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eternally-racing · 3 months

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superbowl sunday | logan sargeant

pairing: logan x reader

genre: fluff

wk: 1k (short n sweet xoxo)

summary: you want to do something special for your homesick boyfriend when he misses one of america's favorite unofficial holidays.

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With the new season just around the corner, the Williams team was in full force putting together their finishing touches on pre-season testing and meetings. Unfortunately for you, that meant that Logan was putting in long hours at the factory, with the most you’re seeing of him sometimes being just his imprint on the bedsheets in the morning since he leaves so early in the morning and comes back even long after you go to sleep.

Moving to Oxfordshire was a big step for the both of you. For Logan it was a no-brainer, even choosing to buy a place instead of renting helped show his commitment to the team, and how could you have possibly said no to him when he asked for you to join him? After all, in his words you are is home, no matter where he is in the world. While Logan may be used to living the European life, moving away from your all-American home was definitely a big culture shock. There were of course fun new experiences - first time getting lost in a new city, trying new cafes that you knew you would subsequently come to every week, and seeing the beautiful sights. At the same time there were the moments that absolutely tore you up to be away from home - Logan cried as he held you on Thanksgiving when all you really wanted was to be able to eat your mom’s Turkey stuffing, but then he subsequently called your mom and got her to send you a frozen portion in the mail. It only arrived 2 weeks later and there was a definite chance that the stomachache you got afterwards may have been due to it being slightly spoiled by the time it made it to your dinner table, but the action itself definitely warmed your heart. Even though you were definitely the baby when it came to missing home, you knew that there were a couple of days that got to him and today was definitely one of them.

Logan’s back ached as he finally got out of what felt like a 10 hour long meeting about company branding that he couldn’t care less about. The one thing he’s grateful for is the plethora of window panes at the factory - if he’s going to be stuck inside all day it’s at least nice to see the sun rise and set each day over the horizon. There are some days where Formula 1 doesn’t feel as worth it, where he wishes that he was in his backyard in Florida playing soccer with his brother, his dad on grill while his mom nags them about not wearing enough sunscreen, but on days like that he at least gets to see you, usually. If only he had time to see you right now. If he rushed back to your apartment right now he would probably at least catch you getting ready for bed, but it feels selfish to keep you up sometimes. He knows just how much you sacrificed to be here with him, including working a remote job in a timezone that meant that you were up at the worst of hours for team meetings.

He expects to walk into a dark apartment, just like he has for the last 3 weeks - but instead he’s met with a completely different sight.

It’s you, which is a sight enough to bring a smile to his face. But it’s not just you, but you’re surrounded by a a scene that he can only describe in two words. While he’s rendered speechless, you’re happy to steal the words from his mouth.

“Happy Superbowl Sunday, babe.”

Your apartment has all the staples from back home; chicken wings, seven layer dip, beer. If Logan’s nutritionist took a look at your dining table right now he would probably have a heart attack, but Logan could care less about that right now.

“I really lucked out that both teams have the color red so I only had to buy one color of balloons to cover my bases.” you giggle as Logan picks you up and spins you around. There’s tears starting to pool at the corner of his eyes and you understand the emotion you see in them all too well.

"I -, wow - , how did you - , I can't believe -" the words keep stumbling out of Logan's mouth as he's just in complete awe of what you pulled off for him.

You both take a second to cherish the moment, that the two of you get to do this together after so many weeks of not seeing each other. But soon after that you both settle onto the couch with more snacks than you could possibly ever consume surrounding the two of you on all sides.

You’re actually only watching a recording of the game with how the time differences worked out, and it’s actually Monday night, late enough to be almost Tuesday in England by the time you turn on the television - but Logan is far too sleep deprived and overworked to notice. There’s definitely a non-zero chance he falls asleep by the time the 3rd quarter even starts, but you’re happy to at least fall asleep together as you cuddle into his side.

“Also we are cheering for…” Your voice trails off as a question since you actually have no idea who Logan likes out of these two teams.

“The 49ers babe, you would love them too if you knew the backstory”

His comment makes you curious and while you’re scared of the can of worms you may be opening of being mansplained the history of the entire NFL, you ask him to explain and luckily he keeps it short and sweet.

“You always love cheering for an underdog, Y/N,” Logan says with a smile.

author's note: my new roman empire is the fact that logan was cheering for brock purdy in the super bowl 🥲 hope you all enjoyed this lil bit of logan fluff, until next time! - Em 🩷

#logan sargeant fluff #logan sargeant #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 #f1 fic #logan sargeant x reader #logan sargeant imagine #logan sargeant one shot #ls2 #williams racing #f1 fluff #formula 1 x reader #formula one #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 fic #williams f1

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thechekhov · 14 days

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Hey Chekhov! How do you start converting an AU idea from character sheets and mini comics into a plot outline for a full, continuous comic? Especially if the series you're basing it on isn't complete?

I've been following your white diamond Steven comics for years, and frankly, I love how it builds and continues the scaffolding canon laid to be something that is thematically still the same but also very unique. And I never thought I'll ever say this, but now I'm working on a canon-divergent AU with someone that's I think aiming to do something similar(continue the themes of canon but different). So I'll just like some advice, I suppose!

You might've answered something like this before, honestly, but I tried to dig a little and couldn't really find it.

Thanks, if you do answer this! I just want take the opportunity as well to say also that your comic and blog accompanied me through parts of my late teens, and I'm very grateful for you being a stabilizing influence during that time.

Thank you! I really appreciate you saying that, and I appreciate you respecting me enough to ask for advice.

As for your question...

Well, to be frank, I don't START with character sheets and mini-comics. In fact, for WD!AU, I didn't have any character sheets until I started season 2.

Think of your story as an aquarium. Your characters are fish.

Yes, they're important, but having a whole bunch of fish without any substrate, tanks, feed and WATER..... will not really make for a memorable aquarium experience.

The reality is that all stories should start with an end.

That's my personal approach, anyway.

What I mean is - you need to know the general idea for your story before you begin to write or plan it.

Let's try this:

1.Tell me about your story in THREE sentences!

Just three. Not long ones, just regular ones.

For my AU, @ask-whitepearl-and-steven, it would be:

"A young orphan runs away from home with a mysterious lady who seems more cryptid than human. He realizes that he's not human either - he used to be the ruler of an alien planet! He and the other aliens he meets decide to (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (REDACTED) and he (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (READACTED) (READ ANDCTED) (READ AND FIND OUT)."

YOU should know how YOUR story ends too! Even vaguely.

It helps if you know at what point you plan to lay down the pencil. Because if you DO know, you are always going to know which direction to walk in, even if the end is so far away it's beyond your line of sight.

It's true that when I began WDAU, I didn't have much information about White Diamond and white Pearl, because they had literally ONLY been introduced. I had to guess a lot of the details (like WP being Pink's originally) and what White would be capable of. And thankfully, my original intent for the story's end fit pretty well with what was later revealed!

But don't forget - you could also just fuck around with stuff! It's your story, after all.

And don't forget... to also look back!

2.Tell me WHY the story is happening in the first place.

There's a reason that the beginning of your story happens when it does. If there is no reason to start somewhere, then find a different place to start.

You should be able to tell me "We're picking up the story here because something significant has happened... and that significant thing happened BECAUSE...."

That 'because' is your main background information that should be revealed slowly throughout the story. In WDAU's case, we only have a few pieces of the puzzle. We know Greg's side. He know Earl's side. But there are still little bits and pieces missing! And they're all important for finding out WHY Steven ended up an orphan and WHY he is being followed by White Pearl (Earl) at the very start of the comic!

3.Tell me what the coolest and most interesting things to happen would be....and then write them!

I think this may be something that's rarely said out loud, but I will speak on the behalf of the people...

We should write the scenes we want to read. If you don't want to read the scene you're writing, then DON'T write it!

If you feel like you "have to" do a page and a half of 'lore' because you think it's traditional to have that 'explanation' about the location of your story, or the history of the species or whatever, you're simply wrong. There are other ways to reveal information aside from just forced paragraphs upon paragraphs of information that would make an SAT Reading Section sweat.

Instead, I recommend that you find the most exciting or hilarious way for the characters to discover the most important bits of info. Find a dramatic twist. Shove it into the narrative. Then, figure out what needs to happen to get there.

Ultimately, though, remember this: When you're taking advice from me or from others, don't forget to take advice from yourself, too! It's your story, after all. You know it best, and only YOU can figure out how to get it written.

I hope that helps at least a little bit! Writing it never easy, but it should still be enjoyable!

#chekhov answers

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howtofightwrite · 8 months

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I love picking at plot holes like scabs so i want my fight scenes to be as realistic as possible. However. There’s a creature in my head that says a buster sword is SICK AS HELL. What modifications would it need to be even remotely wieldable while still keeping its central appeal (huge sword big blade cool and sexy) intact?

You’ve made a mistake. You mistook suspension of disbelief for realism. This is a common problem that gets in the way of a lot of fantasy and sci-fi authors. So, don’t worry. It isn’t just you. However, realism vs believability is where your hangup is. Stories don’t need to be realistic to be believable.

The quick and dirty (and possibly unhelpful) answer is to create a world that justifies your buster sword, not a buster sword that’s trying to justify itself in a world that doesn’t want it. You step back from the sword itself and away from a world where reality dictates that it’s too heavy, too clumsy, too slow, and ask yourself: “in what type of world does this thing make sense?” And there’s about a billion different ways to create that.

The hangup with the realistic argument is that all of fiction is a lie. Good or bad, that’s what stories are. They can be very compelling, addicting, manipulative, feel incredibly good, and still be fake. The goal of a creator isn’t just to create stories that are believable, but for your audience to want to believe in them. Storytelling is always a joint venture between you and your reader. You are the salesperson asking your audience to come along for the ride. To keep their attention, you’ve got to spin up a good yarn. Build trust. The world has to feel right, but it doesn’t have to be right. Reasonable, not right. The goal is to take a cool idea and work backwards to how your society got here so that when seen from an outside perspective, the choice ultimately looks like a reasonable conclusion given the surrounding context. One of the better ways to build your reasonable conclusions is by studying the history of technological invention from the beginning to the midpoint rather than starting with the end point—the results.

History is full of weird, wacky, wild attempts and failures at creation. You’re not the first person to look at a human sized sword and wonder if it could, in fact, hit good. Or, really, better than swords that currently exist. Or, fulfill a battlefield role the sword was currently not occupying. Or, as we like to say, have real battlefield applications. The Claymore, the Zwhihander, the Zhanmadao are all real weapons that saw real, if not necessarily extensive, use. Like all weapons, they were specialized tools meant for particular battlefield uses. In this case, mainly as anti-cavalry support.

Ask yourself, why? Not just, why would I want it? Ask, why would I use it?

What actual purpose does the big cool blade serve beyond looking big and cool? What function does it fill on the battlefield? Why use the big cool blade instead of other weapons? What does it do better? What are some offsets which might account for the massive size? Technology? Superhuman enhancements, mystical or otherwise? Gravitic fields? Magic? Why is the big cool blade better suited to ensuring a character’s survival? What advantages does it provide? What is its practical value to warriors within your setting?

The initial defensive reaction is that we don’t need a reason because we have the Rule of Cool. That could be the reason, but I challenge you to go deeper. Go deeper than, “this was the weapon my character was trained to use.” The followup question is: why were they trained to use it?

In the real world, we can answer these questions both from a personal and from a larger social perspective. We may not be able to answer whether we’d use a gun, but we understand why humanity developed guns, why we use guns, and the purpose they serve both for personal protection and in their military applications. The answers don’t necessarily need to be good or smart. What matters is that an answer exists to feed your audience. When your reader starts struggling to believe, they begin to ask questions, they pick at the fabric of the narrative trying to figure out why their mind has rejected the story they were previously enjoying. What we, the writer, want to create is a chain of logic underpinning the narrative and its world. This way, when questions are asked, a reasonable answer is ready and waiting. While we won’t win over everyone, trust that your audience wants to believe. Trust that they’re smart enough to figure it out without being spoon fed. That way, you won’t fall into the trap of infodumping.

Worldbuilding always involves a lot more happening under the surface than ever makes it onto the page. Your characters will be the ones to demonstrate and act on the internal logic that’s been created for them without needing a billion questions to lead us from Point A to Point B.

If we look at human history in a wide view, we find that weapons are a fairly steady march forward that matches a civilization’s technological growth. We keep what works and discards what doesn’t. The crossbow replaced the bow as the main form of artillery in martial combat, but we still kept the bow. The bow still had practical applications. Guns eventually replaced the crossbow just like they replaced the sword, but it actually took a very long time. We had functional firearms in the Middle Ages.

Ease of Use

Ease of Training

Lethality

From a military standpoint, these are the three most important aspects for widespread adoption of any weapon. Easy to use. Easy to train. Lethal. The longer it takes to train a soldier on a weapon the more time your army is losing out on using that soldier and the more effective the weapon needs to be in order to justify its expense. Why give your soldier a big cool sword if they’ll never get close enough to reach the forward line to make the assault? Why have them use the big cool sword if operating the laser cannon is more efficient, effective, and keeps them alive longer? In the coldness of battlefield calculus, it’s often better to have cheap, efficient units rather than more expensive ones that might be more lethal but take longer to produce. No matter how good they are, you’re eventually going to lose them. Therefore, easy replaceability becomes a factor.

If you can answer those questions (and the myriad of other similar ones) you won’t just have a weapon, you’ll have a world. You’ll have more than a justification, you’ll have battlefield strategy, tactics, and a greater understanding of how the average layman characters in your setting beyond your main character approach warfare and possibly a technological history. You might even have several functional armies.

Ultimately, this is a game of value versus cost. Most settings that use big cool swords sacrifice ease of use and ease of training to amp up lethality. The weapon having a specialized function or only being usable by a specialized unit helps if that unit’s battlefield effectiveness is justified. Or, you could just have a weird technological outlier where its effectiveness doesn’t quite justify its cost even if the individual warrior is effective. A good example of this is in shounen anime where one character has a specialty that no one else has, a really cool, effective weapon that never appears anywhere else, because the length of training, high skill floor, and finicky nature of its use make it difficult to justify widespread adoption.

The danger is assuming there’s a right answer. There isn’t one. The value in learning the rules of real world violence is so you can break them. This way you can tell the difference between the vital rules necessary for suspending disbelief and don’t accidentally break the ones you needed to keep your audience invested.

-Michi

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get access to new posts three days early, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’re already a Patron, thank you. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

#writing reference #writing advice #writing tips #michi answers #how to fight write

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pearikp · 2 months

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It's said that the only way to access Mhin's red choice is by choosing the Alchemist background, and that fact alone has me thinking about how the origin stories will actually impact the course of the game at full release. I wouldn't assume that you have to choose a certain origin to get a "good" or "bad" ending for a specific character, but (as stated by RSS directly) different origin stories will allow the main character to connect differently with each of the main five love interests.

Obviously, this isn't revolutionary, but I wanted to touch on which origins I think will be best suited for each route, based solely on scraps from the demo lol

For Kuras, I think the Alchemist and the Unnamed suit him the best. The former really comes from the fact that Ais' relationship chart suggests Kuras likes to ramble about alchemy, and because it has a lot to do with his role as a doctor, I would assume it opens up a lot of opportunities for him to connect with the Alchemist MC. I am more convinced of the latter based on the actual content of the demo. If you played the Unnamed origin, you may remember when the MC states that something about Kuras "nags" at them, "like a half-formed memory". This small line can obviously allude to Kuras not being human (and the Unnamed MC can pick up on it because of their sensitivity to the supernatural), or it could also imply that maybe this background gives the MC and Kuras a deeper sort of association with one another. I also encourage you to consider the dynamic of an excommunicated oracle in love with an excommunicated divine eldritch being.

It shocks no one that the Alchemist is probably the best route for Leander, and I maybe want to say the Hound could possibly be a good option in the future. The Alchemist can pinpoint exactly what about Leander's magic abilities makes him powerful, and obviously, this mutual connection will probably allow for plenty of unique interactions in his route. Sit on the fact that the MC had been mentored (manipulated) by an ex-Senobium mage, only to fall right back into the hands of another (pseudo-Senobium-affiliated) mage with sketchy intentions and big secrets... hmmm interestinggg... As for the Hound, I realize (admittedly upon limited playthroughs with this origin), that the dialogue never really changes for Leander's scenes. However, he is still an enigmatic socialite running a cult-gang, so surely the Hound will have some unique thoughts on Leander in his route and may eventually be able to see through this "nice guy" facade that Vere is so insistent he's parading around with? Just a thought.

As for my thoughts on Vere, I somehow have many and none at the same time. The one I'm pretty certain about is the Alchemist because they have unique dialogue acknowledging that Vere's collar is enchanted. I think the Hound may also work with his route, but I'm only basing that on the unique dialogue after the first encounter with Vere, wondering how he managed to pickpocket them without a sign, tell, or slip-up. The Hound has good social intuition, which is at least somewhat useful in dealing with Vere and his contradictory personality.

Ais comes naturally to the Unnamed, having an abundance of unique lines towards him more than the other characters. Not only does the Unnamed MC feel uneasy and hear unnatural sounds leading up to the Seaspring, but they also are the only one out of the three origins who has a distinct connection to "groupminds". The main character also notes that his tattoo (relating to Ocudeus) almost looks like it's moving. Similarly to Kuras, I like to think of the dynamic between a runaway ex-oracle crossing paths with a demonic being with cult-like worshipers... I predict the Hound will also suit Ais' route, based on how extensive their unique dialogue of Ais' natural leadership skills is. This origin is also the only one that actually details why his "gang leader" status contradicting the lack of an actual gang is so strange. The Hound comes from a more directly rugged life, and Ais takes an interest in the MC being feisty and defiant, so I'd guess that'll come into play somehow.

Back to square one on this whole overexplained talking point, Mhin obviously has some special connection to the Alchemist (or vice versa), if it wasn't obvious by the fact that Mhin's only red choice in the demo so far is only available with the Alchemist background. I think the Alchemist's unique connection to the Senobium through their mentor may come up, as Mhin's bio page says that they like the Senobium. The bio page also says they enjoy conducting alchemical experiments, which will connect the two even more. Once again, I think the Hound will also suit Mhin's route, based on little evidence and mostly just because Mhin and the Hound have similar vibes.

All of that said, I want to reiterate that I'm not under the impression that one origin will give you better or worse endings than the others, but rather unique choices and extra details based on their strengths. Regardless of how well one origin pairs with a LI, I will still probably be playing through each route with my own biased favorite (the Unnamed, if you were curious (I know you were not)). At the end of the day, it allows us to replay the game over and over to see what special changes and choices are available, so that will be very exciting.

#touchstarved game #touchstarved #touchstarved kuras #touchstarved leander #touchstarved vere #touchstarved ais #touchstarved mhin

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theresattrpgforthat · 5 months

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Do you have any solo ttrpgs that deal with like being a bodyguard or someone's knight? It's something I've had rattling around in my head for a while

Theme: Solo Knights

Hello friend, no luck in the bodyguard department but I sure do have some knight games! Let’s take a look.

Frog Errant, by ManaDawn Tabletop Games.

It’s a deadly and brutal world out there, and it is not too friendly for a lone frog. But if you embrace your quest and heed the omens, you may just be able to make a name for yourself. And if you wander long and far enough, you may be remembered in the songs of both frogs and mice.

Frog Errant is a solo, or GMless, game mode for Mausritter or other Into the Odd based games. In Frog Errant you will take up the role of a wandering frog knight-errant, seeking adventure, looking to fulfill a Quest - all while avoiding you prophesied Doom.

If you are familiar with Mausritter, then this game will be pretty easy to pick up. The game builds in some story that isn’t present in Mausritter - primarily the Quest that has been given to your frog knight, as well as a Doom that has been prophesied to overcome you. It looks like you can use a lot of the items and monsters from Mausritter, but Frog Errant has plenty of new pieces too!

Misericorde, by Andrew White.

Misericorde is a game of knightly romance, pining, unrequited love and confronting the expected behaviours of your social class. You play as a squire serving under a knight on a great quest, without your assistance they surely will fail and yet, as a squire you are obligated to remain in the background, forgotten and not commented on. However, you have developed feelings, perhaps unrequited, for your knight. The actions of the game focus on this struggle, between your Duty and your Desire. Will you hold back, hew to your duty and rank; or will you break free and open your heart, no matter how your beloved may respond.

You’re not exactly a knight in this game, but rather a squire to one. Misericorde is completely unlike the other games on this list because it focuses on devotion and desire, rather than the actions that a forsworn duty drives a Knight to do. You play the game by setting up scenes, asking questions, and rolling dice on an Oracle to figure out what happens next. This is an interpretive game, so while the Oracle will point you in a direction, you determine what exactly each result means.

Chalice, by Monkey’s Paw Games.

Chalice is a solo journaling role-playing game where you chronicle the perilous journey of a Grail-seeking knight in Arthurian England. During the game, you will tell the story of your Knight’s physical and spiritual descent as they quest for, and ultimately fail to find, the Grail. Your Knight’s quest is doomed. Their chivalric virtues will be surely undone by their fatal flaws and moral shortcomings.

This looks like the most immersive game for Arthurian mythology as a solo game. The game itself is designed to look like a manuscript from medieval times, calligraphy and all. Your Knight has benefits called Passions, key relationships called Bindings, and a fate determined by drawing cards from a tarot deck. Throughout the game, you will draw more cards that serve as prompts, which will give or strike through your Passions and Bindings, and play happens over the span of years. Each year is measured in two parts: the deed, which will be what your character accomplishes, and the Chanson, which is evocative recording of your character’s deeds. When you are unable to fulfill a prompt given to you, your story end

Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard, by Amanda P.

Quests in King Arthur stories are about ideals, conflict and temptation.

Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard is a solo prompt-based journaling game where you create a Sun Guard and travel alone on a quest, attempting to hold to your Code until you reach the end, facing trials and complications along the way.

You are the last Sun Guard. Will you take up the mantle and ride the ancient roads?

Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard follows a cycle of play. You will start by travelling to a new location, and follow the directions according to each location’s prompt. This may involve using or acquiring resources, accomplishing great deeds, and writing a record of what happened with each step of the quest. When you run out of all of your resources, you can choose to either end your quest there, or break your Code to continue. If you like the story of Gawain & the Green Knight, this game might be for you.

Sanctum Guard, by Bulger007.

Sanctum Guard is a 20-minute pen-and-paper solo game about protecting a powerful magic artifact against a horde of night terrors. In this game, you are a lone guardian of a secluded sanctum built to protect the Obsidram, a powerful artifact that can potentially destroy worlds if it falls into the wrong hands.

You live in peace and harmony with the Obsidram while it is hidden in this secret and desolate domain from power-hungry minds. But one night, someone or something finds the way and you see a glimmering portal from which a horde of monsters descends upon you. Will you manage to protect the Obsidram?

This game runs like a tower defense game, and requires a sheet of graph paper to play. You will build your Sanctum randomly, then roll against generated monsters with the hopes that you can take them out before they utterly destroy the Sanctum and take your sacred relic.

This game doesn’t detail who you’re guarding the Obsidram for, although I think you could also substitute the relic for a person, if you want to be guarding someone instead of something.

Falling Kingdom: The Last Knights, by Purple Robed Wizard.

“The lands are shattered, the gods that once held our hand are dead and the beasts are upon us. Our King. killed by his own flesh. All of us, but waiting to follow. But we still stand, we hold our ground as we rot, we are the Last Knights, and we will stand until we last draw breath.”

In Falling Kingdom you control the last Knights of a realm threatened by a great, corrupting and unstoppable force. There is no great victory waiting for you at the end, no songs to be heard. There is only struggle, corruption, betrayal and death. The Kingdom will Fall, but this story isn’t about that, it is about the heroes that face this imminent fall, the Knights of the realm, normal men and women elevated to a position where they will fight for their homelands against all odds.

This is a map-conquering game, with randomly generated missions, a Great Battle that could turn the tides of the war, and a stages of battles depending on how much territory you win or lose. You can accumulate corruption as you play, which is helpful in getting successful rolls, but accrue too much, and your knights begin to die. If you like a game about strategy, tragedy, and abstract warfare, this might be the game for you.

Sentinel, by Meghan Cross.

You are the lone guardian of a place of great power - known to you only as The Sanctuary. Many years you have kept vigil in this place, guarding what is kept within from any and all who come to disrupt it or steal it for themselves.

Sentinel is a solo journaling game about a solitary guardian and the place they are charged with keeping safe. It is a deck and dice based game in which you will create your guardian and the sanctuary that they protect before reliving the memories, facing threats, and finding interesting objects while time passes around you. And then, when the time has come for your watch to end, find out what happens to The Sanctuary when you are no longer able to guard it.

This is a journaling game that uses cards to determine what kinds of actions your character can take. Hearts summon memories, Diamonds grant you items, Spades bring threats, and Clubs pass time. If you draw a Joker, the game is over and the story ends. At the end of the game, the final roll determines whether or not you are successful in your quest. This is a great game for folks who like journaling and world building.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

5-Min Knight, by enui.

Fetch My Blade, by Ethan Yen.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #knights #solo games

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biceratops7 · 1 year

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Victor nikiforov and empathy:

Following my fifth (?) rewatch I found yet another reason to be completely in love with Yuri on Ice, and that is Victor being a wonderfully accurate and non-demonized example of someone with low empathy. Seriously as someone who’s autistic and can’t relate to the influx of “actually we’re all super in tune to other’s feelings and have the MOST empathy!”, watch these scenes because this is what it’s like.

This line at first seems to be Yakov thinking that Victor is arrogant, but Yakov knows him extremely well. He knows that Victor has a hard time viscerally placing himself in another’s shoes, and that’s a major obstacle as a coach.

Victor has trouble understanding what to do in situations that are highly emotional for Yuuri. Instead of being able to directly consider things through Yuuri’s perspective, we see him rely pretty often on environment cues, behavioral cause and affect, or straightforward commands.

He gets his habit of scolding yuri after a routine from Yakov because that’s what he’s familiar with. It’s not something Yuuri responds to particularly well, but it’s only when Victor pays attention to how others react when Yuuri finishes skating that he changes tactic. Victor sees how the crowd is going wild at the (Japan nationals) and it’s only then it occurs to him that Yuuri’s confidence may be jeopardized if he chooses that moment to criticize his performance. This is something he likely would’ve realized much sooner if he could share Yuuri’s stress easier instead of merely observing that it’s happening.

Then later on in episode 7, we get to the scene that actually inspired this post.

At first Victor approached the situation almost like an experiment, trying out cause and effect to disastrous results. When you have a much lower threshold for being able to experience another’s feelings second hand, it’s difficult not to think of other’s negative emotions simply as problems that need to be solved. Problem: Yuuri won’t perform well because he’s too anxious, he will only be MORE upset if he loses, and Victor has already tried to reduce his anxiety to no avail. Idea for solution: raise the stakes and see if increased pressure can replace his nerves with resolve, causing a good performance. Afterward, Yuuri will be proud of himself and happy again. Execute plan, observe results, adjust accordingly. When comfort doesn’t come naturally, this tends to be kind of the default. From experience it comes from a genuine place of caring even when it backfires (and it actually doesn’t at times), basically trying to actually fix the thing upsetting your loved one instead of play acting feelings you don’t get.

… however Yuuri was COMPLETELY within his rights yelling at Victor because regardless of intent he picked the worst thing on planet earth to say in that exact moment. I mean I’ve had my fair share of “oh crap someone is upset and it’s my responsibility” fails but my fuck-

He’s shown to be pretty shit at comforting Yuri/ detached emotionally from the situation, but he is neither coldly unbothered nor strategically hiding it. It may appear callous to bluntly say “I don’t know how to help you” to a loved one who’s crying, but as someone who’s been there, that’s an insanely vulnerable thing to admit. “I don’t feel your pain, I don’t get it. But I love you, and just because I’m not feeling it myself doesn’t mean I don’t care that you’re hurting.”

When Yuri finally just straight up tells Victor what to do, he is relieved and simply does it. Things are different between them after this episode because Yuuri finds the power to communicate his needs clearly and effectively. Victor doesn’t speak “subtlety” well. Yakov and Yurio both speak their mind to him directly regardless of if it’s polite, Which is quite telling because they’re the two characters he has the longest history with. It shows us the kind of communication style Victor is accustomed to and needs to navigate interpersonal relationships.

I’m not making a statement that Victor is autistic or even disordered per say. I feel his unusual circumstances provide enough explanation, but I really do see that he consistently struggles with empathy in the same way I do. He’s probably the only character I’ve been able to see that aspect of myself in with scenes that aren’t played for jokes.

#yuri on ice #yoi #victor nikiforov #yuri katsuki #victuri #biceratops #meta #analysis #empathy #low empathy #affective empathy

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freesia-writes · 29 days

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Chapter 1: Family Dinner

Enjoy a riveting tale of romance, suspense, adventure, and self-discovery as Hunter finds his path after the events of TBB. With engaging imagery, emotional depth, comic relief, and some fun twists and turns, the story will take you on a delightful ride with our beloved Sergeant, leaving you satisfied as he finds his happily ever after… eventually. 😉 Rated PG-13 for some mild suspense, suggestive talk, alcohol and drug use, and adult themes. Banner and dividers by @pinkiemme Master List here

BEFORE WE DIVE IN... Now that we’re past the finale, I’d like to make this fit in as well with that as possible. But I also want to enjoy it. ;) So here’s where this lies… Tech was found alive and well (living in a hut in the forest on Tantiss? lol) and came with the boys after they BLEW IT ALL UP. Omega is living with them as well, for now, because they all thought it was wise to give her a break and some semblance of “normal life” while the rebellion continued to build. She might seem a little less like a full soldier here and more like a typical teenager on the brink of adulthood, and that might be a bit of a shift from her development throughout season 3, but I think it’s still reasonable to think that some of the typical adolescent stuff might come up once she was immersed into a more typical adolescent setting. Maybe not, but again… it’s just for the plot. ;)

I’m changing the setting for a variety of reasons, but they left Pabu out of fear that the Empire might still have it on their radar. You’ll learn more about the island of Xylo in a couple chapters. Crosshair didn’t lose a hand, but he’s still got some lingering effects from his time on Tantiss. Echo opted to spend a year with the Batch before rejoining the rebellion. The events of this fic may seem relatively domestic after all that the Batch endured, but I really just wanted to have a warm and fuzzy story with family, humor, love, and some plot twists. Ultimately, the purpose here is to enjoy a romance adventure with Hunter, so please forgive any plot holes and just enjoy the ride. ;)

Chapter 1: Family Dinner (Word Count: 2.5k) Fanart by @nika6q

The balmy sea breeze ruffled the tablecloth and made the string lights dance merrily above the jovial scene below as the clinking of silverware on plates punctuated the steady hubbub of conversation that rose and fell with the emotion of what was being shared. Some overly-optimistic sea birds hovered above on a swell, fastidiously watching for any dropped crumbs before swooping gracefully into another updraft. Crosshair was looking at them down the edge of his finger, which he had shaped into a gun with the help of his thumb, and his focused squint was interrupted by a smack on his arm. He flashed his partner a wry grin as they chuckled, shaking their head at his “murder noodle antics”, as they’d come to call it.

“Stop traumatizing the wildlife and eat your fish,” they laughed.

“This looks an awful lot like traumatized wildlife too, you know,” Crosshair answered, picking at the fillet with a fork. “I mean, what horrors did this thing have to endure at the end of Wrecker’s line?”

“I’m starting to feel like traumatized wildlife,” his partner jabbed, grinning ear to ear as they took a bite of their brightly-flavored steamed vegetables.

“If it decreases any potential reservations you may yet hold,” Tech interjected, “As far as neuroscience has yet been able to distinguish, this particular genus of sea creatures do not possess the pain receptors necessary for the experience of pain with which humanoid species are familiar.”

“Thanks, Julia Child,” Crosshair muttered, a hint of fondness flickering beneath the dry humor.

“If you are metaphorically comparing me to the infamously accomplished chef of the Core Worlds, it is hardly an insult, Crosshair. You are losing your edge.” Tech’s savage burn was delivered at a slightly louder volume than usual, and Wrecker’s boisterous laugh immediately broke through. The massive clone pointed a gleeful finger at Crosshair as he finished his bite between hearty chuckles.

“That one’s gotta hurt!” Wrecker exclaimed, pulling his hand back as Phee smacked it away.

“You tryin to resurrect the grumpiness? Come on, big guy. Think it through,” Phee said playfully, arching a sharp eyebrow at Wrecker, whose unabashed grin remained unfazed despite her mockingly stern correction. “Or I’m gonna kick you out of our house.”

Omega giggled, sharing a glance with Hunter across the table, who gave her a half-smile and wink before turning back to Echo, who was filling him in on the newest developments at his Defense Training Academy.

“I didn’t think it would fill up so quickly,” Echo mused, tearing apart the large fish filet on his plate with his fork. “I guess the Empire’s got everyone spooked, even out here. But it’s a good thing, I think… They’ll be ready to fight if it ever comes to that, but Maker willing, it won’t.”

“They’re doing the same on Pabu,” Phee chipped in, leaning forward to nod at Echo. “Shep’s got a whole daily regimen of exercise, strategy, and drills for any possible scenario he can think of. You should talk to him; he could use your military expertise.’

“I’d be interested to hear what he’s doing,” Echo nodded in return. “Maybe we could make a trip that way sometime soon.”

“Can I come?!” Omega said brightly, tugging Echo’s arm from her seat beside him. “I’d love to see Lyana. I wish we’d been able to stay there.”

“Me too, kid,” Hunter said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair after resting his wooden utensils on his plate. “But you know trouble follows us wherever we go. It’s better for them this way. Besides, Xylo is pretty much the same–”

“Aside from an entirely different subset of ecosystems and a much larger diversity in flora and fauna due to the greater size of the island, yes… Xylo is similar to Pabu in that… they are both islands,” Tech interjected, wavering at the end as he caught sight of Phee's fondly arched eyebrow directed at him.

“I know,” Omega said, “It’s just hard making friends wherever we go and having to leave them… Jek and Shaeeah, Hera, Lyana… But everyone at school is really nice so far too.” She was so sweet, so earnest, always trying to look on the bright side while still being true to her feelings… Hunter’s heart warmed in his chest as he listened to her thoughts.

“Yeah, how’s that going?” Wrecker asked. He was the best uncle, ever-vigilant about her experiences on the island of Xylo since they’d made a decent attempt to integrate into society. It had been the better half of a year already, and they felt as though things were just now settling into some faint hint of an established life.

“I love it!” Omega exclaimed enthusiastically, causing infectious smiles to appear on several of her family members’ faces. “It was the best year for me to join – it sounds like everything before this was all just academic units, but now they’re getting to really live it out and see what they want to do in life!”

“Academic units are highly useful building blocks for success in individual endeavors, Omega,” Tech reminded her. “Or for saving one’s life when careening toward the earth at fatal speeds in cargo containers…” he smirked, enjoying his own dry humor for a moment before falling silent. Phee was the only one who caught the slight flash of a frown at the corners of his lips and the way he subconsciously rubbed his thigh – echoes of the pain of the past.

“I know, Tech, but I’ve been studying everything, and now it’s time to actually do stuff! The forestry section just wrapped up, and this week I get to start shadowing Madame Dreyfus – she’s a seamstress who dyes her own fabrics! I heard that if I do well, she might let me make my own outfit for the Advancement Ceremony at the end of the year!”

“I’m sure you’ll do great, kid,” Phee said confidently, smiling warmly above the table while her hand joined Tech’s beneath, gently placing it on top of his where it rested on his thigh.

“Maybe you could make Wrecker something to wear so he has more than two shirts,” Crosshair suggested, squinting at his brawny brother, who rolled his eyes, unfazed, and brushed a few crumbs off his open-chested brown tunic.

“Maybe you could make Crosshair some pants that aren’t so kriffing tight so he’s not acting like he’s got a wad of fabric up his–”

“Language, Echo,” Hunter growled, and Omega wasn’t the only one who enjoyed a hearty chuckle.

“You know I hear worse than that at school,” she giggled, eyes sparkling with delight as Echo gave her a wink.

“I know…” came Hunter’s answering grumble, and Omega reached across beneath the table to give his leg a little tap with her foot, watching his face soften as their eyes met.

“Anyway,” Echo continued, “With the number of sign-ups at the DTA, we’re going to need some other instructors and guides soon. I don’t suppose any of you are interested in donating some of your time and expertise to whip these locals into shape?”

“DTA?” Crosshair’s partner whispered.

“Defense Training Academy,” he murmured back, rubbing an idle hand up and down their muscular arm. “It’s what the cool kids call it.”

“Then I will definitely not call it that,” they snickered, and Crosshair smirked as he turned back to Echo.

“They’re gonna need more time before they can handle anything I’ve got to teach them,” he said. “But I’d pay good money to be able to watch them fight Wrecker for sport. Er, practice.”

“That’d be fun!” Wrecker laughed, smacking his closed fist with his other hand. “Gonna have to wait though. I’m swamped with projects after the last mudslide. Everyone wants things added or changed to their rebuilt homes so it’s all takin a lot longer.”

“They’re keepin you busy, huh?” Phee asked, knowing that Wrecker loved every minute of it. He’d never had the opportunity to put his skills to use outside of his service to the Republic, and she’d been privy to many a conversation filled with his enthusiasm for craftsmanship. It helped that he was able to lift and move most everything by himself, too.

“Yeah! Now if I could just get Hunter to stop freaking out the locals when he’s out huntin,” Wrecker said, narrowing his eyes at the Sergeant, who smirked and shrugged.

“Look, the whole island is open access. It’s not illegal. Besides, I think they’d be complaining a lot more if their favorite meats weren’t available at my shop anymore…”

“That’s for sure!” Omega chipped in, wearing a wry smile. It struck Hunter in that moment just how much she had changed in the short time they’d known her. Especially since the Tantiss rescue, where they’d successfully extracted her along with Tech and Crosshair before blowing up the entire facility and everything in it, her face had gotten more angular, her hair longer. She was wildly intelligent and had an enthusiasm and warmth that was unmatched, but as she’d grown, they’d had their share of conflicts. Hunter couldn’t relate, having had his entire life planned out for him as soon as he’d reached “adulthood” with his rapidly-accelerated aging, but there were endless nuances to a young woman that he was having to figure out as they went along. Sometimes he forgot how much she was aware of – she’d been so sheltered from certain realms of civilian life, but having nestled into life on the island, she’d become much more connected and “up with the times”, so to speak. She continued, a glimmer in her eye now, “I heard some office ladies talking about you the other day!”

“Yeah?” Hunter asked, squinting at the mischief on her face.

“Yeah,” she echoed, idly rolling the last piece of sushi on her plate. “One of them said she loved your butcher shop and that you’ve got the best meat on the island,” Omega said slowly, face straight as a board. “The other one said she couldn’t agree more, and a third one said she hasn’t been to the shop but would love to have your meat in her mouth.”

Echo choked on his drink, Crosshair’s toothpick fell out of his mouth, and Wrecker exploded into a guffaw that sent the sea birds tumbling through the air before quickly regaining their graceful hovering. Hunter pressed his lips together, focusing his gaze on Tech’s completely impassive face to try to stabilize himself before replying.

“You’ll have to point out the third one next time I take you to school,” Phee said quietly, nothing but innocence painted across her features.

“Seemed like an odd way to say it,” Omega muttered, twisting her mouth to the side, and Hunter genuinely couldn’t tell if she was pulling his leg or not.

“You will find that there are many nuances to speech specific to geographical and cultural areas that might make one phrase sound entirely different than it would in another place. I would not worry about it. The point is that we should congratulate Hunter on his successful business,” Tech suggested, speaking loudly over Wrecker’s continued laughter.

“Yeah,” Echo agreed. “He sure is satisfying his customers…”

“Apparently not all of them,” Crosshair prodded, and his partner elbowed him again.

“Moving on,” Hunter said emphatically, “Wrecker, when can you fix the chimney? Winter will be here soon and I can only keep it so warm with that draft…”

“Yeah yeah,” Wrecker said, waving him off amid residual chortles. “I’ll come by this week.”

“Taungsday?” Hunter pressed.

“Mmm, Centaxday maybe. Taungsday is the “Grand Re-Opening” at the tiki bar. They got new freshers! Supposed to be all fancy now.”

“Anything would be fancy compared to the pits they had,” Tech sniffed. “While wildly inconvenient for relieving oneself during a raucous night of imbibing, they could have been permanent fixtures in the cultural museum considering how primitive and dated they were.”

“I’m sure the locals would be thrilled at that exhibit,” Phee affirmed, rising to her feet to begin clearing the table. The Primeday tradition of dinner at Tech and Phee’s had been one of the first things everyone had agreed on, and in the months since they’d arrived on Xylo, it had been the grounding activity each week that allowed them to feel a sense of belonging and routine.

Everyone got up to help clean up except for Wrecker and Hunter, who lingered behind to finish their drinks. Tech had not only developed an interest in cooking, but had also discovered quite the knack for mixing drinks. He couldn’t stand the local tiki bar down on the beach, insisting that their proportions were all wrong and they were using nothing but cheap garbage to try to make as much profit as possible. However, considering the beautiful waterfront location and the fact that it seemed to be the main gathering place for the entire town, no one seemed to mind quite as much as Tech.

“Headin out early tomorrow?” Wrecker asked, swirling the liquid in his wood cup.

“Mhm,” Hunter answered, mimicking the movement before taking a sip. “The Kod’yok are migrating and the locals love their flank steaks. You good to walk with Omega?”

“You betcha, although she’s getting old enough that she probably doesn’t need it anymore, ya know…”

“I know, but let’s let her be the one to suggest that, eh? I don’t want her feeling thrown out on her own in a new place. Plus, we can never be too safe.”

Wrecker sighed. He’d been able to let go more quickly of the paranoia that still seemed to rest on Hunter’s shoulders, although he was aware of the crippling responsibility the Sergeant felt for all that had transpired, from Crosshair being separated from the squad back on Kamino to the rescue attempt that had cost Tech his life, or so they thought. Recovering the rest of the team had been a harrowing fiasco, but they’d emerged victorious… barely.

They’d found a planet in the middle of nowhere, uncharted in most of the records Tech was able to find, and it had been a welcome respite from the increasing turmoil across the galaxy that accompanied the spread of the Empire. Xylo was similar to Pabu in its feeling of safety and anonymity, unknown by virtually anyone outside the island, and there were a handful of other similar islands scattered across the rest of the planet, most of which was covered by water. Xylo was the largest island on the nameless planet and had so far been a good place for everyone to settle.

It was late by the time everyone had finished their cleaning and conversations, and Hunter was the last to leave, thanking Phee again for her usual hospitality as she disappeared around the corner with a wave. Tech saw him out, pausing on the doorstep to fiddle with one of his pouches.

“I finished this today,” he said, handing a small bag to Hunter. “It will function excellently anywhere on the planet. I can assemble others if you feel a need, but I believe our existing comm devices suffice.”

“Thanks, Tech. One is good for now. I appreciate it.” And with that, they went their separate ways.

~ Master List ~ Next Chapter

@lightwise @have-a-hiddles @littlemissmanga @dystopicjumpsuit @523rdrebel

@solstraalaa @skellymom @photogirl894 @youreababboon @anything-forourmoony

@reader6898 @moonstrider9904 @hipwell @lamiliani @catoo

@ilarria @padawancat97 @yve-barr @lucyysthings @flowered-bicycles

@maddiedrmr @techhasmjolnir @arctrooper69 @spicy-clones @ezras-left-thumb

@cw80831 @dreamie411 @meagmcc12 @waytoooldforthis78

Join the tag list by commenting for the discord server link or filling out my form.

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loveephia · 1 year

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Can you do Bokuto, Tendou Suna, Iwaizumi? So that they see their girlfriend again after she was away for a long time? I love You Work!!💕💕💕💕💕

how some of the HQ boys would react to seeing their girlfriend again after a long time from a business trip. (bokuto, tendō, suna, iwaizumi.)

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, them being very sulky generally, you guys are married here, suna's is inspired by a scene in the k-drama "true beauty", kita cameo in iwaizumi's, and yes, atsumu says an among us reference.

⚠ warning/s: manga spoilers.

note: THIS REQ WAS SO CUTE WHATATAT@?(# i haven't written for tendō, BUT i love a good challenge. >:3 iwaizumi's ended up being a bit long on accident. 😭 THANK YOU ANON AND ENJOY READING!!!

BOKUTO KŌTARŌ

when you told him you'd be gone for three WHOLE months, his hair just drooped down, the gleam in his eyes are no longer there, and his childish grin is gone.

baby literally gets so sulky about it :(((

"do you really have to?"

HE HAS THE PUPPY DOG EYES AND EVERYTHING STOPPTKEPDK 😭😭😭😭

"believe me, kō. as much as i don't want to stay away for that long, i have to."

every day he wakes up (with his arms around a pillow instead of you), he tries to be optimistic

"another day closer to seeing my wife!"

can't have him messing up at practice yk

but when he finally sees you at the airport, gosh, he's just all smiley about it

he picks you up and spins you around like in the movies

"i missed you so, so, so much!" he's pecking your face all over, ignoring the looks from other people, because hIS WIFE IS BACK 😭😭😭😭

"kō.. people are staring." you giggled

"let them!"

SATORI TENDŌ

"no way—! you gotta be joking!"

HE IS IN UTTER DISBELIEF.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GOING TO BE GONE FOR THREE MONTHS???

"who's gonna be my taste tester then!?" his voice cracks

the tendō chocolatier business CANNOT FUNCTION WITHOUT IT'S OFFICIAL TASTE TESTER.

before you leave, he gives you a free box of handmade chocolates galore to snack on the plane

and, ofc, a little kiss on the cheek

when you open the box on the plane, there's a little note

"don't eat'em all on one go! love yaaa~ :3" HOW CUTEJKSJDKEJDK

when you're finally back from the trip, you stumble into tendō's arms

"oof—!" he says before patting your head, "there, there, y/n."

SUNA RINTARŌ

"what." he deadpans

"i know.. but i have to—"

"no way. i don't accept this. you're seriously leaving me?" he sounds so offended that people may think you two are fighting.

he pretends to be all mad about it, but you know he's just joking around

so when you're gone, suna has to physically hOLD HIMSELF BACK FROM CALLING YOU EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY

"she wouldn't want a clingy boyfr— husband." he corrects himself

yeah, he calls you anyway.

when you pick up, you say, "hello, my tarō! how are you?" in that sICKENINGLY KIND TONE SUNA HAS OH, SO MISSED 😭😭

you've only been gone for three days

"please come home. i miss you. please." did he just say please twice?

when you're finally home, it takes every inch of sanity left in suna so as not to drag you away for cuddles

the expression on his face tells you everything, and you giggle. "i'll just shower first, then we can cuddle." and his face LIGHTS UP

IWAIZUMI HAJIME

"even oikawa's said some terrible jokes, but this one is by far the worst."

"nope! it's not a joke, baby."

when you're gone, iwaizumi is so upset because you'd usually give him a little kiss goodbye whenever he goes off to work :((

so now he's extra grumpy while coaching the national jpn team.

"oi, hinata! you should've been able to get that one!"

"if you can't hit it right, another hundred laps for you, ushiwaka!"

"suna, stop slacking off, or i'll have that old captain of yours come back and scold you!"

suna knows iwaizumi's threat was only towards him, but that statement got even ATSUMU AND ARAN SHIVERING.

SO THE TEAM IS ALL LIKE "???" BECAUSE WHO PUSHED IWAIZUMI'S BUTTONS SO EARLY IN THE MORNING 😭

"which one of you is it. come on, fess up!" hoshiumi hisses

"i believe bokuto lost iwaizumi's pen the other day." ushijima states

"wow, are we just throwing each other under the bus now?" suna snickers

"it was an accident! i didn't know he'd get this mad about it!" bokuto tried to defend himself, "come on, tell them, atsumu!"

"i was in cafeteria with grey." atsumu lifts both hands up, metaphorically waving the white flag

"you all are insufferable." sakusa groans

you can imagine how confused the team got when after three months, iwaizumi's mood was no longer grouchy since you had finally come home

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neouime · 4 months

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Love Wins All: An Analysis

Here are my notes for the music video. I have more to say, but it's already two in the morning where I live, and I have been sitting here admiring and contemplating IU's artistry since four hours ago. My butt hurts. I will come here later once I let my thoughts marinate.

There's a cube object chasing after them. - The cube is obviously the antagonist of the story. I have no idea why they chose a cube rather than any other creature or shape. Maybe because the design is simple? I think a cube is a smart choice. It looks like human technology, something man-made. The cube may be an invention that was once intended for the benefit of humankind but ended up becoming an instrument for control. The shape of the cube with its equal sides can represent a system that demands conformity.

IU is mute/deaf (she uses sign language), and Taehyung is blind in one eye. - There is one reading by a Korean UAENA about how they represent people with disabilities. There is one cube targeting IU and Taehyung. No other people are shown, but by the end of the music video, we can see several floating cubes outside the building. We can deduce how the cubes may be specifically searching for individuals like them who are marginalized and in hiding.

There is a scene where IU performs on stage, and black figures point their fingers at her. - IU explicitly declared that the song is dedicated to her loved ones, including her fans. We can interpret the black figures as representing people who spread unnecessary hate (혐오) against artists like IU. (Regardless of context, pointing your fingers in Korean culture is considered rude. It is associated with assigning blame or picking out flaws.)

Both the cube and the people in black are forces that persecute and discriminate, respectively. - This reading stems from the fact that IU is a well-known personality in real life and that her character in the story has disabilities.

While there is a male and female lead, the story and the song are not exclusively romantic. LWA is a fan song. Taehyung represents UAENAs.

While IU sings on stage, he gives her flowers and looks at her adoringly. - They are able to spend moments both happy and sad by each other's side. At the end of the story, Taehyung stands in front of IU to defend her from the cube and destroy it, while IU comforts him and covers his eyes as they're killed.

The camera and the pile of clothes are details prompting an intertextual reading. - This will be familiar to ARMY, but the pile of clothes is an installation by Christian Boltanski. This does not require further explanation since we can infer what it symbolizes from the story's outcome. On the other hand, the camera is something that is more important to the plot than it seems. It captures only the beautiful and healthy appearance of IU and Taehyung. The Korean UAENA I mentioned earlier said that the camera shows an existence where people with disabilities can live happily.

The camera shuts down by the end of the music video. - Nothing is recorded, and the memories are lost. But then, how does "love win all?" Okay, we'll look at the lyrics. "찬찬히 너를 두 눈에 담아 한 번 더 편안히 웃어주렴 (With my eyes, I memorize you thoroughly. Let's laugh in peace once more.)

Artists like IU come and go. - For every single and album she releases, IU writes an introduction. For LWA, she sums up the story as a promise to "fade away together splendidly." Also, the lyrics "필연에게서 도망쳐 Run on" appear, which both mean to run away from (도망쳐, to escape) and to run towards the "inevitable." (Korean is not my first language so pardon me if I'm wrong, but I think there's a mistake with the translation provided in the music video. There, the lyrics say "run away from necessity, run on." They use the word necessity, but she's referring to an event that is certain to occur.)

Memories [of their music and their moments with fans] are all lost to history; what matters is to live in the moment. (You don't need a camera to prove that you existed and lived your life.) This aligns with her values as an artist. In her interviews, IU says her goal is to perform (creation rather than chart success).

You may say that the story is tragic because they both die in the end, but they were at peace since they were together. "일부러 나란히 길 잃은 우리 두 사람" (The two of us, side by side, gone astray on purpose). **Edit: IU Team StarCandy on Twitter translated the phrase 길 잃은 우리 as "[we] who took the road less travelled."

I love the lines "너와 슬퍼지고 싶어 My lover" (I want to be sad with you) and "부서지도록 나를 꼭 안아" (Crush me, wrap me tightly in your arms). It illustrates the relationship between IU as an artist and her fans. The song is a declaration of her intention to cherish the good and bad with us. She does not mind even if the pressure of our love sometimes feels intense. She believes love has the power to break you down, but instead, it builds you up.

Additionally, the line "나와 함께 겁 없이," which is translated as "Will you courageously set with me?" actually more literally translates to "together with me, without fear." There is trust between IU and her lover. In other words, they may not know where the journey leads them, but they consciously choose to walk to it together.

A few more details from the music video that I loved are as follows. I like that the food (the macaron) is connected to memory and joy. It's the end of the world, but they haven't lost their imagination, hope, and ability to delight in each other's presence. In a way, food is crucial to survival in terms of sustenance and because it brings simple pleasure.

After taking a bite, they are transported to a less dreary setting. Their clothes are the same, but they're no longer tattered. Of course, things aren't perfect because while things are more clean, the people themselves remain evil. IU and Taehyung maintain their cheerful disposition even as the black figures appear and surround them.

IU and Taehyung choose to be happy. They dress up and dance around the room despite the reality that everything is still in ruins. (The photo booth is lit in bright, warm colors, while the room outside is cold and blue. Another piece of evidence for this interpretation is that while they're blissfully taking pictures, the strips come out showing Taehyung's milky eyes.)

I also like the alternative explanation for why IU is deaf, and Taehyung is partially blind. - IU performs happily in front of the crowd of black figures. It may mean that she either cannot hear or will not listen to their words of hate. As for Taehyung, he is partially blind to IU's faults. IU (the idol/artist) is the one leading them as they run while Taehyung (their fan) follows, their hands clasped in each other.

Moreover, neither of them speaks throughout the story. Whether IU is deaf or she signs to avoid making noise and risk their capture, I think it's beautiful that they can communicate through gestures. The relationship between fan and artist goes beyond the need for words (which is ironic, too, since we become fans of IU's music before the artist herself. Through her lyrics, we learn of her personality and how she sees the world).

I LOVE their acting. It's almost scarily good how IU can convey her love through her gaze. The smallest details too!! Her softly tapping Taehyung's shoulder to calm him while he tightly grips her hand as they face death? Chills.

Okay, I'm back. I just want to add this:

I said that the song is not exclusively romantic. However, the element of romance is indeed important to the plot. It elevates the story by depicting people (including those with disabilities) finding love even in the middle of hardship. - Their hardship is not the disability itself but rather the prejudices in the world that limit the possibilities they can enjoy.

IU and Taehyung know that the "end" is "inevitable" (she uses both words in her lyrics), and they know that they can only steal these short moments of happiness, but they still try to "look for the opposite of loneliness" (오랜 외로움 그 반대말을 찾아서).

Trivia: IU says that whenever she's stuck with writing a song, she uses the suggestion of a peer (Kim Eana) to look up the meaning of a word in the dictionary. Thus, giving birth to the idea love = opposite of feeling/being alone.

Love as an act of resistance - Viewing a brighter world through the camera, IU wearing the veil, and the pair teasing the black figures (IU sings on the stage despite their jeering and they run around the room) are acts of resistance. They may have a poor imagination (가난한 상상력), wherein they still desire to become "normal" and without their disabilities, but it is also thanks to their imagination that they are able to endure.

youtube

Note: The translations are mine. It's always difficult to think of how to word sentences that fully preserve the sentiment of the source, especially since they're song lyrics.

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lokisprettygirl · 2 months

Text

Utopia (Modern! Daemon Targaryen x female reader) (Non Canon AU) (18+)

Read chapter 8 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 9

Summary: Daemon gives you the gift of a lifetime.

Warning: 18+ sex ,period sex (if it bothers you skip the scene) death and destruction that comes from a ship wreckage, smut, sex, menstrual sex, unprotected sex. Some inconsistency with ship sinking, i researched as much as I could

You were sitting in the office of the hiring manager of Casatopia, a popular five star hotel just outside London, it was closer to your house though and that's what you liked. Emma had asked Dalton to give your name for the vacant sous chef position so you decided to give it a try.

You couldn't just stay at home and miss Daemon like crazy when he wasn't around you, being at home all day long was driving you bonkers. The topia in the name made you feel slightly uneasy but you ignored the thought and decided to focus on the interview.

“So how was it at night ..over there?” Preston, the manager, asked you so you gave him a confused look, hoping that he would be able to provide you with a bit more context.

“I apologize I don't understand” you mumbled politely so he gave you a small smile.

“On the island I meant, I hope I'm not stepping on your boundaries, I'm just absolutely fascinated by your survival story” he said to you, his tone was gentle and filled with genuine curiosity.

Of Course he was curious. As soon as people recognised you this was how it went, perhaps you should consider scraping 'Worked as a sous chef on Queen Utopia' from your resume. You couldn't help but feel that it may not be the most professional topic to discuss at a job interview.

“It was tough but atleast I wasn't alone, I had someone who kept me sane there, there are people on this earth who have survived months with no one by their side so I'm grateful to not be alone in that situation” you mumbled politely as you understood where he was coming from.

Prior to your experiences on the ship and the island, you were one of those people who would read about survival stories and be amazed at what the survivors had accomplished. You always found it impossible to imagine yourself in such a situation and couldn't comprehend how someone could have the resilience and to make it through something like that.

That was, until you found yourself in a similar situation on the island, and your survival instincts began to kick in.

“Yeah I know..Daemon Targaryen, you lot are famous” You gave him a tight lipped smile as he said that.

A news article had picked up Lily's reddit post which had then reached the mainstream media. The backlash was brutal, but you and Daemon stood firm and refused to get caught up in the drama. You both knew that your love and appreciation for each other shouldn't have needed any justification after the traumatic event you both had been through. It should have been self-explanatory,

“Alright you're hired” he said to you so you furrowed your brows as he didn't really ask anything about your work experiences.

“You don't want to know anything about my capabilities or -” he interrupted you before you could even finish your sentence.

“Dalton told me enough..i just wanted to meet you if I'm being honest”

Were you getting some sort of hero privilege because of your suffering? You weren't sure if you enjoyed being favored like this or not. The attention you received was overwhelming and at times made you feel uncomfortable, especially when it seemed like people were looking at you as some kind of hero rather than a regular human being who just happened to have survived a traumatic experience when there really wasn't any other option.

“Our live band quit on us a few days ago and we are looking for a band again, though i have connected with the manager already, i hope The Dragonriders would accept the job”

You sighed as he said that and you were going to politely decline the job offer but then he passed you the salary slip and you accepted it almost immediately, it was more than you could have ever imagined.

Later that day as you reached home after that weird interview session, there was a text from Daemon, he was supposed to meet you at your place..

You grabbed a few things and called a cab to make way to his place. He had given you a key to his house for emergencies purposes and normally you'd just knock but you decided to make use of the key this time, as you knew that Daemon was in pain and likely resting in bed.

As you entered his bedroom he was laying on the bed with his head squished into the pillow so you climbed into the bed and wrapped your arm around him, as soon as he felt your touch his arm circled around your waist and he placed his head between the crook of your neck. His eyes were bloodshot red, his face was warm to the touch as well, he seemed flushed and even though he was in misery at the moment you couldn't help but notice how pretty he looked like this.

“Let me take care of you ok..did you take your pill?” You asked him softly as you scratched his scalp so he barely groaned in response.

“I'll be right back okay?” you got up from the bed, turning off all the lights in the room, as you knew how sensitive Daemon was to bright lights. You brought out the candles you had packed with you and began lighting them, casting a warm soft glow around the room. You then made your way to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of ice water and a wet cloth. Once everything was ready, you returned to Daemon's room and gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention so he scooted closer and placed his head on your lap.

Dipping the cloth in the icy cold water you placed it on his forehead and he sighed as he felt the cooling sensation, he opened his eyes to look at you for a moment, his lips curved into a faint smile before he closed his eyes again and allowed you to do your thing.

He had never had anyone caring about him like this, this was one of those things that made him feel closer to you on the island and he had come to realize how precious you actually were inside out.

And now your value in his life was something nobody else would ever be able to replicate or replace.

During his migraine attacks the most Lily ever did for him was that she'd sing at times and not that he was going to compare you two, he appreciated her efforts too but you just did it differently, you took care of him in ways he always wanted to be cared for.

He laid there quite for what felt like hours and as the burning pain gradually subsided, he took your hand and kissed it lovingly before he asked you to stop, he just wanted to hold you now and cuddle the night away.

“Emma found us a gig” he mumbled so you sighed in response. You were well aware of the gig.

“She found me a job as well at Casatopia” you said to him so nodded in acknowledgement. He already knew about that.

“Fate” he muttered softly so you pecked on his lips.

“It's giving me deja vu.. doesn't it feel weird to you that we'd be working again at the same place, in the hospitality industry no less? And there's literally topia in the name?”

He pulled away a little as you said that, he wasn't really thinking about it until you pointed it out.

“Are you worried something awful is going to happen again?” he asked you with concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah..what if the hotel burns down or explodes? Or something” you mumbled, your voice held a sense of foreboding.

“That's not going to happen sweetheart..you can't go about your life living in such fear but that is not to say that your fears are not valid, they truly are ..but no matter what happens I'll find you like you have found me..i promise okay?” he reassured you gently and you couldn't help but smile at that. The trauma was indented into you so deeply but with him by your side life was so much easier to deal with.

“Are you feeling okay now?” You asked him so he hummed in response,

“I'd feel much better if you'd ride me right about now” he gave you a mischievous smirk so you tapped on his cheek lightly.

“Dirty boy” you mumbled as you climbed on top of him and immediately unbuttoned his pants. Sometimes you both needed this quick raw fuck where no foreplay was a necessity or required, you just wanted to feel him inside you and he was more than eager to spill into you as fast as you could make him.

“Would you keep your schedule clear for the next week?” he asked you so you looked at him curiously.

“The whole week? I'm starting that job..”

“Can you talk to them and start a week later?” He mumbled as his breath hitched in his chest when you sunk down on him,

“Normally it would have seemed impossible but considering that manager is such a fan of ours I think I can manage” you chuckled softly and that made him smile too.

“Mmmm the trauma has its perks huh?”

You rode him very slowly at first as you just wanted to feel him in there, your fingers worked the buttons of his shirt and then you leaned down to suck on his neck before you lowered your mouth and pressed kisses on his bare chest.

“What are you planning?” You whispered in his ear so he gave you a smile.

“I'm taking you somewhere sweetheart”

“I can't ask where?”

He shook his head as you said that.

“It's a surprise”

“Alrighty”

Next day while Daemon was rehearsing with the band you sat down in front of the tv and received a surprising albeit not really shocking news, you had a feeling that Danny had something to do with the ship sinking incident and you were proven right.

He had come out in the open to tell that he had inadvertently left the cargo hatch open on the lower deck because he was distracted by something and someone, which allowed water to enter and resulted in the sinking, when he had realised it was too late to fix it. His video had received a million views where he was seen crying and apologizing because he couldn't bear the guilt of it anymore.

Even though Danny hadn't directly implicated Lily in his statement, you couldn't shake the feeling that her involvement was still tied to the tragedy because she had sent that voicemail that night to Daemon mentioning Danny and you had seen Danny at her house that night.

As you watched the news, you found yourself at a loss for words. How could Danny have made such a devastating mistake, especially when so much was at stake? The consequences of his actions were unfathomable, and you couldn't help but feel a mixture of anger, sadness, and frustration bubbling up inside you.

People had lost their lives, families had been torn apart, and all because of one person's negligence.

You felt enraged because he was the reason why you had to suffer for so long on that Island, all of this for what?

All you felt in that moment was resentment and anger towards Lily and Danny, that night when he looked into your eyes you didn't understand that look he gave you but now you knew it was probably guilt.

Given the severity of the situation, it was likely that he was going to get charged with manslaughter and his life was ruined, that was given.

When you saw Daemon that day he seemed lost too so you just wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly to comfort him.

“Did she ever tell you about this?”

You asked him as you pulled away so he shook his head lightly,

“I can't make sense of it…how could you be involved in something like that and then..she must have known that ship would sink and she didn't even try to warn us or— i -” you rubbed his shoulders with your fingers to comfort him as you heard his voice breaking, he was at loss of words as well, same as you but it was more difficult for him because Lily was involved.

“You spend years with someone and you think you know who they are but I.. didn't know her ..at all. How could I have been in love with her if I didn't know her like that?” his eyes teared up as he questioned you so you cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead.

“It's not that easy.. love is complex..you can't put it in a box like that Daemon..you loved her but honestly she never deserved your love”

He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer as you said that, until now he had never heard you saying anything against Lily even when she gave you every reason to do so but now he understood your resentment as he felt the same way about it. He resented her now especially because ever since he had returned all she had tried to do was possess him again, she didn't care what he had gone through and she definitely didn't care that she was one of the reasons why that had happened to him.

He really thought that perhaps with time a friendship could develop between them again but this revelation had changed that for him. He didn't want her in her life anymore, he didn't want to be around her in any form.

A week later you were packing for that surprise trip and Emma offered to help you with that,

“Where is he taking you?” She asked you so you shrugged in response as you didn't know yourself where he was taking you. This was his big surprise.

“He won't say anything..I was hoping he had spilled something to Aemond or Cole-”

“Nahh Aemond would have told me”

You nodded as she said that, the next morning he picked you up in the earliest and as you reached the dock with him your blood ran cold so he took his seat belt off and grabbed your hand.

“I need you to trust me, okay? Can you?” he asked you softly so you gulped in nervousness.

“Are we.. going on a boat ride?” your voice shook as you spoke so he nodded,

“It's going to be ok..I'll take care of you I promise.. I just ..just trust me please”

You cupped his cheeks as he said that. The ocean terrified you, anything to do with ships or boats scared you but you wanted to trust him because you had a feeling this was something really important to him and you had a feeling wherever he was taking you would only bring you happiness because he was certain of it.

As you boarded the high-speed boat, the churning waters and the speed at which the vessel was traveling brought back memories so you spent most of the time being in the deck with Daemon,

Apart from you two there were two trained operators who were going to drive you both towards the destination, you noticed how the boat was equipped with everything you'd ever need in the case of an emergency. Plenty of rations, clothes and other necessities were available.

“How much did you spend on this?” You asked him softly as you both were cuddling on the bed so he gave you a smirk.

“You don't have to worry about that..I wanted to do this for both of us”

He was being so cryptic and mysterious and perhaps you'd have felt wary of a man's intentions but it was Daemon, your cavemon and if there was something you knew about that man then it was the fact that he'd never hurt you or harm you in anyways.

With Daemon by your side the time always seemed to race so approx two days later as you finally reached your destination he put a blindfold over your eyes and asked you to not try to peek until he said so.

You couldn't help but giggle, his excitement was infectious.

He wrapped his arms around your waist as he guided you off the boat and as soon as he put you down you felt the warm sand beneath your feet and let out a literal gasp.

“Daemon–” your voice came out in a whisper and as you inhaled the air, your eyes widened.

You didn't even have to guess anymore as you recognized the scent of your surroundings immediately. You had spent six months here after all.

You were back on the island, the island that had saved your life in a way and brought the love of your life closer to you.

The uninhabited island that was now owned by Daemon Targaryen and had a name now. Utopia- a place where everything was perfect.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Note: There will be an epilogue for this to sum it up. But this was all I had to tell about Mr Cavemon and his brave girl that risked everything for him. Hope my lovely few readers had enjoyed this story 🥺

Taglist

@mcufan72 @123forgottherest @shuichiakainx @stupidthoughtsinwriting @tmlbdv

@ammo23 @anukulee @ajthefujoshi

#daemon targaryen #daemon targaryen x female reader #daemon targaryen x reader smut #daemon targaryen x reader angst #daemon targaryen x reader fluff #non canon au #modern day au #modern daemon targaryen

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ashesandhackles · 11 months

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'Be brave like my mother, Professor'

I have always loved the Harry-Slughorn scene in the books where Harry coerces pushes Slughorn into giving him the vital Horcrux memory, because of how strongly it parallels Tom Riddle. The quality of willingness to do whatever it takes for a larger goal.

The scene begins with Hagrid and Slughorn singing drunken songs, and Harry refilling the drink in the background (already paralleling Tom who got Hagrid to fess up Fluffy information in a bar). That already adds a coercive quality to the scene, given that Felix felicis also assures Harry that Slughorn won't remember handing over this memory tomorrow (which the films try to make consensual cos they can't have hero doing messed up things, but HJP is a lil messed up. That's why he is a great protagonist).

Anyway, in my recent re-read, I picked up something I hadn't realised before:

“No — well, I was only one when they died,” said Harry, his eyes on the flame of the candle flickering in Hagrid’s heavy snores. “But I’ve found out pretty much what happened since. My dad died first. Did you know that?” “I — I didn’t,” said Slughorn in a hushed voice. “Yeah . . . Voldemort murdered him and then stepped over his body toward my mum,” said Harry.

I have highlighted a line that Harry can't have known until the next book - until he actually sees his parents' murder through Voldemort's eyes. Until now, this is the information he has:

James' death:

Then came a new voice, a man’s voice, shouting, panicking — “Lily, take Harry and go, It’s him, Go! Run, I’ll hold him off~ The sounds of someone stumbling from a room — a door bursting open — a cackle of high-pitched laughter

Lily's death:

“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry,” “ Stand aside, you silly girl ... stand aside, now. ...” “ Stand aside, you silly girl ... stand aside, now. ...” “ Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead — ”

And of course, Voldemort's taunts in Philosopher's Stone, which he will reference. The detail about Voldemort stepping over his father's body towards his mum is constructed - something he may have imagined while replaying their last moments in his head in POA (which he is said to have done), and he particularly uses this line, of Voldemort casually degrading his father's body by stepping over it to really push Slughorn's buttons, to horrify him.

Respectability is important to Slughorn, and he will emotionally respond to callous details like this. Harry understands this, given what he observes about Slughorn over the course of this book.

And then Harry tells Slughorn what Voldemort said in Philosopher's Stone:

Slughorn gave a great shudder, but he did not seem able to tear his horrified gaze away from Harry’s face. “He told her to get out of the way,” said Harry remorselessly. “He told me she needn’t have died. He only wanted me. She could have run.” “Oh dear,” breathed Slughorn. “She could have ... she needn’t ... That’s awful. ...”

This is what Voldemort says:

but your mother needn’t have died ... she was trying to protect you. ... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.”

Interesting how Harry uses a similar tactic on Slughorn later in the scene: "give me the memory or she would have died in vain".

Anyway, back to the scene. To make the scene even more horrifying for Slughorn, Harry infers Lily's motivations from what he has heard from his parents' last moments and says it to induce more horror:

“It is, isn’t it?” said Harry, in a voice barely more than a whisper. “But she didn’t move. Dad was already dead, but she didn’t want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort ... but he just laughed. ...”

The idea that Harry replayed his parents' death over and over again back when he first heard their deaths, imagined their motivation, constructed a scene for himself is extremely sad. This is how he talks about it in POA:

D’you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me?” Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking apprehensive. “I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you’d heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her — ” “There’s nothing you can do!” said Hermione, looking stricken.

But the fact that he then uses something that is obviously a horrifying and personal memory against Slughorn is absolutely chilling.

Anyway, here is Harry taking the leaf out of Voldemort's book:

"But you won’t help her son,” said Harry. “She gave me her life, but you won’t give me a memory.” Harry looked steadily into Slughorn’s tear-filled eyes. The Potions master seemed unable to look away.

After which, Harry takes ownership of being the 'Chosen One' out loud to another person. That is, of course, important in context of next chapter because it also deals with statement and interrogates it.

It is only at the end of the scene that Harry offers mercy for Slughorn's guilt: "You'd cancel out anything you did by giving me that memory. It would be a very brave and noble thing to do."

#harry james potter #horace slughorn #half blood prince #harry potter #tom riddle #voldemort #the abandoned boys

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spacedace · 1 year

Text

Continuation of this post.

Okay, took a bit since I was kinda going through and slightly tidying things up/picking out the bits that had more humor in them since that was more the vibe of the last post and I figured that’s more of what peeps where interested in, but here be the snippets of the awkward post-surprise-wedding dinner between the Waynes and Nightingales!

I actually have more snippets of things that go down before/during/after these snippets if anyone would like to see those. They have things like Duke & Babs breaking into the Nightingale apartment to investigate, some BatPham family fluff, and Talia’s party crashing scene in anyone is interested

They really were trying, is the thing.

Tim feels like they should get credit for that, on whatever cosmic score board “meeting the in-laws-who-may-potentially-be-supervillains” is tracked on.

Damian offered the invitation to Elle and her family, Jason even - reluctantly - agreed to it, even if he wasn’t happy about them meeting at the Manor rather than somewhere that qualifies as neutral ground. The Nightingales accepted, a date and time set. It was happening.

Sure, Dr. Jasmine Nightingale - the woman that Jason had been dating for years and was about to have a baby with - was incredibly suspicious and potentially involved in the disappearance of at least three of Gotham’s regular rogues.

And yeah, it turned out that the guy Dick had been flirting with off and on for years was her - older? Younger? What information they had was conflicting on where Dan fit in the sibling order, which was a thing - brother who kinda-maybe-definitely was running something illegal with his bar in Bludhaven as a cover.

And yes, Damian had sorta-secretly married his best friend of many years - who likely wasn’t involved in anything shady but who was able to keep up with Damian in a scuffle and that kinda was a reg flag by itself if you thought about it for five seconds - completely without warning while the two had a very long history of not being interested at all in any kind of romantic relationships.

They were trying their best to put these very large, very red flags aside for one night for the sake of Damian and Jason’s insistence that the Nightingales weren’t a massive threat to Gotham at large or their family specifically.

Did Barbara go slightly out of her mind trying to figure out why any research into the family led her running in circles for hours on end, only for her one and only slight hint of a lead to result in her computer oozing a mysterious green substance that no amount of testing had been able to identify?

Yeah, kinda.

Did Duke admit that he’d known that Elle was some kind of meta of unknown powers since he met her for the first time when she was twelve and didn’t tell anyone because he was pretty sure she didn’t even have any active powers, only to discover a year ago she did when Damian came home suddenly glowing like her and still didn’t say anything because Damian asked him not to?

Sure.

Did they have a family meeting - minus Damian and Jason - discussing the possibility that the two were under the effects of some kind of mind control and that they were absolutely going to be using the dinner as a means of getting as much information out of the Nightingales as they could without tipping their hand as to their suspicions?

Yes. Without question. One hundred percent.

Were they still also doing their best to make things pleasant on the - extremely to the point of impossibility - small chance that their new in-laws weren’t incredibly dangerous villains but instead very normal civilians with weird luck?

Okay, Tim can admit, that one was up in the air.

Bruce had the security on the manor completely overhauled. They’d stashed weapons and meta-inhibiting cuffs around in case things turned violent. They set up contingency plans to try and prevent any kind of mind control. They’d put the Justice League on standby to have Martian Manhunter and a few others just in case none of their many contingency plans worked. Superman was covering patrol for the night and was going to keep a listening ear on them to call in the cavalry if it was needed.

But they were still at least trying, alright.

For example: Tim was trying very hard to not think about the fact that the years of slowly getting to know Danny - both as Red Robin and as Tim Drake - might have all been some long con on the Nightingales’ part to infiltrate the family even further than they already had.

That Danny’s bright eyed ramblings about space as they sat on the roof of the guard shack at Gotham Cemetery squinting up past the light pollution to those brightest stars and sipping overly-strong coffee were fake. That the easy days of hanging out at cafes and arcades and museums learning about all of Danny’s little quirks and sharing his own as his civilian identity could have been an act. That the sass and sarcasm and sweetness that Tim liked so much about his maybe-sorta boyfriend was a carefully calculated facade made just for Tim to fall for.

Tim was trying very hard, thank you very much.

Alfred suggested they all just try to get through dinner first.

Tim’s unsure where Alfred found such a sudden well of near-delusional optimism inside him, but he hopes that it isn’t an effect of Dr. Nightingale secretly brainwashing him too. He’s mostly sure the only Nightingale to ever come over to the Manor had been Elle, and he’s pretty sure Elle isn’t herself involved in whatever shady shit her family is maybe-probably into - kinda pretty sure…The hindsight on the fact that a totally normal girl should not be able to throw down with Dami on the regular without being horribly maimed or outright killed wasn’t doing her any favors. Nor was the surprise marriage.

Point was, Tim was pretty sure that getting through even a single meal in the state things were in was going to be an impossibly high bar to clear.

He was proven right when, five minutes after sitting down at the table, Talia showed up.

—

As far as first impressions go when it comes to meeting your clone/daughter/sister’s new platonic-husband’s family goes, pointing and shouting holy shit is that Hot Dumpster Guy? the moment the front door is opened is probably up there for one of Danny’s worst.

It’s taken a whole 1.2 seconds for Jazz to start facepalming. That’s gotta be a new record. She was going to kill him when they got home for sure. She’d spent the entire week - and the car ride - leading up to tonight talking about having manners and not starting fights and please these people are going to be family you cannot start shit the minute we get there, at least wait for after Elle and Damian’s first anniversary.

In Danny’s defense, it totally is Hot Dumpster Guy that Dan’s been driving them all nuts about with his pining for the past few months.

It’s not his fault Dan never called him by his actual name. Or that the defining moment of their meeting for the first time was Dan fishing the dude out of the dumpster behind his speakeasy after the guy girlbossed a little too close to the sun while trying to be the Tony Hawk of parkour. And Jason and Damian were in the family chat, they could have mentioned that the guy was their brother at some point after one the many - many - times Dan spammed them pictures of the dude doing acrobat bullshit and wailing about how hot and funny Hot Dumpster Guy was. Hell, Elle could have mentioned it at literally any time and wasn’t she the one that coined the name Hot Dumpster Guy to begin with when this all started?

Based on the delighted grins on Jay and Elle’s faces and the fact that he can feel Damian’s smug amusement echoing out from not that far away inside, the three had been hoping for something like this. Because of course they had, his Grave is nothing but a bunch of chaotic menaces at the end of the day, himself included.

Dan, bright red and utterly mortified, uses his place towering behind Elle as a cover to kick Danny in the ankle as hard as he can without sending him dropping to the ground outright. He can feel his alternate-universe-future-self/son/brother’s rising homicidal rage. Totally worth the mortified look of shock and horror he’s wearing though. It’s what he deserves after all the years of making fun of him over the Red Robin/Tim Drake stuff.

“Hot dumpster guy?” The Hot Dumpster Guy in question sputtered, looking like he didn’t know who to turn his bewildered and betrayed look on first.

Elle makes it easy on him, for the first and most likely last time in his unlife.

“Dan sent us the CCTV camera of your spectacular landing when you guys first met.” She said with a grin that was probably just a touch too sharp to be totally human, shoving her way past him with as much manners as a feral badger - Ancients, they really were fighting an uphill battle trying to convince Damian and Jay’s rich ass family that they were a nice and normal bunch. “I saved the scream you made when the rat crawled down your shirt as my ringtone for you.” She added, waving her phone back at him, and yeah her teeth were definitely too sharp for normal humans, Danny was going to have to try and pull her aside before Hot Dumpster Guy or any of the rest of the family noticed.

“One night, I asked for one night.” Jazz muttered forlornly into her hand. Jay gave her a reassuring pat because he was a good partner and a shit eating grin to Hot Dumpster Guy because he was an equally good asshole little brother.

Yeah, Danny thought as Hot Dumpster Guy floundered his way through trying to introducing himself after that shit show, one night was probably setting the bar a little too high there.

—

Introductions did not get better.

Dick could admit that probably was because Damian and Elle had decided to take it upon themselves to lead the charge on that after the two had all but physically drug everyone into the most comfortable living room.

The plan had been for Dick to bring them to one of their more…formal sitting rooms. Namely the one that could with the press of a button turn into a nearly inescapable prison if things got ugly. No windows, one entrance, walls and doors reinforced enough to slow even Supes down in smashing through. The works. Damian had either sussed out what his family was up to and was circumventing it, or Elle - as part of the house as the rest of them after all these years - had simply not even considered that the Wayne family would bring them anywhere else. Dick hoped desperately that it was the latter.

Then they started introducing everyone to each other.

“That’s my latest blorbo.”

“This is Nightingale.”

“That’s some scunkly guy.”

“And this is Nightingale.”

“Over there is the world’s worst pathetic meow meow.”

“On Nightingale’s other side is Nightingale.”

“Those two over there are Failed Tumblr Sexyman and Spider Georg.”

“You know Todd.”

If it wasn’t for the fact that Babs found and confirmed their signed and certified marriage certificate, he’d suspect the two of making the whole thing up just as an excuse to cause maximum amount of chaos for their respective families.

“Hey, Hot Dumpster Guy, where's everyone else?”

Actually, nevermind, Dick doesn’t put it past them to have actually gotten married to sell the bit.

—

When Bruce had asked him for help with his meeting the in-laws/sting operation, Clark had been expecting - based on the situation as explained to him - that he would be listening in on the kind of cat and mouse verbal chess games that so often occurred when Batman was facing off against subtler foes. To be waiting for any sign - however subtle - that backup was needed, tense and on edge all night as he swept up as much crime as he could while the Bats and Birds were busy.

He had not expected to be listening to the single most awkward small talk he’s ever heard in his life. The second hand embarrassment of it all felt as devastating as any kryptonite he’d ever encountered.

Similarly unexpected had been the sudden turn the moment Duke and Barbara - late by virtue of snooping through the Nightingales’ respective homes for evidence, a venture that had really just made everyone involved feel uncomfortable from what Clark could hear - had arrived. It seemed that the presence of all the Bat’s brood had been required for the trap that was set off the moment the two joined the group.

The utter devastation laid down upon both Nightingales and Waynes by the newlyweds as they unleashed utter chaos on their new shared families in the form of what must have been years of carefully curated blackmail. There was a slideshow. And a movie. And so many embarrassing stories about all of them.

Clark may have started texting Diana the second Elle and Damian Wayne al Ghul Nightingale - they had decided to just…keep all their combined last names, apparently rather than choose just one - made it clear what they had planned for the pre-dinner entertainment for the night.

There may have also been plans to get the Wayne al Ghul Nightingales to share their beautiful collection with Damian’s dear Uncle Clark.

Tag time: @screamingtofillthevoid @stargirl1331 @mnemovoid @malice-of-the-sunrise @bathildaburp @autumnwulf @revnantdpxdclover @coruscateselene @writer-extraodinaire @idfk-man10 @fluffen-spooky @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @unadulteratedsoulsweets @phoenixdemonqueen @overlycaffeinatedsuperwholockfan @gin2212 @emotional-otter @lexdamo @dixiwoods @wildbacon @ashleysmshly @that-random-fangirl @satanicrutialspecialist @lazy-bouqet @treepainting

I think that’s everyone haha, hope you guys enjoy!

#dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #batman #superman #wonder woman #danny fenton #jazz fenton #danielle fenton #dani fenton #dan fenton #tim drake #dick grayson #damian wayne #jason todd #batfam #batpham #gotham's favorite psychiatrist Jazz AU #anger management #brain dead #dick grayson/dan fenton #queer platonic damian and danielle #aro/ace damian wayne #aro/ace danielle fenton #Damian & Elle have been working on that slide show since they were 13 it's their magnum opus #Bruce spent the entire time in such regret that he asked Clark to listen in for the entire night he KNOWS the little shit told Diana #Jazz and Alfred immediately recognize each other as fellow holder of the single brain cell in their respective families and bond immediately #it doesn't help Tim's paranoia that Alfred has also been brainwashed #Talia adores Elle and was more than happy to join the family dinner when invited #BatFam is CONCERNED about how and when they met and what Elle did that impressed Talia so much

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kellystar321 · 9 months

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THE MAP IS OUT!! Here's my individual part for it, along with my credit image! I'm so happy to have been able to work with such cool collaborators on this project, this was so fun! :D <33

WIP and fun facts below the cut!

First pass of my part!

General Notes: - All of us had a cut-off frame so Sammy (our MAP host!) had space to transition shots! the stick in my cut-off is my oc Lixy <3 - As always, I don't have an actual animation program. Each frame of this was individually drawn in Clip Studio, saved as PNGs, and meticulously arranged in a video editing software. it took a while and a headache. the software crashed 4 times hdkjh </3 - The process was sketching, lining, then compiling it all together! Line art took the most time (because i don't like lineart hkjdh) - Fun fact, all of the sketches (seen in the wip above) were all drawn on my first plane ride ever :> <3 - The background is Alan's animation program that I took from a screenshot from AVA 6 :> I didn't want to do anything too complex for it ;w; <3 - All of the slide transitions were done manually! It may look like tweening, but I don't have a program that can do tweening lmao :'> <3 Each of the slidings was individually 3-6 frames of moving them across the frame, a single frame of stretch for movement, then a settling frame before the next stick slid in. - Green is doing air guitar as they slide in :3 <3 - My Blue design has a hat that can magically change into a Witch hat (when potion making), Chef hat (when cooking) or Sunhat (when gardening <33 - Purple looks nervous after he crashes into everyone, like they're expecting to be in trouble, but smiles and laughs when everyone else does. You can see Blue with their hands up, reassuring Purple. - Originally Yellow didn't move as much in the final laugh scene, but I saw the first frame of the person after me (@/sleptonce!) which had Yellow in a little crouch :> i adjusted Yellow to match the next frame a little better! - Also Yellow's hair is flipped from the way I usually draw it because I felt it worked better this way hgkjh <3 - (I totally didn't forget my Second's design has green eyes and had to edit those frames very quickly hfkjh <33) - The only colors that aren't the stick's original colors are when Blue's hat falls on Purple, and Red's yellow bandana <3 (These are also the only movement animation in the blinking sequence!) - Adding Alan's cursor was a literal last minute decision, he was never in any of the sketches, I literally added him in 15 minutes before submitting my part hgkjh <33 I think after my shot, Alan helps gently pick them up <3 - My suit in the credits is mostly red and orange, because my favorite sticks are Red and Second! <3 The rainbow cape reflects how I enjoy the color gang the most though hkjdh <33

Thanks for reading!! :D <33

#Alan Becker #Animation Vs Minecraft #Animator Vs Animation #AvM #AvA #my avm art #avm red #avm second coming #avm orange #avm yellow #avm green #avm blue #avm purple #starlight originals #lixy

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randomshyperson · 2 years

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Illicit Affairs - Milf!Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Westview was everything Wanda ever wanted, but then came you. Will she be able to resist temptation and curiosity for the safety of her marriage, or what Vision doesn't know can't hurt him?

Warnings: (+18), mentions of smut, strap-on use, fingering, bottom!Wanda, cheating (fuck off vision), Westview mind control and stuff, canon divergence, secret relationship, a bif of angst and betrayal but happy ending| Words: 3.982k

A/N-> This may also be known as my contribution to that Lizzie scene in Love&Death.

dicionary-> kurva dieťa - fuck baby

General Masterlist | Wattpad | AO3

--//--

Westview should be perfect.

A home, a husband, and adorable children to care for.

So why was Wanda so damn bored?

"See you later, Mom!" Was the boys' unison goodbye before they walked out the door, dressed in their school uniforms.

Wanda isn't sure when or how school for the boys started, but it was part of the routine now. As long as Vision was at work, she had the whole house to herself.

And it was fucking tedious.

She would clean, read a little, and if she was lucky Agnes would visit with some gossip for an hour or two until it was time to pick up the kids.

Everything is in its proper place.

Until one sunny afternoon, Wanda hears a motorcycle.

She is not the only one who is curious about the sounds - Agnes and the neighbor across the street, Mrs. Bennet, are also on the sidewalk, trying to get a better look at who is arriving at the house next to Wanda's.

It is noisy, and out of the norm. The vehicle, the sound of the radio. The person, with dark jeans like glasses, and messy hair.

Something in Wanda's chest flutters as she meets your gaze, and she swallows dryly at the complete coldness in your eyes in turning away and getting off the bike, ignoring not only her but all the other curious neighbors as you make your way to the house next door, now with the 'sold' sign covering the previous 'for sale'.

She is back in her own living room in record time, her heart racing in a disconcerting way.

Well, that seems to be the end of the boredom at least.

For the next few days, Wanda is determined to find out everything she can about her mysterious new neighbor. Luckily for her, Agnes seems equally interested and shows up at her house shortly after the kids have left.

"[...] No children, or partners. The moving truck arrived earlier today, and I saw some painting supplies, which suggests we have an artist among us." Narrated the neighbor cheerfully, and Wanda tried to disguise how very interested she was. "Ralph also recognized an NYU sweatshirt, so she must have a degree. And she looks pretty young to me, doesn't she?"

Wanda nods, half thoughtfully. Your house was next door to hers, and at this point, she could hear some sounds of objects being dragged around that suggested you were tidying up the place. Agnes took advantage of the distracted silence to suggest:

"Maybe we should say hello?"

Wanda immediately raised her eyes. "You think?"

The older woman chuckled. "Of course. But let's bring something as a welcome gift to her. May I ask, are you good at baking, honey?"

You were wearing a half-open jumpsuit and pinned up your hair to answer the door, and Wanda was seeing too much skin to be able to say anything.

Thank god Agatha was present.

"Welcome to the neighborhood, darling, we've brought you a welcome gift." She greeted cheerfully, and you blinked in surprise at her sudden arrival. "I'm Agnes, Wanda's next-door neighbor on the right. And you?"

You quickly said your name, accepting the other's greeting. "Let me put that away." You said as your gaze fell on Wanda and the cake she brought. She didn't notice that you took the warm package without any difficulty, busy returning Agnes's look of complicity as she took your cue of leaving to enter the house as well.

"Nice changes you're making all around, dear." Agnes commented on the new paint being put over the old, and you let out a short chuckle from the living room.

"Oh, thank you. I like this color better." You muttered as you placed the cake on the countertop.

"Forgive us for not coming sooner, we were waiting for you to stabilize yourself first." Said the older woman, and gave Wanda a gentle nudge for her silence. The witch cleared her throat softly, trying to start a decent conversation.

She - More Agnes honestly - ended up confirming that you had moved in alone and that you had just graduated from college. No family, and in your words, you allowed a dice to pick your new town. Agnes found the story a bit absurd, but Wanda felt her stomach fill with butterflies.

Something about your care·free attitude and casualness made her shiver.

"Anyway, I'm here now." You finish with a small smile and your hands in your pockets. "Painting my new home in American suburban New Jersey."

There was regret or sarcasm hidden in your tone of voice that made Wanda's curiosity explode. She wanted to know you, inside out, every thought, dream, or wish.

But when she thought of peeking in, Agnes gave her a gentle nudge.

"Well, let's not take up any more of your time, dear." Said the lady, discreetly pushing the redhead toward the door. "Come by some time at the local club, you need to meet Ralph and Vision."

You blink, raising an eyebrow. "Vision?"

"My husband." Wanda replies half hoarsely, having completely forgotten Vis's existence for all that conversation. She clears her throat. "You two should-must meet. Him and my boys, Tommy and Billy."

You smile, and because Wanda is already outside, you put an arm around the doorpost and she feels her face heat up. "I'd love to, Miss Maximoff."

Agnes clears her throat. "And of course don't forget my husband, Ralph."

You don't take your eyes off Wanda. "Sure, Agatha."

Wanda frowns, but the woman next to her lets out a loud exclamation with a graceless laugh. "It's Agnes, dear!"

You blink away from the redhead, equally ungainly. "Oh, yes, of course, Agnes. My mistake."

"Come on, Wanda, let's just let her get back to work."

You offer the redhead a wink, and it's enough for Wanda to remember nothing strange about that encounter.

—//—-

Not that Wanda was counting, but it took six days for her to talk to you again.

She saw you before though - twice in the supermarket, and because Billy and Tommy were making a mess, Wanda didn't have the heart to disturb your choice of apples by approaching you, you didn't see her. And on Monday she watched you leave the house early with a little animal house under your arm, and she almost dropped her lunch to run and ask you about it, wondering if you had pets or not, but on second thought, she figured it would have been kind of creepy.

It was only on the weekend that you went to the club, and everyone was around, and Wanda thought she was going to suffocate.

Vision was rubbing sunscreen on the boys, and Wanda said she forgot a magazine in the car, but she just searching for you.

"Hey, stranger." She tried to greet you in the most casual way she could, getting the impression that you were a little startled by the soft jump you gave. But when you turned around, you smiled so sincerely that Wanda almost melted.

"Hello, Miss Maximoff, good to see you." You said gently.

Wanda giggled shyly. "When you call me that I feel very old."

You smiled with the worst intentions, licking your lips and making Wanda shudder with the intensity of your gaze.

"Old is not an adjective I would use to describe you, Wanda."

She sighed softly, her cheeks warm. "And how would you describe me?" She risks.

But you chuckle short and affected, lowering your gaze and shaking your head softly. "Married." You reply, and Wanda feels as if a bucket of cold water has fallen on her. "See you around, Miss Maximoff." You say as soon as the bike is locked, holding her arm in farewell before heading to the pool area.

Wanda feels her skin tingle all the way back.

–//–

Okay, she clearly had a problem.

Her perfect life was being threatened by an inconvenience, and that should be completely impossible because everything should be perfect in Westview.

And the more Wanda tried to fix it, the more wrapped up in her throbbing attraction to her neighbor, drowning in plot after plot that only made her wonder how much she wanted to satisfy her curiosity and drove her more frustrated and irritated as time went by.

You seemed to be everywhere - Somehow, the school had an art program and now Wanda saw you every morning when she went to pick up or drop off Billy and Tommy, and of course, the boys loved their cool new teacher, and wouldn't shut up about it. But your presence seems to have influenced - in Vision's words - the young troublemakers in the neighborhood, who should be learning from your bad influence to do graffiti everywhere. Vision grumbled about this when not talking about work.

And Wanda, well, she had enough.

You found the knocking so late at night strange, but you were awake - or Wanda assumed you were, by the sweater and the speed in answering the door. Or maybe you were already waiting for her. No, that would be ridiculous.

"Can I help you...?" You started, but Wanda bumped into your shoulder as she rushed in, and you let out a wry laugh. "Sure, come on in."

She ignored your joke, making her way to the living room, and ran a hand through her hair nervously, waiting for you to reach her.

"What do you want Wanda?" You asked with your arms crossed.

Wanda took a deep breath. "You have to leave."

You frowned. "Excuse me?"

She stepped forward. "I have everything I ever wanted here. You can't just show up and threaten all of that."

You raised an eyebrow. "I don't-"

"I'm not done talking." She interrupts and you bite your tongue, a smile threatening to break on your lips as Wanda continues to approach. "I have a husband and children. It's perfect. Everything is...perfect."

"Then why are you here?" You challenge, and Wanda swallows hard.

"I don't know." She responds, but you chuckle, and it's your turn to start approaching to which she responds by taking a step back with each one you take near her. Once her back hits the wall of new, dry colors, Wanda chokes softly.

"I think I know." You begin toward her, one hand landing at the side of her head, and the other reaching up to move a strand of hair behind her ear. Wanda, though trembling over the touch, lifts her chin proudly, challenging your response. Your smile is cocky when you speak. "You are desperate to feel something real."

Wanda opens her mouth, once and twice, indignant. But she has no words to disagree. She takes a deep breath, and all your perfume fills her senses, and she resists the urge to close her eyes. She makes mention of speaking, but you do so first.

"Shh, let me show you how it is supposed to feel." You whisper before breaking the distance, and not too surprisingly, it is the best thing Wanda has ever felt.

Your lips are soft and experienced on hers, almost as if molded to kiss her. You slide your tongue into hers as soon as permission is granted, and the sensation makes Wanda's legs buckle. She doesn't have to worry because your arms tighten around her and her back is pressed against the wall. The kiss grows hungry and you gasp against each other's mouths, hearts racing in synchrony.

"Fuck, I need to touch you." You pant between kisses, and it's the only line of warning Wanda has before she feels your hands invade her blouse, scratching at her belly and making her squirm. But suddenly you hesitate, and are almost unsure when you ask, "Can I? You... are you sure?"

Wanda almost laughs. She feels that she is burning from the inside out and that if you don't fuck her now she might have a little breakdown and you still have doubts that she wants to. There will be another time for her to investigate this, she will learn about you. At that moment she just brings one hand to your neck and spins you around on the wall so that your back hits the concrete.

And now when she kisses you it is firm and possessive and makes you whimper. Your hands wander and bring her pleasure, but it is clear who is in charge.

–//–

It starts out casual, but certainly, this is not how Wanda feels now.

Whenever the opportunity is there, she takes it. And honestly, part of her feels that the opportunities are blooming like flowers in spring. It's probably because Westview is supposed to be perfect, good, and amazing, and the only time she feels that way is in your company.

You haven't given a name to what you are doing, and Wanda doesn't want to think about the ring on her finger, not when you make her feel so good.

So you keep meeting her; with more and more ridiculous excuses than the previous ones, helping with a broken pipe, bringing supplies of paint even though Wanda doesn't paint anything, bringing schoolwork that the kids could pick up the other day, helping to mow the lawn, staying the afternoon for cake, tea, helping her with the grocery bags. And these were just the days that happened in her house.

After a while, you got the impression that Wanda didn't even worry about excuses anymore. Maybe it was your fault - for the way you have grown jealous of Vision and she knows it. She knows not because she tries to scan every inch of your mind in her frustrated attempts, but because every time you witness Vision showing any kind of affection, she is at the forefront of a rough and intense fucking session.

Like when Vision left for work last week while you were collecting the newspaper in your backyard and he thought it was a sweet idea to come back and kiss her before he left, and you barely waited for the kids to leave for school to come in the back door and fuck Wanda in the kitchen counter.

Without her magic, she wouldn't be able to hide the marks of your lips on her body.

And despite the risk, Wanda loves it.

But then it starts to scare her because she just might love a different thing.

Westview is a ticking time bomb. Wanda doesn't know it, but you do. Things happen to the breaking point, and it's in everything-from starting to ask questions that would require a little more thought that will make people stutter at the fantasy flaws, to immensely more pleasurable things, like affecting Wanda enough.

"Ah- kurva dieťa!" She cursed breathlessly, shuddering beneath you, her nails digging hard into your back. But your movements didn't fail, the fake cock thrusting inside her wet pussy with a delicious precision that made Wanda see stars. "D-don't stop-don-ah!"

You ripped orgasm after orgasm, until she was exhausted, begging for a break, the wet sheets of her juices beneath you.

"Just one more, my love. Just one more." You coerced so meekly that Wanda almost came with your voice alone, and this time your hands entwined with hers at the side of her head. And it was too intimate.

Your thrusts were deep, and with each movement of your hips, Wanda gasped, struggling for air as the knot in her belly prepared to break.

Her room around you however began to fail. The illusion sustained by her magic vibrating as if the transmission was failing. The sound drew you in, but as soon as your movement faltered and you made mention of looking away, she brought a firm hand to your chin and pulled you down as she entwined a leg around your waist.

She looked absurdly stunning beneath you, and there was no interest in looking away from her.

Wanda came so hard that the whole room vibrated, and you followed her, getting a satisfied moan when she felt the hot cum inside her.

You held her for the entire moment as you both calmed down from your orgasms, and this time, when you went to get up as you always did, she held you back.

"But..."

"No." She interrupted sleepily, pulling you back onto the bed so that she could hold you and lay on top of you. "No one will come. Stay here with me."

You didn't question, sliding your hands to wrap around her.

–//–

You're not surprised that Agatha rats you out. Time bomb after all.

Still, seeing the look of hurt in Wanda's eyes breaks your heart into a thousand pieces.

"You too?" She asks with tears in her eyes, powerless in that dark basement you have just entered.

"It's not what you're thinking." You try, but Agatha rolls her eyes impatiently.

"No time for Shakesperean drama, be honest, Y/N. Wanda is in need of facing the truth, for once in her life." Ironizes the witch, and you swallow dryly, taking a step forward but remembering not to cross the determined space of the runes.

"Witches everywhere have felt your magic, Wanda. But only a few have made it into Hex." You say. "Each came here with their own reasons."

"And why are you here?" Wanda asks wearily, and you sigh.

"It's hard to explain..."

"Nonsense." Agatha cuts in again, gesturing. "We all want power, in one way or another. No more games, or drama. Everyone wants to know how you did it, Wanda, and it's time for you to show us."

The redhead gives you one last hurt look before raising her chin to the older witch.

And you know she won't give anything up without a fight.

She wins, and Agatha is trapped in the only remaining illusion of what was once Westview.

You watch from a distance as Wanda goes to say goodbye to her family, and you don't intrude on that moment. You wouldn't want her to hate you even more.

Your motorcycle really is yours, so it is what you drive to get out of town.

Your grandparents' cabin has been your home since you completed your training at the Kamar Taj - and since you gave it all up for a quiet life in the mountains.

You only have a few days since Westview in your familiar solitude, however.

"You are unbelievable." That's the first thing Wanda says as she appears in your yard, impatient and angry. "After everything that happened between us, you just walked away?"

You blink in surprise at the scene for a moment, but recover when she starts walking toward you.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

"Oh, but you will talk." She retorts with a poisoned sarcasm as she grabs your wrist to pull you inside the cabin. "You'll explain everything."

"Yes, ma'am." You murmured affectedly, Wanda pushing you in the first armchair and crossing her arms and tapping a foot, waiting.

You cleared your throat and told her everything - From the Hex power emission that alerted the Kamar Taj and made Wong recruit you to investigate, to the fact that you in theory were in Westview to undo the spell but you ended up getting distracted.

Wanda ignored the redness of your cheeks. "But Agatha said you wanted power."

You rolled your eyes. "That nosy old hag." You grumbled. "She was distorting things, but the way it all went down, I figured you wouldn't believe me. She had you in a basement and your kids locked up, and I was there, you see? Even if I tried to explain the whole story, you wouldn't believe me."

"And why didn't you help me? Why did you let her take the boys?" Inquired the impatient witch, and you swallowed dryly, bowing your head guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I... I have to admit that I wanted to see where that would go." You say, taking a deep breath. "Wanda it was all an illusion in that town. It was the best kind of magic I've ever witnessed, and when I arrived, Agatha approached me first. She told me that she was also there to investigate and that we didn't need to get in each other's way, we could even help each other."

Wanda narrowed her eyes. "In what way?"

You swallow dryly again. "I was there to undo the spell, and Agatha, well, she's a special kind of witch. She didn't lie, you know? When she said she takes power from those who don't deserve it. I heard that she made some kind of magical bargain, and now she is a collector. She would take your power and the spell would undo itself, so we'd both go home with what we wanted." You recount and settle uncomfortably on the couch, "B-but that was before you and I..."

Wanda looks away, running a hand through her hair. "We didn't mean anything, Y/N."

A hint of pain hits your chest, but you give a sad laugh, "You're full of shit."

But your accusation makes Wanda look at you with tear-filled eyes. "You were going behind my back, waiting for the right moment to stab me. Everything we had was a lie, a game for you to gain my trust and make me vulnerable. You're the one who's full of shit."

You sigh, getting up. "A witch kidnapped a town and held the entire population hostage. I was offered a deal, I took it." You begin seriously. "I had no idea who you were, what was going on. It was never personal. I went there to accomplish my mission, and I never thought I would fall in love with you." Wanda's eyes widen, but you are not intimidated by her shock, and you continue talking, taking another step forward. "I didn't know how Westview worked exactly, but everything was all too real there. You had a family, a husband. And you were my target. And I was completely surrendered to you. You have to understand, Wanda, that I had to consider all the possibilities. That maybe you were enchanting me too, that everything that happened was just part of your desires reflected in the magic. Agatha knew how to use my uncertainties against me when I confronted her, wishing to end our partner because I didn't want you to get hurt."

Wanda's gaze softens, and when your hand reaches for her cheek, she doesn't pull away.

You smile, "But I didn't have to worry. You totally kicked her ass."

Wanda moves her hand up to your wrist. "You could have told me." She whispers. "Or at least allowed me to take a look."

You smile in a corner, bringing your other hand to her cheek and enjoying the way Wanda leans into your touch.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying that we should only share our thoughts with our spouses?" You tease, rubbing your nose against hers and Wanda chuckles softly, sighing when your lips touch hers.

The kiss is tender, full of longing. And before she can deepen it, you break off, taking a deep breath with your forehead pressed against hers.

"You've got the book." You gasp softly, feeling the magical aura now. Wanda frowns softly, pulling her face away just to look at you.

"Do you know it?"

Her question makes you hesitate. But you force a smile and nod. Wanda catches every reaction, and proceeds to add:

"It is my only way to understand what I am."

You swallow dryly, your hands caressing her cheeks.

"Just promise me that no matter what the book shows you, you will remember that I am here. You're not alone."

Wanda doesn't understand at first, a mixed expression of confusion and curiosity fills her face. But she nods, and breaks the distance, whispering I promise between kisses.

You both stumble into the bedroom, and the darkhold is left somewhere in the dining hall.

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #elizabeth olsen x reader #wanda maximoff x you #scarlet witch x reader #wanda maximoff smut

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