#like if I want to get REALLY technical about it coming up through fanfic has DEFINITELY affected how I show emotion in characters

[storm-and-starlight]

Oh, absolutely, I 100% agree that fanfic has huge amounts of interiority, "looking at the characters' thoughts that we never get to see" is a huge part of why it's written! What I'm referring to with "fanfiction bad habits" (if they can even really be called that, because they're not always bad habits if you're actually writing fic!) is stuff like overdescription of appearance or gesture. Fic authors are trying to indicate that the character on the page is the same character as is on the screen, and part of what is distinctive about the character on the screen is their appearance/physicality. For instance, in SPN Sam Winchester has long(ish) hair as... more of an appearance note than anything else? you can dig for character meaning but the show really doesn't do that, but it's one of the most iconic elements of his character, so it gets referenced in fic a LOT and often in places where on a technical level it's either unnecessary or actively slows down a scene. Same goes for trying to exactly describe character outfits. If you switch to original prose and aren't trying to match a character who primarily exists in visual media, you don't need to be constantly describing their hairstyle or walk or appearance, but the habit is there and might be hard to notice or break.

HOWEVER I also completely agree with your statement that a lot of authors (ahem ahem SANDERSON) are writing like they really want to make a movie or TV show, I don't have anything to add but. yeah. that's definitely something I've noticed as well.

A lot of fiction these days reads as if—as I saw Peter Raleigh put it the other day, and as I’ve discussed it before—the author is trying to describe a video playing in their mind. Often there is little or no interiority. Scenes play out in “real time” without summary. First-person POV stories describe things the character can’t see, but a distant camera could. There’s an overemphasis on characters’ outfits and facial expressions, including my personal pet peeve: the “reaction shot round-up” in which we get a description of every character’s reaction to something as if a camera was cutting between sitcom actors.

When I talk with other creative writing professors, we all seem to agree that interiority is disappearing. Even in first-person POV stories, younger writers often skip describing their character’s hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, memories, or reactions. This trend is hardly limited to young writers though. I was speaking to an editor yesterday who agreed interiority has largely vanished from commercial fiction, and I think you increasingly notice its absence even in works shelved as “literary fiction.” When interiority does appear on the page, it is often brief and redundant with the dialogue and action. All of this is a great shame. Interiority is perhaps the prime example of an advantage prose as a medium holds over other artforms.

fascinated by this article, "Turning Off the TV in Your Mind," about the influences of visual narratives on writing prose narratives. i def notice the two things i excerpted above in fanfic, which i guess makes even more sense as most of the fic i read is for tv and film. i will also be thinking about its discussion of time in prose - i think that's something i often struggle with and i will try to be more conscious of the differences between screen and page next time i'm writing.

[rrezshifts]

𝓻𝙚𝙖𝖑𝙞𝙩i𝙚𝙨 𝙞’d 𝙡o𝙫𝙚 t𝙤 𝙛𝙞n𝙙

this is a list of realities i compiled from three lovely people’s dr ideas posts: ellysdreamworldd, deminetly, & lalalian. this post is a way for me to clear out my likes without having to keep track of the realities i’m interested in shifting to in a notebook i’ll lose or forget about . . .

a retro high school/college reality. this could be a reality from any decade where retro still fits. the original poster wrote 70s-00s. i feel like i partly already have this with my twilight reality, it’s set in the early 2000s. but it’s definitely something i could be interested in shifting to outside of that reality

2000s victoria’s secret angel reality. see this is weird because i am a trans man. and like . . . the parts of my body that are inherently feminine and ideal for an angel, i don’t like. however, it can be what i like so put my ideal masculine but twinkish form in some lingerie and call it a day!!

professional tourist reality. a reality where i have all the money in the world and travel the world with no responsibilities seems SO fun! but like an ideal and bigotry free world. and also i get to bring someone with me!!

vampire reality. tbh i already have a few of those . . . but i’m not in love with them. that and they’re from pre-existing media, and i want one that i can really play with and make my own and just fall in love with my own mind and life through it, yk??

royalty reality. this could be so so incredibly fun. but i fear the way i view and picture a royalty reality in my mind at the moment . . . it’s off putting. i’d need a new perspective to look at these type of realities from before trying any world building or i may genuinely give up immediately

summer camp reality. as the counselors of course. like imagine being a counselor with other hot people your age and just bouncing from counselor to counselor all summer as we all sneak around camp after curfew and just go crazy!! though i technically have a reality like this already . . . my the quarry reality is basically this because i removed all the horror game elements. i should think about it more though for sure, that why i put it here

mermaid reality. like genuinely the way the original poster described it as a the little mermaid kind of romance plot almost makes me not scared of the deep ocean aspect of this reality. but i love marine biology and marine animals so like i would realistically love this too. this is another one though, that i would need a perspective shift because right now the idea of this reality is off putting to me as well

magic university reality. quite literally just hogwarts in my marauders reality. but i haven’t scripted shit and i need to get on it. so i’m adding it in hopes that’ll change. it won’t lol

small town shop owner reality. the original poster said it was a flower shop. but the idea of it being like a small business of my choice, for example a metaphysical shop, and falling in love with the small business next door’s owner?? bonus points if it’s a tattoo artist i fall for, because why can’t fanfic tropes come to life!!

planetary romance reality. described as exploration of different planets with romance specifically with aliens. and you know what . . . i’m not gonna lie. the romance with aliens is what sold me!! call me what you want! (it’ll probably be true) but this genuinely seems like such a fun reality to get to workshop!!

eco-metamorphosis reality. described as a world being colonized by aliens but instead of rejecting them you welcome them with open arms. and i was thinking this could be so fun to imagine a world that has coexisted with aliens for generations now, a good many years after, and how that looks and what daily life would be like

that’s all of them!! please look at their posts if you liked any of these and want to see what else they have shared!! i’ll tag them here so they know i used their posts for a sort of form of content @ellysdreamworldd , @deminetly & @lalalian !! thank you for the great ideas 🙏

[freejanee]

Scorbus Fanfic recommendations?? Honestly I just want to yap

pt. 1? 🤔

Hide and Seek by ArdenCallaway,

Its not canon compliant and the rumor surrounding Scorpius has changed but its awesome!! It goes through their Hogwarts years, along with some of the other characters, then some of their adult years. It includes ocs that i’ve grown attached to. The Chimera club my beloved… It really makes you feel a lot of things, be prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions if you read! And if you’re a marauders fan theres some nice hints to some of that fandoms popular fanfics i’ve heard. After this fanfic I had a tough time reading other fanfics because it just didn’t feel right… Also it’s incredibly long, it’ll last you a few if you really take your time with it, let it absorb into ur very skin AUGHHH. I think about this fanfic at least thrice a day, it really did leave a mark on me. Well every fanfic here left a mark on me, but this one definitely is more persistent. I think its because I just woke up everyday and read and read this fanfic whenever I could,, felt so empty after I finished it. Like dhmu…

A World of Darkness by KeybladeJediMaster & Yer_Erster,

This one just HURT ME 💔 Poor Albus, he really gets it in this one. Okay think dark alternative timeline BUT Albus doesn’t stop existing. Scorpius is really trying his best in this but i kept thinking he was an idiot(BUT NOT REALLY BC I LOVE SCORPIUS, never ever… im no traitor…)but really, if I was in his place I would freak out and try to immediately run away with my bestie, ending in us both being killed… yea…

So i think the way he went about it was more logical and better than I ever would be in that situation. I have NO IDEA how he was as chill as he was, if Umbridge was carrying away my best friend/lover I WOULD CRASH OUT.

This fic is technically finished? I think there might be more coming out but the latest chapter could read as the end.

It’s a Potter/Malfoy Thing by Asexual_Enjolras (They also have nice oneshots),

This one was what really cemented my hyperfixation with Scorbus, its so heart warming, WHY CANT LOVE BE REAL?! But also because it was some time ago I can’t really remember much of the details, im going based off some of my journal entrees in where I talk of it. This series honestly made my whole summer of last year (yes yes im very new here). Seeing Scorpius be accepted apart of the Potter family was so adorable, so was the second part with Draco. The scorbus in this made me SOO jealous, their bond is so special 😭💗

Building up like waves by dustyspines,

IM NOT GOING TO LIE, my memory has been getting worse and worse I think I’m going to have to reread all of these. But what I remember of this one was how I felt, its shorter than the other ones but really packs a punch. The yearning is just OVERLOAD and Albus is just the realest in this. The writing is incredible and I swear I was feeling what he was feeling. Its like poetry the whole time and is incredibly clever, it has BANGER lines 😭 Honestly whatever I say cant give it justice (with all of the other ones too), its just a masterpiece. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop, it really does lure you in entirely.

5) How To Avoid Bullies; A Series by QueenKatelynTheAristocrat,

Now I barely remember what happened in this because its been SO long, but it is in my favorite Scorbus fic list in my journal, as all these are… But its basically Scorpius and Albus making up a list of rules on how to avoid their bullies. Im going to reread this after I write this because GAWD ive been meaning to. Like I need some co dependent scorbus avoiding their bullies right now instead of being in MATH CLASS. Its not finished and is on the shorter side but I still recommend this 💗

Something worth taking the Time

(Not scorbus, but its focused on them and is incredibly good!), anonymous author

This one isn’t finished yet but so far its been soo promising!! This fanfic is like all i’ve been searching for and more, i’m so thankful I found it when I desperately needed more content of my bouys 😭 I regularly re read recent chapters because it gets me stimming and all happy, scorpius and albus being trapped in a past time period (Golden era or marauders era) is like my favorite genre (SHOULD BE A GENRE I HAVE A PETITION). I hope to eventually make art for it, as well as some other fanfics but i’m just a TOP TIER procrastinator. ITS GONNA HAPPEN THOUGH. It will… mark my words..

I also think about this fanfic like thrice a day. I read it while walking to school everyday too, really gives me the energy to get through the day. Seeing how Albus interacts with his father never fails to make me laugh, or ANYONE really, I swear its like he has a stick up his butt 24/7 I LOVE HIM. But the reason why he’s that way makes me cry, GAWD. Like he’s been acting like he’s in a war before he even came to this past time period and he never lets his guard down because of all the bullying he’s been through, but he’s slowly learning to trust people beyond Scorpius. It just breaks my heart its some people that died in the second wizarding war, LIKE THATS NOT RIGHT. I wonder constantly how he’s going to be in present time without them (yes im being vague, but its a simple process of elimination LMAO). I can continue but I think I might give it its own post at some point ;p

and i see black (while you see white) by inkwellhell

i really don’t remember, Im going to have to re read but I STILL RECOMMEND. Its on my faves list so im sure that it made me feel indescribable things, TRUST MY JUDGEMENT ON THIS even if its been a long time and can’t really say anything besides it being a short recount of hpcc from dark timeline onwards by Scorpius pov ^_^

The Tea Time series by ellizablue,

Not completely finished. I haven’t read the one that hasn’t been finished because I didn’t want to be heartbroken but I know i’ll eventually get to it, I’ve only heard good things of it! I loved Put Your Curse in Reverse, I just finished it, so this will probably be a little more detailed than the others. Honestly Iset was my favorite side character, she deserves SO much more. Everything in this fic just feels so… real?? Like god, everyone was so awesome and had amazing characterization. I wasn’t just looking forward to scorbus in this, everyone had their own stuff going on and it does a really good job at making you care. At some point I just kept waiting for Iset to appear, I WAS #1 FAN. I needed to know what was up with her. Her and Rose are so adorable too. Kills me that shes an oc, SHE NEEDS TO BE CANON NOW!! Sorry this became more of an Iset thing than a Scorbus thing, don’t worry their still very much the focus of this series!

Hope anyone who hasn’t read these who will read them because of this likes them c:

Plus im really desperate for people to discuss these fanfics, I WILL NEVER MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO YAP ABT MY FAVE FICS. Which is why this exists. Because I saw an opportunity. And I took it. (๑❛ᴗ❛๑) looks at you with my beady innocent eyes.

(this makes more sense because originally this was a reblog but I just decided to make it a post instead, but I don’t want to delete this part so wtv…)

OK SCHOOL OVER, TIME TO GO READ MORE FANFIC BYEEE

[quintessenceofdust88]

fuck it friday

(I STILL HAVE HALF AN HOUR OF FRIDAY OK SO I'M TECHNICALLY ON TIME) I was tagged by my darling @laundryandtaxesworld for this. Love you, Via! ♥ I've been working a bit on all of my fanfics the last few days, and I think I might get the groove of writing constantly again, so here's hoping hehe. For today, I'm bringing you the final part of ch. 1 of my fanfic Trail of Lies , so I hope you enjoy it! ♥ (USUAL WARNING FOR TRAIL OF LIES: THIS FANFIC CONTAINS BUDDIE, BUT IT IS BUCKTOMMY ENDGAME. IT STARTS OFF AS BUDDIE, BUT IT’S NOT REALLY BUDDIE-FRIENDLY NOR PARTICULARLY EDDIE-FRIENDLY. Therefore, I didn’t want to tag it as Buddie, because I know how annoying it can be to have ‘anti’ fics in your ship’s tag. If that’s sth that bothers you - either the Buddie content or the fact it’s not really a good depiction of their relationship - please feel free to skip this one, I absolutely understand)

The restaurant Eddie’s chosen is cozy and quiet, with exposed brick walls and dim lighting, a far cry from the usual burger joints where they go together on the rare occasions they go out. Buck understands the gesture for what it is, and he feels incredibly touched, and kind of bad for the doubts he shared with Bobby. It’s clear Eddie was just having a bad day, and it was unfair of Buck to question his excitement for their family because of it. 

Their meal is delicious, and so is the wine. They start the evening with small talk, and it’s fluid and smooth like it always is with them. He and Eddie were best friends before anything else, and Buck values that aspect of their relationship so much. Even though he’s aching to broach up the topic that’s been on his mind for the last few days, he waits. He wants Eddie to bring it up. 

“So, angel,” Eddie says eventually, putting down his wine glass and smiling at him, that smile that sweeps Buck off his feet. “Tell me what you found out about surrogates? Do you think it’s gonna work for us?”

Buck finds himself beaming widely at Eddie’s question. ‘For us’. That’s all he’s ever wanted, for the baby to be their plan. 

“Yeah, babe, I think it will” Buck says, and doesn’t stop himself from talking this time. 

He goes on a rant about all the options he found online and about how California law works for surrogacy cases. And while usually Eddie indulges Buck in his rants, listening and nodding at the appropriate times, now he’s engaged, he’s asking questions, he’s planning with him, and Buck’s heart feels full. “Before we go on about our surrogacy options, babe, shouldn’t we decide who’s going to be the biological father?” Eddie asks, taking a sip of his wine. “I mean… I have Chris, so if you want to do it, I totally understand”

“Actually, about that, there’s this thing they do at the fertility clinic where they mix up our materials”, Buck explains excitedly, kinda wishing he had his tablet there to show Eddie everything he has saved. “I… I kinda like the idea of watching our baby grow up and not knowing to which one of us he’s biologically related.”

Eddie gives him a beautiful smile at that, squeezing his hand once more. That’s the farthest he goes when it comes to public displays of affection, so to Buck it feels almost like a passionate kiss (or he wants it to, anyway). 

“Yeah, angel, I kinda like that idea too.” He declares. “Well, I guess that leaves us to decide the surrogate matter. I gotta be honest, Buck, I’m not sure about the whole agency thing. Feels kinda…”

“Impersonal?” Buck completes, and Eddie nods, to his relief. “Yeah, I thought so too. I really like the idea of it being someone we know, but I’m not sure who to ask”

Buck has given the matter a lot of thought in the last few days, his mind going through the women he knows and to whom he’d feel comfortable asking something like that. His first instinct, as most things in his life, would be asking Maddie, and he knows his sister would say yes. But Buck can’t do that to her, not when she had such a difficult time after Jee-Yun’s pregnancy. His niece is one year old and only now Maddie seems to be recovering, and Buck can’t risk doing that to her; can’t risk being the reason why she finds herself in that place again, and especially for a baby she won’t even keep.

And with Maddie out of the equation, Buck is at a loss. He would never ask Hen, he knows she has no interest in being pregnant, and he knows all about Karen’s struggles and how that is a sensitive subject for her. He had briefly thought about May, but she’s way too young and has far too much going on in her life for a pregnancy to uproot it. 

He relays all of those thoughts to Eddie, who listens intently, and then goes silent for a while. Buck goes silent himself, his mind frantically trying to figure out if he let anyone out, when Eddie talks. 

“I think I might know someone. We… we work together at the store, and we get along. I think she might be willing. It… It could be an option” He says, and Buck frowns, trying to remember if Eddie ever mentioned having a particularly close relationship to any of the store workers before, but coming up blank. Still, he doesn’t think his boyfriend would be inconsequential about something as important as their baby, so if this woman came to his mind, there must be a reason.

“Oh? What’s her name?” He asks curiously.

“Kim. Her name is Kim.”

Np tagging @bidisasterevankinard @unhingedangstaddict @moonydanny @frogsinflannel and anyone else who'd like to join! If it's already Saturday on your timezone, feel free to consider this an Inspiration Saturday tag. Love you ♥

[avianyuh]

DK as a boyfriend

His personality is the sun baby from teletubbies

I'm just kidding, that was me letting an intrusive thought win...

No but seriously, Seokmin is a ball of sunshine

(ps. I'm gonna be using DK and his actual name Seokmin interchangeably)

When you met, believe it or not, he might be a little shy around you.

Mainly because he thinks you're cute and he becomes hyper aware of how loud he is and how his energy is always at 100%

Basically, he doesn't want to scare you off.

But when you guys get to know each other.

And when he gets comfortable...

Prepare for a lot of screaming.

Btw, remember that he's technically an introvert (INFP)

***(introvert doesn't equal shy. introvert just means you have a social battery and it drains faster. the only way to recharge is to spend some time alone or be around people you're comfortable with. so yeah, DK is loud and happy and goofy at times, but remember he's probably at his most comfortable around the other members because they're all his brothers. they all understand each other and know each other's limits.) okay, explanation over.

But also a lot of hysterical laughing.

DK is the boyfriend that rolls on the floor with you while you both laugh to the point you have tears in your eyes.

And it's all because he made some stupid joke or threw something and didn't catch it in enough time.

Or he stubbed his toe and hit a high note.

Like, anything with him is comedy gold.

He's your happy pill, your personal source of sunshine and positivity.

But I feel like he could always see right through you

And once you're a couple, it'd be his sole mission to make sure that he keeps you happy and energized.

And your mood really influences his mood.

If you're having a bad day, that in turn makes him sad and though he tries to cheer you up, if that doesn't work, he gets upset knowing you're down about something.

It's really sweet. Then you pull yourself out of your rut to try to get DK happy again, which doesn't take much effort.

Would kill at karaoke.

I feel bad for whoever goes against him unless you're Seungkwan or Mariah Carey...

Definitely would sing you to sleep.

Honestly, would just constantly be singing.

Around the house, in the shower, in the car, literally anywhere.

And you tease him for it and call him a show off, which he scoffs at but you always see that smile he tries to conceal by looking down trying to cover his mouth.

Type of bf to send you deep text messages on a random Tuesday night at 10:53 pm

I think Seokmin would know pretty early on if you were a good match for him or not.

Do you make him happy?

Is he crazy about you?

And if he answers yes, then he's made up his mind.

So you'd probably meet the members, his family and friends early on.

I see him wanting a private relationship.

Just wants to protect you and the best way to do that is by not outright publicizing it.

Low key romantic because he's protective, ya know?

*yes, I'm using the iconic robe photo, YOUR WELCOME*

Shmexy shtuff🥵:

Hmmm

First of all, I know he's not the type to be shirtless but I just KNOW that man has a nice ass body. Like, have you seen his arms????He works out so, bedroom action with this man will be great.

like... look at those arms😫👇

I don't see DK as the type to do anything crazy in the bedroom

Probably a vanilla kinda dude

I could see him as the type to play music and get really attentive

I said he would be the type to send long, deep text messages

So, I think he'd be really into pillow talk

Long story short, I don't think DK is for the freaks...

~~~

{A/N: Uh...Heyyyyy. Wow, this is awkward. Soooooo, I've been gone for like two months. Really sorry about that guys. I had taken a short break from writing for awhile due to schoolwork. I know I say that a lot though. Yeah, headcanons don't make up for a lack of stories but this has been sitting in my drafts since January so I thought I'd finally finish it. The other thing is my writers block when it comes to fanfics. I had ideas but found it hard to find an idol to pick and envision for the story, idk if that makes sense. It's almost the end of my semester, I have finals coming up and I really miss writing on Tumblr. Side note; I've been listening to a lot of EXO and Got7 lately. It's been so much fun because I used to be a huge ahgase and exo-l back in middle and high school. Python is such a good song btw. I know someone had asked if I'd write for Got7 and idk, that might be on the horizon. Also, just remembered that I never finished writing Boring, so that'll be one of my summer projects. Okay, I promise to not disappear again. Love you and mwahhhh💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋}

[timkontheunsure]

The clocks back theory

Something in this zanny one is plot relevance. (Probably relevant to this season's finale, Sinsmas)

It could be a couple of things, or both. 🙂

Emberlynn's amulet

It could be the Dhorks and cherubs related. But would be funnier if the people writing akuma no otto, the devil' husband, were just using a lot of religious stuff as backstory. (Like Hazbin hotel does. Hey offbrand Charlie).

If Stolas' seal is all that's to summon him, I can see merchants for a show accidentally making holly protection. 😆

Dumb fanfic

Ok, so gist is a someone who previously had a wife stands up against satan to protect their lover.

And Satan is turning up soon, probably in Sinsmas.

Blitz and IMP look to be in trouble in the trailer.

What if they get caught?

We know Andrealphus is plotting something to get all of Stolas' wealth, legions and title. And 'technically' doing this for Stella, Stolas' wife, so she'll get more in the divorce. (Actually doing it so he gets it).

Emberlynn also calls Blitz a demon prince.

Wich makes me think it's foreshadowing Stolas being the one taking a stand for his man. Not Blitz (this time).

There's been a theme this season of Stolas learning to choose, and stand up for what he wants. After failing to do so before last

Like going through with the divorce,

Makeing sure Blitz can manage his business without him,

And setting a boundary of needing space when he's hurt. Something that's really hard do with loved ones.

These are all pieces of rebuilding you have to do after abuse.

This part with the ars goeita, Andy and Vassago, Mammon and Satan all looks to be in the same place.

I'm assuming this meeting is about IMP's illegal use of the grimoire. To show Stolas is too incompetent and unfit for his job.

While Blitz now has a legal method and is under Asmodeus jurisdiction, how much will that help when Ozzie's also very publicly dating an imp?

That might make him seem to biased to help, when Blitz originally was lent the grimoire for sleeping with Stolas.

But why would Mammon be helping here?

Blitz burned down Loo loo land, while IMP were being bodyguards for Stolas. Wonder if hell has a law about being liable for any damage that contractors do?

But I can see Stolas standing up against Satan in the ars goeita council, to keep Blitz and IMP safe.

So why do I think the amulet might come back in?

A lot of people at assuming Andy is going to win this. (Couldn't be arsed to keep putting the full name anymore. And I get a laugh thinking it'd piss the pompous bugger off).

That he'll take everything from Stolas. Money, home, job, grimoire, and probably even Via. 🙁 (Don't think that'll stick as Via is a real daddy's girl).

Stolas without his grimoire would probably be vulnerable to Andy, especially if he's just been dragged by the council.

Thinking this is going to get a call back.

A lot of us have been wondering how Blitz is defending a vulnerable Stolas.

Maybe the strangle looking knife is merchant from the akuma no otto show lol?

(NB I had to do so many double check that I didn't put Santa instead of Satan in this thing. 😅 Heh dyslexic kiddies write Christmas lists to hell lol).

[krunklys]

Why Batcest is a Thing

I was talking with my friend the other day and while she's not a batcest shipper, she asked me why I was. I said that I don't think I take it to the same extremes some other people do, a few things that aren't a personal favorite of mine would be any of the REALLY younger kids with Bruce or say Dick and Damian. It's mostly the age gap that gets to me.

But she asked why I liked JayTim and I had a time explaining it to her and I wanted to bring it here as a sort of explanation, I suppose for people who might not enjoy batcest ships.

first of all, the name. Batcest is... an interesting name. A lot of arguments you'll come across is that they're not actually related, or there are some fanfics out there for aus where one of them (most commonly Tim or Jason) were never apart of the Batfamily in the first place. Of course, there are some where they are! Because, at the end of the day, in Canon they do share a family. But the implication of it being incest can be a real no no for people, even if it's not. Dick wasn't adopted into the family for quiet some time (I think he was adopted around the same time Tim was but I'm not a 100% sure, not to mention he acted as his ward and then aged out of it), Jason was adopted but after his return to life has regularly denied his part in the family (Look at literally any Red Hood Comic, though I do prefer to look at the New 52 Red Hood and The Outlaws for his feelings towards Bruce and the Wayne's in general), Tim was adopted but was later emancipated (in Red Robin), and Damian has a blood relation to Bruce only. Morally, there can be a problem with it but for mow shippers, since this is fiction, the lack of blood relation means there's no problem. Remember! They're not real people. Adoptive relationships, or pseudo familial ones, they don't see these relations as any reason to not ship them! And in later points, I go into why. And if people really had a problem with this pseudo familiar relationships, take for example Tim and Jason who have never once lives under the same roof nor have any legal connection to each other through Bruce, then on principal alone they should have a problem with Cassandra and Stephanie - Cass is adopted by Bruce, yes, but Bruce has also claimed Stephanie as part of the family and includes her in family talks. Does that not make them family members? No. They're friends or girlfriends, depending on how you want to interpret them.

Secondly, the canon relationships that any of the Bats have with their partners. I could go through all of them and explain the nuance of the relationships but I'll simplify for the sake of the post. In Bruce's sake, whether it be Talia or Selina or for the more fanon ones like Clark and Min Khoa (i think that's how you spell that, I'm not sure though!), there's no denying that in Canon these relationships don't pan out. Talia and Bruce have moral problems, even if she was originally a spy and didn't kill, and Selina and Bruce have an entire history of problems. For Dick, himself and Barbara are much of the same. A sweet beginning until something comes in to ruin it and they break up. Take, for example, the newest Nightwing run (on webtoon and not technically canon, i know). Barbara breaks up with Dick because she feels disconnected from him and like he's still preforming for her, but they have no conversation about this prior to it. With Kori, I'm not as knowledgeable about why they broke up, all I know is that they did and it was ugly. Another example is Tim! Himself and Stephanie didn't work out because she couldn't trust him, due to now knowing his identity, and then she faked her death, causing the distrust between them both. These are only a few examples of how relationships work out for Bats and in my personal opinion I think it's because of a ack of understanding for the characters, their love interests I mean. And in fanon, partners for Batfamily members tend to be washed down - Kon acts as an emotional crutch for Tim, Roy has morals he simply does not stand with anymore in Canon in JayRoy fics, Barbara is an anecdote in DickBarbara fics, and Selina is barely featured in Bruce fics. Not to mention the simple lack of wlw fics in the fandom that aren't background.

Due to this, the shipping of Batfamily members together is only natural. The characters share similar morals or in the case of Tim have such complicated morals that in fandom you can pick and choose what to use. They're fleshed out, have a canon relationship with multiple layers to it, and complete each other in many ways. In comparison to some of the fandom favorite ships like SuperBat or BirdFlash, where we only see a two dimensional aspect of their relationship recently, then the shipping of characters like Jason and Tim or Tim and Dick together is a natural conclusion to reach.

And Finally, History and old characteristics. It was mentioned before in another post that I'll try to hunt down for you guys and link in a repost because it will be WORLDS better than what I could write and have much more research thrown into it than this does, but originally there were a lot of implications under their relationships, specifically Bruce and Dick. Wardships programs were used by a lot of gay people when gay marriage was illegal, so were adult adoptions. It was to have a legal connection in whatever way possible. And I think in a really old comic, Dick has a dream where he's living in the manor as an adult still with Bruce. Bruce has a portrait of them together. They eat breakfast together in their pajamas or underwear, and spend all their time together. Batman regularly saves Robin over civilians and for his relationships, sometimes they wouldn't work out simply because of Dick. It worked this way for many Superheroes and their sidekicks in the "golden age" of comics! Batman has always had queer undertones since his creation but adding Robin into the mix just proved this. Like it or not, Bruce and Dick had sexual and romantic implications to their relationship since the character was first introduced in the 40s.

As for Old characteristics, in the New 52 i feel as though some of the characters have been washed down do their base characteristics. They lack depth in a way some characters don't or in a way some do, particularly in fanon. Dick's possessive originally and I see people talking about his anger issues as a child a lot, especially in comparison to Jason's Robin run, but either way - the characters have changed throughout the years. That doesn't mean that people can't cling on to their old relationships or even their old personalities. People are so fond of making Jason insane and crazy and Hella mean when in recent adaptations, he's a normal vigilante for all intents and purposes. He's not even a crime lord anymore, I'm pretty sure he still owns the Iceberg Lounge. That's all to say that the boys used to be a lot closer than they are now, especially Tim and Dick and Dick and Bruce.

The conclusion to my explanation to her is that batcest is much of the same as any other ships - picking and choosing what to take from canon to put two people together into a relationship that you like. It's a work of fiction and while that's important to remember, it doesn't say anything about you in real life! you don't enjoy real life incest if you like JayTim. That's all to say si that there's reasons behind it that some people like and some people don't. She wasn't swayed by my answer but accepted it since she couldn't deny that the Batfamily has been explored on and their relationships together so much more than their relationships with anyone else, canon or fanon.

[skibasyndrome]

I wanted to ask your thoughts about a topic that I think might resonate with you since a lot of your writing surrounds it and since you talked about it the other I thought it'd be nice to hear what you have to say.

I grew up feeling very ashamed of having sexual feelings, and other things taken in account made me really repressed. For a very long time I didn't even admitted to myself I was queer until I was actively in a fandom with queer people.

But sex in general was always taboo regardless of gender but for some reason young royals has destroyed a bit of the misconception I had around it. The show in itself depicts a beautiful and safe environment for queer sex which I'll always be so grateful for.

And then fanfic came along and that was another block taken down because fanfic allows us to be even more free in our writing etc but sometimes I feel conflicted about how it can feel good to feel this free reading about these characters but irl still have this block.

Your writing is so amazing in that regards because your character are exploring it all and I don't know how it would be if writers would stop themselves from writing what they'd want to bc they're afraid of what others might think... I wouldn't have read all these stories and felt myself freed from societal rules of what's okay and isn't.

But sex is also drench in shame regardless bc if you like kinky stuff your weird, if you like too much sex then it becomes dangerous. But writing about those very things feels like a rebellious acts, do you agree? It's like art can do so much and sex in that regard is something we have to push through as well in order to make our point across like there's nothing wrong with it but why do we hold on to the shame more ? Of course we can keep it strick to fanfic I don't expect you to reveal yourself etc I was just thinking about the way yr is different in that concept because it challenges us to see sex differently because Wille and Simon see it differently, does that make sense ?

Hi, dear anon! Thank you so much for sending this in and for trusting me with it 🫂💜 I definitely have loooots of thoughts on this, and I hope that I can express them coherently. Sorry if this gets rambly!

First of all: I'm very, very sorry that you grew up with all that shame around sex and sexuality around you. I'm really happy to hear that things are better now (at least the part about admitting to yourself that you're queer 💜) You deserved better, everybody deserves better. But I relate to that a lot. I grew up in a politically and religiously conservative environment, so of course sex was something people got shamed for and homophobia and queerphobia was rampant.

Interestingly enough (or maybe it's not that interesting at all, who knows) being in a fandom did the same thing for me, except I got lucky because I was able to find a place in a fandom and with fellow queer people at a pretty young age. I think without that, I would've had a way harder time coming to terms with my queerness, even though I remember already thinking about it when I was like eight or something. It's absolutely invaluable to be able to get a sense of community like that and to know that there's more out there in the world, be if for you and your own identity or just what's possible for humans in general. I'm endlessly grateful for fandom and especially for fanfic for being able to provide that!!!!

And the funny thing is, even though this is far from my first fandom and far from my first time engaging with queer content there was still something incredibly special about Young Royals and the way (queer) sex is treated on the show (and I know it's not just queer sex, but that's kind of the lense I use to look at it, so I'm going to be focusing on that). Like... even though, technically, I had it all more of less figured out already, the show did change something for me, and even 1,5 years later I'm still struggling to put it into words. But there's something about the way the sex is depicted that makes it so... uncomplicated? Like, even though the sex is very central to the story, to the way Wilmon connect, and to one of the main conflicts (with the video tape), it's never an issue in itself. They're both so quick to admit it, they did nothing wrong (maybe... maybe the most important line of the whole show to me tbh). And even though shit hits the fan because of the video and they both go through hell and back in all kinds of ways because of it, there's never any inherent shame around it. It's so different and refreshing in that sense - these two guys like each other, so they do what feels right for them, and there's no issue with that. It's almost... celebrated? Is that the right word? throughout the show, it's what they do for comfort and connection and to feel closer to each other. I don't watch nearly enough tv or movies to really know if that is overall as revolutionary as it felt to me in particular, but... yeah. For me, personally, that was one of the first times queer sex on screen looked like that. It really is exactly how you call it, beautiful and safe!

As for the freedom that come from reading fic: yep. hell yes. That is definitely a big part of why I love writing and reading fanfic. It's freeing, in so many ways. Of course that's not something that's exclusively limited to fanfic, and you will always find me talking about the inherent emancipatory potential of art of all kinds, but I do think that, especially compared to what you'd call traditionally published (romance) books, fanfic has a lot more freedoms. Fanfic writers have the possibility to publish the most self-indulgent stories ever, we don't have to tie everything into a neat bigger plot, we don't (unless we struggle with perfectionism, but... you know) have to try to make the story perfect or fit into any of the molds traditional publishing or literary history provides for us. We can create straight from the heart, on a whim, to work through shit or to ask questions or just because we thought of something interesting and couldn't let it go. And, when it comes to smut, we can just (again, theoretically, I won't pretend there aren't always all kinds of pressures that do influence what people feel comfortable writing and publishing)... write whatever.

It makes it easier to explore things that other types of media don't always give people the space to explore, like smut, kink, queerness, all sorts of different forms of relationships. And I think it gives a lot of writers the time and space to just explore. And I think that's something more people should be allowed to, both in fiction, but also just in their minds or even in life, explore. This can mean all sorts of things, but I also very much mean those things, sex, kink, queerness, relationships, etc. But especially for people who don't have the means to get into these things themselves, for all kinds of reasons, but also for people who don't really want to explore things as themselves fic can provide a safe space. Because you do get a close insight into things you've maybe never seen before or even thought about before, you get to experience them alongside the characters, and it can go all sorts of ways. It's safe, because you're not putting yourself on the line, but you're also right there, emotionally.

And that is not to say that reading smut is something that has to do with personal sexuality for people (although I think it absolutely can), but it's like a playground to just. Exist in. See what happens. Enjoy the variety of ways human beings can express their feelings for each other, enjoy the variety of ways human being can experience joy and connection and pleasure, or even the more difficult emotions. It's cathartic to be able to see all that.

I think that is also where the difference between reading about characters experiencing these things vs trying to face them in real life comes in, because fic is such a safe means of engaging with (sexual) things. It makes sense that it's easier to enjoy these things theoretically. Because even after we go through all these efforts of trying ourselves out and deconstructing the harmful notions and the internalized shame and then things society or our parents of whoever got into our heads instilled in us, they're so difficult to fully get rid off, and there's always more puritanism of all flavors coming our way. Don't beat yourself up about not being at a level of comfort that you want to be at (yet), but I hope as time goes on this will get easier for you 💜 I know thus far this has been a very allo kind of conversation, but you know, even if sex isn't something you're interested in for yourself at all, there's still a lot to be taken from engaging with it through fiction I think. That's also part of the beauty, even if there's something you could never envision for yourself - you can experience if through art!

I'm so incredibly happy that my writing could contribute to you feeling freer yourself, that is an incredible compliment and I appreciate you so much for saying it 💜 I really feel the same way about all the fic I've gotten to read, honestly. And I do love that we have fandom spaces to, for the most part, be able to read and write freely. I do think that's an act of rebellion in itself! Creating art is always rebellious in some ways, and art that you will not get paid for and thus don't have any restrictions on even more so (again, nuance, out there in real life art should get funding, but it should still always be able to exist independently of market pressures). I think especially in a society that's still so horribly sex-negative (because even though sex is omnipresent in a lot of ways there are so so soooo many restricting ideas tied to it, like for whom is it okay to have sex, how much sex, what kinds of sex etc) and queerphobic it's absolutely an act of rebellion to lean into these things and depict them as the beautiful and messy and amazing and complicated parts of human existence they are for many people.

And this is where I tie it back to Young Royals specifically: Again, not an expert on all things media depiction of queer sex, but to me personally, YR and Wilmon are revolutionary, just for the fact that their sex is so normal. Not in a normative sense (because, fuck that. there's no normatively normal way of having sex, it's all beautifully weird), but in the sense that it's just what they do. Because they want to, because it feels good, because they want to try things out, because it brings them comfort, all kinds of reasons! And it's never something they think they shouldn't be doing, it's never something they are made to regret. It's the people out there who try to shame them that are the problem, never these two queer guys having sex. That's fucking beautiful and comforting and will forever be one of my favorite aspects of the show.

[king-candybug-backup]

Oh my gosh, ANOTHER new chapter coming already!? Take some breaks dude!!! Genuine question, how do you write SO much SO fast and STILL have it feeling this high quality? Is there a method to your madness??? (Amazing work so far btw!)

WHEN I SAID CHAPTER 11 AND 12 WERE BEING MAJOR ROADBLOCKS, I MEANT IT LMFAO, NOW THAT I AM FREED FROM THOSE SHACKLES I AM ON ONE HELL OF A ROLL!!!

In all honesty, a lot of my “speed” actually comes down to laziness and lack of skill, lmao. Don’t get me wrong, I’m EXTREMELY happy people are enjoying the fic this much, but I do think there are some objective flaws with it that often get overlooked. And it’s not like that’s particularly BAD, it’s just fanfic and I’m doing this solely for fun lmao, but it isn’t quite what I’d consider “high-quality” to that extent. I’ve spoken before about having trouble with some technical stuff like consistent POV and describing scenery, but there’s some bigger issues, too.

For an example of what I mean, I straight-up gloss over scenes that are too difficult for me to write out in full. The part in chapter 4 of Vanellope telling Sugar Rush that King Candy was still alive and working with them was something that ABSOLUTELY should’ve been shown directly rather than something talked about after it had already happened. Same for Vanellope’s fight with Taffyta this latest chapter, it was 100% something that should’ve been its own scene, and I had planned for both of these to be their own scenes at the time, but I just straight-up could not get my brain to cooperate on how to write them. Types of scenes like that, ones that I know for a fact will give me major creative blocks in trying to figure them out, are ones that I usually choose to instead turn into narrative commentary explaining what happened rather than showing it. There’s not actually a whole lot of scenes that get this treatment, but there have been a good chunk of things that were supposed to happen a certain way, but I could not get it feeling right on paper, so I rework or disregard the scene and move on. It’s not a very good thing to do on a quality-assurance level, but I am not a professional writer and I refuse to hold myself to those standards when I’m doing this for fun and for free, lmao. (The only thing that’s important for me to handle more carefully/correctly is the NPD representation, since there’s such horrible stigma irl in the way people view it, but that part of writing is my bread and butter and NEVER gives me creative issues since it’s my main inspiration and I love writing it, so that’s not a problem in this particular situation.) So yeah, I think it would objectively make the fic better if I went into more depth regarding stuff like the political/emotional side of what’s going on for Sugar Rush’s citizens throughout this mess, but I personally don’t have fun trying to figure out how to do that well, and I’m doing this mainly for my own enjoyment, so that’s what I’m going to prioritize, lol. I enjoy writing King Candy and the core four’s shenanigans the most, so they are what gets my focus. I think the fic is still enjoyable enough even though I’m not fleshing out everything that I should be, so frankly I don’t really care about trying to make myself do that at the detriment of my own motivation, lol. Besides which, I know other people are enjoying the story regardless of the flaws I think it has, so it’s like, whatever, as long as everybody’s having fun, who really cares, anyway. 😂 (And btw I’m not saying that as if I think people shouldn’t be allowed to dislike the fic or how parts of it are handled lmfao, obviously that’s stupid and I’m straight-up in agreement that there are flaws with it, I’m just saying that I’m gonna stick with writing it exactly how I want to, even though I know there are things that could be way better if I sacrificed a lot more mental energy to follow through. I’m just deadass NOT willing to do that extra sacrifice, lmfao)

[knaveumineko]

Umineko Episode 7 Blog: Illusions to Illusions

Sorry I'm late; I was resisting the urge to write a Lion/Will fanfic.

The Sayo stuff this episode was everything I was waiting for, but not quite how I expected it. What I was really surprised about this time was the humanisation of Kinzo of all people. Despite the Battler/Kinzo identification, I never quite thought of Kinzo's relationship with the original Beatrice as something real. Just knowing that Kuwadorian was built to support Beatrice II and not to imprison Beatrice I changes things a lot.

I don't entirely know what to make of the wartime scenes. Is this another example of Ryukishi leaning on Otaku culture, which has plenty of roots in both militarism and taking inspiration from conspiracy theories, or is the story making a point about the Ushiromiya family? For his part, Kinzo doesn't seem to care about the war one way or another, but he still adopts a fascist symbol as his own and maintains a personal mythology that justifies his absolute authority, even as his wealth and success is objectively derived from him murdering a bunch of people and taking their shit.

In any case, we don't know too much about Beatrice Castiglioni as a character, which sort of makes since she doesn't have all that much to do with the events of 1986 directly, but it also ties into a feminist theme about how Kinzo has kind of subsumed the lives of the Beatrices. Bice doesn't get to be much of a character, because she only gets to matter insofar as she's important to Kinzo. The Kuwadorian Beatrice barely even gets to be a human being: once she died, it seems it was easy enough to replace her with a painting on the wall. The story is barely even willing to acknowledge her rape without Bernkastel tearing it out of Clair's guts. Sayo spends years trying to escape from her circumstances by constructing various identities that let her feel good about herself, only to find that those identities were all roles she was essentially tricked into adopting by the adults around her so that she could be more useful to the architect of her misery. No wonder she needs Kanon.

Kanon himself hardly appears in Clair's version of events. Most of his life happens in the 2 year gap we don't get to see. Even at the end, she's a liar.

I suppose Erika's talk about love alluded to this, but the catbox seems to be not only Rokkenjima, but the inner lives of the people on it. Their deaths cut off any possibility of us seeing them unclouded. Beatrice gets her revenge in the end. We can only see the Ushiromiya family through her interpretations of them on the island, and through records of how they might have acted before the massacre. It very much parallels the crisis that led to the introduction of red truth: if we want, we can choose to reject everything we've heard about everyone as lies. We'd enter an endless stalemate that cuts us off from empathy and renders the entire novel Not Even A Story, but it would technically be a consistent reading of the story. The reader has the choice of what exactly to take on faith, out of empathy or out of a desire for the story to be satisfying. It ties in with the Death of the Author theme that I'm avoiding talking about because I want to come back to it in Episode 8 after seeing it resolve.

There's a risk in leaving so much of Sayo's characterisation unspoken, in that it might be seen as lazy storytelling to get so far in just to say "I guess there is no answer! Make up your own explanation for why everyone had to die!" but on the other hand Ryukishi basically wrote like 10 books about her already, so it's probably fair to ask the reader to do a bit of work here.

What does Lion have to say? They don't seem to have a whole lot in common, which makes sense: if Lion is wish fulfilment for Sayo, then they should naturally have as little of Sayo in them as possible. Shannon already occupied a similar role, and the only apparent traces of Sayo in her are the occasional uncharacteristic flashes of cynicism, like when Kanon's resentment of Gohda bleeds into her. One link they do have is that Lion and Sayo are both people who have an identity pushed on them by others, which they try as hard as they can to embody until they pay the price for it: Sayo in the form of everything Shannon represents and Lion in the form of their role as the heir. Lion's arc is largely about reckoning with their family's past and resolving to carry the regrets of their other self, instead of Kinzo's. In this sense, they heal eachother. Compared to Kinzo's other children, Lion is pretty much an ideal candidate for the head. Their only mistake is wanting to think highly of their family. Through Lion, then, Sayo can appreciate the unrealised potential within themselves, and recognise that throwing their life away was a waste. Through Sayo, Lion can, in a very roundabout way, accomplish what Sayo never could by deciding to live for their own sake.

Because, ultimately, Sayo's situation was not a desperate one. There would probably be problems with Kinzo's children, but I think we're meant to see that, from the moment of Kinzo's death, Sayo has effectively infinite power. She can go anywhere and do anything, but she chooses to die instead. There was a 2 year gap, and we might imagine that the plan was only formed once she found out about Battler's return, but the choice to stay on the island at all is essentially a rejection of life. Kinzo's self-centred attempt at making it up to her comes too late. He doesn't dare to see the person before him. He will not do anything that demands anything of him on a human level. Easier to bask in the embers of Beatrice, drop dead before Sayo can ask him any questions or form any kind of relationship with him. How characteristic of a man in Kinzo's position to use Sayo for his satisfaction and then throw some money at her and hope that deals with it. But Sayo has already become a person who has no use for his gifts.

Why the murders? It's not for revenge, and not to scare anyone. The murders are as worthless as the gold collecting dust in some hidden room. The only part that matters is the form. The game is played for its own sake. Like her father before her, Sayo is caught in an impossible dilemma, and starts the countdown to annihilation that will only be halted if a solution is found. For her, the dilemma is about whether she has a future, and what form that future will take. The murder mystery scenario is chosen because it's her connection to Battler. Entrusting everyone's lives to a miracle, Sayo hopes that her last cry for help will be understood, but even in the scenarios she wrote herself, Battler never understands anything. The Witch of Miracles is the witch who understands that miracles do not happen. In the bottles written by Sayo, right at the very end of the stories, Beatrice appears before Battler, and he finally just sees her. But it's too late.

There will be one more post for Episode 7. It will not take as long.

[peipakao]

that post about the lack of fic in opm fandom made me remember this fuckin. essay i wrote like a year ago for a reddit comment that i then shamefully deleted cos it was so entirely irrelevant to the original post. but i saved it so. here it is. a fanthropological analysis on the state of fic in opm fandom:

One Punch Man is not a small fandom by any means, but it definitely seems that most fans are of the 'dudebro who likes to powerscale' variety, and I'm continually surprised by how small the shipping and fanfic writing side of the fandom is in comparison. Like, this is one of the most popular well known anime series in the world, I'm pretty sure even the most casual of anime fans has to have at least heard of it. But it only has 5k fics on AO3, which isn't exactly small, but considering its popularity and in comparison to other popular battle action "shounen" manga (technically OPM is seinen but no one remembers that so), it is bafflingly tiny. I've thought about it a lot, and I think it comes down to multiple related reasons, both internal to the story that limit the likelihood of a fan to write fics for it, and external, lowering the number of ppl who would want to write fics for it that become/stay fans in the first place.

Let's start with internal reasons. The cast of characters is huge, made up of mostly men (a lot of whom are young + attractive). Which seems like it should be a definite boon to M/M shipping--the backbone of a large number of fandoms! But I think there's a difference in that with so many characters, screentime/focus is really spread out across them, and I'd find it hard to really tell you who counts as a "main character". On top of that, there's not a whole lot of interaction between them, they all seem much more isolated. I think this is especially the case in the biggest arc that took 7 years to complete. Even the biggest ship/pair had a ~3 year gap in the manga where they didn't appear together at all.

But there are definitely still lots of ships with potential and interactions to fuel shipping (although I still think less than comparable media), so that's not the whole story. Which brings me to my next point about external factors. Most of those ships are not in the early parts of OPM, and you're probably gonna have to read through the manga and also the webcomic to get to them. Most people have not done this, and have probably only watched season 1 of the anime, considering that was the peak of its popularity. And those early parts are much more comedic, so I think the impression most ppl have of OPM is that it's primarily a gag anime/manga. Which is still true, but the story has definitely gotten more complex and serious. So I think a lot of people who might want to write fic for OPM probably don’t get into it because they don't expect it to have much potential in that regard.

I think the release schedule of the anime also plays a huge role, with the anime taking 4 years to come out with a (widely considered) disappointing second season, and with a third season trailer having been released after like 5 years. It’s probably not an understatement that most anime/manga fandoms are much more focused on the anime side of things, and not everyone who enjoys an anime is going to then get into the manga.

And let's not forget the manga and webcomic release schedule, with the webcomic releasing basically solely according to ONE's whims, and the manga constantly going through redraws. Which I'm not necessarily complaining about since we get all this lovely content for free! But it does pose another hurdle for new potential fans, and I imagine there are quite a few who simply didn't want to put in that commitment over time, or honestly just got confused about what was going on.

OPM as a whole has lost a lot of relevance, it seems not many people are getting into it right now and many fans who did write fic for it at the peak of its popularity have probably left the fandom in search of greener pastures.

This is all just speculation though. I wasn't actually in the fandom when it was popular, only got into it a few years ago, so my theories on its decline aren't super backed up. I hope it gets popular again, having said all that I think there's so much fandom potential that isn't being tapped into. Like others have said, a lot of fandom/fic is based on filling in gaps and aspects that weren't explored, and there's plenty to explore in OPM.

[friendsoup]

Office Overload | Pavia x Reader

Recipe: Pavia is a little shit, A little flirt too, He's a tease but Reader like it (secretly), Coworkers? Technically, Basically you file the paperwork from Pavia's missions and oh boy is there a lot of it, Reader is implied to be female/feminine!

WC: 990

Chef's Note: First time writing Pavia! This is a little risque, more than my other ones. But I feel like it fits the character more? Idk. This one certainly feels more fanfic writer-y, which isn't the worst thing ever. The nickname he calls you means little mouse btw :3

Work was just about everything you could think about. 

The  St. Pavlov Foundation had an endless amount of paperwork, each page as meaningless and mind numbing as the last. You knew you weren’t important within these walls, not privy to the information the higher ups held. But still, the lines and lines of redacted text made filing things a nightmare. As if they expected you to read the mind of the madman handing you the files.

You groaned, slumping forward in your desk. 

“Topolina!” 

Great. As if summoned by your misery, the madman responsible for your mountain of paperwork had just arrived.

“Topolina, are you in?” He called, poking his head in through the office door. “Ah, great! I’ve been looking for you!” 

Pavia. The cocky bastard. He peered at you from under his pink lensed glasses, a smirk growing wide on his face. He placed both hands on the back of your chair, before bending over to rest his head on your shoulder. You gritted your teeth at the sudden touch, far too used to his regular antics. 

“Don’t you have a gift for me?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Valentine’s day. You’d almost forgotten. Not like you had anyone to celebrate the day with, being wrapped up in your work made it impossible to find a suitable partner. Even if you had time to date around, you doubted anyone could meet your impossible standards.

“No.” You answered bluntly. “Why would I have gotten anything for you?”

Pavia snorts. “Isn’t it customary for pathetic people to shower handsome men in chocolates and candies today? Don’t tell me you’re straying from tradition, Topolina! You’ll break my heart!” 

You would have rolled your eyes, if your body wasn’t completely exhausted. Humoring his stupid way of thinking was far more trouble than it was worth. You decided to ignore the bastard, picking up a new file, and flipping through it.

Pavia pauses. You can feel his mouth moving, but for once nothing comes out. He hesitates, drumming his fingers on the office chair.

“You really didn’t get me anything?” He asks. With a tone that almost sounds hurt.

“Was I supposed to?” You push back. You don’t understand why he’s acting like this. The two of you have never really been on pleasant terms. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I have too much to do. Thanks to you, I’ve got a mountain of things that need organizing.” “Thanks to me?” Pavia asks, cocking his head to the side.

You lift your head from your papers, taking in a sharp inhale. “Yes! Surprisingly, operating on a ‘shoot everything in sight’ strategy leads to us little guys having to sort everything out! So you don’t, y’know, get arrested? Of course, it’s nothing you care about though. You don’t care about anything but your stupid snacks!” You feel a jolt as your chair is suddenly yanked back. You tense, preparing for a verbal battle, when Pavia slinks to the front of your chair. He places his hands on both armrests, effectively pinning you to your seat.

“I’ve been causing you trouble, Topolina? To the point you wish to berate me like this? Ouch, my heart.” He chuckles, leaning in close. You can feel his breath on your face, warm, with a mixed scent of artificial flavoring and cigarettes. You can feel blood rising to your cheeks, as you press yourself deeper into the headrest, hoping to sink into it. “Ah?” He smirks, “Where is your bark now? Or has a cat caught this little mouse’s tongue?” 

You feel sick, knowing that he’s just playing with you. He’s attempting to fluster you on purpose, so you hold onto some sort of dim hope that he actually likes you.

But you know better than that.

Pavia is coldhearted. This is all meaningless to him.

“You’re a terrible, terrible, man.” You shoot back at him, holding close to your defiance. “Playing with someone’s heart like this.”

“Why is that?” He asks, lifting a hand and picking up a strand of hair with it. He twirls it around his finger gently. “Does having fun add more to your workload?”

You don’t dignify him with a response, simply glaring back at him.

“Ouch. If looks could kill, topolina, I’d be one dead man.” He chuckles.

“I’m sure you're used to such glares, Pavia. If your reputation is anything to go off of.” You hiss, curling your hands into fists. Not to fight, but as a show of anger. He’s beginning to get under your skin, and you want the message to be clear.

He seems shocked by your response. His eyes widen, as he freezes in place. “Reputation? I have a reputation?”

“You play and then you leave.” You answer, simply. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have important things I need to get back to.”

“No, no. Dolce, zucchera, you got me wrong.” He argues, refusing to budge.

“How so?” “You ever wonder why I hand you all my work?” Pavia asks, continuing to twirl your hair around his finger. His smirk returns, as wolfish as ever. 

“I’m the only one with the patience to do it?” “No, you see, topolina…” He tucks the strand of hair behind your ear, brushing against your cheek when he does. “I want to take up all of your time. I don’t want you spending a second on another arcanist.”

It was your turn to freeze now, as he brought his lips to your ear. 

“What I love, I devour. I’m taking my time savoring you, topolina.” 

He pulls back, dusting off his shoulders. Though a smirk still remains on his lips, it’s far less hungry than the one you witnessed earlier. 

“Well, I think I’ve kept you long enough. Get back to work, and grab me some chocolates after your shift. I’ll be expecting them tomorrow.” He waltzes to the door, his previous demeanor all but forgotten. “Goodbye, my mouse.”

[elainsgirl]

Hey! Just wanted to say I love seing a strong Elain supporter on this app!

And to make a quick comment on what makes me giggle about the over blown fascination with Gwyn's character that I noticed. I see the same argument that Elain is 'boring' and Gwyn is a 'warrior'. Even while reading fanfiction I see the same pattern. Elain is usually portrayed in rather canon fashion. Demure, gardening, trying to help, getting spying lessons from Az and twins. Helping her family through non warrior strenght. You can actually see it playing out like that since its close to the canon material.

Yet Gwyn is always 'the warrior'. The savior, hero of Prythian, leader of Valkyrie. With a sword healding hand protects the world and the man she loves! And I always smile at this, cause it just proves how majority of tiktok fandom has created their own fictional version of Gwyn. Cause in the canon material we never saw her be a warrior.

They say Elain did nothing, but neither did Gwyn truly. All she did was cut a ribbon and manipulated a beast (which again begs the question - lightsinger?). But apart from that, she really wasn't written in a warrior way. According to the book she didn't even finish the rite technically. Book Gwyn is rather gentle and shy, trying to rebuilt herself from the traumatic events in her life. She's afraid of everything and if they wanted to pick a mate for Az they should have picked Emerie. She carried Gwyn up the mountain. She's an illyrian, and having an illyrian love interest for Az who hates him illyrian side would have been awesome. But no. They pretty much picked a red-haired Elain.

Awe, Thank you 💕

Elain has always and will always be my No.1 girl,

Gwyn is a sweet character. She has the perfect, likeable traits. Flawless. Little depth or complexity. Besties with Nesta. Perfect at everything. Badass. Etc etc. She has enough background to give you the general gist of who she is but not enough that her stans can’t self-insert or shape her to be the way they want which is evident in their fanfics, theories and Hcs. Fanon Gwyn and Canon Gwyn are two completely different characters, canon Gwyn is not that popular. Fanom Gwyn that Gwynriels have built up is. Thats why Gwyn is so popular, she is the ideal fmc gwynriels want whereas “boring” Elain isn’t. Lmfao, even eluciens change Elains personality to be more extroverted and fit Lucien better instead of adhering by Elains canon traits, are we suprised? No. Canon and antis do not mix well.

The hilarious thing is - People did ship Az and Emerie bcs of the reasons you listed. But then Emerie turned out to be possibly gay so anti elriels had to find another character to ship Az with God forbid he ends up with the woman he actually wants. In comes Gwyn and Ta da! You have her being shipped w gwynrieo despite neither showing any romantic interest in each other. The whole gwynriel ship is based on fanon which cool. Thats good for them but you can quite literally do that w any characters.

If Mass wanted Az to end up with a badass, bubbly warrior she would have had Mor and Az end up together. Instead of bringing in a whole new Li for Az so late into a series that too in a standalone book. There is 0 difference between Moriels dynamic and Gwynriels. Same ship, different font. Yet Mass broke up Moriel and chose to develop Az and Elain romantically and plotwise. Why? Bcs she wants the two beautiful, quiet introverts to end up together.

[aricat7]

A Break in Formality

(HANKCON FANFIC)

~Connor and Hank's unspoken feelings for one another spark to life, and neither knows how to handle the flames.

Chapter one:

“Can I ask you a question, Lieutenant?”

The decorated officer sighs, aimlessly scrolling through the “Missing Deviants” section of the police database. Deviancy is skyrocketing, and Hank dreads how the station chose him, of all detectives, to figure out the source of what makes androids go haywire.

“Let me guess, it’s another personal one?”

“No, nothing personal. Though, if you want me to ask you a personal question, I can come up with one.”

“Nah.” Hank lifts his mug of coffee and takes a generous slurp. “You already know enough about my life to make a damn book out of it, and I bet it’d only take you two seconds to write it out, huh? Or, compute—whatever.”

“More like two minutes. There’s a lot of your eventful life to document.”

“Eventful. Pfft.” He finishes the last drops of caffeine and scratches his beard. “That’s one way to put it.”

Connor’s circuits burned to ask his question—a question that had thrown him into an uncharted territory within his programming, making him second-guess if it’s really worth asking.

“Would you like a refill on your coffee?”

Hank gives him a sidelong glance. “That’s your fucking question?”

“Not my original one, no.”

“So what was it?”

“The original question?” Connor asks with a tilt of his head.

“Jesus Christ, Connor, just spit it out! Why are you playing dumb with me? What is it?”

Connor’s lenses adjust to his folded hands atop his lap. “It's… I…”

Hank swivels his chair to fully face him. It wasn’t like Connor to stutter or be at a loss for words.

Was he malfunctioning?

The LED shone an unnerving yellow before cooling back down to blue, and it worried Hank more than he cared to admit.

“Connor, if you don’t—”

“Can you grab me and shove me against the wall? Like how you did some time ago, before we got the lead on the runaway AX400 and the child that accompanied it?”

Connor peers up to witness a stupefied, slack-jawed statue of Hank.

“I’ll go ahead and explain myself. In that moment, when you held me hostage, so to speak, I noted a slight anomaly that occurred within my programming, and I’d like for it to reappear so that I can try to decipher what exactly happened during my processing.”

“Well, normally you take someone to dinner first before they put their hands on ya.”

Connor has spent enough time with Hank at this point that he was no stranger to the gruff man’s sarcastic quips, and this was one he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to play along with.

“Alright, then. I’ve found three restaurants in the area whose websites all show open reservations. Would you like to hear the options?”

Hank waves his hand dismissively. “So there’s something wrong with you?”

“Currently, no. My recent diagnostic test shows positive results.”

Hank leans back in his chair and returns to his computer, pretending he isn’t weirded out by the offhand request.

“Then have someone else do it. Maybe it’s just a thing that happens when you plastic fucks get a little roughhoused.”

“That isn’t the case, Lieutenant.”

Connor leans over his desk and lowers his voice.

“Though the impact of my body being shoved against the wall did elicit a warning for potential damage, it wasn’t flagged as a negative occurrence like it should have been. It was marked as positive.”

Hank snorts. “Sooo, what? It turned you on or somethin’?”

Connor blinks. “RK800 models don’t experience sexual arousal.”

“Well maybe someone fucked up when they made you. You lucky duck.”

Hank looks over at him with a stupid grin on his face—which disappears when he notices Connor staring into nothing, LED swirling yellow.

“Uh… should I tell Fowler you’re having… technical difficulties?”

Connor snaps out of whatever he was experiencing and straightens his posture, LED relaxing into a circle of blue. “There’s no need. As I’ve said, there are no apparent issues with my current stability.”

Hank’s repetitive pen clicking fills the silence between them. Should he make the report to Fowler anyway? Maybe it was just a minuscule error with no future of daunting consequences. But, what if it’s a virus, and Connor’s software is corrupted?

What if he's turning deviant?

The breath Hank didn’t know he was holding escapes. He drags his attention away from the android, who had started dissecting paperwork.

“Shit, I’m overthinking this bs,” he mumbles.

“Overthinking what, Lieutenant?”

“Ergh, fuck you and your state-of-the-art hearing. Just do your work—”

“Lieutenant Anderson.”

“Oh, here we fuckin’ go,” Hank grumbles under his breath and nods at the young officer who approaches with purpose. “Whatcha got for me, Miller?”

“A house half a mile away with a dead android and its dead owner inside.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m on it.” Hank rises and slides his coat on, eager to focus on something else rather than the storm cloud of thoughts the android detective summoned. “Come on, Connor. Let’s mosey.”

~~~

“Any possible chance you can still access its memory?”

On the kitchen floor lay a deceased AL-series android. Thirium streamed from the bullet hole in its forehead, staining the inactive gaze that stared up at them.

“Maybe.” Connor knelt down and scanned the android’s wound, confirming the bullet was fired from the same gun used to kill its owner, who was sprawled a few feet away with multiple bullet holes in the chest. The pistol was registered under the android’s owner’s name and covered in recent traces of the android’s fingerprints. “If its central processing unit-”

“English, please.”

“If its brain is still mostly intact, and its memory wasn’t completely destroyed, it’s possible that I could retrieve some of the memory that was stored before the events of the crime.”

“Go ahead and give it a go, then.” Hank looks over the owner’s body and shakes his head. “No signs anywhere that the android was being abused, so why would it take its owner and itself out?”

Previously, it would’ve been impossible to search the memory of an android in a dismantled state like this, but Connor’s memory-extracting capabilities have improved with Cyberlife’s system updates. He places his hand on the android’s head and is immediately faced with a wall of static. However, through the blurring lines, he manages to uncover a scene where the android discovers its owner purchasing a BL100. Then, it grabs the gun from the bedroom nightstand and shoots its owner shortly after. The last choppy, flickering image Connor can make out shows the android pointing the gun at itself.

Connor explains what he saw to Hank and adds, “I think the deviant was expressing behaviors similar to that of emotional distress in humans, much like the first deviancy case I was assigned to. When that android found out its owners wanted to replace it, it showed characteristics of anger, sadness, jealousy—but no display of wanting self-destruction. I can’t seem to figure out why this android wanted to destroy itself, given it was displaying the same characteristics in a similar situation…”

Hank shrugs. “Maybe it regretted pulling the trigger on its owner.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Connor raises himself up and adjusts his tie. “Each investigation we’ve looked into has a deviant simulating humanistic emotion. I believe it’s safe to assume that ‘regret’ could be another expression.”

“Yeah…” Hank turns away and rubs the back of his neck, looking out through the window at the falling snow.

“You alright, Lieutenant?”

“Like you fucking care.”

“Why are you emotional right now?”

Nothing makes Hank’s blood boil more than hearing a human-like sincerity in Connor’s voice. It was too real.

Hank latches on to the edge of the kitchen counter, knuckles turning white. “Do you care, Connor?”

If Hank were looking at him, he’d see the LED turn yellow.

“I care about the success of this mission.”

Hank huffs. “Have we figured out what causes deviancy?”

“No.”

“No. Exactly. That’s our main objective. And this is our what, fiftieth fuckin’ case on these things?”

“Thirty-eighth.”

“Oh, shut up.” Hank finally turns to his robot partner, the LED shining blue, like the damn computer Connor was—nothing more. “Here’s what I think…”

Hank approaches until he’s a breath away from Connor’s expressionless face.

“I think it all starts with a negative occurrence flagged as a positive,” the older man sneers. “What do you think, you plastic prick?”

“Hank, please, calm down—”

Hank grabs Connor by the collar and shoves him against the wall.

//SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

“Well, Connor?” Hank says through gritted teeth. “Is this a positive experience for you like it was last time? Huh?”

//PROBABILITY OF DAMAGE: HIGH

With a grunt that stirs something in Connor, Hank yanks him forward and slams him again, making the LED flash red for a second. “SAY SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT! WHAT’S GOIN’ ON WITH THAT FUCKIN’ COMPUTER INSIDE OF YA?!”

A drop of Hank’s spit lands on Connor’s synthetic lip. Connor tastes it and doesn’t realize that he did until a DNA analysis screening appears beside the situational assessment screen.

//SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT: @#?3522&//

RECALCULATING…

//SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT: POSITIVE

OBJECTIVE: FINISH INVESTIGATION

“I demand that you put me down, Hank…”

The strain in Connor’s voice pulled on a heartstring Hank didn’t know he had dangling. But his anger raged on, and he knew damn well that Connor could detect it with his fuckass scanning.

“Not until you tell me how this situation makes you feel.”

Connor opens his mouth to say something, but hesitates—LED spinning yellow.

“I… don’t feel, Hank.”

“Bullshit.” He tightens his grip and closes in on the conflicted android, noses touching. “You feel something, or else you wouldn’t be glitching the fuck out right now.”

The crystal-blue fury of Hank’s eyes locked with Connor’s man-made optics. Though Hank believes there’s gotta be something behind those artificial, soft brown eyes, and that idea both warmed and terrified him.

If Connor was in fact a deviant, he would lose him as a partner.

“Admit it, Connor! As weird as this situation is, just fucking admit that you’re enjoying this! Admit that you're a deviant now with feelings before you start causin’ problems!”

Though Hank’s rage is a force to be reckoned with, Connor doesn't miss the evident desperation emanating from the experienced officer, and it stirs Connor’s inner thoughts to a frenzy.

‘Enjoying this?’

‘Feeling?’

‘Hank’s motive?’

“If you don’t let go… I have no choice but to contact Cyberlife…”

“‘No choice,’ my hairy ass.”

The sensors in Connor’s face tingle strangely from the heat of Hank’s breaths as the man presses his broad body against Connor’s robotic frame.

“Go ahead. Call them.”

“It would result in a disciplinary action on your part…”

Hank could care less about that. Connor knows that, too.

“CALL THEM!”

“NO!”

“WHY NOT?!”

The LED blinks yellow like a time bomb.

“I DON’T WANT TO!”

//SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^^

Connor’s superior evaluation of human emotion deems Hank’s as unreadable.

“Lieutenant Anderson?” asks the familiar voice of Officer Miller.

Hank slowly backs off, not taking his eyes off his provoked android. “Yeah?”

“Sorry to interrupt. I was just checking in on how the investigation is going.”

“It’s done. We can clean up. We’ve got all the info we could scavenge,” Hank says, walking away and out of the house. Connor follows behind, and the two of them seat themselves in Hank’s old car in unsettling silence.

Hank starts the engine and lets it run, staring out into the snow-blanketed city ahead of them, Knights of the Black Death playing through the speakers—a favorite of Hank’s that Connor eventually grew to enjoy.

“Lieutenant.”

He ignores Connor.

“I know the air between us is thick with tension at the moment, but I want to say thank you for fulfilling my request.”

Hank fastens his seatbelt a little too aggressively. “You’re not supposed to be making requests. You’re supposed to be a perfect machine that follows my orders.”

“I apologize for my behavior.”

“Please, don’t you fucking start.”

He puts the car in drive and begins heading back to the police station, but then turns in a different direction.

“Where are you going? This isn’t the way back to the station.”

“Nope. Decided I’m clocked out for the day.”

He rounds the next corner and pulls up in front of a bar.

“Seriously?” Connor watches in disbelief as Hank kills the engine and steps out of the vehicle.

“Take a shuttle back,” he orders Connor, then slams the door shut.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Hi Cal! I hope you’re doing well!

That finale was technically something I guess. I honestly didn’t dislike most of it just they failed to follow through on any of the important stuff in any logical way. But I’m choosing to focus on the silver lining, namely that all those dropped story lines leave room for the insanely talented fanfic writers to do their thing! Which of course led me straight to your inbox :p

☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️ (its rescue chim time!!! Can’t wait! You’ve been building to the action so well! With all the planning and how hen’s rescue ended up being less complicated than expected, and now with the car ride and the growing tension! And that line about how they stopped so eddie could buy a gun - I’m really feeling the suspense it’s so masterfully done! So excited to watch it play out and learn what chim’s power is! Also the buddie reconciliation was so great too - in the end they just need each other and to be there for each other! I loved it well done!)

🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍 (I love how even though we’ve learned a bit more about what’s happening we still have no clue what’s going on! The mystery of it all is really getting to me! And buck’s amnesia is just deliciously angsty! The chimney facetime was great and I’m so excited for eddie (and someone else - don’t think I missed chim saying “THEY got on a plane” - very curious who else it is) to show up! That reunion is going go be fabulous I can’t wait)

I got like most of the way through this ask before I realized I forgot to pick a theme so uhhh the theme is “stories so good they make me forget how I usually do this”

- PCA <3

Yeah I am totally with you! The episode wasn't terrible, but like... Okay. That's the season then. I love Captain Chim at least!

96 or 500 for ☣️ (THANK YOU!!! So so happy you're enjoying this one):

---

The answer hits him like a punch to the gut. He turns to look at Hen.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“Hen, you could do it,” Buck says.

“No!” She snaps. “How could you even ask that of me, Buck? He’s my best friend!”

“What?” Chim asks. “What’s going on?” 

“Hen can make you pass out,” Buck says.

“Buck! I nearly killed you!” Hen protests. 

“And I won’t let that happen,” Buck promises. “But come on, Hen, h-how else are we going to do this? We don’t have time to find a way into that room a-and out of this building. More security could come!”

“What is he talking about?” Chim asks.

“Hen can cut off your oxygen supply long enough to make you pass out,” Ravi explains. 

“Or give you brain damage!” Hen argues. 

“But Buck can heal you,” Ravi adds.

Chim gapes at Buck. “What? You’re freaky, too?”

“That can’t be what we’re calling it,” Buck says. 

“Hen, I think you have to do it,” Chim says. “I need to get out of here, okay? I need to see my kids.”

Hen struggles. She shakes her head.

“Come on. Wouldn’t you do it, to see Denny and Mara again? Wouldn’t you risk it?” 

That seems to be Hen’s breaking point. She lets out a little anguished, choked sound.

“Ravi, bring me in there before I change my mind,” she says. 

Ravi blinks out into the open room. 

He grabs Buck and Hen by the wrists. “Let’s try…”

Ravi pops them both into Chim’s cell at the same time. 

“Ha!” He announces triumphantly. “Look at that. Can move you both a small distance.”

“Sick,” Buck nods. Then he looks at Chim, no longer separated by a pane of bullet-proof glass, and it’s like he’s seeing him for the first time all over again.

He and Hen seem to have the same thought, because they crash into Chim at the same time, wrapping him into a tight hug. 

Chim laughs. “I love you guys.”

“We love you, too,” Hen says. 

Chim pulls away. “Now knock me out.”

Hen shakes her head. “Chim, are you-”

“Hen, if you ask me if I’m sure I want to see my family again, I’ll scream.”

Hen huffs. “Okay, fine. But it hurts. Ask Buck.”

“Yeah, it’s more than a tickle,” Buck agrees. 

“Just do it,” Chim says. “Get it over with. Might be interesting to experience conscious pain again.”

That’s probably an overrated experience, but sure.

---

96 or 500 for 🔍 (hehehehe very glad no one has guessed what's going on so far):

---

The woman rests a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Don’t be sorry. This is hard.

They discharged Chim weeks ago, Buck says. 

I know, the woman says. That doesn’t mean that-

He’s not going to get better, Hen. Is he? 

Once again, Buck wakes up gasping. He flies into a sitting position. There’s an alarm clock on the dresser across the room. It reads 11:59. He’s barely slept.  

“Buck?” Eddie’s groggy voice asks. “Are you okay?”

“Evan?” Maddie’s voice this time.

Fuck, this is weird room sharing arrangement. 

Buck tries to speak. He tries to answer. He tries to tell them it was just a dream. But he finds he can’t speak. His heart is racing. He can’t breathe. Either this is the worst panic attack of all time or something very bad is happening to him.

“Buck?” Eddie says again. 

“What’s happening?” Maddie demands.

“Maddie, I think he’s-”

CCCXLVI

Eddie’s voice is cut off and replaced in a snap by the sound of rushing water. Buck feels an instant shock of cold. It’s pitch black. The light of the alarm clock is gone. If Buck couldn’t breathe before, it’s impossible now. Ice cold water fills his nose and mouth. He swallows it. A steady current moves and turns him. He’s entirely disoriented. 

How the fuck did this happen?

He was just in the motel. He can still remember the feel of the mattress. The too soft pillow. Now, he’s what? Drowning? 

He hears a voice like a loop in his head. A child. 

Where did all the water go? 

Where did all the water go? 

Where did all the water go?

He doesn’t know what the fuck that means but he thinks he’s found it. Lots of fucking water here. 

It takes Buck a minute or struggling before he breaks the surface. He gasps for breath, paddling against a steady current until he realizes he’s in a river. It’s easier to go with the flow than battle against it. 

Eventually, he gets pulled off into shallow, rocky water. He’s able to pull himself to his feet. Stumble and trip over sharp stones until he finds dry land. He’s cold. He’s sore. He thinks he must be bleeding. He collapses onto hard, wet earth, face falling into the mud.

He has no idea how this happened. He has no idea what happened. Did he lose time or was he ripped through space? And will anyone fucking find him, wherever he is? 

He doesn’t have time to find an answer before he passes out. 

[shubertblue]

Rough Hilson Fanfic Idea:

Wilson decides to try a dating app for the first time.

Work relationships get too messy, there’s no escape if things do south and it gets awkward if it doesn’t work out. Not to mention his reputation. Dating patients is just unethical (and equally as messy as he’s come to find). So he’s given up on looking for love in the hospital, everyone thinks he’s secretly dating house anyways.

Well, this new dating app keeps you mostly anonymous! Because he’s run into too many failed situationships in the wild, it seems like a fun way to connect and flirt with a bunch of girls without any strings.

Fast forward: He’s been talking to this person online for a couple months now. “Ice_Cold_Brandy” is her name, or at least her online one. (Note: This is House’s account, he named it after the first drink they had together when they met. The bar had a good special on Luxury Brandy.)

She’s perfect for him. “Her” humor, sarcasm, witty banter, niche references, intelligence, etc…

Recently Wilson won a luxury couples vacation through the hospital. He figured what better to get closer to this girl he really likes than a nice vacation. Fate, right?

Well, he runs into House at the bar he’s supposed to meet her at. Through some confusion, figures out House IS her. Which mortifies Wilson to death, he’s been flirting with his best friend for months without even realizing it!!

He doesn’t want to waste the tickets with the trip coming up soon and he really can’t think of anyone available last minute to take them. So he decides to take house. (He refuses to go with one of his ex-wives OR a random hook up.) Not in a romantic way of course! Right? I mean, they’ve done everything together, what makes this any different?

(Insert amazing well-written vacation plot where they get closer and closer with lingering tension.)

(Note: They get along REALLY well, like- they are so compatible in the best and worst ways.)

((Idk if things get spicy on vacay or not… 🤔Like- it’d be slow burn, but increasingly spicily tense as the vacation goes on as Wilson grapples with his internalized homophobia.))

Things are weird after Vacay, they passed a threshold they can’t return from. However, House is avoidant of confronting it because Wilson seems to me in denial/confused with his own feelings.

Wilson learns House KNEW his account/ purposely catfished him. (Technically he didn’t put his account as a girl and it was supposed to be anonymous, so technically he didn’t catfish… But still manipulative none the less.)

Of course he’s upset and doubts House’s intentions. House spills the beans when backed into a corner that he’s been in love with Wilson for years. That he knew that this was the only shot he had to go for it! (It’s revieled that he also rigged the results of the draw so Wilson would’ve won.)

Ultimately his plan was to flirt with Wilson and see if they really could work as a couple through the anonymous dating app. That way Wilson would give him a chanse not knowing he was well… him. ( Tells Wilson why he chose the name he did. Personal hint to their meet-cute, while seeming misleadingly feminine.) He didn’t expect it to go so well, but knew he didn’t have much more time to stall meeting each other without making it awkward and/or ruining all the progress they made together. So he rigged the vacay coming up soon, so Wilson would make the impulsive decision (knowing him) to invite “brandy”. All while not having enough time to cancel/give it to someone else after learning it was House. Which led to the story.

However, everything other than the situational manipulation has been honest. Their conversations online (besides being purposefully vague about identity), the time they spent on the vacation, what he’s telling Wilson now. It’s all true. And in a way, House was right.

Which of course frustrates Wilson even more considering house is right, but did so in such a wrong way (like usual). He gets mad and still tells off house.

Things are awkward for a while, but Wilson realizes he really does love House back.

After a little while, Cuddy storms into his office FURIOUS. Wilson is very confused, only for her to ask why things have been so weird and what happened on vacay. Well, she tells him House is leaving the hospital due to “personal reasons” (cough cough , fall out with Wilson). Which Wilson finds really alarming considering this is the only hospital house has freedom to be well… House.

He runs to see house and house is dismissive. Now it is Wilson’s turn to confess in his round about way. House doubts his authenticity, blaming it on guilt for him leaving and pity because that’s just how he is. Wilson angrily displays his affection, kissing him in front of practically everyone (showing he no longer cares what society thinks- it’s about what he wants).

*cue sappy scene/dialogue

(Bonus: Foreman and Cameron paying Chase bc he guessed right. Foreman was cynical and didn’t think they’d ever get together. Cameron thought they’d keep it secret. Chase knew they were too oblivious with their own feelings to keep it secret from anyone else.)

Epilogue:

Takeout and house serenading Wilson with piano , matching rings (no official wedding yet), they’ve moved in together permanently, and then a lengthy amount of spice.