#mostly writing out dicky

[ducktr0ducin]

Man I’ve been tempted to rewrite and redraw Ducks On The Road, and while the idea remains on the back burner of my mind, I’m probably never gonna have the energy to do it 😔😔

[merinsedai]

Dreamling Abbey

My fic for the @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang !!

No lie, guys: I decided to do this after coming out of a heart scan at the hospital on the sign up deadline. The thinking being: I could have a dicky ticker here, why not try something new? And this was perfect because if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I need a deadline.

And so here we are.

I am MOST affronted by how hard this was?! And how bloody long it took me (mostly because I spent a lot of time staring into space or relentlessly googling 'did they have xyz in Edwardian England) All you wonderful, talented writers have made it look so easy that all that effort came as somewhat of a shock. Honestly, I am deeply saddened that the copious amount of Dreamling fic I have voraciously consumed in the past 18 months has not magically made a fantastic author out of me. Why does osmosis not work for writing?

If you read, I hope you enjoy!

(The ticker's fine, by the way. Not dicky at all.)

Art by the fabulous @lalaithquetzallicaresi Thanks for squeezing me in there, lovely! ❤

Pairing: Dream/Hob

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 50k

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con elements

Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Downton Abbey Fusion, look it's Downton Abbey but Dreamling omegaverse. Sorta. If you squint, I'm not sure Julian Fellowes would approve, If you haven't seen Downton it definitely won't matter, because I've unashamedly just stolen bits and pieces and thrown the rest to the wind, Attempted Sexual Assault, Rape/Non-con Elements, Non-Consensual Kissing, Pining, period typical attitudes to gender. If you reframe gender to include alpha beta omega dynamics, omega rights paralleling the suffragette movement in England, Minor Violence, lots of vague references to classic cars, mention of unethical medical procedures, Time and Night are bad parents, Omega Dream of the Endless, Alpha Hob Gadling, Hob Gadling Loves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless│Morpheus Needs a Hug, Unbeta'd

Read chapter 1 on ao3

Fic Summary: Lord Morpheus is the eldest child of the Earl and Countess of Endless, an ancient family hiding huge debts behind a fine name. As an omega, Morpheus cannot inherit his father's title or the family's ancestral home. His function is simple: secure a match that is both socially advantageous and financially viable, thus securing the future of the estate and the title of Earl of Endless for his offspring. The family believe that their troubles are solved when Morpheus dutifully (if reluctantly) becomes engaged to his wealthy cousin, Patrick. However, all their carefully laid plans are thrown into chaos when Patrick drowns on the ill-fated Titianic.

Now Morpheus is navigating treacherous waters of his own and discovering how tight the ties of family loyalty bind him. Will the charming and handsome Duke of Crowborough prove his saviour? Or will the wealthy yet odious Sir Roderick Burgess ensnare Morpheus in plans of his own?

Meanwhile, the family’s new chauffeur, one Robert Gadling, is muddying the waters of Morpheus’s existence even further- where is the line between a servant and a friend? Can Hob help Morpheus see that life exists beyond the confines of family and function?

Chapters below the cuts and in subsequent reblogs, should you wish to read it here on tumblr.

Chapter 1: Complications with the Great Matter.

April 1912.

The papers had been late this morning. Not that Morpheus notices their tardiness. Serious daily newspapers are the preserve of his father and since Morpheus has little interest in the society gossip that proliferated on the pages of The Daily Sketch, the only periodical he is allowed in his room, he rarely bothers to glance at it. However, the large photograph blazing across the front page is so arresting that he finds his eyes drawn to it immediately, ignoring all else on his vanity to take the paper and read.  It is bad news of course, the papers rarely print anything but.  ‘DISASTER TO TITANIC ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE’ boldly proclaims the headline, beneath which is black and white image of the doomed liner, adjoined by one of her seemingly also doomed captain, John Smith. Morpheus’s eyebrows draw down as he reads the brief article: so many presumed dead, so few saved.  They would know people, of course. His mother knew the Astors, and they had dined with Lady Rothes only last month. Still, the privilege of first class likely meant they would be amongst the survivors. Those below decks… on their way to a better life, well they would not have been so fortunate. What a tragedy, Morpheus sighs and closes the paper. This news rather put his own woes into perspective-

The door bangs open and Desire flounces in without so much as a by your leave, as is their way. 

“Dream!” they shout without preamble, then glance at the newspaper in his hands with a slight moue of disappointment. Being the bearer of bad news is something Desire takes a measure of delight in, “Oh, you’ve seen already, Huh,” They shake their head, before bending over Morpheus to look more closely at his paper, hand gripping his shoulder. This close, the smell of the perfume Desire favours- a rich and spicy aroma deliberately chosen to overwhelm their natural omega scent- makes him wrinkle his nose and move his head away. Desire’s fingers tighten on his shoulder and they huff in amusement. They are not strictly allowed to wear perfumes but Desire goes their own way with everything.  “When Jessamy told me, I thought she must have dreamt it!” Desire continues in a low tone, meeting Morpheus’s eyes in the mirror.  “To think, we were just talking about that ship the other week. Remember how excited old Lucy Rothes was? Supposed to be unsinkable- ha!”

“Every mountain is unclimbable until they climb, so every ship is unsinkable until it sinks,” Morpheus responds neutrally, putting the paper down and shrugging Desire’s hand off to stand. Desire moves with him, smoothing their hands over the non-existent wrinkles on the shoulder of his jacket before adjusting his already meticulously placed tie pin. Morpheus endures the attention for a moment before once again moving away. He does not enjoy this close scrutiny and Desire knows it, but it is always a delight of theirs to make him feel uncomfortable.

“Hm” Desire hums then shrugs, “Come on, now you’re all sorted, lets go to breakfast. Aponoia said she saw the telegram boy come by. I want to find out if there’s any more news. Won’t it be something if someone truly important drowned? Gossip for weeks.”

***

The papers always print bad news. Of course they do. But that news is viewed through a detached lens. Shocking, of course, but not too close to home. Telegrams though- that’s different. They take that news and make it personal. 

Breakfast had proven to be a fraught affair. Their father had been away from the room when they first arrived, speaking with their mother so they were to learn, but he had soon been back and imparted the news of their family’s misfortune to his children with unusual brevity. Then he had left without saying anything further, leaving the three of them to process the news alone: the news that Patrick Endless, their wealthy cousin and Morpheus’s fiance, had been aboard the Titanic with his father, James and neither were listed among the names of the survivors. Morpheus had not felt like eating further and had removed himself back to his rooms with his siblings following uninvited (though not strictly unwanted). He had wanted to think but he also knew the danger of getting lost so deeply in his mind, so Desire’s sniping and Aponoia’s quiet presence would be… grounding. 

The stupid thing was that Patrick was not even meant to be on that cursed ship; he and his father weren’t expected in New York until May. Why? He thought Why did they go? And without saying anything? Perhaps Patrick had planned to telegram from New York- a boast and a surprise. 

“Turns out that the lure of the Titanic’s maiden voyage was too strong.” Desire says as if reading his mind, and with a hint of mischief in their golden eyes. They lounge dramatically against the doorframe whilst Morpheus stands and stares out of his window, gazing at the grounds below. It all looks so quiet, so normal. Why doesn’t he feel sad?  Desire continues, “They wanted to be part of history and now they are history.”

“Desire,” Morpheus chides half heartedly. It is a crass statement but he can’t find it in himself to react more strongly. Maybe they are looking for a reaction from him, or maybe this is now how his sibling processes strong emotions. It certainly seems in character. Aponoia has not yet spoken. She just sits unmoving, staring vacantly ahead, toying with the ring on her finger, turning it over and over. He himself feels oddly disconnected from the news. How is one meant to react upon learning that their intended had been so suddenly and shockingly killed- drowned in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, their frozen corpse not even recovered, just left to sink and rot in the sea. Dream blinks slowly, probably not like this, he thinks vaguely. He feels there should be some weeping and wailing involved at the very least. 

But there is only numbness.

***

“Uh, I detest black,” Desire flounces into the room the next morning whilst Morpheus is busy writing in his journal. He enjoys writing, it helps to order his often scattered and rebellious thoughts. 

Jessamy, the maid he shares with his siblings, has just finished fixing his hair and is busily setting his bed to rights, plumping the pillows and smoothing the coverlets.  Desire regards themself critically in Morpheus’ tall mirror, turning this way and that. Aponoia trails after them silently. She is also dressed in black and it makes her look even more wan and washed out than usual. As for Desire, their outfit may have been the requisite black, but it still looked to Morpheus to be sufficiently rakish as to raise their parents’ blood pressure. Hardly proper mourning material. “At least going into mourning won’t ruin your aesthetic, Dream dear,” Desire stretches languidly and collapses back on the just-made bed, smiling thinly. “Always a silver lining somewhere.”

“Full mourning still seems a lot for a cousin,” Morpheus replies vaguely. He tries to pay little attention to his siblings, bent over his journal and writing quickly. The habit of diary writing was born of necessity: a strategy to help quiet his mind, he’d been told, but now it is a pleasure. 

“But not for a fiance,” Aponoia’s voice is quiet. There is no accusation in her tone, only the retelling of fact.

Morpheus huffs slightly. “He was not really a fiance.”

“No? I thought that was what you call a man you’re going to marry?”

“I was only going to marry him if nothing better turned up,” he turns the page and continues writing.

“Morpheus! What a dreadful thing to say!” Desire looks simply delighted. “Poor dear Patrick was absolutely besotted with you. It was quite pathetic to witness really- your indifference and his lovelorn obsessiveness,” they shudder theatrically. “Perhaps it’s a good thing he drowned; saved him from a miserable life with you as husband.”

“You dare suggest I would have been a poor husband to him?” Morpheus demands, slamming his diary closed and rounding on his sibling. Desire shrugs insouciantly, fiddling with a diamond earring.

‘“Well you didn’t love him. Barely liked him. And he wasn’t the cleverest where you were concerned, but he would have seen it sooner or later, and hated you for it. Of course, I could wish an unhappy marriage upon you, dearest brother. But Patrick? He deserved better.”

‘Better?’ Morpheus raises his eyebrows. Desire’s words were often full of spite towards him but this was such a quick switch around from mocking Patrick to defending him. Was there something here he had never seen? Never bothered to look for, in truth. “You would have considered yourself a better prospect, my sibling? Taken what I would have discarded?” He raises his eyebrows in challenge and they glare at each other for a moment, then Desire drops their gaze.

‘Yes,’ they say softly, vulnerability etching their features momentarily. “Would that I were eldest and not… as I am. Then I would have taken him like a shot.”

They stand, shields quickly  going back up. “Well,” they sniff pointedly, looking away from Morpheus and towards the door,  “It’s not so bad I suppose. Mama says we can go into half mourning next month, then full colour by September. A shame we have to spend the summer so drab- and miss the season down in London!- but at least we’ll be ready for shooting parties in the autumn.  Come on Appy, let’s leave his lordship alone. He clearly craves solitude. To think,” they sneer, “and write in his stupid diary.” They flow out the room without a backwards glance, Aponoia dutifully trailing in their wake.

Morpheus sighs and turns back to his journal, opening it and staring at the blank page but not picking his pen back up. Desire and Patrick… not that he thought Patrick had returned any sort of affection to his younger sibling but still, had he really been so blind?

“I was so terribly sorry to hear the news, my lord,” Jessamy offers quietly into the silence of the room as she finishes adjusting his bed again. “You say these things but I know you are sad. Whatever you say.” “You are a dear,” Morpheus murmurs. “But I do not feel as badly as I should. I do not really know… what I feel.”  That is probably a bad reflection upon me, he thinks. The truth was that beyond the normal amount of grief that came with the sudden and untimely passing of an acquaintance, Dream felt nothing.  Patrick had hardly been a grand passion. They had known each other since childhood but had been thrown together through circumstance rather than any actual attraction and they had barely anything in common.  So no, he was not as sad as he should be and that was what was really making him sad.  This marriage would have been a thing of duty. Their family was old, old enough indeed to have had plenty of time to rack up considerable debts. A lack of money hidden behind a fine name. Morpheus’ marriage to Patrick would have secured the estate’s future, shored up its ailing finances and kept the title very much in the family. As an omega, Morpheus would never have been able to inherit his father’s title but his children could, if they were alphas. And now, there was no marriage, no money and a very uncertain future ahead of them. Morpheus’s one duty, his one function in society, was to secure a good match and that duty lay so heavily upon his shoulders. If only Olly had stayed- but no, there was no use in dealing in ‘if onlies’. Practicalities only, and practicalities meant marriage. And soon.

[cleromancy]

one thing i think people miss when trying to nail down the like nitty gritty of like-- okay. so post-crisis post-resurrection Jason's a hypocrite, right? and hes purposely fancast himself as the villain opposite bruce in utrh.

but also even while Jason's doing this he *has a point,* and he *knows it.* Jasons got a lot of big moral ideas hes spouting, and from what we see, he mostly only abides by *some* of them. so while you're like acknowledging that utrh/lost days jay is motivated by his emotions and doesn't act in ways that align with his moral principles, but also he *keeps bringing **up** those moral principles*, you start to wonder like. What the hell is going on in that big brain of yours jay.

and what i was getting at. the thing i think most people miss or forget when exploring that. is jasons appearance in outsiders 2003.

im looking through the tpb so im not giving you the exact issue numbers for any of these panels sorry but its 44-46 plus the annual.

but here is the crux of the matter:

cutting for length!!

so whats going on here in outsiders! is that black lightning, aka Jefferson pierce, aka anissa pierces dad and one of the few really good dads in the dcu, got (basically) framed for murder by deathstroke; believed he (accidentally) actually did the murder; eventually turned himself in to serve his time in prison.

jason happens across this information entirely by accident, and goes out of his way to deliver that information to dickie, who has an on-again off-again relationship with being the leader of the outsiders at this point in time. and im just going to post a lot of it, both bc i like it and also so you see what Jason was going against JUST TO DELIVER THIS INFORMATION:

skipping the first page to save images but jason asks dick to meet up with him in Gotham; the next pages:

im skipping a bit of really enjoyable fighting after that as well but pls know its there. jason asked dick to meet up and dick fully said okay ill come to your rendez-vous *just* to beat the shit out of you. and he was so valid for that. but this aint about him so lets get back to jason:

why does jason bring this up + how does Jason come by this information? well

ok. now youre as caught up as dick is.

some times fools and jackanapes say to me. but sisky why would jason do this and bring this information to dick. why would he try to break black lightning out of prison. why would he do such a thing when he is a known knave, neer do well, scoundrel, etc. to which i say HE TOLD YOU!!! HE TOLD YOU WHY HE DID IT

JASON FUCKING VALUES THE *GOOD GUYS.*

(and also sidenote. winick is writing this so we have to assume he knows how competent and resourceful jason can be bc... as the guy who defined the character after his resurrection... he *made him that way.* so based on utrh we have to assume both that 1) jason could have pulled this prison break off solo and 2) jason *knows* he could pull it off solo...

but he also knows he's a Bad Guy now, and he realizes that *if* he sprung black lightning hed just fucking! turn himself back in! so jadon needs to convince some big goddamn heroes to do it....

so he goes to dick.)

((and also secondary sidenote. willis todd canoncially spent enough time in and out of prison that jason assumed hed wound up back there without telling him or catherine before she died and jason wound up squatting, and he only found out otherwise when he read the entry on the batcomputer on two-face.))

the point is. jason has a *lot* of moral ideas he is not, at this point in time, capable of living by for a variety of Jason Reasons, ill do more meta on that some other time. so he's inhabiting the bad guy role, but sometimes he keeps slipping and falling and accidentally caring about things, and...

god damn it dick, black lightning is one of the *good* guys. like *you're* one of the good guys. aren't you going to fucking help him??

i will probably elaborate on this more in the future as well. i just need to hit send rn LOL

[alouiadina]

MotA Zombie AU

So, a bit ago I posted something about workshopping a zombie au with someone. I now feel like elaborating on my idea in hopes someone will see it and maybe, possibly want to flesh it out/write it with me.

So, the idea came to me after remembering this Star Trek Zombie au fan fiction All The Loveless Land by pastmydancingdays on ao3 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/3795652/chapters/8450587)

It's been a while since I last read it, but the basic set up is that sometime after the zombie apocalypse, this woman(?) is interviewing Kirk and the people who would eventually be on the Enterprise after being rescued from Earth. It also has alternating pov.

Anyway, here's the idea(s):

Wrap around: Modern au. Jack and Harding (along with a few other military personnel) live near the wall that was built around the only safe states in the US (that aren't Hawaii or Alaska). The last people that came through the wall came through like 2 years before (Quinn and the guy he was with whose name I can't remember) They live together on base, and they're having a lazy morning in bed when they get called up because a group of survivors had shown up at the wall. They meet the survivors in the infirmary while they're getting checked for bite marks and any disease/sickness they might have contracted in the five years they spent out in the quarantine zone. Jack and Harding both seem a bit appalled that there are children, one or two missing a limb and one or two looking younger than five. They're all dehydrated and one of the group seems to have heat stroke, another of the group never leaving his side. When trying to separate one of the group members to interview them (probably Bucky) they get antsy/ standoff-ish, making Jack and Harding come to understand that they have to wait until they're mostly okay. When that happens, Jack and Harding take them separately, but not to separately, to interview them.

Five years ago:

Bucky- He and Josephine are married and have two children, a five year old and a one year old. He had been honorably discharged from the military the year before. He's on a school trip with his eldest daughter at the aquarium when it happens.

Buck- He and Marge are at the hospital when it happens. They've been married for a year, and she's pregnant (though idk how far along she is.)

(Idk which ship is going to have the one with heat stroke, and idk if one or both of Curt/Dickie will survive)

Crosby- Is also at the hospital, maybe the same hospital, but his wife just gave birth to their son. She is having some difficulty after the birth.

Bubbles- I haven't put much thought into where he is (maybe we don't focus where he is at the start, maybe just briefly mention it) Maybe he's one of the nurses at the hospital, or maybe he's Bucky's daughters teacher.

Ken- In a car in Arkansas with winks trying to loose his virginity to Winks, who's either his friend or boyfriend. Someone interrupts them (maybe Curt), or they hear it on the radio as an emergency broadcast.

Rosie- At his law firm, in a meeting with Dickie about something, idk what yet. Maybe a lawsuit or something.

Dickie- in a meeting with Rosie

Curt- I feel like after being honorably discharged (bc maybe he was shot down or something), he managed to end up homeless in Arkansas because his family wouldn't take him in and he did know Bucky in the Air Force, but didn't want to impose on him or his family bc Bucky has a family at home. He either somehow manages to meet up with Bucky and his daughter as they're trying to go back to Josephine and daughter #2, or he interrupts Ken and Winks' car time running away from a zombie

And maybe there are others from the 100th in the group, but I don't want to jump around too much with the POV. And the idea is for each chapter to have both halves of each ship from the past, and maybe some cute domestic moments between Jack and Harding in the wrap around parts.

If it wasn't clear, the main ships are: Clegan, Crubbles, Rosielemmons Curt x Dickie, JackHarding

edit: They're all also the same age as they are in the show in when the apocalypse starts. Bucky and Josephine just got married relatively young (22-23 ish).

[deadjaywalking]

So... I really enjoy writing dialog, I think is fun. I just wrote John Constantine talking to Lucifer for my story that I'm actively publishing on ao3. Who's afraid of little old me. About John and Dick grayson being together.

I love John as a character I think he is so interesting and he has so many sides to him. I hope I'm making him justice.

Here's what I wrote:

John Constantine watched the club from across the street as he smoked his last cigarette. The last time he saw Lucifer, they hadn't ended on the best of terms. But that wasn't unusual, for either of them. Asking help was. He sighed before going in, grumbling to him "The things I do for you Dickie". If it wasn't for the threat to Dick's life, he would never have come here, the world be damned. But Nergal was forcing his hand.

The place was filled with demons, but not the ones he was actively fighting, at least. There were some humans, but not many. Maze was behind the bar, her eyes closed in on him like a predator looking at prey. It was mostly an act, she just didn't like him.

- Hello Maze, where is the big man? - John asked when he reached her.

- I hope you are here trying to get into my pants Constantine, because otherwise the answer is no. - Lucifer said from behind him, not giving Maze time to answer.

- Didn't you hear Lucy? I'm taken now. - John turned around, with a smile. It was for show, and he hoped Lucifer would play along. At least for long enough to entertain the idea of helping him.

- Oh yes yes, all hell has heard of your little Dick. - John didn't seem amused, which made Lucifer laugh even more. - Come on now John, what makes you think I'm going to help you? Hell growing bigger and taking on earth isn't something I'm against. Considering I'm their king.

- It almost seems like you don't know me at all. Nergal didn't just threatened the world, I wouldn't come to you for that. He threatened Dick, and I can't let everyone think it's okay to do that. It wouldn't go well with my reputation. - John and Lucifer both knew it wasn't about that, they both knew John was scared. - I just need Nergal off the table. And for that i need to use something of yours.

- Again, why would I care? Why should I help you? He is a fellow demon after all. - Lucy said, with a dark look. Not many could tell, but he was considering John's offer.

- Because he wants to take over the earth and with that power, take your throne. I know you wouldn't actually care if he takes it, but it would hurt your ego. Nergal has been after your power since the beginning, he want to have something over your head. Are you really going to let him?

- What makes you think I won't kill him and take the earth from him? Honestly I'm a little offended you seem to think Nergal is worse than me.

- Nergal can't be killed. He will always come back. I could destroy him, for that I don't need you. But every time he regains his strength he will come after Dick and me. I'm getting tired of this game we have and I want it done with. - John said, knowing Lucifer wasn't actually offended, but intrigued. It was a dangerous thing, because if he determined John had wasted his time, he was done for. - I need your cage. I have enough power to lock him in, I just need your key. And I would be doing you a favor because if he is locked inside, it can never be used against you again.

That's what it all came down to, Lucifer couldn't say no. Nergal would be out of the way, so he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty dealing with him. The cage would be in use, so his father couldn't lock him up again.

- You know I won't stop anyone from trying to take the earth, right? I don't actively participate in evil plans anymore, but I'm not good either. Don't forget who I am John Constantine, it would be your worst mistake.

- I don't care about the world, I don't care about earth, heaven and hell. As long as Dick is out of Nergal's hands, or anyone else who dares to try and hurt him, I'm satisfied.

- You've been trying to save your soul for decades, and you'll give it up for a man? John... you humans are so pitiful. - Lucifer answer with a wicked smiled, his human face slowing transforming into his demonic one. His eyes were glowing, his skin was red like blood and his teeth were sharp like a blade. - Tell me, what is it that your hearts most desires?

- I... I... I want Dick to be safe and happy. - John said, with his eyes wide open, bloodshot and trembling. As the words came out of his mouth, he came out of the spell.

- I can't believe my eyes, John Constantine has been honest about his intentions for the first time in his life. The last time I asked you that, you said you wanted to be redeemed. You wanted to save yourself. I guess I misjudged you John. Very well, I'll help you. But know this, the next time you ask something of me, it will cost you and it will cost you big time. - Lucifer made the key appear out of nowhere and handed it to John. - The cage is guarded with my most trusted lieutenants. If you want it, you'll have to go through them. Good luck John, now get out of my bar.

[zeroducks-2]

Nine questions with Dick Grayson, please!

Let's get Dickie out of the way! (Ask game found here)

1: sexuality headcanon - Bisexual. Is that even a headcanon at this point lol. No but seriously I feel Dick is the most canon non-canon queer character ever at this point, even if this might be fandom brainrot from my part.

2: otp - Sladick. BOiii Sladick is The Ship when it comes to Dick, nothing comes even close. But to be fair, Dick is super shippable and works really well with nearly everyone, including almost all of his own canon girlfriends.

3: brotp - Dickroy. Roy has had a time when he was really freaking gay for Dick but it never got in the way of them being bros lol

4: notp - Dickbabs. It's mostly Taylor's fault and the abysmal way he writes both of them. I didn't like them much before but lately seeing them together gives me the heebiejeebies.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head - Dick has the biggest praise kink because Bruce is an emotionally constipated douche and never made Dick feel truly valued as a person.

6: favorite line from this character - I don't really have a favorite line so I'll go for one I like. From "The Black Mirror" by Scott Snyder:

I know, I am a softie. And I do try to see the best in people. But that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.

I'm a sucker for soft characters calling themselves softies hah.

7: one way in which I relate to this character - Something something toxic guardian figures found family existential loneliness

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - Everything that comes from his mouth when Taylor writes him!

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - 150% Cinnamon roll!

[the-time-lord-oracle]

The Doctor, Amy and Shareen visit the Delerium Archive, from The Time of Angels:

15 minutes later, the Doctor was striding through a museum modelled on a medieval church while a very bored Amy and an indifferent Shareen trailing behind. The Doctor was a like kid in a sweet shop as he pointed to exhibits and gave his opinion on them. "Wrong!" he fired off. "Wrong! Bit right, mostly wrong. I love museums!"

"Yeah, great." Amy spoke up, having had enough of this. "Can we go to a planet now? Big space ship, Churchill's bunker...? You promised me a planet next."

"Amy, this isn't any old asteroid." the Doctor argued. "It's the Delerium Archive; final resting place of the Headless Monks and the biggest museum ever."

"You've got a time machine, what d'ye need a museum for?" Amy asked irritably.

"Hey, look on the bright side." Shareen ventured. "If the Peacock Doctor were here, he'd be giving us boring 100mph lectures on every single thing here. God, that man loved the sound of his own voice!" she snorted. "Used to drive me round the bend."

"Wrong!" the Doctor said, pointing to another artefact. "Very wrong! Ooh, one of mine!" he grinned, recognising one artefact from a previous adventure several regenerations ago. "Also one of mine."

"Oh, I see. It's how you keep score." Amy commented.

"What a show-off!" Shareen snorted. It seemed that this new incarnation of the Doctor was just as vain as his predecessor.

The Doctor wasn't paying any attention to the two women now; his eye had been caught by a glass case containing a rusty old metal cube with rune-like carvings engraved into it. "Interesting." he murmured.

"Oh, great, an old box." Amy huffed.

"It's from one of the old starliners." the Doctor told her. "A Home Box."

"And what's that when it's at home?" Shareen asked, not particularly interested.

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes." the Doctor explained. "Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the data."

"So?" Amy asked huffily.

"The writing," the Doctor told her, pointing to the etchings in the Home Box, "the graffiti- Old High Galifreyan, the lost language of the Time Lords."

"So if that's Time Lord language, what's all that spirograph stuff you've got scribbled all over the TARDIS?" Shareen asked.

"That's Circular Galifreyan." the Doctor replied. "This is Old High Galifreyan. There were days," he sighed in reminiscence, "there were many days, those words could burn stars and rise up empires, and topple Gods."

"Now don't start all that Time Lords are gods bullsh*t, Dickie-Bow." Shareen rolled her eyes. "Remember what they tried to do at Christmas?"

"Well, I'm hardly likely to forget with you reminding me so nicely." the Doctor said flatly.

Amy cleared her throat, drawing the other two time travellers back to the original topic. "What does it say?" she asked the Doctor, pointing to the Home Box.

"Hello, sweetie." the Doctor answered, looking somewhat unhappy.

Shareen's eyes widened as she recognised those words. "Hey, that's..." she began, but was interrupted by the Doctor taking out a long, copper toy-like object with a green light at the end; his new sonic screwdriver. "What're you doing now, Dickie-Bow?" she asked him, knowing that it was likely not going to be good.

"Liberating it." the Doctor answered, and used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the display case containing the Home Box. Immediately, alarms started blaring. Undeterred, the Doctor scooped up the Home Box and tucked it under his arm. "Run!" he ordered the two women, and they had no choice but to leg it back to the TARDIS.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Thks Fr Th Mmrs: A Mid-year Checkin

The summer is a mark of many things, whether it’s being outside, longer nights, the Fourth of July, fireworks, hotdogs, beaches, summer break, and the middle of the year. We’re over a week into July by this point, and while new releases have slowed down for a moment (I’m writing this on the 7th, but it’ll be later when I post this), we still got a ton of great pieces of media within the last few months. Whether it’s TV shows that people can’t stop talking about, movies that win audiences over, or albums that we’re all sure to be spinning by the end of the year, we’ve been eating good when it comes to new media. There are plenty of things to talk about, especially new stuff that I didn’t talk about in the last checkin piece I made back in April. Just like last time, however, I’m not doing this alone! I’m bringing along my buddy Jake, so we can talk about all things fandom, whether it’s music, movies, or TV. Hell, even video games aren’t off the table, but if you’re looking for new stuff that you haven’t heard, seen, or played in the first half of the year, or want to see what we’re into, you’re in the right place! We also talked about stuff that wasn’t necessarily new, but it may be new to us, since you don’t have to spend the year getting into stuff from that year, you can consume whatever you want from whenever you want.

With that said, in case you missed our first piece back in April, we talked about TV shows and movies like Fallout, Invincible, X-Men ‘97, and the Mean Girls musical, as well as talking about video games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Mafia III, and Fallout 4, and the new albums from bands like Cory Wells, Too Close Topic Touch, Bayside, Sum 41, The Ghost Inside, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Neck Deep, Fluorescents, Dustin Kensrue, Lil Dicky, and Justin Timberlake, among others. We got plenty more to talk about today, however, so to welcome you aboard, let me first kick to you, Jake — how have the last few months been for you in terms of consuming media? Has there been a lot that you’ve been really into that’s come out since we last discussed our favorite things, or have you still been sinking into your teeth into some, if not all, of the same things we talked about back then?

It’s funny, because in terms of music, so much new and exciting stuff has come out in the last couple months, and I’ve been all over it, but in terms of other forms of media, I’ve been kind of stuck in a bit of a rut. For example, I’ve been sitting on the last couple chapters of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for almost two months now after 160 hours, but it’s been a struggle to get myself to finish it, which in turn has made me hesitant to really start anything new. Same with TV shows; while I did watch the new Star Wars series The Acolyte and mostly enjoyed that, and I’m really loving this current season of the Criminal Minds revival, I haven’t really felt motivated or energized to start a new thing. That being said, I do wanna touch on both of those things at least briefly. The Acolyte was a super fascinating look into a new era of Star Wars removed from the Skywalker saga, and while I think it suffered from some pacing and format issues (mostly in that it felt like a movie cut up into 8 pieces), I loved the bold swings it took and hope we get to explore more of that in a potential second season. As for the Criminal Minds revival, the original series is a major comfort show of mine, so I was bummed when the original series ended in 2020, but also okay with that, because 15 years is a long time, and the show was past its prime. But, when it was revived just a couple years later for streaming as opposed to network TV, it was just the shot in the arm the series needed. Because it’s on streaming, the creative team isn’t beholden to the rigid network procedural format, and they’re able to tell darker stories and really dig deep into both the main BAU agents and the killers they’re chasing, and they’re also able to be way more serialized in their storytelling, versus the case-of-the-week format they did originally. The second season of the revival has been particularly awesome, because they’re really running with the new format to dig into the entire series’ history, and I’m super stoked to see how it wraps up with the finale that’s airing the week of writing this.

Throwing it over to you, Bradley, what have you been getting into since the last time we did this?

You know, I can sort of say the same thing, because aside from a few TV shows that just wrapped up recently, I’ve been diving headfirst into a lot of music. A lot of new music, mind you, but I’ve also been revisiting some stuff I used to be into around a decade ago, and it’s been a pretty cool experience. I’ll talk about that in a bit, however, but I’ve been mainly watching The Acolyte and fourth season of The Boys. I feel the same way about The Acolyte; I love this new era of Star Wars we’re exploring, and despite issues with pacing, it was an interesting show about a mystery that didn’t amount to a whole lot, and I had a lot of questions in the finale, but it left a lot open for another season. The Boys, however, has been ramping up with its penultimate season, because as far as we know, season five is the last one, but the characters are getting more unhinged and the political commentary is more on point than ever (even having its last episode mirror something that just happened while being written and shot months before). It’s getting good, so it’ll be interesting to see where the last season goes.

Aside from those two relevant shows that just wrapped, I’ve also been watching the 1998 anime Cowboy Bebop, because I’ve been getting more into anime, and it’s been a fun ride of watching one of the most influential and critically acclaimed anime series of all time. I’ve been a couple games, too, including the first Kingdom Hearts game, which is fitting with Final Fantasy, and that’s been a lot of fun, but I’ve recently taken a liking to playing online multiplayer on 2018’s Battlefront II, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s nothing special, just being either a clone, stormtrooper, rebel, or battle droid, and playing what amounts to capture the flag, but it doesn’t get old to me for whatever reason.

Now it’s time for the reason we’re all here — music. A lot of new music has come out in a last few months, and despite it being relatively slow the last couple of weeks, it’s still been a great summer for new and exciting music. Before we talk about that, however, are there are any albums from the first time that we did that you’re still really into, or have your thoughts changed on some? I’ve got a couple of albums that were in my top ten that I’ve changed my thoughts a bit on, not necessarily in a bad or dramatic way, but the more you listen to something, the more your thoughts can change one way or another.

I wouldn't necessarily say that there have been any albums that I've changed my mind on, but as more stuff has come out, albums that I thought were gonna be really high on my list may not be anymore, or may eb off my list entirely. I still really like all of those albums, but I think it's a testament to just how strong the last few months have been in terms of music. I will say this, though; while my number one album is still Bayside's There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive, pretty much the entire rest of my top 10 has shifted pretty dramatically, and I'm excited to talk more about that!

How has that been for you, though?

That’s actually what I was going to say, too, because while I’ve changed my thoughts on a few albums (mainly loving them when they first came out to not loving them as much now, but still enjoying them; the new JT album is a good example of that, actually), it’s more so that a bunch of new albums came out in the last few months to replace a lot of what I originally had in my top ten! I’ve got three ealbums from the last we time did this still in my top ten, and one of them is the new Bayside album as well! I’ll spoil it a bit early, but even that album isn’t my frontrunner anymore for AOTY, which shows how strong this year has been so far. With that said, a lot of my honorable mentions are albums that originally appeared on my list a few months back, but my overall list has changed dramatically. What are some albums from the last few months have crept their way into your overall favorites?

I have a feeling this one might end up on both our lists, so I'll start with the new Bimuri album, American Motor Sports. This thing almost has no business being as good as it is, and yet every time I listen to it, I just have the biggest smile on my face. It's really a perfect album for this time of year; you have infinitely catchy hooks, heartfelt lyrics, and a sound that on paper, perhaps isn't the most unique, but Johnny Franck pulls it off flawlessly. If you haven't, check out the album with all the visualizers/musicvideos, too; they're so ridiculous but they only add to the enjoyment for me. I also wanna give a big shout to The Home Team and their new album The Crucible of Life. I think you put it best in your review when you said that these guys are carrying the torch from Issues (RIP), their self-described heavy pop sound is fully refined here, and while I don't think it quite makes the upper half of my list, it's a damn great album that I've been going back to quite a bit. Finally, I'd like to at least briefly touch on the new Bring Me The Horizon album, Post-Human: Next Gen. This thing was all I listened to for the first two weeks after it came out, and I think a lot of that had to do with how the album felt both fresh but also very much like a loving throwback to that early and mid-2000's hard-rock/alt metal that I grew up with. It's absolutely a nostalgia thing for me, but I also think, a few nitpicks aside, BMTH really made something unique and memorable in a genre that so desperately needed it.

How about you? I think I know what a few of them are, but I'm curious if there might be some unexpected ones on your list.

Oh, man, you know the new Bilmuri album is on there! American Motor Sports is a fantastic album, and like you said, it’s not a super unique album, but the songwriting is top notch. I need to check out some of the music videos, too, because if there is one thing I know about his music, it’s that he loves memes and ridiculousness. The Home Team’s new one is good, too, but what kept it from my top ten is how some of the songs fade into the background, despite being so good. The new BMTH album is the same, actually, but both of those are some great picks, and a couple of highlights in a crowded year.

As for me, most of my list is composed of new albums from the last time we sat down and did this! For starters, the new Knocked Loose album, You Won’t Go Until You’re Supposed To, is a big one; they came back with a super heavy album, as well as a really short one, but it’s a blast. Rapper turned country artist Shaboozey dropped a cool album a couple months back with Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, but a lot of the new stuff on my list are all rap albums.

I didn’t listen to much in that vein last year, but what I’ve heard this year is great. For starters, Childish Gambino dropped two albums this year, and while I enjoy his latest (and final) album, Bando Stone, I enjoyed the finished version of his 2020 album, now entitled Atavista, a lot more. Denzel Curry’s recently released King Of The Mischievous South, Vol 2, and that’s easily in my top three of the year, and because of that, I listened to That Mexican OT’s newest album from in the beginning of the year, because he’s featured on there. My (current) favorite this year, however, has become the new Lupe Fiasco album, Samurai. I’ve always been a fan of his stuff, but this is such a short and sweet album, it’s easily listenable and you can listen to it whenever and wherever.

Man, even if it's not totally my thing, that new Knocked Loose album goes hard, you really can't deny that. Same with the new Lupe Fiasco album; it's a genre I'm not super entrenched in, but I really don't see how you listen to that and not at the very least respect the hell out of it.

Before we close this thing off, is there anything coming up that you're looking foward to? The main one for me is probably the upcoming Four Year Strong album. I've had a blast with the singles I've heard, and they always bring the goods, so I'm pretty confident about that one. I'm also really looking forward to the new Siamese album. They're a very solid and criminally underrated band, and I've really enjoyed what they do in the heavier rock scene.

Honestly, the new Four Year Strong album comes to mind, as I’ve been a huge fan of them for years, so it’s crazy that they’re still putting stuff out, but I saw that Siamese announced a new album! That could be good, especially since I enjoyed their debut quite a lot back in the day. I’m not looking forward to anything else in particular, and I think part of the fun is just seeing what comes out every week, and being surprised. As I write this, rapper Yung Gravy dropped a country album today, and for the record, it’s pretty fun, but I had no idea that was even coming out today. I know there are some albums I’m looking forward to, but they’re albums coming out in the next few months, versus August.

I think you raise a pretty good point there, actually; it has been a ton of fun just kinda browsing the new releases and seeing if anything sticks out. It's not quite the same, but it reminds me a lot of going to FYE back in the day and just picking up a random CD that'd grab my attention, especially on release weeks when not a lot came out that was on my radar.

In any case, though, it was a blast getting back together to do this, man! I'm excited to do it again in the fall, and finally at the end of the year for our big year-end celebration.

Man, you and me both. I loved going to stores and just browsing to see if anything caught my eye, especially when a lot of those stores had more CDs. Nowadays, most of these stores don’t have anything at all, or the couple of bigger new releases, and that’s so depressing. It’s still exciting to see new stuff, nonetheless, especially when you’re not anticipating anything, kinda like this week, actually. Anyhow, it was certainly a blast getting back together to do this, for sure! I’m always pumped for these pieces, because there’s nothing like nerding out and fanboying over the stuff we’ve been loving throughout the year.

[marydswitchduet]

Chastity Log Day 15

7/28

What Did We Do?

I had a rare day off but mommy still had to work. SO we didn't have much fun til later in the afternoon. But, it was still a LOT of fun.

Mommy wanted to make sure she looked her best, and I agreed, so we both showered and I shaved her legs, my legs, her kitty, and my little dicky.

I have a deep fetish and attraction for shaving, especially shaving genitals. It's so intimate, personal, and meticulous. I enjoyed rubbing the shaving cream up mommy's legs, which I did first. It went smoothly, and I loved feeling my hands up to mommy's kitty, which she slapped away.

I later went and shaved mommy's kitty. I mostly used electric shavers for that so we didn't have to worry about cuts. Once mommy's kitty was shaved, it looked good enough to eat.

Later, Mommy instructed me to go strip and shave as well. I had to shave essentially all below my waist. I've been shaving my diaper area, front, back and sides, for the last week or two I've been in chastity. Idk about anyone else, but it's HOT, HOT, HOT and humid. Even small day trips and errands padded can be very sweaty, sorry for the details lol.

Needless to say, I thought it would help with both sweat, smell, and friction. It seemed to be more helpful, especially using baby powder when it's humid too, GODSEND!

Either way, I shaved up, down, and sideways and was smooth an adult baby's bottom.

I went back and mommy diapered and powder me up. It was nice and felt myself slipping into space. Some of my night gets a little hazy, some 420 service to help slip into little space and just relax.

One of the moments I recall is mommy using my little dicky for her entertainment and, I think, trying to get me to make cummies to I'd be stuck in chastity longer. But I didn't so YAY, but also boo. Mommy only lets me make ruined cummies, which drains my little ballies but don't make me feel good...well as good. Mommy mentions whenever that happens that I may need a chastity cage more and more. After she used me, she diapered me back up and turned me over.

Next major thing I remember was mommy spanking me repeatedly. This was punishment for my creamies without permission. First mommy made light slaps to my padded bottom. They hurt, but I was okay. Then, gradually, she started to hit harder. Mommy mentioned afterward her tip was that she had to cup her hand.

My diapee offered me some protection. At first, mommy weas okay with my making little noises. But, later she got meaner and started smacking me harder and harder until I yelled what she wanted. I yelled what the 3 closing slaps were for.

Each one was for a time I made cummies without permission and when. At the end, mommy told me I had to be in little chastity for a month. MEEP.

I guess this may mean no fun grown up stuff at all, but I'm not sure. Mommy said once we figure a few things out, a cage is definitely in the works for me.

Mommy finished spanking me when she smacked me so hard I was trying to crawl away on the bed only to be smacked again and collapse.

I had to keep mentioning I'm a dirty boy, I think? If so, I think I could use something else to say. Maybe it's just to brat in me but I got bored.

How did it feel?

Humiliated, but cathartic release of sorts. Fresh n clean after shaving. Slightly proud as mommy said I did a good job

How are you feeling? Ball-Wise?

Better from being emptied but still sore as if they are still as full as my complete chastity

What I want more/less of in current dynamic?

More: Confirmation of what we're doing before we formally get started. Earlier in the night, we'd discussed having an SFW night where I was gonna get dipped and we were gonna sit on the couch and watch movies. Sounded nice.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed our NSFW antics we had above. I just think in one part of my brain I had one version of my little space that's more "childish" or "innocent" or sorts. But, then the erotic events switched my gears.

I am writing this more as a reflection to remind myself that I just want to bring those things up sooner. I meant to discuss this after our session was over, but I think we were both extremely satisfied and exhausted so even if I had thought of it, I doubt I could've said the words at all.

I would just enjoy those little space moments where it doesn't need to be sexy is all. Something I'm sure we'll figure out a way balance as well.

Things I’m enjoying

Spanking more than I thought I would. Likely because it's in a different context and even though I know it's because I'm in trouble I know there's no formal malice. Or the malice lives and dies in this space, and we both know that. My little self will be scared, my big self knows this is not going to last forever and I can keep going even beyond the point of breaking.

[lestweforget5]

🌌 and/or💧!!

Hello, Nonnie! Thank you for the ask!

Answers to both questions are under the cut, given the length of my answers. For 💧, it references the outgrowth of some of what happened to Millie prior to her arrival at Stalag Luft III, as discussed in Chapter 18, so those trigger warnings apply here by extension.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Well, the main characters of my stories are always OC because I have an easier time consistently getting into their heads than canon characters when I’m writing an entire long story/series primarily from one POV. And @precious-little-scoundrel's early thoughts for her Those Who Can Integrated AU gave me brainrot and impetus to start plotting out how I would handle an Integrated AU with women in the USAAF during WW2. This quote by General Kuter was also very influential, “‘We just closed our minds to [long-range escorts]; we couldn’t be stopped; the bomber was invincible’" (MOTA, 42, emphasis added). Given the social customs of that day, it gives a very plausible place that women in the military might have ended up.

Then I needed a character for my AU. I don't remember what the first thing I decided about her was, but from the beginning, Millie was always related to Kenny, always an engineer (a likely career for a farm kid who grew up helping with mechanical work like Kenny did), and always on Curt and Dickie's crew. But she was not originally named Millie and her relationship with Brady was actually a very late addition. My first idea for a name was "Gayle," which would have given her an interesting point of connection with Buck Cleven (like her last name does now with John Brady), but "Gayle" was quite rare as a first name for women c. 1920, so I abandoned that idea.

Early on in my planning process for this fic, I flirted with the idea of Millie being on Escape Kit and whether there was a way to get Dickie off the plane. My research into parachutes told me that one parachute probably could have carried the weight of both Millie and Dickie, but there was no good way for them to be strapped together, especially given the time crunch to get off the plane. So eventually, Millie ended up on a different plane at Regensburg, and the scene with Millie and Curt and Meatball on Stymie's hardstand in the fog was actually one of the first scenes I wrote for this fic.

💧 DROPLET - random angst headcanon

Okay, this is sort of two angst headcanons in one, but they fit together. So Millie has a deep-seated and very understandable fear of male doctors, and I think this continues well past the end of the war, even when she's back in America, and maybe for the rest of her life to some extent. I was scanning through an article on female doctors in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century, and female doctors in the USA had fallen from around 10% of doctors nationwide c. 1900 to only around 4% c. 1940. So I've been thinking about how difficult it would have been for her, dealing with that fear of doctors and yet having to deal with mostly/entirely male doctors during her recovery from being a POW and afterwards. And, to make it worse, many women have been victims of rape/sexual assault can also deal with infertility issues afterwards, and combine that with her fear of doctors generally, and it's like ... poor Millie.

These answers are rather rambling, but hopefully, they give you some of the answers you were looking for. Thanks again for the ask!

[karizard-ao3]

Clueless Teens is such a long story. Reading it, I was wondering if you had tidbits or ideas that you thought about but didn’t write in, or maybe written ideas that didn’t make it to the final version? Or even your your headcanons about it? Thanks!

Actually, yes! I do have a separate doc where I put deleted scenes I thought I might be able to revive and put in the fic later. I ended up writing and scrapping a lot of little bits that just didn't work, and even ended up having to redo part ten entirely, because what I had planned when i started writing Clueless Teens just wasn't right for the characters when I got to the end of it. They'd changed too much.

I've actually considered a few times whether to share any of the deleted scenes, so I'll take this as a sign and share one with you all now!

Deleted Scenes From Armin's House

(context: Armin is getting ready for his date with Sandra)

Armin had been concerned that it would be weird hanging out with Eren and Mikasa now that they were going out, but nothing had really changed except that they kept finding excuses to mention that they were together and Eren may or may not have superglued Mikasa’s palm to his, because they were pretty much always holding hands. They were both over at Armin's apartment now, helping him pick out what to wear for his date with Sandra the next evening. Armin really only wanted Mikasa's input, but Eren was the one sharing his opinions while Mikasa quietly looked through Armin's clothes.

"I mean, you can't go wrong with a button up, right?" said Eren, the boy who did not own a single t-shirt because his mommy did not buy them for him. 

"We're going to the arcade," said Armin. "Wouldn't a button up be a little formal?"

"Not if it's plaid!" said Eren. 

"I really just want to know which of my clothes make me look the most… You know. Hunky."

"Oh, I don't know then," said Eren.

"What do you think, Mikasa?" Armin asked. 

Mikasa looked over her shoulder at him. "Do you own anything besides cargo pants?"

"No," said Armin.

She sighed and went back to rummaging through his bureau. 

"What's wrong with my pants?" demanded Armin.

She just shook her head. 

"You should get some Dickies," said Eren.

"You don't even shop for your own clothes!" Armin protested. "Why should I listen to you?"

"I don't know. My mom just bought me some and they're really comfortable and I think they look pretty good on me," said Eren, sullenly.

"They do look good on you," said Mikasa. "You looked really hot when you wore them on Tuesday."

Eren turned bright pink. "So, yeah. I was just thinking you should get some Dickies," he said, a goofy smile spreading across his face.

Mikasa gave up on Armin's clothes and sat down on the edge of his bed. Eren plopped down next to her and took her hand. "I don't know how I'm supposed to pick an outfit for you when everything you own is fourteen variations of the exact same thing and then a random assortment of different sized suits," Mikasa said. "Why do you own so many suits?"

"My aunt has gotten married a lot," explained Armin. 

"Just wear whatever's clean and has the least wrinkles, I guess," said Mikasa. "Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

Armin sighed. "Thanks for trying."

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Eren asked Mikasa. "I still have a bunch of gift cards. I can take you out to dinner."

"Don't you want to save them?" she asked.

Eren shook his head. "My grandma will just send me more. She wins them at Bingo."

"Dinner sounds good," said Mikasa. "Do you want to hang out at my house for a bit first? …Before my parents get home?” She batted her eyelashes coyly.

"Yeah," said Eren, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Mikasa giggled.

Armin was a little bit grossed out and a little bit jealous, but he didn’t say anything. He was mostly happy for them. They’d been dancing around their feelings for almost the entire school year, and now they were finally together. He wished that things had worked out a little bit more like that for him with Annie, but he guessed that was life. Besides, Sandra seemed really nice. She was a big Naruto fan and she liked playing video games, which were both huge plusses, she thought Armin was funny, and, most importantly, she wanted a boyfriend. Armin wanted to be a boyfriend. He’d gotten a bit of a taste during all of his not-dates with Annie, and he liked the feeling. 

***

(context: Eren and Mikasa are holding hands non-stop and Armin is a little fed up with them)

It would have been cute, Armin supposed, but Mikasa was supposed to be filming for her YouTube channel right now and it was hard to game one-handed. 

“Why can’t I play Animal Crossing?” Mikasa complained. “It’s so cute.”

“People don’t want to watch you play Animal Crossing,” said Armin, trying to be patient. “They want to watch you play Call of Duty.”

“What about Zelda?” said Mikasa as Armin rolled his eyes. Mikasa glared at him. “You don’t let me play the games I’m interested in.”

“You only like them because they look cute,” accused Armin. “You don’t know anything about the gameplay.”

“Well, yeah,” said Mikasa.

“Meanwhile, I’m working hard trying to get you fans.”

“Well, I want fans who like the same games I do,” grumbled Mikasa. 

Armin threw up his hands. “Okay, fine..”

***

(context: Eren and Mikasa are obnoxious and dumb)

"Oh, by the way," said Mikasa. "My boyfriend and I were wondering, if your date goes well, do you want to go on a double date together next weekend?"

"Your boyfriend?" said Armin, sarcastically. "Do I know him?"

Mikasa frowned at him, looking perplexed. "It's Eren," she said.

"Yeah, she's talking about me," said Eren, glaring aggressively. "Who did you think she was going out with?"

"Did we not tell you we got together, Armin?" asked Mikasa, looking worried. "It happened on Sunday."

"I'm literally holding her hand right now," Eren continued, building himself up into a rant. "I thought you were smart."

Armin cackled, interrupting Eren as he was preparing to really lay it on him. Eren clapped his mouth shut, looking flustered. "I'll ask Sandra what she thinks," Armin said.

"Okay," said Mikasa. "Just let us know."

"Hey, are you and Annie still friends?" Eren asked.

***

And that's it for now! I have to go to the dentist, so I just picked a section really fast. I hope you enjoyed it!

[indecentpause]

Seven Snippets, Seven People

tagged by @kaiusvnoir to share seven snippets! I will do my best!

tagging for the game from my little list: @caspia-writes @inscrutable-shadow @imaginationxlost @nervousgalaxyllama @pinespittinink @shaicarus @whimsyqueen

no pressure! I know this is a big one, and some people might not have or be ready to share that much. you can always skip any game I tag you in! if you don’t want to be tagged anymore just let me know :3

also tagging my taglist under the cut, because there’s so much here you might like to see too!

cw: sex mention, implied bullying/abuse, panic attack

from The Black & Blues, mostly under a cut to save your dashes lol:

One:

For your fourteenth birthday, Danny gives you a denim jacket he found at a thrift store. It’s far too big but Danny just grins and says, “That just means it’s perfect for patches and buttons.”

You don’t know if you’re brave enough for patches and buttons. But when Danny pulls you into a hug and says, “We’re gonna get out of here. We’re gonna be okay.” You cling to him like a life preserver in a wild ocean, one thing steady in the turmoil and confusion of being a gay kid turning into a gay teen.

For a long time, you wear the jacket as is. To school, to the library, to the grocery store, to everywhere.

Your parents hate it when you wear it to church, but honestly, they’re lucky you even go without fighting them about it.

The punk kids at school begin to take notice of you. One of them, a tall, brick wall of a junior, always nods at you, and one day his girlfriend offers you a fist bump and she gives you one every day after that.

Two:

After school, Danielle, Dicky, and Crystal corner you in the back parking lot where the seniors park their cars. Their faces are worried and serious. It’s like an intervention.

“Meara,” Danielle says. “Please. Tell us what’s going on. Did something happen with your parents?”

Your eyes go wide and you push back against the brick wall, but it just gives them space to close in.

“I’ll slash their tires,” Crystal growls.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m staying with Danny, so I’m fine.”

“So something did happen.” Dicky’s voice is low and angry, but he stays calm. You’ve never heard him speak so quietly, and somehow, that’s scarier than yelling.

You’d promised yourself you wouldn’t cry here at school. In front of anyone other than Danny. You’re already a pathetic mess, you can’t let people see you vulnerable.

But even so, your eyes start to water, and you turn your head away and wipe at your eyes with your knuckles, pressing in hard as you try to regulate yourself.

Then, you’re crying, and Crystal has her arms wrapped around you like you’re a fragile treasure, and Dicky and Danielle whisper-yell at each other about what they should or shouldn’t do, but in the end, nothing is solved and nothing is better and everyone is angry.

You can’t wait to get out of this shithole town. Three years. Three years.

Three:

“[Danny]’s my best friend,” you say.

Kris hikes an eyebrow and purses his lips. “Anything else?”

Your smile must turn a little sad when you say, ‘No,” because Kris makes a sympathetic humming sound.

“But you want him to be.”

“You don’t even know if I like guys.”

Kris snorts. “Straight men don’t touch each other the way you two do. You’re too close, too casual.” He pauses. “Straight men also don’t listen to Pansy Division.”

You clear your throat and swallow hard. “Is it that obvious?” you ask meekly.

“I think you have to be looking for it,” Kris says. “But I know what repressed gay crushes look like. I’m aroace but I still have feelings for Austin and Sara in my own ways, and we haven’t always been together.”

“Do you think we need to tone it down?” Your voice is shaky now, and your eyes dart up and down the hall over Kris’s head. Who knows who might be listening?

Kris smiles kindly and shakes his head. “You do you, man. I wouldn’t suggest walking down the street holding hands with another dude or kissing one in public. But you should be fine.” He gently knuckles your elbow and says, “I won’t tell him. That’s your guys’ business. But I think you should shoot your shot.”

Four:

Because you’re so early, you and Danny get there first. Your guitar is already tuned, but you fiddle with it anyway, trying to ignore your nerves. This is gonna be great. This is gonna work. You’re all friends, and you can make something happen.

Danny appropriately plays the bassline from Fugazi’s Waiting Room as you, well, wait. You’re a good fifteen minutes early, so you have plenty of time for a panic attack in the meantime.

From out of nowhere, you start to get a little dizzy, your breathing gets a little uneven. Your heart is pounding. Maybe you really are having a panic attack.

The bassline stops and Danny carefully puts his bass down.

“Meara?” he says gently. You shake your head. “Meara, are you all right?”

“I think I’m having a panic attack,” you gasp.

He doesn’t ask why. He doesn’t point out that you’ve never had a panic attack in your life. He just takes your guitar and places it to the side, then scoots up next to you, so close your hips touch.

“What can I do?” Danny asks. “Would a hug make it better or worse?”

You sniffle and collapse against him, burying your nose in this shoulder. Sandalwood again.

He wraps an arm around you and pulls you into a half hug. “Hey,” he says. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. We’re all friends, we’ve all been playing for years. And everyone who will be here is nice, remember? Even if there is a disagreement, I think it’ll be fine.”

You nod, and you breathe, and it feels like hours, but the clock says five minutes have passed by the time you calm down.

Five:

You let out an exhale, not quite a sigh, and you say, “Well. I think that could have gone better. It was awesome to see people dancing, though.”

“Are you kidding me?” Morgan laughs. “I think we did great for our first show!”

You pull up your shirt to try to wipe at your face with the hem instead. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Meara, seriously,” Josephine says. “Morgan and I have done a lot of performances in our years playing. That was a really good reception for a band nobody’s heard of.”

“Here, you animal,” Danny says, handing you a gray and black checkered handkerchief. “Use this. Uh. Don’t put it in your pocket, though.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” you laugh.

“No, I just don’t think you share my kinks,” he grins back, ruffling your hair. It stabs you in the chest, knowing he’s still flagging for other men, but then, they’re not ‘other men.’ They’re potential partners. And you aren’t.

And he’s right. You don’t share his kinks. You’re not into bondage or S&M. It’s possible, even probable, that you wouldn’t be sexually compatible, even if you were romantically. Maybe it’s better for you. It’s what he wants, and he deserves to get what he wants.

You could do without knowing which pocket he puts them in, though.

His right, your brain helpfully fills in for you.

Six:

“Were you and your mom really close, then?”

“Yeah.”[Josselin’s] smile is sad but fond. Sad she’s gone but thinking about happy memories. “What about you?” he says. “What’s your family like?”

“I don’t have one anymore,” you say, and while you don’t mean it to come out harsh, it’s firm enough that he doesn’t pursue the subject.

“And now the million dollar question,” you say. He laughs a little. “Why were you homeschooled?”

“Oh.” His voice gets a little soft. “Regular school and autism don’t mix.”

It takes you a moment to understand what he’s saying. “You’re autistic?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Diagnosed when I was a kid. It took me a lot longer than most people my age to start speaking, and I used to have huge emotional regulation problems. But Mom always helped me. She helped me find ways to deal with a world that’s not made for me.”

A pause when the bus stops, and passengers get off, and passengers get on.

“Well,” you finally say, and you hope you’re saying the right thing, “I’d like to be in the part of the world where you are.”

He looks up at you again with that bright, bright smile and those bright, bright eyes.

“Me too,” he says.

Seven:

[Josselin] grabs a box and plops down beside you, and you go through some of his video games together. He has an N64 and a Super Nintendo. You didn’t really have video games growing up. Your brother had some systems but he never let you into his room to play. Danny’s family had a Super Nintendo, but that was more for his dad. He’d let you and Danny play; you just had other stuff going on. When you say so, Josselin bumps his shoulder against yours and says, “I grew up on the road, remember? I never played until Frankie and I moved in together last year.”

“Oh, so they’re hers?”

“Well, I’ve added to the collection since then. But the systems are hers.”

He finally digs out Pokemon Stadium, and, when you agree that that’s still okay, he grabs the box and leaves the couch and you miss his soft warmth immediately. God, you’re absolutely head over heels infatuated, aren’t you?

He’s just so calm, and gentle, and sure of himself. He doesn’t put on a front. He’s absolutely, unabashedly Josselin.

You don’t know who Meara is, yet. For years you defined yourself by your sexuality because you had no other choice if you wanted to stay safe. But now you’re Meara the student and Meara the musician and Meara the friend.

Maybe Meara the boyfriend, soon, if you’re lucky.

General taglist:  @ohsugarfoot @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @theschoolofathena @viskafrer @thelaughingstag @athenswrites @kaiusvnoir @magic-is-something-we-create

Black & Blues taglist: @winterandwords @lynnedwardswrites

[ohtobealady]

Okay, I'm gonna be greedy and: 🌀❄️☔

Oooo! Thanks for being greedy, wifey:

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

The Pleasure in a Secret / Of Days in Goodness Spent / [Insert better title here] is an approximately five chapter story following young!cobert as they finish their honeymoon in Florence. We meet some extended relations of Robert's, we go to the opera!, we go to museums.

It was inspired by that scene in S3 when Robert asks Matthew "How was the honeymoon?" and Matthew answers, "My eyes have been opened" and Robert says, "Don't I know it." What. What do you know? I'm not sure I hear that line as sexy.

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Actually, yes. So I did start a Modern AU somewhere. I wrote two skeleton expositions: one picked up with characters at the end of the series; the other picked up with characters at S3. It's got angst (featuring both Simon Bricker and Jane) LOL. I was just curious how if I literally transplanted them into modern times, how would they translate? I may write it one day as a challenge to myself, but oof Modern is not my strength.

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing

Hmm ... have I shared this before? Probably, but oh well. From Wiser, and Easier, and Brighter, which is mostly just sequel to An English Summer and will feel and move like that story:

“And who is he again? I know I should know him.”

Robert heard her small voice even though the room was packed to the brim. He peered across it to where Cora had tipped her head, searching out the person in question. 

“Ah,” he answered. “That’s Richard Grey, Lord Merton’s son. He’s called Dickie. His wife is there, Ada.”

“Dickie,” she repeated. 

Robert smiled. “Lord Merton and Papa have known one another since Eton.”

He smiled again at her thoughtful pout. 

“Eton,” he saw, more than heard, her whisper. Her reddened lips moved it purposefully, committing it to her memory. “Dickie and Eton.”

His chest grew tighter when she looked up at him, sparkling eyes, twinkling tiara. 

He smiled yet again. His cheeks had begun to grow sore. Had he ever smiled so much?

“But there are so many people,” she glowed. “Why are they all here? I’m not sure any of them know me!” He watched her scan the crowd and look back up at him, eyes all full of wonder. “And this goes on all night?”

He caught himself laughing a little, but he nodded. “Well, they’ve been known to, though Rosamund’s presentation ball only lasted until three.” 

“In the morning?”

“Yes!” He laughed louder. “Cora, you have just been presented. We must celebrate you.” He, too, then looked out across the crowd: he wasn’t sure he knew all of them either, and the music had not even begun. “Though I dare say even there are quite a few more here than Rosamund’s.”

“Shh!” Cora’s eyes flicked to just behind Robert, where his older sister stood. “We mustn’t let her hear.”

That was true. 

“And besides,” her voice was quieter, “they’ve all probably come out of curiosity.” She smirked the way Robert was beginning to learn she did, a crooked little grin that made him chuckle. “I feel a little like the eighth world wonder.” 

[elmandvineblr]

Welcome back to I'm a nerd engineer who is doing drag for the first time but I'm taking every opportunity to also be a nerd.

I've been posting here because I'd like to stop annoying the 3 people I know in real life and I don't want to give away my surprises for shows on my insta. But I had an insane idea for a Mashup song I did a year ago. This project has mostly been for performing my original music but since the Mashup was made by me as well I'm counting it. I originally mashed these songs together because on two separate occasions I was told each song was what it must sound like in my head.

Anyway I bought 5 party packs of kazoos (60). I'm going to hand them out for *audience participation*. I'm going to encourage half the audience to play along to one song and the other half of the audience to play along to the other.

I'm dressed as a conductor. Black suit, white button down. Conductors baton at the ready.

The first of the songs being mashed up is flight of the bumble bee, which imagining people trying to kazoo along to that is already so funny to me I'm going to have to try really hard not to be cracking up. But then the beat comes in and it's ass throwing time.

It's time for the second song to come in.... wheels on the bus. I've ripped off my jacket revealing the button down shirt underneath was a tear-away dickie which I then also tear away. On my breasts are two *functioningly engineered* wheels which I then tassle twirl in circles to the first verse. They go round and round. The kazoos get louder. Chaos has decended. Hopefully people are laughing or else this is going to be much sadder reality than I planned for

The second verse begins, the horn on the bus goes beep beep beep. I conduct them to all buzz their kazoos in sync. Flight of the bumblebee going the entire time in the back ground. I'm throwing ass harder than I've ever thrown it. My scoliosis is in shambles. I'm on the floor twerking to the madness I've created.

The song ends. The singer of wheels on the bus says great job. I take a bow.

The whole song is only a minute long so the majority of the set is going to be set up. I know this is the most chaotic thing I've ever thought of but. I'm so excited to do it. This will be my fourth show doing drag. I'm not even doing this at a drag bar I'm just doing it at my local open mic.

Attached is the prototype I made to test the wheels functionality. My boyfriend lovingly referred to it as fried egg tit. (The wheels will be black on friday)

I'm working on rigging weights and counter weights and shape of the inner hole to see if I can't get it to spin around or act as like a cog, but that won't be for anyone but me.

Also I will be wearing a shirt, these will be sewn onto it.

I'm gonna start writing the intro act since the song is only 1 minute and I'll have 10.

[alouiadina]

Omegaverse Clegan

I don't typically read omega verse stuff, mostly cause a lot of the ff for it gives me the ick, but this idea has been stuck in my head for a while, so I'll just get it out.

(Btw, I'm writing this at 1am, so I apologize if there's a thing or two that seem... strange? jumbled? something along the lines of that?)

So, Pearl Harbor happens. The military is freaking out. They say they need more men, so the draft opens to male omegas. I think because of how sexism works in the universe, or maybe just the rarest gender pairing is female alpha's, female Alphas are considered lower or the same level as male omegas. Anyway, in WW1 male omegas just were nurses and shit, but now they are needed to serve the country. (this could also be a work around homophobia and the nuclear family ideation stuff, if that's your thing)

To make things safer for the unmated male omegas that enlisted/ were drafted, they are partnered up with an unmated alpha.

Depending on who you see as the bottom, this could go one of two ways:

Omega Gale: elated to be able to serve, and to prove to his dad that being an omega doesn't make him any less of a man. In this universe Marge could be, like, an Alpha/Beta that Gale's with mostly to help him through heats and maybe they actually date, but both know it isn't that serious. Gale is angry when he finds out that he basically has a babysitter. Bucky is sent to his house (it happens with all the pairings) to escort him to basic training in Texas. Gale is very unhappy with this, and his anger/ animosity towards this is made worse when he slowly discovers that Bucky has the same vices as his father. Gale is hostile towards Bucky at first, but that slowly melts away as he realizes Bucky is nothing like the male alphas he's previously met. He's sweet, gentle, doesn't force Gale to do things like drink when Gale doesn't want to. Sure he's loud, and gets drunk when he can, but he isn't mean. He's never mean unless you insult something he cares about. Gale fully realizes that Bucky cares for him when that RAF soldier says some things, and Bucky says some things back. There could be this whole plot stuff about Bucky misunderstanding what Gale's and Marge's relationship is, and maybe Gale making similar assumptions about Bucky and Curt. The bike stuff with Bucky could be a subconscious "Gale, look. I can provide for us." type thing. They also have the military grade omegaverse equivalent for birth control cause war, which does become an issue when they're POW's and the affects wear off. Gale is still the one that goes, being sent off with Bucky's friend, who is an Alpha, because even though Bucky want's to leave, he wants gale to be safe.

Omega Bucky: his dad had served, so he wanted to serve, but when he first presented, it looked like he wouldn't be able to. Then the gov't made the announcement and he was happy, then that became sour when he learned he was being assigned a babysitter. From the moment Gale picked him up from his place to escort him to Texas for basic training, Bucky does everything in his power to prove that he doesn't need a babysitter. Then he realizes Gale won't control him like other's might. He's gentle, quiet, never drinks. His tendency to be quiet, in Bucky's opinion, makes the little time when he's angry so much worse, but he's never really angry at Bucky, not until they're POW's at least. Again, there is confusion over Gale's exact nature with Marge (She can be like, a lesbian, or just not interested). And in this one, Gale is still the one to escape, as he trusts the people from the 100th that were there with them to look after Bucky, and he also didn't expect to be separated from him like that.

Someone can write this

Side ships: Curt/Dickie, Rosie/Ken, Crosby/Bubbles(and maybe /Jean) and others if you choose. If someone does write this, can Bubbles not die and just be a POW. Also, Nash is an omega, and Rosie was the person he was paired with. Helen is an alpha because I feel like she tops. And Winks was the one that insisted that Ken takes the job as sergeant.

[denimbex1986]

'WHO IS TOM RIPLEY? Steven Zaillian’s recent Netflix series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s most infamous literary creation starts and ends on this question.

Ripley adapts the first of five books Highsmith dedicated to the exploits of the con artist–murderer-aesthete, and the portion of the story that has been reinterpreted the most: New York shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf hires the low-level grifter to travel to Europe and convince his vagabond son Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to return to the United States. Highsmith’s novel is a masterwork of crime writing, and Ripley is a chameleonic figure who has been interpreted, alternately, as a charming sociopath, a consummate con man, and a serial killer. He has been played by actors of dizzyingly different registers like John Malkovich in Ripley’s Game (2002), Dennis Hopper in The American Friend (1977), Barry Pepper in Ripley Under Ground (2005), Alain Delon in Purple Noon (1960) and, perhaps most famously, Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).

Andrew Scott is the latest and proves to have the most insidiously perfect take on Ripley. The Irish actor, who will be recognizable to many as the “Hot Priest” from Fleabag (2016–19), as well as the maniacal, screeching Moriarty on Sherlock (2010–17), just picked up awards for his performance in the film All of Us Strangers (2023) and the play VANYA, a new reimagining of Anton Chekhov’s classic. There’s little that ties his Ripley to previous Ripleys: Damon’s was lovelorn; Malkovich made him cunning; Hopper, bombastic; Delon’s was mean-spirited; and Pepper, let’s just not. Scott, meanwhile, possesses a soft-featured handsomeness that can “mold into ordinariness” at will. This Ripley is a negative space. He observes and absorbs. Scott’s performance dispenses with charm and charisma almost entirely, in fact, and throughout Ripley’s eight episodes, the character is mostly uncomfortable, ill at ease, and clawing.

Significantly, Ripley is the first adaptation of Highsmith’s character to depict “the unequivocal triumph of evil over good” that she thought her book explored; certainly, it’s the only adaptation that finds Ripley “rejoicing in it.” Ripley will always win. But neither the book nor the series gives us anything to hold on to. There is nothing to root for. Zaillian and Scott’s narrative, visual, and performance choices empty out Ripley of the charm and emotionality that drove previous adaptations. Here, Ripley is a slippery mask that doesn’t ever quite fit right. And in embracing the character’s elusiveness and refusing to make his emptiness attractive, Zaillian and Scott have given us the definitive on-screen Tom Ripley.

How to film a vacuum of personhood? Zaillian told Vanity Fair that the choice to film Ripley in black-and-white came to him early in the process, and was inspired, in part, by the black-and-white edition of the Ripley book he had on his desk. “As I was writing,” he said, “I held that image in my mind.” The black-and-white imagery strips Ripley’s story of the postcard beauty we’ve come to expect from previous adaptations. While the golden cinematography of Purple Noon and The Talented Mr. Ripley capture the sandy ease of wealthy American expats enjoying bright negronis and crystalline seawater, Zaillian didn’t “want to make a pretty travelogue.” And pretty it is not. While there is much to praise about the moody monochrome cinematography, it doesn’t distract. Ripley’s New York is a rusty compilation of ugly details: the rotten wood of the window, exposed wire covered by a sad little painting of a boat, an overflowing shower, a musty slab of soap, the noise of other people’s bowel movements. When he arrives in Italy, the Mediterranean water is black and inhospitable. It’s a graveyard, not a postcard.

Ripley indulges in repetition and the administrative details of criminality. The paperwork, the travel, and the negotiations are granted much screen time. It’s tedious work, conning people. When we first meet Tom Ripley, he’s running a small-time mail fraud, and constantly looking over his shoulder. It’s his frustration with petty paperwork grifts, rather than any fascination with Europe or love of art, that makes him accept Herbert Greenleaf’s mission. But Ripley is a quick study: by the second episode, he’s got conversational Italian down, and he understands the unspoken rules of Dickie’s lifestyle. And he’s a hard worker. This Ripley practices. He has to, in order to maintain his cover. His forgeries are a craft, and he carries his tools—stamps, glue, a rubber goop to forge passports—with him.

Ripley’s foreignness aids him. In a 1989 essay for Granta, Patricia Highsmith recalled the image that became the genesis of Tom Ripley: a young man walking alone on the beach in Positano, Italy, early in the morning, who “looked like a thousand other American tourists in Europe that summer.” Highsmith never met that man, but the image grew and expanded into the famous character. An American in Europe, becoming acquainted with the ways of living in Italy, France, and Germany, just like Highsmith herself had done. Europe as a concept, not a destination. It was freedom. In the same essay, the author recalls a secret sort of affinity for Europe, one “so deep and important that I might not wish or need to discuss it with friend or family.” I wonder if Zaillian read this very essay. His Ripley, too, looks out at the tiny beach of Atrani, which looks similar to the Positano that Highsmith looked upon, and sees a faraway, solitary figure. In Ripley, people who interact briefly with either Ripley or Dickie see them as interchangeable, just two Americans. His foreignness, ironically, allows him to blend in.

Highsmith’s Ripley holds good taste above everything else, and so does Zaillian’s. Ripley’s lack of refinement is palpable at first. He makes all the wrong choices, sartorially and otherwise (in the film, it’s the lime-green Speedos; in the series, the paisley robe), which puts him on the wrong foot with Marge Sherwood and Freddie Miles. Played in the film by Gwyneth Paltrow cosplaying Housewives of Mongibello, and in the series by a po-faced Dakota Fanning, Marge is as desperately oblivious to her lack of talent as Dickie is. She spends her days scribbling away at a memoir about her experiences in Atrani (which Ripley edits in a delightful montage of disdain) and eyeing Ripley suspiciously. He and Marge find each other equally repellent: he is too “vague” for her to grasp (some light-coded homophobia there) and she is tacky (he throws away the hand-knit scarf she makes for Dickie). As the series progresses, he starts to build up a new persona, one that feels truer to him than “Tom Ripley”: “This was the real annihilation of his past and of himself, Tom Ripley, who was made up of that past, and his rebirth as a completely new person,” writes Highsmith. This new Tom Ripley is suave, well dressed, and well regarded, while Marge is condescended to by the Italian police and drinks too much at parties. And Dickie, well, he’s dead.

The murder of Dickie Greenleaf is a turning point for Ripley. It is his graduation from grifter to murderer and is one of the few constants of every interpretation of the text. In the book, it is semi-premeditated. Ripley conceives of this idea earlier, on the train (always the train with Highsmith), knowing that Dickie is going to politely excise him from his life, from his lifestyle: “He knew that he was going to do it, that he would not stop himself now, maybe couldn’t stop himself, and that he might not succeed,” writes Highsmith. The screen has always reinvented this moment for dramatic effect. In Purple Noon, Ripley stabs French Dickie (renamed Philippe Greenleaf, and portrayed by Maurice Ronet) in the heart, on Dickie’s own boat. A risky, impulsive decision. Ripley stages the murder as quietly rageful: neither man raises their voice, Dickie politely severs their relationship and Ripley’s bludgeoning of Dickie is wordless. He looks at Dickie’s ring, as if for confirmation to proceed before striking him in the head with the oar. It’s not about Dickie; it’s about his lifestyle, one that Ripley feels he deserves more than Dickie.

Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley interprets this moment as an emotional and moral upheaval, with Ripley pushed over the edge by Dickie’s ferocious rant. Jude Law’s Dickie is a petulant child who wreaks havoc with his limited attention span and oversized charm. His first interaction (and last) interaction with Ripley is bullish: he mocks his untanned skin (“Did you ever see a guy so white, Marge?”), his lack of refinement, his inability to ski, his obvious worship of Dickie. He is violently repelled by Ripley’s desire to be close to him at all costs. So, when the oar strikes his head, we understand. He calls him a “leech,” a “third-class mooch,” and, most damningly in Dickie’s mind, “boring.”

And, in Damon’s hands, he kind of is. ​​In a 1998 interview, the actor spoke about wanting Ripley’s “humanity to come across,” morphing him into someone who does not “ever manipulate anybody” and who “come[s] from a position of pure honesty all the time. He believes what’s happening and he believes the world he’s indulging in.” At this point in his career, Damon was always in the right place at the right time. Both he and Paltrow were Harvey Weinstein’s golden children. Damon, together with his co-writing buddy Ben Affleck, had just earned a best screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Paltrow had picked up her statuette for best actress in Shakespeare in Love (1998), both Miramax releases. It makes sense with Damon’s persona and limitations that he would interpret Ripley as a beacon of honesty, an accidentally talented murderer. He was charming, but not electrically so, unlike Law. Politely handsome, unlike the beatific Alain Delon. Smart, but not obnoxious. His Ripley is a charmless striver looking for love, not money.

Minghella’s adaptation is beautiful, turning the story into an overtly queer text, leaning into Ripley’s identity as a closeted gay man in the 1950s who falls for the petty, vagabond Dickie. It works hard to carve out the humanity of Tom Ripley. The film even opens on a note of regret, with Ripley narrating: “If I could just go back, if I could rub everything out—starting with myself, starting with borrowing a jacket …” It’s a different register, and one that tints the entire film with a note of sick, inescapable sadness. In a different way, Ripley and Dickie were intertwined in Highsmith’s first sketches of the character. In her diary, in 1954, she sketched out a character that would, eventually, be split in two:

A young American, half homosexual, an indifferent painter, with some money from home through an income, but not too much. He is the ideal, harmless looking, unimportant looking, numerous enough, kind of individual a smuggling gang would make use of to handle their contacts, hot goods.

Minghella leans into this merging of identities visually, using mirrors and twisted reflections, all tinted with an overt, and one-sided, desire on Ripley’s part. In Minghella’s version, it’s Dickie who ruins Ripley, setting him on a path of lies and other murders to cover up that initial murder, which ends with him killing the one person, Peter Smith-Kingsley (Jack Davenport), who seemed to see good things in him. Ripley is desperately lonely, encased in shadows.

Zaillian’s Ripley, meanwhile, is all shadows. Gothic, even. This is where Tom Ripley feels most at home, alone but never lonely. Even in the dark, he is not corroded by the darkness that threatens Damon’s Ripley. This Ripley is on a journey towards comfort and beauty. Once he arrives in Italy, he is smitten not with Dickie himself but with the possibility of beauty and the tranquility that the Greenleafs’ money can afford him. If anything, Dickie Greenleaf is the least interesting character in Ripley. Johnny Flynn’s take is not rude, or irascible like Jude Law’s. He might even be considered kind, at times, although deeply, pathetically uninteresting. A laughably mediocre painter, Dickie doesn’t seem to care about much at all: not about his parents, his money, or Marge. When Ripley first meets Dickie and Marge, they are asleep, napping on an Italian beach. He casts a shadow over them. But Ripley is not particularly motivated by murder. It is, like most things, tedious, hard work. The disposal of Dickie (and, later on, of Freddie Miles) takes up more screen time than the murder itself. It is almost comically extended, including a little sit-down to rest after disposing of the corpse. After he bludgeons and disposes of Freddie (Eliot Sumner), Ripley has to go all the way back to the site where he dumped the body to retrieve an incriminating object. Ripley revels in repetition, in its protagonist treading the same steps repeatedly. It is through sheer dumb luck that he isn’t caught, not through his cleverness. And Ripley delights in the lucky tedium of Tom Ripley’s crimes.

The blandness of Dickie and his cohort’s characterization stands in sharp contrast with the undeniable, easy gorgeousness of their lives. Dickie’s villa overlooking the town, his marble floors, his Montblanc pen, and his Picasso, casually hanging in his study. They are so used to it all that they fail to see the value of it, or how intensely Ripley wants what they have, not who they are. Ripley never asks for anything, but in a rare moment of honesty—hidden in plain sight, buried in a rant against refrigerators—he talks about freedom. For Ripley, freedom is not just money but also the invisibility it can buy.

This Ripley covets symbols, things that will act as signifiers of the freedom that wealth can afford. Like the Ripley in the books, who is largely uninterested in sex, desire is not his driving engine. Instead, it’s covetousness. As Scott pointed out, Ripley has an “almost sensual relationship with things.” The moment Ripley walks into Dickie’s house, he comments, “Nice pen,” and promptly pockets it. Dickie doesn’t even notice. That pen casually reappears as Ripley alternates between signing his name or Dickie’s. The camera foregrounds objects, returning to the same ones over and over again, like a murderer returning to the scene of their crime: Dickie’s typewriter and signet ring, the glass ashtray. Every time he settles into a new room, Ripley lovingly sets out his things. He does not imbue them, however, with any sentimentality. He’s not keeping Dickie’s things because they remind him of Dickie, but because they’re nice things and he would like to have them. There is pleasure to be found in objects, as much as there is in art. In the last episode of Ripley, he is gifted Dickie’s ring by Herbert Greenleaf. His work is finished. He has killed Dickie twice over. And he gets to keep the ring. In the end, Tom Ripley is where he wanted to be: alone and surrounded by beautiful things. Dickie is just another object to him, and when he speaks of Dickie, he’s really talking about himself: “Everything about him was an act.”

Art critics speak of negative space as the area surrounding a subject. The brilliance of Ripley lies in how it understands Tom Ripley not as a subject possessed of rich interiority but as the oppressive, empty space that defines those around him. He is the darkness that overtakes Dickie, Marge, and Freddie. Beautiful things smooth out the rough edges of Tom Ripley. As the series progresses, and the Ripley we first meet is well and truly annihilated, something truer emerges: an impeccably dressed black hole.'