#like everything can be hunky-dory at the end

[whateveriwant]

I know you already did the 141 boys when their wife gives birth (which was fantastic btw) but maybe if they missed the birth because of a mission or whatever else your brilliant mind can think of!

Don't give me compliments because then I'll follow you home like a cat and you'll never get rid of me 😖

Price

(This goes for all the men, really) but he's absolutely gutted to not be with you as you're giving birth

Honestly, if he had the choice, he would've rather lobbed off his own arm than miss such a momentous occasion in both your lives

It’s nothing less than the literal fate of the world that's keeping him from you, and he makes sure to reiterate that over and over again

The only thing that gives Price a bit of peace of mind when leaving you at a time like this is knowing you have a strong support system to help you through it

And boy oh boy does he put those friends and family members to use by having them constantly text him with every update imaginable

What time your water breaks, how far apart your contractions are, how much you've dilated, so on and so on. He wants to know it all

While he has to remain focused during the bulk of the mission, when he's able to, he's whipping out his phone to scroll through the literal hundreds of messages that await him

The updates are so plentiful and detailed that if he tries hard enough, he can almost pretend like he was right there beside you all along

And once he gets to the pictures of you holding your little one for the first time, well… he's not afraid to admit that he sheds a manly tear or two at the sight

Soap

He kicked up quite the storm at work when he realized he was going to be missing the birth of his child

He did everything in his power to try to get out of the mission – to try to get back to you – but, ultimately, he had no other choice than to go

But he's not just going to go gently into the night. No, he has a few tricks up his sleeve to make it as if he's still there with you in some capacity

Like Price, Soap takes comfort in leaving you with a huge support system to help while he's away

And also similarly, he's recruiting your loved ones (more so their phones) into letting him video chat with you whenever he gets the opportunity

(Does that mean he snuck his unauthorized smartphone into the middle of a battlefield? …. Yes. Yes, he did. .……....… Don't tell Price)

You'll be in the midst of a call with him and a bullet will fly right by his head and embed itself in the wall behind him

Of course, this has you incredibly concerned, worrying over how you're distracting him when he should be focused on his mission

But he assures you there's no need to fret, dear. He's perfectly safe and everything’s completely fine

(Oh, and just disregard that sound in the background, hun. No, it wasn't a bomb. Heavens, no! It was a… a… piano falling out a window)

Gaz

Even when he's away on mission during normal circumstances, he's calling home all the time to check in with you

But given your current state, now he's checking in twice as much as he usually does

Expect a minimum of three calls a day just to ensure things are still all hunky dory on your end

It's during one of these calls that your water breaks, and as you fly into a state of panic, forgetting everything you're supposed to do, Gaz has to calmly walk you through the steps of what you'd planned

He's able to talk you down and make sure you get yourself to the hospital in one piece, but then after that call, weirdly, you don't hear from him again

It's not until several hours later when you've already delivered your child that you're awoken by the feeling of someone beside your bed

You look to see who it is and it's none other than Gaz himself – still dressed in his full gear, covered in all sorts of dirt and grime, a hushed apology pouring from his mouth

He's so sorry he couldn't get there quick enough, beautiful. He left as soon as he could once he'd pulled a few strings with Price

But you don't even care about the excuse because you're quickly enveloping him in a hug. With tears in your eyes, you assure him it's alright. He's here now, and that's all that matters to you

Ghost

When he was informed he was being shipped off to a remote location less than a month before your due date, he was livid

No phone, no radio, no communication of any kind with the outside world and he was supposed to be okay with that? He very much wasn't

The higher-ups had to really hammer home the whole “safety of the world” thing to convince Ghost to go, and even when he did, he did so grudgingly

He finds that as he sits in this shoddy shack halfway across the planet from you, all he can do is keep a mental tally of everything he’s missing

Going with you to your final check ups, helping you pack your hospital bag, holding your hand as you begin to push, etc. etc. etc.

But what about things he might not know about? What if something's gone wrong while he's been away?

He can't let himself think on it too much because he'll end up putting his fist through the drywall, and he needs at least one good hand to hold his child with when he meets them for the first time

Seven weeks, four days, and nine hours after he shipped out, Ghost is on a plane back home

He doesn't stop to talk to anyone when he touches down at base (not even to report to his superiors). He just gets into his car and books it, not letting off the gas until he's parked outside your home again

And when he finally reaches the front door, an unexpected tremor passing through him as he grabs for the handle, he closes his eyes, takes in a deep breath, and walks inside, beginning the next chapter of his life

#wiw asks #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #john price x reader #captain john price x reader #captain price x reader #john mactavish x reader #john soap mactavish x reader #soap x reader #kyle garrick x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #gaz x reader #female reader #simon riley #john price #john mactavish #kyle garrick #tf 141 x reader #task force 141 x reader #cod x reader #cod mw2 #call of duty #modern warfare 2

[auraworkshop]

MY STORY OF SUCCESSFULY CONQUERING THE VOID STATE

Trigger warning: Sexual abuse, trauma etc.

I was raised in a loving and nurturing household. My childhood was hunky-dory and I remember myself as a bright and happy child, frolicking around in a carefree environment. I was pampered by a set of very loving and supportive parents. Alas, my protected bubble shattered, when at the age of 11, I went through sexual abuse and my life changed. The incident led to repressed anxiety, depression, and lingering PTSD for almost a decade.

I was sexually abused at the age of 11

Considering I was just 11-years-old when the heinous incident took place, I was too young to register the gravity or impact of such a crime. Revisiting the incident is still very painful. It happened about nine years ago, at an outstation wedding. I was sleeping alone in a hotel room, when the abuser entered my room and forced himself upon me. I remember distinctly how dark the room was. I was in a deep slumber and didn't realize that someone other than me was in the room as well. I wasn't able to respond or react, as I couldn't escape or stop the person. I was left in pain.

While I did inform my parents immediately, for some reason, the abuse and its record got shushed. My parents didn't want it to be made public or for it to harm my image in the society. Their response towards my trauma festered as a scar in the coming years.Living with depression, anxiety and PTSD As much as I tried to move on from that horrendous night, it kept coming back to me.

Unfortunately, I was too young to repair the damage. I began to feel lethargic and fatigued all the time. Something as small as brushing my teeth became a laborious task. I withdrew from merrymaking, public engagements, and activities that I had found joy in earlier. I failed to find any joy in life anymore.

I made many attempts. I think they started as a result of feeling unhappy with myself. All the failed attempts were a call for help and desperation. I felt helpless and alone and I couldn't dare to face the demon. I began to get triggered by even the mere mention of weddings. I think, my parents untimely and apathetic response to my suffering was the nail in the coffin-I lost trust in anybody whom I considered close. The replaying of the incident, over and over again, left my conscious and spirit bruised and broken. I became quiet and reclusive. This was when my life slowly started to change, as I found out about law of assumption and then the void state. After knowing that I can change my life completely through the void I tried every single night till yesterday to enter the void state at any cost. I was so desperate to get in. I slapped myself every night to enter otherwise my life would never change and I'll also be miserable. I did everything that can be done but still I saw no progress. I slowly started to get super jealous of other people's success stories. Everytime I saw a new void success story here on Tumblr, I would cry so hard and isolate myself. Yeah :) I was so Harsh on myself.

But, Then I found out about you and your subliminals and then about your paid custom subliminal and how magically they work, and yeah I was a bit hesitant to pay you for the subliminal as I got scammed by people so many times but all those success people got from using your subliminal boosted my motivation and trust in you! and see, my money was worth it!!

I listened to that sub on loop for 3 hours for 4 days continuously and the night of the 4th day I ended up in the void. It was instant and so effortless, it all happened so effortlessly. I never thought I would enter like this after beating, slapping, and isolating myself to enter.

Thankyou for helping me, thankyou for the hardwork you put in your subliminals, thankyou for your sweet and motivating words ♡

Bye to Tumblr, all my fav bloggers, anons and Aura.

Signing off...

Wow! You did a great job my girl, Your success story is truly a GEM.

Sorry for everything you went through, I LOVE YOU <3

And Thankyou so much for taking your time and writing this beautiful success story to all of us 🤍

#void #void state #void success #void state success story #law of assumption

[korkorali]

I think the worst bit for me about all Those Sorts (you know the type) of fics is that they always take Della extremely out of character in order to make her the 'antagonist.'

And that sucks because it's just not necessary! It's the worst because you can have Della & Louie angst where Della's the 'antagonist,' and it's in-character.

You just have to have Louie be wrong in the end (kind of).

The reason why Della and Louie clash in Timephoon and Glomtales! isn't because Della 'disapproves of scheming in entirety' or something, it's because she's done the same goddamn thing as him.

(And side note- Timephoon is honestly an amazing piece of storytelling, because it allows us to see Della's thought process for taking the Spear of Selene by showing us Louie doing pretty much the same thing.)

She's been through it all before, and she knows how it ends.

And that fucking terrifies her! The idea that one of her kids is making the same mistakes as her, could go through the same thing as she did, and she's the only one who can see it, is terrifying.

The way to start out a story like this is simple; have an adventure go wrong. Not in a deadly way, not in a way that's caused by Louie (at least, not that anyone but him notices), not in a way that costs anyone their life- but in a way that causes them to lose the treasure. The adventure is a failure, and they have to come back empty handed, like New Gods on the Block.

Maybe some people get hurt, maybe it's vaguely Louie's fault (and even then- it'd be better if it wasn't even his fault, it's just his brain connecting patterns where there aren't any), but the most important part is that they don't get the treasure, and it's like- one of those ones that can only be found once every hundred years or something.

Louie feels responsible (I mean all of the kids do, but as it'd be a Louie story he'd be the one focused on) and upset that they want to all that trouble and don't have anything to show for it, so he tries to figure out some way to go on the adventure again.

Turns out, after a bit of research, there is a way to get to the treasure again! Louie brings it to Scrooge's attention excitedly- but Scrooge turns it down. Says it's too dangerous, that they're not doing it, end of story.

...Not end of story- everyone's still obviously miserable. So Louie decides that 'okay, if it's 'too dangerous,' then I'll just go in secret. It'll be fine, Scrooge is just overreacting.'

So he starts trying to put a plan into place to get the treasure in secret- but Della, somehow, seems to know what he's doing (hint: it's because she knows what she'd do if she was in Louie's shoes). And is consistently getting in his way.

And there you go- a perfect setup to have Della consistently and purposefully stepping on Louie's toes, getting in his way, trying to stop him from doing things, and it's even in-character! It'd probably start out with the two acting like everything's perfectly hunky-dory, even though both of them know that the other knows that they know that the other knows why they did this one thing.

As plans get deeper, it'd escalate to Della trying to actively call Louie out, but he always manages to just barely weasel his way out of it, and eventually commence his plan.

It obviously goes wrong. But Della's there to help. And finally she'd actually explain why the fuck she's been something of a thorn in his side for the past few weeks, why it seems like she knows what he's thinking: because she does.

Because she's been through the same thing.

Because she fucked up, and left her stranded on the moon for ten years, and she does not want that for her kid. (And of course everything could've been solved if she'd just sat down and talked to Louie about that at the onset, but it's Della- she only likes to bring up the moon when it's funny. She would've thought 'nah it's fine, I can handle this, I don't need to bare my soul, I shouldn't burden anyone with that' without realizing that oh yeah, no, that's the exact same thought process she doesn't want Louie to think)

And of course they'd argue, because it'd be a high-stress situation and neither of them would have the composure to pretend that everything's alright and they haven't been sniping at each other for the past week or so, and eventually it'd finally come up; eventually, they'd finally bring up that they thought the exact same thing when Louie did this, when Louie took the Timetub, when Della took the Spear.

'...And if anything goes wrong, at least I'm the only one who'll get hurt.' (Because you cannot tell me that that was not the last thought running through both of their heads when they took the timetub/Spear of Selene, you cannot convince me that they didn't think they were doing right by their families in that moment, that they hadn't done their due diligence and minimized risk down to one person.)

And Louie wouldn't understand, because he did the right thing. He minimized risk, he made sure nobody else would get hurt. But that's wrong- because if he got hurt, then Della (Donald, Scrooge, their family, her kids) would get hurt too. That they could fly into a vacuum all they wanted, but at the end of the day, they still didn't exist in one.

Eventually, they'd get out of there and abandon the mission again. Maybe they'd succeed, but probably not. But that's not important- what'd be important is that they were both safe and alive and okay.

There- a Della & Louie thing, extremely angsty, well Della as the 'antagonist,' and it's all in-character. Easy.

#ducktales #dt17 #della duck #louie duck #the 'adventure that can only be done every hundred years with one extremely dangerous exception' can obviously be interchanged with a lot #all that's really necessary is that louie has a plan that he thinks is good for everyone #(and in order to make it good for everyone he does his best to make sure that he's the only one who'd get affected by it should it go wrong #and Della gets underfoot and messes with everything consistently and frustratingly without explaining anything for the longest time #(because she's terrible about actually opening up about the fact that yeah no she's fucked up) #(and she doesn't want to force that onto her kids or acknowledge it at all- at least if it's not a joke) #because she knows exactly what he's doing because it's what she'd do #and she knows what happened the last time she pulled that sort of stunt

[kortsitron]

Spider saviour

✮ PARING Hobie Brown × Gender Neutral! Reader

✮ WARNINGS/TAGS stalking, acrophobia (fear of heights), drabble(?), bad cockney slang ig (I am not British), shy!(?) Hobie

✮ SUMMARY  It seems someone is following you, luckily Hobie notices and won't let anything happen to you

✮ A/N might do part two idk

chalk (chalk farms) - arms

Gregory (Gregory peck) - neck

hunky-dory - alright, fine

boat (boat-race) - face

It was a long day for you. Work, groceries, all of that boring stuff you had to do. But luckily it was all over and you couldn't wait to get home.

But you couldn't.

You've been wandering around London for a while. Because you felt like you've been followed. Wherever you went, there was always this weird man. Always near, always watching your every little move.

At first you thought it was just a silly coincidence, nothing to worry about.

But the longer you wandered, the more afraid you were. You were indeed followed. You didn't want to look back at him, it left an unpleasant shiver down your spine. You felt his eyes on you, a wave of disgust went through your whole body.

You wanted to get home so bad, to get to your safe space, but you were scared he might follow you there. You were in a state of panic. Especially since it was slowly getting dark and the situation could get out of hand really quickly.

You pulled out your phone, calling the first number that was shown in your contacts. You pleaded they were going to answer the phone. You just wanted it to end.

“Please, please, please…” You muttered into the phone. You barely heard your own voice, your heartbeat was so loud in your ears.

Hobie was spraying the wall when he heard your quivering voice, begging that someone would pick up the phone. He then noticed the guy, walking right after you, getting closer and closer.

The spray cans were forgotten, wherever they landed, they were going to be left. Hobie covered his face with his mask, before using his webs to get to you.

Spider-Punk landed right in front of you with a loud thud. You jumped and squeaked, your phone almost fell out of your hand. Hobie immediately apologized for scaring you.

“Didn't mean to scare ya, mate.” He said with his deep, almost hypnotizing voice. His eyes went from your face to the man behind who stopped in his tracks.

“Someone's following ya.” He added, putting his arm around you before you started walking again.

“I-I noticed. I-I tried to call someone, b-but no one is picking u-up the phone. I just… I wanna get home…” Hobie was feeling bad for you, especially when he heard how shaky your voice got. He couldn't just leave you like that.

“Put your chalk* around me Gregory*.” Spider-Punk said without a second thought. You didn't need to be told twice either. You put your arms around his neck like asked.

Hobie felt how fast your heart was beating, compared to his. He bit his lip, kinda glad that you couldn't see his face. He didn't even know you, but he knew he wanted to keep you safe from the moment he heard you plead.

The next thing you felt was a big hand on your waist, it made you feel safe almost instantly. And before you could even melt into his hand, Spider-Punk used his web to pull both of you off the ground.

Hobie felt your arms tightened around his neck momentarily. “You okay?” His hand tightened his grip as a response, only to get you to bury your face in his neck. He quickly understood. Heights.

“Everything's hunky-dory*, mate. Just gimme me your address and I'll take ya there.” His voice sounded softer than before. “I got ya.”

You told him your address, and soon you two were in front of the flat. Your legs were finally back on the ground and you felt relieved. You let go of Spider-Punk, but his hand didn't leave your waist just yet. The grip wasn't even close to being as tight as before, tips of his fingers barely touched your waist. 

Hobie wasn't sure why he kept his hand on you. Maybe it was because of how protective he got of you, he didn't know. He just wanted to stay near you.

“Thank you for the help.” You said with a little blush as he kept his hand on you. “Uh… your hand..”

Hobie took his hand back immediately, looking away. “Apologies.” He folded his arms together on his chest, trying to act cool and like he wasn't getting fluttered. He looked back at you. “I am glad you're safe.”

You gave a shy little nod. You needed some time to calm down from the unpleasant situation, he understood that. He needed some time to himself after tough or tiring days.

“Stay safe out there, ‘kay?” Hobie shifted his weight from one leg to another. “I hope you’re going to be hunky-dory. Would want something bad to happen to such a cute boat*.”

You blushed even more. Hobie saw your shocked expression and felt like he was going too far.

“Apologies, mate. Didn't mean to–” 

“It's fine. I didn't expect you to find me cute.” He was so glad he had a mask on. Normally, he was calm and collected, but for a strange reason you were making him flustered.

“Ya are, obviously. Look at ya.” He watched your face get redder than his mask. “Gotta go. Like I said, stay safe.” He said, before turning away and using his web. Soon, he disappeared out of your sight and you couldn't help but giggle. 

You wondered if this was the last time you two were going to interact or were going to be flirted with by Spider-Punk again.

#spiderman #spider punk #hobie brown across the spiderverse #hobie brown spiderverse #hobie brown x reader #hobie brown spider punk #atsv hobie #gender neutral reader #gender neutral language

[virtues-end]

is there a way mc can return back to their mortal self? 🥺

I've been debating this very thing myself for a while but at the moment I'm leaning towards no. I personally dislike stories in which the monstrous character gets turned into a human and everything is hunky dory again. I think it goes against the message I'm trying to convey.

If I do end up implementing something like that down the road, it would come at a steep cost.

#basically i'm more inclined towards a shrek vibe rather than a beauty & the beast #asks

[forgeofthenine]

SO! I found this super sweet and amazing song! Home to me from Moss. Its lyrics reminds me of the Shadowlands and it got my brain rot thinking, what if the partner of Dammon or Zevlor finds them after getting separated while in that veritable hellscape? They reunite and everything is hunky dory (almost)! The partner sees that they are struggling and sings this song to comfort them after everything that has happened. (here is the link so you don't have to go digging into Youtube!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXg6QC3ZQAk

Thanks for the request Anon, I really loved listening to the song and it absolutely gives major Shadowlands vibes. I ended up picking Dammon because my brain kind of clutched onto a specific vision I guess? Either way, I hope you enjoy, I loved writing a bit of comfort for my favourite Tiefling blacksmith :)

The fic isn't too heavy on the angst, reader is gender neutral but is not Tav and is a tiefling.

Home to me

All that runs through your head is thoughts of Dammon. Even knowing he must be beside himself with worry, the mere thought of him is comforting.

You find yourself pressed tight against Lakrissa, the other tieflings arms holding you as firmly as she can, your own tail wrapped tight around her ankle. The echoes of your captors footsteps and the dripping of water turn monotonous as the days pass by. It's too hard to keep track, and soon your group stops trying.

The small group of you fall into a steady silence, all finding companions to clutch and memories to cling to, the only relief you can find in your captivity.

After an eternity, all of you are startled back to reality as a familiar hero comes to stand on the other side of the metal bars, a grin on their face as they find almost everyone alive and merely trapped.

Stepping over the guards dead bodies, trekking through underground tunnels, sailing over a murky black lake with wild shadows lurking at the edges, your journey back to safety is almost as treacherous as the same one leading to your unwanted stay in Moonrise towers.

It's only once you all step foot on solid, safe ground that everyone is able to let out a sigh of relief.

Tearful reunions are all around you, Lakrissa and Alfira wrapped as close around each other as they could, Rolan attempting to hold both his siblings despite the way his body shakes with relief. Once again, the only thing on your mind is a certain blacksmith.

It hardly takes any time to find his new open air forge, well away from the dock you first arrived on. It almost feels like you're in a dream, seeing the expanse of his back as he works at his anvil.

You don't mean to sneak up on him, the ringing of his hammer hiding the sound of your steps crunching in the gravel. The sound of your voice calling to him is what makes him pause, hands letting go of everything he holds when he turns to see you. Whatever he's working on clatters to the floor as he sweeps you up and off your feet entirely, just holding you not enough for him.

You can feel the wet tears pooling and running down the skin of your neck, Dammons face nestled between your jaw and shoulder. It's hard to stop your own tears from falling, hands desperately grabbing for a hold on him.

It takes hours for you to calm Dammon, his hand or tail never leaving your skin for fear you might slip from his grasp again. Even after days you can still see how the worry creases his face, how his eyes linger on you when he thinks you don't notice. As the others settle back into their new normal, and plan for the best way to bring death to Ketheric Thorm, you notice how Dammon seems to stay stuck.

Night falls again, and with it you fear Dammon will find another sleepless night. It's clear he can't keep living like this. Your hands pull him down to rest against your chest, trying to calm him with the soft rumble of a purr building in your chest. Tails intertwine as you refocus his attention on you now, safe and happy in his bed.

Calloused fingers trail patterns over your skin as the silence breaks, a soft melody leaving your lips. "Darkness falls across land, sky, and sea. I can hear your call, calling back to me..."

Only once you sing for him, holding him so desperately close to you, do you see his eyes fall closed and feel his breathing even out against your chest.

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 x reader #bg3 x reader #bg3 dammon #baldurs gate 3 dammon #dammon x reader #baldurs gate 3 x you #bri answers

[tokillamockingbird427]

Random idea before I go to bed

Post Beach Hesh who doesn't fall into a depressive slump or enduring rage like expected and more or less bounces back to his "old self" within a week or so.

It's weird, but it's not like the Ghosts want to talk about it to Hesh and go "Yeah we expect you to be fucking miserable, both in mood and to be around." So it goes on for a while, maybe too long, where they freeze because they're entirely unsure how to broach the topic of him being okay and terrified to hurt him after everything he's already been through.

I think eventually it'd be Merrick that pops the bubble. He has to be who Elias was, because he's the Captain. Not only does he have to lead them, but he has to be someone that the Ghosts can depend on. In and off field.

As it turns out, no! Hesh was not fucking okay! He is holding on by his teeth! He just pretended to be hunky dory because he literally didn't know what else he could do in that scenario. He doesn't feel a greater need for anything in life than to find Logan and Hesh figured if he did let them know he was going off the deep end then he'd be kept from doing that. So no, it wasn't an option for him to be anything other than Perfectly Fine.

Once this bubble does eventually "pop" I can only see it as being one massive mental breakdown which is only worsened by Hesh's terror that now that he is letting all of this be known that he's definitely going to be kept from the search.

I do think Merrick would be the one of the Ghosts most capable of handling it also. He's no therapist or psychologist but he's stalwart and I think Hesh would need something to anchor him. Who better than New Dad? Lol

#call of duty #call of duty ghosts #hesh walker #thomas a merrick

[indouloureux]

A little request for Joseph x Reader. Snippets of sweet pda that Joe initiates (-: Xx

sorry this is short. thank you for requesting! 🤍 (shy!fem!reader, mentions of multiple artists below. pls don't question them or you can just go away)

pda's never been your thing. although maybe because you're too shy.

not everyone judged; some of them thought it was cute that two young lovers kissed in the middle of a sidewalk, held hands in the park, hugged in the cold winter night to replace the lack of coats. some — driven from the bitterness of past pain — , not so much.

so you'd always limited it. luckily for you, he respected that.

pinkie holdings had always been your favorite, though. you like it when he hooks his smaller finger around yours, swinging your hands back and forth, sometimes bringing it up to his mouth to kiss the side of your finger when the people were scattered around to almost desolation.

his was sneaking a kiss to the back of your head. either on dinners when there were too many people and he can sense your nervousness, when you're about to go into a room, when you're or he's about to go to the bathroom, or when he just wants to.

but he does try to steal a kiss or two. on your lips.

the record store's a bit crowded. but it's a given, everything was 50% off and you dragged joseph's ass down in here. so he's following behind you, one of his hands in your pocket as you squeeze through people that switches through shelves and aisles. you hold three imaginary boys to your chest, his other hand gripping the basket with albums hunky dory and folklore.

"do you think they have sex pistols in here?" you ask him. joseph shrugs, apologizing to a little girl he bumps onto. "or do you think they banned it for their vulgarity?"

"love, it's 2022, not the 80's," he laughs jovially. you pull him into another aisle, a less crowded one, vinyls stacked mostly from artists into the metal genre. you don't know why people hate them. "shit, there's a full stack of w.a.s.p. in here."

you take bad reputation into your hands, putting it inside the small silver basket in joseph's grasp. "you can take one. you're paying, anyway. i'm just taking advantage,"

joseph pouts at you, takes the last command and chucks it into the basket. then he sees reflektor by arcade fire behind it, so he chucks it in there too.

when he sees you pout at the sections beside, more rhythm and blues, bottom lip jutted out at the sign that says bruno mars had been sold out, he melts just a little bit. not that he finds your disappointment cute, but your face is. though, only when it's not that serious.

"it's only been ten minutes since the store opened and suddenly bruno mars is gone. how fast are these people?!"

he wraps an arm around your shoulder, not too much pda, but you don't pay attention to it. he rubs your shoulder, your hand lazily carding through other albums. joseph considers taking dijon's absolutely for a try.

giving in into his temptations, he does.

"i'm sorry, baby," he pouts with you. you look up at him, utter disbelief and chagrin in the luster of your eyes. joseph blushes, ears tinted pink, can't help but smile and lean down to kiss your nose. "and- oh! would you look at that. venga boys!"

"you annoy me," you frown deeply. he chuckles, taking the yellow album and putting it in the basket.

succumbing to his next temptation, he leans down to capture your lips in his. it's soft; forsooth, chaste. you giggle softly when his tongue pokes playfully at the ends of your teeth, parting with a small click.

pda two. pg-13, not too scandalous, but it's lovely.

"wha's that for?" you ask lowly, voice dulcet. joseph shrugs, lips twitching when you hook a finger around his chain.

he hums softly when you turn to face him, his hand falling on the crescent of your hip, your own carding through his curls, eyes scanning the sepia littered freckles across his nose and cheeks like they're stars.

"nothing," he smiles softly. "just wanted to."

you slip lover by taylor swift when he wasn't looking.

#joseph quinn blurb #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x y/n #joseph quinn fluff #joseph quinn fic #joseph quinn fanfiction #joseph quinn

[mistressemmedi]

Also have some contacts at a team with a certain... je ne sais quoi. Pierre is definitely the higher rated one of the pair within the team and is seen as their future with WDC potential due to the qualifying pace he has and they expect him to continue to get faster as he adjusts. He's preferred by sponsors, he is preferred by Luca De Meo, and he's preferred by the staff because when he visits the factory he's very personable and takes time with them. He is the driver who came to the 'firing squad' speech De Meo delivered, and stood there and took it along with the rest of the staff. But... they're struggling to find someone who they can use to fill Esteban's seat. Pierre was a gift handed on a silver platter to them by Red Bull really, because of his situation (worst team on the grid with promotion within RB completely ruled out no matter what his results were) so of course he jumped to come to Alpine. But other interesting drivers are either already in (less dysfunctional) teams of a similar calibre, or they're aiming higher than Alpine. Esteban's unhappy with his position because favour is clearly swinging towards Pierre. He tried buying the team gifts to win them back but then Pierre took a sprint podium at Spa and a podium in Zandvoort, so that was out of the window. But Alpine can't really afford to lose him, because there's nobody looking a likely candidate for that seat. That's why we're seeing the articles about Audi right now, those are put out by Esteban's team to try and get Alpine to come to the table. And that's why Esteban was handed team orders repeatedly towards the end of the last season, because they needed to curry some favour with him.

It's a tricky situation. It's why Pierre has a soon-to-be-announced extension, because the last thing they needed was for him to pull an Alonso and leave them with the driver they don't really want and an empty seat!

Another Piasco would not be a good look for the team.

I wonder if the team is also trying to give the impression of everything being hunky dory due to the fact that so many recognizable names (athletes, actors etc) invested in Alpine. Got to keep those investors happy!

#anon #q&a #gossip in the paddock

[paper-gold-theories]

LOL. Reading your AU's and headcanons made me wonder what would happen if Miss Heed discover the whole plot of the GR members is not only end villany, but to get her remplaced with Flug in the process

Hi @masterweasel

Referring to these AUs and headcanons (1) (2) (3). I know this ask was before The Risky Heist came out but I wasn't sure how to answer it until then. Haha 😅

-----

*spoilers for those who have not read Chapter 14 of The Risky Heist*

Villainous Headcanon: Dialogue With Miss Heed and The Golden Rule After Her Return

(continuing from this)

Location: Golden Rule Building - One day before the press conference to re-welcome Miss Heed back to The Golden Rule after her reputation was cleared.

(Miss Heed enters the living room of the to see all The Golden Rule Members glaring murderously at her as she walks in.)

Miss Heed: What are you all staring at?

[Golden Rule Member #1], sneered: You're kidding right? After the shit storm you put us through for months! If you think you can just waltz in here like everything is hunky dory, you've got another thing coming!

Miss Heed: You're just a jealous hater because I'm going to be more popular than you again after this [Golden Rule Member #1] and I cleared up the scandal in the end anyways!

[Golden Rule Member #2]: Correction! Your dad and agent cleared up the scandal. I bet you just sat there on your private yacht while everyone does all the work for you.

(Miss Heed, tries to lie but was interrupted)

[Golden Rule Member #3]: You're damn lucky you have a rich dad and deal with P.E.A.C.E. so we have to publicly welcome you back in!

[Golden Rule Member #3], angrily staring and getting close to Miss Heed: But if you think we're not going to make your life a living hell behind the scenes you better think again...

Miss Heed, getting nervous and trying to change the subject: W-Where's GoldHeart?

[Golden Rule Member #4]: He has a meeting at P.E.A.C.E HQ. But he'll be back soon.

[Golden Rule Member #4]: Aaand also... He's really mad at you for another reason by the way: He had to change his whole plan after your scandal and is also wondering "What can you even do now for our team?"

Miss Heed: What can even I do- What do you mean by that?!

[All the Golden Rule Members burst out laughing at Miss Heed]

[Golden Rule Member #5]: Are you kidding? You have no followers!

[Golden Rule Member #6]: Your super power is just basically being a walking humidifier!

[Golden Rule Member #3]: And let me remind you again you're only here because of your dad and his deal with P.E.A.C.E. Face it! Your just a token member! What else can you possibly contribute to this team?

Miss Heed: I-I can contribute to the team. I'll mind control more followers and then --

GoldHeart, suddenly arrives: I don't need you to do that anymore.

Miss Heed, freaking out that she won't get back her follower count: But-but didn't you tell me to mind control as many Villains as possible in order to incapacitate them.

GoldHeart: And now I'm telling you I have a change of plans! After the scandal you caused since your perfume is temporary, it will be too much of a risk to do a second round of that. So I've talked to the other P.E.A.C.E. higher ups and the police and they agreed to plan more sieges to arrest as many villains as possible and put them in Mictlán. It's a much more secure and less risky way to contain them in the meantime until we get Flug.

Miss Heed, trying to process everything: Flug? Why Flug?

GoldHeart: Don't act stupid. We'll if its coming from you it's probably not an act. I was going to capture Flug and mind control him after the perfect formula is made, but given the circumstances that Flug is actually the only one who can make the perfect formula as he created it in the first place, there obviously needs to be a change of plans. So our team's first priority is to find and capture him when he is out of Hat Manor then mind control him again, this time under careful monitoring so that he can create the perfect formula to end villainy forever.

(Miss Heed realising that she is just a placeholder member here until Flug arrives and that there is less of a chance of GoldHeart falling for her if she is not on the team, plans on mind controlling people or using her father's connections to kidnap Flug on her own and mind control him again to take credit for his work and secure her position on the team)

Miss Heed: No-No, that's not true, Flug didn't create the formula. I did, remember. I was just delegating him to do some menial work for me just like I did with the other scientists and I-I only said he did on that live statement to clear my name...ahaha

(GoldHeart glared icly at Miss Heed. With an intensity so cold you could almost feel the temperature drop to a negative.)

GoldHeart, snapping his fingers: [Golden Rule Member #4]

([Golden Rule Member #4] immediately floats forward with her phone in front of Miss Heed and shows her a video with a knowing smirk.)

(Miss Heed was scared silent)

[Golden Rule Member #4], explaining: All of us reviewed the footage sent to us from your building in Cosmopolis the night you were arrested.

GoldHeart, shaking his fist and eyes glowing in anger making all the Golden Rule Members scared and want to run away at the intimidating sight: After we spent months protesting to clean up the mess you caused to our reputations...

GoldHeart: AND YOU STILL DARE TO TRY TO PULL A FAST ONE ON ME!!

(All The Golden Rule Members scattered ducked for cover behind the sofa, cowering at the sight of GoldHeart's body bursting with gold light out of anger and hoping not to get caught the cross fire from their hiding spot, while Miss Heed shocked at the sudden outburst, tripped and broke her heel, causing her to fall painfully on the floor.)

GoldHeart: You lying, useless, dead weight, free loading, mooching bitch!

(With every insult, Miss Heed attempts to crawl away, fearing that GoldHeart might actually kill her on the spot.)

GoldHeart: You better start pulling your weight around here to capture Flug!

GoldHeart: Or your days on this team are numbered...

(GoldHeart gave her one last death glare before turning away and leaving the room without another word and the other Golden Rule Members, despite their initial fear of their leader, giggled at Miss Heed's unfortunate circumstances, and followed GoldHeart in suit like a heard of sheep after their shepard. Leaving Miss Heed, curled up tight into a ball and fearing for the future.)

#villainous #villanos #dr flug #dr kenning flugslys #goldheart #gold heart #herbert leth #flug #villainous missheed #villainous miss heed #cecilia amanda kelly #villainous headcanons #villainous theory

[camgonzalezart]

Okay, so a lot of cool shit is happening in C3 right now but can we please discuss this because I feel like I'm going insane...

Either the campaign ends or the world does.

Like there's no way this keeps going if the succeed, right? If we save the day? If everything is just hunky-dory and we ride off into the sunset then that's it! I mean I know the episodes are only in the 50s and BH are just lvl 8 so it seems to early but a lot of the character arcs could be considered wrapped, or at least wrapped enough to end (looking at you, Campaign 2). Not to mention, what else are the Hells gonna do after this that is more epic, more high stakes, more narratively satisfying? Story-wise it just doesn't make sense to continue...

Unless Ludinus succeeds at least somewhat and we got another Calamity on our hands.

The 3 campaigns have already explored a lot of Exandria as it is, and we know Matt has no qualms about breaking his setting beyond recognition. Just look at Emon. This does seem like a potentially really cool step forwards. They established in EXU Calamity how much the world can change because of an Apogee Solstice, so let it happen. Release Predathos at the very least. Hell, while we're at it, break the other divine lattice and free all of the gods-good, bad, and in between!

We already have the threads of all 3 campaigns converging on this one plot thread, so not only would that give BH more to do to continue their adventure (maybe break into Aeor to find a solution as ancient as the Malleus keys and dive into FCG's story, or finally get Ashton in front of someone who knows what Dunamancy is or what the Hishari were up to) but it could also set up stuff for VM and TM9 to do as well, either as NPCs or in their own appropriately high-level one shots.

It sounds nuts but right now it's the only way I can see to keep the story going. Anyone else thinking this?

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr:bh #bells hells #vox machina #the mighty nein #maybe i missed matt or someone saying the campaign was ending early #if i did then a) tell me b) ignore this lol #this idea has been driving me up the wall for months #someone put me out of my mysery

[webtoon-devourer]

i don't think it's necessarily the ruling opinion, but there are no doubt some people upset with the end of the Monster Association arc and how everything was "fixed" with time travel. i would like to express the level on which i disagree with this sentiment.

this dislike of the arc's conclusion likely stems from the general dislike of "it's okay, we can just go back in time!" and "it was all a dream :)" style endings, specifically the idea that these endings, under any circumstances, are cop outs. i disagree. if One Punch Man ended there, with saitama travelling back in time to stop everyone's deaths and his fight with garou, i would be immensely dissatisfied with the ending. i think that would be fair. however, vitally, it does not. those events are only the conclusion to a single arc. it brings us to a similar situation as the ending of the lord boros arc, with a city destroyed but none of the important characters dead. therefore, i would argue that such a conclusion to an arc is par for the course for One Punch Man. but there is also the vital matter of "it was all a dream :)" situations and how, in my opinion, while often used as cop outs, they are not inherently so, and dogmatic insistence against them is detrimental to good writing. having every possibility on the table is important in order to develop a plot in the way best suited to it - it's simply lazy writing which misuses these possibilities.

the vital question here is: was the time travel ending of the Monster Association arc a cop out? no, it was not. in my opinion, the events which were reversed could nearly be considered expositional. the cosmic garou vs saitama fight and the events which caused it tell us a heck of a lot about the characters. that garou retains his humanity even after becoming monsterised - when he sees takeo dead, he realises that his actions have not led the world in the direction he hoped, which was always a fairer existence. (he's really not a bad guy at all.) what saitama is capable of - man caused untold destruction during this fight without much of a care, including nearly destroying the earth if not for blast and co; on the technical side, we are shown that his power increases exponentially in response to another being even beginning to approach his level of power, leading him to easily beat a puppet channeling the power of literal GOD. that saitama actually cares a heck of a lot about genos, and clings to him for his sense of humanity, which he is barely hanging onto. it also gives us a taste of god's power, for future reference. the only reason i don't consider it expositional - that is, a "what if" scenario purely for the audience's benefit, which fleshes out the characters under otherwise inaccessible circumstances - is that genos remembers. therefore, these events actually do impact the plot through him. (there's a chance that blast and co also know, which would also affect the plot, but i'm not sure.)

the ever-increasing stakes are vital. we're still within the time frame of shibabawa's great prophecy of a god-level threat. at first, we thought it was lord boros, then garou, and now it's looking like the god-level threat might literally be god. whose power we have gotten a taste of, thanks to the cosmic garou fight. things are very much not hunky dory. there is still plenty of opportunity for things to go terribly wrong, even if it didn't happen this time. especially now that we know that saitama is barely clinging to his humanity. the deaths of everyone he knew affected him for sure, but particular emphasis was placed on the death of genos, because he's saitama's hinge to humanity. (if you deny this, i will be forced to call into question your reading skills.) this ups the stakes in a unique way. before, the concept of genos' death carried far less weight. genos fans would be upset, naturally, and saitama would be pretty sad, because it was clear before this arc that he cared at least somewhat about genos. but now? we know how saitama will react to genos' death. and it's not in a sane manner. genos' death now carries with it the stakes of the earth potentially being destroyed and saitama losing his sanity. at least personally, i will look upon any close calls genos has in future with greater anxiety. this newfound knowledge that we have only gives more ground to the idea that the final enemy might be saitama. either the final enemy of the earth, if he turns into a villain (quite possibly due to losing his mind), or the final enemy of saitama himself, as he battles his depression and struggles to stay in touch with his humanity.

the time travel ending was not a waste, nor a cop out. i encourage you to look at the bigger picture instead of allowing your instinctive reaction of "time travel clutch bad" to inform your opinions. there is still the problem of time travel now being on the table as a solution, but this can be avoided in various ways. for example, the existence of the alternate universe where everyone died and saitama fought cosmic garou as a parallel universe created by time travel, therefore not really fixing the problem, but merely rerouting it. or having time travel somehow taken off the table as a possibility. for example (this is just conjecture and not supported by canon), if god dies, perhaps time can no longer be manipulated, and saitama will have to make a decision between destroying god or saving everyone but letting god live and continue to manipulate events, a decision which he can never bypass because he ends up at the same crossroads no matter which path he takes leading up to that. i understand the concern, and am somewhat concerned myself, but i trust ONE and Murata not to end the series in a dissatisfying way. also, i think it adds another level of interest, even. if saitama's power is so great that he can manipulate time, that he can do basically anything, then hitting a single roadblock which he cannot bypass regardless of his power would undoubtedly have incredibly interesting effects on him psychologically. he could be glad to not be all-powerful, and have to actually fight for something for once, or - much like the events with cosmic garou - he might realise that finding a difficult opponent (in the form of a fighter or an impossible decision) at the expense of the people he cares about doesn't actually make him happy or excited. that perhaps he should have turned his search for feeling and a reason to live elsewhere, beyond fighting, a long time ago. idk 🤷‍♂️

#saitama and genos #caped baldy #saitama #arc: the monster association #opm meta #opm takes #one punch man #mine

[maddy-ferguson]

it’s NOT that serious especially when it’s clearly a joke (haha will self saboteur #1 mlvn shipper!) but I kinda hate it when people act like will was “pushing mike back to el when bro was trying his hardest to leave” I fully believe mike was looking for reasons to get out of dodge… but saying that about Will… You mean… encouraging mike to be honest/brave and say what was on his mind? ‘Whatever you didn’t say, you can say it to her then’ ‘[it’s scary to open up] say how you really feel… what if they don’t like the truth?’ Fuck, if this was Lucas coming to Will over Max, Will would be dispensing TOP bro advice: trust yourself. be honest. you got this. Even ‘don’t stop. you’re the heart!’ was not ‘Say you love her!’ Because Will didn’t KNOW Mike couldn’t say he loved her, it was lending under pressure ‘remember who you are! Believe in yourself! Believe you can inspire someone!’ Literally the ONLY time will ‘put words in someone’s mouth’ was El, reassuring mike that El needed him, specifically BECAUSE will went ‘you’re scared of losing her’ and mike NODDED. So he assured ‘El will need you, so don’t let that make you too afraid to talk to her’ not ‘El needs you so in fact stay/don’t change a thing about your actually hunky dory relationship’. If I tell my bro ‘you can be honest with your girl’ and not ‘Seems you should maybe break up’… AITA? why would it ever be his place to call that if mike never asked for that input? And the first doesn’t contradict the other anyway?so wild to act like mike was pulling out the fucking light show stops that he didn’t want to be with his girlfriend, and Will was wilfully dismissing them just because he was overcompensating for conflict of interest feelings. Like I said, Will saying the same to Lucas who loves Max would be being a GREAT bro. Tldr; Will couldn’t have known Mike was seeking a kind of permission to break up, even if he did then he never said anything that didn’t go ‘whatever’s there in your heart I’m rooting for you to be able to say it to her’ which is SO far from ‘shoving mike back towards El when he’s running screaming away’ that it’s NOT funny for me that people paint it that way like Will was guilting mike to stay. ‘Speak from the heart’ only ever got interpreted into ‘I love you’ because Mike knew it’s been what El wanted before = their key to win and save the world with downside of him committing to their relationship. ‘Will made it sound like El loved Mike too much for him to be able to leave’ is a wild interpretation when Mike made his impossible ‘choice’ to stay as to stop several friends from dying and also the apocalypse. Sorry Will couldn’t mind read and conclude Mike secretly wished to dump his long term girlfriend ig

WHICH IS WHY THEY'RE GONNA FIGHT. sorry. which is why they're gonna fight. will has this nasty habit of lying and not saying what's bothering him that ends up making everything worse (whether it's upside down related or personal) and that combined with mike...being very unclear and never even saying that the issue was him not saying i love you...it's not gonna be good

but anyway yeah it's not like mike told him "i wanna break up with el", he just...complained about the relationship and about the fight. will isn't a mind reader. of course lying about the painting wasn't the right thing to do but him just telling him he loves him would also have been a very strange course of action.

mike: i think el doesn't need me :/

will: bummer...you know who does though? me. i'm actually in love with you. surprise!

that wouldn't really work. idk the idea of him telling him he's in love with him while he's complaining about his problems with his girlfriend (which he does in most of their s4 conversations) is just absurd to me. i know literally no one said he should have and people are just like "he could have...not lied" but i'm just saying

and it's not like he KNEW mike wanted to break up and liked him back and made the choice for him by taking himself out of the equation and saying the painting was el's in spirit. that would be a very different situation. but the end result is the same! mike is gonna feel like he did make the choice for him by effectively taking himself out of the equation. which is why they're gonna fight!

#notice how i said will has a 'nasty' 'habit' fighting off the i think will is always 100% in the right allegations one ask at a time #very proud of myself for circling back to my first words #ask

[thatbuggygirl]

I think a lot about how formative Gravitation was for me.

At the time I started reading it, a good eighteen years or so, I was not only beginning to understand things about my own sexuality, but I was also really, really into soppy, mushy, lovey-dovey romance stories.

And Gravitation...is anything but that kind of story.

Reading it for the first time was super frustrating for me, because I just wanted those idiots to be lovey and have a happy ending, dammit! I wanted it to be romantic! And as a young adult, I couldn't fully appreciate how absolutely romantic it is.

But, like, it opened my eyes to a different kind of love story, where everything isn't all hunky-dory and obstacles aren't easily overcome. There is so much to unpack in this series; all the characters have so many issues. Yuki's mental health and past trauma are uncomfortable topics, but not ones that are glossed over. He doesn't fall in love and magically get cured of his problems -- but also, he kind of does. And Shuichi doesn't get the sappy relationship he wants, but he gets something meaningful and...more. Under all the ridiculous circumstances happening around and because of them, these two young men manage to grow and change and strengthen each other.

And as much of a train wreck as the series is, I think it's beautiful, too. It's so raw and painful; so uncomfy. But I've learned that those uncomfortable moments, that make you feel things that aren't warm and fuzzy and might be difficult...That's just life. Real romance can be hard or a struggle. It may make you cry or get angry or leave you feeling hopeless. But it builds you up, too. It strengthens you. That's what I think this series is all about.

And it just...changed the way I think about love stories. It changed the way I write love stories.

It might sound stupid, but Gravitation changed me.

#gravitation #this series means so much to me #it is A LOT #but i love it #buggy thoughts

[ask-icancraft-it]

"I Love You"

(( Kicking back into writing with another Little Moment, which can be viewed as a precursor to another fic I wrote called 'Impromptu'! This one's the hurt, with the comfort coming (hopefully) soon.)) ----

Those three words made Tamora’s blood run cold. Her heartbeat elevating, she ripped her hand away from Felix’s, watching his cheerful smile fade away when he realized what he’d just said. 

“Don’t—” the sergeant shook her head slowly, distancing herself from the handyman. “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“But, Tammy, I do mean it,” Felix reached forward, looking hurt. “I love—”

“No!” she cut him short. “If you knew me…If you really knew me, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

Tamora’s legs buckled underneath her as terrible memories came flooding back, haunting her; telling her she shouldn’t go down this road twice. 

“You don’t know what I’ve been through,” she sobbed. “You don’t know the things I’ve done.”

Felix’s gentle hand cupped her cheek, wiping the stream of tears away.

“Tammy, I already know about Brad... I’m so sorry.”  

She looked up at his mournful face with shock. 

“W-who? Who told you?” 

“Kohut, on day one,” the handyman flashed a guilty smile. “It was your story to tell, so I was waiting for you to open up to me. I realize that may have been a mistake…Maybe it would have been better if you knew that I knew.”

His lady had gone silent, making him anxious.

“B-but I knew this whole time,” he continued. “And I stayed…What happened to Brad doesn’t define you, Tammy. That’s not the end of your story. I’m right here…and I care about you; I want you to be happy. I want to help—”

“Stop,” Calhoun bristled with anger, standing up. “Just stop. You talk a big game, Fix-It, but you can’t fix people!” “Tamora,” Felix looked like he’d been punched in the stomach. “T-that’s not what I—I never said—”

“You knowing changes nothing… It just shows me I was someone you pitied. Poor, tragic, broken Tamora. Time to swoop in with my magic hammer and fix her right up. She’ll forget all about Brand and everything will be hunky-dory.”

As she ranted, she slowly backed the handyman towards the door out of her barracks. By the end, his eyes were wide, with his back flush with its metal surface. 

“You know that’s not true,” Felix’s hurt expression took an angry turn. She figured that if he truly had loved her before, he certainly didn’t now.

“Get out,” she growled, and the handyman obliged, his face twisting with every negative emotion as he left.

And with his absence, immediate regret fell onto Calhoun’s shoulders. But it was too late. She had said all those awful things; and for what reason? Because she was scared? Because he withheld information? Because she knew deep down…she loved him too. 

Nothing was more terrifying to Tamora than the thought of losing another person she loved. Felix may be out of her life, but at least he was alive. It was better this way.

Wasn’t it?

#wreck it ralph #fix it felix #sergeant calhoun #little moments #crafty writes #hero's cuties

[mermaidsirennikita]

What is the problem with a guaranteed happy ending? I can still enjoy the journey

And also, mentioning another example of some ypu mentioned, My Darling Duke also has a happy ending with challenges, they are happily married but also Alex's condition doesn't dissapear and there are thing that still can't do

That's another good example--and I actually think that a lack of appreciation for a journey and the challenges and growth that presents is really what a lot of my irritation with "vibes only" centers on.

(Stacy Reid actually does a lot of interesting things with endings, imo, and she doesn't get enough credit it for it. When she presents heroes and heroines with say, disabilities that I think past authors would have simply gone "boop, here's a fix" to, they stick. I often see MDD get criticized for "fixing" his ED, but the reality is that he never actually had a complete lack of function and the book makes that clear pretty early on. The man was DEPRESSED and had zero motivation and frankly a lot of shame around trying to accept his new life and the new ways in which he'd have to live. I also think of When the Earl Met His Match by Stacy Reid--I was cringing the entire time, expecting the hero to suddenly begin speaking at the end... and he didn't. And that was fine. The heroine had to do the work, which is something I also don't think we see enough of, frankly.

Lorraine Heath's Surrender to the Devil is another one where I think there's a choice to have Sterling simply come to... if not peace, reluctant acceptance of his impending blindness. And we know he never fixes it, and that's okay, and when we see him in later appearances beyond the epilogue, Lorraine is very clear that he is almost completely blind. To me, there's a real challenge to decades of societal norms suggesting that there is no HEA with disability, you will always be "missing" something, OR everything is hunky dory and there are no challenges and the person with the disability can't have negative feelings about it and be overall happy. Which is why I appreciate books like these which come to these types of points. In When the Duke Was Wicked, part of Grace's motivation in finding a husband is that she wants Sterling to be able to dance with her on her wedding day. That's hard! These things are difficult!

And of course, Grace too has a challenging arc we don't often see in any form of romance, let alone historicals--similar to Lockwood in The Duke Gets Even. She's had breast cancer. She's been through intensely traumatic treatment. She's had a partial mastectomy. She knows it may come back. Lovingdon cannot deal with this, and then he has to, and it does in fact come back according to the epilogue and she does have to have a total mastectomy. And who knows? It may come back again. In that era, it PROBABLY will. They have to accept this and live happily as long as they can--this is something the romance community struggles with a lot imo, the idea that things like illness can be compatible with an HEA. But if we don't come to terms with it, we're saying that people with long-term, chronic illnesses that may in fact be terminal one day can't have happy endings. And that's just not okay with me. Everyone dies. I mean, the majority of romances I definitely just pretend they don't lol, but Lorraine actually challenges us on this level in several books.)

There is a challenge and an art and a craft that comes with creating a good journey. No matter how your story ends, if the journey is nothing, the ending is meaningless.

#romance novel blogging