#which as we all know is one of my favorite themes to explore

[atlantic-riona]

I'm reading Cassandra Cain's original run as Batgirl and when she chose a "year of perfection" over a "lifetime of mediocrity".....omg...like Cúchulainn...Achilles....truly, she is one of the greats

#rip to Barbara Gordon who used to be my fav Batgirl #and in a way she still is but not whatever DC did to her after Gail Simone stopped writing her #but Cass is so 💕💕💕💕 #(and Steph is also a beloved but in a different way) #dc #ALSO the way it ties into the idea of fate #which as we all know is one of my favorite themes to explore

[star-girl69]

So It Goes…

Clarisse La Rue x Fem!AphroditeCabin!Reader

—-

sypnosis: the one day chiron decides to switch up the capture the flag teams, and everyone knows you’re clarisse’s weakness, In A Good Way sequel!!

i changed my theme it’s me tho promise

a/n: protective clarisse the love of my life i love you i do i think we should get married actually anyways this one is sooooooo i got to explore a more casual side of clar’s and reader’s relationship in this (for like a min) i hope you all enjoy!!

So It Goes… - Taylor Swift

warnings: soft clarisse my love, protective clarisse we KNOW how i feel abt her…., also slightly possessive clarisse i think i love you too, again clarisse gets a bit too into capture the flag, clarisse picks reader up which i KNOW is not inclusive (im literally plus-sized idk what the hell am i doing) but it was so good i couldn’t resist, she has like super strength probs so i’ll just believe (she literally could not pick me up i need to stop being delusional), swearing, violence, kissing, a bit suggestive but nothing crazy, tell me if i missed anything!!

—-

Clarisse’s bed is one of your favorite places. You’ve spent so many nights here, wrapped up in her arms, feeling like no one could touch you. And you’ve spent secret days with her hands on your waist, yours in her hair, lips pressed together so tight it’s like you were each other’s oxygen.

You love Clarisse’s bed. And you know Clarisse loves her bed too, seeing as it’s a huge source of pride for her- it’s the best bunk in the cabin, and she gets a major kick over the fact that you sleep here just as much as you sleep in your own cabin.

You’re sitting down, watching Clarisse pace back and forth, her spear in her hand.

“Clarisse,” you say. She brought you here just fo freak out. Now she won’t sit down and let you help her, and she wont just freaking listen. “Clarisse, baby, what’s wrong? Can you at least put your spear down so you don’t accidentally kill somebody? If you kill me with that I’m gonna come back and kill you.”

She stops for a moment and leans her spear up against the wall. You let out a sigh.

“Now just sit down-”

She resumes her pacing.

As much as you love just being in Clarisse’s presence, as much as you know you’re her rock, the only thing that keeps her tethered in the storm she constantly fights through, you need her to let you help her.

“Clarisse!” you stand up, placing your hands on her shoulders. “You’re freaking me out, okay? What happened? I-I’m sure we can fix it, I mean…” you rub your hands up and down your arms, which you know she likes, her muscles are one of her biggest sources of pride.

She sits down, letting you stand in between her legs, her hands moving to hold your hips.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. She’s not very good at handling her emotions, but she’s getting better, and at least she’s able to recognize and apologize when her emotions are hurting other people. Well, you, at least. She breathes out. “Chiron decided to switch the teams.”

And now she had to work with the Athena cabin? The Gods know after the Ares and Athena cabins have captained opposing teams for years, Chiron pretends there’s not, but everyone knows there’s a deep rivalry. More than just friendly competition.

“The Demeter cabin will be on the red team.”

“Okay,” you say, squeezing her shoulders. You aren’t really close with anyone from the Demeter cabin, it doesn’t really bother you much.

“And… the Aphrodite cabin will be on the blue team.”

“Oh.”

You’ve never not been on Clarisse’s team for capture the flag. Not only does the entire red team’s tactic rest on you using your charmspeak to protect the flag, but what the hell are you supposed to do fighting against Clarisse?

She wraps her arms around your waist, flopping back onto her bed and bringing you down on top of her.

“I know it’s all Annabeth and Luke behind this. I’m sure that little smartass has made up some sick plan to make me go insane.”

You scoff, planting your hands behind her head on the bed. “You’re the one who can actually fight. I’m, like, so bad it’s not even funny, Clar.”

“You beat me all the time,” she frowns.

And it’s true, you spar with her at least 3 or 4 times a week, and you win most of the those times. But Clarisse moves slower, she doesn’t hit as hard, she anticipates your next move and doesn’t block it so you can land a hit.

“We both know you let me win.”

“I like seeing you smile,” she says, her own matching smile on her face.

“Okay, you big romantic.” You let your hands slip, laying your head against her chest and your arms flat around her head. “It’s not that big of a deal, Clar. I’m sure it’ll be fine, then Chiron’ll probably switch them back.”

“Annabeth convinced him to do it. She has some sort of plan, Y/N, she does.”

“You’ve mentioned,” you hum. “Stop stressing. Nothing we can do about it.”

“Fine,” she hisses.

She wraps her arms around your waist and throws you to the side so you yelp, now she’s climbing on top of you, laying her head on your chest.

“It’s going to be the worst game of capture the flag in history, you know. I hope you’re happy, I don’t even know what I’m gonna do without you. I mean, I guess I could move that group in the west side to just south of the flag, so that’ll be a bit more for them to get through. Oh, I’ll stick that one good archer on the ground- no, no that wouldn’t work, I need him in the trees. But I’ll move his position-”

—-

You walk to the woods together. When it’s time to split up, Clarisse grabs you by your armor and points her finger into your chest.

“Clar, what the hell are you doing-”

“Don’t do anything I would do.”

“Okay, Clarisse,” you smile, blinking once to avoid rolling your eyes at her ridiculousness.

She smirks, her arm squeezing your waist. She pecks you on the lips before pulling away completely.

“Done making out?” Jackie asks, her and Tyla suddenly appearing next to you.

“It was one kiss, Jacks. Are you sure we have the same Mom?”

“No, honestly.”

You fall into step with the two of them, laughing as you make your way through the woods and to the edge of the river.

Chiron makes his usual speech, the conch sounds, and everyone starts moving around.

Annabeth finds the three of you soon after. Tyla and Jackie fall away, following your other siblings. Annabeth always has this calculating look on her face, like she knows something you don’t, a true child of Athena. You have to admit, she really is one of the smartest people you know.

“Annabeth,” you smile. “I guess you want me by the flag?”

“No, I debated that, but I decided against it.”

She smirks and looks at you before spinning around, pointing to Luke and his team members who are always in charge of getting the flag.

“You’ll be with Luke.”

You frown. “You do realize I have absolutely no skill in battle, right, Annabeth?”

“Yeah, but skill doesn’t matter when you have power. Power over someone.”

“Oh, okay. Who do you want me to charmspeak-”

“Charmspeak whoever you come across, but that’s not what I’m talking about. You have power over Clarisse. I know she’s defending the flag today, right?”

She looks at you sharply.

You smile. “Oh, I really don’t know. But if you say so, sure.”

She starts walking, you follow her.

“Clarisse doesn’t talk strategy to you? I mean, I talk Luke’s ear off.”

“Oh, no, she does, I just don’t really retain any of it.”

She huffs a small sound of laughter.

“I know she’ll be there,” she affirms.

“If you say so!” you say, all sing song, Luke smiling as he meets your eyes.

“Y/N! How’s it feel to finally be on the winning team?”

“I love being on the red team, thanks for asking.”

“Ha. You’re so funny, are you sure you’re not a child of Apollo?”

“Too beautiful,” you glide your hands down your face. “I get it from my godly mother.”

“Luke, do you know what you’re doing?” Annabeth asks.

“Yes ma’am.”

She smiles and walks away, talking to more people while you can faintly hear Clarisse shouting at people. With the change in tactic, you know she’s been slightly stressed, but she won’t allow herself to feel anything other than confidence, outwardly.

She still walks tall. She still grips her spear in her hand a little to tight. She’s a bit too greedy with the things that are hers, she grabs on a bit too tight, but you know it’s just because she’s scared. You like it.

If this were a regular game, you would probably be walking next to Clarisse right now, or kissing her goodbye while you follow Matty and everyone else to go protect the flag.

When you and Clarisse first started dating, she was slow to be so affectionate, but the more of her walls you started breaking down the more you found a complicated teenage girl who felt unloved, and had a lot of love to give too.

The more confident she became in your private relationship, the more she wanted everyone to know. It was her fatal flaw, pride, hubris. She wanted everyone to know she was yours and your were hers. She wanted everyone to be jealous.

“I’m so glad we don’t have to wear those horrible earplugs today. They always make me worried. Someone could be shouting a few feet away and none of us would hear.”

“Stop gloating, Luke.”

“I’m just expressing my gratitude, Y/N, is that not allowed?”

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“Oh, oh, I know. You’re sad, aren’t you?”

“Sad?” you snort.

“Yeah, sad. Sad you aren’t with Clarisse. You’re devastated, destroyed, wrecked.”

You put your hand on your sword. “Who are you… and what have you done with Luke Castellan? Luke doesn’t know that many words…”

He hits your shoulder. “Shut up, Y/N.”

—-

You’re walking through the woods.

Not sneaking around in stealth, not running, but walking.

You’ve come across a few of your former team members, but one of the blue team just tackles them and you tell them to turn around and count to 5,000.

For some reason, it’s worse than sitting by the rock, waiting for someone to make a play for the flag. At least at the rock you’re surrounded by all these people you know. You and Matty are usually talking, Marjorie sometimes joins, and you all have fun bullying Corey for that one time he didn’t see the blue team coming.

Luke’s voice drops to a whisper.

“Here’s your job. You can either, one, go make out with Clarisse in a corner, which shouldn’t be too hard-”

“Luke,” you hit his shoulder. He hisses.

“I’m joking, joking. Just keep her distracted, fight her, maybe pull your shirt down a bit? Oh, or I can just cut it so it’s a bit more revealing-”

“Luke, shut up or else I will make you.”

“It’s not a bad idea-”

“Luke!”

“Sh, sh,” he whispers. “Don’t be so loud, we’re almost to the flag. We’re going for stealth, okay?”

“Oh, really, I didn’t notice,” you deadpan. He looks around.

“Blue team, stealth mode, alright?”

Everyone nods. You roll your eyes. You miss the red team.

—-

After Luke gives you the ok, meaning the blue team has successfully surrounded the red team and the clearing, you take a step forward.

Annabeth was right. Clarisse is there.

It’s fitting. If you can’t be there, she would.

You look up at Corey, but he hasn’t noticed any of you yet. You frown, thinking about how he’s probably going to get beat up.

“Clarisse!” you shout. You watch everyone jump into defensive positions. She can’t see you yet, but she stares in the direction of your voice, her eyes squinting, smiling softly.

“Luke?” she shouts. “That you?”

You frown.

“What the hell?” you say, stepping forward. “You don’t recognize my voice? I thought that was really smart. Like, a cool way to reveal myself, I don’t know.”

You come into the clearing, sword by your side.

Clarisse’s smile drops.

“I-I- no, baby, I just wasn’t expecting Annabeth to send you here-”

“Do I really sound like Luke?”

“No,” she says, immediately. “You sound like an angel.

Matty laughs. Clarisse stabs his foot with the end of her spear. She smiles at you.

“Is Luke here though?” Marjorie asks, subtly trying to look through the trees.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you do,” Matty snorts.

“You’re going to tell me though right, baby?” Clar smiles, stepping closer until she’s right in front of you.

“Obviously not, you didn’t recognize me. I’m, like, really hurt by that Clarisse-”

“Gods, Clarisse,” Matty shouts at the sky, laughing. You didn’t recognize her, and now we’re all fucked!”

“Shut the fuck up, Matty,” she says over her shoulder. She looks at you, smiling again, her hand reaching out to touch your face. “I’ll let you do that thing you’ve always wanted to do.”

You smile, your voice dropping to a whisper. “You’ll let me give you a makeover? Really?”

“Yes.” Her teeth grit, but she keeps smiling, her thumb rubbing your cheek.

“Hm, I don’t know,” you mutter, your eyes fixing on her spear when you suddenly reach forward, grabbing it from her hands and turning to run away.

The blue team emerges from the woods with war cries, swords start clashing, and it all happens so fast.

The plan was for you to grab her spear, make her chase you around the woods, and hopefully the blue team would be able to overpower the red team without her.

Instead, Clarisse kicks out her foot, tripping you. Then, she catches you and the spear in what you swear has to be a milisecond.

“Clarisse!” you shout, genuinely offended. She beat you so easily. It wasn’t even a fight. You didn’t even get the chance to run.

“Sorry, baby, it’s capture the flag!”

You about to start kicking like a wild animal when she suddenly lets you go. Luke is there, fighting her while you pick your sword up from the ground that fell in the commotion.

One of your team members dropped their helmet and you pick that up too.

You’re not that bad of a fighter, Clarisse just knows everything about you, you tell yourself. But your pride is slightly wounded and you want to prove to her, yourself, and everyone that you’re not just a weak Aphrodite kid or some poor thing that hangs off Clar’s arm.

You can hold your own.

You stick the helmet on and step into the fight. Someone groans and a sword comes wishing through the air, but you block it.

They swing again.

You block it.

You picked up things from Clarisse, and, besides, you weren’t just sparring for fun. She actually teaches you, better than the actual sword practice teacher if your biased opinion is to be trusted.

But you probably just feel that way because she rewards you with kisses.

It seems like you’re actually winning for a second, about to disarm him, when he seems to get fed up with fighting you and suddenly arcs hard over your head, making you lose your footing and letting him kick you.

You land on your back, groaning and trying to catch your breath.

“That was such a bitchy move,” you mumble. He leans over you, about to kick the sword out of your hand-

“I’m gonna fucking kill you, Samuel.”

She holds her spear right under his throat, and he finally seems to look at your face instead of just your blue helmet.

“Shit. Sorry. Sorry, Clarisse, I’m sorry.”

She looks like she’s about to kill him but she just pushes him away.

“I was winning,” you groan. “But then he kicked me.”

She kicks him as he walks away.

You expect her to tug you up and start lecturing you but instead she leans down and throws you over her shoulder.

“Wha- Clarisse!”

“That’s enough for you today,” she says, patting the back of your thigh.

“Clarisse, I swear to Hades, let me down!”

“One second,” she mumbles.

When she places you down on the ground again, you’re leaning against a tree. She grabs your hand, frowning at something.

It’s the smallest cut, barely there, but Clarisse of course acts like it’s the end of the world.

“Does it hurt?”

Your eyes fix on Luke behind her, stalking slowly towards her turned back.

“No, Clar, it’s fine. Now I-”

“I think you should go the nurse.”

Your mouth drops open. “Clarisse, it’s a paper cut!”

“And if it gets infected? Go away, Luke, I can hear you.”

He locks eyes with you but ultimately turns around with a very scared and annoyed look on his face.

“Now do you see why I was all messed up? I knew this was going to happen. You were gonna get hurt, and it was going to be my fault.”

You roll your eyes. “It’s not your fault, Clarisse-”

“But isn’t it? You would have been at the flag if Annabeth hadn’t known how much you mean to me. Instead, you were here. Instead, you were rushing off to go fight someone-”

“I’m not a damsel in distress, Clar!”

She presses her lips together.

“I can fight too. Not as good as you, but I can. I-I don’t want to be weak, I don’t want to rely on you for everything, it’s- it’s embarrassing.”

You didn’t even know you were feeling this way until you felt it. But it’s always been there, you guess. You always watch Clarisse spar and know she could never do anything like that with you. And you thought you were fine with it, and you are fine with having things that you like and things that she likes- but you don’t want to be so useless anymore.

She’s silent for a second.

“I- I get that. I do. But I just don’t know how to tell you I… I love you without showing it. I’m not good at saying it, you know that.”

“Clarisse,” you frown.

She puts her hands on your face.

“You are… the most precious thing in the world to me, Y/N. I really hope you know that.”

You wrap your arms around her neck, you can feel her heart thump from the fight.

“I know that, Clarisse. Of course I know that. You show me every day, I just- I just want to feel like my own person.”

She grips you tighter. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll teach you to fight. But you have to do it how I say, and you can’t go off and do this-”

You pull back so you can make sure this is real.

“Really?” you smile.

“You have to listen to me, Y/N, and do it slowly, okay-”

“Yes, yes, yes, okay, yes,” you breathe, planting your hands on your face before kissing her. It’s slow, it’s sweet, it’s exactly what you think of when you think of her. You think of the side that’s yours, the side that only you can see.

You break it, leaning down to pick up her spear.

The red team is losing the fight behind you.

“Ok, go win capture the flag. And I’ll stay here. My hand does kinda hurt,” you mumble.

She smiles and kisses your cheek. “Not just a paper cut, huh?”

“Can I still give you a makeover?” you ask as she turns away.

“Maybe!”

—-

y/n: what why did you not recognize me ☹️☹️

clarisse, genuinely terrified: i have no idea what the hell you are talking about please please please don’t take away kissing privileges please please please

—-

taglist:

@lvrue @t-wylia @laughingcheese037 @kroumi @urdeadpoet @colezb @rey26 @harmzilla @elliewilliamsbae @amberfreemansburntface @kyuupidwrites @neverwaakeme-up @shark1008

(pls ignore it’s for the acc aesthetics thank you!!)

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x y/n #clarisse la rue x you #pjo tv show #pjo x reader

[inuiiwonderland]

Twisted captivity

Chapter 1

Twst third years x fem reader

A/n: here is the first chapter of my new series “twisted captivity” !! Again this is a yandere series so it will have some dark themes! Also, the first couple chapters will be more on the short side since It has been a while since I wrote anything and also because of my major writers block and motivation for writing. So I’m taking baby steps rn lol. But I genuinely wanna write this since it’s been on my mind for MONTHS! So enough about my rambling I really hope you guys enjoy this!

Words:766

-

You walked down the long hallway as Crowley explained to you the rules and things you would be in charge of.

“Since your father told me you’re a researcher, you will be in charge of writing down every detail and interaction you have with the mers and also help us understand more about them and their biology!”

You simply nodded, still not believing that he has REAL mermaids and mermen’s in his care.

“You will also be in charge of feeding them, cleaning and taking care of their tanks! Though do be careful, some of them can be very wary and may attack when they feel threatened!”

“Ah that’s…good to know”

“Great! Now it’s time for you to come meet them so follow me” You followed him as he led you down a long hallway before walking through a double door which led you to a giant lab. In there you can see a big window as people rush in all sorts of directions.

“This is our lab! Here we run all our experiments and test” Your eyes grow wide as you see a couple of people roll in a big cart with an equally large tank which has a mermaid inside.

The poor thing was thrashing around in the tank as she clawed on the glass. The tank must have been made with really strong glass since it didn’t crack or break by how hard the poor thing was banging on it. The cart was rolled to another room, which you did NOT want to know about.

“Don’t worry she’ll be fine”

Something tells you she wouldn’t….

“Come follow me! I’ll show you the less aggressive ones first”

Okay now you were slowly starting to regret this

Maybe you should’ve stayed home and made yourself a good meal as you watched your favorite show. But no, you decided to show up instead.

What if this is all illegal? What if the government or whoever doesn’t even know such a thing exists?! Or maybe Crowley is working for the government?!

As you begin to panic, you accidentally bump into said man as he comes to a stop.

“Sor-“

“We’re here!” You step aside and you stare in awe as you are met with a beautiful sight.

The place looked absolutely gorgeous. It definitely didn’t look like it belonged in a research facility.

The place had a huge waterfall along with some beautiful trees and huge rocks and caves. You noticed a bridge in the center of it all and it had beautiful long vines surrounding it.

This definitely looked like it came from a fairy tale

“Welcome to the heartslabyul enclosure!” He says with a big smile.

“This place is so…”

“Amazing right? I’m glad you think so because I spent millions on this place!”

“Hey Crowley!” You both turned around to see a man with black and white hair. The man looked annoyed as he glared down at Crowley.

“Ah! Crewel! Nice seeing you here today, say why are you here?” The man scowled.

“I work here you idiot”

“Hey now that’s not a good way to talk to your boss! I have a new worker here with me and you can’t make it seem like calling me an idiot is okay!” Crowley says as crewel turns to look at you.

“You should still run while you have the chance” He says which causes Crowley to gasp.

You just awkwardly laugh as crewel and Crowley continue to bicker back and forth. You step away from the two as you decide to explore the area a bit more.

You walk down the bridge and to a small path that leads you to another beautiful part of the area. As you continued exploring, you didn’t notice the pair of eyes that peeked from under one of the lily pads.

Red eyes followed you as you continued to walk down the path.

Weird….never seen her around before

He watches you like a hawk before quickly ducking down as you turn around.

You eye the water curiously

“Weird….could’ve sworn I heard something” As you were about to walk a little closer towards the water, the sound of your name being called made you stop. You look up to see Crowley waving at you from the bridge.

“Come! I have more things to discuss with you in my office!” You just nodded but before you left, you looked back at the water one last time before walking away and to where crowley was.

As you leave, the boy slowly comes back up with curious eyes.

She looks nice….

-

Again sorry for such a short chapter😓 but as I said, baby steps!

Taglist: @ruisann @roseapov @0ffth3rec0rd @anunholyabomination

Ask if you wanna be put on the taglist!

Also! Reader will have more like a mother/older sister relationship with the 1st and 2nd years! I will explain more as the story goes:)

#inuiiwonderland🤍 #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twisted wonderland #twst x female reader #twst x reader #yandere twst #yandere themes #disney twst #twst crowley #twst crewel #twst heartslabyul #twisted wonderland disney #twst imagines #twst #twisted wonderland x fem reader

[burntheedges]

Maintenance Request: Chapter 14

Joel Miller x f!reader | new chapter every Friday 18+ | ao3 | main post & chapter list chapter word count: 3.9k

chapter summary: you (1:17 AM): staying the night 😇 a/n: thank you as always to @katareyoudrilling for being the best beta 💕  chapter tags/warnings: flirting, banter, fluff, cursing, pet names (honey, baby, gorgeous, darlin’, my smart girl, my pretty girl, my good girl, sweetheart, handsome, cowboy), fondling, kissing, cuddling, dirty talk, mention of hickes/sex bruises, mention of (consensual) somnophilia, mention of breasts

Chapter 14

Friday, October 25 (still) Ninth week of the semester

Lying in bed next to Joel was something you didn’t know you’d been missing until you had it. You set your phone aside after you texted Beth that you were staying over and immediately curled back into his arms. He held you tightly and buried his face in your neck. “You feel good in my arms like this, sweetheart.” He pressed short kisses along your hairline and you smiled.

After a few moments Joel managed to pull away and stand beside the bed. He leaned down to grab your hand. “Think we could both do with a quick clean up, before we pass out.” You sighed, but nodded, knowing he was right. “I’ll use Sarah’s, mine’s just in there — go right ahead.” He gestured towards his en suite bathroom before turning and heading down the hall, stark naked. You grinned as you watched him go.

You perked up a bit at the opportunity to explore another of his spaces. Flicking the light on, you realized it was another nice, well-planned room. Tidy, and you wondered if he had cleaned for you after all, or if it was always like this. The theme was clearly blue, just blue, as everything inside was a shade of blue, down to the accent tile and the shower curtain. You quickly took the opportunity to clean up — it was thoughtful of Joel, to realize you’d need to pee after, and you wondered how many long-term partners he’d had before — and then poked around a bit. His drawers were a bit messy but not overcrowded, and you found an extra toothbrush in a multipack under the sink.

Stepping forward to grab his toothpaste, you finally caught sight of yourself in the mirror and your mouth dropped open. You looked wrecked. Every inch of you absolutely screamed “well-fucked”. You had hickies on your neck — so many more than you remembered getting, especially down your collarbone — and as you poked at them, you realized there was a light bruise in the shape of his hand on your hip, which pleased you greatly. Your lips were swollen and tender and your eyes were wide. You looked as worked over as you felt.

You quickly brushed your teeth, and were inspecting your reflection again when Joel stepped into the bathroom behind you. You smiled, taking him in. He looked wrecked, too. His lips were puffy, and his hair was absolutely ridiculous. And you’d left your own marks behind.

He leaned against the doorframe behind you and winked. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

You leaned your weight to one side and met his eyes in the mirror. “Hey there, yourself, handsome.” You tilted your head in question and raised your eyebrow when he didn’t move or come closer. He shook his head.

“I was about to offer you some clothes to wear to sleep, but now I’m just thinking about how good you look, standing naked in my bathroom. Maybe I’ll just keep you here, just like this.” You laughed. 

“Might get cold,” you teased. 

He finally pushed off the wall and stepped towards you, wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing his chest flush with your back, all while maintaining eye contact in the mirror. “I’d keep you warm, honey.” You shivered when he kissed your shoulder.

“You’ve been using that one more,” you pointed out, running your hands up and down his forearms. 

He rested his chin on your shoulder and smiled. “‘Cause I can see how much you like it, you know.” You smiled, a bit sheepish. “It’s not your favorite, but I think we’ll reserve that one for moments just between us.”

“Oh? And which one is that?” You knew before you asked, of course, but you wanted to hear him say it again.

“Mmm,” he rumbled, and nipped at your neck. “My smart girl knows exactly which one it is.” You grinned. He was right. Any combination of “my” and “girl” was your favorite, but he was also right that maybe you’d save it for when you could be alone. Possibly with a bed. Especially when he called you his good girl. You shivered again at the thought. He noticed and smirked. 

His right hand traveled slowly up your torso to cup your breast, and you arched your back a bit in response. “I promise I will give you some clothing, honey, I’m just appreciating what I’ve got in front of me, for a minute.” 

You shook your head. “I’m appreciating you right back, Joel.” You nudged your hips backwards and felt his soft cock twitch against your ass.

He laughed. “Ok, ok, let’s go. No more of that tonight. Well… not right now, anyway.” He stepped back from you and lightly squeezed your ass cheek as he ushered you in front of him, back into the bedroom.

He’d gotten some clothes out and laid them on the bed, though he’d obviously gotten distracted from even putting on his own briefs by the sight of you in his bathroom. He took a moment now to slip them on as he handed you a large t-shirt that said “Miller Bros.” across the back. You held it up questioningly. “You got a side business, Mr. Hot Construction Guy?” He laughed. 

“Used to be in business with my brother. Still am, sort of, he just runs it now. I wanted something with steadier hours for Sarah, and something that would let me actually use my degree.” You nodded, despite still not knowing what his degree was in. You decided you’d ask later, you were too tired. You knew you’d want to ask him way too many questions if you started now. Your curiosity would get the better of you and you’d never get to sleep.

You slipped the shirt on and decided you’d go commando. He’d apparently changed out the sheets while you’d been dithering in his bathroom, and the easy domesticity of it made you smile. He was good at taking care of you.

Joel sat down on the bed and invited you down beside him after you shut off the light. “I did a quick run downstairs and made sure the door was locked ’n everything.” He murmured, pulling you towards him. 

“Naked?” You teased, and he laughed.

“C’mere, honey,” Joel tugged you back down by the waist and you went willingly. He pulled you into him, spooning you, his warmth pressing into you from neck to toes. He nuzzled into your shoulder. “You fit so well in my arms, gorgeous. Such a perfect fit.” You sank into his arms and his praise and smiled. 

“Your arms feel good around me, Joel.” He pressed kisses up your neck to your chin and he lightly nipped at your jaw before pressing a soft kiss in the same spot. You squeezed his hand with your own and twisted your hips until your ass was pressed firmly against him. He sighed.

“Let’s get to bed, honey, I have plans for you in the morning.”

“In the morning?” You let a little bit of a whine into your voice. “Hmm that’s too far away.”

He laughed. “Well what do you want me to do, darlin’, wake you up in the middle of the night?” You bit your lip. It was one of your favorite things, but you didn’t want to ask him for too much, too soon. You had to trust someone, to even want it. 

But this was Joel. You decided you’d at least bring it up.

“Well, you could.” He stilled. “Wake me up, I mean. Anyway you’d like.” You felt his cock twitch against you again and you smiled. “With your fingers, maybe. Or your mouth.” You pressed back into him again. “Or your cock.” Suddenly his arms tightened around you and he groaned. 

“Shit, honey, can’t say things like that to me,” he thrust his hips forward, but you could feel that his cock was still soft. “Too old to get hard again so fast, baby, not after the way you wore me out. But, um,” he trailed off, and you squeezed his hand again to urge him on. “You’d really want that?” You nodded, biting your lip. He moved his mouth to your ear. “Baby, I would love to give that to you. But maybe I want to talk about it a little more first.” 

You smiled. He was too good. “Alright. we can talk about it.”

“And not while we’re in bed.” You nodded, agreeing. “Goodnight, gorgeous.” You sank into him, letting your fatigue wash over you. The last thing you heard before you slipped over the edge was his voice, murmuring, “ain’t never letting go of this.” 

...

Saturday, October 26 Ninth week of the semester

The first thing you registered the next morning was warmth. The second thing was Joel.

He was plastered along your back, knees tucked up behind yours, arm solid around your waist. You could feel his breath on the back of your neck and you shivered. You stretched a little, wondering if you did have time for a bit more fun this morning, and glanced at his clock.

Shit.

You’d both had hopes for the morning, but you woke to the realization that neither of you had bothered to set an alarm the night before. 

“Joel,” you murmured, patting his arm. You cleared your throat. “Joel.” You said his name louder this time, and he made a questioning noise that sounded a little bit like your name, still clearly half-asleep. “Joel, we overslept. It’s 9:30.”

He started, and said, “darlin’, what?” His arm curled tighter around you and you felt his hardening cock nudge against your naked ass as his hips thrust forward.

“Joel.” You reached back and pinched his hip, and he jumped. 

“Sweetheart–”

“Joel, it’s 9:30.”

He froze, and then suddenly sat up. “Shit.” He sighed, and ran a hand over his face, before looking down at you. You rolled onto your back to look up at him, and realized your borrowed t-shirt was almost completely bunched up above your breasts. And you weren’t wearing anything else.

Joel clearly noticed this as well and groaned, leaning down to rest his forehead on your sternum.

“9:30? Shit, honey, I have to get Sarah in an hour.” He pressed a gentle kiss to your chest and you sighed, bringing your hands up to card them through his hair.

“Guess we should get up now, hmm? Don’t want you to be late to get her.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, but he didn’t sound happy about it. “I had big plans for you this morning, sweetheart. Next time I’m setting an alarm.” You smiled. Next time. “Don’t know how I’m supposed to let you out of my arms, looking like this in my bed.” His gaze traveled over your exposed body and you squirmed.

“Do we have time to shower?” You could feel how much you needed one.

“We do,” he leaned in to kiss you softly, “but only one shower.” He raised his eyebrows at you and you laughed.

“Joel, if you wanted to shower together, all you had to do was ask.”

“’s’at right? Ok, then. Baby, come shower with me. Please? Let me rub you down, get you nice and clean.” His voice lowered as he leaned towards your ear, finishing his plea with a kiss to your neck. 

“Mmm, you gonna clean me up, cowboy?”

“Well, I reckon it’s only fair. I did get you mighty dirty, after all.” He grinned, proud of himself, and you laughed.

“Alright, then, take me away.” He stood and pulled you up with him, guiding you by hand into the bathroom. Inside, he guided you to stand by the toilet while he turned on the shower. “I’ll grab clothes for when we’re done, so you can take care of what you need to, I’ll give you a minute.” You smiled at his thoughtfulness.

When he returned, you were stripping out of his Miller Bros. shirt. You felt his hands slip around your waist as you pulled the shirt over your head.

“Mmm, I said this last night, but you look good in my home, darlin’. And in my shirt” 

You smiled and kissed him. “C’mon, Joel, we are so gross right now.” He laughed, and nodded, letting you step into the shower first. He followed behind and slid the glass door shut behind him. His shower was large and spacious, with clean, off white tile and amazing water pressure. 

“This is lovely, Joel.” 

He grinned. “Did it myself. Sarah kept telling me the old bathroom was ‘so ugly, dad, oh my god,’ so I let her help me redesign it and she helped a little bit with the actual renovation.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Until she got bored, anyway.” You laughed. “But she’s got a good eye for design.” 

He let you stand under the spray, let the hot water rinse all the evidence of your evening away. 

“I’m afraid your options for soap are smelling like me or smelling like Sarah, and she’s still into that shit that smells like strawberries and sugar. And to be honest, baby, I think I��m not too into the idea of you two smelling the same.” 

You laughed, agreeing. “Joel, I’d rather smell like you, anyway.” He grinned.

Joel produced a washcloth and did as he promised — he washed you, gently, and got every inch of you clean. His care for you was obvious in his movements, and it felt a lot like that word you weren’t letting yourself even think yet. You let yourself sink into the feeling anyway.

When he was done you made him lean down so you could wash his hair, and then helped him rinse it out afterwards. He looked ridiculously hot with his hair wet and curling around his face, and you told him so. He smiled and actually blushed, which was just charming after the dirty way he’d talked to you while fucking you into the mattress the night before. 

After getting clean, you stepped into his arms and squeezed. He held you for a moment under the warm spray, humming. “This has been the best first date of my life, sweetheart.” You nodded. 

“Mine too, Joel.” 

“When can we go on another one?” 

You laughed. “When are you free?

“Hmm,” he looked thoughtful as he turned off the water and opened the shower door to grab a towel. He wrapped it around your shoulders and started to dry you off. “Sarah and I are having movie night tonight, but tomorrow she and Tommy are watching some show they both love that I can’t stand. You free tomorrow night?” 

You grinned. That was sooner than you’d dared to hope for. “I am.” 

He closed the towel around you and pulled you forward into a kiss. “Perfect.”

He pointed out the clothes he’d left you — sweatpants and a t-shirt, this time — before reaching for his own towel.

“I could just put my own clothes on, to go home.” 

He tilted his head, considering. “You could wear my shirt with your pants from yesterday if you want, honey, but I don’t mind you taking my clothes with you.” You shrugged and agreed, and went to find your pants, wherever they’d ended up. You’d have to go commando, which made you wrinkle your nose, but your underwear from last night was a lost cause, both in that you’d soaked through them and that they were actually lost — you had no idea where they were in Joel’s bedroom. 

Once you were dressed, the two of you headed down the stairs for Joel to drive you home. You checked your phone while he gathered Sarah’s soccer stuff and found you had 5 text messages from Beth.

bestie (8:47 AM): you better be getting dicked down so good you forgot your name (8:48 AM): since you haven’t texted me yet to tell me you’re still alive this morning

(9:07 AM): you better be having the BEST SEX OF YOUR LIFE

(9:28 AM): best friend, requesting proof of life

(9:47 AM): 10 more minutes or I’m coming over there

The last one was sent just four minutes ago, and you laughed. Joel looked at you, but you just gestured at your phone. “Beth is checking on me, and being ridiculous.” He smirked.

you (9:51 AM): I’m alive, you absolute dork

bestie (9:51 AM): SHE LIIIIIVES (9:51 AM): well? was it?

you (9:52 AM): what

bestie (9:52 AM): the best dicking of your life?

you(9:53 AM): 🙄 you’re the most ridiculous person I’ve ever met

bestie (9:53 AM): …

you (9:54 AM): … yes

bestie (9:54 AM): I KNEW IT (9:55 AM): that man just carries himself like he knows what to do with it

you (9:55 AM): 🤦‍♀️

bestie (9:56 AM): am I right or am I right

you (9:56 AM): … (9:56 AM): you’re right

bestie (9:57 AM): of course I am (9:57 AM): i’m always right

you (9:58 AM): he’s about to drive me home. he has to go get Sarah (9:58 AM): and then we’re going to dinner tomorrow

bestie (9:58 AM): hell yeah (9:59 AM): that man is in. to. YOU

you (9:59 AM): I thought the forbidden thought earlier

bestie (9:59 AM): it’s way too early for that babe

you (10:00 AM): no, I know but I just mean (10:00 AM): I thought it and it didn’t scare me, you know? (10:00 AM): it was exciting instead. like it could be exciting and fun (10:01 AM): to get there together (10:01 AM): like it could be good

(10:03 AM): Beth hello

bestie (10:03 AM): I’m just (10:03 AM): so proud of you

you (10:04 AM): omg

bestie (10:04 AM): that’s so great, I’m so happy for you (10:05 AM): I teared up a little (10:05 AM): I think this is going to be really good for you babe (10:05 AM): Joel seems like a good guy

you (10:06 AM): he is

bestie (10:06 AM): ok find me one next

you (10:06 AM): well (10:07 AM): he does have a brother (10:07 AM): but apparently he’s a mess

bestie (10:08 AM): no thanks (10:08 AM): I’m not in the market for a fixer upper

you (10:08 AM): lol

Your conversation with Beth carried you through leaving Joel’s house and getting into his car. You only realized after you’d backed out of his driveway that you hadn’t gotten to see the garden.

“Joel!” He startled and almost stopped the car. 

“What? What is it?”

“You promised me a garden tour! And the video!” 

He pulled up to a stop sign and stared at you. “Honey, I thought something terrible had happened.”

“What, in the five minutes we’ve been in the car?”

He started laughing. “Jesus. ‘Bout gave me a damn heart attack.” You started laughing too, and Joel shook his head and drove through the intersection. 

“I figured we don’t have enough time for the video or a tour, sorry, honey.” He reached over and squeezed your thigh, and sighed. 

“Yeah, but I do want that tour, Joel. And to watch the video.”

He nodded. “I promise, darlin’, next time you come over, we’ll do the whole thing.” 

You smiled. “Deal.”

Joel really did live pretty close to you, you realized, as he arrived at your apartment complex less than fifteen minutes later. You asked if he wanted to come up, but he shook his head.

“If I come inside, darlin’, I’ll never get Sarah in time.” But he did get out and meet you at the passenger door.

“I thought you weren’t coming inside,” you teased. 

“M’not. But I do want a goodbye kiss,” he murmured, leaning in close to pin you against the side of the truck. You smiled at him as he cupped your cheek in his hand. He leaned in and pressed his lips to yours gently, once, twice, and on the third time he lingered. You slipped your arms around his waist and under his shirt. He hummed. “Can’t keep this up, baby, or I’ll end up chasing you inside.” 

You smiled and pushed him back slightly. “Go get your daughter, Joel. And tell her I say hi.”

He nodded. “I’ll call you later.” He kissed you again, quickly.

“You’d better.”

He stepped away from you, letting you walk past him towards your apartment. At your front door you turned to find him leaning back against the truck himself, watching you go. You waved and went inside.

…

Joel (10:32 AM): I don’t know how I’m going to wait until tomorrow to see you again, honey.

you (10:33 AM): you just saw me 10 minutes ago when you dropped me off, smooth talker

Joel (10:35 AM): It’s just the truth. Miss you already.

you (10:35 AM): 💕 (10:36 AM): call me later

(10:36 AM): and tell Sarah I say hi

Joel: (10:41 AM): I will. Can’t wait, gorgeous.

…

you (10:27 AM): I’m home

bestie (10:28 AM): you SLUT (10:28 AM): TELL ME EVERYTHING

you (10:29 AM): rude (10:29 AM): maybe I won’t tell you anything

bestie (10:30 AM): RUDE (10:30 AM): was it good

you (10:31 AM): Beth (10:31 AM): it was so fucking good

bestie (10:33 AM): I KNEW IT

you (10:45 AM): are you busy? dinner? he’s going to call me later after movie night with his daughter and we’re going out again tomorrow and I have SO MUCH TO TELL YOU

bestie (10:53 AM): you think I’m waiting until dinner? I’m 15 minutes away

you (10:54 AM): you’re ridiculous

bestie (10:55 AM): I have coffee (10:55 AM): and donuts

you (10:56 AM): … I’ll allow it

bestie (10:56 AM): like you could stop me

…

you (10:50 AM): morning, sunshine! what are you doing today

Ellie (10:55 AM): hanging out with Riley! 

you (10:55 AM): ooh fun

Ellie (10:56 AM): how was your date??

you (10:57 AM): it was really good. I heard a new local band you might like. he taught me to dance 😵‍💫

Ellie (10:58 AM): were you actually bad at it

you (10:58 AM): rude! I was… fine

Ellie

(10:58 AM): sure (10:59 AM): at least I didn’t make a joke about you ~dancing~

you (10:59 AM): Ellie! (10:59 AM): 🙄

Ellie (11:00 AM): I mean it’s pretty late in the morning already I figure you had a ~sleepover~

you (11:01 AM): I’m not going to talk to you about that

Ellie (11:01 AM): omg you did!!!

you (11:02 AM): ells I’m really not going to talk to you about that

Ellie (11:02 AM): lol like I want to know (11:03 AM): gross (11:03 AM): are you going on another date

you (11:04 AM): tomorrow

Ellie (11:04 AM): wow (11:05 AM): I mean I knew you liked him because you’ve been pretty pathetic about it but he’s a good guy right

you (11:06 AM): thanks 🙄 but yeah he’s a good guy (11:06 AM): like an actual good one. like I’d introduce you and wouldn’t be worried about it

Ellie (11:07 AM): hmm (11:07 AM): ok ill give him a chance or whatever

you (11:08 AM): thanks Ellie (11:08 AM): Beth is about to come over and accost me

Ellie (11:10 AM): good luck with that

...

a/n: next Friday -- the second date? prev | next

tag list: @jupiter-soups @ilovepedro @auteurdelabre @anoverwhelmingdin @myloveistoolittle @iknowisoundcrazy @beezusvreeland @screechingphantommaker @bigboiseason123 @joelalorian @untamedheart81 @ashleyfilm @jessthebaker @jeewrites @fluffygoffpanda @paleidiot @mithicakurogo

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller smut #tlou fic #joel miller fic #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

How do you analyze so good I'm really impressed and honestly wonder if I can learn from you

It's a skill, so the good news is, you can practice and get better at it!

Read A Lot/Gain Context

Analysis often means making comparisons or drawing from external context - one of the best things you can do if you want to be better at analysis is to try to cram your head with as much knowledge as possible. The time period, culture of origin, and where the author slots into those are usually major influences on a work (in Homestuck's case, much of it is a direct commentary on the internet culture it emerged from, and missing that part of it can drastically influence how the story reads).

Also important are the works the author themselves are inspired by. You've likely heard some variation of "nothing is original." We're actually really lucky with Homestuck in that regard, as the work is highly referential, and you can glean a lot by looking at what it references (for example, if you watch Serendipity, one of Karkat's favorite movies, which is titledropped during the troll romance explanation, you will understand Karkat so much better). This applies to things like mythological allusions - you'll hardly know why it matters that Karkat is a Christ figure if you don't know what the general outline of the Christ story is, nor will you pick up on the Rapture elements of Gamzee's religion or the fact that Doc Scratch is The Devil, etc. The key to picking up a lot of symbolism is being aware that the symbols exist.

And last, it helps to read a lot of media and media analysis so you can get a better understanding of how media "works" - how tropes are used, what effect language has, what other entries into the genre/works with similar themes/etc. have already done to explore the same things as the piece being analyzed is doing - and what other people have already gleaned and interpreted. I've mentioned before that many people seem to find Homestuck's storytelling bizarre and unique when it's actually quite standard for postmodernism, the genre it belongs to. But you're not going to know that if you've never read anything postmodern, y'know? I also often prepare for long character essays by reading other peoples' character essays - sometimes people pick up on things I miss, and sometimes people have interpretations I vehemently disagree with; both of these help me to refine my take on the matter.

Try to Discard Biases/Meet the Work Where It Is

Many will carry into reading media an expectation of what they want to get out of it. For example, one generally goes into a standard hetero romance book expecting a female lead, a male love interest, romance (of course), and a happy ending for the happy couple. If the book fails to deliver these things, a reader will often walk away thinking it was a bad book, even if the story told instead is objectively good and interesting. We actually see this a lot with Wuthering Heights, which receives very polarizing reviews because people go into it expecting a gothic romance, when it's really more like a gossip Youtube video spilling the tea on some shitty rich people (and it's really good at being that).

There's nothing necessarily wrong with this when reading for pleasure and personal enjoyment, but it presents a problem when attempting to analyze something. There's a concept called the "Procrustean bed," named after a mythological bandit who used to stretch people or cut off their limbs to fit them to a bed, that describes "an arbitrary standard to which exact conformity is forced." Going into a media reading with expectations and biases often results in a very Procrustean reading - I'm sure we've all seen posts complaining about how fanfic often forces canon characters to fit certain archetypes while discarding their actual character traits, etc.

Therefore, when reading for analysis, it's generally a good idea to try and discard as much bias and expectation as possible (obviously, we are never fully free of bias, but the effort counts) - or, perhaps even better, to compartmentalize those biases for comparison while reading. For example, Hussie talks at length about what they INTENDED Homestuck to be, and, while reading, I like to keep Hussie's words to the side while I try to experience the comic fresh, seeing what choices were made in accordance with Hussie's intentions, or where I think Hussie may have fumbled the messaging. At the same time, I try to let the work stand on its own, set in its proper context.

I'd say this is the number-one problem in fandom analysis. For example, people hear from the fandom that Eridan is an incel or a nice guy, so they interpret everything he says and does to fit that belief, or ignore any contradictory evidence. Or they fall for the character's façade that's meant to be dismantled by the viewer. Some works are fairly shallow and accessible, wearing all their meaning on their sleeve (or are Not That Deep, if you prefer meme-talk), and problems arise when a work is, in fact, That Deep, because someone biased towards the former will discard evidence that a work is the latter. This isn't exclusive to HS - it's happened in basically all of my fandoms - which is a statement to how easy it is to fall into this way of thinking.

Even without knowing that Hussie had coming-of-age themes in mind, for example, characters will talk about being kids and growing up. Knowing that Hussie has explicitly said that that's one of HS's themes serves as extra evidence for that interpretation, but the work itself tells you what it's about - if you're willing to listen to it.

Even If the Curtains are Just Blue, That Still Means Something

This is the next biggest fandom stumbling block - thr insinuation that when things in a work are put into the work without more explicit symbolism, that that means they're a discardable detail. This one is more about making a mindset shift - details aren't discardable, even if they don't appear to have been made with the explicit intention to mean something. Everything kind of means something.

First of all, whether or not the curtains are Just Blue is often highly dependent on the work. For example, in something made in large quantities with little time, staff, and budget - say, for example, one of the entries into the MCU's TV shows - there likely isn't too much meaning behind a choice of blue curtains in a shot (although you'd be surprised how often choices in these constrained environments are still very deliberately made). In a work like Homestuck, however, so terribly dense with symbolism and allegory, chances are, the blue curtains DO hold some special meaning, even if it's not readily apparent.

However, even in cases where a choice is made arbitrarily, it still usually ends up revealing something about the work's creative process. Going back to our MCU example, perhaps the blue curtains were chosen because the shot is cool-toned and they fit the color grading. Perhaps they were chosen because the director really likes blue. Perhaps the shot was filmed at an actual location and the blue curtains were already there. Or, even, perhaps the blue curtains were just what they had on hand, and the show was made too quickly and cheaply to bother sourcing something that would fit the tone or lend extra meaning. These all, to varying degrees, say something about the work - maybe not anything so significant that it would come up in an analysis, but they still contribute to a greater understanding of what the work is, what it's trying to say, and how successful it is at saying it.

And this applies to things with much higher stakes. For example, Hussie being a white US citizen likely had an effect on the B1 kids being mostly US citizens, and there was discourse surrounding how, even though they were ostensibly aracial, references were made to Dave's pale skin. Do I think these were deliberate choices made to push some sort of US superiority; no, obviously not. But they still end up revealing things about the creation of the work - that Hussie had certain biases as a result of being who they were.

Your Brain is Designed to Recognize Patterns, So Put That to Use

So with "establish context" and "discard expectations" out of the way, we can start getting into the nitty-gritty of what should be jumping out at you when attempting to understand a work. One of the most prominent things that you should be looking for is PATTERNS.

Writing is a highly conscious effort, which draws from highly unconscious places. Naturally, whether these patterns are intentional or unintentional is dependent on the author (see again why reading up on a work's context is so important), but you can generally bet that anything that IS a pattern is something that holds significance.

For example, Karkat consistently shows that he's very distraught when any of his friends get hurt, that he misses his friends, even the murderous assholes, that he's willing to sit them down and intervene on their behalf, despite all his grandstanding to the contrary. We are supposed to notice that Karkat actually loves his friends, and that he's lying when he says he doesn't care about them.

Homestuck is very carefully and deliberately crafted; if something comes up more than once, it's a safe bet to assume that you're supposed to notice, or at least feel, it. Don't take my word for it:

Basically, [reusing elements is] about building an extremely dense interior vocabulary to tell a story with, and continue to build and expand that vocabulary by revisiting its components often, combining them, extending them and so on. A vocabulary can be (and usually is) simple, consisting of single words, but in this case it extends to entire sentences and paragraph structures and visual forms and even entire scenes like the one linked above. Sometimes the purpose for reiteration is clear, and sometimes there really is no purpose other than to hit a familiar note, and for me that's all that needs to happen for it to be worthwhile. Triggering recognition is a powerful tool for a storyteller to use. Recognition is a powerful experience for a reader. It promotes alertness, at the very least. And in a lot of cases here, I think it promotes levity (humor! this is mostly a work of comedy, remember.) Controlling a reader's recognition faculty is one way to manipulate the reader's reactions as desired to advance the creative agenda.

But this applies to less deliberately-crafted work, too; for example, if an author consistently writes women as shallow, cruel, and manipulative, then we can glean that the author probably has some sort of issue with women. Villains often being queer-coded suggests that the culture they come from has problems with the gays. Etc. etc.

This is how I reached my conclusion that Pale EriKar is heavily foreshadowed - the two are CONSTANTLY kind to each other, sharing secrets, providing emotional support, etc. etc. It's why that part of my Eridan essay is structured the way that it is - by showing you first how consistently the two interact in suspiciously pale-coded ways, the fact that a crab is shown in both Eridan's first appearance AND his appearance on the moirallegiance "hatched for each other" page becomes the cincher of a PATTERN of the two being set up to shoosh-pap each other.

A work will tell you about itself if you listen. If it tells you something over and over, then it's basically begging you to pay attention.

Contrast is Important, Too

Patterns are also significant when they're broken. For example, say a villain is constantly beating up the protagonist. Here's our pattern: the hero is physically weaker than the villain. In a straight fight, the hero will always lose.

And then, at the mid-season two-parter, the hero WINS. Since we've set up this long pattern of the hero always losing to this villain, the fact that this pattern was disrupted means that this moment is extremely important for the work. Let's say the hero wins using guile - in this case, we walk away with the message that the work is saying that insurmountable obstacles may have workarounds, and adaptability and flexibility are good, heroic traits. Now let's say the hero won using physical strength, after a whole season of training and practicing - in this case, we say that the work says hard work and effort are heroic, and will pay off in the end.

In Homestuck, as an example, we set up a long pattern of Vriska being an awful, manipulative bitch, and a fairly remorseless killer. And then, after killing Tavros, she talks to John and admits that she's freaking out because she feels really bad about it. This vulnerability is hinted at by some of her earlier actions/dialogue, which is itself a pattern to notice, but it's not really explicit until it's set up to be in direct contrast to the ultimate spider8itch move of killing Tavros. This contrast is intended to draw our attention, to point out something significant - hey, Vriska feels bad! She's a product of her terrible society and awful lusus! While it's shitty that she killed Tavros, she's also meant to be tragic and sympathetic herself!

Hussie even talks about how patterns and surprises are used in tandem:

Prior to Eridan's entrance into the room, and even during, the deaths were completely unguessable. After Feferi's death, Kanaya's becomes considerably more so, but still quite uncertain. After her death, all bets are off. Not only do all deaths thereafter become guessable, but in some cases, "predictable". That's because it was the line between a series of shocking events, and the establishment of an actual story pattern. The new pattern serves a purpose, as a sort of announcement that the story is shifting gears, that we're drifting into these mock-survival horror, mock-crime drama segments, driven by suspense more than usual. The suspense has more authority because of all the collateral of unpredictability built up over time, as well as all the typical stuff that helps like long term characterization. But now that the pattern is out in the open, following through with more deaths no longer qualifies as unpredictability. Just the opposite, it would now be playing into expectations, which as I said, can be important too. This gear we've switched to is the new normal, and any unpredictability to arise thereafter will necessarily be a departure from whatever current patterns would indicate.

Patterns are important because they tell you what baselines the work is setting - what's normal, what's standard, what this or that generally "means." Contrast is important because it means something has changed, or some significant point is being made. They work in tandem to provide the reader with points of focus in the story, things to keep in mind as they read, consciously or unconsciously.

Theme

I'm talking about this stuff in pretty broad and open terms because stories are so malleable, and so myriad, and can say so many things. There are stories where horrible cruelties are painted as good things - propoganda is the big one, but consider all the discourse around romance books that paint abusive/toxic relationships as ideal. There are stories where the protagonist is actually the villain, and their actions are not aspirational, and works where everyone sucks and nobody is aspirational, and works where everybody is essentially a good person, if sometimes misguided.

This is, again, why outside context is so important, and biases need to be left at the door. For example, generally speaking, one can assume that the protagonist of a children's cartoon is going to be an aspirational hero, or at least a conflicted character who must learn to do the right thing. However, there are even exceptions to this! Invader Zim, for example, features an outright villain protagonist - a proud servant of a fascist empire - and for a lower-stakes example, the Eds of Ed, Edd, n' Eddy are the neighborhood scammers, constantly causing problems for the other characters with their schemes.

Thus, how do we determine what any particular narrative's stance on a given topic is? It's a difficult question to answer because every narrative is different. If I say something like, "the things that bring the protagonists success in their goals are what the narrative says are good," then we run into the issue of villain/gray morality protagonists. To use moral terms like "hero" and "villain" instead runs into the problem of defining morality within a narrative in the first place. But you have to draw the line somewhere.

So that brings us to themes.

Now, as with a lot of artistic terms, "theme" isn't necessarily well-defined (this isn't helped by the way the word is used colloquially to mean things like aesthetic, moral of the story, or symbolism). Wikipedia says: "In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative," but this is still very broad and hard to work with, so I'll give it a shot.

A theme is what a work says, beyond the literal series of events. Sometimes a theme is obvious - the theme of Boy Who Cried Wolf is that if you become famous for lying, you won't be believed when you tell the truth. Sometimes a theme is one of many - for example, Disney's Cinderalla says that kindness and virtue will eventually be recognized and rewarded, and that cruelty is interlinked with ugliness. Sometimes a theme is unintentional - for example, how Disney's body of work tends to villainize queer-coded characters. Sometimes context and the passage of time changes the theme - for example, Snow White originally held a message of hope for wartime families that domestic normalcy would one day return, but is now seen as anti-feminist as it appears to insinuate that a woman's place is in the kitchen, and her happiness is in marriage to a man. And sometimes a theme is not something you agree with.

In any case, a theme is a meaning to be gleaned from the text, more broad and universally applicable than the text itself. After all, we humans have traditionally always used story to impart meaning; our oldest epic, The Epic of Gilgamesh, contains within it several themes, most famously that of accepting one's mortality. It's startling, really, how applicable the story is to this day, even if specific details have become obtuse or unsavory to a modern reader.

This is, again, why it's so important to engage with a text on its own terms, in its own context, with as little bias as possible. A story's themes are not necessarily apparent, and commonly implied rather than stated outright, and approaching the story with expectations can easily lead to a Procrustean twisting of the facts to fit those expectations. A theme should emerge to the analyzer out of the reading, not the other way around.

Identifying theme gets easier with practice, and largely comes down to identifying patterns within the narrative (alongside looking at context and symbolism, of course). What does the narrative consistently touch base on? Are there any references; is there any symbolism? What does the story deem "normal," "good," or "bad"? How are ideas developed, and why? Why did these events happen, and are those motivations echoed anywhere else?

Homestuck is very complex and tackles many topics at once, and explaining why it's a coming-of-age would basically require a whole second essay, so I'll use a simpler and more popular example (like I've been trying to do) - let's say, Shrek.

The most obvious theme of Shrek is that beauty does not equate goodness, that one mustn't judge a book by its cover. The opening sequence is LITERALLY Shrek ripping out pages of a fairy tale book to use as toilet paper, and the movie ends with Fiona finding that her happiest, truest self IS as an ugly ogre. Shrek's main character conflict is that people immediately judge him as cruel and evil because he's ugly, and the characters' lowest points occur because Fiona is similarly insecure about her ogre half, considering it unlovable.

But there's other stuff in there, too. For example, if you know that Dreamworks and Shrek were founded after a falling out with Disney, then the beautiful, sanitized city of Dulac, with its switchback queue and singing animatronics add to this theme of a direct refutation of traditional Disney fairytale values, mocking them as manufactured, inhuman, and even cruel in the way that they marginalize those who don't fit an ideal of beauty. Again we see the opening sequence - defacing a fairytale - as support for this, but also the way that Dulac is displacing fairytale creatures. There's a moment where Gepetto literally sells Pinocchio, which can easily be read as a commentary on the crass commercialization and exploitation of fairy tales Disney likes to do.

And then, of course, there are lesser, supplementary themes. Love being a powerful positive force is one - Donkey is able to rally Shrek after he truly reciprocates Dragon's love for him (which echoes the theme of not equating goodness with beauty, as Dragon is still big and scary), and it's true love's kiss that grants Fiona her happy ending.

And then there's stuff that's unintentional. There's all this work done about how beauty =/= goodness, but then they made the villain incredibly short, which is a traditionally unattractive physical feature. So, does that mean that ugly things can be beautiful unless that ugliness is specifically height?

Sometimes, authorial intent does not match up with result - but in those instances, I think the most is revealed about the author. Modern Disney products tend to be very cowardly about going anti-corporation and pro-weirdness, despite their usual feel-good tones and uplifting themes - and that says a lot about Disney, doesn't it. That's why I think it's still important to keep authorial intent in mind, if possible, even if they fumble what they say they've set out to do.

Obviously, Lord Fuckwad being short doesn't REALLY detract from the overall message - but it's still a weird hitch in the themes, which I think is interesting to talk about, so you can see where personal judgement and biases DO have to be applied. There are two options here, more or less - either one believes that Shrek is making an exception for short people, who are of the Devil, or one believes that the filmmakers did a bit of an oopsie. Barring an outright statement from the filmmakers, there's no way to know for sure.

We can say a work has very complex themes when it intentionally explores multiple ideas very deeply. We can say a work has shallow themes when it doesn't have much intentional meaning, and/or that meaning is explored very lightly. The labyrinthine storytelling of Homestuck, with its forays into mortality, morality, and growing up, chock full of symbolism and pastiche and allusions, is a work with complex themes - especially as compared to the average newspaper comic strip, although they ostensibly share a genre.

We can say a work has very unified themes when these themes serve to compliment each other - the refutation of Disney-esque values, and love as a positive driving force, compliment the main theme in Shrek of not judging books by their covers, of beauty not equating to goodness. Ugly things are worthy of love, and those who push standards of beauty are evil and suck.

Similarly, we can say a work has unfocused or messy themes when the themes it includes - intentionally or not - contradict, distract, and/or detract from each other. Beauty has no correlation to goodness... unless you're short, in which case, you are closer to Hell and therefore of evil blood. To get a little controversial, this is actually why I didn't like Last Wish very much - there are approximately three separate storylines, with three separate thematic arcs, going on in the same movie, none of which particularly compliment each other - so the experience was very messy to me, story-wise, even though it was pretty and the wolf was hot. This is why we feel weird about Disney pushing anti-corporate messages, when they're a big corporate machine, or why it's easy to assume Homestuck was written poorly if you don't like Hussie - we want themes to be coherent, we want context to be unified with output.

Tone

Tone is somehow even harder to define than theme. It's like, the "vibe" of a work. For example, you generally don't expect something lighthearted to deal with the realistic, brutal tragedies of war. Maybe it'll touch on them in light, optimistic ways, but it isn't about to go All Quiet on the Western Front on the reader. By the same token, you don't expect fully happy endings out of the melodrama of opera, or frivolous slice of life from something grimdark.

Tone, too, is something people often wind up Procrusteanizing, which makes discussion difficult if two people disagree. If I read Homestuck as unwaveringly optimistic, with its downer ending the result of an author fumble, I'm pretty much going to irreconcileably disagree with somebody who reads Homestuck as though it's always been a kind of tragedy where things don't work out for the characters. Since it's even more difficult to define than theme, I'm not even really going to bother; I just felt like I had to bring it up because, despite its nebulosity, it's vital to how one reads and interprets a text. Sometimes I don't have a better answer for why I dislike a certain interpretation other than that it doesn't suit the work's tone. I generally try to avoid saying that, though, because it winds up smacking of subjective preference.

In summary... analysis is about keeping everything in mind all the time! But i swear, it gets easier the more you do it. Happy reading!

#homestuck #literary analysis #critical thinking

[thewriterwhowritesnot]

i gotta keep it horny fam, have you got any spicy headcanons for Alucard that you feel might be uncommon when discussing about him?

This is a very wonderful request

For one, I feel that he makes a point to experience every sensation to the fullest and he wants his lover to experience it all to the same extent as well

He's very sensually motivated which means he'll take his time getting very familiar with every part of you

Whether that be exploring you with his hands or his mouth

I personally think he has a fascination with having you in a place of helplessness

I know y'all are probably tired of me saying this shit but vampires are predators and that aspect is so much fun to discuss with sexual themes. Sooooo, I know in my SOUL that this man likes to pin you down.

Double points if it's unexpected and you have a moment of real fear/shock that he can smell. That would make him go feral

ALSO we been knew he was a biter but we never talk about his favorite places to bite and I am a 100% believer that the titty is his number one I SAID WHAT I SAID (and that’s regardless of gender)

But also thighs, shoulders, and over the rib cage (because the marks are just so pretty)

Speaking of marks, he would certainly have a fascination with leaving them all over your body even more so if you bruise easily

And to hit on the helplessness topic again, I feel that he would enjoy bondage with him being the one to tie the knots. The power rush of having you at his mercy in whatever position he chooses would be his drug of choice hands down. I was literally sweating writing this out lol

#castlevania headcannons #adrian tepes #castlevania #alucard #alucard tepes #alucard x reader #adrian tepes x reader #alucard tepes x reader #castlevania fanfic #alucard headcannons #gem speaks

[cb97breathing]

THE WOLF KING - A BANG CHAN SERIES

PREVIOUS NEXT

CHAPTER THREE: OUR LUNA

Pairing: Bang Chan x Afab! Reader

Theme: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Fantasy AU, Werewolf!Chan, MDNI

Word Count: 2.6K

Summary: Long before you were born the war between the kingdoms of humans and supernatural creatures began. No one ever knew the true cause of it, but humans were forbidden to ever enter the woods that bordered their lands. But you were never one to follow laws, you had always felt drawn to the beauty of the woods and never have you once felt in danger there. One day you come across a large black wolf watching you in the distance. It never approached you, but it watched you as you would lay against a tree in the sunlight and read your favorite books. From that moment on you would always see it, watching you. You felt as if it was protecting you. You would smile at it and never dare go near it. Little did you know, that the wolf who watched you carefully, was not just any wolf, but also a man, the man they called the wolf king.

A/N: Please do not repost or translate my work! Let me know if you wish to be on the tagged list.

After the beautiful moment you both had shared by the lake Chan carried you back to his room, the room you both would share after your wedding. Though at this point you both didn’t want to be separated at all. Not after finally giving yourselves to each other. You spend the night making love til you were both absolutely spent. You were addicted to each other's touch, to each other's kisses, to the pleasure that you gave each other. You were sure that everyone in the castle could hear your cries as he claimed you over and over. Whimpering and whining for each other as you both whispered “I love you.”  

It was now morning and you woke up to him no longer beside you. Your heart sank at the feeling, but you were sure it was because he had matters to attend to. He was the king, and you were not his queen just yet. You blushed and held the sheet to your chest as maids entered the room. They ran you a hot bath which you took gladly, the water helped soothe you from being so sore after the passionate night you had with Chan. Once you were done you were presented with multiple dresses to wear for the day. This was something that would take a bit to get used to. You never had such lavish things, or people to wait on you. 

You found yourself exploring the castle, wanting to find the library. You walked past one of the large windows and stared out into the garden taking in the beautiful flowers now bright and vibrant in the sunlight. 

“Your highness.” You jumped and turned around wide eyed to see Changbin standing behind you. You held a hand to your chest as you let out a sigh of relief. 

“You scared me.” You breathed out and chucked. “What did I tell you about calling me that? You don’t have to.” He smiled gently at you and nodded. 

“Apologies Y/n.” He said quietly. “I saw you looked a little bit lost so I wanted to see if you needed anything. Have you eaten yet?” He asked softly.  You smiled softly at him and nodded. 

“Yes, Chan had the maids bring me breakfast this morning.” You said softly. “I was actually looking for the library. Or to see if there is one.” 

“There is one. Follow me, I’ll show you.” He said softly. He led you down the hall to a big doorway and pushed open the doors for you. Your eyes widened at the size of it. You walked in and looked around in awe. You had never seen so many books in your life. “We try to get as many books from the human kingdom as we can, as well as having a large amount of books on the history of supernatural creatures as well. You can find pretty much everything there.” You looked at Changbin and smiled. 

“Thank you for showing me the way.” You said softly and reached up to ruffle his hair. HIs eyes widened and he blushed before smiling softly. 

“Anytime, y/n.” He said softly. “If you ever need something when Chan isn’t available you’re bound to bump into at least one of us, so do not hesitate to ask us for anything.” He bowed at you before leaving you alone in the library. You spent time browsing through the books before settling on a book on the history of mermaids. You read it intently as you sat along a windowsill taking in the warmth from the sunlight as it shined on you. You were happy you had a chance to read and learn about the lore and history of the supernatural creatures. You were to be their queen so you wanted to learn as much as you could. Hours passed by as you read about the beautiful mermaids of the sea, and how they can transform into human form on land. 

“You look so beautiful, little pup.” Your heart leapt out of your chest and you looked up to see Chan leaning against a bookshelf gazing at you softly. You blushed and closed the book as he approached you and placed it to the side. “I missed you.” He whispered softly as he pressed his lips to your forehead, He caressed your cheek and smiled down at you. “I could barely focus on my meeting today, all I could think about was you.” He breathed out. 

Your cheeks turned a deep red at his words and you pulled him close to press your lips against his. He sighed happily into your lips and pulled you even closer. He slipped his hands between your legs and spread them wide. He moved between them and pressed into you as he deepened the kiss. You shivered at the feeling and pulled away to look at him shyly with a blush. He smirked and nuzzled his face in your neck and nipped at your skin. 

“My King.” You whimpered at the feeling and he let out a low growl into your neck. “N-Not here.” You added as he pushed your dress up until your bottom half was completely exposed to him.  He quickly got down on his knees and ripped away your undergarments. You gasped and arched as you felt his mouth against your core. “Chan!” You cried softly. You whimpered and covered your face in embarrassment. “My King, what if someone sees?” You mewled out as he devoured your core. 

“Let them see My Queen.” He growled into your wet core. “Let them see how good I make you feel. Let them see how you’re mine.” He slipped two fingers inside you and bit at your hand to suppress your moans. Your legs trembled as your back laid flush against the window.  Your other hand tangled in his locks as he pumped his fingers rapidly in you making you cry into your hand. He looked up at you and pulled your hand away from your mouth. “Don’t you dare try and hide those beautiful sounds. I want to hear you my little pup.” He ordered softly before attaching his mouth to your clit. You could feel your orgasm coming as you tightened around his fingers. 

“That’s it my love. Cum for me.” He groaned out. You came undone around his fingers with a loud cry. Your body shook and your eyes rolled back as your hips rocked into his mouth. Chan almost came at the sight of you. He licked his lips clean and moved up to kiss you softly. You whimpered into his lips and when he pulled away you saw him stare behind you. “It looks like we are not alone, my love.” Your eyes followed to where Chan was looking and you saw Hyunjin standing there. His face was flushed and he kept his eyes to the ground. 

“I’m so sorry.” Hyunjin whispered out. “Her scent, it just, I couldn’t stop myself from following it.” He looked at you and Chan both nervously. His eyes lingered on your bare legs and he gulped at the sight. Chan moved to him and pressed his hand to his forehead. 

“Your rut is starting.” Chan said softly and Hyunjin nodded with a deep blush. “You came to your Luna for help. ” He said softly as he looked at you. “Our Luna must help the pack whenever they’re in need.” You looked at them both in confusion and Chan walked back to you. “He’s in heat and would like you to help him. Can you do it my love?” Your eyes widened at his words and you looked to Hyunjin who was staring at your exposed skin in hunger. You shook under his gaze and looked at Chan nervously. 

“At some point all the boys will turn to you for help until they find their own mates. I trust him to not hurt you or mark you.” He said softly as he caressed your cheek. “But I will not force you my love. You’re human so it’s strange for you. But I know your heart and body are mine.” You let out a shaky breath and your heart pounded. 

"If you are okay with it, you will be loved by more than just me." He caressed your cheek softly. "They will love you just as strongly." You looked over to Hyunjin who was staring at you with such longing it made your heart flutter. You shouldn't be okay with this, but for some reason you couldn't bare to say no.

“Hyunjin.” You called softly. His lust filled eyes met yours and he bit his lip hard. You reached out to him and he immediately rushed into your arms. Chan smiled softly at you and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Chan are you sure?" You asked quietly.

“Treat him well my love. I’ll leave you both.” He said softly before leaving. Your eyes followed Chan as he left the library and then looked down to Hyunjin. He buried his face in your neck and kissed at your skin as his hands ran up your thighs. Your eyes fluttered closed at the feeling and your ran your fingers through his long brown locks. 

“Y/n, can I kiss you?” He asked shyly. You blushed deeply at his words and nodded. He pressed his lips to yours. The kiss is gentle and slow. His fingers found your wet core and he brushed fingers against you core. You were so sensitive from what Chan had just did and you couldn’t stop yourself from whining into his mouth. He pulled away from you and looked at you softly. “Let me take you somewhere more comfortable.” He whispered softly. He picked you up bridal style and you let out a soft squeal. He chuckled as he carried you further into the library where there was multiple divans and a lit up fireplace. He set you down on your get and looked into your eyes.

“May I undress you?” He asked softly as his hands wandered to the ties on the back of your dress. You blushed and nodded as he untied them with ease and soon your dress slid off of you leaving you completely exposed in front of the younger male. His eyes wandered as he took in your body. “So beautiful.” He whispered as his fingers grazed your hips. “What I’d give to paint you Luna.” He whispered as his lips brushed against yours. 

“Hyunjin.” You breathed out as you looked into his eyes softly. “Don’t be nervous.” You caressed his cheek. “Chan trusts you then so do I and I want to help you. Please tell me what you need.” You said softly. He looked deep into your eyes. 

“I need to be inside you.” He let out in a whimper. He pressed his lips to yours and picked you up gently before laying you on the giant divan. He pulled away and began to strip off his clothes. Your eyes watched as your heart pounded. Once he was completely bare for you, you couldn’t stop yourself from taking in his beautiful body. He was skinnier but toned and looked like something crafted from the gods. Your eyes blushed as they landed on his long and curved member.  Not as thick as Chan’s but still very big. He stared at you as if waiting for a command. 

“Don’t hold back.” You said softly. “Come here.” He growled softly at your words and settled between your legs. His large hand gripped your hip as he kissed across your chest. He sucked at your nipple eagerly as his other hand brushed over your swollen and wet sex. He slid three fingers into you easily and you let out a soft moan. Your fingers tangled in his hair as his mouth continued to devour your breasts.  You rocked your hips and whimpered as you felt his fingers hit deep within you. His name escaped your lips in a soft moan which made him look up to you with such need.

“Say it again.” He whispered as he curled his fingers inside you causing you to cry out. You complied and gladly moaned out his name. “God you are the most beautiful thing on this earth.” He growled out. He pulled his fingers out of you and lined the tip of his cock with your entrance. He looked deep into your eyes and he slowly pushed himself in. You stared at him as his eyes rolled back and his brows furrowed. It was one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen. He spread your legs wide and looked down to watch his cock move in and out of you as he began to rock himself into you. The sight of your core taking him all the way making him moan loudly. “You’re taking me so well.” 

You were a blushing mess as you writhed beneath him feeling the tip of his cock already hitting spots that made your mind become foggy. He wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled you closer to him. Now you were straddling him as he thrusted up into you. Your eyes rolled back as you felt him go even deeper and you couldn’t stop the cries from leaving your mouth. He pressed his lips to yours in a hungry kiss as his thrusts became more rough and violent. Your legs trembled as you cried out into his mouth. 

He held you by your waist and pounded into you rapidly. Both of your moans and cries for each other could definitely be heard throughout the library. You felt your second orgasm approaching and you sobbed out for him. He never took his eyes off of you as he too felt his climax coming and soon you were both coming undone together as you clung to each other desperately. You felt his hot seed spill inside of you as you buried your face in his chest. He growled as he pulled out of you and laid you on your stomach. His hands ran up your thighs and gripped your hips to raise them in the air. He lined up against you again already hard and slammed deep inside you. Causing you to scream out. 

Hyunjin slammed his hips relentlessly against yours. His need and want to breed you flooded his mind. All he cared about was watching you cry for him as he made a filthy mess of your cunt. Watching your face twist in joy at the feeling of his cum spilling inside you. You were too lost in the feeling as he continued to use you for his needs. You didn’t even know if you would be able to cum again but you didn’t care. You wanted to please him and help him through his time of need. You were his Luna after all. His fingers found your clit and he rubbed it rapidly. The feeling made you cry out as you moved to get away. The feeling was too much. But he pulled you back and continued desperate to feel you cum on his cock again.  

“H-Hyunjin!” You cried out as you buried your face into the cushion of the divan. Your legs began to shake violently and your core clenched around him once again. 

“That’s it. Please again.” He begged softly as he pounded into you. You clenched around his cock and came once more. Your body going limp beneath him. He held you up by your waist as he pounded into you for a little longer before finally cumming inside you again. But he was not done. No, his rut was far from over. He needed more and you were gladly going to let him have his fill.

oh look another surprise. :3 hehehe. who do you think she will help next? or will it just be a moment of passion between her and one of the pack. Chan does love to share. So much happening and they haven't even had the wedding yet. >:)

tagged list: @casualenthusiastexpert @inara-a @obeythemasters @ashrocker123 @allmonstersxarehuman @3rachasninja @maeleelee @blossomwritesthings @hyunnieshannie @binchansbiceps @d4vekat-otp @miin17 @changbinisms @hyun--e687 @levantea @sherituhhh @mooncallerautumn @whatudowhennooneseesyou @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @emmxxsworld @sammybirdseed

#bang chan smut #bang chan fanfic #stray kids fanfic #stray kids smut #hwang hyunjin fanfic #hwang hyunjin smut #seo changbin fanfic #seo changbin smut #skz smut #skz fanfic #han jisung fanfic #han jisung smut #kim seungmin fanfic #kim seungmin smut #yang jeongin fanfic #yang jeongin smut #lee know fanfic #lee know smut #lee felix fanfic #lee felix smut

[violetasteracademic]

I know people are already discrediting Sarah's instagram post today, which is perfectly fine. Of course an author should be able to post about a new album they are enjoying and have that be it. And people are welcome to interpret this however they wish. Confirmation bias is a real thing, and none of us are above it.

For example, I myself am a writer. I spend a lot of time curating playlists that remind me of my characters and help me get in their headspace. I truly believe a lot of writers connect deeply to music and lyrics and poetry that hit deep on themes they explore. So this confirms my bias that Sarah is extremely excited about an amazing song that just dropped by a massive artist that reminds her of her work. That is truly one of the best feelings in the world.

Ana Huang curates playlists for every single one of her couples and books. She both posts them on her website and at the beginning of her books:

These photos were pulled directly from my kindle from her website.

Sarah does have a book announcement coming soon. One of the biggest stars in the world and one of her favorite artists released a song that has an uncanny amount of similar themes to a couple that every major news outlet covering the topic in the past months have suggested is "suspected or likely to be next" and Sarah was genuinely so excited about that song (out of 31 tracks) and said "Thank you for this GIFT."

Just a few weeks ago SJM made a big post about Spring. It was full of flowers, blushes and pinks, and BAKING! All of those things scream Elain, however there was a huge surge of "Sarah is so intentional, she does everything for a reason. There is no way this isn't confirming Lucien or Tamlin endgame." Those same people are now saying that this very pointed instagram post is meaningless and let the woman just post fun stuff that she likes. Sarah also loves flowers and baking in her real life, so that also *could* have just been things Sarah loves and just general ACOTAR buzz since there are new readers every day and the series starts in the Spring Court.

Another important major thing to note is that Sarah frequently states she does not have social media on her phone, she stays out of theory spaces, and she likely does not run her own socials. Most, if not all of her posts are directly related to her books and generating buzz. Her last feed post was about writing the ACOTAR book, and now a song came out that is potentially a perfect fit. This all falls within marketing and generating buzz and conversation. Sarah likely didn't just download instagram to her personal phone, which she avoids like the plague, just to post this one song and then delete it again. It is more likely it fits in with marketing themes.

The truth is, we, as the consumer, do not get to decide the intentions behind a public persona's social media behavior. But when it comes to Sarah's last two instagram stories, it's either both or neither. Either Sarah's flower and baking filled springtime post meant something AND this means something, or neither meant anything.

Sarah is aware everything she does gets dissected. I'm not making a definitive statement whether or not she leans into that, since she hasn't made an outright statement like the queen of easter eggs herself Taylor Swift has.

But there is only one character relevant to both of her instagram stories: Elain Archeron.

Flowers. Baking. Forbidden love.

We don't have to change up the rules or remove anything from the equation to show all signs point to Elain.

#elriel #elain x azriel #pro elriel #elriel endgame #elriel supremacy #azriel x elain

[heyhay13]

Lightning Round QnA!

We had over 250 questions in the form and we focused on ones that were very open to anyone in the cast. So specific detail questions got left out :(

Here's a lightning round of questions to answer for y'all and my ask box is open if you have more!

Rae/Heyhay Questions

What happened to Icarus's birds?? We know Rae said he'd take care of them, but with the birds being wacked and Icarus whole memory type thing, what would happen with that.

Sherb and I talked about this a bit and landed on the birds seeking out Rae and he builds an aviary for the strange new little friends following him around. I might even write a fic for it!

Heyhay how long did the scrapbook (shown at the end) take to be made?

I worked on it for nearly a month and a half between organizing with the artists and making it myself!

How did you come up with Vaeh's Name?

It's from Fenris' sister Nevaeh!

Will you continue to cosplay the characters after this?

Absolutely!

To Rae/Hayhay: what was your favorite memory to make in the Always Remember Book?

I think probably all of the wedding details. I loved talking with my friends to plan out the details and outfits SO MUCH and a lot of the poses are based on my own wedding photos!

Are there any plot lines that you wish you could have done or explored more in depth, but couldn't due to time?

We initially had some ideas for finding a few more Telchin temples, including Project Protetus. I really like building the temple/facilities so that would have been fun!!

How did lore planning/pre stream work?

We usually plan out rough ideas for a stream in dms and then meet 30 minutes before a stream to go over everything, dry run some things like flight paths, and do sound checks!

Out of all the characters on fable smp, which one do you think you could win in a fight against?

Ven lol

Will we see other versions of the fable characters in other smp's like Bound?

You might >:3

If your character didn’t ascend, what would they be the god of? And if they did ascend, were there any other domains they could have been the god of other than the domain they got?

Rae's took FOREVER to actually land on. I was really stuck on wanting something that felt more correct than Knowledge and we tossed around a lot of ideas until landing on Wonder.

How much of the relationship constellation was planned?

Literally only Raax and Ocie's original partners (Rust, Jerry, Shawn) were planned! The others came about naturally as the lore progressed.

Did Rae ever get better at baking/cooking?

YES! At least slightly-

How old is Rae in the time period that Rye made in Rae’s epilogue

Not an exact age for Rae, but his epilogue takes place when Vaeh is roughly 4-5 years old.

The first two seasons have “names” (endstone reset and skulk reset) but what would be season three’s?

I like to think it'd be called the "Last Reset"

What is your favourite kind of fanfictions written about your character? (Tropes/themes/etc)

I'm a massive sucker for Hurt/Comfort fics-

Clarification Questions

What was that one gold aura building near the temple of creation in S1?

It was a build from Sherb's hardcore world at that time!

Why did Rae remember Icarus? I thought everyone was supposed to forget but I might’ve misunderstood

Rae remembers Icarus as a child up until when Icarus' first death would have been! Isla would also remember Icarusa as a child as well.

Was the release me book from season one written by fable?

Yes!

What is Haley? She came back from the dead but no body ever said if Midas made her come back or if she was a god.

Midas brought her back, switching her and Fable's places so he would go back into Purgatory

Why couldn’t Haley see quixis’ changes from purgatory?(and fable)

There is no record of Quixis in the Akashic Records. This is also why Icarus is missing from the records in Rae's epilogue!

General Questions

Are you guys gonna do another smp where its everyone as the same cast?

Nope, not with this exact cast at this time, but we all are on a bunch of other smps you can check out! Mer, Bound, Siege, and more!

Is there a reason behind all of the seeds you use in Minecraft? Or is it just the first biome that pops up is the new setting for the season?

We actually look really hard for a good world seed that we like. For season 3, we really wanted a good spot that the tree could be near the ocean and this seed worked out great for that!

Will we be able to have a world file of S3?

YES - it's coming soon!

#fablesmp #fablesmpqna #qna #rae morningstar

[finleycannotdraw]

can u recommend some bands? i think i like ur music taste and i am terrible at finding music

ty :)

of COURSE I can <3 you’ve probably heard of some of these, but maybe there’ll be some you haven’t! I don’t know what you already like, so… here we go :)

Hozier. Yeah this was always going to be first on the list I’m currently listening to basically nothing else! He’s an Irish folk/soul/blues/etc idk musician who uses a lot of religious and mythological themes in his lyrics and has a lot of songs that include social justice commentary.

The Amazing Devil is a folk rock band with an incredibly unique sound. Their songs are incredibly emotional and have an awesome fantasy vibe going on—plus there’s two singers, and they often sing independently from each other, which is something you don’t see often!

Good Morning Bedlam is a bluegrass band that I’ve gotten into recently! They’re sort of like… a mix of the amazing devil and the crane wives?

The Crane Wives, while we’re at it, and

The Oh Hellos. they’re fairly similar and I don’t have a ton to say about their stylistic differences, but they’re all definitely worth checking out!

Florence & The Machine. Most people have heard of them but I always like to recommend them anyway

Alec Benjamin, if you’re into softer indie music! He has a lot of different styles of lyrics, but his voice is consistent, so he’s great to listen to if you’re looking for that sort of variety.

Chxrlotte doesn’t have a lot of music out, but I’m a big fan of the music she has released, including the ones about Good Omens! The others are more angsty which I love too.

The Family Crest is an orchestral indie pop rock band, which blows my mind. I can’t believe orchestra isn’t a more utilized tool in popular lyrical music, because they do it so well.

Good Kid is actually my brother’s favorite band, and I love them too. They’re also indie rock, but they have a very distinctive style and are easy to get into! Plus they haven’t released a shit ton of songs like some other artists, so it isn’t overwhelming to explore their discography.

Jonatha Brooke is an artist I only know about because my mom liked her music a lot in the 90s, but she’s got a super nice voice and has some awesomely relatable lyrics. I especially recommend her album Ten Cent Wings!

Midlake is a super melodic folk rock band. I’m obsessed with their album The Courage of Others, which has a melancholy vibe that’s super easy to get lost in.

Palaye Royale is harder rock than anyone else on the list so far, but they’ve got an awesome style. Unique voice and definitely darker themes in their lyrics.

Tears for Fears is a pop rock band that I love because my dad does. (My parents are musicians—I trust their music taste).

Toad the Wet Sprocket got their name from Monty Python, but PLEASE go listen to the Architect of the Ruin EP. You will not regret it. Also the song Something’s Always Wrong is like… entrenched in my very being.

Elbow is a band that I never see in fandom circles, but they’re definitely not obscure. Check out their album Little Fictions! They’re kind of like Midlake.

Will Wood ranges from chaotic and fun (The Normal Album) to absolutely soul-crushing (in case I make it)! Sometimes even both at the same time!

(I would’ve also put Paramore, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and other rock/pop punk bands I like on there, but I assumed you already know them.) (If you were looking for harder rock or metal, let me know, because this list is not that.)

If you want more genre-specific recs or even album/song recs, don’t hesitate to ask!! Music is the fuel of my soul.

#asks :) #music talk #band recommendations #song recs #music recs #hozier #the amazing devil #the crane wives #good morning bedlam #the oh hellos #florence and the machine #alec benjamin #chxrlotte #the family crest #good kid #jonatha brooke #midlake #palaye royale #tears for fears #toad the wet sprocket #elbow #will wood

[gynnnicsworld]

For you, what is the season in which you knew that sterek were a real thing? For me it was throughout S3A. Or at least there was something really important going on between them...

I mean, I've been a shipper of them since the first meeting but where I definitely took sterek as my banner was during S3A.

I really love the theme of parallels between Stiles and Jennifer because it basically confirms sterek for us. And there's so much to explore there, I really don't understand why 3A doesn't get enough recognition.

3B is probably everyone's favorite season, I'm pretty sure of that, or a favorite, but 3A needs to be thoroughly analyzed 👁️

The thing is that in 3A there are so many themes that we can explore, like the absurdly obvious parallels between Jennifer and Stiles😩.I'll never really be able to get over the fact that they used the whole Stiles/Derek dynamic with Jennifer/Derek, and that Jennifer seemed to fear Stiles?

Because it's really interesting how Jennifer avoided being around Stiles or prevented Stiles and Derek from being in the same place when she was there.I think there were only two times when Stiles and Derek were in the same room when she was there, the first during Boyd's death and she stayed away, while Stiles went to give his support to Derek and Jennifer was just "shocked"... And the other time was when Derek chose to believe Stiles over her.

I have to organize my thoughts but I really want to talk about this, because I have the energy right now. So sorry if this is a bit messy 😔

Okay, it's pretty much a fact that Jennifer was using this nervous, clumsy demeanor, and she was actually imitating Stiles' entire personality with Derek. But why? Because Jennifer's goal was to bewitch Derek, to have him somehow at her mercy and control, and to do that she had to get under Derek's skin.

And let's get something straight, even if Derek didn't know it and wasn't yet aware of the fact that Stiles is his anchor, Stiles was already under Derek's skin (for whatever reason). So Jennifer had to follow this line, Stiles was already something important to Derek and if she wants to get closer to Derek the best way to do it is to give him something that he is familiar with and something he's already comfortable with and somehow has his guard down.

And what is that? (In case it's not clear; Stiles) she presented herself to Derek with this behavior that he was already familiar with. even the part of the Stls/Drk relationship where they are both always arguing or fighting or Derek is intimidating to Stiles, even that Jennifer imitated. (if you don't believe me you can go see for yourself, from the first meeting between Jennifer and Derek there was this dynamic like the one Drk/stils have)

Okay moving on, the personality theft that Jennifer did to Stiles wasn't enough (haha) so similar parallel events also happened, remember that time where Derek went to Stiles for help? I mean the one in the car, where Derek told Stiles he was going to rip out his throat? Something similar happens between Jennifer and Derek. [Except the throat part, we all know that's something unique and special between Derek and Stiles 😌 that not even a curse can imitate.]

Okay, more things happen, but Jennifer actually already put Derek under some kind of spell, that makes him do whatever she says, like she made him not inform Scott that he was still alive... Why do I mention this? Because this fucking matters, let's say things between them keep moving forward, etc. And Derek is increasingly under her control, or well under her spell, until the day Stiles and Scott tell him that Jennifer is the darach...

And I really want us to think about this, because I don't remember it ever happening that Derek breaks his spell...or well something happens...Which I personally take as the reason why Jennifer didn't want Derek and Stiles to be in the same place while she is, because Stiles is the one who was able to break the influence that she has on Derek.

Let's remember this moment where Stiles asks her where his dad is , and Stiles has his eyes full of tears and revealing sadness, worry and vulnerability. And Jennifer mocks him by saying how the hell would she know that, it's not like she can go out and murder people on her lunch break (or something like that). And she tells Derek that he can't believe them.

Then we have this shot of Derek looking at Scott and Stiles, but it's obvious who Derek has his gaze focused on...And Boom! Right there Derek believes Stiles (and Scott).

And Jennifer stops pretending, etc etc.

For me that was the moment where any influence Jennifer may have had on Derek ended and she knew it.

I really love that season because basically all Jennifer did until the end was play a personality type like Stiles, and Derek fell for that 😩...I can only say that whatever Derek felt for Stiles, it was already tremendously strong.

Well I lost my train of thought, so I'll end here, but please share your thoughts and opinions with me here 🤍 Stiles and Derek really liked each other too much and the fools didn't even realize 😭

#sterek #derek hale #sterek fandom #ao3 fanfic #stiles stilinski #stiles #derek x stiles #sterek theory #theory #teen wolf stiles #stiles x derek #teen wolf meta #teen wolf #shipping #s3 #3a 3b

[its-leethee]

I've been reminiscing about my first watch through of The Dragon Prince. And, well, I love everything in the bakery scene in 1x01. For such a brief scene, it reveals a lot about Ezran and the culture in Katolis.

The scene opens with Ezran sneaking into the bakery through a grate in the floor, so now we know that the castle has passages in the walls (an important and plot-relevant secret we'll appreciate later) and that Ezran is free and adventurous enough to explore and exploit them.

The triangular-shaped jelly tarts that Ezran covets are recognizable as hamantashen, a traditional Jewish pastry. There are other examples of Jewish cultural practices revealed in the show later, but this is the first, and I admit I was pretty excited to see them.

We've already met King Harrow at this point, so we know that the royal family is Black and wears red clothing. Our suspicions about Ezran are confirmed when Barius greets him: "Prince Ezran," at which Ez immediately flinches. Barius' tone is not deferential in the least. Barius goes on to admonish Ezran for his attempted jelly tart heist, and with this exchange we're shown that while Ezran might enjoy a great measure of privilege and freedom, he's not spoiled. The baker's demeanor signals that the other castle inhabitants don't feel obligated to grovel to Ezran, or even humor his mischief.

Extra:

...as I was re-watching the scene to capture my favorite little exchange (the suffering parent in me laughed out loud here):

I remembered that we got an instance of the eye motif:

"...they're not for you! Or your little monster, Bait."

Personhood, and who deserves to be recognized as a person, is one of the principal themes explored in this show and here it is, presented in this scene as comic relief.

All of this packed into less than three minutes. I just love how this entire show scene's construction and execution are so clever and succinct.

#1x01 #mine #tdp analysis #ezran #barius #worldbuilding #characterization #eye motif #theme: personhood #when i watched tdp the first time i knew practically nothing about it beyond the title. went in w no expectations. and well. damn #never been another show that has captured my obsession so thoroughly since. but y'all know #the dragon prince

[yxlnst]

A day at the theme park

idol!wonwoo x reader!y/n

🎀 : Theme park date with Wonwoo

🧸 Word count 🧸 : 936

Fluff

🧸 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 🎀 - - - - - - - - - - - 🧸

It was a bright Saturday morning, the kind that promised a perfect day for a trip to the theme park. You'd been looking forward to this all week, and Wonwoo had even cleared his schedule to make sure you both had the whole day to explore, ride roller coasters, and eat way too much junk food.

When he picked you up, you couldn't help but smile. Wonwoo had a relaxed charm about him, and he made even the simplest things feel special. He greeted you with a gentle kiss on the cheek, then opened the car door for you. "Ready for a fun day?" he asked, his eyes bright behind his glasses.

"Ready as I'll ever be," you replied, grinning as you got into the car. You could tell he was just as excited as you were.

The drive to the theme park was filled with light conversation and laughter. Wonwoo had a playlist of your favorite songs playing, and you both sang along, not caring if you hit a few wrong notes. It was just one of the things you loved about him—he was so easygoing, and you always felt comfortable around him.

When you arrived at the theme park, it was bustling with people. The sights and sounds of the park brought back memories from when you were a kid—bright colors, the smell of popcorn, and the distant screams of people on the rides. Wonwoo paid for your tickets, then handed you a map. "Where do you want to go first?" he asked, holding your hand as you walked through the entrance.

"Let's start with the roller coasters," you suggested, pointing to the map. "The lines will be shorter in the morning."

Wonwoo nodded, leading the way. You admired how he weaved through the crowd, always keeping you close to his side. You passed by the various stalls and games, each one vying for attention with bright lights and loud music.

The first roller coaster was an old wooden one, known for its bumpy ride and sharp turns. You joined the line, which wasn't too long yet, and waited your turn. Wonwoo stood beside you, his arm around your shoulders. "You sure you're not scared?" he teased, noticing the hint of nervousness in your eyes.

"Me? Scared?" you replied, trying to sound confident. "I'm just... excited."

"Don't worry, I'll be right beside you," he said, giving your shoulder a comforting squeeze.

When it was your turn, you both climbed into the front car of the roller coaster. As it started to climb the first hill, you felt your heart racing with anticipation. The view from the top was breathtaking, but the drop that followed was even more exhilarating. You screamed with joy as the coaster plunged down, whipping around sharp bends and rattling over the wooden tracks.

Wonwoo laughed beside you, clearly enjoying the ride. "That was awesome!" he shouted as the coaster came to a stop. "Let's do it again!"

"We'll have to try the other rides first," you replied, still catching your breath. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

The rest of the day was a blur of excitement and laughter. You rode more roller coasters, each one more intense than the last. Wonwoo was always there, holding your hand and cheering you on. He seemed to know exactly when you needed encouragement and when to let you enjoy the thrill on your own.

At lunchtime, you found a quiet spot near a fountain to eat. Wonwoo had picked up some classic theme park food—corn dogs, fries, and cotton candy. You sat on a bench, enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the water. "This is perfect," you said, taking a bite of your corn dog.

"It really is," Wonwoo agreed, smiling as he watched you. "I'm glad we did this."

After lunch, you decided to try some of the games. Wonwoo had a knack for the ring toss, and he quickly won you a stuffed animal—an adorable panda that you immediately named "Pandy." He handed it to you with a playful bow. "For you, my lady," he said with a grin.

You laughed, hugging the stuffed animal. "Thank you, kind sir," you replied, playing along. "You're quite the talented gamer."

The day continued with more rides, games, and sweet treats. You tried the spinning teacups, the Ferris wheel, and even the haunted house. Throughout it all, Wonwoo was by your side, making you laugh and feel like the luckiest person in the world.

As the sun began to set, the theme park took on a magical quality. The lights came on, casting a warm glow over everything.

The day at the theme park had been amazing—roller coasters, games, and all the classic snacks you could eat. As the sun began to set, the park took on a new life. The lights came on, casting a warm glow over everything, and the air filled with the scent of popcorn and cotton candy.

Wonwoo had been an amazing companion throughout the day, his easygoing attitude and gentle humor making everything feel just right. As you walked through the park, he held your hand, pointing out the different rides and attractions, always finding ways to make you laugh.

When you reached the Ferris wheel, Wonwoo stopped and turned to you with a playful grin. "How about a ride?" he asked, nodding toward the towering wheel. "It's a perfect way to end the day."

You nodded, your heart racing with excitement. The Ferris wheel was one of your favorite rides, and there was something romantic about watching the sunset from high above the park.

The line wasn't long, and soon you and Wonwoo were seated in one of the wheel's brightly colored gondolas. As it slowly rose into the air, you could see the entire park spread out below, the lights twinkling in the gathering dusk.

"This is beautiful," you said, leaning against Wonwoo's shoulder. The view was stunning, with the sun dipping below the horizon and the city lights starting to come alive in the distance.

"Yeah," Wonwoo replied, his voice soft. "It's even better because I'm here with you."

The Ferris wheel continued to rise, and the park grew smaller beneath you. As you reached the top, the world seemed to slow down, the only sound the gentle creaking of the wheel and the distant laughter from below.

Wonwoo turned to you, his eyes reflecting the soft glow of the setting sun. "I had a great time today," he said, his voice full of warmth. "Thanks for coming with me."

"I had a great time too," you replied, meeting his gaze. "Thanks for bringing me."

He leaned in closer, his expression gentle and full of affection. "I really like you," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"I really like you too," you replied, feeling a flutter of butterflies in your stomach.

And then, as the Ferris wheel paused at the top, Wonwoo kissed you. It was a soft, tender kiss, filled with all the warmth and affection you'd come to know from him. The world seemed to melt away, leaving just the two of you, high above the park, sharing a moment that felt like it was meant to be.

When the kiss ended, you felt a rush of warmth, a feeling that this was just the beginning of something amazing. Wonwoo smiled at you, his eyes full of joy. "I'm glad we're here," he said.

"Me too," you replied, still feeling the warmth of the kiss.

The Ferris wheel slowly descended, bringing you back to the reality of the bustling park below. But you knew that, no matter where you went from here, this moment would always be special. It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.

#svt #seventeen #wonwoo #svt wonwoo #seventeen wonwoo #wonwoo x you #wonwoo x reader #wonwoo x yn #svt wonwoo x you #seventeen wonwoo x you #wonwoo fluff #wonwoo imagine #wonwoo ff #wonwoo fanfic #wonwoo fanfiction #wonwoo story #wonwoo imagine story #wonwoo svt #wonwoo seventeen #svt fluff #seventeen fluff #seventeen fanfic #seventeen imagine #seventeen ff #seventeen fanfiction

[lurkingshan]

Hii, hope you're doing well!! I've been meaning to check out more c-dramas. I've never really watched any, but I keep seeing them on my dash and want to start giving some a shot since I watch every other type of drama (BL or otherwise lol). I saw you post often about c-dramas, so I wanted to ask if you had any other recs besides Tender Light (which I'm planning on watching when it's done)? I'm more curious about c-dramas in general rather than any specific genre, since I'm so new to them

Hello, thank you for the ask! I'm glad my obsessive Tender Light posting has got you curious about cdramas. Some of my all time favorite dramas are from Mainland China, and I would be happy to share some recs! Since you are looking for a general sense, I am just going to give you a sampling of some of my personal favs.

Tender Light

Obviously I will be taking this opportunity to talk up this drama some more, which will be ending its run this weekend. This is, hands down, my favorite drama of the year and easily going on my top 10 dramas of all time list. It's one of the most gorgeous and precise and unflinching pieces of media I have ever seen. This is definitely one for people who love smart mystery writing, dark themes (I mean this for real, if you have a lot of triggers ask for CWs), and explorations of the human condition. It will be staying with me for a long time.

Go Ahead

Another of my all time favs (and with cast crossover from Tender Light), this is a family drama that digs deep on the meaning of family, finding your people, and resilience through intergenerational trauma. I love it so so much (I am actually rewatching it right now).

Lighter & Princess

A fantastic romance and owner of a coveted spot on the ride or die drama couples list. In this story you get to watch these two fall in love twice, first in college and then as adults, and both times it's epic.

Reset

How about a time loop thriller? This is one of the best I have ever seen, and its relatively short run keeps it tight and tense all the way through. There's a romance in this one, too, but kissing is definitely secondary to finding their way out of this death trap.

The Rebel Princess

Let's dip our toe into historicals! Granted, I still have plenty of gaps in my historical cdrama watch list (there are just so many and they're so long, I am doing my best people!) but this remains my all time favorite to date. It's epic, it's shockingly well written and paced for its length, the characters are excellent and compelling all around, and it has one of my all time favorite male leads and drama couples (another from the ride or die list!). Don't let the episode number intimidate you, it will fly by much faster than you think.

The Untamed

You watch bl so I am assuming you already know about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but just in case I will also include this drama as a much watch. It's likely the best live action danmei we will ever get.

Love Between Fairy and Devil

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a show put all your favorite fanfic tropes in a blender, cast beautiful people to act them out, and put them in lavish costumes? Well, here is your answer.

Love and Redemption

This one's for us angst with a happy ending girlies. An epic love story with lots of pining and struggle and strife, and it's so worth it.

Falling Into You

Back to the modern era, this is a classic sports drama with a noona romance. Very unassuming but full of charm and very well executed.

Fake It Till You Make It

An unusually mature take on adult romance from a cdrama, this one is about two career focused permasingle love skeptics who meet, realize they actually like each other, and try to figure out what the hell to do with that. I love it a lot.

That should be enough to get you started! There are many many more recs to be had, so once you give some of these a try and figure out what you like, feel free to hit me up for more!

#tender light #go ahead #lighter and princess #reset #the rebel princess #the untamed #love between fairy and devil #love and redemption #falling into you #fake it till you make it #cdrama #shan recommends #shan answers

[eponastory]

Ah, Sarcastic Chorus...

Let's break down the 'I'm going to fix you' argument for Katara.

First off, no one can 'fix' anyone. Going into a relationship thinking you're going to change somebody and make them different is going to make that relationship bad. It's not necessarily toxic, but bad. Why? Because it's not your job to 'fix' the other person. The only one who can do that is the other person. You can only 'fix' yourself.

A lot of relationships fail because of these expectations.

I'm going to talk about fanfiction here for a moment since I've been writing a Zutara story. Since Zutara isn't Canon (but we really wish it was) and all, I only have what does happen in Canon and what happens in fanfiction tropes I see a lot.

In the show we get these wonderful little moments where Zuko and Katara are fighting each other (book one), and it sets a nice theme of opposites attract. The motifs are there with all the color symbolism... it's nice. That does immediately set our brains to 'oh they are so going to get together'. There are a lot of nuances to that, and it's lovely.

I'm not going to lie, Katara is in that group dynamic of 'The Heart' role, and yes, it does put a little pressure on her character to care for everyone. It's my least favorite role for a character and it's a bitch to write when you want that character to be independent.

Anyway, back to Katara. She's the mother figure, the caring and nurturing one that has to help everyone else sort out their problems while she has to internalize her own. It sucks. It really does. So when we get to TSR in Book 3 and she is practically berated by everyone for not acting like herself... she gets pissed, rightfully so because she had to help everyone else with their bullshit until Zuko finally joined. This is where Zuko becomes a foil for her.

Just to be clear, a foil is basically a character that encourages change to happen within a dynamic. It can be a group or a pairing. Usually, that character had opposite goals or a different personality. Zuko started out as the antagonist, but when he joined the Gaang, he's now a foil for the entire group.

Back to what I was saying... what was I saying? Oh yes!

So Katara is rightfully pissed because she needs to deal with her trauma when everyone is suddenly 'this isn't who you are'. No, this is exactly who she is. She is very much like her element. Water is fluid, it can be calm and it can be a torrent... which is exactly the way she is written. It's always been her, she just put everyone else's problems above her own. Now that she has to deal with her problems, it's chaotic for everyone else.

And yes, she does have survivors guilt.

That is her main problem, so now she has to deal with it. And Zuko gives her that chance.

This is getting pretty long, so I'll try to wrap everything up here.

Zuko doesn't need to be 'fixed' he's already done that himself by himself. Joining the Gaang was essentially a fresh start for him (I use that term lightly) which is why he is so awkward when he goes to talk to them at the Western Air Temple (or is it Eastern? I don't remember ahhhh. Fibro brain!) And it's so cute and I just want to hug him. I digress, but it's great.

He's got a shitty past, but he is trying to change himself even further by accepting responsibility for what he did to them individually. In Katara's case, he has to work hard for her. It's lovely, and the payoff is great. I know for sure that is what I see in their relationship. He cares so much about her that he works hard to win her trust again. Why? Because she showed him compassion in CoD, and that struck a chord in him. Her strength is her compassion when he was taught by his sociopathic narcissist father that emotions like that are a weakness.

That my dear Kat*angers is why we love this ship.

It's a beautiful dynamic between them that I would have loved to see Bryke explore, but they just gave us the most vanilla bland version of a romance they could find by pulling a D&B (Game of Thrones writers) and subverting expectations. It sucks.

TLDR version.

Katara doesn't have to fix Zuko.

#dont go into a relationship thinking you can fix someone thats bad #fix yourself and it will work out fine #zuko is an awkward turtleduck #anti anti zutara #pro zutara #pro katara #zutara #anti kataang #anti bryke

[talktolwt]

I would like to focus on the music chosen for Hob Gadling's 80s sequence.

I'm extremely late to the world of The Sandman (finally binged it two weeks ago after my mother had been begging me to watch it with her and now I'm more obsessed than her) Bottom line: I'm unbelievably glad I finally watched this beautiful piece of television.

I have yet to read the comics but as for the first season, I have to say, without a doubt, my favorite episode is Chapter 6: The Sound of Her Wings. Death's 20-min segment is a beauty unto itself, but I'll be focusing on Hob's segment today. Specifically, his 80s scenes.

Considering I'm so late to this fandom and exploring all of its wondrous details and themes, excuse me if this has already been noted. I've been thinking about these details over and over but I need to get it out there in the Sandman world and hear everyone else's thoughts.

*Also excuse the terrible photos - Netflix doesn't let you screenshot and I was too lazy to get another app to let me bypass it. Please bear with my photos of my laptop screen.*

There are three songs that play throughout this sequence.

#1 - "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals

I accidentally deleted half my post mid-writing this but here I go again.

As we can see, after the breakup scene, we open up on Hob Gadling (he looks amazing in his 80s look, by the way) and this song plays.

Here are the lyrics:

I mean - where do I even start LMAO.

*Let me just give another note - regardless if you ship Dreamling romantically or not, I will be merely analyzing these lyrics as they are and how they convey Hob's feelings for Dream in general. But, I mean, the songs are THERE, the text is THERE. So do with that what you will.*

This will go for the following two songs as well, but these songs are placed with meaningful intention. Each of these offer a unique lens and dive into Hob's feelings.

I won't be annoying and over-explain anything, but the lyrics are clear I feel:

"She drives me crazy" - cough

"Things you do don't seem real" - in Hob's view, Dream literally is an enigma. Hob has no idea the capacities, the limits, and even the name of this being he meets every century.

"This waiting 'round's killing me" - well.

"Everything you say is lies" - now I wouldn't say particularly lies, but Dream does keep and omit things from Hob. Understandably, Hob would find himself in a confused limbo with Dream.

Here's the kicker:

"I won't make it on my own/No one likes to be alone." - HELLO. I mean, if this isn't the core message and pinnacle of Dream and Hob's lesson to immortality.

As Death mentions earlier in the episode, around 18:10, "Most of us will be glad for the company of a friend."

I feel I could go on forever and ever about the beauty of this episode and how well The Sound of Her Wings and Men of Good Fortune intertwine. They beautifully complement each other as stories lamenting the dichotomy of life and death, and the joys of humanity.

But essentially, Death reteaches Dream how beautiful humans can truly be, and in this pivotal moment, she says this zinger of a line. The camera was initially on Death but for THIS line, it cuts to Dream.

BECAUSE - poor Dream is definitely in need a friend.

Which is then shown to the audience by the 30-min long Hob Gadling sequence that ensues, and we see Dream's aversion to needing someone, to needing a friend.

But I digress - back to the song, and that one line about not wanting to be alone.

That is such a poignant line, because as much as Dream felt alone and needed company, so does Hob? An immortal, constantly seeing the death of others around him, his companions and family long gone, he needs someone.

Considering this 80s sequence ruminates so heavily on post-breakup feelings, Hob is missing Dream dearly. His constant in life.

I'm rambling too much, onto the next one!

#2 - "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz

Time skip to perhaps a few hours later, who knows. We see Hob still waiting for Dream, alone in the pub.

Hm.

Literally what else could I say. I'm being slapped in the face with pining and angst and longing.

Here are the lyrics:

Some noteworthy lyrics:

"So much for your promises/They died the day you let me go" - this breakup man

"Caught up in a web of lies" - another lie motif

"I thought it was you/Who would stand by my side" - the theme of Dream and Hob being constants in each other's lives

"Shattered dreams" - I could scream. The title of the song. SHATTERED. DREAMS. giggling rn.

"Woke up to reality" - I think that's a very interesting line toeing between the constant references of the Waking and the Dreaming

Basically, I've been noting these evident similarities within the songs to align themselves to Dream and Hob's situation, and it's clear that the director/writers chose these songs with intent of it paralleling Dreamling.

So that makes it even more insane when lines like "From this empty heart" are meant to parallel Hob. Like.

Okay, last song.

#3 - "Keep On Moving" by Soul II Soul

This song plays as the night progresses. It's late, it's clear Dream isn't showing up, and Hob is feeling pretty final about that, and perhaps he's accepted it at this point. Dream isn't coming.

So this is where he speaks to the bartender and that scene ensues.

Here are the lyrics:

The themes of time and clocks are super prevalent within this song, and again it's once more clear how heavily this reflects and represents Hob.

Noteworthy lyrics:

"Why do people choose to live their lives this way?" - I think this also uniquely touches on the general aspect of humanity and one's reason to live/love life. Dream battles with his confusion/slight disappointment for humanity at the beginning, as he asks Death, "Why would any sensible creature crave an eternity of this?" And then Hob helps Dream realize why there's so much to live for. (24:30)

"I know the time will come today/The time will come one day"

"Walking alone in my own way" - Again this idea of walking alone and needing company.

"You'll be in my life, my life always" - Dream and Hob being constants again.

This all goes to say - Hob cares. He cares for Dream.

And I just think that's very beautiful. The magnitude with which Dream's absence means to him and how much their friendship/companionship both means to each of them. I just think their connection is a beautiful thing that I love seeing and rewatching. Wonderfully, these songs give the audience even more layered insight into this connection.

This was super long, and I apologize if I went on some tangents. But I also just couldn't help it, The Sandman is so incredibly rich in its storytelling and its connections and dynamics that I had to write this all down. I also just very much appreciate the amount of care and detail that goes into every aspect of television, and needle drops such as these three songs are no exception.

Thank you for sticking with me through this! Can't wait for season 2!

#i have more thoughts #i think i will never fully be satisfied with this post #there will always be too much to say #but wow #they CARE #there's LOVE there #genuine love #i love them #dream the endless #lord morpheus #king of dreams #hob gadling #hob #dreamling #dreamling meta #dream x hob #the sandman #music as outlets to the soul #and emotion #music #the sound of her wings #men of good fortune #i hope whoever read this enjoyed! #thank you