#Finding Someone (Reunion ARC) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

immaturityofthomasastruc · 5 months

Text

IOTA Reviews: Conformation and Re-Creation (The Final Day)

Well, here we are. The final two episodes of Season 5. It's been a long and complicated journey, so let me get you up to speed on what exactly happened this season, episode by episode.

Evolution: Ladybug and Cat Noir chase Monarch through time, and it's not nearly as cool as it sounds.

Multiplication: Adrien likes Marinette now because the plot says so.

Destruction: Cat Noir accidentally Cataclysms Monarch, and it somehow leads to the most guilt he feels using his Cataclysm on anyone.

Jubilation: Ever want to have the image of Ladybug and Cat Noir being teen parents burned into your brain? No? Too bad!

Illusion: Nino establishes himself as a leader so terrible, Zapp Brannigan would call him an idiot.

Determination: Marinette likes Cat Noir now because the plot says so.

Passion: Nathalie shows she'd rather silently judge Gabriel for his actions over actually doing anything to stop him.

Reunion: Marinette talks with the spirit of Joan of Arc, and it's not nearly as cool as it sounds.

Elation: Someone tries to murder Marinette over ice cream for the third time in four seasons.

Transmission: Yeah, I totally believe you're replacing Marinette and Adrien with two new main characters in the middle of your fifth season.

Deflagration: Because of Tikki and Plagg's terrible decisions, Monarch comes the closest he's ever come to winning.

Perfection: Kagami becomes a giant cloud Akuma, symbolizing her also becoming a total airhead for the rest of the season.

Migration: The writers realize they have no idea what to do with Luka, so they kick him out of the show entirely.

Derision: “How many things do you want to retcon to make this story work?” “Yes.”

Intuition: Gabriel continues to prove how pathetic of a villain he is, even when he has unlimited chances.

Protection: Even after being tricked three times by her, Kagami still thinks Lila is a trustworthy person.

Adoration: “We have Lumity at home”.

Emotion: The episode where Felix essentially commits genocide is somehow also the one where the writers want the audience to start viewing him in a sympathetic light.

Pretension: Felix likes Kagami because the plot says so, and vice versa.

Revelation: Lila only gets as far as she does thanks to Marinette becoming as dumb as the rest of the class.

Confrontation: Our heroes expose the villain's evil plans by spying on them through a bathroom peephole.

Collusion: Remember kids, violent revolutions against politicians are never the answer.

Revolution: Remember kids, violent revolutions against politicians are always the answer.

Representation: To the surprise of literally no one, Felix is revealed to be a Sentimonster, yet the writers still won't tell us that Adrien and Kagami are the same.

Now that you're all caught up, let's get into the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Conformation and Re-Creation

After a brief news report showing everyone enjoying the first day of Summer vacation, Gabriel and Tomoe finally decide to launch “Perfect Alliance”. What does this plan entail? For starters, Gabriel transforms into Monarch, detransforms to akumatize himself into Nightormentor again, gives himself the powers of the Mouse, Rooster and Horse Miraculous in order to clone himself and fly around the globe to spread his nightmare dust. Because just akumatizing Sandboy again and giving him the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude was just too complex of a plan.

Marinette is the first to be affected by the dust, we get a dream where she dresses up as a knight to save Adrien from a cheap recolor of Fang in his dragon form.

This is a weird episode of Super Why.

Marinette defeats the dragon, who reverts back to Gabriel, who is accidentally killed by the fight, causing Adrien to cry since Adrien was watching the whole thing. Marinette wakes up, thankful that it was all just a bad dream sequence. She decides she needs to find out just where Gabriel sent Adrien to make sure he's safe, something that won't make sense as I'll explain later on. As she tries to leave, she keeps experiencing sudden headaches, as do her parents and Alya.

Meanwhile, Adrien is still left reeling from the effects of the nightmare dust from last episode, to the point where he has a panic attack, demanding to be let out. Gabriel, seemingly aware of this, decides to give Adrien the “antidote”, an Alliance ring with an app called “Perfect Alliance”. So once again, despite claiming to do this for his son, Gabriel willingly chose to make his life worse as part of his evil plans. Remember this, it'll be important later on.

Plagg suggests Adrien transform into Cat Noir, but Adrien reminds him that there are cameras everywhere, so he can't risk it. Plagg disables the cameras, but Adrien still says no. Whether he was aware that the robot who was sent to give him the Alliance ring with the new app had a hidden camera is irrevelant, because Adrien gives a different reason why he can't transform.

Adrien: I'm not in my right mind. I'm too angry; at myself for falling short of Marinette's love, at my father for sending me here in London, at this stupid app and these rings that use my image... it makes me sick! This nightmare is giving me the horrible feeling that, if I transform, I'll get akumatized and destroy everything with my Cataclysm. Marinette, Ladybug...

Plagg: Surely Ladybug can help you.

Adrien: If I ask her for help, I'd have to give her information that would jeopardize my secret identity... and I can't.

youtube

Okay, let me make one thing clear. The reason that Adrien can't risk exposing his identity thanks to all the cameras is a good one, and the fact that he doesn't want to risk exposing his identity to Ladybug in particular is a good sign of character development, but the problem I have is the fact that the writers decided to bench Adrien in the first place.

Yes, you heard that right. In arguably the most boneheaded decision in the show's history since... well, a lot of things this season, Adrien, despite being the son of the main villain, isn't going to get involved in the final battle at all.

There are multiple reasons why Adrien staying put in this room is a terrible idea, and most of them involve the fact that almost none of the in-universe explanations for this hold up.

Adrien is being heavily monitored by cameras? We just saw Plagg was able to disable them with ease.

Adrien can't ask Ladybug for help without jeopardizing his secret identity? The fact that he's at risk of being akumatized as is, with or without the Cat Miraculous, will still blow his cover due to Monarch's mind reading abilities (which we saw when Monarch almost learned Luka's secret in “Migration”), so he really has nothing to lose here.

Adrien isn't in the right state of mind thanks to the nightmare dust? Literally every other character who takes part in the final battle is able to either find a way to fight off the nightmares or keeps going while still under the influence of the nightmare dust.

Adrien's ultimate plan to take off his Miraculous and let Plagg choose a new temporary holder? We saw this exact same scenario play out earlier this season in “The Kwamis' Choice”, and things went horribly, horribly wrong.

Do you see why this makes no sense? Even though the show loves to boast about how valuable of an asset Cat Noir is, the writers are bending over backwards to justify keeping Adrien as far away from the final battle as possible, because they know damn well that they'd have to address how terrible his father really is with the reveal.

And the best part? This is basically the last we'll see of Adrien in this episode. Do you want to know how many lines he gets in the next episode, AKA, the final episode of the season? Three. AND THEY'RE ALL AFTER THE FINAL BATTLE.

But we're not done talking about this stupid idea yet, because unlike the other episodes, I have something else to rant about: The writers' commentary. In November of 2023, around four months after the finale premiered, the writers of this show recorded their own audio commentary, and while I don't have the exact translation (if anyone reading this has a translation of this, I would really appreciate the effort), I have seen one post summarizing the things they said, and all I can say is DEAR. LORD. This is not just shooting yourself in the foot. This is shooting yourself in the foot multiple times with Judas Bullets.

Like, it's amazing. We've always speculated just what goes through the writers' heads that makes them come up with some of the strangest ideas to take the story, and now, we have a first-hand account of why these episodes turned out the way they did. For this one moment, they gave about three explanations as to why Adrien was benched for the finale.

Let's start with the first one, Cat Blanc. I know what you're thinking, wasn't Cat Blanc an Akuma from an alternate timeline that our Adrien shouldn't know about? Not according to Melenie Duval. While Adrien's fear of being akumatized is reasonable, Duval claims that he could become Cat Blanc... which makes no sense as A) Adrien's nightmare was of an entirely different Akuma, and B) The aforementioned nightmare dust never informed Adrien of the alternate timeline where Cat Blanc destroyed the world, it just provided him with a nightmare about a similar scenario.

And in case you weren't questioning this woman's judgment, Duval has done on the record to state that her favorite episode of the entire show is “Derision”.

youtube

Our next reasoning is especially stupid, as the rest of the writing team reveal that they had planned to keep Adrien out of the final battle as far back as 2014, nine years before the finished product premiered. Why would they do that? Because they wanted Ladybug to unify with the Cat Miraculous, of course! Sure, you could have just saved this unification for a special or something like that so you don't bench one of your main characters, or you could have at least had Adrien willingly give his Miraculous to Ladybug to unify with in person, but nope. This is seriously one of their defenses— I mean, explanations, for why Adrien isn't allowed to be in the final battle, because they thought it would be more important to give Marinette her 10th new form in three seasons than letting Adrien get some form of closure with his father.

And here's the final reason they gave in the commentary. Remember that dream sequence of Marinette dressed as a knight that was also sort of foreshadowed in “Gabriel Agreste”? Turns out, the writers wanted to, and stop me if you've heard this before, play with the tropes and symbolism of fairy tales. Wow, I've never seen any kind of pop culture do that before... except for Into the Woods, The Princess Bride, Hook, Shrek, Princess Tutu, Ella Enchanted, Hoodwinked!, Enchanted, Tangled, Once Upon a Time, Frozen, RWBY, Ever After High, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and Nimona. But other than those, that's so original!

Even though the writers are acting like they're breaking new ground, do you want to know what they mean by this? They're just doing another damsel in distress situation but this time, Adrien, the boy, is the one who needs to be saved by Marinette, who is, GASP, a girl?! WOW! That totally changes everything!

youtube

Okay, yes, the damsel in distress trope has usually been seen as a misogynistic one due to the fact that the people who needed to be saved are usually women, but like I mentioned way back in my “Gabriel Agreste” review, just swapping the genders isn't enough to breathe new life into a trope as old as this one. It's arguably worse because Adrien isn't just someone who needs to be saved. He's a superhero, and like I mentioned, there were plenty of options to get him out of his room in London.

And I'm guessing that some of you are thinking, “But IOTA! You just want Adrien to save the day by himself because he's a guy!” Just remember that I had this exact same problem last season where the roles were reversed. Remember how I hated the way Marinette's arc about dealing with the stress of being Guardian was hijacked by Adrien complaining about Ladybug not trusting him? This time, we have an arc about Adrien trying to break free from his father's influence that's been hijacked by Marinette needing to save Adrien by herself, robbing him of any agency he had to the plot entirely. This issue isn't about gender. It's never been about gender. I would have the exact same problem if Adrien was the one who confronted Monarch by himself while Marinette was trapped in her room.

This leads to the biggest problem I have with this plot development: It ultimately goes against the core theme of teamwork the show keeps trying to convey. Remember how last season, Marinette needed to learn to let other people trust her? Now, she's going to beat up Monarch all by herself without any help. Remember how last season, Adrien needed to prove he didn't deserve to be left in the dark about everything? Now, he's going to stay all the way in London while his partner gets in the fight of her life. It's detrimental to both of them as characters, and makes everything that happened to them in Season 4 completely pointless.

Okay, now that I've spent five pages ranting about this insane decision, let's get back on track, shall we? As the Perfect Alliance app helps Adrien and Kagami calm down, Marinette sneaks into the Agreste mansion as Ladybug. Meanwhile, Nathalie has her own nightmare about Gabriel winning, AKA, the very thing she could have stopped a long time ago by ratting her evil boss out to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

We then learn just what the Perfect Alliance app really does. Basically, thanks to the technobabble, it helps alleviate the stress from their nightmares. Or, to put it in Layman's terms, Gabriel and Tomoe plan to get the entire population of Earth addicted to cyber crack. We see this affect several of Marinette's classmates, but because Mylene has a sudden disdain for technology that “Was made without respect for the Earth's resources”, she's the only one who sees the problem here. I'd ask why this wasn't established earlier this season, but it doesn't matter, since Mylene gives in anyway,

Because it's a day that ends with a “Y”, Gabriel goes to talk to Emilie's body yet again, and it seems like even the writers realized how tired this got, as Nathalie finally decided to ambush him with a crossbow.

Miss Sancoeur, I served with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I knew Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vamprie Slayer was a friend of mine. Miss Sancoeur, you're no Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yes, it only took five seasons worth of evil plans for Nathalie to realize just how demented her boss really is.

Nathalie: I can't let you do that... if you make the wish to bring her back, someone will have to go in her place. Emilie would never have agreed to this!

Gabriel: Do you think I'd be monstrous enough to sacrifice a human being?

Uh... yes? That is literally what equivalent exchange means. You really don't know how the wish works after researching it?

Shockingly, the frail woman armed with nothing but a crossbow isn't able to stop someone with superpowers. There isn't even a fight. Monarch just knocks the crossbow out of her hands and she faints. Maybe you should have actually come up with some sort of plan before confronting Gabriel by yourself, dumbass.

Back to Ladybug, she searches through Gabriel's stuff and finally learns he's Monarch... even though she should already know thanks to Felix and Kagami's play last episode. She even looks pretty shocked to see Monarch detransform.

Back to the commentary, the writers justify this with their absurd “Every episode can be watched on its own” rule. Because simply having Marinette say she already knows was out of the equation, I guess. Seriously, earlier in the episode, Tikki (who, along with Plagg, wasn't affected by the nightmare dust for some reason) had doubts that Marinette should break into the Agreste mansion, and it came across like neither of them knew the truth, and this was a reckless decision that wasn't motivated by Gabriel being Monarch at all. Once again, the writers fail to understand the idea of using “Previously On...” segments to help new viewers catch up on what's happening. It's even more confusing when you remember that Tikki knows Adrien is Cat Noir, so his father being Monarch coupled with his sudden absence should be setting off all kinds of red flags in her book.

Ladybug tries to text Cat Noir about who Monarch really is, but chooses not to send it after Gabriel pushes a few of her buttons. Rather than jumping Gabriel while she still has the element of surprise, she only chooses to grill Nathalie for questions once Gabriel is out of the room. And of course, only when she's on death's door does Nathalie tell Ladybug to stop Monarch, but not before telling her to transform back.

We see Gabriel and Tomoe put their plan into action. They create a fake scene of Ladybug and Cat Noir kidnapping Adrien and Kagami in order to rile up the public (who aren't in the best state of mind thanks to the nightmares) in order to for them to use the Alliance rings to transform them into the “Miraculized”. In other words, it's basically “Heroes' Day” all over again. Seriously, think about it. Just like “Heroes' Day”, it looks like Adrien is being harmed by Ladybug in an attempt to push the population to the brink of despair so Gabriel can create an army in the process. Yeah, the public doesn't know the two are the same, but the audience does. Granted, this is a minor nitpick compared to the rest of my problems with this episode, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at here.

Case in point, the reason Nathalie told Ladybug to detransform was because Gabriel has found a way to track her and Cat Noir through their “quantum signatures”. With Cat Noir, it was thanks to the dust from Gabriel's Cataclysm wound, and with Ladybug, it was thanks to the Magical Charm she gave Gabriel earlier in “Gabriel Agreste”... which he shouldn't have since it was destroyed in “Dearest Family”.

youtube

Seriously, this is the season finale. How the hell are the writers still struggling to remember important events like this?

Now's as good a time as any to talk about the Miraculized's design. Yeah, they're pretty lame. They all look like they're wearing fencing gear, and don't look intimidating in the slightest. They also now have the ability to use every Miraculous power at once, which breaks the previously established rules about the Alliance rings in that only one ring can handle each Miraculous power. You could at least argue that the robots used in “Confrontation” had more advanced technology that made them capable of using multiple powers, but nothing has changed about the Alliance rings to justify this. And remember, this is something every Miraculized in the world can use, yet the system hasn't been completely fried, and as we'll later see Monarch can still freely use the other Kwamis' power even when they're being shared with the Miraculized across the world. In fact, how can the Miraculized even transform like this? Monarch doesn't akumatize anyone to spread this transformation. Gabriel just tells to say “Alliance, Miraculize Me!”, and now they can transform. Was this always a function of the Alliance rings? Is there a tiny Akuma hidden in each ring? How the hell does any this work?

Ladybug fights off some of the Miraculized who used Voyage to find her, and remembers Nathalie's advice to detransform. So just like in “Passion”, even though she's still wearing her Miraculous, the system specifically designed to track her down isn't able to find her unless she's still transformed. Marinette runs away to a safe place before running into Plagg, who tells her Cat Noir is out of commission. With no other options, Marinette decides to unify with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous, turning into Bug Noire, revealing her identity to Monarch in the process, and ending the episode.

Bug Noire's design is admittedly pretty nice. I like the balance of red, black, and green, though the hair is a little too long for my taste. Granted, I still don't get why this is the reason why Adrien can't be here to fight Monarch alongside his partner. I'm just saying, was it really worth it, writers?

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... NATHALIE

Yep, right before the finish line, Nathalie gets her second award this season. After spending several episodes doing nothing but letting herself rot away, Nathalie only chose to finally do something about Gabriel once he was literally about to enact his final plan, thought she could stop him with nothing but a crossbow, and only begged Ladybug for help when it looked like she was about to die and had nothing left to lose.

“Re-Creation”, the final episode of the season, starts off with Lila watching some broadcasts of people succumbing to their paranoia (and she does it while smirking because the writers still don't think we understand she's evil) and transforming into Miraculized while she puts on a new disguise that makes her look like an evil Edna Mode.

How come Lila isn't even affected by the nightmare dust like the rest of the human population? As always, never explained!

Back in the Agreste mansion, Bug Noire and Monarch are duking it out, and we get some pretty creative uses of Lucky Charm, like when she summons a piano to crash down on Monarch. Meanwhile, after Marinette's friends manage to get the Alliance ring off a Miraculized Ivan, we get to see how the rest of the world is dealing with the Miraculized. In Shanghai, the Renlings help Fei through her nightmares, Su-Han has recruited Jagged Stone, Luka, Penny and Fang to the Order of the Guardians instead of actually getting backup like he said he would in “Multiplication”, Present Bunnix finally decides to do something and uses Burrow to sent the Guardians to Paris, while the United Heroez fight off the Miraculized and learn the true nature of the Alliance rings. Just remember, it was too much for the writers to let Adrien get involved in the final battle, yet all these side characters get to do something in the finale for some reason.

Meanwhile, as if things couldn't get any worse, Nino decides the Resistance needs to get involved after reassuring Mr. Damocles that they never give up. Believe me, not much would change if you guys just threw in the towel, especially now that the United Heroez are here, and have Eagle, a member whose powers work as an instant cure for everyone's nightmares. Hey, while we're on the subject, does anyone know where the United Heroez were this entire season? I can excuse Fei as she's just one teenager in Shanghai, but the Americans have a small army of heroes, including the president, yet they just let two violent coups in France happen last week.

As Bug Noire and Monarch keep fighting, Bug Noire comes up with the brilliant idea to Cataclysm the Butterfly Miraculous, only being foiled by Monarch already having Resistance active. Okay, is a side effect of using the Cat Miraculous this season a taste for blood? Why the hell are the heroes so okay with trying to use Cataclysm on their enemies now? Bug Noire then decides to use her Cataclysm for something far more reasonable, breaking the ground beneath her and Monarch. Because I guess Bug Noire is really gunning for Biggest Idiot this episode.

Back with the Resistance, they meet up with the Guardians, United Heroez, and Ladydragon, who have actually been getting shit done. Wow, it's just like that scene from that one movie where all the characters we've come to know over the years rally together for the final battle! What was it called again? Oh yeah, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

While the other heroes are overwhelmed by the Miraculized, we cut back to Bug Noire and Monarch yet again, now inside the area where Emilie's body is. The two keep fighting as Monarch tells Bug Noire why he's doing all this, all while Lila breaks into the mansion.

Monarch: I want my wife, Adrien's mother, to come back to us! Once our family is reunited, Kagami and Adrien will become the eternal icons of this world! And we will be here to witness their absolute triumph!

Bug Noire: “Your wife”? “Come back”? “Kagami and Adrien, eternal icons”? How many lives are you going to ruin in the name of your crazy dreams?!

Monarch: As many as it takes! In order to bring Emilie back, someone else will have to disappear! In order to heal the wound that Cat Noir inflicted on me, someone else will have to be wounded!

Bug Noire: Someone else? But who?

Monarch: Anyone! No one matters except us! How about you, Marinette? Wouldn't you give your life for your sweet Adrien's happiness?

Bug Noire: Do you really think that's what he'd want? To discover that his father has turned into a supervillain, willing to make innocent people pay the price of his madness?

Monarch: Adrien would do the same thing!

Bug Noire: Never! Unlike you, Adrien has made his peace with it. He's not living in the past! He has a whole life ahead of him!

Bug Noire: You'd know this if you ever took an interest in him. But in reality, Adrien means NOTHING to you anymore! You've locked him in your house! Locked him in your Alliance rings!

Bug Noire: Locked him into a life that allows you to hide behind him in order to justify YOUR madness!

Monarch: All I want is for him to be happy!

Remember all of this, because it's going to be important soon.

Bug Noire uses her Lucky Charm, and gets a tube of glue. She uses some of it on this random boomerang she found (I'm assuming it's the remains of Nathalie's crossbow), sticks it to her yo-yo, and then throws it at Emilie's coffin. Monarch reflexively grabs the sticky boomerang, and loses all of the rings on his right hand just as Bug Noire uses Cataclysm on the elevator to get to this area of the mansion, with the intent on CRUSHING EMILIE WITH IT. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen! Monarch saves his wife, but because he's distracted, he can't stop Bug Noire from throwing her staff at the Butterfly Miraculous, knocking it off and reverting Monarch back to Gabriel. Bug Noire ties up Gabriel's feet, and when Gabriel tries to sucker punch her with Venom, Bug Noire grabs the hand, threatening to Cataclysm the remaining Alliance rings and the two rings she should damn well know contain Adrien's Amok. Either she's bluffing, or we accidentally got the Paris Special universe's version of these events.

Bug Noire tries to reason with Gabriel, who then breaks down crying, showing how deep down, he just really cares about his family. And even though just six episodes ago, Marinette said that it was very easy for idealistic people to be taken advantage of by others, she buys into Gabriel's last-minute sob story, and wouldn't you know it, he stabs her in the back. Congratulations, Marinette. You just doomed the universe. Even when the Dino Charge Rangers accidentally got everyone on their planet killed, they were at least able to fix it themselves.

It's time to go back to the commentary, where we can learn the writers' true intent for this scene. They honestly believe that both Marinette and Gabriel care for Adrien in their own ways, and the whole reason that Marinette chose to trust Gabriel was to teach the lesson that it's important to talk out your feelings with others... a lesson that fails because 1) Marinette had already beaten Gabriel through violence, 2) Marinette trusting Gabriel backfired horribly, and 3) Gabriel won because he took advantage of Marinette's trust! You can't teach a lesson about trust when for all intents and purposes, Marinette once again lost BECAUSE SHE CHOSE TO TRUST SOMEONE!

Even though he had to unify with Tikki and Plagg to try making the wish in “Deflagration” (I really shouldn't have used the “Great Continuity!” clip earlier), we get yet another retcon this season: Tikki and Plagg have to reveal their true forms. Yeah, I know Tikki's true form was briefly seen in “Dearest Family”, but that doesn't change the fact that Monarch didn't do this when he had the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous in “Deflagration”.

Tikki and Plagg's true forms just look okay. I like the otherworldly theme, but they don't really stand out much. They honestly look more like forms Ladybug and Cat Noir would have than anything else.

It's here that we get the culmination of five seasons' worth of lore. After a brief glimpse of it in “Ephemeral”, Tikki and Plagg, the Kwamis of Creation and Destruction will merge their energies to form their true true form, the Kwami of Reality itself, able to grand any wish asked. This majestic, otherworldly being's name? Gimmi. Just... Gimmi. The commentary claims they're named after an ABBA song, and I wish I was making this up.

Like with Tikki and Plagg's true forms, Gimmi has an okay design. They're just a little too pink for something meant to be a fusion of the red Tikki and the black Plagg.

As Marinette begs Gabriel not to go through with this, Gabriel doesn't think twice about it, and instead, gives Marinette the rings containing Adrien's Amok, along with a request, fully aware that his time is almost up.

Gabriel: Marinette, make sure that Adrien never knows about the villain that I was, but instead, that he remembers the times I tried to be a good father.

Alright, we've finally gotten to the most controversial part of the episode: Gabriel's “redemption”, and I put that term extremely loosely.

Put aside the fact that almost a third of this season was spent telling the audience that a certain character who shall not be named is beyond saving despite working alongside him multiple times for the past two seasons, Gabriel's last-minute redemption falls flat because he doesn't even seem to feel remorse for what he's done. Not once does he actually say he's sorry for what he's done, just how Emilie's death affected him. That's understandable, but he doesn't even seem to acknowledge the weight of his actions or how many lives have been endangered. Remember earlier, when Monarch said he was perfectly okay with sacrificing someone else if it means his family can be happy? Yeah, that never comes back, especially now that him making the wish is portrayed as a good thing when every time it's been discussed ever since it was first explained in “Robostus” just how dangerous actually using it is.

In fact, let's discuss the fact that Gabriel is getting to make the wish in the first place. The whole idea of this basically contradicts Gabriel supposedly realizing he's gone too far. Rather than just having Gabriel give up his quest and let Emilie rest in peace, we're supposed to be happy that Gabriel double-crossed Marinette even when the music is making it seem like it's a bad thing... WHICH IT IS! Once again, for a show that loves to go on and on about how powerful love is, it really loves to show people getting screwed over whenever they decide to show compassion to their enemies. Imagine if in Return of the Jedi, when Luke chose to not give into the Dark Side by sparing Vader, Vader took the chance to kick him in the crotch while he was distracted. That's basically what happened here.

Next, notice how Gabriel specifically asks Marinette to make sure Adrien never learns the truth about who he was, and “Remembers the times he tried to be a good father”. After everything he's done, Gabriel isn't even willing to let Adrien learn about what he's done, because he wants him to focus exclusively on the times he TRIED to be a good father. This isn't the matter of Gabriel missing Adrien's fencing tournament because he had an important business meeting. Gabriel was a literal supervillain who preyed on innocent people in order to obtain absolute power, and he wasn't even a good father to his only kid. He was neglectful, controlling, and in the last few months of his life, spent more time trying to ruin his relationship with his girlfriend for no reason other than because he thought his associate's kid was a better match for him. He was a terrible father, and Gabriel even seems to be aware of this, but rather than find a way to repent for everything he's done, Gabriel is basically going to take the coward's way out by forcing Marinette to sugarcoat his life instead of admitting he was, at the very least, a flawed parent, all so Adrien will feel bad when he finally drops dead.

And yeah, let's talk about how Gabriel assumes that Adrien shouldn't be allowed to know the truth... WHEN THAT'S NOT HIS DECISION TO MAKE. Adrien should be the one to judge whether he believes Gabriel was a good father or not. Of course Gabriel would assume he was a good father despite the numerous red flags, but Adrien is another story. By keeping the truth hidden from Adrien, you're depriving him of a potentially important moment in his life where he finally learns to break free from his father's influence. Instead, even though he's a fucking superhero, we're just supposed to accept the fact that Adrien is just a poor, fragile, sensitive baby boy who can't handle hearing any bad news or else I guess he'll explode. It says a lot when, of all movies, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier did a better job handling an idea like this, by saying that pain is a natural part of life.

youtube

But let's talk about the biggest problem with this turn of events: The fact that it essentially vindicates everything Gabriel has done, with or without the mask, as well as essentially convey a pro-child abuse message. In case you weren't around before I posted this review, I asked my followers who have been victims of child abuse or poor parenting to share their experiences so I could get an idea of how similar they were to what Adrien has had to go through. And a lot of them were pretty similar.

During almost all of what I read from these people, their parents or guardians shared one thing in common: An inability to admit being wrong. All of them tended to either blame their kids for whatever happened to them, or find ways to justify their poor treatment. As far as they're concerned, it's the kid's fault that they're being treated so poorly. And while I'm sure a handful of people isn't enough to survey the entire population of abuse victims on this planet, the fact that some of these people, as in actual victims of child abuse, were able to see similarities with their own upbringings and the way the main villain treats his son and don't buy the show deciding to act like all of that was perfectly okay says a lot about how much this finale dropped the ball when it came to the lesson it wanted to teach.

Yes, from what I've read from my followers and other things online, some abusive parents do believe that what they're doing to their children is out of a warped view of love, but that isn't enough to validate their actions completely, and it obviously doesn't validate Gabriel's actions during the last five seasons. During the entire run of the show, Gabriel has denied his son a normal life, treats him like an object, and despite claiming that he really loves him deep down, he almost never shows it. It seemed like the show was either going to have Gabriel realize the error of his ways due to how fruitless they ended up being, but having him get the upper hand on Marinette at the very last second ultimately makes it so all of his effort, every evil plan, every civilian endangered, was all worth it. And that's why Gabriel's final moments supposedly acting like he's repented for his actions don't work, and why it turned what was initially just a boring finale into one that was beyond infuriating.

And I'm assuming that you're thinking to yourself, what exactly is the wish Gabriel was so desperate to make that he tricked Marinette at the last second?

youtube

We never really learn what kind of wish Gabriel makes using Gimmi, even in the epilogue. I'm also going to talk about this in a later post, but of course Astruc, being Astruc had to give his usual sarcastic remarks to anyone who had the slightest question about what the hell just happened.

I love how someone will ask something like “Do you mind clearing up a few questions I have about the season finale?”, and Astruc will hear what they said as if they just asked, “Is Mylene secretly the reincarnation of the Anti-Christ?”.

So Gabriel makes his wish, somehow reunites with Emilie's soul as he ascends to Heaven... until the angels realize they made a horrible mistake, and send Gabriel to his custom-made Tenth Circle of Hell. Reality itself is rewritten and all of the characters we've come to know over the past five seasons are effectively dead. If that isn't supposed to be a happy ending, I don't know what is.

According to the transcript, it's been a month after the wish is made, we see how Paris has changed since then. Not only has Miss Bustier given birth to her baby, she's also been elected as Mayor of Paris, already passing her first law, the “Eco Rule”.

Miss Bustier: It consists of very simple principles: don't take more from the Earth than what it can give us, distribute its riches equitably and don't pollute more than it can recycle.

Remember when Mylene said that you can't solve climate change with a single law? I guess the writers forgot to recycle that moral too, because despite the vague as hell guidelines, Paris has already adapted to function without plastic wrappers or cars. Just remember, it's only been one month since the wish was made. Even Star Trek needed at least 130 years and a nuclear war before its utopian society could be established. And that's not even getting into the new school she's helped create.

Miss Bustier: In this new school, there will be no classes or struggling to get good grades. Children of all ages will be able to intermix and freely access all kinds of activities.

The fuck you mean “no grades”?! How the hell will that even work?! We're supposed to see this as her being an impressive politician, but it comes across like some grade schooler's “If I were president” essay. And remember, ONE. MONTH.

How else has the Eco Rule been implemented? All of the Alliance rings have been melted down and reforged into a statue honoring... the great hero, Gabriel Agreste.

Yep. This is the ultimate fate of the main villain after five seasons of terrorizing the city of Paris: He gets a fucking statue in his honor. Are we sure this is a victory for the good guys? And no, just surviving the villain's master plan doesn't count as a win.

Even better, according to Adrien, he somehow helped defeat Monarch... even though Gabriel is Monarch, so is Monarch a different person in this world? What about Monarch's previous identities, Hawkmoth and Shadowmoth? Did they still exist in this world? They had to, considering that Chloe and Andre are still nowhere to be seen since the revolution, implying that either she's different in this world, or she also betrayed Ladybug for the same reasons. Nathalie is also back in full health, so did she ever use the Peacock? Was the Peacock ever damaged? We see Felix has it in this new world, but Emilie is still dead, so did she die of different causes in this timeline? Speaking of time, what happened to Bunnix? Did she survive too? Is she aware of the changes to the world like she was in “Cat Blanc”?

To summarize, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?

Adrien is hesitant to wear the ring because he's not sure if he can ever be even half the man his amazing father was. Marinette tells Adrien to be himself while handing the ring to him. So... was this an order? If so, was it intentional? Does Marinette even know what she's doing, or because she's a product of Gabriel's wish, she has to do this without a hitch? In fact, when he made the wish, why didn't Gabriel make Adrien, Felix, and Kagami humans instead of forcing them to rely on rings containing their souls that can easily break?

This scene is a great way to summarize Adrienette this season: The writers trying to write a heartwarming scene while hoping the audience doesn't think too hard about all the uncomfortable things it implies.

After reforging the Miraculous she got back from Monarch, Marinette decides to hand them off. Because fuck it, let's break the temp hero rule while we're at it! Chloe who? Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion, Pegasus, Ryuko, Vesperia, Polymouse, Pigella, Purple Tigress, Miss Hound, Rooster Bold, Caprikid, Minotaurox, Bunnix, and even Argos (despite being the reason the heroes lost their Miraculous in the first place) assemble, ready for whatever challenge the world throws at them. Also, there's no reveal between Ladybug and Cat Noir this season because the writers still want to drag this plotline out, even when there's no excuse as to why they can't now that Monarch is gone.

We then learn who got the Butterfly Miraculous: Lila, who plans to get revenge on Marinette. Yep, the girl who has never even touched a Miraculous in five seasons is going to be Hawkmoth's successor. Not Tomoe (who I should mention never answered for being Gabriel's accomplice), not Audrey, not even Chloe. It's Lila. How the hell did she even get it anyway? Did Gabriel intentionally recreate the world to have Lila get the Butterfly Miraculous, or did Lila somehow retain her memories through close proximity to the wish and--

youtube

Fuck it, season's over anyway. Thank God...

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...MARINETTE

While I can't say for certain what she did with Adrien is her fault thanks to Gabriel making the wish, I can say a good chunk of the things Marinette did leading up to Gabriel winning are on her. She recklessly used her Cataclysm multiple times in her fight with Monarch, tried to crush Emilie's comatose body with debris, once again chose to gloat about how she was going to take Gabriel's Miraculous instead of just doing it the first chance she got, seemingly forgot Adrien was a Sentimonster, and somehow managed to lose even when she had Gabriel at her mercy.

So, yeah... this finale was terrible, if it wasn't obvious from this review.

It was just a complete trainwreck from start to finish. A good chunk of the first part was spent either ignoring the events of the last episode, or coming up with excuses as to why Adrien shouldn't get involved. And that's not even getting into Nathalie's “redemption”, which only really happened once she had nothing to lose, seeing how she was even closer to dying than Gabriel was. In fact, now that I think about it, why was more emphasis given to Nathalie's declining health over Gabriel? You know, the guy who's enacting his final plan because he's supposedly hours from death, yet effortlessly manages to clone himself, fly around the world as an Akuma, and keep up with Bug Noire when he struggled to enact a plan that required him to leave the lair without traveling around the world during “Intuition”? Given how we now know that the writers wanted the final battle to involve Bug Noire, I'm starting to think they also prioritized her opponent being in top shape while ignoring the Cataclysm wound affecting him.

The second half was mostly boring thanks to just how low the stakes felt. We know where Adrien is, and since Bug Noire was fighting Monarch, there was no danger of them taking her Miraculous, so for the most part, the Miraculized fighting the other heroes just felt like padding. Nobody even seemed to look for Ladybug or Cat Noir, not even the heroes. Of course, then we got to Gabriel's wish. I've gone over this before, but it bears repeating. Gabriel's “redemption” just doesn't work due to how little effort is spent actually making the audience feel bad for him other than saying “His wife is dead, and he's sad, so that justifies everything”. It doesn't help that we kind of had four episodes explaining why some people can't change, and it wasn't used when talking about Gabriel, but rather, Chloe and Lila. Because these writers really have their priorities straight.

The ending of the season itself practically falls apart with how many plotholes and unfortunate implications it has. And before you say that stuff like Adrien once again being left in the dark can be resolved next season, here's the thing: This was planned to be the series finale with how everything feels wrapped up. There's a sense of finality that shows all the main characters getting their happy ending, and we're just supposed to not question the new utopia Paris is now, much less the fact that even after eight years, Ladybug and Cat Noir still don't know who the other is. Even putting that aside, the show has always done a poor job of following up on plotpoints established in earlier seasons, as the lunchroom scene from “Illusion” shows.

Here's a summary of all the lessons the finale teaches: We shouldn't hold terrorists accountable for their actions if they just say they love their family, abuse victims should be constantly coddled and shouldn't be allowed to know the truth about their viewers, it's okay to keep crucial information from your significant other, genocide is okay as long as the person who commits it says it's for a good cause, love for others can easily be taken advantage of, so never trust anyone, genocide is the only way to create an eco-friendly world, environmental protection laws can be passed within a month and nobody (not even car manufacturers) will complain, teenage girls are worse than abusive parents who double as supervillains, and even if it was planned for almost a decade, don't let your main heroine be the one to save the day, but rather, the villain.

If anyone reading this is planning on becoming a writer and is worried that people won't like their work, just remember that there are people who get paid to work on this show.

But yeah, this is how the season ends, not with a bang, but with a nosedive. I was mostly pissed off with how Seasons 3 and 4 ended, but here? I'm just disappointed. This was the finale that we waited eight years for. The epic final battle against Monarch, and rather than the ultimate fight to the finish, the writers came with several excuses to not involve one of the two main characters in the final battle, the other main character fails to actually save the day, and the villain is rewarded for all of actions because he chose to turn himself into a messiah. I tuned into this season to at least see how the story would end out of curiosity, but it didn't even deliver an ending that made all the pointless filler, poor writing, and bad characterization worth it. I started this finale off bored, and I ended up furious for how lackluster this ending felt. It says a lot when this finale has been compared to Star vs. the Forces of Evil in terms of just screwing everything up.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE SEASON IS... MARINETTE

Marinette may not have been able to beat Gabriel in terms of stopping his plan, but she did manage to outdo him in terms of stupidity. Because she got the award four times this season (Evolution, Revelation, Confrontation, Re-Creation), she takes home the title of Biggest Idiot.

And for those who are curious or didn't keep up with my reviews, Gabriel gets second place with three Biggest Idiot Awards (Intuition, Protection, Revolution), we have a five-way tie for third place with Luka (Determination, Migration), Mayor Andre (Adoration, Action), Chloe (Deflagration, Collusion), Felix (Emotion, Representation), and Nathalie (Passion, Conformation), who all got the award twice, and a ten-way tie for fourth place with Alya (Multiplication), Xuppu (Destruction), Mr. Damocles (Jubiliation), Nino (Illusion), Joan of Arc (Reunion), Ice Cream Man Andre (Elation), Kagami (Perfection), Kim (Derision), and Tomoe (Pretension) each getting the award once.

And with that, we're done with Season 5. It's been a long road, but all I can say is...

youtube

At least, until the analysis and ranking posts.

202 notes · View notes

radiant-reid · 2 years

Text

Three

A/n: I didn't include 13x01 even though it happens right after, just because i wanted this more focused on the characters than the plot so that's why it's not here.

request (simplified): spencer and reader had started dating before everything went down and when he is taken to prison she finds out she's pregnant. The only person that knows is Emily and she doesn't want to tell spencer because it would just cause him pain to be locked inside. By the time he gets out, she already has a bump but he assumes she moved on with someone else. Once it is over she asks him to talk, he tries to tell her he understands and that he is happy for her so that's when she's like "spence, it's yours".

Summary: Three wishes, three requests, three things to say, and three people

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader (angst then fluff)

Content Warning: pregnancy, prison arc, maeve arc

Word Count: 3.1k

Masterlist Navigation

From the moment Y/n found out that Spencer had been arrested in Mexico, her life had been Hell.

There was irrational anger initially, wondering why he hadn't told her about the times he left the country on his personal passport while they were spending nights together in her apartment. Then sadness that he didn't trust her enough despite their regular morning coffee dates.

And then fear.

And with fear: helplessness.

Because despite the love she had for him making her feel like her whole world was complete, it became increasingly apparent that there was nothing she could do to help him.

She can barely stand looking at him- for her own self-preservation- when he comes into the BAU after a lengthy legal battle with the Mexican police, and calling in potentially every favor they're owed.

It was the most stressed Y/n has been in her entire life, and she knows she has to do something to alleviate it. Unfortunately, halving the problem means sharing the problem, and she finds herself walking up the steps to Emily's office as soon as she's in instead of being by Spencer's side.

"Y/n, hi." Emily ushers her in, walking away from her desk and sitting on the couch. The look on Y/n's face tells Emily she needs a friend, not a boss. "I've been meaning to ask how you are."

Y/n picks up on the careful phrasing. Emily's not teasing them for the relationship she suspects exists. She's worried about her friend and not wanting to push her too far.

Y/n doesn't know how to say it. Emily has been his friend for almost a decade, through a faked death, reunion, and years spent apart.

So she blurts it out. "We're in a relationship, and I'm pregnant."

Emily can't control the surprise in her facial expression, eyebrows raising and jaw-dropping. She had really only considered Y/n would tell her they were dating, that she was scared for Spencer's well-being because he was more than a friend, not that she was scared of his well-being because he's a soon-to-be father.

Emily reaches out to touch her hand, squeezing it softly to comfort her. "Does he know?" She asks, even though she thinks she knows the answer.

Spencer would have mentioned it. There was nothing more he wanted than to be a father. They had discussed it after Henry was born, when he turned 30, during JJ's wedding, when she saw the team after Morgan left, and when she came back after Hotch left.

"No." Y/n answers, lightly crying. She wasn't sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or the fact her baby daddy was in prison.

"It will be okay," Emily assures her, wrapping Y/n in a hug. "I promise, we will get him out of there."

They both know she can't make that promise.

They both don't comment on it.

"I, uh- h-he said he needed to go to Houston for his mom." Y/n starts telling the story between tears and resultant hiccups. "And he called me that night, but I didn't pick up." That was something she'd been feeling guilty about, knowing that if she answered, they would have gotten one last conversation together. "So he left me a voicemail saying he'd be home the next day. I was busy putting a surprise box together for him. It's got the cutest onesie that says 'hi, daddy.'" Emily smiles with her, and it's only then that she realizes she's also crying. "I actually went a little overboard, so you all have carefully selected onesies waiting for you." She's smiling a little, trying to readjust her focus onto something happier. It's quickly spoilt. "And then we were back here."

"I'm so sorry," Emily says, hugging her again. "And I'm really happy for you, Y/n. You're going to be the best mom ever."

That makes Y/n chuckle slightly. "Don't let JJ hear you say that."

She shrugs with her own grin. "She'll get over it." She jokes. "Seriously, whatever you need, I am here for you. Anytime."

"You couldn't break my baby daddy out of jail, could you?" Y/n jokes so she doesn't break down again. Spencer told her she had a problem with that, but she's slipped back into old habits because that's what helps.

"We'll get him out," Emily assures her again. "And sweet baby L/n or Reid or L/n-Reid or Reid-L/n will have a very present dad."

"I hope he or she will have a very present godmother, too," Y/n says, confusing Emily. "Hopefully one who doesn't fake her death again..."

Emily understands that, and her surprise is happy that time. "It would be an honor. Also, I did attend an Ivy and Spencer didn't."

That makes her laugh through her tears again. "That was on my pros list." She jokes.

"You have to stay with me, though." Emily insists. She can't stomach the thought of her friend being alone, sad and pregnant. "Or I can stay with you."

Seeing her apartment has been difficult for Y/n. Every single inch of it reminds her of Spencer. "Yours." She requests. "And thank you. I appreciate it."

"Of course." Emily nods before her face changes to a more concerned expression. "What do you think about telling him?"

That question had been on her mind for a while. "How is he, Em? Honestly."

She picks at her fingernail and it's the response Y/n was desperately not hoping for. "He's not good." It's not a lie, but it is a drastic understatement.

"He can't know." She decides, and Emily breathes a silent sigh of relief at not having to talk her out of the decision to tell him. "But what about them?" She questions, nodding to the door.

"That doesn't have to be right now," Emily assures her. "Whenever you're ready."

Y/n tries to slow her rapidly beating heart and shallow breathing. Talking about it had not helped at all. "Okay." She says calmly. "Let's get to working getting him out of there."

They get to work every day, trying to get Spencer out while working their usual caseload. Y/n doesn't notice much of a difference in being pregnant besides all the stressing and then the stressing about stressing and what that's doing to the baby on top of it. And the increased fatigue. She wishes she had Spencer there every moment, and imagining his reaction is the only thing that helps her keep going.

When she starts showing, she has to tell everyone else, so Emily calls them into the briefing room.

"Is this about Spencer?" JJ asks, the concern on her face mirroring everyone else's when Emily and Y/n walk in.

"Sort of," Emily says, only confusing them more.

Y/n speaks softly as she breaks the news. "I'm pregnant, it's Spencer's, and he cannot know."

Their faces all change to unreadable expressions aside from Penelope who's trying to control her excitement. It's difficult to know if the right thing to do is to hug and congratulate her like they would have done in normal circumstances since Spencer's in jail, and it's clearly not an ideal situation.

"Congratulations," JJ says first, noticing Y/n's increasingly alarmed expression. She's also always known Spencer wanted to be a dad, and she gets up to hug her friend tightly.

Everyone follows after that, having a moment of delight in amongst the chaos of Spencer's arrest. They don't even bother to let money change hands on their bets if they were a couple. Rossi won, though, and he doesn't need the money.

Things get messier the longer Spencer is in prison. They all know he's struggling, and they all try and avoid telling Y/n, but she knows every time Emily steps out of the room to take a phone call that something has happened. And it's never something good.

After three long months of torture, Spencer's out. His final challenge is saving his mom and then getting the girl, but after all that he's been through, it doesn't seem insurmountable.

He hugs JJ, Luke, and Penelope at the prison, holding them for extra long to readjust to the feeling. He's too grateful to be out to be wishing Y/n was there. Every single freedom, he's going to be appreciative of.

Then there's the drive back to the BAU, a drive he's taken many, many times before. Penelope's as happy as she can be, all things considered, and chatty, telling him about all that he's missed. He knew how much he underestimated being able to call her up and hear something witty made his day better, so seeing her in person is incredible.

One key person she's leaving out is Y/n.

He's had a lot of time to think in prison. It's basically all he does, and when he's not thinking about how to survive or trying to remember the events of the motel room, he's thinking about her.

They weren't labeled when he went to Mexico. Somehow he had a way of falling in love without labels, but this time it wasn't going to end with her dead on a warehouse floor.

He's hoping his luck will come in threes when he wishes for his mom's safe return and for Y/n to be interested in him. She was before, she'd told him a million times, but he knows his whole world has changed, so all he can do is pray that they still sync.

"How is she?" Spencer asks when Penelope finishes complaining about how annoying Luke has been. He and JJ share a look in response to Luke's fond expression.

"She's..." Penelope's never been good at keeping secrets, but she would never cross the line with this. Not when it's not trivial gossip about the third-floor white-collar crime team. "You need to talk with her." She settles on an answer, approved by JJ and Luke's nods.

The pit of dread hits his stomach. It doesn't ever sound good when someone wants to talk. It's even worse when that person is your former or possibly still girlfriend.

It's when he sees her in the board room that he knows what Penelope means.

Y/n's pregnant.

Obviously pregnant.

And his heart plummets as fast as his stomach does.

Spencer's mouth goes dry in the search for something to say to her. There's nothing he can articulate as much as he wants to scream that he's in love with her. He cannot afford the time to ask her about it, and he cannot afford the heartbreak of learning she's already moved on, having someone else's baby.

He has been wishing he could go back in time for a while, but nothing like seeing her bump makes him furious he hasn't built a time machine. She's everything he ever wanted, and he longs to be everything she wants.

Then Cat is having his baby, and that is something he never expected to say, but the obsessive psychopath is taunting him with comments about his baby. He wants her to shut up, so he can close his eyes, touch her, and pretend it's his baby with Y/n. His paternal desire has never waved until he realizes he can't love the baby inside her, even if it is his when Y/n's also bringing a baby into the world.

Maybe she'll let him be an uncle, best case scenario a godfather. Still, that means he'll permanently have to be part of the guy who gets to live his dream life. He'll watch them raise the sweetest baby, babysit so they can go out on date nights, and maybe watch them get married. Every one of those thoughts jeprodizes the happiness he thought he could get back.

And he can't blame her for it. Who wants to wait for a convict? Maybe, he decides, she thought he was guilty, and even though he got released, there's no coming back from that.

He's forced to push it down and ignore all those dark feelings until this nightmare is over, which feels improbable. When his mom is recovered safely, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief at some of his problems being solved.

He stays with her until she falls asleep, guilt-ridden and assuring her she's safe. When she is asleep, there's a nagging urge in his brain to leave and go see Y/n. He just wants to congratulate her as a friend. Or that's what he tells himself. And it's most of the reason, but he wants to scout her boyfriend to make sure he's good enough for her.

"Hi." She says, opening the door and stepping to the side. "I was going to call you tomorrow. Well, technically today."

She's had the burning urge to touch him since she saw him but she resists, not knowing where they stand.

Spencer's not used to having his watch on his wrist, so he checks it. "Oh, it's late, I'm sorry. I can go." He offers, and it's more so he can avoid the discussion rather than her comfort.

Y/n shakes her head, sitting down on the couch. He notices how similar everything looks, like she's still the only one that lives there.

He looks awkward just standing there, next to the massive elephant they're ignoring, so she directs him next to her. "Sit, Spence, please."

Spencer wants to pace, it's become his way to relieve stress without anything to distract him, but he does what she says, wanting to please her as much as possible.

"How are you?" She asks, although it's a stupid question. Not only because he's clearly not well, but because he's going to tell her he's fine.

"I'm not mad at you," Spencer tells her, no longer able to suppress his thoughts. He's been running over what to say, but when he starts talking, any perfected speech is torn to shreds. She gives him a skeptical look, like she's questioning why he could be upset, and he feels even more like an idiot for assuming he's still allowed to feel things for her. "I came to say congratulations. I want you to be happy, and I'm so thrilled that you're having a baby. I understand why you couldn't be with me. It would have been selfish for me to ask you to wait. I'm glad you moved on, and being in your life, as a friend is all I can ask for." He stops before he runs out of breath which also helps him not say something stupid.

Y/n's still looking at him like he's an idiot, and she is kind of wondering if he is one, but her face changes when she understands the connections in his thoughts.

Two things stick in her head; Spencer doesn't think the baby is his, and he believes she could love someone else. Both are wildly untrue.

"Can you wait here?" She asks, her heart rate quickening a little now that she has to tell him what she thought was obvious.

Spencer nods apprehensively, anticipating her next move as bringing out her boyfriend to meet him. To his surprise, she comes out with a lilac box, shallower than a shoe box but with a bigger cross-sectional area.

She hands it to him with shaky hands, but the most significant indicator of her nervousness is how she's biting her bottom lip. It worries Spencer. Everything stresses him anyway, but over the past few months, when people are nervous, it means something alarming has happened.

So he tears his eyes away from her to open it cautiously. He could not have been more surprised by the content; a tiny onesie, miniature Converse, a giraffe toy, a positive pregnancy test, and an ultrasound picture.

"This is for you." She tells him.

He looks up at her, and she's crying, and he's crying, and it's a mess, but it is perfect.

"I'm going to be a dad?" He confirms, sobbing.

"You're going to be the best dad." She corrects, trying to wipe up her tears as his fingers trace over the words on the onesie delicately. "Spencer, I could never love anyone the way I love you, and I cannot imagine having a baby with anyone else."

"I thought you were with someone else." He admits bashfully.

She shakes her head, reaching out for his hand. She's missed touching him, feeling his soft skin in hers. "I'm in love with you." She reminds him, knowing he's going to need to hear it more than once.

"I'm in love with you, too," Spencer says, cupping her cheeks and gently kissing her. The kiss is slow and full of the longing they've had for months. He pulls back with the widest smile he's had for months. "Anything you need, Y/n, I'll do it. Are you eating? Vitamins? Water? Ultrasounds?"

Y/n giggles at how quickly he's moved to dad mode. "There's only three things I want." She tells him, earning a nod from a dedicated Spencer. "Firstly, no more impromptu trips to Mexico." She says it like a joke because they both know he'd never do that again. "And I want to live with you. I really don't want our baby to grow up in two different houses and I want you to see him or her every day."

"Yes." He agrees before divulging into rambling, excited words trying to keep up with how he's feeling. "My mom is going back to Las Vegas, so we can m we can live in my apartment or yours. Actually, we should just get a house. A proper house near good schools with a yard. I'll find some, but I really don't care where we live, as long as we're together."

"Slow down." She says, squeezing his hand. "We'll figure it all out." She assures him.

He nods, letting the best type of chaos continue in his head. "There's one more thing." He realizes.

"There is." She agrees, moving his hand until it touches her bump. "Feel our baby."

Spencer's crying again as he gets off the couch and kneels in front of her, pushing up her top and gently holding the developing bump. "Hi, sweet baby." He says softly. "I love you so much, your mom is a superhero, and I cannot wait to meet you." Those are the three most important things he can think to say.

It's impossible for Y/n not to cry when Spencer is so Spencer, and all the hormones inside her don't help. He gets up before leaning down to cup her cheeks and lead her into a kiss.

"You've made me the happiest I've ever been in my life." He tells her sincerely.

"Well, I kind of intend on doing that for a little while longer, if that's okay." She offers.

Spencer acts like he's considering it before landing on his answer. "Yeah, okay."

Tell me what you think

Taglist

Join here

@anonymous-reading @bingereid @measure-in-pain @archer561 @la-vie-en-amour1 @cynbx @spencers-dria @hardpartybasketballshepherd @ilovespencerreidmarryme @mrsobrien888 @parahmur @averyhotchner @honkroselyn @randomwriter1021 @bunnyweasley23 @rebeccasoutlook @teenwaywardasgardian @bubb1eana1ee @icequeen6666 @are-y0u-sirius @psychomanias @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @jswessie187 @k-gallacher @morganwilliams @vaella1821 @ndubes04 @juneballoon999 @tiaras-amongst-trash @onceinadifferentdimension @criminal-reid @yikesyikesyikes95 @80strashbag @ilovespencerreidmarryme @citylights31 @ssavanessa22 @thedancingnerdmermaid @doctorspenceryeet @camreid @canadailluminate @lethpartridge @ssagube @spencerreid-mgg @nightlockcornucopia @allexthakatt @silverhetdanes @aperrywilliams @g-l-pierce @reidswhoree @beepbooptoop @silverhetdanes @kyanyakya @katiejozeisler @matthewwhore @megnotfound @80strashbag @mrsobrien888 @morganwilliams @j-cat @440mxs-wife @hueycat2004 @gspenc @icurasthefallenangel @iheartspence @ssavanessa22 @bisexual-virgin @thecraziestcrayon @katesreading @cance1medaddy @kuolonsyoja @alexlovescriminalminds @kahootlobbymusic @nomajdetective @idonotexiste @drayshadow @justalittleweirdoo @a-little-bit-of-everything19 @spencesscarf @lhhluvr @holding-on-to-my-youth @averyhotchner @mugi-chwan95 @gspenc @navs-bhat @idkbubs @mochionly @nessy-nygma @nani-2305 @casfellinlovewithhumanity @shinyanchorface @nbyrd390 @drayshadow @hot-dino-nuggies @averyhotchner @simonsbluee @collectiveuniverses @meggie-m00n @allthecolorsneverseen @sassymoon @nomajdetective @exmachina187 @exhaleli @lucymfer @stumbleonmywords @reeid @hopefullawyerfishprofessor @graktung @sir1usblacksgf @pinkcoffeecup @luckyladycreator2 @fairyellieee @malboroniightz @kateyee @corefleur @maybe-not-this @starrylang @citylights31 @baby-bi-bi-bi-yeah @ssa-uglywhore27 @kitkatkaitin @rocketxgirl @navs-bhat @bellarkeselection @strugglingtodoshit @joy-soul-gallery @venomsvl @harry-is-my-sunflower @luckyladycreator2 @egglantine23 @holding-on-to-my-youth @misselsbells06 @starrylang @lokisel @gryffi-ndor @lilibet261@idkbubs @slutalexis46 @glimmering-darling-dolly @kodiakwhiskey @rocketxgirl @mochionly @goldentournesol @xdsage @missusstark @spaceygirly1 @holding-on-to-my-youth @insomniacbeth @nbyrd390 @shirleyrose @airedale17 @tanyaherondale @buckys-estrella @geekykeen @lovingsherlockmolly @rory-cakes @muwun-blossom @jetblckdreams @i-wanna-be-conan-obrien @reidsbookmark @way-too-addicted-to-fandoms @idfvc @sammypotato67 @tanyaherondale @1-800-brain-and-heart @stcrrjoon @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @wholesome-beans @frickin-bats @chaoticevilbakugo @goldeng1rl8 @arrowurboat @itzyourgurlnihya @belongwithreid @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @spencer-reids-mismatched-socks @addievermore @harrymybelovedd @chimpmunk @i3k2ts @axen-gers @gxrlwithluv @finny-of-the-rear @greengarsstuff @altsvu @jakiki94 @narryl0ver @justreadingficsdontmindme @hobireasns @goldentournesol @kbakery @kaitieskidmore1 @twofacesoftheworldbutnotsome @chaoticconnoisseurgiver @kbakery @twofacesoftheworldbutnotsome @geekykeen @thisbitch-6 @andreead @kayleea122 @xoxospencerreid @dirtytissuebox @xoxospencerreid @jaydahlynne @sultrypotter @awhoreforspencerreid @sprinh @doe-eyed-fallen-angel @kamilaxq @beans-beanz @malindacath @halloween-is-my-nationality @kenny-0909 @mexicosuitrry @lucyysthings @iheartfinnthehuman101 @vane28282 @mente-sindescanso @lucyysthings @tatespillows @cecethoughts @manuosorioh @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @barbietiingz @grandhideoutavenue @feelinlento @i3k2ts @malindacath @luredwithpretzels @sanaz1dlol @ant-mans-tacos @mente-sindescanso @yumuramma @bubblebuttwade @bellarkeselection @spenceswifewhore @barbiekatz @itseightbeats @neptunes-curse @sucker1-1punch @nyx2021 @stilinski-void-04 @dirtytissuebox @daydreaminrry @mysticfalls01 @furiousladyking @gildedstarlight @halloween-is-my-nationality @reidsmexyconverse @scargarcia-magshotchner @wdytminy @rio-reid-whoreee @lovelyxtom @b3ast1706 @slvdsjjk @beenz-beenz @alltoowell-lilysversion @la-reine-des-enfers @mochi-moons @itzliyalupin @queenofrandom @ryswritingrecord @ynbutbetter @thxtmarvelchick @allthingsfashionn @justlivinginadaydream @liltimmyst @catertotshitposts @max-mml @crynroom @sugarcoated-lame @lilibet261 @bts-sugaplum @dezibou @a-marlene-s @crynroom @tracysnook @spencersprettyslut@alexxavicry @reidingspence@melonmochi @thicksexxualtension @haylexo10 @rosaliedepp @bport76 @dirtytissuebox @itsmekarlam @saintnourah @liltimmyst @mikkelsenlover @spencer-reid-wonderland @dirtytissuebox @esoltis280 @berenicexd @lyn07 @crynroom @taysatlantic @alphabetbarnes @4margaritasalex @esoltis280 @namelesslizz @allisonslibrary @suckmyass-things @jasminesacademia @happymangospot @devilslilbabysblog / @bunny-script / @pauline5525mgg @fanf1ctionwrit1n @j-cat @captainhotchner @ceeellewrites / @randommmguerr / @sinnxagain / @goofygubler7 / @alotdreamers / @resident-boygenius / @nibb @gublerstwilight @iamreallytryingiswear @gublur @countingthestarsinfinitely @actingchica @illegallygingerr @uhuhuh @alexxavicry @probablycryingg @black-veil-baby @uwu-queen-420 @one-sweet-gubler @buckys-doll17 @gubedawnreid @ummvengers @parahmur @whovianayesha @love3babies @simonsnowsblog @geekykeen @allthingsfashionn @spideyjass @flipperpenguins @j4sephluv @sophneedsfandoms @asantos7783 @hotchandspencearedilfs @sammypotato67 @dimpledsmilex3 @altogeek16 @nervous-plant @safespacespence @maraudersminds @bakugouswh0r3 @ilovespencerreidmarryme @fangirling-galore @ah-blossom @matthewgraygublerlover @happypixy380 @alohastitch0626 @nyx2021 @assemblemotherfuckers @hwngslove @helen-with-an-a @sia2raw @hufflepuffwhore13 @pastelbabygirl19 @chazubagi @spencerreidsmommy @blomfildsbeauty @urbestgrrl @hagridsmomma @alexxavicry @eichenhouseproperty @langcvn @paperbackprettyboy @spencersprettyslut @devilslilbabysblog @padf00ts-l0ver @pancake2603 @lonnie2390147 @nyenye @mrshoranhmm @honey-stark @an0bra1n @jordierama @bellenotthebeast @darkenwolfie

#spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid fandom #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fic #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fandom #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds angst #spencer reid one shot

2K notes · View notes

lurkingshan · 4 months

Text

Love for Love's Sake Episodes 7 & 8

Well holy shit, that went in some directions I never imagined, and it was very dark indeed. I can't believe this intriguing little show is already over. So let's unpack what happened here.

My interpretation of everything we learned in these final episodes is that Myungha already died by suicide in the real world after a series of hardships, including the death of his grandmother, a long-term struggle with depression, and rejection from his ex and his mother, and the author gave him a chance to live again in the game world. The ending suggests he will now stay in the game world with Yeowoon and get another chance at life where his core objective is to make himself happy, and any expectation we had that he would have to return to the real world is out the window, because his life there has already ended.

But what exactly is this game world? I don't think we'll ever fully know for sure. Certainly, the show did not explain the how of it, or tie together all the vignettes we saw of Myungha and the author discussing their philosophy on life in a clear throughline to how we got to the game. The game world was purportedly based on the author's fictional novel, but all along it has taken on the features of Myungha's real life, including all the significant people we saw in his first life flashbacks. His grandma is here, his mother is here, his ex is even here in the guise of Yeowoon's agent. Myungha's memories and consciousness seem to inform the way this world was built, even as he did not create it. The author is given the role of Creator, somehow designing this world for Myungha to try to find happiness via seeking to make someone with very similar experiences to his happy.

Now, on this point, I don't think everything that happened in the original iteration of the game totally holds up. The way the author was messing with Myungha and forcing cruel choices on him really does not track with a desire to help him find happiness, and the point where Yeowoon seems to discover the game and somehow intervene to pull Myungha back in was lacking some clarity. And I wish the show had grounded us in Myungha's experiences earlier on rather than holding everything back for the sake of mystery--I do think that choice got in the way of a more coherent emotional arc for our protagonist.

But despite those quibbles, I still was able to connect with Myungha's struggles. This is a boy who has been so mired in his own misery that he doesn't know how to let anyone else in. He is too afraid to trust and let someone care for him in the way he cares for others. I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle him when his own emotional paralysis caused him to destroy the game--Yeowoon was telling him exactly what he needed, but he couldn't find the strength within himself to give it to him. And this is why knowing Yeowoon is exactly what he needed to see a different path for himself, because Yeowoon has experienced many of the same hurts but still finds within himself the ability to trust and rely on Myungha. Yeowoon is the stronger of the two of them, and Myungha needed to learn from him to overcome his own cowardice. Their happy reunion in the game world felt earned, and I believe in Myungha's ability to try again at both life and this relationship without holding back this time.

This show definitely wasn't perfect, but it really did some interesting things and left us with a lot to think about. I am looking forward to reading everyone else's interpretations of these final episodes, and Myungha and Yeowoon will be staying with me for a long time.

#love for love's sake #korean bl #kdrama #shan shouts into the void

130 notes · View notes

angeart · 2 months

Text

hhau mimic arc rambles - part II: reunion

(~3,4 k words) // part I here // au masterpost here --

After being left out in the open, weakened and alone, without supplies or his cloak, wings on full bright display, Grian… isn’t doing so well.

He barely survived the attack. He scrambled so much to defend himself. He used the arrow (the one that was once buried in his thigh; the one he kept because it was sharp-edged and better than nothing). There was so much blood. It was all so horrible.

Now he finds himself alone and cold and terrified, bleeding. Everything hurts and he doesn’t know where Scar is—

Where is Scar?

... Did Scar leave him?

Scar wouldn’t leave him, right? (He doesn’t want to believe it. But the possibility that Scar might be in danger, somewhere far away from Grian, is absolutely dreadful.)

The camp is empty when Grian stumbles back into it, and the ribbon is gone, and— Maybe Scar did replace him, after all? Got rid of the burden of Grian’s violet wings, chose the path of least resistance, opted for survival instead of trying to constantly fight against Grian’s doomed fate?

Grian is so scared and confused. Worried sick too, but he feels abandoned and doesn’t know where to go. He misses that fabric on his wrist. He feels so so alone.

He tries waiting, for a while. But it’s dangerous to stay put and, eventually, he’s forced to move. And it almost feels familiar, in some awful way—it’s as if he was plunged back into his first week in this world. Hostile and cruel and nightmarish, with no reprieve, no kindness, no gentleness. No warmth to curl against, no hands to hold him steady, no safety net beneath his wobbly feet. Except he’s worn down by months in this world. And it’s colder now. And on top of that, he’s already wounded horribly.

He scrambles from place to place, leaving a trail of blood that he’s sure someone can trace. He tries so hard to hide himself, to lose any potential pursuers, but—

But a part of him wants to leave a trace. A part of him keeps hopelessly wishing that Scar might be out there, looking for him.

As days pass, that seems less and less likely.

Grian barely sleeps, reverting to old habits of wings pressed tightly against harsh surfaces in an attempt to hide them, surrendering the very much needed warmth they could provide if only he wrapped them around himself instead. He shivers, exhaustedly alert to every little sound. Dizzy and hurting and terrified.

He’s got nothing left now. Being with Scar feels like less of a memory and more of a fever dream. He's so sure it’ll now forever be this: him, lost alone in this vast forest, running until he can’t anymore. It will be the cold, or the hunger, injuries, or the hunters—something will inevitably bring him down, soon.

He misses Scar.

He hopes Scar is okay.

(He tries not to think about how he wishes this would all just end.) (He tries not to sink too much into exhausted, hopeless despair.) (He tries to dredge up his pesky resistance, any sort of spite against fate that could fuel him to just keep going, keep surviving.)

It’s a harsh week. He gets into more fights, each of them bleak and panic-filled and horrible. (A lot of the scars he later has—including the one on his face—come from this week spent alone.) He’s so, so tired. It all hurts. He’s scared.

When it happens, he’s curled up, hurt and bruised, face dirty and bloodied, body shaking from the cold, stomach twisted with hunger. All of a sudden he jolts, thinking he heard something distant that sounded like Scar’s voice. And he doesn’t know if he’s imagining things, because at this point that seems more likely than this being real, but he still can’t help himself as something urgent swells in him, begging him to reply, to call back.

He tries to call for Scar, but his voice falters and fails. His throat is so dry. He hasn’t made a sound in days.

Scar’s voice moves further away and Grian panics. He scrambles, unfurling his sore wings. Everything aches, his balance is off, but he tries to get up anyway. Desperate, he lets out a cry—a loud, sob-like sound, the only one still willing to wrangle itself from his throat.

And then he does something he hasn’t done in months: he spreads his wings further, and he tries to fly.

The branches are thick, and Grian’s wings don’t really carry him, and in his blind desperation, he quickly crashes against a tree. His wing spikes with pain and he tumbles harshly to the ground, but he doesn’t pay it any attention.

Panicked desperation keeps flooding his veins as he’s sprawled on the forest floor, his own body not listening to him as his lungs edge hyperventillation. Because— Because Scar was there but he was moving away and Grian couldn’t follow and he’s— he’s—

He’s just going to die here, isn’t he?

The trees rustle. There’s a loud noise Grian can’t quite decipher, but it doesn’t matter.

All that registers is danger.

Danger danger danger danger

It’s only ever been those horrible creatures. Nothing good approaches from the sky here. Grian’s made too much noise, and now they’ve found him, and he can’t fight, not anymore, not again, please—

A series of panicked, frantic chirps spills out of him on nothing but blind instinct as he tries to back away, press against something, flatten against the ground, anything.

His wings are bright. He doesn’t have a cloak. He can’t hide. He can't run.

He doesn't stand a chance.

He can’t do anything as the source of danger swoops down on him.

---

When Scar left Juni, he was a mess of conflicted emotions, the hurt and betrayal fresh and wildly flaring. But as he keeps moving, those emotions get overrun by others that spread through him like a wildfire: the rage, the desperation, the fear.

He doesn’t know where to go.

He doesn’t know if Grian’e even alive.

With heart torn to pieces in his chest and nothing but feeble, foolish hope—and an insane amount of blind recklessness—he clutches the ribbon, spreads out his tattered wings, and leaps up, scaling the trees to get as high as he can. The morning light is soft, pale and gentle, interspersed with fog that obscures everything further in a cottony haze.

Scar’s wings struggle to carry him, but he doesn’t care. He needs to go. He needs to go, and this is the fastest way, and—

He’d do anything right now. Anything to find Grian.

Desperately, he tries to feel the tug of their connection; the dark fabric of the ribbon prickles against his grip in silent accusation and Scar begs it to lead him. Yet there’s nothing to help him pick a direction; he simply scrambles in whichever way feels right.

He hollers. It’s not a word, just a cry. A call.

He really shouldn’t be loud, shouldn’t heedlessly drag attention to himself, but he doesn’t care what he attracts. The only thing that matters is that he also attracts Grian.

It feels futile. The world is vast and Scar doesn’t even know which direction him and Juni took, because he was continuously dosed with weakness. He doesn’t know how to get back to where he saw Grian last. (Days ago—)

He flies and glides and leaps, yelling, heart feeling like it’s going to explode in his chest.

And then he hears it.

A sob. A wretchedly (wonderfully) familiar sob.

His ears twitch rapidly, latching onto that. His whole body whips backwards midair, almost making him tumble completely. Frantically, in a haze of vex magic that edges on feral, he delves in the direction where he heard it.

He knows he’s near when his ears flick, catching another sound. Terrified little chirps.

He makes his way down through the trees. Down the branches. Down towards his avian.

---

Grian’s panic breaks the moment he catches sight of those bright spectral wings. Broken. So broken. Tattered and frantic.

Scar is made of sharp claws and fangs and wisps of pale blue magic. He looks like a monster ready to pounce. He looks absolutely nightmarish and terrifying.

Grian’s never been more relieved in his life.

He scrambles forwards. He’s on his hands and knees and his wing throbs and his face is wounded and none of it matters. Scar rushes to meet him, his wings fading before he’s even on the ground, and he practically falls into an embrace. (His claws stay pressed to his palms, careful, so careful. His tail wraps around them as he holds on, holds on, never wanting to let go again.)

They both cling tightly and cry. Grian’s making garbled noises, as if he was trying to say things, but he’s crying too hard to be coherent; he just paws at Scar and clings and burrows into the comforting safety of his arms. (He thought Scar left him.) (He thought Scar got captured.) (He thought Scar was dead.)

Feeling the shivers and cold skin, Scar scrambles to wrap the cloak around Grian, noticing the limp wing in the process. (His heart hurts.)

The familiar weight of the cloak provides such a small but important sense of security. Grian tucks his wings underneath it, even though it hurts, one of the wings twitching and moving wrong. He hisses in pain, but it gets swallowed up by his sobs and crying.

Amidst it all, Scar isn’t doing well—he only just got clear headed from that constant dose of weakness and he’s just majorly overused his magic, slamming into trees as he glided recklessly—but he has to keep pushing through, keep using his magic to be able to function right now, because Grian is the priority here and Scar won’t rest until he knows Grian is safe.

Here isn’t safe. They’re out in the open, after making loads of noise. And— Grian’s hurt. He’s bleeding. It’s so clear that something happened and Scar wasn’t there and— He can’t bear it, can't forgive himself.

Grian looks so cold and small and scared. And even though Scar was dosed with weakness potions, at least he was fed and kept warm. At least he was carefully steered away from danger and into shelters, left to rest. At least he wasn’t alone, terrified out of his mind for his life.

Grian didn’t have any of those luxuries. And there’s no way Scar can undo any of it.

Now Grian presses close to him, desperate to have him be here and be real. Through the crying, something desperate comes through—something that sounds like “Please don’t leave me again.”

With a hitched breath and a heart torn to absolute pieces in his chest, Scar shakes his head. He’s choking on sobs as he babbles, “Never, no no no no, never, never—” Urgently, he tucks the ribbon back into Grian’s hands.

Grian thought he lost it forever. He immediately clings to it, in such a desperate, urgent gesture. Needing to feel it in his grasp, to tell himself that it wasn't lost, that its connection persists. That it still belongs to him. (The ribbon and Scar's heart alike—)

“Yours, yours yours yours.” Scar, too, means more than just the ribbon.

Grian cries so hard he can’t breathe. He’s holding onto the ribbon and pressing himself against Scar and— he’s loud. His sobs carry. He can’t get them under control; it’s just so so raw.

With shaking hands, Scar tries to tie the ribbon around Grian’s wrist, where it belongs. He’s shaking too much, he’s struggling. (Trying to ignore the bruising he sees there. As if someone tried to pin Grian down by his wrist—) He’s babbling incoherently through it all, the words that tumble out of him both reassurances and apologies, repeating that he’s here, he’s here, he’s so sorry. Once he manages to get the ribbon tied, his words stumble through “This is yours, always yours, I’m yours, I’m sorry—”

Grian has no words beyond Scar’s name.

In all of this, Scar’s feeling weird. He wants to scoop Grian up and never let go, but he’s a little afraid of his claws— a little afraid of himself, really. This has never happened quite like this, with the surge of vex magic that borders on feral. He is lucid but off. He still feels a bit like he’s spinning. This is real, right? It’s real?

A frightened squeeze to Grian’s hands is reciprocated with a squeeze back and a whimper. Scar makes a quick decision to pull Grian up, to lift him and hold him tight. (He feels so urgent and needy, desperate and afraid that Grian is going to slip away if he doesn’t hold on tight enough.) He tries not to be rough, but he still feels only barely in control of his own body. And despite the bruises and wounds that litter Grian’s body—despite everything hurting—Grian barely makes a sound of pain, instead tucking himself closely to Scar. Relieved to be held, to feel him so near. Trusting him fully with himself.

Securely holding Grian, Scar breaks into a run. His ears twitch, catching sounds of the forest as he tries to avoid them all. It’s chaotic. It’s all a bit of a blur. He keeps slurring more nonsense to Grian: “Sorry, safe, safe, never again, sorry.” Something broken about “love”.

Once Scar finds a semi-safe place, he kneels down, but he’s hesitant to let Grian go. Everything feels weird and light and he’s terrified it’s a dream he’s waking up from.

Grian isn’t any better, though; he keeps clinging to him, too. Scar was gone for so long and now he’s randomly back? He can’t quite process it; all that he knows is that he’s terrified to let go. (He remembers feeling woozy on weakness potions, and he remembers the deep pit of the fever from that arrow wound way back, and... This feels similar. Like maybe he’s not quite aware, not quite getting things right. Maybe— Maybe Scar isn’t here?)

Grian begs Scar to stay. (He feels like he’s asked that of him before, but it’s hazy in his exhausted mind.)

Scar can feel himself falling from the high of his magic; he feels weak again, confused, distant. But he latches onto that. “I’m not leaving,” he says, suddenly so clear. “He— he tricked me…” his voice wobbles. He feels awful, like a failure. He doesn’t want to think of the mimic ever again. He’s terrified to as well. The fact that he didn’t kill him means he could return—

Grian feels such a tangled mess at that admission. He wonders if Scar felt better with Juni? It took so long for him to realise and go looking for Grian, maybe he was better off with the fake one? It's so... it's so horrible to think that Scar took this long to realise Grian wasn't with him.

Scar still hasn’t let him down, instead falling to his knees entirely and cradling Grian close. He doesn’t want to admit how hard he fell for the trick. He hates himself for it. What if he didn’t find Grian?

His skin feels prickly and odd like his whole body has fallen asleep. He’s numb and weak and heavy and— Is he drugged again?

He wants to provide so many answers but— His skin is pulsing an off whitish blue. And he just croaks, “S–something’s wrong. I don’t feel— Grian. I don’t feel good.”

That singular admission throws Grian into sharp focus, panicked. He ignores his bruises and aches and the cold and tiredness, the wooziness from hunger and thirst—all of it. Instead, he whips to attention, looking Scar over. Trying to get him to tell Grian what’s wrong. (Obviously the colour is wrong—Scar’s not meant to pulsate with magic hue like this. But Grian doesn’t understand it. He’s never seen it. He’s— He’s so scared that this is something he won’t be able to help with, won’t be able to fix.)

Instead of a constructive answer, Scar stammers, slurred: “Did you— he— more potions?” He feels like he’s falling past some edge. His body won’t listen to him. His thoughts are turning fuzzy and staticky and he’s sick to his stomach, thinking about weakness potions.

Grian’s holding his cheeks, trying to keep eye contact. He doesn’t think a potion could do this. He pleads with Scar to tell him what does he need. How can he help?

The genuine concern from Grian horribly reminds Scar of the mimic. The nausea churns in his stomach, acidic, and he feels painfully helpless in this moment as everything seems to slip past his fingers. “Please be real?”

Grian makes a miserable sound, edging a startled sob. Something aborted and strained. His thumbs brush over Scar’s skin and he leans in. “I’m real,” he promises weakly, desperately, sealing it with a soft kiss to Scar’s cheek. And then another one to his temple, and his eyebrow, and his forehead. A swelling build up of helpless heartache translates to hot tears dripping down Grian’s face. “I’m here. You found me. I’m here.”

The tenderness, as well as the easy forwardness of the affection help reassure Scar. Juni wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. He never did. (Maybe Scar should’ve realised sooner—)

Grian’s fingers brush over Scar’s cheeks. His touch is featherlight, gentle, as if he was worried Scar will break underneath his fingertips. (Scar’s skin still pulsates, a sickly hue that reminds Grian of those awful, rotting vines they found in a cave so many months ago.) (He doesn’t know what’s wrong with Scar and it terrifies him.) His breath hitches, and then he finds himself saying, “Please don’t leave me.” His voice cracks. It’s so awful.

The words snap Scar to attention—as much as he can currently manage. “God— No. No, not leaving.” The flickering hue of magic across Scar's skin speeds up, like a panicky heartbeat stuttering out of rhythm.

The change frightens Grian and he scrambles to make things better, in any way he can. He thinks maybe they need to stop panicking first. Maybe— Maybe they both just need to take a deep breath. Surely they could both benefit from some proper breathing.

He suggests just that, and it does help somewhat. The flickering slows and steadies and almost fades, and Grian moves to pepper Scar’s face with soft kisses, tiny and light and greedy. And wet. Because he can't seem to stop crying.

Grian’s own cheek throbs with his unhealed wound, but he doesn’t pay it any attention. He just needs— He needs Scar to be okay, and he needs him to be right here with him, and he needs both of them to believe that this is real.

With deliberation, he moves his hands to brush them over Scar’s ears, knowing full well how sensitive they are. Remembering Scar’s flush, that very first time, and the way his ears twitched underneath Grian’s touch. A weak, destabilised chuckle precedes his strained words, ready to break. “Remember when I did this before?”

Scar barks out a little laugh at that. And… it helps. It helps to hear Grian bringing up a private, intimate memory they both share.

And then all of a sudden, he’s begging for forgiveness. “I messed up. I’d… I’d never leave you, Grian.” Even with a leaden, exhausted body, he pulls together enough strength to graze his fingers over the wound on Grian’s face, his touch gentle and sad.

Grian falls quiet for a moment, breaths still tripping in his throat, coming out shaky. “I thought— I thought you—” He can’t say it.

“Never.”

Exhaling, Grian falls against Scar. He curls up and presses into the crook of his neck.

Scar still feels tingly and strange and light, but it’s almost pleasant now. Like he could pretend it’s from Grian and not overextertion. Like it’s just silly nerves. And even though he wants nothing more but to collapse, to curl up with Grian in his arms and drift off to sleep, he can’t. He can’t have that.

Because Grian’s wounded, and hungry, and so horribly exhausted, and Scar needs to patch him up and grant him some safety. He needs to try to clean Grian’s wounds. (On next to no supplies.) He needs to get him to eat something. (He doesn’t have anything to offer; he fled Juni so fast, unable to think past Grian might be dying right now.) He needs to let Grian rest, after a week of horror; he needs to take watch and let Grian sleep. (He’s so, so tired, the magic overuse weighing him down in a way that makes him almost certain he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.)

This feels familiarly miserable.

But Grian isn’t dying.

He isn’t dying, and Scar found him, and they’re together. And he won’t let anything separate them ever again.

(But he might not have a choice.)

#hhau #ange rambles #ange writes #i borrowed a lot of link's words for scar's bits <3 #credit where credit's due #scarian #these rambles were long overdue #this was meant to be only like #half of the stuff #but i got carried away with details and it got too long #so there will be part THREE that is the aftermath of this disaster #and i'll also separate the bit about what happened to our li'l mimic friend #(friend might be a questionable word to use)#dw about that ending #that's not relevant to the mimic arc at all #>:3c hehe

74 notes · View notes

rizs-briefcase · 5 months

Text

Fantasy high junior year, predictions/wishlist.

More Fig/Fabian one on one moments, and more Riz/Kristin. I’m obsessed with these duos and I feel we don’t get them nearly enough.

Gorgug changes subclass + puts more level into artificer

More Pok gukgak. Whole family reunion. (I just really love him)

More Riz sexuality scenes; this is important to me because he’s my favourite and I’m aroace. Just give me more.

A couple break up. ( moneys on Kristen/tracker but gorgug/Zelda are a contender)

Ragh love interest!!! Please!!

The bad kids trying to find prom dates (I saw someone else say this and I truly need it)

Another queer arc idc if we’ve had a bunch I want more.

Bad kids parents wedding

Gilear dies, again

Something involving porter

Just more aelwyn , I’m very excited for her sort of redemption arc as such

They all have pretty bad ptsd from the nightmare forest

Domestic nights at mordred manor , like movie night (this is more a request than a prediction)

More of Zayn Darkshadow , and his friendship with Adaine.

A Kristen arc with her brothers, like she left her home because it was unsafe for her but she cared about her brothers so much. She must be feeling SOMETHING about leaving them there

Riz gets a tail. I want that little fucker to have his tail grow in god please

Riz wears a beanie now. (Thank YOU for this suggestions because god I need it).

The cubby family make an appearance!

Gorgug spends some time with his biological parents

Sandra Lynn gets her shit together

#I absolutely have more but this is what we’re going with rn #dimension 20 #fantasy high #intrepid heroes #brennan lee mulligan #fhsy #riz gukgak #adaine abernant #fabian seacaster #gorgug thistlespring #kristen applebees #fig faeth

137 notes · View notes

kaizenproductions · 1 month

Text

Natsu does NOT have any previous experience with romantic love

This is the (better) Tumblr version of my post from Twitter. Given the format of this website, I'll add some details to what's already written.

Before starting with this, I want to clarify that the motivation to write this post has little to do with nalu itself (it will be mentioned to highlight a point though). Having previous romantic partners DOESN'T really make any ship invalid. You'll find the actual reason behind this essay under the cut below.

This is about how Natsu, as a character, is never presented or seen by others as someone who has experience with love and such idea is never hinted or implied anywhere in the canon material. This lack of experience explains why Lucy thinks he has no interest in it.

As we will see later, Lucy isn't the only one who thinks like this... Let's get started.

Year 2024. Why writing all this? Some weeks ago I was involved in a discussion about whether Natsu was being OOC during a filler (non canon) scene of the anime where he snaps at Lucy in a way he never does with any of his friends in canon material. The discussion led to this...

I didn't want to assume that this person was taking Lisanna as some kind of first love. At the end it turned out that was exactly what was happening. The proof? The most platonic reunion ever... with Happy reacting the same way as Natsu and comedy being included. It is important to highlight that Mashima never makes two people between whom there have been romantic feelings reunite like this, with comedy references in between that downplays the seriousness of the moment to some extent. While this post is about Natsu and his feelings, I could also mention Lisanna's reaction to this, something that proves that there wasn't even a one sided love: after noticing this Natsu is the same one from her real dimension, she doesn't start crying because of him but because of her siblings.

Let's ignore the part where this dude started calling me and some other users "retards" because that speaks volumes for itself about his lack of real arguments. After all, he has been fighting for at least 4 years with teens over power scaling, a topic he may seem to be knowledgeable about but actually isn't so much, plus he has been banned from at least one Discord server because of his r4pe threats. It seems this individual was so obsessed with that specific thing that he said Zeref did it to Mavis and that's how August was made... That also speaks volumes about his media literacy and the fact that even if it's true that he did read the manga so many times as he claimed during this discussion, he has serious problems with reading as a normal person. When it comes to the topic of this post, the problem is that he has some influence within the fandom, at least on Twitter, so whatever he says is something that many of his followers will start repeating.

What does Mashima do when Lisanna finally comes back to her original home and she gets a proper reunion with everyone?

After the initial shock from seeing Edo Lisanna in Earthland and the big reveal, this is how Natsu reacts.

This isn't a reunion that suggests that Lisanna is special compared to everyone else in the guild, and particulary to those who grew around Natsu. Also, we can't say Mashima just doesn't know how to write such scene properly... because he's written it at least once (in Rave).

The emotion you can feel in this scene, the way ONLY both lovers are on the spotlight and the rest of their friends are in the background until the end... Well, the difference is so obvious that it's ridiculous to say more. Given how well Mashima handles the emotional dimension of his characters in his mangas, the possibility that he didn't know how to depict two lovers who got separated from each for some time due to circumstances beyond their control is off the table.

Also, notice how the end of the Edolas arc depicts this.

The difference with her reunion with Natsu and the others is so obvious that there's no need to say more.

We can also discard Lisanna as a former love interest because there's no akwardness between them once she's back to the guild. They can be seen playing together and briefly interacting from time to time, so it's not like they're avoiding each other.

Is it implied somewhere that they had something beyond friendship? Not in any kind of canon material. Every time Lisanna is mentioned in regards to Natsu she's presented as a close childhood friend. We have, for example, her profile from one of the first chapters where she's back home and the information of the official magazine that was released 10 years ago.

But what if they simply stopped loving each other due to being separated, as a fellow nalu shipper told me on Discord? Making characters fall out of love is something that Mashima also references (see Macao pic a bit below). It also goes against what we saw regarding Erza and Jellal, who still had romantic feelings for each other despite their antagonistic positions for many years, or against the whole Zeref and Mavis thing. In other Mashima mangas we have more couples like this. Elsie and Justice still loved each other despite being sworn enemies, and Let still loved Julia (and vice versa) when he discovered she was alive, a kinda similar scenario to Natsu and Lisanna if they had been lovers. Given that Natsu and Lisanna weren't even enemies to each other at any point and they were only separated for two years, we can't say they had something canonically and they simply got over it with no actual reference to it.

There was a very good moment to reference past feelings in 100YQ: when Touka includes Lisanna in the group of women "around Natsu".

Instead of offering us a comment like "it's not like that anymore", Lisanna just says something that implies they're not that close. After all, Natsu is hanging out with his team most of the time since it was established.

What's the reason this fandom has been so many years discussing about this friendship? Because the first anime adaptation goes beyond that friendship and the manga omake where both of them take care of Happy's egg, something Lisanna decides to help with because she loves animals and she felt Natsu wouldn't do it properly. The first season includes several fillers that pave the way for a love triangle, presenting Lisanna as a girl who is VERY interested in marrying Natsu when they're adults. In addition, Happy is presented as their son, something that totally goes against the source material. Even if Natsu is the one who saw Happy be born and was living with him since then, Happy is never considered as his son and is always called a nakama/companion/friend.

This long thread has everything that A-1 and Satelight added in regards to Natsu and Lisanna. As we can see in the info provided in one of the first tweets, Mashima let them "edit" the story the way they wanted to and it's mentioned explicitely by both him and Ishihara (the director) that Ishihara is responsible for those additions, not Mashima. We also can't say the additions were something Mashima asked for because he couldn't include everything he wanted in his manga for some reason. This is supported by the fact that Lisanna is never presented in the manga as any kind of romantic interest after she comes back.

There's also this tweet from 2012 where Mashima replied to someone asking him whether he was involved in the story of the anime. His answer is no.

It's also important to say that these fillers aren't canon: they're not referenced in the source material (the starry key arc was, even if Mashima wasn't involved in the writing), they're not referenced in the anime itself after Lisanna comes back and they have no impact in the events of the story during and after Edolas.

Currently, thanks to Mashima's Twitter Spaces, we know two things: he revived Lisanna because some people in the anime staff liked her (Ishihara is one of them for sure), which explains why she's not very relevant and is always tied to her siblings, and he once considered to include a love triangle between Natsu, Lucy and Lisanna after Edolas, but he liked Natsu and Lucy's dynamic by then enough to not introduce such storyline. He also said Lisanna was "だめ" in regards to that triangle that never came to be, implying that she would have been the one that doesn't get the boy in that scenario.

So is Lisanna our supposed former love interest? As far as the canon material goes, no. Was she close to Natsu? Yes. Is she dear to him? Yes, just like everyone in his family, the guild, is (I can't believe I'm writing this in fking 2024). Now, what if there was someone else? The assumption that characters may have dated another (unnamed) character offscreen isn't totally crazy. After all we saw how Juvia dated Bora, even if it was a narrative tool to show that not even dates would make Juvia stop being depressed. However, we can't say there was someone else as more than a headcanon unless it's implied or mentioned somewhere explicitely. We know Macao was married but got divorced thanks to the official magazine, for example.

When it comes to Natsu, nothing is ever mentioned.

100YQ, the official FT sequel, has several pannels that go against the whole idea of Natsu being experienced with romantic love. As I mentioned at the beginning, even others from the guild, and especifically Macao in this pannel, who knows Natsu since he was a kid, have a hard time believing he's interested in love.

This part of the story includes a very interesting pannel that also debunks the whole idea that Natsu felt more than frienship for Lisanna before she was transported to Edolas.

Why would Lisanna's brother react like this over such comment if Natsu and his sister had romantic feelings in the past? Easy: because those feelings never existed.

Even Lisanna is a bit surprised when Touka expresses her interest in him.

Previous romantic experience would also mean that Natsu's relationship with Lucy would be more advanced than it is as of now, not to mention this recent scene.

Natsu is still quite dense with romance, even when it doesn't involve him, and while he talks about his and Lucy's kids they still have a long way to go due to his total inexperience in this area as of now. Someone with past love experiences wouldn't be like this. I could say more about this but this isn't the post for it so...

Conclussion: the first season of the anime did a lot of damage that resulted in many years of discussions, fights, misogyny towards both Lucy and Lisanna. There was no childhood or teen love, no jealousy from Lisanna when she saw how close Natsu and Lucy were as a team and nothing suggests that Lisanna was more than a friend in canon material. Claiming the opposite at this point of the story is useless.

#fairytail #natsudragneel

56 notes · View notes

shorthaltsjester · 1 year

Text

if i ever have to see another thought piece on the description of the white picket fence outside of fjord and jester’s place in mighty nein reunited indicating jester’s unhappiness in the relationship i will burn the world to the ground.

a) heteronormativity doesn’t exist in exandria !

b) fjord isn’t your Typical Male Love Interest Guy. if i ever have to read someone say that shit again i’m gonna (correctly) assume they haven’t paid attention at all to campaign 2 and any of fjord’s character arc.

c) perhaps, jester lavorre, woman who was raised on the ideology of romance novels and sexuality as exchange, might just find it uh… not a terrible thing that the white picket fence is falling apart outside since… fjord explicitly does Not feel like those romance novels to her, instead he feels comfortable. the way that a brightly painted but rarely used house might, especially when the couple in question spends most of their time adventuring together… which is an essential part of jester’s motivations throughout the campaign.

d) the reason fjord and jester seem unhappy in the reunion might be because, well, uh, whereas everyone else was getting a “vacation”, jester and fjord’s life together (specifically the fact that Fjord Loves Jester Enough To Risk The World (Momentarily) To Save Her) was the inciting action for an apocalyptic demigod being released - they Were unhappy. who wouldn’t be given those circumstances. jester nearly died, and fjord felt like the god that once saved him had now abandoned him, i am so truly sorry that their romance was not satisfactory for your vision of atypical romance (which, by the way, is literally reinforcing the restrictive romantic tropes you think you’re criticizing, so good job i guess). i would be much, much more concerned if jester and fjord Weren’t clearly dismayed.

e) both fjord and jester are individuals whose entire lives and character are defined by the expectation (both external and internal) that they behave and emote a certain way. that they’re in a relationship with someone who they feel that they can show that they are frustrated with or disagree on the layout of their house with or have different ideas on how to deal with the looming threat of a demigod is incredible. jester and fjord are emblematic of a relationship in which the characters Aren’t meant to be, but they Want to be together and they want to understand and support the other person so they work at it. we wouldn’t have conversations like “you seem disheartened..” “i am very disheartened! you almost died!” if they didn’t take the time and care to communicate with one another.

f) if you want a honeymoon era joyful queer romance, yasha and beau are right there! they are explicitly horny and in love and bright about it! if queerness is your measure of “trope breaking” i am very sorry to tell you that queer people partake in white picket fences, and i’d actually argue that in terms of Lifestyle Metaphor, beauyasha are more adherent to the whitepicket fence, nuclear familyism. this isn’t a detriment to them, just, very literally, beau works a 9-5 where she comes back to her housewife who gardens and cooks dinner and their future includes explicit reference to children. comparatively, fjord wants to address some issues in his past, jester is an artist, and both of them are interested in adventure for the foreseeable future.

g) if you truly think that a single part of laura’s description of the part-time abode of fjord and jester overrides every interaction and choice that both laura and travis make towards fjord and jester caring for each other in a deep and meaningful way that goes beyond the weird fandom constructed Man/Woman characters being portrayed by a married couple i truly, Truly have no idea why you even watch the many hours of content that cr is when you could… play/write your own shit.

#usually i would simply block and ignore but! i got one of those weird twitter recommended tweet notifs #and there were far too many likes #also like. ppl talk about that home as if it is where fjord and jester are living their everyday life #they are on the ship most of the time. of course it’s downtrodden and illlooked after. they are adventuring. they’re writing their own story #fjord #fjord stone #jester lavorre #fjord + jester #fjorester #critical role #cr2 #mighty nein #cr meta #kinda #i’m not tagging this discourse because it’s stupid and against my principles if u don’t like this block me :)#the mighty nein

373 notes · View notes

alazycrab00 · 1 month

Text

Hello, please help me, I'm trying to find zosan fanfiction🥲

Basically it's a soulmate zosan fic. The way to identify your soulmate is your soulmate can feel your pain/scar/bruises, and Sanji know that Zoro is his since the Baratie arc because y'know, Zoro literally got cut in half (thanks to Mihawk). But Zoro doesn't care to find out about his soulmate because when they are little Zoro got upset that he always got bruises (when Sanji is in germa unfortunately). While most of the crew already know that Sanji and Zoro are soulmate, Zoro only realise at Thriller bark arc, after Zoro hit Sanji. Zoro got mad at Sanji for not telling him, but Sanji is like 'you are the one who say you don't want to soulmate boy'. Lots of angst in the 2 years separation (Perona also help see reason into Zoro thick skull head) and in the Sabaody reunion they decide to do better. I can't remember if it's end in reunion Sabaody or there's a continuation but I know this fic is in ao3🤧

I've been searching all day and I just can't find it🤧 Thank you so much in advance if you can help me, have a nice day💛💚

Update:

I FOUND IT!!! Someone comment it and it's the right fic🤧🤧🤧 I thought I bookmark it already, apparently not🥴 thank you so much for all the help. I put the link below incase you want to read it.

#zosan #one piece zosan #op zosan #zosan fanfic #sanzo #zs #fanfiction

54 notes · View notes

orionsangel86 · 1 year

Text

I was once again flicking through the Sandman comics and thinking about the changes made to the show (as I am pretty much always doing) and something that struck me as interesting is why they chose to swap out Tales in the Sand for Men of Good Fortune.

In the comics, The Sound of Her Wings is the last story in Preludes and Nocturns. Dream’s meeting with his sister Death closes out the first of the overarching storylines within the Sandman saga, and it ends with Dream finding some measure of peace after speaking with her, and finding joy in hearing the sound of wings.

This can be interpreted as the first bit of real foreshadowing of Dream’s desire to die. Anyone who has read the Kindly Ones knows how important The Sound Of Her Wings is as it is called back to heavily at the end.

In the comics, the next issue can be seen as a one off, but is included in The Doll’s House book. This issue is Tales in the Sand - the tragic love story of Dream and Nada.

Right after Tales in the Sand, we get to the Doll’s House, which begins the exact same way that episode 6 of The Sandman Netflix show ends - with Desire calling on Despair to begin their scheming over the existance of the vortex.

I found it very interesting how the show swapped out Tales in the Sand for Men of Good Fortune - a story which in the comics comes much later within The Doll’s House storyline.

On the one hand, it makes sense to move Men of Good Fortune outside of the Doll’s House story for pacing reasons. But by putting it where they did they have drastically changed the tone of the story in a few ways.

1. It changes the end of The Sound of Her Wings. Show!Dream doesn’t leave his sister to sit and find peace in the thought of death, instead he does the opposite, he immediately goes and seeks out the one person he knows who is quite literally the antithesis of death - someone who finds joy in living. It still ends the Preludes and Nocturns story with Dream finding some manner of peace and happiness, but not in the sound of wings. Instead, it’s in the reunion with his friend who loves life so much he refuses to die.

2. It takes the place of the only love story we are given for Dream at that point in the comics. The Sandman comics have a tendency to avoid revealling too much information about Dream too soon and up until this point in the comics, all we know about his love life is that he condemned a lover to hell 10,000 years ago, based on a very brief conversation in A Hope In Hell. Tales in the Sand is the expansion of that brief conversation, giving us at least one perspective of how the tragedy played out.

I am really curious about why they decided to leave it out of the show completely. Partly I think its because it isn’t exactly a flattering look at Dream as a character. Probably didn’t seem like good business sense to the people who wanted The Sandman to perform well to basically destroy your main characters likeability half way through the first season (imagine all the Twitter puriteens and anti types who would get on their high horses attacking Sandman fans and Neil Gaiman alike for daring to like a main character who comes across a little bit rapey in this particular story - among other horrific character flaws).

Also, Tales in the Sand generally fits better with the Season of Mists story arc overall, and I think we will get a much kinder and more forgiving version of this story in the show.

So instead of being introduced to the first of Dream’s lovers, we are introduced to Hob Gadling. Make of that what you will.

3. It makes the immediate cut to Desire at the start of The Doll’s House story all the more eyebrow raising. Part of the reason why I think Desire’s scenes follow on from Tales in the Sand is because Desire had a lot to do with Dream’s bad behaviour in that story, and what ultimately happened is partly their fault. It is brought up both in comic and show when Desire tells Despair that “Nada was a mistake” but in the show, this comment remains a mystery, whereas in the comic, it goes some way into explaining the horrific story we have just read.

In the show, instead it makes for absolutely beautiful subtext as they cut to Desire’s realm and the song Desire as Desire says “Attend sweet Sibling” whilst we have just watched Dream reunite with Hob and smile the first real smile he has had all season so far. For a split second on my first watch I legit thought Desire was talking to Dream at that point and encouraging him to hook up with Hob. It was a very confusing few seconds!

At the end of the day, I think the change to the order of these stories was a very good idea, even without the added level of shipping fodder it gives us Dreamling shippers. In changing the end to The Sound of Her Wings in the show, it removes the foreshadowing of Dream’s desire to die, which I’ll be honest, so far I can’t see at all in the show version of the story. Instead, we get a Dream who is happy for the first time after reuniting with his friend - who apparently waited an additional 33 years for him and built/refurbished a pub in that time.

I have a bazzillion more thoughts on the changes from comic to show on the Men of Good Fortune issue in particular, but that’s for another post. I just had to get my thoughts down as the more I read and re-read the comics, the more I feel like the show is considering a different direction, a more hopeful happy direction. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

#the sandman #sandman meta #dreamling #dream of the endless #the sandman comics #sandman comic spoilers #the sound of her wings #men of good fortune #tales in the sand

458 notes · View notes

happytroopers · 4 months

Note

Literally anything about Echo, please. Could be before or during bad batch, I’m just completely head over heels for the man

PAST LIVES // Echo x Reader

Summary: Echo's been rescued from Skako Minor, settling into Clone Force 99 slowly but surely. His past catches up with him during a routine diagnostic run, and you... well, you're unknowingly somewhere between a memory and a reunion. Echo is convinced he knows best.

Something wasn't right, things were too soft and hazy, too golden, too warm, dreamy… But the way you were smiling at him, the way your warm fingers were tracing patterns through his hair, Echo couldn’t bring himself to think too hard about it. It had been far too long since he’d had time with you like this, legs tangled together, his hands were settled on you waist, and you were smiling lazily. Maybe something was right for the first time in a while.

Where was he again? Your apartment on Coruscant? The Barracks? Why couldn’t he tell? Then you shifted, rolling so you were on top of his chest. The hand not on his bicep crept up his torso, nails scratching just right to make his back arch. Maybe it didn’t matter where you were...

"We gotta get up." Your voice was sleepy but happy, muffled as you dropped your face into the crook of his neck. Echo wanted to focus on your voice, on the feel of your lashes against his jaw, but under your voice was the hint of something else. Something that injected a bit of urgency into his system, but nothing here was that urgent right? Echo wrapped his arms a bit tighter around your waist, but nothing felt different, like you slipping through his fingers.

"Echo, you need to wake up now." You said again, suddenly not buried in his neck but staring down at him expectantly. The warmth was sapping away, despite your touch his legs were feeling colder and stiffer. Your voice wasn’t soft, but an order, behind it was the reverberation of someone else’s. Rex? Fives? No, that wasn’t right either. Echo started to try to sit up, reaching up to run a hand through your hair, locks slipped over his quickly cooling fingers like an water washing away an illusion, revealing a durasteel scomp link in it’s place.

The urgency was rising, his other hand running over his head to find his cropped cut gone. Barely any stubble had started to regrow, his face had gone gaunt. Furrowed brows lifted his eyes to you, the golden version of you smiling and the cold urgent version of yourself flickering like a faulty holo-com. He tried calling your name, but a static shock at the base of his neck catapulted him first into darkness though he was becoming rapidly more aware of his reality.

Half a moment later, a hand shook his shoulder and he startled awake again. The harsh white light of the Kaminoan medical bay was a stark difference to the hazy golden light in his dream.

It had been a dream, of course it had, Echo hadn’t spoken to you since…well, since he’d been a different man.

"Diagnostic scans are looking good. New implants are operating satisfactory. " Tech announced, tapping away at a data pad that was connected by a couple wires to the base of Echo’s skull. The former ARC trooper sighed, craning his neck this way and that though the cybernetics along his spine wouldn’t let the joints pop.

"Great, can we find a way to test these things without knocking me out?" He groaned, watching Tech tap at a few more things. The genius rose his eyebrows.

"We could but we risk neural overload, neural underload, brain fry, memory lapse, short term memory loss, long term memory loss, hallucinations,…" Tech’s list was on going, bordering on droning but Echo’s focus was lost when motion at the door way caught his eye. The medbay doors swished apart, making room for two clones. Two older cadets in training armor, one half supporting his brother who was sans helmet. The injured one had blood dribbling down his forehead and looked more than a little dazed. Training incidents, those happened all the time. It was the pretty civilian nurse who flanked the pair that held Echo's attention, taking the injured cadet under his other arm to help him walk straight.

You.

It was like being shocked all over again.

Echo was an entirely different man now, but you… You’d barely changed. Sure, your hair was a little longer now, a couple more shadows under your eyes. But, you were still you. The woman that Echo had loved, still loved. He couldn't help but watch you sit the injured trooper down, asking both cadets diagnostic questions. They seemed flustered under your keen eyes, casting each other wide eyed looks when you’d offer them that soft, reassuring smile you gave all your patients.

You’d given Echo that smile, it seemed like decades ago now when you’d met, and, kriff, it’d stunned him to silence, too. Still did. Echo watched you put gloves on, sliding them over a ring he’d given you shortly before he left for the Citadel. And he watched those gloved hands gently feel over the Cadet’s head, not quite like you used to play with his hair, but just as gentle. He couldn’t quite hear your voice, but he could see your lips moving, your face was still gentle, probably explaining what you were doing or cracking a joke as opposed to the scolding you used to serve the 501st when they’d get hurt doing something dumb.

The cadet flinched as you started to clean the shallow wound on his forehead, and Echo almost laughed at the face you made at him. There was the scolding, judging by how the cadet sat up a little straighter. It didn’t take you long, cleaning, bandaging, shining a light in the clone’s eyes.

"Alright, I think you’ll survive, just barely."

Echo couldn’t hear you, but he knew that glint in your eyes. You always said that when treating minor wounds; you thought it was funny. He knew exactly the lilt of your voice, which words you put emphasis on, the quirk of your brow, the breath of a laugh you’d tag on the end as you patted the Cadet’s knee. He’d heard you say it a hundred times, been the patient on the receiving end when he’d make excuses to come see you in the medbay before he asked you out.

Tech was prodding his shoulder again, trying to get his attention. Echo could just barely hear him over the rash of memories going through his mind.

"Are you even listening to me? Something made your brainwaves spike." Tech questioned finally looking up from his datapads to follow Echo’s line of sight to you, "Oh."

The cadets were leaving now, you were cleaning up the bit of mess you made before taking a sweep of the infirmary. Your eyes landed on the two different clones, your brow twitched for a moment as you looked at him. A spark of recognition dimmed by a crash of sadness before you shook your head, offering the two of them a smile and wave.

"Can I help with anything?" You called after setting a cleaning droid on your station. You were walking over, curiosity in your pretty eyes.

"No, just routine diagnostics." Tech answered when Echo just stared at you like a ghost. Ironic considering he was the more ghost like of the two of you. You slipped more into work mode, eyes scanning over the cybernetics on his head and dumbstruck look.

"And they’re coming back green?" You asked, sincerely, reaching out to gently take hold of Echo’s chin. Kriff, if you touched him he didn’t know what he’d do. He’d been so carefully avoiding you since his rescue. Stars, the truth was clawing up his throat to tangle with the wisps of your perfume that he’d breathed in, like sparks and gas. It burned your presence into him, but, dank farrik, it was nice to be warm again.

But could he do this to you? You deserved more than what he’d become, he couldn’t give you what he once could. Could he put you through that after everything?

Rex had told him. How hard you took it when the news of Echo’s apparent death was broken to you. Everything you’d been through afterwards. Rex told him that you weren’t coping well, you were becoming reckless, distant. Barely eating, barely sleeping, less patient, quiet. The only reason you were still working in the GAR at all was because some of the boys were worried what might happen to you if you were formally discharged. So, Rex pulled some strings, had you transferred back to Kamino where you’d been primarily an instructor, teaching cadets medical skills, running drills with them to show them how to work with civilians in the field, and taking shifts in the infirmary just to keep busy. Compared to what Kix had described, you seemed to finally be doing better. You seemed like you.

Echo could feel the warmth emanating off your fingertips as they got closer, reminding him exactly why he needed to not be this close. That spark of recognition was back in your stare, your brow twitching. At the last second, Echo flinched backwards away from your fingers, leaning away to try not to choke on your scent as he cleared his throat.

"Just a little out of sync when things come back online, ma’am, nothing to worry about. ‘M fine." Echo forced his voice to be rigid, cut and dry, the way soldiers were supposed to talk to civilians like you. Anything else, he’d be afraid you’d clock him based just off his tone. You always could do that, pick him out of a crowd with your eyes closed. Sometimes, Fives and Jesse would convince Echo to play ‘musical armor’ to try to trick you, you wouldn’t even have to turn around. The moment Echo opened his mouth, you’d hit him with a sweet greeting. It always made the guys laugh, but it made Echo feel… right, warm all the way through. So, he couldn’t risk it and kept his voice firm.

Echo expected you to look at him weird, maybe even be irritated at his cold tone, but instead, you just smiled, shaking your head with the slightest laugh as you dropped your hand back to your side.

"What?" Echo pressed, fighting the urge to smile back. He shouldn’t have, he needed to leave. It was nice to have you this close again, but it’d just hurt more in the long run. You straightened up, taking a half step back.

"Sorry, you just… remind me of someone I used to know."

Echo tried not to flinch at that.

"We’re needed in the docking bay."

Both of you had completely forgotten Tech was there. The batch’s genius was watching Echo carefully and you curiously, and for all the crap they gave him, Tech had obviously picked up on Echo’s inner struggle. Tech stood slowly, slipping his helmet on and handed Echo’s to him, "We’ll see ourselves out."

Echo nodded to Tech, and also to himself, before offering you a curt nod as well, just for the excuse to give you another short look. Your brows crinkled again, but Echo turned on his heel to follow Tech out before he could give you anymore reason to question him.

"Oh, alright. Bye then." Your voice was soft, confused as you stared at the two men leaving the infirmary.

—

"You knew her."

Tech’s phrase wasn’t a question, but a fact. Stated as such as they walked back to the docking bay. Echo answered it like one anyone, after he slipped his helmet on, hoping it’d make him harder to read.

"Uh, yeah. She used to work in the 501st." Not a lie, you had worked in the 501st, after the incident on the Rishi moon.

"Your body language suggests some sort of deeper relation than simple coworkers. Your pupils dilated, brainwaves spiked, vocal change, hyper fixated focus, fidgety muscle reactions-"

"Don’t need a biology lesson, Tech." Echo groaned, "And I’m suggesting that it doesn’t matter anymore."

"It just insinuates that-"

"Un-insinuate it then."

"Hmm." Tech hummed, casting an odd look to the newest member of the Batch.

"I..." Echo thought for a moment, trying to come up with some sort of dismissal, but that truth was still crawling up his throat. His shoulders slumped a bit as he fixed his helmeted gaze on the pristine white floors, "I'm not the man she knew."

wow this is so dramatic and unedited lol

#arc trooper echo x reader #Echo x reader #tbb Echo #tbb x reader #Bad batch echo #bad batch x reader #the bad batch x reader

118 notes · View notes

wangxianficfinder · 10 months

Text

In the mood for...

~*~

1. hey! I'm looking for non-specific Canon or canon divergence (MDZS verse) fics where Lan Wangji has a "he is adorable" or "he is cute" moment about Wei wuxian. or just lan wangji simping and having soft, rose tinted thoughts about wwx from his point of view >< @wutheringskies

~*~

2. helloo!! i have a request for the next itmf. are there any fics where resurrected wwx has like a really bad flashback to his three months in burial mounds and juniors/lwj/or someone different witnesses it? thank u and love u @vicleey

~*~

3. for the next itmf, do you have fics of either A) wwx not being adopted by the jiangs/him raised in other sects or B) wwx leaving the jiangs realizing he deserves better

3A)

Seen and not heard by eatmyass (E, 51k, WangXian, Case Fic, No Sunshot Campaign, AU in canon setting, Kid Fic, dadxian, Strangers to Lovers, Found Family, POV LWJ, Pining, Sharing a Bed, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Time, Falling in love in metaphors)

this whole comp

3B)

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

~*~

4. I am back for more in the mood for requests! Thank you for everything you do.

I am in the mood for modern/au fics with a stand-in for wwx dying and getting resurrected. Such as him going missing, being presumed dead, being in witness protection, or leaving by his own volition. Any fic about modern/au lwj missing/mourning wwx and them getting reunited some time later. Preferably with lwj searching for wwx?

Anything works though. I would love to see all kinds of different takes on what his canon death could be in an au.

End Racism on the OTW || Yesterday Once More by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 22k, wangxian, modern au, reality show au, Long Lost Family au, adoption, family reunions, lost love, getting back together, family feels, angst w happy ending)

These Things Stay the Same by notevenyou (E, 29k, WangXian, Modern AU, Kid Fic, Minor Character Death, Injury, Natural Disasters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hospitalization, Accidents, These Things Stay the Same [Podfic] by Rionaa)

please accept this fried chicken and my feelings by thelastdboy (G, 4k, wangxian, modern, Reunions, Marriage Proposal, Trans Male Character, Trans WWX, Single Parent WWX, Mental Health Issues, Medication, allusions to past suicide attempt, Light Angst w Happy Ending, Alcohol, Drunk LWJ)

always on my mind series by sami (E, 37k, wangxian, LWJ/others, LWJ & JYL, modern, family, sexual tension, grief, superstar musician LWJ, fluff, children, pregnancy, parenthood)

~*~

5. Hi! Thank you for all your hardwork <33 ITMF for jealous/possessive WWX, but no post-canon fics please. Thank you!

~*~

6. Hello! ITMF Gusu lecture era smut? Like, teasing in class, getting distracted in the library, dorm room shenanigans, etc. Preferably longer fics like “ Straight at the Sun ” by diamondbruise, but short pwp would be nice too! Thanks so much!

Fentao-laoshi’s Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (microcomets) (E, 31k, wangxian, canon divergence, pining while fucking, friends with benefits, first time, cloud recesses study arc, practice kissing, sharing a bed, jealousy, getting together, confessions, happy ending)

~*~

7. Hi 👋 Thank you sooooo much for finding that fic for me," Turn Left " 😁 its exactly what i was looking for.

Please can you recommend fics that are similar 🙏Thank you 😊

~*~

8. any lan zhan POVs? bonus points for those delicious misunderstandings @chellsky

Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending)

The Fifth Type of Non-Contact Force by Caixx (Not Rated, 83k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Fluff and Humor, Actually Somewhat Canon, Mutual Pining, Horny Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Graphic Smut)

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing)

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Caffeine, Small Talk by mistergoblin (E, 144k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, or more accurately: frenemies to fuckbuddies to lovers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, touch-starved lwj, Slow Burn, high levels of sexual tension, Misunderstandings, Getting to Know Each Other, Switching, Bottom LWJ, bottom WWX, slight D/s, Happy Ending, side yanqing, lwj’s patented horny grip, Sub LWJ)

Mad about the Boy by TriviasFolly (M, 62k, wangxian, 1950s America au, greaser WWX, historical smoking, historical viewpoints, angst, internal struggle, pre-relationship, historical homophobia, sexual awakenings, sexual exploration, self-discorvery journey, self-love journey, gay academia, teenage dramatics)

~*~

9. Hello, for the next itmf, are there any fic where WY is just losing it and just went mad or traumatized. But not in the the way that he become brutal and jusf killing people.

Sorry if this is weird. Thank uu

of all the hands by typefortydeductions (E, 51k, wangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, emperor LXC, PTSD, nightmares, dual cultivation, mental health issues, fluff & angst, consensual non-con, pining, politics)

~*~

10. Love love LOVE fics where Yu Ziyuan gets her way and Wei Wuxian is removed from the Jiang Sect, only for Yu Ziyuan to run the Jiang right into the dirt while the whole world sings the praises of Wei Wuxian, who can now reach his true potential without having to scrape and knowtow to Yu Ziyuan's temper. I need more of them. I need ALL of them.

... Or I guess really just any fics where WWX ends up standing above Yu Ziyuan.

If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 93k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS, Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It’s All The System’s Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ’s Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

💖 Light Source by abCEE (M, 31k, wangxian, not Jiang friendly, no golden core transfer, fall of the jiang sect, happy ending)

~*~

11. I don't mind Best Jiujiu Jiang Cheng, but it's starting to bug me that everybody seems to forget it's not canon (CQL notwithstanding ig) so I'm asking for post-canon fics that acknowledge Wei Wuxian as Jin Ling's actual favorite uncle. It doesn't need to be Jiang Cheng bashing or anything like that really, I just want Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian feels and bonding that are NOT Yunmeng Bro reconciliation or focused on Jiang Cheng. I won't say NO to some Jiang Cheng bashing, but I'd prefer the focus be on Jin Ling and his ACTUAL Best Jiujiu Wei Wuxian.

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not rated, 64k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, protective WWX, protective JL, JC & WWX reconciliation, reluctant matchmaker JL, pre-JL/LJY)

i won’t let you down (give me what i need) by orphan_account (Not rated, 2k, JL & WWX)

Questioning by Rainewritesfanfics (T, 1k, JL & WWX, Crushes, Bisexuality, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Family Fluff, Good Uncle WWX, JL pov, Queer Themes)

The Truth (Untold) by anxiouswreck0_0 (G, 3k, JL & WWX, wangxian, canon divergence, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It, JL & WWX talk, JL centric, JL & WWX bonding, wangxian being shameless)

in which Jin Ling is tragically underappreciated by Buttercup_ghost (Not rated, <1k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Matchmaking, Time Travel, Good Nephew JL, Humor, Mild Homophobia from Jiang Cheng but it gets shut down, Supportive NHS, NHS Is A Little Shit, BAMF JL, Cloud Recesses Study Arc)

a reconstruction by JaggedCliffs (G, 7k, JL & WWX, JL & JZX, Uncle-Nephew Bonding, Family, JL learns more about his parents, he also learns that his family committed past atrocities, Jin Ling is going through it)

of past and present by Here_For_This (This_Rocks_My_Socks) (T, 6k, JL & WWX, wangxian, Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, bad unlce JC, not JC friendly, Discussions of moving on, Implied/Referenced Torture, brief mentions of Wei Wuxian’s cynophobia, Implied/Referenced Character Death, self-care, Hopeful Ending)

~*~

12. Can I get some relationship reveal fics pls

The F-Word by raspberrymocha (M, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, Family Dynamics, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Humor, Fluff, Light Angst, Weddings, Engagement, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Sex, 5+1 Things, Heteronormativity)

~*~

13. Hi! Are there any canon-era fics where Lan Zhan and Wei Ying feel each other’s pain and/or an injury on one shows up on the other? Can be a soulmate au or a spell or the like. Thank you!

You'd Break Your Heart to Make It Bigger by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 32k, wangxian, soul bonding, first time, case fic, fools in love, soul boning, pining while fucking)

Sunder by naqaashi (E, 32k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmate au, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Heavy Angst w Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Pining, Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Porn w Feelings, Porn W Plot, Light BDSM, Edgeplay, Multiple Orgasms, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Rimming, Fix-It Temporarily Unrequited Love, ,First Time, First Kiss, LWJ pov, Sunshot Campaign, YLLZ WWX, Dom LWJ, sub WWX, Marathon Sex, Lube, Whump, LWJ Whump, Canon Jiang Cheng Characteristics, Angry JC, Good Sibling JYL, Good Sibling LXC, hurt LWJ, hurt WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, switch wangxian, Light Dom/sub, Cuddling & Snuggling, WWX Whump, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Five Stages of Grief, Suicidal Thoughts)

Flowers of pain by CorkaHadesa (M, 16k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmates au, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, LWJ pov, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, not YZY friendly, not JC friendly, not Jiang friendly, Bad Sibling JC, Bad Sibling JYL, Protective LWJ, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, Bad Parenting, Healing, Family Issues, Child Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Happy Ending, WIP)

~*~

14. Hello! For the "I'm in the mood for" section, I was looking for long fics where wwx or lwj (or both) have a disability. Any of them would do, I'm not picky. The longer the better, and if the fanfic has an M/E rating, I would prefer it if it's canon dynamics. Thank you so much for your hard work! :D

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days) chronic pain

some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

we’re starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal (M, 92k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Golden Core Reveal, Burial Mounds, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Starvation, emaciation, Cannibalism, Self-Harm, Amputation, Suicidal Thoughts, Sunshot Campaign, let JZX and WWX be friends club) WWX loses a leg & gets a prosthetic

no new age Series by everythingispoetry (M/T, 145k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood, Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX’s Death, Families of Choice)

Mod Kay: i also have a collection for stories where wwx loses his hand

The Martial Arts Instructor Fic You Didn’t Know You Needed by enbysaurus_rex (M, 423k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & Wen remnants, WQ & WWX & WN, modern, martial arts, everyone lives au, not canon compliant, WWX has ADHD, autistic LWJ, pining, enby WWX, implied/referenced alcoholism, PTSD, slow burn, chronic illness, found family, polyamory negotiations, JC & WWX reconciliation, Single Parent WWX, Single Parent LWJ) I know I recommend this fic all the time but it’s my fav so - neurodivergent disabilities, chronic pain/injury & illness Can also apply to #4 because wwx fakes his death and lwj raises a-yuan

The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, WIP, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Time Travel, Attempt at Humor, PTSD, Oblivious WWX, WWX-centric, Blind WWX, Sentient Burial Mounds, Self-Indulgent, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Oblivious Pining, Not Canon Compliant)

🧡 close your eyes, feel my heartbeat by ThatDesiGirl (T, 11k, WangXian, blind!WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rewriting Canon, not a fix-it but a what-if, Golden Core Transfer, Romance, Pining)

Disabled WangXian Comp

~*~

15. Any fics where Jin zixun succeeds in killing wwx and being lazy and callous realizes he doesn't have a gift for the party and presents wwx's as his own instead. Maybe he is immediately found out cause someone recognizes wwx's handwriting on it or whatever. Or maybe jl grows up with it and adores it cause there isn't a wwx stigms attached and like it saves his life many times, people constantly saying whoever gave it to him must of really loved him. And then he finds out the truth

a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see by paperminds (T, 9k, JL & WWX, JC & WWX, JL & JC, post-canon, canon typical violence, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, JC & WWX reconciliation) this one (from 2 itmfs back) is 'similar' the other way, jin ling grows up thinking his mom commissioned the bracelet. for #15, i think i've never read a fic with jin zixun specifically stealing jin ling's gift, so i hope op gets recs, but otherwise it might be a cool prompt for the kinkmeme!sadly i cant find the 'similar' fic i want to rec lol 🤦‍♀️ its the one with ghost rogue wwx who was (spoiler) killed due to jin negligence in a nighthunt iirc, and jin zixun steal all his notes and passes them off as his own. wx have a different first meeting and lwj investigates wwx's death.

asymptotic by chinxe (T, 26k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Pining) The fic the previous reccer for 15 is looking for is Asymptotic!

~*~

16. ITMF fics with protective LXC. Maybe he goes against JGY because he dares to hurt LWJ and that's where he crosses the line. But I mainly want protective LXC over his brother (and maybe a bit dark?)

A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, canon divergence, fix-it , Angst w happy ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Everyone Dies au, Grief/Mourning, Lan Wangji’s awesome family, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, WIP) ooh idk fics where lxc actively opposes jiggy/discovers his actions, but for now, i have these for 16. protective lxc starts to mistrust ppl who aren't lwj

The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, WWX & WQ, LXC & WWX, canon divergence, fix-it, time travel, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Fluff, Siblings, Romance, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Fix) general protectiveness with the power of hindsight

Alternative Choices by StarClearWaters (Readoutloud) (T, 20k, wangxian, LXC/WQ, Time Travel, LXC pov, Protective LXC, Temporary Character Death, Butterfly Effect, Mpreg, Panic Attacks)

~*~

17. Hi!!!!! For the next itmf I’d like some secret relationship wangxian. Preferably canon or canon adjacent, definitely not ABO tho. Thank you!

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

153 notes · View notes

elmhat · 6 months

Text

Dreblr Survey Results Pt.2 - Sharing the Joy!

Here are the results for the longer questions! These are some of the lore moments, AUs and headcanons that we love.

I haven't included every response, only the ones that seemed the most unique and non-repetitive. There were a lot to sift through. Everything here has been directly pasted from the form.

Lore moments we love...

Punz & Dream's reunion

The staged finale reveal were c!Punz meets c!Dream again

“Long time no see Buddy!”

'LONG TIME NO SEE BUDDY'

"long time no see buddy!" NEED I EXPLAIN ANSJSJDJENSNSKSKS

Moment staged duo got confirmed they were still working together I predicted that shit ages ago and I won't shut up about the fact i was RIGHT

I think there are two moments that are far too important for me. The first one being the moment that Punz and Dream met up after Dream got out of prison. It was so so magical, after A YEAR of waiting and clinging to the idea of stages finale, after it had been so long and people that just didnt believe saying no, it's not stages because it doesnt make sense or that it got retconned, They Were Wrong. And they couldnt take that win from me, even if they tried. It was even funnier when I saw people a day later finding the clip of Punz and Dream talking about Drem's "betrayal", long before he had been imprisoned, and they called it "a lost clip". But it wasnt lost, not to me. I had always known and I Had Been There when it had happened. Unbelievable, I really felt like I Won.

Technonblade & Dream being besties

c!dream admitting to c!techno he can't read a map

Anything with c!drunz or c!rivals but especially the moment on the mountain with c!rivals

DOOMSDAY RAHHGHHGH

Prison Podcast, it was so fucking funny

The Techno and Dream prison podcast will always be important to me

Prison break. Dream being surprised at returning for him

prison break, largely for the mass dreblr hysteria

...I'll have to say the jailbreak; I was hoping for one since before I saw any of the streams - back when all I really knew about the prison arc came from the title of a DSMP playlist that YouTube's algorithm recommended to me on my second day in the fandom (true story) - and seeing it play out honestly made my entire year.

The finale streams

i think about the discduo finale every day of my goddamn life

Tommy realizing the truth about Dream

The moment in the finale where c!Tommy asks c!Dream to take off his helmet and he does it. I shed real tears.

The moment where cdream metaphorically lost his mask and was just someone, all of a sudden

The disc finale, which can be read on so many levels with the infos you're given it's actually incredible.

The DSMP finale doesn't just hit hard, but I also enjoy the conclusion it gave to the conflict between Dream, Tommy, and the prison era, especially looking it at from a literary view.

The 2nd moment is more really the entire actual finale between Dream, Punz, Tommy and Tubbo - Staged duo got revealed to the wider world and my friends and I were celebrating for having been proven right again, it was just so amazing. And it really continued on and ended better than any of us could have hoped for and anyone arguing that it's bad that Dream got redeemed And Then The Nuke Happened, in my opinion, fundamentally didnt understand what Dream and Tommy's whole Feud was about - yes I said that Tommy is my least favorite character, but that's a good thing for a lot of instances, especially the finale, so when He Finally Understood His Enemy, I was downright in tears Sorry for the rant, I had to get all of that out qwq

when dream and tommy realize that it was too late

"Do you want to be friends?"

Sam & Dream being generally insane

the sam "when it was just me and him" moment <3

Sam and dteam’s conversation after techno escapes the prison

"Unless you're saying I'm not a person" lives rent-free in my head forever.

Can I put the entirely of Daedalus arc in here? Probably when Dream said Sam was going to be a shining example not to fuck with him!

c!Dream killing c!Sam once in prison (post escape, when c!Sam was locked up) after days of letting him live. It's special because for the crimes that had been committed against c!Dream in that cell, he was rather merciful. Particularly for his reputation as a heartless killer.

Sam talking about fucking dream up real horny like

Sadness

Just say you hate me<—- millions died

george looking at the prison every time hes is close to it WHY DID KE KEEP DOING THAT

The Karlnapity breakup hurts so good

When Sam was about to kill Ranboo and Techno cried out "you've got the wrong person! Dream doesn't care! I care-" then Ranboo died that fucked me up

So many moments. I had heard of and seen things and knew a bit about DSMP before. But I believe the first stream I watched live was the disc finale. So I'm gonna say "what am I without you? Yourself."

dream's 'sir' moment

Not really a specific moment but Dream going back to pandora afterwards everything. Him *dying* there? Ouchie ouchie ouchie

And more!

Initial disc war/conflicts, <3. The banter and jokes are so dear to me, and that was how I found the DSMP in the first place, so they have a very special place in my heart.

Destruction of Las Nevadas when c!Q was completely destroyed lmao. It feel like serenity to me. Justice, y'know.

vassal scene just everything about it when wilbur asked to be dream's vassal what it meant for their character arcs it was a turning point no going back and it meant so. much. for their characters.

The 'Daddy Dream!!' moment. The funny overshadow The turning point for c!Dream. He's chill with L'manberg at that point(whaaa??) Wilbur pushed him into a role with Threats (will be so Ambitious) it's just Very interesting in general

Ranboo giving Techno the new axe ☹️🤧

Idk if it counts as lore but Dream following Puffy around the server

ranboo trading foolish ownership of the shulker for a favor. and then forgetting he did this. an insight into enderwalking ranboo

Bro EVRRYTHING involving c!dream even in the background for 0,01 sec

C!George blowing up the whole dsmp and killing everyone and reaching godhood in his dreams, C!George standing in front of the prison longingly during a c!q lore stream, C!Dream's spirit speech 🥰🥰, the whole final minutes of the c!discduo finale with the nuke and the softness and vulnerability in dream's voice, every time dreamXD appeared 💖💖

Theyre not one of my favorites, but I did watch all of aimseys dsmp streams. Their thing was "Never waste a pretty sunset," and if I think about that on the way home from work, sometimes I'll take the longer scenic route to get a really good view of the sunset, just because of that phrase.

that bit when c!tom uno reverses put your armor in the hole

George destroying the dream smp, doomsday (techno pov) Dream prison escape confrontation with Tommy. Nicheal

“i don’t give a fuck about spirit!” it was such a distinct turning point from “bad guy” to villain. i love dream as a villain bc he was so goofy and awkward and then bam angst.

"It's just a stupid egg Skeppy!"

When wilbur lost the election. It was my first lore stream and after that it only improved in my eyes

The entirety of fundy's arc with wilbur, im still insane over that. Also when sapnap said he was born in fire that was swag

"I'm his friend, Tommy", "If my best friend is a necromancer-", literally any moments where someone is acknowledging themselves as Dreams friend or that they care about him.

I really like Dream and Sapnap’s confrontation after Dream escaped from prison, and also the staged finale reveal with Dream meeting up with Punz. They’re such good character and plot moments!! (Also there’s the entire prison arc but this thing would be 12 paragraphs long)

Quackity eating Schlatt’s heart on stage

I'm a BIG BIG BIG fan of c!q getting the message to go back to schlatt by being called sugar pumpkin. Something about it is so fawking sleazy

Tubbo pulling an axe on Quackity when he threatened to execute Ranboo

Schlatts death, everyone banning together and him thinking it was his birthday

i'm bizarrely fascinated by punz (attempting to?) convince purpled to join forces with him & dream. idk man it mesmerized me

dream beating Tommy the fuck to death DESERVED

AUs and headcanons we love...

Animals/forms

White enderman dream

cKarl and cDream being bunnies 🐰

Dragon!Dream where XD suppressed his hybrid traits so he’d possessive but doesn’t know why

Goat-hybrid c!Dream and obvs puffy as his mother

WORM BABY DREAM

wolf!Punz!!!! I don't see enough of it but it fits so well!!

Shapeshifter dream

Cdream is just a pair of empty clothes.

Dream being just a human is really cool

Ships/relationships

c!dnf being canon after all

c!DNF were secretly engaged before shit hit the fan. Nobody knew but them.

i love xdnf i think its just so funky, XD as a whole is such and underrated character and i loved his interactions with bad, george, and foolish a lot.

Soulmates but they're aware of it and time spent without the other one knowing slowly kills them (madduo ofc (": )

I know it ain't most peoples cup of tea but I love the family dynamic headcannon between puffy dream and foolish

Dream isn't Puffys bio son and she didn't adopt him when he was little, she just found this grown ass man following her around the server and decided that's her baby now

awesamity forced dream into a relationship during prison i think thats neat and fun to experiment with

Sad Dream

that after prison dream is more animalistic in his movement

Anything related to scars or injuries that c!Dream got from the prison

His hair turning white from revival and stress Or runes from revival on his skin

White haired streaks, scars staying after the dsmp finale, Dream suffering temporary or permanent hearing and vision loss, Dream being created by or otherwise connected to XD somehow, Karl or Wilbur coming back after the dsmp finale with all their memories intact to see everyone getting along happily and being like “what???”

Syndicate Dream

Syndicate Dream is the beloved AU. Let my man heal and have friends and healthy relationships and pets.

syndicate dream! also love the winged dream aus :3

I love post-prison Syndicate healing AUs and the $100,000 duel scar

Former gladiator c!Techno and post prison syndicate healing aus with c!Dream

any dream with the syndicate au tbh.. the soft healing is so perfect <3

cDream peacefully recovering at the Arctic Commune is something very soft and fluff and close to my heart.

I still love Syndicate!Dream AUs (or really any AU that sets him in a place where he can actually try and heal from everything that's happened to him)

The Syndicate AU is just so sweet. It's literally the only "good" ending, I'm sorry. I just love it very, very much.

Dreamon

I love the dreamon stuff

Anything involving Dreamons/Dreamon hunters, esp. that focuses on expanding the worldbuilding and not just “generic demon possession plot.”

We glossed over the "Why does god look like you?" and the whole Dreamon mini arc Far Too Quickly, Like YOU GUYS, WE COULD HAVE HAD MONSTER HUNTERS AND MORE WORLDBUILDING-

Birdhouse? I think?

kat and angela's coparent au

jmah nifty

idk what jmah/mayfair is but i keep on seeing posta about it that seem epic :D

is awesamdream in gay love even a headcanon anymore /j . scrapped lore canon. uhhh. prison drugs??? uhhh. schlatt initiated revive book deal. all ive got boss. lots of fav AUs but jmah + birdhouse + 7y are the ones that spin around in my head rent free that are my own. and coparent makes me SAD

Butterfly chat

dream's butterfly chat headcanon

The butterflies

physical manifestations of chats!! especially with dream's as butterflies or other bugs that typically symbolize things like peace and light

And more!

Dream, George, and/or Sapnap getting involved in Eggpire

My friend and i made a percy jackson au that was really good

Its more of a fanfic where everyone are small bloobs and the reader takes care of them

And Tubbo and Fundy like modded stuff, I bet they could have convinced Dream that they could like a new mini mc project, like idk, smth vaguely based on stranger things but also magic and paranormal and just ughhhhhh, I miss it so much

C!Dream Autistic

Dream is blind in one eye Don't know why but I love that

c!quackitys fucked up eye is magic now that trope just SLAPS. I like the c!Tommy "came back wrong" stuff too.

The Cornelius and C!Dream headcanon.

Syndicate Dream aus are always so comfy, I enjoy reading those a lot. Protégé Tommy aus can be fun to read (I love a good discduo dynamic). I also love reading superhero aus, as long as they don’t depict Dream as a cardboard cutout of evil. I like to read a lot of aus, but those ones stuck out to me especially.

Ranboo's enderwalk isn't actually taller he's just more confident and stands up straighter

Love manhunt AUs, they are the best. also love when Dteam focussed superheroAU. for canon compliet love cDNF or George just going of his rockers. George going insane after canon also great.

I had a headcanon that gods can't fit entirely in the world of the server: Callahan left his voice out, Drista and Kristin left their bodies and possessed players, and DreamXD left his real face so he made a new one from Dream's

Ranboo, Punz and Dream held a disney movie night marathon before staged finale in order to get inspiration

I adore the convict childcare au so much

Ran and Tubbo's son Michael is mute and they use sign with him sometimes

Techno helping dream in prison after quakty would come by letting him have techno’s cape

Everything is the same except everyone is a sock puppet

Pandora's Vault as a living entity

my self indulgent splatoon crossover

Does Eret's finale stream idea count

Modern AU is rotting my brain and sparing none of my braincells

The idea that the revive book as ‘threads’ of life that just take someone out of death by dragging them out of their limbo or weaving their bodies kinda like crocheting

Minecraft worlds are servers +admin + XD was the failsave for the server but got corrupted and gained sentience

I'm attached to the c!q being a trans dude trope . Like yeah little loud poly bi shortguy with something to prove is transgender BIG shocker

Dream comforts Punz after the Egg and frequently checks his eyes for him

Also Guard Dog AU by sunny and all its variations because I love that angst and everyone's take on it REALLY GOOD

Love black dog au so far. Favorite headcanon is that dream has a lot of inhuman traits and is very very expressive!

C!DNF roleswap au by me because it's very self indulgent and brought many demons and my friends have helped on it <3.

C!dream living in Kinoko, with what it implies for c!dteam, c!dream & XD, the c!fiances (because Q will still be around) and c!Techno's interractions with the kingdom

Dream is homeless from techno, its just really funny to me

c!dream eggs monday. does that count?

Okay so theres this AU that only got like two posts on tumblr I think its called Stoplight? Where Dream is an eldrich abomination that thought he was just playing with his friends and that none of the wars were real, hell he doesn't even know what war is! He thought all of DSMP was just one big game of Manhunt where he pretended to play and had a safe word system which Ranboo triggered on accident and revealed to everyone that Dream could stop all of this at any time.

My own canon-divergent AU featuring enemies-to-friend pre-finale Dream and Tommy, 👍. Tommy stalks Dream to a house he made, tries to kill him, fails and gets captured, Dream experiments revival on him and ends up making him immortal, Tommy decides to drag Dream down with him and also make him immortal, and they somehow kind of become “friends” along the way. They are very dear to me, <3. As for a headcanon, the first thing that comes to mind is the idea that Dream’s first limbo was the prison. Another one, tho, is the idea that the revival book is binary, and that when it gets burnt it worms its way into the code, bringing the specified player back to life.

Sorry to the people whose responses were cut. There were just so many. Finally, there will be another results post soon for all the crazy things that were said!

#long post #dreblr #random elm thoughts #elm polls #dreblr survey results

82 notes · View notes

novaksupremacy · 12 days

Text

The Veiled Law of Affection- Chapter 1

fic takes place during the events of 5.5 “Serendipity” just my idea of the episode could have properly showed the obvious initial tension between the characters.

angst, smut, pairing Casey Novak x Olivia Benson

(please be kind (but honest) I haven’t written fanfic in almost 15 years)

***(so what I’d really like to do is make this a continuing arc of my head cannons of how I think these characters dated throughout the series as well as how I think Calex would play out and a Cabenson reunion revolving around the episodes where Alex comes back in seasons 10/11 and “Sunk Cost Fallacy” as well as how I think Calex would’ve continued from that point, if that’s something people would be interested in. I also plan on doing quite a few Calex one shots on the side) ***

“The Veiled Law of Affection- Chapter 1”

by PKJ (@novaksupremacy)

word count: 4285

“What do you tell your boyfriend?” Casey scoffed from behind her desk, tossing a few case files onto its surface haphazardly.

Olivia dug her hands deeper into her pockets and dropped her eyes from the red head, she still wasn’t sure how to take her, so she wasn’t about to tell her something she hadn’t even told her squad, the people she trusted with her life.

“I don’t have one actually, once they find out what I do, the ones that don’t pull away immediately get too interested,” she shook her head and smiled incredulously, “and want to know all the sickening details.”

Casey tiled her head, resisting the urge to bite her lip.

“I guess it’s easier on the men’s side.” she shrugged, letting go of a deep stressful sigh. They’d only just met but there was just something about Detective Olivia Benson that set her apart from anyone she had ever met. She watched as the tall, brunette stepped closer, leaning her fingertips against the counselor’s desk, and bent towards the young ADA. “God Casey, quit looking at her hands, stop imagining her touching you with those delicate, strong fingers.” She snapped herself out of it and returned eye contact to Olivia.

“Well,” Olivia started softly, “Fin doesn’t talk about his personal life at work, Elliot doesn’t talk about his work at home, and Munch has just given up.”

She stepped back, pushing herself from the desk off her fingertips, and walked towards the door. Casey went back to shuffling through paperwork on her desk and Olivia lingered in the doorway looking back, finding herself distracted by the charming lawyer’s athletic build, muscles taut against the sleeves of her shirt. She put her hand on the door frame. “Goodnight, Counselor.”

The ginger looked up from her work and smiled, “Goodnight, Detective.”

Liv went back to her desk and straightened up, locking up her drawers and getting ready to go for the evening, “Night El, don’t stay here too late.”

Elliot waved without even bothering to look up from his burger.

Liv took the side entrance as she left the building. It wasn’t overly flooded with light but enough to see if someone was trying to sneak up on her. Casey was only a couple feet ahead of her, walking her bike towards the street. The young ADA turned her head to look back when she heard the door creak closed. She shot a flustered smile in Olivia’s direction. It was clear that behind that smile she was distraught over her recent conversation with Branch. She wasn’t cut out for SVU, her heart was going to be broken constantly and she wasn’t quite sure she could bear it. Her heartbeat picked up slightly, maybe there was a sparkle to cut through the darkness of working sex crimes, and maybe that sparkle was brilliant, brunette detective.

“Goodnight again, Detective.” She turned to face forward again so she couldn’t be seen blushing. She smirked and bit her lip as she began to start walking again.

Over the years Olivia had become an expert on reading people, their body language, their facial expressions, and she could see the pain behind Casey’s eyes, she’d seen it before, whenever there was a problem Alex couldn’t fix. She furrowed her brow; it had been a long day for both, and she couldn’t let Casey go home so disheartened.

She took a deep breath, “Hey! Counselor?”

The tall athletic woman was midway through fastening her helmet when she whipped around. “Be cool Novak, debonair not doofus.” She smiled again, soft and hopeful.

“Yes Detective? What’s up?” internally she was an absolute wreck, but on the surface, she was charming, confident.

Liv shifted and dug her hands into her pockets again, a nervous habit when she didn’t know what to do with her arms. “Would you want to come get a drink with me? I’m not ready to go home yet and I figured you needed to blow off some steam as much as I do after this case. There's a bar a few blocks from here that’s pretty nice, even has a brand-new pool table.”

Casey, who had been keeping a very slow pace still moving forward towards the street stopped in her tracks, turned the bike around walking back in the brooding brunette’s direction. Without a word she locked her bike back up and removed her helmet and sauntered forward.

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” she rasped trying to keep eye contact until she couldn’t anymore, looking down and biting her lip and then running her tongue across it to soothe the irritation and her nerves. “Lead the way.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The bar wasn’t overly crowded, so it was easy to hear each other. They had been talking and laughing for about an hour, discussing mutual acquaintances, mishaps Elliot may or not have had on the softball field. They both had been laughing so heartily their cheeks were starting to hurt.

Casey brought her glass to her lips and took a sip of the whiskey sour. As she brought the glass down onto the bar, she used it as an opportunity to lean closer to Olivia.

“So, Detective,” she smirked and gave a nod of curiosity, “is this job really the only reason you don’t have a boyfriend?”

Liv blushed and smiled nervously; her mouth agape but not able to make words come out. “This is really an inconvenient time to be having a stroke.” She laughed credulously, “Ahhh, not exactly.” She copied the redhead’s movement putting her glass down closer so that she could lean in. “I mean- I date men, just not exclusively and not usually. I just don’t really share that with anyone. Even the squad.”

The two women were now leaning in, to the point where they were inches from each other’s faces. Casey quirked an eyebrow, the smell of Olivia’s perfume was intoxicating. She stood up from her barstool bringing her closer than she already was.

She grinned, “Good to know. Pool?” She leaned across Liv to pick up her drink off the bar top using her free hand to hold Liv’s shoulder and steady herself.

Liv caught herself holding her breath, she could feel the warmth of the liquor spreading through her body, but also the heat coming off Casey’s. She’d have to slow down on her cocktail, or her inhibitions might get low enough for her to try something. She couldn’t read the dazzling prosecutor and found that troubling. Was she flirting? Was she just trying to make friends and fit in with the SVU gang?

As Casey stepped back, she made sure to look at the compassionate cop directly in her deep brown eyes, hovering for only a second, her lips tingling as they ghosted past Olivia’s. “I’ll get some quarters,” she pursed her lips and tilted her head in the direction of the pool table.

Casey racked up and grabbed two sticks off the wall, waiting for Liv to make her way over. She was still at the bar seemingly ordering fresh drinks. As Liv turned around and made her way across the room, Casey couldn’t help but bite down on her lower lip and pull it between her teeth, she felt her cheeks getting hot.

“Jameson?” the older brunette smiled holding up two shot glasses of amber liquid.

“Don’t mind if I do Detective,” the young redhead’s eyes sparkled with want, “and you…” She handed one of the pool sticks to what she was strongly hoping was her date for the evening, “are right on…cue.” Casey chuckled at her own goofy joke and then shot the Jameson without flinching. “Sorry for the dad joke,” she chuckled again, setting the shot glass down on the windowsill.

Olivia walked around her to get ready to break, as she did, she stopped behind Casey’s ear, a grin spread across her face, “Whatever you say, Daddy.”

It took every bit of strength Casey had not to let her knees crumple. Her body was on fire, and her arousal made her thankful not to be a man at that moment. The brunette’s breath on the nape of her neck made her entire body quiver. She managed to get out a small giggle as Liv made her way around her other side and lined up her shot.

“So, the job,” Olivia started as she eyed the rack of billiard balls at the other end of the table, “it doesn’t get easier, and sometimes it gets worse, but I’d like to think...” She sighed and stood up and tried to readjust, “...for the most part we make a difference.”

Casey caught herself mindless chewing her bottom lip again listening to the woman in front her, studying how she was soft and quietly intense at the same time. She quirked her brow again and chuckled to herself. “Don’t play pool often, Detective?”

Liv dropped her shoulders in defeat and hung her head laughing, “That obvious, huh?”

The ADA moved behind her, “Can I?” she queried, waiting for a nod before leaning herself up against the usually hardened police officer, who seemed to relax around her. She placed her arms over Olivia’s and her head atop her shoulder, “I’ve got you. It’s all in the wrist,” she ran her long slender fingers over Liv’s, “like this.” With that she pulled Liv’s arm back slowly and then pushed it forward, pushing herself tighter against the beautiful woman in front of her, the stick connecting with the cue ball and scattering the billiards on the table into various pockets.

Liv felt her breath catch in her throat as Casey’s taut body pressed into her back, she inhaled, “bergamot and orange blossoms”, she was completely under her spell at this point. “Wow Counselor, your sway with a pool cue is almost as good as your skill swaying a jury.”

The redhead chuckled into Liv’s shoulder, her lips close enough to the brunette’s neck that she could feel them even though they hadn’t connected yet, “Oh yeah, Detective? You should hear my closing argument.”

Both women laughed, bodies leaning forward towards the pool table. Casey placed her hands against the table on both sides of Liv to steady herself. The brunette cop turned to face her, now pinned between the attorney and the table.

Casey leaned closer, her hazel eyes glistening with lust, her smile melting Liv, tempting her to let her walls down. “Would you like to get out of here?”

Both women raised an eyebrow, noses grazing as they both nodded, almost kissing but thinking better of the public show, and made their way for the door.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The cab ride to Casey’s Upper West Side apartment seemed insufferably long, the two women sitting close enough to touch but refraining as if taunting each other, “touch me I dare you.” The redhead reached into the inside pocket of her suit jacket and practically tossed the money at the cabbie, she wasn’t sure if it was a twenty or a hundred but either way it was more than enough. It was late, the door attendant was off duty, so Casey, ever the gentleman, opened the door and motioned Olivia inside, “After you, Detective.” At this point the way she said it, her voice raspy, sultry, only turned the officer on more.

Once they got into the elevator Casey couldn’t wait anymore, she felt like if she didn’t touch Olivia soon, she might just die of anticipation. She pushed herself up against Liv, pinning her against the wall of the elevator, studying her lips for a minute, she knew they still had about ten floors to go. At first, she just brushed her lips against the olive-skinned beauty’s and then she kissed her, hard, and it was like the bomb that had been ticking all night had finally detonated. She bit Liv’s lower lip and then slid her tongue gently across it to soothe the bite and to wantonly ask for permission. Olivia sighed and opened her mouth slightly allowing Casey access which the redhead took full advantage of, massaging Liv’s tongue with her own. Olivia didn’t even bother to fight for dominance, just let go and let Casey explore, with her tongue and with her hands which were now roaming her body. One hand under Liv’s leather jacket kneading her breast the other wandering down her body, sliding her index and middle fingers through Liv’s belt loop pulling the cops hips closer to her own. She counted in her head, “Three, two, one.” On the count of one she let go and grabbed Liv’s hand as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, she pulled her down the hallway and fumbled with the keys.

The minute they were behind a closed door again Casey threw her keys and pressed the brunette back up against the wall, biting her bottom lip hard, and pulled towards herself. Liv’s moans swallowed by the enthusiastic kisses the district attorney was placing on her with fervor.

“So, Detective…” Casey smirked beginning to kiss and bite down Olivia’s neck, Liv’s knees buckling against her. The redhead leaned harder against her and held her by the shoulders to steady her. She ran her tongue over the marks she was making as she slid the leather jacket off the other woman’s shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, “I know you’re used to being in control but so am I and, hm, I really, really, would like to tell you exactly,” She bit down hard into Liv’s shoulder and suckled for a moment, “what I want to do.”

The brunette whimpered in pleasure at the bite, panting quietly in the dimly lit apartment foyer, completely succumbed. She nodded in response to Casey, she didn’t even want to fight it, she was tired of always having to be the one in charge, making decisions. She would gladly let the fine, young woman in front of her take the reins, at least for now.

“I need a verbal response, Detective.” Casey bit down again, this time a little higher up finding the brunette’s sweet spot.

“Yes,” Liv panted out, shaking her head vehemently, “god yes!”

“Good girl.” Casey smirked devilishly, as she unbuttoned and unzipped Liv’s jeans with her left hand, tracing small circles along her waistline enjoying the teasing torment she was inflicting as Liv’s skin jumped and twitched under her touch.

“Case...” Olivia whispered, she was so turned on by the ADA right now that she couldn’t even speak at a normal volume, “tell me what you want.”

“I want,” the redhead breathed in her ear, kissing and suckling on her neck every few words, “to take you into my bedroom, get you naked…” as she continued, she slid her knee in-between the brunette’s thighs and could feel the arousal from her heat against her leg even through her jeans. She let out a surprised sigh of delight as she felt it. Liv started slowly grinding against her as she continued talking, “and then I want to get you underneath me, taunt you,” she pulled off the stunning officer’s shirt and bit into her bare collarbone, as the detective let out a strangled cry of pleasure, “tease you, until you are so incredibly desperate that you beg me to fuck you.” She pulled one of Liv’s breasts to her face, pushing aside the lace of her bra to suck the nipple into her mouth. Between what Casey was saying and the sensation of her hot, wet tongue, pleasurably massaging her nipple, Olivia almost came from the sheer agony of needing Casey inside of her. The counselor continued, “and I will, I will fuck you until your eyes cross, and then when I think you can’t take anymore, I’ll give you permission to cum,” she kissed the brunette passionately before continuing, “preferably in my mouth.”

Olivia whose chest was already heaving, eager and hungry, letting out moan after moan (which Casey was relishing, trying to push aside her own wanton need to have the brunette inside her), panted heavily, “So then take me to bed.” As she said this, she took Casey into a deep, messy kiss, wrapping her legs around the athletic attorney’s waist and draped her arms around her neck.

Casey wasted no time carrying her new lover to the bedroom, only setting her down as they reached the edge of the bed. She stood there for a moment, trying to catch her breath, reveling in Olivia’s beauty, smooth tanned skin, muscular physique. She giggled slightly as she couldn’t believe they went from their awkward first meeting to this. The redhead tossed her blazer off into the corner and pulled her own shirt off. As she began to kiss Liv again, it became a race as they both hurriedly pulled each other’s clothes off until the two were stripped of everything but their panties. Casey grabbed Liv by her waist pulling her tight to her own hips, she wrapped her left arm around the brunette’s shoulder and let her right-hand slide into Liv’s already soaked black lace underwear. She let her index and middle finger slide through the folds, pulling wetness up from the bottom and rolling her fingers around Liv’s swollen clit. Her breath hitched as she slid her fingers back down, she stroked up and down slowly, the brunette trembling beneath her touch.

“All this for me?” Casey tilted her head, “I’ve barely even begun to touch you.” Her voice was sensual but also lighthearted, the ADA knew how not to take herself too seriously in any situation. She pulled her fingers back up and into her mouth where she sucked and licked them clean. She flopped herself down on the bed, laying on her side, propped up on her elbow. She patted the bed with her free hand and then lifted it out to Liv in invitation. As the brunette took her hand, Casey softly pulled her down on the bed next to her. She put up a good front, but the truth is the young ADA wasn’t as experienced as she was making herself out to be and didn’t want to do anything to hurt or scare away the hot, brilliant detective in her bed staring at her with lust in her eyes. She brushed the hair away from Liv’s face and cupped it in her hand, placing soft kisses on her lips, “I want you to tell me if there’s anything you don’t want, I want you safe and comfortable.” She blushed and looked down; her hand was shaking ever so slightly.

“Counselor,” Olivia smiled softly, looking into deep hazel eyes that she hadn’t been able to get out of her head since they met, “is that nerves? I want you, all of you, whatever that may entail, and I’ll tell you if I’m not okay. Promise.” She giggled and bit her lip softly, “Come on, Daddy. Show me what you got.” She whispered in a jovial attempt to both be sensual and break the tension as she planted a deep soft kiss on Casey.

The minute she said this, it was like she had once again awoken something primal in Casey, who deepened the kiss, pushing Liv to the bed and straddling her. The brunette laughed and gave a small moan, “There we go.” She wanted the redhead six ways to Sunday and would take any way she was willing to give her.

Casey began marking little bites and kisses down Liv’s shoulder and in between her breasts, the detective surely would not be happy when she looked in a mirror tomorrow, as she trailed down the brunettes body she stopped once she got to her panties, nipping at hipbones and slowly pulling them down around Liv’s ankles using nothing more than her teeth, stopping every so often to leave a scattered trail of teeth grazes and small bites, tossing the panties to the floor and then moving her way back up. She began kissing the detective again with every ounce of want in her being, biting and pulling her lower lip, both women moaning into each other’s mouths, unable to help themselves.

“Case…” Liv whimpered against her, “I need…” she moaned again under the redhead’s touch.

“What? What do you need baby?”

“I need you to fuck me.”

Casey wasted no time and easily slid two fingers into the other woman’s heat to which a loud, languid moan was the response. She began pumping, slowly, teasingly, learning the geography. She slid her fingers along a ridge at the top and felt Liv’s body start to tighten around her, this was enough to cause her to start dripping arousal down her own legs as she continued to tease the brunette. She watched Liv’s face every time she stroked that particular spot, how she would whimper, moan Casey’s name, over and over, pleading, “mmm more, please more!”.

The redhead picked up her pace, pumping faster and harder as the brunette ground down firm against Casey’s hand trying to match pace. She could feel Liv’s walls tightening around her, she knew it wouldn’t be long, and just when she knew Liv was about to come crashing over the edge, she held up for a second slowing down to a snail's pace. She ran the tip of her tongue up the length of Liv’s neck and then softly bit her ear, “tell me what you need,” she husked, her lips up against the brunette's striking jawline, nipping and kissing, “hmm, tell me what you need.”

“I need to cum,” Liv pleaded, whining and struggling to regain the friction lost from Casey pumping inside of her, “I need…to…” and before she could finish asking again Casey already had her face down in between her thighs and began fucking her hard, pumping faster and faster, fingers up against her ridge, now adding her to tongue to the brunette's clit. Long, hard swipes never picking up her tongue, so the pressure was constant. She felt Liv’s walls start to flutter, making her moan against her clit, the vibrations sending the detective into a spiral.

Liv grabbed for the headboard as she started screaming, “Oh god, Casey, ah yes! Fuck!” Her core grinding hard against the redhead's face, who quickly removed her fingers and pushed her tongue deep inside, wrapping her arms around both legs to make sure Liv wasn’t getting away as she tongue-fucked her through her orgasm.

“Mm mm” Casey looked up at Olivia, eyes glazed, full of arousal. She licked her fingers clean and then lapped up the mess she had made of the brunette until she had consumed every last drop. “You did so good for me and you taste so fucking good.” She planted a kiss on Liv’s clit making her shudder and then made her way back up until the two were laying face to face.

“That,” Olivia said trying to catch her breath, “was incredible Counselor.”

Casey chuckled, “Well, you’re very welcome, Detective.” She bit her own lip and ran her tongue over it.

“Case?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I touch you?”

Casey nodded longingly.

“I’m going to need a verbal response, Counselor.”

Casey grabbed Liv’s hand and slid it down into her boy shorts, “How’s that for a yes, Detective?” she moaned quietly, her hips bucking towards her lover’s hand.

Liv slid herself closer to the redhead and began to trace her fingers along her folds. Casey was already drenched, “Why ADA Novak, I do believe someone should do something about this mess you’re making,” She grazed her teeth against Casey’s neck as Casey bit her lip and nodded excitedly.

The brunette tauntingly slid one finger into her lover’s tight pussy, causing the redhead to whimper, “More.”

Never breaking eye contact, Liv slowly slid a second finger in, making sure the pads of her fingers touched the squishy ridge at the top. Casey’s jaw went slack with pleasure as she whimpered again, “More.”

This spurred Liv on as she swiftly plunged a third finger in. Casey cried out in pleasure as she did this, bucking her hips against Liv, griding down on her hand and wrapping her arms under the brunettes and holding on to her shoulders. Liv wasted no time pumping deep and hard, keeping constant friction on the g-spot.

Casey rolled her hips keeping the furious rhythm, dragging her nails down Liv’s back. Strangled cries and moans escaping from the redhead’s mouth almost constantly until she started babbling, “Oh I’m already…I’m gonna…FUCK LIV…I’m…” Her body went rigid as the orgasm she experienced engulfed her whole body, screaming Liv’s name over and over again as she came down off her high and her body went limp. Her fluids soaked the bed and Liv’s hand. Liv moaned almost ready to cum again as she tasted the gorgeous litigator for the first time, licking her fingers clean.

Sweaty and spent Casey laid flat on her back and pulled Liv close against her chest. Olivia breathed in and out heavily, soothed by the sound of the redhead’s heartbeat. “That was,” she snuggled closer trying to find the words.

Casey kissed the top of her head, “mind blowing?”

Liv nodded, tracing her fingertips across the redhead's smooth skin, flushed pink from the night's activities.

“Liv?”

“Yeah Case?”

“Please stay? I want to fall asleep with you in my arms”

Liv draped her arm over her lover, “I’d love nothing more.”

They dozed off just like that, tangled in each other, skin to skin, intimate, no alarm, no calls, just sleep.

Part 2

#casey novak #law and order svu #olivia benson #Casey Novak x Olivia Benson #wlw smut #fanfic #casey novak smut #olivia benson smut #casey novak fanfic

43 notes · View notes