#but she seems extremely social and i want to give her her own space

[sunnywalnut]

I miss when autistic rep was on accident. I feel like every time a neurotypical/allistic person tries to write somebody with autism on purpose, it just comes off as "he's a total jerk, but he's REALLY GOOD at what he does" instead of "this guy's facial expression doesn't change very much, but I promise you he's absolutely happy to help. Also talk to him about birds. He fucking loves birds."

And I don't mean "he loves birds" as in "this guy wears bird shirts 24/7 and corrects you if you accidentally call a pigeon a dove." No. I mean "he loves birds" as in "he's able to name the sound of the bird just by it's song and point to it and it's just sitting on the rooftop next to you" and if you ask questions he gets this little smile to his face and answers them all and even tells you about some drama about two researchers who were unsure of they could call two birds different species since they were so similar and then gives you the answer of they can, because their beaks are different and that means their diet is different or whatever.

Not every autistic dude in media has to be "UwU save me from the world and take care of me bc I'm just a smol beannn✨"

Sometimes they're just Chad from maintenance who seems to love his job a bit more than he should, but it's all good bc everything that's fixed works even better than it was before it was broken. He's not creepy or anything. But he WILL call you over if he sees you walk past in order to show off his latest repair and talk to you about what he did. Everyone loves Chad. They're happy that he's as dedicated to his job as he is. Plus it makes the office a lot more bearable to have him around because he always seems to wear this gigantic grin and talk with his hands.

You're absolutely able to have "cute" autistic characters. I have cute autistic characters.

I have a little elf girl that counts each individual strand of her hair when she's nervous and climbs trees. She loves baking, so much so that she will make everything gluten free, kosher, dairy free, vegan, whatever you need in order to make sure you're included. As soon as she steps into a garden, she's completely covered in dirt. And yes, she's extremely friendly and doesn't understand social cues. And sure. She has her boyfriend take care of things for her, like keeping her safe from creeps when she's in public, and shutting down scammers before she can pay them, but it's not because she's dumb. It's because he elected himself into that space. And he knows full well that if she decides to scurry off to whatever wonderful thing that has caught her eye, that she'll wander back to him when she's ready. She knows how to defend herself. And he trusts her. And she does things for him as well. Which is something I don't see in autistic/allistic relationships in media at all.

Like do y'all really think our partners are just our glorified babysitters???

We're not just there to sit still and look pretty.

We're there to be your emotional rock. We tend to have high empathy. We can listen to your problems and validate your emotions. And sure, we might give you some advice that seems a bit wonky at best, but anyone can do that. Not just autistic people.

Sometimes we take over financial decisions, for one reason or another. I had a partner that would always come to me for financial advice despite living on their own and having more than enough money to do what they wanted with, but they knew that I could budget better. I'm good at math. And no, not a "math wiz" all A's kind of good. But a "I can do big number addition/subtraction and sometimes multiplication within seconds in my head" which was also really helpful in my culinary class when my teacher would put me in charge of making sure we were on target with how many servings of food we had. Not every autistic person has to be leagues above the rest academic to be autistic. My allistic brother had straight A's for YEARS. Much longer than I did. I had A's and B's.

You can come to us if you need a hug. Or to cuddle. Or to body double. Or just to hang out. Some autistic people like touch. We crave it. I can guarantee you that if we were friends and you climbed up on the couch next to me and laid your head in my lap, I would let you. No questions asked. I'd even pet your hair. And I'd ask you about your day. I can't count how many times high fives have turned to hand holding with my friends because they needed a loving talking to about how great they are. Or a back rub when they're crying. Not all of us are going to stand there, staring down at you while you're curled up on the floor and be like "STATISTICALLY SPEAKING-" yeah no. And the people who DO that likely are trying to relay information that they know that they think will help you feel better. We're odd, but we're not heartless. Let me get down on your level. Sit with you. And then I'll talk to you about how tears are actually really healthy and it's good that you're able to cry. And also I'm proud of you and let's get you some water, okay?

We can take care of you too!!

I give all my friends hair care advice bc I've spent too much time watching hair stylist videos. I tell them to make sure they lotion after every shower when they complain about dry skin or body acne. I tell them to drink water after they cry. Or wash their face. Or alternate ways they can get around invisible barriers and still get what they need done. You know how many times I've had to sit down problem solve with my loved ones for over an HOUR bc their ADHD decided not to let them brush their teeth or take a shower? I have a whole ARSENAL of advice to give you. And yeah. If you're close enough where I can head over to your place, I WILL do your dishes(bc somehow they're less gross than mine). I WILL wash your hair for you, or fold your clothes or clear the counters of trash. Not because I think you're lazy or nothing. But because I see something that needs to be done, and I do it. Because I love you, it's simple, and hey, I'm here anyways, right?

Like shit. Every night I have a sleepover with my best friend, I do the dishes that were in her sink before I even came over while she starts on dinner. Because I love her. And that's my way of paying her back for picking me up. I clear all our trash, and the scraps of tea bags that she missed in the mornings. Because I love her. And it's simple enough I can do it myself. I chop the garlic as we cook together because we're working as a team. And yeah. After it's all over. We sit on the couch like a bunch of lazy dogs and watch TV and chat and do whatever. And sometimes. We don't do anything but just enjoy each other's company. Because as adults, we don't get a lot of time to just relax.

We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And sure. Being friends with an autistic person isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes our behaviors or our tenancies can be stressful. Like sensory meltdowns, or our bluntness(which is honestly usually just us saying exactly what is true without sugar coating it. Like if you said the sky was purple I'd be like "nah it's blue rn" and people find that blunt and rude. But to me, that's just a fact. I'm not saying you're dumb. I'm just saying it's blue right now.) or sometimes, even when we get super hyper about our interests. I would know. I'm autistic myself. And I irritate myself.

But it seems like in media, the irritation is all people can see. Even in "supportive" families that I see in shows and such, everyone's always stressed all the time.

You're telling me ONE LITTLE CHILD is tearing this entire family apart? (*COUGH COUGH Young Sheldon COUGH*) Not only is that stupid, that's just inaccurate.

If you wanna be accurate, maybe don't have every autistic person you write be a "high functioning" male in a doctor's coat who's transphobic as fuck and his excuse being he's autistic.

If you know the bitch is outwardly transphobic, don't fucking put him in the room with trans people.

And also?

Autistic people are allowed to learn the difference between sex and gender. We're ALLOWED to learn about queer identities. And we're ALLOWED to be queer ourselves without being labeled as idiots who don't know any better.

I've YET to see a show about an outwardly queer autistic girl who is able to make awesome friends and overcome her challenges WITHOUT succumbing to being an asshole on purpose.

Except for The Owl House. And Luz isn't even canonically autistic. It's just speculated.

THAT is good autistic representation.

Not whatever the fuck "The Good Doctor" is supposed to be.

My Personal List Of Good Autism Rep Recs(non canon, sadly):

-Good Omens(not explicitly canon, but multiple characters behave in a way that could be labeled as autistic. Plus Neil Geiman, the writer himself is autistic)

-The Owl House(again. Not explicitly canon. But great. The whole show is about accepting yourself as you are and is kinda along the lines of Gravity Falls. In fact, she was in a relationship with Alex Hirsh, creator of Gravity Falls. And also she's bisexual with a CANONICALLY BISEXUAL LEAD!! Also is lovely for mental health allegories too)

-Gravity Falls (the whole Pines family just REEKS autism to me. Noncannon.)

-How To Train Your Dragon(Hiccup is autistic as hell and you can't convince me otherwise. Non canon)

-Adventure Time (some of the humor is dated, but enjoyable. Also Princess Bubblegum. Need I say more?)

-We Bare Bears (slice of lifey. Sometimes childish. Sweet as hell though. Grizz feels very autistic to me, but that could also be because I enjoy how huggable and easily excitable he is. Everyone loves him. He's loud, he can absolutely be obnoxious, but he loves his bros and tries his best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. He also does his best to fix any problems he makes. Which in my book, makes him a good guy. Some people also claim Ice Bear is autistic. But personally, I feel like he just doesn't talk much. What do you guys think?)

#actually autistic #autism #autistic #autism representation

[diningpageantry]

haaaaiiii guyyyyssss (gn) probably gonna be on here more often again soon. life events occurring. have occurred? still occurring, i suppose.

i'll probably post abt it more in depth at some ltr point, still in the very early stages of some stuff. i dont want to classify them as positive or negative things, however they're certainly things.

there's a lot of thoughts in my brain (hah), and ultimately i want to share them, but for now this is kind of me waving at everyone with a smile while my life has an "under construction" sign

#the last sentence also pertains to system stuff bc there was a major split from a significant alter #so like imagine an 'under new management' sign as well #not a host shift tho afaik but the split has resulted in a new fronter who's very active and has been co-con very frequently since #i've been having a Time recently in ways i'll ltr divulge abt but i finally established a solid communication with her today and that helped #i dont know how many splits/alters had broken off because intuition is saying a few but she's the most present and active in my awareness #i think we settled on her name being Lily but that may not be concrete #for a few alters i get like a single letter for their name and i try to work with them to find a name within that letter that feels right #one of my oldest and closest alters has only had the letter 'E' for the longest time and he and i cant find a solid name yet #every now and again im like 'edgar??? edwin??? edward??? emil???' and he's like 'fuck if i know' so like. fair enough dude. #i wonder if he'd like ez/ezara given that's a name we picked for ourselves pre-diagnosis however he doesn't fit that name in my opinion #ANYWAY. Lily is a teen girl in very much every way possible and she's very much an ANP #she is loved but as i type that she made it clear she's having an eyeroll reaction but that is the best i've got lol #i dont really mention system members often on here and mention them moreso to friends however i have a feeling she'll want a sideblog tbh #which is not something i've created/done for alters before as generally most of the system choose to be more private #but she seems extremely social and i want to give her her own space #i hesitate to give her an okay posting on her own on here mainly because i am an adult and i consider this blog an adult space #but im also okay discussing her in reference if that makes dense #anyway. yeah. as you can probably imagine shit has been Going On given there was a major split/restructuring but again that's for later #that's enough rambling from me lol ttyl

[ante--meridiem]

To socialise or not to socialise, that is the question.

#Looked at two places I could move out to & they are complete opposite vibes in terms of socialableness #Both have roommates ofc but one gives me a lot more of my own space & it seems like I would barely have to interact with them at all #So I'd be left pretty much completely alone. Which is usually the dream #And ngl knowing the other people there would keep to themselves & have no interest in knowing me is especially relieving #Given the whole thing that pushed me to move out in the first place #The other has extremely small & cozy vibes. Owner's stuff all over the place #By cozy I do mean cluttered #The girl I met with there (not the person I'd be renting from) gave me a tour for five-ten mins #And then the next 30 mins-60 mins we spent chatting over tea #Someone more sociable than me might call it instant bestie vibes #Which. Has been something I've kind of very much been missing/yearning for irl I will admit #& from the sound of it the person subletting has the same vibes with her #She says he's 'interesting' and 'I'd like him' #From the combination of her description and the clutter I'm getting eccentric professor vibes #Which is generally a good vibe to me #But I am even more skittish of renting from someone t #Too sociable #After prev landlord #Though I want to trust othet tenant's vibe check. Because it might actually be very nice to have some kind of real life friends #It's also a very different kind of sociable than prev landlord #She was 'chatty and gets you to open up easily' sociable & it sounds like the other guy will be approximately the same #& also 'repeatedly assures you can ask her to stop if she's being too much' sociable. Which is always a relief #Meanwhile prev landlord was 'wants to know why you're not relaxed & tells you you should be without doing anything to help you be' sociable #'gets very pushy about finding time to talk/hang out' sociable #'teases you for being awkward' sociable #None of which were the real issue with him of course. But they didn't help & I can't help but see them as red flags in retrospect #I'm currently leaning towards 'to socialise' because it was a very cosy vibe & I do feel starved of irl friendship just a bit #But it could either be very good or very bad #& I don't want to risk very bad again #Anyway. This has been missives from a pizza shop I ducked into to charge my phone before I go back to being lost in a snowstorm

[anthurak]

One detail I really like about ‘Queen Bee’ is how it essentially provides a ‘missing piece’ of Loona’s character development, and in turn makes Seeing Stars an even more impactful episode for her.

Because Queen Bee gives us a first-hand look at Loona’s attempts to make friends, and by extension shows us why that is so hard for her. This episode showed us that Loona’s extreme awkwardness around Vortex back in Spring Broken wasn’t just a case of ‘not knowing how to talk to your crush’ awkwardness but rather how she acts in just about any social situation. As it turns out, Loona is a lot more socially awkward and introverted than a lot of us probably guessed. Which probably shouldn’t be all that surprising in hindsight given what we saw of her background before Blitzo adopted her in Seeing Stars.

With this in mind it’s pretty easy to guess that Loona’s normal response to this social awkwardness is to fall back on her tried and tested psychological defense mechanism of getting sarcastic/abrasive/angry and possibly hitting something or someone in order to get herself to a safe distance. Something we both see inferred with the ‘Lunatic Loona’ comment and see in action with Loona’s response to the poodle who brought it up, and later when Loona gets angry at Bee. In hindsight, Loona acting super shy and awkward in Spring Broken is the result of her for once not being able to fall back on getting angry to avoid an awkward or uncomfortable social situation because she actually wants Vortex to like her.

As an aside, I think this is something many people don’t recognize about Loona. That her general abrasiveness and ‘anger issues’ are almost certainly a defense mechanism that she’s developed over what clearly seems to have been years of trauma and likely abuse before being adopted by Blitzo. It’s a way for Loona to protect herself by keeping anyone who could possibly hurt her at a safe distance. A defense mechanism that’s become so ingrained for her that it’s pretty much reflexive at this point.

For example, this is why I think all the claims that Loona is somehow ‘abusive’ to Blitzo are seriously missing the point: It’s pretty clear that Blitzo has little to no respect for personal boundaries, as we see with both his stalking of the M&Ms and showering Loona with overcompensating affection. So is it really so surprising that Loona would be beating the crap out of him so often when Blitzo is likely constantly triggering Loona’s deeply engrained and reflexive defense mechanism? All while Blitzo himself is entirely oblivious to what he’s doing because as we’ve seen, Blitzo would sooner chew off his own leg and arm before confronting emotional/psychological problems/baggage, ESPECIALLY his own.

Which of course is not to say that I think it’s somehow a good thing or justified when Loona beats the crap out of her father. Rather, that ‘Blitzo constantly invades Loona’s personal space and Loona responds with a brutal ass-kicking’ is a symptom of their respective issues and dysfunctional relationship. Not some banal ‘Blitzo is a poor helpless victim and Loona is a terrible person’ excuse.

Going back to Loona’s development in Queen Bee that leads into Seeing Stars, all this demonstrates to us that Loona doesn’t really have any friends and why that is the case. Like at the start of Queen Bee, we can’t even really call Vortex a friend to Loona, at least from her perspective. For Loona, Vortex isn’t so much a friend as he is a crush. It’s clear that Loona’s initial reasons for coming to the party were mostly just to hang out with this one guy she has a crush on. As evidenced by how Loona immediately wants to ditch the party upon meeting Bee-lezebub, and by extension, realizes that she has absolutely ZERO chance with Vortex.

Now of course, by the end of Queen Bee, we see that Loona seems to have at least started making a few friends among the other hounds at Bee’s party. It’s clear that getting invited back into the party by some friendlier hounds and imps as well as, ironically enough, Blitzo’s presence did help Loona get past some of her social awkwardness. At the same time though, we don’t see enough of them with Loona to really call these much more than ‘good acquaintances’/cool-people-she-met-at-a-party-once.

Which, going into Seeing Stars, is what makes Loona’s scene with Octavia so MASSIVELY important for her.

As I discussed in a previous post, Loona didn’t need to put in effectively ALL of the legwork in finding Octavia. We see that she was at first perfectly content non-verballing telling Blitzo to fuck off and just chilling out around L.A. Instead, it seems that the real reason Loona decided to track down Octavia was because she related to what Octavia was probably going through, which spurred her to go and help her.

Octavia is so much more than just some guy Loona had a crush on or someone Loona had fun with at a party once. This is someone that Loona clearly relates to on a very personal level. Someone that Loona clearly sees a lot of herself in. And because of that, for the first time we see Loona let down all the guards and defenses she normally puts up and really connect with someone else.

A connection which is clearly something special. Loona, who has spent the whole show making it clear she does NOT like people getting in her personal space, and proving she can, will and has beat the utter crap out of anyone who does, offers Octavia to take her hand. And when Octavia goes for a full-blown hug instead, Loona is only briefly surprised and clearly not uncomfortable in the least, even returning and enjoying the hug herself.

I’ve stated in the past that I don’t particularly like how much of the HB fandom has really latched onto treating Loona and Octavia as sisters. And one of the big reasons is that I feel like it rather cheapens the bond and connection these two are actually forming. It paints these two more as kids whose relationship is simply an extension of their fathers’ relationship, brought together simply because those fathers became are a couple.

When what we’re actually seeing is Loona’s and Octavia’s friendship developing largely independent of whatever Blitzo and Stolas have going on. I mean let’s not forget that Stolitz as a relationship is nowhere close to even dating, let alone marriage. Blitzo and Stolas never encourage their daughters to spend time together either, the closest thing to that we see is Blitzo telling Loona to go find Octavia while everyone else is getting sidetracked by shenanigans, which Loona initially blows off completely. Instead, Loona and Octavia clearly seem to be becoming friends due to shared interests, likes and a deep understanding and empathy to the problems the other is facing. And is really in no way dependent on Blitzo and Stolas being a thing, again considering the fact that Stolitz could at this point be charitably be described as a ‘vaguely-defined and very shaky fling’.

Moreso than Vortex, Bee or any of the hounds Loona met in Queen Bee, Loona’s friendship with Octavia feels like something very significant and special for both of them.

#helluva boss #helluva boss analysis #Loona #Blitzo #Vortex #queen bee-lzebub #Octavia Goetia #getting back into my helluva boss analysis

[thediktatortot]

I love the Steve Harrington is Autistic HC but let me be even more nuanced with it. I think Steve also has ADHD.

Often times people who have both ADHD & Autism can look very different from those who only have one or the other and for me, who falls into both categories myself, completely see Steve as an AuDHD haver.

Lots of times people will think that just because you have Autism or ADHD, you are less likely to have friends or be popular but that's like...legit not the case. It's often found that there are TONS of well known, popular and well liked people who have both or either of these diagnoses.

For me, when I was still in highschool, I was fairly popular in a sense (not necessarily the 'cool' person but I had a lot of friends in a lot of different friend groups (Jocks, Nerds, Preps, Etc.) and I was able to get along with people pretty well because I was able to adapt easily and on top of that I personally was socialized as a girl and learned to mask very early in my life.

Steve comes from an affluent background, which I can easily say having family who have the same theme as Steve's parents do, you learn to mask early in those environments. You learn to be like everyone else or be shunned, you learn how to appease your family to stay out of trouble and you learn how to act different around different people.

So I have no doubt in my mind that if Steve was AuDHD, he'd have social masking down pact.

Also, we don't see his mask slip until he comes under extreme pressure. Not only does schooling get harder for many of us as highschool moves on, falling behind slowly because we thought we were smart or told we were smart and then began to fall behind. You can see that Steve's grades aren't perfect & he doesn't have the best time in his last years of schooling, but, he's still doing well on the basketball team and still has his popularity regardless, giving him friends and other pass times to focus on.

He's good at socializing, learning to socialize and learning people around him. He watches them, he follows conversation when others around him are talking and he will try to put his own input along side it how he knows or thinks is right.

Once the Upside Down happened? It added a complete and utterly unliftable overload of stress on top of him that made his mask crack, forced him into a mindset he'd never been in and the carefully crafted mask and pillars of his own social community he had built crumbled. This forced him to have to change course and change how to does things, once again falling back into the learning pattern of his surroundings while also setting him back hard and isolating him to a point.

We see he loves hard, loves openly and assumes people understand that. Nancy didn't want the same things that Steve did, and her actions and emotions towards Steve weren't really understood by him until she told him exactly how she felt.

Steve doesn't have any issues with personal space, but he also does. He gets in people's space, but people getting into his space is not always wanted.

Steve will take extra long to understand social ques, but he also learns quick and utilizes them as soon as he understands them.

Steve gets along with younger children easily because they aren't in the same social standing as him, he doesn't have to mask as hard with them or meet some social checkmark he didn't know existed. Plus some of the Party are probably also ADHD or Autistic and he quickly finds like minded friends there who aren't as dangerous to be himself around.

Robin is most likely ADHD and we can see how sometimes Steve and Robin will get overstimulated with each other on screen, both of them having things that grate on each other from conflicting issues with their own neurodivergencies.

Steve is both energetic but also reserved, he seems to find himself at a loss of how to control or move his life forward but yet we also see that he's good at following directions and taking action when the dime drops.

I know that the duffers nor Joe probably portrayed him as AuDHD but to me, looking at him and watching him from someone who is, I completely see how it ended up being that way with how he was played.

There's like, a million other things I could add to this but I have lost steam writing this xD

#Steve Harrington #my own ramblings #AuDHD Steve Harrington

[nottapossum]

Hi I just found your story on Ao3 and I love it so far! I really think it fits Blitzo and Fizzarolli having to grow up fast in the circus and under Cash. I really look forward to reading more chapters.

Plus I also really like the first part of “Father knows best” I think Moxxie also tends to fit the whole little space as we’ve seen in other episodes Moxxie had to grow up fast and has many insecurities but also can be a brat demanding things to go his way or wanting attention.

I really look forward to reading more and would love to chat and exchange ideas/perspectives cause I really love this take you have in all your stories with Blitzo and Fizzarolli 💜😊

TYSM! ❤️❤️ I’m so glad you like it! 🚧(Warning for those reading who haven’t read it, This post will contain spoilers to chapter 1 of the next book father knows best. Had to post it on Ao3 early to avoid the draft getting deleted. You can find it here )⚠️

-I found the flashback scene to be very sad for Fizz and Blitzø. Even though in the scene we see them actually being kids, i did notice a few things I wanted to express:

1: Fizz and Blitzø are playing with the balloons from their act, I don’t think they had many toys when they were young (maybe why Blitzø collects horse figures and plushies as an adult) I know they were low on money, but I’ll bet even after Blitzø helped steal from Stolas, Cash would not see the kids having something to play with as a priority.

2: They had to play after the show and their fun was immediately interrupted by cash forcing his son to do a job he was clearly uncomfortable with.

3: Cash even went so far to casually threaten his son with: ‘Scarier things’ and guilt trip him with the mention of his mother- a child should not be responsible for helping their parents with finances.

4: You can also see the resentment and fear in Blitzø’s eyes.

I started this fic questioning if I even wanted Moxxie to be a little. But, after watching Exes and oh’s for the 2,345th time I realized it’s practically impossible for Moxxie to be anything but!

-Moxxie needed attention as a kid, he went through some horrible trauma. And probably never had someone to truly help him through it.

-I think Moxxie’s mom babied him a lot, making him very dependent on her (as shown in the flashback where instead of showing Moxxie how to cut his steak, she does it for him.)

-Then there’s Crimson who was strict and didn’t seem at all connected with Moxxie. (I expect Moxxie practically raised and educated himself, he would have had to in order to survive.)

-Moxxie gives off socially awkward homeschooled kid vibes. (I would know, I was homeschooled and I’m socially awkward.)

-Moxxie wants everyone to be proud of him! and I mean everyone! Even Millie’s toxic parents. (I said what I said. Idc. Linn and Jo need to shape up. Just because they’re the best ones does not excuse their behavior!)

-He calls every father figure in his life ‘sir’ including his own father, I think Moxxie is unaware as to why he feels like he has to, especially after Blitzø told him to call him by his name, but I think he’s trying to get the approval he always craved from Crimson.

-I find it funny that Moxxie didn’t like when Blitzø referred to their company as ‘family’ even though he totally sees Blitzø as a sorta father figure. I think for him, it felt too close to home to mix employees with family. (Loan sharks = employees = family)

“We are not a family! You’re the boss, we’re the employees!”

mhm.

-Moxxie is very submissive and does what others tell him, but he’s also extremely sassy, rude, and as you said bratty. -We definitely got Moxxie at his brattiest in the newest episode. This is why he really needs Millie, she’s supportive and kind, she thinks the world of him- but she is firm when she has to be as seen in both: Seeing stars and unhappy campers.

-I think Moxxie is trying to be less needy and bratty, but it’s gonna take some time for him to heal that inner child who was never listened to, only shortly felt loved, never was properly disciplined (punished, yes. But not disciplined in a loving way that made him feel safe and cared for. At least, not by his father.)

sheas. That was a long analysis on everything. Sorry about that lol 😅

had a lot of thoughts on this apparently. I love talking about this stuff so feel free to message me anytime! Rants and analyzing random things is totally welcome lol

Taglist: @todayimfour

#helluva boss age regression #itty bitty imps #helluva boss agere #Helluva boss #helluva boss moxxie #Helluva boss Blitzø #little!Moxxie #Little!Blitzo #little!fizzarolli #age regression fanfic #IttyBittyImpsQ&H #father knows best #FKBIBI #helluva boss crimson

[embe95]

You could've asked

Synopsis: Seungmin was jealous, more so than he had ever been. And it ended up resulting in a black eye and almost costing him the woman he loved and a possible friend.

First time writing with Seungmin in mind, this was fun! It started as something completely different and then took a turn, it came out pretty sweet I think. Have a great day! You are amazing <3

Warnings: physical violence (Seungmin gets punched), jealousy, cursing, alcohol consumption, otherwise it's all fluff and love. The AFAB character is an OC, but not a very well defined one especially appearance-wise.

Word count: 2,470

He ran after her as she exited the building, following a proper shouting match with Chan. They'd never fought before, but the situation had grown and festered for what felt like a lifetime. It wasn't true of course, they hadn't even known each other for more than a few months. And they only met because Stevie was in their lives.

It was a beautiful afternoon, Chan and Stevie were having their usual Wednesday date in the cafe by the river. Seungmin had happened to walk by, Stevie stopped him and introduced them. That's all. Then suddenly they hung out in the same group. A lot. Because that's who Stevie was; always wanted to include everyone and have everyone get along. Unfortunately she didn't always have the best eye for who fit together, but Seungmin didn't have the heart to tell her. 

She would've listened and apologized immediately. Been beside herself for the pain she caused, which she didn't have to be because she didn't know. How could she know? There was no way she understood how painful it was for someone who was in love with her to share the same space with someone so close to her so often. They were always sitting so close together, laughing, giving each other little pecks.

Seungmin couldn't blame her, how could he? She was just being her beautiful, caring self. Her heart was what he fell for first and foremost, because it was so obvious to anyone who met her how big and full of love it was.

Chan and Stevie met in high school, at band camp. Chan was multi-talented, singing, playing the guitar, drums and making his own tracks. Stevie played the violin, albeit very well, but it was her one and only brush with music.

Seungmin and Stevie met in college, they were both studying journalism and world cultures. Seungmin had every opportunity to become a doctor (including being extremely smart and diligent), thus following his parents wishes but decided to pursue writing instead. Stevie still played the violin, but the hours spent on writing and research consumed the biggest slice of her life.

Chan was like a fresh summer breeze at the beach, comforting and full of life and adventure. His smile lit up the town, and his kindness and social skills were undefeated. In a word, Chan was wonderful. His producing career had taken off a few years back, and he worked with the top artists in the country while making his own music whenever he had the chance. They reconnected after randomly bumping into each other in the same cafe where they now had their weekly Wednesday date.

Seungmin had the most outrageous sense of humour, and could seem cold when people met him the first time. It was just his way of being shy, but after spending time together he was like a grumpy teddy bear with a brain the size of the Atlantic ocean, interested in every subject and intrigued by new things on the daily. In a word, Seungmin was wonderful.

Seungmin spent most of his time doing research and studying. His minor was international politics and communications, and he'd said multiple times that if given the chance, he'd head off wherever there was military conflict to try and get to the bottom of what is going on in the rubble. He wanted to make a difference with his writing and photos.

As Seungmin searched for Stevie's red rain coat in the midst of all the people celebrating the fact that the weekend had arrived, he couldn't help but beat himself up for exploding. It may have been the beers he'd downed, the crowded space, the way Chan seemed to get all the attention tonight. It felt so unfair, but that was no excuse. 

"Man, what is your problem?" Chan yelled, eyes wide and arms spread. Seungmin had just shoved him after he'd kissed Stevie's cheek.

"Seungmin!"

"You. You are my problem." He couldn't help it, enough was enough.

Chan cocked his head to the side and took a deep breath. Chan was horrified and disappointed in Seungmin, and he never would've imagined Stevie letting someone so narrow-minded get so close to him, or let alone want to be close to him herself.

"You wanna go? Okay, let's go."

"Chan!"

"I do want to fight you, believe me. But this can just as easily be sorted if you just back. the fuck. off."

"Oh? Well, that's too bad, because I have no intention to do that. Unless she tells me to."

"What is going on?"'

"Stevie, you have to choose."

"Dude. Listen."

Seungmin's eyes bored into Stevie's, but he became blurry to her when tears began clouding her vision. Chan grabbed Seungmin's shoulder but he yanked himself away.

"Stevie. Choose. Please, I can't do this anymore."

"Choose what?" Stevie shouted. But looking between the two the "what" struck her like lightning. "N-No, Seungmin, why are you doing this? Chan's-"

"I just told you. I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"Pretend this-" he motioned around to all three of them. "-is okay. It's not. It's torture."

Chan sighed. But it was a sigh of relief. Seungmin wasn't narrow-minded, he was jealous. That would be a hell of a lot easier to sort out.

"Seungmin, listen, I'm-"

"You're so clueless of what you do to me. Or you're not and it's on purpose and you're a worse person than I could've imagined."

"Okay, that's it," Chan forgot the burst of understanding in a heartbeat when Stevie was disrespected. He grabbed the collar of Seungmin's t-shirt with fury boiling his blood, but before the older man's fist collided with his jaw, the door slammed. The two heads, in close proximity to each other, snapped towards the spot Stevie had vacated in a hurry and in tears.

Chan didn't pause for long.

"Listen, you fucking idiot. You don't know what you're talking about. You go and apologize right now. Make it right."

Chan threw a stunned, drunk Seungmin towards the door without a further explanation. If he wasn't drunk he wouldn't have done that, but now the blonde's big brother side came out and somehow overruled his other thoughts of comforting his best friend. His drunk brain figured he'd get Stevie and bring her back upstairs. They'd both explain together. But the two didn't return.

Seungmin sprinted out after haphazardly grabbing his coat, remorse filling him from head to toes.

He knew it wasn't right. And he wanted to apologize if he could just find-

There.

"Stevie!" he called, a few heads turned to gawk at the source of the loud noise. But Stevie's head wasn't one of them. Either she couldn't hear him or she was, for the first time during their friendship, actually pissed at him.

The latter seemed more likely since her pace seemed to pick up. Her house wasn't far, luckily, but unfortunately Seungmin also knew the way by heart, he'd walked her there countless times.

"Stevie, please stop!"

"Hey dude, if she doesn't want to talk you should let her be," a strong hand gripped his chest just as he was at arms length.

"Mind your business," Seungmin spat back and gripped the wrist with his left hand. He wasn't confrontational, just occupied by getting to the girl he loved. But to the drunken gentleman, those were fighting words, and a blink of an eye later Seungmin's eye was in the process of turning purple. 

"Want some more you asshole?"

"Stop!"

Stevie's voice was strong as she gripped Seungmin's shoulders to hold him up.

"Please don't hurt him- again, it's okay, he's my... friend."

"Stevie," Seungmin groaned, one hand covering his throbbing eye.

"You sure?"

"Mhm," Stevie nodded. "Thank you for having my back. I'm Stevie."

"Yeah, I figured. I'm Ollie. Hey man, uh, sorry about the shiner."

Seungmin lifted his head slightly to look at the man whose name was apparently Ollie. Of course Stevie introduced herself, at this point half the city knew her by name surely. He had no strength to argue, and this probably had some karmic intervention type of point. Plus, the guy did think he was harassing Stevie so if it had been anyone else following her he would've thanked him for his service. So yeah, it was fine. But that didn't make the pain any less.

"You've got a mean hook," he grimaced and waved his unoccupied hand. "It's fine, dude, we're cool."

"Come on, let's go to mine."

They walked in silence, Stevie's hands remained around Seungmin's shoulders to steady him. The idiot she was fuming at. But she'd hold an umbrella over his head in the rain no matter how mad he made her. She'd make him soup when he's sick even if she was sick of him. She loved Kim Seungmin. She loved him even if sometimes she didn't like him. In that moment she wondered why the hell she loved him, how she could love someone who would act this way. He had been too perfect for a long time.

At that moment she had to concentrate to hold her tongue and not start telling him off, the Moscow mules in her system swirling and trying to spew out the choice words she had reserved just for him. Hurting her, hurting Chan, what the hell was he thinking?

"Stevie," Seungmin sighed when his back leaned against the elevator wall as they waited for it to climb to the highest floor where her studio dwellings awaited.

"Don't."

Her phone vibrated deep in her pocket. Chan's name lit up the screen, acting as a reminder of what Seungmin had demanded of her. Seungmin scoffed, jealousy raising it's hideous head.

"You won't talk to me but sure, answer when he calls."

She wasn't going to. But she'd be damned if he was allowed to push her around.

"Hey Chan, what is it? Yeah, I'm almost home... Yeah, he caught up to me... I'll talk to you late- what? Yeah, we'll be fine. Can I tell him? Thanks, love you."

Seungmin gulped. 

"Just get home safe, and please tell Jeongin I'm sorry for not hugging him goodbye. And thank him for hosting. And say bye to the girls for me. Thanks... Bye."

The whole time, the entire call, Stevie didn't look away from Seungmin once. His nostrils flared, his one good eye staring right back. The stupid Mexican standoff ended when the elevator doors opened.

"Okay, talk," Stevie tied her hair into a pony and sat down on her favourite spot on the carpet in front of her bed after shoving an ice pack into Seungmin's hands. The injured (both eye and ego) man sat down in front of her, legs close to his chest. The involuntary flinch he made when the ice came into contact with his swollen eye launched a twinge through Stevie's heart and she almost softened. Almost.

"I feel terrible. I'm sorry," Seungmin looked at his knees. He couldn't face her glossy gaze.

"For...?"

"F-For saying you have to choose, and that you might be a horrible person."

"Why did you say that?"

She was torturing him, letting him stew and squirm. He'd acted like an idiot, she figured he shouldn't get out of it so easily.

Seungmin opened and closed his mouth multiple times. Stevie could make out the dark bruise that was forming around his eye. The lamp on her nightstand illuminated half of his face, perfectly highlighting his jaw and the brown strands that framed his face.

"I was mad."

"Because...?"

"Because you love him more than me."

The answer didn't shock her. She wasn't dumb, Seungmin was obviously jealous. Okay, maybe she'd been a little blind about what Seungmin had gone through, but there was an explanation. His jealousy was completely unfounded.

"Untrue," she stated simply. "I love you both, equally. Just... a little differently."

"You say that, but-"

"Chan's gay."

Seungmin turned into a statue.

Chan's... Chan's what? But he was so sure that he... 

"I'm an idiot."

Stevie nodded. "Yeah, but you also didn't know. You couldn't, we didn't tell you, he hasn't been in a relationship in a good while, and we're really close and personal. But it's just our friendship. You could've just asked. He's like my brother. And you... you're not like my brother."

Stevie pulled herself to her knees and tumbled closer to Seungmin, who stared at her with his one good eye. The beautiful dark brown colour was surrounded by long, beautiful lashes. Her eyes flicked to his lips momentarily.

"I can prove it," she smiled and leaned even closer. "If that's okay with you."

He gulped. Then nodded.

"O-Okay."

His breath probably smelled like beer, his lips were dry, there was an ice pack covering his eye, his eye was almost swollen shut, he'd just almost made the woman he was in love with hate him by making her choose between her gay best friend and him. 

But damn it if that wasn't the sweetest, gentlest, greatest kiss of his life.

His mind flashed to all the times she'd complimented him, helped him, touched him. Loved him. All the signs he'd been too blind to see because of his jealousy.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you again," Seungmin gulped. "I never knew I could be so jealous."

"We'll sort this out. And besides, you were in pain and I didn't even notice," Stevie pouted and softly placed her hand over the one holding the cold plastic over the karmic intervention on his face. He didn't even flinch, but instead sighed with relief. "So we'll work on this dynamic together."

She pecked his lips again.

"Okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry I didn't ask. And for the shit I said. And for causing a scene."

"I forgive you. But don't you ever, ever threaten people again. And you have to apologize to Chan."

They called Chan together after Seungmin popped some Ibuprofen. Chan laughed on the other end, obviously still drunk.

"Just don't be this dramatic all the time."

Seungmin's chuckle turned into a pained groan, the rise of his cheekbones making the bruise pulse again.

"I think he got the message," Stevie giggled and chucked the ice pack back to Seungmin's extended hand. They ended the call and sat in a comfortable silence. Seungmin was over the moon: the woman he loved wanted to be with him, he hadn't lost her. He could stop feeling inferior and furious towards a guy he actually thought was cool and nice. Maybe they could be friends.

Chan was Seungmin's best man three years later. He'd tried to make Chan choose, but Stevie had bowed out, amused by the turned tables. Her maid of honor was Ella, a girl she met while taking out the trash one autumn evening.

#stray kids #seungmin #seungmin imagines #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #skz #skz seungmin #skz x oc #kim seungmin #bang chan #skz bang chan #skz fluff #stray kids imagines #stray kids oneshot #seungmin oneshot

[acourtofthought]

Az represents "choice" for Elain.

Technically true..... But, is it a "choice" for the right reasons?

I mean, Elain could select Lucien and that's still a choice. No one is forcing her to be with him. But I get that in ACOFAS, Elain didn't want a "mate" so that seems to have stuck as the big argument (though it is easily overlooked that she also said she didn't want a male which Az is but....I digress. Being with Az because she doesn't want a mating bond..... That's a pretty terrible reason to be with someone, isn't it?

I would think there are a thousand other more important and valid reasons to be with someone. Common interests, similar personalities, common goals, etc.

Elain enjoys nature:

Bachelor # 1 - enjoys being outside for training. Beyond that, we're not really sure.

Bachelor #2 - has campsites set up in caves, rides horses, and fishes with his bare hands.

Elain, who will protect her loved ones by whatever means necessary, is still bothered by cruelty:

Bachelor #1 - tortures people for a living and resorts to a physical brawl in the middle of a political meeting.

Bachelor #2 - Fights when absolutely necessary but "he usually opted for words to win his battles".

Elain enjoys socializing and being surrounded by friends:

Bachelor #1 - Canonically, while caring his friends, is reserved and enjoys his own space.

Bachelor #2 - is extremely social and often makes friends wherever he goes.

Elain does not want to be coddled or told what she can do:

Bachelor #1 - finds it necessary to speak on Elain's behalf only after she's left the room by saying she shouldn't be allowed near the Darkness of the Trove, after she specifically said she wanted to do it.

Bachelor #2 - gives Elain a shout out for taking down the King.

Elain enjoys things like tradition and propriety based off how she was raised:

Bachelor #1 - can be polite however in his POV, we see him think that the way he responded to something was not socially acceptable so he altered his answer. We won't know for sure until his story but to me it sounds like Az's "politeness" around others is more an effort to blend in with society based on his observations of watching people rather than what is a natural reaction for him. Az does seem to respect tradition (like holidays) but again, it seems less because it's important to him personally and more because he acknowledges it means something to others. Az did want everyone to wait for Elain to sit before eating but Feyre mentions they've never bothered waiting before. Rhys thinks it's about Az's mother but in my opinion he acted that way because he sensed it would be important to Elain. While it's a nice gesture, it's not something Az usually demands so it doesn't seem entirely authentic.

Bachelor #2 - all the makings of proper gentlemen and courtier. His dress, his manner of speech, his "Lady's", standing when Elain stands, bows in greeting and adhering to tradition because he truly believes and respects them as an individual.

Elain is full of light and thrives in Sunshine.

Bachelor #1 - Prefers the shadows

Bachelor #2 - is the sole Heir to a High Lord who has been described as the Sun personified.

Elain's father and her humanity meant a great deal to her:

Bachelor #1 - has never met her father and has not really spent much time around humans as far as we have been told.

Bachelor #2 - Met Elain's father, offered condolences for her loss, and has been spending time in the Human Lands which gives him insight as to what Elain may have experienced before being turned.

Elain did not encourage or endorse violence (as she made Feyre swear not to harm Graysen no matter what) and (as stated above) will only resort to it as needed to save someone's life.

Bachelor #1 - tortured his brothers in an act of revenge for what was done to him. Vocalizes that he wouldn't care if Graysen were dead. Doesn't seem to mind the thought of killing Elain’s mate in a Blood Duel regardless of what that might do to her emotionally and physically.

Bachelor #2 - watched his father and brothers murder his love, was nearly murdered himself by them, but has never sought to harm them in return unless it was in self defense to save his own life. He has also left Graysen untouched.

Elain sees the good in others, despite how they act on the outside.

Bachelor #1 - hates Bachelor #2 based solely on jealousy and has no valid reason for thinking he wouldn't good enough for Elain. Also harbors resentment against the Illyrians even though we know they aren't all terrible.

Bachelor #2 - quickly let go of past prejudices he had towards Rhys and the NC, even shaking his hand in ACOWAR and joking about sports with Rhys and Cassian in ACOSF. Has never spoken to Nesta with disrespect though she was fairly harsh towards him in ACOMAF and ACOWAR. Thinks Az seems like a decent enough male.

I do understand why Elain is rebelling against the idea of the bond and as a result, Lucien. But if you took the bond out of the equation and Elain based her decision solely on what's important in a relationship, the person who is right for her because of who she is, I feel like there's a very obvious answer.

#elucien #pro elucien #elain x lucien #lucien and elain #elain and lucien #anti e/riel #anti e*riel #antie/riel

[brendathedoodler]

Hi, I really like your AU! I was wondering if Barren has the same abilities as Warriors or similar to Hyrule’s powers? You don’t have to reply if you don’t want to of course.

Thank you, and great question! Tbh so far I’ve been running on the idea that he has abilities more like LU Warriors, though with Proxi by his side for some magic, and he also has his own unique (and strange) ability that has greatly helped him survive.

Warriors doesn’t have any inherent magical abilities, though he has developed a sense for magic over time (mostly being able to sense magical traps, though the information he gleans from this sense is limited).

He’s had Proxi as a companion for as long as he can remember. He considers her almost like a sister and is heavily reliant on her. Losing her would be like losing his arm.

Warriors may not have any healing magic, but Proxi does! She‘ll heal him and his companions when they’re injured, but her healing is admittedly among the weaker side for fairies (partially due to the limited contact with Great Fairies due to her traveling with Warriors). Also, most healing focuses on the worst wounds first and going up, but because enemies are on the hunt for Warriors’ blood, she’s learned to heal surface wounds first before dealing with the deeper wounds. It’s a very hard habit to break.

Warriors’ own unique ability is based on how LU Warriors encounters many people throughout the war of eras. Instead of that, though, AS Warriors has visions of people from across time and space.

These visions are almost like hallucinations. He can see them, hear them, and interact with them, but cannot touch them. They never give him their name, never call him by his own name, but they do provide companionship and teach him things that he never would’ve learned on his own.

Despite being extremely isolated since childhood, Warriors is actually very well socialized and charismatic, and a large part of that is due to the visions talking with him.

These visions have many rules, along with not sharing their name. They always appear looking the exact same as the first time they showed up. They seem to interact with the environment, but are unable to influence it or move objects. If they touch him, he cannot feel it, but they appear to make contact with him. They are not solid, and he cannot interact with them in return (and they will generally not respond to his attempts to touch them). They never appear around other people, though they will appear around Proxi (she can’t see them but by now she’s used to Warriors talking to people she can’t see).

One person he encountered as a vision is Mipha (though she’s never told him her name). She’s a bit of an older sister figure to him, but now that he’s an adult she doesn’t show up as often. She taught him how to tend to his own scrapes, how to cook meat that won’t make him sick, how to take care of himself when he’s ill, and other things that have helped him survive. She also tells him stories of her little brother, but never says his name or the name of the place she lives.

Another key vision he’s encountered is Impa (specifically Captain Sheik’s first mate from Time’s era). She trained him in how to use his sword. He knows how to fight like a knight, but she also taught him how to fight dirty. She was never particularly kind to him, but he’s looked up to her ever since she first appeared. (She also taught him all sorts of sailing knots, which he now uses to set traps for his enemies.)

The people he encounters are seemingly random, and not all of them are necessarily helpful. He’s met Ruto, who spent her entire time complaining about her fiancé who ran off for 7 years without a word. He’s also met little minish Midna, who didn’t give him anything useful but did tell him some embarrassing stories about her big dumb boyfriend (no, Warriors has not connected the dots and won’t until the real Midna is introduced to him by Twi. He can’t even see the real Midna, only Twi and Wind can).

He’s also met Gustlift, Wild’s loftwing. However, he was 100% convinced that this was an actual hallucination and not one of his visions. Or, at least, he was until he met Gustlift in person.

Tbh I think meeting Gustlift would be the moment when Wars actually talks about his visions (to the concern of everyone). On one hand, the fact that he hallucinates so vividly and regularly is concerning (to say the least). On the other hand, there’s no denying that these visions have taught him things that there’s no way Wars would’ve just learned on his own. Sky and Four (both trained knights) recognize his moves, and he does them perfectly enough that he had to have some formal training.

Is it some sort of magical ability he has, allowing him to interact with people from other eras? Is it some sort of really weird hallucination? Is it some sort of guardian spirit thing that’s trying to teach him survival skills through the guise of these visions? Who knows! Warriors sure doesn’t!

He also gets very defensive about it when any members of the chain show any sort of concern about it. Yes, he gets these visions often. No, he doesn’t think it warrants any sort of concern. No, he’s not going to do anything about it.

#wars: I regularly have vivid hallucinations and have ever since I was little. don’t you? #the rest of the chain: No????? that’s not normal??? #wars: yes it is. you people are just weird. #linked universe #lu adventure swap au #lu warriors #lu proxi

[ellerosie2332]

Anxiety Support

Chris Evans x Daughter!Reader

Summary: Chris helps you through a panic attack after you are followed by a group of girls.

Word Count: +1.5k

Warnings: Panic attacks, Anxiety, Being followed when shopping.

Requested on Wattpad

Masterlists | Taglist | Requests are Open

*

You had just graduated High School and were due to go off to College in the fall. As excited as you were to gain your independence, you were still worried about leaving the safety of your father’s home. 

For as long as you could remember it was always just you and your Dad. Your Mom left when you were born, signing all rights away to your Dad and was never seen in Boston again. Of Course, you still had your Dad’s family around you, especially your Uncle Scott. 

Scott had stayed with the both of you during Lockdown and for the longest months, it had just been the three of you. You moved to remote learning and only ever left the house to go out to the backyard. You Facetimed all your friends but none of them were going to the same College as you.

You had been accepted into NYU, the same College where your Dad went. You were going to study acting. Much like Chris had been, you were a theater kid growing up and had always had an interest in acting. Originally, Chris had wanted to keep you out of the limelight, much preferring to give you a normal childhood.

However, when you showed an interest in acting, Chris couldn’t help but become overwhelmed with pride. He offered to help in any way he could but also understood that you wanted to make your own image as an actress and not just as Chris Evans’ daughter. 

Acting wasn’t the only thing you seemed to get from your father. Much like Chris, you had severe anxiety. Both social and separation. You were extremely nervous about moving to New York and being away from Chris. Your separation anxiety was so bad that Chris had to hire you a tutor whenever he was out of town and take you with him. You had an agreement with the school that you would attend Summer School classes and that you would keep up the curriculum. 

There was a level of determination though when it came to you moving to New York for College. You wanted to make your Dad proud and hopefully start to work on your separation anxiety. You were on medication and had therapy to help you and so far it was working. Chris had also created a sensory room for you. It was filled with stress balls, fidget toys, weighted blankets, it was your favorite color but pastel rather than bright. The whole room was designed to be your safe space and Chris was the only other one apart from you who went in there. Even then your Dad only came in when you needed him to.

It worried your Dad a bit that you were wanting to pursue acting with your anxiety, he himself knew how difficult it could be but he knew that acting was what you wanted to do and he would support you whatever. 

*

You needed to get a few things before you went to New York. You would be moving into the dorms there but you wanted to keep your room at home how it is. You went out on your own. Chris had originally wanted to go with you but you knew you needed to build up some confidence to go out on your own. You were quite lucky that in Boston you weren’t followed around that often. However, you still sometimes saw fans of your Dad, who knew who you were.

You had almost finished getting everything you needed when something caught the corner of your eye. A group of girls probably about your age were all giggling and looking towards you. You put your sunglasses down off of your head and tried to ignore them. Despite that, one of the girls came up to you.

“I’m sorry, aren’t you Chris Evans’ daughter?” She asked in a high pitched voice. 

“Um yeah.” You awkwardly nodded, already feeling anxious.

“I thought so. I just wanted to say how much I love your Dad.”

“Okay then.” You tried to walk away but her voice caught your attention once again.

“Is he around then? I've always wanted to meet him.” She giggled.

“No he isn’t. Sorry I’ve got to go.”You quickly rushed away but not before you heard her mutter ‘rude’ underneath her breath. 

You felt your heart race and your breathing pick up. You felt a panic attack about to happen and quickly pulled out your phone and called your Dad.

“Hey Sweetheart, are you ready to come home?” You heard your Dad’s cheery voice through the phone. You automatically felt yourself starting to calm down a little. Chris could hear your heavy breathing over the phone.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” He asked. 

“Dad, can you come pick me up?” Chris automatically knew something was wrong.

“Yeah I’ll meet you where I dropped you off. Is that okay?”

“Yes thank you Dad.” You both said your goodbyes and hung up the phone. Just then you heard the shrill voice of the girl from earlier.

“Oh my God! Chris Evans is going to be here!” The others started to get excited as well. “Can you introduce us?” 

You just got up and started walking away. 

“Hey! We’re talking to you. We want you to introduce us to your Dad.” A different girl spoke up.

“Please leave me alone.” You asked in a quiet voice.

“We just wanna meet him, why are you walking away?” A third girl asked as if they weren’t following you around.”

“Stop following me.” You could feel your anxiety rise even further. The girls followed you all the way to where you were meeting your Dad. You felt really uneasy and they were drawing a lot of attention to you. Eventually you reached where your Dad dropped you off and waited impatiently for him to get there. The girls were still standing there and despite your pleas with them to leave they were all too excited about the prospect of meeting Chris Evans.

Soon enough you Dad arrived but you had tears streaming down your face. He saw that there was a group of girls around you and that you were shying away from them. As you Dad, he knew you better than anyone and he could see how much you were freaking out.

He immediately got out of the car and made his way over to you. The girls all started screaming and made their way over to him. He ignored them as he walked towards you, making sure you were safe was his number one priority. Once he got to you he crouched down in front of you and immediately started the 5,4,3,2,1 method. However, before you could finish all the things you could hear you saw the girl approaching you again.

Chris felt your hands tense up in his and he immediately looked up to see why. One of the girls stepped forward but Chris stopped them before they could talk.

“We’re a bit busy right now and I would really appreciate you respecting our privacy.”

“We just wanted an autograph and a photo. Your daughter was really rude earlier and kept walking away.” You don't know what she was trying to achieve by telling your Dad that but you tensed up again. If you weren't having a panic attack then you would know that your Dad would ignore her. But you were not thinking rationally and you thought that he might side with her over you.

“As she has every right to. Y/N was just out shopping and after she walked away you followed her around? Harassing my daughter isn’t the way to get an autograph.”

With that Chris helped you stand up and walked you towards the car away from the gobsmacked group of girls. 

Once you got in the car, Chris started driving home,helping you through breathing exercises all the way. It wasn’t long until you got home and you put your bags down in the dining room to sort out later. You grabbed Chris’ hand as you made your way up to the sensory room, knowing you just needed your Dad’s support. 

As soon as you got in there you felt relaxed. Chris went and retrieved a weighted blanket for you and draped it over your shoulders. He put your favorite playlist on and just sat with you whilst you calmed down. 

Soon enough you were calm again and showed Chris everything you had bought for College. The panic attack had worn you out and had an early night. Chris knew he shouldn’t worry about you so much but you were his little girl. His darling daughter who he vowed to protect from the moment he found out your mother was expecting you.

He picked up his phone and decided to call Sebastian. Thankfully, Sebastian agreed to allow you to go to his whenever you needed. It wasn’t that same as you going to your Dad but it put Chris’ mind at rest knowing that someone was looking out for you.

A few weeks later you went off to College and as promised, Seb kept an eye on you. Your anxiety had started to improve as you found yourself and your freedom in College but you would always be thankful that your Dad still supported every decision that you made.

**

Chris Evans Taglist:

@mtb-chaoticmess

@oliviabelova

@ctlywoo

@hehehehannahthings

@bval-1

@tenaciousperfectionunknown

@cevansgurl

@princess-baby18

@ccmarvelxx

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@mechixx

@booklover2622

@1-800-captain-insano

#chris evans #chris evans x reader #fluff #cevans #chris evans x daughter!reader #chris x reader #chris evans imagine #chris evans au #chris evans x daughter #chris x daughter #x daughter!reader #x reader #evans #angst #anxitey #anxiety awarness

[stars-in-a-jam-jar]

[JUMPS IN YOUR INBOX] YOU! KEEP TALKING.

Saw your analysis post information Marble Sky and was incredibly intrigued by how well you connected details in the story. I hadn't caught the detail of Holly presumably being an incredibly important member of his species because of his addition to The Vault. That's a very nice catch. Additionally, I do think you're right about the Vault's function being long-term preservation rather than a holding place for people about to be killed. Holly's obviously been there long enough to put down literal roots and has been onserved to be peaceful enough that Ward was placed with him for co-habitation.

Not only does that imply that Sculptors cares about his subjects not killing each other, but he also has found through rooting around in Ward's brain that humans are social creatures and need social interaction to maintain vitality. If he has plans to kill Ward, it wouldn't make sense for him to place him with another inmate, giving him a "roomie" suggests that he plans to keep Ward long-term, and in fair mental condition. The same applies to Holly as well. Nobodies stopped him from growing plants in the Vault, despite him obviously being captured and under surveillance. If we're to assume that proximjty to vegetation is important for teegardians (tbh its important for humans too, but I digress) then it can be assumed that they're trying to keep him sane as well. Not for anything good, mind you, but it implies Sculptor isn't a "mad" scientist but rather a thorough and clinically practical one.

I have Thoughts about other aspects of your analysis (positive ones prommy) but this ask is very long. Anyway A+ analysis you forced me to overcome social anxiety to brain dump in your inbox haha

Thank you♡♡♡♡♡

I love when a scientist who's Objectively A Bad Guy is also Objectively A Good Scientist, it makes everything feel so tactile, if that's the way to describe it. "Some of you will die be horrifically traumatized and violated by weird information scraping biotech. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

There seems to be established protocols around the situation with the humans. 'We found a primitive spacecraft with creatures inside.' 'The edible kind?' Ward says he feels like they're being watched. Ecliptica warns Alcor not to bite Oscar because he doesn't know where he's been. These Are Very Organized People, and because we the audience are more inclined to lean into Oscar's POV than Ward's on account of wanting to see Oscar successfully woo this big scary alien, we don't notice how Fucking Terrifying That Organization Is. An organization facilitated by Sculptor's deeply unethical science because final leadership defaults to Ecliptica due to her being the biggest and strongest.

Like. Like the Echolocators a curious species, but in a universe where they are some of the most dangerous things in space, so everyone, especially high ranking officials like Sculptor and Ecliptica, just confidently takes what they want. The hierarchy within their own colony is functionally the only thing that gives any of them pause. When Ecliptica is testing how far Oscar's trust in her not being a danger to him goes, Alcor fearfully scurries out of his arms because 'Oh shit, the moon is getting up in my space, I gotta get out of here.' and he looks on anxiously as she picks Oscar up because Oscar is his fun big dude who tastes like a great snack when he bites him and has this cool music stuff in his headphones. It's perfectly fine for Alcor to crawl all over and cling to Oscar, but suddenly Oscar is up close and personal with the most dangerous thing in Alcor's life and he just stands next to Ward anxiously flicking his tail around.

I have an idea mostly based around uhhh nothing I guess that it's not that female Echolocators are rare or anything, it's that they're Extremely Territorial and very likely to fucking Kill one another.

#marble sky #marble sky theories #jammering on

[shatteredsilverwing]

Introduction: Different Stages of Life AU!

Welcome and well met (my brave little sparks)! In this post, I'd like to introduce you to an AU, which I've never thought of before, but which is, in retrospect, very much needed: The Different Stages of Life AU! Since Sephiroth was bereft of a happy and innocent childhood, I've decided to give him one instead because if there's something he deserves the most, then it would definitely be a happy childhood where he can live a normal life. In this AU, Sephiroth will live through the different stages of life as an ordinary human being, living with his human mother Jenova (more info under the "Keep reading" section) and facing everyday troubles without carrying the burden of being a SOLDIER. Moreover, I'd like to write about how he met his love interest: Angel. As a starting point, I chose the "preschool" stage of life, where he's around 6 years old. This is where he met Angel for the very first time and this is where their relationship started to take shape into a plain friendship. During the different stages of life where they start to get older however, their relationship will evolve into childhood friends, getting crushes on one another up until serious love interests when they become of age. Since this is my very first AU I've ever created, I'm incredibly nervous about writing and sharing it with you. I hope you will enjoy the start of this AU as much as I enjoyed it! Content Warning: Incredible cuteness, you have been warned

Sephiroth is a sweet, sheltered child at a tender age of 6 years old.

He has the habit of carrying around a stuffed animal (a stuffed Behemoth) all the time because it was a present from his beloved mother

His mother is Jenova and she's a loving, caring human single mother in this AU and still alive

He is very clingy towards his mother and since he's a rather shy little boy, he tends to hide behind her whenever he meets someone he doesn't know

He's a single child and thus, spoiled by his mother to no end

Even though he gets spoiled by her, he stays modest around others (though he tends to be a know-it-all at times)

When left on his own devices, Sephiroth is an incredibly curious child, always looking out for new things to discover and shows great interest in subjects that revolve around nature, space and science

Since his mother is very attentive to him and his interests, she bought quite a number of books of the previously mentioned subjects. Because of them, he learned how to read at a very young age and has been fascinated by books ever since

He grew up to be an extremely sheltered child. When it comes to expressing himself during social interactions with other children, he shows great difficulties which often leads to misunderstandings

Gets bullied a lot because he's clinging on his stuffed animal a lot

When he spends a lot of time at the preschool, he loves to play with building bricks, reading books and climbing trees

One day, he saw a little girl entering the preschool he had never seen before: Angel.

She's the direct opposite of Sephiroth: noisy, full of her own importance, constantly making a mess of things and very demanding when playing with other children.

He concludes that he can't stand her and starts to avoid her as much as possible

To his bad luck however, she always seems to run up to him whenever he was desperately seeking solitude from the others in general

She decides that she will have to get him out of his shell little by little and is too stubborn to give up

One day when they were playing outside, he finally got the solitude he wanted, only to feel pressured by the other boys who frequently bully him

They point at his stuffed animal and start laughing at him for being a baby who still carries around a plushie with him.

One of them even dared to call him "Mommy's boy"

Hurtful tears shoot into Sephiroth's eyes and just as he is about to snap back, Angel is already stomping towards the boys angrily with a shovel in her hand.

They didn't notice her until one of them got knocked out from behind by her with said shovel.

The boy fell unconscious and the others ran away in sheer fright.

"Don't listen to those stupid pigs! They are the babies for picking on weaker ones! Are you alright?"

From this day on, he follows the Darling around everywhere she goes because he feels safe with her

He even took the initiative for a change, asking her to play with him

"W-Would you... Like to play with me?"

She happily obliged, since she likes to be with him even more.

"Of course!"

#sephiroth #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy #preschool AU #headcanon #shatteredsilverwing

[yvesdot]

yves.’s Free to Read Fiction

UPDATE: I NOW HAVE A SET, FILTERABLE PAGE!

I do not have a set, filterable page for this yet because it's just such a massive undertaking, but here's a non-exhaustive list for now of everything I’ve written that’s free to read and does not require any context to understand. That means if you’ve never read my work and don’t know where to start, you can start right here! 

I shall add more as I find it, and the side stories section will expand. Please reblorb with your favorites; mine are marked with an herb. Contest winners or finalists get a trophy. Stories featured in Something’s Not Right, my published book, get a flag 🏴.

Flash Fiction (under 1K)

After the Funeral 

121, realistic fiction; hist-aesthetic; horror

After the funeral, she asked to go to the pond...

IF YOU ARE MADE OF LIGHT.

462, fantasy; romance

As I understand it, Betty Westenra is going to save the world.

Homecoming (realistic fiction)

500, realistic fiction

Prompt: The alpha female in the cool kids crew enters the super secret teacher’s lounge.

The Lover Rises From The Abyss

282, horror

Orpheus and Eurydice meet Izanagi and Izanami.

A Single Cog in a Very Large, Extremely Dispassionate, Stupidly Proper Machine (low fantasy)🏴

845, fantasy

What happens when you pay your seers minimum wage.

Short Stories (under 10K)

Something Weird I Heard About Rebecca 

1.7K, realistic/speculative fiction; vampires

Rebecca is more interested in becoming a vampire than a woman.

Practical Applications

2K, realistic fiction; romance

At Clairmouth, you are either a Tanner student or an Ocean student– and you’re very insistent about your choice, because the two of them can’t seem to agree on anything. Timothy, who missed the memo, is in both classes. Chaos ensues.

The Hands and the Mouth 🏆🏴

2K, fantasy; romance

A classic fantasy chase story featuring two gay boys and a little twist. A personal favorite of the Beta Reader’s.

Dressage 🌿

2.5K, realistic fiction

A story about getting locked in the Sanrio-Claire’s-BtSSB store with your dysphoria.

A Fruit Platter of Unintended Consequences 

1.7K, science fiction; robots

When Annet’s mother steps out for the week, Annet takes the chance to socialize with the family’s housebot, Percique. Percique, having been warned, is well-prepared to argue her way out of being seen as a human, but Annet won’t give up that easily.

codename: violet 🌿

2.8K, realistic fiction

A trans girl famous on an Internet confessions site faces a hacker hoping to expose her biggest secret.

World Got Smaller 🌿🏆

3K, realistic fiction

Charlie, a closeted trans woman, goes undercover as the glamorous Portia in order to save face by posing as her own fake girlfriend in front of her ex and his new date.

Bride & Groom  🌿🏆

1.5K, realistic fiction

Unrequited butch high school crushes, all grown up.

as you were  🌿

1K, science fiction; romance

Friends-to-lovers transgender pining... in space!

Exhaustively 🌿

9K, fantasy; paranormal

A harrowed college student creates a golem to help with her schoolwork... and some other old scars.

Galactic April

3K, science fantasy; romance

A space waitress falls for a lion-lady she is totally inadequately attempting to serve.

The Traveler Wife 🌿🏆

1.7K, science fiction

A Black lesbian in space reflects on her decision to leave home—and her lover—very far behind. For fans of the Twin Paradox.

Novels

See: projects page.

The Summer of Katie (Ch1)

teen, realistic fiction

Thomasina Anderson wants this year’s awkward family vacation by the lake to be just like it always is, but she knows it won’t be easy to keep the peace while being her (bisexual?! she’s still in shock) self… and trying to befriend Katie, the guest who’s just begun her transition.

Forest Castles (Ch1-2) 🌿

YA, fantasy; romance

Senior year’s been bad enough before Eliza gets kidnapped by a sentient forest. She doesn’t care about the evil queen or the magic bartering system; don’t these people know she’s got college acceptances to check?! Red, an untrustworthy runaway, offers to help Eliza get home, but his totally-not-a-boyfriend, Avner, wants her to stay–and the more time passes, the less Eliza trusts herself to decide.

Sometimes it Happens (Ch1) 🌿

adult, realistic fiction; romance

Fifteen years ago, Elle’s boyfriend left town–and Elle–without so much as an explanation. Today, Ephraim has returned with a child: Bren. Bren is clever, quiet, quick, and almost exactly fifteen years old.

Side Stories

Your Father's Son 🌿

3K, KAY, realistic fiction

little!Kay quotes Hamlet at Constantine, and he plays along.

Miscellany

KAY original drabbles

These are not canon, but seeing as the first chapter of KAY isn’t publicly available yet, if you’re interested in the project, it’s where I’d start. It is where I started, actually, when I was first brainstorming these two (and that nasty old man they cart around with them). 

ko-fi | Patreon | all writing | book

#txt #God I spent so much time on this. But hey it's necessary. #If you have favorites (@Max) you should let me know and maybe if I make a whole page I'll give you an emoji too! #writeblr #writing #writers on tumblr #writblur #writers #writing community #reedsy #wattpad #ao3 #creative writing #original writing #amwriting #wtwcommunity #writing archive

[fantasyrehammered]

hello there! I am the aforementioned friend--I will be going by Ariadne on here as we work on getting the details of this alt-Warhammer nailed down. I am very excited to share more of the extremely self-indulgent changes we're making to this TTRPG!

For now, I want to talk a little bit about the Great Spiders. they are one of the more especially and flagrantly "we just wanted this in the setting" elements. Is there existing precedent in Warhammer Fantasy for the spiders the forest goblins ride being intelligent? Yes! the books foreshadow a great deal about this. Is there existing precedent for the spiders being able to talk, having weird gobliny faces, or occasionally possessing the power to weave special magic cloaks and shapeshift into humans like they're selkies?

I am sure it was cut for lack of space!

anyhoo! There are many theories about how the Great Spiders got to be so big and so clever. wizards propose that they are werbeasts or shapeshifting magic-users who embraced the spider more than the man. campfire tales tell of a spider winning a bet against the Ruinous Powers, or perhaps making a bet that is still ongoing. others speculate that they are just another cruel creation of Chaos sent to torment the good, civilized people of Reikland, because of course everything must be about them.

the Great Spiders are not always very helpful to historians. historians often forget to bring live meat. historians often forget to show up by day and stay on the path. most seriously, historians often forget that the Great Spiders who want to talk to them, who assume pleasing human forms and happily invite the historians into their parlors to discuss the matter further, are the exact kind they should never, ever listen to.

I feel as though we are getting off on the wrong sticky strand of webbing, though! all of it is sticky. that's the problem. The Great Spiders aren't wicked, exactly.

They're spiders. That's what they keep telling people. they are not werbeasts, not Chaotic creations. nobody ever believes them. "But then how have you grown to such size?" the philosopher asks. "Why are your faces so humanlike? And what kind of quirk of fate could give the gift of speech to a humble arachnid?"

why give the philosopher a tongue, the Great Spider replies sweetly, if she never uses it to string together intelligent questions?

Here is a list of Great Spider facts!

Great Spiders are dangerous. They aren't wicked. Their minds are alien, and they are only people, in the sense of basic ethical responsibility, when they consciously choose to make the attempt. They're spiders. Be patient. Don't be stupid.

Great Spiders aren't sociable and don't hunt in packs. They do communicate with one another and avoid feuding. Spiders just don't do communities the way other species do. It seems nice to them in theory. They can certainly form friendships. But they don't really like having to share space. It's not a thing spiders do.

Great Spider sorceresses learn the art of weaving beautiful silver cloaks which allow them to take human form. They are well-respected among Great Spiders, as long as they don't get weird about it.

A Great Spider who is more socialized around humans or goblins is generally a lot easier to talk to than a Great Spider who has never before met a human outside of the context of a hunt.

They're spiders.

Stay on the path.

It is customary for a guest to bring a source of live meat that is at least their own weight when visiting a Great Spider's parlor. bringing a bound animal that is too big is seen as a little tacky, showing off. bringing a bound animal that is too small is liable to only wet the spider's appetite.

If you meet a well-dressed woman in the forests and catch yourself agreeing with everything she says, catch yourself drifting off as her words spill over you like heavy water, catch yourself following her off the path, try asking her if her mother knows where she is. using sorcery to hunt is seen by the Great Spiders as being in extremely poor taste. whisperweaving, they call it, a taboo on par with hitting on service workers or playing with your food. It probably won't stop her, but neither will running at this point. anyways, it might at least kill the mood for her a little.

--Ariadne the Spider

#cw:spiders #text post #warhammer fantasy #Great Spiders #implied animal death #kind of hmmm implied mind control stuff #worldbuilding

[redemptionarcsucker]

I couldn’t help but think about the line in ‘Retired’ where Helia thinks, “You’ve never trusted anyone anyway. You never will, you’re incapable of love.”

Does this mean he has a hard time loving people around him? It takes a lot for him to trust someone, but with Flora, in ‘Falling’ he says he fell in love with her. Do you have any headcanons on how or why he fell in love with her and if he struggled to come to terms with it?

Ahh thank you for the question! My literature major brain is screamingg

Just as a disclaimer, a lot of what I am going to say is based on the backstory I've sort of constructed from him, and may clash with the other ways that people have interpreted his character

You've made an extremely interesting observation by pointing out the demarcation of love and trust (which I didn't even notice whilst writing the stories), and I think that's actually the key to really understanding Helia's struggle when it comes to relationships. When Helia and Flora met for the first time, it's undeniable that both of them were immediately intrigued by each other. Flora, I think, figured out that she had feelings for him pretty quickly. She was flustered around him, asked Aisha to snoop around, and wrote that letter, and so on.

To me, Helia seems to have had a lot more difficulty really understanding what was happening in his head. The glimpse you get of his past in 'Retired' is sort of reflective of why - the man hardly had the time or space to be a normal kid or even a normal human, with friendships and relationships like other people his age. This is partly why Flora confessed first, because I think he was still struggling to understand his own feelings. For all the "sensitive artist" qualities people assign to him, Helia with a lot of his interactions, especially in the earlier seasons, seems to be extremely guarded and somewhat unsure of how to respond to things. (That's also why it's super cute that he shows Flora he loves her by giving her little presents all the time, because he does seem to slightly struggle with social and romantic conventions otherwise). Helia may have even been in denial about his own feelings to a large extent, which would be kind of ironic because as much as he wants Flora to respond positively to his mild (mostly awkward) flirting, he may have also felt a bit of relief that she did not.

But yeah, I think meeting Flora would have shattered his own self-perception until that point, though once in a while, like in 'Retired', he reverts quite strongly to that state of mind. It checks out that he's so hard on himself all the time, it would make sense that he's constantly anxious about screwing things up in his relationship as well.

So yes, I do think he has a hard time loving people, and an even harder time expressing his love. As I mentioned, gifting people things and giving them compliments to show affection is super interesting in that regard. I would think that Helia kissing Flora for the first time was a sort of reconciliation with himself as well, and (this is once again entirely me just making things angsty), with the lines he says in the 4kids version, something about moving on from the past and focusing on the future, it feels like he's talking about something even bigger than their current situation.

Now in terms of trust, I would think that it wouldn't completely align with his journey of recognising his love for Flora and ultimately realising that he was head-over-heels for her. Helia probably would not trust everyone he loves. Funnily enough, there's a line I wrote in a wip fic where he says that he doesn't trust anyone, but for the time being, he chooses to believe in them instead.

I think it would take him a long time to trust Flora, so long that it might frustrate her sometimes. Helia is the kind to dip out of a place when he's going through something, and as patient as she is with him, it would make sense that she struggles with the fact that he hardly seems to trust her with his feelings or pain, even when it takes a toll on their relationship. Helia is probably extremely aware of this, and that puts even more of a strain on both of them to try to make the other feel comfortable. I would think that this also makes him (over)think about whether he loves her in the first place, since it is disturbingly easy for him to leave everything behind, including her.

That's why I think Helia thinks himself incapable of loving someone, and undeserving of loving him. In 'Falling', Helia calls Flora the warmest person he knows, and I think that is why he fell in love with her, and what is so symmetrical about their relationship. Helia largely aligns himself with his darkness, but Flora represents the light that he could find with the future, the light he could find within himself.

#hope this made sense #tired as hell so i hope it makes sense to me tomorrow #anyway i love flora and helia hcs gimme more asks #winx helia #winx flora

[niannianyabao]

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

I was a great booster of Jimenez's 2020 debut The Vanished Birds, which was nominated for the Clarke award and earned its author an Astounding nomination, but which still, it seems to me, hasn't been recognized as fully as it deserves. I appreciated the way it blended literary techniques and extremely nerdy SFnal concepts (who else, in 2020, was calling back to The Stars My Destination?), and the way it poked holes in some of this moment's most popular genre tropes, such the found family on a space freighter.

Jimenez's follow-up, The Spear Cuts Through Water, was advertised as an epic fantasy, so one might expect a similar blend of literary and genre, a similar reexamining of beloved tropes. Instead, the novel feels like a tremendous leap forward in complexity and ambition. There are some antecedents one can attach to it: the clotted, heady prose is reminiscent of what Marlon James has been doing in his Dark Star trilogy; the evocation of oral storytelling, with different folktales interpenetrating and eventually tying together into a single whole, is reminiscent of Catherynne Valente's duology The Orphan's Tales; the framing story in which a grandparent tells a child a foundational tale from the Old Country will no doubt remind many readers of The Princess Bride; and the blurring (and eventual shattering) of the divide between tale and listener recalls The Neverending Story.

For the most part, however, The Spear Cuts Through Water feels entirely like its own thing, a novel that leaves the reader marveling not only at what it has done, but at how it has achieved it. It's a tough novel to write about—I worry that in describing how it achieves its effect, I will make it sound dry and mechanical, when really it's anything but—but few novels I've read in the last year have left me feeling so astounded and excited.

Plot-wise, the novel is simple, almost to the point of childishness. There is a magical land, ruled over by an evil emperor possessed of incredible powers. There are his three sons and enforcers, less powerful but more accessible (and thus more terrifying) to the populace and the main characters. There is a last hope—the empress, who is also the moon, who, if she can escape her centuries-long imprisonment and bestow her powers on someone worthy, can break the power of the throne and end this seemingly endless dynasty. And there are our heroes, two young men: Jun, the emperor's grandson who is trying to expiate a lifetime of cruelty and oppression, and Keema, the last survivor of a warrior tribe. Thrown together by circumstances, they find themselves joining forces to help bring the empress to her destination. Along the way, their initial hostility gives way to grudging respect, friendship, and eventually love.

In the background, one can perceive hints of greater social and political complexity. In building this world, Jimenez repeatedly interjects with details that reveal how much of its unfairness is rooted not in dark magic but in ordinary class oppression and economic exploitation. A particularly evocative image is the system of gates that controls movement through the land, overseen by a network of telepathic turtles who are in instant, total communication with one another, placing citizens' freedom at the mercy of everyone from the emperor down to a bored, malicious border guard. As Keema and Jun travel, they learn about various planned insurrections against the throne, and while some of these emerge from among the people, the one that is most likely to succeed is backed by the land's wealthy, non-magical families, who resent the limits the emperor has placed on their already-immense power. When Keema expresses disappointment that the empress's plan is to ally with this second group, Jun merely shrugs and explains that "We want to win."

As the adage goes, however, what's important in a work of fiction is often not what it's about, but how. Neither the simplicity of The Spear Cuts Through Water's main story, nor the complexity that is revealed in its background, are the core conceit of the novel. That is the Inverted Theater, the place where the unnamed You to which the novel's narrative addresses itself is watching, in their dreams, a theatrical performance of the novel's story. This You, however, is not merely a reader stand-in, a passive, undifferentiated receptacle for story. As the play progresses, they realize that they already know this tale. It was told to them by their lola as one of the core myths of the country their family emigrated from generations ago.

The novel's fantastical story is interspersed with more mundane details of the diasporic life of You's family, who live in a modern world that does not—despite the use of the Tagalog word "lola"—appear to be our world. The novel's tale is, therefore, told in different ways and in different times. Sometimes it is told in the Inverted Theater by a being known only as "this moonlit body", who describes the story's events in a tight but largely uninflected third person.

The villagers put away their scythes and turned over the feed buckets as the pebbles danced and the terra-cotta eaves trembled. The children held close as the horses crested the nearby rise, two score in number, their riders garbed in red; a gash on the noon horizon. Warriors vicious and without mercy, their faces tattooed with their namesake, their sharp cheeks and hungry eyes framed by red beak and feather; a sight feared by any wise traveler, by anyone who heard the stories, for of the many brigades and bands and gangs that haunted the valleys in those days, it was the Red Peacocks who were deadliest, led as they were by one of the princes of the Throne, a man who had well earned his title of the First Terror.

Other times it is related by lola at different point throughout You's childhood, while in the background a war brews, the family's patriarch grows more militaristic, and You's brothers plot their escape from conscription.

Your lola made a cat's cradle out of red thread. "From peak to peak, the pagodas of the palace stood on the tips of the Westward Mountains," she said. Her fingers shut and then opened again, the pattern of the thread rearranged. "A dozen bridges of finely hewn stone spanned these peaks, connecting these pagodas in a marvelous web. Bridges that turned on giant axes, like the hands of a clock. By the emperor's whim, and the power of his god gifts, the bridges moved, and the layout of the palace would change." Her fingers kept closing and reopening, the pattern of the thread born anew, the connections shifting.

At points other members of the family, such as You's unhappy, disciplinarian father, or the great-grandfather who was the architect of their move to their current home, take over storytelling duty. In their hands, the tale changes tone and focus, emphasizing military might and tactics. In one scene, after lola's death and the father's abandonment, the narrative duty falls to You, who tries to distract a younger sibling from their straitened circumstances by telling part of the story as a comedy.

The novel is keenly aware of how myth and history can be repurposed to suit present needs and mores. When Keema and Jun's attraction begins making itself apparent, lola explains that such tendencies were understood and accepted in the past in which the story takes place. In the war-torn present in which You is hearing the story, however, a more rigid gender binary holds sway. When storytelling duties are taken over by You's father, he insists that the story is a tale about "camaraderie", not love.

Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to describe The Spear Cuts Through Water as "a story about stories" (a description that, I confess, tends to make me sigh when I hear it applied to a work). The point here isn't the malleability of myth and the way it can be deployed to different aims, but the way that a teller changes a story through the act of telling it. It's a story about performance, and what the novel is trying to evoke in the reader is the feeling of being in the audience. Part of a crowd but fundamentally alone, witnessing the same thing as everyone else, but bringing to it your own history, and your own familiarity with the tale.

For all that Jimenez breathes life and specificity into the framing story—we learn a lot about You's life and their family, following them over decades during which the war and tensions within the family take their toll—there is never a sense that their story is the point, or that we are meant to be interested in how their life will turn out (which indeed we never discover). Perhaps the most concrete illustration of this is the fact that You is not alone in the Inverted Theater, and that other audience members are from different times and places, dreaming about the tale from a war zone or a post-apocalyptic wasteland. There is even an intermission, in which audience members mingle and trade tales of their lives. All of them, Jimenez seems to be saying, are bringing their own history to the tale, and if we were seeing the performance from their perspective—if they were our You—we would be reading a very different novel.

No device better illustrates The Spear Cuts Through Water's evocation of the theatrical than the way its narrative voice frequently shifts into the first person, flitting into the point of view of a minor character for a sentence or two, illustrating their own take on the situation. This can mean a reversal of the point of view,

Those who traveled the unpaved Road Below did so with the awareness that this trip might be their last. We traveled with twice the water we thought we needed. We never traveled alone. And we never traveled by night.

or a sudden cutaway to reveal how a certain luxury was made and what toll its production took on the workers who produced it,

The walls and floor were lush with drapery woven by the textile fleet, the rug beneath his sandaled feet patterned with a complex network of curling vines and jewels. In the tilting ships that housed his looms, we wove these masterworks for our Lord Induun. The fabric stained with out salted sweat and the blood from our broken fingernails.

or a trip through the minds of the "little people" who make up a crowd.

A braying mule of a checkpoint guard laughed in a woman's face as he told her the seal on her manifest was outdated, that they used a new seal now, and that she would have to come back with the proper ornamentation. A fight almost broke out between two men standing in line, ostensibly over a shove, but it could've been anything—the trading of blows prevented only when a third traveler stood between them and talked them down. We all wanted to get through. No need to make it harder for one another. A chorus of babies howled into the humid air, sucking dryly on the breasts of mothers who had little left to give. Water rations were shared between those who had enough to spare and those whose canteens ran empty as the sentries flipped through documents in an unhurried manner. No need to be proud; we were all thirsty in this heat.

The effect is like being addressed by an actor on stage, a greek chorus or an ensemble member who suddenly takes center stage. But as the story progresses, the line between who is spoken about, and who gets to address the audience as "I" becomes blurred. A long middle segment is told from the point of view of the empress, who explains her history while also conveying the impression that to her, she is the only real person in this story. Later, when Jun and Keema are granted powers by the empress, their thoughts become clear to us. Even though they were already our main characters, we suddenly have more insight into their minds. They speak to us (to You) directly.

This sets up a scene late in the novel in which Keema and Jun appear in the Inverted Theater (but were they not already on stage?) and address the audience. Suddenly, there is a conversation between heroes, narrator, and audience over how the story should end. Suddenly, the characters are given a choice—they can play their preordained role in the story, or run away from it. But are they making a choice, or is this simply another part of the tale? The fact that You has a role to play in this chapter, that they become a part of the story, could be taken as evidence going either way.

By the time the story reaches its intricate conclusion, it's clear that what we are witnessing is not merely a performance, but a dance. Keema and Jun learning to work together is important because it's how they save the land, but also because it is how they become attuned to one another, to the "Rhythm" that governs their lives and the tale they are moving through. They win by moving together, producing the crescendo of their performance, delivering to the audience—to You, to the other people in the Inverted Theater, and to the readers—their story's catharsis. The actual details of the ending matter less than the way it is brought together. Which perhaps explains why The Spear Cuts Through Water is a difficult novel to write about—it is literally talking about dance—but I hope that I've said enough here to entice more readers into discovering it.