#there were probably more confession scenes that i loved but these were the first five that came to mind

[silverraes]

Top 5 confessions

asjgjksgda I'm sorry it took me a while to get to this, I was trying to finish like a dozen things at once lmao. but this is a good question and it definitely took me some time to answer this

so here it finally is, my top 5 confession scenes:

1) "what do you think having a boyfriend is like?" - "like this, perhaps" (Moonlight Chicken)

I wouldn't be me if I didn't immediately bring up HeartLiming for this question. I just love how naturally everything between these two developed, no big drama, no big miscommunication, they both knew they liked each other and there was no need for a big dramatic confession scene. this was the perfect way to have these two end up as official boyfriends and I loved everything about it

2) First confessing to "Zee" surrounded by trash (Twins)

these two are so fucking dumb (affectionate) and this just fit them perfectly. also First actually expressing the way he felt the second he figured out what those feelings were was very sexy of him and I wish more characters would do it.

3) Tew's beach confession (My Dear Gangster Oppa)

once again: communication! we love to see it. Tew figured out what was going on between them and just told Guy straight up "you like me and I like you" right when Guy needed to hear it, no overly prolonged will-they-won't-they drama

4) the "let's be boyfriends" scene (Pit Babe)

okay so this wasn't exactly a confession but I'm still counting it as one. at this point they both already knew they were whipped for each other and Babe actually decided to do sth about it, good for him.

also this scene showed perfectly just how babygirl Babe is. taking your not-yet-boyfriend out on a date so you can ask him out underneath the stars at your favorite spot that you've never taken any of your other fuck buddies to? I knew our boy was a romantic at heart

also the whiplash of the immediate mpreg confirmation follow-up was unparalleled

5) "let me win you over" (Hidden Agenda)

okay so usually I'm not a huge fan of the whole "I'll prove to you that you like me too" thing but in this one it was actually executed pretty well? Zo was already kinda figuring out that he liked Joke but struggling to accept his feelings and Joke reacted to that by making it clear that he liked Zo too, thus reassuring him that those feelings were perfectly fine to have

say about this show what you will, the chemistry between these two was definitely chemistrying

Ask me my top 5 anything of BL!

[vintagetvstars]

Claude Rains Vs. William Hopper

Propaganda

Claude Rains - (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wagon Train, Rawhide) - "The reason I got into Old Hollywood and started studying theatre and film! He's such a little cutie as well as a smoking hot, velvet voiced morsel of evil - he's that good and can play both so easily!..." text propaganda continued below the cut.

William Hopper - (Perry Mason) - "Why do I love him? The list abounds..." text propaganda continued below the cut.

Master Poll List | How to submit propaganda | What is vintage? (FAQ)

Additional propaganda below the cut

Claude Rains:

While he might be more famous for his movie roles(like Casablanca, The Invisible Man, Lawrence of Arabia, Now, Voyager, and Mr. Skeffington to name a few!), he was also a television star in his own right! He had lots of guest spots on various shows but in the tv-realm, he's probably the most well known for his work for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and was a frequent collaborator with Hitch himself, having the spotlight for five episodes! My favorite tv performance of his was playing Father Amion in the episode "The Horseplayer", where he plays the kindest priest who gets taken for a ride and it's so heartbreaking to see him in tears where he confesses that it's his fault the church's funds were used for less than better means (but it all works out in the end!). It's such an honest performance and it's a refreshing change from all his evil villians (but we love them anyway!) he'd done in the past. Another favorite performance of mine is his performance as Leonard Eldridge in the episode "The Door Without a Key", a seemingly amnesiac old man who makes a bond with a lost boy in a police station. They're adorable together and I found myself tearing up a little when they both confess how lonely they are in the world.

William Hopper -

William Hopper was a tall guy (6'3"!) but such a gentle sweetheart. He was in acting for the majority of his life (barring serving as a frogman in WWII and working as a car salesman post-war for a few years), but he really stepped into his own with his role as Private Detective Paul Drake in the Perry Mason TV Series from 1957-1966. William Hopper actually didn't really love the Hollywood scene, mostly because he grew up with it since he was a child. His mother was Hedda Hopper and she really wanted him to be an actor and became quite overbearing about it, but he was more of an introverted soul. He first started out in films in his early 20s, but William Hopper always felt like people were giving him jobs because of his mother's influence with her gossip column. HOWEVER, after the war and after William Hopper sold cars for a few years, he came back to acting but he said he was only going to come back if 1) he did it his way/gave himself to it and 2) his mother stayed out of his career so he could make it on his own. Those two things happened, and William Hopper made his own way.

His big major starring role in a television series was, without a doubt, Perry Mason. He was Private Detective Paul Drake. To take on that role, William Hopper personally went out and made friends with Private Detectives to try to bring their experiences to his role. William Hopper also was credited by Alan Alda for showing the acting world how to shine as an actor without demanding the spotlight all the time. Alda said: “William Hopper’s ability to be present in a scene without demanding the spotlight is an art form in itself. He showed us that one can shine without the blinding glare.” Which, I think, really was a big testament to William Hopper playing a private detective--- he was always commanding the series and making the moves and observations that led to finding the guilty person in a criminal case, but he was always doing so in a way that was true to the work of a private detective: hiding and working in plain sight.

Other fun facts about William Hopper that make him so lovable: he LOVED the beach and loved fishing and swimming. When he wasn't filming for Perry Mason (they would film 6 days a week for 1 episode during filming), William Hopper would go to the beach. According to an interview, William Hopper's personal wardrobe was mostly casual clothes: swim trunks, sandals, and sweatshirts. He took all his formal wear to the Perry Mason set and just kept it there to wear when he played Paul Drake. He said if he ever had to go to a formal occasion, he would just go drive to the Perry Mason set and pick out one of his outfits. But the formal wear he had was bold! He wore houndstooth jackets, various checked patterns, and herringbone. If he wasn't at the beach, he loved to go to baseball games. In school, he played sports: swimming, baseball, boxing, and basketball.

he's the guy on the far left - I know his face is hard to see here but I'm going for the Hot Vintage Man bare shoulders vibe:

I spoke before about how William Hopper made a lasting impact as an actor portraying Paul Drake and shining without demanding the spotlight, but he also made a lasting contribution to Paul Drake's character. Paul Drake was a character based on Erle Stanley Gardner's books, which were published between 1933-1973. When William Hopper got the role as Paul Drake in the Perry Mason TV show from 1957-1966, Gardner was still writing the books. When asked about playing Paul Drake, William Hopper said: "If they thought they were getting Paul Drake, they were mistaken. Because what they got was me, nobody else. I play him my way. Now I'm amused to read Gardner's new books. Paul Drake comes out like me."

He made such a lasting impression on Paul’s character on TV that even the author of the books started writing Paul like William Hopper's interpretation!

There's also an anecdote from the wardrobe supervisor on the set of Perry Mason who said William Hopper was a very kind man, a good guy, and a good actor. William Hopper's cast mate, Raymond Burr, once said that "William Hopper was even more precise, more good looking, more fun" in real life than what we, the viewers, got to see him on screen.

To add some more to Raymond Burr's point that William Hopper was "fun", he liked to play practical jokes with his castmates on Perry Mason. In an interview, William Hopper said "You might say there's never a serious moment except on camera." He and all his castmates on the set loved to play jokes with each other to make each other laugh. So he was just a fun guy to be around, apparently!

Also, in the final season of Perry Mason, William Hopper cut a tendon on his foot while filming and he wound up in a cast. They had to rewrite the final episodes so that William Hopper didn't have to do a lot of running around like he usually does. Well, in all those final episodes, you wouldn't even tell that William Hopper was in a cast and having to move around in crutches. And I realize that yeah, they rewrote the scripts to help, but William Hopper doesn't waiver once and doesn't let on about his injury. Plus, according to an interview, the cast attached a little horn to William Hopper's crutches and William Hopper would honk the horn when he was coming to let his cast mates know he was there. Which I just kind of think is sweet.

idk I feel like his hands are pretty beautiful here:

Also, I talked before about William Hopper struggling a bit in finding his own way in acting. It wasn't really until he got into TV shows and with Perry Mason that he felt like he found his place and enjoying acting. Before, William talked about being nervous in front of the camera, but it was working on a LIVE TV show with Claire Trevor when he said, "I was so scared I canceled. I swore I'd never act again as long as I lived. Then I thought, what the heck, they can't shoot me, and walked on the set. Something happened then. It was as if someone had surgically removed the nerves."

And when he talks about his role as Paul Drake, he said, "I'm very fond of him, and as long as Perry Mason is around on television defending various and sundry clients, Paul and I will be very happy to be around helping him."

So he really came into his own as Paul Drake, which I really love about William Hopper. To know he found his way and made something he felt proud of.

Also in terms of William Hopper being physically attractive, I mean, he was so incredible. He once said he was just a guy with premature grey hair and a non throbbing actor, but I personally think he's a heart throb. He had the most loveable smile, broad shoulders, a deep, sultry voice, amazing chest hair (lol), and like.. really absurdly beautiful hands?!? He was also really tall and strong but also by every account he was really gentle and sweet. Larger than life. Sometimes in the Perry Mason shows, William Hopper would swim and he has an incredible swim scene that rivals Mr. Darcy. He's in swim trunks and wins a swim race and comes dripping out of the pool to make anyone swoon. I just love him!

[oneshlut]

I loved your hcs for Varian so much! 😍 Could you possibly write some fluffy headcanons got him having a crush and how'd he confess? Tysm for bringing me back to the TTS fandom 🙇‍♀️

A/N: OOH YESYES!!! im so glad you enjoyed my var hcs!! honestly one of my fav nerds to write forr, these already sound so fluffy to write! tooth-rotting, even.. oh, and good to have you back in the fandom !

SORRY FOR THE LONG HIATUS!!

Angel (Varian x Reader) [Headcanons]

Rules For Requesting

Characters I Will Write For

Masterlist

Summary: General fluffy crushing and confession headcanons for Varian

Extra Info: haha hello dolly reference at the end because im obsessed

In Corona, love at first sight isn't necessarily common. Sure, Rapunzel and Eugene got together in the maximum of a week, but Rapunzel was threatening him at first sight. And when it comes to Varian, you're gonna have to know him for a while until real feelings start to develop. Not just puppy love.

Normally, the two of you would hang out.. maybe two days a week. If you're coming over to his place, you'll probably just spend the day chatting while Varian works on whatever new invention he's workshopping at the moment. Sometimes he'll let you help. Sometimes. Otherwise, at your place the two of you will usually.. uh. Well, leave. There's a forest right outside your house, which leads straight to a breathtaking view of all of Corona. Varian never cared for "pretty views", but.. if you did, he did as well. That same forest has equally great places for cloud watching, but when you didn't feel like being calm all the time, you and Varian would explore the depths of the forest, discovering new things. When he wanted to, Ruddiger would tag along.

The first "sorta" hint of feelings "somewhat" developing was Varian inviting you to hang out more often. Two days a week turned into three. Then four. Maybe five, if your schedule allowed it. Even then, he still couldn't get enough. On days when you wouldn't be able to see each other, hr would send letters to you to check up on you. Still keeping in mind to not come off as clingy.. despite how truly clingy he was. Of course, Varian still viewed you as a friend--a best friend. How oblivious.

Speaking of which, Varian is extremely oblivious to his own emotions. Ruddiger would be the first to know that he was crushing before Varian himself knew. Whenever he mentioned you as a "friend", Ruddiger would subtly roll his eyes. Especially when Varian would talk about you to him. Ruddiger knew better by the look in his eyes when he practically ranted about you, but Varian didn't.

The way he finds out that he has a crush on you is actually a bit cute. It was Rapunzel's and Eugene's anniversary, so they had a celebratory ball with most of the town invited. Varian had asked you to join him so you could meet people like Lance and Cassandra, since you hadn't really properly met them yet. That was a shocker. It wasn't a fancy celebration, almost like a birthday party, but it was enough to send butterflies to your stomach when he invited you.

There was a sort of "climax" in the party, where Eugene and Rapunzel danced together in the middle of the ballroom. Almost like something out of a fairytale. At the time, you and Varian were on opposite sides due to the group of people shuffling back to give the couple room to dance. You were talking to different people at the time, causing you two to be further apart than usual. Further than Varian wanted at this time.

Varian watched the couple dance around the marble-like floor, sighing at the scene. It was cute, and the idea that the two found eachother and stuck together in the end was.. nice. The idea of a soulmate.. it was sweet.

And for "some" reason, Varian found himself thinking about you. You and him on the dancefloor, instead of the couple that his eyes were glued on. Breaking away from the trance that was the rhythmic dancing, he switched his focus to the back of the room, channeling in on the sight of you. Embarrassingly, heat rose to his face. Varian looked away before you got the chance to notice his longing stare.

The thought of his feelings troubled him. Not in the way that he didn't want to like you--more so in the way that he knew that he would mess up even more infront of you now that he had the knowledge of his feelings. Maybe this was just another Cassandra crush. Maybe it'll just pass over time. After all, there is no way you'd even like him back. Is what he thought.

He was absolutely right. Now more than ever, he was extremely clumsy around you. When he saw you, he tripped over his feet. When he caught a glance from you in the middle of an experiment.. the experiment would blow up. Sometimes he would stumble over his words, saying things he didn't mean to say. He was so obvious, it was adorable. You could probably pick up on his feelings before he even confessed. Varian, as oblivious as he is, still thinks he's being super secretive about everything. He's not.

Like with Cassandra, Varian will constantly offer to help you with certain chores or just personal tasks. His love language is probably "Acts of Service", which is partly why he'll do anything and everything for you. Oh--and by the way, he was wrong. This crush did not pass over with time like Cassandra.

After about 2 months, he finally gets the courage to tell you. He knew he would just keep making a fool out of himself in front of you if he didn't. Over letter, he asked you to meet him out in the forest that the two of you always hung out in. Ruddiger had insisted to come along with him, as some sort of "hype-man". Reluctantly, Varian let him follow him out the door.

It wasn't hard for you to find him. It was your normal spot: a clearing in the trees that let the sun shine on the forest floor. When you saw him.. a rose color flushed to your cheeks. The sight was beautiful, Varian sitting on the forest floor, (not noticing you), with the glimmering light from the sun that made him look like an angel. Swallowing down your butterflies, you took a seat next to him in the soft grass.

Only then did Varian notice you, mumbling an awkward 'hello'. After a bit of comfortable silence, sounds of nature surrounding you two, Ruddiger slightly bit Varian's hand: a signal for him to get on with it. The raccoon quickly fled the scene with a 'shoo' hand signal from Varian.

You watched as he took out a flower from his opposite hand, surprised you hadn't noticed it before. He must've had it for a while--you didn't see him pick it up earlier. It was a sunflower, fitting for the area in the forest. You were glad now for the somewhat-blinding sun, it hid your blush fairly well.

If Varian's heart could stop beating, it definitely did now. He was already nervous about the very idea about telling you how he felt, but seeing you in the sunlight.. how breathtaking you looked.. it was almost too much for him to handle. So he decided to keep his confession short and sweet. If he talked for longer than 20 seconds he was sure to pass out.

"I.. I like you. Mo-More than I should.. a-and ifyoudon'tlikemebackthat'sfinejustpleasedon'thateme--and this is for you-!"

After rushing his confession, he quickly gave the sunflower to you before immediately looking away. You couldn't feel more flattered. And.. you felt suddenly bold.

Tapping him on his shoulder, he reluctantly turned to you to see your reaction.

And, with a sudden kiss, Varian was frozen. Not frozen enough to be cold--his face was actually extremely warm.

Realizing what had just happened, he fell to the forest floor on his back, laying down with his hands on his face. He couldn't be more embarrassed. He was supposed to be the confident one, not you. But thinking about it more, he minded it less. At the time, he just felt embarrassed for himself. And the situation. He wasn't dreaming, was he? Cracking open his hands to peek at your grinning, teasing, and.. blushing face, Varian now knew this was reality.

"Maybe give me a warning next time, will you..?"

His voice shook, but still chuckled through the humility.

Ruddiger perked up from behind a tree, chirping in happiness from the success. Varian sat up suddenly, laughing as the raccoon jumped into his lap.

You watched as he pet Ruddiger calmly, before meeting your gaze a moment later.

It only took that very moment to be loved a whole life long.

[sulfurz]

ೃ༄ SHIELDING FEELINGS (LITERALLY) (roman reigns x fem!reader)

ೃ༄ PAIRING: roman reigns x fem!reader

ೃ༄ REQUESTED BY: anon

heyyyy!! i have a fluff request for roman x (fem) reader. it’s set in his shield days and the reader is a apart of the shield (or a really close allies with them whichever you want) and she’s kind of like the lita of the group. Her and roman have huge crushes on eachother and it’s so obvious to not only seth and dean/mox but the whole wwe universe. So the two guys try to come up with a plan to have them both confess to eachother 😅😅

ೃ༄ WARNINGS: this is pure humour and fluff! basically just himbos dean and seth struggling at playing cupid

ೃ༄WORD COUNT: 1.8k

ೃ༄ NOTE: hello lovely anon i got a BIT carried away with this i apologise but i hope it still works🥹 i had way too much fun writing shield as terrible matchmakers

dean ambrose had a plan.

albeit, it wasn’t a very well thought out one. but it was a plan of somewhat decent calibre.

you see, he had a lot of time for you, acting as shield’s manager and all. what he didn’t have time for was how goddamn dumb you could be sometimes (seth’s words, not his — although he very much agreed).

what was it that got dean so riled up, you ask? well it was the fact that you were so evidently in love with roman reigns, and yet never managed to say more than a pretty pathetic ‘uh, you look nice’ whenever the four of you were backstage.

even worse than you? roman. this man had not kept his crush on your quiet. apparently you were the only one who couldn’t see it, and yet instead of ever acting on said emotions, roman liked to play a fun game of hide from y/n in the locker rooms until it’s time for our match and then i only have to see her for five minutes before. this had, on many occasions, ended with dean nearly throwing him to the ground because of course all this was going to do was make you worry the very beautiful yet stubborn man hated you.

a pretty man, but clearly very little common sense, dean had concluded.

so that was when, after too many training sessions in which you’d sit in silence until your coach brought you into the conversation, he hatched his master plan.

now just to put it into action.

it just so happened the final member of the shield would be a perfect partner.

—

the plan was, in dean and seth’s eyes, bulletproof. they would probably have to undergo a pretty intense intervention afterwards considering how wrong they had been; but at first, their confidence was through the roof.

oh no, dean hurt his shoulder in practice — what a shame! good job seth was there to take him to the medic, a walk he definitely could have done on his own! but they were so smart, right? surely you and roman would talk about something if forced to coinhabit the same space without a buffer?

yeah. they really thought so too.

but after fifteen minutes of hiding behind a comically large stack of chairs, they felt it necessary to put the two of you out of your misery and cry that it was a false alarm.

maybe you two really were more hopeless than dean initially thought.

so came attempt two: the halloween party. because who doesn’t love a good dress up party?

apparently, cupid was more of a christmas fan.

as it happened, vast majority of people brought their dates to the work party, which dean and seth hadn’t planned for, but made the situation even more perfect. not to mention you and roman had accidentally both turned up dressed as demons (finn balor made a playful scene when you walked in) — it was practically a match made in heaven! or hell…

this attempt was easy in theory: set up a conversation about how fun dancing was, before abandoning the two of you at a table to take to the dancefloor themselves. surely you’d get fed up of being left out and want to join???? surely!

except, what dean and seth had failed to consider was that in the spirit of halloween, and the fact that some of the most iconic superstars in the roster loved a good prank, the place was practically decked out with tricks, instead of treats.

dean and seth observed quietly from the dancefloor (they had long since abandoned their girlfriends and were simply dancing together now, chest to chest (hey — this matchmaking was a taxing game!)), practically cheering when they saw the two of you finally getting somewhere.

roman stood, offering a hand to you with a good natured “if you can’t beat them, join them?”, and it was obvious the two of you were so close to finally making that first step as your hand reached for his—

then, a plastic skeleton hidden in a bowl of candy on your tabled decided to choose that moment to make its appearance very known.

and there went your glass of red wine, all down your favourite pantsuit (luckily — it was red too, but the dark patch across your chest was not doing you any favours).

roman very sweetly apologised on behalf of the skeleton, which was the very final part of the conversation seth and dean heard before you were scurrying away to change. they quite literally facepalmed as they walked over to a dumbfounded roman, who still played the entire situation off.

it seemed they’d have to step things up if they really wanted to get through the both of your very thick skulls.

so attempt three was… certainly less subtle.

worse still, it came only a month after the halloween party, when you were still in the thick of your ‘hiding from roman reigns’ era, so imagine your surprise when here comes dean ambrose and seth rollins, dragging roman up to you with the latter wearing an expression of confusion that surely mimicked you own.

“okay.” dean spoke, slamming a hand on the catering table “you, roman, like y/n.”

“you, y/n, like roman.” seth added.

then, like one of those old timely comedy acts, at the same time the men both exclaimed a “now talk!”

and to yours and roman’s credit… you did speak?

it’s not your fault the members of shield hadn’t made the topic entirely clear. it was obvious by now that when it came to roman, you were blind to any subtext, so they could hardly blame you for missing the mark.

“of course i like roman? he’s my friend?” you questioned warily, genuinely beginning to get concerned for the two men you considered friends.

“are you two okay?” roman added, genuine concern across his face as he outstretched a hand to slap seth? check him for a fever? both?

you hummed in confirmation, thinking back on every odd occurrence that had happened between you and roman recently, realising that the common denominator in every situation was the two other members of the stable you managed probably saying something extremely dumb.

—

eventually, dean and seth had to admit they were terrible matchmakers.

when the christmas party that same year had been announced, they very nearly put another thing together, but a swift reminder from the wonderful (and honestly; terrifying) randy orton, the two were reminded of every failed attempt in the past, and their plan unravelled before it had even found it’s feet.

as would turn out, when there wasn’t two idiots meddling, that was when things unfolded themselves.

after the many times you had embarrassed yourself in front of your teammate lately, you weren’t expecting roman to approach you mid way through the party. he had spent pretty much the entire night hovering on the opposite side of the room, and for good reason to. you were a liability after all, and his suit shirt was too nice to end up with wine on it. you had opted for white wine instead this time though, just incase.

“hi.” a deep voice came from behind you.

you had been watching triple h and stephanie dancing together for the best part of half an hour, nursing your glass of wine contentedly until the voice behind you had startled you. your glass wobbled in your hand in a terrifying suggested repeat of the halloween event, but roman was prepared this time, swiftly reaching a hand around you and saving it from disaster.

“i should have probably learnt not to sneak up on you.” he joked, motioning with your (thankfully still full) wine glass in his hand before he handed it back to you.

“i certainly learnt that red wine is tasty but dangerous.” you played along, your heart doing a weird thumping thing at how roman chuckled.

“i’m sorry if the other guys ever made you feel uncomfortable.” roman said genuinely, catching you off guard. it was rare you spoke, let alone when the topics brushed a level of seriousness. “we love having you working with us as shield, but they don’t know when to turn off the jokes sometimes.”

you shook your head quickly, hating the idea that roman was concerned about you. sure, dean and seth were idiots at the best of times, but it was a huge part of their charm. from them trying to break roman during promos to their odd, but intriguing backstage celebrations, the slight unhinged enthusiasm was what you loved.

“trust me. i love working with them. with, with you all.” you added at the last second, not missing the slight upper curl in the corner of roman’s mouth when he realised he was included.

you could already feel the blush creeping to your cheeks just because of all his attention being on you, and you knew you were just seconds away from blurting something stupid, when an equally annoying cough came from your side.

comically, both you and roman turned your heads at the same time to see the entirely expected source of the disturbance.

seth and dean were standing a little while away, watching you with the biggest grins you had ever seen. arguably bigger than whenever your team won.

when you realised what was causing their giggles, your heart stopped.

you had casually followed dean’s eyeline, just a simple attempt to see if you could figure out the cause, when you found it immediately. and it seemed roman did too.

mistletoe. hung exactly above where the two of you stood.

you couldn’t help but widen your eyes, going to take a step back but being prevented by a gentle, yet grounding touch to your wrist. when you looked back at roman, he was closer than before, and it was practically an instinct how your eyes flickered down to his lips.

“in the spirit of christmas, right?” he asked, a grin that told it was more than just christmas spirit, and in fact something he had been trying to tell you for a while.

still, you took your time, placing a cautious hand on his bicep as you leant in to connect your lips to his. “in the spirit of christmas.”

[aconflagrationofmyown]

“Favorite Face”

a Sarge & lil Mama scene (Elvis Presley fanfiction)

Rating PG13 a tickle fight with a few little angsty confessions, sorry

Circa: 1967

Giving this blurb business a try, hope y’all enjoy and I swear I’m gonna fill in the plot gaps soon 💋

“Do you know what my favorite of your faces is?”she offered.

“Well, no, no I-I-I’m not sure I do.”

“It’s this one,” Elaine murmured before explaining a little more in full, “it’s this, you turned on your side facing me with the sheets pulled up to your chin and your hands under your cheek and it’s how expectant and happy you look to be in bed with me. Like you just can’t wait to chat or tease or make love, like the best part of your day is beginning when you bound in here next to me every night.” she reached out and flicked a lock of mussed black hair off his forehead and he coulda been seventeen or fifty right now, all his years established in the soft, almost bashfully reverent face absorbing her words. “I should probably say my favorite face of yours is when you’re belting a high C on stage or when you first see one of our baby’s. Or maybe even something sultry, the way you look in a sex act but, but no,” she mused, “it's this one. Like we aren’t only children anymore, now that we’ve got each other.”

They’d had each other for over a decade now. He gripped the hand that was soothing back his hair and peppered kisses to her palm.

“I’d return the compliment but-“ Elvis turned his face further into the pillow at her expectant little expression, “but-but mine, i-it ain’t wholesome l-l-like that. Like yours. Not if I’m bein’ honest.”

“Well, ya must be honest.”

“I know!” his red face was nearly buried in the pillow by this point.

“Life is balance, Naughty, as you so often tell me.” she grinned. “Wouldn’t do if we were both wholesome. C’mon, tell me.”

“I can’t,” he moaned into his pillow, fully face first by now, “T-t-that w-w-were t-too sweet.”*

“You know this is just making me more curious.”

“I don’t care if you’re curiouser than ya ever been, I ain’t gonna.” He folded the pillow’s sides up around his ears for further privacy.

Elaine smiled and watched the back of his head, calculating that she’d probably fall asleep before he ran out of breath, the man didn’t seem to need to breathe like other folks -she would know.

“I’m gonna tickle it outta ya then.” he heard her warn him through the cotton covering his senses and before he could so much as brace she was straddling his back, her bare skin rubbing against his back and her horrid little talons wiggling into his arm pits.

“Goddamnit woman, I take it all back,” he yelled and he knew even then it was futile to try to buck her off, she had been married to him for ten years and he’d never managed it but he sure gave it another try this night, “there ain’t a wholesome bone in your body. A cruel, cruel woman, thas what you are.”

He resorted to dirty, tried, and true tricks to throw her off, tricks he had kept to himself from the locals at Billy Bob’s honky-tonk in Fort Worth where Elaine had won five rounds on the mechanical bull and near bankrupted the house in bets.

Elvis tickled her feet.

The angle wasn’t superb but it was all he had left, penned on his belly like this. He retaliated her treatment in kind, wiggling a fingertip in her arches and she shrieked and bucked and started to smack his shoulders which was strictly against the Geneva Code regarding tickling warfare but they’d had that talk before and Elaine remained as unorthodox as those Cuban rebels.

“Just tell your wife, come on now.” she urged, becoming terribly cruel when she left off his arm pits and leaned back, not to pry his hands off her feet as he first expected, but to tickle the crease of his thighs where he was most vulnerable.

“Not my ass!” he screamed like a terrified novitiate, finally pulling his face outta the pillow to heave in a gulp of air.

“Just tell me.” she cooed, the manicure he paid for causing terrible little tingles all along his thighs until he wanted to weep.

“You’re slickin’ my back up! You’re enjoyin’ my misery, ya damn pervert!” he remonstrated while doing his best to roll his back like a wild mustang and buck her off.

Elaine’s thighs remained made of steel.

Where was their pile of children in the bed when he needed them? Where was Jack and his vaguely alarming and decidedly frustrating mommy entitlement when Elvis could actually appreciate it?

“Come on, just tell me,” she rolled with every buck he gave her, not even breathless when he rose up on all fours like some pantomime of a piggy back and tried throwing her that way, “is it when you’ve glazed my hair?” She started to guess, and that was maybe, somehow worse.

“No.” He denied, and tried a few more moves he’d seen the Great Danes pull when the kids tried to get on their backs.

“When you’re in my mouth?” Elaine asked sweetly and now that he was out of the sheets she took full advantage of reaching beneath and tickling his belly.

“No, no, no!” he swore, both to her actions and her guesses.

Finally, all other tactics having failed, Elvis rolled them both and crushed her beneath his back on the bed, taking petty enjoyment in the rib creaking grunt she let out as his weight smashed her diaphragm.

“I feel like the mouse the elephant stepped on in the kids’ book.” Elaine wheezed in his ear and he wiggled to get comfier in the cradle of her thighs, backwards from the way this was usually done and thoroughly enjoyable.

Elvis was wondering why they didn’t cuddle like this more often when her legs wrapped back around his hips and interlocked over the vulnerable juncture of his thighs; suddenly he got the feelin’ he’d miscalculated.

He didn’t wait for one of those red hot nails to pinch his nipple, he grabbed it in route and bit it. “If ya must know,” he mumbled around the digit, irrationally glad that he was at least facing away from her for this, “i-i-it’s when, when ya lemme suck at ya, nurse off ya, you jus’ look so, I dunno so, so nurturin’ lookin’ down at me from up there an’ —I dunno, gets me hot. You know that.” he trailed off, admitting even to his wife that he enjoyed giving up his fiercely prized control, a momentous effort even after all these years.

It struck Elaine as a rather wholesome thing in itself, in the context of their little world. She was expecting something more -nasty, male, degrading, claiming. She knew he felt like he ought to have said one of those others, unnaturally stiff in her arms suddenly. He was about two seconds away from retracting it all or bolting to the fridge for a snack, she knew, so she leaned her head next to his, nuzzling his temple for a minute before sticking her tongue in his ear.

He shouted again and jolted in her arms. “God, enough tormentin’ me!” he growled, making no move to leave from his fleshy cradle.

“Does this mean ya miss it?” she dared softly, far, far more risky a thing to say than any confession made tonight.

It had been awhile, years in fact, since she’d last had any milk. Saying it was God’s Will didn’t make it hurt less.

“Yes.” the rumble of his voice vibrated her front after a heavy pause. “Terribly, actually.” he offered his own courage to the conversation.

“It’s an act of faith, isn’t it? To still want something after it went so wrong last time?”

“Yeah.” he agreed so softly she only heard it because his head was on her shoulder, “A-and we wouldn’t be, be replacin’- wouldn’t be- ya know- replacin’…Joe.” he never could manage her name without a quiver.

“No, no it wouldn’t be that.” Elaine thought on it, almost five years of painful silence on the subject finally broken by a tickle fight, “This was us before her. Wasn’t it? Is it wrong to think that way? If I don’t I’ll go nuts, E, I will.” she started to cry anyway and his hand raised up and stroked her cheek with strange accuracy for a man facing away from her. “I don’t wanna replace her -I just don’t wanna lose that part of us either!” she tried to explain and he hummed gently with her in understanding, “I feel like I’m atrophying without a baby in me.”

“I’ll be your baby.” he teased, but it was only to lighten her mood, not to rush her through it.

Elaine wrapped her limbs around the lanky length of him, softer this year than he’d ever been, and rocked him back and forth sideways, like his own personal hammock, the warmth of him soothing her like the grounding touch of God. “Ya know, this ain’t the way they’re made, takes a different sorta swayin’ for what we want.” he murmured drowsily even as he felt her heartbeat skip then pound beneath his shoulder at his words.

“Really?” Elaine whispered, her nose stuffy from crying.

“Yeah.” he cleared his own throat, “Yeah, but maybe tonight we’ll just play, hmm? Gotta make sure us two babies are alright ‘fore we make another, ain’t that right?”

There was a rural sorta wisdom to that and she pressed kisses into his sweaty hair in acknowledgment of his promise and his admittance of fragility. Their efforts of play fighting had covered him in a sheen of exertion and now laying in her arms it cooled tacky and famillair against her own, his musk potent and heady in her nostrils.

“Yeah, that’s right, we gotta take care of each other.” she agreed, and went back to swaying them both.

💋💋💋

@paradsol000

@eliseinmemphis

@prompted-wordsmith

@ab4eva

@foreverdolly

@powerofelvis

@butlersxbirdy

@crash-and-cure

@elvisabutler

@heartbrake-hotel

@stylespresleyhearted

@thatbanditqueen

@crazymadpassionatelove

@myradiaz

@ash-omalley

@whatstruthgottadowithit

@arianatheangelgirl

@steph-speaks

@burningloverdoll

@angelface-555

@lookingforrainbows

@missmaywemeetagain

@coolgirl462

@kingdomforapony

@18lkpeters

@richardslady121

@from-memphis-with-love

@lillypink

@artlover8992

@pennyroyalcreep

@notstefaniepresley

@ellie-24

@renaissingle

@waiting4brucewayne2adoptme

@presleyenterprise

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Do you think Marinette really loves Adrien or does she loves the idea of him in her head?

Idk but I'm agree with Alya in Elation that you can't really love someone you don't know and Marinette arguably know Adrien only on surface level, either from the magazines or stalking him. We never got a scene where they talk together to get to know each other and then BAM! They just get together.

I also feels like Adrien's love for Marinette also more a rebound than anything. The writers can say anything they want, that Adrien fell in love with Marinette in Pupeteer2. But you don't develop feelings for someone you barely know, especially when in that said episode Adrien still think Marinette hate him. It's just weird. But again, idk, maybe it just me because I don't catch feelings to someone I barely talk to. That's just creepy AF no offense.

It's really hard to say because canon is all over the place when it comes to how close Adrien and Marinette are. Season three and four make them feel like little more than acquaintances, but if you think back to seasons one and two, they legitimately were friends.

Adrien turned to Marinette for dating advice (Frozer). Marinette and Adrien gamed for hours to prepare for a tournament (Gamer). Marinette and Adrien went to a party with their friends and danced together (Despair Bear). Marinette, Adrien, and their friends worked together to make a movie (Horrificator). I could go on, but the general gist is that it feels disingenuous to say that they barely interact. They interact a lot! It's just limited to the first two seasons.

I scanned through the episode list while writing this and seasons one and two have them interact in a meaningful way in about half of the episodes while seasons three and four got distracted by the new love interests, Lila, and the awful broken Ladynoir dynamic, dramatically cutting back on the Adrinette content to the show's detriment.

The other issue is that Marinette's crush is written more and more like a celebrity crush as the seasons go on, making it feel less and less genuine. So it's understandable to feel like she doesn't really love Adrien given how the show presents her, but if you tone down the crush to a non-comedic level, it does feel earned to me and I am also the kind of person that needs to know someone before developing feelings. Celebrity crushes and instant love are things I rarely enjoy in media probably at least in part because I'm ace.

I actually didn't get truly invested in the love square until Origins showed us why they first developed feelings. There's a reason I treat that episode as the golden standard for characterization. It's some of the best writing Miraculous has ever done. The writers crammed an impressive amount of content into 40 minutes and elevated the silly teen crushes into something with real substance. I will forever be sad that the rest of the show falls so short of that episode.

Moving on!

The Puppeteer 2 thing feels like a bad joke and it might be? It's hard to tell given how weird this show can get with its humor. Either way, it would have made a lot more sense and been much cuter if Adrien fell for Marinette when she unknowingly confessed her crush to him Glaciator 2 instead of falling for her after she accidentally forces a kiss on him during a prank gone wrong.

As for the rebound element... yeah, I don't disagree. Everything about the reverse crush was just weird because Ladybug falling for Chat Noir felt way more honest and earned than Adrien falling for Marinette given the way seasons five plays. I mean, the episode right before the reverse saw Ladynoir get married and have children, but Adrien is the one whose feelings are true and Marinette is the one having a rebound? Sure, writers. Sure.

If the reverse had happened right off of the season four finale, though? Then that actually could have worked. In those episodes, Marinette supported Adrien while their friends were oblivious to his true feelings, Adrien finally saw just how much pressure Ladybug was under, and Chat Noir supported Ladybug unconditionally in her darkest hour. I'm personally not a fan of the crushes switching mid-show, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a solid setup to lead into it. Adrienette and Ladynoir had never felt closer.

I think it's fair to say that this is why Miraculous is such a complex show for a lot of fans. It has truly spectacular setups, but the payoff always seems to fall flat on its face.

[trolls-poppy-specialist]

so, I was working on a RedCrackle fic and i wrote a reunion scene coz it was in my to-dos

@grahamcarmen

@redxcrackle

@redcracklestan

@redcxackles-backup

@redcxackle

@redxcrackle

(from gray’s pov)

“GRAY!”

I’m fiddling with the electricity supply, barely managing to place the final touches before I get wrapped up in a bear hug. My heart skips a beat at the familiar voice, and from the corner of my eye, I see the familiar lump of curly auburn hair and register the scent of rose-scented perfume I know all too well. The wetness on my coat is surprising.

“Carmen?” I break the hug, staring into her blue-grey eyes, and they are slightly swollen and red, “you’re crying.”

Oh gosh. I messed up. 

“I know… I just… I thought you were gone…” the last of her sentence becomes an inaudible murmur as she sobs and lets out a soft hiccup.

“Why are you here?” I try not to sound too condescending, and the straight look of Shadowsan appears in my head. I instantly feel scared.

Her face falls in five seconds, and I’d feel guilty if I didn’t hear what she says next, “My team dragged me here.” I grip onto her bare hand as she buries her face into my chest, and my heart flutters to seventh heaven. But at the same time, I can tell that she’s more closed off than usual, and I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Zack and Ivy are probably whispering somewhere, Shadowsan is probably judging me, and Player is probably on video call listening in to this conversation.

So I better not screw anything up.

“You seem quiet. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know how to say this but I… I… I love you.” the confession nearly goes unheard, but I manage to catch it amidst the whir of the air-conditioning, and it’s then I realise that most of the men who work here have stopped in their tracks, staring at us, and the chatting crowd outside has partially gone silent. I try my best to ignore it.

Did she just…?

Oh god, she just did. What do I say back? How’ll she react? Will it be bad or good? Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear the two Boston siblings giggling, and I do my best to shake the thought out of my head.

“I love you too, and–” I manage the best and most reassuring smile I can, only to have the remaining words die on my tongue when I feel a tug on my coat, followed by her lips on mine. I don’t know what to do for a second as I hear my heart pound in my chest and feel the blood rushing through my ears.

She’s kissing me.

My first kiss with the most beautiful girl in the world is great.

I can’t think straight, and I’m left stunned.

But it is kind of nice, actually.

I let my eyes slip shut, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer as I run a hand through her auburn locks. The world seemingly stops rotating as if frozen in time. It’s not like the kissing scenes in movies, but just something new, something that I haven’t gone through, even with my first girlfriend.

Heaven. Sheer heaven.

Heaven is what it is.

As we pull away, my hands moving to grip hers, I open my eyes, and it’s then that I register what’s going on in the real world. My male colleagues are standing, frozen in shock, one of them yelling, “YOU GO, GRAY!” while the rest blend in with the ocean of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, some staring at me with what I perceive as envy in their eyes. Carmen’s crew has moved forward– Zack and Ivy are filming the entire thing and snickering, Player has his jaw slack from what I see on Carmen’s phone, and Shadowsan has his eyes widened as he’s chewing on something that looks like a Snickers bar.

I can hear whispers washing through the crowd, like ‘have you seen the look in his eyes whenever he mentions her? You should’ve seen the sparkle in them. That’s true love there’ and ‘this is Grammy-class romance here. I’m filming this for my Instagram’. Shadowsan is now uttering something that sounds like ‘Carmen is officially not single anymore.’, the last of his Snickers bar gone; and Zack is literally screaming at a volume so loud the security guards at the other end of the country could probably hear him, “OH MY GOSH! THEY KISSED! THIS WILL MAKE GOOD CONTENT FOR THE KIDS!”

Shadowsan, please, PLEASE don’t kill me. The last thing I want is to be at the hands of a sharp knife as he hurls profanities at me.

“Well done, Carm,” Ivy walks over, putting her hand on her shoulder, “you two are officially a couple now.”

Her cheeks turn crimson, and I can’t help but make the association.

La femme rouge.

“So…” I speak up, “you want to… go out on a date with me?”

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

It Wasn't Real (But We Were Happy)

First posted: June 6 2018

Focuses on: Tim Drake and the Fam

Favorite bookmark: "I was clutching my face for the last two chapters."

Second favorite bookmark: "Do you want to cry?"

Tier: Top five in hits and subscriptions, top ten in everything else

This is my “behind the scenes” series where I indulge myself horribly by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above.

This is a multi-chapter series, so this thread will be reblogged with each chapter's thoughts added beneath the cut.

Chapter One

This is one of the rare fics where I can remember exactly what was happening when it sprang into being. Mostly. I was walking home on evening, post-rain, and skirting around puddles while texting with @starknjarvis27. I don't remember what started the conversation but suddenly I was knee-deep in emotions about Tim as The Replacement, Tim as Nanny McPhee ("When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go."), Tim as Mary Poppins (That's gratitude for you. Didn't even say goodbye?" "No, they didn't.")

I don't think I started writing directly after that, though I may have. I do know I deliberately banked up the chapters and didn't post the first until they were all written. I was worried about losing steam and not finishing. Given how popular this fic is, maybe I should do that more often.

The title is from Dear Evan Hansen (it was 2018, give me a break), from the song "Words Fail," where the main character emotionally confesses the elaborate deception he had built, ensnaring the people he professed to love in a fantasy that he said was for them but really, in the end, was only for himself.

It was said that time was the great equalizer, but Tim didn’t know how that could be true. Time seemed to touch everyone differently, and everyone grappled with it in their own way.

As you've probably noticed, I do this kind of a lot. "It" being both a philosophical beginning and lining up each of the fam and examining what makes them different in certain ways. Both are a good way (for me, the writer, at least) to ease into a fic. Starting is hard.

Dick bobbed in its streams like a vacationer in a tube. He let it carry him along, neither struggling nor straining, but enjoying the ride wherever its path led. Jason floundered, striding through the water until his steps inevitably found the gap of his stolen life. He would lose his footing and plunge under, only to burst above the current with great, heaving breaths and push on determinedly once more.

Again with the water metaphors. I would say I'm sorry but I'm not. I'll also add that this is, of course, Tim's perspective. He's not wrong, but Dick, for example, would likely have a nuanced take of his own relationship with time (that also would not necessarily being objectively right or wrong because perception is subjective, even of ourselves.)

A good many endings surprised him, horrified him, came whistling out at him like fists in the dark. 

I think I use this metaphor more than once in fics. Mentally I tie it to "A Knife in the Dark," the Bree chapter title in The Fellowship of the Ring and later the song title from the Howard Shore soundtrack for the same scene. The whole point is wildly different, but the mental association is there for me, whatcanyado.

But it was only their timing that caught him off guard, never their existence, like turning the crank on a silenced jack-in-the-box. Without the music, he could only guess when the pop and cackle would come, but he knew the lurch in his stomach was inevitable.

My sister was scared of jack-in-the-boxes as a kid/young adult, like Buddy the Elf, so I stole this from her and him.

Alfred would have noticed, had he been around, but timing his exodus to Alfred’s annual sabbatical in England had been Tim’s one act of true cowardice. Alfred would have noticed Tim’s abandonment of the Manor and would have lured him back in with calls or threatening visits from the others or the sheer guilt power of a raised eyebrow.

I think if I were a stronger or braver writer it would have been a good challenge to keep Alfred present rather than shooing him off to England like Superman to space.

No, the hardest task had been quitting the Titans. They didn’t need Tim any more than the Waynes did, but they wanted him. They were his friends. Tim couldn’t see any way to continue with the Titans, however.

Commenters speculated on the Titans showing up. I hope they weren't too disappointed when that didn't happen but I do not know those children at all. And they weren't the point, anyways. The point was Tim and his family.

[digimonadventurezero]

Well...

Not sure how many people are still following this blog, or rather who's still interested on those headcanons + ideas i had in the past...

But Rui's existence goes against ▽ events and i'd like to clarify that i don't think it's a TOTAL RETCON like a ton of people are either celebrating or complaining.

I'd like to give you my own "solution" to keep Maki and Daigo + their group existing in the timeline.

First, the frustrating part about working with ▽ events and them is that there's no information about their respective ages, and we saw them in Uni as well. A friend of mine pointed this out as the biggest problem to use ▽ as it is. You either pick it or 02TB. My research about the said backstory scenes in pt4 led me to discover that... those scenes also are hard to know when they take place.

Not even the ref sheets has a single age or grad to get an approximated age for them, or when those scenes took place. They only state that those two designs are from "Elementary School" and "University" -- but the Elementary grades are not even here!? Unlike the Adv'99 & 02 kids' profiles in their respective series, which listed at least their school grades so you could know they're around their 10s.

But we know the original lore from Adv'99 + 02 -- there were other groups before Taichi & Daisuke's. One of them were depicted in Adv'99 anime and novel -- a group of five kids, and four of them got their partners evolved into the Holy Beasts (according to the Adv'99 novel). This is also used in ▽ pt4, at least. They changed a few details alas, but my point is... Until here it's everything OKAY, right?

The problem starts with the Uni scene and them being Data Bureau agents in 2005. It could mean they're way older than Taichi -- including Rui (who's a leap baby from 1992!) and this would get in conflict with their own Digi-Adventure flashbacks. Many people believed they weren't from the 90s but before the 90s because of that. You could then think they had no relation to the math lore or something, but then the presence of Homeostasis in that cold-opening for pt4 and the digivice model makes things EVEN WORSE to work with.

But like i said, i love both Maki-Daigo and Rui so i want them to co-exist. Hence why i'm believing in a partial retcon in terms of those two's ages. And it's quite recently that we all got more info about the math lore, and more confusing statements in the end...

Anyway, my solution is:

Maki-Daigo's group is indeed the quintet mentioned in Adv'99 & Novels. They were around Adv!Taichi's age when they went to the DW but possibly the other three in the group were either 2 or 3 years older. Maybe they're like the 02 kids, and weren't chosen exactly in the same year? Possibly the oldies were the other 3 who got mons alongside Menoa (she's the same age as Taichi and got her mon in 97), But Daigo and Maki got their mons in 98, alongside other 7 people...? And their Adventure was indeed in 1998.

Daigo's love confession scene has no calendars or anything to point the year he had confessed his love for her, besides being SNOWING outside -- so it's probably Winter. They're said to be Uni students, so my conclusion is...

... That the Data Bureau possibly recruited them around that time, and they're not even in their 30s in ▽? They might be even 19 years old, and only got high roles in the Data Bureau because of their title as Chosen Children and connection with Homeo + Gennai.

They aren't the first ones, but actually they might be the first group of kids who went to the DW instead.

This is my own solution for the problem. Again, I'd prefer to believe in a soft retcon or changes from the events -- in which said events in the timeline weren't presented as it is to us. Therefore i'd prefer to believe my awful people OTP is still alive and they can meet my sad potato someday.

I'd like to simple just retcon their ages from 1998 adventure and make them be 13-14 years old there, so then you could have them be in their twenties when they were recruited by the Data Bureau...

Anyway, i understand when some peeps say they can't make ▽ work with Adv'99/02/Kizuna/02TB as it was presented to the audience, because it's a hard task orz

[m1ckeyb3rry]

m1ckeyb3rry confesses: i will probably not ever write smut BUT. there is a certain scene in a certain fic of mine that has the main character having dreams of “fighting” another character and i want to say it here and now for my five followers all of tumblr to see…those were sex dreams. like they’re not explicitly described as such at first, in fact they’re pretty much described as standard fight scenes, but once you know i feel like you can’t unsee it (especially given the themes of the story and what fighting represents in it).

i’ll post the paragraphs under the cut for those wondering which fic it is!! and yes the story is tagged as having mature content on ao3 although that’s more for the violence than anything.

if you guessed past y/n l/n from hurricanes / hummingbirds, you were correct ‼️ like i said, it’s almost not even sexual in nature, so it’s really open to interpretation what she means by it and whether her and kashimo are fighting or fucking in those dreams of hers, but (slight spoiler warning) throughout the story, “fighting” is used as a metaphor for love, so make of that what you will

[finallyouttathatdress]

Y'all...I need to vent about this to someone...

So, I started out playing BG3 and immediately fell in love with Gale, his nerdy excitement about magic, and, later on, his devotion to my PC, Eli. So, I made all the right choices, etc. to get with him at the expense of other relationships that were also really intriguing and tempting along the way, namely Karlach, Halsin, and to my complete surprise, Astarion.

I got the love confession, love scenes, and everything else that comes from starting a romance with Gale and, to be honest...I'm disappointed. If nothing else--and maybe this is just me--the extreme lack of sexual tension is enough more than enough to disappoint. I chose the non-magic variation of the love scene, but even the astral version was just lackluster. Again, could just be me.

On top of that, though, there is also the issue of him showing that he did not learn his lesson at all from the orb in his chest or the fall of Karsus/Gale. Zero lessons learned. He immediately jumps back on the "let's be gods--but it's okay because I'm a good person" schtick. Does not or cannot see that he is doing exactly what Karsus did. It's infuriating. Thought about ending things with him right there after his reunion with Mystra, probably would have if I didn't hate his sad/hurt puppy dog eyes so much.

In all seriousness though, the chemistry between Eli and literally ALL of the other characters is amazing so it's frustrating to become so disenchanted with Gale in act 3 after rejecting everyone else. I rejected daddy bear Halsin for this shit!

But the last straw that made this rant necessary? There has literally been more sexual tension in the last few minutes of playing than there has been with Gale since Act 1. And do you want to guess what scene I'm at? Just guess because I am still pissed about it....

The scene. With. The. Emperor. A fucking mind flayer has done more to come onto Eli in the first five seconds of this scene than Gale has since the weave sequence. What. the actual. fuck. This is in no way, shape, or form okay.

So, anyway, that's all for my venting. Still haven't decided how to proceed, but I can guarantee I am going to have the song "I Fucked Cthulu" stuck in my head for the next few days.

[dirty-bosmer]

20 questions for writers

Thanks to @thequeenofthewinter for the tag <3

Tagging: @elavoria @atypicalacademic @gilgamish @nuwanders @ladytanithia @sheirukitriesfandom @throughtrialbyfire @lucien-lachance @miraakulous-cloud-district @bostoniangirl21 @terendelev

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

6

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

704,291 😅

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Elder Scrolls and probably only ever the elder scrolls. Mostly Oblivion but I have one Skyrim lonngfic in the works. I read fic in several other fandoms, but this one has me by the throat.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Well, I only have 6 in the first place so it's not saying all that much.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do the best I can to! Sometimes one slips by me on a particularly busy week, and then I'm too mortified by the lapse of time to answer. I don't think it's happened too often, but please know I read them all and am always grateful for them ❤️

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Haven't finished either of them yet, but it's gotta be The Illusionist Part 2, which is an Oblivion novelization with emphasis on the Dark Brotherhood and Mages Guild, or Beyond the Break, which is just me crying about Mathieu Bellamont.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Treacle which is still hella angst lmao, but Scar-Tail does live happily ever after, and it's all thanks to @atypicalacademic for the inspiration ❤️❤️❤️ I have also vowed to make my Skyrim fic, Slither and Writhe happier 😤 Thus far, it's going... well, it is going.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't, and the few dissenting opinions that I have received I wouldn't consider hate either. They're just opinions. I hesitated to mention this, but since I was LITCHRALLY talking about Lucien Lachance on one of Ray's posts a few minutes ago, in the past I have receive messages detailing how my interpretation of Lucien is distasteful, given he is unabashedly a villain in my story and 1/2 of a toxic relationship (also he's... kind of pathetic lol). It's a darkfic and not for everyone, I'm well aware. Fortunately, many of my very lovely, talented friends and mutuals write great Lucien fics that are different from mine, so at the end of the day we all get what we want :D Variety is the spice of life, and you can pry grossnasty Lucien out of my cold, dead fingies.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write sexual content (idk what counts as smut). Originally, I wrote all the sex scenes as fade-to-black, and while they're not super graphic, while editing a few months ago I thought "you know what, this needs more cunt." So yeah. The sex scenes have become a bit more explicit now than they were in the first iteration.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Nah, and I don't think I ever will.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and unless people are out there lifting passages of my writing and inserting it into their fics, I'm not going to claim ownership over ideas. We're all playing in the same sandpit, and while the execution is my own, I find it quite difficult to say the stories are totally original or novel because all my writing, from concepts to style, have been influenced in some way by the works of others.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but I've tossed around some ideas with @zomboidatomic that may or may not one day bear fruit...

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I've worked them all out of my system at this point, tbh. Romance doesn't really do anything for me on its own without compelling characterizations and intriguing plot. I select by other tags over ship most of the time too. That said I've been driven crazy by some of my friends ships with characters I've never even spoken to before. If it's good it's good, you know. (Though I am currently re-watching Hannibal and I will confess that I am still ill about Hannigram ajkfhalg)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm going to finish them all, dammit!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterization, I think, especially when writing people who are awful lmao I've received a lot of compliments when it comes to writing villains and morally grey characters.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Ugh, I am so self-indulgent. Sometime last year I edited The Illusionist part 2 and trimmed out 60k words. It was so BLOATED (probablly still is). I think there were times when the plot got sidelined because I had an idea for a fun scene. Yes, I love writing Lucien and Nim hate-fucking and tearing each other apart in some weird mashup of Tommy Wiseau in The Room and the alien in The Thing. No, I did not need three chapters of this back to back, but I wanted it...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If the plot calls for it, then by all means 👍

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hmm, now that I think of it it may have been a Fallout 3 Harkness fic that I kept in a composition notebook when I was 12. It will never see the light of day, obivo.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

OoOoh, that's tough. Slither and Writhe already feels stronger to me because I'm a more experienced writer, and I actually planned it out, but The Illusionist is my first baby.

[lifeaftermeteor]

INCOMING: HIATUS

I debated whether to say anything here, but given the proximity to the @gundamzine’s 2023 release, I think it’s probably wise. 

TL;DR—yours truly is taking a break, which I haven’t done in earnest since April 2019.  Might lurk a bit, but before I do, I wanted to share some parting words.

Some additional thoughts under the cut.

It’s a common refrain in these parts that fandom should be fun—once it becomes not fun, it’s a sign that you’re dealing with something and need to step away.  Maybe it’s personal life, work life, or some health matter; maybe it’s creative burnout; maybe it’s the fandom spaces you’re occupying.  If fandom isn’t fun, you need to be able to step away to figure out why.

I can confess that fandom hasn’t been fun for some time now for me.  Instead, it’s been work, it’s been a service.  I’ve taken two big steps this year to address this. 

I decided to close the so-called “Big” / “OG” Gundam Wing server and relinquish ownership. This came as a surprise for many, and I myself went through the five stages of grief over it.  I had envisioned the server being a general open space, like a town square or some other central meeting place; but the bigger it grew, the more our members wanted and needed it to be something different.  That disconnect spelled its eventual doom, because it would’ve meant building a bigger team…which we were never able to do.

I also decided to end my tenure as the head of the Rhythm Generation zine project this year (2023) instead of pushing for one final fifth year as I had originally planned.  We ran a tight project for four years on the premise that all fandom creations were welcome regardless of medium, shipping preferences, or personal creative voice.  I’m proud of the work the Zine Crews did (both moderators and contributors) and am so grateful for our times together.  

But heading into this year’s project, I had had a long conversation with another fan about misinformation that had been spread about the zine—specifically that we did not allow certain ships or would force creators’ hands.  This was the very antithesis of the entire endeavor, so I engaged in good faith to explain the behind-the-scenes management that isn’t widely advertised (i.e. OTPs were always respected, no one was ever asked to create something they didn’t volunteer to do in the first place, and spreading the love around across fandom interests and ships was important).  I spent hours in tears over the whole situation, and looking back that is what spelled the end of the project…at least with me at the head.  

I feel like I’ve lost my North Star—that fandom to me was above all else a community, a neighborhood of sorts.  You didn’t necessarily like all of your neighbors, but you always waved to them in passing at the very least and empathized when they were dealing with something.

So I leave you with this: It is always important to make space for fellow fans whose interests do not align with yours.  It is always important to encourage one another to create, to build, to make space, to join, to organize, to share, to try.  That’s how fandoms survive; that’s how this fandom has survived.  

I’m hoping that an extended hiatus will help me reset, and by taking care of myself I can figure out what I need in my fandom experience going forward.  And when I come back, I hope I can be part of building that. 

[primojade]

𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 #3: mirrors of you

jfc im once again brainrotting over scaramouche at this point this probably won't end anytime soon 😂💀

Sooo, this time, I was thinking...there's kunikuzushi, there's scaramouche, then there's the wanderer, right? There are so many sides of this purple angry boy were seeing now and I was suddenly had a ephiphanic thought while doing the dishes 😂

Reader and Scara were already in an established relationship for quite some time, seeing all his nasty and beautiful sides to them. And since they were in Sumeru and the ability to dream were once again granted to them, the reader found themselves in a dream! In that dream, reader found a mirror and what they're seeing there was not them, but scaramouche himself.

The first mirror show them the scene five hundred years ago, the first time scaramouche was still known as kunikuzushi, his first time wandering, and him pouring all his insecurities and sadness to you. In contrast to what you remember, it seems that the mirror was showing you that you already met him ages ago, been with him throughout his betrayal and how he decided to stand up on his own. You were always been there.

The second mirror shows you a different scene. This time, it was now familiar. Because this is the scaramouche that you met during his fatui days. The mirror shows you his sadistic side, how he changes so much throughtout the years he spend serving the tsaritsa.

The scene that the third mirror shows you was one that you treasures and loathes the most. It was sometime after scaramouche was defeated by the dendro archon and the traveller. It was the time he confessed to you, told you he loves you so much, but that was also the time he told you his farewells, and told you to forget him and live a normal life :(

After the scene ends, you realised one thing. Scaramouce, no, wanderer developed in such a short time to someone so beautiful, to something healthy and comfortable that it's hard to believe. How are you this lucky? How is this your…lover? 

But when you thought that the dream was about to end, a fourth mirror appeared. This time, though, you knew that this was not one for happy ending. Because this mirror began showing you an alternate ending in which scaramouche didn't even have the chance to meet you. After his absolute defeat, he become nothing but an empty shell of a puppet with no motivation to live. This person is not your lover but why it looked so real? Nahida and the traveller tried to help him ofc, but yeah...

SO IT WAS NOT THE END HAHAHA. After the scene fourth mirror, you found yourself in an open field in Inazuma. And YOU MET THE SCARAMOUCHE ON THE FOURTH MIRROR, not your lover but he looked the same as the one you loved the most. But you were proud of him nonetheless, because he becomes such a great person even without your help (in an alternate timeline).

Scaramouche (of the fourth mirror) told u how weird it was that you of all people fall in love with him, and he felt awkward when u show him affection suskahaja he told u u were so much different from the (name) he knows, and u were the same. And altho ur wanderer and this wanderer in front of u are both different person, their similarities are endearing. And just as precious as your lover.

HELP I WRITTEN THE END FIC BELOW THIS IS SO CRAZY I AM CRAZY. At this point ill just make it a whole fic shsja.

Hmm..." You blinked, the blanket of the bed warm and soft over your body as you felt a hand awkwardly stroking your hair in an attempt to wake you up. 

The sunlight shone through the space the curtain didn't cover, revealing your purple haired lover. He was lying down next to you, arms wrapped awkwardly around your waist as he continued to caress your hair in rhythmic patterns.

Wanderer looked down at you with an amused huff. "...Took your sweet time and finally awake. It appears you had a good dream though. You were smiling so cheekily in your sleep."

You remembered all of the chaotic albeit pretty dreams as you snuggled more closely to his chest, knowing you're going to keep that promise you made to him in the dream in some way. No matter what you had to do. 

Tilting your head upwards, you catched his lips with a quick, sweet morning kiss. The same lips, still just as soft and sweet as you remember. 

After you pulled away, you returned that big smile back to him. "...I had a very meaningful dream, Kuni. Because it was filled with only you. All of you. And I love all versions of you."

TAGLIST: @samarill , @maehemthemisfit

[writtenjewels]

Scene of Love: Shepard and Kaidan

The Normandy settled into an orbit around the planet. Kaidan glanced up from his game of cards with Ashley as Shepard strode past them on his way to the Mako. This was one of those rare times when someone didn't send them to this specific planet; sensors had picked up something and Shepard wanted to look into it. Most of the time, they at least stumbled on a good mining resource.

“Ten credits say he's going to pick you as one of his squad,” Ashley spoke up.

“Huh?” Kaidan turned to her in confusion.

“Shepard,” she clarified. “He's going to ask you to join him.”

“I'll take that bet,” he agreed. She was way too confident about this when there were five other people Shepard could choose. Granted, Kaidan and Ashley were the only humans, but that didn't matter to Shepard. In fact, the commander made a point in talking with the aliens whenever he had some free time. They were as valued as anyone else.

“Kaidan, Garrus,” Shepard called out. “Suit up. We're dropping in.”

“You owe me ten credits!” Ashley shouted at Kaidan as he hurried to join his commander.

When he wasn't focusing on their mission, Kaidan's thoughts went back to Ashley. He could pass it off as a lucky guess except she was so sure. It made him wonder why. He was glad Shepard asked him to come along, of course; the missions with Shepard were always interesting. But aside from them both being human soldiers, Kaidan didn't see why Ashley thought he would be favored over any of the others.

“Hey.” Shepard gave him a gentle bump on the shoulder. “What's on your mind, Kaidan?”

“It's nothing important.”

“I'd still like to hear it,” Shepard pursued. Kaidan was glad his helmet masked his face; Shepard's tone had caused a faint blush to rise on Kaidan's cheeks. It was a ridiculous reaction. Shepard was that sincere with everyone.

“Ashley and I made a bet,” he confessed. “She bet you were going to ask me to be on the squad for this mission.” He glanced over but of course Shepard's face was obstructed, too.

“She noticed, hm? I guess I should mix things up more.” Kaidan had no idea what Shepard was talking about. “How much did she bet you?” Shepard wondered.

“Ten credits.”

“Wow, she went easy on you. She could've cleaned you out if she wanted.” Shepard chuckled to himself and went back to work. Kaidan felt the blush get hotter on his face. What was Shepard saying? He couldn't mean... No, no. Not possible.

And yet later, once he was out of his armor and back at his station, Kaidan wasn't surprised at all to have Shepard walk up to him. He did have a hard time keeping his pulse normal, though.

“Commander,” he began.

“Did you pay Ashley her credits yet?”

“Uh, no.”

“Better give her twenty,” Shepard advised. Kaidan didn't know what to say to that, and felt the blush return to his face. “Or maybe just make it fifty,” Shepard amended.

“Commander,” Kaidan tried again, turning from his work station to look at the other man. Shepard gave him a little smile.

“I'm sorry, I just can't think of any other way to spend time with you and have it be sanctioned.” Kaidan just stared at him, too stunned for words. All those times Shepard picked him for the squad, every moment when Shepard checked in with Kaidan first after a mission, it was all being colored in a new light. “Unless you'd rather I stop?” Shepard offered uncertainly.

“No,” Kaidan managed. “I... I just...” He swallowed, daring to brush his fingers delicately down Shepard's arm. “I think I should give Ashley one hundred credits, just to be safe.”

“Yeah,” Shepard agreed, cracking a relieved grin. “You probably should.”

[tea-time-with-london]

I agree with the Hopper s3 anon. He was absolutely toxic and what they did to his character was out of pocket.

One thing it was shown that he was on meds in s1, which likely contributed to having his anger issues under control, and he might have gone off the meds between s2 and s3.

But still Hopper isn't the best suited father figure for the Byers or El. Their fight in s2 was so hard to watch, I get him frustrated, but El is a traumatised girl who missed her friends. She only knows violence since she was born essentially, and Hopper can't handle a child like this.

He couldn't even talk normally to Mike in s3, which, yeah, Mike was an ass but he's still a child.

Does the fandom really think Hopper would be supportive of Will coming out? Nope, he was already homophobic to him in s1. He doesn't know how to talk to kids or show empathy for their struggles.

Bob was the only person I could have seen been right for the Byers. He cared about Joyce and the kids. Even though Jonathan didn't like him, Bob was never mean to him. He gave him space. Bob was patient and kind. Hopper is the opposite. He's a lot like Lonnie in terms of having a bad temper. He will trigger Joyce and the boys. Like I love him as an action hero, but he is terrible for the Byers family. And now, with more added trauma, he won't process that well idk. He would need therapy, but it's the 80s, and men show no feelings. Men don't cry kinda bullshit.

I love Jopper in theory (childhood friends to lovers), but they made Hopper into Lonnie 2.0, so I can't ship him with Joyce. She deserves someone like Bob, a gentle soul who keeps her calm and doesn't yell at her for minor things.

Confession #119

Hm. So like I partially get where you're coming from but allow me to touch on a few things, if I may. First, let me just say I also loved Bob. He was a sweet, gentle soul who truly did care for Joyce and the boys. (I wish I could describe my dad's reaction to Bob's death. My dad was mortified. He loved Bob.)

As for Hopper...I don't remember anywhere in season 1 where Hopper was homophobic to Will. I haven't watched season 1 in a bit so I could be misremembering, but I can't even name a scene in my head where he was homophobic.

But a genuine question for you is do you not believe he can change? At all? What would be the point of Hopper going through all 5 seasons and remaining exactly the same?

Hopper is re-learning how to be a parent, this is something I think we all have to remember. His only child died at just like five or six years old. As a parent, he was probably feeling so unbelievably helpless because he couldn't protect or save his little girl. This helplessness transformed into the overprotectiveness we saw in season 2. While he may have been overbearing, it wasn't out of malice. He was trying to do everything he could to keep El safe from the people that wanted to hurt her. And sure, he absolutely could have gone about it a different way, I won't argue against that at all because there were times he could have exercised grace and patience and figured out a solution where they were both happy.

As for season 3, I also wasn't the biggest fan of how Hopper acted toward Mike, but also he's watching his daughter grow up and branch out with friends and her boyfriend and there comes that protectiveness again that a lot of parents have toward their kiddos. Again, obviously I don't approve of the way Mike was treated. I think Hopper could have eased up on him while also implementing boundaries as a parent.

And remember...Hopper only got to spend 5 years with his daughter Sarah. El is like a preteen/teen in seasons 2-3. This is a whole different experience for Hopper. He's never parented a teenager before, much less a teen daughter who is superhuman as a single father. Parenthood is trial and error.

And then we obviously have to factor trauma into the conversation as an explanation for a lot of his behavior, but of course that's never an excuse for behavior. But Hopper loves El, and Hopper loves Joyce (and though I feel like we don't really see Hopper and the Byers brothers in scenes together, I'm sure he loves them too) then I think that's some motivation to work on his own healing so he doesn't project onto other people. My point in saying all this is that characters grow and change. And I think Hopper has honestly showed a lot of feelings. Just think of the conversations he had with Enzo in Russia. He showed genuine, raw emotion talking about Sarah and El and all the shit he's been through. That's process. That's development.

At the end of the day, you feel the way you feel about it all and that's perfectly fine. Just wanted to open up the discussion a bit :)