#try again when you play something TRULY strange new or interesting

[hotmess-exe]

it's been soooo long since i was forced to endure some dude condescending to me about hip hop i don't care about in the passenger seat of his car omfgODDD

i accidentally called Lupe Fiasco "mainstream" before I immediately clarified and used the word "known" and this dude harped on it for so fuckin long jfCHRIST. that sort of "Not only do you not know what you're talking about, but now you're getting your ignorance on ME" kinda harping on it.

apparently Lupe Fiasco doesn't count as anything even approaching mainstream because he "doesn't sell" and when I looked at him, fucking incredulous, I asked idk how many times "Are you saying people don't know Lupe Fiasco? Hip-hop doesn't know Lupe Fiasco???" for him to finally STFU and at that point it wasn't even a conversation I wanted to be in anymore lmao

all this because he just had to talk about how Eminem is a more culturally appropriate rapper than Drake because he wrote the song White America (me summarizing but I don't really care for his opinion anymore lol), like it's some revelation that I would never have connected the dots on 😂 all this because he just needed to know I was paying attention to his music

....anyway, I need a new ride to and from rehearsals 😅

[the-anime-enthusiast]

MHA CHARACTERS TYPES IN WOMEN

#1 Katsuki Bakugou

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - PHYSICAL

He likes his women tall and strong (with a scary similar demeanor to his mother 😭). I'm talking 5'6 and up, might feel weird about dating someone taller than him, but the more the merrier⁉️ (I also bc he gets to be around 5'10 to 6ft whenever he finally finishes growing) 🙏

He FOR SURE fw chubby girls, like a lifter kind of chubby... Someone strong and with muscle but something on their bones other than skin yk?

For some this is unfortunate, be he would NEVER date a blonde 😭 He thinks it's creepy cuz he feels weird about dating someone blonde considering his mom's blonde too 😭 He wouldn't mind a darker, more honey blonde than anything, though 😌

He LOVES freckles and moles 😈 He questioned his sanity given Izuku has freckles whenever he found out he liked them, but always tries to keep it out of his mind cuz he'll get the heebie-jeebies again 😔 despite the intrusive thoughts, he loves to kiss them and point out how pretty they are everytime he gets the chance 🤗

He def has a thing for strong legs and a nice ass 🌚 BROS FS AN ASS MAN 😭 Loves just hugging you from behind and grabbing it, not even to be a perv it's just comforting in a weird way 😭🙏

He fw hips to 🙏😌 something to squeeze and kiss on when he's yk 😶‍🌫️ "downtown" 😶‍🌫️ following this he likes stretch marks too, rubbing them feeling the difference in texture on your skin 🤧

Going back to the strong legs 🙏 (and a lil on the chubby stuff) HE FW HEAVY ON THICK ANKLES it's so strange to him and makes him question whether he's sane or not, but he loves it. FS the weirdest thing he find attractive 🫡

He also appreciates some skull crushers 😈 Doesn't even have to be all muscles, just something squishy that's too big for his hand to wrap all the way around 😌

LOVES A BROWN EYED BADDIE ‼️ He loves the look of doe eyes staring up at him but the second your face relaxes and you look like a cold stone bitch he twitches a lil 🤭 (if yk what I mean) He can't get the gojo meme out of his head and gets the heebie-jeebies when looking into someone's blue eyes 😭😭 (monoma freaks him out))

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - MENTAL

You know how he didn't hold back on Uraraka? 😈 Yeah, he likes women who can hold their own against him and honestly that's all he asks for. Ofc he has other standards but something about a strong woman who's just as hard headed as him, really gets him going 🌚

Given he's had to calm down since the war, he appreciates a little bit of feist in his partner, but also a side of them that can be sweet and just as doting as he is 🤭

One of the main points of the people he takes interest in, are that they feel safe around him. 🫶He wants someone who will just fall in his arms at the end of a long day ranting on about work into his neck as he just sits there and listens 🌹 (occasionally chiming in on your coworkers you don't like 😈 )...

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - RANDOMS

He fucks with MUSICIANS HEAVVYYYYY 🎸🎶 You gonna bust out the guitar and strum along to his crazy good beats? HELL YEAH‼️ Maybe some bass to back him up? FUCK YEAH‼️ Gonna pull out your own sticks and out drum him?? DOUBLE FUCK YEAH ‼️Maybe even the clarinet to impress his dad? Hell. Motherfucking. Yeah. Any instrument and he's automatically impressed, he's learned from playing the drums just how much dedication and hard work goes into learning so he truly appreciates it 😈

LOVES FOODIES ‼️ "Hey babe I was thinking of trying that new katsu-" "You don't even have to ask" he replied dragging you to the car. He loves when people eat his food and compliment him on it (although he'll never admit it) so a GF WHO DOES THAT? SIGN HIM UP. 🎂

Low-key fucks with shy girls 😉 He loves outgoingness, don't get me wrong, but whenever they're behind closed doors and his gf gets all shy and scared to look into his eyes he practically melts (the thought of knowing that his gf feels the EXACT same way as him makes him puddy in your hands) 😈

PHYSICAL TOUCH ‼️GIFT GIVING ‼️ QUALITY TIME ‼️ HIS WEAKNESSES ‼️‼️When he can't find the words to tell you how he feels he'll use these to his advantage, hugging you from behind kissing your neck, bringing a lil Stuffie home for you when he knows your down, or just sitting in silence with your favorite TV show on 😌🙏 All that matters is that hes close to you or in your arms making you feel good when you otherwise cant 🫶

THAT'S IT THANKYOU BYYEE 🫶🫶

these are some head cannons for da best boi bakugou bc he's been my fav character for 6 years and what better way to celebrate than curate a list of my fav head cannons for him 🫶

(lemme know who I should do next 😉)

OKAY NOW ACTUALLY BYE BYEEE 😍😍

[starrysaturdays]

28th august fic rec!

happy august!!!

touch me baby, put your lips on mine (12K) by InsightfulInsomniac | @insightfulinsomniac

When Niall and Zayn invite Louis to a monthly sex party, Louis reluctantly agrees because he’s always up to try something new. At the party, each attendee selects a cup based on a color that corresponds with their power dynamic preference — dom, sub, switch, or none.

Louis decides to lean into the preferences he hasn’t had the chance to explore before, but what he doesn’t expect is to meet the prettiest boy in a blue bandana, blue nail polish, and holding a blue cup.

He expects even less to make a genuine connection that keeps him coming back each month.

Aka the soft and sweet sex party fic with a dash of dom/sub dynamics and a LOT of public sex.

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Get Him Back (17K) by softfonds | @softfonds

After finding out his husband was unfaithful, Harry does one thing that makes him feel good again. But it's up in the air if that one thing will stay.

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We're Not Who We Used To Be (7K) by jaerie

Louis comes back to his childhood home and sees an old friend who has changed quite a lot since the last time they saw each other.

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A Night in Hollywood (71K) by Sax246

Louis Tomlinson, aged twenty-six, a world-famous actor, is at the peak of his career. When he is ensured one of the main roles of a queer rom-com, he is thrilled, even more so when he finds out his co-star is none other than the famous Harry Styles, aged twenty-four. Though, Louis quickly comes to realise Harry is only enjoyable on the screen and not in-person.

When the two get caught in a fight by paparazzi at a celebrity party, the media goes crazy, and they are forced into a PR-relationship against their will. But feelings gets tangled around and want overcomes the hatred between them, and soon something new begins to blossom between the two stars.

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Tossing Round Like Coins (25K) by LetTheMusicMoveYou | @letthemusicmoveyou28

the one where Louis is an alpha who does manly alpha things like play professional football and lift weights at the gym, where he meets alpha Harry who wears nail polish and dates other alphas. Louis isn’t put off by Harry’s strange tendencies, more like intrigued. And maybe just maybe, he’s interested

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futile devices (i do love you) (103K) by fckingfreakshow

“You okay there, Curly?” Louis leaned against the counter next to him, eyes dancing.

Harry nodded, “Yup, yup, I’m good. Just, um, like to make sure my resting heart rate is normal, you know? My lo mein was spicy.” God, he really talked some shit.

Louis reached out, pulling Harry’s wrist away and replacing his fingers with his own. Well, now he was fucked. Louis’ fingers were soft, so soft, and causing his heart rate to skyrocket erratically.

Harry was about to force himself to take a step back just as Louis’ fingers twitched. They locked eyes as a thumb brushed over his Adam’s apple and his lungs collapsed altogether when it slowly pressed down. With wide eyes, Harry watched Louis’ flicker to his throat for a split second before it was over, so quickly as if it hadn’t happened. As if he hadn't just put pressure on Harry’s throat.

What. The. Fuck. __

or, the one where harry's mom gets engaged when he's 17 and he's truly, madly, deeply in love with his 23–or 24–year old stepbrother.

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So Much (For) Us (235K) by Niallinjapan2013

It’s 2022, The boys are not friends. Realistically, they all hate each other. None of them are okay. Now, they have an album to make. They should probably talk about it.

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the relentless barrister (10K) by louisplumpyass | @louisplumpyass

Barrister Louis overhears his neighbour making explicit comments about his husband, Professor Harry. Fueled by a mix of anger and protectiveness, Louis decides to confront the neighbour, but not before he passionately reminds Harry who he belongs to.

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drain me (6K) by boyfriendstages | @boyfriendstages

Harry’s obsession with Louis is perfectly normal. Until it’s not.

or, saltburn bathtub scene inspired smut with lots and lots of long buried feelings.

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i love you (it’s ruining my life) (40K) by wildestdreams | @thelavendrhaze

“You’ve been teasing me all night, looking like a fucking dream, and the minute you get me alone, all of that attitude and your games go right out the window, don’t they?” Louis asked, voice low. “Why do you do it?”

Harry grinned, cheeks warm as his palms rested over Louis’ shoulders. “It keeps things interesting, doesn’t it?”

The alpha watched him closely, gaze dark, while he stroked one hand down Harry’s side before settling over the dip of his waist. “I can never tell with you.”

“Tell what?”

“If you like me or not.”

Harry swallowed thickly. “I’m not supposed to like you. I’m supposed to just want to fuck you.”

or

A situationship AU where Harry is one of the most sought-after omega supermodels in the world and Louis is the alpha lead singer of the indie supergroup, The Rogue. The last thing either of them wants is to fall in love.

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come away with me (99k) by suspendrs | @suspendrs

Louis had such big plans. He wanted so much out of life, and so did Amy. Now Bridget is going to grow up without a mother, and she’s always going to wonder what it would be like if this hadn’t happened. He wonders if she’ll blame him for her mother’s death as she gets older, or if she’ll understand that this is just as painful for Louis as it is for her. Louis doesn’t know how he’s going to raise her on his own, because he’s a fantastic father, yes, but he’s always been the fun parent, and Amy was in charge of the rules. He doesn’t know how to make sure Bridget has everything she needs all the time, doesn’t know how to make her favorite meal or how to do that one braid she loves to have in her hair or how to teach her to be the best person she can be. He doesn’t know how to live without Amy, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.

Or, Louis has to pick up the pieces of his and his daughter's life after his wife dies, and Harry is a beautiful stranger that just wants to help.

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The weekend (163K) by words_of_my_own

They make the bed together, Louis with his clothes on and Harry still naked, and they laugh a bit about it. But Harry is also rather chuffed about the fact that Louis thirstily lingers with his look on his body more often than not.

When Harry is dressed too, he walks up to Louis, where he waits by the door.

“I wanna kiss you. All the time. Is that bad?” He whispers, crowding Louis against the back of the door, leaning in close to his face.

“I don’t care about the answer, just do it already.” Louis whispers back and grabs Harry by his neck and pulls him in.

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

In a universe where Harry's and Louis' respective relationships are idling - without them fully realising it before - they meet at a swinger weekend.

Louis is an experienced swinger goer, and even though Harry probably is the most attractive guy he's ever wanted to hook up with at a party like this, he's supposed to be just that: another swinger hookup.

Harry has never swinged before and soon finds it slightly hard to distinguish between the want for sexual exploration and the want for one particular guy.

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Unbonded (24K) by jacaranda_bloom | @jacaranda-bloom

Harry is an omega who has been cast out from his pack, Louis is the alpha leader of the pack where Harry finds a new home, Liam is an alpha with heart of gold, and Niall is a cook who can't seem to stop setting himself on fire.

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Surprise/Wonder (116K) by emmli28

“H-hi,” Harry stammered.

“Hi!” the blue eyed man replied while he stood up and walked over towards Harry. “I’m Louis,” he said, reaching out his hand to shake Harry's and Harry took it in his. Once again Harry felt a swirl inside his stomach as he touched the softest hand he’d ever held in his. Louis, Harry thought, that must of course be Liam's friend. What a nice surprise.

Or the one where Harry goes on a cottage trip, with his friends Liam, Niall and Zayn and Liam’s new friend Louis, and gets too nervous around Louis because he’s just too beautiful.

Or the one where Harry is obsessed with Louis’ hands and Louis doesn’t mind at all, and where Harry and Louis fall in love and find themselves in the process.

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satellite (99K)  by suspendrs | @suspendrs

“It’s been three years since I’ve had a proper hot meal,” Louis says finally. “I have no idea where my family is, or if any of them are even still alive. The only reason I’ve been able to keep myself alive for as long as I have is because I keep to myself, stay guarded, stay hidden. It’s the only way I know how to live,” he says.

Harry wants to cry, but he tries to put on a brave face when Louis finally meets his eyes. “You’re safe here. You don’t have to be so guarded around me,” Harry says quietly, earnestly.

 “That’s very sweet of you,” Louis says, putting his fork down. “But yes I do. Especially around you.”

Or, Louis needs a house. Harry offers him a home.

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California Sold (123K) by isthatyoularry | @isthatyoularry

Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends.

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Until (61K) by allwaswell16 | @allwaswell16

Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.

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take me back, take me back (32K) by eynap | @panye

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Niall says. He puts his head between his hands. “How is this happening?”

“I didn’t want to say anything,” Harry says. “I wanted you to figure it out on your own.”

“You think I like Shawn, too?” Niall asks and he’s shocked. “If anyone is supposed to tell me that I’m gay it’s supposed to be my gay best friend!”

Or, Niall invites his new friend Shawn to Zayn and Liam's three-day wedding in Napa Valley, California. He gets way more than he expected.

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Only Angel (5K) by starryhaze | @starryhaze28

“If I’m an angel, what does that make you?” The angel asks.

“A sinner,” Louis answers.

ʚɞ

or the one where Louis is in Japan and stumbles upon a boy wearing angel wings

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as a river flows (surely to the sea) (50K) by honestlylemmejust

Louis is glad there are these obnoxious green disco lights flashing, because he’s pretty sure he’s blushing a lot and he really doesn’t want anyone to notice. It’s not real; it was just a silly misunderstanding. That’s why he didn’t want this to happen, he didn’t want to know what it could be like. But as long as him and Harry don’t kiss he’s fine, even if they’re both slightly tipsy, he will not kiss his best friend.

He’s afraid if he kisses him it might give him something to miss.

(Harry and Louis are good at pretending and it takes them a few tries to realize they never have to pretend when it comes to each other.)

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Peeping (16K) by jacaranda_bloom | @jacaranda-bloom

Louis hates his job as an accountant and desperately wants to be a teacher. Of course, that would mean going back to uni, which he can’t afford if he wants to keep up the mortgage payments on his house. It’s Niall that suggests Louis gets a housemate.

Harry is great around the house, loves cooking and cleaning, and everything is fine, lovely even. That is until Louis locks himself out of the house, and in his attempts to get inside, he stumbles upon Harry wanking to a video of Louis playing footy.

OR Louis has a thing for his housemate, Harry is under the impression that clothing around the house is an optional extra, and neither of them seem to be able to stop wanking long enough to get their shit together and admit their true feelings.

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gorgeous (it makes me so mad) by resurrectdead

Harry’s a coffee barista with nothing really going on for him except for the occasional flirting with, some, particularly hot male customers. But when a new guy starts coming in, he suddenly doesn’t know what to make out of any single situation anymore.

or: Harry is a hot mess. Liam is a brilliant roommate. Niall is a wise lesbian co-worker. Clifford is a good boy. Louis is a bad boy. Circumstances are bizarre.

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if youve made it this far, heres your icecream🍦

stat time!

1,876,165 words read (8% less than last month)

53 fics read (15% less than last month)

46 authors (21% less than last month)

same time next month?

[miranyx1337]

Alastor x reader

FEATHER chapter III

Tags: fluff (for now ) enemies to lovers, kissing, being protective, cuddles, sleeping problems, flirting, possesive reader is an angel, fem reader

He needed a new plan, something that would change her mind about him. He had always been able to enchant women, making them fall for him completely. Maybe that's what he needed now; since the fear of Adam wasn't enough, he needed something deeper – love. It was a strange word for him, when he tried to imagine it, all that came to his mind was a deep desire and craving.

Y/N was definitely one of the things he desired most throughout his afterlife, a gateway to freedom. Escape from the curse he brought upon himself.

The memory of her momentary outburst of anger made him blush, and his hand instinctively went to the ear she had touched.

He was not angry, her touch and closeness weakened his contract, unlocking dormant potential. It made him feel like he had a radio playing in his chest.

This cute angel had to desire his presence enough to bind her soul to him for eternity.

"Vaggie, my dear, how do you feel?" a cheerful radio voice filled the room. The fallen angel quickly scanned the room, looking for his spear.

"Calm down, sweetheart. I just need some information from you," he said, sitting on the other side of the bed, twirling a cane in his hands.

"What do you need, freak? And what are you doing in my and Charlie's bedroom?" she questioned.

"As I said, it's a matter of great importance, and I need information.

Speak before I wake up enough to kick you out."

"What does Y/N like? Generally, what do angels like, what do you find appealing in others? Why did you fall in love with Charlie?"

Vaggie needed to rub her eyes and analyze what the uninvited guest had just said. Why this sudden interest in Y/N? What did he want from her? She was an angel too, there must be something only Y/N could do.

"Listen, I don't know what you're plotting with that devilish smile, but nothing will come of it. She's an ANGEL, and a higher-ranking one at that. Why would she stoop to your level?"

"Let's say that majestic little angel charmed me from the first glance. So, what made you fall in love with Charlie?"

Vaggie couldn't comprehend this sudden alastor interest in love.

"I don't know if you'd understand even if I told you."

"So let me try," his tone sharpened with growing impatience.

I fell in love with Charlie because she was full of love."

This answer didn't help him at all, it even confused him more. Someone being full of love was the complete opposite of him, and yet, many had fallen for him before.

"I told you, you won't understand. She is an angel, she loves goodness, harmony, people ready to help and love."

So, he needed to become a lovely person. Nothing he couldn't do.

She sat behind the bar, helping Husk, occasionally lifting Niffty to dust the shelves, and with one wing, she created a breeze to dry freshly painted Angel nails. She was definitely full of love. Her long white hair tangled in the midst of these various activities.

Ugh he was doing it again, observing her from the shadows when it was time to act. He teleported in front of the counter.

Hello, everyone. What's with all the commotion?"

Charlie said she had a new plan to defeat the attack, so they were preparing for her speech - Niffty explained.

Alastor knew exactly which plan they were talking about, specifically his cannibalistic plan, slowly being put into action. Maybe if he suggested to the little angel that he killed Adam deliberately for her, she would fall at his feet?

Well, she would quickly flew back to the heavens. The death of Adam was no longer an option. A sudden, indescribable fear and shiver ran through his body at the thought. What if she truly left, and he never saw her again?

"Alastor." Snapped out of this sudden panic, he looked directly into bright blue eyes.

,,Alastor, you've turned pale. Is everything okay?" Her hand on his forearm made him feel better.

"Yes, don't worry, sweetheart. It's just a momentary weakness. You, on the other hand, need a little help."

She looked at him disoriented.

Remembering his last thoughtless move, he decided it was better to ask.

,‚Can I?" - pointing to her twisted hair.

Embarrassed by this fact, she turned around, trying to locate the tangle. Indeed, she should tie them up for cleaning. Long fingers in black gloves conjured a thin, decorated comb. Alastor began to slowly and gently untangle her hair, humming an unfamiliar jazz tune under his breath.

The atmosphere became quite specific and romantic, which Angel dust quickly noticed. Quietly, he grabbed Niffty's arm and signaled Husk to go with him to the exit. Some time ago, he noticed that Alastor behaved strangely in the company of his new friend. Especialy when he returned from work and caught him holding one of her lost feathers to his lips. Of course, he pretended to be too high to notice.

Alastor and Y/N didn't even notice that they were left alone, lost in their own thoughts. Y/N couldn't remember the last time someone had combed her hair, let alone so gently. Her attention was drawn to the sudden silence when the demon finished humming behind her. She began to feel awkward, trying to find some point of contact.

"I put a gift from you in the room," - she mumbled.

Alastor looked at her as if awakened from a dream - "Oh, that's great. You like it?"

"I like your touch too; it always makes me feel calmer."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Wait, what did she say? His touch always made her feel calmer. The only time Alastor could remember touching Y/N before was in the hallway when she was furious with him. The only direct touch he remembered.

Alastor swallowed.- "What do you mean, always?"

"Oh, you know, your little games with my feather. You know when you're sleeping with it, I also feel company in my bed ?

He didn't know what to say. She could feel that, every single time he kissed, touched, or bit that little thing, she could feel it.

"Y-you knew? Why didn't you just take it back?"

"Maybe I didn't want to take it back and stop you?"

For the next hundred years, Alastor wouldn't feel as embarrassed as he did at that moment.

Y/N looked at him with those pure eyes, clearly flirting with him. Was that enough? Showing some heart and affection to make an angel fall for you?

She leaned closer to him, their breaths almost touching, and he tightly gripped the edge separating them.

What could he do? No sensible answer appeared in his mind, and he couldn't just turn away or escape. So, he did something he always saw in those cheesy romantic comedies his mother used to watch.

Not knowing exactly what he was doing, he gently and quickly kissed her. It was like the first innocent peck in kindergarten, even though it was his first.

[angelwishess]

—⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ THEORY TIME : Crowley Summoned Yuu ?! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

Before I begin, I’d like to give credit to @cheshiresaf on TikTok for inspiring this theory! Seeing their thoughts on the matter made me want to dive into the topic myself and give my own thoughts and opinions on the matter !

Reminders, this is all just speculation ! I have no concrete proof of any of this being canon in the slightest ! This is just a theory to make some sense of things, or atleast try to.

This theory will be cut into two parts, one focusing on the Opening scene and the second focusing on the Prologue.

Without further ado, lets begin !

Ever since I first downloaded TWST, the opening scene always bothered me. It was never really the scene itself, it was the fact that it was never brought up in the game afterwards.

The closest thing we get to a character acknowledging what happened was Yuu mentioning to Crowley how they remember “Seeing a horse with a scary face” / “Passing through a dark forest” in the prologue.

But after that, its never really brought up again. I had always wondered, ‘Why?’

I waited, played through the game wondering if it would ever be mentioned— But it never was.

Eventually, even I forgot about it. But after seeing that theory on TikTok, my curiosity flared up again.

Now, I was finally able to redownload TWST since I recently just got a new phone. So, I paid much closer attention to the opening scene.

—₊˚⊹ Part One : The Opening “Mirror” Scene.

Ill be talking about these two shots of dialogue first. What interests me is the way Crowley is speaking. Although you can obviously tell it is Crowley, it isnt seem as playful nor as dramatic as he usually speaks. He spoke somewhat more seriously than usual here, and, it seems like hes speaking directly into the mirror— or, more specifically, he is speaking directly to us, as Yuu.

With no one else in the room, Crowley speaks without his dramatic flair, with no room for playfulness. He speaks directly into the dark mirror— speaks directly to the person behind it. The person he knows hes talking to. The one hes trying to summon.

The definition of “Benefactor” is a person who gives money or other help to a person or cause.

Though, its pretty well known that Yuu is always helping around NRC (whether by will or not) and Crowley is almost always the one to take advantage of this— I doubt that is what he is referring to.

No, Crowley knows something. This was all on purpose, Yuu coming to Twisted Wonderland, to Night Raven, it was all on purpose. Ill research more into Crowley later, but for now lets focus on whats being said in the opening scene.

He definetly has plans, and he knows Yuu has more capabilities than what is known so far.

What interested me the most, though, is the wording right after referring to us as his “esteemed benefactor”.

“My proud, beautiful flower of evil”. This one sentence truly had me thinking, because what did he mean by this?

Well, the only thing I could think of is the vague hint that Yuu is much, much more than they seem. When you think about it, Yuu is strange in many ways. Not only do they come from another universe entirely, they get dreams of the past which warn them of future events— directly parelleling Levan/Revan (Malleus’ father).

I wouldnt be surprised if it somehow turned out that Yuu has either had magic this entire time and it just being hidden from everyone in the cast (including themselves), or theyve been absorbing the magic of people around them after being exposed to so much magic, especially from the overblots.

What im thinking, is that the true nature of Yuu and their capabilities is yet to be revealed, and will “bloom”. Just like a proud flower. And, flowers need to be nurtured to bloom ever so beautifully, do they not? Who would be a better fit than Crowley?

Now, Crowley may be somewhat immature and unreliable— But that does not make him stupid, nor does that make him oblivious. Many of the staff respect him greatly, and its a no-brainer that he must be quite powerful. He definetly knows more than he leads on, hes extremely mysterious despite being the first character (after Grim,) to be introduced to us.

Its clear to me that he knows what hes doing. He has plans, whether for better or for worse, and i think its safe to say that those plans include Yuu in some way. Perhaps theyre the final piece of the puzzle Crowley so desperately needs. ← keep that in mind. Hes desperate.

(As for the “evil” part… Man idk leave me alone)

“O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat…”

Remember what i said earlier? About Crowley being desperate? Dire, even?

Well, the definition of Entreat is to plead with especially in order to persuade. ask someone earnestly or anxiously to do something.

He is earnestly, pleading the Dark Mirror for answers, for wisdom regarding the “Visage he seeks”.

“Reveal onto me the visage I seek…” Once more, this further proves that Crowley is speaking and seeking out someone specifically. He is seeking out the visage, the face and appearance of the benefactor he is requesting for.

“You, whose image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth…”

Here, Crowley once again speaks directly to us/Yuu. Later on in the Prologue, when the Dark Mirror states that no dorm could possibly suit us/Yuu because our soul is “empty and colorless” due to the lack of magic, Crowley objects, saying that its impossible for the Dark Mirror to summon a student without any magic, as the system has never once erred from the beginning of NRC being established.

(Crowley ure not slick i know what u are)

So, in NRC’s 100 years of being established, why would it’s seemingly very stable system of retrieving students fail? How would the Black Carraige retrieve a student from an entire different universe, putting aside the simple fact of Yuu not having magic? Well, its simple.

The Dark Mirror did not summon Yuu. Crowley did.

Crowley was the one to bring Yuu into this world. The Dark Mirror did not beckon forth Yuu for the sake of the school, rather it was because Crowley requested for it, for whatever reasons he has.

(Alright, now this is where i will be getting into some delusional territory but i will try to remain as logical as possbile pls have mercy on me ໒꒰ྀིっ⸝⸝⸝ ꒱ྀི১)

This scene has always bothered me. Not in like, an uncomfortable way— but ever since first downloading the game, I have always wondered what this scene meant.

“If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.”

Although Crowley is obviously the one summoning us— it is not his hand extended out to us. Rather, it is one of the characters we meet later on. (The sleeves are quite obviously the ceremonial robes, too)

To take the hand of the one reflected into the mirror… Why is that? Why do we need to take someone’s hand? And, furthermore— the hand of a specific character? Though it is a clever way to introduce the cast of characters and give us our first card of our chosen character— why this way if it doesn’t have any significance in the game other than to serve as a “baby’s first card!” scene? We already have the later free gacha, so what was the point?

(I may be overthinking this guys someone help me)

Ive always been curious, since the game never seems to mention this part, and in none of the mangas they have never shown this, either. So, whats the purpose of it?

My guess is that Crowley himself cant summon us himself. Though Crowley must be powerful— summoning someone from an entirely different universe must be difficult, almost impossible seeing as this has probably never happened before.

See, no matter who you are or how poweful you are, I have no doubt summoning someone from a different universe is an incredibly strenuous feat that near no one average could ever do. To break past the bonds of reality, and peer into another, that is something that is beyond imaginiation.

So, what if us taking the hand of our chosen character was the last nail in the coffin for us? The last thing needed for us to be brought into Twisted Wonderland.

To establish a connection.

“If your heart bids it,” why else would you take the hand of a complete stranger? One that mysteriously appeared before you in an extremely strange situation, you can’t even see their face in this scene. Yet, we still take their hand. Why? I couldn’t think of any other explanation other than an already existing connection between us and the character that we chose. Why else would your heart tell you to trust?

Now, i have absolutely zero proof of this being true, its mostly just a little guess, a situation i like to daydream about but hey, its better than nothing.

Anyways, what if Crowley needed the assistance of one of the characters to finally bring us into Twisted Wonderland? Yes, as i mentioned before he is alone in the room when speaking to us— but perhaps theres some ‘magical’ explanation to the figures of our beloved characters standing before us and not Crowley himself, despite him actually being there.

My guess is, that Yuu and whoever they chose have a strange connection. And i dont exactly mean this as strictly romantic, it could be platonic or hell, even more than both of those bonds (maybe even hatred LMAO)— but im talking about a bond and a connection that somehow transcends the borders of realities and their universe itself. They would not be aware of this— neither would Yuu. But it is there. Perhaps its a kind of “soulmate” situation (once again, i do not mean this strictly romantically, you may interpret this however you please!!)

This furthers my suspicions that Yuu needs that connection with your chosen character in order to be brought into their world.

The sound of dragging chains could be somewhat like symbolism or a physical embodiment for Yuu being tied down to their original world. A last effort of their universe to keep them there, but yet Yuu fights against them and is “freed” from those chains after taking the hand of our chosen character.

Only when you take the hand of the character you chose are you able to start the game, both literally and figuratively. (I like to imagine the characters js pull Yuu in after they take their hand i think its funny HAHAHAHA)

The mirrors and coffins at NRC are used as gateways. But it seems Yuu is the only one who needed that extra help to actually be sent into NRC through said gateways. Yuu needs that law-defying, reality bending connection with one of the characters to be able to even step foot into their world. And honestly? I think its super cute HEHEHEE🤭 (fanfic writers, feel free to use this i live to serve content)

(Unfortunately, I have hit the photo limit here. So, I’ll have to settle for typing out all the dialog for the lasst few screenshots ! So please bare with me ૮꒰ྀི⊃⸝ ⸝ ⸝⊂꒱ྀིა !)

────୨ৎ────

“As flame reduces even the stars to ash

As ice seals away even time itself

As great trees swallow even the sky

Fear not the power of darkness.

Now— demonstrate your power.”

────୨ৎ────

In the next views of dialogue, Crowley is obviously foreshadowing to the kinds of magic the player will have to get used to during battle scenes— but what interests me is the very last part of the dialog. The last thing Crowley says before the mirror brightly flashes and the game sends us into our first battle against the overblot Grim.

“Now— demonstrate your power.”

Yuu is magicless, so what power could he be referring to? This could be taken both literally and figuratively, as “power” is not only strength, it can come in many forms, and Yuu has obviously shown to be quite cunning themself, and that could be considered a power.

But, what if Yuu DOES have powers, in a literal sense? What if that power has been secretly sleeping inside of Yuu this entire time, waiting for the right moment to burst forth and bloom like a flower? Their power could be much more than just being a peacemaker or a beast tamer, who knows?

────୨ৎ────

“To me. To them. To yourself.

The hour grows long and time is scarce.”

“Keep steady your grip, no matter what may come…”

────୨ৎ────

This final piece of dialog paired with the earlier “As ice seals away even time itself” statement from when Crowley was speaking of the elemental forms of magic, it really does feel like its hinting at a time loop.

Perhaps that is why Crowley had summoned them, and why he seems to not be even trying to look for a way to send them home. Not just because hes “lazy”, but he very well may have a plan for Yuu. He is purposefully trying to keep Yuu in NRC.

Maybe he is aware of this timeloop, and out of desperation seeks out the wisdom of the Dark Mirror, trying to find a way to put a stop to it— and who better than Yuu to be that final piece he needs? His dear, esteemed benefactor… His fair, beautiful flower ready to be extorted for whatever purpose he had summoned them for.

Nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens for a purpose, good or bad. And Yuu just happens to be in the middle of every messy situation that happens at NRC.

“For them”, who is “them”? The one whose hand we took? Or perhaps the friends we meet later on? Whatever i means, its obvious theres a certain danger lurking in the shadows that has not made itself known. Atleast, not yet. And for some odd reason, it is up to us to “show our power” and keep it from happening. (If it has something to do with Grim, maybe that “Beast Tamer” title was hinting to that all along lol)

“Time is scarce.” An absolutely chilling line that is never really explained. Time has always been an element that seemed infinite, yet in some cases thats still too little. Time is something no one can have enough of, no matter who they are. Yet what does it mean in this context? Why is our time running out, and furthermore what are we trying to prevent? For Crowley? For them, for our friends… And for us? I’m sure Crowley himself must know, if he didn’t why would he be asking the universe to bring him a helper so desperately?

“Keep steady tour grip, no matter what may come…” This, paired along with the earlier dialog of “Fear not the power of darkness,” could be foreshadowing the later overblots that we face in the game. Crowley knows that we will face hardships, and says to keep steady our grip. To not let the darkness consume us or our friends. To not fear the “darkness“. Crowley could be aware of the challenges we are to face, not even bothering to help in the midst of Riddle’s overblot (very responsible of you, Headmaster). Almost as if he expected it?

That is the final line of dialog from Crowley before the Prologue actually begins.

And now, speaking of the prologue, lets talk about some dialog from Crowley in the actual prologue!

—₊˚⊹ Part Two : The Prologue

“Ah, I’ve found you at last. Splendid.”

Crowley’s wording here, “I found you at last.” Is pretty sus, he speaks like hes been keeping out an eye for a specific someone. And the fact that he went out of his way to find Yuu is also pretty telling. After all, from what we know of Crowley its obvious that hes not the type to do that kind of thing. If Yuu was just any other student, Im sure Crowley wouldn’t have gone out of his way to look for them for the sake of the ceremony.

Furthermore, judging by his tone and expression, he doesn’t seem very surprised to find a student where they aren’t supposed to be. Yet he playfully mentions that most other students usually wait for him to open the lids of their caskets before running off. Making Yuu differ from the rest of the student body once more.

Later on in the prologue, we have the infamous “Deuce throwing Ace at the chandelier” scene. (I giggle everytime I hear Ace’s scream. Its so funny i cant)

When Crowley comes over and discovers that our little group had broken the chandelier and expels us, Ace tries to reason with Crowley saying that surely, he must be able to fix the chandelier himself with some fancy pants magic.

“Even magic has its limits.”

If Crowley can’t fix a magical chandelier without it having any circumstances— Then surely there must be some very… Specific conditions when summoning a person, let alone one from another universe.

Magic itself is limited in certain scenarios. Later on, Deuce mentions that if you can’t strongly visualize your magic, it isn’t going to happen.

Which must be why Crowley went to the Dark Mirror for wisdom. “Reveal onto me the visage I seek,”

It could be that Crowley himself didn’t exactly know what form or appearance his dear benefactor would take, and because of that could not properly ‘visualize’ who he is seeking out. Out of desperation, he seeks out the Dark Mirror for wisdom to finally be able to summon this benefactor he desires so greatly, and it just so happens Yuu fits that role perfectly.

After the fiasco at rhe Dwarfs’ Mine, Yuu, Grim, and the Adeuce duo all return back to NRC safely and recap the story of their little journey to Crowley in the privacy of his office where he promptly bursts into tears after.

He begins to ramble about how the students of NRC, as talented as they are, have egos bigger than mt. Everest and this is the first time in his decades of working at NRC where the students have finally joined hands to defeat a common foe.

“I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school.”

This line of dialog caught my interest greatly. Though he was already going on and on about how Yuu’s “mundanity” is great for the students of this school— for some reason this line simply seemed to stand out to me.

“People like you”? But, there has never been a magicless student at NRC before Yuu, atleast as far as we know. Could this possibly hint to the Yuuniverse? People like you being the countless of other Yuus that were summoned in a past timeline— perhaps each one restarting after the last Yuu fails, and Crowley summons another in an attempt to stop the constant loop of each timeline resetting after every calamity that falls upon NRC.

Perhaps Yuuken failed during Leona’s overblot, and that is why he’s replaced by Yuuka in the Savanaclaw manga volumes? Maybe Yuuka failed during Azul’s, then Yuuta was summoned forth? And then so on, so forth.

Perhaps that is why Crowley is so desperate. Continuing to try and summon the perfect benefactor, the right flower to nurture in hopes that they would survive and deal with each and every calamity accordingly, in order to stop the timeloop.

Why he doesn’t get off his lazy ass and help Yuu himself? Who knows, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say theres a completely understandable reason of him not helping the students hes supposed to be protecting— but then again, it is Crowley. You really never know with him.

Right after he accepts Grim and Yuu as students, he immediately foists upon another job for Yuu. Gifting them a Ghost Camera, which captures the Memories of the photos taken by the photographer.

The photographer and the subject are then considered “Soulbound”, which apparently just means that when the photographer and the subject’s bond deepens, the Memories captured in the photos come “jumping out”. Crowley says it enables the user to not only photograph the subject, but parts of their soul itself.

(I want to relate this to the part where we take the hand of our chosen character but i cant think of anything so …)

He then tells Yuu to take the camera, and make a record of their campus life. But why Yuu, specifically? And only Yuu? Surely, he could’ve given such an object to the Housewarden of each respective dorm— yet he gives it to Yuu and Yuu alone. As if he knows that they’d get involved in all sorts of trouble, face the unthinkable. And he brushes it off saying how much more convenient it would be instead of documenting everything himself, but how could he be so sure that Yuu would come across such events?

“As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them.”

Yuu and Yuu alone has been given full freedom to mettle in whichever dorm they see fit and “beast tame” them. They do not have the restriction of the Housewardens, where they only keep an eye strictly on their dorm and dorm mates. No, Yuu has been given full and complete freedom to keep an eye and ensure that everyone is in line regardless of their dorm due to Crowley’s blessing upon Yuu to do just that.

While Housewardens are only limited to their respective dorms, Yuu is allowed to discipline and punish whoever they see fit regardless of which dorm they belong to.

It is because Yuu is magicless that they alone have this privledge of overseeing every dorm— even being able to tell off the Housewardens themselves.

It is because Crowley has given them this role that Yuu is constantly faced with so many challenges from each dorm as a result of their meddling.

He pushes them to meddle in the business of other dorms, making it their “duty” as a prefect (A job that he forced unto them). In a way, this is isn’t just Crowley extorting Yuu into looking after the students instead of him despite it being his job and not theirs, perhaps it is him also trying to ‘nurture’ Yuu. Putting them into these situations, in hopes that they allow Yuu to unlock their true potential and stop the timeline from resetting.

It is because of their job as a prefect that they get into these situations. And it is because of this meddling that they face such challenges. Yet, they wouldn’t have had to if Crowley just didn’t appoint them as “Prefect”. (Well, I suppose Ace was the one that started it— but shh lets ignore that for now!)

Thats all the dialog that stuck out to me for the Prologue.

—₊˚⊹ Conclusion !

In conclusion, I think that Yuu was not brought to Twisted Wonderland by mistake, but on purpose by none other than Crowley himself.

Perhaps each character has their own “Yuu”, and that connection between a character and their Yuu was what enabled Crowley to bring them into their world.

With each Yuu failing at a calamity / overblot, the timeline resets and Crowley summons another Yuu to try again to stop the timeloop, hence the Yuuniverse.

Crowley alone remembers every reset, perhaps not all of it which is why he has given Yuu the Ghost Camera in hopes that the Memories in the camera remain. But, he is aware that the timeline resets every time a Yuu fails— yet it is only a Yuu that can stop the calamities due to the mystery of their true nature.

Yuu is Crowley’s “esteemed benefactor”, the one summoned specifically to aid Crowley in his agenda, whatever it may be. Yuu was brought to NRC to assist him, and Crowley seeks to nurture Yuu until the time their true powers are revealed.

Crowley was desperate to summon Yuu. And it seems the worst is yet to come, and for that reason he summoned Yuu.

With Yuu’s mysterious background and even more mysterious ability to see the past through their dreams— Yuu must have some sort of secret power. The true nature of their being, perhaps they themselves have some sort of magic, or are destined for something great. Whatever it may be, Yuu is not a normal, everyday person. Though they are magicless, that does not make them average at all.

To summarize: With every calamity that falls upon NRC, the timeline resets to the night before the Opening Ceremony. Crowley, being the only one who retains any memory of every reset, desperately seeks out the Dark Mirror in search of wisdom, and a benefactor who can help him and the rest of NRC and finally end the loop. That benefactor being Yuu. Yet, because of the limits on magic— it is difficult to summon such a person, let alone the right one. Conveniently enough, there are a select few of students who have some sort of connection with the one Crowley may be looking for (ex. Yuuken paralleling Riddle, Yuuta paralleling Azul, ect.), and it is because of that law-defying connection that Crowley is able to summon each of their respective Yuu’s.

Yuu’s true abilities have not yet been revealed, and still remain veiled in mystery. But, Yuu may have powers of some sort, or a destiny that they are to fulfil. One greater than they can imagine.

— Phew! That was a lot, wasn’t it ? Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be so long ! (Thats what she said)

Anyways, if you’re still here and managed to make it to the end— Thank you so much for reading my little yap session !!! I appreciate it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic !

If I got anything wrong, please feel free to correct me! After all, I don’t have the best memory and I may be remembering things wrong. But once again, thank you so much for reading !

Don’t forget to drink water, and take care of yourself, pretty ! See you next time, bye-bye!~ ♡

[iamnmbr3]

Canonically how do you think postwar drarry's romance and dynamics would be?how much things change btwn them?they become cute and fluffy or they keep fighting? how they behave together and how they start meeting when there's no reason for them to meet, chain of new events or accidentally?(do not write fanfic or anything but simply your assumption of absolute canon drarry)

As usual you come into my inbox with yet another delightful and interesting question. I tend to think if Harry and Draco actually got together postwar their relationship would be pretty good. (Of course everyone is free to write/headcanon whatever they want and you can make pretty much any type of AU scenario work if you tweak the circumstances just right). I love a good toxic, twisted dark 'enemies to enemies who are also lovers' twisted romance but that just isn't drarry in canon.

Both characters tend to shy away from true cruelty - despite being placed in some very trying circumstances that encourage the opposite from them - and even when they are enemies on opposite sides of the war they can't seem to bring themselves to hate or hurt each other. I think they are genuinely extremely compatible - emotionally and intellectually as well as in terms of having some pretty important life experiences in common despite their radically different upbringings. They also have complimentary interests, senses of humor, personalities and magic (ding ding ding wand compatibility!). Not to mention they've both been fascinated by each other since day one.

So all that is to say, when they finally get together (which definitely takes some work given they were on opposite sides of the war and enemies before that and all that happened between them wouldn't just vanish overnight) it works surprisingly well. I think they might banter/bicker playfully because they both enjoy each other's wit but they wouldn't actually truly argue or fight. They did enough of that. But I do see them having a much softer, gentler version of their original dynamic. I think they enjoy each other's sass (now with proper boundaries so no one is actually getting upset).

As for how they meet again. Let's be real. This is drarry. They always, always find each other. These 2 cannot stay away from each other. Harry definitely testifies for Draco so he doesn't go to jail. And Draco probably contacts him at some point to thank him. Maybe they start writing letters back and fourth. Or if they go to 8th year together they are immediately pulled back into each other's orbit the same as they always were - except now Draco's trying to make amends and Harry can't stop watching him (maybe at first he thinks he's up to something or maybe not) and is strangely insistent on helping him. Or maybe they meet later, out in the working world. They both have lived rent free in each other's heads since the age of 11. After the war neither would forget the other. They find each other.

Awkward conversations and apologies and possibly some left over hostility (because let's be real - Draco tends to lash out when he's feeling vulnerable and Harry tends to meet fire with fire) turn into easier conversations and a growing sense of that nameless thing that always lay between them that neither has ever acknowledged and realization that what they miss most about Quidditch is playing against each other (and a Seekers game that turns into friendly bickering) and a growing appreciation for each other and increasing sharing of confidences (because so few others really understand what facing Voldemort was like - how he moved, how he reacted, how he killed) and somehow it doesn't feel as vulnerable or isolating talking about it with someone else who just understands and isn't going to act like a shocked and pitying outsider. Not to mention that they both have to come to terms with how fit each thinks the other is. And well. One thing leads to another. The path doesn't run smooth. Harry worries what his friends will think and Draco worries about it even more. But in the end things are alright and they are happy.

[thealogie]

I'm sorry but I'm about to treat your ask box like a confessional.

You kind of deserve it, though, because due to your Sherlock rewatch posts I've been forced to remember that 1. Sherlock is a show that exists and 2. that I wrote Sherlock fanfic when I was 13... about SHERLOCK and MOLLY.

In my defence, I was a deeply deeply deeply repressed bisexual who hadn't realized it yet - so all of the obvious and insane gay stuff between Sherlock and John just completely sailed over my head. Also propaganda worked really well on me as a child - so basically I was the ideal viewer for Moftiss lol. There'd be scenes where people mistook Sherlock and John for a couple and I'd go 'huh that's kind of strange that keeps happening' but then it would be played off as a joke and I'd go 'oh yes of course, silly me! Gay people only exist as the punchline! Sherlock and John would NEVER be interested in each other that way. I can't believe anyone would ever think that haha.'

Flash forward to 2017. I'm 17 years old. I've kissed other women by now and have had my brain chemistry rewritten by copious amounts of slash fanfiction. Still young, but wiser to the ways of the world than I once was. The last time I watched Sherlock, I had been 14 years old. Sherlock season 4 airs. I watch it with my mom. It's so bad my brain immediately initiates a trauma response and wipes all memory of Sherlock away. This continues for years. The only times I remember Sherlock exists is whenever I joyfully watch hbomerguy's Sherlock Is Garbage video while I'm knitting or painting or something. Also whenever I have to type in a password for an account I made when I was 13 - because my go-to password was 'SHERLOCKED' back then, unfortunately.

Flash forward to now. I'm 24 years old. And I start seeing your posts about Sherlock. Like a sleeper agent, it awakens something in me. Yesterday, I spent a perfectly good Saturday - one I could have spent doing literally anything else - reading Johnlock fanfiction. I am suddenly re experiencing the show through new eyes, seeing all the queerbait I never did before. Getting hate-crimed on the daily. I'm thinking about Sherlock at work, at my adult fucking job. I'm watching scenes from the show on youtube in my office, quickly and guiltily clicking away whenever a coworker comes to chat. I am considering doing my own rewatch. I am realizing for the first time that John and Sherlock were literally in love. It's the only lens through which you can view the show and still have it be somewhat enjoyable. They literally put Mary in a wedding dress shooting Sherlock in his mind palace on TV. I feel like I'm having a religious experience, I feel like I'm insane, I feel like I'm 13 again. This is all vaguely November 5th-ish for me lol.

Anyway. I just thought you should know the impact your rewatch is having on the population. Sorry for the novel in your inbox. I've been desperately trying to find my old Sherlock x Molly fanfic to read for the lols but I think I deleted it off ffnet. I am both having the time of my life while also desperately hoping I forget Sherlock ever existed again soon. So, basically - thank you/curse you for this.

This is perhaps the best ask I’ve ever received?? I converted a sherlolly shipper in the year 2023? Listen I’d never wish a season 4 rewatch on anyone but I would highly recommend watching s1-2 and the wedding episode for a truly out of body experience. I felt more strongly about this show/ship than any other in my life and it was STILL worse than I remembered

[red-ropes-of-avalon]

All I Wanted Was to Be Loved For Myself

Chapter 1- Angel of Music

Phantom of the Opera! Nanami x Christine!Reader

Author Notes: Nanami and Reader are around the same age, not the weird age gap in the actual Phantom of the Opera. 

The auction in the abandoned opera house was solemn. The few bids caused little noise, while the most common noise was coughs from the settled dust. “Lot 665 then ladies and gentlemen.” A collector’s music box, it piqued Gojo’s interest at that moment. “A paper mache music box, in the shape of a barrel organ. Found in the catacombs of the opera house. In perfect working order.” The announcer had wound up the box letting it play its eerily beautiful song. “Shall we begin at 20?” The room had not a single bid, just a small cough. “Fine then fifteen?” The announcer said with an exaggerated sigh. Gojo raised his number for the bid. While 2 others bid against him, Gojo eventually won. “A fine piece Vicomte Gojo. Thank you, sir.” As Gojo looked over the music box his heart was filled with longing, a faint memory of the girl who had told him all about that very music box. “Lot 666- the broken chandelier. Now some of you may recall the strange affairs with the supposed ‘Phantom of the Opera’ the ghost of this very opera house. It was never known if this monster truly existed but this is the chandelier supposedly involved in that famous disaster. We have worked hard to restore it and add in new wiring for electrical lights. Perhaps we can shed some light and frighten out those ghosts from so many years ago.”

You were stood on the side with your fellow dancers dressed in flowy outfits for this scene of Hannibal. When Mei Mei hit the highest note of Rome, you all flowed out dancing in synch and singing beautifully. Shoko was on one side of you, a new girl on the other side. The scene was cut abruptly when Naoya the male lead sang Rome incorrectly, to which Gakujani the conductor stopped to yell. “No, no, no! You must enunciate Rome.” As Naoya and Gakujani argued Shoko simply rolled her eyes, rehearsal was long enough without Naoya being unable to pronounce Rome correctly. Mei Mei was the most annoyed and having him hold her hand for his higher notes, her face spoke entirely to her displeasure with Naoya. However, you had no time to watch her face as the ballet portion followed immediately and you were not getting yelled at by Yaga for being distracted. Following the big ballet, the pinnacle of the act was reached as the ensemble behind moved forward to begin singing. Of course, another fluke with Naoya occurred as the sword got stuck. You swore you heard him mumble something about cheap props and by the look on Shoko’s face, she did too. “Maybe if we didn’t have to pay you and Mei Mei an arm and a leg each we could have better props,” Shoko snarked.

“We are running that again from the top.” Gajukanji shooed everyone from their spots. You crossed the stage amongst the dancers though not without catching a nasty side-eye from Mei Mei simply from crossing her path. Still, it was better than passing Naoya who would push you and then delight in mocking you for falling.

“As you can see gentlemen our rehearsals for this season’s production, Hannibal are well underway,” Ijichi spoke as he led 2 men through the theater and to the stage. Trying to gather the cast’s attention was always hard for Ijichi. Yaga instead banged his foot, gathering the attention and causing silence for Ijichi. “I’m sure all of you have heard rumors that I’m retiring. I can put the rumors to rest today, I am in fact retiring.” Ijichi was always so timid despite being the owner of the opera house. “But these are the new owners, meet Monsieur Sukuna, and Monsieur Uraume.” The two men side by side couldn’t be more different. One looked like a bull of a man, and the other looked delicate enough he could be one of the dancers with you. “Monsieurs this is our prima donna Mei Mei. We’ve had the pleasure of having her as our leading soprano for 12 seasons now.” Mei Mei seemed to preen under the attention.

“I've heard you have an amazing voice, Miss Mei Mei. I know there is a wonderful aria in this production. Would you care to sing for us?”

“I don’t do any excess work for free Monsieurs.”

Sukuna barked a laugh motioning for Uraume to give the women some money to incentivize her.

“Ah, now Gakuganji would you do me the honors.”

“Is 2 bars sufficient Miss Mei Mei?” To which the woman gave a dismissive handwave. As the woman was singing she was clearly engaging the 2, strutting her stuff and proving just why she was the leading soprano for so long. As she reached the end, the backdrops for the other scenes fell from the rafters. It cut Mei Mei short, obviously startling the woman. Among the cast whispers of the phantom’s doing were spreading.

“Where is that stagehand? Haruta why would you drop the backdrops?’ Ijichi was clearly nervous, more than he usually was.

“I didn’t, I wasn’t even up there sir. If there was someone it would have to be a ghost.” The blonde’s response just spurred more phantom murmurings.

“It’s an accident. Things happen they probably weren’t tied well enough,” Sukuna dismissed.

“These aren’t just accidents! This has been my life for the last 3 years! I should not have to worry about my life whenever I rehearse. No amount of money makes this worth enduring! I am leaving, either sort that out or I will be finding a new contract.” Following her little tirade Mei Mei stormed out. Naoya sneered at the 2 men before storming out behind the woman.

“Sirs a note for you was found in the rafters,” Yaga handed the men an envelope with an ornate wax seal.

Dear New Owners of My Opera House,

I welcome you to my opera. I am sure Monsieur Ijichi has established with you the rules of how this opera house works I shall give you them in writing. You are to leave Box 7 empty for me and my salary is to be paid on time. I will not tolerate it being late. I hope the best for you in my opera house and look forward to our collaboration.

Best,

Opera Ghost

“A salary?” Sukuna almost wanted to laugh, a phantom demanded a salary.

“Ijichi used to pay him 20,000 a month, though with the Vicomte sponsoring you.”

“We can return to the matter of a ghost’s salary later. Who is the understudy for Mei Mei?” Uraume tried to soothe the situation by diverting.

“There is no understudy for Mei Mei.” Gakuganji balked at the insinuation.

Seeing no volunteers Shoko dragged you forward, “she can do it. She’s been taking lessons.”

“This little dancer girl? Tell me your name girl.” Sukuna intimidated you and Shoko wouldn’t let you disappear back into the cast.

“Y/N L/N.”

“L/N, tell me are you perhaps related to the famous cellist of the same name?” The way Sukuna’s voice was tinted with intrigue did you little comfort.

“Yes sir, he was my father.”

“Very well then, sing, show us if you are good enough.”

Very timidly you began to sing Think of Me, and while it seemed Uraume still held his doubts Sukuna was sold, despite your nervousness. Meeting Yaga’s eyes with his firm glare you began to open up more. Gaining a false confidence simply to avoid Yaga yelling at you. It seemed that was what sold Uraume on your ability, that or Sukuna’s insistence.

The performance was sold out and while you were nervous you were also excited. All eyes would be on you for the first time ever. Having the heavier costume on was an odd feeling, the weight of the skirt and how restricted you were compared to the ballet costumes. Wringing your hands deeply and taking a deep breath, you exited your dressing room to wait in the wings for your cue. By the end the packed opera house was applauding your every move and every note.

After bowing you exited offstage where the ballerinas quickly encircled you giving you praise. They were gossiping though just as quick after, something about the new owners with another man in their box. “You did well Y/N. I’m sure he will be impressed,” Yaga said placing a hand on your shoulder. You guess you had zoned out listening to them chatter and Yaga had pushed through the group of girls. “As for the rest of you, that was a pitiful performance. We must rehearse now, your feet were too flat and not enough bend in your knees. Y/N go get your costume off there’s nothing for you to fix.”

Seeing as you didn’t need to rehearse with them anymore, which was odd to say the least, you began the walk back to the dressing room you were given. In the hall an eerily familiar voice echoed, “bravo, bravo, bravissimo.” You felt yourself go pale at the words walking faster to the room.

Sitting yourself down in the room you let out a sigh. Seconds later Shoko enters the door, obviously having ditched rehearsal. “You were amazing out there. Where did you learn to sing like that?” Shoko quickly sat herself beside you and took your hands in hers. “Oh dear your hands are so cold, and you look pale.”

“I’m fine really. I was taught by a mysterious Angel of Music.”

“Who’s the Angel of Music though?”

“My dad he said when he passed he would send to me an Angel of Music, so that I will always know I am loved.”

“That’s weird but whatever you say. Don’t worry I’ll get all the gossip from the ballerinas and we can keep making fun of the rest of the cast during rehearsals.” Shoko was rambling again, she probably missed you in the wings.

“So this is where you snuck off to Shoko. You are still a dancer and therefore you still need to rehearse.” Yaga stormed through, obviously annoyed that Shoko had disappeared. Shoko shuffled off unhappy to have to part without talking to her best friend more. “As for you, I have a letter.” Yaga handed you a pristine letter swiftly before disappearing after Shoko to watch the ballerinas.

[thisapplepielife]

Bang Dem Sticks

Character(s): Gareth | Word Count: 800 | Rating: T | CW: None | Tags: Drumming, Future Fic, Gareth & Eddie are Best Friends

Takes place in the Tuesday's Gone With the Wind universe but I don't see why it can't be read as a standalone as long as you know Gareth's a drummer.

2023

Gareth sits behind his drum kit in a little studio. It's just him, several cameras, and the handful of guys behind the glass in the control room. He was invited to come do a video for a YouTube drum channel, where the concept was sold to him as a challenge where they'll play a song they think he's never heard, without the drum part. And then he has to blindly play what he thinks the drum part actually is, just to see how close he can get. 

That sounded like a fun stop on the press tour, a change of pace from the same old, same old, so he agreed. At least this involves playing the drums, instead of just talking about the new album, the new tour. Getting asked the same four questions over and over. 

This time some of the interviewers are getting brave enough to gently ask if he’s getting ready to retire. He’s not. Not yet. But that can’t be too far off. He’s almost fifty-five. He’s been on the road, nearly continuously, since he was fresh out of high school. He loves drumming, he does. But he also doesn’t want to die behind his kit on the road. He doesn’t want to die on the road, at all. He worries about that. He wants to retire, and spend the rest of his time with the people he loves most. 

If he’s gonna die behind the kit, it’s gonna be the one in Harrington House, surrounded by the people he loves. Not in a strange city, all alone. 

Not to mention, his right knee is getting to the point of needing some attention. The steroid shots are helping, but they're a short term fix. If he wants to walk into his old age, he’s probably looking at surgery. He hasn’t told Eddie that yet, because Eddie’ll fret about it. So there’s no need to worry him until it can’t be put off any longer.

So today he takes an Aleve, shows up, sits behind his kit, and lets them rig up all the cameras. Overhead, of his face, his hands, his feet. Then he waits.

When they give him the go sign, he sits up a little straighter. They play a song, and he starts playing along. He knows this one from playing with Eddie.

They try another. Eddie. 

And again.

Eddie. 

Eddie. 

Eddie. 

He finally laughs, "You're gonna hafta go newer."

He's sure they have his resume. They are clearly staying away from metal and hard rock. But crossing genres isn't enough for older songs. If it had an interesting drum part, Eddie's probably already dragged it into Hellfire Studios at some point over the years for them to play together. No matter the genre. 

"How do you know all those?" they ask through the headset, clearly a little surprised. They had a handful of songs, and he knew them all. They need to dig deeper.

Gareth just smiles. 

Eddie won't want to be named, not publicly, so Gareth just laughs and says, "I have a friend I jam with sometimes. He has very broad tastes."

They dig up something else, something newer, and it’s finally one Gareth’s never heard before. He gives them a thumbs up, and counts the time signature. It’s in 4. He listens closely. Finds the groove of the bass. Feels it. Thinks about how he’d slide in the pocket, if this was his drum part to build from scratch.

The song ends, and Gareth gives it his best shot. 

When he’s finished, they roll the playback of the full song, original drum part intact, and he realizes he wasn't that far off. He's been a drummer for over fifty years, a professional for decades, and he's just happy his ear still works. That his instinct is intact, even on modern music. Though, this was a throwback of a song if he’s ever heard one. They should have found something truly modern, if they wanted to trip him up. Not a young band that has clearly found inspiration in the 70s, in Zep and Rush. Gareth knows how that goes, lived it, a long, long time ago.

Weeks later, when the video gets posted to the YouTube channel, it sure doesn't take very long for the comments on the video to start naming Eddie as the friend.

That's okay. Eddie's certainly not scouring YouTube for videos of Gareth anyway. And it's not like Gareth was the one that ID'd him. It's no secret they still play together, that they are still best friends. 

And in three days he'll be back home, playing with Eddie again. Where he wants to be. Maybe he’ll bring this new tune home and see if Eddie can figure out the guitar part, just for fun.

The YouTube algorithm served me up this video of Chad Smith yesterday and I was like, oh, Gareth.

And here we are. It didn't really fit in with anything I have left for Wildflowers...and All the Rest, but I was inspired to write it, and thought, hey, it can just be a little standalone.

[theofficialpresidentofmars]

going insane about Hamlet: Act 2 edition. let’s get straight into it

- firstly, Polonius makes me feel many things. Mostly rage. Frustration. Vague annoyance. The need to stab something through a curtain. I don’t know what he’s trying to accomplish by paying someone to slander his son (a lie, I know his reasoning and I think it’s dumb) but he’s just a strange old man and I don’t like him. Polonius enjoyers (if you exist) please make your case because I don’t know if there is anything I’m supposed to be seeing in this guy. only redeeming quality was having generally okay kids and being killed off in Act 3

- the scene where Hamlet startles Ophelia in her chambers is so endlessly funny to me. you have to really visualise the scene to get it, the imagery is silly. imagine you’re having a normal day and your bf walks in with his pants down except this is like pre 1600s Catholic Europe so you freak out and then he just acts really weird and walks out weirder. poor Ophelia your boyfriend’s only going to get worse and more unrecognisable from here but we’re staying silly until then

- I’ve never been able to read any of the scenes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern quite the same after the banger play that is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I thank Tom Stoppard for taking what was originally two characters I didn’t know where my feelings lay towards and making them the silliest little guys under the sun. I sort of change my feelings on how ‘canon’ I consider the interpretation each time I read the book, but I like having the option

- Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia also makes me feel many things. ‘Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love (I never loved you)’. I’m on the bandwagon that Hamlet did truly love Ophelia at least prior to the events of the play (and then I switch up depending on the readings again), but I find again that it adds to the tragic element to spend time considering the lives they led before the King’s death. I’ll probably delve mostly into the relationship of these two in my Act 3 ramblings (starring such wonderful quotes as ‘Get thee to a nunnery’ and ‘That’s a fair thought, to lie between maid’s legs’) but goodness. ‘Thine evermore most dear Lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet.’

- Hamlet’s habit of using wordplay to mock and annoy the people he doesn’t respect will always be funny to me, but it’s increased prominence whenever in the presence of Polonius is excessively so. This man is taking every single opportunity to twist this old man’s words into some odd pun or another and it’s so very silly. ‘Excellent, you are a fishmonger.’ ‘Have you a daughter? Let her not walk i’ th’ sun’ also blatantly making comments about your girlfriend in front of her conservative dad is insane but. I guess that’s the angle

- ‘What do you read my Lord?’ ‘Words, words, words’ oh he hates this man

- ‘You cannot sir take from my anything that I will more willingly part withal (except my life)’ has lived in my head rent free since reading. icon

- I’ve annotated my irl copy of Hamlet with pink markers every time he makes a misogynistic comment, and within roughly 30 seconds of meeting his childhood friends, he’s found an excuse to pull another one out of the bag. I suppose it is interesting how his misogyny does seem to be a very direct result of his glaring mother issues however, specifically his mother’s sexual promiscuity (of a kind) distressing him so much that it’s tainted his entire view of women as a whole.

- and then he drops two of the hardest lines back-to-back, ‘There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so’, and ‘O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a King of infinite space; were it not that I have bad dreams’. like okay slayy

- immediately calling R&G out on their bs. It’s not paranoia if they’re out to get you, or something

- ‘My Lord, I have news to tell you-‘ ‘mY lOrD, I hAvE nEwS tO tElL yOu. when Roscius was an actor in Rome-‘ oh he HATES this man

- we as a society don’t talk enough about Hamlet being a theatre kid methinks

- ooh I love the ‘rogue and peasant slave am I’ soliloquy. at this point, it’s been four months since the King was murdered, and two months since his ghost has asked Hamlet to take revenge. and still nothing has happened. Hamlet’s pretended to go mad, but hasn’t been able to make up his mind on what to actually do just yet, and he’s starting to hate himself for it. I also love getting to see the thought process behind his actions, and honestly things are still making sense from his perspective at this point. Yes it’s been a while, but he also has no definitive proof that the murder actually happened. For all he knows, the ghost was a devilish apparition trying to trick him into committing an unforgivable sin. And we’re still at the point where we can justify this, even if we might consider it a little indecisive of him a whole two months after. It’s just a silly little spiel that leads well into the next act, and I just like to read it out loud

Not as much on this act, but I’m saving all the juice for Act 3, my personal favourite >:) see you soon

[whitelilynh]

Hello hope everything is well! So your last post had me thinking a lot. About the Konaha village being a super power and yet executing its own members never truly caring about its villagers or anyone else for that matter. I do agree Konaha has turned into some strange “I know best clan”

The sudden execution of a clan was something I didn’t question but the treatment of an orphan who did nothing but become a new vessel for the 9 tails.

My question ( two questions I guess) is

1. Do you think it had to do with which Hokage was in charge to want to execute the Uchiha clan

(Ex. Naruto “pardoning” Orochimaru despite his war crimes against Konaha - let’s face it he should have died, but instead he goes good and Naruto does nothing about it despite what this psycho did. Which is weird because they were going to execute Naruto for something idk if it was in a movie or episode but it was a dumb messed up reason.)

2. Does this change your mind of how Sasuke stories should have ended as you had once answered my question about what should have happened to Sasuke at the end of Naruto

- running away and working with Naruto to help Konaho

- Naruto killing Sasuke

- Sasuke becoming the last Uchiha

Again hope everything is well glad to see you are so passionate about these topics.

Hi! I'm quite well, thanks.

Ah, this is a long topic, isn't it?

I'd say who the Hokage was did play an important part, but as often happens, it's more about the interests of the elites. I mean, Hiruzen was weak AF as a Hokage that was supposed to protect ALL his people. He let the Hyuga affair go, he allowed (even if not ordered) the Uchiha massacre, all because he was weak of character, and because deep down he didn't care about the implicated ppl, i.e. Hyuga and Uchiha clan. One can say he has to think about the rest of the village as well, and it's partially true, but when did he think about *that* part of the village?

Let's put it simple, both Hyuga and Uchiha were the strongest clans of the village, we could say, specially in Hyuga case, they were the majority of the village's defense lines, since it was recognised at least during OG that way. Now, if you have this people that is fundamental for the well being of the people, why won't you protect them? What would the people of the village think if they had a say in so? Probably "hey, let's not punish the Hyuga for having DEFENDED themselves from an enemy" or "maybe we should not instate an apartheid on the Uchiha? Like, they've been loyal to the village for generations, maybe we should just conduce a fair investigation instead". But Hiruzen went the easy road, he didn't have what's needed to face his supposed equals. He couldn't face the Raikage, he couldn't face Danzo. He preferred to let them do as they pleased. So yes, Hiruzen as the Hokage is partially responsible. He was either weak or plainly evil, there's no other way he would've allowed those happenings if not.

A curious case is, what would happen if Minato was still alive? Let's suppose the Kyubi incident happened but he managed to survive. Did he have what was needed? Or would it have been the same?

To begin with, I guess Kumo might not dare to try to attack the Hyuga during the peace negotiations have those be done with Minato, they feared him. I also believe Konoha would've went to war with them if they did, with Minato. Not only because of him per se, but because his death weakened the village and that was used as an excuse not to.

About the Uchihas, I believe Minato would've try to conduct a proper investigation, but sadly, I think the pressure would've overcome him. Because tbh, Danzo and the elders seemed to want to get rid of the Uchiha and they just searched for an excuse. I think Danzo would've done the same, in spite of Minato's efforts, and the outcome would've been the same. Probably the only difference is, I want to believe, Minato would've protected Itachi. I want to believe he would've rather proceed himself than to force a 13 yo to kill his entire family.

So, it's in part because of the Hokage, but is mostly because of the interests of the powerful people on the village's politics.

Now, to the second question. It does change some aspects, while others remain the same.

I still think Sasuke had no interest on Sakura, or women or romance whatsoever, and I wouldn't want to force him into a relationship just for the sake of the continuity of the clan. But I want the Clan to be reinstated, so I have a different solution for that (which was gonna happen on my AE anyway, is just that now I want it more).

In an ideal world though, Naruto didn't surrender to the propaganda on Konoha and instead kept loyal to his convictions. So, Naruto would've stayed by what's right, and what's right is to let the truth about the Uchiha be told, and let Konoha face the consequences of it's past acts. How can a true change happen otherwise? If you truly want to reform the Ninja system, if you want the village to be a fair and safe place for everyone, and to conduce the Ninja world towards peace, you can't rise over lies. You need to come clean and start anew.

So, even if Sasuke decided to protect the village because it was Itachi's wish, I think Itachi would've also wanted to clean the name of his clan. At least Sasuke wants so, and he is worthy of repair as well. So if Naruto was a true friend to Sasuke, that's the least he could have done. This implies, though, that Naruto had a lot of learning to do. Because Naruto doesn't know what Sasuke knows. He thinks Konoha is the good guy, and he can't see what Konoha did was a genocide, unless of course someone explains that to him. It would've been interesting if Naruto also heard the talk Sasuke had with Itachi, and with the deceased Hokages.

So, I don't think Sasuke must be punished, nor that he has to attone his sins anymore. Not the way I did before at least. I think he has to evaluate himself and come clean with his decisions, know that he did wrong things like joining Akatsuki, but also be able to forgive himself because he knew no better and people tend to forget he was just a child no one was honest with.

I think Konoha and Naruto need to change.

And I think Sasuke deserves a second chance, not as the village's dog, but as a person, to find healing and to follow his own path.

I have a lot more thoughts about this now, but I don't find the way to express them properly yet, so for now I'll leave it here (this is already a very long answer isn't it? 😅) Maybe I'll write more about Sasuke in the future.

Thank you for asking 😊.

[battybubs]

Real Boy

IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE: This story was written specifically for male/gender neutral readers, fem/ fem aligned people, please do not interact.

Also, requests are open!

Pairing: (rottmnt 2018) Raphael x TransMale!Reader

Type: Hurt/Comfort, Kinda friends to lovers-ish maybe, completely up to your interpretation.

Warnings: loosely proof read, dysphoria, crying?

(I’m not sure if you’d be interested in this, but you said to tag you if I wrote anything about Raph, so here you go :) @panandinpain0 )

~~~~~~~~~~

The mind truly is a strange thing. One moment happiness and contentment flow throughout, an empty unending abyss the next, and a disastrous storm of self hatred following. Y/n had felt perfectly fine while playing video games with his four mutant friends, but the second they left the lair to help April with something, everything went quiet. 

He wandered around, looking at Donnie’s new contraptions, admiring Mikey’s most recent art projects, listening to the quiet music from the game Leo forgot to pause, and finally finding one of Raph’s hoodies. He slipped the baggy red clothing over his shoulders, immediately noticing how warm he felt. “Guess I didn’t notice how cold it was down here.”

When he finally decided to sit down, his brain began to fill with thoughts again. They began pretty normal. Things such as “I wonder if the boys are gonna be back soon” and “Maybe I should watch that one TV show Mikey keeps telling me about.” 

Slowly but surely the thoughts shifted, turning into a swarm of word’s the boy wanted nothing to do with. 

“Maybe I’m not a real boy.”

“Do my friends even see me as a boy?”

“Am I strong enough to be a boy?”

“I don’t look like any of the other boys.”

“Do I really need to follow those dumb binding rules? Who’s stopping me from wearing it all the time?”

“Am I even a boy at all? No one treats me like one...”

So deep and lost in thought, the boy failed to notice he had began crying. He didn’t realize that the boys had returned either. He didn’t even hear Raph as he ran toward him asking what was wrong and if he was okay. He only noticed the others presence as he was lifted up, seemingly being carried somewhere.

As he heard the gentle words his best friend began to whisper, he finally came back to reality. He was wrapped up in a blanket, Raph holding him in his lap, gently petting his head.

“It’s okay sweet boy, everything’s going to be alright. Don’t let those thoughts get to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a while!! This isn’t good by my standards, but hey, it’s a start. At least I’m trying to get back on track! I really need requests though, because I’m out of ideas at the moment lmao

[vinsmokewife]

who is this person - chapter four

On a quest to find love on a dating website, Sanji falls head over heels for a woman with an interest in...alternative relationships that sends him down a rabbit hole of completing tasks for a seemingly sadistic mistress. But what happens when she turns out to be more than what she seems? or Zoro pretends to be a female on the internet to talk to Sanji and bad things happen.

Darkfic with themes of internalised homophobia, bad bdsm practices and lying about your identity to strangers on the internet. Please read with caution. This is NOT how BSDM should be practiced. Always practice Sane, Safe and Consensual practicesboarders on being considered dead dove do not eat material

read on ao3

authors note; I'm sorry again this took a while to update. I'm hoping that when kinktober is over, I can focus more on here. Good news is I have mostly planned out every chapter, so I just need to write it. But yeah, should see more updates in November when I'm not writing kinktober drabbles. Anyway, as you know it gets smutty from here on out and zoro and Sanji both suck so hold onto your hats <3 

LOGGING ON: S POV 

Sanji’s hands were shaking after he sent the video. 

Never in his life had he ever sent something so...erotic in his life. He had never even sent a picture of his dick to anyone before; let alone a whole video where he’s jerking off. It was...wow. It was something else entirely. Sanji was currently sitting on his bed watching the app that they were chatting on. He knew that she had seen it as the app showed that with a little check mark. He knew she was watching and now he had to await her reaction. 

He felt...strange after that but it wasn’t a bad kind of strange. He just felt...odd. It wasn’t something he had experienced before, and he was thinking about it too much. He was thinking too much into this. He had to relax and just be patient.  

So currently, he was sitting in bed with longue pants back on and then a cigarette in one hand while his phone was in the other. He was scrolling through social media while eagerly waiting for the sound of the app to go off and... there it went. 

Z: What a good boy you are. 

Z: Thank you for following your first command. 

Z: I am so lucky to have such a good boy. 

And now his head was going a little fuzzy after being called a good boy. He couldn’t stop the flush that was on his cheeks. She...her calling him a good boy had a bigger effect on him than he thought. All the weird feelings that he had suddenly seemed to decreased. He didn’t feel as weird about it anymore if she enjoyed it. 

S: Hah. Thank you <3 

S: I’ve never done something like that. I am glad you enjoyed. 

He shot back quickly. His emotions still felt all over the place. Not in a bad way now but he felt very.... giddy. Like kicking your feet and twirling your hair kind of giddy. God, it had been a while since he had felt that way about anyone. Not even Nami and Robin, who he adored with all of his heart made him feel this way. 

Z: Oh, you are a natural!  

Z: I’m going to let you take the rest of the night off. But I will be back with you tomorrow to talk about rules and a second command. We can also discuss things that might be fun to try. 

Z: For now, I’m sending you to bed. I need to assure you get a good night's sleep. 

How thoughtful! Oh, wasn’t she just absolutely perfect. Adventurous, dominating and was concerned about his health. Oh, Sanji felt like he was on cloud 9 with this girl. Well and truly in the honeymoon stage but he played it cool with her and shot an answer back.  

S: Of course. 

S: I hope you sleep well. 

S: Wait, what do you want me to call you? 

S: In these types of relationships, don’t they have names? 

Z: Oh yes.  

Z: I like being called master.  

Z: I know it’s not very feminine, but I prefer it to mistress. 

She was right. It wasn’t very feminine which Sanji noticed but he didn’t pay any mind to it. After all, that would suit him fine. She was in charge after all. 

S: Master is fine. 

S: I... don’t know what you want to call me. I don’t really have a preference. 

Z: Hmmm.  

Z: Let me sleep on it.  

Z: Now you! Go to bed. Or else I’ll punish you. 

Sanji couldn’t help but laugh out at that. Oh, how he laughed. In fact, his face was hurting from smiling. Oh, how could one person be so perfect and make him so happy already. He barely knew her and yet he was having so much fun with her. He was looking forward to seeing what kind of things she could come up with for him tomorrow. 

All he knew now was that his dating life was not going to be boring. Not when he had her around. 

S: Okay sorry! 

S: Goodnight, master <3 

Sanji is now offline.  

Sanji felt his head reach the pillow of his head as he looked up to the celling. Sanji had never had a relationship with the intensity that this one had. He didn’t know how he could match to how knowledgeable she seemed to be. He didn’t know how things would go. But he felt...happy. He hadn’t stopped smiling since she had called him a good boy and that was saying something. 

He retired his phone for the night, placing it to the side and finally shutting off. Tomorrow was a free day for him so he would have plenty of time to think about things tomorrow. As his eyes shut, he thought about the woman behind the mask and the possibility of what their relationship was going to turn out to be like. 

LOGGING IN: Z’S POV 

S: Goodnight, master <3 

In all of his life, Zoro had never felt so fucked up in his life. How could this have happened and how could he keep digging his heels in like this? He could have stopped the conversation at any point, but he seemed incapable of doing so at this point. He left the bathroom of the club and walked out into the open. He looked around and noticed how dead everything still seemed. He looked around to see if he could still see Robin...but she was nowhere to be seen. Good, he was kind of hoping that he wouldn’t come across her again. After what had just happened... that would be kind of embarrassing. The last thing he needs is to come across someone he knows. He would just constantly feel like they knew something and that would not be any good at all. 

He supposed that this was it then. He suddenly wasn’t in the mood to drink anymore so he made a quick turn to the exit and into the cool air of the night. The bar was in a hidden location in the middle of down so the outdoor stepped into an alleyway. More often than not, there were people getting a little bit too freaky in the alleyway. Right now, was absolutely no exception but Zoro was not interested in that at all. No, he was interested in his feet taking him home so he can wallow in this confusion some more in a space where he doesn’t feel like people will see. 

His apartment wasn’t too far from here. Only a five minute walk. Once getting there, he took the lift to the top of the stairs and there he was back home.  

His place was modest. Gym equipment seemed to litter the floor a little but on the whole, it was tidy. He walked across the space to get to his bedroom. There was a lack of any sort of decoration or personalisation...well, other than the rack of swords in the room. Zoro was a master swordsman on the side as well as being a personal trainer. 

But that didn’t matter right now. Zoro went to his bed and went to lay down. As much as he wanted to think about anything else, his mind kept wandering back onto that video. Just how...pretty Sanji looked. Face all flushed, a more nervous expression on his face and a whining in his voice. Sounds that Zoro would only ever hear on the phone. A face he would only ever see on the phone. That vulnerability he didn’t know he craved from him that he would never see in real life. 

And... he’s hard thinking about it again. 

Well...it wouldn’t hurt watching it one last time, right? Then, it was off to bed. 

- 

If there was one thing that consisted in his day, it was that at some point of the day, he always ended up with Luffy. Always. The good thing about Luffy was that he didn’t ask questions about anything. Honestly, he didn’t know if he could even see Nami again. Nami would most likely not let the thing go until she’s sure Zoro is over it...and he doesn’t think he’ll be over this mess for a while.  

Luffy has never once asked questions about anything in the time he’s known Luffy. Which is a comfort at least. It’s not that Luffy doesn’t like the conflict or anything. No, that’s not the case. Luffy trusts his friends a lot of the time...which is what makes this...tragic. 

“Zoro...come on, tonight I think Sanji is working,” They were currently talking and walking down the street. Luffy feeling eager to get some lunch from somewhere good. Zoro is just happy to tag along.  

“And you want to ransack the place of free food again,” Zoro played indifference off to Luffy as if he didn’t really care about what they did. Before the whole phone thing, Zoro hadn’t cared...not really anyway. He used to feel very indifferent towards Sanji anyway. Never really caring about what Sanji has to say for himself but recently he’s beginning to see him in a different light and... yeah, this was becoming a problem, “I don’t really care what you do. I wouldn’t go there by choice. I don’t like him anyway,” 

“I never understood why you and Sanji don’t get along...Sanji’s great,” Luffy pouted, thinking about the food that he was going to receive later...and tonight... 

“You just like him because he’s a chef,” Zoro said in response.  

“What? No, Sanji’s cool! Don’t you think Sanji’s cool?”  

“No,” Zoro responded rather bluntly, “I don’t think Sanji is cool at all,” 

Luffy pouted and looked as if he had wanted to say something. Looked up and seen that they were at the café they wanted to be at and suddenly, Luffy forgot what he was saying as he directed Zoro inside. It was a sort of cosy like atmosphere inside and it was quiet, but not for long while Luffy and Zoro was there.  

Just as Luffy was about to offer to pay for something, Zoro interrupted, “Let me...I’ll pay for it,”  

“Thanks, big guy,” And maybe Luffy will forget about their conversation. 

- 

S: Morning Master. How is your morning? <3 

A quiet lunch with his best friend was now ruined by Zoro’s inability to not dig his heels in about a situation. Now, Sanji seems to be awake, and it would just be rude of him not to respond. Not after last night anyway...Zoro can’t stop thinking about that one video. He wanted more. He wanted to see Sanji in different angles, different positions and hear those pretty moans coming from his mouth again. It was the awful truth, but Zoro could not get enough of this right now and wanted more content of Sanji to himself.  

He wondered if he could up the ante.  

“Luffy...” Zoro said getting Luffy’s attention from playing a game on his phone, “I’m going to the bathroom. I won’t be long,”  

“Okay. Don’t expect the cake I bought for you to still be here though,” 

“I had said I didn’t want it... you were just using me as an excuse to buy yourself an extra bit of cake,” Zoro waved him off before getting up and disappearing to the nearest bathroom where he locked himself inside of a cubical. 

Z: Morning <3 

Z: I hope you are ready for your next task? I’m excited to see if you manage.  

Z: I know you will. Since you are such a good boy for me <3 

Good boy. Now why did that work so well? Sanji really was behaving as he expected him to. Following orders as a good boy would. Zoro had yet to engage in the types of BDSM relationships that he saw at the clubs. The dominant and slave kind of relationships that he saw. Those kinds of relationships made him crave something more…something more. Something more typical than your normal relationship.  

He liked to imagine what Sanji and himself would look like to outsiders. Zoro was a lot taller, a lot bulkier and a lot rougher around the edges. Zoro was not a clean cut person while when he saw Sanji, Sanji always looked his best. The clean cut suits, the perfect hair and trimmed facial hair. He didn’t know if it was purposeful but there was a certain perfectionism to the way Sanji looked at all times. It contrasted his own.  

It was honestly recently he wanted to break that. 

Thoughts aside, he felt the buzzing before he saw the message popped up. 

S: I’m free all day.  

S: So don’t worry about bothering me from anything. 

S: What do you have in mind? 

With a bated breath, in and out, Zoro typed out his next reply. It was weird how these conversations got him so…invigorated. The mere act of these conversations was confusingly exciting and so inappropriate. 

Z: So, how far have you gone, sexually? 

S: Well. 

S: I’ve had sex if that’s what you’re asking. 

S: Not like…all the time or anything… 

S: And definitely not the things you’ve probably done! 

Z: Hmmm 

Z: … This might be a weird question but… 

Z: Have you ever let a woman finger you? 

And it begins 

LOGGING IN: S POV 

And that was not the question he was expecting to see.  

Sanji wasn’t stupid when it came to stuff. He knew what she was talking about. He knew that this was something that couples experimented with, and it wasn’t…something he was opposed to. Men were supposed to have spots inside of them that made them feel good. It wasn’t…you know… to get yourself fingered by a woman.  

So, he didn’t really know why it took him such a long time for him to reply to the message. He watched the screen trying to think of what he wanted to say in return because obviously the answer was no. Was…this what she wanted him to do next? It seemed like the natural conclusion for him to come to anyway. He’d already done a video of himself jerking off; he might as well go the extra mile and do that next. 

S: No, I haven’t. 

S: I’ve…been interested in it though. 

Z: Good. 

Z: Do you have lube? 

S: I don’t. 

Z: Well then. I want you to go and get some lube. Then I want a video like before… but this time I want you to finger yourself until you cum. 

Z: Do you think you can do that? 

S: Yes master. 

Z: Good boy.  

Z: I’ll give you have an hour from now to get lube.  

Z: But then afterwards, you’ll have an hour.  

Z: Go on. 

Zoey is now offline. 

And so, Sanji got up to go get his shoes on. He knew that most convenience stores had lube. Usually, you could find it right next to the condoms. There was one maybe ten minutes away. He was quick to put his shoes on and then race downstairs to leave through the door. As he thought, it was only ten minutes away and he went right in and knew exactly what he was looking for so headed to that section right away. 

And of course. He had to choose from flavours, smells and textures too. Just when he was trying to make up his mind about what he wanted, he heard a voice. 

“Sanji?”  

Turning his head to the side, he wouldn’t have mistaken that blue hair anywhere else. It was Vivi. Another one of his friends, although not as close as Nami or Robin was to him, but Vivi was still a pretty good friend. She was Nami’s girlfriend now which was a fact he was still getting adjusted to. A shame because he has a crush on her for the longest time but… regardless, he was happy for Nami and Vivi.  

Not so happy right now because Vivi has now caught him with a strawberry scented lube in his hand. It’s caught her eye and Sanji could only laugh at the awkwardness. 

“I…uh, have a date?” Sanji seemed unsure as he tried to hold it in a more discreet sort of way. Vivi gestured to the snacks and alcohol in her arms. 

“So do it!” She laughed, trying to brush away the awkwardness too.  She then seemed to remember something by the looks on her face, “Nami did say you were trying to get a girlfriend. Is this like something similar?”  

“Aha, yes. I’m trying…think it might be getting serious though,” Why was he so nervous? He lowkey didn’t want Nami getting involved. He knew that she had…disapproved of Zoey for some reason. He had no idea why. She’d never even seen the messages. Was it about the ghosting? He honestly had no idea, but Nami seemed pretty dead set against their relationship. 

“Oh! That sounds fun. I’m glad…” Vivi seemed genuine with her words. She then gestured to her snacks and food, “I’ll let you get back to your big date then. Have fun!” 

Oh, I will. 

“Thanks. Tell Nami I said hi!” He said before turning away to go to check out. It was maybe the most awkward check out experience in his life when he only buying one item…which was lube by the way. It was just incredibly awkward but as soon as it was over, he was marching back to his place with 5 minutes to spare. It was time for him to get set up.  

It was a similar set up as it had been before. He tried to balance his phone on quilts and pillows as he had no real stand to put this on. That was the most awkward part about this whole thing; having to figure out how to lay things out so that she could see everything. He wasn’t much of a cinematographer in that regard but as long as she could see everything... 

Which was a little harder when it was a video of you fingering yourself. Masturbating was easy. It was easier to get everything in the frame, but he had to try and figure things out a bit better for this one. God, it was becoming more of an exercise of trying to look good in the camera. He didn’t want to be one of those guys who just send a dick pic and that was all there was to it. But he would have to make do with sitting with his legs spread open. 

Last night, it had taken him the full hour mainly because he felt incredibly anxious about the whole thing. He felt a little strange sending a video like that. He felt vulnerable but now he felt a new found confidence although he wished he could just masturbate as he normally would as he’d never fingered himself before. 

Either way, he pressed record and went to begin. He looked at the camera and tried to muster up some sort of sexy bravado while he was trying to cover his fingers in lube. He tried to get himself in a position where she could see what he was doing and then his face. Which he could imagine didn’t look as great as he was trying to concentrate on this here right now. 

Sanji wasn’t wearing any pants. When he was setting up, he removed his bottom half and unbuttoned his shirt but left it on. He leaned himself back so she could get a good look at everything. Despite him being nervous about this, his cock was hard. He stroked it a few times to get himself going before he dipped his fingers further down. Sanji’s fingers were thin, but they were rather long. He had quite long fingers. He didn’t know what he would have preferred... probably not his own hand. He had thought about a woman fingering him before and he would have preferred the feel to a ladies delicate fingers rather than his own but beggars cannot be choosers in this moment. So, he dipped his finger down, so it was brushing against his hole. That felt strange...having the cold pad of his finger pressing against his tight puckered hole. He stroked his finger across to get him used to the sensation before he decided to bite the bullet and just... 

“Ah-!”  

It wasn’t painful...not overly painful anyway. What got him was how uncomfortable it was at first. Even though his fingers weren’t that long, the one finger felt like he was really stretching his hole. He let his finger slip in slowly as he hissed from the uncomfortable nature of it. He began to wonder if those truly was supposed to be nice or if it was just one of those things that only looked good in porn. 

He let his finger sit there for a moment. It was an uncomfortable moment, and he was struggling to relax. He felt it was hard having his finger there like a partially welcomed guest. Sanji knew he just had to wait. He could feel that his face was bright red. It wasn’t just the uncomfortable feeling of having a finger in his ass; it was the feeling of being so vulnerable to Zoey. She was going to see every part of him. Sanji must have been wearing the rose tinted glasses not to see how strange this whole thing was...how he didn’t understand why Nami was so concerned... he just didn't’ seem to get it. 

Either way, Sanji started to feel not so bad. He relaxed a little more and he dared to start moving his finger. It... began to feel good. He didn’t think it would, but it was hard to deny the little breathless moans that began to leave him. Especially when he touched that spot. He was well aware that men had a spot inside of them that brought tons of pleasure and Sanji’s pad found that spot and it was obvious because his head leaned a back and... 

“Ah! ~ Fuck...” 

He decided it was perhaps time to add another finger. With his free hand, he got some lube and poured it where his fingers were and slipped a second finger inside. It felt much more pleasurable than putting one finger in and this caused Sanji to start thrusting his fingers in and out pressing against that sensitive spot. The vulnerability started to fade away and Sanji became more confident, and more moans left his mouth. It felt so good...better than anything he’d ever experienced in his life. It felt too good. He was getting into it now and with a flushed face, his fingers moved faster and faster inside of him each time hitting that spot inside of him that was driving him insane.  

Once he felt okay with his balance, he managed to use his free hand to wrap his fingers around his cock and furiously fist his cock in time with his thrusting. His head felt fuzzy. He didn’t know how to describe it but he was completely taken over by his pleasure. His tongue was peeping out and his expression looked absolutely needy for what was happening right now. He couldn’t help it, not when he was so close to cumming and it felt like it was going to be one hell of an orgasm. 

“Fuck...Fuck,” His fingers were almost frantic at this point. He was thrusting in and out of himself at such a desperate pace wanting to make himself cum. He was desperate for it. He wanted nothing else more that to... 

“Fuck!” 

And what an orgasm it was. Almost blinding as his hips nearly came off the bed rutting against his hand as he clenched tight against his hand. His cum shot across his chest in what felt like one of the most powerful orgasms he had for a while... and all that from fingering himself. He pulled his fingers out and fell back on his elbows and continued to stroke his cock until he was completely milked of cum. It was only a few seconds later he suddenly remembered what he was doing... he was making a video.  

His head whipped back to see himself in the camera. His face was all red and his chest was rising and falling quickly...he was a mess. He stared for a second before reaching for his phone to stop recording. He trimmed the start and the end where he was messing around with the camera and then skimmed it. It was weird seeing himself act like this and he couldn’t watch it for too long without feeling embarrassed so he just...sent it. Now, he had to wait to see what she thinks. 

Or not...because he gets the fear of his life put into him when he gets a text but it’s not from Zoey...it’s Nami. 

N: Hey Sanji! 

N: Vivi said she saw you today. 

N: I heard you had a date. That’s exciting! Is it someone new?” 

Sanji felt bad about lying to Nami but for some reason, Nami seemed so against this relationship for reasons he didn’t understand so he shot back. 

S: Yes. It’s a new relationship. 

S: Met her on that dating website. It’s just a small date. Nothing big 😊 

N: It didn’t sound like it was just a small date...if Vivi is correct about that she said ahah! 

Great. Vivi mentioned the lube. Wonderful. 

S: Ahaha! 

S: You got me XD 

S: Anyway, I better get back to my date.  

N: I hope you are having a fun date too. 

S: You too, Nami. 

To which Sanji then laid on his bed. A sinking feeling all because he lied to Nami. He felt awful but

[dragonsfell]

jaheira banter from bg2, part 1.

DO NOT REBLOG. Here's some conversations from Jaheira in Baldur's Gate 2; that I wanted to highlight. I owe the enhanced editions of the originals and play to plan again, but I wanted to share some some the interactions Jaheira had; to see where she came from // i wanted these saved on the blog // a warning that given the age of these games and the edition of D&D they spawn from; fantasy racism was at its height and everywhere and alignments were ever present & very black and white

With Aeerie ; a wingless avariel (winged elf) and lawful good cleric

Aerie: This... this light makes your hair look really pretty, Jaheira. Jaheira: Don't be a fool, it does nothing of the sort. Aerie: But— Jaheira: Put your silly romantic notions aside, Aerie. This isn't some childish fantasy, nor some grand adventure. Any one of us could die out here at any moment. Aerie: But we can go to the priests and—and they raise us from the dead again, as good as new, can't we? Jaheira: Sometimes they don't come back! Sometimes some people, no matter how much you love them and no matter what you try to do, get... they get taken away. You're young, Aerie... You'll figure it out soon enough.

the rest will be under th cut, because there a lot I wanna share. DO NOT REBLOG.

With Anomen ; a lawful neutral human fighter/cleric

Anomen: Lady Jaheira, it seems quite strange to me that a woman of clearly noble past would choose the life of an adventurer. What has brought you to this dangerous path? Jaheira: It is a path of conscience. Some druids choose a contemplative lifestyle, but I sought a more active role in the furthering of nature's cause. And you? Did you become a priest of Helm only for honor and glory? Anomen: Of course not. The righteous path ever beckons. It is merely a dividend of the Order that a member can make a place for himself in this difficult world. Jaheira: I see. What place you choose to make for yourself remains to be seen. Anomen: It does, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed. - - - - - Jaheira: You wear the scars of battle with pride, Anomen, like one who truly believes his cause. Anomen: I must. It is what pushes me forward. Doubt is the enemy. Jaheira: Those that never question do not see the whole of the issue. Anomen: The whole issue is not important. There is only the here and now, and what can be done within. Jaheira: Your world is small, if focused. The more impressive picture is always larger than you can see.

With Dorn ; a neutral-evil half-orc

Dorn: You have fire. I respect that. But I warn you, druid: Attempt to poison me again and you will not see the next sunrise. Jaheira: What nonsense are you babbling? Dorn: This concoction. You neglected to account for my orc blood. Next time, try something more potent. Jaheira: Do not be ridiculous. I am a druid, not an assassin. Dorn: Then how do you explain this vile brew? Jaheira: It is a mixture of myrtle and willow— Dorn: IT IS POISON. Jaheira: Drink it, Il-Khan. Or next time I will leave your wounds untended.

With Haer'Dalis ; a chaotic neutral tiefling blade

Haer'Dalis: Why do you stare at me so, Jaheira? Have I offended you? My manner is oft grim, but I did not think you so sensitive to it. Jaheira: No, no, I find your wit a treat, especially when it is unleashed upon the hapless that did not see it laying in wait. Haer'Dalis: Then why the glances as my head turns away? Jaheira: Forgive me the curiosity, but you are quite alien to me. You are not of this place and do not fit into the natural order, at least not by design. Haer'Dalis: Ahh, then you are wary and are intent on keeping me under guard?Jaheira: Not so much, but I am interested to see where your niche finds itself. I am wondering what you will balance, for all things have their counterpart. Haer'Dalis: I see. Perhaps I straddle the fence, providing my own balance. Perhaps I drop things on either side as whim dost take me. Jaheira: Or perhaps you enjoy the discord of chaos because you have not found that niche yet. We shall see. - - - - - Haer'Dalis: Ah, my hound, this city be the great world of commerce! Perhaps we can sell Jaheira? Jaheira: *groan* Cut your wit, bard. The day has been long already without adding hours to it. Haer'Dalis: Cut my wit? Why, certainly, if I could only use your nose's razor edge to perform the task. Jaheira: Aye, it seems I've sharpened it upon the grindstone of your heart. Haer'Dalis: Well, my frumpy ptarmigan, I must protest— Jaheira: "Methinks thou dost protest too much." Aye, I can quote the poets too. If you must protest, I respond only to hunger strikes and, even then, too late. Haer'Dalis: Oh, <CHARNAME>, raven of sympathy! Yon woman is stifling my creativity and stealing thunder from my wit! I swear I cannot work amidst the lashings of her tongue!

With Hexxat ; a neutral evil vampire thief

Jaheira: You should know that I neither trust nor like you, Hexxat. Hexxat: I'd have been happier simply suspecting as much. Jaheira: <CHARNAME> seems to like you well enough, and I have great respect for HIM/HER Hexxat: As do I. Jaheira: I know you did not seek to become what you are. I will try to look past it as best I can. Hexxat: Thank you, Jaheira. I shall try to prove myself worthy of your respect. - - - - - Jaheira: I must admit you have surprised me, vampire. Hexxat: Oh? Jaheira: I expected you to betray us at the earliest opportunity. Yet you still remain by <CHARNAME>'s side. Hexxat: I would feel the same in your position. Jaheira: I would still slay you, given the opportunity. Hexxat: I'll be sure to bear that in mind. Jaheira: But for now... I am willing to accept your place in the party. Hexxat: That means a lot to me, Jaheira. Sincerely. Thank you.

With Keldorn ; a lawful good human inquisitor

Jaheira: Keldorn? You look pensive. Are you well? Keldorn: I am well enough, Jaheira, though our circumstance gives me reason to pause. Jaheira: Hmm. I have been thinking as well. It is hard to draw a line in the sand and say, "This side represents balance; this other side does not." Keldorn: Balance? Would that balance were the worst of our worries. Jaheira: Ah. Having trouble with the black and white aspects? Keldorn: That would be an understatement. I am quite certain of what evil lies ahead, but I am finding problems with identifying the "good" path around it. Jaheira: I'm not sure what to say. We do what we can when the opportunity presents itself. Keldorn: That would be all that can be asked. Torm guide us; we need his wisdom.

With Mazzy ; a lawful goodd halfing fighter

Jaheira: Oh, omnipresent authority figure, what are your commands now?Mazzy: Jaheira, there is a level of sarcasm in your tone that is perhaps unnecessary. We have a leader that honestly tries to anticipate our needs... 1. Player: Heed Mazzy well, Jaheira. Mazzy: As I was saying, <HE/SHE> has enough trouble keeping this ragtag group together. Perhaps it would be better to be more constructive, and less... Jaheira: Bitchy? Mazzy: If that is how you wish to put it, yes. Jaheira: Worry not for the feelings of <CHARNAME>, small one, as <HE/SHE> and I go far back and have an understanding of sorts. Mazzy: As you will. It was only a humble suggestion. I've no wish to intrude upon your relationship with <CHARNAME>.

[onewomancitadel]

Ok I finished reading Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. Have that usual sickly, sticky feeling after reading sci-fi. We do this for fun!

Spoilers follow, do go read it if you're interested, I think it explores the gynoid archetype in an interesting way. I won't be too specific though.

I'll probably end up thinking about it more later (I made a post and deleted it when I was about a little less than a quarter of the way through) but I think what's interesting about it is that there's this self-consciousness to the prose, which is very common in a lot of new books I've read, that feels strangely counterthetical to Annie's growing perception of herself, almost intrusive, which grows literal by the time the therapese - not even really psychonanalytic awareness, but the impersonality of pop psychology - enters the story literally with the psychologist figure. At that point I thought it would've - or perhaps it did indeed aim to - tease out the farce of psychotherapy in an abusive relationship, with an ostensibly non-person robot - like would you do therapy with a toaster? - and maybe it does interact with the gendered nature of relationship counselling ('how to please the man and cow the woman'), although it did just narratively drag - I think the intentions with the therapy in the story were more didactic than I'd like, and that's sort of what I mean about the narrative self-consciousness.

The strangest thing about robots developing awareness (and the allegory it serves for humans) is that rarely if ever have I seen this alienness portrayed in a way which - the word here isn't believable, not immersive - but something which feels truly alien. In a lot of cases, potentially even this one, it's with the intention of drawing out the allegory to humans, in this case a woman. I have documented opinions about allegory.

This isn't a proper review, not by any means, but just a collection of remarks, and it's interesting how at once some of the human characters feel real yet at the same time psychologically uninteresting, bar for Cody; I think this was probably intentional and so I think it was successful. I think what was especially successful were the concessions Annie made for her surrounding environment and owner, and it went places which are real but where a lot of authors, especially anxious feminist authors, might not want to go. But that's her life.

I'm still not fully with the metaphysics, nor am I ever really 100% on board about the depiction of artificial intelligence in science fiction, nor its phenomenology, but in this case I think that the allegory almost always ends up superseding a literal depiction of sentient AI, and I can see exactly what it was trying to do. But I think probably one of my favourite bits is the invented memory of Annie touching the fabric bolts. And the lake. It's very good.

One thing that occurred to me as well with the ending is that Annie's freedom is contingent upon being released to that freedom by her human owner, which is not only a gendered dynamic but a racial one, given that she is a Black woman enslaved by a white man. It's the seeming injustice and backwardness of freedom - Annie terms it as something she won, in a power-play - and it's something that seems to implicitly predominate anti-Black and antifeminist politics: we gave you [emancipation/voting rights/birth control/right to work/right to own a bank account/right to buy a house/abortion/right to intermarry/right to marry/right to divorce], and we can just as easily take it back (in some cases they will - in the US with abortion, for instance, with a threat of divorce and birth control, or the Gambia is currently making a bid to roll back the outlaw on FGM). It's troubling to meditate on. I think that was a good move, because it makes the ending feel a little more bittersweet. You have a good owner, she's told over and over again.

[te-pu-si-ti]

Fragments about Hades & his Burnt City

Spoilers for Hades, and speculation that is informed by his 1:1(s), but not talking about them directly

I love Hades more and more with every show. He's the Punchdrunk Fan's Punchdrunk Character.

He sees everyone who comes in now. I think that is an excellent development. My first show, I don't think I saw Hades at all, or if I did I had no idea who he was. From the start now, you at least know he's Someone Important. And Someone who has a connection with us. Showing us the way between the worlds.

I love, love, love his entrance speech. I don't even get the references. It's still a perfect summation of the experience you're about to have. Yes, sir, I am already lost. Yes, I would like to live in a strange and marvellous dream.

I am writing this being particularly inspired by a night with Ali Goldsmith's Hades. I've been greeted by Sam many times, but I got to experience Ali Hades for the first time, and I adored it.

"It's all very delicate..."

He's desperate for everything to go right. It all has to go perfectly, every time. So he's watching over all the pieces, not in the way that he's the ultimate puppetmaster who could change it all around if it goes awry, but monitoring the progress of the loop and influencing it in tiny ways where he can.

...

It's a special experience being on Team Hades. There are only a few people who stick with him for the whole show - he usually has a crowd, but people came and went. Through it all there were only 3 of us who saw the whole thing. And Hades is constantly talking with us - more than any other character, we are keeping him company as he goes about his business. And he's showing us around his city.

...

"I wasn't born like you... You don't know how lucky you are... Don't waste it."

He's fascinated by us. He knows exactly what we are, more than anyone else. Persephone too, of course, eventually, but she gets memory wiped each time. Hades, on the other hand, has grown quite used to us. He rather likes sharing the show with us, keeps eternity a little more interesting.

...

"I love seeing new things. I see something new every time."

Gods, he's one of us.

The intoxicating combination of a familiar routine and novelty. The same queue, the same masks, the same entry speech, but a new character or a new performer's interpretation or a new scene I never stumbled on before. Or a new combination of loops that gives me insight on something I've already seen. Always something new, I never grow tired of it.

...

"Have you ever had a moment so perfect that you just wanted to pour a bit out, and savour the taste of it?"

I spend all my time between shows reliving the experience and thinking about when I can go back.

And this show is made for moments. A flash of eye contact, a brief exchange between two characters, an unexpected 1:1. It can be hard to piece together your night after the fact, but the flashes, the moments remain. The best of them feel truly perfect, frozen there in my mind, played and re-played until they're worn down like an old video tape. And when I come back, I don't get the same moment, but I get more of them to add to my collection.

...

"Shall we play it again?"

My heart fills up to the brim. The reset music always makes me feel this way, but it's so heightened now that I'm sharing it with him. Everyone else forgets, everyone else resets, but we persist through it. And not only that, but he loves it like I do! It's his favourite? IT'S MY FAVOURITE. Yes, yes, let's have it again.

...

In Mycenae he's lounging on the hedgehog, twiddling his fingers along to the music. Not quite like a conductor, but like an enthusiastic listener who knows right when each instrument will come in. Like I have certainly done, if only internally, when certain sound cues are about to come in. He's not just a character, he's a fan. He watches it over and over, just like we do.

...

He does it all for her, but maybe not all just for her. I try to make sense of the new circus, carnival theming of the intro. Why invite us in like this? This spectacle must be a little bit for us, inviting mortals in to see us up close, those beings of time that he so admires. We who feel things so strongly, and he's so good at making us feel them. On the one level he's harvesting emotions from the other characters, but on another level perhaps all the emotions from the crowds of shades keep the machine running too.