#you see this is the benefit of fanfic

[rowanthestrange]

So @rearranging-deck-chairs, vaguely connected thought that’s sort of related, since we’re in that mood where we say things that get us cancelled if misinterpreted.

I’m not sure if I’m going to do this in the Sweetquel or not, and this’d be something in another Sweetquel/spinoff/au anyway (you know how it is with worldbuilding, you write knowing things may just exist as concepts even if you don’t get to the final realisation point). But it still wouldn’t be entirely laid out so:

My thought is that Dhawan!Master regenerated looking like this very specifically. While not my default headcanon, I’m going post-Missy. Time to philosophise and read, sure, but also time to absorb plenty of cultural thoughts from the time period - which we know from Simm!Master (and even Missy) those sort of bigoted ideas stick.

So because of the post-revelation headstate, he regenerates as Bad.

Therefore, what to him, given the society he’s been exposed to, is Bad. ((Obviously not my thoughts, his thoughts, pitchforks away, slurs etc. incoming)) Well skin colour’s not too hard - brown. Not black, that’s too slavery as well as thug, no, now it’s all about Looking Like A Terrorist. Maybe he’ll grow a beard. What else? Well being a fruity Fag of course, got to be that, he’s going to make the normal men feel soooo uncomfortable, might even spread some diseases to them for fun if they get angry enough to get handsy. And of course, a necessity for all these, and the biggest Bad, he’s got to be a Man.

Which to my story/mind, means all this has to go wrong in some way. We already have the skin colour and his plans and the nazis. He’s not A Potential Terrorist To Be Feared anymore, now he’s A Jew in a camp during the holocaust.

As for Fag, he’s also now accidentally given himself a genuine sexuality and romantic attraction for the first time, and he’s also attracted to women too, despite giving off the air of someone who had to go to speech therapy to surgically amputate the lisp.

And as for Man… his gender is…well…fairly that way. But his body naturally is female, and he’s now incongruent in a way that he’d always gave the Doctor hell for when they’d whine about it. And his disconnect between his desired mental image of himself and the physical reality of who he is, gives him a dysphoria so powerful it means he tries to take a knife to himself the moment the post-regenerative effects will allow it. (An act of stabbing himself that may have been cathartic had he been able to think about anything other than how mirrors work, pain making his hands shake, and not bleeding to death).

Something something the basics of who we are do not actually go into boxes of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ something something.

#the sweetquel #you see this is the benefit of fanfic #wouldn’t risk transmasculine dhawan!master #if i was doing any real on-screen/published work #because what one person can interpret correctly and nuancedly #a terf will just go #see? man and transition bad #ugh that’s giving me death of art feels

[kmackatie]

scene index:

1. act one, scene one 2. act one, scene two 3. act two, scene one 4. act two, scene two 5. act three, scene one 6. act three, scene two 7. act three, scene three 8. act four, scene one 9. act four, scene two 10. act five, scene one 11. act five, scene two 12. epilogue

Rating: Explicit Fandom: Critical Role Relationship: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widgoast Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, POV Caleb Widogast, Friends With Benefits, Platonically Sleeping Together, Romantically Sleeping Together, Sexually Sleeping Together, Literal Sleeping Together, Explicit Sexual Content, and there was only one bed, Developing Relationship, accidentally sleeping with your colleague then pretending it didn’t happen, this is a 2000s romcom filled with miscommunication and pining Words: 62,272 Chapters: 12/12

About halfway through writing this fic, I had the hair-brained idea that since I had been joking that this fic is three 2000s romcom movies dressed up in a trenchcoat, it deserved the movie poster / DVD cover / book cover of my cinema dreams.

Enter @lunairka, who made this dream come to life with some incredible art that perfectly captures how much of an idiot these two had been the entire way through. Please give them all the love for creating this, and a version without my graphic design is available below the cut.

With that, I hope you enjoy the final chapter (or is it 👀) available on the 'epilogue' link above!

#shadowgast #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #critical role #critical role fanfic #the mighty nein #cr: fanfic #my writing #fic: sleep with benefits #cr: fanart #I am still yelling at how cool this art is #lunairka you did such a good job with it!!! #also I have plans and this isn't the last time you will see this universe

[crystal-jack-asripines]

WHYYYY does Twitter have to be down on the day Dapper, Richarlyson, and BADBOYHALO HIMSELF are making a 4halo BUFFET

#DAPPER SAYING FOREVER LOVES HIM BECAUSE ITS H I M #BBH FINDING OUT FOREVER HAS STOPPED GOING FOR ANYONE AND SAYING “but… what about me though? anybody besides me you mean 💕” #RICHARLYSON WRITING A TEA DATE FANFIC AND SAYING FOREVER WOULD BE TOO HAPPY AROUND BBH TO BE MAD CUZ THEY MISS EACH OTHER 💕 #Richarlyson showing BBH a copy of the “eu te amo <3” book and BBH SAYING HE’LL GIVE THE BOOK TO FOREVER FIRST BEFORE RICHAS CAN #actively losing my mind this stream and I can’t see the FANARTIST ON TWITTER WHO POST THINGS NOOOOOO #I still miss Forever but i see the benefit to him being gone: bbh finally expressing his feelings while he isn’t around to hear LMAO #QSMP #4halo #q!badboyhalo #q!bbh #dapper #dapper qsmp #richarlyson #richarlyson qsmp

[flyinglowdown]

i have a dream. and that dream is cressida/eloise/lord debling

#bridgerton #OKAY OKAY BUT HEAR ME OUT! #eloise has her strong interests in women's rights and philosophical discussions and escaping the societal rules of the ton #cressida wants more than anything to have her OWN home and spend her time running it with people who value HER not her “value” #+ we can see so clearly how she's begun to change + become her own person around those who won't judge her (too harshly lol) as she breaks #Debling is such a free thinker and so committed to his work with the same passion Eloise has and wants freedom from the burden of his title #BUT MOST OF ALL someone who can accept him for who he is despite /not/ fitting in how he's “supposed” to #THEY HAVE SUCH POTENTIAL!!! #Cressida free to run a home #Eloise free from the marriage mart #Debling free to explore the world #Cressida + Eloise continuing to spend their time together while Debling is on his travels #And when Debling returns home there is so much newness for them both to learn about!! such steady warmth and welcomness for the two of them #while Cressida keeps the both of them engaged in the ton and going out to meet new people/have interesting conversations #even when they forget that's one of the benefits of the ton #and Eloise's wit and charm keep them both so entertained and in such vibrant spirits even when apart #you just kNOW Eloise's letters would be something else #writing at least once a week (w/Cressida's love + polite questions peppered in) even if they know they won't be delivered 'til the next por #I'M GOING FERAL!!!!! #is this what gets me back writing fanfic again lol #eloise bridgerton #cressida cowper #alfred debling #lord debling

[melonisopod]

Idk I think more mentally-unwell lonely nerds who develop parasocial relationships with the anime girls in their gacha games need to learn how to write fanfiction and make AUs. Or idk commission a fanartist. They literally have the money to blow on glorified slot machines, like bro just toss some cash at your local artist and commission them to draw your waifu making out with your self-insert. Better use of your money imo.

#i know you can't legally commission fanfic *directly* #you can request it and donate to a fan author's patreon maybe #i know some hold raffles and whatnot whoever donates a certain amount they'll write a fic for #like genuinely these guys would benefit from dipping into transformative fandom spaces more. idk why they don't. #these are obviously guys who would LOVE to work in some self-inserty bullshit with their own personal mary sues #and that's not always a bad thing! fandom can be a good outlet! #but i'm just seeing a bunch of guys bitch and whine that a female character even looked at someone besides them #and i'm like ''just write a fanfic''

[sun-marie]

What I really think media with ensemble casts, especially those in a traveling group of some kind, are missing are big, blow-out arguments between the group. Especially when there's a conflict of interests, I am such a sucker for when two or more characters disagree so strongly that they realize very little is actually holding them together as a group, and wonder if it's time to go their separate ways.

I feel like a lot of video games, specifically, just kind of assume once the traveling band is "complete", it's forced to stay together until the player expressly permits it, but I don't really find that very compelling and a lot of times it feels more like they're relying on some kind of immediately strong bond that hasn't really been earned. Which is a shame, because in my opinion one of the best ways to strengthen that bond is to have the characters disagree and argue. Maybe they realize they're only being superficially held together and so they temporarily split up, only to then realize how much they've come to care for the others in the group. Then they reunite, make-up, formulate a plan to go forward, and boom, the group bond is that much stronger. Or maybe they don't even split up, and maybe they never learn to like each other, but they decide whatever cause their working toward is more important. Something else, bigger than them, is holding them together.

It just feels like a lot of potential is going to waste to just skip straight to the intense found family bond, without earning it.

#there are exceptions of course #like I thought it was clever how bg3 did it where the group didn't necessarily intend to be traveling together this long #and then once they learned about the tadpoles and the artifact it turns out it's either stay together or die #but a disagreement between them every once and a while instead of assuming they're all insta-besties couldn't hurt #and DA2 kinda circumvents this by Hawke not really going anywhere #so if Fenris isn't having a good time with Anders he can just like stay home and vice versa #but games like Octopath Traveler 2 would really benefit from some stronger disagreements #like my first playthrough Castti's ch. 4 and Osvald's ch. 5 lined up right next to each other #and like vague ot2 spoilers #but what I would give to see them hash it out #over whether to save thousands of people Castti doesn't know potentially at the cost of saving one person Osvald cares a great deal for #or vice versa #especially with how hardened Osvald's become it would have been soooo juicy #i get that would've been difficult to implement and that's probably more the job of fanfic #but that's just an example of what I mean #idk I just think more creators shouldn't be afraid to have their characters seriously argue with each other #because not every disagreement is a dealbreaker and can in fact strengthen their bonds #and like not every game cast needs to be found family! but if you want that found family effect you have to show them arguing like a family #poe1 is a good example of a group that travel together and don't necessarily have this tight bond #they just feel like good friends (mostly) #i had other examples that I can't think of now and may add later #I feel like I was going somewhere with this but yeah it's just something I've been thinking about #let characters fight sometimes. conflict is what makes stories good #edit: FE: 3 Houses was the other example I was thinking of! #like things get pretty dire in the Blue Lions route and Dimitri has some pretty questionable moments #but with the exception of like Felix hardly anyone calls him out on it they just kind of go along with it #and lo and behold Felix is one of my favorite 3H characters and his friendship with Dimitri is extremely compelling #bc their friendship was tested and survived #marie speaks

[ingo-ingoing-ingone]

could you do me a favor and tag whenever there are ocs in your reblogs? thank you very much

I've so far didn't see much of it on your blog but I just noticed it and I would appreciate it very much.

I can try, but anon, I don't always know what's an OC and what is a canon character in the vast world of Pokémon that I've just never seen before.

Do like minor OCs to fill in gaps in fics count? What about characters who are truly blank slates, like some of the depot agents?

I can try and tag when there's like major OCs but when it comes to minor characters that's where I'm not gonna split hairs.

I guess the tags will be #others ocs and less commonly #my ocs

#anon #I'm not gonna lie I'm giving you a hard side eye as to why you want this #it feels really rude #remember: every single character you know and love is someone's OC #also before anyone @ me: if the very concept of OCs was a trigger I doubt a person with said trigger #would be comfortable with any form of fandom or headcanon or fanfic #maybe I'm wrong but yeah #not in the mood today for figuring this out #anyways OCs are cherished and loved here by the owner of this blog #even if this is a canon character blog not an OC blog #(admittedly I'd reblog more OCs interacting with submas if it wasn't a lot of shipping which isn't my thing) #but when I see OCs interacting with submas in a platonic way I am happy to reblog it :) #sorry if any of this seems rude I'm tired and my mental state is not good #and admittedly. I'm kinda tired of trying to guess what people mean and always giving the benefit of the doubt #please bear with me I'm sorry

[dorianpavus]

reading fics and wishing you could offer your services as an editor in the comments. like please let me help you make this better. unfortunately no one wants unsolicited advice from strangers about the things they create for fun. tragic! unfathomable! heartbreaking!

#it’s so hard when you see how something could be improved so much with so little though #(for the record i love all fics even the ones i think could benefit from another eye!!!) #(fanfics authors doing the most for nothing. nothing but respect in my house) #personal spam #plot holes. typos. things that should be cut or reworked. the importance of sticking the landing #big picture stuff like the importance of showing WHY characters have feelings for each other or what makes their dynamic special #rather than depending on the reader’s familiarity with the canon characters to do your work for you #oh to have an author friend who will let me ramble at them on discord

[goldeunoias]

people always ask me how am I able to write so fast and well when I do research and in my head I'm like it's because I spend hours writing fanfic for my little kpop boys ASDFASDF

#I'm currently in bed writing this summary for an article that is going to be published soon #and I finished my part of it really quickly and everyone on my team was like 0-0 how the heck do you do that so fast #literally i've been writing fanfic since i was 18 and consuming it since i was like 15 trust when i say these writing skills have been hone #and trained for many years #see writing fanfic does have its benefits LOL #daisy talks

[marklikely]

the results of that "is fanfic a book" poll have shown me one thing and its that this site never graduated past that absolutely insufferable phase in 2013 where everyone acted like every book is the single most sacred thing on earth

#sorry rant incoming. you know like the people who got way too offended over dog earing or carving books for art or things like that? #that's what the notes section of that poll feel like. just way too many people (on both sides) putting way too much importance on Books. #like first you have the 'um ive read fanfic that was deep and beautiful and thematic so yes all fanfic is books' votes #which like. ok. ive also read really deep thematic screenplays but that doesnt make it a book its simply not. what a book is #then you have the honestly even worse 'um your reylo au isn't like the works of the masters its not REAL BOOKS' crowd #which like. yeah most actual published books are not as good as the 'works of the masters' whatever that means. so you have proven nothing #which brings us back to the absolute worst of all 'colleen hoover & co aren't books either' SOMEHOW #like. ok well i think her work is pretty bad but it was literally edited and published into literal books so #if you're going to decide that you get to be the arbiter of what books are Good Enough to count as Real Books well you've lost already. #because no that's not how any of this works. youre fighting one of the most famous Losing Battles in all of art discourse. #a book is just. a format that writing can be in its not some holy status you have to work to acheive #and to try and turn it into that is really stupid and self important i think because like again #who gets to decide what books are Real? what motivates them to make that choice? what biases are benefited from that? #i think its worth noting in conversations like this everyone wants to deny female romance authors the title of Real Book #(which yes a lot of those books are very shallow or badly written. many have outright offensive tropes) #but nobody mentions the equally shallow and offensive stuff by/for men. like william johnstone's shitty cowboy books for example. #no matter how you try to frame it youre going to lose the second you decide something has to fit your standards to be real art. #avpost #its very reminiscent for me of the conversation around modern art where people just want to say they know what is and isn't real art #based on like whatever standards they want. 'ugh its just dots it's not real art'. do u see where im coming from. #a book is just. a piece of writing that was edited and published in the form of a physical book. that's it. its a v literal if vague noun. #it can be something with a lot of depth and meaning. it can be shallow and hacky. it can be nonfiction entirely. its not a value statement #which can also be said about art as a whole some of it is very shallow and bad. some of it is extremely skilled and profound #anyway. no fanfic isn't inherently books but some fanfics have undergone editing & publishing and became books i think #and that doesnt mean that they're 'as good as' the classics by really skilled writers. but theyre still books #tbh a lot of the published fanfic books are worse than most nonbook fanfic. them being books isnt a statement of being more valuable. #its just a literal fact. #i think its interesting to discuss but i swear its not a huge deal whether fanfic is books the bigger deal to me is #the weird attitude popping up on both sides. which i think most people would also find stupid if their brains hadnt been like #totally ruined by an uninterrupted 5 years of insufferable-on-all-sides fanfic discourse that has ruled this website.

[reploidbuddy]

Man sometimes I wish ao3 had some DMs

Not all the time but today absolutely

((oh my god I rambled sm in the tags I reached the 30 limit oh my GOD JFBSJCBJD

#Found this new bookbinding tutorial #one that FINALLY explains the logistics of printing the text idk why I couldnt find one before #and while my old method was extremely simple and fun the minute you have smthn a lil bigger it's hard to open #like At Hope's End is MASSIVE for the simpler technique #and even though I knew how to play with my pages enough to make it all functional it #*it's hard to open and feels like it might break or you see the prong and idk #it's a great trophy but the functionality is meh #but yeah found an understandable tutorial on the sewing thing and I'd like to make one like this at least for At Hope's End #bc it would benefit most I think #AND SO THE POINT I WANTED TO DO WAS: #The tutorial gave the brilliant idea of putting art in some pages and stuff #and like listen I got 1 single fanart through the entire journey of Light on the Horizon #by dragonswirl on DA and insta (go look at their art btw it's pretty) #and BOY. #I LOVE IT #it was the reason I smiled all week #I showed it to anyone that had heard I write fanfic/like sonic #heck it's my phone's home screen #I go look at it sometimes randomly bc AGH IT LOOKS SOSOSO GOOD #I'll do just 1 copy of it as trophy but like a functional readable one #but I'd love to put that fanart in it #like at the beginning where in published books theres some random stuff #just put it there all like LOOK AT IT even if it'll end up being @ myself #idk I'd like to ask them if they're okay with it #and if so like actually have them know how much I love that one art and want to put it in there #IDC IF IT'S BEFORE EVEN CHAPTER ONE IT'S AMAZING AND IT MAKES ME HAPPY OK /positive /lighthearted #so yea they dont seem to have tumblr so there isn't really a mean to ask sadly #rambling #light on the horizon #at hope’s end

[down-the-rat-hole]

i think it's cool how much easier it is to get people to consume your work when it's relating to a fandom :) i mean obviously independent art forms deserve appreciation and recognition but it is so cool to make a fanwork and then watch all your fellow fandom members appreciate it

#fanfic #this is just a ramble but it is cool #to make something for the fun of it and see people benefit from it #shoutout to all my lovely fic authors you are the eternal spring of mirth #what a pretentious way to say you make me happy

[ponderingmoonlight]

Levi being separated from his wife for years after joining the scouts but finding his way back to her

Pairing: husband!Levi x fem!reader

Word Count: 2,7k

Synopsis: Just before Erwin was about to catch you in the underground city, Levi begs you to stay behind and promises to return. Years pass, years in which he never reached out once. Until an unexptected visitor knocks on your door.

Warnings: heavy angst to comfort, the last part is not proofread so have mercy, please let me know what you think as this is the second aot fanfic I'm posting <3

Tags: @lees-chaotic-brain @sanicsmut @levislegislation

Click here for a cute little spin off

You move with almost frightening speed around the countless buildings, escaping the hands of the blonde male behind you by razor’s edge. Why the hell are the survey corps so much stronger than the military police? So skilled with the 3D manoeuvre gear that it’s almost scary, haunting after you so fast that it’s getting harder and harder to escape their grasps. But everything is going according to plan, right? You need to get yourself caught, you need to join the survey crops, you-

“Move to the left. Just keep going and don’t look back. You are skilled enough to escape them alone.”

Your glossy eyes dart towards your husband in disbelief. No, he can’t be serious about what he just said. That would mean…

“But we’ll get separated”, you argue.

Levi is fully aware of what he’s asking from you. But given the neck-breaking speed and the skills of the people behind you, the risk of getting caught is greater than the benefit of staying together. And that man…Even though he promised you the world, Levi could tell by the sound of his voice that he isn’t trustworthy. He might go to hell, he might die in the process, but you.

There is absolutely no way in hell he’ll risk your life.

At least you’d be safe, even if it means he’ll be away from you for some time.  

“I never intended on taking you with me, (y/n). If we’ll get separated, I will come and find you here. I promise.”

His words don’t make any sense while you shake your head in mistrust. But you agreed on going together, all four of you. Why would you stay behind, why would he even suggest something like that?

“(y/n), I don’t want to lose you because of a mission. Please, move left.”

You don’t know what to do, mind completely clouded by anger, fear and uncertainty. You would trust your husband with everything, laying your life right into his hands. But this? This means you might never see again, this means he’ll leave you here for who knows how long, this means your husband could lose his life for freedom.

“But what if I lose you?”

“You will never lose me. I promise I’ll come back to you, just trust me with this one. I love you, (y/n).”

You take a deep breath, the next intersection coming closer and closer. It’s time to make a decision.

Will you move left like Levi begged you to or will you move right and followi him like you initially planned?  

With a load of gas you propel yourself past a building, moving with horrendous speed down the tight side streets of the underground.

One last glance. One last glance into the eyes of the man who is the only light in your life, one last glance into the cold blue eyes of the man who is now chasing after him.

“You better come back to me, Levi Ackerman”, you mutter to yourself while holding back bitter tears.

-a few years later-

“Take it or leave it. I will find someone else who’ll buy it.”

“Are you up on sale too?”

That’s enough. With a swift motion, you pierce through the man’s dirty hand with your knife before turning around and leaving his house in company of his pathetic screams.

It’s been years. Years since Levi go taken away from you by that blonde man with blue eyes, years since he promised that he’ll come back.

But he never did. With fast and skilled motions, you swing around, making your way back home before the military police starts getting on your nerves again.

Everything seems so cold since he left. Your worn-down house, the bed you used to share, your whole fucking life. Who knows what happened after they got caught. Are all of them still alive? Maybe something went wrong, maybe they die-

No. You shake your head vehemently. This is simply not possible. Levi Ackerman would never die through the hands of a titan, let alone a member of the survey corps. That’s absolutely impossible, unbelievable to say the least. Maybe he started a new life on the surface with his friends, lying under the sun right now while eating the most exquisite food.

Good for him. If you weren’t still stuck in this hell.

A few harsh knocks on the door rip you out of your dreams.

“Who the hell is this?”, you grumble to yourself.

You don’t expect any visitors today. To be exact, you never expected anyone to visit you. So who could this be? The man you threatened before? The military police officers you stole from? Whatever, you will figure it out somehow.

But when you open the door, you aren’t greeted by the face of a disgusting officer. No, you stare right into ice-blue eyes.

“When will you finally let me get her?”

He missed you every single day since you parted your way back then in the underground city. How are you? What are you doing? Are you even alive? Levi’s hands clenched into fist just by the thought of it. Countless lonely night that felt so empty without you by his side, countless people he lost during the process. If you knew what happened…

“Is a woman really that important to you? She must be someone really special if you’re still asking about her”, Erwin commented, staring at the captain sitting in front of him with eagle eyes.

Yes, he does remember you. The girl who took the left path back then, the only one him and his squad weren’t able to catch.

“She is my wife. If you don’t allow me to get her, I will quit my service”, Levi suddenly barked at his commander.

How unexpected. Even though Erwin could tell that you’ve meant something to him when he decided to leave you in the underground city, he never thought his relations to you would go that deep.

“Fine, if that’s what you wish I’ll go and escort her.”

“I will get her myself-“

“You have a job to do, remember? I will take Moblit with me, it shouldn’t take long, given she cooperates.”

Did he even have a choice? One look into Erwin’s face showed him more than urgent that this is nothing to be discussed. And even though he hates to admit it, somehow Erwin is right. These brats were unpredictable, along with Hange.

“Fine”, Levi finally grumbled.

As long as you’ll finally be back in his arms, he won’t complain.

“You”, you hiss through gritted teeth.

Your whole body begins to tremble in thick rage, eyes darting right through his spoiled soul. His eyes haunted you in your dreams, how he talked to your husband back then, how they pushed his gorgeous face into the dirt. You will never forgive him. No, nothing in the world could make you forgive the blonde man in front of you who stole your life away from you so cruel.

“Where is Levi?”

“Maybe if you calm down-“

“SHUT UP”, you immediately interrupt the other man behind him.

“You will pay for all these fucking years I had to live without him. You will pay for every sleepless night, for every tear that I cried. You will pay with your own pathetic life!”

With a swift motion, you lower the knife out of your sleeve, ready to hit his carotid artery with full force.

Until you suddenly fall to the ground, the last thing you are able to see being this asshole’s boots before everything turns black…

“I…hate…y-“

Silence, darkness, nothingness.

“You didn’t have to hit her this hard. Levi will definitely make you pay for punching his wife”, Erwin comments dryly before gently lifting your numb body over his shoulder.

“His wife, huh? No wonder she’s so feisty, what a pain in the ass”, Moblit remarks.

“I understand her anger. After all, I hid her husband for multiple years from her. Let’s see how she acts when she wakes up…”

-back at the base camp-

“Who’s this woman?”, Eren mumbles into his best friend’s ear, staring at the lifeless female body laying in front of Erwin’s feet.

“They just came back with her. But nobody seems to know who she is”, Armin clarifies.

Everything hurts. Your back, your head, your limbs feel like falling off every second. You feel like hit by a horse…Did the military police catch you? Did someone come for you? Impossible…

You rub your head, lids blinking against the harsh light. Where the hell are you? And why is it so damn bright here? This definitely isn’t the candle in the middle of your bedroom.

You lift your trembling limbs off the ground, groaning when a new wave of nausea rolls over you. God, why do you feel so bad? You can’t even remember what happened last. You were at the underground, you made a deal with that asshole, you returned home, it knocked.

It knocked.

Your eyes widen in pure horror when his face lights up in your head. He. He was there. The man who stole your life from you, the man who took your husband with him.

“I’m glad you’re awake, he should return every minute-“

“You.”

Your eyes roam around without an aim until his cold blue eyes meet yours.

“You took everything from me!” you scream on top of your lungs.

The air around you heats up immediately, all the voices quieting down in an instant when your trembling index finger darts towards commander Erwin Smith.

“You took my life from me, you stole my husband and now you kidnap me! I’ve had enough, you’ll pay for all your sins, for how miserable you made my life! Do you know how many lonely nights I begged for him to return, that I even started praying for him to come back home to me? You promised freedom but caged me to the underground in my hopeless dream of him returning someday!”

Again, you shoot towards him with your knife in your hand. Fuck, you hate the way hot tears start to sting in your eyes and take your sight, but you can’t help yourself. This man in front of you is the epitome of living hell, the reason you suffered all these goddamn years. You aim for his neck, ready to slice him open like a fish along with a toe-curling scream that escapes your trembling lips.

“Don’t.”

The sheer force of a pair of fingers wrapped around your wrist is enough to make you stop. This almost sounded like…

“Levi.”

“I have to explain all this to you calmly. Please put down your knife, (y/n).”

“You have some fucking nerve”, you mutter under your breath, eyes darting towards him for the first time in years.

He looks just like you remember him, figure roaming over you for a few inches, eyes as calm as the ocean, hair neatly trimmed. Yes, he is just as attractive as you remembered.

And alive.

And this is the first time you see him, after so many years.

“Where have you been all this time, huh?”, you cry out.

You free yourself out of his grasp, now storming towards him.

“What about the promise you made back then, that you’ll return to me?”

Your hands push against his firm chest harshly, fists slamming over and over against his tight muscles while all he does is standing there.

“You left me without saying goodbye, without even thinking about me twice. Do you know how much I cried that day, how much I missed my fucking husband?”

Tears stream down your face like a waterfall, voice so hoarse that it’s hard to cough out a single word that makes sense.

“Why didn’t you come back? Why did you leave me in the dark? Why-“

He can’t hold back any longer. Before you continue your ramblings, before you are able to hit him again, Levi wraps his arms around you and buries his face in the crook of your neck. God, how much he missed this, how much he missed the simplicity of holding his wife in his arms.

“I love you, (y/n)”, he breathes against your ear.

You see stars, feel like fainting, want to push him away while all you want is to be held at the same time. Countless nights you imagined what it would be like to meet him again, countless nights you pondered about his life, where he might live, what he is doing.

And now he’s standing in front of you, pressing you tightly against his firm body while all you can do is break down and cry in his inviting arms.

“Back then, I have asked you to move left because I feared what lies behind the walls. And I was right, (y/n). The things I saw, the countless lives the titans took. Isabel and Furan, they… They died on our first expedition. It wasn’t safe to drag you into this world. Even if I wanted nothing more than to hold you in my arms again, I figured it would be easier to know you live as far away from the titans and me than being in danger…”

“You idiot”, you spit into the face you learned to love long ago.

“I would rather die by your side than live alone at the safest place. Don’t you understand that all I wanted was to be with you?”

Your words echo through his mind, the past years replaying themselves in front of his eyes like a movie. It’s been so damn long. He should have asked about getting you sooner, he should have moved hell and earth to get you out of the underground.

“I’m sorry about all those years, (y/n). You were the only thing on my mind this whole time, I was longing for your touch, for your presence. I wrote a list of things I want to show you. I know how much I’m asking for, but please forgive me, please be by my side right here and now.”

Is it really this simple? Is one look in his lovely face enough to forget all those years you’ve waited for him? Your heart pounds hard against your ribcage, all pairs of eyes seem to be set on you. What are you supposed to do?

“A simple sorry won’t take away all those years I’ve waited for you.”

Levi swallows hard, this usual cool composure slowly but surely breaking away. Fuck, he messed up. He should have gone after you immediately, he should have ignored Erwin’s advice. If you leave him right here on the spot…His eyes widen in thick fear. No, this would completely tear him apart. After all, you are his precious wife, the love of his life, the only reason he kept going despite all the people that died in front of his eyes.

“But I won’t live in the past with regrets. I was hoping forward for this day so long, let’s enjoy it.”

And then you return his hug, wrapping your arms around his ribcage like you used to. Levi lets himself fall into your touch, soaks in the decent smell of citrons on your clothes. God, how much he missed this, how much he missed you.

“We will never return to the underground, my darling. Your place is right here under the sun.”

You press your lips against his hungrily, soaking up this precious moment. This is exactly how you imagined your reunion. Maybe a few years earlier, maybe being escorted by himself. But god, you can’t help but get lost against his mouth, your fingers re-discovering the valleys of his well-toned body.

“Huh, what’s going on here? HUH, DID I MISS SOMETHING!?”

Levi slowly removes his lips from yours, cold eyes staring darkly behind you. You follow his gaze, looking directly into the way too near face someone wearing glasses.

“This is my wife, shitty four-eyes. Can you stop bothering her?”

“WHAT? You never mentioned anything about a wife! Oh, what a gorgeous woman she is! And you’re just as small as Levi himself. Huh, maybe that’s what comes with living under the ground, right? But don’t worry, you will be just fine here! Apart from some titans here and there, and maybe titan shifters and don’t forget those-“

“Shut.Up.”, Levi hisses through gritted teeth.

#aot fluff #aot #aot x reader #levi aot #attack on titan #levi ackerman #attack on titan x female reader #attack on titan x reader #levi attack on titan #levi fluff #levi x reader #levi angst #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman x you #levi ackerman fluff #levi ackerman x female reader #hanji zoe #erwin smith #erwin aot #hange #aot x y/n #aot x female reader #aot x you

[neil-gaiman]

Hello Mr Neil,

You probably won't be able to see this but I just had to get it out to rest my mind and I feel like it's more reliable to get an answer from an author than on Google.

I've seen that reblog from one of Ms Diane's asks where they mention that any story idea, fanfic, suggestion shouldn't be sent over as it would cause possible issues. So I was thinking, if you don't read fanfics, are you also not allowed to read prompts?

There's a blog here on Tumblr which posts prompts so I was wondering if authors aren't allowed to read those and what about if you were just surfing the internet say on Twitter or here on Tumblr where a lot of thoughts about certain books or shows are being posted. Are you required to inform during meetings if you've passed by a similar idea somewhere or would that only matter if it was directed to you?

Maybe you've answered this question before that I must not have understood or seen. I'm sorry if that's the case 😥

I'm all out of answers. I don't read fan fiction. It is to everyone's benefit that I don't read fan fiction especially that of the people writing the fan fiction. I don't read prompts, I don't read it on Tumblr, I don't read it on A03, when people decide to send it to me in the asks I don't read it. I do not read it on a train, I do not read it in the rain, I do not read it here or there, I do not read it anywhere...

Let's try a thought experiment.

"I don't eat peanuts. I'm allergic to them, and I don't like the taste."

"Can you eat peanut butter?"

"No. I'm allergic to peanuts. They can kill me."

"Okay, I get it on the whole peanuts and the peanut butter, but my mom makes fabulous peanut cake, and the peanuts in that are really finely chopped, so you don't know they're peanuts. Can you eat my mom's peanut cake?"

"I can't eat them. They would kill me."

"I've got a recipe for Cashew-butter that tastes exactly like peanut butter. Can I make you a cashew-butter sandwich? You aren't allergic to that."

"No, but I don't like the taste. I'll pass."

"Hey! We haven't talked about boiled gas station peanuts. If you could hypothetically eat peanuts and you were in a gas station in the south, would you have the spicy boiled peanuts or the vinegary boiled peanuts or the plain boiled peanuts?"

"I wouldn't eat the peanuts."

"No, but hypothetically, and remembering that these are green peanuts and not dried peanuts, pick the one you'd prefer..."

[autisticrosewilson]

Every time I see a story, be it canon or fanfic, where Jason is like "wow my morals are kind of fucked up I should never kill again" I have to put it down, close the tab, ect. Because HE WOULD NOT FUCKING DO THAT. We're talking about Bruce's number one fan turned antagonist.

Do you not think he's maybe already considered such a thing?

The thing about Jason is that he's as devoted to his views and sense of justice as Bruce is, maybe with a little more flexibility (i.e. he's willing to temporarily stop killing if it's necessary for his overall goals where Bruce wouldn't be able to kill even if it would benefit everyone in the long run) and any run or story where he completely disregards his own moral compass and personal experience to follow Bruce's rules is just a disservice to his character.

His whole thing is that Batman's methods are ineffective and his unwillingness to either do what needs to be done or let someone else do so is a clear sign that he's not the hero Gotham needs. Jason genuinely believes everything he says about the system, and Bruce's ineffectiveness.

His crime lord era wasn't just a silly little thing he did to fuck with Bruce with the final confrontation as the REAL point of Under the Red Hood, he became a crime lord because he believed it was the best way he could help. The point of Red Hood is protecting Gotham, fucking with Bruce was just a bonus. Like the confrontation wasn't even initially planned, Jason haphazardly threw that at the end of his to-do list after he realized he couldn't just blow up the Batmobile.

Stop reducing Jason's motivations to "get Bruce's attention/make Bruce kill".

#dc #jason todd #bruce wayne #meta analysis #character study #fanon (derogatory) #this doesn't go for stories where he ditches his revenge quest because he realizes what he's actually been looking for is proof he's loved #however that's a whole other post #if you know me you already know my opinion on non dysfunctional batfam #which is to say I don't agree I want them to tear each other apart and I want Jason to dip as soon as possible

[nebbyy]

Please write a fanfic about King Baldwin IV from KoH, where he fell in love with female reader. The plot is up to you. Please make it a serious love story with slight fluff 🤗🤭

Baldwin IV x reader - Life always comes down to a game of chess

A/N: You have no idea how much I love you anon, this was one of the prompts I already wanted to write omgggg!! For this fic I kinda got inspired by this painting (which, for everyone interested, it’s “La belle dame sans merci” by Frank Dicksee), and you’ll see how and why reading it;)

Summary: King Baldwin IV receives an offer from an Italian nobleman to marry his daughter; unsure of whether to accept or not this compelling offer, Baldwin decides to do what he does best…

Warning: there are some mentions of christianity and religious references along with some hints at the misogynistic ideologies of the time (about the woman being “owned” by the dominant male figure in her life) ((I don’t condone this ideology at all but I thought it’d be fitting to add it anyway to give some accuracy to it)).

Word count: 2637

King Baldwin couldn’t quite wrap his head around you. The day that he was informed of your engagement, he felt himself quite skeptical of the idea of marrying someone. After all, ever since his leprosy had been diagnosed he had to get used to the idea of living a life of solitude, forced into a lifelong chastity, for no sane man would ever marry off their daughter to a leper. With time, he had found solace in nurturing his own knowledge and virtue, elevating himself to a level of wisdom that very few could boast at his young age.

During the following days, the young king's mind was plagued with thoughts, considerations he was making to weigh the choice. The benefits of marrying Lady Y/N were many, first and foremost securing a connection to the land of Italian speakers, allowing for easier trafficking of crusaders arriving in the Holy Land, not to mention the abundance that would be the young lady's dowry. And not only did marrying her mean strengthening the economical side of his reign, but it also meant giving the impression to the public that the king's health condition was improving to such an extent that he considered that to be an ideal time to marry. His most trusted men and all of his advisors kept repeating to him, marrying Lady Y/N would’ve been  comparable to a blessing.

But despite all the benefits this union seemed like it would bring, Baldwin continued to hesitate to make a decision. What left him so undecided was the possibility that this was some kind of deception, a conspiracy orchestrated against him, hidden in the form of the most convenient of marriages. It was up to him to decide whether it was worth taking these risks in favor of the benefits that would come if his concerns turned out to be unfounded. 

Like everything else in his life, this choice came down to a game of chess…

It was this idea that prompted him to make a decision. Baldwin had a messenger called, to be sent to Pisa to give the news to Lord Y/F/N that the king wished to report his decision to him live, at his court. For the lord to arrive it would have to wait, but Baldwin has always been a man of exceptional patience.

Four months passed, when at the dawn of Lent it was announced by a Pisan messenger that Lord Y/F/N and his daughter had come to Acre, and would soon be coming to Jerusalem. Another week passed before father and daughter, riding two white horses and accompanied by an escort of knights arrived at the royal palace.

When he first saw you, Baldwin could have sworn he saw Mary himself. You walked with such grace that you almost seemed to float. Your face looked serene, despite the anxiety that had been devouring you from within ever since the day the invitation from the king of Jerusalem reached you; a blue veil covered your hair, framing your face and falling over your shoulders. You bowed to Baldwin as was proper to do before a king, yet he felt so tempted to interrupt you, prevent you from bowing to him, perhaps even bowing to you himself.

At that moment he felt like Lancelot before Guinevere, completely mesmerized by your beauty, one who seemed more fit to an angel than a woman. But, he gave no sign of his true emotional state; after all, a gorgeous woman does not mean she can be fit to serve as queen. Her answer will be decided when she has had a chance to hear you speak, away from the judgmental stares of the court, free from any influence that might change what you really think.

As the sun shone bright in the sky, the banquet took place inside of the palace. The king excused himself before going to eat by himself in his chambers as usual, leaving his guests in the company of his sisters and his court. Loud chatter filled the room, goblets were raised to get more wine poured, courses flowed onto the set table, a tribute to thank Lord Y/F/N for making such a journey to fulfill the king's request. All this noise, yet in your ears all became quiet when a servant approached your chair, whispering a few simple words, "The king has requested your presence at dinner."

Your blood froze in your veins in surprise, and you could almost feel your father's thrill as you rose from your seat, having the servant guide you toward the king's study. Walking through the halls of the palace, you could do nothing but feel so small in comparison, you almost seemed to disappear, enveloped by the magnificence of everything around you that, if all went well, you would have called your own.

You were brought back to reality when the heavy doors of the king's room were opened by the two guards who stood at his sides. An enveloping fragrance, a mixture of myrrh and frankincense filled your senses with a feeling of serenity, an almost familiar feeling. In the center of the room, a hooded figure, dressed in silk as white as snow. "Come forward, my lady. I apologize for my absence at the table but," she interjected for a moment, rising from her seat and revealing her face-or at least, what was not covered by the veil-"many might find my appearance somewhat...disturbing during a meal." He chuckled a little at that last part. You wondered if irony had become a kind of means for him to soften his own hellish condition. 

As soon as he turned around you could not help but study the appearance of what will hopefully be your future husband. Rumors about his condition had been swirling since the day he was crowned, so you had been prepared to be confronted with a horrifically disfigured man. Instead, although part of his face was covered by the thin veil, it was like an instinct for you to try to study his features. You could vaguely make out the golden hair that adorned his face, although it was covered by the veil. His voice had intrigued you; it sounded so jovial and yet so deep. A melody that sang of the young monarch's endeavors. It intrigued you, you wondered what his lips looked like, whether they matched the sound of his voice.

But what really caught your interest were his eyes. They were blue, but of a color so deep, so intense, it reminded you of tales you had heard about the northern seas, of the waters that dark and deep seemed to beckon sailors, to lead them to drown within them. Likewise you felt mesmerized by such intensity. And you wondered, how much of this would remain the same as his illness progressed.

You recovered from that momentary trance, wasting no time to bow, but this time Baldwin stopped you before you were able to bow more than your head: "Don't bow, please. Such reverences are not necessary here." You looked at him a little dumbfounded, but despite the king's unusual attitude you did not object. He stepped to the side, revealing a finely decorated chessboard, with all the pawns already set in place. "Do you play?" he asked softly, and you finally mustered up the courage to speak "It's been some time since I last did," as you approached the table, taking your seat opposite Baldwin. He took his seat again, and for the first time in your life you found yourself face to face with a king. 

You quickly realised that he had assigned you the white pawns, the small courtesy of moving you first. You took a moment to think of an initial strategy, and moved your first pawn. A horse. Baldwin raised his eyebrows, surprised by your decision. "Aren't you going to move the pawns first?" You kept your gaze on the chessboard, partly out of respect and partly out of fear, still unsure why the king would call you to his chambers, if indeed it was all just to have a playmate. "I always prefer to start with the horse. I like to think that the pawns would be frightened to charge against the enemy without a knight to guide them." You looked up, meeting his eyes that studied you intrigued. Chuckling at what you had just said, you continued, shaking your head slightly, "Forgive me, it was just a silly thought."

"Not at all, my lady," he replied, studying your every detail, "I find it fascinating." It was his turn to move, and as per rule, he moved one of the pawns, the one in front of the queen. "So you think good leadership is better than letting the individual decide for himself?" There was a spark that had lit up in his eyes, something playful. It was clear that you were intriguing him, surprisingly in your eyes, since you had been instructed to stay behind your father's shadow, not to express your thoughts or externalize your ideologies.

Everything had to be perfect, one could not risk the futile mind of a young woman ruining the marriage that would have been so beneficial to her dukedom, but above all to her family. Yet at that moment she felt that expressing what resided in her own mind was exactly what Baldwin wanted from her. Something lit up in her too, and he in turn caught the same spark in her eyes. Could it be that she had figured out the trick...? 

Another pawn moved, it was Baldwin's turn to move again. Your eyes seldom parted from each other, just for that moment necessary to make your own move. "Independence is not always what benefits a man. Certainly, it is tempting, but in moments of indecision it risks leading to oblivion. An infantryman needs a leader, a young man who is lost in the woods needs a hunter to guide him out..." Another move, the white bishop points directly at the black king "...an indecisive man needs an outside opinion to make his decision."

You smiled, and like the sweetest of plagues you infected him too. You had deciphered his little deception. An innocent deception, with the purpose of seeing with your own eyes how you, in a condition so similar to what is the duty of a sovereign, would have acted. 

After all, his life always came down to a game of chess....

"So you understood..." Baldwin whispered, again sitting in his place. For the first time in his memory, someone had managed to leave him speechless. His witty mind seemed to have died out all of a sudden, the knight in him unarmed by the woman sitting in front of him. Maybe the deception wasn’t as occult as he had planned, or maybe this young lady was really able to stand up to him.

You smiled at him proudly, be proud of your intuition but also relieved that your thought had not turned out to be foolish. Your pride had removed from your mind every rule, every admonition that had been given to you from the moment you set foot in the Holy Land; your mind was now like a river in flood, finally free to flow out according to its natural course. "I do not blame you, my lord. I realize that this is a difficult choice for you, and that the factors at stake go far beyond your individual will."

"And what do you think about that?" Your smile acquired a bittersweet scent, and you answered without almost hesitation: "I am only a woman, my will is that of my father and it will be of my husband. My family prays that this role will be filled by you, and for this to happen I have been instructed to be fit to reign at your side."

“That I can clearly see, but what truly urges me is to know what your own will says. If we were to marry, you would be the bride to a wretched man, one whose fate has already been announced by God. My demise won't be far off, you’ll be left a widow in a foreign land. And before this… curse gets the better of me, there is no saying that it won’t get to you too. If it did, you would suffer the same fate I had been given.”

It took you a moment to let his words sink into your mind. He spoke the truth, a future with him would be filled with sickness and uncertainty; you would have to live in a court far from your home, where everyone was waiting for the king’s death like a flock of crows flying above a dying man. You took a deep breath, feeling as everything came down to this very moment. “I won’t lie to you, my lord, the future that awaits me while standing by your side is not an easy one by any means, and I’m very much aware of that. I do not expect my future to be easy, for it would be an excess of greed. So if I can have a saying in my own future, I’d like to say that I would much rather all the time that is given to me by the Lord standing by the side of a man filled with virtue, than by the side of a man too full of himself to see anything just an inch away from his reflection. There would be no greater honor for me than to stand by your side, for as long as you still have to live, my lord. And if I ever was to catch this disease as well, then I would have no other words to say other than God wills it.“

At your words, the young king had to shake himself up, now more than ever necessary for him to say something, anything really. “For you, my lady, I shall always be just Baldwin.” His tone was softer than ever, a soft breeze that reached to you and whispered I am but yours now. It was unsaid, but decided. Once this meeting would be over, the king would come to your father, and confirm his decision to accept the proposal. Only problem was, this meeting seemed to have become endless. What was supposed to be a quick meal, accompanied by a game of chess, turned into a lively exchange of political views, then silly childhood anecdotes, then again into a walk in the inner courtyard of the palace. Baldwin tried hard to keep you in his presence for as long as was deemed decent for an unmarried man and woman. He kept you with him as long as he could, and when that was no longer possible, he led you back into the great hall, gently holding your hand over his. Soon after the announcement of your engagement, the wedding was set to happen during the following Easter, and the banquet made in honor of his guests was prolonged until the sun had been long set, this time in honor of his betrothed.

You think back to that day fondly, as you lay on your bed, in the comfort of silky sheets and soft pillows. One of your hands holds your head while the others traces the patterns of the scars in your husband’s face that have considerably worsened during the years. Aside from the bed, sitting on a table, forgotten as long as the night reigned over Jerusalem, were two crowns, along with two chess pawns. A white queen and a black king. Both came from the set that had been used the day the two of you met, a reminder for Baldwin of the day God had merged your destinies in one.

A/N: wowww that came out longer than I though oopss. ANYWAY, this was my interpretation of your request, anon, hope you like it!! Also, for everyone who’s gonna read this, feel free to leave any constructive criticism since this is my first fic and I would like to improve a looot more in my writing skills. That’s it now have a nice day y’all <3<3

#kingdom of heaven #king baldwin iv #baldwin iv #king baldwin iv x reader #king baldwin x reader #fluff #historical fiction #anon ask #requests open #writers on tumblr #my fic #writing requests