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prolix-yuy · 4 months

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Beautiful Release

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Summary: You and Din have an agreement. Simple, clean, easy. But not this time.

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Explicit, 18+ MINORS DNI, IT'S PEGGING DIN TIME! Anal sex (m receiving), rough sex, sex toys, fingering (m receiving), handjob, frottage, blowjob, swallowing, cumshot, mentions of oral sex (f receiving), mild dubcon (Reader isn't aware of Din's mental state and stops the session to re-negotiate boundaries), painful sex, sex as self-flagellation, hurt/comfort.

Notes: Welcome to my addition to the Peg That Middle Aged Man Event 2024! This idea had been bumping around in my brain and this gave me the perfect excuse to write it. Thanks @wannab-urs for organizing this event, making the gorgeous banners, and giving me a chance to live my fantasies after S3 gave us the most delicious kneeling restrained Din image. I will never forget it, it's burned into my brain forever.

Set after S2 and before The Book of Boba Fett.

Cross-posted on AO3

He’s come to you before, but never like this.

Din always treats your encounters like serendipity, but from the first time you’ve known how far from the truth that is. He finds ways to drift into your path, tilting his helmet like he never expected you to be at this spaceport, which you prefer for its discretion, or in this cantina, which serves a hell of a barium fizz. The niceties always devolve into the silent request, which you never fail to fulfill.

But now, there’s a holomessage blinking on your control panel.

Send me your coordinates. Usual encoding.

It’s brisk, cold, mostly to protect you both, but even then something’s off. He’s never admitted to seeking you out. Something stirs deep in your stomach, consulting the encoding slug he gave you ages ago in case you ever needed him. Funny, the first time you’d use it would be because you think he needs you.

Your winding relationship with Din Djarin began at the business end of a blaster, but you can’t fault him for that. The ship you were flying then had all the hallmarks of a slaver vessel, but when he found your crew of rebel sympathizers he lowered his weapon. One escort and a few short-lived conversations later, and you’d forged a razor-thin alliance.

Your paths wound their way across and through each other for over a year, and in that time Din warmed to you. He gave you his name, his allegiances, his contacts if needed. In return you forged documents and built jammers for his ramshackle ship. Mutually beneficial, and after a time pleasantly warm. His laugh always surprised you, a low chuckle when you turned a phrase just right on him.

And the kid! The curious little gremlin that had been accompanying him more in recent times did help to smooth the rough spots. Grogu’s presence always brightened your days, brief moments of pure joy from his tireless antics. Din seemed to be ever the exasperated protector, but when he tucked Grogu into his arm his aura glowed.

However, the times when Din “stumbled” upon you with seemingly no purpose had little to do with play dates or trades. Well, maybe only in the most euphemistic sense.

It was on a cargo run - cargo being more frightened people fleeing under the guise of your fake shipping business - that Din first encountered what would bring him back to you time and time again. There was a man among the stowaways who took an interest in you, the feeling mutual. He wound his way around like a lothcat in heat, and when you whispered how you might be able to pass the time he enthusiastically agreed.

You weren’t much of an exhibitionist, but the ship wasn’t meant for privacy. So when Din happened upon you bending the man over a cargo crate, your strap slickly splitting him open as he moaned behind your clamped hand, you did feel some mild embarrassment. You weren’t sure how long he watched you thrust into the other man, but the little cough that alerted you to his presence made you turn and take him in.

He was clearly affected, hand gripping his belt as the other clenched by his side. Fascinating. The Mandalorian had surprises in store.

The man garbled about sucking Din’s cock, letting the Mando cum on his face while you pounded his tight hole, but you stuck your fingers in his mouth and picked up your rhythm again. You’d met other Mandalorians in your travels, but Din’s particular religion was much stricter than most. He might take hefty offense if you assumed any of the armor could come off. Instead you let him watch without comment as your companion came all over the side of the cargo crate, soothing him through the aftershocks. As you cleaned him up you noticed your audience fled, and you determined never to speak of this.

It would take two months for Din to come to you.

“People like this?” he asked when you showed him your strap and assortment of attachments. You shrugged, picking out the one you secretly thought he’d enjoy.

“Some do, some don’t. It’s just one of many things I like,” you said, leaning against your bedroom wall as he filled the small space with restless energy. “I’m sure you like plenty of things too.”

There it was. The little roll of the shoulders and flex of a hand that told you Din wasn’t as inexperienced as some would believe.

“Never tried something like this,” he mumbled, and you smiled under the knowledge that he was nervous. Din Djarin, feared throughout the galaxy, and dearer friend than you ever expected, had something he wanted and didn't know how to ask for.

“Would you like to try it?” you said, taking the last barrier away. He tilted the helmet down, fingers restless on his hip.

“Yes.”

That first night you didn’t fuck him, though by the end he was so close to begging you almost came from the sound. Instead you opened him up with your fingers, got him used to the feeling of fullness and how to connect it to pleasure, while he laid on your bed and gripped the sheets so hard you thought he’d rip them. His pants bunched across his thighs, you got to admire the cords of muscle rippling as you made him shake and choke. His cock, velvety and weeping on his stomach, made your mouth water, but you only offered to suck it when he was just on the precipice. Your hot mouth wrapping around his head, two clever fingers stroking his prostate, tipped him over into bliss as he shouted his completion. Pride swelled in your chest at his belabored breath, chestplate heaving and thighs quivering on either side of your head.

When you returned from cleaning up he was already dressed again, despite your protests to wait and let you ease him down from this new experience. He thanked you, awkwardly, and left quickly. Lying in the same bed that night, still smelling of him, you reasoned with yourself. He probably had a lot of feelings to sort out, both around his pleasure and the fact that you gave it to him. You hoped he trusted you enough to know you’d be discreet. And, as your fingers slid into your underwear, you hoped he’d seek you out again.

It was only a week before you were at the same spaceport again, his heavy boots clanking up your ramp. You tried to hide your own nerves, but when Din stood before you and let the visor drag up and down your body, a delicious grin crept onto your face.

“Ready to try more?”

Indeed he was.

He enters your ship without preamble, a brief flit of concern clouding your features at how quickly he disarmed your security measures. You weren’t expecting him for another hour. He must have jumped to get to you.

It’s thrilling, to know the Mandalorian’s need is so great.

But when he enters and closes the door behind him, the energy is…off. Not seductive, teasing, edged like the other times. No, he’s holding his body so tight and so still. There’s nothing aggressive in it, but you glimpse why his enemies fear him. Without a face, and with so much obscuring the flesh beneath, you’re not sure when he’ll strike.

He catches you rummaging through your drawer, the strap in your hand. Assessing, you give him a gentler smile than usual, hands visible, softening your stance.

“Hello, Din.”

He nods, quickly, unbuckling his belt and yanking his cape free. Both fall to the floor carelessly. You press on.

“How about you tell me what you want?” you say, watching him carefully as he opens his pants plaquet. The mouthwatering strip of skin you covet peeks from beneath his top.

“Just need…need this,” he says, and while naturally a man of few words you’d taught him to be more vocal in this respect.

“Okay, Din. How about you kneel on the bed and we start there?” Your voice lowers into a soothing register, reaching for his arm.

“No,” he almost shouts, startling your hand back. He recovers. “No, I want…” You can practically hear him licking his lips on a sigh, slowing himself down. “Can you sit against the headboard?”

Brows raised, you nod. He’s never ridden you before, always preferring to let you take him from behind or on his back. Pulling the strap-on over your leggings, you settle against the headboard and wait for him. He doesn’t take long, kneeling on the bed briefly in contemplation before swinging over your lap. Shucking his pants half down his legs, you can’t resist a giggle.

“Might be better to take them off,” you tease, letting your hands lay featherlight on his hips. A huff crackles through the vocoder but he doesn’t move to disrobe further.

“I’ll open you up a bit first,” you say, one hand reaching for lube while the other snakes its way to his hole. You encounter surprising slickness, but he’s nowhere as warmed up as you get him.

“S’okay, I took care of it,” he mumbles, both hands coming up to grip the headboard above your head. Slicking lube on the dildo, you move to finger him enough to ease your way in.

“Just a little more…”

“I’m fine.”

The curt retort snaps your face to the helmet, now more of a cowled chin and shining halo of beskar above your head. There’s something bubbling uncomfortably under the surface, something you feel the need to drag out by the scruff of the neck, but it’s Din. You never talk feelings with Din. Frankly, you barely talk at all during, or after, any of your nights together.

“Sorry,” he breathes, forcing relaxation. “I’m ready. Please.”

Your eyes linger for a moment longer, then you circle the base of your cock in waiting.

He descends slowly, gritted breaths and sharp blasts of air from his nose echoing above you. You watch the strain in his thighs as he sinks and sinks, his cock only half-hard against his stomach. Leaving a hand on one hip, you stroke soothing paths up and down his lower back, watching for discomfort. Instead he’s marble around you, coiled, body not releasing as usual. Normally when you fuck him he dissolves, rolling his hips back onto you and choking out praises of how good you feel.

None of that comes. He meets the base of your cock and immediately slides back up at an almost punishing pace. He can’t be that acclimated yet, and his pained hisses and grunts only make that more apparent.

“Din, slow down,” you request, hands firmer on his hips to try and even his pace. If he heard you he says nothing, now slamming his hips down on your cock. “Din,” you beseech again, nails starting to dig in. His grunts grow to growls, something from the heat of battle, your headboard creaking from his crushing grip.

Clarity overtakes you, the shudder of his stomach and forceful downstrokes only getting more intense. There wasn’t pleasure in this. Something is eating up Din inside and he’s trying to fuck it out of himself. And he’s using you to do that.

“Din Djarin, STOP.”

The echo of your voice, strong and steely, finally brings Din to a stop with your cock buried deep in his ass. His chest heaves in front of you, limbs quivering from the exertion, but he’s as still as he can be. Gripping his chestplate, you push him back enough to look him in the visor, your anger righteously reflected back.

“You don’t punish yourself with my cock,” you order, teeth clenched and seething. “Do you think so little of me, that I’d just let you rip yourself to shreds without a word?”

Din freezes, but this time you know it’s shame. If you were in a clearer headspace you might have tried reassurance, or asked him to lay beside you and talk about what’s destroying him, but you’re just too upset.

“Is that all you come to me for?” you spit out, knuckles aching from gripping his armor. He’s silent for long enough that you consider throwing him out before he speaks.

“Something happened. And I just want to…be empty. To not think about it every moment.” He leans forward and your visage warps as he presses his forehead to the crown of your head. The anger thrums but starts to ebb as he folds around you. “I didn’t know where else to go. You’ve always taken care of me. More than I deserve.”

The sadness in his voice is palpable, and even with your mouth still sour from his deception you find the compassion to wrap your arms around his middle. The chestplate presses into your cheek, a metronome for Din’s slowing breaths.

“If you have any care in your heart for me, don’t ever do that again,” you grit out. Din’s breath catches.

“I care for you,” he says, and a door in your heart you never realized was cracked widens for Din’s admission.

“I care for you too, you karking asshole, which is why I want you to say something instead of trying to hate fuck your feelings out.”

Din’s chest begins to shake again, but you’re sure it’s laughter this time. You manage a giggle of your own, letting him lean back and look at you again. The motion shifts your cock in him, and his sharp sigh arches your brow.

“If you wanted to forget, you could have just told me,” you say, rolling your hips sensuously up into his clenching hole. Din’s head drops back, grip tightening on the headboard again as you grind into him.

“Please,” he begs, so soft and vulnerable you can’t help but give him what he needs.

Slowly you press up into him, guiding his hips to rock on your cock. You love the feel of his ass in your hands, well muscled and perfect for grabbing, manhandling him just enough to show he can let go. He follows your direction reluctantly at first, but as you plant your feet and start thrusting with more range he loosens. You can feel it in his arms, holding on to the headboard for dear life, and the building rhythm of his hips meeting yours. For a man whose life is violence, you never want to bring that into your sessions. But a light swat on one asscheek pulls the most delicious moan from deep in his chest.

“Fuck,” he groans, bearing down on you even more. Tilting your hips, you arch his back enough that you’re sure to hit his prostate on the next thrust.

“Maker!”

There it is.

“Close your eyes,” you whisper. Waiting a moment, you zero in on that perfect spot inside him and hit it with every one of your thrusts. “Do you feel that? Feel how good I’m fucking you?”

“Yes, fuck,” Din curses, one hand flitting down to squeeze the base of his cock. He’s at full attention now, head bobbing against your stomach. You swell with pride that he’s having to stave off his orgasm so quickly, but you’ll be the one to make those decisions now.

“All I want you to think about is how good you feel,” you purr, tugging his hand away and replacing it with your own. You long for his skin against yours, so you pull up your shirt to skim the head of his cock against your soft belly. He chokes, stuttering away but he’s trapped between your hand and thighs.

“Wait, Maker, I’ll cum if you…” he garbles, but his body keeps meeting your grinds. You shush him gently, stroking from base to tip and smearing precum over the head.

“You will, but only when I let you. You know I’ll make it good for you, make nothing but this pleasure you’re feeling fill that head of yours.” His rapid nod almost knocks you in the head with the beskar, but he manages to tuck into your neck instead. The helmet is a shocking cool against your skin, but the act of burrowing into you must be rewarded. Bringing your arms around him, you press along the length of his body, trapping his cock between.

“I’m gonna pound into this tight ass until you cum all over us. You like that?” The wail Din lets out shoots heat to your cunt, wishing more than anything that you’d opted for a toy that gave you a little stimulation too. Instead you hammer fast and hard, barely pulling out. Your hips and thighs burn with exertion at his bulk on top of you, but he’s frantically bouncing back and rutting his cock into the wet mess your bodies make.

“Don’t stop,” he gasps, and you’re not sure if it’s the vocoder but you think his voice sounds watery. “Please, cyar’ika, don’t stop.”

Cupping the back of his neck, damp with sweat, you whisper, “I’ve got you.”

With a handful of final pumps you’re coated in his cum, sliding around your belly as he seizes over and over. Pressing deep, you hold strong against his shuddering body as he finishes. Each weakening thrust draws him down on you, heavier and loose-limbed.

The armor makes it hard to find the soft spots, so you take to kneading the back of his neck and palming his spine. Before his last aftershock, you urge him higher on his knees so you can slip your cock out - slowly, so as not to shock his jellying body. Easing him down, you hold his head in the crook of your neck and settle him on your lap. His hands slide down from the headboard to your shoulders.

Then you hear it. A tiny sniff, then another. You can’t pretend you didn’t notice them so close to your ear. So you gather the broad man in your arms and hold him. His hands don’t know where to rest, finally winding loosely around your lower back.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” you tell him again, and the sniffing starts to recede. His body, however, slumps against yours, and it takes all of your strength not to start giggling.

You fucked the Mandalorian right to sleep. Bravo to you.

When Din finally stirs, a deep rumble in his throat, it’s been almost an hour. Your toes are half numb and you’re dying to shift into any other position, but much like a lothcat falling asleep on your lap, you couldn’t bear to move Din. Especially when he started snoring, one of the most endearing and hilarious sounds you’d ever heard him make.

In the time he slept you wondered what happened. What terrible thing hollowed him out and haunts him. Something keeps him up at night, if the depth of his sleep is any indication. Recent, possibly. Traumatic.

Your breath caught in your throat. If something happened to Grogu you know he would have told you. You ask after him all the time, teasing that you’ll be his Auntie (Din always says he has plenty of them across the galaxy).

Had you seen the Razor Crest fly up? Where was that old bird anyway?

What happened in the time since Din last saw you?

The cycle of possibilities always ends the same. Maybe he cares for you in some way, but not enough for you to ask. No matter how much you want to.

A shift on your lap alerts you to Din waking, kneading his shoulders and neck lightly to alert him to your presence. He’s never slept with you before, but it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that he’s quick to draw at unexpected circumstances. Of which this one definitely is.

“What…” Din croaks, and if not for the helmet you would have offered him water.

“It’s okay, you’re on my ship. You’re okay.”

It takes Din another minute to realize what’s happened. Him, half naked on your lap with your strap pressing against his ass. You, covered in drying cum beneath him. In a flash he’s swinging his leg off your lap, attempting to stand but obviously they’ve gone as numb as yours because he stumbles and crashes out of sight.

“Oh kriff, are you…?” you start to ask, but as quick as he’s out of sight he pops back up again, tugging up his pants and tucking himself away.

“Sorry, that was…I didn’t mean to…do that.”

All of the heaviness and anger and lust fizzles away to laughter as you try to suppress the ridiculousness of the moment. After a moment of indigent head tilting Din’s shoulder also shake, chuckles fuzzing out of the vocoder.

“Oh Maker, what an understatement that is,” you sigh, wiping your stomach with the edge of your bedsheets. Din visibly cringes, hands on his hips.

“Sorry for the mess,” he apologizes, but you wave it off.

“I’ve had much worse, believe me,” you shoot back. Clean enough, you sit on the edge of the bed and look up at the inscrutable man.

“Want to talk about it?”

Din’s stance shifts, helmet tipping down for a moment before coming back to your face.

“...Not yet.”

You hum and nod. “Well, you know how to find me if you do.”

Din nods. “Thank you.”

As he picks up his effects you shimmy off the harness at the foot of the bed, mentally ticking through the steps to clean everything. Din watches you set it down, stilling until your eyes come back to him.

“It gives you pleasure as well?” he asks, which raises one of your eyebrows.

“I mean, about as much as rhythmically hitting your hips against someone can do.” His posture changes into something hard to decipher, so you continue. “I’ve got a few that do more for me, but it depends on the person I’m with. Comfort, boundaries. As you’re well aware.” You gesture to the armor, his chin tucking down to look at it.

“So you’ve never cum with me?” he asks, and a sudden feverish heat blooms under your skin. Din has a sex appeal you appreciate, but have never acted on beyond what he’s asked for. Now, something’s changed so dizzyingly fast you’re scrambling.

“Well, you’re pretty spent after our sessions. And you leave quickly. I don’t ask for more than you can give.”

Din takes a step towards you, putting his belt and cloak back down.

“What do you ask of other people you fuck?”

Your heart hammers in your chest. How can he turn the tables so quickly and spectacularly? Trying to gain the upper hand, you pull a confident face on and speak as breezily as possible.

“Most can’t get it up twice after I fuck them within an inch of their life, so fingers, tongues, toys, any and all of the above are excellent ways to repay the favor.”

He’s even closer now, and the facade is barely holding up. It’s like the vulnerability he showed you can’t possibly be returned.

“You’ve never asked me,” he says, and you can’t believe there’s a note of regret in his voice. The bed hits the back of your legs, and you steady your voice even though those words make your pussy throb.

“I didn’t think it was allowed.” Your voice drops low as Din steps into your space.

“Difficult, but not forbidden.” Din’s hands come to your shoulders. “Sit down, please.”

Your knees fold so fast you bounce on the bed, looking up at him. He joins you on one knee, hands coming to rest on your thighs.

“I broke my Creed. I would do it again, for the exact same reason, but now that makes me an apostate.” His hands come to the helmet, thumbs tucking underneath the lip.

“Din, what happened?”

He pauses, and you swear you can feel his gaze through that smoky visor.

“Close your eyes.”

Darkness surrounds you, then a hiss and a thunk.

Then the voice of a man you care for, unfiltered and bare.

“I’m not ready for anyone to see my face. But I want this, with you. If you can forgive me.”

You could be dreaming still. It would make just as much sense.

“I forgive you, Din. But just this once,” you sneak in at the end just to hear how melodic his laugh sounds. Then his hand splays over your stomach and urges you to lie back.

“I hope you don’t mind teaching me this. I don’t have much experience,” he says, fire licking through your body as he tugs your leggings and underwear off.

“Don’t worry, you’re a quick learner,” you say breathily.

And when he finally kisses you, sweet with your musk on his tongue and your orgasm dripping from his fingers, you teach him how to do that as well.

END

"I need some distraction Oh a beautiful release Memories seep from my veins Let me be empty Oh and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight.

Sarah McLachlan, Angel (yeah I know I used the sad dog song)

#PMAMC 2024 #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x f!reader #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x f!reader #the mandalorian x f!reader #the mandalorian x female reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian fanfiction #mando fanfiction #din djarin fanfiction #prolix fics

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genericpuff · 6 months

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The Extended Mishandling of LO's S3 Midseason Finale Premiere

Alright, so I had mentioned leading up to the release of the newest LO episode that my feelings regarding LO returning were pretty "meh". Not hyped, but not completely back of mind either. Just sort of a weird calm before the storm type feeling that could go either way.

I'm glad I got to have that moment of calmness because good god, this episode was an absolute shitshow. And honestly, I'm not surprised, for several reasons:

Rachel has never been good at maintaining a buffer, even back at the start of the series she only ever had 2-3 episodes ready ahead of her schedule which is NOT an ideal buffer for an originals series.

Rachel has never been good at writing, she's very "draw first write later" and has stated as such in interviews that when she gets 'stuck' on what she's writing, she'll just start drawing and fit the pieces in later.

Four months is NOT enough time to both rest, attend massive conventions, and work on improving a project while also getting buffer episodes ready.

Because of the FP episodes remaining locked over the hiatus, technically Rachel only needed to have ONE episode ready upon return for the newest FP release, not multiple like she'd usually need like in the past during the S2 midseason hiatus or the season finale episodes which would unlock those FP releases like normal - so for all we know, she could have drawn this episode literally last week, especially when the promo material was so last minute. Frankly I think it was REALLY stupid for whoever it was who decided to keep these FP episodes locked (whether it was her or WT, it was more likely WT) but you can read all I have to say about that in my review of the midseason finale episodes.

All that's to say, no, there was never any guarantee Rachel was going to somehow "turn around" the ride we're currently on. I know that many of the critics were hoping for that to happen, but with the circumstances of the hiatus mixed with Rachel's bad habits of putting her best efforts into the procrastination projects that aren't her actual comic (ex. the few original pieces and LO sketches she put out during the hiatus) it just wasn't in the cards. This is where the comic is at and this is where it will remain until it's over.

I want to also point something out about this episode that was... really glaring to me.

As with all of these hiatus returns, LO got priority advertising in the first two banner slots and push notifications AND a popup ad within the app. This is unsurprising, Webtoons is still trying to milk this thing for what it's worth.

I know a lot of people are gonna focus on the art, or the fact that WT is continuing to shill LO, but I wanna point out the part that WT implemented specifically - "NEW SEASON".

This is literally just false. At best I'd like to think some intern just messed up and thought this was a new season, but it's literally not, the episode designation still says "S3". Note that the creators only design the banner art, the actual labels on top are put there by Webtoons.

But at worst, this feels like blatant lying to continue to hide the fact that LO is ending. Mind you, Rachel and Webtoons have still not put out official posts stating that this is the final arc. There is NOTHING from either of them to communicate to the audience that the comic is ending next year. It feels like they're trying to avoid the topic altogether out of fear of losing the fanbase they still have, rather than hyping up the comic's end for those who have stuck around to see how it all wraps up. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case, considering they're now trying to funnel the fanbase into Penguin/Inklore with new marketing deals and the whole Rachel Smythe Presents thing. They're trying to make this seem like the beginning of something "new" when it's really just a quiet shifting of management (Penguin House).

But all that aside, let's actually get into the episode. It's one episode after 4 months, which is not standard for LO's hiatuses, typically FP episodes release on schedule (meaning free readers start hiatuses 3 weeks after FP readers do), the only time this has been an exception has been with the 2 week breaks because the whole point of those was to build a buffer (which you can't do if you're going ahead and releasing the FP episodes anyways). For extended hiatuses like these, usually free readers still get their FP episodes, but that wasn't the case here. That means Rachel technically only needed one episode ready for the comic's return, and it shows. It really fucking shows.

FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS REGARDING EPISODE 254. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED !!!

As per tradition, we get a title that means nothing at all. It just says what we already know.

Our collective husband Zeus is dying, no thanks to the poison cupcake fed to him by Apollo. For those who don't remember, Apollo had tricked Zeus into eating the cupcake by making him believe it was from Hebe. We are fully aware that it was Apollo who poisoned him. Remember that for later in this review.

Right off the bat we're off to a hilarious start, both with a cryptid appearance from Apollo in the background (lmao) who is, for some reason, ALREADY returning to the scene of the crime he just committed because... who knows at this point. Apollo and Psyche know it was Apollo at this point, I might add, but I have no clue why Apollo is actually returning to the scene of the crime when he has no idea Eros and Psyche know.

Moving on from that, can we talk about this hilarious dialogue?

"We have to call a doctor! Let's call Asclepius!"

"No, we can't trust him! Gosh darn it, why are we only bothering to think of ONE doctor in this universe where we've seen more than one doctor?? Guess Zeus is just gonna die! What a horribly contrived situation this is!"

And that's literally how I can best describe most of this episode. Contrived. There is a LOT of manufactured drama in this that makes ZERO sense even on a surface level.

And what do you mean exactly, Eros? "What a terrible system!" Is this supposed to be a joke? Lampshading? We've seen Persephone go to the gynecologist. There are non-god doctors who tend to gods all the time here.

Eros just doesn't seem to be that pressed over this, he sounds like Ned Flanders and that's NOT a good way to open up a scene like this... let alone an episode people have been waiting four months for.

Anyways, after a few pointless reaction panels (again remember I have to cut a lot of what I show here for Tumblr image limitations but I promise you, I'm keeping as much important stuff as I can in this, there's just THAT MUCH filler at this point), Eros and Psyche confront Apollo and he is... good god.

There is... so much to unpack here.

First of all, remember those theories about how Rachel was clearly trying to write Apollo as this "secret twist villain" the whole time but it doesn't work because Apollo is simultaneously written as both a 'conniving villain' and a massive dumbass at the same time?

Well, I finally have a more appropriate term for him. He's your average red pill redditor - someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else when really all he does is sit on reddit all day using big words incorrectly in arguments he gets himself into with a bunch of equally-air-headed dumbasses.

"You can't possibly understand the nuances of the Olympian political system," Apollo said proudly, a man who had, ironically and obliviously, run for president in a monarchy. The union of kettle and pot is eternal.

He's the Slappable Jerk but instead of it being a painfully hilarious impression, it's just painful and hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

this is so stupid because it's 1.) Eros pointing out how obvious Apollo's plan was, despite Apollo acting smart two seconds ago with a goddess who, mind you, has been a goddess for ten years, and 2.) patricide isn't even intrinsically linked to politics, there's nothing 'political' about a guy trying to kill his dad except in, idk, a monarchy, which again, Apollo has spent ten years trying to rise to power in as a president which is a completely different form of government.

If I wanted to be really granular with this, I'd like to think Apollo is making some kind of point about the critics who call out LO's whack as fuck political system (especially in the trial arc) - as if he's saying "well you're just a stupid reader and this is fantasy where you don't understand exactly what political system we're using, so shut the fuck up you stupid twig" - but I don't think it's meant to be that deep. I think it's just Rachel trying to write a smart character and then failing at it because she, herself, is not a smart writer. And I'm really inclined to believe that more than the theory about this being some kind of meta-narrative about the critics because this entire plotline is contrived and stupid down to its core.

I did not cut anything out here, that's the pacing. Leto literally just appears out of nowhere and uh oh spaghettio's, she has Kassandra! Remember Leto? The character we were led to believe was truly "pulling the strings" until she disappeared from the story completely after she realized that Apollo and Persephone weren't a thing, even going so far as to call out her own son for being a fucking dumbass? Well, she's back and once again she's being involved as some kind of "double agent" in this whole thing, even though we literally haven't seen her since halfway through S2.

"Mm yes, you're so stupid, falling into my trap! Even though you had no reason to remember Kassandra anyways because she's literally a mortal woman you just met and you yourself have committed acts of violence against mortals without a shred of care! I'm so smart! My plan is all coming together!"

We've never seen Apollo do anything except cry and poop his pants, the closest he got to being "powerful" was his attempts to murder Daphne (who he seems to have forgotten about in this "master plan" of his) but ultimately he's literally just a piss ant baby and there's no reason to believe that he could somehow outmatch the God of Love who can literally manipulate people's emotions and states of mind with his arrows. But yeah sure go off, you're so powerful and smart.

The worst part is, I can't even buy this as the narrative trying to be like "see how manipulative and conniving he is?" because it's just silly. We've SEEN this man cry with his victim complex, we've seen him say and do the DUMBEST things that don't lend to any amount of "intelligence" he may have, it comes across less as him being "smart the whole time" and more as him trying to sound smart but ultimately sounding incredibly stupid. And I can't even immerse myself into it and buy that maybe that's the point, because it doesn't feel like the point, it just feels like inconsistent writing, he doesn't feel like a 'threat', he's just monologuing.

Bad art and Apollo literally just repeating what Leto already implied so this is a waste of the audience's time.

This is the funniest panel in the whole episode because I can't tell if Apollo is supposed to be in the background (for some reason, despite him literally being in front of Eros and Psyche two seconds ago) or if he's in the foreground and just REALLY small for some reason. This is so off-putting. And of course, it's just Apollo explaining what we're ALREADY SEEING ONSCREEN.

You see, in addition to this episode being contrived, it also talks down to its audience a LOT by explaining exactly what we're seeing onscreen. It's like Rachel saw the criticisms about her not including enough to depict what's actually going on in her head and so she thought the solution was to spoon feed information over pictures that are already doing the job of explaining what's going on. Rachel really doesn't know how to write and even when she tries to implement changes that reflect criticisms that have been made of her writing, she somehow makes things worse because she completely misses the point of what those criticisms are trying to get across.

Anyways, without even trying to resist (for some reason) Eros and Psyche get sentenced to horny jail.

They're now trapped in a basement that Leto somehow has in her home. How do we know that?

HAHAHA FUNNY LAMPSHADING SO FUNNNYYYYYYY

Leto claims that they shouldn't try to escape because the dungeon is "enchanted", but she doesn't even bother to explain what that means. So they literally don't bother trying. They don't try to call her bluff, they don't try to teleport out of there, they literally just go "well shoot", shrug their shoulders, and accept their fate. Just like with the whole "we can't trust the only doctor we bothered to think of" situation, Eros and Psyche are turning out to be some of the stupidest, lowest-effort characters in this comic who literally can't be bothered to try because that would require too much brain power.

Notice how much time we've spent on this and we haven't gotten back to where the cliffhanger of the last episode left off? Well buckle up because there's still more to cover.

So it turns out Hebe was still inside with her dad, in FULL VIEW of what was going on through glass which is somehow COMPLETELY soundproof, and when Apollo steps inside, she just has no idea what happened. She never bothered to even look outside to see what was going on with Eros and Psyche, she's just been sitting on the floor staring at Zeus' dead face for what was likely several minutes, unless Rachel is seriously trying to convince us that conversation and hostage negotiation from earlier only took 2 seconds. The timeline is such a mess at this point that characters basically freeze in place as soon as they're not the focus of the scene.

Apollo rushes inside, acting shocked over the situation, and when Hebe asks where Eros and Psyche are (again, she could have just looked out the window at any time), he's just like "dur idk they just left lol" which Hebe just... buys, I guess.

That's just Persephone but yellow. She's even missing her beauty mark.

See how Apollo put his hand on Zeus' chest/shoulder by the way?

Apparently, despite Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else trying to pretend it wasn't him, he's able to discern that Zeus is dying from a toxic and rare poison just from touching him. He doesn't even really seem to use his powers, he just touches him and goes "welp he's dead i guess lol don't bother asking me how I know that".

But oh nooo remember that note from before? Well gasp Apollo's gonna use it to frame Hebe! In front of no one else at all!

Hebe of course says she didn't write it, but Apollo continues to try and frame her anyways, even though, again, there's no one else present here, and so it effectively just becomes the most absurd form of gaslighting I've ever seen.

Again, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE HERE IN THE SCENE. He's just trying to claim she did it to absolutely no one at all, in the hopes of... what exactly? That she'll just take the fall for something she knows she didn't do? That she'll somehow be convinced? It's not like Hebe has the same thing going on as Persephone where she has a 'wrathful dark side' he could pin it on, this is just a criminal who just robbed a building pointing at the first person they see and yelling "YOU DID IT!"

All I'm saying is that Apollo would be really bad at Among Us. He'd be the type of player to kill someone, hit the report button, then claim yellow did it which, even if he DID convince the rest of the team, would still get kicked anyways as soon as yellow was proven through the eject to not be the imp and everyone would go "okay cool so yellow wasn't the imp, that means obviously it's purple self-reporting." It's a trick that doesn't even work anymore because of how old it is. Hebe isn't a child here, she's an 18 year old woman who should be fully capable of raising an eyebrow and wondering why Apollo is this quick to accuse her - almost like he's trying to hide the fact that he did it.

But Hebe can't catch onto this, just like Eros and Psyche, she has to act stupid for the sake of the plot.

At first I thought maybe Rachel was trying to do some "whodunit" scenario, but that doesn't work here because we already know who did it. And while there are stories that exist like that that pull it off (ex. Knives Out) the problem with trying to do this the way Rachel did is that the person being framed has to have this thing called motive. The reason why Knives Out and Glass Onion work so well is because the person who was murdered (or conspired against) is someone who is being targeted by multiple people who could all be the murderer. It's quite literally called out in Glass Onion as a form of smart lampshading. "It's like putting a loaded gun on the table, and turning off the lights."

But it doesn't work here because Hebe does not have motive. If you're going to attempt to frame a murder on someone, it has to be someone who would have reasonable motive to commit that murder, even if they didn't actually commit it.

And who among Zeus' children has motive?

What about the war-mongering bloodthirsty god of war who has been regularly sentenced to time in the Mortal Realm to fight in wars in which he's been regularly injured?

What about the chaos-seeking wrathful goddess who would do it to get revenge on the parental figure who cast her aside, or even just for the fun of saying she did it?

Why try and pin it on Hebe, the doting daughter of Zeus who's only had a collective of maybe 20 panels in the entire comic?

But then I realized... it's not Knives Out, it's the fucking Lion King.

Which is just as contrived - if not more - than the assumption this was gonna be some attempt to frame Hebe. It's not. He's literally just trying to keep her from assuming it was him. He could have just as easily played dumb without calling attention to the note but he intentionally went out of his way to try and be Scar from The Lion King , while completely missing the point of why that scene worked in the original movie.

Scar wasn't trying to 'frame' Simba for Mufasa's murder. He was trying to hide the murder, while also attempting to get the only heir to the throne out of the picture, so he passed the guilt of the death onto Simba - a child who, unlike Hebe, wouldn't have the ability to rationalize or realize his uncle his a scumbag - who then ran away from home because he was too terrified to face his family for what happened, assuming that it was all his fault when it wasn't.

That's not how this is panning out here. Hebe is the now 18 year old daughter of Zeus, and not one of his only children. She doesn't even fit into the whole "sons overthrowing their fathers" prophecy like Aries would. Apollo is literally just being a big idiot here by saying "well I'm gonna give you a headstart to run away, because if you stay, I might hurt you" (which btw, should be MORE of a smoking gun that Apollo did it??)

And again, it's all so contrived so that the plot can move forward. "Well I'm going to frame you for this murder, but y'know, you should just leave, I'm not gonna try and press it further lmao"

Again, Apollo is a fucking idiot here, because he just attempted to frame someone who has NO MOTIVE to harm Zeus, to absolutely NO ONE at all who would side with him, only to let her go which would leave her to question why Apollo would try to accuse and harm her in the first place before considering other options. And through ALL this he claims he's the smart one, which I can't even be bothered to "love to hate" because it's written so poorly.

And really it all comes down to how everyone else behaves in relation to Apollo that makes it so stupid and unbelievable. Apollo, you're not smart just because all the characters around you are intentionally being written to be as stupid and non-confrontation as possible. If you can only write a smart villain by making everyone else stupid, you haven't written a smart villain, you've written a dumbass whose victory only happens due to contrived plot convenience. It's not even done well like in Glass Onion, it's just bad writing, full stop.

And who does he call to report this emergency? The satyr police? His son the doctor?

No.

The media. Literally just "hello, the media?? I need your best journalist here stat!"

I need you to understand, even if he were calling a tabloid magazine like The Weekly Nark, you don't just... call a journalist to report a murder. These are not the actions of someone who's trying to absolve himself of guilt, these are the actions of a complete dumbass trying to get news coverage of his trophy kill who would be better off just playing dumb instead of trying to play smart. Even Walter White wasn't this fucking stupid despite all the times he fell on his own sword, Apollo is literally just instigating suspicion towards himself for no reason at all. He's self-reporting so hard and worst of all, you can't even take any of this seriously because of how corny it is. There's no dramatic tension, no stakes, it's just a bunch of characters performing in a really bad stage play and reducing every conflict to "well I guess Zeus is just dead now because no one's bothering to make an effort to stop Apollo or ask questions lmao"

It's truly the epitome of "this plot wouldn't exist if characters would just talk to each other."

But finally, FINALLY we mention the thing this episode is named after, the transition point to Persephone.

Just like with the midseason finale episode, there's a lot to cover here, so I'm gonna get more into it in a part two post.

That said, you can see already this is the messiest, most contrived bullshit to ever wind up in LO. It's trying so hard to be smart and it just comes across as a bunch of toddlers in the world's worst stage play rendition of Clue. None of what was done here was in any way dramatic or tense, it's just a bunch of characters infodumping shit we already know, trying to set up new plot threads that don't make any sense, and allowing one another to get away with what they're doing because they don't bother to even try.

It's completely manufactured, contrived nonsense. It's not "smart", it's not "so dumb it's brilliant", it's just dumb.

youtube

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus #this is the comic that bought two eisners #uh i mean *won* two eisners #... no wait i had it right the first time lmao

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ithebookhoarder · 7 months

Text

Calling Out (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Description: You're always there for Matt when he needs you, but tonight he's keen to remind you that he's there for you too.

A/N: Set during S2 Ep 10 after the attack on Reyes - I couldn't resist.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of violence, mentions of death, gun violence references, injury references

Masterlist

Sleep was impossible.

No matter how hard you tried, you’d been tossing and turning since the moment you’d got home. It didn’t matter what you did, you couldn’t seem to turn it off - to quieten the worsening anxiety inside of you.

You’d seen the news. You hadn’t meant to be watching but it had been on in the corner of the office, as it always was, silently playing in the background.

The rolling banner on the screen was what caught your attention first, followed by the collective murmurs of disbelief from colleagues surrounding you: DA dead in courthouse shooting.

Your stomach had dropped instantly.

Matt.

Even now, in your apartment, the all-consuming terror roared inside of you, drowning out anything other than the voices in your head. The fear and adrenaline were pounding in your veins, no matter how many times you told yourself that Matt was ok. He was alright.

He’d answered the phone the moment you’d called, voice frantic as you begged to know what had happened - that he was alive and unharmed. You’d even spoken to Karen and Foggy to corroborate that fact.

That had been enough for then, enough to calm yourself and allow you to go back to work safe in the knowledge Matt was coming home to you. That he’d eventually walk through your door tonight after finishing patrol, after he’d washed away the grime and the dirt from a night in the city. It was routine - your routine… yet he still hadn’t come.

Where was he? Why hadn’t he come yet? Was he hurt?

It was hard to shut the thoughts down, especially as you kept replaying today over and over again in your mind.

What if... Those two words taunted you.

What if Matt had been sat closer to Reyes? What if he hadn’t heard the gun cock? What if the bullets had been just an inch closer and killed him and everyone else in that office?

Sure, Foggy had been hit but at least he would recover. Matt had been just quick enough to change what should have been fatal to a flesh wound. But that was Matt all over… He had always danced with danger and death, but right now it felt like he’d never come closer to it.

You choked back a sob and grabbed your phone.

“Hello?”

Of course he picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, Matt," you choked, doing your best to keep your voice calm and steady. It was no use though, he knew you too well - and that was without his ‘super-senses’. He could probably hear the way you were biting your lip and fighting tears through the phone.

As if reading your mind, Matt’s voice became filled with concern. You could even picture his brow creasing, as it often did when he was upset. Normally you were the one to make it better, kissing his forehead until the lines simply melted away. But tonight, it was the other way around.

"Y/N? Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," you answered quickly. "I just… I needed to hear your voice. I know it's late, and you probably only just got back from patrol, and I’m so sorry, but I was wondering if you were still coming over or not-"

"Hey, hey. It's ok, don't apologise," Matt soothed. "I was late getting back in and wasn’t sure if you would be asleep by now, else I’d have called to tell you. Why? What’s wrong?"

"I told you, it’s nothing. I just wanted to... to make sure you were okay-"

It would have probably been more believable if your voice hadn’t decided to crack at that exact moment. As it was, your hands began to tremble, making it hard to keep a grip on your phone.

Thankfully, Matt could read you like a book.

"Y/N, listen to me very carefully… I’m okay," he soothed, letting the words sink in. "Sweetheart, I’m okay. I promise."

"I know, Matt, but ... When I saw what had happened on the news, I couldn’t breathe. It’s one thing to know you’re out at night, doing what you do, but that’s different. That’s the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and not… this was close, Matty. This was you, in broad daylight and I can’t lose you. It was close, too close."

The words fell from your lips without you even realising. It was as if he had removed the cork from a bottle, all the pent up emotions and fears simply spilling over in a steady stream.

You didn’t know how to make it stop.

"Y/N… do you want me to come over?"

You immediately froze at the question. The answer was on your tongue but a sudden rush of guilt hit you before you could give in.

He was probably exhausted and given what he’d been through, asking him to come all the way over to your apartment just so you could squash your own fears was selfish.

"No, don’t worry about it, Matt. You just got in and you need to sleep. You've been through a lot today and I - I’m being stupid. Don't worry, please."

"But-"

"I’ll just see you at the coffee stand, before work, ok?" you rushed, wiping a stray tear away as it finally broke free. “Love you, Matty. Goodnight."

You hung up before he could say another word.

Hearing his voice had been helpful, you couldn’t lie, but it was no substitute for seeing him in person. To be able to hold him, to breathe in the scent that was so distinctly him.

Taking a deep breath, you lay back against your pillows, staring aimlessly at the ceiling fan as it span in circles over and over and over…

Until there was a knock at the door.

You paused.

Peeling back the sheets, you stumbled to the door, somehow knowing who it was long before you stared through the peephole.

“Matt?”

You couldn’t quite believe your eyes as you took him in, in the flesh, on your doorstep, at 5 in the morning. Hell, his hair was still sticking up at odd angles, and he had his favourite pair of grey sweatpants on, like he’d got out of bed and run the entire way here.

The sight was enough to make your heart ache all over again.

“What are you doing here?”

Matt’s lips tugged into that familiar smirk that you loved so much. “Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to see you."

Just like that, the tears began to flow. You couldn’t help it as you collapsed into his arms, letting him haul you close as relief washed over you.

“I’m here,” he purred. “I’m here...”

#ithebookhoarder #masterlist #thesilentmage #marvel #matt murdock x y/n #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock #daredevil x reader #daredevil x you #daredevil #charlie cox #matthew murdock #marvel daredevil #daredevil netflix #foggy nelson

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greetings-humans · 11 days

Text

ice adolescence and russia

1 - Russia in today's world

okay look. I see you when you talk about how the political climate today means that iceado was doomed. I see you when you talk about the many many many doping scandals of Russian athletes, we saw it when the athletes didn't compete under the banner of Russia but as OAR or ROC, which I absolutely support. I see you when you rightfully mention Russia invading Ukraine. This is genuinely horrible, it's horrifying, it's inhuman, and the fact that many Russian athletes (including figure skaters) openly, unapologetically support their government's actions is disgusting.

2 - yuri on ice was just meant to be fun

now, let's also recognize that the core of yuri on ice to be silly and queer and accepting, to talk about anxiety and depression, about burnout and competition, about rediscovering your passion for your work and falling in love along the way. I see this, and these are some the reasons why I adore yuri on ice.

3 - yoi and russia

I would love to say that yoi is about escapism so we should ignore all real life events. But I'm not really that type of person, tbh.

We could all close our eyes and ignore thousands of people dying, ignore the doping scandals, ignore every bad thing Russia had done in modern history. But what about the people directly affected by this? do they deserve to see us comfortably having fun about a figure skating show ignoring the doping, and showing our main characters living and training in Russia, comfortably? with no mention of the inhumane actions of Russia, be they about the war or queer rights? really? is that something they deserve to see?

I see the people saying that maybe we can ignore the war, the way we ignored homophobia and eating disorders and bribing, but for the reasons above I really think we shouldn't.

I wish Russia had not done any of this, most of all because of all the deaths and destruction, but yes also bacause maybe that would have meant that maybe we could have had ice adolescence. However, we don't live in that world. And that still doesn't mean iceado had to be canceled.

4 - do not forgive or forget about MAPPA

I am not excusing mappa, okay? there is no way I will excuse or forgive mappa for ice adolescence. if they wanted to, they could have fixed this.

I've been thinking about this for maybe 20 minutes and I already have a solution, okay? and if I have a vague plan for how to handle this, then I am dead certain that a whole room full of people working for mappa could have figured it out. this is on the mappa execs, not the people doing the creative process. don't be fooled, the execs are probably just unwilling to try, if Russia's actions (and the actions of its athletes) are part of their reasoning.

5 - iceado could still exist even with everything russia has done

i think that the situation is rightfully delicate. but I also think that if a book like red white & royal blue (an openly gay book) could openly condemn US right wing politics and also portray the oppressive heteronormativity of the british royal family, without outright mentioning any real persons, then yoi s2 or ice ado could potray the figure skating scene in russia negatively and could have the characters leave the country.

they could show yakov as that one different coach in russian figure skating or maybe they could prove that he's your typical russian coach, which played a role in viktor's mental health getting worse and worse.

post-s1 scenes could be about viktor changing his mind and leaving russia, as a result of the doping scandal, or rising tensions internationally about Russia. the fact that we saw him and yuuri and yuri in st. petersburg didn't mean that decision was final. the pressures of a toxic environment could have made viktuuri leave, and whether or not yakov (or anyone) would follow them, or viktor would find another coach is something up for debate, yes, but there can be a debate. There can be a debate about yuri plisetsky about georgi and mila, about what this could mean for them.

iceado could condemn russian politics and the doping, the toxic community, and everything else really. in my opinion, the fact that this didn't happen speaks to mappa's unwillingness to try. im not educated in japan-russia relationships, to be frank, so I'm not sure how much backlash the show could possible face from the Japanese government for a decision like this one. Of course, this would insinuate that Japan is fine with the Ukraine invasion which is, well, not very good press to say the least (and naturally a violation of all sorts of human rights). I do however find it odd that we would never hear anything about talks debating this taking place, which means that once again mappa didn't try. And also, truthfully, just how plausible is it that Japan would go "no don't make more of that very lucrative anime because we don't want to condemn Russia's war / we don't want to condemn Russia's doping"? Because it doesn't sound that plausible to me.

6 - political yoi?

yes, this means that yoi would have become political, but when politics is about the right to live in your home without fear of death or invasion, why exactly shouldn't it get political?

and let's not forget that a world with no homophobia is already unfortunately political. because queer rights are not globally recognized, being pro or against queer rights (of which there are many so some are pro-same sex marriage but against trans rights which complicates things even more) is still a vital part of many many political parties' campaigns in a lot of countries.

yoi was already political in the sense that it showed a world of acceptance, because that's not a given.

what iceado had to do was show that acceptance does not mean ignoring inhumane, unethical actions.

this doesn't need to be the centric idea of iceado or yoi s2, either, by the way. simply showing something bad but realistic is enough. i wouldn't have needed 2 hours depicting the horrors of Russia ft. yuri on ice, but I would have loved to see 2 hours of teenage viktor trying to make it in this cutthroat world, with sporadic evidence of toxicity and too-much pressure, which are almost canon anyways. and any scenes taking place post-s1 could easily just show viktor make a number of realizations and choices that could lead to him leaving russia (to find a new coach or with yakov, with any of the russian skaters in yoi, or just with makkachin and yuuri, etc), which would show that yes they're not just ignoring russia's wrongdoings.

for being released in 2016-17, yoi was delightfully progressive in its queerness. but in 2024, asking the show to condemn doping and war on its way to show us viktor nikiforov's past is apparently too much to ask.

please give me your thoughts on this, yoi fandom, I'd love to see what everyone else thinks!

#yuri on ice #yuri!!! on ice #yoi #longpost #yoi adolescence #ice adolescence #iceado #viktor nikiforov #yakov feltsman #russia #russian figure skating #iceado rant #iceado essay #deelay words #a great many deal of words too #deelay's tbr

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dandylovesturtles · 6 months

Note

Splinter and Donnie: Treat!

Eeeeyaaaa Splinter and Donnie my beloveds ;; I will absolutely write a treat for them.

This one has a little angst in it but don't worry, they resolve it.

This is set in early S2, so Donnie is still 14 or maybe just turned 15 depending on how you're spacing things out.

---

Splinter could privately admit to himself that he hadn't always been the best father. His fear of confronting his family history, and his depression over what had happened to him, led him to cut off a lot of himself from his boys, and as a result he wasn't there for them like he should have been.

But then the Foot Clan and Draxum and the Shredder came along and forced everything out in the open. There are no more secrets (well, almost), and in an unexpected twist he and his sons were brought closer than they had been in years.

He was really feeling that, this Father's Day. Usually, the boys ran past him with a quick, "Love you, Dad!" and a hastily procured gift thrown in his lap on their way to do something more interesting. But this year they had made it an entire to-do; Orange made them a big dinner with cake for dessert, Blue and Red made a banner that said, "Happy Father" (with the "'s Day" squished into the corner), with Purple finishing the decorating. Instead of being tossed unceremoniously in his lap, his gifts were presented to him one by one, between dinner and dessert, and each boy seemed proud of their offering.

Orange had painted a lovely picture of the two of them together, that Splinter planned to frame as soon as he had the time. Red had found him a replacement of a life size Lou Jitsu cardboard cutout he used to have, that had been destroyed in a still unexplained incident. And Blue had gotten him a garish sign that said, "Warning: Beware of Rat," but he'd also slipped him an envelope with a gift card to his favorite burrito place so Splinter couldn't be mad about it.

Finally, the only one left to give him a gift was Purple, who smiled wide as he brought forward a very unassuming box. Somehow it was smaller than Splinter expected.

"You might want to get a hard hat for this one," Blue joked from where he was lounging on a bean bag.

"Scoff!" responded Purple immediately. "Just wait until you see what I've made! It's thoughtful and just what I think you, Dad, have been needing."

"I'm sure I will love it," he said, before opening the box. Out fell... "A TV remote?"

That's what it looked like, though there were extra buttons that he wasn't familiar with. It was purple, unsurprisingly, with that familiar blocky D embossed on the bottom, so Purple must have made it from scratch.

"Oh ho! This is not merely a TV remote." Purple pulled it away from him, holding it aloft. "This is the only remote you will ever need - my incredible GeniusBuilt Ultimate Universal Remote! Patent pending."

"Ooooh, a universal remote!" Splinter nodded excitedly. He'd always wanted one of those!

"It controls everything in here," Purple continued, still talking like a showman as he turned so his brothers could also get a look. "The projector and speakers, obviously, but also the lights!" He demonstrated this by flickering them with a push of a button. "And this button will start the popcorn maker and deliver it hot and fresh to you!" He demonstrated this, too, the sound of popping corn quickly filling the air.

"Oooooh! So fancy!" said Splinter with a clap of his hands.

"Eh, showoff," whispered Blue.

"That's just the beginning of all the features I've loaded this baby with," said Purple proudly, handing the remote back to Splinter. "I have a user manual around here, somewhere..."

While he was searching for it, Splinter took the remote and examined the buttons. One directional pad had a picture of his chair next to it.

"What does this button do?" he asked, before pressing the down arrow. Immediately, his chair responded by reclining back, with a soft mechanical whir that hadn't been there before.

"It controls my chair, too!?"

"Oh, yes!" Purple looked over from where he was searching. "I outfitted your chair with electronic parts, too, so it's entirely automatic."

"Hmmm! Very impressive, Purple one," said Splinter with glee. He pressed the left directional arrow, and his chair responded by swiveling to the left. "I feel so fancy!"

He released the button, but the chair... didn't stop moving. It kept moving to the left.

"Ah, Purple?" he called, as the chair began to pick up speed. "Is there a way to make it stop?"

"Huh? What do you- oh!" He caught glimpses of Purple's face as he spun around again and again, gripping onto the chair for dear life. "O-okay, um, just a bug, I can fix this, hang on!"

With a clatter the remote went flying, and Purple dove after it, desperately jamming on buttons. At least Splinter thought that was what he was doing, but it was hard to keep track - now the chair was spinning so fast it made him dizzy.

"I can fix this!" Purple was chanting. "I can fix this, I can fix this!"

"Pops, let go!" yelled Red. "We'll catch you!"

"Oh boy," he heard Blue say, which was not encouraging. But if he stayed on the chair any longer he'd lose his dinner, so he decided to let go.

They did not catch him, but it's not like he expected them to.

"Papa!" Purple shouted, and he blinked blearily as his son appeared overhead. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened! But I'll fix that right away, just give me a few minutes-"

"Thank you, Purple," said Splinter, sitting up and patting his hand (it took a few tries because there were three Purples for some reason). "But for now I think I will stick to my usual remote."

"Oh," said Purple softly. "Okay."

Then, clutching the universal remote in his hands, he turned and fled the room.

Splinter blinked after him as his vision steadied. Then he turned to look at the other three, who were all looking between Splinter and Purple's retreating back with uncertain expressions.

Splinter knew the answer before he opened his mouth. "Did I... say the wrong thing?"

"Ah, well," said Red hesitantly. "You know... Donnie is just... a little sensitive?"

"Oh, you crushed his heart," Orange immediately chimed in. "Like, completely mangled that sucker."

"Donnie's gifts always have kinks," said Blue slowly, like he was explaining how the world worked to a very stupid child. "But you don't just tell him you don't want it. Sheesh."

"I did not say I didn't want it!" Splinter protested, but the looks his other three sons were giving him were not particularly forgiving. And that was fair - he had made a mistake, he could own that.

He got to his feet, dusting himself off, and said, "I will talk to him." Then he made his way for Purple's lab.

At first the room appeared empty; he was not at his worktable like Splinter expected, and he wondered if he'd made a mistake, and Purple had gone to the arcade or the garage. But just as he was about to leave, his ears picked up on the telltale sound of a little turtle's sniffles.

Ah. So he was here.

Splinter followed the sound toward the back of a lab, until he finally found his son, crammed into the space between one of his big, incomprehensible machines and the wall, balled up with his face buried in his knees and his arms wrapped tight around his legs. The remote was laying in two pieces on the floor, like he'd thrown it down.

It made Splinter's heart ache to see Purple like this, and know he caused it. It wasn't even the first time they'd been here, because he couldn't seem to get it right.

"Donatello," he said softly. Purple didn't look up, just tensed a little more tightly into his scrunched up position. "I am sorry I made you upset. I really do like your gift."

Purple sniffed and raised his eyes up over the top of his arms. "No you don't," he accused. "Why would you? It doesn't even work."

"That's not true! It just has some..." What was the word Blue had used? Ah, right. "...some, uh, kinks! I'm sure those can be worked right out."

"What does it matter?" Donnie huffed. "You already have a remote."

"Yes, but it is not a universal remote!" He patted Purple's knee. "It was a very thoughtful gift, Purple."

"I didn't want it to be thoughtful, I wanted you to love it! So you would use it and..."

Purple ducked his head again, burying away where Splinter couldn't look at him. Splinter leaned in closer, perking up his ears so he could hear the mumbling.

"...So you would use it and think of me."

"Oh, Purple." Splinter reached in and carefully nudged his son until he finally showed his face, eyes red and miserable. It hurt Splinter's heart, and he reached out to cup the boy's face in his hands.

"I don't need a gift to think of you. I know I haven't always shown it, but you boys are always on my mind."

He lowered his hands, then scooped the pieces of the remote off the floor. On inspection, it seemed the back casing for the batteries had simply popped off; Purple had made it quite durable.

He slid the backing back on, then looked back at Purple, who was watching him closely. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to make you think I didn't like the gift. I like it very much."

Purple sniffed, but slowly started to uncurl from his ball. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

Splinter smiled warmly. "It's a gift that my precious Purple made just for me, how could I not love it?"

He held out his arms, and Donnie lurched forward into the hug, grabbing on tight even given the awkward position. Splinter gave him a strong squeeze, as best he could with the battleshell in the way; whatever he had to do to make Purple feel better.

Purple pulled back first, giving him a wobbly smile. "I should actually fix the issues before you use that, though. Just as a matter of safety."

"That's fine. I eagerly await its return when you are done." Splinter gestured toward the door. "But not right now! First we have cake to eat!"

"Mmm..." Purple took the remote into his own hands, turning it this way and that. "But I could get so much more done today if I start now..."

Splinter reached out and put his hand over Purple's, stilling them. When Purple looked up, Splinter gave his gravest look.

"Donatello," he said seriously, "I fear if you do not come back with me, your brothers will skin me alive."

Purple snorted, amused, and stood up, setting the remote aside.

"I guess a small slice of cake wouldn't hurt."

#rottmnt #rise splinter #rise donnie #dandy trick or treat #i love splinter but he's learning!#he loves them very much though

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shuttershocky · 7 months

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as arknights CN approaches its 4.5 anni, what are your theories for what the big event will be? predictions on operators? hopes and copes?

I never have any theories or expectations for Arknights events, it's a surprise every time.

That being said the announcement banner had musical notes in it so a return to Leithanien is a shoe-in. I'm expecting this to be the event where Altria lol Arturia becomes playable.

Ill tell you what I do hope and cope for though, modules.

Ebenholz has opened the path for a third module and his third module has proved to be absurdly powerful while unlocking a completely new playstyle for him (seriously just look at this fucked up total damage graph)

This means a new hope burns for Phantom and his fans, hopefully one that makes his clone take 0 deployment limit (and lets him recast his skills upon their duration ending, fuck it 4x S3 bomb time).

Other units I'm hoping to get a module for

Ho'olheyak - Poor Ho'ol is Release Passenger levels of bad. Qanipalaat does her crowd control levitation job but better, since he actually does a controllable burst of 7s levitation rather than the RNG fest of her S2 or her incredibly slow and inefficient S3. She needs big number buffs the way Passenger had or a new mechanic added that she can use, as right now her damage sucks, her crowd control is meh (her tornadoes should be AOE instead of single target since it takes her 3 fucking seconds to attack), and almost nobody else synergizes with her. She's awful. I will of course be maxing her out at once.

Carnelian - Giving Lin a module with literally everything she wants to make her invincible while Carnelian got +80% max HP was a personal affront to me and to Carnelian fans everywhere. If Carnelian has Mlynar levels of restrictions (except even more because highground units have more restrictions than ground units), then she deserves nothing less than Mlynar level damage. Remove the 5 stack restriction on her S3 charge, make that shit 10 stacks (+200% damage) or unlimited even, fuck it. Make her ASPD scale with skill duration too so that her S2 becomes a permabind while her S3 builds the stacks faster and also goes with her ATK scaling up over skill duration. Are you telling me Carnelian has to wait 40 seconds to attack like Mlynar, but only has a total S3 damage of 44kish? Ebenholz can hit for 30kish on one fully charged Mod X shot with S3, this is some bullshit. Carnelian deserves more and better.

Vigil - Please. Please HG. Look at what you've done to him. At least makes his wolves tankier. Do you know how sad he looks when you compare him to the other free 6 stars? Silence the Paradigmatic, Lumen, fucking Gladiia?? How could he be released in this state. Penance has never punched a man in her life and she's out here soloing the top lane at max risk CC12 while her best friend Leon was poised to take over a mafia family and his best weapons are a couple of peashooters and pathetic shikigami. He's not as bad as the memes make him out to be but good lord he's still really bad and needs help.

Thorns - He's still really good I just want a module that buffs his much more interesting S2 over his S3 for the memes. The look on their faces will be hilarious.

#arknights

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mustbemosstaken · 8 months

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I know this has been said before but the people bringing it up in the art stream has put it back in my brain (Also please keep in mind this is very /lh and just my opinion based on how I interpret the story of Fable SMP as a viewer):

Y’all don’t want a Rae villain arc, you want an arc where Heyhay can play a villain. A villain arc for Rae would go against literally all of the character development that has been established for Rae.

And you can’t even have the argument of like “oh well the angst of if he’s corrupted and then comes back later to see how he hurt people” because WE HAD THAT. WE HAD LIKE A WHOLE ARC OF THAT WITH THE WARDEN.

Even outside of the Warden, you’ve got that whole Among Us AU where we get to see Rae being evil?? We have villain Rae guys what more do you want?!? Villain!Rae is a fun idea for an AU, but narrative wise it does not work in canon at all-

I agree that Heyhay would play a great villain, and would probably find a way to make Villain!Rae really compelling. But Rae has been built up in such a way that to have him suddenly “go on a villain arc” would just like,,, wreck any of his previously established arcs?? At least from my interpretation of Fable so far, the overall arc with Rae as a character, regardless of gods or anything like that, has always been about a man coming to love himself through learning to love other people, and through that, a lonely man finding a family. S1 Rae at the very beginning is a lonely, broken man with no regard for himself or those around him, driven purely by research, who is forced to take a mentoring, and then pseudo-leadership position, and forced to care for and eventually come to love the people around him, who he now views as his family. A family he never got to have beforehand.

That’s why the relationship with c!Jamie is so important to Rae in canon. Jamie is the first person where Rae really had to step up and be there for someone else. Thats why he cares so much about c!Athena, because Rae really had to find it within himself to save them and be there for them. That’s why Banner Fam, or the Breakfast Squad, or even eventually Broters means so much to Rae because he didn’t have that family when we started the story. To have him go on a villain arc and hurt the people around him would narratively break all of that. It would pull apart all of those relationships at the very foundations, and it would be really hard to repair them from a storytelling perspective.

The only way I could see it being done is if Rae was to go “evil” to protect the people he cares about, but as long as those characters are still in the picture they’re the kind of people who wouldn’t let Rae do that to himself. Hell, the man had a full breakdown because he punched his best friend one time, you think he’s gonna murder someone or something?

And like,,, it’s not even like we don’t get to see snippets of these things in canon. We get to see elements of Rae losing himself to anger and desperation in order protect others. We get it when he replaces his eye in S2 and he goes all mad scientists, or when he yells at Ulysses in S3 because he genuinely believes he needs to step up because this man is a threat to his family. Hell, we even see the angst of “his family thinks Rae is evil and is scared of him” because THATS LIKE MOST OF C!JAMIES ARC IN EARLY S2???

Season 2 really is a treasure trove of theoretically “villainous Rae” content. His betrayal of Aax’s trust with the eye surgery, the Jamie memory arc where they do view Rae as evil, delving into more and more dangerous and morally questionable Telchin medicine to help c!Athena, and then the entirety of the Warden arc where he’s actively hurting those around him and taken over by an evil goddess, like it’s all there. We have that guys!?!

This ended up way longer than I thought it would lol, but I don’t know, I just constantly see people in the fandom and in HeyHay13’s twitch chat being like “oooh villain Rae we desperately need villain Rae in canon” and I just personally don’t get the appeal from a storytelling perspective. Maybe I’m just too caught up in wanting characters to be happy lol. Let my poor little meow meow have peace and love his boyfriends and not have to be evil again.

Anyway, uh… TLDR Mosstaken doesn’t like villain!Rae except for when he does I guess lmao /j

#fable smp #fablesmp #rae morningstar #honestly like I’m sure if a villain arc could work narratively it would be really cool I just don’t get the appeal of it based on past lore #someday I’m just gonna write a dissertation on the themes of Fable apparently #these always end up being so long-#fable smp c!Jamie

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winterchimez · 7 months

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Old Tales, New Beginnings

(a repost bcs the original masterlist sadly got deleted 😭💔 changed up a few things & tqsm @sungbeam for helping me with the banner i wuv you 🩵)

SUMMARY: Ever wondered what if the stories you've been told growing up had an alternative ending? Well, you're in for a ride as The Boyz retell famous true crime & classic novellas in a different light.

PAIRING: the boyz x f!reader

GENRE: retelling of true crime & classic novellas (more details can be found in each season's masterlist!)

A/N: hello my fellow readers! so initially i wrote beast in the beauty as a standalone series, but as time passed more ideas came popping up and here we are with an OT11 series!! i will try my best to retain the strength to eventually bring you guys all 11 seasons in total!!

as of 23/09/2023, two seasons are now available!! please do check them out, and i would deeply appreciate if you could reblog this to spread the word & it does help motivate me to bring you guys more stories in the future!!

send me an ask/comment to be added into the taglist for the series!!

S1: Beast in the Beauty (Lee Hyunjae)

Set in the year 1911 in the streets of Whitechapel, London, a place infamous for its notorious Jack The Ripper murders that haunted the nation for the past decades.

Except for the fact that the killer after seemingly disappearing for a while at least, decides to strike again. It is up to you as a rookie detective, the handsome yet charming profiler Lee Hyunjae, and your group of friends to finally put the killer behind bars once and for all.

PAIRING: profiler Hyunjae x detective f!reader

STORY: jack the ripper au

S2: Redemption of Love (Choi Chanhee, Lee Sangyeon)

Choi Chanhee—better known as the Phantom of the Opera, has dominated the Paris Opera House with his lifelong partner, Christine Daae, for years. Until one fateful day, an incident forces them to be separated and never to be reunited again.

Decades later, you have begun your journey here at the famous opera house with the help of your fiancé, Lee Sangyeon. After several performances, it was then that you would come face-to-face with the renowned phantom himself, and he is determined to never let you go again, convinced that you were his long-lost partner whom he has not seen in many years.

It is now your choice to make. To give your heart to the once-forgotten phantom? Or to stand firm and marry the love of your life.

PAIRING: phantom of the opera Chanhee x singer f!reader x fiancé Sangyeon

STORY: phantom of the opera au

S3: tba

S4: tba

S5: tba

S6: tba

masterlist

taglist: @deoboyznet @kflixnet @k-films @flwoie @hokupi @zzoguri @kyusqult @atinycafe @hanniluvi @tinkerbell460 @cheonsafics @sulkygyu @jaerisdiction @heemingyu (join my permanent taglist here!)

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tentakrool · 3 months

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theorycrafting what the deal with lilith & alastor is:

- they both disappeared at the same time — they definitely made a deal

- lilith agreed to leash alistor in exchange for safe refuge in heaven — alistor had been majorly destabilizing the power structure in hell by killing off overlords and making a big show of it on his radio station — by putting him on a leash, it allowed heaven to be able to better control the situation. having hell under one banner is dangerous for them (which is why charlie is also a threat, and why lucifer being more active will probably have an effect in s2). lilith meanwhile put alastor in charge of caring for and protecting charlie in exchange for… his life? feel like there’s more to it but it’s unclear yet

- pretty convinced lilith is trying to escape eve by staying in heaven. idk who else has the ability to threaten her. it’s possible she left just to stay away from lucifer but… tbh that doesn’t track for me. i mean she and lucifer are super divorced but that won’t last. in fact i wonder if she believes that she’s protecting her family by staying away from them

and not for nothing but the fact that it was 7 years ago that lilith and alastor disappeared… 7 is kind of a big number for bible stuff especially adam/eve/genesis

#hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel spoilers #Hazbin hotel #lilith hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin hotel #eve hazbin hotel #miscellaneous #blorboposting #lucifer hazbin hotel

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marmalademouse · 4 months

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youtube

1827 Crowley should have worn a corset🧐

So Bernadette Banner just posted her yearly historic costume ranking for 2023. And of course Good Omens S2 was ranked as well. Although she sadly just ranked the Edinburgh episode and didn’t include our beloved Bildad the Shuhite.

The one “criticism” she had, fascinated me and I can’t get it out of my head. Apparently it was common in this time period (1827) for fashionable men, which Crowley definitely always tried to be, to wear a corset and the show sadly didn’t include this fact.

The Good Omens review starts at: 1:26:45

#good omens #costume details good omens #crowley #aziraphale #of course crowley always tried to be fashionable regardless the chosen representation (male or female)#Youtube

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curiositydooropened · 2 years

Note

Heyy amanda i looove your writing, your stories are so well thought-out and interesting. Could you maybe if you like the idea write about steve in s2, nancy is breaking up w him but he can't seem to stop thinking about reader. Hope you like the idea and get some inspiration❤️❤️🫡🥺

Hello, sweets! First of all, this message was sooo lovely! Thank you so much! As I reached the end of this little drabble, I worried I didn’t exactly fulfill your prompt, but I hope you still enjoy it! Thanks again for requesting!!!

Under the Sea

Steve is dreading prom season until he spots you, the one who’s always been there.

Wordcount: 1794

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

Warnings: tooth rotting fluff

---

Prom Season, that fortuitous time of year where normally orange and green concrete halls were painted in pastels and streamers. Christmas baubles dangling from the ceiling in strings with PTSD triggering Christmas lights that had Steve wishing his bat were in his backpack and not just the trunk of his car. A large Under the Sea banner denoted dates and locations - tickets could be purchased in the cafeteria during lunch for $5 a piece. Ballots for royalty could be found at the ticket tables.

Royalty. Steve blanched, tightening the strap of his backpack over one shoulder. Funny how the title of King could be swiped from a kid in a few short months. Prom King was all Steve ever wanted, all he ever strived to be. Now, he didn’t even have the title of championship winning point guard. Now, he didn’t even have the title of boyfriend. Now, the only regal title Steve Harrington could answer to was “World’s Best Babysitter”, and although he enjoyed ruffling the hair of those little shits, he wished more people than Mrs. Henderson would give a shit.

Maybe he’d have lunch on the field today, or in the woods. The cafeteria would be crawling with giddy girls and their dates, and the parking lot still stung of Nancy and Tommy and Carol always cat-called from nearby.

The bell rang indicating the start of fourth period, and Steve dipped sideways down a long hallway toward staff offices and the shining sun of midday in Spring.

Sneakers squeaking against linoleum, he grit his teeth past the coos and giggles of Martha Rhinestad and Emily Henberry, both of whom had turned him down for a date last weekend thanks to Dustin’s Pearl-filled grin-and-growl combo. Steve offered a friendly wave in passing, and both girls giggled once more, louder, brushing past him in a waft of bubblegum and hairspray. He turned to watch them walk away, lamenting the curves of their Levi’s and the fall of his reign.

When he turned back to the door outside, he ran smack into a figure who let out a remarkable yelp. Steve jumped, nearly smacking the intruder with his backpack until he saw you with hands held in surrender, hair tossed and a look of surprise etched across your features.

“Oh my God, Steve. Hi. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Oh, hi. No, I’m sorry.” Steve scratched the back of his throat and made room for you to pass.

You. You who taught him how to tie his shoes in kindergarten, you who put a band-aid on his chin in the fourth grade when he cut it on the playground, you who took an attack-kiss with grace at Carol’s 14th birthday party even though it was practically assault.

“Where are you headed?” You smiled, glancing over your shoulder at the windowed door, which somehow felt less beckoning in your presence.

“Lunch,” he explained. “You?”

You tapped the tin box in your hand, which he hadn’t noticed until now. “Also lunch. I’m selling prom tickets.”

“Ah,” he nodded, that familiar ache filling his chest.

“Yeah, we better sell out this year, this Under the Sea theme is way more expensive than A Night to Remember, but student council insisted prom be different than last year’s, which I guess they’re right, but it’d be way less work for the planning committee. As if we aren’t getting ready for college.” You we’re rambling, face ducked into the tin box now clamped to your chest, and Steve felt a smile etch itself on his own face, a weak feeling he was getting to used to having again. “You’re going, right?”

He blinked back at you, the sweet and innocent look in your eye matched with the guilt of him not planning to go. He swallowed, remembered he had a couple bucks in his wallet. He could spare it for a prom ticket he wouldn’t use. “Oh yeah, of course. Thanks for reminding me.” It was worth it to see you smile.

“Walk with me?” You offered, and he spun for a third time to head beside you back down the hallway to the hell of pastel that was the cafeteria.

You and Steve fell into step, sneakers squeaking and change jingling against the tin in your arms, and he risked a glance at your face. You’d really grown up, pretty young thing turned into a young woman overnight. You’d mentioned college, talked like you were all grown up. You felt different from the kid that encouraged him to switch from a trike to a bicycle, and suddenly he realized you’d spent your lives together.

“So, how’ve you been? How’re classes this year?” You asked, catching his stare.

Steve sighed, dug his thumb between his bag strap and his shoulder. “Barely scraping by. Did you know chemistry sucks?”

You laughed, a sound he’d kill to pull from you again, and nodded. “Chemistry does suck. I took it last year.”

“Overachiever,” he mumbled under his breath, and he swelled when you caught the playful tone, elbowing his ribs.

“I was going to offer to help,” you continued. The joke of a past tense was not lost on him.

“Yeah?”

You shrugged. “You know I’m always here for you, Steve.”

There was something in your tone that had his stomach flipping, had him remembering the band-aid and the tiny moment in the dark of Tina’s yard during her Halloween party, after Nancy called him “bullshit” where you asked if he needed to talk. He thought of the moment during Thanksgiving break, where he tossed cranberry sauce into his grocery basket, and you asked about his double black eyes. You’d been the first person to approach him then, the first to talk to him for two whole weeks since he showed back up to school.

Before he had a chance to respond, the cafeteria door swung open to a cacophony of screaming teenagers and tossed paper airplanes. Lines formed with orange trays and slopped, well, slop. The nerds sat with the nerds, and Steve narrowly avoided the polo-wearing table of whispers as you approached the long line growing up to a double card table. Sissy Patterson sat behind it, shooting you a wave of relief upon your approach.

“See you up there,” you smiled and shimmied your way to pass out change and stack the growing wad of bills into your tin box. Your hair was shiny, and your smile bright.

“Steve?” The voice sent chills up his spine, and with a warm face, he turned to sweet, beautiful Nancy Wheeler.

“Hey, Nance,” he sighed, shoulders slumped in defeat. As though he thought he could hide in a room full of potential snipers.

“Hey,” she was awkward behind him, soft corners of her lips pinched in a signature Nancy polite smile. Far different from yours.

“You getting prom tickets?” He asked, though he’d prefer to not know the answer.

“Oh yeah. I mean, I’m serving punch and Jonathan’s taking photos so we don’t really need them, but Mom insisted. You know, for her scrapbook.”

Steve nodded. The famous Wheeler scrapbook, perpetually forgotten for gossipy phone lines and romance novels and Chardonnay. There were a fair few Polaroids of him taken for that scrapbook, including a handful from junior prom the year before.

“What about you? Are you getting prom tickets?” Steve didn’t think she meant it as surprised as it sounded, but it hurt nonetheless.

“Yup.” He popped the ‘p’ and took a step up to the wobbly table.

“Steve,” Sissy popped her bubblegum, shot him a glare. He’d stood her up for a date freshman year. He’d never be forgiven.

“Sissy,” he smiled. He fished into his pocket for cash and found ten dollars. And with Nancy looming behind him and you grinning up at him with those sparkly eyes, he blurted out. “Two tickets please.” More confident than he thought.

He noticed something in you then, the slightest slump of your shoulders, a lick of your lips as your smile softened. You took his cash and placed it neatly into the tin, and Sissy shoved two tickets into his hand.

“Here’s the royalty ballot,” you passed over a clipboard, avoiding his gaze, and his throat tightened in terrified anticipation.

“Oh that’s okay,” he shrugged it off as Nancy stepped up beside him to order her own tickets. When he glanced over, she was glancing between the two of you, eyebrows pinched.

“Steve,” you pressed. “Take the ballot. Trust me.” Your smile was soft, shy, but that sparkle went back into your eyes and sent something through him.

He took the clipboard and pen from your dainty fingers and glanced over the pastel artwork until he saw the neatly printed columns for King, Queen, Princes, and Princesses. Under the King category, he found Steve Harrington. It was the first name on the list. Right where he always wanted it to belong. He glanced over the clipboard where you were watching with an eager gaze, and he couldn’t help but smile, wide.

He checked his name and a few others, and before he even tried to look at Nancy’s votes over her shoulder, he took another step of bravery and said your name, actually yelled it a little. People at a nearby table stopped talking.

“Steve,” you chuckled, flashing a polite smile at those around.

“Do you have a date to prom?”

Again, that beautiful smile of yours faded, dwindled, diminished. You shook your head and avoided his gaze, taking change from the person elbowing past Nancy who seemed to be having an impossible time with her ballot.

“Great,” Steve grinned. “Would you go to prom with me?”

The lid to the tin box slammed closed. Nancy dropped her pen, it rolled between them. “What?”

“I’m asking you to be my prom date. I’ll get a cummerbund to match your dress, and I’ll buy you a corsage, and I’ll take you to dinner beforehand. Do you like Enzo’s?”

“Yes,” you were fighting off that smile now.

“Is that a yes to Enzo or to being my date?”

“Both, I guess.” You laughed, that pretty sound. He’d managed to pull it from you again.

“Perfect. Can we talk about it more after school?”

You shrugged, nodded, but he could tell you were pleased. You, who kissed his chin better, you who maybe enjoyed that kiss at Carol’s birthday, you who hooked your hand into his elbow after his breakup and told him everything was going to be alright.

He winked and turned around before he could catch the look of shock on Nancy’s face because honestly, he couldn’t even focus on Nancy when that smile played on his mind. He floated out of the cafeteria like a jellyfish, soft and light and hopeful.

#steve harrington fic #stranger things #steve harrington #stranger things fic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington request #fic request #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington drabble

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jancy-central · 3 months

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(BANNER IN HONOR OF CHARLIE’S BIRTHDAY! 🥳 )

Hello and welcome to another Spotlight Saturday! It’s the second Saturday of the month so once again it’s time to talk about Canon Jancy!

There’s been a lot of talk in the fandom lately about how Nancy struggled to find someone to listen to her and that Jonathan never listens to her. HUH? People like to re-write the show (i.e. canon) to fit their ship preference, apparently. So let’s take a look at CANON, shall we?

In s1, Nancy can’t find anyone to listen to her about Barb, that Barb didn’t run away, that something was WRONG. Steve didn’t listen, her parents didn’t listen, the police didn’t listen. Who did?

Jonathan.

While they were doing their practice shooting, Jonathan did a lot of talking but he also listened… he listened to Nancy tell him what kind of life she wants for herself (i.e. not a life like her parents).

After she got pulled into the UD and followed his voice out, he listened to her plan to lure the Demogorgon out…

He then implemented said plan with her, helping Will to get rescued out of the UD.

Then in s2, she was upset not only about the incident with Steve at Tina’s party, but how no one was held responsible for Barb’s death and Will’s abduction. WHO did she go to?

JONATHAN.

In s3, she talked to Jonathan about her issues at work. Again, he listened. Did he understand fully? No. But she didn’t understand him either… both listened to each other, though.

In s4, they weren’t physically in the same place and were having communication issues… but once Jonathan got back to Hawkins, they had a talk. AND HE LISTENED.

But what does everyone think?

REMINDER:

✨ We Love Jancy Fanart Event starts tomorrow! ✨

Please go to @we-love-jancy for everything you need to know including prompts, how to tag and giveaway info! Also, don’t forget to follow them so you don’t miss anything…

(The Fanfic Event is March 21st - 24th! ✍🏼)

Our prompts for February are:

‘Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan’

AND

❤️ LOVE ❤️

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Please send us an ask if you have any questions, comments or suggestions!

#jancy spotlight saturday #we love jancy fanart event #jancy fanart #we love jancy fanfic event #jancy fanfic #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #jancy

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liesmyth · 1 year

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What is wheel of time and should I start it tomorrow?

you SHOULD.

Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy series by the late Robert Jordan. It's epic in scope, in length, and in its insanely large cast of characters. It's fascinating. The worldbuilding is insane, but also familiar (partly because it relies on widespread fantasy tropes, partly because it made many of those tropes popular for many books published later). The characters are exasperating but deeply human; I love SO many of them and appreciate so many others. It's very Of Its Time in some regards, especially re: its handling of gender roles and sexuality, but it's also surprisingly progressive and queer in intent even when the execution falters, and I really appreciate a lot that it even tried to Go There, because it was Very formative for me as a young teen. It's also one of those books where you can see the author's kinks all over the place (both narrative and otherwise) and tbh? it's a bit cringe but lots of fun. Also it’s very well written; the plot is as Epic as epic fantasy gets but it’s really the character moments that make the reader invested in the story. I just love it a lot, ngl.

Fun fact: I am now today on tumblr dot com, blogging in english, because sometimes around age 15 even though I fucking hated english class in school I just couldn’t wait for the latest books to come out in my country so I had to become fluent enough to read a 700-pages novel by myself. THAT is the grip this series had on me.

Some things I am now into because of reading WoT starting at age eleven.

codependent magical bonds with loyalty kink thrown in (if you’re familiar with TLT, think necro/cav but usually f/m. Not always though :) )

femdom. both F/f and F/m varieties

Propesized Savior trying to kill their humanity to become a figure larger than history (before realizing that's bullshit)

what if monastic(ish) order of sole women but also we had sex about it

unfortunately. a lot of weird kinks. I will elaborate on request but it’s better if I don’t right off the bat.

no, I lied. It wasn’t unfortunate. I appreciate it when authors are brave enough to let the banner of their id fly high

ruined civilizations and newer, less advanced civilizations rising from the wreckage. the collective understanding that you live in a post-apocalypse world. old scientific principles becoming magic

confronting your alternate dimension self, as a treat

dream sex

devil-may-care rogues who actually care a lot

alien morality, or cultural differences so big that they fundamentally are the same thing

people who are SO Wrong about everything but are 100% committed to their own personal moral code

whatever the fuck Mat’s luck had going on

“I know what my destiny is but I say: fuck you”

I can’t stress enough how many of my kinks (narrative; sexy in fiction only; sexy in RL) came directly from this series. Like, I know I’ve already said that but putting together this list made me think and. Oh my god.

SWORD MAIDENS

More practical information: there are 14 books. Yes, I know. The first book is The Eye of the World - it's fun and probably not exceptional even though you can feel the hints of how grand and insane the greater worldbuilding will be, and some characters really shine (Nynaeve!). The second book is where it really gets original, the third book is where I went from "books I like" to "series OF ALL TIME". If you don’t like it by book 4 then give up. If you like book 4 as much as I did you will never ever want to give up.

There's also an Amazon Prime show, currently S1 has been released! I haven't watched it beyond the first ep, but plan to do it soon; it's a lot more f/f than the books and the back half had some pacing issues (partly due to COVID fucking with the production) but definitely very iddy from what I've heard, and I’m very excited to check it out in time for S2.

tldr PLEASE read wheel of time!

#ask #Anonymous #wheel of time #wot #FORMATIVE SERIES OF ALL TIME #btw not worth going into it in the actual post but. when i say 'of its time' i mean 'conceived in the late 80s & plotted in the early 90s'#the author was a vietnam vet from the american south who identified as het & went to a military college #and they are SURPRISINGLY queer even with that #it's one of those cases where i'm like. yeah the execution was clumsy but. the fact that he tried gave Interesting results

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thewheelweevils · 7 months

Text

My hottest of WoT finale takes

*spoilers through S2E8*

This has been a very solid season. The direction the story went was unexpected and yet fits the overall books’ direction, and lots of little changes and retroactive adjustments made a big difference for me—like giving gleemen back their colorful patched cloaks, letting us see more weave colors, etc. While I appreciated S1, one of my issues was it not fully feeling like the WoT setting I had grown to love in the books, and this season very much did.

Where does the take get hot?

I, um … I thought the writing and pacing of the second half of the finale was kind of … bad?

Okay, let me explain.

Example: We have Lord Ingtar and Loial and Masema (the “and Peggy” of the trio) just … they have the Horn now, and they mention in one line that “A Carhein woman helped us sneak it out” … and that all happened off screen, and while I could infer we’re talking about Lanfear, it really felt like we had skipped a scene, especially since I’m pretty sure that was these characters’ first appearance in this episode and we had no notion that they were trying to escape or what their plan was, etc.

And from that point in the episode to the end, it just felt like everything had been clipped down to bullet points. The dialogue felt super abbreviated, and in other places felt like a line was added in a super awkward way to make sure the audience understood something that I think they could’ve inferred.

I think it would’ve been more powerful, for instance, if when Rand sees Elayne, he doesn’t say anything—just stares and then we cut to the awesome shot of Elayne’s head haloed by the sun

Likewise if we had just cut to Aviendha, Bain, and Chiad just looking up in awe at Rand and the fire weave dragon in silence, I think it’d have been more powerful than Aviendha saying “Car’a’carn”

It’s like they just ran out of runtime and had to condense the finale down to its barest bones. Which is almost certainly what happened.

Okay, but that’s not too hot of a take.

Okay, here’s where the fire falls.

For all the above complaints

It was

And I really do mean this

In my humblest of opinions

A big improvement on the ending of The Great Hunt.

The Great Hunt’s ending was spectacular imho right up until the Horn of Valere is blown. And then it flies right off the rails. The Great Hunt spoilers below, but it’s not really all that different from the S2 finale in terms of outcomes.

A mist arises

Artur Hawkwing and the other Heroes of the Horn appear

They talk and have some playful banter that didn’t age great (“and women!” Brigitte Silverbow said. “And women,” agreed Hawkwing [audience gives a hearty chuckle])

Rand leads the heroes of the horn into … battle? And Perrin has to be Rand’s standard bearer and Mat is asked to just keep toot-tooting on the horn to … inspire the troops? And they spend the battle just … holding a banner and rooting on the Horn?

Ishamael is there in the mists

But it’s in the sky???

But it’s not because the Heroes of the Horn are on the ground

But they’re also in the sky?

And Ishamael and Rand don’t have a channeling battle; they have … a swordfight? Except Ishamael is using a staff? And I guess they’re like One Power proxy weapons because they have supernatural abilities if they make contact?

But the Heroes are definitely on the ground because when Rand has the upper hand, the battle goes well for them and when Ishamael has the upper hand it goes poorly for them?

And everyone can see Rand and Ishamael fighting in the sky like it’s friggin’ Fantasmic with no explanation as to why or how or what purpose it serves, just that that’s the prophecy and so they’re in the sky and everyone (especially the young women) gets to be super impressed with Rand?

Mat, presumably, is still just a-tooting on the horn of Valere the whole time

And then when Rand stabs Ishamael, he, they, it … no more in the sky?

Rand is found wounded on the ground and not in the sky?

And then things pick up again at the end of the book.

But it’s one of those moments that throughout the rest of the series is just like … what? Huh? What was THAT? Nothing like it ever happens again and nobody ever attempts to make it make sense. It’s just one of those things that just … we have to move on from.

Season 2 finale resolves most of that in ways I really like. Exception: the Dragon Banner that is just a fire weave illusion from Moiraine … that gave off the same vibe to me as that scene in Eragon 2006: “And are we together, Saphira? AS ONE????” (Dragon roar and fire.) I just imagine that Moiraine is sitting there channeling the weave and Lan is like, “Okay, Moiraine! Now make it roar!” But. Minor quibble.

BUT ANYWAY. The finale just kind of felt rushed, like it needed to be 30% longer. But the changes were imho big improvements on the Fight in the Sky of The Great Hunt.

By making the “sky” part just a tall tower made it all make so much more sense and less silly. And having our whole main cast together with Rand and DOING STUFF and not relegated to tooting merrily on the Horn of Valere and holding Rand’s stuff for him was a great improvement. Egwene taking on Ishamael and actually surviving against him for as long as she did, Perrin coming in, Elayne healing Rand, etc. Such an improvement imho. Taking one of the few WoT moments that I always cringed at and making it a solid, grounded moment.

That’s my super hot take. Don’t hate me.

And Uno as a hero of the horn was amazing. Could not have loved that more.

I am delighted to see that I appear to be in the minority on this. I’m so glad to see so many people loving the finale.

#wheel of time #wot #the wheel of time #wheel of time prime #wheel of time season 2 #unreasonably attractive fandom #wheel of time show #egwene al'vere #nynaeve al'meara #perrin aybara #elayne trakand #rand al'thor

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