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couchpotatoaniki · 3 years

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The books that you posted about really intrigued me. And the books seemed really cool, I was wondering if you have any book recommendations? For any genre.

:0 Someone's asking me about book recs? This has never happened before I'm scared 😂😂 So, I suppose I should warn you that a lot of these are fantasy. Also, thank you for taking an interest 🥺🥺

This is gonna be loooooong, so continue to read more. Also, all the links are for the Goodreads pages so you could read the blurb and reviews if you're interested. Word of warning though, these are all of my opinions, so if they don't work for you--that's okay. Tastes are fickle :))

Also, if you have any book recommendations for me or want to talk about books, then please feel free to pop in my inbox because I LOVE discussing and getting excited about books.

Books that I've already read:

The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani--there are six books in total (seven if you include the handbook), but this was one I read when I was around 13/14. It's kinda like a fairytale retelling, where there are two schools; one for good and the other evil. It has a lot of references to folktales and discusses the divides between good and evil, girls and boys, and young and old. It's a story about self-discovery and I just love the characters--especially their relationships and dynamics with one another. Netflix is actually making a movie about the first book and it's going to come out sometime in 2022. Hopefully they don't screw it up 😔😔

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnson--I know this may not be for everyone, but I love this book. There is a sequel that I haven't gotten around to reading, but this one specifically was one I enjoyed quite a bit. It's like a retelling of the folktale One Thousand and One Nights (commonly known as Arabian Nights) but with more a fantasy twist to it. It's slow-paced, but it has so much meaning behind it. It paints such a beautiful picture in your head with both the imagery but also has a subtle feminist strength to it through its deliberate choice of words and description--not to mention it has a very strong feel to the pre-Islamic Middle East setting as compared to other retellings like The Wrath and the Dawn, which is much more suited to be classed as YA than this (by no means is that derogatory to any of the books, but it's just to explain how they're so different despite being based off the same folktale). Just read it, it's honestly amazing.

The Sin Easter's Daughter series by Melinda Salisbury--Okay, funny story, I actually read the second book, The Sleeping Prince, first by accident. A problem I have with a lot series, is something commonly known as second-book syndrome--as in, I'm not particularly a fan of the second book in a trilogy series. Once I realised my mistake and read the first book, The Sin Eater's Daughter, I found that I wasn't as in love with it as I was the second, so I thought that might've been just because of the way I read it. But when I read the reviews, I realised that a lot of other people thought the same as me despite having read it in order; the second one was more loved than the first. Unfortunately, I haven't read the third book yet, but I feel like The Sleeping Prince was enough to put it on this list. Once again, this is fantasy with tones of the Pied Piper in it, and there is so much more I could say, but again it would be more about the second book than the first so I won't spoil it for ya. But just sayin', if you wanted to read the second book as a stand-alone, you can do since I myself kinda figured out what was going on and filled in the gaps by myself. This is probably because the first and second book follow different characters (and I assume it switches in the third book, but again, I haven't read it).

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller--now, this GODSEND of a book is one that I rate highly. It's based off the Iliad (so it's heavy on the Greek mythology), though it follows Patroclus rather than Achilles throughout the whole book. If you don't know anything about the story, then I won't spoil it--just know that I knew the story of the Iliad and was in this state of dread the entire time 'cAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH FORSHADOWING. All I can say is that I love the dynamic between the two guys and the story is so heartbreakingly beautiful. Bless 'em 😔😔 But a friend of mine found the writing a little bit confusing (she still loves it) since you kinda have to read between the lines--it isn't blunt. Also, one word of advise I'd like to give on good stories, and specifically plot twists, is that the shock factor may occur the first time you read it but what makes a good story or plot twist is the way it makes you feel--it should still be positive no matter how many times you re-read it. Shock factor isn't everything, so when I read this there was no shock factor for me (I knew what was going to happen from me previous knowledge) yet this book still kept me gripped onto it. I didn't loose interest--and that's part of the reason why I love it.

Caraval series by Stephanie Garber--I put this on the list because of the progression within the books, despite it being fast-paced. Book one follows one of the two sisters during the Caraval who is accompanied by a guy and the whole description was very magical--kinda alluding to the magic of Legend himself (the Caraval Master). In it, there is mentions of what kind of world it is, but it doesn’t really get explained until book two, which follows the other sister to find out Legend’s real identity for a certain reason that I won’t disclose ‘cause it’s a spoiler. This expands a lot more about how the present came to be as it was and also explains a little more about the background for the major characters. Although I’m in the early chapters of the third book and so can’t really comment on it, all I can say is that so far, it brings the two stories more together than they were before as it switches viewpoints between the sisters; I feel like that’s also why I don’t hate the second book in this trilogy, because the first one seems more like a prequel to set the scene while the second feels like the beginning of the actual story, and the third would be it’s conclusion. Okay, so, fair warning, there is a lot of metaphors which mix senses (for example, describing an action/emotion as a colour/image/taste) and I understand not everyone likes that writing style, which is completely okay; I just happen to like it.

Daughter of the Pirate King series by Tricia Levenseller--the main girl, I feel, is either a love-or-hate character. Personally, I don't particularly mind her, since she's just fun to read. There are parts where she tells you just how awesome she is but can't show you because she would give her act away (she's pretending to be a prisoner on a ship to steel a map) but if it was in any other scenario, I would despise that. I suppose my plus points would be for how she reacts internally to what she's doing, you see the whole process going on in her mind--and it isn't perfect, mind you, but the fact nothing is perfect makes it better. Though I could see why people would think she was annoying or the romance was very fast-paced (I prefer a slow-burn, but I don't mind this either). One thing I will say is that there are two characters (one in particular) that I love the dynamics of. Also, there's pirates. I don't think I need to explain further on that point.

Books I'm in the middle of reading that seem pretty cool so far:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black--I'm halfway through this book and so far I'm really enjoying it. The dynamic between the main girl and her nemesis is just unlike many enemies-to-lovers I've ever read (including online) because they just hate each other so much. Like, she's not gonna be seduced by him and get into a really toxic relationship where her feelings are being taken advantage of. She's grown into being smart, she's grown into being skilled, she's not a love-struck idiot that makes impulsive, nonsensical choices. There are two more books after this and apparently it gets better and the main characters find some ground to not be toxic (again, not sure since I haven't read it myself). Now, this is probably going to get me a lot of hate, but I'm not a fan of a certain popular YA author who has a very popular book series that involves fae. I find this a much more likeable alternative since the faerie are not humans with superpowers and pointy ears. There is actual description, actual difference between the humans and the fae, different rules they live by, two examples being that humans can't eat fae food otherwise [redacted] and the other being the fae are immortal (the kind that doesn't age, but can be killed). There's consistency in the world building and the characters are not too overpowered--and this itself just set above all the other faerie books I've read thus far.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry--this is a Peter Pan retelling that I'm still in the first half of the book. Not got much to say except for the characters are even at such a point are distinct with each other (I can already tell that Peter Pan is a Psychotic Asshole™). It's very impactful, but be warned, it's dark and violent too. I mean, when I say Peter Pan is a Psychotic Asshole™, I mean it with every fibre of my being. And it is a very good origin story to Captain Hook, who you begin to empathise with quite a bit even early on within the book. I also like a few other books from the same author since she delves quite a bit into dark fantasy and story-retellings which I personally adore, but I feel like this one is a good starting point. Either this, or The Girl in Red which is Red Riding Hood is bi and goes on a murder-spree.

The Archived by V. E. Schwab--I've actually got a couple of this author's books but I decided to put this one on because so far I'm enjoying it so far. The atmosphere of the story is very eerie and it gives beginning-of-a-horror-movie vibes. So far I haven't really gotten into the whole thing with the love interests, but there is some in there. I just really enjoyed the whole worldbuilding, the setting and feel of the story was awesome, the writing was really good, and I love the little anecdotes that are put in between Mac and Da (her grandfather). Though I can see why the switching from tenses would be confusing for some, I just really liked it. Again, not much to say because I haven't gotten too far into the story, but so far, it's pretty great.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan--oh boy. Now, this book is one I would recommend so far but it needs to be said that it is hard to read. Not because the writing was bad or the plot was crap--no, the writing is really good and the plot is very interesting. It's hard because of the themes that are being addressed within it. I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, it mentions a LOT of sexual harassment, kidnapping, lack-of consent. However, although there are a few books in which this is romanticised, this is definitely NOT one of them. In fact, you feel really bad for the main character and I even felt like taking a break to come to terms with what was being said or described, but this is a story where the main girl does what she can to fight against it. Usually, I skip past the author's notes at the beginning but lucky I read this one because it gave me an understanding of why this was written--the author had been through a similar situation and wanted to raise awareness for any girls currently going through anything remotely close to this situation. It was nice to see that this was something that was being spoken about and I'm so proud of the author for speaking up about her experiences and encouraging others to speak up as well.

Circe by Madeline Miller--if you've already read Song of Achilles and enjoyed it, this was written by the same author and follows a character called Circe. She is actually a side-character from The Odyssey by Homer, so--again--Greek mythology is heavily present in this. I actually haven't gotten around to reading it but I've been promised that this was amazing, and speaks about feminism and females themselves in a world as patriarchal and oppressive as Ancient Greece (let's be honest, they were extremely sexist)

It's Not About the Burqa by various authors, edited by Mariam Khan--this is the only non-fiction book I have on this list because I don't read non-fiction all that much. Reading books, for me, is escaping from reality so reading this genre is going against the main reason I read in the first place. However, that being said, the topic it discusses is very near and dear to my heart as it is part of my identity, who I am as a person. This book, folks, is about Muslim women. It's a compilation of essays written by said women which each tackle different topics regarding Muslim women, ranging from religious dress, representation, mental health, stereotyping, feminism within Islam, expectations, modesty, sexuality, marriage and divorce, and more. One line that instantly hit me was "When was the last time you heard a Muslim woman speak for herself without a filter?" And I realised it was true--that most of the crap I heard about my own people, my fellow Muslim women, are either from men or non-Muslims or (in many cases) both. Reading these really opened my eyes to how we were actually being treated; how our hijabs were being used as a fashion trend rather than a religious observance; how our communities disapprove of behaviours that deviate from what we're expected to be, and the press and state being oppressive and racist towards us. I knew about most of this stuff but it really put into words (quite literally) how severe it is and had made me realise how some of the things I believed were good (like increased representation of Muslims in advertisement for beauty and fashion) were actually only short-term things at face value (like how barely any of the models or designers are actual Muslims and how the hijab, abaya, and other religious clothing were supposed to show how in Islam a woman is not valued by her physical beauty but for her personality, her intelligence, her love for her religion). This in and of itself is a bit of a rant from my part, but I really want people to read this book and understand our voices and our views from our own mouth than through someone else's interpretation off of some half-assed search on the internet. I would seriously recommend people to read it because it is such an important issue to at least try to understand.

There's so many more book that I've heard a lot of praise from that I have but haven't read yet or don't have and am planning to get in the future when my wallet recovers from me recent spending because boy is it HURT. I'll be posting about them

#yes i have many tbr book #will that ever stop me from getting more?#hell no #honestly #reading book and buying them are two different hobbies #and i am too broke for one of them which truly breaks my heart #...oh well #i legit feel like an addict but for stories #maybe this is a cry for help #if it is i'm just gonna ignore it blissfully #wooyoungsbxtch asks #author aniki answers #Author-Aniki-reads

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aloera · 3 years

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The ask prompt is too long to fit into an ask TT_TT but here's the doc for it docs(.)google(.)com/document/d/1yDI7iFRhOJ8ENv_IwZAo3rDSUqj80EiJROS10RzRbj4/edit

the lengths u are going for this,,, much appreciated you're very sweet!!!

prompts + answers under the cut!!

INTRODUCTION

Name: aloera

AO3 account: aloera

Fandoms you write for: bnha

How many stories have you written so far: 19

FANFICTION PROFILE

What's your favorite fandom to write for? hmm,,, used to do pjo and eah (ever after high) and eah was fun as fuck i will say!!! i think bnha is my fav mostly bc i made the most friends in this fandom :D

What's your favorite character/person to write for? bkg and kirishima!! cannot choose do not make me <3

Fic you'd want to improve? probably what we deserve? i rushed the beginning and the confession is a bit stilted imo

Hardest fic you've written? between lion and men -_- bc there is so much canon compliant stuff i've gotta write out before i get to the divergence and its HARD

Easiest fic you've written? come home to me!!! it happened so easily,,, no second guessing no writers block just vibes <33 was lovely i miss it

What would you say is the most "famous" fic you've ever written? also probably come home to me? its got the most interaction

first line of the first fic you've ever written and published. [not including my 2014 ffnet fics] "The bell rings, class starts, and Katsuki and Midoriya are inexplicably absent." from come home to me

Have you ever done a collab with another writer? yes!!!!! on two separate occasions and its so fucking fun i highly recommend trying it out its the best

Do you beta? if asked but honestly im a shit beta lmao

Do you like joining fic fests/exchanges? depends on what i have going on irl but in general yeah!!

FANFICTION PREFERENCES

Fluff or angst? definitely fluff

"OCs" or "Reader" inserts? reader inserts!! have been going ham on them recently

Blurbs or drabbles? blurbs!!

One thing you love about fanfiction i just. i really love slice of life romance?? and most media doesn't give you that bc its dedicated to plot and action and that's valid!! but fanfiction fills in the gap which is really nice

One thing you don't like about fanfiction most of the stuff i don't like is less about actual fanfiction and more about how people behave about it

What is/are your favorite fandom author/authors? IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

bnha: hiuythn, rae_tnub, Moniix, Ata_Lanta, wrunic, chezka, PurplePersnickety, surveycorpsejean, mahadevi, arxaris, deviance, Oceanbreeze7, MikeWritesThings, bonnia, wonhaebunny, dinosuns

voltron: hiuythn, Oceanbreeze7, DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee, arahir, dinosuns,

and honorable mention to loveclouds im not even in the haikyuu fandom i just love their fics So Much

these are just the ones off the top of my head i have so many favourites idc if i'm only supposed 2 have one!! die mad about it!!!

What is your favorite trope? secret relationship + relationship reveal til the day i die babie <3 <3

Least favorite trope? hm,,, probably just like. angst lmao i cannot stand 90% of it

A fanfiction cliché that you can't help but love? coffeeshop aus,,,, so good

Do you have a type when it comes to pairings? the otp where its like. piece of shit + himbo = love. ex. krbk, catradora, jade/beck

Favorite setting/au? hm,,, truly i cannot pick one KGKSJNHKj but i really like college aus!! and modern aus!! and roommate aus!!

Explain the meaning of your favorite line of dialogue you've written as if someone hasn't read it in context. “He doesn’t know,” Katsuki says, softly. “My timer stopped and nothing happened. He’s not mine.”

the line is from what we deserve!! it's a soulmate au where your timer counts down to the moment that you meet your soulmate!! bakugou's timer ends at USJ when he and kirishima attack kurogiri at the same time (impulsive kings <33) but kirishima's timer doesn't end until kamino because that's when he accepts himself as bakugous soulmate!! unfortunately, when bakugous timer has reached 0, he turned to see that kirishima's was still ticking and therefore believes that kirishima isn't his soulmate.

this line just,, idk. it's really sad. bakugou is such an action-driven character? if something doesn't go his way he Makes it go his way. he's got this insanely volatile quirk and he's got impeccable control of it!! but his love for kirishima isn't something that he can change and he's not going to ruin kirishima's chance of finding his own soulmate because he loves him and wants him to be happy. i really wanted to focus on how resigned he is? and how unusual that is for a character like him.

Favorite trope/genre to write? again, secret relationship with relationship reveals <33 fluff in general is my wheelhouse!!!

A trope/genre you haven't written but think would be a fun challenge? idk if this counts?? have been working on some dead dove concepts!! its super different from what i normally write so its a cool challenge

The one trope/concept you'll never touch and why probably cheating/infidelity?? it just looks,,, super difficult to write well and i don't have enough of an interest in it to try it out

Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics? shorter!! low attention span gang <3

Ideal length to read? 5-10k?

Ideal length to write? 4-8k!!

How long was the longest fic you've ever written? control fraek is around 28k i think?

Have you ever written an AU? yeah!! i've done restaurant au's, soulmate au's, pro hero aus, and fantasy aus (general, not the bnha fantasy ending)

What's your favorite AU trope? hm,, probably when two people in authority are in a secret relationship? ceo's/uni professors/etc etc

Have you ever written smut? yeah!! was. difficult tho

What's your comfort genre? (the one you fall on most in writing/reading) fluff,,, hurt/comfort,,, fix-it fics with happy endings <3

If you were to start writing in other fandoms, which would they be? maybe jjk?? the characters are really cool!!!! fr i might go back to my ever after high roots i love the characters and setting so Much its so fun!!! idec if no ones into it anymore!!!!!

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? i've had people say they saw the mention of buff hagakure and recognized it was me so. probably that skdjhnksjd

WRITING STYLE

How would you describe your style? i tend to use shorter sentences and pretty simple words i think? and i gravitate towards lighthearted concepts that allow for ensemble casts and humour!!

Describe your style in three words romcom but fanfic

Favorite words to use when writing? the word reverent!! fuckin love including it!!

Dialogue tags or no dialogue tags? (she said, he said, they said, etc) dialogue tags!!!

Favorite dialogue tag (other than said, if you use them) again idk if this counts but "they said softly" is unmatched

Long sentences vs short vs a mix short <33

What colors would you use to describe your writing? hm,,, depends on the fic i would say?? control fraek is dark green to me?? kinda like a forest at night yk?? scary but there's still life there. sugar cookies is yellow like early morning sunlight, when it rains is yellowy-orange like a caution sign. not gonna list all of them cause theres a lot its just. do u get it? the colours change based on the vibe of the fic.

What song or music genre would you use to describe your writing? think. i am constantly trying to emulate that moment at the end of wasteland baby when hozier goes "im in love/im in love with you."

What kind of metaphors do you rely on? religious metaphors my beloved <33 they're just so pretty!!! i also love comparing stuff to water for some reason?? like that ocean vuong quote thats like "what are you now?/water." it goes hard!!!

What's something you'd say is experimental in your writing at this time? definitely action!! i have,,, no idea how to write it so anything i do is really just me playing around and seeing what works and what doesn't

Do you prefer to write by hand or to type? i've tried both!! personally i prefer typing because it goes way faster but i will say that writing by hand lets me get words down when i'm going through writer's block

What is your preferred place to write (notebook, laptop, cellphone, etc.)? laptop!!

What app/apps do you use to write (word, notepad, etc.)? google docs skjdnkjh its fine on desktop but mobile is,,,,, disgusting

Do you keep a notebook or file/notes page in your phone/device for notes on your writing? ngl i just have everything organized in my drive?? one folder per fandom and then sub folders for ideas+hcs, unfinished wips, and finished fics. multichaps get sub sub folders so i can organize outlines and drafts

Do you listen to music to help you write? yeah!! playlists organized by fic vibe :D

Where do you usually go to write (bedroom, living room, etc.)? mostly in my bedroom??? but moving around to different stops helps too i think!!

How long does it usually take for you to write? again this depends on what i have going on irl, how attached i am to the idea, my mindset at the time, etc!! i am,, the least consistent person skjnhdkjh.

What's your favorite font to use when writing? times new roman my beloved

Other writing habits? sometimes i'll write in the dark?? bad for my eyes but for some reason it gets the words flowing

CONCEPTUALIZATION

How do you conceptualize your ideas? (See specific moments like they're a movie, writing specific lines in your head, don't know until you put the words on paper, etc.) i tend to get inspiration from movies, books, poems, or other fics!!! sometimes one line just makes me go oh,, i want to write something like that,,, and then it helps me create an idea that makes me feel the same way?? i did this with control fraek!!!! i wanted a scenario where bakugou was cold and calculating and i was like hm. to do that he’d have to be focusing on something important. and from there i was able to flesh out the rest of the idea.

Which comes first: the pairing or the plot? with krbk its always always the pairing,, i'll be sitting there like wow <33 i love them <33 what if one of them had amnesia <33 (which, yes, wip!!) otherwise it's usually the plot!! and i slot in characters that i feel make sense

Have you ever used a prompt? yeah!! used a prompt for wlw week 2020 and it was fun as hell

Do you write around the story around a specific scene you want to get to or do you start from a plot idea definitely the first!!!! i almost always write like,,, a super messy scene thats 90% dialogue, keep it in my head, and then write the entire fic around that one moment

Do you find that you include a projection of some part of yourself in the way you write a character? a lot of the time when i write love confessions or love in general i'll have one of the characters think or say that the other person makes their head quiet? and it's because that's what i feel whenever i'm in love?? a quiet mind. i project on characters yeah but i think most of the projection actually goes to the way that i write love

Do you research some of the things you write deeply, partially and kind of wing the rest, or play entirely by ear (in this case, go with whatever base knowledge of the subject you have)? most of the time if i do research it'll be about the setting (ex. the izakaya in to have and to hold) or if i'm having the characters interact with an object that they like. need to know how to use (me, in control fraek: google. hey google. does someone die if they get shot in the foot??? no???? awesome thank u <3)

Have you ever had an idea for a story and forgot about it? lmaoo yeah all the time i'll find like 500-2k words of concepts in my gdocs like i do. not remember this at all

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? probably krbk secret relationship lmao

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out better than expected? yeah!! i fully thought the action in control fraek would be awful but it turned out not bad??? which im happy with

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out worse than you expected? again, what we deserve, i personally think it would have worked out better if i'd paced it slower and drawn out the pining but i. do not feel like going back to fix it so its staying the way that it is. pining is so fucking hard to do AHHHH i get so tired with it!!! im like just date already!!!!

PROCESS

How do you come up with titles? in rare occasions (literally. all my multichaps for some reason) the title comes after writing like .5 words of the first chapter im like YES this is it!!!!! sometimes i write the whole thing and pick out one line that fits (what i did with come home to me) a lot of the time i just. steal from songs or poems that i like

What's your favorite emotion to cause on your readers? i like making people happy!!!! love when people comment saying they're cheered up

What's your favorite emotion to write? lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have you ever cried or felt any emotion while reading something you've written? never cried?? but sometimes i'll rereading my hurt/comfort fics 4. yk. comfort

Do you write in order or whatever comes to you? in order!! unless i have a scene that i Need to write and i'll quickly jot it down so that i don't forget

Usual way you procrastinate while writing? ...doing asks like this, making playlists, discord, watching netflix. what don't i do smh

Do you outline or free write? i am. so shit at outlines. i mostly free write and write lil notes for stuff that i wanna add later

Do you set word goals or scene goals (scenes you want to include)? yes!! like i said i'll write loose notes for scenes that i want to add later!! it gives me something to write towards :D

What do you consider when writing your scenes? what goes into making the atmosphere and mood you want? to set a scene i do two things? the first is like,, the five senses bc that always sets the scene really well and makes it feel Real. i'll visualize stuff in my head like its a movie and write out what i would want to tell the set designer?? if the lights are low, if the space is busy, if it's supposed to exude comfort or not.

for putting forward the character's mood one thing i've found that makes a difference is sentence length!! long sentences are good for making a character seem flustered and nervous or not really in control of their emotions? good for love confessions. short sentences are good for when the character is focused on something or short on time. good for fights!!

What's something you never considered to include in your writing that you can't leave out now? def buff hagakure,,,, once i thought of it i was like. if i don't include this at least once in every single fic how could i look at myself in the mirror!!!!!! how could i face anyone!!!!

How do you start a story? establishing a fact about the character or describing the setting! option a is one single thread of gold, option b is between lion and men

How do you end a story? either by tying it back to the beginning or doing like a funny kind of closing??? option a is sugar cookies, option b is a godless society

How do you get out of writer's block? change something!! move something!! i go from typing to handwriting, moving from my bedroom to my living room, switching wips to work on something else!! i do sprints as well?? give myself like fifteen minutes to write something and sometimes 200 words opens up the way for another 2k. sometimes i'll just delete like 500 words and start fresh

Do you edit? or do you toss your writing out there? i edit!!! i'll go over it myself then send it to one or two betas (bee my beloved <33)

How do you edit? do you use spellcheck, grammar checkers, etc? bee is my grammar checker bc he is So Good with grammar. i use grammarly as well for spellcheck stuff mostly?? sometimes my edit process is just like "am i tired of looking at this!! yes <3" and then i post it

PROGRESS

Do you usually like what you write? yeah!!! i post stuff that makes me happy and that i'm fine with rereading!!! i write stuff for self-indulgence reasons first and foremost and i think my writing reflects that sjhnksj

Have you ever written something you didn't like but posted anyways? nope!! even what we deserve i LIKED even if i see a lot of room 4 improvement!! if i don't like smth it's not getting posted

Do you find yourself rereading your writing often? yeah!! the reason i wrote so much krbk secret relationship is because i loved it but i'd read all that there was so i just,, wrote more,, ngl its kinda nice being in a place where i actually like my writing bc i can write stuff that i want to see and really enjoy it!!

Can you tell us anything about your current WIP? sure!! i'm currently working on when it rains which is a fic where bakugou gets hit by a crying quirk!! i'm gonna be using it to explore So Much of all might's character and his relationships with bakugou and aizawa (and i think some people from his past!!)

Can you give us a sneak peek on your current WIP? “You did something. What the hell did you do?” Kirishima sounds pissed off. It would amuse Katsuki if he wasn’t fighting just to stay standing.

“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” Shinsou replies.

“K’ri… shima,” Katsuki croaks out. “‘S fine. Not him.”

His chest collapses back into the familiar dry heaving after that but Kirishima shuts up. He doesn’t apologize to Shinsou.

Kirishima’s a good friend, stubborn and loyal. He stands by Katsuki’s side like an attack dog, blocking him from the view of anyone ogling at his tears.

The last line you've written Ochako knows more than she'd realized. She knows enough to keep her guard up.

It’s not enough.

Open a wip. what’s the first line?

Katsuki wakes up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

INSIGHT

What's your favorite thing about writing? touched on this before but it's mainly just being able to write the things that i want to see and actually enjoy them!!! actually reread them!!!! i thought "wouldn't it be cool if bkg and kirishima owned a restaurant together" and then i wrote it and i like it enough to reread it!!!! being able to create content for myself makes me. so happy

How do you keep yourself inspired? this is gonna sound narcissistic maybe but honestly i'm just really excited about my ideas and where i'm gonna take them and the idea of "i'm gonna get to That scene" keeps me going through the entire thing. also my friends!!!! i'll talk to them about fics and their reactions keep me hyped up enough to finish!!!!

What is your favorite thing to write? just,, slice of life romance,,, stuff thats silly and makes people laugh!!

What do you think your strengths are in writing? i'm good with dialogue!! i do lil voice acting sessions with myself to make sure everything sounds natural and like it's coming from that character skhjnskj

i'm comfortable with my portrayal of love as well??? i spend a lot of time thinking about what it is exactly that i'm trying to get across and i think it turns out well!!

What are things you wish you could practice more? on one hand i wanna get better at writing angst on the other hand i dislike writing angst. do you see my issue

One way you've improved your writing since you began? characterization!! i think i've gotten better at writing characters that are all Different and bring different things to the table!!! i used to project a lot more and it would compromise the characterization because the character was like 70% me and 30% them? not to say that projection is bad but if you do it too much it just,, doesn't read like the character and from a reader's standpoint the narrative can become less compelling

One aspect of writing you're still working on? writing action!!! i. literally hate writing it but i write for a fandom about superheroes so. Unfortunately i gotta learn.

A piece of writing advice you've learned while writing saw this on another tumblr post but they said sometimes if you're struggling with a scene, the problem is five lines back. i've found that to be true!!!! sometimes u gotta delete a chunk and start a little ways back!! i did this with too busy being yours because i was stuck for Weeks and i deleted like 25% of what i had but it helped me actually finish it :D

A bit of writing advice you can't stand when people shit on show don't tell for being overrated lmao bc when u read their writing you can Tell

Something you wish you knew when you first started writing? ,,,,honestly i kind of wish i could know some of the stuff that i used to when i first started writing?? technically i'm better now but creatively i was must better when i wasn't stressing about whether anyone would like what i was writing. so i guess i wish i knew that i should keep that confidence? i kinda wish that i wasn't as insecure about other people's writing styles because i never used to be!!

Something you've learned in life that you apply in writing there's no point in feeling inferior?? writing one genre isn't better than the other. being in one fandom isn't better than being in another. the kind of language you use or the length of your paragraphs- none of that stuff like. matters. what matters is that you're having fun and happy with what you're creating!!!! enjoy other peoples writing but don't let it make you feel worse about yours :D

#AHH ive wanted to answer these for so long...... bro fr i was so happy when u sent these!!! like wow!! finally got sent one!!!#sorry for how long the responses are idk how to be concise #asks #anon #a(lore)a

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jacnaylor · 4 years

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romance book recs!!

romance is my feel good genre, and it’s also usually somewhat easier to read during stressful times, so here’s a list of some books that are either romance or have a romance element i feel like mentioning.

(EDIT: I STAYED UP TILL 2 AM DOING THIS HELP. this is why some of the comments. don’t make any fucking sense.)

romance books and authors:

CONTEMPORARY:

1. The Bromance bookclub series by Lyssa Kay Adams (A group of men form a bookclub dedicated to romance books in order to understand women, improve their relationships and become better men. It’s funny, cute, and all about dismantling toxic masculinity one romance book at a time)

2. Mariana Zapata books (The queen of slowburn romance. The only book I’ve read by her is ‘Under Locke’, but ‘From Lukov with love’ and ‘Kulti’ have rave reviews. There is so much build up and SO much sexual tension with a great pay off)

3. Milly Johnson books (A uk author whose books are primarily set in the north, these are total feel good books. Not so much graphic and more romantic, but her characters are great and her plot lines really hook you in.)

4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (Super cute, quick enemies-to-lovers story about a bridesmaid who has to go on a honeymoon with the best man when the bride and groom get food poisoning. Obviously this means the holy of holies: fake relationship!)

5. Well met by Jen De Luca (Oh my gosh! Super fun, the characters are just wonderful especially our heroine. A hate-to-love romance set at a renaissance fair! All about overcoming the limits you set on yourself and rethinking your first impressions.)

6. Katherine Center books (My personal favourites are ‘How to walk away’ about a woman who falls for her PT after a near fatal plane crash. And ‘Happiness for beginners’ about a woman taking part in a wilderness trail with her brothers annoying best friend. She writes such great plots and you really feel all the emotions!)

7. Mhairi Mcfarlane books (my personal favourites are ‘Here’s looking at you’ about a woman who comes face to face with her high school bully years later - only he doesn’t recognize her. And he’s not awful? Don’t worry. I know how that synopsis sounds. He’s not excused his actions, but you also understand how he’s grown and changed. It definitely gets you in the feels though. As does ‘You had me at hello’ Which is about a couple from university meeting again years later. God this woman can write angst and yearning!!)

8. A part of me by Anouska Knight (On the same day she and her husband have been accepted into the adoption process, their marriage implodes. This has such a cute romance which follows hate-to friends- to love and it’s v funny)

9. Southern Eclectic series by Molly harper (Just as it sounds. Southern small town romance with a great, quirky cast of characters)

10. Maggie’s man by Lisa Gardner (writing as Alicia Scott) (An escaped convict kidnaps a woman from the courthouse to act as his hostage whilst he tries to prove his innocence. Surprisingly funny and warm. Maggie as a heroine is an absolute joy. They’re sort of chaotic together and it’s a wild ride.)

11. The Mister by E.L James (LISTEN OK - SIT BACK DOWN - It’s not winning awards but it’s actually decent! I was skeptical, but I will admit I was won over. I mean parts are cheesy but it’s so addictive. Basically a rich man falls for his cleaning lady - but it’s also about the yearning. It’s also quite action packed as there’s danger, drama and a chase across europe to get the girl.)

12. RECENT Colleen Hoover (Now, you may enjoy older CH books. Personally I find them very problematic. Now I’ve really enjoyed her recent books though. Especially ‘Without Merit’ and ‘It ends with us’ and ‘Regretting you’. High angst, high drama, dark topics for all of her books. But you can tell she’s matured with her writing. She isn’t for everyone but they’re addictive, fast paced reads.

13. The Austenland duology by Shannon Hale (You might have seen the Austenland movie - The cutest, cheesiest, sweetest, campiest movie ever. Well there’s a book! It’s about women who go on a holiday and live their own Jane Austen story with actors. The first book leans towards Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield park. The second book is more Northanger abbey and Emma.

14. Brigid Kemmerer contemporaries (She is an auto-buy author for me, especially her contemporaries. She writes the best teenage characters, the best teenage boys I’ve ever read about. Her characters are real, she writes about kids trying their best, struggling, and being good, and kind, and the world not being kind to them. Usually the books have a pov from both the female and male love interest. I would rec any of them tbh. ‘Letters to the lost’ comes before it’s companion novel ‘More than we can tell’. I loved ‘Call it what you want’ with has modern Robin Hood elements!!!! seriously she is my favourite YA contemporary author.

15. Sophie Kinsella books (If you haven’t picked up her stand alone novels then what are you doing???? she is the queen!!!! Personal favourites are ‘Can you keep a secret’ and ‘I’ve got your number)

16. A quiet kind of thunder by Sara Barnard (I love her ok. Her books are short and sweet but she packs a punch. TBH these aren’t primarily romance, they’re more just about teenage girls but this one has a good romance element so I’m putting it on here. It’s about Steffi, a selective mute who sometimes communicates with basic sign language who is assigned to look after the new boy at school Rhys, who is deaf.)

17. Meet me at the museum by Anne Youngson (GORGEOUS! moving, tender. A lonely housewifes strikes up a correspondence with a widowed museum curator in Denmark. Oh gosh. I just love this one. It’s about friendship, love, grief, second chances, the choices we make. Seriously love this one and it’s not that long.)

FANTASY:

1. Sorcery of thorns by Margaret Rogerson (Elisabeth has grown up in the great library, protecting grimoires with powers and fearing sorcerers. When a dangerous grimoire is released, she’s forced to team up with an enigmatic sorcerer and his demonic servant in order to save the world.)

2. Sky in the deep duology by Adrienne Young (A viking inspired story about a warrior who is captured by the tribe she is at war with. Such good tension and it’s also got a lot of action. Battle couple romance! Mutual respect! Hate to love!)

3. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (I’ve reread this book once but will end up reading it again. It’s a time travel romance about a woman staying in cornwall dealing with the death of her sister who is transported back and forth to the 17th century. It’s a favourite. The romance is wonderful but the stakes are really high too. I also love ‘Belleweather’ by the same author)

4. An ember in the ashes series by Sabaa Tahir (Oh god, the romance. THE ROMANCE! it’s so much. The angst, the pining, the longing. The first book follows Laia, part of a slave class in a roman inspired world. She begins spying in the top military academy and meets Elias, a reluctant soldier. This is a proper fantasy series with only the first three books out, but it’s so great.)

5. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen (Let me just copy the blurb ok: “Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan's rules.” I MEAN COME ON. a gorgeous adult fairytale with love and redemption at the center.

6. The Mediator series by Meg Cabot (Obviously Meg Cabot is the most iconic and we stan. But this series is my absolute favourite by her. About Suze Simon, a kickass, no nonsense mediator - Someone who helps ghosts move on to the other side. Sometimes by force. She has to move house and ends up sharing her room with a 100 year old hot ghost named Jesse. The tension. The angst. THE BANTER!!!!)

7. House of Earth and Blood by Sara J Maas (a half fae half mortal girl tries to solve a murder with the help of a fallen angel. It’s a LONG book, but for me personally it flew by. It’s a big new fantasy world but the romance has a great build. Overcoming grief! Being normal together! Being in danger together! THE UST! the characters are so good. I ahven’t been this impressed by a new series for a while)

8. Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer (yep, she gets another mention. This one is a beauty and the best retelling about a man forced to relive the same season over and over, becoming a literal beat, until a girl from our world can break the curse. The second book, following secondary characters, is my fave so far. But both feature kickass ladies and those small romantic moments BK is so good at)

9. A court of thorns and roses series by Sara J Maas (a fae inspired beauty and the beast retelling. The only time you support a ship switch. Also the secondary ships are getting their own books and oh my god. I’m so excited.)

HISTORICAL/CLASSICS/MILLS AND BOON

1. Jane Austen (The original rom com queen, obviously. Pride and prejudice and Emma are faves. Also I have a major soft spot for the alwayc chaotic and underrated Northanger Abbey)

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Actually might be my favourite classic ever. Often described at an industrial p&p. Margaret, from the south, comes face to face with the harsh reality of the world when she moves up north and comes face to face with a brooding millowner. There’s obviously a lot more nuance than that but. THE PINING!!!!!! THE MISCOMMUNICATION! THE DRAMA!)

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (You might have seen the film. Please also read the book. Told entirely in letters. The sharp witted author Juliet Ashton falls in love with Guernsey and it’s characters whilst researching what happened there during the war. Funny, moving and romantic.)

4. The Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn (A butterfly hunter foils her own kidnap and is paired together with a reclusive natural historian. They solve mysteries together. They can’t admit they wanna sleep together. The tension.......unbearable. See also the Julia Grey mysteries by the same author)

5. The warrior knight and the widow by Ella Matthews (So last year I discovered Mills and Boon and I have no shame about it whatsoever. This is a medieval beauty and the beast retelling about a woman being escorted to her fathers estate by an enigmatic and scarred knight. She’s hoping to convince her father to let her steward her own lands, and of course trying not to fall for her escort.)

6. The bareknuckle bastards series by Sarah Maclean (A badass, brooding trio of siblings who rule the underbelly of Covent Garden fall for smart, beautiful women. Opposites attract, Good girl/bad boy, strong women, banter. Super fun historical romance)

7. Redeeming the reclusive earl by Virginia Heath (I just read this and it was seriously cute!!!! And book where the hero blushes even once is a good book in my opinion. Basically aspiring antiquarian named Effie barrels into the life of a new earl - who really just wants to be left alone to be grumpy and sad and disfigured. ALONE. But Effie wants to dig on his land. And she won’t take no for an answer. She also talks A LOT.

8. A family for the widowed governess by Ann Lethbridge (Technically this is part of a series but you don’t need to read them in order and this is the best one. A widow who is being blackmailed accepts a governess post. She can’t tell her employer about the blackmail especially when she starts falling for him.)

9. The bedlam stacks by Natasha Pulley (I read watchmaker and didn’t like it but you might like it. This one also FEAUTRES A M/M ROMANCE. I know this list was super straight im sorry. Anyway this is about a botanist falling in love with a priest in the jungle.

10. The wilderness series by Sara Donati (Think outlander without the time travel and also not set in scotland. Basically Last of the Mohicans fanfiction about Hawkeye’s grown up son. An english woman moves to america when her father promises she can be a school teacher there. Little does she know he actually has plans to marry her off. Things get more complicated when she falls for Nathaniel Bonner, a white man raised native american and who’s daughter and extended family is Native American. Like outlander there’s romance, adventure, history. But unlike the outlander books the love interest is a decent guy (i say as if i don’t love the tv show)

STUFF THAT REALLY ISN’T ROMANCE AT ALL. BUT I SHIP A SHIP.

1. The Lacey Flint series by Sharon Bolton (Lacey Flint is a police officer who becomes involved in the hunt to catch a Jack the ripper copycat. There actually is a strong romantic element with the other lead police officer.)

2. The last hours duology by Minette Walters. A novel about the black death and a closed estate lead by a woman who’s trying to protect her people. There’s also a kind of murder mystery. But she also has a close relationship to one of the surfs that I got super invested in.

3. The Strike series by J.k Rowling (I know we don’t stan anymore but. This series about PI and his assistant slowly growing closer? Becoming best friends and partners? Not acknowledging any feelings for each other?

#books #book recs #literature #romance #romance books #romance reads #penvenens #romance recs #romance reader #historical romance #probably forgot loads

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transarchivist · 4 years

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do you have any podcasts recs? I want to listen to archive 81 but I need some backup and I've already listened to the more "famous" ones, like all of them I binge podcasts like they pay me for me it ajsjjshfje

!!!! ok i'm sorry it's taken me a hot minute to get to you BUT i think i have a good amount of reccomendations :o

these first few are kinda "famous" but i thought i'd point em out just in case! some of them ended a few years ago and they were more well known back when they were running

wolf 359: gotta point this one out juuuust in case you haven't listened to it! amazing sci fi... would drama be the right word? it's very intense and has some really interesting meditations on morality and the self But it's also so extremely funny. complete, ended in 2017

ars paradoxica: america during the cold war, the red scare, intense government conspiracies.... And Time Travel! complicated but amazing plot and a big cast- i would recommend not pausing and listening to something else, it gets complex! mischa stanton directed it so you Know it has stellar sound design (added bonus: lgbt main characters) complete, ended in 2018

the bright sessions: people with superpowers go to therapy! plus: shadowy capitalistic conspiracies, amazing romances and phenomenal character development! i'm not a fan of romances and i Loved the ones here (it's not heavily romance focused though!) (added bonus: lgbt main characters + main lgbt romance) complete, ended in 2018. i think a spin off series is running rn tho!

the adventure zone: this isn't an audio drama, it's an actual play d&d podcast! the first season (balance) is amazing- hilarious and heart wrenching! (the heart wrenching takes a while to kick in but MAN it's so good) the first season ended in 2017. i haven't finished the second big season (amnesty) but i loved what i did listen to, same with the currently running season (graduation)

sayer: starts off as sinister night vale but with an ai and in space, evolves into a complicated save-the-world plot concerning several ais. it's in second person and it's Amazing! lots of meditations on the self and personhood. currently on hiatus but will be ending when it resumes

alice isn't dead: from the people who did night vale! starts as a trucker trying to find her wife, evolves to include shadowy government conspiracies and the power of regular people banding together. ending made me tear up it's really good! it's Big on the horror (the first ep is the only podcast that's ever truly scared me and it continues to scare the shit out of me to this day) but its Extremely Good Horror. very americana too! complete, ended in 2018.

ok that's the more well known ones out of the way, i think? i'm not too confident about how well known some of them are nowadays ^^' all i can say is that i heard abt them frequently in 2016. now onto the lesser known ones ! the ones that are complete are generally pretty short listens (relatively- they're still a good handful of hours at the least)

zero hours: by the wolf 359 people, it's a short anthology that released all at once last year. to pharaphrase/quote the official blurb: each episode is a take on the end of the world, whether the apocalypse is planetary or personal. each episode is separated by 99 years, starting in the past (1722) reaching the present and then overtaking it. surprisingly hopeful ending, made me <:')

i am in eskew: you've probably heard me holler about this before- it follows the trials and tribulations of david ward, who lives in the nightmarish and otherworldly city of eskew. 30 episodes long and complete, with a phenomenal ending! i can't rave about this enough i could Keep talking but i'll cut myself short. it's horror and it's damn good horror! does deal with extremely heavy topics, please be careful!

janus descending: sci fi horror with what has to be the most interesting formatting i've seen in ages: the two points of view alternate each episode... but one is chronological and one is backwards! amazingly done, keeps you guessing until the end! complete. follows peter and chel as they undertake a survey mission on an alien planet

midnight radio: made by @/theradioghost! big on the idea that "all ghost stories are love stories". a 1950s radio hostess gets letters from a fan. horror, big on the 1950s aesthetics, focus on the relationship between one and one's hometown. lovely ending! it's sapphic too :]

the far meridian: by the same people who did ars paradoxica! follows peri, a bit of a hermit who has extreme social anxiety, who lives in a lighthouse that suddenly begins to teleport. each morning peri wakes up and the lighthouse is in a different place! there are like... some horror elements? kinda? but it's not intense imo. it mainly follows peri learning to cope with her anxiety & helping others, with each episode usually having a one off encounter (usually pretty strange!) often has wholesome vibes. s3 is currently in production and is the final season. plus: lgbt characters, and kinda spoilers but peri uses a cane later on!

old gods of appalachia: honestly it's what it says on the tin! a collection of short stories set in historical appalachia that deal with entities beyond human understanding. they're good about trigger warnings, but it's Horror. produced by actual appalachians! stellar music, a Lot strong female characters, and a good amount of lgbt rep! killer music!! it's currently releasing but the latest short story is finished. (do listen in order though!)

the deep vault: by the archive 81 team! in an "almost-post-apocalyptic" america a group of friends chase a rumor about a secret hidden vault, only to Find it! follows the group as they traverse the deep vault. horror, actively points out capitalism a Lot, definetly has an interesting ending! amazing sound design, which is to be expected from dan powell!

tides: the official blurb is short and sweet: "tides is the story of dr. winnifred eurus, a xenobiologist stuck on an unfamiliar planet with hostile tidal forces". extremely snarky and endearing main character and fascinating worldbuilding! i don't know the status of s2, but s1 was really good!

limetown: follows one lia haddock, a public radio reporter, as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened at limetown. all she knows is that 10 years prior, over 300 men, women and children vanished. horror, mystery, and some sci fi elements. presented in a found footage kinda way. i really enjoyed it, especially the first season. complete.

mabel: horror (big on the haunted house type specifically), sapphic romance, fun take on the fair folk/fae! follows anna limon, an in home carer who's trying to get in touch with her client's estranged granddaughter. evolves into a big fae-horror-romance-thing! really interesting romance tbh. amazing imagery and prose- lots of prose + almost poetry, but it's really good i promise. currently on a post season hiatus

spines: horror but it evolves past just horror in an interesting way (keeping the horror bits, of course). follows wren, who woke up in an attic surrounded by the remains of a cult ritual without any memories of who she is or what she was doing. she searches for answers, encountering creepy shit along the way. really interesting take on the super-secret-organization-that's-always-been-there trope! really good ending. one of the main characters is nonbinary + there's other lgbt main characters.

mirrors: by the people who did spines. also starts as horror but evolves past just horror (it's also sci fi). follows three women in three different centuries who are all experiencing the same haunting. phenomenal take on ghosts! like i can't articulate how cool this angle on ghosts is! s3 is supposed to start this year :] one of the main characters is sapphic, and her wife is a supporting character.

the six disappearances of ella mccray: also by the people who did spines and mirrors. evolves past just horror but keeps more of the horror elements? follows the 6 povs of the people who witnessed the surreal disappearance of ella mccray. each saw something different and surreal, and as they search for her, surreal things start happening to them. unsure abt the status of s3 but s1 and s2 are really good! lgbt main characters, including a trans lesbian (played by a trans woman!)

the bridge: horror. follows the crew of watchtower 10 on the transcontinental bridge that spans across the atlantic ocean. i listened to it back in like 2016-2017 so my memory is hazy, but i remember really enjoying it! currently on hiatus.

within the wires: sci fi... horror..? i listened to the first season a few years ago and enjoyed it and i've continued to hear really good things. it's by the people who make night vale! my memory isn't great but iirc the first season is a sort of romance that's formatted as a set of relaxation/meditation cassettes. it's a few seasons in and i think each is generally self contained, im unsure if it's currently running or not

the orbiting human circus of the air: also by the night vale people! again i listened to this a few years ago so im hazy. follows julian the janitor who works at a radio station that broadcasts from the top of the eiffel tower! surreal but in a wholesome way, iirc! i remember tearing up with happy tears at the s1 finale ^^' really good music! i think the second(?) season ended recently

stellar firma: i've only listened to a handful of episodes, but i've liked what i've heard. sci fi improv comedy that follows the newly made clone david 7 and the mess that is trexel geistman as they try and design custom planets. i think it's currently running but i dunno

rusty quill gaming: also another one that i've only listened to a few episodes of. actual play pathfinder (basically d&d) podcast set on an alternate earth. alex newall (martin's voice actor) is the dm. i've heard really good things from a lot of people! i think it's currently running but again i don't know for sure

right! that's. that's what i got.

i mentioned @/theradioghost earlier (shes behind midnight radio) but i would absolutely recommend looking at her rec list tag! she has impeccable taste

#ask #anon #podcast recs #cae speaks #mine #long post #<- incase the read more doesnt work

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coldflasher · 4 years

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Part of Femslash Week, organised by @flarrowverse-shipyard :D Femslash Week Day 6 - Snowed In

Pairing: Caitlin Snow/Iris West

Rating: Teen (mentions of sex)

TW: mentions of sex

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23031847

Safe As Houses by coldflasher (capriciouslouis on ao3)

“I just can’t understand where this blizzard is coming from,” Iris says, staring out of the window in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Caitlin says guiltily. “Me neither.”

Iris and Caitlin are investigating an abandoned cabin in the woods when a mysterious snow-storm strikes out of nowhere. It’s pretty cold inside the cabin, but luckily for them, there are a lot of ways to keep each other warm.

“I just can’t understand where this blizzard is coming from,” Iris says, staring out of the window in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Caitlin says guiltily. “Me neither.”

When they arrived at the cabin in the middle of the woods, it was a cheerful spring day and sun was streaming between the leaves of the trees overhead, gold spotlights dappling the moss. Just a few hours later, the snow is piling up thickly on the windowsill outside and the glass in the windows shimmer with frost. The front door is stuck shut as if glued. Iris shakes her head at the snow piling up outside while Caitlin looks at the bluish tips of her fingers and flexes her hands to shake off the last remnants of the icy fog that swirls and clings to her like an aura.

The cabin is part of the investigation they’re conducting into a series of mysterious meta attacks that S.T.A.R Labs has been looking into, and Iris has been working on an article to try and set the city’s minds at ease. Caitlin, who’s been acting as her medical consultant and making sure Iris keeps the science straight, agreed to tag along to check out the scene of the crime – not that there’s any evidence left now, everything cleared away, including the markers that stood on every surface like the flags Caitlin used to stick in sandcastles on the beach when she was a kid. It was supposed to be a short trip, but with the snow outside showing no sign of letting up, it looks like they’re in it for the long haul.

“Super weird,” Iris says, shaking her head and letting the curtain fall back into place. “I don’t suppose you can do anything about this, can you?”

Caitlin shakes her head. “Frost and I create snow and ice. We can’t get rid of it.”

“Figures. Oh well. If we’re stuck here, we might as well get settled in.” She unzips her laptop bag and slides her computer out, getting settled on the sofa. “You don’t mind if I get some work done, do you? Maybe being trapped here will get me in the right mindset.”

“Sure, knock yourself out,” says Caitlin. “Uh. I’m just going to…” She gestures vaguely. “Make use of the facilities.”

“Okay,” Iris says absently, already typing.

Caitlin walks into the cramped bathroom, the bathtub so close to the toilet she could sit on it and dangle her feet into the tub – not that she would. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone had been killed in there, and there’s a reddish stain around the rim that someone has tried and failed to scrub away. It could be rust or could be blood, but either way she doesn’t trust it. Looking at herself in the rust-flecked mirror, she hisses, “Frost. Frost!”

What?

Caitlin glares at herself in the mirror. “You know what. Why’d you snow us in?”

Chill out, says Frost. There’s no way that pun was unintentional; Caitlin fumes harder. I’m doing you a favour. This crush of yours is getting super old; it’s time to do something about it.

“You created a blizzard just to get me to admit that I have a crush on Iris?”

Clearly it’s working, Frost points out. Now you just need to tell her that.

“You couldn’t have just given me a pep talk?”

Like you’d have listened. Now you have no choice. Besides, it’s romantic – like one of those tedious romance novels you love so much.

“You call this romantic?” hisses Caitlin. “It’s a crime scene.”

A knock on the door makes her jump. “Cait? Everything okay?”

“I’m okay,” she calls, and watches the shadows of Iris’ feet shifting through the crack under the door before she walks away.

As soon as she’s gone, Caitlin’s head snaps up and she glares back into the mirror, clutching the sink. “Don’t you dare leave me to deal with this, you asshole. Frost? Frost!”

Her head stays silent. Frost has abandoned her, leaving nothing but a sense of unbearable smugness in her wake.

Closing her eyes, Caitlin resists the urge to throttle her own reflection and settles for flipping herself the bird. Then she flops onto the toilet and buries her face in her hands.

Being alone with Iris was already starting to make her nervous, and now they’re trapped in close proximity for god knows how long. But the longer she hides in here the weirder things will get when she finally emerges. Taking a deep breath, she smooths the front of her blouse and makes eye contact with herself in the mirror.

“You got this,” she says.

Iris is on the couch with her laptop when Caitlin comes back into the living room. “You good?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. There was a spider,” Caitlin lies, “so…” She gestures vaguely at the bathroom.

“You want me to handle it?” offers Iris.

The thought of Iris heroically taking on a spider for her makes Caitlin fuzzy inside, especially since she knows from past experience that Iris isn’t too fond of them. “I got it. Thanks, though.”

She goes to join Iris on the couch, and notices that Iris still has her jacket on and has zipped it all the way up to the throat. She keeps rubbing her hands together in between sentences.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s pretty cold in here. No central heating, I guess.”

Caitlin hadn’t noticed. Then again, she wouldn’t. Like Elsa, the cold doesn’t bother her much.

“There’s a fireplace,” she suggests.

“I don’t know how to start a fire,” Iris admits.

Caitlin shrugs. “We’re smart,” she says. “We’ll figure it out.”

Being busy helps. It keeps her from becoming too awkward and stumbling over her words. She finds a matchbook in one of the kitchen drawers, which makes things easier. Iris rips a bunch of pages out of the back of her notebook, stuffing the grate full of scrunched up paper. When they light it, it’s with bated breath – but the fire catches, and within a few minutes the room is flickering with a cheery light that glows like the sunset outside and fills the room with a pleasant warmth.

“Better?” Caitlin asks.

“Much,” Iris says, and goes back to work.

They both get settled on the couch. Caitlin has started carrying books in her purse, and she pulls out an old favourite, a Rebecca Silver romance novel about an alien warrior woman and her space pirate conquest. It’s the definition of a guilty pleasure read, and she all but folds the book in half making sure Iris can’t see the cover – but her attention keeps wandering anyway. She likes watching Iris’ fingers fly across the keyboard, teeth sinking into her lower lip as she concentrates. Every now and then she’ll pause and frown at the screen for a while, thinking, and when the right word comes to her she’ll nod her head with satisfaction as she continues. Aside from occasional interjections of “hey, what’s another word for ‘proponent?’” or “does this sentence make sense to you?” and the crackling of the fire, they’re quiet. It’s soothing.

“Crap,” Iris says eventually. “My laptop’s almost dead.”

Caitlin looks up. The snow has stopped falling, and outside the night sky is almost black with the shadows of the conifers silhouetted against it, flat as paper cut-outs.

Iris double-saves before shutting down the laptop. As she leans forward to add a few more pieces of paper to the fire, she accidentally knocks Caitlin’s book onto the floor.

“Crap, sorry.” She reaches for it.

“No, wait –”

Caitlin tries to intercept, but she’s too late. Iris is already picking up the book, and as Caitlin’s ears grow hot, she wishes – not for the first time – that the covers of Rebecca Silver’s books were a little more subtle. It’s hard to deny the subject matter of a romance novel that has an underwear-clad, three-boobed alien lady straddling a buccaneer on the front. She really needs to invest in an e-reader.

“Is this Rebecca Silver?” Iris says.

“Yeah, but it’s – I mean, she’s –”

“I love her,” Iris says, flipping the pages enthusiastically. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re super gratuitous and a little heavy on the smut, but they’re so fun. I really love the heist scenes; the woman has a mind like a supervillain. So many details!”

Caitlin blinks. She’d been expecting a similar reaction she’d got from Cisco, who had made fun of her mercilessly when he found one of Rebecca’s novels in her purse but later been caught reading one under the desk in the cortex. Instead, Iris is checking the blurb.

“I haven’t read this one.”

“It’s one of her first,” Caitlin says, finding her voice at last. “The prose is a little rougher, but the plot is awesome. She gets a little more formulaic in her more recent novels; I guess it’s hard to keep up with such a huge demand from her readership.” After a moment’s hesitation, she says, “You want to read it?”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll totally borrow it after you’re done with it.”

“Or we could read it together. It’ll give us something to do.” Her brain catches up to her a second later and her thoughts all pile up like a bunch of kids all landing on top of one another at the bottom of a slide. “I mean, maybe not the sexy parts.”

“I like the sexy parts,” Iris says, but she’s grinning.

“Me too,” admits Caitlin, “but they’re a little graphic.”

“We’ll skip the sex scenes, then. Not sure how much of the book will be left, but we’ll figure it out.”

Iris is a good reader. She’s not embarrassed to do the voices and her own voice has a pleasant cadence to it, smooth and relaxing. With that and the fire crackling, Caitlin can’t remember when she was last so relaxed. She closes her eyes for a second, enjoying the warmth on her face and letting Iris’ voice fade into the background…

When she wakes, someone is stroking her hair.

She’s too sleepy to acknowledge it at first. With a happy mumble, she snuggles down and rubs her cheek against the soft fabric she’s resting on, enjoying the sensation of fingers carding gently through her curls, lingering at the nape of her neck. Over and over, like she’s a cat. It feels nice, and she’s about to let herself drift off again when suddenly it hits her.

She sits bolt upright, alarmed, and there’s a slithering sound as Iris’ jacket – which had been draped over her like a blanket – falls to the floor. The fire has died down to almost nothing. Caitlin looks at Iris, who’s startled and has pulled her hand back like Caitlin burned her.

That’s when she realises she fell asleep with her head in Iris’ lap.

“I’m sorry,” Iris says, “did I wake you?”

“No, I –” She’s mortified. How long has she been napping with her cheek resting on Iris’ thigh like that? “How long have I been asleep?”

“Not long. Just a couple of hours.”

“Oh my God, I’m sorry –”

“Don’t worry about it –”

“I can’t believe I did that –”

“It’s fine, really –”

“I wasn’t even that tired, I closed my eyes for just a second and then I woke up and I was –”

Iris silences her with a kiss.

Everything stops. The world. Her heart. The flurry of panicked, anxious thoughts flying around her brain like sharp-edged snowflakes, creating a blizzard she can’t seem to see past. All of that fades away and there’s only Iris, who reaches up to caress Caitlin’s cheek as she kisses her, tucking her hair behind her ear and stroking the red mark on her face where she’d slept strangely, then sliding her fingers into Caitlin’s hair until her hand rests on the back of Caitlin’s neck, a reassuring weight.

They part, and for a moment Iris’ forehead rests against hers in a gesture almost more intimate than the kiss before she pulls away.

“Oh,” says Caitlin, startled.

“Oh,” Iris says, smiling.

For a moment Caitlin sits there, dazed. Iris reaches out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“You with me? Seemed like you were freaking out on me for a second there.”

“Maybe a little.” She hesitates. “Um. Do you kiss every person that starts freaking out on you?”

The smile becomes an impish grin. “Only the ones I really like.”

Another oh, but this one inside. The sensation of things clicking into place, the realisation that this isn’t as one-sided as she’d thought. Things are beginning to make a lot more sense, now. The fact she’d been invited along as a medical consultant but hadn’t been asked a single question about biology, for example… and the way Iris had kept glancing at her as she read aloud from the book. The hand in her hair when she’d thought Caitlin wasn’t awake to see it.

She feels a rush of warmth that was nothing to do with the fire.

“Well, it worked,” Caitlin says. Then, unable to believe her own daring, “Maybe you should do it again.”

“Yeah?” asks Iris, her smile growing.

“I mean, at this point it’s preventative,” says Caitlin. “Which is better than a cure.”

“Is that your professional opinion, Doctor Snow?”

“Absolutely. Super professional.”

“Well,” says Iris. “If it’s what the doctor ordered…”

She pulls Caitlin close to her and they collapse into one another like a snowdrift, sinking into the sofa. For once, Caitlin’s mind is silent. There are no thoughts to torment her, no worries or fears. Just Iris, her reverent touch and her gentle mouth. The fire in the grate is almost extinguished, but there are better ways to keep warm.

Outside, the snow is beginning to thaw.

#FSFFWeek20 #FSFFWeek20DaySix #day 6 #snowwest

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mediaeval-muse · 4 years

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Book Review

In Search of Scandal. By Susanne Lord. Sourcebooks, 2015.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, London Explorers #1

Summary: All of London is abuzz with the tale of Will Repton. The lone survivor of a massacre in Tibet has returned to England a hero, but the traumatized explorer has no time for glory. Another dangerous expedition awaits. Nothing will deter him from his quest, and no one will unearth his secret—until Will meets Charlotte Baker. Vivacious Charlotte Baker also has a mission—to find a man whose bold spirit matches her own. When she meets Will Repton, she immediately recognizes him as her soul mate, and she’s naively willing to turn her back on the rules of propriety to ensnare him. Will is torn between his fascination with Charlotte and his vow to finish his quest. He knows what it is to risk life and limb—but what if his most perilous adventure doesn’t lie across an ocean, but within his own lost heart?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content, poisoning, physical assault (not sexual), near miscarriage; mentions of: disemboweling, blood, violence, corpses, murder (including the murder of children)

Overview: I will admit that I felt a little uneasy going into this book. Seeing “a massacre in Tibet” in the summary gave me the impression that there could be some Orientalism (or, if not, some straight up depictions of racism), but since my favorite romance author blurbed and recommended it, I decided to give it a try anyway. I can’t speak to the book’s treatment of China and Tibet, though given the history of Victorian imperialism, it felt somewhat “accurate” here; I didn’t get the impression that the region was over-exoticized, though it was treated as a subject of curiosity and characters bring back “artifacts.” I suppose it wasn’t too bad, given the book’s setting, but I still don’t know how I feel about the whole massacre subplot. That aside, the author’s prose was well-crafted, which was impressive for a debut novel. My main reason for giving this book a middling rating, therefore, had less to do with the premise or writing craft and more to do with the characters and the romance itself. I had a hard time rooting for the main couple, and I wish Lord had spent less time forcing them into awkward situations that made for a tumultuous love story and more time exploring characterization and meaningful connection. As it stands, this book receives an average rating from me, but I would be interested to see if (and how) Lord improves in her future books.

Writing: Lord’s prose is surprisingly well-crafted for a debut novel, achieving a nice balance between description and exposition using a straight-forward style that is characteristic of many romances. While Lord’s prose is easy to read, it doesn’t lack fun flourishes, vivid imagery, and compelling figurative language, when appropriate.

I do wish, however, that Lord had been more attentive to how she crafted the scenes in her book. Many individual scenes felt like they were drawn out for no reason other than to provide Charlotte and Will with a chance to encounter one another, which is fine, except that they didn’t really build on one another to create a meaningful progression in the protagonists’ relationship. They seemed rather like a series of awkward moments, following a pattern in which they would awkwardly try to make conversation, get to a point where they were feeling comfortable around one another, do something like kiss or have a sexual encounter, and then Will would push Charlotte away, usually by insisting that he’s not good for her, that he is going on his expedition no matter what, etc. which would upset Charlotte. They would part, and Will would do something to try to make up for his behavior, and the process would start again in the next scene. It was somewhat cyclical and even frivolous at times - many of Will and Charlotte’s encounters didn’t quite end with the two developing as characters or as a couple, and I wish Lord had built her encounters on something more substantial.

On the flip side, this book was also missing scenes that could have helped with characterization. We’re told, for example, that Will has nightmares, but we’re never shown him having one until very late in the book. Having a scene earlier (not necessarily the beginning) might have helped establish why his expedition was so important to him, while also revealing something about his personality that informs his behavior in his encounters with Charlotte.

Plot: The plot of this novel basically follows Charlotte, a well-educated woman entering her third season, as she attempts to find a husband that will accept her family, and Will, a man attempting to raise money to go back to Tibet to make amends for a role he played in a violent encounter. Charlotte’s predicament in itself was very compelling; torn between wanting to be accepted by London’s upper class Society and her love for her family, she struggles to find a husband that will simultaneously make her happy but also raise the status (and thus, social security) of her brother and sister. I do wish Lord had put more emphasis on this aspect of the plot, and perhaps let it be a defining characteristic of Charlotte’s personal growth. Charlotte is torn between selfish desire and doing what she thinks she must for her loved ones, and I think there was a lot of room in there for an exploration of, say, women’s self-effacement in the name of “duty” or “responsibility,” or even more of an exploration of the hypocrisy of Society.

Will’s plot is a bit less compelling. Though we do see moments when he is meeting with potential investors to fund his second expedition into Tibet (and China, by extension), it never feels urgent. While the expedition holds a lot of personal significance for Will, so much is shrouded in mystery that it was difficult to see the stakes of going versus not going, and I personally didn’t care whether Will stayed in London or traveled abroad. I think revealing more to the reader could have helped with this, and the climax of the novel could have been less focused on revealing Will’s involvement with the massacre to the reader and more on revealing it to Charlotte.

In terms of the romantic plot, I’ll discuss that in more detail below, but I will say here that a lot of the drama felt manufactured. Every situation seemed set up to throw the main couple together, allowing them to express their physical attraction while still allowing Will to be obstinate about getting emotionally involved. I especially didn’t find the marriage of convenience compelling, nor anything that happens afterward, and I wish Lord had spent more time thinking about what the conflicts in the relationship might look like if it were built on something other than Will’s own stubbornness.

Characters: Charlotte, our heroine, is something of a social butterfly. She attracts people to her and is beloved by almost everyone, and she always has something to say to fill gaps in the conversation. While I did like that she was very agentive, pursuing her desires and doing what she wanted despite what was considered “proper,” I did think some of her more interesting characteristics were overshadowed by her obsession with Society and her single-minded pursuit of Will. Lord writes of how Charlotte reads Will’s more scientific reports by begging her brother to acquire copies from the Geographical Society, which is exclusive to men. Charlotte also meets with a group of women weekly, and Lord mentions that part of what guides their conversation is the fear of men seeing them as “too intellectual.” I honestly think Charlotte’s character could have been better served by having her thirst for exploration and knowledge denied to her by her gender competing with her desire to provide for her family by marrying well. It would have presented an interesting conflict for when Will comes along, who has traveled and seen the world, but doesn’t hold the social sway of a duke or earl.

Will, for his part, wasn’t an enjoyable character. He spends much of the book speaking gruffly to others, and when he’s not wallowing in self-loathing, he was saying things to Charlotte that were at best awkward and at worst cruel. He starts out reserved, but quickly grows possessive, and his temper could become violent. His main saving grace is that he’s attentive - he brings Charlotte the flowers she likes when all other suitors ignore her preferences, and he notices the care she puts into things like her appearance. But other than that, I did not find him likable, and my sympathy for his on account of his trauma ran out quickly.

Supporting characters were a bit more enjoyable to read. I liked the bond that Charlotte had with her brother, Wally, and wish more was done to showcase their closeness. I also liked that Charlotte’s sister, Lucy, married for love, and despite being socially shunned, their happiness seems to set the bar for what Charlotte wants in her relationship. I would have liked to see some of the main, unimportant scenes between Charlotte and Will cut and more scenes devoted to Charlotte’s relationship with her family, and perhaps even more done with Wally, whose sexuality caused the family to fall from grace in the first place. Perhaps if Wally had a subplot where he finds happiness again would have been a nice compliment to Charlotte’s arc of defying Society for the sake of her passions.

The antagonist, however, was not nearly so intriguing. Starting as one of Charlotte’s admirers, he quickly becomes over-the-top evil when rejected. I guess powerful men can be reactionary when it comes to not getting their way, especially if they’re sexist to begin with, but I just didn’t care for the conflict with the villain. I was much more intrigued by the possibilities of the protagonists’ inner conflicts.

Other: As I mentioned above, I had a hard time rooting for Charlotte and Will as a couple. Charlotte admits to imagining herself with Will before they even meet, and her reaction to him when they do come face-to-face for the first time is something like insta-love. For the majority of the book, Charlotte’s one-sided love for Will and pursuit of him despite his behavior towards her feels juvenile. It felt a lot like hero worship or a celebrity crush, and even though Charlotte says she becomes disillusioned with him and sees Will as a person, the fact that she sticks around when he’s acting like a jerk did not endear me to her or their relationship.

Will, for his part, seems to fall in love with Charlotte for no reason other than she’s pretty, and even though he’s attentive to her favorite things, I couldn’t see what Charlotte saw in him. He constantly pushes her away and says or does things to upset her, including directing his unattractive anger at her, and I was wishing that Charlotte would just cut her losses and find someone better. I think their dynamic could have worked if more focus was placed on Will’s social awkwardness rather than his self-imposed denial of romantic affection. For example, if he’s shy and awkward in Society, maybe Charlotte’s social personality draws him out of his isolation and allows him to connect with people. Maybe her influence also allows him to attract investors, and he finds himself so impressed by her abilities and support for his expedition that he finds it harder and harder to leave. Something more than the manufactured drama that makes every interaction between the two feel cyclical.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in historical romance (especially set in Victorian England), 19th century exploration, botany, love triangles, and marriages of convenience.

#book reviews

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

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Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1, Venom vol. 4 #17, Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1 Thoughts

I’m trying very hard to both cover Absolute Carnage in reading order and also not bog down said coverage of the tie ins, i’m hoping to give the main book and ASM tie-ins my full attention but for all the other ones handle them less comprehensively. Obviously that depends upon their respective content.

The Deadpool issue had great art, funny dialogue, a brisk pace, some clever moments and a refreshing acknowledgment that the Peter/Wade dynamic is stupid.

Having Carnage acknowledge Deadpool as the motherload of codexes because of his bonding with the 4 Life Foundation symbiotes (a.k.a. also collectively referred to as the Hybrid symbiote) from Wade and Kasady’s last encounter was a great use of continuity. My hope is the lack of acknowledgement of his time with the Venom symbiote (see Deadpool’s Secret Secret War and Deadpool: Back in Black) confirms that those stories are not to be taken seriously as canon, at least as far as Spidey or Venom continuity is concerned.

The only real problem is that, whilst the start of the story technically precedes Absolute Carnage, when we get to the symbiote stuff it happens during Absolute Carnage #2 and thus really is best read after that comic as it does give a few minor spoilers for it.

Venom #17 was fantastic!

Now, as I said in my Absolute Carnage #2 post, the plotting is out of whack. Venom #17 should be read BEFORE Absolute Carnage #2!

The story itself, whilst basic, is effective. The Maker is as morally grey (or flexible if you like, get it!) as ever. Dylan is characterized well, believable as the son of Eddie Brock. Normie is underserved but this isn’t his story. Something that did bug me though is that the art depicts them as probably about the same age with Dylan dominating their dynamic. But really Dylan should be younger. Dylan was born between Venom Along Came a Spider (1996) and Anne Weying’s death in like 2000 or 2001. Normie meanwhile was born in the mid-1980s!

That’s a small complaint though and easily No. Prized.

Now as for the rest of the comic Cates pulls off a masterstroke in how he’s structured this event, at least in relation to the Venom book.

Absolute Carnage seems set to be the book where all the thrust of the story happens, that’s where you go to see Carnage and I suspect going forward where you will go to follow Brock/Venom. Meanwhile the actual Venom book is going to be following Dylan, who’s been adequately built up by this point. It helps make the Venom book relevant but not demand that you go other the same events twice or ping pong between it and Absolute Carnage to see the next part of the story, it’s happening adjacent to the main events but it’s also not a meaningless side quest!

There is also a lot of great use of established continuity in this book. Venom himself might not be in it much, but his LEGACY is. Dylan is his son (and remember he’s as much the son of the symbiote as he is Anne and Eddie) and so are the Life Foundation symbiotes. The Sleeper symbiote also shows up.

I confess I’m only vaguely familiar with Sleeper because I didn’t read Venom: First Host but I believe he’s strongly connected to Venom’s past, I think he is maybe literally the first host of the Venom symbiote.

There is also an interesting angle in this story because the lead is Dylan, the sidekick if you will is Normie and the antagonists are the family from Separation Anxiety, 2 of which are also little kids. I hope this factors in somehow as it seems there is a theme of family underlying this corner of the event! You could even extend that to Normie as the theme of family, especially dysfunctional family, is very relevant to the Osborns and is obviously now relevant to Venom/Brock’s immediate ‘family’ as well as the Separation Anxiety nuclear family.

The ar is also stellar. It’s not Stegman good but it’s still beautiful eye candy and looks enough like Stegman that the change isn’t jarring. I’m very happy Coello did the War of the Realms tie-ins as a taster and ‘warm up’ for this in fact.

Just great, I’m loving this one!

Lethal Protectors #1 was one of the tests for me about the strength of this event.

See of all the tie-ins this was the one I was least interested in. I don’t hate Cloak, Dagger, Iron Fist or Morbius, but I’m also fairly indifferent to them. I only liked Morbius in the 1994 cartoon (though I hear his 90s stories were quite good) and to me Iron Fist is dull outside of when he’s hanging out with Luke Cage.

So I checked this out but only out of a desire to be a completist.

I was fully braced for this issue to be what derailed the event’s thus far strong batting average.

Nope.

Even this issue delivered.

Granted it also kind of DIDN’T deliver since the cover characters aren’t even mentioned at all. Instead the closest thing to a protagonist is Misty Knight. Now I have no hate for Misty Knight but to my recollection her connection to the symbiotes began only in the Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage issue that this continues off from. I suppose having a vibranium arm makes her an obvious combatant against symbiotes, but she’s got less connection to the lore. She seems more like the vehicle to introduce the above mentioned ‘lethal protectors’ into the story. And I guess that’s fine but either include her on the cover or feature the title characters in the issue.

That’s mostly a nitpick though, the rest of the issue is great. More fun violent horror stuff with a creepy romance added on for good measure in the form of Carnage and Shriek’s toxic relationship.

The reintroduction of Demo/Demagoblin was interesting. I knew it was coming and I knew it would be a new female version but the fact that it was Shriek took me by surprise, I was sure it was going to be Lily Hollister a.k.a. Menace. Truth be told I’m disappointed it wasn’t as that would’ve been an organic use of a pre-established character and wouldn’t have swapped out Shriek (who is also very interesting) for Demagoblin.

It’s not a BAD direction but I’d have preferred the Carnage family from Maximum Carnage be reassembled differently. But seeing Demagoblin and Carnage make out is delightful in how over the top nuts it is!

They mention reintroducing Carrion and I really, really hope that happens!

The art, whilst not being as good as in other tie-ins is still doing a solid job!

Much like the other tie-ins this series is opening up a new front in this event and exploring it quite well thus far, so I’d recommend this too!

And as a plus they remember to tell you when this happens in relation to the main event book.

Miles Morales sadly...was the first slip up in this event.

Now I’ve made my criticisms of Miles (in the comics) vocal before and I don’t want to sit here and tell you this issue sucked shit or it was bad because Miles was bland in it. To be honest MOST of the protagonists of Absolute Carnage are fairly bland. Miles for instance was a knotch more interesting than Misty Knight.

In fact I wouldn’t call this issue BAD at all.

There were just some things wrong with it.

The most noticeable of these was how the events depicted towards the end don’t quite jive with the end of Absolute Carnage #2. If you just wrote them down on paper they would seem to. Miles and Scorpion are fighting Carnage cultists, Carnage/Osborn is there in charge, Scorpion breaks away from the fray, Venom shows up, Miles stands alone but is overwhelmed, he is taken over by the symbiotes.

However when you compare the art and dialogue of the two comics there are a number of discrepancies which is annoying because up until now you could make everything fit together one way or another.

Among the discrepancies, and this is a nitpick, is that the Carnage cultists are wearing their Ravencroft uniforms, which IIRC they don’t do in any other appearance. A more contrived aspect to them though is Gargan recognizing the tattoo of one of them. How? They are all covered head to toe in symbiote their tattoo’s would be obscured!

I also didn’t like how the Carnage Cultists were treated as so disposable. My impression was they each have a bona fide symbiote bonded to them so would be on a similar power level to Venom at least, so Scorpion impaling them wouldn’t be a big deal, they could heal from that. But they come off more as just super strong zombies, and not even as strong as Venom at that.

Grant that’s an issue perhaps with the event as a whole but it was most noticeable here.

The other problem with this book is that half of it is little more than a standard superhero fights super villain yarn until halfway through when it abruptly becomes an Absolute Carnage tie-in. It even kind of does that at the very start of the issue where the recap page randomly interrupts the story in progress for no reason, putting it ahead of the first page wouldn’t have spoiled anything.

It seems like a waste especially since the cliffhanger is identical to the cliffhanger of Absolute Carnage #2, it doesn’t progress the story at all it simply provides some preamble and not particular plot relevant preamble at that. It’s not that difficult to deduce Miles was probably fighting Scorpion before they were attacked.

What’s even more annoying, but not a problem with this book per se, is that the comic discloses that this should be read after Absolute Carnage #2 but similar disclaimers weren’t made for other tie-in issues. I don’t even think reading this between AC #1 and #2 would make much difference. There aren’t any spoilers for AC #2 because it simply depicts the same events regarding Miles in greater detail.

My final problem with the issue is one that’s more a problem with Miles in general regarding his status in the 616 universe. Let’s put aside how it inherently undermines the character for a moment, the recap page alone shows you how problematic it is to have him migrate to Earth 616. The blurb summarizing Miles’ backstory has to be so ridiculously generalized and use dialogue implying he might be from another universe but could equally be taken as poetic hyperbole. I don’t blame Ahmed, I even sympathize that he kind of HAS to write it that way. It’s just stupid is all and undermines the emotional resonance of Ultimate Venom being associated with the death of Miles’ mother. But then again DID she even die now? See what a mess this is?

I don’t want this to sound like this issue was terrible, it wasn’t it was just okay at best though sans the art. Absolute Carnage has thus far had good to great art and this issue is no exception.

As a standard Spidey v. Scorpion rumble goes this was fine, it was fun and got the job done, standard superheroics so I can’t complain too much. The only contentious part was Miles’ ineffective Venom Blast.

It didn’t work because Scorpion’s suit was insulated.

This is a double edged sword when it comes to analysis.

On the one hand that is inconsistent with the Venom Blast’s established power. It can work against electrical powered foes like Electro AND extremely powerful demonic beings like Blackheart. But you telling me some rubber lining enables Scorpion to just shrug it off? Bullshit.

On the other hand though...Miles having a cheat code power like that has always been reductive to his character.

The final thing I have to say on the comic is that the editors weirdly hype up the issue. In other tie-ins they praise Ahmed for reinvigorating the Scorpion, for even making him scary and a straight up killer. Putting aside how he was a fucking cannibal in Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers, Ahmed honestly didn’t do anything like that.

Scorpion is a standard supervilalin who DGAF about innocent life or killing, he just wants to preserve his own life and make a payday. He lands some effective hits on Miles and is a threat but...there is nothing revolutionary or reinvigorating about it. It’s not tired and bad it’s just standard and effective that’s all.

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veroticker · 4 years

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Wanderlove - Rachel Blaufeld

Summary (from Rachel Blaufeld’s website)

Sick of living under her dad’s rules, Emerson Bender bolts when she’s eighteen. On her own for the first time, she heads to the only place her mom ever lived—New York City—desperate to find the woman who dropped her off on her dad’s doorstep.

Content to spend the rest of his life in Small Town, Pennsylvania, Price Barnes is plucked out of his idyllic life by his estranged father. Missing his mom and stepfather, he’s dropped in New York City to attend college and live an all-expenses paid lifestyle. Cushy, right? But not the life he wanted.

She’s looking to fill a hole in her heart, and he’s looking to forget the man who disrupted his life. Together, they’re both wandering, looking for acceptance and hoping to forget the rejection.

Blurb

““Emerson! Stop. Don’t do this! Emerson, please don’t do this. I didn’t mean it. Please, Emmy...”

His words echoed in my head but didn’t stop me. I slammed the car door right in my dad’s face, shutting him up in mid-plea.

I couldn’t listen to him.

Didn’t dare.

Not for one second longer.

Not this time.

Not even when he called me Emmy.

We’d had this fight before—a million and two times. Each time, I gave in and did it his way. Our fights always ended with me crying on his shoulder, and him rubbing my back, shushing me and telling me to let it go.

Just the thought of it made me grit my teeth.

The last time, I’d sworn to never bring her up again, and he’d said the same. It was a mutual decision. Yet, I was the one to break our promise. I was the one who dared speak her name aloud.

Five stupid letters, P-A-U-L-A, came tumbling from my lips, inside the four walls of our house, the exact place where I’d promised not to say it.

Paula had always been and continued to be a curse word between us—worse than fuck. Her name was only brought out when the big guns were needed, or when the most painful wound needed to be inflicted. The mere mention of her name left a gaping gash in us that no superglue or stitches would easily remedy.

Which is why he’d spent my whole life convincing me she needed to stay where she’d always been—deep in my past.

Although I tried not to bring her up in regular conversation, Paula haunted my dreams and waking hours in equal measure. Dad was the better person, and only spoke of her when I was bold enough to say her name first.

Except this time, I wasn’t full of piss and vinegar and false threats.

Boldly, I’d said her name loud and proud. For once in my short life, I took him to task. I was determined to find her, and he wasn’t going to stop me. He was squeezing the life out of me with his rules and curfews.

Yeah, I was all he had, and he’d been a single dad since I was born, but fuck it. The man had been my rock, but he was also a major pain in my ass.

Like right now, waving his hands in the air, begging me to stop.

Not gonna do it, Dad.

This time, he’d gone too far. He had no right to tell me I couldn’t date Robby Williams. Actually, dating I could do. It was the other stuff Dad wouldn’t allow.

So what if I wanted to stay out with Robby . . . all night? I was eighteen, had just graduated from high school, and would be off to school in the fall. I could do whatever I wanted, even if I still lived at home. Right?

“Paula would let me do it.”Tired of always giving in, this time I’d held my ground, threatening him with the only thing I knew would hurt. It wouldn’t just sting; it would bite like a samurai sword slicing through raw flesh. Any other threat would have cut like a butter knife.

He stared at me, taking in my angry face and heaving chest before boldly daring me. “Fine, Emerson, be my guest. Go find your long-lost mommy and see if she cares.”

As soon as he’d said it, he broke down and cupped my cheeks, his calloused palms gentle on my skin. “I didn’t mean it, honey, I swear. This is hard. I can’t always be the perfect mom and dad, all at the same time.”

With what I was certain had to be a thousand red splotches creeping up my neck, I decided to go for it. Take him up on his challenge and go look for Paula. After all, in three short months, I’d be gone anyway. What’s wrong with setting out a little early?”

(review under the cut)

Review

I don’t usually read young adult romance because I have a hard time identifying with the characters--I’m much too older at this point. But I can totally identify with people from the countryside trying to adapt to life in a big city, and that was a big part of this book’s plot. It was quite interesting to see them changing their life, bit by bit or as a one time thing, the longer they stay in New York.

The characters spend the whole book trying to find their place in the world. In the city, in their family, in each other’s life. It’s only amazing that they find it by the end of the story--I’m still struggling to find mine. I think it resonates with most of us, if not all.

As for the plot itself, I admit that I was a bit confused with Emerson’s actions. The writer insists that she is quite young and so can make a mountain out of a molehill, and yet, I never thought that under-communication at this level was possible. She keeps everything secret, even the most unsignificant things, until--of course--they’re discovered in the worst possible way, creating conflicts when there should have been none. It was my major problem with this book.

The writing is quite good, and I really enjoyed the characters. Maybe a bit unrealistic--way too many coincidences--but suspension of disbelief exists for that reason. A sweet and funny story, with a dribble of angst.

Quickie

Series: standalone

Hashtags: #young adult #virginity #instalove

Triggers: mention of drug abuse

Main couple: Emerson Bender & Price Barnes

Hotness: 2/5

Romance: 4/5

+ feisty heroine + calm and wise hero = nice dynamics

- lots of overreactions imho

Stalker mode

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#Rachel Blaufeld #Wanderlove #contemporary romance #young adult romance

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y-not-loki · 6 years

Text

Mischief | Loki L.

A/N: Hello, this is probably going to be the longest one-shot that I will ever upload, but here it is, my submission for @bucky-at-bedtime‘s writing challenge. It is as fluffy and sassy as I could make it. I hope it’s up to standard. (prompt is after the cut)

Genre: Only the fluffiest. Well, there’s no angst, and it’s sorta just romance with the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope.

Warnings: Misunderstood phrases/innuendos (some people just have dirty minds), swearing, mentions of torture/maiming.

Word Count: 10 101 (I got carried away)

Blurb: (Y/N) ends up befriending Loki when he is dragged into the mess that is the Avengers by Thor and Odin’s orders. Queen of Pranks and Mischief on the team, Cheshire Cat lives up to her name, causing chaos on the streets and in the Compound. (Y/N) never expected enemies to friends to lovers to be so competitive and banter-filled, but caring and soft.

Prompt: “That was ONE time”

*DISCLAIMER: I DON’T OWN ANYTHING IN THIS BUT THE PLOT*

The Compound has never been so hectic, Tony and Bruce were rushing around Loki-proofing and checking everything, the bird bros were perched high up, ready to snipe/knock out trouble when Thor and Loki eventually arrive, Rhodey and Vision were flying around, doing a perimeter check that the force field that Doctor Strange and Tony had created to protect against magical and technological attacks was holding up well, the super soldiers, excluding Natasha, were waiting near the Bifrost depot (T’Challa was with them, Shuri was in charge of Wakanda for the day that he was here reinforcing the image of the Avengers). This left the women to wander around and show Doctor Strange the inside of the Compound, as he had only been there once, and that was to help out with the force field.

The Bifrost lit up the sky, shooting towards them, and all the Avengers dropped what they were doing, and headed to the Bifrost, forming a ring around Thor and Loki. Everyone was armed and ready.

Loki was in a muzzle and chains connected at his neck and hips. Thor was in his usual Asgardian warrior’s armour.

“Friends! This is my brother, Loki of Asgard.”

“Ah yes, gold-green-black with the mind washing sceptre from New York. I think I’ve heard of him.” (Y/N) immediately responded, her mind not even registering what she was saying before she heard it. Oops. “Thank you for your clarification.” All eyes were on her. Double oops. The only person who looked mildly amused was Tony, Loki just looked like he was analysing every part of her, even though she was wearing her suit and her helmet over her head she felt like she was getting picked to pieces.

Thor ignored her comments, continuing an introduction. “In the ring are, by aliases, Black Widow, Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain America, White Wolf or Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, Falcon, Cheshire Cat, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and the Hulk.” Loki almost imperceptibly flinched when Thor pointed at Bruce, and apparently (Y/N) was the only person who picked up on it.

Good. Black mail. (Y/N) thought to herself, an amused smirk on her lips underneath the helmet she wore. It was very similar to the Black Panther helmet, only it had a big, white, sharp-toothed smile along the bottom that looked almost like a muzzle, making her seem more feral.

With introductions done, Thor lead Loki inside the building, and the Avengers fell into rank, oldest members to newest, meaning that (Y/N) was at the back of the procession. She wasn’t happy with it, but she already had revenge planned out. Individual pranks for all.

The bedrooms had been planned out, a few people had to be kicked out of their original rooms, so that Loki’s room was in the centre of all their rooms, that way he was in the middle of it all. (Y/N) had ended up with a room right across from his, which meant that she had the perfect vantage point for messing with him.

And her ability made everything easier for her pranks. When you could phase through reality to turn intangible and invisible, but still see and hear things in the real world, it was kind of over-powered. And annoying for everyone who knew her.

But it made her the perfect spy and assassin, she could phase parts of her or things into this different reality and vice versa.

Thor was showing Loki to the interrogation rooms. It had been decided that Bruce was to interrogate Loki, because the Hulk was the only known person to be able to take Loki down, and by the looks of it, Bruce was the only one who truly scared Loki.

(Y/N) was to be the security, because with her super senses and enhanced physical attributes, she was stronger, faster and better than all the super soldiers put together, even though her lack of training was a huge disadvantage against someone who had clearly been trained.

Thor shoved a reluctant Loki into the room and filed into the room next door, which shared the left wall that was made entirely of one-way glass. Bruce followed Loki into the room, holding a file, and they immediately wordlessly took a seat, which was surprising because (Y/N) was almost certain that he would fight back. But she had seen the footage, and had to agree with Thor that Loki was under mind control and torture, but that didn’t mean he was problematic.

She might even lose her title as Queen of Pranks to him. She had to be careful.

The interrogation went peacefully, and (Y/N) removed Loki’s shackles and muzzle, using her ability to phase through existence to take them off him, before placing them on the table silently, and ushering him out of the room.

Thor got him to his room, and made sure he was as comfortable as a prisoner could be, before leaving.

It was time for first impressions. In a more relaxed environment.

First, (Y/N) consulted with Strange, asking if Loki was putting up wards and shields around his room like how they had expected him to, and Strange confirmed it.

Which meant that (Y/N) had to wait before the fun could begin.

Which prank would suit the god of mischief? Which prank would mess him up but make sure he doesn’t break? Which prank has she not implemented on the others?

Everyone saw the pensive look on (Y/N)’s face, and chose to avoid her, in case they were the target of her next masterpiece.

The prank was done and ready, Loki having left to explore the areas he could with Thor, (Y/N) had phased into the In-Between, where everything was grey and sound was warbled, and set up the prank, having by-passed the wards and shields by only phasing parts of herself in at a time.

The door slid open silently, and (Y/N) watched from the corner she hovered in, still in the In-Between. The prank was set into motion almost immediately, and nothing could stop the fact that a pie had been launched into Loki’s face, sprinkles had been released from above him and pink powder had been sprayed at him at all sides, sticking to his Asgardian garments.

(Y/N) had come prepared, with a camera, and phased through quick enough to catch a few pictures before Loki registered what had happened and went full-on rage-god mode.

He stormed out, the pie in hand and his face completely red.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!” He scream-yelled, and (Y/N) phased her mouth through, rather like the Cheshire Cat, and let out a cackle, chasing after him, mouth still phased through and body still invisible.

Everyone had gathered in the common room, wanting to see what sort of mischief and chaos (Y/N) had caused and who the victim was this time.

When it was Loki, everyone paled and Thor approached Loki, who had calmed down slightly. (Y/N) phased back into reality, casually sauntering into the common room as if she had been somewhere else the entire time, clicking through the photos on the camera.

“You.” Loki snarled, storming towards (Y/N), regardless of Thor’s attempts to stop him (which just earned him a few knives to the chest). “You think yourself bold when you challenge a god? You think yourself strong when you manage to humiliate a god? You foolish child, I will-” (Y/N) slapped him, phasing him into the In-Between before he could finish the sentence, then continued over to sit on the couch, flicking through the few photos.

“FRIDAY, put the photos up on a hologram.” (Y/N) commanded calmly, and everyone watched wide-eyed, and Tony walked over, sitting beside (Y/N).

“Do you really think it was a good idea to do that to Loki on the first day?”

“Well, I did it to all you guys on the first day, I see no reason to treat the drama queen differently.” (Y/N) smirked, and Tony rolled his eyes. “Anyway, he’s in time out for a while now, I’ll phase him back when he’s more calm. He can’t touch anything when he’s in In-Between.”

“Phase something over there to entertain him, we can’t have him in a murderous mood when he comes back.” Steve said, more like ordered, but told (Y/N) lightly, which caused her to roll her eyes.

“Well, there are books in my room which I always keep in In-Between, just in case I trap someone like this, and considering that Loki is a bookworm and now has free-reign over where he goes as long as it’s in the Compound, then he should be fine.”

“How are you so sure he won’t leave the Compound?” Wanda asked fiercely.

(Y/N) sighed. If she knew she was going to be bombarded with questions when they found out what she did, she would never have done it. “Because he’ll get bored at some point and start wanting to come back into the real world. Even if he didn’t, he’d eventually fade out in the In-Between or succumb to the demons of the mind that live in the dimension next to it. Look, there’s a reason why I sent him there without hesitation. Just trust me on this, will you? I know you guys don’t trust me about anything else.” That stung her slightly, but it was true. After having pranked everyone mercilessly, everyone was wary of what she was doing, and whilst it was fun to play into it, it meant that no one truly wanted to know her and trust her.

The pictures stayed up and (Y/N) headed back to her room. She phased herself into the In-Between, and sure enough, there was a murderous Loki still covered in whipped cream, sprinkles and pink powdered sugar floating in the middle of her room.

He tried to storm towards her.

It didn’t work.

He tried to swim towards her.

It didn’t work.

He resorted to screaming at her.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! TAKE ME BACK. I DEMAND YOU TO TAKE ME BACK, YOU MEWLING QUIM.” Loki yelled at her, and (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

“I would prefer if you didn’t call me a whining cunt, but we all have our pet peeves. When you calm down and pull your masks back up, I’ll let you back into the real world. You are no different from the rest, they won’t think you stupid, they’ll more likely empathise with you because they’ve all been pranked countless times by me. Now those books over there are for you, read them, calm down, and if you ruin them, I might just kill you.” (Y/N) said calmly, ignoring the fact that Loki was glaring daggers at her. Taking him in one more time, (Y/N) noticed that he had a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. “Would you prefer it I phased your bathroom into the In-Between for you so you can clean up?”

Loki sneered at her. “Yes.” Came the reply through gritted teeth. (Y/N) reached out towards him, and Loki simply crossed his arms, and (Y/N) shrugged. If the handsome, arrogant man wouldn’t cooperate, then she wouldn’t help.

Handsome? Where did that thought come from?

Well, he is pretty handsome- STOP IT.

(Y/N) ran-swam-flew towards his room, and Loki took it as a sign to follow. He tried using the same actions as (Y/N), but he still didn’t move.

“You have to project it with your mind, and move your body along as well.” (Y/N) called out behind her. Loki caught up in a few seconds. (Y/N) focused, phasing things through reality was difficult when you were trying to phase an entire bathroom and make sure that the piping still worked.

A few seconds later, Loki entered the newly-phased bathroom and (Y/N) turned around to disassemble the prank, making sure everything was clean and the crime scene was as it was before she touched it. By the time that (Y/N) was done, Loki was back in her room, and she phased Loki’s bathroom back into existence, then went over to her bedroom to find Loki peacefully reading, court mask back in place.

“Are you ready to return to the real world?”

“Yes.” Loki responded immediately. “My magic doesn’t work here and I am finding it most uncomfortable.”

“Well, you better get used to it, because it’s my job to control you if you get out of control.” (Y/N) told him, grabbing his wrist and taking an annoyed Loki down to the common room to move him back into the real world, then followed him back into reality. The amount of time spent in the In-Between caused (Y/N) to feel like rubber, all pulled out and stretchy, and gave her a headache.

Tony stormed into the common room to see (Y/N) let go of Loki’s wrist and wipe it on her leg in a disgusted fashion, and Loki turn his head away from her as if he smelled something unpleasant. “(Y/N). Tell me why Loki’s bathroom disappeared for about half an hour.” Tony demanded, and (Y/N) grinned at him cheekily.

“Why don’t you ask Loki himself. I’m going to the training area for a few hours. See ya later.”

“There better not be a prank set up there later!” Tony called after her and she turned around as she jogged backwards.

“That was ONE time.” (Y/N) called back at Tony, “I never repeat pranks!” She shouted, before the jog turned into a run, and developed into a sprint that was faster than light. Tony shook his head in exasperation. (Y/N) always ran faster than sound just for the sonic boom and to show off just how fast she could be.

He turned around to face a disinterested Loki. “So, Reindeer Games what happened?”

“I needed to clean up, and that pathetic little mortal wouldn’t let me into this realm again, so she moved the entire bathroom into what she called the In-Between.” Loki told him monotonously. “Please give her this message from me: If you, little mewling quim, even attempt to pull a trick like that again, then I will dismember you, decapitate you, and disembowel you.”

“(Y/N) would like me to pass this message on to Loki: Suck my dick, asshole. I can hear you.” FRIDAY said seconds later, and Tony laughed.

“I think you’re going to have to watch your tongue, Horny.”

FRIDAY spoke up again. “Now Miss (Y/N) would like Mr Stark to know that in her own words: If you call the drama queen ‘horny’ again, you will be defenestrated on sight, because no one wants to tell him what it means.” Tony grinned and rolled his eyes.

“Well, (Y/N), I won’t call him that again, but that doesn’t mean he won’t ask. And technically, you can’t blame me because you didn’t tell me what nicknames are out of bounds beforehand.” Tony called out, heading down to the labs, leaving Loki to be his dramatic self and stare out the window ominously.

(Y/N) lightly hit the punching bag. Lightly because she wasn’t putting any effort in, but it was swinging hard, making her need to dodge to the side otherwise it would hit her. Tony and Shuri had made this design specifically for (Y/N) and Thor, and sometimes the super soldiers, to enjoy because it wouldn’t break after the first few hits, and it was infused with vibranium so it absorbed some of the impact.

“So the kitten has claws.” A smooth, yet irritating voice pulled (Y/N) out of her pranking ideas. She had a pretty one-tracked mind when it came to her activities, especially since she was pronounced dead to the world, and had a new alibi.

“Come over here and I’ll show you how sharp they are.” (Y/N) retorted easily to Loki’s jab, and easily broke the punching bag with the next punch, making eye contact whilst her fist flew through it.

She was barely sweating.

Loki smirked and walked over, his long legs in tightly fitted leather pants made the journey rather short, and (Y/N) found herself momentarily distracted, because he was still in his warrior’s garments, as Thor called them. His eyes flashed green, and a knife appeared in his hand. He slashed viciously at (Y/N), and she smirked, dodging easily.

“Ooh, what are you going to do to me with that butter knife, eh Lucky?” (Y/N) jabbed quickly to his ribs, faster than him. She had proved to be stronger, faster and lighter than Captain America, and even Thor, even though she needed a lot more energy than both of them combined for her fast metabolism.

But they were mostly evenly matched, as Loki was raised a warrior, and (Y/N) had next to no experience, except when in the field. Even then, she had a few moments before she joined the fight to analyse how the enemy side fought.

“No luck, all skill.” Loki retorted through gritted teeth, causing (Y/N) to smirk. She was barely panting, and now was just batting his wrists away as he came at her with twin blades.

“Brother! Lady (Y/N)! Fight in the ring!” Thor boomed from the weights corner, and (Y/N) took the moment that Loki was distracted to jump and do a quick spinning kick to Loki’s head, causing it to snap to the side, painfully, but not fatally so. Loki landed with a small thud, and (Y/N) watched, hands still up guarding her head, and jumped when Loki swept his legs underneath (Y/N).

“That was a lucky shot.” Loki growled, glancing towards Thor, who was now coming over.

Thor grabbed (Y/N) and Loki by the back of their clothes and threw them into the ring. “Stay in there if you’re going to fight.” Then he left the room.

Loki launched himself at (Y/N) again, and (Y/N) kept mostly to the defensive, but when she saw a big, glaring hole in Loki’s defence, she couldn’t help but jab, or kick at him. Every time she did, she caught Loki by surprise.

“Look how well this kitten is holding up against the turtle. Even without weapons.” (Y/N) teased him, bouncing from foot to foot. Honestly, turtle seemed a lot more appropriate than snake, because of how slow he seemed compared to her.

“Summon a weapon.” Loki snapped at her, still trying to stab her, or at least pin her down. (Y/N) saw another hole in his defence and lunged, jabbing with her fingertips at the soft spot between the ribs and the hips, his elbow instinctively protected the side once hit, revealing Loki’s abdomen, meaning (Y/N) could hit his solar plexus. And hit it she did, side piercing kick to the solar plexus, double storey kick to his nose as he bent over, momentarily breathless. Loki ended up falling onto his back, and (Y/N) swept her leg over him, kicking his wrists and causing his knives to fly out of his hands. She snatched the flying weapons from the air and held one to his neck, and the other to his eye as she sat on his stomach.

“I can’t summon things.” (Y/N) gave him a smirk, Loki was panting, and no doubt sweating in all that leather, and whilst (Y/N) was panting, she wasn’t sweating all that much because of the very few garments she was wearing. Only a loose singlet, which had a few rips in it from when Loki had managed to hit her, and some tights. Purple and black, respectively. But now they had rips in them, and she was bleeding above the eyebrow and in other various places. Apparently Loki hadn’t been going flat out, because whilst she had cuts, she hadn’t been stabbed.

“Oh.” Loki responded breathlessly, glancing between the knives and her hands. Then, “You’re holding them wrong.”

“Well, I apologize, because I’ve never handled blades professionally.” (Y/N) settled her breathing, after a lot of practice, she was used to having to slow her breathing down after a battle in case there were paparazzi or reporters at the scene before they could escape. “Do you yield?” She asked, and Loki nodded slightly.

“I yield.” Loki whispered, and (Y/N) glanced at his lips just in time to see his tongue dart out. Without hesitation, (Y/N) stood up, wanting to get away from the guy and sort out her thoughts and feelings.

It wasn’t a surprise that when someone who had a different body type and a different fighting style to catch her interest, because most of the Avengers who fight with hand-to-hand combat had the same fighting techniques, the same build, and always used the same fighting pattern, but not once did (Y/N) find a repeated pattern of techniques in Loki’s fight.

He was unpredictable. Therefore, dangerous. (Y/N) threw the knives at him languidly and heard him catch them as he stood up and as she walked towards the edge of the boxing ring, jumping easily over the fence and landing in a crouch so that she didn’t injure her joints too badly from the small jump.

Natasha met her halfway with a water bottle and a towel. “You know you could have decked him in the first two minutes.” (Y/N) took the towel and glanced towards where Thor was talking quietly with his brother. “Why didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see his arsenal. I wanted to see what he could do. He doesn’t fight like you guys, not even like Thor. He doesn’t have a pattern, he’s unpredictable. And I want to figure him out.”

“You got the hots for him?” Natasha asked, smirking. “You got the hots for Loki, (Y/N)?”

(Y/N) looked at her shocked, and laughed. “Hell no. He’s interesting, but I doubt he could hold my interest for longer than a week.” That didn’t taste right in her mouth. She could feel the lie spill out of her lips.

“I bet three weeks.”

“And I bet two weeks. What are we betting on?” Clint approached them, and (Y/N) high-fived him.

“How long Loki will hold my attention.”

“Oh come on, that’s an easy one, probably only a few days at most.”

“Hey, he’s rather interesting. He doesn’t fight like anyone I know. Or have fought before.”

“He’s a god.” Clint said with a deadpan expression. “He’s not meant to be predictable by us ‘pathetic mortals’.”

“He doesn’t fight like Thor. Thor has a pattern too, Loki doesn’t.” (Y/N) told him, before downing the entire water bottle. Faster and stronger meant she needed more fuel and more liquids.

Nat returned with another bottle, (Y/N) didn’t even notice when she disappeared. She downed all of the water again and thanked Natasha.

“So how much are we betting?” (Y/N) asked the two adults. “I change my bet to four weeks.”

“Fine, we’ll bet $10 because I’m pretty broke.” Clint added, and they all nodded in agreement, before breaking up. Natasha walked over to the boys casually, and (Y/N) hoped that she didn’t say anything about her. She didn’t want to hear what they were talking about anyway. Clint walked away, and scaled up a wall before disappearing into a vent in the wall.

Sighing, (Y/N) walked over to the targets and picked up a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She shot all the targets, they were placed a few metres back one after the other, and she got the bullseye for each one. It was just luck. Usually, she got bullseye for just over half.

She shot again.

And it was back to normal, she got the inner rings for the last few, which wasn’t surprising.

Someone grabbed her from behind and spun her around. “My brother says that you are a worthy warrior!” Thor put her down, and (Y/N) winced at the likely damage that Thor had caused.

“Uh, thanks? But I doubt that compliment came from him, he hates my guts.” (Y/N) told him, and Thor shook his head.

“Quite the opposite, you two would get along quite well actually.”

“Okay, thanks…?” (Y/N) wasn’t how to respond to that. Loki had, after all, attacked her first, and lashed out when she pranked him for the first time.

“When he stops acting like a child, that is.” Thor grinned, and (Y/N) laughed, giving him a side hug, then letting go quickly.

“I’m going to go practice with some of the daggers first, then go wash myself for dinner. I think the other girls are having a girls’ night.”

“Why have you not been included?”

“I have business to attend to.” (Y/N) gave him a cheeking grin, and he shook his head in an exasperated manner as she skipped away to practice with the throwing knives.

(Y/N) was careful not to make a single sound as she crept around the Compound that night. She needed to set up a few traps, to get the others back for pushing her to the back of their little procession from the morning.

Tony would find that everything in his bedroom has an ‘I ❤ JUSTIN HAMMER!’ sticker on it.

Steve would find a rather surprising thing attached to his shield (a lot of diamantes that make an Iron Man helmet over the star).

Bucky had magnets on his arm. Also, with an Iron Man helmet over his star.

Wanda would find all her favourite red leather jackets missing, and they would return to her in hot pink.

Vision was difficult to prank. (Y/N) decided that she had to hack into his programming, and now every time he said no he would say ‘HELL YEAH’.

Rhodey wasn’t staying at the Compound, so he was untouchable, as were Strange and T’Challa.

Bruce would find a Hulk sticker on every surface of his room. She knew it wouldn’t bother Bruce too much, and that was the purpose, she didn’t want the Hulk to make an appearance.

Hawkeye would find that his bow and arrows had gone missing, leaving him with an empty quiver with a note that said ‘Check the vents, pigeon fart.’ The arrows were completely replaced with confetti arrows, and his bow was hot pink.

Natasha was too risky to prank, (Y/N) had labelled her as the untouchable one early on. So she just stuck a Black Widow sticker on her forehead without Natasha noticing and left it at that. If anyone asks, it wasn’t her.

Sam would find his wings with diamantes that spelled out ‘I ❤ BUCKY BARNES.’

And finally, Thor would find Mjolnir missing. He would freak out that someone else could wield Mjolnir and have the powers of himself, but it would turn out that (Y/N) had simply shifted Mjolnir into the In-Between. She couldn’t lift Mjolnir just yet, but she could shift the reality that Mjolnir existed in.

As she snuck out of her room to begin setting up the pranks, she saw Loki close his door behind him and stopped in her tracks.

He froze too.

(Y/N) spoke first. “Where are you going?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Loki responded, putting his hands in his pockets in a relaxed position, even though his face was closed up, showing no emotions. (Y/N) noticed that he was wearing dark green sweat pants and a black shirt with his golden horned helmet on it, the shirt that Tony had put in his wardrobe as a joke. For some reason the casual wear made him hotter.

Wait, what?

Never mind.

(Y/N) quickly phased the bag that held all her pranking materials in it into the In-Between before Loki could snatch it from her.

“I asked you first.” She retorted.

“And I asked you second.”

“I asked you first, I get my answer first.”

“Fine then, as long as you don’t expose me.”

“Of course not. I would never go back on my pranker’s truce. Even though I’ve never met another active pranker in this Compound.” (Y/N) told him in a hushed whisper, then tilted her head to the side. She quickly grabbed his wrist and they both disappeared just as Tony came around the corner muttering about improvements he could make to the suit. He paused for one second, in between (Y/N) and Loki’s doors, glancing between them, then continued on his way and went inside his room.

(Y/N) let out a relieved sigh, then realised she had pressed herself against Loki out of instinct to stay on the wall. She blushed and stepped back, praying that Loki wouldn’t take note of the blush, but whatever gods were listening sure hated her, because Loki smirked. “I was planning on making all the coffee in the Compound disappear.” He told her, but the stupid smirk was still on his face. Oh how (Y/N) wanted to slap that smirk right off his smug face.

(Y/N) scowled, then her face lit up as she replied. “Sorry, but I did that already, when I learned of how the great Tony Stark was a coffee addict.”

Loki scowled. “But it hasn’t been done by me.”

“I have a better idea for you, Mister Serious Guy, how about you replace all the coffee in the Compound with decaf, and keep it that way for a few months, then replace everything with coffee again and watch how everyone goes crazy rom the sudden caffeine? I was planning on doing it a few months ago, but I got caught up with a few other faster pranks. I feel like this is more your style.” (Y/N) told him excitedly, Loki compared her to a puppy and couldn’t find the difference.

“Fine, I will do your method, but now you need to tell me what’s going on with you.” Loki gestured towards her bag, and (Y/N) gave him a dangerous smirk.

“I’m getting them back for shoving me to the back of the little procession this morning.” (Y/N) told him, and quickly tiptoed to Tony’s room, and stuck her head through the door. Tony was actually going to sleep.

He must be super stressed for that to happen.

Maybe she shouldn’t go through with this.

She didn’t want to make Tony feel worse.

She already regretted millions of the pranks that she did to the others.

Maybe….

Loki was watching. She knew he was, so she returned to him, grabbed his wrist, trying not to let her face burn up because the last time she did this she ended up pressed against him, and phased him back into reality.

He blinked, but shrugged and padded away to where all the coffee was held, in the kitchen, in the private kitchens, he would have to do everywhere.

By the time that they finished their respective pranks, it was nearly sun rise, meaning the super soldiers and Sam would probably head out for their early morning run. Loki found (Y/N) waiting in front of her door, arms crossed and looking out for him. As soon as he got there, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him into her room.

“I can’t let you ruin this for me.” (Y/N) started, glancing around and listening for any heartbeats within earshot. “Say that you solemnly swear that you are up to no good. And mean it. Then say you solemnly swear you will abide by the rules of the pranksters’ truce.”

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good.” Loki took a deep breath, as if it pained him to tell the truth. “And I solemnly swear to abide by the rules of the pranksters’ truce.”

“Good, now neither of us are allowed to throw the other under the bus, figuratively speaking, and neither of us are allowed to rat each other out. We’re also not allowed to take credit for another’s prank. I hate it when that happens.” (Y/N)’s voice took an edge on the last statement. “Well, mischief managed. For tonight.” She swiped at his wrist again to phase them into In-Between, but Loki shifted his hand at the last minute so that she caught his hand instead.

A blush crept up her neck and only her face, and Loki was watching, amused, as she stuck her head out of the door.

Sam was walking towards the common room, and she could hear Steve and Bucky getting ready in their respective rooms.

She pulled him across the hallway and they walked right through the door, she dumped Loki in his room before he could ask anything and returned to her room to phase back into reality.

Time to do her usual ‘I just woke up’ look after a long night of setting up pranks.

The first scream started. Tony. He must have woken up to all the Justin Hammers.

The next yell was slightly deeper, Bucky, he must have just noticed that he had an Iron Man symbol on his arm.

There was a scramble, and then multiple yells.

Loki and (Y/N) walked out of their room in sync, both with their hair slightly messed up, but there were definitely bags underneath (Y/N)’s eyes.

There was a lot of laughs and yelling, so (Y/N) decided to skip breakfast and head straight to the training centre.

Apparently Loki had the same idea, because he trailed after her.

“I thought you wanted to see the panic you caused by replacing the decaf. I only pranked the Avengers, they’re used to it, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will be affected by your prank too.” (Y/N) spoke without turning around to acknowledge Loki’s presence.

Loki caught up in a stride, hands in the pockets of the completely black suit he was sporting today. “Well, I don’t want to be around when fingers are getting pointed.”

“But you are the God of Lies.”

“My silver tongue may not be all that effective on people used to dealing with criminals, lies and alibis.” He responded almost immediately, and (Y/N) nodded thoughtfully.

“I guess that makes sense. Want to spar again? I must admit, you don’t fight like anyone I know.”

“I don’t?” Loki looked curious now.

“Yes, you fight rather differently. You fight a little like me, and a little like Natasha, and a little like something I’ve never seen before. Like Natasha and I, you use speed and size to get yourself around in a fight. But you fight like yourself because I have never, once, seen you use the same combination of techniques in one fight.” (Y/N) explained. “I’m curious to see if you will use the same combinations if we fight again.” Loki raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t know you were paying so much attention to how I move.” Loki gave her an infuriating smirk, and (Y/N) took in a deep breath, accidentally taking in his scent as well, minty with the slightly woodsy, musky scent of a man. She choked, coughing and trying to wave away the blush that the smell had brought on. It wasn’t normal to blush when you smell someone else, right?! She was going insane!

Loki had an even more infuriating smirk on his face. “Are you o-”

(Y/N) held up a hand as he eyes watered. All she could smell was his scent, flooding her nose again. “Don’t you freakin’ dare. You know what happened and you know exactly what you’re doing.” (Y/N) spoke quickly, the blush still prominent on her cheeks, but she was no longer choking on nothing.

Loki just smirked and kept on working. The smug bastard knew exactly what he was doing.

How could she get him back? Oh right, wear her most revealing clothing to the next entire-team meeting. Even if that could attract some unwanted attention.

Ah yes. Revenge would be so, so sweet.

Hopefully.

They sparred, and surprisingly, Loki’s fighting style seemed to have changed to suit his size compared to hers. His fighting style was suited to someone who was used to fight against someone bigger himself.

That night, (Y/N) could be found scavenging through her wardrobe, until she found the bikini and the (rather) revealing dress that Natasha had forced her to buy.

Natasha would understand what she was doing.

Her plan was to go to the joint dinner in this outfit, then invite someone along with her to go to the pool.

And Loki would probably follow, suspicious of what she was doing.

It worked. At dinner, almost no one asked after Tony made the first comment. “(Y/N), why are you wearing a dress?” It was a well-known fact that (Y/N) did not like wearing dresses in her spare time because they were just so uncomfortable and so difficult to fight in them, but today she had put on her most revealing dress on, something that she usually saved for missions where she had to be the ‘damsel in distress’.

“I wanted to go to the pool afterwards, and dresses are easy to take off so I put my swimsuit on underneath.” (Y/N) said nonchalantly, and Loki’s eyes snapped to her face, narrowed and suspicious. Tony had opened his mouth again, but (Y/N) put a hand up to cut him off. “And yes, I know the rule, I need to bring someone along with me. Anyone want to come with me?”

There was a silence, then Bucky put up his hand hesitantly. “I’ll go.” Everyone looked at him. “What? A gentleman would let the lady do what she wants to, and I don’t mind going swimming under the stars.” He winked, and (Y/N) laughed. It was working perfectly.

“Okay! I’m done here anyway, I’ll quickly go grab a towel and wait for you in the lounge.” (Y/N) told him cheerily, pointedly not making any eye contact with Loki. When he did see Loki out of her peripheral vision, she saw that he was definitely suspicious and just a tiny bit pink. With frustration, anger, annoyance or hatred, she wasn’t sure.

But she was sure that he knew that she was up to something.

Bucky came back into the room a few minutes later, shirtless with just his swimming bottoms, and (Y/N) had to admit he was rather well-built, but he wasn’t her type. He had a towel around his shoulders, and (Y/N) bounced to his side, her towel was around her shoulders as well.

“Aren’t you going to change?” Bucky asked, slightly confused.

(Y/N) shrugged and turned her back to the others. “Yeah, I’ll change down there.” She grabbed his arm and bounced out the door.

“Wait! I wish to accompany you too! I would like to know what a pool is.” Loki called out at the last minute, and (Y/N) gained a vicious smile, but her back was still turned so no one but Bucky could see her facial expression. Bucky looked confused. She turned around with an innocent smile

“Play along.” (Y/N) whispered into Bucky’s ear, and nodded at Loki, who quickly disappeared. He came around the corner a few minutes later, with a towel and his normal clothing. (Y/N) raised an eye brow. “Are you changing down there as well?” (Y/N) asked innocently, and Loki nodded stiffly.

“What is a pool?” He was laying his lie down thickly, and (Y/N) was willing to play along. Bucky just stood between them, slightly confused at what he was just dragged into. It took a few moments, and a glance at Natasha for him to finally understand what was going on. He wasn’t a master assassin and spy for no reason.

“A pool is like a manmade lake for swimming and recreational purposes. Our pool has pretty lights on the bottom so I usually go out there at night!” (Y/N) turned to Bucky with a mock-stern expression. “Don’t tell Tony I come out here on my own.” Bucky nodded with a small smirk.

The walk to the pool was quiet, Loki seemed to brood in his own thoughts behind Bucky and (Y/N), Bucky was simply walking with his eyes straight ahead, and (Y/N) was bouncing along like a child, because why not? They did always have way too much energy after eating because their super strength and muscles absorbed the energy all at once, and meant that she needed more energy than a normal human.

As soon as they reached the pool, (Y/N) threw her towel over the fence and kicked off her shoes, running a hand through her hair and turning to the boys, who were looking at the pool, rather curiously, because where were the lights that (Y/N) promised them?

“FRIDAY? Initiate Disco sequence.” (Y/N) called out, smirking. Tony had insisted that it be called ‘Disco sequence’ for no particular reason, but it was hilarious, because it made the pool actually look like an underwater disco.

She quickly pulled the small, tight-fitting dress off and hung it next to the towel, turning around to see Loki watching her with hungry eyes. She gave him a teasing, sultry smile, and glanced at Bucky, who had hung his towel near the pool gate and was staring, mesmerised by the laser lights.

She ran, trusting her quick step and impeccable balance that was almost feline would make sure she didn’t fall. As soon as she reached the edge of the pool, she dove, and entered the freezing-cold water with the smallest ripple.

Pushing off the bottom, she breached the surface and took a deep breath, before floating onto her back and glancing at the boys.

Bucky looked mildly amused, and had started to walk towards the pool, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and turned him around. Loki stared down at Bucky, who had put a mildly confused expression up for the game’s sake. He could see the power game clear as day. Obviously, Loki had had to be winning earlier for (Y/N) to have to pull this sort of move.

He recalled the previous morning, when they seemed to be ready to rip each other’s throats out, but now (Y/N) and Loki seemed to have made a deal and let their anger fizzle out, instead opting for a power game.

“Yes?” Bucky prompted innocently.

“What is she trying to do?”

Bucky snorted and Loki’s question. “I think you know. As I see it, it’s a power game between you and her. Obviously, she’s trying to do some sort of seduction technique, she’s wearing the bikini and dress that Natasha had bought her, and she asked people to go with her to the pool. She’s trying to tempt her. And she’s tempting a lot more people than you.”

Loki’s grip on Bucky’s good shoulder tightened a fraction, his mask cracking ever so slightly. “What do you mean, she’s tempting a lot more people than me?”

“I did offer to go with her to the pool. Natasha was the one who bought her the dress and bikini. Sam flirts with her, and she returns his playful flirting. She’s dangerous, and there are a lot of idiots on this team who are attracted to danger like moths to a flame.” Bucky shrugged, and smirked, this was a power game between Loki and himself right now. Loki was trying to use his height and size to intimidate Bucky, but he wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

“Hey boys! Are you going to join me or not?” (Y/N) called out from her spot in the pool, and Loki glanced over at (Y/N), his hand still on Bucky’s shoulder, and his grip tightened slightly.

“Don’t touch what is mine.”

“Well, she’s not yours yet.” Bucky shrugged Loki’s hand off his shoulder, and turned to (Y/N), before running and jumping into the pool with a big splash. Bucky landed at the bottom as well, and looked up to see that (Y/N) was staring over at Loki, probably having a staring contest. Bubbles left his mouth in exasperation. He didn’t not want to get dragged into this sexual tension. Or whatever tension this was.

Bucky launched himself up, and as he got to the surface, he swept (Y/N) into a bridal-style hold, and (Y/N) laughed, bopping him on the nose. Bucky swam them down to the shallow end, so that they could touch the bottom, and didn’t need to turn around to know that Loki was glaring daggers into the back of his head.

As soon as (Y/N) could touch the floor, he started the tickling and (Y/N) squealed, giggling and squirming in his arms. She escaped and swam as far as she could from him.

They chased each other around for a while, whilst Loki just floated in the middle of them, glowering.

(Y/N) decided to make her next move. “Loki!” She called out as a warning, before she attached herself to him, climbing up his tall body and perched on his rather slim, compared to Thor’s, shoulders in order to avoid Bucky. Loki immediately stood up to his full height, and held a hand up to (Y/N) instinctively, but she ignored it, her cat-like balance keeping her from falling off. That, and the fact that she had laced her fingers through Loki’s silky hair.

Bucky paused, looking at how Loki was glaring down at him.

Bucky sighed, and the question that was burning inside him finally spilled out as he sank into the water until it was up to his neck. “What happened between you last night that made you two so… trusting? So much closer? Just not as hateful towards each other?” He asked.

“Well…” (Y/N) jumped off Loki’s shoulders and let the water absorb the impact of her landing, before turning around and glancing at Loki, who gave her a miniscule nod. “We became partners in crime. And no duo can work together if there is bad blood between them. Loki got out his anger when we sparred, and we bonded over torturing people.”

“Of course! You and Loki! How could I not have seen that?” Bucky lied right through his teeth, and Loki narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

“Yeah, how could I not be friends, or at least acquaintances with the god of trickery. The goddess of pranks, and the god of trickery.” (Y/N) gave him a smirk, and sunk down to her neck in the water to join Bucky. “So, Loki, are we partners, or acquaintances?”

“Partners.” Loki answered immediately, albeit slightly softly, and (Y/N) smirked internally. It was working. And maybe her crush on her idol wasn’t as one-sided as it was originally thought to be.

Thor did say that they would probably get along quite well.

“Should we be scared?” Bucky asked teasingly, he ruffled (Y/N)’s hair, and she chuckled before giving him a devilish smirk.

“Probably.” Loki and (Y/N) said in unison, although Loki said it in a monotonous voice, his eyes narrowed on Bucky’s hand, and (Y/N) had said it in a cheeky manner.

Bucky shivered. “I think I should get out now. Unlike you two, I’m not immune to the cold.” Bucky did have goose bumps climbing up his back and flesh arm, but he mostly just wanted to get away from the two demons. The corner of Loki’s lips tilted upwards in a smug smile, and Bucky paused to analyse Loki’s slightly altered poker face, then shrugged it off.

“(Y/N), don’t stay out too long, we don’t want you to catch a cold.” Bucky told (Y/N) as he climbed out of the pool, walking over to grab his towel without looking back.

“I can’t get sick anyway. And I’m sure Loki will pester me if we stay too long for his poor, royal behind.” (Y/N) told him cheekily, and Loki rolled his eyes, and as soon as Bucky had gone inside, he turned around to look at (Y/N).

“Do you like him romantically or sexually?” Loki demanded, his face set in stone, the small, triumphant smile was gone, and his poker face had been reset.

(Y/N) looked confused. What the hell did he mean? She could never like Bucky like that, Bucky was like a brother to her. “No.” (Y/N) replied in an almost disgusted tone. “I mean, I don’t like him romantically or sexually, and I never could, he’s like a brother to me.”

Loki gave her a cold smile, and replied with one word, before sinking underwater. “Good.” (Y/N) looked at him through the water, slightly baffled. What gave him the idea that she would have a crush on Bucky?

(Y/N) swam a few laps to get her blood pumping and to let her sort out her thoughts, then she floated on her back when Loki came back up.

“Do you have any romantic or sexual interest in anyone on the team?” Loki asked as he waded over.

“Depends on who you count as on the team. Strange could be considered as a part of the team, and not a part of the team. Quill, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Drax and Mantis are technically not a part of the team. And you, yourself, fall into a completely different category.” (Y/N) replied thoughtfully, floating around peacefully in the pool allowed her thoughts to be heard, instead of just sitting at the back of her mind, because her opinion never mattered. Well, they might have mattered to some of the team, but she usually ignored them.

Loki seemed to sink into his own thoughts. “Do you have a romantic or sexual interest in anyone currently in the Compound?” He rephrased the question to include himself.

“Yes.” (Y/N) answered almost instantaneously, then winced. “How about you answer that question as well, to make it fair.”

“Life isn’t fair.”

“If it were, then I’d be dead.” (Y/N) replied, and let her feet sink down so that she was facing Loki. “Tell me, do you have a romantic or sexual interest in anyone currently in the Compound?”

Loki hesitated. “Yes.” (Y/N) gave him a dangerous smile. There was a glint in her eyes that made him nervous, considering how she had managed to completely take him by surprise on his first day, when his guard was up, he was nervous about what she could do if his guard was down.

She analysed his facial expression, and he kept it neutral, narrowing his eyes as her eyes landed on his. “Interesting.” She replied nonchalantly, then continued to float on her back.

Loki was confused. “Aren’t you going to ask me who it is?”

“It’s none of my business. It’s probably some new intern you managed to prank or one of the Avengers that you found reading your favourite book. Someone with the same interest as you, but difficult to break so you can keep on pranking them, keep on tricking them, and keep on lying to them. So that you don’t have to change yourself to suit their needs. Isn’t that what we all look for in a significant other?” (Y/N) asked rhetorically, and Loki watched her carefully. It only took a few laps of the pool and the disappearance of anyone on the team for this girl to change form childish to contemplative. (Y/N) glanced at Loki briefly. “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

“No…” Loki said carefully. “You just surprised me.” (Y/N) laughed, the sound making Loki swallow hard.

“How could I, a lowly Midgardian, surprise a Prince of the Asgardian Court, the God of Lies, the Trickster with a Silver Tongue. How could I lie to the Rightful King of Jotunheim, the God of Daggers and Knives, the shapeshifting, Seidr-wielding, illusion-casting, clone-creating Frost Giant, who could claim two throne through only one death?” (Y/N)’s eyes seemed to sharpen as she took in Loki’s surprised expression. “I do my research. And dam, does your brother talk when it comes to his family. He loves you, but all you’ve done is prank and trick him.” She continued, watching his reactions as she tried to cut him deeply, but he seemed to have closed off. “You think you are a monster, but you forget what you’ve done, what you were, who you were, are all from the past. Everyone is the hero in their own story, make yourself the hero in others. You won’t always be the saviour, the angel from heaven, you won’t always win, but you can sure as hell try.” (Y/N) told him quietly, Loki’s eyes had glazed over as soon as she stopped speaking, and a soft smile tugged at her lips.

“Not everyone hates you. There is hope for you yet. You just have to let go of the past.” (Y/N) finished and hugged him lightly. She could see pain on anyone. It just seemed to be a sixth sense, she could just feel the pain that someone else could. Maybe it was an extra power? She didn’t care, as long as she could help people with it, she kept it close to her.

Pulling away, she swam to the edge, pulling herself out of the pool and looking down at her fingertips, wincing at the prune-like skin that was there from staying in the water for too long, before walking over to the towel and wrapping it around herself, and turning around to almost bump into a Loki who was just standing inside her personal space.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?” (Y/N) didn’t know exactly what she did, she just talked. Sometimes she just didn’t know how to shut her trap.

“Read my mind, twist my feelings and the give me the sweet nectar of hope, only to steal it away.” Loki stepped forward so that (Y/N) was trapped between his (bare) chest, and the pool fence. “How do you do this to me? How do you tempt me to do unspeakable things to you? How do you make me to feel this way?” Oh, that’s what he meant. (Y/N)’s heart soared. Maybe her heart wouldn’t get beaten and bruised again. Maybe her love wasn’t as unrequited as she originally thought.

“I don’t know.” She replied quietly, looking up at him, and her heart fluttered at the heated stare that Loki was directing at her. He glanced down, and focused on her lips. (Y/N) felt his hand snake around her waist and pull her closer.

“Is this okay?” He whispered, his lips barely moving, and (Y/N) felt dizzy, as if this were another one of her daydreams. She sure hoped not. Well, the very fast enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope was something that her brain would make up, but she never expected that the God of Lies would be so charming.

“Yes.” (Y/N) breathed, she pressed into him, stepping into his embrace, and he bent down as she leaned upwards.

Their lips connected and it felt right. His cold lips moved perfectly against her warm ones, and when his tongue prodded at her lips, before slipping through, she finally understood the meaning of silver-tongued. His other hand got tangled in her hair and she dropped her towel and flung her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her.

The barely pulled apart, (Y/N)’s chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath, and Loki’s cheeks were tinged pink.

“So I take it that your romantic interest is in me?” Loki said smugly, and (Y/N) blushed, lightly whacking his arm playfully.

“So I take it that your romantic interest is in me?” (Y/N) mimicked him, and he smirked, before leaning into her personal space, causing her blood pressure to rise at a concerning pace.

“Yes.” He whispered into her ear, before placing a kiss on her neck, right below her ear, and pulling away to grab his towel, giving her a perfect view of his back and behind. I will not swoon. I will not sigh. I will not lose. She chanted in her mind, and smirked, picking up her towel and whacking Loki’s perfect little behind.

Loki turned around, his mouth agape. “You did not.”

(Y/N) couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. “I did so.” She responded, and squealed when Loki lunged for her, using her speed to manoeuvre out of his grasp at the last minute, then sped away towards the building, slow enough to keep him in her radar, but fast enough to keep out of his reach.

“Get back here!” He roared, she could hear his grin, but didn’t stop until she reached the common room, still soaking wet and in her bikini, her dress and her towel were in her hands and she located Thor, who was sitting at the bar with Cap and Tony, almost instantly, and leapt behind him as a similarly soaking wet Loki appeared at the door, his chest rising and falling heavily as he surveyed the room and spotted (Y/N) hiding behind his brother.

“Thor, help me!” (Y/N) whispered hurriedly, and Thor gave her a booming laugh.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you here, (Y/N), Loki always gets what he wants.”

Tony looked between them, confused and slightly tipsy. “Besides, what did you do to Reindeer Games that pissed him off so badly?”

“She whacked my ass with her towel!” Loki exclaimed.

“That sounds like something she would do.” Tony gave him a crooked smile and downed an entire glass of… vodka? (Y/N) hoped it was water, not vodka, but considering the events of the past few days, it was more likely to be vodka.

If he found out that (Y/N) and Loki had kissed, well, he’d probably drink the entire Compound dry of alcohol. Loki simply rolled his eyes and grabbed (Y/N) around the waist and threw her over his shoulder, and she hit his back playfully as he carried her out of the room, but to be honest, she was perfectly fine with being thrown over his shoulders and carried away.

“Remember to wear a condom!” Tony snickered, and Loki retorted without missing a beat.

“I will!” Loki and (Y/N) snorted when they heard Tony choke and cough on whatever he was downing next.

“Don’t you dare, that girl is like my daughter, and I will not have you-” Tony started ranting, then was abruptly cut off by Thor.

“Leave them alone, (Y/N) can make decisions of her own. As can Loki, and I trust his choices.”

Tony grumbled something that neither of them could bother to hear, because Loki had reached their rooms.

“Well, I guess this is where we part.”

“Unless you have plans for tonight.” (Y/N) winked, and Loki smirked.

“Oh sorry, I’m new here, I don’ have any plans as of yet.”

“Well, maybe we could have our first date, start officially courting, and prank a few people.” (Y/N) told him, raising an eyebrow, and Loki’s facial expression softened almost immediately.

“I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve you. And we only kissed a few minutes ago.”

“Well, for one, you destroyed New York, and for another, you sparred me without getting maimed, so I think it’s safe to say that we deserve each other.” (Y/N) gave him one last glance, then slipped into her room before she turned into a puddle under his hot stare. Taking a deep breath, she reassembled herself and got herself cleaned up and into pyjamas, before wandering back into the community room, where the others were gathered around a table.

A table playing the kiss between Loki and (Y/N) on the tablet that was on it.

Flushing red, (Y/N) tried to nonchalantly sit down on the couch near them, but they all watched her like a hawk.

When Loki came in in pyjamas and made to sit next to her, Tony and Clint pointedly sat on either side of her, and (Y/N) got redder, if it was even possible at this point.

“What is the meaning of this?” Loki demanded, glaring at Tony and Clint.

“What are your intentions with our daughter-figure?” Tony asked, and (Y/N) buried her burning face into her hands. Sure she knew that they cared, but not this much.

“I intend to treat her like the princess she is.” Loki replied smoothly, and (Y/N) gave him a thankful grin, before standing up and hugging him, before shoving him between Clint and Tony and curling up in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

“We still up for tonight?” She whispered.

“Of course, I already have a few ideas we could use.”

Bucky and Steve turned bright red, obviously thinking of it in a different way….

“Hey, I was thinking we start with the super soldiers, but Nat is out of bounds. Then we can move to the others. And remember, keep the traps humane and not strong enough to maim a human.” (Y/N) glared daggers at the super soldiers and made sure she said it loud enough to make the meaning clear, and Loki chuckled darkly.

“Oh, it will be my pleasure to hear their screams of torment.” Loki replied, and he twisted her around so that she was sitting with her back to him and he was holding her close.

Maybe she would have a happily ever after, after all.

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