#like even as far as interests go lol i am just ..... dead everywhere

[bbygirl-aemond]

You may already be aware, but I actually found ppl going back and forth on Reddit about a post you'd made on here (re Viserys being a shite parent). It's under r/HouseOfTheDragon in case you ever wanted to check it out. I just recognized your name, as I follow you and it was shared as a screenshot from here.

lmao i will never get over how wild reposting on the internet actually is. that fucker has over a thousand comments and i had no idea until you told me just now! literally made a reddit account to try to add my voice to the din just to encourage people to discuss on the original platform so i can see but tbh people on reddit are a lot meaner than tumblr so i won't be mad if it doesn't get too many upvotes.

reddit's responses to this post is such an interesting case study in the polarization that's happening everywhere online. i get SO MANY accusations of being wildly biased from supporters of both "teams" all the time and it's funny because like am i too team green or too team black bc i can't be both right? mostly i think it's because people get really defensive when you criticize a character and assume it means you hate them. like bruh we are adults with big girl emotions can't it be a little more complex than that?

when i say i think viserys is a bad parent, i'm not saying it as team green propaganda. i've said before that rhaenyra is the rightful ruler and that i absolutely adore her as a character (let's just say aemond isn't my only babygirl). there's a reason i've written 100k+ words of fanfic designing a political scenario where she'll be able to happily rule without any of her children dying. spoiler alert: it's not because i hate her and think she's a bad ruler. and she's far from the only character on team black i love: daemon, jacaerys, lucerys, and baela all come to mind.

it's also really interesting to me that people see my opinion about viserys and, even though i literally did not mention rhaenyra, assume that i'm somehow shitting on her. it just goes to show how much they stand blindly by one team or another. that to criticize one member of their "team" feels to them like you're criticizing every member. like baby, i'm not the one making it about teams: you are! honestly, i understand why the team mentality was a good marketing move, but it really has been the death of critical thinking in this fandom. there are aspects of both that we're meant to root for, just as there are aspects of both we're meant to hate. none of these people are objectively morally good, and that's what makes it interesting, so why are we trying to pretend otherwise?

so while yes, i don't like viserys, why would i extend that dislike to rhaenyra? it's not like she forced him at gunpoint to do the things i'm criticizing him for lol. in fact, i think viserys did her just as dirty most of the time. i have another post in the works about this, but he neglected her for her entire childhood, groomed her best friend and dealt with telling her in the worst possible way, and made her heir in a bid for her affection yet did none of the actual work to honor her as a ruler. he could have made her his hand but instead he made her pour his wine?

now, again, just because we dislike part of something does not mean it's all bad. do i think viserys is generally quite a bad parent and person? absolutely. did i also cry ugly tears in the scene where he forces himself up from his literal deathbed to defend his daughter? yes. these two things can coexist.

also, because reddit is reddit, there are a bunch of comments that just miss my point about alicent and aemma entirely. i've already responded to those in a post here so i won't beat a dead horse too much. but to paraphrase: viserys married alicent because he liked her specifically not for duty or he would've married someone who wouldn't horrify the entire small council; and aemma didn't need to be alive and conscious for the pain she was put through at the end of her life. the things he did to his wives weren't necessary and i don't think we should be pretending they were.

lastly, it's really funny to me how many people incorrectly assumed i was a man in the comments. i'm genuinely the girliest girl to ever girl in real life (makeup jewelry and tits to the gods, sorority girly, the whole nine yards, i love it) and it gave me such whiplash. there's a joke to be made here about trying to weaponize male privilege somewhere.

#hotd #house of the dragon #viserys targaryen #viserys i targaryen #viserys #viserys i #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra #alicent hightower #alicent #aemma arryn #aemma #show #books #team green #team black #hotd meta #meta

[rocketturtle4]

The Eclipse in progress thoughts

because I have to say something or I won't stop watching

Okay so I don't normally post half baked thoughts but The Eclipse so far has been a RIDE so have some dot points for me to come back to later (I just finished Ep 5 I started yesterday, I am trying to let the episodes breathe at least a little and not give in to the urge to go without stopping)

ALSO I KNOW LITERALLY NOTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW (except that it's good and I should watch it) (AND THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT)

(Also I finally realised MDL has a 'cast and crew' listing which means I can check waht the actors/characters names actually are lol - I did not previously know this)

Why doesn't anyone know Ayan's Uncle is dead? - who told them he transferred? did he transfer before dieing so this is partially true or was it all a cover up

Why does Akk call him a traitor? is it only because he transferred (and abandoned him) or did something else happen?

The fact that this is about the rights of queer people and their self-expression is being broadcasted in so many ways including:

Our three protestors queerness (obvs)

The probably queer uncle ?commiting suicide - given the higher rates of suicide in queer people (and especially queer youth) this is a poignant starting point

Diversity Cafe

Our class president Thua being gay (I'll come back to him) and Khan's concern about him getting 'corrupted' by Ayan

At least 2 of our key disciplinarians also liking boys

Akk comfort with his own non-straightness and the automatic assumption he is therefore responsible

I had assumed Akk was responsible for burning the posters, end of episode 5 seems to confirm this, does this mean he's responsible for the plant pot though? or the car (the car seems a stretch, though his face here:

has me all kinds of concerned

It's giving me: Burn it down if they can't conform because I need to conform to survive vibes

although he's also protective of Ayan already so I can feel how his internal conflict is going to get MESSY

Likewise this dude:

Is going to have more layers I can tell

we've already got family pressure with an obviously oppressive stepdad hmm

I actually think he may be behind the three protestors, and maybe stealing the diary? I don't think I saw him doing the martial arts...actually I didn't see Neo's character either hmmm but I'm sure they're not in cahoots

He is involved in the discussion of the diary in a way that makes me even more suspicious

either this is Khan trying to keep him safe or dude is about to get seriously corrupted, I'm leaning option 1 but who knows

Is more going to have happened with Not!Max the previous head prefect? (I'd never seen him before Be My Favorite and now he's showing up everywhere)

Wat ALSO has family pressure wow this show is leaning hard into duty to our parents as well. (Also opposite vibes from DBK with this character depsite the family pressure)

Khan seems to genuinely believe in the curse which is interesting, has Akk been convincing him or was it previously not Akk?

Is Akk trying to support within the rules because he can see their importance (al a Kongpob from SOTUS) or is he conforming because they helped him and so he thinks they help everyone (Al a Arthrit from SOTUS)?

THE LAYERS

Also I'm sorry but the way BOTH Neo and Khaotungs characters are SO OPPOSITE their characters in Tohnhon Chonlatee is giving me all the weird vibes. It feels too opposite to be uninentional even though it probably is.

This has helped my concentration, I might have to do it more often, I'll go do some actual work now.

#The Eclipse #rturts is wondering #the eclipse the series #roc reacts to the eclipse

[georgiapeach30513]

I'm going to counterpoint that American Psycho anon with Matt Damon's character in the Drive Away Dolls movie. I wouldn't say his role in this film (no spoilers but it is readable on the film's wiki) is particularly level with his current career. I mean he was just in Oppenheimer...lol. Can we also mention him appearing in the Dunkin commercial with Ben for the Super Bowl? But, he's Matt Damon. He can do what he wants.

Here's the thing: Actors will do the things they do because they want to or it's an opportunity or they were convinced for whatever reason. Or they just needed something on their resume. Or it could be a million other reasons.

We don't know for sure Chris is playing the Priest guy. It can be inferred because in the PR of the movie, he's listed as playing a cult leader and cult leaders are usually akin to religious leaders, and Priest Dean makes sense. However, these are simply context clues, like Jen has mentioned previously. You don't know what his entire role will be. I don't think having raunchy sex onscreen, if his character does do this, means it's downgrading his career. I think if anything it's meant to be comical, but maybe people should watch Drive Away Dolls and see what type of vibe Ethan and Tricia were going for. I think it'll be in the same realm in Honey Don't. But it could also be completely different. Who knows what's going on in that brain of Coen.

And I'm going to be dead honest...I recently tried to watch the Pam and Tommy show and I was extremely turned off by it and everyone involved. TBF, I think Seth Rogen and co are way too old to be doing something like a show about a sex tape....and the fact that they needed to put Tommy talking to his penis. To me....that was unnecessary and not something I would do if I was trying to be taken seriously. It somewhat worked for the Awards circuit, and the show and the cast got recognized. But if you asked me if on paper, a show focusing on a sextape that gets stolen of two famous people would garner Awards...I would have rolled my eyes. But you really never know. Until the finished product.

And...last controversial take. Everything Everywhere All at once. I am a huge Michelle Yeoh fan. But I did not enjoy this film. There was a butt plugs fight scene...(For anyone who hasn't seen it, well...yeah) Again, it worked out for the Academy and for viewers, but I couldn't take it seriously. But I don't hold it against the actors because this is something unexpected and out of pocket. For Michelle, I wouldn't have expected her at this point in her career to be doing a film like this but glad she did. Because it got her the Oscar. And the mainstream recognition she's deserved, in my opinion, for a very long time.

Again - I am not saying that Honey Don't is going to be some Oscar darling because I'm going to go ahead and say it's not. Lol. But it is coming from the brainchild of an auteur Oscar nominated/winning director whose made some very out of pocket and unique films in his career. I'd more like to ask Margaret Qualley what made her decide to sign onto a sequel before the first one even came out.

Whatever happens, I think this will be at the very least, an interesting role for Chris.

You do bring up a great point with Matt Damon. I feel throughout most of his career Matt has been a very respected actor, and he’s still done some raunchy comedies. Dogma, anyone?

And we don’t know, and may never know why Chris chose this role. At the end of the day, he’s going to do what is best for him and his career. And we can continue to watch, or don’t. And that’s okay. Once upon a time I was a HUGE Elijah Wood fan. I still adore him, but I don’t check out every single project he does.

Okay, so as far as the talking penis in Pam and Tommy, that was literally taken from Tommy’s memoir. And unfortunately sometimes the shock value is what people do. And Seth Rogan is one that loves a good shocking moment. And those moments can cause buzz. Buzz is what makes people want to watch something. I work with a lot of people, from a lot of different walks of life. And one of my clients, has no idea who Sebastian is, but heard enough about P&T and decided to watch it. She now is a Sebastian fan.

I have yet to see Everything Everywhere All at Once, but @nancydrewwouldnever told me I need to check it out more than once 😂 I’m currently finishing up the Fall of the House of Usher, yes, I know I’m late. And look at what it earned Michelle! So good on her!

We don’t know what Honey, Don’t will entail. We aren’t even 100% sure if Priest Dean is Chris, I think it’s a great guess. But he will be doing a panel this Saturday, and I’m going out on a limb and predicting that he will mention his upcoming projects. He has a lot of work he can talk about this time.

And what we can say for certain, is with Honey, Don’t, Chris is stepping out of his comfort zone. He’s taking a risk. And this is what I and several other people have asked for ALL last year. So I am excited to see what his future holds.

[luxmaeastra]

Sebastian rose an eyebrow at Natalia watching Vale walk away. She ignored him, finishing her audit of supplies.

"Is there something you need Sebastian? You're in my light."

"I never pegged you for someone who was boring Natalia."

He slowly smiled, happy to see he had her entire attention now. Even if she was glaring at him, he understood that. Everything else...those thoughts are night that plagued him? He rather this than them. It's not like and Natalia would ever be anything more thorns in each other's sides. He has no interest in going back to the childhood versions of them, as far as he was concerned those versions of them had died with their parents.

"You going to elaborate or just stare at me like a fool?"

He shrugged tossing the apple he'd been eating into the fire. He liked the hiss it made when it hit the fire. Maybe Andulvar was right and he had a unhealthy obsession with fire...but then his magic was connected to lighting and storms...did anyone think anything different?

"I have nothing else to add. I just thought you had better taste. Is he as stiff in bed as he is everywhere else?"

He laughed, jumping when she tried to cut him.

--------

He grinned at Vale, teeth shining. He could hear Andulvar's quiet snicker next to him. Proteus and Devlon weren't hiding their grins though.

"You heard me Vale. Did she come crying -"

Sebastian gracefully unfolded himself from where he's been sitting on the ground. The sword pointing at his neck didn't give him pause. They couldn't do shit without him, Vale wouldn't dare kill him and risk Neculai's wrath.

"I thought she was exaggerating but you really do act like a mangy dog don't you -"

"Are you flirting? Are you going to disciple me Vale? Should I get a leash?"

His grin widened with the laughter behind him. Vale may be had the noble backing, but the soldiers? The grunts knew him, they followed him. And he wouldn't let some stuffy noble push him around. Especially when deep down Vale exemplified everything about his old life that he'd hated. He thank the Wyrd his parents had never forced him into a box. Maybe whenever he had children he'd continue the trend. If -

//well we have more drama and lore 👀. Seb says he wasn't nice when Lilia appeared in the picture either. He was the one to find her, and scare her so lol he says he left her for dead till Vale saved her 👀//

Sometimes she really wanted to drive one of her tools through Sebastian's thick skull, the golden boy who had to poke at anything that was not to his liking. Someone he didn't like, or they don't something he didn't like.

The insinuation he was making made her blood boil, the fact that she would even. She had been walking across the area when she heard the sound, her attention drawn to the scene that was unfolding between Sebastian and his cronies. That was how they acted, his little attack dogs backing him up.

She sighed. There was a hesitation in whether she should help him, a pause if she should step in. But ruining Sebastian's day made her's better. When he was busy gloating and prodding Vale, she picked up a stick and moved quickly their way. It didn't take much for her to quicken her movement, move past the others and smack his legs out from under him.

"Are you done being a dick? Or mind exactly who I am?" Especially after the dickish comment he made to her. He was lucky she hadn't shared wit ith others, not that his little soldiers would care. They all flocked together, they thought it was amazing.

#Muse | Natalia

[cainightfics]

wow, you have an interesting perspective on the future of humanity. it's somewhat uplifting and relieving. all problems seem insignificant. i had similar thoughts about the future of my country. but i never thought about global destruction. thanks for sharing this information, i want to look deeper and maybe recognize some imminent signs of global doom lol

haha "interesting" is one word for it i guess. dont even get me started or ill go on forever but yeah im 100% a collapsenik doomer. if you want some overviews of the basics of this stuff you could check out the podcast "breaking down: collapse" or "it could happen here." unfortunately a lot of the discussion surrounding these issues is america-centric, and ignores a lot of very big global issues that are clear harbingers of collapse. the famine in yemen, for example, or last years hunga tonga–hunga haʻapai volcano eruption, which was more powerful than any nuclear bomb and released enough vapour into the atmosphere to speed up global warming exponentially. like i say, its not just one issue. its thousands of issues, happening everywhere all the time, creating feedback loops which exponentially spiral out of control. We Are Fucked lol.

to put things into perspective, even if all of global production stopped right now and we found a way to hit climate goals of 2C warming (which we won't, and depending on how far back you measure the baseline, we've already gone past 2C warming since the pre-industrial era), the feedback loops of climate change will nonetheless create such high concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that by 2100 every human on earth will experience such low oxygen levels that they will all be mentally disabled.

there is nothing that can stop the upcoming shitstorm. theres too many problems, and even if we all worked together to solve one, the others will kill us anyway. i'd say once oil production begins to halt (which is estimated to be around 2040) collapse will really hit us full-force. we NEED petrochemical fertilizers to grow enough food to support our current population, it's nonnegotiable. our civilization is dependent on oil down to our most basic of needs. once the oil is gone, there will be unprecedented amounts of death. and there is no replacement for oil. it took millions of years of dinosaur remains decaying in the earth to create it. even if human civilization survives, in small pockets somewhere, the current world as we know it will be dead forever. we will never get it back, for better or for worse.

i think the current state of society is denial, cluelessness, and panic. everyone knows its bad, but very few know how bad it really is. just the thought of the impending doom in our collective future is enough to drive loads of people to suicide, addiction, or mindless consumption as a self-soothing mechanism. the fact is, its over. we have a few decades left before everything before us is just a glittering memory of our self-indulgent past. on the one hand, it will mark the end of capitalism, and thus the end of the cycle of exploitation and consumption that has caused so much human suffering. on the other hand, the suffering of the future will perhaps be even greater.

anyways ill stop myself before i go rambling on (remember earlier when i said i can rant about this forever?). i’d be happy to chat about it more with anyone whos interested, but its not exactly light nice stuff to have show up on your dash on a sunday, so im sorry to anyone who read this and is now freaked out. but all of this is just the beginning of why i am an alcoholic lol

[hinabae]

so now that everyone’s allowed to get vaccinated, who else is facing some degree  of anxiety in how they’ll appear and act once they fully re-enter society cus i am quietly panicking ............... ok fr i am panicking and more unsure than ever 

#tbd. #idk how i feel honestly i legit have become somewhat of a recluse now #and i miss people and i don't // i miss company and yet i am wary of new people more so #not even cus covid but how people suck a lot these days and idk if being inside helped or not lol #i feel like i grew but i also did endure a bit of a setback #like even just as myself like WHAT MAKES ME ..... ME #esp when you take away writing and anything creative and the feelings im able to give people but unable to give myself #like even as far as interests go lol i am just ..... dead everywhere #little life in me / on cruise control / unsure how to get to that place where i know i'm me #anyway ...... i hope you guys are okay its been a month or two i realize ...... #pls continue to stay safe ....... #i miss writing and i always say that #i really do lol ugh

[shimmershae]

Some more random thoughts about Episode 4--

Because I couldn’t have my notebook commentary be incomplete at the end of the season just because an episode wasn’t my personal favorite.  

Okay.  I’m still a little surprised that Daryl took off running after that one Reaper dude in the dark.  Like if that had been Carol instead of Maggie getting ambushed, my man would have not hasta la vista’d outta there ‘til heknew she was safe--capable, kickass leader or not.  

Dog is so random about listening lately.  How plot point convenient, lol.  

Daryl throwing his crossbow at the Reaper had me legit LMAO.  

Hmm.  So that was Leah he unknowingly hurled his knife at, hahahaha.  

Disobedient or not?  Dog must be protected at all costs.  

For real, though.  It’s like Dog’s Carl reincarnated now.  Somewhere, Lori feels vindicated about all those times she tried to explain that Carl had a stubborn will and mind of his own.  

The hell good is the Walker guts and blood to the face in this sitch.  I’m just not getting it.  

Dog in his little vest.  I’m still loving it and wondering if it has an actual purpose beyond making us go d’aww.  

Does Lynn Collins resemble Megan Follows to anybody else or is it just me?  Love my Anne-girl.  NO comment on LC.  

Well.  That wasn’t exactly a reunion on par with Daryl’s reunion with Carol in the woods outside Terminus.  One would think the woman Daryl supposedly loves would receive a better, more heartfelt welcome.  OH.  

Leah sure loves to point a shotgun at Daryl’s face, doesn’t she?  Can you feel the love tonight.  No, Elton.  I cannot.  

Dog has a weakness for the ladies.  Whether they have homicidal tendencies or not.  

Daryl’s all “Dog, C’mon.  Let’s get TF outta here.  She’s one crazy bitch.”  Then her even crazier fam converges.  

Eleven years in and I still love TWD’s opening theme.  

Nothing says “I love you” quite like a burlap sack over the head.  

So yeah.  Anybody else detect the same hint of vulnerable uncertainty in Daryl’s voice when he tells Leah “I came back for you” as when he asked Carol “why’d you go?”  Funny how in one instance, everybody’s (well, a certain group) is like omigosh.  I think I ship them.  And the other?  They’re like “aww, his mommy hurt his feelings”?  Anyway.  Nice touch, NR.  I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, believe Daryl ever loved Leah.  But she gave him companionship when he was drowning in hopeless loneliness and he’d lost those closest to him so he convinced himself he cared and she was what and who he deserved.  

“These people are my family.  They never stopped looking for me.  When they found me, I came home.”  Interesting how Leah could give Daryl an ultimatum to sever ties with his family and home and yet when her own family returned?  Different damn story.  

Daryl’s face when he realizes how far down Leah’s priority list he is and the bullet that he dodged.  Well.  Almost.  

Daryl lying for all he’s worth.  His anything for them/us/family moment?  

Apparently, love is a chloroform rag to the face for some.  I mean.  There are kinks and there’s this bullshit.  People actually ship this toxic fuckery?  

Guess waterboarding is Leah’s love language.  You have to wonder how else she’s shown her “affection” in that time jump plot point romance.  

WTF did Maggie do to earn these Looney Tunes’ obsession?  

“Go ahead and kill me if you want.”  Oh, Baby.  Daryl, no.  

Oh look.  Daryl’s locked up in a cage again. How novel.  How original.  How very Season 7 of you, Angela.  

“Understand?  Hear me?  Got it?”  Daryl, honey.  You’re not exactly the best at this whole covert thing, are you?  Thank goodness, Frost picked up what you were throwing down.  

“I’ve never lied to you.”  Just before Daryl proceeds to do exactly that for much of the episode.  Methinks, it’s just one whopper after another with her right there because I’m not convinced Leah knows about Carol.  

Look at Leah showing more genuine emotion over her “dead brother” than her newly returned “lover.”  Something ain’t quite right.  

Leah’s cold, sure.  Not sure if I buy LC as a mercenary though.  

Listen.  Daryl telling Leah he got scared and admitting it was because he didn’t want to let go practically feels like a gimme here.  Who you afraid of letting go, Daryl?  Hmm?  Psst.  Rhymes with Carol.  

Girl, you wouldn’t have worked period but whatever.  

“Tall, skinny guy.  Never shuts up.”  Ofc, that’s Negan, lol.  

LOL at Pope’s line to Leah--”not everything is about you, Leah.”  

Him also asking her “you find what you’re looking for?”  is interesting to me and goes right along with Carol’s subconscious asking her the same question.  The parallels are everywhere with these two.  If they don’t get the chance to meet---

“I never said he loved me.”  At least she realizes that.  

Why does Daryl look like he’s wearing guy liner in that firetrap scene?  Glam rock Daryl.  

“We were the Chosen Ones.”  New season, same song, different verse.  All the diferent shades of cray-cray with this one.  

Overall impression?  Not a bad episode, but not necessarily enthralling either.  At this point, all the different villains we’ve had on this show just feel like they’re passing along a relay baton or something and picking straight up where the last one left off.  

Daryl seems to well and truly know where he belongs now, because he looked like he couldn’t be bothered to rub two fucks together where Leah was concerned.  He just wanted to get the hell outta Dodge.  

The Reapers are all pretty darn attractive.  So at least there’s some nice eye candy to admire while we’re waiting for them to vamoose. 

I just want more Carol this season. Is that too much to ask considering she’s the first billed female character and the second billed character over all?  

Next episode looks to be populated with less newbs so there’s that.  I am ready for a break from all the new people, lol.  I just want to sit with and visit some old friends for a while.  I’m certain I’m not alone.  

Okay.  That is all.  For now, lol.  

I’ll be back sometime tomorrow probably to give my impressions and commentary of Episode 5.  

G’night.  

#The Walking Dead #Caryl #Carol x Daryl #Season 11 #TWD spoilers #things that make me smile and cry #for reasons

[deliciousscaloppine]

Hot takes galore 2: A brief overview of fandom backlashes that influenced fanfiction writing traditions as I have personally experienced them.

In this segment we examine...THE INDOMITABLE MARY SUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, as I was entering fandom in 2008 (Bleach, a manga by Kubo Tite), the hottest, sweattiest discourse pertained perhaps to Mary Sues. I thought the hatred of Mary Sues had completed its cycle and it was dead and gone in our days, BUT I happened upon a post that said that we are all stanning Moxiang Tongxiu’s OCs (original characters), in a sort of admonishing tone, and I couldn’t help but smile.

For back in the day, OCs, were termed self-inserts at best, and if they were a female protagonist that would sideline the canonical cast of characters then they were Mary Sues. And there were as many people hating original characters, and Mary Sues in particular that I remember sitting up all night thinking on whether I should post or not this fic that had some OCs in it that were there to just deliver some messages.

And of course this bled into accusations of writing canonical characters as basically “original characters” or “self-inserts”, by use of the term “ooc” (out of character). Personally, I thought this was over, but recently Riri accused me of disregarding the existing characterization and turning the CQL characters into my own original characters...for KINKY HAVOC IN VOLCANO PALACE!

An unjust accusation, I feel, Riri, because I do my damnedest to maintain characterization even under the wildest circumstances. 

People were looking to extend their enjoyment of the existing characters and story, and for some reason fanfic authors could come under fire for not catering to that, and writing for their personal self-fulfillment. 

And there were as many people writing oc’s and Mary Sues as there were people hating them, and the writers for it. It was chaos, there were journals (i was in livejournal) devoted to roasting mary sues, laughing at authors etc. If you came in fandom after me, you live in much much gentler times, and perhaps you have the Mary Sue to thank for that, because the Mary Sue kickstarted a lot of fandom feminist discourse.

Back in the day they usually determined “Mary Sue” as an overpowered, female character, whom everyone loved even though she might not be particularly charming (by whose standards?), who was adept at everything, knew everything, felt everything etc. 

The thing is that Mary Sues did not seem to exist only in fanfiction, but everywhere around us, whenever there would be a project film/show/comic/book that had a strong female protagonist.

And that was because fandom and male nerd culture were intertwined. Anime, games, comic books were heavily “invaded” by swaths of girls who were not quite fulfilled by corny pop stars, or saccharine rom coms, and seeing that there were no female power fantasies available in these media, they created their own.

It was a very interesting time because if you remember, Marvel Movies started getting made around that time, riding on that convention power, which was dominated by male nerd culture - and that is why they gave so little screen time to female characters, because the demographic was pretty thoroughly examined and they were found to dislike any and every female character that was not there to validate the male character’s cishetero sexuality (YEAH BABY)

I mean women, actresses, female characters had a good portion in media, and the marvel cinematic universe and its imitators pretty much sidelined all these people very aggressively. Male stories started exploding and taking over during this time, exploiting that very vocal male nerd demographic. 

But where is the backlash you ask, because so far we’ve only seen the oppression. 

I saw a lot of writers struggle with the validity of the female character, and then the validity of female writing. They conflated writing female characters, as writing without examining themselves, or attaining a neutral voice and a role of representing accurately reality (lol). Writing Mary Sues was bad writing, and at some point all women were Mary Sues.

...So can you guess what happened?

A lot of these people turned to male slash in order to cope. Before the Mary Sue hate, male slash was a considerable but not dominant piece on the fanfic pie, which was mostly dominated by main het ships. Male slash was already enjoyed by female heterosexual audiences, but it started gaining more and more traction until a term was coined (shipping goggles), and accusations were once more flung: that fangirls will ship any two white dudes - not untrue. 

This audience was not very friendly to actual gay people. There were all sorts of strange views passing before my bespectacled eyes at the time. People proclaiming that they loved yaoi (i was in manga, so this was the term used), but would not watch gay porn, and thought gay people were gross. And in the case where gay people were in fandom these people often complained of not being included/invited in fandom activities, or having minimal readership from groups that promoted male slash, but not gay writers.

This is why I often say fandom is not a friendly place for lgbtq people, because this type of audience still exists, even if it had to suppress their discomfort and assimilate the rhetoric of allyship at some point. And sadly a lot of people who dominated these early discussions about fandom becoming more lgbtq friendly since it consumed such relationships in media, managed to set this climate of dishonesty where everyone is pro-lgbtq in theory, but not in action.

Meaning a lot of stereotyping that is not endemic to actual lgbtq communities. Like top-bottom (most people are verses), whiny bottom, subby bottom, violent top, aggressive sex, hypersexual gay characters, almost complete erasure of bisexuality, lesbians what are they?, a complete and absolute fear in portraying trans characters, suppression of genderfluidity, accusing people of writing male gay characters as female characters as a form of wish-fulfillment or supposed homophobia.

A while ago I saw this article asking why lgbtq people are so mean to each other that confused me thoroughly, until I remembered this call out phase that happened a while ago and still goes on, where everyone blames everyone else of abusing and gaslighting them, friendships falling out etc, which is not at all the reality of older lgbtq scenes, because these were not formed online under this climate. 

And because fandom is a vehicle for self-exploration a lot of people to this day conflate consuming lgbtq relationships through media as being lgbtq themselves, or these “actual” relationships being set as these other fictional “idealized” relationships. Whereas in older lgbtq scenes a lot of people come into them by realizing their attraction to actual, real, live people and not characters, or hot celebrities.

I am not saying that current lgbtq people who discovered that about themselves online are lying, or lying to themselves, but they definitely came out in an environment of fake acceptance, and have a hard time reconciling reality with that lie of acceptance through no fault of their own, of course, because they never developed the language and the understanding that language brings in order to communicate amongst them. The characteristics were set by a group outside of them that might be pro gay marriage, and having a cool gay friend, and the inherent tragedy of homosexuality or something, but are not really for it - as a very wise queer eye contestant once said. 

And so every trespass by their own people, becomes a proof of this generalized rejection with tremendous consequences for young people’s mental health. YOU ARE BEING GASLIT IT’S TRUE - but not by your own people, it’s just a miscommunication going on there.    

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MARY SUE. She changed. She stopped seeking love, sex, and power, or at least pretended that she did not want any of these things, or did not understand them, she stopped speaking, and became more stoic so people wouldn’t judge her opinions, and finally one day she went on to accomplish great things, because women seeking representation was also a pretty set demographic, and somebody could and would exploit that!

The Twilight Saga, Fifty Shades of Grey, even Hunger Games, are the media progeny of the Mary Sue powering through the entirely of male nerd culture. In a whole decade where people wanted Marvel to release a Black Widow movie, there have been three major spy/action girl movies that did very well in the box office, and since producing and releasing a movie usually takes three years, i’d say the audience was heard loud and clear - even though not by Marvel. 

And the side girls in these Marvel movies, or other action movies, became more and more badass - they all went from damsel in distress, to saving the hero, and of course the male characters were subsequently “queer-ified” until everyone was finally happy, and nerd culture was exposed as having been infiltrated by neonazis and that’s why it was making those unreasonable demands for no women ever in the first place.

And everything was right in the world, except that it was not. Because...girls had also been infiltrated by “neonazis”. A lot of these media, and a lot of these “white” Mary Sues, fall under many conservative criteria. Conservatism being a nice word for fascism. 

A few examples is the person of color always dies, or is brutalized, or is admonished constantly even as they shadow the protagonist in order to reinforce their inherent radiance. Characters who might be poc in books or in the anime (hur hur), are whitewashed in the visual media. The women are almost never comfortable with sex or romance, always thinking about the future and amassing power, not for themselves, but for the benefit of the resistance, or the family, or any other entity they belong to. And of course they are forever incredibly flawed - as opposed to idealized versions of male heroes always on the side of good for the right reasons! Also a minimal cast of women, with one woman being the protagonist, and the rest functioning as side characters or mostly antagonists.

So every time you feel a slight trepidation for not being the right type of lgbtq for writing something that is not strictly anal, or fear to include feminine characters, every time you erase yourself from the narrative it is it, the spectre of the Mary Sue coming to haunt you with a “We won, what more do you want?”  

#fandom history?

[cinlat]

30 Questions Tag Game

Tagged by: @outcastcommander @chaosandwonder and @sleepswithvillains (Woot!)

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

Name/Nickname: Cinlat

Gender: Female

Star sign: Sagittarius most of my life, but I’ve recently been informed that it’s changed to....whatever that new one is. 

Height: 5′ 2 3/4”

Birthday: December Baby

Time: 8:34 am right now. Buy the time this queues, who knows?

Favorite bands: Disturbed, hands down. haha. I got to go to one of their concerts a couple of years ago and it was amazing.

Favorite solo artists: I know literally nothing about musicians, but Halsey has captured by attention recently. 

Song stuck in my head: The stupid, friggin outro for Dragon Ball Z *shudders*

Last movie: I watched Finding Ohana on Netflix with the kids. It was so good. It brought back all the fun, kid adventures from 90′s movies

Last show: The husband and I binge watched Cobra Kai over the weekend while the kids were off at a friends. 

When did I create this blog: 2018, I think? 

What do I post: Mostly swtor stuff, but there’s some Naruto, FF14, and GW2 scattered within. Not to mention, random things that make me chuckle.

What do I refuse to post: Political crap. This is my safe haven. I can get all that shit elsewhere. I come to Tumblr to relax, so that’s what I plan to post. 

Last thing I googled: A STEMM Academy that my youngest was invited to join (that I didn’t even know existed)

Other blogs: Just an account on Ao3, FFN, and a KoFi. Those probably aren’t blogs though.

Do I get asks: I definitely love asks. I’m a little slow resolving them sometimes, but, I save every one so that I can work on it when time allows.

Why I chose my url: Cinlat was a character from an original world that I created in middle school. She was the little sister of my antagonist, but her name is unique enough to never need numbers added...and I really hate adding numbers to my name.

Following: 304, though I’ve been steadily weeding out dead blogs and people that no longer post the stuff that I’m interested in seeing. Ah, and hate speech. Any sort of hate speech against any religion, race, income level....etc. will get a hard pass from me. For reasons above. I’m here to relax. If I want angry rantings, I’ll talk to my family. lol.

Followers: Ohhh, 436. That’s cool. *waves at everyone*

Average hours of sleep: I have no clue. I’m a light sleeper so I wake often. My Fitbit always yelled at me about it, but then it died and now I can carry on in blissful ignorance.

Lucky number: 8

Instruments: I played the trumpet when I was young. After a year of lessons, I tearfully approached my mom to tell her that I didn’t want to continue and to apologize for wasting their money. Her response? “Thank God.” I don’t think I was very good. XD

What am I wearing: Wicked Win Run t-shirt (best 5K ever, highly suggest) and comfy pants full of holes and bleach stains. In my defense, I’m about to scrub my bathroom, so legit cleaning clothes.

Dream job: I’d like to own my own kennel one day. One of the fancy ones on a few acres of land where the dogs have room for proper exercise. 

Dream trip: I want to go everywhere, but if I had to choose only one place, I want to go back to Kenya.

Favorite food: Carbs. 

Nationality: American (Although I did one of those heritage kits. The results were....boring. I’m 98% English. Like, wtf, how am I the most bland white person in America? The rest is Scottish and like 1.1% sub-Saharan thrown in there for randomness sake.)

Favorite song: Ummm, basically anything from Fynta’s Playlist. There really are too many to label. 

Last book read: I’m reading three, atm. I finished Shaw from the Hell Squad series last night. It’s a sci fi romance by Anna Hackett, honestly not bad writing as far as romance novels go, and plenty of explosions. I approve.

Then I’m about halfway through the Sci Fi series of the Bobiverse, Books 4 Heaven’s River by Dennis E. Taylor. Amazing story telling, highly recommend.

Then there is also what I like to call the “Epic Gay Fantasy” series of A Land Fit for Heroes by Morgan Richard. I’m on the final book, The Dark Defiles. Morgan’s writing is gritty and beautiful all at once. I’m super jealous. haha. 

Then bits of fanfiction on top of that.

Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in:

Star Wars, hands down.  

Bobiverse (I’d totally be down to cruise the galaxy for eternity as a VR program)

The Seven Satrapies from the Lightbringer, anywhere really, they all sounded beautiful.

No pressure tags: @kunoichi-ume @dimigex @storyknitter​

#get to know me

[akurathereaper]

An insignificant rant on HoT&PoF

As everyone knows, yady yady ya, everyone prefers HoT, whatever

I’m one of those people and I’m about to rant about this too.

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE RANT

I will be talking about story elements and stuff that happens in both DLCs.

I like Path of Fire, I really do, it gave me Elona, it gave me agent Kito whom I wholeheartedly pity cuz he has to deal with the Commander, it gave me more of Aurene (and it gave me Joko on whom I can shit on when I feel bad)

But, it didn’t give me maps I like (and I will tell you why) (please note I am no game designer, or designer in general. In fact, maps designed by me would be probably shit, but I still believe my opinion is valid, because I am a person with eyes that can see)

This is going to be a small rant when it comes to maps, now mark, english isn’t my first language so there may be nonsensical sentences, and I am no professional critic so all of this is coming from my heart, not my brain.

Ready? Let’s go

So I’m going to do a little comparison (nothing too much in depth) of the four maps from each DLC (plus Domain of Vabbi but I don’t have much to say on it if I’m honest).

 We have Verdant Brink, Auric Basin, Tangled Depths and Dragon’s stand from Heart of Thorns, and Crystal Oasis, Desert Highlands, The Desolation, Elon Riverlands and Domain of Vabbi. 

Let me start with HoT, because it makes logical sense.

When you first start the Heart of Thorns campaign, you’re told to go from Silverwastes to... Verdant Brink. You get a small taste of it right before you enter it, in that cave where the injured pact members are talking about it. And then you load in (hopefully, if your pc doesn’t reenact an atomic blast), and first thing you see, when you walk in on that VERY SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED LEDGE

is absolute carnage.

Ships are strewn about, hanging in pieces torn apart by Mordremoth’s vines, smoke and fire is everywhere, that part of the jungle is ravaged not only by Mordremoth, but also by you. Your Pact. And in that moment you exactly realize what happened (if it wasn’t obvious from the cutscene that played before it *cough cough*)

But now you see it. The map tells you a very obvious story, and you don’t need to be a genius to figure it out. It tells you and SHOWS you exactly how strong and dangerous the Dragon you’re hunting is. It shows you what you have to overcome.  (And if you’re me, you’re crying cuz Trahearne got kidnapped)

I’m going to skip the storyparts of this map, but will instead focus on the meta of it (since i’ve done it like trillion times). There’s five main crashpoints. Each has to bring their all to successfuly make this map “safe”. The nobles, the Pale Reavers, the quaggan and her soldiers. Everyone. I’m guessing that after you kill all the five champions, the area becomes safe enough for you to move on, after all, you’re the Commander, and you cannot leave everyone to die in the middle of the Jungle. Once again, the map tells you a story through the gameplay)

And then you move onto Auric Basin (I’m guessing it’s a lot of people’s fav map)

Oh, Auric Basin... The map instantly breathes “something”, something different. You KNOW you’re somewhere else, the whole atmosphere tells you that you’re somewhere forgotten, somewhere where the touches of humans, sylvari, charr, whatever main race, have not reached. 

Your first instance of it is most likely the story instance, so you get introduced to the place pretty quickly. I don’t have to say how gorgeous the city actually is, right?

The whole place is an archaeologist’s wet dream. And again, the map tells you, it shows you, it’s story, it’s history (the Priory people are wetting themselves over the whole thing), and sometimes it’s the Exalted themselves who tell you the story. But you can gauge a lot of it just from observing. It’s not the most effective of cities, I’ll be honest, but it’s a damn impressive one. After all, Tarir was build for Glint’s scion.

And the meta? It’s about PROTECTING the city. Protecting it from Mordremoth, from destroying it, from destroying the safe place for a dragon’s egg. You stop Mordremoth from leaching the place with Octovines (or an exalted does it for you. Kudos to you, immortal and endless exalted), and you don’t rly realize the importance of this place until the whole Aurene thing happens.

And oof, Tangled Depths. 

Tangled Depths, one of the most hated maps in the entire expansion, a thing (imho) that can be very much blamed on the map limitation (I’m talking about your map, where you see where you are and where the waypoints are, etc.) Like, honestly, wouldn’t it be a WHOLE lot easier to traverse if your map made actual damn sense? But I digress.

Tangled Depths is probably one of the lesser impressive maps? Overall, I very like it, although it’s story has to be unearthed and explored actively. It’s more of a bland looking pie with delicious filling.

Tangled Depths is quite...a good map. In a way. Don’t throw trash at me, please. I also hated it when I had to walk through it, but I learnt the shortcuts and then traversed with relative ease, so I stopped seeing the whole map as a nuisance and started seeing it for what it was. 

Such an untouched piece of history... The Rata Novus? Rata Novus? Hello? Asura lived here?

The Ogres, making their village there? The Nuhoch, fighting for their survival with the Zintl hyleks and the Chak? The Chak? Such new and interesting creatures who literally eat magic! In the middle of the jungle, you see such life, such vivacity, even in the midst of Mordremoth’s reign of terror.

And the story of the meta is tying in so nicely to the overall thing! You’re literally tunneling into Dragon’s stand, to reach old Papa Mordremoth, and you’re doing it with the help of everyone on the map! The Ogres, the asuras (well they dead, so their robots lol), the Chak (yeah, Chak bois be helping, not rly it’s just the lane lol), and the useless easy line! You’re charging a thingimajig that blasts a hole through the ley-line empowered wall and bam, you’re in DS. (Excuse me it has been a while since I was in TD) And Chak bois are on your ass trying to eat it cuz magic but that’s so the meta is interesting.

And then... My favourite map. Dragon’s stand.

I played this map... probably more than I should’ve, but... the way it is structured is simply so interesting! Three lines, for three leaders, each battling their way through the jungle to get to the Generals, to get to the Mouth of Mordremoth. And along the way, you gain more and more allies, more and more people to help you fight this noodle!  You get the ogres, the itzel, the nuhoch, the skritt(!), the exalted, the... THE NIGHTMARE COURT? *cough cough* cut content *cough cough*. Yeah, some don’t get an explanation, but you see everything that you have done, everyone you have helped in the previous map, go help you out in this one? You see them and protect them at the last island (and the whole map is just one giant meta and I LOVE IT (it can be a point of criticism as well, since it’s quite hard to explore if the meta ain’t done and the last few pois are impossible to get if MoM isn’t dead)) and it’s just so epic

Everything you did was leading up to this moment, this last battle, this last stand, the DRAGON’S STAND. And the battle was just... epic. Epic, is all I can say about this map and it’s story. (Shame the Commanders/Generals were cut out, as we have no clue who they were, and knowing something about them would make it a bit more meaningful in fighting them)

To conclude.

HoT is focused as hell. You got a goal: Pop a cap in Mordremoth. And you’re going to do it. You got twice the motivation if you’re a sylvari. Each map is designed to give you the build up of the fight, first you see what Mordremoth can do, then you see what’s at stake, and then you gotta fight for it. The fact the maps are gorgeous (If a little (bit a lot) laggy) only helps the overall feel.  Anything and Everything can and will murder your ass, and you gotta be ready for it.

Now onto PoF maps. This segment is going to be shorter, because in all honesty? PoF, I like you, but you’re just... well, you’ll see. Hopefully. This is after all just my opinion lol.

Oh and if you got this far? Kudos lol I ramble a lot. <3

Anyway, PoF maps.

So the opening to PoF is... quite good? It’s a bit out of your control but it does it’s job imo.

You come in on an airship, and you see the land spread before you. You see a pyramind, and you think “Oh hell yeah, pyramids.” I would LOVE to just be able to explore the area, you know, have a chill opening, but PoF is about FIRE and FIGHT so, you fight and try to save the people and it’s very chaotic and everything is on FIRE OH GODS.

So you chase this mysterious person, you get introduced to the raptor village, all goes well or bad, and then you are directed to the city of Amnoon (since we’re still in a story instance), so you go. Amnoon is very pretty, and following the tradition of MMO cities very impractical, but hey, rule of cool. The whole time you’re not rly allowed to explore anywhere or look at anything, you’re focused, sure, but you’re also very distracted, you get me?

You want to look around, you want to explore, but you’ve just been attacked by this Herald woman and you’re tired of politics. The opening of PoF isn’t bad, but it is very different from HoT, as in HoT you first SAW the carnage Mordy did and THEN you went on down to help the remaining survivals, whereas here, in Oasis, you kinda.. live through it? You see it first hand what Balthy is doing, while in HoT you only chased the aftermaths of the massacres. This works differently for everyone, and I personally prefer the HoT approach. 

PoF is very open when it comes to the story, as in you are not AS limited to instances as it was with HoT, sometimes it works to its advantage, sometimes.. it doesn’t. 

The way PoF maps jerk you around is very confusing to me. You explore Crystal Oasis, then you go to Desert Highlands, then to Elon riverlands, and you gotta go back down through the Oasis to get there, so you are already trudging through the land you already know (and since you have mounts they took full advantage of making the maps bigger, but it makes them feel... emptier? Like I get it, it’s the Desert, but still...) so you get to Elon riverlands, you do your thing there, then you go to Desolation, then to Vabbi. Nice. Okay.

In none of these maps, there is a story meta. None. No impressive whole-map meta where you gotta all cooperate to keep the map stable. Nothing. There is no use in me trying to analyze these maps, for they are just... backdrop to what’s happening.  Balthazar this, Balthazar that. Oh no Kralky is awake, and oh look we met Vlast for like 2 seconds and then he immediately ded. 

I’ll be honest... I don’t remember much of PoF before chapter 9 The Departing (because that chapter was fire. Lol. get it), which saddens me immensely. I remember most of HoT. Where what happened when it happened how it happened, I know, and if I don’t know immediately, in few minutes my brain serves me the entire instance. I could probably play HoT blindfolded. 

This is a very shallow look into why I probably don’t like PoF as much as I like HoT. 

To try and conclude my very messy terrible rant essay:

Heart of Thorns used its maps in a way that showed you with gameplay what’s in store for you. It used maps in a way to help you build that anticipation of the fight, of everything you sacrificed along the way. The maps are smartly connected in a way where with each map you delve deeper into the jungle, deeper into the mouth of the beast. Sure, they lag as fuck, but the PoF maps do so too, don’t lie to yourselves. With each map you meet new allies that help you along the way.

In Path of Fire I just... don’t get that feeling. I run from map to map, mindlessly following the green star, hoping I will stumble upon something interesting on the way. In Heart of Thorns it was the opposite. I was walking around the map, breathing in the atmosphere of the place, and stumbling upon the green story star. I feel like the Elona desert did not get such justice as it deserved. I trudge around the maps, I complete the maps to get the reward, then I move onto the story. My interest in the whole thing only started to pick up once I freaking DIED for gods’ sake. 

My hopes for the End of Dragons, which is happening in Cantha, is that I get more of that focused map design. That story in gameplay, that map-wide meta that will have me grind my teeth at 10pm on a work/school night. I don’t need Drizzlewood metas (an inferior Dragon’s stand, mind you) that are like 2-3 hours long. A 30 min prelude and 30 min metas are fine. An hour long meta if you have the idea for it, but... give me map stories, Anet.

Feel free to share your own feels about the different feels between the DLCs. I will GLADLY take in PoF preferrers. What did you prefer in PoF? What did you like in it? Give me your opinions, give me your take on everything. 

And thank you for reading my overly long rant essay, hah.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #Path of Fire #Heart of Thorns #guild wars 2 Path of Fire #guild wars 2 Heart of Thorns #If you open the rant #there is a sort of a tl:dr at the bottom #to try and conclude my very messy terrible rant essay it is called #feel free to reblog and comment on #or just ignore lol

[the-fallen-order]

devil eyes.

I’ll be honest with you all, I’ve never posted any of my writing. Super nervous, honestly. I was sent a Star Wars fic by a friend and I kept getting the urge to write.. Between me and two friends (they helped with ideas), this is a bit of what we came up with. I’m going to post it on ao3, I think, but I’m a bit self-conscience and kinda scared lol. 

This isn’t the whole thing, just a bit - I’d love some (constructive) feed back..

While Hera is an OC, I tried to leave her fairly ambiguous, so you can view her however you want. I have an idea in my head of what she looks like, but I will leave that up to the reader (unless anyone is interested in what I envisioned). 

(PS. Yes, I know there is a Hera in Rebels, completely unrelated)

I’m also up for collaboration, or doing one shots! I tried really hard to keep stuff canon, but I’m not perfect.  It doesn’t look like any formatting copied over, so I apologize for that! 

This is set AFTER the ending of S2 of The Mandalorian. I don’t believe there are any spoilers...

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

Tattooine.

A wasteland the Huntress was certainly not keen to be on again. It was hot, almost unbearably so, with more sand than she had ever cared to see in her lifetime. An unremarkable planet with twin suns, once home to Jabba the Hutt and his palace. She had visited the palace once, had watched someone – a slave that had done Jabba wrong, she presumed – get dumped into the rancor pit, and she had never wanted to return. The only saving grace of the planet was the podracing.

Yet, money talked, and she found herself back on the awful planet once more, tracking a quarry through the vast desert wasteland of Tattooine. She had narrowed her search down to a small village sitting at the bottom of a mountain - an interesting place to hide, she thought, considering there were much better places to play hide and seek with a bounty hunter. The tracking fob in her hand was blinking more steadily now, indicating she was in the right place. Placing it back in her pocket, she reached up to readjust the hood of her black cloak before pulling her binoculars off her belt to get an idea of what exactly she had gotten herself into.

She knew there would be more bounty hunters coming – Greef Karga, who had given her the bounty puck – was notorious for handing out more than one puck for the same bounty, especially when they were high priority. Most hunters within the guild dreamed of getting bounties like this, but very few were qualified for the High Risk, High Reward type of bounties. Which led to a lot of resentment towards the hunters that were qualified.

The village seemed devoid of any natives. The Quarry had most likely captured the ones that inhabited it or had them killed if they resisted. The beings left milling about were undoubtedly guards hired to protect him, most likely heavily armed, too. At least ten, from what she could see through the binoculars, with an unknown amount inside the huts. It would be challenging, but doable.

“Don’t move.” A modulated voice from behind her broke her train of thought. Her breath hitched as the tip of a blaster was pressed against the back of her head. Another bounty hunter, no doubt. How did I not hear him?

She slowly raised her hands. “I’m in the guild.” The Huntress said.

“I know.” He replied. “This is my bounty.”

Uh huh...

“Maybe we can make a deal,” She suggested, “There’s at least ten guards down there, with who knows how many inside the huts waiting for us.”

He was quiet, watching her. The Huntress slowly turned around to face him, hands still raised in the air, her eyes widening at the sight of Beskar. Oh, fuck. A Mandalorian. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is not good.

There had been talk of another Mandalorian bounty hunter, one that wasn’t Boba Fett, one that was ruthless during his hunts and never backed down from a fight. He had been Blacklist approved.  He seemed to be following in the footsteps of the one and only Fett, with some kind of vendetta against the galaxy fueling him.

“What’s the deal?” He asked finally, blaster still pointed at her head, his finger on the trigger.

“We can split the bounty.”

Dead silence.

Her heart was racing. She had had plenty of blasters pointed at her, had been shot at plenty of times, shot a couple times, but never by a Mandalorian. They were deadly warriors, not ones to be crossed or stand in the way of. Rare as they were nowadays, when one did show up, it was never a good sign.

“We do this my way, then.”

“Your way?” She shot back.

“Yes.”

“I was here first.”

He stared down at her cloaked figure, contemplating.

“I could kill you and have the bounty all to myself.” He said, almost passively, like he was toying with the idea.

Oh fuck. Think…think!

“Even that Beskar of yours can only protect you from so much, Mandalorian. Half of the pay is still better than none if we are both dead.”

“We do this my way, then.” He lowered the blaster to his side, kneeling down beside her, pressing a button on his vambrace that changed the view mode of the visor in his helmet. The Huntress lowered her hands, putting her binoculars back on her belt.

Stars, he was intimidating.

“Quarry is in the far -right hut.” The Mandalorian said, “With more guards hiding inside. Let’s go.”

She sighed quietly, mostly to herself, before following him down the side of the mountain. What am I thinking?

The Huntress stayed low, quietly making her way to the first hut, listening intently as the sound of enemy footsteps came towards her. Vibro-blade in hand, she moved swiftly, her free hand covering his mouth to muffle him as her other stabbed the blade into his neck, pulling him back behind the hut as he struggled against her. She twisted the blade in deeper, his body going limp in her arms as she pulled the blade out, dropping him to the ground.

She continued to make her way through the small village, quietly taking out guards with her vibro-blade as she went. As she set another now-dead guard on the ground, blaster fire suddenly erupted around her. She peaked around the edge of the hut she had snuck behind, watching as mass chaos unfolded in front of her.

Ah, the Mandalorian has been seen.

Guards were everywhere now; she had quietly taken out five, but those five had been replaced by another twenty and they were all shooting at the Beskar-clad target. She couldn’t blame them, though; he was a truly enticing target to shoot at.

Sheathing her vibro-blade, she pulled her blaster from it’s holster and open-fired at a few of the enemies, watching as the Mandalorian disintegrated one with his long rifle.

Impressive.

She kept her gaze on the Mandalorian whose cover was quickly becoming compromised. Turning her attention back to the guards, she began firing more rounds at the them to draw their attention away from him and onto her. The Mandalorian gave her a quick nod - she assumed it was his way of saying thank you - and used the opportunity she had provided to him to move his position and disappear behind the other huts.

Pulling a thermal detonator off of her utility belt, she armed it and threw it in the direction of the guards, peeking her head back out after it had detonated, eliminating the group. It was stupid of them to congregate in one area like that, but she supposed that’s what you got for hiring bandits to protect you, rather than highly trained mercenaries. Even with them being heavily armed, idiots could only do so much.

The blaster fire had mostly ceased after the blast, with one or two guards left trying their best to take out the two bounty hunters. She almost felt bad for them. Watching as one was disintegrated, she took out the last one standing and moved to join the Mandalorian in the last hut on the right.

Walking through the door, blaster drawn, she watched as the Mandalorian cuffed the bounty, who was pleading and crying to let him go, that it was all a misunderstanding. “Whatever you’re being paid, I’ll double it if you let me go!” The Huntress rolled her eyes at that - that was like the go-to statement of the century for quarries when they knew they were caught. She holstered her blaster, continuing to watch the Mandalorian. He pulled the bounty towards the door by the cuffs, stepping past her as if she didn’t exist.

“What are you doing?”

“I told you this was my bounty.” He replied.

“We made a deal.” He stopped, looking over his shoulder at her.

“Deals off.”

“Fight me for it.” She taunted, clenching her fists in preparation to fight. Her blaster was no use against the beskar, this she knew. The Mandalorian let go of the bounty, pulling the long shiny spear from off his back and turned to look at her. His body language conveyed the message to her very clearly; he was pissed.

“We had an agreement, Mandalorian.”

He charged at her, taking a swing at her with the spear. The Huntress crossed her arms at her wrists, letting her own beskar vambraces take the impact of the attack, the sound of beskar-on-beskar rang through the air as he pushed her backwards towards the wall. She stumbled a few steps backwards, regaining her balance as he swung again. She ducked, throwing a punch at his unprotected side, making contact. The Huntress quickly stepped back, activating the flamethrower on her vambrace, forcing him to step back away from her.

“Where did you get those?” He asked harshly. She disengaged the flamethrower, watching him cautiously, both of them poised to continue fighting. Mandalorian’s took their armor very seriously; especially when it was a dar’manda wearing the armor. This she knew all too well.

“This is my arm--“ Was all she managed to get out before he used the grappling line in his vambrace to constrict her, watching as it wrapped around her, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground with a thud.

She struggled to get loose from the line as he pulled her towards him, only stopping once she felt the familiar sensation of a blaster being pressed against her forehead. The Huntress stared up at him, fully expecting him to pull the trigger on her this time.

The silence between the two was almost palpable.

“…Kandosii?” It was almost a whisper, barely audible through the vocoder in his helmet. Her heart skipped a beat at the nickname - she hadn’t been called that in years. It was foreign, almost, the familiarity of it just out of her reach. The sound of the Beskar spear hitting the ground echoed through the hut as the Mandalorian studied her – the Mandalorian armor, now painted a familiar blue, her fighting style….her eyes.

She was alive.

#the mandalorian fanfic #the mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x oc

[the-darklings]

—WE WERE A FIRE WITH NO SMOKE;

pairing: santino x reader (V) x (+john)

wc: 1.4k+

an: HAPPY NEW YEARS YA FILTHY ANIMALS!!! A little surprise something-something to tide you all over and flex my writing muscles to see how I’m getting on after 4-day detox from writing. I’m honestly exhausted and short on sleep which made me half-delirious and this little drabble wayyy too h*rny but here we are. Also, the title/lyrics for this piece comes from Troye Sivan’s “DKLA” and I highly recommend you listen to it while reading. 

warnings: some bad words and a lot of sexual tension 👀

timeline: post chapter 1 of COA, pre-Tokyo (not their first meeting). 

Santino D’Antonio does not know nor understand subtlety.

No—that’s not quite right. His “business” instincts are sharper than most of your blades and that’s just facts. He can effortlessly weave between disarming charm and rage that spills blood in a blink of an eye. He’s a good mobster. Truly Italy’s—Camorra’s—finest. But he’s irritatingly arrogant in his insistence that the world revolves around him and his needs alone. Even quicker in betraying those he doesn’t like and cutting loose ends with people who so much as question his authority.

Egoistical. Inpatient. Spoiled. Bloodthirsty. Willing to step over anyone to get his way.

There isn’t much to like. Certainly nothing worthy of trust.

But he pays good money. And—despite what he may think—he’s easy to read. He wants what everyone in the underworld wants. More power, more pleasure, more money. But most importantly, to be the next Camorra head.

He’s powerful. And not the kind of powerful you need as your enemy so it’s easier to play nice. You know that the reason you got off as easy as you did with that threat to his life was simply because he wants to sleep with you. Because he sees you as a challenge, a conquest, something interesting and out of his immediate reach.

He’s handsome, that much is true. He’s beyond rich and has influence everywhere because he’s Camorra. Because he’s a D’Antonio. He’s all sly, seductive suggestions and eyes so bright they devour.

There’s only one problem.

He’s not John.

John who is a comforting shadow for you to curl into. Who is a steady, ever-present by your side. John is—

John is the only person you trust—the only one you could ever trust in this world of liars and backstabbers. Your mind drifts towards him constantly and never more so then when you work with D’Antonio. They’re as different as day and night.

John is a comforting embrace of the dark, quiet and patient. Deadly and terrifying to others but never you.

Santino D’Antonio is an open flame. He devours, he burns, and rages. He leaves only blood and damage in his wake.  

John you love.

D’Antonio on the other hand…

“Target has his eyes on us,” you speak directly into his ear over the sound of blaring music, and tighten your arms around his neck. Noting the way you’re being watched, you hiss a soft, “Pull me closer.”

He doesn’t need to be told again.

His already wandering, lingering, greedy hands and eyes explore further. Your eyes meet for a moment; his hungry and hooded, while his fingers sink into the swell of your hip, massaging the skin there before pushing your hips together. You sway with him, pressing against him—into him—one hand snaking up the hot skin of his neck and into his hair. The styled curls crumble under your unyielding grip and you pull him even closer, your foreheads almost touching and breaths mingling.

Wrapped my thoughts around your mind

Wrapped your body around mine.

You have to be convincing, you remind yourself.

You have to appear as nothing more than another whore on D’Antonio’s arm.

You have to be a nobody, a shadow, a shell without purpose other than this man’s pleasure.  

You think about John with every press and brush of your skin.

Think of John’s hands on you and John’s obsidian eyes caressing you like you’re lovers moments away from kissing each other.

You take my breath away, you know I'm bound to choke

When I close my eyes. I still see your ghost.

But Santino D’Antonio doesn’t touch you like John does.

He caresses, and claims, and consumes with a startling amount of intensity. You feel that fire of his singeing your edges, dangerous and seductive in its overpowering heat.

His fingers are sunk into you, not enough to hurt but enough to feel held, guided, desired and the music becomes nothing more than a pulse.

His hot, wet breath burns against the hollow of your throat and you feel him mumbling something into your skin. It could be a prayer or damnation or both but all you know is that it sears into your skin. A mark, a show, of his raw desire for you. It tingles and tickles, kicking your heartbeat up a notch and your grip on his curls constricts; a warning, a question—

You don’t even like him. In fact, you only tolerate him because he’s willing to throw money at you for jobs that can help you get your freedom from Tarasov faster.

But human bodies are so simple. The draw on a purely physical level is there despite your lacklustre opinion of the man himself.

He doesn’t make it any easier when his eyes lift to you, his stare almost a physical weight of heated want. A man starved; a man who is staring at your mouth like it’s the only thing that can save him right now. Like he needs it, craves it, above everything else.

If half the stories about his sexual exploits are true, then it’s a look many have crumbled under. Truth be told, looking at him right now, you can’t blame them. There is, admittedly, something so raw about Santino D’Antonio that you can’t help but wonder what kind of lover he is.  

So what do I do now?

I don't keep love around.

But Santino D’Antonio is nothing in your heart. Your heart is John’s in its awful, worn entirety and you won’t trade that in for meaningless sex no matter how good D’Antonio might be.

The tempo of the song changes again and he tugs you closer, his hand coming to rest against the curve of your neck. His cool Camorra ring grazes your skin lightly, and your head tilts to the side exposing your neck to him. He leans into it, his lips ghosting over your pulse, hungry and eager as he inhales deeply over the thrum of music. But across the sturdy line of his shoulder, you watch your mark intently.

“D’Antonio, he’s moving—”

“Santino,” he breathes hotly into your ear, his arm around your waist tightening. “Call me Santino.”

It stills something inside you for a second.

The heavy, naked need that lowers and wrecks his voice just so.

It’s an honour. An heir allowing you to address them by their first name, considering that you hold no real power or title of your own. But something about how he asks for it leaves you cold, caught completely off guard.

It feels like too much.

There is a boundary you will never step over with him.

Some arrogant Italian princeling who only wants your body for quick gratification.

“Should I pursue?”

He stills. His breath still fans against your neck but his expression is serious when his head lifts. His fingers trace up your bare arm, slow and sensual, and he grins slightly, coolly. Neon lights dance over his features and wonder what you both look like, tangled in each other and suddenly still in a sea of movement.

“Bring him to me.”

You do.

No loose ends.

The man you only know as Flynn Hill dies with your poison eroding his veins from inside out. In the darkness of the alleyway, Santino D’Antonio looms over him, smiling and satisfied, his appearance once again immaculate.

“Everything has a price,” he says coldly in Italian with a clinical tilt of his head and a small scoff when the man stills. “Pathetic.”

He turns dismissively, shrugs on his overcoat, and glances towards you. His eyes sweep over you, up and down, unhurried and hungry as always.

“Coming, cara mia?”

Cara mia?

You turn to face him, and repeat his earlier gesture by looking him up and down. His gaze sharpens at the challenge, and you don’t miss the way he straightens slightly.

Just like you thought—he doesn’t know subtlety. It could smack him in the face and he still won’t know it.

“The drinks are on you and I’m not cheap,” you hesitate for a beat, considering the man in front of you as well as his pack of guards scattered around you. “Santino.”

You sidestep him, heading back towards the club but hear the man chuckle in delight behind you.

“Everything has a price,” he repeats softly as he falls to your side promptly. Close, a bit too close. “But it’s one I am happy to pay in this instance, cara mia.”

You bite back an irritated sigh. Let him have this. He no doubt thinks this is a victory.

That night is the first time he uses those words and that nickname.

It’s far from last.  

. . .

an: well this literally had one read through as an edit so if this is awful and full of mistakes.....guess that’s tomorrow kat’s problem lol. just wanted to see how I get on with writing again (and surprise you lot <33 thank you for supporting this series so much oh god oof). 

This piece dips back a bit more into my old style (description heavy and more internal) but writing V who is like “this man clearly wants to bang but it’s a no from me, thanks” is so funny. If I wasn’t half dead I would have tried to write this as more snarky (as V indeed was back in Chapter 1-2) but that actually requires brainpower and wit so nahhhh.

also, let’s make 2020 ours. no more putting up with anything!!! let’s go!!!! this year we all channel V and become stronger and fight through our problems no matter how long it takes us.  

#santino d'antonio x reader #john wick x reader #santino d'antonio #john wick #john wick imagine #john wick fic #fic: children of ares #s: i can wait

[blackmissfrizzle]

Part of Your World

Characters: Dean Winchester x black!reader

Summary: Its basically a Little Mermaid AU (still in the SPN realm) with a dash of African mythology.

Warnings: A couple of puns, because I couldn’t help myself lol

A/N: My love of Disney caused me to write another fic based on one of my fave princesses. Also it was inspired by this post I saw and then I had to do my own research, because I was so interested. I need more African mythology in fantasy! Anyways, as usual this is for the black girls that done feel seen in the show or the fandom! I hope you enjoy!

Humans were bad. They were selfish, careless, and evil. Or that’s what you were supposed to believe, according to your mother. But to you they were interesting and not as bad as your mother made them out to be. Just like merpeople some were as your mother described, but most were good or at least trying to be better. That’s why you had to save them.

One day when you were swimming up to the surface and saw a bunch of protectors of the land. Those things they called cars were flashing red and blue lights. There was a dead body on the shore and the person’s wounds were unnatural for another human to cause. So, naturally you investigated.

Since the time you were a teen, you would sneak on land to watch the humans up close and personal. Your Aunt Iliana was the sea witch. She gifted you with a necklace that allowed you walk on land. According to her, your destiny was on land, which is why your mother banned you from swimming too close to land and keeping you away from your aunt.

This time you were making your trek to land every night. Scuttle, your skin-walker friend allowed you to work at his bar and you hoped to catch some gossip on the murders. Tonight, was busier than usual. You were running from one end of the bar to the other and not catching a word about the killings. That was until you heard an alluring voice. It was deep, slightly gravelly, but smooth and could easily lull you to sleep.

“Dude, I’m putting money it’s a witch. That’s the only reasonable explanation.” Dean argued with his brother. They had been in town for 2 days and no leads whatsoever. All they had was a bunch of guys who suddenly had a turn of bad luck, lost all their money and died of on land drowning.

Not only were you attracted to this man’s voice, but he was looking into the murders too! You had to make yourself known. Turning around just in time you saw him finish his drink. He was the most perfect man you’ve seen. His green eyes rivaled the coral reefs vibrant color. His lips were unexpectedly plump for a man of his shade. His jaw was set hard, but you could tell he had a soft nature.

“Stop staring and talk to the man!” Scuttle encouraged you while tending to other patrons.

“Stop being a guppy, Y/N!” You told yourself before making your way to the man. Pointing at his empty glass, you asked the stranger if he wanted another drink.

Dean had to do a double take. The beautiful bartender was talking to him. He noticed her all night. When she was walking up and down the bar, she was singing to herself and he thought she had a beautiful voice. Some of the time Dean would tune Sam out just to listen to her.

“Yes, please. Can you make it a double?”

Shaking your head yes, you brought out the good liquor. Scuttle would most likely kill you, but you needed information and the best way to get it was making this beautiful stranger’s lips loose. “On the house,” you mentioned when you saw he was about to object for the pricey whiskey.

“Thank you.” He gave you a loop-sided smile and you walked away, not wanting to push too quickly. “Wait,” he called out, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a picture of him in some fancy suit saying FBI Agent Dean Plant. “I’m Agent Plant and this is Agent Page,” he pointed to the taller man next to him, “have you seen any of these gentlemen here?”

Dean stared at the red-haired beauty as she stared at the photos of the male victims. It wasn’t like him to be so mesmerized by a woman that he didn’t even notice her pointing out the latest victim.

“Yeah, he was here. I remembered because he seemed so sad, so I decided to check on him.”

Agent Plant perked up and leaned forward on the bar, “Do you know what had him so upset?”

You wanted to look at Dean, but his green eyes made your stomach flutter like a school of fish, so you paid attention to his partner. “Um, something about how he made a bad deal and lost all his money and his girlfriend.”

The two brothers turned towards each other and silently communicated that they both thought it was a demon deal. Quickly, they both stood up and paid for the drinks. “Thank you! We’ll be back tomorrow.” Dean smiled at you before following his brother out the bar.

For a while you stood there in a trance. He was coming back tomorrow! You would have to tell Scuttle to take you shopping for some more clothes.

“Don’t do it.”

“Huh?” Scuttle’s voice startled you to the present.

“He’s a hunter and human. Both things your mother hates the most. Secretly help them and go on about your life.” Scuttle warned, then attended to another bar patron.

--

Too bad you didn’t listen to Scuttle, because now you were in trouble.

The following night, Dean and Sam came back they seemed discouraged. Turned out their lead was a bust. No demon deals occurred in this town according to Crowley.

Throughout the night, you would eavesdrop on their conversation about the case and it was becoming clearer to you what exactly were killing these men. Because of a festival that happened earlier that day, the bar was slammed, and you didn’t get to tip off Dean and Sam about what they were hunting before they left.

Time to time your best friends, Sebastian and Floyd would escort you on land to ensure your safety. No one wanted to feel the wrath of your mother if something bad were ever to happen to you.

“Fellas, I need one of you to cover for me.” You leaned across the bar already batting your eyes. It was always a struggle to get these two to do something without a little coercion.

“Why?” Sebastian ran his hands through his dreads, he was already suspecting you were up to no good.

“So, I can tell the hunters what’s killing the humans.” You rushed out, then tried to leave but Sebastian stopped you.

“Uh huh. No way, missy. We all agreed that you would do it without outing yourself.” Sebastian was the harder of the two to convince. Being your mother’s court advisor made him be more overprotective of you.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Y/N. Humans are already scary, but hunters are terrifying.” Floyd shivered at the idea of talking to one. He could already imagine his tail as a trophy on some hunter’s wall.

You ruffled your friend’s kinky blue curls. “Don’t be guppy, Floyd.” Finished messing up his hair, you ran out the bar. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It was always that way with those two. You wanted to do something, they would say it was a bad idea, and then you would do it anyway. Those two should’ve learned by now.

You didn’t have to go far since Scuttle’s bar was on the beach and Dean and Sam were already there. It looked like they were inspecting something, when you saw hands made of water grab onto the two and drug them into the sea.

It was her; you knew it. Shedding your clothes, you dived into the water. You couldn’t bask in the water like you usually would after a day on land. Cutting through the current you found the men drowning and the mysterious water hands gone. She didn’t need to kill them instantly. The depths she brought them to would do the job for her. She just didn’t count on you to come in and save the day.

You were a lot stronger in water than on land, so it was easy to drag both men up to the surface. Hopefully, she didn’t have eyes on you. She had eyes everywhere in the water.

You took them to your hidden grotto you used to come onto land or just to think alone. Using your powers to manipulate water, you expelled the water from their lungs.

Dean was the first one coming into consciousness. It was the same voice from last night. The bartender, he thought. He sat up to thank her, but she wasn’t there. The only thing he thought he saw was a fin.

“Sammy!?” Dean rolled over to his brother. He slapped him to jolt him awake.

Sam sat up, out of sorts for a moment. “Dude, what the hell was that?” He dragged a hand over his face.

Dean shook his head. “Man, I don’t know.”

The brothers sat there confused not knowing what the hell they were gonna do.

--

You watched the brothers leave the grotto from behind a rock formation. Once they were gone, you emerged from your hiding spot.

“Helping hunters?” She clicked her tongue. “I’m disappointed in you. I thought a daughter of Cora’s would know better.” Mami Wata stood above you in all white, draped in the most expensive jewels, stoking the head of her snake. This was the first time she appeared to you and you were in awe despite the circumstances.

“You’re killing innocent men. What else am I supposed to do?” Normally, you would speak to her with respect, but this situation did not call for it. People were dying.

“They’re not innocent. I promised them riches in exchange for fidelity. They broke the agreement.”

She was right. Those men did make the deals of their own free will, but what she was doing didn’t sit right with you. “But you didn’t have to kill them. Other Mami Watas leave them broke.”

“Who are you to question me?!” Her voice echoed, causing some of the rocks to shake. “Sorry,” Mami Wata regained her composure when she saw you tremble in fear. “I like you, Princess Y/N. You’re strong-spirited, but I can’t have you in my way, but I also promised your mother I would protect her offspring.”

“Then what now?” You crossed your arms with an attitude. Mami Wata released the python that was wrapped around her into the water.

The green creature slithered up to your neck and squeezed tightly. “It’ll be hard for you to help the hunters without that beautiful voice of yours.” In a panic, you clutched your neck trying to speak, but it was already too late. Mami Wata already took your voice.

The snake went back to its satisfied owner. “A little piece advice,” Mami Wata looked at you with pity. “The one with the green eyes, don’t fall for him. The pale ones are always the worst.” She chuckled as she made her exit.

Even though, you didn’t have your voice, you had to find a way to warn the hunters.

--

Sam and Dean were going crazy. All they could come up with is that they were possibly dealing with the god, Poseidon and even that sounded far-fetched for them.

They were knee-deep in research when there was a knock on their door. Both brothers grabbed their guns and Sam looked out the peephole. “It’s the bartender from the other night.”

Dean shoved his little brother out the way. “Smooth, dude.” Sam mumbled at a flustered Dean. Opening the door, Dean greeted you. In return you waved back. “Hey, Y/N, right?”

You shook your head vigorously, excited that he remembered your name.

“What can I help you with?” He asked, looking at you expectantly. Oh shit! How were you gonna let him now you were there to help?

An idea popped in your head. You held up a finger and brought out the cellphone Scuttle bought for you. Unlocking the phone, all the words were gibberish to you when they shouldn’t be. You were fluent in all languages. Mami Wata must’ve cursed all your modes of communications. Son of a bitch!

“Woah!” Dean lifted his arms as you pushed pass him when you saw a photo of one of the victims. Grabbing it you motioned to the boys you could help. They were confused to why you weren’t speaking and even more confused on how you knew another victim.

“Dean, I think she’s connected somehow.” You eagerly waved the photo in agreeance. Sam crouched down to assure you he wasn’t a threat. “Did you lose your voice because you know who did this?” Sam clapped his hands in victory when you confirmed his suspicion.

Dean wanted to believe you were there to help, but he could never be too careful. He’s been burned too many times before. “How do we know you’re not the one doing the killings?”

Pinching your nose and pointing to the boys, you reenacted their drowning and you pulling them out. “You’re the one who saved us? How?” Dean scanned you up and down, there was no way you had the strength to pull him AND his brother. Well, no way if you were only human.

Of course, they wouldn’t believe you. To them you were a human woman. You puckered your face like you seen humans do to imitate fish, then you pointed to your closed legs and made swimming motions with your hands.

“No way.” Sam thought out loud.

“What,” Dean asked, still in the dark.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Man, you were always bad at charades.”

“I’m not!” Dean sputtered like a child.

“I think she’s a mermaid.”

“Sam, don’t you think we would’ve heard of them being real?” Dean couldn’t wrap his head around the idea.

Dean’s disbelief caused an argument between the boys. They were too busy with trying to be right that they didn’t notice you taking off your clothes. There was only one way to end this argument. Just in your bra you tapped your seashell necklace and prepared for the fall.

At the sound of something falling, Sam and Dean stopped arguing. “Oh shit!” They simultaneously said, realizing Sam was right.

It was uncomfortable to have your tail and not be near water, so you transformed back to legs in forth of them. When Sam and Dean noticed you were naked down below, they quickly turned their backs to you.

After you were dressed properly, you tapped both on their broad shoulders. Questions were flying at you. Was it another mermaid behind the killings? How many mermaids are there? Are you a good or bad mermaid? How do you have sex?

You pointed to the photos to direct the hunters’ attention (more Dean than Sam) back to the case. “Oh yeah, the case.” Dean sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “You said you knew who’s behind the murders, right?”

Nodding yes, you began thinking of how to act out Mami Wata. Jumping up and down you got the boys’ attention when you figured it out.

You mimicked the motion parents do when they rock their babies. “Cradle? Rocking?” Dean guessed.

“Baby?!” Sam called out. You smiled at his correct guess, but that wasn’t the word they needed, it was only a connection.

Pointing between you and your imaginary baby, you hoped they would get it.

“Mom?”

“Mother?”

“Mama?”

“Mommy?” Dean threw out. You squeezed his cheeks and gave him a kiss.

Dean gave Sam a superior look. “And you said I was bad at charades.” Sam ignored his brother’s smug smirk and paid attention to you searching for something. Your eyes lit up when you found it. This should be easy.

“Water?” Dean asked and it earned him another kiss from you.  He smiled victoriously at Sam. Now he wanted to play charades with you all the time.

Combining the two words, Sam asked you, “Mommy water?” Close enough. You knew they weren’t familiar with the dialect. You nodded your head yes and Sam began searching it. “Okay, I think I got it.” Sam announced after a few minutes. “Mami Wata?” He looked to you for approval. You jumped over to him and placed a big kiss on Sam’s cheek.

“Shut up,” Dean told Sam before he could say something smart. “What are we dealing with?”

“Okay, lore says Mami Wata is an African water goddess. She can take an appearance of a mermaid or human. Either way she’s extremely beautiful, like Aphrodite beautiful.”

Dean hovered above his brother. “Enough with the backstory. Why is she killing dudes?”

Sam scrolled down further until he found what he wanted. “I think I got it. Mami Wata appears to some men and promise them riches and good fortune as long as they remain faithful to her. Cheat and you’ll lose everything. Sometimes even your life.”

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. How do we kill her?”

Sam leaned back and sighed at what he read. “Wooden stake dipped in the blood of one of their living victims.”

Dean started browsing the local newspaper. He remembered something sticking out. He shook the paper when he found the article about a man winning the two million dollars lottery. “Boom! I think we got our next victim.” He started grabbing his belongings. “Sammy, Y/N, let’s roll.”

--

It was always a set-up. The men Mami Wata made deals with were notorious cheaters. She knew they would break the deal and cheat. With some teamwork, preparation, and some luck the three of you were able to kill her before she got to her next victim.

“You know it would be nice to have a mermaid on Team Free Will.” Dean desperately wanted to spend more time with you.

You intertwined your fingers with Dean’s. “I wish, but I belong in the ocean. Princess duties.”

Dean nodded his head to himself. “Well, let me leave you with a parting gift.”

Dean’s lips were less than an inch away from yours when you heard your mom’s voice. “Y/N!” She was flanked by a sulking Sebastian and Floyd.

You wasted no time going to her. For her to be on land meant you were deep in trouble. You gave Dean one more glance, taking in his features for the last time.

--

Tears feel from your eyes as Sebastian and Floyd tried to comfort you. Your mother really banned you from the kingdom. Sneaking to land? Forgivable. Almost kissing a human? Forgivable. But killing her goddess? Unforgivable, apparently.

Your friends assured you the queen would change her mind. Despite your different beliefs, you were her favorite because you were so similar. But how long would it take for her to change her mind? Your mother could hold a grudge.

“Y/N?” Dean called into the grotto. Behind him was Sam and Scuttle. “What’s wrong?” He sat by you and pulled you into a hug.

Sebastian splashed some water on him.

“What the fuck, dude?!”

“Don’t you think you’ve helped enough? Both of you?” Sebastian glared at both brothers.

“What did we do?” Sam asked, a little scared of the abnormally buff merman.

Splashing some water with your tail, you admonished your friend. “Don’t mind Seb, he’s always crabby.”

“I get crabby when my princess and friend gets banished because she helped hunters.”

Sticking up a finger, you corrected him. “For your information I got in trouble for killing Mami Wata.”

Sam knelt by you, feeling horrible that him and Dean were the cause of your current predicament “Is it true?”

“That I got banned? Yeah, but it’s not your fault. I knew this could happen. I’m just bummed I have to find a new home.”

Scuttle laid a hand on your shoulder. “Y/N/N, you always have a home with me.”

Sam and Dean traded looks with each other, this was their fault and they needed to fix it. “Or…” Dean drew out. “You can live with us, hunt with us.” Dean saw the debate in your eyes. “That’s only if you want to. No pressure.” He added nervously.

When your eyes lit up, Floyd began shaking his head no. “Y/N, nuh uh! There’s vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and demons!”

“Stop being a guppy, Floyd!” Your Aunt Iliana chuckled as she swam up with her dolphin, Pica. “This is where she’s meant to be.” She gave you a knowing smirk.

Her prophecy! You remembered. Sliding back in the water you gave your aunt and friends hugs and kisses goodbye. You promised them to visit as much as you could.

With a press to your necklace, your tail turned into legs and with some magic from Aunt Iliana you had clothes on this time.

“Ready?” Dean offered his hand.

You put your hand in his. “Yeah.” It sucked to be kicked out of your world, but now you could be a part of Dean’s.

Tagging: @titty-teetee @chonisberonica @awshitdaviddonedonethisshitagain @cocooned-butterfly @babypink224221 @deanscroissant @deansbbysblog​ @nervouspetsonanime​ @nerd-lovely​

#black!reader #dean winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x black!reader #dean x reader #dean x black!reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x y/n #spn #SPN FANDOM #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #Supernatural fanfic #supernatural fandom #frizzlesfic #frizzlefic #frizzlewrites

[trensu]

Episode 10: The One with ANOTHER Moonlit Rooftop Moment

Still surrounded by dead bodies, guys. There is, unfortunately, an abundance of plot this time

But let’s slog through it BC OUR BOYS ARE WORTH IT

So right now we meet Xue Yang, Xiao Xingchen, and Song Lan

Love ya guys, but we’re not here for you today

(even tho xxc is the most beautiful elf prince of a boy i’ve ever seen; no wonder xy gets all obsessed with him and song lan falls in love)

(yes, song lan and xxc are in love, no i will not be taking comments)

Moving on!

Plot plot, xy and xxc have a sword fight, plot plot

Oooh, wait there is an itty bitty piece of WangXiantics here

Wwx uses his Magic Rope of Binding/Bonding to reel XY in like a fish and proceeds to yank him about while he tries to have a sword fight with xxc

(NO ONE’S ALLOWED TO HAVE ROMANTIC SWORD FIGHTS IN THE MOONLIGHT EXCEPT ME AND LWJ -- wwx, probably)

So he does this, and then throws a little grin at lwj and teases “lan zhan, are you still bored?”

Ahhh, wwx, you might as well have shouted: LAN ZHAN, DID YOU SEE WHAT I DID? WASN’T THAT CLEVER? ISN’T MY INVENTION USEFUL?? AREN’T YOU IMPRESSED???

It’s okay, we all got the message anyway

Except maybe lwj bc he is still a Disaster Gay™ even if he now knows he is In Love and Soulmate’d for Life

I’d like to pause a moment to let you all know that wwx has a HILARIOUS 'disgust' reaction to xy.

Xy is all captured and xxc is all CONFESS and xy is all yeah okay i killed all those guys and it was fun

Wwx’s face gets all twisted up like when you smell something rotten

AND THEN DOES A FULL-BODY TWITCH AWAY FROM XY LIKE HE’S TRYING NOT TO PHYSICALLY PUKE 

IT’S SO FREAKING FUNNY

I mean i shouldn’t laugh bc that’s probably a reasonable reaction to a unhinged killer saying that murder is just a fun hobby of his, BUT GOD, I HAD TO REWIND AND SEE THAT REACTION PLAY OUT TWICE, I WAS CRACKING UP

Anyway

Xy is all tied up and captured and everybody talks plot stuff (after introducing themselves and doing the whole “wow, you’re awesome,” and “no, no, you’re awesome” thing)

Xy laughs because he’s a murderous lunatic and wwx is like “what’s so funny asshole”

Wwx is def posturing here

I think he’s threatened bc they have similar sense of fashion

Like, hell no, this murderous bastard is not gonna steal MY look

HE’S GIVING BLACK ROBES A BAD RAP, I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!!

Lwj: Give us the Plot Device

Xy: idk what you’re talking about bro. I just came out here to have a good time and attack people right now

Wwx: lan zhan, don’t bother talking to him!!

Yeah, wwx is DEFINITELY feeling threatened lol

Like, omg why is lwj listening to this guy? Why did he get closer to him and start talking to him? LWJ HE’S NOT AS PRETTY AS ME!! I LOOK BETTER IN BLACK ROBES, LWJ, STOP LOOKING AT HIM

Wwx: i’ll search him, here hold my sword

Lwj: *pointedly does not reach for wwx’s sword*

None of this is a euphemism guys, get your minds out of the gutter

Wwx: right right, i can search him AND hold my sword at the same time, nbd nbd

Wwx: *proceeds to molest xy*

and in that moment, all of us suddenly wished to be a murderous lunatic

Xy: woah there, mr. handsy, people will talk!!

Wwx: bro, i am the KING of gay chicken, don’t try me

MEANWHILE, lwj is watching all this go down very intently

WHATCHA LOOKING AT LWJ

WHAT’S THE MATTER

R U JEALOUS RN??

‘Nooo, that’s supposed to ME under wwx’s sexy wandering hands’ --lwj, probably

we feel your pain, bro

So that’s the first wangxian moment of the episode

Lwj being jealous again

Altho to be fair, i mean, anybody would be miffed watching their soulmate feel up someone Not Them, right?

Right.

Plot plot plotty NHS and Meng Yao appear conveniently plotty plot plot

Xxc and SL get invited to Qinghe to witness Justice Get Served to XY

Xxc: yeah no, we’re not doing that. Clan politics not really our scene

Xxc: we prefer to be alone together and travel the world, right, boyfriend, i mean Song Lan?

SL: *is handsome and stoic*

Then wwx has a Same Hat moment

Wwx: OH, US TOO, ME AND LAN ZHAN DO THAT TOO

Lwj: you should give us your contact details 

Lwj: in case we need you.

Lwj: for stuff.

LOOK AT LWJ BEING ALL SOCIABLE

I’M SO PROUD OF YOU BB

(he really did ask them how to reach them tho)

Lwj rightfully saw xxc & SL and thought, now there’s a gay couple i can bond with

Then the group splits up with XXC and SL go their own way

I mention this because we get a shot of LWJ staring longingly at the pair of them as they walk off

You know why?

You all know why

IT’S BC HE’S DAYDREAMING OF HIM AND WWX DOING WHAT THEY DO

JUST TRAVELING TOGETHER AND PUTTING GOOD INTO THE WORLD

*SOBSOB*

And then WWX breaks the daydream with a simple “let’s go?” and lwj just turns around and follows him with barely a pause

BC HE LOVES WWX AND WILL GO ANYWHERE HE WANTS!!!! 

We arrive at the Unclean Realm for Plot Reasons

Plot plot, NMJ makes a Badass Entrance, jc & wwx fanboy over him, plot

More plot stuff

More non-wangxian stuff

So much non-wangxian stuff

Why, show, why

Foreshadowing Plot Stuff

AND WE’RE AT THE 30 MINUTE MARK OF THE EPISODE WHEN WE FINALLY GET A SUBSTANTIAL WANGXIAN SCENE

OH GOD, IT TOOK SO LONG

I ALMOST DIDN’T MAKE IT GUYS

BUT HERE I AM!!!

Okay, okay *deep breath* we’re good now

WWX IS ON A ROOF!!

RIGHT NEXT TO LWJ’S ROOM!!!

Bc he’s drunk and can’t find his way back to his own rooms so he thought sleeping on the roof was a good option?? JOIN A HELP GROUP, WWX

LWJ was peacefully meditating in his room and when there arose such a clatter that he had to grab bichen and was ready to cut a bitch

But just kidding! bc he hears wwx’s voice and immediately relaxes

Wwx: these roof tiles are much rougher than the ones in gusu, so rocky, so uncomfy

He says this as if it was done to purposely inconvenience him specifically

Again, he’s drunk here guys

But he’s a poetic drunk!!

Wwx: the world is a room, i’ll take the sky as my quilt and the ground as my bed

A very pretty way of saying I CAN’T FIND MY ROOM, GUESS I’LL SLEEP OUTSIDE

Wwx then shows us that he can’t drink properly from a jar of wine and just pours it into his mouth and sloshes half of it down his neck and on his clothes

Ooooh, but that’s a nice shot of his jawline

And oooh, his neck’s all glistening now

I APPROVE

I APPROVE VERY MUCH

And then ~THEIR SONG~ STARTS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND as lwj exits his rooms and walks outside to see wwx lounging on the rooftop like a particularly handsome raccoon or smth

Wwx: lan zhan, i’ll sleep on your roof tonight *passes out drunk but in a ridiculously cute way*

FOR REAL, HE JUST SPRAWLS OUT ON THE ROOF AND THEN ~GENTLY~ LEANS HIS HEAD ON HIS HIS HAND AND DRIFTS OFF ANGELICALLY

STOP BEING SO CUTE WWX

LWJ: wei ying, i have to go

He says SOFTLY and with LOVE and then PROCEEDS TO ABANDON HIS SOULMATE TO GO OFF AND DO STUPID PLOT THINGS

But guys, it was still beautiful

He says that and EVERYTHING goes all slo-mo as he walks away

I mean, the shot of him walking away is done so that we can see wwx perched on the rooftop above him and lwj does that stately strut he has

And then the camera gives us a shot of wwx’s face as the WIND GENTLY RUSTLES HIS HAIR

STILL IN SLO MO

WITH ~THEIR SONG~

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ugh gross, this beautiful scene is followed up by that wen chao 

Plot plot

Suddenly a wen vs. nie battle is happening

For Plot Reasons, blegh

Omg so many Dramatic Twirls everywhere

Okay, okay, unfortunately we gotta listen to Wen Chao for a moment to get a breadcrumb’s worth of wangxian here

Wc: hey, wwx, since you’re ~sooo~ interested in GusuLan stuff, let me tell you something

Wc: *proceeds to brag about his big brother destroying the cloud recesses*

(even the bad guys know wwx and lwj are obsessed with each other, YOU’RE NOT SUBTLE BOYS)

Wc: if lwj manages to make it home, he’s gonna find it in ruins!!

(seriously FUCK THIS GUY)

Wwx: *the most ferocious glare we’ve seen him do so far*

Looks like somebody just won first place in wwx’s shit list

Then more plot stuff happens, we see nmj and meng yao break up, blah blah blah

And that’s the end of ep10!!!

This was...so hard, guys. So difficult. A trial, even. I had to wait for an ENTIRE HALF-HOUR TO GET A SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF WANGXIAN PIE. 

I mean, yeah, i got to see xxc’s beautiful face, but GOD, AT WHAT COST??

Also, are you guys starting to notice a Thing about rooftops?

Because it’s there.

We’re def gonna have more Rooftop Moments

Stay tuned!

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#WangXiantics #the untamed #wangxian