#my dad is his dad's age when he retired but he's got like a decade more to go still | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

livwritesstuff · 3 months

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uh so i was feeling like writing something angsty and ever since i wrote this a little bit ago i can’t stop thinking about the idea of what the upside down coming back decades later would look like, however it’s a bummer and not the vibe i want for my steddie!dads verse so consider this an au for an au or whatever idk

It’s a normal, average, mundane, regular Wednesday when Dustin calls.

They don’t talk as much as they used to, but that’s adult life, Steve supposes.

They both have entire lives now, spouses and children and jobs that consume pretty much every waking hour. The near-1000 miles that separates Steve and Eddie in Massachusetts from Dustin in Indiana doesn’t help things either, and seeing as how Dustin had long-since inherited the Hawkins Lab research from Owens when he retired back in the mid-2000s, that won’t be changing any time soon.

Steve is home when Dustin calls, and between counseling clients, so when the phone rings and lights up with his name, Steve picks it up with a grin.

“Hey man, what’s goin’ on!”

Nothing but silence comes through Dustin’s end for a while – such a long time that Steve checks to make sure that the call didn’t drop or his phone didn’t die or something (and neither had happened, so it’s definitely a Dustin thing).

“Dustin?” he asks, “You there?”

Silence, still.

Then –

“Steve.”

Dustin sounds…not normal, and Steve feels the grin slide off his face.

“What?”

“Steve,” he chokes, “It’s…it’s back.”

Steve feels his heart stop for a second, feels it like all the blood in his veins came to an abrupt halt for just a moment.

“The Upside Down,” Dustin continues, “It…all of…it’s back.”

He sounds like he’s underwater, or maybe Steve’s the one sinking beneath the surface, just like he’d done forty years ago when he’d taken Dustin’s place on that boat and got dragged into hell through the depths of Lover’s Lake.

Steve hangs up the phone, his hands shaking.

His knees feel shaky too, like they can’t support his weight anymore despite doing so for nearly sixty years.

They’ve been giving him problems lately – his knees. Nothing too crazy; he can still go on his runs and putter around the yard and all that. It’s just a part of aging, he supposes, and he hadn’t minded aging before – liked it, even. Liked his greying hair and the crow’s feet around his eyes and his achy knees, because there’d been a period of time many years ago when he wasn’t sure he’d make it long enough to experience that inevitability of life.

Right this second though, he hates it, hates the way it makes him realize he’s not as nimble as he used to be, the way his reaction time isn’t the same anymore, because he knows that’s what had gotten him through those horrible years back in the mid-eighties.

He lowers himself down, and as his ass hits the tile floor of the bathroom – his daughters’ bathroom, the one they’ve shared practically their whole lives, the one Moe lost her first tooth in, the one Robbie pierced her own ears in, the one Hazel will be getting ready for prom in soon – Dustin calls him again.Steve doesn’t pick up, too busy kicking himself for not considering sooner the possibility of this sooner, for not having a plan ready to execute to keep their daughters safe the way no adult had done for him.

He can feel an old instinct – the urge to gather his loved ones close – starting to kick in, his mind starting to race as he catalogs the people who make up his small corner of the world.

Hazel is easy – she’s at the high school just down the road. He can have her back home, back within arm’s reach, in a matter of minutes.

Robin and Nancy are next closest, still living in Boston after all these years. Steve would wager a guess that they’ll be hearing from Dustin soon if they haven’t already, and then they’ll probably head Steve and Eddie’s way, and then they’ll all regroup.

They’ll figure out what their next moves are.

Moe and Robbie are trickier with both of them living in New York City and likely unwilling to leave their school and their jobs and their friends without any warning whatsoever. Moe is getting more and more reasonable the older she gets, so Steve may have to start with her and hope that Robbie follows.

Moe is twenty-two now.

Moe is older than both of her dads had been when Eddie had nearly died, when Steve had carried him out of hell and made sure he didn’t. All three of their daughters – even seventeen-year-old Hazel – are older than Steve had been when he got sucked into that horrible mess, and they’re still so damn young.

With two decades of parenting under his belt, he finds it kind of unbelievable that anybody had looked at his sixteen-year-old face and seen anything but a child, nevermind actually asked him to do the things that he’d done.

Dustin calls him two more times before he gives up. Only a moment later, Steve hears Eddie’s phone ring downstairs, and then he hears Eddie’s jovial tone as he answers the call.

He goes quiet real quick after that.

Just as Steve is deciding who to call first – Hazel’s school or Moe – his phone vibrates, two quick buzzes that can only indicate a text from Robin.

He opens it.

did dustin call you?

Steve lets out a heavy breath because, fuck, it’s real.

Yeah, he texts back, then adds –

This fucking sucks

40 years

As Steve watches the bubbles of Robin’s incoming response, he can vaguely hear Eddie’s ascent of the stairs, still on the phone with Dustin.

The bubbles disappear.

“Fuck you, Dustin,” he hears Eddie snarl, “This is on you.” There’s silence for a while, and Eddie seems to pause in the hallway just in front of their bedroom door. Then, “Yeah, I’ll talk to him…I know…later, man. Love you. Be safe.”

Steve looks down at his phone to see that Robin is still typing, only for the bubbles to disappear again a second later.

Finally –

nance is going back

i’m going with her

Steve could throw up.

He almost does, he’s pretty sure, although he’s not positive because he might be having an out of body experience, or maybe he’s dissociating, or maybe it’s a fucking PTSD flashback or something. He doesn’t know.

He should know, or so his handful of psych degrees would suggest, and he probably would know if it was happening to someone else, but then again, he’s always worn blinders when it comes to himself.

That was true about him when all this shit started in 1983, and it’s still true now, almost forty years later.

Forty fucking years.

He doesn’t look up when Eddie comes into the bathroom, joining him on the floor with his back against the bathtub.

“Dustin took offense to you hanging up on him,” he says, and Steve can hear the way he’s forcing humor into his tone.

As if any of this shit is funny.

“Erica and the kids left with Claudia,” Eddie continues, answering a question Steve probably would’ve gotten around to asking Dustin himself if it weren’t for the whole hanging up on him thing, “Erica went kicking and screaming, obviously. I offered up our house, but they’re still deciding where they want to camp out. And everyone has agreed not to say a word to Jim and Joyce.”

Yeah, that makes sense, seeing as they’re both in their eighties and perpetually acting like they’re thirty years younger – at a minimum.

Not that Steve would know anything about that.

Definitely not.

“He said he’s one-hundred percent positive that it’s all still contained to Hawkins, so…” Eddie pauses, “We don’t have to, like, track down the girls or anything. Just make sure they don’t go anywhere near Indiana.”

And that, at least, is an actual relief.

“Robin’s going back,” Steve tells him, because there’s no point waiting to address that particular issue in this whole fucking mess.

The so I’m going too is implied, because that has never needed to be said when it came to Steve and Robin.

The way Eddie’s face changes evades Steve’s ability to describe. It makes him regret saying anything – that’s for fucking sure. Makes him wish he’d just snuck away in the dead of night.

“C’mon man, we’ve picked up a whole fuckin’ litter over the years,” Eddie says, and he’s still forcing humor into his tone, “You can’t leave me to fend off the masses alone – the years have made me weak-willed, I’ll surrender immediately.”

Steve manages a snort, but he still looks down at the floor all the same.

Eddie doesn’t say anything else for a while, but his hand wraps around Steve’s ankle as if there was enough brute strength in the one appendage to keep him rooted to the bathroom floor.

(Strangely enough, it feels like there might be).

“Steve,” Eddie finally says, his voice stiff and hard in a way Steve doesn’t think he’s ever heard before, “We are way too old for this shit – Robin and Nance too.”

Eddie pauses.

“Steve,” he says again, “I know how important Robin is. I know, but our children would be fucking devastated if anything happened to you. Don’t think they wouldn’t – and something would most certainly happen to you.”

“Eddie.”

He’s still avoiding his husband’s eyes.

“Steve,” he pleads, something desperate in his voice, “We talked about this. Remember? Last spring, when we watched that stupid zombie show with Hazel? And there was the episode with the old gay guys? We talked about this. You told me not to let you go if this shit came back.”

Steve makes no response. Ed lets out a heavy breath, looking to the ceiling.

They have this conversation every now and then – one of those conversations that always teeters on the edge of an argument – in which Eddie insists that Steve could be fine if their relationship ended in a way that Eddie himself would not. It’s a conversation that Steve hates, because he hates the idea that Eddie – his husband of twenty years and the love of his whole entire life – could still be thinking so low of himself, that there’s any part of him that doesn’t think Steve would be fucking wrecked by losing him.

Still, it had always been a hypothetical. It had never been real.

Suddenly, Steve feels claustrophobic sitting on the floor of his daughters’ bathroom. He gets to his feet and, as he heads for the door, Eddie scrambles up after him.

Halfway down the hall, Eddie lunges for him and catches his arm, wheeling him back around to face him.

“Steve,” Eddie says one more time.

Then, because he apparently has no words ready to follow with, he stops.

“Steve,” Eddie starts again, “Please. You’re everything. I love the girls and I love our life, but Christ, Steve, you’re my entire world. You changed everything for me. You showed me how life could be worth living, and you keep showing me, and I’m not ready to let go of you yet – not even fucking close. Please don’t let this be the way we leave each other.”

Steve finally lets himself look at Eddie’s face, the face he’d fallen in love with decades ago, the face he’s still in love with decades later. He looks at his big eyes and the hint of grey at his hairline and his crows feet and the scarring that creeps up his neck from underneath the collar of his shirt (it’s a shirt he’s had for ages – since before even Moe was born by the looks of it, but so is the rest of his half of their closet).

And he finds himself nodding.

Eddie’s exhale is all desperate relief as he tugs Steve into his arms and wraps them around his shoulders. Steve immediately reciprocates the hug, pulling him in even closer, surprised to feel tears pin-pricking his eyes

“I love you so much, Steve,” Eddie tells him, gripping the back of his t-shirt so tight he feels the collar pulling taut against his throat, “I don’t say that to you enough.”

“You say it all the time,” Steve replies with a wet laugh.

“Not enough,” he shakes his head, and Steve decides there’s no point in arguing.

A minute goes by.

“Fuck,” Steve half-laughs, half-chokes as he lifts his head to meet Eddie’s eyes, “This fucking sucks.”

“I know,” he says.

Again, he reels Steve in, and again, Steve lets him, holding onto his husband like a lifeline, like they’re standing somewhere far more perilous than the carpeted floor of their upstairs hallway.

“I know,” Eddie repeats, “And we’ll…we’ll talk about it but for now, just – can I just hold you for a bit, okay?”

Steve nods again.

“Okay.”

read the extended version on AO3 (i.e. feat. added “flashbacks” so it fits the formatting of the rest of the series)

#eddie calls robbie and moe and tells them to come home – not because they actually need to but because ed knows steve needs them home #i slipped in some sneaky dustin/erica how do we feel about that here on tumblr.com?#steddie #liv’s steddie dads verse #steddie dads #steve harrington #eddie munson

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cloudlessly-light · 4 months

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Another Hotchniss filth age gap idea for you bestie: How about Dave is emily's father figure (not necessarily her step-dad but he has always been there when her real parents weren't) and Aaron is his best friend….so she's essentially fucking her dad's best friend haha

A/N: Bestie you know I love the AU’s and the age difference so you KNEW this was right up my alley lol. I hope you like our idiots being filthy together!

Title: From boys to men Summary: From the moment Emily meets Aaron she knows that she has to have him, she doesn’t care that he’s older than her, doesn’t care that he’s Dave’s best friend. She wants him. Word count: 3,8k Rating: Explicit Warnings: Smut, oral sex, dirty talk, choking, age difference, (Emily is 22, Aaron is 40-ish)

“Bella!”

The familiar sound of Dave’s voice makes her hurry downstairs from where she had been packing up the last few things that she still had in her parents’ home.

“Dave!” She beams and happily accepts the tight hug and kiss to her cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, kiddo.”

Dave had been in her life as long as she could remember, a close friend to her parents and the one who she had come to know as a second father. In some ways he had always been the one to look out for her, even when she didn’t want it. They had only gotten closer when she moved back to the states for college. And now she was moving to her own apartment, her dorm room all packed up and she was starting a new part of her life, a part she was excited for.

“Have you got everything you need?” Dave asks just as a second figure appeared in the doorway and Emily swore she had never seen a more attractive man. “Oh right, Emily this is Aaron, one of my best friends. He’s kind enough to help out.”

“Like you’d be able to carry all those boxes without breaking your back, old man.” Aaron says causing Dave to feign hurt.

“Hey, you might be a decade younger but I am still wiser.” Dave jokes and Emily rolls her eyes. She had heard that before.

“Oh right, that’s how it goes.” Aaron teases gently and smiles at her while extending his hand. “Aaron Hotchner.”

“Emily Prentiss.” She takes his hand and shakes it, eyes locked on his. “Thanks for helping out.” When she pulls her hand back her palm tingles, the heat of his hand feeling like a brand on her skin.

“We should get going.” Dave interrupts, seemingly oblivious to the way Emily can’t tear her eyes off his best friend. “So we have time to unpack the heavy stuff and then I was thinking I’d treat you to dinner?” He looks between Aaron and Emily, his smile as kind as always.

“Sounds perfect.” She says and she sees Aaron nodding in her peripheral.

It was going to be a great day.

“So, how do you feel about living on your own?” Dave asked, chopsticks in hand. She smirked at him, knowing that he was more worried about her than anything else.

“It’ll be fine Dave, no need to worry.” She leaned back in her seat. “It’s like I’m an adult now.”

“You can’t blame me, you’re the closest thing I have to a daughter. And you’re barely an adult.” He shrugged and as much as she tried, she couldn’t keep herself from smiling.

“I’m 22 years old!” She laughs but secretly she loves that he cares for her in this way, her parents never did. “I’ll be okay, besides you’re 20 minutes away, it’s closer than when I was at Yale.”

“Yeah but-” The sound of Dave’s phone ringing cut him off and he sighed. “Sorry, I gotta take this.”

“Never met a busier man.” Aaron said once they were alone and she nodded as she looked at him from across the table.

She had spent most of the afternoon looking at him, feeling her mouth go dry by the way he effortlessly lifted heavy boxes, felt tingles down her spine as she watched his large hands flex as he helped her move the couch, she wondered what his hands would feel like on her body.

“So Aaron,” She made sure to put on a face of innocence “how do you know Dave?”

“We used to work together, before he retired.” Aaron leaned back slightly in his seat as he spun noodles around his chopsticks. “He trained me.”

“Oh, so you’re working for the FBI?” She made sure to keep eye contact, trying to size him up.

“Yeah, the behavioral analysis unit.” He smiled easily and Emily found herself wanting to press a finger against the dimple in his cheek.

“No wonder you carried those boxes like they weighed nothing.” When one of his eyebrows arched she let out a breathy laugh. “Of course I noticed, how could I not?” She batted her eyelashes and she could see him swallowing and then cleared his throat.

“I’m flattered.” He said and looked down at his plate. He should not find a girl more than 15 years younger than him this attractive, he should not wonder what her lips tasted like or imagine the softness of her skin.

“Sorry about that.” Dave is suddenly there, sitting down and Aaron breathes a sigh of relief.

He could not go there with Emily, she was off limits.

It’s been three weeks since she moved and Aaron and Dave had both popped in to help out around the apartment, building furniture and painting walls even when she had told them both that she didn’t need their help. But she wasn’t going to argue too much, because seeing Aaron always ended with her hand between her legs later that night as she thought of him. She knew that he had caught on to the flirting, but he was still keeping his distance.

What he didn’t know was that what Emily wanted, she got. And she wanted him.

It was a warm Sunday when she got home from lunch with a friend. When she entered her apartment it was bordering on suffocatingly hot and she quickly made her way towards the AC. To her frustration it was dead and she had no idea what was wrong with it. She groaned as she pushed her hair out of her face.

“Great.” She muttered and reached for her phone to call Dave.

“Hey kiddo.” He sounded unusually happy she thought.

“Hey Dave, I have a question. What do you know about AC’s?” She started to move around the apartment to open the windows.

“Absolutely nothing.” He chuckled when she let out a sound of annoyance. “Besides, I’m in LA for the weekend, coming back tomorrow. But call Aaron, he might be able to help.”

Well that got her in a great mood.

“Okay, thanks.”

“Anytime Bella.”

She hung up and made her way towards her bedroom to change as she called Aaron.

“Aaron Hotchner.” He sounded distracted she thought.

“Hey, Aaron it’s Emily.” She kicked off her jeans and tore of her t-shirt as she kept him on speakerphone.

“Emily, are you alright?” She could hear the pause in his voice and she didn’t blame him.

“Yeah I’m fine, but my AC is out and I don’t know how to fix it and Dave is gone this weekend but he suggested that I could call you… Do you think you could come over?” She bit her bottom lip as she waited for his response that seemed to take forever.

“I can be there in an hour.”

Game on.

Almost exactly 60 minutes to the dot later, he was knocking on her door. When she opened it she saw the quick look of surprise on his face at the state of her undress. She had decided on a thin tank top and the shortest shorts she owned, blaming it on the heat if he dared to bring it up.

“Thank you for coming.” She smiled and gestured for him to come inside.

“Not a problem, hopefully I can figure it out.” As he moved towards the AC, she sat down on the couch.

“I’ll call someone tomorrow if you can’t.” She let her eyes move over him, he really was a stunning man. She wasn’t sure if he heard her, his focus already on the AC as he looked it over.

It didn’t take long, Aaron pushing buttons and looking over some of the wires before the buzz of the AC sounded through the apartment and Aaron laughed.

“Well, that was quick enough.” He said, his eyes lingering on her smooth thighs for a moment before forcing himself to look away.

“Sorry you had to drive all the way here for that.” She stood from the couch and batted her eyelashes as she slowly licked her bottom lip. When his eyes fastened on it she knew that she hadn’t imagined the way he had been looking at her.

“Not a problem. But now it’s fixed so I-” His words are cut off by the feeling of Emily’s hands pushing him against the wall. She’s so close that he can smell her perfume, could count her freckles and he knows that he should push her away, but he doesn’t.

“What are you doing?” He asks instead, voice low and the raspiness of it lets her know that he’s not unaffected by her proximity.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She pushes up against him and he backs harder into the wall. With a smirk on her face she tilts her head as she looks up at him.

“We can’t.” He shakes his head, tries to rid himself of her perfume and soft body against his. Then her hand lands on his chest and he watches as she slowly moves it up to gently grab the back of his neck. When her nails scratch the base of his skull he swallows down a groan.

“Why not?” She doesn’t let his words deter her, she could feel his want pressing against her hip, could see how his pupils dilated.

“You’re too young.” He gets out through a clenched jaw and she laughs at his reply. “And you’re basically Dave’s daughter.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t” She tugs slightly on his short hair and his hands grab her hips in response. But he doesn’t push her away, and she knows she has him. “I want you. And I know you want me too.”

“Emily…” His fingers flex around her hips as he tries to keep some resemblance of control. But there’s no denying the want he feels when he looks at her, the attraction that had been clear the moment they met. When he opened his eyes she was even closer, her lips almost brushing against his. “I should have known you were trouble from the start.”

“You have no idea.” She whispers and then her lips press against his. The moment they kiss Aaron seems to give in fully, his hands moving from where they had been frozen on her hips to the small of her back, pulling her further into him. When his tongue licked at the seam of her lips she moaned softly and she swore she heard a sound of satisfaction from him.

He pushed her back, breaking their embrace and when he looked at her again, her breathing hitched. The hesitation that had previously been there was long gone as he looked at her with something dark, his eyes moving over her body slowly, deliberately and she felt her cheeks flush.

“What?” She finally asked, almost squirming under the intensity of his stare.

“You really are a gorgeous thing.” He muttered and caught her lips in another kiss, his hand firm around the back of her neck while the other sneaked under her tank top. He broke the kiss only to taste the skin of her jaw, her neck, taking note of what spots made her gasp and moan.

“Take of your shirt.” He said and Emily let out a breathy chuckle.

“So this is how this is going to go? You barking orders at me?”

“Yes.” The tone of voice was firm, determined, his face stern as he stared her down and she could feel her cheeks heating at the same time as heat settled as a dull ache between her legs. It’s his turn to smirk, happy with how fast the tables turned. “You don’t think I can’t tell that’s what you really want? What you crave?”

She swallowed hard when his fingers tangled in her hair, giving her a moment before pulling back, forcing her head back and she gasped.

“There she is.” He mumbled against her jaw. “See you’re not as good as you make yourself out to be in front of others, are you?”

“Aaron,” Her hands were fisting his shirt, close to ripping the fabric. In a matter of seconds he had taken complete control and she had never wanted anyone more. “Please.”

“Please what?” He nipped at her bottom lip, tugging it between his teeth and pulled lightly.

“More, fuck anything.” She breathed and he let go of her hair with a hum of satisfaction.

“Come on.” He put just enough distance between them to take her hand in his and dragged her towards the bedroom. When he turned back to her he quickly grabbed the hem of her top and pulled it over her head, a low groan sounding in his throat when he saw that she wasn’t wearing a bra. “Naughty girl.”

She didn’t get the time to respond, his lips once again on hers as they started to tear at clothes. Her hands moved over his strong chest, enjoyed the heat of his skin and the feel of his chest hair against her palms before moving further down to work on his jeans. With some help from him, she got them off, his jeans and boxers landing in a pile on the floor and her shorts soon following.

The sound that ripped from his throat when she wrapped her hand around his painfully hard shaft sent tingles along her body, and she knew she needed to hear it again. She pulled him into another kiss, only licking over his bottom lip for a moment before continuing to kiss down his jaw. His stubble was rough against her lips, a feeling she enjoyed until Aaron’s heavy hand pushed in her shoulder, urging her further down.

When her knees hit the floor with a soft thump she looked up at him with wide eyes, her hand still stroking him.

“Open your mouth Emily.” He pushes his thumb between her lips and when her tongue circles the pad of it he smiles. “Good girl.” He pulls his thumb out and gives her a nod and it’s the only thing she needs before she takes his cock in between her lips.

Her mouth is wet and hot and he hisses at the sudden pleasure as she licks around the tip of him, tasting his precum with a sigh before moving further down. He throws his head back as she takes more of him, he’s sure he’s never felt a more wicked mouth around him.

Emily keeps her eyes on him, gauges his reactions and feels smug as he groans and swears above her. Like he senses it he looks back at her, and his fingers tangle in her hair again. The scratch of his short nails against her scalp makes her moan and his hips buckles against her face in return to the vibrations around his shaft.

“Can you take it all?” He growls, fingers tightening slightly as she licks the length of him. She isn’t sure she can, he’s thick and long but she was damn well going to try so she nods. Her lips wraps around him again, and she slowly pushes forward, making sure to flick her tongue and relax her throat.

“Fuck, just like that.” He doesn’t push her forward, watches in awe as she chokes and her eyes turn glassy. “Gorgeous.” He mumbles, more to himself than anything as he watches how she pulls back to breathe and then takes him back in her mouth. This time she doesn’t stop until the entire length of him has disappeared and when she chokes, he groans at the way her throat contracts around him.

She pulls back gasping, a tear falling from her eye and he carefully brushes it away and she smiles, proud that she had done what he asked. As she tries to continue, his fingers tighten in her hair and she hisses at the pull.

“Come here.” He gasps and effortlessly pulls her up to stand again. His hands move over her body, taking in every curve and valley as he lays her on the bed. He listens to her moans as he sucks on a nipple, watches the flush on her skin as he touches her everywhere except where she wants. She tries to turn them, but he’s too strong and easily pins her down with a slight shake of his head. He licks between the valley of her breasts, sucks hard on her collarbone, making her mewl. When her legs spread for him he smiles against the skin of her neck.

“What do you need?” He whispers, one hand moving between her legs, gripping the soft skin of her thigh and then slowly moving further up.

“You.” She pants, her body feeling like it was on fire from his lips and touch. She could barely think, let alone form words and for a brief moment she wonders if this is what madness felt like. Then his fingers move through her, slowly, carefully and her hips twitch.

“So wet, all for me.” He wants to taste her, wants to make her fall apart again and again but his own need to feel her wins out and he quickly rolls between her spread legs. He groans at the heat of her against him, lets the length of him move against her as he claims her lips in a breathless kiss.

“Aaron, please.” She whimpers, and he knows that the sound of her begging him will stay with him forever. He keeps his eyes on hers when he pushes inside of her, wants to see the pleasure on her face. Her jaw turns slack, her eyes drift close and a moan, breathy and loud falls from her lips and he can’t help the way his hips snap in response.

Her legs wrap around his waist, causing him to go deeper inside of her and he groans lowly. He moves with long strokes, each of his thrusts met by her moving hips. She clings to him, her nails digging into his back as he fucks her hard enough for her body to jolt. The sounds that come from her are breathy and deep and unfamiliar to her, the pleasure he’s causing almost overwhelming.

“God you’re so fucking tight.” He rasps and she can only whine in response as he sneaks a hand between them to rub her clit. When her eyes roll back and her back arches into him, he takes advantage and sucks on one of her nipples.

It’s not long before she starts to feel the coiling in her belly, and she knows that Aaron feels the way she’s clenching around him when he looks down at her with a smug grin.

“If you stop I’ll kill you.” She breathes and he chuckles but he doesn’t stop.

“Already so close. It’s going to be fun to see how many times I can get you to fall apart for me.” His voice has dropped even further, his own arousal clear as he speaks. He moves up on his knees, continues to rub her clit and holds her hip with his other hand, keeping her in place as he pushes deep and hard inside of her.

She comes in only a few moments, tensing and shaking at the same time as she cries out loud enough that she knows the neighbors would be able to hear. It only seems to spur him on, his thumb insistent on her clit, and hips strong as he fucks her through it.

“One more.” He growls and she whimpers but nods. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he’d make her come again.

He grunts when she starts to clench around him again in no time at all and he rubs her clit faster. Watching Emily come might be the most erotic thing he’s ever seen and he knew right then that this wouldn’t be a one-time thing. She comes with a groan, hips buckling and head thrown back as she moans his name.

It isn’t until she’s sucking in desperate breaths of air that he slows to let her come down from her high. When her eyelids finally flutter open, her dark eyes are hazy and there’s a lazy smile on her lips.

“Let me ride you.” She says and he nods before laying down.

He watches with dark eyes as she straddles him, lets his hand rest on her hips as she starts to slowly grind on him.

“You’re so big.” She gasps, the fill of him close to painful as she moves above him. Her eyes find his, sees the same pleasure reflected in his eyes that she feels and she smiles.

“I know, baby.” He whispers as he enjoys the view of her on top of him. “You’re doing so good.”

“I want you to come inside of me.” She plants her hands on his chest and starts to move faster, lifting herself up and down. “I want to feel it.”

“Jesus Christ.” He grunts, his hips pushing up against her in response. “Make me come then, filthy thing.”

Emily keeps her hands on his chest as she grinds and rocks her hips above him, wanting him to feel as good as he had made her feel. When his hands grip her hips harder she knows he’s getting close and she lets him help her move. Then one hand moves from her hip to wrap around her neck and she gasps as she looks down at him, finding the look on his face close to wild.

“Fuck, that’s it.” He growls as he squeezes slightly around her neck. “Gonna come inside of you, pretty thing, don’t stop.”

She doesn’t. If anything her movements become frenzied, the feeling of his hand around her throat and the feeling of him inside of her driving her crazy. When his hand tightens and he groans her name she whines, the sound of his name falling from her lips and it’s the last nudge he needs before his hips stutter against her and he comes with a loud grunt.

His hands loosen and she switches to slowly roll her hips against his, drawing out his pleasure until he stops her with a breathless laugh.

“Give me 30 minutes and then we’re doing that again.” He says and she feels another rush of arousal settle in her belly.

“What’s the matter, old man?” She teases and he laughs.

“Do not even think about acting like a brat right now.” He pinches her side and she jerks before settling back over his lap, happy to watch him as he catches his breath.

“So, we’re doing this again?” She asks with smiles as she looks down at him.

“Oh yes, we’re definitely doing this again.” He gently pulls her down to kiss her. “There’s no way I’m letting go of you.”

#hotchniss #hotchniss fanfiction #hotchniss smut #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss smut #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #hotch x emily #aaron x emily #criminal minds smut #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner smut #emily prentiss fanfiction #emily prentiss smut

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kustas · 9 months

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if you're still doing it top 5 relationships... can be romantic platonic family etc

I'll be assuming you mean among animanga characters!

whatever is going on between matrioshka and mister 5 protagonist of the manga that bears his name. a friend of mine who's better with words described them as simultaneously acting like old friends of several decades and like a couple on a honeymoon. they're clearly fond of each other yet by nature do not express it in ways that are socially normal, both being distant and rather asocial people in the middle of serious geopolitical bloody drama; but neither care about that and are fine just chilling and trust each other with infinite amounts of personal space. the concept of a normal (ish) human person in a mutual loving relationship with someone bearing a level of intelligence and perception that is so inhumanely high that their take on life is fundamentally unrelatable for other human beings is so so good. I don't have to wish them the best they got their happy ending fucking off in the moebius desert to raise a kid

custas and dagda 😢 cus describing their relationship is what got me to love both of them so much in the first place..."he's not my dad but he's family [...] He's a really great guy, he's too nice" vs dagda seeing him as his son because he taught him what he knew, but being surprised custas sees him as family regardless. very heartfelt and bittersweet. I do like found families and this one is a good example of a very loving one that does not fit in the mold of a nuclear family fandom is so obsessed about. they're both flawed people with a rocky relationship but who genuinely love each other so they don't mind those bumps in the road...

the kazukabes from dorohedoro. what did i just say about a human being and a greater form of consciousness being in love? but this time they're both retirement age and also huge freaks. the stage of romantic love where it's been so long it's mostly just commitment and lovingly held up routine that remain is my favorite but this is dorohedoro that we're talking about so they're batshit on top of it all. when he violently dies and she pulls out his dismembered hand to hold it to say she loves him? peak romance. when he talks about how she burns people in hell with fondness that freaks out his colleagues at the coffee break? peak romance. when he's all flustered bc she opened her back to hide him in her innards? peak r- you get it

it's hard to pick a favorite relationship in dungeon meshi because they're so well written, but i really like laios and farlyn's unspoken complicity in being siblings born to parents who did not give either a happy childhood; chilchuck immediately noticing and taking into his own disgruntled hands the teenage moody callousness of izutsumi and protecting her emotionally without overstepping her boundaries because goddamn that's a man who's raised four teenage daughters and knows what to do; kabru and rin being childhood friends who both survived similar traumatic events and grew up into an introverted stuck up discreet mess and a master of emotional manipulation with unmatched shrewdness for analyzing human behavior who yet is completely blind of how in love she is of him

the unique flavor of genuine love, codependency and mutual mental health issues ping-pong between black and white. white's little speech about their relationship defined as "i'm missing some screws but i got all the screws he needs" is one of my favorite scenes especially in the film. their relationship and its duality is a major focus of the story so i could go off for pages but it's interesting how one is mentally disabled yet very emotionally intelligent vs his brother being on the stupid side and so hellbent on protecting his brother it bends back into borderline ableism. every horror happens to them that my tragedy loving self can ram into walls about INCLUDING how their love for each other and dedication to a common goal that might doom them concludes the whole story. alexa play plaid - white's dream

#ask #I have more.#most of this are straight. im a fake ally

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liskantope · 1 year

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Over much of last calendar year, I managed to read through the entirety of the celebrated newspaper comic strip For Better or For Worse (prior to Lynn Johnston's proper semi-retirement which led to this weird rehashing of strips from decades earlier in the timeline whose process I don't completely understand and didn't feel like getting into). In other words, I was reading all the way through all of the FBoFW comics on the archives on GoComics from 1979 to 2008. I briefly brought this up back in May actually. Since I finished a little while ago, this isn't as fresh on my mind as it was, and anyway I've been spending too much time off-task lately and have a backlog of other things I want to talk about on this microblog, so although I'm going to try to keep this from getting too long I do want to jot down some of my thoughts as I did when I finished reading through Luann a few years back.

(Warning: this got quite long anyway.)

FBoFW was a part of my life growing up, firstly because I began reading it in the newspaper circa 1996 (although I remember considering it one of the less entertaining, "grown-up" strips at first and don't think I was regularly keeping up with it until sometime in the early 00's), and secondly because it was my mom's favorite comic strip (apart from perhaps Peanuts) and we had several book collections of FBoFW (mostly from the earlier years) around the house. Reading through this archive helped me fill in all the gaps, including many of the comics in the last couple of years of the strip's life when I was living away from my parents in college.

1) The two parents of the main Patterson family, Elly and John, remind me a ton of my parents now, looking back. The reason my mom loved the strip was of course that she related a ton to Elly (both stay-at-home moms of around the same age, although my mom didn't start having children nearly as early). Elly's brother is even similar in ways to my mom's brother, who also plays the trumpet. I was telling my mom this when I recently visited her, and she took it as a compliment as she likes Elly (I like Elly too but she very visibly has flaws especially in the earlier years of the strip's life). I was more taken aback at how strongly John reminds me of my dad, his personality in general I think particularly in his love of "getting away" and enjoying hobbies, making things, and doing repairs on the side of a very stimulating but sometimes taxing job; trains and building train sets aren't really my dad's thing, but my dad's hobbies are of a very similar flavor. (John however is an even more visibly flawed character, even more markedly during the early years.)

2) There is a certain undercurrent of... nastiness?... in the gags of FBoFW in the early years. I didn't really remember having this impression before, maybe because it was normalized to me when I was younger or times have changed or something. Leaving aside John frequently expressing sexist attitudes and cracking hurtful jokes about Elly, there's one particular example of this which sticks in my mind as it's in direct contrast to how my (otherwise quite similar) family operated when I was growing up: Elly's cooking. My mom did all the cooking too, and we all complimented her on how great it was. Elly does all the cooking and all we get is one crack after another about how much everyone dislikes it: the children prefer "the stuff from the can", while John is constantly rude about how low-quality he thinks it is. (Apparently it's bad to make casseroles a lot or something.) And the bemusing thing is that the joke never seems to land completely on the children and John for being so unappreciative: the strip is sympathetic to Elly for trying her best, but it's kind of implied (without being outright clarified) that Elly's cooking is objectively sub-par. In this one regard, FBoFW echoes a more traditional norm in comic strips where the comedy is derived from everyone being bad at every (often gender-based) role they're given (see The Lockhorns for a particularly tiresome example). There is pretty much none of this unpleasant tinge to the comic in later years, and to me this was an improvement.

3) FBoFW follows an arc similar to that of Luann (which I talked about frequently in my Luann post linked to above) where (1) the earlier period of the strip feels more like a dysfunctional family sitcom where each of the characters is dysfunctional in the way expected by their traditional role; (2) the family is an "everyman" family where, for all its issues, each person's flaws and problems are considered the "average" ones to have with nobody having any kind of extraordinary trait (exception: Lizzie sucking her thumb into late childhood and being treated with a contraption to keep in her mouth; later exception: April suffering the trauma of nearly drowning and feeling like it was her fault that the family dog died after rescuing her); (3) eventually we see that all the other families in the strip's universe are more severely dysfunctional in non-average ways; so (4) by the later years, the main family is treated as the model family that everyone outside it wishes they had. In FBoFW's case, we have Lawrence raised by a single mother after his father abandoned them, Gordon's father being an abusive alcoholic, Deanna's mom being extremely controlling, Candace's upbringing being completely dysfunctional (I can't remember exactly why), Becky somehow having a similarly damaging background due to her parents' divorce, Weed's parents being super wealthy, absent, and not seeing him as a person with his own goals... the list goes on and on. The Pattersons, like the deGroots from Luann, have become almost the ideal family by the final 5-10 years or so.

4) Feminism plays a major role in the background culture shown through the dynamics of the characters in the first several years, and only in the first several years. John's colleague and sometimes-friend Ted is shown as the quintessential chauvinist pig, while John himself has a chauvinistic streak that he later grow out of, and this supplies plenty of fodder. Reading the first several years of the comic is worth it just for getting a flavor of the common discourse around feminism and changing gender roles from 1979 to 1982-ish.

5) Similarly, reading the devastating (and at the time extremely controversial) arc about Lawrence coming out as gay in 1993 is also very educational. What floored me on reading this in 2022 was not the hostile way Lawrence's stepfather initially reacted, but how Lawrence's lifelong best friend Michael reacted: in an accepting way but only after kicking things in anger and rage at how Lawrence has a terrible unspeakable condition that Michael never imagined in his worst nightmares anyone he actually knew well could possibly have.

6) The comments on GoComics under each strip are, as I mentioned in the post I linked to at the very top, were generally of very low quality. (I thought it wouldn't be possible to get any lower, actually, until I more recently switched to reading Baby Blues from GoComics and discovered I was mistaken!) Perhaps the most interesting content in them was frequent debates, in the later years of the strip, over the morality of each supporting character. What is quite striking to me is how much persistent hate there was for certain (male, intentionally sympathetic) characters. John got the most hate of all; during the first few years he somewhat deserved it, but later on it just seemed that some people were trying to see the worst in him (one persistent commenter, who is clearly older, very un-PC, and openly anti-woke, repeatedly made it clear that he loathed John with a burning fire and thought he was a terrible husband throughout). What took me aback more was how critical everyone was of Anthony, who the cartoonist clearly wants us to think of as a really sweet, gentle guy perfect for Elizabeth. A lot of people wouldn't let him off the hook for his one really poorly-timed moment of telling Liz to "wait for me [to divorce my wife so we can be together]" within an hour of rescuing her from a violent sexual assault, but at least one commenter concocted arguments for why everything Anthony ever did was terrible. There was one and only one character around whom all commenters could rally in hating, though: Mike's mother-in-law Mira Sobrinski. It was simultaneously gratifying and disturbing to see the set of regular commentators, usually so snipey towards each other, teeing each other off in long comment threads where they virtually "cooperate" in setting up cartoonish ways for Mira to suffer.

7) Very sad events take place in FBoFW, rather controversially for a newspaper comic of the time, I think (I know Charles Schultz was appalled at the writing decision that the family dog was going to get killed off). The characters are pretty much never shown grieving or crying over them (Elly and her brother sort of take their mother's death in stride, nobody actually cries during the dramatic arc of the dog dying, etc.). The strip avoids wallowing in pure sadness. But some of these arcs can be intensely poignantly emotional. The sight of April's pet rabbit drawing its last breaths in her arms touched me more deeply than the more dramatic death of the dog, in fact. But what really gutted me more than anything else wasn't even a death: it was Grandpa Jim's severe decline due to strokes. I remembered it happening at the time the strip was coming out and not being so bothered by it, but as someone slightly older now, the sight of someone becoming a rigid husk on the outside of their former self, with all of their long-term memories and feelings still intact but very difficult to express, just really gets to me. Here is an example of a strip that makes me start to choke up every time.

8) Lizzie is intent, upon entering first grade, on getting her ears pierced like all the other first-grade girls. What?! Has this been normal for 6-year-olds since the 80's and was I just not paying attention when I was in first grade a decade later? On a related vein, a few years after this, Lizzie is mortified at having to get glasses because then she'd be "the kid with glasses". There were... quite a few kids with glasses (including me starting in 4th grade) in each of my classes from mid- elementary school on; why is this treated as such an abnormality?

9) With certain exceptions like Lizzie's lingering habit of thumb-sucking, each of the Patterson children's development is supposed to model the normal emotional development of your average Joe Child/Teenager. One thing that struck me as being considered absolute and universal by the cartoonist in teenage culture was the boys' sudden obsession with cars from the age of 15 or so. It was shown with Michael, then with Elizabeth's male peers, then again with April's male peers, that at a certain age boys are really into girls, then suddenly they're so into cars that they forget entirely about girls (in one strip which stretches the usual standard of realisticness), Michael runs into his girlfriend Martha who he's been completely infatuated with for years and is still dating and momentarily forgets her name because he's so preoccupied with checking out cars. This is not at all how I remember male teenagerhood, but maybe I'm just really atypical (it was not considered a given that I'd ever get a car or even a driver's license as a teenager, and in fact I didn't get my license until 20 or my first car until almost 26).

10) There's a point in the late-middle part of the strip's history -- I forgot to note the year, but it's abrupt and maybe around 20001-ish -- when the cartoonist becomes fond of daily comics being exactly five panels long. I remember this being jarring enough that I noticed it back when they were coming out in the paper, as well as reading through the archives 20 years later. It's interesting that this became such a strong preference of Lynn Jonston's: it's very rare for newspaper comics since 1950 (and distinguishes FBoFW stylistically from others) and feels rhythmically awkward and exotic in much the way that 5/4 time signatures in music do.

11) Those noses. Ugh, those noses. I mean, specifically of the Patterson kids. Little ovals right below the eyes that don't resemble the noses of the either parent or of hardly any person of any age I've encountered, and which each grows out of by full adulthood (April, being more of an early bloomer, grows out of this as a preteen). I have always been irrationally annoyed by this artistic quirk and could write a whole post on it, but that would be time none of us could ever get back again so I won't.

#for better or for worse #sexism #homophobia cw #death cw #strokes #peanuts #luann #feminism

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just-mebs · 1 year

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Ooo can i ask what what Dell's role in your AU is? he seemed to worn and sad in the scene you posted I want to give him a hug

OMG 🥺yes of course! Link to scene

Okay so like I mentioned in in my mini summary, the entirety of the Penitent Father AU is focused on the idea of "What if Scout didn't come back?". For the most part it focuses on everyone 10 years later and how his death have impacted them. Some have dealt with it pretty okay, some struggled at first but eventually was able to move on..

And then there was Dell.

For Dell and Jeremy, they were really close, like REALLY close before he died. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they both liked each other, loved each other really. In my AU at least, Dell is the one that kind of saves Jeremy from himself. Helps him realize who he is and helps him actually like himself again. Jeremy does much of the same for Dell too, breaking down walls and barriers that he'd be force to build in order to be safe. They were in love and they cared so SO deeply for one another. The only reason they weren't ever together was because Dell got cold feet.

For the most part its because he can still see that Jeremy has SO much more pain he needs to work through (at this point Dell has no idea that Jeremy has a son) and doesn't feel like its right for him to enter a relationship until he's managed to work through those problems at least a little. On the other hand Dell is scared, he's so scared that Jeremy will leave him, or that he isn't good enough, or that he only likes him because of everything he's done to help him.

And so he pushed Jeremy away, left him thinking it was for the best, that it would be better for the both of them. Jeremy kind of relapses after this, though not long after he ends up dying. Dell isn't there when he dies, he's with the Administrator. He's the last one to find out that Jeremy is dead and is kills him.

The depression that hits him, hits him hard. He closes himself off from the rest of them, spends all his time in his workshop just building and building trying to distract himself from the grief that's ripping him apart from the inside out. By the time we see in the AU he's a shell of the man he once was, he can play the part of friendly southern engineer, but truthfully he hasn't smile honestly in over a decade.

Tavish is the one that eventually pulls him out of it, their entire relationship deserves its own post to be honest, but know that it takes a lot of time and patience for them to get somewhere happy.

Bonus facts about Dell that I wanted to share:

Both he and Jeremy are trans men, that's one of the big things he helps Jeremy with before he dies

He has a... bit of an obsession with building Scout bots in his retirement. He has so many, both life size and tiny ones, that help him move around/do things

Oh yeah, he ages really bad. A lot of it is the depression but other is just him taking poor care of himself

He fucking hates Emile (My Spy OC/Jeremy's dad/JJ's grandfather). He knew Emile was Jeremy's dad before Jeremy died but couldn't tell him due to it being confidential. He blames Emile for every bad thing that happened to Jeremy + his death itself

Interestingly, he has a poor relationship with JJ too. A lot of it is him just seeing so much of Jeremy in JJ (which JJ rejects a lot), though there are some other reasons too.

Sorry this got really long but !!! Thank you so much for asking 😭😭💗

#engiescout #otp.scatterbrains #au.penitentfather #ask.mebs #mine.mebs #anon

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sufandomgirl · 2 years

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Amphibia Soulmate AU Fanfiction 1 Part 21

Andrias x Leif

!Swearing and Mature Themes Warning!

{The letter made her cry tears of mixed emotions.}

Beach House...One Week Ago...

Newt: If you don't do it, you'll hate yourself for the rest of your life.

Fern: (sighs) How do you know me so well, Jason?

Jason: I'm your soulmate, that's my job.

Fern: Ugh, I suppose you're right. Once I read his final letter to me, I can be done with him.

{He breaks the wax seal on the letter. It had been years since he'd received his father's final letter and been informed of his death.}

Jason: I'm right here, baby.

Fern: I know, but I have to do this. (begins reading) 'Dear Fern, I am writing to you to let you know some things. First is...I am truly sorry for everything that I put you and your sister through. I love you, whether or not you believe that is up to you, but I hope that one day, you'll be able to forgive me, despite what you will find out in this letter. Second, I must tell you the truth. It wasn't your sister's choice to miss any of your recitals or shows. When I came, I had told her that if she didn't stay at the castle, we wouldn't eat, putting more pressure on her to work. After you became an adult, I made her work, even over your events to take care of my selfish, aging ass--wrongly believeing that she owed me something--despite knowing how badly she always wanted to go to support you. She never held a grudge or even spoke badly about you, ever. In fact, her face would fill with pride whenever she thought of you. She never got to send letters because she had to send them through me and I never sent any. She did try, son. She worked diligently in the castle and I got treated. It made me see just how unfairly I'd treated her. Everything she gave up, everything she missed, all the countless hours she worked, she did it to feed and take care of us so that you could grow up to become what you did. Then, when she was sent from the castle to Wartwood, I was forced to arrange a marriage for her. She didn't tell me what happened to make the king himself send her there and to be fair, I didn't make her feel like she could rely on me. I fear for her in her arranged marriage to Herald Wellbucket. There's something not right with that boy in the head. If you get this, please know that I truly regret everything I've done to you both. She loves you. I love you. Goodbye, Son. Love, Dad.' (puts letter down; angry tears well up) My sister...my younger sister did that for me? She loves me? He's the only reason that we haven't spoken or seen each other in twenty years?!

Jason: Fern...I...I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now.

Fern: Anger, betrayal, sadness. He lied to me all those years, saying that my sister couldn't be bothered to come to my shows or recitals. when the only reason that she couldn't was because she had to work so much to support us! To support him! She tried to send me letters, Jason! (starts to break into tears)

{Jason holds him, not used to this role, but willing nonetheless. Fern had always been the one to hold him, comfort him, just listen if he needed him to, despite being the most famous dancer on the Fountain Islands. They'd moved here after they found out that they were soulmates, knowing that Jason's family wouldn't approve of him being in a homosexual relationship, much less a cross-species one. He had been a respected soldier in Amphibia for three decades and chose to retire to the Fountain Islands a few years ago with Fern. They'd been fostering a young orphaned newt girl named Millicent for about a year now.}

Newtopia Castle...Present Day...

{As Leif read the letter from the judge in the town of Wartwood, she cried. Fern had come looking for her and figuring that he owed her a solid after everything, he'd brought him up to speed on all he knew that's happened in his absence up until Leif went no-contact and they just banished and imprisoned the entire Wellbucket family.}

Leif: He's back...oh, I wonder how this will end up going.

{So, just to recap, her brother was coming, her twin sons' birthday was in a few days, Andrias was trying to bond with her kids, since they were now courting and she was the High Governess in charge of caring for his daughter--the Crown Princess--and General Barrel's kids. She'd have a lot to explain to him when he got here.}

Leif: You sure have some timing, bro.

{She would have to inform Andrias of his impending visit on their next date the day before the boys' birthday.}

#amphibia #amphibia andrias #amphibia barrel #amphibia leif

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ancientstone · 1 year

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I posted 16,411 times in 2022

That's 5,835 more posts than 2021!

336 posts created (2%)

16,075 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sharkneto

@viterbofangirllovestheuntamed

@conchshell

@modmad

@valarinde

I tagged 10,087 of my posts in 2022

Only 39% of my posts had no tags

#join the queue - 5,527 posts

#the untamed - 3,292 posts

#tua - 1,726 posts

#wei wuxian - 1,511 posts

#jiang cheng - 1,250 posts

#fanart - 1,026 posts

#lan wangji - 847 posts

#number five - 572 posts

#rottmnt - 547 posts

#tua s3 - 515 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i have over 70 works on ao3 now and my naming system is 'pretentious and bland' so unless it's oh that big exhauting fic i won't have a clue

My Top Posts in 2022:

wait I’ve just realised the Hargreeves could totally uno reversed s1 Luther into going against their father with one simple conversation

Siblings: we know you’re the leader, but for a moment just picture that dad is.

Luther: okay?

Siblings: how has he performed?

Luther: well, he supplied us with equipment and clothing for missions, he drove us to every location and back, he trained us to tackle enemies ourselves, he put it on me to plan everything once we were inside, he put others in the line of fire, he didn’t step in when we got hurt- WAIT A MINUTE

697 notes - Posted April 19, 2022

wait actually playing with who Wei Wuxian gets brought back as is fun but also terrible:

Lan Xichen: Positive - People are willing to listen to you and trust your word. Negative - You are sect leader of the most upright clan and you are the most unruly human alive. Also your boyfriend has to deal with having the hots for his brother?

Lan Wangji: CONGRATULATIONS THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE BASICALLY DIED SO YOU CAN COME BACK AND COMMIT MURDER HAVE FUN UNPACKING THAT ONE

Lan Sizhui: You know your adopted son? He died for you decades after your death. Your boyfriend won’t stop sobbing and will never kiss you again.

Lan Qiren: You are the youngest of your generation but also retirement age. People respect your word. Your knees hurt. Now you know what it’s like to be too old for this shit.

Nie Huaisang: Everyone keeps coming up to you with random bits of intel and you have no idea why, how they get this, or who they are. This is the one time you can come back as a sect leader and no one will take you seriously. The fan is sexy though.

Jiang Cheng: Hey, so, you know how you had a younger brother? A younger brother you gave your core to? A younger brother who was the last of the family that raised you and the person you sacrificed everything for? Yeah. He’s dead now. You get his body. But at least you get your core back, right?

Jin Ling: THE KID HAS A VERY LOYAL DOG THAT WON’T STOP FOLLOWING YOU but also you are in the body of your sister’s precious child and you will never know peace. Good luck trying to speak to your brother again. He won’t kill you, not in the body of his nephew, but, wow, you could burn alive with the scathing he sends your way.

Jin Guangyao: Everyone is confused and no one wanted this.

883 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

Can you imagine if Wei Wuxian came back to life and instead of killing Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangyao has killed Jiang Cheng instead?

908 notes - Posted April 23, 2022

I feel so sorry that all these twitter people joining tumblr have literally just missed bookclub

1,389 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

If I had a nickle for every time a seemingly innocent piece of media had horror elements in 2022...

2,645 notes - Posted August 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #written in stone

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atthebell-moved · 2 years

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syti characters list etc.

making a post for this so i can link it instead of writing essays in my notes. will add when more characters come up/as needed. spoilers for ch. 2 included below.

phil: fae, has wings, is old as shit, immortal. he traveled the world and built a bunch of shit (hardcore... im shot before i can finish the thought) and then died but Death was so enamoured with him they got married and she brought him back to life or whatever idk

kristin: Lady Death, death goddess, not quite as old as time but almost, idk lots of cool powers. she was very tired of her job after a bit but was inspired by this freak little man (i wonder who) and fell in love & blessed him. she still has her day job but shes started delegating more and going on vacation. idk im just saying things

techno: around 12-13, little piglin guy, changeling (if you want a long post explaining my reasoning on techno, wilbur, and tommy being changelings, lmk), also immortal bc changeling + son of Death. phil found him in the nether and brought him home.

wilbur: 8-9, human, changeling, also immortal bc changeling + son of Death. kristin found him while she was walking around a nearby city. wilbur and techno are twins bc idk i said so no theyre not the same age or species but wilbur decided it and everyone just lets him say it bc it makes him happy

tommy: itty 18m-2yo, vampire (not a turned vamp-- if you want more vampire lore pls ask i will never shut up about it. but yeah he just spawned in the woods one day) wilbur found him in the woods and brought him home; before that, tubbo and ranboo had been playing with him and bringing him snacks for a few months. phil and kristin, by adopting him as theirs (well. mostly wilburs fault but theyre happy with it obvi), have adopted him as a changeling.

puffy: no clue. probably a bit young to have teenagers but old enough to have been a pirate for like at least a decade so like. 35. idk. sheep hybrid, semi-retired pirate captain. once her boys get a little older she'll probably un-retire and theyll join her crew.

dream: 13, dragon! puffy found him as an egg that poachers were trying to smuggle at the docks and stole him back. his original clutch was gone, although they tried looking for them, so now he lives with puffy and foolish and shares his dad's hoard

foolish: 14, shark totem hybrid. idk puffy found him as a little totem baby/shark pup while stealing from another pirate and was like free baby why not idk

captainsparklez: adult werewolf, like 30-something. found eret in the same city kristin found wilbur in, and brought her home once he couldnt track down her sire. crumb appeared in his house one day and just never left, tubbo is a little wolf he found or adopted like normally or idk hes his kid with iskall who knows

eret: ~13? idk. eret was sired and abandoned as a very young vampire and the captain found him in an alley and brought him home, but hed been exposed to direct sunlight and it really damaged his eyes. they can see but theres weird film over everything; they use vampire magic to see a little better. i didnt

crumb: idk itty bitty like tubbo and tommy but theyre a weird little cryptid so ???. the ages in this make no sense anyway. but yeah shes like a cryptid creature with a box over their head who just showed up in the captain's house one day.

tubbo: 3-4 tiny tiny baby but old enough to get into the woods and cause mischief. like i said you can think of whatever explanation you like for how jordan got him i just think that hc is adorable

ranboo: ???, weird little woods cryptid. he has big floppy ears and long limbs and idk he looks funky. whatever you imagine him as, thats what he looks like. tubbo found him in the woods after he found tommy and theyve been hanging out for a few months. he speaks in little chirps and shit and can teleport.

schlatt bc i just mentioned him in ch 2: idk like 14, also a spawned vamp & not a changed one. him and wilbur like to shove each other into bushes. he likes to think hes a lone wolf but he hangs out with everyone. phil keeps offering to let him stay with them but he "has a very fucking cool castle, old man, leave me alone" (the castle is a stone hut in the woods, he is a disaster)

niki hasn't appeared yet but she will: like 7-8, itty little merling. she lives in a creek near the woods, wilbur found her there once after he fell in and goes and visits her twice a week. her and dream hang out sometimes when he wants to go swimming and idk ill think of more when i get to the chapter with her

and more to come!

#sink your teeth in #my fics #bell.doc #i decided on all of the ages arbitrarily btw so like. they mean nothing #theyre all immortal and weird creatures anyway so theyre just vibing #just using them for reference for how itty the kids are

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gaycey-sketchit · 2 years

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(Gary anon) They're treated "better" than they are in the games; but 2 of the 3 still ended as fodder for Alain and Sawyer. Tierno and Shauna got off somewhat okay. Trevor? Oof. (Heh, it's certainly not help by the generational gap between series. And now we have one that's trying to put it all together while adding to it, to varying results and reception) Probably, some people seemed to have forgotten the different between socializing online and doing it RL. No one's allowed

(Part 2) to be neutral and nuanced. Or simply want peace. (If I had a dollar for every time I ran into "The Project Mew cast will continue passed JN" . I don't think doing one with *Ash's child [or Kukui's] would be any better. *Again possible ship elitism, on top of judging Ash as a parent. Delia gets enough slander as is despite being supported, can you imagine the same being put onto Ash? On top of the other stuff he's criticizes for? If he has to 'retire', let it be on a high note and in)

(Part 3) (peace) If it means more casual and wise Gary interactions, I'm for it. (Still not on the side of those who want Paul to dunk on Goh; though it's funny how Goh finds his eyes scary) I mainly want Iris to get one win. And Ash vs Alain so that chapter can be laid to rest after the stink the Kalos League left. (Though there will be "y no Greninja" complaints regardless; stuff is pointing to no reserves. Plus, even if it was in, I never expected them to go all out with that match-up again)

(Part 4) (Same with Infernape and Electivire if Paul came back) If it's anything like Max Lair, I think we're getting G-max Cinderace instead. (But it's the anime, throwing a bunch of G-max forms at us is very possible. I'm leaning on Goh since he might lead the charge for once in this potential raid) Looks like we may have a week break after the Masters ceremony episode. Half-expected it to happen around Ash vs Leon. So unless we have another duo episode drop like in April, we're down to 20.

Yeah, the bar was really at the earth's core for XY rivals I guess.

Yeah.

It's really unfortunate. Like, I really am fortunate that nobody's tried to drag me into anything, but I see the negativity and conflict between other people and it's just... exhausting. I thought fandoms were supposed to be fun.

Yeah. Oh, I really, really would not want to see Ash's kid as a protagonist. As several of my Twitter mutuals have said before me: I do not want Pokemon Boruto. I cannot imagine how aggravating it'd be if after decades of Ash being called a bad trainer, people got to start accusing him of being a bad father too (it upsets me enough seeing him portrayed as a bad father in fanfic--he was raised by Delia, and has such a kind heart and is willing to do anything for those he loves, he'd be a great dad). And yeah, the ship thing--in this scenario either some ship would become canon, or he'd be paired with a character we've never met and everyone loses, or he'd be a single dad (which would honestly be the best-case scenario just because it'd leave things open).

But I'm rambling about a hypothetical. Yeah, when/if Ash has to depart from the series, we can only hope it'll be on a good note that doesn't give people one more thing to judge him harshly about.

Yeah, casual moments with Gary and him getting to show how much he's grown up (as much as anyone can in a series where nobody ages) is good. If Goh and Gary became the new co-protagonists as some have suggested, I'd honestly be really torn because like... I love them, and their dynamic is fun, but I'd really miss Ash.

Yeah, picking on Goh is Gary's job (/j). Goh's reaction to Paul in the preview being "his eyes are scaring me" is so funny.

Yeah. I very much feel like(/hope) Ash, Iris, Alain, and Leon will be the ones that make it to the semifinal round, where we'll get Ash vs Alain and Iris vs Leon, and then, well... we can all probably guess the outcome of those because it's what Journeys has been building up to.

True, no need to rehash climactic battles from the past.

Makes sense! Gmax Cinderace would be fun to see too. I do hope Goh gets to take the lead, it'd be a good way to show how far he's come.

Understandable! The well-being of the people behind the anime comes first. But also damn, just 20 episodes remaining... there's a lot to pack into that many episodes to wrap things up and I hope there's enough time. I can't believe how close we are to the end.

#Andrew answers #Gary anon

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atlabeth · 3 years

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hey! i love your zuko fics so much and was wondering if you’d like to write this, because the idea just popped up: maybe a zuko x reader fluff that takes place before/during LOK? maybe they’re reminiscing about their past adventures w the Gaang while helping out the new Team Avatar? idk it’s just that every time I see old zuko it makes me soft and emotional 🥲🔥❤️ anyways, much love! (and don’t feel pressured to do this at all, I was just thinking abt who I could submit this request to, and obvi my first choice was you 💕)

reminiscence - zuko x fem!reader

summary: just because you and your husband are retired doesn’t mean you don’t have amazing advice for the new team avatar.

a/n: this is so cute omg!! thank you so much for requesting this and thank you for much for your kind words i'm honored <33 im so sorry this took so long

sorry im posting so much lately im trying to stop slacking and publish things that have been wips for over a month sdkjfh

wc: 1.3k

warning(s): none bc i choose to ignore the news of zaheer’s plan right after this scene

Retirement was… nice.

You had spent your childhood fighting with the Avatar to end the Hundred Year War, a feat that was only made more difficult with your Fire Nation roots and connection to the banished prince. But all that’s well ends well, and you ended up getting your happy ending together — you had to fight hard for it, though.

You married Zuko at nineteen, three years after he ascended to the throne, and spent the subsequent years balancing your duties as Fire Lady and taking care of your daughter. Ruling the Fire Nation was a lot, but you knew you could get through anything with your husband at your side.

When he told you his plans to abdicate the throne, you were more than supportive. One of Zuko’s biggest fears was becoming his father, and by giving up his position willingly to Izumi, it guaranteed that he wouldn’t fall victim to the power-obsessed ways of his ancestors. It also gave him a well-deserved break after decades of being Fire Lord, and you were more than ready to get out of the world of Fire Nation politics. You had sat through enough meetings to fill multiple lifetimes.

But just because the two of you weren’t as involved in every day affairs of the world didn’t mean that you were completely out of it. No, that was far from the truth. You and Zuko were still some of the most important people in all of the nations, which meant it wasn’t a rare occurrence for your husband to be called off on some sort of mission.

One such mission was stopping the Order of the Red Lotus for the second time; Zuko had been part of the team that stopped them from kidnapping Avatar Korra as a child, so it was no surprise that he had been called to help for a second time. You knew even in his old age that your husband was powerful, but you couldn’t help but feel concerned about everything he was doing.

This concern was ultimately what led you to join Zuko on his trip to meet with Chief Beifong and Chief Tonraq in the Misty Palms Oasis. He had originally been against your involvement, claiming that the Red Lotus was far too dangerous, and he didn’t want to risk you getting injured in any way. You, of course, weren’t having it. “The Avatar’s in trouble, and I’d like to think I know a few things about getting out of trouble.”

One thing was certain after you arrived — it had been far too long since you had ridden on the back of a dragon. You truly adored Druk, and you felt bad for everyone that would never have the opportunity.

After conversing with Lin and Tonraq inside, you all exited to greet the new Team Avatar. If what you were told was true, then they had been through quite a lot since leaving Zaofu. For as long as you had been involved in foreign affairs, you had never met Avatar Korra nor her friends, so you didn’t know what to expect — an awestruck boy that could barely speak wasn’t at the top of your list though.

“Oh my gosh. It’s Lord Zuko and Lady Y/N. I can’t believe it!” He stared at the two of you with wide eyes, his voice getting higher and higher as he whimpered. He looked like he was going to fall over until another black-haired boy pulled him out of the way, his tone apologetic.

“Uh, forgive my brother,” he said as he put his fist against his open palm, his brother following suit. “We’re just really honored to meet you both.”

“It’s no problem,” you smiled as you and Zuko returned the greeting. It had been years since someone had reacted that way towards you, and you would be lying if you said it didn’t amuse you. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

The two boys straightened again as the taller one gestured to them each in turn. “I’m Mako, and this is Bolin. We’re Korra’s friends.”

“Ah, she’s got her own Team Avatar?” You inquired with a twinkle in your eye. “You know, I traveled with Avatar Aang years back along with my husband.”

“Of course I know!” Bolin exclaimed. “Oh, I’ve heard so many stories about your adventures, they’re all so amazing!” His eyes widened and you actually thought that he was going to fall over. “Oh, oh, could you tell us about some of the things you went through?”

“Bolin, we really shouldn’t bother them—” Mako started, but you laughed and waved it off.

“I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s not often I get to relive my journeys to such avid listeners. What would you like to hear about?”

He thought for a couple seconds then shot back up again. “What was it like when you escaped the Boiling Rock together? You guys were the first people to ever break out, right? That had to be amazing!”

You and Zuko both laughed as you shot him a look. “It was… interesting,” he said.

“By interesting, he means it was a complete disaster,” you corrected. “Everywhere something could’ve gone wrong, it went wrong. They had originally come there to rescue Sokka’s dad, but instead they found Suki and I. Then Zuko got found out and thrown into prison, our first escape plan failed, Sokka almost got found out, Azula showed up… it was honestly a miracle we made it out at all.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” he protested. “Getting thrown into prison was part of the plan, we wouldn’t have been able to get the cooler out if I hadn’t been found out.”

“I guess I can’t complain,” you chuckled. “I did get to punch you a couple times.”

“They are so cool,” Bolin whispered as the two of you went on in the background. He elbowed Mako in the shoulder and gestured towards the couple with his head. “Come on, ask them something! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

“I’m not going to ask them something, Bolin—”

“Excuse me, my brother has something he wants to ask too!” Mako shot him a dirty look which quickly disappeared when you and Zuko turned to him attentively.

“Oh, um…” He coughed and scratched his head. “I guess.. is there any advice you have for us? With this whole Team Avatar thing, I mean.” You smiled at Mako and took Zuko’s hand.

“The friendships you forge during your journey are the most important thing — they’re the things that will keep you going during your darkest moments, and they will last a lifetime. There will be mountains and valleys, ebbs and flows, but no matter what, you will hold an unbreakable bond.”

You felt Zuko squeeze your hand and turned your smile on him as you returned the sentiment then nodded for him to continue. “Never take anything for granted, and trust in fate. You’re where you are for a reason — everything will end up working out in the end.”

You grinned and kissed him on the cheek, humming in agreement. “It did, didn’t it?”

After a few more minutes of talking with the two brothers, they went off to join the rest of their group. It was strange being on the outside of it all after how intense your childhood was, but it was… refreshing not to have the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore.

“The world’s in good hands with them,” you murmured as you leaned your head on Zuko’s shoulder.

“They all have that same fire you had when I first met you,” Zuko chuckled. You watched the four of them conversing and a smile graced your lips.

“Oh? Then I think the world’s in very good hands.”

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fic #avatar fic #avatar the last airbender fic #zuko #zuko fic #zuko avatar #zuko atla #zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #reader insert #avatar x reader #fic #sadie writes

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masterthespianduchovny · 3 years

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I’m going to be honest: I dislike Nate right now.

And that’s perfectly fine.

I understand that this show loves to redeem people, however, as I said in another post, you can only redeem someone if there are negative feelings and/or you believe that person wronged someone or whatever. If you have positive feelings and excuse what they did, what exactly are they being redeemed for?

Despite loving Rebecca’s character, when I rewatch season one, I don’t like her at times. I dislike a lot of what she did back then. It doesn’t matter that I know she tells the truth eventually, the stuff she did was still fucked up. I’m not going to preemptively excuse her actions because I know the end goal.

Take Jamie for instance, his behavior was not okay. We know why he behaves that way, but it still wasn’t justified. We are still allowed to dislike him and what he did then. We talk about the negative effects of the bullying Nate received from the players, yet some try to excuse Nate’s bullying and his actions?

Wrong is wrong. Jamie being verbally abused by his dad didn’t justify how he treated others just like how Nate’s father (and bullying by others) is emotionally abusive doesn’t justify Nate’s behavior.

Although we understand the context, Nate IS being a fucking backstabbing asshole right now. Some may hate to hear that, but this isn’t an unfair opinion or unflattering light of him. This is exactly how he’s behaving.

There are some who has a ton of sympathy for Nate, but I’m not one of them. Please believe, I do hold some sympathy for him, but I have a limit.

So here’s reasons why Nate is on my shitlist and I’ll wait until he’s actually redeemed to forgive him.

1. Calling Rebecca a shrew. It’s not the fact that he literally called Rebecca this, but that he immediately verbally attacked the woman. We can say, “oh no, she’s the owner so he had reasons to think…”

No, Nate literally attacked Rebecca for no reason at all. She had little to no interaction with him and has never disrespected or harmed him in anyway, yet he has these intense feelings of dislike in the moment based off what exactly?

Nate attacked Rebecca because she is a woman. If you disagree, what other reason it might be? The reason I believe it was due to her gender is because she’s been defanged so to speak. So he doesn’t fear her like he used to. But Nate also practices in casual misogyny ie his shoe remark to Rebecca and Keeley. That may not seem like a big thing, but how is that an involuntary response??? With him believing he got fired, he doesn’t wait for answers, he immediately attacks her. And I had to ask myself, would he have done this with a man? With someone like Rupert? No fucking way. Nate can’t even directly challenge Ted who is a ray of sunshine, but attacks someone who he literally ran away from in fear in the pilot. Although Nate respects power, he respects male power the most. He skipped over Ted and Beard and went straight towards Rebecca. The fact that this even happened has always been disturbing to me. And Nate is fucking lucky that he hasn’t said any of his comments to old Rebecca (not age, but personality. 🥺) because she would have fired him. Only due to her relationship with Ted and him getting to let her guard down and find her old self that she frowned and shrugged Nate’s comments off. Most bosses at the very least would’ve talked to Nate and he didn’t get even that.

2. Projecting his daddy issues onto Ted. I understand that nate is going through some tough shit and has been for literally decades, however, that doesn’t mean make someone your stand in dad because they were nice and kind. Ted treats Nate like he does the other coaches, but Nate wants a special and unique relationship that will never exist. Ted is not his father and he didn’t ask for the job or the responsibilities.

I understand that people go through shit and latch onto those who made the rough times easier. I get that. However, all this animosity, scheming, and resentment because Ted isn’t giving the attention he wants. That fucking unfair to Ted. He didn’t ask or sign up to be Nate’s father figure. Yet he’s being punished for not being something he never wanted to be. Never even thought about it.

And because I’ve seen/partially experienced this shit, people getting mad at you for not being who they projected onto, it makes me upset at Nate. Because people like this really do become resentful and manipulative and that is not okay despite their own hurt that they’re dealing with. Why does the person you projected on have to suffer for something they’re unaware of and have no obligation to fulfill?

Nate isn’t just trying to blow up Ted’s professional career, he’s doing it via one of the cruelest ways: using his mental health against him. Thereby exploiting Ted’s trust in him.

Ted has literally changed Nate’s life for the better and rather than have a man to man talk with him, he cowardly tries to sabotage Ted in one of the worst ways imaginable.

3. His cognitive dissonance about how coaching works!!!

This seriously irritates me because, on some level, Nate knows that the very system he’s criticizing is how it works across ALL team sports and with reason.

He wants to be a damn head coach soooo bad—does he think ideas, plans, plays, etc only comes from head coaches???

What does he think assistants are there for?

For those who aren’t familiar with sports and coaching, literally every team sport has a head coach and then assistants under them. These assistant typically specialize in a given thing.

In American football, I believe there are like defensive coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. there are coaches who watch a lot of tapes to learn the opposition and how to make plays to hold them exploit their weakness and tailor plays around that.

Like on the professional level there are so many types of coaches and, hell, not all of them want to be head coaches. Some of the greatest coaching minds aren’t head coaches.

For example, the American basketball team the Chicago bulls fired their coach Doug Collins in like 1989, I think. He was a good coach, but one of his assistant coaches had a basketball IQ out of this world. Doug refused to listen to him, but management fully supported this assistant coach. Now the other assistant coach they were grooming to take over, Phil Jackson, if you’ve heard of him, DID listen to this basketball genius. So much so that when he became head coach after Doug was fired, he continued to implement The Triangle offense that came from this basketball genius, which Phil was known for until he retired.

Nate’s upset that Ted gets all the credit for if they win, he does realize that Ted also gets all the blame for if they lose. Ted has always highlighted his coaching staff and everyone who helped him. He has always stressed that he wouldn’t be where he is without them. And when he loses, he takes full ownership. He doesn’t pass the blame at all.

Does Nate seem like someone who’d take ownership for losing?

Does Nate seem like someone, at this moment, who’d appropriately give credit to assistant or anyone else who helped him?

Would he even listen?

What makes Ted a great coach is that he gives others opportunities to step up to the plate and if/when they succeed, he allows them to shine.

Ted sees the fuller picture, for the most part, and knows how to address his weaknesses and who’s stronger than him in what area. He realized that the team needed a presence like Roy on the team. He knew he needed someone like beard who could absorb insane amounts of knowledge. He saw that Nate had potential coaching ability.

But Nate doesn’t understand the importance or value of this. He also doesn’t understand how instrumental Ted’s philosophy has been in transforming the culture of the team. That this is also a reason why the team is playing better.

So like, yeah, I’ll forgive Nate when he’s redeemed. But these three things are what really irks me about him. Just because I understand why he is acting this way doesn’t mean I have to excuse it when he’s being a dick to others, complaining about shit only due to his ego, and doing fucked up shit like leaking someone’s mental health struggles so he can gain an advantage over them.

Does he think that if Ted leaves/gets fired that he’s getting the job??? I mean hopefully whatever he has going on with Rupert works out (before it inevitably goes wrong) because this isn’t going to turn out how he thinks it will.

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #Nate Shelley #I wonder if Rupert is trying to get Richmond back and has some big master plan #I do not want that to happen of course #but what is he planning #probably trying to steal Nate away #and if that’s the case #good riddance #lol #Nate can come back once he calms down and gets himself together

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thevibraniumveterans · 3 years

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Tony Leung: “[Wenwu] isn’t a villain at all!”

On September 6, 2021, Tony Leung sat down with Hong Kong actress Carol “Dodo” Cheng for an interview about life, sports, and of course, his latest Hollywood outing as a widower who grieved the death of his beloved wife and a father who “didn’t know how to love [his children]” in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Interview is originally in Cantonese, and has been translated into English.

FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

Today I'm really pleased to interview Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. The last time I really chatted with you in earnest was... Do you remember? In 2013.

I think that time I was with...

We were on a plane together.

At the mall? On a plane?

We arrived in Hong Kong, and went to some awards ceremony. We were waiting for our luggage, exchanged a few words. That was 2013, and we haven’t met since. Where did we meet up next? I’m sure you won’t remember. It was here in Hong Kong. I was surprised by you. I usually go to the supermarket, very early in the morning. Because there's no-one there.

Yeah.

I saw you there.

I think that was probably it. Not too crowded in the morning.

You too. Why so early in the morning?

To... buy food. I usually wake up at 6am. I’d exercise until about 10am-ish, and then I’d…

Go for a walk.

Shower, then shop for food. I usually eat quite simply— it’s either salad, or buckwheat noodles. Salad doesn't stay fresh very well. So I’d get up early in the morning, shop for what I like, and prepare it at home.

Have you been eating healthy all this time?

I’m not doing this particularly for my health. I get an upset stomach easily. I get food poisoning very easily. And it’s miserable having food poisoning! When you’re at work, others don’t know how bad you’re having it. But you can’t tell-- you can’t convey that.

Alright, at this point it’s time for a nostalgia trip. We used to be colleagues, and we’ve shot TV series together. At that time, did you feel that you could eat whenever and not have to sleep… When did you start prioritising your health?

When did it start? I think it would have been… at least 20 years ago. Because it’s miserable being sick while on set. You’ve got to keep working. Even when I had a fever, (producer) Wong Kar-Wai would say, “No, it’s the last day, you’ve got to make it.” So I would work with a fever!

It’s good that everyone's health-conscious now, and wants to avoid falling ill. So when I was preparing for this interview, some friends told me, They’d seen you and me do an interview, from many years ago. I don’t think you’d remember. We’re talking many years ago - decades here! You were really young at the time. At the TV station you were a rising star, a top male lead actor. So I interviewed you. I asked you a question, and I don’t know if you remember how you answered. I asked, “Have you thought about retirement?” You did give me an answer at the time. Do you remember at what age you said you’d retire?

I really don’t remember. I’m sure retirement was always on my mind then.

You were in your 20s then, not quite 30. You told me— “I will definitely retire at 36!”

[laughter]

What changed your mind?

I believe that when I started out as an actor, it was certainly hard work when I was just starting out. But I thought, I wouldn’t get to where I am today without going through tough times. But as I slowly grew as a person, my perspectives and values have changed. I feel more at ease. So I wouldn’t think in extremes like I did before. I think that in the past 10, 20… 10 years? I've become a more relaxed person. I wouldn’t just say, “now I’ll retire.” If I want to keep going, I will.

This is your favourite line of work, isn’t it?

Except sport.

Could you imagine yourself in any other career? I can’t.

I’d be a sportsperson.

A sportsperson, playing what?

I play a lot of sports. I like mountain biking, sailing, water skiing, surfing… I’m up for anything.

You really like water sports, don’t you?

It’s hot in Hong Kong, and summer takes up most of the year. What’s more refreshing than being in the water?

How about in winter?

I’d still be in the water, wearing long sleeves.

You wouldn’t take up running?

I don’t particularly like it… I can’t seem to find much variety in running. I like to interact with nature directly. There’s something new every day. Take sailing, for example. Every day is different, the weather changes.

Your body is in a different condition every day.

You're working with the changing conditions. You end up building up a lot of knowledge. You learn about nature, the weather, changes in conditions. The water, currents, what do you call it... Hot weather warms the ocean and you’ll have gusts of wind. I didn’t know all this. But the more I sailed, the more I thought,“This is great!”

You’ve got a real passion for this.

I do.

What have you been up to during the pandemic? It’s been 1— almost 2 years, hasn't it?

I was filming in 2 movies… And... flying here and there.

Do you need to quarantine?

Quarantine! Countless times.

We’ve talked for so long, let’s come back to this film, Shang-Chi. I believe Tony has received endless invitations to appear in overseas films. Why did you choose this film?

I didn't really... I believe it’s fate to be involved in certain films. I can’t just want to act in some type of film, then get it. An opportunity comes up, but sometimes the director might not like me, or I might not like the screenplay. Or I might like the director, but I don’t like the character. So you can’t just make this sort of thing happen. I think sometimes the time will be just right and things will happen. The director may like me, and I like the project, or I like the director. Or I might want to try something in particular. It takes a lot, a combination of factors, for something to happen.

It's like a piece of furniture, isn't it? The pieces need to be joined precisely.

Yes.

How were you scouted for this movie? How were you approached?

The director approached me, wanted to have a chat with me. So I...

What's your requirements for taking on a film? Do you need to read through the whole screenplay?

That would be best. It would.

You would've been in many films without a solid screenplay, wouldn't you?

There would still be an idea.

An overview of sorts.

But this movie... You know Marvel is very secretive. At the beginning, I was in a video conference call with the director. What he could tell me at the time was, "You're going to be the main villain. Your character has many layers." Then I asked, "do I need to fight?" "No, because you have those rings." So I said, "then I'll definitely be fine." That was all.

What about that drew you in? Being the main villain?

That was one of the draws. In the past few years, I wanted to try characters different to those I'd played previously.

Why do all actors who have played male leads want to go off and play villains?

Actually... there's more complexity to them. I feel like there's a different mindset between playing a protagonist and an antagonist. I've acted for 30-something years. It's about time I did something different.

So you're in, you're headed to the shoot, and you're now the main villain! What's the mindset behind this?

Oh, not for this film. I thought I was the villain at first. A month before the shoot, I read the script. I didn't think this character was a villain at all. There was a real human side to this villain. Perhaps Marvel was hoping to portray a villain from a different angle this time around. So I was puzzled. Initially I was expecting, "Ooh, a villain, this will be fun", but when I looked at the script, "no, this isn't a villain at all!"

Very sentimental?

Yes, and a lot of humanity.

You thought it would be easy playing a villain.

I didn't think it would be easy.

You didn't think there would be so much emotion.

I didn't think it would be easy. I thought there would be more evil in him. I read the script and thought, "oh no, he's not evil at all", And that's difficult to portray. How would you let the audience... and I thought, "wow it's as if he's a good guy?" I read through the script and couldn't find the evil in this character.

How would you portray this character? Was the director able to help you?

The director...

Or did he put a lot of trust in you?

I rarely... He put a lot of trust in me, and I don't discuss with the director often. I thought, what's the use of discussing? I could just act it out. You can be really idealistic when you discuss. I would rather do more... When I arrived, Destin would ask me, "Do you want to talk it out?" and I would say no.

Was there a read-through?

No, no read-through.

You went straight to shooting?

Yes, straight to the shoot.

Then it would be like, "Tony, stand here, in this shot do this and that, and you'd do it?

Yeah. It was kind of like that. We filmed the action scenes first. So there was time to warm up. Then the dramatic parts. I like the drama most. I felt the most excited during these parts. The action scenes were particularly tough, because it was summer in Australia then.

Did you need to train?

I did. At first I was told I didn't need to fight. Then when I got there— wow, there's so many action scenes! So I scrambled and...

But you've got those rings. You can just throw the rings.

Sure, but there's still some action involved. Because I didn't physically prepare beforehand, it was rather tough at first. I got used to it as the shoot went on, but the weather was still hot. And there were period costumes, so it was tough at first.

So there was a sequence, they filmed all the action scenes first, and then scenes with dialogue afterwards, is that right?

I think they deliberately scheduled this so I could warm up a little. So I wouldn't need to dive straight into very intense dialogue.

There are a lot of actors involved, right? Your character has a son, too. Is this the first time you're portraying a dad?

Would it be my first time...

Or you have, but not for a much older son?

Yes, not for a much older son. I had a child in “The Grandmaster” as well. But not that old, no.

How would you portray the emotions of a father-son relationship? Because your character didn't know his son.

It was manageable. In this movie, the father-- not that he didn't love his children. He didn't know how to love them. This character doesn't even know how to love himself. The love was from his wife, portrayed by Fala Chen, He found love in this woman. But he doesn't know how to love others. So he was very distant from his children, his sons— his daughters were pretty much ignored. He was a father figure who preferred sons over daughters, a rather... traditional father archetype. Almost the old-fashioned type.

In shooting this movie, what was most difficult for you?

The action scenes.

Do you do all these scenes yourself?

I try to, but they wouldn't let us do the really dangerous ones. If you're injured, who's going to replace you?

Sure.

But I try to do as much as I'm able.

You'd need to rehearse the scenes with everyone.

Of course. Once we arrived, they arranged for Fala, my son, played by Simu, and my daughter... like you and I used to, we would all practice in the studio.

How long were the working hours?

It was 10 working hours a day, but we went all the way through that. There was no break in between.

Really? I thought you would be sitting comfortably in your trailer?

No! We filmed a lot every day! You know how that made me felt? It felt like I was in my TV days again.

Really?

You'll think, "will we get through this much filming today?" And by the end of the day, you would. But it was very intense. Perhaps they didn't want us to have a break, because we'd have to disperse and regroup. So we went all the way through. Once we arrived in the studio, it was full steam ahead. There was no meal break, because there was always...

No meal break?

No.

I've never heard of a Hollywood film shoot without meal breaks.

There's food throughout the day. Catering comes around, and we'd just eat.

But there wouldn't be an hour for a meal break.

No.

How long was shooting in total?

I was involved for about... 4 months.

Was that long or short timeframe, in your experience?

I felt like it was short, because they were very efficient and organised. They planned it really well. So every you'd head in and whoosh,

It flowed well.

Yes, very professional.

In your opinion, are there particular scenes you're in that the audience should pay attention to?

I think... I wouldn't say particular scenes, but the film as a whole. I don't think you've all seen me in this get-up before.

We could tell from the promos.

Very different to what I've played before.

Did you stay in one place for four months, or did you have to fly around?

We were only in Sydney, because we were in a studio. It was all green screen. There were a lot of special effects, so we only had to construct part of a set, And the rest was green screen, so it was mostly shot in the studio. Only the opening and ending were elsewhere, in a park, and in a village on a set they'd constructed. So I was there for... I was in Sydney the whole time. But because of the pandemic, I left for a few months in the middle, and returned when were were able to shoot again.

How did you feel about your experiences after the shoot? It's a Marvel movie, very different from the dramas and other films you've been in. How would you sum up your experiences?

Very stressed, very frustrated.

Really?

Because I'm the type of person who stays in their comfort zone. I filmed with familiar directors, and familiar crew.

You've really leapt out of your zone there.

I really stepped out of this comfort zone, working with strangers. The only person I could trust in was the director. I didn't know anyone else there. And when I got a copy of the screenplay, like I mentioned, I realised, "Wow, a villain that doesn't feel like a villain, what do I do?" I'd only received the script a month before the shoot. And when I got there, I had to work with the dialect coaches on delivery. I was filming, I was thinking... it was stressful. But we got through in the end.

Where were the costumes done?

In Tokyo. I was there at the time, and our costume designer kindly flew over to dress and fit me. At the time I didn't know what was in the script, I didn't know the story. But the costumes helped me a lot at the time. The movie's costumes were made beautifully. I thought they had good design sense. So when I was dressed for the first time, I was able to feel...

That you were the character.

Yes, roughly. I had an initial feeling for it. And then I would turn up in person, and get a better feel as I played the character.

So the shoot is over, it's about to be released. What plans do you have next, Tony?

Well when I came back to Hong Kong, I took part in a local film. Then I might shoot one in Shanghai, and then a TV series in Vancouver.

So you've done a complete turn-around since I last interviewed you. You were thinking of retiring at 36, do you not plan to retire now?

Not that I haven't thought about it... I'll stop when I feel tired. Then I'll go back to playing sports. If I feel like I've taken too long a break, and go "no, I need to do something," and there's something I'm really interested in, I'll do it. I don't need to come to a complete stop. It's something I like, after all.

So when you film in future, you wouldn't be thinking, "oh, I've been in a Hollywood production, "I will only appear in productions at that tier.” You'll be happy with a good screenplay.

Yes.

You might be asked to shoot drama films again. You would still take that on?

Well, I haven't given myself...

You've already left your comfort zone.

Yes, but I haven't really limited myself to what I think I should film. If there's a good film, I'll shoot in it. If there's something I like, I'll do it.

Well Tony, surely a typical day in Hong Kong for you wouldn't be on the water all day. What's a typical day like for you without shoots?

Well I'd get up, and there would be at least 2 hours of exercise.

Every day?

Yes.

Monday through Sunday?

Maybe one, half day's rest. You've got to let your body recover.

How about when you're shooting in Hollywood?

Not during filming, I'd save up my energy for that. Shooting takes 10 hours a day, but hair and makeup could take 2 hours. That's 12 hours, and it was tiring.

That's true.

I needed the energy for filming. But in Hong Kong, without a shoot, I'd have 2 hours exercise in the morning, make lunch, I might do some sports, like sailing, or water skiing. I'll come home, maybe watch a movie, or read a book. That's it. Maybe I'll have dinner.

I wouldn't exactly call that exciting. [Laughter]

It's pretty exciting!

For you, at least.

If the weather's good and I spend the day out sailing, I'd feel really happy about that. But not every day's a good day. I might capsize, and it would feel wrong. But it's not all that bad.

Why don't you enter competitions?

I have entered competitions.

Have you placed in these competitions?

Well... I have placed before.

What did you place?

I think second.

Oh, that's quite good. If you competed in the Olympics in sailing, there's no age limit there right?

Yes, there's no limit. But you don't necessarily have to compete in the Olympics. I could...

But we would all be happier for it, Tony. Imagine, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai representing Hong Kong and winning a medal! You've seen how happy the medalists have been this year.

It's really hard! It's really hard!

Why is that?

You're not as fit as younger people. It's hard. I play sports purely for enjoyment. I feel like it's an experience.

Fair enough.

It's... I'm not the type to want first place or something.

You're not a competitive person.

Yes. I don't want to experience a sport in that way. I'm there for my own enjoyment, not to win.

Let's say in future... since I last saw you in 2013— that wasn't even an interview, and now I've met you after all this time. Let's say in 5 years. What would you be doing in 5 years' time?

Maybe I...

Back then you said you'd retire at 36. I'll ask you again now, let's not dredge up the past. What do you think you'd be doing?

In 5 years' time, I think I would have more time for sports. [laughter]

Still on the water?

Yeah. Well, not necessarily, but a lot of different sports. I do want to try some—

Try running! I've seen Kar Ling (Carina Lau) run before!

Yes, she likes running, and hiking too.

Why don't you run with her?

I don't really like running.

Hiking?

Hiking, I'd rather... well when I'm skiing, I'd walk in the back country, in good weather, carrying my skis and wearing my cleats, it's the same thing. I'd hike up and ski down. But not that kind of hiking. Well sometimes... when in summer, in Hokkaido, I can't ski. I would still hike, but I wouldn't really like it. But it would be better with friends.

But you don't like being around too many people.

I sometimes like being with family. But my family... not everyone can hike. One might cramp up halfway.

Since you like being on the water so much, how many people does it take to do that?

One.

Just you?

Yeah.

Just someone to steer the boat.

Uhh... yeah.

It doesn't matter if there's a boat?

I do a lot of different water sports. I have those... electric boards, the type that shoot up like a magic carpet on the water, I have a stand up paddleboard, I can surf by myself too, that's doable. A lot of the sports I do can be done solo. I don't need a lot of people around.

You've really changed from before. You used to like to... go out at night?

Yeah.

That's all gone?

It has for a while. I haven't been in the nightlife for 20, 30 years. I'd eat out for dinner at most. Then I'd go straight home.

I remember I used to shoot TV dramas with you, you surprised me— We've filmed one or two series together, I would go straight home to bed afterwards, because I've always been a morning person. You could still say, "I'm going to go out for a bit." Yet the next day — our call sheets had us in very early — you were still able to make it in on time. Back then…it was a rite of passage.

Because I was young. Yes, and it was life experience. There are things you should do at that age.

Sure. Well, I hope to see you in another production soon. If this series were really successful, would you continue in any sequels?

[laughter] I really don't know, I can't say.

Why's that?

I feel like... as I've mentioned, there's fate involved in shooting a particular film. We'll see where...

…where fate takes you.

...where fate takes me.

Thank you Tony Leung Chiu-Wai for being with us today.

You're welcome.

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