#this one in particular has been the most interesting to me putting together

[togrowoldinv]

The Retreat

Milf!Wanda Maximoff x Reader

When you go on a church retreat, you have a very interesting conversation with Wanda

Note: I have missed writing for this Wanda! Can’t get her out of my head lately. Y’all enjoy this one!

Warnings: Smut! 18+ please! Kissing, cursing, sad Wanda, oral and fingering (W receiving), age gap

Milf Wanda Masterlist, Main Masterlist

When you were asked to go on a women’s retreat, you immediately wanted to say no. The only reason you even go to church is to appease your parents. But it’s the final retreat of the year and you are expected to attend at least one.  

So, you find yourself now waiting by the church bus to load up. You watch as mothers say goodbye to their children and wives kiss their husbands. One family in particular catches your eye.  

The Maximoffs. Wanda, the matriarch, is a good friend of your mothers. They just moved to town a few years ago, but have made quite an impression in the town. Her husband travels for work, so Wanda is often found alone at the church service while her twin boys are in class for the children.  

You wonder how a man could ever leave a woman like that alone. She is definitely the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. Some part of you has been attracted to her since you first laid eyes on her.  

Wanda gets on the bus and sits a few seats from you. She gives you a small wave. You put in your headphones to try and drown out the world. The drive only lasts a few hours and soon you’re at the retreat.  

You check in and get your room key. It doesn’t take long to figure out that you will have a roommate when you open the door and see there are two beds. You're praying it’s not one of the older ladies or someone in your peer group who you can’t stand.  

The prayer is answered when the door latch opens and none other than the one and only Wanda Maximoff walks in.  

“Well, hi y/n!” She says. “I didn’t know we were roommates.”  

“Hey Mrs. Maximoff. I didn’t either.”  

“Oh please call me Wanda. This weekend we are peers, sweetheart,” she says.  

She puts her bags on the bed next to the window. Sitting on the bed, she looks around the room. Wanda spots an itinerary on the bedside table.  

“Looks like a busy weekend,” she analyzes. “We should get going to the first session.”  

“Oh, I was thinking I would just rest tonight,” you reply.  

“Nonsense, y/n,” Wanda says. “You came all this way. You might as well try and enjoy it. I know you aren’t feeling the spirit these days, but let me try and do something about that, okay?”  

Your pulse quickens. How can she see right through you? Maybe she’s just being nice. Or maybe it’s worse and your mother asked her to look out for you this weekend.  

She stands and waits for you to join her. You sigh and follow Wanda out the door.  

The first session goes better than you thought it would. At least the food was good and the middling company was made a little better by Wanda’s presence.  

When you get back to the room, it is freezing cold in there. You notice Wanda shivering even in her sweatshirt and sweatpants she has on for bed. Still, you both try to go to sleep for the night.  

At some point though, you get a feeling someone is watching you while you sleep. Or more accurately, as you try to sleep in the arctic environment. Your eyes flutter open to see Wanda sitting up in her bed.  

“What time is it?” You ask her.  

“Early,” Wanda replies. Her voice is gravely, and if you think about it too much you might even be turned on by it.  

“Are you cold?”  

She nods. “The heat isn’t working. I tried, but can’t fix it.”  

You roll out of bed and walk to the thermostat on the wall. Wanda follows you and stands close behind you. You can hear her breathing as you investigate the issue.  

“Can you fix it?” She asks.  

“Unfortunately, I cannot,” you reply. Wanda sighs.  

You turn around and Wanda is still very close to you.  

“We have one option here,” she begins. “To sleep together.”  

“Oh,” you mumble. “We- um-”  

“We could snuggle and then our body heat will keep us warmer,” Wanda further explains. “What do you say?”  

“Okay.”  

“Okay,” Wanda says.  

She leads the way to your bed hoping since it’s the one away from the window it’ll be a little bit warmer. Wanda crawls into the bed and pulls the covers down. She waits for you to join her. You get into the bed cautiously, keeping a little distance between you two.  

“Come on closer, baby. I don’t bite,” Wanda says. She grins at herself.  

You get closer to her and she wraps an arm around your waist. You drape one of your arms across the pillow and she positions herself with her head between your neck and shoulder. Admittedly, it is warmer with the two of you snuggling together.  

Eventually, you both fall into a deep sleep and the snuggling becomes more relaxed. It feels natural when the two of you wake up in the morning still intertwined.  

“Good morning,” you say softly, trying not to get lost in her green eyes.  

“Good morning,” Wanda says. Her face is close to yours. You can practically see every detail of her perfect face. “We should get ready for the day.”  

“Right,” you say, breaking out of your trance. “Of course.”  

You two break apart and you miss her warmth already. When you two show up at breakfast, several people are already in the room.  

“Wanda! Y/n! Join our table!” The leader of the women’s group calls you both over. “How did you two sleep?”  

“Quite well,” Wanda replies. “It was cold, but we made do.”  

“Oh, we can have someone look at your heat,” the leader replies.  

“Thanks that would be-” you start, but are interrupted.  

“That’s alright,” Wanda says, placing a hand on your forearm. “We are okay.”  

It's a strange response, but you try not to read into it. She probably just doesn’t want to cause any trouble. The breakfast lecturer starts soon and your attention shifts.  

At the end of the day, you and Wanda find yourselves sitting in your room once again. Dinner isn’t for another hour, so you are just waiting around.  

“Should we work on our exercises?” Wanda asks, breaking the silence.  

“What?”  

“The vulnerability exercises we talked about today in the final session,” Wanda explains.  

“Oh, sure.”  

Wanda smiles. She sits on the edge of her bed and pats the spot next to her.  

“I’ll go first,” she says. 

“Remind me of the rules,” you ask.  

“We reveal something to each other that no one else knows. So that we can release it and let the weight go.”  

You nod. You have no idea what Wanda might say. Her life seems perfect.  

“Vision left me,” Wanda blurts out quickly.  

“What?” You ask in shock. “Wanda, I- what happened?”  

You hadn’t seen them interact much, but you never assumed that he wasn’t still in the picture. Just that he had been traveling.  

Wanda looks down, playing with the ring on her finger. You can tell she’s holding back tears.  

“Wanda, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I'm really sorry.”  

“No, it might help if I do,” Wanda says. “Things just got bad. They went from okay, to maybe not so good, to fuck we’re over.”  

Your eyes go wide. Never have you ever heard Wanda curse like that.  

“How long ago was it over?”  

“A few months,” Wanda says.  

“And you haven’t told anyone?”  

She shakes her head. “I just keep saying he’s away on business. The truth is he hasn’t touched me in almost a year.”  

“So, that snuggling we did last night was?” 

“The first time I’ve remotely been that close to someone in a year.”  

“Jesus,” you mumble. She doesn’t even scold you for using the Lord’s name in vain. “Can I hug you?”  

You figure she needs human connection now more than ever. She nods and you take Wanda in your arms. She melts against you. Tears fall down her face and soak into your shirt.  

“It’s okay,” you whisper softly to her. “You’re okay, Wanda.”  

“I’m not,” she says through sobs.  

“You will be,” you reply. “I’m here for you. My parents are here for you. All of these stupid, annoying women here are on your side too, okay? We won’t let you fall.”  

Wanda pulls away some and looks at you. You run your hand through her hair and brush your thumb against her cheek gently. She leans in just enough for you to know what’s about to happen.  

“Wanda,” you say. She keeps moving forward. “Mrs. Maximoff.”  

That makes her stop. She looks at you with confusion in her eyes.  

“I just want you. Do you not want me, baby?” Wanda asks.  

“Oh, of course I want you. I just haven’t done the exercise yet.”  

“Oh?”  

You take your other hand and pull her closer by her hip. Your lips are almost touching.  

“My secret is that I really, really want to kiss you right now and fuck you until you forget about your loser ex-husband who never deserved you in the first place,” you say.  

Wanda closes the gap between the two of you. Her lips move fervently against yours. You can tell she’s desperate.  

“When’s the last time he kissed you like this?” You ask between kisses.  

“Never,” she replies.  

You smile into her mouth and move to push her back onto the bed. Her legs wrap around your waist as you pin her arms above her head.  

“Fuck, Wanda, you are the most beautiful woman alive,” you tell her.  

“We shouldn’t do this,” she says. It's her final effort at not letting herself feel as good as he deserves to feel. You move your hands off of her just briefly.  

“We should do this, but I'll stop if you really don’t want this,” you tell her.  

“No, I- we just can’t tell anyone, okay?”  

“Yes ma’am.”  

You put your hands back on her. This time, you go straight for the buttons of her jeans. You kiss down her chest and around her belly. Deftly, you pull down her pants and panties in one fell swoop.  

Wanda shivers beneath the feeling of your wet lips against her hips and as you brush your nose lightly against her core.  

“Oh, god, y/n,” she whimpers.  

“So wet for me, Wanda,” you say. You dive into her core with your tongue. Her folds are intoxicating as you bring her more pleasure than she’s ever felt in her life.  

“I need you,” Wanda says. “Please, baby. Please!”  

You take Wanda’s clit in your mouth and move your fingers into her in tandem. She is writhing beneath your touch.  

“Come for me, Mrs. Maximoff,” you say as you feel her reaching her climax.  

“Fuck!” Wanda comes hard against you.  

You lick her as she comes down and move up her body slowly. You lie next to her and kiss her cheek softly. The juxtaposition of that soft kiss and what you were just doing between her legs makes her heart flutter.  

“Are you okay?” You ask her. She is staring at the ceiling.  

“Yes,” she replies. “Thank you for everything.”  

“Anytime Wanda,” you say. You ignore the ache between your legs, knowing Wanda needs time to process this. “Should we go to dinner?”  

“Oh, I guess so,” she says.  

You sit up, but Wanda grabs your arm before you can stand.  

“I want to fuck you later, okay?” Wanda says. “I just-”  

“Need a minute,” you finish for her.  

“Yeah. Thanks for understanding, sweetheart. It’ll be worth the wait I promise.”  

Wanda kisses you deeply before she gets off the bed to get cleaned up. You watch as she walks with a new bounce in her step that she didn’t have before.  

Maybe this retreat will be interesting after all.  

[bvidzsoo]

Cherry Blossom, March Event M.list

Authors: ❀ @hongjoongspoetry & bvidzsoo ❀

Pairing: Ateez members x reader

❀ Genre: fluff, soulmate tropes, romance aus ❀ Rating: sfw ❀ Status: finished

Synopsis: Tired of all the grey weather and the relentless winter cold? Dive into the world of our Cherry Blossom event, riddled with heartwarming and sweet drabbles, here to help ease you into the defrosting spring that we have ahead of us.

❀ This is a collection of eight drabbles written by Mina and myself, containing individual and quite unique soulmate tropes paired with a variety of aus, which have been chosen randomly by us, then placed in a spin-the-wheel to make it all the more interesting when selecting who would write what. ❀

A/N: Hello, my loves, Mina and I are back with a little fluffy surprise for the entirety of March! We are both so excited about this little event, it's actually my first this kind of collaboration despite the many years I've been on this site writing, so I'm really excited about it, and I know Mina is too. I hope we have sparked your interest, here you can check out the event announcement. We also have a taglist for this event that you can join if you'd like! ^^ dividers

❀ Taglist ❀

3rd March - Chasing your shadows (Ariadné)

❀ Outlaw!Kim Hongjoong x Bounty hunter!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: Each day on your arm is a particular event your soulmate will face. Summary: What was supposed to be a wild chase after a bounty you had your eyes set on for years now, turns into a life changing event. You had always known your soulmate was never up to any good thanks to the words inked on your inner forearm ever since you were five years old, but you hadn't expected him to be the biggest menace known to the state...or the man you had been relentlessly chasing, trying to catch for the hefty reward promised.

7th March - Pretend You Love Me (Mina)

❀ Badboy!Choi Jongho x Student!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: Your soulmate's name is on your wrist. Summary: Jongho, heir to Choi Clothes, and you are soulmates marked by each other's names on your wrists since birth. Instead of a fairy-tale romance, you're stuck in a fake dating contract to restore Jongho's tarnished image created by scandals. As you navigate public events and play the part of a cute couple, the lines between fake and real blur together. Despite your undeniable chemistry, you refuse to take him seriously due to his reckless past. As the arrangement nears its end, you must confront the truth about your feelings and whether you can move beyond the contract.

10th March - A world in your colours (Ariadné)

❀ Daycare teacher!Kang Yeosang x Florist!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: You see all the colours for the first time when you meet your soulmate. Summary: A world through the faint hues of your soulmate's eye colour isn't the most colourful life to live. Approaching twenty-five and still being unable to see all the colours the world has to offer has you worried that you'll never meet your soulmate. Doubts and questions riddle your mind day and night, but at least you have the one thing that makes you happy no matter what, your little flowers. You can't actually see their colours, but you can imagine their vibrancy. And then, one day when you're making a bouquet for a lovely man, your whole world gets covered in an overwhelming amount of colour, rendering you stunned.

14th March - A Second to Forever (Mina)

❀ Mixed fairy!Seonghwa x Fairy!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: A timer counting down for when you meet your soulmate. Summary: The countdown on your wrist was getting closer to its end and the jitters of finally meeting your soulmate were rendering you an anxious mess. It was a moment you had waited for your entire life - the chance to put a face and name to the person you were destined to meet - and it made you think of different ways to escape fate. After a series of comedic events where everything that could go wrong, did, you met your soulmate. In that instant, everything changed. The encounter was filled with sparks of attraction, warmth and genuine connection, leading to a tender first interaction that left you both feeling enchanted.

17th March - So it's always been you (Ariadné)

❀ Model!Jung Wooyoung x Stylist!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: Whenever you lose an item, it ends up in your soulmates' possession somehow. Summary: Both young and restless, Wooyoung and you have started out your careers around the same time. As newbies in the industry, you quickly found yourselves sticking together and growing closer with each passing day. Now, many years down the line, everyone knows that you and Wooyoung are inseparable besties, who have each other's backs and will crack up at the stupidest of jokes. As his stylist, it's also convenient that whatever Wooyoung loses just magically turns up in your possession since he's known for losing his stuff often. It takes you quite the years to figure it out, but when you do eventually, everything just clicks in place, all of it making sense.

21st March - Just Another Night, Until You (Mina)

❀ Firefighter!Choi San x Emergency physician!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: Being next to your soulmate heals their and your injuries. Summary: Hectic nights at work is nothing out of the ordinary for you, but when a man is wheeled into the Intensive Care Unit with second degree burns all over his body and in the need of immediate medical attention, your life takes a turn as his body heals on his own by the mere presence of you. Shocked by the discovery, you stay by his side as he recovers and together you come to terms with your unexpected connection.

24th March - The pink and blue of your skin (Ariadné)

❀ Sunshine!Jeong Yunho x Grumpy!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: A touch from your soulmate will leave an imprint there. Summary: If there's one person you never understood, and stopped trying to, it was Jeong Yunho. Upon your first meeting back in college, you just knew he'd be a pain in the ass...and you were right. His vibrant personality matched with the constant smile on his face and sickening positivity always made you stay away from him. But much to your dismay, your friend groups mashed quite well, and years after college, you were still going strong and hanging out at any given opportunity. Much to your horror, your best friend makes you share a room and a bed with Yunho for the weekend, and that's when things change...but not for the reasons you'd first think of.

28th March - Sparks and Bruises (Mina)

❀ Boxer!Song Mingi x Real estate agent!reader ❀

Soulmate trope: Meter showing how much of a danger your soulmate is in. Summary: In a world where everyone at the age of eighteen gets a metal meter implanted on their wrist that shows the amount of danger your soulmate is in. You and Mingi have known each other since high school, but went through a nasty fallout after his love for boxing turned into a dangerous gamble with his life as the price. Years later, you stumble over his injured form on the doorstep of your apartment building. Not having the heart to turn him away like all those years ago, you invite him inside with the intention to clean his wounds, but get a lot more than you bargained for.

© HONGJOONGSPOETRY & BVIDZSOO 2025 - All rights reserved. Copying, editing, reposting or translating our work is not allowed.

[ghoastixx]

Yandere!Hannibal and Yandere!Will Graham, who are obsessed with the survivor of a serial killer, who has resurfaced again. So the reader needs to go into some kind off protection and now stays at Hannibal‘s with Will visiting regularly and Hannibal comforting her?

Yandere!Hannibal & Will Graham x gn!reader

synopsis above

Notes: Okay okay okay... as someone who used to read A LOT of yandere fics, i'm flattered to be writing one for such a thirsty fandom. But, I must admit, this is my first time actually writing one. So bear with me please. Also, YAY!! A WILL GRAHAM REQUEST!!! (I'm a stereotypical will graham lover boy) I do love writing edgy insane will graham :3

Author notes: Mentions the "ghost face" killer... sorry y'all at the end of the day im not original and scream 1 holds a dear dear place in my heart. Will is sort of creepy in this. Reader is broken but trying to heal, will and hannibal ruin that. Reader sort of takes Margot Verger's place in a way? Reader is a bit shallow and emotional, sorry chat.

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

The nightmare started two years ago. The ghostface murders happened every year or so; ever since that massacre in Woodsburrow when it all began. They popped up all over America. It wasn't a shock when a new copycat showed up in Maryland, Baltimore. A shame...sure. A shock? Not as much.

You weren't very worried. You lived a relatively boring life, a safe life. You were not final girl material. Well, that's what you had thought before someone in a ghostface mask stabbed you on the walk home from work.

You remember how exhausting the press was when you woke up alive, how nauseating the treatments were, how tedious the whole stay was. It was all boring and you were scared. Your face was all over newspapers, magazines, blogs, what if he came back to finish the job? The fear was too much, you fell into a deep pit of self pity and anxiety... One particular article though.. tattle crime. It pushed you over the edge.

People around you could sense the distress, you were referred to a psychiatrist upon your release. A Doctor Hannibal Lecter.

The first session had gone well, in your opinion. Of course, you hadn't been the most open of patients, but he was so patient with you, he was so understanding. You couldn't see how fond of you he actually was.

The first time you had walked into his office, he was amused. You had been the talk of the news, lately, and here you were now. Sitting in his office. You were interesting. A normal person, someone who had never really been bothered by much.. now utterly shattered. A beautiful vase put to waste, he would be the gentle hand to put you back together.

You met Will Graham almost a year later.

Your appointments were always right before Will Graham's. Of course, you didn't know that, but he did.

You had just finished up a session with Dr.Lecter, gently closing his door behind you, you were met with a shorter man looking intently at you. He had dark curls and his glasses were clinging to the edge of his nose. You stared back at him for a moment. He wasn't making direct eye contact, but he was looking.

"Excuse me...can I help you?" you murmured, a bit freaked out. He shook his head, snapping himself out of it.

"I'm sorry- are you Y/N L/N?" He asked, he had a nice accent that you couldn't place. You sighed, crossing your arms.

"Yes, what of it?" your annoyed tone made him look away from you.

"Nothing-I'm sorry- I just went over your case in my lecture this week,"

"Lecture?"

"Yes, I'm a professor."

"Oh.. what class, if I'm allowed to ask?" He smiled, shaking his head a bit,

"You can ask. A criminal analysis class." you nodded.

"That's very interesting Mister..."

"Will Graham."

You two began seeing each other a lot more while switching roles in Lecter's chair. Friendly smiles, waves, anxious nods.. and then Hannibal started to get into Will's head. His intentions turned to the computer. Researching about you. He reassured himself, he was just doing his job. Researching victims. Until he brought you up in a session.

"What seems to be on your mind Will?" Hannibal asked patiently.

"One of your patients." This caught his attention,

"Which one of my patients would this be?"

"Y/N L/N." Will leaned back in his chair, spreading his legs out. Hannibal straightened up.

"Y/N, I see." His voice was a bit firmer now. He had grown protective over you. Possessive. "what of them?"

So Will began talking about his newfound obsession with you. This pleased Hannibal just a bit, the idea that they both could have you.

So, with Hannibal's nonverbal permission, Will started to get more involved in your life as you both slowly started to succumb to Hannibal's manipulation.

Everything was going swimmingly. That was until you got a notification on your phone during work today.

"Ghostface killer resurfaces after two years!"

With trembling hands, you clock out and immediately go to your car. You sit in your locked car, shaking. As soon as you read the article, you turn off your phone, putting it in the console. You start driving.

You knock on the lavish door, your skin pale and your body shaking. You're so cold. You begin pounding on the door..faster.. why can't he just come out faster?

The door swings open, you almost hit the taller man in the chest. He was wearing a vest and a white button up shirt, dress pants. He had just gotten off work. His eyes held annoyance, but when he saw your rather fragile state, his face grew concerned. He ushers you inside, his firm arms around your shoulders, leaning your shaky form to a sofa. Sitting you down and making you explain to him what's wrong.

"He- he's back Hanni. He's gonna come back after me-" you manage to cry out, his hands softly going through your hair.

"My dear, you're okay.." His phone rings, which makes you jump. He glares at it before seeing it is Will. He answers it, a very frantic voice picks up.

"Hannibal- I can't get ahold of Y/N-"

"Will." he all but chided. "Our love is here, calm down."

"I'm coming over." he stated before hanging up. He sounded frustrated, which just scared you even more.

A few minutes later, a disgruntled Will walks in, immediately coming up to the sofa which housed you clinging to Hannibal for dear life.

"Y/N- I tried to call you- I was so worried." Once he saw your expression, he toned it down as he sat next to you. "Pup..it's alright, we're here."

Both men frowned when you shook your head. "No! He's back for me- he's gonna get me."

Hannibal responded with a 'tsk' sound, still playing with your hair. "My love, he will do no such thing." Will hummed in agreement, rubbing a hand over your back. "You'll stay here with Will and I, we'll keep you safe and sound."

Will was pleased when you caved into the demand, he honestly thought you would've denied it quicker. Both men dotted over you before pushing you to get some sleep. Sandwiching you in between them. Will waited til he could hear your soft snores before looking at Hannibal with a bit of a glare.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea." Hannibal looked at him with a false innocence.

"What wasn't a good idea, Will?"

"Poking the killer. Getting him to want to come back."

"It will all work out..we just had to..scare them into submission. You see? Hasn't it worked."

Will sighed a bit, "Yes..I still don't like it very much though.."

"Nothing will happen to either of you, Will. I wouldn't allow it."

Will did stop talking, not wanting to wake you. Besides, he knew Hannibal had a point. They did have you to themselves now.. and if everything went to plan.. you wouldn't be leaving.

[love-byers]

cornplate but idc we have fun here

in the van (not THE van scene, just the van in general), most of it is from will's pov or no particular pov. just about every time we see will and mike in the van, we see the surfer boy pizza logo on the window, very clearly flipped. backwards. we can't read it.

obviously it's not very hard to just read it backwards, but it's still wrong. it's not the correct pov for it to make sense. it's wrong, it's backwards.

the only time we see the logo flipped the correct way, where we see what it really says, where it is easy to read is here:

in the rear view mirror from jonathan's pov. the outsiders pov. not will's pov.

both times we see this mirror shot, will is not looking at mike. mike is looking at will quite intently. the boys also swap places, mike now appearing to be on the left and will on the right. mike is in will's place and will is in mike's. they are also both equally in frame, both in focus. there's no over the shoulder or anything like that. we are looking at them plainly, seeing them as they are, no bias. not warped by a character's pov. we are seeing reality. and what does reality look like?

yeah....

we also see it here:

on mike's side of the van. it is slightly obscured, a shadow, but still there and flipped the correct way. next to mike, who's pov has been hidden from us.

to me, this is saying that will's point of view, his idea of his love for mike being unrequited, mike being straight and in love with el, is completely backwards. he's got it all wrong.

im hesitant to call will an unreliable narrator because in creative writing classes i've been taught to not use that phrase. i've just been taught to not label characters that way and lean on that concept. a character's pov is simply a characters pov, and what they see is real to them. every character will have different povs, especially in a tv show. it shouldn't necessarily be a part of the plot that a character is unreliable, it should be more complex than that if that makes sense. every character's pov compares and contrast each others.

buttt there's really no other way to describe will in s4 😭

what makes will and mike interesting and what does make will 'unreliable' is that mike's pov is being purposefully hidden from us. we can't compare and contrast their pov's because one is being distinctly hidden. we only have one side. we only know that will thinks mike is straight and doesn't feel that way about him and loves el. but that doesn't mean the other side doesn't exist.

every character has extensive thought put into them. so mike's pov does exist, we just can't see it.

this is a prime example to me. this moment where mike looks back is HUGE, or it should be. a character doing this is very revealing of their mindset and point of view. it's there, it's just hidden from us. we can clearly see mike do it in the back, but it's blurred and we can't see what other expressions he's making. we have no clue what he's thinking in this moment as he's looking at the painting/will.

will's pov shows us what he thinks mike is thinking. which could either be accurate or inaccurate.

and, like im suggesting, he's got it all wrong. completely backwards. mike isn't straight, he doesn't love el, and he does have feelings for will.

i mean...look at him. let's put the puzzle pieces together guys...

[a-hazbin-reader]

Alastor X Reader Headcanons

✅️Romantic

❌️Platonic

TW: Angst, Alastor being a dick, Alastor playing with Y/N's emotions, Vox being the second male lead in my K-Drama, Vox X Reader

Description: Alastor courts the reader just to fuck with Vox

Alastor and Vox haven't gotten along for a long time, especially now that Alastor has taken a liking to messing with Vox

Vox messes with Alastor just a smidgen, and Alastor brings down the thunder just to put him back in his place

Alastor is always looking for a new opportunity to mess with Vox, he's been getting bored of simply publicly humiliating him

You've come to learn this from your time together at the hotel, seeing how much of a menace Alastor is with your own eyes

He thinks it's entertaining and sure it can be funny at times, especially when Alastor is clearly trying to get your attention/reaction out of you

Whether you two get along well, sorta get along, or don't like each other at all, Alastor seems to like your attention in particular

Not that you think he means anything more by it, you'd never think Alastor felt anything more for you than mild amusement

You've never really added fuel to the fire though, in fact you've been keeping a big secret from Alastor in an effort to spare Vox

Vox has been romantically interested in you for some time, sending you messages, buying you gifts, trying to get you to go on a date with him

It was flattering to be honest but also a little bit annoying because the most emotion you could muster up towards him was a mild fondness

These things that were becoming increasingly difficult to hide from Alastor but so far you've managed

Alastor was just about ready to resign himself to leaving Vox alone for a while when he suddenly sees you and Vox together, the tv demon holding out a box

"Y/N, honey, baby..! Just take the gift! I insist!"

You reluctantly take the box, an exasperated expression on your face as you try not to look at him. For some reason, the sight doesn't sit right with Alastor

"A new phone? I really can't accept this-"

"Nonsense! This way I can always know where you-Y-YOU can always get ahold of me if you need me! Trust me, babe! You want my protection down here!"

You and Vox continue to talk, Vox guiding you down the street while flirtatiously talking your ear off

Watching the two of you interact gives Alastor a terrible idea but also makes his guts churn in an uncomfortable way

But it gives him a new way to mess with Vox, and he already knows how to put his plan into motion

The next time you see Alastor suddenly he's worse than ever before, always following you around, always offering to help you, always just staring at you

There was the time he helped you carry some groceries into the hotel, taking the heaviest for himself and bringing everything in one impressive trip

Or the time you caught him gazing at you from across the room with a menacing, calculating smile like he was planning something

One time you two even went out to dinner, ate delicious food, laughed for hours, then he danced with you for the rest of the night

Another time, he spent his whole morning serenading you until you came out of your home, blushing and flustered but taking the flowers he had for you

Or when the two of you were suddenly attacked and he protected you, making a show of not even taking his eyes off of you and fussing over you afterwards as if you were precious

Your cheek tingled where his claws brushed against it for days afterward

You two have been out in public together so much now that people are starting to gossip, thinking you've captured Alastor's heart

You know that's not true but it doesn't help when Alastor is taking you out to nice places to eat or buying you nice things just because you glance at them

It's rather sweet, you can't help but enjoy his attention but he only acts that way with you out in public. In private, it's as if he's repulsed by his actions

Pushing away from you and creating distance, locking himself up in his radio tower and practically ignoring you. You're completely vexed

You don't know what prompted this sudden change until you're with Alastor at the tailor and you two run into Vox

The normal friendliness you've become accustomed to from Alastor suddenly turned up to 11, Alastor wrapping an arm around you as you two approached Vox

You couldn't help but notice the way Alastor's smile got bigger at the sight of Vox faltering in his steps as he takes in the sight of you two

"Vox~! Fancy seeing you here! Come to fix those drab clothes of yours?"

Vox's eyes dart between you and Alastor, then the arm around you and back to you again. Somehow you feel like a worm on a hook stuck between the two overlords

"Actually, I saw Y/N and thought I might come by and say hello."

You open your mouth to speak, but already Alastor is turning you away from him, waving back to Vox lazily

"Well, you've said your hello so now we must be off! See you around, old pal! Darling! Come along~"

In front of everyone he pulls your face towards his own, the angle making it look like you two are kissing.

Instead, he looks into your eyes, lips barely touching as he makes a pleased sound, Vox's screen glitching angrily and your knees going weak

He holds you close to his side all the way back to the hotel but the moment the door closed behind you two then suddenly his warmth is gone and he's wiping imaginary dirt off himself

"Alastor, what was all that abo-"

"Sorry my dear! I really must get to work! Let's do this again!"

You don't see the panicked expression on his face as he locks himself away, don't get a chance to feel how fast his heart his beating

He's played this game too long and now he's worried that he's falling for you but can never admit it. He can only play along then distance himself from you

And you're left annoyed and admittedly a little bit hurt

Those feelings only get worse the more you two run into Vox, which suspiciously seems to happen more often and always when you're with Alastor

It's always the same routine, Alastor flaunts you in front of Vox, acting affectionate and sweet with you, then giving you the cold shoulder once he's gone

All the warm happiness you used to feel at having Alastor's attention has faded away into hurt and annoyance now that you know he's using you to get to Vox

You start to pull away from Alastor, making an effort to go out places without him, reject his gifts, and avoid physical touch from him

People start to whisper that you two broke up as weeks go by, and nothing changes

Alastor is surprised by how much he misses being able to do those things with you, and even more surprised by the realization

He's constantly trying to get your attention again, trying to make you smile and laugh, maybe even lean on him like you had before

And if he walks into a room to see you smiling and chatting away with someone? It irks him to see your smile melt away at the sight of him and how closed off you become

It physically pains him to watch you leave a room whenever he enters, his smile going tight when you ignore him

"Y/N! I was hoping you and I could-"

"I'm busy."

He misses you and it shows now, everyone at the hotel can tell that he's fallen for you at this point but they all know better than to say anything

Except for maybe Charlie but she's struggling to even mention Alastor's name around you before you try to run away from her

It's Angel who actually breaks through to you, sitting down beside you casually before just blurting it out

"So what the hell happened between you and freaky face, doll? One minute, you two are red hot, and the next, you're colder than ice!"

You're so caught off good guard by Angel's bluntness that you don't hear Alastor coming or notice him pull himself back around the corner to listen

You sigh and lean on Angel, a sour look coming over your face that you hide in his chest fur

"I just...I thought he really felt something but he was only using me to bother Vox... It wasn't genuine and I thought it was."

Alastor feels his black heart clench at how sad you sound and he feels guilty for making you feel that way. He feels even worse because you were right, it did START that way

Alastor hears Angel coo at you and peeks out to see the spider tilting your face up and petting you

"Yeah, that was a dick move on his part, but that doesn't explain why he's so moody now without you."

You let out a scoff that may or may not be unlike you and sit up, crossing your arms unhappily

"He's just upset that I won't play his game anymore."

Alastor shakes his head from his hiding spot, wanting to tell you that you're wrong and he misses you, that he wants to apologize for how he's been

That he wants to start over and take you on real dates, hold you again, show you off to everyone because you're his

But for once his voice fails him, and his body won't move, too ashamed of himself and too stubborn to admit the truth

Angel doesn't say anything more and instead changes the subject, the two of you pushing the uncomfortable atmosphere aside

Alastor grips his staff tightly and continues to his radio tower, knowing that eventually he'll need to talk with you

He can hardly stand to know that you think that he never felt anything for you when that's so far from the truth

Alastor just needs to find a way to get you to talk to him again so he can explain

And hopefully you'll at the very least forgive him

What he isn't factoring into the equation is Vox though, Vox who still hasn't given up on you and has been paying very close attention to you and Alastor these last few weeks

Now that you seem to hate Alastor just as much as he does, surely you'll leave that hotel and come join VoxTek like he's been begging you to do now

And maybe you'll take him up on his date

Is this enough ANGST FOR Y'ALL?!?!?!

Part Two:

[letteredlettered]

Went to a panel about slash fanfic at a con. Moderator said, "Welcome to the panel about erotica." The words "slash" and "erotica" were used interchangeably throughout. Panel was great.

There was a Q&A at the end so I raised my hand and said these terms seemed conflated. Moderator explained she'd run this panel for 10 years and it started out being about slash but drifted into erotica and she never changed the name. (She also said she was glad I brought it up and would keep it in mind for the future of the panel.) The guy on the panel who writes original m/f erotica said that slash and what he writes are basically the same thing. I said I had no complaints about the name of the panel or the panelists, I was just curious about what slash meant to them, and whether slash by necessity had to include sex scenes to be considered slash.

Two panelists answered that slash was romance between men but usually had sex. Eventually one of them did make clear that slash didn't have to have sex but that it was what they wanted to read. Another panelist said that to them slash really just meant dude romance but people wouldn't read their fic unless there was sex so they felt they had to put sex scenes in.

Person came up to me after the panel. Said they felt I didn't get my question answered. Then they explained that since the 70s, 'slash' has been used to mean m slash m romance, meaning explicit and sexual. Then they said it sounded like what I wanted to ask about was shipping. They explained to me that shipping is just wanting the characters to be together but slash meant sex. They explained that since the invention of AO3, people had begun to use the ampersand to mean the fic had two characters who were friends and that the slash was used to denote ships, but even though that punctuation just meant romance, the word "slash" in the last twenty years had become synonymous with explicit fic. I explained I had been in fandom longer than twenty years and this was not necessarily my experience. They said, "Bye!"

Though they seemed confused as to whether what they personally defined as slash had been mainstream since the 70s or since the last twenty years (the person was 24), they were well-meaning. The panel was great. I'd recommend it to anyone, though I'm not stating the name of the con here because I don't want anyone involved to feel this is really a critique of the panel itself. The moderator in particular was superb.

I think that this conversation just brought up a whole lot of feelings for me. I think it bothers me that people still think that all fanfic is smutty, that all slash requires porn, and that all fic must have porn in order to be read. I am familiar with this conflation and feel perfectly fine going to a panel that I think is about slash fic and finding out it's about erotic lit, some of which is fanfic. After all, I like both, and I recognize that fandom mushes these things together and teasing them out into separate strands isn't something everyone--or possibly even most fans--have any interest in. I recognize that I am pedantic to a degree that most people find uninteresting.

I have a little bit more of a problem with the idea that slash is "basically the same" as het, but this was said by only one of the panelists. If your panel is actually about straight up erotica and not slash, then the problem is just the name of the panel.

What I found the most frustrating, however, is that whenever I have this conversation, I feel like the default assumption most of my interlocutors begin AND end with is this: smut is why we're here. And I just don't understand that. Away Childish Things has 44,800 kudos, and it has no smut in it. My next most kudosed fic has almost 15,000 kudos and tons of smut. My next most kudosed fic has almost 14,000 kudos and it doesn't even have a kiss.

I'm not talking about kudos to show off how many I have, or because I think kudos make a point about quality of a fic. They have nothing to do with quality. But they do have to do with popularity, and the truth is, sex doesn't sell. It's something else. It's not good writing. It's not a great plot. It's not in-character characterization. IT'S SOMETHING ELSE. What is it?

I've had people say to me, "Well, you're lettered; it works differently for you." DOES IT??? Maybe they meant that because enough people know me as fic author, people will read my fic anyway, but let me tell you, it's always been this way for me, long before my fic was really popular. The ones with smut did not get more praise and attention. The ones that PEOPLE LIKED got more praise and attention. Do people like fic that has smut in it more than fic without smut? Some of the time! Does there have to be smut for people to like it? NO.

Have I had people tell me they didn't want to read something I wrote because it didn't have smut? YES. But the point I'm trying to make is, there are people who want to read fic that doesn't have smut in it. THEY are your audience for the fic you want to write that doesn't have smut in it. Fic does not have to have smut to be fic; it doesn't have to have smut to be read.

I think part of the reason I get so upset about it is that slash as we know it today didn't just emerge because some people weren't getting to read smut and they wanted to. It emerged because women and queer people and other marginalized communities were not getting to see what they wanted to in mainstream media. They weren't getting sex scenes, but they also weren't getting queer content, they weren't getting stories about sensitive men that defied patriarchal stereotypes of male toxicity; they weren't getting stories about disabled folks and people of color and folks who are into kink and folks who have different lifestyles. To reduce fanfic to porn is to remove the rich history of why it exists and who it exists for.

I asked earlier what makes a fic popular, and to me, it's exactly this. It's when you read a thing and you feel, "this is really satisfying to my id in a way that I am not getting from mainstream media." And sometimes what is satisfying to your id is very horny anal sex. Other times what is satisfying to your id is Bucky Barnes getting a blanket and facing his trauma. Sometimes it's Harry Potter being trans. Sometimes it's Naruto and Sasuke getting to just hold hands as the sun sets. I have no idea who those two people are but boy howdy do I know they just fucking need to hold hands.

But the other reason I get so upset about it is I'm so fucking tired of reading a great fic that devolves into mediocre mechanical porn that is there due to the collective brainwashing that states that this is the ONLY reason ALL of us are here.

Discuss.

[goomyloid]

"when noelle finds out kris hasn't been 'kris' this whole time, how will she feel when she realizes she's been reconnecting with someone completely different?"

this sentiment i've seen a lot is an interesting thought but it never actually clicked with me all that much for some reason, and i wasnt sure why or how to put it into words until somewhat recently.

like, i guess i think about it in similar terms to kris's relationship with susie; i think it's unfair to say that kris and susie aren't really friends or something just because that person is 'not kris.' at least by this point, they clearly enjoy being around each other, it's a two-way street. kris is still there, and is always there... on a normal route. that's when our role (so far) amounts to merely 'opening up opportunities' for kris, i.e. giving them a reason to go on Epic Adventures (with the goal of closing dark fountains) all while winning battles with the Power Of Friendship, etc.

sure, we control their specific movements, which will always feel limiting to them (which leads into my assumption that no matter what we do, kris will always hold some level of resentment towards us -- no matter how luxurious the prison cell is, you will always be trapped).

all of this is my long-winded way of explaining that when the two work in harmony, the boundary between kris and the player becomes less distinct. that's why the separation between the two didn't feel as important in chapter 1, where there wasn't really an opportunity for things to go 'wrong,' so to speak. so if we follow the path of least resistance -- how the story 'should' go -- then i think it's fair to say that at least SO FAR, kris is still there, working with us when they have to, not shutting anything out in particular, becoming real friends with susie, and reconnecting with noelle.

the time they spent together in cyber city wasn't 'fake' -- kris is still there, emoting, our voice going through their mouth, they're having fun with noelle (i always think of kris saying "Nooooo" when noelle asks if they need a dog treat, they had no reason to actually howl like that, i swear to god they're just enjoying being a little goofy like old times)

(there's also plenty of other examples of our prompts (presumably) coming out of kris's own mouth in their own voice, they're just in control of HOW it comes out, i.e. yelling "NO" or barely muttering "yes" after spamton neo. but this post aint about that so im moving on)

all of this is the normal route, of course. i dont think i need to explain how much this differs in the weird route, lol. we force kris down a path they Very Much Most Likely Don't Particularly Want to Go Down, but we make them. they dont want to say Proceed, but they have to, which is when that voice comes out as US, not them. from the soul or something, probably, a voice beaming commands into noelle's mind regardless of whether or not kris actually says anything out loud, hence noelle still hearing us even when kris is down in battle.

this disharmony is what manifests as friction between kris and the player, and while we dont Really know what all is happening inside kris's head, i sort of always imagined it as kris closing off/almost going dormant, as some form of protest maybe, maybe to at least communicate to noelle -- the only one who can see something's wrong, not just different -- that this isn't them, it's something else. kris wouldn't do this, and she knows this. that's why when it's all over and berdly has been ice'd, all we know is that they "look kinda..." out of it, distraught, barely there, maybe. i heart dissociation and all that

basically, the split between kris and the player (in my own probably-not-end-all-be-all-correct interpretation of the story thus far) becomes more rigid only when our interests conflict, and the more we work together, the less reason kris has to dissociate, for lack of a better term, and the 'kris' that susie comes to know and noelle comes to reconnect with isn't exactly the wrong 'kris' at all. sure, they're being controlled but that doesn't mean they aren't still THERE.

and if the story continues down along the path of us micro-managing everyone's goals into fruition (noelle getting close to susie comes to mind), kris will still work against us in some ways no matter what we do, but finding some kind of 'happier path/ending' is probably far closer to what they want rather than Manipulating Their Childhood Friend into Killing Their Classmate. just a hunch

anyway the TLDR is i don't really know if the initial question will end up being a problem in the same way that everyone thinks it will, on a normal route. sure, they'll all be shocked and maybe horrified to find out kris is being controlled and whatnot, but that doesn't make the time they spent together any less real, because despite it all, kris was still there.

[little-jana]

"Caffeine and Affection"

Pairing: Spencer Reid x gn!reader

Genre: Fluff

Words: 2k

Warnings: excessive caffeine consumption, but otherwise pure fluff

Summary: For Valentine’s Day Spencer surprises you with a very special bouquet!

a/n: requested: yes! Thank you very much, hope you enjoy it!

The BAU ran on coffee.

At least, most of it did. Hotch practically had a coffee IV, Rossi wouldn’t touch anything under espresso-level strength, and even Spencer—who could rant about the adverse effects of caffeine for hours—drank coffee when cases ran late.

But you? You were different.

Your fuel of choice came in cans, not cups. Whether it was soda or energy drinks, you always had something sugary and carbonated in your hand. It had become part of your identity—something the team liked to tease you about but ultimately accepted.

Spencer, however, took a particular interest in your habit.

“You know,” he had told you one day, watching you crack open yet another can, “the excessive consumption of sugar and caffeine can lead to increased heart rate, insomnia, and dependency.”

You had grinned at him, unfazed. “Sounds like a problem for future me.”

He had sighed, shaking his head. “Future you is going to be very disappointed in past you.”

Despite his concerns, he never actually told you to stop. If anything, he seemed intrigued by your preferences—often asking which flavors you liked best, what brands you preferred, and even quizzing you on why you liked soda over coffee.

It was… cute.

Spencer had always been the kind of person who paid attention, but when it came to you, it felt like he noticed everything.

Which was why, on Valentine’s Day, when he approached your desk with a nervous expression and something hidden behind his back, you immediately knew he was up to something.

“Spence?” You tilted your head, setting down your can of soda. “What are you doing?”

His lips twitched in that shy, almost awkward way he did when he was nervous. “I, uh… got you something.”

Before you could respond, he revealed what he had been hiding.

It wasn’t flowers. It wasn’t chocolates.

It was a bouquet. But instead of roses or lilies, it was made entirely of your favorite sodas and energy drinks, all carefully arranged and tied together with a big, bright bow.

You blinked. Stared. Opened your mouth. Closed it.

Then, finally, you burst into laughter. “Oh my God, Spencer!”

His ears went a little pink. “I read that people appreciate personalized gifts, and I know you don’t really drink coffee, so I figured this was a more… suitable alternative.”

You reached out, taking the bouquet from him with wide eyes. It was surprisingly well put together—each can securely fastened with ribbon, the entire thing looking both ridiculous and oddly adorable.

“This is—Spencer, this is amazing.” You grinned up at him. “Did you make this yourself?”

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “I had to look up a tutorial. It took longer than I expected.”

You could just picture him sitting at home, carefully arranging cans of soda into a bouquet, meticulously tying them together with absolute precision. The thought made your heart swell.

Without thinking, you threw your arms around him, squeezing tightly. “You’re the best.”

Spencer tensed for half a second before quickly melting into the hug, his arms wrapping around you just as firmly. “I’m glad you like it.”

You pulled back slightly, grinning. “Like it? Spencer, this is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.”

His smile was small but full of warmth. “Then it was worth it.”

You looked down at your wonderful bouquet and then back at him, your heart hammering a little harder than usual.

Maybe it wasn’t just the caffeine making it race.

[halemerry]

I’m doing it. I’m breaking down the Scene. You know the one. I've been tearing it apart for a week straight now in discord and figured I should leave my observations here. So, uh, yeah, this one's a big one so buckle up folks!

I want to start with the build up because I can never leave well enough alone and because I think the framing we have coming into this sequence is important. We start with the camera on Mr. Acts of Service himself. Crowley, after banishing Muriel, starts cleaning up the bookshop. The music playing is the soft slow rendition of the opening theme. He is returning this space to the status quo, resetting back to normal, fully intending to do this for Aziraphale before dragging him out to the Ritz, falling back on their typical pattern of going out together for food and drink.

Now in a moment he's going to get interrupted by Nina and Maggie but before we get there I want to take a second to draw attention to the area of the bookshop that Crowley will be operating in for the bulk of this. This space is one we very frequently see Aziraphale in. It's his desk behind the till - a spot linked intrinsically to him, even down to the fact that it's located on the east side of the shop. The windows are throwing beams of light onto Aziraphale's chair and onto the same spot Crowley will stand during The Scene. This lighting choice will not change from now until our last shots in the bookshop and the way the blocking plays around these sunbeams is very aware (as Good Omens nearly always is) of exactly where they will land.

Nina and Maggie enter the scene to have a chat about boundaries and communication. Maggie, his own mirror, tells him flat out that he can't play with their lives like that. Maggie and Nina then both tell him that he and Aziraphale need to talk. And I don’t think they're wrong, exactly, but I do think that Aziraphale and Crowley are actually a lot better at communicating in general than they are in these following high stakes scenes. But that's some meta for later - for now I want to just focus on the particular way Crowley's been primed for the conversation he and Az are about to have. Nina in particular does something really interesting. She does exactly what we as the audience did when we first saw Nina and Maggie: she mistakenly projects herself onto Crowley. She says he has trust issues because she does and in the process accidentally frames the core of their problem as Crowley needing to allow himself to trust Aziraphale, a thing that he actively already does and has done for quite some time and has been shown to us several times throughout the two seasons.

Now the build up we get for Aziraphale going into this conversation is very small. By which I mean practically non-existent. We start at the end of his conversation with the Metatron who tells him to go tell his friend the good news - which notably does not imply that the news is something that would require Crowley to make a choice - and sends Aziraphale on his way. Now the most crucial thing in this sequence, to me, is the expressions Aziraphale makes when he thinks the Metatron isn't looking at him. While polite and smiley when engaged with him, Az's expression falls as soon as he doesn't have eyes on him. Something is wrong and Aziraphale knows it.

Aziraphale enters the shop. The doorway is dark and shadowy and he hasn't composed himself yet - though he does give Nina and Maggie a little smile as they leave. Then, as soon as they're not looking at him, but before he approaches Crowley, the tension is back.

He hesitates, then smiles and approaches Crowley. Crowley, planted dead center in that beam of light from earlier, takes off his glasses and promptly starts nervously rambling. The music cuts off here entirely, giving us nothing to focus on but the noises coming from our lead actors, the background noise from the street, and the ticking of the clock in the background. Aziraphale puts up his hands like he's going to interrupt then lowers them again as Crowley keeps talking, his face shifting into this helpless sort of smitten look.

Now look at the light and how it hits the bookshelves behind Crowley as he tries to get his confession going. It's in the shape of a wing. Keep an eye on that - when the camera chooses to show us this one wing of light is important.

Aziraphale then interrupts and there are two things I want to draw attention to here as Aziraphale fumbles for words. First of all is the fact that he glances in the direction of the door (and the Metatron) at least three times as he's struggling to speak.

Secondly, I want to draw attention to the words Az actually says here. He first echoes the Metatron's earlier statement about good news. He then does not roll into the news itself and instead glances at the door and says the Metatron. He starts rambling about the Metatron to a very confused looking Crowley and evetually talks his way into that the Metatron said something. He then hits a wall again, scrambling to find words and instead of explaining the context of what the Metatron says he lands on Gabriel. His brain latches onto someone obviously on the forefront of both their minds and something vaguely relevant to the news he's about to share. He rambles more about Gabriel's job, glancing once again at the door in the middle of this, still avoiding getting to the actual point or perhaps even synthesizing said point as he goes.

We then cut to what is framed as a flashback. I think it is very notable we only see this as Az is telling it to us. In other words that this is not us witnessing an event happening but us witnessing what Aziraphale is telling Crowley. This sequence is the single scene where the Metatron calls Crowley by name despite actively avoiding it in any real time continuity sequences. He uses it twice here which I think also is the strongest thread in here that tells us that we are seeing what Crowley is being told not necessarily what actually happened.

The instant the idea of restoring Crowley comes up the wing of light behind Crowley loses visibility. Crowley's speechless for a moment so Aziraphale fills the silence, already looking like he wants to cry as he talks about the old days. (I also can't help but to notice that the lights behind Az in this shot look like eyes.) Crowley finally speaks and circles around the beam of light he's been standing in like an object seeking to re-establish a source of gravity. The music cuts back in here with tense drawn out notes.

Crowley talks about how Hell offered him his place back and he turned them down. Aziraphale in turn presses on ideas that we know he doesn't really believe. It's a echo of the bandstand and uses a lot of the same language of that fight - another fight we know features Aziraphale saying things he knows aren't true. By now, we have seen him multiple times this season express he does not want to go back and make it abundantly clear that the side they have made for themselves is important to him. We see him actively calling angels bad and incompetent, contrary to everything he's telling Crowley here. We see him be the one to repetitively remind Crowley that they are on their side and be the one that always draws attention to that first. Yet here he says Heaven is the side of light to Crowley - who by the way is literally framed in light. The frame is telling us outright that Crowley is already Good as he is, while Az's expressions are telling us he knows Heaven isn't.

Aziraphale can't tell him that he did not turn down the job and Crowley does another orbit. The music cuts again. This time, he stops with his back to Az, tilts his head upward and decides to ruin me by invoking God.

Here he is, hearing these awful things that he was sure they had moved on from, hearing these things he has tried for so long and so hard to help them both unlearn. But these sorts of habits and lessons are insidious and he knows that and he himself is even a victim of that himself. I mean, don't get me wrong, he recognizes this is weird, I think, but between his own self worth issues and the stress of the few days they'd had can't work out what exactly is off here. He's confused and lost and just been told, in his mind, that he is not good enough as he is - a thing he has always on some level also believed. Yet he reaches out to the parent that taught him that lesson in the first place for strength and grounds himself with that. He circles back to stand in the beam of light and, with that wing of light finally backlighting him again, he is brave and tries to be enough anyway. He bows his head downward, fully emerging the line of this body in the light and tries again. Because even now, even after that emotional blow, Crowley is an optimist who can't help but to try.

At first Aziraphale can't figure out quite what is going on here. He squints at Crowley and glances at the door again. Crowley meanwhile keeps continually glancing upward, whether at God or to hold back tears or some combination of both. In most of these shots Crowley bisects the room, creating a dark half to his left and a light half to his right.

Crowley says he relies on Aziraphale. Even here, even now when he's just hurt him. Because it is the truth. Because Aziraphale makes him feel less alone. Because Aziraphale proves to him that no matter how fucked the system is that there is still good in the world, even if he doesn't always agree with it.

It is only once there is no doubt what Crowley is doing that Aziraphale starts shaking his head in very small quick shakes. He looks panicked even as they both physically draw closer to each other. It's huge not here, not like this energy to me. Aziraphale asks Crowley to come with to help him run Heaven. This is the point where Crowley starts tearing up.

Crowley then says you can't leave this bookshop, trying to say you can't leave me. Az, nearly in tears himself, says 'oh Crowley. Nothing lasts forever' as a means to convey that the books aren't what is important here. Crowley, naturally, hears 'including us.'

Crowley looks down again, quietly agrees, and puts on his glasses, covering himself up again. He then wishes Aziraphale good luck and the music starts up again, still tense but sorrowful now. He leaves the light and heads to the door. Az can't help but to call after him. Please wait. And Crowley can't help but to listen. It's worth noting here that even as he rotates toward the north door, the light still gently hits his face. The shots in general are darker though. He's moved away from the light but it still can't help but to touch him.

"Come with me," says Aziraphale and then after a pause adds "To Heaven." Aziraphale, looking heartbroken, starts one of two 'I' statements he will struggle around in the next few moments. He lands on I need. Which. I want to pause there a moment because holy shit. That is not something they say out loud either. Az looks at him a moment, visibly struggling before he says his dialogue about Crowley not understanding his offer. Like he's said something he didn't mean to and needs to cover it up or like he can't handle the silence after such an honest statement. And on some level he's not wrong there. Because Crowley doesn't understand what Aziraphale is trying to say. But Aziraphale doesn't understand the way Crowley is reading it to course correct either.

Crowley says that he does understand and that he understands better than Aziraphale does. And he also isn't wrong either, from his perspective. Because he does understand the implications behind the offer theoretically in play here. Because he does know that the position Aziraphale is presenting him is not going to result in the outcome Aziraphale is presenting him with. There are some things you can't undo just like memories slipping through the cracks.

Az says there's nothing more to say, trying to dismiss Crowley despite having been the one to pull him to a stop moments ago. He puts on a fake polite smile for a beat but then his is jaw sets, mouth working as his eyes drop - unable to look Crowley in the eye.

Crowley tells him to listen as the music fades out and points upward. Aziraphale humors this, glancing up a few times before looking frustrated, saying he can't hear anything. The light from the window shines down in his direction without actually touching him. Crowley tells him "That's the point. No nightingales." The shot he's on here is a dark one without even any of the book shops pillars visible in it to brighten the shot.

Aziraphale looks frozen a moment here and then as Crowley calls him an idiot and says 'we could have been us' his face completely crumbles. He rapidly glances away to hide his face and Crowley moves and reaches to pull him back. They're both distraught. Az is clearly already holding back tears even before Crowley touches him. The angle of this shot frames Aziraphale in the light of the window. For the first time in this whole sequence Aziraphale is in the light, literally being physically pulled into it by Crowley.

The music swells, playing a similar theme to the one that plays as the Pillars of Creation are formed at the start of the season. They shift back and forth, the camera focusing on Aziraphale's face and hands. His hands move uncertainly, trying to reach out even as he's struggling emotionally. He is visibly shaking but he crucially does not pull away, not even a little.

His hands settle on Crowley's back, right where his wings would be, and for a brief moment gets taller, like he's allowing himself to lean into the kiss. They press together tightly, their mutual gravity sending them crashing together before they break apart. When they do Aziraphale looks devastated and his eyes move pretty much instantly to look out the window where the Metatron would be.

Crowley's glasses make him harder to read here, but he looks at Aziraphale like a man awaiting judgement in a trial he knows he's already lost. He's sad too, but as always, is waiting for Aziraphale's reaction. Because he might push continually at he boundaries of them as a unit but he has always let Aziraphale decide where to set them in stone.

Az fumbles over words here. He gets stuck on "I" here and lets it hang in the air. He then visibly thinks his words over, his expression slowly filling with resolve as he comes to some sort of conclusion. Then, like it's difficult to say, he falls back into old coded language. "I forgive you." A thing he has always said in response to things that he agrees with but cannot or should not allow himself to have.

Crowley sighs and tells him not to bother, refusing to fall into the old pattern that Aziraphale has. He is setting a boundary, for once, and even if it is one born from misunderstanding I am proud of him for being able to. He turns away and leaves. And this is where Az seems most in danger of falling apart. His lips move as Crowley goes, forming the start of a 'no' after him. He draws back from the door and turns his body away from it, physically distancing himself from anything that would feel like following Crowley. Except he can't help himself. With shaking hands he reaches up to touch his lips. He presses in, like he's trying to recreate the pressure and then his jaw works a moment and his expression sets as resolved.

The Metatron enters through the front door, which is framed in dark lighting. Aziraphale looks panicked and immediately turns his whole body away from him to hide his face while he collects himself.

He turns around after a beat and the Metatron asks 'how did he take it?' This is an odd question that only sort of half fits the fact that we are meant to believe at this point - that Aziraphale should be obtaining a yes or no from Crowley. It's not asking Crowley's choice at all. It's like the Metatron assumed a different conversation had happened or perhaps that he already knew the answer.

Aziraphale says he took it badly and the Metatron just takes a moment to direct a few casual digs at Crowley. He references him being stubborn and too curious - all the while avoiding the use of this name. At this point Az's eyes are locked out the window in the direction Crowley vanished to. The Metatron asks if he's ready to start despite originally having promised Az time to think over his answer. Aziraphale keeps glancing out the window.

For a moment he cracks, stepping away from the Metatron and back toward the east side of the bookshop. For the only time in this whole sequence he steps right into the sunbeam Crowley started in. It notably never illuminates his face as he mentions the issue of his bookshop (a statement absolutely not about the bookshop).

The Metatron explains Muriel will take care of it. Aziraphale looks back out the window with the start of an objection.

The Metatron interrupts him asking if there's anything he needs to take with him. Az's mouth takes a moment to try and form words. He steps out of the light again, starts to object, and then cuts off, eyes back to the window. Then his expression shifts again, settling in another state of resolve before he puts on his falsely polite face and follows the Metatron out.

As they leave the shop we cut back to Crowley. Crowley, who could've left to go handle his own emotions, did not leave. Instead he planted himself there, nice and noticeable. Like he wanted Aziraphale to see and know that he still has a choice. Like he needs to see Aziraphale make that choice for himself. Like he can't quite bring himself to be the one to close that last door. He stands there, framed by light, and doesn't move until the doors to the elevator to Heaven close behind Aziraphale. He then glances at Nina and Maggie and then gets in the Bentley, which starts playing the song that we now know he knows is supposed to be theirs. He turns off the music and drives away.

So there's a lot in these sequences and most of it probably won't help us figure out exactly what comes next, but there are definite signs that all is not as it's being presented to us. Whether he's actively lying or not, something is wrong that Aziraphale either can't or won't talk about frankly with Crowley. I suspect, whether it's under stress from a literal threat or because he believes that it is the safest option for them, that Aziraphale is doing all of this to protect Crowley.

There are also all sorts of signals here, especially in the lights, that gesture at the fact their togetherness is a net good. Together they are balanced and stronger for it and likely more in alignment with the Ineffable Plan. And, more importantly than that, that said togetherness is so clearly what they both want. They have loved each other longer than anything alive has ever loved anyone and none of this changes that. They both are saying that in their own ways here, even if those ways are not ones the other is particularly good at picking up and I for one cannot wait to get to see the payoff of them learning how to.

[blackknight-kai]

Please sir! May we have some jealous/possessive DO and Wukong?🥺🥣

A smattering of NSFW would be ok too!!

(New in the fandom so still learning the ropes and many names but your writing and ideas are so great! Really sucking me in deeper!!) ❤️🐵

Oh so you wanna see what he’d be like jealous/possessive huh? All right.

(Sorry if this one is a little meh, I’m very tired from work 😭 and I’m brain dead. it’s hard to make a jealousy one without getting TOOOOO toxic, not that I couldn’t do that but I wasn’t sure if that was wanted)

Below at the end will be a n.s.f.w for both monkeys and a slight yandere section. Be warned!

Destined One

This would be something that sneaks up on him. He is 100% not expecting to end up jealous or as possessive as he is. Honestly he grew up around a many mouths to feed and in such a social setting one gets used to sharing most things besides some personal effects. While he himself wasn’t always the most touchy feely of the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain and has never been jealous of the shared affection between the other monkeys.

Meeting you was something that changed everything for him. At first he considered you just the same as everyone else, another person in his life to share food with or occasionally a space to sleep at night on your mutual journey. Over time though something within him shifted. You’d grown to be someone important to him. Someone he could trust, care for, and be cared about in return. Your companionship was something he cherished and it went deeper than any relationship hed ever had, as he always kept to himself.

Over time you two shared casual touches or sometimes slept close together at night when it’s cold. He’d grown used to you always being near, his tail brushing against you or curling around your ankle or arm. Food is shared between you and sometimes a piece of clothing, like the time you’d gotten soaked and he let you borrow his robe top.

He hadn’t noticed, not right away at least, but his feelings began to take an interesting turn the more time he spent with you.

Before Getting together:

- [ ] He’s used to it always being just the two of you. So when someone joins your journey, be it a short time or an extended time, it throws him off for some reason.

- [ ] He gets irritated very quickly, which is shown through a particular frown on his face and his tail flicking. Jaw clenching and unclenching. He sighs or huffs more often and his shoulders are always tense as he watches you interact with the other companion(s). Mainly it’s you smiling or laughing with them

- [ ] He doesnt know WHY he feels that way or where it’s coming from. When you’re off bathing or doing something ALONE he doesnt feel like this. When your other companions are talking to someone else he doesnt feel irritated.

- [ ] Regularly sits close when he’s feeling like this, his back may be turned or he might be up in a tree, but he’s always listening. Can’t help it. His tail will be flicking or curling at the end in a motion of annoyance.

- [ ] He also feels a pit in his stomach whenever he gets like this and he often wonders if he’s sick or ate something bad.

- [ ] He has also gotten used to the casual touches you give him, leans into them, where as he may have just put up with it or moved away from it when he was home with the other monkeys. Seeing someone casually touch you or you them makes him clench his jaw and he has the urge to barrel his way between you and them.

- [ ] He might do just that actually, or he will do something impulsively to catch your attention.

- [ ] He also may just start pranking you a little more or ‘pulling your pigtails’ that kind of thing.

- [ ] He also might just go fight something. Anything to get whatever pent up irritation he has out of his system.

- [ ] Often finds his eyes on you, especially if there are others around and you’re interacting with them. Always vigilant of anything amiss going on (or so he tells himself)

- [ ] Won’t be as nice to companions if they push his buttons about you or catch on to whatever is happening. He’d be huffy with them or ignore them. When you aren’t looking might rudely prank them if they do this.

- [ ] It takes some time, but he finally starts to realize what’s happening and is VERY annoyed by it. He remembers when he’d seen others his age first start pairing off and finding mates, how they behaved. He hadn’t understood at the time, being too focused on his goals, but now….now hes understanding all the heightened hormones and the jealousy.

- [ ] Probably avoids you a bit….but he’s not really able to. Not when you travel together and spend almost all hours together.

- [ ] Bare with him, hes going to be a bit grumpy during this stage and probably make you feel a little like he doesn’t want to be around you but that isnt the case.

- [ ] Might brush your casual touches off or keep his distance. But he’s going to glower and huff when you interact with others.

- [ ] He is not used to the jealous emotions nor the OTHER feelings hes starting to realize he’s had. It’s not JUST jealousy due to having you to himself most of the time, he LIKES you.

- [ ] It’s scary for him, new.

- [ ] After a while he will come to terms with things. Probably sat for several hours meditating somewhere after he’d made you upset for his standoffish behavior.

- [ ] His jealousy from here on is more manageable, most of the time…..He also doesnt avoid you anymore unless he’s particularly angry about some interaction you had with someone.

- [ ] Hyper focuses on every interaction you have with him.

- [ ] Still hovers a bit when others are around you guys. Keeps his tail anchored to you and will brush it off as he didn’t know he was doing it.

After getting together:

- [ ] When you’d discovered he was jealous of your attention on others you find it amusing and endearing. He had rolled his eyes at your teasing and you both kind of just assumed it would dissipate over time, especially now that you were together.

- [ ] It does not.

- [ ] It settles a little, mainly because he can have you close or have his tail wrapped around some part of you as much as he wants now.

- [ ] And he trusts you. Knows you like/want HIM. Which boosts his ego.

- [ ] But…..he’s grown a bit possessive.

- [ ] Not in a bad way, he’s not gonna keep you trapped or prevent you from having friends etc.

- [ ] But if you smell like someone else(from a hug)? He’s gonna make sure to rub himself on you and reaffirm HIS scent is on you.

- [ ] No one else better touch you with their tail - that’s HIS privilege.

- [ ] He might walk by you and rub his tail on you to show you’re his as you talk to someone or just in general.

- [ ] Holds you tightly to him when you sleep/cuddle.

- [ ] If a hug from someone else (that he perceives may want more from you) he will pry their arms off you and move you away.

- [ ] Just to be close to you would stand behind you and hug you/hold you while you interact with someone.

Wukong:

Wukong knows fairly early on what’s happening to him in regards to you. It annoys the ever living shit out of him though at first. He’s been around long enough and has seen his fair share of lovers and jealousy in others over the years. Believe it or not he’s quite possessive/protective of what is his. He’s a king so in a way he has to be. He generally takes what he wants, be it food or things he finds interesting. Wukong isn’t toxic about it but he’s egotistical and arrogant mixed with chaotic mischievous energy so…he just always does what Wukong wants to do.

He’s grown up around his kind and they share so much. Be it grooming, food, items, protection and time. But as a king he’s grown to be a little selfish in his wants. He’s kind too. Funny. Playful. All the things we perceive him as.

One thing he’s never been though, is jealous romantically.

You’re someone that he doesn’t want to upset. So that means he can’t just treat you like a possession. He respects you. Cares for you. It’s a pain in his furry ass but a pain he wouldn’t get rid of. Why is it a pain? Because he kinda has to behave sometimes….cant have you disliking him. And his jealousy over you can be so…overwhelming. Makes him feel like a monkey cub.

Before Getting Together:

- [ ] Dramatic ass. That’s him.

- [ ] Expect to not know what crawled up his ass and died because he won’t tell you.

- [ ] Instead he’s just going to pout around being obnoxious. He’s gonna be grumpy sometimes and probably rude to others and you won’t know why. But his chest burns with irritation at the thought of someone else close to you.

- [ ] He’s old in age not in spirit okay?

- [ ] He will insert himself into most situations….private convos? Never heard of ‘em.

- [ ] He will lean on you or be in your space specifically when around others.

- [ ] His tail is always somewhere close to you if not anchored to you usually visibly just to make a point.

- [ ] The guy is the epitome ‘has crush on someone and proceeds to annoy them forever until they like him’. Especially when you’re not focused on him.

- [ ] If you manage to get him to unglue himself from your side while you spend time with someone else, he’s going to be only a few feet away being annoying, huffing and making noise. Or groaning that he’s bored. His tail is going bang on whatever is next to him or be flicking and swishing with irritation.

- [ ] Will try to turn conversations you have with others or derail them and wants to boast about himself. Or just get you to focus on him.

- [ ] Will definitely do stupid shit to make you look at him.

- [ ] He is going to use tricks to bother others who look at you twice (friendly or not). Won’t hurt them unless he has to because it may upset you. (Unless you don’t find out about it)

- [ ] Definitely tries to intimidate people when you’re not looking.

- [ ] If he isn’t near you a clone probably is somewhere close by watching - especially if you’re alone with someone he thinks might be into you/a threat to his position with you. Won’t do this if you’re bathing or have asked him to fuck off he remains respectful of that.

- [ ] If he’s particularly frustrated he will go cause some damage somewhere…

- [ ] Glowers at people when you are extra kind to them or smile at them a little too long.

After Getting together:

- [ ] He’s gonna settle down a bit mainly because he can just literally pull you to him and you won’t be upset about it.

- [ ] Secure in your relationship. Hes a king, he’s HIM, why would you have to look anywhere else? Exactly. You wouldn’t.

- [ ] Acts relatively the same though, pouts and gets huffy/his tail is whipping if you give someone else too much attention.

- [ ] Will insert his head onto your lap or be in your space while you talk to people, will calm if you pet him or scratch him.

- [ ] Does NOT like others making you do that one little laugh you do. Nuh uh, only he can do that.

- [ ] Tail is around you at all times if he’s next to you, visible to others as a show of claim, that you belong to each other.

- [ ] If someone even dares flirt with you? Yeah….they better get good at hide and seek.

- [ ] Would get you things and rub his scent on them and have you wear them.

- [ ] Definitely rubs his body on yours, wants to wear your scent too and wants you to smell like him.

- [ ] If you don’t and smell like someone else and it’s not someone he knows / trusts he’s gonna be big old ball of pissy and you’ll have to let him smother you for a bit with grumpy cuddles. (If it won’t make you mad he’d go find out who it was and fuck with them - scare them or play tricks on them)

- [ ] Will always know where you are for safe keeping, you can do you but he will have someone if not himself keeping an eye out for danger.

- [ ] Your place is next to him. Won’t stop you from making friends or anything because duh he has them too, but everyone, EVERYONE knows you’re his and he’s yours.

NSFW for Both Monkeys:

- [ ] You wear his marks under your clothes. And His scent.

- [ ] Will gently touch the marks he’s left on you with his teeth/lips or fingers, it’s your little secret.

- [ ] Likes full naked body rubbing on you for maximum scent coverage, for the both of you because he likes wearing your scent too.

- [ ] Will cum in/on you and rub it into your skin during sex.

- [ ] Will have you often/as often as he can.

- [ ] If he’s pushed too far he will carry you off (far out of sight and hearing range) to somewhere where he can reaffirm your relationship. Be it renewing a kiss mark or possessively touching you.

- [ ] ^ This includes making you orgasm multiple times to reaffirm that HE is the one that makes you feel this good.

- [ ] Would hump you, you both fully clothed, just to put his horny pheromones on you before joining others.

- [ ] Dont get too horny around other people (we know it would be his fault) but he would get jealous of it because THAT scent is for him alone.

- [ ] His tail will cheekily caress your ass or between your legs, when no one is looking because he respects you but also you’re his.

- [ ] Will squeeze your thigh or hips or whatever he can reach if he’s feeling extra possessive or jealous about something.

- [ ] Might not wash your combined scent and your juices off of himself right away. May not let you bathe his cum and scent off right away either. But will not force you to go unbathed, he will just rub his scent on you after your clean.

Extra nsfw - Slight Yandere

- [ ] Will NOT allow others to touch you.

- [ ] His scent is NEVER off you.

- [ ] Will cum in you and you will have to deal with him being inside you all day.

- [ ] Will rub his cum on you and you will have to wear that too under your clothes.

- [ ] Will keep you on his cock as long as he sees fit to remind you of who you belong to.

- [ ] You. Are. His. Will fuck you within ear shot of others- might make you try to stay quiet and “punish” you if you’re not.

- [ ] Won’t let others see you naked though. That’s his right.

- [ ] Will keep you to himself for DAYS just to renew his claim on you.

- [ ] You might wake up to him touching you or fucking, especially if he had a dream you went to someone else.

- [ ] His marks will be visible and glaringly obvious.

[topazadine]

Remembering Perspective When Writing Descriptions

Just a short pet peeve of mine, inspired by a shower thought, where I remembered the most terrifying description I'd ever read.

It wasn't bad, or even horror. It was well written.

However. The POV character described his *sister* in a way akin to this (my recreation, not the actual text):

Braden met his sister at the gate. They'd been apart for several years, and in that time, she had truly become a woman. Her curves had filled out, and her red silk dressed strained across her tight figure. Her long black curly hair shone in the late evening light, while her blue eyes watched him intently.

No, this wasn't a brocon thing. The (male) writer was just horny for his female character and ... kinda forgot that his MC, her brother, would not feel the same way.

Now, of course siblings growing up together are going to notice the other one maturing, but it's not going to be ... that. This is how I describe 17-year-old Uileac looking at his little sister, 13-year-old Cerie, in 9 Years Yearning:

She'd shot up in height this past year - almost as tall as him, to his dismay. Whatever they were feeding her in the meronym was quite good for her metabolism, as she'd put on a bit of healthy weight. Her cheeks were losing their baby roundness, and the autumnal light accentuated the sharp intelligence behind her green eyes.

In this description, you can feel Uileac's paternal attitude toward his little sister. "Oh, she's put on a bit of weight and isn't a total twig anymore! I'm glad they're feeding her well. Her face looks more adult. Fuck, she's almost as tall as me now ... I wish I weren't so goddamn short ...."

This is a much more normal way for siblings to talk about each other, if a bit more "dad mode" than the typical older brother.

Siblings who grew up together are not going to say "holy shit I can really tell my sister has become a woman, wow her dress is tight over her curves." If my brother had said that about me while we were kids, I'd throw up and dump a pot of soup over his head.

This kind of thing is generally accidental and has to do with how *you* feel about a character. But the thing is that even the sexiest femme fatale is just going to be Jennifer, The Stupid Annoying Sister, to their sibling. Our brains are literally wired not to see our siblings as sexy if we grew up with them.

There are many other ways that you must take perspective into consideration when writing descriptions. Here are just a few of them.

Sexual attraction/orientation

You're going to focus on different things if you're sexually attracted to someone; namely, you'll focus in on things like breasts, legs, abs, etc. You'll also likely devote more attention to describing people of your particular sexual orientation than you would one that you are not attracted to, and you will focus on different things.

This is part of why we hate "men writing women:" they describe every woman as if they want to fuck them. (See the first example.) It has to do with the places that their gazes naturally linger on any woman, which is what they consider important and what they focus on.

But the thing that they miss is that just because we are sexually attracted to a specific gender does not mean we would want to bang anyone of that gender. I am a lesbian, but the way I would describe my mom or my therapist is vastly different than how I would describe a woman I am actually attracted to.

Romantic interests should get a more sexualized gaze; not exploitative, just more in-depth, and with more focus on their figure, specific details, etc. Everyone else should get a more basic look at eyes, hair color, height, build, and so on.

Feelings about a particular person

You're going to be more forgiving and complimentary toward someone you care about than someone you hate. Things that would be charming on a friend will be downright annoying on that one asshole at work who always throws projects to you at 5pm on a Friday.

A lover's thick eyebrows might be called "dashing" or "strong," while on an enemy, they'd be "overbearing" and "harsh." Your bestie's lisp is cute, while it seems babyish on your school rival. Your dad's meandering sentences give him a sense of harmless musing, but they make someone else look like an idiot.

If you have a character that is prejudiced toward a given group, they are always going to describe that group more harshly than they would a favored group. If they don't like authority figures, a police officer leaning toward them will seem menacing, when they wouldn't even notice it otherwise.

It can be very fun to give two characters similar traits but describe them differently based on the POV character's perspective of them. Readers might not even realize that it's the exact same physical feature!

Previous experiences at a given place

When describing settings, we're going to give more attention to somewhere we care about, like our home. I imagine you can tell me about every chip in the paint in your bedroom, or that one weird stain in the floorboard that you've tried everything to fix. Many times, this is a good time to add depth to the character's backstory by briefly mentioning previous occurrences there.

Would you notice any of those things about a place you're visiting for the first time? Probably not. You'll give a more global attention to the scene and provide impressions, not specifics.

Depending on how nervous or adventurous you are, you'll look for similarities or differences to things that you're accustomed to. You might compare it to other places you have been, trying to get a frame of reference.

If you're on a vacation and were really looking forward to coming to this specific spot, you will likely hone in on exactly what you came to see, whether that's the scene from a particular hilltop or a cafe, and this will get the most description.

Current Mood

Descriptions change with a character's mood, even if they've been in that place a millions times. People just notice different things depending on their mood; if they're happy, they'll look for things that support that mood, while if they're upset, they're pointing out the negatives.

For example, consider someone walking into a court room when they are on trial versus when they are there as a simple court reporter. The person on trial is probably going to be glancing longingly at the door, picking out the angry faces of observers (or assuming the observers are angry), focusing attention on the security guards, staring at the plaintiff with hate in their eyes.

The court reporter will likely pick out anyone they know in the room before looking at anything else. Then, they'll check out the defendant and plaintiff with idle curiosity. Since they are more familiar with the room, they'll gloss over the boring details that they have already seen a million times, giving them only a cursory once-over to see if anything has changed.

Current Need

Your character's objectives need to taken into consideration as well. As an example, remember the last time that you really needed to pee while you were out. Were you slowly and casually admiring the scenery? No! You were hunting for the bathroom. If literally anything registered for you, it was anything that looked vaguely bathroom-sign-shaped. Everything around that bathroom sign, and on your path toward the bathroom, got more attention and description to you than anything else.

Your character's interests

When describing a scene, you don't need to take time and define every single little thing in a character's path. It's annoying and overwhelming. You need to give us a basic overview (it's a forest, it's a grocery store, it's an abbatoir) and then hone in on the specific details that your character finds interesting in order to fill out the entire scene.

We, as people, focus on things we care about, things that we feel are relevant to us. Different people will notice completely different things when they walk into the same room. An animal trainer will appreciate a big pet bed and an ergonomic food bowl. An artist will admire the artwork on the walls. A computer nerd is going to roll their eyes at the scuffed-up Mac laptop.

This doesn't mean that you can't describe other things, too; it just means that your character's attention is going to be drawn to stuff that they, in particular, like or dislike.

Things like where a character's gaze lands, how they describe things, and how much detail they give to any particular element are an important part of secondary characterization: how we get to know a character beyond what they do or tell us. It helps to create a fuller picture of their relationships, their interests, and their thought process, and it deserves just as much attention as actions and dialogue.

If you enjoyed reading this, perhaps you'll consider purchasing my book, 9 Years Yearning. No weird sibling vibes I prommie

[antiquatedplumbobs]

The Soddy

A CC Free Prairie Homestead

Lot size: 40x30 Price: §37,341 Lot type: Residential Location: Biscuit's Bastion, Chestnut Ridge

Homesteading and the settlement of the American west has always been a particular interest of mine and recently I've become very interested in sod houses! I toyed with the idea of recreating one in Sims but never had a good world or assets to work with. When I fell into my little building bender a few weeks ago I realized Chestnut Ridge was perfect for it and promptly hyperfixated.

This home is ideal for a couple or small family just trying to make their way in the prairie of Chestnut Ridge. The house can fit up to three sims and a baby or toddler, perhaps a bit snug for our modern standards but perfectly alright for the nineteenth century. Also comes complete with fertile fields, an empty chicken coop, a slightly decrepit horse barn, and a well stocked root cellar.

More info and download under the cut:

This house is heavily inspired by Prairie Homestead in South Dakota. When I started kicking around the idea of this build I started googling for reference photos and discovered this very cool historic site. I tried to match this build to its real life counterpart more than I usually do, as the interior that they have set up for that house was just so fun and unique feeling. The exterior is inspired by it, but sim lot constraints required more creative license. I highly recommend you look at some photos, it really is such an interesting place.

Sod houses, which were constructed by cutting hunks of the top layer of the grasslands (which were held together by the strong roots of the native grasses) were common throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and began to peter out in the early part of the twentieth century. They weren't the most luxurious accommodations, but did have the virtue of being warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Unfortunately as the walls were made from the earth, bugs could be an issue and I've given this lot the creepy crawlies bug challenge for ~realism~. It's also off-the-grid, and has a functional root cellar (meaning I put the fridge down there, have fun in thunderstorms).

This lot is fully playtested (might have been the most I've played in a while actually, I wanted to make sure the crib worked). Please please enjoy this build. I know I always say it but this one is actually my favorite, and making this work with the constraints of Sims 4 terrain tools was quite the undertaking and I'm so pleased with it.

If you use it please tag me in any photos, I love seeing what y'all get up to with my builds!!

Gallery ID: antiqueplumbobs

SFS | Google Drive

@publicvanillabuilds @twentiethcenturysims @maxismatchccworld @mmoutfitters

[yandere-sins]

The Octopodes' Tale - Prologue

Yan-Poll #40 #MerMay 2025 Special Prev. Part

My, my! I was surprised to hear you were going to look after my 'pet'! Who would have thought that your next journey would lead you to us?

I, for one, am happy it did.

What, surprised? Well, I never said witches don't need help from humans. We just prefer not to, surely, you understand that, right? We are mostly independent, after all. It's our job to give you guidance, not the other way around. You didn't need my help much last time, but maybe this time you will? Let me know if you are unsure where to go, and I'll be willing to help you... for a smile fee. After all, you'll take care of my beloved mate for me, won't you? We are in a little predicament, so surely you won't abandon us, right?

I could tell you so much about my beloved. My Leo is the most pure-hearted, sweetest male in all of the ocean! He likes to dance for me and put up displays of color, catch me food while I work, and hug me for hours sometimes until I put him back in his place. So make sure to feed him his food directly by hand—that's how he likes it! I know his tongue can be sharp, but I promise he'd never bite off a finger. I would know; I trained him, after all. Oh! If you scratch his back, he will give you little hickies! It's the most adorable thing! I love him so much!

Of course, I'd prefer it if you'd return him to me... it's been so lonely without him. He can be quite a needy leech if he likes you, but he's the sweetest little male I have ever met. We spent so many years in harmonic togetherness, his absence has been truly sorrowful. Now that I can't reach him, I don't even know if he's keeping his tentacles at bay. Hopefully, no one has taken off his restraints; make sure to check that! As you know, we octopuses die easily upon mating, so you must always keep that in check. For you, he's just a test subject.

But he's my whole life.

If something were to happen to him, I wouldn't know what I would do. We are meant for each other, you understand? So whatever you do, try to keep him alive, alright? You don't often find a well-trained pet like him, so he can be quite valuable! And I need him like you need air to breathe.

Maybe you should think about returning him to me instead of doing your silly little experiments. We could both benefit from it. I may have what the facility wants you to find, and you have what I want. What do you say?

However you decide, I hope you know what you're doing. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right?

But I trust you, I know you'll make the right choice. You are a smart human, aren't you?

I can't wait for you.

And with that: welcome back to MerMay!!

Yes, my favorite month of the year, and well, I have two very interesting specimen for you this time, although it depends on your choices if you're meeting them both (which I truly hope!) or suffer at the hands of the facility like all the others. At least, you won't be alone (;

It'll be almost the same game as last time!

At the end of each chapter, you'll get to make a choice which can either progress the story or lead to a bad end. Mind you, there are no secret routes or choice combinations you need to make. One path goes forward, the others are more or less literally "game overs". So, choose wisely! However, as she has some personal agenda, this particular sea witch from above will help you reach the end of the story if you make a wrong choice, and sometimes, bad ends are still interesting and full of information! I wouldn't blame you for choosing them :D

At this point of time, I have not plotted the story to its fullest, so... length may vary. But I plan to just go as far as I possibly can to make a fulfilling story (:

One thing is different: Polls will only be three days (and I will post as soon as I have a new part). I want to make the most use of yan-polls, stories, and this month, so with the new option to shorten the length, I decided to reduce it to three days instead of seven. Hope everyone gets to vote even with the shortened timespan!

Warnings ahead:

This story revolves around heavy sexual themes (Non-/Dub-Con, Talking about Pregnancy, Mating, Breeding, Eggs/Ovipositor, Tentacles, Dom/Sub Themes, etc.) and violent themes (Possible Major and Minor Character Death, Blood, Biting, Murder, Fighting, Licking (yes that is an actual violent act this time), Guns & Shooting, etc.). Also: both love interests are yandere, meaning the following themes are included: Possessive/Obsessive Behavior, Stalking, Kidnapping, Overall Crazyness, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Mental Breakdowns, etc. And the very last point: The mermaids are monsters, as such beware of Tentacles, Beaks, Sharp Teeth, Teethed Tongues, Animalistic Behaviors, Claws, Monster Anatomy, Monster Behavior, Toxin, and also Witchcraft.

Please always read the warnings on each individual post and stay away if they are not your cup of tea!

If you have questions, please feel free to ask. I appreciate comments, asks, and responses always ♥

I will have fun, and I hope you guys will, too! ♥

Happy MerMay and Happy Choosing! ♥

[descendant-of-truth]

Actually I think we need to be talking about Darkside more. Why have we as a fandom (as well as myself specifically) been neglecting Darkside when it's the most consistently recurring boss in the whole franchise

Literally the first boss we fight and it's this thing that rises up out of Sora's shadow in his dreams, and that still looks like Sora for a few seconds before it transforms into the version we fight:

This is Sora's dark side, quite literally. And what just so happens to be there at the destruction of Destiny Islands?

Man, with a thing that big and powerful, it's probably responsible for most of the damage to the islands all by itself.

Hey, what was that thing Zexion said to Riku, again? "It was you who destroyed your home"? Boy I sure am glad that the truth is what we hear and not what we see with our eyes--

Oh. Hm. That's a rather pointed dream sequence for you to be having, Xion.

Guys, I don't know why it took me so long to put these specific pieces together, but I'm pretty sure Sora's darkness was what actually destroyed the Destiny Islands. Whoever opened the door to darkness is still responsible for letting it out - it seemed otherwise occupied in Sora's dreams - and that's an interesting puzzle, too, because we're told that Riku did that even though Kairi was the one closest to the door, but that's not a mystery this post is here to solve.

My question is, what the HECK was going on with Sora for him to have a darkness so potent that it manifested outside of him before he had even been on any adventures? The guy's got insecurities for sure, but at this point in the series, they're kinda... normal ones. Feeling overshadowed and jealous of his best friend who's always better at everything than him, always stronger and cooler, it's not nothing but it doesn't make sense for it to be that. If Sora was going to have a darkness that strong, I'd expect it to come from a later point in the series, maybe around KH3 when the number of Terrible Things that have happened to or around him has reached truly insane levels.

But... the Darkside comes from the Realm of Darkness, right? Where time doesn't exist, and if you walk through it, you can be hit with people's emotions from the future?

So, I dunno, maybe it's a conglomeration of Sora's darkness from various points in time, though it still doesn't explain why his in particular gets to become something so giant. But it's definitely a Sora thing, because in Coded, the record of Sora's Heartless develops into a Darkside, as well.

But how can it be Sora-exclusive when there's so many of them down there??

Well, it might not be... but I'm not ruling out the possibility of time loop shenanigans, either. If Sora can live through the Keyblade Graveyard stuff at least four times (five if you consider the theory of KH3 in its entirety being a second loop from the get-go), then who's to say that doesn't double up on the number of Darksides in the Realm of Darkness?

Sora's already got a narrative history of reliving his past, after all. CoM has him going through his memories of his first adventure (albeit altered), Coded has another version of Sora going through his first adventure (altered again), even DDD has him revisiting Traverse Town and re-meeting his friends (in different ways than he originally did but it still counts).

I'm just saying, the heart remembers what the mind doesn't, and that can surface in a lot of ways. A Sora that's been time-looping a bunch but doesn't remember it probably would be having weird prophetic nightmares and thoughts about whether any of this is "for real" or not.

But honestly, even with the time loop theory I ended up going with in this post, the main thing I wanted to get at is that the Darkside is weird and unexplained but suspiciously tied to Sora in the narrative. These are just the connections I've put together on my own, but there could be a lot that I'm missing! I want to know what this thing's deal is, and I welcome anyone who wants to share their take on the matter.

[fairsweetlonging]

Suppose Shen Jiu wasn't actually part crow demon, he was part crow yao!

Cultivators are still very suspicious of yao/untamed spiritual beasts, especially when their particular non-human species has a bad reputation, but they are also just respectable enough that cultivators will give them a pass as long as they behave. That would put Shen Jiu right in the sweet spot of being tolerable but untrustworthy.

Many cultivation novels also have cultivators use yao as servants/familiars/etc. which also makes for a nicely terrible parallel with Shen Jiu's past slavery. People side-eying Shen Qingqiu wondering why he is a peak lord, and rather then serving one, which would of course be more appropriate.

The yao and demon aspects could be combined too, if Shen Jiu's crow half had a little bit of demon-crow mixed in. Maybe demon and yao crows get along well enough to have children together relatively frequently (mixes being to the 'pure demons' and 'pure yao' what coywolves are to coyotes and wolves). Or maybe that's not actually true at all, but it's made out to be true by those blackening Shen Qingqiu's name.

nonnie you're killing me!!!! him being so similar to demons but having a different title/partial heritage that sets him apart and lets him stay in juuust the right spot to avoid most prejudice and intolerance that demons face is sooo good

and the yao/spiritual beasts being servents is suuuch a good parallel, maybe some particularly balsy people ask shen qingqiu who his master is, or demand he serve them "as is his job" (it does not go over well with the other peak lords), but it puts shen qingqiu in these bad situations where if he fights back, he'll be seen as a volatile and aggressive creature, but if he doesn't fight back they'll never respect his position. alsooo, the "clipped wing" comments when people see his lame wing, saying it's "good practice to keep a demon bird on the ground".

i can imagine so well how this would go down at jin lan city, with shen qingqiu being accused of causing the plague/sowing because he's part "demon" (he tries to argue he's yao, but they too have bad reputations of causing disease and inflicting harm, so that gets used against him), and then at the trial? oh boy. the old palace master would accuse him of every little thing, of mind control and poisoning and spreading disease and working with the demons, that he's always been untrustworthy and it's a disgrace that cang qiong mountain even allowed a monster to live there, let alone be a peak master!

if you want to make it really angsty, when shen qingqiu gets locked up in the water prison, they don't just tie him up with immortal binding rope and chains but they also damage his wings. they said they would just clip the feathers a bit so he can't fly, but they cut into the joint instead, pinioning him.

the mixed blood heritage is sooo interesting to consider too, him being a quarter bit of everything, with clear human heritage but also crow yao capabilities and demon crow features!

which brings me to your other ask!!

there being TWO shen qingqiu's with each slightly different features and heritage would be amazing and hilarious, especially since they look alike so much! one is actually part human and the other one a cultivated form, yet they look like brothers! amazing!

thank you sosososoo much for the ask, it gave me so many ideas and brain bunnies i love it!!!

[wanderers-vault]

Ooooh my god the new welcome home update was sooo good I love this project.

I have a couple of theories about it that I want to share, mainly surrounding Julie’s and Franks relationship and what that last image may mean for them.

I’m also gonna mention the buggle cause I have thoughts about the little guy.

Ok I’m gonna assume that y’all have seen everything in the new update so I’m only gonna really explain details that I think are important to my point. Also these are my thoughts and interpretations and could be tweaked in the future.

Okkay so first, Julie, Frank, and even Eddies deal. Gonna start with Eddie to get him out of the way.

I am very much a Frank x Eddie are endgame truther but what I’m stumped on is if they even see each other that way rn. There’s too much that’s unexplained right now, but with the lavender flowers around him and him expressing interests for a relationship, I think seeds are being sown for Eddie to potentially develop feelings for Frank assuming they aren’t already together.

So for Julie and Frank, it’s really cool that we get to see how deep their bond is at least on Julie’s side of things. Unfortunately so much so that the idea of him looking down on her sends her into a spiral and makes her desperate.

I think she may also have some feelings for Frank because of referring to the play they did together as “romantic” when she’s alone with the flower. Considering that this flower has been the only thing to “witness” this side of her, I can only interpret this as genuine. The play also seems to give her a a sense of wish fulfillment as she wishes her issues were so easily solvable and that she was glad Frank could take the lead once she goes to sleep.

It makes me sad how much pressure she puts on herself and how that overwhelms her.

She did seem to avoid the actual kiss in the play, so maybe by now she knows that Frank doesn’t reciprocate or feel comfortable with it? Idk, but it doesn’t completely rule out how she feels about him romantic or not. (Side note: it’s funny how high of a pedestal she puts him on when mentioning his performance in the play when he goes deadpan when she’s asleep and starts snarking about it)

But regardless of her romantic inclination, from what we hear about their relationship it makes sense she’s so attached to him! It’s sweet to see how much of a rock he’s been to her, making her feel safe and welcome. I was always a big fan of the two of them and seeing how this update developed the two warms my heart.

But it’s sad how much her care for him is a double edged sword cause when it mattered most she doubted her friend’s unconditional love and could not allow him to see her failure and potentially did something even worse.

Before we analyze Frank let’s get into theory territory.

I think she killed the flower in front of Frank, as well as the Buggle.

I mean, look at his face.

That looks like stumbling upon a murder.

And sure it’d be pretty low stakes if it wasn’t for the fact that caring for flowers is Julie’s THING and bugs are FRANKS.

I personally believe that Frank went to check on her since she seemed distressed, Julie panicked and tried to get rid of the flower. But since the Buggle was also there…

So what the hell is a Buggle and why did it suddenly get important this update?

Well let’s think about the three places it shows up in

It’s torn advertisement when it’s described to “change, grow, and love your life forever”, the box that W received covered in black goo to the point it couldn’t be Id’d, and in the final short on the black flower bud.

Except I think it shows up in one more place….

Frank’s “An Ode to: Hibernation”

I know it’s not a complete 1 to 1 but I think it’s interesting how it bears resemblance to the bug on the cover of this particular song (one that I am obsessed with). Because the transcript that this cover leads to shows Franks strong love of bugs and the loneliness he feels when they have to hibernate.

But I also think it represents how he misses Julie when she hibernates. Since not only is his topic of interest gone for months but so is his best friend.

No wonder he didn’t mind an early spring. But he also obviously know when he has to put his feelings aside for the sake of those he cares about.

So with the description of the Buggle on the advert and its possible connection to the hibernation song. I think the Buggle is not only something he’d be distress to witness killed but also represents Frank’s love and care. The update did a lot to demonstrate how Frank helped Julie through a hard time in her life.

But in her desperation to protect their relationship she did something worse that could threaten it.

So, what do I think happens next?

Honestly not much, I feel like we’re still in the “prologue phase” of the story and the other odd happenings from previous updates haven’t really led to any obvious changes from the status quo.

From what we understand of Frank, he’d probably still be more interested in making sure his friend is ok rather than be hung up on whatever happened. Obviously they wouldn’t be able to look at each other the same way, but they’d probably try to move on as soon as possible. Think of it more like an inciting incident for things to come. Who knows maybe she didn’t hurt the flower or the Buggle, maybe she was close to but stoped in time.

This kinda comes more from this image for the Spring update.

In the back it looks like Frank is comforting Julie over that unopened bud.

There’s just so much more story to tell and storms to weather before these characters have a major shift in dynamics I think.

Soooooo….what about Frank?

I’ll be honest (Frank if you will) Franks my favorite character. So I am both extremely scare and excited for what he’s being set up for. Bros witnessed his friend going through shit 3 times already.

I honestly believe he’ll be more involved in trying to figure out what’s going on.

Despite being the resident grump we’ve seen a very tender and caring side to him for his bugs, Julie, Poppy, and even Eddie.

Not to mention that he’s been closely associated with Hawthorn flowers which represent hope.

It’s hard to believe that he’ll see all these incidences and be happy with staying ignorant, he’s a curious fellow after all.

Now how successful he’ll be is another story.

(From the secret exhibition page)

“Julie says they still have something to say, though. I have heard from her… A rose without thorns… But still has leaves… Is filled with fear… And with hope. When both are not there, however… There may be neither hope nor fear.

Isn’t that something.”

(From the new phone call from Wally)

I am scared for these puppets