#ocean's 11 fanfiction

[kacievvbbbb]

FANFIC APPRECIATION

Show and Tell by Gin_Juice (Umbrella Academy, Gen)

Oil and Water by Ms_Chunks (Umbrella Academy, Shinsou & Aizawa, Bakugo/Shinsou)

Life After Love by lagann (Jujutsu Kaisen, Gen)

The Welcome Home by crinklefries (Attack on Titan, Erwin/Levi)

in circuits round you by smartlike (Ocean’s 11, Danny/Rusty)

feels like we only go backwards by oldpotatoe (tumblr) (Avatar the Last Airbender, Zuko/Sokka)

[sunny-mercya]

His Reasons

Rusty Ryan x Male Reader

Fandom -> Ocean's Trilogy

Masterlist

When Danny, after being out of prison, asked Rusty to join him at a Grand Coup—Rusty had only agreed halfway to it. After all he wanted to know what exactly they would rob and risking their lives and freedom for.

And when Danny told him, they gonna rob three Casinos in good old Viva Las Vegas, Rusty wanted to know a good enough reason for him to join in such madness of nonsense.

And Danny, like the best friend and charming asshole he is, told Rusty the only valid reason;

»If we pull this off and I promise you, we will, you can finally move with [Name] to wherever your heart desires and afford the safety you have promised him.«

Danny was right, hitting a wound point in Rusty's ego, because there had been one thing Rusty couldn't give you and that was protection. Protection you from a past, you wouldn't be able to free yourself if you don't have a certain amount of money to pay for.

»Okay. I'm in, but if we fail I'm gonna send you personally to hell, Danny boy.«

Rusty might have agreed, trusting and believing in his friend that they will manage this with a 100 percentage chance of successful winning—but he also know what price it would cost him, because if they indeed fail it would be you who Rusty would lose and you're more worth to him than all the money and jewels in the world.

~~~

So far, the whole plan went, besides absolutely minor improvements of differences, hellbent well.

Rusty could almost imagine the millions, billions, of money he would have. Enough money to buy you free and finally move to either (f.country) or sweet California.

Just you and him, Rusty thought, imagining the new life—fully secure, comfortable and happy healthy—he would have with you and maybe a big family with lots of dogs and cats (and perhaps Danny, because he's your self-proclaimed older brother)

„Uh, uhm, Rusty there's–“ „Rusty, there's a problem. A You problem.“

»What?« asked Rusty, scrunching up his face in confusion. Another problem? What sort of you-problem do they mean?

„Look towards the entrance.“

»Fuck. Give me some minutes to handle this guys.«

»Robert Russel James Ryan! You do not write me a letter with such unbelievable heinous words and leave our house in such fucking manners. How fucking dare you! Do you know how fucking worried I was?!«

A few people had turned their heads, when you had marched forward to Rusty and shouted in anger at him.

Ouch, shouting his full name—yeah, you're furious and it was Rusty's own damn faulty mistake. Indeed a You-Problem.

Rusty took a few steps forward to you, having his hands up in surrender, wanting to appease you. Honestly, he haven't seen you this angry ever since Danny and him had a bloody fist fight with your "Boss", which they lost—of course, as they couldn't win against a knife and knuckleheads—and you were so furious with them, that they were taken back with the amount of cursing you said at them, while treating their wounds.

»Hey, love, watcha you doing here?«

»Don't come with such bullshit. You know perfectly well, why the fuck I'm here. So tell me now, Russel, the fuck are you and Danny—and I know that fucker is here as well—suspiciously planning to do here?!«

Rusty inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose, trying to think of a way to get you away from here—before you causing more disturbance and a possible fail to the plan. Then again, he could use you for a good distraction, but no—no, no, he had sworn himself to not do such things with you.

Gripping your arms gently, Rusty pulls you close to his side and leads you away to a more secluded area of waiting.

~~~

Waking up to an empty bedside next to you and discovering your husband is not in your shared apartment, even though he told he would be on time back—and that has been days ago, I mind you—brought a lot of unpleasant thoughts through your mind.

There could be many things happening to Rusty; him having a accident, in a hospital and injured, arrested—your husband is certainly not a innocent man, he had done some bad and dangerous awful things of illegally, you're aware of it—or worst case scenario, your Boss quit the deal and killed Rusty.

You started to walk through your tiny apartment, still clothes in pyjamas—shorts and one of Rusty's oversized shirts—mind going haywire with everything and anything; be it the due bills, another round of grocery shopping—as Rusty is a total glutton and eats more than you and probably has an endless pit of a stomach—which you don't know how to pay for, the payment deal, Rusty being gone and probably killed and you still being jobless.

A lot of things for a tiny mind like yours to think about.

Then, while you cleaned, you found a note—definitely from Rusty and when you read it, you screamed in disbelief.

Yeah, sure, do a few days trip to Las Vegas and just don't tell me personally, not even the reasons for it—you thought, scoffing at your Husband, who's a buffoon

~~~

»Rusty, you tell me now why you and Danny are here.«

»I can't love, it's a surprise«

Perhaps, in perspective, Rusty should have told you personally about his little trip and possibly heist, but then it wouldn't be a surprise and loved to surprise you.

»Fuck your surprise. I thought he called off the deal, I thought he had killed you. I was worried sick.«

»I know, I know, dear. I apologise, I shouldn't have told you via note, could this prince forgive a humble man like me?«

Rusty leaned in closer, whispering the last few words in your ear as he ask for your forgiveness and kissing your cheek, when you remained silent.

„Not to bother, but time management?“

Rusty rolled his eyes, the guys could be such mood killers and a pain of annoyance in the ass. The gang was his gang though and he had a job to fulfil.

»Need to go, love. Meet me at Helios-Motel in like two hours.« Rusty kissed your lips, a gentle kiss it was and gave you the Motel-Keys.

Before Rusty could stand up and go, you had taken ahold of his hand.

»You promised me, you and Danny will be safe and unharmed?«

»Always, my love«

And when Rusty flashed you his signature grin, you let him go—knowing he wouldn't break his promise.

[kjack89]

Oceans Apart

Watched Ocean's 11 last night for the umpteenth time and this popped into my head as I watched the scene where Danny and Tess reunite.

Should probably be part of something larger but like. Context? What context? I don't know her.

Modern AU, E/R, post-breakup. Angst because it's been too fucking long.

Enjolras peered through the windows of the tiny, nondescript restaurant, his heart doing double time in his chest as he saw the back of the man he was looking for. He’d know the hunch of those shoulders anywhere, the way the man’s shirt stretched across a deceptively well-muscled back. Once upon a time, he’d known every inch of the skin beneath that shirt.

But that was years ago. Now…

Now, he straightened, pushed the door to the restaurant open and walked inside like he was supposed to be there, skirting the hostess stand and making a beeline to the man in question, hesitating for only a moment before reaching out to lightly rest a hand on the man’s shoulder.

Grantaire froze before slowly reaching up to cover Enjolras’s hand with his own, and then—

“Fuck,” Enjolras swore, as Grantaire gripped and then twisted his fingers.

Violently.

Grantaire let go without doing any lasting damage, and Enjolras cradled his hand against his chest for a moment, his pride far more wounded than the hand. “Hello to you, too,” he grumbled, even as he drank Grantaire in with eager eyes.

It had been far, far too long.

But Grantaire wasn’t amused. “What are you doing here?” he said, in lieu of a greeting.

Enjolras jerked a shrug, flexing his fingers to make sure they all still worked before dropping his hand to his side. “I got out.”

“You got out,” Grantaire repeated, something incredulous in the three words.

“Of prison,” Enjolras supplied helpfully. “You remember, the day I went for beer and never came back. You must have noticed.”

“You don’t drink,” Grantaire said shortly, followed by an exasperated, “Don’t sit—”

But it was too late, as Enjolras sat down across from him. Almost as if on cue, a waiter appeared at the tableside, looking at them expectantly. “Can I get anything for your…”

He trailed off. “Husband,” Enjolras supplied.

“Ex,” Grantaire corrected. “Or didn’t you get the papers?”

The waiter glanced between them, eyes wide. “I’ll give you two a moment.”

He disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, and Enjolras gave Grantaire a long, measured look. Despite everything, despite, especially, the acrimony that was rolling off of Grantaire in waves, it really was good to see him.

Even if the feeling was, seemingly, not mutual.

“What are you doing here?” Grantaire repeated.

Enjolras sighed and leaned forward. “They say I paid my debt to society,” he started, but Grantaire snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Funny, I never got a check.”

Enjolras gave him a look. “But I felt I owed you a little bit more than just time served,” he continued, and Grantaire scoffed and looked away. “Hence the drop by.”

Grantaire didn’t quite meet his eyes as he reached out to trace a finger through the condensation on his water glass. “How’d you even get parole anyway?” he asked, deliberately casual. “I’d’ve thought domestic terrorism would be an automatic life sentence.”

“I wasn’t convicted for domestic terrorism,” Enjolras said.

“Right, just indicted.”

Grantaire gave him a sharp sort of smile that didn’t remotely reach his eyes, and it was Enjolras’s turn to look away. “So you did keep up with my case,” he said, aiming for levity and missing by a mile. “I wasn’t sure, considering…”

Grantaire jerked a shrug, his smile disappearing. “Well, I did try to visit you once. Turns out I wasn’t included on your approved visitors list.” Enjolras winced, but Grantaire didn’t let him interrupt. “You know, I always told you that you needed to work on your communication in our marriage, but that one I heard loud and clear.”

“That wasn’t—” Enjolras broke off, not sure where to even start explaining why he hadn’t wanted Grantaire to visit him without explaining the rest. He huffed a dry chuckle, running a hand across his mouth before telling Grantaire, a little wryly, “You don't know how many times I played this conversation out in my head the last five years.”

Grantaire just arched an eyebrow. “Did it always go this poorly?” he asked coolly.

“Yes.”

That sharp smile was back, twitching at the corners of Grantaire’s mouth. “Sounds frustrating.”

“You were never easy,” Enjolras told him, honestly. “You were always worth it.” Again Grantaire’s smile disappeared, and for just a moment, he looked—

He looked as heartbroken as Enjolras had never in a million years wanted him to be.

Enjolras cleared his throat and looked away. “Okay, I’ll make this quick,” he said, trying to steer back on subject, if only to try to alleviate the pain in his chest when he saw Grantaire looking like that. “I came here because I wanted to explain.”

His attempt working perhaps too well, as Grantaire’s expression instantly hardened. “What explanation could you possibly have that will matter one iota?”

Enjolras wet his lips before telling him, his voice low, “You may not believe me, and given everything, I don’t blame you for that, but I swear, I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

Grantaire stared at him. “Well, for someone who wasn’t trying, you sure as shit pulled it off with aplomb.” He leaned in, his eyes dark. “So by all means, Apollo, tell me, what were you trying to do?”

Enjolras met his glare evenly. “I was trying to protect you.”

“Bullshit.”

Enjolras shook his head. “It’s not. I didn’t want—”

“And did you ever stop to think about what I wanted?” Grantaire interrupted, his eyes flashing. “Because I didn’t want to be protected, not if that’s what you’re calling the last five years of my life. I wanted us to be together.”

“Pretty hard to be together from a jail cell,” Enjolras said flatly. “As the divorce papers you sent pretty clearly demonstrated.”

Grantaire shook his head. “We could’ve figured something out if you had just, I don’t know, involved me literally once—”

“Involving you would have implicated you,” Enjolras said, his voice tense, “and I couldn’t let that—”

Grantaire barked a laugh, scrubbing his hand across his face. “You think I wasn’t already implicated?” he asked, incredulous. “Tell me, do you think I’m stupid? Or naïve? That I didn’t know what you were doing all that time?”

“I—”

“Because the FBI agents who interrogated me after you were arrested didn’t seem to think so.” Grantaire let that statement sit for a moment before continuing, “We were married. We were living in the same house. Just because I don’t believe in the same Causes you do doesn’t mean I’m a complete moron.”

Enjolras just shook his head. “I never said you were,” he said quietly.

Grantaire’s lip curled. “No, you just decided to cut me out of everything.” He laughed again, dry, humorless. “I mean, hell, I wasn’t even your one phone call when you were arrested.”

He hadn’t been, but it wasn’t because Enjolras hadn’t wanted to call him. But there were multiple moving pieces that needed to fall into place, and— “I didn’t have a choice,” Enjolras said.

Grantaire’s expression didn’t so much as flicker. “You did have a choice, Enjolras. You had a choice, you made it.”

“Fine,” Enjolras snapped, “I made a choice, and I didn’t pick you, and I’m sorry, but that doesn’t mean—”

“It was never about picking me!” Grantaire burst. “Three years of marriage before your arrest and you don’t think I had already figured out where I ranked?”

Enjolras had the sudden realization that everyone in the restaurant was staring at them, so he leaned forward and lowered his voice as he told Grantaire, with every ounce of sincerity he possessed, “And you don’t think I know that if I was in trouble, or in danger, you’d firebomb the fucking Hague to keep me safe?” Grantaire met his eyes evenly, and didn’t bother trying to deny it. “I didn’t want that for you.”

“And all I wanted was to be part of the decision,” Grantaire said tiredly, all of the fight leaving him in an instant, his shoulders slumping in what Enjolras recognized all too well as defeat. “Even if there wasn’t a thing I could say or do to change your mind, I just wanted you to care about me enough to ask.”

With that, he stood, and Enjolras stared up at him. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving,” Grantaire said shortly, grabbing his coat. “You did it, you should recognize the gesture.”

Enjolras scrambled to follow, trailing after him out of the restaurant. “Grantaire, please, I—”

“You what?” Grantaire asked, stopping so suddenly that Enjolras almost ran into him.

“I still love you,” Enjolras said. He said it simply, starkly, hoping the quiet declaration would reinforce that he meant it. It had been all he had come to say tonight, after all, and even if Grantaire didn’t believe anything else, didn’t believe in anything else, Enjolras needed him to believe this. “You think my choice was about me not caring enough to involve you, but how could I possibly involve you? How could I possibly tell you what was going on knowing that you would immediately put yourself at risk, and all because of me?”

Grantaire shook his head, but Enjolras didn’t let him interrupt. “The only way that I could do what I did was by knowing that you were sage. So even if you never forgive me for it, I did what I had to do to protect you.”

For one long moment, Grantaire just stared at him, and Enjolras held his breath, hoping against hope that maybe, somehow, Grantaire might find a way to forgive him, even just a little. But then Grantaire shook his head, reaching up to wipe the tear from his cheek with the heel of his palm. “Yeah. Well. Right back atcha,” he said his voice hoarse. “Goodbye, Enjolras.”

Watching Grantaire walk away from him hurt more than Enjolras could possibly have anticipated, all the more so when he saw Grantaire meet up with a dark-haired man halfway down the block, grabbing his arm and tugging him in the opposite direction.

Enjolras wasn’t sure he’d ever fully understood what heartbreak felt like before that moment.

He was staring so intently that he didn’t even notice as Combeferre joined him, squinting after Grantaire. “Why is Grantaire with him?” he asked.

Enjolras shook his head. “Pretty sure that’s who he’s seeing now,” he said dully.

“No, I get that,” Combeferre said, glancing sideways at him. “I told you this was a fool’s errand from the get, after all. But why is Grantaire with a Serbian arms dealer?”

Enjolras stared at him. “He—” Grantaire’s parting words replayed in his head, and for the first time all evening, for the first time, if he was being entirely honest, since he’d gotten the divorce papers mailed to his jail cell without so much as a note, he felt a spark of something flicker in his chest: hope.

“He’s doing what he has to do to protect me.”

[sigmalaussene]

So I- uhm- I did this.

It's an Ocean's Trilogy + Ocean's 8 fanfiction centered around Debbie and Danny’s relationship as siblings

Because I think they're neat.

Also everyone is gay

[blackacre13]

Debbie lap dance pt 2

Part One Linked above! Here's part two!

“Go ahead,” Debbie panted. “You can touch me. I know you want to.”

“God, yes,” Lou nodded, her nails digging into Debbie’s hips as she pushed her down further against her thigh, encouraging her to grind against her more, Debbie’s breathing starting to get short.

“Keep the money,” Debbie whispered suddenly, her tongue darting out to lick Lou’s earlobe as the blonde cursed. “I want you inside me. Come around back?”

“Debbie,” Lou chuckled, shaking her head, only to be interrupted by Debbie’s hand ghosting along the crotch of her pants as Debbie let out a gasp.

“Are you…packing?” Debbie whispered, licking her lips as her eyes grew darker.

“One way to find out.”

Lou didn’t know what the hell she was doing or how she’d ended up at this club.

She couldn’t lie. It was a club she had frequented a few times before, but lurking around strip joints on a Friday night wasn’t her typical scene. Although the “ladies drink for free” was a typical perk. Hadn’t any of these club owners heard about lesbians?

She’d worked a smooth week. Wallet full of cash. Jobs all running like clockwork. But that meant she was bored. She didn’t need to scrape together random cons this weekend to make ends meet. Her time was her own. And that often led her into dipping into her vices: liquor, cigarettes…sex.

There were the usual suspects she practically had on call and of course, the instant regret of a go-to ex or three that could be fun for the night but only end badly in the morning, but she didn’t want to tread down that road.

So here she was. A place where she knew she could tease herself. Practically edge herself. Let herself be flirted with and danced upon, but she could only look. Not touch. And there was a limit. A bill. And an expectation that she would go home satisfied in a way, but most definitely alone.

So she couldn’t believe that she was standing in the alleyway behind the club with her boot against the wall and a cigarette between her lips, eyes closed as deep, brown ones seemed to bore into her soul.

Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.

Who was she? And why could she read Lou so well, even in an instant?

They didn’t need words or hints or instructions. Their bodies were practically calling out to each other. A siren song.

Lou had been nervous. She shouldn’t have been this drawn to a dancer, but she’d caught sight of her across the bar and knew she had to be the one. And when Debbie asked her what she wanted, Lou had to stop herself from saying “for you to take my last name” and settle for a lap dance instead.

It was intoxicating. Lou thought she should be mortified. Doing this. Paying for this. Letting Debbie tease her professionally. But there was something on Debbie’s face that told Lou she wasn’t alone in this. And when Debbie’s hips started rolling and her position switched to very, truly riding Lou’s thigh and moaning like they were holed away in a bedroom just the two of them and not in a corner of a club, Lou knew it wasn’t just her. And she hoped against all hope that Debbie would want something real. No strings or singles attached.

Lou’s fingers had found their place on Debbie’s hips as if they’d settled there dozens of times before, Debbie whimpering as the tips of her fingers ghosted against hot skin.

Debbie whispering “keep the money” was like a dream. She had to be sure she hadn’t made it up and when Debbie’s hand had found the strap Lou had decided to wear this evening—for some BDE and extra confidence—Lou knew she needed to Fuck this woman. Right then. Right now.

“Coming?” A voice asked suddenly, a metal door near Lou opening and swinging shut heavily before Debbie emerged, a wicked grin on her face, wrapping a trench coat around her barely there outfit and swinging her hair out of her face.

“I was hoping that would be your job tonight, actually,” Lou smirked.

[rd-eternity]

number 3 for the wip game >:)

Raeken's 11, aka the Teen Wolf version of Ocean's 11, featuring the pack as heist members; Theo as Danny Ocean, Isaac as Rusty, and more. The $160 million is just an added bonus on top of proving himself to Liam and winning back the love of his life.

Isaac whirls on Theo the instant the door slams, and he prepares himself to get ruthlessly shouted at.  If only Nolan knew to keep his mouth shut about Liam, and keep the little tidbit about him and Peter meeting to himself.  That way, he wouldn’t have a completely pissed off Isaac pacing around the room.

“Let me explain.”

He stops moving.  “Oh you have an explanation for this?  I’d love to hear how coincidental it is that the casinos you chose to hit are all owned by the man using the ex you’ll never get over.”  His gaze drops to where Theo is unconsciously twisting the ring around his finger, freezing when Isaac notices.  “We can’t take down Peter Hale if you have a personal stake in his destruction.”

“It won’t get in the way,” he answers tightly.  He might’ve picked the targets for that reason - because of Liam - but that doesn’t mean they can’t still clear out the Bellagio’s vault and walk out richer than every single person who’s made Theo’s life hell.

Isaac sighs.  “Liam called off the wedding because he couldn’t share his life with a man who spends his nights stealing and conning his way into what he wants.  Do you really think you’ll win him back by robbing the person who funds his entire museum program?  You're not that stupid.”

“I don’t need to win him back, I just want to keep Peter far away from him.”

They’ve known each other for long enough for Isaac to know that he’s not lying, just not accepting what he wants, what he lost.  

“Nolan knows every step of the plan, I’ve already instructed him to take your place.”  

Theo splutters his protest, but shuts up the second his right-hand approaches.  Isaac plants a hand on his chest and pushes until his back hits the counter.  The hard line of the expensive marble reminds him of what they’ve already spent for this, and how much they can’t afford to fail.

“Did the rest of the crew agree on that?”

“That and-” he bites back a smirk, “-if you don’t manage to ruin this, the rest of us get to ruin you.”

Heat rushes to his cheeks and down his torso, prickling where Isaac’s palm is still pressed.  “Promise?”

“As long as we get a hundred and sixty million dollars, you can bet on it.”

[wambsgansshoelaces]

hello my beloved followers

if I opened requests for oneshots/series would you guys make them

[buckets-and-trees]

thank you for reading and sharing, Christina!

Buck's Eleven

Title: Buck's Eleven Fandom: MCU Characters/Pairings: Bucky and Steve with mentions of Bucky x ex!wife Reader Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: Going into a job this big, you have to take the house or know the house will hunt you down and swallow you into its belly. Vegas is unforgiving. Good thing they're the best at what they do.

Content/Concept Warnings: Thief/Con Artist AU, smoking, 1960s elements, references to sexual acts

Notes: CONQUERING FOUR EVENTS/CHALLENGES, which is my crowning moment this summer:

@buckybarnesevents WEEK FIVE of Hot Bucky Summer: "When I First Met You..."

Sixth square of @buckybarnesbingo U4: "AU: Historical"Playing Games"

Featuring Lemonade and a Road trip for @the-slumberparty's June Challenge

AND MY FOURTH AND FINAL SQUARE for Connect4 Alternate June-iverse: C4 "Thief/Con Artist" (and including an Alpine sighting so I can collect my TOE BEANS)

This is an MCU homage to Ocean's Eleven drawing direct inspiration from the 1960 and 2001 films. The 2001 has been one of my favorite heist movies since it came out, and I had never seen the 1960s original until this week, but once I started watching it, my jaw dropped with excitement over how ripe it was to adapt for a Bucky (and Steve) AU because in the original, it's 15 years after WWII and the crew is a reassembled group of guys who were in the army together!

I borrowed some dialogue beats directly from the 2001 film, and those are in bold italics.

Story graphic by me, story dividers by @firefly-graphics, reblog graphic by @vase-of-lilies

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Bucky takes a seat in the chair across from the penitentiary’s release board and settles his hands casually in his lap.

The man in the center taps his cigarette in the ash tray before returning it to his lips. “Please state your name for the record.”

“James Buchanan Barnes.”

“Thank you. Mr. Barnes, you’re meeting with this board today to answer a few questions so we can determine whether or not you intend to break the law again.”

Bucky nods. Contrition. Congeniality. A touch of charisma, but nothing too memorable. That’s what he must serve up.

“This is your first conviction, but you have been implicated in a long list of other cases for confidence schemes and frauds. Is this a fair and accurate record?”

Bucky glances at the doll off to the side at a small table of her own, clicking away impressively at a typewriter.

“I expect your records to be nothing but accurate, though – as you said – I’ve been implicated but never charged.”

“Mr. Barnes, what we’re trying to find out is: was there a reason you committed this crime, or was there simply a reason you got caught this time?”

“My wife left me. I was upset. I fell into a self-destructive pattern.”

Exactly what he knows they would like to hear.

“If released, is it likely you would fall into a similar pattern?”

Bucky cocks his head almost imperceptibly. “She already left me once; I don’t think she’d do it again just for kicks.”

“Fellas, you know I’d do almost anything for ya, but not… not this,” Banner looks between them, rubbing the back of his neck.

Steve smiles warmly, the smile he knows tricks his friends and his marks into whatever he needs. “Why waste all the little tricks that the army taught us just because it’s sort of peaceful now?”

The din of the night club around them – games of cards, dames performing on stage, drinks being served up all around – gives them all the privacy they need to hold a sensitive conversation around the table, just the three of them.

“We’re trained men,” Bucky adds.

“I know. I know you are, and we always did good work.”

“Better with you on the crew, you keep us careful.”

“You remember a little operation called Stacks back on the Sokovian front?” Steve asks.

“Do I! Eleven of us in and out under the cloaking of the trees at night with more Axis piles of cash than was decent for either side to have stockpiled away.”

“We should have buried it,” Bucky says.

“Speaking of money, you’re going to need an enormous amount of backing to pull this off in Vegas. The city’s not a sleepy little town tucked away near the mountains and off the grid of the main occupation, it’s got a million neon lights glowing on it every night.”

“Fury, easy.”

“None of us are gonna be as easy as you think. You’ll need the best electrician around, and Tony’s out.”

“Got religion?” Bucky asks.

“Naw, he and Pepper have got a kid now.”

Bucky looks to Steve, but he seems unconcerned. “Morgan – she’s cute.” Steve looks back to Banner. “I think he’ll do it.”

Banner shakes his head, but grins. “Pepper’s already unhappy he’s back in the game on the fluffy jobs, but if you think you can convince him… You get Fury and you get Tony, I’ll play ball with you.”

“You can’t do it. It’s impossible. I made it impossible. I invented casino security. When I first met you boys, you were bright young cocky upstarts. Now you’re bright and cocky – and just lucky that most of the time you’re not too cocky. Now I like you boys, but it can’t be done.”

“You know what? You’re probably right.”

“Eyes were too big for our stomachs.”

“You would know better than anyone.”

“Sure, sure. I just don’t want to see you boys behind bars, especially since you’re fresh out, Barnes.”

“Well, we appreciate the lemonade all the same,” Steve says, setting down his now empty glass.

“It’s hand pressed every morning down at the river market.”

“And thank you for taking care of Alpine while I was away,” Bucky scratches the the head of his white cat, who hasn’t stopped purring since being reunited. He scoops her up to his chest, and he and Steve stand to leave.

“It was good to see you, Nick,” Steve says.

“Give Maria your addresses on the way out, she’s got me a good source on Cuban cigars, I’ll send each of you a box.”

Bucky nods. “That’s sure nice of you.”

They turn and start to walk across the terrace toward the patio doors.

Fury looks after them. He sighs. “Tell me the marks.”

They slowly turn back, appearing to casually answer, but knowing this will bring him in.

“The… Sahara–“

“–Sahara, the Riviera, and the Dunes,” Bucky finishes.

“Hold on.” Fury stands. “Those are Pierce’s places. What do you two got against Pierce?”

“Pierce is the king on top of the mountain right now, nothing more than that.”

“I still owe him for how he got me with Project Insight,” Steve adds, “but I could get him back some other way. The golden opportunity to knock over his casinos on the fight night of the year, Thor vs. Starlord in a few weeks? That’s just destiny giving me the gift to make it sweeter that it’ll be his money.”

“And, Rogers, you’re okay with this knowing full well who the dame rumored to be attached to his son’s arm?”

“Yep,” Steve says without hesitation. “It’s not about her. Pierce is the king on the top of the mountain right now, we just want to topple him over. I still owe him for Project Insight. Besides, Buck’s not stupid enough to make this about a dame who divorced him, and like you said it’s only a rumor that she’s his doll.”

Fury turns his stare to Bucky. He shrugs. “She’s made it pretty clear with the divorce papers.”

He studies him for a moment, then seems satisfied.

“And you’re just going to go on your little road trip across the country recruiting your team?”

“Who doesn’t love a summer road trip?” Bucky asks, a full grin on his face.

“Sam’s already in Sin City, picked out a nice house for us to set up and lay low in Henderson.”

“Henderson’s nice and sleepy. Banner will be there by the end of the week, and we just came from seeing Tony.”

“You should swing through Salt Lake City, look in on the Maximov Twins, they’re pulling off some impressive stuff among the locals there.”

“I’ll put them on the list.”

Steve leans up against the side of the convertible while Bucky starts to pump the gas.

“Sam’s not eager about the kid.”

“I know he’s not,” Bucky smirks. “But he’s our grease man. There’s a reason they’re calling him the Spider Boy Wonder now. Besides, he was a kid before I went in, it’s been four years, he’s not a kid anymore.”

“He’s impressive.”

Steve lets silence fall for a beat.

“Tell me it’s not about her. Tell me you are not stupid enough to make this about her.”

Frankly Bucky is shocked and impressed that it took Steve thirty minutes to press him about you now that he knows.

“It’s not about her, it’s about five million cool a piece.”

Steve looks dubious. “Because when we say ‘till the end of the line…’”

“It’s not about her, she just happens to be there, but I’m not ignoring that fact – we’re just going to use it to our advantage because she’ll be a blind spot for him.”

“Because she was a blind spot for you?”

“No, she was never that.” She was fireworks, electricity, what kept him sharp when he was on his game, before he got caught and sulked behind bars.

Steve sighs and his face softens. “I know. Just promise me we don’t do anything stupid.”

"No, nothing stupid. Too much riding on this. Heist of our lives."

As they pulled out onto the street, car aimed for the interstate, Bucky wouldn't spend the duration of the road trip thinking about you, but you would cross his mind frequently, as you always had.

With the miles ahead of them, the memories of you could distract him in peace. Thoughts of when he first met you. Thoughts of sneaking into rooftop parties and pools at places like Fury’s like you two had done when you were both too broke to get in any other way. Thoughts of his hand disappearing under your skirt and up to tease the delicious heat between your thighs. Thoughts of your head falling back and exposing your throat to him. Thoughts of your head falling forward to rest against his. Thoughts of you gasping beneath him as he thrust inside you. Thoughts of you wrapped up in his arms, leaning against his chest as you watched the sun set on your little balcony of that third-floor apartment in the city. Thoughts of the soft mornings and late nights in the bed you had shared together until you didn’t. Thoughts he fights both to hold onto and forget.

But you were unforgettable. You were his. You had to be his again. He's waited for just the right angle to set you in his sights again, and he knows he can get you as sure as he knows they will walk away with over fifty million and without a trace.

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

[kkpaaw]

AU Incoming!

Oh oh oh I'm so excited to introduce this AU to yall! It came to me after reading some Au fanfiction where Branch is taken care of by one of his brothers wether they be with him wherever they are at or whether they go back home to care for him.

It occurred to me that I have yet(at least I haven't found any yet) to see any au's where Bruce is the caretaker and once that idea started I spiraled from there.

SO in this Au (officially titled Runaway!Au) Branch, having lasted 6 years (timeline later) with the pop trolls after escaping the troll tree, one night after an devastating incident, realized just how unwanted and unloved he was by the entire village(with the exception of a very very small few)(more on that later) and decided to runaway and find a new home a home where someone unwanted by everyone can live in peace.

He struggled through the forest for three years before an incident causes him to get washed away by a heavy lake current which knocks him unconscious, leaving him to drift through the waters.

The lake eventually leads to the ocean where he then drifts for days until he drfts close enough to vacay island to be found by some surfing Vacaytioners who take him onto the island to medical assistance.

Bruce is notified since he's like the only troll on the island right now and doesn't immediately recognize him(since he's gray and dirty af) with the aide of Bruce they care for Branch and eventually he wakes up, recognizes Bruce(calls him spruce tho), which causes it to click for Bruce who this trolling is and is distraught to see his baby brother in such horrible conditions and just like yall, is wondering what happened.

This leads to him eventually taking Branch in. 11 years after that we have reached the 1st movie and I'm gonna stop there. There's so much to tell before the 1st movie even happens and I'll share it all with yall!

So yea fun AU that I can't wait to develop more! If u have any questions about the AU feel free to ask me! I may or may not answer depending on what it is :3

[sulemio-week-official]

Tumblr President Sulemio is back🍅✨🍅✨🍅✨

We're doing a 100 themes of sulemio challenge! Tag the account and/or use the tag #sulemio100 so we can reblog your work! Check the link for more info🍅

You can make any content (edits, amvs, fanfiction, art, cosplay etc). 🍅

If your work is nsfw please tag it appropriately for us to retweet.

There is no time limit to this event, we will keep retweeting as long as you use #sulemio100 and or tag the account🫧

If you're posting on ao3 you can add it to the collection archiveofourown.org/collections/100_themes_of_sulemio_challenge

You can interpret these prompts however you want!✨

This event will happen parallel on twitter so be sure to check it out🌈

You do not need to do all the prompts.👍🏼

Have fun!

The link will have FAQs🎈

If you have any questions give us an ask or a message✨

Prompts:

1- Prologue 2- Angel 3- Gaming 4- Syzygy 5- Ocean 6- Gurgle 7- Childhood 8- Supplication 9- Picnic 10- Desert 11- Cereal 12- Hot Chocolate 13- Trespassing 14- Princess 15- Harpy 16- Summer 17- Forest 18- Crepes 19- Birthday 20- Interpreter 21- Cooking 22- Boat 23- Ikea 24- Lifetime 25- Yuri 26- Vibraphone 27- Date 28- Mountain 29- Popcorn 30- Goldfish 31- Collar 32- Hound 33- Cuddles 34- Hiccups 35- Thunderstorms 36- Mercenary 37- Enamel 38- Donuts 39- Psychopomp 40- Debauchery 41- Gunpla 42- Shapeshifter 43- Fatherhood 44- Kaiju 45- Couch 46- Sex 47- Prohibition 48- Lies 49- Hobby 50- Wallpaper 51- Video Game 52- Sky 53- Skiing 54- Hotdog 55- Rome 56- Alcohol 57- Gamer 58- Stockings 59- Kiss 60- Christmas 61- Tattoo 62- Ruins 63- Flowers 64- Nature 65- Codependence 66- Kamasutra 67- Azure 68- Poof 69- Snowball 70- Magic 71- Break 72- Nostalgia 73- Doomed 74- Cozy 75- Heaven 76- Family 77- Virtual 78- Desperation 79- Mental 80- Misanthropic 81- Musical 82- Trainspotting 83- Gardening 84- Stupid 85- Oblivious 86- Thief 87- Jealousy 88- Forearms 89- Eri 90- Forever 91- Yearning 92- Surfing 93- Neck 94- Pining 95- Headpats 96- Cassowary 97- Forgiveness 98- Metanarrative 99- Overstimulation 100- Epilogue

[saintvainglorious]

My First Fanbind! A Black Sails Fic Anthology Series

It took me a year (and a lot of anxious research) before I worked up the courage to bookbind fanfiction, and after months of on-again-off-again work, my first fanbind is finally done!

I knew that if I was going to bookbind fic, I had to bind something from the Black Sails fandom, aka the fandom and show that have had the biggest impact on my life. Y'all, I almost went into academia to study slavery in the 17th-18th century Caribbean because of this show - when folks say this show rewires your brain chemistry, they are NOT kidding. THEE show of all time. Happy 10th anniversary to Black Sails! This fandom is small but mighty. May we continue to get our hearts and souls blasted to smithereens by this show for many years to come.

Ao3 abounds with magnificent Black Sails oneshots, so I decided to put together an anthology of my favorite Silverflint fics under 20k, which I split into two volumes. Included are works by @justlikeeddie, @vowel-in-thug, @balloonstand, @annevbonny, @francisthegreat, @nysscientia, and more! Thank you, thank you all, you brilliant wonderful people, for gracing the Internet with such amazing writing. When I read the fics in these anthologies I want to fling myself into the sun.

More on the design and binding process below the cut!

Vol. 1 Page Count: 270 (12 fics) Vol. 2 Page Count: 248 (11 fics) Body Font: Sabon Next LT (10.5 pt) Title Font: Goudy Old Style Other Fonts: IM Fell English, pirates pw

The typeset (which I did in Word) took a while, mainly because I'd never done it before. Manually adjusting the hyphenation line-by-line was especially tedious. After making these books, I abandoned Word in favor of InDesign, in large part because InDesign gives you way finer control over your justification and hyphenation settings.

Regarding my actual design choices, I'm happy with how the ocean motif on the title page turned out (it's not the same pattern as my endpapers, but they're complimentary) and I'm very fond of my divider dingbats, which are little swords! Goudy Old Style was a fun title font to use, since it's the font that Black Sails uses as its logo. The stories in Vol. 1 are divided into parts based on what Silver WAS at that point in the show (cook, quartermaster, or king), and Vol. 2 is split up into comedies, histories (AUs set in the canon universe) and tragedies - befitting Black Sails' Shakespearean ~vibes~.

I stuck to a flatback binding, as I wasn't feeling quite ambitious enough to try rounding and/or backing. I've learned that I ~Anakin Skywalker voice~ hate sanding, enjoy folding/sewing, and don't LIKE edge trimming but enjoy the results enough to make it worth it.

The real adventure was decorating the cover, which remained bare for months. After agonizing over Illustrator and experimenting unsuccessfully with HTV and lokta paper embossing, I ultimately turned to using stencil vinyl to paint on the designs. There was a bit of seepage under some of the stencils, but I was able to scrape off the excess with my Cricut weeding tool without damaging the coated surface of the bookcloth (probably Arrestox Blue Ribbon from Hollander's). Even though it was very time-consuming, I'm so happy with the end result of the stenciled paint job and I intend to stick with stencils for my foreseeable future binds.

Are there things I would change? Sure. It was humid out when I printed, so the pages have got a wave. There’s an extra two pages in Vol 2. that I have no idea how I missed, and I got a line of glue in the middle of one of my Vol. 2 endpapers. I’m pretty sure I didn’t case in quite right, since my endpapers pull away from the case at the spine. I think the inner margins are a bit too big, and despite going line-by-line there’s still some wacky justification spacing in the typeset. But man, am I proud of these books! It is so satisfying to learn a new skill - MANY new skills, if we’re being honest - and to make something both beautiful and practical. If I’m still binding in two years or so, I can see myself redoing the typeset in InDesign, cutting out the existing text block, and reusing the cases. I’m also already planning for Vol. 3, which will be Silverflint Modern AUs.

Thanks for reading!

[rowaelinscourt]

Rowaelin Month: PROMPT LIST

HERE IT IS! The Rowaelin Month 2024 Prompt List! We're so excited to spend the entire month of September celebrating our favorite Fireheart and Buzzard! By popular demand, we're posting the list early this year to give everyone plenty of time to plan and work on their lovely creations!

We’ve included a handy calendar image for you all, but if for any reason the image isn’t working or is hard to read, the full list is written out below the cut.

Please Remember:

1. Participation every day is not a requirement! You can create submissions for as few or as many of the listed prompts as you like! 

2. Please remember to tag your creations with #rowaelinmonth so people following the tag can find your works and give us a mention @rowaelinscourt so we can reblog it!

3. Please remember that all works MUST have appropriate tags/or content warnings. NSFW content is welcome, but MUST be tagged clearly and hidden below a ‘Read More’ cut. We want everyone to have a fun and safe time engaging with content!

4. All genres of work are welcome, but please note any major warnings at the top of the work so that readers or viewers can have some idea of what to expect. 

5. Canon week will be September 15th through the 21st ( indicated by the green squares on the calender/prompts marked with C on the prompt list below. As well as a special canon day on the 30th to end the event. While we encourage Canon Week prompts remain specifically for canon scenarios, remember that any and all prompts are welcome to be interpreted as a canon/canon inspired setting as well. With creativity and imagination, the possibilities are limitless!

6. Any kind of fanwork can be submitted for this event so long as it can be applied to the prompt. Fanfiction, fanart, headcanons, playlists or anything else you can think of! There are no requirements and you can submit multiple works for the same prompt if you so wish! 

HAPPY CREATING AL!

- Your Friendly Rowaelin Month Admin Team

2024 Prompts List

1. Long Distance Surprise 

2. Spies / Heist

3. Idiots in Love 

4. Accidental Nude

5. Birthdays 

6. Misunderstanding Leading to Disaster

7. All Dressed Up 

8. Ocean/Beach

9. Meet Ugly

10. Concert/Music Festival

11. Song fic

12. “But Daddy I Love Him!” / Forbidden Love

13. Rowaelin finding out they’re pregnant 

14. Survival

15. C: What if...?

16. C: Opening of the library or royal theater

17. C: Hobbies

18. C: Anniversary 

19. C: A day with the kids

20. C: Nature

21. C: What happens next?

22. Performers

23. Second Chance Romance

24. Family

25. Strangers on a train

26. Matching Tattoos

27. Single Parent

28. Eloping

29. Percy Jackson / Star Wars / Barbie & Ken au 

30. C: Alternate/Missing Scene from Canon

[sunny-mercya]

Casino Blues

01. First Heist

Rusty Ryan x Male Reader | Platonic! Danny Ocean x Brother Reader

Fandom -> Ocean's Trilogy

Masterlist | Previous / Next | Prototype OS

When Danny, after being out of prison, asked Rusty to join him at a Grand Coup of heist—Rusty had only agreed halfway to it. After all, he wanted to know for what exactly they would rob and risking their lives and freedom for.

Especially freedom, because Rusty sure as hell—damned he will be—didn't want to get caught and being send, like Danny, into prison. He simply couldn't afford such ending.

And when Danny told him, they gonna rob—not only one but three—Casinos in good old Viva Las Vegas, Rusty wanted to know a even far more good enough reason for him to join in such madness.

And Danny, like the best friend and charming asshole he is, told Rusty the only valid reason he needs to have;

»If we pull this off and I promise you, we will. You can finally pay the devils debt and free [Name], moving to wherever your heart desires and afford the safety you have promised him.«

Danny was right, hitting a wound point in Rusty's ego, because there had been one thing Rusty—in all those years—couldn't do and that was giving you proper protection. Protecting you from a past, you would never be able to free yourself from it, if you didn't have a certain amount of money for it.

»Okay, I'm in. But if we fail, I'm gonna send you personally to hell, Danny boy.«

Rusty might have agreed, trusting and believing in his friend that they will manage this with a 100 percentage chance of successful winning—but he also knew what price it would cost him, because if they indeed fail. It would be you, who Rusty would lose and you're more worth to him than all the money and jewels in the world.

~~~

So far, the whole plan went, besides minor improvements, smoothly good.

Rusty could almost imagine the millions of Dollar he would have soon. Enough money to buy you free and finally live with you in peace.

Just you and him, thought Rusty, imagining the new chapter of life—fully secure, comfortable and happy healthy—he would have with you and maybe a big family with lots of cats and dogs.

„Uh, uhm, Rusty there's–“ „Rusty, there's a problem. A you problem.“

»What?« asked Rusty through the mini microphone, scrunching up his face in confusion—forgetting his cup of jello momentarily. Another problem? What do they mean with "you"-problem?

„Look towards the entrance. You might need to prepare for a divorce too.“

»Fuck. Give me some extra minutes to sort this out.«

»Robert Russel James Ryan! You do not leave our house in such fucking manners. How fucking dare you! Do you know how fucking worried I was?!«

A few people had turned their heads, starting to gossip already, when you marched forward to Rusty and shouted in anger at him.

Ouch, shouting his full name—you're furious, a deadly threat of trait of yours, with him and it was Rusty's own fault.

Rusty took a few steps forward, discarding his cup of jello and raising both of his hands in surrender—wanting to appease you.

Honestly, he haven't seen you this angry, ever since Danny and he had a fistfight with your "Boss"—which they of course had lost, as they couldn't win against a knife and knuckleheads—and you were so upset with them, that you cussed them out so much—they were taken aback by it, spook them just a little—while you treated their wounds.

So yes, Rusty—and as well Danny—knew your kind of anger very well.

»Hey, love, watcha doing here?« Rusty was curious how you got here—as you should be in sunny California, safe and sound in the apartment.

»Don't come with such bullshit. You know perfectly well, why the fuck I'm here. So tell me now, Robert, the fuck are you and Danny—and I know the fucker is here as well—suspiciously planning to do here?!« you had raised your finger, pointing threatening at him.

Rusty inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose, trying to think of ways to get you away from here—before you either might could get harmed by accident, being caught in the metaphorically crossfire or causing a disturbance to their plan.

Though, perhaps, he could use you for a good distraction, but no—no, no, he had sworn himself to not do such things with you.

Gripping your arms gently, Rusty pulls you close to his side and leads you away to a more secluded area of waiting.

Rusty brought you a glass of cold Cola, which you begrudgingly took from your husband. Taking a few sips from it, you gave Rusty a pointed look—almost a frown or angry glare—awaiting an explanation from him.

~~~

Waking up to an empty bedside wasn't what had spooked you into a worry—it was the discovery that your husband was nowhere in the apartment and that he couldn't be called and neither Danny.

It might didn't seem like big problem for most people, but for you it was—considering your past and what happened to Rusty and Danny back then.

Your mind raced with unpleasant thoughts and memories. Every possibility of what if's run through, flooding you with anxiety.

Rusty could've been; in a accident, being in hospital injured, arrested—most likely, your husband is certainly not a innocent man and had done some bad things of illegally—you're not a saint either though—you're aware of it—or worst case scenario, your Boss signed of the deal and killed Rusty.

God, it causes waves of nausea inside your stomach. Lungs feeling so tight, it was hard to breathe for the next minutes and your body, shaking like unstable tower during an earthquake.

»Fucking above, I swear to, Rusty will get his share fair of talk from me to hear.« you grumbled out, cursing loudly when you hit your hand somewhere.

You needed to sit down for a few minutes, stress getting too high and head too light.

~~~

».....surprise«

»Repeat that?« you blinked at him, haven't registered one word of what Rusty just had told you.

»I said, I can't tell you what me and Danny doing here, because it's a surprise, love«

»Rusty, you tell me now, why you and Danny are here or so god help me.«

»My love, I can't. It's a surprise«

Perhaps, in retrospective, Rusty shouldn't have woken you up in the early hours of morning—still in a daze of sleep, in between slumber of dreams—and telling you, in a half-truth, about a little trip he's gonna do, kissing you goodbye.

And yeah, maybe Rusty should have told you personally about the little heist they gonna do, but then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore and Rusty loved it to surprise you.

»Fuck your surprise, Rusty. I honestly thought he had signed off the deal and oh, I don't know, killed you. I was worried sick, asshole.«

»I know, I know my dear. I should have told you, I know. Could my prince forgive me?«

Rusty leaned in closer, whispering the last few words in your ear as he asks for your forgiveness, ghosting small kisses over face and your lips—when you remain silent.

You rolled your eyes at Rusty antics, but couldn't help yourself to smile.

„Not to bother, rus, but time management?“

Sometimes, Rusty thought—holding back a groan of annoyance—the guys sure could be a mood killer and pain in the ass. It's his and Danny's team though and a teams a team and they a job to do.

»Wait for me at Helios-Motel, I'll be there in like a hour.«

Rusty kissed you one more time on the lips, before standing up. You had taken hold of his hand, before he could walk away.

»You promise me, you and Danny will be safe?«

»Of course, my prince.«

If Rusty might be caught today's night and they would ask him for his reasons, he would tell them; it's you, you're his sole reason for everything he does.

[wisteriaphobia]

Alright time to come out, not out of the closet, but I am Nat (Or Lilnatx) . I wanted to come here and share my story or fairy tales if you don't like me. I was a part of “clique 1”

Not to use my age like a pokemon card but I am 15, and I don't care what you have to say to me personally but I'm sick and tired of my name being dragged through the mud and being used as a scapegoat. But I have lots of pent up anger that I didn't have the privilege of saying.

April 3rd was the day I was banned from nevermore, with no proof. Like at all, I'm still bamboozled and scratching my head like a monkey on what was actually on me and my friends. We were accused of “shit talking” and I have yet to see the shit that we have allegedly talked about.

And honestly? Even if I did shit talk people, why… in a conversation about a predator … does that matter? I'm exhausted with how Red always fights with teenagers (like me) and other friends of mine. It's so despicable that the minions might just leave Gru for her instead. I was in gym class when I got banned and honestly? I would rather get banned 10 more times than do another plank for 2 minutes while seeing my P.E teacher's bald head.

My crimes that I did publicly (in the screenshot that red posted) is me being.. not fucking involved? Right before I got banned I was staying away from people that I previously did not enjoy and in fact I tried my best to not interact with them directly. At one point I had many members blocked on my discord because I was tired of being the villain.

Yet here I am in the year of our lord July of 2024 and people are still referring to my friends as “nats clique” like I said earlier im 15, quince. I have little power over my friends' actions , especially if they're an adult. I can barely get Laci to join me on Minecraft let alone make her collaborate on some high tech scheme, what is this shit? Oceans 11?

I find it petty that red refers to my friends as a “clique” we're a friend group, and the definition of a clique requires a group that's hard to get into. The server (until now) was open, you could pull up to Jinx's profile like a McDonald's drive through and get an invite. Our friend group was constantly expanding and if you personally felt like you were scared to talk to us, I'm sorry that you never experienced the poop closet jokes.

Red being paranoid about what a bunch of teenagers were maybe saying behind her back to deflect about crimson is quite irresponsible I do say so myself. So please Red! With a cherry on top! Show me what I did to you. What sin have I committed on your ego that should banish me to hell. Because I sure as hell don't know what I've done, (and you can quote this) you probably don't know what I've done either, because you made it all up.

Unfortunately I have no screenshots to give, because my phone storage is ass. But you can hit up any of the members of my clique for proof regarding my innocence. I promise I'm not an evil bitch who wants to ban you (not evil not evil no I'm the least evil person I know)

I'm sorry if this response upsets you, but if a 15 year old girl who ships who chicks bothers you so much. Imagine how I feel, imagine now so many people who once looked up to you feel. Everyone in your post looked up to you once as a role model, and have had panic attacks and stress because (allegedly) you harmed them with your cruel words. You can think it's your fault or not that's not my problem.. but for someone who wants evidence and proof 24/7 you sure like to not give out proof of anyone else.

P.S if you were anyone who gave red evidence of my wrong doings, can I see them? Cause I don't know what I have done.

P.P.S I'm not a man, and I write fanfiction of lesbian vampires.

P.P.P.S this is so not sigma that I gotta make this response

[sigmalaussene]

Writing a fic about them so drawing a fanart of my own fic (it's a canon event)

[my-mt-heart]

Dissecting Zabel's Inappropriate Comments

I shared my initial reaction to the Games Radar article, but now that the original SFX article is also out, I want to dive a little deeper into what David Zabel said. From one source to another, the meaning doesn't change.

Regarding Daryl's and Carol's relationship, he says...

Whereas with Daryl and Isabelle, he insists...

Zabel thinks he's shedding light on his male hero's two most prominent relationships [with women], when in actuality he exposes a lot more about himself and what kind of showrunner he is.

He has no interest in the flagship show nor its acclaim.

Had he actually watched TWD in its entirety, tracked the progression of Daryl's and Carol's relationship from S1 to S11, and researched their fanbase as well as their media coverage from over the years instead of just pretending to, he'd see that nothing about their relationship is "obvious" or "easy." Trauma and self-esteem issues hardly ever explored in TV couples—let alone TV couples in their 50’s—have always complicated things, creating obstacles for them to take their relationship beyond intense feelings and helping them grow closer together, feel safer, understood, and loved to a degree nobody else can measure. There are 12 years and 11 seasons of sexual tension, smoldering looks, vulnerable moments, meaningful conversations, and romantic subtext at Zabel's disposal. The natural thing for him to do, the only thing that furthers the narrative already being told is to confirm that they're "in love" and make them "a couple."

If he wants to talk about a "TV book of tricks," he should re-evaluate the tricks he uses to justify a romantic connection between a well-established, unconventional, fiercely loyal man with intimacy issues and a blonde nun who’s only been around for a few months (and 6 episodes from an audience POV). Zabel tries to project what draws Daryl to Carol—broken until the world ended—onto Isabelle. He forces Daryl and Isabelle into intimate situations straight out of fanfiction—bathtubs, bed-sharing, cleaning wounds in hard-to-reach places—and uses other supporting characters like Losang to tell Daryl and the audience that it's romantic. That's not "seeing what happens," that's repeatedly trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and expecting everybody to think he's a genius. On the contrary...

He's completely tone deaf.

If he's calling Daryl's and Isabelle's relationship "mature," then he clearly doesn't realize how deeply problematic it is for a character to gaslight and lie to another character with a history of childhood abuse in order to get something from him, whether it's to help her find their new home or father a boy he just met. It's also triggering for fans who have survived abuse in their own lives to watch their hero fall back into the cycle without it being acknowledged or resolved in a way that helps him (and the fans) heal from it.

A dynamic between Daryl and a nun definitely could've been an "intriguing" dynamic to explore since they're both supposed to be emotionally unavailable. We'd get to see that Daryl's heart belongs to Carol and Isabelle is "married" to God. We'd get to see them bond over the idea of loving someone and/or something so infinitely and unconditionally that it's frightening to feel disconnected from them, whether physically or spiritually, and we'd get to see them help each other keep their faith, whatever that means to them. That's interesting. That's fresh. A romance between Daryl and a nun, regardless of whether or not she dresses like one, is not interesting. Not intriguing. Not edgy. Not sexy. It's disrespectful on multiple levels.

He calls Daryl and Carol coming back together only to realize that they've "changed" the more interesting story to tell? I call it sad. Sad and out of character for Daryl to feel anything other than elated to realize that the woman who represented everything good to him for over a decade crossed a damn ocean to find him. Sad that after "everything she's done" to find him, she finds that he's replaced her and their family back home.

He views the female perspective as irrelevant.

Saying he "respects" Caryl shippers only to invalidate them and then pour salt on the wound shows an air of superiority that is very typical of white male showrunners and executives. Granted, plenty of men ship Daryl and Carol, but it is also true that the majority of their fanbase is female and because of that, Zabel thinks he can mansplain the relationship to us. He tells us that what we want is cute, but he’s the one with the skillset to write a "good" story for the characters. He either doesn't care about our viewership because other men like him are his "real" audience or he assumes we'll come to our senses because he's right and we're wrong.

It isn't about shipping or romance at all though. If it was, he wouldn't just kill Isabelle off after insisting on this wild chemistry nobody sees but him (and Greg Nicotero). It isn't that Carol can't be a love interest either. It's about catering to the male gaze. Carol can't be the love interest for the white male hero that Zabel wants the fanboys to identify with and glorify. She doesn't fit their biases. Not young enough, not blonde enough, so on and so forth. Ignorance like that is generations-long and it doesn't just go away the more time he spends with Daryl and Carol. It only gets worse. Caryl may go to Spain alone, but there's plenty of new shipbait over there for him to introduce.

In what Zabel is actually quoted as saying about romance, which is all that counts, he only vaguely brings up a conversation with Norman, one I suspect is a lot more nuanced than he wants us to believe, but that's beside the point. He doesn't say "Melissa and I talked about Caryl's relationship" or "Clemence and I talked about Daryl's and Isabelle's relationship." Why not? Would the former disapprove of being treated like a sexless intruder in her "friend's" nuclear family? Would the latter hate to feel like a plot device for the brooding hero's manpain? What do the women have to say about their side of this oh so "interesting" emotional arc, Zabel? It's a rhetorical question obviously because if I really wanted to ask, I'd ask the women directly. The only thing is, they aren’t allowed to talk about it so openly and honestly, are they, Zabel? And you took advantage of that, right?

He's vindictive.

He may treat us like a bug on his windshield, but he isn't unaware that Caryl/McReedus have an active fanbase. He isn't unaware that AMC's promo strategy has centered on Caryl/McReedus. He's competing with it. He's aggressive in these articles because he wants to tell a particular kind of story that AMC, plus all of us unhinged shippers, won't let him. Taking a firm stance is how he takes control again (or so he thinks). The way he positions Carol as an intruder in "Daryl's" story, despite a sorry attempt to put a band-aid on it later, also presents itself in the SDCC trailer where everything, including Carol, has to revolve around the main hook: Daryl making a new family in France. For Zabel, it's true to life because he had to fit unconventional Melissa into his outdated "interesting" formula when that wasn’t what he was hired to do. To paraphrase what Melissa said, she was the newcomer who had to be careful not to disrupt a system already put in place before she arrived. What, or who, made her feel that way when she had already been playing Carol for over a decade?

To watch or not to watch

That is not the question. You can choose not to give AMC your money for Zabel's bullshit or you can choose to help the ratings go up for Melissa/Carol. Both are the right choice. The real question is, how will AMC know to blame Zabel and not Melissa if the ratings drop? How will they know that Carylers still need canon and...wait for it...good storytelling if they watched just to remind them how valuable Melissa is to the franchise? I know I sound like a broken record here, but this is why it's so important to be vocal. Use whatever platform you have (and are comfortable with) to specify what's bothering you whether it's the shipbaiting or Daryl's suspenders. Say what you love (Melissa is the correct answer) and what you want more of or what you want to change in regards to performances, relationships, and storylines. For me, I wanted to see both Daryl and Carol make every effort to get back to each other. I wanted to get the payoff I've been waiting for after a god-awful S11 that kept them separated and angry at each other the whole time. I wanted the story to center on Daryl's and Carol's relationship while everything else revolved around them. "To find home is to find each other." Where did that story go? I want it back.

No matter what we say, egomaniacs like David Zabel, Greg Nicotero, and Scott Gimple will spit on us, punch us in the gut, and kick us while we're down (though I guess only the first one is stupid enough to be so literal). If Zabel understood the first thing about Carol or Caryl, then maybe he would've realized that their fans know how to push back.

As for AMC, they don't care about the characters or the relationship or our feelings either, but they do care about their bottom line and these articles threaten that. Keep reminding them.