#ruse writes

[nightly-ruse]

Straying From the Stars AU

Sol the Serpent In Your Ear

Sol in this is not a cat to say and more a trickster, a deity who sweeps across the land on the wind currents to cause mischief wherever he wants. He especially loves to show up and then disappear in the shadows.

He was just soaring past a beautiful glittering lake when he hears a wail, the burst of emotion so strong it draws him down where he finds a cat weeping over her dead brother. Impaled in the chest the dead one was and the other broken in the heart.

Sol pads out of the dense grasses and sinks his long neck down to whisper into the grieving cat’s ear “What a shame, a brother taken too soon it seems.” Mothwing is shaken and jumps up bristling to look at the thing that whispered in her ears to find a cat she can’t quite describe.

He’s long and sleek but fluffy, snake like but also with the mane of a lion and eyes like the sun. She swears his red and black pelt is moving, slightly shifting by itself. A shiver goes down her spine as she meets his eyes. Something isn’t right about this… cat? She can’t even tell if he is a cat like her. Something else, something different. Moth feels her mind snap as if it was a bone and someone wanted the marrow inside. Her throat feels tight. Waiting on sharp breath for it to speak.

“I am-“ it takes a second to lick his teeth “Sol. A tragedy has struck here. This beautiful lake washes with blood in its waves. What a horrible sight.”

Mothwing blinks only to find him beside her. She thought she should pull away but for some reason her limbs stayed rigid. It takes a second of clearing her throat but she’s finally able to speak.

“He is my brother. Hawkfrost. Someone has taken him from me. He’s all I had left.” She says with a slight crack to her voice. Every time she blinks she sees his face before it was so… ghostly. Her heart feels like ice cracking, her paws sinking into the deep water underneath it’s breaking sheet. Though she doesn’t cry she knows this Sol can feel the pain that’s struck her. His eyes almost reflecting the frost that she felt creeping over her.

“Grief is a powerful thing. While some sink into its deepest darkest caverns others use it, like a weapon to fight. He would’ve fought. I can see it in his body, a real fighter like his namesake. But you Mothwing… you will either burn brighter then the sun or drown and be snuffed out by griefs waters.” Sol stared at her, his eyes boring into her pelt. While before she was wary of him she could feel something else. He knew Hawk, he felt him like she did. He was a brother the stranger never knew but cared for.

The two just stared at each other with gazes so conflicted they almost mirrored one another’s.

“I can help you fly, help you get whoever took down your brother. All I need is your word and I’ll stay true to mine.”

Mothwing hated trusting others especially not some mysterious stranger but she could feel that Sol meant it. His word was strong. He wouldn’t break whatever pact they were to make. And she knew he could see that she wouldn’t break it either.

“Word of what?” She whispered as a ember slowly sparked in her chest. As if a knew passion filled the whole her brother left.

“To make the liars and destroyers pay. The ones who ruin others lives and claim themselves as heroes. The ones who let your Hawk crash and stabbed him in the heart. And to bring a new rule to the clans.” His words felt slippery and sharp but they stuck to her mind. A burr clinging to her head as she thought. Everyone was gone, everything she used to believe in didn’t matter. The clans live on a broken code that punishes unfairly and ruins cats like her brother.

“With my word I will help you. And together we will mend the world into a new one. All I need is your loyalty to our plan and I will make the stars themselves shiver in fear. What do you say?”

The stars left her alone, made everyone unsure of her. They let bad cats into power like her father and chased good hearted ones like her mother away. And the cats act like it’s all fair. But Mothwing’s heard the tales of cats torn apart by that code, how it made them hurt so much more. Mapleshade’s story, Oakheart and Bluestar, her own dear Leafpool. Her heart fluttered as it thought of her.

Mothwing looked down at her brother once more, his fur bloodied and body lifeless. He was so hopeful once, so bright, he kept her going after their brother’s death and when their mother left. When Mudfin turned her down for so long when all she wanted was to be a medic all because their stars shook their heads no. He got her to the place she wanted. And died for it. No cat would fall like he did. No more would suffer like she has.

“You have my word. We will tear the stars apart and change the clans. No cat will die like Hawk did. Never again.”

[heich0e]

every year on your wedding anniversary osamu convinces you to take your ring off and go wedding cake tasting at local bakeries while pretending that the two of you are still engaged

[topaz-mutiny]

"Seeing from his violent demeanor that he was English" is still probably one of the best (funniest) lines in Dracula, but I love how this part of the Post Script contrasts with the rest of the letter Sister Agatha sends.

The main body of the letter is to the point and polite on all matters (makes sense as it seems this part of the writing was overseen by our good friend Jonathan himself, though he's too weak to write) in contrast to the Post Script where Agatha adds in details that are emotionaly powerful and some aren't necessarily sordid but would absolutely be of concern.

Jonathan has nothing on him, he is shouting and in a rush, he has a frightening delirium, delirium can last and reemerge a long time into the future, he rambles about terrifying and grotesque subjects when in the throes of his brain fever (which is an old-timey way to describe a lot of mental illnesses and behaviors), and all of this overcomes a frailty and physical weakness from whatever else he's been through that causes him to otherwise be bedridden.

Even half of that could erode trust in someone. But as told in the rest of the Post Script:

He's recovering, he's gaining more lucidity, the Sisters notice his lucid moments are punctuated by gentleness and sweetness (hard to trust at first likely, due to frequent relapses, and the Sisters are eventually convinced a lot of his prior behavior was caused by the fading brain fever and not by his inherent personality), he is a cherished patient of the Hospital of St. Joseph And St. Mary, and it seems the staff are enamored with how often and with such love he talks about Mina, such that this spurred Sister Agatha to make the Post Script in the first place because it's the first thing she mentions.

[eoieopda]

<whispers in your ear> Cheol x Reader where he’s her brother’s friend? 🙏

the one with seungcheol and the ruse

pairing: choi seungcheol x jeon!reader summary: your knight’s shining armor is actually of flannel, but he gets the job done. cw: reader’s gender/sexuality are left up to interpretation, annoying ex, alcohol mention, the setting is a bar, wonwoo doesn’t actually appear but my girl lee youngji does (lmao) au: older brother’s best friend, fake dating (sort of) type: drabble (fluff-adjacent) rating: pg15 wc: 1.4 🔞 MINORS WHO INTERACT WITH ME AND/OR MY CONTENT WILL BE BLOCKED, WHETHER OR NOT THE CONTENT IS NSFW. I’M AN ADULT WRITING EXCLUSIVELY FOR OTHER ADULTS.

The similarities between you and your brother start and stop with genetic material. While you’d rather die than spend a Saturday night at home alone, Wonwoo would sooner drop dead than divorce himself from his PC just to leave his apartment. 

All things considered, it’s not much of a surprise when you roll up to the bar with your friends and find your brother’s there without him. Just the same, you’re not shocked when the cursory wave you give goes unnoticed; they’re all too busy guzzling shots to care who walks by.

All but one, that is.

The oldest, Seungcheol, lifts his pint glass in acknowledgment when he sees you come in from the cold. That gesture comes with a bonus in the form of a lazy half-smile, which almost has you tripping over your own feet. Now effectively tattooed on your brain, you still picture that lopsided grin while you cross the room to claim a booth.

Of the boys taking up space at the bar, Seungcheol is the closest to your brother — and, as a natural consequence, the closest to you. So, you tell yourself, it’s only natural that your focus keeps drifting in his way. More than that, it’s polite, checking in to make sure he’s having fun. 

Wonwoo would want that for him, after all.

Right?

More often than not, Seungcheol is too engrossed in his friends’ shenanigans to feel your casual — polite — gaze burning a hole in the side of his head. Even though he’s not looking in your direction, you find it hard to stop glancing in his. It can’t be helped; it’s always been this way. There’s only one conclusion left to draw: 

Choi Seungcheol was tailor-made to distract you.

First, it’s the fact that his hair is quite a bit longer now than when you saw him at your parents’ anniversary party a few weeks ago. The more you stare at those dark waves, the more you try to justify it to yourself. As far as you’ll admit, it has nothing whatsoever to do with how soft those tresses look; nor any desire you may or may not have to touch them and test your theory. 

No, you’re simply trying to determine what vitamins or supplements he takes to achieve that perfect shine — because whatever he’s doing is working.

When you stop gawking at his head, it’s his hands that trip you up. The way they grip Soonyoung’s biceps when the younger of the two starts wobbling, threatening to topple over onto a soju-sticky floor. The urge you feel to throw yourself at the ground and see who catches you is purely scientific, you tell yourself. 

Research.

If it’s not his body, it’s the sound he makes, laughing like a mad man with his whole chest. You have to peel your velcro gaze off of him to see what he’s laughing at: Kim Mingyu, who attempted to catch a tossed peanut in his mouth but ended up getting hit between the eyebrows.

You’d let yourself be pelted with peanuts if it made him laugh like that again — and, quite frankly, you have no excuses left to give about why that is.

Nine times out of ten, your friends are smirking when you finally turn back around because they know exactly where your eyes keep wandering — and to whom. They point out the way your cheeks and ears flame up. Each time they do, you blame it on the alcohol, though none of you believe it.

When you turn around for the tenth time, however,  they’re not smirking. Instead, they’re pushing their empty glasses your way.

“You’re on refill duty, aren’t you?” Youngji asks with a single eyebrow raised. 

You’re not, but she’s not blind. She knows how much you want to hover, and how desperately you need an excuse to do so.

Seungkwan, quick on the uptake, chugs what’s left of his cocktail. His face is still twisted from the sour syrup when he waves his now-empty glass in front of you. He says nothing, but he doesn’t have to; his narrowed eyes are menacing, and they tell you everything he’s thinking.

You sigh, put-upon, even though everyone knows you aren’t. Lips pursed tight, you keep that giddy grin to yourself as you collect the glasses and skip off towards the bar.

After giving your orders to the bartender, you glance — for the millionth time — over to your brother’s friends. The one you’re looking for is nowhere to be seen. Bravely, you do your best not to pout.

“Hey,” comes a low voice from behind you.

It’s a miracle that your head doesn’t roll with how quickly you swivel around. 

As soon as you do, your face falls. The excited flip in your stomach is swiftly replaced by a wave of nausea. Your tone is clipped and drenched in disappointment when you respond: “Can I help you?”

Your ex never could take a hint. They breeze right past that deadly look on your face, sidle up next to you at the bar until their shoulder is damn near bumping into yours. Worse, they open their mouth to speak again.

“Haven’t seen you around much lately —”

Is that not the point of breaking up with someone?

Desperate, your eyes scan the room for anyone who might notice the giant, neon exclamation point flashing above your head. Nobody you stare pointedly at feels your gaze on them, so you switch targets — again, again, again. Your brother’s friends are equally as useless as your own, it seems.

What if you tap “SOS” in morse code?

“— I’ve missed you. Missed us.”

Shit. 

Why didn’t you learn morse code?

You’re ready to sprint headlong out of the bar entirely when an arm — thankfully not your ex’s — drapes around your shoulders. With a quick glance up, you confirm that there’s truth to the meme: not all heroes wear capes. 

As it turns out, some heroes wear flannels, and they accessorize them with jaws clenched tightly enough to crack teeth.

“Jagi, who’s this?” 

Seungcheol’s posture relaxes just a little when he looks down at you. You swallow and keep your swooning to a minimum. There’s sweetness dripping from his tone that you want to bathe in. 

“I thought I’d met all your friends by now.”

When you let him pull you closer to his side — so close that your head can rest against his goddamn pectoral — you tell yourself that it’s just part of the bit. The affectionate smile he sends your way is part of the ruse. He’s convincing, though; you’d fall for this con, too.

You and your moon-sized eyes begrudgingly shift focus from Seungcheol to your ex, who still hasn’t taken the hint. That lovesick smile of yours is gone in an instant, giving way to the flattest affect you can muster. The sugar-laced voice you speak with is a far cry from the unblinking and unapologetic expression on your face. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t recall your name! What was it?”

Suddenly, Seungcheol unwraps his arm from around you. He seems to sense that this change-up startles you, so he winks at you while he leaning forward into the space between you and your ex; hands reaching for the drinks you’ve been waiting on.

Oh, you realize. He’s making sure you get the last word.

You swallow thickly as you reach out to take your burden off his hands. He shakes his head and beckons you with a smile, eyes softening. “C’mon, sweetheart. I’ve got these.”

You do as he says, following close behind him like a puppy, and you only stop when he does. Seungcheol looks back over his shoulder, calling out first to the bartender: 

“Can you put these on my tab? The name’s Choi.”

Then, dropping all pretense of friendliness, to your ex:

“Get home safe, eh, chingu?”

When you both resume your path to your table, you squeeze his elbow and whisper, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” he urges, shaking his head a second time. Although he’s smiling, there’s some unspoken conflict in his eyes that you can’t quite parse. You can’t ask after it, either, because he stops stalling and sighs, “That’s what pseudo-brothers are for, right?”

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

assorted quotes from the introduction of Monstrous Children and Childish Monsters: Essays on Cinema’s Holy Terrors

[cb-writes-stuff]

So, I might have done a thing on a serious, non-fandom post.

I don’t think anyone there knows what ISAT is. Or that “The Cursing of Château Castle” isn’t a real book series.

I have no regrets.

[quailxcrossing]

thinkingg..............i might want to post some AU content on here. bc my posts are just seen by my awesome friends n moots and most of them can't see my AU work...but they have no idea the beloved antics i put in my AUs.................i want yall to see the waffle fries human au SO bad

[stupidsexygrizzop]

you know what i'd love to see in woe.begone? two people that everyone spends a whole season assuming are iterations. they take full advantage of being completely visually interchangeable with only small personality quirks to tell them apart.

and then it comes out that theyve been regular identical twins the whole time

[bigender-spider]

I feel like Raimi Harry while coping with the lose of his father in the back his mind had this sorta "relief" feeling to not have Norman around. But he hated that he felt that way because of the last interaction that he had with his dad. He probably called himself selfish for feeling that way too.

[wooawi]

Lila is either some run-of-the-mill kid who thought it’d be fun to fib for popularity and happened into being targeted by a local hero who cannot stand a few white lies… or she’s a genuine evil mastermind who was dumbed down by whatever air François Dupont is breathing.

Either way, the way she’s written in Miraculous is not indicative of the manipulative genius she’s painted as. She’s supposed to be someone who excels at crafting lies and luring her prey into an extremely complicated web, but she was caught by a false mirror. A false mirror someone of her proposed caliber would’ve clocked immediately. She should have a habit of checking her surroundings for traps and potholes, after all her main talent is creating them. She should be able to enter the mind of her opponent and predict what their next move will be. She should’ve seen that false mirror coming from a mile away.

Even if she hadn’t, Sabrina had suddenly deviated from the plan, exited a hostile space (the classroom) to trap herself in a smaller and more closed room (the bathroom), and started talking about whatever “proof” she has. Is she hiding from her enemies or is she confronting them?

If she enters the bathroom, she’s likely going there to be alone, make herself smaller, cry out her feelings and panic in isolation. But if she turns around and starts arguing, she’s looking for a fight. Either to convince Lila to fess up or threaten the girl into doing so. She would’ve done that in the classroom in front of witnesses, not in a secure location away from prying eyes, alone with her enemies.

Which means this temporary bathroom isn’t a safe location. It isn’t away from prying eyes or ears. There’s something not right. Lila should be careful of what she says and keep going with the plan as if nothing has happened. Cajoling Sabrina and trying to comfort her (read: gaslight her) should be top priority. She is working under Marinette and the stress has manifested into a mental breakdown, the poor dear :’(

It was even hinted that Lila was contemplating the events with her slow walk down the stairs. She was analysing the situation and trying to fix the plan in her head. And you’re telling me that crucial moment of thinking culminated in Chloe-style interrogation in what is clearly not a secure space?

I need this show to be honest with me. Is Lila actually just a normal person who got too deep into shit she was not built for?

[burstfoot]

O wise one in the ways of vessels, what is your verdict on Whisperain/Dusk and Dusk/Deepcolor?

Whisperain/Dusk: Oh REALLY good... I'm a sucker for the drama of reincarnation immortal/non-reincarnating immortal... @000yul's art of them has also completely sold me!! Deepcolor/Dusk: Much less interesting to me, seems like it's just 'they're both artists'. Deepcolor doesn't do much for me when taking her out of the context of the Iberia/Aegir plotline, so putting her with Dusk who's entirely unrelated doesn't work as much as Whispy/Dusk for me

[themidnightcircusshow]

My one snipe with Iron Widow is that it did the typical sci-fi thing of throwing the most interesting possibility in just as a random line (the aliens being the reincarnated murdered women)

[radicalhighway]

watched suicide squad hell to pay just to see if there’s any shot of finding a suicide squad thing that Doesn’t suck ass and let’s just say: challenge FAILED!!!!!

[hallowed-nebulae]

saplings and branches

[in which a fae investigates and causes exciting new interpersonal problems for everyone. @beastenraged ]

It's hot out today, in Radiant Garden. Sweltering, even, if you're some of the less sun-inclinded residents, a kind of heat that sinks into the bones.

Not that anyone would notice, of course, in Midgar, or in the Faewilds. There are far too many trees and haphazard buildings and shadows being cast for it to be too hot, of course.

Now, the residents of Midgar and the Atrium have been all shaken up, recently -- some travellers arriving from beyond the rift, beyond this world, causing chaos and ripples in their wake even without trying!

The Faewilds, though -- the Faewilds are unbothered. The fae are unbothered -- a strange occurrence, uncommon yes, but not impossible, and not never-before heard. Most fae hear the news and think little of it, as fae tend to do.

Not so for Feo Ul, however. Feo Ul is intrigued.

Flitting this way and that, a fae is neither uncommon nor common in Midgar -- Feo Ul is more common than most, their insatiable curiosity often drawing them towards Midgar where the other beings live, the non-fae and fae-touched and fae-born all.

Nothing new here, nothing new there, not there either -- but oh, there! A new face, one they've seen before. The face is older, the hair is longer, the eyes are yellow, but Feo Ul knows that face, don't they? An older, different version of their dear sapling Xehanort (what a cold sapling she is! Not calling on them once!), but a Xehanort nonetheless.

A sane person would watch and wait and consider the points that this is a different Xehanort, and that Feo Ul's sapling has not even become their sapling yet in this time. But -- that is a sane person, and why should fae play by men's rules anyways?

"There you are!" They shout, triumphantly, appearing in a burst of light before this yellow-eyed Xehanort. He startles, and the others by him (two Dream Eaters, that almost-Darkling Ephemer, and that strange not-quite-godling with red eyes) do the same, but why should Feo Ul care about that.

"Can I. . . help you?" Asks the Xehanort, raising a brow.

"How cruel!" Feo Ul cries. "I wait for my lovely sapling to call upon me, and you've simply left me waiting and waiting! My sapling has no regard for his lovely branch, none at all! Such a cold and cruel and heartless thing he is!"

Xehanort scowls, then. "Excuse me?"

Feo Ul sniffs, unheeding of his expression or the thoughts of all the others. "You may be excused if you apologize." They say, very graciously. Not even calling on them once! "Though I suppose I should be harrassing your younger self -- but she's still young, and you can't expect buds to be as responsible and polite as flowers are."

The not-quite-godling chirps at them, and Feo Ul waves a hand at them. "Oh don't you worry, little one, your branch will find you when they need to." Such is the way of Fate and Miracles, after all.

Then they turn back to that Dream Eater that isn't quite so light-blinding. "And you! What a lovely sapling you look like! Have you any fae friends, then?"

The Dream Eater -- the girl, perhaps -- looks at Feo Ul oddly. Perhaps she's confused? She must be young, then, or perhaps there are no fae in whatever world she and her kin are from (though that does not excuse her sapling for being so cold to her). "I don't . . . are -- do Moogles count?"

"Moogles?" Feo Ul taps their chin. "An odd sort, but I suppose. . ." well. Moogles are better than nothing. They nod, decisively. "Moogles are far stranger than fae, but they shan't steer you wrong. Mayhap they'll teach you manners, so you don't become so cruel and cold to your dear branch."

And with that, Feo Ul settles into their decision. This is a strange bunch, but this conversation alone has been more fun than the past two weeks -- these newcomers from beyond the rift may even share their stories! What a wonderful thing that would be! (And if they are unused to Feo Ul's presence, well -- they shall adjust. Eventually.)

[impishtubist]

AU where Harry doesn’t die at Godric’s Hollow - but Voldemort isn’t defeated, either. Sirius arrives to find Voldemort in possession of his baby godson and refusing to give him up (b/c, shit, that’s one powerful baby, and Voldy wants to harness that power!). 

No one knows that Sirius isn’t the traitor. It’s easy enough to explain to the remaining DEs - all Voldy has to say is that he’s the only one who knows that Sirius was working for him, and they’d all believe him. Voldy blackmails Sirius into playing along. He’ll keep Harry at his, idk, lair or whatever, but Sirius can also live there and raise Harry IF he goes along with the ruse that he was the Secret Keeper who betrayed the Potters and IF he allows Voldy to spirit Harry away whenever he wants to study him/his magic.

So now Sirius is pretending to be a Death Eater, has to allow the whole world (including Remus) think he’s a traitor, has to keep himself from murdering Wormtail (unless Wormy is off living as a rat somewhere??), and has to keep Harry safe while secretly trying to figure out how tf to get them out of this situation.

idk is this anything

[ghostradiodylan]

What if you finally got to share earbuds with your crush but the music was bad? And you were The Music Guy but you had to pretend you liked the bad music, just like you had to pretend you liked Kaylee and Caleb Hackett? Awkward.