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lqveharrington · 1 day

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Take A Break | V.

summary: it’s your daughter’s birthday, but Vox isn’t able to spare anytime for her.

pairing: Vox x Overlord!reader

includes: Vox has a normal head guys, fluff, HEAVY angst, family issues, arguing, mentions of sex tapes, Valentino being a weird ass uncle, over protective parents, cursing, mentions of murder (i think that’s it, tell me if i missed any!)

a/n: honestly, this request made me think of hamilton the musical, hence the title of the one-shot. 🤷‍♀️ (also full credits to the artist on X!)

As an Overlord in Hell, your life was somewhat easier than normal sinners. You had their souls under your belt for your own use and powers that only those ranked attained. You attended boring meetings with the other Overlords, but you didn’t think you would meet your other half during these meetings, nonetheless, marry him. As a result of the marriage, both your powers grew stronger, along with the power of his company since a new face joined.

Down the line, you somehow ended up pregnant. Was it highly impossible to have a child as a sinner? Absolutely. So the thought that you were to bear Vox’s child in Hell panicked you. However, he talked you through the entire process, ending with a healthy baby girl. She looked exactly like her father, except for the eyes. Her eyes resembled her mother’s in every shape and form.

Despite the phenomenon, you both cared for her. Well, mostly. You were the one staying in your penthouse in the Vee tower while Vox tended to his company’s needs. He worked endlessly and missed important events such as your daughter’s first steps, words, and laughter. You supposed he tried his best as he came back to you with gifts and kisses, but it never felt… right.

When your daughter’s thirteenth birthday came up, you expected him to stay home because it was a special birthday. It seemed like thirteen was your little family’s lucky number, so you thought it was an important event in his life for his only child to turn thirteen. Moreover, she finally became a teenager, which Vox deemed was old enough for him to take her out to watch the stars when she was younger.

“Happy Birthday, Vee.” You take your fingers through her black and red hair, kissing her temple. She smiled brightly up at you, pearly whites on display. “I know you’re excited, but you still have lessons to attend to.”

“I know.” She groaned, eyes flashing red for a second before settling. “Is Dad still up there?”

Your loving gaze faltered at the mention of her father, passing her the chocolate chip pancakes you made. “He’s at work already, baby. I’m sure he has something prepared for you when you get home.” You press another kiss to her head as you pull your phone out, squinting at the message Vox sent.

“Is it Dad?” Veronica murmured, twisting the fork in between her fingers.

“Don’t worry about it, yeah? It’s your birthday.” You slide your phone inside your pocket. “I’ll see you after your lessons?”

She hummed softly as you frowned, rubbing your temple. This was an important day for your daughter, and if Vox couldn’t remember the promise he made to her years ago, you weren’t prepared for the breakdown that was going to come from your new teenage daughter.

“Vox?” You enter his monitor room, blue light glasses steady on your face.

“My love?” He called back, eyes focusing on the rising and falling stocks in the industry. “What’s wrong?”

You ran your fingers through his hair, massaging when he pulled you down into his lap. You pressed a kiss to his jaw when he glared at the screen, “Do you know what day it is?”

“Uh,” He glanced back at you before muttering a curse at the stocks, aggressively typing something out on his computer. “Tax day?”

You let out a sigh, “Love, it’s Veronica’s birthday.” You tilt your head when you don't get a response. “Vox.”

“What?” He whipped his head toward you, his blue eyes swirling black and red. You steady the glasses on your face, frowning at his tone. His eyes scan your face before rubbing his forehead, “Darling, I’m sorry. But I’m really busy today. All of our shareholders decided to be assholes today and Carmilla wants a meeting about Angelic Security.”

You cup his face and press a soft kiss to his lips, “I know, I got your text message about a twelve-hour workday.” Your gaze flickered over toward the frame displayed on his desk, “But it’s our baby’s thirteenth birthday. She was looking for her dad earlier, and she didn’t—“

His phone rang out into the intensely large monitor room, causing you to look back over to him. “Look, I’ll see if I can get out of the meeting and schedule it another day. I’ll be back before the day’s over.”

“Do you promise?” You lift your pinky, the blue and red chain appearing from your wedding band connecting to his.

He lifted his pinky, locking it with yours. “I promise, gorgeous.” His phone rang out again as you leaned in to give him a kiss, raising a brow at the device. Vox chuckled at your reaction, rubbing his thumb over your lip. “I love you, but I have people to yell at, so kindly leave.” He tapped your thigh before answering his phone.

You pressed one last kiss to his cheek before stepping away from him, humming a tune while he yelled at whoever was on the other line. The link of chains connecting the two wedding bands never meant a deal was brought up, it merely signified the marriage. However, that promise meant more than just canceling a meeting and heading back home. It meant actually showing up for his daughter, saying that he didn’t forget about his promise from years ago.

“Hi, baby.” You kiss Veronica’s temple as she passes the kitchen with bags in her arms. “What’s all that?”

“Uncle Val and Aunt Velvette gave me presents.” She grinned, shoving them down on the kitchen counter.

You raise a brow at the size difference of the gifts, “And what did Aunt Vel get you?”

“She got me every single new item on her new line before she drops it.” She pulled out a t-shirt that you thought was inappropriate for a girl her age. Neatly folding it, she pulled out another article of clothing, a short skirt that would have you and Vox murdering people left and right.

“Right…” You gently take away the clothes and set them to the side, nodding your head toward the box. “What did Uncle Val get you?”

“He told me to give you this before opening the gift.” She handed you a card decorated with intricate details.

You unfold the card, eyes widening at the contents. “Can I take the movies Uncle Val gave you? I don’t think they’re for you, baby.”

“Wait what? Why not?”

“Because it’s not… don’t worry about it.” You snap your fingers, sending the box of movies to your shared bedroom with Vox. Your face was flushed from Valentino handing your daughter physical copies of the videos that were personal to you and Vox. It would have been chaos if you watched the videos together with no warning. “Never mind about that, how were your lessons?”

“Boring as usual.” She rested her head on her hand, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. “Did you talk to dad?”

“Yes,” You set down the dinner you were preparing, wiping your hands on a hand towel. “He’ll be back soon. He had… stuff to do.” You waved your hand in the air, face contorting in tension. “Can you set up the dining table for dinner? I’ll call your dad to see where he is.”

Veronica groaned before begrudgingly moving away, grabbing the plates and utensils. You watched her leave before leaning your arms against the counter, head tilting down in exhaustion. Not only were you running around the tower checking in on your business, but you also prepared the gifts for your daughter while checking in on your husband’s vitals once in a while. Everything was rushed and disorganized, and the only thing your daughter wanted was for her father to be there for her birthday and fulfill his promise.

“Fuck.” You quickly wipe the tear slipping down your face, pulling out your phone. Clicking on Vox’s contact, you rub the ring on your finger, anxiously waiting for an answer.

“Yes?” His voice came through your phone, more agitated than usual.

“Vox, can you take a break and come up to us?” You start pacing, not realizing your daughter was behind the wall listening to you.

He muttered something as you heard the clicking of his keyboard through your speaker, “I’ll be there in a minute, can you save me a plate?”

“Vox, can you just—“ You run your hand through your hair as your eyes flash red, the same red consuming the items surrounding you. “I understand you’re busy, but your daughter hasn’t seen you all day.”

“Gorgeous, I heard you, but I have a very important deal I need to finish making then I’m all yours, okay?” He spoke with impatience, sighing when he heard silence from your end. “In a minute.”

“Fine.” You roll your eyes and end the call, dropping your phone onto the counter. You blink a few times to get rid of the red, everything around you falling back to its original placement.

“Mom, we can just celebrate with the two of us.” Veronica came around the doorway, fiddling with her fingers. “If dad is busy, I don’t want to—“

“Baby, it’s your birthday.” You push your hair back and pull a strained smile. The look you gave your daughter was almost dangerous, reverting back to your Overlord setting. “If your dad doesn’t show up before the day is over, I will physically go down to his office and remove him from this Hell.”

Her eyes widened at your words, “Mom—“

“Let’s go eat dinner, yes?” You leave a kiss on the top of her head.

Eventually, Vox did appear, but only for a few minutes before his phone began to ring again. He sighed, pressing his lips in a thin line, and got up, squeezing your shoulder and giving his daughter an apologetic look. The worst part about meeting his daughter’s eyes was the similar feeling of knowing how she felt.

Veronica projected a recognizable emotion through her eyes, something he could tell from miles away because it was the exact same look you gave him when it was just the two of you.

Disappointment.

“Vox, what the hell are you still doing here?” Valentino entered the monitor room, pink smoke billowing from his cigarette.

“Better question, what the fuck were you going to do in here?” Vox rolled his neck as he filed another claim against older companies.

Valentino chuckled, “Don’t worry about that… If I were you, I would be worried about your daughter. Velvette and I already sang Happy Birthday to your precious girl over cake. I'm sure she would have been happier if her daddy was there.”

Vox slouched in his chair, “Val, I’m almost done with these files then I’ll head up.”

“Oh, I would be careful.” He blew pink smoke across Vox’s face. “Your wife has her Overlord filter on tonight. It’s worse than before.”

“What do you mean?” Vox submitted the file to the HR department, taking his blazer and tossing it across his shoulder.

“She’s going to murder you, Voxy.” He bared his teeth at him. “You have a lot to make up tonight.”

Vox squinted his eyes at the moth before sighing, “Get the fuck out of my room or I’m having my wife come and murder you herself instead of me.”

“Scary.” Valentino grinned maliciously before leaving, a trail of pink smoke following.

Oh, Vox knew how much shit he was in when he returned home. After all, it was already 11:26 PM and he doubted that neither you nor Veronica were still awake. He teleported into the kitchen, setting the blazer on top of the counter before following the noise to the living area. He caught a movie on the television screen as he approached the couch, gaze softening at the sight. You were holding Veronica in your arms as she slept sprawled along the couch.

He caught your gaze a few seconds later, watching your tired eyes harden. “Do you know what time it is?”

“I know, but a lot was happening downstairs with VoxTek and—“

“You couldn’t hold that off for one day?” You whisper-shout in his direction as your daughter shifts around. “Vee was waiting all day for you to take her to see the constellations of Hell, and you broke it, Vox! I don’t understand how you could just leave her with a broken promise—“

“Gorgeous, it’s not the end of the day. I can still make it up to her.”

“And what? Wake her up from the day she’s had? Vox, she’s been waiting for this moment since she was five, and you couldn’t spare one second?” You feel your eyes flare red before realizing what's going on. Vox knew you had to calm down, and typically he would help, but it was clear you wanted nothing to do with him just yet. “You didn’t even say happy birthday this morning because you already left for work.” You carefully adjust Veronica in your arms, glaring at your husband. “I understand that the company is important for our image, but destroying a relationship with your own daughter for the company is never something you should do.”

Slowly, you carry your daughter in your arms, using some of your wisps to help carry her. Vox reaches out to help but you deny him, causing him to purse his lips. “Seriously?”

“I’m dead serious.” You crease your brows. “If you can’t understand how fucking important it is for our daughter to have both her parents present during important days, I promise you that I will make your life worse than living in Hell.” As you ascend the stairs leading up to Veronica’s room, you feel the burn of his stare hitting you. “And for the sake of your mental and physical health, please take a break from work. Your vitals have been dropping.”

The life you held in Hell seemed easier to those outside of the Tower, but the three of you knew that there was never a moment in time where you could be free of the constraints you were given, not allowing a single break of freedom or contentment.

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atinylittlepain · 2 days

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Little Pinch

nurse!marcus pike x f!reader

she needs to get bloodwork done. one small problem, getting bloodwork done never goes well for her, especially not when she's distracted by the very kind, very handsome nurse doing it.

wordcount | 3.3K

content info | 18+ discussions of getting bloodwork that includes needles, fainting, nausea, mostly fluff, nurse marcus to the rescue, this is just a fun time, also an un-beta'd time so like, be nice pls

a/n | shoutout to the girls (gn) that pass out every time they get blood work done (me). I have to get new labs tomorrow morning, and writing this is how I coped with that prospect :') this one is for the fainters, the thin veiners, the "just do it in my hand"-ers - i see you, i am you, gawd bless

..........................................................................

Here’s the thing, this never goes well. It wasn’t always like this though. She has a vague memory of being a kid and taking it like a perfect champ, testing for mono after a rash of cases at school. But then, well, something changed.

It runs in her family. Thin veins that are hard for even the best nurses to find, lots of oh, I just lost it, and well, let’s try your other arm, and always, ultimately, hands? Should we try the hands? No, the nurses never listen when she tells them to just start with the hands, and without fail, somewhere around the third or fourth time they try to get the needle in, a cold sweat breaks, and the room starts to filter through a fuzzy pinhole of vision. It’s embarrassing, she thinks, because, really, she has no problem with needles. Can watch it go in, no issues with piercings, et cetera, et cetera, but getting blood drawn? Yeah, forget about it. She usually comes to with paperwork around her feet that she had been holding, and a well-meaning nurse pressing a damp paper towel to her forehead and breathing the remnants of her lunch over her face and alright, hon? Usually a box of apple juice and an escort out to her car to make sure she doesn’t go offline again.

The other thing is, unfortunately, she’s pretty sure her little fainting, fading thing has gotten worse over the years. A conditioned response, she thinks, that cold sweat starts the second she walks into the waiting room, already anticipating what comes next. And today, well, even worse than some of the others. Twelve hours fasted, and no, that certainly won’t help her case, no matter how much water she downed before she came here, no matter how tight she squeezes her fist in the hopes of pumping even one vein up enough to be tenable. She looks at the woman sitting across from her in the waiting room, reading a back-ordered issue of Cosmo, flipping and flippant and really, why can’t she be like that? Why can’t she be normal like that? Instead, her heel is doing a frantic tap, whole leg jerking with it, and everytime she checks her watch she feels her heart creep a little further up into her throat.

If she’s being honest, she thought about canceling her labs. No, doc, all good, doc, don’t need to know, doc. And then a friend pointed out, frustratingly, that avoidance is only going to make it worse. Right, so, right, so right, so, here she is. And here’s the nurse opening the door and right, calling her name, and it’s a man nurse, male nurse, though she’s pretty sure she’s not being PC by making that specification in her mind because really, twenty-first century, and really, anyone can be a nurse. But not anyone, right? Lots of schooling, right? Right. She realizes a bit too late that she hadn’t responded to the nurse calling her name, jerking up out of her chair and trying for a smile that she thinks probably looks more like constipation. And that’s just great because now man nurse, sorry, just nurse, probably thinks she’s constipated and she’d rather not have the, actually, very handsome, just nurse, thinking that on top of whatever she’s got going on that necessitates lab work she also can’t take a shit. Right.

“We’re going to be in this room right here.” Handsome just nurse has a nice voice too, deep but kind, and a strong jawline, and a patchy beard but she likes that it’s patchy, and he’s tan and he’s got one of those big watches that tells you how hard your heart was beating on your run and he probably runs in the afternoon after clocking out of the needle-in-arms gig and that’s probably why he’s so tan, probably has a golden retriever who runs with him too, because he looks like a golden retriever guy, dark flop of wavy hair and that smile and oh, oh, he just asked her a question and now she’s supposed to answer it.

“I’m sorry, could you say that again?” He smiles, nods, being nice, at least, about her whole scared prey animal situation. She presses her palm down hard on her knee to keep it from bouncing any more.

“It says on this order that these labs need to be taken fasted. Can you confirm to me that you haven’t had anything to eat or drink besides water in the last twelve hours?” Oh yes, yep, she can confirm that for you, Marcus, his name is Marcus, says so on his little lanyard badge. Thanks for the easy one, Marcus, pitch right down the middle, Marcus, with your nice smile and your clipboard and your, well, needles and tubes. But before he can get started with his, well, needles and tubes, she makes a strangled, sort of despondent sound because in situations like these, she comes with a warning label.

“I should let you know I have, um, bad veins? Honestly, you can just start with my hands, I don’t mind it. And also, I’m a fainter, yeah, so, it happens every time, just so you know.” And usually, usually, her spiel is given very little notice, mmmokay, hon. Sure, they’ll lay her back, how merciful, so she doesn’t crack her skull open on the way out of conscious orbit. That’s about it, though. But this time, she thinks, might just be different.

“Okay, thank you for giving me the heads up. If you’re sure you’re alright with starting with the hands then it’s fine by me to get it done that way.” So, so fine, Marcus, and maybe, just maybe, she thinks she might not pass out this time. He sets the exam table at a reclined angle and she wills her rigid spine to settle against it, trying to find the balance between breathing so deeply she starts to get light headed, and not breathing at all. In case you were wondering, yes, she is on medication for anxiety, it just doesn’t seem to presently be working.

“Just gonna feel around a bit here for a good one.” She only feels a little insane for the kick and clench in her heart when he takes her one hand in both of his, because he’s just palpating the back of her hand to find, as he said, a good one. Yes, the word for it is palpating, and there is certainly nothing romantic nor, hello, sexual about anything that’s called palpating. But, hey, taking wins where she can get them, and even through the latex gloves, his hands are warm and big and very know what they’re doing about the whole thing. And she’s no expert, obviously, but he’s got a very nice, very visible vein in his forearm, and she bets phlebotomists love him, bets that when he gets blood drawn, he’s in and out no problem, bets that even she could draw blood from him. Nope, nothing sexual about that, nothing weird about that, right? Right. Nothing sexual either, when he ties off the tight band around her arm and she watches his one bicep flex a little with the effort.

“I can count you down, or you can look away and I’ll just get it done, whichever you prefer.”

“Uh, no preference, I’ll just look away and you can do whatever you want to me.” Jesus. Jesus fucking Christ. She realizes exactly what she just said a bit too late, him, Marcus, nice nurse Marcus, letting out a laugh that fizzles out into a cough. Great, now she’s made her fucking phlebotomist uncomfortable, possibly one of the last people you want to make uncomfortable. But if that, whatever that was, lingers, he doesn’t show it, already swiping an antiseptic wipe over the back of her hand and pulling his little cart of tubes closer to himself. And she knows this part, she’s good at this part, letting her eyes sweep up and to the right, because he’s on her left, and willing whatever vein he decided is a good one to stay a good one. Little pinch, little prayer, she lets out a held breath when he says a quiet alright and keeps the needle exactly where it is. Hallelujah.

“This might take a little longer, just because we’re drawing from your hand.”

“I’ll bleed as fast as I can then.” At the very least, he laughs, even though she wishes she had kept that one to herself.

“Do you live around here?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Sorry, I’m trying to distract you.”

“Didn’t they teach you how to do that in like, phlebotomy school?” She still has her eyes turned up and away, only a little wince when he switches out one tube for another. He hums at her question.

“Not really, I could ask you about the weather, is that better?”

“It’s cloudy. Not much of a conversation starter.”

“Well, why don’t you ask me something, since you’re such an expert on starting conversations.”

“Do you have a golden retriever?”

“What?”

“Sorry, you just, you look like the kind of guy who’d have a golden retriever.” Another tube clicks into place, but she’s not paying any attention to that now.

“Uh, no, no golden retriever. I do however have a very old, very deaf pit mix named Lucille.” Goddamnit, somehow that’s hotter than the golden retriever.

“Great name.”

“Yeah, I thought so too. She came with it when I adopted her.” God. Fucking. Damn it. What next, is he a volunteer firefighter on the weekends?

“Alright, that’s the last one.”

“Wait, really?” She chances a skittish glance but, sure enough, the needle is out.

“Yep, just let me get a band-aid for you and you’re all set.” Is he? Is she? Really? Going to make it out of here with no blackout? She considers, very briefly, as Marcus is smoothing a band-aid over the back of her hand, whether it’s possible to put a phlebotomist on retainer.

“If you want to sit for a minute and make sure you’re feeling alright before getting up that’s totally fine. I can also get you water or juice if you’re getting lightheaded.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine actually. Which, hey, thanks for not making me faint and stuff– that’s a first for me in a very long–” Oh, oh, stops herself mid-compliment because oh, oh, maybe stood up too fast, because the room is going a little dark, a little sideways, cold prickle and nauseous and–

“Easy, easy, I’m gonna help you sit up, okay?” His voice is a little fuzzy around the edges. To be honest, he’s a little fuzzy around the edges, though she knows right away what happened. No, not her first rodeo, like she blinked and then came to in a strange sprawl on the end of the exam table. Marcus presents a dixie cup to her, holds it right in her line of sight because clearly, she’s still a little slumped, still a little vacant, and a little warm, actually, which is new, and a little pleasant, and, oh, it’s because his arm is curled around her shoulders, firm palm held there to help her sit up. Oh. He smells like clorox and something woodsy, and it shouldn’t, but it kind of works.

“You feeling okay?”

“Mmmhmm.” She’s afraid of what might come out of her mouth if she doesn’t keep her lips pressed in a thin line, mmhmms again when he asks if she can sit up on her own, only a little despondent when he takes his arm away.

“So, you really weren’t kidding about that happening every time, huh?”

“Nope, wish I was. It’s– I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“That you had to deal with that.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about that, it’s part of the job. And actually, you fainted about as perfectly as I could’ve asked you to.”

“I didn’t know you could faint like, well.”

“Right before you went down you said I’m gonna faint. That’s a lot better than getting no heads up and turning around to find my patient unresponsive on the ground.”

“Oh gee, I bet you say that to all your patients.” Lord, if there was ever a time to put her out of her misery it’d be now. She probably still looks green from her little trip to outer space but sure, flirt with Marcus, handsome nurse Marcus who just watched you absolutely eat it. Kick your feet and bat your eyelashes while you’re at it.

“I take it you’re feeling better then? Are you okay to walk out to the front desk?” And the rest is, mercifully, easy. He walks her to the front desk, squeezes her shoulder and gives her a good job today that she likes a little too much. She makes a mental note to herself to never come back to this clinic for any future bloodwork, lest she make a fool of herself all over again in front of a man who, with any luck, she will never see again.

…

“Yes, this is she speaking.” This is she speaking in the middle of the cereal aisle with a half-filled grocery basket at her feet. She sets her gaze on a hyper-realized image of a granola cluster (now with real strawberries!) while the woman on the other end of the phone tells her that her lab results came in and were sent over to her doctor.

“Oh, great, thank you for letting me know. Do you know– did things look okay?”

“We don’t interpret the results, ma’am. Your doctor will go over that with you.” She doesn’t quite catch that, doesn’t catch the woman’s ma’am? either, a little preoccupied with staring down the aisle, because is that? Is he? He looks good out of the scrubs.

“Ma’am?”

“Sorry, no, um, of course. Thanks again.” If the woman had anything else to tell her, it’s a little too late for it, already hung up, and she’s trying to decide if she wants him to see her, or if fleeing immediately is the best course of action. He probably wouldn’t even recognize her, she thinks. It’s been a couple of weeks since the whole ordeal. And actually, she’d prefer if he didn’t recognize her. Oh yeah, the one who, well, ate it. But it seems the choice has already been made for her, because he saw her, walking down the aisle toward her, with his chin tilted down and part of a smile like he isn’t sure, but he’s pretty sure. He says her name like a question. Guilty as charged.

“Marcus, right?” Like she forgot his name, ha. His smile stretches, a little brighter, palm to the nape of his neck, and while she got the golden retriever part wrong, she totally clocked the rest, watch on his wrist and nice-looking athletic shorts and just-right-tight t-shirt with the little swoosh on the chest. She thinks his hair might even be a little sweat-damp, curled ends nearly getting in his eyes. In other words, she’s a goner.

“How have you been since we– you, well–”

“Since I passed out on you?” Yeah, that, he laughs out and yeah, she likes him, sue her.

“Just for the record, I believe it was you who said I passed out perfectly, so.” Shrug, so, he takes a step closer, leans in a little like he’s going to tell her a secret. In the cereal aisle, of all places.

“Just for the record, I really don’t say that to all my patients.”

“No?”

“Nope, just the nervous, pretty ones.”

“I was not nervous.”

“You weren’t?”

“Nope.”

“Are you just gonna blow past the other thing?”

“What thing?”

“The pretty thing.”

“Yep.” Something a little giddy, like being back in high school, shared, shit-eating and smug grins. He shakes his head and she rolls her lips back in her mouth to stop her smile from getting any cheesier.

“So, you do live around here then?”

“Mm, yeah, I do. And so do you?”

“I do.”

“Nice, nice.”

“Lovely weather we’re having.”

“Wow.”

“What? I’m making conversation.”

“You’re still not very good at it.”

“I’ll keep working on it for you.”

“Sure, okay. What kind of cereal do you get?”

“What kind do you think I get?”

“You look like a Kashi guy, if I’m honest.”

“Somehow I feel insulted.”

“Well.”

“You’re not even right either.”

“No? What do you get then?” He just smiles, steps away and reaches up to the top of the shelf and she is very grateful to General Mills for being located on the top shelf because his shirt rides up just enough to see a bare hip. In cheerios we trust.

“Apple cinnamon, seriously?”

“What? It’s a classic.”

“Actually, you know what, that tracks.”

“What do you get?” She waggles her basket in front of him in response, goods already procured.

“Peanut butter chex, respectable choice.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

“You know, I’d say we’re pretty good at this conversation thing.”

“Yeah, we’re not bad.”

“Do you want to do this again sometime? Not in the cereal aisle?”

“What, you mean like in the produce section?” He smiles at that, rolls his eyes, his basket lightly bonking against hers.

“I was thinking more like dinner, or drinks if that’s your thing?”

“I might be free on Saturday.”

“I might also be free on Saturday.”

“Well, sounds like we’re both free on Saturday.”

“Can I get your number?” His lockscreen is a picture of a dog. Lucille, he tells her, before she was very old and very deaf. She can’t help how big her smile gets at that.

“Text me, and we’ll do this whole conversation thing again.” I will, he says, phone tucked back into his pocket, though he seems to think twice before asking her can I see something really quick. Not entirely sure what he means when she nods, but then his hand sort of hovers over her forearm, may I? He really does have nice hands, she doesn’t think twice about nodding again.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t have to use your hand. I could have totally gotten it from here.” His hand curled around her elbow and his thumb lightly pressing into what she can only assume is a vein, and he says it so earnestly that she can’t help the incredulous laugh that rises up in her chest.

“Really? You’re still stuck on that, huh?” He smiles something sheepish, pad of his thumb rubbing an apology into her skin before pulling away. She didn’t really want him to pull away.

“Sorry, occupational hazard, I guess.”

“Kinda weird, you know.”

“Did I just ruin this whole thing?”

“Mmm, no, I kinda like it.”

“So, Saturday?”

“Looking forward to it, Marcus.”

#marcus pike #marcus pike fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #marcus pike fluff #marcus pike fic #marcus pike au #marcus pike angst #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x you

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fairuzfan · 1 day

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Something I can't figure out about IU from a lot of conflicting information, is whether or not the school as a whole, like faculty and student body, supports Palestine. I don't understand, is it mainly an administrative problem, or is it something common with faculty/students and basically an issue to the core of the school? You've mentioned having friends who go to IU, would you be able to ask them for their opinions on this? Totally understand if not, I'd just like to hear from someone who's been there for more than a superficial tour. IU was one of the universities I've been looking at for school in the future, but if they're going to support a genocide I obviously don't want to give them thousands of tuition dollars.

This is a more complicated question than you'd think because there are multiple IU campuses across the state and each one kind of has a different vibe from what my friends tell me. I'm talking mostly about IU Bloomington, which is the main campus, but there are like 5 different campuses across Indiana.

It depends on what you're studying tbh, like I heard the business school has a huge racism problem from both students and faculty. From what I understand these days, the leadership is overwhelmingly zionist so like the president and the board of trustees and stuff. The president actually took back her initial statement on "the conflict in the middle east" (not naming any specifics) to focus solely on "Jewish Students" (in other words, emphasizing that Israel represents all jews) and didnt mention palestinians at all. Like she went out of her way to be zionist and IU Hillel all pressured her to do this, as mentioned in the article. There are a bunch of students who are Israeli zionists. Actually, the article talks about how IU students went to the kibbutz near Gaza for a tour a couple semesters ago, which to me is absolutely disgusting that a university would fund a trip to the area around a concentration camp.

Also on the IU woman's basketball team there's an Israeli student who apparently cheered on the carnage of Gaza on her social media and I don't think there's been much reprimanding of her.

At the same time, I've heard it's mostly a leadership issue. The student council I believe released some sort of statement about Gaza that was Pro-Palestine and I've seen some professors publish things in newspapers calling the entire thing ridiculous and racist. So it depends.

I will say that if you're basing your educational career off of which universities support Palestine or not, you will have a very hard time finding a school. So you'll have to do some cost-benefit analysis of what you're able to handle.

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giannasturn · 3 days

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Something About You ｡.｡:∞♡* C.S

WARNINGS: Sex, alcohol, smoking, extreme fluff

SUMMARY: Based off the song “Something About You” by Eyedress, a cabin getaway with your boyfriend Chris Sturniolo, mostly all fluff !!

THIS IS MY WORK. Do not steal!!

A/N okay this is my first story ever, so please don’t judge. I hope u enjoy it and give me a follow if you wanna see more because I will be writing more!!

🎶 Hit the road, I’m taking off with you 🎶

Y/NS POV

The fresh spring trees bloomed as Chris drove us through the windy back roads of Vermont, Chris just got his license about a month ago, so safe to say he had to do a lot of begging for me to agree to let him drive us to our weekend getaway for just the two of us.

“Eyes without a face” by Billy Idol was playing on the radio, Chris likes rap music, but I’ve always preferred more chill and enjoyable music. I sing along to the song while staring at his eyes, “IM ALL OUT OF HOPEEE” Chris rolls his eyes. “ONE MORE BAD DREAMM COULD BRING A FALL” “I don’t understand why you don’t just wanna listen to my music” Chris says. “Because it doesn’t match the vibe at all Mr rap God” I say.

🎶 check me in, pop the champagne 🎶

We arrive at the cabin and see a white van parked on the curb with a big label that says “rental maids” “Wow what a specific name!” Chris says.

Chris opens my door and I step out of the car. One of the maids standing by the van smoking a cigarette says “need any help with luggage?” “No we are okay” Chris says. “But I could use a cig if you don’t mind” My eyes widen at his question to the nice lady. “Of course!” “I don’t mind at all sweet boy” the maid says while handing him a cigarette with a lighter.

Chris and I walk the long brick path to the entry way of the cabin, I can’t help but notice how perfect Chris looks with his fluffy hair covering the perfect amount of his four head, his rosy cheeks just a bit lighter then his plump lips that sit perfectly holding the cigarette in them. “Your unreal” I say. “What do you mean” Chris says. I just look at him and smile as his eyes return back to the door in front of us.

“Chris Sturniolo and Y/n Y/l/n?” A different maid inside the house asks us. “Yes.” Chris says. “Alright we just got done cleaning, contact us if you have any issues or need anything.” The maid adds as she walks out of the cabin.

As I walk towards the living area of the cabin I see a bottle of champagne sitting on a side table. “Omg Chris look they have champagne”. I say. “Don’t you think we could sue them for giving underage children champagne” Chris says. “First of all, we aren’t children.” “Second of all, it’s free champagne!!” I say.

Chris walks over and grabs the champagne out of my hand and pops it open. The bottle makes a very loud noise as I cling to his sweater. He pours the liquid into two clear glasses that he found in a random cabinet. “One for m’lady, one for me” he says while handing me a glass and keeping one to himself.

🎶 take off her clothes by the fireplace sexy, yeah🎶

We sit in the hot tub just gathering the view behind us. The sun sits perfectly above the mountains creating the most beautiful sunset view behind the hot tub located on the wrap around pourch attached to the cabin. “It’s starting to get cold” I say while shivering. “Well there’s a beautiful fireplace inside, let’s go” Chris says, making his way out of the hot tub.

He picks me up in one swift movement, carrying my wet body inside the house. He grabs two towels, wraps one around his waist, and wraps the other one around me. “Thank you” I say. “Of course” He says, laying a gentle kiss on my lips. “Mmm” I say, laying another gentle kiss on his lips.

The cute pecks we had exchanged each other quickly turned into a make-out sesh, which quickly led to my legs straddling his waist. “Can I take this off?” Chris asks, gently pulling at my bathing suit top. “Please” I say. He gently removes to the top, laying kisses and marking me all over my chest “so God damn beautiful my love” Chris says. His words go straight down to my core, where I’m clenching nothing.

He quickly turns us over, which has him laying on top of me. I grab on the silver chain hanging from his bare chest to grab him impossibly closer as we make-out.

🎶 she looks just like a dream, the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen 🎶

Chris’s pov

We lay naked in bed as my eyes go to the clock that reads “8:38 am” I turn over to see my beautiful girlfriend laying perfectly on her side of the California king, sun gleaming down on her face making her perfect features look even more perfect if that’s possible.

She opens her eyes only to see I was already looking at her. I tuck the pieces of hair that were in her face behind her ear with my hand and whisper in her ear “you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes immediately light up and cheeks gain a pinkish tint. I pull her onto my chest and we both close our eyes and quickly go back into our slumber.

🎶 it’s so nice to wake up next to you 🎶

🎶 let’s start the day with breakfast in bed 🎶

I wake up, for the second time this morning, and the first thing I hear is y/n snoring. I giggle to myself and get out of bed gently, trying not to wake her up. I head out to the kitchen and start looking in the pantry. I grab pancake mix, and eggs since that’s the only breakfast items located in the cabin. I grab the best pan I could find and start preparing the breakfast.

With the smoke alarm almost going off 2 times, dishes and pancake mix everywhere on the counter. I finally finish preparing breakfast. I cut a strip of pancake into a smile, and put 2 over-easy eggs as eyes on the plate. I drizzle syrup over the plate, and start taking the breakfast back into the master room. “Y/N it’s time to wake up” I say while walking in the room only to see y/n already awake watching her phone. “I made breakfast babe” I say. “I know, I smelt burnt and was concerned then remembered you can’t cook” she says.

🎶 In the car cruising around with you 🎶

Y/NS POV

“Is that it?” I ask. “Yep” Chris says, loading the final suitcase into the trunk. He opens my door as I step into the car and put on my seatbelt. “I’m getting aux this time” Chris says, putting on the song “FE!N” by Travis Scott & Playboi Carti. “This is what you are for hot tubs, fireplace sex & champagne” Chris says. We both laugh as he starts driving home.

THE END…..

A/N okay this was my first story, and idk how the hell I did, it’s definitely not the best but I tried and I hope you guys enjoyed it a little at least. Love youuuu

TAGLIST!! ( comment if u wanna be added ! )

@bernardsbendystraws

#Spotify #chris sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #fandom #fanfic #viralpost #something about you #music #y/n #christopher sturniolo

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mrs-snape5984 · 1 day

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„You’re not alone, together we stand. I’ll be by your side, you know, I’ll take your hand…”

“Just stay strong, ‘cause you know, I’m here for you…” (“Keep holding on” by Avril Lavigne)

I decided to set a trigger warning on this post: Miscarriages, high risk pregnancies, ICSI treatments, traumatic wish for a child journey, hysterectomy. So, please feel free to skip the following x paragraphs, if you feel triggered by these topics. Thank you.

Those of you lovely people of Snapedom, who know me and my way of blogging about Severus and my personal hardships might have noticed, that I’m mostly venting about ME/CFS and the crumbs, which are left from my former life. Since I can’t do much about it right now, I decided to “fix” another one of my countless issues…an internal wound, which desperately needs to heal!

As some of you might remember, I’m a mother of three wonderful children. There are my eleven years old twins and then there’s my six years old daughter. My pregnancies were the result of a long and painful journey of ICSI treatments, several miscarriages, way too many tears, about ten surgeries - due to Endometriosis and myomas - which eventually ended in a hysterectomy four years ago.

My desperate wish for a child led me to some decisions and life choices, which I probably wouldn’t have made, if I would have been clearer…maybe more stable in my whole mindset. One of these choices was a totally over rushed marriage to a narcissistic man, who made me believe, that he wanted the same. Gosh…I’ve been so desperate and so fucking stupid! Well, at least I got my twins because of him.

I went to the appointment for the transfer of the embryos on my own. He didn’t want to join the procedure…and I should have known, that he was already saying “goodbye” back then.

The pregnancy was rough. I had to lie in bed from the 8th week of pregnancy until they were born as premature babies in the 29th week of pregnancy. The last 4,5 months of pregnancy, I had to stay in the hospital…fighting for my babies’ lives all on my own. The father of them had decided, that he didn’t want to be a father anymore…wow…

I don’t want to go further into details about this phase of my life…at least not yet. I commissioned my friend @alinearthp for this project and asked her for several drawings of the different phases of my journey to become a mother. This artwork will be the start of my healing process…and I’m incredibly grateful, that you’re doing this for me, Aline! I know, that you’ll need time to draw all these wishes of mine, but I’ll be patiently waiting for each of your breathtaking pieces of art, my dear!

So, for the next couple of months, Severus will accompany me on my path through this phase of my past…just like he did back then, when I spent months in a hospital bed in “Trendelenburg” position. During this period of my life - and to be honest, in so many other phases of the past 21 years, as well - I clung to my imagination of Severus in order to feel less helpless and alone. His resilience and determination have always been my inspiration to keep going through all these hardships, which life kept throwing at me. He’s the love of my life…and he will forever be the guiding light in my darkness.

🖤Severus & Julia🖤

🖤Sevy & Jules🖤

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invaderarizona · 2 days

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Trolls and Smurfs movies comparison (plus with other movies on the side)

- In the first movie, it was basically more like the same old plot as the rest of the Smurfs episodes. All about nothing but villains capturing them with cages, planning to eat and the main heroes just go after to save them. But unlike the Smurfs, Trolls own Gargamel is a one time character and will never come back after being eaten alive. But also with Bridget’s subplot being mostly likely a Cinderella story.

- In the second movie, it was kinda like Smurfs Lost Village with the whole plot of founding out that they're other kinds of their race. The male Smurfs and Smurfette found out that their other Smurfs who are girls but with no backstories of why they're separated whatsoever. While Poppy found that there are other kinds of trolls but with different taste of music outside of pop (their main kind). But unlike the Smurfs, they do have a backstory of why these trolls tribes are separated for. Plus Barb's villain plot was more likely Thanos's plot from the Infinity War.

- In the third movie, it was kinda like both of half of The Smurfs 2 and Lost Village again plus with Uglydolls.

For The Smurfs 2, both involved dealing with families issues, the main female protagonists gets sisters of their own and the main villains stealing the creatures essences along with another rescue mission and have villainous twins. Except in The Smurfs 2, they handle it pretty poorly done since Patrick and his stepfather are the poor man version of Branch and John Dory (if they were actual father and son) and Vexy and Hackus are the lamer villain version of Velvet and Veneer (if their beta Bergen designs were kept in the officials) but while Smurfette and Vexy are kinda like the original Poppy and Viva (which both of their dynamics are alright and equally the same to me).

It’s also like Lost Village again where they discovered that there is another lost village of Trolls but this time actual lost Pop trolls living in a golf course with another backstory that made King Peppy look even worse than World Tour. Finally it’s also like Uglydolls where the main villains are the pretty dolls and the main heroes are the cute little creatures likes based off on ugly creatures and both movies are just based off on toys.

As for Trolls 4, if I get my prediction right for the Smurfs comparison. I say it would either be like “Dances with the Smurfs” (from a South Park episode) where it’s a Veneer redemption arc and Velvet’s revenge arc. Even though that episode was mainly an Avatar parody. Or in case, it’ll just be more like of whatever the next Smurfs movie plot gonna be like in 2025 (since I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just another payback on the Smurfs again after the rivalry between World Tour and Lost Village and because of James Cordon).

#dreamworks trolls #trolls band together #trolls world tour #trolls

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princess-of-the-corner · 3 days

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Glad you found that AU idea fascinating! Its probably my most well developed conceptually even if the plot structure is a mess XD Also slight correction it should have been Six-Teen Heroes cos pun.

The team is: Dragon - Kagami Tiger - Juleka Snake - Luka Horse - Nino Bee - Chloe Fox - Lila

Marinette will eventually get the Mouse, but Mullo divided themselves into several thousand when escaping Scarlet Sovereign (Gabriel) and took awhile to both come back together & pick a user.

There's some noted shifts in some of the powers because of both the changed circumstances & adapted world building/story needs.

Horse can do solo teleports, not just portals. Mouse can duplicate itself or multiply other things. Tiger is more like manufacturing an explosion via chemical reaction. Dragon is mostly the same, but it can channel lesser attacks through the sword. Snake is literal, you only get 1 second chance not infinite, but you also get excellent premonition. Bee can 'subjugate' objects, essentially imbuing them with magic that lets Chloe command & direct them. Turtle can make its wearer vastly more durable rather than just shields & also create a wider variety of protections and traps. Fox is a bit iffy, I keep oscillating on either it being able to tap into people's minds to make mirages, or to super charge illusions and make them real.

Also users can utilize their powers several times (Barring Second Chance) if they do more small scale versions of them. But doing so reduces their overall energy pool, meaning they may not be able to do a full power version.

For example:

Bee can sting five enemies for one minute, or one enemy for five minutes, or command objects more easily than it can bind living foe, ETC.

Horse can single person teleport and depending of mix of distance can do this many times, but long distances or too many & they become unable to open a portal.

NOTES:

Some other factors I like for the AU:

The Kwmai while not malevolent do have their own morals, ideals or goals not totally aligned with Fu's. Though all want to free their family. This informs some of their choices.

Tomoe Tsurugi has the butterfly and is opposed to Gabriel but is not on the Heroes side, if anything she wants to take them over or take their Miraculous. This is also why Kagami is in Paris early.

Lila was picked cos she's good at spinning lies at the drop of a hat & Trixx is amused. But Trixx also primarily uses the truth to manipulate people & is trying to basically trick Lila into genuine heroism.

There's a much stronger focus on trying to reduce civilian causalities in this AU as there is no Miracle Cure available. So the team tends to be divided up into the main fighters & emergency evacuation/defense.

Scarlet Sovereign mostly uses what he calls Charm Constructs at first & later upgrades to "Shikigami". The former involve using a charm to transform a mundane objects into an automaton, while the latter is basically creating a quasi magic 'spirit' to fight for him.

Debating Audrey having the Peacock and doing her own thing with a fixed version, or otherwise being a problem too, but not sure.

One theme I want to explore is how secret identity and powers affects behavior.

Like Chloe as Queen Bee is much more responsible and respectable, but this does not bleed over into her civilian life for awhile. Or how Juleka feels so confident as Tigress she gives up on pursuing Rose as herself & tries to do so as a hero exclusively. Or how Nino is not above utilizing the Horse for more childish or selfish ends, but also sort of questions if power corrupts, ETC.

All of them have identity, self esteem, trauma or behavioral issues is what I am getting at XD

Oh dope!

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badassindistress · 9 months

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do you perhaps have a pattern for that gentleman's corset? asking for a friend

Hi!

Unfortunately, I do not have a pattern to give you, but I do have a way for you/your friend to draft your own.

(If you really do just want a ready pattern, I'm pretty sure my #binding stays or #flattening stays tags include some etsy shops that have binders with corsetry methods)

I'm presuming you are here because that 5 year old post of the binder with elizabethan stays method is going around again (left). I've also since made a pair of stays that flatten nicely as well (right).

The left pattern was drafted with the free Custom Corset Pattern Generator from elizabethancostume.net. You just input a little extra breathing room in the waist and the bust measurement you can comfortably squish your chest down to.

However, that was many years ago and I have since had more success using a Mariah Pattie's circular drafting technique. It has so much less measuring and math and it gave me a better fit.

Here's my post on that technique, along with her video.

And here's my post amending that to a binder instead of stays.

In short, all you need is:

a large piece of paper

a string

a pen

a measuring tape and

the measurement of your waist circumference

the measurement of your chest bound down circumference

the measurement of the vertical distance between your waist and chest.

You draw out the pattern following the video + my explanation post (this takes me about 30 minutes vs the hour or two for drafting the usual way). Then I make it longer with a cm or two at the bottom and at least 3 cm on top. One change I've made since that post was to pinch out a little dart at the arms to make it lie smoother under clothes. One day I'm going to experiment with adding straps to this design, but today is not that day.

I kept mine quite low, because I wanted a 18th century round chested look, but with straps and longer stays you could probably go flatter (depending on how much you have to flatten of course).

This is what it looks like under a waistcoat tailored according to a menswear manual:

i'll also drop here the posts of other people who've I've talked about their binders using corsetry and tailoring methods: horsehair canvas summer binder, there's another one about how convenient ribbons are for easy adjustment but i can't find it (EDIT: found it!)

Good luck and do let me know if you've advanced this research any further!

#the stays are for a femme in historical gentleman's clothes looks #both are first tries #and fine for an afternoon #but not fitted enough to me for daily wear #but that's mostly because of my back issues #the chest compression bit is fine #this is as ever a work in progress #let me know if i need to explain some other things #i've been planning for about a year to draft a new pattern and collect all the information in one post #but again #not today #hope this helps!#binding stays #flattening stays #gentleman's corset

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americankimchi · 2 months

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it's so hard to take star wars seriously nowadays because i'll watch someone get skewered by a lightsaber and then somehow walk it off with a bacta patch and a slap on the ass. like you're telling me a weapon that can carve furrows into foot-thick solid durasteel doors, dripping melted slag in its wake, when applied to the flesh of a sentient being leaves behind nothing more than superficial damage. like be so ffr. "it cauterizes the wound instantly" this is not a little cut. this is not minor burns. you were IMPALED BY A BEAM OF PLASMA. your ORGANS have been COOKED. your BLOOD has BOILED. your BONES were INCINERATED. what are you TALKING ABOUTTTTTT

#personal #I CANNOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY #you do not grow up with the OT and the PT watching people get cut down instantly and then just #GESTURES FURIOUSLY AT THE MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF PEOPLE GETTING A LIGHTSABER THROUGH THE GUT #AND JUST WALKING IT OFF!!!!!!!! SOMETIMES RIGHT AFTER THE FACT!!!!!!!!!!!!#LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN #WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT #i tried desperately to justify it in the ST movies because rey was established as having like #anakin-levels of force bullshit so why not. i mean anakin couldn't force heal for shit but whatever.#it's not like him having the ability to force heal would've neatly sidestepped the MAIN CONFLICT OF EPISODE 3 OR ANYTHING #STILL MADE MY EYEBROWS RAISE WHEN SHE HEALED KYLO. BUT I TRIED TO LOOK PAST IT. OUT OF GOOD FAITH. MOSTLY DESPERATION.#BUT WHAT! DO! YOU! MEAN!!!!! THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WALK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMPALEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY LIGHTSABER!!!!!!!!!!#ON THE REGULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#I GUESS QUI GON DYING WAS A FUCKING. SKILL ISSUE????????#????????????????????????#i need to go lie down.#dont talk 2 me about maul coming back in tcw it's an old wound i refuse to examine #''but in legends—'' i put my hand over your mouth so lovingly. No. <3 #i love star wars SO MUCH but they need 2 stop impaling people on lightsabers if they dont want them to be dead #LOP OFF A LIMB INSTEAD #okay im done. thank u for letting me yell it's all out of my system now #im back on the ''i love star wars'' train again <33

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ladyluscinia · 5 months

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OFMD fandom has me thinking about Protagonist Centered Morality, like, in general.

I feel like we only call it that when we think it's been handled wrong and are criticizing it, even though - let's be honest - we have all bought into some degree of protagonist centered morality in our favorite show. Like. It's the beating heart behind the very idea of a Mook - the faceless darkside minion that your heroes can destroy without any moral consequence for that action because who gives a shit? It's basically inescapable in every cop-show (or reskinned cop show like spn), chosen one story, action movie, revenge quest, underdog tale... we fucking love it when the universe agrees "yeah they earned that" and will generally just roll our eyes at people going "ok but you know your fictional murderers are doing bad things, right?"

Until we don't.

And, like, as an offshoot of this... 99% of the time, when you're criticizing a show for its protagonist centered morality, the most straightforward way to get your point across is complaining about whatever happened. "X did Y and then we're just supposed to forget about it?" Or "X is being such a hypocrite about Z!" And then someone else (real or hypothetical) pushes back with some point about how the story / other characters / etc. don't treat this as a problem and that kicks off the framing criticisms. But is it really about what they did?

People will object to the protagonist centered framing of actions they don't consider that serious, and be satisfied or unconcerned with the framing of actions they find borderline unforgivable. Protagonist centered morality can casually handwave (or seriously penalize) the whole spectrum of morally questionable actions from being a shit in high school to committing massive war crimes. Sometimes the primary complaint is that the protagonist already took a stance against this action, so now being fine with doing it themselves is hypocritical and out of character, and the problem with protagonist centered morality seems to be more that it's letting the OOC part slide.

The concept engages with genuine criticism of a characterization or character's actions as a shorthand, but the part it's actually complaining about is closer to feeling the narrative failed somewhere on a meta level to calibrate how much the audience should care about this event (and what level of in-universe caring would then satisfy).

It's not (at least usually) a fancy way of putting forward character crit of the good guys - most people who want to do that are just going to do so directly. If anything it has more in common with being upset at a story for breaking your Suspension of Disbelief (usually in the arena of character relationships).

#media #tropes #analysis #fandom culture #suspension of disbelief #protagonist centered morality #i'm mostly just rambling here after seeing lots of back and forth flame stuff just bounce entirely off the points being made #like you can't argue someone around to your pov on this by doubling down on how there's no issue until they make one #or defending your fave from perceived attacks. it's not *about* blorbo it's about the meta narrative #see: criticizing the fact the spn universe treats dean winchester's pov as divine law is not really deancrit #in fact my poor blorbo is actively denied character growth because he's fundamentally no allowed to be wrong #ladyluscinia

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q-morning-crew · 9 months

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You know, I've been seeing a lot of posts about Wilbur coming back to the qsmp, and I'm conflicted.

Obviously, Wilbur coming back would be great in most aspects. It would be awesome to see him interacting with the lore, the new members and the new dynamics the server created.

The one problem I see with him coming back is, funny enough, also the main reason people want him to return so badly: tallulah.

Tallulah. His daughter. The reason Wilbur logged on more than twice and pretty much the only reason he is still semi present in the lore despite not having logged on for months.

On the surface, it seems like Wilbur returning would be great for tallulah, wouldn't it?

Wilbur has not logged on for months. Tallulah has been alive for over 100 days, and Wilbur has been there for 8 of them.*

Tallulah sees chayanne as her brother. She calls philza papa. She sleeps in the basement she and chayanne decorated every night, her bed next to his. She has her own projects with phil. She hangs out with him (or bad) practically every day.

Philza can recognize all of her mannerisms and quirks, he knows how to properly accommodate her, he can tell whenever her admin plays any character and whenever any other admin plays her.

If Wilbur came back, what would happen to all of that?

Would she return to her room in the tower? Would chayanne have to sleep alone in their Garden of Hope and Music? Would she have to start calling phil "abuelito" again, after getting used to calling him papa?

In addition, Wilbur doesn't know tallulah the way she is now. He doesn't know the island the way it is now.

One thing I've seen other people point out and still haunts me is: if Wilbur had returned for the election dinner, would he have recognised the fake tallulah as fake? It breaks my heart to say this, but... I don't think he would.

The only way I can see his return not completely disrupting tallulah's existing dynamics is if Wilbur moved in with phil and let her keep calling him papa. I doubt that would happen, but fingers crossed

*not counting appearance on other people's streams because I have no way to count that

#it probably won't happen but i can hope #phil has been adamant on not letting other people move in #and wil wouldn't step back and let phil take care of her #hes just not that type of roleplayer #wilbur inserts himself into a situation learns and adapts to it and then find a way to take center stage #im not faulting him for it it's just that he naturally dominates any scene he's in #my main issue is actually something i glossed over in the post #chayanne and tallulah #theyve been living together and sharing a room and being siblings for ages #and the idea of tallulah having to go back to her old room #and chayanne suddenly being alone in his room which now feels so much emptier #i can't handle it #it makes me not want wilbur back #which sucks because i do mostly want him back #wilbur soot #philza #tallulah #chayanne #qsmp #qsmp wilbur #qsmp phil #qsmp philza #qsmp tallulah #qsmp chayanne

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aroaessidhe · 8 months

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2023 reads

Wren Martin Ruins It All

YA contemporary romcom

student council president proposes to cut the school valentine’s dance because it's expensive and alienating for queer/single people, but instead the vice president (who he adamantly hates for being perfect) suggests they get sponsored by a popular friendship app

he decides to secretly give the app a go to “know his enemy” but ends up making a friend, and starts to catch feelings for him...and maybe realises the guy he hates isn't actually so bad either...

ace mlm MC, aro-questioning side character

I loved this so much! great MC with a funny internal monologue

despite the title most issues or misunderstanding are sorted out pretty quickly rather than drawn out for the drama and plot. which is refreshing

I was a little nervous about the concept of ‘ace hates the school dance and wants it shut down’ - there's a bit of a stereotype of aspecs being boring Fun Haters - but I think it did a really good job of showing the specifics of why, not dragging it out, and also that he’s just a snarky fun hater in general with not much weight behind it.

There’s also no discovering of sexuality or big coming out (just one-on-one) - he already knows he’s ace, and it comes up naturally a bunch, talking about how dances etc can feel isolating, the way the friendship app called buddy being called ace-friendly can feel infantilizing, avoiding dating because of the stress of having to check upfront if people about it, etc.

I would have liked to know more about his relationship with his mum? Though I understand that it’s clearly something he avoids thinking about - going too deep into his relationship with his parents might have changed the tone a lot. but still.

ARC from netgalley thanks netgalley

#wren martin ruins it all #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #asexual books #ngl as soon as i was like oh this boy is elliot schafer coded i was a lost cause #(re aro character - I have noticed a bit of a trend of “maybe aromantic but I don’t like labels” in YA #contemporary recently that I don’t love - but it’s not an inherent issue with this book)#I’ve read a lot of YA contemporary books where the portrayal of social media and made up apps doesn’t feel right; but this one did to me!#maybe it’s because it’s from the POV of someone’s who’s cynical about it.#(and types no punctuation no capitalisation…I could see my online-communication style reflected back at me…)#Even the confrontation at the end where feelings are confessed isn’t made into some big dramatic thing in front of everyone with no #communication. But it also doesn’t feel emotionally anticlimactic.#(maybe a couple of the reveals in the confession felt unnecessarily dramatic to me? like the story would have functioned without them. )#but it's common for comtemporary ya to overdramatise silly things for the plot and im glad this didn't #possibly this is just my adult opinion about teen narratives.#The adult characters (even though they’re mostly background) feel like real people.#and it has some good friendships. also he has chickens and they are very good #it did become increasingly obvious that it was the same ppl but also they’re emotionally stupid. and like….it's part of the genre.#we all know this going in.

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mediumsizedpidegon · 1 year

Text

Imagine: you are Idril and you hate your cousin viscerally and this hate is later justified in every way possible. He is a monster and a traitor and as unlike your belovéd aunt as possible. And he dies, and he does not come to the Halls of Mandos and does not reembody. Perhaps you are horrible for thinking this: but you are glad. You are glad he is gone and unable to return. He was a nightmare who crawled into your stainless city and tore it down when it was least expected. He made your father love him, and then he betrayed him, and you will never forgive nor forget it. Now there is no way he can hurt you, your husband, your son, your people– and there is no one he can betray.

and then your aunt reembodies.

Your aunt reembodies and yes, she died for that monster, but she was blameless for she was forced to marry evil and birth evil and love evil. But now she's reborn without those cobwebs of enchantment and you are prepared for her grief and rage over having been controlled. She will not be the same. But she will be back, at long last.

Except. she comes back and none of these things happen.

She doesn't care that her son is evil and treacherous, more his father's son than hers. She doesn't care. She grieves for your city and in the next breath she wishes for her son's return. So you love your aunt and your aunt loves the creature of your nightmares– the betrayer that nearly killed your son and brought your home to ruin. So you love your aunt but she does not listen when you tell her to let her son go because she never saw–

and so your aunt leaves. and it feels like betrayal. like your cousin ruining your family further from beyond the grave.

she still visits, but no one in the family knows where she lives. She is strange– both the steely eyed aunt you remember and yet sometimes she looks like she has never seen you before. you try to break the enchantment that she must be under to keep looking for your Marred cousin, but there is nothing for you to find. all your trying does is send her into a rage the likes you have only seen once before: when she dragged your father away from following your mother in death for your sake.

you love your aunt, and most days, you are sure your aunt loves you.

but you cannot understand her, and in this you have lost her as surely as when she died.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #aredhel #idril celebrindal #maeglin #our long heritage of heresy #in the heresy verse things are so so complicated between aredhel and idril because neither of their feelings about maeglin are wrong exactl #but maeglin being GONE– nowhere in Arda– is really the straw that breaks the camel's back for aredhel #and all idril is seeing is the maeglin issue which is a significant part of it but there's other shit in there as well on aredhel's end!!#my favorite dynamic for aredhel amongst the nolofinwions is that they love her but on a fundamental level they do not understand her #and she loves them back. so she forgives them for it (mostly) and says nothing of it. she leaves when it gets too much #but she always comes back #except reembodied aredhel has had an entire history created about what happened to her after she left gondolin WITHOUT HER INPUT #and BOY did they get it WRONG #and it is SUFFOCATING #here lies my three defining traits for aredhel: 1) she has been mistranslated her entire life from the very first time her mother held her #and said Irissë meant “Desired Lady” instead “Lady of Desire”/“Lady who Desires”#2) aredhel has little forgiveness and little pity but for those she cares about she will let (minor) mistakes go #(no matter how these little things build up and rot and fester)#and 3) aredhel built the enchantments that hid Gondolin and her craft is threefold: illusions and hunting and always. always. freedom.#apparently no one in her family can understand this. even after thousands of years and her DEATH #and unfortunately for everyone else reembodied aredhel reaches her limit and finally finally snaps #and this looks like it has come out of NOWHERE to the nolofinwions #shit's messy!#<- should be the slogan of Aman #my posts

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