#what did they put in there like it should make sense but it doesn't

[all-the-bats-in-the-world]

Since someone tagged it with Logan, here it's. And I'm sorry.

Kindness Tastes Like Blood

Part 1. Where The Lost Things Meet

The darkness is getting hold of him. It's not something new, it started to reach him when he was little, when dad decided he was a play thing. That disgusting mother fucker. He's very dead now, but Wade still sees it in the back of his mind, fighting back, cutting him into pieces and giving it to some starving street dog. The dogs have always been good to him. They never liked dad, the animals know what is kind.

‘You’ll lose’ the darkness says to him, sounding like a voice he should have forgotten. And he is starting to believe it. His world is in danger, everything he cares about will die soon. He thought he could fix it. It seemed very simple, if Logan was dead, he just had to find another one to put in the place. Who would think the Wolverine was the anchor being of Wade's whole world? This is a weak script idea, sure, but also makes sense for Wade, he couldn't imagine anyone else to be this important to him. He remembers it, reading the comics he found in the trash under his bed, hiding it from dad, it was this story of this animalistic man that people tried to control and kill, a man that kept coming back and destroying everything on his way, it was this story that made him company, that made him believe someday he would be free. So, yes, he doesn't need to say he loves the Wolverine, does he? He loves him a great deal.

But the thing is, it's not reciprocated. He knows. He jumps through realities trying to find help, but he doesn't even get the chance to say that he needs him, that he's breaking, that he's desperate, they just punch him, kill him, and this is starting to pile up. ‘Nobody loves you’ the darkness decree. He knows it's not totally true, he knows people love him, Althea, Peter, Vanessa, she said it. He believes her. However, he believes love feels different, that love is not just someone who holds your hand in the bad days or puts up with you. He knows he should be glad, why is he not glad? Was what she offered not enough?

Yes. It wasn't. He knows it should be. Another punch. He's bleeding again. They used to be perfect for each other, but this was before he became a walking wound. Not, he was always like this, except now he can't just pretend anymore, he can't just joke it away. He tried, he really fucking tried. She said to him to show that he cared for something bigger than him. But everything is bigger than him, he's small. Insignificant. You see, this wasn't how love was supposed to be. Well, Wade believes love is understanding. He may be wrong.

‘Nobody will ever understand you, you are unlovable.’ He's covered in blood now, still feeling the sensation of six claws in his chest, piercing through his cursed heart. And he loses it, he throws the TemPad away in his despair, regretting it the same second, he runs and jumps to take it before it touches the floor, but ends up kicking it with his foot, then he stumbles, falling on his own face. Fuck. He cries, like the pathetic being he is.

That's when the electronic — whatever tecnologic shit it is — starts to oscillate on the floor, and bips bips bips. Did he break it? For fuckers sake! He takes it back. Doesn't look like there was any damage, he taps it, but he can't understand the coordinates on the screen. Is it another planet? Doesn't fuck look like Earth.

Suddenly a portal opens up and Wade stares at it. Something is wrong. This portal, it's not golden, it's dark, like a black hole. He feels like when he was a kid. There's a taste in his mouth, and a smell in his nose. He's dragged back to the past. He shivers, suddenly he's in the cold night, one of his feet chained. It hurts so much, but it’s better if he was outside. That was something he never told anyone. He loved the night, he loved when he got this punishment, he pretended to hate it, so that bastard would use it against him. It was a way he found to escape the molestation. It didn't work all the time, but when it worked he felt glad. Glad is a rare and strange feeling. He shivers in gladness and steps into it.

At first all he can see is profound darkness. He's not even sure his eyes are open at all. Has he gone blind? Then there's breathing, he thinks for a moment it's his own respiration, but it's not, he's not making this deep and painful noise. It's a very dark and heavy breathing that gets close with every step. Then he sees it, a subtle light, its red. Seems weird? He sees the eyes before he sees the being. It’s hard to tell its colors in the distance and in the low light. But they are bright and piercing. And unmoving, like it's not really looking at him. He moves close, and something registers, cutting through him. It's green, he realizes, like a pale forest, like a calm lake, its pupils grow, swallowing him in, in an inescapable stare. He's breathing so hard it creates little clouds in the dense air.

Wade would recognize those eyes anywhere. It's so shocking, he stops, his feet refusing to move before the vision. It's a Wolverine. Well, it seems like the TemPad was not broken, but he guesses he was not supposed to find this one, probably no one was supposed to find him. What paralyzes Wade is not just the eyes, but his appearance. The man is contained, pulled down on his knees, defeated, malnourished, the bones standing out under his skin, hes basically just bones and hair, frankly it's absurd he's still alive, well, regeneration is a fucked up thing sometimes. There is a mask on his face, metallic, it looks very much like a muzzle, and there are bright red lines, hundreds of them, connected to the collar on his neck. He's using the yellow accurate comic costume, but it's all dirty and worn out.

It's clear they left him here to die. But what a terrible way to leave this world, painfully slowly, getting weak and disappearing a little bit every day.

“What the hell happened to you?” He doesn't know this Logan, the others he knew, like just their appearances were a tell. And he still kind of feels bad for not helping the uncanny x-men Logan, but that felt like none of his business. This one though, he speaks to something deep in him. He needs to know what happened to him. There is no reaction to his question, he doubts the man will be able to talk soon, he is too debilitated to even breathe properly.

He opens the TemPad, does a little reprogrammation, why not, it's a canon divergent fic, so he can do whatever. Soon the TemPad works very much like a Pokédex, he even turns it in his direction and gets: Wade Willson, also known as Deadpool in Earth XXX, 48 years old, sagittarius, species human…

Does the TVA control Wikipedia too? Or does the author just think it was funny? Whatever. He turns the advice to Logan. His eyes are still burning on him, it's almost unbearable. The scan starts to work, then it stops, showing a glowing “restricted access”, so Wade has to do some hacker job, it's nothing, soon the information pops on the screen.

Art by Essi Välimäki

[renku]

Princess

「 Scenario smut - Yeseo x Male Reader 」

A/N: This is just pure BFH. Yeseo is just... yeah, many of you know it.

So no proofreading and edits at all. The other fic is still ongoing by the way. Happy Holidays to all!

~~~

It was a warm heat; a pair of thick flesh residing on your own, eyes glued to yours while Yeseo removes her cashmere crop top. A sight to behold—her silky hair dragged up by the motion. Perky, aroused tits reaching its perfect state. Oh, oh, she knows you want ‘em but she doesn't how you crave for those buds. Lastly, her intoxicating scent mixing into bloodstream, flowing at the right places. You can’t wait, but you have to. Being needy would be the last thing you’d show to this princess.

“Fuck, you’re making me crazy, princess,” you remarked, almost whispering the words with your face just centimeters away from her.

She smiled. Just smiled. As if she knew, and she does. Yeseo knows how to be minimalistic—low effort but extraordinary results. “And here too,” she replied, unzipping your pants to release her favorite toy from its constraints.

“Did this ���good boy’ missed me?” she asked, an unnecessary question that somehow displayed her power over you.

“Why don’t you sit on it to know the answer, princess?” you responded, making sure she won’t have her way. Yeseo’s too dangerous. Especially when she’s fired up. And right now, the fire within her burns with such intensity that you’d never dare to put out. Only she can do it, by satisfying her wants.

“Don’t move an inch. Let me do it my way. Your princess’ way.”

Yeseo reached beneath her skirt, undoubtedly pushing her panties to the side to reveal her awaiting wet and dripping pussy. She grabs your already raging shaft and aligns it with her sweet entrance.

With a slow and steady movement, Yeseo patiently drops herself with your cock. Eating those inches with her warm and slick walls.

“Fuck...,” you grunted, shutting your eyes as you almost lift your head up to conceal the pleasure rapidly consuming your entire body.

“So big... so warm... all for me,” Yeseo noted in full ecstasy. She reached for your lips with hers to initiate a quick make out with her tongue invading yours in an instant.

In doing so, that sinful body of hers starts to grind on that small couch you have. Muffled moans became a series of vibrations in your mouth. Your hands can’t stay idle. They wander all over her upper torso, all those nerves in your fingertips doing its job to feel her soft and delicate skin.

Yeseo breaks the kiss. “Oh, oh- ah, yes! Ah, fuck! So deep!”

“Moan for me, princess. Tell me how you feel good by riding my dick. Let me hear it.”

“Yours is the best! Ah- I- I can’t stop! Make me cum with your huge cock! Oh, God!”

“So- so tight! Damn it!”

Her pace continues to rise with each second passing. She’s not like this before. Maybe Yeseo’s getting used to it. Should you be glad? Don’t know for sure. But the build up inside your groin can’t be ignored. Her tightness also is killing you. She’s close, too.

“Cumming for me, princess?”

“Ye- yes! Just a bit more! Fuck! I’m close!”

“Good, cum with that slutty pussy of yours. Take all my cum!” you exclaimed.

“Breed me! Please, claim my pussy! Claim it till it's full of cum!”

You didn’t move a bit the entire time. All of the work was from Yeseo. She wanted it. You just want her to experience things. Explore. Figure what works for her and what isn’t. She insisted to all of this. It’s a fact that makes you less guilty and not to think about it too much. You had a good time and the same goes for her. And that time tonight is about to reach its conclusion—pleasurable conclusion.

“Yeseo, I’m cumming!”

“Me too, I’m cumming! Don't hold back!”

“It’s coming! Ah!”

There it is, the climax. Ropes and ropes of semen filled Yeseo’s walls. Her walls convulses as she reached the promised land but also making sure not a drop of cum will escape from her cunt.

The highs from the sex slowly declines, and both of you came back to your senses.

“Amazing.”

Catching her breatg and drenched in sweat, Yeseo happily responded biting her lower lip, “Yeah, you’re the fucking best.”

[gaywarcriminals]

YQY getting hit with truth serum so he has to confess The Secret to SJ is definitely a thing, because jesus fucking christ ANYTHING to make that man talk, but I think the potential for an even larger audience is fantastic.

A scenario like SQQ's trial. Things are dug up. Other things are implied or even fabricated. YQY is on trial. He's presented with some kind of truth serum. He refuses to take it until it's clarified that it won't compel him to speak, just prevent him from lying. He takes it.

They were lying. It absolutely does compel him to answer any questions asked of him. And the results are completely unhinged.

The Xuan Su thing doesn't even come up. It doesn't need to. In an attempt to paint him as scheming and ambitious, he's asked why he became sect leader.

"So I can give Xiao Jiu whatever he wants."

The assembled crowd: ?????

Is this Xiao Jiu a....mistreess? A son? What the hell. Questioning continues, and Yue Qingyuan's insanity is put on full display.

"What if 'Xiao Jiu' wanted to be the sect leader?"

"I would make him the sect leader."

"Surely the other peak lords of Cang Qiong would object. What would you do, then?"

"Whatever I had to."

Whatever they were originally asking about gets seriously derailed as they realize that this guy, arguably the most powerful cultivator in the world, is singularly obsessed with a person he calls 'Xiao Jiu.' Why did he seek power? Xiao Jiu. What is his ultimate goal? Xiao Jiu.

It's also starting to seem like maybe Xiao Jiu isn't exactly a willing participant.

"What does Xiao Jiu ask you for?"

"To leave him alone."

Okay. So his attentions are unwanted. Yikes.

Further questioning reveals that this mysterious person seems to hate Yue Qingyuan, but is regularly subject to his attentions anyway.

The one question he won't answer is 'who is Xiao Jiu.' He's bleeding from the mouth and eyes, but he just shakes his head or says, "He told me not to call him that."

In the audience, no one noticed Shen Qingqiu's total bluescreen, because honestly? All of the peak lords are feeling pretty lost for words right now.

I dunno, I just think it's specifically interesting to a) have a public reveal that this man is a lunatic, and b) have SQQ find out the depths of YQY's devotion without being able to get the answer he wants most.

This would drive SJ absolutely insane. On the one hand he’s happy that YQY isn’t spilling every little detail of their past for these vultures to pick through, on the other hands where the fuck is this coming from??? What sense do these answers make in the mouth of the man who abandoned him? If it was anyone else saying these things he’d be wildly uncomfortable, but this is just confusing (if he were to really sit with his feelings, he might realize that any immediate sense of revolution was swept away by a long-dormant sense of possessiveness). He intends to grab YQY and shake him as soon as YQY stops giving the OPM grounds to charge him with stalking or harassment or something, and YQY will just give him guilty eyes because he things SJ is mad about every he said on the stand 😔. Actually scratch that for qijiu’s benefit the potion should still be in effect, so the moment they’re behind doors SJ can furiously ask why, if YQY doesn’t despise him, he saw fit to abandon him back then and every day since their reunion. YQY can try to hold himself back from speaking to the point of coughing up blood again, which only enrages SJ further, and eventually YQY is forced to speak his explanation through his rough and bloodied throat. SJ is have every single emotion today and has a 50/50 chance of learning what YQY’s blood tastes like (for normal kissing reasons. Normaler than usual).

On a different note, I felt palatable anxiety reading the first part of the ask because I thought you were going to say that YQY confessed about Xuan Su in public, his greatest weakness and a questionable/unnatural feat of cultivation that he could well be criticized for. I legit think that if that happened SJ would consider killing everyone else in the room to stop the secret from getting out— he doesn’t have time to process all the complicated emotions from what YQY just told him, he only knows that’s it’s intolerable for YQY to be this vulnerable in front of people SJ distrusts or despises.

[andcars]

ㅤ [ 𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 ]

premise. having a party hosted by lando norris gets too chaotic. alcohol, colorful lights, and hard fucking drugs. you learn things about yourself but max seems to be perfectly aware of what he wants

prompt # ㅤfemale reader, submissive max verstappen, consensual drugging, touchstarved [ "Don't go… not yet, not now, preferably" + "Take it slow—shit! You're eager" ] tags #ㅤporn without plot, wc #ㅤ 1.34k

ㅤㅤFEEL FREE TO INBOX ME FOR THOUGHTS OR REQUESTS !

| MASTERLIST⠀REQUEST ME⠀TAGLIST⠀PATREON GUIDE⠀AO3

His skin was always too smooth. The way it felt light to the touch, innocent, soft, and addicting. When you move your body under an unintelligible rhythm, you yearn to touch Max’s skin. He’s right in front of you. The man embraces a wild side unknown to you when he moves. There is a light drunken step to him. He sways side to side and a loopy grin on his face, amused at nothing but himself.

Preserving control, you only get to wrap your arms around him. He’s not surprised by you. “Hm? Hi, baby.” His smile is sleepy but he’s happily becoming puddy in your hold. Pursed lips, half closed eyes, and blush red cheeks tempt you too much. “Have you tried the wine? They won’t tell me what fuckin’ brand it is… D’you think you could ask? We could have it at home.”

“I think what you need is water,” you laugh, he does too. You’re allowed to drag him away from the neon floors. He’s not wasted. “Let’s calm you down for a bit, yeah?” Max doesn't say no.

The intoxication only got his pupils dilated, body heated, and skin looking so fucking soft. You briefly rub your finger against the back of his palm, admiring his knuckles and his rough hands. It's not as soft as his body—his palm is, you mean—and it’s marked by the hours of racing and training he puts in. It makes him all the more adorable, you think. The man works out every week and yet you can still squish his stomach when you hug him from behind.

In the midst of a conversation, Lando joins. He wraps an arm around Max, clearly more drunk than your boyfriend. “Hey, man! How’s the party? Are we holding up good?”

Lando is laughing and Max is light enough that he is too. “Yeah. We are just taking a break for a bit—seriously, what is that alcohol, mate? It’s so fucking good, I’m considering buying it to keep.

“No, it’s my brand!” Lando shakes his head at a complaining Max. “Here, I’ve got something for you to try. No charge, mate. I’m like too fucking nice for my own good around here.” He pulls out two pills, forcing Max’s hand open to take them. “Take some, it’s great. You and your girl have fun with it.”

Max looks at the pills and to the retreating figure of Lando. Without any more prompting, you guess what it is. “Did he just give you drugs at his own party?” Max laughs at your blunt statement, shrugging. It’s almost obscene but Formula 1 drivers are always another breed, you always guessed.

How you end up in one of the club’s hook-up rooms (a replacement to the lounge chairs and the bathrooms, a completely plain bedroom) is almost a blur. Taking the drugs with Max, you both delve into the feeling of ecstasy and bad decisions. It's almost rewarding. Max is touching you up with warm hands and you're craving to fuck him into the mattress. Your head isn't in the best mindset. It's completely determined to turn Max over and make him your toy for the night.

The air in the room is clogged with arousal. With heightened senses, you both act like animals driven to instinct. He’s panting. The duvet under him is crinkled as he’s writhing on the bed, grinding his erection on your clothed pussy. Sweat slickens his skin, creating a sheer glow to his fucked out look. For a moment you think how this is bad, both of you are barely aware of each other and it’s like you can barely focus. The fucking pill is intense. Your body is heating up more than it should. Both of you are craving for each other as your heads fill with sex.

Your name in Max’s mouth sounds lewd. He places his hands on your hips, wanting to control the friction so bad. “‘ts hot…” he breathes, eyes unfocused and clouded. “Fuck… I need your clothes off. I wanna f-feel you. I need you so bad—“ his rambles are unintelligent as he rushes to take your top off. Your bra is unclapsed and thrown as he mounds it.

Max is thoroughly enjoying this, though he doesn’t look like he’s all aware of what he’s doing. “Max,” you say, “maybe we should just… stop?” The noise he makes sounds like it was from an injured animal. “Max, I think we’re a bit too out of it to consent. I’m gonna go get us s-“

“No!” His hands clench, almost painful. Your pained expression gets him to soften, sitting up instead to embrace you. “Sorry, no… Just don’t leave, please? Not yet. Maybe later—no, don’t.” He’s not making much sense. With his nose buried in your shoulders, he’s trying to take your scent in, “Please don’t leave. I want this so much.

“You love me, right?” He pleads. “If you love me you’ll stay. I wanna fuck you so bad, please!”

"Off," you demand, no longer feeling like playing nice. "Take off your clothes for me, baby."

He looks crazed. Max's lips turn as he grins, satisfied to finally get the release he has been itching for. You came here wanting to cool down from the heat building inside of you. Now it seems impossible to do anything but fuck. Neither of you seem to be protesting now. It's all hands on each other and begging for relief.

Both of you sit naked. You let him pull off your panties. He's mesmerized. Max's cock grinds against the folds, aching to be inside. "Don't. Don't put it in yet."

"Fuck... why?"

"Take it slow, Max." You're lying to him and yourself. "I want... fuck, baby. I need you to be patient for me."

Maybe it's the alcohol and the pills that's made Max more malleable than you. He's whining against your skin. With his hands behind him, he lets you do whatever you want. Your lips latch onto his skin, needing to taste him. He's soft. He's how you imagine. It's like you're feeling him for the first time and it's addicting.

Your cunt kisses the tip of his cock, almost engulfing. The warmth of your pussy is teased, dangled over his head. When you push yourself down, he moans out loud. “Yes… I love—“ his whines cut off his own words. Desperate, he wraps his arms around your waist. He’s whimpering against your body, in love with the way your pussy takes his cock. Little ah ah ah ah’s a repetition in his lax mouth.

Halfway taking his cock, he starts to thrust up. “Max…” you try to tell off. It’s met with pained whining. “Baby, take it slow. I wanna—hmph!”

Without getting fully inside of you, he’s already thrusting up. You hold onto his shoulders. Every thrust, he pushes further and further. The lack of preparation has you reeling, back arching and toes curling. Pain comes hand in hand with the pleasure. Max has his mouth open, completely addicted to the feeling of your pussy struggling to take all of him. It’s not wise to let a drugged Max try to take the lead. He’s all pace and almost no game, just a desperate mess.

“S-so good,” you manage to catch his words. “Oh God. Feels so good. I love it. I love it. oh god, fuckkkk~!” His words have turned Dutch, unintelligible to your ears. He’s holding your body against him as he uses you like a toy. The pistoning of his cock has you hearing your heartbeat in your ears. It’s overwhelming. Without anything else, your pussy gushes out when it orgasm. You can feel the tide of orgasm washing over you when Max doesn’t even feel like stopping.

Your hands caress his head. “Good boy for me,” that gets a particular hard thrust against your g-spot. “Such a good boy, Max. Gonna cum for me? Let it out, baby. I wanna feel you cum inside of me.”

It’s when Max kisses you did he cum. You know he came when his hips jitters, attempting little thrusts as his cock spurts out his release. The little jolts has his cockhead rubbing against the deepest part of you. It’s got your mind numbing where the drugs can’t reach. The right amount of dopamine hit you as his tongue wetly coats your mouth. You think to yourself how Max does not feel like he has soften inside of you. Briefly, you think if the drugs Lando has given you were aphrodisiacs.

What it is doesn’t matter. Max switches the position, ready to go again as he fucks his cum inside of you. This time, you’re just going along with it.

@Delululeclerc @hiireadstuff @bicchaan @fallingforpvris @rtorresblog @Tribbisweetdear @Jamie2305 @mv1simp

FOOTNOTE ────── sorry if this one seemed a bit rushed ! was trynna do this and the thing i'm posting on christmas ! i'm going w/o my pc so i have to schedule these posts and this one came late. also, for some reason the original ask got deleted or was lost as i was starting to format it ? sorry anon ! but this one is for you and every sub max enjoyer. merry christmas eve ya'll !

[mask131]

Normally I would have reblogged this to my Oz side-blog but I will reblog this here first because somehow there's more Oz fans here than on my Oz sideblog? Tumblr is weird...

Upon seeing this very popular post I have to add my two cents of a thoughts... Because while I agree with half of it, I disagree with another half, and it's mostly a question of nuance.

My main point is: It is not because people dump on Wicked that in return people should dump on Baum's Oz. I am saying that in regard of the "Oz originally doesn't have any continuity". I admit myself I am one of the first people to put forward the fact Baum was a bit of an anti-Tolkien when it came to Oz because at one point he didn't care about logical and coherent worldbuilding and just threw whatever he wanted at the wall... HOWEVER! I realize now how these words might mis-guide people because it doesn't mean Baum didn't care about continuity at all.

The early Oz books are actually trying to form a coherent whole. When Baum wrote "The Marvelous Land of Oz" he was not FORCED to do it because of "popular demand". He wanted to do it. Partially because he wanted to adapt it as a musical once it was over, but when he wrote the novel he still intended it to be a logical, continuing sequel to his Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and he worked to refit elements taken from his musical adaptations (like Pastoria) into the world of Oz as presented in his first novel. Same thing with the third novel, Ozma of Oz - when you read these first three books one after another they are cohesive. Just because later Baum decided to abandon a bit continuity and do massive retcons for the sake of telling new stories doesn't mean he never cared about continuity, and the start of the Oz series was an effort to make one complete world that made sense. Oz first became a series because Baum wanted it to be ; the whole thing of a "sense of duty towards the fandom" (which wasn't actually a sense of duty, his others works just didn't sell while everybody bought his Oz books) came later.

Yes, after the sixth book (which was meant to be the great finale but didn't work to end the series), Baum ended up making a LOT of books that openly contradicted the worldbuilding established in the first novels... But they still were coherent and cohesive in their own right. It is just that Baum chose to retcon and massively shift some worldbuilding rules in order to have a setting perfect for a kid-friendly long-running series where he could include everything and anything - but once he established these new rules, he stuck to it and explored them in various ways (such as the rule of "No living being can die in Oz", which of course contradicts the early books, but becomes a core principle of "later Oz" and is explored in various novels - such as the one introducing the Tin Soldier). Yes Baum contradicted, shifted and retconned, but to say he had no sense of continuity or canon is frankly way too harsh.

We were having a talk with @themousefromfantasyland about Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus novel, and he did make a point that this books contradicts the "anti-Tolkien" reputation of Baum as in there you have a strong, solid, complex worldbuilding working very well for its own little Christmas epic, self-contained in one sturdy novel. And that's the thing with Baum: outside of his Oz series, each of his individual works had a strong and solid worldbuilding, or nice continuity in the case of mini-eries. Oz was an exception just because it went on for way more than what he already planned, and Baum had to juggle between various media (the Oz franchise he run wasn't just novels, it was also stage musicals, movies, and even early comic books).

My second point is this: I do agree people shouldn't entirely reject Maguire's novel out of it being "non-canon" to Oz. Because it is part of a long series of revisionist works inventing, reinventing or twisting Oz in various ways. The MGM movie was first, but you have so many, from The Wiz to Emerald City, passing by Tin Man, or Lost in Oz, or to have something more akin to Maguire's 90s dark, edgy, sex-and-drugs counter-culture approach to Oz, the Oz Squad comics. HOWEVER! HOWEVER! I do think it is important to remind people Maguire wrote his own thing, on his own side, and that "Wicked" is its own thing.

What do I mean by that? Very simple... I have seen, looked at, chatted and interacted with a concerning number of people who are convinced Wicked (be it the musical or the novels) are "canon" in the sense that... somehow they believe when Maguire named his Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba, it retro-actively baptisez the Witch of the West in Baum's novel. Or that the Wicked musical was actually allowed or produced by the MGM as an "official" complement to their movie, meant to act as a real prequel to it. You should not underestmate how POPULAR Wicked was compared to other Oz revisionist works or adaptations, resulting in a lot of people ending up knowing only the MGM movie and the Wicked franchise, sometimes with Return to Oz, and not knowing anything about the novels. This results in fascinating though very puzzling misconceptions. I have seen people insist that Evillene in The Wiz should be called "Elphaba" because it is the "official" name of the Wicked Witch of the West. I have seen people claiming to adapt the Wizard of Oz by Baum but really just doing adaptations of Wicked the musical, and not realizing they were using tons of stuff that were copyrighted by the musical creators and not in Baum's original novel. I have seen a lot of people claim that Baum intended Glinda to be called "Galinda" and that it is more correct to refer to Glinda by this name...

Yes, Wicked is its own continuity and branch of the large Oz family tree. Just like the MGM movie and its various adaptations. Just like Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful, or Return to Oz. Just like the Wiz. Just like Volkov's Tales of Magic Land (well... cough cough there's a bit of more unclear legal things down there but you know). Just like Tin Man or Emerald City. People should be aware that Oz is a LARGE franchise of many, MANY media.

But there is also a frightening amount of people who take literaly what Maguire wrote: "it is the real story of the Wicked Witch of the West", they take it literaly. Mind you this was more prominent in the 2000s and early 2010s - I think things got better recently because people are getting much more aware of the original books and of other alternate Oz media... But you know, at one point there was a need to point out "Hey guys, you know Maguire invented stuff, right? That he is basically parodying and twisting stuff and creating his own thing not in the public domain? Please stop saying Elphaba is public domain, she is not. This little wrinkled one-eyed hag is."

I've seen a lot of people lately harping about how "Wicked isn't canon to the Oz universe", "it's just glorified fanfiction", etc., and I can't express how silly that is, and how annoyed it makes me every time I hear it, lol. Baum's original Oz books were never meant to be some canonical series — they contradict each other constantly; Baum called it a "fairy story" with loose cohesion at best; and it only became a series at all because the first one got popular enough that Baum felt a duty to the fandom to keep making more (even after he had wanted to end it). And the 1939 film is every bit as much "fanfiction" as Wicked — it changes the story in both major and minor ways, including a complete shift of framing (i.e., making Oz into a dream rather than a real place).

Maguire's great contribution to the overarching legacy and lore of Oz was to harmonize the very weak "canon" of the older works with a different shift in framing: recontextualizing all of the prior Oz material as a revisionist history (going off of Baum's own idea framing of himself as a "Royal Historian of Oz"), and attempting to tell "the true story" behind the other works (fictively of course — we're never meant to literally think Maguire's version preceded Baum's, irl). In literary studies, this is called an urtext. The Wicked Years and its adaptations are as much "fanfiction" as the 1939 film: it's just self-aware of that fact in a way that earlier works weren't, and uses that perspective to deconstruct the material and explore deeper (and darker) themes — not simply adapting or reimagining the original text (as the 1939 movie did), but actively challenging it; interrogating it. It's not meant to be "canon" as such: it asks you to ask whether (and why) there is such a thing, and what that might say about the stories that we are meant to literally believe in, in real life.

[marciaillust]

hey, i hope you're doing great! i feel this may be unorthodox, but i really wanted to reach out to extend my engagement?— awe?— solidarity?— (some variant of those, anyways) with your most recent "workposting" art. i don't normally do this. I've maybe sent 3 asks in my whole life. there's no pressure to respond to this, as i mostly just wanted to cheer you on. also, I'm really sorry this is so long.

i only just recently landed my very first freelance art job, at a start-up company dedicated to making comics + DND inspired art content. I've always felt that "Its nothing to call home about", and so i really resonated with your feelings regarding your work for Brawl Stars. I felt kind of ashamed of my job, that its just a small start up— that I'm not enough and that i should be trying harder, or something like that. Specifically i resonated with your comment of "presenting brawl stars art feels like showing my anime girl oc to an art teacher" and i don't think i could have solidified any better.

Anyways. all's to say. I really found your work quite jaw-dropping. I was shocked when i read it was for Brawl Stars. I didn't know anything about it, but when i did some research i was even more amazed. they're really, really compositionally beautiful... i mean, i know its just "work" to you ultimately, but it really does feel lively, and everything about it makes it feel like you care. I think sometimes you're just able to tell when an artist genuinely cares about their work; about its end outcome. there's so many intricacies. and a lot of attention to detail. you kept the style that was necessary of you but i also can feel the warmth and the care of the artist behind it— its not corporate, or stale, it doesn't come across as "just work".

since you mentioned League, i genuinely do think it serves an equal purpose and weight to what League of Legends would produce. from a biased standpoint, i would actually value your work more. Its not even that its "more obtainable"/"more realistic" but that there's genuinely more feeling to it. Compositionally/artistically, yeah, League makes great stuff, but occasionally, the feeling or the sense of warmth and care from the creator of the art is lost along the way. I value seeing the artist within their own art a lot, which is why I've admitted to a degree of bias. either way. what you put out there is really gorgeous, and crazy impressive.

I know a stranger with a dumb, fandom-oriented art blog cant solve the self-indited art elitism (you and me both, man💀) and that you've already received plenty of love/reblogs saying similar things, but i wanted to extend my feelings anyways. Its really heart-warming, i guess. It brings me hopefulness, and deep adoration for the craft. I'm not very good with words. Anyways. don't undersell yourself. seeing your work meant more to me than you can imagine. I'm obviously nowhere near your skill level, but it meant more to me as an aspiration. i think that regardless of who you work for, your work is really valuable and downright incredible. because you bring that sense of warmth, care, time, and patience regardless of the media it portrays. and you're able to do that while being objectively talented— utilizing great compositions, colour pallets, shading, characterization, mood, etc. That is more valuable. That is much much cooler than working for Riot. imo.

Initially, i also wanted to ask you some questions about how you assembled your portfolio, if you went to school, (if so) what it did/didn't provide for you going into the art field, and just how you landed the job in general. But i respect you and your time, and wouldnt want to be a burden or anything. If you ever have time for it, i would love to ask them, among others, and we can chat in DM if you'd prefer. Absolutely no pressure. Im happy just watching from the sidelines. I dont anticipate anything from you to begin with! I just hope youll know how influential your post was to read & see, to someone like me!

Oh man. I. How. Where do I even start except

This is one of the most uplifting, touching and encouraging messages I received in my life. I read it thrice. And I still can't believe how full of love it is. This is such high praise, I want you to know I will cherish it and carry it with me for a long long time. It's not often that an artist gets to learn how their art is perceived, not to mention in such a positive light. It really means a lot to me.

It makes me so happy to hear that my work illustrations retain a piece of me that is visible to others. I myself can't see it, but I imagine my closeness to the matter at hand heavily impacts my ability to see objectively at all. There was a time where I was worried that work was overriding the me that makes my art mine, that I was becoming a corporate rendering machine and that what I did at work (the shape language and style) was bleeding into my personal art. There is a part of me that is now breathing easier after reading your message. I would love to answer any questions you have, it's the least I can do to repay you! Feel free to send an ask or even an email, I'll try to be as thorough as I can be with my answers. I wish you happy holidays! Take care! And again thank you so much for taking the time to write this message!

[gyubakeries]

❆ 𝐠𝐲𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 : 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬! ❆ | 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐮 - 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 <𝟑

❆ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 11: christmas movie marathon | b.sk

a/n: welcome to day 11! i hope you've liked the series so far 💗 only two more to go!

word count: 1k contents: seungkwan x gn!reader , established relationship , movie marathon , seungkwan loves vanessa hudgens because i love her , im making them watch princess switch because i CAN , fluff , arguing over ridiculous plot points

"i am so ready to sleep for the rest of the weekend," seungkwan yawns as he dries the last plate and puts it away. "this week has been so exhausting."

"but we planned the movie marathon for tonight!" you suddenly remember. "you can't sleep today, unfortunately."

"can't we just do it tomorrow?" seungkwan groans loudly, flopping onto the ground for dramatic effect.

"i planned everything out though," you pout, knowing that it was seungkwan's weakness. but when even that didn't seem to convince him, you decided to pull out the big guns.

"alright, i guess we just won't see vanessa hudgens' performance in the movie then," you sigh, feigning disappointment.

at the mention of vanessa hudgens, seungkwan instantly rises from the floor to hold you by the hand and drag you to the living room.

"we're watching that movie. put it on," he declares, expression solemn, and you can't help but let out a laugh at seeing how quickly his mind changed.

you turn on the TV and open Netflix to find the movie while simultaneously snuggling up in seungkwan's side, the two of you covered by a blanket to keep you warm.

seungkwan's hand finds yours naturally under the blanket, and you smile to yourself.

—

when you said vanessa hudgens, seungkwan was expecting a great film like tick, tick boom, or even high school musical.

the princess switch was neither.

it wasn't a terrible movie; it had all the necessary plot points needed for a good christmas movie—love, joy, healing, and the value of family.

but seungkwan really just can't get past one thing.

"how did kevin not know that it wasn't stacy?" he exclaims. "he's her best friend!"

"margaret looks exactly like stacy!" you point out. "there's a reason their plan worked."

"but it's- it doesn't even make sense," seungkwan points at the screen, where the movie is paused at the end credits. "i get that prince edward didn't realize that stacy wasn't margaret, but kevin should have known!"

"it's just a movie seungkwan," you sigh. "did you really not like it at all?"

seungkwan can see how your face fell a little with his constant bickering over insignificant plot details, and he felt a little bad. he leans back into the couch to take you in his arms.

"of course not, it is vanesa hudgens after all," he shakes his head. "i loved the movie. i don't know why the plot seemed so absurd to me when i've literally watched the kissing booth."

both of you shudder at the name of the movie, recollecting just how bad that actually was.

"anyways, if you're really feeling tired, we can just stop here for the night," you suggest, noticing how seungkwan's eyes were drooping halfway through the movie.

"wait, there's more?" seungkwan asks, not expecting a continuation to the first movie.

"yeah, it's a whole trilogy," you smile as you explain. "and guess what? they have a third twin too. well, triplet, i guess, but you know what i mean."

"you're telling me there's three vanessa hudgens in the movie?" seungkwan raises an eyebrow, barely holding back the celebrity crush in his tone. "yeah, we're watching all three movies right now."

before you start up the next movie in the series, seungkwan quickly heads over to the kitchen to make some popcorn and fetch the huge tub of ice-cream you bought from the store for the two of you to share.

"you got cookies 'n cream?" seungkwan called out from the kitchen, and you could already hear the complaint in his voice. "you know i like butterscotch more!"

"well, i wanted cookies 'n cream," you answer, laughing at seungkwan's grumbling. "this is revenge for when you stuffed the entire freezer full of butterscotch ice-cream and didn't let me buy cookies 'n cream till all of it was over."

seungkwan magically appears next to you then, popcorn and ice-cream carefully balanced in his arms.

"in my defense, i was going through long-distance friendship with vernon," seungkwan mumbles, setting the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table and handing you a spoon for the ice-cream. "i needed the ice-cream to deal with the heartbreak." you laugh to yourself, remembering the time seungkwan's best friend, vernon, had gone on a two-week holiday, leaving seungkwan to work alone at the bakery they owned together.

"he was gone for two weeks," you roll your eyes jokingly. "you were just sad because you wouldn't have anyone to bother while you were at work."

"stop attacking me like that! i'm your boyfriend!" seungkwan nags, and you give him a short kiss to placate him. he immediately breaks into a smile, and you giggle at how much of a drama queen he is.

due to seungkwan's impatience, the next movie is loaded up, and your boyfriend is much more invested in the movie this time. you watch with an amused smile as he keeps his eyes trained on the screen, shoving spoons of ice-cream in his mouth while yelling at characters when they do stupid things.

before you know it, the credits of the third movie is rolling and you didn't even realize that you'd just stared at seungkwan the entire time. you grow flustered when he turns to face you and says, "that ending was amazing, right?"

you nod in agreement, not even having the slightest idea of what the ending was. "it was really good. i told you that you'd like it."

"yeah, i guess you were right," seungkwan admits, leaning back on the couch. both of you look down at the half-empty tub of ice-cream sitting between you two, and think the same thought. seungkwan is the one who says it loud.

"should we finish it? or save it for later?"

"yeah, we're finishing it now," you grin excitedly, already digging your spoon back into the tub.

(the night is spent discussing movies and fangirling over various actors, and you fall in love with seungkwan a little bit more with every passing second.

you can only wish for the two of you to spend many more nights like this as your heart melts like the cookies 'n cream ice-cream you two share on the couch.)

- fin.

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[holmesianlove]

Chapter 25 -  Christmas Tree

When John came down the stairs, ready for a morning cup of tea, he was shocked to find the lounge in quite the mess. Strewn across the ground were boxes and an array of Christmas decorations. And Sherlock sitting in amongst a mess of tree parts.

“Sherlock—“

“So… this sort of happened…” Sherlock said, looking at John sheepishly.

“What have you done, Sherlock?”

“I thought I'd put the tree together. You know, since you did the Christmas baking and—“

“The tree? We’ve never had a tree before.”John looked at the state of the lounge in shock. “It’s seven o'clock in the morning! How long have you been up?”

“Well, I had to haul the stuff out of the flat downstairs and unpack it all…”

“Well, I see you've done that much,” John scoffed.

“Yes, but it seems I hit a little snag. It doesn't have instructions, John,” he sulked in reply.

“It's a tree, Sherlock. A plastic tree.” 

“I know but it should have some kind of assembly instructions, surely.” Sherlock looked so lost and confused surrounded by tree parts. It was somewhat tragic. And adorable.

“How are you such a genius but you can't figure out how to put a tree together?” John teased.

“I don't know. I thought I had it, but it's not making any sense to me. I was going to surprise you. For when you woke up, but now… I clearly need my blogger to solve this.”

John sighed and shook his head, although, in fairness, he felt nothing but affection for this idiot. It would have been a lovely surprise if he had achieved his goal though.

“Okay then, let’s see what we can do about this…” He walked over and assessed the fake fir tree pieces.

“Well, look there, if you turn them over, they've got little letters on them. See this one?” he said, grabbing the nearest piece, with a sticker that had a letter B on it. 

“Yes…” Sherlock said, listening intently. 

“And then… look on the tree stem and there should be letters that match?” John suggested.

Sherlock reached around and grabbed the stand. “It can't be that simple!” he cried.

“It really is,” John sighed, and handed the piece of tree over. Sherlock looked at them a little unsure, so John came closer and grabbed Sherlock’s hand with the tree piece in it, moved it to the tree stand and placing it in the slot. It took him a moment to register that he was essentially holding Sherlock’s hand but the minute it snapped into place he let go. “There you go. See? Simple,” he said, as he stepped away. 

Sherlock looked up at him in silence for a moment, apparently dazzled by his wisdom.

“Now there should be another one somewhere in this mess. There will be three or four of that same letter and we're gonna join them all together, okay? And you keep going until all the pieces are locked into the stand.”

“It doesn't look like a tree yet,” Sherlock announced. 

“Just click them all on first, Sherlock. That's just step one.” John chuckled to himself. So impatient.

Sherlock looked up at John. “How do you know this?”

“It's not my first Christmas, Sherlock. How do you not know this? Need I remind you, you brought the tree here.” 

“Well, I usually go home for Christmas and the tree's already assembled. That is to say, we always get a fresh fir from the forest.”

“Of course you do,” John scoffed, with an eye roll. “Of course you bloody do.”

“Or if I stay home, I just… don’t put up a tree, I suppose. Christmas is sometimes just a regular day that passes without event for me. But it feels different this year. I wanted to do this.”

“How long have you had this tree, then?” John asked. 

“Mrs Hudson was going to throw it out and I thought it might be nice for us to have a tree,” Sherlock said absently, as he returned to his job of assembling the branches.

“Is this your first time putting a fake tree together?” John said with absolute disbelief. “Oh my goodness this is adorable. I feel like I need to grab my phone and get a photo of this moment! Sherlock Holmes learning the ways of the little people.” 

“Shut up,” Sherlock sulked, carrying on. 

“No, it's good. It's really good. You're doing a great job,” John said, still laughing. “Sorry, I didn't realise you'd never done this before. And I just had not expected to wake up and find a Christmas tree in the lounge. Or a disassembled one, at least.” 

Sherlock nodded and carried on, putting the pieces together. John grabbed a couple when he looked lost, but mostly stood back and observed his friend, experiencing the joy of the task - or the frustration. Sherlock mumbled quietly to himself as he tried to work through the problem, and John just stood and smiled at him adoringly. His chest felt full of joy, to be part of this. To see Sherlock bring Christmas into their flat. Finally all the pieces were in place.

“So then what?” he asked. “This looks wholly unimpressive.”

“So then, we fluff it up,” John explained, walking over to lean across Sherlock and show him what to do with one of the branches. Sherlock looked fascinated and set about that next part of the challenge. He relaxed into it and even started humming some Christmas songs as he went.

John disappeared into the kitchen to make tea for them both, and when he returned, Sherlock had already sorted the branches and started with the decorating. He put their teas down and grabbed some decorations to help. At one point, Sherlock accidentally got tangled around John, when he attempted to put the lights on the tree, and the two of them had to stop, laughing first before finally twirling their way out of the mess.

Finally, the tree was complete, and the lights were on and they stood back, smiling and enjoying their handiwork together. The lights twinkled and the little decorations looked so much prettier with the light around them.

“I made us tea,” John sighed, shaking his head in disbelief that he’d just taught his genius friend how to do something new, apparently. They sat on the sofa together admiring it as they sipped at their tea.

“I really love a decorated tree,” John sighed, looking all dreamy eyed.

“Yes but why are they so complicated to assemble? Do people really put them up every year?” Sherlock huffed. 

“Oh yeah, and then we have to pull it apart again.”

“Seems crazy to do this now and only pull it down again in a few days, and I’m not even going to be here to enjoy it.”

“It’s okay. I will enjoy it. The place will feel Christmassy for me,” John said with a sad smile. “I love the coloured lights.”

Sherlock turned to look at John, watching the tree all starry eyed.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me going home for Christmas, John?”

“Sherlock, it’s fine. It’s your family. I’ll keep Mrs Hudson company. It will be quiet and it will be lovely,” John said. “And you’ve given me a tree now.” He grinned.

“They did invite you too,” Sherlock reminded him, a little hopeful.

John sighed. The offer had been lovely. And he had gone last year. But it was too much for him, when he was feeling the way he did, to sit around being all full of Christmas cheer and heart eyes for Sherlock, and hanging around with his family, as if he was really a part of it, like a partner, when he knew nothing was further from the truth. No, a Christmas alone would suit much better. Get his head straight. Besides, Mycroft would take one look at his face and announce how he felt to Sherlock directly. And that would not do at all.

“I know. It’s a lovely offer, but I think a quiet one at home is what I’d prefer,” he said gently. “Thank you, though.” They sat in silence for a while, finishing their tea. John could occasionally feel Sherlock watching him, but he didn’t turn his head. “You know, all it’s missing is presents underneath. And actually, I wanted to give you your present. I know it’s early but why not. It might be useful for your trip.” John ran off to his room and brought back a wrapped present, to find Sherlock standing in the middle of the room, holding one as well.

“Oh,” he laughed. “Great. Let’s do these now then.”

“We could leave them under the pretty tree and just open them at Christmas?” Sherlock suggested, sounding a bit uncertain. “I can take mine with me?”

“No, I think I need to see your face for this one,” John said, suddenly feeling nervous. “The next couple of days are a bit busy and then you’ll be gone. I don’t mind if you don’t?”

They both sat on the sofa beside each other and Sherlock shoved his at John. “You first,” he said.

John laughed and passed his to Sherlock to hold onto while he unwrapped his gift first. It was a soft and squishy package, and when he opened it he smiled. Sherlock had bought him gloves and a scarf, in a beautiful soft cashmere wool. “Oh wow,” he sighed. “Sherlock, these are too much. They would have cost a packet.” He looked up at Sherlock, feeling embarrassed that his present would not stack up now. “Honestly, you shouldn’t have…”

“John, you do so much for me,” Sherlock said, with a gentle smile before his brow furrowed. “And it irritates me endlessly that you are always cold and you refuse to wear such things, so now you will feel obligated and I will worry less,” he said, his nose tilting up in defiance.

John chuckled gently. “They’re lovely.” He sighed, stroking at the soft fabric. “Really I don’t know what to say.”

“The same blue as your eyes, I thought,” he said, almost in a whisper and John looked over at him. Their eyes held each other for a moment in silence. John tried so desperately to read what was in that expression on Sherlock’s face.

“Yes.” Sherlock nodded. “Definitely the right blue,” he confirmed, and then broke the moment to focus on the present in his lap.

“Okay, now mine is going to seem… a bit… less…” John fumbled, suddenly embarrassed.

“Is this… from the bookstore? In Brussels,” he asked as he unwrapped excitedly.

“Yes… but it’s silly… I just thought… how you like the treasure hunts your brother did and I took a punt… I don’t… it’s not nearly as fancy as your—“

Sherlock held up a hand to stop him talking as he pulled the book from its wrapping. His face had paled.

John’s brow furrowed as he tried to understand what was happening. Sherlock’s reaction was not what he expected at all. They were supposed to laugh about it and John would tell him to put it on the shelf with his travel collection and be done with it.

“I thought it might be useful on the train home…”

“Treasure Island,” Sherlock sighed dreamily, as he brought his hand down and stroked the cover.

“I know it’s really a children’s book but it just was meant to be funny, something silly… from our trip… after the story you told… I imagined you… like a pirate.”

“I always wanted to be a pirate,” Sherlock said, nodding slowly as he stroked the book lovingly. He closed his eyes for a moment as if he was saying a prayer, and slowly opened the cover.

John did not understand his reaction to the book at all. He was already feeling stupid for buying it, even though Sherlock seemed… pleased? Although it was hard to tell.

Sherlock slowly peeled back the first page to reveal the title page of the book. Treasure Island scrawled in the same dramatic font as the dust cover, and then he sucked in a gasp of a breath.

“What… What is it?” John asked, still confused.

Sherlock’s eyes flicked up to John’s and they were filled with tears. 

“What?!” John asked again, not understanding.

He looked down at the book and back at Sherlock’s teary eyes. On the page there was a dedication scrawled from a previous owner that John hadn’t even seen. He had only flicked through it briefly in the shop without paying it any mind as he decided whether or not to buy it. There had been some pages with colour illustrations at various points in the book which he thought was charming, and he had made the impulsive decision to grab it while Sherlock was elsewhere in the store. 

“You did it,” Sherlock sighed.

“Did what? Sherlock, what are you—?”

Sherlock passed him the book, so he could read the artistic scrawl in blue ink on the page, apparently unable to speak.

To Captain Will Holmes, my little adventurer.

John looked up at Sherlock. “Oh, Ha! Holmes. What a lovely coincidence.” He smiled and looked at Sherlock who had a bloody tear rolling down his cheek now. “Wait. I’ve missed something, haven’t I?”

“It’s the book, John. It’s… my book. That I lost.”

“No.” John looked horrified. How had he… God, that wasn’t the purpose of the gift and now it suddenly had more meaning than he intended and he was rapidly regretting it. He didn’t want Sherlock to think… to know… “It can’t be!” 

“It is. That’s my father’s handwriting. Captain Holmes. That’s me.”

John hadn’t even made the connection. Of course. William Sherlock Scott Holmes. His first name wasn’t actually Sherlock. John frowned. That had not been the intention of the present at all. But even if he had seen the dedication he wouldn’t have put two and two together. “So… so… it’s… really your…” 

Before he could process any more, Sherlock had attacked him with a hug, knocking the air out of him. They fell back against the sofa as Sherlock just squeezed him tight. John was confused by the whole thing but finally wrapped his own arms round his friend, reciprocating the hug which felt… so very right. After an awkwardly long silence and hug John trie to speak.

“Gosh, Sherlock. I didn’t know. I just… grabbed it and—” 

“Shhhh!” Sherlock hissed, and just hugged onto him tighter.

John felt a nervous giggle which bubbled up but settled just as quickly. He had Sherlock wrapped around him, in an emotional mess too, it seemed. The hug lasted for much longer than it should have, but John didn’t mind, and Sherlock didn’t seem to either, which John found confusing.

Then as quickly as it had begun, Sherlock let go and sat up, wiping at his eyes, giving a loud sniff and grabbing the book off the floor to look at it again. “Thank you, John. Thank you. Really.”

“Well, I’m happy to take credit for more than I planned. But, honestly, it was just a silly book to add to your commemorative trip collection really.”

“Well, now, it’s so much more,” he sighed, gazing at John with a whole new expression. “I need to ring my father,” he said, leaping up from the couch to go and find his phone. “He will never believe this,” he added, as he laughed heartily and disappeared down the corridor.

John sat alone on the sofa, a little shocked, the smell of Sherlock still lingering around him. The intensity of the moment still lingering there too, leaving him conflicted. He let out a sigh and a smile, and went back to drinking his slightly cold tea and went back to enjoying the glow of the lights on the tree.

@lisbeth-kk @helloliriels @totallysilvergirl @221beloved @safedistancefrombeingsmart

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[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

I have a question about Catradora, what do you think of the argument that they were in a war and were enemies?

i think i've talked about this before but i don't mind saying it again. the whole “they were enemies” argument doesn't work for three reasons:

1. there was a huge power dynamic between catra and adora.

in any other case, enemies are usually neck and neck. even if one of the characters is weaker than the other, there is still the same level of animosity towards each other. sometimes the writer balances it out by making one character smarter and the other one stronger.

but not c//a. oh no no, catra has to be the one who is stronger and smarter. and like i said, the funny thing in spop is that adora is canonically stronger than catra and literally everyone else but for some reason, she keeps getting her ass kicked by catra. it makes no sense. even if she was holding herself back and trying not to hurt catra, she should still be able to defend herself. there was no need to make her so weak.

2. their relationship was toxic even when they were on the same side.

catra constantly expected adora to put her needs above her own, she was jealous of adora's achievements, she literally slaps and gaslights adora in the portal sequence where they were supposed to be still friends.

3. their relationship was too personal.

usually the "they were enemies" argument works only if,

a. the two individuals don't know each other and therefore think that the other side is evil (like glimmer and adora), or

b. they were forcefully turned against each other despite not wanting to hurt each other.

neither of this is the case with c//a. especially catra. it would make sense if catra was forced to fight adora, and she had no choice in the matter. but no, all of her decisions were her own and she absolutely enjoyed torturing the fuck out of adora.

not to mention, catra usually only targeted adora. she rarely ever targeted bow or glimmer or any of the princesses, and if she did, it was to get back at adora. this was because catra was taking out her personal grudge on adora, rather than fighting an enemy.

so yeah, that's why this argument doesn't work. this is not what the enemies to lovers trope embodies, and fans who say "you just don't understand the trope" hasn't seen a real enemies to lovers ship.

[all-the-bats-in-the-world]

Kindness Tastes Like Blood

Part 1. Where The Lost Things Meet

The darkness is getting hold of him. It's not something new, it started to reach him when he was little, when dad decided he was a play thing. That disgusting mother fucker. He's very dead now, but Wade still sees it in the back of his mind, fighting back, cutting him into pieces and giving it to some starving street dog. The dogs have always been good to him. They never liked dad, the animals know what is kind.

‘You’ll lose’ the darkness says to him, sounding like a voice he should have forgotten. And he is starting to believe it. His world is in danger, everything he cares about will die soon. He thought he could fix it. It seemed very simple, if Logan was dead, he just had to find another one to put in the place. Who would think the Wolverine was the anchor being of Wade's whole world? This is a weak script idea, sure, but also makes sense for Wade, he couldn't imagine anyone else to be this important to him. He remembers it, reading the comics he found in the trash under his bed, hiding it from dad, it was this story of this animalistic man that people tried to control and kill, a man that kept coming back and destroying everything on his way, it was this story that made him company, that made him believe someday he would be free. So, yes, he doesn't need to say he loves the Wolverine, does he? He loves him a great deal.

But the thing is, it's not reciprocated. He knows. He jumps through realities trying to find help, but he doesn't even get the chance to say that he needs him, that he's breaking, that he's desperate, they just punch him, kill him, and this is starting to pile up. ‘Nobody loves you’ the darkness decree. He knows it's not totally true, he knows people love him, Althea, Peter, Vanessa, she said it. He believes her. However, he believes love feels different, that love is not just someone who holds your hand in the bad days or puts up with you. He knows he should be glad, why is he not glad? Was what she offered not enough?

Yes. It wasn't. He knows it should be. Another punch. He's bleeding again. They used to be perfect for each other, but this was before he became a walking wound. Not, he was always like this, except now he can't just pretend anymore, he can't just joke it away. He tried, he really fucking tried. She said to him to show that he cared for something bigger than him. But everything is bigger than him, he's small. Insignificant. You see, this wasn't how love was supposed to be. Well, Wade believes love is understanding. He may be wrong.

‘Nobody will ever understand you, you are unlovable.’ He's covered in blood now, still feeling the sensation of six claws in his chest, piercing through his cursed heart. And he loses it, he throws the TemPad away in his despair, regretting it the same second, he runs and jumps to take it before it touches the floor, but ends up kicking it with his foot, then he stumbles, falling on his own face. Fuck. He cries, like the pathetic being he is.

That's when the electronic — whatever tecnologic shit it is — starts to oscillate on the floor, and bips bips bips. Did he break it? For fuckers sake! He takes it back. Doesn't look like there was any damage, he taps it, but he can't understand the coordinates on the screen. Is it another planet? Doesn't fuck look like Earth.

Suddenly a portal opens up and Wade stares at it. Something is wrong. This portal, it's not golden, it's dark, like a black hole. He feels like when he was a kid. There's a taste in his mouth, and a smell in his nose. He's dragged back to the past. He shivers, suddenly he's in the cold night, one of his feet chained. It hurts so much, but it’s better if he was outside. That was something he never told anyone. He loved the night, he loved when he got this punishment, he pretended to hate it, so that bastard would use it against him. It was a way he found to escape the molestation. It didn't work all the time, but when it worked he felt glad. Glad is a rare and strange feeling. He shivers in gladness and steps into it.

At first all he can see is profound darkness. He's not even sure his eyes are open at all. Has he gone blind? Then there's breathing, he thinks for a moment it's his own respiration, but it's not, he's not making this deep and painful noise. It's a very dark and heavy breathing that gets close with every step. Then he sees it, a subtle light, its red. Seems weird? He sees the eyes before he sees the being. It’s hard to tell its colors in the distance and in the low light. But they are bright and piercing. And unmoving, like it's not really looking at him. He moves close, and something registers, cutting through him. It's green, he realizes, like a pale forest, like a calm lake, its pupils grow, swallowing him in, in an inescapable stare. He's breathing so hard it creates little clouds in the dense air.

Wade would recognize those eyes anywhere. It's so shocking, he stops, his feet refusing to move before the vision. It's a Wolverine. Well, it seems like the TemPad was not broken, but he guesses he was not supposed to find this one, probably no one was supposed to find him. What paralyzes Wade is not just the eyes, but his appearance. The man is contained, pulled down on his knees, defeated, malnourished, the bones standing out under his skin, hes basically just bones and hair, frankly it's absurd he's still alive, well, regeneration is a fucked up thing sometimes. There is a mask on his face, metallic, it looks very much like a muzzle, and there are bright red lines, hundreds of them, connected to the collar on his neck. He's using the yellow accurate comic costume, but it's all dirty and worn out.

It's clear they left him here to die. But what a terrible way to leave this world, painfully slowly, getting weak and disappearing a little bit every day.

“What the hell happened to you?” He doesn't know this Logan, the others he knew, like just their appearances were a tell. And he still kind of feels bad for not helping the uncanny x-men Logan, but that felt like none of his business. This one though, he speaks to something deep in him. He needs to know what happened to him. There is no reaction to his question, he doubts the man will be able to talk soon, he is too debilitated to even breathe properly.

He opens the TemPad, does a little reprogrammation, why not, it's a canon divergent fic, so he can do whatever. Soon the TemPad works very much like a Pokédex, he even turns it in his direction and gets: Wade Willson, also known as Deadpool in Earth XXX, 48 years old, sagittarius, species human…

Does the TVA control Wikipedia too? Or does the author just think it was funny? Whatever. He turns the advice to Logan. His eyes are still burning on him, it's almost unbearable. The scan starts to work, then it stops showing a glowing “restricted access”, so Wade has to do some hacker job, it's nothing, soon the information pops on the screen.

PS: Wrote it since someone tagged Logan to Essi Välimäki's art. So its not my fault. There will be more and Logan's pov too. They are both lambs turned wolves.

[beef-brisket]

Verosika looked up at Adam, who stormed into the kitchen. She was halfway through making their drinks.

Verosika: Damn, babe. I know you're impatient, but you couldn't wait a few more minutes- hey, what's wrong?

Adam wanted to smash something, he hasn't felt so frustrated since he was in Heaven.

Adam: That bastard- comes into my home, tries to FUCK me in MY hot tub, block me from leaving- AND then go on a rant that I'M not worth apologizing to?! After ten thousand years of bullshit- he thinks he's the fucking victim?! Fuck him!

Verosika stares at Adam before quickly putting the alcohol bottles down and going to his side.

Verosika: Uh- okay, Ad. Breathe for me, yeah? You're not making any sense.

Adam dropped himself down on one of the stools at his kitchen island and put his head in his hands. He could feel his eyes filling with tears.

Adam: I-I can't do it, Ver. I fucking- can't. T-This is my home-! And h-he just waltz in like he owns the place, like he can TAKE me because I'm a fucking sex demon!

Verosika: Wait- Steve?!

Adam: Hs sucks to! N-No, it's fucking Lucifer...

Verosika sighs. She's heard Adam rant a lot about the king, but she really didn't expect him to show up here.

Verosika: How does he even know where you live?

Adam: I don't know! Cause he's a freak and won't leave me alone! He fucking hates me! So I don't get why he won't just... leave me alone.

Adam rubs his face, and lies his head down on his bench.

Adam: I'm so over people using me. And just- fucking me because of what I am... I like sex- a-and I need it, but that doesn't mean I want to fuck everyone I look at! I have standards! Steve is just... I need him, so... I-I have to... Lucifer meant too much to me... he was literally my everything... now he's just... I wish I had never met him. If he was just going to hurt me, I wish he never talked to me- or looked at me.

Verosika hugged Adam as he started crying. He instantly wrapped his arms around her.

Adam: I-I can't stop him- h-he's the fucking Devil- I can't even protect myself from Steve!

Verosika: Oh darling... maybe you should talk to Ozzie-.

Adam: He's too busy for someone like me... who gives a fuck-.

Verosika: Hey! I give a fuck about you! And so does Ozzie! He gives a fuck about all of us, alright?

Adam sniffs, and leans into her: W-What could he do...?

Verosika: He's very respected by Lucifer. He can go and chew him out. And not in the sexy way.

Adam chuckles: O-Okay... maybe...

Verosika: Think about it, babe. I can get you a meeting.

Adam: You'd do that?

Verosika: Of cause, babe. I hate seeing you like this... when I found you, you weren't so... closed up. Let me help you, Adam. Please.

Adam was silent for a moment before lightning his hold on Verosika.

He eventually nods: I-I want you to manage me... if I can't get away from Lucifer, I want to at least get away from Steve... I want-.

Verosika: To fuck whoever you want~?

Adam laughs: Yeah, exactly.

-

Lucifer watched Adam walk away. How do his attempts at sex always turn into an argument?

Sighing, he teleports, but to his room at the hotel, he must be really losing his touch if even a sex demon is turning him down.

But then again, that sex demon is Adam. So, what did he really expect?

Lucifer paced around his room. He wanted to feel something other than anger for Adam but he was really struggling.

Lucifer: Why does he need an apology?! After everything he did?! H-He's worse than me! And I'm the fucking Devil!

He continued to yell, and he may have thrown a few ducks around. But what made him snap out of it was a knock to his door.

Angel: Yo, short king! You alright in there?

He swore he recognized that voice, but he couldn't put a face to it. It definitely wasn't the deer bastard, so against his better judgement, he opened his door.

Lucifer: Oh! Angel...a?

Angel laughed: Just Angel. Sounds like you're fighting some demons. Need someone to talk to?

Lucifer thought about it for a moment, he doesn't know Angel, and Angel didn't know him. Maybe this is the perfect time to get am outsiders opinion.

He invited Angel in, and they shared a drink together.

Lucifer: And then he wants ME to apologize! Me! After all he's done?!

Angel took a sip of his drink: Sounds like you're both fucked up, and can't look past your own shit and look at the bigger picture.

Lucifer : ...huh?

Angel: Alright. Let's start with you. You didn't like what Heaven was doing to the first humans, so you did something about it. But, it's a bit weird you only gave the apple to the puss you were fucking, and you know... not the other guy.

Lucifer: I... he... in Eden, Adam was so... content with everything, he was happy-.

Angel: Of cause he was happy. Heaven made him that way. Remember? The humans were basically puppets, being controlled by Heaven? Your words, short king.

Lucifer: Well... yes, but-.

Angel: So, Adam was happy, and Lilith wasn't?

Lucifer: Yeah! She... she was still being influenced by Heaven, but she wanted the apple... she wanted me.

Angel: You still didn't offer it to Adam.

Lucifer: No- but I did! And he took it!

Angel: After you and Lilith were banished to Earth. He was alone until they made Eve. Come on, Lu. Surely even you could tell he was desperate not to be alone again.

Lucifer: I... I guess...

Angel: But, you found love. You did what you thought was right. The issue with pride is that you fail to see the bigger picture. You only see what you want to see. You were so fixated on Lilith that you didn't see Adam suffering. He was new, Lu. Under Heavens control or whatever you said. You know how much Lilith leaving affected you, now try and imagine it from Adam's perspective.

Lucifer sat and did what Angel said. He sighed.

Angel: You guys both only have two sides of one story, Adam has his, while you have yours and Lilith's. That's still two against one, babe.

Lucifer: I... he showed me his memories... Lilith lied... about everything-.

Angel: And you STILL blame Adam?! Shit, man... I think you've really fucked up that one.

Lucifer: B-But the exterminations! The abuse he'd throw around at meetings! The- The failed extermination! He tried to kill Charlie!

Angel: One word short king. Puppet.

Succubus au

@beef-brisket

@fanofstuff01

(This au was originally on @things-aren't-what-they-seem66blog and was originally thought of by an anonymous ask)

The roaring of the crowd and the playing of his guitar deafened his ears but the incubus didn't care. He loved the way they cheered his name while he shredded on his axe. With one final strum, his song was done. He raised his arms and gave the horns, to which his fans reciprocated, and bid them all goodnight. He walked away his hands still raised until he was out of sight from them. Adam sighed heavily and wiped the sweat with his forearm as he made his way to his dressing room.

Once there he flopped onto the couch and groaned. Though Adam loved being a rockstar and having adoring fans, he wouldn't lie to himself, each performance, especially concerts, can be quite draining since he always had to prepare with mic checks and making sure he sounded right. Steve, his producer/manager/on-and-off-again fling, always assured him that these were mandatory. Just one of those sacrifices that come with being a star. Still, Adam felt a little like shit and he needed a drink, a hard one. Unfortunately, his evening wasn't quite over yet as knocking was heard from the other side of the door then a voice called out.

Assistant: Excuse me? Commander? I'm sorry for bothering you but I brought the VIP guests here with me.

Adam sighed completely forgetting about that. Almost all VIPs get access to meet him after every show. Though he loved his fans coming to him and saying how much they loved him, maybe even getting some head from the older crowd, tonight, he didn't want to. However, he knew that he didn't have much of a choice. Unless he wanted Steve up his ass, and not in a good way. Letting out a long groan he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and yelled out to her.

Adam: Bring them in.

He closed his eyes and sighed once again as he heard the door open and feet shuffle in. He prepared himself for the immediate responses of squealing and clamoring over to shake his hand. However, he was not prepared for a familiar voice to call out his name.

Charlie: A, Adam?

He opened his eyes and standing in front of him were Charlie, Vaggie, and a one-eyed sinner.

[waywithworse]

Honestly I’m trying to learn at least a little portugese on duolingo because I think it would be cool to see what brazilian qsmp fans are saying without a translator... I’m already a little there because a decent amount of words carry over from spanish (highlight of today was translating a word from portugese to spanish easily but then having to remember what that word meant in english which was. harder than it should have been.) I don’t really have any hope in being able to watch streams just because I barely watch english streams as-is and carving out time to watch them in a different language just seems hard, but i figure if I can at least read it decently it would already be so cool!!

[clownakai]

The thing that stands out the most to me about Stage of Betrayal is the fact that Rei proves himself completely incapable of envisioning a world in which Hiro would ever willingly leave him behind. Hiro killed himself because Rye made him, because Rye gave him his own gun and forced him to shoot.

To me, the kicker isn't that Rei is actually wrong about this (even strategically speaking, killing himself and destroying all connections to his loved ones was objectively a good move on Hiro's part, and not at all unreasonable nor unheard of considering his job and circumstances), but how he's so deep in denial that he just can't see what happened through any other lenses.

He ignores any and all inconsistencies within his deduction because to acknowledge them would mean he'd have to take into consideration the idea that Hiro immediately chose to kill himself as option number one instead of trying to survive until they could at least attempt an extraction, which feels an awful lot like abandonment. It feels like Hiro put the mission and secrecy above everything else, even Rei (which we know isn't true. Hiro killed himself because he loved the people close to him more than anything and he wanted to keep them safe— which, if you spend more than ten seconds thinking about the scenario, becomes immediately obvious as the motivation behind his suicide).

Hiro killed himself because he was terrified he'd be forced to drag Rei into the line of fire. He did that out of love, without thinking, while Rei can't even consider that as an option because they have fundamentally different ways of thinking and to him it would mean that Hiro didn't care enough to stay alive.

And Rei, being an extremely emotional person, wouldn't handle that well at all— which only leaves him the option of denial (be it subconscious or not).

[jq37]

What is it that the Rat Grinders actually want exactly? Or at least, what does Kipperlilly want since she's the one we know the most about.

At the top of the season it seemed like she wanted to Be The Best at school and Be Recognized in a very Tracy Flick/Sara Berry kind of way and was just going to crazy lengths to get there because this is a world where you help a dragon kidnap girls so you can be Prom Queen and life goes on. But now we know that the Rat Grinders are a part of Porter's larger plan and one of the major steps of that plan is completely abolishing Aguefort as an institution.

It's clear what Porter gets out of this. He gets to be a god and he gets to continue his imperialistic family legacy. And I would maybe get what Kipperlilly would get out of this is she were the Cleric/Paladin of the plan. She'd get to be the new god's champion, like she was gushing to Lucy. That's maybe worth something to an achievement hunting, Type A individual.

But she's not gonna get to be the best student at Aguefort if Aguefort doesn't exist anymore. Hell, Elmville won't really exist anymore. Is Porter planning on opening a new Adventuring School in Rage Elmville and she gets to be the god Principal's pet? Does she think he's gonna make things "fair" for her somehow? How? Retroactively killing her parents? Does she want to use the powers she cheesed from the easy XP he drip fed her to be a renown adventurer? Kinda hard to pull that off when everyone knows you were part of the plan that doomed the town. Maybe she thought they were going to get away with it without being implicated? Does she literally not want anything other than a chance to kill the Bad Kids? Or even pettier, to just to be stronger than Riz? Is that worth it to her? To damn the whole town just so she can say that she beat Riz once? Did she want something concrete at one point but at this point she's just lost in the sauce and doing whatever the next task is without knowing what she'd even do with a victory if she got it? Did she already get what she wanted in the free XP and now she's just paying her end of the bargain?

I'm just very unsure about what her version of a happy ending is here.

[blujayonthewing]

SUPREMELY frustrating that we found something actually really cool and intriguing and plot relevant in tonight's session but I'm still so constantly preoccupied with whether the DM is going to 100% kill us with sheer poor game design that I barely have enough brainspace left over to even enjoy it

[myatlantispoets]

Ik i sound like such a stereotypical straight woman rn but. How do i ask my bf for flowers without asking my bf for flowers