#I think as movies go it's a lot less troubling than many

[dycefic]

Tom Saves The World

Everyone knows that it’s super-heroes who save the world. They fight the aliens, or the monsters, or the bad guys. And mostly, that’s true.

But not always.

I’m a psychic. The thing is, my range isn’t that great. I don’t have much detail more than about 36 hours out, 48 for something really big. I’d had a nebulous sort of bad feeling for about a week before this one finally hit, and it was big. Something very tough and very supernatural was going to come up out of the harbor of Nova Roma, and the death-toll was going to be high. Crazy high.

I did all I could. I told the Unaligned Supers Job Placement Agency, and they put the word out to everyone on both sides of the Line. The Henchman’s Union don’t like natural disasters any more than anyone else, and they’re often quite helpful against eldritch horrors and stuff like that. Things that don’t hire henchmen and ruin the property values.

The trouble was, nobody big was around. The only really big team of heavy hitters on the West Coast were away dealing with some sort of doomsday cult - I never was clear on what that was about - and Guarde and Dog Fox were out of touch and even Mx Frantique was out of town at someone’s wedding. It was going to happen in less than two days and we couldn’t find anyone to help and I was seriously considering calling in some kind of bomb threat or something to get people away from the docks, at least.

And then, about eighteen hours out, it just… went away.

Which never, ever happens.

My powers might be short range, but they’re reliable. I don’t get stuff wrong, and I hadn’t been able to find any way to prevent what was going to happen, or even been able to identify anyone who could. But someone did. Someone had done something to stop the threat, something that happened literally while I was opening my car door. When I reached for the handle, thousands of people were going to die. By the time the door was open, there was no threat at all.

At first I thought it must have been a ranged thing. Like, whatever I’d been seeing (all those teeth, I saw them in nightmares for months after) had been distracted by something tasty on its way here and gotten off track, that it’d come up somewhere up or down the coast. My range isn’t that big, either. Anything outside about thirty miles might as well be on Mars for all I know about it. So we kept a watch out, and warned the chapters of the Union and the Agency in other cities.

But nothing happened. Nothing at all. I couldn’t explain it, and I was really unpopular for a while. Supers do NOT like people who cry wolf. There’s enough freaky shit we have to deal with without someone panicking everyone with a dire prophecy that fizzles out.

Thank all the gods that Tunny showed up. Nobody’s really sure what Tunny actually is - sentient fish creature, some kind of really mutated human, an alien, or what. She changes her story a lot. But she’s pretty friendly, especially for a twenty-foot-long horror-movie-mermaid-thing with four arms, so when she came into harbor to pick up some supplies a guy from the Agency went out to tell her what I’d seen. I’d gotten a wharf and dock number, so she went down to check.

I don’t think anyone had ever seen Tunny scared before. Her English wasn’t good enough to really explain what she’d found hibernating down there, but it was something very old and very powerful and very dangerous, and if it’d been woken up my vision would just have been the start of the crisis.

She rounded up a bunch of whales to help her move it, once she was sure it hadn’t been agitated and wasn’t likely to rouse if moved carefully. They towed it out before dawn, not wanting to scare the civilians, and when I saw the footage from the helicopter the Union sent up, when I saw how big the swell was, how many whales were pulling, I swear I nearly crapped myself. No wonder I’d been getting hints a week in advance. Somehow we dumbass humans had built a whole fucking city almost on top of some kind of Ancient Old… THING, and eroded the sea-bottom until it was exposed, and if someone hadn’t done whatever it was we’d all have been dead long before Tunny arrived. And not just all as in ‘all of Nova Roma’, it could have taken out half of the continent... or all of it.

It took me years to find out what happened. YEARS. It turned into a kind of hobby, tracking everything that might possibly have come into contact with Wharf 38 on that particular day.  

And what I found, eventually, was a city employee named Thomas Briggs.

I’d found out early on that 38 wasn’t in good repair. Not that bad, but not great. It was old, things were getting a bit saggy in a few places, but there’d been no sign that anything was likely to fall off on the day. It had sat there for a couple of years after the crisis that never happened,, doing its job without problems then been rebuilt without any drama at all.

Entirely, completely, and totally because of Thomas Briggs.

The story, when I finally pieced it together, went like this.

There’d been some project or other to build some sort of high-budget science project over on the other side of the harbor, hanging it off’ve Pier 8, the furthest out on that side. Something about tracking sea-life or ships or something. My conversational English is near perfect, I’ve been here for years, but I don’t speak science nerd in ANY language. It’d all been approved, some university was covering most of the cost, it was all gonna be fine. And it was gonna be over on 8 because that side of the harbor is the shallow end. It’s where the sailboats go. All the big stuff that would block visual sensors and deafen the thing with engine noise was over in the thirties, in the real deep water.

They were almost ready to install the thing when a bunch of rich dudes suddenly got their panties in a bunch over having a big sciency tower thing ruining the view from their yachts, and tried to get it moved.

To, and I’m sure you guessed this, Wharf 38.

Which was completely insane. It wouldn’t be able to do its job over there, it’d be way more in the way, and (although they couldn’t have known it) the installation would definitely have woken up the Thing sleeping by the wharf and we all would have died. But rich dudes with yachts don’t care about that stuff. They’d bitched out and bribed up their friends on the city council, and those friends had done their thing, and the scientists had been left in the dark, and it’d almost gone through. They’d figured to install it right away, so that when the science guys found out it’d be too late and they’d either have to pay a lot to move it or just use it where it was.

Enter Thomas Briggs.

Mr Briggs, Tom to his friends, didn’t give a crap about the yachts or the science. He was a senior money guy for the commercial wharfs, the one who figured out things like how much money they’d take in in a quarter, and what the repair budget should be, stuff like that. He found out about this thing two days before the disaster would have happened, and sat down and did the math.

Then he sent out an email to the guys trying to push this through, and he ripped into them like they’d threatened to knife his mother. I got my hands on that email, and I didn’t understand a lot of it any more than the council guys would have. It was ALL numbers. But at the top he wrote it out in plain English. Pier 8 was new, and rated to handle the weight of the thingy. Wharf 38 was going to be scrapped in a few years, and it was NOT rated for that kind of structure. Pier 8 had plenty of room around it. Wharf 38 was already a tight fit for the big commercial ships, and adding a structure sticking out on one side would block off at least half of the wharf to those ships completely.

Bottom line, putting the thing on Wharf 38 would cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars more per year than putting it on 8, AND the city would have to eat the cost if 38 collapsed under it which it could easily do, AND the city would have to pay to move it in a couple of years anyway when 38 was due to be rebuilt.

And he cc-ed every important person he had an email address for, including the mayor, the anti-corruption people, and several reporters.

He must have sent that email right when I was opening my car door.

The whole plan collapsed right there, and some people got fired. There was no news story because the whole plan got killed before the reporters even got to the right office. The installation was started on Wharf 8 a few weeks later and I never connected it to a commercial wharf on the other side of the harbor.

One email, and a man who I never could have located in time, a man who had no powers at all, a man who was just conscientiously doing his job looking after the city’s money saved the city, and the continent, and maybe even the world.

Who could have predicted that? Not me, that’s for damn sure.

I can’t deny that I went home and got drunk off my ass that night. Just thinking about how close that had been made my hands shake. One man. One honest man who’d done the math.

I put the word out, once the hangover wore off. What had happened. That Thomas Briggs was the reason we were all alive and everyone better make his life real nice from now on, because he’d done what none of us could do and nobody but the supers would ever even know it.

He’s got a lot of luck coming to him, I can tell you. We don’t forget debts like that.

And I knew that’d freak him out, because honest men don’t like it when people start doing them a lot of favors for no apparent reason, so I tracked him down at the little bar where he likes to have a quiet beer on Friday nights before he goes home. Hell, I was the one who’d gone through it all, back then. I should get to tell him.

I sat down beside him at the bar and looked at him. I saw a thin, small, balding man who looked like he worried too much and didn’t get enough sleep, with lines around his eyes. Yeah, he looked like a man who’d do the math. “Thomas Briggs?”

He blinked at me through his glasses. “Yes? Do I know you?”

“No, you don’t. My name’s Barkhado Omar, and I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” I offered him my hand and he shook it, still looking confused. Which was fair, ‘cause I doubt a lot of seven foot tall Somali women came up to him in bars even when he was young. He’s got to be close to retirement now.

He frowned. “Looking for me? Why?”

I smiled at him. “Tom, let me buy you a drink and tell you about the day you saved the world.”

It’s usually us who save the city, or the world. We have all the intel, all the advantages, all the powers.

But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s someone like Tom Briggs, doing the right thing at the right time and never knowing that he changed the course of history.

Wild, huh?

--

This story is a direct result of me and my ex chatting about how different the entire Marvel Universe would have been if Jean’s first ‘resurrection’ - being found in a life pod under a wharf, IIRC - had happened at like... any other time. Earlier. Later. It would have changed SO MUCH.

And we speculated about how it could happen, how someone just puttering around in middle management might have unknowingly saved countless lives, prevented Madelyne’s corruption, the legacy virus, all of it, just by postponing that particular set of repairs a bit longer.... and I couldn’t resist writing a version of the story in which Tom does, in fact, save the world.

#short fiction #dyce's supers universe #comics inspired #sometimes something just goes right #horseshoe repair

[sunrise-imagines]

ill do anything for something about Prismo, relationship Hcs or PDA Hcs, I don't care if it's sfw or nsfw, I love Prismo

Of course! Prismo is such an underrated character, Im so glad he’s getting more screen time and I can’t wait to find out more lore like who’s his boss! I’ll keep it SFW for now, but feel free to send in another ask for some spicier headcanons ;) Enjoy!

Prismo the Wishmaster x Reader General Headcanons

• I hope your love language is receiving gifts because hoo boy he is constantly showering you with presents

• Saw something you liked in a store but didn’t have enough money to get it? Bam, it’s right there in front of you. Craving a specific food? Here’s five servings of it.

• It gets to the point where you have to tell him to dial it back a bit, because getting everything you want whenever you want it can start to make life a bit anticlimactic.

• On a more serious note, part of the reason why he gives you so many things is because he’s afraid that you might leave. I mean yeah,he’s an extra-dimensional godlike being, but he’s also very lonely because of this and hasn’t had many serious relationships in his life. This has caused to think that the only way to keep you with him is to grant your every wish. He needs you to reassure him that you love him for who he is, and you don’t need all those things to want to be with him.

• Like Scarab, he can take on a human-like physical form sometimes, though this form is harder for him to maintain as he does it a lot less often than Scarab. In this form, he has dark skin, curly pink hair and bright blue eyes like he usually does, and he wears a comfortable pink kurta and pants.

• He uses this form for physical intimacy, which you’ll have help to teach him as he isn’t familiar with all the different ways humans show affection.

• “So this is how a hug feels! Haha, it’s a little weird, but I like it!”

• His TV isn’t just for watching over the multiverse, he can also pull up programs from any universe to watch, so expect regular movie nights/binge watching shows

• He also loves playing board games! He’s really good at them too, though he’s not that competitive. He just has a lot of time to practice

• If you started dating when Jake was alive, then he loves to hang out with both of you! Nothing is better than chilling with his partner and his best friend.

• Makes special batches of pickles just for you, and asks you to sample different flavors and give him notes on what to adjust.

• In the most non-stalking way, he likes to keep an eye on you whenever you go back to your universe. He just wants to make sure you’re safe, and if you ever told him you’re uncomfortable with this he’d definitely stop asap.

• He’ll only step in if he sees you in serious trouble, zapping you to the time room to get you out of whatever situation is causing you distress.

• For my trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming folks, he is of course accepting of all gender identities, and if you aren’t happy with how your body or features look he’d be happy to change them for you! Only with your absolute complete consent though, he doesn’t want to permanently change anything about you unless you are absolutely sure it’s what you want. And of course, he’ll still love you no matter what you look like <3

#adventure time x reader #adventure time imagines #fionna and cake x reader #adventure time fanfic #fionna and cake fanfic #fionna and cake imagine #prismo x reader #prismo the wishmaster #prismo the wishmaster x reader #adventure time #fionna and cake #sfw

[rd0265667]

Lesserafim when you're too stressed

Sakura:

❃She'd immediately bar you from doing work, or whatever it is that's making you stressed. 

❃In her eyes, no work or task is more important than you and your health

❃Being an idol for so long, she's seen her fair share of people she cared for suffer from too much stress

❃She'll pull out all the stops to make sure you're less stressed before you go back to doing your work

❃She'll let you choose a game to play with her, and just this once, she'll go easy on you.

❃Her eyes turn to crescents when she sees you cheer in ecstasy from beating her at a game

Chaewon:

❃Absolutely ready to throw hands at whatever is stressing you out

❃When she finds out it's just a paper due soon, she get's a little embarrassed

❃But in her words, "I'm not afraid of paper cuts, let me at em"

❃She'll try her best to make you laugh, and amps the aegyo up to 11

❃Back Hugs and Cuddles 24/7

❃Though it hurts her, she'll let you eat all of her Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

❃She'll also cook your favourite food to make you feel better

Yunjin:

❃If she sees you being too stressed, she'll pull you away from the work, pulling you to the sofa

❃There, she'll lay you on her lap, then softly sing to you.

❃She'd slowly brush your hair, or lightly caress your cheek

❃She loves to whisper sweet nothings to you because she knows how it calms you down

❃Despite her loud nature, this is the one time she'll stay quiet

❃She'd encourage you to rant about whatever you're being stressed about to get it off your chest

❃She'll take her phone out and show you all the memes and funny tiktoks she'd seen to make you laugh

❃She'll pepper you with as many kisses as you want until you feel better

Kazuha:

❃Honestly, I doubt she'd be good at dealing with your stress

❃Like, she'd see you break down or borderline ripping your hair out, and she'd just stand there and stare, not sure of what to do

❃She'd get so sad and stressed that you're stressed

❃She still tries her best though

❃She'd go and buy everything she can that she thinks would work in making you feel better

❃Your favourite food or snacks, maybe even a nice movie will be given to you

❃She'd want to massage you too, giving you a back rub or a shoulder massage

❃She loves to hug you, and give you lots of kisses, especially forehead kisses

Eunchae:

❃She feels like she'd be an action girlfriend?

❃Like she'd help you deal with whatever's stressing you out so that you can quickly relax after being done with it

❃Especially if it's academic related, she'd sit down with you and solve whatever was troubling you

❃If she can't help you with the work, she'd try to let you relax

❃She'd immediately drag you out of the house, make you touch grass, maybe even visit the park

❃Brings you to your favourite places

❃Always holds your hands through it, because she knows you love holding her hand

❃Arcade and Theme Park duo, you and Eunchae

❃She pays for everything, and only goes home with you when she sees your eyes shine

#le sserafim #le sserafim fluff #le sserafim imagines #le sserafim x reader #lesserafim fluff #lesserafim imagines #lesserafim x reader #sakura fluff #sakura imagines #sakura x reader #chaewon fluff #chaewon imagines #chaewon x reader #yunjin fluff #yunjin imagines #yunjin x reader #kazuha fluff #kazuha imagines #kazuha x reader #eunchae fluff #eunchae x reader #eunchae imagines

[upon-a-starry-night]

Christmas Tree Trouble (Spencer)

Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Reader

Ficmas Masterlist Spencer Masterlist

Wordcount: 2.7k

Summary: You need a bit of help getting your Christmas tree into your apartment so you ask your neighbor for help

A/n: The beginning is the same but differs per character

~~~

You weren’t expecting much when you knocked on your neighbor's door for help with your 8ft Christmas tree. Honestly, you weren’t even sure if they would help. You knew they were home. You’d heard the door across the hall open and shut enough times throughout the week to know they went on a lot of odd grocery runs at 1 am.

But you’d never really spoken much, a few times at community functions and when you’d see each other in the hall but neither of you made an effort to talk to each other. However, that was mainly because you were intimidated by how attractive they were.

Still, they had seemed more on the reserved side. Never bringing anyone home or throwing parties at their place. They were a perfect neighbor on paper, but their loneliness often made you sad. 

Initially, you had wanted to invite them over at some point during the holidays just to make a new friend and help them be less lonely but it became more of a need than a want when you tried to lug your 8ft tree into your apartment by yourself. 

So you knocked on their door across the hall and prayed that they would be willing to help you out.

You rocked back and forth on your heels as you waited for a response, just as you were about to give up and turn to ask another neighbor the sound of locks clicking alerted you of their presence.

When the door opened you observed their tired-looking figure, they were dressed in casual gray sweats and a loose T-shirt.

They stared at you curiously as you stood there before their eyes drifted behind you to the large tree lying on the floor in front of your apartment door. They raised their eyebrows in surprise.

“Hi!” you waved awkwardly “Listen I know this is random and you’re probably busy so you can say no but I kind of underestimated how hard it would be to get this tree in my apartment and I already had to carry this from my car to here and I scared a bunch of people out of the elevator because this thing took up the whole elevator and-” You stopped rambling when you saw a hint of a smile on their face, you think this is the first time you’ve ever seen them smile.

 It’s cute.

“Sorry, what I’m saying is, can you help me?” You anxiously bit your lip as you waited for a response. 

His hair's a little disheveled and you can’t help but watch as he runs a hand through it.

You silently observe as his gaze flickers to your tree and then back towards you a few times

 “Did you know there are approximately 25-30 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year?”

The fact throws you off guard and you find yourself blinking owlishly before finally processing his words

“Really?” you genuinely had no idea they sold that many. Guess the Christmas tree farms in Hallmark movies must be making bank every year. “This is my first year ever having a real tree so…”

You underestimated just how tall and heavy this tree was going to be. It was so much easier to order one online and assemble it yourself piece by piece. 

But you told yourself you were getting a real one in true Christmas fashion…only now you were starting to regret not taking up the farm owner's offer to send his son with you to help. Y’know stranger danger and all that.

However, asking your neighbor you’ve never really met could also be classified as stranger danger.

Your brain wasn’t currently thinking logically though so here you are in front of his apartment sizing him up as you realize he might not even be able to help you either.

Sure he was tall and handsome and you knew he had some kind of job that had him rushing out of the house at odd hours but looking at him now you wondered if you could carry more weight than him…

He seemed to come to that exact conclusion at the same time as you as he cringed a little bit and seemed to almost droop.

He reminded you of a sad flower or a wounded puppy. It made you want to hug him.

“I don’t know if I’m the best person for that- I have this friend I could probably call him to come and help-”

You would have to look up if you had Alien Hand Syndrome when you got the chance because involuntarily you reach out and grip his arm as he turns to go back into his apartment. The action seems to startle the both of you and you quickly retreat your hand.

“I’m sorry! I just- I don’t need your friend. Between you and me I think we could make this work”

In any other context, that sentence feels like it belongs in a romance movie and you subconsciously check the hallways for a camera crew and boom mic.

Green-ish-brown eyes bore into yours and you get the feeling he’s searching for something. For what you have no idea but he seems to have liked whatever he found because a brief smile slips onto his face as he observes your nervous stature.

“Let me change real quick and then we’ll see if we can ‘make this work’” You want to cringe at his blatant tease over your cheesy choice of words but you don’t get the chance to because he’s already turning and shutting the door behind him. 

You swear you saw a little bit of a smirk when he teased you but it could have been a trick of the light.

Your landlord really needed to change that flickering bulb

In the meantime, you manage to stand the tree up all by itself and lean it against the wall and you’re quite proud of yourself until it moves an inch. 

Again it could be a trick of the light, at least you hope it is because if this thing fell you were definitely getting crushed like a Christmas movie villain.

Much to your dismay the tree begins to slide again and you shut your eyes and prepare for the worst as the fluffy green mass begins to fall in your direction.

When the feeling of being crushed never comes you open your eyes and watch as the tree hits the floor with a final ‘thump’

Only now do you notice the feeling of something warm against your back. You thought maybe that was just what the hallway carpet felt like.

Looking down you notice two arms wrapped around your middle, and you’re currently standing two feet away from where you were when you closed your eyes.

You hadn’t even felt yourself move?

Looking up you’re met again with those enchanting eyes as they meet yours with concern.

“You changed your hair” You can’t help but frown at his hairs now-styled state. You kinda liked the disheveled sleepy look he was sporting.

Your neighbor lets out a laugh and you feel it against your back, you blush as you remember how close you two are. As embarrassing as it is to have to be saved from a falling Christmas tree you don’t feel like leaving his arms quite yet.

Unfortunately, that decision gets made for you as your handsome neighbor removes his arms and yet again runs a hand through his hair. 

A nervous tick perhaps.

Either way, it was cute and you smiled when it messed up his perfectly tailored mane.

“That’s the first thing you think of after I saved you from getting crushed by a tree?”

His goofy smile makes you want to melt and you’re mentally snapping a million pictures.

Normally when you see him he’s either rushing to leave his apartment with heavy eye bags or leaning his head against his apartment door with heavy eye bags.

You’re not used to seeing him look so happy and it’s doing things to your insides.

“Right I guess thanks are in order since you saved my life and all”

A contemplative look takes over his face and you watch his adams apple bob in hesitation. It’s only now that you realize he changed out of his T-shirt and sweats and into a pair of comfortable slacks and a Christmas sweater. It’s green red and white and the tiny reindeer on it make you giggle a little. You briefly wonder if he got it as a gift from a partner and the thought quickly wipes all the joy from your face.

“Technically you wouldn’t have died. I mean a tree this height and weight could possibly do some damage, especially to someone of a smaller stature but it would likely only result in some external bruising. Internal if it landed the wrong way and possible head trauma depending on how you landed when you hit the ground.”

Your eyes go wide as he explains the different injuries you could have acquired. You’re not sure how he knows all of this but you’d probably let him talk about anything for however long he wanted just to hear his voice.

“Well then I guess I really should thank you, Lord knows how insufferable I’d be if I got any bruising or head trauma”

The two of you smile at each other and you nearly get lost in the moment until the light flickers and it pulls you out of your daze. Your attention turns back to the tree and you rub your hands together to try and get them ready for another attempt at lifting the tree.

“Well then- shall we get to it?”

You turn back to your neighbor and he nods his head and joins you next to the tree. As the two of you are lifting it you’re surprised at how light the tree becomes with his help. Once the tree is leaning against the wall again you turn to him with a satisfied smile and raise an eyebrow in question

“What did you say your name was again?”

He turns to look at you and his head tilts slightly to the right. Again- puppy dog.

“Spencer, or Reid if you want. What’s yours?”

You give him your name and he mutters it like he’s testing the way it sounds on his tongue. Both of you seem to conclude that you like the way it sounds.

Twenty minutes and a lot of twisting and pivoting and sweating later the blasted tree is finally inside of your apartment. Somehow amidst all the commotion, you ended up on the ground in a heap of exhaustion, staring up at the ceiling and cursing the tree Gods.

“Well, it seems we ‘made it work’ after all” That sentence sounds a lot like the beginning of a goodbye and you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to your new friend Spencer so you swiftly hop to your feet and begin making your way to your kitchen.

“Well I think I owe you some hot chocolate after all that”

You don’t have to turn around to feel how hesitant Spencer is as he stands in your living room.

“You really don’t have to-”

You turn to him appalled, giving him your best ‘Are you kidding me?’ look

“Spencer, you saved my life out there! The least I could do is give you some hot chocolate”

His lips twitch up into a smile and you try not to fist pump as you realize he’s not saying no

.

While you make the hot chocolate Spencer peruses around your apartment observing every little detail like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. You hope to all Gods that you didn't leave out anything embarrassing.

As you make the finishing touches (whipped cream and candy canes are a must) you become curious at the sound of shuffling behind you, and when you turn around you nearly melt at the sight of Spencer setting up your Christmas tree in the corner. 

God, why hadn’t you talked with your cute neighbor sooner?

“Oh! Spencer you didn’t have to do that”

He shrugs as you approach him and thanks you as you hand him his mug of hot chocolate. He takes a sip and hums approvingly. You try not to let it go to your ego.

The two of you stand there sipping on your drinks and admiring your hard work when you turn to one of the many open boxes in your living room full to the brim with decorations.

“So green and white or red and white?” You question as you stare at the colorful ornaments inquisitively.

You swivel around and are met with Spencer's smirking face once again 

“Why not all three?” 

~~~~

Decorating the tree with Spencer is both fun and frustrating. Apparently, he doesn’t get why you keep moving some of the ornaments he’s placing. You keep trying to explain to him that he’s putting them too close together.

“There’s a system with Christmas tree’s you know”

You tried to explain it but Spencer was a hopeless case when it came to decorating it seemed.

You’d left him to his own devices for three seconds and came back to three red ornaments in the same vicinity. You nearly had a heart attack. Spencer needed a Christmas miracle.

“Look Spence, You’ve got to place it…”

You came up behind him as he was placing another ornament too close to the other. Wrapping your arms around his in a similar way to what he did in the hallway you began guiding his arms to a better spot for the shiny ball.

“Riiiiiight here”

Even after the ornament was placed the two of you stayed in the same position, arms still reaching out towards the tree. If you looked close enough you would see his ears were turning red.

You quickly cleared your throat and removed your arms, Pivoting and heading for the kitchen. Unable to look him in the eyes.

“So- refills anyone?” You attempted a joke but were met with silence, and a glance back at Spencer showed him staring at the tree in a trance. You furrowed your brows.

Slowly you approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, the hitch of his breath the only indication that he acknowledged your presence. 

“Look Spencer, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable…”

His gaze snapped to yours, his body finally regaining its functions.

“No, it’s not that it’s just-” He nervously fiddles with his hands “Normally I’m not a physical touch person”

Guilt flooded your system and you unconsciously took a step away from him “Oh.. I’m sorry I-”

Warm hands reached out and latched onto you “No!” He flinched at how loud that came out “No- what I was saying was, normally I’m not but with you, it doesn’t feel so bad. You’re very…warm” 

You had a feeling he meant it in more than just a physical way.

A shy smile slipped onto your face at the confession and you found yourself blushing once again.

“You’re warm too Spencer”

His smile mirrored yours.

“Hey, I was wondering- You can say no but there’s this Christmas movie festival at the park next weekend. I know we only just met but I’d really like to hang out with you more.” His hesitancy was cute, you could tell he didn’t have a lot of practice at asking women out but it was still charming and adorable nonetheless.

“I’d love to go Spencer”

He beamed.

“Great. That’s- that’s great”

You looked over your beautifully decorated tree. Admiring the way the greens reds and whites complimented each other. The way the lights reflected on them and made the room light up in colorful circles.

The way Spencer looked as the soft Christmas lights accentuated his soft features.

Thank God you decided to buy a real tree instead of piecing together a fake one.

Who knows if you would have gotten to know Spencer otherwise.

The thought made you upset so instead, you grabbed Spencer's hand and led him toward the kitchen

“C’mon, we’ve got popcorn garlands to make. The decorating is far from over”

His hand grasps yours tighter and he nods. Bright smiles never leaving either of your faces.

A/n: First Spencer one shot!!! how do we like it?~ Starry

#fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #fluff fic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid imagine #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #upon a starry night writes #fic masterlist #christmas fic #ficmas 2023 #criminal minds fandom #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x gn!reader

[sunsetconcert]

In 1994, the Muppets made one of their most bizarre films to date.

An adaptation of Goncharov, a cult classic that languished in obscurity until the 2020s. While the film was referred to internally and in public reviews of the film as "The Muppets of Naples", the actual marketing of the movie instead titled it after its main lead: "Gonzorov". This was one of many enigmatic choices made by the production crew, and has never been elaborated on by the cast or crew. The film was a gigantic flop for multiple reasons, but most agree that the source of the troubles stems from the nature of Goncharov as a tragedy and a generally depressing movie to watch.

Reportedly, conflicts among the writing staff began almost immediately due to being unable to decide on which cut of Goncharov to base the film on. Eventually, however, director Brian Henson put his foot down and forced the writers to adapt the Ambrosini Cut. Generally agreed to be a less depressing movie than the Morelli Cut, it was expected that "Gonzorov" should have been a much more entertaining and narratively adept movie than it was. As the Muppets proved just two years later in "Muppet Treasure Island", they are very capable of handling otherwise dramatic material with aplomb. This leaves the question of why this movie was such a flop.

To quote Kermit the Frog during the interviews after the cinema debut, the movie was allegedly emotionally draining for the crew to adapt. "You know, we have a script. Mostly. But we do a lot of improv too. I'd wager it's about 60% script, 40% improv on a good day of filming. But, uh… We just weren't feeling it with this one, you know? We watched the original, and… Boy, it's really sad. Goncharov's just kind of a lonely guy trying to make himself a life. And it's not a good life, but it's his to own, and it ultimately kinda falls apart. Gonzo tried to make the role his own, but I think we all realised that we couldn't really make a joke out of the movie in the way that we wanted to."

The Muppets were skillful enough to change the genre to an absurdist tragicomedy, a film where the tragic and meaningless cycle of violence is paradoxically played for laughter. However, despite this, the film is well-known for its bizarrely melancholy air and almost hopeless atmosphere. Everybody seems thoroughly certain that their improv will have little to no impact on the film as a whole, creating a strange and compelling meta-narrative where not even the actors themselves can escape the almost gravitational pull of the ticking clock. Their characters will die, and any attempts to joke their way out of it comes off as desperate, almost deluded in a sense.

The original Goncharov held a deep fascination with inevitability. Clocks are the primary theme, though it appears in other forms. It is this same inevitability that strangles the Muppets, their impressive comedic skills held captive by their own belief that the narrative is inescapable.

Of particular note is the bridge scene, wherein Gonzorov and Katya (played by the dazzling Miss Piggy) discuss the slow collapse of the Italian mafia. The original Goncharov scene had Goncharov desperately trying to hold things together, even as they slipped through his fingers, but here… Gonzorov realises that it's pointless. He can't fix it, but at the same time he can't let it go. He begs Katya to shoot him. Cut to the chase. She's going to shoot him anyway, that's how the movie ends, right? Might as well go out on his own terms. But this horrifies Katya, and she throws her gun away, accidentally saving Gonzorov in the process.

This adds a new layer to the themes of inevitability that Goncharov is wrapped up in, and it's this: Inevitability goes both ways. You're going to die, but only when you're meant to. You don't get lucky. You don't have accidents. Inevitability is a ticking clock, but that countdown is a safety net. As long as you can still hear that clock ticking down, it means you've stitll got time to burn. When a bomb is counting down, just five minutes until it detonates, you do everything you can to buy yourself more time on the clock. Even if all your effort only gains you an extra second, that's what you have to do, right? A single second is worth the blood of innocent men.

But again, inevitability. That second you earned cost you minutes, cost hours days weeks months years. The clock WILL run out.

[read more]

#goncharov #the muppets #the muppets of naples #unreality

[socksandbuttons]

Bean Eclipse Au has my love and seeing any post makes me very happy but now I want to get to know your Space au a little. May you give us some funfacts about the characters to get to know them better?

Aw thank you! I'll do my best describing some things! Its been a moment where I dont know what ive said about them on here. ((The ladies, are by @nekojaf so if u want info on them you gotta ask her!)) First, We got Eclipse (yes thats his name, unless we go au hopping its-)

-He's a captain of his own spaceship (however its mostly a ship that can house just a handful of people.)

-He's self confident, he's got leadership qualities and doesn't stand down often. However can be a huge flirt (as Beige unfortunately deals with). -I've mentioned before but Eclipse (like other models of his kind) are far more Emotive than the previous models.

-Eclipse is the reason Lunar has a collection of plushies. The guy is very good with sewing. -He's not familiar too much with the 'Star' like SAMS' Eclipse is. At least not currently. He's far more concerned with other things.

-His relationship with Earth is rather... interesting. He may be vocal about not wanting to speak to her but its mostly cause she's like a mom who tends to baby him. (Although he can't blame her frequent check ins.) -Most people avoid him, but that's cause he's made an interesting name for himself.

Lunar, my BOY who started this whole au actually.

-The space suit was given to him by Eclipse. Who may have taken it.

-He comes off as sweet, but don't think less of him in comparison with his brother. He's mischievous as well, and cunning when needed.

-Far better at keeping his emotions in check than Eclipse.

-Unlike Eclipse (again) he's actually rather good at y'know. Getting the girl.

-However, he is younger than Eclipse. In part not as experienced with the whole line their apart of.

-Rather handy with his shots, but better at driving. Also has a bit of a name for himself.

-Cannot actually believe how his brother acts around Beige from time to time. He's judging his brother immensely everytime. Just let her clear the hyperdrive so they can go!

Moon!

-It should not be a shock he's still a scientist in this au. (Mad scientist Sun would say...)

-But in part of that, its due to being part of a Space Camp. He's suppose to be in charge of the sciences of how rockets run. However he uses most of that to make his own things.

-It usually does end up with the kids handling it. Unless Sun gets involved. Kids love the anti gravity chamber a lot.

-Also in this AU he is still AroAce.

-However since Sun and him are under a company, they don't usually leave the Camp. They can't really.

-Moon has made a Star.

Sun, sweetie my darling.

-Although him and Moon run the Camp together, Sun mostly handles the kids. (Although, Sun more or less just doesn't want them getting hurt cause of Moon's experiments.) -He's been having trouble with some outsiders makings noise lately but it's usually something he can handle. The dome around the place keeps the camp relatively safe (and Safer with Moon's additional technology)

-He goes by his own checklist, although the one from the higher ups isn't something he wants to fully deviate from. It's kept things running, and their own job secure.

-He may be dressed up as a Spaceman, he's uh... not actually one. At least not by astronaut standards.

-They don't talk to other models of themselves.

-Earth and Sun usually can talk for hours. However, he tries not to keep her too long. She's got others to check in.

Bloodmoon, yes it's him!

-The possibly second youngest.

-He's the only model of his type that... well Ruby's seen actually.

-An avid fan of Invader Zim, due to many movie nights he's had with Ruby. (In an effort to help him learn some things about people...without being near too many.) -He doesn't understand why he needed clothes, unaware of his own autonomy.

-Unfortunately for everyone, WAS destroying planets and ships, destruction in his wake. No one could keep him contained. Until Ruby. But she's not really trying to contain him.

-His curiosity mainly keeps him in check, at least in regard to his learning program. He still seeks some chaos, even if it is on a isolated ship in the meantime.

-Comet Boy! Danger, do not engage.

Angel, y sweet sweett bababyyy

-Probably the oldest? He's quite a mess it's hard to tell.

-Has been passed around here and there from job to job so he's very well versed in many skills!

-Earth finding him again was a blessing. She thought she lost him. Incredibly thankful for Cosmo.

-Is far more interesting in helping Cosmo than being helped. He's survived quite a bit!

Killcode, don't you forget my giant man.

-Was made by Moon, or from Moon. In doing so, he's got a few quirks he picked up.

-Such as... He's actually less violent. However able to withstand radiation, rocket blasts, high velocity impact, mundicide... Assumingly.

-Incredibly Tall. A normal person would maybe feel incredibly intimidated by how much he towers.

-A darling cook, he mostly has to kneel for that though. Not many ktichens he's been in are for his height.

-He's a rather calming personality, has no qualms to start fights.

Earth and Solar Flare (or welll... the ACTUAL Sun)

-Two AI's made for well.. as you guess the Earth and the Sun.

-Earth is as expected to be motherly, warm, stern with her own wants. While SF has less expected results of being rather recluse, cold, to the point and selective in their interactions.

-Earth is partly why the actual planet is far cleaner. With her being actually forthright about the planets condition. It helps if theres someone who may be disappointed if you throw your trash on the ground, or company's dumping waste. She may have been made, but she more or less is her own being. Most don't mind since her main concerns usually fall with her own planets affairs. That doesn't mean she doesn't have concerns of other places.

-SF was made as a safe bet to monitor the sun. However, hue to unexpected AI developing their own personality. SF doesn't fairly speak to much anyone aside Earth. He rather feels she's better at relaying information than he is. Ironic, they find.

-Recently some reptilian android has started to make some impressions on Earth, SF doesn't normally hear her talk about individuals like this aside the 'children' she oversees.

-Earth also ended up supervising the celestial and eclipse models. Attaching to them far more than expected but due to- [The Rest is too glitched to make out.]

Well that was more typing than I thoguht it'd be. But me and Neko have quite a bit of art. The main inspiration for a lot of it is retro futurism. But thank you for asking! You also got Earth in there too. My sweet lady I love her.

#solar flares design needs some work actually but thats kinda because his OG look IS more on line with the style actually. #anyway theres lore here and there but also #missing a few things #lots of romance in this au more than u think #ALSO YEAH MONTY IS IN THERE BUT UH DFBHSJKDS #sams space au #space sams au #tsams #sun and moon show #myart #*looks at all the art i havent show* ah #i think about the models and their differences a bit more and time... but another day when it comes up

[sammysmaddy]

Normal (Winchesters x Reader) - Part Four

Summary: Growing up as the baby of the Winchester family led you to be constantly guarded. Soon enough, you start to learn what's normal between families and what's not.

Characters: John x Daughter!Reader, Dean x Sister!Reader, OFC!Shauna x Dean, OFC!Sophia x Reader

Warnings: incest, sistercest, daughtercest, girls kissing girls, angry!/drunk!john, needy!Dean, drugs, alcohol, angst, hair pulling (more like physical abuse), Daddy kink I guess, a bit of degradation, manipulation, crying, praise kink, oral

W/C: 5.9k+

A/N: Merry Christmas to my followers who celebrate! Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope to be posting more!

Normal Masterlist

Masterlist

With John recently deciding that Sam was old enough to go on larger hunts with him, that meant much more time with Dean. They were off again after John came home after a few hours because he had decided that he needed to make things right with Sam. 

John had finally realized that it wasn't his or Sam's fault that Sam got hurt, but John just reacted that way because he didn't like to see any of his children busted up. 

You, being stuck at home with Dean, had been eating a lot of pizza, drinking a lot of beer, and waking up in his arms every morning. Things seemed normal again, Dean acted like he hadn't done anything, and you spent many hours out of the day thinking about how to bring it up with him. 

What if he didn't bring it up because it was a one-time thing and he was drunk? What if he didn't have those kinds of feelings for you?  It hurt for you to think that way, but you needed to be prepared in case he didn't see you the same way that you saw him. 

Plus, maybe he didn't even know what you were capable of. Maybe he didn't know that you had done sexual things before and that you weren't innocent. 

It was a Friday night in a random city in Wisconsin, your family seemed to go there a lot for hunts, and it was disgustingly cold outside. Still, it was your idea when you said you wanted to go to a party. 

You weren't exactly a people person and Dean was the only one who would entertain the idea of going out and being social, so you knew when John and Sam left earlier this week that this would be your opportunity. 

This time though, you came prepared. You planned on making your own drinks, staying away from trouble, and focusing on having a good time. 

Though the last party was fun because you talked about random books and old movies that would bore any regular human, things went downhill before you even knew it. This time, you were determined to do it right.

Things were already turning out much better, with no Jordan's anywhere to be seen. The party was much less dark and colorful than the last because people seemed to be more focused on being able to talk rather than dance. This party setting made you feel much more comfortable. 

Maybe it had to do with the fact that there were more clouds of marijuana than red solo cups filled with vodka, but it didn't matter- you were happy. The only bad thing about the atmosphere was the smell itself, John nor your brothers had ever shown an interest in it so it was a little bit offensive to your palette. 

It was good to get a change of pace. The music wasn't playing so loud that you had to yell in order to have a conversation, you didn't get weird looks every time you brushed past someone, and above all, everyone seemed to be happy. Except Dean. 

Dean hardly left your side, still causally flirting with any woman in close proximity, but he wouldn't leave you alone for more than two minutes at a time. 

The women were different here, more sophisticated and graceful, and while Dean tried his best, he just couldn't connect with them like usual. You wondered if Dean was scared that he was losing his spark, the idea delightfully playing around in your mind, but Dean kept trying- one girl after another after another. 

It was a delicacy to watch, having to see Dean try so hard when really people here only seemed to be attracted by intelligence. He had never had to try hard at anything in his life, school- he didn't care about, hunting- naturally talented, girls- easy, it was strangely satisfying. 

For someone with such a strong God complex, Dean should be having dazed girls lined down the hall just to hear him talk about himself. You almost felt guilty watching Dean struggle so hard. Half of the time he couldn't keep up with the random philosophical conversations anyway, but it was fun watching him bullshit his way through before ultimately becoming disinterested. 

That's why when Shauna, a beautiful curly-haired brunette, came around and offered Dean some attention, you finally felt him peel away from your side. You saw the light in his eyes that had been dimming throughout the night brighten, and you slowly faded into the background as he worked his magic. 

Now, it was time to focus on yourself. You smiled at people who smiled at you as you made your way to the kitchen, making yourself a drink to keep the happy buzz coursing through your veins. 

The red solo cup in your hand felt whole again, filled to the brim with very diluted alcohol so that you could keep your cool, and things seemed to be turning out great for both you and Dean. 

Although you still had to go out and talk to people- something you're not extremely experienced with, you were excited to. 

You had met a handful of people in your life, most, if not all, were disposable and never seen again, but you never really had any true friends. Sam was your best friend, of course, but you knew it wasn't really the same. 

You didn't even really know where to begin. Some people seemed too entranced by their partners, some smiled down at their phones, and some just had resting bitch face on full display. 

It began to feel a little lonely, your eyes occasionally glancing at Dean across the room, but you tried your best just to enjoy the time out of the motel. And even though you were alone in your head, you were most certainly not truly alone. 

You were content, happy to see other people being happy regardless of whether or not it was with you. This was what life was like without constant intrusion from your family and it granted you a sort of freedom, a freedom you hadn't realized you craved until tonight. 

When you and Sam were young, you would often dream of a life out of a motel. With Mary dying on your six-month birthday and John going insane trying to avenge her death, the only thing you and Sam had, apart from Dean, was imagination. 

You used to dream of one day growing old and staying best friends with Sam until you died, moving to Hawaii or back 'home' to Kansas, or maybe even getting a real job someday. 

The both of you understood that it didn't exactly sound glamorous, like becoming famous or having tons of money, but anything beat the Hunter's life. It was a dead-end road, full of misery and hatred for every living thing on Earth, and a part of you thanked John for keeping you away from it as much as possible.

But you couldn't help but feel stuck. What else to life was there other than living in motels and killing bad guys? You wouldn't know, much less ever get the chance to figure it out. 

But, you were far from unhappy. You were surrounded by people you loved and while times would get rough, John would get drunk, the credit cards would fail at the restaurants, or one of the boys would come home wounded, you all made it work. 

You had an unbreakable bond with Sam, a wild side that Dean helped to bring out, and an undying loyalty for family because of John. Things could always be much worse than they are. 

"You know, for someone watching your boyfriend with another girl, you don't seem to be too upset," A random voice snapped you out of your thoughts. Your head turned to look at the girl standing next to you, she reached out her hand to greet you, "Sophia."

"Y/N," You greeted back, shaking her soft but firm hand. 

It took you a little longer to respond, she had beautiful feminine features but she was assertive and reminded you of John. You almost felt bad for trying to read her like a book, there was such a strange energy that surrounded her. 

"A fan of voyeurism, are we?" Sophia chuckled, giving you a small smirk, and your eyebrows raised.

"Of what?" You asked and she laughed a little louder. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that is." You laughed lightly, trying to understand the strange word, and she gave you a teeth-filled smile.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. That is your boyfriend, right?" She asked with her eyebrow raised, a concerned, but cocky, look on her face.

"No, he's not my boyfriend," You blushed at the question and she gave you a small smile.

"Well, you seem to like him a lot. Maybe you should just ask him out sometime." She encouraged, nudging you with her elbow lightly. 

"It's really not like that," You laughed awkwardly and she raised her eyebrows up and down to say that she wasn't a firm believer in your statement. 

"Right, it's not like you're practically eye-fucking him while he talks to my girlfriend Shauna." She scoffed and you tilted your head. 

You were just happy that Dean was happy, no eye-fucking involved. 

"She's your friend? She's really pretty," You told her and she shook her head.

"Girlfriend. Open relationship, I kind of figured that's how you guys were too. I mean, he's barely left your side the entire night." She corrected, pointing out why she had her assumptions. 

You frowned, are you supposed to be upset that Dean's with another girl? Are you supposed to be feeling jealous that it's not you? 

"Are you ever jealous?" You asked out of curiosity, the idea of an 'open relationship' new to your mind. 

It was strange at first glance, but the more thought that was put in, the more it was intriguing. Not that you had an official partner in the first place. 

"Not really. She picks out the scumbags, no offense, fucks them, and then comes home to tell me all about it," She tells you honestly, a smile plastered on her face. 

She reminds you of Sam, he always loved hearing about the aftermath of your night out with John. 

"Plus, she's usually unsatisfied and girls do it much better." She added in a whisper, a smooth wink following behind. 

"I'm sure they do," You replied, fighting back a blush that you quickly deduced and blamed on alcohol. 

"You ever been with a girl, Y/N?" Sophia asked, licking her lips as the question concluded and you found yourself staring. 

"No, um, I've never really thought about it," You said, almost stuttering your way through. 

Surely the alcohol had to do with the way you were feeling, but all-in-all, she was attractive and there was no denying it. You'd seen girl-on-girl porn, almost a preferable choice because they always seemed to enjoy themselves a little bit more, but it wasn't ever something that crossed your mind. 

Now, there was an undeniably hot girl in front of you talking about sexuality, it was all a little confusing. 

"I'm not a psychic, but something tells me you're curious," She smirked, and your mouth opened to reply but nothing came out. 

Sophia's hands landed on the collar of your jacket, straightening it, which made your breath hitch in the back of your throat. 

"Relax, I'm not gonna bite unless you want me to," She chuckled and you began to realize that your knuckles were turning white from holding your hands together so tightly.

You didn't know whether you wanted Dean to look over at you when she planted her mouth on yours or not. Her lips were much softer and fuller than either John's or Sam's and she tasted much sweeter too, it was a nice change of pace. 

She was much more pushy than what you were used to, guiding the pace and expecting you to match, and it wasn't long until the thoughts started to flood your mind. 

Would Dean look over and notice? Would he be upset? Would he be excited? Would he even care? You wanted him to. 

If you were supposed to be jealous that he was with another girl, you wanted him to be jealous that you were too. 

Sophia's chin was smooth with no traces of stubble like you normally felt. Her hands were soft as they cupped your cheek, her teeth nibbled at your bottom lip in the softest way possible, and her smell- God, she smelt so good. 

It was much different than the 3-in-1 body wash that the boys used because she smelt like she actually took care of herself. She smelled of flowers, but not like the old-lady type of perfume, she smelled soft and delicate and that was the only thing you could think of. 

Sophia's fingernails lightly scraped against your cheeks when they made their way into your hair, and when you gasped she smiled into your mouth. It was evident that she knew what she was doing and you didn't think twice about letting her... whatever it led up to. 

Maybe it was the thrill of being seen by Dean or the fact that it was new and exciting. Feeling soft and delicate fingers roaming through your hair was something you could get used to. Or maybe it was the alcohol, you weren't exactly sober- but you were still in the right mind to make good decisions, even if you were more inclined to try new things. 

You had never been with a girl, you had never even really had friends that were girls. You weren't sure if you wanted to be her, envied that she had such confidence and charisma, or if you were actually attracted to her. She was beautiful and if you really took the time to think about it- the wetness growing in between your legs answered your question. 

It wasn't long before you got lost in her trance, the quiet music almost seemed silent as you could only hear her lips moving with yours. The lights seemed to dim as your eyes stayed closed because all you did was focus on her. 

Then, everything was moving so fast, one second you were in the middle of someone's living room and then you were pressed against the wall in the hallway. Your head was spinning and your neck craned upwards to kiss the lips attacking yours and when you heard him growl into your mouth, that's when you knew he had been watching for quite some time.

Dean had his hands lightly wrapped around the sides of your neck, pulling you closer to him but still pinning you against the wall with his body. Your hands gripped onto his waist, pulling him as close to you as possible, and the thoughts of Sophia quickly faded into nothing. 

Dean was hungry for you, moving his lips as if he were attempting to tear them off, kissing all over your neck and not caring about whether he left marks, pushing into your body so hard that you could barely breathe.

His tongue was all over the place, your cheeks, your lips, your neck, your collarbone, your chest, and you wanted to feel it everywhere. His teeth nipped anywhere his lips went, leaving you a whimpering mess as you let him do whatever he pleased.

When Dean's lips reconnected with yours, you could taste the whiskey in his breath and smell the cologne he had doused himself in before you left the motel. Kissing him made you feel even more tipsy than before. He was more needy than Sam ever was, more attentive than John, and he seemed to be a perfect combination of all of their best qualities. 

"This is wrong," Dean whispered into your mouth, but before you could question why he was all over you again.��

Dean's hands trailed down your body as yours found their place in his hair, gripping lightly and pulling him in closer as he moaned into your mouth. There were practically no breaks in between each kiss, leaving the both of you panting, but neither of you seemed to care. 

Dean took a step back, gripping tightly onto your waist as he pulled you closer to him and you could no longer feel the warm wall against your back. 

He hadn't said any other words to you, but his actions were more than enough to tell you what he really wanted. You knew that Dean was bold, but you figured that there would be some sort of build-up for the two of you. Maybe some innocent flirting that would progress into sexual innuendos directed at one another, maybe some touching brushed off as accidental, that's what he always did with his hook-ups. 

With you it was different, he skipped all of the formalities and went straight into the good part, and you didn't mind whatsoever.

But, as the touching progressed into squeezing and digging his fingers into your skin, your mind wandered to other places. Why did he say it was wrong? Were you not good enough for him? He was all over you, that couldn't be true. Was he drunk? Was that the reason that kissing you was wrong? 

Maybe he meant that you were wrong for each other, John always said that this stuff shouldn't happen with anyone else. He always said that nobody could ever love you enough to touch you the way that he did. But you loved Dean and you knew that he loved you, why was he not good enough? Why was it wrong?

You hadn't even noticed someone was talking to the both of you until he pulled his lips back to mutter an answer, "I'm busy, man. Get out of here." Dean said aloud and before you had the chance to look over, his lips were on yours again and his body was pressed against you. 

"Dean, what the hell are you doing? Are you even listening?" That you heard. 

This time, the voice was easily recognizable, it was Sammy. Your cheeks flushed red when Dean pulled back, his eyes were wide and filled with dread to which you furrowed your eyebrows and tilted your head, asking yourself why. 

"Sam, look, I- It's not what it looks like," Dean struggled to get out, letting his hands loosen around your waist and raise in the air in defense. 

It was easy to tell that Dean had no idea that Sam wouldn't mind and that he was most likely trying to come up with a viable explanation for kissing you. You backed up a little, giving Sam a small smile when he looked at you, indicating that you were right about Dean.

"Dude, I'm not- um, it's just that Dad's outside and he's threatening to call the cops and we got to go," Sam replied hastily.

You smiled to yourself, knowing that Sam was most likely fighting his own arousal, but then you frowned at the thought of John. Outside. Waiting. Knowing that you were here. A party. With drugs and alcohol. 

John was not going to be very happy with you and you felt your face growing pale with anxiety. 

"Let's go, Y/N," Dean said gruffly, grabbing your arm tightly and dragging you through the small crowd. 

You fought Dean's grip a little, dreading the thought of John being upset with you, but you let him lead you toward the front. Your head was still spinning, trying to understand how you were watching Dean with Shauna, having a conversation with Sophia, which led up to making out with her. Then you were pressed against the wall by your big brother, and now your twin was leading you outside to see your, most likely, very angry father. 

When the cold, crisp air nearly froze your lungs as you stepped outside, you saw John waiting for the three of you. John was pissed, he was clenching his fists as he advanced towards all of you. 

You expected him to grab you by the hair, drag you to the car, and not even let you explain yourself, but he went straight for Dean. 

"What the hell were you thinking, son?!" John practically screamed, grabbing fistfuls of Dean's leather jacket. 

"Dad, I-I go to parties all of the time, I don't understand," Dean gulped so hard that you could see his Adam's apple gliding up and down his throat. He was nervous, stuttering, and grabbing onto John's wrists to stop him from doing anything more than grabbing his jacket. 

"Not with Y/N. Do you understand me?" John growled, letting go of the jacket and roughly pushing Dean back. 

Dean stumbled, barely keeping himself standing, and you could see Dean's eyes that were filled with fear. The same expression appeared on your face when John turned his body in your direction. 

"Get in the truck, I need to talk to you," John demanded, pointing his shaking finger toward you. 

You gulped, much like Dean, and nodded your head, deciding that there was no point in protesting. 

"Sammy, drive Dean home. No but's, Dean. Obviously, you aren't capable of good decisions, why should I let you drive my car?" John said and you turned around so quickly that you didn't have time to wait around to watch Dean's reaction.

Your feet scrambled towards the truck. When you began to climb in, you turned to close the door but John slammed it behind you, making you jump in your seat. Your eyes found the phone that was lit up on the middle seat, showing your exact location and you knew that was definitely how he found you. 

Then you saw the empty bottle of whiskey and you knew it wasn't Sam's, John was drunk... again, which wasn't surprising. 

You decided to look straight ahead and try your best to avoid his gaze, but you knew that something needed to be said to de-escalate your father.

"Daddy, I-" You began before being cut off immediately.

"Shut it. How long have you been partying?" John's voice boomed through the cab of the car. 

You shook your head, tears freely falling down your cheeks. You hated when he was angry with you, it was the worst feeling in the world. 

"I'm sorry. I convinced Dean to take me with him," You told him in a choked sob, scared of how he might react. 

John furrowed his eyebrows, reaching over and gripping your chin tightly in between his fingers, the new pressure causing you to wince. 

"Did you smoke tonight? You smell like you did," He asked through grit teeth and your head shook side to side as best as it could. "Did you drink?" He questioned again and you nodded your head cautiously. 

You couldn't lie to him, your head was spinning. 

"Are you fucking stupid, Y/N? Where was Dean?" John growled, letting go of your chin and your head felt weak. 

"He was- He was with me the entire time," You struggled to get out yet again, and his jaw tensed. Your eyes traveled to his jaw, looking back up into eyes that were nearly black.

"You're lying to me. I don't like liars, Y/N," He said callously and you shook your head in defiance, he was with you for the most part- that isn't lying. 

"Daddy, I'm not lying, I swear," You cried, feeling his hand in your hair as it lifted your chin toward the ceiling. His rough, calloused fingers traced over your neck, an unappreciative grunt leaving his throat.

"Who did this to you?" He growled, pinching the skin at your neck and you could feel yourself panicking. 

You couldn't tell him it was Dean, he would literally kill your older brother if he knew. 

"Answer me." He demanded, pinching harder and making you whimper in pain. 

"A- A girl. It was a girl," You told him, the only person you could think of being Sophia. 

Your eyes stayed focused on the ceiling as you felt his grip on your hair loosen, eyebrows creasing as you heard him chuckle deeply. It was the most terrifying laugh you had ever heard.

"A girl?" John asked, his breath hitting right behind your ear as he moved closer to you. 

The whiskey in his breath was prominent, but it was so normal that it almost felt refreshing. You whimpered when he tugged on your hair again, resting his left hand on your thigh. 

"When will you realize that you're mine, hm?" His intense growl made your breath hitch, sending shivers down your spine. "Nobody can touch you, do you understand me? I'm the only one who loves you enough, baby." He said in a softer tone, using the hand resting on your thigh to pull your legs apart from one another. 

"I know," You croaked, feeling the way his fingers were rubbing circles on top of your jeans.

John's hand trailed higher, gripping tightly onto your inner thigh, "Did she touch you there, princess?" He whispered, stopping just before your heat and you felt the wetness growing in between your legs. 

"No, Daddy," You answered solidly and he chuckled deeply into your ear. His hand lingered there and you moved around a bit to feel something.

"But you kissed her?" He asked, hand gripping tightly onto your thigh, and you nodded your head. "Did you want her to touch you there?" He asked, almost teasingly as his fingers magically inched up higher. 

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry," You told him, sudden guilt filling your stomach. 

You knew that he was the only one who loved you enough. You weren't supposed to do those kinds of things with people you didn't love. But Dean did it all the time. What made you different? Maybe he just didn't want you to- maybe this was just as wrong as kissing Dean. 

"It's okay, baby, but it can't happen again. You promise?" John asked, pressing a sloppy kiss into your neck. 

"I promise," You told him.

"What's wrong?" John asked, and at this point, you were squirming around in your seat. "Want me to touch you, hm?" He questioned again, ghosting his fingers above your heat through your jeans. Y

ou nodded your head, despite the tight hold he had on your hair. 

"Too bad. Bad girls don't get rewarded." John teased you, chuckling lowly as his hand left your thigh. 

You let out a whimper, needing now more than ever to be touched. 

"But, maybe you can make it up to me." He said, placing his lips just below your ear and nipping at the skin. 

You nodded your head, ready to do anything for him if it meant that you could get off tonight. 

"You know what to do, don't you, baby girl?" He asked, letting go of your hair and his hands came down and thumbed his jeans open. 

You gave him a small smile, letting your tears die down and dry on your cheeks, and turned towards him. He shifted his body so that his back was placed against the car door, pushing his jeans completely off, and placing one foot on the floor while the other stayed on the seat. 

Normally, this would happen in the back seat, but John seemed a little too eager tonight. You took your position, lying flat on your stomach, and propping yourself on your elbows as you looked up at him through your lashes. He swiped the hair out of your face, giving you a smile, and your fingernails dipped into the waistband of his boxers.

"Wait, baby," John stopped you, holding onto your hands that were about to pull down his boxers. "I wanna try something new, is that okay?" He asks and your brows furrowed, what haven't you learned by now? 

John shifted so that he was lying flat and you were sitting on top of him, not sure exactly what to do. 

"I want you to suck my cock while I eat you out." He said, pushing the jacket off of your shoulders. 

You wiggled it off, leaving your shirt on like he did, and his fingers came up and undid your jeans' button. 

"Daddy, I thought you said-" You began to say, feeling the guilt weighing in from doing something that he disapproved of.

"I know, baby, but you know I can't stay mad at you for very long," He cut you off, shh-ing you by pulling you by your neck and bringing you into a deep and passionate kiss. 

Your hips slid down his abdomen, your heat rubbing against his hard-on, making him moan into your mouth. His tongue explored and his teeth bit your bottom lip, extracting a moan of your own. 

As much as you loved kissing Dean tonight, or Sammy in the showers you took, John knew everything that you liked. He knew exactly how to get you going. 

"Daddy, I can't wait, I need you," You told him, desperately trying to get your release, edging yourself closer and closer as you rubbed against his erection. "I want to please you too." You compromised, knowing that he probably couldn't wait much longer either. 

"Alright, Y/N, take your clothes off," He broke the kiss, pulling at the hem of your T-shirt. 

You continued to sit on top of him, pulling your shirt over the top of your head and discarding it on the ground. A small moan left your lips when his hands came up to cup your breasts through your bra, kneading and massaging the delicate skin. 

John's hands reached around, undoing the clasp of your simple bra and guiding the fabric down your shoulders until it was on the ground. You dipped your head down to kiss him again, relishing the way your hard nipples feel against his chest, and using your hips to grind against him again. 

After a few, all too short, seconds you pulled up, working on getting your jeans off. John sat up, giving you space to do so, and discarded his own shirt, lying back down as you met him with your lips again. 

His hands roamed all over your backside, squeezing your ass and rutting his hips into you which made you gasp. He was fully hard and you could tell without having to look, he was just as desperate as you were to feel something. 

His hands slid down your waist, leaving goosebumps in their wake, pulling your panties down your thighs. He moaned into your mouth, presumably feeling your excitement, and helped you get your clothes off entirely. 

Then, he reached down and shimmied off his own boxers, continuing to kiss you as you felt his hardened cock against your core- wishing that he would give up his stupid wish of making it perfect and fuck you already, but you'll take what you can get. 

"Baby, turn around and let me taste you," John moaned into your mouth and you gave him one last peck before lifting up. 

If it were any other day, you would sit on his face as he gripped your hips, but he specifically said that he wanted his dick sucked while he ate you out- and only one position made sense. You situated yourself, both knees on either side of his head and your mouth just above his cock. 

You squealed when you felt his large hands pull you by your hips and guide you down to his face, the immediate lick on your clit almost enough to make you cum. You moaned as he began to attack you with his mouth and you took him in your hand, pumping him and rubbing your thumb over the precum that had already leaked out. 

John hummed into your clit before wrapping his lips around it, sucking and nibbling at the nub that had been calling his name all night. 

You lowered your mouth, almost unable to focus on anything other than the pleasure he was giving you, and you wrapped your lips around the glistening tip of his cock. This made him moan more into your core, encouraging you to keep doing what you're doing, so you did. 

You swallowed him down as much as you could, your lips like a vacuum as you pulled up and felt him leave your mouth with a loud 'pop'. 

It was almost a tradition to start out that way, taking him once entirely before sucking him down over and over until you couldn't breathe anymore. You were close to gagging, so close to almost fitting him all the way in, as your head bobbed up and down on his cock. 

John was dipping his tongue inside of you, going back and forth between that and sucking your clit, occasionally making obscene noises as he kitten-licked your sweet spot over and over. 

"Fuck, Y/N, you taste so good," He muttered into you, almost inaudibly, before he dove into your heat again. The praise made you want to cum all over his tongue and paint him with your juices, but even more so- it made you want to please him. 

He was using his hands to spread you apart, licking the very depth of you and coercing the familiar pit in your stomach to grow. You continued to swallow him down, warm and wet sloshing noises filling up the cabin of the truck. 

You could feel him twitch in your mouth, indicating that he was getting close. At the same time, his hands were pulling you closer to his face, making you wonder how the hell he was breathing. It felt like a race to see who came first. 

At first, his hips slowly raised so that he filled your mouth perfectly, then, he started to go faster, fucking into your mouth as he held you down. Your lips stayed sealed around him, feeling the way he hit the back of your throat and threatened to make you gag around him.

You then gathered the courage to hold him down like he was holding you. His hips stayed glued to the seat as you held him down with your hands, sucking him down with more purpose than ever before. 

His tongue was working wonders on your clit, kissing, nibbling, and sucking, and the vibrations from his groans were making your orgasm much closer. He twitched in your mouth again and you didn't dare to go up for air, you were determined to win the race. 

Your hand worked whatever you couldn't fit in your mouth, your tongue focusing on the tip which made him cry into your heat. 

Soon enough, he was cumming white, hot, and salty into your mouth, pleasing you so much that you came on his tongue as you ground on his mouth. Your hips were stuttering and you were practically screaming around him, feeling as your legs shook around his head. You swallowed him down, collecting all of your gift, as he continued to attack your soaking slit.

After a few minutes, you were both completely out of breath, fully dressed in the front seat, and having your after-pleasure-make-out-session. You could taste yourself on his tongue and he could taste himself on yours. Everything was perfect. 

Maybe you should get in trouble more often. 

"Do you really think you're ready?" John asked breathlessly, pulling back from your lips and giving you a small smile. 

"I've been ready for a long time, Daddy," You gave him a smile in return, your cheeks blushing harder at the thought of finally going all the way.

•••

Next Part

•••

Tag List ❤️

@hobby27 @writethelifeyouwant @deeranger @deans-number-one-fan

#fanfic #supernatural #spn #spnfamily #dean winchester #dark!dean x reader #sam winchester #jared padalecki #sam x reader #darkfic #dubcon #smut #dark!john #dark!John x reader #dark!sam winchester #dark!dean winchester #dark!Dean Winchester x reader #dark! sam Winchester x reader #dark! John winchester #dark! John winchester x reader #normal

[smytherines]

do you have any hcs for precanon curtwen? how they got together, what they were like etc

Oh for sure I do!

I think they were probably paired up together for missions over the span of a couple of years, and had all this romantic & sexual tension that they convinced themselves was all in their heads, before they actually got together. They had long enough to build a friendship, a partnership, and they're both afraid enough of the consequences (both personally and professionally) that they don't want to even consider making a move.

I always imagine it as something goes wrong on a mission, someone gets hurt, or maybe they have a spectacular success and are high on adrenaline, and Curt impulsively kisses Owen because hey, this guy is attractive and Curt has a crush. Owen is just kinda stunned by it, and Curt pulls away like "oh shit he's gonna kill me," but really Owen has been infatuated with Curt for ages and just assumed Curt wasn't interested.

I could see Owen having an inkling that Curt is into men, but assuming that if someone as cocky and confident as Curt hasn't made a move, it must mean he isn't interested. So Owen has just been pathetically pining for him. I think Curt has been pining too, but because he just kind of assumes in that young closeted queer way that nobody else is "sick" like him, that confiding in anyone will get him in trouble. And in my headcanon, Owen is bisexual, so perhaps he's had affairs with women and Curt assumes that means he isn't interested in men.

Anyways, I love thinking about them in a relationship, even though it breaks my heart. Because realistically Curt and Owen probably only saw each other a handful of times per year, so everything they manage to build together is based on these little stolen moments. I think they start casually hooking up, killing time on missions, but it very quickly becomes something more. It almost has to. You don't get a lot of time to date as a spy, and even less as a gay spy. So even just the act of repeatedly hooking up by default sorta makes them the most important relationship in each other's lives- especially because they were such good friends first.

I personally don't think pre-fall curtwen were as toxic as a lot of people think. I don't really see any evidence of that in A1P1. I mean they both seem to be little freaks who get off on danger and violence, and I'm sure constant distance and secrecy and danger took their toll, but for me A1P1 shows two men who love and respect each other, even if they bicker and mess with each other.

One thought I keep coming back to is that they sneak off for movie dates, mostly because I love classic films and get really into imagining them reacting to the many gay subtext films of the early 50s. I think they sit in the darkest part of the theater and only their legs are touching, and maybe if there's nobody there one of them will put his hand on the other's thigh and it's almost a real date.

I think they'll go to bars- not underground gay bars specifically, but bars where a lot of queer people just happen to congregate, and sit at a booth or a table, and drink together and find little ways to be discreetly affectionate.

I think Curt thinks it's adorable that Owen is a kind of a nerd, and tries his best to pay attention when Owen goes on a ramble or a rant about boring tech stuff (but gets bored and starts trying to make out with him instead). I think Owen is fascinated with how Curt's mind works, how he's seemingly so chaotic and disorganized, but in a crisis he is absolutely cool and calm and comes up with clever, creative solutions for problems.

I think they loved each other, they knew each other so well that one could barely finish a sentence before the other picked it up. I think they were a bit codependent, and the distance started to gnaw away at them towards the end, but they were each other's favorite person in the world. They trusted each other more than anyone else on Earth. They missed each other desperately, but tried their best to put on a brave face every time they had to part. I think they sent each other coded love notes and presents and found excuses to request each other on missions. I think some of their pillow talk included imagining little scenarios where they could run off together and never have to be apart again, and it starts as a fun thing but gradually gets sadder and sadder for them as they realize how impossible that would be.

(That's all I have time for right now but I might pick this back up later)

#spies are forever #tin can bros #curtwen #owen carvour #agent curt mega #saf #tcb

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Platonic Yandere duo rouge and Gambit and child that's from the future reader who's their future child

Ooooooo! Thank you, @surpiseadoption ! Okay, now that's a gold nugget! Let's see what I can do:

As members of the X-Men, strange was as normal to them as the sky being blue or Magneto showing up and causing trouble. Still, some things happened to surprise them, just... nothing like this before-

"Mama! Papa! You look younger! Oh! Hi Uncle Wolvie!" shouts a child, no older than six, who waves at them with the brightest smile and bright pink eyes. And suddenly their world became a lot weirder.

It turns out that this child is from the future. Their future. And is their child. It's shocking, not just because Rogue hasn't hasn't able to touch people due to her powers. How... how did she and the swamp rat get together? For Gambit, well... this petit is quite cute, and is a sure sign he and Rogue were made for each other. They both know (in a sixth sense sort of way) that they like each other. That they want to give it a try. But the fact they had a kid...

They didn't exactly think that far yet.

The child is sweet, running up to everyone and hugging their legs, asking to tag along with them (and following following anyways even if they said no), just doing their best to stay by them, talking about the smallest things to the gossip they overheard from the others and pulling them into games when they can... Yet it's kinda weird having a kid who insists they're married and in love-

"Sugah, why are ya tryin' ta give Gambit a kiss?"

"Cause you said if we gave him kisses, he'd turn into a prince, instead of a frog thief."

"... Uh-huh..."

"It's like that frog from the movie!"

"Well, he certainly IS as slimy as one..."

It's kinda cute, having a little tot trailing them. It's less funny when they set their clothes on fire with their powers.

"Petit, how'd ya daw this taw yaself?!"

"I got your splosions! 'M likea fireworwk!"

"Gambit's gonna be likea a dead man if he don't put ya out... Wait, get back here, bébé!"

Some of their teammates find it endearing, having a tyke running around. Wolverine and Storm especially like them, as they keep getting them involved in their schemes. Those schemes being to get the two of them together.

"Why'd ya say ya needed me in the kitchen, honey?"

"Cause I'm hungry, and yous make good food."

"Then why's he here?"

"He makes good food, too!"

"Just make the kid something ta eat, or they'll start to pickpocket everyone until they find something," Logan snorts, but pats Reader on the head before leaving.

"...Ya taught 'em ta pickpocket?"

"Yaw didn't?"

"No, I learned-ed it from Uncle Toawd!"

"...We need ta get ya better friends, sugah..."

"... Gambit agrees..."

They end up keeping Reader with one of them at all times, once they realize they don't have the best control of their power. Making explosions of light and energy isn't good if you're a six-year-old who falls every five minutes. They've lost count of how many times they've had to pick them up from the floor or grab them so so don't fall down the stairs. How did they ever manage to keep their- this child alive?!

Their problem comes when they disappear one day.

They woke up, hoping to find Reader sleeping with one of them, only to find their beds empty, with no giggling child waiting to hug them good morning. Their worry only grew as their friends and team couldn't find the kid, even the Professor using Cerebro and Wolverine using his senses couldn't find the kid... Their kid...

And when did it get to that? That that was THEIR kid? It hurts, that they're gone, likely back to their time...

But they DID do something...

They brought the two of them together.

And in a few years... maybe they'll be able to bring their kid into the world.... And this time... They aren't going to lose them. Their kid brought them together, and once they've gotten their bebe, they're going going be the best parents they can. That's their mon petit bébé, and they'll be d*mned if anything gets in the way of them coming back.

#honeycomb thoughts #platonic yandere marvel #yandere platonic marvel #platonic yandere xmen #yandere x-men #platonic yandere #platonic yandere x reader #platonic yandere marvel x reader #platonic yandere xmen evolution #platonic yandere xmcu #platonic yandere xmen: the animated series #platonic yandere gambit #platonic yandere rogue

[angelpuns]

Official references with colors/age/extra info for Finch in the Window!

This is more or less a master post to keep everything organized!

These are just the rough refs but lined and properly colored, along with one for Splinter that shows him in his suit ( I'll add a ref of him in his naval uniform later ).

Anyway this is gonna be the master post for this au since the comic is coming out soon!

The ROTTMNT rural au is set in 1930s-40s Japan and is essentially just an au about the boys living in the Japanese countryside and dealing with the effects of pre-war ( and then later postwar) Japan. I'm making it in the same vein as Grave of the Fireflies, This Corner of The World and The Wind Rises in that it mostly deals with the effect of the war on citizens and how it upended their lives in the smaller ways ( rationing, losing loved ones, etc )

I'm putting a lot of research into this au, but of course if there as anything that needs to be changed or is wrong please let me know.

Time to ramble about some design choices!

Starting with Splinter: he's totally human in this au, but has much of the same personality as Rise Splinter, save for the movie star thing. He's a lot more contemplative, I think. His first outfit is a simple suit - Japan in the 1920s and 30s was starting to introduce more westernized fashion, at least for the men. Many women still wore kimonos, even in the cities. Since Splinter is a decently high ranked officer as well as moving from the city to the countryside, he would definitely have a suit. I also think that color wise, he has a more subtle blue-grey palette than everyone else. Because I just thought it looked nice. Later on in the au, as he settles into country life, he typically wears a yukata around the house. He also has another outfit, which is essentially just an old naval uniform that er wears to work in the garden. He's 30 at the beginning of the au, in 1932, but since that's when we see him the most I haven't added his later looks just yet.

Raph: so Raph is kind of the main character in this au. He's the eldest and originally he's the only one who really knows what's going on. In my original design he was a bit shorter, but realistically he's probably a lot bigger than all his brothers. Design choices! So, when they were kids Raph typically didn't wear a shirt at all, though sometimes when they went to the village he would wear a yukata and some simple monpe pants. He prefers just wearing an undershirt and the monpe pants, since he's ripped a lot of yukatas with his spikes. He also tends to roll his pants up because he doesn't like when they touch his ankles.

Donnie: so Donnie is the older twin to me always. He's a little taller than Leo, too, but it's barely noticeable. He has super thick glasses that Splinter had to really work to find when he was young , thankfully the prescription was good enough. Nowadays there's a yokai doctor in the village that can help with that stuff. He gets cold easily and tends to bundle up with a more traditional yukata, except he ties the sleeves up to keep them out of the way. He also typically wears monpe pants to do the housework. He does most of the household chores along with Mikey. They're really close due to spending so much time together. He also sucks at sewing.

Leo: Leo is hard of hearing, but usually only has trouble when someone speaks too quietly or there is too much stimuli, like the rain or thunder or things like that. He also has a tendency to wander around their farm at night and frequently falls asleep on the roof. He wears a combination of undershirt + monpe pants and a regular yukata. Typically its the undershirt and pants combo, even when he goes to the village. He also gets cold easily and has a bad immune system, but he still helps Raph with most of the outside labor. Mostly cause he's reckless. He has a long-standing friendship/rivalry with Usagi Yuichi, who I have left out of this post for now since we won't really see him in the comic til later. Leo is great at sewing and has made most of their clothes/patched them up.

Mikey: baby of the group, and spoilt rotten by EVERYONE. Mikey wears mostly a yukata with monpe pants that he rolls waaaaaaay up. Leo keeps telling him to just wear shorts, but Mikey is stubborn asf. He does a lot of the cooking, since Donnie taught him. He is also the closest with their father, if only because he used to spend the most time with him. Yoshi gave him his hat for safekeeping and Mikey has barely taken it off since. His favorite food is watermelon! Mikey is very interested in humans and likes to sneak away to the nearby human village. He also likes to go into the yokai village with Leo when he can.

So that's just me rambling about design choices, clothing things, stuff like that. If anyone has questions I'd be so willing to answer! Keep an eye out for announcements about the comic within the next week or so!

EDIT: here's some helpful links for this au

Finch in the Window comic

Apples Leosagi fanfic

FITW Comic (social media version)

#fanart #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt fanart #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt turtle tots #rottmnt comic #rottmnt fanfic #comic #rottmnt art #rottmntruralau

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous ask: What do you think of the new Indiana Jones movie? And of Phoebe Waller-Bridge?

In a nutshell: From start to finish ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is watching Indiana Jones being a broken-down shell of a once great legacy character who has to be saved by the perfect younger and snarky but stereotypical ’Strong Independent Woman’ that passes for women characters in popcorn movies today.

I went in to this film with conflicted feelings. On the one hand I was genuinely excited to see this new Indiana Jones movie because it’s Indiana Jones. Period. Yet, on the other hand I feared how badly Lucasfilm, under Kathleen Kennedy’s insipid woke inspired CEO studio direction, was going to further tarnish not just a screen legend but the legacy of both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The cultural damage she has done to such a beloved franchise as the Star Wars universe in the name of progressive woke ideology is criminal. The troubled production history behind this film and its massive $300 million budget (by some estimates) meant Disney had a lot riding on it, especially with the future of Kathleen Kennedy on the line too as she was hands on with this film.

To me the Indiana Jones movies (well, the first three anyway, the less we say about ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ the better) were an important part of my childhood. I fell in love with the character instantly. Watching ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (first on DVD in my boarding school dorm with other giggly girls and later on the big screen at a local arts cinema retrospective on Harrison Ford’s stellar career) just blew me away. 

As a girl I wanted to be an archaeologist and have high falutin’ adventures; I even volunteered in digs in Pakistan and India (the Indus civilisation) as well as museum work in China as a teen growing up in those countries and discovering the methodical and patient but back breaking reality of what archaeology really was. But that didn’t dampen my spirit. Just once I wanted to echo Dr. Jones, ‘This belongs in a museum!’ But I happily settled for studying Classics instead and enjoyed studying classical archaeology on the side.

I couldn’t quite make sense why Indiana Jones resonated with me more than any other action hero on the screen until much later in life. Looking like Harrison Ford certainly helps. But it’s more than that. I’ve written this elsewhere but it’s worth repeating here.

‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is considered an inspiration for so many action films yet there’s a very odd aspect to the film that’s rather unique and rarely noticed by its critics and fans. It’s an element that, once spotted, is difficult to forget, and is perhaps inspiring for times like the one in which we currently live, when there are so many challenges to get through. Typically in action films, the hero faces an array of obstacles and setbacks, but largely solves one problem after another, completes one quest after another, defeats one villain after another, and enjoys one victory after another.

The structure of ‘Raiders’ is different. A quick reminder:

- In the opening sequence, Indiana Jones obtains the temple idol only to lose it to his rival René Belloq (Paul Freeman). - In the streets of Cairo, Indy fails to protect his love, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), from being captured (killed, he assumes). - In the desert, he finds the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, only to have it taken away by Belloq. - Indy then recovers the ark only to have it stolen a second time by Belloq, this time at sea. - On an island, Indy tries to bluff Belloq into thinking he’ll blow up the ark. His bluff fails. Indy is captured. - The climax of the film literally has its hero tied to a post the entire time. He’s completely ineffectual and helpless at a point in the movie where every other action hero is having their greatest moment of struggle and, typically, triumph.

If Indiana Jones had done absolutely nothing, if the famed archeologist had simply stayed home, the Nazis would have met the same fate - losing their lives to ark’s wrath because they opened it. It’s pretty rare in action films for the evil arch-villains to have the same outcome as if the hero had done nothing at all.

Indy does succeed in getting the ark back to America, of course, which is crucial. But then Indy loses the ark, once again, when government agents send it to a warehouse and refuse to let him study the object he chased the whole film. In other words: Indiana Jones spends ‘Raiders’ failing, getting beat up, and losing every artefact that he risks his life to acquire. And yet, Indiana Jones is considered a great hero.

The reason Indiana Jones is a hero isn’t because he wins. It’s because he never stops trying. I think this is the core of Indiana Jones’ character.

Critics will go on about something called agency as in being active or pro-active. But agency can be reactive and still be kinetic to propel the story along. It’s something that has progressively got lost as the series went on. With the latest Indiana Jones film I felt that Indiana Jones character had no agency and ends up being a relatively passive character. Sadly Indiana Jones ends up being a grouchy, broken, and beat up passenger in his own movie.

Released in 1981, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ remains one of the most influential blockbusters of all time. Exciting action, exotic adventure, just the right amount of romance, good-natured humour, cutting-edge special effects: it was all there, perfectly balanced. Since then, attempts have been made to reproduce this winning recipe in different narrative contexts, sometimes successfully (’Temple of Doom’ and ‘the Last Crusade’), usually in vain (’Crystal Skull’).

What are the key ingredients of an Indiana Jones movie? There are only four core elements - leaving aside aspects of story such as the villain or the goal - that you need in place before anything else. They are: the wry, world-weary but sexy masculine performance of Harrison Ford; the story telling genius of George Lucas steeped in the lore of Saturday morning action hero television shows of the 1950s; the deft visual story telling and old school action direction of Steven Spielberg; and the sublime and sweeping music of the great John Williams. This what made the first three films really work.

In the latest Indiana Jones film, you only have one. Neither Lucas and Spielberg are there and arguably neither is Harrison Ford. John Williams’ music score remains imperious as ever. His music does a lot of heavy lifting in the film and let’s face it, his sublime music can polish any turd.

This isn’t to say the ‘Dial of Destiny’ is a turd. I won’t go that far, and to be honest some of the critical reaction has been over-hysterical. Instead I found it enjoyable but also immensely frustrating more than anything else. It had potential to be a great swan song film for Indy because it had an exciting collection of talent behind it.

In the absence of Spielberg, one couldn’t do worse than to pick James Mangold as next best to direct this film. Mangold is a great director. I am a fan of his body of work. After ‘Copland’, ‘Walk the Line’, ‘Logan’ and ‘Le Mans 66’ (or ‘Ford vs Ferrari’), James Mangold has been putting together a fine career shaped by his ability to deliver stories that rediscover a certain old-fashioned charm without abusing the historical figures - real or fictional - he tackles. And after Johnny Cash, Wolverine and Ken Miles, among others, I had high hopes he would keep the flame alive when it came to Indiana Jones. Mangold grew up as a fanboy of Spielberg’s work and you can clearly see that in his approach to directing film.

But in this film his direction lacks vitality. Mangold, while regularly really good, drags his feet a little here because he’s caught between putting his own stamp on the film and yet also lovingly pay homage to his hero, Spielberg. It’s as if he didn't dare give himself away completely, the director seems too modest to really take the saga by the scruff of the neck, and inevitably ends up suffering from the inevitable comparison with Steven Spielberg.

Mangold tries to recreate the nostalgic wonder of the originals, but doesn't quite succeed, while succumbing to an overkill of visual effects that make several passages seem artificial. The action set pieces range from pedestrian to barely satisfying. The prologue sequence was vaguely reminiscent of past films but it was still a little too reliant on CGI. The much talked about de-ageing of Harrison Ford on screen was impressive (and one suspects a lot of the film budget was sunk right there). But Indiana’s lifeless digitally de-aged avatar fighting on a computer-generated train, made the whole sequence feel like the Nazi Polar Express. Because it didn’t look real, there was no sense of danger and therefore no emotional investment from the audience. You know Tom Cruise would have done it for real and it would have looked properly cinematic and spectacular.

The tuk tuk chase through the narrow streets of Tangiers was again an exciting echo of past films, especially ‘Raiders’, but goes on a tad too long, but the exploration of the ship wreck (and a criminally underused cameo by Antonio Banderas) was disappointing and way too short. 

The main problem here is the lack of creativity in the conception of truly epic scenes, because these are not dependent on Ford's age. Indeed, the film could very well have offered exhilarating action sequences worthy of the archaeologist with the whip, without relying solely on the physicality of its leading man. You don't need a Tom Cruise to orchestrate great moments but you could do worse than to follow his example. 

Mangold uses various means of locomotion to move the character  - train, tuk tuk, motorbike, horse - and offers a few images that wouldn't necessarily be seen elsewhere (notably the shot of Jones riding a horse in the middle of the underground), but in the end shows himself to be rather uninspired, when the first three films in the saga conceived some of the most inventive sequences in the genre and left their mark on cinema history. There are no really long shots, no iconic compositions, no complex shots that last and enrich a sequence, which makes the film look too smooth and prevents it from giving heft to an adventure that absolutely needs it.

And so now to the divisive figure of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. 

It’s important here to separate the person from the character. I like Phoebe Waller-Bridge and I loved her in her ‘Fleabag’ series. She excels in a very British setting. I think she is funny, irreverent, and a whip smart talented writer and performer. I also think she has a particular frigid English beauty and poise about her. When I say poise I don’t mean the elegant poise of a Parisienne or a Milanese woman, but someone who is cute and comfortable in her own skin. You would think she would be more suited to ‘Downton Abbey’ setting than all out Hollywood action film. But I think she almost pulls it off here. 

In truth over the years Phoebe Waller-Bridge, known for her comedy, has been collecting franchises where she is able to inflict her saucy humour into a hyper-masculine space. I don’t think her talent was properly showcased here. 

Hollywood has this talent for plucking talented writers and actors who are exceptional in what they do and then hire them do something entirely different by either miscasting them or making them write in a different genre. I think Phoebe Waller-Bridge is exceptional and she might just rise if she is served by a better script.

In the end I think she does a decent stab at playing an intriguing character in Helena Shaw, Indy’s long lost and estranged god daughter and a sort of amoral rare artefacts hustler. Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings enthusiasm, charm and mischief to the role, making her a breath of fresh air. She seems to be the only member of the on-screen cast that looks to be enjoying themselves. 

To be fair her I thought Waller-Bridge was a more memorable and interesting female character than either Kate Capshaw (’Temple of Doom’, 1984) and Alison Doody (’Last Crusade’, 1989). She certainly is a marked improvement on the modern woke inspired insipid female action leads such as Brie Larson (’Captain Marvel’), or any women in the Marvel universe for that matter, or Katherine Waterson (’Alien Covenant’). Waller-Bridge could have been reminiscent of Kathleen Turner (’Romancing the Stone’) and more recently Eva Green, actresses who command attention on screen and are as captivating, if not more so, than the male protagonists they play opposite.

To be sure there have been strong female leads before the woke infested itself into Hollywood story telling but they never made it central to their identity. Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien’ and Linda Hamilton in the ‘Terminator’ franchise somehow conveyed strength of character with grit and perseverance through their suffering, while also being vulnerable and confident to pull through and succeed. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character isn’t quite that. She doesn’t get into fist fights or overpowers big hulking men but she uses cheek and charm to wriggle out of tight spots. She’s gently bad ass rather the dull ‘strong independent woman’ cardboard caricatures that Marvel is determined to ram down every girl’s throat. If Waller-Bridge’s character was better written she might well have been able to revive memories of the great ladies of Hollywood's golden age who had the fantasy and the confidence that men quaked at their feet.

What lets her character down is the snark. She doesn’t pepper her snark but she drowns in it. All of it directed at poor Indy and mocking him for his creaking bones and his entire legacy. It’s a real eyesore and it is a real let down as it drags the story down and clogs up the wheels that power the kinetic energy that an adventure with Indiana Jones needs. ‘The grumpy old man and the young woman with the wicked repartee set off across the vast world’ schtick is all well and good, but it does grate and by the end it makes you angry that Indy has put up with this crap. I can understand why many are turned off by Waller-Bridge’s character. As a female friend of mine put it, we get the talented Phoebe Waller Bridge’s bitter and unlikable Helena acting like a bitter and unlikable man. But it could be worse, it could be as dumb as Shia LaBeouf‘s bad Fonzie impersonation in 'Crystal Skull’.

I would say there is a difference between snark and sass. Waller-Bridge’s character is all snark. If the original whispers are true the original script had her way more snarkier towards Indy until Ford threatened to leave the project unless there were re-writes,  then it shows how far removed the producers and writers were from treating Indy Jones with the proper respect a beloved legacy character deserves. It’s also lazy story telling.

Karen Black gave us real sass with Marion Ravenwood in ‘Raiders’. Her character was sassy, strong, but also vulnerable and romantic. She plays it pitch perfect. Of all the women in Indy’s life she was good foil for Indy.

Spielberg is so underrated for his mise-en-scène. We first meet Marion running a ramshackle but rowdy tavern in Tibet (she’s a survivor). She plays and wins a drinking game (she’s a tough one), she sees Indy again and punches him (she’s angry and hurt for her abandoning her and thus revealing her vulnerability). She has the medallion and becomes a partner (she’s all business). She evades and fights off the Nazis and their goons, she even uses a frying pan (she’s resourceful but not stupid). She tries on dresses (she’s re-discovers her femininity). Indy saves her but she picks him up at the end of the film by going for a drink (she’s healing and there’s a chance of a new start for both of them). This is a character arc worth investing in because it speaks to truth and to our reality.

The problem with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character is that she is constantly full on with the snark. Indy and Helena gripe and moan at each other the entire film. Indy hasn’t seen her in years, and she felt abandoned after her father passed, so there’s a lot of bitterness. It’s not unwarranted, but it also isn’t entertaining. It’s never entertaining if the snark makes the character too temperamental and unsympathetic for the audience to be emotionally invested in her.

I think overall the film is let down by the script. Again this is a shame. The writing talent was there. Jez and John-Henry Butterworth worked with James Mangold on ‘Ford v. Ferrari’ and co-wrote ‘Edge of Tomorrow‘ while David Koepp co-wrote the first ‘Mission: Impossible’ (but he also penned Indiana Jones and the ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, and the 2017 version of ‘The Mummy’ that simultaneously started and destroyed Universal’s plans for their Dark Universe). I love the work of Jez Butterworth who is one of England’s finest modern playwrights and he seemed to have transitioned fine over to Hollywood. But as anyone knows a Hollywood script has always too many cooks in the kitchen. There are so many fingerprints of other people - studio execs and directors and even stars - that a modern Hollywood script somehow resembles a sort of Ship of Theseus. It’s the writer’s name on the script but it doesn’t always mean they wrote or re-wrote every word.

Inevitably things fall between the cracks and you end up filming from the hip and hoping you can stitch together a coherent narrative in post-production editing. Clearly this film suffered from studio interference and many re-writes. And it shows because there is no narrative fluidity at work in the film.

Mads Mikkelsen’s Nazi scientist is a case in point. I love Mikkelsen especially in his arthouse films but I understand why he takes the bucks for the Hollywood films too. But in this film he is phoning in his performance. Mads Mikkelsen does what he can with limited screen time to make an impact but this character feels so recycled from other blockbusters. Here the CIA and US Government are evil and willing to let innocent Americans be murdered in order to let their pet Nazi rocket scientist pursue what they believe to be a hobby. But to be fair the villains in the Indy movies have never truly been memorable with perhaps Belloq, the French archaeologist and nemesis of Indy in ‘Raiders’, the only real exception. It’s just been generic bad guys - The Nazis! The Thugee death cult! The Nazis (again)! The Commies! Now we’re back to Nazis again which is not only safer ground for the Indy franchise but something we can all get behind.

However Mads Mikkelsen’s Dr. Voller, is the blandest and most generic Nazi villain in movie history. At the end of World War II, Voller was recruited by the US Government to aid them in rocket technology. Now that he’s completed his task and man has walked on the moon, he’s turning his genius to his ultimate purpose, the recovery of the ‘Dial of Destiny’ built by Archimedes. Should he find both pieces of the ancient treasure, he plans to return to 1930s Nazi Germany, usurp Hitler, and use his advanced knowledge of rocket propulsion to win the war. In a sense then he was channeling his inner Heidegger who felt Hitler had let down Nazism and worse betrayed Heidegger himself.

So there is a character juxtaposition between Voller and Indy in the sense both men feel more comfortable in the past than the present. But neither is given face time together to explore this intriguing premise that could have anchored the whole narrative of the film. It’s a missed opportunity and instead becomes a failure of character and story telling.

Then there are the one liners which seemed shoe horned in to make the studio execs or the writers feel smug about themselves. There are several woke one lines peppered throughout the film but are either tone deaf or just stupid.

“You trigger happy cracker”-  it’s uttered without any self-awareness by a black CIA agent who is chaperoning the Nazi villain. Just because white people think it’s dumb and aren’t bothered by it doesn’t make it any less a racial slur. If you want authenticity then why not use the ’N’ word then as it would historically appropriate in 1969? The hypocrisy is what’s offensive.

“You stole it. He stole it. I stole it. It’s called capitalism.” - capitalism 101 for economic illiterate social justice warriors.

“[I’m] daring, beautiful, and self-sufficient” - uttered by Helena Shaw as a snarky reminder that she’s a strong independent woman, just in case you forgot.

“It’s not what you believe but how hard you believe.” - Indiana Jones has literally stood before the awesome power of God when the Ark of the Covenant was opened up by the Nazis, and they paid the price for it by having their faces melted off. Indy has drunk from the authentic cup of Christ, given to him by a knight who’s lived for centuries, that gave him eternal life and heal his father from a fatal bullet wound. So he’s figuratively seen the face of God (sure, he closed his eyes) and His holy wrath, and has witnessed the divine healing power of Christ first hand. And yet his spews out this drivel. It’s empty of any meaning and is a silly nod to our current fad that it’s all about the truth of our feelings, not observable facts or truth.

For me though the absolute worse was what they did to Indiana Jones as a character. Once the pinnacle of masculinity, a brave and daring man’s man whose zest for life was only matched by his brilliance, Henry Jones Jr. is now a broken, sad, and lonely old man. Indiana Jones is mired in the past. Not in the archaeological past, but in his own personal past. He's asleep at the wheel, losing interest in his own life. He's lost his son, he's losing his wife. He's been trying to pass on his passion, his understanding to disinterested people. They're not so interested in looking at the past. He remains a man turned towards the past, and then he finds himself confronted by Helena, who embodies the future. This nostalgia, this historical anchoring, becomes the main thread of the story.The film tries to deconstructs Indiana Jones on the cusp of retirement from academia and confronts him with a world he no longer understands. That’s an interesting premise and could have made for a great film.

It’s clear that the filmmakers’ intention was for a lost and broken Indiana to recapture his spirit by the film’s end. However, its horrible pacing and meandering and underdeveloped plot, along with Harrison Ford’s miserably sad demeanour in nearly every scene, make for a deeply depressing movie with an empty and unearned resolution. 

By this I mean at the very end of the film. It’s meant to be daring and it is. There’s something giddy about appearing during the middle of siege of Syracuse by blood thirsty Romans and then coming face to face with Archimedes himself. The film seems to want to justify the legendary, exceptional aura and character of Indy himself by including him in History. Hitherto wounded deep down inside, and now also physically wounded, Indy the archaeologist tells Helena that he wants to stay here and be part of history. 

It's a lovely and even moving moment, and you wonder if the film isn't going to pull a ‘Dying Can Wait’ by having its hero die in order to strengthen its legend. But in a moment that is too brutal from a rhythmic point of view, Helena refuses, knocks out her godfather and takes him back to the waiting plane and back to 1969. The next thing Indy sees he’s woken up back in his shabby apartment in New York.

I felt cheated. I’m sure Indy did too.

After all it was his choice. But Helena robbed him of the freedom to make his own decisions. She’s the one to decide what’s best. In effect she robbed him of agency. Even if it was the wrong decision to stay back in time, it’s so important from a narrative and character arc perspective that Indy should have had his own epiphany and make the choice to come back by himself because there is something worth living for in the future present - and that was reconciling with Marion his estranged wife. But damn it, he had to come to that decision for himself, and not have someone else force it upon him. That’s why the ending feelings so unearned and why the story falls flat as a soufflé when you piss on it.

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ feels like the type of sequel that aimed to capture the magic of its predecessors, had worthwhile intentions, and a talented cast, but it just never properly materialised. In a movie whose pedigree, both in front and behind the camera, is virtually unassailable, it’s inexcusable that this team of filmmakers couldn’t achieve greater heights. 

The film was a missed opportunity to give a proper send off to a cinematic legend. Harrison Ford proving that whatever gruff genre appeal he possessed in his heyday has aged better than Indy’s knees. He may be 80, but Ford carries the weight of the film, which, for all its gargantuan expense, feels a bit like those throwaway serials that first inspired Lucas - fun while it lasts, but wholly forgettable on exit.

I wouldn’t rate ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ as the worst film in the franchise - that dubious honour still lies with ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’.  Indeed the best I can say is that I would rate this film at the benchmark of “not quite as bad as Crystal Skull”.But it’s definitely time to retire and hang up the fedora and the bull whip.

For what’s worth I always thought the ending of ‘Last Crusade’ where Indy, his father Henry Jones Snr., and his two most faithful companions, Sallah and Marcus Brody, ride off into the sunset was the most fitting way to say goodbye to a beloved character.

Instead we have in ‘Dial of Destiny’ the very last scene which is meant to be this perfect ending: Indiana Jones in his scruffy pyjamas and his shabby apartment. Sure, the exchange between a reconciling Indy and Marion is sincere and touching. But that only works because it explicitly recalls ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. That's what Nietzsche would call “an eternal return”.

I shall eternally return to watch the first three movies to delight in the adventures of the swashbuckling archaeologist with the fedora and a bull whip. The last two dire films will be thrown into the black abyss. Something even Nietzsche would have approved of.

Thanks for your question.

#ask #question #indiana jones the dial of destiny #dial of destiny #indiana jones #lucasfilm #harrison ford #phoebe waller bridge #james mangold #steven spielberg #george lucas #john williams #kathleen kennedy #disney #film #cinema #movies #arts #cancel culture #personal

[howtodrawyourdragon]

Hurdles in hand Holding

Summary: Written for the Hurt and Comfort Bingo.

A Modern AU. The thing about having powers is that sometimes even the simplest of things can come with hurdles.

Warnings: /

Ratings: General

Words: 640

Prompts: Accidents

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Characters: Hiccup, Astrid

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Author's Notes: Modern AU? Canon Viking setting? I literally weighed a list of pros and cons and even with one extra con for the Modern AU, it still got on pro on top of the Canon Viking Setting. So, here's another Modern AU.

Got inspired by watching the first X-men movie yesterday. :')

Enjoy!

-XOXOX-

Hiccup realized long ago that his ability to generate lightning is so intimately interwoven with his emotions. It’s not unheard of, it’s actually rather natural. It’s how most figure out they have powers at all, while others need to focus and make them happen.

He, in particular, has a great many feelings and he feels them with all of him. Always has. So control is the key and it took him years just to get some semblance of it.

“OW- fucking… Thor!”

But sometimes that control slips and Astrid jumps away from him with a couple of swear words as if she has just been… Well, shocked.

Her body is tingling all over in a rather unpleasant way, her heart is racing and she stares at her hand to make sure it didn’t leave a mark. It still hurts.

“I am so sorry!” Hiccup steps away from her, immediately apologetic. They were just taking a walk in the local park at sunset when Astrid took his hand to hold and it clearly sparked something, he ended up literally shocking her. He felt the charge not even a split second before she cried out.

It’s rather devastating that something so everyday as the joy of holding hands can lead to pain, he doesn’t see Astrid accidentally setting him on fire, does he?

“Hiccup, it’s okay,” she sighs, though her fingers still tingle annoyingly, the sensation radiates all the way up to her wrist. She doesn’t blame him. As anyone with abilities can attest, anyone with dangerous abilities like theirs especially; it’s easy to use your powers, control is the hard part.

She has perfected it, as would be expected from a Hofferson. But she also understands that this aspect of having powers tends to slip Hiccup’s mind. He always has a lot going on up there, so many emotions and she knows how deeply he feels each one. It’s one of the many reasons why she loves him.

As a pyrokinetic, there is no way she can ever let her feelings get the better of her and she pushed every hint of anything other than complete neutrality down until she had almost lost the ability to feel altogether.

But Hiccup… he could try for years and still fail.

“No… No, it’s really not,” he shakes his head. Astrid watches Hiccup pull something from his back pocket and within moments both his hands are clad in dark leather gloves. Contrary to Snotlout’s opinion- who claims her boyfriend has them to be extra- it turns out leather is a poor conductor for electricity. It’s either that or full on rubber gloves and who wants to be wearing those in daily life?

Astrid can’t help the heartache. They are in the minority, there are so many people who wish they had powers like them, but none of them quite realize the troubles they can bring. The two of them can’t even go for a walk together without having some kind of a hurdle to face.

They stand in silence for a moment, a couple of passersby staring at the two of them as they walk past.

Astrid wouldn’t have even noticed them if not for the fact that she doesn’t appreciate that they’re staring at her boyfriend. She couldn’t care less about what people think of her, but when they appear to be staring at him when he’s clearly feeling bad about something and fidgeting with his gloves that are sensory unpleasant…

“Come on,” she takes a resolute step closer to Hiccup and doesn’t allow him the chance to back away before she stretches her hand out to him. They will walk, they will hold hands and they will enjoy each other’s company.

Hiccup dares an appreciative smile and accepts her hand. Because she’s right. They can still enjoy this walk and they should.

#httyd movies #httyd fics #rtte #race to the edge #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #hiccstrid #h/c #hurt/comfort #powers #alternate universe #au #modern au #powers au #abilities au #lightning powers #fire powers #my fanfics #hurdles in holding hands #lightning wielder #lightning wielder au

[rule0fwolves]

100 rp sentence starters/dialogue prompts straight out of fanfictions I've written.

{feel free to change pronouns and wording as you need or see fit!}

ALSO DONT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HOW RANDOM OR CHEESY THESE ARE I DONT WANNA HEAR IT

also also, a few of them are from WIPS that I have yet to unleash onto this hellsite or the other lame ones.

“Don’t play dumb. You knew how they felt. You were just stringing them on, right? You weren’t serious.”

“Woah, what’s up with you? You look pissed.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Worst of all, I miss you; the only one who deserves to be missed. You’re the only one who’s actually good for me.”

“You’re acting really distant for no reason. Well, maybe there is a reason, but how the hell would I know that if you don’t tell me?”

“I like you. More than a friend. I’m sorry I had to tell you like this.”

“What are you looking at me like that for?”

“You’re cute, I’ll give you that. But no amount of whining will make me tell you.”

“I better be the only man in your life. You’ll never find anyone as great as me, I promise.”

“Don’t worry baby, you’ll always be my number one”

“It’s gotten dark. Here, let me walk you home.”

“Duh? I, A, have found a movie that I think you, B, would like so I, A, am asking you, B, to see a movie with me.”

“Omg yes! I can’t wait to actually meet you! I want to go everywhere with you.”

“You can think about work later, okay? Let’s run away.”

“You remember our secret paradise, don’t you?”

“You need to take better care of yourself, bub. Whenever you need me, I’m here. I’ll help you.”

“Yeah. I remember you crying like a big baby when ___ called you average.”

“I am manifesting that ___ doesn’t actually like me and is actually confessing something else.”

“I’m gonna need at least 3 years before I can come back from that shit.”

“What kind of damage have you done you dumbass!!”

“SHE DOESN’T KNOW ANYTHING I SWEAR ON MY MAMA”

“THIS WOULDN’T BE A PROBLEM IF YOU WEREN’T A PUSSY AND YOU JUST CONFESS ALREADY!!”

“___ told me to say “mind ur business <3””

“Sorry, my lips are (forcibly) sealed.”

“Count your days, ___. Sleep with one eye open from now on.”

“You are so jealous it is so funny”

“I’M TELLING ___ YOU WANNA HAVE AN AFFAIR”

“I’m happy for you! I know you were pretty upset, so I’m glad things worked out.”

“Sorry about that. I panicked. Thanks for helping me out.”

"I don't really feel like working on the project today."

"Let's just hang out. Tell me more about yourself. You haven't told me much."

"Oh my god I've thought about this so many times, you have no idea.”

“Hey, pretty. Do you have a pen?”

“You should stay home. Rest a little. I’ll have fun for you.”

“Awww, you’re so eager.”

“I don’t want to stay just friends…. I like you too much.”

“Just lean on me. I won’t let you go.”

“Live for me.”

“I forgot to bring some clothes with me last night, and I thought you wouldn’t mind if I wore something of yours…”

“We’re done, _____. I’ve seen enough. I knew this was happening but I chose to ignore it. I chose to have faith in you and this is how you repay me? I guess I made the wrong choice. Thanks for nothing, asshole.”

“Of course you would, anything for just a kiss,” 

“Go, go! I don’t want you to get in trouble for me.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you and your layers,”

“Well if it turns out you rejected me, then I wouldn’t have to see your stupid face again afterwards and I wouldn’t have to feel awkward about it.”

“Say it again! Say you like me!”

“I’ll kill her if you want me to. No one hurts my ____.” (joking)

“Says you, Mr. Five Foot Nine Inches!!” (can go for any height under 5’11” or 180cm)

“It’s dark out there and you never know what could happen.”

“Thanks for coming over. I feel a lot better.”

 “Don’t worry, sweetheart, it was just a joke.”

“____! Let me go! You smell, go shower!”

“It’s been a month already, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.”

“I couldn’t find an umbrella… And I didn’t know it would be raining that hard. It was only sprinkling when I left”

“Oh my god thank goodness it’s you. My friends ditched me.”

“What the fuck are you doing? Get off me!”

“I like the way she looks at me. And I like how she always cares about me. And the way her eyebrows furrow together whenever she’s confused and the ways her eyes sparkle when she’s amazed by something. And of course I love her attention.”

“Don’t get rid of your feelings for me. Don’t forget me. Don’t like anyone else.”

“Hey, instead of sleeping on the couch, could you sleep with me? I’m sure it would be much more comfortable and better for your back.”

 “How’s it going my little emo buddy?”

“Not exactly stalking… Just… Watching. I don’t want you to get hurt. That guy is just a player. I can give you everything you need.”

“You really hate love, don’t you?”

“You’re such a great friend. What did I do to deserve you?”

“If you ever show your face near me or my friends spewing bullshit, I’ll make sure you can never walk again.” 

 “I won’t stop you. You’re not mine anymore.”

“I just think… I need some space. We should… Take a break.”

“I’m so sorry, ____. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m sorry for being so selfish. I’m just… I’m just so scared, (nickname).”

“(full name), I’m in love with you. And that scares the shit out of me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”

“I’ve liked you since day one, ____. You can hurt me all you want.”

“Let’s keep it that way. I don’t want you dating until you’re 30.”

“What are your intentions with ____?” 

“I’ll burn you alive if you even think about doing something to ____,”

“Everyone be nice to her or else you’ll be eating wood chips for breakfast, lunch, and dinner”

“Be more careful next time. Your friends would have my head if I let you get hurt,”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“ You really look the opposite of okay.”

“You’re upset over a 97 percent?”

“ I’m just so disappointed in myself.”

“You can uh… Pay me back later if you really feel that bad about it.”

“You were glowing.”

“It’s what you’re thinking though, right? Why bother with the fake kindness, hm?”

“Do you want to watch a movie? I have Netflix.”

“I’ve only ever skated once and I was terrible at it.”

“Alright, we can take it slow. I won’t let go of you until you feel confident in yourself. Okay?”

“Where did you get that information?”

“I am going to murder that motherfucker.”

“Babe, come on. Your feelings are totally valid. He gave you mixed signals. Even if it was fake, you have a right to feel upset.”

“Who is ____ and why are you out for his blood?”

“I’m so sorry. I tried so hard to get over him, I did. I wanted to like you back, but I can’t. I’m still so helplessly in love with ____.”

“Please don’t force yourself to like me. You can’t help who you love.”

“Have a good nap. But before you do, there’s a… present.... in your room.”

“We need to talk. I’m serious this time. Please just listen.”

“I know the relationship was fake, but I swear to you, my feelings are not.”

“I am just about as in love with you as you are with me.”

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before you.”

“Let’s start over. For real this time.”

“Your brother is terrifying.”

“He’s been hanging out with ___ too much, the stupid is rubbing off on him.”

“You… You want me to choose…?”

“I’m not the ordinary monster that lives in your closet or under your bed. I’m way fucking worse.”

#rp starters #sentence starters #writing prompts #rp prompts #rp meme #starters #fanfiction memes #roleplay starters #writing ideas #prompts #written prompts #original post time #multimuse #oc rp #oc x canon #oc x oc #canon x canon #ship meme

[alfredosauce50]

Requests are closed, but this has been sitting in my head for months. A white picket fence-themed story with slasher undertones! This is a little different to my other posts (and longer) because it has a concept and build up, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!

Content warning: Slasher horror, adult themes, and overall fucked-upness. Viewer discretion advised. R18+ only.

The reader is referred to as she/her.

Yandere America headcanons

Everyone says the same things about him. That he’s friendly, charming, and reliable. The boy-next-door, the type you’d trust your drink with. What nobody knows is that it’s all an elaborate guise to hide his true colors. Once he reveals them, there’s no going back. You’re never getting away from him.

The worst part is, nobody suspects a thing. Everyone would think you’re the crazy one for accusing him. Thus, his untouchable reputation (and cunning) makes him the most dangerous yandere of all.

The office romance

Alfred is the most popular guy in the building. He’s a hard worker, a people person, and lights up the room with his smile. It feels like he has everything going for him: a great job, good looks, and lots of friends that can’t get enough of him. What he can’t seem to get is your attention.

You’re married to the Danish ditz from customer relations, Mathias Densen. HR usually frowns on that sort of thing, but you were cute together. Either way, you’re friends with Alfred for the same reason everyone else is. He’s charming. The only difference is that he makes an effort to see you outside of work—to see a movie, to grab dinner, or to catch up over some coffee.

“So, what do you say? Me and you at Mastro’s?”

You’re walking out of the break room when he jogs over, his blue tie swinging from side to side. He’s been going on about having a steak dinner with a friend, then complaining nobody wants to go with him—only because he hasn’t asked anybody yet.

“I don’t know, Al. Isn’t that place expensive?”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m paying for the both of us.”

“Okay,” You laugh gently, turning toward the cubicles. Everyone is clacking away on their keyboards or speaking into their telephones. Your husband is one of them, only he’s more animated than the rest, nodding away and chuckling every now and then. “I’ll try and get Mat to pick me up at ten.”

“Great! I’ll be sitting in my office pretending to do stuff until we get off.” He beams.

He likes getting on your nerves. It’s that one trick that gets you to feel closer to him. And it works. During work hours, he’ll drop by your desk to steal your snacks for a reaction. He will literally pluck a candy bar or pastry out of your hand and stuff it in his mouth while walking away. When you get mad at him, he’ll just laugh and go, “you’re not supposed to eat at your cubicle. I’m just saving your ass from trouble. If you don’t believe me, you can take it up to HR.”

If he’s not picking on you, he’s a total sweetheart. Alfred will make you coffee without being asked. Mathias usually keeps an eye out for stuff like that, doing favors for you when you need them, but not when he’s predisposed with work. He’s easily distracted, unfortunately. And Alfred is an opportunist. “You look tired. I’ll add in an extra bit of everything to give you the energy.”

Being closer to him, he can act more like himself when he’s around you. That means less of the laughing, small talk, and all that nonsense. He can actually give you a straight answer. You’re willing to let him explain, and if not, you seem to trust him for his judgement. He loves that. He thrives off validation. But by the rare occasion you do disagree with him, you mostly just poke fun at him. “Doesn’t that seem kinda stupid? Or am I just an asshole? I’m the asshole? Okay, fine.”

He starts obsessing over you. It’s refreshing to be around someone he doesn’t need a social battery for. Alfred is also lonelier than he’d like to admit. He can’t count how many superficial acquaintances he has. You’re an outlier, so he make it clear he’s high-strung about you in a ‘guy best friend’ way. He won’t stop competing with Mathias over everything as a joke. It’s really not. “So, is the husband gonna take you to Field of Screams this weekend, or am I gonna have to?”

He makes his attraction to you glaringly obvious. Alfred doesn’t care to hide it. It starts off subtle, like looking at you when he’s laughing in a group setting. Then, he’ll start gazing your way when you aren’t even paying attention to him. When it gets to that point, he has the balls to hold your waist when he’s around you. When I say he’s an expert at playing things off, I mean it.

That’s when he starts scheming. He will match his schedule with yours and sabotage Mathias’s. You start seeing him more during the work week, not knowing it was his doing. Alfred will catch you in the break room every day, making sure to get in every ounce of interaction there is.

What gets him to blow his cover is jealousy. And not from the third-wheeling he’s already doing. That, he can keep a lid on. But telling him you hope to have a baby soon? With your husband?Alfred will turn red in the face and lose his composure. His reaction is visceral, rambling about why you shouldn’t, that it’ll ruin your career, that kids aren’t economic, and any other bullshit reason he can come up with on the spot.

“You’re too young,” He laughs breathily. He’s already rubbing you the wrong way, but he drives the stake in with this comment. “And plus, do you really wanna have a baby with that guy? I mean, look at him—”

You slap him right across the face.

His head turns in the direction of your hand. He falls silent, his smile gone. That’s the end of your friendship. But to him, it’s the start of something else. And it isn’t half as holy as what you have with Mathias. Or what anyone has, for that matter.

“What, do you hate me now? Just say it and I’ll leave you alone.” Alfred gives you a side-eye.

“I really want to hate you.” You fume, wrapping your arms around yourself. Your voice is hushed to hide the hurt in it. “You’re an asshole. But I just want you to apologize, even if I shouldn’t talk to you again.”

“Fine. I’m sorry.”

When you argue

Alfred is manipulative. He victimizes himself or over-exaggerates to make it seem like something is not his fault. “I’m sorry for giving my opinion. I was just trying to be honest,” or “Great. Now I’m the bad guy.” are typical responses when you confront him. He hates being confronted. He will do anything to avoid the blame, even if it means pinning it on you. He never admits he’s wrong.

He needs to have the last word in an argument. He will go back and forth with you for hours if he has to. He only ever stops when you give up, meaning you storm out on him. He’s knocking on your door, pleading to work this out with you. Shut him out all you want, he’ll force himself into the room. “Babe, just hear me out. I’m sorry for being an asshole—wait, don’t lock the door—you locked the door. You know I have keys, right?”

If you’re crying, he turns gentle and affectionate. Kissing, hugging, whispering how sorry he is for hurting your feelings. Alfred then makes it up to you with a romantic dinner, a movie night, or flowers. Even then, he still won’t double-down. He only feels bad for making you cry, not for the point he’s making. Egocentric is his middle name. He thinks his opinions are always right, and can’t see things from another perspective.

Psychology

He has a sense of entitlement like no other. Being close to him will give him the confidence to do anything. He will go from a friend to a homewrecker pretty fast. Why? Because he can. It comes from his undying belief that you’ll always forgive him. That you like him enough to let everything he does slide. And he won’t think twice to take advantage of your soft spot for him.

He has a major superiority complex. Alfred loves what he is—his intelligence, charisma, and wit. He also believes he’s far better for you than Mathias is. What he has with you is more special, and he’s dying on that hill. “You can be with him in another life” is bullshit. Fuck that. Having a husband won’t stop him from chasing you, let alone your rejection. You just need to give him some time. You’ll warm up eventually.

He’s mastered the art of seduction. Once he admits his attitude is out of jealousy, he will try and get you to give in to him. If he can kiss you, or better yet, get you to have sex with him, your marriage will be over. He’ll have you all to himself. “I didn’t want you to have his baby because I want you to have mine. Okay?”

Alfred is very traditional. He loves the idea of having a nice big house in the suburbs. He has a thing for kids too, so it’s no wonder why he freaked out so much in the first place. He’s also happy to play along with gender roles, however obsolete they are. He wants to be the provider. That’s one thing he mentions to persuade you to dump Mathias and marry him instead.

He’s obsessed with his image. Alfred needs to look like a perfect poster boy to compensate for everything he’s thinking about doing, or what he’s already done. Being admired is a coping mechanism for him to be at peace with himself. He’s deluding himself that he’s a good person. There’s a practicality of a good reputation too—he can avoid any and all suspicion.

What’s unique about him is that he never ‘snaps’. He retains a level-headedness throughout, even while doing the most unsound things. Making threats, stalking, you name it. He can look Mathias straight in the eye and say, “I’ll kill you,” before smiling and playing it off as a joke. It’s not. He’s already thinking about how he’s gonna do it.

He feels no empathy for his victims. There’s a ‘necessity’ in his actions, and he refuses to think they’re really just violent impulses. He associates aggression with unrefined criminals, which he feels he’s above. He’s too clever and classy to be a criminal. He’s too ‘in control’ of himself. Alfred could be the most dangerous out of all the prisoners behind bars, but he’d get pretty pissed being treated like the same—like an animal.

He’s a true-blue psychopath. It’s hard to gauge how much love he’s capable of, but his obsession with you goes without saying. Keeping you in his grasp is all he can care about. Controlling how the world sees him will make sure of that. Killing anybody in his way is just maintenance. There’s a satisfying finality of death, the absolute silence of possible witnesses. His victims will never get him caught if they’re in the trunk of his car. The soil in his garden. When they let out their last breath, all they see is the million-dollar smile that everyone fell for. It’s a final display of power, a cruel reminder that he will never be caught.

His first target is your unassuming husband. The trigger is simple—your plans to start a family with him. Alfred needs to get rid of him before that happens. He will study his schedule before following him in his car. When Mathias is alone, he will sneak up from behind and hit him in the back of his head with a bat. Alfred will pack his body in his trunk like he’s packing for Summer.

He’ll comfort you while you’re grieving your husband’s sudden disappearance. When you’re anxious in the middle of the night, he’s more than happy to talk to you over the phone. Alfred is now closer to you than ever, and makes it a habit to swing by and keep you company. What he can’t change is how you feel about Mathias. He’s long dead and gone, but your love for him is undying. Sometimes, you might even cry about how much Alfred reminds you of him.

That’s how he comes up with this: impersonating and replacing your late husband. An opportunity comes along when you get in a car accident. Alfred rushes to the hospital to see you, only for the doctor to inform him of the brain trauma you endured. You have retrograde amnesia; you can’t remember major details about your life. Not your friends, family, or a Mathias Densen being in your life. Alfred would be a fool if he didn’t take advantage of that. He will sit by your bedside and lie that he’s your husband, the Mr to your Mrs.

Home life

Alfred is a con artist. Not only will he convince you of your new marital status, he’ll get rid of any evidence of Mathias being in your life. He’ll photoshop his face out of your pictures and replace it with his own. It’s easy to do because they look similar. Then, he shows it to you to ‘refresh’ your memories of him. You’re sitting in your hospital bed, bonding with him over events that never happened. Not with him, anyway. “And these—” He flips through a photo book before wiping his eyes. “—these are our wedding photos. They’re really, really pretty, I know. We rented out a National park and everything.”

He takes you ‘home’ to the middle of nowhere. The house is a huge, rustic, and gorgeous manor in the mountains, i.e., miles away from your next door neighbor. It’s the perfect getaway for fresh air, quiet, and enjoying the wilderness. Alfred can live the life he’s always idealized, and with the woman he’s idealized it with. He won’t have to worry about anybody finding you here, either. “Once you get a little better, we can try out the pool. It’s heated.” He grins, turning to you with a spatula in hand. You’re sitting in the patio while he barbecues some meat. As for the apron, it’s a bright pink one with ‘kiss the cook’ on it. And you do, thanking him for how sweet he’s being.

He’s a dedicated husband. Alfred is incredibly sensitive to your mood, and will do anything to keep you comfortable. He has no problem going to work, doing the chores and being there for you when you need him, especially while you recover. You worry you’re not doing enough, but he always assures you otherwise. All he wants is for you to get used to moving around on your own. Deep down, he knows that having you is more than what he deserves. Being the perfect hubby is almost like his redemption for what he did.

He works on himself. He can’t ruin what he has with you, so he tries to mellow out his more undesirable traits—narcissism, apathy, etc. Alfred will go to therapy for it. Separating from him isn’t on the table. Ever. What are people gonna say when you tell them you divorced a man you never married? What is Alfred gonna do when they tell you about your real husband? Keeping you happy is his number one priority, and he’ll feel good while doing it.

Alfred manages all your affairs. You don’t know where everything is, all your files, documents, and important passwords. You don’t ‘remember’ them, apparently. But that’s no problem. He can handle it. He becomes the more dominant one in the relationship, being responsible for the bills and bureaucratic side of things. There’s nothing you can do without asking him first, but it never feels restricting, or demeaning for that matter. He’s always kind about it, doing things for you and taking the lead, so you feel protected.

He’s very sensual. Alfred values the physical aspect of the relationship, and, of course, the time he spends with you. He loves taking you on long walks where he can just hold your hand and ramble about all the animals he wants to find. Deer, chipmunks, even butterflies. He loves it when you take off his glasses just to kiss him. Suddenly, he doesn’t want to look for animals anymore. “Wanna go home and kiss in the pool?”

He likes sleeping in on Sundays. That gives you the chance to get up and make breakfast for him. Alfred is a pretty heavy sleeper, but it doesn’t take long for him to wake up when you’re not next to him. He will get out of bed, throw on a robe, and saunter into the kitchen with the worst bed head of the century. While you’re frying up some pancakes, he will hug you from behind. “Can you put in some chocolate chips for mine?” Alfred mumbles, squeezing you tighter. You ask him to let go of you so you can get it for him, and he’ll just change his mind on the spot. “Nah.”

He has to be in the same room as you. The house is pretty damn big, but it doesn’t feel like a home when he can’t be with you. If you’re folding laundry in the bedroom, he will walk in, flop onto the bed, and clack away on his laptop. If you’re watching TV when he comes home from work, he will put his head on your lap and take a nap. Alfred is clingy when he’s tired, but who doesn’t sleep better when they’re around loved ones?

He’s the most affectionate when he wakes up in the morning. Not only is he comfortable in bed, he’s turned on by your smell. You’ve been under the covers with him for hours, so your scent is the strongest now. Alfred will cuddle you for a good hour or so, kissing you until you memorize the taste of his tongue. He also has to deal with morning wood, so morning sex becomes a bit of a routine. It’s the first thing on the menu, after all.

Not a month goes by before you find out you’re pregnant. Either from him, or Mathias. You think it’s Alfred’s. Alfred doesn’t know that, though. But it’s not like he’s gonna check. A paternity test could potentially be evidence for his crimes. Either way, it doesn’t matter. He’s excited to be a father, and there’s nobody else out there that can claim the baby is theirs. The baby will look like him too, so it won’t make much of a difference.

He’s happy, you’re happy, and Mathias has germinated into a flower. There’s a pretty patch of daisies in the backyard, which you see Alfred tending to every now and then. He’s picked up gardening as a hobby ever since he moved here.

“I didn’t know you liked flowers,” You comment mindlessly, staring into the yard from the balcony. The daisies sway lightly to the breeze, and you stand watch. He’s hugging you from behind, kissing your head and cheek. “They look really nice, by the way.”

“Nice enough to not be dug up, I hope.”

“Why would I dig up something you planted?”

“You wouldn’t.” Alfred smiles. “You wouldn’t.”

#Happy Halloween 🎃 #this is probably the most fucked up thing I’ve written so far #Goodbye Mathias. enjoy being a flower I guess #hetalia #hetalia america #aph america #hetalia headcanons #headcanon #alfredosauce50 #hetalia fanfiction #hetalia x reader #axis powers hetalia #axis powers ヘタリア #yandere #yandere headcanons #hetalia fanfic #america x reader #alfred f jones #aph denmark #Denmark x reader

[aquabuggy]

“Imagination, life is your creation”

Say, what band was it that wrote that song again? Escapes me… Oh well, anyways,

Happy Barbie Movie Release Day!

It’s nice to feel excited about something again.

It’s not every day you see a toy product centered movie gaining this much positive attention, much less one that deals in the existential horror of being alive. Which is, actually, exactly what I expected out of it and am very happy to see.

Barbie’s probably one of if not the most recognizable and successful product Mattel has, and it’s been that way for decades. But why am I talking about that here? This is a things-full-of-liquid-with-heavy-emphasis-on-water-games blog!

Well, you’re not gonna believe it, but Mattel being a toy company that’s been around for this long, has actually dabbled a bit in our territory! And they actually made a good couple of water games themed around a certain blonde blue eyed doll and her best friends!

So! Without further ado, may I present to you……..

Polly Pocket Tiny Games!

What? Was that not where you thought that was going?

Believe it or not, there really aren’t many Barbie water games at all, just cheaply reskinned ring toss games with a Barbie backdrop…which is both baffling and disappointing considering Barbie has had COUNTLESS beach, pool, sea, and just general water themes. Polly Pocket though? Got 6. You may recognize these if you’re a veteran of this blog.

Being one of Mattel’s latest ventures in water games, my sources tell me that these were actually received incredibly poorly, averaging at a 2-3 star rating. While definitely cute and unique, reviews often mention that the games seem to be designed more for aesthetics than actual play, and that it’s very hard to get some of the play pieces to actually move. Not too surprising looking at those cramped tanks. Wasted potential for sure!

Ohhh but I can’t just end the post there can I? That’s such a bummer! Well, what if I told you this wasn’t the first time Mattel tried their hand at making water games? What if I told you that in 1989 Mattel was one of the few big toy companies that actually dared to challenge the reign of Tomy’s Waterfuls during the peak of its popularity? Oh it’s very true, and considering you’ve probably never heard of it, you can safely assume how that endeavor went. But it’s intriguing nonetheless!

Introducing….

[ photo credit- rww121212, lb-squared, whats-in, and gilbe-niema on eBay ]

Trouble Bubbles/Fun Bubbles

Documentation of these online is mostly limited to listings on buy-and-sell sites (As always. I can’t stress how vital these sites are to conserving lost/obscure media.) so there’s not a lot known about these, and not many pictures of them either. What I can gather is that Mattel made at least 6 of these as well, 3 Trouble Bubbles games and 3 Super Trouble Bubbles games. The main difference between the 2 being Super Trouble Bubbles having a small switch that allows you to redirect the jets of water, which is pretty cool and admittedly not something I’ve seen in other water games! Both also have a wind up timer to challenge yourself to complete the game in a short period.

I’ve yet to collect one of these myself, but they look pretty decent in terms of quality and stand out nicely. They never fully took off in terms of popularity but I think they’re pretty cool, especially as a piece of toy history! Not too shabby at all for Waterfuls competition, my hat’s off to them! Not bad Mattel, sad they haven’t recaptured the same inventiveness for their Polly games. But hey, honestly? Nowadays would be a GREAT time to bring back Trouble Bubbles if you ask me. Water games are coming back in style and Waterfuls has been slow in new major products for quite a while. Who knows? It may just be able to snag that crown sometime in the future…

Unlikely.

But hey, anything’s possible in this crazy age!

#aqua #aquacore #water toys #water games #toy aqua #aqua toys #water ring toss #water ring game #water ball game #water catch game #colored text

[donniesexceptionalmind]

I’ve heard that having a vivid, picture filled way of thinking can be common in Autistic people.

However, I cannot see anything in my head. I believe this is called Aphantasia.

Sometimes it can become a bit difficult to relate to other autistic people because they talk about this colorful, imaginative, diverse way of thinking with pictures only. And I just don’t have that. However, I do have an inner dialogue that is practically all over the place. I often have trouble doing tasks, paying attention, sleeping and listening to people because of my inner dialogue and usual disinterest.

To make this a question, I ask if you have any information on the possible cross between vivid picture thinking and Autistic individuals. On top of that, what’s common for ADHD thinking? (I have my theories about having Audhd myself)

The first point I need to make: Autism is a spectrum. Yes, many autistic people report thinking in pictures, but that doesn't mean other ways aren't possible!

Media always portrays stereotypes & extremes. Cognitive thinking styles vary just as much between autistics as in allistics.

Visual imagination varies from person to person, allistic or autistic. While some people picture thoughts as images in their minds, there are people who do not or just very little. On one end, there are “aphantasics” who can’t visualise images at all or very little.

On the opposite end are “hyperphantasics” with hyperphantasia, who have an incredibly vivid imagination, so strong it’s almost like they’re really seeing it. In between, there are those with phantasia & hypophantasia, experiencing varying degrees of imagery vividness.

Temple Grandin was the first to talk about her vivid thinking in pictures ("Thinking in pictures", 1995). I do have to mention to take her writing with a grain of salt, I find her choice of wording very ableist & I disklike the term Asperger a lot because of reasons. When I read her work, I feel like she distinguishes between autism as a superpower (mostly highly intelligent people) & autism as a disaster (people with a normal/less than normal IQ/ nonverbal folk etcetera), which is related to a lot of ableism.

I certainly can do both: I mostly think in pictures, but I do have "talking" in my head. It's often called an inner narrator.

Many people with ADHD report having a vivid inner narrator that constantly talks & comments as well.

My inner narrator stops when my speaking declines, e.g., when I'm overstimulated or when I am having a bad day sensorywise - all I get is pictures then.

I think it's because words & speech are harder to produce & process than images.

My cognitive thinking style is associative, which means I sort information (as pictures) in categories - equal to a folder on a computer.

That's why I can "topic-jump" in a conversation, too. This also can be compared to ADHD people & their thought-jumping.

While not every autistic person is a visual learner, visual thinkers are common among the autistic population, just like you said.

That's because we tend to be more sensitive to details & patterns in our environments & therefore, more likely to notice subtle differences in shapes, colours or forms.

One of the most common misconceptions regarding visual thinking is that it is limited to just images.

Forms, shapes, lines, colors, scale, proximity - all these aspects are essential to take into account as they provide details about how data relates to other pieces of information, how significant something is in the scheme of things, how close two ideas are to one another & comprises both visual & cognitive dimensions that go way beyond pictures.

My associative thinking comes from my greatest strengths:

Strong affinity for details (bottom-up thinking)

Strong pattern recognition

The ability to come up with an array of different possibilities for a single situation due to my associative thinking

Almost as if it was the scene of a movie or a painted picture, I can see how information connects, allowing my brain to cut down several cognitive processes that would otherwise have to be involved if the information was delivered in a massive chunk of text or by auditory channels. Ah, yes, words are hard.

Spoken information can be tricky to process for us autistic people, particularly for those with more sensitive & avoidant sensory processing profiles, meaning our brains take in sensory information to a higher degree than those who aren’t.

This is why visualisation works so well as a tool- images are easier to process because you can detect patterns more easily than when you have to listen to someone giving verbal instructions (right?).

What other cognitive thinking styles are there?

Verbal/ logic thinkers

Music & math ('pattern') thinkers

Verbal/logic thinkers tend to be good at learning languages & have an affinity for words, literature & speech. They also tend to have a huge memory for verbal facts on all kinds of things. Some are exceptionally adept at learning many different foreign languages, but they tend to be poor at drawing & other visual thinking skills.

And pattern thinkers... have patterns.

Patterns E V E R Y W H E R E. ✨️

They tend to have problems with reading & writing composition.

✨️What about ADHD thinking style?✨️

Common is: out of the box. 😎

Three aspects of creative cognition are divergent thinking, conceptual expansion & overcoming knowledge constraints.

Divergent thinking, or the ability to think of many ideas from a single starting point, is a critical part of creative thinking.

Divergent thinking relates to low inhibition.

Latent inhibition is the ability to automatically 'filter out' irrelevant stimuli.

Divergent thinking & low inhibition are related because the ability to generate a variety of ideas is hampered by inhibitive processes that aim to suppress irrelevant ideas. You get distracted way to easily & you can lose yourself in many thoughts.

This can be very disabling, but it can also be beneficial for new ideas & problem-solving!

There is also an interesting essay I found:

ADHDers have a kinetic form of thinking.

Nick Walker coined this term. Great person /srs.

The “kinetic” in “Kinetic Cognitive Style” is about more than hyperactivity.

Read more here because I am now tired from my four hour research.

Sources: [♾️] [🌟] [🐿] [⚡️]

#donnie answers #donnies exceptional mind #turtle net #autistic spectrum #autism #autism research #autism community #adhd #adhd research #autistic thinking #visual thinking #cognitive thinking styles #autism spectrum disorder #donatello infodumps #i love to infodump #autistic infodumping