#I feel like there had to have been a subtler way for him to do that

[tantamounttoflirtation]

I keep forgetting how funny the whole "did you just smell me" scene is until I watch it again. Its dead fucking silent and Hannibal comes up behind Will, looks him up and down, and slowly and hesitantly leans in to smell him like he's a glass of fine wine. And then he looks away all awkward when he's caught. Like bro what did you expect to happen???

#h talks #I giggle every time #hes a normal guy who does normal things . so normal #he doesn't know how to act around his crush #I feel like there had to have been a subtler way for him to do that #like idk take Will's coat and smell it when he's not looking. or offer the man a damn hug #anyways hes so silly #nbc hannibal #Hannigram #Hannibal #me when I lean in to sniff my boybestfriend

[luveline]

hi jade!! can i request something with the marauders (platonic or romantic) maybe reader has been real stressed with work or school and the marauders try to get her to relax once they realize how stressed she actually is?? ty! u don’t have to do this, it’s just a thought :))

thank you for your request my love, nearly romantic poly!marauders x fem!reader

James notices first, surprisingly. While Sirius is fluent in what goes unsaid, and Remus is more than familiar with stress, it's James who has learned to read his sometimes sulky friends, and so it's James who knows that your tight shoulders and your half-hearted smile are from more than being tired. 

He doesn't want to announce your potential upset upset the world, so he waits for Remus to get a drink while Sirius is in the loo and slides down the sofa toward you until you're sitting thigh to thigh. He doesn't ever want much space from you. He's fortunate that you feel the same. 

"What, James?" you ask, leaning on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" 

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly, solemn, so you know he's serious. 

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" 

"You just seem unhappy tonight, is all. You know you can tell me. Or if you don't want to tell me, you can tell one of the boys." 

Because you and your friends are in an incredibly weird (not weird, really, unexpected, but so full of love and sweetness that weird doesn't apply) situation in which you aren't dating anyone but it feels like you are. James imagines it as a sort of precipice, where you might choose one of them, or, in what seems the more unique but better fit, you might not choose at all. 

James only knows you feel the same way about them as they do about you because you'd confessed to Remus how guilty you feel for stringing them along. He reported back, and is quoted by himself to have said, Well, we must be stringing you along too. While I string James along, and Sirius strings me. 

So everybody fancies everybody and nobody knows what to do about it. (Well, apart from that one kiss between James and Remus, which went exceptionally well. James had known what to do about that). For tonight, nothing has to be done. All James needs to do is figure out how to make you feel better. 

Remus is offended at having had his seat stolen when he returns, but then he sees your sad face slack on James' big shoulder and forgets to be annoyed. Crouching down in front of you, Remus tilts his head to the side to align his face to yours, a frown mirrored on his lips as he asks, "What's wrong, dove?" 

The way he says it makes James pleased, and it also makes him like Remus impossibly more. James is earnest and ardent in wanting to comfort you, but Remus is very, very good at it. He has this seriousness, no-nonsense tone wrapped in a soft affection that could draw out James' very worst secrets. It's no surprise when you crack clean in two and confess.

"I'm really stressed out." Your voice takes a horrible dive, like you might cry. "Um, work is just hard, and I'm worried about money, too." 

James doesn't suppose you're in the depth of a relationship where it's appropriate to offer to bankroll you, and it's not what you want anyhow. He bites back any affluent admission in favour of a subtler approach. 

"You're worried about money?" he asks, gently as he can. "You aren't going without, are you? I really hope you'd tell us if it were bad." 

You shake your head. "I'm not going without. Don't worry, it's not that bad." But it could be, goes unsaid. 

Remus hums, his hand on your knee. "You know we care about you. Please, don't not tell us if you need something, okay?" His hand climbs the stretch of your thigh. "What's worrying you, dove? With work, are they giving you a hard time again?" 

Sirius returns somewhere in the midst of your talking, and he's absolutely horrified when a single tear bounds down your cheek. He squeezes between you and the armrest of the sofa to wipe your face as it comes, his weight almost entirely on top of you, so close that his hair tickles your cheek and neck. "Don't cry. I promise not to leave you alone with these two ever again," he jokes, though the tenderness with which he holds your face is nothing but sincere. 

James, sick of being the only one not comforting you physically, finds one of your hands to hold. It's smaller, and warm, and he pulls it to his chest as though that might hide you away from all the things that are freaking you out. 

To no one's shock, the boys are good listeners. Not always to each other, but what one lacks another can make up, and they manage to pull out from you your pack of troubles one by one. When that's done, they assuage each accompanying fear. 

If the very worst happens, you'll always have them to lean on. 

That makes you cry more than the stress. Grateful —though the last thing they're comforting you for is gratitude— you needle your arms around Sirius' waist and hide your face in his chest. He frowns down at you as he wraps you up tightly. James doesn't even feel jealous. Well, mostly, until Sirius kisses your forehead and James can actually see your happy shudder. Lucky for him, you aren't done. You squeeze Sirius before pulling away and turning to James. He realises then what made Sirius so bold, your whispered thank you like a vibration through his chest. He pats your back. 

"That's alright," he murmurs. 

You nod and squeeze and move on to Remus, who's been sitting at your feet for the last twenty minutes while you cry, concerned but not complaining. He's eager even if he won't say that, climbing to his feet so he can reach down for you and receive his own hug. James is a ridiculous romantic, and he just aches with affection for both of you as he watches Remus nose your cheek. When Remus finally pulls away, Sirius is looking at them with the same expression. 

"Do you feel better?" he asks you. 

You sniffle and wipe your nose with your sleeve sheepishly. "Yes. Thank you, boys. I really don't know what I'd do without you." 

James forgets restraint and swings his arm around your shoulder. "It's a good thing you'll never be without us, then," he says, and kisses your cheek.

#the marauders #marauders #poly marauders #poly!marauders #poly marauders x reader #poly!marauders x reader #remus lupin x reader #sirius black x reader #james potter x reader #remus lupin fanfiction #sirius black fanfiction #james potter fanfiction #remus lupin fic #sirius black fic #james potter fic #the marauders x reader #the marauders x fem!reader #remus lupin #sirius black #james potter

[breanime]

For the gif drabbles ❤️

"This looks like shit," you threw the money on the table, "Do it again."

Annie and Ruby groaned in tandem, but Beth sighed. "It looks perfect," she said, looking up at you as you stood over her, "We've printed this same design four times--"

"--and it keeps getting slightly less like shit," you cocked an eyebrow, "Look, if you can't hack it anymore..."

"We can!" Annie spoke up, eyes wide. "We can, we'll get it right!"

"It's just..." Ruby chewed on her lip.

You could feel your patience thinning. "Just what?"

"Well," she continued weakly, "Lucy was the artist, so... without her..."

"Ya know, since homeboy did... what he did," Annie added in.

"...It's harder to print. We have her blueprints, but some of these subtler details are just... We need an artist," Ruby finished.

You nodded, scanning the three women before you. Annie looked nervous, as did Ruby, but Beth looked annoyed and defiant.

You were sick of her face.

"So get another artist," you said, getting bored with the conversation.

"Why? So your boss can shoot her?" Beth ground out, glaring up at you.

Your eyes narrowed at the same time Rio chuckled. You turned a bit, angling your body so that you could see him.

He sat on a chair next to a monitor, a hand on his chin and smirk on his face.

"That's funny to you?" Beth spat, anger clear on her face. "You shot a defenseless girl!"

You raised an eyebrow at Rio, but he was still chuckling. If he found her little outburst amusing, then you guess you would allow it.

"Nah," he said, shaking his head, "I'm not laughing about that. I'm laughing at what you said," he smirked over at you, "She called me your boss."

Annie frowned, looking at the two of you. "A... Aren't you?"

"She," Rio gestured towards you, a pride grin on his face, "is my boss. Yeah, see, a real bad bitch don't shy away from the dark parts of this business," he went on, "And so when I told my boss," he pointed at you again, "that I had to kill Lucy cause of your," he looked at the girls, "bullshit, well. She wasn't pleased. And I'm telling you now, looking at her face right now," Rio made eye contact with you, and you could see the pride in his eyes as he looked at you, "My girl ain't letting you dumb bitches fuck our shit up again."

Beth spoke before she could stop herself, "Your girl?"

His smirk stretched over his plump lips, "My boss," he clarified, "and my girl," he looked over at you again, "So, what you think, ma? Have 'em print it again, or have Mick take them downtown and put a slug in each of their heads?"

You turned back to the women, watching the fear swirl in Annie's eyes, the way Ruby stiffened, frightened and trapped.

And Beth's reddening cheeks, you could see the humiliation on her face, now that she was looking at what she could never be, what she could never have, standing right in front of you.

You looked over at Rio, and you thought back on your life with him--meeting him when he was just a runner for your father, Rio remaining loyal to you even after your father died and you took over his organization, the first time you kissed, when you had blood on your hands and he had thought he lost you, the way Rio had grabbed you and held you to him, the first time he ever let himself act like anything but a loyal subordinate to you. You remembered that sick, cold feeling in your gut when you'd heard that he had been shot three times, that he was with the feds. It's what brought you back into his orbit, you'd sworn to keep it professional with him years ago, but that... that pulled you right back in.

You watched Rio watch you, and you felt a wave of protectiveness come over you as you looked at him--the man you loved. You turned to Beth, your gaze cold as ice and as strong as steel, using every ounce of your status as a boss to intimidate her. "How about you choose, Mrs. Boland? You want to print it again this time, and do it right, or would you and your gal pals rather take a ride with Mick?"

"W... We'll print," she said weakly.

Rio's chuckle warmed your soul, and as the ladies worked on the new print, you turned to him. He gave you a special smile, one full of love and appreciation for you, and you turned your back to the girls as they worked.

They didn't get to see the loving smile you gave him back.

That was only for him.

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

Thank you for reading! Lemme know what you think!

#bre does gif drabbles (again)! #rio x reader #rio imagine #manny montana #rio good girls

[lumi-nescentt]

Rumor Has It

Part 1 - Someone Like You

Pairing: Jenson Button x Reader / Mark Webber x Reader

Warnings: none

Words: 3.4k

Summary: Catching the attention of an F1 driver is already rare but catching the attention of two very close friends in the paddock can only be a recipe for disaster. Especially when they're both devilishly handsome and have their mind set on winning your affections.

A/N: This was supposed to be a oneshot but I got carried away so it's now a four parter

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Mark and Jenson were close friends, that was a fact. The two drivers were always joking with each other. Despite their competitiveness on track, they always knew that leaving any argument they had on track was the wisest decision. 

It was almost an unspoken rule that any disagreement was to be left to deal with on track and for years they never argued about anything because they knew better. Plus, they never had something to argue over that required more than what racing solved. That was until you came along, you and your bright smile that made Jenson stutter for the first time when giving an interview. Mark was just as affected as his British friend but he chose not to show it  to you initially. 

Jenson had been on his way to tell Mark about this gorgeous and funny reporter that he had immediately been attracted to but before he could say anything, the Australian was already talking about you. All Jenson could do was nod and laugh as Mark described how beautiful you were and how you had smiled so brightly at him while asking him questions.

Part of him wanted to shut Mark up, to tell him that you had also smiled at him and that he wasn’t special but that meant admitting that he was just as ordinary as the Australian and Jenson hoped the spark between you hadn’t been one sided. 

For months the two men tried to get your attention, each with their own method but the same motivation behind it. Mark always spent as much time as possible with you in the media pen, sticking around until you were done to have a quick discussion until he was forced to join his team briefing. The usually quite grumpy Australian seemed to soften around you, smiling softly and always finding something interesting to say to you even when he DNFed. He was really trying to show his softer side in hopes that you’d like him back someday.

Where Mark was putting his hopes of getting with you on a subtler approach, Jenson was the complete opposite. The Brit was trying every trick in the book to get you to notice him, shamelessly flirting with you on or off camera. His smug smile never left his face whenever he knew he had your undivided attention. 

He got high on it, trying to find how to rile you up, how to get you to respond to his taunts. When it worked, the rare times you caved in and teased him back, Jenson beamed with pride.

With how close the two drivers were, they were well aware that they liked you both and that if you ever decided to reciprocate their feelings, one of them would be left behind and forced to let you go. Each of them hoped their antics would work, bragging about how well they knew you and how you would like them back someday.

Neither of them dared to say they’d get you explicitly. First, they didn’t want to jinx it by saying out loud a wish that hadn’t happened yet. Second, they knew better than to be douchebags and they respected you too much to treat you like some prize to be won. No matter how this whole flirting game felt like a competition between them, you weren’t an object to own.

By the end of the 2008 season, you still hadn’t reciprocated any of their feelings but neither of them was ready to give up. For an unknown reason, you had their undivided attention and there was nothing you or they could do about it. 

At first, you had thought they were indeed flirting with you and it felt good to be wanted. It wasn’t everyday that two gorgeous men got out of their way to have your attention. But then when Seb, who you knew had a girlfriend he loved to death, had started to flirt with you too, you started doubting the whole thing. 

Without knowing it, Seb’s need to tease his teammate and his friend had ruined most of their efforts. Jenson was known to be a playboy anyway so it was easy to convince yourself that he was just being his usual charming self and that you had overanalyzed every interaction you had with him. 

Convincing yourself that Mark was just being friendly was harder because the change in personality was evident. Your colleagues relentlessly teased you about your capacity of turning the intimidating Australian into some sort of lovesick puppy.

Even with how hard he was trying, Jenson could tell you were pulled towards Mark by a force bigger than him. Maybe it was the age difference between him and the Australian that pulled you towards his friend. Mark was in his thirties and despite not having changed on track, the Brit could tell his friend was in another stage of his life than him. 

Mark was done with meaningless flings and was looking for something real now. He still liked to party but there was something more serious about him. A steadiness and surety emanated from him. Jenson was well aware that he lacked that in appearance.

He was still enjoying life like there was no tomorrow and despite getting close to thirty, the Brit was still acting as if he was in his early twenties. He just thought life was easier that way. No one expected anything for you if you didn’t give them a reason too and it was the only way Jenson knew to avoid disappointing the people around him. You can’t really fail to meet expectations if the bar is on the floor. 

Maybe that was Jenson’s biggest flaw, his deep-rooted fear of disappointment had made him create this wall around him. This persona of Jenson Button, the ladies’ man, professional playboy, slag of the F1 paddock, he had heard it all and basked in it. Sometimes even using it to his advantage to get what he wanted because he was after all just a man with needs and there was only so long he could resist when presented with a good time.

As both of them kept trying to make you fall for them, the months passed and with that the 2009’s season with it. With how well his career was going, Jenson was putting his everything into whatever bond the two of you shared. He swore he could touch everything he ever wanted at the tip of his fingers: his dream of being a world champion and his dream girl, miraculously in the same place. 

In a moment of euphoria after he won the championship, Jenson had asked you to come to the afterparty to celebrate with him and all the drivers. You had planned to go out to celebrate your well-deserved break anyway so you agreed, thinking he’d be too busy to notice if you ever decided to show up or not. 

Seb was the first one to notice you in the packed club, smiling at you before nudging his teammate who smiled at you fondly, the alcohol letting him show his emotions more freely. You watched as he closed the distance between you, navigating between the mass of drunk people with ease before stopping in front of you with the same drunken smile. 

-“ Hey Mark” 

-“ Nobody told me you’d be coming, if I had known I’d have drank less.” Mark apologised

-“ Why, scared you’ll share your deepest secrets with me ?” 

-“ I have nothing to hide from you, I just want to be sure I remember every moment spent with you.” he smiled fondly 

-“ That’s very sweet but don’t worry about the alcohol, I plan on drinking as well so I’ll catch up with you soon enough.” you laughed 

-“ I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk. I wonder what kind of person you are then…”

-“ What do you think I am ?” 

-“ You don’t strike me as an emotional or loud drunk. I’m hoping you’re either a flirty drunk or a very honest one.” 

-“ Oh yeah ? Why is that ?” you asked, trying not to let a smirk creep on your face

-“ Because then I can ask you if you like me back and either you’ll flirt back or you’ll tell me the truth and I’ll know for sure how you feel about me.” 

-“ So you really like me ?” 

-“ I thought I made it obvious sweetheart but yes, I like you y/n.” Mark said, the pet name rolling off his tongue naturally

-“ Ok ok, just making sure.” 

-“ So you’re not going to tell me if you like me back or not ?” 

-“ I think you’ll have to wait until I’m a little drunk to get that answer, Mark.” you teased him

-“ Then can I go buy you a drink ?”

-“ If you insist, I’ll have a rum and coke please.” you said moving towards the bar to accompany him

-“ Go to the VIP area, I’ll bring the drink to you once you’re sitting down.” Mark smiled, motioning to the corner of the club you had seen him before he made his way to you

You nodded watching as his tall figure disappeared in the sea of people. You could still feel how warm your cheeks were from indulging in his game but you didn’t regret it. You felt good, the season was over and all you wanted to do was relax and enjoy yourself. 

You started to try and navigate the crowd to reach where you were supposed to wait for Mark but before you could make any real progress, a very drunk Jenson arrived right in front of you. 

-“ Y/n ! You really came ?” Jenson happily slurred, pulling you into a hug 

-“ Of course, I did. Congratulations on your win Jenson. It’s well deserved.” you said with your head resting on his shoulder

-“ Thank you, love. I’m really glad you’re here.” he muttered before stepping away from the hug

-“ It’s not like we see each other at every race, you know ?” you teased him

-“ It’s not the same. I can’t really be the way I want with you because of work…”

-“ And what way is that, Mister World Champion ?”

-“ I can’t ask you out properly at work, this is the first time I did.” 

-“ You were asking me out ?” 

-“ Of course I was. You’re gorgeous, funny, incredibly intelligent and you drive me up the wall. What’s there not to like ?”

-“ Jenson. You flirt with everyone, how am I supposed to believe you really like me ?” you deadpanned 

-“ I don’t flirt with anyone like I flirt with you, love. I don’t want to be with anyone like I want to be with you. I thought I had made it pretty obvious but I’ll do better”

-“ What do you mea–” you try to answer

Before you could finish your sentence, Jenson cupped your face with his hands and crashed his lips on yours. Taken aback at first, you stayed frozen not expecting the kiss. Once you fully realised what was happening, your lips moved on their own, returning it. 

Jenson’s lip tasted like champagne and what could only be described as pure victory. You could feel him smile when he felt your hand sneaking on the back of his neck. The kiss was tame at first until Jenson playfully bit your lower lip, giving him access to your mouth. From there the kiss turned heated and it was a clash of teeth and tongue. Jenson’s hands snuck around your waist, pulling you flush against him. 

When you finally separated from each other to breathe, Jenson looked like he had won the greatest prize of all. You tried to keep staring at him but his hungry eyes made you blush and you looked elsewhere, bringing your fingertips to your mouth, still not sure the kiss had really happened. 

When you looked back at him, Jenson seemed like he wanted to say something but it was his turn to get stopped. This time it was by Alonso who wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulder before shoving a glass in his hands, unaware of the moment he had just ruined. 

Jenson thanked his Spanish friend before turning his attention back on you but Mark was back next to you. You offered a small smile to the Brit as Mark led you to the VIP corner, his hand proudly resting on the small of your back. All Jenson could do was stare longingly at the pair of you as you slowly disappeared in the crowd, leaving him still troubled by the passionate moment you had just shared. 

Part of him wanted to follow the two of you so that you and Mark weren’t alone but he hoped that the kiss would have been enough to convince you to choose him. He had made his affection clear so now all he could do was wait for you to come to him. Plus, it was his party, it would be a shame not to enjoy himself so he downed the glass Alonso had given him before following the Spaniard on the packed dance floor.

The night kept going and after drinking what Mark bought you, you decided to go dancing a little with Hanna who had joined Seb for the last race of the season. The two of you danced until your feet hurt because of the heels you were both wearing so when the pain became unbearable, you went back to the VIP area to sit down for a bit.

Jenson was still nowhere to be seen so you sat between Mark and Seb while Hanna sat between her boyfriend and Kimi. At first the boys were too deep into their conversations to pay attention to you but soon enough Mark looked at you with a smile, nudging your shoulder with his playfully.

-“ You looked good out there.” 

-“ Did I ? I didn’t realise you were looking at me.” 

-“ I mean you always look good but this dress looks insane on you sweetheart. It’s hard not to stare when you’re looking this pretty. ” Mark winked

-“ You don’t look so bad yourself. Your shirt suits you. It’s nice to see you in something other than your racing suit although fireproofs look crazy good with your body.” you blurted, the alcohol letting you say whatever came to your mind

-“ You’re definitely drunk.” 

-“ What gave it away, Sherlock Holmes ?” 

-“ You never complimented me when you were sober.” 

-“ I did ! I told you you had made a nice move on Seb in Spa.”

-“ Sweetheart, I’m not talking about racing compliments.”

-“ Oh… Well you always look good in whatever you’re wearing so there’s a compliment.”

-“ Do you know what else I’d look good in ?”

-“ Tell me.”

-“ I’ve been told I look pretty good wearing nothing at all.” Mark teased, bringing his face closer to yours

-“ Mark ! There’s people around, don’t tease.” you whisper-shouted as you blushed, his face even closer now

-“ Can I kiss you ?”

As soon as you nodded, Mark’s hand raised your chin and he delicately pressed his lips against yours. The kiss was nothing like the one you had shared with Jenson. For starters, Mark’s lips didn’t really taste of anything other than just Mark. That wasn’t a bad thing, it was just different. Mark was also a lot less aggressive when he kissed. While you and Jenson had been battling each other for dominance in your kiss, Mark was more than happy to slowly and languidly kiss you, following whatever lead you took. 

His other hand was resting on your thigh, rubbing circles absentmindedly with his thumb while yours were tangled in his hair. This didn’t feel like making out. You were just kissing because you wanted to. With Jenson it had felt like you needed to kiss in order for your heart to beat, in order to stay alive. 

With Mark, kissing him felt like being in the eye of the hurricane. You knew everything around was chaos but the kiss gave you a little breathing room. It gave you a temporary shelter to whatever was unfolding around you. 

When you pulled away from the kiss to breathe, Mark’s thumb was stroking your cheek. He pecked your lips before sliding closer to you on the couch you were sitting on. Now that the moment was pretty much over, Seb slapped a hand on Mark’s thighs to congratulate him for finally making a move on you.

-“ He’s been pining for you for so long, it was starting to get a little sad.” Seb joked

-“ It wasn’t sad Seb, shut up. I just know what I want, that's all.” 

-“ Are you going to tell Jense about it or should I break the news to him ?” 

-“ I’ll do it, just not tonight. It’s his night, let’s not ruin it.”

-“ Oh my God ! Jenson !” you muttered, making all the heads snap back towards you

-“ What is it sweetheart ?” 

-“ It’s actually a funny story but hum Jenson, well I did too I suppose so, Jenson and I kissed a few hours ago.” you admitted, scared of how Mark was going to react

-“ Oh, Jenson gets a little touch deprived when he’s drunk. He’d kiss anyone he can..” Mark reassured you

-“ Earlier this year he even tried to kiss me.” Seb remembered with a laugh

-“ So don’t worry about it. Chances are, he won’t even remember it tomorrow. That’s usually what happens when he kisses someone at random without feelings.” Mark affirmed, trying to be convincing enough for you to forget about it

You were too focused on Mark to notice the look exchanged between the two other drivers. Seb looked uncomfortable at the statement and asked Hanna if she wanted to dance, using the excuse to leave. Kimi was glaring at Mark menacingly. It’s not like it was his business or that he cared but even he knew that Jenson’s feelings about you were genuine. So in his book, Mark’s comment wasn’t one of a good friend but a very manipulative one which he didn’t really like so he just stood up and left.

Now left alone again, you and Mark used the opportunity to talk some more, really getting to know one another out of a professional context. Mark was pretty funny and kissing him every once in a while made you feel pretty giddy so your smile never left your face that night. 

When you finally decided to go back to your hotel, Mark insisted on walking you back which you accepted. You had wanted to say goodnight to Jenson but when your eyes fell on the Brit, he was hugging someone with long hair rather closely so you let Mark drag you away toward the exit. 

If only you had stayed a second later, you’d have realised that the person hugging Jenson was none other than Fernando who was trying his best to hold his drunk friend up while Jenson’s body wanted nothing more than to touch the floor and lay there forever. 

Now convinced that Jenson wasn’t serious about you, you invited Mark back into your room without remorse. If Jenson could have fun, so could you. This night turned into regular meetings at your hotel every race until Mark properly took you on a date and asked you out. Since the two of you had fun together and liked each other, you agreed to date him but kept your relationship private.

After his night of partying, Jenson remembered the kiss very clearly and he knew you had been sober so he came to the conclusion you hadn't enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. Or maybe you simply didn’t like him back. With that in mind, Jenson slowed down on the flirting during your interviews, not wanting to make you uncomfortable. 

Little did he know that by doing that, he was just convincing you that he didn’t like you like that and had just acted because of the alcohol. This whole situation just pushed you further into Mark’s arms and when you were finally ready, you made your relationship public. 

Seeing you and Mark kiss for the first time was like a punch in the gut for Jenson. He had known there had been a chance of losing you to Mark but up until then, he was convinced neither of them managed to seduce you. Knowing that he no longer had a chance with you broke his heart but like the good friend he was, the Brit congratulated the both of you and only expressed how happy he was for you. 

He wanted you to be happy more than anything. It was just a shame you had found happiness in Mark’s arms instead of his but he’d live with that as long as the smile on your face stayed there.

#mark webber x reader #jenson button x reader #mark webber #jenson button #f1 #formula 1 #formula one x reader #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 fandom #f1 scenario #f1 x you #f1 x female reader #f1 x y/n

[torscrawls]

They a Bit Confused, but They Got the Spirit

Maddie and Jack are ready to support Danny now that he's become a half-human, even though he's not ready to talk to them about it yet. He's so lucky that he has such observant and caring parents! They'll do anything they can to make sure he feels accepted and that he knows they love him no matter what, especially since turning into a werewolf must have been so scary.

Wordcount: 1,344

Can be read on AO3!

This is written as a part of Phic Phight for the prompt: Jack and Maddie knew something supernatural was going on with their son, waiting for him to feel comfortable telling them they set out to help him in subtler ways. If only they had actually gotten the species right.

——

“Maybe we should just tell him that we know?” Jack asked one night after they had watched Danny stumble up the stairs and to his room with badly hidden injuries. “This is the fifth time this month.”

Maddie bit her lip with furrowed brows. “I’m not sure he would be open with us if we cornered him like that. We really should wait for him to come to us…” She trailed off, the last few words sounding less than certain.

Jack let out a deep sigh. He knew she was right, but it was so hard to stay silent and just watch their son go through something that was no doubt very scary and disorienting. To not be there for him. Especially since it wasn’t something that was going away any time soon. Speaking of, “I think it actually might be getting worse. Have you seen how his ears have changed?”

The change had been gradual, but as his ears grew distinctly tapered and more inhuman his attempts at keeping them hidden with his slightly too short hair started to fail. Jack had begun to worry that he might have a hard time keeping his condition a secret in school—kids could be unnecessarily cruel—and had given Danny a new NASA-branded hat. He felt more accomplished as a parent than he had in years when Danny had worn it the very next day.

Maddie nodded before biting at her thumb. “Yes, and his nails… And teeth!”

Jack heaved a deep sigh and grimaced. He had seen them too; long and sharp, both nails and teeth. “He’s been trying to hide them too.”

Maddie shook her head. “Our poor baby. He must be so scared. Wasn’t it enough with the late nights and the fights, and—”

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and she cut herself off with a shaky breath. He drew her into a hug and murmured into her hair, “But he has us now. We’ll support him, no matter what.”

Maddie nodded and leaned back to look up at him with a determined look in her eyes that reminded him of why he fell in love with her in the first place, “Let’s make sure he knows it.”

Jack agreed. He hated that Danny felt that he had to keep the whole thing a secret from them but he and Maddie had decided to support him as best they could until he felt comfortable telling them about his sudden change into a half-human.

They would do their best to support their son even though he had been transformed into a werewolf.

——

It was later that night, with Maddie and Danny setting the table with Jack cooking at the stove, when Maddie decided to try and take the first step. ”Danny, I know how much you like space. And… and the moon.

Danny put out the plates with a distracted, “Yeah, sure?”

“You know…” Maddie began, trailing off as she wasn't sure how much she should reveal that they knew. The last thing she wanted was to scare him even further away from them. “There's a full moon coming up next week.”

Danny immediately perked up, his full attention on her. “Oh, I know!” he smiled, plates seemingly forgotten in his hands. “I’m going to go watch it with Sam and Tuck.”

That made Maddie pause, hand hovering over the table where she had been reaching for the last ectogun to put away before their meal. Maddie cast a glance over her shoulder, meeting Jack's equally surprised one. Danny's friends were involved in this too? She carefully asked, “Oh, with your friends?”

Maddie picked up the gun and twirled it in her hands as she decided to be a bit bolder in her approach. If Danny's friends knew, then he was surely more comfortable talking about this than they had thought. Maybe he had just thought that they wouldn't listen. “So… They know?”

Danny put out the last plate and started on the cutlery. “About the moon? I sure hope so.”

“No…” Maddie fingered the gun in her hands. “About you?”

Danny snorted. “That I like space? Yeah, I think it’s pretty hard to miss.”

Maybe he wasn't ready to talk with them just yet. That was fine, they could wait. “Never mind. I’m happy you have friends you can trust.”

Danny smiled at her. “Me too.” Then he paused with a small frown, “Wait, what do you mean trust—”

Jack turned from the stove with a steaming, bubbling, pot and a shout of, “Dinner’s ready!”

“That looks amazing, honey!” Maddie kissed Jack on the cheek before calling up the stairs, “Jazz, honey! Come down! It’s time to eat!”

“I made sure to make your steak extra bloody, Danny-boy!” Jack said with a wink as he deposited the big pot on the table and turned back around to whisk a frying pan with steaks from the stove.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Uuuuh, why? I like them well-done. I always have?”

Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder and said, voice as reassuring as she could make it, “It’s okay if your tastes change, you know.”

“We would support you,” Jack added with a smile and a thumbs up as he pushed aside the blueprints to the new gun they had been developing to finally catch that menace Phantom to place the pan on the table.

Danny frowned as he slowly said, “Thanks? That’s great to know.”

Maddie mentally patted herself on the back. They were making progress!

Jazz came into the kitchen and surveyed the set table, eying the green bubbling pot in the middle with a critical eye. “Oh, you’re not done with the experiments for today? I thought dinner was ready?”

Maddie waved her off with a chuckle. “No, that's just the potatoes, silly.”

Jazz grimaced as she sat down. “Right. Of course.”

They finished eating—both of their kids must have eaten too many snacks again since they barely touched the food—and as they were cleaning up Jack hesitantly asked, “So, Danny-boy. Do you want a bone?”

“What?” Danny glanced up from his phone. “I have enough bones myself, thanks?”

Maddie straightened up, fascinated. “Oh, you have a stash? Can I see it?”

Danny slowly put his phone down with a confused frown. “…Yeah? It’s called my body?”

“In your…? Ah!” Maddie laughed. “No, to eat.”

Danny squinted at her. “Why would I want to… eat a bone?”

“You know…” Jack trailed off, gesturing vaguely in the hope that Danny would catch on and they wouldn’t have to spell it out and put him on the spot.

Danny didn't seem to catch on as he slowly said, “No? I don't know?”

“For your…” Jack hesitated and sent a pleading look at Maddie but she only gestured for him to continue. It was best if they really showed that they were there for him through all of these changes. Jack took a breath and finished with—according to Maddie—admirable casualness, “Condition.”

“My what?!” Danny exclaimed in clear bafflement. The poor dear, he had probably thought that he had managed to keep it a secret from them. It wasn't his fault that she and Jack were very observant.

Maddie decided to jump in and try and sooth him. “Oh, honey, it's okay! We love you no matter what.” She gave him what she hoped was a supportive look and added, “No matter what you turn into.”

Danny gaped at her. “Wait, you know?!”

Jazz placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed. “I told you they would understand.”

“Yeah!” Jack added with vigorous nodding. “It's okay that you're a werewolf!”

Danny blinked. “I'm not a—”

Jack cut him off with a shout, “At least you're not a damned ghost!”

Maddie shook her head in horror. That would be… Unimaginable. “And thank god for that!”

“I'm a werewolf!” Danny admitted with a vigorous nod, clearly relieved to finally come clean to them. “Bark bark! Awoo!”

Jazz removed her hand from Danny’s shoulder and slapped it over her own face.

#danny phantom #dp #danny phantom fic #dp fanfic #phic phight #phic phight 2024 #my writing

[theamityelf]

(Sorry, you can ignore me, but I do have to write some Toxic Kamuegi here just for fun. Also, this isn't anime-compliant, because the information the second game gives about Izuru Kamukura fascinates me.)

He'd expected the answer to be no. He'd thought that Junko had just been telling a really inappropriate joke. But now...Makoto had pulled his boyfriend aside to ask, and he'd gotten a confirmation with no hesitation. It was true.

"But...How could you do something like that?"

Izuru was staring in that way he did whenever he believed he stood to learn a lot from a conversation. The air in Makoto's room felt as dense as a solid. "You're upset."

"Of course I'm upset!"

"With me?"

"If you murdered the Student Council, then yes, I'm upset with you!"

Izuru looked bothered, and then he seemed to reject the feeling, his expression clearing.

Makoto shook his head in disbelief. "How...Why would you do that?"

"Are you asking because my answer will matter to you? You're already upset." His tone had flattened into a facsimile of indifference that Makoto could see right through.

"Yes, it matters! I want to understand what happened! Why aren't you answering me?"

"It wasn't Enoshima's place to tell you. You didn't have to know it was me. You didn't know those people well enough to care about them; I wouldn't have done it to someone you cared about."

"Izuru!"

"You only care because I'm the one who did it. You wouldn't be thinking about them now, if the culprit had been a stranger."

"What do you mean I wouldn't be thinking about them?! It happened yesterday!"

"Plenty of your friends are murderers. It's unfair that you're upset with me."

"How is this your reaction-?!"

"You're not supposed to be upset with me. It's not fair."

They were not talking about the same thing. Makoto took a breath to steady his head; the situation itself, the idea that Junko had just casually told him that his boyfriend had murdered a bunch of students and then his boyfriend had corroborated the claim, was already so surreal, but the fact that he wasn't even able to get a straight answer about what happened because his boyfriend was fixating so hard on...what? How much of a slight it was to him, that Makoto cared about the transgression at all?

"It's not fair?" he repeated.

Izuru dipped his head, maintaining, "You aren't looking at me the way you're supposed to. I don't like it."

"Did you actually kill someone thinking it wouldn't matter to me?"

"I killed someone thinking you wouldn't find out. Enoshima chose to be underhanded to upset you, thinking it would affect our relationship."

"You think it doesn't affect our relationship?!"

Izuru's head lifted, and his eyes seemed to focus in on him even harder than before. "What does that mean?"

Makoto just sent him a half-bewildered, half-helpless look.

"Tell me what you mean," Izuru insisted, walking closer.

"Tell me why you killed them," Makoto replied. "Was it self-defense? Were you-?"

"They don't matter; they weren't a part of what we had before, so they can't start to factor in to what we have now."

"They don't matter? I..." Makoto felt his expression falter, and he saw a responding flicker in Izuru's face- albeit subtler. "I don't understand how you can act like this. You always...You were nice. I mean, you weren't...always nice, but, you were peaceful. You were-"

"There's no reason to speak in the past tense; I still am everything I was." He'd never heard Izuru sound desperate before, but the agitated pace of his words, the hard, decidedly toneless voice with which he tried to correct Makoto, emanated a subtly frantic aura. "You promised me you wouldn't let anything someone else said about me change your mind about loving me."

"I do love you. But if you really killed someone for no reason-"

"You can’t break up with me. It’s not allowed. I’m not bored of you yet."

"Izuru, you killed the Student Council!"

"You will not leave me."

Makoto had barely noticed the movements while they were happening, but now it was clear that Izuru had gone to stand between him and the door. "Izuru-"

"I’m the Ultimate Hope. What greater purpose could you have in life other than making me happy?"

"What are you saying?!"

"My teachers don’t understand why I care about you. I can’t explain it. The only thing special about you is the fact that you make me happy. You’re as beholden to that talent as I am to mine. We don’t get to forfeit what makes us special."

"I'm not special. I don't have a talent. And I'm not beholden to anything."

They held eye contact for several seconds. It crossed Makoto's mind that he was confronting someone who he knew had just killed a bunch of people, and that he was alone with him now, vulnerable, but...but it was Izuru. And no matter how intimidating he was acting, it seemed important not to show him any weakness right now. Izuru was the one who broke eye contact, averting his gaze with the passionless observation, "We're both angry. We can continue this conversation later." As he turned away, he added, "...after I murder Enoshima." He exited the room and shut the door behind himself.

Makoto was chilled at the way he'd said what might otherwise have sounded like a wry joke. He hurried to the door, throwing it open and finding an empty hallway beyond. No sign that his boyfriend had just left the room barely a second ago, and no sign of which way he'd gone. "Izuru?!" He picked a direction at random and took off, hoping for good luck.

#danganronpa #kamuegi #makoto naegi #izuru kamukura #yandere izuru kamukura #yandere kamuegi #my fanfic

[emmabirb8]

Ok ok, but have you thought about the fact that throughout the series, Nandor has saved or protected Guillermo's life just as much as Guillermo has saved and protected Nandor's? Because I have, and I am feeling Ways about it.

Obviously, Guillermo has always gone  above and beyond for Nandor as far as familiar duties go, and he has slain countless vamps to protect not only Nandor but also the rest of the household. It's a given and it's been a given from the start that Guillermo would do anything to keep Nandor (and his other housemates by extension) safe. He has outright said they are his found family, and it definitely shows. 

Well, in a slightly subtler way, the case is the same for Nandor. God, the things that Nandor has done for Guillermo - the risks he's taken, the knee-jerk reactions, the choices he's made? It is profound.

Consider that Nandor a. as a vamp is not expected to care about his familiar beyond using him as a tool to get things done, b. believes acting "aloof," aka unbothered and unconcerned, is key, and most importantly c. struggles heavily with identifying, working through, and expressing his emotions. AND YET, without even stopping to think about it, he:

Stepped in to stop that hungry vamp at Simon's club (Manhattan Night Club)

Refused to let Guillermo be eaten by the Vampiric Council (The Trial)

Stopped Topher from drowning him (Resurrection)

Kept Guillermo's slaying a secret after discovering that he had dusted Carol (The Return)

Told Celeste to "be kind to Guillermo" when he thought she was gonna be his new vampire mistress (arguably, this counts bc he was making an effort to ensure Guillermo would be treated well and kept alive under Celeste's watch) (Collaboration)

Defended him against the wrath of Nadja and Laszlo (the housemates Nandor has known, lived with, and loved for far longer than he's known Guillermo) who were 100% prepared to kill him every single night for a month while he was imprisoned in the basement (The Prisoner)

"Yanked" Guillermo away from the line of fire when he was acting as bait for The Sire and attempted to fix the situation himself (The Escape)

Immediately dove into the sewage hole in the floor to rescue Guillermo when he fell in (Reunited)

Volunteered to battle him in place of a more dangerous vampire at the Night Market (The Night Market)

Made sure he was okay at the end of the fight after pretending to snap his neck (The Night Market)

Nandor is the KING of repression, but actions speak louder than words, babes. This is not even counting the times he has shown outward kindness, affection for, and attachment to Guillermo to the point where it's entirely too conspicuous for anyone to believe he's not in love with him. (Tho he's apparently managed to fool himself well enough, hasn't he? lmao) 

Hell, I'm in a listing mood - let's recount those moments too, shall we?

Just off the top of my head, Nandor has canonically also:

Made Guillermo a glitter portrait depicting the two of them together as vampires as a gift to celebrate his anniversary of becoming his familiar (that he was clearly proud of and excited about and that clearly took a lot of effort and planning ❤) in the very first episode 

Held him up above his head to help him reach higher places when dusting and held him up in front of a mirror so he could experience the sensation of flying (like what vampire does that fr???? he was down bad even in the earliest eps) 

Become a blubbering mess worrying where Guillermo was while high on drug blood 

On multiple occasions actually took him flying by wrapping his arms tenderly around him 👀, then admitted he was his friend out loud in front of Nadja and the camera crew as early as ep 4 after feeling guilty about accidentally dropping him during a flight

Played chess with him (and it's implied this is a regular thing for them 🥹)

Been visibly upset each time Guillermo has left - it's heavily implied he missed even the smallest gestures like the hand holding, and he outright verbally expressed his hurt feelings in front of the entire Theatre des Vampires

Been distraught enough after the Celeste situation that he attempted to "win" Guillermo back first by talking to him and then by giving him another gift with the "beating off" pillow, and then actually complied with Guillermo's requests to be more respected and given breaks after that

Taken the time to go down and keep Guillermo company while he was imprisoned in the basement and made a genuine attempt to give him better quality food

Urged Nadja and Laszlo to treat Guillermo with more respect and to try to take an interest in his life at the casino

Reacted in a way that wasn't even the slightest bit angry (and in fact, he appeared grateful for it besides becoming excessively horny on main) about The Slap

Said he has "grown to have some affection for" Guillermo out loud to his face (which, for someone as repressed as Nandor, is huge)

Offered a very blatantly romantic turning scenario in which he expressed a desire to share soil with Guillermo, which, again, is huge 

Become markedly upset that Guillermo never showed up at the train station to accompany him on his trip

Started making steps in the direction of reversing their dynamic in s4 by doing things like helping Guillermo dry off and getting him a glass of water after he fell into the hole, paying more genuine attention to him and his life, expressing a desire for Nadja and Laszlo to be more serious and respectful of him, valuing his input (esp for the dick wish), and being appreciative of all the work he has constantly put in for him (whenever using his new penis 😏) 

Offered Guillermo the position of best man at his wedding which was clearly of utmost importance to Nandor, even more so than finding someone to marry in the first place 

Actually remembered the exact amount of years Guillermo has been his familiar/bodyguard and called him his "closest companion" in front of lots of other (arguably dangerous) vampires 

Been so excited and proud of Guillermo's moves when he was battling other familiars at the Night Market to the point of exclaiming "that's my fucking guy!"

Called Guillermo his friend out loud again when he got visibly worried he may have killed him

Admitted to Guillermo that he was afraid right before his wedding (!!!!), looked at Guillermo longingly/lovingly, accidentally revealed his desire to literally hug Guillermo close and kiss his face through his wish about Marwa (!!!!!!), and took a moment to whisper sweet nothings to Guillermo and cover him up when he discovered he'd fallen asleep (!!!!!!!!!)

Dorkily but sweetly prevented Guillermo from falling in the bg shot of Go Flip Yourself (like, truly, why would he care omfgggg he's so in love it's making him look stupid)

Actually made a very misguided but solid follow-through attempt to fix the Freddie situation as soon as he realized how upset Guillermo was about it

IT'S JUST SOOOO MUCH!!! I've been going through the series highlighting Nandermo moments for creative idea purposes in these last few weeks, and I can honestly say that I believe there are possibly more instances where Nandor has hinted at or displayed his feelings toward Guillermo than there are of Guillermo hinting at or displaying his feelings for Nandor. It's fucking insane you guys. 💖

#what we do in the shadows #wwdits #nandermo #nandor the relentless #guillermo de la cruz #wwdits fx #nandor #wwdits nandor #wwdits meta #wwdits analysis #(it's not /technically/ meta stuff bc it's mostly just recounting canon facts but i'm tagging it anyway lol #nandor and guillermo #nandor analysis #my posts

[sanrielle]

I've been thinking a lot about Katara and her feminism vs. her desire to preserve her dying culture. Like I know that the SWT probably isn't as sexist as the NWT, but there are still a lot of enduring practices that have roots in patriarchy, as demonstrated by Sokka's earlier sexism.

So I think Katara would end up with an odd mix. She's obviously a staunch feminist who thinks girls and women should follow their own paths, regardless of what society in general thinks their roles should be. But at the same time, she can't escape from some of the subtler (and possibly more insidious) traditions of 'propriety' and the role of women as the homemakers.

[Obligatory disclaimer that I don't know that much about Inuit culture when it comes to these things. I'm purely basing this off of what is shown in the cartoon itself.]

Something that kinda goes along with this is Katara's necklace. To her, it's a symbol of her grandmother's struggle for independence, as well as a memento of her mother and the sacrificial love she displayed. In the NWT, it represented (at best) a romantic commitment and (at worst) a transfer of property. I don't think she'd associate hers with either, and she'd probably be insulted if Aang tried to give her a new one when proposing.

(I maintain that the necklace she wears as an old lady is the same one she had in childhood. The fact that it looks wonky in that one screenshot is nothing more than lackluster rendering.)

Anyway, I've gone a little off topic. I just think she's a really interesting study in how someone can rail against the negative parts of their culture that don't appeal to them, while also having an internalized fondness for some of those same traditions, simply because they are familiar and nostalgic.

Take Toph for contrast. I don't think she's the butch anti-feminine person a lot of people make her out to be. She just does what she wants. She's perfectly happy to go to the spa or wear dresses and makeup, but only if it's her choice to do so. She's railing against the repressive and oppressive culture of elite EK society simply because she previously had no agency over her life.

Meanwhile, Katara takes an active role in seeing to the physical and emotional needs of her brother/friends. And even though that 'motherly' role is largely a trauma response and something she deeply resents at times, I think it's also a source of comfort to her. Something about her culture that she desperately clings to.

I think a lot about her and Aang's life post-war. They would be very focused on reconstruction for years, most likely. Katara would have her own projects with the Water Tribes, but also spend a lot of time helping Aang. Some part of her craves the validation of appearing to be 'proper' concerning her relationship with him. Maybe she's a bit hypocritical about it: unwilling to wait until they've settled down to be intimate, but also reluctant to publicly break certain social 'rules'.

She keeps telling herself there's so much to do in the world, and maybe she feels this heavy burden to do as much good as she can before allowing herself to rest and slow down and create the family she's always wanted.

But then ten(ish) years have passed and suddenly! Baby on the way! Oops! Katara knows she's a public figure and cares a lot about how she's seen. She wants the respect of the people from her own culture. And so they stop. They get married. They settle down.

Katara becomes the wife and mother, which she definitely wants while also having some lingering regrets and conflicting feelings. She still wants to be a role model for other girls and women, but she likes not being constantly on the move and fighting people and playing politics. She likes getting up in the middle of the night to sing an old Water Tribe lullaby to her baby. She likes it the most when Aang is there because he's always seen her as an equal partner, not a piece of property.

Anyway, I didn't really have a point. Just rambling about my own headcanons. I've always put a lot more thought into Toph and Sokka's characters, but I guess Kataang has been on my mind lately. And tbh I never gave Katara the attention she deserved when writing fics, which is a travesty.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #katara x aang #kataang #katara analysis

[happysadyoyo]

Hey guys, guess whose sleep schedule is fucked up because of anxiety and stress and not going to class yesterday! !! Things are looking a little less dire, though I'm still really anxious.

This is the first time I've written more from the DCA's perspective than Ichabod's or y/n's so that's fun. I also included some elements at the end from the after that @pillowspace talked about.

There's a mention of death and like the how-to of death but it's not nearly as explicit as before, so it's okay to read unless you're very very sensitive.

You don't notice the little ways that Sun has changed. To be fair to yourself, you weren't really there. Yeah, you were there, physically. But you were exhausted, physically and mentally. Wrung out and dried like an overused rag that no one had bothered washing.

So, no one could blame you when you didn't notice the changes.

Sun and Moon struggle. Something about the final loop had flipped a switch in their programming, and they have access to every single time you tried to save them, and every single time you died at their hands. Moon, poor Moony, already aware of the children he'd led into the maws of a killer, sees himself doing it again and again with an unhinged glee that leaves him locked away inside, refusing to let himself out. Just in case the virus wasn't totally purged. Even though they've checked their systems so many times.

He refuses to take over until your nightmares have you calling out for him and Sun is incapable of providing the comfort you need. He takes you into the living room, spindly body contouring around yours, cushioned by the spare clothes you had left over from some roommate or partner so many loops ago.

He... struggles to hold you, far too aware of the amount of times his hands have wrapped around your throat and felt your heart beating rabbit-fast against his palms. His disgust---is it at the memory or at the glee he had at killing you, the ever trusting, ever loving you, the echoes of which make his hands shake when he does finally agree to hold you.

Sun's trauma is subtler.

He had loved you. He had been indifferent to you, or hated you with a jealousy that hadn't been programmed into him. Was it a byproduct of the virus or a result of their AI adapting, becoming more human? He didn't want to admit that the jealousy was still there, lingering at seeing you be better at the one task he truly had in his life.

Disgust and self-loathing are odd things for a robot to feel.

There's guilt too. So much guilt. If he'd been stronger, he could've helped Moon fight the virus or at least kept to the well lit spaces. Protected you and the children. If he'd paid attention, he would've noticed you faltering in the individual loops instead of being too in his own head about you being better than him. He sees every time you start and stop something, learning that it's not you being stupid or superior but part of you, part of the way you tick that had he loved you like the first time he would've known.

Eclipse... Eclipse can't come out, not when the two of them are so locked into their own emotional loops of remembering, retraumatizing themselves in some self-delusional idea of penance. Eclipse is the good of both of them, requiring them to function together, and right now they're going through the motions, they're putting you first because you're so small and delicate and tired but... But.

It's when you mention your hair's grown that something changes in all of you. You don't look quite so hollow, though you are still tired. You have the energy to watch movies with them, seek out professional help, someone who won't laugh at the idea of dating a daycare animatronic. You cuddle with them out of more than just a need for touch, and it finally comes out.

The guilt. The trauma. The fear of forgetting something important.

You're horrified, and that makes them feel worse. They'd forgotten that you could remember things perfectly, and they'd forgotten that you couldn't. There's a conversation, something to be reflected on another day. There's tears, and not for the first time they wish they could cry. But being in your arms is enough, for now. A tangle of flesh and metal and fabric, intertwined so that they can feel the steady, soft thrum of your heart.

#time loop au #dca #i should probably try and force myself to sleep for a couple hours

[amethystina]

I'm waiting so excitedly for your updates, old and new, I can't begin to tell you! You are the fandom treasure! And as I'm waiting and biting my nails I wanted to ask something, what do you think about the final scenes of episode 8 where Gaon has dinner with his professor and tells him he chooses Yohan's side. How come Yohan knew where to find them and the precise moment to come in and pick Gaon up, was he following them or did he and Gaon had a deal?

And what's with leaving his car to stand next to Gain and look at professor? I love this scene so much but I don't know if I understand its message right. Was it posturing, laying a claim on Gaon or what? I tend to feel that Yohan was possessive of Gaon when it came to professor and his police friend and I think I feel some of it in this scene but I'm not sure, I just don't have a clear grasp on it. Would love to know your thoughts!

Aww, thank you so much, sweetheart! This is definitely the first time I've been called not just a fandom treasure, but the fandom treasure. Thank you 💜

Ah yes, the "Ga On runs off with his new sugar daddy" scene. Or, as I sometimes like to call it, the "You just don't understand, dad professor — I love him" scene.

I'm joking, obviously.

(... or am I?)

I would say that Ga On and Yo Han made an agreement beforehand, yes. They probably talked about Ga On's choice to switch sides and while Yo Han would no doubt have loved for Ga On to continue on as a double agent (feeding Professor Min intentionally faulty information) Ga On is way too honest for that. So he probably insisted that, no, he'll call Professor Min, meet up with him, and just flat out tell him that Ga On's spying mission is over. He's now going to elope work with Yo Han instead.

And I find it hilarious to think that, most likely, Yo Han was just sitting in his car, perhaps scrolling through his phone, waiting for his newly acquired sugar baby to finish telling his semi-father figure that he's going dark side. Because Ga On gets up and starts walking before Yo Han drives up, meaning that it's not like Ga On saw the car coming and went "oh, better wrap this up now." It was probably the other way around, where Ga On leaving the table was the signal for Yo Han to come pick him up.

So yes, they definitely had an agreement, especially since Ga On seems to know in exactly which direction to walk, even before the car shows up, and doesn't look the least bit surprised by Yo Han's arrival.

They planned that shit.

Brutal.

As for the fact that Yo Han gets out of the car? Well, buckle up, my darlings, because I think we should take a detour to discuss intent.

Now, intent isn't necessarily important when you want to interpret a scene, but I like the extra nuance it can offer. And by intent, I mean what the scriptwriter/director might have intended with a scene. Why is this scene here? What was the plan behind it? How is it supposed to impact the overall story? How does it tie into the rest of the plot?

Which is never something you can say for sure, of course, unless there are interviews expressly stating it, but, a lot of the time, we can guess.

The intent behind this scene, in its simplest, purest form, is to show that Ga On is switching sides. And, with that in mind, it makes sense that he crosses that road to Yo Han's car (if you know me and my metas, you know how much I love lines, characters crossing said lines, and the symbolism of that) and stops to stand next to Yo Han. It's a very simple yet effective way to show Ga On's choice and where it will take him.

Into Yo Han's arms.

NOW. Intent is very useful because, depending on how skilled the person writing is, you can hide a lot of subtext and leave room for a lot of interpretation with a cleverly formulated intent. That's how censored shows get away with so much, because they can point to the perfectly reasonable, heteronormative intent behind a scene and pretend that there aren't also a lot of subtler nuances to the reading.

And, if they're extra bold, they also add hints in the presentation and execution.

The scene where Yo Han invites Sun Ah to the house is a perfect example of this, where the intent is to make her feel lonely, like an outsider, as she's invited to observe this warm, comfortable family. Not a bad tactic as far as manipulation goes, I have to say. So, in other words, very reasonable intent — makes sense with what they're trying to achieve.

The fact that it ends up looking more like Yo Han is proudly showing off his doting, doe-eyed househusband who's passively-aggressively and not-so-discreetly staking his claim is... well, that's just an accidental side effect, isn't it? Not intent at all.

And that's true. It's not intent that makes it look gay.

It's the presentation of the intent.

(Sidenote: To be a fly on the wall when Yo Han and Ga On came up with this strategy. Because, clearly, they were both in on it and, I mean, how did that conversation go? Inquiring minds need to know.

Like, how did they go from: "We need to throw her off balance. We'll invite her to the house, show what she's missing out on, but also give her hints that she could have it all, if she's willing to surrender" to Ga On going: "I'll cook a fancy dinner. That'll make her jealous."

I mean, he's not wrong but, like, Mr. Sugar Baby. What? x'D

Also, imagine Yo Han's face. Transcendent.)

Anyway. Intent can also ruin a story. I think most of us have read a fanfic and gone: "... that character wouldn't do that. This makes no sense." That could be a sign that the author's intent is clashing with the characters or the story they're trying to tell. Or, put more bluntly, that the author is so focused on forcing an idea that they don't realise that they're going against the logic of the story or characters' personalities. Things happen because they want them to, not because it makes sense, meaning that the intent isn't tied to the story or characters, but what the writer wants. This is badly planned intent.

And, most of the time, readers can tell when the intent is off, even if you might not be able to put your finger on it while you're reading. But if you're feeling a niggling doubt at the back of your mind, wondering why this scene is here, what this scene even means, or why this character suddenly seems to act so strangely, it could be that the writer didn't plan it well enough.

That's not to say that a reader must always know the intent behind a scene. Ideally, the story should be good enough that they don't have to stop and think about things like that. If the intent and internal logic are sound enough, it should just flow naturally.

Because, when it comes down to it, pretty much all scenes in a story have an intent and that intent should be in harmony with the characters' personalities and how they would choose to behave. And I don't mean that there can never be conflict or that characters can't disagree — I mean that all scenes should have a reason for being there. It doesn't have to be a deep or complex reason, but there should be a reason that ties into the overarching plotline. And characters shouldn't be forced into a scene they have no business being in. Intent is very important from a crafting standpoint.

And intent is one of the things that makes The Devil Judge such an absolute joy. Because while there is always a perfectly reasonable — and very heterosexual, we promise — intent behind most scenes, they often choose to present the scenes in a way that leaves room for a much queerer reading. Now, that can happen with almost any story, but what sets The Devil Judge apart is that it seems to be entirely intentional.

The presentation is by no means subtle or accidental.

Like, they didn't have to make Ga On shuffle up in a soft, comfortable sweater and greet Sun Ah like a caring househusband, but they did. That was a conscious choice.

And this scene you mention, with Yo Han getting out of his car when he's picking Ga On up, falls into a similar category in my mind. The surface-level intent is clear — show that Ga On is switching sides — but he could simply have said so. He could have borrowed a car and driven himself. Yo Han didn't have to come pick him up. And he certainly didn't have to get out of the car.

But he did.

And that might be what you're picking up on when you're saying that you're not sure if you're understanding the message correctly. Because in a drama this clever, that puts so much effort into details and, again, intent, it feels almost a bit odd to leave this gaping hole, doesn't it? Yo Han stepping out of that car should mean something, right?

And, once you've gotten this far, you've got a couple of options to choose from to fill in the blanks. Either you can assume that it was just something the creators chose to do because it looked/seemed cool and therefore might not mean much at all. And considering that this drama does that a couple of times, this could honestly be the case. Maybe they just thought it would be more effective to have Yo Han to step out of the car? To really hammer it home to Professor Min what's happening?

Your other option is to bring in the harmonisation between intent and characters. Because, if the writer is good and their characters consistent, you should be able to pick up on secondary layers of intent, running parallel with the main one. Because while each scene has an intent, each character IN that scene also has one (though perhaps it would be more comfortable to call it purpose at this point?).

In other words: If "it looked cool" isn't the answer, could we find it in the character's behaviour instead? What is their intent, based on their personalities and previous actions? Does that give a more satisfying answer?

What reason would Mr. Kang "Abyss" Yo Han have for stepping out of that car?

I, personally, think that the answer is pretty simple.

He is absofuckinglutely staking a claim.

He's stepping out of that car because he's a Possessive, Dramatic Bitch and wants to rub it in Professor Min's face. He wants to show that he's won, that he's turned the spy Professor Min sent, and that he's, quite literally, taking Ga On away.

Yo Han is basically going: "Thanks for the sugar baby — I'll make sure to ravish savour treasure him."

So while the main goal of that scene is to establish that Ga On is switching sides, the intent Yo Han adds with his actions leaves room for a very gay reading. In fact, I'd argue that doing so only makes the scene more believable, since Yo Han's actions are otherwise kind of... unnecessary? He has no reason to step out of the car and make himself known, unless it's for the dramah.

Again, the presentation of the intent is where the magic happens.

So, why this long, godawful rant about intent, you ask? When I could just have answered the question right away?

Because while I know that I'm preaching to the choir in terms of this drama being gay as hell, I just want to highlight the importance of intent and how it can change the reading of a scene. I think intent — or specifically the harmony between characters and intent, and the various layers of intent — is absolutely fascinating, especially in this drama.

Especially if you want to argue that it's gay.

Because there is, in fact, some scenes where I just... I can't. The intent and characterisation don't match at all — unless you add a queer element. Like, this drama is so clever. Not perfect, mind you, but so clever. And so careful with especially Yo Han and Ga On's characterisation. Very little is left to chance.

And so, if you keep everything I've said about intent and characters in mind, and I ask you to explain the intent behind this one, singular shot, can you do so without making it gay?

I'm not joking when I say that this scene, right here, was the one that definitively made me go "oh fuck, this is gay gay."

Because in most others — if not all — I can find that safe surface-level intent which means that the people behind this drama can claim plausible deniability. Of course it's not gay! Look at this perfectly reasonable, heterosexual intent!

Except this one.

There's no explanation for this. Ga On has no reason to look this jealous unless his jealousy is the main intent behind this shot. There just isn't. And it's only made worse by his huff and the way he clenches his jaw a couple of seconds later. Not even the argument that Sun Ah is their enemy so letting her fix Yo Han's tie might be dangerous can justify this, since that's not a look of concern or alarm — that's jealousy.

The intent is jealousy. Plain and simple.

And that's why intent is important. Because, if push came to shove, the intent behind this one, singular screenshot could, theoretically, be the only evidence you need if you wanted to defend a queer reading of this drama.

Because there is, quite frankly — in my humble opinion as the fandom treasure — no other way to explain the look on his face in a drama this meticulous and obsessed with details.

In this scene, unlike all the others, the queerness isn't just in the presentation anymore — it's in both the intent and presentation.

So, if you want the scene that says "this shit's gay, fam"?

This is the one.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#Amethystina Replies #Anonymous #Dear LORD I went off on a tangent here #Sorry about that #But I also stand by it #That screenshot of Ga On keeps me up at night #Because THE INTENT #TELL ME WHAT THE INTENT IS #By the way #I feel a need to point out that I don't actually NEED Yo Han and Ga On to be canon #But it drives me ABSOLUTELY INSANE that some of these scenes exist #Because now they're just messing with me and my hyper-analytical mind #... filed under things going on inside my head I guess #It's never quiet or boring #That's for sure

[brabblesblog]

Remember that I love you.

Set between chapters 4 and 5 of "Whither is thy beloved gone? "

Astarion tries to cope with Ban's absence in any way he can.

Read on AO3.

He wakes up in a cold sweat, hands fisting into the satin sheets. Alone, yet again. He exhales, running a hand over his face; he registers that it is cold and clammy, even more so than the usual.

A quick moment to slip on his bathrobe and he leaves the room, meandering through large, empty hallways and tomblike rooms that just further remind him how lonely he is.

Can’t live like this, he thinks.

Desperate nighttime thoughts, brought on by endless nightmares that have just seemed to crop up in her absence. Punishment? A cruel joke by the gods?

Who knows? Who cares? All he knows is he’s fucked.

The next day, the Ascendant stands before an old crone.

“Simulacrum,” he says, tapping the scroll she had laid down on the table. “Do you think I can use this?”

The old vendor, who had been summoned here by a frankly confusing flurry of servants in a garishly decorated black and gold carriage, frowns.

“You would require the person to be within touching range, Saer. I apo-”

The smashing of a goblet against a nearby wall makes her flinch. She sneaks a look at her host and sees the man’s chest heaving, his unnervingly crimson eyes wide with something akin to anger-

No, not anger. The man is despondent.

“I see.” Her host’s voice is clipped; the man takes a deep breath, and the next words are somewhat calmer. “Anything else you can offer, then? Any possible solution to this predicament?”

The old crone, unsure, rests her hands on the table, her rather grubby fingers staining the white tablecloth. She sees her host’s lip curl at the sight and quickly withdraws them.

“I may have one or two more ideas,” she offers. “They’re not the best, and it won’t be as good as a simulacrum. But it does fulfill some of… your needs, if not all.”

“Elaborate.” The man’s eyes bore into her.

She wants to just leave. This mansion feels wrong - too large, too silent, too cold. Why did she even agree to come here in that stupid carriage?

Coin, of course. They offered a lot of it.

She dithers for a moment more. “You can ask a hag-”

“No!”

Well. That’s not going to work then. She considers telling the man to sod off, that she’s done here and taking the coin his lackeys promised her if she’d come with them. But something in the man’s eyes tells her that would be unwise.

Wracking her brain, she comes up with one more solution.

“I do have this… automaton. Won it in a bet one time. It’s old, and can only really say a line or two, but-” She shrugs. “A quick spell of Seeming, perhaps, if you have a portrait of her somewhere. I can sell you the scroll.”

A crude method, one that will probably not produce anything close to the accuracy a simulacrum could achieve. But she can tell this man is desperate.

He considers this, and gives her a sharp nod. “I’ll take both.”

He’s in a spare storeroom, the things he needs to achieve this assembled before him: the automaton, programmed by the crone to say one sentence, the scroll of Seeming, and a painting.

The Hero of Baldur’s Gate.

He has it facedown on the table, refusing to look at it until he absolutely needs to.

The Ascendant casts the spell, reading it off the scroll he holds with trembling fingers.

Astarion opens his eyes to see something that looks like her at a cursory glance. A closer inspection reveals the inconsistencies - the way the face is shaped, the way the lips are positioned, among other, subtler things.

He thinks he can fool himself if he’s a fair distance away, and so he drags his chair a few meters back and sits, a goblet of wine still in his other hand. His eyes never leave the auto-

Ban. His eyes never leave Ban.

He should have drank more before this, he realizes, but it’s too late. He’s too sober, too lonely, and that thing looks enough like her that he feels something stir in his breast.

“Come back.” He tries it out, and finds it easy to speak the words he can’t say to the real Ban.

“I need you.” Not-Ban stares at him in silence.

“I love you.”

Ban seems to glare at him at these words, as if accusing him of lying.

“I’m not- I never meant to-“

Fuck. Fuck.

It’s not her, just a damned illusion, and yet he feels his heart crack. He sees the deep, bottomless chasm of his loneliness; a pain that seems to have no end and no way for him to ease.

He raises the now-empty goblet, aiming a hard, spiteful throw at the automation. The goblet, much like the others he’s thrown, shatters.

The hit activates it, and it speaks.

“Remember that I love you.”

It’s not even her voice; but it’s Not-Ban’s mouth that moves.

It’s enough, close enough to make his eyes sting and his breath catch.

It doesn’t matter that this isn’t her. That she won’t ever want to see him again, or hear what he wishes he could say.

He says it anyway, says it to the illusion in front of him, says everything he never got to.

He tells her he’s hurt, that he’s scared, and that all he wants is to be loved and why is that so fucking hard?

The sun rises; eight hours have passed. The spell breaks.

The Ascendant leaves the room, leaving a mess of shattered glass and scattered machine parts.

Taglist: @elora-the-slutty-songstress @tragedybunny @spacebarbarianweird @ayselluna @enterthedreams @coltaire @qiific3 @misscrissfemmefatale @vixstarria @eatyourheartoutmylove @linllewellyn @ battisonsgf @micropoe10 @thegoodwitchs-blog @akirahime @velcyrptrr @i-cant-get-into-my-other-account @babblebrain-blog @asterordinary @last-but-not-the-least @artist4theworld @gracemisconduct @decadentcoffeewizard @rootin-tootin-n-kind@pursuitseternal@youngtacobanana @krispeenuggiez @pursuitseternal@girlygmer-blog @cheezits4lyfe @vinegarjello @the0ldmann

#astarion #astarion baldurs gate #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x tav #astarion fic #bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion bg3 #ascended astarion x tav #astarion ascended #vampire ascendant #ascendant astarion #ascended astarion #astarion fanfiction #astarion fanfic #astarion angst #bg3 fic #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfic #bg3 angst

[aingeal98]

Can you list down the orpheus and euridyce moments? :o and whether it's doksoo/ joongdok/ yoohankim related

OK so to preface I'm sure people out there have done much more coherent analysis than me who just finished the novel last week but I'm gonna throw together some of my thoughts anyways:

The whole final third of the novel is the Orpheus/Eurydice Moment to me. Either the build up, the event, or the aftermath. And they're ALL yoohankim related like it's the three of them or it's nothing. Everything from reincarnation island onwards feels like it's foreshadowing the ending, in big obvious ways but also in small subtler ways. Also given the amount of greek mythology present in the story I'm sure it's deliberate lol.

The story of Orpheus/Eurydice at it's simplest is a man who loves a woman so much he'll go to the Underworld and try to get her back. And he almost does, he just has to walk back to the surface without looking back to make sure she's following. But of course he looks back. Because he loves her. He needs to see her, he loves her too much to risk never seeing her again. Even if it dooms them. He already lost her once, and his grief won't allow him to move forward so easily.

When yoohan get off the train with Dokja, they look back. When I read it I was like holyyyy shit they're both Orpheus and seeing the official art confirmed it for me.

(Couldn't find the image without the text but anyways)

Dokja is their Eurydice. If they didn't look back, if they accepted 49% Dokja and kept moving forward... Well who knows for sure what would have happened but we do know that we wouldn't have gotten 49 Dokja swept up into 51 and then torn down until just a tiny version of himself remains, alive but comatose. We wouldn't have gotten the Dokkaebi King telling Han Sooyoung "You should have been content with 49% Kim Dokja."

But of course they would have never been content. The same way Orpheus could have never made it to the surface without looking back. They had to. Just like they have to keep trying, no matter what.

The thematic parallel to Orpheus for me is how they cannot let go of their grief. They love Dokja too much to settle for anything less than him being there with them in full. Orpheus was terrified on his way back up, convinced the Gods could be tricking him because he couldn't hear Eurydice's footsteps. What if she was just a shade? A shadow of the woman he originally loved?

He could never settle for that. They could never settle for that either. Only unlike Orpheus, who's solution was to die and see Eurydice again, these two go a little bit more bonkers with their grief filled reunion attempts. World line crossing, time travel, reality crossing, screaming and fighting your other Orpheus half because they're not playing along and pretending to heal from their grief, brainwashing authors from alternate universes into writing Dokja's story so they can bring him back...

I'm kind of curious what Orpheus in Orv's reaction would be to seeing those two repeat his story. Like is he happy or is he like wow those two do NOT know how to quit they're kind of embarrassing me right now.

But yeah if I'm yelling incoherently about yhk being Orpheus and Eurydice, this is the basics of what I'm talking about. Thanks for the ask!

#asks #orv rambles #orv spoilers #yoohankim #orv

[lollytea]

do you think everyone else in the hexsquad knows about Hunter's crush on Willow? and/or vice versa, maybe? even that there's something happening but it's a slow and tentative thing that they shouldn't push or meddle in? like Hunter is valiantly trying not to be painfully flustered and obvious around the others while Willow seems to be making some attempt to be subtle and deliberate about when she does The Flirts and i'm curious how much either of them they're succeeding

I've been thinking about it and I believe the most logical conclusion based on what we know from Thanks to Them is that they all know to some extent but their level of knowledge varies depending on the person. But one tidbit that they are all very aware of is Hunter's painfully obvious crush on Willow. They're just. Politely ignoring it.

Because like. I think if this was a thing they knew and made their business, Thanks of Them would have at least given one example of them giving him looks or making some comment alluding to it. There's none of that. Which could mean that none of them actually know. But...c'mon...

Like how the fuck is he hiding this? Realistically speaking. He goes bright red when Willow does anything. There is no way he's been doing that for months with not a single person noticing.

So I figure that while Willow's feeling might be a little more subtle and not everybody is entirely certain of them, one thing they can all agree on is Hunter.

I imagine that it's kinda similar to Willow and Gus's reaction when lumity was developing. Like they knew but they let Luz and Amity figure it out for themselves rather than get involved.

Vee would absolutely clock Hunter as a hopeless girl liker immediately. Like she's been having a pleasantly slice-of-life teenage experience these last few months while her sister has been fighting for her life. Vee hangs around with her average teen friends, she watches TV, she's sniffed around online. Vee sees like twelve stupid crushing teenage boys on her morning route to the supermarket alone. Like she knows the drill.

I also kinda like the thought that she knows about Willow's crush too. Their friendship in Thanks to Them is so cute so I really like to headcanon they often hang out when Lumity and the Menace Brothers are off doing their own thing. So they're having giggly little private talks and idk brushing each others hair or whatever. So Vee knows about Willow's feelings because Willow told her. Like she's gotta be a gushing teenage girl about Hunter to somebody and honestly I can't think of a more perfect candidate than Vee.

It would be cute if Vee was the reason Willow really started stepping up her flirting game. Like she thinks Hunter might like her but she's still not certain, and Vee offers her opinion that he most definitely does. With that certainty in mind, Willow gets a little bolder in how she approaches her interactions with him and eventually starts to pick up that Vee was right. He is absolutely reciprocating. It's simply a matter of waiting until he's ready to flirt back.

Love to think that Gus cares the least about this shit but he's also cursed to be the most perceptive of the group. Labyrinth Runners reveals that he's very good at reading even the subtler emotions of both Hunter and Willow. So neither of them told him but he's known since the day they fucking met. He actually caught on to Willow's strange shift in behavior first during the events of ASIAS and it wasn't until he became more familiar with Hunter better that he realized it was mutual.

But like. He doesn't really care. It doesn't bother him really but he's not exactly bursting with excitement over it. He figures if he just leaves them to it, they'll eventually sort out what they are to each other. That's what happened with Luz and Amity anyway.

I feel like he would never make a big deal about it. But based on "You wanna borrow my library card to visit Amity, don't you?" being his way to saying he knew that lumity had something going on, he'd definitely just drop it in casual conversation. Which scares the absolute shit out of Hunter. Like

"Hey Hunter, Camila's got groceries in the trunk. Help us bring them in."

"Oh sure, no problem."

"But please don't do that thing where you try to carry four bags at once. It never ends well."

"That was one time!"

"Yeah and Willow's already out there so there's bound to be a second time. Your crush on her makes you do stupid stuff."

"MY WHA T????"

So yeah Gus doesn't bring it up often. But whenever he does, it startles Hunter terribly. Based on the whole lumity cookbook thing, he's nice enough that he'd try to help every now and again. He's not exactly good at it. And he doesn't do much. But he helps. And Hunter is already at a complete loss on what to do so he'll just blindly follow whatever advice Gus gives him. This leads to him gifting Willow a cookie tin of dirt. (She liked it so Hunter has not disowned Gus as his wingman just yet.)

When it comes to Willow, it'd be post ASIAS-pre LR where they'd just be at school, eating lunch and Willow is glued to her scroll.

"Are you all smiley and giggly because you're texting the Golden Guard?" Gus asks boredly.

Willow looks up, surprised. Then she smirks. "And if I am?"

"I'm not gonna say anything but I'm gonna be pretty "Hmmm" about it."

Willow just laughs. "What if I said he was cute."

"Girl..."

But now that Gus and Hunter are besties, he is also equipped to help Willow along. Of course, Willow doesn't exactly need help. She's actually doing perfectly fine on her own. But yknow he'll occasionally feed her information. Like "Okay okay there's this one line from Cosmic Frontier. Write this down, it's like--I said write it down. It's like his weakness. He's quoted it a billion times today alone. If you say it, I promise you he'll swoon. Trust me on this."

Hunter did swoon so Gus has not lost Willow's wingman privileges either.

Amity is just not very observant to others' feelings a lot of the time unless they make them explicitly obvious. I feel like this is especially true with Willow who she loves but doesn't always have the best read on. Like Amity was completely oblivious to Willow's frustration with her in LR so it's safe to say she doesn't really understand her inside and out. And that's fine, she needs some time to get to know the real Willow. So yeah she wouldn't really notice that Willow has a crush on Hunter unless it is point blank explained to her.

It also never even crosses her mind that Willow could possibly be attracted to Hunter. That anybody could be attracted to Hunter. Because frankly Hunter is the most romantically unappealing creature Amity has ever beholded. And she does not mean that in a mean way. It is simply fact. So the eyes she's giving Willow during the cosplay scene is just complete bewilderment because she cannot comprehend why Willow is encouraging this.

Like girl, she wants to smooch his stupid face. Keep up.

But there is no discernable way Amity does not see herself in Hunter. He is tomatoing all over the place. Like it doesn't matter now unobservant she is. This shit is impossible to miss. But quite honestly, I think Amity understanding what he's going through would lead to her not saying a word about it. Like he's clearly still in the very emotionally muddled stage. He's figuring out what he's feeling. He's coming to terms with it. So maybe he'd like to get a better understanding of it before his friends are pressuring him into making a move/confessing. And she gets that it's a very vulnerable way to feel. Sometimes you want to feel like you have some privacy over your emotions, even when you know you're very bad at hiding them. It's not Hunter's fault he's prone to blushing and displaying his crush for the world to see. But he has a right to keep it to himself until he's ready to talk about it. Amity respects that.

When it comes to Luz, I originally saw it as her being too focused on returning to the Boiling Isles to notice that something was developing. But after Thanks to Them, I see it differently. Over these last few months, Luz and Hunter have had this secret bubble between the two of them that nobody else knows about. Obviously they know about the Philip and grimwalker stuff but I could easily imagine the two of them slipping into this relationship where they just spill the beans of all the dark ugly and confusing emotions that they don't feel comfortable telling anyone else about.

Having a crush is definitely a lot more lighthearted than the stuff they usually talk about but it's Hunter's first crush so it makes him feel very vulnerable and weird. And if he's gonna vocalize that unfamiliar feeling to anyone, it would be Luz.

And I know Luz is a hopeless romantic. I know. Buuuut. I like to think that being around Eda and Raine for a short period of time really opened her eyes to the fact that romance can be...complicated? Difficult? Messy? Basically, just not as shiny and bubbly as she used to think it was. As such, Luz does not jump at the opportunity to pair Hunter and Willow up. Season 1-season 2A Luz might have. But she is not the same girl. Her view on romantic love is a little more nuanced. Sometimes it's something you have to be careful with. So she doesn't push it. Like Amity, Luz deduces that Hunter needs a little time to process what he's feeling before he goes diving into the next stage. So she gives him space to do that. In the meantime, she's here if he wants a void to yell into about it.

All that being said, Luz would occasionally tease him about it now and again.

When it comes to Willow's feelings, I feel like Luz has tried to subtly suss them out on Hunter's behalf but it's....difficult. Not because Willow is subtle about it but because Luz and Willow's feelings for Hunter kinda overlap into something very unclear.

Willow and Luz both have that sapphic girl tendency where they are deeply fascinated with the same soggy piece of bread of a guy. They want to study him under a microscope. They want to put him in an enclosure filled with strange objects that he doesn't understand and observe his behavior through the security camera. The only difference is that Willow mostly behaves this way because she thinks he's boyfriend material, while Luz just sees him as her most beloved moth eaten stuffed animal.

But because Willow's enthusiasm and support of Hunter is so similar to her own, Luz has a hard time coming to a conclusion on if Willow's feelings have branched out into the romantic direction.

Because like Willow will say shit like "Hunter is so cute <3"

And Luz responds. "Yeah. He reminds me of one of the feral possums we kept finding in the shack."

"I want to kiss him." She'll sigh absentmindedly.

And Luz has to internally debate this for over ten minutes because she also wants to kiss Hunter. On the forehead. Because she's always wanted to kiss a feral possum on the forehead. So she is forced to concede that she has no fucking idea what Willow feels, despite the fact that Willow could not be any more obvious if she tried.

#huntlow #this isnt like a proper analysis or anything. just silly headcanons

[happyandticklish]

Simon Says

Notes: Very, extraordinarily late commission for @tickles-tea! I am truly grateful for your patience in this process, I know I have taken forever to get this out ;-; but, I am happy to say that the lack of ticklish!Chishiya content out there has finally been rectified. I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Chishiya goes up against a game that may prove to be more challenging than he can handle.

After months of enduring them, Chishiya had learned to never underestimate the games. Some held challenges that made this goal easy to obtain, but others held subtler difficulties that you had to dig under the surface for. A game of tag could become a game of life or death. A game of hopscotch could end with one of your legs sawn clean off if you had a simple misstep. One of the more memorable of these was the game of Truth or Dare, which had left Kuina and him unable to look each other in the eyes for weeks after. Doubting the games was always the first mistake.

So, when the bold-faced letters on the screen read off Simon Says, Chishiya braced himself for the worst.

“Nervous?” Kuina asked as the two walked calmly down the hallway of the school building as directed. “They didn’t give us much to go off of this time—hard to make a plan under such circumstances.”

Their only instructions had been brief and clear—do as Simon instructs. If you go against him, you gain a strike. Only three strikes before you face termination from the game. Each of them were assigned a different room down the stretching hall where they would be forced to face their trial by themselves. Depending on what awaited them, this could be a mercy or a death sentence.

Chishiya shrugged, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. He scanned the doors with his eyes as he spoke. “Like you said, there’s nothing to prepare for. The best we can do is form a strategy once we’re in the room. For now, follow the instructions. You’re already such a good listener, so I doubt it’ll be hard for you.”

Kuina’s eyes shifted quickly towards him and, after deciding that it was unclear whether this was a jab or a compliment, she grinned. “I could say the exact opposite for you, boss. This is your number. Good luck~”

The number thirty glared above him as it towered over the foreboding classroom. Kuina was already off, looking utterly unbothered to the casual observer. Chishiya, however, noticed the stiffness in her shoulders and wished her luck silently. She had proved herself to be a valuable asset. He would hate to lose her so early on.

The inside of the room was fairly plain. The classroom adornments had been modified so that a singular metal chair sat in the middle of the room. It faced a modified chalkboard that appeared to be more computer-like in design than its original purpose. Static buzzed absently across its screen, almost ominous in its innocence. The walls looked just like any classroom, but any and all furniture or equipment had been emptied out aside from those two objects.

Thus far, nothing too intimidating. Perhaps this game would serve as a break, a relief from the desperate ways they were now forced to live their lives. He didn’t truly believe it, but it was nice to indulge the fantasy for a moment.

He hesitated by the door until the screen clicked on suddenly. Across it were six bold letters, flickering from the shaky connection.

Simon Says sit in the chair.

Well. The command was easy enough. Chishiya carefully made his way over to the chair, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that would provide the game’s added challenge. The game was a four of diamonds which meant that somehow intellect was going to come into this. It was possible this referred to Simon’s commands, but Chishiya wouldn’t put it past the game masters to try something more underhanded.

He settled into the chair, wincing at the uncomfortable feel of the metal. He gripped the armrests loosely, staring coolly at the screen for further instructions. He noticed that the words had colored a calming green as he listened to them.

There was a timer on the game phone shoved in his jacket pocket that slowly counted down the minutes until the game’s end. A similar timer was placed at the bottom of the screen in front of him. Twenty minutes wasn’t so bad, in the grand scheme of things. Twenty minutes was a walk in the park compared to what he had endured in the past.

This time, a voice accompanied the command on the screen. “Simon Says hold the armrests of your chair.”

He did as directed, only to have straps emerge from the sides of the chair, closing tightly over his wrists. Similar cuffs grasped his ankles by the bottom of the chair as well. That can’t end well. He tried not to overthink the vulnerable position. The important thing was to be in control of himself. Panicking would only make things worse.

The words happily dinged green once more, bringing up a new command.

“Simon Says read the following paragraph clearly and concisely.”

Chishiya furrowed his brow. A paragraph appeared underneath the command, a poem from some old author in the same bright green. “Reading?” Chishiya murmured out loud, staring at the screen. “If this is the game, I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed.”

“Simon Says read the following paragraph clearly and concisely.”

The words had transformed into a runny yellow, red creeping in at the sides. Evidently, running out the time was not allowed. He cleared his throat, narrating Emily Dickenson off the screen.

“Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me, the carriage held—”

The rest of the paragraph got stuck in his throat as he experienced the first taste of what was meant to be the challenge of this game. Out of the seemingly smooth chair, two panels had emerged that opened and shifted to the side. Out of it came a set of mechanical hands that had touched down on his waist. He peered down at them with apprehension as they curved over the bone of his hips. Perhaps they were there to administer some kind of electric shock if he messed up?

Then, they began to move. With an almost tender gentleness, the fingers curled against his sides, wiggling gently against his shirt. Instinctively, he tensed, his fingers tightening around the armrests.

It tickled.

He was trapped in a death game and he was getting tickled.

Of everything they could have done, of course it would have been this. Chishiya pressed his lips together, doing his best to hold back his reactions. The yellow words were becoming redder by the minute, and the command rang out once more in that same dreadfully calm tone.

“Simon Says read the following paragraph clearly and concisely.”

The fingers crawled around to his front with an almost playful energy as they spidered over his stomach. He allowed himself to twitch and jerk in protest in order to focus his energy on executing the command as quickly as possible.

“—held but just ourselves, and immortality.” He tried to ignore the quake in his words along with the smile tugging at his lips. It was helpful to remind himself that Kuina would never let it go if he had survived all this time only to die from something as childish as tickling. “We slowly drove, he knew no h-haste, and I had to put away my labor and my leisure too—”

Nerve endings sparked treacherously as he read on, slowly but surely making his way through the unbearably long paragraph. The fingers had honed in on his stomach, seeming to pick up on the increased struggling that the area caused. For now, they refused to reach under the hem of his shirt for bare skin—a small mercy in this moment. He had a feeling he wouldn’t last long if they decided to explore.

Chishiya reached the end of the poem after what seemed like an eternity but in reality, could not have been more than a minute according to the timer at the bottom of the screen. The moment the words became green, he let out a hissing laugh, squeezing his eyes shut. “Shit. Shit.”

The game, apparently, did not feel that he needed a break in-between commands. The fingers continued to wiggle at an infuriatingly quick pace over his stomach. Despite this, their touch was gentle, a soft and relentless spidering that forced him to consider whether or not it was worth it to resist swatting those hands away.

“Simon Says solve this equation.”

A math problem spread across the screen, something long and complicated that involved far more letters than there ever really should be in math. A timer appeared at the bottom of the screen counting down from one minute. Chishiya was not bad at math. In fact, he quite enjoyed the simplicity of solving equations with reliable answers—it was something you could count on. He was finding his mental capacities a tad limited, however, under current circumstances.

His hands squeezed the arm rests tight as he forced himself to focus. A tight grin was pulled across his face, a mixture of mirth and irritation. Just don’t think about how much it tickles. His eyes scanned the screen as his stomach clenched with silent wheezes. Finally…

“S-Seven!"

The screen turned an annoyingly bright green, but Chishiya hardly cared as the hands had enacted a new strategy. They calmly pinched up his sides, not enough to hurt, just enough to pinpoint each nerve ending and send an electric bolt rushing down his spine. He choked on a strangled noise, squirming as much as he could in his position. They didn’t stop, either. He would’ve jumped out of his chair if he could’ve as they reached their end destination under his arms. There, they paused and continued their gentle scribbling from earlier for a couple seconds too many before moving down to repeat the process once more.

He was giggling now, and found himself grateful that these challenges had been isolated at the very least. Having an audience to this gentle destruction would have been the final straw. Red crept up to his ears as it was, but the game was uncaring of any embarrassment he might have felt.

Chishiya worked his way through five more equations in what was technically only three minutes but felt like an eternity. Around question four, a new panel had opened in the chair allowing feathers to curl and flick over his neck. Somehow, this was almost worse than the tickling under his arms—annoying and ticklish. He scrunched against their gentle touch, squinting to try to focus on the numbers floating in his vision.

He yelped out the answer frantically as one of the feathers twirled innocently in his ear. “Undefinehehed!”

The screen transformed into a violent red. “Simon Says that is incorrect—strike one."

Another few panels opened up and Chishiya lurched forward as hands gripped onto his knees, squeezing them in quick, repetitive motions. He hadn’t even realized the knees were a particularly ticklish area, at least not on himself. However, each squeeze was like electricity shooting up his legs and exploding out through his nervous system.

He was grateful, at the very least, that he didn’t need to stay quiet during this stage. He cackled wildly as the tickling overwhelmed his senses, twisting against the restraints. A quick glance up displayed that the screen had transformed to the same problem from before, only this time the red was creeping in at a much faster rate. He scanned the problem over and over again, attempting to figure out where he went wrong. It was only strike one, but he couldn’t afford to acquire any more.

“Zero?” he hazarded, gritting the word out.

The screen flashed green, and he exhaled shakily. Thank god. The tickling wasn’t terribly intense considering all that he had been through, but it was much harder to tolerate when he knew that giving into it meant putting his life on the line.

The last ten minutes passed slower than seemed possible. The final stage was puzzles. Riddles, word problems, or sometimes physical puzzles on the screen where he had to dictate where each piece would go. Chishiya had often prided himself on his ability to stay cool under pressure, a fact that had been proven many times to him while surviving the games. But this was a new level of hell. Concentration was impossible under such circumstances, and he received another strike only a few minutes after the first one.

The hands were everywhere now. Metallic fingers spidered mercilessly over his soles as his feet twitched and jumped at each touch, unable to move far as their position pressed them right into the hands’ awaiting touch. There were two pairs of hands for his thighs and knees, three for his torso, and of course the feathers for his neck which surprisingly proved to be the most irritating out of all of everything. Chishiya had been tickled before, of course, but never like this. He wheezed and giggled and cursed as he read each riddle, forcing himself to choke the laughter back when he finally gave his answer. It was a terribly gentle hell, and Chishiya didn’t know if he was going to survive it.

Possibly the worst aspect of it all was that he might have enjoyed it if there were not the threat of death on the line. The thought surprised him when it occurred, but he couldn’t deny it even as it brought a flush to his cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled, really smiled, let alone laughed. Forgotten rushes of dopamine flooded his mind as his nerves thrilled at the touch even as they ran from it. Touch was such a simple pleasure, and yet, he hadn’t felt it in this gentle way in so long. He felt… giddy. Happy. Alive.

He almost wished the game would end and leave him there, just for a moment, to allow him to really indulge in the tickling and give himself over to it. There was something relieving about the notion of releasing the control he had been forced to hold onto so tightly all these past couple months.

These musings were tinged by a dark stain of anxiety and fear as to what giving up that control would mean, however. He ignored them for now in favor of the much more pressing goal of keeping himself alive.

He barely noticed when the time ran out, the phone in his pocket trilling merrily at his victory. The tickling ended all at once as hands retracted back into the metal chair, and he slumped backwards, his features still stuck in a grin. His skin tingled with phantom tickles, and he wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to dampen the feeling. Triumph and disappointment raged inside him. He waited a moment to gather his breath and collect himself before walking over to the door.

Kuina was waiting for him outside. He tried to ignore the rush of relief her presence ignited inside himself—she had made it. She was leaning against a wall with her eyes closed. One peeked open at his approaching. She did not appear as frazzled as Chishiya felt, and he frowned, wondering if she had undergone a different trial in her room.

“You’re alive,” she noted, unable to help her own slight smile. They didn’t talk about the risks that came with these games often, but there was unmistakable joy in their eyes whenever they saw each other again on the other side. They never said anything about it. It was better not to voice attachments in a place like this. “As usual.”

“So are you.” He was quickly arranging his features back into a cool mask, hoping he didn’t look as flushed as the warmth in his cheeks indicated. “What did they do to you?”

“What did they do to you?”

They were both silent, holding each other’s gaze. Chishiya was the first to drop it, dodging past her toward the exit. “Nothing worth remembering. Let’s head back, though. I think I deserve a nap after that.”

She watched him for a moment, but quickly shrugged, moving to follow him. He rubbed a finger over his palm as he walked, tracing the skin there with the tip of his nail. Sensation sparked gently at his touch, before falling flat a moment later as his body recognized his owner. He frowned, rubbing away the feeling and shoving his hands into his pockets.

He was looking forward to some rest. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

#alice in borderland #chishiya shuntaro #tickle fic #commissions #commission #tickling #fanfiction #kuina hikari

[anghraine]

I watched the movies first as a kid and they made it seem like denethor DIDNT want the beacons to be lit and I was so surprised when I read the book and it was all his idea. And that’s not even getting into them glossing over him using the palantir also. There’s just no seemingly good reason for either of those decisions except to make him into a simple caricature. It wouldn’t have been that hard to include?? And would have changed the whole tenor of his character in the films if they had

They actually do make it seem like that! The most Film Denethor moment to me is probably the shot of him glowering like Wormtongue as he sees the beacons light up. It's such a villain shot and yet his motives and actions are so reduced yet muddled that he's not even an interesting one. Like, it's not just that film Denethor is a terrible person regardless of the barely-alluded-to palantír where book Denethor is a great man whose pride and desperation lead him to use the palantír one last time and his sanity finally snaps. Film Denethor's motives are essentially "he be crazy and mean."

I obviously don't think highly of how the films handle Gondor in general, but my suspicion is that this is not mainly a result of just not having enough screen time. Making such an antagonist (if a pathetic one) out of him involved adding scenes, after all. I feel like there was actually an active effort to make him unworthy of respect. They could have made two movies out of ROTK (and probably should have) and I doubt it would have significantly changed the treatment of him.

The subtler, more complex gradations of his personality are already antithetical to the films' approach (see: Gimli). And Denethor additionally poses a direct challenge to Aragorn's super-special yet troubled heroism—as written in the novel, Denethor is probably closer to that than Aragorn himself, though both men are quite alike (as Tolkien repeatedly reminds us). And I don't think the films really want that likeness, or indeed want any other human men to be comparable to Aragorn in the way that book Denethor is.

That's so fundamental to the ethos and structure of the films that I think doing justice to Denethor would require a different way of thinking about the story, characters, and themes than was ever really going to happen with this production.

#anon replies #respuestas #legendarium blogging #legendarium fanwank #denethor #pj critical #anghraine rants #húrinionath #long post

[clotpolesonly]

What are your Dark Heir theories?? I'm sooo curious to see what happens

it's so so hard to predict where anything is gonna go from here, i'm honestly STUMPED, adlfkhj

i have a couple of thoughts and i do not know how plausible they actually are, but

-- i think that Edmund Creen was behind the plot to switch Will and Katherine as children. possibly. i might be crazy, but i feel like somebody had to have orchestrated all of that, and somebody had to sent that servant from the very beginning to tell Will about the Stewards. the servant claimed that Will's mother sent him, but she KNEW that Will was NOT blood of the lady. she knew that he was not the savior they were looking for. she wanted Will dead, she wanted the world protected from him, and she would not have sent anyone to take him to the Hall. right?? but someone had to do that. i feel like Edmund is gonna be the chess master, the spider at the center of the web, pulling all the strings to orchestrate exactly what he wants to happen in a con that he's been running for almost two decades.

-- i think it's possible that Katherine might not be dead, or could be resurrected. if i recall correctly, her death by the corrupted blade didn't resemble the deaths from the beginning of the book when it was unsheathed. those were more sickness, like they were rotting from the inside out or something, and they just died. but Katherine was petrified. she essentially turned to stone. like the tree at the Hall. the tree that Elizabeth brought back to life with her touch. i'm JUST SAYING. it's within the realm of possibility.

-- i think, and this might just be wishful thinking on my part cuz i love angst, but I THINK that at some point in the series (maybe or maybe not in book 2) James will get collared. i don't know if Will will be the one to do it or what the circumstances would be, but Pacat cannot possibly just dangle that in front of us without following through on the fucked up promise of it, and i think he has the balls to do it. no idea how anyone would come back from it, but COME ON, GIMME THAT, I NEEEED IT.

-- i think that James genuinely doesn't know who Will is. we don't have confirmation one way or the other in the text yet, but we already got the surprise twist of "i knew all along actually" in Captive Prince. i don't think Pacat would retread that ground, and the sheer horror and betrayal of James finding out too late what he's done, what Will knowingly allowed him to do, what Will may or may not have intentionally led him to do, will be fucking delicious.

-- i think we'll be introduced to the 4th King or a descendant of him in DH. Pacat said that his favorite character in the series would be introduced in this book, and i think it's very possible it will be this person. the lost 4th king was said to return when their need was greatest, or something like that, and i expect DH to get pretty fucking dire, if we know anything about Pacat's narrative structure where trilogies are concerned 😂 also just more Reborns in general. it was said or implied that the Dark King killed a lot of his people intending for them to be reincarnated with him, but we've only gotten the one so far in James (two if we count the horse, which i do uwu), so i'm hoping/expecting to get more of them.

-- i think we'll get some kind of insight into the past. how much, i'm not sure, if Will and James will get clear memories of their entire past lives or if they'll get muddled flashbacks and feelings. we don't know how strong the buried past might be, if the whole personality/identity is in there waiting to take over or if it's something subtler. i'm hoping for subtler myself. there's a lot of possibilities, but i expect we'll start getting some answers and a lot of complications, and i'm looking forward to seeing what direction Pacat goes with it all.

#and the answer is #Anonymous #Dark Rise #Dark Heir #Dark Rise spoilers