#there's grief in that acceptance and it's bittersweet but it's also happy in a way

[myreia]

— v. raison d'être

It was never going to last. They knew it from the beginning, all of them. Their time in the First was temporary, fleeting. For some, that would have been enough to give pause, to keep distance. For them, it made these moments all the more precious—even when it was difficult, even when it was unfair. Ryne knows they are both proud of her. That will never change, even when they live in separate worlds. It is a bittersweet thing to say goodbye, to close one chapter and begin the next. But change is necessary, a fundamental aspect of life. There is no sense in clinging to the past when the future—with all its countless possibilities—lies ahead. There is no looking back. Only forwards.

[shannonsketches]

something something foils moving in opposite directions Goku's always happy to seek and fight stronger opponents because he spent most of his life being the strongest guy in the room and Vegeta wants to be the strongest/is always exhausted to find stronger opponents because he spent most of his life having to navigate his survival around the whims of the strongest guy in the universe room and so Goku has a foundation of safety and stability and so spends his time craving challenge and adventure and Vegeta has a foundation of challenge and adventure and spends his time craving safety and stability and the overlaid section of their venn diagram is that the only way they know how acquire and maintain those things is through battle

[meowzfordayz]

i belong to you

Author’s Note: short ‘n’ fluffy (w/ a hint of bittersweet 😅). 🥰

i belong to you

Hashira x Reader, Iguro Obanai x Reader, Tokito Muichiro x Reader

Word Count: ~1,800

CW: death content, Fem!Reader, mild sexual content

Song Inspo: I Belong to You by Jacob Lee

~faqs~

They’re all here for us, and I feel their aura, but just for a moment, I’ll pretend it’s just you

He’d never thought of himself as the marrying type, and yet, standing before you, he suddenly couldn’t imagine himself any other way. But truly, it wasn’t even sudden, this slow burning, building, consuming love for the feeling of your hand in his. It was inevitable, the revelation of his heart to yours, just as you gradually unveiled your own for his.

“In this existence of hardship and darkness, I can somehow wake every morning to an absolute truth: that you are beside me, and together, we will overcome anything.”

Perhaps this is a tall promise when every morning brings a different absolute truth as well — that death will come. Some day, somewhere, and likely all too soon. But it’s a promise worth fighting for. This much he knows in his chest as he feels your fingers intertwine with his, squeezing gently as if to promise in return Yes, yes we will.

As Gyomei kisses you, soft and certain, he swears that the world falls to pieces leaving only your body pressed into his, an achingly sweet melody ringing in his ears. And when you whisper I love you, he’s confident that you hear it too.

And I will wait to hear you say, as a tear rolls down your face, I belong to you

“Darling,” she whispers, a steady thumb reaching out to smooth your teardrop into your skin, “Are you okay?”

You nod once, a drowsy smile crinkling the corners of your eyes as more tears escape, tongue heavy in your mouth as she continues wiping your cheeks, her brow furrowed with an adoration that’s always been impossible to resist.

“I’m amazing,” you rasp, catching her hand and cradling it to your chest, ears warming as she kneads her fingertips into your sternum, “I belong to you.”

Mitsuri’s nose scrunches, worried expression soon replaced by a beaming grin, the sweetest of giggles filling the room as she maneuvers herself on top of you, hovering with her palms planted on either side of you while her breasts rest plush against your own.

“I am so in love with you,” she gushes, “With my wife.”

Her lips touch your forehead then your chin, careful fingers tilting your head left and then right to kiss your earlobes, goosebumps raising along your forearms and spine.

“We’re married,” you gasp, stopping her ministrations with a gentle squeeze to her hips, “I get to love you for the rest of our lives.”

Shining eyes meet shining eyes as she lets out a happy sob, bodies intertwined as you settle into the perfect quiet of forever.

Tomorrow I’ll open my eyes, and I will whisper to my wife, I belong to you

Loving you hadn’t come easy, but it hadn’t come especially hard either. For all the anger and regret of her past, you had reminded Shinobu that the present and future persisted, irregardless of her willingness to live in or for them. Perhaps this is why she yelled at you so many months ago, and perhaps this is also why she’d cried. You’d accepted her emotion so simply and resolutely, welcoming her frustration and grief with open arms instead of the very spite and scorn she’d always reserved for herself. And she’d heard herself, for the first time in too long of a time, say I’m sorry. Those two words muffled in the armpit of your haori, her face buried in your embrace, had made your devotion clear as day — a devotion she’d found herself happy and happier to reciprocate.

“Good morning,” she murmurs, airy voice tinged with a solemn adoration discernible only to you.

“Mmm,” you mumble, yawning widely as you burrow yourself deeper into her chest, “Hi.”

“Would you like to know something?” she asks, warming her cheek on the top of your sunkissed head.

“Definitely,” you mumble, limbs clinging drowsily to her small frame, “I enjoy knowing things.”

She slips a cool finger beneath your chin, raising your sleepy gaze to meet her determined stare, mouth soft and decisive when she kisses you. You sigh sweetly into her affection, her smile familiar yet delicate against your own, trying her best to tell you I belong to you. 

I know they see us but they don’t stand a chance, I have kissed those lips a thousand times before this

The first time he kisses you, you think he’s dying. Of course, all paths lead to death, and being a Hashira tends to make this path even shorter, but expected pain is pain nonetheless. You cradle his head in your lap, his hair sticky with blood, his strength overwhelming you Kyojuro-san, stop moving! despite his wounds as he cranes upward to touch his mouth to yours. Tasting of sweat and ashes, your tears cleanse his cheeks and chest, a silly little grin brightening his face while grief and longing sit deep into your stomach.

The second time he kisses you, you’re pissed he’s alive. Well, not that he’s alive, but that he took so long to tell you. Maybe that isn’t fair of you considering he’s just woken from a coma, and maybe that isn’t fair of you considering he limped literal miles to locate you, and maybe that isn’t fair of you considering you were his sole thought and concern as soon as he regained enough consciousness to process that he was, in fact, conscious. But the brittle dread of He’s unlikely to make it has haunted you for months, and-

“Hey,” he rasps, cupping your jaw with a shy tenderness, “No need to ruminate, I am still here.”

Your gaze flits left and right, blurred as you avoid focusing on the steadfast devotion in his eyes, lips tingling from the surety of his kiss.

“I can see that,” you state dryly, your shaky inhale dissolving into a disbelieving sob, his arms atrophied yet certain as they wrap around you, his weight leaning shaky and perfectly against you.

The third time he kisses you, the fourth, and fifth — they are as precious and known, new and familiar, as the very first time.

And when he kisses you for the nth time, when he kisses you as your newly wedded husband, you realize you have already lived a thousand best moments of your life, and that a thousand and more await you.

If I could be honest, here at the altar, I refuse to grow older unless it’s with you

Age has always been a distant thing to Sanemi. He isn’t oblivious to it — the passing of snow into buds, to blossoms and then to the falling of leaves. But it’s a torturous thing to acknowledge. To remember how many more years he’s gotten to live than his mother. His five siblings. Colleagues and strangers alike. He feels as old as he is still young, steeped in death and dishevelment, sticky with yearning and fear, a projection of surety and arrogance fooling even himself. Strong and foolhardy, the clock ticks as he loses a piece of himself, another piece, another and another, to the illusion of living. And then you come slicing into his horizon.

Everything about you is almost polished. Your form, your strength, your five senses, flexibility and endurance… and somehow, he can’t find it in himself to loath you for being less than. Because you are more. You are more than the endless repetitions completed silently before him; you are more than the scrapes and bruises, stubborn retorts and near misses. You are the plate of ohagi left on his doorstep after a particularly harsh exchange of words. He knows he struck first, and yet, you open yourself to forgiveness. You are the letter received when he’s gone on an especially grueling mission. There’s not much to say, but your consideration of him makes him hesitate. You are the sight for sore eyes when he finally realizes, a year and some months into pondering your existence practically every day, that he wants you to be close. Closer. As close as you’re willing to be.

And if close means noticing when your face begins to wrinkle, your hair starts to grey, and your body learns what it is to ache, then he’s ready to remember. To reclaim. The pieces of himself he’d surrendered to time and space; he wants them back as much as he wants you.  All you ask of him is his whole self, and if he is to grant your wish, then he must acknowledge a simple truth: growing old need not be a curse any longer when it could instead be a gift to share with you.

“You’re crying,” you giggle, tears of your own dripping down your cheeks.

“Of course I’m crying,” he scoffs, faint grin softening the edge in his tone, “I get to marry you.”

Yes they can see us but only at a glance, only you know the man that I am beyond the surface

Marriage is hard. Learning someone inside and out is hard. Choosing that same someone day after day is hard. Growing and relapsing, nurturing and surrendering, saying Yes, and. A lifelong commitment of love is hard. And, honestly, Giyuu didn’t think he’d ever get there. He didn’t think he’d be waking up most mornings with your nose nestled in his chest or his arm, your leg stuck between his. He didn’t think he’d be murmuring I love you, a cold and desperate determination I will come home to you flooding his lungs as you do your best to stand strong when he waves. When he leaves. Knowing without a doubt that you’d crumpled as soon as he disappeared from view. He didn’t think he’d be returning to the softest, the greediest, the fondest and proudest, kisses. Kisses on his forehead, his cheeks, ears and chin. Kisses on his lips. Your hands checking his limbs while you listen to his breath; your eyes glistening as he whispers over and over I missed you, I love you, I missed you, I love you. He didn’t think he’d be this intimate, this familiar, this devastatingly and perfectly close to anyone. To you. And yet, here he is.

“Giyuu?”

“My love?”

“I love when you call me that.”

“I know.”

You blush, “Oh,” promptly hiding your face in his armpit.

“And I love getting to love you. I love that you are my love.”

[orphiclovers]

Hear me out about yjh and blondes: 999 yjh x Uriel

YES I'm so into this pairing you have no idea. and lol about the blonde thing. yjh has a type.

I've talked about them some under the tag #999yjhuri (ship name pending...) so check that out but yeah I love them they're canon to me! I don't even know where to start talking about them because I have so much to say

The thing is that Uriel loved her captain so much. 999 is the only turn we know of where she was one of Yoo Joonghyuk's companions and it's sooo significant to that round specifically because she is an ANGEL and a constellation of the Absolute Good system!

Uriel saw this one man who sacrificed everything for his companions and decided she wanted to fight by his side. He was the 'good' she saw in the world. And then she had to stand by helplessly and watch as his soul and body withered from the outer world covenant. and see up close as with the same noble sacrifice she fell in love with he destroyed himself.

But they thought they could make it to the end of the scenarios at least, they were so close, but then at the very last moment he DIED IN HER ARMS!!! And she lost her mind with grief and swore eternal vengeance upon the one who took him away.

The good in her soul died with him! She who was the righteous 'absolute good' angel of Eden for thousands of years was so broken by his death she chose to become evil, to become the very thing she swore to destroy

And of course this neatly ties into spuri, the one who was the object of her single minded obsession for thousands of years. Even to the point when it made no sense, when she learned who he was, it didn't matter because the bloody path of vengeance was all she had and all that kept her alive.

And then there's the huge complicated mess of what SP thinks about 999 Uriel. His careful neutrality when she attempts to kill him and burns down his forest with all the inhabitants. The was he doesn't react because he thinks he is reaping what he sowed. He says to Kim Dokja that this is the consequences of his mistake - sees her as a divine punishment for his sins in the 999th regression rather than as a person who wants to kill him

And at the same time in his mind there exists 999, who, quote off the top of my head, 'sighs in lamentation at the sun' when she attacks N'gai. 999 is COMPLICATED and I won't get into his insane psychology in this post but in short, he feels pity for her and all the rest of his companions who turned into outer gods (and also SP...) but makes the frankly correct decision to not come back to them even though he technically COULD, because it would cheapen everything they went through. There is no way to turn back time and save your fallen companion, even when there is. He KNOWS they live in his memory and that's why he can never return (kim dokja anyone...). He does his best to stay dead, even in his afterlife.

And, stay with me here, there's the love triangle of it all.

Both Uri and SP wanted to save 999 but neither of them could. And she despises SP for killing the love of her life but they both wanted the same thing, for 999 to be happy!

I think about SPuri in the post epilogue OD household. Even though Uriel accepted that 999 wouldn't come back and gave up her futile revenge quest against SP, there's still lingering awkwardness and tension there. After hating him for so long it's difficult to act normal around him. I imagine she treats him with civil distance.

And then, when SP does something small that reminds her of 999, she has to look away to remind herself that 999 didn't want to come back and to respect his decision, berating herself for mistaking SP for the man she loves, which is disrespectful to them both.

Even though SP didn't often think of 999 and himself as the same person, I think spending all his time around the 999th turns companions + having 999s memories in his head would inevitably bring out old habits and that side of him more. To all around bittersweet feelings from the outer gods, not just Uriel

[tinkerbelle05]

How would Battinson react to his kids, his babies, dating, and growing up?

The first was Dick. He saw the growing embers of something more than friendship between him and Wally. The longing stares when one thought no one was looking, the longer than necessary touching, the blushes. It seemed like everyone could see but those two, and it was cute.

It stopped being cute when Dick entered his office one afternoon. Bruce hadn’t known what personal space was since Dick got comfortable with him. Dick would frequently invade it by jumping on Bruce’s back for an impromptu piggyback ride, though those were things of the past the older and bigger Dick got, or just giving him a bear hug.

But this was different. The way he actually walked rather than ran, the way his demeanor was more closed off and hesitant rather than open and relaxed like it usually was.

He walked to meet Dick halfway, abandoning his work. He gently held his shoulders.

“What’s wrong, Chum?”

Dick took a deep breath, in and out. “I have a boyfriend! It's Wally.” He blurted out and looked at Bruce.

Bruce saw fleeting hope of acceptance, of love in Dick’s eyes. But he also saw uncertainty of rejection in them too.

“That’s great, chum. Who confessed first?” Bruce was happy for Dick, he deserved happiness, especially in their line of work. But a small part of him felt bitter about it.

Not Wally himself, he knew the kid for years and he was a good one. But of what he represented, his birds were growing up and leaving the nest. Leaving him. Now, Bruce was happy to see his children growing into themselves. However, he feels like he isn’t needed anymore.

Why would they need a protector, who isn’t even that good at it anyway, when they showed again and again that they can provide for themselves?

The announcement reminded him of Jaime and Jason, he liked him and Damian certainly did, but his kids’ were leaving. Like, today Jason and Damian canceled dinner to be with Jamie and his family for dinner.

But this wasn’t about how Bruce feels. So even if it was bittersweet he listened to Dick rave about Wally.

Giving Bruce so much detail, he wasn't sure if this even was the same person, but he guessed being childhood best friends are different from being boyfriend.

“Alfred, have you seen Tim? He is not in the Cave or his room.” They were working on a hard and gruesome case, and just when Tim was healing from that nasty cut he got last night. Bruce knows how Tim gets when they have cases like these. He would work from day to night until he gets an answer, and that is if he doesn't fall asleep first. Even if he was recovering, and that missing spleen of his didn’t make things better.

It was one of the many things he neglected to teach Tim when he was first Robin, to have a good work-life balance, not that Bruce could talk but still, too filled with grief to see. But he is making a change, and that is starting with getting Tim to bed.

“No, I haven't, Master Bruce,” the butler answers, “but I’ll be on the lookout for him.”

Bruce gave a nod and continued to search the Manor looking for his son. He’d done this before, hiding from Bruce, because he knew what will happen. It’s childish and oftentimes annoying but a tiny part likes taking care of Tim. Tucking him into bed, kissing him on the forehead, and closing the door slowly.

Eventually, he does find Tim, he’s in Bruce’s room. His black hair, which was in that middle stage of looking long while short, looked like a bird’s nest and his eyes were dazed like he had taken a nap. His disheveled sheets and blankets were evidence of that.

“Good afternoon, Timmy.” Bruce greets him with a small smile.

Tim blinked at him like an owl and he came to his senses slowly. He looked like a misbehaving child who got caught red-handed with contraband cookies.

“Shit!”

“Language” Bruce corrected automatically. Raising kids for years will do that to you, especially Jason and Duke.

“Sh– shot! Sorry B I'll go.”

Bruce leaped forward to stop Tim’s frantic movements. “Tim, you don't have to leave or anything. I'm fine with you staying in my bed. I was just looking for you all over to take a break. But I see you’re already doing that..”

Red paints over Tim’s ears and neck and attempts to look away from them. “Well duh, I'm not a kid anymore B.”

His last all-nighter was 2 days ago. Duke found him in the dining chair.

Tim looks him straight in the eyes, “I heard you talking to Alfred. I was worrying you with my bad self-care habits and I decided to grow up. Besides, I can't live how I used to, especially without my spleen.”

Now it was Bruce’s turn to look surprised. He thought he would never see the day. But why are tears threatening to spill out then? Why was there a hole forming in his heart then? He should be happy, his children are growing into fine young men and women. So why....?

“Woah, woah, Bruce!” Tim’s alert voice yelled for him, breaking Bruce from his thoughts to see that tears were actually forming.

“Oh, don't mind me,” he shrugged Tim off and blinked the tears away. “I have some work that needs to get done, so you go rest up.” Bruce pushed Tim into the bed and tucked him into the covers, kissing him on the forehead, and closing the door slowly. A routine he’s done multiple times with multiple children, and his mind wonders when they’ll ask him to stop doing that.

He ignored Tim’s shouts to come back and closed the door. He walks aimlessly through the quiet and empty manor. It’s been ages since the building was filled with sound and laughter, now it sits in silence. So quiet Bruce can hear his footsteps echoing throughout the halls when 2 months ago he couldn’t even hear what Duke was saying while Tim and Damien engaged in their weekly arguments about everything and anything.

Oh, Duke. Gotham’s daytime vigilante, one of her many victims. He came to Bruce unsure in everything he was doing but nowadays he’s grown sure in his actions. On the last patrol, Tim had gotten hurt badly and the only way out was for Duke to drive. He didn't need Bruce or Babara to guide him.

His kids were growing up, and soon, they wouldn't need him anymore.

[mtkay13]

The peach blossoms are blooming

Lol @the fancy title, haha. Yesterday I promised "two hoboxu's today!" but I'm an inconsistant liar so the second is today and not yesterday, HAH.

Anyway, another painting of my very beloved; more about this piece below!

So aside of the obvious joke, what I really wanted to work on and represent on this picture is, as the title makes it clearer, grief, and what it looks like for ZZS.

The idea came from imagining ZZS setting off, happy with his disguise, and passing by a peach tree orchards and seeing all the peach blossoms blooming, and what it would entail.

...So let's talk about what TYK is about again, shall we?

(usual caveat: those are my thoughts and interpretations etc etc)

Little is known of the four years that separate the end of QY and the beginning of TYK. Even less is obviously stated when it comes to the reasons why ZZS has put in the nails, besides the obvious "requirement to leave Tian Chuang" part.

So, trying to leave all headcanons and other suppositions aside, and looking at what the text gives us, one of the main "storylines" of ZZS' personal journey across both books seems to be: dealing with the loss of LJX, first of their relationship, and later, of LJX entirely.

>I'm going to boldly announce that (I think) TYK is in great parts a story about getting over grief, or rather, properly living with grief.

Needless to say that it is clear that ZZS has a bunch of issues he's dealing with, including "the void after meeting your goals; what's next?" and some form of burnout from completely over-exerting himself and going way beyond what he thought he could sustain mentally; but also. Four years after he lost LJX, ZZS is still deeply grieving. Still seeing him in crowds, still thinking about him frequently, still hallucinating him, dreaming of him. He couldn't resist taking in ZCL because ZCL reminded him of LJX. Nearly every single thought of his own past ends up rooting back to LJX.

The first time he mentions LJX's name out loud in TYK, chapter 41, is the first time he mentions it at all in four years, and to quote the text:

Speaking out his name hadn't been that big of a deal, in the end; it had only felt like something had been pulled out of his chest—like he was now missing a piece, like it left behind an empty void.

(TYK ch41, TL by me)

The next scene is when it hits ZZS that he's going to die; from that moment on, ZZS starts feeling stupid, ZZS slowly starts wanting to find a solution, influenced by WKX... and the story culminates with ZZS making the opposite decision that he made in QY: instead of risking never seeing WKX alive again, and against WKX's decision, he goes to meet him, unlike LJX whom he was too scared to go meet, and lost forever without even saying goodbye.

>I think that ZZS essentially took the nails because he couldn't manage to live with that grief, basically. (I know, I KNOW there are other reasons, but for the sake of analyzing this theme, I find interesting to look at it from this angle; how the narrative shifts towards ZZS putting in the efforts to stay alive at the exact same times he starts letting go of LJX literally.) And then, as he learns, as he rediscovers life differently, the story becomes about getting free from the nails, about actially living with that grief rather than dying because of it.

*coughs* so, hum, yes. This is what I wanted to represent. What grief looks like, at this stage of melancholic, happy, self-deprecating acceptance of freedom through death—freedom of the burden of grief and guilt. It's a bittersweet feeling, but the way I see it, he smiles out of what he thinks is inner peace, resignation, and once again, self-deprecation.

I would go even deeper, in that ZZS' relationship to death with regards to LJX is quite complex and difficult, given how he was told by LJX himself that he ought to die for what he's done (or misunderstood LJX saying so), but that's a whole other can of worms and I don't have the brain juice to go there again (since it wouldn't even be the first time iirc). SO YEAH, again, grief, but ZZS style: turned into a bit of a melancholic, silly, but gentle joke, and with a smile on the face. On brand with TYK as well.

Cheers!

[kiwiana-writes]

banner by the inimitable @sparklepocalypse

WITH SO MUCH OF MY HEART (THAT NONE IS LEFT TO PROTEST) by @kiwiana-writes

Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Rafael Luna, June Claremont-Diaz, Nora Holleran, Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, David the Beagle (Red White & Royal Blue), Zahra Bankston, Liam (Red White & Royal Blue), Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Enemies to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Bisexual Disaster Alex Claremont-Diaz, Canon Dialogue, like an embarrassing amount of it actually but whatever, and I am including Much Ado dialogue in that as well as RWRB, Much Ado About Nothing, Much Ado About Nothing References, Inspired by Shakespeare, References to Shakespeare, in which the author nerds out about Shakespeare and queerness and also drops a James Bond deep cut, Slow Burn, not the relationship so much but the writing definitely, once they actually get together it’s kind of a relationship speedrun if we’re being honest, but we take a while to work up to the rating sorry, let Rafael Luna be the queer mentor Alex deserves, Epistolary, so much epistolary nonsense scattered throughout, Smut, Grief/Mourning, not at the same time lol, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, First Time Bottoming, Semi-Public Sex, Homophobia, Racism, Communication Failure, Panic Attacks, Canon-Typical Angat, Angst With a Happy Ending, POV Alternating Summary: Alex is a former child star struggling to make the transition into being seen as a serious actor. He jumps at an opportunity to perform on stage in the UK, seeing it as a way to break free from the typecasting and show what he can really do. But he wasn’t prepared to star alongside someone he hates. // Henry is a recent theatre graduate who accepts an amazing role in a queer reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing. And then it turns out his co-star is none other than the man he’s been hopelessly pining after for years—even though Henry made a terrible first impression when they met. // It’s… well, it’s practically Shakespearean.

Complete fic

Act I: I, II, III Act II: I, II, III Act III: I, II, III, IV, V Act IV: I, II Act V: I, II, III, IV

***

Part Two: The star to every wandering bark

Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Characters: Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Alex Claremont-Diaz, June Claremont-Diaz, Ellen Claremont, Oscar Diaz (Red White & Royal Blue), Leo (Red White & Royal Blue), Liam (Red White & Royal Blue), Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, 5 Things, 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Fluff, tagging too extensively will spoil part 1 of this series, but trust that it's fluff and joy all the way down, spoilery summary is in the notes!, Implied/Referenced Sex, POV Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Summary: A 5+1 coda-ish thing set through the back half of the With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) epilogue!

***

Part Three: Thus may poor fools believe false teachers

Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Oscar Diaz & Rafael Luna Characters: Rafael Luna, Oscar Diaz, Jeffrey Richards, Alex Claremont-Diaz (mentioned) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Homophobia, Bittersweet ending, but part one of the series makes it all better, POV Rafael Luna Summary: Rafael's POV of the Dad's Way cancellation; a prequel to With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest)

***

Part Four: Nature's infinite book of secrecy

Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Oscar Diaz & Rafael Luna, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Rafael Luna Characters: Rafael Luna, Oscar Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont, Leo, Oliver Westbrook Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, 5 Things, 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Bets & Wagers, POV Rafael Luna, and then as a bonus, POV Oscar Diaz Summary: Five times Rafael tried to figure out when Henry might propose and one time Oscar did something with that information; a sequel to With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest)

***

Part Five: Make heaven drowsy with the harmony

Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Zahra Bankston/Shaan Srivastava Characters: Shaan Srivastava, Zahra Bankston, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Entertainment Industry, Talent Agent Zahra Bankston, Private Secretary Shaan Srivastava, Countess Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Crush at First Sight, Arthur Fox Feels, Mildly Tipsy Sex, Long-Distance Relationship, Fandom Trumps Hate, Fandom Trumps Hate 2024, POV Shaan Srivastava Summary: Zahra and Shaan's story before and alongside With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest)

[consistentsquash]

Day 12: A fic from your favorite author

@hprecfest

I have two! I love them both always and forever <3 Reccing a fic each from them

Green Grow the Rushes, O by eldritcher. Rated M. 11400 words. Snarry - Incredibly beautiful, incredibly profound, full of rage, love, grief, regret, sacrifice, revenge, mourning and love. It embraces the drama and the whimsy of the canon including the darkness under the surface of a children's story and creates a stunning, beautiful myth. It's a fic you can sing. But also, it's a fic that sings to you. Snape is almost a hostage in this fic whether it is a hostage to Harry, McGonagall, his losses, his guilt, his relationship with his father, the eroding church and shoreline and even the constellations in the sky. We are also co-hostages with him. When he's in TOTAL disbelief of his imperfect, sexy happy ending we are right there with him :D The most atmospheric fic of its wordcount range.

Year of the Thestral by @perverse-idyll Rated E. 127200 words. Snape/McGonagall - Tragically beautiful, intense, complex picture of love, rage, betrayal, grief and loss and a whole lot of other emotions. Because folks don't feel exactly one or two emotions at any given time after experiencing intense life events like what happened to the characters during DH and nobody can write that full, unnamed range and depth of emotions with the specificity and intensity PI can. A wildfire of a fic. Like any wildfire you get some pine cones bursting and new life/new emotion in the end but it's bittersweet and you can see how the dawn poured like weak tea through the eastern windows, feel what it's like to be accepted beyond the wildest imaginings of the lank-haired, half-feral child who'd once scrambled aboard the Hogwarts Express, feverishly reaching for a better life and like Snape you are going to spend a blissful hour dreaming of the taste of tea. The most Snape Snape ever Snaped.

On a lot of levels, my fav authors have similar vibes in their writing. I feel they write similar subjects but with different frequencies if that makes sense. The writing has similar tones of IDGAF self-indulgence and zero adherence to fandom zeitgeists. They have the ability to write multiple characters and pairings in different settings with the same level of passion, originality and conviction. They are both insanely obsessed with language/prose/poetry and intertextuality and can actually make that work for their fics. They also have the rare gift of makebelieve in the classic storytelling sense of "I can make you suspend your disbelief" which leads to gorgeously sublime fics that are full of confidence + earnestness in the world/setting which means you have no choice but to make it your reality until you are on the fic's last word and it's going to haunt you after that for the rest of your life. They commit 100% to the story and to the romance of the story. They go 100% into the good/bad/ugly mud of human stuff without making me as a reader feel squicked out/dirty. Also flesh? Like I always feel they write characters with flesh and everything associated with that in a poignant, humorous, wistful, fully engaged with the flesh + its flaws sense. The overall ending feel is always bittersweet joy that stays with me and changes my understanding of life in some mysterious way. In both cases, I feel I can analyze the fics for days in whatever Doylist or Watsonian framing I want. But even without those things, their fics mean 100% of everything for me. Love love love <3

[mcntsee]

néant doux-amer / bittersweet nothingness

Summary: YN knows she’s going to die any minute now after a mission that went wrong. She know she has to accept it, but she’s scared. Luckily for her Kaz, the only man she has ever felt safe with, finds her just in time to comfort her in her last minutes. What she didn’t know was the pain Kaz would experience second after she was gone.

Warnings: This story contains themes of violence, injury, death, fear, and grief. Terrible writing that is probably going to be edited soon. I did try to make this sad. No happy ending. Pretty short, but I’m planning a pt.2

Also: I used google translate for the title, so I have no idea if it actually makes sense.

YN lay on the dirty concrete of Ketterdam, her body riddled with bullets and her life slipping away. She knew that death was creeping up on her with every passing second, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The fear had consumed her, and she felt helpless. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. “Y/N?” she looked up to see Kaz, the only man she had ever felt truly safe with, running towards her. “Oh saints, Y/n!”

Blood oozed out of the bullet wounds and stained her clothes a deep red. Kaz was on his knees beside her in a matter of seconds, trying to staunch the bleeding with his jacket. “YN, stay with me," he whispered desperately, fear etched on his face.

"I'm scared, Kaz," she said weakly. "Don't be scared. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you," he replied, his voice shaky. But they both knew it was too late for that.

"Kaz, I don't want to die. Not yet," whispered YN. "I know dove, I'm here with you," replied Kaz, his tone soothing despite the fear in his own voice.

YN reached out a trembling hand towards Kaz, desperate for some human touch in her final moments. But Kaz's face twisted in fear, his phobia of physical contact preventing him from comforting her in the way she needed. "It's okay, YN. You're not alone." He said while fighting the demons in his head that dared to be so cruel by keeping him from touching her in her last moments.

Tears filled YN's eyes as she looked up at Kaz, knowing that he was the only person who truly understood her. She took a shaky breath, knowing that her time was running out.

"Thank you, Kaz. -”And something in his mind clicked, the voices filling his head went silent for a moment and he realized that she needed him. With trembly hands, Kaz took his gloves out and granted Y/n’s last wish by taking her hand in his. “-For everything." Said Y/n with a weakened smile. Kaz leaned in closer, "Anything for you, dove."

In that moment, YN's eyes closed for the last time and her hand fell limp. Kaz's heart shattered, knowing that he had just lost the only person he truly cared for. He sat there for a moment, overwhelmed with sadness. She was gone and he was, once again, left alone fighting the demons in his head that were telling him to let go as her hand grew colder, and colder but he couldn’t. Tears streamed down Kaz's face as he clutched onto YN's lifeless hand. He was barley able to touch her while she was alive but was now holding onto death so tightly because that was all he had left from her.

[hello-nichya-here]

No, the HIMYM finale is not secretly genius, stop lying to yourselves

The series finale of How I Met Your Mother, with Robin divorcing Barney and then getting together with Ted, a widower, years later could have been great. Yes, I'm serious.

Two people that were NOT soulmates and did NOT work out as couple when they were in their 20s met their true soulmates but life made them split up, and then they got a second chance of happiness with each other because, despite not being a perfect match they were at a point where they could make it work? Could totally work as a "bittersweet" ending. It's not "happily ever after" but it still finding happiness after the tragedy that stole their actual happily ever after, which is a valid, totally compelling story to tell.

But the writers completely destroyed any chance of it working as a satisfying story because the ending simply doesn't work as a twist and foreshadowing can't compete with consistent characterization.

The finale would only ever work if we had gotten to see the years of character development that were supposed to lead up to it. We'd have to SEE Barney and Robin's marriage deteriorating. We'd have too SEE Tracy's struggle with her illness and then Ted's years of grief. We'd have to SEE Ted and Robin slowly reconnecting and realizing that they've changed so much that can actually be a decent couple now - and more importantly, we have to see them CHANGE IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM COMPATIBLE, NOT SIMPLY REVERSING THEM BACK TO HOW THEY WERE IN THE PILOT EPISODE BECAUSE THEY WERE ALREADY INCOMPATIBLE BACK THEN!

The show spent 98% of it's time building up to the "red-herring" of a Barney/Robin & Ted/Tracy endgame, with only the ocasional hints that this wasn't actually going to happen. It spent 9 fucking years, 9 seasons of 20+ episodes, building up to it this false endgame. Then suddenly the finale they try to give us SIXTEEN YEARS IN 40 MINUTES, expecting the audience the do the writer's jobs for them and fill in the blanks.

If they had given us the "fake ending" in the middle of the show, then spent the following seasons building up to the true ending, the finale wouldn't have been hated. Sure, no one would be surprised by the events in it, but anyone who didn't want Ted and Robin together would have bailed on the series a long time ago anyway.

And that's why they didn't do it. Because they knew most people didn't want these two to be endgame, LOVED Barney's growth as a character, and were not only eagerly waiting to meet Tracy but were also blown away by how she managed to be even better than we imagined. They wanted to have it both ways: give the audience what they wanted AND say "Sorry, this is our story, if you don't like it you don't have to watch it." It's cowardly, pathetic and a deep betrayal of the audience's trust, because people CAN accept not being given what they wanted - but they don't accept being lied to.

We never saw Barney be frustrated by Robin's work or by constant traveling before the finale - he's the "challenge accepted" guy, for fuck's sake, he used to go random trips just for the sake of having an adventure with his friends - thefore we don't believe that he is miserable enough that he'd want to end their marriage.

You can't show us Robin repeatedly choosing Barney over Ted, give us an insane scene of her covering Ted's face during sex to pretend she's sleeping with someone else, having her react to what she thinks is a proposal with 'You can't do this to me!", and even saying, to his face, that she doesn't love him, and then pretend that she totally still had feelings for him this entire time.

Even Ted pointed out, during this wedding to Stella, that Robin isn't hoping he'll remain single because she genuinely wants him, but because she's just afraid of being alone. C&C cannot convince general audiences, or critics, that she loves this man after they literally described the show as "The story of man that is in love with a woman, and she doesn't want that."

They can't tell me Ted genuinely loved Robin when he was constantly irritated by everything that makes her who she is: the fact that she's career-driven, always takes charge of everything, doesn't want kids, likes to travel around because she wants life to be an adventure, doesn't seem to believe in fate or soulmates, is a gun enthusiast, etc. They can't tell me they'd make it work when that's still who Robin is a person and Ted would still be irritated by it.

They DEFINITIVELY cannot convince me that him being hung up on her for so long means anything when he meets a new potential "soulamte" every other week, and will ALSO fall back in love with multiple exes the second he runs into them again, or so much as thinks back to the good old times.

And they absolutely cannot fucking tell me that he'd still be hung up on her after 25 fucking years, after he met his actual soulmate - unless they want me to believe the woman that was basically born from his rib is not his soulmate, which I call bullshit on.

And no, finale defenders, you cannot make this an inspirational "He found happiness with an old flame after his true love passed away because life is messy like that" when the show itself said, all the way back in season two "If Ted and Robin got married, they'd inevitably divorce, handle terribly, and screw up any kids they had."

Because yes, that's a thing that happens. When Robin meets Ted's parents, there's a whole misunderstanding about the dad supposedly cheating on the mom - and then we discover that actually they've been divorced FOR A LONG TIME, and just never told their kids because REASONS. Ted is even outraged that "Is this what passes for communication in this family?" More importantly, he and Robin, who are wearing the same colors as his parents, are shocked as they realize that the reasons for their divorce were the same reasons that made Robin not want to want Ted - the same reasons that would make them break up episodes later.

The writting is on the wall here. Ted and Robin will inevitably split up, and his kids will resent them both for getting them caught in the crossfire. Ted is already taking a page from his parents' book on How To Suck At Communicating Like A Normal Person by claiming he's gonna tell a story about their mother, only to then be like "Actually, this about how I love someone else and want to date her now."

"Oh, you just don't get it! The show was never about the Yellow Umbrella (Tracy)! It was about the Blue French Horn (Robin)!"

Yeah. It was about Robin. About how she's completely wrong for Ted and how they could never be happy together. About how he needs to let go of this obsession before it ruins his life and his relationship with everyone else that he is hurting during his attempts of getting with her: Victoria, Barney, Tracy, his children, and even Robin herself.

This is not a bittersweet ending. This is not a happy ending. This is two delusional writers ACCIDENTALLY giving their characters the most miserable endgame possible, and being convinced that they're giving us a fairy-tale ending - because yeah, that's what they thought. They weren't even aiming for bittersweet. They were never aiming for "Tragedy happens, but life goes on and you can still find happiness in it." They thought that Robin and Ted being so distraught by their awful lives that they convince themselves they were meant to be, and then go on to ruin their already shiity lives even more, was the most perfect happily ever after anyone could ask for.

The finale COULD have been great. Instead it was the worst thing imaginable, and the very fact that people can only try to defend it by WILDLY misterpreting what the writers wanted them to take from it is proof of how poorly thought out and written it was.

No one likes it for what it is, they like it for what they PRETEND it is. That simple fact is more insulting to this ending than anything I or anyone else could possibly say.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

January MC of the Month: Nora Rose

Please welcome January 2024's MC of the Month! Each month, we highlight one MC or OC on our Meet My MC / OC List. They are selected randomly on the Wheel of Names, and eligibility requirements can be found here. We accept MC / OC profiles on an ongoing basis. Please feel free to send yours in!

This month’s MC of the month is…

@inlocusmads's Nora Rose

More below...

In your own words, tell us what you like most about your MC / OC.

The thing I like the best about Nora is how she has a killswitch alternative to any plan she comes up with. Even if it is something as simple as coming up with dinner options. She has this interesting perceptive ability that's akin to playing 4D chess, but at the same time, she has elevator music running in her head.

At the same time, she's sometimes terribly wrong and isn't afraid to acknowledge that. The things she's able to do today - from keeping a level head and a calm composure in the hardest of situations come from her childhood where things were hard, and she had to grow up quite quickly. A lot of times, she'd have to think on her feet, run through options, remember new stuff, and be able to work with her constraints, not just pertinent to her job but in her adulthood as a whole. Her capacity to be able to stand up on her own feet came from so many instances where she couldn't even get off the floor or look straight ahead. 

Nora's also a slow learner but an avid one nonetheless. She was kicked out of so many schools when she was young, mostly because of her not being able to focus properly or standing up to her bullies (something the school calls ‘stirring trouble up’), and it kind of stunted the faith she had in herself. She had to build up an open mind to be able to differentiate between what is good and bad for her. She had to learn how to carve out her own path, despite dealing with so much grief she could never move on from. All of these things stuck to her when she grew up, which made her more aware and sponge-like to gather the mental ammunition needed to face all kinds of problems. 

Nora's far from what she pictured herself to be as a kid, but she's kind of bittersweet about making it this far. Optimistic that if she just doesn't think too much about stuff, the space and time around her would heal even the bloodiest of wounds, but also disappointed she can't deal with things more openly and faster, like in a brawling match. But I'm happy for her, given the circumstances she was in. Nora's always had this ability to chew her way out of things - by hook or by crook. If she can't decode a lock, she'd just give it a slight nudge. If the nudge doesn't work, she'll just straight-up shoot at it and deal with the fallout later. Her main motto is to “just keep going”. 

Do you feel your MC / OC is like you at all? How are you alike or different?

I'd say I took a lot from my experiences growing up and gave them to Nora - dealing with people at school, understanding where she truly “belongs” (before she realized that was a load of bull and she should just stop tunnel-visioning a perfect outcome and instead think about laying down a different road to her path). Nora and I share this trait where we can't sit still, but if something's up, we'd spend hours at the same place, even if it involves doing absolutely nothing. Plus, it takes both of us ages to respond to a message. Nora more than me, for sure, and half the time, she's just bored of the routine email chore (not a good sign in her line of work, but she manages.)

That's where the similarities stop haha.

She's a tough person. She throws a good punch, having undergone a lot of physical training to qualify for her NYPD officer job and more recently, for her private eye job (Mafalda had some strict requirements). She's also a great problem-solver as aforementioned. Besides the usual differences in physicality and all, she doesn't get startled easily - as in, the world could possibly end tomorrow and she'd still be at her desk, responding to a two-year old email. Her self-assurance at that instant (not anytime or anywhere else) but at that very instant is so strong, it is honestly remarkable. 

Nora also enjoys doing things on her own. Whether it be making dinner from scratch, down to the bread-baking, deducing information (without relying on scraping the bowels of the internet) or stitching her clothes if they don't fit her. It was one of the only lessons her mother taught her before she passed. Which is also the reason why she doesn't like frozen food. More on that later. 

What is most important to your MC / OC? What is their motivation in life?

Vengeance. 

Just kidding. 

It is actually vengeance. I don't know how else to put it. 

Nora's been wronged by a lot of people in her life. From losing her mother because the hospital in charge neglected her to losing her father also because her co-workers neglected him, she went through pretty much the same neglect-arc in school and college. She was always dismissed as a “traumatized kid” half the time and the other half the time, people didn't listen to her when she'd say, for example, report a bully for what they did or critique a faculty member for showing their bias. It resulted in a lot of things that went wrong in her life - from not having a good support system to being an actual orphan when she was barely thirteen. 

This kind of manifested in horrible ways when she was a kid. She suffered from a lot of anger issues and would immediately resort to physical violence if she were confronted. It isn't fair to blame her either, because she was so helpless. She'd wanted someone, just anyone to listen to her - to be there for her. This desire to help her child-self developed well into adulthood. Nora began building back the stability she never had. She's still doing it. She allows herself optimism even when she doesn't believe in anything. She puts her faith in the arbitrary workings of the universe so there's less burden to carry on her shoulders. Even though the things she tells herself aren't all perfect, they would be something her younger self would have appreciated so much. 

Taking revenge for the child in her to rest easy, for the teenage girl in her to find joys in stupid things such as trashy television shows and emo music and for her to be at peace in her own skin without wanting to explode every five minutes has always been her plan ever since she grew up. That and simply because she uses it to feel more proud of what she does. When something isn't getting anywhere, she's like “Yeah well, f it, we'll get it done. A setback ain't shit.” It was always about the “we”. 

Nora is also driven by the motivation to finish something as fast as possible. Everything is like cross-country running to her because she relishes in the satisfaction of getting a chunk of time just to herself right after getting something done. Which means she's either very good at jumping through hoops or crashes and burns. If something takes longer than her intended expectations, she'll drop it in an instant or table it until she gets her motivation back to finish it. It resulted in a lot of half-completed, archived projects but a few she's proud of, including having made her own quilts and bedsheets for the winter. 

This mentality is something she can never get rid of. At school, she was either the best player on her soccer team or the absolute worst. (Hey, at least there's no in-between to her.)

What are their biggest pet peeves/dislikes?

She hates frozen food with a burning passion. Being from a Chinese household, her parents, in the few good years they had with her - taught her the importance of a home-cooked meal or just any cooked meal. Nora, being the impressionable naive child she was, caught onto it and developed this visceral hatred for frozen anything. While she digs the convenience, she isn't a fan of how it tastes either - apart from her family values. This seeps into how Nora sees everything. She's the weird survivalist aunt with a shotgun in her closet because her personal goal is to make everything she consumes. From food, down to the clothes she wears or the curtains in her window, everything has to have had her work and hours put into it. 

Nora is also not a fan of people who don't listen first and just yap, yap and yap. This is why she often got into “creative differences” with her co-workers in her precinct. This is also the reason why Mafalda gives Nora full control of the wheel when she isn't there at the Agency, because the fewer people yapping, the happier Nora is and the better she works. 

As for visceral dislikes, boy oh boy does she have a lot:

Starting strong with the NYPD because they suck, point blank, period. She also thinks there's a special place in hell for people who just assume a lot and can get away with baseless accusations. She can understand broken promises - after all, people move on sometimes, and it's hard to keep track of them, but she draws the line at a proper betrayal. Words don't matter much to her, but actions do. Nora also isn't a fan of people who jump to the easiest conclusion just because it's easy. She’s seen a lot in her life not to automatically red-flag them. It’s worse when it comes from authorities, y’know people you’re taught to trust.

Also, people who gate-keep their expertise. She’s come across so many pretentious people who’d rather let an important investigation hit a dead end than worry about spilling their “trade secrets.” Kind of a niche dislike, but if you’re running out of time and your only hope banks on a mystery novelist’s ability to describe what he saw and tell the truth like his characters would have done, you too would be frustrated if he’d rather drink his coffee when he knows he’s purposefully jeopardizing the investigation’s momentum. And that’s just one of her ‘good’ experiences. Nora loathes academia and wouldn’t touch it even with a six-foot pole.

If your MC / OC could change one thing - anything - what would it be?

Be blessed with a readable medical textbook so she could diagnose her mother earlier than her doctors ever can (and) get magical surgery skills to revive her dad after he got stabbed. 

She still regrets not being able to do anything because she was “just a kid”.Nora has learned to cope with it, knowing she can't do anything about it but she still has this itching feeling of what if things had turned out for the better. It's this heavy rock she's gonna have to deal with for sometime now. 

Nora has this tricky relationship with her heritage. She isn't a fan of how different she is compared to the rest of her family and how they'd ostracized her after her settling down far from home. She wants to be able to change that aspect but knows it is too late to repair the damage. If she could go back in time and “pick a side,” she wouldn't have to feel the FOMO.

This regret of hers, however, is attributed to her never feeling she belonged somewhere among her family. Someday, she'd have to find her own family, own circle of friends, and culture to build. Someday, she'll learn that she's as valid to celebrate her heritage as her Aunt Mei or Uncle Tommy. That there aren't true extremes to anything there's no “one way” to be something, but until then, she's going to angrily sew back some loose stitches and groan about not being able to speak Cantonese as fluently as her relatives or being a “true” New Yorker. 

Also maybe her hair. (Also it is so hard to draw her hair consistently.) Sometimes it gets in the way. And maybe fix her eyesight without needing contacts or glasses. Automatically give herself 20/20 vision whenever needed and blur her eyes out when she doesn't want to.

What is your MC / OC’s favorite quote or song?

It's hard to pick one song, because Nora listens to anything and doesn't really have a music ‘taste’ as long as the song she's listening to has some spunk to it. Something she relates to would be I Talk To The Wind by King Crimson. Combined with the slow pace and the lyrics that basically put her life as a picture, it's a bop.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your MC / OC?  (It can be why you created them, how they’ve inspired you, or you could write a little blurb as if it is coming from your OC - an acceptance speech. :) )

I've struggled a lot with naming characters before but Nora's was the only time I knew her name wayyy before I could give her a personality. I was like “yep she's Nora, she's definitely one, yep.” and somehow I didn't anticipate how much she'd like, write herself and the story just writing itself. It literally popped into my head as outlandish as it may seem. And somehow that process worked because I don't ever run out of new headcanons to add.

Nora's also the first character I've created a 100k-worded introduction for (which will never see the light of day and is chucked into my files). I honestly expected her to just be fleeting. I'd make up something about her character, and I'd leave it at that, but nope. 

She's the most organized person in the universe. Her clothes never had a chance to get folded since 1999. She is so methodic and yet will pull off stupid shit like kickboxing a door because she doesn't want to open it. Nora is the character to every character but she stops charactering if she's in front of any screen with something playing on it. She can calculate the angle she needs to throw something so it can hit something, but she fails at basic math at the checkout line. She's masterful at cooking up a storm in the kitchen but enters her flop era when she forgets to take her stuff from the oven when the timer beeps.

Honestly, Nora was such a good lesson in writing as well because people are not always black-and-white. Sometimes, their strengths are their weaknesses. Sometimes the things they are chasing after work against their benefit. Maybe their opinions are skewed after all, even though the narrative conditions into believing that they're the Hero character. They should be allowed to be terribly piss-pathetic poor at something before learning to solve the problem, and sometimes it's okay if they're just bad at something if they can improv a way forward.

Plus, she's cool and stuff. Sometimes. 

[paxesoterica]

What’s your favorite Sulemio moment?

Asking me to pick a favorite child, eh?

I think they're all great but I'll go into detail about a few:

>The initial meeting: I like that it was established right away that Suletta is a person who helps other people; it's her go-to instinct, a trait that informs her character, and it makes perfect sense with another trait: Suletta is a person who feels bad when she's *not* helpful to other people. Conversely, it establishes Miorine as an ornery person, a view which is soon complicated when she proceeds to go out of her way to save Suletta's life. All of this in a meet-cute that got off on the wrong foot due to miscommunication (foreshadowing!), but which *also* quickly asserted that, despite their flaws, these girls do care about each other (and thus we, the audience, have reason to care about them and their relationship).

>"I guess Mercury *is* rather conservative, that sort of thing's normal here." It's funny to me that I read in an interview (don't remember where unfortunately) that the audience is intended to share Suletta's view and be surprised at that statement, when I suspect that Miorine's view is very much a potshot at the lack of queer marriage rights in Japan. It's also funny how this scene is going to age with Mio's perspective increasingly regarded as the normal one. Finally, I like that it addresses the yuri trope of "But we're both girls!" and immediately cuts it off at the knees.

>Miorine knowing a girl who was honest and kind with her for all of a few hours, and almost immediately jettisoning her year-long plans to escape to Earth to protect her (I don't trust the opinions of anybody making the argument that Miorine was only ever using Suletta, because they clearly have no idea what they're talking about).

>"I'm not the wife, I'm the groom!" In addition to being very gender of Suletta, I feel like her quick acceptance of, and pride in, her role after the party indicates that Suletta *did* have some degree of attraction prior, but just, didn't know what to do about it until Mio made it obvious that she cared about her.

>The entire chase and confession sequence in Plant Quetta.

>Not from the show itself, but that time in the audio drama where Chuchu challenged Miorine to a goat-milking contest, and Suletta directly referred to Mio as a 'tsundere'.

>The mutual yearning as the two went through divorce despite not even having properly dated. Like yeah, it was painful, but what's a queer romance without some bittersweet pining?

>The reunion scene, who knew hand-holding could feel so tender yet intense? Plus, I dug the Utena/Amaterasu vibes.

>Miorine finding Suletta in space in an echo of their first meeting and, believing her dead, being so overcome with grief that she attempts to kiss her through their helmets *despite being in the void of space*. People talk a lot about liking queer couples with unhinged, over-the-top moments, and yet so few bring this up (and even have the gall to call their romance covert).

>Their epilogue scenes together. Yeah, the world isn't perfect, and I still wish we had more time with the cast, but gosh how can anyone call an ending where our leads have so clearly grown from their broken, younger selves into such a happy couple a bad one?

So, yeah those are a couple of Sulemio moments I enjoyed.

[curapicas]

Link Click keeps me on my toes by making sure I don't know if it's better to have a bittersweet or happy ending (spoilers ahead)

Like. In what story would it be a good ending to talk about hope and have the character they want to save still die? In what world we see cautionary tales on other characters' (like the twins and Emma) tragedies and still get the bad ending? How do we accept that things should be the way they are when it's about the violent murder of a 21 years old?

Oh, right. Maybe one that focus on grief and moving on, and the comfort you get about the good times you can't get back.

That said, it's complicated because s2 introduced the idea of different timelines and a villain who wants things set in stone - the opposite of Lu Guang's goal. We can't cheer for THAT???

(In other words, I want justice for CXS but I also want a really satisfactory story)

[whathehe11]

You know what would be really cool to see Doctor Who do?

A timey wimey mix up where there was a time lord (from Gallifrey’s past) who gets stuck on the Earth. He was young, not done in the academy yet, and accidentally messed up on a TARDIS and landed on 21st century earth. While there he encounters different former companions of the Doctor’s (as well as other regular humans) and one of them ends up as a stowaway when he finally finds a way back home.

The stowaway is the next doctors companion and knows about Gallifrey (had lived there for a while offscreen) and even knows how to use time lord technology as a result (though not more than a normal gallifreyan of course)

By the time they return to earth and meet the doctor they have some friends there and they regularity return to visit, their personal timeline to Gallifrey being achored much further back than the doctors.

A huge part of the angst comes from the doctor not being able to tell them what’s to come or when to avoid Gallifrey but also he gets so happy when they mention home and brings back sweets and photos.

He’s in the acceptance stage of grief (thank you 14) and appreciates what’s being shown to him in a bittersweet way.

I know that we see Gallifrey during the 12th doctor’s run but I still feel like this could be pretty cool. This also gives us a chance to see a different companion-doctor dynamic opportunity.

The doctor is like “this is my tardis, it’s bigger on the inside” and he’s expecting the companion to be like woah that’s incredible I’m shook! And then the companion is like “wow nice vintage tardis. This thing is ancient! Haven’t seen one this old outside of a museum!” And the doctor is like “bruh”

This way we can see Gallifrey in nuwho in a fresh light.

I feel like there is much potential here you know?

[kookie-doughs]

Again And Again

Portgas D Ace X Reader

-Amatsuki Y/N decided to stay in the future without her sister upon meeting a friend’s son.

Chapter 13.B: Because I could not stop for Death —

Marco placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "Y/N, I understand how you feel, but you need to remember that Sabo cares about you deeply. He made that choice willingly because he wanted to be there for you during your time of grief. It's not your fault that life dealt you this difficult hand. If you finally move on from Ace, then everything can go back."

"I can't ever go back," You say.

"Y/N, just gi-"

"No, Marco, time is not going to help me. Nothing will." You knew that as a fact.

"Y/N,"

"If I go back and save Ace, then none of this would have happened," you admitted, tears welling up in your eyes. "I miss him so much, Marco. I can't imagine a life without him, and it's tearing me apart."

Marco gave you a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "I know it's tough, Y/N. Losing someone we love leaves an emptiness that seems impossible to fill. But you have to remember that Ace wouldn't want this. He would want you to find happiness and keep moving forward, cherishing the time you had together."

"How would any of us know what Ace wanted? What if he only said that for me and not what he wanted for himself? He told me he wanted a future with me. He told me he wanted to marry me. Marco, how can you say he wanted me to give up on him, he also loved me too. He also wanted to be with me..."

"Y/N... Ace said-"

"Ace said a lot of things before. And he isn't here to clarify which ones right. Ace isn't here, that's why I'm like this."

Marco's expression softens, understanding the depth of your emotions. "Y/N, think about yourself. Don't go through this all over again..."

You give Marco a small smile, grateful for his understanding. "Thank you, Marco. Tell Sabo I'm sorry."

With a deep breath, your power, feeling a surge of energy enveloping you. Time distorts around you, and you're consumed by a blinding light.

As you open your eyes, you find yourself once again in the arms of Ace. This familiar yet bittersweet moment overwhelms you with emotions. You hold him tightly, not wanting to let go, knowing the weight of the future and the countless attempts that brought you here.

"Ace," you whisper, tears streaming down your cheeks. "I've missed you so much."

Ace looks at you with a mix of surprise and concern. "Hey, are you okay? Why are you crying? I've never left your side dummy."

You manage a weak smile through your tears. "I'm okay, Ace. I'm just happy to see you."

As you hold him close, you remember all the times you've been through this moment, the countless attempts to save him, and the pain of losing him over and over again. But this time, you're taking a different turn.

In the future you chose, events unfolded according to their destined course, just as they were meant to be. You embarked on your mission with determination and courage, knowing that you had to allow history to unfold naturally, without your interference. The loss of Thatch and Ace's disappearance weighed heavily on your heart, but you understood that it was the way things were supposed to happen.

You witnessed the chaos and heartache that followed, and while it pained you deeply, you knew that you had to go through this. As difficult as it was, you had to let go of the desire to change the past and accept that some things were beyond your control.

With a sense of determination, you make your way to Whitebeard's quarters. The legendary pirate, sitting on his throne, looks at you with a mix of curiosity.

"Old Man," you begin, "I want to tell you something."

The old pirate leans back, folding his arms across his massive chest, and listens intently as you recount the tale of your adventures. You speak of the numerous attempts you made to alter the course of events, the pain of witnessing Ace's death multiple times, and the realization that some things were simply meant to be.

You share the heartache you felt when you had to let go of the desire to alter fate, to accept that you couldn't change the past. But you also tell him of the joy and laughter you experienced with the Straw Hat Pirates, the moments of camaraderie and love that made your journey worthwhile.

"I don't see where this is going," Whitebeard who listens quietly, his gaze never leaving you, spoke after you share your story.

"I couldn't save Ace," you continue, "Hundred of attempts made. Edward, give me permission to take him away."

"What do you mean?" he says, his voice rumbling like a gentle thunder.

"I'm going to let the story play out as it should until the moment of his supposed death, and then intervene to take him away." You take a deep breath, unsure of how Whitebeard will respond. But to your surprise, he smiles gently. "I've been thinking about it a lot."

Whitebeard looks at you with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "And why do you think this would work? What makes you believe that Ace's disappearance would have the same impact as his death?"

You take a moment to gather your thoughts before answering. "The loss of their brother, pushed Luffy and Sabo to become stronger, to pursue their dreams, and to protect what they hold dear.

Now what if instead of dying, he just disappear. Did they still not lose their brother? It would still create a the motivation. Luffy will fail to protect Ace from Akainu, resulting to him disappearing. They'll mourn just without the body."

"And what if that is not the reason Ace had been dying?" Whitebeard asks.

You bite your lip, trying to find the right words to explain your plan to Whitebeard. "It has to be. It might sound strange, but I've come to a realization. None of us were meant to be the main character in this story. We're all just pieces that move the narrative forward. Ace's death, as painful as it was, had a purpose in the grand scheme of things. It pushed Luffy to take time off and grow stronger. It was a pivotal moment in his journey, and without it, his story couldn't progress."

Whitebeard listens intently, his eyes reflecting both concern and understanding. "You're suggesting Ace was fated to die."

You take a deep breath before continuing, "In this time, there are only two plausible candidate as the main character. There's only two people who is to be pirate king. And that's Luffy and Ace. If it was Ace he wouldn't have died."

"So you believe that fate is real?"

You smile, "I know it is."

Whitebeard places a hand on your shoulder, his expression softening. "Okay," he smiles.

"I'm sorry... I can't save you both."

His laugh echoed the place, "You've said it yourself. I was prepared for death. What made you think saving me mattered?"

~

Everything played out just as your second attempt had gone.

"You were just a weakling back then, and you're still a weakling now," Akainu taunted. "You'll never be able to protect anyone, no matter how hard you try. You're just a burden to everyone around you."

You tighten your hold on Ace. His insult having no effect on you as you wait for the attack that was to come.

You look around the battlefield. The family you could never see and return to again. Whitebeard and Marco, only ones aware of your resolve looked at you with a smile.

You tightly close your eyes and ran. Hoping Akainu still thinks you are still vulnerable.

Akainu, sensing an opportunity, appeared before you suddenly, just as he had all those attempts ago. You took a step back creating distance between him and your and Ace. His powerful fist came dangerously close to striking you. However, this time its different, you pull Ace to your chest.

"Thank you for everything. I love you." You grinned towards the direction of the two who had been your rock in all your attempts of saving Ace. You then envelop yourselves with light as you activate your power.

You took a deep breath, realizing the limitations of your ability. It could only take you back 20 years in the past, and your goal time was 24 years ago. You knew what you had to do - you had to go back twice. Twice at such a small time frame meant dangers to you but it was needed. With a firm resolve, you activated your time-traveling power once again.

Finally you arrived at Kuri Beach. The memories of this place flooded back to - the first time you met Ace.

You held onto Ace tightly, the world around you blurred. The strain of using your power twice in such a short time frame was taking its toll, and you felt light-headed and disoriented.

Ace held you to keep you steady, you could feel his warmth and support, giving you the strength to stand firm.

"This is... Wano," Ace said, his voice tinged with wonder, "but it feels different. It wasn't like this last time...?"

You nodded, a sense of accomplishment comes to you. Successfully getting to the right time.

"There's people...? So many of them."

Taking his hand, you began to walk toward the village, and to his shock, the once poor and desolate village was now prospering, filled with cheerful and lively residents.

"Amatsuki-Sama?" One of the citizens gasped.

The village got quiet as surprised of your arrival. Ace was alert, prepared to attack if it came to that. But to his surprise, the village erupted in cheers.

"Everyone!! Tell Kozuki-Sama!! Amatsuki-Sama had returned!!"

"Y/N?" Ace asked, his confusion evident.

You couldn't help but laugh at his puzzled expression. "Just wait, Ace. There's someone I want you to meet. They're on their way."

Time passed, and as you sat together, someone familiar emerged from the crowd. It was Toki, your dear beloved sister. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she recognized you.

"Y/N! Is it really you?!" she exclaimed, running toward you.

You opened your arms to embrace her warmly. "Toki, I'm back, just like I promised."

Toki's eyes then fell on Ace, and she blinked in surprise. "And who is this?"

"Ace, this is my sister, Toki."

You smiled warmly at Ace, feeling a rush of courage and affection. Taking a deep breath, you turned to the curious crowd and spoke confidently, "Everyone, this is Ace, my husband-to-be."

The villagers gasped in surprise, their eyes widening at your announcement. The cheers and celebration momentarily quieted down as they absorbed the revelation.

Ace chuckled, his cheeks turning a shade of red. "Y-Yeah," he stammered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Embarrassed he bury his face on your shoulder. "Y-You can't just say that."

You giggled at his adorable embarrassment and gave him a playful nudge. "Well, is it wrong?" you teased. He shook his head. "Then it's nothing to be embarrassed about."

He smiled warmly, his embarrassment giving way to genuine happiness. "You're stupid," he said softly.

As the news sank in, the villagers erupted into even louder cheers, thrilled for your newfound happiness. They embraced you both as part of their own community, welcoming Ace with open arms.

The people of Wano continued to celebrate around you, their joyous laughter and music filling the air. You leaned into Ace's embrace, feeling a sense of belonging and contentment.

Throughout the festivities, you and Ace celebrated not just the prosperity of Wano but also your love and commitment to each other. The journey through time had brought you closer than ever before, and now you were in a place where you could openly share your love and affection for each other.

As the day drew to a close, you found yourselves sitting on a peaceful hill overlooking the village. The sun began to set, casting a warm golden glow over the land. You leaned into Ace's embrace, feeling content and grateful for everything that had led you to this moment.

"I did it, Ace," you whispered, your heart overflowing with emotion. "I saved you, and we get to live a future together."

"Tell me," He had a sad smile. "Tell me about what you've gone through."

With a smile, you began to recount your incredible journey through time to save Ace. You told him about each attempt, the hardships, and the moments of hope and despair. You shared the pain of losing him over and over again and the determination that kept you going.

"I tried so many times, Ace," you said softly, "but no matter what I did, it seemed like fate was against us. Every time, something would go wrong, and I would lose you again."

Ace listened intently, his expression a mix of awe and sympathy. "I can't even imagine what you went through," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "But you never gave up on me, did you?"

You shook your head, tears glistening in your eyes. "No, I couldn't," you replied. "You mean everything to me, Ace. I love you so much, and I couldn't bear to live in a world without you."

He pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you protectively. "I love you too, Y/N," he whispered. "Thank you... thank you for never giving up on us. You're the strongest person I know, and I'm lucky to have you by my side. Thank you for loving me..."

You rested your head against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. "I would go through anything to save you," you said, your voice trembling. "Even if it meant risking my own life or breaking the laws of time. I couldn't bear to lose you."

Ace lifted your chin gently, looking into your eyes with love and determination. "You don't have to worry about that anymore," he said.

In that moment, you knew that your love had triumphed over time and fate. You had overcome impossible odds to be together, and now, you could finally embrace the future with hope and happiness.

As the night fell and the celebrations continued around you, you and Ace stayed wrapped in each other's arms, grateful for the love you had found and the journey that had brought you back together. The adventure may have been challenging, but it had led you to this moment of bliss, and you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

You're glad you never gave up.

Previous | Masterlist

RAHHHH HERE YOU GUYS GO FOR YOU ALL

I actually prefer ending A without the next chapter but i wrote this after i got over my sad story ending phase which lasted way too long (i wrote like other stories with sad ending whahahah be prepared)

plsplspslps keep supporting me if youd like you can read the other ending while waiting for my other ztories 👀 ily all thanks for your support!!!

-kookiedoughs

Taglist?

@nykie-love-anime @gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @cinnamonrollscafe @sol-d15

[elwenyere]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by my beloved @frostbitebakery: thank you so much, my friend!!!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

56

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

301,664 words

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

So far, the MCU, Star Wars, and Top Gun.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Call Me By Your (Pet) Name (MCU, Sambucky)

Tactical Engagements (Star Wars, Codywan)

Citation Needed (MCU, Stony)

Helps to Relieve My Mind (MCU, Sambucky)

Good Soldiers (Star Wars, Codywan)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, yes! Sometimes it takes me a little while to write back if things in real life are hectic, but eventually I do, because I love chatting with readers about what they noticed in a story and what I was thinking about/working on while writing.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have never written what I would call an unhappy ending. But sometimes what we know about the canon ending can still make the ending of a fic bittersweet, and that's true of a fair number of fics I've written. I think the two fics that leave canon angst most fully on the table are my MCU ficlet A Stitch in Time, which is about what else Steve might have done while returning those stones, and my wee Star Wars piece Yes, It Feels Like That, which is a moment with Leia's grief during ANH.

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

I swear: I used to write plenty of fics that were happy all the way through! That happens a lot less frequently now. But Right on Time is just about the happiest ending I could give to a post-war Codywan, and my Sambucky fic Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice is (to me) maybe the funniest fic I've written.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

I've been very lucky with readers who are largely very generous.

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

I am a relative newcomer to writing smut, but I have dabbled, yes. I'm not sure what kind of smut it is. Feelings-forward, I guess?

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

I think the only thing I've written that could come close to being classified as a crossover was my very first multi-chapter fic, Should You Choose to Accept It, which included characters from both the mainstream Avengers and Agents of SHIELD and mashed up the plots of Iron Man 3, CA: TWS, AOS Season One, and Mission Impossible 3.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes! The Stony identity porn/professor AU fic Citation Needed was a collaboration with the incredible @festiveferret, and it is the most fun I've had writing fic.

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

Cannot pick a favorite, but my first OTP was Mulder/Scully, and they will always have a special place in my heart.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

God what a painful question. 😅 I am a stubborn bastard, and I don't know if I've fully admitted defeat on any of my WIPs, even the ones I've neglected the most. But the WIP that's probably been waiting for my attention the longest is the sequel to my Stony fic Three Little Words; or, Five Times Steve and Tony Didn’t Actually Apologize + One Time They Did, which I cannot abandon or scrap for parts because I'm really attached to the bits that I have written, but which I haven't been able to make progress on for a long time. Bug me for snips about it if you like: I would love to be able to share what I have so far.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

A borderline aggressive amount of figurative language, narrative beats that feel layered, and I think I have a decent ear for dialogue.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm so, so, so inexpressibly slow, and I also build up increasing levels of anxiety about WIPs when I'm not getting outside perspectives about them, so I find it nearly impossible to write anything longer than 20k.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I have experimented with this a little bit in the past, and I'm currently trying it again in a WIP in a language I'm not deeply familiar with, which is nerve-wracking. But I think it can be so effective when done well, and I'm excited to keep growing in that area.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Stony in the MCU: a missing-scene fic from Endgame

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I love all my children equally, but my Codywan fic Recollection is probably the fic that felt most ambitious to me at the time that I wrote it: memory-related temporal shenanigans, surreal scene changes, some heavy psychic territory, and my very first smut scenes. I'm proud of how many new things I tried.

----

Open tags for anyone who would like to play!!! This was very fun: @ me with your answers if you'd like to join. <3<3<3