#sorry that I cannot figure out how to add a cut on mobile

[anddreadful]

full thoughts on frank wildhorn’s dracula having re-watched it in its entirety for the first time in many years:

- I watched a recent upload of an (american) community theater production, specifically because a) its sound quality was surprisingly good and b) my recent interest is because a local theater is putting it on, so given the opportunity, I wanted to see whatever version of the show is currently available for north american licensing

- the production was charming but the community theater (technically dinner theater! I went on a google hunt to find the theater and it’s only two hours from me lmao) was community-ing so I can’t really write home about the acting. or the singing although mina had a nice voice

- the one place I will dunk on the production is how hilariously chaste mina and dracula were. the biting scene was notably stiff and un-suggestive of sex despite taking place on a bed. maybe one of the actors wasn’t comfortable with doing anything more, but they had only one kiss, and it was so late in the show and such a teeny little dry peck on the lips that I hollered. at that point just don’t do it and pretend theirs is an ~intellectual connection or something

- dracula did do a creepy hair-petting thing to both renfield and Mina that I was a big fan of

- “if loving you keeps me alive, then how can leaving me be right?” is such a funny lyric. dirtbag manipulative boyfriend dracula

- I knew not all the songs were on the studio cast recording, but I had forgotten HOW MANY songs aren’t on it. where is How Do You Choose? If I Could Fly? It’s Over????? I had fully forgotten there was a life after life reprise. I was obsessed with the studio cast recording in high school and I know all those songs by heart (except for a perfect life because I think it’s bad) and now i’m like. why was I gatekept from so many of the songs!! why is there no professional english recording of Its Over!! answer me frank!!!!!

- this is not a new thought per se but a) I so love that all the suitors are present and themselves b) this show squanders them. jack has no personality whatsoever (I would trade TWO mina ballads for a jack song please I beg), arthur gets needlessly dunked on, and quincey is delightful and incredible and also narratively extraneous given that he doesn’t kill dracula or die at the end

- on that note, though, I cannot believe they included quincey being the first person to promise mina to kill her if the time comes in a book-accurate version of that scene. even the 1992 version doesn’t do that!!!! and this is basically just an adaptation of that movie!!!!! is this the ONLY dracula adaptation to include that detail? it’s a top five book moment for me so I very literally love to see it

- I understand that we had to beef up van helsing as a character SOMEHOW but was a dead wife song really the best we could come up with

- there are too many sad slow songs in this show for what it’s trying to accomplish! some of them immediately on top of each other! and some of the songs distinctly go on for just one too many verses 😭

- does the mina/ dracula romance make any sense? no. does the show make any effort whatsoever to make it? no. am I into it anyway? yeah. fuck it. I have terrible taste and so i think dracula as a disembodied voice like HI? HELLO? DON’T IGNORE ME? and mina being like “unfortunately, i’m into it” rocks

- “She Devil, Nosferatu” and “the lady in white” from that other dracula concept album are both so superior to “undead one, surrender” I almost feel bad for Frank and co there, but “the master’s song”, “life after life”, and “deep in the darkest night” still fucking slap

- the train hypnotism scene was soooo good except for the part where mina did dracula’s accent. not sure if that’s standard but I wish we hadn’t done that

- i’m not THAT well versed in musical theater as an art form and also all art is derivative etc but i do know that wildhorn has been historically criticized for derivativeness and…… yeah! you can tell where he mimics sondheim, and it doesn’t work because you can’t casually mimic sondheim and get out alive. i can’t think of the moment but there was some bit of music I could have sworn was out of Phantom, and it’s obviously a big general inspiration. not to be Boss Baby Guy but I see a lot of Les Mis DNA in it too (what is It’s Over if not The Confrontation in a goth hat)

- the dialogue between songs is serviceable at absolute best, and it’s a shame that it’s so consistently sacrificed at the altar of moving the plot the fuck along. for the most part, only mina and dracula meaningfully connect via song, so it would be nice to use the dialogue to flesh out relationships more often. lucy and mina being besties is a highlight!!!

- ultimately i had a blast but it must needs be said: the show is not good. the best possible execution of “literally just the novel dracula but dracula and mina are having a secret tragic love affair” is probably what we get in the 1992 dracula movie, and if there’s a way to translate that to stage well, it’s not this shallow, silly speedrun. but again. this trash is my trash. the painted cardboard castle of bad dracula adaptations is where i live.

- I actually think it would be really interesting to be involved in a production only because to make these characters function in terms of acting, I think you’d have to invent and extrapolate a lot in terms of motivation and characterization to supplement the text. which would be fun for me, a person who thinks about versions of dracula characters all the time already

[sinswithpleasure]

The Playgirl (ft. LOONA's Yves) [Part 1] [Female Reader]

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

This was supposed to be a lengthy oneshot, but I wanna have it out as I write, so... here's Part 1! Just so you know, it's futa!Yves, but I won't really mention it until at least Part 3.

Also, this is entirely female reader!

Can be found on AFF and AO3!

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

Everyone knows of Ha Sooyoung.

Most know her by her preferred name Yves, but it is the same either way—the people still have her deeply imprinted in the recesses of their minds. After all, who doesn't know of the campus fuckgirl that only goes for girls?

You are no exception to having knowledge of Sooyoung. After all, she is your seatmate for every class you had, and while she is regularly absent, she is a regular hindrance when present. During lectures, she likes to fling paper balls at unsuspecting classmates, flirt with any female classmate or TA, or play games on her mobile phone loudly. The fact that she is your seatmate only makes it worse, considering she has her feet on the table most of the time.

Now you have to tutor her. The bane of your existence. Ha Sooyoung. Yves. Tutor. Tutor her.

Your look of disbelief meeting your professor's determined gaze melts into a sigh of resignation. You know that no amount of whining or pouting would result in a win for you—Yves had the poorest performance, barely scraping through any of her tests, whereas you aced every test given during your course of study. It would only be natural for you to be tutoring her.

Yves flashes a smirk and wink from the front row of the lecture theatre, giving you a two-fingered salute as the professor leaves.

"Hey, babygirl. Guess you're my new tutor."

"Hi." You cannot help but let bitterness seep into your tone, but you bite down on the bullets you wish to fire.

"You don't seem that happy."

"No, but it's fine. Let's get down to business."

"Uh-uh, not today. I've got a party to get to. How about this, give me your phone."

You hesitantly pass her your phone, and she enters her number in.

"Call me." She flashes another smirk and a wink, pushing her hair back. The phone in your hand displays 'yves 💘'.

-----

When you call Yves, you hear more of the chatter in the background than her voice. However, she is still audible, and that is all you need.

"Hello?"

"Sooyoung. I'll tutor you beginning tomorrow."

"Oh, it's you, babygirl. Sure, see you after class?"

Huh. That was easy.

"Good, please bring along the Calculus textbook—"

Indistinct chatter rings across the line, and you vaguely hear the crowd chanting "Drink! Drink! Drink!" before Yves's voice cuts through the line again.

"Sorry, babygirl, I've got to jet. I ain't gonna win this game of beer pong talkin' to you. See you tomorrow."

Before you can even say anything, the call is cut. You take a deep breath, deciding to let it go. Maybe this would be the only time. After all, innocent until proven guilty, right?

With a long exhale, you throw yourself back into whatever work you were doing.

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

When Yves appears after class, she staggers into the classroom, clutching her head.

"Fuck, I shouldn't have drank that much last night."

She crashes on the chair next to you, immediately folding her arms on the table, resting her head on it. Her eyes open blearily when you request for her to take her Calculus textbook out.

"I didn't bring it."

You halt, frustration beginning to build.

"I thought I told you to bring it."

"Well, babygirl, I forgot. Looks like we can't do this today then." Yves rises, staggering towards the door. Repeated calls of her name fall on her deaf ears as she rounds the corner and disappears.

You take a deep breath. Tomorrow.

-----

[You sent a message:]

Yves

Tomorrow, after class.

[yves💘 sent a message:]

Hey babygirl

I've got a party tomorrow.

[You sent a message:]

You're ditching your grades for a party?

A party in the afternoon?

[yves💘 sent a message:]

Come on, live a little, it's fun to cut loose!

Yeah, I need to go set it up.

Wanna come?

[You sent a message:]

I'd rather spend my time productively, thank you. I expect to see you after class. The same place.

-----

Yves is absent again from class. Naturally, she is absent from the tutoring session. Every call you make to her goes unanswered throughout the afternoon.

You hate this. It wasn't as if tutoring her was a choice you made—the professor shunted the task to you, even after all your protests and reasoning for why you shouldn't take the job. The impression that she gives off already isn't anything good, and the fact that she actively is wasting your time only pisses you off even more.

The fact that Yves is your seatmate only adds to the frustration. Her shoes are all up in your face, the sounds of her games in your ears, her paper balls all over your table. Everything she did just pissed you off.

When you reach home, you immediately drop a call to Yves. Three rings of the phone is all it takes before she picks up the phone.

"Hey babygirl."

"Don't babygirl me. Where were you this afternoon?"

"I told you, I had a party."

"So you choose to waste my time?"

"Sorry, babe." The lack of sincerity is evident in her voice. "This is clearly more fun."

"You prioritize fun over your grades? Are you trying to fail?"

"Yo, yo, chill, chill! Cut me some slack! Take it easy. I've got time!"

"The final exams are less than half a year away."

"Precisely." Yves's smirk can be heard through the phone. "I have time."

"I don't. Stop wasting my time. Come tomorrow."

"Oh, fiery. Just my type." Yves chuckles, before she pisses you off even further. "I'll see you, just not tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"I'll be busy nursing my hangover. Ciao." The call is cut.

You growl in frustration, squeezing the pen in your hand tightly. How easily she dismisses you only serves to fuel your anger. How could someone give no shits about their future?

Yves was basically the opposite of what you stood for. To you, school was an obligation—something necessary in order to move forward and succeed. This meant that people had to possess the responsibility to keep to this commitment so they could succeed in life. The future is uncertain, so you should make every effort to ensure that you can forge a path that is as certain as it can be.

Yves, however, treated school like a waste of time. To be out having fun mattered more—life and the future is uncertain, so if she could afford the time to live in the moment, then she would take the time to. Why pressure oneself to engineer perfection when imperfection is how the world runs?

This was a constant argument between the both of you when Yves was present in school. On the days she came, you had to fight to pay attention to your professor since the both of you would argue. You hated having to defend your point of view against her, since she was deeply set in her contrasting view. You hate how carefree she is. How is it that someone can live without worrying that much?

When you let your vision focus, you take a deep breath and go back to your work.

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

You are ten minutes early for class. Chatter fills the classroom as per usual. When you reach your seat, your ears perk up at a familiar name.

"... you hear Yves took her home last night?"

"... sex … fucked her the whole night … best time of her life …"

You scowl. Even when she wasn't present, you had to hear about her, and even worse, her womanizing and hedonistic lifestyle. Who cares about her?

"Good morning, babygirl."

The bane of your existence appears before your very eyes, leaning over your desk with her signature smirk. You give her a glare, but not before you fail to resist checking her out.

Yes, she is admittedly hot. But insufferable. But hot. Facts are facts.

Her hair slicked back, check. Leather jacket, check. Fishnets and crop top fitting her… appealing chest, check. Tight pants that fit her figure, check. Fuck, she looks so good.

"My eyes are up here." Yves pushes your head up to meet her gaze with a finger. The smug smirk on her face makes you want to slap it off her. "If you want me, all you have to do is ask."

"Why're you here?"

"Someone who places such importance in school doesn't want her seatmate present? I'm hurt, babe."

"Fuck off. Don't touch me." You shift away from her touch, and Yves grins.

"I came to see you, my favourite tutor. You're interesting."

"Put that interest in your studies."

"No, I don't think I will, not when you're this pretty."

You try to fight the blush that appears on your face, but it seems that you fail—Yves's cocky grin only gets bigger when she reclines in her chair, resting her feet on the table.

This is your second year with Yves as a seatmate. The girl next to you somehow managed to scrape past first year, and now here she is, staring at you with an amused smirk, annoying you just as she had since Day 1.

"Y'know, I mean it when I say you're pretty."

"Thank you." You grit your teeth, though how red your face remains betrays your hidden feelings. After all, girls don't really compliment you that often, let alone a hot one like Yves is.

"Mm, you're welcome." Yves smiles, resting her head on her chair. "I'll depend on your tutoring, babygirl. Goodnight."

"You're going to sleep?"

"Yep. I'll just listen attentively to you later, cutie."

"I would prefer it if you paid attention now."

"What, and stare at the prof's ugly mug? Why would I do that when I can take the time to stare at your beautiful face instead?"

"Fuck off."

"Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Yves's grin shows how little offense she takes at your rebuttal. "I like you, baby."

You decide to ignore Yves. Ignore how she easily infuriates you. Ignore how hot she is. Ignore the compliments that make heat rise from your cheeks and neck.

Insufferable.

-----

Yves takes a long time to rise from her slumber. You try to shake her, but Yves remains steadfastly asleep on her chair.

"Yves. Wake up."

"Mmnnngggh."

"Wake up, wake up."

"Five more minutes."

"No." You heave a sigh. "Wake. Up."

"Fine, fine, babygirl. You're such a killjoy."

"Do not 'babygirl' me. Let's start."

You pull out your Calculus textbook. Yves halfheartedly pulls hers out as well, and you flip both books to a summary exercise.

"Do these. I need to know your current ability."

"Only because you're pretty, babygirl." Yves picks up her pen, beginning to work on the questions.

-----

"How are you getting all these wrong?"

Your tutee shrugs, leaning back on her chair. "Who cares?"

"I do! You're going to fail."

"Aw babygirl, you do care about me."

"Shut the fuck up. There's so much work I need to do with you."

"Meh, whatever." Yves stretches in her chair, leaning back to close her eyes. "Do your magic, tutor. Teach me."

"Fine. Let's begin."

-----

Both you and Yves part ways at the gate of the campus. After a tense session involving multiple arguments when Yves used more of her phone than to attempt learning anything you were teaching, or when she started to look up girls on Tinder, you gave up and halted the session.

"See you soon, babygirl."

"Fuck you."

"Anytime, babe. You just have to ask."

"Fuck off."

"Calm down. It's not like we don't have time."

"We don't."

"Not with that attitude."

"Fuck your attitude."

Yves only grins when she hears your reply.

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

Another tutoring session, another Yves absence. This time, when you call her, you're met with the obscene sounds of Yves engaging in sexual intercourse.

"Hey babygirl."

"Yves. Where are—huh?"

Wet smacks echo loudly through the speaker on your phone. Someone moans on the other side. Regular thumps ring through your speakers.

"I'm a little busy now, baby."

"Wha—what the fuck?"

"As you can hear, I'm busy fucking someone. Bye."

The dial tone that enters your ears almost makes you smash your phone on the table to pieces. You instead settle on smashing your fist against the table instead.

This is the last straw.

-----

The next time you see Yves, you pin her against the wall. Taken by surprise, Yves finds herself in a position she usually puts others into. Smirking, she relents.

"Didn't take you to be so forward."

"This is the last fucking time I'm taking your shit. I've had it with your constant excuses about parties, or whatever. Now, you choose to go fuck some bitch even when you know you have stuff to do. I'm fucking done. I quit."

"Come on, don't be like that, baby." Yves's cocky grin widens. "Maybe I need some more motivation."

"If having your life planned out isn't motivating enough, nothing will work."

"Oh, but I had this wonderful idea…"

You resist taking the bait, but having Yves pinned against the wall fucks with your judgement.

"What?"

Today, Yves is clad in all black leather. Whatever she's wearing doesn't catch your eye—the fact that your face is so close to Yves's flusters you. The same slicked back hair, scarlet lipstick across her kissable lips, a cocky glint in her eye, catching your gaze before traveling down to your lips, then below…

"I've seen the way you look at me, babygirl. You say you hate me, but all I see in your eyes is lust right now. You want me so bad, don't you?"

"Sh-shut the fuck up." You curse at the slight stutter.

"So how about this? I'll be the best student you'll ever have, and if I ace the exams at the end of the year… hmm."

Yves lets her voice trail off, knowing she has your full attention.

"What the fuck do you want?'

"If I ace the exams, I get to fuck you."

You cannot believe your ears.

"What?"

"I said what I said. I'll be the best student you'll have. I'll ace the exams. And when I do, you'll sleep with me."

"Why the fuck would I say yes to that?"

In an instant, Yves flips you around. Your back is now against the wall, your arms held against your will, held down by Yves's grip. Yves leans in.

"Because you think I'm hot."

You subconsciously lean in when you feel her hot breath on your lips, and Yves leans in as well. Something soft presses against your lips. Instantly, she is off you, smirking.

"See you around babygirl. Don't think about me too much."

So you agree.

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Jason and Percy: beautiful, terrifying gods

Masterlist

I am so happy I managed to finish this!! It's probably the longest piece in my "baby fanfic series" that I've ever done but I lovvveeeee it! I hope with all my heart you do too <3

Also I have no idea how to add the Keep Reading thing on mobile and I cannot use my laptop right now so I'm sorry for all the scrolling. Please forgive me!

Anyway, enjoy the Dark Jercy, my loves

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

The sky was the most brilliant shade of blue Percy had ever seen. It was like the ocean had found heaven, it was like the world was made only yesterday.... it was like Jason Grace's eyes.

Today was the first day of summer vacation and for once in his long and bloodied life Percy didn't have to do a damn thing. He wasn't off to camp, or summer school or on some deadly quest. No he was off to the beach to surf and then grab a bite at his favourite diner on 6th street.

It had been a long time since he had felt peace like this. And he couldn't help but breathe in deeply at every opportunity. Albeit not the best idea in New York City but it calmed something in him that had been brutal and active for so many months, years.

He stepped onto the sand, readying himself to take on a dead sprint right into those crashing waves.

1

2

3

And he was gone, feet sinking, ocean spraying and his board bouncing against his hip.

"Hey yo Jackson!" a voice rumbled from across the ways

Percy skidded to a halt, looking around. And then grinned a grin so dazzling Jason Grace saw stars.

There were few things more addictive in life than the ocean, and hardly anything more addictive than one certain ocean boy going for a surf.

Jason was sure he could die in this feeling.

"Yo Jase, what's up?"

"Nothing much bro, ready for the hols that's for sure."

"Tell me about it," Percy rolled his shoulders, relief shuddering through him.

"So I know you aren't going to the camps this year, what are you up to?"

Percy stared into the horizon, his eyes impossibly green, as they always were near the sea.

"I think--I think I'm just going to live." He finally said.

Jason nodded, understanding more than anyone what his friend meant, "Let me know if you need someone to share that with"

Percy smiled softly and together they walked into the waves, content to live.

Having completley lost themselves to the rhythmless rhythm of the ocean, Jason was shouting excitedly; he was on the verge of catching a really good wave.

Suddenly he was being pulled under, under, under.

It happened so quickly he didn't even have time to yell before water was filling his lungs. Unable to help but think, This is what you get for stepping into Poseidon territory.

Something grabbed his leg and yanked, pulling him from his thoughts and any hope of rescue.

Whoever- whatever- had ahold of him was dragging him into dark waters. Jason knew there wasn't much longer before he passed out but he fought and struggled against the grip on his leg, trying at the very least to kick up enough of a splash to notice it above.

Claws gripped into his skin, drawing blood, and suddenly he couldn't fight it anymore. His whole body was exhausted; he just wanted the burning in his lungs to stop, and the fire crawling up his leg to go away and most of all he wanted to sleep. A single thought rattled in his head.

I hope Percy is okay.

Jason Grace surrendered to the sweet bliss of nothing.

Percy was feeling many things: surprise, frustration, shock, and, fear— never-ending icy fear.

Where on earth did his friend dissappear to?

One minute Jason was catching a wave and the next his board was floating towards the shore.

Before Percy knew what he was doing he untied the strap from his ankle and dived into the ocean-deep.

Swimming furiously, willing his eyes to adjust to the murky darkness, and finally after too many long moments he spotted a group of creatures zapping towards the coral reefs only a few strokes away.

He was about to call out for help when he saw a flash of blond hair bobbing weightlessly between them.

Fear morphed into rage. Cold, lethal, jagged rage.

Percy Jackson was not a boy from New York who loved his mom. He was a halfblood-warrior who only lived to protect the people he loved. And by the seas he would show them how much of god was in his demigod.

He willed the currents to bend to his command and shot off like an arrow towards the monsters. In mere seconds he was upon them, using the water to tug on their limbs, the multitude that there were. He didn't pull very hard, just enough to get their attention. He wanted to face his enemies and look them in the eye before he killed them.

A gurgling hiss greeted his smirk.

"You seem to have something of mine," Percy's voice dripped sickly sweet.

"What do you want Perrcccyyy Jackson?" The one clawing Jason gurgled.

"I want my friend back thank you. He is under the protection of me and Lord Poseidon and to refuse my request would be a very, very bad idea."

The three things laughed, a vile drowning sort of cackle, "We do not answer to Poseidon and we have no obligation to you Percy Jackson"

"See I was afraid you were gonna say that," He sighed.

And without another thought Percy grabbed onto the water in their body, searching for those molecules that sung to him.

"The thing about descending from humans," He grinned manically, "Is that there's still some intricate parts of you that are just like me,"

The creature flanking Jason's limp right side, started gasping, before any of them could react Percy twisted its body obscenely and continued

"How about a quick biology lesson? Did you know that cerebrospinal-fluid is ninety-nine percent water? And I guess that's the part you share with us puny humans because—"

The monster started shaking, seizing up— Percy rushed forward and with one tap to the center of its back, a deafening crack sounded.

"CSF protects the spine and the brain and without it, your body is really really vulnerable. Now how about we give my friend back, mhm?"

That grin was so very sharp .

Jason Grace cut off the arm of the monster still holding his legs and pried those bony, slimy webs off his skin.

The monster shrieked but did not have time to react before his head was being sliced off, mouth framed in a silent cry.

"Hello Jackson, what took you so long?"

"You lucky I even came to find you. The only thing that tipped me off was your lack of incessant prying questions,"

Jason smirked, "Thanks for the air bubble, drowning sucks."

"Tell me about it," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You've drowned? How is that even possible?"

"Long story but there was a lot of mud and way too many nightmares afterwards." He shuddered

Jason nodded and then turned to their last little friend, only to find he had called for some back up.

"Honestly do they ever get tired of going to tartarus?"

"Maybe Son of Poseidon," a particularly nasty variation of whatever monster this was, piped up, "Maybe it will be you going this time?"

"Been there done that, got the trauma, try again."

They simply hissed at the two demigods and surrounded them, cackling and gurgling menacingly.

"You ready?" Jason smiled wide.

Percy's smirk made three monsters scream and flee, "I just wanted a godsdamn peaceful vacation, so let's make this quick."

With a dangerous, throaty laugh the two boys became weapons of destruction.

Jason took the left flank, following in his partners lead, but instead of using CSF he charged the ions in the monsters' blood. Flooded them with so much electricity, they just collapsed. One by one the creatures were electrocuted from the inside out.

Their eyes glowed, red and green, blindingly bright. It was like their brains were exploding. Jason watched in glee as these disgusting creatures convulsed around him.

Percy was just as intoxicated. Laughing as he broke spines, and made contortionists out of bodies.

For so long these two heroes had fought fair, but it had only gotten friends killed and hurt, it had made their wars so much longer, so much bloodier. Well no more. This was easy and painless for them, and so very very fun.

Back to back they called on lightning and water.

Percy figured out how to drown them from the inside out, Jason figured out how to make their brains short circuit. Together they learnt just how lethal lightning and water could be.

Just how beautiful crackling blue and ocean blue can look.

Together they learned to be terrifying.

When there was only swirling sand and some variation of bone around them, they finally turned to each other.

"Well that was a morning workout if I do say so," Percy breathed hard.

Jason laughed, "Come on let's go wash off the stench,"

"We're in the ocean, how much more water do you need?" Percy motioned.

"It's not so much the water as the soap Jackson,"

And as they lazily swam up, Percy using the currents to do all the hard work, the glow in their eyes slowly faded and the look of human seeped back in.

"I should really get this leg checked out," Jason frowned.

"Can't you just use your lighting and zap it better?" That green-eyed boy smirked

"Haha, not all of us can use whatever domain we control to heal."

"That sucks," He nodded sympathetically even though the sparkle in his eye told a different story "Come on we can go back to mine I have ambrosia and I think my mom just made some chocolate-chip cookies"

"You owe me for taking so long,"

"You lucky I saved your ass Grace,"

"Not as lucky as you are for having this ass to save."

"Can't argue with that logic,"

They grinned at each other, and the world trembled. They didn't notice. Lost in whatever they were, whatever they could become.

Jason and Percy: Beautiful, Terrifying Gods

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

[theoriginalladya]

#15 kiss for Michael/Kaidan 🥰

from this prompt list

On AO3 here

Okay, so this one got away from me a bit.  Like 2100 words away! lol  Anyway, it helped me sort out a few things for these two which I needed before I start Nano in a week.  Thank you, m’dear, for all of your love of my pairs!  I hope this meets with your approval!

prompt:   a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss

~~~~

Two weeks seems an eternity to wait, but if it means a chance to figure things out between them, Shepard is willing.  His mission after the Collectors is nearly over, and as determined as he is that they will make it back out of the Omega-4 relay, having an extra added incentive never hurts.  Well, that plus it sticks it to the Illusive Man and his heavy handed interference.  That definitely counts for something.

From the moment he opened his eyes on Lazarus Station, nearly everyone has reminded him, Don’t trust him.  Garrus, Anderson, Tali … even Liara.  Hasn’t he made it clear yet that he never has and never will?  So, maybe they have something … in common.  The Collectors need to be dealt with, end of story.  But it doesn’t take a genius to see too many corners are being cut in the process, and maybe he’s paranoid, but to him that reads like Cerberus has an ulterior motive.  One that they won’t share with him.   Add in the fact that TIM’s decision to drop hints and rumors at whatever whim he decides to follow, putting innocents at risk needlessly, well, the way Shepard sees it, taking a day for personal business should fly under the radar.  Only, he isn’t willing to risk that, either.  He’s about done with the whole damned thing.

He slips onto the Citadel easily enough; working with Bailey assures him that much.  Finding the meeting point takes a little longer seeing as it’s buried deep in Zakera Ward.  Still, he times it just right, even better than he could have hoped, and as he enters the building, he spies Kaidan at the front desk.  Good.  That’s one risk out the window, not having to expose his true identity, and instead he waits in the shadows near the bank of elevators. 

He’s always been good at hiding in plain sight, and slips onto the lift easily.  The elevator is crowded – of course it is, but who is he to judge if it means they have some peace and quiet they need to talk – and by the time they arrive on the twenty-ninth floor, he’s pretty sure Kaidan knows he’s there.  He follows after him, hopping through the doors just before they close, and hurries down the hall to his left.  He doesn’t know the room number, but he nears a door that’s left open in invitation.  It could be a trap, part of him still believes it is, but he slips inside the room without hesitation anyway, sealing the door behind him. 

Still facing the door, he ask softly, with a certain urgency, “Did David get to Grissom without any problems?”  Only then does he turn to face a room thick with shadows and very little light.  It takes a moment to find Kaidan, but he does, and he isn’t as far away as Shepard thought he might be.

“David is fine,” Kaidan replies.  “Anderson put me in touch with the woman in charge of the place.  Cerberus won’t have any contact with him there.”

“Good.”  Shepard takes a few more steps into the room looks around.  His lips twitch slightly at what he finds.  “Kinda small in, here, don’t you think?”

Kaidan’s cheeks darken a little, and for a moment, Shepard has hope.  He remembers all too clearly the last time he said that, and while he would give anything for a similar outcome tonight, he knows his chances are slim to none.  Especially when Kaidan folds his arms across his chest and gives Shepard a pointed look in return.  “You said you wanted to talk,” he argues.  “I didn’t figure size mattered.”

“Size always matters.”

The heat flares a little more though Kaidan fights it; Shepard sighs softly and backs down, and for the first time since waking up on Lazarus Station, his entire presence softens.  The Butcher of Torfan is not longer present, instead replaced by a man with too many regrets spanning two lives.  He takes a seat on the corner of the bed, leaning forward until his arms rest across his thighs, head drops low, and he can stare at the floor.  “Kaidan, I –.”

Kaidan stops him with a disgruntled huff and starts to pace.  It catches Shepard off guard for a moment; he’s the one with the history of impatience and frustration.  Kaidan has always been the one to hold himself together, cool under pressure.  As their eyes meet and hold, he notices the regret that shines in Kaidan’s eyes, bright as a signal flare. 

Kaidan comes to a stop directly in front of him.  “Look, before we really get into it, let me just say something first, okay?” 

Shepard nods and remains silent. 

Kaidan takes a deep breath and releases it slowly before beginning, “About Horizon, I just want to say … I’m sorry I took it out on you like I did.”

Shepard reaches deep for the patience to wait this out, for the willpower to keep his mouth shut and let Kaidan continue.

“To see you like that … well, it was a shock, to say the least.”

Shepard’s lips press into a tight, thin line.  “I understand,” he says.  “I’m sure I would have reacted similarly had our positions been reversed.”  They both know that’s not true; Kaidan would never be with Cerberus, but it’s the idea that counts. 

“All I could think was, why didn’t you get in touch with me?  Contact me somehow?  We once meant something to each other.  At least, I thought we did.”

Shepard winces.  Once.  The past tense hurts, but he expects it.  “For what it’s worth, Kaidan, I did try.  I even asked Anderson.”  When he looks up, his smile is halfhearted.  “He wouldn’t tell me where you were, nor would he deliver a message from me.”

Kaidan picks up the pacing again and runs a hand through his hair in agitation.   

“Do you really want to keep rehashing this?” Shepard asks.  When Kaidan glances over at him, he shrugs.  “I can think of other things we can discuss that won’t lead us down a potential path of self-destruction.”  Kaidan frowns.  Shepard’s brow lifts.  “What?  You think I didn’t notice when you started to flare on Horizon?”

“Point.”  Kaidan stops pacing and sits in a chair by the window.  “Alright, what do you want to talk about?”

Shepard clasps his hands before him, stares at them as if they are the most interesting thing in the galaxy in that moment.  “I … wanted to tell you, to let you know …”  He pauses, considers the best way to explain.  “Look, fact of the matter is, I’m about to lead my team through the Omega-4 relay.”  Kaidan’s breath hitches, a soft echo throughout the room.  “I wanted a chance to … well, to just see you again.  To talk with you.  Maybe to clear some of this mess up?”  Shepard shakes his head but doesn’t look Kaidan in the eye just yet.  “I know your opinions on my current situation; you made that abundantly clear on Horizon, and that’s fine.  But I wanted you to know …”  He lifts his head finally and is suddenly pinned by the whiskey brown pair across from him.  Throat suddenly dry, he swallows twice before he can continue.  “At this point, I know it probably doesn’t mean anything to you anymore, but I wanted to let you know I still care.  Believe it or not, you were the first person I thought of when they woke me up.  I had no idea where I was, what happened, where you were; but you were the first.  And I … I just wanted you to know that.”

Kaidan’s jaw tightens as he grinds his teeth.  “Shepard …”

God, he hates that this has to be so hard, for the both of them, because he really doesn’t want it to be.  No matter what happens, he still cares.  Is that really so hard to understand?  To accept?  Taking another breath, he asks, “How’s Kandra?”

Kaidan blinks.  “What?”

Shepard chuckles.  “Your sister.  How is she?”  Probably hates him, too, just like her twin.

“I - Kandra?  She’s … fine, I guess?”  Kaidan’s head tilt’s slightly.  “Why are you asking about her?”

A wry smile twists his lips.  “You know, there have been a few times where I’ve wished she was the cook on the Normandy this go ‘round.”  Gardner tries, but even with better ingredients, he still doesn’t make anything Shepard really likes.  Kandra, on the other hand, performs magic in the kitchen.  He’s been witness to it first-hand.

Kaidan manages a short laugh.  “I’ll be sure to pass that along.”

Silence fills the room as they both sit across from one another.  Michael fidgets with his fingers; Kaidan stops grinding his teeth. 

“Look, Kaidan –.”

“Shepard, I –.”

The laughter returns, easier this time for both of them.  Shepard rises to his feet and moves to stand next to Kaidan’s chair, but he stares out the window at the Citadel beyond.  “I am sorrier than you will ever know,” he whispers after several minutes, “for what you’ve had to go through.  I never wanted to hurt you like that.”

Kaidan’s sigh is weighted.  He pushes himself to his feet slowly, like an aged man for whom mobility is no longer easy.  But once he’s on his feet, he turns to face Shepard.  “I was lost for a long time.  I can’t even put into words the hell I went through.”

“I know.”  Shepard turns, facing him, then hesitates.  The whole purpose of this meeting was to let Kaidan know he was about to head through the Omega relay, which he’s done, but now?  “I just …”

No one is more surprised when Kaidan reaches out a hand to cradle Shepard’s cheek than Shepard is himself.  He holds his breath, waiting, watching with wide eyes, as Kaidan closes the distance between them and leans in to press a soft, gentle kiss to his lips.  The touch is brief, and leaves Shepard’s lips tingling.  “Michael,” Kaidan breathes, his voice practically a groan, “I love you.  I loved you before, I still love you now.  Despite everything that’s happened.” 

Without conscious thought, Shepard’s hands slide around Kaidan, securing around his broad shoulders and tugging him closer.  Time stands still as he covers Kaidan’s mouth with his, taking the initiative this time as he savors, devours, and more importantly, remembers.  He breaks free only when he cannot breathe, dropping his forehead to rest against Kaidan’s.  “I … I’m sorry, I ….”

Kaidan huffs softly.  “Yeah.”  His voice is as rough and raspy as Shepard’s.  “Um, s’okay, but … what I was going to say was … I, um, can’t …”

A small smirk twitches at Shepard’s lips as he looks into his eyes.  “Left you speechless, have I?”

Kaidan nearly chokes on a laugh.  “That’s one way to put it.”

“Good to know.”  Shepard’s hands slide up to frame Kaidan’s face.  “Answer me two things, okay?”  Kaidan nods.  “Have you found someone else?”

Kaidan blinks, tries to pull back, but Shepard doesn’t let him.  “What?  No!  Why would I?  I … I was still mourning you up until Horizon, dammit!”

Shepard smiles.  “That’s fine, that’s good,” he replies quickly.  His heart feels like it will jump out of his chest.  “Second question, do you …  Would you want to try again?”

This time, Kaidan does pull free.  He backs up across the room until his legs hit the edge of the bed and he sits.  “You’ve just told me you are about to go through the Omega relay!”

Shepard nods.  “Yes, but we have a way to get through safely.”

“Can you be sure of that?”

It’s on the tip of his tongue to assure him it is, but he doesn’t.  “One hundred percent?  No,” he finally replies.  “More like ninety-four percent it will get us there and back again.”

Kaidan bites his lip hard.  “And what then?  You do realize the Alliance wants to talk to you about what happened in Bahak, right?”

“I am aware, yes.  I promised Hackett I will turn myself in when I get back.”  Shepard shrugs then walks forward, dropping to crouch in front of him.  “Look, Kaidan, I know things won’t be easy, and it might be a while before we see one another again, but … I just … I kind of need to know … you know?”  Kaidan sighs, heavily, and for a moment Shepard thinks he’s blown it.  He's pushed too hard, too fast.  It’s too much, been too long, it's too … 

“Yes.”

[tomhiddleston-is-mischief]

“One, Two, Three”

Teen!Sam Winchester x teen!reader

Summary: After Sam asks Y/N to teach him how to dance, something happens...

Warning(s): nothing other than cussing and mentions of a bad werewolf attack

Word count: 1,273

A/N: In this, you and Sam are about 16-17 :) Thanks for reading

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I ride to school with Dean and Sam, I notice Sam has his attention on something. I look in that direction too, seeing the poster that says: ‘HIGH SCHOOL DANCE FRIDAY AT 7 PM’. I look back at Sam, wondering why he wanted to go to one of those. “Listen, guys.”, Dean stopped the Impala in front on the school,”Dad is probably going to be gone for a week or two. Y/N, your mom said she’d come to take you back in a few weeks. That’s when your dad’s wounds should be healed.” I smiled, glad that his wounds are getting better. My dad was gone on a werewolf hunt, and he accidentally walked into it being five of them. He left with some pretty nasty cuts and broken bones all over. My mom would have been too busy with my dad, so she gave me to her best friend, John Winchester. That is where I met my own best friend: Sam Winchester. We are the same age, so it was expected for us to get along well.

“I wish you could stay longer. Well, I mean- I’m glad your dad is dong better! That’s great! I just wish you didn’t have to go..”, Sam spoke swiftly when he got nervous. We walk closer to the school doors as I chuckle. I get a better grip on my backpack as I say: “Don’t worry, Sammy. You’re my best friend. I’m not going to be radio silent on ya.” “Thank God.”, he chuckles as he sees Dean flirting with one of the teachers. I roll my eyes, and step in after Sam opened the door for me.

This day was like any normal day at school. I had boring classes, and people were trying to figure out who exactly I am. After that, Dean picked us up, and took us back to the crappy motel room we are staying in this week. “Hey, I’m going to call my mom and dad.”, I informed Dean as I picked up his mobile phone. “Kay.”, he simply said as he cleaned our guns out of boredom. Before I walk out of the door, I make sure to mess up Sam’s hair. “Hey!”, he exclaims as I do so. I chuckle, and close the door. After I dial the house’s number, I hear it ring a few times, then I hear my mom’s voice.

“Hey, mom!”, I say excitedly, “Hey, baby. How are you? It’s been a few days..” I hear her smile through the phone. “Yeah, sorry about that. We’ve been a little bit busy. I’m good, though.”, I answer her. “Well, that’s good. Your dad is doing better. You’ll be back in a few weeks!”, she replied. I smiled,”Yeah..” “Yeah? Where’s the ‘Yeah!! Can’t wait, mom!!’”, she chuckles. I roll my eyes with a smile on my face. “I am glad! I’m super glad! I just…” My sentence ran off, but my mom caught on to my act. “A boy?” I could hear her giddiness through the phone. “It is, isn’t it?!”, she exclaimed as I stayed silent. My cheeks reddened,”Y-yeah.. I just.. I’m going to miss him a lot..” “Who is it, baby?”, my mom says in a bit more of a softer tone. She probably is starting to get why I feel so down. “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s Sam.” “Winchester?? You’re best friend Sam? My best friend’s kid??”, she asks. I nod, only to remember that she cannot see me. “Yeah, Sam Winchester.”

The conversation went on, and unfortunately, my dad was resting the whole time. Gosh, I miss him a lot. “Y/N? You good?”, Dean peaked his head through the door. I give him his phone and nodded. “I’m alright. Thanks.”, I smile and walk into the room. “Good, ‘cause I got a date with a teacher from your school.”, he grinned. Sam and I groan at this news. “First, ew. Second, gross. Third, please go to her place. For the love of everything holy, go to her place.”, I scowl at the horny bastard. He only winks at me, and says goodbye before going out the door. “So, whatcha wanna do, Sammy?”, I plop on the bed he was sitting on. “Um.. I have to ask for a favor..”, he rubs the back of his neck. “Sure, but nothing weird. Well, too weird.”, I answer him. His face turns pink as he chuckles. “This may be a bit weird..”, he looks at his feet,”Can- Can you teach me how to dance?” My eyebrows raise in surprise. Me? Teaching Sam how to dance? “Slow or for a party?”, I ask. “S-slow..”, he replies as his face turns into a deeper shade of pink. “Great, ‘cause that’s all I know how to do.”, I chuckle as I jump off the bed. He raises a brow at me,”You’ll do it?” I nod,”Yeah, now get your ass over here.”

Sam walked closer to me, so I took his hands and set them on my hips. I put my arms on his shoulders. He tensed at first, but he got used to it went we started moving a little. He needs to learn the basics, of course. “This is swaying. It isn’t much, but it’s sweet.”, I say as I continue to move side to side. We do this for a little while. Sam is looking right into my eyes, and I cannot help but to have blood rush to my cheeks. “Should we move on to slow dances?”, I say softly, not daring to ruin the moment we are having. He nods, so I bring him with me as I say ‘one, two, three’ over and over a few times. “You try.”, I tell him as I let him lead the dance. Sam continues to look at his feet as he whispers ‘one, two, three’ over and over again. After a few minutes, he is doing great. “Try to look up now.”, I say, making him look up to see my face. “Is it getting easier?”, I ask him. He nods,”Yeah, it is. It isn’t really that hard.” Sam shrugs at the end of his sentence. “Thanks to you.”, he adds. I smile,”Well, I think you are just naturally good.” “No, I’m not.. You’re just awesome.”, he chuckles. I shake my head with a smile plastered on my face. “I am, aren’t I?”, I look into his eyes again. “Yeah.”, he said as the smile never left his face. “Can I tell you something, Sammy?”, I ask him. He nods without a word. “I love how beautiful your eyes are. One second they are grey. The other time, they are-“

I did not get to finish my sentence because I felt a cool pair of lips on mine. I tense at first, but melt into the act once I realise what is actually happening. I wrap my arms around his neck, and start playing with the hairs on the back of his head. His hands grip to my waist, making my stomach have a feeling of dizziness.

“I forgot my wal-“, Dean walks through the door and stops his movement when he sees us,”-let..” We stare at Dean as he does the same to us. He glances at Sam, me, then Sam. “Use protection.”, he simply says before walking out the door. I roll my eyes because he knows we are, both, too much of a goody two shoes to go any further than kissing. “I hate him..”, I chuckle, then put my head on Sam’s chest. “Oh, don’t we all.”, he laughed.

...

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@peasant-right-here @marshyrebelcloud @blackeyedangel9805 @lovesmesomehiddles @an-adventureland

[elains]

BOOK REVIEW: HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD, Crescent City Book I, by Sarah J. Maas.

First off, my sincerest thanks to @scraphim, who listened to my comments and rants with the patience of a saint and encourage me to put them down. Second, english is not my first language, so my apologies if there's anything confusing or awkward.

General Rating: ★★ 1/2

THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CUT HERE OUT OF COURTESY BUT TUMBLR MOBILE IS BEING ITS IMPOSSIBLE SELF SO DO MIND THE RATING BEFORE CONTINUING.

Congratulations, Sarah J. Maas. You got me to sit down and write a review for a book, something I hadn't done (officially, anyway, might as well count the endless conversations with my friends) in a long while. Unfortunately, House of Earth and Blood was one more disappointment in an ever-growing list, and this review was born not out of pure, simple enjoyment, but of how much reading this bothered me.

Let me start by saying that I wanted to like this book. I did. I don't buy books which I don't think there's a chance I will not enjoy, I have way too much to do with my life and little money to spare on that. I hoped Sarah would go back to the early days of ToG, when the writing wasn't so choppy I kept questioning what is her problem with commas and when the characters weren't more and more of the same. Or perhaps that she would go back to ACoMaF, which at the time I loved reading.

Silly, silly me. The thing about having an eye-opener to something is that you can't go back. It's not so simple to close your eyes and pretend the bad doesn't exist, doing so feels irresponssible. I'm not sure her books have changed much, perhaps it was just me, the reader, whose perspective changed.

Let's go into the detail, then. Warning for spoilers of her previous books:

• THE LENGTH. It. Is. Ridiculosly. Long. I would say that length itself it's not necessarily a bad thing, something can be long but engaging. HoEaB's problem is that it drags on, to the point I had to put it down I don't know how many times out of frustration that nothing relevant happened. The infodumps do not help AT ALL, making the whole experience even more tiresome. I'll talk about worldbuilding separately, but jesus, so much unecessary information whose only purpose was to add to the wordcount and could have been woven into the story more organically. Readers are not dumb, they can make simple inferences, you don't need to explain every little detail.

The story only picks up and runs like the devil itself is chasing it in the last like, 20 chapters or so. Considering there are 97 of them... Yeah. It could have been a shorter, more direct and overall just more engaging.

• THE WORLDBUILD. I'll give Sarah J. Maas a point: it is more elaborate and refined compared to ToG and ACoTaR, whose worldbuilding are in general quite shallow and in the later's case, nearly nonexistent. However, the use of names blatantly lifted from real-world mythology and places bothered me to NO END. In a book which is built around those mythologies as their main source of inspiration, I can understand. Not here. Look, Maas can come up with original fantasy names, there are even some in HoEaB itself. But unless it's meant to be purposeful and Crescent City is to be Earth All Along, it's just jarring and feels lazy. It's not something new— refer back to the Illyrians and the Myrmidons.

Archean? Valbara? Pangera? Hel? REALLY? And those are just place names. Might as well name something Proterozoic. Or Laurasia.

The Roman inspiration, which was supposed to be a big thing from all her talk felt extremely loose and barely there. Oh sure, there are legions, a governor, the SPQR/M, and some names which to me, a portuguese speaker, where so cringy I had to laugh (Like Gelos and Cervo. You know, literally Ices and Stag or in that case Hind), but they did not feel Roman to me, naming aside. You could literally have named them anything else and it'd still have worked.

We studied Rome (mostly the government and the legal system) in our first semester of College and it might be the student in me, but I kept wanting to see more of the government structure, the politcal system itself. In a book that dealt with law enforcement and figures in places of power, this was a part of the worldbuilding that felt lacking, and a wasted opportunity to expand on the Roman inspiration.

What gets me is that some interesting concepts could have been explored better. I kinda like the idea of the Asteri, the rifts, the summoning salts.

• HUMANITY'S PORTRAYAL. Ahahaha. Where do I even begin with this one? In KoA, I hated that Aelin loosing her human side was seen as such a big sacrifice when the Fae were repeatedly shown to be "superior": stronger, more beautiful, immortal, the list goes on. Aelin herself preferred the Fae-side, so it felt a completely pointless sacrifice. In Crescent City, it gets even worse. Humanity is oppressed, trying to fight for their freedom and their inherent rights as sentient beings, and the books keeps going on and on about the Vanir.

Forgive me, but I'm supposed to be sympathize with the Vanir? To see the Vanir main-characters go on and change the world and make it better for everyone? I'm sorry but I'm not here for that. Bryce's mother and stepfather and Briggs aside, the HoEaB could have definetely used a human PoV or just. You know. ONE THAT DOESN'T FAVOR THE VANIR IN EVERYTHING. So yeah, I'm here cheering for the humans.

• THE CHARACTERS. I like Ruhn. He read like a concerned older brother, I could relate to that, not a possessive alphahole and I was baffled when Bryce kept insisting that. Oh, he has his flaws, but overall, I like him and his friends. They're nice. Danika, too. I would have liked to see more of Juniper and Fury, and them together, instead of using their relationship as kind of a surprise. Hypaxia is another Yrene/Sorscha. I also liked Lehabah, she was a sweetheart (Also I'm sorry am I supposed to think Bryce witholding the news on her freedom to throw a party WASN'T a WTF move? That Lele just knew because she looked at the documents???)

Now, to our main duo. I found Hunt boring. Simple as that. There was nothing in him that I found captivating, nothing new in terms of SJM's Love Interests. How he kept sexualizing Bryce in the most inappropriate of moments pissed me off. His and Bryce's relationship felt to me as Rowaelin 2.0, just as they themselves read as another versions of them, and not very different ones. He is not supposed to be an "alphahole" but... I didn't feel it. Hunt felt as just more of the same.

Now, Bryce Adelaide Quinlan.. Is it so much to ask for a main character who isn't gorgeous, super special, and super-powerful? I get the appeal of the trope, I'm no so hypocritical as to say that I've not indulged in it myself, but with Sarah, it feels overdone. When all characters are beautiful, special, so powerful it... kinda loses its meaning. However, that's not what bothered me about Bryce, no, it's the fact that she could be read as PoC (Golden, Tanned skin, two very ambiguous terms. My white cousin gets golden skin when she stays too long outdoors ffs), and as a PoC myself, reading her into those situations bothered me so, so much I cannot even begin to tell you.

Her curvy, sensual, bug boobs and butts are easily one of the more sought after where I live. People would go to great lengths for such a body and no, it will not hinder your dancing career. We have a word for it roughly translates to Hot, but having men call you that as something laid out on a table for their pleasure, objectifying you is horrible. And that's what most characters do in HoEaB: sexualize Bryce again and again, playing into harmful stereotypes.

My skin crawled reading those passages. I felt uncomfortable. And it wasn't even just the nameless, countless side-characters: it was Hunt himself. Every single move Bryce made was sexualized and I hated, hated it. "She's a Queen who owns her body and doesn't care for anyone else's thoughts" is all well and good, but women like me already have the stereotype of whores, sluts, homewreckers, and it was handled in such a tone-deaf way that it touched ALL of my wrong buttons. It was just uncomfortable, and cringy.

Two and a half stars, like those bad movies we still watch god knows why.

[thegoldenavenger]

While i work out the logistics of the naruto au, i offer this. Sorry if you dont know kimetsu no yaiba, I did my best. 3000 ish words. Mobile beware of cut. Unbetad we die like mne.

Content Warning for violence, gore, blood, at the beginning. If youve seen/read demon slayer then canon typical, if youre a marvel only fan then it’s more like iron man 1 or winter soldier levels of violence vs the bloodless avengers films.

Tony Stark wants to be a Demon Slayer. But, born into the Sword Smith Village's head family, he was supposed to craft the finest nichirin demon slaying swords there were, and while Tony likes sword smithing he chafes under his father's strict parenting.

He admires the demon slayers he makes swords for and, quietly, teaches himself the Way of Iron, hoping if he excels his father will let him join the Demon Slayer corp. Unfortunately, his father is not amenable to this, and the two fight until Tony runs off in a huff.

When he makes his way back to the hidden village, he smells blood. In the time he was away a demon had found the sword smith's village. He pulls his sword and joins the fight, trying to evacuate those he can while making his way deeper into the village.

It gets quiet the closer to his home he gets, and the door stands wrenched out of its frame. He can hear his heart beat as he crosses the threshold.

The first thing he notices are the carefully sculpted masks usually displayed on the walls are littering the floor carelessly.

The second thing he notices is the thick trail of blood. His eyes unwillingly trace the blood to the crumpled figures of his mother and father, demon slaying swords shattered on the ground. Standing over them is a demon, the moonlight glinting on the number 5 in his right iris.

Tony's grip on his sword tightens and his inhales, too sharp to be disciplined. It sends a pain through his chest but he sets back into the first form of the Breath of Iron naturally. The demon smiles and Tony throws himself forward, his left foot leading as he pushes as much force as he can into the piercing jab.

The demon's eyes betray a hint of surprise, it could never have encountered a style like this before. Iron Breathing First Form: Piercing Ray is a thrusting move and demons are more used to the graceful arcs of slashing forms designed to take a demon's head off.

Tony's sword hits the demon's collarbone and he can feel it slide home. Blood slicks down the blade and Tony imagines he can feel a heart beat through it. He flexes his wrists but the sword doesn't twitch. The demon scoffs, low and ugly, "You missed."

"Not quite," Tony says, flicking the little hammer in the hilt of his sword. It causes a spark, and Tony is quick to abandon his sword for a few feet of distance as the spark ignites the black powder in the sword's hilt.

The demon grabs the smoking sword, then, through a sharp boom, screeches as the gunpowder propelled blade rips it's way the demon's toughened flesh.

Tony squints after the flash of bright light, the demon's body torn in half and crumpling. Tony has a moment to think: he wasn't much for a twelve moon demon. And then he's kneeling next to his parents, hands flickering over their bodies. He hadn't noticed, but his mother is still breathing, gasping under wounds. He presses his hands to her, trying to stop further blood loss but her skin is already ice cold.

He feels tears well up in his eyes, he's so stricken. He'd talked to her this morning. She chokes on something, but Tony keeps shaking his head. No, don't speak, stay quiet until the clean up crew arrives. There's no way the Demon Slayers aren't here already, there's no way they wouldn't send a doctor to the sword smith's head family.

His mother will be okay.

"Tony, oh, please--" she gurgles as he tries to shush her. Her speech is indecipherable. Through his pleas and the blood in her lungs he can barely make out syllables, but he thinks he hears shield, fury, heart. He shakes his head.

His mother makes a mournful, bleating noise and her eyes widen in fear and it's the last thing he hears from her as a high pitched, shrill siren pierces his ears. He'd wince but he's frozen, and then his chest feels open and cold and hollow.

He can't look down, but he knows there's claws in him. Through him. Whatever.

Behind him the demon laughs, affably, like someone seeing the punchline of a well set up joke. "You should've made sure I was finished. What a shame the Starks end here, I really was hoping one of you would show some promise. But really what can one expect of such worthless beings. Too much trouble in the end."

Tony's vision starts to blank. It's not that black creeps into his peripherals, it's simply that he stops being able to comprehend pieces of vision. Like a blind spot slowly encroaching on his whole field of perception, there is just nothing there.

The shrilling noise quiets and Tony's body reflexively fights for breath. It burns and freezes all at once. He can hear a whistling noise.

Then, footsteps thundering on the floor, he can hear because he's lying down now, somehow. He can hear the singing sound of nichirin steel drawn against sheath, and shouting. The demon slayers are here.

A shape hunches over him, as his vision narrows. Maybe it's the demon, or a doctor. No, he thinks, if it was a doctor it would be reaching for his mother.

He ceases to be able to see, but he hears the shape anyway.

"Breathe. You are not finished, today."

Tony wakes up at the Wysteria Estate, in what looks like a hospital. Dr. Yinsen is by his side.

He explains: you parents are dead, your home destroyed, the demon that attacked you escaped.

He says: The demon used a Blood Art on you, you're lucky to be alive.

He says: the damage was extensive and your insides are scarred irreparably.

Tony yells at him.

"She was alive! Why didn't you help her, you could've helped her!"

Dr. Yinsen's eyes are sad, but his voice is not gentle when he says, "You and the demon were the only living things in that room."

After Tony is done shouting and screaming and then coughing because something in his chest feels like breaking, the doctor sets him back against some pillows. He pulls at the bandages on Tony's chest, and Tony lies there, unresistant.

"Do you understand what I mean when I say the damage was extensive?" He asks as he unwinds the bandages. They stick to Tony's skin, but Tony doesn't flinch.

"I mean, your lung's capacity is down by 12%. The scarring in your chest means you cannot breathe well, if at all."

At this Tony blinks. He's breathing right now, isn't he?

"No, no, young man. Any sword techniques you know that are supported by Breaths. It would cause too much strain on your body. You'd be cough up blood before you could breathe your first kata."

"That's--" Tony starts, then starts coughing. The doctor tips Tony's head back and rubs a cool ointment over the scars on his chest.

"Your heart is in a similar condition. Any activity too strenuous will cause it to fail. At best you'll get light headed and wheezy, at worst you'll tear something inside, you're heart will stop and you'll die."

Tony narrows his eyes at the doctor. "Then what can I do?"

"Heal, for now."

"Will I be able to slay demons, again?"

"It's not likely."

"Then why did you save me!" Tony lashes out again, hissing in grief. "If there's nothing I can do but sit here, and try not to breathe too deeply!"

Dr. Yinsen lets Tony have his moment, before firmly grabbing his shoulder. Tony automatically turns his head to look him in the eye. The hand on Tony's chest feels warm now, almost hot.

"You shouldn't have lived through that attack." Dr. Yinsen says. "I shouldn't have been able to stabilize you. You shouldn't have woken. Yet, here you are anyway.

"Stark, who am I to tell you what can happen in the face of that defiance. You are the one who made it here to today. You are the one who will determine where you will be tomorrow."

His village, though beaten, lives on. Evacuated to a safer area, Tony has heard his kin have started to rebuild. He has not returned.

The Wysteria Estate has acknowledged him, and after he healed enough, allowed him to join the ranks of novice Demon Slayers. Nicolas Fury, a retired Pillar of the Demon Slayers, vouches for him even when Tony struggled to maintain a grip on his sword.

Speaking of his sword, it's a poor excuse for a weapon. Nichirin steel it may be, it's nothing like the blades Tony made. Use to make. He uses it reluctantly, as Fury bullies him into training.

Tony's lungs ache whenever he wakes, like they forget how to breathe during his sleep and they're stretching anew. Sometimes he is so cursedly aware of his own heart, each pulsing beat it like a vice squeezing him tighter and tighter.

He forges on.

Fury is the retired Mist Pillar of the Demon Slayers, and thus, Tony starts to learn the forms of the Breath of Mist. He doesn't take to it well. Even after strengthening his lungs to the point where he can Breathe again, even just a little, most of the Mist Breathing forms eludes his mastery.

He's never been one to fade into the background.

But the training isn't for nothing. Even if he is limited, he can use Breathing techniques again, and his heart doesn't feel like exploding quite so early in exercises. He starts training with his own Iron Style again, wondering if he could add a third form inspired by the Breath of Mist Sixth Form: Moonlit Mist.

Deemed healthy enough, he meets other Demon Slayers. Because Fury is nominally his mentor, he is introduced to the current Pillars as well.

He gets on particularly well with the Rock and Flame Pillars: James Rhodes and Pepper Potts respectively, both of which whole heartedly teach him their techniques.

Tony loves the solid forms of the Breath of Rock, especially the third form: Stone Skin, though he is much better suited towards the nine forms of the Breath of Flames style. Pepper is an efficient teacher.

Natasha Romanoff, the current Mist Pillar is more stand offish, but when she does speak it is with a tongue sharp with wit.

Thor is the Pillar of Thunder, but he also Mastered the Breath of Wind style. Watching him fight, even just to spar, is thrilling.

Clint Barton is the Flower Pillar. He seems like the quiet type, but only because he speaks through his hands. Once Tony picks up the language he is consistently delighted by Clint's keen observation and even keener sense of humor. He's unique among the Pillars for his preferred choice of weapon: a bow.

Bruce Banner insists he is not a pillar. He says he's barely a demon slayer. He studies pharmaceuticals, he's working on something to help curb demon blood lust, he's a gentle soul. He doesn't have the strength to lop off a demon's head anyways, he says, he practices Insect Breathing only as a last resort, he says.

An ill-mannered low rank rookie makes the mistake of using a squirrel for target practice and the twisting, barreling movement Tony sees Bruce slip into before Thor sweeps him off his feet do not look like the gentle piercing forms of the Breath of Insects.

Janet van Dyne, the Insect Pillar, pulls Tony into a hug and thanks him for her custom sword request. He grins because her designs for The Stingers were brilliant when he had first seen them and brilliant now, watching her dart around with them, slickly coated in Wysteria Poison.

T'challa, the Panther Pillar, carries himself with a regality Tony half falls in love with. His Breathing style is self made and his successor, Shuri, is the only other who knows it.

Sam Wilson is the Wind Pillar, he's gentle but firm, yet Tony knows he and Clint and Natasha goof off when no one is looking. He doesn't have proof, but he'd bet on it.

Finally there's Peter Parker; younger then them all he's the newest, most eager Water Pillar Tony is sure there ever was. He's bright eyed and takes a liking to Tony pretty quickly.

There's an empty Pillar, Tony realizes. There should be twelve, to reflect the twelve moons of the demons, yet even including Bruce in the count there are only ten.

Tony is idly curious about this, but he lets it sit in the back of his mind as he pesters the pillars to help train him. He worms his way under their skin, whether it's Rhodey and Pepper always grabbing him for lunch, or Natasha flyting with him in their spare time.

It takes him wholly by surprise when they tell him he's being nominated to the eleventh pillar position.

He can't in good conscious say yes. He can barely Breathe properly. A good knock to the chest might take him out. He isn't a master of any style. There are too many reasons to shake his head, and it takes Rhodey and Pepper both before he even listens to the offer.

"You're worried you're not good enough," Pepper says.

"Of course I am,"

"Take a breath," Rhodey instructs.

"I am breathing! If I breathe anymore I'll tear a lung!"

"Have you tried?" Pepper asks.

"Have you even noticed?" Rhodey asks.

Tony blinks, caught off guard. He's not sure what they mean, but he focuses anyways. On the breath in his lungs, the taught feeling of them expanded. The way the air flows through him.

"You've been Breathing this whole time." Pepper sounds smug.

"And you're fine training on top of that." Rhodey says.

Tony takes a second to blink up at them, for the first time in a long time confused.

"I keep forgetting you weren't trained properly," Pepper says, "You pick up on things so fast. Full Focus Breathing is the very fundamental basis of Breathing Styles, but it's difficult to master. It's a full concentration breath, and Pillars are as strong as we are because we use this technique for every breath we take."

"It's what helps us be on par with upper level demons. You must have picked up on us doing it and copied it without instruction."

"That sounds... plausible."

"It's more than plausible. Listen, you've gotten training from all of us Pillars already. Fury is in your corner! It doesn't really matter if you say yes or no, you're pretty much our acting eleventh pillar anyways." Pepper assures him.

It takes Tony some time for this to sink in, but his friends are right. Dr. Yinsen was right. He shouldn't have been able to get this far but here he was. He was in a place where he could help people again, he'd be a fool to run away now.

He found that low level demons were nothing to him, any longer. He developed his own Breathing Style, quietly taking the information his friends taught him, and applying them in the field with his own twists.

He learns that the scars in his chest can still give him trouble, if he's too hard on himself, but he stops worrying about it. Everyone dies at some point. As long as his body holds together long enough to help people that's good enough for him.

Traces of the Demon King, the father of all Demons, had been sighted in the middle of some patch of nowhere. Though Tony has never seen the Demon King he knows him well enough.

His blood is what creates new demons, he is who founded the Twelve Moons, the high ranking demons that often cause the Demon Slayers trouble. The demon that killed Tony's parents was a Demon Moon.

No one is expecting Tony to run into the Demon King, just clean up any messes and find as much information as he can. That's all he's expecting out of this. But as he steps through the snowy night he hears heavy snarling.

As he draws closer he can smell blood and hear panicked words.

He draws his sword and approaches.

There's a demon attacking a human in the woods and Tony leaps forward.

He follows the ninth form of flame breathing, using it's speed and force to bulldoze into the demon, dragging it away from its prey. There is no blood in the snow, it hadn't gotten a chance to feast yet.

He changes his grip on his sword, to the second form of Flame Breathing. Enough strength to decapitate this demon without losing hold of its struggling form.

He's stopped by a desperate shout.

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

He looks at the human.

"This demon was attacking you." Tony says, as the blond man pushes himself up out of the snow.

"He's not a demon! He's my friend!"

A string of sympathy pulls through him. Still, Tony must do his job. He looks at the snarling creature in his grip. "He's not your friend anymore, look at him." He shakes his wrist and demon jerks at him his blue eyes piercing.

"Stop, please, I know him! He's just scared. He wouldn't hurt me."

"Listen, I know it's rough but you don't know him any more. He is a demon. Demons eat people. It's not complicated."

The man scrunches his face up, and Tony is worried he's going to cry before something is flying straight at him.

He dodges on automatic, frowns when he sees it was just a book, then hisses in alarm as the man runs straight for the demon.

Tony lunges into the sixth form of Rock Breathing, Arcs of Justice, as the human sprints forward. He is ready to throw his sword in desperate hope to pin the demon before it can attack the stupid guy throwing himself at it, when something altogether strange happens.

The demon stands as the man reaches him, lunging forward. But instead of tearing into soft human flesh the demon spins the man around and behind the demon.

Drool slips down the demon's chin. Tony didn't notice it before but the demon's left arm is missing and the tax on it's healing must be doubling or tripling its newborn hunger.

Yet it's still protecting the stupid guy instead of taking a chunk out of him.

He keeps his sword drawn, because he's not dumb, but he lowers it.

"Bucky, stop!" The man hisses, gripping onto the demon's sleeve.

"What's your name?" Tony asks.

"Steve. Steve Rogers. And this is my best friend, Bucky. He hasn't killed anyone, he might-- he might be a demon but he's still good! He, this happened because he was trying to protect us from the real demon that attacked our family!"

Tony's grip on his sword shifted.

He's never encountered a demon who didn't relish at eating humans at the very least. Tony's experience with them started with one standing over his dead parents and didn't improve from there.

But all demons were humans, once, and even Tony had gotten a second chance. He sheathed his sword.

"You cannot let him eat a human." He says.

"Of course he wouldn't!" Steve says, disgusted.

"Shut up. You can't let him eat a human, and if you want him around for any length of time make sure he doesn't get exposed to sunlight."

Steve's furious expression shifts into confusion, then wonder.

"What do you want Steve?"

"I--I want Bucky to be okay. I want the demon who did this to not be able to do it anymore."

"You don't want revenge?"

"I don't like bullies."

Tony huffs a small laugh. He thinks about Nicolas Fury, who had moved out of the Wysteria Estate to a mountain nearby. He thinks about Bruce's research and his mother's last words, and examines the way the demon... Bucky. How Bucky is still anchored, inexorably, in front of Steve's body.

"I'll take you to someone who can help you." Tony says.

The growling from Bucky has died down, now that the threat has passed. Steve's blue eyes bore into Tony as sharply as any knife.

"Thank you," Steve finally says.

Tony laughs. "Sure," he says, "You might be taking that back when you meet him."

Tony wonders if maybe seeing this, seeing a demon who chose not to give in, seeing a human save his friend, if this was why he was still alive. If, maybe Tony couldn’t save his family but he can help someone else save theirs.

He walks past Bucky and Steve, away from the upturned snow of their aborted battle. As he passes he notes the surety of Steve's grip on Bucky and something in him hems and haws.

Tony thinks, instead of a sword, he'll try making a shield.

Read Everything | Read Chapter 2

[darkpoisonouslove]

I retaliate/reward you with writer asks 2, 3, 4, 12, 22, 24, 36, 37, 39 and 42 ;D

Sounds good to me. XD

Okay, let's break these down. (I've crammed things that should be separated in different paragraphs in the same paragraph because of the structure of the ask. I just think it is easier to navigate it that way even if more paragraphs would make more sense. That way every opinion is constricted in one paragraph and you can tell which point it refers to easier. (At least imo.))

(I can't put a read more link rn as I'm on mobile. Sorry.)

2. Don't use adverbs

I cannot begin to describe to you how much I LOATHE this. It is, by far, some of the stupidest writing advice I have ever read. No, I don't care Stephen King supports this. Stephen King writes mostly horror and in horror you need to maintain suspense so short and to the point is definitely better and cutting adverbs is certainly a way to do that. However, I don't think this applies to all writing. I think this isn't really a genre thing as much as it is a specific case by case thing. And in most instances I think this advice is bullshit. Think about it. Language was created to allow us to express ourselves. Cut all adverbs out of it and that narrows down your way to express yourself. It's kinda like "Oh, hey, my leading hand serves more purpose. I should probably cut off the other one because it's not that effective." Congrats, you just crippled yourself. It's the same with language. Why would you deny yourself the help of an entire group of "tools" to express yourself? I just don't understand it. I suppose you've seen the posts going around about "good" and "bad" adverbs so I won't go into that as I agree that an adverb is a good idea when it adds some meaning to the word that wasn't there before (eg. "cried happily"). Sometimes it can actually make things faster to just "tell" them rather than show them through the context. I think adverbs are as neat as any other part of language and deserve their place in writing.

3. Write what you know

Yes, you should know what the hell you're writing about. Whether it was something that you were familiar with before you started writing or you did your research on the matter. I might be a little biased on this because I kinda hate doing research so I can be swayed towards write only what you are completely familiar with but that would just make things boring. So I think you can write about stuff that isn't quite your area of expertise as long as you put the effort to research it to the proper level depending on what you need it for. If it's more of a mention, you don't need that much knowledge about it but if you intend to make it the subject of your writing, please make sure you understand what you're going to be talking about in the entirety of your story. I am begging you because when you don't, we end up with stuff like 50 Shades of Grey (and I'm not just talking about the sex parts since this book is full of poorly researched stuff that, shockingly, ends up being unbelievable at best, potentially harmful at worst). However, I think that applies to a greater degree to published fiction rather than to fanfiction but let's not get into that debate since it's a completely different topic and I already veered off course.

4. Avoid repetition

This I mostly agree with but it depends on the purpose of the repetition. If it is done in order to establish a theme or motif or to emphasize a point (without overdoing it, of course), I fully support it. (I do that a lot in my personal writing and it shouldn't be that hard to find examples of it when looking at my fics ("What Is the One Thing That Can Never Break?" is the best example of this but I have done it countless times in most of my fics if not all of them since this is one of my fave techniques).) However, there is a thin line between establishing a theme and making dead herrings aka something that is brought up repeatedly without any point to it other than boosting the word count since it doesn't lead to anything and it was already discussed at a prior point (which I might have done a few times myself in some of my longest fics). If you're bringing another angle to an issue you've already looked at or are furthering the point, you should be fine but this is indeed a thin line to tread so it demands a bit of caution. I do believe repetition can be a valuable technique in specific circumstances, though, so it all depends on how it is used.

12 is already answered here

22. Do not use semicolons

My personal opinion on this isn't very applicable to anything else because I am not really quite sure how to properly use semicolons so I avoid them. I also don't really like them in other people's writings. I'm sure they have their uses but I think a lot of authors also overuse them to make those horrendously long sentences that I hate (but have started becoming guilty of as well even though I think that if you can't remember how the sentence started at the end of it, it is too long and needs to be split in some way). It is why I haven't bothered to learn how to operate them. XD But I think that my point about adverbs should be applied here as well. It is another tool you can use and I am sure it can be helpful. So I am not necessarily against it and wouldn't tell someone to stop using them. Only, maybe try using full stops as well? And I'll try to do the same because, like I said, I have started becoming guilty of paragraph long sentences as well. (Just to be clear, sometimes longer sentences are okay. But not when literally every sentence is over 150 words. You need to break them down, spice it up with shorter sentences thrown in the mix.) Also, I think this is an instance of the trap of "bigger is better" for a lot of writers except that here it is "longer is better". It really isn't. And I can tell you why. My scenes have started getting thousands of words long and if I were to write novel, I could hit 50k words with about ten scenes. Most novels are up to 120k words total. Those would be 24 scenes in my numbers but don't you feel like a novel will need more than 24 scenes? Consice writing is definitely a good idea and it is much harder to cut things rather than to add (at least for me). Fanfiction gives more room with the word count but I still think that it is important to be able to convey your point in as little words as possible. (Btw, this is a tangent but long sentences and semicolons appear a lot in academic writing and I hate it even more there because it makes it more incomprehensible than it needs to be (and in a lot of cases it already is written to be as incomprehensible as possible). Just... start another sentence, I am begging you. This one already is a page long, for the love of everything in the world.)

24. Don't edit as you write

A complicated one. Mostly because I have done this. I used to do it a few years back. I (mostly) don't do it anymore. I might stop to edit a typo or change a sentence that just doesn't read right but nothing bigger than that. And you should, arguably, not do that either. Why? Because you may end up deleting the entire paragraph, page, chapter and all that perfecting will have been for naught. It has happened to me when I spent a ton of time perfecting the first chapters of several of my works and some of them I will never finish while others actually need to start from a different point in time so the whole chapter needs to go. Along with all of my efforts. I would say this is mostly for longer and chaptered projects since the structure of a one shot (depending on the length) is easier to figure out and you probably won't need to rearrange parts of it. And if something is really poking your eyes out, you can fix it real quick. But once you have the whole thing, it will be easier to see what needs to stay, what needs to go and what needs to be changed. Sometimes the temptation is hard to resist and it's fine if you give in as long as you're doing it with the knowledge that "yes, this may be all for nothing but I can't look at it like that for another second". Sometimes I would say that you need to go back and see where everything derailed if you can't move on. There was good advice that if you're stuck, the problem is probably a few paragraphs before the point where you hit a wall and it has helped me get over a block a time or two. However, if you can move on without touching anything, you probably should. That can also save you from deleting something that is actually good. I have felt like the whole thing I was writing was terrible but holding back from deleting or even altering anything and, instead, giving it some time to breathe has saved a few fics along the way from being completely butchered. So I think this is, generally, good advice because of the reasons I listed but just like any other rule, it can be bent and broken. (I would say fixing typos is a form of bending it which I allow myself all the time. Spelling is just really important to me.)

36. Never use a verb other than 'said' to tag dialogue

I hate this specific phrasing of it a lot. Never start any rule with never. Of course, you need to use other verbs as well since they were created to express the wide range in which a person may speak their chosen words. My problem with this is the reason that is usually given for it and that is that it distracts the reader. It has never distracted ME. Not a single time. And while I agree that using said most of the time works since people usually speak in a calm, even, steady manner which to describe as simply "said" works well enough, I think that other dialogue tags have their places too. Because people don't always say things. Sometimes they scream them, sometimes they whisper them, sometimes they hiss them, sometimes they snap and so on. Here I think a better phrasing would be to use Syndrome's lesson again that "when everyone is super, no one will be". Dialogue tags different from said are supposed to direct your attention to the change in tone. They're supposed to stand out. If everything stands out, nothing will. (This philosophy is so applicable to so many things and I think we have to take a minute to appreciate how valuable the lesson of "The Incredibles" is.) So as with every other writing tool, if used accordingly, dialogue tags (all of them, not just "said") can only be of help and will not hinder you in any way. Just don't put more frosting on the cake than there is cake, you know?

37. Do not start a sentence with a conjunction

FUCK THIS RULE so much. This one you have to keep to only in academic writing. The moment you step through the threshold of creative writing this rule should be crushed under your soles. I often start sentences with "and" or "but" because I am looking to emphasize whether this sentence agrees with the previous one or not. Think about it. When you say "I liked him. But I didn't trust him.", it reads very different from "I liked him but I didn't trust him.". It focuses your attention on that contrast and makes you pay more attention to the objection to the first sentence that comes in the second. That can be incredibly valuable and help emphasize what you're saying in a more subtle way than repetition would. This is one of my favorite techniques of focusing the attention on where I want it to be and I will never give it up. Sue me if you want. And see if I care.

39. If there's a story you want to read but it hasn't been written yet, you must write it

Must is too strong a verb. You are not obliged to write anything. I couldn't possibly write everything I want to see written in a single lifetime. Calm down there. I think what people need to understand here is more that "if you want the story done the exact way that you would do it, you will have to do it yourself because no one else will do it the very same way". Doesn't mean that someone can't come close enough (I had that luck once) but it is unlikely that they'll do it in a way that you won't have any complaints about. So, really, "if you want something done right, do it yourself". But this can also mean "you have something fresh that the world needs because no one else has done it yet" (or at least not the same way you would do it). Which is cool but you really don't owe anyone anything. If that story is what you want to read and write (emphasis on that because writing is hard and takes a lot of energy, guys), then great! Go right ahead. But if you don't feel like doing that, you can leave it alone. Someone else might do it in time but with that we loop back to my previous point. I think that you should write whatever you want to write whether no one has written it before or it has been done hundreds and thousands of times.

42. Write your first draft by hand

Very mixed feelings here. I used to do that. The main reason for that is that I didn't trust myself to edit quite as sufficiently if I wrote it directly in a document as I would if I had to transcribe it from paper to the computer. For me personally, it is easier to change sentences when there is only blank space after that sentence since I don't have to worry whether the next sentence I have will still make sense once I'm done rewriting the current one. It was just easier to change things. A way to deal with that is to just press enter a few times before you start editing the sentence so that it looks like there is nothing after it and you're free to change it as you please. However, writing directly in a document is definitely faster and since I was having a lot of things to do in a limited time, I started doing that. It helped get over the fear of a blank page to a degree. It is faster. And I don't think I have noticed a change in the quality of my fics. Not a negative one at least. I just know that if I had had to write the 10k+-word ones by hand before typing them on the computer, I would've lost it. It would've taken way more time and patience than I was willing to give these ideas. Writing the words by hand sometimes helps me feel them better, though, (if that makes sense) and I wouldn't completely give up on it. I like to go with my intuition when deciding whether to write it by hand or type it directly in a document and it has worked out well enough for me so far.

[itsclydebitches]

Sorry about this, but I can't send asks properly with your new theme while on pc. (I sent this via mobile, which I can just about make work.) The ask box gets covered up by some weird formatting.

Nothing is ever easy, is it? 😅

The good news: I think I may have figured out the problem. Are you currently logged into tumblr on your PC? Apparently if you’re not logged in you get a captcha to fill out, but because of the ask box size it gets all weird and cut off so you can’t actually fill it out

The bad news: I cannot for the life of me figure out how to fix that. Can I make the captcha go away? No. Can I make my ask box bigger? No. Can I add scrolling to the ask box? Apparently not.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this in 2020? (A lot of the solutions I’ve found are now years old). Obviously I want everyone to be able to send in asks without difficulty, but I’d also prefer to fix one problem as opposed to finding another theme that may or may not have the same issue. 

Or, if you are logged in, anon, it could be another issue entirely lol. But that’s the only difference I’m noticing. On my Mac/iphone the ask box works just fine - and I’ve gotten other asks today - but as soon as I log out things get messy. 

I’ll keep googling 👍

[angst-is-my-friend]

14 and 27 for August and Oakley -Thesithwhumper

I’m so sorry but I’m on mobile and I don’t know how to make a read more cut.

TW:Mentions of alcohol, mention of illegal substances

14. Detail one secret shame your character feels.

When Oakley was in college they didn’t do a lot of “fun” things. Well a friend managed to convince them to go to this party and Oakley not being able to hold their alcohol got a little rowdy. Which led to

A) meeting August

B) having the most fun of their college career

C) a bad hangover with even worse regret in the morning

Did they make a fool out of themself? Yes. Were there a few videos of this? Also yes. It’s not necessarily a secret one though. That one would probably have to be something she did to her sister like accidentally breaking a toy and blaming it on someone else or hiding it.

Can August feel shame? Maybe. It might all be something that involves his family. I almost want to say it was something about him not being able to save someone. (Though that sounds like some of my other characters) Or getting caught up in something illegal for a short time. Or maybe it was a prank that accidentally hurt someone and he didn’t take the blame. I’m honestly not sure.

27. What is their idea of perfect happiness?

Oakleys idea of perfect happiness is I think what she has now. She’s pretty satisfied with her life. I think she might be a teacher and she likes that she’s making a difference in the world even if it doesn’t feel like it everyday. She likes coming home to August and seeing him be an absolute disaster when he wakes up in the morning and almost falls off the bed trying to shut off the alarm. (He put it farther away from him on purpose so he would have to get up) She likes watching him panic and think he’s late. (Once again, it’s his fault. He set the alarm to run fast so he would think he was late and be more motivated to get out of bed and get ready so he would get to work on time) Shes a very in the moment person I think and an optimist so I think she’s happy with what she has now. (And won’t that be fun to spoil?) She night like to travel more though.

I think August’s idea of perfect happiness is a mix. It might depend on his mood. You know those moments where I don’t know you’re at a party it’s late there’s music you’ve had a satisfying day and you’ve have just a bit too much sugar? (This might not be universal at all) I think it’s like that. But right before you become aware that you’re happy. He likes that and adrenaline. So I think his perfect happiness would be waking up and being with Oakley and sharing experiences like that with her. Things like that but also exploring that small town by the beach and getting icecream and burying each other in the sand and making surprises for each other. Spending time with friends. Just being in the same room as Oakley even if they’re both doing their own thing because it him a partner is someone to share your life and experiences with. He likes crafts and I think he would like to try making movies one day. I suppose his idea of perfect happiness is doing everything and ideally having someone to share that everything with.

I’m sorry this got so long I really didn’t think it would and once again I cannot figure out how to add a read more cut. Thank you so much for the questions they were really fun to answer!

[fight-surrender]

Howlin’ Forever Chapter 3: Into the Woods

Rating: Teen and Up

Word count: 2583

Read on AO3

Summary: “Dog-Simon must catch my scent because he’s instantly awake and on his feet. His head is down, hackles are up and the snarl that ensues from his mouth is most certainly lupine. His eyes are Simon’s blue, but there is no humanity or recognition in them. Only malice.”

Time for Baz to find a werewolf. 

(I did put a readmore cut in here on my desktop, I’m terribly sorry to clog your feed if it doesn’t transfer to mobile.) Thanks as always to my amazing friends, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz​, @vkelleyart​ @penpanoply​ for their unwavering support and encouragement and beta reading and omg @penpanoply​ made me this cover art which is fucking gorgeous and brilliant and perfect. <3 <3

        _________________________________________________

                                       Ch 3: Into the Woods

                                   You and me have a disease,                                   You affect me, you infect me,                                   I'm afflicted, you're addicted,                                      You and me, you and me

                                  - “Infected” by Bad Religion

 Baz:

Panting, I scramble to the window. The night seems to be holding its breath, silently waiting as a quiet splash draws my eyes to the moat. The merwolves are eerily calm, almost reverent, as they bear witness to the hulking bronze figure that cuts through the water. The creature emerges from the moat, shaking off moonlit water droplets. He howls again, sending my heart into a renewed frenzy. The wolf then turns and runs into the forest.

I wipe my hands across my face, then rake them through my hair.

What should I do? What should I do?

Should I go after him? Leave him be? Where is he going? Does he even know?

The drawbridge is closed. I’m too frazzled to manage a spell to get around it. Sleep isn’t an option tonight. My eye catches on the pile of books Malfoy sent over. At least Hogwarts still has a fully stocked library, not the Children’s Garden of Verses we have here at Watford. I take a copy of “Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a bag of salt and vinegar crisps and settle onto my bed to try and focus on the pages.

***

  Sunrise turns the room pink as I realize I’ve been reading the same paragraph for half an hour. I have no idea what it says. The only information I’ve retained from this exercise is that the full moon phase can last up to about four days. The transformation seems to last longer in the newly Turned. Also, there is a potion called Wolfsbane that helps lessen the effects of the Lycanthropy.

A heavy thunk, followed by the clatter of gears indicates the drawbridge is coming down.

I snap the book shut with one hand and stand up.

Time to find a werewolf.

 ***

 It’s a good thing it’s the weekend. I certainly wouldn’t miss class to hike through the woods after this imbecile. Branches slap my face as I stomp along, following Snow’s tracks. He’s left an obvious trail of broken limbs, scratched soil and huge footprints. My vampire senses come in handy as well. His scent is different in this form. He still smells like smoke, but now there’s a wildness, a smell of petrichor and moss with hints of musk.

My mind is a swirl of thoughts, but I can’t settle on any single one. Simon, the Chosen One, Watford’s golden boy is now a monster. Technically, he’s not allowed to exist. Neither am I, for that matter, I’m well versed in keeping my secret. The question is what’s Simon going to do with this information? He’s so damned good, he could very well just turn himself in to the mage as soon as he resumes his human form. I’ll be damned to hell twice over before I let him throw his life away like that. I will stop him, even if I have to put a collar on him and chain him to the bed. (That actually sounds appealing, regardless of his reaction to his new condition.)

Simon’s scent gets stronger as I approach a dried creek bed. I slow down, treading lightly across scattered stones and debris, trying not to make a sound. An angry squirrel chitters at me from a branch above my head. If I had the time or inclination, I’d drain him out of spite. At least squirrel blood tastes better than rat.

I stop short as I come around a boulder, on the other side is the hulking form of Simon Snow. Rather, the were version of him. His breath is till heaving, but he seems to be asleep. During the frenzied events of last night, I hadn’t a chance to really get a look at him.  He’s huge, probably the size of a Shetland pony. He doesn’t exactly look wolfish, his muzzle is not so pointed, his ears flop down. He looks like, well he looks like an overgrown, shaggy, bronze-furred Golden Retriever. For snakes sake, of course Simon Snow would turn into a Golden; cheerful, loyal, lovely dogs that they are. He’s too good to even be a proper monster. Crowley. I roll my eyes and shake my head in wonder.

Dog-Simon must catch my scent because he’s instantly awake and on his feet. His head is down, hackles are up and the snarl that ensues from his mouth is most certainly lupine. His eyes are Simon’s blue, but there is no humanity or recognition in them. Only malice. Not quite so Golden-esque then.

Before I can pull my wand from my sleeve, he lunges at me, but immediately falls to the ground. He growls again and turns to bite at something behind him. I step back to a safer distance and see that the beast’s foot is caught in some kind of debris. Snow flails and thrashes, but eventually collapses, exhausted, panting.

I try to approach him, now that he’s tired, and am met once again with that malevolent, dead stare and a mouth full of giant teeth. And, I might add, horrific dog breath.  I back away into the forest to think. That thing, it is Simon. I can’t exactly leave him out here for the next three days, but how can I spell him free and somewhere safe until he goes back to human form? There are dog training spells, but what would “atta boy” do to the human part of his brain? I suppose I could spell him to sleep, but how do I get him back to our room? I don’t have the magic to transport him.

What if I could get him to trust me? Physically, he’s a giant pet dog. What’s the best way to train a dog? Positive reinforcement: Food. What’s the way to Simon Snow’s heart? Food.  

I turn and run back to Watford. It’s time to call in a favor with Cook Pritchard.

 ***

 Thank magic no one is around when I haul the giant wicker picnic basket Cook Pritchard loaded up for me across the great lawn. She gave me enough food for an army. The woman was well chuffed that I was having a picnic with “friends.” She acted as if I hadn’t any friends.  “Well that’s lovely, Basilton, so nice to see you coming out of your shell.” Cook even tucked a small bottle of dandelion wine into the basket, “to help break the ice.” She actually winked at me. I wanted to implode.

I have friends. Sure, half of them are family, but still. You only need one or two friends, anything more isn’t worth the effort.

I carry the basket through the wood. I feel like I’m on my way to a goth Victorian picnic. I stop periodically to drain a few squirrels, just for spite.  The resident dryad side eyes me as I pass her thicket. I ignore her.

“What do you seek, blood eater?” She hisses. Twirling her ridiculous umbrella. Butterflies swirl lazily around her mossy hair.

“None of your business.” I reply.

“Your pistil is a wolf.” She remarks.

“He’s not my anything.” I snarl, “And he’s not a wolf, he’s a Golden Retriever.”

“The Chosen One is an abomination,” she presses. “The children of the moon must die.”

I light a fire in my palm. “Is that so?” I drop my voice to a menace, “maybe I should take out this whole forest in the process.”

“Do what you must. The forest will regrow. He cannot live.” She calls my bluff.

“You know what? You can fuck off.” I say, frustrated.

She opens her mouth to speak, but I raise my hand. “Enough. We’re done here.” I sling the giant basket over my shoulder and stomp away.

I’ll be staked before I take advice from a woodland creature holding a parasol. Snow has as much of a right to live as I do. More so, he’s not dead. Fuck the dryad.

I finally make it back to the creek bed. Dog-Simon looks vaguely defeated, laying on his side, his back leg stretched behind him. I can see a length of rusty wire wrapped around his foot. He’s awake, wary eyes never leaving mine, a low growl rumbles in his chest.

I settle myself on the ground a safe distance away. I’m wearing my school-issue green Watford football trackie bottoms and sweatshirt. Coach Mac will probably not appreciate werewolf damage to the practice uniform. My trainers are caked with mud. I sigh. The things I do for love.

The basket creaks as I open it. The sound makes Snow get up and retreat as far as the wire around his leg will let him. His tail is down, ears back; he’s panting lightly.

I pull out the bottle of dandelion wine and take a swig, to calm my nerves. It’s bitter, with a faint floral overtone, and just enough bite to warm my chest. I take a deep breath and survey the contents of my picnic. The basket is overflowing with roast beef sandwiches, sour cherry scones, roast chicken, bacon butties, jellies, and inexplicably a layered trifle. She must have magicked it all in there.

It’s just me and the dog, and I missed breakfast, so I help myself to a roast beef sandwich. Snow’s ears tip forward and he sits down. Sniffing the air.

I toss a bit of my sandwich at him, he scrambles away with a surprised bark. Almost immediately, he cautiously noses forward, sniffing at the roast beef. He sits down again, without eating it and resumes watching me, panting. His teeth are huge.

“For fucks sake, Simon, it’s not like it’s poisoned.”

The dog’s ears perk up and he cocks his head at me. His mouth is closed, brows almost furrowed in concentration.

“Go on then lad,” I press, “roast beef is your favorite.” I remind myself to breathe.

Snow resumes panting, but lowers his nose again at the food. He nudges it, then takes an experimental bite. Apparently satisfied that the offering wasn’t going to kill him, the great dog swallows the rest. Licking his lips, he retreats to his original position, as far away from Baz as he can get.

I toss half a sandwich into his orbit.

“There you go Snow, I know you can’t walk away from half a sandwich.”

Once again Dog-Simon sits, cocks his head and looks at me. I’m probably imagining it, but his eyelids almost seem to squeeze a bit, in concentration. He cautiously walks my way, never taking his eyes off me, and eats the sandwich half in one bite. This time he doesn’t shy away, he sits, panting again and watches me.

I toss him the other half of the sandwich, which he catches in the air and eats with more gusto. He’s watching me again, this time I get a weak tail wag.

I unwrap the roast chicken and throw the whole thing at him. It lands with an unceremonious plop, a leg breaking free. Simon stands and practically inhales the whole thing. His tail is wagging faster now.

We go on like this for the duration of the afternoon. I’m slowly inching closer, I can almost touch his muzzle now. He seems more relaxed, the panting has stopped. His ears are forward, tail wagging freely. His eyes have gone softer, from ice to sky.

I reach into the basket for a sour cherry scone, I’ve been saving these for this moment. I scoot even closer, holding it in my hand this time. He’s so close, he could easily rip my throat out. It’s not often I have to worry about someone ripping out my throat. It’s refreshing, really. I suppose there are worse ways to die.

“Simon, we’re going to have to work together to figure this mess out. If there is any part of you that can hear me, let me help you. I mean, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but…” My voice tapers off. Why would he trust me? Crowley, I’ve done nothing but torment him for the last 6 years.

A gentle breeze ruffles the golden leaves above me. “We be of one blood, ye and I.” I murmur. A warm rush of surprise washes over me. Where the fuck did that even come from? Kipling was a powerful magician, but is that even a spell? Leave it to me to channel my favorite childhood book in times of duress.

I take a breath and hold out the scone. Simon noses forward, sniffs, and carefully takes the scone from my hand. He doesn’t move away. I keep my eyes on him as I slowly reach for the basket and remove another scone. I hold it in my hand, when he takes it, I reach out with my other hand and run it behind his ear, rubbing along his jaw. He stiffens, but continues to eat the scone. “These are your favourite,” I whisper, scratching behind his ear, rubbing slowly along his neck and shoulder. Eventually, I find myself out of scones and scratching his stomach, while his tongue lolls and he scratches his back leg lazily.

I take a break because my hands are cramping from all the petting. I really hope he doesn’t remember any of this. I shake my hands and look at the grime under my nails. I’m going to need a manicure.

Simon stands and gives a mighty shake from his nose to his feathered, rudder-like tail. He utters a sharp bark, like he’s decided something, then proceeds to try and climb into my lap, his huge pink tongue lapping my face.

“Merlin and Morgana, you giant thumping git, get off. I push him away, but not too far. He knocks me to the ground and licks my whole face. For snakes sake, you’re disgusting, I get to my feet wiping saliva off my chin and trying not to smile. Simon’s tail is wagging so hard his whole body is wiggling and he’s rubbing along my side, trying to get me to scratch his back. I oblige for a moment.

“Snow, stop, let’s get your leg untangled.”  He stands so quietly as I extricate his leg from the wire, that I can’t help but wonder if he understood me.

Once freed, Simon plants his giant paws on my shoulders and smears the side of my face with his tongue once more. “Blimey, Snow.” I step back and the great dog’s feet once more hit the ground. He zooms away, coming to a skidding stop, returns to my side and bows his front legs down, rear up, tail wagging madly.

I lean down and take his huge face in my hands, scratching gently below his jaw. “Come along, you delightful moron, let’s go home.”

I turn and make my way through the forest. The late afternoon sun dappling the trail with rich golden light. Dust motes dancing in the beams. Simon scampers ahead, darting back every few minutes to make sure I’m still following.

I breathe in the rich loamy scent of these ancient woods and let it out slowly. For once, my mind is quiet. Simon is back at my side, nosing at my hand. I absentmindedly rub his velvet ear. I stop and let this foreign emotion wash over me. I let myself relax, for just this moment, I am content.

[jamiebluewind]

Charatcter Descriptions and Summary 2.13

As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out! I'll try to add warnings later. Also, we have 8 episodes left including this one, so the last one should be number 20.

***

Things

Dusk Moss

Hallucinogenic moss with very few alchemical properties that puts the user into a state of lucid dreaming where they are also concious of waking world (basically fantasy marijuana)

Is a flammable powder that cannot be unlit once lit

Crumpkin said his brother swears by it and that everyone should try it at least once.

It will even you out if you take a little bit and a quarter of teaspon will send one of them on a trip all day (so what about the size and race of the person?)

Can buy in a massive block from Tinkerer's Hall where a dose of the powder can be shaved off the block to use

Mystery Rune

The rune was abjurative magic: metamagic school (instead of protection, wards, and shields) which shapes the nature of magic itself. Specifically, the rune involved curses and a way to mask powerful curses and spells. One can take a tremendous amount of spellcraft (or the ability to cast multiple spells), put it into a curse, and have the curse ride under other curses. In other words, if connected to an object, the object would have been "cursed" to be a vessel for a wealth of other spellcasting (flash drive), but hidden under another curse (advanced encryption and a virus).

The larger and more permeable the curse, the more able it is to ride under another curse.

The curse on top (dummy curse) works best the more widespread, static (can't be easily ended or doesn't have random frequent spell effects), ambient, and passive it is like using a magical landscapes or creatures instead of a spell made by a spellcaster.

***

PCs With Datemates

Kristen

Took a picture on her crystal of the unknown goddess mural (originally wondered if it was a tequila advertisement)

Kissed Tracker and the tree she was hiding behind

Wanted rosé with the cold fratatas, but thought it was weird that he put both kale and spinach in them (as did Tracker)

Looked through the medical papers Adaine and Riz found and figured out how to cure the Kalina infection (greater restoration due to studying records or a tinsure that requires dusk moss, the alchemical supplies Gorgug got from the tinkerers, some things Adaine can pull from her jacket, and one or two things they'd only be able to find beyond the wall)

Her and the group decided on the tincture method despite the risk of curing behind the wall as she can only cast greater restoration once per day (only one 5th level spell slot and 5 infected: Tracker, Sandra Lynn, Ragh, Riz, and herself), but the option of using greater restoration on herself and Riz while leaving the others behind or inside Van was discussed (side note: could she team up with any of the locals bards/clerics/druids/artificers/celestial warlocks who know greater restoration and teach them the specifics of the altered spell while they wait on the others to get back?)

Suggested they pretend they all died after they take the tincture in order to give them an advantage due to Kalina thinking the party was cut in half (all but Adaine agreed)

Owns little handcuffs with her and Tracker's initials on them

"I don't know why I'm saying this, but Go Ball."

Assumed that the team in hell were just stuck in a waiting room, possibly drinking pina coladas

Investigated where Aelwen, Adaine's mom, and Killian entered the briar wall. It was much more tangled, far from Arborly, up a cliff with difficult rocky terrain between them and the temple. It was a place where they wouldn't be looked for, but it would take them longer to get there.

Tracker

Said the thing with Vraz made her werewolf issue with the Shrine of Thorns the second weirdest thing that's happened

Started transforming after glancing at the uncovered mural image of the unknown goddess, growling as half her head transformed as she fought changing before rolling off and hiding behind a tree (per Kristen's suggestion)

Couldn't go to hell because she couldn't enter the shrine

Gorgug

Got springs put in his shoes by the gnomes which gave them thick rubbery soles (Spring Coiled Sneakers of Bounding) and also asked for shock thing from tinkerers which would have a spare the dying effect (unknown if he got it)

Wears size 19 canvas shoes

Looked through a big log book with the alchemic ingredients in tinkerer's shorthand before buying the same alchemical ingredients that Killian bought (magnesium, antimony, and mercury which are used in magical candles) for 350 gold. Killian also bought two huge blocks of dusk moss incense (600 gold for both which he split cost wise with Fabian), but he was nervous about buying it (dusk moss details above).

Explained cell towers to the tinkerers

Considered jumping into space to either get to or place a satellite

Found a picture of his parents launching their satellite into space (Wilma and Digby giving double thumbs up, the van tipped on it's nose with it's back doors open to launch the satellite from the back of it, a lot of papers and a mobile desk in van's glovebox) and found space tech-esk routing info for the satellite in Van which allowed him to make a satellite phone

Originally left his crystal and the info with the tinkerers (original timeframe 1-2 days), but came back to help which speed up the process

Was curious why Gilear wasn't infected by Shadow Cat like Sandra Lynn and was later sorry he brought it up

When they found out they couldn't enlarge/reduce Van, he considered making a massive vest with massive pockets he could wear that everyone could jump in before they used enlarge/reduced on him, but the idea was scrapped

Suggested that if they played dead after taking the tincture to not warn Gilear so he wouldn't be acting when they "died".

"Hey, this is based on nothing, but I feel like Gilear is dead."

Believed that hell wasn't as bad as people said it was, just unfamiliar and like 5 degrees hotter

Ran into the briars after the portal closed

Likes a hot hot tub because warm ones just makes him wonder what's cooking in there

Was up all night sweating with his hoodie off (first time in a long time) working on his phone before finishing up the crystal pack (made his phone into a satellite phone). He felt pretty good about making it work.

Got a slew of unread messages once he turned his phone on (few old ones from Zelda, some from his parents checking in, and tour stuff)

Called Zelda with a video call, putting his hoodie back on as it rang and rang (most of the call is in Zelda section)

Told Zelda he loved her for the first time (after she said it first). Said he wished he was there, but hadn't figured that technology out yet and admitted that he might not have service once they went into the forest ("I'm here to communicate")

The gnomes erupted into cheers over the crystal working, but he was equally exciting over Zelda saying she loved him. They popped some gnome wine (pink fizzy champagne that smelled like cloying sweet strawberries) and shared it with him in celebration

Got a bunch of DMs from the other seven maidens saying "Way to go big guy"

Zelda

Was at Ostentata's house at night for a party (everybody was telling the story of when Gorgug jumped the fire elemental there and when he backyard wrestle smashed the beer pong table while time was stopped) when Gorgug called

Told her adventuring party he was calling before she went outside, but they followed

Answered her phone while still wearing her earbuds and assumed he was back, but was told he figured out how to make his phone work. He did it because he felt like it was important to be able to talk to her, the world, and her (not because it was part of the quest). She asked if they had cell towers, but Gorgug said that he had been working on artificer stuff and used his parents' satellite.

Started crying over Gorgug doing a whole bunch of new science to make his phone able to call back, apologized to him over getting upset, and said she missed him and he was the best

Was embarrassed by the other maidens eavesdropping (they called out "Good lookin out Gorgug! Stand up thing to do! You did it!"). Gorgug went on speaker and said "Well hello guys!" before she shooed them off to talk to her boyfriend

Made sure that Gorgug's friends weren't in danger over him working on his project, but was reassured that he was having down time and it would also help them in the long run

Told Gorgug that she loved him for the first time and freaked out (insulting herself) before he said that he loved her too. This was followed by her saying "oooh I just wanna... I just wish you were here."

Said the Red Waste was super hard, but they were done and thought they would get a good grade on it

Called Gorgug cool (and was called cool by him). Said what he did meant a lot to her. The call ended with one last quick I love you from Gorgug.

Fig

Subpoenaed to be a witness for Gortholax before a tribunal due to him being negligent for his infernal domain (after his 9th and final request for appearence lapsed). The print of her subpoena got so fine that it was mostly illegable without a magnifying glass. It was also in infernal (which she can read)

Asked Vraz if she could leave the door to hell open with them following later (left open, but was yelled at)

Considered disguising herself as Gortholax and offered to disguise herself as a famous lawyer from billboards to help Gilear

Wanted to know more about law so she could defend Gortholax domain and yelled "THE CHOSEN ONE!" when she discovered that Gilear knew the law

Wanted to start a grass roots campaign about the demons working with the nightmare king (as devils hate them both)

Asked her mom why Gilear wasn't infected and discovered her parents had slept together many times, but not in the last 3 years

Got upset with Riz over his opinion on devils (quote in dialogue link)

Had to be the first through the portal to hell, but straddled the flaming doorway with Riz on her back to try to keep it open

Tied a rope around Hangman so she could wakeboard while smoking a clove, library card behind her right ear

Thought Gortholax's home was tasteful and knew the door code.

Blamed herself for the quality of Gilear's life (quote in dialogue link)

To Vraz "What going on with you? Do you need a hug?"

Lit a cigarette in court, told them that Gortholax was trapped in a gem, put her feet up, and said Kalina the Shadow Cat used a proxy to trap Gortholax with the assistance of demons (but was able to hide the fact that she was the proxy from Vraz)

Asked for help getting into the forest of the Nightmare King, but got yelled at because calling a recess does not mean the trial is over

Cut her arm and offered the tribunal her blood as proof she was Gortholax's daughter, but the blood sizzled when it hit the ground and either summoned or created an imp which served as proof

Ayda

Told Adaine what the rune was (details below)

Still working on plane shift

Got upset over Fig getting sucked into hell, insisting that they had to go rescue her "Well, we should do whatever we can to make it happen as fast as possible because I'm going to get another kiss, whatever happens"

Said Fig's lips are the softest things she's ever felt (grossing out Adaine) and "If I don't smell Fig's hair again, I'm going to incenerate"

Asked Adaine for advice as the Oracle, wanting to know how many potential futures there were were Fig wouldn't want to kiss her or be around her anymore and if they could be avoided. She was also worried that Fig might have kissed her, but not felt attracted to her.

"If we kissed a bunch of times over the course of an hour, does that mean we are girlfriends or wives?" (potentially but ask to clarify)

Was worried that she would look sad, weird, or not normal from a social standpoint for asking Fig to clarify if they were girlfriends (to which Adaine said she was not and was in face very very cool).

Worried about her mind being foreign to other people and despite not being the same as Adaine, felt better after talking to someone who understands not being like everyone else.

Told Adaine "You're a very special person to me and your friendship means the world to me. I hope we study magic together for a long long time" and that she loved her.

Has notes on how her brain works and built an entire friendship section in the library because she was so lonely.

Went to the Synod to be alone because she lived "on a dirty pirate island"

***

Other PCs And People In The Party

Adaine

Released an aura in the crime scene and might have put on gloves

Found the non detection runes her mother had placed (to keep elves off the trail) and the remains of two rituals, one to kill Killian and one to put the Devil's Heart (with Gortholax) inside Killian. The rituals happened 24 hours appart, meaning they left the night the teens arrived or her mom knew to kill Killian before Aelwen arrived.

While looking for something in the room (something nice her mom might have said about her), she found a blank piece of parchment on a small desk and revealed a message using "the pencil trick" ("Aelwen is with me. You are betrayed. You have no other choice darling. Come with us.") which she believed was probably for her dad. Later got the original copy (wrote out for a sending spell) by using mend on ashes she found in a trashcan

Suggested a cold fratata picnic

Pulled beautifully printed pamplets out of her jacket for Fig's grass roots campaign, but they had a typo so she tossed them

Told the group to give a thumbs up to someone who had the message spell (currently only Fig and Adaine) if they had something to say to keep it from Kalina

Was caught by briars and ejected from the hell potral, keeping her from entering, but decided that heaven and hell were just reflections of each other so she wasn't worried

On dusk moss, said "I've heard it's good for anxiety." and suggested that they all got high while waiting on their friends to return from hell (but was unable to convince the others)

Discovered that the unknown goddess' spellbook had a distinguishing mark on it, an occult rune that was in a lot of stuff at Compass Points (which Ayda would have studied) and on the coin given to Kalvaxus (more info under mystery rune)

Liked a hot tub that started off very warm at first and then got more comfortable

Messaged Ayda late at night for help "Avast ye scurvy devil. How is plane shift going? Also, need info on rune. It looks like [x]" (answered back "I'm not a scurvy devil. Let's use the synonym. Right jacket pocket.")

Found a key made of glowing blue crystalline energy in her pocket as the keyhole on a nearby door started glowing slightly blue.

Was given a scroll with a first level spell by Ayda that granted her access to the Synod of Spyre which is a meeting place for wizards

Told Ayda "I think your great",  made her laugh by telling her that curses were "ten a penny", and told her that she enjoyed talking to her about their magic as Ayda is someone who gets it and is not mean to her

Asked Ayda to tell her everything (about the kiss), but then realized that she didn't want or need to know everything. She did say (about Ayda and Fig) "I support this. I am happy about it. I am amazed. Oooo she's secretive!" and that while on a macro level, some people will kiss without caring, Fig wouldn't because she cared about everybody (she did kiss those two older guys though?)

Admittedly that being oracle only let her help out a little every day and occasionally she got a terrifying vision, but she doesn't know when the event will occur or what will cause it

To Ayda, "If you like a person and they like you and the relationship is good, it shouldn't matter how other people feel about it? I think."

"I want to be alone and also surrounded by my friends at all times."

Riz

Worked the crime scene in the Owl and Harp with Adaine (putting on gloves before starting)

Found that the rituals were specifically to get Kalina into Silvar by bypassing the need for permission from a devil authority by using petrismosis to move from an infected creature into a gem to commandeer the devil within it

Petrismosis: The body's ability to start having elements of the magical gem within it to start permiating orgainic membrane; the process of an organic body and gem to become one which includes osmosis of blood to gem (ragh mom constrantly fights against the being within her gem using her rage, blood, and soul)

Told Adaine "It's great to fin- be around someone who just focuses up. Me and you? Everybody else is super horny. Super emotional. But me and you? *slaps hands together* No emotions between the two of us." (she was looking for something nice from her mom)

Discovered that Adaine's mom had packed WAY more rations than they needed to get to the temple, some alchemical ingredients, and all primary work, leaving only hints behind as well as some research and medical diagrams (which Adaine and Riz took). The medical diagrams were extremely old velum grave robber level medical stuff written in a character based pictogram language (think hieroglyphs, almost like emoji) that was most likely centaur. One medical diagram was of a disected and dismembered centaur with dark, very scary looking cat symbols (refered to as the disease or infection) behind eyes, in ears, on tongue, deep in sinuses, and on spine. It also showed that the brain was carefully taken apart and looked at, but the infection was not present there.

He and Adaine deduced that Kalina could only look through one person at a time using their senses and couldn't get into their brains, but could cause paralysis. The only safe place would be the moon haven/Kristen's hallow, but Kalina might be able to ride one of the infected into the haven if she was actively trying to do it. They could however talk anywhere using telepathy (such as the message spell).

Was worried about going to hell while infected, but later said "I meantioned that I was concerened about going to hell and her possibly being able to see the trial, but hell is also bad so I don't really care if they end up fighting and killing each others. Let's just go to hell. Also, they're super far along already. They have Gortholax and they're in. So it's not like... yeah."

Might have internalized racism/goblinphobia and has bias towards devils (both from his reactions in this episode and his reaction to Gortholax in season 1)

Suspicious of devils and doesn't think they should be super cool with them (quote in dialogue link), later becoming upset over what Hangman said about goblins ("Oh like goblins have such a great reputation.") and the others reaction to his and The Hangman's statement.

Road into hell holding onto Fig's back.

Upon seeing Gilear knocked out, said "See I told you that hell was bad! I mean, this is awesome, but this is bad." Pointed out the irony of Gilear getting mad at him a long time ago for stealing the first aid kit that gave him the healing feat.

After Hangman said the evil souls were murderers, thieves, and liars, he started sweating and said "Liars huh?" (side note: Riz has actually done all three)

Grabbed Gilear's face and investigated him to figure out why he was so confident (he said no to an offer from Sandra Lynn). Hissed at Gilear and then apologized, saying they were in hell, it was weird, and the things said about goblins earlier made him feel kinda crazy

Hissed at Vraz repeatedly, even after she threatened him.

To Vraz "Well I'm Riz The Ball and I'm just gonna ROLL WITH THIS! We're here! We're here for your trial thing! *hiss*" Is held back by Gilear while Fig tried to push him forward towards Vraz (told her to stop it)

Hissed at Vraz again (when she was mean to Fig) saying Vraz calling somebody in the middle of a trial was weird before the pair got in another hissing/screaming match. Asked The Hangman to hold him back and got his foot run over.

Fabian

Ownes 250 to 312 pairs of shoes (depending how many have been thrown away or given to childen), has size 5 feet (and is self conscious about it), said he had delicate feet and was lithe and dexterous, and his father had small feet and mother had normal sized feet

Said "god damn it" when he discovered Krumpkin wore the same size shoes as him, lied and said he had big toes and wore a 5.5 because he didn't to exchange shoes with a gnome, and quietly said "...let's go" when Gorgug asked if he wanted little bells on his shoes (side note: was he teased in the past?)

Completely confused by tinkerers logbook, so he deferred to Gorgug. Tried to help by rubbing his sheet on the gold coins they were buying supplies with, but nothing happened

Was nervous about buying or using dusk moss, saying he knew a guy who tried it while wearing a hat and now he always felt like he's wearing the hat. Told the rest of the group "We bought so many drugs." when they dot back.

Fabian's bardic "You feel the power of Fabian's support and care for you" (the explanation of his new stats is linked below)

When asked if he wanted to stay in the Tinkerer's Hall, he answered "Absolutely. With all these weird little men and women. No thank you. Ragh, let's go!"

Has a bunch of private stuff on his phone that he doesn't want anybody seeing

Tried to ride Hangman into hell, but caught by the briars and ejected as the portal closed

Told Hangman "You are literally the sweetest meanest thing ever."

Mutters "Go off The Ball, go off" while Riz was in a different dimension from him (yelling at Vraz in hell)

Said he didn't worry about his father as he was thriving, but he missed him. When told he could get word to him, originally assumed Bill would be busy, then agreed but asked Hangman not to be needy about it, then tried to pretend that he was cool either way and that he didn't need it and it wouldn't fill him with joy, then admitted that it would fill him with joy, and finally just asking "yes please do it"

Likes a warm hot tub due to it being better for his skin and he can stay in there longer

(Multiple quotes can be found in the dialogue link below)

Hangman

His presence (a devil) closed the portal to hell, seperating him from Fabian. He could still talk to Fabian telepathically, but freaked out. When asked to turn it down, he replied "I can't turn it down, I'm sad!"

Said that the portal was created for the dark tribunal and afterwards the devils are required to deposite them from where they came from

Gave Gilear his mark by making his eyes glow dark red pinpricks and etching an infernal ruin of blood and fire on his forehead

Got pissed off over Gilear having to ride on him, but did it to stop his complaining. Meanwhile, Riz also road on him (with a "Huzzah!") and Fig tired a rope around him so she could wakeboard on her skateboard behind him

Approved of Riz hissing at Gilear

Said the souls falling into The Bottomless Pit were evil and of murderers, theives, and liars

Got the tribunal to allow them to stay at The Bottomless Pit (as Fig was both Gortholax's daughter and she had passage there) instead of prison

When he was told only Fig was going to go in the hot tub, he pouted and said "I want to go too!"

Offered to send word to Bill Seacaster for Fabian

Gilear

Made fratatas (with both spinach and kale) immediately, but they all got very cold due to the teens being away for hours (were so cold that they thought he put them in the freezer)

He was not "the face" when he worked in Fallenel at the elven counsel (where he said he was a glorified paralegal), but was still an expert in international and interplaner law

When Fig told him that it was his moment and she needed him, he immediately replied with "Nope!". He eventually gave his word to help, but was confused about how they got into trouble in Arborly, discovering the trial was both in hell ("what? what? oh no.") and delivered by a really keyed up woman who was probably working through something ("I...what have you done?")

From Adaine's jacket, was given a barrister wig from Fig ("None of the cultures I've worked for use these wigs"), a gavel from Kristen, and a black robe from Adaine

Found that the subpoena had no clause concerning ther souls, but hell would send people to get Fig if she didn't go

Wears boat shoes and had a powerful aura of disease coming from his feet (again Gilear DOCTOR! or have a healer greater restore!)

His bald spot was hit by a bit of fire before a blast of fire hit him and knocked him out, setting his wig on fire. He was healed by Riz, but left with burns.

Was given the Mark of The Hangman, which was an infernal ruin of blood and fire etched on his forehead which caused a red force field to appear that protected him from the fire as long as he was with The Hangman

Noticed how Fig was acting (library card behind ear) and started asking her questions, but she dodged them until Riz confronted him about his confidence and got him to confess "I got confidence because Sandra Lynn asked to sleep with me and I said no!" Said that he and Sandra Lynn talking until morning and towards the end she made an offer, he said "No. Thank you", and everyone was still happy and fine afterwards

Told Riz he was very scary and intense sometimes, resulting in Riz hissing at him

Did not actually help during the trial due to fear.

(Has multiple quotes in dialogue link.)

Sandra Lynn

Covered for the teens messaging by talking about finding where Adaine's mom entered the forest as the teens nodded along

Had to explain to her daughter that her and Gilear slept together, but she could have gotten the Kalina disease anytime in the last 3 years and Gilear wouldn't have been infected ("I love you. It's weird. Sorry for all this weird info.")

On Kristen attempting to handcuff her "So help me god Kristen Applebees. I understand that I work for you, but so help... wow."

No longer with Jawbone, but ended on good terms

Was very kind to Gilear the first night in Arborly. She offered to sleep with him at one point and was turned down.

When she asked what the teens were messaging about (dusk moss), Kristen said Spring Break and suggested Sandra Lynn have a spa day with a hot tub soak and a massage with cucumbers on her eyes. Gorgug suggested cucumbers on her ears. Fabian said they should get the weird gnomes to pound her (dear god Fabian! XD) with Kristen saying "gnomes all over your body", Adaine adding that they would walk on her back, and Fabian adding that the little shoe bells would be meditative

Ragh

Asked for a lost spring from the tinkerers

Wears a size 17.5 shoe (quote in dialogue link)

Was paranoid about buying dusk moss (ARE YOU A COP!?), but after Crumpkin's reaction, he grabbed Fabian and Gorgug's arms and said "I think drugs are legal here"

Took a solid chunk of dusk moss and was found staring at his hand ("My hand is just little animal on the end of your arm")

Came into the van later, shirtless and looking like he'd sweat ten gallons. Said "Everything in the world is connected", (on Adaine thinking of trying it) "Adaine, for real? I can never be anxious again because I don't even know if I can ever be fully in my body again.", and (response to Fabian saying it sounds scary) "No no. I'm part of the universe dude" before drinking a glass of water and going off to go to bed.

***

Gnomes

Crumpkin Springbill

Head Tinkerer of the Tinkerer's Hall of Arborly

Confused as to why anybody would be mad about people buying or using dusk moss

Told Gorgug that it would take a long time and a lot of materals to build a cell tower

Size 5 shoes (but likes a little toe room) with curled toes so he can puts little bells on them (sounds like the general style of shoes for the gnomes there as well)

Said hello to Zelda enthusiastically over a video call

Polly Pullypad and Osmand Wobbletrouble

Accidentally flew into where they stacked all the old pots and pans (Polly)

Brought Gorgug his altered shoes back and bowed to Gorgug

Asked to examine Gorgug's crystal in exchange for the spring shoes (Osmand)

Suggested they try to skip building a cell tower and connect directly to a satellite

(Unnamed Twins)

Shallower cone hats with tufts of fur on the ends of springs

Took gorgug shoes off his feet

***

Devils

Vraz the Mean

Sarcastic erinyes with a +13 insight and a beautiful but uncannoy vally porcelain face with a beauty mark

When Fig and Kristen asked if she could leave the door open so they could follow "Are you guys having a fun time? BECAUSE YOU SEEM PRETTY FUCKING GLIB! Keep your sass to yourself!", but still left the door open

Got hissed at by Riz a lot (multiple quotes in dialogue)

Said she is having a bad time between her title (Vraz The Mean), species (Erinyes), running hell, and her title (Arch Secretary)

Called the tribunal into order (with her two co-jurors in a room with a small 3 seat judges bench), stating that it concerned the issue of Gortholax's infernal negligence

Tried to call her boss Blozo, but he couldn't come due to traffic

Found that being trapped in a gem counted as extenuating circumstances and he would not be punished, but they needed a new regnant for the Bottomless Pit so they called a recess while they consulted the bylaws.

Yelled at Fig for asking for help after the recess saying (in a durr voice) " *points at temple* Do you know what words mean!? Do you know what words mean!? *jacking off motion* Huh?"

Was going to imprison "the mortals", but was convinced by Hangman to put them under house arrest at The Bottomless Pit

Kystrona (Ky-stron-ah) The Chained

Vaguely humanoid figure that is just like

A person with chains coiled where arms would be as well as the torso and head, making a massive mound of chains

Moved with a lot of strain (including trying to shrug) and voice is muffled from all the chains

Lorzug (lore-zug) The Impaled

Bone thin naked person with incredibly pale skin and translucent vains all over

Impaled through the stomach about 10 feet up a jet black iron spike as they kick and scream

Only responded with screams

Retch Rot

Tiny blood red imp with a scorpion tail summoned by Fig's blood (calls her mistress)

Might look like a red Boggy with really long legs for his size (Ally wondered if he looked like "a really famous mouse", including suspenders, but I personally give Emily's description more weight as she is in fact in hell as Fig)

Valet to Fig while in the Bottomless Pit

Wanted to show them to their quarters and the many doors of The Bottomless Pit (but had to make it clear that the doors were just rooms in the pit and not portals)

***

Other Stuff From 2.13

***

<- Prevous

Next ->

[To be added]

[bubblellop]

*has a gun* Tell me about the songs you associate with your characters or else. I need to know. Give me all the music. Also you're legal obligated to mention a Lemon Demon song sorry I don't make the rules.

As i said, ill give u a deal and have them ALL be lemon demon music, because i hate myself. Also because i cannot choose 1 song that fits my oc out of my whole playlists (yes. I have playlists for each of my ocs.) Oh and as a fun fact, that post a while ago where i talked about "a terrible art idea" was me doing 6 different drawings using lyrics from different spirit phone songs to each of my ocs, it had palettes and everything but id figure no one would wanna see that so i will probably never do it lol. So yes this has been planned from a long time ago and i am deeply ashamed of myself.

Anyway onto the songs lol

Also these r all from spirit phone cuz that album is a banger from start to finish.

Adalia

Im just starting to realize how fucking hard is going to be to explain these choices with this type of fuckin music. God damnit. Okay so the themes of themes of blind admiration and reviving the dead for selfish needs...actually goes well with her....i know this sounds crazy but just...trust me. Adalia has experience with reviving the dead akdoskxodvkxwhythefuckisthisathingohmygodbubbleareyouokay

Its the first song and im already going insane...great

Lilyana

This song is like, REALLY calm yet the lyrics are like...kinda sinister. Its just describes a cycle of DEATH. So yeah that fits lily well lol (you really need to trust me with all of these okay, this wasnt easy OKAY) also its the last song...adalia has the first song...hah aint that funny.

Oliver

This was one of the easier ones. Love song about a human and an alien??? Sign him the FUCK up. I dont even need to EXPLAIN this shit. Falling in love with a weird mysterious being from beyond the stars, the fear, the curiosity, the willingness to go with them anywhere even if you both might not fully understand eachother but still wanna be by eachothers side......yes.

Rhett

Asddfkg the machinery talk in here really vibes with Rhett okay. Theres more to it but, im tired and im just stalling my time for the BIG one thats coming. Also Rhett would totally listen to Lemon demon and that kinda scares me on its own.

Stephanie

We are really going off the fucking rails arent we. This is another that just...vibes with Stef i guess. The beat itself is like, really her style oKAY, ALSO THIS SONG IS GOOD LOL, SHE DESERVES IT. I am really running out of bullshit excuses huh.

Sophie

Ah fuCK FINALLY WE GOT HERE- THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE I CARED ABOUT ANYWAY. This one actually goes REALLY FUCKING WELL with Sophie, if i HAD to choose a single song for Soph, IT WOULD BE THIS ONE. 1. Sophie obviously has an interest in Adalia's species, to a creepy extent may i add. So yes it goes well with the theme of aliens!!! 2. The obsession of being heard, of being right, of being the one is exactly like her, she wants to be the one to find out and to be right about her theories, not to mention she's lowkey a narcisist so of course she wants to be recognized and special, to prove everyone who wronged her 3. This one is actually kind of spoilery, but the second verse of the song....specially the "youre the only person in the world who'd understand the meaning of this", i can reallly picture who she would be talking about and im just aksidofks. Yes. Oh and "im an expert, just like you" also goes well with the idea mentioned. And yeah alot of lines like "better to be laughed at than wrong" they all go really well...im sobbing.... This is one of those songs that i have like, an entire animatic in my head planned out till the very last part. Its been haunting me for so long okay.

Oh god this is finally over, it only took me...40 minutes to write. Fuck. I hate this.

Also hah u wish mobile had the extend cut option in these cases huh....fuck you im shoving this whole post into your eyeballs.

[fadedtoblue]

NYCC 2018 Daredevil Season 3 Clips: Spoilers abound!

Sorry this is a little late - I had drafted everything on mobile but I couldn’t do read more cuts and figured it was worth waiting until I was back at my computer, just in case. I don’t want to spoil anyone who is actually trying to avoid that stuff.

Anyway, this is a Very Spoilery write up of the clips we saw at NYCC the other day. Pardon any errors or nonsense - I wrote this quite late the other evening and no mobile no less. I might be a little bit fuzzy on certain specifics right now but the major beats should be covered! I’ve also tried to match up screengrabs from the released trailers to add context. Read at your own risk under the cut...

Clip #1: Matt and Maggie

Scene opens with two little boys poking around a disgruntled Matt who is lying in bed. We soon find out that these are little boys who live at St. Agnes, the orphanage Matt himself grew up in, and where he is apparently convalescing. Sister Maggie comes in to shoo them off - she comes off as very strict and humorless, which comes into play when she starts chatting with Matt as she’s redressing his wounds. They talk about he was young and he was her charge at the orphanage. They also talk about Matt being the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen (he had to have been dropped off in his costume I guess!) and go into a back and forth about his senses and how it all works. Maggie also emphasizes to Matt that since he’s mostly healed, he’ll need to find another place to stay.

Clip #2: Karen and Foggy

Karen and Foggy are having a hushed conversation in the Nelson family butcher shop. Karen thinks Matt might be alive because she’s heard about some guy in a black mask running around town. Foggy firmly disagrees, implying that it’s not possible, and this whole thing is clearly a sore subject for them. Karen asks something like don’t you want to be sure that this isn’t your best friend running around out is there and Foggy seems resigned, saying that if that were actually his best friends, then Matt would have come to them already. Karen leaves, upset.

Clip #3: Special Agent Nadeem and Fisk

This is inside the prison, Nadeem and Fisk sit across each other at a table. Nadeem starts to give some FBI spiel as but stops part way, thinking this whole thing with Fisk is nothing more than a charade. Fisk doesn’t see it that way, and launches into a speech about how he’s been willing to pay the debt on his crimes, but he refuses to accept that the person he loves (Vanessa) should pay for those crimes too. I can’t remember that particulars now, but this is basically when Fisk asks to strike a deal - he’ll become an informant in exchange for a Vanessa’s safety.

Clip #4: Matt vs. FBI

The scene opens inside a car, which happens to belong to Big Ben Donavan; Matt lurks menacingly behind the drivers seat while Ben is unaware. Matt then pulls a cord across Ben’s neck and threatens to choke him in exchange for information - why did Fisk flip on the Albanians and what his greater plan is. Ben gives some answers that are clearly unsatisfactory to Matt, who pulls the cord even tighter - Ben insists that Fisk is doing this all for Vanessa, but Matt believes it has to be more than that. Before he can finish interrogating Ben, feds enter that parking garage level, and Matt tries to make an escape. So begins Matt basically working in stealth mode and trying to take out the agents one at a time, almost succeeding, until he runs face to face with an agent aiming a gun at his face. Matt goes into ass kicking mode, taking down the agents even though he pleads with them to not do this. One of the agents yells at Matt that these guys have families - it feels like the seeds are being sown for DD becoming public enemy #1, at least with the Feds.

Clip #5: Introducing Agent Dex

Fisk’s FBI convoy is shot out of the road but what I assume is heavy weaponry, flipping the car over and knocking out all the passengers, including Fisk. When Fisk comes to, he’s shouting for Nadeem and he realizes there’s some serious shit going on outside. He actually looks a little nervous - FBI agents surround the overturned vehicle, firing on an unknown group of assailants, who are packing a lot of firepower and taking down the agents. They clear out the group and turn to trying to get Fisk out of the car, shooting at the windows to weaken the glass and bringing in machinery to cut through the door, presumably to capture him for themselves and some unknown purpose. Before they finish, there is suddenly someone gunning for the group. He picks everyone off cleanly and accurately, one by one. When it appears he might be out numbered, he throws dual knives straight into two dudes’ throats. He headshots the remaining mystery assailants, right as Fisk manages to get out of the vehicle, and slowly lower himself to the ground with hands on his head. Agent Dex has his gun trained straight on Fisk - this is the first time they cross paths.

Clip #6: Bullseye Teaser, which everyone has already seen!

Clip #7: Matt vs. Bullseye

Okay this was some crazy bonkers bullshit. I’ll give you a chance to stop reading bc it might be worth experiencing totally fresh on the show but if you wanna keep going, then you do you.

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Scene opens with Foggy walking into the Bulletin newsroom. The first thing he sees is a dead employee, bloody on the ground. His eyes move across the room and he sees the back of Daredevil. Foggy is clearly confused. Fake Daredevil turns around and makes eye contact with Foggy, who is stock still, whether from fear or confusion, it’s not clear. Fake Daredevil, who is Bullseye, reaches down to pull his billy club out of another employee’s head. Then he lobs it across the room directly at Foggy’s head, when it is suddenly stopped right in front of his face by Matt, who is wearing an improvised black outfit. Foggy is stunned AF and eventually turns and runs out of the room - he goes out a door and closes it, only to find Karen and two other employees holed up while she’s pointing a gun at the door.

Back to Matt and Bullseye - we see Matt holding the baton and both of them sizing each other up and that’s where we get the “Who are you?” “I’m Daredevil.” exchange. At this point, shit suddenly gets REALLY real and I don’t think I can even convey the specific order and particulars of this crazy ass fight, not in a way that does it justice. It starts out hand to hand, and Matt is putting up a solid fight. Unfortunately, they are fighting in a newsroom full of office supplies, which basically becomes a limitless toy box of weapons for Bullseye. I can’t remember the exact order as the scene bounces all over the room, but Matt is woefully underprepared for this. 

There is definitely the moment when Bullseye bounces the baton off the ground and straight into Matt’s face - ow. Then the fight goes another level of crazy - basically any piece of office furniture, accessory, or equipment becomes a deadly weapon in Bullseye’s hands. Moments include: Bullseye grabbing a handful of pencils right when Matt pulls up part of a desk to shield himself - every pencil pierces partially through stopping short of his face. Bullseye nailing Matt in the head with a computer monitor, a stapler, like...everything, and this is WHILE Matt is dodging and flipping and crashing through furniture, doing his usual shit. He gets hit by EVERYTHING. There is a moment when he is hiding behind the wall of a cubicle, Bullseye grabs a roll of tape (?) aims it the wall opposite Matt and bounces it straight into this face. Or Matt is trying to quietly take an xacto knife or similar looking utility item off someone’s desk, but Bullseye shoots some other office item at his hand before he can pick it up, as if he were sniping him with a gun. There’s another crazy moment when Bullseye chucks a large crystal ball looking paperweight or snow globe or something at Matt’s head, which he catches, but he shoots a pencil straight into the globe and explodes it in his hand. Matt does manage to distract him long enough by making a noisy diversion, at which point he launches into him and resumes hand to and and does whatever he can to take Bullseye down, keeping his arm pinned back just out of reach of a pair of scissors in a pencil cup...but he manages to get his hands on it, and flicks the scissors STRAIGHT INTO MATT, which completely throws him off and onto the ground, at which point a bookshelf falls on top of him (or he may have fallen into shelving) and Bullseye basically stomps his face. 

Matt is out and Bullseye looks gleeful about what he did - a small maniacal smile crosses his lips. But then there are sirens that sound like they’re getting closer and that’s probably what saves Matt from getting seriously wrecked or killed.

Again I feel like I’m doing a shit job of describing just how incredible this scene was. You fully grasp the extent of Bullseye’s abilities straight away and everything is filled with a ruthlessness. Matt is STRUGGLING. It’s just bonkers good okay?

Anyway, that’s it for the clips. I am so hyped for DDS3, you could not believe. October 19 cannot come soon enough!

[voicedimplosives]

If you feel like answering I’d love to know what your writing process is like! Do you outline/plan in advance? Do you research before writing the chapter or kind of as you go? Your fic is stunning and updates so quickly for how much work must go into it!

Hi, I’d be happy to talk about that! As @luminousreylo and @arroways can attest, I outline fairly extensively before I write but it is often chaotic, stream-of-consciousness word salad hiding in the guise of an organized bullet-point outline. Before I get down to writing the first chapter I may spend a week, up to two weeks just stewing and scribbling. Most of that goes in the outline. It might be plot points, snippets of dialogue, character beats, it all gets thrown in there.

And then I start writing and half of it gets thrown out the window or moved forward/back! (I also add quite a bit as I’m writing and figuring out the characters and/world). I try to keep a balance between what I’ve intended the story to be and what kind of feels right to me - what feels natural for the characters - in the moment that I am writing. When I’m finished I’ll change either the scene or the outline as needed.

As for the research, it’s a combination of both! It depends what the chapter will be. For example: before I began writing chapter 6, I knew my characters would be visiting Vershinino, in the Plesetsky district. So I looked up those things, which lead to my learning about Kenozersky National Park, Saint Nicholas Chapel, and the massive depopulation of Siberian villages in the 90’s. So that was like… baseline research.

And then as I am writing, I always have thesaurus.com open in like three tabs because mine is a simple brain. Plus I had to look up saint names/religious names when I decided they’d talk to a priest, after seeing photos of the beautiful chapel and deciding I wanted them to go to there!

That led me to chatting with @alsterellie about what kind of priest might be tending to an old church (and she steered me towards widower priestmonk, which led to my research about hieromonks!).

Plus educating myself on the names of the different architectural elements inside an orthodox church, and what kind of history the priestmonk might have had living and preaching through the second half of the 20th century in the Soviet Union.

Okay that was a lengthy little tale but I hope it shows you how the research is a combination of what I’ve set out to write based on my rambling outline, what I discover during my initial research and get intrigued by and want to dig deeper into, and what details I need to flesh out the world as I’m writing. Thank you for the lovely question!! 💕

(Here’s a fun, cozy dacha gif for you, in case seeing all of that was way too much writing! I’m on the mobile app and cannot for the life of me figure out how to put a ‘read more’ cut in these posts. It doesn’t seem to be a feature in the app… Anyways, sorry about this block of text!)

[soloshikigami]

*small sigh*

Okay, look, I’ve been getting a handful of messages, all on Anon, a couple of them I posted and most of the rest, I’m sorry, but I’m ignoring. They’re not being out-right mean or rude, but that almost makes it worse, because you (the anons) think you’re being helpful and frankly, you really aren’t.

Quick example, the anon who sent me the “Oh do this, challenge yourself and you’ll be a better writer!” I was actually quite offended by that. As an artist, constant improvement is the name of the game, so to be told that is a little insulting. Also, it comes off as unsolicited advice, which is even more insulting coming from someone hiding behind the anonymous tag. I didn’t ask for a challenge, I think trying to keep up with what I currently have on my plate is quite enough, thank you very much.

I really do not want to be a bitch about this and I probably am coming off as such anyway, but I really don’t want to but I cannot keep silent. Please read what you are sending me, remember that I am a human being with a life outside of Tumblr on the other side, and think about your intent. 

This is all the basic tl;dr portion of my post. I have more to say, most of it irrelevant, so I’m putting it behind a cut and will likely delete that portion later.

This is the reason why I resented being told to take on something as a challenge - they told me to pick my personal most hated couple and write a story about them. Why? I write for fandom for fun. Yes I will take some things as a challenge but that it at my discretion. Also, quite frankly, ho do you know I’m not already doing this? Maybe I don’t really like Edgeberry, maybe Slim/Swap makes no sense to me, maybe I really do think fontcest is weird and strange but I’m so intrigued that I do it anyway? (that last bit is a small lie, I love fontcest in all it’s weird taboo-ness).

But also, this is why I find it insulting:

- at the time, I had a 2K word commission, and I was just given another. - I have a 1600 word prize fic to write. - I have 6 drabbles to write for prizes for the Valentine’s Day event. - I have 5 more drabbles I want to write for friends from Atlantale because I want to show them love. - I was talked into writing a fic by my Atlantale housemates based on a Buzzfeed video. - I want to write more HaremTale - I want to write more TwixtTale - I want to write more Gradient - I want to finish Family Dynamic - I want to write more for the Heat Sync Series and maybe, omg, finish that, too - I have a Sans and Papyrus “kidnap” Blue fic I want to write. - Oh right I still have Forgive Me, Father to do. - I’m still working on a master fic list which includes going through my 200+ drabbles and separating them by pairing as well as my 5000 posts on tumblr to ink up the fics I’ve posted here (so the Anon who asked me about going back to put my old posts under cuts... did I answer that? I dunno, but again, they should be anyways, so, back off).

But apparently, I need to add a challenge. Oh, and I need to work faster, update more often, and put all my fics under cuts now that I know how to do it on mobile.

And this is just fandom side. Let’s look at the other half of my life:

- I have a house, a cat, and six chickens to care for and maintain, which not only includes clean-up, but yardwork with leaf pick-up and tree destruction (half a tree fell down during a storm back in October - we still need to figure out how to cut that up and get rid of it). - Dishwasher is one the fritz and a bathroom sink faucet is leaking. Repairing these is left up to me. - My job is getting more complex; this is fine because it beats being bored but I’m a little stressed because we’re all still trying to catch up from a major mistake I made at the worst possible time (of course), I’m being given inventory responsibility but I have no access to said inventory and don’t really know or understand what’s expected of me, plus training girl in a faraway office who doesn’t want the responsibilities I’m training her for. - My truck is at the end of its rope, getting a new(er) vehicle is inevitable and will be needed very soon.

There’s also a lot of other stressors going on as well as my own physical and mental problems, so, if you Anons can back the fuck off and be a little nicer, I would very much appreciate it.

So thank you, now that I’m done being a whiny little do-nothing bitch and feel like a lazy shit, I’m going to do the grocery shopping and try to do something productive with my pathetic little life, a’ight? A’ight.