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hollowed-theory-hall · 9 months ago

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what's the one harry potter pairing u like that u mentioned in the tags of your hinny post?

Anonymous: Can I ask who that minor character you ship with Harry is? For some absurd reason my mind jumped to Stan Shunpike lol but it's probably not him.... Or is it?

Okay, so this is kind of a funny story. Like, my pipeline through hp pairings was a weird one. Like, I used to read a lot of Harry pairings, still do on occasion (some make more sense than others). None of them were ones I would point at and say: "that should've happened in the books"

One day, I was innocently writing a fic (canon divergence of GoF), and it was just for me, for funnsies, never posted it anywhere and not planning to. And I planned to pair Harry with someone there (honestly, I don't remember who because I didn't write the plan down) but when writing, Harry ended up with a different character. And it was so strange to me because that never happened.

Like, how do you write a ship accidentally?

But I did. I wrote Harry into a ship by accident. So I went back to the books to try and figure out why the hell would my subconscious decide that's the way to go.

I'll also preface it by all this being my subjective opinion and I do read other Harry ships in fics, this one just quickly became my favorite to write (and the only one I write). Also, I don't actually think this is a pairing that should've happened in the books, it's place is in fic and that's where I like it.

So, the character I accidentally shipped with Harry is... *drumroll*

Stan Shunpike!

Not really, it's:

Theodore Nott

Now, you might look at the name and go: "Who the fuck is that?"

And you'll be correct. Theo has 0 speaking lines in the entire book series. His name appears twice. He, himself, as a person, only appeared on page, like, 3 times in the background. The scene that gives the most information about him is other characters talking about him. He isn't even present.

That being said, I'm very good at extrapolating a lot of information from very little evidence. So allow me, to walk you through who is Theodore Nott and why I ship him with Harry.

Basic Information

So, let's start with the most basic overview before I pull out the quotes and go any deeper.

We know Theo is a Slytherin student in Harry's year. So he likely shares a dorm with Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Theo's father is both at the graveyard at the end of GoF and in the Department of Mysteries at the end of OotP, so we know he is a Death Eater. We also know Thoe's father was one of the first and closest Death Eaters to Voldemort, who waited for him during his interview with Dumbledore in 1967:

“Then if I were to go to the Hog’s Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed...”

(HBP, page 444)

We also know the Nott family is "as pure-blooded as the Malfoys" according to JKR in an interview. We also know Theo's great-grandfather (maybe? the family relation isn't clear), Cantankerus Nott, is suspected to be the one who wrote the Pure-Blood Dictionary, the book that coined the term "Sacred 28" and made that list (which the Nott family are on).

The name Nott is potentially to be derived from the name Nótt, which is the personification of the night in Norse Mythology. So it has been theorized the Nott family have a Nordic origin. Possible, but it doesn't really matter for this post.

What does, is that he comes from a dark, Death Eater, blood-purist family similar to the Malfoys. Even so, Theo never took the Dark Mark and never joined Voldemort in the books.

Now, that we have the basic information out of the way, let's look at Theodore as a person.

All the details I could gather from the books

Alright, now we get to the fun part. That is, me going through all the relevant scenes that mention Theodore Nott and actually creating a character psychoanalysis out of basically nothing.

So, the quotes aren't organized in a particular order. I'm just going to explain Theo and then explain why all this makes me ship him with Harry.

“Well, I pity Slughorn’s taste. Maybe he’s going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite of his. Slughorn probably hasn’t heard I’m on the train, or —” “I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.” Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

(HBP, page 150)

This is a part of the conversation between Draco, Pansy, and Blaise, Harry overhears when he is hiding in their compartment at the beginning of HBP. I have a few things to note regarding this scene.

Firstly, throughout this conversation, Pansy, Blaise, and Draco all call each other by their first name. This shows closeness, they are all friendly and familiar enough to use their first names with each other. Theo, though, is referred to as "Nott" by all three in the compartment.

He doesn't actually sit in their compartment which is in itself a sign about how he isn't really friendly with Draco's group. Considering the group is most of his year from his house, Theo is likely very lonely, and it will be apparent from other scenes I bring up later.

Secondly, Theo's father is in Azkaban. We know Draco is bothered about his own father's predicament. He mentions it to Harry and bothers him over it, Theo doesn't though. Theo doesn't seem to be bothered by Harry or his father's incarceration.

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the relationship between Theo and his father is not a good one.

(I know some fics like to have Lucius be abusive towards Draco, for some reason. But the books really don't back this up. Lucius loves Draco and Draco adores his father)

Theo, though, Theo seems to be the one with a very strained relationship with his father. Strained enough that he isn't bothered the man is in Azkaban. What I'm saying is that Theo's father likely abuses or mistreats him in some capacity.

If anything more was needed to complete Harry’s happiness, it was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s reactions. He saw them with their heads together later that afternoon in the library, together with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott. They looked around at Harry as he browsed the shelves for the book he needed on Partial Vanishment, and Goyle cracked his knuckles threateningly and Malfoy whispered something undoubtedly malevolent to Crabbe. Harry knew perfectly well why they were acting like this: He had named all of their fathers as Death Eaters

(OotP, page 583)

This is a scene at the end of OotP after Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Theo's fathers were caught at the ministry and sent to Azkaban because they are Death Eaters. There are a few important notes about this scene.

The first, Hermione knows Theo, while Harry and Ron don't really. This means she likely knows him from the classes she takes and Harry and Ron don't — Arithmancy and/or Ancient Runes.

The second, he is sitting with other Death Eater children, but I don't think it's by choice. I mentioned in the previous quote how he isn't close to Draco and his crew. He sits with them here mostly because he doesn't have another choice. Theo doesn't seem to really have any friends, so he sits with the closest people he has to friends — kids he has known since he was young because their fathers were in the same circle.

The other note about this is that Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco are all mentioned as being threatening and malicious towards Harry because they don't like that their fathers are in Azkaban. Theo, though, Theo doesn't threaten Harry, he isn't part of their whisperings. As I mentioned above, he's likely happy his father is in Azkaban.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that they were real: Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, “Why doesn’t Hagrid call again?” Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron’s and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

(OotP, page 445)

“The only people who can see thestrals,” she said, “are people who have seen death.”

(OotP, page 446)

The stringy Slytherin boy mentioned here is Theo. This scene proves that:

He takes Care of Magical Creatures

He saw someone die

Let's explore the second one for a moment. The fact Theo can see Thestrals means he watched someone die and was old enough to comprehend what he was seeing. We also know Theo's mother is dead. So it's likely the person he watched die was his mother.

I also want to draw attention to Theo's distaste towards Thestrals. He could likely see them carrying the carriages every year since 2nd year, it's not his first time seeing them. But it doesn't stop his displeasure with their sight from showing. Which says something about him. It means he likely recalls his mother and her death whenever he looks at the Thestrals. and these are memories Theo rather not experience.

We don't know how his mother died, but I'd hazard a guess it wasn't natural. After all, wizards have long life spans, they are more durable to illness and injury, and don't usually die from accidents unless very extreme or magical. And there was no epidemic of dragonpox (a disease that does tend to kill wizards) in the time since 1980 and the books. So, she was more likely killed at some point between 1985(ish) and 1991.

“No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.” Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her.

(HBP, pages 185-186)

First, Theo is an O student in potions since he is in the potions NEWT class, and was probably meant to be there even if Snape was the teacher.

Second, again, Theo doesn't really have friends. He sits next to Draco as the only other Slytherin in the class. Also, they share the circumstances of being sons of Death Eaters currently in Azkaban. Although both of them seem to deal with it quite differently.

Third, Theo joins Draco in making fun of Hermione's blood status, but he does not initiate it. Considering the environment he was raised in and is in, it makes sense he would make fun of it. Whether he's a blood-purist or not, he would want to keep his image considering he doesn't have many allies. Hanging out with Draco is survival, not friendship. They aren't even on a first-name basis with each other.

“Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room — oh yes,” he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love. . . .

(HBP, page 186)

The final quote I have about Theo is from the same potions class as above. Both he and Draco are portrayed here as underestimating amortentia and its potential damage. It makes sense for their upbringing in the Wizarding World, which has no real laws or regulations regarding love potions that are seen as harmless fun more often than not.

I'll add Theo likely didn't witness a healthy romantic relationship. Considering his father is a Death Eater who is likely abusive and may or may not have killed his mother. With this as his reference to a marriage, it's clear why he'd look down on love and love potions.

Why I think Theo and Harry have potential

Okay, so now that we know who Theodore Nott is, let's talk about why I ship him with Harry.

I think Harry, in general, would get along best with a clever partner with the ability to be ruthless (Slytherins or Ron fall into this category). Because Harry isn't some golden savior; he casts unforgivables, and is very willing to poison Umbridge or Crocio Snape if he could get away with it. He needs a partner that won't be horrified by these thoughts.

Also, Theo literally never speaks on page. Even when spoken to, his reactions are silent. I think this quiet and no need to talk, the ability to be comfortable in silence, is something that would be comfortable for Harry. Harry in the books finds himself annoyed with Ron and Hermione's constant banter on occasion, so I think it fits well.

Theo would also be comfortable around Harry without a need to play a certain part. Because Harry wouldn't care about that. He would honestly rather Theo forgo the pure-blood Slytherin act.

I feel like Harry and Theo, have a good potential to understand each other. Theo lost his mother and likely experiences abuse from his father. It makes them very likely to trauma bond over their crap life and shared experience. Two out of three only ones who could see the Thestrals in the entire class.

The other thing I feel they could connect over is being lonely. Harry spent all his childhood until Hogwarts basically being on his own. Theo stayed on his own. Draco at least has his parents, he has other students he's closer to, not that he shares everything with them, but he has some support network. Theo has none. And this is something Harry knows well.

Theo, I think, wouldn't expect anything specific from Harry. He doesn't even interact with him, not to mock him, and not to idolize him, he doesn't care at all. And we know how much Harry appreciates being thought of as Harry and not as the Boy-Who-Lived. Theo would allow Harry to be himself without some mold he wants him to fit in.

The fact Theo never becomes a Death Eater, even though he was in Draco's year and his father was a Death Eater before Lucius (and in better standing than Lucius with Voldemort) is so interesting. It's somewhat surprising Theo wasn't marked. It means he didn't want to be. It means that Theo Nott didn't want to torture and kill muggleborns or blood traitors, or anyone really. And he didn't want to swear his allegiance to Voldemort. This is just a fascinating fact to me and something I enjoy considering. What life experience made him come to that conclusion? Was it just his dislike of his father that pushed him away? Could he have been another Sirius Black (Gryffindor in a Slytherin family) under slightly different circumstances? I mean, Voldemort likely wouldn't force him to become a Death Eater, but would his father? I don't know what at all went down there, but I like that potential story.

We also know he wasn't part of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, even though some minor Slytherins were mentioned to be part of it. He just seems to be an actually decent guy (I don't care what Cursed Child says about him, I know he's there but I avoided almost anything to do with Cursed Child so I barely know the plot).

Finally, this is a character Harry doesn't have as much drama to get over with. Yes, sometimes I want to read overcoming drama between characters before it becomes a romance, but sometimes I want something chiller than that. And Theo is a really chill, safe, Slytherin option for Harry.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #hollowedtheory #hollowedheadcanon #hp #hp thoughts #harry james potter #asks #anon asks #anonymous #theodore nott #theo nott #nottpott #ship talk

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mirchloe · 1 month ago

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#psychonautssecretsanta2024

ho ho ho! it's the middle of november! that means, once again, it's time for the secret santa! last year went off without a hitch (if you just ignore how my main was shadowbanned for sending out the giftee assignments, which caused me to finally make a side blog lol), so i'm back once again with this event i've happily hosted since 2016.

hate to beat a dead horse because this is the same shtick as last year and the year prior, but i'll be tremendously busy in december. i will be more hands off and ask that all participants follow the timeline. without further ado, here's the timeline along with the rules!

TIMELINE

the application will be open from 11/15/24 starting at 4:00 P.M. PST and close on 11/25/24 at 11:59 P.M. PST. if you miss the sign up period, please message me immediately because i will begin pairing people up promptly.

between 11/27/24 through 11/29/24, i will send out giftee information to the account/username (twitter or tumblr only) that was provided, so please keep your eye on your dms. if i can’t reach you on tumblr, i’ll send an ask asking you to open your messages to everyone. that way, i can pass along your giftee to you.

as always, 12/15/24 is the check-in day. i will be going around messaging people asking for progress updates. this doesn’t have any specification as people work differently, so if you haven’t started, that’s also fine. it just helps me know where people are in their progress, or if they might need an extension. if you want to reach out first, that helps me mark you down faster!

speaking of extensions, please let me know before 12/22/24 if you will need an extension. life happens, and i know that from experience, so don’t hesitate to reach out. also, if you believe you’ll need to drop out, please let me know before 12/22/24 as well, so that i can find another santa for your giftee. you will still receive your gift!

gifts are due between 12/24/24 through 12/28/24. please tag your giftee, and use the hashtag psychonautssecretsanta2024, so that i can keep track of who posted. (of course, in addition, you can always use the relevant game, character, and pairing tags!) i’m very excited to see what everyone will create!

for those who asked for extensions, and for the santas who took on an extra gift if someone dropped, those gifts are due between 1/4/25 through 1/8/25.

RULES

adult/minor pairings and incestuous pairings are not allowed. requesting them in your application will result in you being removed from the event entirely.

keep your content PG-13/keep the t rating of psychonauts in mind. nsfw material is not allowed in order to be inclusive to everyone. to clarify, please do not request nsfw material that is graphically sexual or violent in nature.

be respectful of your giftee’s wish list, and do not share them. over the years, i have mostly partnered people based on similar interests in characters, pairings, etc., but there will always be different interpretations of aforementioned characters, pairings, etc.

i mentioned it in the above form, but please don’t give me any usernames that are for ao3 or discord to prevent any confusion. this event is also NOT associated with any personal secret santa events on any discord. this is strictly for tumblr (and maybe twitter).

not really a rule, but any received questions about the event will be answered and added to the reply section.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #psychonautssecretsanta2024 #in the wise words of off the hook...we're so back

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wooimbouttamakeanameformyself · 4 months ago

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Okay listen hoes.

I’ve been surfing these anti Danneel, anti Jenneel, anti this and anti that tags for like… over a year. I’ve always been watching from the sidelines with my lil bag of popcorn, given an anon ask every now and again to other blogs, but never bothered to make a post about it. Because I didn’t think it was relevant, correction, I didn’t think Elta was relevant enough to make a venting post about — which is why I’m baffled as to why she even has stans — but also I just figured in the long run, none of our speculations, opinions or posts about this lady mean anything to anyone.

Actually, I may be incorrect there, as the AA’s may butcher me, or worse… Danneel may get Cliff to make another post… sheesh!

But anyway, seeing this latest Wales con, I got a real bad case of FOMO and decided I wanna bitch on tumblr as well (no hate to the bitches, I love scrolling through everyone bitching about the ‘perfect’ couple)

Here’s my take on everything, even tho no one asked:

Yes, it is painfully, horribly, excruciatingly obvious that those two don’t even like each other let alone love each other.

But I’ve seen some people and blogs talk about Danneel physically abuse Jensen, which I just don’t personally believe — each to their own opinion, though — but I just personally haven’t seen any evidence or receipts of that being true. Emotional abuse, yes, verbal abuse, definitely. But physical is something I ain’t gonna say I think is happening.

Danneel’s a bitch, as we all know, as the stans like to pretend isn’t true. But I really don’t think Jensen’s a saint or a victim — and I say he isn’t a victim only because in the end, looking over the financial consequences and the custody of the kids thing that would come with a divorce, she has little hold over him. He has the fame, the money, and what do you wanna bet that all of the Elta followers would do a 180 on their ‘Kween’ if Jensen ever spoke up about anything? And by no means am I suggesting that men can’t be victims before anyone jumps down my throat, I’m just saying that Jensen has the capability to fight back to her or leave her if he wanted to.

But he won’t, because — and I’m bracing myself for the hate I’ll get for this — he’s also kind of a narcissist and a liar!!! 😱😱😱 surprised I’m still writing and wasn’t just assassinated on the spot for saying that lols! Dare I say… he’s just as bad as Danneel in some aspects? That he has pretty privilege? Though not so much anymore since he and Danneel have clearly started doing couples Botox sessions. Wooof I’m really pushing my luck.

Trailed off a lil there, but what I was supposed to say is that he won’t because he’s embedded some kind of belief into his mind that his career will crash and burn if he doesn’t have his perfect ‘family man’ image. Even though let’s be honest about two things, your marriage is probably doing more harm than good to your image, and buddy, you’re a c-list actor who’s acting range is zero to none — I mean, he couldn’t stand playing anyone other than Dean Winchester that he tried, and failed, to make a spin off of Supernatural just so he got to play a brooding, macho hunter again. Though look how that turned out — your career isn’t some sacred artefact that can’t dare even be scratched, all he does these days is make money from cons, and a very occasional cameo playing as Dean in a different font. I’m worried the dude has Foreign Accent Syndrome but with Dean Winchester — as in he’s done it for that long that its irreversibly in his consciousness, to the point Danneel has to tell him to stop being Dean at home (sure she got a dig out of him mentioning that in the panel)

But I’m trying to focus talking about this con so far — even though I’ve trailed off multiple times already — first of all, ignoring the fact it’s insane that Danneel’s even at a Suoernatural con when her character (which was a nepotism role) wasn’t even in a full season, served no purpose, wasn’t even a likeable character — unless you like vapid, vain, and poorly portrayed characters — and added nothing to the storyline. And yet she gets treated like she’s a main cast member? Half of Dean’s flings who were in half an episode served more to the plot that Anael did in the whole five episodes she was on the show! And it pissed me off that Danneel’s getting the sort of treatment of main cast when Gen’s character was actually important to the plot, yet she wasn’t at the con. Not that I think Gen’s that bothered, which shows the difference between her and Danneel.

And apparently she auditioned for every single female role??? HUH?? Are we talking about the same Ms Gurl who made fun of Supernatural in the earlier seasons, claimed to not wanting to interfere as it was Jensen’s thing, demeaned and made fun of fans on twitter, criticised her own husband’s role and showed doubt of the series duration??? Make it make sense.

I’m kind of relieved Jensen hasn’t shared any of his made up domestic stories of them, to try and make it seem like they can even stand each other, although it would’ve been interesting to see him talk about it with Danneel there — just to see her reaction, cause I’m certain Jensen just makes up these stories as he goes along. But I guess my guy couldn’t even manage that, probably not after how much Elta knocked him down in front of everyone — she barely did anything else other than make jabs at him the whole time. Surprised my girl didn’t go blue from all the snarky remarks she was making.

Oh wait, it’s ‘sarcasm’, right? Silly me, I forgot that ‘that’s how they are with each other’ 😐😐😐 even AA’s have spoke up about her behaviour in this con — shows how much effort those two are bothering putting in to keep up the image. But hey, I’m proud that some of the delusional Jenneel shippers have developed a frontal lobe, probably because their self-insert isn’t doing what they want her to be doing!

Anyway that’s all from me, my thumbs hurt, can’t believe I wrote so much. Free will is a crazy thing. Excited to see what kind of hate I get from this ✌️😝

This ain’t grammar checked before anyone bullies me.

#anti danneel #anti jensen #anti aas #anti jenneel #jensen critical #loldontkillmeforthisitsmyopnion

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guusagi · 3 months ago

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MCR Fanfic Rec/Review List!

tl/dr: This is an MCR slash fiction recommendation list with various ratings, multiple ships, AUs and sections; not only with summaries but also my non-spoilery thoughts. I'm going to be yapping a lot in this one. MINORS DNI (as in i cant stop you from reading these but no comments plz🙏) Section 1: Danger Days / Fabulous Killjoys Section 2: The Infamous Fics (for example: Unholyverse) Section 3: Desolation Row Section 4: Various MCR AUs Pairings listed: Frank/Gerard; Fun Ghoul/Party Poison; Jet Star/Party Poison; Jet Star/Party Poison/Fun Ghoul; Frank/Mikey; Pete/Patrick (from FOB)

Welcome and be warned (or enjoy), this is a pretty long and wordy list! I've been actively reading mcr fics for about a month and a half now, so I felt compelled to do something with all this energy. The idea for this blog post came to me because I had to share my newfound knowledge!!

Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/guusagi/766055506866569216/mcr-fanfic-recreview-list-2

If you can't stand RPF (real person fiction), feel free to just browse the Danger Days section, as I personally think it's disconnected enough from the band to be enjoyable. I was uncomfortable with rpf at first but I ended up loving these fics so much I stopped caring lol! I will still mention how much real life is involved in each fic so there are more options with different levels of comfort for you.

The most common ship on this list will be Frerard, because not only it's the easiest to find, but also cus a lot of amazing fics are written about these two! I also included some Frikey, cus it's underrated in my eyes and so good! I also found some Rayrard and poly ships yay!

I will start with some Danger Days fics cus that's how I started reading MCR fandom fics, and I LOVE the setting of this album and the Killjoys comic series! Party Poison/Fun Ghoul is the main ship, but you’ll also find Party Poison/Jet Star! There's also a poly ship (Party Poison/Fun Ghoul/Jet Star).

I decided to also yap about the most infamous fics in the fandom, like Unholyverse and A Splitting of the Mind (plus a 3rd one). I was skeptical at first, but what a ride it was reading these fics!

I also included a few Desolation Row AUs cus there's not tons but I ADORE the music video and it makes for an interesting punk/rebellion theme.

And finally, I’ll highlight some other general AUs, as well as a few MCR as a band fics for those who enjoy rpf in particular. This is my longest section.

Please feel free to explore the full tags on AO3, as some fics might have stuff that's triggering to some. If you want to avoid smut I will specifically mention if there is any, sometimes we just want cute fluff! I also will mention if there's something iffy like an age gap, or non-con, I personally do not go out of my way to read either, but there are 2 fics on this list that include those.

Also I love longfics so this is gonna have a lot of stories with around or over 100k words.

The structure of each fic rec is as follows:

-Name of the fic, and the author. -Rating and if the fic includes smut. -The main pairing, as well as sub pairings if relevant to the story, also what type of AU it is. -Main POV, who’s the main character of the story! -Are the characters MCR? If the fic is written with mychem as a band similar to real life (also if it follows their trajectory in life, like their wives and kids, or if it’s an AU where those relationships don’t happen), or if they use the same irl names but are not in a band like an AU. In the case of the killjoys, if their ‘city names’ are the same as mcr or not. -Status is if they are completed fics, works in progress, or abandoned/on hiatus. I also added amount of chapters and word count, and if it's a oneshot or otherwise. -Links will send you directly to the fic on AO3, if it’s a collection of stories I link that instead. -My summaries are just what I personally thought was the main plot of the story. -Personal thoughts are my observations on the fic, how much I enjoyed it, what I found unique about this story, and my feelings overall. I also will specifically mention if the fic has a happy or angsty ending, for those who either enjoy or don’t enjoy sad endings. I love happy endings but I did give some sad endings a try, even if I don't go out of my way looking for them.

—————————————————————————-

Section 1: Danger Days AUs

This is how I got started with MCR fanfiction. I wanted to read fics about mcr and was uncomfortable with rpf at first (like I mentioned before, I got over the discomfort cus I ended up loving the non-DD fics as well). Danger Days is a super fun universe, and I really enjoy the idea of the Killjoys. I hope I picked a good variety of options!

Don't Need the System by LiberXI

Rating: Explicit (smut in final chapter) Pairing: Frerard - Party Poison/Fun Ghoul Main POV: Fun Ghoul Are the characters MCR?: No, but they use the same irl names. Status: Completed, total of 25 chapters and 144k words Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55799308 My Summary: This is a Party Poison origin story! Fun Ghoul gets captured by Bl/ind to reintegrate him into Battery City's society. Little does he know, the supervisor he's been assigned to is none other than Gerard, the face of Bl/ind's Propaganda! Gerard doesn't really know how human interaction works and shenanigans ensue. Personal Thoughts: This is actually quite the unique spin on the danger days formula compared to most I've read, where Party Poison is not yet themself but being an active part of the System! Gerard uses he/him pronouns throughout half of the fic, then they switch to they/them. Korse is sort of their guardian and grants them privileges most don't get. For example having a lot of luxuries, as well as being off pills. They are still mostly controlled and very naive about the world. Most of the fic takes place within Gerard's apartment, as Fun Ghoul is not allowed to leave. The writing is super compelling and you can't help but read the next chapter as soon as you finish the previous one! The relationship between Gee and Ghoul starts off on the wrong foot but it's honestly super cute after that. I'm still actively reading this one, so once this story is complete I’ll attach an updated review.

Edit 10/23/24: So the fanfic JUST ended! I read the final chapter today and man, yep, there was smut alright! There's only smut in the final chapter, so you're safe if you want to avoid those types of scenes (also I want to warn that there is usage of the f-slur in one portion of the final chapter, but it's used with consent). My thoughts on the story have not changed, I still love it to bits!! I'm sad that it's already over but that's life for you haha, all things come to an end. If you are iffy about reading WIP fics, now you can totally read this one start to finish!

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I Believe We're the Enemy by Test_subject_306

Rating: Mature (no smut) Pairing: Party Poison/Fun Ghoul Main POV: Fun Ghoul Are they MCR?: No, only Frank is mentioned by his real name. Status: Completed, 39 chapters and 104k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8097178 My Summary: Party Poison gets captured by Korse, and is presumed dead by Fun Ghoul and the others. However, Party returns in an altered state, completely brainwashed. It's up to Ghoul and the others to get the old Party back... will they succeed? Personal Thoughts: Good god, this one was a wild ride! I actually had to take breaks to read a softer/less angsty fic between chapters, cus man this story HURT. Party Poison is brainwashed as all hell, and pretty nasty with the others... A fair warning, I think it's important to mention that this does NOT have a happy ending, but man the ride was so worth it! It's sort of an open-ended conclusion. If you read A Splitting of the Mind, that's how I'd describe the ending's structure.

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Graffiti On Your Grave by Honestmouse (Part 1 of "Sing It Out")

Rating: Teens and Up (implied scenes but no smut.) Pairings: Party Poison/Fun Ghoul & Jet Star/Kobra Kid Main POV: Various! Are they MCR?: No, they use unique names. Status: WIP; 3 out of 4 parts have been completed so far, with a 4th one in the works. As of 09/16/2024 there has been a collective total of 64 chapters and 269k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909105 My Summary: Post-SING music video, our Killjoys are near death when they get rescued by an underground resistance in Battery City. This story takes place after The Girl is safely secured. They navigate their new home, and meet many new people, most notably The Youngbloods. Personal Thoughts: The world-building in this one was awesome! A new place to navigate, a lot of characters to meet, and overall a compelling story! I was pleasantly surprised that our killjoys had their own original names and not just the usual MCR band member's names. This really helped with keeping the immersion, especially if you enjoy Danger Days fanfics cus of the ease of separation. This is also only part 1 of a series called Sing It Out, and I'm not done with reading the others yet!

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Tongue Tied, In Distress by tired_stressed

Rating: Not Rated (there's only implied sexual content, aka ‘fades to black b4 they bang’ kinda deal, so I’d personally say teens and up) Pairing: Fun Ghoul/Party Poison/Jet Star (yep, it’s poly over here!) Main POV: Fun Ghoul Are they MCR?: No, and only their killjoy names are used. Status: Unfinished with no updates since 2023, 31 chapters and 152k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41650503 My Summary: Fun Ghoul and Jet Star reconnect after losing each other as kids. Ghoul also HATES those from Battery City, which is ironic because it was thanks to Party Poison and Kobra Kid that he gets to see Jet again. Ghoul has to reluctantly accept a deal between them, and they somehow end up teaming up for longer than he expected. Personal Thoughts: Despite this being an unfinished/maybe abandoned story, I still wanted to recommend it! I honestly really enjoyed the writing, and how much Ghoul HATED Poison's guts at first. This is sort of an enemies to lovers trope for Ghoul and Party, while being a childhood friends to lovers trope for Ghoul and Jet. Also not to mention how it's the only poly relationship I found and read from the fandom so far. I can't delve deeper into it without spoiling so that's all! Plz read it!!

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doesn't have to all be destruction by spelling bee

Rating: Mature (implied sexual content, no smut) Pairing: Party Poison/Jet Star & pre-established Kobra Kid/Fun Ghoul Main POV: Jet Star (for once, poor Ray is never the main character) Are they MCR?: No, they use unique city names. Status: Completed, 26 chapters and 156k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17909432 My Summary: In this universe, people can manifest superpowers! Bl/ind wants to find them all and train them to work for the government, but Poison and Kobra manage to escape without their powers being revealed. Fun Ghoul has been abandoned in the desert since he was young, and Jet Star is an agent for Bl/ind, although reluctantly. Poison, Kobra and Ghoul team up as teenagers, and when Poison gets captured for conversion, Jet Star helps them escape, and decides to join them. It's up to Jet to figure out how to live in the desert, and perhaps become a killjoy himself. He also needs to learn how to control his strange superpower... Personal Thoughts: This fic was recommended to me by a fellow mcrmy friend! I really enjoyed the plot, not to mention the fact that it has some rareships imo! It’s so refreshing to have the protagonist be Jet Star/Ray for a change! Party Poison/Jet Star is really not explored very often, and what a shame cus with Poison's sass and energy, and Jet's kindness and..grounded..ness, it makes for a nice dynamic where they compliment each other very well! Fun Ghoul/Kobra Kid is already an established relationship, which is a nice change of pace, though I sort of felt disappointed that we only got a bit of backstory on how they got together cus, they're so stinkin cute (and later I came to learn that I just love frikey..)! Also the sexual content is only implied, so you're safe if you don't want to read smut.

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Overall Thoughts on this Section:

And that wraps up my Danger Days AUs, there are MORE I've read/completed, but I wanted to highlight the ones I thought were either unique, and/or have very decent writing. Danger Days and the Killjoys make for an excellent background for fiction, and many people have created self-inserts and OCs. There's probably plenty of original killjoy character fics that I haven't found yet.

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Section 2: THE BIG THREE!

I wanted this next section to focus on three very (in)famous fanfics from the MCR fandom. I started reading Unholyverse sorta ironically, expecting a My Immortal moment, but I was super pleasantly surprised! After finishing that series, I decided to read the other two and man I'm glad I did. So yeah, whatever I say here may be nothing new but I wanted to share my thoughts on them!

So, without further ado..!

Unholyverse by Bexless

Rating: Mature (lotsa blood, especially in Part 1, there's eventual smut at part 3 i think? i forgor...) Pairing: Frerard - Priest!Gerard/Body Piercer!Frank (with sub-pairing Mikey/Ray) Main POV: Frank Are they MCR?: No, they use MCR's irl names but this is an AU with no relation to the band. Status: Completed, 5 parts total and 186k words. Link: Republished on AO3 by bexless, separated by the main parts (full collection: https://archiveofourown.org/series/9795) My Summary: Frank works in a tattoo shop as a body piercer, training under Bob (Bryar) to become a tattoo artist. Mikey works as their receptionist, and Brian is the owner of the shop. Ray is sort of a hair stylist and makes herbal concoctions I guess?? Frank's world turns upside down, when he gets himself a mysterious tattoo one night from a stranger that is itching him badly...suddenly he's bleeding all over?? He also meets Gerard, Mikey's brother, who's hot and also a priest, oops! I guess they also have to travel together and vanquish demons as a team?! (If you know of the movie Stigmata, this is basically the plot of that movie apparently? I didn't watch it myself) Personal Thoughts: I have a lot to say about this one. Due to the nature of Gerard's job as a priest, this story has MANY discussions about religion, specifically Catholicism. If you aren't comfortable with that, I understand if you skip. My personal relationship with religion is that my family is Catholic, but my parents are non-practicing so the most we've done was attend Church for weddings and Easter? I also went through Communion. I personally do not identify with the Catholic faith, but I still managed to enjoy this fic a lot and was glad I gave it a chance. It's really hard to find where to begin with this one, cus honestly... this was one of the best fanfictions I have ever read, period! Which is shocking to me cus when there's a famous fic in a fandom, it's usually because it's like, My Immortal or something (aka so bad it's good). Rarely have I seen popular fics with genuinely high quality writing. This could also be cus I do not interact with fandoms much and have always kept my distance? The writing was genuinely clever and quick-witted, as well as super compelling. I'm a fairly calm reader and don’t often react out loud to things I read, but I found myself cry-laughing at many parts of Unholyverse. Maybe it's cus it took itself a little bit more seriously due to the era it was written in, and it could be seen as cheesy by today's standards. I also just think the writer is very good at writing funny dialogue, maybe it wasn’t taking itself that seriously after all (idk im neurodivergent lmao). The characters feel so believable, and I found myself seeing them as completely original characters pretty quickly. The relationship between Frank and Gerard is SO slowburn it hurts, but it hurts so good! The tension and pining is crazy, and I wish I could say more but I don't want to spoil!! I want to revisit this fic again soon, in fact I'm itching to re-read it now! This story is so good I wish for it to be published one day with changed names to make it original. Also, Fall Out Boy is in this fic LOL!

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A Splitting of the Mind by Shoved2agree

Rating: Explicit (smut mostly at the end, this is a mental institution AU so fair warning) Pairing: Frerard Main POV: Gerard Are they MCR?: No, they use their irl names but no relation to the band. Status: Completed, 21 chapters and 144k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535958 My Summary: We follow Gerard, a mental institution patient, who believes he's the only normal one there. Gerard believes there is a group of people who want to kill him, so he has selective mutism to keep “them” from finding him. There he meets Frank, a new addition to the ward, and instantly feels a connection with him he's never felt with another person before. The story is very psychological so be warned. It's not a fluffy story at all, and doesn't have a happy ending, but it's at the very least a hopeful one! Personal Thoughts: What isn't there to say about this one..? It's also in my top list of fanfiction in general. It's a truly well-written story, you think you start to understand how Gerard's mind works, and then you don't. It's not a spoiler to say that he suffers from Schizophrenia, he's just completely unaware of it, or in denial it's hard to say. The way his inner thoughts are described are very compelling, I personally do not know anyone who suffers from this condition, nor do I know much about how it works, so I will not judge which part of the portrayal was good or bad, but at the very least it didn't seem offensive and it seemed to be respectful. I actually got super immersed in his thought process and I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't at times, just like him. I can at least say that it didn't feel like it was glorified at all. Frank's reason for his admission to the institution is also super heartbreaking and raw. Overall this story was definitely not a happy one, but I truly enjoyed this fic, the ending was just, god my heart��... one of the best written scenes in fiction, not even kidding. I highly recommend you read this if you can stomach a sad yet hopeful ending.

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The Anatomy of a Fall by novembersmith

Rating: Explicit (smut near the end of the fic, this is a high school AU and there’s an age gap (kind of, not really, can't say without spoiling) but Gerard is 18 from my understanding.) Pairing: Frerard Main POV: Gerard Are they MCR?: No, but they use the same names though. Status: Completed, 12 chapters and 107k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/155168 My summary: Gerard moves to a quiet town in the middle of nowhere with his mom and little brother Mikey. Imagine a sort of Forks in Twilight kind of gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. Gerard goes into the woods one day and meets a strange boy called Frank. He doesn't seem to go to their school despite being his age, or at least, he hasn't bumped into him yet. This boy is super cool but really mysterious, they become close friends quickly and hang out together after school in the forest. There are also a lot of strange acts of violence happening in this town, and Frank wants to find out what is going on in this weird small town. Personal Thoughts: There's a twist that's hinted at super early and kind of obvious, this is a ghost story after all, but it doesn't ruin the experience at all. Gerard takes longer to realize what Frank's deal is than the reader but it's totally the point! This story was another great one from the line-up, and it DOES have a happy ending, yay! I really enjoyed the relationship between Gerard and Frank, the progression felt natural, and the mystery is great and has an excellent payoff methinks. The world building in this one was really good as well, I could totally picture this little town. Also, it comes with ''official'' art!

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Overall thoughts on this section:

I started off reading Unholyverse, assuming it was the most popular fic because it was similar to My Immortal in infamy. However, that could be further from the truth! Without repeating myself too much like in the review, it was super well written and compelling and I fell in love with this story! I also loved the other two I read. If I had to ''rank'' the fics to my personal preferences it would be something like Unholyverse > A Splitting of the Mind = Anatomy of a Fall. If you have been hesitant with reading these famous fics like I was, please give them a chance! I do have to admit, I deliberately ignored “A Dove Keeper” due to its severe age gap. Let’s pretend there’s just 3 infamous fics ok??

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Section 3: Desolation Row AUs

I wanted to give the AUs based on the Desolation Row cover/music video some love! They are few and far between, which is a shame. This MV altered my brain chemistry not gonna lie, it was one of the best looks for the band imo. These fics are mostly oneshots, but on the lengthier side!

Truth on the Airwaves by stoplightglow

Rating: Mature (implied sexual content, no smut) Pairing: Frerard Main POV: Gerard, but it switches out of his POV often. Are they MCR?: Despite it being an AU, i’d say yes. They call themselves My Chemical Romance and sing their songs. Status: Completed, Oneshot with 34k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15704250 My Summary: This is a prequel to the Desolation Row music video, it also includes a ‘what happens after’ epilogue. Gerard is an office worker in a boring job, but the government is censoring the world more and more, they even banned booze and fun apparently! Gerard and company decide it’s time to take matters into their punk rock hands. This is an AU where MCR become a band to protest against censorship and illegally tour to spread hope and rebellion. With the help of a radio host, they spread their illegal music to the masses. They call themselves My Chemical Romance and create the Bullets album and more! Follow their shenanigans and see what happens :D Personal thoughts: This was the first desolation row fic I read, and man was it fun! This fic is transparent about the members being MCR, but it’s still an AU. The writing is super fun, Gerard is confused about how he feels about Frank throughout the fic in the cutest way possible. I love it! I also like the fact that they included what happens after they get arrested in the music video. It’s a happy ending yay!

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Heaven's Not About Your Reputation by impertinence

Rating: Mature (some smut) Pairing: Frerard Main POV: Gerard mostly. Are they MCR?: Pretty much yes! Still AU though. Status: Completed, oneshot with 28k words. (this might actually be one of the oldest fics on this list, from 2009) Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280 My Summary: This is a collection of scenes with Gerard and the gang touring with their music, rebelling against the government and overall pissing off the cops. Gerard and Frank got some shit going on, after kissing each other to prove a point on stage, they’re confused about what this all means. Personal Thoughts: Not too much to say about this one, the writing is very good and is the main reason I recommend it. The scenes of their shenanigans are super entertaining too, lots of bickering and banter in this one! It’s quite short (for my standards) but definitely worth a read!

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Overall thoughts on this section:

There aren’t many fics here, as truthfully there isn’t too much to work with in Desolation Row, but the ones that I did read were pretty great! My personal headcanon is that this AU takes place before the apocalypse in Danger Days, as the government is starting to get super involved with people’s freedom of speech but isn’t completely controlling everyone just yet. I wanted to put this section before the other AUs, so that we can give our Desolation Row AUs some extra attention!

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Section 4: Various MCR AUs

Finally, I’ll be highlighting some other MCR AUs that don’t fit in a specific section. I’ll add an extra description for each one; like high school, or college, other jobs, childhood friends, enemies to lovers ect. This is also the section with the most recommendations so buckle in!

I'll start with some "MCR working at a store" AUs!

"that was easy" by metaleaterz aka The Staples Fic

Rating: Explicit (smut included) Pairing: Frerard & background Ray/Mikey Main POV: Frank Are they MCR?: No, they have their own separate paths in life. Status: Completed with 14 chapters and 88k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25903483 My Summary: Frank is in college and running out of money fast, Mikey tells him to apply to Staples and work there with him, Ray and Gerard. Brian is their manager too! Frank and Gerard's relationship blossoms from there and shenanigans ensue. This story was based on a tweet Frank posted about working at Staples one time, but just being high and not actually working much LOL. Personal Thoughts: This is actually another very popular fic, and was written in 2020! Most of the popular fics I've read were written before mcr's break up, so it was a pleasant surprise! This story was honestly super funny, the Staples setting is iconic asf, but the romance in this one was also extra cute and it was super satisfying when they finally get together hehe! I highly recommend this one, it also has excellent writing.

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Emotional Brilliance by kopperblaze

Rating: Mature (no smut) Pairing: Frikey (Frank/Mikey) & some poly?Lindsey/Ray/Gerard Main POV: Mikey (for once lmao) Are they MCR?: Nah, but Frank is part of a band and so is Ray. Status: Completed, Oneshot with 20k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/501146 My Summary: Mikey loves working at Lush, he really does. Despite his music career not working out for him, he loves working there with Ray. Unfortunately, Frank, who used to bully Gerard in high school, gets hired to work with them. Mikey hates his guts, but Frank is much more friendly than at school, maybe people do change..? Personal Thoughts: Finally some Frikey! (Hope the ship name is correct lol) No for real, I love frerard like everyone else, but frank/mikey is a close second. I'd like the ship even more if there were MORE FICS about them!! This one was pretty cute, and Mikey's hatred of Frank is super funny to me, because he really doesn't have a reason anymore, does he? Lush is also another funny setting, I can't imagine how they can stand the fruity smell in that store, it's so overpowering I never stepped into it much. This one was short but it felt complete! Anyways please give this one a try we need more frikey appreciation in this house!!!

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We Used To Be Friends by ladyfoxxx

Rating: Explicit (smut included near the climax/end) Pairing: Frikey; bassist!Mikey x School Teacher!Frank Main POV: Frank Are they MCR?: No, Mikey is a bassist for The Used and Frank is a school teacher. Status: Completed, Oneshot with 50k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458760 My Summary: Frank used to be a part of a band before it split and ultimately ended his music career. Mikey managed to join The Used as their bassist, but Frank had not been contacted by him in years. Frank has since become a high school teacher, and one day Gerard finds a way to make the two reconnect! Mikey invites Frank to join them on their tour around Jersey during Spring Break, and he agrees reluctantly. Follow Frank on his tour as he navigates some old feelings and has a taste of what it's like to tour again. Personal Thoughts: Eeeek this was so cuuute! I usually don't read oneshots because I love me a longfic, but 50k words ain't nothing to sneeze at either. Also this fic made me fall in love with the frikey ship, like seriously it's too cute. I like Mikey's aloofness in fanfics, he's so deadpan in an endearing kind of way. I felt bad for Frank being insecure and it hit me a little too close to home cus he was so relatable haha. This is a fun story with some drama, but it ends happily! Honestly this fic will make you love this ship.

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When We're Both Thirty by Helena_Hathaway

Rating: Explicit (smut near the end) Pairing: Frerard (childhood friends, to enemies to lovers) Main POV: Frank Are They MCR?: Nope! Just the same names and a "if MCR wasn't a band" AU. (Gerard works in art for example) Status: Completed, 30 chapters and 84k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2757812 My summary: Gerard and Frank had been inseparable as little kids, they loved each other before they could put a name to it. They sign a contract saying if they don't get married at 30 years old, they will marry each other! Unfortunately they have a falling out and end up hating each other's guts throughout most of their school life, and lost contact after high school. They are both approaching 30... and their moms try to reconnect them once more. However, both Gerard and Frank still hate each other, so they both agree to help find themselves partners to avoid getting married! Personal Thoughts: This was a super fun story, I also devoured this one. It's like, an enemies to lovers too so one of my fave tropes hohoho! I love how supportive their moms were, so much so that they shipped their kids together! The writing was very solid, and these two are total idiots! I love when ppl write this ship as idiots in love, it's just so obvious they have a thing for each other but are holding old petty grudges. Their attraction towards one another, despite trying their darndest to still hate each other, is highly entertaining. I strongly recommend this one! It’s super sweet, funny and the payoff is so worth it!

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Before the Second Show by CharredLips

Rating: Teens and Up (no smut, this is a fluffy one) Pairing: Frerard (Bullets Era) Main POV: Frank Are they MCR?: Yes, but this is an AU where they don’t meet their irl partners. Status: Completed with 18 chapters and 75k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32276128 My Summary: This story is set during the Bullets era, and as the title suggests, it takes place during the very early days of MCR. Frank is the new addition to their band as they start their first tour, cramped van and all. However, he’s starting to have weird feelings about Gerard and is unsure what to do with them. Gerard is also feeling something but Frank is unaware that it's mutual. These two are complete idiots in love! This story also just follows the typical early 2000s band tour shenanigans; sleepless nights, driving all day and all night, eating junk food, getting wasted and smoking cigs, little to no showers etc. what's not to love?! Personal Thoughts: This is the only “true” rpf story on this list, the only difference is that in this AU Gerard and Frank don’t end up with their irl partners. Also this is a teens and up rated fic so you don’t have to worry about smut, perfect if you like the ship but don’t want to see em bang. I gotta say, this fic was SUPER FUCKING CUTE! Their mutual pining, how obviously they like each other and try to be near each other at every waking (and sleeping) moment, this is just so fun and precious. They’re so dumb, omg! I might be biased towards the idiots in love tag. There’s a lot of secretive intimacy (non-sexual) and hiding to do gay stuff together and man it was fun to read. I do wanna say tho Gerard has pretty bad self-esteem issues, and talks down on himself a lot, and it might hit a bit too close to home for some (like me). This one also has the cutest happy ending ever though!! Another banger!

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Did You Miss Me? 'Cus I Missed You by LiberXI

Rating: Explicit (smut with plot) Pairing: Frerard Main POV: Frank Are They MCR?: No, this is a college AU Status: Completed with 3 chapters and 35k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48104839 My Summary: Frank is starting college and is super excited to enjoy the freedom that comes with that. Mikey and Ray go to a college party with Frank, and he bumps into Gerard, who also lives on the same college campus as the others. They used to hang out a lot more back a few years ago, and Frank is super happy to see him again. While chatting it up and having a smoke together, Gerard and Frank realize that they had missed each other much more than they both expected. Personal Thoughts: This is the 2nd fic from LiberXI that I'd like to recommend, but it's also the most explicit I apologize lol. They wrote a lot more fics than I thought and found this little gem after reading the latest chapter of their DD fic (Don't Need The System). This is definitely a self-indulgent fic rec, it's short and sweet, with smut and their relationship is just rly cute and wholesome. So sort of fluffy smut?! IDK I just wanted an excuse to recommend this one here if anyone likes shorter fics, since I put so many long ones on this list lol. I also love this author's writing style a lot.

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The Calypso Initiative by theficisalie

Rating: Explicit ("activities of the alone variety" in some chapters, smut near the end) Pairing: Frerard (small age gap, Frank is 11 and Gerard is 16 when they meet; they don’t hang out much nor pursue each other till they’re both over 21) Main POV: Frank Are They MCR?: Nope this is a superhero/school AU Status: Completed with 20 chapters and 91k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280176 My Summary: A superhero AU, where ppl with "mutations" are heavily monitored. They have to either work for the government or live in the streets as fugitives. Frank is 9 years old when his family abandons him, he is found by heroes-in-training Mikey and Gerard, and joins them in their school/compound which educates young mutants and teaches them to control their powers. Frank and Gerard's relationship becomes distant after Gerard becomes a part of an official hero team, and doesn't seem to have time for him anymore and is constantly ignoring him. Yet Frank still wants to join their team, will he succeed? Personal Thoughts: I was super hooked by this one! It's honestly a great story and the format is super satisfying. We follow Frank's journey from living with a group of other abandoned mutant children in the city, to learning how to control his unique powers at the compound, and growing into an adult who is ready to fight crime with his best friends (Gee, Mikey and Ray). I will say though, there is a bit of an age gap between Frank and Gee, Frank being the younger one. I feel like what the author did was pretty tame compared to other fics like a dove keeper (which is waaay worse like the age gap is 17/40 ew, sorry.) Gee and Frank are friends when they're younger and drift apart in between, interacting barely until Frank's 25-ish? So it doesn't feel predatory at all in my opinion. That's about as much as I'm willing to spoil, feel free to skip if any sort of age gap makes you uncomfortable!

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Marked like a bloodstain by drunkonyou

Rating: Teens and Up (no smut) Pairing: Frerard, with sub-pairing Rikey Main POV: Frank Are They MCR?: Nope, this is a vampire AU. Status: Completed, 12 chapters and 56k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29563299 My summary: This story is set in modern times (aka youtube, tiktok stuff is mentioned.) Frank and Ray work in a record store, and one day a tall pale man named Mikey asks to get hired for their night shift, and mentions having a brother with a chronic illness. He gets hired right away! One night, Frank goes to a haunted mansion, and there was Dracula working there, scaring guests...and he was really hot?! He comes back another night just to ask him out, and it's the start of something new! Personal Thoughts: Gosh this was a cute one too! I don't particularly seek out vampire stories, but this one also had a unique spin! Gerard and Frank's relationship is more angsty fluff, but it's so good!! I don't want to spoil much else, so that's all I've got to say! This is another one that's safe for the no-smut enjoyers.

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I am not the Phoenix that you wanted by GhostintheBathroom & Xygenscenic

Rating: Explicit (the first chapter has smut, then it cools down for most of the fic with smut sprinkled in more sparsely) Pairings: Patrick/Pete from FOB; Frerard and Ray/Mikey Main POVs: Various Are They MCR?: Yes and so is Fall Out Boy. AU story still! Status: Completed with 18 chapters and 98k words. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1659725 My Summary: SO this one is unique, it’s actually a Fall Out Boy / MCR / Danger Days crossover. FOB’s Patrick and Pete have an unhealthy relationship; Pete is always on and off with his current girlfriend, while also taking Patrick to his bed. One day, they are taken to the future of California in 2019, where they meet the Killjoys of Danger Days! Time-travel, dimension hopping, fighting hot babes who want to kill them. Courtney Love is somehow involved in all of this as well. This fic is a wild ride from start to finish! Personal Thoughts: This fic isn’t a pure MCR fic, if anything it focuses more on FOB’s Pete and Patrick, which is why I put this as my last fic rec. I still added it to my recommendation list cus it’s honestly one of the craziest, most unique plots I’ve seen in a while. I gave this story a chance despite me not being super familiar with FOB, and glad I did. The plot is absurd but somehow still able to keep its focus, the villains and overall premise are hilarious, and the way they tie together MCR and Danger Days is super unique. Give this story a read if you wanna have a great laugh and go through an emotional rollercoaster as well. The amount of times I laughed or gasped at certain reveals, really got me excited to recommend this one. My summary is super vague cus I don’t want to spoil the absurdity of some plot twists and reveals haha.

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Overall thoughts on this section:

This collection of fics were a super entertaining read. I honestly started out being weirded out by rpf fics of the band, but I quickly was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy these stories as their own separate thing. AUs save the day once more! It might have helped that MCR as people have changed a lot since then, and they feel like a separate entity from their past selves. I also read so many of these that their irl names don't bother me anymore thanks to exposure therapy lmao!

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That concludes my MCR fic list!

Thank you so so much for reading, this took me a few weeks to work on and I'm so happy to finally be free from my shackles! I am still actively reading new mcr fics, probably until I get super sick of them like I did with ffxiv fics a few months prior. For the time being I am going to leave this post as is, and make a part 2 eventually if I have more things to recommend. If you read this whole thing you're a trooper. I'm saved. I'm FREE!!

In conclusion: Thank you to the Danger Days album for starting this all; Frerard is an awesome dynamic for slash fiction; Frikey is so cute and underrated but is growing on AO3 from what I've seen; mildly embarrassed to admit I read mcr smut now; I'm cringe and I'm free; I know I'm having my teenager mcr fan phase at age 28 but I don't care! Anyways, enough yapping. Now I rest, thank you again!

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rowanthestrange · 11 months ago

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The Master And Margarita Jacket

(Matthew Sweet’s Doctor Who version…but with a frisson of Bulgakov’s)

It’s done! With every bit of unphotographical glittery metallic paint that I can’t capture on camera even if my iphone skills weren’t rubbish.

@spoonietimelordy, @rearranging-deck-chairs, @bearinabandana and everyone else who Did The Reading of that one ‘I Am The Master’ novel but I’ve forgotten to tag because i’m so sleep deprived i can’t think any more but hopefully other people will, assemble!

Detailed closeups and explanations (with some spoilers) below:

Starting front top right side (face on). -Margarita herself, biting a mushroom. A more Cockatoo beak than Macaw, with red face instead of white, to make what exactly she is more mysterious. -The Master Who logo here is just gold, any shading didn’t look right when it was so thin.

Front top right pocket. Purple, of course.

-Next section down are these three. The ‘Never Stop Growing’ patch is my second favourite patch of the bunch. So many Master Themes, and plot relevant. -Then the little ‘Best Buds’ with the heart in the middle. I was inordinately proud of that idea. (Buds, budding, bigenerated vibe). -And then ‘Obscene Lotus’. That’s mentioned early in the book, and while it’s just described as a big purplish lotus, there’s so much sexual charging in that scene that, well, you gotta.

Me, reusing the ‘budding’ pun in a different capacity? It’s more likely than you think.

-The cover of the Penguin Clothbound Classic version of the original The Master And Margarita, that took multiple days to complete and so much agony. -The patch is a blank one that I bought, then painted the design to look like one of those stamps people sometimes put in books. Painted the border the same colour, then tea-stained it to look like old paper. Certainly in real life the colour comes out nicely. I couldn’t find his autograph (and sadly there’s an unrelated artist with the same name lol) but he got his doctorate in Wilkie Collins so I just looked up examples of that guy’s writing and tried to give it a bit of that vibe. Hopefully it’s the thought that counts. But hey, if anyone ever meets him and gets me a signature sample I can just redo it.

General mushroom patch - I like the fire kind of vibe and the looming.

To the other side!

So. You’re asking what’s with the daisy theme. Fair. So Margarita is also another name for a daisy in some languages. I choose to lean into that because it’s also the widely known symbol of Three - with that scene where he talks to Jo and recounts how a hermit living on a mountain helped dispel his depression by getting him to focus on the beauty of the flower (“and it was the most daisiest daisy”). Given that Three is essentially a character in the book, this felt like the vibe we’re going for. It’s perennial. It also is a healer of bruises and wounds, how can that not be relevant meta wise too to the Master’s new companion, hm? And okay yes, Mikhail does say he’s not a botanist, but if you can think of another way to get that message across other than botanical illustration page…

I like the patch because lightbulb, idea, full of mushrooms etc.

-‘I Am The Master’ being the name of the book the story is contained in, plus Fun With Identity. -Next the one bit of Real Art that I attempted to copy in glittery acrylics - Magritte’s ‘The Treachery Of Images’ or more commonly known ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’. The story not only of the Master’s experiences recently, but the story’s themes of hallucinations and deceptions; as well as being the symbol of Russian!Brigadier. -This patch is great isn’t it? A play on the Master’s apparent alcoholism or Russian blending in as you prefer, and of course, The Lighthouse of Martin!Doctor fame.

-Mikhail’s guitar for playing Brown Sugar and other ominous inference songs. -The formula triangle of Love, Food, and Music (I couldn’t think of a self-evident way to show his approach to food - Russian dumplings are, well, not exactly distinct). On its side so the glittery pink triangle points in a certain direction because he’s escaped places and I can do ominous inferences too Sweet. -Maybe controversial? There is a failed love story component in here though, that I just couldn’t leave unmarked. The Doctor, K’vo, and Jo all have their parts to play in that.

Now for the arms:

Here’s the right-side looking-on arm. -I repainted this mushroom patch to be the orange and green of K’vo’s. -You’ve already seen the long image of it above, so here’s just a snippet closeup of the motif that goes along both arms. Daisies linked in a chain with the words ‘daisiest daisy’ (if you wonder why everything’s outlined by the way, a) i like the style, and b) it makes glitter infinitely more legible and clearer to see if there’s a dark matt border around it breaking it up, especially with something as variable coloured as denim). There’s the sunflower in the middle because Margarita loves her sunflower seeds.

This is the other arm. Margarita holding a margarita in a margarita. What’s more to add? I used my shittest white (mixed with my fabric medium as everything else has been at every step) rather than @yesokayiknow’s excellent suggestion of Liquitex, which has saved me everywhere else, including those light patches. But here shitty kids basics acrylic is translucent enough to do some excellent work pretending to be glass and ice. The parrot patch has been altered to make the beak entirely black and her face red instead of macaw white, to keep her species ambiguous as literary theme demands.

To the back!

This Master Who logo is bigger, so it has the Master’s purple highlights like bruising.

Here is a small UNIT patch I modified to be a Russian one, globe focused on their continent (roughly). Sweet just translated the word ‘unit’ for Russian!Brigadier’s group, and the text is the re-cyrilliced version of that.

Skipping to the bottom…

Here referencing O’s collection of Doctor Information, Sweet adding to that with having distinct scrapbooks. ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn’ is a line from Bulgakov’s The Master And Margarita (spoken by Satan in fact, mhmm) and became something of a rallying cry for oppressed Russian artists. I have ‘Author Unknown’ for the obvious meta with his and the Doctor’s memories, and likewise, the fact that flames are clearly present and burning lets the viewer come to whatever conclusion they like. #133 was chosen for the simple fact that in my copy of Bulgakov’s novel, and the one depicted on the front of the jacket, it is page 133 which starts the chapter The Hero Enters, where we meet The Master who has renounced all other names (who is very much, as Interference notes, the Doctor). They are glitter paint titles done on Hemline repair patches, black, brown, white, and navy blue. I know anything too painty on that area of the back will risk a lot of wear, and these are easily replaced when necessary (if still hours of lettering).

To the left most side…

This was the most expensive patch I bought, £12. But worth it. The mushroom stalk is silk.

Here I depicted in silhouette the scene of the Master climbing up to the Doctor on the giant mushroom. I chose silhouette so as not to draw the eye too much. I also added some 2ply black-black glitter cotton as part of his climbing equipment, attached on by some silver stitches for the…things I can’t remember the name of. It gives it a bit more 3D effect, but also keeps the thread close enough it shouldn’t pull on anything.

And at its base we have a reference to Mikhail’s chosen middle name. I chose to believe it’s relevant, Sweet’s too deep into this for it not to be. This is a cover I edited to highlight the namesake who actually travelled Russia and collected the tales of this book, and indeed, it does include the story of Koschei The Deathless. I edited the robe to be red instead of its original yellow, and added the quintessential Time Lord collar. But I think it’s perfectly passable. This is iron on transfer paper (dark) onto a very light grey polycotton to turn it into a patch. It…*cough* hasn’t had its edges finished or strictly been attached yet, but that’s a bit of handwork I can do as and when.

So finally back up to the middle

I’ve expanded out @spoonlesss-artbook fantastic angel-winged Margarita’s Master art. The Redbubble bag was only that big as it was (hemmed with bostik fabric glue like a true pro and attached as a panel) so it cut off a little, and it didn’t go the whole way anyway, so now we get some endings of the feathers, some all the way up to the arm of the jacket. I tried to blend it into the fire, one creature of both. And trying to get a multidimensional feel, boundary breaking. And again, very glittery irl so plays very well with the fire theme. It was fun when it came to colour-matching particularly the blue wing at the top, because the glitter gives it a bit of a sheen. I blunted it with a few careful washes of black so it still sparkles but is the right colour in most angles.

The Redbubble edit cuts @spoonietimelordy’s signature, so I copied it from the original and moved it over to the left side in some sparkly silver. Also internet doxxing my real life self on the bottom of the back as my own signature.

Doesn’t look like the sort of thing that would take weeks when you see it all together, but I’m really happy with it. I’m so grateful for everyone who’s shown their brilliant art to me and shared posts about painting all these years, cus it allowed me to absorb stuff and let me come out of the gate swinging! It feels thoroughly addictive. Even if I only know ‘use tiny brush’ for almost everything and glitter metallic is great for hiding sins. (And a ‘Ha!’ in the face of my mother keeping me away from it my whole life because of mess - I never got even a single speck on any clothes that wasn’t this jacket. I could’ve been doing this for years rather than just picking up a brush at the age of thirty-damn-one. But at least I’ve got it now).

And thanks to Matthew Sweet for feeding the worms in my brain too.

#the master and margarita #i am the master #matthew sweet #doctor who #dw fanart #the master #dhawan!master #jacket painting #mine #:)#(and you never ask a gentleman how much his patches cost)

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genericpuff · 1 year ago

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Turns out it's been a while since I've talked about Rachel's medical fetish art so it came as a shock to people when I mentioned it in the last post (I've got quite a few asks about it lmao) So I'm gonna enlighten y'all real quick on what I'm referring to, and yes, it's probably exactly what you're thinking of when you hear the word 'medical fetish'.

CONTENT WARNING: DISCUSSION OF MEDICAL FETISH ART AND DEPICTIONS OF NEEDLES!!!!

So the name "used_bandaid" is one Rachel started using back in the early to mid 2000's. She went by a LOT of different pennames back then, including but probably not limited to:

Pepper_maid

madame_issue

Usedbandaid/used_bandaid

Rach Alex

Rachel Royale

Raquel

Medical Tophat/Medical_Tophat

Frill_house

Gingerbreadcoffin (? this one's kinda weird because the link itself with this username just goes back to her used bandaid MySpace account , so idk if she ever actually used it or if it was even affiliated with her lol)

Now you're probably about to ask, "Puff, how do you know these are all her?" and that's because Rachel still had all of these accounts interlinked through her projects, primarily The Doctor Pepper Show. She seemed to change up usernames often just for the hell of it.

Anyways. I'm not gonna show much of it here because I do think it's better to leave certain things in the past, but there's a LOT of her old work that implies the stuff that's questionable/problematic in LO has always been a part of her identity as an artist (DDLG, hot pink self-insert MC, etc.)

One such example is "madame issue":

This is such a 3-in-1 smoking gun for everything we see in LO. The reference to bandaids (see: used bandaid, which was part of her URL slug for her old flickr where this drawing comes from), the hot pink color palette, and of course, the fact that this character is almost DEFINITELY a self-insert of Rachel, thanks to that shared name.

She's also stated in old commission/print posts that Madame Issue was the one print she wouldn't sell.

She doesn't explicitly say why but I think it's pretty safe to assume it's because Madame Issue is her.

We also have Eva, "the queen of medical fetish". And the tags are... pretty self-explanatory.

That said, that's as much as I'm gonna go into with her old art, because a lot of it does get quite personal with her and I don't really think it accomplishes much more to continue digging up old skeletons, at least not unless they can be seen as parallel to LO (which some of them are and I'll likely be sharing more of those ones in a later post).

That said, there ARE still pages that are accessible without the use of the Wayback Machine that advertise her as a medical fetish artist without the need for extensive digging. If you search up The Doctor Pepper Show on Google, you'll actually find a reddit thread asking what happened to Rachel's old work, and there are comments with loads of resources to access her pre-LO content. You'll also find the listing for The Doctor Pepper Show on The Webcomic List, which literally describes it as a medical fetish comic: "This is a comic set in a world where evil doctors rule, girls wear frilly underpants and people use their manners. *May I please blow your f**king head off?* This comic features Gothic dandys, EGL (Gothic lolitas) and medical fetish fashion. (Neo victorian setting)"

I'll let y'all do your own digging from here, there's a LOT to unpack honestly and while I can't keep you from doing your own research, practice due diligence with what you choose to share. Again, I don't think it's a crime in and of itself for Rachel to want to distance herself from her past as a medical fetish artist, so I think it's only really relevant to show the things that are clearly still influencing LO (like her love for the movie Lolita or the very clear sexualization of youthfulness). While we can try to leave the past where it is, she does still write LO with a lot of the most problematic features of her former identity, and it makes it all the more bizarre that if she is trying to distance herself from it all, then why would she stick with one of the pennames that's the most easily tied back to medical fetishism?

TL ; DR: Rachel started off online with medical fetish and gothic lolita art (at least as far back as we can trace it) and elements of that past are still present in LO today. Use that info responsibly lol

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #antiloreolympus #anti lore olympus #ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything

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vilevenom · 8 days ago

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I wrote a part two to "Made to Worship at Your Bed" that no one asked for, lol. Also, I got tired of working on it, so idk if it's as good as the first one. But, I tried! Like before, this fic is EXPLICIT. I ain't your mama, but make good choices.

With My Mind He Runs

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog (no specific media)

Pairing: Sonic/Shadow

Summary: Sonic was used to Shadow being in a foul mood, but perhaps...perhaps he had a way he could fix that.

WARNINGS: Explicit sexual acts. Characters are depicted as ADULTS

P.S - If you want a full list of tags, I'll be posting this on AO3 shortly

Sonic sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as Shadow stormed into the kitchen.

Date night had become a more regular occurance after their first proper one, with Sonic making an effort to clear his calendar at least once a month, and Shadow purposefully booking days off from GUN. Of course, it wasn't always a guaranteed thing, with Eggmans attacks being unpredictable, and GUN sending Shadow off on missions here and there, more often than not without warning. However, the two made a concentrated effort to spend more time alone together.

Tonight was supposed to be one of those nights, with Tails having a sleepover at Charmy's, so the hedgehogs could have the house to themselves. Sonic had even made a point to get ingredients for home made pizza, since Shadow had complained only the week before about how all the hero seemed to eat were premade foods from the convenience store and chili dogs. He wanted to show Shadow that he could cook, he just never felt the urge to. Unfortunately, it would seem that whatever GUN mission the hybrid was coming off of had put him in a foul mood, which would likely sour his demeanor for the rest of the evening. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, and most likely wouldn't be the last. But, by this point, Sonic liked to think he was relatively well versed in how to deal with Shadow when he was in a mood. He'd adopted a rather simple tactic for it, really.

Just let him rant.

"…And then he had the audacity to tell me that I was wrong!" Shadow snarled, setting the table more aggressively than was strictly necessary. Sonic was fairly confident that the plate Shadow had just set down was cracked from how hard he'd slammed it onto the table, but he wasn't about to make a comment when the hybrid was so riled up.

"Mmm, that sucks, Shads," Sonic hummed, absently twirling the pizza cutter between his fingers, before slicing into the steaming hot pie.

"And that wasn't-!" Shadow started, his quills bristled in anger, before he visibly deflated, catching Sonic's eye as he slipped on oven mitts to bring the pizza to the table. "It wasn't even the worst part of my day," he finished, much quieter than before.

"…Shadow?" Sonic approached slowly, setting the pizza on the table softly before turning to the darker hedgehog with a look of concern.

"I…This is going to sound so petty," Shadow groused, rubbing his hands over his face, "But, Commander Tower, he…When I got back from my mission, after the debrief, he wanted to speak with me. It was nothing important, or even really relevant to GUN. He just wanted to talk. I guess he's trying to make reparations for how awful he was as a child." He snorted quietly, moving around the table to sit as he scooped up a piece of pizza and set it on his plate. "It was awkward and stilted, but I thought it was going relatively fine. That was, until he started talking about being on the ARK…He brought up Maria. I made an excuse to leave."

"There's nothing wrong with avoiding conversations you don't want to have," Sonic reassured with a shrug, snagging his own slice of pizza and sitting down.

"I know that. But…The way he spoke, it made me feel like I should have moved past it by now," Shadow growled, glaring down at his pizza as if it had offended him, "It's like he forgets that while he's had 50 years to work through what happened, I've only had a couple. And it's not like I can even really get mad at him, because I think he's genuinely trying to be better. It's…frustrating." With that Shadow took a vicious bite of his pizza, glaring at the plate while he chewed, only to perk up a moment later. "This is very good. Did you actually make this, or did Tails and you're just taking the credit?"

"Nice avoidance tactic there, Shads," Sonic snorted, arching a brow at the hybrid, who looked a bit sheepish at being caught out. "I did make it, thanks. Glad you're enjoying it. I do happen to have some culinary skills. Had to feed Tails and I somehow, y'know. Now, as for Tower…have you tried talking to him?"

The dark hedgehog snorted loudly, taking another vicious bite of his pizza. "Ah, yes," he spoke around his mouthful of food, "Let me just have a heart to heart with the man who, the last time I can recall seeing him as a child, called me a freak and ran off yelling about how I needed to stay away from him." He finished chewing and swallowed his bite. "The man who is now my boss, and runs the military. Yes, let me just make some tea and have a little chat with him about how I still get nightmares about the ARK raid, and have panic attacks over it. That sounds like a fantastic time," he bluntly stated, offering Sonic nothing but a deadpan stare.

"Hey! It was just a suggestion. You don't need to get all snappy about it," the hero scoffed, leaning back in his seat to rock on two legs as he ate his own slice.

Shadow opened his mouth as if to speak again, scowl on his face, before obviously thinking better of it and slumping down in his seat with a sigh. "I'm sorry," he muttered, setting his half eaten pizza back on his plate, "I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you. It's supposed to be date night, and I'm ruining it."

Sonic let out a breath, tossing the last bit of his own slice into his mouth, letting the front legs of his chair hit the kitchen floor with a resounding thump. "It's okay, Shads," he hummed, offering the other a lopsided smile, "You needed to vent. It's not my favorite activity, but I get it."

"I shouldn't be venting on date night," Shadow grumbled, shaking his head slightly while offering Sonic an apologetic look. "I am sorry. I shouldn't come straight here after work when I'm frustrated. I need to find a way to cool off, so I don't do this again." He let out a slow breath, "I wish I could get out of my own head, sometimes…"

At that, Sonic's ears perked forward, a little gift he'd had stashed in his room for a few weeks now jumping to the forefront of his mind. "Well," he hummed, sucking on his teeth for a moment, before shooting Shadow a sly little smirk, "I may have an idea about that? A way for you to maybe get out of your own head, and make it up to me?"

Canting his head in curiosity, Shadow arched a brow. "Oh?"

"Mhmm," Sonic bounced up from his chair, offering Shadow a hand, "You interested?"

"Intrigued, at the very least," the hybrid hummed, taking Sonic's hand and allowing the hero to pull him from his seat and lead the way upstairs to his bedroom.

Upon entering his room, Sonic shut the door and leaned on it for a moment, taking a deep breath, before crossing the room to his bedside table and digging into one of the drawers, all while trying to ignore the curious set of red eyes watching his every move. Once he found what he was looking for he stood with his back to Shadow, suddenly very much doubting if this was really an appropriate time to give it to the hybrid as a sudden case of nerves froze him to the spot.

"Sonic?"

"Right! Yeah," Sonic coughed, hiding his gift between his hands as he turned to Shadow with a nervous grin. "Okay, first just let me say, you are totally allowed to punch me through the wall if you think this is inappropriate, or if you think it's weird," he rambled a bit, before spreading his hands, allowing a thick red ribbon to dangle from his fingers, a shiny gold pet tag hanging from the center. He watched Shadow's gaze snap to the tag, anxious nerves making him fidget where he stood. The two of them had experimented with different sexual acts a few times since that first fateful date night, when Shadow had unintentionally dropped into subspace, but it hadn't really happened again since, and they hadn't really spoken about it, either.

"Is that…?"

"It…it's a collar and tag," Sonic admitted, staring down at the ribbon instead of continuing to watch Shadow's reaction, mouth running away on him, "I know we haven't really talked about that night, but…I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, if I'm being honest. I read that usually submissives buy their own first collar, and it's this whole thing if a dominant buys a collar or whatever, so this isn't exactly, y'know, by the book, or proper etiquette or whatever…Which is why I just got a ribbon! Because, well, I thought that if this was something you really liked or wanted, we could look for a proper one together. The tag doesn't have anything on it, either, since I didn't know if you were really serious before, about being called a 'pet'. So, uhm-" He gasped as suddenly Shadow was inches from his face, bright red eyes boring into his own.

"Yes."

"Wh-huh?" Sonic grunted as Shadow pressed a rough kiss to his lips, before turning his back to the blue hero, his tail wagging faster than Sonic was confident he'd ever seen it go before. "D'you want me to…?"

"Yes," Shadow shot him a look over his shoulder, relaxing his quills so Sonic could get closer without fear of stabbing himself while maneuvering the ribbon.

"Oh," Sonic breathed, truly not having expected to get this far. He quickly shook himself from his stupor to carefully untangled the ribbon from his fingers, reaching around Shadow to wrap it neatly around the hybrid's neck. He was careful not to tie it too tight, but tight enough that the little gold tag nestled into the top of Shadow's white chest fluff. Once satisfied he stepped back, chewing on his lip as he watched Shadow's reaction to the simple, light collar.

Hesitantly, the hybrid lifted his hand to touch the tag, gazing off into the middle distance as he traced his fingers over the simple circular shape. After a moment, his attention flicked to Sonic, eyes focused once more, though his gaze was softer than before. "How does it look?"

"So pretty," Sonic couldn't help but coo, a dopey little smile on his face, "It suits you." He didn't miss the pleased smile Shadow tried to hide by turning towards the mirror on the back of the closet door, nor the way the hybrid's muzzle flushed pink. Slowly, he walked up behind Shadow, who was tilting his head this way and that in the mirror to see how the collar looked at all angles, gently placing his hands on the black hedgehog's shoulders. "Do you like it?"

It took a moment, but finally Shadow offered Sonic a tentative little smile, resting his hands over the hero's with a short nod. "I do."

"I'm glad," Sonic hummed, pressing a kiss to the side of Shadow's muzzle. "I sort of agonized over giving it to you for a little while now."

"I couldn't imagine why."

"Oh, no? Mister shoot first, ask questions later? Couldn't imagine why I, a hedgehog that has seen the bottom side of your air shoes more times than I'd like to admit, would have trouble getting up the courage to offer you a collar? Really?"

"Point taken," Shadow said with a quiet chuckle, letting his hands drop to his sides. He watched himself in the mirror for another beat or two, before turning in Sonic's hold, dislodging his hands. "What now?"

"Now we discuss a few rules, and then I had an idea for a nice little test run."

"I assume you're referring to 'do's and don'ts', as well as a safe word?"

"Pretty much," Sonic shrugged, "I figured we could work with the stop light system for now, instead of a safe word? Since we're just starting out, and I wanna keep tabs on how you feel about things."

"Green for good, yellow for slow down, and red for stop?" Shadow rattled off quickly, surprising Sonic for a moment, before he recalled the black hedgehog mentioning that he had done a lot of reading before their first time about being a submissive.

"Yup! That's right. And then hard rules; do's and don'ts. Personally, I'm down for pretty much anything, though I draw a hard line at bathroom stuff. You?"

"Ah," Shadow faltered, looking a bit flustered as he absently fiddled with the tag on his collar, "I'm not sure?"

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, rolling his eyes at himself. "Right, duh. Kinks aren't exactly something you've got a lot of experience with. Uhm…how about we stick with no pain for now, yeah? No hitting, scratching, slapping, etcetera. Judging from the last couple of times we've had sex, you respond better to praise anyway, so I'll stick with that. Does that sound good?"

"Yes?"

"That sounded more like a question, Shads," Sonic scolded lightly, reaching out to take the hybrid's hands, "If we're gonna do this, you've gotta be sure. I don't want to hurt you."

"Right. You're right," Shadow murmured, giving Sonic's hands a gentle squeeze, "Those terms sound agreeable to me."

Sonic snorted a quiet laugh, grinning and bouncing on his toes a bit as he leaned in to press a kiss to Shadow's lips, his tail whipping back and forth behind him. "Perfect," he sighed into the hybrid's mouth. "One last quick thing…you can call me whatever you want, but I'm gonna either call you by your name, or pet. Maybe babe or baby, we'll see. That sound okay?"

"That's fine…Can I call you 'sir'?"

"Fuck, Shads," Sonic groaned, a visible shiver going up his spine, "Yeah, you can definitely call me that. Now…go take off your clothes for me, and get on your knees next to the bed."

Shadow watched Sonic for a moment, obviously having a brief internal debate, before he licked his lips and began to move with a quiet, "Yes, sir."

Sonic watched as Shadow slipped his shoes and socks off near the bedroom door, before taking his gloves off and setting them on the hero's desk. He then shot Sonic one last questioning glance, before gingerly settling himself on his knees with an encouraging nod from the blue hedgehog. "Already such a good boy," Sonic praised, kicking off his own shoes and socks, while tossing his gloves aside with far less delicacy than Shadow had exercised with his own clothes. He then trotted over to the bed and sat down on the edge, nudging the hybrid's knee with his toes to get Shadow to turn towards the bed. "There we go. Perfect," Sonic hummed, lazy grin on his face, "Now…I want you to put your hands on your thighs, and don't move them. No touching yourself, got it? You're just gonna watch for now."

"Yes, sir."

"Nnn, yeah, I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that," Sonic sighed happily, absently dragging a hand through his chest fur. He bit his lip as he locked eyes with Shadow, quirking a brown as he slid his hand down to draw two fingers over his pouch, rubbing gently just along the outside of the slit. He let out a low chuckle as Shadow visibly swallowed, his attention laser focused on Sonic. "Look at you," the hero sighed, licking his lips as he teased himself, encouraging the head of his cock to slip out of his pouch by gingerly dipping the tip of his finger into his slit, "Sitting so nice and pretty. Mnf…Do you like watching me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow murmured, his voice slightly strained as he clenched his fists against his thighs, his own pouch becoming visibly swollen.

"Good," Sonic purred, dragging his free hand over his chest and up into his quills while spreading his legs wider to give Shadow a better view. "Would you like to touch me, pet? Hmm?"

"Please, sir."

Sonic let out a pleased hum, tossing his head back as his cock slid free of his pouch. He stroked at it languidly, teasing only the tips of his fingers along the length of it and relishing in the low whine he could hear Shadow trying to repress. He tipped his head forward to watch Shadow as he swirled his thumb over the head of his dick, smirking at the way the hybrid had sucked his lower lip into his mouth to bite at it, either to suppress his little sounds or to help ground him, Sonic couldn't say. Either way, he quite liked the look of eager anticipation in Shadow's eyes. He teased at himself for a moment more, before finally shoving himself up from the bed and taking a short step forward so his cock bobbed just in front of Shadow's face, the hybrid nearly going cross eyed as he stared it down, the previous anticipation on his face morphing into mild surprise.

"Open your mouth for me."

Shadow's gaze flicked up to Sonic's face, trepidation blatant. Oral was something that Sonic enjoyed performing, but Shadow had yet to return the favor. Sonic wasn't sure if it was because the hybrid was nervous about his fangs, or if Shadow just didn't think he'd like the taste, but the hero hadn't been able to get the idea out of his head for months.

"It's okay, Shads," Sonic soothed, reaching down to gently stroke Shadow's ears, "If you feel overwhelmed, or want to stop for any reason, just grab my leg and squeeze, okay? Otherwise, keep your hands on your thighs."

Swallowing thickly, Shadow gave a short nod, while slowly opening his mouth for Sonic.

"Good boy," Sonic drawled, caressing Shadow's ears, "Open wide, and stick out your tongue a little bit. That's it." The hero waited patiently as Shadow followed his instructions, before easing the head of his cock into the hybrid's mouth. "Mmm, yeah. See? not so bad, right?" He scratched gently just behind Shadow's ears as he shallowly rocked his hips, a low purr rumbling in his chest at the quiet little slurping sounds Shadow was making. "Your mouth was just made to be used like this, wasn't it, pet?" he began to ramble a bit, grinning to himself at the calm, serene expression beginning to settle itself on Shadow's face as he fell into the steady rhythm of Sonic's cock sliding in and out of his mouth. "That's right, baby. Just focus on the feeling of my dick against your tongue. Doesn't it feel good? Letting me slowly fuck all those pesky little thoughts out of your pretty head."

Without warning Shadow began to purr, surprising Sonic, resulting in a startled yelp and a swift jerk of his hips, which unintentionally shoved his cock into Shadow's mouth deeper then he'd meant to. He began to apologize and pull out, only to pause at the low whine the hybrid let loose as the tip of Sonic's dick slid past his lips. "Oh? Did my pet like that?" he asked as Shadow began to lick at the head of his cock, earning a shudder and a low chuckle from the hero. "Okay, okay," he sighed, sliding his length back into Shadow's mouth, petting at dark ears with a satisfied moan as Shadow's purrs began to kick up again, "You can have your toy back, don't worry. I'll make sure your head stays nice and empty, yeah? Mmm, such a good boy. You really like how I feel in your mouth, don't you? The perfect little pet, aren't you?"

Sonic smirked as Shadow's eyelids fluttered, a happy little moan leaving the dark hedgehog at the praise.

"Yeah, such a sweet boy I have," Sonic sighed, sliding his hands from Shadow's ears into his quills, an idea rapidly forming in his head. "Though, I wonder," he hummed, pressing himself further into Shadow's mouth, watching the hybrid's expression intently, "Just how far down my pretty pet's throat can I go?" He held fast to Shadow's head, chewing at the inside of his cheek as bright red eyes popped open, an alarmed little sound leaving him as his purrs stuttered out, though his hands remained firmly on his thighs. "It's okay, Shads," Sonic murmured, pressing in a bit deeper, biting back a groan as he felt the tip of his dick press into Shadow's throat, "I've got you. You can take it, I know you can. You're such a good boy. My perfect pet can take my cock all the way down his throat, can't he?"

Shadow grunted as Sonic pushed deeper, tears springing to the his eyes as he squeezed them shut, his hands jumping momentarily from his legs, only to clamp back down, his claws digging in slightly.

"That's it, Shads. Breath through your nose and relax. Almost there," Sonic murmured, shifting one foot forward to give himself better leverage as he continued to gingerly push forward, biting at his lip as he watched his length disappear into Shadow's mouth. "Fuck. You're so pretty, Shadow. Love watching you swallow down my cock like you were made for it," he muttered, "And you were made for it, weren't you? Your throat was made to be fucked like this. Such a good, good boy." He let out a low groan as he finally bottomed out, Shadow's nose pressed into his pelvis, his throat fluttering around the length shoved down it as he struggled to breath through his nose. "Chaos, Shadow," Sonic breathed, scratching his claws lightly through black and red quills until his fingers met the hybrid's sensitive ears once again, his thumbs absently petting over them. "You feel amazing, pet. If I weren't sure you would choke," he sighed as he began to pull his hips back at an excruciatingly slow pace, "I'd fuck your throat nice and deep. When we get you all trained up, would you like that? Hmm? Would you like me to cum down your throat after fucking it raw?"

Shadow gasped as Sonic finished pulling his length free of his throat, panting quietly as a few stray tears ran down his muzzle and drool mated the fur on his chin. He coughed quietly as Sonic knelt in front of him, clearing his throat as the hero gently cupped his face. "Yes, please. Sir," he finally muttered, his voice sounding wrecked and deeper than usual.

Sonic let a feral little grin settle on his face, pulling the hybrid in for a rough kiss, pressing his tongue into Shadow's mouth to taste himself there briefly. "You're amazing, Shadow," he moaned as he pulled back, wiping drool from Shadow's chin, "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but Chaos, I hope I keep doing it." With that he stood back up, smirking as the black hedgehog eagerly opened his mouth once again, his tail wagging eagerly as he closed his eyes in anticipation. "Oh, baby," Sonic chuckled, taking his length in hand to gently rub the head of his cock against Shadow's tongue and relishing in the whine he got in response as he pulled away, "As much as I would absolutely love to continue fucking that gorgeous mouth of yours, I have other plans for you."

Shadow blinked his eyes open, his mouth closing with a quiet click of his teeth as he tilted his head at Sonic. He whimpered as Sonic slid a foot between his legs and nudged gently at the underside of his erection, which had slid free of his pouch while Sonic had been using his mouth like his own personal flesh light.

"You're being such a good boy, and I've been wanting to feel this inside me for quite some time," Sonic hummed, sliding his foot back and striding across the room to his desk. He rummaged around for a moment, pulling a bottle of lube from the mess after a beat. "You keep sitting there and watch me, okay? I'm just gonna get myself ready for you," he purred, striding over to Shadow to gently caress his muzzle, "I won't be able to keep an eye on you, but you'll keep being a good boy and keep your hands to yourself, won't you? You won't touch yourself while I'm not looking, right?"

"No, sir."

"Good boy," Sonic leaned down for another sloppy kiss, letting his tongue rove over every inch of Shadow's mouth, before breaking away with a lick of his lips. "Stay." He then turned to trot over to the bed and bend over it, stretching his arms out like a cat against the bed spread as he arched his ass into the air, letting out a chirrupy little moan as he rutted against the side of the bed briefly. He shifted enough to glance behind himself at Shadow to see the hybrid's reaction, entirely pleased with himself at the way shining red eyes were glued to his backside, and thick beads of precum were already beginning to drip down the side of Shadow's cock, while his hands remained steadfastly on his thighs. Sonic let loud purrs erupt from his chest as he drew one leg up to rest his knee on the side of the bed, while pouring a copious amount of lube over his fingers, before reaching back and shoving one into himself without preamble. He was pleasantly surprised as his own moan was echoed by Shadow, causing him to hide a smirk in the blanket as he began to work himself open.

Sonic didn't take nearly as much time with himself as he had with Shadow previously, thrusting each finger in and out of himself once or twice before adding another. Upon thrusting three fingers into himself a few times he drew his fingers free and sat up, glancing over his shoulder to find Shadow shallowly panting on the floor, his claws digging into his thighs hard enough to nearly pierce skin, and his cock an angry, neglected red. "Awww," he cooed, leaning back down to wiggle his ass at Shadow teasingly, "Is my perfect little pet just aching to shove his big fat cock into me? Hmmm? Do you want to fuck me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir. Please," Shadow managed to choke out, while Sonic watched a generous pearl of precum ooze from the tip of the hybrid's cock and dribble down the side.

"Well, then," Sonic hummed, sitting up and patting the bed eagerly, "I shouldn't keep my pet waiting anymore, should I? Come lay down."

It took a moment for Shadow to push himself up from the floor, gingerly shaking his legs out after kneeling for so long, before he hurried over and onto the bed, laying down as the hero had instructed. He got himself settled amongst the pillows, his eyes bright with anticipation as his dick continued to slowly wept precum onto his belly.

"Such an eager boy," Sonic teased, situating himself between Shadow's knees once the hybrid was still, "Now. You keep your hands on the bed, okay? No touching." He chuckled quietly at Shadow's petulant low growl. "Now, now," the hero chided gently, reaching up to press Shadow's hands down into the blanket, "You're going to feel so good, baby, I promise. But I want to play with you for a little bit, okay? Promise you'll be a good boy and keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow growled out after a moment, obviously not pleased with his instructions, but following them regardless as he dug his claws into the blanket, his hips jerking up slightly as his cock twitched against his stomach.

"Perfect," Sonic purred, drawing a lazy finger up Shadow's length with a smirk, gathering a thick glob of precum, "Look at you. Haven't even touched you properly yet and you're drooling all over yourself." He paused as he shoved his finger into his mouth, watching as Shadow's face screwed up, a low whine leaving him at the gentle tease. Sonic pulled his finger free and chewed his lip for a moment, before leaning up and over Shadow. "You good? What color light?"

Shadow groaned quietly, licking his lips quickly as he rutted himself against Sonic's stomach, "Green."

"Ohh, naughty," Sonic chuckled, letting the moment of churlishness slide as he settled back again. "Alright. Let's get you ready for me then, shall we?" he hummed, pouring lube into his hand and wrapping it around Shadow's shaft, giving the base a light squeeze.

"SONIC!" Shadow shouted gruffly at the touch, his claws digging into the blankets as he turned his head to press his face into the pillow.

"Ohhhh, poor baby. Sorry. I won't tease," Sonic cooed, loosening his hold and stroking up to coat Shadow's shaft, "Don't worry. We'll have that all sorted out here in just a second." Once he felt that Shadow's girth was well coated he repositioned himself, straddling the hybrid's hips, the head of his cock just barely kissing the hero's entrance. "You ready?"

"Please," Shadow gasped out, peering up at Sonic from his spot half hidden in the pillow, "sir."

"Such a polite boy," Sonic purred, letting gravity pull him down onto Shadow's sizable cock. He grinned at the broken little noises the hybrid let pour from his mouth as Sonic sunk down at a leisurely pace, his own litany of whimpers and groans joining the cacophony. "Fuck, Shadow," he gasped once he was fully seated, his fingers trailing absently over his stomach where he could swear he could feel the bulge of other inside him, "You're so big. Fill me up so good, don't you?"

Shadow didn't answer, but the holes being torn into his blanket told Sonic all he really needed to know.

He ground his hips in little circles, enjoying the feeling of being full, before he leaned backwards and tapped at Shadow's legs. "Bend your knees for me, pet," he instructed, humming happily as Shadow did as he was told, though the hybrid was obviously having a touch of trouble controlling himself, if the way his face was still screwed up was anything to go by. "What color, Shads?" Sonic gasped out, using Shadow's bent knees as leverage, the hybrid's length slipping free of him as he hoisted himself up.

"Green! Oh, Chaos, green, green, green," the black hedgehog chanted, his toes curling into the blankets now, adding even more little holes with his claws.

"Good boy," Sonic sighed, letting himself drop back down heavily with a gasp, his ears perked forward as he listened intently to Shadows quiet curses and grunts of pleasure. "Fuck, you're so big, Shads," he whined as he pulled himself back up again, hovering as high as he could hold himself, so only the tip of Shadow's length was still inside, "Can you believe you even fit?" He chuckled, before letting a loud moan rip from his throat as he dropped himself heavily back down, his own cock drooling precum into the puddle already on Shadow's stomach. Slowly, he began to increase his pace as he got used to Shadow's girth, tossing his head back as he bounced on the hybrids' cock, biting his lip at the filthy, wet sounds of his partners dick sliding in and out.

"Fuck!" Sonic gasped out as Shadow's control finally slipped, as the hybrid's hips snapped up as blue hips dropped down. "Chaos, Shadow," he whimpered, leaning forward to rest his hands against Shadow's chest, panting into the black hedgehog's face for a moment as he gathered himself, "That wasn't very nice, was it, pet?"

"Sorry. Sir," Shadow growled out, twisting the blankets in his hands against the bed.

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, watching Shadow writhe beneath him for a beat. "…Color?"

"Mnn," Shadow grunted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, before letting out a breath and looking up at Sonic pleadingly, "Yellow."

"Okay," the hero cooed, stroking his fingers through Shadow's chest fluff, "That's okay. What part do you need me to slow down with?"

"Let me touch you," Shadow begged, "Please. I don't…it's not enough."

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Sonic soothed, leaning in so he could peck a few featherlight kisses to Shadow's muzzle, "Of course. You can touch me all you'd like, baby. You were being so good." He gasped as Shadow's hands immediately flew to his thighs, claws lightly digging into skin through his fur. "Careful, pet. Watch your claws."

"Sorry, sir" Shadow murmured, visibly relaxing as he caressed Sonic's thighs in apology.

"It's alright," the hero hummed, sitting back up, a shiver running through him as Shadow's length slipped fully back into him. "Mmm…Can I continue? Color?"

"Yes, sir" the hybrid moaned, arching his hips a bit to push himself deeper into Sonic, "Green."

"Ah! Fuck," Sonic jerked at the push, little sparks of pleasure dancing up his spine. "Nnn…Shit. K-keep doing that," he groaned, starting up his previous rhythm of bouncing on the hybrid's cock. He let his hands settle over dark, grasping fingers as Shadow began to meet his movements partway, driving the hybrid's dick faster and deeper into the hero. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sonic chanted, panting as his legs began to shake, "I-I can't…" He lifted himself and drew away as Shadow tried to push up into him, rolling off the hybrid with the least amount of grace he was certain he'd ever had, flopping onto his back next to the other.

"…Sir?"

"Yellow."

Shadow sat up in alarm, hands hovering in the air, obviously unsure if he was welcome to touch. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Haaa, no," Sonic chuckled, tilting his head to offer Shadow a reassuring little smile, "You're doing great, actually. Little bit too great, though, I think, 'cause my legs are starting to feel like jello." With that he pushed himself up and rolled over, dragging a pillow to his face as he shoved his ass into the air and spread his knees, his tail swaying invitingly over his slick entrance. "I'm gonna need you to do the rest of the work, pet."

"You want me to…?"

"Fuck me, Shadow," Sonic hummed, shit eating grin half hidden by the pillow, "Fill me up like I know you want to, pet."

With a low growl, Shadow quickly scrambled onto his knees, not needing to be told twice as he positioning himself behind Sonic. "Yes, sir," he purred, sliding his cock easily into Sonic's well stretched hole.

"Fuck! Shadow," Sonic moaned, burying his face into the pillow as the hybrid wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the blue hedgehog's chest and starting a near brutal pace, pumping himself into Sonic over and over again without hesitation. Sonic tilted his head to tell the hybrid to slow down, when suddenly he saw stars, a choked wail leaving him instead as the hybrid slammed into his prostate, Shadow's deep purr rumbling against his back as he wantonly shoved himself backwards into the other's thrusts. "Ah! Hah, yesss, yes! Just like that. You feel so good," he babbled into the pillow, drooling as Shadow hammered into him.

Sonic wasn't expecting Shadow to change his position, so when, without warning, the hybrid pushed his hips down into the bed and and pinned his hips by straddled him, he choked on a gasp. Shadow ground his dick into him, his brutal pace turning into short, sharp thrusts, forcing Sonic to rut against the sheets. He whined as he tried to push himself back up, but Shadow sunk his teeth into Sonic's shoulder and held him fast, ignoring the hero's squirming as he chased his pleasure by brazenly driving himself into the hero's body.

"Shadow! Shadow, please," Sonic panted, reaching back to grab at Shadow's quills, only to choke on another breath as the hybrid clenched his jaw, forcing the tips of his fangs into Sonic's shoulder, drawing blood. "F-fuck! Ah!" He shuddered as Shadow bucked into him a few more times, whimpering loudly when the hybrid finally stilled, the thick length inside him pulsing as warmth poured into him. He whined long and low as his own neglected length remained trapped between his stomach and the blankets, twitching weakly as his stomach bloated with Shadow's spend.

They lay like that for a minute or two, until Shadow's cock finally finished throbbing inside Sonic, all while the hybrid licked apologetically at the bloodied bite mark.

"Yeah, you better be sorry," Sonic grumbled quietly as Shadow nuzzled at the side of his face, "You've got some making up to do." He shuddered and mewled as Shadow's cock gingerly eased out of him, a low whine escaping his lips as he could feel the hybrid's cum begin leaking from his abused hole. "You came a lot, huh?" he chuckled into his pillow, squirming slightly as Shadow pressed back up against him, his hot breath against Sonic's ear causing them to twitch.

"May I clean you up, sir?"

"Well," Sonic sighed, "Dirty boys should clean up their messes, shouldn't they?" At that, Shadow's weight lifted away from him, with the hero fully expecting the hybrid to leave to go fetch a cloth, as Sonic had done before. He hoped that the other would take a moment to find the clothes in Sonic's messy bathroom, so he'd at least have time to finish himself off. Instead, Sonic jumped as Shadow's hands began to knead at his ass, spreading him open once again. "Shad-OH!?" He yelped as a bold, hot tongue pressed against his ass, lapping eagerly against his entrance.

"Color?" Shadow's voice was slightly muffled against Sonic's ass cheek, his fangs gently grazing the skin there.

"Ahhh….green," Sonic managed to gasp out, his claws digging into his pillow as he arched his back into Shadow's face. He was definitely going to need new bedding after this, he thought briefly, before the hybrid's tongue was suddenly delving into him, a surprised shout ripping from his throat as the appendage wriggled inside him. He nearly wept as he buried his face into his now torn up pillow, while Shadow thoroughly 'cleaned him up', all while his still hard cock was pinned against bed in such a way that he couldn't cum, no matter how much he desperately wanted to.

Finally, after what felt like a gloriously torturous eternity, Shadow's tongue slipped free of Sonic's ass, the hero letting out an overwhelmed sob as the hybrid sat back. "Chaos," he groaned, tears running down his face, his limbs shaking as he shifted to reach a hand down to try and relieve himself. However, that didn't seem to be the plan, as Shadow's hands were back on his hips without warning, and the hero found himself flipped onto his back, a surprised yip leaving him as he rapidly tried to regain his bearings.

"Color?"

"Huh? Oh," Sonic blinked owlishly, his sluggish, overstimulated brain taking a moment to catch up to the question, "Green."

The low growl that Shadow let out at Sonic's answer made the hero shudder, before another loud, startled shout left him as Shadow grabbed at his hips once more and the hybrid's mouth was on him. He whimpered as Shadow pressed kisses against his hip bones, his fingers tangling in red and black quills, tugging lightly, his neglected cock oozing a steady stream of precum onto his stomach. "Please, Shadow," he openly begged, sucking in a shuddering breath, "Please. Let me cum, pet."

Shadow glanced up at him at that, his eyes sharp and almost predatory as a slow grin split his lips. Then, any thought that may have been in Sonic's head flew right out as Shadow took his dick into his mouth and sucked him down. Not all the way to the back of his throat, like Sonic had been before, but as far down as he could comfortably go. And the warm, wet heat was more than enough to finally shove Sonic over the edge, the hero coming with a scream loud enough to rattle the walls while he pulled harshly at Shadow's quills.

When Sonic's hips stopped twitching and he managed to blink back into reality, he found Shadow hovering over him with a mildly concerned look on his face, his hands absently rubbing at Sonic's thighs.

"Hey," Sonic rumbled, his throat sore and raw from his screams, "I'm okay, Shads. You did really good, pet, I promise. Just…I feel a bit floaty. Give me a sec?"

Shadow hummed quietly, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Sonic's lips before vanishing from the bed momentarily, returning with a glass of water.

"Aww, thank you," Sonic murmured, grunting quietly as Shadow manhandled him into a sitting position, before accepting the glass into shaky hands and taking a long, slow sip. He cleared his throat once he felt it was sufficiently moistened after his yelling, offering Shadow a reassuring smile, since the hybrid was still hovering worriedly next to him. "You did amazing, pet. A very good boy. I don't think I've ever cum that hard in my life." He chuckled as Shadow's tail began to wag, the hybrid moving to tuck himself into Sonic's side and curling against him, his nose pressed into the bite he'd given the other earlier. "Mmmm, such a good boy," Sonic sighed, petting at the quills he'd pulled on as he sipped at his water.

It took a while for Sonic to finally feel his legs enough that he felt like he could stand without falling over, but when he finally did he gently tugged on the bow he'd tied Shadow's collar with, the weight of the little golden tag causing the ribbon to fall onto the bed between the two hedgehogs.

"…Sonic?"

"Didn't figure you'd want to wear it in the tub," the hero hummed, sitting up slightly and dislodging Shadow from his shoulder, "I really need a bath after all that. Pretty sure you do, too."

"I'll go run it," Shadow murmured, slipping from the bed. He paused at the side briefly, a contemplative look on his face, before he reached out and gather the dainty ribbon collar into his hands, chewing absently on his lip.

"…Did you not like it?"

Shadow snorted, shaking his head as he trotted over to Sonic's desk and reverently laid the ribbon down on it, making sure it was flat and neatly displayed, and the tag was clean. "I think I liked it too much."

"No such thing," Sonic teased with a smirk, leaning over to set his now empty glass on his bedside stand. "Did it work?"

"Did what work?"

"Did having the collar on let you get out of your own head?"

The hybrid blinked, staring off into space for a beat, before a fond, warm little smile settled on his face as he turned to Sonic. "It did."

"Then that's all that matters," Sonic shrugged, shoving himself to the edge of the bed. He yelped as he overcompensated and toppled off the side, landing in a rather ungraceful heap. He whined petulantly as Shadow simply chuckled at him, rolling over to shoot the hybrid a glare. "Rude."

"Perhaps, next time, you could simply ask for help," Shadow snorted, leaning down to scoop Sonic into his arms, swiftly turning to the door once the hero was settled in his hold.

"Perhaps next time," Sonic scoffed in a mocking tone, tightly wrapping his arms around Shadow's neck so he couldn't be dropped.

"Brat."

"But I'm your brat."

"How unfortunate."

"Hey!"

Later, as the two sat in a warm bath, bubbles overflowing onto the floor, much to Shadow's chagrin, Sonic perked up, turning to Shadow with a curious look.

"What?" Shadow sighed, already sounding put upon.

"I haven't even asked anything yet."

"No, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be particularly fond of whatever you're going to ask me."

"Presumptuous," Sonic snorted, flicking bubbles at the other, "I was just curious…what gave you the idea to stick your tongue in my ass, when, like, twenty minutes earlier you were nervous to have my dick in your mouth?"

"Ah," Shadow sighed, sinking into the water up to his shoulders, "I'm not sure, really. It just felt…right. In the moment."

Sonic chuckled, draping himself over Shadow's shoulders and settling himself in the hybrids lap, blatantly ignoring the way his movements made the bath water overflow onto the floor. "I mean," he snickered, nuzzling into Shadow's cheek and pressing a sloppy kiss there, enjoying the groan of disdain he got out of the hybrid, "You weren't wrong, but damn. You could've given a guy a little warning."

"I asked you what color you were. Was that not sufficient, when I had literally just licked you?"

"Hmm, fair point," Sonic chuckled, "Fair point."

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #shadonic #sonic fanfiction #things that i wrote #are there more tags I should be using?

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starcurtain · 4 months ago

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respectfully the reason people mischaracterize aventurine in the specific way you mentioned in the tags of "canonically not caring about wealth or power" at least is a lot more simple than you'd think; because the devs said otherwise. in the livestream where acheron and aventurine were revealed (so right before we actually got that tb quest where we learned everything) the ceo and the writer outright state that he seems to have an obsession with amassing wealth.

now obviously we can now look back on this with hindsight, they said a lot of things in there that make more sense with context (example; mentioning that his original kit being focused around dodging left him the only party member alive was scrapped even though they joked about it being fitting might have made him look like a jackass, but now recontextualized as being about his luck only saving him) but i would argue that when the writer of the story and the ceo of the company look into the camera while revealing behind the scenes details and say he has an obsession with wealth (even if there are now multiple interpretations of that, from thinking he intentionally plays into that facade to thinking that's how he coped after losing his reason for going on) and that is the first impression a lot of people had of his real character if they didn't follow leaks, it's kind of no wonder that it's so common of an interpretation.

Yeah, I think I take this with a strong does of skepticism though, because:

A) Everyone knows the devs lie in previews in order to keep secrets about characters, and, as you note, what they say about characters tends to be wildly out of context. We all remember those comments about Gallagher not being plot relevant at all lol. Should we still believe that just because it was said by the devs once?

B) At this point, why would you be engaging in the fandom for a character if you skipped or put off doing any of his content in the actual game? Playing through 2.0 alone, let alone 2.1, would reveal to anyone paying attention that Aventurine is a very duplicitous character who puts on a specific persona as a mask to hide the fact that he thinks of himself very differently on the inside.

I feel like we can use the "the devs said this" as an excuse for a little while, but once the character's content has been out for months and provides a completely different picture of the character, if you're not willing to update your "first impression" of the character to an more accurate portrayal of them based on what's actually in the game... then like... why be in that character's fandom at all?

That's just my opinion anyway. This might not be the nicest thing for me to say, but I do feel like if people refuse to move on from an impression they formed of the character before the character was even released... then what they've created is an OC, not a portrayal of the actual canon character anymore.

#honkai star rail #aventurine #this is just my personal take #and people really are free to headcanon whatever they like #I'm not even in the kind of person who thinks headcanons must not contradict canon #but at the same time #I am very tired of people who insist their interpretation of the character is canon #while using none of the story's actual canon traits for that character #lol #when the game gives you new information #you can't ignore it just because it doesn't match with your initial impression of the character #also definitely not saying OP thinks like that btw!!#I know we're talking hypothetical fans here #but oof #people take stuff from previews way too seriously #when we know for a fact that it's 90% lies lololol

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serial-serializednovelreader · 6 months ago

Text

Nova’s Notes - North and South Weekly - Wk 1

So, today was the first entry of North and South and because of the Droughtula, I’m glad to have a beast of an entry to analyze! Also, as a note, I’m probably not going to quote as much of this, since there is so much of it — I’ll just refer to the part I’m talking about. One more thing: this is my first time reading this book. Feel free to share your responses, but no spoilers please! (I know this is a 100+ year-old book though, so I’ll probably filter tags)

Reading the first long paragraph, we can already get a glimpse of Margaret and Edith’s dynamic. They’re cousins and raised together from childhood and Edith is called pretty by all — except Margaret. But now, Margaret is starting to see her better qualities, since Edith is about to leave her and get married and Margaret is going home to live with her father.

What does that tell me? They may not be on the best of terms (at least on Margaret’s side), but even so, Margaret can’t help but feel sad at the upcoming “loss” of her cousin. There’s more evidence to support this: in later paragraphs, she’s referred to as “spoiled” and weak-willed, though it’s unclear whether that’s Margaret’s opinion or Gaskell’s omniscient opinion (which I think is something to watch out for). Then again, she also refers to her as “dear” and observes that Edith would stay with her fiancé even if someone came along with more money and comfort (since she’s so spoiled). Needless to say, I think Margaret has some complicated feelings.

I believe Margaret sees her for what she is — as spoiled and a bit of a child (which we’ll get to later) — but she’s still her cousin and can only see her as more dear. I love that Gaskell writes about this feeling of idealizing a person more when you know they’re about to leave (moving, marriage, etc.) because, as someone’s who been through this, I can very much relate and I appreciate her writing about this. Even if you’re not on the best of terms, you find yourself missing their annoying mannerisms too (unless they’re like, super bad or something lol)!

Moving on, Margaret overhears her aunt — Mrs. Shaw — talking to her friends about Edith’s marriage and her own marriage. What’s interesting here is that her main concern was making sure a) Edith married someone within her age range (unlike her own marriage) and b) love is of the utmost importance. Obviously, this is something pretty common in today’s society — in fact, it’s encouraged — but I do wonder how this was taken when it was first published. Was the aunt seen as frivolous and privileged, or revolutionary and modern? I did some research and it turns out by the time this was published (1854), this was already a well-established belief. So I guess she was simply echoing what most of society was already thinking!

What does stand out to me is that the aunt does talk about the age difference in her own marriage being a “drawback”. I don’t think I need to discuss how our society views age-gap relationships today (let’s just say it’s a hot topic), but I do find it interesting how very relevant this conversation from Mrs. Shaw still resonates with me so many years later.

However, Gaskell doesn’t seem to hold Mrs. Shaw in the highest regard, either. She describes her as “considering herself a victim to an uncongenial marriage” and now that her husband is dead, tries to find something else to be anxious about. Furthermore, she only does things because someone else wants to (and complains about it) while “all the time she was in reality doing just what she liked”. While these aren’t the worst things ever, I wouldn’t call this a glowing character review either. I would almost compare this to Mr. Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s Emma, who bemoans every little illness and thing that befalls him when he is actually pretty healthy.

Not that she’s seen to be a horrible aunt or mother to Margaret or Edith — it’s pretty evident that she cares for both of them by the way she dotes on Edith and how she took Margaret in as a child (I’m not entirely sure why — I think it was to teach her how to be a lady?). I like that Gaskell is already showing a lot of different sides to these characters!

Margaret is asked to model Edith’s wedding shawls, since she is currently down for a nap. She goes up to the nursery and reflects on when she first came to this house as a child. She was considered a wild thing — playing in the forest and all that. On the first night there, her new nurse already seemed intimidating and the nursery itself more akin to a prison. Poor little Margaret began to cry, but the nurse demands her to stop so as to not “disturb Miss Edith”. Then, she was all the quieter when her father and aunt went to check on her later, since she felt bad for being upset. I can well imagine a child of nine fostering a bit of resentment for her cousin after an introduction like that — not a big one, because I don’t think she’s that kind of character, but just a little one. How would you feel if you were thrust into an unwelcoming environment and told your emotions were a problem? It’s not Edith’s fault, but it’s not Margaret’s either. The upside is their relationship remarkably improved after that and she can look upon the nursery with fondness.

Honestly it gives me the same vibes as Charlotte Brontë’s Villete, which was published almost around the same time (though the roles are reversed in this case). At the beginning of the book, the protagonist, Lucy Snowe, is visiting her godmother but they have a new visitor: Polly. Tensions clash when they both have to stay in the nursery and Lucy sees Polly as a spoiled brat, while Polly sees Lucy as unfeeling and unkind to her. Obviously, not the same situation, but I think it’s a little peek into what this kind of dynamic is like!

Moving on, Margaret models the wedding shawls and they actually seem to fit her better than Edith (she has the height for it). The key point here is that “no one thought about it” though: they don’t seem to notice or appreciate Margaret’s beauty. While Gaskell remarks that Edith is known for her prettiness, the same attention does not seem to be applied to Margaret. I wonder if this will be a running theme? What I do appreciate is that when Margaret looks at herself in the mirror, she smiles and poses — she seems to know her own beauty and be somewhat self-confident, even if others don’t tell her. Or at least, she’s having fun dressing up like a princess, which is super cute and I love that for her!!! Why shouldn’t she have fun with this?

Enter Henry Lennox, Edith’s fiancé’s brother — a mouthful. He, understandably, causes a stir amongst everyone and even Edith wakes up from her nap as if she feels the vibes that her future in-law has arrived (to paraphrase the author, lol). While they ask him questions, a very interesting line pops up about Edith’s soon-to-be sister-in-law that I wanted to share and had to do some research on to figure out the meaning of:

“[Edith] had a multitude of questions to ask about dear Janet, the future, unseen sister-in-law, for whom she professed so much affection, that if Margaret had not been very proud she might have almost felt jealous of the mushroom rival…”

After googling what a mushroom rival was (because, what????), the consensus I found was that it means “an unimportant rival”. It was also a way to jab at the “nouveau riche” who found themselves in upper-class circles, but came from lower-class origins. I think ultimately what Gaskell is saying here is that Margaret sees her cousin’s sister-in-law as someone that may try to “steal” her cousin’s affections, but in the end there’s not much to worry about, since Margaret has established affection with Edith (almost like people with generational wealth) and Janet doesn’t have much to compete with because she is too new to Edith’s acquaintance (thus making her like the nouveau riche). Just my interpretation, though, please feel free to sound off in the comments!

Henry goes to sit next to Margaret after Edith’s questioning and Margaret seems very happy to seem him. Not shy at all! Their conversation is interesting. First he starts off with (kind of) mocking her and the ladies “playing with shawls” and how it’s “very different” compared to his “real true law business”. So yeah, not winning any points with me right off the bat, but let’s see where it goes, I guess? I mean, it could be just a joke, right?

He comments on how he’s noticed her doing all the hard work for the wedding and how he hopes she gets a break from that soon. She tries to deflect and mention Edith as also working hard, but he sticks by his assertion that she has been the one doing all the planning work for his brother and Edith’s wedding, which she can’t really deny. Even if she has not done all the work (I imagine Mrs. Shaw has taken up some of the heavy-lifting), it seems that the emotional toil of all the planning is what has made an impact on Margaret.

She wonders if a wedding must always be this way and even suggests that she would like her wedding to be more calm without all of the extra fluff Edith’s has (a bit of a controversial topic in those days I think — in my research I found that Victorian marriages were modeled after Queen Victoria’s ceremony, which included many traditions we still see today). That leads to this passage:

“‘The idea of stately simplicity accords well with your character.’

Margaret did not quite like this speech; she winced away from it more, from remembering former occasions on which he had tried to lead her into a discussion (in which [Henry] took the complimentary part) about her own character and ways of going on. She cut the speech short…”

I find this interesting — that Henry being complimentary is inherently distasteful to her and she immediately turns him away from it. I’m not sure if it’s because a) his compliments suck (who calls someone’s character simplistic — I don’t think that’s the compliment you think it is buddy) b) that’s her future relative-in-law and she thinks it’s weird for him to compliment her or c) she’s just not good at taking compliments in general. I’m actually not sure which it is — I need to see more of her character — but I do know the conversation does not improve from here on out.

She makes a rebuttal to his compliment by saying she is only thinking of her home in Helstone and it’s not a character trait. He tries to get her to talk more about it, but she will not be drawn in. At least not completely. She converses, but also gets quickly annoyed with him. You kind of have to read along to get what I mean, but their conversation is like two steps forward and one back.

Finally, he says, “You are rather severe to-night, Margaret.” And she seems kind of surprised by this because she didn’t realize she was being “severe”: she genuinely could not describe her home as he wants her to. Her justification is basically you can only understand it if you’ve been there, which she did kind of say before this point.

Don’t get me wrong: I love a good banter session, but this one just feels different in a negative way. I also feel like this back-and-forth banter is a set-up. This is how Margaret interacts with the people around her now, because they don’t seem to quite understand her. They think she’s being “uncooperative” or difficult — I don’t think she is. Or perhaps she is, but it’s also Henry’s fault for not changing the subject when she made it clear that she didn’t want to talk about her home and couldn’t describe it!!! I believe her change of scene will help her find people who do get her and maybe she will have a similar form of banter, but this time it will be different and she will be understood. That’s just my speculation, though!

He continues to talk to her, but they hit a roadblock yet again because he asks her “what she does to occupy herself in the country” and when she doesn’t have a good answer, goes to the point of saying:

“I see, you won’t tell me anything. You will only tell me that you are not going to do this and that. Before the vacation ends, I think I shall pay you a call, and see what you really do employ yourself in.”

Idk if someone told me this, even jokingly, I would not like it. This would be my response:

Like why does he need to know her every move?!?!?! I just feel like he’s not asking the right questions and he definitely seems to be making light of her “quaint” living (which I think she’s playing into just so he’ll leave her be). The problem is, he’s just filling in the blanks for her by describing what she does in her current home and then asks “oh so what will you do at Helstone? Archery, parties? Oh, you’re too poor for that? I see you won’t tell me anything.” He sounds exhausting to talk to!!!! Just be a good listener!!!!! Maybe that’s just me and I’m reading too much into it though. I don’t know how much we’ll see of him since he probably won’t be living where Margaret is going, but I honestly hope it’s not much. Or maybe I do — I want to know why he is this way, I’m nosey. 😂😂😂😂

Honestly, it kind of feels like when a neurotypical person and neurodivergent person have a conversation and it just…doesn’t go that well because both people have a different way of communicating and its frustrating for both sides. I know I’m being hard on Henry and whether he deserves that or not is up for debate (I’ll wait for final judgement), but it could just be a case of that. I’m also not saying people of different neurotypes can’t have a satisfying conversation — they definitely can — but it takes understanding from both sides and I do feel like both sides here are not trying to understand the other’s perspective. Just like I could be misunderstanding this whole conversation, I really don’t know!

Also, I’m pretty sure Henry is romantically interested in Margaret, but I don’t know if she returns the feeling. While she was initially was happy to seem him, she seems more annoyed by his conversation than happy (never a good sign). If he is flirting, I think it needs some workshopping because…uh…that ain’t it, pal.

I also notice that when Henry takes his leave, he remarks that “besides, Aunt Shaw won’t like us to talk.” Ok…what does THAT mean???? That nugget of lore is fascinating, but hard to glean much from. Is it because their conversations are always like this and Mrs. Shaw is just tired of hearing the back-and-forth? *Or* is part of the reason they have back-and-forth like this BECAUSE of Mrs. Shaw? Hopefully I’ll find out!

Enter Edith’s fiancé and that’s when the real stir begins! Edith is so excited she runs out of the room just to walk in with him (we love a dramatic entrance lol). We get the chance to observe both brothers while they observe Edith and Margaret in turn. Compared to the captain (and the whole family) it seems that Henry is the “plain one”, but on the whole seems “intelligent” and “keen”. But his interest in watching both women seems to be “slightly sarcastic” — which, what does mean?????? Henry, you’re so confusing!!!!!

Edith decides to show off how good she is at being a soldier’s wife by doing everything herself! Can you guess how well that goes? Yeah, she immediately can’t carry the tea-kettle because it’s too heavy for her and it gets all over her dress. She shows this to her fiancé “like a hurt child” and her fiancé either hugs her or does a relatable “kiss it better” thing — lol (shoutout to a special user in the comments section for helping me figure out what “the remedy was the same in both cases” meant :D). The chapter mostly ends with discussing how they made the tea and then “all was bustle until the wedding was over.”

I think it’s interesting that we don’t get a clear picture of the aforementioned fiancé — now husband. The only thing I can really mention is that he’s obviously affectionate with Edith and seems to humor her childish moods.

As for Margaret, I avoided talking too much about her character, specifically because I think we get it through the way she interacts with others. This is already long so I’ll make a quick list of what I think we can glean from her character so far, in no particular order:

Reflective

Understanding — for the most part (not with Henry)

Playful (to herself)

Doesn’t like too much attention

Determined

Not afraid of conflict

Speaks her mind

Loves her home

Loves her family, but knows their faults

Values tranquility

Helpful

Observant

Self-confident

I think that’s it! I’m excited to read more and hope you enjoyed my ramblings :)

#whew that was a lot #long post #north and south #north and south weekly #novas notes

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