#like it has a really pretty sound to it idk

[cecilysass]

Happy Heart (-Shaped Hail) Day! Fic Recs for Rain King for Valentine's Day (or Any Time)

It's funny how in the fandom circles I tend to spend time in now, Rain King seems to be a pretty beloved episode: super shippy, romantic comedy, multiple fanfic tropes made canon.

When it aired, the online fandom's opinion of this episode was pretty mixed. There was a large contingent of fans who really hated it. (I remember this because I am 4,000 years old.) Season 6 had already been perceived as being too light in tone, and we'd already come off of a run of Triangle, Dreamland I and II, and How the Ghosts Stole Christmas. There was a lot of anxiety about the move to LA killing the show's dark and angsty feel.

Me, I always liked Rain King (and Triangle, and Dreamland I and II, and How the Ghosts Stole Christmas). And while I can identify the tone change in season 6, I don't hate it, nor do I think that the show really loses its darkness and angstiness (a lot comes back in the second half of the season). I'm also not someone who believes comedy is a de facto more stupid or less substantial genre than drama or suspense, so I think that's part of it.

Rain King has generated so, so much fanfic, and most specifically fanfic that zeroes in on this little fun fact: THEY CANONICALLY SHARE A MOTEL ROOM BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY ONE ROOM. Obviously many of the fics I'm recommending below are based on that premise. So here are my Valentine's Day recs based on Rain King. (Even though I think it's not actually set at Valentine's? Because the cold open happens months earlier? There's some kind of timeline hijinks, idk.) But anyway, it's the clearest Valentine's episode we have, so happy Valentine's Day.

Free Merlot at the Cool View Motor Court by Sarie_Fairy @sarie-fairy Scully tries a little experiment with Mulder after the reunion that gets rapidly out of hand. This is smutty fun—the kind of high end sexy times this author is really known for. Dating Kings and Queens - Baroness_Blixen @baronessblixen A pure romantic comedy style plot variation on the ending of Rain King. The agents discuss the last time they've been on a date. Turns out it HASN’T been so long for Scully. This is just so charming. 

Kroner by DM When Mulder finds out about the “flicked switch speech,” he deals with it in a flirty, somewhat less sentimental way that feels very in character to me. I like a fic with dialogue that feels like it goes a little unexpected.

No Big Deal by dreamingofscully @dreamingofscully Scully offers to help Mulder sleep in the hotel. This is UST, but deliiiiiiightfully so, and heavy on the complex feelings.

Can’t Fight This Feeling by mldrgrl  @mldrgrl A sweet and more subtle little feelings reveal after Rain King by an author who does this exact thing well. Also there is slow dancing to 80s music.

Time Enough At Last - baylorrific Absolute textbook classic one room trope, but it stands out for me because I like how it focuses on their mutual discomfort. They’re both so awkward here, even though it’s Mulder POV. I also like how the classic Twilight Zone episode Time Enough At Last is in conversation with what’s happening with the MSR.

There’s No Place Like Kroner - MonikaFileFan @monikafilefan You know what would make a “there’s only one room” Rain King fic extra fun? DIANA. Okay, okay, I admit I wrote this prompt for the exchange, lol, so of course I think it sounds fun. But Monika wrote the actual fic, and you don’t want to miss it.

Pillow Talk - Alelou This is a short piece about a chatty Mulder very carefully putting out feelers in the motel room after the reunion. Sweet and in character.

Land That I Heard Of Once in A Lullabye - leiascully @leiascully In Kroner’s tiny airport, Scully takes stock of where they’ve come from and where they’re going. I love this. It feels especially spot on character-wise for season 6.

All that Lights Upon Us - wonderland @amplifyme This is a very different kind of Rain King fic, part of a series, although it can be read alone. During the events of Rain King they share a first kiss, but this fic is about their conversations afterwards (Mulder and Scully, as well as Mulder and Maggie). Gentle affection, and the process of taking little steps towards one another.

On the Flicking of Switches - SisterSpooky1013 @sisterspooky1013 Mulder initiates an awkward conversation in the motel room after the reunion. SisterSpooky1013 always has her characterization shit together, but I think this is an especially compelling character sketch of season 6 Scully.

Break in the Weather - ATTHS_TWICE @atths--twice Mulder and Scully can’t fly out another night in Kroner, so they kill time by going to a drive-in movie. Honestly, this is just adorable.

Still Raining - Donna When Sheila sends them both a letter a few months later, she alludes to what Scully told her in the bathroom. This raises questions for Mulder.

Stop Me - Gina Rain A little seduction by Mulder in the Kroner motel room. It starts with her feet, if that’s your thing. But it’s not exclusively about feet, if that isn’t lol.

They're SOOOOO MANY great Rain King fics, so drop any I missed in the comments! And if you want to read my Valentine's Day recs last year based on Milagro, they're here.

[cheesycatz]

Parasitic worm pretends to be your valentine so you don't notice that they're the reason you have 24 days left to live

Wormton AU fic is 190k words now! : )

Nothing crazy new plot wise, more bonding and found family stuff. Obligatory fluff after how much these guys had to go through. I like describing all the sounds he makes when isn't trying to suppress them; chirps, warbles, trills, chirrs, chitters, screeches, snarls, and that weird computer whirring sound he makes that may or may not have the same connotations as purring (sorry I couldn't resist)

I'm excited to go through revisions! It's been so long since I wrote some of this stuff that I don't remember the fine details, so it's genuinely fun for me to read through. Also, I had fun making disguised wormton seem as cursed as possible without actually describing his real form until post-reveal. Blue was probably the only one who didn't think he was some deranged serial killer at first sight, which, fair enough. I was kind of worried about a few very minor original characters I added not being accepted, but then I remembered that Trashy the trash can probably has more speaking lines than any one of them and it probably isn't that big of a deal. I hope you enjoy the one chapter with these three kids putting their LPS animal dolls through the most traumatizing, heart-wrenching, dark story as we all did as children (I promise it's plot relevant and contains symbolism).

Drew some non-canon wormton stuff for Valentine’s Day. I mean, I don't know how you would send a valentine to an elusive homeless man with no official documentation of his existence. The asexually reproducing computer worm guy can't feel anything romantic, but he would love to take advantage of you—gladly accept your lovely gifts. Bro’s just teasing haha he would never inject parasitic worm larvae into your abdomen just don't go to the doctor in the next 24 days please he definitely loves you and not the worms hypothetically eating your organs

“worm.vbs” is a reference to the file type used by the ILOVEYOU worm and other old malware. I only know this because I realized that one of the official spamton valentines from last year contains its exact file name “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs”. sharing this trivia because it was like the one reference in those valentines that I didn't see anyone mention back then and because it makes me feel smart

Food for thought:

Honestly, he'd be pretty scary if it weren't for his justified fear of the antivirus forces. Malworm safety is all about avoiding disembodied voices trying to lure you into alleys, so the fact that you can physically see his relatively humanoid disguised form would make him seem dangerously trustworthy. I was thinking about what would've happened if he would've gotten help from the person on the phone (probably gaster I guess? idk). He could've totally been like a cult leader manipulating people into willingly becoming hosts because it was honorable or whatever. And that could combine with the fact that their venom slightly influences the brain. And the followers would've thought he was simply dressing up as a malworm and his fall from grace would've been when they realized he was just a malworm in disguise infecting them and prolonging the invasion. I prefer what I have now; lonely hypothetically-murderous wormton is a lot more redeemable than very-murderous cult leader wormton would be. The addisons, or anyone really, would want nothing to do with him. Fun to think about! And only to think about; I'd rather focus on the version I have now.

See you next time at the big 200k 👀 chapter 3 might actually come out before my multi-book-length spamton fanfiction but don't worry I would never abandon my favorite freak of nature

yappin complete B)

[oh-no-its-bird]

I FUCKING FORGOT THE NEW ALIEN STAGE CAME OUT TODAY OH GOD OH FUCK I SAW IT COME UP IN RECCOMENDED AND HAD A FULL BODY REACTION TO IT PLEASEPLEAS PELSAE GO WATCH IT IM GOING TO FUCKING CRY IM GOING TO FUCKING THROW UP IM GONNA .

it was so fucking beautiful actually. I did not expect the bright spots of it, though maybe I should have. Vivinos has always been such a master of balancing fluff in a way that makes it hurt. And then the end . just. fuck. fuck. Oh my god. Fuck.

Spoilers below the cut, I am feeling many things and thinking many thoughts, so let's dissect this together:

I was so entranced by the beautiful visuals I straight up forgot to put captions on to get the lyrics for my first watch. But when it opened to Luka smiling so fucking genuinely, I almost gasped

The way he smiles when he first sees her is CRAZY, I am obsessed with it. Only pausing when a literal gun is held to his head, and even then, not for long

And then he grows so much more almost sweet and fond when she so blatantly ignores him. I felt like he was saying, "yeah, that's my Hyuna."

So like. Super strong opening to us seeing Luka killing off what I've seen others claim are his clones, presumably to make sure he can't be easily killed and replaced

I especially like this post by @kitespark talking about this bit and how Luka may have then ended up killing Hyuna's brother bc they looked so similar, and he assumed they were clones

LUKA'S HANDS !!! AS A KID !!! DID NOT HAVE PURPLE FINGERTIPS!!! We also see his hands when he's older, and he also does not have purple fingertips then! Does this mean he got them later in life, after so many experiments? That's what I'm not placing my bets on

The music itself was. Beautiful. As always, obviously, but especially so.

The slow, gentle singing that can be seen as both darkly comforting or sweetly assuring, the almost bell like chimes in the background, I loved it.

When it first shifted to Luka's voice, singing as Hyuna lay on the ground, I just about screamed. Their voices sound so pretty next to each other, I really like hearing them in contrast

Getting to see all these frames of Hyuna just surrounded by people in the resistance was so nice, actually.

I thought it was so well done, how we get to see her gradually get happier, recovering from her past.

Starting with a scene of her alone, drinking, before someone steps in (presumably to bring her comfort in company) before we start to see clips of her, each one with her a little bit happier, and each one with the lighting just a bit brighter, till we finally see her give a fully animated smile, even as we can see the silhouettes of those in the garden inside of her

She learned to smile !! Even through her grief!! She smiled even though she still kept them in her mind and heart!!!

AND THEN LUKA?? HAVING A (WANTED(?)) POSTER??? OF HYUNA ?? IN HIS ROOM??? AND HIM GIVING IT THE WORLDS JERKIEST MOST AWKWARD LITTLE KISS AFTER STARING AT IT FOR AN AWKWARD AMOUNT OF TIME, OH MY HEART !!!

The kiss is so sudden and jerky and awkward and it kind of looks like it hurt, honestly. Like, at first I wondered if it even was a kiss, but idk what else it would even be. Luka misses his girlfriend yall

There's actually so much to dissect of these short frames, tbh. Is this his room, where he is kept on a concerning amount of medical equipment, or is it just a hospital room he's been in long enough to be allowed to put things up on the wall?

And then we get to just. The happiness of the video. Which, by the way, kicked me in the fucking gut and stole all my lunch money. Like, holy shit you guys, what the actual fuck.

There's so much happening here, but in general I've seen two camps:

a) we are seeing glimpses of the actor au, where they are getting ready and into their roles and having silly fluffy fun times

and b, which is what I originally thought) We are seeing them getting ready for their death matches. Preparing costumes for the stage, hoping for the best. And just the lighter times they've gotten to spend together, in the garden

I'd like to believe it's both, tbh. That at first, we're seeing the lighter times they've spent together, getting their costumes ready, singing, running through grass, being kids while they still can.

A few flashes of other people too, in terrible situations but still smiling, showing that there is still joy to be found in this world

And then, a flash of violence-- Mizi, her face splashed with Sua's blood, and the music takes on this crescendo as it shows us this beautiful what if.

Some of the flashes are definitely some sort of modern au, a true what if.

Sua in a school uniform, giggling with a friend on the way to class, Till in art class, Hyunwoo and someone who's presumably his friend riding bikes through a glowing forest, Mizi laughing as she works on something, Hyuna and Luka dancing together on some sort of date (WITH WEDDING RINGS ON !!! WEDDING !! RINGS !!), a phone taking a photo of food better than anything the alien stage contestants have ever gotten to eat before (especially in contrast to the quiet lunch scene only a few images before, which may have been there to contrast it)

Other portions I read as more mis-remembered, 'if only the garden could have been brighter' moments (particularly the one of them cleaning that one aliens teeth, which we saw Till and Mizi terrified of in round 3) but otherwise I think can be seen as just more beautiful moments.

Running around, playing, having fun, laughing

At some point, towards the middle, I had an abstract thought that it was appropriate, to be posted on valentines day. For all that parts of it felt like a love letter to life. Seeing them all so happy, not only with each other but just being. Doing things they loved, being happy, living

I stg, I started tearing up. I love how well animated and bright this section was, you can tell they really said "guys we have to make this shit COUNT" and spared no expense. Everyone say thank you vivinos and qmeng !!

And then, of course, we hard cut back to reality. A quick glimpse of some remembered Luka angst, and we are on stage with Mizi again. Our last glimpse of happiness being Sua's smile.

What the fuck !!!

Ok so just. Everything about the next bit is so good to me.

Luka having eyes for literally nothing and no one other than Hyuna, even as a gun is literally held to his head.

The cutting back and forth between him stumbling blindly her way as an adult and as a child was so good. He has never had eyes for anyone other than her, and it shows

The way Hyuna runs for him, knowing whats about to happen even as Luka remains blind to everything but her, the way she spins him around to take the shot for him in a hug, which, BY THE WAY, THE FACT THAT LUKA WAS REACHING OUT FOR A HUG. MAKES ME INSANE.

LOOK AT HIM !!!! HE WAS REACHING OUT TO HER !!! HE WAS GOING FOR A HUG !!!! HE SAW HER AND RAN AND LITERALLY THREW HIMSELF INTO HER ARMS HE MISSED HER SO MUCH I DONT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS ACTUALLY !!!!

Also its funny that it was the resistance guy who took the shot, I understand his thought process (Luka probably looked like he was going for his boss lmao) but then he ended up fucking shooting Hyuna instead.

I have to wonder if we'll get to see this guys reaction in the next video, I kind of hope we do. I feel like there's a small chance we might, in some like, corner of the screen we see Dewey grabbing him by his collar to shake him angrily or smthn

It's a small thing also, but I like how we also get to see the guy next to Hyuna react to Luka's blatant idiocy. Like, yeah he's being an idiot, and yeah people are around to see it. Idk, it's small but it just makes it all feel more real to me

^ this guy is all of us watching at home as Luka ignores the gun aimed at his head and runs for hyuna lmao

Also, Luka's hands are now colored in as purple when he's a child here, so that may have just been a coloring error earlier. So throw out what I said about his hands not being purple when he was young into the bin, oops!

So then we're back to seeing more flashes of life, and what we are given is Hyuna's grief, and Hyuna's fear.

A man, presumably some resistance member, dying as they cry and watch him pass. And then Hyuna, in the hospital.

The focus on her leg, and then the abrupt cut to what I think must be the moment that she lost it, then again a cut to the round of alien stage she lost (where she was supposed to have died) and another cut to her crying, scared, makes me think we're seeing a sort of rewind of her joining the resistance

Did she lose her leg in her escape from alien stage maybe? Either way, I like this shift from like, we've seen all these good memories of life, and now we're back to the bleak. Hyuna learned to smile, got to heal, but there were still so many dark moments too

Also: I don't know who this guy is, but he's cute and I want him carnally.

AND THEN JUST THE SHIFT FROM CUTE HYUNA AND LUKA TO HER FUCKING BLEEDING OUT IN HIS FUCKING ARMSMSSSSSS IM GONNA BE FUCKING SICK WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And also Luka's fingers are back to being not purple, so was it a miscolor, or...?

And then. Hyuna's speech. This is one of the very few times we get to hear an alien stage character just,, talk. Off the top of my head, the only time I can remember us getting that is My Clematis, the very first round of alien stage. And that talk was half exposition.

It's so well done, and just. Ag. Ah. A.

I dont even have the words tbh!!!

"I resented you so. I had to keep moving forward in every moment... But you were always my one and only weakness. (choking up) That's why I resented you so. Luka, live with love. Embrace the pain, the frailty, and live and the moments so unbearably shameful. Forgive yourself... Again and again, endlessly. because everything... begins from there.

I DONT EVEN KNOW MAN !!! WHAT THE FUCK !!! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK !!!!

Hyuna admitting that even as she's always resented Luka, he has always been and always remained her weakness, and that is why she continued to resent him so much

Hyuna urging Luka to love. To forgive himself. To feel.

Luka, who we've always seen as untouchable, a man who knows how to play this game-- who has won it before and now plays with his opponents in order to win it again. Just, him tearing up. His mask cracking in the face of Hyuna's words, of her blood on her face (on his hands)

THE FACT THAT IT IS LITERALLY LUKA'S FAULT SHE'S THERE!!!! THAT SHE'S NOW DYING !!!!

Luka has always been blind to everything but Hyuna, and going with some interpretations of how we've seen him do dumb shit just to see Hyuna's face before (specifically when we saw him injure (potentially kill(??)) Hyuna's little brother, then smile up at Hyuna like he was just waiting for her reaction) it is. So fitting that this is how it ends

With Luka, once again blind to everything but the girl who can make him feel something, managing to kill that girl in his blindness

Fucking rip!!

I AM HUFFING COPIUM LIKE ITS PAINT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE HYUNA IS DEAD PLEASEEEE !! YEHA OK SURE HER LIGHT WENT OUT BUT WE WERENT SHOWN THE BODY IT DOESNT COUNT OK IT DOESNT COUNT SHUT THE FUCK UP

AND MEANWHILE MIZI DIDNT EVEN SEE HYUNA GET SHOT BECAUSE SHE'S STILL SOBBING OVER TILL'S CORPSE IN HER ARMS, FUCK

Anyways. Final thoughts.

This alien stage was. Wonderful. Beautiful. It may be my new favorite.

Every second of it was so well done, and I need to applause Vivinos for once again showing off that she knows how to make all of us cry by drawing her characters happy.

What the fuck, man!!

Anyways, I watched most of this without subtitles (and when I did watch with titles, I kept getting distracted by the pretty visuals and couldn't focus) So, I possibly misread/misunderstood a thing or two.

I'm gonna go watch it like 10 more times with subtitles on this time, then maybe realize smthn and feel regret, but, whatever

Go watch alien stage.

[evillama666]

“Nightmares”

“Nightmares” Daryl Dixon x reader

This is my first fanfic ever so I thought I’d write for Daryl first (:

Summary: Reader has a nightmare and seeks Daryl for comfort Tags: Fluff!! Cuddles!! Probably others… idk I’m new to this Word count: 1121

(I thought it was going to be longer than this before I checked the word count)

Himbs cute

꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…

It's the damn apocalypse, of course you’re going to have nightmares. That and not knowing when the Governor is going to attack the prison again, they’ve been worse lately. Tonight was particularly bad. Maybe the worst you've had? Usually you’re able to fall back asleep but you’re still pretty shaken up about it and could use comfort. You know Daryl has nightmares even though he would never admit it. One of the women would probably want to talk about it, which you don’t, and you don’t trust any of the men not to try something sooo… It’s kinda sounding like Daryl is the perfect option. Is he really going to be that comorting though? You don’t think about it long as you’re already making your way to Dary’s cell. His is on the end, right next to yours so it’s not a far walk. You hesitate to pull the blanket covering his cell door before peeking in. He’s awake, staring at the bunk above him. He growls when he notices you. “Hell ya want?”

Ok already off to a bad start. Maybe this was a bad idea… “I had a nightmare…” You murmur, feeling like a pathetic little kid. “Fuck ya want me ta do ‘bout it?” He doesn’t seem to be in the best mood. Maybe you should go back to your cell but the words are already escaping your lips. “I thought… because you get nightmares too-” He cuts you off. “I don’t.” Welp. There he is denying it. Your voice is soft- no timid might be the right word. You don’t want to make him more mad than he already is. “I’ve heard you whimpering at night.”

His jaw tenses. He knows the walls are pretty thin here. “You ain’t hear shit. Hell ya want?” Your brain is nagging you to go back to your cell but you know damn well you won’t get any sleep and you’re desperate for comfort. “I thought I could lay with you.”

Daryl looks around like you’re seeing extra room on his bed he wasn't aware of. “On this small ass bed?” Your eyes linger on his chest. He’s got a nice muscular chest with broad shoulders. Perfect to fall asleep on. “I could make it work.”

Daryl grumbles to himself. He’s reluctant to let you in his bed with him but he knows you're not going to relent. He scoots closer to the wall so you have some room. “Fine. You better not snore.” Oh, you didn’t think it’d be that easy. You were ready to put up more of a fight. You come over and lay on the small bed with him, pressing into him so you don’t fall off. His body is tense.

“You wanna talk ‘bout it?” He sounds reluctant like he doesn’t actually want to talk. And honestly? Neither do you. You’re slowly falling off the bed. “No… just shit we’ve been through.” He grumbles as he pulls you closer so you don’t fall off the bed. Despite being pressed against you, he’s still trying to distant. Of course. “Y’know, it’s very uncomfortable laying with someone as stiff as a board.”

He looks very unamused. “Ya could always go back to your cell if ya gonna complain.” The thought of going back to your cell, all alone with your thoughts is unappealing so you bite your tongue to prevent yourself from saying anything else. Despite Daryl’s arm around your shoulders so you don’t fall off the bed, it’s still uncomfortable. You slowly pull yourself closer, waiting for Daryl’s reaction before positioning yourself on his chest. A low growl leaves his lips. Of course you’re trying to cuddle. However instead of pushing you away like you thought, he pulls you closer. He’s still pretty stiff though. He wraps his arm around your waist to keep you in place. “Comfy?”

You relax against his chest, snuggling close. “Surprisingly yea. But you could relax more.” That gets another grumble from him. Really, still complaining? Though he does close his eyes and takes a deep breath. You rise with his chest and scooch a little closer. Maybe you’re getting through to him. When you scooch closer, he adjust his grip on you pulling you closer. He looks off to the side as he grumble. “Jus’ go ta sleep.”

Your body gradually relaxes. It’s been such a long time since you last fell asleep in someone's brace. And you’re going to soak it all up. Your eyes roam over his face features before finally closing your eyes. Daryl finally looks at you now that you’ve closed your eyes. You look so relaxed compared to when you first came in looking all timid and tense. A small smile tugs the corner of his lips as he feels a weird sense of accomplishment. He never thought someone would be so relaxed near him.

His jaw clenches as he contemplates letting himself be vulnerable with you. Well, no one is around to see but he’s still fighting with himself. Once your falling into a slumber he hesitantly pulls you closer, tentatively running his hands up and down your back to soothe you. He knows how awful nightmares are and he doesn’t want you to experience another one. You’re half asleep at this point but can feel his efforts in comforting you so you wrap your arms around his neck to silently show your appreciation.

Now that you’ve fallen asleep and shown your full vulnerability to Daryl, he can feel his guard dropping. He pulls you flush to his chest and buries his face in the crook of your neck, closing his eyes and inhaling your scent, committing it it memory. God, he didn’t know what he was missing out on. He could hold you for hours. Actually, he will be. He's got the whole night with you. He pulls you impossibly close and holds you tight.

It’s a bit difficult for him to fall asleep with someone else in his bed but when he does he doesn’t let you go. Fuck, it was like your body was made for cuddles. Everything feels so soft under his calloused hands. Is it wrong of him to want you to have more nightmares so you go crawling back for him? This was the best night's sleep he’s ever had. There were no nightmares, no self-loathing thoughts, or worries about the group. Just soft contentment.

It’s the next morning and he’s still asleep. He’s usually up with the sun, putting himself to work but no, he’s still holding onto you with his face buried in your chest. When you wake up you try to pull away, just a little. His grip on you is so tight. You grumble groggily. “Daaaryl…” He pulls you closer as you try to pull away.

Aw

He’s clingy.

꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…꩜…

Why the fuck do y’all add so many tags...

[farfromstrange]

Hey!

Happy advanced birthday! Hope you get to go to more comic cons and meet charlie again uwu

Btw love your fics! They're very immersive and well written ♡

Can I get a bouquet of peonies with some daisies ?

I was thinking something along the lines of matt and reader being frenemies in college, having a sassy back nd forth relationship?

Perhaps the reader at one point goes like "Aren't you blind?" And he's leans in with a soft purr "Well love is blind"

And she pushes him off laughing?

Idk. I need a spontaneous vibe in the fic.

You can choose the ending •♡•

Thank you strange! And again, happy advanced birthday to one of the best fic creator! 💗

Aww, thank you so much! I'm also wishing for myself that he'll come back to my country sometime soon, so thank you for helping me manifest it. And thank you so much for your request! I apologize for taking so long. I wasn't happy with my first draft, so I rewrote everything. I hope it captures the vibe you wanted me to go with. I'm actually quite happy with this. I hope you feel the same way! I got a little carried away, so this is now almost 900 words instead of the short fic I intended it to be. Oopsie.

Friends, Enemies, or More?

Event Masterlist | Matt Murdock Masterlist

Pairing: College!Matt Murdock x Reader

Request: A bouquet of… peonies and daisies.

Warnings: Fluff, college era, kind of frenemies to lovers, snarky remarks, Matt being a smug asshole

WC: 878

You poke your head into the study booth between the State and Federal law literature and just as suspected, there he sits with his fingers buried in the textbook for his third-year class. 

“You’re in my spot, nerd,” you say. 

Matt tilts his head in the direction of your voice. His shoulders shrug as he retorts, “I didn’t see your name on it.”

“Ha Ha, very funny.”

“Really, I didn’t.” As if to underline his point, he adjusts the black glasses on his nose.

With a roll of your eyes, you slide in next to him. “I hate you.”

He chuckles, “No, you don’t.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Or maybe you should keep telling yourself that. He’s annoying, and sometimes you want to shove your foot up his ass, but you don’t hate him. When you have a question, he’s available, day and night, and he helps you study when you feel like you’re going to fail. He’s a good person. 

You don’t like that he’s better than you, of course, but one look at him, and your stomach is in knots for an entirely different reason. The butterflies hammer against the doors to their cage to the point you wake up nauseous. It’s so annoying you want to kill him sometimes. But hate? No, you could never hate him, and that makes you pretend you can’t stand him even more.

“You’re quiet,” he observes. 

You scoff, shaking your head as you open your textbook. “I’m trying to study,” you say. “You know, the thing people do before an exam.”

“I know what studying is. I was making an observation.”

“You’re not worth the effort it takes to keep up a conversation.”

“There she is.”

You bite back a smile. “Shut up.”

Unlike you though, he doesn’t hide the satisfied smirk forming on his lips. He’s quite proud of it, too. 

Minutes turn into hours, both of you silently working through each question on your mock exam. You work until the sun has long set over New York, and the librarian announces through the speakers of the library that it will be closing soon. 

With a sigh, you close your textbook. The man beside you shifts, too. 

“Walk you home?” Matt asks.

You turn to him, eyebrows raised, and you sound almost irritated when you retort, “Why would you do that?”

He chuckles awkwardly. “Well, it’s late, and from what I’ve heard campus can get pretty dark. I just thought you might want someone to, you know, keep you company.”

Never, not once, in the time you’ve known each other did he offer to walk you home. You’ve been to each other’s dorms to study, sure, but he never really expressed concern for your safety before. It surprises and confuses you, to say the least—to the point your heart is threatening to beat out of your chest again. 

Matt tilts his head as if to ask, ‘So?’

God knows it feels as though he can see right through you with nothing but his senses. It’s not possible, you keep telling yourself, but whenever he sits there, unmoving, your reflection dancing in his black, squared glasses, you can’t help but feel naked. 

You decide to play it off with a snicker. “What, you mean I need someone to protect me?” you ask.

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

You laugh again at the absurdity of it all, tossing your textbook into your bag. “Aren’t you blind?”

He leans closer and purrs, “Well, love is blind.” Without missing a beat, that smug smirk still plastered on his face. 

You stare at him. Did he just… your brain takes a moment to catch up with his words. A laugh bubbles up in the back of your throat. 

“You think this is gonna work on me?” You shove him. “Yeah, Murdock, not gonna happen.”

Trying to keep some of your dignity, you get up. Perhaps that way he won’t catch the blood pooling in your head. 

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m good,” you say. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Just as you’re about to turn away, his hand wraps around your wrist. You’re met with that smirk again. It’s as though you ate your own heart. The butterflies are rioting, and his hand—his godforsaken hand with those thick fingers and veins spreading over the back of it like he was painted by Picasso—makes your skin tingle. 

You’re not supposed to feel this way. But oh, you’re far beyond enemies now. You’re far beyond being friends.

Matt pulls you back down to his level. The surprise at his strength gets lost in translation for he doesn’t hesitate to grab the back of your head, roughly so, and he brings his lips to yours—a soft, plump heaven of breath mints and coffee. 

He kisses you like a man starved. Lips moving, teeth clashing, and your tongues dancing for dominance. Though just as suddenly as he’s kissed you, his lips fall from yours again. 

“Now can I walk you home?” he asks.

You exhale shakily. “Only if you promise to buy me dinner,” you say.

And it comes as naturally as breathing to him to promise you exactly that. He may not be able to give you much, but he sure as hell is going to try. 

[harukyuu2]

heyya !! Here to request a Rui x flirty!reader who really has rizz and maybe sometimes make Rui lowkey flustered basically the rizzler in their relationship/j but tbh I can see Rui flirting back to reader (?) lmao idk but hope you’ll see this ^_^ hcs and a mini scenario included will do! thank youu

₍^. .^₎⟆ (ominous cat is staring at your soul /insert Mizu5 picture)

LMAO ANYWAYS HAVE A GOOD DAYY ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

୨୧ "Soothing your heart up!" - Rui + Akito x Flirty!Reader ୨୧

!! - Fluff, scenario + headcanons! gn reader, cringy flirts because it was funny, reaaally cheesy since reader uses pickup rizz lines , use of petnames - Hope you dont mind i added Akito lmao

୨୧ ↷ Rui !! -

❥ Boy wont go down without a fight, seriously. You two have this thing of starting back and forths flirts until one blushes or doesnt know how to respond— thats a win!

❥ You flirt with him on public? Yeah, no problem. Dont forget he can shamelessly perform without permission at a theme park and build a robot at school, so calling you a "cutie" in public is 0 issue for him

❥ Its kinda hard seeing him blush because he pretends reaaally well. Using subtle ways— averting his gaze or throwing the attention on you. But still, he'll fold eventually, he cant help it! youre too cute for him! and he likes seeing you pout when you arent able to see him blush

"Rui..." - You call him out while he fixes a small robot with you on his side. It was lunchtime and you two were on the rooftop passing the time after finishing the meal, starting to get bored— an idea camed to your mind!

"Hm?" - He mumbled curious on what was on your mind now, turning slightly to catch a glance at the smug smile you put before throwing a pick up line

You leaned toward him, resting your arm on his shoulder while talking pretty closely with a playful smile. You wanted to laugh, but it was a bit too early for that— just yet. - "You knooww... I always say math is really confusing because it talks about X and Y but not you and I..." You drawled the words, and at the cheesy pick-up line you just dropped, you couldnt help but let out a small laugh

Rui's eyes widen slightly amused by your pick up line, but quickly hides it with a sigh and his usual smirk, tilting his head slightly to meet your gaze— the distance between you two was lacking a lot. - "Ah, that time of the day already...? Well, there's nothing i can do about it though. You always attract me with those lines, sweetheart— almost like if you were a magnet."

You hummed in amusement, leaning slightly back since Rui was looking at you pretty intensely— he didnt seem eager to let you win today. Grabbing his chin for a moment, you made him look at you more closer than he already was. Your touch lingered on his jaw for a second before letting your hand fall and returning to the flirty game

"Oh, arent you a cutie, Rui? i wonder what you are then...maybe i could say a door? Because you kept slamming me with your beauty while i try to attract you into my arms" - You giggled seeing him averting his gaze almost like if he was looking out for flirts on the air, youre pretty proud that you managed to mix up his flirt with yours!

Rui tried to think of something quick to respond with, feeling your intense gaze pressuring him to fold. Youre always so good at this— its almost unfair. He sighed, finally letting the blush creep onto his face, even if he still maintained that signature smile of his. Shaking his head, he looked at you with a much softer gaze, a product of your relentless flirting and the way you looked at him so intensely.

"Alright, alright...you win this time, dear. Didnt expect you to be so flirty today" - Rui mumbles embarassed and your eyes light up at your win!

In the end, you let him return his attention to the small robot after a quick kiss to seal your win. The rest of the lunch happens in a comfortable silence that sometimes had the sound of Rui's tools while you used your phone, you two indeed fall for each other <3

୨୧ ↷ Akito !! -

❥ There's no way you fail to make this boy blush. At the first or second pick up line he is already all red and asking you to stop because he doesnt know how to respond back. He thinks youre gonna be the death of him literally— he isnt against the idea tho...

❥ OH, and if you flirt with him on public...Hell nah, he has to turn and walk away because he is a living tomato from head to feet, you'll have to apologize to the poor baby because you make him stop working on those moments. He isnt too fond of pda!

❥ In private or chat, he's a little more confident of flirting with you— but still he loses it the second you respond back. Probably leaves a swear and gives you a quick kiss so you stop teasing him

Akito camed to your house after his usual practice with vivid bad squad finished, deciding to stay the night since he missed you. Akito decided to help you wash the dishes after dinner with your family. He got a little grossed out when his hand touched some leftover food, so in the end, he focused on rinsing them. But the soap accidentally slipped from his hand— giving you the perfect opportunity to tease your boyfriend!

"Akito..." - You called him and the moment his eyes meet yours, your signature teasing smile that he feared appeared— it was too late for him... - "What's the difference between that soap and me...? The soap falled from your hands, while i falled for you!"

A blush started to appear in his cheeks while he furrowed his eyebrows, averting his gaze to make sure you didnt just throw that in front of your family. He leaved a sigh, scratching his neck while mumbling embarassed at your cheesy flirt -

"Youre so stupid...dont you have any better cheesy flirts than that?" - He tries to make you stop, but he knows that his comment only will fuel you more with that intense gaze he is feeling on himself— he is fucked up by now, sigh.

"Hey! im not stupid, i know the twenty letters in the alphabet! Oh- i forgot to count U - R - A - Q - T, silly meee" - You drawl and cant help but laugh at his grumpy face since youre managing to make him blush a lot, what if your family appears and sees him like this? thats what he thinks, probably

Akito huffs— cupping your cheeks before you throw another cheesy line or worst, a real flirt that makes him stop working. - "Fuck you..." - Akito simply murmurs and steals a quick kiss from you

As he leaned back, catching the small blush on your face from his bold move, an idea sparked in his mind! Deciding to be playful and imitate you, he took full advantage now that you two werent in public anymore - "You always wear makeup blush, right? but now i know youre really blushing..."

You let out a soft laugh at his stupid, cheesy flirt and smirk, rolling your eyes before grabbing his hand and leading him to the bedroom to finally get some sleep. It was getting late, and you knew how hard he usually went during practice. Still, you couldnt help but say something that— for some reason, made his heart feel warm and proud

"Well, thats...something, good job Akito! Lets go to sleep by now, wont tease you with pickup lines for the rest of the night"

i repeat it— youre gonna be the death of Akito, but he isnt against the idea <3

[theshadowrealmitself]

So small tiktok drama that happened this past week for anyone who’s nosey but doesn’t have the app

So apparently a few small business bakers are upset at the cheap Walmart heart cakes (not sure the # of bakers, but I saw at least 3, also not sure of the price of the Walmart cakes, everyone keeps saying different prices but it sounds like $5-$25) and are upset at people buying them instead of going to small bakeries, and this has sparked outrage in some people for a few reasons:

• the classism, idk if it was every baker who complained about this, but a couple of them definitely got really classist with it and were pretty much like “if you can’t afford the bakery prices then you shouldn’t have a cake ever” (I’m probably not explaining it well, but they were v snooty with it)

• a lot of people have been feeling like bakeries have been getting unreasonably expensive, as well as other businesses like salons, and they’re getting sick of it

(I’m too broke to go to a lot of those places so I don’t even know what the actual prices are, so I don’t have anything substantial to say on that topic, like I wanna say those businesses are just trying to stay on top of inflation and make sure they’re properly paid for their work, but based on what I’ve heard from other people, it does sound like the pricing is getting unreasonable, especially for hair stylists that are offering less and less but charging more and more)

• on that note, I did see people say that they didn’t have a problem with stuff being priced like that, but they think those business owners should realize that they’re shrinking their clientele because people really can’t afford extra expenses and they can’t get mad at people for not going to them anymore, kinda loops back into those who were mad at the classism

• some people find small bakeries shady and uncomfortable to go in because I guess a lot of them don’t have visible pricing anywhere so it makes them feel like the bakery is trying to see how much they can squeeze out of them

• other people don’t find bakeries worth it at all because in their experience, a lot of those places have an emphasis on making cakes that are picture-worthy with a lot of fondant that just doesn’t make it taste good and they prefer taste over presentation

There were probably other viewpoints that I forgot, but I just thought it was really interesting, like we do talk about supporting small businesses over chains and can everyone afford to do so a lot, but there was some interesting stuff I hadn’t seen mentioned before (like bakeries not having price clarity and the undervaluing of bakers who work in grocery stores)

Weirdly enough, I didn’t see anyone mention that with the rising egg prices, even buying boxed cake mix and doing it yourself is out of some people’s price range now (there still could’ve been people mentioning it, I just didn’t see it myself) (I know I have a box of brownie mix I haven’t touched because of egg prices and because of my anxiety with getting bird flu. my luck is horrible, I just know the second I trust an egg I’m getting it)

[asneakyfox]

like, look, stede thinks ed wants an unfair division of labor where ed only does stuff he thinks is fun, and in another context that would be a VERY reasonable complaint, but HERE part of the context is that stede's saying they need to fix this in order to make the inn successful, and the inn being successful is kind of the problem. they don't need to make the inn a success! it's already doing well and that's what's making them miserable!

stede is the one who seems to care about the inn being successful and wants ed to work harder at it. but stede is also the one who straight up does not seem to enjoy any part of innkeeping. the framing thus far seems to suggest pretty strongly that ed working harder would not actually solve stede's problem because stede doesn't actually seem to like ANY part of this whole innkeeper gig.

ed meanwhile has been pretty straightforward from the beginning - all the way back to 2x03 when it came up for the first time - that he liked the idea of an inn and he enjoys some aspects of innkeeping, like nonviolent socialization with people who actually want to be around him and getting to be weird about fabrics, but ultimately none of this is about a passion for the hospitality industry. what he wanted was to retire from piracy with stede and get to do some kind of chill normal domestic thing where they'd both be safe. and then ghost izzy points out that yeah you had barely conceived of the concept of retirement when you came up with this so it's not surprising your first plan for how it would work was maybe not as ideal as it sounded at the time.

as far as i can tell this is a problem that would not be solved by ed working harder or being more appreciative and IS a problem that would be solved the instant either one of them said "hey i don't think i really like innkeeping all that much, do you? do you think there's something we could do together that's not innkeeping or piracy? (or maybe there's some alternate way to do piracy where we're not in constant danger and ed doesn't have to be blackbeard idk?) because what really matters to me isn't the fucking inn, it's that i'm with you and we're both happy."

i just don't see any way this is leading up to a resolution where ed, like, realizes he's been immature and ungrateful and he's failing to appreciate stede just like he always exploited izzy's devotion or some kind of shit like that. and not just because that isn't how i've read these characters before this point but mostly because that really doesn't make sense to me as where the bsky narrative on its own could possibly be going. that would only make sense if it were going to end with the two of them rededicating themselves to the inn with a renewed sense of passion for hospitality and a more equitable division of labor or something and lmao that is not going to fucking happen. we have all known that inn was doomed for a year. that's the one thing every single member of the cast crew and fandom have consistently agreed on. the inn is a valuable learning experience in the short term but in the long term the inn sucks! fuck that inn!

i've seen this from a couple different people but i really think it's a misread to think the character arc of gentlebeard in the djenks holiday special is actually that ed is just being lazy and doesn't want to do hard stuff and he needs to be managed. i mean, he could probably help stede out more, but that doesn't look to me like the core of the actual problem at all?

it seems to me like what's going on is that stede is determined to Not Run Away. "i'm not changing my life again." stede abandoned his first marriage, and then he abandoned ed, and then he abandoned his first marriage AGAIN, and then he abandoned piracy, and now! now he's supposed to have things figured out! now he's not going to be a guy who runs anymore! now is when he shows that he can commit to things! he's committed to his life with ed and part of his life with ed is being innkeepers so THE INN HAS TO SUCCEED AT ALL COSTS.

he cannot admit even inside his own mind that he just fucking hates innkeeping, because that would mean admitting failure. innkeeping was ed's dream! how could he be selfish enough to give up on ed's dream? he's gotten his brain into a state where the success of the inn equals the success of his relationship with ed, and he's gotten so obsessed with that he's not paying attention to their actual relationship. and at the same time he's miserable so it comes out as frustration with ed because it can't be that he doesn't like innkeeping and he's working so hard he can't do any more so surely it must be that ed's the one who needs to be more committed?

(plus what would he do instead? he doesn't want to go back to piracy because he doesn't want to die anymore, or see ed die, and what other options are there? if he admits he hates the inn then he'd have to admit he doesn't actually KNOW what he wants to do and that would be terrible because maybe the problem is him, maybe he'll always feel like this wherever he goes, maybe he just doesn't know how to be happy)

what he needs to say is "i want to be with you but i don't want to be innkeepers, can we figure out something else?" but he cannot say that, he can't even think that, and it comes out as "why aren't you helping with cakes more?" it's not about the cakes.

[jackass-jones]

Come back home when you have some sense

You can throw your life away just not at my expense

You’re not the son I raised

[oneroomjestershow]

inspired by these memes about next year (im still on 2024 help) i want to show this AU i have been thinking since month ago in the sidelines

[transmascutena]

these lines hit different when you read utena as transmasc

[ieidolon]

now that i'm playing dragon age: veilguard i understand hbomberguy so much better. think i could probably do a 3.5 hours long video called "dragon age: the veilguard is FINE and here's why"

[xxplastic-cubexx]

As another Magneto player honestly if I'm up against a Wolverine and I think he's gonna get me I try and hold my ult to solo ult him when he's trying to jump me. Might not kill him but it gives me a headstart.

solo ulting a wolverine is crazy but honestly depending on the situation fair enough 😭

[gothsuguru]

personal rant incoming bc i yap like it’s no one’s business

[skrunksthatwunk]

HIS BOOBS???

[chryblossomjjk]

...