#STEPHEN'S REACTION I DIE EVERY TIME
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Hi, I'm a big fan of your work. Sorry if this is a dumb question, why kill the kitties? I notice it a lot in horror in general, and it completely takes me out of the story and just makes me feel bad for the cat. I feel like I'm missing something.
Not a dumb question at all - and I knew I'd be getting some of this the moment we decided to include Poe's The Black Cat in TFOTHOU. The comments sections of the world are full of accusations that I hate cats and/or hands, and - well - neither is true.
I've admittedly gotten a little flippant with my humor in the past when people have brought this up. My knee-jerk reaction is always to say something along the lines of "well, Websters defines 'horror' as..."
But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, it's just not a thing.
A brief history of cats in my work:
HUSH - Maddie's beloved cat, "Bitch," escapes the danger of a home invader completely unharmed and is alive and well at the end of the movie. The last shot of the movie is Maddie lovingly petting the cat on the porch.
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - Yes, a malnourished stray kitten dies within Hill House, only to be horrifically reanimated. This was done to show the horrors of Hill House, serve as a warning to the family, and foreshadow the deaths of several human beings (who would meet more horrible fates) later. Hill House is an evil place, and it killed and collected all sorts of living things... there are dead humans aplenty, and also phantom dogs, which Stephen and the kids hear several times and see in episode six. I'd argue that Hill House is an equal-opportunity horror show.
DOCTOR SLEEP - Azzie the cat is a great friend to Dan Torrance. Azzie also has a "shine" of her own, and can sense when patients at the hospice are going to die, and goes into their rooms to comfort them. Azzie is never once in any danger throughout the film and, we presume, lives a long and happy life.
MIDNIGHT MASS - All of the residents of Crockett Island, which include 157 people, a huge population of stray cats, and at least one particularly sweet dog, do not fare so well in this show. But nothing against the cats - everybody dies. The arrival of a certain evil creature marks doom for literally every living thing on the island (except for two people). And yep, it started with the cats, because they were plentiful and would not alert anyone to its presence. We see its lair full of dead rats, birds, and raccoons as well, all eaten while the creature was in hiding.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER - we adapted The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allan Poe. If you're familiar with the Poe story, you know that it involves the horrible death of a cat, which then seems to get revenge from beyond the grave. This is Edgar Allan Poe's story - we did not write it.
HOWEVER, we decided to make a huge change to Poe's story. At the end of our retelling, we reveal that Pluto the cat is alive and well (and still wearing the Gucci collar), and that the supposed violence against the cat existed entirely in the person's mind. Pluto 2 - the terrifying, supernatural replacement that stalked Leo - is not real either. It is just Verna, taking another form (hence the injury to VERNA'S eye). So in this show, not a single animal is harmed AT ALL.
We did that on purpose. We decided to change Poe's classic story so that the cat lived. We went out of our way to do that.
I truly don't have anything against cats. I do tell horror stories... but that's about it! I hope it doesn't make it more difficult to enjoy the story, and thank you for watching.
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whiny!stephen glass x fem reader
warnings; sexual content, needy stephen, no clear sub/dom dynamics, nipple play, creampie, size!kink if u squint, hickeys, slightly subby stephen, teasing, overstimulation,
”hey y/n? if i invited you over and all we did was okay monopoly would you come?” he spoke in your doorway right after getting up to leave your office, he was just asking you to check up on his work before he submitted it. “oh, um i would really like that stephen.” you flashed him a shy smile before quickly looking back at your papers scattered across your desk, trying not to make eye contact for too long, you were scared he would notice how hard you were trying to keep your voice steady. stephen was always such a sweet guy. he made you very a little nervous, the way you could ever so slightly feel his warm breath against your neck when he peered over at your computer, or the way he was constantly complimenting you and praising you for your ‘captivating’ writing, or the way he stared a little too hard at you during meetings.
“well.. are you free tonight?” he spoke staring at his notepad, unintentionally mirroring you. you wondered for a short second if you made him nervous too.. “oh yeah, i am actually.” “great wanna come over maybe around 6? oh that’s around dinner time isn’t it.. i could make dinner for us as well?” he spoke in an shy tone, like he had thought out every word down to the syllable. “oh yeah that would be great steve!” “i was thinking i’d maybe make creamy pesto pasta, or um if you don’t like pasta i could make something else! anything you want..” oh god he’d really fucked up this time he knows it! you probably hate pasta that was such a stu-“no no, i would love pasta.” your sweet tone melted away his worried instantly, leaving a warm feeling behind in his chest.
i could hardly wait for work to end today, although i felt i could probably keel over and die from how nervous i was. i felt like a teenager again waiting for my first date with a cute boy i had a crush on. i spent all the couple hours i had before going to stephens taking my time getting ready, showering, reapplying my makeup, straightening my hair, picking out an outfit. usually i pass out as soon as i get home from work, getting some much needed rest but i was wide awake with anticipation today.
i walked up the steps to stephens door, taking a deep breath to attempt to calm myself down, it worked, kind of.. i wrang the doorbell and stephen answered very quickly, i smiled at the thought of him waiting like a puppy by the window waiting for my car to pull in.
“hey y/n! come on in!” he said stepping out of the way for you to come inside, the smell hit you as soon as he opened the door, an amazing smell, enough to make you starved instantly. “stephen that smells amazing.” “oh yeah the foods nearly ready, i really hope you like it it’s my moms recipe.” he spoke leading you into the kitchen.
your nervousness had melted away after dinner with stephen. he was just so perfect, he was so intently listening to every word you said, it felt like you had an endless amount of things to talk about when you were with stephen, endless laughs. you just loved seeing his wide smile and the way his eyes scrunched up while he looked you at you, just a simple smile was enough to make you squirm. he was just so gorgeous.
he led you into his well furnished living room. family photos, candles, his endless amount of books, his home had such a safe aura that really reminded you of your childhood home. he pulled out monopoly from under his coffee table, you shuddered a bit as his hand brush led against your thigh as he sat up. you really felt embarrassed at the warm feeling something so small and unnoticed gave you. “i wanna be the little shoe!” you yelled as soon as you saw it, picking it up immediately. “geez, okay.” he laughed at your reaction. god you were so beautiful he couldn’t help thinking as he stared a little too long at your face, your shiny hair that just smelled so good, your gorgeous eyes and lips, and he could see the tinniest but of clevage in your shirt but trust me it was enough to make him feel something.
you noticed his staring after a second and it instantly embarrassed you, had you done something stupid? did you have food on ur face??
he leaned in before you could even process it, lifting your chin up with his thumb and index finger before planting a soft kiss against your lips. you thought your head might actually explode, barely processing what had happened before he pulled away. “i’m really sorry i just did that without thinking oh god you can leave if you want i didn’t-“ before he could finish you pulled him back in for another kiss, instantly silencing him, warmth spread through your whole body making you feel a light headed. he snaked his hand around to the back of your neck, lightly slipped his tongue into your mouth begging to taste you as he pulled you flush against his chest, he could feel your tits pressed up against him and he groaned ever so slightly into your mouth at the feeling of his dick throbbing in his pants begging to feel you around him.
your kisses became more intense and passionate gripping his soft hair in your manicured fingers. he started to lean back onto you trapping you between his body and the couch, gently reaching his hand up to rest on your waist. heat pulsed from your core all the way through your body as you felt his bulge press against your stomach, you broke the kiss for only a moment when you started to lift up your shirt discarding it on the ground, leaving you in only your skirt and bra. he reconnected the kiss before starting to run his hand over your stomach and up up up until he reached your boob, gently pulling the fabric down just enough for your breast to pop out.
he broke the kiss again as he started peppering kisses down your neck before he finally reached you exposed breast, gently sucking and kissing at your nipple before tugging the other side of your bra down. “fuck stephen.” you whimper gasping as he nips at your other nipple. “oh i’m sorry i’m sorry did i hurt you?!” he spoke instantly pulling his mouth away from your chest with a guilty look in his face. “no baby.. it felt good” you smiled at his reaction, he sighed in relief before attaching himself back onto your chest, instead focusing on peppering your tits and collarbone with hickeys. he loved seeing you all marked up.. something about it made his dick throb, just knowing he was the one to leave them on your perfect skin.
“could i please touch you? please?” he nearly begged (as if you would ever refuse him) as he started to run his hand down your stomach nearing the waistband of your skirt, toying with the little bow right below your belly button. “of course stephen..” you smiled at the dazed look in his eyes. he kissed you again as he gently slipped his hand into your skirt.. then into your panties. you whimper into his mouth as he brushes a finger against your clit, barely touching it. heat pulsed through your whole body as your felt your tummy flutter, dizzy and fucked out as you started to beg into his mouth for more clawing at his clothed back with one hand and gripping his hair with the other. stephen thought he could actually be dreaming at this point, you were just so so perfect, absolutely made for him in every way. he could cum in his pants just by hearing your small whimpers and the way you beg for him to touch you and the way you writhe underneath his broad body.
“please stephen stop teasing me.. just touch me” he replayed your words in his head as he gave in, slipping a finger down to feel just how wet you are. fucking soaked. slipping his finger into his mouth as he stood up and ripped your panties off, discarding them on the floor just as he had done for the rest of your clothes. he was tired of waiting, he needed to taste you right. now.
as he sat between your legs before he spoke, “can i taste you princess? please” “yeah.. i need it stephen” you said mindlessly, you weren’t lying either, you thought you might cry if he didn’t touch you already. he gently began kissing and sucking marks all over your thighs before wrapping his arms around you thighs to keep you still. he licked a stripe up your pussy, before planting a kiss right on your clit. “fuck stephen!” you moaned out as he started to lick and suck your sensitive clit, rubbing his finger against your tight entrance. he started to rub against the couch trying to seek any relief, he was so hard it hurt. he moaned into your pussy as he continued his assault on your clit gently pushing a finger into your hole. “stephen please stop teasing me i need you.. please.” you begged as you dug your nails into his scalp, pushing his head deeper into your cunt. he didn’t mean to tease you he just loved hearing you beg.. he knows you needed it so he gave it to you, even if he would like to hear you beg all night.
he pushed his finger all the way into your cunt, continuing to suck and kiss your clit. god they were just so much bigger then your own fingers, curling his finger upwards to his that spot that makes you cry out, and oh it did. you couldn’t keep yourself quiet as he added another finger, as soon as he did that you knew you wouldn’t last long, the hand in his hair had become a death grip, unable to hold back your loud moans you felt that familiar feeling come back to you quickly. “stephen.. i’m gonna come” you said in a pained voice as tears welled in your eyes. “oh fuck oh fuck!” your body began to writhe as he continued to pump his fingers in and out quickly, making sure you ride out your orgasm. or at least you thought.. but even as you stilled and the overwhelming pleasure went away it was quickly replaced with pain as he continued even as you had finished your orgasm, “stephen stop it hurts.” you whimpered out, but no. he wouldn’t. he needed you to cum again. “please just one more.. you can do that for me can’t you?” he spoke into your pussy quickly before returning the same pace as before, holding you down as you writhe.
but the pain was slowly dissolved as the pleasure returned, your moans had turned into whimpers and cries as you felt yourself getting close again, fucking music to his ears. ”i’m gonna cum again stephen” you said in a quiet tone just above a whisper, barely able to make any noise other then a whimper. “cmon sweetheart you can do it” he mumbled into your pussy as your second orgasm took over your whole body, all you could think about was the pleasure in between your legs and him.
he licked up your release from his fingers, savouring the taste of *you* on his tongue. he returned above you, placing a deep kiss on your lips as you still recover from your intense orgasm panting and shaking trying to catch your breath. “please stephen i want you inside me” you begged as he smiled against your lips, his painful erection still evident in his pants. “are you sure sweetheart? you still seem like you need some time to recover” he asked in a genuine voice, you can’t get over how sweet this man was in front of you, where has he been all your life? you had never had a man eat you out so well, give you such a mind numbing orgasm. but stephen was a ladies man, always so focused on your happiness, and pleasure.
“please stephen.. i need it” you said as you began unbuttoning his shirt working your was down down down, revealing his skinny and broad frame, and his cute little happy trail that went down to his.. there’s no need to imagine it anymore, you finally get to see it, touch it, feel it, have it. you slipped his shirt off his shoulders, planting kisses on his collarbone and chest, running your tongue over his nipple lightly, stephen sucked in a harsh breath at this a dazed expression on his gorgeous face. their sensitive i’ll remember that. you thought to yourself before making you way down, you undid his belt, then the button on his pants. bulge so evident in his loose pants, the size surprised you just from looking at it through his clothes, he stopped you and pulled his pants down leaving him in just his boxers before sitting back between your legs, you could hardly breath from anticipation.
he rested both your legs to rest against his shoulder, giving him access to finally remove your small pleated skirt. he soaked in the beautiful sight of your fully naked body, from the expression on his face you would’ve thought he was looking at a beautiful piece of art in a museum, you felt slightly embarrassed by his staring but you resisted your urge to cover up. “your so so beautiful. every part of you if just perfect.” he said shyly, you can’t believe he would still avoid eye contact even after giving you the best head of your life but he couldn’t help it.. you made him nervous and he was always so unsure of himself, scared of saying the wrong thing and making you hate him forever.
he started to pull his boxers down feeling bad that he wasn’t fully naked yet, you heart dropped as you saw it.. you’d never ever guess a shy guy like stephen to be so big, it was maybe 7.5 inches? and so so thick. he bashfully stroked it once before returning above you to plant more kisses on your lips and neck, your head was spinning feeling it press against your thigh. it twitched slightly as it touched your leg, he whimpered like a girl feeling his dick pulse. “could i please?” he said this in such a whiny voice, how could you refuse him?
“of course baby go ahead.” you said reaching your hands to touch his stomach as he eased the tip in. a look of pain covered his face, his eyebrows knitting together and his mouth slightly agape. he slides in inch by inch, groaning as he works his way in. the sting sets in immediately, it��s been a while since you’ve had sex, and you’ve never had anyone as big as him.. “fuck your so big stephen” you cry as you claw at his arms that are rested comfortably on the curve of your waist. “i’m so sorry baby i know it hurts, do you want me to stop?” he strokes your hair as he stills inside you waiting for your response. “no no please i just.. take it slow okay?” he nods as he continues to ease in. the look of pain returns to his face as he tried to keep going slow, resisting the urge to push ur legs up to ur ears and fuck you senseless.
he looked so gorgeous like this, his adams apple bobbing slightly and he swallowed. “your so beautiful steve.” you think aloud and a look of surprise then a boyish smile covered his face looking down at where your bodies meet, he’s beautiful? there’s no way you really though that.. no, you were the beautiful one.
“really?” stephen said a bit above a whisper, hardly heard over small pants as he continued to work his way in and out of you. “of course sweet boy.” he whimpered at this small comment his head falling down to the crook of your neck, hands finding a spot to rest along the curves of your body. he continues to thrust into you, taking his time to feel you.
“fuck..-princess” he groaned out speeding up slightly, unable to hold back any longer. digging his fingernails into the dip in your waist, forcefully holding you still. planting open mouth kisses all over your neck, sucking hickeys and leaving gentle bites all over your chest. he rested his hand right down on top of your stomach pushing down slightly. “do you fucking feel that? can you feel me in your stomach?” his dirty talk stung your ears, such an unfamiliar sound coming from stephens mouth.
but oh fuck. yeah you could. whimpers and words of encouragement keep spilling from your mouth, you can’t help but clench around him every single time he moves inside you. “your such a good boy for me, aren’t you steve?” your are babbling at this point, slurring your words, do fucked out you can barely think. but that’s okay, because when your with stephen you don’t have to think. he’ll take care of you.
“yeah-fuck.. y/n” he almost sounds like he’s crying when he says this, fingers finding your clit as he starts going faster, pushing your legs over his shoulders as he pounds you. your legs begin to shake as you hold onto him desperately, that warm ache returning back to your stomach. “steve.-fuck im gonna cum” you cried out into his ear. “can i please please cum inside you princess? please you’ll let me right?” he perks right up as soon as he hears you say this, looking you right in the eyes while he begs.
“i..yeah steve yeah go ahead..” his whimpers turn into cries at this point, his thrusts become sloppy and random, but that feeling in your stomach only becomes stronger, gradually building to your climax.
you can’t help but shake and hold onto steve desperately, legs and arms desperately wrapping around him, needing him as humanly close as possible. you wished you could just merge into one being right now. stephen continues to whimper and cry into your neck as he finally came, a warm feeling floods your inside. feeling so full and content.
a/n: kinda hate this wow.. i haven’t written anything in a long time so i’m sorry if this is bad LOLLL but i hope you enjoyed regardless. lemme know what else you would like to see for stephen glass or any other of hayden christensens characters!
#anakin skywalker smut#hayden christensen#sam monroe smut#stephen glass smut#stephen glass#shattered glass#anakin skywalker#star wars#sam monroe#darth vader#smut#stephen glass x reader#anakin x reader#anakin smut
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PROMPTS FROM LIFE IS STRANGE, SEASON 1
* assorted dialogue, suggested by ismelodrama, adjust as necessary
everything is a picture waiting for be taken.
you're just jealous of me because i actually do the things you can't.
are you hiding something?
i'm sick of your disrespect. tell me the truth!
i don't want to fight with you anymore. i don't want to fight with anyone anymore.
i was eating those beans!
how the hell did you know about that photo?
always take the shot. my number one rule of photography.
you just don't listen, do you?
there's something weird going on with you.
you've only been here for three weeks and you're already causing conflict.
after this week, you are certainly not a little kid anymore.
not now. i'm contemplating shit.
are you fucking kidding me? this is major bullshit!
i didn't have all the evidence at the time.
we all make decisions we regret.
i'm not gonna make any excuses for my behavior.
i'd put stephen hawking against picasso any day.
it sucks to be dragged into the spotlight.
nobody believes me anyway.
you're exactly the kind of soldier i'd want by my side in a war.
why the hell not?
i almost asked you to hang out.
you should have asked me.
maybe we're too much alike.
i don't believe anything you say. you're full of shit.
eat a dick, [name].
i'll be in the tardis getting my delorean ready.
since you're the mysterious superhero... i'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion.
you don't know who the fuck i am or who you're messing around with.
where'd you get that? what are you doing? come on, put that thing down!
don't ever tell me what to do! i'm so sick of people trying to control me!
so you can't help me?
i told you before that i'll always believe you.
i may be a pest but... i'm a good listener.
you're the bravest person i've ever known.
for every action, there's a reaction.
i'm trying. but you have to understand my position.
i know i can be a pain in the ass... and you've always treated me like a person, not a beta nerd.
why do you want all your friends to die?
oh i see. i'm not important to you anymore.
nobody lectures me. everybody tries though.
do not analyze me! i pay people for that.
hey, that's total slander!
you don't know shit about my father, or me.
you're all fucked!
everybody hates me.
[name]... it's me. i just wanted to say i'm sorry.
i truly am sorry for being such a bastard.
you would have been cool to hang out with.
you might as well choose me.
i'm not perfect, okay?
you have talent, [name].
you don't have to push people out of your way.
thanks for admitting again that i have some talent.
do you think it's, like, fate we're not supposed to be friends?
nobody says we have to be friends.
everybody lies. no exceptions.
i came for all of you.
i'm in a nightmare and i can't wake up.
no wonder they call it a "web." nothing can ever get out.
i wish i could go back in time and erase everything.
just tell me you do have the photograph.
now shut up and listen.
i'm not a real scientist.
i was just happy just being your friend.
[name], i'm so sorry you had to go through all that.
i don't think i can concentrate on going out to the movies.
everybody pretends to care until they don't.
even angels need angels, [name].
i might be naive, but i feel their struggle.
why did you stop me from jumping?
this shit pit has taken everyone i've ever loved.
when a door closes, a window opens... or something like that.
i keep going back in time.
how could there be a more important moment in history?
thank you for trusting me.
hey... be careful out there.
what kind of friend are you?
you never understood me, or what happened to me.
i'll always be alone, thanks to you.
just in case we don't get out of this...
i'm going to make the right choices from now on.
i've been feeling like this might be actually the end of the world.
i hate to say that i'm glad to see you, but i'm glad to see you.
i wish i could stay in this moment forever... but then it wouldn't be a moment.
if that tornado came right now, i would just sit here and watch for a while.
i just feel like escaping.
i have total faith that you'll do the right thing when the time comes.
with great power comes great bullshit.
am i pushing myself too hard?
you like to hurt people, huh?
i'm glad you decided to escort me.
i know this is a bad time, but can i get one picture?
of course i believe you. you're the most amazing person i've ever met, and i'm glad you trust me.
i don't have a fucking clue what's going on.
#mcflymemes#life is strange#life is strange memes#rp prompt#rp meme#rp memes#roleplay memes#roleplay prompt#rp starters#ask meme#ask memes#roleplay meme#roleplay inbox prompts#rp inbox meme#inbox prompt#inbox meme#sentence starter prompt#sentence starter#sentence starters#thank you to ismelodrama for suggesting this!!!!!
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Miles Quaritch: fear of betrayal, and a lethal act of love (Stephen Lang Omaticon interview thoughts)
So! The annual Omaticon has commenced! And we got some interesting lore details from one of the guests, the legend and the moment Stephen Lang, who plays Quaritch.🫶
At one point, he talks about Quaritch’s fear of betrayal, and hearing it has definitely added even more weight to his actions, as well as actions of Spider, than ever before. Even more so than the deleted scenes.
As he says in the clip I linked, Quaritch is so desperately afraid of getting hurt, of having his trust crushed, that he refuses to get close to others and create meaningful relationships. Quaritch is afraid to love. He expects betrayal and disloyalty at every corner, and no doubt builds up walls to protect himself from potential heartbreak.
It gives us further motivation as to why Quaritch has reacted so violently to Jake refusing to take part in colonisation of Pandora. It wasn’t just pettiness. It was Miles trusting someone and getting burned, likely not for the first time, and lashing out, bringing forth whatever hurt and pain he stored for years. It’s tragic that so many innocent Na’vi and even humans got hurt as result of his emotional reaction, and 15 years later, Quartich’s clone is back at it.
Recom Q is in possession of everything that makes Quaritch — Quaritch, so he follows down the same path of vengeance, obsessively looking for Jake.
However, he unexpectedly encounters a human boy on his mission. A human boy painted in blue, who carries a bow. A boy whom Quaritch shares blood.
A boy who’s loyalty knows no bounds.
Considering the baggage that Miles apparently has when it comes to trust and loyalty, the act of Spider choosing death over ratting out his own has been no doubt extremely impressive to the man. A breath of fresh air perhaps, to see someone love so passionately they’re ready to die for the cause.
I can sit here and speculate forever on how Quaritch’s relationship with Spider developed, now that we are aware of his crippling fear of betrayal. Perhaps Miles felt an odd sense of comfort in being around Spider, as he was openly hostile and there were no hidden intentions. Socorro’s hate laid bare, so Miles had nothing to be afraid of. There was no loyalty to speak of.
But then the bond grew, and Miles must have noticed it too late. How much he came to care for a kid he met only months ago.
Or, perhaps, Miles let Spider into his heart because of the interrogation scene. He witnessed show pure the boy is, how determined, and it felt different, safe to approach him. Perhaps Miles felt like they could bond over their dedication.
Either way, the colonel has done something he was afraid of for a likely very long time. He trusted. He let someone in. Deeper into his soul than anyone has even been before.
And then, when he was faced with the ultimatum of losing that someone, he sacrificed all he believed in for him, expecting nothing in return. He held Spider’s sister at knifepoint, it was only fair the boy would celebrate his death…
And then he was alive. And Spider was there with him.
I cannot even begin to imagine the sheer shock, confusion, and love Miles feels when he looks at Socorro on that rock. After getting burned too many times, he was finally proven wrong. Someone showed him loyalty, for no reason other than love.
The new lore also provides further reasoning as to why Quaritch asked Spider to come with him. How could he possibly not? How could he not repay him ten-fold? I believe in that moment in time, Miles fully claimed Spider as his son, and genuinely wanted the kid to follow him back to Bridgehead just so they could stay together.
Spider chose to leave. He’d be crazy not to, after all the horrors he witnessed done against his beloved home, and against people he believed to be part of.
But I keep wondering, how tightly will Quaritch cling on this broken family they now have? How iron of a grip will he have on Spider? After being betrayed, being afraid of love, it’s hard to imagine a different outcome. He’s been expecting a back-stab on every corner and then got rescued by someone who had nothing to gain from it. I’m sure it’ll mess with his head to have that one person "taken away" from him (by the Sullies).
If this is the lore we’re working with, I can see why Miles will remain a villain. Still unhinged, still obsessive, but the focus of that obsession might switch from a revenge fantasy to a family delusion. Who knows really 🤷
#atwow#atwow jake sully#atwow quaritch#quaritch atwow#avatar quaritch#Quaritch avatar#miles quaricth#recom quaritch#atwow recoms#recombinants#avatar spider#spider avatar#atwow spider#spider atwow#spider socorro#avatar 2#avatar way of water
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Every time i read stephens first death scene i always have to resist the urge to roll around on the floor crying cos GUYS HE DIDNT WANT TO DIE ALONEE 😭😭😭😭
So ofc my natural reaction was to draw this and make it my phone wallpaper👍 (made a matching set using a panel from the comics too!!)
Home screen + lock screen :,D
#doctor strange#doctor stephen strange#stephen strange#marvel#marvel fanart#marvel comics#bats the ghost dog
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Prompt: continuation for the obsession verse , like their first time together or people's reaction to their relationship. (Prompt sent via messeges.)
I do want to write their first time, I swear, but for now you are getting Rhodey’s reaction to their relationship.
*
“Rhodey-bear!” Tony greets him, grinning broadly and slapping him on the shoulder. “It’s been too long since we’ve had some us-time. I’m glad you could make it.” He leads James into the kitchen, opens the fridge, and pulls out a beer to hand to him.
James takes the bottle, smiling back, if less broadly. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he promises. “I’m only sorry the brass have kept me so busy.” Some of the developments in Tony’s life lately seem… Well, Pepper had sounded genuinely worried.
“You know I can fix that,” Tony says, taking a beer for himself and leading them back out to the living room couches. He flops down easily. “I may not have the pull that I did back in the day, but the military still wants me for my body armor, among other things.”
“And you know I don’t want you boosting my career,” James counters. He sits on the couch opposite Tony and puts his feet up. “Not any more than being your friend does all by itself, anyway,” he says wryly. Tony makes a derisive noise but lets it go. “So,” James goes on, trailing his voice off leadingly for a moment. “What’s this I hear about you dating Strange? Aren’t I supposed to vet your partners?” James laughs a little, because that’s always been mostly a joke between them. It feels less like a joke this time.
Tony’s chuckle is more honest. “What can I say? He swept me off my feet. Almost literally: we turned that corner at one of the Superhuman Defense Fund galas.”
Damn. That’s longer than Pepper had thought. “And you really like the guy?”
Tony’s eyes light up and he sits up out of his sprawl, leaning forward instead. “He’s amazing, Rhodey. I mean, obviously he’s gorgeous, but he’s also brilliant. Magic is one thing, but you should hear him talk medicine. Plus, he looks at me like I hung the fucking moon. He’ll drop anything short of a life or death emergency just to talk to me. It’s like… I think he thinks I’m the most important person in the world. Not just to him, either, the most important person, period.”
James sits up, too, and chooses his words carefully. “He sounds a little intense.”
“Intense, or obsessed?” Tony asks, smirking.
Of course he sees right through James. “Pepper’s told me some things,” James admits. “Honestly? I was a little worried he wouldn’t want you to see me.”
Tony scoffs and takes a swig from his beer. “Look, I do actually get where that concern comes from, I’m not blind, but Stephen knows how important you are to me. Taking some time for the two of us to hang out tonight was his idea, believe it or not.”
“Seriously?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Tony says, making an X over his heart. “Except not really, Stephen would kill me. And with his power set, I’m not ruling that out as a literal impossibility.”
A laugh escapes James despite himself. “You know I’m in favor of anyone who gets you to take care of yourself,” he says, “it’s just… Pepper says sometimes he just pops out of a portal and sits there watching you. I did some checking, and it seems like he might have been poking around your confidential records. And weird shit has been happening to people who talk shit about you in public.”
Tony doesn’t look surprised by any of this. “What kind of weird shit?” He takes another sip of his beer.
“One guy swears after he made a comment about you and reckless driving, every stoplight he approached for a week went red,” James says. “A journalist who published an article speculating that you were still dealing in weapons under the table claims they couldn’t tell a lie for a month. The woman who wrote that so-called ‘exposé’ about your ongoing drug use had to be checked into the psych ward for three days because she started seeing monsters all over New York.” James could go on, but Tony’s smirking. “It’s true, isn’t it? All of that, it was Strange.”
“Is it such a bad thing that someone wants to come to my defense?” Tony asks. “None of them were hurt, right? None of those three, and none of the others, either.”
“Well, the wife of the guy who couldn’t lie left him,” James says. “But other than that… no.”
“There you go, then.” Tony takes another swig from his beer.
James hesitates. “Just because no one got hurt doesn’t mean that it’s okay. This is not normal behavior, Tony. If you’re not worried about what Strange is doing to these people, aren’t you a little worried that he’s keeping such close tabs on you that he knows about these things what seems to be the second they happen?”
Tony finishes his beer and sets it aside. “Look,” he says seriously. “I am absolutely aware that this isn’t normal behavior. Stephen isn’t normal. And neither am I. I’ve tried to do normal relationships. I tried really fucking hard with Pepper, Rhodey, you know I did. But you tell me: was I happy?”
“No,” James admits, sighing. Tony had put on a pretty good show with Pepper. James thinks that he even convinced himself he was happy, for a while. But it wasn’t real.
“Stephen makes me happy,” Tony says. After a moment he snorts and flops back against the couch again. “And like everything else that’s ever made me happy, if it blows up in my face I know you and Pep will be there to help pick me up after.”
Despite everything, James smiles and says only, “Always, Tones.
Because that’s the first time Tony has ever said “if it blows up” instead of “when it blows up.”
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CHRISTOPHER LIGHTWOOD DESERVED BETTER
weekly rant about my fav family and the atrocious writing:
I’m rereading chain of thorns and I’m at that part. y’all know the part. where a certain someone should not have died and how unnecessary it was. I like how grace is all like “you can stop this lucie.” bitchhhhh, couldn’t you have said that- hmmm, I don’t know maybe before Tatiana came out? like it’s so unnecessary and I am not here for CC hating the lightwoods and making sure each one from every generation dies.
Max- like what was he, an eleven year old? GONE. poor little boy 😭😭😭
Benedict- ok dude had it coming but he’s still a Lightwood and he died. plus Will makes a joke about it to Gabriel as if it’s not Gabriel’s trauma? the fuck. gabriel deserves better plus he needed more page time!!!! Gabriel and Gideon lost a father but yes, let’s make jests about it.
Kit- poor, sweet Kit. did not deserve to die like that. but of course, she’s not going to kill off any herondales because my god, we couldn’t survive that. can’t have our golden eyed and insufferable boys die. what vexed me most about this is the way CC went about it. I get they’re in this war but someone who is family and is practically family to y’all just died!!! but ok let’s grieve James and Matthew who are very much alive. wouldn’t be a CC book if we didn’t focus on the herondales.
tatiana- deserved it but I did not like how it was Cordelia. it should not have been her who killed her. Gabriel loses a son because of her, Gideon loses a daughter, Anna, Thomas, little Alexander, and Eugenia lose their brother, sister, cousin. literally Thomas loses his best friend who is basically his parabatai and his sister within the same year ish. I’m not sorry because it should not have been Cordelia to kill this wench.
Barbara- poor Barbara 😭 just wanted to marry Oliver but no, guess she’s got to go too. I would have liked to see more of her.
I swear that I do not want Magnus and Alec go adopt another kid if CC is going to kill them off. I know she holds herondales to this high degree but STOP HURTING THE LIGHTWOODS. yes, they are the best characters. without them, the world would probably be doomed. (looking at you jace lol we know you would’ve died without Alec or Izzy.)
adding Robert. he gone too. she even kills all the lightwoods in Thule like what is her obsession with hating this wonderful family? this is why I would rather she stop with the series. these are some of my fav characters but her carelessness and her desire to put one family above everyone else and simply act like nobody else matters is exhausting. as you know, I adore the lightwoods but it’s so draining to see them being treated like this. the only ones who I was glad to see gone was Tatiana and Benedict. you’ll never see her kill off a herondale. Stephen does not count because he wasn’t really introduced, and the other members were barely in stories, just mentioned.
and it’s fine if she has a preference. I love the lightwoods so much but there’s a different with you killing off multiple members of a family and writing out your fav family as untouchable. ahhhh, poor kit. he died and only Thomas and Anna had emotions through it all. we don’t even get to see Gabriel’s or cecilys reaction. what the fuck. I don’t know what CC was feeling writing this but I would have honestly rather she waited until she felt like writing it. it’s not fair what happened to Kit or the family over and over again. I wish she would do better but that’s too high of a hope for CC.
#anti cassandra clare#the lightwoods#alec lightwood#magnus bane#thomas lightwood#Robert lightwood#max lightwood#benedict lightwood#Tatiana lightwood#Anna Lightwood#Christopher Lightwood#anti cc#anti jace wayland#Eugenia lightwood#Barbara lightwood#Gabriel lightwood#gideon lightwood#its a long rant but I’m so fed up#like let’s just kill off one member of a specific family for every generation practically because that’s cool#just think of Thomas and Alastair and the trauma they have plus both Gideon and Gabriel it makes me so sad
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Well - even though the camerawork made me quite dizzy at times and thus I couldn't totally keep up with what was going on in each story - I thought Casualty was rather good, if also incredibly sad.
Rash's storyline made me cry tonight. It wouldn't have even occurred to me when the ep started to think that Ashok would die. I'm not sure how to feel about this: on one hand, I sort of feel like the Rash, Rida, and Ashok story deserved more emphasis throughout if this was going to be the outcome.
But on the other hand, having the Ashok story as just one of several stories running through the ep was an excellent way of making the way it turned out shocking and upsetting and sudden to the audience just like it was to Rash. As I say, it made me cry, and it's not all that common for Casualty to do that.
Neet Mohan's performance was brilliant. The way Rash just started sobbing like a scared little boy - wow. And it's just so sad to think that Rash is only about 30 or so and he's already lost both of his parents. Poor Rash.
I hope the show handles Rash's grief well. And Rida's, for that matter - she may not have known Ashok very long, but she clearly cared a lot for him and wanted to look after him. I imagine she'll feel like all of this is her fault - it's just an accident no one could have seen coming, of course, but in such a situation it would be so easy to end up thinking you caused it. Sarah Seggari was fantastic at conveying Rida's reactions tonight.
Speaking of Rash, I love how Dylan's become a sort of mentor to him. It's very sweet. I hope it continues. And while I'm not much of a big Joe McGann fan - that's another story - there was still something quite entertaining about seeing John Gaskell's fourth-cousin Wyatt!
I just like pretending every other Holbyverse character played by one of the McGanns is a relative of John's in some way. Considering we knew nothing about John's family - John himself knew nothing about his family - it's entirely possible. So I will continue to tell myself Wyatt is John's distant cousin. Although, I'm fairly sure Joe McGann has played so many guest characters that this would mean John has a lot of distant cousins who look oddly alike to one another. (Stephen and Mark, meanwhile, I think have only been in Casualty once or twice each.) Maybe all his characters are more closely related to each other than they are to John? Hm.
The Stevie story was intense. I'm not sure at all how to feel about it, or where any of it seems to be going, on a narrative level. However, I think when it came to the characterisation for Stevie this was the best ep in a while. It did very well at showing her PTSD, and it felt less like it was treating her like Henrik - i.e. making her character defined by trauma in a way that doesn't do any good for trauma survivors - than some others have. Stevie is a complex morally ambiguous character and I think, with the right effort, the show can let her stay that way while also showing more sympathetic angles to her.
I like that Ngozi is finally getting more backstory now. I'm interested to see where her storyline goes, though I don't have lots to say about it yet because we still don't know much. But I've loved Ngozi this whole time, so I'm glad she's getting more to do.
I'm not interested in a Teddy-Jodie-Cam love triangle. What is it with all these love triangles recently? I'm also not that interested in Cam in general - I don't hate him or anything, I like him well enough, he's just a bit boring to me. So I'm bored by love triangles and I'm becoming bored by Cam. I can think of much more interesting stories Teddy and Jodie could have whether separately or as a couple, than this.
Where was Max this week? I thought his absence was odd after he was so strongly involved last week.
Can Jacob please, please get a meaningful story? I'm tired of him being used as Iain's sidekick. He can do so much more than that. And I hate any scene where he talks about Faith because it just makes me think about how Faith is basically just exactly the same character as Tina was except Faith isn't acknowledged as an awful person. Sigh, again.
So, all in all: the Rash storyline is great, I have mixed feelings on the rest.
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Hello! Can I request a fic with Dr. Strange's daughter (about America Chaves' age) except the reader is a variant of Stephen's dead daughter. Like it can happen when America was being chased by that giant eyeball. Apparently reader got sucked into Americas powers with her. Reader is still in shock since she just saw her actual father (defender strange) die. What does Dr. Strange's reaction will be when he meets his alive daughter, albeit a variant of her. (Their meeting can be like Strange just saved her from an untimely death and when he saw who he saved his heart just stopped)
Every reality
Your day was just bound to get ruined, although you didn’t expect it to end up with you father dead and being sucked into another universe with America.
Being on the run wasn’t one of your plans either.
You were alone, with somebody who barely can control their own powers and you were no good without your dad’s instructions.
This was the day you die, there was no way to look at it.
You couldn’t even say goodbye, it was so fast, so sudden and unexpected, he was gone and you were alone and lost, you were….scared.
"Watch out!" America screamed cutting your train of thought just in time to see the huge Aline jumped straight at your way.
You made a portal and jumped in it, not caring where it took you because you were not panicking.
There was rubbish where you landed and the sound of America’s screams were still loud and clear, you didn’t go far away it seems, maybe just a few blocks away.
Which meant that thing was close.
A growled maybe you jump and turn around, scratch whatever you thought, that thing was right behind you and ready to devour you whole.
So this is how it ends? In a strange city, eaten by an ugly Aline, what a life you had.
You couldn’t even think, you closed your eyes and screamed when it grabbed you by the waist and threw you in the air, gravity graded you down immediately almost landing you in its mouth…almost.
The Aline screamed in pain and before you knew what’s going, two strong arms held you close and you were on the ground, covered in some blood with a weird blues substance that you wish to not know where it came from.
"Y/N?" You heard your name and looked up at who saved you, familiar blue eyes looked down at you with shock and worry.
"Dad?"
Stephen breathed heavily, he was holding his child, his little girl, alive and breathing. His heart hurt, a part of him knew this wasn’t really you, but a variant, then there was the father’s heart, the pain of seeing his child again.
"I think I’m going insane" he whispered holding you close to his chest, you could hear his heart beat loud in your ears, he was scared too.
"You’re not the only one" you hid your face against his chest, not daring to look up with tears in your eyes, you didn’t want to open up your eyes and find out it was just your brain playing tricks on you.
It didn’t matter that he wasn’t your actual dad but by god you were desperate and alone.
"Are you ok kid?" He asked.
You nodded your head slowly "but I can’t feel my legs"
He snorted "of course, let’s get out of here, I can’t lose another daughter" that’s when you looked up, Stephen strange, different realities but he still loved his daughter in every one of them.
#father stephen strange#dr stephen strange#stephen strange#dr strange x you#doctor stephen strange#dr strange x reader#dr strange#imagine#mcu#fanfic#dr stephen strange imagine
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Hey 👋
I've seen some recent anti posts where they're like "Dacre did SUCH a good job making us hate Billy" which is... just so wrong lmao.
They act like Dacre didn't put his heart, body, and mind into making Billy a sympathetic character (in contrast to the Duffers wanting another Henry Bowers).
Also... saying Billy is like Bowers is laughable tbh.
Henry targeted each and every kid in the losers club. He didn't have a sister that his father made him watch, like Billy did.
If anything, Bowers is closer to Jason Carver than any other character.
Well, Troy from s1 (and his pal, I think his name was James), too.
But I guess they were forgotten as well *sigh*
I saw someone say that Billy saying "it'll all be over soon" felt r*pish. He was possessed, and that same person also said that he'd told this to Max.
Seems to be a common theme in which some antis haven't actually watched the show.
Some die hard Steve fans who are antis, have even told me they either haven't watched s1, or they just straight up ignore s1 Steve.
As a survivor myself, I really wish antis would stop throwing around words like r*pe and abuse.
When they mention abuse, all they ever mention is Billy being the abuser. They don't talk about Neil, they don't talk about Lonnie, and they don't talk about Brenner (or Vecna).
Another thing I've noticed is that outside of our corner, the only other time this fandom mentions abuse is really just to further prove that a certain ship is canon.
Hey 👋🏻
It is funny, because Dacre has been very vocal about Billy having “flaws” but not being inherently bad or evil. He advocates so hard for imperfect victims, which is what I love about him. Billy would be nothing without Dacre, and I wish more actors had the guts to fight for better writing lol. The Duffers keep making shallow references to Stephen King’s work, and it makes me really wonder if they understood any of the major themes in his books. Granted, King was doing a lot of drugs when he wrote IT, but the story is still solidly inspired by real homophobic and racist violence in a small town as well as the general disregard for children and their safety. Stranger Things is based on conspiracy theories and government experimentation on people. Why they act like these two medias are comparable or need the same kinds of antagonists is just weird to me.
Henry Bowers was abused, too. Like, his father was a racist cop who antagonized Mike’s family for years and he was also violent towards his own son. Obviously, that had an impact on Henry who developed antisocial behavior. On the very surface, that seems similar to Billy. However, there is a big difference between them in terms of agency and the degree of harm. Billy’s violence was mostly reactive. There was a clear trigger (usually his dad). Henry sought out his victims to antagonize and he was very much addicted to the violence. IT was able to weaponize Henry because Henry wanted that power. He ended up killing his father without remorse. In order for the Mindflayer to weaponize Billy, it had to take over his mind and his body completely leaving Billy with little to no agency. Billy was consumed by guilt over what the Mindflayer made him do. His personality and reaction to trauma is nothing like Henry Bowers.
Henry is representative of the fear and hate prevalent in his small town, which is similar to Jason’s role last season in that regard. Their respective roles expose the prejudices of their communities. Billy’s role didn’t really do that. I don’t think the Duffers really thought about his purpose beyond being a “human antagonist” and a source of conflict for Max and Lucas (which…why was this necessary if they were never going to address it again?). There are obviously bigger bads whose entire shtick is Remorseless Abuser, and I’ve said before that this show *could* be about systematic abuse and fighting against it (including government/institutional abuse) but the Duffers hate survivors too much to explore that with any authenticity. So, we end up having to do that for them. This show and its fandom at large really are so shallow. All spectacle and trauma as decoration without critical thought.
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"Because I love you!" (Stephen)
The moment she'd said it, Stephen couldn't help the little smile that came to his lips. He didn't want her to think that he thought it was funny, what she'd just said, but it was making him smile so much that an explanation was in order. "Sorry, that just um... pretty much derailed anything else I was going to say, so please continue to elaborate on that point," he said.
They'd been seeing each other for a short while now, but neither had actually gone so far as to say those three little words yet. It had been... heavily implied... but Stephen's fear of rejection and failure complex had him believing this of course wouldn't work out, just like what he'd had with Christine hadn't either. But now here Wanda was, blurting this out somehow managing to get all forty-seven different current lines of thought crammed into his multitasking brain to Error 404 all at once.
"I feel like that line would win you any argument with me. What were we even arguing about?" A light chuckle followed. That he suddenly couldn't remember was shockingly amusing. "That's really effective," he said, continuing to avoid the issue of what his reaction to her words might be. But then he sighed, knowing it wasn't fair to her to leave her hanging like this. "Wanda, you know I care about you... but..." Another sigh, born of stress. "...every time I say those words to someone, they either die or they leave me."
Just that alone was enough of an admission of vulnerability to get his heart beating faster. The implication there, of course, was that if he didn't say the words, maybe the loss or rejection wouldn't happen. Logically he knew that was magical thinking, of the sort a child might have, and yet he couldn't move past it... not when he'd been so happy with Wanda thus far.
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Deranged and Deceptive {2} || dark!Sinister Strange
Summary: Days have passed and your Stephen hasn't come to rescue you yet. When the opportunity presents itself, it's time to take matters into your own hands.
Warnings: 18+ only, kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, chemical attack, angst, dark themes.
WC: 1549
Dr Strange Masterlist || Part One
The terrain was barren and you truly believed there was no one left in this universe except for you and Stephen. There were no signs of life beyond the sanctum at all. It was gut-wrenching to think that everyone you ever knew in your universe had been obliterated here, all because of him.
You looked over to Stephen, his stormy grey eyes fixated on you as the herbal he had made for cooled in your hands. You couldn’t stomach anything he made you, you didn’t know what he might put in it. So you stood at the window at the top of the observatory and waited. One day. One day your husband would come.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He uttered as he rose from the torn leather chair he had watched you from. “I’m not a monster.”
“No, you’re a protector.” You said, placing the full mug on the top of the piano. “You’re meant to help people, not this.”
His nostrils flared as he crossed the room and pressed his nose to yours. “This is me protecting you. This is me saving you from the universes that you are fated to die in. I lost you once already and I’m not the only one.”
Your eyebrows knitted in confusion as he reached for the bound book strapped to his hip, something he did whenever he was becoming unhinged. “What do you mean?”
“Every night I see you die in my arms.” He growled as he crushed you to his chest, your arms limp at your side. “Every night one of us loses you. We never save you. Don’t you understand? I have to save you.”
You struggled to pull yourself from his tight embrace but you broke free, knocking the mug over in the process and jumping as it shattered across the floor. You feared his reaction at the mess and he scoffed as he saw it too.
“I’m not going to hurt you, darling.” He soothed as he caressed your cheek softly. “I told you, I’m not a monster.”
You nodded numbly and bent down to begin picking up the broken remnants of the mug, hissing when you caught your finger on a sharp shard. “Is there still a cleaning cupboard here?”
“First floor cupboard by the stairs.” He said with a nod to the door. “The front door is spellbound so don’t try to leave. There are things more dangerous than me that lurk in the shadows.”
Your skin prickled at the thought but you nodded dutifully and made your way to the cupboard. You had known he didn’t do a lot of cleaning from the state of the sanctum and you were happy to find an array of bottles lined up on the shelf along with a first aid kit. It had been a long time since you took science in school but one lesson you had been repeatedly taught was what not to mix.
You shook the spray bottle that had a surface cleaning label on it and took it with a rag back up to the top floor. Stephen had returned to his chair with a book in his hand, looking serene as he turned the pages and smiled up at your entrance. It shouldn’t have made your heart flutter but when he smiled it was hard to discern him from your husband.
“Leave that a moment.” He said as he sensed the smile almost rising for him and curled a finger at you. “It can wait.”
You took a deep breath before your feet moved and he spread his legs expectedly, waiting for you to take a seat on his lap. He had been playing this game for days, ebbing away at your resolve and hoping you would give in to him. You had barely allowed him to touch you since waking up the first morning after arriving but it didn’t stop him trying.
Placing the spray bottle and rag on the table beside the chair, he grinned before his hands grabbed your hips and guided you onto his lap. Your body tucked into the curve of his and his arms wrapped around you, holding you intimately as a false sense of security grew between you. Your head rested on his shoulder and you were struck by the familiar scent you had inhaled a million times.
“See how perfectly we fit together.” You nodded, not trusting your voice as you looked up at him, his finger brushing over the bandaid on yours. “We were made for each other in every universe. It’s called a Constant.”
He took the book that was strapped to his hip and placed it on the table beside the rag before tapping its dark surface. “Every universe has its own timeline that is shaped by the choices of every being within it. But, there are moments that happen across every timeline and they are called a Constant. Our love is a Constant…as is your death.”
“Everyone dies, Stephen, that is surely a Constant for everyone.” You tried to lighten the mood but his eyes remained tormented by a memory.
“You died sacrificing yourself for me.” He croaked. “You always die the same way, in my arms.”
A teardrop escaped his lashes and rolled down his cheek, the ache in your heart changing as it hurt for him and his loss. You brushed the tear away and he turned to look at you, the pain receding as his eyes hardened and his hold tightened.
“I will not lose you again.” He promised. “You are mine.”
The grip was beginning to hurt and you were not strong enough to pull away so you did the only thing you could think of to distract him. Shock and surprise froze him as your lips pressed to his but it was short lived before took control and deepened it, his tongue lashing across your lips for access.
Your body betrayed you as it warmed at his touch, his hands easing gently down your body and shifting you to straddle his hips. You could feel him pressing against your core through your clothes and a traitorous sigh broke through your lips. You couldn’t do this, not again. This was not your Stephen. This was a Stephen that had lost another version of you and nothing more.
One hand trailed down his chest and over the buckle to his trousers, his eyes fluttering shut as he indulged in the surrender of your touch. Nuzzling into his neck, you turned his head away so you could kiss the sensitive spot that left him writhing under you.
Your fingers gripped the spray bottle and eased it as close as you could before you pulled away. The bottle felt more like a gun as you raised it to his face and pulled the trigger as hard and fast as you could, his screams deafening you as tried to wipe the acid from his face. You leapt from his lap as he thrashed but still you sprayed more before grabbing the rag and pressing it over his nose and mouth.
“I’m sorry.” You whimpered as his fight began to wane, limbs falling heavy to his side. The bleach and rubbing alcohol concoction burnt the cut on your finger but you could hardly feel it. “I’m sorry you lost your wife. But, I can’t be her replacement.”
His eyes rolled into the back of his head and you slipped the watch from his wrist to check the time and date. The glint of the engraving underneath left you nauseous as it held the exact same message you had gotten engraved for you Stephen but you pushed it to the back of your mind and ran out of the room.
There were few relics you had paid any attention to but there was one that you had used. Sinum temporis, literally meant Pocket of Time. Wong had instructed you that if anything happened to him or Stephen, the safest place to go would be the Pocket of Time and you only hoped its use wasn’t a Constant or else he would know about it.
You dashed along the aisles of the refectory until you found the clay urn inscribed with a language you couldn’t read. You had no idea how long the homemade chloroform would last so you grabbed the heavy urn and placed it on the ground.
3:58PM, 18th September 2021. You committed the date and time to memory as you lifted your foot to step into the urn. Your foot disappeared into the spell and the rest of your body was quick to follow. You had no idea if and when your husband would find you and release you from the single moment of time you were stepping into but you had faith that he would come. Like the mirror dimension, the Pocket of Time existed outside of the physical realm. It was a single point on the timeline that you would be preserved in until an outside force released you. You couldn’t age, you couldn’t die. You would have no memory of entering or exiting. If you exited at all, the only thing you would remember was everything leading up to 3:58PM, 18th September 2021.
#sinister!strange#dark!dr strange#dr strange x reader#dr strange x poc!reader#dr strange fanfic#dr strange imagine#dark!fic#tw: kidnapping
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Batman (vol. 1) #400: Resurrection Night!
Read Date: March 04, 2023
Cover Date: October 1986
● (too many creators in this issue to list. Please see the wiki page here for credits) ●
**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers
Reactions As I Read:
● ah, a foreword by Stephen King. noice!
● nice architectural art from Steve Lightle and Bruce D. Patterson in the first chapter
● seeing glimpses of several of Arkham's inmates: Joker, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Clayface, etc.
● Inmate 481 looks like we killed his father and should prepare to die
● yikes, pretty much everyone escapes Arkham and the state prison thanks to some explosions. Batman's gonna be busy.
● I think every chapter will have a different artist. this'll be fun. look how amazing this Killer Croc is:
● so Ra's al Ghul knows where the Batcave is, eh?
● I like the painty/sketchy art of chapter 4. I like all of the art styles so far, actually
● the penny has never looked so huge
● Batman smash!
● this whole issue is a treat for the eyes
● Killer Croc, don't you harm a hair on Alfred's head!
● the art!
● ah, Black Spider. I was wondering who the hell that guy was.
● did Killer Croc kill Jason Todd's folks?
● I can't get over how many characters are in this issue… and even with all of them, the pacing seems fine and the story not overcrowded. quite a feat, that.
● "smurk"?
● Ra's al Ghul goes into the Lazarus Pit while still alive
● 👏👏👏👏👏
Synopsis:
Ra's al Ghul embarks upon one of his most ambitious schemes to confound the Batman. He engineers a massive breakout at both Arkham Asylum and Gotham State Penitentiary, uniting both prisoners and patients, he arms them with their uniforms and weapons, giving them special instructions. Meanwhile, Batman finds a note taped to the Batcomputer that reads, "Know your foes!" and Ra's enters the cave to tell Batman what he has done. He further offers his service in permanently eliminating Batman's adversaries should he agree to join his crusade. Batman naturally refuses, and Ra's takes his leave.
He soon discovers that the villains have kidnapped people with strong connections to the Batman -- Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Julia Pennyworth, and Vicki Vale. Moreover, the Joker and the Penguin have enveloped GCPD Headquarters with a giant steel net, turning the police into prisoners. The Joker forces Commissioner Gordon to contact Batman and tell him that he has three hours to rescue them or else all of the hostages will die.
Batman and Robin find assistance from Catwoman and Ra's daughter Talia. They split into two teams to tackle the mission from different angles. Robin and Talia go after the group of villains at the GCPD, while Batman and Catwoman confront the criminals who have kidnapped Batman's allies. Throughout the course of the long evening, both parties prove successful and after Batman defeats the Joker and regains control of the GCPD, the heroes then travel together to Ra's base of operations.
They track him down to an old decrepit windmill where Ra's is housing one of his Lazarus Pits. For the first time ever, Ra's immerses himself in the pit while still alive, and soon emerges, now ten times as strong as a normal human. Batman and his allies approach the windmill and uses explosive charges to blast away at the foundation, providing them with a quick entrance. Batman and Ra's fight one another and through the course of the conflict, he flips Ra's over his head. Ra's lands for a second time inside the Lazarus Pit. The explosives have greatly weakened the structure of the windmill, so Batman and the others race out of there just as it collapses. With Ra's base collapsing the heroes retreat, assuming that Ra's is gone for good.
Afterwards, most of Batman allies gather together in the Batcave to celebrate Batman's anniversary, but the Dark Knight refuses to join them, knowing that there are many criminals still at large and that his mission is far from over.
(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_400)
Fan Art: Ra's al Ghul by jameszapata
Accompanying Podcast:
● Batman Knightcast - episode 01
#my dc read#comics#dc#batman#batman (bruce wayne)#podcast - batman knightcast#ra's al ghul#robin#robin (jason todd)#riddler (ed nygma)#joker#poison ivy (pamela isley)#clayface (preston payne)#penguin (oswald cobblepot)#killer croc (waylon jones)#two-face (harvey dent)#mister freeze (victor fries)#killer moth (drury walker)#scarecrow (jonathan crane)#vicki vale#black spider (eric needham)#catman (thomas blake)#cavalier (mortimer drake)#deadshot (floyd lawton)#mad hatter (jervis tetch)#talia al ghul#fanart#comic books#fan art#podcast recommendation
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Horror Movies I just watched: June 2023
I only have two movies this time, though one’s an anthology.
Knife+Heart I chose this one for pride month. Good choice too, because I can confirm this easily the gayest slasher/giallo movie I’ve ever seen, for content alone. Seriously, all the sexual subtext in all other slasher movies ever made is just TEXT here. I’m not sure I can ever go back. Every film from here on in I’m going to think the filmmakers are cowards for not letting at least one victim die by dildo.
But, in all seriousness, I think I got what they were going for in the killer’s motive. Not just that he found their previous film triggering, but it would’ve been easy to have the killer be just a bigot, some closeted self-hating gay, or (god help us) someone taking revenge because gay people killed his parents or something stupid like that.
What we have is a person scarred and traumatized in a situation similar and common to sadly, a large number of people, especially in the LGBTQIA+ demographic. What’s twisted is that it is so common that a lot of people this has happened too or came close to it happening too all react and process it in very different ways. (I think it’s common in the movie, not that they heard about this incident already. That’s the theory I took away from this) You would find people who think back on their parent having a violent reaction to them being secretly gay and can make peace with it through a light porn film. Not because they’re a sociopath or weak-willed. But because anything more connected to harsh reality (and lacking any sexual release or expression) might make them run from it and impede development.
But the characters in the film were so comfortable in that shared viewpoint bubble of this specific trauma they forgot there could be someone with a very justifiable alternative outlook on it, so they’ve become another tormentor to him. So now, one member of the community attacks other in it because he was feeling excluded, and rather impersonally to boot. Which makes the circumstances that finally did get him killed the final tragic icing on the sad cake. Other gay men lashing out on him in self defense, just as he thought he was doing throughout the story.
This was probably the smartest and most genuinely tragic reveal for a motivation they could have gone with. So kudos for that.
Also, makes this a weirdly good double feature with Across the Spiderverse, of all things. I know that sound crazy, but they’re both movies about an individual being excluded to from a group of people he’s connected with because of strife over what’s the appropriate amount of trauma for them. Just a shower thought.
Holidays (2016) I was waiting for the best day to watch this, so I chose Father’s Day both because I was having trouble coming up with one for that day otherwise and I head that segment was one of the better ones. Was it? Well...
Valentine’s Day Carrie if it was less Stephen King and more Tales from the Crypt. This one just left me with questions though. Were they picking on her for the same reasons as with Carrie White, hence “Maxi Pad”? The hell’s her home life like where she can just go from bullied to murdering for love like that? Does she even know if the bully’s heart is compatible with her coach? I feel like this is a reason why Carrie wasn’t a short story or why most revenge stories of this length are a touch less complicated then this. This just felt messy to me.
St. Patrick’s Day Well, if you had to do a horror movie St Patty’s Day themed without the obvious choice, killer leprechaun, something that calls back to the roots of the holiday make sense. Not entirely sure what this woman did to deserve this, but hey, fae folk follow their own rules like that. I kinda liked that she was either in denial or past caring that her baby is a snake monster, she just wants a child damnit. She certainly seemed past caring at the end. Maybe if the first half was as exaggerated as the end, I would’ve liked it more.
Easter Another that left me with questions, though I think that’s the idea. This bunny monster is such a weird gross sacrilegious thing, I’m surprised that wasn’t more of an uproar about it. Though I guess it’s point is that it’s more supposedly child-friendly side makes Easter one of the weirdest holidays we got. I’m never going get Easter Jesus Bunny Monster’s Oh face from his side scar being fingered out of my head for a while.
Mother’s Day This was where I started to fall asleep. Good thing this is the type of movie you can watch in chunks. This one has a lot in common with the St. Patty’s day one, and none of that is in it’s favor. Woman is hyper fertile so she goes to folk hippie wellness compound who try to heal her and instead make her give birth to an abomination. And all I’m left thinking is; Why? I thought shortness was about getting to the point, not cutting the point out.
Father’s Day This has probably the best build up of any of these, even if the ending is weak. I liked the premise of the main character’s dad leaving her a record detailing step by step where she can find him again. Understandable motive for our lead combined with tension that builds literally step by step. I find it a bit weird where he took her the exact same route when she was little and he just focusing on recording the whole time like a jerk instead of just focusing on her daughter. I guess the idea was that her in the present would find all this familiar so it’s be easier to soldier on. Though wouldn’t it make more sense he just sent her a message saying “remember when I took you to X?” and we actually have the same journey being played twice? One what we actually saw and the other’s a flashback showing the two of them going down this, comparing and contrasting the two settings? And at the end? Aliens? This open-endedness is getting on my nerves. I got that deadbeat dads aren’t worth it, I just wanted to know why this one wasn’t precisely. It feels like a half baked metaphor.
Halloween This was the most forced of the theming. It’s one of those times I have more issues with the style then the substance. Yeah yeah, three women plotting against a man is like witches. But I would’ve preferred either actual supernatural witching stuff or hey, given the set up, go all in on ripping off Saw. Weird how the a-hole customer that started this got off easy, but hey, f the pimp too. Maybe the way I’d do it is to cut the beginning, start with him waking up with the dildo in his ass, and the extra time is spent them disposing the body. And hey, given the holiday, make it so it’s in one of those decoration displays. I don’t know why the segment attributed to the actual spooky holiday is the least spooky of them, but I guess they were going for subverting expectations.
Christmas So this is as close to us getting Seth Green in a Black Mirror episode. Still, it’s a good little character study in to what the people closest to us would do if they could get away with it, even if the technology is quite fantastical. I even liked the ambiguity of the ending, even it personally I would’ve twisted the knife more and shown her walk in acting possibly normal and him being skittish. But maybe I’m just stretching now.
New Year’s Another one where my only problem is that it ended too soon. Incel serial killer finally meeting his end, getting a taste of his own medicine by his female counterpart. That’s a fun twist but the structure is weird to me. We see him kill, go on another date, prepare to kill again, see that she’s a killer, then they fight until he loses and dies. Not bad, but it would’ve hit me more where the twist came later and she surprised him without a fight. Or they realized they’re very similar, hook up for real, but now literally slay together? Or hell, keep the fight, but go full on looney tunes cartoon about it tone wise so the gun having no bullet hits more?
I just found that the style of filmmaking of these segments don’t work for me. Sure, I could cut them slack because it was clear they didn’t have a lot of money. But I didn’t even believe most of them used it well. It feels like a lot of them don’t know what to keep in and what to leave out. And the pacing in each is way off in different ways. They’re short so I’m not stuck with them long, but but I feel a few minutes fleshing out the things I mentioned in each of them could’ve made them stronger. This was rough.
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could you write something where Reader and Stephen are married and have a son but something goes wrong in your universe maybe it was stephens fault maybe not but he dies. Somehow reader and her kid get relocated to another universe (616) and are just out going for a walk when the kid starts getting excited and shouting look it's dad, hey dad and runs over and hugs 616 stephen and stephen looks so perplexed and the kid is still hugging him and you have to pull him off and explain that yes that's stephen but not your stephen that his dad is gone and just basically just stab me in the feelings lol and whatever stephens reaction to this would be? 🌌
Tags: feels
Ko-fi | Masterlist | Word count: 1044
Chapter's Note: You want to be stabbed in the feelings? I‘ll stab you in the feelings! Here you go. Have fun. - I wrote this last night, so it‘s a bit of a mess. Just like it needs to be.
Life could be better. It became simpler after you had jumped universes. But you struggled. You hadn’t jumped by choice. Neither you nor your son had.
Your universe had been dying. An incursion caused by the very man you loved, the father of your son. He hadn’t done it on purpose, it had been an accident. A terrible, irreversible mistake. And he had used the last of his magic to bring you both here. To safety.
You would have preferred to die with Stephen. But your son should live, that had been Stephen's wish and you respected that, trying your best now as a widow and single mother.
This new universe was similar enough that you were able to integrate well. Similar enough that you sometimes forgot what happened, only to be reminded the next moment of what was missing at your side: Stephen. It stabbed your heart every time.
Your son, Vince, was six years old, had just finished pre-school and had experienced enough magic in his short life that he understood the explanation that his father was on another world without the possibility of ever coming back.
He missed him terribly. So did you.
You built a new life for yourselves. A modest one, without magic, without dangers. You lived in the suburbs, far away from New York. The city held too many memories of what you had lost, and you couldn't bear to be reminded of that every day. Besides, there was the danger of running into someone there who recognized your face. It was better not to spend too much time there.
That said, however, now you are back in New York with Vince for a short visit. Your son had begged you for weeks to visit his favorite museum, the AMNH. He loved it and they currently had a special exhibition about dinosaurs.
You had eventually given in and promised him this trip.
And Vince loved it.
Afterwards you went to Central Park and to look for his favorite ice cream stand. It didn't exist in this world, but you found waffles that were just as good. Eating them you sat on a bench and enjoyed the sunshine.
Vince was so happy that it was worth it. And you are also feeling better than you thought you would. Your arrival in this universe had been two years ago, maybe you could finally move on.
The park was a popular place, full of people walking their dogs or sitting on blankets on the grass reading or picnicking. Everyone was in a good mood and it was contagious.
Suddenly, Vince jumped up excitedly.
"Daddy!"
He dropped the rest of his waffle and ran across the meadow. Startled, you almost choked before hurrying to follow him. Your eyes are wide as you spot Vince standing by a man who really looked like Stephen Strange.
Shit.
Of all the eight million people in this city, you had to run into him. You shouldn't have made the mistake of coming so close to Greenwich.
This Stephen had stopped, looking down at the boy in confusion. Next to him was a teenage girl you didn’t recognize.
Your heart pounded loudly in your chest as you saw the spitting image of your deceased love. How were you going to explain this to Vince?
Vince had his little arms wrapped around Stephen's waist.
"Daddy!" he cried joyfully at the reunion.
"I'm so sorry." You rush to pull your son away from him. "You look just very similar to his father. Sorry to bother you."
Your head hung low and you wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. But Vince wasn't having it. Understandably he was being difficult about the situation, so you picked him up.
"Y/N?" this other Stephen asked, and you close your eyes for a moment before putting on a neutral expression and slowly turning to face him. Hearing your name out of his mouth brought back old memories. Painfully fond memories.
"Hey..."
It was awkward and you had no idea what to say. Of course, he knows you in this world too, even if you don't know what kind of relationship you have here.
Stephen tried to assess the situation. His eyebrows drawn together as he tried to figure out what was wrong.
Now, that you could see him close, you notice that he looked a little different than your Stephen. Good thing, because you don't know if you could stand it otherwise.
When no one said anything, you raised your voice again.
"Sorry again. I didn't mean to bother you and… your daughter?" Your gaze briefly wandered to the teenager, who was watching you thoughtfully.
"She's not my daughter," Stephen said at the same moment she stated, "You're not from here."
You took her statement as a way out of here.
"That's right. And we gotta leave."
"No, I mean, you're not from this universe."
Double shit.
Stephen raised his eyebrows.
"Mommy, why is daddy so weird?" Vince asked softly on your arm. You gave him a kiss on the forehead to calm him down.
"I think you have some explaining to do," the wrong Stephen said.
"No." You shifted your stand and looked at him. "No, I don't think I have to."
With that, you turned and left. The situation was too much. Both for you and for Vince. Your top was wet at the shoulder, where he was sobbing into your shirt. He didn't understand why the man who looked like his father and talked like his father didn't act like his father.
"Y/N."
His voice made you stop, but you didn't turn around.
"We can take you back to your home."
"There's nothing left to go back to."
It hurt to say the words and a lump formed in your throat.
There was a brief pause in which Stephen seemed to contemplate things.
"In your universe, you and I... he..."
You looked at him, tears forming in your eyes. You nodded, unable to speak.
"What's his name?" Stephen asked.
"Vince Strange."
With that, you left without another glance back.
Maybe one day you'd be strong enough to seek out the Sanctum. When your heart was no longer bleeding. When Vince was old enough to demand more answers.
---------------------------
Okay, but imagine: a young adult Vince coming to the Sanctum to meet the man that’s the closest being to his own lost father. To talk to him, to get an idea of what his real father has been like. Are you crying? Good. You’re welcome.
#Stephen Strange#Stephen Strange x reader#Multiverse of Madness#Mom#angst/comfort#Angst#Space Mermaid Writing#feelings#crying#stab me in my feelings
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Top 10+, Bottom 4+, & Wackiest Books of 2022
Out of the 80+ books I read in 2022, the following distinguished themselves in special ways.
I am only including new reads, not rereads. I put the little kneejerk blurb/reaction I wrote immediately after finishing the book below it. If I had extra thoughts on a book while making this list I put that in a second paragraph or in [square brackets].
If you have read any of these I would love to hear your thoughts. If you haven’t read any of these but have questions or opinions, have at it.
Top 10!
I read so many books I liked this year that it was hard narrowing these down. This ended up being more of a top 15+. The top 10 are listed in chronological order of when I read them.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
I think I want to buy this one! Entertaining, informative, and she’s a great writer (...I need to read some of her actual books). The story of a family only eating local for 1 year while living on an Appalachian farm. Loved it. (02/22)
Soul Lanterns - Shaw Kuzki
Really beautiful children’s chapter book about the lasting effects of the atom bomb in Hiroshima (but not tragedy p/orn). This is a book I want to read to my kids. It made me tear up. (03/22)
Zora Neale Hurston (Tell My Horse; Every Tongue Got To Confess; Their Eyes Were Watching God)
TEWWG: I LOVE the way this woman writes. Wow. (03/22)
TMH: I loved her novel but I almost feel she shines even more when relating anecdotes & folk practices. Beauty incomparable. (03/22)
ETGTC: Hurston is wonderful at capturing the way different people sound. Not because of funetik aksent - it’s the rhythm and word choice. (04/22)
My Favorite Thing is Monsters - Emil Ferris
INTENSE, pretty fucked up graphic novel - all drawn in ballpoint pen! - about a girl in Chicago in the 6s, her Casanova artist brother, her weird neighbors & classmates, & her Holocaust survivor upstairs neighbor with a FUCKED UP backstory who gets murdered. Also the girl loves monsters (obviously). Ends on a total cliffhanger. (04/22)
Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians; Mongrels; My Heart Is a Chainsaw)
TOGI: GOOD STUFF. That great Alien-style horror where it starts out with awful scary suspense, people start to die, then it ends all action-movie. I will say the ending was almost too nice and pat but that is such a minor complaint. It’s about 4 Blackfeet men who illegally hunted elk when they were younger, and the repercussions 10 years later. (06/22)
Mongrels: Really baller book about werewolves. Kickass worldbuilding & storytelling. Great stuff. (07/22)
MHIAC: BEST BOOK OF HIS YET. Dude! More people need to be wiling to write feral sad fucked up female protagonists like this one! The ending definitely felt like a slasher homage so it wasn’t as fulfilling as I would’ve wanted, but I think that was a genre constraint. This should get adapted into a movie. (08/22)
CW (character spoiler so rot13): pfn onpxfgbel erirny sbe n znwbe punenpgre
The Tiger & the Wolf - Adrian Tchaikovsky
omg Adrian Tchaikovsky strikes again! This book is a 10/10, what Kiesha’ra would be if it weren’t trash [IYKYK]. I loved both protagonists & the supporting cast development was stellar. It did feel like a parent reveal was being set up for 1 character that didn’t end up playing out but maybe I just read it wrong. Good stuff. (07/22)
Ancillary Justice, Sword, & Mercy - Ann Leckie
Can’t believe I waited so long to read these... they 100% lived up to the hype. Sword + Mercy felt like bonuses/unnecessary but I liked that. This is how to do great SF! (09/22)
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
ANOTHER one that WAY lived up to the hype! The characters were so real in this. Loved the family relationships. Amazing book, in my top 10 for sure. [and it was! lol] (09/22)
Jesse Bullington - (The Folly of the World; A Crown For Cold Silver)
TFOTW: Amazing book, this guy has wack ideas and can really write! Loved how dark and clever it was. (10/22)
I was pressed for time and didn’t do a whole summary in my initial note but the publisher’s summary does TFOTW as much justice as a summary can. It contains vErY interesting canon gay and an incredibly scrungly scrappy female protagonist.
ACFCS (as Marshall): I really liked this because it was a classic adult sprawling fantasy, but with none of the sexual violence or ethnic/gender baggage endemic to that genre. It was bloated as hell but the bloat was thoroughly enjoyable. (11/22)
The only thing I was disappointed in/nervous of in ACFCS, early on, was that the androgynous character described gender neutrally was revealed to be 100% woman in a way that pinged a slight alarm for me because I wasn’t sure where it was going, but then she turned out to be an adorable woman-chasing baby butch with absolutely 0 sexual tension with the older male POV character whose chapters she stars in so I was fine with it again. Also this book had one of the most interesting and tragic evil/morally ambiguous female characters I’ve read about in a WHILE and I’m still thinking about her. Oh lol it also has a 16 year old annoying fantasy pope but to shake things up a bit this one is a girl who wears black and she’s not important. The whole thing is just full of fun obviously. If you love way too long fantasy go read it!
When I’m Gone, Look For Me in the East - Quan Barry
Late fave of the year?? An elegantly written book about twin brothers in modern Mongolia seeking the reincarnation of a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual figure. The narration was entirely in present tense. I didn’t feel the ending had much impact or value but the rest of the book was so artfully done I don’t care. [And it made it to my top 10!] (12/22)
For the top 15:
Night Theater - Vikram Paralkar
The Fortune Men - Nadifa Mohamed
The Language of the Night - Ursula K. Le Guin essay collection
Patience & Sarah - Isabel Miller
Conversations with Octavia Butler - Octavia Butler interview collection
Bottom 4 Plus 3
Bottom 4, plus 3 I liked overall but had different issues/strong negative discussion points with. I read so many books this year that I wanted to sit back and think about exactly why I disliked some of them or what I disliked about the ones that didn’t work for me.
Revival Season - West
So bad & offensive. (03/22)
This woman grew up in urban Cali and wrote this entire book at a writing seminar in urban Ohio. Enough said. Except no. This book is enragingly bad and offensive on so many levels to every single character depicted in the book but especially the protagonist, her disabled sister, the mom, and even the antagonist preacher dad. I get that statistically not everyone grew up as a fundie PK or whatever but just based on the narrative treatment of the disabled sister, I’m shocked that the Goodreads reviews are so positive. Totally insulting shitty book. And the writing sucks too. That sounds so juvenile but it pretty much does just... suck.
Out of Darkness - Perez
I hated what this book did and how it did it so much that I didn’t even write it down in my book journal after finishing it in June/July, so these notes are current. A ton of gratuitous plot unnecessary/irrelevant CSA of the protagonist and that isn’t even why I hated it. I will only say that as great and interesting as the summary and setting might sound, do not be deceived. This book is the greatest argument in favor of #OwnVoices I’ve ever read due to how awful it is.
The Unbroken - Clark
Should have been better than what it was... great ideas but the plot (+ consistent characterization) was in shambles. (09/22)
OK. So. We’re talking longass ~diverse~ fantasy. Marshall’s A Crown For Cold Silver, on my Top 10 list, is a way too long brick of fantasy and I was delighted by it, but Clark’s The Unbroken is a way too long brick of fantasy that should have been eviscerated by its editor. You absolutely feel the length in both of these but in one of them you’re happy about it like a nine course feast you can savor and in one of them you feel like you’re dragging yourself through the desert waiting to die. The reason for this is that ACFCS coheres beautifully on a plot level and is filled with interesting characters whose actions cohere with who the character is as a person and lead toward an epic conclusion, as well as characters’ relationships being consistent and developing -- positively or negatively -- in ways that make sense. The Unbroken... has none of that. Plot and character development were in shambles and it suffered from similar (though not quite as shocking) moral event horizon problems as Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (further down this list). Also I fully assumed the author was white because of how sympathetically the white-coded colonist princess girl and her European noble friends were written in comparison to literally everyone else but I guess that’s just how the book was. Anyway, read this book if you want to gain an intimate understanding of Dorothy Jones Heydt’s eight deadly words.
Pet - Emezi
This was unfortunately a mess. Great ideas but a mess. Did not like the writing, plot was boring and the fridge horror of the utopia was hinted at but never explored or engaged with. (10/22)
I may have been too hard on it in my kneejerk reaction but it is not good. It suffered from similar issues to Cloud Cuckoo Land (below) except not only is this author a career modern litfic writer she was also trying to write a kids book for the first time apparently. This explained a lot of the... weirdness about how it was written. On a character and theme level it was a very surface level, slightly confused book, which would be OK if the plot was comprehensible or the world was interesting and well thought out but neither of those things was true.
3 more that I couldn’t call bad but had critical things to say about that I wanted to make sure everyone saw 🤪
Bright Smoke, Cold Fire
Romeo & Juliet retelling that would have been GREAT if the ending hadn’t included 1 protagonist sprinting across the moral event horizon at light speed and the implied gay character having his male love interest turn out to be a crossdressing girl. Literally devastated bc the beginning was SO GOOD (this is the one where Juliet & Paris are baby homeschoolers) (and Juliet swordfights) (04/22)
The other huge criticism I have for this book other than the two things above which were already bizarre and book-ruining is that it wasn’t a self contained story. It feels like it could and should have been, to the point where the last third and even last half of the book felt off in the pacing as the plot was, oddly, stretched artificially out for the purpose of coming to less of a conclusion than it would have if the story were allowed to be fully resolved by the end of the book.
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Oh boy... one of my first encounters with a contemporary Lit Fic (TM) writer in a long time. The parts of the book set in historical Turkey + Constantinope I enjoyed. The rest I liked the idea of but it just felt SO... pure extruded litfic product. [There was a topically relevant school shooter and a topically relevant evil tech company and a topically relevant elderly gay man whose whole life was sad because of homophobia and then he died sacrificing himself. All written in that tasty pure extruded litfic voice. The Turkish boy and Byzantine girl were good but they should’ve been their own book.] (08/22)
Wake of Vultures
Loved the concept and the protagonist, loved the setting, loved the magic/myth system, loved the story. Did not love how the entire thing was written like YA except for the multiple extremely graphic and plot unnecessary sexual assaults on the transmasc protagonist in the last third of the book (while misgendering them because of course). It didn’t make me DNF the book because I was invested and wanted to see how it ended but I won’t be reading more of this series. [...In keeping with the theme introduced by my #2 Worst, this book was not #OwnVoices either. In retrospect, I knew that going in and should have been wary about how many people said it was an OMG Awesome Trans Protagonist Book.] (12/22)
Wackiest because I needed this section
This mostly exists because I’m still not over the funniest, weirdest summary vs. plot bait and switch I’ve ever experienced in a (decently written) book in a long time, but it also exists so I can praise one of my top 10 again.
The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo
Crouching (were)tiger, hidden sibling incest romance. Yes. That is what it is. You will read the summary and the reviews and come away expecting a dark, adult, slightly creepy Malaysian historical fantasy about weretigers. Do not be misled, as I was. There are no weretigers. There is no fantasy. This book is a 1930s Malaysia period piece framing a lovingly written heterosexual incest romance. For any of you who enjoy this kind of thing... have at it! The book is good and the setting was gorgeous. I was just baffled. I’m still cracking up about the whole experience of reading this book and finally realizing more than 2/3 of the way through that 1) it was romance genre; 2) between the siblings; and 3) there weren’t going to be any weretigers. Tragic!
Anyway, I want to read more books set in 1930s Malaysia/British Malaya so if you have ‘em send recs.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters - Emil Ferris
OK just read this. CW for everything fucked up though.
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