#wow i found their dynamic more interesting than ever

[derww]

have you ever read a fanfic where authors self-insert travels into some story and fixes the life of a sad and pathetic wet cat character? | some thoughts about several new members being lifesteal watchers before joining.

one thing ive been thinking alot lately. before s5 we didn't really have a moment of "oh, this new member has been watching lifesteal before joining". and even in s5, its almost like this is not that important because here we have, to a much greater extent, people whose metagame-luggage is in the fact that they knew lifestealers. as 4c having his friendship and silly feuds with mid, and jumper being really close vi's friend, and pentar being jumper's friend, and squiddo knowing ash for ages, and wemmbu being friends with zam&minute for like an eternity. even jepexx with all his ive literally founded this server, hes an irl friends with mapicc and poafa, I literally remember one time when he came in the middle of the lore and mapicc had to bribe poafa to distract him. and it is a really cool and interesting theme as its own, a great foundation for the different headcanons and aus and using it as a part of the dynamics, but nothing of what we've been searching, yeah?

wrong. minutetech. minutetech who was clowns fan and literally created a team clown would want to be – his actual character's basis has watching lifesteal in it, and his weird attitude towards clown drags on throughout the season, ending with his death. but hey, it's been more than that, not just watching videos, he was watching streams, he was a visitor in the zams chat. and watching streams, even in fragments, is a completely different level in regard to just watching videos. and it is obvious by how he speaks about zam and how he is inspired by past him, and how he remembers some specific parts. minutetech is the fanboy on the server, im sorry, and i love him for it. he wasnt a frequent visitor, but he was able to open the curtain and be impressed, and that's cool.

moving away from the relatively linear rookie roster of the season 5, the season 6 one if a fucking rolecoaster. okay, okay, lets start with something easier. hannah defo didnt get the memo, zero idea about sb but i think he watched atleast clown, e doesnt seem to really care, his thing is the reverse, his connection to bliss and how they showed themselves as both touching and deadly family, threatening pentar with knives in case he did not protect their boy, and chief does it s5-style, being friends with minute. its really hard to consider flame, he defo watched atleast part of the things, and he is friends with pentajumper, and he refers to the past seasons but misses out a lot and doesnt seem to have a consistent understanding of a context. 

okay. manepear. his case is kinda close with minute's in a part that he actually was a big lifesteal and esp clown's fan. never saw that one fanart he drew for zam but really would like to. lifesteal was an important thing for him much before he actually joined, and i can see him having good ground knowledge of video-part of the server, albeit easily missing something really important. hes also friends with pentajumper and had his clown rivalry story on bizzare just before lifesteal, giving him an interesting starting point and explaining why he did betray his idol of the past so easily. making him vodwatch s4 eclipse would make him better in lifestealing i promise. he just needs to find a balance.

to the main course. lets speak about kab first. this is a part where shit gets actually interesting since. you know...

("Powerless", 03/29/23)

oh, hi, Derapchu.

(literally the betrayal stream 03/28/23)

wait, lets make a pause. look, its Fl4pp0!

(also the betrayal stream)

the one who made new lifesteal stickers! wow! absolutely nothing interesting about them aside from thi-

okay. let's digress from the topic for a bit – it will make sense later, I promise. you know showtime smp? its fine if you dont.

the important part you should know is that showtime aknowledges stream viewers as an important part of a plot. they are called the audience, and how interested they are in a particular character is directly responsible for their well-being. most of the characters know that they are being watched, and some even hear the voices of the audience, and sometimes they are even asked questions, the answers to which can have a real impact on what is happening. and here is mika flappo. yes, this flappo, from the chat. (fun fact, there was also atleast two other showtime members lol)

firstly he is just a really cool fanarter in the showtime fandom, and she enjoys the streams and the plot as we all do, and then it... then they are just HERE.

just imagine. you live your very fucking hard and terrible life, having to deal with all sorts of shit and somehow not lose your head, and you hide so, so fucking much from everyone, because they can't know, because it's so scary and dangerous. and then you meet someone for the first time, and the first fucking thing they say to you is "oh, its YOU". and they do know what you did.

they were a part of the audience because mika has been literally watching the streams all this time. and yeah, she doesnt know everything, only the parts gods chose to show to the viewers, and they actually watched live, but its still sooo fucking much. and now an absolute stranger is walking around the server, and they know your worst secrets and impute you for your sins. luckily, mika can't spoil things, so its not like he can actually tell anyone, but her existence by itself is still pretty fucking terrifying.

luckily, both kab and derap are not just some strangers, but also they don't have to keep their mouths shut. they know what only the audience knows, and for them it becomes an important part of their understanding of the world and zam, something that they can use to their advantage. and they do.

kab heavily relies on a feeling of understanding and knowing better, and sometimes for me it feels like shes trying to do it even speaking about zam's feelings. at some point shes been heavily relying on pitying him as a way to show that she understands, and she's sorry, and she knows what exactly zam has to change to be better. its like... being the chatter who always backseats, but now you are actually here. absolutely no neg to kab, obviously.

its actually interesting how kab simultaneously sees and knows (or thinks she knows) so many zams weak spots and problems and traumas and calls him broken and harming himself and almost as if unable to make the right decisions for himself, and at the same time she puts him on a pedestal, perceiving him as a hero, as someone who should adhere to the correct perception and reflect her idea of a good person and teammate. and... it makes sense as a way of wanting to help your favorite anime character to become better without actually understanding either them or their beliefs and wishes and just trying to recreate the picture from my head of how things have to be, depriving a character of personality and autonomy in the process. even her expecting him to help her with the karmas law – she thinks that this idea is objectively right, so obviously white knight (lol) princezam has to get it.

people really liked her asking if she reminds him of someone he once was. i really do not. because sure, shes right at the ground lvl, but she doesnt get it. shes not s5, shes s4. she is vi and zam at the same time, and it makes my head hurt. "not everything is about you, zam", but she does make everything about him, really. i wonder if he was her favorite character.

i like that sometimes she acknowledges that she doesnt actually know better than anyone else. that she is just scared because her methods doesnt work anymore. but she speaks the opposite so often that sometimes i just dont know what she really thinks. with her strange division into lore and non-lore, with how much kab lies to people and lies to herself, she remains frustrating. sometimes I have a feeling that she plays a completely different character than the one she ends up being, and hey, that's part of the server.

some of it can be said about derapchu, and its easy to say that hes better than kab, but i dont really think so. hes less pushy about it, surely, but he also thinks he knows how itd be better for zam and intends to make him change in a way he deems correct. sure, he doesnt idolize or pity him, but he still wants to fix zam.

its not that easy as just dividing things on yours and servers because zam has a connection to it, and the server's well-being is directly connected to his. with enough mental gymnastics, even the desire to repair the spawn can be called at least partially selfish since zam does it for himself too, since he loves things being pretty and cool. speaking of the server as a whole, it is difficult to draw a line between where he does something for himself and where he does something only for others with just how conditional the common good is and how important the server itself is to him, just alive, just working, just being played. he wanted to make everyone give a shit and never fully left this modus.

and in a sense, derapchu fails. as gapples being for the fights against mane, or considering that zam perceives the hearts in a similar way as he does (and he really isnt, our guy was giving out the hearts left and right, really, and he knows derap enough to be sure he wouldnt do anything malicious), or seemingly never noticing that zam, despite being mostly truthful during the whole dialogue, never actually opened up to him. maybe his common experience and zam trusting him makes him feel like it is enough, but its barely a half. he said sorry for being too pushy today tho. and helped zam just because. it was good. sadly its not enough to understand that he cant just choose whats better for the other person.

you know, i really like to think about having all this background of being a lifesteal watcher from the point of the full-blown lore, without pulling out the card that the characters are also streamers or youtubers. this is a part that requires an individual approach: for example, i have drafts where boomie and kab, as centrals, contact their lifesteal friends directly through hacked communicators. or, for example, clown is known because the coolness of his conquests spread into legends, caught everyone's eye, and became worldwide news. in general, you can just come up with a connection between the worlds, like fidonet, or even a more modern Internet, and this will make everything much better. or you can follow the showtime trail and give each character an audience – similar to just making them streamers, but that's the twist that makes just enough of a difference. and, in the end, people can just be friends, meet in their free time, and tell stories. both derapchu and kab were zams friends long before joining the server, and this is something that should not be forgotten either. they, unlike the rest of us, have a real context. and, like, wow.

overall: these aussies gotta understand that zam is not their pet project and that he doesnt need to be fixed. some help here and there wouldnt be bad, sure, but they cant just choose whats right for him and whats not. he is, in this context, his own person and not just a book character and he needs a friend, but not saviour nor doctor nor manipulator nor mechanic. just a friend.

[elysianightsss]

Limerence | Six

C H A P T E R SIX

limerence / lim-ê-rêns / (noun)

“Obsessive romantic attraction towards another person”

Summary: In which the owners of Jujutsu Incorporated, the Ôgami brothers, are suddenly interested in you.

Pairing: Alpha!Sukuna x reader, Alpha!Itadori x reader, Alpha!Gojo x reader, Alpha!Geto x reader, Alpha!Nanami x reader, Alpha!Kenjaku x reader

Status: Ongoing.

Genre: werewolf au, soulmate, polyamory relationship, angst, fluff, omegaverse, a/b/o dynamics.

Warnings: smut, violence, mentions of knotting, heats, ruts, insecurities, some descriptions of reader’s body, mention of possible ED, omegaspace, domdrop, swearing, blood, depression, suicidal thoughts, possessiveness, obsessive thoughts, Alpha tendencies.

Chapter Warnings: Yandere behaviour brought to you by Suguru, mentions of a scar, pups mentioned, violence, Suguru being a pantie thief.

Masterlist | Chapter Five | Chapter Seven

Taglist: @better-imagination-9 @tiredjuniper @jjkz @honeybeeboobaa @cherryblossomdelusion @dependsonthedream @alluresenses @qardasngan @imcamboaf @ondragonhonour @misscaller06 @itsberrydreemurstuff @queen-luna-007 @thepeachesclub @xxemmarldxx @elleflying07

Taglist is open.

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Previously on Limerence:

“Jade.”

“Yes. Jade. She will be tried for having attacked a soulmate, as well as some other things we’ve found but she’ll get thirty years just for attacking you.” Yuji smiled, he was happy she would be put away for harming you.

“Wow.” Your eyes start to sting with tears, you’re not even sure why. Yuji doesn’t ask, instead he pulls you into his lap for a cuddle. Even though you tense at the soft foreign touch, you allow him to move you as he pleased and comfort you in the way he knows how to.

“It’s okay. It’s over now.” He whispered gently stroking your hair as he hugged you to him. A few moments of silent thought passed before he spoke once more, “I understand this has been a very long and exhausting day for you, I understand this is so new to you. We all understand. We especially hope the incidents that have occurred today has not stopped you from accepting us as your mates. Though we can all have a serious discussion about that later.”

Yuji’s hand cupped your cheek leading your eyes to meet his, “I will say this, no one will ever hurt you again for as long as I live. This I vow to you.”

You were quite shocked, no one had ever said something like this to you before, it made your heart thump quicker in your chest until you felt it was about to burst. You could feel it in your throat, pulsing, beating so hard your head hurt. You wanted to thank him, kiss him, hold him so tight and never let him go. Your body worked against your mind and omega, your head simply nodding. You cursed yourself but seeing his joy at just your acceptance was enough to help you relax.

“Can I stay and watch you work? It’s a little…crowded out there.” You gesture to the hallway, thinking of the nest with three of your mates sleeping peacefully.

He chuckles knowing exactly what you mean, “Of course angel.” Yuji smiles happily and continues quietly working on his computer, you shuffle a bit getting comfortable on his lap. Surprisingly you found his work boring and unsurprisingly you fell asleep. Yuji smiled at the sight, you felt comfortable enough to sleep on him, it was more than he could have ever asked for with his mate. Even when he turned twenty seven he was unsure whether or not he’d find his mate.

Now that he had, it was his job to protect you as best he could. He knew he wouldn’t be around you all the time and there would indeed be times where all of them were busy at the same time, there was no guarantee you would always be safe. Unless he got you someone who could protect you day and night. A bodyguard. Swiftly he opened a new tab on his computer searching through the company’s alphas who had completed their training, he scrolled to the ones who were best in all their divisions.

He saw a name quite familiar to him, Toji Fushiguro . Mated. Married to Aiko Fushiguro. Two children. He was perfect. Yuji would of course consult with his pack alpha before making any decisions, but he was quick to make a note of it so he could talk to Kento when he was in a better headspace.

At this same time, Kenjaku was busy sorting the Jade business. In fact he was staring her down right now, trying to calm his wolf so he wouldn’t break through the iron bars that were between him and her. She was sulking, pouting, she actually had the audacity to sulk after attacking his mate. Disgusting. He wanted to rip her limb from limb for her crimes.

His entire body shook as he listened to the police officer explain how she would be processed, never once did his murderous eyes waver from her figure. She was now his target, she was now his prey. He would do everything in his power to make sure she never saw the outside of a jail cell ever again. To make sure she knows what real pain feels like. To make sure she suffers.

Kenjaku can’t get the memory of you like that out of his head, you with a handprint marking up your pretty face, you with the back of your clothes torn open by the bitch’s claws, a big rugged scar on your back for everyone to see. You looking so dazed and weak with tears filling your eyes, he couldn’t stand it. He still can’t.

But he’ll endure. For you, he’ll endure.

Meanwhile Suguru had gone to your apartment to get your anxiety medication, per a feral Kento’s order. He wasn’t going to disagree, not when the savageness was sparkling in his pack alpha’s eyes. He went straight away to fetch the pills, catching the keys to your place in his hand and driving there with the help of the sat nav.

He doesn’t know what he was expecting when he entered your place but it wasn’t this. Dull, lifeless colours painting the walls. Black, white and grey all over the place, not even a hint of colour. It had his hands itching to grab his phone and go on Titsi and fill your home with colourful nesting blankets and pillows. Focusing back on the issue, he searched the bathroom first. Looking through the mirror cabinet, his eyes scanning over the lotions, perfumes and bath stuff all fully stocked. Some of them not even opened, most of them barely used.

It had Suguru frowning, did you not have relaxing bubble baths after stressful days or weeks at work? Did you not massage lotion into your beautiful skin after the aforementioned bubble baths? Did you not spritz the sweet perfume on your still damp body? Well he would just have to fix that. Honestly he was getting excited just thinking about taking care of you in such a way.

Of getting to delicately scrub your body, ridding it of dirt and stress, while you played with the soapy bubbles. You letting him gently rub lotion into your dehydrated skin, the way you would sigh happily when he would press harder on that particularly tight spot. The way he would spray a little bit of that lovely perfume you wear on you once you were fully satisfied.

He couldn’t wait to love on you. But for now he didn’t have time to fantasise, he had pills to find. He closed the cabinet after taking a quick whiff of your perfume and headed into the bedroom. Inside once again it was dull, except for something he spotted shoved in the corner, almost hidden from eyesight before a reading chair.

A bright pink bunny, very dirty and roughed up. But it was the only colourful thing he saw in the entire apartment. He picked it up, it looked like a children’s stuffed toy. Maybe it was yours when you were little? But why had you left it so dirty? Why was it so damaged? Another thing for him to fix.

Suguru placed it back down and scanned the bedside tables, even looking through the drawers. He didn’t find the pills, though he found a different kind of toy. A simple purple silicone mould, no details but very obvious what it was. He tried not to let the smirk on his face grow as he put it back and shut the drawer. He moved over to the drawers filled with your clothes, opening them one by one from bottom to top. Finally he opened the last one, filled with your underwear and fuck he couldn’t help himself.

Picking a pair up he brought it up to his nose taking a huge whiff, he groaned at your scent that still lingered on them. After slipping a pair into his pocket he moved on to the kitchen he finally spotted them, the anxiety medication that Kento had ordered him to get for you.

Suguru was intrigued, truly, he didn’t mean to snoop but with how interesting the rest of your house was he couldn’t help himself. He checked all the kitchen drawers and cupboards, your fridge-freezer and he didn’t like what he found one bit. A couple packs of ramen and some out of date milk. How were you living like this? He instantly made a note on his phone to find out your bank account details and transfer money into it, as well as giving you his black card.

While he’s at it he makes note to add your name to the lease of their new house. Their current house was much too small for all of them to fit, you didn’t have your own room and there was certainly no room for pups. Pups. He had to swallow down the primal urges that were rising within him and threatening to take over him. Taking one last look at your place, he left locking the door, deciding in his head how sad your life must be to have the absence of colour in every aspect of your home.

The drive back was quiet, even with the radio playing music, he was in his head the whole time thinking about you and that empty space you called home. Did it represent something more? Or was it just him overthinking something that means nothing. And what about the florescent pink bunny, hidden in the corner?

By the time he had arrived it was night time, the street lamps giving a golden glow to the street, he stepped out of his car pills in hand as he crossed the road to his house. The outside of it was dark blue, only a few lights were on, shining through the windows. He wondered if you were still up or if you’d felt comfortable enough to fall asleep in someone else’s home.

What he found was not what he was expecting. Inside the nesting room was a distraught Kento sat on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. Satoru and Sukuna were trying to console him but it wasn’t working as he continued to blame himself over what had happened.

“Where is she?” Suguru asked, waiting patiently for one of his brothers to give him a reply.

“With Yuji. In his office” Sukuna whispered shooing him away with his hand so he could listen to Kento.

Suguru rolled his eyes and made his way to Yuji’s office. Sure enough you were sat inside, on the lap of his brother no less, asleep. Yuji smiled, “All good?” The words came out a whisper, but Suguru heard them and nodded walking further into the room and placing the bottle of pills on the desk. Yuji read your name on there and the medication type. “She has anxiety?” Yuji asked more to himself.

“Don’t we all?” Suguru joked making his brother give him a ‘shut the fuck up’ look. He raised his hands up in a show of surrender, smirk still on his face.

“I just mean, I didn’t know she had it to the extent of having to take meds for it.” Yuji explained his thoughts glancing down at you.

“Neither did I. None of us do. I guess I realised that when I was at her place too. None of us know her yet, we don’t know anything about her, her life, her family. None of it. We’ve known her for a day, not even a full day either.” Suguru sighed, he couldn’t wait to learn more about you.

“We will soon. I’m excited for the days I know all there is to know. I will feel like I’m complete as her mate.” Yuji laughed with joy on his face only for Suguru to wipe it away.

“Something tells me there will always be something new to learn with our gorgeous mate.”

[talon-dragonbeast]

misceanimalis identities and alterhumanity

(also called: ✨misceverse propaganda✨)

a few days ago i promised to write a post about the misceverse and how it applies to myself/my identity. so, here it is!

[as a disclaimer, im still very much aroace so rest assured this post will be completely sfw. however, im aware that some people can be uncomfortable with this stuff so ill be putting the post under a read more]

so, omegaverse. a few of you may remember my post/essay on how i view gender through draconic lenses, and how my species classifies ourselves not with sex but with how we contribute to society, our Role. well, last week i saw some of my mutuals (shout-out to @/were-bastard and @/professional-jaywalker, the birds ever /pos) reblog stuff about something called the misceverse, which was inspired by omegaverse fanfic tropes, and... well. it piqued my interest. i had read a few of these stories myself when i was younger, so i knew more or less about what it was all about, but i didnt know there was an entire community centered around it!

what struck me the most about these communities was the normalization and celebration of animalistic behaviours, specifically as they relate to relationships, something that, as a nonhuman, is obviously very appealing to me. i struggle a lot to express affection in the expected/"human" way, as my instincts tell me to act more like the creature i am. things like nesting, scenting, giving gifts or having a special language of animal noises to communicate with your loved ones are things i do naturally, and that i fight to suppress every day. upon seeing all this in the misce community, plus the classifications that match so perfectly with my dragon Roles, i was sold.

so, what even is misceanimalis?

also called miscecanis, its a community centered around the omegaverse, that is, a universe where people have secondary sexes as well as the normal ones: alpha, beta or omega. (they were inspired by that one study on wolf behaviour and pack dynamics, which i find really funny bc its considered incredibly inaccurate nowadays). people on this verse exhibit animal behaviours like nesting, forming packs, making animal noises or "subvocals", and, of course, experiencing mating cycles (i will not get into that last part, but basically omegas have heats and can get pregnant while alphas have ruts and can get people pregnant; betas are usually the "normal" ones, but this may vary between verses). also! a very important thing in omegaverse is scenting. everyone has a unique scent, so people can identify your dynamic right away; its used as a way to mark your territory and your mate and to express emotions.

about me!

dynamic: i am bidynamic; both an omega and a beta, also called a gamma or oeta.

for me, this means that im socially neutral (but leaning submissive), i exhibit protective and nurturing behaviours like an omega, and give a calming effect to people like a beta. my presentation though is fully omega: i am very timid, uncertain and introverted, though if im feeling confident enough i can come off as more casual/laid-back.

scent: my scent is vanilla, very sweet as is typical of omegas (funnily, i found that this scent is almost unbearable for most people, but i adore it).

i use vanilla body lotion and perfume for myself, and a soft vanilla air freshener for my den.

behaviours: i am miscedraconis and misceavian, which means my behaviours are based on both dragons and birds (nesting, gift-giving, mating dances, all that stuff). my subvocals are both avian and draconic: purring, chirping, etc. i also experience heats but they are very mild, and are less frequent than for monodynamic omegas.

anyway, i think thats enough for today! wow i rambled a lot, didnt i? i hope you enjoyed reading this, and maybe even fell for my propaganda i mean, considered a misceanimalis identity for yourself! i found that the community is very nice and open-minded, and i think more alterhumans could benefit from joining it!

[badaseyebags]

private lessons ⋆｡°✩ chapter 3 ⟢

fluff, suggestive, smut in upcoming chapters

warnings: bada is a tease, the power dynamics are still very much obvious, age gap, bada, just bada.

word count: approx 1,7k

authors note: aaaaah it's finally here don't ask me what happened 😭 this one sucks butt, but i promise i'll try to update more often if anyone is still interested 🫶🏻🫶🏻 -🍞

you spent the rest of your weekend huddled up in bada’s sweater, consuming the subject you were supposed to be learning all along, eating it up as if you were starved for knowledge. truth is, you were. but you were more starved for her attention, attention you’d get from her if you improve your performance in class.. or touch starved, or just starved for her in general if we’re being honest.

her scent that coated the vibrant fabric was starting to wear off, and you wished monday would come faster than ever before. it wasn’t easy to take that soft article of clothing off, you practically lived in it for the time being and washing it.. was even harder. torturous almost. it meant you would no longer be surrounded by the aroma of her musky perfume mixing with the sweet smell of her skin. how you wish you could go back in time.. speaking of back in time..what would have happened if she didn’t “control” herself, and what exactly did she mean by it? you sigh closing your eyes, drifting into yet another slumber, fortunately last one before you get to see her again.

were you being too bold? was the lipstick costing your glossy lips too much? or was it the fact that you pulled up to class wearing that sweater she let you borrow? you don’t recall ever being that daring, but you also never assumed you’d be making out with your teacher on her damn table that she eats from every single day. does she even remember? for you it was impossible to forget but.. she’s your teacher after all, and you’re just a student.

will she even notice it? will she even notice you? it wasn’t just a one time thing was it.. you bite the inside of your cheek, looking out the window in your seat as you impatiently wait for the bell to ring, hoping to see her tall figure appear as soon as the sound hits your ears.

you hear the door close and your eyes don’t have the confidence to look up. you can’t see her, but you can feel her, you can smell her. her subtle scent that you’ve been missing filling your nose, your ears picking up the clicking of her heels against the floor. even the atmosphere in the room has changed, making everyone quiet down and suddenly pay attention. hearing everyone greet her made you want to look at her so bad, just steal a little glance at least. you were itching to see her face again. but this time it was different, she wasn’t just a teacher you had a innocent crush on, nono.. she was a teacher who invited you over to her place and nearly devoured you whole on her kitchen table. those memories again! can they finally leave? ahh.. you still had to get a peek, a quick look won’t hurt.

you tell yourself as your eyes slowly trail up, your head never moving from its original position. wow.. she looked gorgeous. her long legs hugged by a pair of black slacks paired with a white blouse and those expensive looking heels that made her even taller. and her hair waved so nicely, red lipstick almost matching her shade of blush? oh wait… that’s unlikely of her. she doesn’t usually put on blush. you would know, you spent hours and hours studying her features while she had no idea, or so you thought. you tilt your head trying to figure out where she found such a pretty color, your eyes naturally finding their way higher until they reach her own. you were getting ready to look away as soon as she’d catch you looking, but she beat you to it.

her eyes instantly locked with yours and than hurriedly avoided them. you noticed her looking down at her own sweater covering your body, followed by a sound of her clearing her throat and looking elsewhere. oh, so the shade of her blush she put on was you after all.

a soft shade of pink also tints your cheeks as you smile and look away, fully relishing in the fact that this feeling is at least to some extent mutual. you swing your feet around, hands flipping through your notes, spending the rest of her class stealing glances at one another, with her being a little better at concealing it. as the bell rings you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and stay still in your seat as everyone else impatiently grabs their stuff and runs out the door.

it’s the last class of the day after all, nobody wants to spend even a single extra minute in class. especially on a Monday. nobody except you apparently. “miss, y/n.” a soft voice snaps you out of your day dream, finally having the opportunity to look her straight in the eyes.

“let’s move our tutoring to an hour earlier today, it will save you time…i’ll drive you.” she speaks nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t affected at all, finishing up some work on the computer as she remains seated in her chair. you grip your bag in your arms against your chest as you remain in your chair, nervous to let anyone see you leave with her. “ah yes, thank you” you mumble looking down. “thank you, what?” the clicking sounds of her fingers against the keyboard comes to a halt, one of her eyebrows rising as her eyes search for yours, her head not fully turning. you ponder for a second, but seeing her expression told you all you needed to know. “t-thank you ma’am.” you mumble under your breath, to shy to speak inside the now empty classroom as it echoed. she smirks continuing her work, looking back at the screen. “good girl.” you clutch your bag trying not to look affected, but by her reaction she knew just what kind of effect she had on you.

by the time you collected your breathing and the messy state of your mind, she has finished up preparing for tomorrows class and packed up her belongings. her hands reached for her purse and you remained glued to your seat. causing her to chuckle and walk over to you, offering you her hand. “are you ready to leave?” you nod quickly, shaky hand grabbing hers as she helps you stand up, and honestly you kind of needed that right now otherwise you would of stumbled. you let go on her hand once you’re fully back on your feet, and her thumb gently strokes the back of your hand before also letting go as you walk out of the classroom together, following close behind, too shy to walk beside her.

you timidly trail along, keeping your head down as you tried not to make eye contact with anybody, too scared they will see into your mind and see what’s going on between the two of you as you step into the passengers seat of her car. your hands try to find the seatbelt but she beat you to it, leaning over and clutching in in her hands to wrap it across your hips. she grins at your reaction, prolonging eye contact a little longer just to mess with you. she finally leans back in her own seat, buckling her seat belt and resting her hands on the steering wheel as she starts the engine. you finally exhale trying to focus on the road but the way she’s gripping the steering wheel is distracting you big time. you huff opting to look out the window. when will this torture end? she’s to attractive no matter what she��s doing, in fact even when she’s not doing anything at all. not fair!

you get caught up in your day dreaming a little but are quickly shaken out of it as you feel the car come to a stop. that was quick, you think to yourself. much quicker than you remember the way to her house being. you look around trying to spot her apartment but don’t see anything remotely similar. “huh?” your eyes scan the area further. she just smiles undoing her seatbelt, reaching over to undo yours as well before getting out the car and opening the door for you as you exist the vehicle. “i thought it would be a nice gesture to take you to a cafe, so you could actually focus on studying.” she says with a hint of sarcasm in her comment, just to see your face flush once again. she holds the cafe door open for you and once again your heart races a little bit faster. you find a spot that’s a little hidden, sitting down in a little corner which relaxes you a bit more as you don’t like crowded places. your fingers play with the edge of the menu, unsure what to order. “what will you get sweetie?” she glances up at you, eyes never scanning the menu once. “uh- i dunno..i like sweet coffee..” you admit nervously. “oh do you still? it looked like you didn’t mind the taste of bitter coffee last time we met.” she smirks seeing your face fall upon realisation. the images of that night filling your mind once again. the way her lips tasted, the way her tongue glided against yours, the way you got drunk off the taste of the coffee she had earlier.

gods must of heard your calling for help as she got up with a chuckle, ruffling your hair. “i’m just kidding cutie, i’ll be right back.” as soon as she turned around to go buy your drinks you bit into your fist. “calm down, calm down, you can do this, woman!” you motivate yourself, this will be a long day..

[astridhoff03]

My thoughts on Season 2 of the greatest Chaos in the World of DreamWorks TV…

Oh my gosh, did this season yet again not disappoint, even if it has a bit of a slow start, it is still a great story. I definitely can see past the little flaws, because it’s still a good show with emotional moments and thrilling adventures. Also at the end of the season it will get really dark, darker than the Jurassic World Trilogy ever could’ve gone. I got goosebumps just like watching the Jurassic Park movies. And more emotional than every movie in the Jurassic Park/World franchise. Such compelling, complex characters with well developed backstory’s. I honestly was speechless when I finished season two and thought again, wow they scored again with this show,

My favorite episode is definitely two because how they showed us, how Brooklynn reacts to the loss of her arm and the fact that everyone thinks she’s dead. Kiersten Kelly does a great job in executing Brooklynns emotional journey in this, I think she has took a bit inspiration of herself loosing an important part of the body.

And Soyona Santos is an incredible villain, her backstory is also really interesting and how she interacts in the whole show with Brooklynn is just amazing. My favorite scene of her is when she draws Brooklynn, she never was so intimidating and seems extremely intelligent and dangerous. Together with the Raptor Lady she’s now one of the best villains in the Jurassic Park franchise. Also I just noticed that the thing with the lazer makes actually a lot of sense, even if I think it’s not as scary as the whistle of the Raptor Lady. Also Soyonas animated version is prettier than her live action counterpart. It’s just funny how much more intimidating and dangerous the JW: Dominion villains are in the series.

What Brooklynn does is not good for her but I can also understand her, she wants to protect her friends and family. But it was sad to see that Ben was near at a panic attack when Brooklynn called him. Also Yaz and Sammy are still the cutest and heathliest relationship in the entire camp fam but I like that Darius and Kenji finally get along again, I missed their friendship and dynamic so much. Kenji has gone through so much, he’s the most tragic figure in the entire cast of how much he experienced loss in his life. And Yaz and Sammy have grown stronger together. I love how Sammy tries to decorate the container and Yaz watches her with so much love and admiration.

And don’t let me start on the dinosaurs this season. They were incredible. The Suchomimus or as Billy would said it Suchimimus has a beautiful design and many incredible action scenes, my favorite is when he fights the hippo. I also like the the communication between the Albino Baryonyx and the Atrociraptor Red, was very scary and also how he walked behind Brooklynn was bizarre. Leucotistic Baryonyx is also the perfect combination of the idea of the hybrids and the normal dinosaur from Jurassic Park. It’s like they’ve found a perfect compromise where every fan gets something out of it. The chase in the dark with the eyeless Baryonyx was scary as hell, I can’t find words for it and also with what calmness Soyona Santos guides Brooklynn through the darkness, while her friends get chased. Geba was also pretty cute and funny, I feared for her life in the last episodes. It was actually a really good Idea to show how humans, animals and the dinosaurs get along on other continents. Was very interesting to witness and also helped to understand the world better our heroes are now in. The Majungasaurus was also very cool to see finally in the Jurassic Franchise and I am happy that my favorite dinosaur of all time, the Allosaurus has a final hurrah in episode two. This magnificent beast was going through a lot, blindness, serval fights who could’ve easily ended deadly, she was blamed for killing Brooklynn, was hunted and serval times imprisoned. I feel very sorry for my favorite predator of the Jurassic Park franchise, hopefully she can find finally peace in her future as our Camp Family. But I guess we have to wait until season three. I am happy when I see DODGSON again and the biosyn valley.

[piglet26]

Reylo. Sorry, but it's not abusive

Star Wars is not selling abusive relationships to young girls nor conditioning them into aspiring to them. Reylo is not propaganda from disgruntled single middle aged woman. It wasn't promoting abusive relationships when Luke still found love for his father despite Darth Vader cutting off his hand. Luke fans, young and old, were not attacked as being dumb or needy for liking Luke or how he viewed his father. It damn sure wasn't considered abusive when Anakin choked Padme and she still held hope for him in her heart. Or, that Obi-Wan still held a love for Anakin despite everything Darth Vader had done. Then there was Reylo.

Being a Reylo is not something I feel I need to defend. Let me love what I love in peace. That's what I believe. I did not actually see any of the sequel trilogy until after it was concluded. I was not on any fandoms during the rollout and marketing for the films. Thank God. However, I have gathered enough to understand it was horrible how Reylos were being regarded. It was beyond patronizing. I'm not new to fandom, hell I've been on soap opera fandoms for quite some time and believe me that's a savage space, but wow.

I want to clarify some of the feedback against Reylo and reaffirm why it's such a compelling pairing. Further more, I regard it as an compelling attribute to the Star Wars universe that only added to the franchise.

Now I've seen the domination of woman twisted up and called romance (see Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray), but I don't think people understand WHY those relationship were as such. Rey, on her own, is one of the strongest and most badass female leads to ever appear on the big screen. Despite people thinking she doesn't have a personality she is a resourceful, tough, innocent, loyal, hopeful and strong. She has agency unlike Bella Swan. She is not sexualized by Kylo Ren unlike the 50 shades girl. Her gender is neither a hindrance nor an advantage. She has the agency to save herself, but she is also saved.

Which is really one of the main issues. There is the patronization of Rey as a character, the people who like her and the people who like the pairing. While those 50 shades of gray books didn't buy themselves rather than listening to why Reylos liked the pairing they were told why they did and then dismissed. Or, there's the men that wanted Rey to be with Finn because Finn was the "nice guy" who they identified with.

Rey doesn't need a love interest - not all heroines need love interests, but why does it imply she's weak if she does have a love interest? Heroes infamously have a female counterpart which helps make them viable. It doesn't make them any less interesting as an individual.

Kylo Ren and Rey are NOT a couple but instead representatives of opposing sides in a war. This is the most important part. From the get-go they have an intense dynamic. Both have had visions and dreams of the other and they recognize something in one another. Kylo Ren did kidnap Rey, however, if you consider fighting your enemies “abusive” or interrogating war prisoners as “domestic violence”.............well, that is odd.

As quotes about them

What if your soulmate in the Force was your enemy? Circumstance, pits them against each other, but the Force bonds them together. They understand each other almost from a point of view of fate. And yet, fate has made them enemies.

While Kylo Ren is fascinated by In the moments of the interrogation, gender and sexuality have nothing to do with Kylo’s actions. J.J. made the conscious choice to show us the same scene twice (Kylo Ren interrogating his enemies) so the audience can spot the differences between the two. Sorry J.J, you trusted people too much.

We're able to see very clear aggression and abuse come from Kylo Ren for Poe. He has zero interest in him personally. He needs information and he will get it. The force and his ability to read someone's mind is a tool within his disposal. Now why isn't Poe's interrogation considered sexual assault?

"You know I can take anything I want" HE CAN READ HER MIND! He's not talking about raping her for God's Sake! He asked her to freely provide information and she didn't want to. However, he has a tool to use against a girl adding his enemies - a tool he'll use if she doesn't want to snitch. She knows this he already read her mind - so why not give the information freely?!

Rey also invaded his mind, so did she mind-rape him too?

The line that fans almost never seem to talk about in The Force Awakens is when Kylo says to Rey “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.” What did he feel? The best I'm able to understand is what they felt was their force dyad igniting or fulfilling.

Ren becomes personally invested in Rey. Not with her cause, or her affiliation with the Resistance, but with her and what he wants from her.

“Kylo chased Finn and Rey outside Starkiller Base to fight them! He threw Rey against a tree!” Well she was going to shoot him..... I would've thrown her against a tree to save myself. His issue in that moment was Finn. Finn was the "traitor" in questioned and his unfinished business. They fought, but really it was a dueling exercise. Kylo Ren wanted to test her skills and her powers. If he wanted her dead there was a convenient edge to push her over, hell he offered to teach her. Rey was the one to go ape and almost kill him.

Again, I'm not implying that they aren't messy - they are. For literary nerds this is why they are a compelling heroine/villain. Ultimately one will greatly affect the other. The tension in between them is why it's great.

Ben Solo, least we forget, is himself an abuse victim. This is canon. While Kylo Ren has learned abusive techniques, they are at war. Applying abusive characteristics to a fictional character in a war setting without any attempt to incorporate the story is bizarre. Why was he able for the first time to stand against his abuser? Rey. He couldn't stand up for himself but he stood up for her. Ultimately, Kylo Ren wanted to 'break the wheel" that's what he claimed. If he was honest, he'd admit he had no clue of how to do that.

Most abusers are charming and irresistible when you first meet them. Ben has NEVER dishonest with Rey about who he is. Rey is very aware of the horrible side of him and even refers to him as a monster. He affirms her accusation that he is a monster.

During their force bonds because of the nature of the bond Rey is in a position to hear him out and try to understand how he became the monster he is today. When she learns that he didn't become this on his own, that Luke, his parents and Snoke contributed to his downfall she had hope in him. It's also important to make the distinctions that when she has a vision of him, it's as Ben. It's like a bipolar personality. When Kylo Ren goes all Darcy marriage proposal - she reject him. She rightfully spurned him when he resorted to cruelty to sway her to his side. Rey turned down Kylo as long as he was the ’bad guy’, and only kissed him as Ben ’the good guy’.

“He only wants to use her for her power.” Oversimplification that Rey is actually guilty of. Kylo Ren is lonely and within Rey he finds not only an equal but the most intense emotional connection he's ever had. The most intense connection she's ever had. Let's not forget they are probably both virgins. Then they are in each other's head. That's intense. When Kylo makes his plea to Rey it's out of not only loneliness but truly wanting her for her.

Also, Kylo doesn’t say he wants them to rule together as “master and apprentice”. He wants Rey to be his empress, his queen which is what Rey means. He’s literally proposing by offering her the entire galaxy. Ultimately Reylos see them as two equally powerful archenemies dedicating themselves to defeating the other but also find themselves strangely drawn to each other in ways they might not want to admit. Then two soul mates on the other side of a conflict.

This is built on the idea that hate itself is a sort of twisted form of love. It is, or, rather hatred is born from things like fear, pain, betrayal and love. Their connection is complicated. One minutes they last out at one another and the next they lean into each other. People can regard this as toxic. Others, like myself, regard this as the gray side of love. Reylo represent the yin yang of the force. The light and the dark craving each other and finding themselves frustrated.

Notice how many hero/villains find themselves telling others that only they are allowed to kill/harm their nemesis, in a subconscious effort to protect their nemesis from others. And they may also get strangely jealous when their nemesis fights other people.

Other people give this argument because they believe the popularity of antiheroes in media is a sign of society’s moral decay. The First Order for all we know is not a fascist society. We have no idea the ideology of the First Order. We know their clothing was inspired by the Nazis.

Red String of Fate: the two connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break

Kylo Ren and Rey BOTH want to be together, believe in the other, but are held back by their individual idea of what means. How is that abusive?! Maybe it's back to thinking little girls won't be able to understand the complexity of Reylo. Huh, well little boys can understand the complexity of Batman and Joker. If little boys are smart enough to realize the difference between fiction and reality and are able to watch a love/hate relationship between a good guy and a bad guy, I’m pretty sure the girls can handle it too. Rey has hope and belief that Kylo Ren can be good, she won't stay by his side while he's doing bad.

What is Reylo? In a way. Iconic

[mmmatchasims]

Wow, I can't believe gen 3 is over! This was my most ambitious generation and I don't think I have plans to ever write another gen as long as this one turned out to be, so I put a bunch of thoughts and ramblings under the cut for those interested.

If you have any questions or thoughts/theories about my bpr please feel free to send me an ask! I'm happy to clarify anything that wasn't as clear as I intended (as long as it's not something I purposefully kept unclear for the time being) or just chat about my story and characters. Thank you for reading! ❤️ Okay, phew, let's get into this!

I hate to say it, but Citrine was always going to die at the end of their senior year. I've had some variation of her & Hib's tragic love story bouncing around in my head since I was at least 14, and that was absolutely not helped by my adolescent love of John Green books. What can I say? I live for the melodrama and tragedy and intensity and clumsiness of those types of stories, and I wanted one in my BPR. Is it the most nuanced thing I could have written? No. Was it self-indulgent and very fun? Absolutely. 😇

While writing this gen and solidifying the lore of the Dream family, a question kept popping into my head. What happens if two people who are meant to be together are somehow prevented from doing so? It's starting to become clear at this point in the story that the Dreams are part of something bigger than themselves. Some sort of prophecy or cosmic will. What would have happened if our Gen 4 heiress had been born to Hibiscus and Citrine? How would the world have changed? Would it have impacted the story? This is a BPR after all, we need a certain amount of generations before we can conclude the story. Or do we? Jasmine seems to be waiting for something, or someone, to arrive. But even she isn't sure when that will be. While we're at it, what is her deal? We'll explore that in much more detail next gen.

Speaking of things that were or were not meant to happen, I had always planned on Hibiscus having a child with Topaz. I tried to leave it up to interpretation how much of their story was fate course-correcting after Citrine died vs. an intentional coupling. They have a shared bond through her, but that shared bond might not be the best thing to foster a marriage on. To be honest, I didn't intend for them to have as much chemistry as they turned out to have. In my mind, they were always better as friends than lovers, and Hibiscus was always meant to be with Citrine. Their whole relationship/marriage/baby montage at the end of this gen was meant to feel rushed and strained, because that's how Hibiscus and Topaz feel. There is real love there, but it was always going to be complicated by Citrine. I'm very excited to explore their dynamic more in Dandelion's gen and let you guys peek behind the curtain into some very honest and raw conversations.

Not to mention, Hibiscus hasn't found out that Andromeda was somehow responsible for "cutting Citrine's thread" before her time... Yet. I left what happened during her visit to the three seamstresses a bit vague, but I'm curious if anyone picked up on what happened. I'll expand on that pretty immediately in gen 4, so don't worry too much if you've totally forgotten what I'm talking about.

Lastly, I wanted to touch on Hib's friend group. Midna and Tamber were literally a reference to the "All or Nothing" webseries/tumblr meme that became a core part of this site's lore back in the 2010s or whenever. As somebody who identifies as being somewhere on the Ace spectrum, I knew I wanted to very briefly touch on my own feelings as a young person working through that identity. And then the dynamic between her and Tam kind of just wrote itself! They are still very happy living in San Myshuno together along with Tam's other partners. Maybe someday I'll do a side story about their adventures together. Cherry and Cranberry are happily married with one daughter and another kid on the way. They live in San Sequoia where Cran is a track coach at the city college and Cherry is a professor at San Sequoia University. I'd like to post some gameplay of them at some point, bc I want people to know they are happy and thriving but there probably won't be any room in the official story for them.

I think that's everything I wanted to touch on! Like I said, please hit my line if you have any questions about the story or just want to say hello and chat. It means a lot to me that people are still reading, despite this generation kind of getting away from me in length 😅 So thank you for the support! I will be taking a bit of a break from the sims for a few months because this gen did burn me out a little bit, but I'll still be active on here reading other people's stories and downloading CC. I'll let you all know once I start prepping Dandelion's gen, I'm very excited for you all to meet her 💛

[dailyreverie]

The recruit

Intro to the Your Wish is my Command universe

A/N: Back at writing and it feels so good! I'm so excited about playing around this universe and having fun with these new dynamic. Although this is part of a series, this first part works more as an introduction and not as a "chapter 1" kind of thing. This is where we start to explore the way our beloved Poe and reader work. (Also, thanks to the Poe Wookiepedia page for being my #1 resource for this intro)

Pairing: Poe Dameron x fem. reader

Word count: 1.3k

CW: alcohol consumption, bar setting, kind of mature innuendos (just a very tiiiiny one)

SERIES MASTERLIST

The last conversation played on Poe's head repeatedly, echoing between his ears with no signs of showing when it would ever stop: “So we do nothing? That's the solution? An emerging threat, and we do nothing?” he had asked, and the answer, even though he expected it, felt like it punched him on the throat.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing the Republic Command could do against an emerging First Order menace, one he had seen with his own eyes and could do nothing about. Poe downed his drink at the memory of that, scared and nervous, and overall angry. “Another,” he signed to the bartender without even taking the time to consider that another drink would push him past that tipsy state he was in - or maybe knowing that’s exactly why he did it.

“Poe Dameron.” The sound of his name pulled his attention away from the glass and into the seat next to him, the one that was being pulled and occupied by someone he had no idea knew his name. He had his reputation, that he knew, but he didn’t assume he was that well-known. By the look on the woman’s face, as if she knew something he didn’t, with a smart smirk adorning her features, he could only assume…

“Yeah, hi, I’m not interested right now.”

You looked at him unamused as he turned his eyes back to his drink. “Wow- I’m flattered but that’s not the case at all.” The bartender reached you as you made yourself comfortable on the stool. “Whatever he’s having.” You requested with a smile signaling over to Poe.

“What do you want then?” He was there not to be bothered, to be consumed by his thoughts about war alone, the last thing he needed was some woman to approach him.

After a quick scan around your spot at the bar, you spoke. “I’m with the Resistance, I was sent here to find you.”

Poe turned to you with a little chuckle. “So the Resistance is sending eye-candy to recruit people? ‘Kay, thanks. I’ll consider it.” You could hear the sarcasm oozing out of his words. “What do you want? Money? I really can’t help you sweetheart-”

“Okay, I’m flattered, again, but you have to stop.” Poe sobered up in an instant after hearing your irony-filled voice, looking at your face that still held the same grin from before - you were amused at his drunken state, at how little he believed you were actually there for him. “General Organa heard about you, and so did all her advisors. They know about your work, about your skills, and your current position. We need that, and I think you know why better than anyone.”

You meant it, Poe realized then, with your unserious face and that spark behind your eyes; a spark he sometimes could see himself in the mirror too.

“If you people at the Resistance know everything about me that well, you probably know how my last mission went.” He was testing you, you could see it in the way he held your gaze. “My Commander Officer is probably a couple bars down the street if you want to ask him-”

“What for? So he can tell me how reckless and foolish you are? We know that.” Poe was, again, speechless. “We believe you know more about the First Order than the Republic says. We’ve seen people like you, Poe. There is something you can do to stop all this instead of drinking it away.” Your hand found his on top of the bar and your eyes were looking deep into his. The rush he felt running up and down his body felt like a bolt, like a wake-up call, and how you knew exactly what he was thinking didn’t even cross his mind. “We need your help.”

At his silence, you continued to talk. He followed your every movement as he processed what you were saying, about commanding his own squadron and making a difference in the galaxy. You stood up, pulled out your datapad, and typed something in it, all while his brain was still dazed.

“I sent you the coordinates. Think about it, and if you’re in, the only thing you have to do is get there and say you’re there for General Organa. The position is yours.” You sighed once all the information was said. “Any questions?”

“Will you be there?” He asked after a beat, making you smile shyly, and if he saw your neck turning pink he decided to ignore it.

“You have 72 hours.” Was your answer, which he took as a confirmation.

Poe licked his lips and nodded, starting to go through everything you said as you turned in your heel to head out of the noisy bar.

“And Poe,” You grabbed his shoulder reassuringly, trying to convince him in any way you could. “that so-called foolishness? We call it passion. And passion is something we desperately need.” A smile was shared between you, a silent understanding floating in the space between you two. “Think about it,” you repeated in a whisper, squeezing his shoulder and leaving him there, alone again, with your untouched and unpaid drink.

🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟

As soon as General Organa reached you, speaking the words “We have an incoming ship” with a proud smile on her face, you knew exactly what she meant. You joined her on her walk to the tarmac, reaching her side at the entrance of the base that overlooked all ships.

“13 hours.” She stated, commenting on how quickly the response had been. “That was an excellent job, I knew you could recruit him.”

“Thank you. It wasn’t hard, I just needed to remind him of what’s important in this fight. Everything else he already knew.” The General looked at you, all pride and smiles on her face.

The ship landed with a huff of the engine powering down. You stood in silence watching as the top of the ship opened revealing a messy-haired Poe; watching as he climbed down the stairs and reached the floor a wave of nerves went through your body, which only increased as he began walking towards you. If he looked good with the bad lighting of the bar where you met him you knew seeing him in broad daylight would let you get a clear sight of his already handsome features - still, it was something you were not prepared for. Leather jacket and a half-opened collared shirt, he walked towards you carrying nothing but trouble for you, you didn’t need the Force to know that.

“Commander Dameron,” The General spoke when he was close enough. “I hope you like your new title.”

“General Organa.” Poe greeted, stretching his hand to her. “I do, and it is a pleasure to meet you. My parents told me nothing but great things about you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

When the handshake stopped Poe’s attention went to you, standing a couple of steps behind Leia and watching the greeting with a small smile. “That was fast.” You spoke first when your eyes locked, something in between a taunt and a tease.

“Well, I couldn’t let my recruiter down.” The confidence he had drank down the night before at the bar had risen up again; that was the Poe Dameron you had heard about, all cocky smiles and flirty words. Poe stared into you, a charming grin on his lips reaching his deep eyes.

“Ah, right. Poe, I believe you’ve met my daughter.” Leia said moving to the side, letting you take a step beside her. 

You introduced yourself then, reaching your hand out for him to shake as you, for once, told him your name - emphasizing your last name, of course. “I’m glad you decided to join us, Dameron.” You finished innocently.

The smile disappeared from Poe’s face gradually, and it took every power in you not to burst into laughter as he let out a shocked: “Huh?!”

🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟🚀🌟

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it.

[createdbychristy]

Pleasantview Reimagined: Don Lothario

Have you ever wondered how different the premade sims and storylines would be if the developers actually stayed true to their interests and personality? No? Just me?

I stumbled across @belladovah's aspiration calculator which calculates the aspiration based off of their personality AND interests - this takes the "whole sim" into account, and it makes sense to me that this is how you would develop their "truest" storyline and lifetime want. I started plugging in some data from the Pleasantview premades and WOW - what a different story that paints!!!

I also found that there's not a single PV sim besides Herb Oldie that has the correct zodiac sign (determined by personality points) and this is huge when it comes to compatibility in the sims! The developers start becoming more accurate with subsequent EP's, but man - they really said "let's just make this sim's zodiac sign wrong even though our coding says a sim with this personality should be a totally different sign".

That gave me an idea to start a brand new Pleasantview with their updated - or what I'm considering as their genuine - aspirations, zodiacs, hobbies, and lifetime wants. I'm finding some sims are pretty on par with their storylines, while others change the dynamic completely. I'm so excited to play PV in a different way than I've ever played before - and I've been playing TS2 for close to 20 years 😅

Anyways, if you made it this far, this is an example of what I'm talking about. Using Belladovah's aspiration calculator, Don is a Popularity Sim with a secondary aspiration of Fortune. His true zodiac is Gemini vs Leo. His "One True Hobby" could be either Fitness or Sports but he has a higher interest in Sports. Because he has such a high interest in Sports, it made sense to me to have him in the Athletic career with a Lifetime Want of "Become Hall of Famer". This is on par with his interests and Fortune/Popularity aspiration.

In conclusion, Don may not be a manh0e. He just wants to be popular - with the ladies 😂 And perhaps the disappearance of Bella *was* an elaborate scheme to gain access to the Goth fortune...

[myloveforhergoeson]

hold on.... just thought of an online songs au where daisy put in the link to a performance by brand new day instead.... out of the three which would daisy be most enamored by and what would her dynamic with each of them be?

oh... oh wow.... my friend i love you and your big beautiful mind... this is such a cool little concept. a foray into original fiction LMAO

first, to share something slightly on topic, roxy exists in the os universe lmao. she's with james because i made her and i said so!!!!!! in this world, the thing with bnd still happened, so they're not together anymore, she moves schools and she's focusing on her own thing :)

so au of an au, daisy accidentally finds a brand new day video. right off the bat i think the music is entirely too much for her unfortunately; even though kendall sings pop punk music too, she's kind of micro-dosing with his acoustic versions. it's going to take some time for her to be like "oh wow, okay this is cool" because like all the music she listens to comes from her grandparents and church...

if she were to find herself interacting with roxy, mag, and dani i think her dynamic with each of them would be pretty different!

roxy and daisy would be friends, i like to think, but the two of them don't really have much in common. they both like to read, so that's a nice start. roxy doodles in her notebook sometimes and daisy loves to draw. but other than that... rox is super into pop culture and the latest happening and daisy lives in a completely different world. so i think their dynamic would mirror the one she and kendall will have in online songs when they first start seriously talking; just kind of showing her the ropes of tech and pop culture and whatnot. i don't think either of them would be romantically attracted to the other, but i do think secretly they'd each think the other was so cool and sweet and nice in their own special ways. daisy has traits roxy wishes she did and vice versa!

mag and daisy... look. i'm a sucker for good girl x bad boy. gotta be one of my fav tropes. but... bnd's music is still too much for dais right off the bat so i think that mag wouldn't really fuck with her after he learned that lol. his one goal in life is breaking the music industry and he's not really wasting time interacting with or talking to people that don't really slot into the future he's set up for himself. but i mean he wouldn't be dick to her or anything. i can see him like joking around with her about her lack of pop culture knowledge and telling her the crazy celebrity conspiracies he def believes in. maybe if they were older and mag mellowed out a bit more, he could find himself attracted to her if they had more in common. i don't see a world where daisy ever really finds herself attracted to him though.

dani and daisy is interesting to me... she'd probably find herself enamored with them more than the other two. there's still the music barrier i fear, but, dani comes from a pretty traditional and religious family like daisy does. i think that despite their religious upbringings being different, they could relate to each other on that front! i do think she'd find the drums more interesting to play than guitar just because it's so much more animated - so if she found a really good clip of dani drumming i could see her watching that a lot like she watched kendall's video :) i also imagine that of the three, dani is most chill. they're slightly more introverted than mag and roxy are so their energy level would also be way better for daisy to handle!! i think given time they could find themselves in a little something-something :p dani is pretty fond of nature too, just like daisy is too. they can have some sweet hikes all around minnesota and virginia

idk what do yall think? maybe i just don't like mag so much i'm not able to see his similarities to kendall lol. because, i mean, daisy is going to learn that kendall has a mean streak eventually so... hm. interesting!! tysm for this cross-over question i just ADORE IT <3

[mad-hunts]

did i ever tell you all how barton's kids fully found out that he fears being left alone / abandoned? because i feel like they definitely had suspicions that that was something he really didn't want to happen before for a while, but barton never expressed it in a very overt way, if that makes any sense. that is, until he had somewhat of a delirium-based breakdown when he was REALLY sick with pancreatitis. which i estimate was around whenever matilda and louis were around fifteen years old.

because there is a chance that whenever you have a fever around the 103-106 mark that you will experience hallucinations and delirium + some people just seem to be more suspectible to it than others in general. and in the worst of the fever, barton had this super vivid dream about his kids leaving him, and he just woke up SOBBING from it. i mean, he was ugly crying because of it and begged them not to leave him. which is actually really kind of sad whenever i think about it. i honestly was thinking about writing a drabble about it because he didn't only just beg them for that — he said some things that, although it might not seem like barton would ever say them, sounded genuine.

and one of these things was apologizing to them, which... matilda + jack in particular, remember, and it's possible that it kept them up for a few nights. and i don't mean in a disturbed way or anything. i mean, in a ' wow, i can't remember the last time i saw dad be that vulnerable with us before. and if he did mean that he was sorry, then what does that mean whenever he may (or may not) eventually repeat doing what he apologized for? '

so it's honestly something that they still think about sometimes, and barton DOES remember saying them but kind of with a 'haziness' undertone to the memory, if that makes any sense. so yeah... barton's relationship with his children has a LOT of layers to it, and overall, it is very unstable. but he does ultimately seem to be attached to them in his own ' barton-like ' way, which is the best way i could put it because the man's mind is kind of like a labyrinth.

it's hard to navigate his feelings even for barton himself, but he is capable of being at least a semi-decent dad sometimes... but other times? yeah, he can be really cruel and uncaring. and i may sound like a broken record here, BUT the bad overshadows the good, and so he is not someone to look up to in regards to how a guardian should treat their children. however, i just think it's interesting how barton has just completely turned his dynamic with them on it's head before like this.

[clangenrising]

Hey! I sent an ask a while all the way back in February under anon praising your work, and I had been trying to follow along ever since but kept falling behind so I've just been reading a bunch of your pieces in a row in few-day bursts until I'm caught up to present lol. Anyway just now was the most recent burst I had finished, and I just gotta say. Yeah wow. Capital W Wow and the W stands for Winning. The way you're so committed to portraying real, almost tangible nuance in all your characters. How they all have deep reasons why they act the way they do but they start to be confronted and conflicted about the flaws in their views, the journeys they have to take to either change that or figure out if they even want to.

Namely with Ghost in the recent piece. Ever since I was introduced to him I knew there was more to him than just his blind following of his flawed society, that there has always been room for him to question his actions from the very start of the story and it may have always been there in him as a little inkling of an idea. But Fogpaw's confrontation was the moment that had really solidified it for him, driving it home even further since Smokyrose's death which also had to have taken a toll on his ability to trust his own thoughts (Been a while since I've read those pieces though so memory is fuzzy and I'm guessing there). He's someone who strikes me as someone who's always subconsciously suspected he's flawed, but never let it be an actual consideration until those actions he let himself carry out started having terrible consequences. And now he has to look back and face everything he's ever done, knowing full well he may never be forgiven by anybody he's wronged, but he still has the want to change for himself and I find that so inspiring. Having to face all those mistakes, learning just how much of your life you spent treating people unfairly... being confronted with all of that at once AND trying his best to make up for it all WHILE dealing with a new disability and terrible ear pain... it's no wonder he's deathly tired lol.

But the other character I want to highlight is the one who's been here and significant from the beginning - Scorch! A lot of people have talked a lot about her already but I'm in my own analysis flow state and I wanna ramble about how good of a character she is too. The walls and defenses she had to put up to protect herself, the lies she had to stick to to make other people believe things she didn't just to make sure she wouldn't die in the city... Razor's power over her and how nothing she did could convince him to truly loosen his grip on her during her time in the city, or even after she escaped and found RisingClan... The masks she has to plaster on herself and cycle through, and how the people who know her can just see right through them anyway... She's a person with immense trauma and like a solid two-thirds of her entire personality is a complex trauma response, but it served her well and protected her and so she keeps it up, and she even teaches a little of it and the affected worldview it gave her to her apprentice Fogpaw who is more confused than anything else haha. That's a very interesting dynamic too, someone who is thoroughly convinced every interaction is some kind of transaction where the other person always wants something in particular from you, and the other person who can't even fathom why or how interaction would work like that at all. Fogpaw is her perfect foil, someone who challenges her views and all the walls she's had to keep up more bluntly, and it's a very beneficial mentor-apprentice pairing that pushes them both to be better and that's a very amazing and interesting thing to see. How the student has things to teach their teacher in return.

It's just. The way I can read these character's thoughts and FULLY understand why they think in the ways they do and how those ways of thinking make sense to them... It's like I am quite literally transported into their mind in full and that is NOT an easy thing to do in writing at all. Most of the time you're just kind of a spectator, looking into a character's thoughts just to know why they do certain actions. But to understand the thoughts themselves, to see the full picture and possibly even a bit beyond it, to know the characters inside and out and see their worldviews and be like "Oh yeah, I see exactly how they came to those conclusions!" AND have those views be riddled with flaws in a way that makes everything feel SO realistic and tangible... That's like. Not just anyone can do that. Your hard work in developing these silly complex kitties has paid off in full, Rowan. Be proud of yourself, I simply demand it. lmao

AAA Thank you! this ask makes me so happy, I really appreciate you taking the time to say this all, it means a lot to me. 50 RisingBucks to you haha

[verdemoun]

If it hasn’t been mentioned before how did Sadie die in the canon timeline before getting timewarped and how was Jake found? I think they are super interesting considering how they weren’t even married for 3 years yet before the events of the first mission (they were married in September and the game starts in May) Also another random question but did any of the gang bond over the different instruments they played (ex Sadie-Harmonica, Pearson-Accordion, or Javier-Guitar) and speaking of Javier did he ever learn electric guitar? [Sorry if my bombarding you with questions is annoying or overwhelming I’m just very hyper fixated on Rdr2 and love this au <3 /lh/pos]

pls never apologise i love asks my inbox is officially empty again rip so to all pls feel free to send any more questions about timewarp or my general rdr2 addled brain.

Sadie makes me so sad esp in the epilogue she literally makes the comment i wanna die like she is such an incredible character but she is so defeated by losing her husband, and then finding the gang only to lose them as well. After Micah's death she didn't even have revenge to live for. Also being at John and Abigail's wedding? As beautiful as the day was and as happy as she was for them, being reminded of her own wedding, everything she lost, how much she loved her husband. I think that the passive suicidality/recklessness she was putting into bounty hunting would've caught up with her really quickly and she was shot and killed by some unknown outlaw she was trying to bring in no later than 1908.

Jake bless was very much not someone anyone thought to look for fortunately with living with Sadie in such an isolated area he's a proper survivalist and just lived camping on public land doing odd jobs like farm work where he could to earn some cash for basic necessities and was just rolling with it. He's very laid back go with the flow type guy who was not nearly as panicked about waking up in modern era as he should have been.

It's completely stupid how they ran into Jake Adler. The gang were in public talking too loud about 1899 and he casually walked up to them like oh hi were you guys also magically teleported 100 years into the future after dying??

Kieran was terrified of Jake and expected some sort of retribution for being an O'Driscoll like literally shuffling to hide behind other members of the gang terrified but they actually ended up being besties because Jake knows loads about gardening and homesteading and they got to bond over 'fuck Colm O'Driscoll' and just being gentle souls they vibe so well.

Gets a new cabin away from everything and starts rebuilding his homesteading life so everything is perfect for when Sadie comes back.

It's so obvious how Jake and Sadie's dynamic worked the second they met Jake Adler. He is the sweetest, most disgustingly soft man to ever exist. He has bi wife energy. If he had survived instead of Sadie, he would not have made it in the gang. He gets emotional over the idea of using pesticides to keep bugs off his tomatoes. He is malewife extraordinaire and cries at least once a week about missing his wife who he is nauseatingly in love with.

He went with them to get Sadie obviously and the gang were a little nervous how he would respond to bounty hunter more ghost than people living weapon that is the Sadie Adler they knew? Plus this is post Micah's death so they heard ALL about that as well. Sadie Adler is terrifying. How could such a delicate marshmallow man handle it?

It is immediately very obvious that that's just Sadie's personality. It is exaggerated but very much just how she's always been she could say the most threatening violent comment with the coldest scowl and Jake's just there like wow that's my wife isn't she amazing <3 <3 <3

He is not at all surprised she became a bounty hunter and murderer she was always capable of it he just asked her nicely not to kill people so she didn't but she was always that one thing away from becoming the woman we know and love. Also how quickly Sadie goes from cold scowl to smiling affectionately kissing her husband like he is her squishy soft rock.

Also Sadie is very much bisexual being in a relationship with a man does not erase that Jake has always known and is very supportive every night he gives thanks to the women who fumbled Sadie Adler so he could marry her. Gender roles are not welcome in their relationship hell gender as a concept doesn't belong in their relationship they both wear skirts on hot days and Jake wears lipstick more often than Sadie does. Sadie pegs.

She met him at the stables he was working at, picked him up like a stray cat and said we're married now. She proposed to him and he cried. Finding someone who complimented her in every way was a once in a million and she never moved on from that. He enjoys the domestic chores she loathes, never questions or raises an eyebrow at her wearing pants or wielding a gun. Both of them happy to move into the middle of no where because neither one of them wanted their dynamic being scrutinized like they are happy being in their own world regardless of era.

The gang are still in awe of how well they balance each other out. There was divine intervention in them being so perfectly made for each other let alone finding each other in canon era it's so much clearer how they seemed so lost and distraught being apart. Why Sadie was still mourning and talking about Jake in 1907 when she had lost him for longer than she'd known him at that point. Two people could not be more perfect for each other.

SECOND POINT

Sadie starts playing harmonica again now that she has her Jakey back. And Jake, who in a similar way stopped playing when he didn't have his Sadie his amore, gets another violin (this is a hc that I will die defending let him play fiddle while Sadie's on harmonica little homesteading country music losers). Charles also plays harmonica and it is very 'same hat!!' when they realize. Teach each other songs too.

Javier plays around with electric guitar but is an acoustic purist, but because Isaac plays electric guitar they have great little jam sessions together. Javier loves having someone who asks questions and wants to learn guitar like Isaac is pretty good by the time 1911 gang arrive but he is so happy to also have someone who likes guitar as much as he does and he can learn from. Rip Isaac's friends trying to keep up 'hey you up for crime this afternoon' 'no sorry i'm going to go play guitar with my stoner mexican uncle. his autistic boyfriend who is also a stoner is making soda bread!'

Uncle gets a banjo again and also a ukulele because he thinks they look goofy.

Also Sean plays jaw harp? Fun character fact. Lenny also forgets this fact and can be found walking around the house looking for whatever bug is making that weird buzzing noise and turns out Sean couldn't sleep and was just boinging along with his jaw harp.

Gang bonfire nights go wild on the jam sessions. Little southern orchestra with the banjo, two harmonicas, a fiddle, a jaw harp and guitars all going.

[haljathefangirlcat]

My dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “Beowulf” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

Me: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

literal years later, when I least expected it: dude I swear I just saw Cain's spawn lurking in the fens

My buddy the narrator pacing: Hrothulf is plotting against his uncle

The thing about Beowulf is... I never quite got the hype about it. (Yes, we're not Supposed to use words like "hype" about world literature Classics, especially from ancient times, or to make light of them in general. Shut up and contemplate the fact that social media posts expressing nothing more than personal opinions and feelings aren't generally meant to be the same thing as academic work to be shared between academians in an academic context.) Ofc, I understood its historical value, including in terms of linguistics and philology. But in terms of "would I pick this as reading material to obsess and fall into a research hole over"? Despite trying a few times, I never quite got past ALL the references to God every other line. ("Snorri was an Evil Zealot who set out to knowingly and purposefully Christianize Norse mythology For The Evulz" crowd, I will tattoo each and every single one of those all over your body so you can't look into a mirror without accidentally reading one ever again.) The apparently disjointed "Beowulf fights Grendel and then Grendel's mother in Denmark. Years later, after going back to Sweden and becoming king, he also fights a dragon but this time he dies" narrative didn't really appeal to me, either. Nor did the presence of (afaik) exactly one (1) named female character. (Wealhtheow, babe, in hindsight I'm so sorry.)

I'm not sure what changed, exactly. It's just that, some time ago, I finally got around to reading Grendel by John Gardner, and I loved it and thought "wow, this would have made me either bawl my eyes out or stare off into space for like five-to-ten minutes after finishing it, had I read it as a teen." And after that, I found myself thinking "well, now I should probably get to know know the original story," and finally picking up my copy of Tolkien's translation of Beowulf, and realzing there actually was a lot going on in the story, and getting way too engaged in the looming "Hrothulf kills Hrothgar's kids" subplot that doesn't even really resurface in any later material about Hrolf Kraki (though those aren't exactly free from fucked-up family dynamics, either...), and going "!!! Volsungar mention!!!!" at the bit about Sigemund and Fitela despite already knowing about the Sigemund and Fitela bit and the whole "who actually killed the dragon first/in which tradition" question, and losing my mind at the bit about Hama and the "necklace of the Brosings" and "Eormanaric's hate" because, yeah, I already knew about that one, too, kind of, but recently I've gone into a little bit of a Brisingamen deep-dive, and a while ago I read a really interesting commentary and translation of the Hildebrandslied that had quite a lot to say not just about the specific hatred/enmity of a powerful king for an adventurous hero but also about the shift from Odoacher to Ermanric as Dietrich' von Bern's enemy, which ofc (?) got me thinking about Eormanaric/Ermanric/Jormunrek's apparent widespread reputation for being an asshole, something there probably has to be some accessible paper in English about somewhere out there...

Ahem. Anyway, I also found myself alternating reading Tolkien's translation with watching Grendel Grendel Grendel, the weird and very simplified and toned down but still somehow very enjoyable and sad kids' movie adaptation of Gardner's Grendel. And Beowulf & Grendel, the one without any magic where Grendel's a traumatized Neanderthal on a quest of vengeance that's somehow also quite a good watch despite the wonky editing, the cast and crew being possibly cursed by the Norse gods, and ofc, the time-displaced Neanderthals. And Animated Epics: Beowulf, which I might have actually watched once as a child, thinking about it. And Simon Roper and Jackson Crawford's read-along, featuring interesting linguistic, literary, and historical notes as well as Australian!Hrothgar, Beowulf making it exceedingly clear that "some of my best friends are Danes!", and some unforgettable exchanges such as "I used to tell my students the story about that time I almost drove off a cliff when they were worried about their exams to make them undestand that I, too, had experienced the fear of death :|" "I'm glad you didn't perish :)" "Thanks. :|" (I'm on the Fits 8-11 video, btw. Even if, when it comes to Tolkien's translation, I'm already at the part where Beowulf says goodbye to Hrothgar and sails back to the land of the Geats. Look, I remebered thos videos existed somewhat belatedly.)

I think eventually I might also end up rewatching The 13th Warrior (which I'm gonna go out on a limb and say might be the true origin of the ahistorical Neanderthals in Beowulf & Gredenl, but I remember liking that one, too). And Outlander (my beloved "aliens crash-land in Viking Age Scandinavia and fight each other while being Sad & Tragic in their own ways" one, not the Scottish one) but specifically as a Beowulf reimagining this time around (rather than as "the movie that could have totally had the Brooding Hero, Fiery But Sweet Warrior Woman, and Hotheaded Rival-Turned-Friend invent modern polyamory, because that wouldn't have been weirder than having a character called Boromir" like every other time). Maybe that weird post-apocalyptic Beowulf that was the first to do the "Grendel's mom's got it goin' on" thing, too, at least if I can find that snarky review of it on Youtube again. Probably not the Uncanny CGI Desperately Trying To Be Live-Action 20O5 Beowulf where the titular hero keeps screaming "BEOWULF!!" and "I'M BEOWULF!!!" just in case the audience's intelligence levels can't be considered to be above the average rock's, and that also decided to add a foot fetish/body paint kink note to its cover of Grendel's Mom, though, unless I can find any snarky review of it. (I remember reading somewhere that the director actually hated Beowulf, as in the poem itself, and accepting the bit of info without question. The high heels-shaped feet are just one of the reasons why I wonder if anyone ever asked him if perhaps he hated women, too. At least his work supposedly contributed to the writers of Outlander being told "there's already too many Beowulf movies coming out!" and going "whatever, we're gong to do our own thing! With blackjack and hookers aliens and shieldmaidens", so I should probably thank him for that.)

Unfortunately, while I'm pretty sure I'll be able to avoid writing down a list of Adaptations I Absolutely Need To Check Out One Day Or I'll Die (i.e. Every Single I've Ever Heard About) like I did for The Nibelungs In Their Every Possible Form, all of this had the unforeseen side effect of reminding me that, even when I didn't have much if any interest in Beowulf, I used to have a bit of soft spot for Unferth. I mean, how could I not, when I imprinted on Hagen von Tronje when I was eleven-years-old? Give me a guy who knows all of The Hero's heroic deeds and still doesn't find him all that impressive from their very first meeting, and I'll just "👀" at him. Though from what I knew, this guy in particular seemed to go against his character type by becoming more friendly with the hero and lending him his ancestral sword, which seemed pretty interesting. Especially because he was apparently a fratricide, too? And you wouldn't expect a guy who killed his own brothers and got a "... and that's why you'll go to Hell!" by The Hero over it to have any kind of redemption arc/sudden reveal of hidden depths in any positive sense. And there was also that paper (which, ofc, I didn't bookmark at the time, and now I want to kick myself for that until I remember the title or at least the author...) arguing that maybe him telling off Beowulf about the swimming race was less about him as a person and more about him having a specifc role among the thanes in Heorot that included testing strangers requesting to speak with Hrothgar to figure out if they really were who they claimed to be or if they could actually live up to their reputation...

Again, I blame John Gardner, at least in part. He has a really crunchy Unferth, who definitely reawakened my interest in the character. The on in Grendel Grendel Grendel wasn't half-bad, either, though very different in some respects. But the original, too, ended up being actually so much more fun (meaning, so much more to chew on/rotate in my mind) than I could have imagined from my vague memories.

First you've got the iconic "didn't you look like a total loser against Breca, and isn't that literally all there is to know about you?" "shut up, you're drunk, a kinslayer, someone I have never heard anyone tell heroic tales about, and also, maybe if you were braver Grendel wouldn't keep eating you guys" banter, and I'm starting to realize that might be already more juicy, in terms of both Beowulf's and Unferth's characterizations and their interactions together, than I ever thought it was. Then you've got a line that sounds an awful lot like "everyone could see Grendel's severed arm hanging from the ceiling and that shut Unferth up" and seems to imply some sort of lingering bitterness on Unferth's side when Heorot is in the middle of the celebrations for Grendel's death. But then Unferth actually starts being described in much more favorable terms, almost as if the narrator were pointing out that, despite what the audience might think after his first appearance, there's a reason he's close to Hrothgar and has a good place in his hall... even if at the same time Unferth's praised for his "mighty heart" (something quite different from cowardice), wisdom, and the trust everyone in Heorot apparently has in his mind, there's actually another reference to him having had no mercy for his relatives "in the play of swords" in the past. (Fun little detail: that line comes right after one to the effect of "Hrothgar and Hrothulf were there and no betrayal had yet happened between them"...)

Until, finally, you get Beowulf preparing to go fight Grendel's mother and Unferth giving him his family's swords, Hrunting. And all kinds of entertaining things happen in relation to Hrunting.

You've got Unferth not remembering his first words to Beowulf because he was just really, really, really drunk when he said them, which seems to go well with Beowulf himself calling out his speech as a drunken boast but not with the "that shut him up" line I mentioned before. (Which leads me to wonder: was he actually too drunk to know what he was saying? Or did Beowulf give him an easy out in case he regretted it, which Unferth eventually chose to take to try and smooth things over?) You've got Unferth being "mighty of valour" yet not daring to go after Grendel's mother himself and "forfeiting glory" while giving his weapon to a "worthier" warrior, but his sword getting some lengthy praise nonetheless, to the point of being basically deemed infallible, and Beowulf not only not making any more comments on Unferth's supposed lack of bravery but calling him a man of "wide renown", praising his sword some more, vowing to succeed in his heroic feat with Hrunting or die trying, and telling Hrothgar that no matter what happens, Unferth must get it back when it's all over. And after that... you've got Hrunting utterly failing to kill or even harm Grendel's mother.

Except, that's literally the first time it ever fails at anything? And Beowulf can only kill Grendel's mother when, with the help of God, he finds a magical sword forged by giants, which implies there was no problem with it (and, by extension, with Unferth?) as the whole situation simply needed a little something extra to be dealt with?

Then, you've got Beowulf actually bringing Hrunting back, even if it wasn't much use to him when it really mattered. And praising it again, making sure to publicly clarify, while addressing Hrothgar himself, that no, it really is an excellent sword. And, after some more "the monster is dead!" celebration, Unferth himself (unambiguously "bold", now) having the sword brought over again not just to lend it Beowulf, but to gift it to him.... a weapon that is both nothing to sneeze at and, as Beowulf himself has acknowledged while praising it, a family heirloom. (From a guy who probably already has enough complicated feelings about his family without running around giving that kind of stuff away, to boot!) One Beowulf accepts once more, and gladly, already figuring it will be "a good friend in war, a power in battle" and saying absolutely nothing bad about it (the narrator goes "oh he's so gallant!" at him after that bit, which is admittedly kind of hilarious in itself, but still, imho, not really much to go on if you want to think he's not being sincere) right before he announces his intentions to sail back home.

I'm gonna be honest: I had already read most fics tagged Beowulf/Unferth on AO3 before this Beowulf binge. And now, I've gone and reread them. I've actually read the ones I'd missed the first time around, too. Not that it took me much time at all, but still. WildandWhirling has two really lovely ones. This innuendo-heavy one is a delight to read, too.

I think I might end up writing at least one more. Maybe canon!verse, if I manage not to spiral into researching Old English attitudes to homosexuality, or maybe Modern!AU, if I manage to find a good way to transliterate "sailing off to another country to slay monsters" in this century in a convincing way. Even just to have more than six works in the tag itself. But we'll see...

I suppose, in the end, the whole point of this random, almost stream-of-consciousness post (besides freeing up my head from at least some of my recent Beowulf thoughts) might have turned out to be just that, no matter who they are, fangirls will, indeed, always make them gay. (... I say, as if this was a surprise and I didn't already ship a number Nibelungenlied-and-adjacent gay ships I got into way before any of this.) It wasn't its original purpose but *shrug* I'll take it.

Then again... come on. All that talking about swords. *grin*

[azsazz]

Thank you so much for the new chapter of Dead by Dawn! It is always such a treat and pleasure to return to this fic and the world you’ve built.

I know that Az is the most popular bat boy (and I’m NOT wanting to poobah that at all), but I absolutely LOVE that the way you craft and include Cassian’s personality and character, without going down the easier himbo route and/or relegating him to the background.

I have a kinda NSFW question and brain ramble below, so feel free to ignore:

I saw a photo on the ACOTAR reddit the other day.

I can’t link it anon sorry, but if you google the keywords “The caption from my local bookstore’s staff picks acotar reddit” it should come up.

It’s a photo of ACOSF on display with a a written staff review underneath that says “For the amount of seed, this should be in gardening.”

It made me laugh so hard but also reminded me of your Cass in this fic and how he wants a garden to sow his seeds in and put down roots (both literally and metaphorically? 😉)

Asides from absolutely loving the idea of a softer, hopeful, nurturing side of such a strong male character just wanting to literally plant a garden, it had me wondering if there’s a possibility that Cass will have the chance to sow his seed(s) in Dead by Dawn (although if you were planning for that to happen I realise you probably wouldn’t want to spoilt it).

That shower scene in the latest chapter where Cass comes inside her and Az gets her to come a second time also had me wondering if Cass or Az in this fic would have a breeding kink cause it absolutely triggered mine.

I feel like navigating that as a kink (and dealing with the potential consequences of indulging in it) would be really fraught in this kind of setting, with different factors that could both encourage and discourage it.

Anyway, sorry for the questions and rambling, and thanks again for all the unseen time and effort you put into creating this amazing fic to share with us internet strangers.

omg wow, this is such a sweet message! don't ever apologize, i love every message and the chance to interact with you!! 💙

I looked up that reddit message you sent and it's hilarious 😂

I love DBD Cassian so much, he's literally so sweet while still being cheeky and strong. His dynamic with Az in the fic has been so much fun to write as well, how they not only navigate their relationship prior to reader and after, especially since Cass fell for reader a lot quicker than Azriel did.

To be 100% honest, I have no idea what I'm doing with this story or how it's going to end. With that being said, my heart desperately wants Cass to be able to find a place where he can finally sow his seeds. He's such an important character in this series and it hasn't really been highlighted because he hasn't had the chance to start his garden. I would love to write this scene, and i think that now they're (potentially) found a safe place at the Vanserra's, he might just be able to begin that journey.

when I was writing the shower scene, i kind of was just like 'he's going to cum in her and we'll deal with the repercussions later.' if either of them did have a breeding kink, it would def be interesting navigating that within the realm of the zombie apocalypse. the idea is hot af, i will admit that, i'll have to think more on it haha.

thank you again for sending this over! it makes me so happy to talk and discuss and even just see any sort of message at all! 💙🤭 hopefully, the rest of DBD comes to me soon because we've made it so far and I want to give the fic an ending that we can all enjoy 💙

[whywhywhymoney]

a pretty lengthy ask mostly about miss wayne cause i'm feeling chatty and brave, please take your time and no pressure to answer all of these!! 💜

• which continuity or more specifically, origin story do you prefer for helena wayne?

• i think it's kind of a shame that in the two origin stories i know for hel, selina dies. to be fair, i do understand that later on helena loses all of her loved ones including bruce, but i kinda would've loved to see earth 2 selina still be alive for longer.

• your thoughts on her relationship with karen starr? i love them SO MUCH, platonically and romantically both! i am absolutely rooting for them as a couple, but i also just love seeing them vibe and kick ass together like the dynamic duo they are!!

• what do you think about helena wayne being a lawyer in the golden age era? and do you think if she'd be a lawyer again or even have a dayjob at all in the current storyline? i would understand if she sticks to just being a vigilante, because in the former, helena would often have reservations about her dayjob and felt that she made more of a difference as huntress.

• i think it's really cool how helena has had a lot of mantles at different points, and she was awesome in all of them not to be biased or anything... robin, huntress, batman, batwoman, and famine. i like huntress as a primary identity for her, but it's really interesting and fun to see her in different roles.

• you had asked me about this in the past, but i still would love to hear your thoughts on this: how would you go about crafting a helena wayne and helena bertinelli crossover?

Oh wow, okay this is amazing first of all and second of all THANK YOU, like I don't consider myself an authority at all but I do just love this character sm 💖

Tbh I think the only origin I don't really like is the current 2022 one. It really feels like the writer didn't get that Helena's whole thing is that she DID get to enjoy a childhood free from angst and the way Selina talks to her totally doesn't gel with me. But I think I like the new52 origin a lot, not just because it was my introduction to her but also because it shows both of her parents being present. I know Selina was present in pre crisis but we never really got to see that due to.. death... which leads me to ->

Oh I totally agree. Like on one hand, it's very cool that the daughter of Batman actively chooses to honour both her parents with her mantle, but favouring Selina. It feels like something that wouldn't happen today. I say this all the time but it's true 😭. But, especially in new52, it feels really unnecessary for Selina to be the one that dies first when Helena loses everyone anyway. I don't think this is particularly sexist- maybe so in the 70s - but atp it feels like writers see this as an Uncle Ben moment for Helena. I guess 2022 Helena gets points for imagination for not doing that but I have issues with it lol.

THEY ARE THE ____ EVER. I'm not a huge shipper unless a dynamic really breaks my mind, but I'm a big big found family/friendship stan and I LOOOOVE these two and how their friendship literally transcends time and space. I think Worlds' Finest was really great for showing how close they are and how they balance each other out, especially how they both had moments where one was down and the other picks them up. Also a side note - I LOVE the small detail in Worlds' Finest for Helena and Karen, and when the comic switches to Batman and Superman, the apostrophe moves so it's World's Finest. Huntress and Power Girl, the Finest on MULTIPLE worlds, suck on that Bruce.

I also truly love Helena being a lawyer because it would have been so easy for that to just not be a thing. Instead we're told she graduated a year early in a difficult degree and is flying in her career by 25. I think how I would change it though is to have Helena work in a DA office rather than commercial law, and I think she totally would start feeling that disillusionment with law, especially when criminals get off or kids go down for minor crimes disproportionately. She would definitely go through a period of sticking with being the Huntress but then something would come up where after the direct action is taken, who was there to make sure justice was served? I think that would then motivate her to pivot to public interest law, which I think makes her feel like she's finally making a difference. I definitely have a rough outline for Helena being a lawyer in this day and age but ooh who knows when I'll write it properly.

Running outta space so to skip to the last qs (I might ramble on 😭) - how I would do this crossover is fairly inspired by new52 Helena and post crisis Bertinelli. She crosses over to this Earth when she's only 15, and as resourceful as her and Karen are, they're both still kids. I do think she avoids Gotham like the plague, and is actually unaware of Hel B (let's be a little realistic, most vigilantes don't get high profile, and I think Hel B prefers it that way). I'd say this is probably around the time that the Relentless arc is happening and the Birds of Prey are established by now. Oracle picks up some weird interference from Wayne Enterprises and gets Hel B to check it out. Meanwhile Hel W is inside stealing a shit ton of money thinking "damn this was kinda fun. I'm understanding mom on a deeper lev-" *glass shatters*. I think the funniest thing that could happen at this point is Hel B to ignore the outward similarities they have and focus on why tf this girl looks like Selina Kyle but with Bruce Wayne's eyes, and then when Hel W stands up to her full height something clicks for Hel B and she kinda goes tongue in cheek, "What are you, the secret lovechild of Batman and Catwoman?" And Hel W considers this for 2 seconds and thinks, what's the worst that could happen? And goes "Yeh". And they both just stare at each other for a while. Hel B is probably thinking, 'shit, first time I try to joke with a suspect and this is what I get? This is why I shoot first' and Hel W is probably thinking 'if I shoot her first and leave with no witnesses nobody will believe her'. Hel B notices her mannerisms and wtf. She's legit frowning just like Batman does. This is officially too weird for her and she's not abt to become part of some weird custody dispute so she nopes out of there and tells Oracle it was a domestic disturbance, which Babs also accepts easily bc like... yeah any of the batboys would probably break into WE if they felt like it. For the longest freaking time Hel B is convinced that Hel W is just an open secret every one knows about, meanwhile Hel W was seriously confused but grateful and begins to seek out Hel B for help during cases of her expertise (the mafia). She also takes the opportunity to mess with the rest of the batfam during her short stays in Gotham. I'm not sure how the rest of this would pan out but I'm so on board with Hel B randomly acknowledging Hel W and everyone's like wtf is she talking abt. Things that are so funny to me