#trying v hard not to be spoilery here

[toxicanonymity]

so excited for next raider joel i am literally foaming at the mouth

Company

2.2k / dark raider!joel x dark!f!reader x ofc

raider master

gif by @serenaxpedro

“I’ll do it,” you say, unsure what that even means. Joel looks surprised and impressed.  “You’ll do it, then,” he repeats quietly.

Skip ahead to Raider: Close if you're not into the warnings.

WARNINGS: Striking through extra detailed spoilery warnings but wanna be thorough. These don't all happen to reader. Angst, jealousy, dark reader!, FFM threesome kind of, oral m & f receiving, spanking/pussy slapping, noncon gunplay/penetration, unsafe P in V sex (not btwn Joel and OFC), dubcon via captivity, degradation, cum eating, threat of/allusions to cheating kind of. joel makes reader noncon ofc, f on f oral  PLUS stuff already in play like being chained up.

A/N: Ask 1, Ask 2. TBH I had trouble getting on board with the idea of adding another girl, but eventually a twisted version i could live with came together in my head. Still, I bet some people will not like it. Please don't read if you could be triggered or upset. 🧡 I did not describe the OFC, so please HC her however makes you happy.

-

When Joel gets back, his arms are the first thing you notice.  He’s wearing a body holster with a pistol over his mesh tank top.  The body holster makes his shoulder muscles look even more imposing.  The second thing you notice is that he’s not alone.  He’s dragging another girl by her elbow.  She looks like she’s been crying, but she’s not now.  She’s angry.  Joel doesn’t look at you when he comes in.  He slams the door behind him and hangs up his gun.  He throws her down on the other bed, then cages her with his body.   He holds her chin and and says, “Don’t fuckin’ move.”  She spits in his face.  

He takes a deep breath and cracks his neck without his hands.  ”Been nothin’ but nice to ya,” he says.  “That ends now.”  

Shamefully, your first thought is, what does he mean by ‘nice to her’? Was he the same as he is with you? Did he save her from a worse fate? Did he stroke her cheek and tell her it was going to be alright? Did tell her he was going to take her with him, protect her from far worse men?  How many times has he done this? You hate to think you might not be special.  

Joel unbuttons his pants and looks at the girl menacingly. “Coulda made this enjoyable for ya,” he says regretfully.  “Too bad.”

Your stomach turns and your heart pounds.  Is this all because you kissed him? Is he punishing you for your affection? It’s not fair.  He’s the one who kissed you first in the middle of the night.  Your eyes sting with tears.  You can’t sit here and let this happen.

“What are you doing?” you cry. 

“What am I doing?” he laughs.  He pauses without unzipping his pants.  Finally, he looks at you as he palms himself.  Your eyes follow his hand and you’re relieved to see he’s not fully hard yet. 

“Don’t,” you plead.  “I’ll do whatever you want.”

He unzips his tight jeans and takes his semi-hard cock out.  He asks you, “Where should I put it?” with his pelvis still pointed toward the other bed. 

“Do you have to put it anywhere?” you whimper.  The girl looks at you hopefully like you really have a say.  Like you might be trying to help her. 

“Do I have to,” he grumbles.  You run through the options in your head.  He could put it in her mouth, that’s not too bad. A mouth is just a mouth, right? There’s no way she would do a good job on purpose. But hopefully she wouldn’t bite him, either. 

-

Joel approaches you and spits in his hand.  As he begins to stroke himself with the spit, you say, “Let me.” He holds his cock for you and you try to suck him as good as you can, but he just wants the saliva.  He won’t let you make him come.  Your eyes well up.  

“Shhhh,” he says and cups your cheek as he takes his cock away.  He sighs, then nods back toward the rest of the stash house. “You think they want just any girl? They want what’s mine.” He glances over at the girl then back at you.  He lowers his voice. “She could save your life.” As sweet as that is, it doesn’t make you feel much better about him putting his cock in another woman.  

“Do you really have to?” you plead. 

“Where do you want me to put it?” he asks again.

“In me,” you beg.  He studies your face. 

He looks up at the ceiling contemplatively.  “Well either I’m doin’ it, or you’re doin’ it,” he offers. 

“I’ll do it,” you say, unsure what that even means.  You just know it has to be better than watching or hearing him fuck another girl.  If you have to finger her or even give her head, so be it.

Joel looks surprised and impressed.  “You’ll do it, then,” he repeats quietly.  He unchains you from the radiator and takes the pistol out of his body holster.  He holds it by the barrel and hands it to you.  

Your face goes cold. 

“No,” the girl whimpers, sitting in the corner of the cot with her knees hugged into her chest. 

“You heard her,” Joel says.  “She’s doin’ it. Right, sweet pea?”  

Your hand shakes as you grip the gun.   Joel motions for you to go to the other bed.  

-

“You’re sick,” the girl whimpers at Joel. “Shoot him!” she demands of you.  “What are you waiting for?? SHOOT HIM!” 

Instead, you stand at the end of the cot.  “Get back here,” you say weakly, gun still shaking in your hand.  “And turn over.” 

She shakes her head.  You cock the gun. 

“Damn,” Joel whispers. She still doesn’t move. She cries. 

Joel loses patience and grabs her by the thighs, jerking her to the end of the bed.  He pulls her dress up over her ass, clenches his jaw, and spanks her.  Then he stands between you and the bed.  He spits on his fingers and turns to face you.  He keeps his knuckles facing you as he reaches back and slaps her pussy without looking at her. She yelps. He keeps his hand there and rubs her clit while he stares at you with his hard dick in his other hand. 

“Go on,” he tells you.  “You can do it, sweet pea.” 

“You’re both sick,” she whimpers. 

You steady the gun in both hands, avoiding the trigger, and bring the muzzle to her wet cunt.  She shrieks at the cold ring of metal.  Then you grab her hip for leverage and use your dominant hand to carefully push the barrel into her, gently maneuvering it so it doesn’t catch.  She groans “No.”  

Joel strokes your cheek and looks at you affectionately.  Then he gets behind you, with both of you facing the bed.  He puts his hands on your hips and presses his hard-on into your dress. 

“Go on,” Joel urges and his cock hardens as he pushes it against you.  

You begin to slide the gun in and out of her. 

Joel brings his mouth to your head.  “Good girl,” he whispers and puts his large hands on your hips.  He raises your dress, exposing your ass.  He pulls down your panties, then puts a hand on the small of your back.  You spread your feet more, so relieved and grateful he’s not fucking the other girl.  He flattens his fingers and rubs your clit until you’re wet enough.  It doesn’t take long. 

-

You’ve slowed down with the pistol, focusing more on the feeling of his hand between your legs.  Joel pauses.  “Don’t stop,” Joel cautions.  “Or I’ll do it myself, and not with the gun.”  You start again.  He notches the head of his cock at your entrance and waits. You begin railing her steadily with the barrel of the gun.  “Good, sweet pea,” he murmurs.  

He pushes his tip inside you and you gasp at the stretch, temporarily pausing the rhythm of the gun.  Then he puts one hand on your pelvis for leverage and holds a breast with the other.  He slams his cock into you, jolting you up and forward, with the momentum slamming the gun harshly into her cunt.  She whimpers.  

“Sorry,” you whisper to her and try to steady your hand as Joel fucks you. But the last thing you would do is ask him to stop or ease up. 

Joel drives his length into you steadily.  Your face tenses and your temples feel weak.  You’re still jealous and your mind drifts to whether he’s looking at you or the other girl.  Or is he just watching you fuck her with his gun.  You know he’s an awful man.  Face it, it turns him on. 

You put it out of your mind and focus on the feeling of being filled by him.  His fingers pressing into your skin as his cock impales you, strong but gentle, like him.  You can’t help but moan as he fills you up with his flesh. His cock completes you just right.  You need him to be all yours. 

He switches hands, using his other hand for leverage as he cups your opposite breast.  He buries his mouth in your neck and that makes you feel better, your brow softens.  He bites you and it feels close enough to a kiss that your heart swells.  He sucks your skin, and he moans at the feeling of your nipple hardening into the palm of his hand.  He massages your breast and you begin to twitch around his cock.  He moans into your neck.

“Sweet pea,” he murmurs. “You feel so good.”  Your heart flutters at his words and your lower abdomen buzzes with warmth.  “Whore like that could never. No one else could.” With that validation, you fuck her harder with the gun. “That’s it, baby,” Joel whispers, slamming his cruel cock into you.  “Just like that.”  Your arm gets tired and you switch hands.  It’s so tempting to put down the gun, but you don’t want to find out whether he’d really fuck her.  You don’t want to disappoint him either, and you don’t want him to stop fucking you.

Joel’s hands slither around your body, and his cock pounds into you harder.  “You’re doin’ great, pretty girl.” You feel yourself on the edge of climax.  He slams into you with a grunt. “This pussy’s all mine,” he pants.  “gonna stay that way.”  You lean back into his chest and enjoy the feeling of his body wrapped around yours while you’re wrapped around his cock.  He begins to stroke your clit and you moan.  He breathes heavier and grunts with each thrust. 

He pulls out before either of you come.  You sigh at the loss but his fingers gather slick from your dripping cunt then return to your clit and he outdoes himself.  He puts his mouth to your ear.  “Go ‘head, baby,” and his low whisper makes you see stars.  

You moan and tremble and fall into her, plunging the gun deeper. 

“Pretty when ya come,”  he murmurs and rubs your back while you finish.  Then he grabs your ass affectionately and steps to your side;  You flinch, your ass is even more sore today. 

He slowly pumps his cock and kneels onto the cot with one knee.  He takes your hand and makes you take the gun out. She collapses onto the dirty mattress.  

-

“What’d I do wrong?” you ask him.  

“You did great, sweet pea. You did perfect,” he says as he gets up on the cot and it creaks under his full weight.  

She tries to squirm away and he stops her with a hand on her ass. He’s facing her side and looking at you as he pumps himself.  He straddles one of her legs and you whimper.  He points his cock at her pussy, then he looks at you again as he strokes himself and comes on her ass.  It trickles down her crack to her cunt. You don’t want his cum between her legs, it tugs at your tear ducts, but you’re comforted by his eye contact with you when he came. 

He gets off the cot, tucks his dick away, then comfortingly squeezes your shoulder and watches you watch his cum trickle down.  “You want it so bad, take it,”  he says.  He crosses his arms and nods toward her.  

It feels like a command.  You reach out your hand. 

“Nuh-uh.  With your mouth, sweet pea.” 

You obediently bend at the hips and lean over the cot.  Joel pries her legs open for you.  You plant your mouth between her legs and lick from her cunt, while trying to strain your eyes to meet Joel’s for approval.  “Yeah, get it all, baby.”  You drag your tongue up her crack. 

You swallow it and he holds out his arms for you.  He helps you down from the cot and takes you back over to yours.  “You’re gonna stay here for a li’l bit, sweet pea.  Keep her company.”  

You sniffle. “Do I have to?”

“Yeah, baby. I’ll come back for you later.”  He kisses you on the head and makes sure you’re comfortable before he chains you back.  

-

After Joel leaves, you and the other girl are both silent for a while.  Then she tries to get through to you, tries to convince you that the two of you can outsmart him together.  When pleading doesn’t work, she tries tough love.  “I get it,” she says. “You think he cares about you. But he doesn’t.  You think he’s faithful to you, just because he owns you.”

“He does care.” 

“Well I don’t see your name on his chest.  And his dick sure didn’t taste faithful today.” 

Any sympathy you had for her evaporates with those words. Even if she’s lying, even if she’s trying to play you.  

“Pathetic,” she scoffs.  “You don’t even want to be free, do you?” 

You’re silent for a minute, then get an idea.  “You’re right, I don’t.  But if you really want to, I can tell you how.”   

You know the guard won’t stay at the door all night.  You know the best time and route to get out of the house. If she gets away, good for her.  If she gets caught by one of Joel’s men, oh well. 

-

Thank you so, so much for reading and engaging! Love you guys. You will have your man to yourself next time.

-

if i've left you off please DM me. You can also follow @toxicfics and turn on notifications and you can follow @toxicrecs for my fic recs

[tblsomedoodles]

I

C R A V E

more Donnie VS The World content. It makes me vibrate and scream and wiggle like I'm off my meds. I would love anything, even a solid block of text, but your doodles/full artworks/comics are my favorite.

Please? All I've found so far is what we see in the donnieverse comic and the MVA/AMV (music video animatic/animatic music video). So many questions, like - is Casey (Sr) involved in any way, whethercas a fellow captive or rescue mission teammate? Is this the True Apocalypse or Averted Apocalypse timeline? If the latter, where is Casey (Jr)? How is Splinter handling it? (Is he even still alive to be Having Emotions About It?)

(Please feed me.

B L E A S E)

(If you don't mind, could you show/tell how Donnie escapes, one of his first Big Leads that gives him so much hope he cries, and/or the Big Reunion? One would be nice, two would be great, and all three would be amazing. If they aren't planned/are too spoilery, that's okay. Anything you can/are willing to give would be lovely.)

Thank you!! I'm glad you like it : ) I don't think I've answered many asked about this particular au, so i'm more than willing to talk about it! : )

I don't really have much up for it, mostly b/c it deals with a lot of angsty material that i can be a little uneasy about posting. I have a bit of old concept art, and an unposted fic i'm editing/rewriting (b/c it's the first fic i wrote for Rise and i did not have those character voices down lol.) I can probably post the first bits of it later this week. I did say at one point that i would once 'proud family tradition' was over, and it now is.

but yeah, here's the concept art, i'll put the explanation under the break b/c i'm going to be rambling lol.

So Donnie vs. takes place after the thwarted apocalypse (not-apocalypse future). They get taken by Bishop a few months afterwards, and it isn't until about a year after that, that Donnie gets free.

He's the last one still with Bishop at that point, and had been told/convinced through various means that his brothers were dead.

Bishop did a lot of experiments on him, leaving a lot of scaring. One of which was injecting him with Krang DNA to see what would happen. (the eye and veins thing. I think he has some side effects from that but i'm not entirely certain what they are atm)

The fic itself starts after his rescue, b/c i'm focusing on Donnie's search for his brothers (and his own recovery) Rather than the traumatic event itself.

The rescue itself, was certainly a rescue. April, Casey, and CJ worked together to get him out of there as well as gain whatever information they could before they were found out. (Casey went undercover and was able to get some incomplete files and help get donnie out before she was discovered and had to leave.)

donnies in...pretty bad shape at that point, mentally and physically. Physically, he's malnurished, injured, scared, the works. Bishop did a number on him in the year he had him.

Mentally, he's pretty much shut down. He's completely non-verbal, unresponsive most of the time, when he does respond it's very slow and seemingly difficult for him to do so. He describes it that it feels like he's behind several plates of thick glass. He can see and hear what's happening, interacting (or even just feeling anything about it) is very hard to get past the glass.

How he goes from that state to hunting down his brothers is fairly simple. One of the broken, encripted files Casey acquired was Leo's file. None of the three could open it, but they managed to get Donnie to try to do so. He manages it, sees the file, and for the first time in about a year, has hope. He doesn't even wait to show the other three, he just takes off while no one was looking, with April's laptop and CJ's coat (he steals a backpack along the way.)

I don't really want to say much past that. A lot of the rescues/reunions are pretty spoiler heavy, and i don't want to ruin some of the mystery of what's going on in the fic. But know this, he does get all his brothers (and family in general) back. Also, splinter is alive and is part of this, but again, that's spoilers for some things i don't want to ruin.

Again, i'll probably start posting this sometime this week. It's an interesting fic that i've put quite a bit of time into at this point, so i'll be excited to see what is thought of it.

Thank you!

[fallen-gabrielle]

Presidential/White House AU Headcanons compilation

Hello KND fandom! With friends from the discord server, we expanded the fake future from Operation: W.H.I.T.E.H.O.U.S.E. and made it an actual alternate universe/future.

I also decided to write a fanfic about it based on the headcanons we came up with 👀: Wrath of The White House, title suggested by @scarlett-v-the-fox. She also came up with a lot of headcanons about Lizzie's alien specie.

Many things come from the fact that President Uno gives major "I cheat on my wife with my secretary" vibes and we all just rolled with the idea. So yes, in this AU and fic, Adults!Nigel/Kuki is a thing and things get cra-zy between them, so I'm warning you, there will be a lot of adult stuff under the cut, such as freaky physical intimacy. If you don't like it for any reason, don't go further.

There's also a few things I left out from the list, because it would be kind of spoilery for the fic, but with this list you already know where you're getting yourself into, so no big surprises.

I will probably reblog this post when we explore the other characters not so mentioned here, but this is a good base to start.

Ok, are you ready for it? Remember, the following might make you uncomfortable so if you don't want to read it, just keep scrolling.

HEY I WARNED YOU, THERE WILL BE REALLY ADULT THEMED TOPICS, THIS IS MY FINAL WARNING, DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THINGS YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SEE CUZ I GAVE TWO BIG WARNINGS ABOUT IT! FINAL CHANCE TO TURN BACK!!!

The main things that can be hard to read are: kinks, torture, domestic and child abuse. All of this will be explored in some degrees in the fic.

We good? Okay, here it is then!

President Nigel Uno/Wrath -Won the elections through shady means: bribes, blackmail and other illegal stuff. -He made it possible for him to be President for life -He's in charge of the English mob, who he sent people to do the dirty work -He also has his personal army of demons as henchmen who helped him with the shady means to become president -He has powers, but he hides them very well in the face of the public. -The whole demon lineage is a family secret that he didn't even tell Lizzie. -He is known in the undergrounds as Wrath and you really don't want to piss him off. -His silhouette form is the classic pitch black suit, he has claws and a dragon tail, as well as straight horns on his forehead. His hair is messy in this form as well. -He's an asshole. He cares more about his hair than his heir (plz laugh at this) -He had many love affairs but only a few were consistant (a lot of one night stand). He only had one kid out of it with Rachel. -He uses a lot of hair gel. When he doesn't, his hair are messy just like his son's (they basically have the same haircut if not combed)

Nigel and Kuki (that's where the freaky bed stuff is, guys) -They fuck in secret but some people know what's going on. -They get crazy in the sack, with a shit tons of kinks. -Seriously, they try stuff in the bedroom, they're really creative. Tickling that Nigel actually enjoyed, Kuki liking having her hair pulled a little bit. They both bite and love it. -Their kinks involve leather, chains and extreme role plays (she has a collar with his name on it) -Technically they're switches, they take turns on who's the dominant one, but Nigel secretely likes being the sub in their relationship bc he gets a break from being in charge, and he gets praised. He can't hear "good boy" without blushing. -They can't go to specialized clubs because they can be regognized so they do it in private places -They have a code in little gestures to warn the other when they want each other. When she fixes his ties for exemple. -Their relationship is purely physical intimacy, there is no romantic emotion between them. -Outside of the bedroom, and off duty, they're just friends. -After the act, Nigel and Kuki share some fluff moment, where they simply like the presence of each other and like to snuggle. -She is serious, strict and stern as the secretary but in private with Nigel she loosens up and is a real tigress in bed. -"I will work late tonight honey" => is actually with Kuki -In the morning, Kuki likes to exchange her glasses with his just for fun, but one time they actually had to rush to get out and still had the wrong glasses on their faces. For those who didn't already know about them, that's how they learned what's going on -Kuki always travels with him on his trips

Nigel and Rachel (plus her family) -He had an affair with her during the early years of his marriage with Lizzie. -They're still in love even to this day -They had a daughter together named Lucy, 14 years old -Nigel loves his daughter very much, she's his little princess -He clearly has a favorite, and it's his daughter -They've been keeping their love affair a secret from everyone, mostly -Rachel is also hiding her daughter from most people's knolwedge -Rachel ended her relationship with Nigel and put an end to his secret visits to his daughter because things got sus and Nigel was also starting to change as he became greedier and lusted for more powers. He wasn't the man she fell in love with anymore. -Nigel sends her money to support their daughter but Rachel never accepted the money as it comes from corrupted/dirty money. -Rachel is the head of national security -She knows all the hacking tricks in the book. She can bypass a n y t h i n g -Harvey knows about the secret child and absolutely despises Nigel (and so does he)

Nigel and Lizzie -Lizzie is the same overbearing and annoying person as ever -Lizzie suspects that Nigel has an affair with Kuki Sanban. -She has no clue about Rachel and the illegitimate daughter. But when she learns that fact, all hell will break loose -She will especially be super mad that Nigel got a daughter with another woman and she didn't. -When she does get a confirmation about Kuki, she has to keep it down because the scandal would be too much to handle. Also, Nigel would be worse to her if she throws fits. -She doesn't know the extent of what Nigel is doing with Kuki, just that he's cheating on her with the secretary -When they do get intimate, it's the most boring stuff ever. -Nigel absolutely doesn't know she's an alien. When he finds out, he sends her to Area 51 -He will torture her to know why she was sent to earth

Nigel and his parents/relatives -Actually the only people he's not a complete douchbag to. -He really loves his parents and they love him too. He just never has the time to visit them as much as he would want to. -But they still never approved of Lizzie. They hate her. -Mrs Uno occasionally mentions divorce to her son so that Nigel would someday click and dump Lizzie -Nigel is also close to his uncle Benedict. He taught his nephew how to use his powers when he got them in his 20s.

Nigel and Shirley -They have a very cold relationship -Nigel doesn't care much for his son's existence except when it comes to his own image -Nigel is more neglectful towards his son than he is verbally or physically abusive towards him -Nigel insists on his son being proper all the time. -He combs his son's hair whenever he thinks it's not perfect -When Shirley gets his alien genes activated and apparent, Nigel absolutely hates it and cuts them off violently. -He always scolds Shirley for being ‘too noisy/agitated’ when they visit his parents because they’re old people so therefore they mustn’t be rushed. But Monty and Margaret really don’t mind their grandson for doing what a kid is supposed to do. -Shirley doesn't know his dad has affairs and just thinks he's always busy on business trip and extended meetings. -Viggo finding dogs’ collars in his dad’s stuff: "wait, he secretly has a dog? And he always refused that I get one myself !!!" Poor boy doesn't know what this really means

Shirley/Viggo -He's part human/demon and uvinea (alien part) -He doesn't know his true lineage on either side (yet) -At some point, he will start having flowers growing on his head -His vines can be torn apart and it hurts, but they will grow back -He doesn't know anything about his father's infidelity drama, including his older half sister -He really despises his dad in general -He admires Numbuh 1, whom he doesn't actually know that's his dad -I let you imagine the shock when he'll find out the truth xD -Leopold Lincoln/Numbuh 5'000 is his best friend -Shirley spends some times at the Lincolns', because Leo's dad is so much nicer than his own and wishes to have a dad like Leo's -Despite how dysfunctional his family is, Shirley still hopes that one day they could be a "normal family". -He loves his grandparents a lot (who doesn't tbh) -Nigel and Lizzie fight a lot for small things as well as the bigger ones (Nigel’s cheating for exemple) and it’s too much for Shirley so he goes to his grandparents’ place to have some calm and wholesomeness or sometimes to the Lincolns' -He hates the cold

Fanny & Patton plus friends -They're married and have a daughter -Her name is Sheila and her codename is Numbuh 860, soopreme leader -Patton is in the army but doesn't have a high position -He has to put up with Wally's bs all the time -He's away from home a lot -Fanny, as head of Nigel's security guards, records the shenanigans between the President and his Secretary and keeps the tapes as off-brand for herself. -She's actually supposed to delete anything scandalous about the President but eh, she sometimes blackmails Nigel with it. -She sometimes watches it with her colleague Chad and her husband when he gets back home -They all treat it like it's a fictional tv drama show -Therefore, they know all the dirty little secrets the President Uno has in the sack -She gossips about everything going on in the White House with her colleagues but makes sure nothing get out really (her boss is Nigel, remember) -Fanny actually does know about the Nigel/Rachel affair, because she is friend with Rachel -Fanny talks Rachel into watching the tapes. Rachel reluctantly agrees, and she's speechless until she mutters over halfway in, "Why couldn't we do any of that stuff? Damn."

Abigail Lincoln -Married to Maurice, he took her last name. -She was arrested under false accusations/She tried to organize a coup against his administration and failed -Nigel tortures her to get info from her (mostly about the knd) -She lost her right eye during one torture session -She was never decomissioned as she was tasked as a teenager and later as an adult to look after Nigel. Obviously she failed. -She is constantly tormenting herself about the fact she wasn't able to save Nigel -She was also part of Nigel's administration and she refused to help him in his corruption

Leopold/Numbuh 5'000 -His dad is Maurice -He's Shirley's best friend and always calls him by his nickname Viggo -He doesn't freak out nor is scared of his friend when he gets his powers -He kinda fanboys about it, actually, which makes Viggo cringe a few times -He writes and collect letters from the family for his mom. -He sneaks into the prison to bring her the letters and pastries his dad baked for his wife -He has to make his visits more sparce to avoid getting caught -“Dad misses you” “Dad brought you this” “Dad is working on your case” -He failed to protect his mom from being jailed and feels really guilty about it -He's a brave kid, but he still cries late at night for his mother. -His aunt Cree also helped raising him while Abby is imprisoned

[kattahj]

Another batch of QL or QL-adjacent reviews, plus a bonus extra!

Am I the Only One with Butterflies? (Minidrama, 7 x 5-10 min)

What's it about? Jung Ah has such a crush on her kind and helpful boss, Manager Lee. But how can she know if her boss feels the same?

Genre: Romantic drama

Watch if you enjoy: Pining. Workplace romance. Age gap. Insecure protagonist. Chatroom advice. No villains. Bitesized episodes. Minimal number of characters and settings. Ambiguous ending.

Gayer version of: Hmm, I can't think of anything where someone has a crush on their boss and it's as innocent as it's presented here.

Recommended? It barely has time to get started before it ends, but it's pretty cute, so sure! Especially since it has no fandom presence on AO3 and barely any on tumblr, and I think it deserves better than that.

Watched on: YouTube

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY5PeW5o0GVychuvZOrOhdWt9sgnrnh92&si=gCj7CMBV_1-EGfAi

Club Friday: Love Bully (4 x 60 min)

What's it about? Rich girl Irene falls for bartender Night, which infuriates her CEO mother and makes some others in the company sense an opportunity.

Genre: Soapy drama

Watch if you enjoy: Couples that waste no time falling in love. Class issues. (Somewhat undermined by the poorer characters' ridiculously fancy house.) Smirking villains. Trans representation.

Gayer version of: Crazy Rich Asians

Recommended? Must a show be good? Is it not enough to watch two beautiful ladies fall in insta-love while soap villains conspire (badly) against them?

So no, but also yes.

Watched on: YouTube

Trailer: https://youtu.be/RocOPTziZ1c?si=_VL3nFNzb5dG7xTj

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLESL0e438h4OWJmsV0KUFZTFAbbxF0rpg&si=PZcueqaBHTkmqeFp

Ghost Host, Ghost House (8 x 30 min, last ep double-length)

What's it about? Kevin is going on holiday with his relatives in Thailand. As a side project, he's also ghost hunting, and livestreams about it. But the ghosts may be closer than he thinks!

Genre: dramedy (more comedy to begin with, then more drama)

Watch if you enjoy: Nice ghosts and some not so nice ghosts. Ghost bureaucracy. Explorations of love and loss. Incredibly sweet boys in love. Romance that progresses at a realistic pace.

Gayer version of: The Canterville Ghost

Recommended? Yes! This was an unexpected gem. Heartfelt, funny, and sweet. Among my absolute favourites.

Watched on: GagaOoLala, but seems to also be available on youtube

Trailer (quite spoilery): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il0tMQA8BRg

My Stand-In (12 x 60 min)

What's it about? Joe works as a stuntman/stand-in, and he also feels as a stand-in in his romantic life, since his boyfriend would rather be with aomeone else. After a fatal accident, he finds himself as a third kind of stand-in: stuck in a stranger's body!

Genre: Melodrama

Watch if you enjoy: Heightened emotions. Slight supernatural tinge. Toxic romance (that improves somewhat with time). Both supportive and less supportive family. Sweet, sad, and soppy protagonist, who knows he's a fool returning to his folly but does it anyway.

Gayer version of: Heaven Can Wait as written by the Brontë sisters (not Anne)

Recommended? For the right kind of viewer, yes! Personally, I enjoyed it in a "sit back with popcorn" way, but was the most emotionally invested in Joe's relationship with his new "mom".

Watched on: Dailymotion 

Trailer: https://youtu.be/9lzKraOt4dk?si=4kRyaPr0IbzaKT0S

Fragrance of the First Flower (6 x 15-20 min)

What's it about? Yi Ming and Ting Ting were in love in high school. Now Yi Ming is married with a child, and trying to make the best of it, when Ting Ting suddenly comes back into her life.

Genre: low-key drama

Watch if you enjoy: Realistically messy relationships. (This is more of a general relationship drama than a downright GL.) Old flames and second chances. Multiple timelines. Heartbreak with a hopeful ending. No heroes, no villains.

Gayer version of: Maybe The Notebook? I feel like this is a common story, but I'm hard pressed to find examples!

Recommended? Maybe? I thought the acting was well done, but found it distracting (and sometimes confusing) when these clearly 30+ actresses were supposed to be teenagers. The storyline is compelling, though it's hard to sympathize with anyone.

Season 2 is in the works, and I plan to see it when it comes.

Note: The end titles are unusually long, so don't be surprised if the counter says 23 minutes and the ep ends at 16.

Watched on: GagaOOLala

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdxhA-LZ2E

Wandee Goodday (12 x 50 min)

What's it about? Dr. Wandee just got rebuffed and called vanilla by the colleague he has a crush on. Determined to prove himself desirable, he hooks up with boxing champion Yoryak and asks him to be his fake boyfriend.

Genre: Romcom

Watch if you enjoy: Hijinks of both a sexual and platonic variety. Couple who deny being in love for far too long. Playing dress-up. Talking the issues out. Gayest boxing gym ever. Parental issues. Parentified big brother with the bestest boyfriend. Some asexual representation on the side. Occasional reminders to take the HPV vaccine.

Gayer version of: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Recommended? The main storyline is kind of cute, with piles of romcom tropes in good and bad ways. The SECONDARY couple, however, I absolutely adored. They got 5-15 minutes per ep, and stole every scene they were in and then some.

Watched on: YouTube

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAC6UgVxles

BONUS REVIEW

The Warp Effect (Series, 12 x 45-60 min)

Not a QL (it has a mix of straight and queer pairings) but relevant to the subject because it has a lot of the same actors as Thai QLs, and the director has also made some QLs.

What's it about? Before she died, Alex's mother made him promise to stay a virgin until the time is right. Whenever Alex tries to break that promise, bad things happen. Like being thrown ten years into the future.

Genre: dramedy

Watch if you enjoy: Big friend groups. Mix of comedic and serious moments. Gay, lesbian, trans, nonbinary, and even kinky representation.

Somewhat gayer version of: 13 going on 30

Recommended? On the whole, yes. It's sympathetic, and I got quite involved in some of the characters' fates (mostly the ladies and my favourite enby, not so much the guys). The comedy doesn't always work for me, and as a cynical Gen X cusper, I thought at times that the show gets too Very Special Episode about its sex ed bits. (In Swedish terms, it's like it was co-produced by UR and RFSU.) But hey, in comparison to what we were told as teenagers, its lessons are pretty darn great, and it's also got Silvy Pavida looking (and acting) fantastic in a nonbinary role, so... :-)

Watched on: YouTube

Trailer: https://youtu.be/eBwCNO-XkaY?si=2rvyoEtxFruHZq2D

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGbua6YlkQiIx1a-KrOMDNDoutnY1ZEmj&si=4ik9y6LC5t2owoBm

[thewitchofbooks]

Hiii gorg I love your style of writing 😳👍 can you maybe write about ikepri suitors in the modem world? Just general stuff like what music would they like or what jobs do you see them working? Anything that you find fit tbh

You're amazing, stay safe and well <3

Hi!!!Thank you for the compliments and the request, i really appreciate it!It took me some time to write for all of them, so i apologize!Please, keep in mind that i don’t know everything about the characters and they might be ooc.I hope you like it~

Type: Headcanons, Modern AU

Game: Ikemen Prince

Characters: All characters

Warnings: Spoilery, characters might be ooc, not the best out there, haha, mentions of alcohol (trigger warning), not the best english (especially with many words).

I’ll write their favourite music, dressing style (both casual and formal), their jobs, their hobbies, their favourite type of food and their favourite drink(s).Keep in mind that these are not all real, i just think they would like these.Thank you!

~Clavis Lelouch

Favourite type of music:Clavis hears anything that sounds good.He can go from pop, to rock, to metal and everything in between.Sometimes, he likes to play songs, like twinkle twinkle little star and he sings it in a childish voice, just to annoy his big bro, Chevalier.Chevalier probably threw a vase full of cold water on him.He would have thrown more, but he doesn’t like wasting precious water for the “laughing clown’s” idiocity.

Dressing style (1~casual):Clavis likes to wear fashionable clothes with lots of twists.He probably wears animal printed clothes and accessories, like a leopard printed hat or coats.For a more casual outfit, he wears a white button up shirt tucked in black skinny jeans and he tops it of with a leather biker-style black jacket (if it’s cold).                                                               (2~formal):For formal wear, he chooses a purple stripped button up shirt with a light grey vest and light grey pants.He puts on a grey long coat to finish it up.

Job:Clavis works as a spy for the Cyber Crime Division.He seems like a maniac to his coworkers, but they know how good he is at what he does.Also, he is good at spying his brother and he sees it as exercise.

Hobbies:Clavis’s hobbies are:drinking smoothies, while spying Chevalier, annoying Chevalier (especially when he is tired) and making things (because he is good with his hands).Clavis doesn’t have a lot of time for himself, but when he does, he makes sure to spend it doing all these things.

Favourite type of food:Clavis loves sweets and junk food.It was a rare treat when he was younger, but now he can eat them.At least, he prefers a healthier version like, fruits on top pf his sweets and salads as side dishes for the food.

Favourite drink(s):This man loves starbucks.He doesn’t drink alcohol due to personal reasons, so he buys them everyday.He buys unicorn coloured drinks & sweets and he tries to give some of them to Cheva.It doesn’t work.

~Chevalier Michel

Favourite type of music:Chevalier listens to classical, rock and metal.He likes songs with deep meaning, because it makes him think/daydream in his free time.He also plays the piano and violin, which got him into classical music.Sometimes, he is forced to here Clavis’s loud stereo, so he hears childish songs and he gets mad.

Dressing style (1~casual):Chevalier wears a white turtleneck shirt, black skinny pants and a long black coat.He also wears black reading glasses.He doesn’t like having a lot of strange addings on his clothes, because he likes being fancy, without being too much.                                 (2~formal):Chevalier chooses suits, which fit perfectly on his body.On top of his suits, he likes wearing black or while long coats and a pair of gloves in the same colour.He always has a golden pin with chains on, which keeps his tie straight and neat.

Job:Cheva works as an Army Strategist and as a Defence Minister.All the people trust him, so they voted for him.He was already a strong man before, but now he became even more, to help protect his country and those in need.

Hobbies:Chevalier, naturaly, loves to read romance novels.His mansion has two rooms as libraries.He also keeps shelves of books in his room.Another thing he likes is learning more and more (languages and other things), because he is fast at learning and they might come in handy.

Favourite type of food:Chevalier doesn’t care much, though he prefers eating foods with a lot of protein and vitamins.He is used to eating mostly these types of food, because of his work.He sometimes eats sweets, but never the unicorn ones Clavis tries to feed him.

Favourite drink(s):Cheva is not a big fan of alcohol.Alcohol has a lot of bad sugars for his health and he also doesn’t like getting drunk.Especially when he works.He drinks plenty of water and tea.

~Luke Randolph

Favourite type of music:Luke listens to pop and classical music.If he likes a song that is different, he is going to hear that as well.He doesn’t really care, but he prefers soft and gentle sounds.

Dressing style (1~casual):Luke picks long green t-shirts with V-Neck as a top and dark purple sweatpants as bottoms.On top of all that, he wears an oversized dark grey jacket.He likes those colours, because they remind him of the forest and nature in general.                                                         (2~formal):Luke wears a grey button up shirt in a pair of grey jeans.He tops it off with a stylish but still comfortable grey jean jacket.

Job:This tall gentleman loves honey, so he decided to work as an apriarist.Not only does he help feed and keep safe as many honey bees as he can, he takes the honey away without hurting them or destroying their houses (beehives).

Hobbies:One of Luke’s hobbies is helping and playing with the forest animals.These animals are drawn to him and want his attention.He puts water and food all over the place, so they can find it easily and get ready for the cold weather.

Favourite type of food:Of course, his favourite food is honey.It had to do with a lot of hard things he went through in his past and he doesn’t want to forget.It’s also sweet and healthy, so he prefers it.He also likes homecooked meals, because they are warm and he feels safe.

Favourite drink(s):Luke’s favourite drinks are tea and milk.These drinks are both warm and sweet (he drowns them in honey).They are perfect for a cold day and a hot day.All the stress goes away and he is calm again.

~Leon Dompteur

Favourite type of music:Leon listens to alternative rock and pop.He likes to dance around in his days off, when he is at home.He goes to a lot of concerts with a few of his brothers to enjoy a night out.The music he hars goes well with his personality and he always has fun.

Dressing style: (1~casual):Leon lives for more casual outfits that are different from the stiff clothes he wears at work.He goes for a black t-shirt that shows his abs and black pants that hug his waist.He is naturally warm, so he believes he doesn’t need a jacket.                                            (2~formal):Leon wears a black turtleneck shirt and black or dark grey pants.Sometimes, he puts on a dark grey suit jacket to look even better.

Job:Leon works with Chevalier as an Army Strategist.He gets well with the soldiers and they follow all his commands.He knows his brother is harsh, but he informs the new soldiers how much he cares for their country.

Hobbies:Leon’s hobby is having fun with his loved ones.He’ll prefer social gatherings and talking with people.He is easy to talk to, so his family gets together because of him.He might enjoy dancing, so he could be ready to impress his lover.

Favourite type of food:Yves’s baking/cooking.Not only does the food he makes tastes good, it’s also very fun to tease him.Sometime, he dines outside.If a person he loves makes food, he’ll eat it without much care if it tastes good.He is happy they did it.

Favourite drink(s):Leon can drink nearly everythinng.He can go from drinking alcohol with Jin, to drinking tea and milk with Luke.He doesn’t want to get drunk, because it’s bad for his job and his health, so he doesn’t do it too much.

~Yves Kloss

Favourite type of music:Yves listens to whatever sounds good and has style.He secretly listens to meme cat meowing his favourite songs.He learns the choreography in every song that has one.If his brotherd catch him doing that, he tries to deny it while blushing.

Dressing style (1~casual):Yves wears skinny black jeans with cuts on the knees and a pink oversized sweater.On top, he wears a grey cardigan.His clothes look big on him and it makes him look cuter.                                    (2~formal):He wears a white button up shirt, tucked in grey pants.He wears different coloured ties, but prefers pink, grey or black ones.He also wears a pink suit jacket.He likes being stylish in everything he does.

Job:Yves works at a pet shop.All the pets that live in here love him.The people that want to buy a animal have to watch him trying to put the animals in their (boxes/the things they put them in when they go somewhere).The animals are cuddling him and pawing at his cheeks.Yves is happy they found a home, but he is also sad, because he liked playing with them (even if that meant getting teased by his brothers).Yves secretly works as a stylist and he sketches clothes for women and men.

Hobbies:Yves hobbies have to do with beauty.He changes hairstyles or he goes shopping for clothes and accessories.He is calming down whenever he does that.Yves also enjoys doing new things, like joining art classes (painting, writing, dancing).

Favourite type of food:Yves loves cakes with fruits on top.He likes it when fresh berries are used to make them.They are not too sweet, but they live a nice taste in his mouth.He eats other foods, of course, because he knows that he has to be healthy.He eats for every meal of the day.He scolds Clavis for his choices and is discusted with his eating habits.He also cooks for himself (and some of his brothers).

~Nokto Klein

Favourite type of music:Nokto listens to pop (because most of the explicit songs he likes are pop).His tastes may change, but it also depends on his mood.If he is in a certain mood, being withh his lover and all, he stays with his normal choices.

Dressing style (1~casual):For a more casual look, he braids one side of his hair and it goes up in a high ponytail.He wears grey skinny jeans and a baby blue t-shirt.If it becomes too cold, he’ll get a white jacket.                    (2~formal):Nokto can go from a total white look to a white and baby blue look.He’ll choose a blue tie, with a white button up shirt and white pants.Nokto will take a white suit jacket on his shoulders and it’s kept on it’s place by a silver chain.

Job:I can see most of the brothers working together, so he’ll probably would be a spy for the Army, set by Chevalier himself.He is not scared to do reckless things and get in trouble.He knows how to keep secrets from the others.

Hobbies:Nokto’s hobbies are learning things about other people and most of all, what his lover enjoys.He likes trying new things with his S/O, that both are comfortable with.Another hobby of his is annoying and teasing his brothers that don’t want that don’t want that type of attention.

Favourite type of food:Nokto enjoys sweet, salty and savoury foods.Of course, there are some that make him feel better than others, so he prefers them.He finds some foods amusing, like the rainbow coloured ones and he wants to try them.

Favourite drink(s):If he is not at work, he likes strong liquor, but when it’s work related he’ll drink something softer and give the strong drinks to his enemies.That doesn’t stop him from enjoying drinks like sodas.Nokto tries Clavis’s favourite drinks, but he isn’t the biggest fan.

~Licht Klein

Favourite type of music:To most, Licht seems like a very quiet guy, but the music he likes isn’t always like that.He listens to every type of rock, pop and hip hop music.He is someone that likes the deep meaning every song has and he always remembers their lyrics.

Dressing style (1~casual):Licht has an angelic face and he knows what goes better with that.He wears a white oversized button up shirt with baby blue buttons in the middle and light blue skinny jeans.                                  (2~formal):For formal wear, Licht chooses a blue-grey suit, a yellow bowtie with a red ruby in the middle.On top, he wears a grey cardigan to keep himself warm.

Job:Licht is a soldier, who is not afraid to lose his life.Just like his twin, he doesn’t care about doing reckless things, because he lives for others, mostly.He doesn’t show that he cares for his brothers, but it can be seen.

Hobbies:For Licht, martial arts is the way to relax.Marial arts are not for fighting and killing someone.The first thing you learn is to keep yourself calm and then safe in front of difficult situations.That’s what Licht likes, so he follows it.Other things Licht likes to do is sing lullabies from his childhood and dance hip hop.

Favourite type of food:Licht absolutely loves sweets.Tarts full of chocolate, berries and other fruits are to die for.Sometimes, he secretly wants to eat Yves’s cakes, so he pouts at him, which always works to his favor.

Favourite type of drink(s):He doesn’t drink too much, he prefers water, tea and milk.First of all, it’s easier to drink them when eating.Second of all, he doesn’t want to get drunk (he doesn’t know if he can hold it).

~Sariel Noir

Favourite type of music:Sariel has gone through so much stress, so he just listens to screamo.If he feels better, he’ll hear to classical music while sipping his tea.He won’t say no to a new beat, but he’ll hear it if he can hear the voice clearly (so he can judge).

Dressing style (1~casual):If Sariel has time to go out without having to care for his work (or babysitting the brothers), he’ll wear a black, long sleeved shirt tucked in a nice pair of black pants.                                         (2~formal):He wears a black button up shirt with a silky red tie.He prefers black suits to go with, which have red details on top.He is stylish and he believes that black goes with everything.

Job:Sariel is a babysitter.Just kidding.He works as a Judge.He is amazing and fast.He knows when people feel guilty and it’s easy to find who is at fault.Definitely takes a lot of painkillers for those headaches.

Hobbies:He plays every classical music instruments when he has free time.He learned to play when he was younger and it always calmed him down.He also enjoys reading books (classic literature).

Favourite type of food:Sariel eats healthy most of the time, but he has cheat days.He can relax and eat sweets and junk food, while watching a movie or eating with company.

Favourite drink(s):Sariel drinks alcohol, not until he is completely wasted.He enjoys drinking if the company is good.But he prefers drinking tea and relaxing by his own.

~Rio Ortiz

Favourite type of music:Rio listens to everything.And by everything, i mean everything.He doesn’t care if the voices are clean or good, he is just happy to have something to hear.If his future S/O has a fave, then it’ll become his fave as well.

Dressing style (1~casual):Rio works a lot of hours a day, so he doesn’t dress too casual.If he can choose, then he wears blue jeans and coloured t-shirts.(Or a pair of pjs.)                                                                                (2~formal):Rio wears coloured button up shirts and black or white pants and a matching jacket.He doesn’t care much about his style, but he is forced when he works.

Job:Rio works as a lawyer, next to Sariel.He is clever and witty.When the other lawyers face him, they think they have to do with a child, but he is fast at gathering iinformation and he uses it against them.That’s the only reason Sariel keeps him.

Hobbies:Rio searches information about new people he meets, just for fun.He also has a puppy, but it mostly stays with close friends.When he is at home, they cuddle together and he feed it with it’s favourite treats.

Favourite type of food:Rio knows how to cook special meals, so he enjoys eating them.If he is too tired, he’ll eat pizza and he’ll later have some cookies to make himself feel better.

Favourite drink(s):He drinks a small amount of alcohol (to drown his pain).He likes drinking nearly all kind of drinks, even the crazy ones, especially if he has good company to share them.

~Jin Grandet

Favourite type of music:Jin listens to pop songs and the songs that are heard in bar-clubs.Sometimes, he hears the songs his brothers send him in the messenger app they all have.

Dressing style (1~casual):Jin wears forest green shirts or t-shirts and black pants or blue jeans.He might wear t-shirts with tie stamps on them.   (2~formal):He rarely wears formal clothes.He thinks they are too stiff and it’s not easy to move his body.Sadly, Leon takes him on gatherings, where he is forced to dress up.Jin tries on dark blue suits and green button up shirts.

Job:Jin is a bartender.It wasn’t because he liked those places.Not only, at least.He has women with big chests to work around the place.Sometimes, he stops his work, just to look and flirt.

Hobbies:His favourite hobby is staring at chests and have Clavis next to him, telling him that women with beautiful legs are the best.Another hobby of his is making a chaos in his house and calling Yves, only to laugh while he runs away.

Favourite type of food:Jin eats foods with lots of protein.He likes to eat everything tasty.He is one of those that trick Yves into cooking.

Favourite drink(s):Jin is used to drinking alcohol and he doesn’t get drunk easily.He enjoys cocktails from his bar and juices.He is okay with tea as well.

THE END.

NadiaSilver~

AN:Thank you very much for reading, and i’m sorry for repeating so many words!I hope you enjoyed it!Also, my requests are open to everyone!I write for ikemen revolution, ikemen vampire and ikemen prince!

[moonstone-blues]

River X Nick Ship Q&A

Was bored and it's like 5:20 am so I thought I'd do this OTP questionnaire I saw on Deviantart. I had to take some out for fanfic spoiler reasons but I guess this is still spoilery? But not really?

Who is the most affectionate?

River. She loves giving him hugs and kisses and overall just likes making Nick feel special in his own body. 

Big spoon/Little spoon?

Nick Big spoon, River lil' spoon. She's tried to be big spoon but that's a challenge she's not accomplished yet. 

Most common argument?

Getting into danger. They both are just self destructive if it means helping people.

Favorite non-sexual activity?

Just cuddling together and listening to the radio. Occasional dancing if they're in a good mood but they like to just relax in each other's company the most. 

Who is most likely to carry the other?

Nick often carries River since she overworks herself and gets injured quite a bit. 

What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Physically, River loves the calming glow of Nick's eyes. They make her feel safe. Nick loves River's dimples because that means she's smiling and thus, happy. Personality wise, River loves Nick's smart ass humour. She loves the playful banter they have. And Nick adores River's kindness to anyone she meets who deserves it. 

Who worries the most?

The pair of them are worried a lot about each other but mostly Nick about River. He knows how reckless she can be to help out and she's not a synth who can take a few hits either. In general probably River because she has a lot to keep track of.

Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Nick. He doesn't have his own order to remember so that makes things easier. He always let's River order for herself though. He's not her dad and she might want something different from the usual. 

Who tops?

Nick is kind of clueless to stuff like that so River takes lead. Though if Nick did know what to do, he'd be a smart ass top. 

Who initiates kisses?

They're usually mutual but River does tend to do it more. 

Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

River. Especially if Nick is feeling self conscious about being a synth. Grabbing his metal hand is her way of saying. "Shut up. I love you. I love your metal hand. I just love you. You're perfect. Shut up or so help me…" 

Who kisses the hardest?

Depends on the mood. River is the type of person to kiss Nick when she's angry at him, that's the most hard that she kisses him. In general, their kisses are quite gentle. 

Who wakes up first?

Well technically River but Nick doesn't sleep in the first place.

Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

River. It's not the most comfortable, but when she wants a break, she wants a break. 

Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)

Not really a thing they do but River would be more likely to leave notes in Nick's coat pocket. Probably reminders and typical "I love you" notes. 

What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Everyone supports it pretty much. Hancock considers himself to be the ultimate wing man even though he didn't do anything. And Shaun loves his robot dad. 

Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

River. Nick basically has two left feet so if he's dancing, River better force him. 

Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

River. Everyone in Sanctuary tends to cook so Nick knows how to a little but River does it the most out of the two since she actually needs to eat. 

Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

They're both as bad as each other. Depending on who goes first, the other will usually groan but love it. 

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Nick usually makes jokes to make light of a dark situation. That can be awkward in some situations. (Like the Dr Crocker thing. Not cool, Nick.) But if you're talking NSFW then probably River but it's very rare. 

Who needs more assurance?

River. Being the general of the Minutemen, plus everything that happens in the main story is very stressful. 

What would be their theme song?

Machine by Scott Helman. I like this cover in particular because it sounds like River singing to Nick: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K47cRpa_dMk

Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

River has her lullabies. Nick may read Shaun to sleep occasionally but never sing. 

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Nick mostly keeps to his work if he's away from Sanctuary. He's very much a workaholic so any job will do. If River is away from Sanctuary, she's probably doing general Minuteman stuff, helping settlements and trying to help out wherever she can. If either are in Sanctuary, they love spending time with Shaun and each have their own way of helping him with his projects. 

One headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart:

If Nick stays in his body, he'll eventually outlive River and forget about her because of his limited memory. 

One headcanon about this OTP that mends it:

If Nick converts to a gen 3 body, they can live together and, depending on your beliefs about synths, can reach old age together.

This was quite fun and easy to do! I'll be happy to accept any random ship questions, even concerning my other Fallout girls and their non-canon romances because, I'll say it louder for the people in the back:

TODD IS A C O W A R D.

Here's the link to the original post: https://www.deviantart.com/corona-cody/journal/OTP-Questions-meme-582814233

[vandorens-archive]

ten questions tag | i was tagged by: @mshelleys, @emdrabbles, @pe-ersona, @evergrcen and @septemberliterature. thank you so much, and i’m so sorry i’m getting to this so late!

everything is under the cut!

@mshelleys

i. if you could change the genre of one of your wips, what would you change it to and how would the story/characters change?

So, trahison already features a ghost and a brief stay at a manor. have i considered turning it into a full fledged horror because of that? perhaps.

ii. do you think of your characters as actors playing a part in a movie or as people in history actually doing things that effect the future?

i think of them as actors playing in one long, crazy, unpredictable play. 

iii. role swap your protagonist and antagonist but keep their personalities the same; how different would your story be?

honestly, not different at all, because when it comes to it, the subject of trahison’s antagonist (s) is pretty complex. 

iv. are any of your characters based on you, family, friends, or someone else you know?

oh, absolutely. my characters range between self inserts, to characters i wish i was more like, to characters that are essentially walking, talking, breathing love letters to the people i care about.  

v. how long have you had your main protagonist(s) of your wip(s)?

I’ve been working with marin, nate and ruby for years, long before they were even called that and were a part of a dystopian crime novel (don’t ask). antoine joined them soon after, followed a while later by beth and isadora, and miles was invented during the plotting stage. 

vi. do you prefer to write chronologically or just make a bunch of scenes and order them after they’re written?

it depends on what i’m working on and how serious i am about it, but if we’re only talking about trahison, then chronologically!

vii. imagine the problem in your wip is sorted out, how would the protagonist recount the story to their children if they asked?

with a far away look in his eyes and an uncharacteristic fondness in his voice, marin would turn to his children, and tell them how extraordinary his friends were during his university years—their zeal, their inquisitiveness, and conveniently leaving out the uncomfortable loyalty they all had towards each other, until time and life’s commands separated them. 

viii. favorite (non-spoilery) line(s) of your current wip(s)?

This small bit of description, albeit a little purple prose-y, is one that i’m very, very proud of.

“ The morning rain had made its grave in the dirt, the bittersweet smell—like exotic black tea—rising into the air. It was the night pluviophiles came to dance. If I think hard, I can still taste the ghost of the raindrops on my tongue and sense Beth’s radiating warmth beside me; its own ghost ” - trahison, chapter three

ix. if your wip was a movie, could you see it be done in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, or 2010s? why that decade in particular?

so, fun fact, i hadn’t decided when to set trahison (see: the big question mark in my plotting notebook) but i have recently made up my mind and decided to set it in the seventies! if it was a film, then i could see it being made in seventies france! very a la the dreamers.

x. are you able to just make up a story on the spot, or do you need help (plot generators or other outside influences)?

sometimes i’ll take the help of prompts or media, but otherwise i just come up with things on my own!

@emdrabbles

i. what do the names of your main characters mean? did you pick them for the meaning or another reason?

i picked the trahison characters’ names based on two things: how much it related to the character’s backstory or personality, and how pleasing it sounded out loud. here are the meanings of their names:

marin — of the sea

ruby — deep red; precious stone; behold a son

elizabeth — god is my oath

nathaniel — gift from god

antoine — priceless one; beyond praise

isadora — gift of Isis

ii. what book are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading the time machine by h.g wells!

iii. last sentence written?

“ When the end of the world comes — I’ll film it ” — copycat, or the one where i predict the future. 

iv. who are some of your faceclaims?

i usually don’t use faceclaims, but if i had to choose:

marin van doren (trahison) — timor simakov

eloi hill (psychophantia) — maxence danet fauvel

cass parker (penny lane) — monica tomas

v. gimme some worldbuilding facts!!

alright, here’s one: in the world of psychophantia, not only is the magic system and your powers controlled by your morals, but so is your social ranking, your education, and any future you may have—to an extent. 

vi. do you outline? if so, do you have a specific method?

i’m a plotter and only really work well with a solid outline, however, my outlines range from a series of messy, incoherent bullet points to meticulous scene-by-scene planning based around the three act structure. this post is my go to for plotting assistance! 

vii. favourite author?

Like every tumblr user ever, i love donna tartt and maggie stiefvater, but i’m also a huge fan of f.scott fitzgerald, agatha christie and vera caspary!

viii. what is your oldest wip?

trahison! It went through many, many changes — from changes in genre to changes in character names, and there’s still a possibility that it could change even further. 

ix. what is your favourite wip?

every wip i reblog under my #others. tag! You all are so damn talented!

x. where do you get your inspiration from?

everywhere around me! from conversations i have with people, from films and books i consume, from the music on the radio — i like that anything and everything can inspire me to create.

@pe-ersona

i. in one sentence, explain your current wip!

a group of secretive students attempt to become immortal, only to uncover the worst parts of themselves — and each other — as they do. 

ii. was writing your main interest or did you have other interests?

although writing is my main interest (see: my social media bio on every platform ever), i also like to journal, sew, cook and make videos! my interests usually do have to do with the intention of creation. 

iii. what’s your favorite genre to write? to read?

I love writing horror and mysteries. those are my favourite genres, but i also love reading a good contemporary romance!

iv. what is one goal you have for your wip this year? how’s that goal going?

to finish the first draft! so far, not so bad, though i do wish i could write more, but unfortunately, time constraints plus school restrict me from doing so. 

v. how old is your wip? or when did you start writing your wip?

trahison is nearly three years old, but i only started writing the current version of it a year ago. 

vii. what scene made you cry or laugh or both?

these lines made me laugh out loud the first time i wrote them:

“ Up the stairs stumbled Miles, my slovenly genius roommate. He grinned at the giggles and winked at the exasperated stares. 

The gall of him! 

I wanted to be him. 

He managed to find his balance enough to reach our dorm. I immediately stepped back to let him in, and to make sure I was in no association with his uncomposed state. Nate gave a disapproving look at his back as he staggered in. 

I took another step back, raised a pointed eyebrow, and closed the door ” — trahison, chapter three

vii. how many ocs does your wip have? who’s your favourite?

my main wip, trahison, has six main characters. out of the main six, my favourite has to be nathaniel. he is very much the epitome of pure, and sometimes i wonder how he ended up in the middle of such a dark plot. 

vii. you have a brand new idea for a wip, what do you do? 

brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. scribble down whatever the hell pops up in my brain, attempt to link it together by a thin string of yarn, cross my fingers and hope for the best.

ix. you are having your first book-signing, where are you?

i’m in a small bookstore, nestled in a corner near the storage room. almost no one knows about this town, so the line is small but chatty, fans exchanging theories and analysing certain paragraphs. the sight of them makes me feel warm inside. 

x. you have the ability to live in any book, publishing or not, what would it be?

would it be too cliche to say the harry potter universe? other than that, other worlds i would love to be a part of is the world in my novel penny lane, or in midst of a detective story.

@evergrcen / @septemberliterature

i. how did you come up with your wip’s title? what does it mean in relation to the story?

okay, so i discovered the word ‘trahison’ after hearing my french teacher say it, and immediately knew i had to use it for something. ‘trahison’ means betrayal or treason in french, which is one of the main themes in the novel. 

ii. do you title your chapters? if so, what’s your favourite?

I don’t, but I would love to!!

iii. what’s a recent line you really like?

Not a very dramatic or noteworthy line, but here’s one from a poem i’m writing:

“ So the two of you get in the car, proceeding to have an argument with the radio ” — examples of easy solutions, or the one where the internet has no answers. 

iv. are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

“i think a lot of art is trying to make someone love you” — keaton henson

v. do you have an idea for a cover design for your story?

A black background with serif text, that’s it. It’s simple. It’s mysterious. It’s the type of vibe I want to exude. 

vi. what sort of au can you imagine your story being?

...dark academia au anyone?

just kidding. in all seriousness, though, i can see a royalty/political au for trahison, or a medieval fantasy au!

vii. which oc would be the most angry with you as the writer?

eloi. i really need to give that poor boy a break. 

viii. if you had to tell the story from a different pov, which character would you choose?

ruby! she’s the token enigma of trahison, so i think her point of view would be very interesting to see. 

ix. what would be your oc’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

OKAY let’s see:

marin — classic rock, so the who, queen, def leppard.etc

ruby — that one person who you’re pretty sure only listens to classical music, but is actually very attuned to modern day music. she would mostly listen to female singer-songwriters, so take lorde, marina, lana del rey, and other such artists. 

beth — take one look at her playlist, and you’ll see that ninety five percent of it is mitski, while the other five percent is bedroom pop. she would like very tender, calm, cry to in bed music. 

Antoine — same as marin, but add other modern day music artists with eclectic sounds, such as twenty one pilots, arctic monkeys, that sort of thing.

nathaniel — classical music, instrumentals, and film soundtracks make up his playlist. if it has sung words, he won’t listen to it. has little to no understanding of modern day music and is too scared to find out more about it.

isadora — 2000’s diva pop plays in the background of her life. rihanna is her go to whenever she gets to control the party. Don’t be surprised if ‘rich girl’ by gwen stefani starts playing in your head at the sight of her. 

x. what’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

finishing it with pride!

[lemon-writings]

Hamish Update: Hamish Pt. II

Genre: Adult literary fiction // Status: Rewriting // Progress: 53,548 words

Pt. I

I’m back with chapters IV-VI! Hoo boy, is it an event.

Chapter IV

Epitaph: “The things that go unsaid are often the things that eat at you--whether because you didn't get to have your say, or because the other person never got to hear you and really wanted to.”-Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You

This is the chapter where we meet Ofelia! She is one of my favorite characters to write for. She is beautiful and wonderful and a goddess and I adore her. (I’m reading myself for filth through the character of Ofelia because she is literally both my type and the woman I’ve always wanted to be.) Ofelia is the Queen of Roasts.

There are also some confrontations between Hamish and his mother, which I live for.

Excerpts: 

First of all, I love Ofelia. Ofelia Bello, if you are free this Thursday, I’m free to hang out any time. Again, Ofelia Bello, if you are on Thursday, I’m free to hang out. Please.

She’s a goddess. Literal goddess.

She looked at me, eyes large and all-seeing, more like fire opals set into the bronze of her face than eyes. I felt as though she were seeing into the very essence of my being, judging me like a god. Ofelia was one of those people who would never be referred to as mortal. She was Prithvi; she was Freyja; she was Persephone. She was anything but mortal, made of fire, flowers, and knowledge.

And a savage. She’s That Bitch every moment of every day, even when she has her “perfect daughter and sister” persona on. And when she doesn’t? Well...

“You could fight back,” she said. “You could make yourself known, reveal who and what you are. Scream, I’m a person, not a thing.” Ofelia fixes the wisps of hair arranged around her face into a perfect frame. 

“I’m not a fighter,” I said.

“No,” Ofelia said, watching me carefully. “You’re a runner.” She uncrossed her legs and stretched them out. “He doesn’t like fighters. That’s me. That’s my brother. He loves runners. If you can confront your issues, you won’t stay for long.”

Hamish confronting his mother when she dismisses his childhood trauma is honestly *chef’s kiss*. Writing my characters being savages is one of my favorite things to do, right after dramatic, floral descriptions of women. 

(TW: referenced child abuse!)

“Ungrateful for what? My nightmares? My feelings of abandonment? My hatred of authority? Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me, mother. Without yours and father’s amazing parenting, I would’ve grown up to be a well-adjusted adult.”

And the trademark Soft Moment of the chapter. 

(TW: death mention!)

“Don’t die,” you whispered, hot and damp against my face. “Please don’t die.”

“I won’t,” I promised you, so open and honest it felt like I’d cracked open my ribs to expose my child’s-heart to you like a blossoming flower. 

The tension between all the characters has increased so much in this chapter and tbh the anticipation is killing me, and I know what happens in this book.

Chapter V

Epitaph: “At parties I point to my body and say This is where love comes to die. Welcome, come in, make yourself at home. Everyone laughs, they think I’m joking.”--Warsan Shire, “The House”

This chapter begins with Hamish and Horacio in an interview about their “relationship”. There’s something lovely about the way that Horacio and Hamish talk about each other, even if it is built on half-truths. Then we’re introduced to Leon, Ofelia’s brother, and oh boy. Oh boy. Is that a wild ride.

This is also the chapter where Hamish begins planning how he’s going to get Claude to confess to the murder, via a PowerPoint presentation. Yes. Yes, good.

Excerpts:

The first is when Horacio is asked when he knew he was in love with Hamish. It’s just... soft. As a former theatre kid, this really is the dream.

“No,” I said, tearing my eyes from you. “We were in Theatre 101 together, and he was reading Doctor Faustus and playing all the parts. He was jumping around and doing different voices, being really dramatic and having the time of his life. It was the first time I’d seen him act young instead of like a wistful old man.”

I didn’t tell her that you’d been wearing a black hoodie with the moon phases printed on it, the strings following you as you leaped from place to place, sticking your tongue out when you fumbled a line, your tongue stud glittering in the lights. It felt too intimate to share with the world. When I saw you in the lights, being a goofy young man for even just a moment, in your purest state of adorable in your glee, my heart expanded well past the confines of my too-tight ribcage.

Here’s Horacio’s mention of his past ex-boyfriends, because he can hardly believe that he is in a semi-functional relationship with anyone, even if it’s fake.

(TW: sex and abuse!)

It was simple symbiosis: I was a parasite, and they were the hosts, defending themselves against me with violence. I don’t think any of them ever loved me, just loved using me while I would use them, trying to nibble on their scraps of affection between beatings and the rough sex.

Leon is... a lot. He’s sort of obsessed with masculinity, like someone who watched Fight Club without really realizing it’s meant to be satire and wants to punch whoever talks shit about him.

Leon was one of those guys who either believed he was better than you or you weren’t worth his time. Sometimes, in his more complex moments, he would believe both at once; at his most simplistic, he would believe neither. 

The further I go in this work, the more difficult it gets to pick excerpts!

Chapter VI

Epitaph: “Even still, we run. We have not reached our average of 57.92 years without knowing that you run through it, and it hurts and you run through it some more, and if it hurts worse, you run through it even more, and when you finish, you will have broken through. In the end, when you are done, and stretching, and your heartbeat slows, and your sweat dries, if you've run through the hard part, you will remember no pain.”--Lauren Groff, The Monsters of Templeton

Hamish gives the presentation. It goes about as well as you can assume. Now that Genoveva and Claude know he’s onto them... it’s game time. There is so much plot that happens in this chapter that I can’t really mention much of it, other than this being the point where the work goes from a slow-building horror to more of a thriller. It’s a major turning point and climax. Whoo!

Also, Ofelia and Horacio bond, which is awesome! I love the dynamic between them. They have the sort of friendship where you can tell that they really enjoy each other and their company.

Excerpts:

Most of these are from the portion where Ofelia and Horacio are talking in the woods because 1.) it’s the least-spoilery part of this chapter and 2.) their friendship is one of the most light-hearted parts of this work. Please, allow me to indulge.

Ofelia isn’t necessarily a “bean”, but she’s still babey. I adore her.

Ofelia gave me a mysterious look, full of night sky and brilliance, then added a crescent of a smile. She began climbing, one foot and then the other, effortlessly lifting herself up the branches as if she was built to do nothing but ascend trees, her tights protecting her modesty from me as I struggled up after her, unused to the climb. 

And then Ofelia describes a dream of mine every wlw: going a group of young women and becoming the modern Sappho. 

“I think I’ll buy a house somewhere by the ocean. Live with a group of girls who love books and pictures. Become my own Sappho, create my own Lesbos.” 

Then there’s this astute observation from Horacio about how Hamish views himself. Hamish doesn’t have a very good self-image. At all. Then again, neither does Horacio. 

You’d make yourself into an object sometimes, a cyclone of emotions and pain, held together by frozen flesh and string. 

So that just about wraps up these chapters. IV-VI really is the most intense part of this work, and writing it is is just as intense as the chapters themselves. 

Songs:

The music is mostly what I’ve been listening to while editing this post, since I already wrote these chapters, but they’re still jams

Your Love (Deja Vu) - Glass Animals

In the Heat of the Moment - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Blood In the Cut - Seattle Sessions - K.Flay

Peach Scone - Hobo Johnson

That’s all for now! Part III will contain the falling action/the part where it gets Real.

Tell me if you’d like to be added to the tag list! :)

[shadowsong26x]

Lavinia for the character meme thing!

All righty then! Putting this behind a cut because somewhat spoilery (though, probably her Major Plot Points aren’t super hard to guess, between various other commentaries I’ve made/tropes I’ve mentioned liking/I think I’ve hinted at it/foreshadowed okay at least in bonus content?) and also Long.

favorite thing about them

Not necessarily my absolute favorite thing, but it has a nice Flipside so…

She thinks things through. She does her absolute best to gather appropriate information and make sure she’s prepared for the situations she’ll find herself in, including researching from as broad a collection of sources as she can. She considers all the consequences of her actions, and she never forgets that, because she is who she is and she has the abilities and position she does, her actions can have Consequences. And she learned how to do most of this processing fast. She is fast and she is well-informed, and at the end of the day she will do what is necessary, in service of the galaxy and her larger goals, but she will be sure it is necessary, and that the consequences are acceptable, given what she stands to gain.

least favorite thing about them

Of course, the flipside of this is that she overthinks everything. And I mean, e v e r y t h i n g. Like I said, she learned how to overthink very quickly, because her father wouldn’t tolerate her being paralyzed by those doubts, but that also means that she never really learned how to trust herself and her judgment and be confident in her decisions. This leads to some pretty epic screwups in her personal life, and also her shying away from certain things, particularly her own abilities with the Force beyond passive observation and occasionally assisting her more mundane manipulation with a Mind Trick or two (unless she’s desperate enough to completely unleash, which leads to her pulling off things like battle meditation; which might save her and her allies once or twice, but that kind of all-or-nothing/rigid but brittle control is Not Good in the long run.)

(Again, this is not necessarily my absolute least favorite/what I would consider her most negative trait, because a lot of that is situational, but, well, it’s situational. Her ability/habit of thinking things through and putting a lot of effort into her choices is both a good thing and a bad thing, and it’s the trait I could write up most clearly from both sides.)

favorite line

The problem with answering this question is most of the ones I can think of are somewhat spoilery Wham lines, and also require a fair amount of context to explain why they’re my favorites. And/or come from miscellaneous AUs that also require a fair amount of setup…

So, I’m going to go with one that’s from an AU of Masks!verse, in reference to Luke:

“Oh, you poor boy. Try not to let your excess of compassion get you killed. The universe needs more men like you.”

brOTP

Depending on the AU/context/point in time (and I am excluding non-fusion crossovers here), Luke, Kallus, Thrawn, Pellaeon (…who maybe shouldn’t count, because he’s more Dad, but he’s one of the most important people in her life and their relationship is 9000% platonic so), Mara, Leia, Ventress (…also kind of a weird example, because the main way it applies is Ventress as her mentor/teacher/etc. which may not be the best application of brOTP? But, again, v. important relationship and entirely platonic when it comes up).

OTP

Lando and/or Sabine.

Lando because they complement each other in some interesting ways–they’re both talented administrators and good at reading/managing people, though Lando’s a lot better at one-on-one People slash dealing with people when it’s not Work, so to speak. But he tends to be a master of Xanatos Speed Chess/a case study in “Well That Escalated Quickly,” and she is Hyperprepared/very rarely makes a move unless it’s certain. I.e., see my first two answers, lol. So they balance each other out in that way.

Sabine because they started kind of flirting in the Handler AU and then it got super cute. Might also be a thing in the Pellaeon AU? Or another Masks!Verse AU that has a similar breakpoint to the Handler AU…anyway, the two of them getting together depends on some specific changes and timeline things, so it only works in certain AUs. That being said, they’re pretty cute/sweet together. Because we have Useless Lesbian Sabine and Only Flirts In Professional Lavinia and yeah.

nOTP

Luke. Like. There is no incarnation whatsoever, even if I’m not reading Luke as aro (he’s definitely ace, but aro–I go back and forth on whether he’s aromantic or panromantic but that’s another conversation), where that works. Even in at least one AU where he’s the biological father of her child (in an IVF/sperm donor situation, she asked him because he’s someone she trusts completely and also someone who would be completely okay with not being the kid’s dad and things/their relationship wouldn’t get Weird).

random headcanon

Lavinia’s favorite color is blue. Specifically in the aqua/teal/slightly-green-tinged family. She’s always considered herself more Coruscanti than Naboo, but maybe something deep inside her feels a connection to that peaceful, watery, living color or something.

…or possibly she just likes it and there’s no Deeper Meaning behind it, heh.

unpopular opinion

…lord. Uh. This one’s hard, since she is my OC and I haven’t published/posted a whole heck of a lot about her? So it’s hard to know what the popular opinions are, let alone what the unpopular ones are…

I guess in the spirit of this, there’s the fact that, deep at her core, she’s kind of an idealist? She believes in things, and in certain people. And she believes that, not only should the galaxy be a better place, but that it can be.

(possibly in the spirit of this because she’s also, like, a spy and a professional politician so there’s a lot of cynicism on the surface/covering up that idealism…)

song i associate with them

Quite a few actually. Hm, what’s one I haven’t necessarily shared with you yet…

…ehh, I’ll go with these two:

I may have actually shared this one with you before, but it’s still one of my favorites for her. At the end of her life, looking back on her life/taking stock.

And this one I’m pretty sure I haven’t shared. From a somewhat younger perspective, and also kind of a nostalgia bomb for me.

favorite picture of them

Let’s see…::digs through #lavinia tag:: …and most of these are just fashion photosets that fit her aesthetic, but here’s a couple pictures of her:

This is probably something along the lines of what she looks like in her early/mid-teens. I believe this is the actress who plays Lucrezia in the not-Jeremy Irons Borgias show that came out around the same time. Which is particularly entertaining to me because…

Grown-up Lani is Lotte Verbeek, particularly as Giulia Farnese in the other Borgias series XD

Anyway, most of the other ones I have saved are gifs, so these two it is.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t link the commission I got of her a couple years ago!

[tonystarkbingo]

Week 16 Roundup!  We have a LOT of awesome stuff this week, due in part to our monthly Discord party!  Keep reading to see what our participants created!  (A few Endgame spoilers as well, proceed with caution)

Title: Not as Expected Collaborator: Magi_Silverwolf Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Sam Wilson / Falcon Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: major character death, not Team Cap friendly, consequences Summary: For some reason, Sam Wilson didn't expect to be arrested for his crimes. Even if the thought had occurred to him, he expected that the excuse of helping Captain America would be enough to get him out of any trouble. This wasn't what he expected. Word Count: 1205

Title: Late Night at the Stark Residence Collaborator: newnewyorker93 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - dark Ship: Pepperony, Tony & Morgan Rating: Gen Major Tags: Endgame spoilers, fluff, light angst Summary: A snapshot look at one night in the life of the Stark-Potts family during the "Five Years Later" time jump in Endgame, featuring Morgan sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night and lots of soft dad Tony Stark. Word Count: 3500

Title: Can't Stop Us RoboDads -  Chapter 7: I'm Always Gonna Be Here For You Collaborators: rebelmeg, summerpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled for summerpipedream: A1 - image of JARVIS Ship: MIT Bros Rating: Teen Major Tags: MIT era, bot children, fluff, mild angst Summary: JARVIS is born, Afghanistan happens, and Rhodey reminds Tony of what he needs to hear. Word Count: 1639

Title: Indenture Collaborators: 27dragons, tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled for tisfan: K5 - Kink: Virgin   Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, gladiators, master & servant Summary: See the galaxy on a two year work-contract. Well, Tony Stark figures, can’t be worse than home. When he ends up on Sakaar, in the hands of a gladiatorial team, it might be his mechanical skills they’re interested in… or it might be his virginity. Word Count: 14,588

Title: Red Dust Collaborator: HogwartsToAlexandria Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - shared trauma Ship: IronStrange Rating: Teen Major Tags: Supreme family, angst, trauma, panic attacks, emotional hurt/comfort, nightmares Summary: Even as he knows the Snap’s been reversed, that his son is safe and sound in his very own bed and his husband is lying right next to him, Tony can’t seem to make himself let go - every night brings him right back to this one day he’ll never be able to forget, none of them will. Word Count: 803

Title: The Most Powerful (Pillowfight) Collaborator: wakandan_wardog Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - A Battle / Fight / Confrontation Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: not Endgame compliant, team as family, fluff Summary: In which Carol and Tony (aggressively) support each other and then do battle (with pillows) for their honor. Or each other's honor? It's unclear, things got out of control. (James Rhodes loves these idiots way too much.) Word Count: 1905

Title: Enjoy the Ride Collaborator: mortenavida Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free square Ship: Bruce/Clint/Bucky/Steve/Natasha/Tony/Thor Rating: Teen Major Tags: Soulmate AU, non-traditional A/B/O Summary: Alphas are born with a smudge of "ink" on them that will, as they age, form into their soulmates name. Betas are free of marks. Omegas are born with symbols that represent their Alpha. Much to Howard's displeasure, Tony Stark was born with not one, but six solid symbols across his skin. Tony grew up being told that Howard had tattooed them on his skin so no one could take advantage of it. It takes a weekend to realize how very, very wrong that was. Word Count: 2294

Title: When You Fall Collaborator: AoifeLaufeyson Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - KINK: BDSM Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, BDSM, bad BDSM etiquette, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending Summary: Steve makes a mistake and he and Tony have a way to go before they recover from it. Characters, relationships, and tags will updated as the story moves along. See end for more spoilery notes. Word Count: 3372

Title: Professional Relationship Collaborator: katling Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Picture from the comics of Tony Stark and Janet Van Dyne kissing Ship: Tony/Janet Rating: Teen Major Tags: not Steve friendly, conglomeration of Marvel universes, Team Tony Summary: Steve catches up on the latest news from the New Avengers and he doesn't like what he sees. Word Count: 1141

Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K3 - Old Team Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: retired Avengers, moodboard Summary: Years after the Avengers retired, handin’ off their mantles to a newer set of young heroes; our favourite OG6 decide t'take a trip. They’ve all moved on since then, have their own families, own homes, are livin’ a happy retirement. But every year on the same date, they all get together an’ take a trip to a new place! What better way t'see the world they all helped save than travel. Everyone is happy an’ nobody dies! :‘V

Title: But(t)… But(t)… But(t)… Collaborator: katling Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 - identity porn Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: secret identity, not Team Cap friendly, not Steve friendly Summary: No one knows who Iron Man is, other than the bodyguard of the Avengers' main benefactor, Tony Stark. Bucky figures out the secret but not quite in the way you might think. Word Count: 1984

Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S3 - royalty Ship: WinterIron Rating: none Major Tags: moodboard Summary: After King Howard an’ Queen Maria’s sudden death, Tony is forced to become King. Obadiah Stane, the Hand of the King tries his best to counsel King Stark an’ keep him safe; yet he seems to have disaster after disaster. After an’ attempt on Tony’s life that was nearly successful, High Knight James Rhodes, the Commander of the Army, sends a letter searchin’ for aide. Knight Bucky is sent to help an’ is placed as the King’s bodyguard. Obadiah continues to try an’ kill the King, but with his new guard, it is harder an’ harder. Decidin’ to get rid of Bucky first, he sets out for his plan. Durin’ the ambush, Bucky discovers that it’s Obie commitin’ treason against the King, but ends up bein’ beaten, losin’ his arm in the process. Thinkin’ Bucky dead, Obie heads back to the kingdom. However, miraculously, Bucky doesn’t die. Rhodey finds him while out on patrol, an’ Obie’s evil schemes are foiled. They apprehend Obie an’ King Stark commands he be killed for his crimes.Bucky survives, an’ Tony builds him an arm. He was always a mechanic, never wanted to be King, but he was also a skilled alchemist. Everyone is amazed. Tony & Bucky live happily ever after. Goodbye 😂

Collaborator: strangemischief Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S2 - Shared Trauma Ship: IronStrange Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard, grief/mourning Summary: Supreme Family Infinity War moodboard

Title: Some Like it Hot Collaborator: 27dragons Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 - KINK: wax play Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: light BSDM, mild sexual content Summary: Bucky doesn’t like the cold, but that’s okay. Tony likes making things hot for him instead. Word Count: 1483

Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T4 - De-Aged!Tony Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: art, de-aged Tony Summary: “Aw, look Buck, he still likes you even when he’s small!”  “Ya better fix this, Steve.” — In which Bucky is angry that his boyfriend got de-aged an’ Steve makes fun’ve ‘im for it like a good bro 😂

Title: Rest Easy Collaborator: ethereal-lullabies Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S2 - Afterlife - Ascension Ship: IronPanther Rating: Teen Major Tags: Character death, Avengers Endgame pictures used Summary: After a long life together filled with a happy marriage and many children, Tony and T’Challa pass away together in their sleep.

Title: The Pursuit of Pleasure Collaborator: buying_the_space_farm Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - hedonism Ship: FrostIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: pre-IM1, magic Summary: Tony just wants to know who the stranger that he keeps noticing is. Word Count: 1736

Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T5 - Arena Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: AU: Bucky goes missin’ durin’ a mission gone wrong, everyone assumes he’s dead, but Steve looks for him for a year until his higher ups make him stop. Devistated that his brother is actually gone, he goes hard into his work, where he meets Tony Stark, a skilled mechanic & inventor, & fellow agent. They don’t get along well, but they work well together. 5 years later, Steve & Tony get paired up for a mission, they end up gettin’ kidnapped by a strange evil orginization. Taken to a remote place in the desert, where an honest to god colleseum is set up, they’re told they hafta fight for their freedom; that they must defeat their champion. This orginization mostly jus’ wanted them dead, but wanted to give agood show to their followers. They had no doubts that their genetically enhanced champion would win. They’ve experimented on him countless times to make him the best, after all. Dressed up in medieval garb an’ handed swords an’ weaponry, they’re shoved through the gates into the ring. They start to fight, but everythin’ changes when they discover that their champion is actually Bucky.

Title: You Need to Put Those Back Collaborator: singingwithoutwords Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - AU: angels/demons Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Teen Major Tags: supernatural elements Summary: Tony finds a couple spooky silver chalices in a cabin and, like the dumb white boy he is, decides they're his new favorite wineglasses. It goes about how you'd expect, but not nearly as bad as it could have. Word Count: 1917

Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A4 - [Picture] Tony in Captain America uniform, from comics. Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: Cap!Tony art

Title: Now and Later Collaborator: MadStarker Square: K1 - Kink - Rushed Sex Rating: Explicit Pairing: Tony Stark / Peter Parker Warnings: First Time, Love Confessions, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Porn with Feelings, Anal Sex, Armor Kink, Blow Jobs, Multiple Orgasms, Dirty Talk, Barebacking Summary: Tony's so relieved to have Peter back that he just takes him right there on the battlefield behind a pile of junk Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18917116

Title: the dreamland, amber and gold Collaborator: deathsweetqueen Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 -  tony in workshop Ship: ThunderIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: sexual content, Asgardian Tony, Thor AU Summary: “Anthony?” Anthony looks up from the sword he was cleaning painstakingly. “What?” he demands. Thor stands in the doorway to his forge, hip cocked outwards, cape red as blood glinting in the low light, as his large arms fold across his chest, running a thumb over his lower lip. His eyes pass over Anthony’s bare chest, dark beneath his pale eyelashes. Anthony bites back a sigh; he gives the sword a mournful look – it is very unlikely that he will be able to return to his work that night. “I have missed you, my love.” Word Count: 9524

Title: The Great Body Shop Collaborator: JacarandaBanyan Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Worst case scenario Ship: Tony & JARVIS, WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Tony angst, JARVIS gets a body Summary: Tony asks Jarvis what he wants for his birthday, and for once Jarvis asks something of Tony that Tony isn't sure he should give. Word Count: 2025

Title: You're Making the Typical Me Break My Typical Rules - Chapter One Collaborator: martianwahtney Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier Ship: WinterIronHawk Rating: Gen Major Tags: Fem!Tony, Clint is an asshole, soulmates, no powers AU Summary: Toni Stark knew she and James Barnes were soulmates the moment she saw him. The electric blue lines of the arc reactor seemed to glow against his skin, just like hers did. But she kept her mouth shut and she made him a new arm and even engraved his old soulmarks onto his new metal arm.  James Barnes knew he and Toni were soulmates nearly a year after they met. She’d been neck deep in one of her car engines and it was impossible to miss the red star on her arm- his star on her arm.  Clint Barton knew he, Toni Stark, and James Barnes were soulmates the second Toni had flipped over her arm to show him a purple arrow that stretched from the crease of her elbow to the palm of her hand. The same arrow he had been born with.  Alternatively, where Toni tries until she doesn’t, where James keeps his distance until he doesn’t, and Clint won’t let himself fall until he does. Word Count: 5997

[douxreviews]

Aquaman Review

By CoramDeo

"What could be greater than a king?" "A hero."

SPOILER WARNING: There will be a brief non-spoiler review to start with, then I'll discuss the film in depth for those who've seen it.

Also, SARCASM WARNING: For whatever reason, I was in an extremely sarcastic mood when I wrote this review. As a result, I use sarcasm here. A lot.

By nature I love brevity: Absolutely gorgeous in every shot and action-packed, Aquaman is full to the brim with moments that will make die-hard comic book geeks and casual fans alike say things like, "Aw, YEAH!" and "That was awesome!" While there are a few themes, they don't do too much. All in all, it doesn't have a lot of depth, which is surprising for a movie set primarily on the ocean floor.

In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder stuck Jason Momoa in an aquarium tank and filmed him for ten seconds. In Justice League, he used green screen to depict underwater action that sound exactly like it really would to human ears - dampened and unintelligible. For Aquaman, James Wan has been handed the task of trying desperately to make Aquaman look cool. Perhaps a more traditionally-minded director, Wan wisely decides that the decades-old tradition of great filmmakers deciding that scientific accuracy is for losers (and Nolans?) and not really caring what human ears would actually hear is probably not a thing to abandon at this time.

The result is what Neil DeGrasse Tyson might call 'disregarding science' and what I might call 'making an entertaining film.' The underwater action is engaging and epic, and every single frame of this film looks like a freaking Van Gogh as far as color goes. Where Snyder's DC offerings employed the vast range of color one might find in, say, a zebra, or a weekday newspaper, Wan uses revolutionary new techniques like 'orange,' 'bright blue,' and 'not actively desaturating your entire film.' He's got a keen sense of colorful beauty and contrast, and the movie is stunning.

Don't expect a particularly interesting plot; the quest and the story as a whole were fairly by-the-numbers. Neither should you anticipate any clever dialogue; the characters stumble their way through unnatural lines and gobs of exposition in a good half of the film's key exchanges. What you should expect to see, but not be blown away by, is some themes. I'll get into exactly what those themes are in the spoiler section below, because they are somewhat spoilery. And you definitely won't guess the entire plot by the end of the first act.

Though Aquaman isn't too deep, it's a heck of a lot of fun to watch and quite an enjoyable experience. I really do recommend that you go see this movie, if you enjoy fun action and pretty pictures. Also if you are a person who likes to mock the character of Aquaman, because I'm 90% sure that's the target audience.

3 out of 6 pretty pictures.

Friendly neighborhood Aquaman:

This film is not too family-friendly. There is a fair amount of swearing and foul language. If you want a fun movie you can take your kids to, go see Spider-Verse.

SPOILER ALERT: The review will discuss spoilers from here on out.

I mentioned that this film has some themes to it, which aren't exactly clear or well-realized. The first and most obvious of these is the uniting of two worlds which are completely alien to one another. This is the theme that is central to the first and last scenes of the film. In the former, a man from our world meets a woman from theirs as Aquaman narrates about ships meeting each other without any discernible force to propel them. The clash of cultures is evident in the opening sequence more than in any of the rest of the film. In the film's closing moments, too, we see these two representatives of completely different worlds coming together at long last, after what we know has been many years of waiting and longing.

The issue is that this particular theme doesn't really come across very well in the rest of the film. There are loads of situations and dynamics that on paper carry the theme, but in the context of the movie and the way it felt, it doesn't come through almost at all. Aquaman and Mera, themselves a pair from two worlds, are chased by both surface dwellers (Manta) and Atlanteans. They fight both on land and in the sea. And Mera clashes with the humans' culture almost as much as Arthur does with the Atlanteans'. Yet because the quest itself is entirely Atlantean in nature, and because the classically sci-fi world of Atlantis isn't too far off from other sci-fi worlds, which do center around humans, we don't really feel the blending of two worlds. Had the Atlanteans felt more alien, and the plot involved the human world more significantly, this theme would have been much more strong a presence.

The other theme I feel warrants particular scrutiny is that of a great unifier - or a hero - de-escalating conflict instead of escalating it. Interestingly enough, this unifier/hero is not Aquaman. The film's central character always escalates the conflict, at every turn of the plot. It is instead Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) who truly exemplifies this. If you think about it, every effect the character has on the film is to bring peace and unity, not chaos and conflict. She leaves Tom and Arthur in order to protect them. She tries to teach Orm and Mera, and Arthur when he finally meets her, to be better. And in the end, she arrives to end the conflict, saving the life of the film's antagonist. At key points, Atlanna brings people together and gets them to be more peaceful.

The issue with this theme is also that it's not overt enough. For this to be real and feel like it matters, Aquaman would've had to oppose it more directly at the start, and be convinced more significantly to act otherwise by the end. Instead, Arthur fights his way out of every situation right up until the end, and doesn't really show enough signs of having grown. The only thing he does even remotely displaying a change is his refusal to kill Orm, which is a more merciful act than his abandonment of Manta's father early on. Yet this is not particularly great, nor does it have much of an impact as his chance to kill Orm immediately disappears after his initial reluctance. Even with Mera and Atlanna encouraging him to learn throughout the film, he never really does in any way that matters.

A few other themes were present, but weren't really intended to make much of a difference. These include the bits about ocean pollution, which were not as heavy-handed as one might have expected and subsequently been annoyed by, and the bits that deal with duty to one's people. Both themes were present but not overpowering, and were quite tasteful in their execution.

Real quick, let's talk about the final battle. As I said before, I kind of feel like the target audience of this film is people who mock the character of Aquaman. The reason it feels that way is that all the things that Aquaman gets mocked for - talking to fish, riding seahorses, throwing water while underwater, etc. - appear in the third act as epic moments. It feels like the filmmakers just made a list of all the things Aquaman gets mocked for and then intentionally set out to make his scoffers cheer for those very things. Which is kind of fun.

Acting is acting like you're not acting:

The performances in this movie were neither outstanding nor terrible. They all pretty much hovered in the middle of the spectrum. At the high end were Nicole Kidman's Atlanna, Amber Heard's Mera, and Temuera Morrison's Tom Curry. At the lower end were Patrick Wilson's Orm, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Manta, and Dolph Lundgren's King Nereus. So, you know, all the bad-guys. Jason Momoa (Arthur/Aquaman) and Willem Dafoe (Vulko) hung out near the middle of the pack. One thing was reinforced in my mind by this film - no matter what character he plays and no matter how much of a good-guy that character is, there is nothing more terrifying than Willem Dafoe smiling.

Pensees:

-So, can we talk about how much Michael Beach (Manta's Dad) looks and sounds like Steve Harvey in certain shots? I'm just saying, I had a really hard time taking him seriously when I could so easily picture him hosting Family Feud.

-I was totally not expecting the Karathen to speak. That took me by surprise. Also, that was Julie freaking Andrews!

-Randall Park plays Dr. Stephen Shin after playing a character in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Interesting franchise leap, and for that role, too?

-There are a total of six actors listed as playing Arthur in this movie, not including Jason Momoa and his stunt doubles.

-Interesting choice, going with the 'quest based on a specific series of nonsensical instructions' plot that you most often see on animated children's shows.

-I wish they'd left Manta out of this film and saved him for a sequel. His character didn't have enough of a good role in this one to justify his inclusion.

-The final battle is probably the first cinematic battle between sharks, crabs, and... Attack seahorses? Attack seahorses. Alrighty then.

-Apparently, James Wan was offered the choice of directing this or the practically non-existent Flashpoint. He made the right decision, apparently, since Flashpoint seems cursed to lose all its directors.

-Despite anti-Snyder measures such as color and a non-confusing storyline, the Snyder slo-mo still remains. Which is perfectly fine; that was never my problem with Snyder.

Quotes:

Guy in the bar: "You that fish-boy from the TV?" Arthur: "It's fish-man."

Arthur: "We've got a bogey on our tail!" Mera: "What does that even mean?" Arthur: "Bad-guys behind us!" Mera: "Why didn't you just say that?" Arthur: "Bad-guys behind us!"

Arthur: "Redheads. You gotta love 'em." *jumps out of the plane*

*Mera pulls water from Arthur's skin and uses it to activate the device* Arthur: "Show-off. I could've just peed on it."

Mera: "You based our exit strategy on a children's book?" Arthur: "I didn't read the book. I just saw the movie."

Arthur: "I'm no leader. I came because I have no choice. I came to save my home, and the people I love."

3 out of 6 Attack seahorses.

CoramDeo likes to review movies and television. He thinks he's getting good, but he can handle criticism.

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Totally Awesome

by Viorica

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Viorica finds a Potter-related bit of media that actually deserves the hype

Oooh! This is in the Axis of Awesome!~

Parodies are a tricky thing. If you've got too much of a hate-on for the source material, you end up being too bitter; if you love the source material too much, you can't effectively make fun of its flaws; and if you just don't care either way, you get something like this. It's a difficult tightrope to walk, but when you're lucky/talented enough to get it right, you end up with A Very Potter Musical. Written by college-aged fans of the Potter series, it combines the best of the original series with the talent of the actors and writers involved, and ends up eclipsing the source material entirely.

The story takes place in Harry's second year, and encompasses the events of all seven books. Harry and his friends (with Ron's sister Ginny in tow) arrive at Hogwarts to discover that the new teacher Professor Quirrel has R

resurrected the House Cup (which is basically a one-school Triwizard Tournament) as part of Voldemort's plan to capture Harry Potter under a bumbling Dumbledore's very nose. It's hard to describe the rest of the plot without going into spoilery detail (which I'll be doing in the next paragraph anyway . . .) but suffice to say, problems arise, relationships are formed, and Team Potter must go up against Voldemort and his Death Eaters- though ironically, Voldemort's ultimate fate owes more to the "love conquers all" theme which the books neglected and the musical effectively puts into use.

When I said in the first paragraph that the musical is an improvement on the books, I meant it. The plotting is much more streamlined (for one thing, the Trio doesn't spend months sitting in a tent, and actually condemns the seventh book's plot as "stupid") the characters more likeable, and the biggest problems with the book-

tokenism

,

Dumbledore's lecturing

,and the

delusions of grandeur

are removed in favour of canonical gay characters (the main couple is, in fact, gay, and Voldemort's redemption comes about from his affection for Quirrell- quite a divergence from Rowling's choiceless choices) a Dumbledore whose stupidity and blindness is repeatedly mocked, and a pervading knowledge that this is, in fact, a very silly story. For instance, Malfoy's conviction that there is a wizarding school called Pigfarts located on Mars and presided over by a talking lion turns out to be true; after all, how is it more ridiculous than the main concept of the franchise? The musical also addresses such all-important questions like:

How did Quirrell sleep with Voldemort on the back of his head?

Why did Dumbledore trust Snape, anyway?

What happens when two people who share one stomach get drunk?

In addition to lampshading the flaws and inconsistencies of the original series ("I just put anyone who looks like a good guy into Gryffindor, anyone who looks like a bad guy into Slytherin, and the rest can go wherever they want." "Can anyone tell me what a Portkey is? . . . Well, can anyone tell me what

foreshadowing

is?") the musical can stand on its own as a creative product. The songs are entertaining and catchy - the fan favourite seems to be "Granger Danger", but my own is "Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts:"

We're sick of summer and this waiting around It's like we're sitting in the lost and found Don't take no sorcery For anyone to see how... We gotta get back to hogwarts We gotta get back to school We gotta get back to hogwarts Where everything is magic-cooooool Back to wizards and witches, and magical beasts To goblins and ghosts and to magical feasts It's all that I love, and it's all that I need at HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS I think I'm goin' back!

But of course none of the material would be entertaining without good actors to support it, and the cast rises admirably to the task. The three leads - Darren Criss as Harry, Joey Ritcher as Ron, and Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione - all bring the right balance of likeability and flaws to their roles, but it's the secondary characters who steal the show. I suspect that Joe Moses (Snape) is familiar with the Harry Potter fandom, because his Snape is a perfect parody of the fanon version, right down to his exaggerated purr of a voice. Joe Walker makes a truly hilarious Voldemort, especially given that he has to deliver lines like "Get me some Nasonex, you swine!" with a stright face (though I am surprised that his voice held out through five performances, given the amount of growling that was involved.) with Brian Rosenthal serving as his quieter, gentler (but no less funny) counterpart. Lauren Lopez as Malfoy steals every scene she's in, with her exaggerated accent and habit of rolling around the stage. Even Goyle, who barely has any lines, cracks the audience up every time he opens his mouth. While Britney Coleman, who plays Bellatrix, has caught some flak from YouTube commenters for being "irritating" she didn't really get on my nerves. The worst you can say of her is that she didn't leave any impression at all- and with a cast this good, less-than-perfect performances can easily be buried in their better counterparts.

All in all, the musical is recommended to anyone who has a passing familiarity with the HP canon. Honestly, it's a shame that this show can't make any money, being an unauthorized parody. It's really the only thing connected to Harry Potter that I wholeheartedly enjoy, one that actually earns it's tagline of "Totally awesome"Themes:

J.K. Rowling

,

Theatre

~

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

Wardog

at 11:03 on 2009-10-14Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, this is, in fact, *totally awesome*.

The hot female Malfoy is making me go wibbly.

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Andy G

at 13:01 on 2009-10-14This is brilliant! I love every scene with Voldemort and Quirrell in particular.

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Wardog

at 13:50 on 2009-10-14"Your plan to infilitrate Hogwarts on the back of my head is going swimmingly, my liege..." BEST LINE EVER!

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Melissa G.

at 23:23 on 2009-10-14Loved it! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

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Viorica

at 01:54 on 2009-10-15Have you gotten to Voldemort's big tapdance number yet?

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Jamie Johnston

at 21:28 on 2009-10-16Fab. Those kids deserve to go far.

But can someone explain to me the thing with Malfoy falling down and rolling around all the time? Bear in mind all I know about

Potter

comes from three of the films (1, 2, and 4, I think) and anything I've picked up from conversations and

Ferretbrain

articles.

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Viorica

at 22:41 on 2009-10-16Honestly, I'm not really sure. I think it's just the actor being goofy.

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Andy G

at 10:15 on 2009-10-17I saw it as being a bit of a spoof of femme fatales or female villains writhing round the stage in dance shows/musicals, rather than anything based around the books.

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Melissa G.

at 16:54 on 2009-10-17I don't know. I kind of saw that as an exaggeration of how over the top Malfoy can be. It seemed somehow fitting to a caricature of his character.

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http://mmmarcusz.livejournal.com/

at 23:57 on 2009-10-17I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

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http://tabaquis.livejournal.com/

at 06:49 on 2009-10-19I adore a VHPM, which is great because I too have become completely tired of That Woman and Those Books being touted as any kind of coherent literature.

I do think the guy playing Snape was totally channeling Kevin MacDonald's "Simon" from Kids in the Hall though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC4PjXNt2gw

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Wardog

at 11:14 on 2009-10-20

I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

Yeah, that's what I thought as well.

And, yes, she is amazingly, wibble-inducingly hot. Me likey.

Also I notice the musical has a delightfully arch relationship with the fandom - so I think purring, rolling, lounging Malfoy was a nod to both the books and his typically depicated fandom persona.

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Montavilla

at 01:58 on 2009-10-21So glad to see appreciation for this musical. I just loved it.

It's hard to say what makes Lauren Lopez so perfect as Malfoy, except everything. The ponchy accent, the constant posing, the way she's always trying (and failing) to get Harry's attention. Somehow Draco just *is* a 12-year-old girl.

And I liked Bellatrix. She's somewhat annoying with the screaming, but that is Bellatrix, and I love that they aren't being coy about her and Voldemort having a sexual relationship. It's only one of the ways in which the musical trumps the books.

I crack up everytime I think about her face when Voldemort sits on the desk. You can see that she's still trying to make it work--but she's kind of catching on to what he's really up to.

But *everyone* is so excellent. I showed this to some of mine and we all kept remarking on how perfectly perfect Cedric Diggory is. I love the entrance of Cho Chang and just that look that the Asian actress gives. It's almost her only moment in the whole show and she makes the most of it.

You can tell that the entire cast is having a great time playing their parts--and the audience is loving it as well. And that's what makes a great live performance.

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http://for-diddled.livejournal.com/

at 21:08 on 2010-08-08Just thought you chaps might be interested to know that they've made a sequel, which can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepW-AG-Ris&feature=PlayList&p=86C718AEE71C9DE9&playnext=1&index=7

[lunaamatista]

Tokyo Ghoul Live Action

I got to watch the Tokyo Ghoul movie yesterday at a local cinema, a bit of a rarity in my country! I wanted to write a few of my thoughts and observations (mostly the latter) before I forget anything.

A few things might have been touched upon in @makyun ’s own writeup, so I suggest checking hers out as well. 

The movie spans chapters 1-28, right up to the Anteiku crew leaving the scene of Kureo’s death. Chapter 29, the final chapter of volume 3 where Amon reminisces about his time with Kureo, is not included. 

Extremely spoilery spoilers ahead.

I will not make a linear summary of the movie, but this does go heavily into spoilers. Unless you a) can't watch it b) won't watch it c) don't mind spoilers, I recommend skipping the first section.

My sister and her boyfriend watched the movie with me, so I was able to discuss with people who don’t know the series.

Thoughts on events and changes

The movie starts out with a narration about what ghouls are and how they became a threat to Tokyo, and how the CCG came to be. It sounds like a very much like a narration of the past. No mention of OEK, Washuus, or RC cells (I think?). 

RC cells, kagunes, kakuhous, quinques, aren’t explained at all because there’s a sense of normalcy about them. (My sister called kagunes “quinques,” actually.) Ghoul regeneration is subtly explained by Touka just by saying to fight without fear because it’s possible.

I though the film did much better than the manga at showcasing just how cunning an investigator Mado was, and how good Amon was at following his lead. 

To go further in depth, when killing (Fueguchi) Asaki, whose kagune we get to see on screen, Amon cracks open his hands with a rock (thankfully offscreened) and retrieves his wedding ring, which serves to Mado/Amon to figure he has a wife (Mado refuses to say a "wife" and corrects the term with "aging companion" or something). Their only lead is a thread of a woman's dress, for which they track down its selling place and retrieve their security tapes. Ryouko is pinned down as a main suspect due to being out at midnight to visit Asaki's grave, confirmed a ghoul when seeing her ring, and speculated to have a child due to the dress she purchased being XS. 

As such, the scene with Kaneki and Touka going to the CCG is completely gone, and Hinami isn't identified as “the girl with clover clothing” either.

It’s made very clear that Hinami running away from Anteiku was a trap set up by Mado. 

Amon fights head on and is very work oriented. There’s the rock scene mentioned above, but also him getting his hands dirty to dig Asaki’s grave, and saying he had eaten kitsune (udon?) just because it was quick when he goes out for dinner with Kusaba. Kusaba sort of apologizes for taking his time by ordering fresh fried tempura and Amon said he would try it next time. ;v;

Kaneki is also already suspected to be a ghoul - at Hinami's request, he goes leave coffee beans at Asaki's grave, and because Ryouko had been spotted at that place, Kusaba was keeping watch. He helps Amon dig up Asaki's grave, and is pulled along investigations because he was the only one who had seen Kaneki. So Amon knows of the existence of an eyepatch ghoul, but it isn't certain whether he's aware he's the one he's fighting once their confrontation comes.

The scene with Nishiki, Hide, and Kaneki happens inside the University, in a sort of basement that’s used as a club room. I wonder how they could ever explain that... Hide still tries to hold Nishiki back. Once he uses a kagune, Kaneki is clearly stronger than Nishiki, but he eventually defeats him with wits before Touka arrives (with Yomo!). As a side note here, I thought it was really interesting how Nishiki uses his kagune very naturally for things such as elevating himself into a platform instead of using the stairs. Also, the strength of a ghoul's body is shown here with Kaneki's first attacks without a kagune, rather than with Kaneki trying to stab himself.

Speaking of that scene, Kaneki did try to eat Hide and licked his face or something. Rize also did this once Kaneki had been injured. There was a scene with eye liking somewhere but I can’t remember who that was. Both scenes did a good job of showing a ghoul's unrestrained hunger.

When trying to eat Hide, Kaneki sees his reflection as Rize instead of as himself. 

In Kaneki's and Amon's fight, Kaneki comes back to his senses by himself after seeing his reflection in a pool of blood...

And regarding that scene, Amon isn't wearing an eyepatch, but a drop/tear of blood from Kaneki's kakugan eye does fall directly from Kaneki's eye onto Amon's eyelid, where he does wear the eyepatch after the fight with Kaneki. Make what you will out of that.

Easter eggs + random observations

Hide's famous ugly drawing does make it into the movie, but in a different scene (also, I started crying, don't ask).

Hajime's scene as a small child is in, but he doesn't have his ID tag.

CCG investigators have a small pin they wear on their lapels like they do in the manga, but the design looks more like a circle with wings than the small button-like one in the manga.

Amon does have the cross. You can see the lighter beads/chain, but the cross itself is hard to spot as it's black. As a side note, my sister is a jeweler and said it might be hematite. It is identical in design to the one in chapter 134. As my sister showed me at home, a hematite cross is apparently a thing we own. Other candidates: tungsten/wolfram, but not particularly popular in jewelry; rhodium, apparently a pain in the ass to work with; obsidian, but very frail and would be rare outside of the Americas.

While I did say Hinami wasn't associated with clovers by the CCG, I believe her headband had them.

There is a flashback of Kaneki with his mother. He was a very cute child. When his mother dies, there are flowers inside the casket (I can’t remember, but they might have been daisies).

The reference to The Metamorphosis is in. When Kaneki is realizing he can't eat human food, a bug is seen in place of Kaneki's shadow right before his kakugan activates.

Hinami is reading Demian instead of Monochrome Rainbow.

Sister's observations on literary references: Kaneki mentions Dear Kafka to Rize before the scene with The Metamorphosis is in. Kaneki remarks on Hinami reading Hesse before explaining the analogy of the egg and the world to her. (Basically, my sister is saying the references were so in your face you were supposed to spot them.)

Amon visits Kureo's grave to leave lilies. Ryouko (probably) had planted a lily bud too where Asaki's grave was located.

On the Mado grave, Kureo is stated to have died at 41, Kasuka at 33. Given the timeline of events, I believe this makes Kasuka around two years older. Forget it, I tried to make sense of that here. Also, Akira would've been 21 at this point.

Visual effects + more random observations

Rize is ten times more beautiful moving on screen than you can see on the still shots.

I'll have you know Kaneki bit a sandwich vertically instead of horizontally. (That might be normal somewhere, just not for me.)

Amon drives a very unthreatening looking black SUV, which gets completely wrecked.

The CCG has very interesting, stark white, training/sparring rooms. We are blessed with the sight of training Amon.

The masks look more fitting to real life than the ones in the manga, and Touka's showed signs of wear.

Anteiku looked like a very real, upscale coffee shop, with the kind of cute coffee-related signs you'd usually see in one.

Kagunes seem to be alive and pulsing. Rize's/Kaneki's is kind of scaly and the scales sometimes move with a kind of shiver/twitch. Nishiki's feels very amphibious. Asaki's is a pretty terrifying spine-looking thing (stating the obvious here) with sharp blades on its sides and end. Ryouko's looks like raw muscles/tendons. (Hinami's, of course, are both). Touka's is pretty interesting - a solid wing that shoots off shards. It looks like red candy.

Quinques come in a beautiful black suitcase and expand from the handle. When out of the suitcase, they produce a sort of mechanical buzz.

Doujima 1/2 can activate three spinning sections (two spin in one direction, the middle one in the opposite), but it mostly seems to work with the raw strength of whoever's wielding it to deliver strong blows, as it doesn't have sharp elements to cut. Just how strong was Harima?

We don’t get to hear about Shinohara, Arima, or Juuzou, who I believe had shown up / been mentioned in the first volumes.

Overall thoughts 

The movie is 119 minutes long, but I really enjoyed it movie overall and I feel it's worth the time, even if you're a pretty picky viewer. I found the way the events developed to be very well resolved as an adaptation, and despite instances where the CGI does seem to go slightly down in quality, it wasn't distracting at all. 

A thing to keep in mind is that Japanese (specifically, live action) acting and cinematography is somewhat different than what you’d expect from Hollywood or European art films, so I just suggest letting yourself get immersed in it instead of getting caught in these subtleties. 

As a manga reader, it felt a bit slow paced to me, but as fresh viewers, my sister and her boyfriend thought it was very good at packing the exact amount of information needed, and thus it didn't feel slow to them. My sister also said the first half is excellent and has the feeling of the Japanese horror stories I've made her read. I am pretty used to gore in the story, but neither of us thought felt it was there as shock factor alone and she said it was sufficient to make you buy into the horror of the situation. All in all, all three of us really enjoyed it. /o/

[thirstyfortom]

Another Story - Day One

Okay, just some random opinions I had about the first day. I’ll try not to make this too spoilery (not everybody is a spoiler-freak like me, right?)

If you want to avoid these posts of mine, I’m using #another story spoilers and #v spoiler as tags, so you can filter by those

Anyway, this goes under the cut.

Alright, I sense a very bittersweet vibe from the beggining, Saeran shows up with a different identity and boy... it’s hard not to fall for him, whether he is faking it or not (I was betting dead serious he’s faking it, after stumbling to some spoilers, I... am not so sure anymore... and it hurts)

Another thing it hurts? How all the characters seem gloomy. Of course, Rika just “died”, so it’s still very recent, unlike the original story, where everybody kinda moved o or at leat tried to cope with it.

Which leads me to Yoosung and how sad I got by seeing his depression starting, and it’s just the first day. Zen also felt oddly cold at first. 

On a brighter note, Jumin’s chats were quite entertaining, and his call when he suggests you should take a read at Zen’s late night poems made me smile, idk why, LOL

As for the man of the hour...well, it’s just the first day, but I have a bad feeling (didn’t see any spoiler about it, it’s just... a feeling), but I really hope we get to understand him better, but for that, he needs to show up in the chats OMG WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET SOME MINT HEARTS???

Anyway, some people ae dropping hints in my ask box that things are not what they seem... guys, I REALLY like spoilers, so send me everything you know in the chat, I won’t scream out here, LOL (anon who wants save those babies from Cheritz, pop out in the chat if you feel like it, I would love to know what you have to say... I can take it, believe me)

So, for now, I feel I should be careful and not jump into conclusions. I got that by playing Dandelion and Nameless, Cheritz’s plots seem predictable, but they aren’t, AND THEY HURT FOR REAL. So... I’m glad to conclude this by saying I don’t know how I’m feeling and I have no idea what to expect! Yay!

[realityisiron]

Shallura, 30, in your Watch Me, Lovely series (if possible) - Allura cuddling him to get Shiro used to contact and so he'll calm down

You have no idea how excited I was to see this prompt. WatchMe, Lovely has a pretty tight timeline within the fanfic so anywhere I put itwas going to spoil it a little bit, but I think this should be… minimally spoilery?

If you want to know what series Boss is referencing, go here and read it. :)

Prompt fill for the lovely @bosstoaster. Hope you enjoy!!!

He didn’t want to stay in her room.

Shiro hadn’t said that of course, but Allura liked to thinkshe wasn’t totally oblivious to other people’s feelings. They’d discussedhaving him sleep in her room to maximize what little time they had to preparefor the council meeting. They had an entire Keth to build together (well, fake together, but Allura couldn’t helpbut hope that maybe…). Shiro and Allura had contact to adjust to, closeness toget comfortable with. Shiro had accepted the idea without argument, and while apart of Allura wanted to believe it was because he felt something for her, sheknew it was the exact opposite.

From the beginning Allura had suspected he was saying yes tothe whole thing out of obligation. It would be just like him, after all.

There had been moments where she’d allowed herself to thinkthat wasn’t true. But even as she had wiped away the sweat and cum from hisskin – tracing the edge of a burn scar that spread over his left side, his eyeshad flickered to the door.

What was the point in even suspecting anymore?

Still, Allura couldn’t complain. She’d consented to thesituation just like he had. But she had also consented to hiding feelings inplain sight and pining after him with her lips pressed against the hollow ofhis throat and the line of his collarbone and the curve of his spine.

Having sex with the man she had feelings for wasn’tsomething Allura had been worried about. Sex could be separate. In Alteanculture it often was. It could be anything the people involved wanted it to be:wild, rough, sensual, easy, harsh, soft. She’d been just friends with most ofher past partners, and the sex had been so many things. Awkward and silly atfirst, sometimes yes, but always great in some way or another.

So no, Allura definitely hadn’t been concerned with hercrush while having sex with Shiro.

But that had been when she assumed they both could at leasthave fun for the next five quintants.

Shiro ran his human hand over the sheets, smoothing out theplaces he’d gripped just a littleroughly – Allura had loved watchinghis fingers scrabble and flex, his brow furrowed as he tried desperately not torip them. Even now – taking in the sheets haphazardly pushed this way and that,bunched closer to the foot of the bed where Shiro’s feet had pressed to meether thrust for thrust – Allura couldn’t help but smile, her gaze bright in thedark.

She’d been having fun.

But his gaze was morose as he traced the folds that told oftheir night together. There was melancholy in how he pressed them flat, noaffectionate thought quirking his lips upward, nothing sparking in the gray ofhis eyes.

Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe for him this would only everbe the duty of the Black Paladin.

You’ve gotten yourselfinto something you might not be able to handle, Allura.

“Do you want your shirt back?” she asked, holding it up witha small smile. It dangled from her index finger, a mark of her earlier triumphat getting it off in the first place. The sheer tightness of the shirt thatunapologetically showcased his pecs day in and day out had mocked her forweeks. Therefore, it had met justice for its crimes. Allura had all but ripped itoff his body when she got the chance.

Shiro stared at it, expression flat. “And die of heat in themiddle of the night?” he quipped.

Allura snorted, letting it drop back to the floor. “Do youwant to wear something else?”

“I brought something to change into but…” Even in the dimlight of her headboard Allura could see Shiro’s lips pressing together withuncertainty. “I wasn’t sure if it was alright to wear it if I’m to be yourKethelin.”

“You can wear whatever you need to be comfortable.”

Knowing that, Shiro got back into the bed with a v-necksleep shirt and a loose pair of pants. Allura didn’t mind staying naked, buthis gaze was still shooting back to the door whenever he thought she wasn’tlooking.

She didn’t want to give him any more reason to bolt.

Back in her shift, Allura found her way under the covers.

“Shiro, is it alright if I touch you while we sleep?” sheasked, glancing his way beneath her eyelashes. “I think it’d be another way forus to get used to touching each other if we want everything to be natural bythe meeting.”

Which was true. Practice made perfect, and when she wasn’tearning moans and gasps and those delightful human orgasms from him during themeeting, she’d still be touching him casually, pressing her nose to the nape ofhis neck and running hands over all his hard-earned muscles.

But it was still cruel. So cruel of her to say that.

Because if he really was doing this out of obligation,there’d be no way for him to say no when she told him it would help with themission.

Allura immediately wanted to take the words back.She didn’t want to force him into this. It would hurt if heleft, but it wouldn’t be right to manipulate him into saying yes. 

Shiro’s gaze shot from the door back to her where she satwaiting for his answer. “Of course, pri- Allura.”

For all that she had already touched every part of him –parts of him that she was sure (and hoped) hadn’t been touched since beforeKerberos – Shiro stilled when she slid her body up against his. What he waswaiting for, she couldn’t guess, but he was stiff until the moment she raisedher body a little higher, so that her right hand could settle over his shoulderblades and she could tuck his head and that damnably adorable tuft of whitehair under her chin.

The tension seeped out of him immediately.

Huh.

He still felt skittish inside her embrace – still felt likehe didn’t want to be there, not for this, not with her – but he touched herback, sliding a warm and calloused hand along the swell of her hip, shiftingsoft and silky fabric. Maybe he didn’t mind so much. Maybe the situation wasjust new.

That could be it, couldn’t it?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Allura had been so stupid.

Did Shiro not like being next to her? Was that one of thereasons he wanted to leave her room?

Allura didn’t know.

But the shout that woke her two vargas later made it obviouswhat the main reason was.

Shiro had night terrors.

She should have guessed that.

Allura tightened her grip on him – not enough to hurt, justa bit so he wouldn’t wrench away and off the bed. He continued to thrash,breathing heavy as he shouted garbled words the castle couldn’t translate fastenough. Not all the words were recognizable, maybe phrases he had picked upfrom other prisoners – new languages the castle didn’t know, but none of themseemed good as he writhed, violent gasps interrupting the string of frantic sounds.

It took a conscious effort for Allura to loosen her grip.She didn’t let go, but she gave him room to push against her, to feel thewarmth and give of flesh where he swore cold irons would be.

In her arms, he was so devastatingly fragile.

She wanted to squeeze, but didn’t want him to shatter. Therational part of her said he wouldn’t.

But even so.

When Allura had tossed Shiro into the Galran escape pod, hehad felt sturdy, solid, strong. Of course he had. He was the Black Paladin, hertrusted fellow leader, their steady friend, a part of the universe’s greatestchance against Zarkon. His gaze could be soft and warm just as easily as itcould be hard and focused. The paladins knew he would give them firm guidance andconfident advice; he would say what he meant even if it wasn’t what they wantedto hear. Shiro had been beaten down and faced consequences and bent rules andcome out on top, even if it meant clawing his way there until his fingersturned to bone and blood.

By accident or design – though they all knew which was more likely– Shiro had made it so easy to forget that he was struggling.

Sometimes, but not always.

Even so, it was startling to have Shiro pressed against herand bursting at the seams with memories she couldn’t possibly know, unravelingbetween full-body jerks and shuddering gasps.

She knew he wasn’t weak. He had weaknesses, but that didn’tmake him weak. Having moments where he wasn’t sure which way was up, what wasreal, where he was – it didn’t make him weak.

But whether or not he knew that, it did mean that Alluraneeded to do something. If she could help, she wanted to.

But what do I do?

When the castle, poisoned by the Galra’s crystal, hadtricked her into seeing Altea where none existed, Coran had reminded her ofwhere she really was. He had made her question what she saw, and realize on herown what reality was.

Okay. It was a start.

“Shiro, it’s Allura.” Hopefully that was okay. She wantedhim to know who she was. It wouldn’t matter what she said if he didn’t trustthe sound of her voice. “I’m your friend Allura. You woke me from sleeping infor another ten thousand years. I talk to mice. You call me princess. But Iwant you to call me Allura. You’re trying.” Shiro’s fingers dug into hershoulders, and Allura winced. He was using all his strength, something heusually reserved for when they sparred. “Hm… I showed you the black lion, andyou were nervous she wouldn’t fly for you.” Allura smiled, which was hard to dowhen Shiro was shaking and hyperventilating in her hold, that grip of hisbecoming more like steel every tic. But it was just as hard not to smile whenshe remembered seeing the oldest and seemingly most assured of the humans standbefore the black lion with such awe, tentatively reaching out to touch her paw,his eyes wide like a child watching their first rain.

“We have food fights in the castle. The goo gets in yourhair. It turns your bangs green for at least five vargas on a good day.Sometimes you don’t sleep at night. Sometimes I don’t either.” Shiro’s shoutinghad quieted, reduced to panicked murmuring between mouthfuls of air as his eyesscanned the room, daring shadows to show him what they were hiding. “When thathappens, you and I sit in the control room together. I scroll through theuniverse. You tell me more about the other paladins. You tell me I should trybonding with them more. I tell you that you should, too. Less training. More fun…”The murmurs stopped. His gaze was trained on her luminescent eyes in the dark.“We train most of the time,” Allura whispered sadly, running her hand up intothe soft hair of his undercut and pulling him back into her. “We shouldn’t dothat.”

There was no more to say after that. The words ran dry inher chest. All that was left to do was wait. Breathe. The erratic rising andfalling of his chest mellowed, and he matched her breath for breath.

Her eyelids were heavy with almost-sleep when he spoke,voice rough and low.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I should have just left when wefinished. I haven’t slept in the same room as someone since before the Galra…”His arms curled around her despite his words, pressing them closer. “I thought somethinglike this would happen.”

Allura turned Shiro’s head into her throat and gave a lowhum – something she hadn’t done since before her long sleep, back when Alteawas around and that was how her people comforted each other. “No matter what Imay suggest, Shiro, you always have the right to say no. You know that right?We talked about it yesterday-”

“I know… I just haven’t cuddled someone in a long time. I…” Shiro’sfingers worried at the fabric of her shift, flexing restlessly at the foldsbunched around her hips and the curve of her spine. “I missed it,” hewhispered.

He was going to pull away again. Allura felt it in herbones, and she tightened her arms around him before he could consider itfurther.

“Shiro, I’m not sorry you’re here, and I’m not sorry youstayed. I just want you to know that if we keep going is up to you, and ifyou’d feel better in your own room by yourself, that’s fine with me. But ifyou’re going to head back to your room because you think you’re going to botherme… you don’t. None of this bothers me. If you’re okay sleeping here, I wantyou sleeping here.” Allura pressed a human kiss to the top of his head, barelyeven a brush of lips on hair, too quick and soft for him to feel. There was arapid heartbeat thudding against her skin, but she didn’t know if it was Shiro’s,or just her own being just as vocal as it was used to. “So what do you want?”

“I… I want…” Shiro swallowed, pressing his forehead into herneck. “I want to be small.”

“Small?”

“I guess that sounds weird, huh? I just- I always have to bethe bigger person. I have to look out for everyone; I have to make sureeveryone’s okay. And I want to do allthose things. I would protect all of you even if it killed me.” She’d heard asmuch from Keith, a story about a wounded man at a campfire telling Keith he couldlead Voltron if the man ever died. A sweet sentiment in theory, but one thatmade her heart feel pressed into a space too small. “But sometimes… sometimes Iwish I could be small and let someone else be the bigger person. I want to be small…but still safe.”

Oh.

Suddenly Allura understood.

When she had tucked his head beneath her chin and wrappedher arms around him he had felt small. Small and safe.

It made her chest feel warm and fuzzy.

Allura didn’t say anything as she thought that over. Thesilence stretched until Shiro, evidently, couldn’t take it anymore. He chuckled,short and rough against her collarbone, fingers hovering above her skin. “Isthis more Kethelin practice?”

Allura stiffened.

How can he say that?

She’d touched him because she wanted to help him and bethere for him, because they were friends and he had been through so muchalready, because he’d spent dozens of nights having these night terrors aloneand she wanted to do what she could. It hadn’t sounded like an accusation. Hislaugh had been casual, light-hearted.

But it was an accusation all the same.

He thought she was only doing this so he could practice.

Because that’s allthis is for him, Allura. You knew that.

She had, but it didn’t make the persistent pounding of herheart any less painful in her chest.

“I think we’ve had enough practice for today,”

The warm breath against her skin stopped. Shiro’s fingersdug into her skin, his whole body tight against her.

And then it all melted away.

It was nothing new when Shiro pulled away. He had done itbefore. It didn’t matter that they all could see the ghosts dancing on hiseyelids and the scars being gained anew every time he had a flashback. Therewere moments where he flinched away from a sudden touch, a joking elbow jab, aplayful thwack of someone’s tabletagainst the meat of his thigh when he did something so utterly Shiro. The unspoken questions came likelightning. Had the hit that gave him the scar beneath the touch been just asquick? Had a joke gone too far?

But every time Shiro pulled away with ease, tucking it allaway before they could do anything more. Pain was secreted away behind a strongset of his jaw and the determined dip of his dark eyebrows. The more anyone onthe castle tried to grasp at the pain, the quicker he snatched it back.

Not this time. This time he was sluggish as he fumbled withhis legs still interwoven with hers, blundering through the shifting of his weight.Then Shiro got his bearings, and in a beat his body slipped from her’s.Blankets pooled at his waist and whispered against his still flushed skin as hesat up. “Of course,” he murmured, head still bowed, eyes trained on somethinginvisible deep beneath the mattress.

Oh.

He hadn’t seen it as practicing either.

“I haven’t cuddledsomeone in a long time. I… I missed it.”

Her heart pressed against the backs of her ribs, desperateto work its way through the gaps in between and reach for him if she didn’t.But the rest of her body caught up, and she pushed herself up into a sittingposition to slip a hand through the tense air between them. Long, dark fingershovered a breath from the curve of his jaw. That was where she waited, watchingwith cerulean eyes as his gaze slowly drifted upwards, a dark and misty gray.He found her hand a thought away from his face and froze, that gaze snapping tohers in confusion.

But even then, he kept it reigned in. Even when he was so, so unsure, he kept his look as steady ashe could in the middle of the castle’s decided night. Why can’t you just be scared? Why did he have to be on top of everymoment, prepared and grounded and sure? Wasit the Garrison?

“We’ve been through a lot.” It’s not fair, how much you’ve been through. “I don’t want this forthe council. I’d rather this be for us.” She didn’t want him to hide again.Maybe, if she told him she also needed it (and maybe she did), he wouldn’t pullaway.

But Allura didn’t want to lie either.

“I’d rather this be for you,” she added in a whisper.

Shiro’s mouth dropped, if only by a hair, and even withouttouching Allura could feel his fine trembling beneath her fingertips.

She licked her lips, uncertain herself as he continued tostare at her. “I want to be the bigger person for you. If that’s what you wanttoo.”

This time, his gaze flickered not to the door, but to herhand and her face.

A sigh escaped his lips. Her hand drifted up and he pressedagainst it, not unlike the cats of Earth that Pidge had told Allura so muchabout. “Yeah,” Shiro breathed, voice ragged.

A smile pulled at her lips. “Okay.” She spread her arms,letting her wrists settle on her knees, welcoming, waiting. “Come here, Shiro.”

He jolted, eyes going wide. She must’ve thrown him off. Therequest was admittedly a little abrupt.

“Please?”

Sometimes things could be as simple as that.

He fell forward and into the crook of her neck. It felt likeslow motion, like he wouldn’t reach her in this lifetime, and Allura was aheartbeat away from snatching his waist and pulling him to her when hisforehead finally touched her shoulder.

It took a moment to adjust again. Arms sought places wherethey wouldn’t go numb with time, and legs tangled together once more. Allura broughtherself up so she could gather Shiro against her chest, and if she cheated afew inches of height and pounds of muscle just in case well, surely no onecould blame her. If Shiro wanted to be small, she could be the bigger person –maybe in a more literal sense than he’d intended, but then again maybe not. Therewas no way to hide him from the nightmares. The past could not be undone. He’dbe dealing with that the rest of his life.

But – even if only for the handful of nights they had beforethe meeting – she could be there to help him through it, and that would have tobe enough for her.

Her presence didn’t end the night terrors (she hadn’tthought it would). A few vargas later he woke screaming, frantically murmuringabout the blood on his hands, the blood he couldn’t wash off and couldn’t stopseeing and couldn’t stop smelling.

Allura kept her sentences short, her words slow. It wasn’tperfect; he fought her every step of the way, but with time he rested his headon her chest again, and they breathed together, in and out and in and out. Sheguided him through the castle with her words, ended in her room with the soft,cool sheets wrapped around them, the old Altean sleep shirt he was wearing, thewarmth of his body healthy and tired.

It took half a varga to calm him down, but eventually hefell asleep again. Her front pressed to his back; her soft fingers traced scarsalong his abdomen; her nose nuzzled into his hair.

Cuddling, huh?

When the meeting ended and they broke the Keth, she wasgoing to miss it.

[nyctimus]

"Moira"

Location: The Tabor Family Estates.

Notes: A series of events from Micah’s childhood, centered around his relationship with his mother. This may not necessarily or entirely reflect Moira’s feelings or views but this is a bit of a character study of the way Micah viewed her, as well as what she represented to him and how their relationship affected him personally. // Something I wrote over a year ago. I’m finally getting around to clearing out that blog- I’ve failed in the past when I tried to, because this is a character I was and still am very attached to- and this was something I wanted to save, so I’m reposting it here. 

A little background info (a little spoilery, but this self- para might make more sense with it): Micah’s parents were the leaders of a very powerful coven of witches, and they furthered their own power by stealing magick from the members of their coven. In this verse, that involved killing the person that you drained magick from. So, of course, they kept their dealings on the down low. Damien, Micah’s Father, introduced his son to the family business at the age of eight, grooming him to be his heir.

i.

Micah liked the night sky.

His room was a few stories up, and sometimes after he was supposed to be in bed he would sit on his windowsill and feel the breeze and look out at the world. It was easy to breathe, there, easy to let everything else fade away. Nothing felt significant in the face of the galaxy. None if it mattered. He felt like he could disappear, like everything he was would drift away until nobody knew he’d ever existed and everything in between now and then was insignificant. It was comforting. It unraveled something in his chest. His mother came in to check on him, once, when he was eight (and- a- half). He should have been asleep hours ago, but he’d only just climbed in bed. It was dark, save for the muted glow of the moon and stars filtered through gauzy curtains, but he knew it was her by the way she opened the door. She was a quiet person, light footsteps; She hovered near his bed and he kept himself lax, kept his breathing even and smooth and his eyes closed and his body still. She sat on the edge of his bed in silence. Time passed, enough that he came close to actually drifting off a few times, but her presence was not one that was familiar enough for him to let his guard down so completely. She was out of place here- or, maybe he was the one that didn’t belong. Eventually, she inhaled, and then stopped- a lull. He almost expected her to speak, but after a long moment, she only sighed, dragging a hand through his hair with a touch so soft he could have imagined it. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d touched him. His breathing hitched, her hand froze, and she left just as quietly as she had entered. The next morning Micah wouldn’t think of it as anything more than a stupid, fleeting dream.

ii.

He supposed it wasn’t that the distance between them grew as he did, but that he became more aware of it as time passed. Or, rather, aware that other families didn’t function quite the way his did. The new coven highlighted that. The new baby highlighted it.

He was tiny and pink and bald and wrinkly and kind of ugly, really, but he had these big, mismatched eyes that were almost kind of cute. They were just like Moira’s, and Micah wondered if his hair would be just as blonde as hers. Micah had snuck into his nursery to look at him. Right now, he was sleeping, quiet. He could scream louder than anything Micah had ever heard when he was awake- Gabriel was impossible to ignore. For Micah, but for Moira, too. He’d hoped to be able to slip out before anyone knew he’d been here, but he supposed he should have known better. She hadn’t left his side for more than half an hour at a time since he’d been born. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Moira’s voice was soft in a way he’d never heard it, unfamiliar, her eyes big and round, fixed on the little bundle. Micah left without answering, and afterwards, he stared in the mirror for a long time, wondering if it would have made a difference to her if he’d been born looking more like she did.

iii.

Fifteen and sixteen and seventeen and eighteen all blurred together. It was a time of discovery, of taking a step beyond the doors he’d closed himself behind, of trying to connect with other people, girls and boys and people who were neither. The boys were his favorite. He made a friend- Theodore- and they practiced magick together, sharing their favorite spells and inventing new ones, turning fields of flowers different colors in the spring and using bright, shiny pebbles to keep themselves warm when the weather turned cold. Theodore had six other siblings, younger and older, and his house was always startlingly chaotic.  His mother didn’t mind Micah’s presence- “Another one hardly makes a difference, hmm?”- she would laugh and ruffle Micah’s hair and always, always greet him with a bright grin.

She liked to bring up his family. His mother, namely- “She’s beautiful, and such a wonderful person. So caring... a wonderful mother, you can just tell. A giver. Are you thinking of being a healer like her?” But sometimes Gabriel as well- “When are you going to bring that cute baby brother of yours to visit?"

Micah would always give a noncommittal shrug. Moira didn’t like leaving him alone with Gabriel, and he didn’t want to share this anyways. Micah didn’t fit at his house the way Gabriel did- he didn’t really fit at Theodore’s, either, but it was easy sometimes to pretend like he did. Gabriel had Moira had each other. They didn’t need Theodore’s family, too.

iv.

When he was nineteen, he and Theodore kissed, and when he was twenty, Theodore agreed to partake in a rite of secrecy. Micah told him what his family did, and Theodore was bound by magick not to betray him. Sometimes Micah wondered if that was all that kept him from doing so.

When he was twenty- one Theodore’s mother went missing, and two weeks later her body was found. Three days after that, everything fell apart, and Micah’s parents were taken away.

"Did you do it?” Theodore asked. 

“No,” Micah answered. He didn’t know if Theodore believed him or not. He thought he did, but he was still distant, cold with grief. 

Micah supposed that was just as well.

v.

It wasn’t hard to kill her.

It wasn’t hard to paralyze Damien, make him watch. It wasn’t hard to dig his knife deep into her throat or watch her blood drip down his arms as his veins grew white- hot with her magick, his fingers wrapped tight around her neck.

She was little more than a stranger to him, so it wasn’t hard. It was a little funny, though, how she chose then to finally give a fuck about what he did.

Maybe he should have killed her sooner.