 'em! <3