#sigh i guess i will reread the comics

[glueboy-19]

still waiting for the dark tower series like a widow forever waiting for her man to come home from the war

[freakvampire]

finished House of X/Powers of X. finished Empyre. already read XCorp. decided to slide into XFactor (2024) because Angel is My Guy and im always happy to see him. UH,?, WHAT DO YOU MEAN KRAKOA FELL??? HUH???? WHAT???? HOW MUCH WORK DID THEY PUT INTO IT JUST FOR IT TO FALL???? DEFINE 'FELL'??? YOU SPENT SO LONG TRYING TO SELL ME ON YOUR STUPID ETHNOSTATE ISLAND AND NOW IT DOESNT EVEN MATTER???? WHAT IS ANYONE THINKING WITH THIS WRITING IS THERE EVEN A PURPOSE FOR IT

[little-reader]

"The Son of A Monster." Ch. 8

Masterlist

Carl Grimes x Male!Reader

Warnings; Graphic Gore, Death, blood, Slow-burn, Sexual tension, Gay awakening (For both), Cursing, Negan is the Readers dad, Enemies to lovers story. Fighting. Zombie Apocalypse. Implied rape.

I sat in a room I was quite familiar with. This time, it had an extra bed, with blankets lying at the end. It was moved into the house after I was checked. I lay in this bed for hours. My back was facing the room as I stared at the wall. Plain blue wallpaper with a few cracks. There wasn’t much to do. I felt like a misbehaving child, sent to his room without supper. I was tired, and I hadn’t seen anyone since I came into this room. 

There wasn't much to say. What could I say? I sighed, staring at my fingers as I fiddled with them. The talking downstairs could be heard as it echoed through the hallways outside the door. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but I could guess. I feel as though I will not be leaving this house or room for a while. A long while. I guess it wasn't too bad. A bed, food, a shower... and alone with my thoughts. It wasn't all that bad, it was quiet and calm, just what they wanted. 

I could hear footsteps coming upstairs and walking down the hall as I closed my eyes. The door handle was turned and pushed in. Soft feet camp in and close the door. I could hear the creak of the other bed and a light flip on, a lamp beside his bed, and pages flip. His beloved comics. That's what he was reading. It wasn’t usual, he'd stay up for hours either rereading comics or action books. Sometimes, he would draw with a Sharpie, making his figures.

I thought that was cute. He is making his figures. When he left the room, I would skim through his stack of papers, looking at the small pictures he drew. 

I sigh silently, slowly moving my head to look at the other bed. He was doing exactly that. Reading a book this time in his bed. His hat was hung on the top of the lamp and flannel was thrown at the bottom of the bed. His shoes were left at the door, showing how he lazily took them off. 

“You up?” He asked, making me realize he was looking at me. I hummed, and looked at the wall, playing with my fingers. Why did they put me in this room? As a joke, or had he asked? Or was he now supposed to watch over me like I did with him? Doesn't matter really. I'm stuck. He left me behind. For all he knows, I could be dead… I rub my eyes, yawning. “Dad said you're allowed out of the house if someone's watching over you.” He states as I give him another small hum. I was sure this annoyed him, by his small sigh and the sound of shuffling behind me. His light moved and pointed at me. I could see his shadow moving around on the wall as I had my head shoved into the pillow. My fingers played with the fabric of the pillowcase, pulling on the old rattan tag that was attached to it.

I felt a dip in my bed as Carl sat behind me, getting comfortable. I wasn’t sure what his motive was, but I didn’t appreciate it as I moved closer to the wall. I pushed my body forward and rolled onto my stomach, the blanket slipping off me because of the movement and Carl sitting on it. I grunted.

It was a while before he read. I could hear the book pages flip, and see his shadow moving as I stared at it. My heart beat a little faster. Something hit me rather quickly. I kissed him. In front of his family. His whole family. Shit. Though, he acted like it didn’t happen. I couldn’t tell what hurt worse, rejection or throwing it away. Another mistake, another damn mistake. It pissed me off to think he put off the kiss. But that was selfish. I was selfish. Now I’m here, with Carl reading on my bed, in a room I’m stuck in, in a town I have been in for months. I was always stuck here. This time, it would be harder to leave, to sneak out. 

 I sighed and turned on my back, now staring at the ceiling. Carl looked over from his book at the sudden movement. I stared at him, before letting my arm smack into his book down and sighing again. He rolled his eyes. 

“I'm… sorry,” I said, barely over a whisper, as I left my armrest on his lap and stared at my fingers again. I raised an eyebrow. His head tilted slightly. “I… I’m sorry, for everything.” I whispered, only glancing at him for a second. Lifted myself into a sitting position, letting out a breath as I did. “I didn’t know why I was going home. I didn’t know he was gonna kill your people, hell I did too.” I paused, picking at my nails. “And I’m sorry for doin’ that in front of your family. It was selfish,” I stated, not daring to look at the young boy. I was honestly scared to look at him. What emotion would lie in his expression? Disgust? 

I jolted slightly as he placed his hand on mine. I didn’t move them for a moment before I started to wrap my fingers intertwined with his. I sighed softly. “I don’t know what to feel. It's new for me.” Carl said, in the same calm voice, as he stared at our hands. “I…” He pauses like he’s trying to think about what to say. “I like you… and the time I spent with you, it wasn’t just me keeping you away… I’m sorry about that too. I enjoy spending time with you, Y/N. I love going out of the walls almost every week, watching you tell stories in that old house. I love going to that lake, going in and sitting in the field to dry off and stare at the clouds. I love when you give me your comic collection or teach me how to make pasta… I feel myself around you.” He stated, playing with my fingers. “Everyone warned me you’d hurt me… and all you’ve done is the opposite. I can’t count how many times you’ve saved my ass out there, in here… you make this world… better.” He grips my hand, now staring at me. I stare back. I want him. Crave the boy near me. I lifted my hand and rubbed his cheek, pushing his hair out of his face, and looking at his face. His bandage covered the side of it, and his face looked like he was confused, but strong in his emotions. 

“I… you know… 'm two years older than you... Bigger than you.” I started like I was trying to deny, reject, or back out. He broke eye contact and nodded, “Hey…” I paused, dipping my head down to catch his gaze. “Just… no funny business,” I whispered, and he chuckled slightly, then left it to a small smile. I rubbed his chin with my fingers. I felt his hand squeeze mine as my eyes flickered to his lips.

I smiled and kissed his cheek softly, pulling his chin to kiss the other. I kissed the corner of his mouth, then his chin, and the tip of his nose before I paused. I felt content at the moment. I looked down, my eyes locking with his, as I rubbed his chin with my thumb softly, and softly pressed my lips to his mouth, letting myself sink into the other boy. I let my hands wrap around his hair, bringing him closer.

I had my body draped across his, our legs wrapped together. I had just noticed how much bigger I was than him, but he was younger, so that might change shortly. I had my arms wrapped around his torso, and my head propped against his shoulder as he read. The blanket went to my shoulder. I closed my eyes, letting myself soak in his body heat as I drifted to other places. My mind kept on him as I fell asleep.

Dusty fields overlapped my body, the ingrown wheat or the yellow fields surrounded me as I lay in them. I opened my eyes, slowly looking around, I saw clouds looking down upon me as I was suddenly lifted into a standing position without moving a muscle. I blinked, turning my torso, but unable to move my feet forward. I could see a hand peeking out from the crops as I squinted. I felt my hands clench. The hand from the crops reached out towards me, inviting me in. The ring on the finger was oddly familiar, the hand pale and purple, with long nails and a pearl bracelet. Soft and dead. I reached out for it, trying to speak, I knew the hand quite well, or so I had not seen this hand in a while. I tried to screech out. But hands from the fields behind me started to grab me and pull me into them. I leaned my upper body over, trying to grab the hand, I wanted to yell out, but nothing came out, just the sound of the wind. The other side of the field was lit on fire, engulfing the hand as I was pulled in. One gloved hand, a smaller hand with dirt in its fingernails, two children's hands, and a dead hand with long nails and a black sleeve.

My eyes opened wide, feeling the sweat pool on my back as I lay there and felt my lungs heave quickly. I swallowed, my throat dry as I moved myself away from the sleeping boy. He shifted in his sleep, turning his back to me as I climbed over his legs. My feet touch the ground, feeling the floor beneath them. Something felt off about this room, it wasn’t set perfectly. I mean, everything was in its place, the book Carl was reading, same color, same light, same bead, sheets and blankets… Something was different. I felt wrong as I stood in the middle of the room. It started to cave, the room was getting smaller, and the walls started to turn into shapes as I started to lose my balance. The humming was heard behind me, in different tones, pulling me towards the voice. Blackness. Sweat and a thud.

-

“He just got out and passed out,” Carl said, looking at the two for help. “He won’t wake up and he’s not responding.” 

Yelling was heard down the hall as Rick and Michonne got out of bed quickly, and raced down the hall with weapons in hand. The door slammed open, and the two looked around, expecting to see a different scene. Carl looked panicked on his knees, looking at my sweating, pass-out body as he held my head in his lap.

“Michonne,” Rick said, putting his gun down. She nodded and left the room. Rick made a quick effort to check my pulse. “He’s not doing so hot,” Rick said, feeling the heat radiate off of my body. He lifted my shirt up and slowly peeled off the bandage. “Jesus.” He said, covering his nose and pushing it back.

That made Carl panic more. “What? What is it?” He said, going to pull the bandage but Rick moved his hand back. The smell circled the room. “Dad.” He said, covering his nose. “What's wrong?” He questioned. 

Rick shook his head, looking at his son before pulling the bandage and turning on the bedside light. “That smell… that is the infection,” Rick said, looking at the deep wound. There was goo covering the bandage and wound. Carl's eyes widened.

Carl watched from his bed as Aaron, Toby, Daryl, and Carol came in with a carrier. Carol looked over the wound, whispering where Rick could not hear. Michonne had a medical box with her as they lifted my body on a board. Carol took off the old bandage and wiped down the wound with an alcohol wipe. They slowly carried me out of the room to take care of me somewhere else. 

Carl was left awake, in his room alone. His thoughts left him in worry. 

“Who checked him yesterday?” Rick asked, outside the medical building. Daryl shrugged. “That boy looks like death, his skin is rotting and nobody noticed?” He asked, looking at the group.

“Must have happened when he was taken off the IV,” Michonne stated, looking at the door. “But you're right, he shouldn’t have been brought out.” Rick sighed, hands on his hips. 

Fire. I burned through my veins. I was replaying the day over and over. The woods lit. Screaming and blood. Replay after replay.

A hand ruffled my hair as I pushed it off. My small hands patched up a jacket with a needle. “Me and some boys are going to go hunt for rabbit,” Negans said, looking down at me with a sight smirk. I smile back at him. “You be good and stay out of Bert's way, don’t think he likes us after the fight.” He whispered the last part and I nodded.

He had his bat and a bow. The others laughed and waved him over, he called to them and once again, ruffled my hair before leaving. There weren’t many people here, in the tiny civilization we called home. There were tents, big and small, for different families or groups. Groups of watchers are on the sides of the camp, keeping the people inside safe. 

I was in a group of girls, and my small body was not able to help the other boys, or at least that is what the others said, and my dad agreed with them. So I stayed with the other girls, helping out with washing, sewing, cleaning, and butchering. It wasn’t just because I was small. I played many sports and built up strength from them, but I was younger and smaller than the rest of the boys, even some girls my age. But I hadn’t minded, that meant I could stay away from one side of the camp. Bert ran half of the camp, and Harriot ran the other. They were connected, chores scattered in many places of the camp but both of them knew how to do two different things. Harriot was a kind woman, who showed me kindness and softness when meeting our small group at first. Then there was Bert, who hadn’t wanted us here in the first place. He fought my dad quite a lot. I’ve sometimes seen my dad grip his bat, looking at it in our shared tent when he thought I was asleep. Bert is an ass, to say the least. Someone you shouldn’t be near. But he wasn’t stupid. He kept his eyes trained on me most of the time. Sometimes I would make eye contact with him to see him glaring at me from afar. But he’d only mess with me when my dad was gone, or when Laura was not watching over me. 

I sat quietly, finishing up with the patched pants, that I was quite proud of, when I heard feet trail behind me. I look over my shoulder, folding the pants in my lap. Bert and a few boys, who looked like they wanted to kill me, stood with me with a grin plastered on his face.

“Boy.” He said, crossing his arms. “I think it’s time you do some real work, not sitting around like a little lady.” This made the boys laugh at me, I felt like a turtle that started to tuck into its shell. I glance at the pants and back at him.

“But… my dad said-” He interrupted me with a huff. “- blah, blah, blah.” He said, waving his hand. “I’m sure you’d be fine. You need to be a man, boy.” He said, grasping my arm and pulling me up. “Need to help or I’ll tie you in a tree, let the bitters get ya.” I gulped, nodded along with him as I stood, and placed the pants on the log where I sat. 

I was pulled along with the other group of boys, clearly smaller and younger than them. I let myself glance as we passed out of the camp ridge over at Bert’s side, near the butcher tent and fire. The dawn just started to settle. We stopped by the fire, where logs sat near a tree. “Now, c’mon boys.,” He said, clapping as they started moving logs. I looked around, confused without directions. Bert looked at me like I was stupid. “Dammit, boy. Move em’!” He yelled, pointing to the tent. I rapidly nodded and started to move the logs slowly. I had two in each arm, they were heavy but nothing I couldn’t manage. 

I felt the playful shove of my shoulder from one of the boys as he grinned and passed me quickly. I blush as I sit down the logs in the pile made. Older boy, by three years. 17, he was. I saw him around a lot, sometimes he would come and talk to me, ask me about how I used to live, or if I’d be joining him in some of the other's chores. Brunette with green eyes and a sweet apple-picked smile. His teeth were almost perfect, one back with a slight outward angle. He towered over me most times, but talked sweetly, sometimes pulling me to his chest when no one was around. Husten, or hue for short, was his name. He called me Pinky or Doll, he said it was because I always worked with the girls and I was smaller than him.

He’d brush my hair with his hands, playing with it, but listen to my ramble on about something stupid. He’d play with his foot under tables during supper, or bump my knee with his. He said his love language was physical contact. I remember, once I had a nightmare and wandered out at night where he was finishing up putting wood in the fire. He brought me back to his tent, where his father was out on watch. He had my head to his chest, rubbing my scalp and humming an old melody my mother used to sing. He rubbed my back until I fell asleep.

We always got along. It made me feel bubbly inside. However, I ignored this fact and went on with my chores. It started to get dark, and now the fire and a few lights lit up the trees as the boys finished up. I plucked up the last bit of logs as I stared at Hue, he was talking to some of the others. This caused me to trip over my feet and land in the mud. 

I heard laughter and a huge huff behind me as I lifted myself. The wood under me left my hands scraped and rugged. I hissed and looked at them as I was pulled up by my shirt collar. “Boy, you have annoyed me for the last goddamn time.” He said, gripping the sides of my arms. He then looked behind me and smiled. “Go get the rest, out past the orange line.” He said, pointing over to a spot that had been spray-painted. Danger at night. That is what it meant. The watchers could not see in specific spots at night and marked them not to go near at night and not to stray away from camp. You were only allowed over there if it was early morning and the watchers already checked the area. 

“Bert, it's not safe-” Hue tried to reason with the men, glancing at me. Bert interrupted him, shoving me back. “He has to be a man someday,” Bert stated, crossing his arms. “Now, go on boy, go get it.” 

I gulped and looked over to the darkness that clouded the trees. I gulped and looked back at him, other boys were smiling, grinning at my frozen state. It’s like they were waiting for my downfall. I breathed in, and out.

-

Carl stared at the body on the bed as monitors were giving the occasional beep. It had been a couple of days since the night. He sat close, sometimes going out of the walls for supplies or with his dad. Iris was also here a lot. She traveled back from Alexandria, conversating with Carl. Though, she said multiple times she wasn’t feeling it, standing around, waiting for the monitors to lead the beep on. Carl played with his hands, he’d open the blinds and let the sun pour into the room. His heart ran at times, wondering as he would space out for half hours and wonder. He left a stack of his comics on the bedside table to read when bored, but he never really had the thought to. 

(Two days ago)

Carol came out of the medical building and cleaned her hands. “The boy is fine. We needed to open the cut again. He stopped the bleeding, but the wound was still internal. We stitched him back up..” She paused, sighing as she looked at the group. “Kid knows what he’s doing, that was only meant to stop the bleeding until he could get attention. I’m honestly surprised he’s not dead… and Not to accuse anyone, but they should have known this was going to happen.” 

Rick, hands on hips and in thought, nodded. He rubbed his chin. “I… he’s only two years older than Carl, He saved Carl. That kid is different from his father and people need to see that.”

Rick was out in a few hours, looking for supply with Carl. They stopped at a gas station not too far along. Rick had a plan going along by now, Carl helped for the past two weeks, watching the plan form, and also understanding others were at war. 

“I’m glad he’s slept through most of this.” Said Rick, looking at Carl. Carl looked up at the sudden talk with a confused gaze. “He’s his father's son… but he’s got some different traits. Good traits.” He said, tilting his head as he looked at Carl. Carl only nodded. “Listen… He’ll be fine, He’ll be awake before you know it. The boy needs his rest." Silence bore into the conversation as Carl kicked a rock around. 

"How?" Carl’s eyebrows furrowed, refusing to look back up at his father's eyes. “How bad was it?” He whispered, looking at Rick's feet. Rick shook his head.

“Not the worst, but not the best. He could have died, honestly…” Rick heard Carl’s breath hitch. “Carol said he should be fine, it might take a while to fully recover.” 

-

I felt the slight wind knock against my skin, allowing me to shiver. The leaves crunched under my nervous foot as I passed the lined grass and into the seething darkness that captured me. I reached my destination. People behind me clapped as I picked up the last two logs. Heavy they were, as I turned on my feet and started to head back. 

-

As expected, the gurgling made me pause and freeze in my spot. I stared into pitch-black darkness. Nothing. I looked over at the group as Bert yelled at me to “hurry my ass up”. I gulped and started walking once again. I continued. I was at the fire that was near the butcher tent and orange line when a branch snapped to my right, and, in a split second, I hit a grill and fell onto the ground.

I could hear myself scream, having my clothed arm in its mouth, tearing at the leather. Its hands tried to reach my face. I felt the heat rise in my face, though I couldn’t tell if it was the situation I was in or the gigantic fire behind the biter. 

It was pulled off me in a matter of seconds. I rolled onto my stomach, the world spinning as I looked beside me. My eyes widened. Hue stood beside my lying body, a knife in hand as three biters crowded over him. Bert and the others were focused on the fire that was spreading rapidly. One lurched onto him, and he was able to kill that one, but the other was able to bite into his forearm, ripping out a chunk of skin. The third gripped his arm and bit into his neck, both causing a scream as he pulled it off. He kicked the third away, killing the second. 

I stared at him as he turned, holding his arm as blood started to flow out. “I-I… I-” I felt tears overflow my eyes as I stared at him. My hands gripped the dirt. He dropped his knife and fell to the ground in a sitting position as he stared at me. I was able to crawl over to him quickly, staring at him with wide eyes. He examined his arm, which continued to bleed out. He didn’t have long. 

“I… I like you, kid.” He said, with a smile, pain in his eyes. He breathed heavily. "You can’t be weak in this world… you’ll die just like me. Just like… I’m not built for this world.” He said. I shook my head and he only nodded, placing his bloodied hand on my face. I quickly held his bleeding forearm and he laughed, pressing his lips to mine, with little energy. “Run.” He whispered, falling against the tree he leaned on. I shook my head as I saw his eyes start to wave open and close. I heard him breathe in deep and shallowly, before letting his chest fall one last time. His eyes stared at me, keeping them open as I started to cry, shaking his shoulders.

“Wake- wake up!” I called him, his head falling. I gripped his sleeves, feeling my upper body start to fall and my forehead pressed against his knees as I sobbed.

Gripping hands threw me to the side and onto a tree. My pleas were unheard as Bert’s angry hands went to my face and threw me into the mud. The cutting started. Blood spilled down my arms. People ignored me, seeing me as a threat as he cut me up. I felt wasted, as blood rushed from my body slowly. My head was shoved into the dirt, and the fire was unsaveable.

People were rushing things away, trying to keep the fire from spreading further into the camp.

Everything was just a ringing tone in my ear. I felt the pain spread, and Bert's hands wandered as I lay helplessly on the ground. People refused to look at it, blaming the event on me, and letting me be cruelly punished. He would say things like, “You wanted all this attention, I’ll give it to you” or “I’ll get one last thing out of you before you die.” 

I felt tears welded into my eyes. My hands gripped the mud as he yanked off my clothes. What was I to do, weak, cut, and close to naked where nobody heard my cry for help, not even allowing a glance?

I remember his words. Run. I should have. I should have listened to Hue, he warned me. Like he said, you can’t be weak in this world.

Screaming. Not mine. I looked up, not moving my head. His face was ripped apart to where I could see his skull. Scared, I tried crawling away, but his grip stayed on me, not letting me go. I tried pushing away from him.

It wasn’t until someone pulled him off of me that I was able to get was, sobbing for the other to leave me alone. I was yanked up. “Hey, boy.” My dad said, looking over me. He yanked me to his chest, looking at the two dead. I saw. The biter ripped his face off, Hue. Dead. That made me cry harder as I stared at him. Everything started spinning.

Replay.

Chapter 9

[altblock-tm]

People I’d like to get to know better

Thanks to @hellionil for tagging me in this ^^

Last song: The Mind Electric by Chonny Jash,,

Favorite color: The day that purple stops being my favorite color is a day where a beautiful part of me has died.

Last book: Siddhartha. I’m deep in the trenches of analyzing it because I have to write a paper on it

Last movie: Wicked (Part 1). It was a lot better than I was expecting…

Last TV show: Uhh. I’m gonna be honest I haven’t watched any actual shows in a while. I don’t remember. My guess is a couple episodes of Black Clover that I rewatched on a whim a couple months ago but I really don’t know

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: I have an enormous sweet tooth and I’m not sorry about it. Yet.

Relationship status: Single 👍 yippee

Last thing I searched: “fgo Anastasia Interlude”

Current obsession: Still the fate series in general but as of yesterday Diarmuid was roughly forced to the forefront of my mind again. I do not control the hyperfixation

Looking forward to: Winter break (said as if I am not currently on Thanksgiving break)

Favorite drink: I’m a hot chocolate truther and that might just make me god’s strongest soldier

Song playing in your head on loop 24/7: Muse by Derivakat and Down to Hell by Man on the Internet have been tag teaming me

Current favorite character: As mentioned, Diarmuid. But if you’d asked this literally two days earlier I probably would’ve said Dantès or (NOOT DON’T LOOK FGO SPOILERS) Salieri

Fun activity you would like to get into: I haven’t been on hikes in a long time… I yearn for the outdoors

Last video game: (sighs, looks guilty) Fate Grand Order

Last comic/graphic novel/manga: A few weeks ago I finally read the last installment of the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi and I might just need to reread the entire series to remember out if it truly wasn’t written well or if I’d misremembered some things

welp! That’s it with me ^^ I don’t wanna tag anyone, but any of my mutuals are free to fill this out on their own

[orionsangel86]

Word to the wise that as much as I love speculation, I'm not taking any articles about Sandman season 2 remotely seriously unless they are using direct quotes from NG or the cast, or are official announcements from Netflix.

The article going around about Hob Gadling is a clickbait because those sites know how to entice fandoms and clearly Hob is a popular character.

That said, I still stand by my view that it makes SENSE for characters from season 1 who already have established actors to be reused and have their roles expanded or merged with other smaller characters because having an revolving door of new characters like in the comics just isnt a fitting way to tell a cohesive screen adaptation or keep an audience engaged.

Hob is a contentious character in Sandman fandom. But having a stupid screenrant article use clickbaity language to speculate on an expanded role for him is not a reason to celebrate or throw a fit depending on which Hob camp you fall into.

I also refuse to get preemptively upset and worked up about possible changes to A Game of You. We know practically NOTHING other than a few BTS pics from filming.

Since I'm in the middle of a rewatch whilst simultaneously rereading the comics, I'm reminded of how much I fucking LOVE this show and how much I love the comics as well (even if some of the stuff is pretty damn dated now and I loathe every and all reference to the DC wider universe - I do not need fucking Batman in my Sandman thank you very much). It saddens me when I see really negative posts about it based on stupid clickbait.

I guess all im saying is dont get worked up. And if I see a bunch of negativity on my dash im gonna be unfollowing. Sigh.

[lemonlimestar]

Ten People I'd Like to Get to Know Better

tagged by @mysteriousbeetle :} tysm <3

last song: lips like sugar by echo & the bunnymen

favorite color: probably orange but it changes

last book: i reread aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe again a while back & the collection for dykes to watch out for but it’s mostly been comics :^) impulse 95, superman 87, & titans 99

last movie: i saw the tv glow iirc

last TV show: arcaneee i want to watch the new season but i’m waiting for my family to rewatch SIGH

sweet/savory/spicy: savory :) i love all of them but savory is on top

relationship status: :)

last thing i searched: the reluctant hero archetype

current obsession: you’ll never guess (it’s comics)

looking forward to: my birthdayyyy it’s next week >:3

people 2 tag (& feel free to ignore): @rainelinde @ribombeee @mikuhats @crowiin i cannot think of more sorry EDIT: WAIT ALSO @abacistat okay i’m done my b

[lopezpierce]

And they were roommates!

This is based on series of prompts I got a few years ago. Mostly I just wanted to put it all in one place. But after rereading it, I think I’ve found an older AU I want to continue with. 

I have also put the prompts in bold. 

==========================================================

Santana rubbed the back of her neck and let out a sigh, “I’m so glad to be home.” She threw her bag down on the sofa, before making her way into the kitchen.

 She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t scream. The kitchen looked out something out of an episode of hoarders. She still couldn’t believe she agreed to let Sam’s cousin stay here. Sam was one of the nurses at the hospital, she was interning at. They happened to hit it off with video games and comic book talk.

  Although, she would just say it was because of their medical background. Sam’s roommate moved out and Santana wanted to move the hell off campus. So here they were…we’ll here Santana was and Sam’s cousin.

 Sam was away for the summer interning in Chicago and his cousin was taking summer classes. Brittany had broken up with her boyfriend and needed a place to stay. 

 For the most part, Brittany didn’t bother Santana. They had enough in common to have a fun conversation. But their schedules were pretty opposite so they didn’t see each other much. 

 Just the last week or so, Brittany’s ‘house keeping’ methods were off. The kitchen and bathroom had been a mess.  Granted the living room was very clean, so Brittany might just be so OCD she can only do one room at a time. 

 But at this point it didn’t matter, Santana was so exhausted she just wanted to sleep. It had been extremely hot in the hospital. It was almost 102 degrees during the hottest point of the day. 

Santana walked around the mess in the bathroom and took a quick shower.

 Overnights were not her favorite. But, she had to work every shift. She climbed into a pair of shorts and a tank top and stumbled into her room. Not even bothering to turn on a light she crawled into her bed. 

 She grabbed her covers and rolled over on her side. She closed her eyes when she felt an arm wrap around her waist.  “Ahhhh, what the fuck!?”

 “Santana, what are you doing in Sam’s room?” Brittany asked in a groggy tone. The blonde sat up and put her arms over her head.

 “You’re in my room…” Santana leaned over and turned on the light. “IS there a reason you are NAKED in my bed?!”

 “Oh…I thought I was in Sam’s room. I was so hot after dance class,” Brittany said shyly, pulling the sheet up over her chest. “Anyway, I was so exhausted I took a bath fell asleep sitting in the tub. I guess when I came too and stumbled through the apartment I ended up in the wrong room.”

 “Well,” Santana stuttered a little bit and motioned towards Brittany, “It’s really fine…but can you go to Sam’s room so I can sleep?”

“Yea,” She grabbed the Avengers fleece blanket of Santana’s bed and wrapped it around her self. “I’m really sorry. I’m pretty flighty sometimes.”

 “It’s okay, Britt.”  Santana just smiled a little bit, “Oh Brittany you’re not flighty. The heat can do crazy things to people.” Santana giggled. “I mean take this for example. Usually I wouldn’t kick a gorgeous woman out of bed.”

 “Maybe next time you won’t have too…” Brittany said with a sly smile before she walked through the threshold of Santana’s room. “Sweet dreams, Santana.”

 ============================================================

Sam had warned Brittany about Santana’s temper. But, luckily for the blonde she had yet to see it. Well, that was until now. The last couple weeks had been strange for them, but not in a bad way. They were kind of locked into this weird dance. Brittany would cook too much at dinner while Santana was working overnight. The dancer would pack her lunch the next day.  

 Santana almost ways came home with fresh coffee and little pastries from a bakery down the street Brittany had mentioned she liked.

 Santana had been on a bender of almost non-stop back to backshifts at the hospital. Brittany had picked up a choreography job for a small studio in town. They had only seen each other for a few hours here and there since Brittany made them dinner.

 “This is complete fucking bullshit,” Santana fumed out ass he slammed the apartment door shut. “I’ve been pulling 18 hour shifts. Sometimes even just working doubles.” Santana threw her bag on the couch, “I’m at the top of my class. I’m one of best and most well rounded residents. I have never missed a day of work…” Santana meandered in the kitchen to crack open a beer mid-rant… “And you know who gets picked to assist on one of the most important surgeries of my rotation…”

 “Who?” Brittany asked softly. She had been watching Santana for the last few minutes basically tearing through the apartment. She wasn’t sure if the med student was even paying attention to her. Sam also told her, sometimes Santana just rants to herself to blow off steam. The surprised look on Brittany’s face told her that Santana had zero idea she was around.

 “McClain, that’s who.” Santana tipped her beer back and downed it faster than anything Brittany had ever seen even at a frat party. “He’s stupid and he can barely read a fucking chart! Nurses run his lines for him all the time. I truly think he doesn’t know how…” Santana slammed the empty beer bottle on the counter. “He only got picked because he’s a fucking kiss ass. His daddy plays golf with the Chef of Surgery and his grandfather is one of the biggest donors to the new wing a couple years ago.

 Brittany walked up behind Santana and rubbed her shoulders softly, “I can’t imagine the stress you’re under right now. You need to try and relax. Maybe another beer and sleep Santana. You haven’t been sleeping.”

 Santana tensed as soon as Brittany touched her. She didn’t mean too, but things between them were sweet and also oddly blurred. “I can’t sleep. I’m too fucking angry.”

 “Santana,” Brittany grabbed her by the cheeks softly and made her look at her, “It’s 6:34 a.m. You’ve worked three eighteen hour days in a row,” Brittany moved her hands down and rubbed her shoulders. “You need to sleep. I’ll make you some tea. I’ll listen to what happened last night and then you need to try and sleep,” Brittany smiled to herself a little when she felt Santana start to relax a little.

 “I guess you’re right…” She huffed out a little and gave her a small smile.

 “Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?” Brittany teased softly as she made her way into the kitchen. “Sam said it was hard to get you to relax once you were a little wound up.”

 “Sam can suck my ass,” She hissed out a little before taking a seat at the table. “I’ll try and sleep after some tea. I won’t keep ranting too much.”

 ============================================================

The couple weeks follow, what Santana called the incident, were pretty quiet between her and Brittany. Santana still had a week of night shifts left. But luckily for her, tonight she was off. She had been thinking about Brittany way more than she should have. Worst of all, she was thinking of her in ways she shouldn’t. 

The mess that she likes to call hurricane Brittany had cleaned itself up at the apartment. Santana just assumed it was from Brittany actually having time to get stuff together between her classes and internship. 

It was annoying to come home to a mess, but it was nice Brittany cleaned it up on her own usually within 48 hours. She would had to hound Sam pretty frequently to get him to do anything.

Groceries in hand, Santana pushed the door to her small apartment open the door. She was happily greeted with the smell of something really good. She gulped a little bit when she say the lights were dim and there was a candle on small dinette table. Brittany must be having company. 

Santana decided to scurrying off to her room to be unseen was probably a good idea. It was still fairly early, so Brittany’s company probably wouldn’t be by for a while. She froze in her tracks when she saw Brittany coming out of the bathroom in only a towel.

“Hey,” Brittany said softly with a big smile on her face. “I didn’t think you would be back until after 6.”

“Hi, Britt.” Santana shifted her wait and started to play with the strap on her back pack. “I decided to just have drinks with my friends Kurt and Rachel. My eyes have been bothering me so I didn’t want to sit through a movie.” The med-student motioned her head towards the kitchen. “I’ll stay out of your hair tonight though since you’re having company.”

“Oh no. That’s okay. I think you look good in your glasses.” The blonde said with a sympathetic smile. “Oh, I made us dinner. It’s kind of as a thank you for putting up with me the last few weeks.”

“Thanks, Brittany.” She blushed a little bit and started to fidget a little more. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t have too. I wanted to. Especially if we still have half the summer to go. I would rather have more to talk about then class and work.” Brittany seemed too suddenly realize she was just in a towel, “How about you get settled while I change and dinner in about an hour?”

“I think you’re right. I know we both basically have opposite schedules, but we should try harder.” Santana nodded and offered a small smile, “Sure sounds great Britt.”

A few minutes later, Santana was sitting in her bed head leaning against her headboard. She was wondering if she should change for dinner. She was probably over thinking the whole thing .Brittany was obviously just trying to be nice. She might not just been over thinking. Maybe a little bit of day dreaming too. Brittany had just broken up with her boyfriend less than 2 months ago. She also was her roommates cousin.

She did decide to change. But that’s only to hide the fact she that she had a superhero t-shirt on under her hoodie. Black skinny jeans, three quarter sleeved black and white striped shirt, and of course her glasses.

She emerged from her room after about twenty minutes, when she heard Brittany clattering around the kitchen. As soon as she saw Brittany she was glad she decided to change. Brittany was in a short black shirt and a while button down that was too big of her.

“I was wondering if you fell asleep in there,” Brittany laughed out softly. “I like that shirt. It’s cute.”

Santana gulped a little when Brittany turned and eyed her outfit up and down. “Oh, thanks Britt.” She shuffled nervously around the kitchen, “I did close my eyes for a few minutes, but that was because of the contacts.”

Brittany grabbed the spatula and brought it up to Santana’s lips, “Taste it.” She held her hand underneath to as to not get any on the floor.

Shocked for a second, Santana brought her mouth to it and tried the pasta sauce. “That’s really good Brittany.”

“Good,” She put the spatula back down on the counter. “I hope you like chicken parm. It’s one of the few things I can make without burning down the kitchen.”

“It’s great, Britt. Do you want any help?” Santana asked softly looking around. It looked like the table hadn’t been set yet.

“You want to get us some wine?” Brittany motioned towards the fridge. “Maybe get some plates down? It still has about a half hour or so to cook.”

“Sure, Britt.” Santana grabbed them two glasses and poured some red wine for them. She sat one down next to Brittany by the stove. “For the master chef,” she said softly offering a smile. She made quick work of setting the table. “How was class today?”

“It was good. But it wore me out.” Brittany took a sip of her wine and shrugged. “I’ve been dancing since I was 3 but this modern dance teacher is super intense. Like it’s go go go until you die basically.”

“Sounds pretty crazy,” Santana leaned against the opposite counter. “I was in Glee in high school and we did some cool stuff, but I’m sure nothing like what you do on the day today.”

“Sam said you were also a cheerleader?” Brittany smiled a little when she sees Santana shift to a some what uncomfortable stance.

“I took gymnastics as a kid, but my high school was so small we didn’t have a team. So the next best thing was tumbling for the cheer leading coach,” Santana shrugged a little bit. “It kept me busy and looked good on transcripts. Even had 3 national championships.”

“I’m sure a bunch of colleges were looking for you.” Brittany smiled and put her glass down. “I bet you can dance better than you think. Especially after learning cheerleading and gymnastics routines. It’s really not that hard.”

“I don’t know Brittany,” Santana rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “I haven’t done any of that since high school. I don’t count drunk club dancing either.”

“Alexa, play my slow dance mix . Set a thirty minute timer too.” Brittany stood in front of Santana and offered her, her hand. “Wanna dance?”

Santana just sighed and took Brittany’s hand. They might not have known each other very well, but she had learned Brittany usually gets what she wants. “Alright, just don’t laugh at me.”

“I promise I won’t laugh.” Brittany put her arm around Santana’s waist and pulled the shorter girl close to her.  “I’m telling you,” she slowly started to lead them in a slow sway. “You’re not as bad as you think. Most people aren’t. I’ve thought a lot. Most people are just scared of embarrassing themselves.”

“Thank god we are in the apartment,” Santana just giggled a little bit as she placed her hand awkwardly on Brittany’s shoulder. “I would not be doing this in public.”

“You need to relax. You’re so tense.” Brittany moved her hand from Santana’s waist to her bicep and gave it a small squeeze. “Relax, it’s just the apartment like you said. I won’t tease you I promise.”

Santana tried to relax over the course of the next couple songs, but she couldn’t. Brittany really was a fantastic dancer. She was always a fantastic teacher. It didn’t help Santana that she was pulling her closer by the hips and leading more with her body. It was very distracting. But Brittany was explaining the whys over the movements and steps. She was really trying to teach Santana. “Santana,” The brunette was dragged out of her thoughts by Brittany’s voice. “Hmm?”

“See, I told you!” Brittany giggled to herself. “You’ve been unconsciously leading since the last song.”

“Oh sorry,” she said nervously. “I know you were trying to teach me.”

“I don’t think you needed much teaching. You just needed a little coaxing.” The dancer smiled softly and pulled Santana a little close. “I told you so.”

Santana felt her body starting to heat up slowly. Brittany obviously was a physically affectionate kind of person. But with the way Santana had been thinking about her since she found her in her bed a couple weeks ago, this was not helping. “I’m glad I listened. It was fun.”

“Now the next step is to get you to go out clubbing with me,” Brittany laughed a little bit and ran her hands up and down Santana’s arms. “You need to relax. You’re so tense.”

“I might go if we pre-game a little at home. I’ll need at least a bottle of wine.” Santana sighed a little bit at Brittany’s touch. “I guess it’s work mostly.”

 “Well hopefully tonight helps you relax,” Brittany leaned forward and kissed the brunette on the cheek.“ You’re much more beautiful when you don’t have your eyebrows wrinkled and your shoulders at attention like you’re in the army.”

Santana turned her face towards Brittany. Still in a little bit of shock at her action and her words. “Britt.” She inhaled deeply when she realized Brittany was closing in on her lips.

BEEP BEEP BEEP…

The both jumped away from each other. Santana looked like a deer in headlights. Brittany just turned way and stammered something about checking on dinner…Next time Brittany asked her to dance. She wouldn’t even think twice about it.

[aelaer]

Just saw your post about having to block the doctor strange x reader tag, and I must agree it's become the predominant DS fic that comes up as recommended on my feed as well. There are several authors I enjoy reading in that category (although lately the overall amount of fics is overwhelming), but I only started writing them myself as my stephen x ofc fics could never gain a bit of traction. I have a theory that if I went back and changed my ofc's to reader inserts, I'd probably gain a lot more readers--but I can never bring myself to doing that as I wouldn't be true to myself as an author.

I suppose that's just a writerly woe I'm sharing with someone who might understand.😏 But I'm curious; are you open to reading non-romance fics featuring original characters? I've found that tumblr can be quite snobbish towards that species of fic.

I wanted to reply to this ages ago but it requires my computer and some thinking, so I kept pushing it off again and again and again and whelp, here we are. My bad. ><

I'm the same way where being true to myself as an author is writing what I want, so I get you there. Doesn't get As Much Engagement as other tropes would, but y'know what, I can live with that. If anything, I've actually found that the fic I compromised most on (because it was for a themed exchange) is one I want to reread the least. So if anything, a lot of me writes for "do I want to reread this in the future" and that has helped me since.

It's funny since OFC romances used to be pretty popular way back when, but I guess "reader" took over that audience over the last decade because the majority of the people just wanted to insert themselves into the position instead of reading about a full-fleshed character? Honestly not sure.

Right, I keep delaying the reason I took so long to get back to you - non-romance fics with OCs. The answer, by the way, is yes. Great OCs are fantastic, but you don't tend to see many OCs outside of romance, or you only see them as side characters in another pairing's fic. They don't often have starring or co-starring roles. But I wanted to find examples with great OCs which would take time.

And now I'm taking that time. Here's some good OC-starring fics that I scoured through the tag. They're difficult to find. I had to smudge that requirement after a while. Then I gave up after I got to 2 years back in the tag.

Some of the stories that I know have very good OCs are also IronStrange, but I know that's not your cup of tea so I left it out. But I found a handful.

Keshwyn was the author that came to mind when you originally sent this ask, but I wanted to have more than one author when I wrote this. Read their series, highly recommend, top-tier OCs across the whole spectrum, with the main star being female.

This fic by LexLemon is technically PalmerStrange, but the OCs are her parents, so it's basically a delight in my eyes as Stephen's fish-out-of-water act is always funny to me.

Dragonnan writes good OCs, usually the mean sort though, the ones who hurt Stephen rather than befriend him (male and female lmao), but if you're in a whumpy mood at some point...

This isn't technically an OC, but I don't know the character from the comics, so she's an OC to me! This Stephen's new apprentice is Casey Kinmont fic by Stratagem. They just updated recently too, need to cheer them on at some point.

*sigh* Sorry love, I ran out of good OC fics that didn't have background/primary IronStrange that I could find/remember. But yeah. There's some fic/author recs.

(If anyone wants to add to the list, feel free to leave a comment or reblog. I was avoiding IronStrange for the asker in particular but I don't think the asker sees reblogs so go for it if you'd like).

Also, I love the OCs that I've come up with for my various stories in both LOTR and the MCU. I'll ramble all about them if you (or someone) wants me to, quite happily.

Hope that answers the question/reason for the ask, mostly.

[spookfished]

media roundup june 2023

hey guys guess who just went "oh its the 4th of july. that means that its july" here im going to talk about things i read/watched/played last month! i didnt read as much but did finish a couple books that ive had checked out Forever. ok actually i read a lot woops

books/comics/written media:

fake dates and mooncakes by sher lee: fake dating (obv) premise between a cooking boy and a rich heir! book that made me realized im honestly just not that interested in ya romance anymore LMFAO. pretty sweet and a decent read, but landed more heavily on the expository end of uhh i guess diaspora fiction? than i really prefer. i think i picked this up bc the author got mega cancelled on tyk twitter lol??

bird by bird by anne lammott: book about how to write. i love to read about how people do stuff :3 some of the advice applies pretty universally to creative efforts i think.. made me want to write more too

john dies at the end by jason pargin: DNF. comic/horror about this loser guy who discovers stuff. sigh i tried so hard to like this book its supposed to be pretty 'mecore'...talked about this with alena a bunch but its like hm... i know the sort of casual offensiveness sort of goes in hand with being poor and white and in the midwest and i appreciate how its like that creates its own doomed narrative or whatever. but also i feel like the protagonist would call me slurs or something. also the lowgrade but pervasive orientalism is kinda offputting. probably fun for some other guy! i did enjoy the horror elements though

the goldfinch by donna tartt: literary coming of age about a boys relationship with a painting (the goldfinch). also he flops a lot and its sort of homoerotic i guess? a movie was made of it. so something to note is that ive had this book out on loan since literally december. neil kept on being like hey man just stop reading it LMFAO. thoughts cp'ed from discord:

why does the goldfinch feel like a 600 page leadup to the actual book which is 800 pages

idk at this point im kinda sick of pathetic lovelorn self obsessed semi literary men. like toku men are also sopping and pathetic but i think its more appealing when they are also kind and can be vulnerable. this guy is just annoying and kind of incel coded. like does a grand gesture to make up for the fact that he killed your dog while dogsitting

i actually did enjoy the parts post timeskip but i still think the first two thirds could have been cut or Greatly compressed or interspersed w the present or Something, yk? prose was nice though

the bodyguard by katherine center: romance novel about a woman bodyguard who lives for her job. fresh from a breakup, shes given a new undercover assignment with a handsome actor, recently withdrawn from society. will they be able to break each others' shells....? my mom recommended this to me LMFAO we kind of have different tastes in romance.. ive read a book by this author before i think her platonic scenes are very strong? i wish there had been a couple more of those. also i like how she always includes a life affirming section at the end about how important it is for us to open ourselves up to love etc etc cute but not especially memorable

kiss quotient by helen hoang: (reread) a shy, autistic econometrician decides that she needs to get better at sex, and so hires an escort. helen hoang is one of my faavorite romance authors i really enjoyed this reread although i kinda forgot that both leads say, think and do some pretty embarrassing things. but you know a little embarrassment is endearing and all that.. i still prefer her other book (the bride test) but this one is pretty good too. vivid characters 👍

sisters of dorley hall by alyson greaves: web fiction - a trans woman infiltrates a secret force-feminization program. ok im just cp'ing my thoughts from discord again but i enjoyed it a lot:

my thoughts are that the first like, third? is really really good. it like idk takes the very real trans fears of like discovery and passing and all that and fictionalizes them a bit. but like its still grounded and swag. sooo tense once The Reveal happens n things w steph are pretty normal it gets kinda meandering? which i dont really mind bc i love interpersonal drama even if i miss how tense and scary it was. but also theres only like two major plot threads going on rn and theyre both pretty slowburn. a timeskip would probably benefit tbh like the point rn is kinda like. the 7 year meteor? yeah sorry

like it used to be sort of psychological thriller? and now its sort of more character focus and also surprisingly fluffy.. im surprised that the author has said they have a complete outline bc it doesnt feel very focused atm? but also like i suppose things are snowballing a bit re: revealing the sisters to the outside world

an unauthorized fan treatise by lauren james: a fangirl trying to prove her rpf ship is real uncovers a greater conspiracy. to me if something is able to capture a specific age/vibe from the internet its automatically pretty good. however more and more people are learning how to do that so maybe i should change my standards... i was never involved in All That re: rpf or even fandoms of live action shows until kamen rider? but like i definitely knew people in hs that were sort of like this LMFAO so it felt very familiar. i appreciate the author trying to make that $$ but i dont know if it really needs an expansion/sequel.. the ending is better off with some ambiguity imo

impossible us by sarah lotz: literary romance? a man and a woman fall in love online, but encounter difficulties when they try to meet. ok im just pasting my thoughts here again (spoilers btw):

ok that was a lot of stuff. onto movies/tv:

xo kitty: kitty goes to a school to connect with her online boyfriend, but all is not well. yall this was not good. i guess my standards shouldnt have been that high but to all the boys ive loved before was so cute!! (havent watched/read the others). but like.. the writing was bad and the main actress just wasnt very sympathetic or charming? characters waste time saying "i can explain" until time runs out for them to actually explain, additional (and nonsensical) romance plots are added for no reason, and the male lead isnt even that hot. sorry. also kitty deciding to move to korea to connect with her mom but not bothering to learn a speck of korean and insisting that everyone else speak to her in english really sucks honestly. not even my mom liked it so thats how you know its bad 👎

succession season 1: yesss succession. greg is my favorite cant wait to see him become evil. makes me stressed

shin kamen rider (hideaki anno): reboot of the first kamen rider by the guy who made evangelion. this guy kinda makes the same thing over and over but it looked sick as hell so i wasnt complaining. like stella obstinaterixatrix said, kinda more introspective or even insular to the point of kinda ignoring the usual kr theme of justice but it was still very fun :3 kinda want to watch the original now

ready player one (movie): my parents made me watch this movie. aggressively mediocre.

kamen rider revice and live and evil and demons: pretty fun if you have the disease that makes you think revice is good, but mostly made me miss revice. i think they should have gone more into the clone thing but i always think that so

kamen rider juuga vs kamen rider olteca: two-parter special for kr revice. i forgot what happened in this pretty much immediately after but karizaki was hot

roman holiday: a princess touring in rome escapes her duties for a day, and meets a dashing young reporter. classic romance!! i actually liked this so so much like it actually is very romantic and funny and like deserves the hype. didnt expect it to be in black and white even so audrey hepburn is really hot. (spoilers) more romances should have bittersweet endings though like it hit

kamen rider ryuki: a young man is inducted into a battle royale between those fighting for their deepest wishes, and decides to try and stop the rider battle once and for all. hey guys ryuki is so fucking good for those who have watched madoka magica a lot of it is very heavily based off of/inspired by ryuki! but ryuki does it better. pretty much The kamen rider has so much to say about justice and love and what it means to be a hero and sacrifice and *runs out of air and falls over* also it made me cry. if you ever try kamen rider try this one <3

EDIT OH i forgot about across the spiderverse 100/10 obviously groundbreaking in animation nice take on generational trauma and also like the nature of adaptation and being in a multimedia comics franchise and all that. really hope the sequel doesnt get crunched too bad. oh but copaganda not great 99/10

video games:

twisted wonderland: gacha game where random disney villains are bishie high schoolers instead. ill play chapter 3 sometime soon i swear. gameplay is terrible as with most gacha games but the characters are cute? i feel terrible guilt for being involved with a disney franchise. honestly pretty compelling character writing sometimes though sorry

apico: stardew-like about raising bees (in beta). sooooo cute and the devs obv care about bees a lot in real life. the gameplay loop + breeding systems are a little bit punishing right now though i really hope it gets adjusted. took over my life during finals (woops) and i got like half the bees and then burnt out. multiplayer is fun though!

legend of zelda tears of the kingdom: the next zelda game, now featuring building + vertical elements. yeah this took over my life for two months like it did for a bunch of other people i finished the main story a couple days ago! i might go back to do a couple more of the shrine puzzles, but other than that i think im done. LOVE the vertical elements and also all the little sidequests there are to do and how the world has changed since botw. dragons tears was really good and OMG PROVING GROUNDS. would be a 10/10 if zelda was the protag stop damseling her you guys cmon

paper mario origami king: newest paper mario game, which is a spinoff of the main series where theyre all paper (duh). im about halfway through this, i think? tried it out because of the dunkey video lol and also bc it was free at my library. very charming and inventive, has a really good soundtrack and really funny writing! i know the gameplay was controversial, but im enjoying it a lot (and theres a lot of room for error). might 100% it

it feels like this month i tried a lot of things that i didnt really like LMAO. also a lot of romance. im very happy about finally finishing the goldfinch! the only holdout on my libby is slaughterhouse 5 :P i did find some things that i really liked though! anyways this one feels a bit more scattered but if you got to the ending, congratulations! thanks for reading :3

[glove23]

2) Do you read/reread your own fics? 6) Are there any fics from others you reread all the time? 14) If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

WOWEEE thank u!

2. Do you read/reread your own fics?

sometimes! Usually not until way way later and I have completely forgotten everything about them and so I can read them as if I wasn't the one who wrote it! adhd is fun

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

YES. GOD YES. IM A CHRONIC REREADER DISHDJSDBNS

Stirring Up Trouble by YOU @nooowestayandgetcaught is one I reread whenever I'm sad because it's literally just. so good. and it makes me happy

How Like Home by @waitingondaisies is another I reread a lot bc I love the world they've created

More Like Two Different Coins by @ladyaurorafanfic is another and it's a hp/bbc merlin crossover that just scratches my brain just right

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into visual medium, such as comic or film, which fanfic would you pick?

oh 100% guess I misjudged you (gods I loved you) it's like my favorite thing and to see it with my own eyes,,,,like I've done a ton of art for it and it would just be so cool to see it Alive, ya know. sigh. a dream.

THANK YOU!!!

[thesummerstorms]

Like, the idea for the Annabeth Wayne AU is that the era around Jason's death and her relationships with Bruce, Dick, and Jason specifically are absolutely crucial to who she ended up becoming as a person.

Bruce Wayne attracted Athena during his training world tour days, and she came to him again after he had taken Dick in and eventually Annabeth was born.

Dick ended up bonding with Anna(beth) especially after being the one to find her, and she grew up knowing he was Robin and with a decent amount of older sibling worship given the age difference.

Jason was the brother Annabeth got when she was old enough to talk and actually somewhat remember things, and I like to think they squabbled but he was also protective

Jason's death is the major turning point in her relationship with Bruce and a factor for running away alongside spiders and seeing monsters

So that means finding:

At least a timeline of Bruce's training days and maybe reading some of the LOA bits specifically, but if I'm honest I don't care much to read about him on his own

Early Dick!Robin days for what the environment would have been like when Annabeth was very small (I have the new Mark Waid stuff already on my Kindle, but I refuse to go back to the 40s. I draw a line somewhere lmao. I'm sure there's other more modern stuff but I don't know what's out there.)

Dick leaving for the Titans around the time Annabeth is old enough to actually remember things (Using NTT for this. Don't care about retcons tbqh. I like the middle of the series characterization.)

Early days Jason as Robin (???? I know this exists but again do not know what titles to pull.)

Jason's actual death (Death in the Family...and whatever significant retcon has happened that people actually accept I guess?)

Fallout of Jason's Death (I've read the NTT stuff and A Lonely Place of Dying, but she would be gone before Tim gets there or even before Dick finds out what happened in NTT so I might actually have to pull the relevant Batman issues from that era...sigh.)

And then you have how many years where she's at Camp Half Blood and all of the DC stuff is mainly off screen. I need to know just enough to know the modern day status of the family, but since it's already a crossover AU I feel like I can leave out some of the events I don't like or want to read.

The focus would be more on her relationships with Dick, Jason, and Damian than the other kids or even Bruce I think.

Annabeth's daily life for the past decade would have revolved around her siblings. Dick and Jason were important Before and Damian is a younger sibling still living at home who she can draw uncomfortable parallels with. I think Bruce is way more of an uncertainty in her mind, especially after everything with Athena, so she'd be holding back there in a way she wouldn't with her brothers.

I do have to know the bare minimum of how Cass, Steph, Duke got brought in which I currently don't. (??? Titles???)

I do know how Tim was introduced but again, need to read just enough to know where he should be in the present day without commiting to a whole run (? Titles??)

I have read the stuff with Batman Dick and Damian! But it was like one of my first DC comics and I don't fucking remember it. So probably some rereading there especially because Dick's role as a significantly older brother is also important for Annabeth so that's a good source. (So Batman and Robin 2009)

If Damian is going to be a focus character because she connects to him more like a sibling at CHB due to his age and background, can I still just read B&R or do I have to pull more sources???

I have no idea how Jason *actually* is post resurrection because no two posts seem to agree and all I've read is RHATO. (Don't look at me like that, I didn't know!) So.... Yeah. *Sighs* (at the very least Under the Red Hood and then I have to figure out what non Lobell source would be best for modern characterization.)

[lildoodlecat]

Guess what arrived a few days ago!!!!!! I've been super excited the whole time but I had to work around my own brain to Do the Task of taking pictures so at last the time has come (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

I'm once again a packrat and bought both the B&N exclusive and the special edition bc of course I wanted the merch AND the interior comic ✨✨

Under the cut bc this is gonna get long

Full spread first!! At an angle as I physically fight the light over our table

Then reverse sides ♥️♥️

Gorgeous posters!!!!!! The one on the left is one of my favorite illustrations by moo so I'm extra ecstatic to have that as a poster!! (Even if it is bent.. bc of packaging... sigh)

Stickers by @/foxyjoy-art again!! Their style is so super cute and I really love these! Esp the silly lil Xue Yang in the corner sjxkd you mischievous lil guy what are you doing here

Bookmark :D already started using it on my reread so I had to take it out for this shoot

Adorable postcards!!! The other side is just the book covers but I love those as well

notebook!! i don't.. really know what i'll use this for since it's perfect bound and the inside is lined a bit like a child's notebook lol

like this is super cute but i don't have a practical use for it yet?? my sister suggested i put my stickers in it to save them since i've yet to put them anywhere else and that could be fun i suppose but idk idk if it was spiral bound it'd be a lot more convenient aslkdfjjk

lastly here's a teeny tiny comic sneak peak (the same first page the artist shared already) and the back cover!!!!! aaaa i'm so excited to actually read the extras and such again since i only ever read the mdzs fan tl once :D ik the comic is for one of the extras so i'll probably wait until i get there to read it proper

and that's it!!! now i just have to find room for the posters... hmm......

[liarian]

Hope

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 8 Part 9

Tanako picked up the brochure, horrified by the garish colors, the Comic Sans typography and the oversaturation of the layout. After years as a graphic designer, she had never seen anything as horrible as that hellspawn that seemed to be advertising some kind of parapsychology service. Tanako had seen all kinds of charlatans since the day Katsuya had turned out to be not quite normal. None screamed scam as much as "Spirits and such."

Her first reaction was to throw the paper in the trash and forget that the infectious thing had ever crossed her life. With a resigned sigh, she reread the information on the brochure. The address was not too far from there and Tanako had already tried every place that could be considered respectable. It didn't hurt to try if any of what it said there was true. Katsuya needed help and Tanako was desperate to get it for him any way she could.

Tanako didn't know what to expect from a place that advertised with that kind of publicity but what she found was a completely nondescript office building like the thousand identical ones that could be found in the city. She could hardly believe that she had passed by it dozens of times without noticing the sign on the facade.

Tanako took out the pamphlet and checked the apartment and the door before ringing the intercom. The door was open when she reached the second floor. The inside of the office didn't look much different from the dozen or so offices she'd had to wait to be told if they could help her son. The furniture looked cheap but was well-kept, light-colored. Two black chairs made the waiting room in front of the reception desk. Tanako stood.

"One moment, please." For a moment she had thought no one was there when the words caught her attention.

The voice belonged to a boy sitting in front of the desk in the back. He seemed to be concentrating on typing something on his computer. At some point, there had to have been more people but Tanako didn't see anyone else.

"This is a horrible brochure" Tanako said as she saw the piece of paper still in her hands. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I think so too." The boy stood up walking over to her. "My assistant thinks it draws more attention this way."

The boy was the opposite of what Tanako might have expected looking at the design of the pamphlet. He couldn't have been more than twenty-six or twenty-seven, with completely straight black hair covering his forehead and an almost expressionless grimace.

"Tea?" he asked leading her to the sofas by his desk and putting the water in the electric kettle on the table to boil. "I'm sorry, I didn't ask your name."

"Tanako Serizawa" she said accepting the offer and sitting down on one of the sofas.

"Shigeo Kageyama, nice to meet you." The boy drew a small grimace that was intended to be a smile. "How can I help you, Mrs. Serizawa?"

Tanako fiddled nervously with her hands not quite knowing what to say. No matter how many times she had explained Katsuya's problem, it was never simple. She left herself a moment to think, picking up the cup and letting the warmth help her calm her nerves.

"It's because of my son," she said at last after taking a sip. "He needs help and maybe you can do something."

----------------------------------------------------------

Tanako walked up to the door of Katsuya's room and listened as she tried to guess her son's movements on the other side. She was barely able to make out the sound of footsteps and the creaking of the chair. It had been days since Tanako had barely seen bits of the hunched figure residing in there. At times, she had the impression of living with a ghost.

Tanako had been unable to stand still for a moment all morning. She didn't know how many times she had rearranged the shelves of the dining room cabinet. Kageyama had told her he would stop by around four o'clock and it was already five minutes past.

Nerves were going to get the better of her. Tanako still remembered the last time a professional had come to see Katsuya and it wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat.

At least Kageyama had been honest about what to expect. Katsuya wasn't cursed and there was no magic concoction that was going to spontaneously cure him. The only one who could get him out of his room was Katsuya himself.

Tanako was startled when she heard the doorbell.

Kageyama looked too normal. Nothing would have made her think that that boy could really be anything extraordinary. Maybe that boy was nothing more than a scam but something about the way Kageyama had spoken to her the day before made her hopeful.

For the first time in a long time, Tanako had had the impression that someone understood her.

"Is he in the room down the hall?" Kageyama asked as soon as he entered.

Takako nodded her head.

"Today is a bad day." She led him to the room where Katsuya had been confined for over three months now. "I'm not sure he's going to want to talk."

"I can at least try." Kageyama shrugged. "And I can always come back another day."

"Just be careful."

Tanako was never going to be able to forget that her son was dangerous. She watched the boy one last time before knocking on the door. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Hello I hope you’re doing well

What would the skellies reaction be to their S/O writing poetry and/or stories for them to display affection? Perhaps some that make them laugh, show their love and affection to the skeleton or to comfort/calm them? Hope ya have a nice day!

Let's go with some of our creative boys!

Undertale Papyrus - He's overwhelmed. He can't believe you wrote something just for him and his soul can't take it anymore. He is so excited that he got a little bit dizzy and needs to sit down for a bit. Doing little private things for him is one of the things he loves the most and he feels like he is an accomplished skeleton now.

Underswap Papyrus - Aw~. Honey is a big reader of romantic stories and the fact you noticed is both a bit embarrassing and quite remarkable. He doesn't know where to look anymore, but he thanks you with a very small voice. He keeps it into his bed table's drawer and you can sometimes catch him rereading it when he's in a sad mood.

Horrortale Papyrus - He's reading it outloud, but the more he is reading, the more he starts crying. In the end, you can't understand what he is saying anymore, but man, he is so happy. After that, he just hugs you and cries for several minutes.

Swapfell Sans - He finishes reading, then takes a pencil and corrects your paper lol. "here, you left a grammatical mistakes. and this could be reworded, and this part is a bit overdramatic, and that..." He stops and realises you are watching him with two big fish eyes. "... i guess it's not too terrible." Wow. He compliments you. You starts to cry. Nox sighs and pats your shoulder. Though, you still need to correct that poem.

Dancetale Sans - Aw, you didn't have to. He is blushing and tries to hide inside of his hoodie to hide it. Rambo is a good writer too, so there's a chance he might do something similar to you sometimes later. Though, he is very insecured about his writing, so he'll make sure to leave it anonymous, even if it's not so hard to guess who did this because of the litteral comic sans font he is writing with. But Rambo didn't think so far.

Dancefell Papyrus - He's doing a live reading on his Instagram account. You try to stop him since some scenes are quite hot and explicite about things the two of you did in bed, but he didn't realise, too implicated in the story. Yep, but his audience noticed it very well on the other hand. The next day, you are on the covers of every town's scandal newspapers. Congratulations.

Ink - He's asking you to read it for him, and he is watching you all this time with little hearts in the eyes, and then he kisses you savagely. Ink loves to see your creativity. It's one of the rare times you didn't see him jumps everywhere and gets exciting over anything. Maybe you should do that more often.

[sollucets]

twcposting advanced special: back half of book 2

mason, it’s very cute of you to acknowledge this and i love masonivy friendship, but like, why were you surprised. ivy is 500000000% team nate in like every possible situation at this point they are fully on the nate train and with ivy this usually means protective violence, so like, (ed: i Meant this rest in rip sanja)

ohhhh. gah that conversation with n and a is super cute what the fuck. “i don’t want your gratitude i want you to be happy” i am actually so much more endeared to a from this route?? this is so sweet. ;u;

sigh. in the most resigned tone possible, n thinks boomer memes are funny. they do don’t they. somewhere in my soul i know it. they have a reasonable chuckle over newspaper comics about people who are obsessed with their phones

n’s route has a Eye Contact thing sure, but i think now that its specific quirk is actually a Hand Thing, isn’t it. wrapping their hand on that first patrol, warming up their hands on the walk, the finger kiss, holding hands all the time, snapping them out of the mirror trance by holding hands... yeah its a hand thing. i gotta think that with ivynate, with the height difference (it’s fully 10 inches, nearly a foot) their hands have gotta be real different sizes too.... ah. tender

seeing the combat scene on this route confirms my earlier suspicions about Hot Sparring Scene, so i’m gonna have to go through this way on the m route.... like. i actively HAVE to. if m doesn’t pin them to the floor and kiss them what is even the point

heehee. i love the “taking advantage of someone’s romantic distraction during sparring” thing....... yes. yes that is where it’s at. that said the height difference makes that description of them back hugging him very funny their nose is going to be like in the middle of his back

m being a little shit to n on this route is So Fuckign Funny compared to n --> m. m is like a Selective Dumbass

im really delighted by ivymason friendship actually. they’re kind of similar, honestly? ivy is a lot nicer, mind, not that that’s a high bar, but they hit back when pushed. i like seeing mason being nice without all the extra romance baggage. it’s cute.

i really liked their nighttime talk except how i couldn’t control the detective going “hey nate have you killed anyone” because..... like..... why would you do that,,,,,, LMAO. also the silly little moisturizer joke i want him to wear a facemask and cucumbers.

“the way that man looks at you could inspire a thousand love poems” oh hell. also i’m fairly certain i’ve Seen sonnets about this lol

i like elidor please don’t let him be evil. he’s the first character i’ve gotten to hug

can’t help but think there’s a missing opportunity after the maalused break all the glass in the living room for injury take care. wouldnt you have glass shards embedded in your hands. fucked up

ivymason do the cannonball special!!!! what a delight. again mason is unreasonably taller than ivy so this definitely works

yeah i mean i hate to fail the mission but there’s fully no world where ivy doesn’t choose their li lmao. it will Never happen

it’s kind of cute a being protective over them against falk. like i understand it’s probably just what happens whether you’re friends or not but a and ivy did not get along for a long time so it’s kinda fun to see them wearing a down

i got the treaty this time! even though sanja died! wild. not sure how i managed that one when i failed with her alive last time. game works in mysterious ways i guess?

that said uh rereading that ambush.... goddammit elidor’s definitely sus, isn’t he. like we know the agency has a leak, specifically about their blood tests, and he took care of them after that.... dammit. :( oh well. at least ivy’s complete and utter trust of him will make for drama should it be true

HELL YEAH FERRIS WHEEL KISS

in conclusion: yes i think i was right to put ivy here. yes nate Does have some ... some edgy shit going on, re: fortune teller and that mysterious “oooh can i tell them everything” thing but i think it needs more emotional damage and that’s exactly what they’re for lmao. it’s... a little less canon i think? or i need to play it a little different. but still godtier i like it. anyway this was nice. had fun. tired now we sleep

[oveliagirlhaditright]

You know what I’ve decided? The comic writers/Joss Whedon (when he was there writing some of this. Because I guess he left the comics somewhere between season 10 and 12), didn’t exactly know just what they wanted to do with the Twilight!Angel stuff, or how far they wanted to go in making him kind of evil there.

Like, at the end he kills Giles. -gasps- Which is absolutely horrible, right? But, nah. It’s totally okay, because he was possessed, so it wasn’t really his fault. ...Except then the comics do this weird thing, where they then say that part of him did want to kill Giles? What? Which then makes me wonder why they even had him possessed at all, then. Just have him flat-out kill Giles himself at that point. As much as I wouldn’t want that, but at least it would be a consistent narrative line. But whatever. However you want to make sense of that all, Angel of course ends up regretting it and brings Giles back to life, and makes up for that sin that way.

Also, in season 8, Angel almost acts like he’s going to leave their friends in their universe, saying they can handle the fight there themselves and can maybe even help them from the Twilight universe they created. He says that Buffy can’t help them forever, and that this is no different than when she died and they would have had to face things alone then. But then Angel & Faith season 9 acts like his plan was to pull them in to and Buffy’s universe. This is either one writer not knowing what the other was doing (who didn’t even go back to reread season 8, to double check what the writing staff had just done), or a retcon to try and save Angel’s character some?

And then, all these Slayers (and other people) got killed with Angel’s plan here. I think Buffy mentions that near two-hundred Slayers were in the crossfire? And, yes. It actually probably would have been worse if Angel hadn’t essentially been a double agent, who the government was putting all their hopes and dreams onto, distracting everyone with big plans that would never really come into fruition. But still. And initially, Buffy is rightfully pissed off at Angel about all her lost sisters. But then the narrative completely forgets about all of this, and lists the death of Giles as the worst thing Angel ever did and the only thing he has to make up for here. I know he didn’t actually kill anyone himself in this arc, and maybe that’s why it suddenly shifts gears? But it seems like a big leap, to suddenly go from Point A to Point B.

The whole thing is honestly such a mess, that I really wish had never happened.

I GET why they did it (I think). I really do. I think it was to payoff the entire Wolfram & Hart plot from Angel the Series, but was it worth it at all imo? No.

I think it hurt Angel’s character more than anything.

And maybe he’s kind of in good graces again by the end of the comics, but I don’t know if I would have risked all his good writing from the shows like this if I were the writers.

Edit: I also know that the Angel in season 8 is one who had just gotten back from Hell (again). All of L.A. had gotten sucked into L.A., in fact, after his bright idea in “Not Fade Away”--and he was told that all of Earth would be sucked into Hell, if he didn’t do this. So, when he was given this bright idea, that he could create this perfect new universe and help humanity evolve that way, with some slight bloodshed to get there, he definitely latched onto that idea over the alternative. This was a highly traumatized Angel, not in his right mind. Who was, of course, swayed by selfishness for once, that he could finally get his happy ending with Buffy this way, too. But even with all this, and me of course feeling a lot of sympathy there... I’m like, really, Angel? Really? And really, writers? -sigh-