#these were hard to choose but im pretty happy with this selection

[frauleiiin]

Thank you for the nomination! @revanknightwoman

So uhhh, my type is hot men and badass women ✨️

I don't really like tagging ppl for stuff like this but if you want to do this go for it :))

[westleywithatea]

Lost a fanfic

Word Count: 1200+

There was a The Sandman fanfic on AO3 that I had read long ago. I neglected to record or even look at the title and author of the story. And now i lost it. But i want to return and reread it. Or check if it updated.  Help me find it.

I first read it in maybe february or March 2023. I don't know when it was first published or updated. I didn't checked the date. I neglected to. It’s a bad habit where i read a bunch of short fics in a single night, not care for title, and focus more on word and chapter count. Because “i wanted something short.” 

This habit carries over in my YT watching habits and is equally bad. Something to do with attention span and stuff. 

Whenever I return to the site to find it, i fail. The tags and filters fail me. Somehow, it always brings me to less than x number of fics. When I am absolutely sure that there are more than x number of fics with the tags/characters/filters I'm looking for. Maybe because some writers neglected or selectively chooses some tags. 

Idk. the filters weren't helping me. 

Lets see what I can remember about the fanfic and tags and characters. Spoilers below:

I vaguely recall a “angst with happy ending” tag. Im pretty sure the rating was E for explicit. There were some rather graphic scenes. Was it graphic? What if it was actually M for Mature?? 

Idr other tags/ warnings. WIP story. Idr word count and chapter count. 3 chapters? ??

Lucienne and Death makes appearances. Some original characters. Idr order of scenes and chapters. 

Dream arrives to the old tavern but it’s in ruins. Abandoned. He explores and finds a box. It’s a bit stuck but he finds a note. A letter. With holes and missing words. Some other things might’ve been in the box but prolly stolen? A stick inside the box to hold in place. The letter is really old and fragile. It does contain some instructions on where and how to find him. (later revealed to be really outdated) 

He walks to the The New Inn. idr if he steps inside or not. But maybe he did. Maybe he didn't but later. He orders a drink. Wine? Poor employee girl didn't know what to do with gold coins and gets sand blown into her face too many times. Too many times and so much dreamsand that she has to take a break or something and ask another employee to take over. Morpheus rereads the letter over and over.  Accidentally tears it in anger, but catches himself. Makes a mental note ot have it laminated. Dream tries to talk to the owner of the inn. There’s a picture and a plaque. Something about fake name and reall name. Drunk Hob revealed his real name and it became an “inside joke.” But nothing much else. Dream is sad. 

He walks around the neighborhood. And a school campus. He gets recognized by someone. She recognized him from somewhere. Asked if he knew Robert/Hob Gadling/ fake name. Prof Gadling talked about his stranger a lot. She was a student/ student teacher under his mentorship. Or something. She kept close contact with him for while. Even when he left the university and went traveling. Even when she got her degrees and became a professor. But some point stopped. 

Idr her name. 

She invited Dream to coffee to talk. She shared / showed things on her phone. Didn't work out. 

Sad moment where Dream finds out that she and Robert had sent each other so many emails while he only has one letter. He admits that he is someone who is hard to contact. 

She mentioned visiting his old house. There was a large framed painting of him. Thats how she recognized dream. He never sat for a picture. “You’re telling me he got it commissioned?” 

Dream tried visiting the old house. Hob had moved out. New family moved in. let him borrowed a phone. Landline? Im pretty sure theres some humor of him not knowing how to operate the phone. 

Meanwhile, Death visits  a museum of ancient Egyptian stuff. Hob is there looking at a statue of Anubis. He asked if they always looked like that. Death responds, sometimes. Startles him. He didn't see or hear her arrive. They meet and talk. She explains (and apologizes) that she is responsible for his immortality. And her brother is his stranger. He laughed. I think. He asked questions. No answers. Sad sad. 

He was about to ask another question but gets distracted by a school trip group of students. Death slips away. Hob gets frustrated. 

Hob gone traveling alot .

Some point Dream tries contacting Death. Asked if hob's well / alive. Yes. 

Btw, death arrived wearing a different outfit and holding a snake. But she later changes to typical tank top and jeans. Brings the snake back wherever it was previously. 

She takes Dream to a cliff?? Unless this from a diff fanfic. Idk. but they talked at the cliff over the ocean. Idr the conversations. 

Dream visits hob’s dreams. 

We see Hob entering his old house with arms full of wine and food. Dream is disguised as a raven. It’s raining. Robert sees the raven and tells “it” to leave to somewhere safe and dry. Get out of rain and get dry.  Hob  knocks on his front door after struggling to get his keys. Opens. Enter. We see lots of shoes and coats. Dream the Raven sneaks into the house.

We meet the (former) boyfriend who is an “older” man. They laugh, joke, kiss, and talked. Ex BF asked when will Hob ask the question. What question? Marriage. Ex explained: grandfather and father got dementia at age 50. And he’s turning 50 in a few years. They fight. Sad. 

Scene shifts. The painting is visible now. Obvious on the wall. Raven disguise disappear. Dream walked up the stairs to a door slightly ajar. He spies inside and sees a copy of himself. Sorta. Whatever Hob imagines his stranger would’ve looked like if nude. Description of Hob’s version of Dream is different from the real Dream in body shape. 

Hob is (smut scene) bottom to Dream’s top. 

Lovely description of what Morpheus would’ve done in 1000 yrs ago, 100 yrs ago, 10 yrs ago, now. (Not those exact numbers or era. Idr. ) In a few sentences. Maybe it was 3. Morpheus stays and observes. Pervert. 

Hob asked Morpheus if he will stay after he wakes up. He responds, yes. (cries) 

Real Morpheus quietly leaves. The voices in the bedroom are still very loud. 

Out of the water, Lucienne arrives with an umbrella. It’s raining hard. 

They visit the library and look thru Hob’s books. Lucienne silently screams at every accidental dog-ear and mishandle of pages. I would too. Hob has entries: wha’ts teh point of dreaming anymore. And stuff. Sad stuff. Angry stuff. 

Morpheus in frustration. Throws book at wall. Book breaks and falls apart. Lucienne is hurt. Me too. He says something to her, angry. She tells him “then you must leave my library” and snaps her fingers. Forces him out and slams the doors. She picks up the book and carefully rearranges the pages and binding. Sets aside in a book press. “You’re a good book.” Awww

And that was the ending. No more updates at that date and time. 

Story obviously WIP. 

[eddie-van-munson]

HII!! Just sending another request, i loved the xie lian one, I hope I didn’t spell his name wrong💀, im wayyy to obsessed with crossovers, and I also had a hard time choosing a character so I decided to chose this one, but anyways I’ll get started and the information about him is ok the wiki and more but let me get started (:

Can you do Eddie Munson With a S/O who has a Cutthroat personality from akudama drive?? thank you and have a good day (:

Warnings: Demo-bats, Mentions of Blood, Series Typical Violence, References to Chrissy's Death, Cursing

(I will get a "Read More" cut on this ASAP. I'm done with work for this week so I'll have more time to tackle my inbox! Requests are OPEN.)

***********

(Cutthroat: Child-Like, Pretty, Loyal, Volatile, Innocent Façade, Vengeful, Violent in the Protection of Friends.)

-So, again, I know NOTHING about Akudama Drive or what it is, but I did an itty bitty bit of research bc it was requested and I tried my best to incorporate it :^)

-Ok! So Eddie never knew you before all of the shit with Chrissy went down. I mean, he's seen you around school, and he's always been intrigued...

-You just moved to Hawkins at the start of the year and you are something else. You are tooth-rottingly sweet.

-You're soft and giggly and you're always wearing all of these gentle baby blues and pinks. Always smiling so big.

-Of course, Eds is not much of a pastel guy, but he has admit that they look very pretty on you

-Or maybe you're just pretty and the colors have shit all to do with it

-Every time Eddie passes you in the hall he can hear you humming along to some little tune in your head.

-Ridiculously endearing, really. It should be illegal.

- Anyways

-He's hiding in the woods, curled up on the ground beside Skull Rock when he hears someone say his name softly. His eyes flutter open to find you kneeling over him, and he definitely thinks he's dreaming.

-But then you turn over your shoulder and call out, "I found him!"

-He panics for a second, a pang of betrayal in his chest. Oh god, he thinks. You're in the search party.

-He sits up too quickly and shuffles backwards, ignoring the surprised look on your face.

-But then he sees Dustin running up through the woods and he immediately breathes a sigh of relief, his hands shaking with left over adrenaline.

-Turns out you're Harrington's little cousin.

-Which Eddie finds very hard to believe

-You'd been at the Family Video when the "Purchase History Database Search" began and you'd insisted you wanted to help look

-Steve tried to put his foot down but you were not having it. "You haven't seen her when she gets angry man." He argues, defensively. "She hulks out."

-Which Eddie finds even harder to believe.

-Some part of him is so relieved to see you, though. He's been living with the mental image of Chrissy's mangled body for days, and the sight of someone sweet and happy...someone who's gentle...it takes a massive weight off of his chest.

-It's such a stark contrast to what's been living in his brain.

-You're unofficially roped in after that.

-A few times you bring Eddie groceries and sit on the old, stained couch with him for a while and talk.

-Your voice is quiet and you make him laugh. Those short conversations are literally the best thing he's got, right now.

-Your grocery selection always makes him giggle. Cereal, Canned Soup, Crackers...Jumbo size bag of marshmallows??

-It becomes increasingly clear to him you have a sweet tooth.

-Sometimes you even draw him funny little pictures and notes and leave them in the bag. Other times you send him old, familiar chapter books from Elementary School.

-You seemed to have been fond of Nancy Drew and Little House on the Prairie.

-He's surprised how much he enjoys them.  And he likes seeing your name written on the inside cover.

-He begs you to stay behind when the others row out to look for Watergate.

-He argues with you about it for a while.

-"I don't want you going down there. You don't get what this shit is like. It'll fucking scar you for life."

-"Eddie, I'm coming with you."

- You're getting frustrated and finally Steve chimes in again, "I'm telling you, man. Don't make her mad."

-He can see from the look on Harrington's face he's not going to be able to change your mind. He sighs, "Fine. Whatever. Get in the boat. It's your funeral."

-You grin so brightly that Eddie's heart aches.

-As soon as Steve dives down, you're pulling off your Cardigan. Eddie's blood runs cold "No no no no no-"

-He grabs at you, but you're in the water before he can stop you.

-"Fuck! You little shit!!"

-Robin just cackles at him.

- By the time Eddie gets through the gate, he can only see flashes of you and Nancy through the swarm of bats.

-He panics, screaming your name as he sprints towards you.

-The closer he gets, though, the more he realizes that you are, in fact, not the ones getting ambushed.

-The bats are.

-Jesus, you are ruthless. Yanking bats off of Steve's chest by their shriveled wings. Crushing them beneath your heels. Yelling as you grab them out of the air and throw them to the ground.

-Nancy is killing it too, like, shit.

-He's finally able to get to you when the swarm thins, joining in the attack until the very last bat is smashed. Nancy runs to Steve, and Eddie holds a hand out to you where you've fallen, helping you up.

-Your clothes are spattered with thick, nasty blood and sludge. All the way down to your perfect saddle shoes. You wrinkle your nose a little, checking your knees where you'd scraped them, and Eddie smiles.

-"Holy shit. That was crazy! You're, like, a fucking warrior goddess or something! I should have been trying to get you to protect me!"

-You giggle, blushing. "You were trying to protect me?"

-He goes BEET red, sputtering and scratching his neck. "Well...I uh...it's just that..."

-You grin knowingly

-Eddie's heart thuds and his voice cracks as he  quickly changes the subject. "I'm sorry about your clothes."

-You shrug, "They'll wash, I suppose." Your attention catches on one of the splatters on your arm. You try and wipe it, but it smears. "It's kind of a pretty color, anyway."

-You blush at the look on Eddie's face, some odd combination of awe and disbelief, and run off to join Nancy.

***********

[dindjarindiaries]

DIN DJARIN WEEKLY FIC REC #1

This week’s fic rec (January 24th to January 30th) is here! Below the cut, you can find a wide selection of Din Djarin fics to read, whether they’re multi-part, one-shots, drabbles, prompts, or headcanons. I challenge you to provide these writers with feedback if you choose to read their fic!

You can start submitting next week’s fic rec here.

MULTI-PART FICS

Space Cowboy by @punkrock-writer​​

summary: A Girl is teleported from her hotel room, and dropped onto the floor of the Razor Crest. Chaos ensues as she tries to convince The Mandalorian not to freeze her in carbonite, and do her best to find her place in the endless Void of space.

pairing: Din Djarin x F!oc

warnings/rating: Mature. Canon typical violence. Lots of swearing.

genres: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: Hi this is my first fic, you can find it on AO3 also. I’d really appreciate some feedback or any ideas because I have a hard time figuring out if I’m doing the right thing😂 Thank you for doing this.

Touch by @magicrowiswritingstuff​​

summary: It seems so unfair that he is able to touch you and send shivers down your spine when you’re not.

pairing: Din Djarin x female!reader

warnings/rating: A bit of violence and injury/blood

genre: fluff

submitter comments: Just wanna say that I really love this idea and am excited to browse through all the recommended stories on Sunday! <3

Ciryc Ca’tra (Cold Night Sky) by @javi-djarins​​ (Ao3: brianmay_be)

summary: When you crash-land on a frozen planet on your way to Trask to find the Frog Lady’s husband and more Mandalorians, you and Din work together to keep the Crest afloat and keep your little family safe.

pairing: Din Djarin x wife!reader

warnings/rating: G

genres: fluff, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: She may be adding an epilogue that contains some smut, but right now all of the chapters are rated G!

Blossom by @dinthisisthe-wayson​​

summary: Alone.  You felt like you had no purpose in such a powerful galaxy, being the bystander is what you felt was the only thing you were good at.  But when a warrior with a child extend a helping hand.  You take it.  Not knowing that you will no longer be alone for the rest of your time in the universe. Not knowing that your place in the galaxy will be much bigger than you expected.  And just like any flower, you will blossom. In more ways than one.

pairing: Din Djarin x Reader

warnings/rating: Teen and Up, violence and language

genres: angst, fluff

submitter comments: N/A

Narudar by @zapsalis-d​​​

summary: You, an experienced bounty hunter working for the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, have found it difficult to sustain yourself lately, requiring more and more credits after each hunt to be able to buy your basic needs. Yet with so many members of the Guild, high rewards were tough to find. Until you’re given a bounty with the prize being something extremely valuable – beskar. During your hunt, you bump into an old enemy you were just so tired of fighting. On your attempt to finally get rid of him once and for all, he found out a secret you wished he hadn’t and now you don’t have any other choice than to team up with him, whether you like it or not. The both of you thought it would be simple. Deliver the quarry, split the reward between the two, and hopefully never see each other again. Oh, how you were wrong.

pairing: Din djarin x female reader

warnings/rating: Rated t for now (but im not sure if that writer will change that in the future or not)

genres: angst, fluff

submitter comments: N/A

Connection by @beskarhearts​​

summary: Din Djarin and you were very similar. You both were closed off from everybody and had on masks of your own. But, when the universe brings you and Din together, you form a connection you didn’t know you two could have.

pairing: Din Djarin x f!reader

warnings/rating: Cursing, family members passing away (think that’s about it so far)

genres: angst, fluff

submitter comments: N/A

Homeward Bound by TheStarvingWriter (Ao3)

summary: After Luke Skywalker takes Grogu, Din Djarin is adrift. He attempts to find solace in his old ways of bounty hunting, but he feels like an imposter—a shell of his former self, roaming around in a suit of beskar that no longer feels like his own. When a visit to Coruscant leads him to a Seer who tells him that Grogu is in danger, however, everything changes. Now, it’s a race to find his kid and return him home, before he truly loses him forever.

pairing: Din Djarin and Grogu (father/son)

warnings/rating: Teen and Up Audiences 

genres: angst, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: The writing of this is phenomenal. The way they write Din is fantastic and the angst is insane. There will be eventual reunion and each chapter leaves you wanting more. 158288483/10 recommended!!!

the light of stars by @tiffdawg

summary: In pursuit of the Child’s people, the mysterious Jedi, Din Djarin and his foundling find hope in a woman who shares the kid’s strange powers. Newly partnered with the Mandalorian, you are trained in the ways of the Force, but you’re no Jedi. You’re just trying to find your place in the galaxy.

pairing: din djarin x reader

warnings/rating: hurt/comfort, sexism, mild injury, mild language, angst, kissing

genres: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: N/A

ONE-SHOTS

Only for You by @firstofficerwiggles​​

summary: You like to sing and it ends up bringing you closer to the Mandalorian. Events take place sometime between Seasons 1 and 2. It’s pretty much fluff with a teeny bit of story. Still has plot though :)

pairing: Mandalorian x female reader

warnings/rating: Rated: G, Warnings: None

genre: fluff

submitter comments: I hope you like it!

Getting Through This by Whumptastic (Ao3)

summary: Din has a hard time dealing with Grogu’s leaving, and like a true friend Cara offers support.

pairing: Din and Cara but only as best friends

warnings/rating: none really, lots of crying/sad vibes tho

genre: hurt/comfort

submitter comments: N/A

Fifty Four by @themand0lorian​

summary: Reader gets a drunken holo from Din, based on Pedro Pascal's 24 hour play monologue (linked in fic)

pairing: Din Djarin x gn!Reader (no Y/N)

warnings/rating: E

genres: angst, fluff

submitter comments: N/A

Reassurance by @galaxysgal​ (Ao3: imjusttheoutgoingsidekick)

summary: You worry about Din and his recklessness during and after the events of Morak and the two of you have a small chat about it.

pairing: din djarin x gn!reader

warnings/rating: PG, major spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 15, canon typical violence, near death experience (for Din), some swear words (both sw swears and regular english ones lol)

genres: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: since it's up on tumblr and ao3 i wasnt sure which link/acc name to give so I just gave both :)

ni kar’tayli gar darasuum by @pumpkin-stars

summary: Din was friends with another foundling as a child, they never saw each other’s faces, both shrouded in beskar from everyone. But feelings form from actions and words, not sight. AKA Din gets married to someone equally touchstarved.

pairing: Din/Reader (no pronouns)

warnings/rating: safe for everyone - warnings for (happy) crying, and it's my first attempt at a star wars fic so the finer details might be a bit dodgy

genre: fluff

submitter comments: i love your fics! i'm still new to the fandom but you seem so sweet and this is a really good idea/thing that you're doing! xx

The Vexatious Nine by Balsamique (Ao3)

summary: While searching for more of his kind on the desolate planet of Karth, a blizzard traps the Mandalorian, the child and seven lodgers in an isolated stopover. When one of the lodgers is mysteriously murdered, it’s up to the Mandalorian to catch the killer before they can claim their next victim. But as the storm thickens, so does the mystery — and this isn’t a problem he can shoot his way out of.

pairing: N/A

warnings/rating: General Audiences

genres: Action/Adventure, Murder Mystery

submitter comments: Author's name on Ao3 is Balsamique. On Tumblr it's first-order-media-department.

what happened to you? by @lesbisoka​

summary: After the events of Episode 8 (S1), Din returns to Sorgan to recover. Omera finds him in a less than ideal state.

pairing: din djarin x omera

warnings/rating: General Audiences, no archive warnings apply

genre: hurt/comfort

submitter comments: N/A

Sprained by @kesskirata​

summary: Rebel spy reader is injured and can’t make her meet up with The Mandalorian

pairing: The Mandalorian x reader 

warnings/rating: none

genres: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

submitter comments: N/A

Over the Moon by gobuyastarwars (Ao3)

summary: Din and Grogu travel with Boba Fett and Fennec Shand for a time. The Mandalorian, Boba, Fennec, and Grogu stop to refuel and find an unpromising tourist attraction nearby– an amusement park. Din doesn't want to go into the amusement park, but Boba and Grogu do.

pairing: Din and Grogu

warnings/rating: Gen, no warnings

genre: fluff

submitter comments: N/A

You can start submitting next week’s fic rec here.

[jaime-brienne-fic-exchange]

Exchange Posting Guide

Hello, friends and frenemies! We are less than three days away from the collection opening, which means I have a tension headache every morning I wake up and remember that I have to finish my exchange fic. The no-fault defaulting deadline has passed, but if you realise you will not be able to finish on time please, please let us know ASAP anyway so we can get a knight writer to write your recipient a gift.

On the other hand, if you have completed your exchange fic draft, please remember to tell us before the 1st! About a third of the participants already confirmed they’ve finished their fic, and we say:

Okay, now with the collection opening soon, here’s some FAQ on posting!

First off, how dare you?

Honestly, I ask myself that all the time, and the answer is there is no answer. We knew what an exchange would be like. Chances are, you did too when you signed up because many of you were here last year. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.

How does posting work?

The exchange portal will open on August 1st at 12pm AEST. Once it opens, use AO3 to upload your fic as usual:

Most of the upload process will be exactly the same as usual, but you need to fill in the following two fields:

Fill in the first with “JaimeBrienneFicExchange2021” (It should autofill, but please be careful to select the right collection! This one is the one we're using. Alternatively, you can go straight to that collection and click the “Post to Collection” button on the top right under the banner once the collection is open.)

Type in your recipient’s AO3 name in the second field. Double check your original prompt to ensure you have the correct name. A few people have different tumblr/AO3 names and we don’t want any fics to go awry.

If you've already made an AO3 draft before the 1st, make sure you add it to the collection and put in your recipient's username in the fields we mentioned above, and make sure you change the date when posting (or your fic will be buried). Be aware it can cause some shenanigans where the fic may not appear at the top of the page.

After that, it’s as simple as clicking post! Your fic will be submitted to the exchange and automatically be made anonymous. As the author, when you open your own fic, it will say ‘YourUsername (Anonymous)’, but to other users it will simply say ‘Anonymous’. Author’s names will not be revealed until August 21st, when we click the button to reveal them.

Feel free to reply to comments during that week. As long as you are logged into the account that posted the fic, all of your comments will also be anonymised.

If any of this process is confusing to you, PLEASE reach out to one of the organisers (nire-the-mithridatist/slipsthrufingers/firesign23/samirant/im-auntie-social)! We’re happy to hold your hand through the process 🤗

What about Lil’ Oathkeepers?

I’m glad you asked, imaginary exchange participant that’s totally not me talking to myself! A Lil’ Oathkeeper is a gift that can be any size and shape. It can be art! A video edit! A moodboard! A fic shorter than 1000 words! Or… a fic longer than a 1000 words, but you probably know that. Anyone (you don’t even have to be signed up to the exchange) can make and gift a Lil’ Oathkeeper. We’ll be releasing the prompt spreadsheet and posting instructions on the 1st!

Why is the exchange opening a day earlier than you said?

Because Slips has set the time on the exchange to suit her own timezone. She has to stay up till after midnight to watch F1 cars go vroom vroom and had to deal with being spoiled for every single episode of Game of Thrones on Tumblr and Twitter because it aired in the US while she was at work. This is her own petty little vengeance and she will not apologise for that.

Also it’s easier for her to keep everything straight in her head this way. Mathematics is not her strength. We’re kindly moderators though, so here’s a handy timezone conversion for you.

Why do I need to let you know by the 1st that I’ve finished my fic if I can post it anytime during the following week?

So we can find a knight writer ASAP. The sooner we know that you won’t be able to complete your fic, the sooner we can find someone to fill in for you. We don’t want anyone to be disappointed.

Do I have to post ON the 1st of August? I’ll be AFK for the day because my cat has a piano recital!

No, you can post it anytime between the 1st and the 7th. If you can’t or don’t want to post it on Sunday, then you can absolutely wait until later. We anticipate that the bulk of fics will be posted over the weekend, but if you want to post it on the 6th, then that’s absolutely your choice. Just be mindful that your recipient may be worrying why they haven’t received one.

Also tell your cat we’re rooting for them!

I really overshot the 1k limit and need to post multiple chapters. Should I post them together and drop my 40k prompt fill in the tag all at once, or can I stagger it throughout the week?

You must have a complete posted story by the 7th of August, unless you have reached out to us to make alternate arrangements. If you want to post your story over the week, you can. If you want to post it all at once, you can. As long as your prompter gets a completed fic in the posting window, we don’t mind.

(Also, look at your life, look at your choices! It was a 1k minimum!!! Buncha overachievers in this fandom, I swear 😂😂😂)

Can I thank my beta in the notes of my story?

Absolutely you can! The betas of the fandom be working HARD this week, they definitely deserve recognition. Just be mindful of including anything in your notes that might reveal who you are. You could choose to name your beta, or just thank them generally and add their name after authors have been revealed.

What if I don’t receive a story?

It might be because your author hasn’t posted it yet - they have the full week from the 1st to the 7th to post their story. It also might be because your fic needed a knight writer to write it. If this is the case, know that your knight is probably working very diligently to complete it, but might not be able to complete it within the window. If it looks like your fic will be significantly delayed (like until after authors are revealed) we will contact you directly to let you know what’s up.

What’s the etiquette around thanking my author?

A kudos and a comment is pretty standard. It’s up to you how long your comment is; we don’t write comments with our heads, we write them with our hearts. Just keep in mind that a person out there spent time working on something just for you and make sure you show your appreciation, even if the story isn’t exactly what you expected!

Can I promote my story?

Please don’t do this until authors have been revealed through the collection.

Can I rec my gift story?

Absolutely! Share the love! You can choose to rec it while it’s still anonymous, or wait until the authors are revealed. It’s up to you.

I’m not participating in the exchange, but I want to get into the spirit of the week. What can I do?!

Well firstly, read any of the 102 fics we expect to be posted that week! Read them and enjoy them! Leave a kudos! Leave a comment! Leave ten comments! Write rec lists and share them on Tumblr or Discord or TikTok, wherever it is that the cool kids hang these days!

What’s for dinner, nire?

Chicken, seasoned with my own tears.

I have another question that hasn’t been answered in the FAQs

Either send us a message through tumblr, or get in touch with one of the organisers privately. We’ll get back to you ASAP!

[incorrectzutaraquotes]

let’s talk racial micro aggressions, because i’ve been seeing a lot of them being used online toward people speaking out about racism and even in fandoms unfortunately, so i think it’s time we have a talk. this is gonna be a semi long one, so buckle up.

just for reference, im asian american. because of that i’ve gone my entire life experiencing racism and discrimination simple because im not white. of course, i have definitely had it better than a lot of people, but that doesn’t take away from my experiences at all. i grew up hating the way i looked, trying to fix myself because i genuinely thought something was wrong with me. this led to years and years of insecurity and self hatred. something i had to go through alone, because my family was white and i was too afraid to tell them how i felt. i was afraid they wouldn’t understand. it’s still something i struggle with, though it’s gotten better.

growing up, as stated before, i was around white people. growing up in a very white town, i unfortunately wasn’t formally educated on racism or what micro aggressions were, i just knew that certain comments made me uneasy and uncomfortable, and hurt my feelings. it wasn’t until i was older, when i started using social media that i really came to understand what all of this was. 

a lot of you who have white privilege are using it to uplift bipoc voices, and i think that’s great. however it’s also important to acknowledge that many people who are actively anti racist still have implicit biases, which can lead to microaggressions.

first of all, what are microaggressions? you may or may not be familiar with the term. if you’re not, that’s okay! you can use this post to educate yourself and make sure you don’t make these mistakes in the future. microaggressions are defined as brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group, particularly culturally marginalized groups.

basically, intentional or unintentional derogatory and prejudice behaviors directed towards marginalized groups.

these are very harmful to marginalized groups, mostly because they’re not as blatant as outright racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. this makes it often hard to detect, and you may have found yourself using micro aggressions at some point in your life. that’s not important though, what’s important is that, if you have used them in the past, you understand what you said or did was wrong, and that you learn from it.

now, what are specific racial micro aggressions? i’ve compiled a list of them under the cut, and explained why these are insulting and harmful to poc.

“where are you really from” – this insinuates that we will always be seen as foreigners, and not citizens to our own country. it brings on a feeling of not being good enough and that we will not be accepted. 

“not everything’s about race” – if you’re white stop telling bipoc how to feel about race. we are tired of it. please don’t speak over us when we are expressing our discomfort. if poc people are telling you something is racist, it’s racist. stop trying to argue with us, as you are not the ones being affected by it. 

“your food is so weird” – it’s only weird to you because it hasn’t been westernized or americanized. insisting that foreign foods are weird or gross because you aren’t used to it, is hurtful. it’s insulting. 

“all asians look the same” – by saying this, you’re taking away our individuality. asia is a huge continent, not all of us follow the same traditions and not all of us look the same. it’s not a funny joke, and it never has been. 

“you’re pretty for a *insert any race here*” – this is just such a backhanded compliment. it implies that we are not typically or conventionally pretty. it has the same negative connotations as saying “you’re really good...for a girl”. that’s misogynistic for the same reasons saying this is racist. 

“i don’t see color” – again, you’re basically erasing our individuality and culture and telling us we shouldn’t embrace it. many pocs even completely distance themselves from their cultures to seek white validation, which is in every sense of the word, upsetting. people want to fit in so bad that they’re willing to leave behind their entire culture. something that sucks about being adopted at such a young age from a white family, is that i have never had a connection with my culture. i know nothing about it, and that hurts. i rationalized in my head that the reason i didn’t learn about it sooner was because i was happy, but that was a lie i told myself for years. the sad thing is, is that because i wasn’t connected to my culture at all, i fit in better and had an easier time making friends then other pocs in my school. 

assuming all asian people are smart or good at math – stop. it’s not funny. never has been. the stereotype that all asians are smart is not a compliment, and puts a lot of pressure on us as individuals. it objectifies us, assuming we are more like machines and not actual people. long story short, it’s dehumanizing. 

“im not/cant be racist i have black friends” – contrary to popular belief, yes you can be. you can still have a racial bias while being friends with bipoc people. being associated with poc people doesn’t suddenly mean you’re not racist. you may even make racist jokes and think it’s okay because they don’t tell you to stop. just because they are seemingly unbothered does not mean it’s not still racist. a lot of times we are uncomfortable in situations like that, but are too afraid to speak up in fear of our feelings being invalidated or being told to lighten up because it’s just a joke. saying we’re too sensitive when it comes to making mockeries of our races and cultures, is also a micro aggression. 

saying “you people” or “y’all” when talking, usually negatively, about a person of a specific race – you’re generalizing an entire group because of one bad experience which is just contributing to the stereotypes and racism we face daily. one or a few bad interactions with a person of a different race does not speak for an entire population.

clutching your bag tight when a poc person, usually black or latinx, stands next to you or following them in the store – the way i still have to explain this one in 2020. they are not criminals, but by doing this, you’re contributing to the stereotype that they are all criminals and thugs, which simply isn’t true. this stereotype is very damaging and harmful, as it also contributes to the systematic oppression of those people. 

assuming someone only got a certain job or position because they’re bipoc – this insinuates that we did not work hard to get where we are, and that we did not deserve what we got. we simply got it because we aren’t white. affirmative action comes up a lot in this conversation. all affirmative action does is help decide between equally qualified people by favoring the ones who suffer from discrimination in society, but it does not reserve spots for them.

assuming someone knows how to speak mandarin because they’re asian – asia is a large continent with A LOT of languages and cultures. not everyone is chinese. not everyone speaks the same language. it’s insulting and adds to the already hurtful stereotype that all asians look the same.

“you speak english really well” or “how did you learn to speak english so well” – it’s called practicing because people have been making fun of those with accents for years, simply because they are not used to it. being surprised when a poc speaks english well implies that you may think because they’re not white, they are less educated. we’ve simply assimilated because our cultures are constantly rejected and mocked by white people and even other pocs. this also contributes to the notion that westerners are more “civilized” or that they are better, because they(generally speaking this obviously doesn’t apply to everyone)make no effort to learn our cultures, but we have to learn theirs in order to be seen as “acceptable”.

“but *insert race* are racist too” or pointing out immoral things other countries do when people of that race speak up about racism - you’re redirecting the conversation to avoid responsibility. you don’t actually care about those issues, you just want to invalidate our struggles by pointing out that a place many of us have not been to in a long time, or ever, is very flawed. we have no say in what that government chooses to do. not all places are a democracy, and many democracies around the world are flawed.

something important to remember is that anyone can be guilty of implicit bias and micro aggressions. this is not selective to one race. 

if you have anymore of these, please feel free to add on. also, if you’re a poc and something i wrote made you uncomfortable, please tell me. i want to make sure im being truthful with what i said. i did do research for some of these, and some were based on personal experiences, but if you want to add to something or you want me to change or delete something do not hesitate to call me out. 

unfortunately they and other racial stereotypes are very prevalent in american media, which has normalized it in our society. this post is solely meant to educate if you weren’t previously aware of the dangers micro aggressions have on minorities. i started the list because i was tired of seeing so much normalized racism online, but i hope you learned something useful with this. if you stuck around this long, thank you for listening. i appreciate it a lot. 

as for my zutara fans, i apologize for making so many rant posts rather than posting incorrect quotes. i just feel like im able to reach a larger audience with the platform i have on this account than any other one. 

anyway, that’s all. thank you again for listening :) 

[peachiikawa]

Fly | Route Selected: S. Daichi

a/n: thank you all for being so patient with me. finally, here is the long awaited daichi route. hope you all enjoy!

genre: mafia au

warnings: blood, reader getting hurt, guns, violence

word count: 2.3k

Fly Masterlist

“I choose you”

Your eyes locked with daichi

And daichi stared into yours trying to figure you out

“Are you sure?”

You nodded your head and held your ground

“Im sure”

He felt his eyes soften for a moment at the determination in your eyes before hardening again

“Fine. Everyone else, go home. Youre with me then. Lets go”

Daichi called for a car and drove you home

The silence between the two of you was only filled with the soft sound of a piano playing on the radio

The ride was finally over after about twenty minutes

“I’ll come get you tomorrow morning. Youll be working as an intern now so dress accordingly”

With that he left and you felt like you could breathe again

Just what had you gotten yourself into?

As he said he was at your house in the morning in a car that looked just a tad too expensive

You gulped before taking your first step towards him

“Good morning, Daichi”

He just nodded at you as you got into the car

The drive was once again silent

You looked over at the man behind the wheel and noticed how...formal he looked

Suit, straight back, both hands on the wheel

You felt yourself naturally adjusting yourself to mirror his mannerisms

He stole some glances at you without you noticing and felt his eyes soften upon seeing how nervous you looked

As soon as you stepped into the building you could feel the professional atmosphere

The endless windows and white walls gave off a chilling feeling

You only came back to reality when Daichi gently nudged your back

“I dont have all day. Hurry up and move”

The harshness of his words were the opposite of his touch but they still hurt nonetheless

You nodded your head and kept walking, trying to keep up with his quick stride

You followed him into an office as he took a seat behind the wooden desk

“This will be brief so don’t feel the need to sit”

Your eyes followed his every move as he organized his desk that was already pretty organized with stacks of papers

Daichi went on about your duties here but you honestly werent listening

You were a bit overwhelmed from the unfamiliar building you were in that you forgot about the man in front of you

Up until your eyes landed on the nameplate that sat on his desk

Sawamura Daichi, CEO

Without even knowing it, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion

Just who did you get yourself involved with?

Daichi finally noticed that his conversation with you wasnt going anywhere

“Hey. Are you even listening to me?”

You snapped out of it and shook your head

“Im listening!”

He just sighed and repeated everything he just said again

“Whatever. Just listen because this will be the last time i say this. Youll be working here at Sawamura Inc from now on as an intern. Your fellow interns are Hinata and Kageyama so feel free to ask them questions if you have any. You can leave now. I’ll come get you at the end of the day”

You nodded your head and started your day

Kageyama helped you the most in learning the ropes, you didnt see much of hinata. it was almost as if he was avoiding you

“Ok...so these files go here?”

He nodded his head

“Yeah i think you got it down now. If you need me ill be organizing some things for suga”

The rest of the day went on slowly until finally seven oclock hit

You could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching you

“Lets go”

Daichi wasted no time in leaving

You quickly put down the rest of the papers you needed to organize and followed him out

The next couple weeks were like clockwork

Almost exactly the same as the day before

And no matter how hard you tried to get to know the man who took you to and from work he wouldnt budge

The only thing you ever got out of him were short replies and head nods

Did he really not like you that much?

But something you noticed every morning and every evening was the light sound of a piano playing from the radio

“Do you like the piano daichi?”

You werent even sure youd get an answer out of him

But he must if he listened to it everyday

You saw his hands lightly grip the steering wheel tighter before loosening, a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips

Your eyes widened when you saw it

In your two weeks together...youd never seen him give a look like this

Like he...enjoyed life

Like he was happy

“Yeah...its okay”

But just as fast as it appeared on his face, it quickly disappeared

Who knew that the stoic man next to you could make expressions like that

Almost made your heart race

“Do you play?”

Silence fell upon the both of you before you heard him let out a sigh

“No”

And now we’re back to stage one when you finally though you were getting more than one word answers

What could you do to make him see you?

This question played in your head as you filed away some papers for Asahi with Hinata

It was the first time youd done something with him but from what youve seen kageyama just calls him an idiot all the time and hits him

Also from what youve heard hinatas been with the sawamuras for a while so maybe he has some insight

“Hey hinata, can i ask you a question?”

He kept quiet so you took that as permission

“Do you know why daichi likes listening to the piano so much?”

That caused him to stop

“If he hasnt told you then dont ask me”

Youd be lying if you said that didnt make you more intrigued so naturally you did some digging

And eventually you stumbled upon an article from no more than five years ago

It told the tale of a young piano prodigy that had chosen to study music at the university of music and performing arts in vienna

And that piano prodigy was the now the distant leader of the Karasuno Mafia

You wonder what happened to him, what the story was behind his change in career path

The next day you decided that if you wanted to learn more about him then asking the questions would help

“Good afternoon daichi!”

You smiled at him as you delivered some paperwork to him

“Morning…”

You set the small stack down on his desk in front of him

“These are the papers for the closing on the Inarizaki deal”

He picked them up and quickly skimmed it

“Okay, thank you. You may go now”

When you didnt move he looked back up

“Do you have something else for me?”

He saw the way you fidgeted with the tips of your fingers and his eyes softened for just a moment

“Would you like to have lunch with me?”

He knew that he should say no

That he shouldnt let you in

“Sure”

How harmful could one lunch possibly be

Little did daichi know he was about to be interrogated

“--no i dont know who my favorite superhero is”

This was probably the tenth question youve asked and he wished you would stop

But he didnt know how to tell you no

Not when you were asking genuine questions

He thought it was kind of nice to be talking to someone normal again

Not someone who was involved with the mafia

But someone who was just...ordinary

“Ok ok..one last question”

He smiled softly

You felt your breath hitch after him showing you that gentle smile

“Go ahead”

The way you talked to him with no filter was refreshing

So he wasnt expecting the next question really at all

“I came across an article the other day about this boy who loved playing the piano,”

Daichis heart almost stopped

“Why did you stop playing daichi?”

‘Because my father made me’

He clenched his fist, crumpling the napkin inside of it

“I just got bored of it”

His reply came out through gritted teeth and you knew he was lying

You gently laid your hand on top of his until you felt it relaxing under you

“Well, no matter the reason, I hope that someday ill be lucky enough to hear you play”

His heart melted

The thought of playing again is something hes always wanted

But his father wouldnt let him

And left a permanent reminder on him about it

“That probably wont ever happen so dont get your hopes up. Let’s get back to the office, lunch is over”

And just like that he was back to being cold towards you just when you thought you were making progress

A couple weeks go by and it seems like daichis pushed you out of his life all over again

So much so that suga was the one giving you assignments from daichi where daichi used to just tell you himself

“Hey, hinata, kageyama and y/n! Daichi wants you guys to go make some copies from the store around the corner. Printer is jammed here and we need to get those documents ASAP”

You all nodded your heads and headed out

You were really too caught up in your own thoughts to be thinking about your surroundings

Had you really crossed a line that day?

You just wanted to figure out the real daichi

Because to you, the real daichi had his walls up 24/7 but behind those walls was a gentle smile and just a guy who wanted nothing more than to just live a normal life

So you didnt notice when hinata and kageyama stopped causing you to run into their backs

“Why did you guys-”

Hinata held a protective arm out in front of you

“What are you doing here, mad dog?”

The boy you assumed was ‘mad dog’ pushed himself off of wall he was leaning against

“Boss wanted me to fetch something”

His eyes locked onto your form

“And im here to collect”

This sent chills down your back

What was he going to do for you?

Who was his boss?

Your mind was running a mile a minute

“y/n you need to run”

Hinata’s voice brought you back to reality

“What?”

Hinata’s eyes never left the man in front of him

“Kageyama and i will take care of him. You need to get back to the office. Now!”

You sprinted as soon as hinata yelled for you to leave

‘Theyll be alright, right? They handle stuff like this all the time’

But you came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a gun going off

‘Fuck my life’

You turned back around help in any way you could

Only to come upon an unconscious kageyama and bleeding hinata

“You fucking idiot! Whyd you come back?!”

Meanwhile mad dog approached you and placed his hand under your chin

“You just made my job a whole lot easier”

Before you could even scream a piece of cloth was placed over your mouth and your vision went black

“Give your boss a message for me, carrot top. Tell him that if he wants his intern back he has to come get them himself”

Hinata gritted his teeth before passing out himself

Suga found them not too long after that

And after hinata told daichi what had happened...he was livid

He was supposed to protect you

To make sure that you stayed safe

And he was too weak to do it

Too afraid of what his father would have done if he found out that he was fond of a random person they picked up from the streets that had no ties to them

Afraid of what his father would have done to you

He clenched his jaw and let out a grunt as he punched the wall next to him

But fuck that

He knew that in this moment he needed to get you back right now

The thought of you being injured due to his own incompetence scared him more than what his father might ever do to him

So he was off

“When will they wake up?”

“Theyve been out forever”

“Dude its only been like three hours of course theyre still out”

The voices around you became clear as you regained consciousness

“Oh~ looks like theyre finally awake”

“Yeah probably because you wouldnt shut up”

Standing in front of you was a group of men you had only seen in brief pictures from the reports you made for daichi

‘Seijoh’

From what you remember their boss is a major flirt and his right hand man keeps him humble

Mad dog was sitting off in the corner next to a brown haired man who just kept staring at you…’creepy’

You flinched as the one you recognized as their boss reached a hand out towards you

“Aww dont be scared! I promise i wont hurt you”

He bent down to your level with a hand on your shoulder and leaned in to the point that his breath tickled your ear

“Though im not too sure that some of the others here wont. So be good for me, okay y/n?”

You were scared out of your mind

But you were not going to let this guy get into your head

So you did what any reasonable person would do

You pulled your head back and headbutted him in the forehead

He stumbled back a bit

“Stay the fuck away from me”

Oikawa held his head and gave you a nasty glare

“Iwa take care of them”

Everyone filed out till it was just you and the spiky hair man in front of you

“Nothing against you, just doing what the boss said. Plus you could have just laid low but you had to provoke him”

Daichi wasted no time in getting to seijohs building

And as soon as oikawa heard he was in the building he sent for him

“Welcome daichi! What an unexpected surprise!”

Daichi always hated the sound of oikawas jovial voice

How fake it sounded

“Just give me y/n back”

Oikawa just shook his head 

“Never were a fan of small talk were you daichi? Okay, since youre just dying to see them ill bring them in now”

Daichi turned around and reeled at what he saw

Bruised and battered as you were set down onto the ground

“You fucking bastard”

Daichi clenched his jaw

He was at a loss of words for the sight in front of him

But he knew he had to get you out of here

So he scooped you up into his arms and headed for the door

But before leaving he stopped and spoke into his earpiece

“Get them”

And with that he left as a war ensued between the two gangs

Beep beep

The sound of your heart monitor brought you back to the land of the living

And next to you was a passed out daichi

You slowly felt around your bed before hitting the call button for your nurse

And as soon as you did daichi jumped up from his seat at the sound of footsteps approaching

You reached out and put your hand on his to get his attention and smiled at him

He sat back down and let the nurses tend to you, his gaze never leaving your body

“You should be able to leave within the next day or two. Rest up mx. l/n”

The nurse then left your room and left the two of you alone

You locked eyes with him before looking down at his hand and seeing how discolored it was

He noticed your eyes widen and tried to hide his hand once he realized what you were looking at

“Daichi! You need to take better care of yourself!”

You sat up from your bed and called a nurse to get a basic first aid kit

“Im fine y/n. You need to rest”

“Like hell youre fine! Daichi your hand is hurt. Please just let me fix it for you”

But before you could apply the bandages you hand your hand in his

“It cant be fixed y/n. This hand doesnt feel anything”

You looked up at him with confused eyes

“Its the reason i dont play anymore. My father crushed it a few years back so i wouldnt even think about playing. Said it was time i stopped playing with useless things”

The grip on your hand tightened a bit before slowly loosening

But you just gently squeezed it

“Well, even if your hand is ‘useless’ id still feel better if youd let me wrap it. Your hand is still a part of you and it can still bring so much joy into your life as well as those around you. You just have to have the courage to seize what you want.”

‘The courage to seize what I want’

Your words played out in his head over and over again

He made a promise to himself that day

That one day, you two would be happily together

No matter how hard this path may be

He was going to seize his happiness

Tag List:

@the-ironic-me​ @multisun​ @my-mass-hysteria​ @sugawsites @youbloodylegendyoudidit @sinthxy​ @celamoon​ @tinymouth @fait-de-fleurs​ @tsukifanbase​ @69owo​ @laglyssage​ @hearteyeskags​ @ntngann​ @shnnn​ @fukuro-dani-ace​

[8unnieswrld]

Dialogue 35 & 43 + scenario 10 with Jaemin pleaseeee

Request 35 + 43: "how am i meant to cover these?" + "lol you're really gonna wine and dine me after rearranging my guts"

Word count: 1.7k

Genre: fluff, angst (IF U SQUINT)

Warnings: ITS SUGGESTIVE, im honestly bad at smut and no lovely people on here deserve bad smut. That shit gotta be sensual or its a bad time...

A/N: Thank you so much for requesting! I hope its to your liking 💖 I will be crossing off each prompt as they are requested to avoid any double ups 💖

You had only known him for a couple of moths, max being generous.You groan loudly as you feel Jaemin’s warm body detach from yours causing goosebumps to rise to your skin.

“No no no no cold cold cold” you cry, pulling the blankets that were bundled at your feet over your body.

“Calm down baby, I'm just grabbing a warm cloth and some water for you” he whispers, placing a kiss on your forehead before exiting the room. You lay there patiently waiting for your “husband” to come back, slowly drifting off to sleep after having used all of your energy to keep up with Jaemins crazy sex drive.

In your 25 years or so of living, you had never even thought about the possibility of marrying someone introduced to you a week prior to your so-called wedding. It was such a foreign thought in your mind, clearly not for your parents or your husband’s though as they had no issue announcing it abruptly. It seemed unfair for your parents to even agree to letting their only daughter marry off into another family at such an early age, just to settle some family drama on their behalf. Jaemin was only a couple of years older than you, working in the same career field as you. You felt odd marrying someone who you had just technically met, not even able to harvest feelings for him beforehand. You didn't hate him or anything, you also just didn't know him all too well, feeling bad that he was also forced into this situation while at the top of his career.

Even though legally married you both had a very casual relationship, both not really committed enough to even call it one. However, due to yours and Jaemin’s crazy sex drive, after a night of very drunk talking you both agreed to relieve sexual tension with one another as a way to keep sane as you were both very stressed people. In the few months of living together, the blonde hair stranger turned into a pink hair friend who was now your good blue hair friend with benefits even though technically married to each other. The summer of your marriage changed like the colour of his hair into a cold winter as you both grew comfortable with each other, picking up one another's traits.

You feel the bed dip a bit, blanket shuffling slightly before a warm wet cloth is pressed between your legs causing you to jolt awake. You lift your head slightly looking at Jaemin clean you up while placing kisses on the inner of your thighs.

“Dont, that will only lead to another round” you warned, closing your legs on his head. Jaemin only chuckles as he moves his body to hover over yours placing a soft and gentle kiss on your lips.

Recently, Jaemin has become more intimate with you, even to the point of suggesting to move your stuff into his room since you were both married regardless. For sure he made your heart flutter, but there was a feeling of distrust locked in a box inside your heart. You knew it was possible to harbour feelings after getting to know one another, but a part of you made you doubt that, only choosing to believe that Jaemin was harbouring feelings out of convenience due to his age and career. Still, there was another part of your heart that began to light up whenever he was around you, hypocritical to your conflicting feelings.

You wrap your arms around Jaemin pulling him closer to you as his hand makes itself up to your stomach, lightly running the cloth over it cleaning any leftover cum that remains. He lays down beside you, pulling your head onto his extended arm. You shift slightly rolling onto your side as you hook your arms around him, pressing your face into the crook of his neck as he begins to clean your back.

“So I was thinking we would go to that fancy new place that opened up on the other side of town. You know the one on top of the hills that overlooks the city.” Jaemin mumbles, resting his head on the top of yours. “I heard they have a great selection of Italian reds.”

You couldn't help but laugh at his sudden remark, causing him to be tickled by your hot breath against his skin. Unable to control your laughter, you use every force in your body to roll over sitting up as Jaemin eyes you curiously, baffled as to why you were laughing so hard at such a normal question.

“What? Why are you laughing huh?” He chuckles awkwardly, still unsure as to why you were laughing at him.

“Lol are you seriously going to wine and dine me after you rearranged my guts for the past couple of hours” you laughed, gripping your stomach as you fell back onto the bed kicking your legs playfully.

Jaemin couldn't help but to smile as he sits up pulling your body closer to his before caging you in his arms falling back down on the bed.

“What? What's so wrong with wine and dining hmm?” Jaemin laughs, resting his head onto your exposed chest. Your laughter dies down as you wrap your arms around his head, causing him to be squished between your tits.

“Jaemin you know we’re not technically dating right? Why are you being so romantic all of a sudden” You whisper running your hands through his hair. Jaemin chuckles slightly, enjoying his face squished between your breasts.

“I mean...Y/N we’re technically married, shouldn't we at least act like it?” Jaemin mumbles, placing a few kisses in the centre of your chest. You felt your chest sting at his remark, biting your lip to stop yourself from tearing up. Confused as to why you weren't replying, Jaemin removes himself from your chest to look up at your face, instantly cupping it. “What's wrong? Was it something I said?” Jaemin coos, wrapping his arms around your head as you lose control over your tears allowing them to spill all over his exposed chest.

“Jaem...do you ever think that you only like me because we live together?” you whisper, rubbing his back slightly as you forced yourself not to continue to cry.

“Y/N…That's not it at all. I genuinely like you so much and I'm sorry if I'm not expressing that well enough but...the past few months of us living together, becoming friends, and then this...it's been amazing. You make me feel so warm inside, like substantial… you feel like home.” Jaemin mumbles, hugging you tighter as he presses kisses on top of your head. “I'm sorry that i haven't officially asked you out or anything...its just that we’re kind of technically married and i thought it’d be easier just to flow into it naturally…” You were about to reply but Jaemin takes a deep breath, pushing you lightly from his chest to look you in the eye.

“Y/N I think you’re super hot, you’re so supporting and smart and intuitive and kind…” He starts rambling, counting the traits he saw in you causing your ears to become red and flustered...even though you were both in bed naked as he confessed to you. “I think you’re amazing and I would be super upset if you started dating someone else and we got divorced because I have felt so much more happier after meeting you, like you were some saving grace!” He confesses, hugging you tightly once again. You felt your entire body flush red, from head to toe causing you to nervously sweat. “If you don't want to be my girlfriend, that's okay but i just want you to know that everything i just said are my real feelings...100%” Jaemin mumbles, staring into your eyes softly. You felt your heart race, unable to even face him properly are you pushed yourself away from him to sit up.

Putting on top he discarded the headboard over your body. You felt a shiver travel up your spine as your feet hit the cold wood floor.

“So it's a no….” Jaemin chuckles sadly, running a hand through his hair. You instantly turn around, facing him shocked to your core at the words that had left his mouth.

“No, Jaem...i'm getting out of bed to get ready for our first official date.” You reply, completely panicked that his mind went instantly to rejection. Was the idea of you leaving him what held him back from confessing to you?

Jaemins face instantly brightens as he quickly gets out of bed to run over to you, engulfing you in a tight hug as he peppered kisses all over your face. “I knew you had a crush on me, Y/N you’re so fucking cute!” He sings happily, waddling you to the bathroom in his arms as you felt tears flood the brim of your eyes, tears of self inflicted anger, sadness and joy.

Flicking on the bathroom light, you shriek, causing Jaemin to snap out of his state of ecstasy to look at you worriedly. You hit him lightly, huffing as you stare at the dark red and purple patches littered all over your neck in absolute disbelief.

“How am i meant to hide these?!” You cry, pulling the collar of his shirt down to reveal even more. Jaemin only laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist as he rests his head on top of yours.

“Don't hide them, they’re pretty” he states, staring at you through the mirror before blinking innocently before tightening his hug on you, returning to his own happy world. Jaemin was esatic, feeling as if all of his wishes were finally granted after pouring his heavy heart out onto you, in hopes of progressing your relationship with one another.

“You’re so cuteeeeee!” Jaemin yells cathartically, rocking you side to side like a child squeezing

a soft toy. You could only sigh as a response, returning his hug as he happily chatted your ear off about how happy he was in that very moment.

Jaemin stops speaking momentarily causing you both to stare at each other in the mirror, before bursting out into laughter as Jaemin pushes you to sit on the toilet running a warm bath for you both.

“You better be helping me apply concealer to this before we leave” you laugh, splashing the water up at Jaemin.

“Of course, anything for you”

[risottoneroo]

self indulgence, pt 20

a/n: heres my first ever finished series!! fuck this has been a ride, but im glad to have done it with all of you.

warnings: weddings, crying, pregnancy mentions

The planning for your wedding passed in a blur. It would be in Sicily, in Risotto’s hometown, and in the church he had gone to growing up. His family thought he was dead, and he knew it was best to keep it that way.

Your honeymoon would be in Malta, and it would be only a week. Risotto didn’t trust his subordinates to run the newly fledging organization for longer than that. 

An increasingly obvious problem was Secco. The man had grown more and more attached to you as the days went on, and he now had a hard time being separated from you. He did wear clothes now, usually shorts and a loose t shirt, but he still had the unfortunate habit of coming to you when he was horny. 

Secco was a unique issue, and one you needed to confront. He was a grown man who acted like a particularly obedient pet, who clearly had issues that couldn’t be resolved easily, and who was a very powerful and loyal Stand user. 

Risotto would rather Secco remained attached to you than have to kill him, but he’d made it clear in no uncertain terms that Secco was not to come on the honeymoon. You agreed. You’d have to find someone who liked him. 

Your solution came when you were trying to order the invitations. Your computer kicked the bucket just as you were finishing. Fortunately, Melone was in town, and he agreed to come over and help. The moment he stepped in the door, Secco was on him like an overeager dog. Melone frowned. “And who’s this?”

You sighed. “Secco, stop! He’s Cioccolata’s former human pet. I transferred his loyalties.”

Melone swallowed. “Your Stand is very…interesting.”

You laughed. “You can say scary.”

He shrugged and leaned down to pat Secco’s head. “He’s very cute.”

Secco purred and looked pleased. “Thank you!”

Melone jumped. “Oh, you talk!”

Secco’s voice was less garbled now, since you’d worked with him on speech. Melone knelt and looked at Secco. “Do you like it here?”

Secco grinned. “I love it here. Y/N and Risotto aren’t mean to me, and they aren’t weak like Cioccolata was. And Y/N is so pretty-”

He blushed and looked down. Melone chuckled softly and stood. “He’s an interesting project, to say the least.”

You sighed. “Yeah. My issue is that he can’t exactly come on the honeymoon with us.”

Melone shrugged. “I’ll keep him.”

You blinked. “Really?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A human pet? I’d love to talk more with him.”

You shrugged. “Secco, do you want to go with Melone for a week?”

Seccon grinned. “He seems nice! Yeah.”

You shrugged again. “Okay, well, he’ll take you to his apartment after he’s done here, so go and get your things.”

Secco bounded into your room. You sat next to Melone on the couch, and he pulled up a mockup of your wedding invitations. “I knew something like this would happen, so I saved duplicates of everything on Babyface.”

You hugged him. “Thank you so much.”

He shrugged and hit a few keys, sending them to the company you were getting them from. “It’s not a problem.”

He hugged you back and smiled. “I’m happy you and Risotto are finally tying the knot.”

You pulled away and smiled back. “I am too.”

He stood, and Secco came out of your room, holding his bag. It had his changes of clothes and his toiletries, both of which you had gotten for him. Getting him to take a bath at first had been hell, but he’d eventually grown to like it. 

Melone took his hand. “I’ll take good care of him, Y/N.”

You smiled and knelt to kiss Secco’s forehead. “Be good for Melone.”

He hugged you tight and nodded. “I will.”

You hugged him back, then let go and stood. Melone nodded to you and led Secco out the door. Secco was walking normally, although it was a little bowlegged. 

You sat back down at your desk, glad that at least one of the knots in your life had been untangled. 

RIsotto came home late, looking tired. You were on the couch, typing on your laptop. When you saw him, you put it down and reached out. He pulled off his tie and fell onto your lap, groaning. “They’re so fucking stupid.”

You stroked his hair gently. “What happened?”

He shook his head. “They’ll never survive without me.”

He turned over and looked up at you. “They’re barely making it without you. With both of us gone, this whole operation might just go under.”

You sighed. “Prosciutto?”

Risotto bit his lip. “Has his hands full containing the leak. Formaggio would be able to hold it down for a few days, and with Illuso, probably a full week.”

You shrugged. “So we have some extra work at the end of the day. Not a bad thing.”

He shrugged back and stayed quiet. You kept scratching his hair, and he hummed. You smiled. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

He nodded, yawning again. You patted his head. “Go put on pajamas. You’ll wrinkle your suit.”

He rolled his eyes, and got up. “The suit isn’t even that expensive-”

You shook your head. “I like it, I don’t want it to get wrinkled.”

He stuck his tongue out playfully, and you smiled. 

You turned on the TV while he changed. You glanced into your shared room. He was down to his briefs, stretching out tired muscles. He smiled at you, and you smiled back. He pulled on a baggy tshirt and came out. “Hey.”

You held out your arms, and he laid down on you. His feet were hanging off the end of the couch, but he didn’t care.

The day of your wedding came faster than you’d expected. Risotto had stayed over at Formaggio’s place the night before, so tradition could be kept. A team of Passione aestheticians had come over early in the morning and made you up and laced you into the dress.  You sat in a chair and looked at yourself as they contoured and colored your face. The makeup was soft. You swallowed the nervousness in your throat. You were the queen, and they knew it. What had you done to get there? What would you do to stay there?

The church you were getting married in was massive. All of Passione was in attendance for the ceremony, but only a select few would be present for the reception, mostly the former members of La Squadra di Esecuzione and their new spouses or underlings. Bruno’s squad would be there as well, even Mista. Risotto had refused to budge on ordering him to attend. The final nail in his coffin, watching the woman you love become inaccessible forever. 

You were prepared to walk down the aisle alone. But when Prosciutto met you at the door and offered his arm, you were grateful. He kissed your cheek gently. “You look beautiful.”

You smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “I know I have to give you away to him.”

You touched his cheek. Your heels made you taller than him. “We’re friends.”

He closed his eyes. “Yes.”

The music started, and the doors opened.

The church was beautiful, festooned in lace and white roses. The sun shone through green, white and blue stained glass, and the ceiling was high and airy.  Your train trailed behind you as you walked down the aisle with Prosciutto. 

Risotto was standing at the altar, looking angry as usual. His tuxedo was black from the skin out. The only break was his white tie. He turned to you, and his facade broke. 

His face crumpled, and he covered his face as he began to cry. You rushed the last few steps and took his wrists. “Ris, what-?”

The church was stunned. Nobody had ever seen him cry before. He pulled his hands away from his face and wiped away his tears. “Fuck. You’re beautiful. I never thought-”

You smiled weakly. “If you cry, I’ll cry. Quit it.”

He nodded and inhaled deeply. His black sclera never revealed that he’d been crying. The priest cleared his throat. “Are we ready?”

You nodded and took Risotto’s hands. The priest began. “Dearly beloved-”

You zoned out and watched Risotto’s face. He was smiling at you. He looked utterly content. You both repeated after the priest, and after your “I do’s”, he stepped back. “The couple will now state their vows to one another before God.”

Risotto swallowed hard and pulled out a stack of notecards. He blinked and looked at you. “Y/N. You are the woman I love. When I found you, I hoped against hope that someday we would be here, and I, against all odds, and all evidence to the contrary, have finally gotten something I want. Someone I want. You have risked your life to get us where we are now, but that stops here. I will keep you safe. I will make a home for you, wherever that may be.”

He swallowed hard and continued. “As I stand here, under the eyes of God and Passione, I know that I chose right. I chose you, and I will keep choosing you.”

You sniffled, and Prosciutto at your elbow handed you a handkerchief. You took Risotto’s hands. “Risotto Nero, you have been the only constant in my life for a long time. I have loved you for longer than I know, and I feel blessed every day that I’m by your side. You make me laugh and cry, rage and smile. I have risked my life for yours, as you do for mine. I would do it again in a heartbeat. You are the only man I would do this for. I chose you. I will keep choosing you.”

The priest spoke softly, but the whole church heard it. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Risotto’s lips were on your before the priest finished his sentence. You could taste salt and blood, tears and iron. His lips were crushing and desperate, his hands pulling you in close to him passionately. 

He pulled back, panting softly, and you smiled at him. “You have lipstick marks.”

He laughed and pulled away, taking your hand in his and facing the church. The priest announced, “I present to you today, under God for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Risotto Nero.”

Epilogue.

Of course it didn’t end there. Risotto rose in power and fame, eventually controlling all of Italy in his web of organized crime. He became known as “L’uomo Nero”, fitting both because of his last name and his fashion sense, as well as his sadistic taste in punishment. He was feared and respected. He never allowed anyone else to dole out punishment, and ruled with an iron fist.

Your powers, as soft as they seemed, were more feared among the organization. Rumors of you making men fall in love with a touch, then leading them into the jaws of L’uomo Nero, circulated long after you both retired. 

When Risotto turned 35, he decided he’d had enough. You retired with him to a small villa on a hill in Sicily, overlooking the beach. You stopped taking birth control, and were pregnant with twins within the year. They were born as white-haired as their father. Risotto doted on them, and on you.

You found him one day staring into the mirror at his body. When you had met him, ten years ago now, he had been slim and tall, like a tree. As he neared middle age, his body had thickened and gained muscle and fat. His belly stuck out over his shorts, and body hair had thickened on his chest and stomach. He’d raised an eyebrow at you, and you’d kissed him. He’d sighed. “I’m not the same man you married.”

You’d laughed. “I’m not the same woman. Does that mean we give up? Does that mean I don’t love you every day?”

He smiled and kissed you again. “No. It doesn’t.”

You were pregnant again the next year. Risotto’s love for you grew as his children did, and when you became pregnant again with twins, he decided it was time for a vasectomy. You agreed. 

You grew old together, watching your children play in the waves.

[sickassastrology]

What made you different? 🥸

This is a general reading for the collective. This read is about your person you have in mind. Remember that because it is general it will not resonate with everyone. So take what sticks. Your free to choose whatever pile you feel. Heck, there could be little messages in all the piles. Time is fluid and we all have free will. So things can play out at anytime or maybe not at all. Follow your heart always. -E 💙🌻

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Pile 1 🍒🍒🍒

Greetings pile 1, the classy crew with the rider Waite deck. let's get into it. I'm getting whoever this was misused you when they had you. I heard the line from Jackson 5 I want you back. when I had you to myself i didn't want you around, those pretty faces always made you stand out in the crowd". With this group I'm feeling like what made you different to this person was that you had it going on. you had a lot going for yourself. and you didn't share that with just anyone. your riches. your glory. whether it was your body, money, time, energy. whatever the case was...you were selective in who you gave to. you are an attractive energy and human pile 1. and you know it too. 😜 confident. I'm getting the energy of I have a lot going for me, and I'm not going to just be out in these streets. my money is good, I look good, I feel good. It took a lot for you to get there and so you won't share that with anyone & everyone. and then....you gave it to this person and decided to act a fool, right? lol isn't it always like that. this person saw you as being able to take care of yourself, even when it was a lot. im getting heavily that some of yall have family members or siblings (big on the siblings) that you take care of. you are the parental figure to them. you had a lot of responsibilities, and yet you were still like a breathe of fresh air. you still knew how to smile. mature. you always smiled in the mist of sadness. and you meant it too, like it wasn't just a mask. it was like "I still have something to smile about in life. my flowers still grow. there's happiness all around me." you still knew how to give to this person. managing the connection even with your own stuff going on. and they admired that about you. when things got tough you remained calm. never too out of control. you handled each situation how it came and for what it was. although you told this person about your life, you NEVER made it burdensome to them. like that's my life, but we are separate from that. and this person was acting stupid. I see a few of yall into the occult too. and that definitely makes you different, doesnt it lol. but you don't mind it and didn't hide it because it's who you are. when you saw there was sneaky behavior going on, you left. you used your intuition to guide you. and now, this person does have a lot to give and will give it but if I screw them over they will bounce out. you are not the one to do an unfair relationship. I'm seeing this person got caught cheating on their phone. like you saw some hidden text messages. I also heard "nude" like nude photos you found. this person was doing too much. and you were like no it's not fair. and it was like they didn't care. they were only sorry they got caught. they see you are strong, know who you are, know your worth, and you won't bow down to anyone. and that's on purrrr! it hurts you, but you know your special and you are a gift to somebody out there. so if you have to leave, then bye. you'll see why I'm special later on. and this hurts but you know how to keep pushing forward. and your person is just like, omg how are they doing this, how are they still okay!? pile 1, your energy is so beautiful 😍. its very tranquil. and im not saying that you never get upset or anything like that but there is a peace about you. like it didn't work out. okay, cool. I'll just keep working on my life, taking care of me and mine. and best of luck to them, ya know? I see you did love them, like them a lot. but that's the way the cookie crumbles. and tbh, pile 1 I feel you'll be better off without this person anyway. like you'll be happier being a lone, find somebody else, or just keep taking care of business. so many blessings to you all, you deserve wonderful things. ❤

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PILE 2 🥠🥠🥠

Hi pile 2, so while I was shuffling I heard likeable. so your very easygoing and charming im getting. this pile is nurturing, motherly. I get the energy of "ill lick your wounds for you so you don't have to". Ouuuu a healer. I see. (make sure that people don't try to get over on you, because they will try it)! You are a kind person. I'm getting friendly to everyone around. This pile is let's make love, not war. You don't like to agrue much. This person could have been a fireball and you just put their fire ALLLL the way out lol. I feel like some of yall worked with this person or around them. and there would be competition around you, and they would try so hard to get your persons attention. like look at me!! trying real hard. and then there you were like " I'm just here, doing me". you weren't trying to stand out. and they looked right at your ass too. 😂😂 Pile 2, you are almost too loving for your own good, aren't cha. 🥰 you love life. you showed this person a different way of living, like just go with the flow. but you weren't reckless. if you did go out or drink. I'm feeling like a festival or winery type. you showed this person that life is fun. you are a true free spirit. you don't let a lot of life's qualms bother you. this group is very natural. humanitarian. I heard the word garden. this pile is the type that give to the less fortunate. I'm seeing a person on the street and like you'll give them money, food, or whatever it is with no second thought. very "here you are. be blessed". and this person was in awe of that type of generosity. because this world doesn't have people like that. you weren't doing it for attention. you are a G-I-V-E-R. Tbh, with this pile I'm really feeling like you have a gift to help people, but I'm not sure that you even know that yet. you think that's just how you are. but i see you really doing things with the community. know your purpose you all, because its so important. you are balanced. Yes you are such a giving person. BUT you will hold back IF needed. you know when to hold em & fold em. that's you. you just don't have to try hard. I'm getting your person wears a mask to fit in. you do nothing, you can get somebody's attention without doing much of anything really. you love life and you give life into others. into earth. the seas. skies. heavens. whatever it is, you give life to it. this pile is an empress. very divine feminine. *(remember tarot have NO gender, it is only energy)* you'd make a good parent if you had children. *as I said that, I heard I don't want kids but I have fur babies*. 😂 okay so you take care of your pets as your little babies. we love them too. 🐾🐾 this group wishes good on other people. as I was pulling your oracle. the card purpose slips right from my hands. and it reads. purpose: I know what I am here to do. didn't I say this group fits in to a bigger picture. find the reason you are on this earth, do not waste another minute because you will feed so much life into other people. earth angels. 🥰 beautiful. pride: I love myself and see myself in everyone. and gratitude: I am thankful for life and the opportunity it presents. come through pile 2! confirmation again. I just said you love the life you live. the pride you have is almost humble. it's like you like yourself. the good. bad. ugly. and there's no better way to be. and that's why they like you! heck, I like you 😂 so awesome. let your light shine.

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PILE 3 🥦🥦🥦

Pile 3, whatsup!? How are yall feeling? So right off. This is more about your mindset pile 3. your intellect. this person valued your decision making. you moved very carefully when it came to other people. they would come to you and ask about somebody. and you could look and examine and tell if that person was okay or had some type of ill intent. umm....intuitive much? you are a very wise person. you listen a lot to your gut, even if you have to sleep on it. your going to go with what you feel. you knew how to get work done but you still made time for the connection too. I'm getting that some of you have an important job or school that takes up time BUT you knew when to be silly and take breaks too. I'm feeling like you and this person had really goody times together. snapchat filters and silly faces 🤪😂. you are a very determined person. when things get hard or you fail. you never stop trying until you succeed. but you pace yourself, never tire yourself out. sheer determination from yall. love it. there's a lot of power in that. this group loves gathering information. reading. tv. listening. however you gained it, you shared it with your person and other people. a teacher. you actually made this person become better when you spoke to them. it challenged them. you also had a quirkiness about you. I'm getting you had hidden talents about yourself that were really random 😂. but your person loved it. you all pulled the empathy card. it reads: I am open to seeing both sides of the situation. again yall, you really know how to read people. use this to your advantage and get in touch with yourself. Tbh, if you tap in...you can sense auras. if you can't already! 💫🔮

********************************************************

I have to say, every single one of you are special. each of these piles possess such unique abilities and talents. bless you all. not to say your perfect by any means. but beautiful works in progress. so whether or not these connections work out or your person comes back. you matter. you don't need to change what beauty inside yourself. keep growing. keep challenging yourself. don't compromise. your worth it. so climb to the highest mountain top and scream. "I AM WHO I AM. I AM WORTHY. AND BEAUTIFULLLLL". bless. -E 💙🌻

[gizkasparadise]

cdrama rec: goodbye, my princess

Master drama rec list.

Series: goodbye, my princess / the eastern palace Episodes: 52 (regular) 55 (director’s cut--this is the version i watched) Genres: tragedy, romance, train wreck, historical, political, costume porn, scenery porn Spoilers in the Rec: for the set-up If You Like, You’ll Like: “what are you going to do, stab me?” says man stabbed, moon lovers but make it worse, empress ki, a show where literally every love confession ends with someone using a knife, a v fucked up deconstruction of the “runaway princess” trope

Rank: 9.5/10

^ yes this looks v. healthy, soak those clothes in the cold water of the river styx it’ll be fine

PREMISE

xiaofeng is a very bubbly and naive princess from western liang state, where she’s grown up happy and sheltered. her father is pro-peace with the li empire, and makes an arranged marriage for her to their crown prince. being a Precocious Naive Young Royal with a certified Thing for her teacher, gu jian (who seems Stoic but is actually a Softie), she eventually convinces him to run away with her so she can avoid the marriage. 

little does she know that gu jian is actually a sleeper agent for a disgraced family of the li empire who are willing to do anything to get power VENGEANCE honor again.

 wow, this will be fun she said. this will be good, she said. 

meanwhile...

prince li chengyin, the 5th prince, is accompanying his elder brother, the crown prince, to western liang in order to broker a marriage with their princess. on the way they are ambushed by what look like members of the danchi--a nomadic, warrior state. the crown prince is killed, and the 5th prince is left for dead. eventually, chengyin makes his way to western liang, where he learns about the history of his mother’s family, the gus, and meets his cousin gu jian. together, they vow for power VENGEANCE honor as well as a way to uncover the truth about the murder of the crown prince

one way to do that is to figure out a way to infiltrate the danchi

conveniently, gu jian knows a runaway princess whose grandfather is their leader.

ope. i came out here to have a good time

gu jian and chengyin conspire to have chengyin pose as gu jian’s Totally Normal Cousin Who is Definitely Not An Enemy Royal as they help the princess “run away” from an unwanted marriage to the “safety” of her grandfather’s people.

 ah. ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. hah.

MAIN CHARACTERS

xiaofeng

our titular princess!!! omg does she have a wild fucking ride of character development. happy and sheltered! oh no. oh no. oh, god. happy again! oh god. no. oh fuck. 

she’s awesome. growing up in the desert (her father’s people) and the steppe (her mother’s people), xiaofeng’s lived a pretty great life of mischief and riding horses. incredibly kind and extroverted, she makes friends everywhere and a lot of them are women and that is Awesome. not a mean bone in her body. wine-child who likes to cross dress. cdrama’s best dressed.

prince li chengyin / gu xiaowu

the 5th prince of the li empire and wants power VENGEANCE honor for his momma. he infiltrates xiaofeng’s Runaway Marriage Camping Trip in the hopes of uncovering military secrets of the danchi, to get vengeance for his brother and also some military merit so he can get more vengeance. 2 vengeances for one betrayal--sweet deal. however, on the way to the danchi, he hardcore falls for xiaofeng even though he’s lowkey trying to bring about devastation for her family. ruh oh. 

falls in love with the Mark, betrays people constantly and then wonders why they’re mad at him. the show/narrative never, at any point, tries to hide the fact that he is making some Severely Fucked Up Decisions and it’s amazing. genuinely loves xiaofeng very, very much. epitome of “you made your bed now lie in it.” 

gu jian

xiaofeng’s teacher and also her first love. he has feelings for her back, but he’s Bound by Duty to the gu family and subsequentially the li empire. he chooses duty, and orchestrates the meeting between xiaofeng and chengyin “xiaowu” in order to get chengyin in the door to the danchi tribe. he then watches them fall in love, fully knowing the fucked up shit that’s about to go down and how much pain it will cause xiaofeng. 

wears oversized scarves because a dude’s gotta accessorize. dramatically observes people from tall places like a sailor moon villain. whistle baby whistle baby let him know

SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS SELECTED BY HOW MUCH THEY ARE MY FAVORITES

a’du

Q U E E N. a member of the danchi tribe, and xiaofeng’s best friend and bodyguard and girlfriend. xiaofeng says punch and a’du says how hard. the two of them are ride or die together, and a’du would do anything for xiaofeng. does not approve of any of her boyfriends in any capacity because LMAO she has eyes.

general pei

the Strong, Silent type and a general who is loyal to the li empire and serves chengyin. he befriends xiaofeng and genuinely cares about her. she teaches him the flute and he plays it for her whenever she’s sad and it’s precious :(. unclear whether or not his feelings for her are platonic or romantic, but it’s all v Pure and Well-Meaning. the ladies love him

he shi

(far right) a’du’s brother and the danchi’s best warrior. look he’s barely in this but i have a thing for friendly giants and this one plays the flute

mi luo

spy-turned-bar owner from western liang, who becomes one of xiaofeng’s best friends. she’s just a really cool lady and she keeps everyone absolutely hammered throughout the story, which they all need. to cope.

OTHER SUPPORT CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT MY FAVORITES BUT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE PLOT AND/OR I WAS TOO LAZY TO MAKE A SCREENCAP OF

zhao se se. a noblewoman in the li empire who has been in love with chenglin forever

the empress. basically every cdrama empress you’ve ever encountered. moving on.

khan tömür. ACTUALLY one of my favorites but i was too lazy to get a screencap. xiaofeng’s grandpa and leader of the danchi. loves his grand daughter so, so much. does not approve of any of her boyfriends either because he also has eyes.

ming yue. a famous courtesan in the li empire who xiaofeng later befriends. she’s a perfectly fine character i was just bored w/ her subplot.

gao yuming. every Evil Minister you’ve seen in a cdrama, although he gets extra points for having one of the most annoying, blatantly evil voices of all time

second prince, li chengye. i actually liked him a lot too. the crown prince after the first crown prince dies, chengyin’s brother. anything else is spoilers

Drawbacks

there were a couple of subplots that i had 0 interest in, which is what kept this from being a perfect 10 for me. i didn’t care about anything related to minister gao + the empress, but that’s admittedly because im not all that into palace politics. the ming yue stuff was also not that interesting to me because i’ve seen that subplot a billion times.

nothing else enjoy the fucking ride.

Reasons to Watch.

this show makes no secret that it’s not going to be a good time. you jump in fully aware that it’s a tragedy and knowing that ahead of time makes it so much better. you see chengyin start to gradually lose his shit and it’s amazing. it’s so good. 

character development! almost every character grows (or destructs) based on what’s happening around them and i was really impressed with it. xiaofeng’s in particular.

ACTING. omg both the leads killed it. you can see the switches flip and it p much defines the show-not-tell i love it

music! it’s really pretty ;; 

FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS. FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS EVERYWHERE. xiaofeng makes so many friends and it warms my heart

if you’re into fucked up romances that also have moments of genuine cuteness/softness this is 100% your thing

The Aesthetic. costumes and scenery are on point, behold a parade of images:

(the Red Dress is iconic but this ^ is actually my favorite costume of hers)

Final Thoughts

[vs-redemption]

(1/2)🥝 hi! could i get a haikyuu matchup with a male character please? thank you! im 5’5”, have long dark brown hair, brown eyes, wear glasses, she/her, pisces, slytherin, infj. i play the piano, do contemporary dance, and love reading and playing sims/stardew valley. im super shy around people i dont know and it takes me a while to warm up to new people, but when im with my friends i can be pretty loud.

This is my first match-up! Thank you 🥝 anon!! Doing match-ups is more stressful than I imagined. I was so worried about picking someone you didn’t like! I did my best though, so I hope you like the results.

Find out how to request a match-up HERE

YOUR MATCH IS: Daichi Sawamura!

 Why Daichi?

Unlike a lot of the other Haikyuu guys, Daichi wouldn’t be in your face with energetic excitement over meeting you, which I think would suit your personality type pretty well. He would be able to see right away if you were feeling shy or uncomfortable and give you your space. He’s also patient enough to let you open up to him at your own pace. Once you trust him enough to really be yourself around him, he’s going to cherish those moments so much. He’ll probably feel like he can relax more around you as well.

Slytherins tend to be ambitious and INFJs live by their own personal set of values which can make them intimidating and sometimes difficult to get to know. I think Daichi is secure enough in himself that he’d be able to hold his own and not be overshadowed by these types of traits. He’d also be very understanding and respectful of your opinions and feelings. If you’re ever feeling extra emotional though, he will always be there to support you. You never have to worry about being vulnerable around him. He’ll always be there to give and receive your hugs.

Daichi is VERY passionate and serious about volleyball, so he’ll be very happy that you don’t mind listening to him rant and rave about his games and practices. Don’t be surprised if he asks for your advice about how to handle any drama that might show up between his teammates. He’ll also want to know all about your hobbies, so don’t be afraid to ramble about your dancing or piano. If you ever have recitals or concerts, he’s always going to be there to show his support.

SHORT STORY

The first time you sort of talked to Daichi was in front of a vending machine in front of the recreation center in your town. He was a member of the local community volleyball team, so he often went there for practices. You occasionally visited the building as well to work on your dances. It wasn’t your favorite place to go because of how crowded and busy it could be, but it was one of the only places near your house with practice spaces equipped with wall length mirrors that helped you perfect certain moves and techniques.

“Hello,” Daichi greets you as you walk up. He puts his coins into the machine and selects a bottle of green tea. “It’s so humid today.” He grabs his drink and moves out of the way for you. You just hum in response while choosing a drink quickly.

“I wish they’d invest in some air conditioning,” he tries to make conversation while using the towel around his neck to wipe some sweat from his face. “Those box fans are just not cutting it.”

“Yeah,” you mumble in agreement before rushing back to your practice room with your drink in hand, leaving Daichi wondering if he’d said or did something weird to freak you out. He had seen you around before, but you were always alone, so maybe you just preferred to keep to yourself. He didn’t think much more about it until the first time he saw you dance. For someone who seemed so quiet and shy, it was a shock for him to see you expressing yourself in such an unguarded way. He found himself wanting to get to know more about that side of you. Plus, he thought you looked really cute after practicing with your long hair tied up to keep it out of the way.

The next time he got the chance to talk to you, he asked about your dancing. He wanted to know why you’d chosen the contemporary style, and if you had any special warm ups or exercises you had to do to. He also told you about some of the aches and pains he got related to volleyball, wondering if you had any suggestions for stretches he could do or any other advice.

You were really quiet at first, but Daichi didn’t seem to mind. Whenever it looked like you were getting uncomfortable, he would excuse himself to give you some space. It made him happy though whenever you hung around for a few minutes to listen to him ramble about an upcoming match with a neighboring town’s volleyball team.

One day, after getting out of practice, you noticed it was raining really hard and that Daichi didn’t seem to have an umbrella. You hesitated for a moment before deciding you didn’t mind helping him out. He was relieved when you offered to walk with him to the train station so that you could share an umbrella. After that, it became routine for you two to walk to the train station together. Conversation between you both got a little easier from then on, and you found yourself sharing ideas or opinions you normally kept to yourself. When Daichi finally worked up the courage to ask you on a date, you found yourself happily accepting.

[lunnanunna]

Jae-in’s Relationship with X1

X1 12th Member AU:

A/N: Sorry it took so long to post! I have been drowning in school work and I just started my new job. But I’m trying to update more. As always, requests are open! I’d love to get ideas on what to write for Jae-in and the boys.

Seungwoo:

These two have known each other for a few years now. Seungwoo’s older sister was a member of Secret under TS Entertainment, and she often, along with her other members, invited Jae-in along for outings, seeing as she was the only girl in B.A.P. So Jae-in often was invited to spend time with Sunhwa and her parents and siblings, i.e Seungwoo. They slowly became close friends, but lost contact as the years went by and Seungwoo debuted and Sunhwa left the company. Now that they have reconnected, these two are joined at the hip. Seungwoo looks out for her, just like he looks out for all his members, but also knows that she can hold her own. They are workout buddies and spend most of their time parenting the kids. He relies on her the most, due to her being in the industry for so long, and always being calm and collected. Since these two are very cuddly, they’ll cling to others, or each other (once the other members get sick of being clung to). These two picked each other as roommates due to having such similar likes and interests. Jae-in really loves Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, so she smiles whenever Seungwoo is called Snoopy and has a tendency of stealing some of the Snoopy fan gifts that he gets. He doesn’t really mind.

Seungyoun:

Normally, Jae-in is very quiet and to herself, but if you add a Seungyoun to the mix, then you have hell. These two get very loud, very fast. She’s an unofficial member of Team Rocket, due to stopping any pranks or jokes from going too far. Seungyoun goes to Jae-in whenever he needs to vent. He prefers to not let the kids see how down he actually gets, and originally didn’t even want Jae-in to see, but she caught him crying one night, and since then Seungyoun goes to her whenever he just needs to talk. The same goes for her. Jae-in only ever shows her true emotions to a select few, and Seungyoun is one of them. Back on PDX, these two were always the mood makers in their teams and if they weren’t on the same team making others laugh, they were looking for each other in between breaks. They just naturally gravitate towards each other.

Wooseok:

These two met during a music show. Jae-in was MCing back when she was in B.A.P and Up10tion was promoting. She, Wooseok, and Jinhyuk got into a little (fun) argument about the the best snacks at each music show, and from there on out, a friendship had grown. Whenever Jae-in enters a room, she always goes towards Wooseok and latches on to him. He’s one of the few members that just lets it happen without comment or complaint. Even though, she shares a room with Seungwoo, she’ll either chill in Wooseok’s room, or drag him to her room to just cuddle. Jae-in keeps a watchful eye on Wooseok, knowing his past. Jinhyuk had asked them to stick together and look out for each other while being in X1, and Jae-in takes that request very seriously, as she sees him like a little brother (much to his displeasure). Wooseok will go to either Seungwoo or her whenever he needs to talk or is too stressed, but will also listen whenever Jae-in needs to vent.

Yohan:

Jae-in has admired Yohan since his audition. Whenever he improved and got compliments, she always felt so proud, even if he wasn’t on her team. While he spends time squishing cheeks and teasing the younger members, she does the same to him. She laughs at how squirmy he gets with any sort of skinship, so she has made it her goal to make him get used to it. Yohan at first felt a bit uncomfortable with her, due to being the only girl and such a “badass idol” in the past, but he slowly started to see her as an older sister that he could confide in. Jae-in will help him with the dances and in return, she asks him to teach her taekwondo, to which he teases her whenever she tries hard, but stumbles, “So there are some things that the Great Han Jae-in can’t do.” “Oh, shut up.”

Hangyul:

From the beginning, Jae-in was drawn to him for some reason. He seemed intimidating, but she also got such soft vibes from him. She had seen him before on The Unit, and as a part of IM, but didn’t know much about him. She liked the vibe that he gave, and during one of the late night practices to X1-MA, she found him practicing alone, and decided to join him. He felt at ease with her and right away was able to make jokes with her. They often complimented each other on their dances and even gave each other pointers. Jae-in sees a lot of her members as younger brothers, but Hangyul is the closest to resembling her actual brother, so she naturally felt comfortable around him. In the dorms, if too many members are visiting Seungwoo in their shared room, she’ll often go to Hangyul and Seungyoun’s room, since it basically has the same vibes as hers, but with less kids. She’ll often slump on Hagyul’s bed, face buried in his pillow and muffle out a drama suggestion that they should watch. He is definitely the one that gets the most protective of her.

Junho:

Junho is a tough case for Jae-in. She knows that he’s pretty quiet at first, but once he’s comfortable he’ll open up, or at least he has with the other members. They’ve been on the same team on PDX a few times, and yet he’s still quiet around her. She gets that not everyone will be fully comfortable with her in the group, but she would still like to hold a conversation with him. And they do, but it always seems forced, or there’s another member involved. Jae-in has just come to the conclusion, that he’ll (hopefully) come around. Until then, she’ll just awkwardly help him with his dance. She’s still very observant of him and is hyper aware of when he’s stressing out or overworking himself. She’ll do subtle things to help, like making him his favorite meal, or ushering the kids out of whatever room he’s trying to rest in. She thinks that he doesn’t notice these things, but he does, and even though he doesn’t show it much, he is grateful.

Dongpyo:

Even though Seungwoo has claimed him as his son, Jae-in is totally whipped for him. She thinks that he’s super talented and so cute. He comes to her often whenever the boys tease him, because even though she loves to cuddle, she knows when to stop. She’s quick to defend him if the teasing starts to get out of hand, and the teasing generally stops right away, because no one has ever seen Jae-in mad, and they’re scared to see what that looks like. Whenever Dongpyo is being smothered in cuddles (normally by Yohan), she picks him up and brings him to another part of the room and stays with him. Dongpyo gets flustered with the fact that she can pick him up with ease due to her height and strength, but ignores it in lieu of being free of the over clingy members. Dongpyo has begged Jae-in to grow out her hair, “You would look so pretty, and then I could play with your hair too”. As much as Jae-in enjoys the simplicity of having short hair, she has often thought about growing it out for him.

Minhee:

Jae-in is in love with Minhee’s humor. She’s obsessed with making dad jokes and making others cringe, and the fact that Minhee appreciates her jokes makes her love him more. She definitely loves his meme like personality which intensifies whenever he senses that she’s feeling down. Jae-in normally joins Minhee as he walks Hyeongjun to school, then she in turn walks him to school. Jae-in will typically sit with him while he does his homework and sometimes ask him to set up a couple of problems for her to solve. It’s been awhile since she’s  been in school and likes to stay on her toes. He knew this which is why he suggested to start giving her problems to solve. He has to hide a grin with how many she gets wrong, but helps her out to make sure she understands. Normally after that, they’ll go out to get coffee and a snack.

Eunsang:

Jae-in is probably one of his biggest supporters. Towards the end of PDX when people were choosing positions for the last two evaluations, she saw how Eunsang volunteered for whatever he could. She knew that he was fighting to ensure his place, so she often encouraged him to stand his ground and to not be afraid of looking greedy, because everyone at this point was grabbing whatever position they could. When he was announced as the X member, she saw how nervous he was and knew that he felt the same as she did. They got picked, but others were left behind. Once she had the chance, she latched on to him and made sure he was okay. She is still always keeping an eye out for him, because she knows that he tends to put too much pressure on himself. So she’ll casually slip her head into his and give it a squeeze. She’ll practice English with him, and will ask her to speak Spanish.

Hyeongjun:

From when he first walked into the company evaluations, she knew that she would have a hard time saying no to that face. After watching him go for X class to D and still work even harder, she fell for him more. She’d always hover around him, and he didn't mind at all. In fact he loved it. She reminded him so much of his older sisters, that in the span of talking for a few minutes he latched on to her. He became her son throughout the show and they still share that same relationship. He’ll actively seek out affection from her, which she is always happy to give. He sometimes slips into her room at night when he misses home, and being the night owl she is, is always welcoming him with open arms, and a space in the bed for him. Seungwoo has woken many times to the sight of them tangled together. She’s in love with his accent that slips out every so often, she melts with it.

Dohyon:

Their relationship is still a little rocky. They had never been on the same team during PDX, and even though, Jae-in is pretty social, she never really talked to him. Once they debuted, they started to talk a bit more. With their 9 year age gap and her being the only girl, he doesn’t really know what to say or do around her. Though, he’s starting to warm up to her since he sees that she joins in on some of Team Rocket’s shenanigans. He’ll sometimes get excited while talking about something and then kind of quiets down and blushes slightly when he sees Jae-in smiling at his excitement. He really likes her cooking and will shyly ask her what she’s making. Dohyon reminds Jae-in of her maknae from her previous group, in height, talent, and personality, so she often looks at him in adoration and sometimes has to hold herself back to not squish his cheeks. Jae-in would like to try composing some music with him, but is kind of scared that he’ll say no, though he’d like to do the same thing, but won’t ask for the same reason.

Jaein’s Masterlist

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s5e05 – Pena Dura

 As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Selina went stab stabbity stab. Alfred told Bruce he can’t save Selina from herself.  Ed woke up on a rooftop.  Jim gave speech #357 on the value of hope. Then Haven exploded, proving that hope can only do so much against an RPG. Jim’s been promised help for weeks!  He also won’t stop until he finds who’s responsible for Haven.  Ed was responsible for Haven, albeit in a weird trance-like state.  Jim stared at the charred remains of Haven.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

In a church, a man is watching an old black and white film.  From what I can figure out from the actors involved and the character names, it’s a George Brent film called Tangier Incident.  It’s not a particularly interesting film.  He is, however, in a good creepy film called The Spiral Staircase, which I recommend.

Anyway

Jim and Harvey approach him, guns drawn, and ask him turn around.  Apparently, he’s the one who sold the RPGs.  He seems pretty unimpressed by them, and rather insolently asks if they’re going to arrest him.

Jim says he wants a name. Old film guy addresses some unseen minions

What do you say boys?  You wanna show the lawman how we feel about uninvited guests?

No-one is backing down. The stand-off is broken up by the arrival of lots of large people dropping through the stained-glass ceiling, who promptly take the thugs out.

While this is happening, Jim wrestles the weapons dealer/film enthusiast.  He still wants a name.  The fight is pretty even until the old guy is shot in the head.

We now get a slow-motion shot of shiny army boots approaching to some foreboding music.  Jim rises, frowning in confusion as shiny boots man removes the mask covering his face.

Eduardo?

Nice shot right?

We get the military music we last had with Barnes to let us know that Jim likely met this man in the army. His men are still pointing guns, one at Harvey, so he tells them stand down.

Jim asks Eduardo what he’s doing here.  He tells Jim he last saw him running through sniper fire to save him from a burning truck.

Jim claims he had the old guy where he wanted him – but he’s glad he’s here. Eduardo says he is too

 They wander through the church chatting. Jim tells Harvey they hated each other in boot camp. Jim thought Eduardo did things too fast, while Eduardo thought Jim was too careful.

A sarcastic Harvey says that Jim’s taught him a thing or two about being careful.  

Jim and Eduardo lapse into military jargon – talking about the mission plan. Eduardo says that they’re helping Walker (the woman Jim’s been talking to on the radio). They’ve to make this hellhole safe.

Jim, disgruntled, comments that all it apparently took for them to be sent help was the murder of hundreds.  Eduardo says they’ve to remove all criminal elements and make the city safe.  He introduces his second in command, who hands Jim a ledger they’ve found.  On it – we see Ed’s name against two RPGs.

Jim turns to Harvey. He and Eduardo will go after Ed. Harvey is to set up a command centre at GCPD.  Harvey protests.

I’m not as fast as I used to be, but I still got some fight in me. I’m not some desk jockey – I’m a street guy

Jim says Harvey’s the best cop he knows.  Ed tends to think ahead.  If this goes sideways, Harvey will need to take over.

I need your help buddy

Harvey nods.

GCPD where Bruce runs into Alfred.  Alfred tells him Jim isn’t there – they’ve got a strong lead in the Haven bombing. He asks Bruce what’s wrong.

Bruce tells him worriedly that he can’t find Selina anywhere. Alfred replies that Selina is capable of looking after herself.  Bruce says that she’s not herself, though.   Alfred pulls a face and tells him that Jeremiah deserved to die.  A resentful and upset Bruce says that Jeremiah made Selina a murderer – just like Ra’s did him.

(An aside.  Much like Alfred, I don’t really have a problem with Selina stabbing Jeremiah.  But this is only one of many times this episode will get a bit forgetful.  Selina was a murderer before she killed Jeremiah, Bruce.   You were there when she shoved that guy out the window.  Not that I really have any time for Alfred’s ex-army friend who stabbed him and robbed you – but Jeremiah wasn’t the first time she’s killed)

Alfred quibbles this, claiming that Ra’s goaded Bruce into murder, but Selina did what she did with open eyes

And you’ve got to learn to respect that son

Bruce wants to find her, though, and leaves – as Alfred watches.

(An aside - Eh.  On one hand, yes – Selina can make her own decisions.  She has autonomy.  On the other hand – Selina did what she did while still struggling to cope with the trauma of Jeremiah shooting her.   Alfred excusing Bruce but condemning Selina – even though he agrees Jeremiah needed to be removed – doesn’t really sit well with me.  On top of all that – Selina’s endangered herself for Bruce on a number of occasions, gone out of her way to help him, in fact.  She’s clearly not coping now – and leaving her to her own devices seems off to me.)

In the library, we see Ed listening to his blackout recordings.  He howls with frustration, unable to establish a pattern.

It makes no sense!

He catches sight of himself in a nearby mirror

You're not a murderer, Ed.  Except Kristin Kringle, and Officer Doherty.

He goes on

But all those people.  And children. How could you do it?  Why?

He roars

It doesn't matter – it’s you - not me

(An aside.  This is really a bit of a mess.  So.  Am I to assume that Ed is being a massive hypocrite, and selectively editing his criminal record?  Or am I to assume that Ed differentiates between murders committed by Ed and those committed by The Riddler?  Maybe, that doesn’t really work here – since some of these were committed before he discovered that persona.  Besides – wasn’t one of the features of his ‘becoming’ his personalities becoming fused?  Or are the writers choosing to forget some of Ed’s other murders?  Who knows.)

Hearing a sound, he turns. It’s Jim and Eduardo – who have arrived to arrest him.  He holds his hands up defensively.

No - Jim - I can explain

Jim is taken aback.

Explain?  You son of a bitch - you actually did it?

(Interesting. Although Ed’s name was in the ledger, Jim doesn’t seem to have thought that Ed was truly responsible – or didn’t want to believe it might be true.)

Eduardo tells Ed to get on his knees.  That’s three Eds in this show now – not counting Ed’s many personalities.  For reference, if they’re all ever in the same scene, the dog is Ed1, the lanky green one is Ed2, and beardy army guy is Ed3.

Ed protests, and says he didn't – but he needs a little bit of time

Eduardo is still pointing his gun – and tells Jim to just say the word.

Ed pleads.  You know me, Jim.  People that I have...hurt - they hurt me first

(Eh? There are multiple gif sets going around which show how ridiculous this remark is.  Ed’s hurt plenty of people just because he wanted to.)

I didn't know a single person in Haven

Eduardo glances at Jim

Your call, buddy – he basically confessed

Ed watches carefully as Jim thinks and then decides,

Bring him in – he stands trial

We’re saying this again? What kind of court will this be? Who is the judge?  Lawyers?  Jury?

Ed isn’t enthused by this. He touches a book from the bookcase. Eduardo is apparently standing on pressure-plated ied.  One twitch, and he’ll repaint the room with his organs.  He smiles.  

Jim points his gun. But apparently Ed has also devised some sort of watch that monitors changes in Ed’s heart rate if it deviates by more than 10 bpm up or down, and can cause an explosion - if necessary - from as far as a mile away. Whatever. Apparently, in a fit of sexual frustration after his recent contact with Lucius, Ed sublimated his lustful stirrings into an inventing binge.

Ed and Jim try and stare each other out a bit.  Jim says Ed will be a target once news of his guilt gets out.  Eduardo says he thinks Ed’s threats are bluffs.  Jim says Ed doesn’t bluff.  Well – there was the time with all the cops and the poison gas that turned out just to be sleeping gas, but - hey.  This episode is having severe difficulties remembering details, storyline, characterisation….take your pick.

Jim lets Ed leave. Summarising because this recap is lengthy – Jim uses his cat-like reflexes to leap across the room and finds the right book to free Eduardo – whose whole take on the puzzle is that he’d like

to wring this nerd’s neck

Jim gives him a welcome to Gotham.  Wanting to wring Ed’s neck is just part and parcel of visiting. He adds that the city grows on you, before contacting Harvey and telling him to put the word out: Ed is wanted for the attack on Haven

Bruce strides into Sirens, looking for Selina.  A fairly happy-looking Barbara leads him towards a booth.   With a flourish, she tells the crowd to raise their glasses for the killer of Jeremiah Valeska.  The crowd parts, and we see Selina sitting in a booth with a group of girls.  Is this the booth of Bruce’s downward spiral?  Is this the ‘I am having a long dark night of the soul’ booth?  Do you have to book ahead?  

Selina raises her glass, but her smile is more ironic than anything else.

(An aside. Barbara seemed happy.  It's hard to say whether having the killer of Jeremiah Valeska at her club is bring extra cachet, whether her one-night stand with Jim brought her some closure and happiness, or whether she and Jim are still having sex and she’s pleased about this.)

In some abandoned building, we hear a radio send out the message about Ed being wanted by the police.

A tall skinny man wearing a green suit and eyeglasses

They left out his BritPop hair.

Outside an angry mob gathers and chants.  We see Ed hiding from them, before slipping off.

 At City Hall, Oswald stands, flanked by his henchmen, as a visitor opens a box for him.  Whatever it is seems to make him happy – and he pays the man 200 bullets in return – telling him to go have fun and keep up the good work.  

As the man leaves – Oswald is brought a message

He reads aloud

Edward Nygma is the monster responsible for killing the innocents of Haven

Oswald looks incredulous for a moment, and then worried – wondering aloud,

Ed…what have you done?

The mob from earlier runs past.  Ed hides – but is walloped on the side of the head.

GCPD.  Eduardo tells Jim they’re pushing uptown – but there’s still no Nygma. He’s confident they’ll get him though.  He then asks Jim to tell him about Scarecrow.  Jim says his guys would need gasmasks – but taking him down would be a big one.

We’re on a sort of rural street.  We pan up Ed’s body.  I own those boots.  He’s unconscious and tied to some kind of deck chair.

An older blonde woman leans in towards his face.

Time to wake up!

Forgive me – American readers.  I can only tell that she sounds Southern, which I know isn’t very specific.

She tells Ed she’s the woman who will carry out his execution, along with her two boys – two men, who are sitting in a truck parked facing Ed.

They’ve basically created a makeshift electric chair.  There’s a lot of whooping and laughing as they give Ed a tester jolt.  He yells in pain, gasping when they stop.

The woman tells him that was only a taste.  It’s fair that Ed should die to pay for JoJo, who was in Haven when Ed blew it up.

She holds up a photograph. Ed seems afraid to look at it – then bursts into laughter when he sees it’s a dog.  For good measure – he calls the woman an anthropomorphizing nincompoop when she claimed that JoJo was happy and smiled often.

They give him another burst of electricity.  Ed hallucinates – seeing a spiteful Oswald telling him

I'm going to fix you, Ed

Ed blinks – confused. They jolt him again.  This time he sees a sincere Oswald, repeating the same phrase.

Everything stops when there’s some kind of fault with the electricity.  Ed quickly spots a way to trick them and escape.  In doing so – one of the men’s legs catch fire. As Ed runs off, he declares that he’ll fix Oswald.

 At City Hall, we hear distant explosions.  One of Oswald’s henchmen tells him that the army has invaded and men are heading this way. Oswald asks him if Nygma has been located – to which the man replies he has feelers out.  Oswald tells him the first man to find him gets to live.

Turning, he tells his dog he is surrounded by morons.  If he didn’t have his empire – he’d go get Nygma himself

(An aside – it’s actually something that has been frustrating about Oswald in later seasons. Season One Oswald was very mobile. He moved around a lot: think of all the places we see him.  Fish’s club, Gertrud’s apartment, GCPD, Jim and Barbara’s place, Maroni’s weird lodge, Falcone’s mansion, Loeb’s house…. It helped give a sense of how he had a finger in every pie, but also how much he truly inhabited the city.  He was everywhere.   But after they have him empire building – he becomes much more static.  He’s usually stuck in a grand house or hall, and has to send other people out to do his bidding.)

He spots that the gun on his desk has gone. He turns – and now it’s pointing at his head

It’s Ed2

(Ed gets demoted if the dog is in the same scene)

Hello Oswald.  We have a great deal to talk about.  But first - did you name your dog after me?

(An aside.  You know – that dog is sweet, but the naming decision feels like self-indulgent fic territory.  Unpopular opinion, I know – but there it is.)

 At GCPD, Harvey says Nygma’s been seen at City Hall – he’s going after Oswald.  Eduardo says Oswald is at the top of their list – so this sounds like a twofer

Jim says Oswald has all the ammo in town – so they need shock and awe

Eduardo says that’s his default, and asks Jim if he’s ready to go.

Jim looks a little dubious, and tells him to take Harvey.  He’ll keep things locked down here

(An aside – it’s possible that Jim does this because he wants to salve Harvey’s bruised ego from earlier, although sending him to City Hall with Eduardo to face a heavily-armoured and very irritated Oswald would seem to be a bit of an over-correction of that earlier moment.  It is amusing to consider, though, that Jim did not want Eduardo to witness what would likely have happened at City Hall if Jim had gone instead – i.e. Oswald wheedling his way out of a visit to the precinct, Jim telling Oswald to please be good this time, and then some emotionally vulnerable and sexually charged staring.)

At Sirens, a flippant Selina tells a serious-faced Bruce he’s killing the buzz. Bruce tells her this isn’t her.  Selina smiles, and asks Bruce if he really thinks he knows her. He solemnly tells her better than she knows herself.

Selina smiles.  She tells Bruce that the night his parents were murdered she watched it all and did nothing.

Her eyes fill

She says she watched

That guy shoot your father and shoot your mother and through it all - I did nothing

She lets out a laugh that turns into a sob

I didn't call for help. I didn’t scream at him to stop

Bruce tells her it wasn’t her fault – she was a scared kid.  Selina tells Bruce he was the scared kid.

Bruce has teared up now too. She continues

We are not the same.  I didn't do anything because I was not willing to risk my neck - because I didn’t care.  That's who I was and that's who I am

A different song starts playing.  Selina puts on a faux-smile and says she loves this song.  A tearful Bruce watches her walk away.

 Back at City Hall, an irate Ed is questioning a confused Oswald.

What did you do?

What are you talking about?

Ed is insistent

You!  You are the reason I killed those people!  How could you?  You have made me some murderous puppet!

(Just a reminder here that when Ed found a seriously injured and traumatised Oswald in the woods, he took him home, injected him with God knows what, told him he had no option but to stay there, and rubbed his hands with glee when he figured out the best way to manipulate him to his own ends – which was through his grief for his murdered mother.  You know, just while the story is touching on stuff like taking away someone’s agency, and using them for your own selfish ends.)

Ed rants that he’s spent weeks waking up strange places - driving himself mad, thinking he’d gone mad - now he knows that it’s all been Oswald’s doing

Of everything that you have put me through - this is the most cruel

(Just another reminder that - you know, while we’re discussing cruelty – Ed tried to drive Oswald insane, dug up his father’s remains, humiliated him, attempted to demonstrate that he wasn’t capable of love (so – you know – tried to completely dehumanise him), and then shot him in the gut and pushed him off the end of the pier. Just, you know, in case we’re looking for some kind of gold standard for cruelty).

Oswald blinks in confusion, and tells Ed that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Ed quotes the ‘I’ll fix you’ from his hallucination.  He goes on – telling Oswald he didn’t fix him: he broke him

Realisation dawns on Oswald’s face.

Wait - I said that to you on the night the bridges blew!

He tells Ed that he saved his life.  He found him and paid Hugo Strange to save him – but Hugo must have done something when he was patching him up.

Ed is incredulous. Oswald is indignant – asking him what he was supposed to do?  After Butch, Ed was his only friend.  Ed exclaims that he shot Butch, to which Oswald retorts that’s why he needed Ed alive.

Oswald is frustrated. He sighs and turns to him

Edward Nygma - if I wanted you to suffer, I would never do it in some backhanded way.  If we are ever at odds again, you will know without a doubt that I am your enemy.  I promise you that, as a friend.

(An aside.  I have made no bones about the fact I’ve found just about everything they’ve done with this relationship over the seasons to be utterly forced - clunky and leaden.  If anything ever exemplifies a lot of what I don’t like about it, it’s that moment just there.  Compare how natural and nuanced almost any other interaction in this episode was in comparison with this moment.  It’s self-indulgent and melodramatic in a manner usually reserved for bad fanfiction. Bear it in mind particularly when we get that lovely scene later with Bruce and Harvey, and compare the two.)

Ed considers him for a moment, then yells

What a mess!  I might have killed you, Oswald.  And if that day comes, I swear to you that I will stare you in the eye as I stab you in the heart.

We already saw that, Ed. Back when you shot him in the gut

Oswald nods tearfully

(An aside, something else I hate about what they’ve done with this – insta-woobie ooc Oswald)

Oswald tells him to look on the bright side.  If Strange messed with his head, then Ed’s not responsible for what happened.  Ed asks where to find Hugo – but the conversation is interrupted by an explosion.

One of Oswald’s men tells him that GCPD and the army have blown the gates

Oswald whispers to him

Grab Nygma - they want him, not me

(An aside – the speed with which Oswald is willing to sell Ed out is honestly hilarious)

Ed – however – has legged it, leaving a fulminating Oswald behind.

The doors to the main hall are blown open, and a smoke bomb is rolled on. Harvey and Eduardo enter.  Oswald waits amidst all the smoke – probably for the drama more than anything

Why hello Harvey!

He teases him about the ammo situation last time.  Harvey tells him they don’t want his territory. They want him to put down his weapons and hand over Ed Nygma.

The situation, I think, is now more about Oswald being pissed that his turf has been invaded than anything else. He tells them to leave by the time he counts to three, or he’ll shoot everyone.

Harvey stands his ground.

Oswald smiles

You’re not thinking clearly, Harvey.  Maybe call your boss - see what he thinks

(An aside – Oswald is so offended that he’s even having to look at someone from GCPD who isn’t Jim.  Ugh. This day just gets worse.  Funnier yet is his conviction that Jim will tell Harvey to come back to GCPD and stop bothering him)

There’s a staring match. Oswald’s men all wind up shot, and Oswald is taken in to GCPD. 

Ed is in Sirens - on his knees in front of Barbara.  She tells him all Gotham is looking for him

He replies that he needs information – your speciality

(An aside.  What?  Since, like - when?  When did information become Barbara’s speciality?  I know she likes power and money.  She’s also fond of violence and casual cruelty.  But information?  When was that supposed to have happened?)

Barbara says she’s going to cut his face into a jigsaw puzzle.  Ed urgently asks her if he’s dumb.  If – in all the years she’s known him – he’d ever done anything as brutally idiotic as this.  He didn’t kill those people.

Well…. not exactly.

Barbara dismisses her guards.  Ed tells her about Hugo Strange’s involvement, and how he suspects mind control. Whoever is responsible for the mind control killed those people, not him

Barbara says if by some miracle she believes him – why would she help?

Ed piques her curiosity by wondering what kind of powerful person would hire Strange and have Ed adapted in this way.  He says that Barbara must know where Hugo is, and when he finds out who was responsible for the chip – he’ll share the intel.  She’ll want to know, because, after all

Information is your lifeblood

Sure, whatever. 

Barbara doesn’t know precisely where Hugo is, but can direct him to his Igors.

 An interrogation room in GCPD.  Oswald lies on his front on the floor, his lip bleeding.  He looks up at Jim, who is apparently watching, and his face twists for a moment into a combination of pain and an appeal for help

For his part, Jim looks troubled.  He’s not enjoying this – in fact, I would go so far as to say it looks like he can’t stomach it – but he’s tolerating it.

Jim replies to his pained look

You’re protecting a mass murderer - don't look to me for sympathy

(An aside. Yes – I ship this, but even with shipper glasses off – it’s pretty much there in the text. Oswald knows that he can appeal to Jim for sympathy.  In responding to his look as he does, Jim is openly acknowledging that he would usually be a source of sympathy for Oswald.  It’s an admission from them both that there are dimensions to their relationship that go well beyond cop/gangster and – more than that – an admission that they’re both aware of that)

Oswald spits blood

Fine.  But not with that meat head around

Jim nods, and Eduardo leaves

Oswald laughs and rises from the floor

You know – they say you can judge man by the company he keeps

Jim retorts

This from a man who has no friends

(An aside – that sounds meaner than it actually played.  It’s delivered in that slightly schoolyard  tone Jim reserves for teasing Oswald – it’s not earnest or cruel.  Also – as we’ve seen this season, just saw in this scene, and will see again in a moment – it’s just not true.  Jim and Oswald have a relationship beyond work.

On top of that, you know – Jim – if not for the fact that Harvey is an extraordinarily forgiving man, your own friend list would have tumbleweeds blowing through it.)

Jim and Oswald take a moment to give each other a long, complicated look.  This scene is full of long complicated looks.  Neither of them particularly want to be in this situation, but their hands have been forced.

Oswald tells Jim that Nygma is a patsy, not a mass murderer.  He likes puzzles, games, killing – but killing hundreds of people – that’s not him, Jim knows this.

Jim asks who set him up

Oswald laughs, and leans back in his chair.

Jim - you want info, I want to go home

Jim grimaces.  

Eduardo’s not going to go for that.

Oswald smiles before pressing Jim’s button

I'm sorry – I thought you were in charge

Jim grimaces angrily and leans on the table

Even if I were to let you go – the army is going to come after you: things are changing in Gotham

I'll take my chances

Jim blinks.  He seems, to be honest, tired and uncertain.

Do you want Nygma or not?

Jim looks at him, and then glances sidelong at where Eduardo waits outside.

Jim leaves the interrogation room and talks to Eduardo

I know where Nygma’s going

Eduardo looks at him, then past him, nudging the door to let it swing open – revealing an empty room. He looks back at Jim

I trust you know what you’re doing?

They leave to go find Ed

(An aside. Quite a complicated little scene.  Neither Jim nor Oswald want to be in that room – but external forces have shoved them in there anyway.  

There’s a lot of history in the looks that are going back and forth.  Like I said, we have the explicit acknowledgment that Jim is likely to offer Oswald sympathy when others won’t.  We also have the open admittance that Jim knows Oswald sees him as a soft touch, and that he will likely give in anyway – just not in this particular circumstance, because the destruction of Haven was such a big deal.

Oswald also knows that pressing Jim’s buttons over control and power is likely to be effective.

Last up – we have Jim obliquely warning Oswald of the danger the army poses to him.  He’s not threatening him here, or trying to intimidate him.  If anything, his tone is almost pleading.  He doesn’t know how handle this situation.  He’s asked for help – and help has finally arrived – but Jim’s not actually sure what to do with it now it’s here.  Eduardo plainly told Jim that Oswald was at the top of their hit list.  Jim’s response?  Let him go, warn him that danger is coming.)

 In some lab facility somewhere, a body slides down a hatch.

It’s Hugo!

He’s complaining that the last body he was brought was gangrenous and completely unsuitable. When he turns, though, he sees Ed pointing a gun at him

Mr Nygma

Ed want to know how he control of his alter ego.  He’s rambling a little, talking about his Ed side.

A curious Hugo remarks that he is Ed Nygma.

Ed says he’s also the Riddler.

Hugo’s professional side makes a rare appearance

How interesting

He adds, though, that he knows nothing about all that.  He just tinkered and inserted a chip in his brain.  

Ed wants to know who requested this.  Hugo says he’ll write it down, so he can truthfully say that he didn’t tell Ed who was responsible.  His pen, though, contains knock-out gas – which he sprays at Ed.

Hugo says that he’s mystified as to how Ed regained any awareness – and that he’ll just have to open him up and take a look under the roof.  

 Bruce is at GCPD looking for Jim.  Instead, he finds Harvey, working at his desk

Sorry kid – it’s just me

He quickly takes in Bruce’s obvious distress, and takes his glasses off to regard him more carefully.

You all right?

Bruce says he’s fine – just looking for Jim. He remarks that he saw soldiers downstairs, trying to make some conversation – but still seeming distracted.  Harvey watches him, concerned.

Yeah, the Army's finally gotten off their asses and decided to help.  Jim's out with them now.  Are you sure you're all right?

A tearful Bruce says that he doesn’t know.  His usual careful defences crumble.

I see people losing their will to do good.  People I love.  What if we don't make it out of this?

Harvey looks at him. His face is sombre.

I'm not gonna lie, kid.  These past few months, I've wondered the same thing.  And when I don't know what to do, I come up here and I dig into these case files. I sit my ass down and I get to work.  I used to hate this kind of paperwork; now it's the only thing that keeps me going.  Why? Because the little things matter.  Act by act, deed by deed, it means something.  Even if no one notices or cares.

Bruce listens – taking in what he says

Thanks, Harvey.

He then does the classic Batman quick exit – leaving a slightly befuddled Harvey

(An aside - This scene between Bruce and Harvey was really lovely.  Bruce is tired, upset, and worried about Selina.  He's lost his conviction that things will work out, and everything looks hopeless to him right now.  Harvey doesn't have the answer to any of that - but he does have an honest way to go on with things: do the work.  It doesn't have to be showy and praised by all and sundry.  Do something useful - and know that the deed itself and the results are both worthwhile.

It was an understated scene that still got across some very big issues.

There’s the flagging of some key differences between Jim and Harvey – Jim’s need to be seen as a hero, and Harvey not sharing that same concern.  There’s also insight into how someone who is as fundamentally unhappy and alone as Harvey finds a meaningful way of living.  There’s also how much Harvey has changed since we first met him.

It's sweet, too, that Bruce confides in him.  They don't know each other well - but he's still been a constant.  Equally sweet is how Harvey talks to him.  He doesn’t coddle him, or just try to cheer him up in the way that Alfred or Jim might.  He’s simply honest.  No platitudes, and no inspirational speech.  He tells Bruce he’s just as scared as he is, and then offers him a way to deal with his fear.  

Now - compare that simple moment of compassion, all the subtleties and pathos, and all the meaning it holds with the yelling and stilted dialogue at City Hall with Ed and Oswald.  The difference is glaring.)

Hugo has top of Ed's skull off – pretty much like Hannibal tried to do to Will. According to Hugo, the gas he used on Ed immobilised him – but he can still feel pain.  A simple reboot will fix the problem, though.

 A City Hall, Oswald carries his dog along to a hatch in the floor.  He carefully descends a ladder, still carrying him, and turns on a light. It’s a massive vault – full of gold and money and shiny things.  

He smiles and tells the dog that the time has come for a change of scenery

I’ve said this for ages, sweetie.  You’ve got all that crime money.  Buy yourself a flat in Paris, another in Berlin.   Florence, Athens, Barcelona…. go for it.

 Back in the lab.  Hugo says the electric charge must have overloaded the chip – but he’d fixed it.  He will pass the good news to his handler.  His smiles disappears when he realises that a gun is being held to his head.

He protests.  He’s just helping a man who needs medical attention! Hugo is vile – but BD Wong is fantastic.

Jim walks round Hugo to look at Ed, whose eyes are open.  Hugo petulantly says he gave him biomedical anaesthesia – and brings him round.

Ed screams in pain and then immediately protests his innocence

I told you wasn't me!

Jim tells Hugo to talk. He says a contract came along, and developed a tool – gesturing to Ed, who is indignant.

How dare you

Eduardo contacts one of his men and tells him to escort Hugo out.  He leaves with a ta ta

He smirks at an incredulous Jim

Sorry pal - this part of the op is need to know

Apparently Walker – the woman Jim has been talking to one the radio – wants Ed taken out now.  

Jim is puzzled – asking if Walker is behind this - controlling Nygma

Eduardo shrugs that he hates the spooks crap.  He just follows orders

Jim mentions Haven – reeling from the idea that Walker might have been behind it.

Eduardo says Jim is to put a bullet in Ed's brain

Jim replies with a flat no

Eduardo tells him to call it proof of loyalty - what Walker needs to see from him before she implements the relief plan.  He tries to persuade him

Look at him.  He's a loon. A cop-killer.

(An aside – the strong feeling we’re getting from Jim at this point is ‘yeah – but he’s my loon’ – in the same way that this is his screwed-up home, and his tyrannical gangster.  I suspect this storyline might have lasted longer had the season not been truncated – and we’d have seen Jim gradually pull away from Eduardo, the man he thought was his friend, to acknowledge that he belongs to Gotham, and has emotional ties there that he’s not willing to break.)

Jim just wants the truth: did Walker destroy Haven?

Eduardo tells him ours is not to reason why – and says this is his chance to be part of the plan.

He adds that if Jim can’t pull the trigger on Ed – I’ll pull it on you

Jim stares

You’d kill me for some bureaucrat?

Eduardo is unperturbed. There’s really not one thought rattling around in that big beardy head of his

Mission comes first - you taught me that.  What's your answer?

Jim says he saved his life one too many times.  He feints putting his gun down, and then runs and escapes down the hatch in the wall we saw earlier.  Wheeee!

Eduardo presses a button, and orders EdBot to find Jim and kill him

EdBot immediately complies, and also goes wheeeeee down the chute.

Eduardo watches him go – secretly envious that his orders apparently don’t allow him to go wheeee too.

Aha – so this is where that absurdly beautiful image of Jeremiah came from. He’s lying down, eyes shut, in some kind of cave.  We see a rock pulled aside by Ecco

Boss - wake up

Jeremiah winces as he sits up.  Ecco asks sympathetically if the stitches are still sore, and tells him he should have worn the armour she made.

Jeremiah curls his lip contemptuously, and tells her the bullet is making her sentimental – she should gave it a shake.  Ecco obligingly does so – and nods excitedly when he asks her if that’s better.

He tells her he had to let Selina stab him once - verisimilitude trumps precautions.  Ecco nods – and says Bruce and Selina had to think he was dead.  Jeremiah rolls his eyes at her summary, and comments impatiently that he takes it she has news.  She replies that it’s all systems go, and they head out.

(I suppose this is essentially canon, but – wow, does Jeremiah treat his ‘girlfriend’ with contempt).

Is Jeremiah in Wayne Manor? He addresses a man in a white coat, telling the dr he’s hearing good things.  The doctor tells him his assistant thought he’d like to see the results.

Jeremiah is wide-eyed as he approaches two people we can only see from behind – who look, as best as memory serves, to be Bruce's parents.

Jeremiah laughs for a second, then opens his eyes wide – and tells them they look beautiful

I just love family reunions - don't you?

Jeremiah, confronted with the problem of what gift you can buy for your billionaire crush who likely has everything, has seemingly got very creative and cloned his dead parents.

General Observations

Jim is doing a classic Jim. He's been unhappy about the situation in the city for weeks – pleading for help.  But now that official help of a sort has shown up - the kind Jim should want, and should back, and should identify with - he's wobbling. He balks at the idea of shooting Ed.  He had no interest in arresting Oswald, let alone any qualms about letting him go, and looked downright unhappy in the interrogation room.  When push comes to shove, Jim has relationships with these people - whether he’ll acknowledge it or not

To analyse it more closely in terms of Jim's psychology - the army element plays a role too.  He might talk about his time there fondly - but, ultimately, he chose to leave. When Barnes - who was father figure and army past combined - showed up, Jim barely waited until the end of his first episode before disobeying him to going off to see Oswald – leaning on their special relationship and warning him about the new regime.

He repeats that pattern again here.  Jim might want to represent that kind of authority - but a part of him is always looking to buck it, too.  It's part of the reason, I think, that he and Oswald are more likely to squabble during Oswald's particularly tyrannical phases.

And all of that disquiet is even before we find out that Walker is likely corrupt and dreadful.

 The whole thing with Ed. Eh.  I know what they’re trying to do here. The problem, for me, is that it’s not really outside the bounds of possibility that Ed could knowingly have destroyed Haven.  Sure – the whole affair would have been showier, and Ed would have made some kind of speech beforehand – but still.  Ed - and Barbara – actually, both watched from a high window while Gotham tore itself apart under the Tetch virus.  Neither of them flinched at what they saw.

It’s weird – because you don’t need to downplay Ed’s capacity for sadistic violence in order to also entertain the notion that part of him might be horrified by it.  That, after all, is a crucial part of his characterisation: that he is frequently fractured, with various facets of his personality more or less dominant.  In season one, we saw that certain aspects of his personality were almost completely suppressed.  Later, we saw the season one version of him humiliated and berated by darker aspects of his personality, as well as horrified by what it had him do when it ‘took over’.  

So – you can have your cake and eat it really – you can have a character who is capable of dreadful things, as well as the tragedy that some drowned part of him is horrified and disgusted by what he has done, and simply endures it with no ability to speak up. That would work with Ed’s extreme rage and fear at the loss of control he’s been enduring.

What doesn’t work, though, is retconning him to be a better person than he is. I’ve watched Ed torture because he enjoyed it.  Kill because he felt like it.  I’m not entirely sure I buy that he’d be horrified by what happened to Haven.

Miscellaneous

I have no idea whether Selina knows about Tabitha yet.  She must – it makes no sense that she wouldn’t – but there was no indication of her reaction to that.

Similarly – I don’t really understand why no-one has said a word about Lee yet.  I’m guessing it’s because we’re simply not ‘there’ yet in the story – but it makes no logical sense.

Alfred said a lot that was true about respecting Selina’s decision, but – ultimately- his advice to leave Selina alone simply comes off as callous.

Lucius must have had a day off today.

[verngyu-moved]

dark-borne fondness

member(s): hoshi/kwon soonyoung ⟡ pov: second person (mxr; gender neutral reader insert) ⟡ word count: 900 ⟡ genre: fluff ⟡ rating: pg ⟡ warnings: very brief sexually suggestive language

@caratober​ ⟡ day 01 - dark

Soonyoung is all you could ever ask for in a boyfriend. Attentive, funny, reliable, hard-working, smart. There’s one aspect that he falls short on: bravery—the dark absolutely terrifies him. So much so that the bedside lamp stays on all night. It was a fact you learned about him when you tried to turn off the lights to get...ahem...freaky. It partially ruined the mood that particular night, but you always kept in mind for future events. You’re awoken from your sleep, a force jerking your body as it whisks you away from your slumber. It’s what you finally recognize as Soonyoung, who keeps a consistent pace jolting and shaking you, relentlessly ripping through your grogginess as he calls out to you not once, but twice. “Mmmwhat?” your lips aren’t moving the way they’re supposed to, but Soonyoung gets the idea. “Y/N,” his voice is gentle, but incredibly perplexed, “Y/N, I woke up and the light isn’t on!” This completely band-aids your sleepiness, and your eyes open, blinking a few times to make sure that your eyes really were working. In the pitch back, you feel Soonyoung’s hands tout around your bicep, knowing that if you got up to investigate, that he would follow suit. Did the power go out? You rise from the sheets, sitting up and turning towards the bedside table, feeling around for your phone while your boyfriend’s hands move to hold onto your shoulders, the only sound being the shuffling sheets as he moves closer to you.

As your phone screen responds to your touch, you quickly select the flashlight app and flick it on, its cold bright light hitting the walls, reminiscent of a horror film. The lamp sits on the table, your phone sliding inside the lampshade, illuminating the flawlessly carved wood, its body painted cream white. When your eyes fall upon the lightbulb, you note the broken coil. “The lightbulb burnt out.” you say, Soonyoung’s warmth spreading across you as he drapes himself over you, his cheek pressing against your cold ear. “What are we gonna do?” he whispers, voice low since he’s right next to your ear, after all. “I’ll go get a nightlight.” you announce as you swing your legs over the margins of the bed, standing up. “I’ll come with you.” Soonyoung’s trying not to sound desperately afraid, but you chuckle, knowing that he is. You reach a hand out to him, the light from your phone fixed on the floor, leaving traces of his face barely visible, “Come on, love.”

Soonyoung takes your hand, and the two of you maneuver your way to the hallway supply closet, flicking on the light switch while you gaze at the hardwood floors. Using your remaining hand, you swiftly yank open the door, eyeing the various miscellaneous objects set on the shelves, bits of silky sheets peeking from the drawers they’ve been stuffed into. As your eyes fall upon the tabletop nightlight, you crouch down in one fast motion to pick it off the carpeted closet floor, letting go of Soonyoung’s hand, hoping the bright hallway light will be enough for him for now. You had one of these when you were a kid, and your parents had bought you this one as kind of a joke birthday gift. You kept it, never guessing that it would actually be necessary. “Y/N…” he whispers, drawing your attention back to him. His silver hair is a mess tousled every which way, a few blemishes speckled across his bare skin. His index fingers are playing games with each other below his loose white tee, draped over gray boxer briefs. You lift yourself up from the floor, nightlight in two hands, fingernails brushing against its white plastic base. When you ask him what’s wrong, he points down the hallway to the dark hole that leads to the kitchen. Oh yeah, you see how that could be frightening. “You can hold onto my arm, baby.” he takes your arm in one hand, trailing behind you while your feet shuffle against the floor, turning off the light once again, prompting Soonyoung to hold your arm tighter in his soft hand, earning a gasp from your lips. “Sorry.” he quavers.

After both of you retreat back into your room—door shut behind you—he still clings to your arm while you set the nightlight down and reach behind the small table to plug it in. Once it’s switched on, a map of pale yellow constellations and stars slowly spin across the room. Soonyoung loudly sighs of relief, falling back onto the bed in one swoop like he just just got home from a long day of work. “Do you feel better?” you ask, as if his reaction wasn’t obvious enough. “Yes...thank you.” he moans breathily, hastily scampering underneath the covers once he glances at the mute analog clock on the wall. “G’night.” you giggle, climbing beneath the sheets as well, eager to get rest since tomorrow is a weekday. After your eyelids drift to a close, you feel your boyfriend once again curl up next to you, burying your head beneath his chin as you make the adjustments necessary for him to wrap his arms around you. “Thank you, darling.” he kisses your forehead, arms tightening around you—this time not out of fear, but out of fondness.

🎃🍁🎃🍁🎃🍁

ngl this was partly inspired by myself, who cannot sleep unless i have a lamp on and the string of lights around my bed >.< to choose the member i was gonna do this one i legit entered all their names into a random name picker l o l

but anyways !! yeah wow this is my first oneshot, im pretty happy with it. i hope it was enjoyable ^^ happy caratober folks !

-deedee

[blake-wukong]

Rwby Zodiac Headcanon

Ruby-Scorpio

Weiss-Virgo (Possibly on the Leo-Virgo cusp, but still mainly Virgo)

Blake-Aquarius (Also possibly on the Capricorn-Aquarius cusp, but mainly an Aquarius)

Yang-Sagittarius

Now I haven’t decided on the others what their signs may be, I’ll decide later. For now let’s forcus on these girls.

Ruby Rose, Scorpio

Now you’re probably “What Ruby a Scorpio? She’s too nice & happy to be a Scorpio. Scorpios are emos. That’s Blake.” Well a Scorpio being gloomy & emo is actually a huge stearotype. People assume this because a Scorpio likes to keep their secrets which is true. But that’s the thing. They can hide their emotions & secrets SO WELL that you probably are gonna assume they have no secrets to hide. Scorpios are actually very nice & usually very energetic people. Ruby has shown to display this while helping Jaune with his issues in volume one & through the series. She clearly enjoys fighting monsters & gets very excited when meeting hunters/huntress. She is also resourceful, since multiple time when it comes to fights. Protective of course, she tried to save Penny & Pyrrha. Powerful both physically & mentally. By being mentally powerful means that you can stand strong through a lot of shit. Passionate about all the things she does; hunting monsters, planning parties, etc. One of her negatives is that she, like a Scorpio, is snobbish, stubborn, & lowkey HIGH key seeks revenge. When she first met Weiss they refuse to listen to each other & Ruby was in fact acting quite snobbish in a brat kind of way. Although not seen in the show, the manga definitely shows Ruby wanting to get revenge on Cardin. That’s a thing about Scorpios, those who did them wrong are always on their mind & Scorpios seek revenge against them. They may not show it, but they’re sure as hell thinking about it. Never underestimate a Scorpio. (& a lot of people underestimate her.) As for the emotions. Ruby never talks about how she’s feeling. EVER. She only did it once & that was in front of Oscar & even then it just so little information. It takes a long time for them to open up & when they do, they make it seem like you know exactly what their going through. Surprise bitch. You don’t. Especially since Scorpios can be optimistic as hell so you can never tell what they really thinking or feeling.

Weiss Schnee, Virgo

“Wow so typical. Why is it cause she seeks perfection?” Well yes & no. That is not the only reason why Weiss is a Virgo. It’s funny how people think Virgo seeks perfection & that’s it. But there is so much more to Weiss & Virgos. It’s true at first glance Weiss may seek perfection, but it’s more. When meeting a Virgo/Weiss they may seem boring due to the fact they are everything “good.” Weiss is punctual, she wants to be on time. She is hard working, at home she practices her summoning skills & at school she does her studies, practices with dust & her semblance, etc. She is shown to be responsible, & self disciplined. When making mistakes she owns up to them & apologizes. Organized, check. Analytical? Yup. She analyzes people very well. Blake is an example. Yes Weiss is well aware that Blake is quite & moody but when she was stress, Weiss was the one that called out her behavior. When she was talking with Yang, she admits that she knew what her father really wanted from her mother, she even called out everybody at the party because she knew nobody cared about the other kingdoms. Weiss, like Virgos, is also very wise & very sensitive. This sensitiveity is actually a strength since they can feel, they can understand how others feel & it helps them become wiser & help others with their problems. It’s true that at first Weiss, like Virgos, is indifferent towards others & their feelings. But as she opens up, she is actually quite sympathetic. This example would be with Yang when they were talking about Blake running away & how it hurt Yang. They can also be anxious, Weiss feeling anxious about her dad & how her sister feels. They can be selective, Weiss wondering which napkin to pick. Indifferent, Weiss is known to be cold. Weiss is also logical, choosing facts over emotions. Now over the past. This is shown when she said she doesn’t care if Blake was part of the WF as long as she isn’t anymore. As for her probably being a Leo? Well I believe she is on the Cusp, but mainly on the Virgo said. The only reasons why she might be a Leo is because she wanted to be the leader & how she was referenced to being a daddy’s girl when she really wasn’t.

Blake Belladonna, Aquarius

Ok so here’s why Blake is an Aquarius & possibly a Capricorn-Aquarius cusp. So the only thing that I can think of that is Capricorn about her is how she acts in the beginning. Earth signs, (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) can be so rude, mean & quiet. So yea Blake was like that with Weiss, but after a while usually a week an Aquarius is super open & friendly. Capricorns aren’t though, it takes them a while. So the opening up part, especially since it took Blake three volumes to finally show some facial expressions. But she mostly shows signs of being Aquarius. Out of all the zodiac, Aquarius is known for being the most rebellious. They go against the flow. A lot of people see Blake as the rebel since half of the faunus fight for superiority & the other half chose not to fight at all. Blake seems like to be the only to fight for equality & peace in the most peaceful way. Speaking of which, Aquarius are also known for being the “one of a kind, limited edition, one in a million,” type of person. She is the only Faunus that we know who chose to hid who she is, is the only Faunus in her team, & is the main one who wants to fight for equality in the peaceful way. Sure there’s her dad, but before him it was just Blake. She’s also very faithful about her cause & Ilia. She believes her cause & her way of protest will help the Faunus & when it came to Ilia she believe she could changed her & she did. According to the zodiac, Aquarius are very creative. I can’t think of moment were she created something. I guess when she created the fire to see that was smart. But that was more resourceful than creative. She’s definitely idealistic, believing in peace & all that. A negative is that Aquarius are detached. “Detached from what?” From their emotions. Most air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) are very detached. We don’t ever see Blake mention emotions. She’s felt scared, she mentions that she loves her friends, but that’s it. Yes Aquarius are detached but that doesn’t mean they don’t know what emotions they have every once in a while. She didn’t know how to talk to her dad, she describes Adam as passion not love, describes RWY as words not emotions. So it’s not an easy topic for Blake to talk about when it comes to emotions. I should also mention thag Aquarius due know how to keep their cool & appear emotionless upon first meeting. They are also very intelligent; she knew who Weiss was, very political, etc. Can be capricious which is seen all over in volume 4 & 5. She can be difficult to manage sometimes, at least trying to understand. Also very independent considering she was able to take care of herself away from home, with Adam, & at the Beacon.

Yang Xaio Long, Sagittarius

Ok I can talk about this for hours. Let’s start off with the basics. First off she’s a fire sign. Which means she has a hot temper, confident, full of action & fun. Yang is actually very honest, Blake had to smack her to remind her she needs a fliter. “It’s not a shirt & tie kind of place.” “Yea, we notice.” Athletic. Technically speaking, she does work out to become a better fighter. She is straight-forward & like Virgo, Sagittarius can be very wise. This is seen when Yang helps Blake get herself together im volume 2. Laid back. Although Yang does have a temper, she’s also very relaxed & is a very much cool person. Logical. She knows when to focus on mission & when Weiss & Ruby were having issues the best logical thing to do is to start over maybe. Confidence. She knows she’s not the best, but she knows she’s good enough to pass her classes with flying colors. Good humored. Personally I dislike puns, but some people like them. It’s a good trait to have really. She is also optimistic, always looking into the good. This isn’t always present. But in Weiss-Xiao-Long’s FreezerBurn post, Yang does wqnt to be mad at Blake but her open-mindedness is telling her to understand her. I’m pretty Weiss did slightly help Yang be optimistic again. Sagittarius people love to travel & explore. Yang’s goal was to explore the world & wants to go with the flow, becoming a huntress to defend herself & help people along the way. Commitment issues. Sagittarius don’t like being in a relationship cause they don’t want to be held back & they also fear being hurt & tend fl built walls around themselves. This is shown when Yang doesn’t like getting close to people because of her abandonment issues. At certain times she can tactless & reckless; such as blindly going up against Adam & almost getting to a fight with Raven & her whole damn tribe. She’s not impassive although sometimes it is hard to tell what emotions she feelings towards certain things. When she was speaking with Raven in the tent with Weiss, Yang was acting arrogant, but in reality she really was listening. I just don’t see any other sign that suits her. There is Leo, but I guess that would only make sense with her basic stuff (hot headed, confident, action & fun) & Leos care about how they look. Yang cares about her hair. So that’s the only reason why she could be a Leo, but I mostly see her as a Sagittarius.

Well that’s pretty much what I have for now. I’m open for discussion & excuse the bad grammar. I was too lazy to pre check. Also keep in mind I only looked into their Sun Sign not their Moon, Rising, Venus, or Mars Sign. I might check later.