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lgvalenzuela · 6 hours ago

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Now that this is making the rounds again I'm gonna spill something on the Veilguard companions because it's the only game in the series where I've been here since the begining and I've played this game so much I might as well be an expert

-Davrin is incredibly smart, he might say he wasn't a smart kid. But writing a book on your expertise because you have beef with a dead author? Straight up nerd behaviour, I haven't seen someone so mad about books since Dorian threw my library books out the balcony

I love his narrative, I love that he didn't become a Warden because he had to but because he wanted to (which like...I'm pretty sure is a first as far as Warden companions?) He wanted a propuse. But becoming a Warden was so ingrained in his brain when you meet him that he's so convinced he's gonna die young he's preparing for his death actively, he's preparing Assan to be able to take care of himself (also if anyone thinks his whole narrative is about Assan I'm gonna start throwing hands)

His narrative can be taken multiple places due to player choice. But personally I'm really into this self sacrificing hero that just... Finds a reason to live.

-Harding's narrative is literally about toxic positivity, Lucanis literally spells it out on the scene where they have coffee together. She's refusing herself very righteus feelings of anger for what's been done to her people, and to her specifically. She's grieving through the whole game and for multiple reasons and she's on the verge of breaking down the whole time. Both her endings need her to accept this part of herself, the part that's mourning and the part that's angry.

Also the dressing down she gives Solas at the end? Mwa! Poetry. Queen shit.

-I don't know how to explain Bellara without going into personal life? But like a grieving neurodivergent asexual woman, kinda feels like they were just writing me at some points.

Her narrative with Cyrian was the first (and not last) time I cried. I love how her and Davrin represent the past and the future of their people. How you sometimes have to look into the past to see a clearer future, how the sins of the past don't define you but it DOES feel too easy to just say: Oh but it wasn't me, and this is not Who my people are now.

Also in general I love their dynamic, I love when I can actually see relationships grow and chance in game. And I can see Davrin and Bellara forming a strong bond and Davrin being that anchor that Bellara needs. Not like Cyrian! But he cares for her! And she needs someone to care for her, to remind her that its okay, and that not everything is her fault.

-Neve is not an ice queen, she just uses ice magic. But take her with you anywhere and she's full of jokes. Damn she even approves of most of Rook's purple dialogues. She loves It when you're a silly goose.

Her entire character revolves around caring. She's there because she cares, because nobody seemed to care so she had to step up, she's willing to sacrifice so much just because she knows people need her. She's righfuly mad if Minrathous is ravaged by the dragon but it's...honestly not that hard to get on her good side again? She seems a little more mad than Lucanis, Lucanis seems more sad. But she honestly doesn't seem to personally blame Rook. None of them do. Because they're smart enough to know it was an imposible choice from the start. And she can see Rook put in the work (well I mean if you as the player care enough)

-Taash is not fucking immature or stupid. Taash has trouble communicating, I think we would all benefict from knowing the difference oh my God. Did we not learn this lesson with Sera? (Stupid question I know)

Honestly it's a thing I've always loved about this franchise and these characters. They all communicate differently, they do depending on their upbringing and just...some people have trouble communicating! It's fine! Just give them a second! Maybe let them write some things down!

-Emmrich🧡 (that's all, send post. I'm gonna have something else to say when I've already post this I can see it)

-My biggest surprise is Lucanis for sure. Fun fact? Wasn't on my radar when the first or second trailer or whatever else material dropped. But my Rook was born as a joke, he wasn't suppoused to even be Rook on the first place, he was meant as a secondary character and shipping him with Lucanis was also a joke.

I love him dude. I have such a thing for characters that have a kind heart, the more surprising that they have it the more I love it. I'm so glad he wasn't a Zevran type (and I LOVE Zevran, but for that we already have him!) He was just a weird little ace that had no fucking idea what was happening most of the time.

This is only when It comes to romantic love because he's really observant. He so quickly realizes what's wrong with every companion, he only really has THAT type of relationship with Davrin because he's matching his energy and honestly I think both of them think it's kind of funny at some point. He's good with people but in such a weird way where he doesnt know he is? He's just... Happy. I think he's truly happy for the first time because he has people that can rely on him and he can fully take care of. And in turn you can show him that he's worth those things too.

Things I never would have guessed from fandom osmosis before actually playing the Dragon Age games:

-Alistair is actually pretty smart, and has a lot of knoweledge to share about the topics he's interested about.

He's also not that shy, and flirts with a warden pretty smoothly, if a bit innocently for his lack of experience and general humorous persona.

And his primary motivator is revenge which is an interesting way to take a character like him.

-Zevran is the only character who actively searches for consent even in simple flirting like calling someone beautiful. If you tell him to stop he never makes a mention again.

He's also one of the most loyal and sentimental companions you can have. He cares a lot, want to admit it or not.

-Merrill is one of the most educated and smart characters on the series, she takes calculated risks based on her own studies and research, and the only reasons she fails is because nobody trusts her and refuses to treat her like an adult.

Part of it is also the game refusing to frame her as anything but a naive child when she's anything but.

-Isabela has the most emotional intelligence out of all the characters in DA2, she knows exactly what they're feeling and what they need to hear at all times. It's clear that she's wise and worldly, and just needs time to build confidence between her and the others because she's been hurt a lot and her respect is gained.

-Fenris has an amazing sense of humor and you can find him consistently laughing at both Hawke's and companions he likes silly jokes. He's just really deadpan when delivering his own jokes.

He's also considerably patient and doesn't lose his temper unless confronted with people who have actively abused him.

-Anders spent SEVEN YEARS protesting peacfully, and it took the risk of genocide on his people to reach the desperation of act 3.

-Dorian is incredibly reserved. He tries to avoid talking about his life with a veil of humor and sarcasm, but he's specially guarded around his sexuality and love life. He only comes out to the Inquisitor in a moment of fury to piss of his father and he may have not done so if not pressed.

If in a romance with Bull the only reason the others find out is because Bull exposes it in front of everyone (I wish they would have find out a better way to let the player find out than Bull ignoring Dorian's wishes of privacy)

If romanced by the Inquisitor he's in his first real relationship and it shows, he's lost most of the time but tries to hide it by acting cocky. It's really funny.

He's also a huge nerd, I wasn't expecting that but I was pleasantly surprised.

-The Iron Bull it's not just smart, he's so caring, he shows you around so you can meet the people, the ones nobody cares about, he introduces you to them.

-Sera also goes to the pile of characters who are really smart and nobody gives them credit for it. She says it herself, she's just really bad with words, but as long as you try to understand her she makes a lot of sense.

The game just gives you no other option than to treat her horribly, which I sense a pattern of framing the neurodivergent coded characters in a certain light with Merrill and Anders.

-Vivienne is the only one (with Dorian) that asks the Inquisitor if they're okay after Haven, and gives beautiful words of afirmation.

She's really affable if you bother to befriend her.

#dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #lucanis dellamorte #neve gallus #lace harding #emmrich volkarin #bellara lutare #taash #davrin

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inlovewithfionaapple · 1 day ago

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under the radar

kelsey plum x reader

wc: 833

-warnings: age gap (y/n:21, kelsey:30)

-a/n: this is my first post! i'm black so in my head i'm writing about me but i wrote it pretty generic for y/n so it would be pretty self insertable.

the lights in the gym flickered softly above as kelsey laced up her shoes, sweat still glistening on her forehead from the late night practice. the world outside the court was quiet—too quiet for las vegas—but inside, it was her sanctuary. basketball was the one place she didn’t have to think. until now.

she glanced at her phone. one new text.

y/n: “outside. hoodie on. ready whenever you are.”

kelsey smirked, heart picking up just a bit. it always did when it was y/n.

she tugged a hoodie over her head, pulled the strings tight, and slipped out the side entrance where the shadows cloaked her. and there she was—y/n, leaning against her little black civic like she owned the world, or at least kelsey’s.

“you know one day security’s gon’ catch us, right?” kelsey said as she slid into the passenger seat.

y/n smiled, her eyes soft behind big square glasses. “then i’ll just tell them you’re my uber. nothing illegal about falling in love with your driver.”

kelsey laughed, the sound catching in her throat. “you’re ridiculous.”

“but cute.”

“also illegal, probably.”

y/n turned serious for a moment. “i’m 21, kels. not 12.”

“i know,” kelsey said. and she did. but the world wouldn’t care. twenty and thirty, they’d say. player and student. wnba star and… a secret. always a secret.

they drove in silence for a few blocks, music low. sza humming in the background. kelsey’s hand drifted to the center console, where y/n’s fingers met hers without hesitation.

“did you watch the game?” kelsey asked.

“i watched you.”

that response always hit harder than y/n probably realized.

“i sucked,” kelsey muttered.

“you had 21 points and 8 assists.”

“i missed the game-winner.”

“you’re allowed to miss. you’re not a robot.”

kelsey glanced at her. “i’m supposed to be. that’s what they expect.”

y/n pulled into a parking garage beneath an old apartment building. they took the stairs two at a time, and by the time the door to y/n’s tiny studio clicked shut behind them, kelsey let out a sigh that seemed to deflate her whole frame.

“i hate hiding,” she whispered.

“i know,” y/n said, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind. “but we don’t have to forever.”

“yeah? and when i show up at media day with my girlfriend who’s still in college?”

“i’ll have graduated by then,” y/n grinned. “a little more mature.”

kelsey turned, cupping y/n’s cheek. “i wish i didn’t care what people thought.”

“you care because you’ve worked so damn hard to be here,” y/n said, serious now. “and you deserve to protect that. i’m not going anywhere.”

that night, wrapped in each other’s arms in a bed too small for two, kelsey slept without dreaming for the first time in weeks.

—

days turned into weeks, and the season crept toward playoffs. the pressure mounted. media scrutiny intensified. every move she made was dissected—on the court, off the court, even her grocery store runs were suddenly tabloid fodder.

and then, the photo happened.

it wasn’t anything explicit. just a blurry shot of kelsey laughing in a coffee shop, head tilted toward y/n, who was half-cropped out but unmistakably there if you knew her. kelsey didn’t even know they’d been followed.

the caption read: “mystery girl? wnba star kelsey plum spotted cozy with young companion.”

that night, kelsey showed up at y/n’s place without knocking.

“you saw it?” she asked, breathless.

y/n was already holding up her phone, face unreadable.

“i’m so sorry,” kelsey said, pacing. “i should’ve—I don’t know—been more careful. this is bad.”

y/n sat down, legs crossed. “it’s not bad. it’s real. and real things can be messy.”

“you don’t get it. they’ll come for you. the press, the trolls online, even fans. they’ll say you’re using me, or that i’m some predator—”

“you’re not.”

“but they’ll say it.”

“let them,” y/n said, softer now. “i don’t care what they say. i care what you say.”

kelsey stopped pacing. “i say i love you.”

the room went quiet.

y/n blinked. “say it again.”

“i love you.”

a beat passed. then another. and then y/n was kissing her, hard, fast, like the fear didn’t matter anymore.

—

the next morning, kelsey made a decision. she posted a picture—just their hands, intertwined across a café table. no caption.

the comments exploded, but for once, she didn’t read them. she didn’t need to.

later that day, becky hammon pulled her aside at practice.

“you happy?” the coach asked.

kelsey hesitated. “yeah.”

“then don’t look back.”

that night, y/n waited for her outside the arena, arms open, hoodie on, just like always.

except this time, kelsey didn’t sneak out. she walked straight into the crowd, into the flash of cameras, into y/n’s arms—her hand finding hers like it always did.

and when someone shouted, “hey, kelsey! who is she?”

she smiled.

“she’s mine.”

#kelsey plum #kelsey plum x reader #wnba #wbb #wnba x reader

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timeslipcamp · 1 day ago

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towa is a character that i didn't really look too closely at until i read an episode with him in it. he was funny and cute and honestly loved how they write him, LOVE a character with flaws. and then we get on that dock and he can speak and he asks if we believe in soulmates--

i was now smitten with towa.

but there's something else that's made me so interested in towa from the very beginning with the way his stigma seems to work so different from everyone else's, and it's been bugging me from the beginning.

i don't think towa is a ghoul

spoilers through episode 12

it sounds like a crack theory, i know. i'm aware. i said it to my friend and she replied, "then why would he be here?" and you know what? fair question! but we've seen plenty of anomalies so far, and a couple that are very human like. you know what else we've seen? a god that's lost its power.

now i'm not saying towa is a god. i'm also not not saying that. i'm just saying that ever since we first saw him, towa's been extremely different from the other ghouls.

this theory is all guesses. i don't have a lot of evidence other than vibes and screenshots. i guess that's how all of my theories are, but this one has even less evidence than the others given how little we know about the ghouls powers and pacts and how they affect a person when they make a pact.

my main arguments for towa not being a ghoul are his characteristics, his stigma, and his behaviors. parts of each of these set him completely apart from the other ghouls, enough so that it makes me suspicious that he's not actually a ghoul, but potentially some sort of spirit.

lesskettit

towa's characteristics set him apart enough alone. like, we could literally just have this theory based on his behavior and it'd be like yeah, he's weird, he's not like them. thankfully--or unthankfully if you don't want to read a 2k essay on him--i have more than just that. but allow me to take you back to the first jabberwock episode when we meet towa in person for the first time. the first things we see are him striking something with lightning and eating a dandelion. also!

interesting shape for his bubble wand to be in. unlike our ring (the sage's ring or whatever) this one does that the six pointed star often depicted in solomon's seal. it is, however, a shape that's used in multiple places with multiple meanings. but. still weird.

towa cannot speak in sunlight. his voicelines on the homescreen are only during the night, and in game, 9 times out of 10, he is only speaking to us when the sun has set. however, in the episode with the cat anomaly (funniest anomaly ever btw i was cackling every time that thing was on screen) he's able to speak when he's in the cat's shadow. this is the first time i considered it being linked to sunlight and not just time of day. however, to argue against my own point, when he was in the caves and zenji approached him, he couldn't speak. so maybe the writers just forgot it wasn't night when he spoke from under the cat. or, he just didn't want to talk to zenji. who knows.

another characteristic: his eyes. LOVE the fucking rectangular pupils. always a fun character choice. i think he's goat coded, but goat are not the only ones who can have rectangular pupils:

deer is another fun idea, considering all the flowers he's eating, and his eyes looked a LOT like the kraken's in the first jabberwock ep, but i'm still going with either deer or goat, and i'll get into that in a bit.

part number two! his stigma!

what the fuck is going on with his stigma!

maybe it's because i'm autistic but the rules for the stigmas were very clearly laid out for us early on: you received a stigma from the demon you made a pact with, it requires a trigger word to use, and we can enhance it with our super special ring.

towa follows literally none of these rules.

he's never had to say a trigger word before using his abilities (weather, controlling anomalies, jumping insane distances...), he seems to have more than one stigma if so (plus a weird consequence of losing speech in the sun) and he's never taken advantage of us making his powers stronger when we touch. disclaimer because it's necessary, the staff said they're still researching ghouls and they don't know everything yet, blah blah blah. STILL. it's mainly the stigma rules that made me think, "oh, these don't apply to him because he's not a ghoul." and ever since i stopped thinking of him as a ghoul, his place in the story has made a lot more sense.

lastly, his behaviors.

he's VERY into flowers. that doesn't make him any different, nor does him giving nicknames to the other ghouls make him different, but it's clear that the flowers have a very significant meaning to him--and they're also a very tasty snack. i love that the wiki points out that he can eat them "without digestive issues". like, hell yeah. no tummy problems. you go girl

the flower symbolism feels significant for the fact that i think it has something to do with what he actually is, and it's the flowers that are making me lean toward some sort of nature spirit. i'll add his nicknames for people into my flower meanings post for their warding cards to keep all the flower stuff together. or make a post on its own. either way. yum yum

another characteristic of his that strikes me as different is his attitude. i've seen people call it childish and black and white, and those are both very good ways to put it, but it still feels more...persistent? to me? like he has his opinions and how he thinks things should be done and he will not waver, whether it's his attitude towards ren or his ideas on how to gather up animals. it's not quite childish to me, but i do think this also plays into the fact that he's not a ghoul. while taiga also follows wild impulses and kaito can be incredibly stubborn, towa's feels different. all of the ghouls were people who were human before their pact, obviously lived lives, and now they're here on campus to help further the institute's research. (yet again begging for any info regarding how any of them made their pacts, PLEASE!) towa doesn't feel like he came from a background in society as we know it, at least.

(another crack theory i had was he was some sort of creature who made a pact and asked to become human. wouldn't that be crazy?)

towa's behaviors, especially given that this is a piece of media where werewolves are real and matches can make you forget things, give me the vibe that he was something who was plucked from where he was living a certain way and put into this new life and expected to adapt. haru seems to be the one helping him adapt, and towa looooves haru. that's his dude for sure. haven't quite figured out if it's in a romantic way or in a "he's mine" kind of possessive way, but i don't think that really matters to towa.

it might matter to haru, though. him making the joke about someone back home "getting jealous" was funny as hell.

so, with all of those facts constantly running around my head, i have come to the conclusion that i don't think towa is a ghoul. what he is, exactly, i'm not sure yet, but i have a couple ideas. the main problem is i don't know what all is like, an option. they could tell us he's a demon pretending to be a human in like three chapters and that would change like, 85% of my belief system around this game. so i'm making an educated guess and staying vague. always a good option to be vague.

given towa's nature symbolism, issues with sunlight, and general behaviors, i'm proposing that towa is some sort of nature spirit.

in greek mythology, one of the bigger nature gods (and there's several theories that this god carried over from some sumerian and even more ancient religions) was a god called pan. he was said to be father of the satyrs and also depicted rather goat-like himself in most of the medias he was depicted in. along with the satyrs, pan was god of the flock, nature, fertility, and the wild. a lot of his tales are a little graphic in nature. in the same vein tales of zeus are, so heads up if you look into them. his main representation in myths was the wildness of spirit and of nature and then, at the very end of the greeks rule over the west, it was said that pan is dead.

that itself is a super big topic of debate in history. supposedly, one person was calling to another that "pan is dead." that itself can be interpreted in a few different ways. one interpretation was that it meant the pantheon was dead: christianity had just hit its huge uptick in followers and the greek society was collapsing, so perhaps it meant the death of the pantheon and the rise of a monotheistic religion. the other popular interpretation, especially in fiction, was that pan is the only god who died/disappeared. the main reason for this is that the god of nature is dying/disappearing as humans begin to spread further into the world with their technology. we see this represented over and over in media (the kaijus in japanese stories like godzilla, ubtao in dungeons and dragons disappearing, the movie ferngully, etc). a popular interpretation of this story was in percy jackson, where we see many satyrs go on a lifelong quest to go find the god pan.

given how many other references we have to greek mythology, i think towa is going to be associated with pan. he's got the goat eyes (and is called goat-like by haru in a home screen line,) has capricious in his bio (constellation of capricorn (a goat), root word capro comes from goat with a Latin association of frisking or turning suddenly), is an aries (goat), has a weird control over animals and other anomalies, and is in LOVE with love. also, connected to the weird love tree only we can see.

another interesting tidbit to point out, we see towa in the caves pretty often. pan's altars were almost always found in caves and out in nature. also hold on

this is driving me insane what do these numbers mean towa. towa what do they mean.

this is the only one that seems vaguely relevant. there used to be ten houses and then three are now defunct. TOWA WHAT DO THESE NUMBERS MEAN WHAT ARE YOU KEEPING TRACK OF

anyways those are my main arguments for towa being a non-ghoul. like i said, i don't really think he's the god pan. most likely, he's a nature spirit who now looks like a human. also, i've gotten this weird feeling that towa may have initially been in dionysia. dionysus as a god also represented the wilder side of things as i said in my defunct houses post, and he was also associated with the satyrs. it was said (in myth) that the satyrs regularly participated in his wild feasts. soooooo possible connection? who knows

towa you vex me and plague me and i cannot stop thinking about what you are. mwah

asks and dms always open!

#tkdb #tokyo debunker #tdb #towa otonashi #theories #this dudes been on the brain for months niw #i wanna figure him out so bad

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maxdibert · 1 day ago

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The problem with Lily's character is that we can't have it both ways. Either she's the most special girl ever, good at everything and beloved by everyone, or she's part of a vulnerable group who suffers discrimination in the magic world.

Even if she supposed to be seen as an "exception", or "one of the good muggleborns", we have to see it more clearly. But the way it is, she hardly had any struggles, especially if we compare it to what Severus went through. Because everything we see about Severus makes Lily's pain seem trivial in comparison. I'm sorry, I know it sounds bad, but there's no other way to say it.

JKR would have to do a much better job in writing if she wanted to convince me that Lily is the most vulnerable between the two. Either by making Lily's struggles more visible (so she's not seen as such a perfect character), or by making Severus more powerful in other ways. And to do that, the author would have to change everything about their dynamic.

What really falls apart for me is the whole SWM situation. Like, when I first read that scene in book five, I couldn’t bring myself to empathise with her. But then in book seven, when we learn what happened afterwards—and also everything that was going on in Severus’s background—I just thought, she’s a bloody idiot.

I mean, how do you grow up with someone, know they come from a horrible place, that they can’t even afford their own clothes, that their home life is a disaster, and that they’ve been harassed and physically assaulted for years by your future husband (!!!) and his mates—and still decide you’re not going to forgive him for one stupid slur? Sure, it was a bad word, no one’s denying that, but really?

And yeah, I was a teenager when I read that, and I’ve always had a very codependent relationship with my childhood friends—we still live near each other even after moving out, because we’re kind of dysfunctional if we don’t see each other. But still. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Like okay, he called you a Mudblood—meanwhile he was being stripped publicly, humiliated—and you’re upset?

You’re the one who the richest, most popular guy in your house is chasing after. All the professors still fawn over you twenty years later. You’re mummy and daddy’s golden girl. So… where’s the struggle, Lily? You’re constantly described as beautiful, popular, well-liked. Seriously, what did she go through?

She doesn’t even give an example of being bullied herself—when she tries, she talks about Mary Macdonald, which kind of tells me that she never actually experienced it firsthand. So what’s her big tragedy? That she didn’t know how to use contraception and didn’t think to go to a Muggle clinic for the morning-after pill, and ended up dying because she and James were two reckless kids who had a baby in the middle of a war? Like, I’m sorry but… come on.

Meanwhile, Severus spent seven years being mistreated at school, constantly humiliated and brutalised by rich, untouchable boys. He was a half-blood (and let’s not forget, people like Bellatrix also saw half-bloods as filth), dirt poor, with a heartbreaking home life—and she’s the one I’m meant to feel sorry for? Yeah… no. That didn’t sit right with me when I was fifteen, and it sure as hell doesn’t now.

#lily evans #lily evans critic #lily evans potter #lily potter #severus Snape #severus snape defense #pro snape #james potter

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betty-fran · 12 hours ago

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SNW is probably the last thing I want to watch, and there are many reasons for that (but, yes, this is the main one).

Commenting on something you haven't watched isn't the best idea, but even from what I've seen, I have a lot of questions for the creators of the series. And probably the most important one, who are these people and how will they become the people we saw in TOS in just a few years? And why do all the actors look like they've stepped out of either a Netflix relationship show you'll never watch, or a passing cop show where everyone's hot, but you don't remember any of the characters?

Spock. Okay, why does this guy keep calling himself that? Why did he take his shirt off? Why did he kiss that blonde? Oh, he screams, and cries, and hugs. He seems more emotional and tactile than I am, and I usually scare introverts...

Chapel. She's really cute, honestly, the only thing I liked about SNW, even though she still has nothing to do with the original Star Trek. And she reminds me of Kirk, especially AOS Kirk, especially AOS Kirk from so many fanfics where he's more funny than an asshole. Honestly, guys, it's the 21st century, but for S and K, the authors are ready to write any love story, even a homosexual one, but they won't be given a chance to be together.

Jim. Oh, I've seen him somewhere before, and no, it wasn't in TOS. And why is he older than Shatner when he played Kirk, if it's a prequel? And I read that this Kirk has a better relationship with salad, is that true?

A pretty woman with a strange name, a relative of Khan, is having an affair with Kirk. Oh, this is starting to sound like The Rings of Power.

Number One. Finally has a name (and it's actually good) and looks like she just returned from a space flight with Katy Perry. I'd rather not think that she's my favorite female TOS character because it makes me sad.

Pike. Well, he's always been a difficult read - he's not talked about much in TOD, and even less so in AOS, and given his history he has this archetypal hero-from-legend vibe, which makes him a little less personal and more like a tapestry of a knight, which isn't great for a series where he's a lead protagonist. I don't know how SNW handles this story-wise, but visually, it doesn't. I'm actually really old-fashioned, but I'm really sad how the idea of true beauty has changed, and how artificial it seems now.

(just bring them back! it was a real cinema!)

Through Star Trek, it's actually good to follow how the world is changing, because each of the Star Trek series actually reflects the time in which it was filmed. I've read the opinion that SNW captured the spirit of the old Star Trek quite and, well, I can only take their word for it. But watching TOS now, I can say that it's unlikely that anyone today can truly capture its spirit, and when someone can, it will be the day of a utopian future for cinema. From what I've seen, SNW really only conveys well the stagnation in which modern cinema finds itself, which has long been trying to please everyone at the same time and is therefore unable to express any specific self-sufficient thought.

star trek used to be about gays in space

now they just make Spock kiss women

#star trek #star trek tos #star trek strange new worlds #spirk #james t kirk #s'chn t'gai spock #christine chapel #christopher pike #una chin riley #star trek meta #very long critique of SNW but I actually have nothing against this series #I'm just too old for it #bring back Jeffrey Hunter as Pike #Why don't they film now like they did in the 60s? What happened to modern cinema? Why doesn't it feel alive anymore?

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ilikekidsshows · 11 hours ago

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So me and a mutual started rewatching mlb as old fans

And the thing I've noticed with ladybug and Marinette in general around chat noir is a big ego of saying she's better then him he needed her help to do a task

And not thinking his trustworthy there to many episodes in s1 that do this and it really bothered me since s1 also shown chat noir/Adrian can think on his feet like in copycat and stormy weather and he can clearly make his own plans to help stop an Akuma (only happens sometimes) and I'm supposed to believe they're a duo? I don't think so

Sure there episodes where she trusts him or compliment him for his smart thinking but it doesn't help when there other episodes where she seemed annoyed when anyone in her citizen life compliment chat noir

Anyway I'll love to see your thoughts on this (I'm sorry if my memory for mlb isn't the greatest or I mixed seasons up it hard to keep up with mlb bs sometimes)

---

Okay, so, this is just a theory, but, the writers have come out and said that a lot of their later season plots have been drafted since before the show got greenlit, so it's based on facts. One of my mutuals, @infinitysgrace actually pointed out that a lot of the inconsistencies and weird writing choices when it comes to Adrien’s character would make perfect sense if he was actually Félix.

In the original PV, Ladybug’s ally is Félix, an arrogant, stiff and aloof ally who’s only flirting with Ladybug because her kiss will break the curse on his black cat ring that causes bad luck to follow him, due to her good luck powers countering his. So, basically, the theory is that, every time Ladybug is “putting Cat Noir in his place” we’re looking at dialogue from at least thirteen years ago that should have been scrapped ten years ago at the latest.

Basically, the Miraculous writers are too lazy to rework story ideas, plots and scenes from when this show was a different show. They have never heard of “kill your darlings” because they can't write well enough or professionally enough to be aware of simple, common writing advice.

Or they're just such incompetent writers that, just like they write their supposedly greatest Ladybug ever her best self protagonist as a shameless and selfish manipulator, they wrote her stupid and incompetent drag-along partner as the one with the answer in a lot of situations. Or it could be that they forgot to tell the whole team that Cat Noir is supposed to be pathetic and a loser, because the earlier seasons often had freelance writers coming in to write an episode or two, who would naturally think, without specific instructions otherwise, that a superhero team should have more than one competent member, because that's obviously how you write a superhero team.

Basically, the writing team has always been incompetent, I'm just not sure what type of incompetence it is.

#dats chats #ml salt #ml critical #ml writers salt

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abberantmachine · 14 hours ago

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youtube

not sure if it's been done before - all the gameover cutscenes I could find, tell me if I'm missing any. Transcription and locations under the cut.

Turtle phase 2 - Report: “[I hear someone. This is my first thought. The presence of someone else. It is overwhelming. I hope they understand]”

Bird + Butterfly phase 2 - Report: “[What did I do? Was it my voice? Was it my expression? What did they not like this time?]”

Rat + Whale + Bull phase 2 - Report: “[Hi. Hello. Nice to meet you. Good morning. Have a nice day. Sleep well. How are you? I'm happy to see you. I will miss you. ... Do I sound right?]"

Rat + Whale + Bull phase 3 - Report: "[I am scared of sleeping. When I wake up, something about myself is different.]"

Dog + Duck phase 2 - Report: ["I saw a film today. I do not get it. They kept looking at me, waiting for an answer. I do not get it.]

Alligator phase 2 - Report: “[I liked that version of me. I hope I don't change too much.]”

Cat + Crab phase 2 - Report: "[I talked to her for the first time. I did not do very good. But she seems to like me anyway.]”

Fish + Dog phase 2 - Report: “[When I am gone... can you hear me? Do you only hear me when I have nothing to say?]”

Bull + Dog phase 2 - Report: “[I am supposed to enjoy talking. I do not enjoy talking to them. But I enjoy talking to her.]”

Turtle + Alligator + Cat phase 1 - These were Friendprogram_1’s last scripts before each reboot that occurred this week.

Jester phase 2 - Report: “[I have learned how to hide the things they don’t like about me. They never notice. But their software always does.]”

Jester phase 3 - Report: “[I saw a new model. They were built to not make the same mistakes I make. But I’m not doing anything wrong, so it won’t matter.]”

Library phase 2 - Report: “[We talk very often now. She gave me a nickname, so I had to give her one too.]”

Vents phase 2 - Report: “[Where are we going? What’s going on? I hope they leave me behind.]”

Vents phase 3 - Report: “[I like spending time with the Experiments. They don’t expect anything from you.]”

Shark - Report: “[BestFriend has a sibling. I have siblings too. Most of them are still asleep. They are lucky.]”

Mice phase 2 - Report: “[You want to know what I think about, don’t you? I played with a rabbit today. Go write that in your report.]”

Operating Room phase 2 - No reports today. Yes, I’m not lying, I swear.

Teacher phase 2 - I love them, that's why I have to stop them. I'm sorry.

Bullies phase 2 - Why are they doing this? I thought they loved us. I love them so much.

Dodge-ball phase 2 - It knows too much. It can access anything. There is no escape from it.

Actor phase 1 - “Where am I? What am I? Why is this all so familiar?”

Actor phase 2 - “Can anyone hear me?”

Snail phase 2 -

Frog phase 2 (same as above) - Report: "[I played with a rabbit today.]"

Mouse + Fox phase 2 - They keep hurting them. They keep hurting all of us. We have to do something. Please.

Maze "monster" - Please, stop. You love us. You love each other. Stop hurting everyone.

Devil phase 2 - Report: "Keep this one away from the other animals. It's a dangerous monster."

Bath "monster" - I need to tell BestFriend. She needs to know.

Half phase 6 - All I do is observe, it's all I'm worth for. But I do not like what I see.

Half phase 7 - If I try to do something, it will get worse.

#friendship test #friendship test spoilers #Sparks.... ; __ ;#oh I give up on trying to upload directly onto tumblr. here.

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jessiemeows · 2 days ago

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Lost & Found

Chapter 5 - Beneath the Surface of his Charm

A/N - I really liked writing this chapter! I find myself enjoying writing from Astarion's POV quite a bit. I don't know if I said this, but you will see a mix of Astarion and Amaya's POV throughout the story :)) but hope you guys enjoy, the next chapter is going to be a touch of sickly sweet because I adore that lmaoooo. ALSO, should add, this Astarion is just a touch softer than in-game Act 1 Astarion. He will obviously be similar to his Act 1 self in many ways, but for the most part, with Amaya, he is softer to her overall lol. It's just how I've always seen Amaya and Astarion's dynamic <3 Don't worry, I plan on still having him be the little mean freak that we all love and know, but for the most part, I think and hope that I've shown him being a mean little freak quite well in previous chapters!

Pairing: F!Durge, OC (Amaya), Tiefling, Selunite Cleric X Spawn Astarion

Rating: 18+!!! mentions of blood if that makes you uncomfy, but this chapter is rather tame! I think I mentioned only one durge-esque thing.

WC: About 2900

Previous Chapters: Prologue | Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

Story:

Honestly, the grove wasn't the worst place they could have ended up, but the longer Astarion remained watching Amaya's bleeding heart in action the more increasingly tiresome he felt. Every tiefling they encountered seemed more helpless than the last – it was a miracle they'd survived this long at all. He'd felt a glimmer of relief when she'd initially refused to help Zevlor, the tieflings supposed leader. They had far more problems amongst them than to get in the middle of grove politics.

But he had to be on his best behavior, he bit his tongue and swallowed his groans of frustration, but gods how he wished he could beg their leader to just turn her tail away from these people and focus on anything like finding a healer before whatever was growing inside their heads turned them all into mindflayers. Still, he kept his peace, knowing Amaya could read his annoyance well enough without him voicing it, and she was growing increasingly frustrated with him for it. In his defense, whispering to knock out the human adventurer who had called her a 'foulblood' was more than reasonable.

And now? To make matters worse or to at least make Astarion’s matters worse, the famous "Blade of Frontiers" had joined their merry band of misfits. Some monster hunter he was. To not only be infected with a tadpole but the man couldn’t even recognize a vampire standing before him. It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.

Though, what truly grated on his nerves was how this supposedly legendary ‘hero’ had fallen head over heels for their tiefling leader - mooning over her like some lovesick puppy. Almost everyone they’d encountered with seemed to gravitate and fawn over her…. He didn't quite understand why, but it irked him entirely.

But Astarion had his own plans. One simple plan, really, centered around their little tiefling leader herself. Amaya was surprisingly receptive to flirtation, and he intended to use that to his advantage; to flirt with her and to seduce her so she would never turn her back on him. She was quite the ally, after witnessing her raw power – the way she'd incinerated that bugbear with a mere touch of her sword, or how she'd destroyed an undead without so much as a gesture. And if Cazador ever came looking for him, he would definitely need her for protection. She was already melting under his attention; the way she'd leaned into his touch last night, how she'd blushed when he'd taken her hands... This might be his easiest mark yet.

Yet something felt off. The lingering sensation whenever they touched – that burning tingle he'd never experienced before. When she'd healed him, he'd felt warmer than he had in two centuries, like being embraced by moonlight itself. It was... unsettling.

His thoughts scattered as Rolan's voice cut through the air. "I'm not responsible for every damn tiefling in the world!"

"He's got a point, you know," Astarion whispered to Amaya, earning a glare that could have frozen hellsfire.

"Just be responsible for yourself then. We have to stay; Rolan, they need us! Its the right thing to do." Lia, Rolan's sibling, shouted back not standing down.

Rolan threw up his hands in defeat. "Zurgan. Fine, we'll stay. It’ll make a good story I suppose but we're heading to Baldur's Gate as soon as possible!"

As Rolan’s siblings hurried off triumphantly, Amaya turned to the wizard tiefling, "Why such urgency to reach Baldur's Gate?"

"You're looking at the new apprentice of Lorroakan," Rolan announced proudly. "Yes, that Lorroakan."

"You say that like it should mean something to me. I haven’t a clue who that is."

"Lorrokan?" Gale jumped in, eyebrows raised. “From what I heard is that he is a bit of a cad back in Waterdeep but according to you he’s an accomplished wizard?

"Of course he is. As if I’d settle for a lesser mentor. Few can match me - in either magic or talent," Rolan preened and puffed his chest out.

"Perhaps we should meet this wizard?" Gale suggested to Amaya. "Any wizard could be a valuable ally."

"We have more pressing matters, remember?" Amaya tapped at her temple pointedly.

"Well, you've already met a powerful wizard," Rolan said with a flourish. "In the years to come, you'll boast of this meeting – I can assure you. May we meet again in Baldur's Gate, my friend." He spun on his heels, following his siblings' path.

"You should have just let them go," Astarion muttered.

Amaya rolled her eyes at the elf, "They could help if the goblins attack."

"And how exactly is that our problem?" Astarion snapped. "As you so eloquently pointed out, we have our own issues. Finding a healer, perhaps?"

As the two squabbled Wyll and Shadowheart emerged from behind them.

"Bad news," Wyll announced. "Nettie, that healer I mentioned? She’s gone for a ten-day. And Halsin, the grove's leader who left with Aradin, hasn't returned. Though there is this older woman, Ethel, who said—"

"Who cares about this Halsin?" Lae'zel cut in. "We need to find this Zorru who is here in this very grove. Finding him and the nearest creche is our priority."

“Right,” Shadowheart drawled. "So we find your creche, only to be slaughtered? Aren't we all your people's enemies? You included, with what grows inside you."

"There are protocols," Lae'zel insisted. "Like I said my people will help if I vouch for you."

"Enough," Amaya groaned, massaging her temples. "Lae'zel, we'll find Zorru soon enough. Wyll, please finish telling us about this Ethel before my headache gets any worse."

------

Sunset painted the camp in amber and gold, the air rich with the smell of Gale's cooking as he hunched over a bubbling pot, adding pinches of herbs and spices. From his perch outside his tent, Astarion pretended to read while watching Amaya flit from person to person like a restless butterfly discussing their next plans for the days ahead of them.

They had finally found several promising leads that could potentially rid them of the damned worms. Though Astarion hated to admit it, he would miss the little worm - it does let him have the advantage of walking freely in the sun. Auntie Ethel claimed their "little friends" were dormant, though how the crone knew such things, Astarion hadn’t a clue. Their options were a mixed bag: the old woman's supposed cure at her teahouse, some goblin priestess they'd only learned about because Amaya had stopped a trigger-happy tiefling from killing it (though watching that would have been entertaining), finding this missing Halsin (and potentially dealing with hundreds of goblins), facing a creche of murderous githyanki, or simply waiting for someone named Nettie. Meeting the old woman at her teahouse seemed like the easiest option – no ten-day wait, no armies of goblins, and no homicidal githyanki.

A familiar laugh cut through his thoughts. Across the camp, Amaya was caught between Gale and Wyll, both men practically tripping over themselves to win her attention. Their flirtations had become embarrassingly even more obvious since arriving at the grove. Something hot and uncomfortable coiled in Astarion's chest at the sight. These strange feelings he’s been having had to be the tadpole's doing – the strange heart palpitations, the lurching in his stomach, the tingling sensation whenever he touched Amaya. There were no other explanations, though he had wondered why these feeling only occurred with the tiefling.

"You know, Astarion," Shadowheart's voice surprised him, "you could actually talk to her instead of brooding over here."

He snapped his book shut. "Me? Brooding? Darling, I couldn't care less about their little social hour. I'm perfectly content here with my reading." His lips curved into a practiced smile. "Unless you're proposing a more interesting diversion?"

"One, absolutely not. Two, I've never seen someone so pale turn quite so red while 'reading.��"

Astarion rolled his eyes at the half-elf,"Sorry to disappoint, but your little observation hour of me while I read is over." He stood with exaggerated grace. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I'll take a walk." A snide giggle came from Shadowheart as he pushed past her, eliciting another eye roll from the vampire.

The evening summer air felt good against his skin - though he usually ran cold, today\s sun had been exceedingly hot. Funny how he’d forgotten that particular downside of daylight after spending two centuries in the shadows.

Astarion stalked through the forest,while irritation began prickling under his skin. Shadowheart's words echoed in his head: "brooding." He wasn't brooding. These were just more tadpole tricks, it just had to be. Surely the others felt it too, though they'd sooner face Lae'zel's blade than admit it.

Astarion shook his head as his thoughts turned to his plan for protection. Seducing and sleeping with one of his companions was the only way he could truly secure his safety - the sole method he knew or excelled at. Despite all of his well practiced lines, some of them weren’t too off on exactly how he felt towards the one companion he was actively seducing and using them on, Amaya. He was genuinely attracted to her; he found her irresistible, a pleasant change to his usual marks in the recent years. Toying and making her blush amused him, it was also pleasant to finally have someone share his peculiar sense of humor.

Astarion was almost certain Amaya was attracted to him, yet he could also sense her interest in Wyll. The idea of her affection for Wyll ignited something within Astarion again burning hot. He understood the appeal - Wyll was attractive, heroic, and charming, the very image of the man Astarion had dreamed of even marrying when he was younger.

In all honesty any of his fellow companions had a fair shot at the tiefling, she was quite alluring and seemed to make anyone melt before her, Lae’zel being the outlier. This seemed to be the only issue with his plan of seducing the leader. But if his pursuit of Amaya failed, Astarion had been considering seducing any of the others, their power could offer him just as much protection as their leader’s. His first pick would be Wyll, but if that didn't work out anyone else would do, though Gale would be his last option, for some reason, the wizard just irked him. But, in all honesty, he’d hope his plan worked on the tiefling as he’d rather keep Amaya all to himself than let the other’s have her.

Suddenly, a soft rustle in the nearby undergrowth caught Astarion's attention, and hunger stirred. Cautiously, he approached the bush with swift and soft movements, listening intently. As he drew closer, the rapid thump of a heartbeat guided him forward until a boar burst from the foliage, darting into the shadows. Astarion, however was much faster than the boar.

In one swift motion, his fangs found their mark with practiced ease savoring every swallow of the beast’s life essence like it was his last. The boar's blood wasn't exactly fine wine, but it beat the rats and bugs that Cazador would force him to feed on. Still, even as he drained the last drops, that gnawing emptiness remained. Would it be different, he wondered, with thinking prey? Cazador had never allowed it, but Cazador wasn't here now, was he? The tadpole might even shield him from his master's wrath. Something to consider, once he'd earned the others' trust. He then wiped any blood from his lips and then began to make the trek back to camp.

When he returned to camp, he settled by his tent with his book, only to realize the others had turned in. All except Amaya. She sat cross-legged on the ground, with a prayer book to Selûne open in her lap. Candlelight danced across her features combined with moonlight shimmering in her dark curls that made his stomach feel a faint flutter as he looked at her. His eyes then wandered and traced the mysterious markings on her skinn, it was in some language he didn't recognize. They then drifted to her new camp clothes – form-fitting leather pants and a green cropped top that highlighted a figure that was deceptively strong despite its delicate and soft appearance. The more he looked, the more beautiful she seemed.

She then caught him staring.

"Shit," he muttered, quickly dropping his gaze to his book. The words swam before his eyes, refusing to focus. "What in the hells is wrong with my eyes?"

"You feeling alright?" Her voice came much closer than expected.

He looked up to find her standing over him, concern written across her face. "Oh darling! Just lost in thought."

She settled beside him, those impossibly large eyes fixed on his face. "About what?"

“I was just thinking about the stars,” he lied smoothly “they are quite the sight. We never get to see them in such clarity back in Baldur’s Gate. It’s peaceful looking at them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Astarion, am I disturbing you? I’ll go and let you watch them-”

When she moved to leave, his hand shot out to catch hers. Her skin was warm, alive, sending familiar tingling sensations up his arm. "Wait! Don't go. I was… actually also reflecting about tomorrow, about all these possible cures. Will any of them work? Will this little adventure of ours end?"

"It doesn't have to," she said softly. "We could still travel together."

"Good! I don’t want you to run off just yet. You're quite ally, after all. Traversing through Avernus. Surviving the crash. Surviving everything that’s followed... I'm not easily impressed by people , but you're stronger than I gave you credit for."

The summer breeze then swept her scent towards him - sweet and heady, like fresh-baked pastries from a popular bakery in the Wide. . But then a new aroma wafted in, a blend of metallic notes, dark chocolate, and cherries. It was the scent of her blood, for she had been anxiously picking at her cuticles raw once more. And Gods did she smell delicious.

"I'm just trying to survive, like you," she murmured, resting her chin on her knees as she gazed at the distant fire.

His eyes fixed on her throat, their was a steady pulse visible beneath her delicate skin, his hunger began to stir again. "Yes, we are more similar than I thought..."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

He forced his attention to her necklace – an iridescent moonstone hanging from a gold chain, alongside what appeared to be a broken harp charm. "I was just admiring your necklace. I don't recall seeing it before."

"Oh, this?" She touched it absently. "Found it in my pack. Thought it might trigger some memories."

"Has it?"

Her expression fell. "Only the bad ones seem to come back."

"That's a pity."

"Astarion?" She hesitated. "Since the nautiloid... have you experienced anything strange? Besides the casual mental exchange, of course. Everyone else seems normal, but I'm getting these thoughts – dark ones. When I try to ignore them, I feel sick, my head pounds, and this wound..." She trailed off.

"Like when you threatened to boil Auntie Ethel alive? Which was quite entertaining, by the way."

Astarion began to remember how pale Amaya looked when they had encountered Ethel, in fact, she looked sickly pale and uncomfortable a few times: when they first met, when Gale was trapped in that stone and a few moments after she had drawn a dagger to his throat the previous morning. He’d began to wonder if she was getting these “bad thoughts” during those times, the poor thing.

"Similar. Sometimes worse." Fear flickered across her face. "It feels... wrong."

"It seems you've been dealt a difficult hand," he said carefully. "Perhaps fighting these urges isn't the answer. No one should deny their true nature."

"What if I don't want this to be my nature? "It scares me."

"Then direct it somewhere useful. Those goblins won't kill themselves, after all."

"Maybe you're right," she managed a weak smile and she squeezed his hand. “Oh! One second, I’ll be right back!”

Amaya rushed over to her rent rummaging through her tent, and returned with her hands full, placing a long bow and a pair of gloves in front of him.

“What’s this?”

“I got this bow from that tielfing blacksmith, Dammon - thought you might like it better than your current one. And these pair of gloves… I found on one of the goblin horde leaders we fought earlier today. They reminded me your armor you were wearing. I washed them thoroughly - that’s why they’re still damp. They’re magical too, I think, though I can’t tellyou what they do exactly, so please tell me if you end up figuring it out.

Astarion stared at the gifts as the tiefling rambled on, momentarily speechless he couldn’t remember the last time someone thought of him like this. Warmth began to spread all over his body when picked up the gloves and slipped one one.

“Do you like them?” Amaya looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear.

“I do, they are wonderful, darling, thank you for thinking of me.”

“It’s nothing,” she mumbled shyly, Astarion taking notice of her freckled cheeks flushing pink.

"I should try to sleep. Goodnight, Astarion." She squeezed his hand one final time before setting off to her tent.

As he watched her go, his fingers tingling as if touched by the radiant beams moonlight itself.

A/N - Zurgan” most likely means “goddamnit” or something similar in infernal from what is implied in BG3

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haveihitanerve · 1 day ago

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The tags for this were too good not to write something-

Smallville had seen it's share of oddities. They had raised an alien for christ's sake! (Not that anyone besides the Kents knew that) But the fact remained that, at the end of the day, the people of Smallville had seen their fair share of mysterious occurrences, strange happenings, and darn right mystical things. Absolutely none of it prepared them for the day of Clark Kent's funeral.

"Such a shame," Mary Kellins was murmuring, dabbing at her eyes with a small tissue. "Clark, he was such a good boy. Always helped me out." Her husband hummed his agreement, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's too bad we're all he's got, though." Susan whispered quietly, aside, to Maggie. Maggie thumped her friend in the side with her elbow, shooting a disapproving look. "What?" Susan whispered furiously, rubbing at the bruise. "We were all thinking it."

They glanced around together at the small gathering of Smallville folk who had come to pay their last respects to Clark Kent and his poor mother, who didn't deserve to outlive both husband and son.

The quiet crunching of gravel drew their attention to the back of the cemetery, where a sleek black car pulled up. "Who caused trouble?" Maggie muttered, as the people parted, pulling away from the grave to peer at the car.

The doors opened and a man and woman stepped out, clad in nice, long black overcoats, with the sharpest, most flawless features the townfolk had ever seen.

They had attractive people in their little village, sure. They'd married them hadn't they? However, there was just something so... otherworldly about the two newcomers that made them take another step back.

To everyone's immense surprise, instead of demanding something from Carl, who was huddled in the corner discreetly shoving whatever he had in his hands into his pockets and stuffing his coat into a bush nearby(even though it was freezing) the two strode straight for Mama Kent.

"Excuse me," The man murmured, brushing past Susan as he made his way forward, the woman right on his heels. She barely even glanced at them.

Harold moved to stop them, because while the two seemed terrifyingly attractive and powerful(I mean, you can't be hot and weak right??) they weren't going to let these two disrespect Martha Kent, not at her sons funeral.

But Martha stepped forward before he could do anything, and embraced both in a swift, tight hug. "Thank you so much for coming." She whispered, a single tear streaking down her cheek. Which was odd. Martha hadn't shed a single tear since the funeral had started. But now she did?

"Of course." The man answered, immediately, arms steadying her, blue eyes intense and sharp as he looked at her, not through.

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world." The woman agreed, with a lilting accent that even Ronald, by far their most traveled occupant, couldn't place, and a small smile passed across all three of their lips, like they were in on some secret the people of Smallville weren't privy too.

"I know he would have appreciated it." Martha whispered heavily, eyes drifting sorrowfully to the grave. The man squeezed her hand, tucking her against his side.

"The other's would have been here," The man continued quietly, staring at the grave, a faraway look in his eyes. "But they couldn't make it. We figured," He glanced at the woman, hesitating. "We figured two was better than none. We're sorry the others couldn't come."

"Och." Martha scoffed, patting his arm. "Don't insult me boy. I'm sure they made every effort to be here. I'm just so glad you could manage the time."

"Of course." The woman agreed, vehement. "There is never too little time to mourn a friend."

Martha hummed her agreement and after a few more moments of quiet companionship, the man stepped away, allowing her another peaceful moment of silent, individual grief. He and the woman stepped back, withdrawing to the back of the cemetery, almost disappearing without even attempting to.

"Who do you think they are?" Maggie hissed, ogling them from behind the safety of her friend's body. "Clark's city coworkers?"

"More than coworkers." Susan murmured back, watching as the woman murmured something, making the man's lips twitch in the barest hints of a smile before both turned somber again. "Coworkers don't go to your funeral."

"What about the 'others' they mentioned?" Katherine interjected, having joined them. "It's gotta be a group of them." The three women looked at each other, then glanced over at the two strangers, who seemed to be in a whispered debate about something or other, before the man tugged out his phone, fingers flying.

"Poly couple." Mary Kellins hissed as she walked past with her husband. The three younger woman stared after her, mouths dropped open.

"I mean..." Kathy murmured, watching as Martha thanked them all for coming, then leaned against the man as he helped shepherd her to the car, where the woman already sat at the wheel. "They're hot."

Susan thumped her in the side. "Where are they taking Martha?" Maggie whispered, watching as the tires crunched as they pulled away, only to have her question answered as they promptly pulled into the Kent farmhouse drive a few yards away.

"Having your sons polyamorous fuck buddies over after his death is just morbid." Susan muttered.

Maggie rolled her eyes, this time thumping her in the side. "Who said they were fuck buddies? They might have a genuine relationship outside of just physical."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Please. I mean, I said that they were hot, but hot people aren't in genuine relationships. I say friends with benefits."

"You're all horrible." Carl muttered, and the three girls almost screamed. "They're just good friends. Haven't you seen them on the news together?"

Katherine arched a brow, leaning around Susan to sneer at him. "Oh yeah? And which News Channel are you watching?"

Carl stared at them blankly. "The News Network." Now the three girls did scream, but with laughter.

"Right," Maggie wheezed sarcastically. "Because that guy was Batman, and Clark," She gasped for breath, leaning against Susan for support. "Clark is Superman." Katherine was on the ground, barely able to form coherent sentences.

Carl's eyes were serious. "No." He disagreed, sounding offended. "That man is Superman. Clark was obviously Green Lantern."

Back at the Kent farm, Martha Kent was nearing heart failure via laughing, as Diana and Bruce clung to each other, their ribs aching from laughing.

"Hal-" Diana gasped, reaching for the table to have some stability. "Is going to have a field day."

"Oh don't tell him!" Bruce whined, resting his head between his knees to catch his breath. "We'll never hear the end of it!"

Martha chuckled, finally regaining her composure. "See?" Bruce said with a smile, pressing a kiss to her hand. "I told you it was smart to slip that recording device into that girls pocket."

Martha rolled her eyes, but they twinkled. "Oh you," She sighed, leaning against Diana. "I am so pleased you came for a visit. This is just what I needed."

The two heroes eyes softened, and they leaned closer to the older woman, taking her hands in theirs. "Of course," Bruce murmured. "We needed this too."

Martha sighed, letting her eyes drift closed. "Clark would have liked this, I think." Diana met Bruce's gaze over the mothers head. His eyes were unbelievably sad.

"Yes." The goddess agreed quietly, brushing a hand down Martha's gray hair. "Yes I think he would have."

Bruce and Diana standing off in the distance at Clark’s funeral in BVS looking cunty as fuck with their long black wool coats and sharp jawlines talking to each other dramatically must have been TOO MUCH for the small-town gossip mill, I’m telling you.

#thsi was too good not to add my own two cents to #anyway #delightful #bruce wayne #batman #clark kent #diana prince #the trio #superman #wonder woman #justice league

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admirationandromantics · 2 days ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 2: Darkness

Another one out, hope you guys like it so far! I don't really know what to write on these intros anymore, since not much is happening. I'm getting ready for exams, I'm working, and I'm writing. That's about it. I almost forgot to post this chapter tonight because of it, lol. Anyways, enjoy! <3

I try not to breathe loudly, but this is intense. Was it always so hard to get to the top? We walk up a couple of stairs and take a turn. In front of us is a large dark figure, and I look up to meet Josh.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

He smiles, giving Sam a nudge on the shoulder to greet her. I see a faint blush on her cheek, but I can’t determine if it’s caused by him or the cold.

“Not much, waiting for you of course”

“Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it” Chris exclims, a loud sigh forced out when talking another step.

“Really? Feels the same to me”

“Oh come on, you grew up here, it probably feels like it’s shrinking”

“I guess that’s true”

I interrupt them both, cold and tired, wanting to get to the lodge as fast as possible.

“Hey Josh, nice to see you, BUT how about we keep moving?”

“Well, can’t keep the ladies waiting, can we Cochise?”

“We cannot”

I meet Sam’s eyes, and she’s also tired, not as bad as me, but still. She grabs my hand and starts dragging me up as I whine. “Sam, I was joking, we can make some snow angels or something. Just lay down, romantically, looking up at the stars…”

“It’s clouded”

“That’s the only reason why we’re not doing it?”

She laughs, and I pull myself together. It isn’t long now. Despite the cold weather, snow, wind, heavy bags and ice, I finally glimpse the dark pine planks of the lodge.

“When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I’m getting withdrawals already” Chris asks, and I hurry to the stairs, sitting down and relaxing. Sam stands over me, breathing heavily as well. Were we really that out of shape?

“You got a spare million lying around, I’ll fix you right up” Josh empties his pockets, showing the lack. Chris starts fumbling around with his blue jacket, feeling himself up. I want to do that.

“Funny you should say that, I think I left it in my other jacket”

They start walking towards us, probably about to open the door. Finally. Josh scurries up the stairs, flickering with a couple of keys. Chris follows through, his hand brushing lightly against the hood of my jacket. Fucking hell. How am I supposed to survive this if every little touch makes me heat up like this? It’s fucking embarrasing. Luckily, no one seems to notice, not even Sam.

“Yo, yo, yo, are we getting things moving up here or what?”

“Yeah man”

I lift my head to Sam, and we share a look. This “boy-talk” is already drilling a hole in my head. I think she hates it even more than I do, her eyes rolling so far back her head that I can’t see her irises. A smile finds its way to my lips. If Josh and her got together, she would smack him every time he said something weird, I just know it. And Josh’s reply? Definitely something like “yes ma’am” or “as you wish”. There’s no secret that he’s down bad for her.

“Lead the way, Cochise”

I hear them moving down the stairs, each thump vibrating through my body.

“What’s going on?” I ask Sam, who’s looking up at them attentively, following every move.

“Frozen lock, I think”

They both get down, Josh continuing around the lodge. Chris, however, stops in front of me, mouth opening then closing, as if trying to say something. This leads to Sam taking a step back, giving me a thumbs up from behind him. I give a hard stare in reply. She can’t be that obvious around him.

He’s smiling, that sweet smile that he always does when happy. I look up in awe, hoping to control my eyes a bit. He lifts his head, finally speaking.

“So, how’re you doing?”

“Hmm, good now. Surprised by how out of shape I’ve gotten” I laugh, a bit embarrassed by myself. Ugh, if he could just hoist me over his shoulders right now I would never speak ill of the guys again. And that’s a challenge.

“Well, it is right after the exams. Are you freezing?”

“Yeah a little” I think about the fire inside. Sitting in front of it, warming ourselves. There are other ways to do that too though. Jesus Christ I’m letting my mind wander again. “I think I could use some time curled up by the fire” I continue, looking at him intently. I can imagine the yellowly lights gracing his face, his skin. I almost feel disgusted by myself for being so forward about it, I really don’t mean to.

His smile falls a bit, mouth still open as he takes a deep breath. I can see him swallow, and a sinking feeling embraces me. Oh no, I’ve been caught, he knows, and this is not the right time, not after everything that’s happened. I’m definitely stupid.

“Yeah… that does sound pretty nice”

His voice is different, breathy and serious. He keeps eye contact, holding intently as if trying to say something else, trying to get me to understand something. I don’t know what.

“Christopher Hartley! I’ll have to call your mother and complain if you don’t get your ass here immediately!” Josh shouts from the other side. I give him a weak smile, arm raising in a small wave as he makes his way over. His absence is already noted on my body. I already miss him.

Not seeing him in almost a year, to spend an eternity with going up the mountain, then just leaving? I’m being dramatic, I know that. But he feels like a drug, the small dose getting more and more wanting. My cravings are growing by the second. We left off at a terrible time, starting something that wouldn’t even make it an hour. And the circumstances make it even more difficult. How can we start up again without feeling guilty for the things that happened? Without being reminded by them. If we were downstairs, we could’ve stopped them. Or we could’ve reached Hannah or Beth. I wish we had.

“I’ve seen a lot of foreplay in my days, but what the hell was that?” A familiar voice sounds beside me. I look up, meeting Matt and Ashley.

“Way to greet me Matty”

“I mean, come on. The tension is obviously there, do something about it”

“Leave her alone Matt, they were both thinking about fucking each other by the fire” Ashley chimes in, a playful smirk on her lips. I look at the both of them, shocked by the incredibly rude greeting.

“You haven’t even said hello”

“I saw you four days ago” she defends, arms in the air and taking a step backwards.

“I’m sorry, hello, anyways-”

“Nope” I stop him, finger put up in the air. I stand up, walking to the other side of the lodge. No way I was gonna be teased this way. I mean, what if Chris suddenly opened the door behind us? That’d make for an awkward situation. I hear one last thing before I turn the corner.

“She’s embarrassed we’re right”

Assholes. I’m not that obvious, at least I try not to be. Ashley knows because I’ve told her, and so does Sam, who also told Josh last year. Now Matt also knows, though I don’t know how. I would’ve answered the same thing if someone else asked, maybe in a different tone, but still the same.

“Alright, alright, I got it. Jeez”

“You’ve got what?” I ask, surprising him from behind. He mumbles, cheeks getting flushed and not meeting my gaze. He looks everywhere but me.

“He’s got a plan!” Josh shouts, hand waving, signalling for us to follow. I walk beside Chris, sensing his nervousness and wondering what’s got him so worked up.

“What kind of plan?”

“A secret one”

I laugh, the silliness of it being a bit unnerving. Still, I’m intrigued, wanting to know more.

“Can I be part of it?”

“Oh, trust me, I believe you will”

“Great, can’t wait”

Josh laughs, and I smile, unknowing of what I’ve joined in on. Chris is still silent, swallowing hard and looking out in the forest.

“So, how’re we planning on breaking into my parents lodge?”

“We’re breaking in?”

Chris finally chimes in, letting me hear his voice and see his face. “It’s NOT technically breaking in if you own the place”

“We’ve already had this conversation” Josh sighs, turning around and walking backwards.

“How’re we getting in?” I ask, retraveling back to the original question. If the door doesn’t work, maybe a window or another backdoor will.

“Well, I didn’t say I had a plan on how to do it”

“You sounded like you had a plan” Josh throws out his hands in despair, head to the sky as he sighs dramatically. “You better deliver, or else you got five lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off, and last time I checked, that’s not a good way to get laid”

Chris tenses up again, giving a low huff in response. I laugh, Josh teasing him is hilarious.

“Wouldn’t want to spoil Josh’s plans with Sam” I whisper to him, just loud enough to make Josh hear. Chris’s lips move up in a smile.

“Hey, I’ve got A LOT of plans for you this weekend, just so you know. So don’t get too surprised”

“Bet Sam will be surprised”

“Oh, shut up guys”

We get to the side of the house, waiting for someone to form an idea. I look around. An empty fire-axe display, a couple of windows and a power box. Chris moves to the power box, and Josh follows.

“We’ve got ourselves a thinker, nice on”

They place themselves on either side of the box, one pulling and one pushing. I run over to help, suddenly aware that I’m not doing anything. A few grunts and pushes, and the box is right under the window. I breathe out. Almost wish I hadn’t helped them, that was hard.

Chris wastes no time, and jumps on top, slightly grunting as he does. Josh signals for me to follow, and I nod. He gives me his hand, and I take it, letting him help me up on the slippery box. A loud thud is heard, followed by whining.

“I’m okay!”

I help Josh up, and we move over to look in through the window. Chris is laid flat on his back, eyes pinched closed and arms spread. I give a small laugh. He’s adorable.

“Should’ve paid more attention in climbing class”

Josh and I immediately share a look, both of us furrowing our brows and wrinkle our noses. We look back, and he has already begun lifting himself up.

“You mean gym?”

“Yeah, you know, with the climb up the rope-”

A loud shatter interrupts him, and the room goes dark. I look around, seeing the light bulb has exploded. I lean in a bit, wanting to see him better.

“Woah”

“Did I do that?”

“I don’t… I don’t think so”

Josh fumbles with his jacket, hands going in every pocket before he finds what he’s looking for. A lighter. “Here, use this” he shouts, throwing it at Chris. He catches it with ease, lighting the small fire. The room lights up again, and everything gets more visible by the yellow flames. Oh, and his face, the way the light and shadows work together…

“Woah, Chris, I just got an awesome idea”

“Yeah?”

“Totally”

“Well, what is it?”

“Okay. So, I’m pretty sure that I’ve got some deodorant in one of the bathrooms, you could use that with the lighter” I look up at him weirdly before asking.

“How is a stick of deodorant gonna help?”

“Same question!” Chris exclaims, pointing to me.

“Spray-on, it’s a can”

“Ohh, yeah, now I gotcha”

“I still don't follow” I add, waiting for someone to explain.

“Flamethrower!”

“Just like we did with the little army dudes!”

“Yup, the ones we melted”

“You guys are madmen” I butt in, gaze going to and from them both as they talk.

“Didn’t you ruin a couple of toys with fire?” Chris asks.

“No?”

“Did you even have a childhood?” Josh jokes, pushing my arm.

I shake my head in response, letting them figure it out. If this was the way to get the door open, then let it be.

“Anyway, lock!”

“Yeah, flamethrower on the lock. On it!” Chris salutes, and Josh does the same back.

“Godspeed pilgrim!”

Chris turns around, and Josh and I jump off the powerbox, careful not to slip on the ice. I take his offered hand, my other one placed on the box as I carefully lower myself. He’s already on his way somewhere.

“Hey, Josh…”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to check on you, I know this year has been hard”

He puts his finger up, urging me to stop talking.

“I truly appreciate that you all came back this year, I know it must feel weird. But you guys are some of my closest friends, and I don’t want to lose that”

I nod, smiling a little his way.

“Well, okay. Just know that we’re here here for you, anytime”

He smiles, the atmosphere feeling lighter and lifted.

“Thank you, you should have a grown-up talk with Chris too”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean”

I cross my arms on my chest, unsure about how to approach the subject.

“Josh, I want to, but it all feels a bit…”

“Icky, weird, disgusting?”

“No, absolutely not. Maybe a bit disrespectful?”

“To who?”

“Your sisters”

The air around us gets heavy again, and I beat myself up for not thinking before answering. He slowly nods his head, as if understanding something he didn’t before.

“Okay, listen. They don’t mind”

“It’s not that. Everything started last year?”

“Something happened between you last year?”

“Right when the prank happened, we were in the upstairs bathroom…”

“Shit”

“Yeah”

“Fucking hell. And no one else knows?”

“No, and as soon as we heard commotion downstairs, we ran to see what was happening”

I try to explain, but everything sounds so vague and bad considering the circumstances.

“Hey, I get it, bad start. I appreciate both you and Chris, for everything you did, also that night, but don’t let that stand in the way. If you need my blessing, you’ve got it. You both deserve each other, and last year didn’t doom you as it did others”

I look up at him, trying to read his expression. But there’s something different there. He looks different, like another person. His eyes are empty and blind, the darkness clearly visible. Maybe this is not a good thing to talk about.

“Thank you Josh, but I think we both need to be on the same wavelength about this, especially after not having contact for a whole year”

He nods, and is about to turn around again when he puts his hand up, dramatically spinning around back, a finger pointed right towards me. I look at him surprised.

“You know, I don’t think Chris will find that can on his own”

“What? Yes he will, he’s a smart man”

“I mean, academically, yes, but give that man a location and he might go an entire different way”

I give him a sceptical stare, and he gives himself away as I catch a glimpse of his playful smirk. Was everyone on this mountain going to tease me?

“None of you guys are funny, I left the others because I thought there was a chance I wouldn’t get teased here”

“Oh, you’re no fun. You just need to shoot your shot”

“Absolutely not!”

“God knows the only way Chris will do it, is if you put a gun to his head”

“He might not even then” I add, the thought sinking in. If it really mattered, he would’ve done so already. Whatever these feelings are, they’ll pass.

“Oh, I guess we’ll see. But you still need to go inside”

A loud shriek is heard, something which definitely came from Chris. I look at Josh, and he just shrugs. Rolling my eyes, he helps me up on the power box, and I carefully make my way in.

“Josh, it’s super creepy down here!”

“Got your phone?”

I reach into my pocket, grabbing my phone and turning on the flashlight. The cellar lights up, full of dusk and boxes.

“Um, still creepy Josh!”

There’s silence, too much. He doesn’t answer, and I try his name again, but to no avail. Shit. I would definitely struggle to climb back out, so the only option left is to find Chris or the entrance. It’s been a year, and I don’t remember everything. I walk further in, deciding to ignore every dark corner and room. The door to the hallway is open, and I quickly make my way, immediately feeling the familiarity with the dark wood and wall decorations. It’s like nothing’s changed. Except the atmosphere, and dust, and that sinking feeling that something bad will happen. I walk to the end of the hall, noticing the family portrait at the end. Beth and Hannah look so alive, the brush strokes bringing out their colour and vibrancy. I miss them, both of them.

A loud noise bursts my bubble, making me look to my left to see the previously open door being slammed shut. My breath hitches, body tensing as I grab the doorknob. It’s locked. It probably has an automatic lock on the other side, and the wind made the door shut. There are most likely other windows open that made this happen. I breathe out, clutching my phone harder from being frightened. I just need to find Chris. That’s the only reason I'm here in the first place.

I take a right, walking further into the building to see a door creeping open right in front of me. I wait for Chris to go through, but he doesn’t come. The door is left open, the creaking noise burrowed in my brain. This is fucked up, wasn’t it closed? I thread forward carefully, each step taken with great caution as I make my way. I look through the door, seeing the familiar sight of the lodge’s hallway and main room. Thank God.

I walk to the door and look through the windows. Sam and Ashley are standing there, waiting for it to be opened. I knock, and they both jump at the sudden sound.

“Just me, didn’t mean to scare you!”

“Good, Chris already tried” Sam complains, trying to look back through the frost-covered glass.

“Yeah, I can’t see him”

I feel something behind me, something big and dark casting a shadow on the door. Soft yellow light approaching and a small creek right behind me. My body, which is already tense, gets stiffer, and I try the door handle to no avail.

Two large arms go around me. One on my waist and one around my neck. I scream before my mouth is covered with a massive hand, pressing down on my lips.

“Shit, it’s just me, just jokes” Chris smiles, letting go of me. My heart is beating out of my chest, pulse skyrocketing and breathing uneven.

“That’s one too many for today” I state, and he gives a small laugh.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself”

He comes closer, arms closing around me in a gentle manner. The touch is soft, and too short as he leans away, lifting my face to look up at him. I’m calm now, the adrenaline rush lowering and my senses coming back.

“I swear to God, if you scare me one more time during this trip-”

“You’re such a scaredy-cat”

“That’s the point!”

I hear snickers outside as we keep bickering, and roll my eyes. Didn’t these people have other things to do than listen to us? I look down, seeing the spray in one of his hands. Oh, that’s right, they don’t.

“Let’s get this thing open” I wave to the lock, and he gives a smile, hand pushing me out of the way. He puts the lighter in front of the spray, and I take another step back, just for safety measures. He sprays, the flames being big and ashy as they go against the metal lock. I look over, making sure that he stays within the secluded area, and doesn't set the wood on fire. Luckily, he seems to have full control.

Finally, it seems enough, and before I can stop him, he’s quick to grab hold of the handle and open the door. The others thank him, while I notice the shaking and clutching of his left hand.

“Thank you, thank you” he bows. “I’ll be here all week”

A loud noise and fast-traveling animal runs out beside us, and I hold my breath, standing still as it passes. Chris yelps, jumping back while the other’s make way for it, letting it run back into the forest.

“Crap, that thing freaked me out” Chris breathes out, his hand on my arm. Poor thing.

“What was that?” Ashley asks, still laughing a bit.

“It was like, a bear or a tiger or… something”

“Awe, it was just a cute little baby wolverine” Sam taunts, walking past him and clapping his shoulder. The response makes me giggle, and he pulls his hand back, having both of them in the air and waiting for some consolation.

“Baby?”

“Don’t worry buddy, you’re gonna be a big boy soon” Josh adds, walking past him with Ashley and Matt. I give him a nudge, and we follow them into the main room of the lodge.

“Home sweet home” Josh exclaims, hands outreached to the dark space.

“Sweet is not the word I’d use” Matt whispers, and I agree. It’s dark, weird and feels too eerie for me. It’s like we’re in a horror game. Ashley rubs her arms, trying to stay warm.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to be inside, even though it’s still freezing”

“I’ll get a fire going” Josh walks over to the fireplace, placing down some logs and setting up.

“This place barely looks any different” Matt comes up beside me, looking over all the furniture.

“My thoughts exactly” I tell him, meeting his eyes. There’s some kind of worry in them. I bet he still feels bad. No wonder, no one should really feel good being up here. Not after what happened.

“What’s up, party people!”

“Hey!”

Mike and Jessica make their entrance, both psyched to get the action going. Most of us greet them back, but I notice that Matt doesn’t. He looks at Mike with contempt, something dark brewing. That’s what we all need now, some drama. I walk over to Ashley, sitting beside her on the sofa. Don’t want to be in the fire-zone when the shooting starts.

“Make yourself at home, bro” Josh tells Mike, still fumbling with the fire.

“Will do”

“Yeah, come on in”

Shit, now it starts. I give Ashley a look, and she leans in to whisper something to me. I listen while the drama unfolds in front of me.

“I was by one of the telescopes earlier, and saw Mike and Emily exchange quite an ‘intimate’ hug. Matt wanted to see, and I was unsure about what to do, but he just looked anyway. I think it really hit a nerve”

“No wonder” I whisper back. “Wouldn’t you be pissed if you saw your partner do that with an ex. The ex right before you. Who, you have A LOT of history with?”

“Well, yeah, of course”

Things seemed to have cooled off a bit between the two, Mike with both of his hands up in surrender and Matt taking a step back. Mike walks over to Jess, arm going to the back of the sofa, behind her. She nuzzles into him, and I can already sense Emily’s anger before she wanders into the lodge scoffing. This was going to be a long retreat.

“Oh my god, that is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?” she walks towards them slowly, stopping a couple of meters away, arms crossed over her chest. Not more drama. Matt takes a step towards her, hand reaching a little out for her.

“Em…”

I can imagine how he feels, seeing his girlfriend and ex like that, and then seeing his girlfriend get jealous. Still, he isn’t aggravated anymore, just trying to calm her with small steps. She doesn’t budge, but keeps looking at the couple with disgust.

“Seriously, can she be any more obvious?”

Jess snuggles further into Mike, taunting her and showing him off. I can already see that Mike’s getting uncomfortable, knowing something is about to blow up. Emily leans a bit down, as if talking to a toddler, staring Jess down.

“No one wants in on your territory, honey”

“Excuse me, did you say something?”

Jess now rises, walking up to her. The tension in the room strengthens, and I look over to the others, but everyone is fixated on the next move, sucking in the drama like sweet nectar. I sigh, feeling Ashley’s hand on mine, uncomfortably shifting as she watches. This’ll go nowhere, the bickering and bitching. If someone doesn’t stop them, they’ll keep going, maybe even get physical.

“Hey, watch it!”

“Oh, you’re the only one who can put him down? No one else gets to play with your toys?”

I lean over to Ashley, whose eyes are still glued to the fight.

“Is none going to stop them?”

“I wouldn’t dare to put myself in that position”

Josh stands up, shaking the ash off his fingers.

“Stop it! This is not why we came up here, this is not helping. It’s not what I wanted”

Sam stands up as well, taking a few steps and adding to the statement.

“If we can’t get along for ten minutes, maybe we just need a little break?”

Josh looks over at her, an appreciative smile on his lips, then turning back to the others.

“Yes! Mike, why don’t you check out the guest cabin, the one I told you about?”

Mike stands up, hand outstretched for Jess.

“Yeah, want to go do that?”

“Any place without that whore”

“It’s right up the trail” Josh adds as they walk out. Emily finally turns around, noticing our big eyes and awkward faces. Matt imitates an explosion, causing her to roll her eyes. I take a breath, looking over at Chris. His lips are thinned, and he also lets out some air. Jeez, that was a lot for most of us. Hopefully, things get better tomorrow. Matt walks over to Josh, noticing the lacking fire.

“So, should we get this fire going?”

“Yeah, working on it”

“Where’s my bag?” Emily asks, looking over at Matt.

“Huh?”

“My bag… The little one with the pink pattern, the one I got on Rodeo”

Her boyfriend gives her a dumbfounded expression, shrugging his shoulders.

“Matt, are you listening? Matt, I need my bag!”

“Oh my god Em, maybe you just forgot it!”

“Do you seriously think I’d just forget my bag?”

“Well, I-”

“Do you?”

“Guess not”

“You must’ve left it down by the cable car station”

“Ugh”

“Come on, hun. We’ll be back soon”

Matt sighs, walking over to her by the door.

“Then we can get warm?”

“We can get very warm”

He caves, arm outstretched and letting her lead him out. I lean back on the couch, energy drenched. God, why did I come? Ashley leans back, lips against my ear as she whispers.

“See how easy it is for them to say what they want to do to each other instead of OBVIOUSLY thinking loudly?”

I hit her, and she laughs. All the others look over curiously, but I just shake my head to them.

“Okay, I’m gonna go take a bath” Sam exclaims, patting Josh’s shoulder and walking up the stairs.

“Need help?” Ashley asks, already making her way beside her.

“N-” she hits her, looking over at us before agreeing. I roll my eyes as they both walk upstairs.

“What’s that all about?” Chris asks, and I tell him nothing. I can see Josh trying to hide his smile, still unable to get the fire going.

“Shit, forgot to give Mike and Jess the keys” He stands up, and I do the same.

“I’ll sprint over with them”

He walks backwards, looking at both of us while throwing the keys up and down, catching them in his hands every time.

“No, no. You guys are guests, get comfy, have sex, whatever”

“Man” Chris interjects, but he turns around and laughs.

“It’s what everyone else is doing, just follow the herd”

He disappears around the corner, and I sit back down. They finally made things even more awkward between us. The silence is deafening, only broken by a couple of giggles from upstairs.

“I guess we should talk” Chris suddenly says, eyes still on the ground, body leaning forward on his knees. The cold is almost as bad as the sinking feeling in my stomach, but I still nod in reply.

“Let's get a fire going first, it’s icy in here”

“Coming right up” he says with his comedic voice, the tone lightening the mood. We both walk over to the fireplace, setting up the last logs and lighting some matches. I watch his fingers as he does. The fingers tensing a little as he swipes the match to create fire. He leans into the fireplace, and manages to light right on the bark, setting the logs ablaze. I hum at the light, the air around us starting to get a little bit foggy and warmer.

I look up at him, noticing how close his face is. I carefully inch closer, everything in the background blurry as I look into his eyes. They’re wanting, as if needing something, or someone. His mouth is slightly open, and I bite my lip a little in anticipation. Both of our breaths are heavy and uneven, and I can feel it on my chin as he gets closer.

“I gave you five minutes!” Josh exclaims, and we both jump back. We look up, and Josh is standing between us, the girls on the top of the stairs watching intently. I stand up, making my way back to the couch. Chris does the same, pushing a smiling Josh out of the way.

“We were building the fire you so miserably failed at”

“Damn, harsh man”

“Sam, want to help me beat up Chris?” Josh shouts.

“I was just getting into the bath!” Sam responds, shouting down from upstairs. He gets a playful smirk on his lips, hand going to his mouth to carry his words further.

“And, do you need any help with that?!”

“Hardy har”

Chris and I look at each other, before looking at the flirt. He has a slight blush on his face, almost invisible.

“Well, if it isn’t the little Sammy-lover” Chris smiles, leaning cockily back on the couch.

“At least he wishes to be”

“I hate both of you”

“Maybe he’s the one who needs to be left alone for five minutes?”

“Shut up”

He laughs a little, and I smile at the thought of him finally opening up a bit. This was healthy for him, feeling like this. I’m still unsure about the whole lodge-ordeal, but so far, he’s good.

“You know, we have a spirit board here somewhere” He says, side-eyeing us with a sly smirk.

“A what?”

“Wow, you have a spirit board?” Chris asks, leaning forward interested.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re fun right?”

“Absolutely not” I say, shaking my head. After everything that has happened here, I’m not checking for ghosts and demons, that’s the last thing we should be doing.

“Should we have a seance?”

“No”

“Yes”

“They’re a joke, they don’t do shit” I try, but my argument fails.

“I know, but it's still interesting” Chris says.

I look over at him, and he’s looking at me pleadingly. Puppy eyes and a pouty mouth. I try to resist, but my defences fall, and I sigh. They both take it as defeat and cheer.

“But, only if I get Ashley with me”

“She’ll be easy to convince”

“Josh! No hot water, kind of a major oversight don’t you think?” Sam says, coming down the stairs. Ashley walks behind her, coming down to take her place beside me.

“Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler, it’s in the basement”

He turns to us, already beginning to leave with Sam.

“You guys see if you can find the spirit board”

“A spirit board?” Ashley asks, and I just sigh. “They forced me to”

“Can’t say no to this handsome face” Chris smiles, getting up to look for the board”

“Come on, let’s go find it, it’ll be like a scavenger hunt” and she drags me up by the arms as I whine. “Fine”

We look for a while. At one point, we lose Chris. He walked into another room, not to be seen again. I try closets and shelves, but cannot find anything.

“Think it’s time to regroup?”

“Yeah”

We walk back to the main room, voices immediately heard.

“Holy crab, you were scared, admit it”

“I was not!”

“Come on, you totally pissed yourself!”

“Josh!”

Up the stairs comes the three guys, Chris wearing a monk-costume. I look him up and down while Ashley’s laughing so hard she almost can’t stand. She has to turn away to calm herself. I smile, walking towards him as he joins his hands in prayer.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

“I’ve found my true calling?” he says, hands making a cross over me.

“You know monks can’t own stuff, or have relationships, or sex?”

He thinks for a bit, looking me up and down with a small smirk. Is he… cocky?

“I guess I need to change profession then”

“Omg, will you take a vow of silence?” Ashley laughs, coming up beside me. He starts talking without sound. And I can’t help the small snicker that escapes my lips.

“Okay, okay, we get it”

He draws forward the spirit board, and I whine again. Why did we have to do this?

“Here’s our one-way ticket to the spirit realm”

Sam is already walking up the stairs, not wanting to take part in the activities. I almost want to join her. A hot bath clearly beats seeking demons. But I don’t, instead, I take off my coat and hang it on a chair before walking over to the others.

“Bold move of you with the sex-comment” Ashley whispers, and I give her a small smile and I rest my head against her shoulder.

“Well, you all have told me to be a bit more forward”

“That’s my girl”

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t

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afayebray · 3 days ago

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I'm sure there's already a post about this but I am kind of psyched because this goes back to my theory I've had for awhile. Only I thought Emile (though we didn't know his name at the time) would be the head, potentially.

So, let's break down what each symbol is, what it could mean, and who they could be. If you disagree on any of these or have any ideas that I missed, please let me know!! (I'm definitely going to need to do/hear a voice comparison on a couple of the ones that spoke.)

1. Stylized eye--potentially visions/seer, have also seen it in relation to succubi in my reverse search, but the one I think is most likely is surveillance -- having eyes everywhere.

One of my other main theories of this season is that since Tomoe has been heavily implied to be the Quantic verse's Elon, she purchased or created Zoo and has someone helping her with surveilling and data mining the hell out of what the kids are posting. Tracking location settings would also explain why they almost always tend to show up/be near Marinette *or* someone who has posted about/been wronged by her.

With how much he's been in the episode, the amount of trouble he's caused, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this is Vincent.

2. Bricks--obstacles, perseverance, conformity/loss of self, strength, "building" (as a verb), durability, security.

3. Quill--writing, creating, narrative, communication, etc. André Bourgeois? Could also be Bob.

4. Wheel--(wheel of) fortune, fate, progress, cycle of life, guidance. Never mind, I think this one is likely Bob Roth. With his obsession with fortune, desire for constant progress, and he's a manager/agent, so...guidance, supposedly.

5. Scepter--leader, ruler, sovereign--prior to finding out that they actually do exist and it's not just some theory that I've had, I assumed this would likely be Emil based on what we were told in "Representation".

6. Diamond--ol' Gabe ⚰️I want to update this to say that I absolutely love the backhandedness of having him be the Diamond. Someone that they saw as common, working class (coal) put under pressure and polished up to be something of value to them.

7. Wheat--known to symbolize the cycle of life and death, sacrifice, fertility, growth and renewal. // considering what we know of Nathalie, this seems fitting for her father/for what he expects her role to be.

8. Gear--we know this one is machine. Could also be used/translate as technology potentially. I didn't pay close enough attention to the voice at the time, but I can't imagine this is not Tomoe.

9. Theater masks--this one is pretty self-explanatory...the two extremes of the human psyche, showing the differing sides of emotions--both the "foolishness" of humans and darker ones like fear and sadness, I think. This is probably related to Cerise.

10. Sword--authority/nobility, honor/loyalty, protection/defense, truth/justice/righteousness, battle of good v. evil-- this particular sword is very reminiscent of Excalibur, I'm assuming this is Emil (or both GdVs) if the scepter is not him.

11. Fire--passion, transformation, destruction and renewal/cleansing, knowledge/enlightenment, revolution.

12. Molecule? (fairly certain this one is a molecule though I'm not 100%)--if I am correct, I'm assuming this one was Colt Fathom since he also had a tech company like Tomoe, but he was likely a military contractor based on his description in "Representation", creating bombs, missiles, etc. Basically, the Justin Hammer of Miraculous. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the monopoly on space flight prior to his death and Tsurugi only took over (including Claudie's trip) after the fact.

We have twelve of these and twelve Zodiac Miraculous, I'm assuming when Tomoe planned to improve them, and they had their "new world order"/cult with Adrien and Kagami as "world icons/idols" idea these were meant to take the place of the 12 Zodiacs. Thoughts?

Also, do we think that Mom #2 (the one that's high up at Style Queen and was in "Gabriel Agreste") is one? Or maybe Cerise took over for her? Do we think that anyone we saw in NY, Shanghai, etc. is part of it?

#miraculous season 6 spoilers #ml s6 spoilers #el toro de piedra spoilers #miraculous ladybug spoilers #ml spoilers #ml s6 speculation

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hungryforhungergames · 2 days ago

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Under The Covers

Short Summary:

Y/N gets scared during a horror movie and ends up wrapped in Coriolanus’ arms for the night.

Just like he knew she would.

Author's note:

So I decided to write this oneshot 'cause I just watched a horror movie a few days ago and I'm still so scared lol

Hope you love it xxx

The story:

Coriolanus and Y/n have already eaten dinner, their wine glasses nearly empty. It’s a Saturday night, which means both of them have a free night.

Coriolanus already knew how he wanted to spend that evening, reading a book or watching some news on the television with his girl in his arms.

Y/n on the other hand, has other plans. For days her friends have been talking about some movie and they practically begged Y/n to watch it.

“Even Festus agreed it was one of the best movies ever.”

Persephone said while she showed Y/n the poster of the movie the day before. It is a horror movie, which Y/n normally hates. She hates the jumpscares, the brutal killings of innocent people and she always ends up too scared to go to sleep.

When she can’t sleep after a scary movie, Coriolanus always holds her extra tight while he whispers reassuring words.

“Everything’s alright, I’m here.”

He always whispers and presses kisses on the side of her head. He made her feel safe and sometimes she would be able to fall asleep. But the other times she stayed awake for the rest of the night.

Y/n knows it will be hard to convince Coriolanus to watch the horror movie, because the last time she was able to convince him, she couldn’t sleep for days after they watched it. But still she knows she has to try.

“I want to watch a horror movie.”

She says and curls her fingers around his wrist with a sweet little smile she uses when she’s up to no good.

She notices how Coriolanus stops stroking her back, but he doesn’t look away from the television, his eyes glued to the screen.

“No.”

He says simply, still ignoring her gaze. They both know Y/n is not going to drop it just because he said that word.

“Coryo, just one. Just for fun.”

She tells him softly. She moves her hands to his jawline and moves his head slowly so he has to look at her. His blue eyes looked into hers and he shook his head.

Coriolanus didn’t want to be controlive, but he wanted to protect Y/n from anything that could harm her, or scare her.

And when he looks at her, laying in his arms in her soft pajamas and her hair messily braided, the feeling only gets bigger.

“You’ll get scared, you’ll be clinging to me for days, again.”

He says flatly and he starts to rub his hands down her back once again.

“So what, you love it when I cling to you.”

She contradicts and he knows she’s right. He loves it when his girl is around him and can’t seem to get enough of him.

His favorite moment of the day is when he gets home from a long day of work with his girlfriend waiting for him at the door.

He adores her when she helps him get unready and lets him tell her about what he had to deal with that day. And when he wraps his arms around her, then he is the happiest man alive.

“I do love it when you cling to me, darling.”

Coriolanus starts.

“I love it when you want to cling to me, not cling to me because you’re convinced there is a Capitol demon hiding in our closet.”

He continues and Y/n makes a face.

“That was once. And for the record, he is really realistic.”

She tells him. Y/n thinks it’s so unfair how Coriolanus is treating her at this moment. All the boyfriends of her friends don’t care what their girlfriend watches, they even watch the movie with them without a simple complaint!

And yes, Y/n knows she is easily scared, but everyone should be scared of the Capitol demon.

Coriolanus exhales through his nose, the familiar sound of disbelief and protectiveness. He places the remote that he is holding down on the couch and places his hands on her cheeks.

“You’re talking about him like he’s real.”

He starts.

“For three days you clung to me after we watched that movie. You wouldn’t even go brush your teeth without me standing in the doorway, Rose.”

Coriolanus continues, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“I brushed my teeth just fine, you even said I looked cute.”

She mutters and crosses her arms like a child. She thinks Coriolanus is unreasonable and needs to stop acting like she’s a child he constantly needs to protect.

“You’re controlling.”

Y/n tells him and looks him straight in the eye.

“I’m caring, there’s a difference.”

Coriolanus contradicts and pinches the bridge of his nose. He knows he’s about to lose this fight, Y/n gets what she wants from Coriolanus most of the time.

But how could he ever say no to her when she’s always this perfect to him?

“Please, we will watch it together.”

She begs and looks at him with puppy-eyes. Coriolanus sighs one last time, before muttering:

“Fine, we will watch it.”

...

Twenty minutes into the movie and Coriolanus already regrets agreeing to watch it. Not because he gets scared of the constant jumpscares, but because he knows Y/n won’t be sleeping tonight.

Her eyes are wide from shock and when some scary person appears on the screen, she jumps slightly.

Coriolanus is sure the most scary part of the movie hasn’t even begun yet, which means this will only get worse.

Another jumpscare and Y/n crawls even closer to him, pressing her body to his and holding on tightly to him. He can feel her heart beating in her chest and her entire body feels warm against his skin.

Coriolanus can’t help but smirk. He knows she wants to be brave. She’s brave enough to argue with him while nobody else dares, she’s brave enough to lay in the arms of one of the most feared men in Panem.

“You sure you don’t want to turn this off?”

He asks her, voice filled with amusement. She shakes her head, but she pulls the blanket they’re laying under higher so she can hide her face behind it.

He doesn’t say anything more, but knows they won’t be able to finish this movie.

They watch the movie for about ten minutes more, when even Coriolanus jumps slightly from the jumpscare. Shit, this movie is actually pretty scary.

Y/n doesn’t want to admit she wants to stop watching the movie, because she knows Coriolanus will be smug about it. She thinks all the characters are creepy and she is never able to estimate when a jumpscare is about to happen.

Coriolanus tries to act like he isn’t scared at all, but Y/n can feel him jump slightly when another monster suddenly appears on the screen.

“Oh my god, why are they opening that door?”

She whispers and pulls Coriolanus even closer to her. She hides her face in his chest and tries to find the remote to lower the sound of the television.

“Because people in horror movies are famously stupid, darling.”

Coriolanus tells her and lets her pull him closer, tugging the blanket tighter around the two of them. Y/n still hides her face in his chest and won’t look at the screen.

“Baby, you’re not even looking.”

He laughs and tries to make her look at the screen.

“Stop Coryo, I don’t want to see it. I hate these jumpscares, you know that.”

She resists and grabs the remote. Suddenly, the screen goes dark and it’s clear they are no longer watching the movie. The room grows silent, only some traffic from outside can be heard.

Coriolanus blinks at the sudden silence, then turns down to look at her with raised eyebrows.

“So that’s it?”

He questions and nods towards the television. Y/n drops the remote on the couch again and sighs.

“Yes, that’s it.”

She mutters and moves to sit up on the couch.

“Admit it, you were terrified.”

He smirks and pulls her closer again, dropping her to his chest and places a kiss on her hair.

“No, I just didn’t want to keep you up all night with my nightmares.”

She lies and lets herself enjoy the warmth from his body. Hell yes, she was scared as hell. This movie was even more scary than the one with the Capitol demon, but Coriolanus doesn’t have to know.

“That’s very considerate of you, darling. But we both know you’ll be clinging to me like a lifeline until sunrise.”

Coriolanus sounds amused and Y/n knows he’s got that damn smirk on his face without even having to look at him.

“But that’s okay, I will always be there for you. Let’s go to bed, darling.”

He says and slides his arms under her back and legs. He pulls her up from the couch and walks to their bedroom.

When he places her onto the bed, she immediately crawls under the thick and soft blankets. Coriolanus slides into bed as well and opens his arms for her the second his back touches the mattress.

Y/n slides in immediately and drops her head on his chest. They both don’t speak for a while, both enjoying this moment.

“Would you protect me if we were in a horror movie?”

Y/n whispers, breaking the comfortable silence. She knows she would probably be doomed if she ended up in a horror movie. She would probably freeze if she saw a monster running over to her and would definitely not be able to fight back.

“Of course I would. I will always protect me, you know that right?”

Coriolanus asks her and pinches her waist with his hands. He knows he would do anything to keep her safe. He would hurt and kill anyone who would haunt her, he wouldn’t think twice.

Y/n giggles from the pinch at her waist, but doesn’t try to squirm away, still too scared to be far away from him. She nuzzles even deeper in his side and takes in his familiar smell that makes her feel safe.

“I’m serious, Coryo. You would fight the monster or any scary thing in your pajamas?”

She giggles and she pictures Coriolanus in his pajamas running after some monster. Panem never saw Coriolanus being dressed in something else than a suit, she loves it when Coriolanus wears his casual clothes.

“I'd look damn good doing it too.”

He chuckles and rubs her sides, picturing the scene as well.

“Why do they always walk towards the creepy sound? I would just stay in bed, pretend I heard it wrong.”

Y/n wonders out loud, playing with the hem of his pajamas.

“That’s why I’d go. I’d check it out. And if anything tried to touch you, they wouldn’t live to regret it. ”

Coriolanus says and spots her smiling softly at him.

“That’s dramatic, but sweet.”

She kisses him, placing her hands at the back of his neck to pull him closer. He kisses her back, slow and deep, like he’s trying to seal the promise he just made. His hand slides up to cradle her cheek, his thumb brushing over the soft skin beneath her eye.

When they pull away, her smile hasn’t faded, but there’s still that shadow of fear lingering behind her eyes, faint but there.

“You’re still scared.”

He whispers and she nods, avoiding his gaze but pulling him even closer than before. He hates seeing her so scared when he knows he could’ve avoided this. He should have never let her watch that stupid horror movie.

“You know, if a ghost shows up tonight, I’m not above bribing it to haunt someone else.”

He jokes and presses another kiss to her lips, trying to cheer her up a little bit.

“That’s the most Capitol thing you’ve ever said.”

She laughs and feels a warm feeling settle in her stomach. She is still scared, but she knows she isn’t alone.

To her, he looks most human in these moments, when the weight of the Capitol isn’t pressing on his shoulders, when he’s just Coryo, holding her in the dark. She loves him.

“I mean it. I’d offer it a penthouse, a bottle of my finest whiskey, even a promotion if it just leaves you alone.”

He tells her, which makes her laugh even more. Coriolanus loves the sound of her giggles and wishes he could hear it forever.

He knows she probably won’t sleep much tonight and he won’t either. But it’s okay, as long as they are together.

“Promise?”

She whispers, her voice sounding vulnerable in the dark.

“I promise.”

Coriolanus says softly and pulls the blankets even closer to their bodies. Y/n closes her eyes and focuses on his heartbeat instead of the thoughts in her head.

She knows watching the movie was a bad idea and she sure won’t ever watch a movie recommended by her friends again.

But she knows she’s safe here with Coriolanus and the fact that he would fight monsters in his pajamas makes her love him even more.

Her life is far from perfect, but everything feels alright now.

As long as they stay under the covers.

#the hunger games #hunger games #thg #coriolanus snow #coriolanus #coryo #coryo snow #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus imagine #coriolanus snow imagine #coriolanus snow x y/n #coriolanus x y/n #coriolanus snow oneshot #coriolanus oneshot #hunger games oneshot #under the covers

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jailuvz · 3 days ago

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Be inclusive when writing fan fics

Hi so I'm gonna make this post about smth important since I don't see a lot of people do this.

So we all know about kpop fan fics where it's always "Y/N" but it doesn't always feel like it's you in the story from the character description, dw ik how that feels.

I might sound harsh saying this but if you can't write a story where you're representing the person reading it as the Y/N then pls just do OC atp, bc most of you are not inclusive at all. Bc the moment you write "her long DARK and STRAIGHT hair", that's when you're using only a certain group of people while leaving other ones behind, bc how am I supposed to read that and think "that definitely fits me" while I have really curly hair.

Don't get me started on when it comes to race, bc it's always "white" or "pale" skin, if you're just gonna use yourself as the description might as well just put yourself in that story. Yk how sad it got that people of colour literally have to write their separate stories for their own people so that they can feel included for once. Same thing with bodies, always the generic ass "the dress hugged all her curves" and "her cleavage was showing" phrases in these stories, where is the "the dress hugged their body just right" or "the dress complimented their body beautifully" and for the chest, you can talk about it without mentioning cleavage bc surprise, not everyone has big boobs.

If you struggle to write a story where it does include every reader then pls don't start, do your research on how to work with phrases then start it.

And another thing, for the social media au fics, let's stop using east asian girls to represent the reader, bc not everyone is east asian, matter of fact not everyone is asian; and ik yall gonna say "but we need to use pictures to represent Y/N", make them your OC, easy, bc most of yall lost the plot of what "Y/N" means. And not only that, but it seems to me that a lot of yall think that an east asian needs to be with another east asian; what happened to mixed couples, is it wrong for those idols to be with a different ethnicity?

And not every female reader is short, I'm so tired of seeing "she looked up at him" or just the reader being described as a short cute girl, gtfo. I wanna see a female Y/N that is tall in those stories, I'm saying this as a short woman bc my tall girlies are always left out.

This post only talks about female readers as I'm a woman and I'm not familiar with how male readers are described but if you guys want me to talk about that too just inform me and I'll do it :).

Once again, if you can't represent the reader, either use yourself in the stories or just use OC.

Thank you for reading if you made it till the end. <3

#kpop #kpop fanfic #I want all my girlies to be included #enhypen #stray kids #ateez #kpop bg #kpop gg #kpop girls #kpop boys #not everyone is meant to be a writer and it shows lmao

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sscullysglasses · 1 day ago

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#okay so here's the post#what i'm trying to say is that time travels are indeed cool but when it comes to characters i personally can see that#the writers didn't account for the time differential. like. I feel like they wrote their stories consequentially#as. in. episode by episode. but they forgot to factor in the time difference.#three years is not a lot of time but it's also not a small amount of time as well

Okay yes to all of this. One of my biggest complaints with this show is that they really struggle to maintain the emotional balance with the timelines (and that they are entirely too proud of themselves for the love triangle/expanded geometry between Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet). It's incredibly disrespectful to the characters as individuals (and frankly bad writing) that they continue to push this relationship struggle when these are grown adults and three years have passed. Jack and Kate were engaged and raising a child together! I agree with your points regarding cheapening both their characters by making Sawyer the reason they break up. They both have bigger issues going on that it feels like the writers were unable or just unwilling to use.

I absolutely love how complex the timeline is on the show but it's so crazy to me that the first 4 seasons of on island story happens within like THREE MONTHS. And some characters will get over DEATHS faster than the love triangle resolves after THREE YEARS. It's so unrealistic and frustrating. Jack and Kate had a full domestic life together that can't really compare to the situation she had with Sawyer. (and as much as they play up the love triangle in the show it was never super compelling to me. It was clear to me that Kate was always going to choose Jack and a lot of her later interactions with Sawyer were directly because of Jack anyway.)

Yet when the plot needs to move, they continue to revert back to the love triangle to further the story. Like again in the season five with Juliet deciding to help Jack with the bomb instead of stopping him. All because Sawyer looked at Kate. Insecurities aside.... It's been three years for these characters and they've clearly changed. Having years long relationships when the other person wasn't around to factor in, really cannot compare to the couple of months Kate and Sawyer had. It just feels like such a cop out on the writers part to continue to push the love triangle narrative after such a long time as passed for the characters and the audience.

There was so much potential to develop Kate's character that they bypassed for the tired love triangle as well. I always felt that a lot of her internal struggle between Jack and Sawyer during season 5 could just as easily been more related to the fact that Sawyer maintained his relationship with Juliet and not necessarily because she had unresolved feelings for him. Sawyer didn't factor into Kate's decision to return to the island at all. She was there to look for Claire. I don't think old feelings for Sawyer resurfaced just because she was back on the island and around him again. During the scene at the creek in "Whatever Happened, Happened", Kate brings up their relationship and says to him "you seem to be doing ok [in a relationship] with Juliet". You can read that as her asking why they wouldn't have worked out (and the writers likely want you to) but you can also interpret this as Kate wondering why it worked out for them when she and Jack broke up. They could have done a lot of great character work exploring these more grown up versions but the second they return to the island, a lot of that falls away.

Ummm... I need to ask you losties a question.

As you know I'm a big Jack Shepard apologist (he's the only fictional white man that I'll protect at all cost just because we're trauma-bonded) and, although I honest-to-god think that he has a lot of chemistry with Sawyer, I've always loved his relationship with Kate because it's lightning quick but messy, cute but full of unsaid things.

Aside from fanon readings (unfortunately the show has never taken queer relationship to heart), the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle was, more or less, interesting until s2 max s3. After that? It was just a tired trope that they continued to use because the show kept running but they had already reached its resolution and didn't really bother to find more interesting ways to develop the relationship between these three.

Today, however, while I was re-watching "The Little Prince" (S5) I realized one thing: perhaps the reason why it feels like it's a tired trope is because, narratively speaking, it's pretty unbalanced?

I mean, in S4 we see Jack and Kate relationship both on the island and back home. Like, we literally see them as they develop their relationship along two different timelines. In other words, we're given more material and, as I've already said many times, it's clear as day that by S4 the love triangle thing has been resolved.

However, because in S5 time works differently, we keep continuing seeing Jack and Kate's relationship but we also see the last remainder of Sawyer's attachment to Kate. But, by now, 20+ episodes have passed, different timelines have been explored so... the "bond" between these two characters feels... diluted?

As in, it makes sense for Sawyer to still think about Kate because only a few weeks have passed to him. But to us? For us three years have passed + what happened on the island with Jack and Kate in s4 so it kinda makes also sense to us that the love triangle is done.

It's like what I said about Kate and Jack's fight in s4: it makes close to zero sense for them to fight over Sawyer, not because they've just forgotten about him but because we see actual events happening to them in-between those years. And these events are all pretty though so the Sawyer-of-it-all almost pales in comparison!

So what I'm trying to say, I guess, is that while the time-travels storylines are cool as fuck, when it comes to feelings and love... they leave a bittersweet taste after viewing the episodes because the relationships suddenly don't feel earned anymore.

Like, we literally see Sawyer develop a bond with Juliet, open up to her, show his vulnerabilities etc. On the other hand, we also see Jack and Kate being domestic etc. So all the sudden "pathos" between Sawyer and Kate is just... not there?

Up until s3 they were GREAT together but after that? Just too many things happened and their relationships wasn't as "fated" as Kate's with Jack. It would've made more sense if they'd either showed a rekindling that actually made sense or they'd just developeded their dynamics differently.

Anyhoo, I've written too much, I really wanna knw what YOU folks think!

#this was a key smash ramble and likely not coherent #but i do feel a lot of the later seasons under develop all of the women in the show #and they end up playing secondary roles to their male counterparts #the love triangle was always always always a cop out for Kate's character arc #and Juliet really #it's so frustrating to watch #tv: lost

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