#But I got so attached that she's become a big part of my written works and a recurring NPC in several tabletop games - not all mine

[strange-alchemy]

#My art #My character #Ferede al-Jinn #Ferede is the first of the tabletop characters I made and didn't get to play (yet) #But I got so attached that she's become a big part of my written works and a recurring NPC in several tabletop games - not all mine #Ferede is a morally good and within reason pacifistic traveling performer and definitely not also a necromancer and witch #I can't decide if I like how this turned out #It's obvious pretty imperfect art and several things about it bother me #But I do think I captured the vibes I wanted #And that makes me happier than if it was technically perfect I think #You can see other traces of Ferede in my avatar and blog art #Both of which Eli drew and both of which I love dearly

[darkcrowprincess]

In TLO, we are told that the Oracle cannot date. So what if Percy and Rachel were dating beforehand, and then right before she becomes the Oracle, they have a quick wedding ceremony so they’re married, not dating?

*most of my knowledge of how consent of marriage in New York between two 16 to 17 year olds comes from google. So if I get anything legally wrong I apologize*

"Are you sure about this Rachel?"

"I'm sure Percy." Rachel says from inside the single family bathroom at the court house.

"Besides if it doesn't work out we can always get divorce."

"Gee thanks." Percy says sarcastically.

Rachel giggles softly, "You know what I mean Percy. Besides I've got a good feeling about this. It feels right."

"Like I'm about to have a weird vision of the future feeling, or just a regular good feeling?" Percy questions.

Before Rachel can answer Percy's Mom and Paul comes up behind him. Sally smiling with a piece of paper in her hands. Mr Dares written consent. He smiles and waves back. Nervousness fully hitting him

"How did you get your dad to agree to this?"

"Blackmail". Rachel says, finally opening the bathroom door and stepping out.

"Oh". Percy says, stunned at the sight he sees before him. Ocean eyes wide, cheeks turning red.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a vision in ivory white. The dress she wears hangs around her all drape like but beautiful. Reminding Percy of greek women in movies. Two pieces of fabric attached to the skirt are also clip around her wrists so the skirt flows and swishes with her. As she move the dress moves with her, as if shes floating in water. The part of the bodice thats attached to the flowing skirt is aligned with white sea pearls. One perfectly lined up in a row, one after another. Circling her waistline. More pears are sewed at the top of the bodice near her chest. Showing a modest but greek style neckline. The look is completely with her red curls still wild but beautiful. A greek style flower laurel on her head, with a bit of white veil going down her back. Her face plain but no less beautiful natural. Big green wide eyes pop amongst the white, freckles all over her body standing out even more, but still beautiful. The most beautiful thing of all is her happy carefree smile.

Percy has said nothing, completely amazed by how beautiful she looks. He feels (embarrassing to think let alone admit) like Prince Eric from that Disney movie when Ariel the mermaid steps out of the shadows for the prince to see her in her pretty pink dress.

Flustred and still amazed Percy comments, "Yo-you look beautiful "

Rachel gives a happy flirty smile back. Eyes Percy up and down in satisfaction.

"No so bad yourself Percy. You clean up nice."

He laughs nervously, and tries not to mess up his styled black hair by running his fingers through it. After the yelling(first time ever really his mom has ever yelled like that and questioned what he was thinking) Percy's mom quickly came around once he fully explained about Rachel becoming the orcale. She again asked him if they were both sure(mainly eyeing her son for his reactions). But quickly became fully supportive with Paul's help. Paul more so getting Mr Dare's written consent, and finding a court house that would marry two teenagers in New York. Sally Jackson not only helped Percy with his hair, she got Percy a suit. A dark ocean blue suit. Plain white dress shirt. Matching ocean blue vest and tie. Percy felt like a ridiculous little boy playing dress up. However seeing Rachel, and her over all reaction. For once Percy felt maybe he did look good too. That they could actually maybe do this.

Percy reaches to hold both of Rachels hands. Linking their fingers together.

"Ready?" Questions Percy(he doesn't really need to.)

A determined look flashes in Rachel Elizabeth Dare's eyes. "Ready."

Percy nods then turns to his mom. She smiles at him.

******

Everything after that is a blur, what Percy remembers most is standing in front of the judge with Rachel. Holding her hands. He would be afraid that he's squeezing the circulation from her fingers, however shes squeezing just as hard back. So good to know he's not the only one freaking out. But soon the judge is having them sign their names on the paperwork. Afterwards he has them recite the typical lines you always hear at weddings.

"Do you Perseus Jackson, being of sound mind and body take Rachel Elizabeth Dare as you lawful wedded wife?" The old judge says, looking like stereotypical old man judge with glasses and gray hair. He has a disapproving look on his face('probably at their ages, but the old geezer can stuff it' thinks Percy).

Percy genuinely grins at Rachel. A soft fragile thing. He is fully putting his heart in her hands. "I do."

The judge continues, "And do you Rachel Elizabeth Dare, being of sound mind and body take Perseus Jackson as your lawful wedded husband?"

Rachel eyes shine. She has a serious look on her face. Not letting her eyes leave Percy she says, "I do."

"Than by the state of New York I pronounce you husband and wife. Young man you may now kiss your bride."

Percy sees a flash of blonde in the corner of his eye in the back of the court house but he ignores it(he's not letting her ruin this. Especially for Rachel). He takes a quick look a his mom and Paul (his parents) both smiling and crying. He finally looks at Rachel who smiles at him in reassurance. Rachel mouths the words 'I have a good feeling about this.' It gives him the courage to finally close the gap. Rachel leans up on her tip toes as he leans down and their lips touch. Warmth and comfort flashes through the both of them. It feels like home to Percy(it feels like he's breaking the cycle. Making his own destiny. They are no longer pawns of the gods)

Percy pulls Rachel closer and runs his fingers through her red curls. Kissing her a little harder. She hums in pleasure.

Too quickly they end the kiss and both pull back. Meadow green eyes meet ocean. Both unbelievably happy.

Hand in hand they walk to Percy's parents. Rachels sees the blonde sitting in the back and ignores it too. Through congratulations from both hugging parents Percy and Rachel dont let go of each others hands.

********

Rachel and his parents are both waiting outside the courthouse when Percy finally goes up to Annabeth. She meets him half way. Walking quickly to meet him. He expects it, but still flinches at the hard punch she gives him to his face( Annabeth is also wearing a silver ring with owl craved into the band. The owl cuts against Percy's eyebrow).

Casually the blonde shakes her fist out, her knuckles brused. Annabeth's eyes are cold, yet her face doesn't show much emotion. "How could you! Especially with her! She's a mortal Percy!"

Percy (ignoring the pain) tries to stay calm, hopefully he can get through this quickly. The quicker he gets through this the quicker he can get back to his parents and his girl- no his wife. His wife now he happily thinks.

"Since when is that your concern Annabeth? I can date and marry who I want. Your my friend. I would think you'd be happy for me."

Annabeth face goes a little red in angrer. Finally some emotion is showing.

" I kissed you, I thought even a seaweed brain like you can even figure out what that means!"

"Yeah you kissed me. Meaning you like me. But that doesn't mean I return those feelings Annabeth!" Percy says through clenched teeth.

Annabeth has worry in her eyes now. "This wasn't how this was suppose to go!" She grips his jacket collar hard and desperate. "You think this will be ok with the gods Percy?! Not only is she mortal, she's the psychic of Delphi too. They will not be pleased with this! They wont like being out smarted like this!"

Percy removes her hands from his person. "Its my life Annabeth! And I get to choose how I want to live it. We both get to. So I'm choosing her." Percy finally gives her and apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I care for her enough to risk it." It's too early to say love Percy thinks. But he's definitely starting to feel it could go that way with time. "I don't feel that way for you Annabeth. I'm sorry."

Full blown emotion finally shows on her face. Her lip wobbles, and tears gather in her eyes. But than her face goes angry again. Tears finally spill. "I gave up Luke for you. Fine than, if that's how you want to play it. Have fun with your mortal. When the gods get pissed off enough to think of some horrible pay back. Don't come crying to me." She turns swiftly and not looking back. Percy makes a motion to follow her, but Annabeth puts on her baseball cap and goes invisible.

He feels horrible for Annabeth. But he wont let her ruin today. He looks at his hand with his ring on it and smiles. He wont let anyone one ruin it.

********

"What happened to your forehead?" Rachel questions with worry, she gently touches the mark on his eyebrow.

Percy just smiles at her, clasping her hand with hers.

"It's nothing don't worry about it Mrs Jackson."

Rachel laughs at that. The look on her face is so beautiful he can't help but kiss her.

(Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you)

#percy x rachel #anti percabeth #anti annabeth chase #my writing #my thoughts #perachel #percy jackson #rachel elizabeth dare

[mollymauktealeef]

Self Rec Tag Game

tagged by the wonderful @hello-eeveev!!

Rules: Share five of your own fanworks (fic, art, etc.). Then, tag five more people to share the things they've made.

1.something you absolutely adore

a winter's crest detour [mature, caleb/essek]

the idea for this fic actually went through two different fandoms before coming to light in critical role. i'd signed up for a christmas hallmark movie prompt thing and sadly didn't get my pick, so i left cause i got unreasonably attached to this one idea and so it came with me as i moved into another fandom where about 10k got written before the muse abandoned me until shadowgast ate my life and here we are. its probably the most self indulgent fic i've ever written, purely created for moi and i love it, bonus other people seemed to like it too! woo!

2. something that was challenging to create

the edge of the blade [teen, caleb/essek]

a full YEAR in the making, this is my biggest, longest, most EVERYTHING fic. i love it, i had so much fun writing it but boy was it hard work. the time, the energy that went into this. i really challenged myself to dig deep for essek's emotions and insecurities and i'm really proud of how it turned out. i definitely improved as a writer because of the challenges this fic liked to throw at me

3. something that makes you laugh (or smile, if that fits more comfortably)

long may they reign chapter 3 [gen, caleb/essek]

not gonna lie this is one of my comfort fics that i re-read of my things that always makes me feel better. i love the dynamic of being so comfortable and in love that the simplest acts of affection become automatic and the realisation of those acts can lead to a deeper sense and understanding of that love. i'm a sucker for the old married couple troupe.

4. something that surprised you (in how it turned out, how much other people liked it, etc.)

keep me warm [explicit, caleb/essek]

listen i am not a smut writer, it is not one of my strengths, it's very difficult for me and even the smallest scene requires days/weeks/months of writing cause i just struggle with it so damn much, (maybe she's (gnc) born with it, maybe its maybelline the aroace of it all). the idea for this fic just grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go so i put word to document and it actually came out alright, i was pleasantly surprised that i actually managed to put what was in my head into the fic in a very good way so very proud of myself for it

5. something you want other people to see

act i. the interloper [gen, caleb/essek]

ok ok ok i know i haven't finished parts 2 and 3 yet, YET! but i love how this series is shaping up even though it has grown beyond the teeny tiny wee fun little three part fluff ball it was meant to be into something so big and with feelings, think fluff ball the size of one of those stupidly big plastic tourist attractions they've got out in america. i love looking into old courting practices and seeing what would fit and connect with the culture of the drow and just being able to explore different aspects of their relationship and the important moments to them as well. part three especially has me a little teary cause its gonna be so gosh darn sweet so yeah, stay tuned i am writing it, its just bigger than originally designed lol

tag you're it: @aithilin, @mollymawkwrites, @ruvigapo, @mardyart, @glossolali mwah! show off your goods and wares darlings!!

#tag games #tag you're it #critical role #shadowgast

[this-is-lightning]

Supercorp FicRec P. 29

The next part in my ongoing ficrec series. I go through my bookmarks on AO3 and select the ones I like the best and add a little commentary on why. 5 fics per part. 

Masterpost

we're playing to a full house, darling (but this show can't go on) by the_ominous_owl

Kara’s struggling to find work. Lena’s struggling to find herself. When fate (with some help from Cat Grant) casts them into the same orbit they find themselves completely off-script, because while everyone knows about the sins of the father, they're somewhat less clear about the sins of one’s siblings. Throw into that an audience hungry for stories at the expense of fact, a showrunner with a plan nobody saw coming, and a co-star who steadfastly refuses to keep it in his pants, and you’ve got a tale so dramatic even the protagonists have noticed. or the one where they’re both actresses with a surprising amount of baggage for two people who haven’t met yet.

w: 37,360

r: teen and up

The actress trope done very, very well. Slowburn. Lena's got it so very bad but shes got baggage. Kara is captain oblivious. They figure it out tho. Lots of intimacy and feelings. There's a part two bt that ones still a wip.

It's Funny Right up Until It's Not by ThornedRose44

It's funny because it's harmless… It's funny because it's never a big deal… It's funny because it's forgotten by the next day… It's funny because she's fine. She's always fine… Until… she’s not...

w: 12,131

r: mature

Yea so this one cut deep. Happy ending but were digging into the "haha quarterly assassination lol" witch is really not funny at all. Angst but so so heartfelt and wonderful. Some-when after S5.

musings from 504 by sapphic_luthor

“We got Supergirl’s mail again,” a voice calls from behind a massive, unidentifiable sculpture as it steps through the door. He sets the piece down just as the words leave his mouth, and then the dark-haired boy spins to face you, hand outstretched to drop a letter onto the countertop, and he breathes, “Oh, fuck.” You look toward your new roommates, and register the panic on their faces. “Wait,” you say, but your mind is jumping to conclusions that your mouth is far too embarrassed to vocalize, so you find that you don’t have any follow-up. “Are you--” you start, but you know it’s true even before you ask. “Seriously?”

w: 7,670

r: teen and up

So how much do we all think Kara's neighbors know about her life? An outsiders perspective on the Superfriends. Funny and fun and heartfelt.

Bizarre Love Triangle by powergrapes

One day, two women meet on the subway. The recently dumped Lena is recovering from a broken heart, and Kara is grappling with the open-ish relationship she has with her long-distance boyfriend. They decide that they’re going to become friends. The kind of friends who also have totally casual, no-strings-attached, nobody’s-catching-feelings sex. What could go wrong? As Alex puts it: “Kara. This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. And I’m including the time that you set fire to your own hair and nearly burned the house down trying to do some spell you found on MySpace to make Troy Bolton materialize in real life and marry you.” Or: Lena and Kara go around New York City eating food and banging each other until their feelings eat away at them, and Alex tries not to have an aneurysm about it.

w: 113,061

r: explicit

So so so well written. Gets pretty angsty but the payoff is so worth it. Lots of feelings and fun and fluff too. And very VERY good smut. A MUST read!

The Luthor Family by MyCatIsMyEditor

Following Lex’s death Lena finds herself guardian to the four year old nephew she never knew existed. She also finds herself in need of help. Who better to help her than her best friend and National City’s favourite Kryptonian. It’s just a little awkward that her nephew is scared of Supergirl. OR Kara and Lena raising Lex’s son while slowly getting together with a bunch of cute fluff and some angst thrown in as they work together to be the best parents possible to a scared little boy.

w: 95,676

r: mature

Digs a lot into the issues with fostering a child who was neglected and abused. But its very well done and there's a lot of fluff too. Kara and Lena slip into the parent role very well. But of course this whoe situation digs up issues of theirs too. They build a wonderful family and support net and finally get to be so so happy with everyone at their side.

Don't forget to leave some love for the writers on AO3! Much love and happy reading!

#supercorp fic rec #supercorp #fic rec #29

[niigata-division]

By the time the famous ex-actor and homicidal detective was about to step inside his house after all the hard work he had been through during the day, he was then greeted by a pile of gifts sent over to his address since today was also none other than his birthday.

Well, since he assumed that the majority of them were coming from his fans or maybe his colleagues, the option of just leaving them all under the cold of the night seems to be considered inappropriate here. So, he decided to take all of them into his residence.

Speaking of which, he also noticed that one notable-sized present with the tiny card written “from Nara Division” laying down on the floor —It was a roll of blackout curtains with so many cuts that all lights shining through them would mysteriously portray the silhouette of nighttime cityscapes and this was somehow striking some kind of aesthetics to him.

Carrying the large roll of curtains into his arms, suddenly his area of sight caught up on something nearby —It was a miniature black coffin with a lot of accessories in the theme of his interest, but what made him a little bit surprised was the name addressed as its sender and the small letter attached inside.

“Yo, What’s up, Shiba-kun (and greetings to Shiba-chan if she is around there).

First and foremost; Happy birthday and long time no see★

Time does fly very fast, doesn’t it? I thought I’ve just seen both you and your sister as a pair of shorties among the crew from back then. But now, look, you have already turned out to be even taller than me right now!

To be honest, it was such a regret when I heard you decided to quit showbiz so soon. Ever since then the world of entertainment had lost quite a number of young talents and also a lot of its muchness after you left.

However, above all else, I hope you guys are doing alright and content with the path you choose to walk from now on.

But WAIT, what if I’m already writing this long but you still have no idea of who I possibly am?! Haha, just kidding… I know you would never since both of us got our grand debut from the same drama series after all.

—ASHIBI

(My stage name is still the same, you see?)”

Lyall blinked as he read the letter. Gosh, it had been so long since he thought about the series that had given him his big break. No one could ever have expected how huge “Andromeda’s Children” would become. The series finale alone was watched by millions of people. Even now, reruns of the show were still popular to watch.  

Ashibi, huh? Lyall tried to remember who that could be and thought back to everyone who played a part in the drama. Then, all of a sudden, a figure appeared in Lyall’s mind. Someone who played a certain character and who understood what it was like to be suddenly shoved into the spotlight. 

“Hahahah! Oh gosh, I can't believe I almost forgot you! It has been a while hasn’t it? I should get back in touch with you. I'm sure Lyra would love to speak to you again.”

#hypnosis microphone #hypnosis mic #hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic oc #lyall shiba #ashibi #miraitabi #callmepyrus #happy birthday lyall 2024

[torpidgilliver]

reclaimers’ rights (or, the law of salvage)

first chapter of a murderbot fic i probably wont continue under the cut. written for whumptober (originally the idea came for day 20: prisoner exchange, but it sort of wound up not fitting that or anything. im calling it day 25: lost voice just so i can offload it)

It was a treasure buried in a trash heap. More scrap than salvage, but not completely FUBAR—well worth saving. The crew had brought it aboard, all that they could find of the original structure, and stored it with as much care as they took with all of their big finds.

"D'you think Scrappy'd mind if I gave the SecUnit one of its arms?" The question has to fight through an oversized bite of half-thawed soy dumpling to escape Ramirez's mouth. He swallows and adds, "Just as a loaner, obviously. Even Scrappy's shortest arm is going to unbalance it a bit, but it's not super helpful with just the one."

Hawthorne shrugs. "Scrappy doesn't much mind anything, but the SecUnit might."

On cue, the polite tone flows through the feed: Your contract prohibits modification or vandalism of your SecUnit. Violations will be punished by a fine of or equivalent to—

"We don't have a contract," Hawthrone interrupts mildly, not bothering to look up from their meal.

"And we don't have any fucking money, either." Maida punctuates her statement by letting her tray clatter onto the table, then thumping heavily into her seat. "Thanks to you, Myles."

Ramirez's thoughtful pout becomes a petulant one. "Hey, it's not like I dumped all our cash for no reason. Mooney needed new stabilizers! Or would you rather sleep strapped to your bunk, and take a shit into a—"

“Not at the table.” Hawthorne doesn’t have to raise their voice to command the attention of their crewmates. “It’s too early, and my caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet.”

The two have the good sense to look abashed, for nearly two full seconds. Then Ramirez spears another dumpling on his chopsticks, shovels it into his mouth, and barely chews before swallowing. "Anyway," he continues, "we got a good haul on 'B2. Once we offload it, we’ll be back in the red again.”

Maida snorts derisively. “That’s ‘in the black,’ dumbass.”

Hawthorne raises their cup of burnt coffee with a sigh. “I can’t believe your parents didn’t murder you both in childhood.”

“Not for lack of trying!” 

While the spirited breakfast conversation continues in the galley, elsewhere the mood is more mellow. In the spare bunkroom designated for overflow storage, Scrappy is singing. It wasn’t originally constructed with musicality in mind—or, at least, no significant portion of it was. It’s a chimeric assemblage of functional bits rescued from otherwise nonfunctional bots, and it’s not common practice to bestow personality upon product. Nevertheless, sometime between Maida installing the heatsink taken from the home maintenance drone and Ramirez attaching the fifth arm, Scrappy found a song in itself. The tune is sharp, as with no vocal speakers it makes due with the catalog of beeps, clicks, hums, and whistles that its parts can produce. It also hasn’t yet gotten the hang of the concept of varying verse. The result is seven distinct notes, composed into a sixteen measure-long chorus. Repetitive and a little grating for listeners with organic ears, but still undeniably cheerful. 

It sings as it works, its cluster of arms sorting salvaged junk neatly into crates. The concept of taking pride in a task is a bit too abstract for Scrappy to process, but it feels an analog of satisfaction as it seals up the final box. It announces task complete into the general feed, and is treated to an acknowledged:standby from Hawthorne. 

This is the point where Scrappy would ordinarily begin making rounds of the ship, picking up loose objects and sorting them into the appropriate receptacles, (Its crew disagrees with it sometimes on which receptacles are appropriate. Maida has tried to ban it from her bunkroom on multiple occasions, as it holds the unshakeable belief that the plush fauna-shaped object she carelessly leaves tangled in her sheets belongs in the galley storage unit.) but it has self-assigned a new task to its typical processes. 

Scrappy pings the second member of its cohort of two, and sends, query:status?

The 9.1 second-long delay on the response might concern a more complex bot, but Scrappy takes the replied status=optimal on its face. It has no reason not to; despite her best efforts, Maida hasn’t managed to teach it about the nuances of sarcasm. With the registration of task:verify status=complete, Scrappy exits the storeroom, folding in its arms and ducking its head to fit through the hatchway. 

“Besides the usual supplies and a new card for the synchronizer, is there anything else we need?” Hawthorne pushes their breakfast tray away to lean one elbow on the table. “And I do mean need, as in cannot leave port without. A download pass for whatever the newest survival game is doesn’t qualify.”

Ramirez half-rises from his seat to reach Hawthorne’s surrendered tray and starts transferring leftovers onto his own plate. “The SecUnit needs a new cell pack,” he announces. “The one it’s got is leaking, it can’t hold a charge for more than a few hours. Its cardiac pump isn’t looking so great either, but I’ll have to put together a new one from whatever I can find. And if we want it to be able to shoot stuff, I’m going to have to replace the hinges in its weapon release.”

“And if we ever want to sleep without having nightmares, it needs a mask.” Maida shudders. “It’d be creepy enough with a whole human face. With what’s left, it looks like a monster.”

“It’s not its fault!” Ramirez points his chopsticks at Maida sternly. “You only think that it’s creepy because of that one horror movie.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Yes!”

“The SecUnit’s physical appearance isn’t a priority.” Once again, Hawthorne controls the conversation without any outward effort. “But if it’ll put you more at ease, Maida, maybe you can name it. That worked well enough with Scrappy.”

The aforementioned junk bot ambles into the galley at that moment. Two of its longer arms sweep across the table to collect Hawthorne’s and Maida’s empty plates, while Ramirez draws his close to protect his unfinished meal. 

“SecUnits don’t need names.” Maida sits back and fumbles in her jacket pocket for her package of nicotine gum. “It’s lucky that it’s not going in the sale pile with everything else we found.”

“Lucky!” Ramirez bounces in his seat. “That’s perfect, sib! Hey, SecUnit, Lucky! What d’you think?” 

The question is addressed to the open intercom on the far wall, but the response comes through the feed again: I’m sorry, I do not have enough information to process your request.

Hawthorne frowns and taps their fingernails against their mug. “Has it said anything apart from its stock phrases since we brought it onboard?”

“No.” Maida pops two tablets of gum into her mouth. “Not since I repaired its governor module. Honestly, that’s creepier than the face. I liked it better when it was swearing at me.”

“There’s probably a subroutine or something that can be switched off. Or however that works.”

“I’ll take a look again.” She pushes up from her seat. “Not like I have anything more interesting to do until we get to port.”

Ramirez pauses with the last dumpling halfway to his mouth. “You need any hardware help?” Maida shakes her head.

“I’m just going to fuck around a little and see what there is to see in its systems. I’ll tap you if I find something.” Hawthorne nods, Ramirez sees her off with a jovial salute, and Scrappy whistles the first few notes of its work song at her back. 

Maida takes the rungs of the ladder three at a time and drops the last few feet to the lower deck. The hold is a mess, mid-sized mountains of salvage and scrap peaking out of open crates in a defiant victory over Scrappy's inability to squeeze its bulky chassis down the ladder shaft. It's also sweltering hot, with the engines heating the far wall. She shrugs out of her jacket and ties the sleeves around her waist as she picks and kicks her way through the maze of junk that's fallen to the floor.

"When I'm done with you, you're going to have to make yourself useful," she announces as she approaches the slumped form in the corner. "You only need one arm to put shit in boxes."

They'd found the SecUnit buried beneath thirty feet of stone and slag on a condemned post-colonial planet. There was no telling how long it had been abandoned there, and when Ramirez had asked it—rhetorically, as he tended to ask the ship how it was doing and Scrappy whether it had any music recommendations—the apparently inert construct had ground out a halting "None of your fucking business" in retort.

It had been too heavy for the three of them to drag onto the hovercart themselves, and Scrappy wasn't really dexterous enough to be delicate; Most of the right leg had fallen off when it had hoisted the battered body out of the rubble. Ramirez had been confident that that would be a quick fix, and it was, just not a good one. There were a lot of proprietary little pieces that the crew just couldn't replicate with what they had on hand, and the ultimate result was that the SecUnit's leg was held together with an industrial tape cast. Ramirez was proud just to have gotten it (theoretically) mobile. Not that it was grateful.

I am a SecUnit, manufactured for exclusive use by the company and contracted clients. SecUnits serve the dual purpose of protecting both your employees and your investment. 

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You weren't built to be a maintenance bot." Maida drops to her knees beside it and opens her toolsuite in the feed. "I wasn't built to be a scrapper, either, but you were listening in on us a minute ago. You're lucky to be anything at all, after whatever happened to you."

I am a SecUnit, manufactured for exclusive use by the company and con—

"Shut up," Maida tells it, more advice than admonishment. The flat feed voice aborts mid-syllable. "You were a SecUnit. Now you're, well." She sits her weight back against her feet. "Myles is right. You're just Lucky now."

During the mostly one-sided exchange, the SecUnit has staunchly refused to move a millimeter of any part of its body. When Maida uses its new name, though, its eyes cut sharply to her own. It doesn't have enough face left to glare at her, but she still gets the message.

"Don't look at me like that. The name wasn't my idea." 

She speaks gently, at least by her standards, but the SecUnit twitches as it averts its eyes. Maida cracks her gum thoughtfully.

"That shouldn't have set off the governor. Guess I need to adjust the sensitivity."  

It flinches again, and 'thoughtful' becomes 'skeptical.'

"Something's fucky," she announces. "Let me get in there and see if I can't find it."

With a sound between a rusty hinge and a snapping bone, the SecUnit rotates its jaw.

"You—" The flinch is pronounced this time, an unmistakable jolt. Maida feels a sympathy pang in spite of herself.

"Chill." She can't manage a reassuring tone, so she goes brusque instead. "I'll turn down the voltage, or whatever. Then you can get started pulling your stupid heavy weight around here."

The jaw grinds again, but the voice comes through the feed, all smooth customer service. You do not have the necessary qualifications to perform maintenance on this unit. Please submit your claim through the company to determine whether your warranty qualifies you for discounted repairs or replacements.

"I don't think whatever half-bankrupt contractor it was that used to own you would give enough of a shit to change your coolant." Maida opens a new worktable and taps the feed. "Let me in."

As a human, it's beyond Maida's ability to perceive the SecUnit's 0.7 second hesitation, but she can't miss the convulsion.

"Seriously." She cracks her gum at it. "I kinda feel sorry for you. It's sort of like a human being laid up in medical, huh?"

The eyes lock on hers again. Projectile weapon to her head, Maida would swear that nothing has genuinely frightened her since approaching her parent after getting kicked out of pre-vocational school. Still, though, she can't suppress a shudder.

Company-patented constructs are manufactured using cloned human tissue, it tells her, maintaining its polite tones in the most unnerving lecture Maida has ever gotten. However, unlike humans, constructs are incapable of free thought or sincere emotion. For the physical and mental wellbeing of company clients, personifying and/or bonding with your contracted SecUnit is strongly discouraged.

"Way afuckinghead of you. My mental wellbeing is already beyond saving." Maida shuffles through the mess of the SecUnit's archives, tracing back the path she'd taken to stitch up its corrupted software. "But I wasn't planning to invite you to movie night, anyway. You don't look like much of a media connoisseur."

"Fffffffuck you."

The whole upper body spasms. Maida smiles without humor.

"More of that," she tells it. "But not right now. Lucky, go to sleep and let me work."

The eyes don't have lids to close. Maida tracks Lucky's power down sequence by the dimming light behind its pupils.

#murderbot #tmbd #fanfic #murderbot fic

[magnuficent76]

Quick! I need a comprehensive guide to all of your OCs right now or I'm going to start biting soon <– a guy totally not possessed by a werewolf

OUHHGHOOHOHOHH indulging me ..... OKAY theres a lot of them, BUT here's the basics ! It's written very informally but it should give you an idea for who everyone is !

[Solar Years] {This is the longest story I have written, and it has many other substories going on within it simultaneously. Big ole’ universe with tons of stuff going into it, not always connected to the main thing. High fantasy and Gods and all that jazz happening in the background of a slice of life story.}

★ Baltazar (They/He) is the protagonist of Solar Years and also my favourite little blorbo of all time. He's very big, a farmer (ex professional sports player), and also an immortal being that's been coming back to earth for 3 million years and counting, which are all normal things to say in succession. They have no sense of self preservation and desperately need to give themselves some grace for once <3

♤ Luis (He/Him) is the co-protagonist of the story, adopted from another story as a way to honour someone I greatly care about. In terms of personality, he's very much Baltazar's opposite, but ironically enough they've been coexisting for their entire lives. A long time ago, he accidentally cursed himself (through power of sheer rage and spite alone) into being immortal by falling into the Void, and nowadays he makes that Literally Everyone's problem. 

Some other characters in this story include Lazarus (She/He/They), Marsh (He/They), Andromeda (Any pronouns), Anastasia, Anne (Both she/her),  The Void Gang, and many many others. 

[Caede Tales] {Fan-story for Borderlands focusing on my ocs, which are essentially background characters to the main story, and exploring a little bit of what happens to just the regular people of Pandora. It's mostly meant to be a comedy but there's also The Horrors <3.}

♥︎ Jonah (He/it) and M3PH1ST0 (Mephisto) (They/It/He) are the same guy but a few arcs apart, also one of these eats people. One of Three protags, his side of the story focuses more on personal struggle of wanting to do better in a world that is inherently hostile to kindness, and how it slowly becomes more and more like its environment the more he realises the whole being nice thing isn't going anywhere. He's Normal (lie)

♣︎ Melaine (She/Ze) is a doctor from Promethea who came to Pandora to help the locals, and is also a direct parallel to Jonah in many ways. Her morals slooowly get more and more muddled as the story goes on and she loses a big part of herself in service of her work and the legacy she wants to leave behind, until it all culminates in her mutating herself to be a big bug. She's my everything.

◇ Archer (He/Him) is Jonah's brother and possibly the most repressed man   in all of history. He goes from a bandit to a famous rich businessman in a stroke of sudden luck, and has to grapple with his identity and everything he's leaving behind by going to another planet to do so. Local White Man. 

Some other characters in this story include Mary (She/Her), Lucio/Lucifer (Don't refer to this guy (He/Him)), Salt (He/They), Penelope and Cassandra (both She/her… for now.) Several Coworkers and many others.

[Gaslighting Fires] {Gaslighting Fires is all about Eris, a true businesswoman (stand in for criminal) at heart, and her many antics as she climbs her way to the top of the food chain. Dramedy if it was Cool (can you tell its my favourite genre)

♡ Eris (She/Her) is the protagonist and she Sucks So Fucking Bad. Girl who is gonna doom everyone else in the narrative and not take any responsibility for it. It's okay though she's awesome and gorgeous and I love drawing her so her crimes are forgiven. Lots of focus on her personal struggle in doing what she does and the relationships she accidentally keeps building with people. Whoopsies ! Your stupid ass got attached to the people you were planning on manipulating didn't it !! Cringe

♤ Lilith (She/He) is the Antagonist ! Generally speaking, her morals are still extremely questionable, but she's still a pretty decent person compared to whatever Eris got going on. His whole deal is that he's supposed to stop Eris, but due to Situations the only way to do that is to become worse than her, involving him in tons of other unrelated cases that lead into further spiralling into crime. And then they kiss and it's awesome. Don't worry about the spiralling into crime bit its enriching for her.

Other characters in this include Pandora (It/She), Jinx (They/It), Raque (She/Her)l, Gabe (He/him), Snappy (the turtle), Mallory (He/Her), Ophelia (She/Her) and some others !

[Computing Legacy] {Story set in a (dangerously close) future where Things are going to Shit so we're gonna create the matrix. Except creating the matrix actually helped a lot of people and it delayed the apocalypse a lot because of all the scientific breakthroughs it caused. Awesome ! Sure hope we don't have Repercussions Of Creating The Matrix in here or something !} 

♧ William (He/Him* for now.) is the protagonist and he sucks. Hate this guy <- loving. My horrible no good son who NEEDS to shut the fuck up more often but whom I adore nonetheless. His deal is that he's a hacker and programmer who's WAY over his head, and needs someone to get him out of there because it's making him lonely and depressed as shit. Guy who's probably nonbinary but is also in university so he Really Can't Worry About It Right Now.

♥︎ Althea (She/They) is the Co-protagonist and Queer-Platonic interest, love this girl <3 She's Will's opposite in every way, and for a while she's antagonised for it, but it's okay they get over it. They're also a very talented programmer, even though it wasn't their original career path (more of an artist), and they're trying Really Hard to make it through this world normally without exploding or disappointing their family. She's very nice to her own detriment and this gets a lot of focus in the story and how she slowly but surely becomes more ruthless thanks to their Horrible No Good Situation so people stop trying to take advantage of her <3

Some of the other characters in this include Ubel (He/It), Fox (She/It), Ferdinand (He/him), Autumn (She/Her), Randy (He/They), Mariana (She/Her), Stanford (He/Him), Ezra (She/Her) and many more.

[HELLBREAKER] {Very much still a work in progress. This one is more of an ambition project so I don't wanna share too much, but basically: It's set in hell and the protagonist Really Has To Escape. Kinda like OFF if it was made by a guy who's fascinated with religion purely aesthetically.}

☆ Maria (She/Her) is the protagonist, and she just went to hell babyyy. Well, not technically: She lands in purgatory, and is given the choice to either do her time in there or to traverse through all the layers of the underworld in order to ascend to Heaven. And based on the name of this project you can guess which she chose.

And the other characters, The Sins, Lucifer, and the many characters you find along your journey to help you !

#magocs #my oc stuff #original character #audience participation #oc masterpost #technically #solar years #gaslighting fires #computing legacy #caede tales #HELLBREAKER #im not tagging everyone im lazy but TYSM FOR THE ASKKK I'VE BEEN MEANING TO COMPILE THESE GUYS #im so sorry it took. so fucking long #infodump #Lore dump Tag

[mak3itr7ght]

pair: Namjoon x fem!reader (Sing au)

genre: Animation movie, fantasy, romantic.

Movie: Sing

*Is it possible for a human being the a koala's nephew? Well.. nothing is impossible~

Namjoon's pov

The Moon theater.. the world's most beautiful theater, in my opinion.

My uncle, Buster Moon, is the chief of this amazing theater and I really admire him.

Since I was a child, I come here to watch the shows' premiere.

To be honest, at first, they seemed boring...

But.. I've really felt sorry when I discovered that the whole building just collapsed and that my uncle lost everything.

Because..yes, for him, this theater is his life, above all, 'cause my grandpa worked hard for buying it for his son.

Luckily, my uncle's positivity never betrayed him, not even then:

He setup a pseudo theater with the remains of the old one, and obviously, with the help of his crew too, then bring a mind-blowing show.

He managed to rebuild the Moon Theater, and after several adventures, he managed to debut together with the other members of the crew in the famous town of Redshore City, in the Crystal Tower Theater, just think... that even the great Clay Callway was part of the show and now...it's part of the crew!! But I think you already know all the details, don't you?

It seemed like a hopeless situation! But my uncle's voice was still enthusiastic as he told me what had happened and it was also full of amusement. After hearing this story and seeing for myself the show that brought uncle Buster and his crew to their current fame, "Out of This World", literally a whole new world opened up for me.

I started to appreciate theater more and also started to develop the dream of wanting to bring my own show. I've always loved hip hop and rap for as long as I can remember.

I always had a deep connection with music, through my lyrics I tried to express myself and most of the time I was able to do it great, in fact, I still do it now.

Even at school I spent hours writing down lyrics, and I got numerous scoldings from the teacher because I completely forgot about the lesson.. one day, I even rapped the verse of one of my songs, out loud, during a class test... despite this, however, I was a model student!

Anyway....

other times, I did Freestyle battles with my other classmates or older students and... I always won, modestly. And  when I don't write lyrics or produce songs, for lack of inspiration, I take refuge in books or in nature. Books inspire me a lot and also thanks to them I have the pleasure to flex my open mind.

I like reading especially under the huge oak near my house, with the sounds of nature accompanying my reading sessions.

Going back to my big dream... before becoming interested in the theatre, I didn't have a real dream, in fact one of the songs I am most emotionally attached to, is "No more dream", written before my conversion. I would love to include it as an introduction to my show.. but I never had the courage to talk about it with Uncle Buster.. but today I know it's the right day to tell him!

I'm sure he'll take my idea and help me make it happen! I run to the theater with a USB full of songs that I recorded. I enter into my uncle's office, almost breaking the door, because of the emotion, and find Miss Crawly, my uncle's over 100 year old secretary(Johnny and Ash speculate that she has existed since the time of the dinosaurs) cleaning the desk.

'Good morning, dear Namjoon!! Did you sleep well?'

After all, she's a sweet old lady.

'Good morning, Miss Crawly! Yes! I slept very well!

Can you tell me where I can find uncle Buster?'

I ask, impatiently.

'Oh, Mr. Moon is downstairs, he's helping the guys carrying their suitcases!'

I am perplexed.

'Suitcases?'

'Yes! The tour starts today! Don't you remember?'

Oh god the "Out of This World" tour.. I totally forgot about that.

I won't see my uncle for months... And I'll have to postpone the realization of my dream... again...

I go, feeling down, with Miss Crawly, downstairs where i find uncle Buster on his own. I run to hug him and wish him a safe journey. I'm sure this tour will take the show even higher and I'm so happy for the whole crew. This has always been my uncle's biggest dream and then... he deserves it, he has gone through everything to achieve this goal, he worked hard, all of the members worked hard.

'Listen, Nam, I want to give you a very important task!'

Uncle's voice always energizes me, he's always so full of positivity, one of the many reasons I admire him.

'What kind of task??'

I ask, curiously.

My uncle is unpredictable, you never know what can go through that hairy head.

'I want to entrust the teather to you!!'

HE WANTS TO DO WHAT?

...

...

I don't know what to say, I can only gasp. I told y'all, my uncle is unpredictable... but I didn't that much..

'I'm sure you're the best person to run our wonderland! And then you will not be alone! Miss Crawly will be there to help you!'

I can't say anything, but I think uncle felt my happiness. That theatre, that place of wonder, would become mine, temporarily, but mine.

my uncle smiles. I knew he would understand anyway. He always told me that he finds a little bit of himself in me. And there is no more beautiful compliment for me.

'But now, if you'll excuse me, the bus is leaving!! I love you, my nephew!!'

And after hugging me again.. he goes away, leaving the whole theater in my inexperienced hands.. But come on... at least there's Miss Craw-

'Namjoon!! Have you seen my glass eye????'

...okay maybe it will be more difficult than expected..

As I help Miss Crawly in looking for her glass eye, hoping I haven't already crushed it and shattered it into a thousand pieces under my foot, without realizing it, in my head there is a tangle of thoughts and ideas but, obviously, the most accentuated one, and which let a toothy smile appear on my face, is certainly to make my biggest dream come true. It seems a bit as if uncle already knew..and therefore he had literally left me a blank check..because when Uncle Buster is absent with the company, generally, the theater remains closed..

I turn around, looking at the building keys, in my hands.

Now it almost seems as if uncle, with this move, told me "Hurry up and seize the moment, my nephew" By now I'm almost 30 years old, I want to bring my own show and I'll try now, moreover, I also want to discover myself and I really want to identify myself as Namjoon Moon and not just "Buster Moon's nephew". I run to the office to move all the songs I've written down over the years to my uncle's computer, at least the most suitable ones, and I start writing the script for my show. As soon as I conclude the first draft of the storyline, I realize that it is already evening.

I decide to print the script and, while looking for a stapler, I finally find the Miss Crawly's glass eye, I have to advise her to put more glue on it..

After a week finally the plot of my show is finished and ready to be put on stage. I also adjusted the melodies and lyrics.

Now the main problem ... the actors / singers and dancers .. I think it will not be a piece of cake as my face is little known beyond my neighborhood, also I have never presented myself as a public figure, but it won't be bad to try, right ? Maybe my surname will help me in this case.

'Miss Crawly!! Can you please print some flyers for the show's auditions? I'll send you a draft!'

Miss Crawly's office is literally attached to my uncle's, so between our offices there was just a transparent window. So i asked her to print the flyers with all the info about the auditions, like the time of the event, it will be tomorrow at 9:30 PM.

Hope we will be able to deliver all of them in time... 

After printing enough flyers were printed, the Miss Crawly's fan just decide to 'share' them by flying them out of the window...well...so.. the teather itself is trying to help me. 

I remember that this happened to uncle Buster too, when he was still in debts .. maybe it will bring me good luck too. I cross my fingers..

I'm going to move here, for this period. I will sleep in uncle's room. Yes, he sleeps in the theatre, did I already tell you that this theater is literally his life? Probably yes. Now that I think about it, I'm starting to bond with it too. I feel that... something beautiful, really beautiful, is about to happen.

Y/n's pov

"I'd still catch a grenade for ya

Throw my hand on a blade for ya

I'd jump in front of a train for ya

You know I'd do anything for ya.."

I love this song. I've always been a big fan of Bruno Mars and this song is one of favorites of all the time. I've always imagined what it was like to feel a love so strong to get to the point of, take a grenade, jump in front of a moving train, put your hands on a sword... in summary, sacrifice yourself for your loved one. I feel a love like that for singing, not for a person, every now and then I take some lessons, but I've never performed on stage, and I don't think I would ever be able to, as much as I wish. I love to hum when I read. Yes, I also love to read, especially psychology books. But tonight was different. Instead of starting one of the novels I bought at the bookstore today, my friends literally dragged me to the disco and... I'll be honest... it was not only the first but also the last time I'll set foot in such places... it's not my cup of tea I've always been a person who doesn't like these kinds of entertainment. For me, leisure is reading, on the comfortable bed in my room, singing outloud when I'm alone, taking walks on the hill behind my house, or... going to the theater!! We have one of the most renowned theaters in the nation in town, the Moon Theater! Actually my passion for singing was born right there! Before that.. I didn't have a real dream and I was desperate because I wanted to find one!

I went to the show that Mr. Buster put on after the fall of his theater and from the very first performance, in which Mrs. Rosita and Gunter danced and sang to Taylor Swift's "Shake it up", to the last performance, in which Meena, I love her voice, sang "don't worry about a thing" by Tori Kelly, Johnny's performance too, where he sang "I'm still standing" by Elton John, i admit i had a big crush on him for a few months.. In summary, my life has changed since then, and I still go there often... that place has something magical about it... it's a land of wonders.. now that I think about it, they staged a show on 'Alice in Wonderland' too! That's one of my favorite shows. I really should go there, these days, who knows what show will be scheduled... I get lost in thoughts, remembering the shows I went to watch in the last period, while I take one of my friends to her house, who is completely drunk, then, a paper sheet stuck to my face. I take it, seeing that it's a flyer for auditions... FOR THE MOON THEATER!!!! Either there is someone spying on me... or finally the wind is blowing in the right direction.. Okay. Maybe tonight didn't was the best of my life..but what if it was fate?

BUT.. THE AUDITION IS TOMORROW I HAVE TO HURRY!!

I hurry to take my friend house and, at the speed of light, I comeback home then I spend all night looking for the right song for tomorrow's audition and.. after evaluating about 1294 songs... yes.. exactly .. I opted for the usual, 'Grenade'. I realize it's 4 in the morning, I panic, and I immediately go to sleep, I have to collect these 5 hours of sleep or at least I'll try. I just hope I don't panic or shy on that...big, huge, stage...help. I noticed that Mr. Moon won't be there, this audition was launched by his nephew, Namjoon, I've seen him in the past, at the theater, a few times, but I've never spoken to him.. I hope he has inherited his uncle's dreamy and positive vibe. In my heart, I feel that something beautiful, really beautiful is about to happen.

Namjoon's pov

I wake up with the sound of uncle Buster's alarm clock, I set it at 6 so I would have 3 hours to organize everything better. With Miss Crawly we check the stage, the lights, the props, clean up the entrance and even uncle Eddie came to help us! I call him uncle, but he's practically uncle Buster's best friend and the nephew of the great Nana Noodleman, who financed the theater when the building completely collapsed. Full of anxiety, I run to the office to double-check the script and when the time comes, I see people approaching the entrance, leaflet in hand. I'm so excited but at the same time.. scared. A few minutes before the entrance opens, I decide to go through a sort of "secret passage": It is located in the part of the ceiling above the stage, uncle Buster always brought me here when I was little, other times I used to come here alone, to have a sort of "VIP seat" and better follow the show. My uncle, every time he has to start the shows, comes here, sits on the fake moon and then he slides down... what an entrance, right? I think I'll adopt it too, maybe it will become the signature of the Moon family hehe. I go down to the grandstand and as soon as 9.30 am I immediately ask Miss Crawly to open the doors. There are almost 200 people .. wow. I didn't expect to attract so much attention, but as I said before, my surname and the name of the theater helped me. However my goal is to create my own name, not to live in the shadow of uncle Buster and the Moon Theater.

I breathe a sigh of relief and welcome the candidates one by one.

'Hello creatures great and small, welcome to Moon Theater, I am Namjoon Moon and I am ready to show you new shades of the magic of this wonderful theater! And I want to do it... with your help!'

I tried to be as convincing as possible. Now let's start the auditions. Some performances were good but... not suitable for my show.. others were perfect: A couple who duet 'Shallow' by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper... wow what chemistry, what chemistry.. she has a sweet and strong voice, just like Lady Gaga's, incredible, he has a very low voice, very sensual...I like it; Another couple, he rapper and dancer accompanied by another girl, only dancer, on the notes of an unreleased song, 'more'...wow... they have a great complicity too. She literally seems to burn for him, I bet the whole theater, that those two aren't "just colleagues" as they said in their presentation, he has a bit hoarse voice, the perfect voice for a rapper, moreover, he manages to change his flow in a second, finally here we can talk about full-blown Rapper. Together, they'll set audiences on fire, I'm sure;

A guy, another rapper, brought his unreleased track called 'Daechwita'...HE RAPS BETTER THAN EMINEM. Wow wow wow I'm getting excited, another rapper with all the skills, who manages to insert a certain sensuality even in a song that has a completely different topic. And finally, three other boys, with different but beautiful voices, who respectively brought, An unpublished track, 'Abyss', this boy's voice is high, but not too much, sweet and ringing, 'Snowman' by Sia, the other's voice is almost feminine, but for me it's not an insult, on the contrary, I admire his voice, it manages to reach such high notes that it's enviable even by the best singer in the world..and 'falling' by Harry Styles, this boy has a particular voice, I don't know how to describe it, but he reminds me so much of Johnny, he's a born singer, you can see it in his face.

In the evening, I marked the names of those six boys and two girls in my diary. I have found some real talented people, however.. I feel that something is still missing.. I don't know.. 

As I'm about to close the entrance, I see a girl running towards me. "SORRY SORRY SORRY!! I WAS VERY LATE YOU MUST FORGIVE ME! Is there still time for another audition?" I can't tell her no, just because she could be the 'thing' that is missing in my show. 

Y/n's pov: 

Mr. Namjoon, oh my..calling him mr. seems a bit of an exaggeration since we probably have a few years difference between us, anyway, he was very kind to let me do the audition, just like I thought,  at the end, he is Buster Moon's nephew. This morning I didn't hear the alarm and I continued to sleep peacefully until 5 this afternoon.. I'm mortified.. it seems like fate wanted it to go this way. This feeling of being on a real stage is strange.. but at the same time I'm scared.. so scared 

'Whenever you want! Y/n! I'll start the base'

I can already hear the start of the song but I feel almost paralyzed.. 

'I-I..'

I can't even speak.. Namjoon shuts down the music, gets on stage, and approaches me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

'I know someone who started out like you, and now she's on tour and she's the best singer in my uncle's crew, I assume you know Meena, don't you?'

I nod. She is my idol .. and I didn't know that she was scared, like me, at the beginning... 

'My uncle encouraged her to sing by saying a line which souynds like his 'motto', "Don't let the fear stop you from doing what you love most." 

So now, even if you're a little scared, let it go away and sing, you will feel good.. then.. it's a love song, right? You will definitely have a boyfriend, so think about him, and let your feelings go free, they will sing with you.'

 Wow, Namjoon looks so much like his uncle in this aspect. I'll follow his advise. Although..I haven't a boyfriend.. but... I'll let myself go...let's get it!

Before starting to sing I turn my gaze to Namjoon, he has a beautiful smile on his face, which calms me down, he also has dimples, how cute~ I heard the base and.... Here I am, singing, without thinking about it, and, incredibly, during the chorus, the only person that comes to my mind is.... Namjoon.. Him? A boy that i just met few minutes ago? Crazy stuff... but... okay, I'm in the theater where anything is possible, so, it's okay.

" Yes, I would die for ya, baby But will you do the same?"

My head decided to change the lyrics, without my permission. I connect with the real world again and I see Namjoon and his secretary standing, clapping, I hear more applause coming from behind the scenes, where I see a group of people smile at me. 

'Well! Smile Y/n Y/s! Even your colleagues were amazed by your voice!' 

Colleagues? Does this mean...THEY GOT ME? AM I SERIOUSLY IN??!!!?!?!? I smile, beaming more than ever , also looking at my new colleagues. All thanks to Namjoon. I can't wait to work with him... ah and of course with the others too... 

Our leader, as it got late,sent us home, saying that rehearsals would start early the next morning, repeating us to not to be late.. I feel particularly involved, hearing that sentence.. As soon as we left the theater we decide to spend the evening, eating out to get to know each other better. Everyone is so nice. There are ten of us in Nam's crew, including him, who obviously is a rapper, although I haven't had the opportunity to hear him yet: There are Seokjin, Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin who have the role of singers, and I am among those , along with a certain girl whose nickname is Luv, she seems very nice and knows her stuff, she showed us a part of 'Blank space' by Taylor swift and I love her tone of voice. Furthermore Jungkook and Jimin are also dancers, Taehyung is a good dancer too, but Namjoon decided to give him only the role of singer. Then there's Yoongi, Hoseok and Angie, the other girl, who is, as I understood, Hoseok's girlfriend, or at least, they claim they're just colleagues, but in my opinion they're either hiding something from us, or they're together without even realizing it... Yoongi and Hoseok are rappers and the latter is also a dancer, together with Angie. We make quite a good gang. I haven't had such a nice evening in quite a while. I rushed to sleep, eagerly awaiting the morning. That morning which actually arrived right away. This time I woke up on time and immediately run to the theater where Hoseok, Angie, Taehyung and Luv are already waiting, the others are probably arriving. At 9 Namjoon and Miss Crawly welcome us into the theater and take us to the rehearsal room. There are different rooms to rehearse, one for dance, one for singing, one for rap and many others! I feel like I'm living a real dream! After we settle in, Namjoon makes us gather on stage and announces that first he would let us stage a provisional show and then he would reveal the real show with which we will really debut... such a mysterious boy.. The others are a little perplexed, but something tells me that I have to trust him, I'm sure he has something great in store for us! And he'll have his reasons for keeping it all from us, for now.

timelapse  

About 2 months have passed since then, we have bonded a lot among us  and Namjoon has also proved to be more present than expected, especially with me. We get on quite well together, to tell the truth, I think I'm falling in love with him.. but I feel that, for him, I'm just a person to admire.. it hurts, but that's okay.. maybe time will open Namjoon's eyes. For now, in his heart, there is only room for the show that he dreams to take on stage. The day of the provisional show arrives, obviously not public, but  the show will be attended by Miss crawly, Nana Noodleman and her nephew Eddie ... I admire Nana .. but ... that lady scares me a lot .. 

From behind the scenes, I see Namjoon, standing on the fake wooden moon, on which Mr. Buster always climbs for opening his shows. 

'All creatures great and small...' 

Namjoon's pov:

As I recite the opening of the show, I am very nervous. In these months, I haven't been able to say anything about the real show to my crew.. mostly because, I hate to admit it, but I'm scared abou that too . I'm scared of their opinion, that they might disagree.. here's what I didn't inherit from uncle Buster , his leadership.. his ability to keep the attention and the authority, while remaining the cute koala  he actually is, remaining professional.. he just convinced Ash to sing 'Call me maybe'!!! 

I'm afraid to show my songs to the public.. So, I put this show on the spot, to prove to the others, but mostly to myself, that I can do it. As soon as the presentation is over, the show begins.. I will have to perform last, with Y/n, I admire that girl a lot, she has a wonderful voice, and she is so kind, but when she wants, she can also be tough, I'll be honest . I noticed that we have many things in common, she also likes reading and walking in nature and above all she discovered her dream thanks to the Moon Theater too. I admit I've developed pretty strong feelings for her, but I have to take them apart, we're colleagues, we can't be anything else.

I just admire her. 

The show seems to go smooth as butter, I also included some of my unreleased stuff, like 'Jamais vu' that Hoseok, Jungkook and Seokjin will sing, 'Friends' that Jimin and Taehyung will sing, since they told me they've known each other since elementary school , for Yoongi , honestly, I gave him all the freedom he needs, he told me that his dream is to become a composer, so I decided to let him use another unpublished work of his, 'people'; For the girls, I gave them already famous songs. I don't know... there were some songs in which I saw them more, compared to my unreleased ones. For Luv I opted for Katy Perry's 'ET'; for Angie, I decided to make her dance on Shakira's 'Whenever, wherever'; For Y/n, I assigned her 'Rolling in the Deep' by Adele, a sort of remix, in which i added a rap part written by myself. During my performance with Y/n...it was a bit tense but..everything seemed to be going well even if, I'll be honest, there's something wrong..I hope it's just my imagination. After the show, the boys ran, exhausted, behind the scenes. I'm about to reach them when I hear my name being called. I turn around and see Nana asking me to go over her.. I have a weird feeling.. 

Y/n's Pov: 

The show went pretty well. My fear didn't stop me, and that's very reassuring, although, I admit, taht during the duet with Namjoon, I thought about the fact that he probably doesn't prove the same things as mines... which spoiled the mood. I tried to keep everything hidden, but I'm afraid that I failed... who knows what Nana thinks of our chemstry, will she consider it up to Buster Moon's crew's? At one point, as soon as we see Miss Crawly take Nana to her limousine, we catch Namjoon join us behind the scenes, with a look.. a bit gloomy. 

'hey Nam!! Is everything okay?'

 Taehyung asks. 

'What happened?' 

asks Yoongi.

 'Did Nana say something bad?' 

Jungkook asks 

'Did Miss Crawly lost her eye again?' 

Angie's usual way to resolve the situation.. 

' guys, let him explain. Boss, what's going on?'

 Luv silences everyone, giving Namjoon space to speak. 

'Guys, I don't know if we can perform the show..' 

Namjoon lowers his head.. I don't understand.. 

'WHAT?!'

I shut my mouth, realizing I've screamed. 

'yeah.. Nana called me aside because she wanted to see the real show I had in mind. I showed her the storyline and everything and she said that the audience probably won't like it.. and I'm not cut out for this role.. I'm sorry guys.. I know I shouldn't listen to her.. She could definitely be wrong, but..' 

Namjoon can't finish the sentence, his voice shaking.. how I feel bad for him.. he can't give up.. not at the first difficulty. I see Nam rushing upstairs to his office, leaving us all speechless and confused. 

'Y/N, you should go..' 

I hear Seokjin's voice telling me to go to Namjoon. 

'Me?'

I answer even more confused. 

'It's evident that Namjoon gets along better with you, maybe you will be able to understand what happened and to convince him to don't give up' 

So...to the others' eyes Namjoon and i have a sort of connection... I hate seeing him like this, during the rehearsals he was full of positivity but at the same time quiter than his uncle. He has a dream and he can't let it go like this. All right. I'll go talk to him. I nod to the others and run upstairs. 

Namjoon's pov;

Nana's words occupy my head. 

Flashback

'I'm sorry Namjoon, but I think you're not cut out for that.. Theater is more, romantic, more, magical, it's not hip hop, or whatever.. I appreciate this little show you put on here, but you won't go far if you continue like this, I don't think this is what your uncle taught you.. Then you see that there is a sort of tension among you and your crew, you should have faith in them, so that they will have it in you. .' 

End Flashback

Those words reverberate in my head like a drum... I ran away from the guys too, they'll think I'm a loser, that they trusted the wrong person and indeed, now they're all probably already at home.. Nana said it, they don't trust me.. 

'Namjoon'

 A familiar voice takes me out of this hurricane of thoughts. 

'Y/n.. I thought you were back home..'

'I would never move from here, even if the building were collapsing again, like in the past..'

Y/n sits next to me. 

'Tell me what happened and what Nana exactly told you'

 Y/n always manages to calm me down, with her slightly low but sweet voice, for a few seconds, my thoughts disappear. So I decide to tell her everything... 

'But Nam!! You don't have to listen to her! Do you realize that you could bring about a revolution in the theater?? A bit like Goldoni did it with the Venetian theater!!!!'

'Y/n! Do you understand that... I.. I'M SCARED'

I almost yell at her without realizing it, I can feel something wet coming down my cheeks.. Am I crying? Really? Is Namjoon Moon seriously crying? Y/n puts a hand on my head, bringing it to her shoulder. 

'It's normal to be afraid, boss. But, as you told me that time, when I looked like a lost, scared animal, on that stage below, "don't let fear stop you from doing what you love most". If the show goes badly.. Never mind. We will try again! But think if it will go well, if you are successful, your dream will come true and... I will be happy to be part of it. And then.. there's a crazy chemistry among all of us, you've always been there, with Miss Crawly, together with us, supporting us like never before in these two months.. Do you remember when I didn't want to try that high note in Ariana Grande's 'Problem'? I was just trying it with you and we stayed until the next morning trying it. Or when Seokjin and Taehyung had a fight over that cup of ramen?...you rolled up your sleeves and made them reconcile, or when Hoseok thought he couldn't make that pas de deux with Angie because they'd never tried to dance on a slow song like 'in the name of love'? When, with a lot of patience, you taught Jungkook to play the piano, just because you wanted so much to make him sing 'I'm still standing'? You tested all of us. And we trusted you blindly. 

You understand it? We are here with you. And then there's one thing you have to give up..being liked by everyone. Remember that nothing and no one has ever succeeded in pleasing everyone. You may prefer some musical genres to others and you preferred the nine of us to other artists, during the audition, who will have been as good as me or Luv or Seokjin or Yoongi or others in the crew. It's Okay, Namjoon. We are doing something we love. Let's not care about the opinion of others, we are talking about dreams, something that goes far beyond a simple opinion of others. Look around.. This theater, this wonderland has always helped us. Even Mr. Buster, your uncle, has always been close to us, still during the tour. And then.. there's a phrase that Mr. Buster has always repeated loudly.. "When you hit rock bottom, do you know what the most beautiful thing is? It's that the only direction you can go is... up"..so Namjoon Moon, you are not like your uncle, and trust me, you are perfect just the way you are, and you are a fantastic leader, even if you don't notice it..my lead-em..our leader'

 Y/n is right, she is right in everything she said.. We are talking about dreams, not opinions.. I tested all the crew and they passed it.. now that I am put under the test.. I have almost failed. Yes... almost.. because now.. we're going up. Up to the moon. I have my crew, I have Y/n and there is also my uncle and the others supporting me...

I have decided. I have to put this show on stage and it's going to be AMAZING. I look at Y/n and smile at her. God how grateful I am to her.. what if I hadn't allowed her to audition?... where would I end up now? I don't know, nor do I want to know, from now on, one only looks straight ahead. I hug her tightly.  She doesn't hesitate to hug me back and, I feel like she's sobbing... she's crying too.. I feel a strange feeling in my heart.. but for now I can't give it weight. I smile at her and only after being reciprocated, I take her hand, that delicate little hand, and we immediately run downstairs. As I go down the stairs I see all the boys surprised, but I can feel a certain happiness in their eyes. Their gazes are spreading.. relief? I don't know, but this makes me relieved too. They are my first real best friends, almost my second family, even though we know each other from few months, I feel there was a reason why I chose them that day. In front of me, in front of us, I can already see a future brighter than the sun. There will be obstacles.. but hey, where's the fun otherwise? 

'Well guys, sorry for what happened earlier. I'm ready to tell you everything and above all, today.. I'll tell you know about the show that will take us to the top.'

 All my crew smiles at me, Nana has already made a mistake about this, there is something magical among us. After making the guys sit in the stands, I go on stage, starting to tell a sort of presentation on which I have been working on for the past 2 months: 

The show will be called "The most beautiful moment in life" And it will talk about the story of a group of friends, a boyband, which will be us 7, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook and me, Namjoon. They will debut with a song "No more dream" and, after several songs, they will reach a point in their career, where, they will lose themselves and decide to think about their solo works, to find what they had lost, they will release a song as a " ""goodbye""": 'Yet to come'. During their solo projects, three of them will find their twin flame, Hoseok will find a fan, Angie, from another nation, younger than him, but a sort of harmony will born between them that will set everything on fire ...thanks to Angie, Tae will come introduced to Luv, a friend, who will become Tae's twin flame, even if Tae is initially uncertain about his feelings.

And then, there is Namjoon, who finds.. Y/n... with her, he will be able to find his way.. The group will come back fully united and, in the end, there will be the grand finale, where they will all sing together 'For youth', as a love song for their fans, because after all Hoseok and Tae have found love among them, stating that, they will continue to sing for a long, long time to come.' 

Before speaking again, I catch my breath, addressing my friends, my crew.. I explained everything... putting my soul into it, as if the show had come to life in my head while I was telling it.. I admit I didn't explain all like this to nana.. i'm very tense.. this is literally the show i've been working on for all my life, this is the business card of the most important dream of my life.. i'm afraid of what they might think, what the public will think, what uncle Buster will think.. I'm afraid to express my weak point, but fear won't stop me. I'll make my dream come true...or die trying. 

'so.. What do you guys think?'

 I say, in a surprisingly confident voice. After a few seconds, I hear a clap. I look closely at the origin of the sound and I see her, Y/N.. I can see her hands becoming red from clapping so much and observing her closely.. she has tears in her eyes... 

Y/n's pov: 

I can't help but applause, Namjoon only showed us an outline of the show.. yet here I am, with red hands, still clapping and with tears in my eyes.. I think I understood what "reduced" me like this: The feeling with which Namjoon laid out these four lines of plot. His eyes sparkled, as if he were showing his greatest treasure. He brought it all out... and I feel so lucky to be one of the first people he did that to. 

'READY TO SOLD OUT AROUND THE GLOBE MR JOON?'

 I scream without even thinking about it, and soon after, I see Namjoon with tears in his eyes, for the second time today, but those are different tears, he is happy. I turn to the others and they are moved too, intent on applauding and rooting for our leader. I can't wait to start rehearsals for this masterpiece...and to be honest, I'm really happy to be Namjoon's twin flame, at least in this show, the most important project of his life? WHY DID HE CHOOSE ME? Aish.. I don't know, but... I love him, I love him to death. Now I'm starting to really understand what Bruno wanted to say through "Greande". 

Timelapse

Another 4 months have passed since then. We've been working hard every single day, and the debut of 'The most beautiful moment in life' is in two days. There's a lot of anxiety in the air, you can almost touch it, but at the same time, we're all excited. The general rehearsal started yesterday. In the end we decided to insert a choreography for all the songs of the "bangtan boys", the name of the boyband, so Namjoon, Seokjin and Yoongi went started dance lessons, the choreographer of the Mr. Moon's crew also helped us, Nooshy, although she could help just a little, since she is on tour with his crew, but with several video calls we managed to compensate. Then we have some ACEs here, Angie and Hoseok, who, personally... are scary when they have to play dance teachers.. Luv and I are saved, we will also have some steps in our duets, but nothing too difficult. Speaking of Mr. Buster, as soon as we told him the date of the premiere, he immediately moved the date of his show to that evening, in order to be free to see his nephew's debut. I'm so euphoric I can't stand still aaah. Ah and about the relationship between me and Namjoon? Well... nothing new, we just seem like best friends, and I don't have the slightest intention of confess my feelings.. just being with him is enough for me, so I've kept my feelings a little apart, at least for now. 

'Anxious?'

Angie interrupts my thoughts. 

'Well.. you don't?'

 I add, laughing. 

'Okay okay you're right Y/n. And.. tell me... there are rumors that you will confess to Namjoon during your duet, I hope they are true!! Now Miss Crawly too ships you two!!'

Angie comes up to me giving me a little nudge and a mischievous smile.. BUT WHO HAS SPILLED THIS RUMOR?

'Are you kidding?????? But I would never think of confess to him in that situation!! Whoever put up this voice got screwed up.'

I reply, but I already know I'm blushing, Angie's giggle is proving me that. 

'Mh okay... but what if it will be Namjoon who will confess his feelings for you, instead? What would you do then?' ...actually I had never analyzed this option.. But... naaah 

'Don't worry too much, it won't happen, Namjoon only feels admiration for me, at least that's how he made me understand..'

 I say with a slightly despondent voice, lowering my head . 

'And let me understand.. do you think two lovers can't feel admiration for each other? In my opinion, loving someone also means being a fan of your loved one, I could be wrong.. but my instinct tells me that I'm more right than you think hehe'

 Angie winks at me, then goes back to practice.. she's not entirely wrong .. maybe it's my greatest wish, to be Namjoon's lover.. who knows... 

'Y/n!!! We have to try 'Love'!! Run!!!'

 You speak of the devil... here he is calling me haha I better go.. 

' I'm Coming.. Nam!!!!' 

Timelapse 

Namjoon's pov: 

It's the day of the show and to my immense surprise.. we did a sold out... There is not a single empty seat out there.. And there are also journalists, critics.. All here for my show... 

'So.. guys! Come here'

We'll all get in a circle. 

'It's the big day... let's go out there... and show them who we are.'

 'YES!'

They all answer in chorus.. my gaze obviously goes to Y/n, you can see she's as anxious as I am, but I know what she's thinking: "Let's do it", so let's really do it. Through the usual path, I hold on to the fake moon and signal to uncle Eddie to start the special effects.. Let the show begin.. 

'Creatures great and small!!!! It is a pleasure tonight, having you here with us, Today.. you will be witnesses, of a revolution. Today... I'm going to tell you a story... which... starts like this...'

 Author's pov: 

With the lights off, 'The most beautiful moment" in life begins: 7 guys, who have already reached their twenty years old, who still can be considered teenagers. All brought together by their passion for music, but there is also something else that unites them, the question ... "What is my dream?" What's your dream?...' 

You can already hear the voices of the journalists, the audience taken by that hip hop rhythm, by the coordinated steps, by the voices of those seven guys.. that no one would have ever imagined seeing climbing the highest peaks of the world. And if you don't believe me.. keep watching, how mankind itself has evolved over the centuries, how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly... these guys have changed, passing from the hip hop of 'No more dream', 'We are bulletproof', 'N.O', 'Boy in luv', 'Danger'; To the sweetest and most melancholic notes of 'I need u' and 'Run'; To the energy of 'Fire' and 'not today'; To the sensuality of 'Blood, sweat and tears ';

To the fairy love of 'DNA' and the strength of 'Mic Drop', the unhappy love of 'Fake love', the redemption of 'Idol'; To the genuine love of 'Boy with luv'; To the poetics of 'On' and 'Black swan'; To the sweetness of 'Life goes on'; Up to the freshness of the singles 'Dynamite', 'Butter' and 'Permission to Dance'; And then? And then... here they are... When you are in a group.. sometimes you can lose yourself.. so. The seven stars have decided to put an end to the first chapter of their career with 'Yet to come'..

 'You and I, the best moment is yet to come..'

 And start a second one.. From which...they will come out many surprises. The dancer, the bearer of hope, met a fan of his, spoke a different language than his, or so it seemed, and had two hopeful green eyes.. he didn't necessarily need her, yet his eyes saw her not as a fan , but something more.. She had kindled a flame in him.. it was up to him whether to put it out or feed it... 

'Equality is you and me..'

If the flame of love burned on one side, the one of doubt was next to it, a singer, with a voice so low, almost chilling, who fortunately, or unfortunately, found himself together with his dancer friend, when the fateful encounter took place, the green-eyed girl had a friend with her, with sea-colored eyes, in which the singer was almost shipwrecked .. It almost seemed like a dream .. but the boy with the frozen voice could not give in, perhaps out of fear, out of cowardice, out of disbelief, he wanted to let her go but ... 

'Never mind, I' I'll find Someone like you..'

No one would ever be like her.. so the boy relented. And he did not regret it. Three boys find their Beatrice. 

Well, I'm about to tell you about the Third, perhaps the one who least expected a gift like this from life. The rapper, the leader, walking down that country road, starts humming an almost improvised song, but his singing gets a response. Another girl there, humming with him, for him. in love they could try each other.. But... there was something.. he still didn't know, that love that was blossoming in him, for that girl, who sang with him.. 

'Is this love, yeah Is this love, yeah Sometimes I know, yeah Sometimes I don't, yeah'

Namjoon's pov: 

Wait... I have Y/n right here in front of me... I wrote this script before I even knew her.. I .. I've done everything without thinking about it until now... now that my mind is free.. now that all this is about to end.. I have her in front of me, this woman, the woman who has never stopped supporting me , to stand by me.. the woman who.. without realizing it... I seriously loved and that I'm loving even more, now that I'm aware of it. Fuck the royalties, admiration and all... I love her.. 

Y/n's pov:

I hear the music finish... I sang with Namjoon for the umpteenth time, yet today was different- I feel.. something soft on my... lips... wait... N-Namjoon? Is Namjoon kissing me? Yes... he's doing it.. and I'm kissing him back?... My body no longer responds to my mind.. I feel like I'm lost in a limbo, as if time has stopped... it's such a beautiful feeling...Did he do it for the scene? We've never talked about kissing...was it out of enthusiasm? Possible... but... I feel something special, as if with these kisses he is trying to tell me something.. When the curtain is about to cover us, I can clearly see an "I love you", mimicked from Namjoon... I smile at him miming "me too". We don't have enough time to talk.. We have to sing 'For Youth'... Throughout the song we kept exchanging glances and smiling at each other... I don't know what happened to him.. but I'm glad he opened his eyes. I am happy that this wish of mine has been fulfilled. But...wait! Did that crackhead Angie know something? Who knows... she's Cupid's descendant there... apparently. After the show, I thought too much on me and Namjoon, when I realize that, in front of my eyes, in our... eyes, there is the loudest audience: Who applauds, who cries, who laughs, who smiles, who screams... And... there's also Mr. Buster and his crew in the audience.. Nana, all the critics, my family... They're all there.. To frame this magical moment.

My gaze can only go towards the others, all moved, and on Namjoon, my Namjoon, on his knees, moved more than all. 

Namjoon's pov:

 There was my uncle there in front of me, my idol, the others, the delirious audience, Nana winking at me, that sheep, she had done it on purpose to tell me those things.. 

' YOU WERE GREAT MY NEPHEW!!'

uncle's screams could only increase that idyllic feeling I was already feeling, my gaze then falls on Y/n, who already was looking at me, smiling, that wonderful smile... We stood there applauding for more than 10 minutes to then go backstage and of course the first thing I did was hug my sweet Y/n. 

'You did it' 

She says smiling even more. I dry her tears. 

'We did it together, all of us' 

I add, before giving her a kiss. 

'GROUP HUG' 

I hear Jungkook's screams and then everyone else all over me and Y/n. Miss Crawly was there too!!! And then... I see my uncle coming towards me, smiling like never before. 

'I'm so proud of you, Namjoon'

 I smile at him.. 

'It's all thanks to you, uncle, and...to my crew' 

I hug Uncle Buster, a little harder than other times. Then I see some dudes coming towards me. 

'These gentlemens want to offer you a contract... my dear nephew, apparently this is just the beginning.. this show will remain on everyone's lips for a loooong time' 

I turn abruptly towards the others, we all look at each other with wide eyes.. 

'So what? Are we going to climb this peak?' 

'OBVIOUS' 

they yell in chorus, my guys. Y/n runs again to hug me.. 

Alright, I was right.. something beautiful, really beautiful.... it really happened.. But.. The most beautiful moment.. is yet to come.

Author's Note

so... i decided to translate from italian to english all the one shots i wrote and the ones i'll write in future! Hope that this one helped you to have faith on your dreams and to never give up!

#one shots bts #bts au #bts fanfic #bts namjoon #bts au fanfic #Spotify #bts rm imagine #bts rm x you #bts x reader #bts fantasy au #namjoon x reader

[fairytales-and-creativity]

Week 48 - Entrepreneurship reflection - Silke

Since january 14th 2022 I am an official business owner of my own graphic design business 'Silke Koolbergen'. https://silkekoolbergen.nl/ Within my studies back in The Netherlands, communication and multimedia design, we get entrepreneurship classes and many classes where teachers talk about how before they went into teaching had their own creative business.

My mother also owns her own business in coaching primary school teachers in how to deal with 'dynamic' (difficult) groups and so the entrepreneurship-gene was passed on. She taught me a lot, and I observed a lot.

Entrepreneurship for me is not only being good at something and selling your ideas, but the finances, planning and motivation around it all is of utter importance to me. People forget that they need to plan ahead, you can't just think 'I want to start a business' and pay some money to make it official. You have to save up money to make sure you have a buffer, you need to understand that a big sum of the money you make goes off to the government (at least in the Netherlands where 21% of your income is paid to the government).

But besides the mentioned financial part, I would like to come back on the motivation and the 'startup' of a blog. At the beginning of this course we were put in a group of people and told that it was our job to find a blog-provider and to write a blog once a week to keep track of the curriculum and theory. For me the prime motivation was to keep track of my time here in Oslo and to later be able to look back at the things I've learned or experienced. When we got into our groups, the motivation of my peers was quite low. I took it upon me to find us a blog-provider and to make the blog visually appealing to look at for the teachers. (which I hope I achieved). There were very clear instructions that the blogs shouldn't just be words written down, but should possess a certain amount of personal reflection or interesting academic sources or thoughts up for discussion. I noticed that my peers didn't quite understand it and I was afraid that this would affect my own blog, since we were told that the group blog was part of the individual work requirement(s).

Writing a blog is something that is quite popular these days, per example, writing a blog is super good for your "SEO" (search engine optimisation). Certain keywords will help your website reach the top faster when someone is googling for a certain service or question. I think the assignment of having your class write weekly blogs is a good thing, however I think the execution was handled rather poorly. Motivation for some students comes with the check, did you actually write a blog? If students don't feel like their work is being checked, then why bother to write it in the first place. There was no feeling of 'you have to do this' attached to writing the blog, which I think for some students was needed. I must say for me personally it was no problem because I like writing, using sources and asking philosophical questions, but I think others might've struggled. Then, everyone used a different blog-provider. It would be interesting to have all the blogs written in ONE place and not just a random place, but perhaps a page that's attached to the course-page, where students can read each other's work and other students from other place can also, maybe they would be more inspired to perhaps follow this course next semester. Right now the blogs are everywhere and after this semester is over probably forgotten. I don't even know if this is going to be read because we haven't gotten feedback from anyone on our blogs since the 5th of october.

It feels quite empty. people like me, who write a blog every week, don't get feedback and don't know if any of the teacher even takes the time to read this... Perhaps you have, but we're in the dark of knowing.

You can use the blogs as a way of professionalising the course of Fairytales and Creativity. The blogs can become a great selling point for the course, to motivate and inspire other students, and each other.

#week 48 #silke

[outpost-31]

ok ^_^ narancia or triesh TRISH I MENAT TRISH

I'LL DO BOTH. Trish first but I'll do Narancia too seperately!!

Both are beloved though

[Not Spoiler-Free. Long post, under the cut]

First Impression: I, like alot of people I think, didn't immediately like her at introduction. Because the real beauty of her character comes later. But even at the start she still caught my eye

Being that the whole rude snobby thing seemed like an act to protect herself in this situation since she began to quickly open up later, she is amazing and I adore her. The complexity of that fuels me. However when I DIDNT know it was a defense mechanism it kept me from getting attached immediately because it. kindof worked for that purpose?? she wasn't exactly too rude or harsh, just blunt, but because of that it did take me some time to realize how great she was.

But even in her first few minutes of being introduced she's still hilarious and badass and there was still the charm of that which got me attached. Turning Narancia's switchblade back around on him, namely. Even if his guard was mostly down.. Good for her. 10/10

Impression Now: Unfortunately like 90% of the teen girls Araki writes, she suffers from sexualization and Written By Araki syndrome and it wounds my soul. That I will openly complain about because come ON, but she has captivated me completely otherwise.

Her determination and complete resilience. Her competence and bravery in the Notorious BIG fight despite just having discovered her power in both eternally trapping an unkillable relentless stand and ensuring everybody on board landed safe. Like come on she's so cool. and adopting the catchphrase of her mentor/father figure..

Alot of her character is genuinely so tragic and like alot of things in part 5 I wish her past (eg her childhood with Donatella before she became sick) were more elaborated on and shown but I cannot complain too much. She stayed strong and the amount of ass she kicked even with the help of others is commendable.

Favourite Moment: ok obviously the end of the Notorious BIG fight because her strength and perseverance genuinely have Bruno in Leone in awe of her for a moment but! that speech she gives in.. I think the Clash/Talking head arc about her father.. Fucking love her she's so good

Idea for a Story: Despite my adoration I don't really have one. Trish stays in the mafia post-VA and becomes bffs with the survivors AU. But also I want to listen to her songs from PHF oh my God

Unpopular Opinion: Despite not having anything wrong with it I don't think Giorno and Trish is a good ship ok ty. personal preference but if there is anything I know about Giorno it's that he doesn't like women and the opposite for Trish/ j

But in all seriousness uhh not exactly an unpopular opinion but as for Diavolo I genuinely do not think she got anywhere close to the closure she deserved. Her last moment seeing him was possibly just him being thrown into a canal- I feel like she never got proper justice for all of what happened to her or closure for any of her feelings (especially with the loss of half the group and the man that could be considered her father figure). He technically was brought to justice, yes, but. I feel like for her it was never really wrapped up. She didn't get answers. Relief. Nothing, really

Godd FUCK part 5's ending I enjoy part 5 but omfg

Favourite Relationship: God there's alot to talk about but this one is already getting long I won't say much. I love her and Bucciarati sm, it's the kind of comfort she never previously got, and since she and Mista were starting to warm up to eachother I wish we could've gotten a look into that friendship some more. Sibling-Type dynamic

Her many parallels to Giorno fascinate me too

I don't really have anything for her ship-wise

Favourite Headcanon: Spa days with Mista. They do their nails and face masks together and gossip and watch movies. sometimes they'll rope Fugo or Giorno in /j

#asks #UGHH trish i love her she means alot to me. she is so pretty and so so interesting #cradling her like a prized crystal #ALSO you need a tag too hmm #lmk what you want i cant think of anything

[rexneous]

Quarter Of A Valean Mile Ch 2

5/9/24                                                        

9 years later 

---Jaune’s garage, Commercial District, City of Vale---  

Darkness. There was only darkness. Then there was light.

“Holy halibut!” Jaune groaned as he arose from his rickety twin mattress. “Man, this is what I get for drinking the cheap stuff, this migraine is killing me.” The Arc stumbles as he changes out of his Pumpkin Pete PJs and into some jeans and a black tank top, trying not to wake his slumbering partner, he looks at her long black hair and pointed lynx ears, then lumbers down the stairs.

“Oh!, hey boss” greeted the gruff-looking teenager. He raised his right arm with a Mistrali-style dragon tattoo to give Jaune a playful jab on the shoulder. “You look like crap.”

“Thanks to yOU buying that cheap Heineken stuff instead of Corona like I asked.”

“You and your Corona obsession will kill you one day.” mocked Vince

“Not today though” Jaune laughed as he took a swig of bottled water. “Did Mia finalize the list of parts we need for Race Wars?  

“Yes, she finished it last night. Right now she’s at the Edge making the arrangements with Harry. How’s Letty doing?”

“In my room sleeping. Had another nightmare, it took me a while to calm her down.”

“Damn, Letty has been attached to your hip since we took you in nearly a decade ago, and it nearly took all that time for you two to become official”

“Letty would kill you if she heard that, but you're right if I hadn't met you guys I would probably be working for Hei or gods forbid Johnny Tran.”

“Come on, I think you would be a handsome biker. Leather compliments your big ass.”

“Shut up HeHeHe”

“Speaking of Hei, you heard his place got demolished last night”

“Really? No way” questioned Jaune

“Yeah. Apparently, some goldie wrecked the place. Sounds like someone you know?” Accused Vince

“That is libel. Just because I’m blonde it doesn’t mean I know all my kind”

“Sorry to burst your but libel is written. When you yap your gums, it’s slander”

“Sorry. I forgot you literally went to law school.  All this talking has made me hungry. What would you want for breakfast, Mr.Goodman?”  

“Breakfast? It's 1:30 in the afternoon Jaune.”

“ Shit! I promised my folks I would meet them for lunch.” Jaune quickly put on his shoes and ran out of the garage. “Look over the garage for me!” he yelled.

---Outside the township of Suburra, Vale---   

Jaune sighed as he sat alone on the airbus in transit to Suburra reeling, trying not to puke all over the floor. This brings back memories of when he went on an Airbus for the first time: when he moved out. It was scary leaving the only home he had ever known but he couldn't not after all the things that happened after that day. He would never forgive those pricks no matter how hard they kissed his parents’ asses. His grandfather, Flavus founded Suburra with his own two hands even when people said it wouldn’t work so far from Vale, but look at it now: a trading hub of the whole known world. For half his life, his home was where he no longer felt he belonged. 

It was a torturous 30-minute ride. 

As the airbus landed Jaune thanked the divines he didn’t embarrass himself. As Jaune exited the terminal, dreading the disaster, he called a cab. As the taxi came near, he saw the license plate read, “Fresh” and had dice in the mirror. Jaune could say this cab was rare but disregarded the thought and hopped in. The taxi driver was blonde and scraggly much like Jaune, and really… talkative: Questioning his business here, am I meeting someone, what do I do for a living? ‘F-ing annoying’ He introduced himself, his name was Orion or something he couldn’t remember. 

Jaune casually glances at his scroll: 2:15 pm. “Damn, I’m going to be late”

“Say no more boss!” exclaimed Orion as he slammed his foot on the accelerator.

“Wait…Nooooooooooo” Jaune screamed before his body was slammed onto his seat.

The cab zipped through the streets, weaving through the afternoon rush like a maven surgeon stitching up a wound. No one on the road could match such speed and ferocity. It was like he became speed itself. Nothing could stop Orion from getting to the destination. Aaaaaand zoomed right past a speed trap.

Jaune’s heart sank at this realization. ‘This would be the most ridiculous way to go down. Letty, Vince, and the rest of the crew would never let this down.’

*WHOOP WHOOP* That was the sound of the police. One of Vale’s finest was now on their tail. “Hahaha bring it on you Culatello Bastard” challenged Orion. The Bee-like vehicle turned corners like a mad dog; left then right, left, right, left, right, left, right. But Vale PD won’t be easily discarded. “Looks like I need to take it up a notch”. Orion waited until he found an intersection ahead to pull a lever revealing something:  N₂O(Nitrous Oxide), simply known as NOS. Orion takes a deep breath, the light turns red and he presses the big red “Release” button. The cab flew past the oncoming cars from the sides leaving the cop to get rear-ended. The officer could only watch helplessly as they got away.

A couple minutes later, the officer stumbles out their door Revealing their copper skin, teal Beret and Combat Skirt, and white boot chaps. “You’re going to pay for that,” they growled. The officer raises their hand to speak into her silver wristwatch “General, Agent Soleil reporting. Status report: phase one is underway. Just as planned” 

---Arc Residence, The Township of Suburra, Vale--- 

          Eventually, they arrived at their destination. Jaune looks at his scroll: 2:50 pm. He exited the vehicle and grabbed his bag. “Hey, you are one crazy cabbie” Jaune approached the driver. “But you are one heck of a driver” Jaune digs in his pockets and produces a business card. “Orion, you should consider a job at my garage, you can nurture your talent there.” Jaune puts the card in Orion’s hand. 

“Do you mean that?” The cabman blushed.

“Arc’s word! How much do I owe ya?”

“That would be Ⱡ5,762” [About 38 USD]

“Sure” Jaune taps his scroll on the cab’s reader.

“Oh, and another thing: the name is O’Conner, Brian O’Conner” Orion Brian drives off into the distance.

Jaune was now alone in front of the imposing Arc estate. Originally they had a smaller house, but after the attack and the new residents, Hunter and Serana decided to upsize. Jaune was initially against the idea but it beats sharing a room with that pancake-loving ginger. She was sweet but could be too much sometimes. Jaune looked at the enormous colonial house, its white and gold paint still fresh and full of vigor. Jaune took a deep breath and unlocked the door with his scroll.

“John John!” a shrill voice called.

‘Well speak of the devil.’ As soon as that thought was finished all breath left Jaune’s lungs and his arms were pinned to his side—the Valkyrie death hug. “Please, I want to live.” 

The Amazon let Jaune down. “Sorry, it has been so long since you’ve been home,” she said sorrowfully. “Come on, Mom and Dad made Flittas they’re like pancakes but you can eat them in the afternoon without judgment.” 

“Nora, I have seen you ate a whole stack as a snack”

Nora drags Jaune into the dining room. “Reality is what I make it to be! HAHAHAHA”

As Jaune regained his senses he froze in awkwardness. He was face-to-face with the people he had been hiding from for nearly a decade. His father was at the head of the table with his mother to their right. 

Hunter stared at his son, his silver eyes aflame with fury. “So after all this time, you decide to return. What have you got to say for yourself, son?” There was a long pause—the tension- thicker than a plate of disco fries. “HAHAHA Just joking around with you boy!”

Jaune rolled his eyes. He still felt a little hungover and had no patience for this nonsense. “Very funny Dad” Jaune gritted his teeth. “So what’s on the menu, pops?”

“Ah yes, the entrées. For today’s supper, we’ll have some crispy Flittas, Ackee and Saltfish, and to top it off fresh Callaloo. All the ingredients were sourced straight from Azure Island.” Hunter said in a faux French accent.

“I’m sure it will be tasty” Jaune sat at the opposite end of the table, and Nora joined him.

“Les serveurs bring out the food!” Hunter claps his hands.

The door to the kitchen sprung open with Ren and Blake with trays of food in their hands. Ren had a pink apron that read: “PLEASE DO NOTHING TO THE COOK” in bold black letters. ‘Did he have that custom-made?’ thought Jaune. He couldn't help but notice they both had their ring finger bandaged. That wasn’t the strange part it was that the bandages didn’t have a speck of blood on them. They silently line up the food on the table. It smelled amazing; the faint saltness, the flakey crust, and the fresh greens came together to make a sensation that would make even a creature of Grimm cry. Ren went to sit next to Nora and Blake went next to him. Nora looked at Ren salivating, this wasn’t because of the food there was something different on her mind. By the end of the night something in fact will be done to the cook.     

“Girls, dinner is ready!” proclaimed the patriarch.

In a flash, red, white, and scarlet-bronze blobs zoom past the visible staircase. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Pyrrha Nikos in the flesh. Weiss was talking to someone on the scroll. She said goodbye and closed the call putting the device in her skirt pocket.

“Hey, Jaune!” said Ruby.

“Good afternoon, Arc.” said Weiss coldly.

“ Oh, Hello again!” said Pyrrha, her cheeks redder than a vial of fire dust and avoiding direct eye contact. 

Jaune couldn’t for the life of him understand what the heck Pyrrha’s deal was. She avoided him most of the time he was around but was polite when he managed to start a conversation.

The girls sat on the parallel side to Jaune with Pyrrha directly in front of him. With everyone present the feast began. Sounds of merriment and warmth fill the room. Nora with But something, Jaune noticed, was missing. 

“Where is Yang?” Asked Jaune

“Yang sneaked out to a nightclub and got caught” replied Ruby

“That just seems like the usual Yang-scapades”

“She also beat up a dozen people including the owner and trashed the place.”

Damn, Vince was right. “Hahaha, that sounds like her. Wish I could’ve seen the fireworks.”

“Trust me you don’t. I was there and the police questioned me. I was so scared. I’m too adorable to go to prison.”

“That's debatable” interjects Weiss.

Man, Weiss is such a pleasure, isn’t she? Jaune looked at his scroll: 3:35 pm 3 unread messages. He looked at his messages: Vince wanted to know when he would be back for cake(it was his favorite: vanilla ice cream and velvet cake). Jaune texted back: in 30 min. 

“Speaking of children. I talked to Whitley earlier, he is coming home from boarding school for his break.”

“He is such a sweet young man. I can't wait to see him again” Serana rejoiced

“ Yeah, he and Ruby are very capable. This is why I organized this special lunch to celebrate her progress in her special training” Hunter’s silver eyes gleamed.

“Thank you, Dad. I appreciate it and what you have done for my sister and the others.

“Cheers!” everyone did a toast.         

The announcement made Jaune sick. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. “Sorry to dine and dash but I got a date with destiny” Jaune gets up and makes a beeline for the door.

“Well, I got to go too. I need the latest Weapon Magazine. This month's issue feature is Pistol-Caliber Carbines”

“Hey Jaune, since you’re going the same why not accompany Ruby?” 

“Sure, Dad” said Jaune who couldn’t find an excuse to say no.

“Yay family road trip” exclaimed Ruby

---Outside the City of Vale---

It was an awkward flight. Ruby tried to make small talk but Jaune wasn’t having it. He plopped in his headphones and curled into a ball hoping not to spill his lunch all over the place.

---From Dust Till Dawn, City of Vale---

They were in front of the shop after a short walk from the airport. 

“Okay, we’re here. Enjoy looking at them firing pins” Jaune turns away from Ruby.

“Pwease >.< big bwothew stay ://// with OwO me XD” pleaded Ruby as she tilted her head and widened her eyes.

Jaune, no matter how hard he could try could resist the temptation of Ruby’s puppy dog eyes. “Okay you win”

“Ha, sucker!” Ruby grabs his hand and Petal Bursts into the store.

“Please Ruby I don’t want to get kicked out.”

The Shopkeep grunted signaling his annoyance.

“Sorry”

At the magazine corner, Ruby became embroiled in the world of weaponry; Vacuan Rifleman, Guns Digest, The SmithBros. Legends, as far as Ruby was concerned. She picked one up gleefully and tore into it as her life depended on it. While Ruby’s mind was entranced Jaune’s mind began to wander: ‘Should I buy some shotgun shells for me and Vince?’ He walks over to the shotgun ammo. ‘Should I get the Winchester Jackal 12 gauge? It’s Ⱡ21,660 for 250 rounds’ [About 140 USD]   

“P-please! Just take my Lien and leave!” cried the Shopkeep.

“Shhh, calm down, we’re not here for your money.” said a gentlemanly voice.

‘Fuck’ Jaune heard there was a rise of dust robberies lately but never thought he would be caught up in one. He turns to identify the assailants: an all-black suit with Red Sunglasses and Tie. ‘Man Junior must’ve fallen unto some hard times after Yang wrecked his behind.’ Jaune then notices a particular ginger man in a white trench coat and black bowler hat. ‘Wait. Is that Roman leading them? Man, Hei must be really desperate to loan his men to him’ Jaune tries to think of a plan to dispatch the goons, but before he can…*Whoosh* a red blur passes him by. ‘Man, she threw herself and the goon out the window. Impressive’ With the rest distracted Jaune puts a mook into a sleeper hold and then slams his head on the floor, knocking him out.

“Oh, so you are here too, Lancelot. Trying to foil another one of my operations, I see.” Says the Gentlemen Thief

“Come on, you know the Kuchinashi job was an accident”

“What you did at Kuchinashi was way more than an accident and you know that Lancelot, And unlike then you and your new little Red friend will stay out of my way” Roman proceeds to raise his cane popping out his iron sights revealing it was also a gun. He proceeds to fire—Jaune ducks behind a shelf. This creates a massive hole in the shop wall. Jaune was scared he was outnumbered, without his weapon, and facing down a criminal mastermind. He wondered if this was how his grandfather felt on that fateful day. No. He couldn’t let himself go there he had to see this encounter through. He rolled from his cover. 

Jaune scanned the room. There, he spotted Torchwick getting away. ‘He’s getting away’ Jaune starts to chase him until he hears a voice

“Help me, Heeelp” beseeched the Shopkeep. Part of the roof caved in on him due to Roman’s theatrics.

Jaune sighed. He had to help the old man. Papa Arc would be ashamed if he didn’t. He effortlessly moved the heavy debris from the Shopkeep and very slowly assorted him out of the premises to avoid injuring him. Jaune laid him out on the sidewalk. He noticed around him Ruby had knocked out all the goons. “Don’t worry an ambulance is on its way”

“Thank you, young man. Go, help your friend I’ll be alright”

Jaune turns to face the shop and is welcomed with the sound of jets. Ruby and an unknown huntress were continuing the fight on the roof. Torchwich and an accomplice were attempting to escape on a bullhead. The mysterious accomplice and the Huntress were exchanging blows. She is too competent to be one of Junior’s men. Explosions and ice spikes were viciously thrown, but the robbers were victorious and disappeared into the night.

“You’re a Huntress! Can I have your autograph?” Jaune could faintly hear Ruby’s voice.

Knowing Ruby was in safe hands Jaune tried to get out of there. He could get to his garage unnoticed he booked it double time.

“Halt! Vale PD. We’re going to detain you for questioning. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand?”

‘Man!’ Jaune had the worst of luck on his birthday.

SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE UPDATE. A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE CHAPTER ONE.  I’LL BE BACK WITH MORE SOON. DON'T WORRY IT WON’T TAKE NEARLY A YEAR LIKE THIS  TIME.  ANY SUGGESTIONS OR CORRECTIONS  ARE WELCOMED.  THANK YOU FOR READING!

-REX

#rwby #rwby fanfiction #fast and furious

[youcouldmakealife]

Major PSA

You may have noticed I’ve been updating my series a little slower than usual, and falling behind on prompts, and being downright CAGEY about BTT, and also, why is every single thing the Scouts right now? (they are my support tweedles) I’ve written less than my typical monthly goal over the past two months. Which is a problem! One I was concerned about! But is actually not the problem but a symptom of a bigger issue I have been ignoring like I’m Jared Matheson and burnout is my ex-liney and close friend dating my own sister extremely obviously in the background of my life. (don't believe his POV, there have been literal discussions about this in front of him! Justice for Julius! Erin requests no justice, she's enjoying this.) Just a note: I’m going to be pretty candid with you all and I’m going to be slapping a big ol’ trigger warning on it for major depression, generalized anxiety, and burnout. I feel like a lot of people are in a similar boat right now, and really don’t want to read about it, so for you, here is a TLDR! TLDR; I need a break for my mental health, which means I’m not going to be posting any new material, and that’s going to last through April at minimum. I will be working on the publication of And Then, but I can’t be more precise re: timeline on that at this moment. If you order something via Paypal you'll receive it within 24 hours, but beyond that, I will pretty much be a ghost in these here parts for awhile

And for everybody who wants more info...

I feel awkward about this, because I’m a privileged person who knows I’ve been pretty lucky in comparison to many when it comes to how the last few years have gone. Like: here’s me about to talk about burnout when I know I have healthcare workers among my readers (I am so sorry we as a society have gone from pots and pans to…literally everything that followed the pots and pans), and I have had the luxury of working from home, being relatively healthy, not juggling childcare needs, etc etc.

I also probably feel super awkward because talking about mental health continues to be awkward! It’s improved so much since I was first diagnosed with depression 18 years ago (...that was a mindfuck to write), but there's still a stigma attached, and a sort of 'mental illness is a moral failing' misconception I've internalized and am still actively trying to dismantle in my own brain.

I kind of don’t have weekends? Or days off, really. I don’t really have a work-life balance, let alone a GOOD work-life balance. Which I do not think is unusual among creative types nor among those who are self-employed, but that also translates to your work being your life. Which leads to your emotions and your self-esteem and your identity becoming tied up in your output to the point that any time off becomes a source of guilt and shame so when awake you’re either working or you’re feeling guilty that you aren’t working. Which…sucks? It sucks.

God I feel like way too many people were nodding along with that bit.

Anyway that’s kind of a problem when you have depression (it is also a problem if you don’t have depression, for the record!). Because depressive episodes are not particularly thoughtful about you maintaining your productivity, and when your mental health and self-esteem is so closely interrelated to your work, well, that’s how you get into a depressive spiral. And I’ve had a few of those spirals over the past few years, some situational, and some just thanks to my good ol’ faulty brain chemistry. And I worked through them the best I could, and when I couldn’t work through them, I got behind on all my tasks and and then caught up on them when I could work again. Which was ‘literally as soon as I am able’ rather than ‘when I feel ready’. See: guilt.

I wasn’t resetting my batteries to 100%, or even 75%, I was hitting 30%, going ‘oh I’m in the orange instead of the red now!’ and then going right back to work, starting with tackling the backlog of work that had piled up because of the whole dead battery thing. I wasn’t getting a break, I was just catching my breath and then diving under again, now with MORE to do. And when I wasn’t working I was feeling defective for not working.

I’ve been writing off some pretty severe signs of burnout with thoughts like ‘just a depressive episode, only way out is through’ ‘it’s winter!’ and ‘I’m doomscrolling too much!’ and ‘have you SEEN the state of the world, Taylor?’, which: let’s be real, have you seen the state of the world?

But writing, which has often been a safe harbour from the world for me, has recently become a source of extreme anxiety. So now it’s slowly morphed into ‘maybe you shouldn’t hit the final arc of two series simultaneously, Taylor, ESPECIALLY while doing edits of a book for publication’ and ‘it’s really hard to take mental health leave when you’re your own boss but also maybe your boss needs some mental health leave too?’ and a little bit of ‘hey everyone, due to <EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD> I am burnt the fuck out and if I don’t take a break I may actually poison this entire universe I’ve been working on for the past decade and I don’t wanna do that because I love it a lot’.

The prevailing advice for burnout is ‘take a break’. And it’s good advice! It is advice I acknowledge is the right advice! It is advice I really need to take. Especially so I can note that the world does not, in fact, fall apart in my absence (it pauses! Literally! That’s what happens when you’re a writer. It’s neat.), and that taking some time to myself is not the end of the world (George R.R. Martin really must be either the most chill or most stressed human alive at this level of book overdue-ness, there really cannot be any in-between at this point).

And it is indeed a break! Intermission, if you will. Not even a long one. Seventh inning stretch. I will be back! Again I don’t know how long I need but I know myself, and I will get bored real fast, and I will probably return with my arms full of stuff I made for you all.

Or maybe empty-handed! I am already giving myself goals and tasks for my burnout break, I am extremely bad at this.

Thanks for sticking with me through my various adventures and misadventures in Writing to Make a Living (Don’t do a make a life pun don’t do it…)

I appreciate the hell out of you all, and will catch you on the flipside!

[wisteria-lodge]

Archetypes: Sorting Hat Chats

I’ve been asked about my rationale for naming different primary/ secondary combinations. I did this originally as a tool to help me sort characters - I wanted to see how these types tend to be used, so I could more easily see what subversions looked like. I'll run through my thoughts, but know there’s a lot of variation within each category. But even WITH that variation, I do think that each one has its own specific energy that makes it interesting to talk about. An explanation of the terms I'm using.

DOUBLE LION “THE REVOLUTIONARY”

Pretty straightforward. The Lion primary knows something is wrong, they know it in their bones even if they can’t articulate it, and they’ve got to go out and do something about it. Probably charging at whatever power structure is directly in front of them. It’s unlikely you find a character leading a revolution who isn’t a Double Lion. These guys are intense, inspirational, single minded.

The villain version of the Lion primary tends to be the person who “went too far" or "became the monster they were trying to fight.'' But I think that the much more interesting Lion primary villain trope is the Traitor. Since Lions work from their feelings, and their philosophies can’t necessarily be articulated or linked to individuals outside of them - they can definitely have their head turned while still feeling moral about it.

One of my favorite examples of this Revolutionary archtype is actually Christian Bale‘s character from Newsies. He’s the spark that starts the unionizing revolution, but 100% needs his Badger and Bird lieutenants to keep him focused and keep him from defecting

LION SNAKE “THE ROBIN HOOD”

These guys are similar to the Double Lion - they will recognize a cause or injustice revolutionary style - but Robin Hood doesn’t go up and bang on wicked Prince John’s door. His move is the snake secondary one: confront the problem indirectly. Undermine the regime by stealing tax money and re-distributing it to the poor. Be simultaneously Robin Hood the outlaw and Robin of Locksley the noble, infiltrating and getting information. The Lion Snake is more likely to work within society (or deliberately separate from society) versus just breaking everything down.

LION BIRD “THE LAWMAN / THE VIGILANTE”

The fact that the Lion Bird can either be the Lawman or the Vigilante shows off the very clear hero/villain split you get with Bird secondaries. We also see this with the Snake Bird (simultaneously the Mastermind and the traditional Villain) and the Double Bird (either the Scientist or the Mad Scientist.) This is why I think I had such trouble naming the Badger Bird. I wasn’t leaning into the duality of the Bird secondary enough. The Badger Bird can be the King Arthur, or he can be the Mob Boss, and he’ll look kind of similar either way.

The Lion Bird also has that Lion primary conviction and drive, but they want to follow up on it with investigation, evidence, and plans. I actually think there need to be more stories about Lawmen turning into Vigilantes and vice versa. Because Lion Birds are their Cause no matter what external alignment gets attached to it.

LION BADGER “THE LINCHPIN”

This is my own sorting - although when I came up with this name I still thought I was a Double Bird. The linchpin is the pin-axle thing at the center of a wheel that prevents the whole thing from falling apart, and I think it's a good way of talking about the energy of this combination. The Badger secondary means they’re a lot less single minded than the other Lion primaries: their power comes from being part of a group. They become the emotional “heart” a lot, and have a way of quietly keeping things together just by existing. They can be leaders, but a Double Lion will lead from up front while a Lion Badger will lead from in the middle (if that makes sense.)

I do think it’s really funny that this is a common sleeper villain trope. Peter Pettigrew, Prince Hans, and Randall Boggs of Monsters Inc. all became integral to a group, and then exploit their position within it. They’re kind of the evil bureaucrat. Maybe that's a good trope for children’s media

DOUBLE SNAKE “THE TRICKSTER”

This is another straightforward one. Double Snakes are in it for themselves (and maybe like three other people.) They're going to be clever and tricksy about how they get what they want, and will not mind doing things backward and unofficially. And they won't mind if you know that's what they're doing. There’s something very unapologetic about the Double Snake which makes for very attractive characters. They are consistently voted the sexiest... and when they’re villains they’re fun villains. You know what they want, and what they want is not that complicated. I think that’s a big reason for the appeal of Snake primaries in general. They’re the easiest primary to understand and explain.

SNAKE LION “THE LANCELOT”

I used to call these guys “The Rebel,” which... is too generic, doesn’t really mean anything. So I started thinking about the Lion secondary as the Knight secondary, and I liked that. Double Lions are the Crusader Knight, riding for their Cause. Bird Lions are Grail Knights, riding for their own personal truth. Badger Lions are Champion Knights, here to help the helpless and defend the innocent.

And if that's that case… Snake Lions have to be the Knight Errant, the knight who rides for his lady. It is that simple. Lancelot might be a Knight of the Round Table, but he’s riding for Arthur the person, not Arthur the King. And for his lady, Queen Guinevere. I feel like his dilemma is one that’s common to a lot of Snake Lions: what happens when they’re forced to split their loyalty? It’s tragic, but Lancelot can’t have Arthur and Guinevere simultaneously.

(At least not until my awesome Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot OT3 which I will totally write at some point :)

SNAKE BIRD “THE MASTERMIND / THE VILLAIN”

The classic. We see a little more of the Bird Secondary split, and well… this is your stereotypical villain. They want power. They’re going to use an elaborate plan to get it. There’s a lot you can do with this sorting, but I actually do think it’s fun that whatever you do, this slight undercurrent of villain and/or mastermind… never quite goes away.

SNAKE BADGER “THE LOVER”

The Love Interest sorting. Chances are very good that if there is a love interest (who does not serve some other role in the story...) they're going to be a Snake Badger. Devoted to one person, solving problems by caretaking. This is the Badger secondary who is likely to have the smallest group, which is just going to make them look excessively devoted to their friends. This type is pretty gender neutral, which is fun. A lot of female love interests, but also your Mr. Darcys and Peeta Mellarks.

One of my favorite things about this trope (mostly just because I think it’s funny...) is that if you write a character who is not supposed to be a love interest, but who is a Snake Badger... subconsciously I think people are going to read them as a love interest anyway. Looking at you Jaskier, Horatio, and even Captain Barbossa.

DOUBLE BIRD “THE [MAD] SCIENTIST”

I think that (especially if you aren’t a Bird Primary yourself) your response to hearing a fictional Bird Primary’s motivation is kind of …huh. That seems random. Or oddly specific. You get your Hannibal Lecters, whose entire motivation is... wanting to eat people while drinking nice wine.

Double birds seem especially unusual, just in terms of society. They are Bird secondaries and they interact with the world through gathering data, but their Bird primaries mean that data can literally lead them to any conclusion, no matter how potentially wacky. These guys consciously build themselves from the ground up, and that can make them kind of detached - either in a logical way, or an unmoored way. They're written as either really stable, the rational mentor figure. Or really... not. And that’s how you spot a Bird villain. They’re not after money/power/safety, they’re after something weird.

BIRD LION “THE GRAIL KNIGHT”

This is the trope of Perceval or Galahad, questing after the Holy Grail chalice... which is really just meaning, and truth. It’s a personal quest. Grail Knights tend to ride alone, and a lot of the things that concern them are metaphysical, to do with identity, purpose, things like that. You can have extremely different Bird Lions, but I do think there is a sort of spiritual core there. Doctor Harleen Quinzel sees freedom and truth in whatever the Joker is doing, and then once she recognizes his hypocrisy, has to go build her own meaning.

I actually think these guys are pretty easy to spot because of that Lion secondary. When they change direction, they change direction, and there’s probably a period of despair between the direction changes. I’ve talked about how Bird Lions having a habit of falling apart pretty dramatically, and that’s where this idea comes from.

BIRD BADGER “THE SURVIVOR”

A rare sorting, but an interesting one. I call this one “the Survivor” or “the Last Man Standing” because, well, they seem to be. They seem remarkably stable. This is the Bird primary least likely to be a villain, and maybe the sorting least likely to be a villain. I think what’s going on is that they are grounded and integrated in whatever community they happen to be in (because of that Badger secondary), but they can define themselves and rebuild themselves in the Bird primary way. This makes them uniquely suited to building a new version of themselves for whatever situation they happen to find themselves in.

Maybe a better name for these guys would be “The Adapter.”

BIRD SNAKE “THE ARTIST”

Like all Bird primaries, these guys are inspired by their own projects and their own worldview, but because of that Snake secondary, Bird Snakes have a more easy-going ‘take the world as it comes' kind of energy. They are “the Artist” because everything they do is art: they want to use themselves and the world around them, put all of that towards whatever their Bird primary happens to be interested in.

You can have villains like the Nolan Joker, or the Talented Mr. Ripley, who kind of turn the world into their own personal philosophical social experiment. Or Scotty from Star Trek whose meaning is solely the well-being of the Enterprise. Maybe they just like traveling, and that's all they need. (It's a way for the Bird primary and the Snake secondary exist very happily together, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was pretty common.)

DOUBLE BADGER “THE PEACEMAKER”

Badgers are interesting, because while I think they’re generally regarded as “correct,” they’re also seen as kind of boring. That’s the case with both Badger primaries and Badger secondaries, which means it is doubly reflected in the Double Badger. They often get written as simplistic, the sweet Jane Bennet type who loves everybody and caretakes everybody and just wants everybody to get along.

They are often the targets of what TV Tropes used to call “Break the Cutie.” What could be more interesting than making this character, who wants to be happily part of a community, be forced to build protective models, be all tortured and angsty? I actually think we’re seeing a return of the Double Badger as an interesting character in their own right, with people like Aziaphale, and I'm here for it.

BADGER LION “THE PROTAGONIST”

What can I say? There are a lot of protagonists that are Badger Lions. They want to help the group - so we know they're the good guys - and then they charge and make stuff happen. Lion secondaries are very useful in fiction - you drop them into a situation and stuff just happens. I also think of this as the Starfleet officer sorting - because if you’re a Starfleet officer, either you are the sorting, or can model it really well.

I will say that this is kind of the stock Protagonist sorting, the way that the Snake Badger is the stock love interest and the Snake Bird is the stock villain. There’s just something sort of generic good guy about this one, which is why I want to see it used as a villain sorting more. Badger villains - mostly people who define ‘human’ very narrowly - are insanely terrifying.

BADGER SNAKE “THE ADVISOR”

Possibly “the Power Behind the Throne.” This is another one I had difficulty pinning down. I called it “the Politician” for a while, which unfortunately came off as a little bit more negative than I meant it to, since I think this sorting has a lot in common with Lion Badger, the linchpin of a heroic team. The difference is that Lion Badger takes on that role kind of unconsciously, while the Badger Snake does it very consciously.

Their loyalty is to the group, but their skill set is all about subversion and different ways of going around the group, which is why there’s an interesting contradiction at the heart of Badger Snake. A lot of real life Badger Snakes struggle with feeling like “bad people" and it's too bad. These guys are ridiculously powerful and competent when they are sure of themselves, and I love seeing them in action

BADGER BIRD “THE KING / THE MOB BOSS”

Another difficult one, despite (or because) I really like them. I was calling them “the Architect” because “The City Planner” sounded too boring… but that’s what they do. They’re all about the community but they problem-solve the way all Bird secondaries do, by prepping, and gathering knowledge. I talked more about this in the Lion Bird entry, but Bird secondary seems to have this villain split going on, and that’s what I see here too. This is a controversial love-them-or-hate-them sorting, and I think that’s why. There’s a lot of room in whether or not you see this sorting as villainous.

#sortinghatchats #masterpost #wisteria sorts #archetypes #writing #long post

[bumblesimagines]

Protect Him

Request; Yes or No

Wanda is apparently 28 in WandaVision so Imma keep her age 28-32 while (Y/N) is 19-24.

Also disclaimer: She might be ooc but that's probs cause I only remember edgy Wanda lmao. I also haven't seen a Marvel movie in like a year.

~

Wanda felt a soft breeze blow by, strands of her red hair swaying along. She watched with a gentle gaze as people walked or jogged. The park always had people around but it wasn't overly crowded. She could hear the sound of cars behind her, occasionally honking. Wanda felt empty. Vision was gone. Right when they had began their life together in Europe. Wanda felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. She inhaled sharply, quickly wiping away any tears when someone sat beside her.

"Coffee?" Wanda blinked, turning her head as she sniffled softly. Her gaze locked onto the coffee cup, reaching out and gently taking it. She looked at the young man, sitting beside her, lips parting.

"Why?"

"You seem down." He shrugged lightly, looking forward, watching the lake water sparkle from the sunlight hitting it. Wanda noticed the name written on the cup. '(Y/N)'.

"Wanda, right?" (Y/N) looked at her, head tilting. Wanda nodded slowly, eyeing the young man next to her. Her guard was up.

"I've never met a superhero before." (Y/N) said, looking back at the lake.

"I wouldn't call myself a hero." Wanda mumbled, leaning back against the bench. Her finger gently tapped against the cup, wondering if it was drugged or poisoned. She could always use her powers but she didn't want to be seen by other civilians.

"Why not? Saving people makes you a hero by default. Even if some of the Avengers are terrorists, mass murderers, and automatically can't be trusted cause they work for the government." (Y/N) shrugged lightly, chuckling softly. Wanda let a small smile slip, looking forward.

"Sorry for your losses." (Y/N) added, licking his lips and softly sighing. Wanda hummed gently, shoulders relaxing. She finally raised the cup to her lips, taking a sip. The coffee had gotten a bit cold but Wanda didn't mind.

"What brings you here?" (Y/N) asked gently, taking a sip from his coffee as well. Wanda inhaled deeply, eyes shutting briefly.

"I come here to think, I suppose." Wanda answered, unsure with her response. (Y/N) seemed to notice but didn't comment.

"The park is a good place for that. If you don't mind honking and barking." He chuckled softly, shifting slightly to face her. Wanda's gaze dropped to the ground. (Y/N) watched her saddened expression.

"Wanna talk about it?" (Y/N) asked, tilting his head. "We don't have to but.. You can talk and I'll listen."

"I.." Wanda began, glancing at him. She shifted to face him as well, placing her cup down infront of her. The bench was sturdy enough that the coffee wouldn't tip over.

"I miss Vision a lot.. He understood me. He cared for me. He and Natasha were friends of mine and.. They didn't even get a statue or a big memorial like Tony did. They were just as important as him. I'm angry and hurt and.. I lost the love of my life. I watched him die twice and I couldn't save him.." Wanda let out a soft whimper, letting her tears fall freely as her heart ached.

"I should've been more aware.. Maybe.. Maybe if I had done something or- or been quicker, he would still be here. I should've protected him." Wanda sniffled, sobs escaping her as she covered her face with her hands and cried. (Y/N) reached out, gently touching her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. (Y/N) placed the coffee cup between them elsewhere, scooting closer and giving her a proper hug. She was clearly still grieving and in need of comfort.

"You don't have to be alone in this, Wanda. You don't have to hold everything in until you can't anymore." (Y/N) whispered softly, gently rubbing her back. She sympathized with her. Being a hero had its pros but it had its cons as well. Being a hero meant knowing your family was always in constant danger of being targeted. He could only imagine what it must've been like to watch someone he cared about die twice.

"There's something I do when I'm overwhelmed.. Probably isn't good to do it here but if you want, I can take you somewhere you can." (Y/N) said, pulling back and gently wiping the tears away from her soft skin. Wanda sniffled, brows slightly furrowing. She swallowed, giving a small nod. If anything were to happen, she had the upperhand with her powers. They stood up, throwing away their cold coffees and walking away. The dogs that passed by put Wanda at ease as they went over to a car. Wanda hesitantly got in, buckling in. (Y/N) did the same, driving out of the parking space.

"Are you from Edinburgh?" Wanda asked softly, turning her head to look at him. She hadn't noticed a scottish accent from him but didn't want to assume. (Y/N) licked his lips, chuckling softly as he shook his head.

"You're asking if I was born here, the answer's no. I'm from New York City. I decided to become a.. Nomad after you and your hero friends destroyed the city for like the twelfth time but I decided to calm down and chill for a year or two." (Y/N) explained, giving her a small smile. Wanda hummed, understanding why'd he want to leave. She left for a good reason. To get away from the chaos and guilt. The only person she kept in contact with was Clint. They were each other's rocks. They both knew how it felt to watch someone they loved die. Wanda noticed they were heading away from the city.

"I promise I'm not kidnapping you. We can get donuts after this." (Y/N) said, noticing some uneasiness. (Y/N) pulled into a trail, parking and motioning out. He got out of the car, followed by Wanda. (Y/N) walked forward until there was a clearing and a field. Wanda smiled softly, looking over the field. Everything felt calming. The sound of the birds and wind russling leaves relaxed her.

"I like to go to the middle of the field and just scream. I found this place when I first came here. It's pretty nice to let everything out without hurting anyone." (Y/N) told her, giving her a small nudge. Wanda slowly walked towards the middle, feeling the grass gently prickle her fingers. She stood in the middle and inhaled, eyes closing. She let out a scream, her powers unknowingly making an energy wave. Luckily, it wasn't a big one but it didn't cause some birds to flee in a panic. The grass around her flattened, her hands glowing a bright red. (Y/N) was glad he hadn't gone with her to the middle. Once she couldn't scream anymore, Wanda gently panted, eyes opening as she scanned her surrondings. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Wanda felt lighter. She heard laughing, turning her head as (Y/N) walked towards her.

"That was incredible to watch. Feel any better?" (Y/N) asked, giving her a smile. Wanda nodded, watching him. She felt like she could finally breathe. Her gaze softened as she looked (Y/N) over. Wanda didn't want to lose him either. She was beginning to get attached.

"I'm willingly to share my secret screaming spot." (Y/N) said, giggling softly after. Wanda smiled, cheeks gently flushing as she chuckled and nodded.

"Thank you." She breathed out. Maybe, she could finally have someone who she could protect and keep safe, no matter the cost.

#x reader #x you #x y/n #x male reader #x male!reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x male reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x y/n #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel x male reader #marvel x you #marvel x y/n

[stxleslyds]

You always seem down on the idea of the Batfam. I mean, it is hard to take seriously when writers make Bruce hostile or downright abusive towards his kids, or when Batfam members never interact. But do you think the concept itself is good, and it's just been the victim of bad writing? Or do you think the Batfam is a bad idea that can never work?

Hi there Anon! Thank you for the ask!

Hmm, this is a difficult question. Maybe I can answer this better if I do it in parts because the concept of “Batfamily” is used in different ways currently. A way to separate them can be, DC’s Batfamily, Fandom’s Batfamily and Fandom’s Batfamily lore being introduced in comics’ canon.

DC’s Batfamily:

My rejection of this version of Batfamily comes from all angles, it is not a good concept within comics lore anymore, it’s badly written and used to hide and move on from truly horrendous actions done by Bruce towards the rest of the family, and DC uses the concept of “Batfamily” that fandom has become so attached to, so they can profit off of it without writing anything of real essence with it.

Why did I say that the Batfamily isn’t a good concept anymore? Well, because the Batfamily that I first came across in comics included, Bruce, Dick, Alfred, Barbara, Tim and Cassandra. It was rather small and their books interconnected and had pretty solid relationships with one another. Dick and Tim got along and spent time together, Barbara mentored Cass so she could become Batgirl and so on and so forth. The family was smaller and more connected. But they still had problems and bad habits then. So, I liked them as a group of people that worked together and the name they received was “Batfamily” as a way for DC to profit from it.

Right now, the Batfamily is huge, I don’t know if you have seen those splash pages with all the members of it for Rebirth and Infinite Frontier, but those promotional pages were crazy big, characters like Harley and Clownhunter are now considered part of the “Batfamily” and all that. Then there is the kind of characters like Cass, Steph and Kate who are all connected to Batman but that haven’t been appearing in books for very long, so putting them on that page really feels like DC is trying to prove that their “Batfamily” actually has women on it, but it’s just for show.

And then there is Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian, the most recognizable faces of the Batfamily aside from Bruce and Alfred (but Alfred is dead now so he doesn’t really count), all of them have had issues with Bruce or are indifferent to the existence of one another. Yes, Tom Taylor has included Tim in Dick’s book but here is the thing, it feels like he put him there just to make fans shut up about the lack of content with both of them acting as they used to do. But its false and lazy, Taylor just brought Tim to the book but we don’t get to see Tim and Dick interact in ways that can explain why they drifted off, it kinda seems like all those years where Dick and Tim were pulled apart never happened to DC and that makes me think “cash grab”. I would have loved to see them interact again if it meant that we would have some solid story for them to develop their relationship once more.

At the end of Rebirth, Damian was pissed off at Bruce and they had a fight and Damian left the manor completely. Bruce beat up Jason, then gave him a hug but still told him that he was banned from Gotham and all that abuse and manipulation was swept under the rug when DC came out with Urban Legends: Cheer, all they did with that story is lie and made-up stories about Jason wanting Bruce to go on a killing spree so Gotham can finally be the home to his beloved family (lies, lies, lies).

On top of all that we have the neglect, abuse and manipulation that Bruce had going on with Dick, ever since Bruce manipulated Dick into joining Spyral his actions haven’t faced any consequences (the family still believes that Dick was the one who lied about dying). And as recently as the end of Rebirth, Dick suffered from a head injury that left him amnesiac and Bruce absolutely didn’t care enough to look after him when he was so vulnerable and alone. DC had the audacity of having Bruce say that he was looking after Dick while Dick went from one villain manipulating and hurting him to another, and if we look at Batman’s run, we can see that he spent some of that time in a weird pit or playing catch the pussy with Selina in a tropical island.

So, taking all those things into account, I honestly believe that the Batfamily is a concept that absolutely does not belong in comics. If it were to be taken seriously then DC should come up with (organic, not forced) stories that make these characters connect once again, but they have to be careful, just because they can connect it doesn’t mean that everyone gets along and they have group chats and eat dinner together of Fridays, that would be a blatant lie and just too out there for their kind of dynamic, so, they should take things slow, start re-building what once was an make it better (if they want to make it work and feel like less of a cash grab).

I heard that there is a book with Cass and Steph being mentored as Batgirls by Barbara coming out in December, that to me is a good thing, what was done in Robin #5 was awful, Jason didn’t have or want to be there, Tim, what the hell was Tim doing there? The only ones that have gotten along with Damian and have had a solid relationship with him were Dick and Steph. Dick had a very nice moment with Damian in that issue, but Steph didn’t, they preferred to have Jason wanting to hug Damian instead (what the actual hell was that?).

Fandom’s Batfamily:

Fandom is a place where people can take any concept from anywhere and transform it into whatever they please. This fandom is just like any other in that matter, but I have noticed that sometimes the Batfamily Fandom tends to blur the lines between what’s fanon and canon. Their lore is so deep and established among people that they sometimes (willingly or not) make new readers or other people believe that how things and perceived in fandom is how things actually are in comics, and that is a huge problem.

Things like “Dick sent Jason to Arkham when the Joker was just a cell away”, “Jason has pit madness and when he gets mad his eyes turn glowy green”, “Dick was a horrendous brother to Jason before Jason died”, “Jason would be good friends with Tim and Cass”, “Jason is the only one that sees the world differently from Bruce and the other robins because he is the only one that comes from a life with no luxury” and so on and on and on…

All of those things are sometimes treated as the absolute truth by fandom and no matter how many times people have debunked and explained that those things aren’t part of comics’ canon because they are simply not true, fandom stills treats those things as the basis of their Batfamily lore.

That lore would be actually fascinating if people didn’t lose sight so easily of the fact that at the end of the day none of that lore can be applied to comics’ canon.

When you enter this fandom things can be extremely confusing and the way some of the characters are characterized are completely different to their canon characterizations, I knew that the Dick fandom was writing about was not real, but I had no idea that Tim being a coffee addict that hasn’t slept in five months and is an absolute genius in everything and anything that he does was completely out of character for him, I just thought that was true to his character in comics too. Something like that happened to me when I took a peek at Jason’s side of fandom, by that time I had read Red Hood/Arsenal, UtRH and New 52 RHatO (yeah in that order, Red Hood/Arsenal wasn’t finished yet though), with the already conflicting characterizations of those books, the first look that I had at fandom’s Jason confused me even more. After considering all those I decided that the Jason that I wanted to see and actually looked appealing to me was UtRH Jason.

Not all people in fandom read comics and that is ABSOLUTELY VALID, I have zero problems with people not liking the comic characterizations of the “Batfamily” characters, but that in itself also creates a rift between fans themselves.

Fandom’s Batfamily lore being introduced in comics’ canon:

This is obviously the intersection of the other two points and this is the biggest problem that I have with the Batfamily concept. The fandom lore has been leaking into comic’s canon for a while now but right now we are kinda drowning in it. Decisions that have been made recently in DC like, Jason giving up his guns, the group chats in Nightwing issues, the family dinners that were hinted at in Cheer #6, and Bruce having had at the ready a Red Hood suit for Jason with a Batman logo in its chest, have been proof enough that DC is planning on skipping any kind of solid writing for these characters to actually get along. We are never going to see these people sit down and talk about their differences and respect each other’s work ethics.

We are never going to get stories of actual essence that prove that these characters understand and care for each other, we are just going to be told that “all is good” and now everyone loves one another and they will build from there.

That is a problem for me.

-

And it also takes away duality from Gotham’s vigilantes, I know I say this too much but it’s the truth, putting all these characters under the ruling of Batman makes them all bland. Jason shouldn’t be part of any sort of group that involves Bruce! My god, I don’t want to see them interact anymore! Bruce has been absolute trash to Jason ever since he came back from the dead and I am tired of DC trying to make them be on good terms!

Jason and Bruce not getting along can co-exist with the fact that Jason isn’t a villain to Batman’s legendary hero. Jason is his own character, with his own morals and he doesn’t need a bat symbol on his chest or book logo to be relevant. Same with Dick, Tim and Barbara, let them be characters that can stand on their own because they have already done that!

Barbara as Oracle worked WITH Batman if she wanted, she had her own logo and had passed on the mantle of Batgirl because he had grown out of it.

Dick is Nightwing and has become an even better hero than Batman could even aspire to become, he has contacts with everyone in the DC universe, has led countless teams, he doesn’t NEED a batman logo on his book or to be constantly dragged back to him just to make the Bat more compelling.

Jason, my sweet Jason, he had his own logo! It was gorgeous and then Lobdell had the audacity to stamp a Batman logo in the middle of the book name and in Jason’s chest! Have we gone absolutely mad? Why did they do that? Lobdell’s constant back and forth with Jason and his feelings for Bruce, he respects him and he doesn’t, he kills and he doesn’t… each issue felt like a new take on the character! It was crazy!

And that has happened with everyone in the “family”. I will end this by saying that Bruce/Batman being at the centre of this “Batfamily” dynamic is the most laughable thing in the DC Universe. Batman isn’t family to any of the people that they constantly surround him with, he is a piece of shit.

Anyway Anon, I hope this answer doesn’t ruin your day and that you understand that even though I really don’t like the “Batfamily” concept, you and everyone else are allowed and encouraged to think differently!

Hope you have a marvellous day Anon!

#jason todd #red hood #dick grayson #nightwing #tim drake #damian wayne #batfamily #batfam #dc comics #asksss

[ncssian]

A Favor: Part Twenty

Nessian Modern AU

Masterlist

a/n: sorry for the wait yall this month really kicked my ass,, but also we reached part 20!!

tw infertility discussion

***

Gwyn: isn’t he beautiful <3

In the freezing February air outside the tea house, Nesta clicks on the picture attached to Gwyn’s text. It’s a distant shot of a man in his mid-thirties hunched over a library desk while working, unaware that there’s a camera on him. She’ll give it to Gwyn, though—he is a little handsome.

Emerie: the stalker levels are through the roof, gwyneth. seek help.

Gwyn: no i’m gonna marry him

Nesta doesn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned, but she types out a brief response before her thumbs fall off from the cold: Will give my opinion on him later. Got to go.

Gwyn’s crush will have to wait, Nesta thinks as she finally puts her phone away and pushes her way inside the exquisite tea house. Immediately, blasting heat thaws her frozen fingers and toes, and farther inside she spots the table she reserved for three. Right now, only one person sits at it.

Nesta grits her teeth and approaches the round table, heels clicking softly on the parquet floors. Elain doesn’t look up from the menu she’s reading. “This place would be nicer to visit in the spring,” is her only acknowledgment of Nesta.

“I like the winter,” Nesta answers simply, taking her seat across from Elain. She likes how the ice creeps over the garden outside until everything looks frozen in time, and she likes how the colorful flowers and trees become dulled by white snow. Not that her sister would understand or care.

“Of course you do,” Elain mutters, setting down the menu with all the careful elegance of a debutante. “I’m only here for Feyre, anyway.”

It almost saddens Nesta that she doesn’t feel hurt or offense at the words. She thought she would care more about Elain’s opinion than she actually does. “Where is Feyre, then?” she says, looking pointedly at the empty seat between them. “I thought she was coming with you.”

“I’m right here,” a breathless voice says, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps. Feyre appears, looking flushed from exertion and the cold. She sets her bag down and joins them at the table, scooting her seat all the way in. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Nesta bites. “I was just about to order.”

“So was I.” Elain smiles breezily.

Feyre glances between the two of them, clear concern on her face, but she covers it up and says, “I’m so glad we’re doing this.”

It was Feyre’s idea, of course. After Nesta told her off for never being interested in what she wanted to do, Feyre actually listened. She asked if Nesta wanted to hang out, and then let Nesta fill in the rest of the details on her own terms.

Which brings them to the tea house. Unfortunately for her sisters, however, Nesta doesn’t really know where to go from ordering tea and biscuits.

“How is school going?” Feyre asks her after their drinks arrive.

Nesta sips from her tea, already bored. “It’s been fifteen minutes and you have yet to say anything of substance, Feyre. It makes me miss being alone with Elain and her mood.”

Feyre looks taken aback, and Elain levels a glare at Nesta. An unsurprised, of course you have to ruin everything like this glare.

So Nesta clarifies, “That wasn’t an attack. I just hoped that after driving out here, I would get something better than shallow small talk.”

“And how do you know it was shallow?” Elain steps in harshly. “How do you know she isn’t actually interested in how you’re doing at school?”

Nesta slides blunt blue eyes to Feyre. “If that’s the case, then I commend you. Personally, I wouldn’t give a shit if I was in your position.”

To her surprise, Feyre snorts. She looks resigned when she says, “No, you’re right. I don’t care about what’s going on at school, not if you don’t. What would you rather we talk about then, Nesta?”

Without hesitation, Nesta says, “Ask me something you really care to hear the answer to.”

Elain shuts her mouth and sits back at that. Feyre twists her lips, thinking her next words over carefully. “How is your therapy going?” she finally asks in a cautious tone. “What do you talk about there?”

Remembering that she’s in a formal setting, Nesta stops herself from crossing her arms. She settles on wrapping her fingers delicately around her teacup instead. “We talk about whatever I feel like talking about,” she answers honestly. Although lately her conversations with Lana feel more restrained than usual.

“And what’s that?” Feyre urges.

Nesta shrugs, fitting apathy onto her face like an old mask. “Recently? Childbearing.” But it isn’t her favorite topic of discussion, not at all.

“You’re pregnant?” Elain jumps in, leading Nesta to throw her an unamused look.

“No, idiot,” she says. “My therapist just has the idea that if I end up being infertile it’ll screw me up, mentally and emotionally and whatever. She thinks I should deal with that baggage now instead of saving it for later.” She rolls her eyes thinking about it. How many times does she have to repeat that she doesn’t care about her body’s reproductive abilities until Lana gets it?

Feyre chuckles, confused. “Why would you be infertile?”

Nesta forgot—she didn’t want her sisters knowing anything that has to do with her health. She even made Cassian keep her doctor visits secret from Feyre. But that was months ago, and the sisters are… not exactly in a better place now, but looking for the way there. Nesta thinks she can tell them without any severe regrets. “I have endometriosis.”

When she’s met with silence, she adds, “You know, with the tissue growing on my ovaries and stuff. It might affect all the babies I don’t care to have in the future.”

Elain is the first to speak. “You always wanted to be a mother.” Her voice is soft, almost mourning. It irritates the hell out of Nesta.

“No, I didn’t,” she snaps back.

“You did,” Elain insists. Feyre still hasn’t said anything. “You took care of our cat, Mittens, until the day she died. You taught Feyre her alphabet. You raised me when Mama and Papa were too busy to do it. You never carried dolls around in strollers or anything, but you loved being a mother.”

“I don’t remember any of this,” Feyre says, blinking. “I’m sorry, can we go back to the endometriosis part?”

Nesta sips from her tea, the bitter taste a welcome distraction from Elain’s words. “What about it?”

“How long have you known?” Feyre demands.

“It isn’t cancer. And I’m getting treated, obviously. I’m fine.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Nesta sighs, setting her cup down. “October. Cassian made me go to the doctor because he was worried about my periods, we had a big fight about health insurance, and now I use my salary from your boyfriend to afford medication so I don’t feel like dying every month. Is that everything you wanted to hear?”

Feyre only stares at her, for once revealing no emotion. “I keep forgetting,” she says finally, “that we’re not at a place to share things like that with each other. I keep being surprised every time I realize how much of your life you keep from us.”

“I don’t,” Elain huffs under her breath while she tears a croissant in half.

Nesta is still watching Feyre. “You remember how bad my cycles were? I would cry loud enough at night to wake the house.”

Feyre flinches at the memory, and Elain goes still.

“But no one ever woke up,” Nesta says. They never talked about it before, and she has no desire to keep speaking about it now. If they start to tally all the hurts they’ve dealt to each other, Nesta fears they’ll be here for hours. Worse, she fears she will lose.

She reaches for a lavender macaron and delicately pulls it apart, studying the cream filling inside. “Did you know they make these using the lavender flowers from the garden outside?”

“I hate lavender,” Elain says.

Spying her chance to shift the subject off herself, Nesta goes for it. “Because Azriel smells like lavender?” She pushes one half of the dainty cookie past her lips, chewing. “It’s an interesting cologne choice, I agree.”

“Wait, what are we talking about now?” Feyre looks around, unaware that they’ve moved onto another topic.

Elain’s innocent brown eyes turn into daggers pointed at Nesta, betrayal written across her face. Nesta feels no pity for her—especially not if they’re going to sit around judging each other for keeping secrets.

Feyre’s eyes widen and she turns to Elain. “Is it about your,” she lowers her voice and whispers, “crush?”

Nesta raises a skeptical brow. She doubts whatever Az and Elain have stops at just a crush.

“No, it’s not,” Elain answers determinedly. “God, do you have to bring men into everything, Nesta?”

“I think you’re projecting.”

“Quit it,” Feyre snaps at the both of them. “Or I’ll grab my things and leave.”

Do it, Nesta almost dares. But she has a feeling that Feyre means it, that she won’t submit to being taunted, so Nesta reins the words back from the tip of her tongue. After all, this tea is expensive.

The sisters take a moment to settle, and Feyre is the one to restart the conversation. “Either way,” she tells Nesta, “it looks like counseling is going really well for you. I’m glad.”

“Yeah, it really gives your skin a certain glow,” Elain drawls.

Nesta doesn’t rise to meet her sarcasm. In all seriousness, Elain and Feyre could probably use a therapist themselves. It might make Nesta’s interactions with them less headache-inducing.

“You should visit one day,” she throws the suggestion out without thinking.

“What, like a therapy session?” Feyre says.

Realizing the implications of her terrible idea, Nesta forces herself not to backpedal. “Yes,” she makes herself grit out. “If you’re interested, that is.”

Elain and Feyre share a glance of hesitation and concern. It’s a glance that grates on Nesta’s nerves, but she keeps her mouth shut and waits for a response.

Feyre answers first: “We’ll do it.”

Elain looks more doubtful, but seems to realize that refusing to go would paint her in a negative light. We can’t have that, can we? Nesta thinks wryly. She reaches for some macarons and starts stuffing them into her purse. “Sounds good. Great.” It is not at all great. Having her sisters in the same room as her and Lana might just be terrible enough to ruin Nesta’s next month or two.

“I’ll text you the details whenever I feel like it,” she tells Feyre and Elain as she rises out of her seat. Likely not for as long as possible.

“Where are you going?” Elain demands.

“I’m leaving.” Nesta pointedly drapes her coat over her shoulders, picking up her purse. “I have plans for the rest of the day, sorry.” Plans to get home and rate Gwyn’s work crush on a scale of one to ten. Maybe she’ll rewatch a sitcom if she has time.

“But it’s only been an hour,” Feyre protests.

Did Feyre think they would be spending the whole day together? Nesta wants to shudder at the mere idea of it, but she somehow… feels bad for her sister. “Maybe another time,” she promises vaguely. To provide some sort of reassurance, she adds, “I had fun today. Thanks for pulling this together.” The words are hollow, fake, and she’s probably a hypocrite for not being able to return the same sincerity she demanded from Feyre. But honesty isn’t going to get Nesta very far today, so this false politeness is the best she can manage.

Elain looks somewhat relieved, and Feyre looks disappointed but unsurprised. “Alright.” The girls nod at her. “Get home safe.”

She turns and leaves as soon as she’s given the green light.

A stale scent greets Nesta when she enters her apartment, reminding her that she hasn’t been around in days. In her defense, the winter months are easier to bear in Cassian’s heated cabin than in a poorly insulated basement.

Flicking the lights on, Nesta books it to the thermostat, her teeth nearly chattering out of her body. After turning the heat as high as it can go, she climbs beneath the covers of her bed without bothering to take her coat off. She doesn’t take out her phone to text the groupchat like she promised she would. She doesn’t even get her laptop to turn Netflix on. Rather, her focus is caught on the framed picture of her and Cassian sitting atop the dresser.

Everything was okay as she stepped out of the tea house. It wasn’t until she was inside her car that it came upon her: the whirlwind of emotions that had stayed so carefully hidden while she chatted with her sisters. All throughout the drive home, her mind kept returning to that one topic. Children.

Elain said that Nesta used to genuinely enjoy playing substitute mother when they were children, and she was right. But that was all fun and games, like playing teacher. What Elain left out was what happened after their actual mother died and their father went into debt, leaving all three girls in need of a parent figure. Nesta wasn’t a mother then—or at least, not a good one.

Now, she stares at the picture full of smiley cheeks and windblown hair, remembering the night that she realized she wanted to hold Cassian’s hand in hers.

She can’t imagine Cassian not wanting kids. They’ve never discussed it, but it’s so obvious to anyone who’s ever met him: he has too much love to give away to not one day end up with a whole brood of children. The thought makes Nesta’s stomach churn.

***

“Thanks again, guys.” Cassian shakes hands with his team as they file out of the conference room, all of them dressed professionally while he lingers in his hoodie. As soon as the last worker is out the door, he pulls out his phone, ready to shoot Nesta a message. She met up with her sisters alone today for the first time in a year, and he can’t wait any longer to find out if their brunch ended in a fight or not.

He clicks on his phone to find two texts from his brother, sent not too long ago.

Rhys: You’re in the office today for the monthly check-in, right?

Rhys: Don’t leave after the meeting is over. I’ll be there in an hour to introduce you to the new guy heading the Milan project.

Cassian frowns, confused. Rhys and the new guy are coming all the way up here to meet him? He didn’t know he was that important to the project.

While he waits for his unexpected guests, Cassian texts Nesta twice, and only receives a single short response saying she got home safe. Resolving to call and have a real conversation with her later, he gets up to change into the spare buttondown and pressed slacks he keeps in a locker in his office. If Rhys wants him to play the part of company boss, then he might as well look the part.

He’s adjusting the cuffs of his dark-colored shirt when the door to his office opens without warning, and Rhysand strides in followed by a stiff-looking young man.

Cassian eyes the stranger up and down first, trying to get a read on him the way he’s seen Nesta and Rhys read others. He doesn’t come up with a single thing, as usual, but he hopes he achieved his goal of looking intimidating.

“Cass,” Rhys greets him with a subdued nod, in full CEO mode. “This is our new hire, Keith O’Connell. I snagged him from right under Vanserra & Co.’s noses.” His near-violet eyes gleam with pride. “He’s going to be working out of Milan for us starting this summer.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cassian smiles lazily, and this is something he doesn’t need to fake—confidence. He reaches out to shake Keith’s hand. “Hi. I’m Cassian Madani.”

“Good to meet you.” The other man shakes back, but his grip is too tight, like he’s trying to break Cassian’s hand. Try-hard, a voice that sounds like Nesta tells him. Uses arrogance to cover up his insecurity.

Cassian takes it all into account as he pulls his hand away, seeing Keith through clearer eyes. His dark brown hair is slicked back with copious amounts of hair product, and a shrewd black gaze takes in every detail of the office. He stands like he’s attempting to seem taller than he actually is.

A typical white-collar worker looking for a way up the corporate ladder, Cassian concludes. Nothing he hasn’t seen before, but there must be a reason Rhys is so excited about him.

“Keith is starting here at your branch next week,” Rhys is saying when Cassian refocuses.

He blinks, unsure if he heard correctly. “What, all the way out here?” Away from Velaris in this modest mountain town?

“We agreed it was best if you two work together as closely as possible while preparing for the summer launch. Since you can’t come to Velaris, that means Keith comes here.”

Cassian looks at Rhys in astonishment. He thought that once he rejected the Milan position, he’d cleaned his hands of the job for good. Clearly he was wrong. “Just how involved am I going to be on this project?”

Rhys grins back at him. “You’ll lead from home base, of course.”

Cassian glares. Rhys responds with a look that says they’ll talk about this later.

Keith seems to find the idea of working alongside another person as distasteful as Cassian finds it unexpected, but he says anyway, “I can’t wait to start working together. I have a lot of ideas for the Italian outpost that I think you’ll appreciate.”

“I’m sure I will,” Cassian hums. “When do you start again?”

“Next Monday.”

“Then we should talk then.” Cassian gestures out the door. Keith looks taken aback, likely having expected more out of this meeting. But Cassian can’t meet with this guy until he gets a hold of what the fuck is going on. After shepherding Keith out of the office and shutting the door after him, he turns to Rhys with a raised brow.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Rhys warns. “Your role in this project is serious.”

“This project isn’t even part of my job description. What am I supposed to know about international business conductions?”

“You know enough to keep an eye on that O’Connell kid for me.” Rhys leans against Cassian’s desk as if it’s his own and crosses his feet. “He’s an asset to the company, but he also worked for our competitors up to a couple of months ago. I can’t trust him to manage this thing on his own, and I don’t have the time or resources right now to watch over him myself. That’s why the duty falls to you.”

“I manage security,” Cassian states, in case it wasn’t obvious. “What about Az?”

“Az has his own things to handle.” Rhys waves him off. “Just do what I tell you to, will you? Pay attention to O’Connell for the duration of the Italy venture and make sure he doesn’t steer our ship off course. You’ll get paid triple for the extra hours.”

“I don’t need triple,” Cassian grumbles, but Rhys is no longer listening. He’s typing on his phone and already heading for the door.

“Feyre and I are having dinner here before heading back home,” he calls over his shoulder. “See you later; I believe in you!” The door shuts after him, leaving Cassian alone.

“Yeah, yeah,” he replies to the empty room.

Cassian leaves not long after Rhysand does, having no excuse to linger. Outside, he’s greeted with a surprise leaning against the hood of his truck.

Nesta pushes off the hood as soon as he catches notice of her. “Long day?” she asks.

He laughs for the first time all afternoon, the sound surprised and genuine. “I was just thinking about you.”

“That’s why I’m here. I heard your thoughts.” There’s a light in her pale eyes that only burns whenever she looks at him. It’s the same light that powers her ability to make jokes and let her guard down around him in a way she can’t with most others, and Cassian is especially grateful for it today.

Nesta reaches out and takes his hand into hers. He watches the way their palms fit together in endless fascination, his brown fingers a stark contrast against her white ones. He squeezes once and looks back up at her. “How did meeting your sisters go? You never told me.”

The light flickers so briefly Cassian wonders if it’s a trick of his eyes. But then Nesta is there again, at full brightness. She squeezes his hand back. “Take me home. I’ll tell you all about it.”

***

a/n: i love writing stuff related to cassian’s job i’ll just be throwing random words in there and calling it business jargon

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