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sixhours · 2 months

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Chapter 17 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut and violence Series tags: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Reader, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, LGBTQ+ characters, y/n is bi/pan, y/n is ~45, violence, pregnancy, abortion, medical trauma, emotional trauma, panic attacks, sex work, suicide, smut, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, romance, no use of y/n, reader has longish hair, Joel can lift you, smallish age gap (~11 years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

When you wake, Joel is already gone, back to another patrol shift. He leaves a note on the counter in his typically terse fashion:

Coffee’s fresh. Help yourself.

You don’t talk about that night again, but the effects linger. Patrol groups are larger and rotated more frequently since the bite that killed Eliot. The infected seem to be everywhere, and the council doubles the number of guards on the wall.

More than once during that summer, you wake in Joel’s bed, alone. Sometimes you find him standing at Ellie’s door, watching over her while she sleeps, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth until it’s raw. It’s the only time they’re truly at ease, when the silence between them isn’t uncomfortable. You’ll take his hand and lead him back to bed and he’ll bury his face in the back of your neck, unspoken sorrow radiating from him in waves.

But life in Jackson continues despite the undercurrent of unease. The weather turns brutally hot, and you treat heatstroke, sunburns, and so many cases of swimmer’s ear in the kids, who spend their free time frolicking in the creek that runs through the back half of the settlement.

Joel sets up a ring of stones in the backyard, and you build a fire and show Ellie how to roast homemade marshmallows in the embers. She’s impatient, and most of the time the sticky candy is set alight until it’s charred black and papery. She eats it anyway. Joel strums his guitar and hums under his breath, frowning when he misses a chord, brow furrowed in concentration as Ellie needles him about his taste in music.

There are times when it’s too sweet and simple, this life, and perhaps that’s why you don’t trust it. There is always the sense that you’re waiting for something to happen, for the terrible thing that will take it all away.

~*~

In mid-July, the council hosts an outdoor party they call the Firefly Dance, which you think is a terrible name under the circumstances, but no one else seems to think so. As much as you hate the idea of a night of watching sweaty people get increasingly drunk–all you see are future injuries to treat, more babies to deliver–you know you should make an appearance to seem neighborly. Joel seems to think so, too, because he tells you you shouldn’t miss it. It’s unlike him, to be excited about a silly dance with a silly name, so you decide to make the effort.

You’re dressed in a cornflower blue shift dress that, in the Before, would have been dubbed old-fashioned. But it’s the only slightly dressy thing you own that doesn’t have sleeves, and you’re not exactly surrounded by a dearth of choices. It falls just to your knees, and you can’t remember a time since the outbreak when you clothed yourself for fun rather than utility. It feels almost scandalous to walk around in public with bare legs and shoulders.

The way Joel’s eyes light up when he sees you confirms you’ve made a good choice, old-fashioned or not. He meets you at the edge of the party, gives you an appraising glance, and leans in to place a single chaste kiss on your cheek, murmuring in your ear.

“Clean up nice.”

He does, too, you think. His curls are temporarily tamed and slicked back, the usual flannel replaced by a short-sleeved plaid button-up with jeans. He looks almost presentable.

Before you can tell him this, he’s taking your arm and steering you…away.

“The party’s back there, Miller,” you say, looking over your shoulder at the strings of lights and the people mulling about.

“Got a better idea.”

You walk through an alley, down a narrow street, then into the open field near the northwest corner of the wall, until the lights and music are a distant pulse in the background.

His bedroll is already laid out, flattening a small patch of the tall sweetgrass. He pulls you down against him, cups your face in his wide palms, and kisses you long and deep.

“Joel Miller,” you murmur against his willing, open mouth. “I didn’t take you for a romantic.”

He hums against your lips, hands already sliding under your dress. Maybe there’s something to bare legs after all. “Stars didn’t do it for ya?”

“Mmm,” you breathe. “Too cold.”

He rolls you onto your back, the grass warm and soft underneath you, almost soft as a bed. His nose grazes the spot behind your ear that makes you shiver, one hand already slipping into your panties, curling around your sensitive center. Your hands reach down, eager to touch him, to return the favor, but he gently pushes you away.

“Uh uh,” his voice tickles at your collarbone, stubble scraping your throat. “Just for you tonight.”

An undignified sound escapes you in half moan, half-whisper. “Fuck.”

“That’s the idea,” he growls, and his fingers begin their achingly slow ministrations at your cunt. Your back arches into his touch, but he teases, stroking until you’re feverish with the sensations pulling deliciously low and tight in your abdomen.

At some point, he’s pulled one of your breasts free of the confines of your bra, and his mouth settles over the nipple, laving and suckling until your fingernails leave little half-moons on the back of his neck.

You grind against his fingers, making soft little keening noises, desperate to be filled. Your eyes flit to the wall; a distant figure moves there. Joel follows your gaze. “They ain’t lookin’ in here,” he says.

“And so what…if they are?” you gasp.

There’s a growl from somewhere deep in Joel’s chest and he groans, two fingers finally, finally pushing inside you and curling hard. “You’d like that, huh?”

But you don’t have the words to answer. His big fingers are circling that spot deep within you and his palm grinds on your clit, and then you’re clenching, clenching, almost, so close .

And then you are brutally emptied, and he’s crawling down your body with ravenous hunger, burning a slow trail of lingering kisses to the apex of your thighs. His tongue caresses your clit, and your moan is low and primal, one hand buried in his hair and the other twisted in the long grass, clawing at the earth until you are blissfully full again.

You open your eyes to the stars, you close your eyes and they follow you into the dark.

~*~

You’re draped over his chest as his hand rubs a soothing path up and down your spine. There’s a flicker of light in your peripheral vision, then another, and another–fireflies darting and blinking lazily in the grass.

“Welcome back,” he murmurs into your hair.

“Mmmm.”

He gently extracts you from his arm and sits up, eliciting a little whine, which he pointedly ignores. You roll to your front, burying your nose in the scent of his blanket, the lingering heat of his body.

“C’mon, lazy bones. Up.” He’s tugging at your hand.

“No.”

The music drifts over the field, something soft; Fleetwood Mac.

“It’s a dance.”

“I don’t dance.”

“You do. Ellie said so.”

“She lied.”

He grunts. “I think you’re the one who’s lyin’. Up.”

You huff in protest, but take his hand, knees cracking lightly as you get to your feet.

He holds one hand out, the other around your waist, a proper southern gentleman…and then not. The hand on your back slides down to cup your bare ass through your dress, and you realize at some point he’d removed your panties.

He sways, and you find the rhythm, barely, still drowsy and sated. He hums along with the song into your hair.

When he tries to spin you, your feet catch on the bedroll and you feel yourself falling backward with a little shriek. He pulls you back into him, both strong arms wrapping around your waist.

“Told you,” you mutter into his chest, and his chuckle reverberates in the space between your ribs, straight to your stupid heart.

You look up to meet his eyes, so soft, and something inside you twists, sharp and steady. He’s gazing at you, fucking gazing at you, and your breath catches in your throat.

Untouchable.

His lips start to form the words and a panicky little bird inside you thrashes against your ribs, beating against the confines of your chest.

“I…I–”

The shot rings out, and you drop to the ground on instinct, Joel’s body landing heavy over yours. You wait for more gunfire, hands pressed into the dirt, breathing hard. It’s quiet. There’s a distant shout from the wall.

“Got ‘im!”

Just a straggler, then.

“Hate it when they get close like that,” he murmurs.

You swallow hard, willing your heart to settle. “We should–”

“Yeah,” he agrees, grunting softly as he gets to his feet. He’s distracted now, and you know he’s thinking about Ellie, intent on making sure she’s safe. “Let’s get back.”

~*~

The gunshots from the wall become more frequent as the weeks pass, and the whole community seems drawn into the same stoic, waiting lassitude. You want to blame the heat, but underneath it all is a deep-seated fear that gnaws and twists and burrows like the fungus you’re trying to keep at bay. On the rare occasion he’s with you, Joel is taciturn, even quieter than usual, and Ellie is equally distant from you both.

It’s late August, and you’re eating dinner in the kitchen with Joel and Ellie when she drops the bomb. All the windows in the house are open but there’s no breeze, the air hangs damp and stifling. There’s no conversation, and you’re barely eating, just pushing the food around on your plates in tired silence.

“I’m on patrol tomorrow after school.”

The words are casual enough–like she’s asked one of you to pass the salt–but the fallout is instantaneous.

Joel’s fork clatters to his plate. “Like hell you are.”

She glares at him, but there’s none of her usual tenacity in it, only exhaustion. Her burn has finally healed, but the rift between them is still raw. “I’m sixteen. Tommy says I’m ready.”

“Tommy’s not your fath–your guardian,” he says tightly. “I am.”

“Can you not be a prick about this? For once?”

“If you wanna help, you can go on the wall,” he says. “Safer up there.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’ve seen my aim. I’m not trained in sharpshooting. And anyway, they need patrollers. The wall is full.”

Joel glares at you as if to demand backup, but you don’t meet his eyes. Every kid in Jackson is given a role at sixteen. That Ellie hasn’t had one until now is probably the result of some influence on Joel’s part to keep her within the walls. But she’s right; Jackson needs as many capable hands as they can get, and Ellie is more than qualified.

Joel’s jaw tightens as he realizes you aren’t going to intervene.

“Fine,” he snaps, slamming his hand down on the table, chair screeching against the wood floor as he stands. “Try not to get yourself killed.”

He leaves the house before you can call him back, and you set down your fork, no longer able to pretend you’re interested in eating.

Ellie stabs at her plate with renewed force, sullen. “He treats me like a stupid kid.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Ellie–”

“He’s such a fucking hypocrite. He says he’s protecting me but he’s just protecting himself,” she spits.

“Hey, that’s en–”

“He’s a fucking coward.”

Her eyes are filled with tears that don’t spill over. She glares at you, daring you to tell her she’s wrong, but you can’t.

You’re just as much a coward as him.

“I’m going to Dina’s,” she says, more clattering of dishware, the scraping of her chair against the floor, and then you’re alone at the table in a house that doesn’t belong to you.

~*~

You find him at the bar, hunched over a glass of bourbon that he’s barely touched.

“Thanks for leaving me the dishes,” you say.

He snorts. “Thanks for backing me up.”

“You can sulk all you want, Miller, but she’s right, and you know it,” you sigh, easing yourself onto the seat next to him. You hook one of your legs on the rung under his stool until your knee is brushing his thigh.

The bar is just as miserably hot as everywhere else, but there’s a decrepit floor fan in the corner that stirs the warm air around you. If you close your eyes, you can pretend there’s a faint breeze.

“I see you’re not drinking again,” you nod at his glass, and he grunts.

“Not yet.”

You reach over and take the glass out from under him, lift it to your lips, and take a mouthful of the warm, woody liquid. It lights a slow-burning fire down the seam of your throat. The bartender cocks his head at you, silently asks if you want your own, and you wave him away.

Joel scowls at you but doesn’t attempt to take the drink back.

“She shouldn’t have to…after everything…I kept her safe,” he mutters. “She shouldn’t have to go through it again.”

“You’re out there almost every day,” you say. “At least if she’s bit–”

He shoots you a warning look.

“She’ll be okay,” you say, lowering your voice. “She’ll probably be paired with Tommy. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Bet your ass she will,” he grumbles. “I make the damn schedules.”

“Then you knew this would happen, you jerk,” you kick him lightly in the shin. “And you’re going to let her go out on her first patrol with, ‘Try not to get yourself killed,’ as your parting words of wisdom?”

His shoulders slump.

“She went to Dina’s,” you say. “Go find her. Tell her you love her…or whatever passes for love in your fucked-up, co-dependent worldview, Miller.”

“That’s rich comin’ from you,” he growls, but he’s already turning, sliding off the stool.

“Isn’t it, though?” you say softly, watching him go before you finish the rest of his drink.

~*~

He crawls into your bed that night, rousing you from a light sleep as he curls his body around you and hums into your ear.

“Mmm. Did you find her?”

“Nope.”

You blink sleepily, looking over your shoulder. “Why not?”

He growls into your nape, nips at your hairline. “I switched the schedules. She’s partnered with me.”

“...and Ellie is okay with that?”

“Dunno.”

You roll your eyes. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he mumbles, latching onto the soft skin at the base of your neck and shoulder. You suck in a breath, trying to focus on the conversation rather than the kiss of his tongue and the bite of his teeth.

“You can’t keep her forever, y’know,” you mutter, stifling a whimper as his hand comes around to grip your naked breast, fingers pressing into your flesh, kneading and pulling and rough in the way you like.

“Can try.”

“God you’re…so stubborn…” Now his hand is sliding down your stomach, rubbing back and forth at the sensitive skin just underneath your sleep shorts, teasing.

“Mmhmm.”

“Christ, Miller, she’s–”

“Shuddup,” he murmurs, pressing a hot kiss to the side of your neck. Then he’s pushing you onto your stomach and tugging down your shorts, hands gripping your ass, spreading your cheeks and making a lewd growl of appreciation at what he finds. One arm comes under your hips, lifting you, and you promptly forget what you were trying to say when he enters you. The room is soon filled with the sound of your combined moans and whimpers and the frenzied smack of his hips against yours.

“Up,” he grunts, one hand cupping your breast as he pulls your back flush against his chest. His hands are in your hair, stroking your stomach, gripping your hips, and he groans in frustration, as if he can’t touch all of you at once. He makes up for it by thrusting harder, forcing you forward to brace yourself on the wall behind your bed until you’re keening at the perfect angle.

The liquid molten pleasure in your belly pools and spreads through your limbs, and you come around him with a harsh cry, thighs trembling, nails scraping down the wall as you grip his cock in a tight throb. Three hard, grinding thrusts and he follows you, fingers melded to your hips. He collapses on top of you, pressing you into the mattress and wrapping you in his arms with a satisfied grunt.

“How’s that for a fucked-up, codependent worldview,” he murmurs, nipping lazily at your earlobe, pulling it into his mouth until you’re squirming underneath him.

“Fuck you, Miller,” you mutter. It’s too fucking hot, you’re stuck together with sweat and come, but you pull his arm tighter around you regardless.

“Just did.”

You chuckle despite yourself. After a few minutes, you push him off, ignoring his protests as you kick away the sheets and blankets and lay like a starfish on the bed. He settles for keeping one hand on your stomach, rubbing sleepy circles around your bellybutton.

“Think she hates me,” he mumbles.

“She’s sixteen,” you sigh. “She’s supposed to hate you a little.”

He snorts, sulking into his pillow.

You thread your fingers through the curls that have overtaken his forehead, damp with sweat and plastered to the skin. You can just make out the furrow between his brows, feel the ridges of worry lines under your thumb.

“You’re both too fucking stubborn,” you say softly. “But if she actually hated you, she wouldn’t spend so much time trying to piss you off.”

He huffs softly, and you allow yourself to be pulled against him, allow your legs to twine with his, allow yourself to fall asleep in his stubborn, sweaty embrace.

#fanfic #fic recs #the last of us hbo #joel miller #ellie williams #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #the last of us #joel and ellie

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degenerate-game · 2 months

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same anon here!!! my two cents:

playersexual/everyone pan/bi system: def most player friendly, and honestly if ppl really want to romance a char they'll figure out a way anyway (i.e., w/ a mod) but imo boring and impersonal when they're written to be very gender neutral. I.e., constantly referring to character as "partner", never mentioning any specific body parts, avoiding any talk about pregnancy (tbf that might be my kink talking) or children. I feel like if you go with this system, you need at least some acknowledgement of the player's gender identity.

predetermined sexualities: makes more sense in certain settings and allows the player to be fully acknowledged by the storyline. But tricky since you'd need a good pool of LI's so nobody ends up disappointed..

Yeah, I'm not sure what the game will finally look like in regards to gender/sexuality, but I'll for sure keep everyone updated!

As of right now, the goal is to add canon genders so that I can just include all the current love interests without worrying about anything else, and then I'll take it from there!

Thank you so much for your input too though!! It's much appreciated, I always love hearing what players want/are interested in because it helps me to make a better game!

#- neet posting #- msg

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bluesadansey · 1 year

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miss katherine pierce for the character asks. 🙏🏽 and/or cordelia chase!

Hi sorry this took me so long!

Katherine Pierce

three facts about them from my personal headcanons: 1) this seems obvious but she’s bi 2) this isn’t super hc-y it’s more like the show is inconsistent about what’s up and I have a set idea, I do believe that she genuinely was in love with Damon at a point not just Stefan and Elijah 3) idk… Kat isn’t really a character I get into heavy hc territory with a lot

a reason they suck: well she is an objectively terrible person but not in a way out of the ordinary for this verse and she is a villain lol. I guess technically the thing I don’t like about her char sometimes is when they lean too hard on the more misogynistic aspects of the femme fatale trope in how she’s written

a reason they are great: she’s just a fantastic character and villain imo she consistently makes thing interesting every dynamic and storyline she’s in has a little something extra because of her, I love that she’s incredibly clever and competent and tenacious in her pursuit of survival above all else also she also has the best lines.

a reason I relate to them: I don’t really relate to her… actually I can relate to her hating being human in s5 being human is bad enough going from vampire to human sounds terrible lmao.

(what I consider to be) the top tier otp/ot3 for that character. I really enjoy basically all her ships but I do have a favorite and it’s Katherine/Caroline <3 they check a lot of my boxes in terms of just what I enjoy in ships. And for ot3 I’d go for Katherine Caroline and Stefan I do ship and have feelings about all 3 dynamics and they had good moments as a trio in s5.

five things that never happened to that character that I believe should have happened: 1. I really like the majority of her arc in s5 and the concept of the body swap with Elena but I wish the reasoning for it wasn’t so Stefan-centric… I wouldn’t call it ooc necessarily but I don’t think it was good enough for her idk I would alter some of the specifics of her last couple of eps in s5 2. more interactions between her and Bonnie especially it would have been nice for Katherine’s relationship with Emily to come back up as a thread and that to impact how she interacts with / connects with Bonnie 3. I feel like at times she should have kind of had more space in the narrative to express how Klaus impacted/traumatized her over the years. 4. No Queen of Hell storyline 5. Scenes with Hayley + more scenes with Rebekah

five people that character never fell in love with and why:

1.Klaus—the obvious answer is him chasing her and trying to kill her but also I feel like probably before that and just in general they’re both characters who put on masks a lot of the time, and they’re really similar in a lot of ways maybe too similar for them to develop the soft spot to fall in love with each other.

2.Matt—Katherine finds him hot for some reason but he hates her too much for it to be a StefanElijah situation.

3.Kol—Is there ever anything stated in canon about their dynamic? Have they ever interacted? I feel like the dynamic would be sort of Datherinelight I think she’d have fun with him in a similar way but wouldn’t get intense about him the way she did with Damon I think despite herself.

4.Bonnie—Julie was too cowardly to let them interact much.

5.Rebekah—Same thing.

Cordelia Chase

1.three facts about them from my personal headcanons: 1) her first kiss was with Harmony they were “practicing” 2) ats doesn’t ever go very deep into Cordy and acting but I like the idea that it is genuinely something she’s always kind of wanted to pursue but it would never have been her plan to primarily pursue it before her dad went bankrupt, I think once that happened she figured she had nothing to lose and decided to go for that when her mo is usually the most practical option. And when she actually finds her place in Angel investigations it’s something practical that you could argue does occasionally involve theatrics xd so I think that’s the perfect medium for her. 3) Because Cordelia can be really caring and protective when it comes to people close to her, I think she really holds the way he treated Harmony against Spike. She also definitely holds other things against him related to Angel (I don’t think in the canon timeline she ever learned about spuffy which is unfortunate I love Tara’s reactions but Cordy’s would have been stellar too.. but like that’s not a factor here) but I like the idea that Harmony’s treatment is a sticking point for her.

2.a reason they suck: the classism ig it’s hard for me to care when it’s directed at Xander though sorry

3.a reason they are great: I think a lot of what I love about Cordelia is definitely in how Charisma played her rather than the writing for her in either show, she just channels so much… well charisma lmao no pun intended into this character and also so much complexity, you get the feel of her as such a fully fleshed out person right away even though the writers didn’t seem to see her that way. In terms of just personality traits she has that I really dig I like that she’s not afraid to be honest and herself, her confidence, the fact she’s smarter than given credit for not just book wise but she’s a really pragmatic thinker and problem solver, her ambition and her capacity to be loyal and caring and protective even if she isn’t the most compassionate person ever at first. I also just love how funny she is which also goes along the lines of Charisma is so good at being her.

4.a reason I relate to them: as a teenager when I first watched I related to her ideas about brutal honesty now that I’m older I don’t do much. I guess ambition and I can be materialistic

5. (what I consider to be) the top tier otp/ot3 for that character: Coffy probably edges out Cangel for me but just barely I love both of those ships so much. I don’t really have a set ot3 for her I could ot3 her with Angel and Buffy (probably the only way I’d find BA interesting tbh), also could see Cordelia Angel and Gunn or Cordelia Fred Gunn. Or Cordelia Fred Lilah there are options

6. five things that never happened to that character that I believe should have happened: 1. She should have lived 2. She never should have had that arc with Connor and I like Jasmine but I’d either scrap the Jasmine arc or have her exist in a way that had nothing to do with Cordelia 3. she should have been present on the show for all five seasons and Cangel should have been endgame (there aren’t a lot of Buffyverse ships I feel strongly Should be endgame because I tend to be attracted to messy ships like Spuffy Weslah etc. where I don’t necessarily think a conventional happily ever after would fit the ship and satisfy me, but Cangel is the buffyverse ship I think fully deserved that) 4. She should have gotten to talk to Buffy again at some point in the later seasons! Had some crossover scenes! The Willow one she did get also could have gotten into a lot more detail about the parallels and anti parallels in their arcs 5. She never should have been blonde. I realize that was more things that shouldn’t have happened to her in a way but I feel that’s valid.

7.five people that character never fell in love with and why:

1.Doyle — other than the lack of time I don’t think she ever liked him that much outside of him being sort of there for her at a vulnerable time in her life

2.Harmony — I think Cordelia cares for Harmony but she always very much thinks of her as not on the same level as her, not an equal with the ability to rival her the way she treats Buffy even arguably Willow or Anya but definitely Buffy. There’s not enough mutual respect in their relationship to lead to Cordelia falling in love But I think in a world where post Harmony vampirism they got a chance to work on their relationship a lot over time that could look very different.

3.Willow —- Just too much built up animosity from over the years even pre series but if they’d been in a life or death situation together like with Cordy and Xander I’m sure they would have made out and hey maybe they did make out in that closet in School hard.

4.Wesley — obviously the main thing is they met/started flirting when she was a student and the age/power difference. I also think Wesley personality wise is too… not her type I think Cordelia tends to be most attracted / emotionally drawn to people who have a genuineness about them kind of in line with her policy re: tact and honesty, and Wesley is so repressed and has such a convoluted sense of identity that just doesn’t strike me as something Cordelia is into. Even Xander was more genuinely himself around Cordelia and I think that appealed to her (unfortunately).

5.Faith —- They repel as two shadow selves to the same woman do. They also just didn’t get to interact enough because the writers are cowards like with Katbonnie and Katbekah.

Thanks for the ask 💕

#s speaks #asks #btvs #tvd #katherine pierce #cordelia chase #ats #my meta

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charcubed · 3 years

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hey char, mind to share your fave stevebucky headcanons? 👀

Oh I LOVE that you asked me this :’) Thank you!

I honestly have so many if I really think about it because I love them so much and I think about their dynamic so much that I have so many favorite things... but here is what I think of off the top of my head:

• Steve was color blind before the serum, according to canon. I have a headcanon that Bucky used to try to describe colors to him. I wrote a mini fic about that here.

• Bucky was drafted for the war, but didn’t tell Steve. Steve sort of assumed that Bucky enlisted, and Bucky never wanted to correct him. How could he? Steve wanted to enlist so badly, and Bucky didn’t ever feel like he could admit that he didn’t have the same drive to want to ~fight for the country~ like Steve did. He didn’t want to disappoint him and he was afraid Steve would think he was a coward. So Bucky just... never told him that he was forced into war. It was never his choice to fight for the country. If it was up to him, they would’ve stayed home together and stayed safe and never fought at all.

• They were always physically rough with each other, in the sense that they'd wrestle as boys all the time, and Steve loved that Bucky never treated him as fragile. Buck knew he could take it. Even after the serum, they'd still scuffle a bit like kids, finding a bright spot in a war-torn world. They’d be awake in the trenches on lookout, having soft conversations in the night, and shoving each other after one says something stupid or makes a bad joke.

• Steve is bi, and Bucky is gay. Bucky was consciously aware of his feelings for Steve way, way before Steve was aware of his for Bucky. In the 30s, Bucky has a bit of a reputation for ~dating around,~ but not in a rude ladies’ man kind of way but rather his reputation is “Bucky Barnes is a real charmer. He’ll show you a good time and he’s really sweet, but he never pushes your boundaries.” Some women wishes he’d push their boundaries, but he doesn’t. He’s taken so many women out on dates because he never lets it get super serious, since they’re not who he wants and it’s mostly for appearances’ sake, especially since he and Steve live together. He definitely enjoys hanging out with women, and treating them nice, but most of the time his motivation is to try to set up double dates–half because Steve deserves to find a great girl to date, and half because a double date means Bucky can selfishly do a date activity “with” Steve and not have it mean anything. Meanwhile though, Steve gets jealous as hell and testy about Bucky dating all the time, but he’s oblivious to the fact that it’s because Steve wishes Bucky would be with him instead.

• Their first kiss was when Steve was 16 and Bucky was 17. I’m not necessarily saying that’s when they actually got together, but something significant happened between them at those ages... maybe they kissed because they were drunk, or it was so Steve’s “first kiss” would be someone he knew and it was for “practice.” And then they both never talked about it again, because they’re idiots and were afraid to ~ruin things~ between each other. That’s why Steve says “Rumlow said ‘Bucky’ and all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn.” That’s why “seventeen” is one of Bucky’s trigger words as the Winter Soldier. It checks out, because Bucky is a little bit older than Steve.

• Steve doesn’t fully admit the depth of his own feelings for Bucky to himself until he finds out Bucky’s been captured by HYDRA. And then he tears Europe apart to get him back. He’d have done that anyway, obviously, but... the prospect of losing Bucky forever is really what makes him realize how much he can’t handle that concept. Because he’s in love with him.

• After Bucky “dies,” Steve gets more reckless, and that’s part of the reason he put the plane in the ice and didn’t try to survive: he didn’t want to live in a world without Bucky in it. This is supported by canon. And so I headcanon that, after Steve finds out about the Winter Soldier, one day he abruptly realizes that he could’ve died in that plane crash and never known Bucky was alive and brainwashed and suffering. He thought Bucky was dead and he wanted to follow him, and he could’ve left Bucky even more alone in the world without knowing it. When Steve realizes how close he came to leaving Bucky behind like that, he throws up. It horrifies him to think about it.

• They each have a pair of dog tags where one says “Steve Rogers” and one says “Bucky Barnes.” They swapped one tag each, so that they’d have a matching set, because while they couldn’t list each other as “next of kin,” they wanted tangible evidence that would show other people how important they are to each other. So people would know: tell him if something happens to me.

• Their Brooklyn accents come out / get heavier around each other, especially if they’re bitching about things or arguing.

• Bucky is a complete sci-fi and fantasy nerd–which is now confirmed canon, and I love it. In particular, I like to headcanon that he loves to read paperback sci-fi novels, and discount romance novels. He unironically enjoys them, and he leaves them allllll over the place. One of the things they love to do is Bucky will sit around and read while Steve will sit around and draw/paint, and half the time Steve gets distracted sketching Bucky’s facial expression he makes while he’s reading.

• Bucky is also a pop culture gremlin. He will try and often get interested in pretty much anything and everything, without rhyme or reason. In modern day, he and Nat will watch trashy reality TV together–sometimes to make fun of it, sometimes to get invested. Steve thinks they’re insane for that. And sometimes Bucky will like one niche thing but then for very specific reasons he dislikes another similar thing. It makes sense to him, even if Steve doesn’t get it.

• Steve tends to be pickier with the kind of stuff he enjoys. He’s always had Strong Opinions™️ on everything, including and especially art. Put him in a museum and he’ll have a lot of thoughts on all of it. He doesn’t judge things or hate on other people for liking things he doesn’t like at all, but he won’t get hooked on a movie/show quite as easily. The one exception is animation, which he absolutely adores, and he goes on a wild binge of all kinds of animated content for awhile–shows and movies–because the various art styles and uses of the medium to tell crazy stories just fascinates him.

• Easy access to so much music is one of their mutual favorite things about the 21st century. Bucky often gets into individual artists’ entire discographies and becomes a fan, whereas Steve often gets into a handful of specific songs from a wide range of various people. Like... Bucky will often love an entire album, and Steve will often love 2 songs specifically more than others. But even with that, Steve loves collecting vinyl records–both old and new ones.

• Bucky has a fantastic singing voice even though he’s shy about it, and he tends to hum along to music when distracted or working on something else–especially while making something in the kitchen.

• Bucky likes technology more than Steve; Steve likes physical stuff more than Bucky. Bucky loves to take photos and videos of things all the time, hoarding digital memories in a way that’s precious to him, knowing that they’re “safe” and accessible anywhere. They lost so much of the objects that they loved a century ago, and photos were scarce, but now... there are endless ways to have pictures. When Bucky was recovering in Wakanda and Steve was on the run, Bucky would often text Steve photos–sometimes without captions–to wordlessly share bits of his days with him. He’s got a good eye for photography, except for when he takes the photo equivalent of shitposts to make Steve laugh. Regardless, Steve gets his favorites printed–some of Bucky’s photos, some of his, some of their selfies–so they also always have something tangible to hold onto.

• Bucky calls Steve “sweetheart” sometimes, just to be a little shit–and he means it. It makes Steve turn red every time, without fail, but he secretly doesn’t mind it.

Okay I’ll stop hahaha. Those are the main ones that come to mind for me all the time when I think of them!

Thank you again for asking :D This was so fun to write all in one place!

#anonymous #asks #stevebucky #stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #headcanons #literally sat here and spent like an hour writing this. like it's 2017 again. NO remorse! a nice way to wind down my evening #char writes things

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birb-tangleblog · 3 years

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What's your issue(s) with 7k? /gen

Okay so, if you scuttle around in my negativity and salt tags, you'll find a few other posts I've made on why I dislike it and my personal issues. I'm always happy to ramble on anyway, but full disclosure there's a good chance I might end up repeating myself a bit lmao. Fair warning for criticism/negativity here too!

My biggest issue is honestly that 7 K bears zero resemblance to the original source material, and feels like it wasn't made with a lot of love for it. Where are the series' locations and lore? Any of the characters? The new cast, their designs, and the setting(s) they come from don't fit the worldbuilding and aesthetic that I love.

Like there are so so many loose ends and plot threads you could choose to expand on in a sequel or spinoff, and 7 K ignores absolutely all of them. Along with being written/conceptualized before S3, it feels incredibly disconnected and dissonant to anything T T S to me.

(Like the creators literally just wanted to yoink Var and pair him off w/ an OC they ported from elsewhere- and at that point, just retool him and make the whole thing a standalone/original project? Nothing against canon/OC either... but I wouldn't exactly go and pitch my self-indulgent fanfic to actual Didney execs ykwim?)

Overexposure and saturation in tags and fandom spaces is the other biggie. It's not quite as prevalent as it was when it came out, but it's still popular and hard to ignore- ex. H/ugo is tagged in almost 500 stories (and counting) on Ao3. It’s... a lot. I really like Var himself, he has so much potential- but it’s hard to find content w/ him now that doesn’t somehow include 7 K, and it’s a bummer.

And the dynamic with H/ugo... it's really not my cup of tea, and from what I've seen, Var's characterization suffers from it? Lot of him getting pigeonholed as this sassy uwu disaster baby gay/bi (with varying degrees of angst/badboy mixed in depending on the take lmao)

And I'm just really, really over the white twink ships that are popular in fandom, man

I've heard the 'coming of age' and 'Var finds a group of peers his age' as selling points or a big part of the appeal, which makes sense, but both of these fall flat to me b/c the gang... ISN'T his age. Y/ ong is 6 years younger than him, Nu/ ru is 2- literally the only one his age is his love interest (how convenient)

Re. 7 K as a coming of age story, I feel like much of Var's arc in the show already went in the direction of learning from exp, growing up and maturing, and becoming responsible. He's undergone the development 7K's premise sets him up for, and it makes it feel extraneous or like a step backwards.

Honestly, I think there's a lot of overlap btwn 7 K fans and fans who are extremely critical of the orig, who welcome the 7 K cast b/c they believe Var's friends in the series let him down, didn't care for him, acted unforgivably, etc- and I straight up don't feel that way, so I don't feel a need for him to have a new or better friend group. It doesn't compel me.

Idt I've mentioned this, but I really dislike the handling of Var's mother in particular. She's revealed to be alive, then turns out to be evil as a cheap 'twist', and is killed off to further Var's char development. It's defrosting her from the dead mom fridge only to stuff her back in it at the end. I also have a problem with her abandoning her husband and young son and the timeline wonk of, 'why didn't she decide to follow her old dream BEFORE settling down'.

I've got more smaller gripes re. the AU itself as well as attitudes and trends in the fandom surrounding it- like, the elemental kingdoms feel generic and video-gamey, momification/supportive ‘shipper on deck’ treatment of the only female main, and children being little clones of their parents with every trait being inherited bugs me (seen in Var’s extended family and his mom being an alchemist like him)- but those are my big issues.

#I feel like ships are quite personal and extremely subjective #snobby attitudes and fans acting like there's such a thing as objectively good or superior #when it comes to shipping/dynamics peeves me #so I don't want to yuck someone's yum but given how the orig AU is v much a platform for V / rigo #and how synonymous 7 K and that ship are #Idt I'm wrong to focus on it b/c it's hard to separate them #text post #my post #negativity #salt #ask

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senoritaimperfecta · 2 years

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diana / wonder woman if you’re still doing char headcanons

She’s canon Bi so that is set in stone always <3333

but I also like to see her as a trans woman (she/her)

#txt #Superman 🤝 Wonder Woman: trans solidarity actually me thinks

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dilfdoctordoom · 3 years

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🔥 + batfam chars

Bruce Wayne should be a weird old man I said what I said

I wanna know more about Nissa (Batgirl Beyond) and I wanna see her working with an older Stephanie Brown

I think my Barbara Gordon thoughts are. well!

I don't actually know what identity I want Steph to have tbh. I think she's too old for Robin now (though I wouldn't mind some like flashback stories exploring her time as Robin), so it's kind of a toss-up between Spoiler & Batgirl but :) I love Steph's Batgirl run I do not think critically here

I did a whole post for Cass Cain but also she's allergic to avocado

I hope Tim gets to come out with this Urban Legends stuff but people do need to stop saying he's canonically bi already because if DC backtracks on this like. you've just set yourself up for some major disappointment + anger

I miss Alfred I wish he never died :(

Jace Fox is a good character you guys are just mean

Seriously though, I'm really enjoying the focus we've been getting on the Fox Family

Silver St Cloud is the only Batman love interest I could ever see him actually marrying

BruTalia could've worked out I think but right now I'd prefer it if writing focused on just. fixing her character after the assassination she's suffered through

I like Selina but. I don't like BatCat

About half the Justice League could beat Batman, even if he had prep time

Cassandra Cain is the best fighter in the entire Batfamily

Duke Thomas is legitimately the best comic character DC has introduced in a while. Like he's a meta in the Batfam there's so much there already and the way they use symbolism with him it's just :) my boy is out here being the best character ever

I think Vicki Vale should know Bruce Wayne is Batman. As a treat.

I wanna see Ryan Wilder in the comics again!!!

Forbidden Alysia Yeoh Batgirl come back to us

Jason's not allowed back to Gotham until he gets a good writer & some good development. Let him be a person please

#q & a #dee tag

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janiedean · 3 years

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I’m not in the spn fandom, but I’ve seen some people say it’s homophobic while others are saying that destiel is canon. What’s that about?

oh boy where do I start

I’ll try to make it brief but you’ve gotta keep this stuff in mind:

this show went on... at least six years longer than it should have like post s8 it was obvious they were trying to cobble ideas together to air something and by s12 it jumped the shark to a level where it was just ridiculous, so basically everything that’s happened since more or less around then was filler to keep the breathing machine on until the cw laid it to rest

the whole deancas thing came out in a context where... right guys i’ve been there since SEASON THREE WAS AIRING I REMEMBER SHIT so let me tell you that basically until cas was introduced the only fandom ships with a traction were pretty much different declinations of win/cest with the j2 rpf stuff taking like... 99% and 99% of fps and rpf respectively because there was literally no other main and like... not everyone was gonna be into sibling/parental incest or rpf obviously but anyway when castiel showed up basically deancas was the only other m/m ship that actually wasn’t incest floating around and it went big very very soon

now, they had planned to keep cas around as a guest for like some ten eps and then he should have been replaced with another angel character who basically was a human woman who realized she actually was a fallen angel and cas should have died in like s4 ep 10 and anna (the other char) should have been dean’s guide into stopping the apocalypse except that the writers realized castiel was very well-received and the ratings spiked up so they went like QUICK QUICK SWITCH didn’t kill him off and basically gave him the part anna was supposed to have

now now, dean and anna fucked in part two of her two-parter introduction arc lmao or was it even part one but anyway she was supposed to be a love interest and they thought S5 would have been the last so you do your math

then: they’re at S15 and obviously they didn’t go there but

spn fandom also is like... toxicity™ incarnated like before voltron and su there was spn fandom, all the sides were terrible, the side that harassed the actors was worse and like.... sadly a bunch of exclusively j2 people who did harass the actors were also preminent winc/esters and put money into cons and there was a whole circus I can’t even begin getting into but like basically the least dramatic thing that could happen was that the cw would release pictures of dean and cas on their own for promotional reasons and the smm would get a bunch of verbal abuse tweets BECAUSE WHERE IS SAM YOU LOST THE SPIRIT OF THE SHOW

also there were campaigns to fire misha which almost worked for s7 then they saw the ratings dropped when he left and QUICK QUICK LET’S RESUSCITATE HIM lmao

also jensen always was like nah dean’s straight I act like they’re friends but he’s also the guy whose wife got continuously harassed by people who thought she was a cover for his secret rship with jared and so on and like he obviously thinks all shippers are out of control and honestly I can’t even blame him for it since from what I gather some ppl started trailing his kids after school I DON’T KNOW but that’s that

on the other side misha never made a mystery that he played it like cas was in love with dean like he said it at cons pretty much and like..... regardless of everything if there’s one thing misha collins wouldn’t do is milking it for clout bc honestly the guy is a solid ally and has a bi wife/used to be in a poly rship and always put his money where his mouth was re lgbt support so there’s that too

now... back in 2011 and s8 where there was a scene that was the exact EXACT same shit that happened when they canonized my marvel comics #1 ship (like srsly except the marvel ship kissed at the end of that scene) I went like ‘okay they know the undertones they’re obviously marching on it but seeing how this show is and how the fanbase is if it ever goes canon either it’s one sided or it ends with sam becoming a research guru and dean and cas drive off in the sunset hunting monsters without actually saying it out loud’ and it would have been like... soft-not-quite-there canonization but regardless I also said if that ever happens it’s gonna be in the last fifteen minutes of the finale because they don’t want the fandom drama to actually hit them in the face and how to put it, the writing has been a joke for seasons but I can’t even...... blame them for it bc honestly I was tired of fandom drama in S7 imagine working on that since 2005

so like I’m 100% not surprised that whatever’s going down is going down when it’s three episodes from the end actually I’m surprised it didn’t happen in the last ten minutes

now: if cas tells dean openly that he loves him and the context is that he got a curse that sends him to hell if he loves someone (idk I didn’t check the specifics BUT) then it is at least one-sided canon black on white and you can’t say they didn’t make it canon

if he goes to hell and he stays there and that’s it... that’s homophobic and bad and they could have just queerbaited their way through it

except that in this dumb show everyone went to hell twice and came back and cas was introduced as having saved dean from it bodily, so like... if this was a well-written show and they weren’t cowards they’d have dean doing the same for him and realizing he reciprocates getting over his 30+ years of emotional constipation and in that case... wouldn’t be qb

now I’m not betting money on that but they also did this... three eps before the end which sets them up to do it actually so I DON’T KNOW but before deciding it’s homophobic as a whole I’d see how it plays out also bc again this was nEVER gonna happen before the end but the fact that the end kept on being pushed and it wasn’t like... nine seasons but fifteen just made it look ridiculous and like it took them years to get there when if they had been axed in S10 when it would have been merciful.... maybe it wouldn’t have been

so like... either way I wanna see how it plays out but as stated, called in 2011 it could have gone like this the moment we got in the final stretch :)))

anyway: it’s confirmed canon on one side so it’s canon imvho

/shrug

#welcome to my ted talk #otp: don't ever change #i mean.... dkjgkjds #also fun fact: jensen ackles owns my s8 dvds lmao #THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DEANCAS BEING CANON BUT #Anonymous #ask post

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Mortal Kombat Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

https://ift.tt/32FL0Or

This Mortal Kombat article contains spoilers.

There’s a new Mortal Kombat live-action movie out on HBO Max, and it comes after nearly 30 years of games, cartoons, and movie adaptations. With such a long history to pick through, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the new movie has more than a few easter eggs and references to the series’ most famous moments and characters. Why wouldn’t there be? Why even make a new movie if you’re not going to throw your fans a bone or twenty exploding skulls?

We’re keeping track of all the neat easter eggs that fill the 2021 film, from obscure character references to loving nods to the games’ most gruesome Fatcalities. Here’s what we’ve found so far:

Kombat Jargon

Cole Young rightfully notes that “Mortal Kombat” is spelled incorrectly. Series creators Ed Boon and John Tobias each have their own explanation for the spelling. Boon claimed that “Combat” was a workshopped name for the game and someone added a K to be weird. Tobias said that the K was there just so they could trademark the term.

As it’s custom for the Mortal Kombat announcers to say who won each match, Kano takes care of this himself when he kills Reptile and smugly says, “Kano wins.”

When Kung Lao kills Nitara, he notes, “Flawless victory.” That’s what the announcers say in-game whenever someone has a perfect round. At least it’s used correctly here, unlike the original movie, where people would say, “Flawless victory,” in regards to fights where both sides took blows.

There are many deaths in the movie, but only Liu Kang announces, “Fatality,” like in the game.

Scorpion and Sub-Zero

Bi-Han killing Hanzo Hasashi has been depicted many times in Mortal Kombat media, though canonically in the game Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. The version in this movie more closely resembles the events of the animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. The big difference that sets this movie apart from the others is the fact that Hanzo existed centuries ago and not in the present. That, and the depiction of Sub-Zero as pure evil. While Bi-Han is no saint, his killing of Hanzo is usually depicted as strictly business. In the games, the murder of Scorpion’s family is the doing of Quan Chi, who uses the tragedy to manipulate Scorpion into his service.

Outside of his feud with Scorpion, Sub-Zero’s villain status in this movie more closely matches the origin of Erron Black, the anachronistic Wild West gunslinger who first showed up in Mortal Kombat X. Centuries ago, Shang Tsung felt threatened by a potential challenger in the Mortal Kombat tournament. He hired Erron Black to assassinate the threat, and in return Tsung would teach Black the secrets to living for thousands of years.

Scorpion pulls off his classic Toasty Fatality, which also turns his mouth into charred bone. Scorpion’s always had this weird situation going on with his face where sometimes it’s flesh and sometimes it’s just a skull. Here, we get a bit of both!

Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs

On Sonya’s research wall, there’s a book excerpt on a Native American tribe called Matokans, focusing on shamans and warriors. The clipping mentions a tribe member known as “the Night wolf.” Nightwolf is a character (and title) introduced in the third game. He strongly resembles the sketch included in the clipping. “Matokan Warrior” is one of his variations in Mortal Kombat 11.

Also on the wall is a photo of a sculpture of the Mayan God of War, Buluc Chabtan. In Mortal Kombat lore, this is the Outworld warrior Kotal Kahn, who for a time ventured into Earthrealm and was worshipped as a god by the Mayans. The character was introduced in Mortal Kombat X when he took over Outworld in the aftermath of Shao Kahn’s death. While still barbaric, his rule was considered more progressive than his predecessor’s.

While Sonya’s rings attack is treated as a superpower here, in the games, it’s treated as more of a high-tech wrist weapon.

The subplot about Sonya’s worth due to her lack of dragon tattoo could be interpreted as a commentary on how the original movie handled Sonya in the third act. Shang Tsung kidnapped her and chose to make her the finalist in the tournament, which everyone treated as a fight Sonya could never win in a million years. The way the original movie turned Sonya into a damnsel in distress annoys many fans to this day.

The origin of Jax’s metal arms has been told many different ways through the decades. He’s lost them at the hands of Baraka, Ermac, a Special Forces goon, and Goro. This is the first time Sub-Zero has been responsible.

Jax splattering his opponent’s head with a clap of the hands is a Fatality he’s had since Mortal Kombat II.

Kano and the Black Dragon

Kano has trouble using the GPS to track Raiden’s temple. This is probably a callback to the original movie, where Shang Tsung’s Island caused Sonya’s compass to go haywire.

Kano’s face gets clawed up, and later he’s able to shoot a red laser from his eye socket. In the games, Kano has a metal plate over his eye, giving him that laser ability.

The heart rip was Kano’s Fatality in the first game. He’s since introduced many variations of it.

The Black Dragon is brought up a few times. A scummier offshoot of the terrorist organization the Red Dragon, Kano’s group has included such characters as Kabal, Jarek, Kira, Kobra, Erron Black, and Tremor.

Kabal blames Kano for why he’s stuck in his respirator-based costume. In the games, Kabal was a Black Dragon member who left the group and became a cop. During the events of Mortal Kombat 3, Kabal was burned alive by Kintaro. Kano actually saved Kabal and hooked him up to the respirators in hopes of recruiting him. Shang Tsung tried to use magic to heal Kabal’s lungs, which gave him super-speed as a side-effect.

Kano refers to Raiden as “Gandalf” and considers his comrades’ magical attacks as “Harry Potter shit.” Fitting that Kano’s references keep with properties owned by Warner Bros.

Kano’s overall story here is a lot like the ’90s comic book Mortal Kombat: Rayden and Kano. In the comic, Rayden (they spelled it differently back then) attempted to hire Kano to help destroy Shao Kahn, as he was the descendant of a hero who liberated Outworld long ago. Kano ultimately betrayed Rayden, just as he betrays his teammates in this movie.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao

Kano refers to Liu Kang as “MC Hammer” due to their shared love of puffy pants.

Liu Kang brings up Master Bo’ Rai Cho, a character introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Bo’ Rai Cho (a play on “boracho” meaning “drunk” in Spanish) is an Outworld warrior who sympathized with Earthrealm and chose to protect it from Shao Kahn. Being from Outworld, he could not enter Mortal Kombat without it counting against Earthrealm. Instead, he’s dedicated thousands of years to training Shaolin warriors in hopes of one of them winning the tournament and ending Outworld’s streak. He mentored Liu Kang and Kung Lao firsthand.

Kung Lao mentions being the descendant of the original Kung Lao. The Great Kung Lao was a Shaolin monk who regularly defended Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat. He even defeated Shang Tsung at least once. But his streak came to an end at the hands of Goro. Later games revealed that the modern Kung Lao is a reincarnation of the original.

Games

Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero and Scorpion’s Rivalry Explained

By Matthew Byrd

Movies

Mortal Kombat: The Challenges of Making the Movie Reboot

By Gene Ching

Liu Kang is able to get the better of Kano by spamming the leg sweep. This is a reference to a very annoying tactic in the early games.

The way Kung Lao kills Nitara is similar to his Fatality from Mortal Kombat 9, the difference being that, in the game, the victim is cut apart crotch-first.

Kung Lao dying to drive Liu Kang’s story forward is a regular trope in Mortal Kombat. Lao’s death first came in Mortal Kombat 3. But in the Mortal Kombat 9 reboot, Kung Lao went on a major winning streak during the retelling of Mortal Kombat II, but then Shao Kahn grabbed him from behind and snapped his neck. Liu Kang reacted by punching a hole through Kahn’s chest.

Raiden’s Temple

The paintings depict the Great Kung Lao standing over a beaten Shang Tsung. Kung Lao is probably the victim of the painting of Goro tearing a poor guy in half. Other images show Bi-Han murdering Hanzo and the rule of Shao Kahn, the true villain in the Outworld invasion.

One painting shows Argus and Delia, protectors of the realm Edenia, watching over the prone body of a bearded man with some kind of war going on in a cloud above. This man appears to be one of their sons, either Taven or Daegon. Both were put in a slumber as part of a prophecy/contest to stop Armageddon, an event where so many Mortal Kombat characters were at war that it threatened to destroy reality itself.

There’s a fan on display belonging to Kitana. Kitana is Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter and brainwashed assassin. She tends to betray Outworld and align herself with Liu Kang. Strangely, while she isn’t in this movie, her clone Mileena is.

Shang Tsung and Outworld

While Reptile has been around since the first Mortal Kombat game, the design used for the movie is based on Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Like in the game, Reptile’s abilities include invisibility, an extended tongue, and acid saliva.

In the games, Nitara first appeared in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. She’s depicted as a loner and manipulator who wants to bring back her lost vampire realm. A very random choice to be sure, but she also had a cameo in Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, so somebody out there really digs her.

General Reiko was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4 as one of Shinnok’s henchmen. He was given an extremely vague ending that had him running into a portal to parts unknown, but certain home ports expanded on it to show him putting on Shao Kahn’s mask, suggesting they were the same person. This was later handwaved away as Reiko just really liking Kahn’s mask and wanting power for himself.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

When Reiko was brought back in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, he was given the giant warhammer as his weapon stance.

When killing Kung Lao, Shang Tsung tells him, “Your soul is mine!” That hammy quote was Shang Tsung’s go-to threat in the first movie. Also, eating souls is Tsung’s go-to Fatality in just about any game.

Goro threatens to tear out Cole’s spine. While that is more of Sub-Zero’s thing, it’s also the iconic Fatality that Mortal Kombat is remembered for. Fellow Shokan warrior Sheeva also has a spine-ripping Fatality in Mortal Kombat 11.

Johnny Cage

The movie ends with a teaser for Johnny Cage, who will presumably appear in the sequel if that project happens. In the final shot of the movie, we see a cropped image of a movie poster for Citizen Cage, one of Johnny’s many established movies from the game’s lore. The poster shows him wearing his large “CAGE” belt buckle, which was introduced in Mortal Kombat 9. That makes it all the more likely that he’ll have “JOHNNY” tattooed across his chest.

There’s another movie poster to the side that we can’t see too much of other than it having “Fist” in the title. Going on the games, this could be The Gist of My Fist or Dragon Fist.

Let us know in the comments if we missed anything!

The post Mortal Kombat Easter Eggs and Reference Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3nnVX0U

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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drinkcrywrite · 2 years

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Jesper Fahey of the Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo and Shadow and Bone TV Series is bisexual!

Canon Bisexual Characters 1/∞

#shadow and bone #sabedit #socedit #shadowandbonecentral #dailyshadowandbone #six of crows #thecrowsdaily #chewieblog #userbbelcher #dailytvfilmgifs #filmtv #shinylightblue #rupzydaisy #jesper fahey #jesperfaheyedit #canon bi char set #*gifs

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sixhours · 2 months

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Chapter 25 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

~*~

A blizzard hits in mid-February, delaying your exit that much longer. Joel is restless, ducking in and out of the house just to watch the snow fly, as if scowling at it could make it pass faster. You join him at the door after several rounds of this, stilling him, hand at his elbow.

“There’s always one last roar. It’ll melt.”

You know he’s thinking of Ellie, of Tommy and Maria…of home. You’re thinking of it that way, too, although you’re not sure what you’ll find when you get there. Neither of you talks about it, but it’s always there, the uncertainty ahead of you.

Instead, you throw yourself into planning for the journey ahead. You’ve stared at the maps long enough to commit the routes you need to follow to memory. You try to rebuild your strength, eating even when the taste and texture of venison make you feel sick.

He’s found a branch that makes a perfect walking stick, using his knife to shape the wood and carve a handle into the top. He finds some old sandpaper in the barn and spends an inordinate amount of time smoothing the wood until it’s velvety. He presents it to you with a gruff shrug and brushes off your thank-you with a scowl.

“Just don’t want you fallin’ over.”

Sometimes you feel almost normal, almost…whole. Maybe it’s the promise of better weather, slowly thawing you from the inside, or the thought of a future where you don’t need to hide. You think Joel notices, too, because he’s stopped watching your every move, stopped acting like the sight of a loaded gun might send you back over the dark edge.

~*~

You set out for Jackson on the first of March, when the snow is barely a thin white blanket on the ground and the air holds the faintest promise of warmth. The travel is easy at first. At the end of the day you’re tired, but the fresh air and movement feel like a reawakening, like coming back to yourself.

But the closer you get to your destination, the more your collective imagination weighs on you, drawing you into a muted, terrified silence.

It doesn’t help that the land around you is mostly uninhabited, but you still see infected in the distance, lone figures staggering across a field or lurching through the trees–strays that shouldn’t be this far out from civilization. You take turns on watch at night and try not to camp in the open if you can help it.

You find the crater about forty miles outside Jackson, exiting a swath of forest at the outskirts of the settlement’s patrol area to find a vast, blackened gash in the earth.

“Jesus,” you breathe, standing at the edge of the torn earth with Joel gripping your hand like a vice.

The remains of bodies litter the landscape, charred black by some kind of fire or explosion. Some are infected, you can tell by the bulbous shapes on their heads, but others...it’s hard to tell. An upturned FEDRA van creaks in the wind.

You exchange a look, but there’s nothing to say.

That night, you make camp at an old patrol outpost, a former hunting camp in a state of abject decay. It hasn’t been used in months if not years. You try to convince Joel to keep going through the night, unable to get that scorched-earth scene out of your mind, but you’re struggling to keep up, your bad ankle dragging with every step.

“We don’t know what we’re gonna find up there. Need to save your energy.”

Over a meager dinner, the candlelight etches worry into every line on Joel’s face. He takes the first watch while you pretend to sleep. You should be exhausted with all the miles behind you, but your mind spins in circles. Finally, you get off the mattress and put water on the portable stove to boil. You take two mugs of hot water and pull up a chair next to Joel. He doesn’t say anything, just takes one of the mugs with a nod of thanks.

“God, I wish this was coffee,” you sigh.

He taps his mug against yours in a toast. “I’d even take that instant shit.”

“I told you, desperate times,” taking a sip, wincing as the liquid burns your throat.

He’s lost in thought, rubbing at his lower lip with one thumb.

“I told her, y’know,” he rumbles softly. “Before I left. I told Ellie…about what happened…at the hospital…with the Fireflies.”

“How’d she take it?”

He takes a deep, shaky breath. “She said…she thought she could forgive me for that. Someday.”

Someday.

You cluck your tongue. “She’s your kid, Miller. She’s stubborn as hell…but she’ll forgive you.”

His eyes are hazy with longing and regret, and you know the words won’t be enough until he can hear them from her lips.

“Jus’ gotta get back,” he whispers.

Neither of you sleeps that night.

~*~

When Joel realizes how close you are to Jackson, he involuntarily picks up the pace, rushing to get to the top of the last hill where you’ll be able to see the settlement in the distance. You let him go ahead, and find him standing at the crest with his hands on his hips, breathing hard.

“Sorry, had to–had to know,” he gasps.

“I know,” you say, squinting across the valley, half expecting to find another blown-out crater, relieved to see the town walls standing.

“Still there,” he breathes. It’s quiet, but there’s movement. It’s too far away to tell if that’s a good thing yet. And you haven’t encountered any patrols, which is concerning.

His hand finds yours and you squeeze it reflexively. Almost home.

The descent into the valley takes longer than it should. You’re still awkward, stumbling along with only your walking stick and occasionally Joel’s arm for support.

As you approach the settlement, your unease grows. Joel senses it, too, and he unshoulders his rifle when you’re half a mile out, shooting you a sideways glance filled with apprehension. This close to Jackson, someone should have seen you by now.

Then the wall looms on the horizon, and you watch the doors open. Riders on horseback are filing out, coming toward you, but you can’t tell if they’re friendly. You pull the handgun out of your pocket as Joel seats the rifle at his shoulder.

~*~

You recognize Ashbury first, and the relief is enough to make your knees weak. You stumble gracelessly into Joel’s side.

“It’s them.”

He sees it, too. Then the riding party surrounds you, two dogs and their handlers bringing up the rear. Your hands go up by force of habit, as do Joel’s. He lets the rifle drop and hands it over silently.

The dogs circle your ankles, sniffing for signs of infection, and when you’re cleared, you’re escorted back to the gates amidst the circle of riders. You can almost feel Joel thrumming beside you, eyes fixed on the entrance as the gate slowly creaks open.

Then you hear her before you see her, a flash of burgundy and gray with a shock of auburn hair streaking toward you.

“Joel!”

He stops short, clutches your hand like a lifeline, breath caught in his throat.

“Joel!”

And then she’s tackling him, and he’s sinking to his knees in the middle of the street with his arms around his daughter. He’s murmuring through tears, baby girl , cupping her face in his hands and grinning, then pulling her back into him.

“Don’t cry, asshole,” she mutters over his shoulder, but you hear the catch in her voice and see the glimmer in her eyes.

You’re home.

#fanfic #fic recs #the last of us hbo #joel miller #the last of us #joel and ellie #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you

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themagiciansreccenter · 5 years

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Author Spotlight: @thursdayeuclid

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a thirty-something disabled bipolar queer trans guy who publishes original m/m romance novels when I can tear myself away from fandom long enough to do so. I'm pretty blind without my glasses. I usually have blue hair, a nose ring, and a man bun. As Thursday Euclid, I write lots of happily ever afters, and as prettyclever, I do pretty much the same thing, except with other people's characters that I'm just borrowing from a surfeit of affection.

How long have you been writing for?

My first stories were written when I was a very young child, but I didn't try a novel until I was nine. It didn't quite work out--I couldn't sustain the work to complete a work of that length, and I was writing long-hand---but I tried again at twelve and managed to finish about 50k words. I had a tumultuous adolescence but eventually found myself in Harry Potter fandom in the early aughts, and then I took a long break trying to be a professional. Turns out, I couldn't stay away from tragic magical boys.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I was irritated with how season four was playing out. I overly identify with Eliot Waugh--he's who I want to be when I grow up; I'm 37 so I'm running way behind schedule--and his relationship with Quentin was *so* important to me. When Quentin got back together with Alice, I was like, "This is it. I've gotta write fic."

That was the beginning. A few thousand words came of it. Ever since the season four finale, though, I've done nothing but write oodles of Queliot fic with my cowriter and best friend clancynacht/charlotteschaos in my every free moment. I was already reading Magicians fic, but there just wasn't enough novel-length Queliot to suit me, so me and Char are remedying that in our own weird way.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Eliot, because he is me in so many ways, and in all the ways he is not me, he is pure fabulosity and sex appeal. Kady, because she is just the baddest bitch. She delights me to no end. Penny 40, because his sass is killer, as is his tsundere ish, and I just really miss him. Char always writes Quentin and Margo when we collaborate because she's fantastic at channeling them, so I stick to my own faves.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I didn't really start writing fic until s4, but (extrapolated) S5 has been my favorite thing to write. I've also loved the Mosaic fic we're writing based on 3x5 and 4x5. Most of what I read is totally AU, though.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

We've now posted like 225,000 words of Queliot fic, still working on Sound & Color, and we're also working on another novel-length fic for Magicians Hallmark Holiday Exchange as I type this. Since it's all anon, I can't tell you much about our story except that we've already written 65,000 words of it, and the mutual pining is real, y'all. It's very festive, and Quentin is an adorable sad boi and Eliot is very soft and spook and also protective.

How long is your “to do list”?

Char literally made a Basecamp list of everything I should be doing outside of fic, but when it comes to fandom, it's really just MHHE and Sound & Color. We write together really rapidly. For example, when we wrote It's Never Over, we were done with over 100k in a month.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Definitely It's Never Over. It's crackalicious and full of book canon references, and it's the Magicians Season 5 Queliot fans deserve. I'm so proud of how that one turned out. I've never written a story in fandom that people were so passionate about, either. It was published immediately after that heartbreaking finale, and people really responded to how we resurrected Quentin. Also all the smut, because there's so much smut in that story. Sex magic left and right.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

I hoped Sound & Color would get more attention than it did. It's a long, weird (not quite complete yet) trip through 3x5 A Life in the Day. There's already a lot of Mosaic fic out there, and it's a crowded field, although I think Sound & Color stands apart for being so complete and slice-of-lifey. It's not just focused on the most dramatic moments, but on their entire lives together from beginning to end because I couldn't get enough of imagining it. It's a long, thorough exploration.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I like to listen to Radiohead when I write. It's inspiring and relaxing and keeps the words flowing. Also, Char often creates Spotify playlists for our stories, and I'll listen to those to set the mood as we write. Sometimes I listen to Kpop while writing too, because I only understand one word in fifty and it provides excellent background rhythm.

Because I collaborate with Char on just about everything, we used to write together in Google Docs before migrating our process over to OneDrive through Microsoft Word, which also lets us see each other's work in real time and edit each other's additions to the story. In a lot of ways, it's similar to roleplaying, which is why we can write 100k in a month without getting burned out. We've been working together like this for more than ten years now, so we've got it down.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I prefer writing canon-compliant stories during hiatus and writing AUs while the seasons are airing. Historically, I tend to only read in a fandom until hiatus, and then I start writing. Coming from a book-based fandom (Harry Potter), Magicians feels very different dynamically and has different demands.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

Definitely The Fake Dating One Where El's Parents Come to Visit, because it was different from what I'm used to writing. For one, it was short(ish) and two, Eliot's parents were drawn from my parents, who are also extremely religious, conservative, small town bigots. It cut closer to the bone in a lot of ways, but it was also different because Quentin ended up taking a more dominant, protective role, really exhibiting his innate bravery, and it was a little uncomfortable letting Eliot be rescued by Quentin just because I identify so much with El.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

Idiots in love, mutual pining, fake dating, dicks & daddy issues, biphobia and bi erasure in queer culture, mental illness, family of choice, friends-to-lovers

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Lev Grossman, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Stephen King, NK Jemisin, Owlet (her Infinite Coffee series is incredible if you like Stucky), and Olen Steinhauer.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I just finished reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, which I admit I read just because Chris Evans recommended it, and wow am I glad I did. Changed the way I look at the world.

Now I'm working my way through the Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemisin, the Raven Tower by Ann Leckie, the Fever King by Victoria Lee, and All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Practice makes perfect. If you don't give it your best every day and work on it even when you don't feel as inspired, you'll never develop the muscles it requires to perfect your craft.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

My characters murmur way too much. Also honestly, just, like.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

It was called "Isildur's Bane" and it was a really insanely nerdy LOTR fic about Isildur and the One Ring. It was gen, and it had none of the characters/pairings people actually wanted to read about, but I was damn proud of it. I have no idea what happened to it. It's been almost twenty years.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

For fic, Char and I edit each other as we go. I'd love to have an actual beta, but I do not have one.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments feed my soul. They used to give me anxiety, but now they are my everything.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

angst with a happy ending

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

slow burn, to read and to write

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

All That Hard, Glossy Armor

Favourite Book?

The Magician’s Land

Three favourite words?

herculean, susurrus, callipygian

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

#the magicians rec center #author spotlight #author spotlight: thursdayeuclid

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dawnofspeed · 7 years

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I’ve had some asks and some messages lately so I wanted to go over a few things:

-> I myself find it hard to approach who I look up to and deem a quality rper. Happens all the time. Especially with the Flash Fam? Like I don’t know if people want to interact with Dawn or even know who she is, she’s obscure, she’s not in a lot, and she only just reappeared in the comics after a disappearance of like over a decade. However I tend to assume if we’re mutuals you wanna talk/rp/etc. I have anxiety and don’t wanna feel like I annoy you so if I haven’t heard from you in a while, no responses, I tend to back off.

-> I’m having a tough time at the moment so I’m not replying to threads, or memes, or starters, or making new stuff bc I legit can’t handle it. I may post something new but I’m usually not looking to continue it.

-> I have multiples of characters because I like different writing styles and people’s interpretations. This does not mean that I don’t love yours. If you really feel distressed please just talk to me. The more I bond with you and Dawn bonds with your char, the more likely it is that I’m going to come to you when I have ideas or plots or Dawn inspo.

-> Dawn talks a lot about Don bc her twin is her lifelong soulmate and she would die for him. However I make up a lot of stuff that I don’t know if is canon to other people simply bc we don’t get to spend a lot of time talking about it. My main Dons are @donthespeed & @purplespxedster.

-> I character build and world build naturally in my head. Sometimes I don’t realise I haven’t explained something. If you are confused about something, like Dawn’s random ass future holidays, or why she thinks goggles are related to Google, please just message. I also create OCs or stuff. If you like one of them talk to me? I love networking and building worlds together.

-> Dawn is multiship. She is bi. But canonically she marries Jeven. Thereby making all threads post the age of about 22 that are set canonically in the comics she’s married to @ofaarok. She won’t be cheating on him.

-> I’ve had bad experiences with people who rp the same character as me before. I’ve had some GREAT ones and I usually welcome doubles, but I have had some bad ones on Dawn and on some blogs in DC fandom. Thus I won’t be following other Dawns, I’m sorry.

-> I have ships I don’t like but I will never write about them on here or contact you. That is not an issue. And there are also ships for both Barry and Iris that I do like besides each other (and for Wally’s ships, and for Meloni’s ships, and - you get it). Please do not hesitate to plot with me or approach me. Just because Dawn is Barry and Iris’ kid doesn’t mean we can’t rp together, or rp where your character is dating one of them, or if you’re a kid from another universe that is related to Dawn... all of it. If I’m really uncomfortable accepting a ship or rping around it I will tell you.

#i think there's more #but yeah just come to me? i don't mind #i'm a smol anxious nugget i will never bite

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capbetafinders · 7 years

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Beta Offer

Your Name: Ro. I don’t use tumblr for my writing, so email roeroe85 at outlook dot com

Best way to contact you: Email.

Genres open to betaing: Modern AU, fun and nice AU’s, Fluff, ROM COM!!! I love Shrunkyclunks!!! Established relationship. Cheating/Infidelity. Temporary break up. Crack! Fic. Meet cute, Meet ugly.

Genres NOT open to betaing: Not keen on miserable/doom and gloom settings. Not really into Pre War, WWII, Prison/behind enemy lines, or Dystopian doom and gloom. Not keen on Pre serum Steeb, sorry. But it depends on the length and story, really. I don’t want to read kid fic, or babies.

Pairings you will beta: Steve/Bucky, Steve/Sam, Bucky/Sam, Bucky/T'Challa, Sam/T'Challa,

Pairings you will NOT beta: Evanstan. Tony/anyone, Pepper/anyone, Loki/anyone. Not keen on Natasha, Sharon, or on het pairings in general, but if written really well I’d consider. Not keen on Poly unless it’s a very interesting story. If it’s just a short fic then maybe.

Warnings/kinks you are NOT open to betaing: Major Angst (that goes on for too long), Torture, Harm, Injury, Emergency, Imprisonment, Loss of agency, Major Character Death, Hydra Trash Party, anything too ick or miserable. Depends on context and extent of on-page scene.

**Important: I don’t want to read your trans or genderqueer fic unless you identify as trans or genderqueer yourself.**

Length of fic you can beta: Drabble and up to 10k is ideal. Anything longer and I’d have to chat with you due to time constraints. Chapter by chapter is ok but depends on content and overall plot.

Beta strengths/weaknesses:

Strengths: (flexes beta muscles) Grammar, Spelling, Plot Flow, Character development, HUMOR. SMUT. Graphic sex scenes.

Good POV Gay/bi/pan male. Also I’ve worked as a writer and editor on and off for years. I write Steve/Bucky fic myself as it’s my fave ship.

First language is English. Have good comics canon and MCU knowledge.

Weaknesses: Not American, so my spelling often differs if I don’t correct it. I’ve only visited NYC once a long time ago.

In my 30s and don’t know a lot of ‘yoof’ sayings or technology, so if you’re setting your characters really young then I don’t think I’m your best beta for setting/style. (If you set your chars older then please step this way! lol)

Not keen on really long or meandering fics, unless it’s REALLY WELL WRITTEN and will keep my attention.

And, I’m aware I don’t give much attention to female character development bc it’s not of much interest to me; I’m 99.9% here for the dudes.

I don’t want to read 1st or 2nd person POV, I can only read 3rd person.

Other information: I’m in my 30s. Ideally I only want to work with writers who are similar age and experience, and have the confidence to deal with a good edit and/or constructive crit. I’m British and my editing is blunt, but succinct. If that’s what you’re cool with, then great.

I can’t give American setting/history info, you’ll have to research that yourself.

Like I said above, I don’t want to read your trans, Agender, genderqueer or non binary fics unless you also identify as such, like I do. If you do, I’d be open to discussion.

It’d be really cool to find a long term beta partner for stucky theme fic. If you want to check out mine first I can give you my Ao3.

Ta! :)

#beta offer #pairings: steve/bucky #pairings: steve/sam #pairings: bucky/sam #pairings: bucky/t'challa #pairings: sam/t'challa #genre: modernau #theme: shrunkyclunks #theme: fluff #theme: established relationship #theme: crack!fic #theme: infidelity #theme: temporary break up #word count: drabble #word count: 10k #submission

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