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helioyx · 1 year

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The Sorcerer & The Fae Prince (First Encounter)

Characters: Explorer, Magician, Thief

CW/TW: Implied neglectful and abusive parenting, Brief depressive episode

*Set in a Fantasy AU (one of many) whereby Kurt is the Fae Prince, offspring of the Fae King, whose reputation precedes him as a ruthless and cunning ruler. Despite this, Kurt is nothing like his father, showing an aptitude for kindness and compassion that is most unlike a Fae.

Naturally, this makes his relationship with his father tense, and he is locked within the boundaries of the kingdom for hundreds of years as the Fae King believes that he will ‘die out there in the real world.’ More likely than that is that he feels ashamed of his son’s ‘niceness’ as it is ill-fitting of a Fae. Therefore, he intends to keep him where he would not be seen by anyone beyond the castle walls.

That doesn’t stop Kurt from sneaking out, with the help of his reluctant friend Kreacher, who is a lesser Fae from the slums. Unfortunately, things don’t go as well as his storybooks, and he’s quickly caught red-handed when crossing into hostile territory—the sorcerer’s tower.

*This one’s a teeeensy bit long, y’all.

He couldn’t believe it—he was finally free!

The Fae Prince let out an unrestrained laugh as he twirled around with his arms outstretched.

“Oh, stars! I did it! I’m free!” He laughed when he bumped into the other Fae from all his excessive twirling, wrapping an arm around him so he could share the joy.

Unfortunately, it seemed that his companion was less than pleased.

Kreacher dragged a hand over his face, groaning lowly as he weakly shoved at Kurt’s arm. That did nothing to dampen the prince’s spirits however, as he simply cheered and hollered some more, spreading his joyous aura throughout the path, making the trees flower in a blink of an eye.

“Ohhh great deities above, I’m finally- I’m finally free...” He gave one last victorious shout with his fists raised to the sky, and finally settled down.

The Fae bandit rolled his eyes as the other calmed down, bending over to pant lightly with his hands over his knees. Of course he was winded—he’d never been out of the castle his entire life.

In retrospect, Kreacher could definitely feel sorry for him... but in his opinion, being confined to a home for eternity is better than not having one at all—speaking from experience.

The blooming petals had started to fall and tickle his nose. He scowled lightly at the colourful sight—the trees were flowering, and petals of every hue were raining down on them like a snowstorm.

It wasn’t typical Fae decorum. He himself would’ve preferred something... less bright. But then again, the prince had always been an oddball—an outsider in his own kingdom. Really, who could blame him for wanting to run away? Certainly not him.

Now if only he didn’t have to play babysitter... because Kreacher knew, the moment he relented to the prince’s pleads of helping him escape, that he would not last one second out there.

Well. Not without him at least.

“Oh, the trees here look beautiful!”

“Th-that’s because you made them so.”

“And the animals! Oh I’ve always wanted to pet a unicorn!”

“That’s... just a horse. With decorative headwear.”

“No, look at that! A horn! It’s a u-ni-corn.”

Kreacher grumbled to himself. “And I’m t-telling you, that’s—” Wait.

The bandit slowly came to a stop, brows furrowed as he took a good look at their surroundings.

Wait. This is—

He had been so distracted by the prince’s elation that he had completely forgotten to pay attention to the direction they were headed... and this was not where they were supposed to go.

“Kurt! Stop—” He realised too late that his self-proclaimed charge had wandered straight out of the frying pan and into the fire—for not a moment sooner had he called out, a hex glyph had revealed itself from beneath the prince’s shoe.

The Fae Prince froze in place as he slowly turned to look down, seeing the glyph light up beneath his feet, pulsing with energy. With magic.

“Kreacher...” He mumbled, voice wavering, “What... what is this?”

The bandit cursed as he quickly came to his side, crouching down so he could better examine the hostile magic. “Hex glyph,” he said simply. “Lift your foot and you’ll d-die.”

Kurt paled. “Die?!”

“Probably. Kreacher’s never s-stepped on one before, so he d-doesn’t know, really.”

Deities preserve him. “Stop joking around, Kreacher!” His voice had taken on a higher note, transforming into a shrill sound, and the bandit winced the slightest bit beside him. He would’ve laughed if only his life wasn’t at stake.

“I’m not!” Kreacher hissed back, shooting him a brief glare before turning back to the glyph on the ground.

“I know, I know—I’m sorry, I just- am I going to die?!” He probably sounded hysterical at this point, judging by the bandit’s concerned gaze.

“No, no... You’re not. Kreacher’s dealt with this before, okay? Breathe—” He didn’t get his last word out in time before an invisible force punched the air out of his lungs, throwing him back a few feet. He landed face-down, groaning into the dirt.

“Kreacher!” Kurt eyed the bandit worriedly, fearing for the worst... until he saw the shaky thumbs up he gave him. He sighed in relief, only to feel his heartbeat quicken again when an unknown force pinned his companion to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

“Ugh... Fuck, we’re too late,” he groaned, gritting his teeth as he lifted his head—the only body part he could move—looking past the prince.

The sound of footsteps approaching prompted Kurt to swivel his head around at breakneck speed, and he felt an indescribable feeling of dread rising up in his chest, hollowing out the edges until it had carved itself a nice pit of fear and despair.

For approaching him was a cloaked man, eyes like storm clouds gleaming dangerously beneath his hood as he stared them down. In his right hand was a staff—long and sturdy, made of strong wood and channeling incredibly potent magic, he could tell. The man was clearly a mage of immense power.

He didn’t think he’d cower before anyone but his father—but oh, how he was proven wrong. He trembled before the newcomer, eyes transfixed on him despite the sheer terror flooding his veins.

The man took one look at them and narrowed his eyes, curling his lip in disdain.

“Fae,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose as he eyed both of them in scrutiny. “What business do you have trespassing my abode?”

Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to gather his words. “Your... abode..?”

The mage narrowed his eyes at him, clearly unimpressed with his answer. “Surely you noticed that you stepped into magical territory—territory that is mine, by the way.”

Was that it? The lushness of the trees, the vibrance of wildlife in the area... the overall splendour of this part of the woods... It was all his?

“I... I’m sorry... I hadn’t noticed,” he mumbled, head bowed in remorse. It only served to remind him that he was still in mortal peril however, when the halo of the hex glyph shone upon his face, as if it were taunting him.

“Hmph. It is strange for someone like a Fae to not notice.” He spat out the word like it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Kurt felt shame creeping onto his face. “After all, I’ve made things very clear with your king that should any of you cross into my realm, I’ll not hesitate to put an end to you. Permanently.”

Kurt raised his head, though most of the mage’s words escaped him. All he caught was the part where—

“You know my father?” He asked meekly.

All at once, the man’s grim expression dropped and in its place instead was a look of confusion, which quickly morphed into disbelief.

“Your... father?” He questioned slowly, as if still trying to catch up to what he had said.

He heard Kreacher groan somewhere behind him.

“Why d-did you tell him th-that?” He sounded exasperated. Though Kurt couldn’t have told the difference—that was how he usually sounded anyway.

“But—”

“The Fae King... is your father.” A statement, not a question. Though by the way the man was raising a brow at him, it may have well been one.

Kurt mimicked his expression, tilting his head. “Yes?” He was unsure of this line of questioning—had he not made that clear already?

The mage came closer, eyes narrowed as he circled him, much like a hawk would do to mice.

Overcome by a bout of self-consciousness, he pulled his cloak tighter around himself. It was for naught however, when the strange man poked him with the end of his staff, using it to flip his cloak over his shoulder.

“Hey!” He made a move to protest, but the mage gave him a warning glance.

“I can make this glyph trigger right now,” he said, voice low and cold, “or I can push you with this,” he gestured to his staff, “and make it trigger anyway. Either way, it’ll be excruciatingly painful, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Kurt shook his head vehemently.

“Then stand. Still.” With that, the stranger continued to poke away, displacing his cloak. Once his garb was fully revealed, he made an unimpressed noise as he stepped back, giving Kurt a once-over.

“Is something... the matter?” He asked hesitantly.

The mage hummed, stroking his chin in thought. “You are not what I expected,” he said finally, sending Kurt a piercing gaze that left chills running down his spine.

“And what did you expect?” He asked curiously, despite the lingering fear and unease in his veins.

“Well... not you.”

He gave an affronted gasp, but the man continued onwards before he could even say anything.

“Curses, I wouldn’t even have believed you otherwise if it weren’t for the family crest you bear on your garments.” He chuckled softly while Kurt gave him an ineffective glare. “You’re nothing like your father.”

“And just what do you mean by that?” He snapped, having had enough of the comparison. He was well aware that he bore zero resemblance to his father—it had been a constant reminder since his birth.

The mage raised a brow. “Don’t give me that look, Fae Prince,” the words almost seemed mocking on his tongue. “It’s a compliment.”

“In what way?!”

“Every way possible.”

Kurt paused at that statement, eyeing the other quizzically. “I don’t... understand?” Had he misinterpreted? Had the man not been making a mockery out of him?

Now the mage seemed to be amused, eyeing him with a raised brow and a smirk. “The Fae King is a terrible being—wicked and cruel, deceives all to serve him, takes what he wants with his cunning ways, and leaves nothing but misery and ruin wherever he reaps.” He took a moment to gaze up at the trees—the trees that Kurt had made blossom. “You don’t resemble him at all.”

“Oh.” Kurt was flabbergasted. He watched as the man reached a hand out to catch a falling flower, inspecting it closely.

“Hm. Magnolia.” He pocketed the flower, and Kurt could only watch in silence as his face reddened at the implication of his previous sentence.

“I, um...” He hesitated, lifting his gaze up to the mage, who now didn’t seem as cold and uncaring as before. Instead, he seemed more amused than anything. When he didn’t say anything, Kurt decided to go on. “I am Kurt, Prince of the Fae,” he said, bowing as best he could while trying not to trigger the glyph.

The mage before him laughed, and he felt his face reddened at the no-doubt incoming embarrassment that would follow.

“By the deities... You really are a Fae unlike any other,” he said, cackling. “I’ve never met a Fae who’d willingly give their name away like that—isn’t it usually the other way around?”

His blood ran cold. Out of all his father’s teachings... it was the most basic principle that he forgot.

Never give out your real name to anyone, under any circumstance.

He could barely register Kreacher’s shout of alarm behind him—all he could focus on was the suffocating laughter of the mage who seemed thoroughly amused by the turn of events.

The world seemed to cave in—he had done a terrible, grievous mistake. It was no wonder that his father didn’t care much for him. He was the worst Fae to ever exist!

He covered his face with his hands as he willed himself not to cry—but he was shaking. Trembling. Every breath was hard on his lungs—he felt submerged, even if he was dry.

He slowly lowered into a crouch, reluctant sniffles and sobs escaping him as he pressed the balls of his hands against his eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears that just suddenly seemed to gush out.

He felt small. Pathetic. He wasn’t a child anymore—but then why did he feel so useless?

Perhaps his father was right—he was simply dooming himself the moment he stepped outside. He should go home—go back to his bedroom surrounded by his four ivory walls with his cold marble floor, go back to spending his days rereading every book in the library, back to the days when he watched the townsfolk only through his stained glass window.

But that was a terrible life... and it didn’t seem like much of a life at all.

“KURT!”

He snapped back to reality when Kreacher shook him violently by the shoulders, gasping when he took him in fully with his blurry gaze.

“You’re- free??”

Kreacher huffed, dabbing at his face with a woven handkerchief. “Yeah, no shite.”

“But- how?!” He grasped the bandit by the shoulders, eyeing every inch of him.

“How else?” He jerked his head to a direction behind him, and Kurt followed it to catch sight of the mage once more, who, in contrast to before, was now looking at him with a most concerned expression. He almost seemed panicked.

“You helped? But why?” He chewed on his lip as he avoided the man’s gaze, rubbing at his eyes harshly. He managed to pull himself together to send him one withering look, and it surprised him to see that the other actually seemed guilty.

“It was not my intention to insult you,” he clarified, as genuine as he could allow himself to be. “And I most certainly never meant to hurt you like that. I see now that I’ve been far too discourteous, and for that I apologise. If you’re worried about me knowing your name... Don’t be. I swear on my Grandmaster’s name that I won’t use it against you.” He concluded his statement with a bow, and upon looking down, Kurt realised that the glyph had disappeared as well. Or perhaps it had long since vanished and he simply failed to realise it.

“Well, that’s a relief...” He sighed, feeling like an enormous weight had been lifted from his chest, “... And I forgive you,” he said simply after a while, ignoring the sputtering protests of his companion in favour of gracing the stranger with a kind smile.

To his delight, the mage seemed relieved. He was as well—it left a bad taste in his mouth to let others suffer. It was simply uncalled for.

“Ugh. Fine, forgive him. Kreacher d-doesn’t care.” The bandit rolled his eyes, to which Kurt shook his head fondly. “But if we’re d-done here, let’s move on. Don’t stay where you’re not wanted, Your Highness,” he ended the statement with a pointed look at the mage, who furrowed his brows in thought.

Kurt nodded. He didn’t want to overstay his visit—especially since he wasn’t welcomed in the first place. “Right. Sorry about the trespassing, Sir Mage. Rest assured we won’t be doing it anymore.”

“Actually—”

He definitely did not let out an embarrassing sound when the mage came forth to grasp his hand.

For a moment, both of them stilled, gazes stuck upon their joined hands. The moment was broken with a rather loud ‘OY’ from Kreacher. The mage cleared his throat as he continued where he left off.

“To make up for my rudeness, how about you stay the night?”

The Fae Prince blinked owlishly. “Me?”

“Well, both of you, but- yes. I truly am sorry about everything, and I... wouldn’t want to give off a bad impression as the sorcerer of these woods.” He coughed into his other hand, tugging off his cloak to reveal slicked-back hair, with several misplaced strands sticking out, no doubt from the hood. His eyes were the same exact shade of the storm clouds that Kurt compared them to when he had first met him earlier.

The smile on his face widened, and before Kreacher could say anything, he happily replied with an “Okay!” He bowed deeply, showing his gratitude. “We humbly accept your kind gesture, Sorcerer of the Woods.” When he straightened up, he found that a smile came easily to his face—and the flowers bloomed tenfold.

Perhaps he wasn’t such a hopeless case after all—in any case, father had always told him how he’d be devoured the moment he left the kingdom, but that couldn’t be true! People could be kind, just like he had suspected his entire life. For how else would he still be alive right now?

The sorcerer took a moment to gaze up at the trees above him, eyes widened and his mouth open in awe as the petals rained over them like snowfall. Turning his gaze to Kurt, he offered a similar smile, a twinkle in his eyes as he grasped his hand again, albeit gently.

“No. It is you who are kind, fair Prince of the Fae—for these trees haven’t blossomed in over a millennium,” he said, a grin on his face. “They were cursed by your father to never undergo florescence—but it seems that you have lifted it on his behalf.”

Kurt’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. “Oh- really? But... I don’t know how to lift curses...” He flushed when the sorcerer bent down to press a brief kiss to the back of his hand. It left him feeling funny. He heard Kreacher’s indignant squawk beside him.

“Well... I would be lying if I said that I knew the reason it broke... But as I’ve said, you are nothing like him. Though you are his child, and that makes me presume that you’ve inherited his aptitude for Fae magic... so perhaps, you’ve simply... overwritten it?” He tilted his head, and Kurt could only gape in awe.

“That can happen?”

“Anything can happen if you have the will to carry it out... Though I suspect this was more of your unconscious will than a premeditated effort.” His gaze remained on the trees above them, flowering so prosperously that the forest floor was starting to get covered in pinks and whites. It was beautiful.

Kurt couldn’t help the wonder and excitement brimming in him—he wasn’t at all like his father, that’s true—but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. After all, he did prefer the sight of flowering trees over the withered, hollow husks of wood that his father decorated his garden with.

The bandit snorted beside him, giving him a slight nudge with his shoulder. “Well, call me a g-goblin’s spawn—you’re just full of s-s-surprises, aren’t you, Your Royal Highness?” It wasn’t his taste at all, but who was he to keep his friend from being happy?

He beamed at his friend, laughter brought back to his face. “Perhaps I am!”

“Indeed you are,” the sorcerer added, and Kurt could only smile wider—because for the first time... he felt like he finally belonged.

#helio's ficlets #idvexplorer #idvmagician #idvthief #kurtvais

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three--rings · 2 years

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Okay fine, guess I’m gonna talk about Kinnporsche now.

This isn’t a review or a rec post so much as, My Thoughts on KinnPorsche, let me show you them. (Anyone? Appropriate extremely dated reference is appropriate.)

So despite my love of many danmei and danmei-sourced media, I don’t do a lot of BL series. I dipped my toe in the yaoi and BL manga pool a while (like a decade?) ago and just never got grabbed by it.

And BL series have several points that generally count against them for me: one is the amount of them that feature very young characters/actors and focus on school stories. Look, I’m in my 40s. That starts to feel creepy real quick, as well as just being boring to me. I don’t like a lot of modern drama PERIOD because it bores me, I much prefer historical/fantasy/etc.

Secondly, the style of humor that tends to be used in BL involves a lot of second hand embarrassment and that shit is LETHAL to me. Like I physically cannot watch it. So while I’ve been curious about various BL series, especially Taiwanese and Thai series, I’ve rarely actually decided to watch them. (Really the exception was Cherry Magic, which was fine but didn’t do a huge amount for me because it was so sickly sweet and also so embarrassing.)

Okay, but Kinnporsche had a huge amount of hype around it and I was like, what’s up with this and how is it different? And first of all, the fact the two mains are Entire Adults was a big draw. (The actors are 27 and 30, thank god for adults.) So I watched ep 1 (motivated mostly by a gifset of the fight scene cause yes, I’m that messy thank you). And I liked it a lot. Like, it felt a little like a guilty pleasure, a fantasy mafia fanfic world where all the men are allergic to shirt buttons but very compelling in its way.

I guess, if you don’t know, I’ll briefly talk about the plot. Kinn is the heir to a mafia family and his life is saved by Porsche, a bartender, who is recruited to be his new bodyguard thanks to him paying off a large family debt. Porsche is an entire disaster of a person, addicted to getting drunk and screwing women in alleys and fucking things up a lot, but has a heart of gold. Kinn is extremely gay and really pissed about how attracted he is to this dumbass.

So anyway, then the second episode dropped and I HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT and nearly quit the show entirely and also nearly posted a long rant about it. The second episode is pretty much entirely Porsche being embarrassed and embarrassing as he’s introduced to the EXTREMELY unrealistic world of Being a Bodyguard for Kinn’s Family. (I would just like to say that if I were going to adapt this story, I’d set it in a near-future sci-fi world because that would explain the amount that it resembles anything the least bit believable or realistic.)

But so I spent like a week wondering why everyone seemed to love this show so much and didn’t seem to have the same problems with it I did. Like, for real, I was in the tags like...Explain To Me, and I guess that’s why I watched ep 3. And..it wasn’t as bad. Part of what I didn’t like in ep 2 was the character of Kinn’s older brother Tankhun and getting into that would be a long conversation, but he’s...an extremely quirky, very effeminate apparently queer person who is “crazy” and....yeah. But he improved once I saw he wasn’t just a joke or meant to be an antagonist. (Cause he felt kinda like the “evil Wrong Kind of gay” to contrast with Kinn’s “right” kind of gay, but that’s not where it went really, so okay, fine.)

And to be clear, the show continued to have Moments. Like the chemistry of the leads is Insane and the nature of the relationship is totally My Kind of Thing.

Then episode four...well upped the stakes. By getting quite a bit more problematic, but also...in a way that...had my attention. (More on this a little later, I’m avoiding spoilers now.)

And episode five showed more skill in the way the story was told and ALSO telegraphed their intention to handle the problematic elements seriously, which made me tentatively back on the show’s side. (Okay, I was really enjoying it by this point, ngl.)

And then they dropped episode six on us. Episode six. In which, our two heroes are handcuffed together and lost in the jungle For Plot Reasons and have to Work Together to Survive and also Work Our Their Shit. And omg omg omg. It was literally the best thing. Like, tropey, sure, the whole show is, but omg it was done so well and so skillfully and beautifully acted. The whole episode is just...adorable and touching and moving and you get to watch these two really fall in love For Real and also I fell in love with them at the same time.

And episode seven continued to give me confidence in this show’s ability to both surprise and handle complicated material a mature and thoughtful way. There are so many episodes left, and wtf is this show going to do to us?

I will say this show is very much not for everyone. It’s pretty violent and not really ashamed of its violence. It’s a mafia story and gets fairly dark in that regard, not always condemning the violence either. It’s not gory or like Gross about it. But still. Must enjoy morally grey characters. (Probably ESPECIALLY since the main series villain is also one of the secondary romantic couple? Which I’m personally not looking forward to because I’d like him to burn in a fire, but we’ll see.)

It’s NOT a show for anyone who, say, finds the work of MXTX too morally impure. Like, do we have some consent issues? Yup, we sure do. But big trigger warning for sexual assault and impaired consent and the aftermath of those things. Which I think is actually handled pretty damn well ultimately, but YMMV so be warned.

Discussion of sexual assault below the cut, also spoilers.

So to get at my feelings about ep 4, etc. In ep 4, for anyone who hasn’t seen the show, Porsche is drugged by the villain character who attempts to rape him. Kinn finds him in time and insists on being alone with him, and no one else taking care of him. Porsche throws up on both of them, which leads to them getting mostly undressed, and is very intoxicated by the drug and comes onto Kinn STRONG. Kinn tries to resist but eventually gives in and they have sex. The morning after, he is pretty closed off about the whole thing. Porsche reacts like...someone who has been sexually assaulted, mostly. They don’t directly address it with each other until ep 6, when they explicitly do and it’s really well done, IMO.

This pairing is obviously messy and what happens in ep 4 was clearly crossing a line, but the narrative TREATS it as such. Porsche struggles with the aftermath, both being seemingly rejected by Kinn but also pretty clearly in the smoking the bathroom scene, with the fact of having been assaulted by Kinn. But so does Kinn, who very obviously KNOWS he did wrong and fucked up and is having a hard time dealing with it and honestly this all felt real to me. A lot of it is in the performances which, these two DON’T stop impressing me.

Ep 7 has a little bit of the same messiness. I don’t think Porsche is actually (that) drunk at the end, I think he was faking it. But there’s a little bit of toxicity in the beginning of the scene with him and Kinn, from both sides. (Understandably from Porsche’s part.) And working it out through sex isn’t top of the Relationship Therapy Guidebook.

But also, it feels Real to me. Like, real relationships, especially sexually intense ones, can be very messy at the beginning in just this way. And I’m honestly happy to see this kind of messiness portrayed because there’s so much out there that is sanitized into perfection, in which fictional characters aren’t allowed to do anything imperfect at all.

On the other hand I’m way less enthused about the prospect of Vegas getting a redemption/romance arc. And not very happy with the other romance with Chay and Kim, though I don’t know if that’s going to be a thing or what, but...err, it makes me squirm both for embarrassment reasons and for Kim being ethically dubious AF.

Like I’m enjoying Kinn and Porsche so much because they can take each other’s shit, yanno? Porsche, for all his sad puppy eyes, and Kinn for all his fragility, they can both take and dish it. I feel like they are on the same level in a great way. The other pairs? Not convinced, gulp.

#kinnporsche #threerings watches kinnporsche #please fans don't come for me #I'm writing this mostly for my followers and just sharing my honest reactions #honestly I'm In It now for this show RIP

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neonmuse · 1 year

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to me it isn't unrealistic vs. realistic where unrealistic always = bad and realism is objectively a good quality in a story, everything with writing to me is dependent on what you're writing, why, and what individual components can/should be realistic vs. unrealistic, so i instead think of different aspects of a story in different categories of what to expect or go for because sometimes being "unrealistic" actually serves the story better:

there are things which should always be realistic, the basic components of the setting like gravity working as expected and the sky being blue, logistics that make sense, etc. things that you can't work around and/or don't need to work around because it usually serves zero purpose to change them, a lot of the time these things are such a given that you don't even mention them but if you're writing a setting you're unfamiliar with pay a lot of attention to it as you write because it can be easy to make glaring mistakes that sucker punch people out of the story like no other exactly because these things are so fundamental

there are things which are technically realistic but are also "polished" or "condensed" for the sake of presentation and time, like dialogue, the way a lot of characters speaking isn't necessarily unnatural but people usually don't get out what they actually mean very clearly in casual conversation but it's expected characters won't use that many pauses or filler words or ramble to get to a point, and certain timelines will be condensed for the sake of the story which makes the milestones realistic and possible but the time it takes to get to each one may be iffy, think a romance plot that takes the natural progression of a relationship over years and puts it within one year or so because the word count has to stop somewhere or when time skips make things feel as if they're happening close together even when they're not

there are things which are unrealistic not because they're physically impossible but rather that they're rare or rely on such a string of coincidences they're on the technically unrealistic side rather than the technically realistic, to continue the romance theme there are people who are high school sweet hearts and have always been together and it worked out, that's totally not the norm and shouldn't be expected, but it's not necessarily unheard of either, sometimes people do fall in love quickly and/or while still quite young and stay together despite a lot of odds against such relationships, the secret is to balance these "improbable" aspects with more realistic ones because every reader as a threshold for what they're willing to hand wave and just because they're down for reading a "yeah it probably couldn't but..." story doesn't mean you can get away with not having to sell everything else

there are things which are unrealistic but "necessary", the departure from reality is intentional either for the sake of how the story is told or because the point of the story is exploring something which doesn't happen in real life, like love at first sight, not really a real thing but there's nothing wrong with exploring it as a fantasy either and there should be elements in a lot of stories that exist to be fun/whimsical and lend themselves to the feeling that this story is a window into another world and not a mirror

there are things which are unrealistic and should never be used at all because they contradict what we already know vs. things we can pretend exist when they don't, to try and put it in as few words as possible, for example i can go along with a courtly love story set somewhere medieval which uses the love at first sight trope but the characters having more modern attitudes towards a lot of things and dialogue which i'd expect from a youtuber is going to turn me off if it isn't obviously trying to knight's tale me and be good at it

#writing #idk i just think there are a lot of criticisms to be made about things in stories being unrealistic #but i think a lot of people focus on the wrong things #like part of the fun of stories is that things that cant happen irl can be explored #so attacking that isnt fun or good #but that isnt a greenlight for not caring whether or not certain things are grounded #because a lot of what makes a lot of stories work is a good balance of things you have to suspend disbelief for and things #which ask nothing at all in that regard

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papaerloy · 3 years

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SBI ACTOR AU BRAINROT LETS GO.

This is just a list of stuff I´ve written down for an SBI/DSMP actor AU that´s been living in my mind rent free. I´m currently working on a oneshot for this AU so stay tuned!

list is under the cut because it´s LONG and I want to be polite to your feed.

SBI FAMILY WITH TECHBUR TWINS AND TOMMY ALL BEING PHIL AND KRISTIN’S BIOLOGICAL KIDS THANK YOU.

They’re all actors, or just big personalities in general-

Kristin is a little more lowkey, she’s had acting roles before, but she’s more like the backbone of the family that keeps everyone together, since life can be hectic when everyone’s eyes are on you.

Phil has his own TV show where he’s a winged adventurer who travels around a huge fantasy world, explores the massive structures and interacts with the deity’s and creatures inhabiting it! (Biggest moment in the series was totally The Battle For Endlantis)

Wilbur has been acting since he was a child, starring in a series called “Soot House” for most of his early to late teen years, before the series ended. (Disney child star Wilbur GSKFJSJHSHDEHSH)

Wilbur also absolutely still made his ARG.

Despite taking roles here and there, Wilbur quickly moved on to direct and act for his own series and movies, like a small series called “Earths Empires” that sadly didn’t last long, but he got to star his family and friends in it, so it was fun nonetheless!

Wilbur also loves music and later on goes to start Lovejoy with his friends, which he then focuses more on than acting, but still manages to juggle both careers. (I mean really? This man only doing only one thing? As if.)

Techno is a good actor, but he is even better at martial arts and has a nag for competition. Which is why he’s part of a competitive series called “Hypixel” which is a really random wacky series, that puts the actors in situations where they need to complete challenges and Techno is of course a beloved contestant because TECHNOBLADE NEVER DIES!

Technoblade is obviously not his real name, but the alias he uses in Hypixel. Yet everyone just calls him that now because he is very iconic with his long pink hair, golden crown and the pig mask he wears with his very royal looking dress style.

Since Hypixel lets the actors pick their own brand and looks, Techno honestly doesn’t change much from when he’s on screen compared to when he’s off screen.

Techno actually dislikes the attention outside of work and tends to wear different kinds of face masks with cool designs on them. (One specifically loved by the public is a light pink face mask with golden embroidered tusks on the sides, based off his Hypixel brand.)

Tommy was firmly kept out of the spotlight as much as Phil and Kirstin could manage. All of his childhood and also his early teen years, he never had any acting roles apart from like school plays and normal kid stuff...

It’s all due to Phil and Kristin realizing letting Wilbur be a child actor/star was a big mistake that they didn’t want to repeat. (The pressure was too great and it kinda fucked Wilbur over due to the harsh nature of the acting world.)

Tommy has always been interested in the acting world though, he wanted to be cool like his big brothers but had to wait... So instead he made his own little films together with his friend Toby! (Better know as Tubbo because that’s just what everyone calls him) Who just so happened to be in the same boat as him, regarding the whole “my family does acting but I’m too young and not allowed” thing.

The two of them just made silly little comedy skits, but they’d get a decent viewing on Youtube and were quite enjoyable.

( Tubbo is related to Schlatt, who is a well known actor as well. Just like Phil and Kristin, he didn’t want Tubbo to be exposed to the actor world too early. Mainly due to he himself going down a pretty harsh path, because of diving straight into it at an early age. He is better now and a really good dad! )

Tommy did eventually start appearing occasionally on Hypixel because Techno was on there.

Later on Tommy got his first role in an actual series, it was “Earths Empires” that was directed by Wilbur, mainly because Phil and Kristin thought it to be a good and safe place to start.

Tommy’s very first BIG role was when him and Tubbo were cast for a new series called “The Dreamer” (or something).

Tommy got to play a young and chaotic teen called “Tommy” (the writers liked his name, thought it fit the character well). While Toby’s character was named “Tubbo” (the writers found his nickname really endearing), who was gonna be Tommy’s best friend and partner in crime.

When being cast for “The Dreamer” Tommy once again got to meet the actor called Clay, who he had met in the past due to Clay having been starred alongside Techno a few times. This time, he was the person that was gonna play the character Dream in the series.

Clay was a man who seemed to be constantly increasing in fame due to starring in a series of films called “Manhunt”. Where he was a clever and agile man, who had to survive while being on the run from hunters who wanted to kill him. The number of hunters seemingly increasing every movie.

Funny enough the actors who played the hunters from the first “Manhunt” movies, George and Nick, also starred in the new series, but this time they would be Dream’s friends called George and Sapnap, Which was more close to their actual real life relationships as well.

The Disk Saga was a huge success and the series very quickly grew in popularity! Tommy was very happy to be one of the main characters alongside Tubbo.

Tommy’s own fame started to grow more rapidly after that, becoming a very beloved character and actor very quickly.

Of course the family was very proud of Tommy, but Phil and Kristin were still a little cautious, trying not to overbook his schedule and still let him be a kid outside of all this.

Wilbur was of course cast for the new L’manberg independence arc and OH MY GOD THE FANS WENT WILD.

Tommy and Wilbur’s brotherly bond shone through a LOT in their acting and the writers even changed the script slightly to make them more pseudo brothers, since their characters weren’t canonly blood related.

Wilbur was also a co-writer, along side playing the character that was dubbed after him “Wilbur”.

Wilbur´s character made Tommy super uncomfortable during the pogtopia arc and it made their life outside of work a little more complicated.

Techno gets cast into the series during the pogtopia arc as well and Tommy and Wilbur are both super excited to work with Techno on set.

Techno gets to keep his name as well because at this point the writers have let most of the cast keep their real names, so why not keep it going?

At the end of the L´manberg independence arc Phil joins (out of all the actors, only Wilbur knew he was joining the series.) and kills Wilbur as the second season ends with L´manburg in shambles and the fans projectile crying about it.

That is all I have for now!

Also feel free to ask questions or like do anything you’d like with this stuff!

#SBI #DSMP #sleepy bois inc #sleepy bois family #Sleepyblr #dream smp #sleepy bois inc au #dream smp au #sleepy bois inc actor AU #dream smp actor AU #AU brain rot #your local raccoon is loosing his mind about this #fuckinfffff lets gOOOOOOO

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nothere-notthere-nowhere · 3 years

Text

Your Wanda

Word count: 1161

Pairing: Wanda x Reader

Warning: none? let me know if I should add any

Summary: This is your Wanda, the soft girl with an accent she doesn’t need to hide. Your Wanda, that no one else gets to see. But is she really yours?

A/N: I don’t know about this one. I got an idea and wrote this in less than an hour instead of the piles of biology homework I was supposed to do. It also changed paths about halfway through so, uh, I don’t know if I like this one. Let me know what you think!

You stared at the woman you loved with a small smile. The two of you were sitting on the couch, sharing a blanket, just a little closer than you should be. She was tired. It was times like these, middle of the night over-exhaustion, when Wanda’s guard came down and her accent appeared. It was one of your favorite things about her.

She talked freely, too. Memories of Pietro or her parents slipped into conversation sans sadness or tears. This was your favorite version of Wanda. She seemed…. content. The woman had a rough life and it was clear in the way she presented herself to most people. On the outside, while she wasn’t exactly cold, she was restrained.

It was difficult to explain, you thought. Wanda was amazing. But, very few people got to see this side of her. To the rest of the world, she was barely even an avenger. They viewed her as a foreigner regardless of how many lives she saved or world-ending-events she’d helped stop. So, the woman had naturally become much more reserved.

But in times like this, late at night, just the two of you…. She was your Wanda. She was tired, yawning, and giggly. She was so fucking soft.

It was your favorite.

Except, she wasn’t yours. Regardless of the immense differences in the relationship she shared with you versus the rest of the team, she wasn’t yours. No matter how many times the two of you had been in situations that were clearly pushing the boundaries of what could be considered platonic.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked in her breathtaking accent. It wasn’t quite as thick as when she’d first left Sokovia, but it was there nonetheless.

“You,” you answered simply, gazing up at her with adoration. You were nearing dangerous territory. Just because Wanda let you see this side of her didn’t mean the two of you were exactly ready to address the massive elephant in the room.

“What about me?” She asked, reaching a hand over to yours.

How much I love you, you wanted to blurt out. But, this moment with her, with soft Wanda, was worth more than a love confession.

“Read to me?” You asked gently, nudging just a little closer to the redhead.

“Y/N…” you heard the sigh.

“Please?” you pouted up at her. “Or tell me a story? You know, like the one about the princess and the goats and-”

“Okay, yes, Sokovian fairy tales, I got it.” Wanda never understood why you’d taken such a liking to the stories she’d been told as a kid. To be honest, it wasn’t so much the stories as the way her eyes would get that far off look, corners of her mouth upturned just a little. You knew she enjoyed telling them, and the sweet memories attached, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

Plus, accent! Learning more about Sokovian culture was cool too, and you knew Wanda appreciated the way you stared at her in amazement.

“There was a young shepherd,” Wanda started, beginning to explain some story of a boy who overcame the low expectations set for him at birth through mystical fantasy. It was a standard children’s tale.

As she spoke, you took a chance, closing the short distance between your bodies to lay your head on her shoulder. Her words slowed just a little before her arm wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you flush against her.

“And so, he saved the village and everyone in it with his magic. He saved them despite their judgements, despite how cruel they had been.”

“They shouldn’t have been cruel in the first place.” You tell her.

“No. They shouldn’t have.” Her voice is quiet but her words are heavy.

“The boy is stronger than every single one of them.” You hear her take a breath. “He shouldn't have to hide.”

“Maybe he wants to.” Her words have an edge to them.

“Do you?”

She doesn’t respond for several moments.

“I don’t hide from you.”

You pick your head up from her shoulder, looking into her eyes. “No, you don’t.”

The eye contact is intense. Part of you wants to turn away. There’s something there, in the way she’s looking at you. You’re close enough to her that you could lean in easily. But you don’t.

“I don’t…” Wanda trails off. “It’s terrifying, you know.”

“What is?” You ask her, willing your eyes not to glance down at her lips, again.

“You.”

“Really?” You scrunch your face up, “You do remember that you’re the superhero, right?”

She breathes a laugh at your words before biting her lip.

“You didn’t ask why.”

“What?” You ask with a frown.

“You’ve didn’t ask why.” She repeats, her eyes searching yours. “You’ve never asked why I don’t hide from you.”

“Well, I just thought I was special.” You deadpan. She laughs again, bigger this time. It’s music to you. You could listen to her laugh forever.

“How do you do that?” She asks you.

“Do what? I mean I know I am the funniest person you’ve ever met, but-”

“No, idiot,” She rolls her eyes, pushing your shoulder lightly. “It’s impossible to hide from you. How do you do that?”

You want to joke again, but her eyes tell you she’s serious. You break the eye contact, for a brief glance down at your lap.

“I care, Wanda.” You look back into her eyes. “That’s… That’s how I do it.”

“How much do you care?” She asks. That’s a fucking question, isn’t it?

“I think you know.” Your hand finds hers. “I think you care just the same.”

“And if I do?” Her words are quiet, barely heard. But she’s daring you.

It’s a subtle movement. A slight lean forward. There’s less than two inches between your faces. But you don’t finish closing that distance. You pause.

“If you do…?”

Your eyes fluttered closed as her lips hit yours. It’s soft, almost hesitant. But as your hands move to cup her jaw, you feel her relax into your hold. There’s passion and desire, but no rush in the way your lips connect over and over again. Her hands are on your waist, pulling you to her.

You pull away for air, resting your forehead against hers. But she pulls back, eyes screwed shut to hide the red, hands leaving your side and clenching into fists enveloped in red magic.

“Hey,” You mutter, cupping her jaw again to press a kiss to her forehead before your hands find her fists. Thumbs trace over her knuckles softly until she looks at you.

“I do.” She tells you, the red in her eyes dissipating with the small upturn of your lips. “I do care just the same.”

“Good, because this would be real weird if you didn’t.” And the way she shakes her head and rolls her eyes with a smile… Your heart swells.

She really is your Wanda, isn’t she?

#wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #marvel #scarlet witch

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supertunanana · 3 years

Text

I’ve debated writing this for a while, because who wants to read my inane thoughts on the matter? What are my opinions really worth in the grand scheme of things? I’m not so self important to think this will be of any value. But, I’m an extroverted thinker, so this might help my brain finally shut up, and that’s worth something to me.

The hypocrisy surrounding Jikook.

Are they a couple? Maybe. I legitimately don’t know. I don’t default into thinking they’re straight. I don’t default into thinking they’re gay. Every member is a blob, sexually, until they define themselves one way or another. Because honestly, I don’t care. That’s between them and their potential paramours. There’s nothing wrong with either option, heck there’s nothing wrong with both or none. Live a life, man... good luck!

And I have no problems with shipping, to the extent it is done in a sane way and fans do not impose their ships onto the actual people. What I mean is, if you think Tae and JK look good together and you want to read stories or draw art of them as a couple and you want to explore their dynamic, you do you. However, it crosses a line when fans get mad when real people or real situations do not adhere to their fantasy. When they contradict footage and quotes and the feelings of those involved because it doesn’t fit into their little shipping box, that’s when it’s a problem. Be realistic. Have distinct lines between fantasy and reality, between what you might like and what is actually happening.

It is this reason, that I think shipping generally innocuous and indicative of the shipper more than the celebrity, that I also don’t think the celebrities in question need to be defended against shipping. Because if it is distinctly fantasy, then unless they express an opinion on the matter, most celebrities don’t really seem to know about it or care. It’s harmless. That defense, those hackles raised, again say more about the fans than the celebrities. When Xiao Zhan’s (XZ) fans got pissed off that some fanfic writer was portraying him as trans, XZ never weighed in on it. It wasn’t until those fans, in DEFENSE of their idol reported the writer and those of their ilk to the censors in China and got AO3 blocked on Chinese internet, that’s when XZ stepped in. And not to thank his fans for defending him, but to apologize to all the innocent Chinese fanfic writers who lost their work and their sanctuary because a handful of his fans had gotten the site banned. Again, the problem here was fans imposing their own beliefs on the celebrity, in this case thinking he would be upset by this and thus needed to be defended. They ended up causing more harm than good.

So the crux of this, what’s been kicking about in my brain, was the need for the fandom to “defend” JK from “shippers” the day after “hickey gate” and why these things only ever seem to focus on Jikook moments.

First off, “hickey gate” stemmed from footage that was a full, editorial choice to be shared on the part of Hybe and BTS. It was behind the scenes, closed set, pandemic lockdown footage edited together and released as official content, not some concert fancam or paparazzo on the street catching a private moment. They chose to leave in both Jimin and Jungkook on TWO occasions addressing the bruise/bite/hickey on JK’s neck, with the source being attributed to Jimin both times. Thus, people discussing this after the fact is a natural biproduct of it being shared. Is it even “shipping” when we are given the footage and the explanation? Is it not just a strange fact? This isn’t someone superimposing a fantasy onto them. This is the boys flat out saying Jimin bit JK and left a mark on his neck. I get debate over whether it was a bite or a hickey might lend itself more to “shipping”, with the latter being more shippy, but seriously, just looking at it would make anyone to question whether the BRUISE was more a hickey than a bite mark. What it says about the nature of their relationship is a whole other animal, but the fact is, it happened. And people are going to have THOUGHTS and FEELINGS about this. And that’s obviously something Hybe/BTS were ok with to share it in the first place (seriously, we would have never known, we DIDN’T even have a whiff of this until they put the whole thing on the DVD, so they were obviously OK with this leading to speculation, because how can a member saying they BIT another on the neck not?). All the content we are given of the boys snuggling, biting, ear sucking, tenderly addressing each other, etc.. is mostly a choice. And that choice will lead to questions and debates, and they’re obviously ok with it. It’s not wrong for people to be like, “huh” when they do questionable things and choose to give us said content about the questionable things.

But, there always seems to be this backlash when it’s Jikook. We have to “defend” JK, a fully grown man, who brought up the bite himself on camera from people talking about the bite as he himself said it was given to him. No backlash to people saying Jimin claimed doing it to cover up JK’s secret girlfriend (uhhh, when homosexuality is a no-go in SK, that seems a weird choice, but sure, ok.... like just cut it from the footage and slap some make up on like they do during the concert, since none of us noticed it then, and move on if you want to cover it up). But that’s allowed supposition despite having NO EVIDENCE to support it. And what we are TOLD actually happened is not ok and “shipping”?!?

Worse, when days later some innocuous “TAE AND JK WERE STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER OMG! THEY’RE IN LOVE” trends, where is the “save JK from shipping” rhetoric? That is CLEARLY shipping. I’m not saying Jikook shippers don’t do this, too, they do. And I laugh and shake my head at every little thing being dissected and offered as “proof”, but there always seems to be this backlash when it’s Jikook. ESPECIALLY when it’s undeniably... different. Neck biting. Ear sucking. “with JK at 4 a.m.” when they found out Dynamite got number one. Golden Closet Tokyo. These things are facts. Again, they’re... weird facts that do lead me to raise an eyebrow a lot, but they are facts and they were shared by the members as facts. I don’t think it’s necessarily shipping to think weird facts are weird and may lead to conclusions that don’t adhere to the THEY ARE ALL INHERENTLY STRAIGHT manifesto so many fans seem to have (and I think “straight until proven otherwise” is a shitty perspective anyone could have in any walk of life and again speaks to inherent or unconscious heteronormative perceptions in society - hurray -_-).

But even the dumb shippy stuff that ALL other combos have, is always an ISSUE when done by Jikook. Their bond or interactions are downplayed by major accounts. They’re an outlier. Some shippers even try to make it out like they hate each other (whaaa? HOW?!?!). Any odd interaction that really is just odd is deemed “shipping” and cast off into the no-no void, where it’s WRONG if you side-eye it. And I know WHY. I know it’s because they ARE different and they do do stuff people just don’t want to look too closely at because it makes them uncomfortable, so it’s easier to just deem it all “other” and “crazy supposition” and get rid of it. But it’s frustrating when it’s legit and it’s stuff they’re choosing to show and give us. It’s frustrating to be told you’re not allowed to go “huh, weird” because now you’re just a crazy shipper.

And again, I’m NOT saying Jimin and JK are in a relationship, because again, IDK, but I’m also not saying they're NOT either. I’m going to keep side eyeing the fuck out of some of the stuff they do and just enjoy that they are 100% each other’s person in the interim. And if that makes me a crazy shipper, then I guess that’s what I am.

#jikook #thoughts

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astaroth1357 · 4 years

Text

The Demon Brothers (Minus Asmo) at Their Worst Pt. 1 (Lucifer, Mammon, Levi)

To the anons who gave me this idea, here it is. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m all that happy to bring it to you, cause yikes this hurt to write. I’m grateful, however, because I believe I’m better for it. You shouldn’t always stay in your comfort zone. I left out Asmodeus for personal reasons. Regardless of my ability, given the nature of this challenge, I don’t feel comfortable with writing nor posting graphic content of sexual violence and chose to refrain from doing so. Please do not ask for this to be written at a later date, I will politely refuse then as I am now.

Check out the Masterlist for more.

Warnings: THEIR SINS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO AN EXTREME (AND ALL THAT IMPLIES), Abusive/Controlling Relationships, Violence, Threat of Human Trafficking, Drowning, Angst, Regret, Suicidal Thoughts

This is all for the purposes of fantasy and in no way an endorsement for these behaviors in real life. Be nice (and smart) with your lives, my friends.

Intro: Maybe the MC should have known better. It should have sunk in a long time ago that they were in incredibly risky territory... They should have remembered that these men, though they call them friends, family, and perhaps even lovers, are still demons at their heart and core. Each of them are the embodiment of some of the worst behaviors man has to offer... MC, there are some people you just shouldn’t date, even if they love you, and now you suffer the consequences...

Lucifer

It’s not difficult to see how Pride can go awry. Self-confidence and dignity are wonderful things, but let them build up unchecked and all manner of petty, vindictive behavior can surface from within a person...

Lucifer is far from immune to these flare ups. In fact, he falls victim to them so often that they may as well be ingrained in his personality. If you do anything that mocks or belittles him, even if it’s small, you’ll get a reaction. One that’s usually more severe than offense calls for...

The MC knew this going into a relationship with him. Supposedly, they knew all the no-go zones, too. Don’t make fun of him or Diavolo, don’t mention the Fall or his back, don’t call him a nag... That sort of thing.

What they hadn’t expected was the full brunt of the expectations suddenly leveled on them.

To say Lucifer was demanding would be an understatement. Everything about him had to be poised, powerful, collected, and perfect. Whether he realized it or not, these expectations bled into their relationship as well.

It started with him nitpicking little details... The way they stood, how they styled their hair, maybe a comment or two on what they ate. But it progressively got worse...

Suddenly he found problems with the way they dressed, what they listened to, what shows they watched, even how they greeted him in the mornings!

Before too long, nothing was right to him… Nothing was good enough. They were his other half, his biggest vulnerability, and in order for him to feel secure about that they had to be perfect… However Lucifer defined it.

They listened to him at first. Though his comments stung, he could be so loving too… He truly made them feel special. Like he wouldn’t be trying so hard if it were anyone but them...

But pretty words and kind actions could only go so far. They couldn’t completely erase the vitriol being tossed at them day after day…

Slowly, with every little change, they could feel themselves start to dwindle… The choices they made felt foreign, the lifestyle they held became draining, and then one day they realized they didn’t even look right anymore… They were no longer the person they wanted to be.

Lucifer was doing what he set out to do: train them, break them, then mold them into something new... So they could be perfect...

Just like him.

One day, however, they just couldn’t take being the person he wanted anymore...

He found them in their bedroom just before a party that Diavolo had been planning for weeks. Their hair wasn’t fixed and their clothes were a mess. His frustration nearly skyrocketed until he saw their face, vacant and broken, staring blankly straight ahead…

He couldn’t rouse them. They wouldn’t move no matter how much he shouted, threatened, or swore...

….they didn’t even budge when he begged…

His brothers eventually noticed something amiss and took them away. Their disgust with him was fairly evident… They probably would have tried something had he not been the strongest.

He had taken something wonderful and squashed it... Hurt someone he truly loved and ruined what they could have had to protect his damn ego…

Lilith, his brothers, and Satan especially… was everyone he tried to care for just bound to end up broken too…?

The MC’s recovery was slow. They had a lot of damage to repair and a whole new identity to build. He stayed out of it as much as he could, burying himself in work and seeing his brothers less and less...

He’d done enough damage to them anyway...

Mammon

The Greedy, Scummy Second-Born… Words to etch on his tombstone. Mammon had heard it all before from all angles: the demons above him, below him, hell even a passersby on the street would know his face and his laundry list of a rap sheet...

The one person who seemed to look past all that was MC.

He truly didn’t know what sort of karma he’d gained or luck he scored to have them in his life. They didn’t just see him at his best side, they made him want to fix his worst...

But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?

The sad truth is Mammon is a gambler at heart. Oh he loves the money, the riches, fine things, and the bling but what else does he enjoy? The rush.

There’s nothing like that feeling of triumphant when the dice falls your way or the pure exhilaration of a close bet. When all cards are on the table and everything’s stacked against you, eking out that win can cause a head-rush better than any orgasm he’s ever had... The higher the stakes? The better the high.

But maybe he went a little too far…

It’s one thing to bet Grimm, he can make more of that in a night. It’s another to bet items, harder to replace but not impossible. People…? Well. If you want high stakes…

MC was actually with him that night when he made the “great” decision to bet his most valuable treasure on poker match. He was running out of Grimm and thought that the added risk would make him play better…

He thought wrong.

MC hadn’t been at the table at the time he made the deal, but they had come back just in time to see him get his ass handed to him. He lost. Spectacularly.

When the other demons there came over to encircle MC, it already felt like his world was crumbling down around him... The look of confusion, then hurt and betrayal in their eyes forever seared themselves into his memory.

“You bet me in a poker game?!”

It sounds almost comical, but he knew what the demons were planning to do to them wasn't. And just seeing the way his human’s wrist snapped when one of the men wrenched their arm from them confirmed it.

He wouldn’t let them get away with that. When the threats escalated to violence, he took his share of punches but in the end he was left standing.

The MC was furious. He had just whittled their entire existence down to a bargaining chip and one that he tossed away carelessly…

Yeah, he’s truly a scumbag, isn’t he?

They didn’t talk to him for quite a while, despite him begging for forgiveness. There was always a part of him that wondered why he even bothered… He had done it before, and in another gambling-induced high he would probably do it again…

They’d honestly be better off without him...

Leviathan

It’s, frankly, quite difficult to be the Avatar of Envy. Every day Levi feels uncomfortable in his own skin… Like he doesn’t measure up to this or that or like he’s not worthy of being in the meager position afforded to him. He preferred to hide himself away and try not to dwell on it… but then MC came along…

For once, he felt like he had something. Something truly special. Something one of a kind and like no other… He couldn’t point to any of his brothers and say that they had something better, hell, he couldn’t even point to Diavolo and say that he had a finer version.

No. He had them. The one, the only, MC. Better than all the rest. His only great accomplishment in his miserable, pathetic life...

… so why did they keep leaving him…?

It didn’t hurt that badly at first when they’d tell him they couldn’t go watch some new anime with him because they had other plans. Sometimes they’d go off shopping with Mammon or have lunch with Beel… That was fine. Understandable.

At least that’s what he’d tell himself.

After a while though, he started to feel lonely… rejected… Was he not good enough for them? Surely that had to be it, right?? A miserable shut-in otaku with someone like them? What a joke!

Any time he’d voice his insecurities, they’d always say the same things: “No, don’t be silly!” “I really do want to be with you.” “I love you, Levi. Don’t you believe me?”

No. He didn’t. With each passing hour spent away from him, time where he would get shafted for one of his brothers instead, he believed them less and less…

Soon all he heard was lies…

Something possessed him that day. MC had just missed their third live stream in a row in order to be with his brothers instead. Which one was it? It didn’t really matter. He felt the stinging pain of isolation all the same…

When the MC walked into his room they had no way of knowing that the festering hatred and inadequacy that had been stewing in him for months was about to spill over. His anger was so quick to spark and their human body too weak to resist...

It was only once he realized how long he had their head forced under the water of his aquarium that he finally let them up for air.

He was stepping over himself to apologize, stammering incoherently through his tears how he just lost control and didn’t know what came over him!

His brothers weren’t forgiving. Not in the slightest. Each of them seemed to want to beat him within an inch of his life and he didn’t blame them… If he could get away with it, he’d march himself into the sea and let it serve as his rightful prison…

His punishments were severe, but not unending, and soon he was back in his room again. Now he never leaves it and the MC is never allowed back in, even if they want to be.

He now, truly, doesn’t deserve them at all...

Link to Part Two: Satan, Beel, Belphie

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #ow ow ow ow ow #obey me scenarios #obey me headcanons #crap I have to reread this...#in for pain #sorry levi #went a little hard on you there

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eight-house · 4 years

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The Moon Signs in Bed

MOON IN ARIES

Aries’ passion is immediate; love and desire do not build up gradually, but begin full force and proceed with high intensity. In the bed- room, you enjoy taking the lead, and go after what you want with intensity and determination. Between the sheets you’re a fiery lover—easily aroused, with physical desires that urgently demand satisfaction. You have a strong appetite for anything new and innovative, and a talent for keeping the spirit of your love alive and thriving. You’re open to trying anything that is fun and adventurous—at least once. Although your sexual needs are high, intimate involvement with one person may become a source of conflict, because you require a great deal of personal freedom. It’s often easier for you to commit yourself physically than emotionally, so you deflect what you’re feeling into your sexuality. Then you deal with your emotions on that level, instead of confronting them directly. For you, a successful permanent relationship needs to be based in friendship as well as in love and romance.

MOON IN TAURUS

Your needs and desires are simple and of a practical, physical nature. Highly physical, your enjoyment of lovemaking is direct and unabashed and all types of physical contact appeal to your strongly sensuous nature. While you have no trouble drawing your lover to you, you actually enjoy being seduced. Initially shy, you become a sexual dynamo once aroused. For Taurus the neck is a major erogenous zone, and you welcome slow, sliding kisses along your neck as a prelude to love- making. Your personal recipe for love consists of equal parts passion and romance. However, while romantic, you don’t overlook the realities of life. No matter how passionate, hasty couplings in bleak, uncomfortable places hold little appeal for you. The bed partner who sets the scene with candles, music, and flowers, and plies you with delectable goodies such as exotic fruits, chocolates, and fine wines truly knows the surest way to your heart.

MOON IN GEMINI

More mental than emotional or physical, your major erotic zone is between your ears. You get off on fantasizing and talking about sex. Your aversion to boredom makes witty banter and subtle promises of previously untried bedroom techniques the ideal come-on from a prospective lover. You expect sex to be fun and prefer making love in unusual places. Risk provides an added thrill, and the possibility of getting caught in the act fuels your erotic imaginings. Even at home, you dislike having your lovemaking confined to the bedroom. Variety and change stimulate your desires, and you’re willing to try anything new or different. Since you love gadgets, sex toys and devices are a welcome addition to your erotic activities.

MOON IN CANCER

In an intimate union, the intensity of your sexuality is directly connected to the depth of your feeling for your companion. The act of love can carry you to incredible heights or leave you feeling deflated and let down. Sex for its own sake is just not your style. In the bedroom, your approach is romantic, sensual, tender, and always considerate of your lover’s wishes. You long to be courted and love to kiss and cuddle between the sheets. In intimate moments, you’re shy and sensitive, but in your dreams, you’re bold, imaginative, and audacious enough to take risks that you hesitate to pursue in reality. Your ideal bed partner coaxes you out of your shell, and gets you to reveal your most erotic imaginings. When acting out your secret fantasies, you engage your entire being in an exotic game of joyful seduction.

MOON IN LEO

Love is your ultimate aphrodisiac, and your idea of the perfect turn-on includes tons of affection and admiration. As a lover, you’re not a big fan of subtlety and believe that actions really do speak louder than words. While aggressive and dramatic in the bedroom, you’re never crude or boorish. Your sunny, romantic idealism permeates your lovemaking just as it lights up every other area of your life. Physical intimacy makes you feel alive and fulfilled, and your sexual prowess and ability to please your lover are exceedingly important to you. Because your plea- sure-seeking instincts are strong, you’re eager to experience all the joys lovemaking has to offer. Your sex drive is greatly enhanced by the comfortable accoutrements of the good life, and you get off on being pampered and wooed luxuriously, as befits your regal, leonine status.

MOON IN VIRGO

Because of its introverted aspect, Virgo is not a very sexual position for the Moon. Even when your deepest feelings are engaged, your shyness makes it hard for you to be demonstrative. You want a close union based on mutual respect and affection, and appreciate the refined elegance of beautiful, tasteful surroundings. Getting physical with your lover allows you to relax and forget about mundane worries. Since pleasing your mate is foremost in your mind, once you feel comfortable with your bedmate you make an amazingly skilled, generous bed partner. When you find a new way to gratify your lover, you hone the technique until it approaches perfection. While not the most exciting lover, you’re definitely one of the most considerate and obliging. Moreover, like a fine wine, your sensuality becomes richer with age and experience

MOON IN LIBRA

Your approach to lovemaking is glamorous and alluring. You appreciate the intri- cate rituals of old-fashioned courtship, and enjoy being wooed with finesse and sophistication. Sex and romance are intertwined in your mind, and you prefer artful seduction to a carnal free-for-all. Your erotic sensuality emerges most readily in a sumptuous setting that engages all the senses. Luxurious bedding, sultry nightwear, soft music, flickering candles, and fresh flowers add the requisite spice to your lovemaking. A special night dedicated to love, in a romantic setting with moonlight and whispered words of adoration, serves as a genuine turn-on and affectionate gestures and loving words draw out your passions and get your sexual juices flowing.

MOON IN SCORPIO

Imbued with a smoldering sexuality, when you turn on your sultry charm, few can resist you and, once you get going beneath the covers, you have tremendous staying power. Your passionate lovemaking requires a dynamic bed partner with physical stamina equal to your own. Your innate fascination with sexuality inspires numerous fantasies of erotic seduction. Acting out these scenarios with your mate provides an outlet for your active imagination in addition to being a guaranteed turn-on. An extremist, you equate sex with power and control, making you a de- manding, but wickedly delightful lover. You intuit your partner’s secret desires— and make them come true. Sharing your lusty thoughts with your beloved serves as tantalizing foreplay for steamy nights of intense lovemaking.

MOON IN SAGITTARIUS

Your sex drive is strong, but erratic. At times, your bedroom style can be wildly experimental, and you’re always eager to explore new ways of expanding your sen- sual horizons. Physical attraction sparks your interest initially, but it takes intel- lectual stimulation to hold it indefinitely. Spontaneity, fun, excitement, and adventure turn you on and matter more to you than grand passion. A short getaway is relaxing, and camping, hiking, and making love under the stars reinvigorates you. Your natural exuberance, candor, and lack of guile in the bedroom allow you to express your sexual desires openly. More interested in action than fantasy, having sex in different locations—at home and otherwise— is a real turn-on for you. Why be restricted to the bedroom when there are so many other appealing places to make love?

MOON IN CAPRICORN

When aroused the strongly sexed lunar goat is capable of intense and sustained ardor. Where lovemaking is concerned, you like to take it slow and get it right and you work at love with the same diligence and dedication that you apply to other areas of your life. Your style of lovemaking, while respectful and refined, tends to be no-nonsense and you consider coquettish games a waste of time. Nevertheless, whatever you lack in the romance department, you more than make up for in skill and sexual prowess. Despite your down-to-earth attitude toward sexuality, you can be vamped and seduced. Your ideal lover knows how to lure the horny goat out of hiding by creating an atmosphere of sensuality where you can relax and give full rein to your many erotic desires.

MOON IN AQUARIUS

In the bedroom, you’re daring and unconventional. A genuine nonconformist, you’re sexually uninhibited and predisposed to experimentation; if something sounds fun, you’re willing to give it a go. You exude a sex appeal that positively crackles with electricity, and you believe that nothing is too far out as long as it pleases both partners. However, no matter how much you enjoy making love, you always keep your wits about you and never allow yourself to be totally swept away by passion. Lovemaking has little meaning for you unless it truly engages your mind along with your body, and you respond as readily to verbal suggestion as to physical stimulation.

MOON IN PISCES

For the fish, love and sex are irrevocably intertwined, and nothing gets your attention faster than an old-fashioned romantic courtship. You want a lover who quotes poetry, scatters rose petals, and makes all-consuming love by candlelight. In turn, you enchant your lover through subtle seduction, and your unpredictable nature makes you endlessly fascinating. In bed, your aura of vulnerability brings out your partner’s protective instincts. Although you love to kiss and cuddle, the physical side of sex matters less to you than an emotional connection with your lover. Even so, you’re no slouch between the sheets. Prepared to give your all, you readily set your own needs and desires aside in order to satisfy those of your bed- mate

#moon #moon signs #moon signs in bed #astrology #aries moon #taurus moon #gemini moon #cancer moon #leo moon #virgo moon #libra moon #scorpio moon #sagittarius moon #capricorn moon #aquarius moon #pisces moon #mine

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hes-writer · 4 years

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Reign (3)

Summary: harry sees something he's supposed to have

Warnings: angst in the beginning, angst in the middle, angst near the end

Word Count: 4881 words

A/N: @devilinbetweenthesheet-s : dont cheat and don’t do drugs, kids

Tarnish (1) . Halo (2) . Reign (3) . Trial (4) .

Errors (5) . Ruin (6) . Crumble (7)

Error Taglist

____

A writer that cannot write is dead.

When one loses the ability to tell their stories and anecdotes through the mere action of swirling words together to create an imaginable atmosphere of real-world fantasy; they are dead. A writer recovering from the mundane and mediocre way of penning experiences to bounce back into what they used to be is difficult. It is easier to free fall and drown in the depths of despair. The moment thoughts and rumination fog up to form a blurry image of conviction is a warning sign, blaring at the back of their minds and sometimes even in their faces.

Harry is a writer--or, he was. Picking up the pen to style the words lingering in his head used to be as easy as blinking; quick and natural. Now, the words claw at the swell of his throat, trying to spit an adjective to describe the way he felt. It was at the tip of his tongue, waiting to be lathed into existence. It did not matter if his cognition was mingled with various chemicals aimed to be able to feel happiness.

He was sober but he had trouble placing his finger on why it was so strenuous to narrate his feelings throughout the breakup. Being high or drunk was never the answer for him. Weed made him tired and made him have a case of cottonmouth. Harry learned from a young age that he should only ever engage with alcohol if he was in a mindset and setting that catered to increase existing good vibes. He thought that maybe he was in an odd phase of perceiving the opposite, and so he intoxicated himself enough to understand that it didn’t matter if he was soaked head-to-toe in sobriety or whizzed out of his mind by the amber liquid swirling in the glass in his hand. But that wasn’t the circumstance. It also didn’t matter if he was grasping his favourite pen to write--because it was comfortable--or tapping his calloused thumbs against his phone keypad. Hell, it didn’t make a difference when he sat down and prepared his typewriter to indulge in a headspace of vintage songwriting. Maybe that would help.

It didn’t.

He had stories to tell. Everything was laid out in misty overcast yet Harry’s great ideas morphed into gentle mistakes, harsh mistakes and discoveries that had him almost ripping his hair out of the roots of his scalp. When he felt the wave of his ocean-thoughts rise and peek where the sand shifted, his fingers were ready to move and discern for the eyes to see. But with each fritter, he couldn’t seem to get even two paragraphs in to decide that it was utter shit.

Harry was old enough to understand that slumping on the wet sand was a part of life. Sometimes picking up a fistful of grains and throwing them back to the sea was a great way to release frustration. But it seemed like this plunge of his ability to write was a hole of quicksand. He was trying his hardest to displace himself as swiftly as possible but it only made his scenario worse. The muddy sand clung unto his legs like sticky glue, heftier with each effort to leave. He wanted to move on. He wanted to forget everything that occurred in the past four years. Harry wanted to erase Y/N from his life because she wasn’t around anymore to bring those memories back to sparkly existence.

What he needed to do was nestle himself into a certain depth, calmly, in order to pull a limb out and ensure that his progress on the so-called ‘moving on’ did not have any drawbacks. Until then, he cannot possibly create songs that he was well-known for if he wasn’t patient enough.

He wanted so badly to tell his side of the story. Harry craved to think as clearly as he did when he told Y/N about his plan for their future. Admitting to his feelings was a hard route. Sure, he can be vulnerable but it took a great deal of convincing on his part to immerse himself in the deepest parts of his brain to understand why he felt the way he did. He usually had the means of songwriting to help him out but that obviously wasn’t working out that good for him.

___

Harry was packing the rest of Y/N’s things in boxes to be picked up later in the afternoon. He was annoyed at first at how she depended on him to fold her clothes properly instead of doing the bundle of the work herself. But he guessed that she didn’t want to be around him for longer than she had to. To be frank, he also did not want to indulge in what might turn into an argument if they spoke about the reason for their breakup. It was just a bit confusing because he had an urge to still want her around despite their less than likely situation.

Torture. If Harry had one chance to describe the way he felt right now; it was torture. With every nook of Y/N’s side of the closet emptying into brown, cardboard boxes--he physically how much she had integrated her life with his. How much space she took up in his life. How his clothes and her clothes were so interchanged between them that he couldn’t decide if the gray pull-over was actually his or hers. And in a moment of selfishness did he tuck it away for his safe-keeping despite seeing the tag imprinted on the inside; a shop that he hadn’t set foot in so it was a guarantee that it was hers.

Her scent embedded in the thin threads of each fabric wafted to his nose; each with a new wave of memories engulfing his senses as if each piece garnered a specific scent tailored to a specific event. Like her sunflower sundress--it smelled of fresh flowers as if the print was a scratch and sniff that released a fragrance. Or their DIY-ed tie-dye shirt of pastel blue and cotton candy pink. It was a matching piece made out of the cheap dye and a simple white tee but it was theirs. Things like these made Harry want to yell in frustration because every time he thought that he was completely over her-- Y/N appears out of visibly nowhere and towers over him.

Seeing her for the first time in days was a breath of relief. She looked fine. Glowing even, and Harry did not know what to make of it. As sadistic as it sounded, he was expecting dry-stained tears and a birds’ nest of hair trampling her head. Instead, Y/N was dressed for comfort in her baggy jeans and an even looser sweater covering her body. Her lips were drawn in a thin line, giving him a nod in greeting as he gestured to the boxes littering the floor.

Harry offered to help--it was the least he could do. And somehow, silence protruded from the tense atmosphere, begging to be cut by a knife yielded through their voices nipping at each others’ emotions.

“Let go of my damn hand,” Y/N stated, her hard stare could turn Harry into stone. He just wanted her to listen before she left.

He shook his head in denial of her request, tightening his grip further. “No. Listen to me, Y/N,”

“What do you possibly have to say that will change anything between us?”

And maybe it was her fault for assuming that he wanted to fix things. The sliver of hope thinly dressed behind closed lids enabled her to think that maybe he was going to say that he wanted to make things work again. That he had broken up with Camille and he realized what a stupid he had done throwing away everything they built up to for the past four years for an affair that couldn’t quench the thirst of his desire to have a family.

Harry sighed, a shadow of mischievous smirk painted on his lips. But maybe it was Y/N’s sight in deception because she could never see Harry as anything other than sweet and kind Harry incapable of hurting a fly.

“What? I don’t intend to. We’re broken. We’re beyond fixing,”

The hitch in her breath was as sharp as the stare he was searing her with. Forcing her to please understand that this would be their last conversation--if time and fate were on their side. “You’re not something I would take the time to handle,”

“Stop saying shit you don’t mean, Harry” Y/N rolled her eyes in annoyance. His macho act was barely an act and more like a stage curtain easily pushed with a flick of a wrist.

“Things I don’t mean?”

“You heard me,” She crossed her arms over his chest in defence, leaning against the closed trunk. “Say what you will but our love was real. Don’t make me seem like I’m crazy. Don’t tell me that I’m a mistake,” Her voice was filled with confidence because she knew the affection that Harry diffused.

The cradles of his palm at the small of her back when they had to walk past a crowd. The subtle graze of the back of his fingers caressing the bare skin of her arm. Kisses pressed to her temple as she read a novel and swirling fingertips twirling her hair. These were acts of love that happened nearly every day in their relationship. A routine that felt different if it wasn’t done to or with each other.

Exasperatedly, Harry felt the same itching crawling up his spine. His ego ballooning into a delicate size and one more word from Y/N’s lush lips would have him on his hands and knees, begging for her back.

“This, us, was a fuckin’ mistake,” Harry’s accent thunked heavily in her cochlea, practically spitting the words out of his mouth as if they were poisonous. Ringed fingers gesticulated the space between them to emphasize how much of a misunderstanding they truly were. “I should’ve known the second things went further than planned,”

Y/N felt her heart drop to her full stomach. The feeling so nauseating that she instinctively palmed her belly over the fabric to protect her little baby from his harsh words. Even though they weren’t directed towards anyone but Y/N. She didn’t think that their unborn child deserved scrutiny from their own father.

“You don’t mean that, Harry.”

Because how could he? Not when he emulated sincerity through his syrupy voice. Not when he spent hours loving on her tummy and spoke to it like he would if she were pregnant. Especially not when every kiss from him felt like a buzz of electricity coursing through her veins because he was the main distributor of her happiness.

Harry truly was an asshole for making her hope and wonder of what the future held when he was unsure himself. He did want a family. That was a statement in all its truthfulness. What he wasn’t sure about was if he wanted a family with Y/N. He could have a family; kids of his own in his own time. But Y/N didn’t have to necessarily be the mother. So was he besotted with the concept of family and marriage regardless of who it was with?

“But I do,”

The rain started drizzling in frequent spurts, planting a fat droplet on her cheek that could be argued as a tear escaping Y/N’s eye. It hurt a lot to hear that from him. The man of her dreams blatantly denying each sugary word because his plans had changed.

“You’re a goddamn mistake is what you are,’

“Why are you. . .saying all these things to me? Are you trying to hurt me?” The shakiness of Y/N’s tone had Harry swallowing his words down his strep throat.

He shook his head in disagreement, “No, I’m not. ‘M just tryna make you see my side. So you can understand,” His head dipped to the side, softening his tone yet stern as though he was speaking to a child.

And that was one of the reasons why Y/N didn’t believe his all-too stoic demeanour about her. Harry was great at making others see his side regardless of how much in the wrong he was.

So why was he struggling?

___

Needless to say, he wasn’t very respectful towards Y/N any other time afterwards. He had unblocked her number months after blocking it at one point and demanded answers that he didn’t have the right to know. In retrospect, Harry was embarrassed by the way he acted. He did cheat on her and suddenly he was a saint because she moved on quicker than he thought she would? Unbelievable.

In his defence, the night he became the drunk caller was the same night he fought with Camille about having children; having a family they can call their own. Ever since that discussion did Harry notice a dispatch in their relationship. It was like they were aware of a missing link that had disappeared in their connection, but neither one of them wanted to be the one to bring it up. Harry supposed that now that Camille knew what he wanted (and vice versa)--she was feeling the pressure of giving in to him. Don’t get him wrong, Harry absolutely wanted a family and he thought that Camille was the right partner to build it with. However, he couldn’t help the voice at the back of his mind slyly whispering that he had forced her to give him what he wanted for the sake of saving their failing relationship.

___

It had been two and a half years since he mildly and miserably accepted that his dream family was being erased like a pencil on paper.

The first year; Harry still clung to the obscure hope that Camille might change her mind of having kids. Many fights sprouted between the two of them concluding in them sleeping at different places for weeks on end until they eventually crawled back to each other like an invisible string. The second-year; Harry brought up the idea of adoption. It was a hard choice for him as he desperately wanted kids of his own. A boy that looked like him and his love or a little girl that smiled at him with deep dimples mirroring his own.

And Harry liked to think that he was just on the edge of convincing Camille to consider the option when his tour was scheduled a few months after. A new dealbreaker was that Harry wasn’t going to be around much to watch and nurture the little bub they might’ve adopted. It was a sudden intrusion to think about since Harry was good with kids. He knew that. That was why he had three godchildren of his own. But what hit him the most was how sure Camille sounded when she yelled at him about leaving for months at a time and returning for a bit, only to leave again. Now, Harry hadn’t considered that part. But surely he will be ready to choose between a family and his career, right? When the time comes, he thought.

___

It pained Harry to admit that his relationship with Camille was dwindling down the drain. The knowledge that there was no future--the one that Harry envisioned--for them was getting more and more real each passing day.

A late-night grocery trip was one of the many examples that had Harry rethinking his actions for the past couple of years. It was the time period where night owls arose and barely any customers littered the aisles. Still, Harry made sure to keep his hoodie up to shield his face.

Camille had an early flight to Milan in just a few hours later that day and she wanted to purchase some things to bring with her; in case they weren’t available in the country. So here they were at three in the morning.

As Camille walked ahead of him in her sweatpants and a plain tee, Harry couldn’t help but let his eyes flicker to the clothing section to his right The first-floor space was decorated with pastel blues and pinks; a stroller was displayed with a price would not make a dent in Harry’s bank account.

“‘M just gonna grab somethin’ over here, Cam,” Harry muttered as he pointed a thumb behind him. She nodded, “Meet me at the produce? Need to get you some fruits,”

Harry felt guilt thudding his chest because although he was losing feelings he thought were written in stone, Camille appeared to care for him the same way she always had.

He walked to the brightly lit area, puffing his cheek as a cute onesie caught his eye, “You’re so golden” with the word ‘golden’ printed in a shiny, yellow glimmer. He smiled at the thought of baby angel cooing at him as he tickled her tummy. Harry passed by the shoes next, picking up a pair barely the size of his palm. His mind flashed back to a conversation with Y/N years ago,

___

“I’m just saying,” Y/N took a bite of a pickle she held on her left hand, “Baby shoes have no business being that expensive,”

Harry chuckled from his place across the counter, “Babies need shoes too, love,’

She grabbed her fork and stabbed a piece of strawberry from her bowl, “I didn’t say the don’t need shoes. For tiny things, they could at least be a bit cheaper,”

Harry watched as she munched on a pickle on her left and took a bite of a strawberry on the other. His tongue poked out in a gag at the odd combination, resorting in glare and a huff from Y/N.

“You should try it instead of judging me,’

“No, thank you. Watching you eat it is enough for me,’

___

Harry craned his head at each aisle, hoping to find Camille and to distract himself from the endless Y/N related thoughts that somehow returned to his brain. He needed his girlfriend to remind him that he cannot just knock on Y/N’s door and ask her about the baby she has. If he could hold them for a bit because his baby fever was through the roof.

Locating the produce section, Harry whistled mindlessly as he searched for a blonde head of hair, failing to notice that there was a basket in front of his feet. He had kicked it, jolting him out of his thoughts in a hurry.

A man with brown hair sporting an outfit similar to his (sweats and a hoodie), chuckled at him as Harry leaned down to retrieve the gray basket filled with a jar of pickles.

“Sorry man,” Harry muttered, holding the handles up for the man to carry.

“It’s alright, it happens,” The guy had not seen his face yet, too busy inspecting the carton of strawberries.

He decided to continue the conversation, “Strawberries and pickles? Odd combo, huh,” Harry was briefly reminded of Y/N’s obsession with the two rival products.

“Yeah, m’lady loves ‘em. Had a craving in the middle of the night. She’s in the car right now with our lil bubba,”

Harry’s heart fluttered at the mention of a baby. He needed to get his rails in check. He cannot keep having his heart bursting with adoration at the mere mention of a baby.

“I’m Connor,” He said, finally facing Harry after choosing the best carton.

“I'm--,”

“Harry!” Both men turned their heads towards Camille carrying a basket full fruits and green veggies, “Got you some stuff to blend for your smoothies,”

Connor squinted his eyes at the couple and Harry internally screamed because he knew that he and Camille had been recognized. “Harry. Yeah, I know you,” The sudden hostility made Harry confused as Connor grasped his basket from him in a harsh manner, heading towards the checkout.

The rest of the time inside the store was filled with curiosities as Harry carried the paper bags towards the car, barely recognizing Connor’s figure heading towards his own vehicle. Luckily, Harry has parked only a few slots away and could inconspicuously watch Connor and his so-called ‘lady’.

Except, Camille was ushering him to hurry up as she still had a few things to pack at home.

___

On most days, Harry was used to waking up alone. Used to feeling the shiver crawling up his side, used to seeing the indent left by Camille’s body instead of her. He had grown familiar with the sudden cast of loneliness blanketing him thicker than the duvet on top of his body.

The early morning trip to the store had tired him out, paired with the overthinking of the man named ‘Connor’ that flipped his attitude towards him quicker than he could kick the grey basket with his feet. He flopped back to the mattress after washing his face and brushing his teeth. It was noon when he jolted out of bed again at the sound of his front door opening, voices filling the empty space that had Harry running towards the foyer in case there was an intruder.

His tense shoulders sagged in relief when he caught sight of his mum and Gemma, “Oh, s’just you guys,”

Both women looked up at him at the top of the stairs, “You forgot we were coming over for the weekend, didn’t you?” Gemma teased as she headed to the living room. Harry followed, walking down the stairs.

He scratched the nape of his neck nervously, “No. . . “

“Can you help me reach this, H?” Anne called out from the kitchen.

His mum gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Yes, you did, by the way. Slept through the whole morning. Good thing Camille let us in before she left,”

At the sound of a bag crumpling and squeals echoing the hollow house, Harry scrunched his nose in curiosity, briskly walking where Gemm was currently holding up tiny baby clothes in front of her. “Who’s that for?” He thought of any possible friends that had had a baby recently but couldn’t recall any.

She immediately stuffed the clothing into the bag, nervously placing a hand on her chest, “Gosh, Harry, you scared me,” Her brows went high on her forehead in alarm, sharing a look with her mum trailing behind Harry.

“Well? Did I miss something?”

“Oh, it’s for one of my friends,”

Harry contemplated on his next words, “D-did you know that Y/N had a baby?” It couldn’t be right if his sister and mum knew about his exes baby and not him, right? That’s just plain odd to still be in touch with an ex's family. His brows furrowed in suspicion as both of them declined his question.

“What? Nooo,”

Awkward silence filtered through the air as Anne sipped water from her mug and Harry was slowly putting the pieces together. Gemme dove to the centre of the couch where her phone was when it rang suddenly, surprising all three of them. Harry was quicker, eyeing his mum and sister and inspecting the emoji substituting as a name before sliding his thumb to answer it.

"Hey, Gems! Are you coming to the park? We're waiting for you,”

Harry felt his heart drop to his stomach just as the phone nearly slipped from his clutch. That voice. He could recognize it from everywhere having spent nearly every morning for the four years that they were together hearing it lulling him out of sleep. It was Y/N’s voice calling his sister who was looking extremely anxious.

He tapped on the ‘mute’ button, “What does she mean ‘we’?”

“Nothing! Give me my phone back,” Gemma tried to reach for the device but Harry held it high beyond her reach.

“I saw the picture you sent me. I told you that you and Anne didn’t have to get me anything,” Harry felt dizzy. “Connor and I got some things a few weeks ago. But that skirt is so adorable!”

One part of him was glad to hear her voice. In fact, Harry found himself smiling too, despite what he just heard. Connor. “Harry, won’t be there right? Hello? Have I been talking to myself this whole time,” Y/N laughed a little; she had a habit of talking endlessly when she was excited. It made Harry more sombre, letting his guards down and his arm in reach for Gemma to grasp.

“Hey! I'm just organizing the clothes, see you soon!" Gemma jammed her finger on the red end call, anxiously glancing at her brother, piecing everything together.

“Who's Connor?" Could it be that the Connor he met last night was the same as Y/N’s? The one who bought pickles and strawberries--one of Y/N favourite food combinations? He mentioned that he had a little girl and Y/N just called to meet his sister and his mum at the park. And baby clothes?

Anne and Gemma looked at each other, quickly deciding that for the benefit of Harry that they should tell him at least a little bit. He was looking as if he was going insane, especially with his bed head pointing his hair out in different directions.

“He’s Y/N’s partner”

Harry gulped, reeling his thoughts to a halt, “Partner? And the baby is...?” The last bit of confirmation was all he needed to lash his feelings out.

“Is... waiting for us at the park! Sorry H gotta go,” Gemma was swift enough to gather all the bags without having Harry chase after her. His state of confusion and shock was enough to render him partially speechless and immobile.

“Hey wait!”

Anne garnered his attention, “Oh, Mrs. Q from next door wants me over for dinner. I’m sure wants to see us both. Why don’t you get ready, Harry?” Anne tugged his arm in the direction of the staircase pushing him to stumble up a couple of steps.

Harry was confused. He made the sounds of his footsteps creeping up the wooden stairs, hearing his mum quietly talking to Gemma on the phone, “Elmsway Park, you said? How long till you're home? I’m not sure how long I can keep him occupied,”

With that being said, Harry was out of his house, silently unlocking and locking the door. He was dressed in some basketball shorts and a graphic tee, slipping on the first pair of sneakers he had tossed aside. Harry jogged to his car, typing in the name of the park on his phones’ GPS. The route was only a few minutes away so he decided to take his time, gathering his scattered thoughts along the way.

He parked just beside the playground scouting the trees around the premises. Harry decided that it was the perfect day. The sun was out. It wasn’t too humid and the birds were chirping on the branches. He could see why the playground was full of children running around in delight. The green patches of grass were partially filled with picnic blankets and food to be shared. Families laughed with each other as one in particular caught his eye.

It made him smile at first, seeing just how adorable the couple was with their baby. He exited the car, making sure to lock the vehicle. With his hands jammed deep in the pockets of his shorts, Harry could feel the tethered grass rubbing against his legs. As he got closer, he couldn’t help the twinge of familiarity spark in his chest, recognizing that what he was staring at was Connor playfully chasing a little girl of about two-years-old as she squealed at how close he was getting to tagging her.

Harry stood by a tree, shielding him away from view. He tried to appear invisible without seeming too creepy. He knew that it was only a matter of seconds before his eyes found the woman he had been missing, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Connor picked up the little girl in his arms, dotting pecks all over the girls’ cheeks, causing her to giggle and push his face away with a tiny palm. And there she was standing outside the raised platform of the playground, coming up to the both of them with a juice box in hand to hydrate the little angel. Connor turned his attention to Y/N, planting the most adoring kiss on her lips that made her smile so wide and the baby cover her eyes. They laughed together, looking like a picture-perfect family.

Gemma sat on the bench, flickering her gaze to the precious family in front of her and to the figure of her brother walking away from the scene. Her heart broke for Harry, and it cracked, even more, when he turned back. This time, watching Connor and Y/N cheer on baby angel to go down the slide. Both of them clapped their hands in enthusiasm as the girl hesitantly slid down the plastic slide. The smile on her face was infectious.

It almost made Harry smile, too.

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Let us know what you thought!

Trial aka pt 4 is already up on Patreon! (link in bio)

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Permanent Taglist: @splendidsunsetx @swagmoneymaya @textingharry @arypesanchez @theresthingsthatwellneverknow @mellamolayla

#harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles drabble #harry styles imagines #harry styles angst

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theji · 3 years

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Things Yizhan Made Me Do

It's BXG Day today! 🐢💛

To commemorate the occasion, I thought of making a list of 13 out-of-character things that I've done since falling into the fandom. (OK I'm a bit late I meant to do this sooner, the day is ending soon in a couple of hours).

1. Start a blog

And a public one, no less. I had a blog when I was in my teens but that was private, like a personal diary. My day job already involves writing so off-work I would usually like to indulge in mindless activities. Now, here I am, maintaining a Yizhan blog. I have not even used Tumblr prior to this but I'm enjoying it now, rambling about our fav boys. Writing is not a chore if it's about them.

2. Join a fandom

I joined a boy band fan club once upon a time, some 15 years ago, but I was never as invested in it as I am now with Yizhan. Back then it was just buying some merch, attending their concert/autograph sessions, listening to their songs. Apart from work, dog mum duties, personal relationships, other hobbies like kombucha brewing, most of my free time is now spent on the fandom. My Netflix account is crying. There is just so much to do and catch up on (I'm not complaining). I also enjoy interacting with and learning from other bloggers here. Antis are no fun and some industry news/developments/hate messages are upsetting but ultimately, you curate your own fandom experience. And I choose positivity and rationality.

3. Indulge in RPS

I don't ever 'ship'. What is 'ship'? 😆 I was always a dutiful audience, just enjoying whatever drama series and moving on after that. I started with CQL like most people and I didn't even notice/like GGDD until much later. Didn't even set out to 'ship' anyone but now I'm a self-professed turtle. SZD is SZD, and anyone can see something special between them if you keep an open mind. I wrote about my SZD reasons here previously. That said, GG & DD are individuals, each with their own successful careers. They come first, the ship comes second. That I'm very clear of.

4. Use Chinese apps

Gosh, my phone and tablet are now full of Chinese apps. I used to have only WeChat cos I needed it for work but now I have Weibo, Oasis, Douyin, WeTV, MangoTV, Youku, etc. Some of them are not even available in the app store so I had to find alternative sources to download them. haha..I even have paid membership for some of these apps. And now, browsing Weibo daily becomes a routine. If you wish, you can just get stuck browsing Weibo for a long long time. It's entertaining.

5. Read fan fic

I only started about 6 months ago but now I'm hooked and fics are largely the only thing I read these days, apart from news. But I only read Yizhan or WangXian fics (p.s. calling for fic recs of other pairings!) I know some might have different feelings about fan fics but to me, I really just see them as fiction, with characters (and sometimes traits) bearing similarities to GGDD. Similarly, I separate the platform from the incident so I have no problems going to A03 despite GG's incident. I just enjoy seeing the characters named XZ/WYB having happy endings in many different timelines and universes. While most of the fics I read are explicit (by design), I don't use them as tools to play out certain fantasies or to think of GGDD in a sexual manner. In fact, I really hate fics that have little substance and just go into the explicit parts without plot development. I like those with interesting premises too, like one I read recently where XZ is a serial killer and WYB is a police officer investigating the case but also in love with him. I do have plans to share my list of fav fan fics some time down the road so keep an eye out for it!

6. Willingly read Chinese

Yes, Chinese may be my mother tongue but I don't use it much in daily living unless I have to. I also find it tedious to read Chinese cos the characters are just so squashed together. If I have a choice, I will always pick English. But now, I read so much Chinese from my daily weibo browsing. I even read fan fics in Chinese! Who am I? On the plus side, I think my Chinese comprehension and translation skills improved. I also picked up some internet lingo used by Chinese netizens, which are pretty interesting like doi, 🐮🍺, 🖍. My all-time fav is yyds.

7. Act like a cougar

In real life, I have always maintained that younger men are childish. At least those I have encountered. But look at me now, fangirling over two younger men (I am closer in age to GG, but still..). I even jokingly call them my 'China Boyfriends'. I look at them very respectfully most of the time.

8. Buy merch

Seriously, once you start, you can't stop. At least that was what happened to me, although I'm still quite selective when it comes to supporting their endorsements. I usually go for consumables like food, cosmetics vs collectibles cos I'm more practical. Also, GG says to support their merch within reasonable means so that's what I'm doing. Just buying things that I'm interested to try and not because it has their faces or names slapped on it. In a way, this suits me cos I like trying new brands and stuff anyway.

9. Keeping a Yizhan archive

Photos, weblinks, videos, songs, fan fics list..my phone is full of these things now. I think my Yizhan photo gallery is only second to the folder with my dogs' pictures. But how can you resist when we are blessed with new pics of them almost every week?

10. Camp for livestreams

I'm lucky I live in the same time zone as the boys so I don't have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning just to watch something. But that's the thing, being in the same time zone sometimes make me feel like I HAVE to watch that thing live because, why not? Why wait? Not shy to admit that I once watched a live programme in the middle of work but I made sure I finished what needed to be done. I think so long as we don't let these livestream schedules run our lives, there's no harm in camping for them.

11. Watch c entertainment

I am one of those who used to pass over Chinese productions, simply because it's a Chinese production. Not in a scoffing manner but I'm just genuinely not interested in them nor the celebs. I was more of a US/UK production kind of person, occasionally Korean/Japanese. Now, I'm learning to enjoy them although I just watch those with GGDD in them. No energy to follow other Chinese celebs anyway. The other programme I'm contemplating watching even if it doesn't have them in it is Who's the Murderer (GG was only in one of the cases) cos I like the premise. On the flip side, now my sis and partner keep making fun of me cos to them, all I do now is "watch China shows". That is so not true. Or is it?

12. Write fan mail

I wrote a letter to GG once. A long-ass letter. I hope he read it. That's all I'm gonna say. 🙈 hahahahaha

13. Desire to visit China

China was never on my list of to-visit places. Just wasn't interested. I have been to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou a few times in the past for work but even then, I never felt the urge to revisit for leisure. Now, I wanna visit GG and DD's home town, visit Chongqing to see the graffiti wall with Bobii Zanbii on it, eat mala hotpot and try out their sauce recipe, attend BXG events, dine at the CQL restaurant... Watching TTXS also made me realise that there are many beautiful places in China with natural landscapes and all that. I used to be clouded by my disdain for the regime and some behaviour of its citizens but now, I recognise that the country is separate from the regime or a smaller group of poorly behaved citizens. China is a beautiful country and I would love to visit some day. I will fly over immediately on my own if someone gives me tix to ADLAD!!

Well, I hope some of these things resonate with you. Feel free to share the OOC things that Yizhan made you do.

Once again, Happy BXG Day! 🐢💛🐆🐇🐷🌶🦁🍑🐶🍍🛹🎋

#yizhan #bjyx #things yizhan made me do

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flr-house-husband-blog · 3 years

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Female Led Relationship In Real Life

FLR explained, the woman has final say on all matters. The man accepts her wishes, her wants, and her punishments. This isn’t the FLR most men dream about in real life which is sexual in nature; I can promise in real life it is much different and more rewarding long term for both parties involved.

For us, yes housework is my responsibility and it started out with her lowering the normal standard that she kept up so that I could get down a routine. Overtime I’ve gotten better and worked longer in rooms and areas that did not meet her standards. I want to say higher, but they were only higher standards to me when we were vanilla. I see now the importance of daily, weekly, and monthly deep cleaning chores and tasks. They really do make the house ready for guests at a moments notice without worry and it really lifts a level of stress off of her which reflects back into us and our time together.

I’ve been timed and my daily chores I can do in 20 mins if I hustle. Normally it takes me an hour in between making her breakfast or getting ready for or after my work. Either way my “right” to ask permission to play video games or have screentime on my phone is once my chores are complete. The weekly tasks I’ve broken down into days to accomplish them easier (for myself), to not get behind, and make sure I meet her expectation of cleanliness.

My fav part of our FLR which has led to has been more love, time, and attention towards her is a phone rule. Dinner at home or out, regardless with friends I have to ask permission to use my phone. Needless to say no one bats an eye as they think it’s great we’re not on our phones. I like to check google reviews and see photos of different food options at a restaurant and it’s almost always a yes when I ask and then I put it away or it goes in her purse. I will say getting to that level of discipline isn’t easy.

In FLR I thrived with any new rules or expectations as soon as Goddess Amy figured out the best punishments that one changed my perspective and made me do risk/reward calculations before taking an action. What worked for her and didn’t cause her too much additional time away from what she enjoyed and was highly effective for me was corner time (30+ mins sometimes) and marking down in my shared chore app her grievances, which I too could see and were addressed with the paddle when she so decided. Unlike fantasy FLR there is nothing fun about having your pants around your ankles and being met with a firm paddle. She knows once I’m over ten that each and everyone will be remembered throughly. She has taken it a step further and makes me recite while I’m being paddled. Again not sexy but to make sure i know what I did and what I should do again.

Writing lines or the same thing over and over on paper takes a lot of time and she doesn’t except sloppy work. When that comes up I know I’m metaphorically fucked. It’s the equivalent of a cold shoulder when we were vanilla and I know a conversation is coming.

FLR isn’t all chores and sex. It’s a means to have a more loving and quality filled relationship. It’s non-standard but really does the trick for us. Of note when you’ve been met with consequences for falling short on expectations it really does change you behavior and moments vanilla you might want to give constructive feedback or argue a point of view. In FLR skip it and if you don’t like the point/topic/discussion try and bring it up at the end of the day or week, and if you really want ask if she wants feedback and if she says yes then maybe; otherwise wait until the end of the day or week.

In real-life FLR I can only give my perspective and maybe some of hers. For me I’d say the most important part is the man accepting she has the authority. Leadership isn’t all about being right, it’s about inspiring follow-ship naturally and accomplishing shared goals of the individuals under you and for the organization. Goddess Amy does that wonderfully and this is where you could say she understands my kinks (motivation) and pessimistic characteristics (frictions). She has a firm grasps on all things me and has goals for me, expectations for herself, our house, and our family. FLR works well for us because I accept and want her authority and she cares about all of the above to ensure each and everyday we move forward and improve. It’s not like the kink where things are expected to be absolutely perfect. She knows what I can handle and pushes the bubble little by little until it’s “perfect”, I look back and think wow what a difference I never thought this was possible.

Have you heard the phrase “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. If daddy ain’t happy don’t nobody care. “ That phrase sums up FLR. This ties in with communication and roles of FLR. She can easily say be ready we are going out and that means get in nice clothes and get everything ready to go or she can say she’s going out, which means I have the house to myself and if I’m lucky I’ll be given permission to watch TV or play games on my laptop. This ties in with staying on top of the routine she has set for me and other rules like no screentime without the chores being done. Most times I’m fortunate enough to get sceentime when I have the house to myself and sometimes it’s an opportunity for me to address a writing assignment she would like or an addtional chore. Rarely does it include me playing and sending pictures while she is out and about, but either way I’m always responsive and accept what she chooses as I know and believe it has a purpose. I just don’t sometimes fully understand it until later on down the road.

Real-life FLR the man only does what she wants and in ours she has retained meal prep for us and weekday dinners. The weekends I get to grill out and make her meals. Dishes are easy in our house. After a meal we clear the table, some things into rubber ware, some things rinsed in the sink and then into the dishwasher. We have a sign for clean/dirty and the dishwasher gets ran at night once full every couple of days and per my checklist is emptied or check daily.

A big benefit for her is me seeking ways to earn extra privileges ultimately by going out of my way to be on my best behavior, pampering her with love, surprises, and foot rubs. Some days she surprises me with the same to include paid massages and also breakfast in bed.

In public we appear vanilla, with the exception that I may secretly ask permission to have a soda or bend our diet plan a bit with a dessert. I’ve found asking before we go out with friends is better and also she has coded eye brows and looks which convey a silent approval or disapproval as I talk through what I might want when asked.

In addition to not meal prepping every meal since she loves cooking and helping us meet our fitness goals there are a few other things she retains control of. One is laundry, not because she loves it but because only she understands our walk in closet system for her stuff. Every morning I make sure everything is in the hamper and check the dryer- going through and pulling clothes tout of the dryer and separating out her dresses, tops, panties, etc in a way that makes it faster for her to put away herself, along with hanging and putting away all of my clothes neatly. Second the baby’s room there is a fancy rug which gets cleaned a certain way that’s off limits to me. I didn’t ask why and daily just make sure everything is clean and organized. Unlike fantasy FLR you won’t see me begging to do more chores, but you will see me finding areas which I add to my daily to keep off my monthly and deep clean routine to save myself time another day but just maintaining the area better. One example for this is dusting, yes the dreaded dusting. Once despised, I now prefer to address it per room per weekday versus all at once on the weekend. For me it’s less tedious when mixed in with picking up toys, vacuuming, and wiping down surfaces versus a whole hour of it another day.

To end this long discussion one thing that I like most about our FLR is despite me, the man not having final decision is that she gets my feedback 9 times out of 10 before making the final decision. I always feel heard and understood even when I don’t get what I wanted on most big topics, this isn’t the case with little chores or screentime expectations.

#female led marriage #female led relationship #house husband #the way of the househusband

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grittyreadsfic · 3 years

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hello my friends, one singular person asked for this weeks ago so i’m here with my most unhinged rec list yet: tk and nolan.

now, this one was hard to reign in, so i really didn’t. this pairing had maybe 230 fics in the tag when i first started reading hockey fic, and it’s now over 900, and i’ve read far too many of them, and that makes it so hard to parse it down. so i just...didn't!

so with that said, please enjoy so you want to get into tknp: a beginners guide to a classic case of idiots to lovers

i told myself that i couldn’t rec an author’s entire body of work but then i remembered this is my blog and i do what i want, so i did some consolidating. here’s a list of the quintessential authors for this pairing, you can start at any of their profiles and pick any of their fics at random, and it’ll be one of the best ones for the pairing, hands down.

therainbowsedge: i’d start with the summer camp fic, or the sex toys one, as both beautifully capture the true idiots to lovers nature of this pairing, but just top tier writing all around

manybumblebees: the wedding fic is so tender and port stanley is a classic, but literally pick any single fic and you’ll have a perfect tknp fic. i’m not kidding

jamesvanriemsdick: their tknp fics in their series are some of the hidden gems of this pairing (the tk heartbeat fic makes me LOSE it) but the delaware fic or the seattle fic…..there’s really something for every mood

catchascatchcan: start with era of gods because i could write literal essays on how it’s some of the best fantasy worldbuilding i’ve ever read, but then just read everything else on their account, including non tknp fics. you won’t regret it

hackysack: ao3 user hackysack has written one of two timeloop fics that i absolutely adore, and i thought about just calling that one out in particular, but all of their work deserves the attention

canary: nothing to prove was the first tknp fic i ever read and i was immediately hooked. all of their fics are a good starting place for the pairing, and just really give you a feeling for the pairing

and now, for the fic recs!

to be, despite it all by smudgedfreckles

summary: or, nolan patrick’s gender thesis, by travis konecny.

why i love it: there’s not a lot ofo nonbinary characters in media, even in fic, but this fic’s treatment of nolan and their path to figuring out their gender just feels so real and made me feel so seen. tk’s characterization is also just top notch, and it’s just a super sweet story about two people who love each other

last ones standing by makeit_takeit

summary: If you’re committed to finding your future spouse, reads the last line of the ad, and are ready to look at yourself and your love life in a whole new way, apply now.

At the bottom of the ad there’s a link, and Travis finds his finger hovering over the screen, lip still caught between his teeth.

“I mean,” he says very reasonably, speaking out loud to his empty apartment like some sort of possibly-crazy person, “just applying doesn’t mean anything. Maybe I just fill it out, and see what happens. It’s not like I’m really gonna get picked to be on TV, come on.”

He snorts out loud, just to show his apartment he hasn’t lost his grip on reality or anything; he fully understands how ludicrous that would be.

Then he clicks the link anyway, because yolo or whatever.

why i love it: what part of a married at first sight fic doesn’t make you want to immediately dive right in? the concept is fun, the execution is absolutely flawless, and it captures their dynamic so well while letting it develop naturally

motivation by connectknee

summary: Kevin knows when to back off, the article said. He knows just when to shut up and leave Patty alone, something Travis has never known how to do.

why i love it: the thing i love about this pairing is that tk is loud and in your face, and nolan’s more reserved, a little quieter, a little harder to read. this fic does a really great job of exploring how tk could feel like maybe he’s just a bit too much and is one of my favorites in terms of miscommunication

a tenderness grows by rusesdeguerre

summary: Nolan wouldn’t say that landing a job as the Philadelphia Flyers’ psychotic and probably clinically insane mascot was a childhood dream of his. Maybe tangentially: playing pond hockey in –30°C weather and pretending to be Sidney Crosby is practically a rite of passage when you grow up in Manitoba. That, and experiencing the distinct displeasure that is thousands of mosquitoes sucking your blood out when your father drags you on a father-son camping trip into the backwoods of the northern Canadian Prairies.

why i love it: this was the first fic i recced on this blog, and i stand by that decision. a fic where nolan is not only not a hockey player, but is in fact the person in the gritty suit? absolutely perfect, and so charming from start to finish

meet me at my window by springsteen

summary: Travis has lived in Philadelphia for a few years now, long enough to know there isn’t a major city in America where superheroes don’t destroy an entire city block trying to save humanity or whatever. He can deal with all the super-shit, but Travis did not sign up for getting woken up from a deep sleep because some fucker’s trying to break in through his window.

(5 times the super-villain known as "The Cat" breaks into Travis's apartment, plus 1 time Travis invites him in.)

why i love it: there’s a lot of things to love here, but the concept is just absolutely one of my all time favorite aus ever. it’s fun and charming and the perfect glimpse into a world where heroes and villains exist, and what it’s like just to be a run of the mill kind of guy existing in it. tk and nolan’s back and forth in this make it so engaging, and it’s such a top tier fic

body’s in trouble by cloudsandpassingevents

summary: “Oh, sorry,” someone says. “Didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Nolan freezes, then turns around very slowly. When he looks up, Nicklas fucking Backstrom is standing behind him in a hoodie and baggy sweats, holding the biggest bag of Swedish Fish Nolan’s ever seen in his life in one hand.

“Uh,” Nolan says around the pop tart between his teeth. “Yeah.”

What the fuck, his brain helpfully supplies.

why i love it: from nolan’s inner voice, to the way the author explores all the dynamics within the team, to the way they write the unexpected but actually, it kind of makes sense friendship between nolan and backstrom, is just absolutely fantastic. there’s a lot of moments that circle back and build on each other in a way that really just makes it super compelling

rhizomatic foundations by lighthousetowers

summary: Twenty days after he moves in with Kevin Hayes, twenty days – three months, five months, depending on how you look at it – after not talking to TK, TK shows up at the front door with a plant the size of a basketball in his hands.

TK grins. "Patty, meet Reginald." He lifts up the plant. "Reggie, meet Patty. He's going to be your new - caretaker."

"What the fuck," says Nolan, not moving a single muscle.

Or: That Nolan can hear the plant talk might as well just happen.

why i love it: this is probably my favorite magical realism fic just about ever. it’s fun and charming and a little weird, but in the best possible way. there’s such a wonderful narrative in it, and lighthousetowers always has such beautiful writing, and it really shines in this one. the dialogue and nolan’s characterization are also part of what set it apart for me as one of the best tknp fics

in the dark of any town by mengetpegged

summary: If the voice has an accent at all, it’s a flat prairie Canadian, with none of G’s French-Canadian softness at the edges. But mostly, the accent is just ‘pissed off,’ which TK believes is a default setting for ghosts.

“Who are you?” TK asks, and he doesn’t like how strained his voice sounds, doesn’t like the tinge of anxiety tinting the rise of his question. He tries to regulate his breaths—in through his nose, hold, out through his mouth—but it feels like he’s not getting enough oxygen, which makes him panic even more.

“Someone with a fucking migraine, dickhead,” the voice says. “So keep the lights off and shut the hell up.”

(or: Nolan Patrick, Hotel X Ghost)

why i love it: i’m usually not super into ghost fics, both the spooky kind and the nonspooky kind, but this one is a rare exception. it’s charming and fun and tender and it’s got some of, in my opinion, the best characterization of tk and nolan in any fic. the way the author writes their dynamic and their dialogue is just unmatched

lets_make_this_moment_a_crime.mp3 by honeydripping

summary: Travis meets Nolan at a Midtown show in 2002 when he punches Nolan in the face. He can’t help it, “Like A Movie” just goes off.

But he does feel guilty about it.

TK and Patty work at a bakery together. They go to punk shows to pass the time.

why i love it: idk if anyone asked for an early 2000s emo/punk/alt au but wow! i sure am glad it exists! really the vibes of this fic, as silly as that sounds, are absolutely unmatched. i love the structure with the music, the development of their relationship, and just everything about how the author wrote the setting (there’s this whole thing with tattoos in it that makes me feel absolutely insane)

you’re ripped at every edge by you’re a masterpiece by conformityissuicide

summary: “Ugh, look, this yoga teacher has it out for me, man. And I can’t go back there without at least having some of the basics down. I’ve got to win this battle.”

“Yoga isn’t really something you win at,” Hartsy starts.

Travis cuts him off, “You can win at anything if you try hard enough.”

+++

OR that time Nolan's a grumpy yoga teacher and Travis realizes he wants to bone him and prove him wrong about Travis' non-existent yoga abilities.

why i love it: listen, if you want tknp, at least one of them has to be an idiot, and this tk absolutely captures the obliviousness i love to see in him in fic. it’s such a great characterization of them both and such a great concept (and even better execution)

you form a terror pack (and i’m aware of that) by dalmatienne

summary: “Can I help you?” TK snarks, both eyebrows hiked up in a way that has earned her many elbow checks to the ribs.

The chick looks down her nose, long thick eyelashes fluttering. Red-bitten lips part to blow a florid pink bubble and TK can smell the chemical sweetness when it pops.

“Yeah,” she says in this monotonous voice that seems almost at odds with her bubble gum and neon skates. She jams her stopper into TK’s thigh again, literally inches away from where it’d really hurt. “Tie ‘em.”

why i love it: to be honest, i generally don’t read rule 63 within hrpf, but this one is just absolutely knocks it out of the park. the concept (i fuckin’ love roller derby), the characterization of nolan, the pacing, the rituals, the tone of the entire fic, it’s just all around a perfect read from start to finish

thrills and grills by bitter_leaf

summary: Travis can’t even begin to wonder what he did in a previous life to incur the wrath of this fucking cook. Travis thinks he’s a nice person, doesn’t conduct himself in any way that could be considered particularly dickish, and unless this guy has some sort of issue with hockey bros or people from the boonies, he’s not sure how he started shit without even knowing.

Patty has a vendetta. Travis just wants to eat his eggs in peace.

why i love it: honestly this is the enemies to lovers fic i’ve been waiting for. i remember seeing the reddit post when it first went viral and thinking it would make such a great fic premise, so stumbling across this one was just so wonderful. super engaging and fun and so hilarious to read!

nothing but room for you by fightingfuries

summary: When his agent tells him he’s going to be traded to the Devils, Nolan isn't sure how he feels about it. Might be easier if he was going somewhere farther away, like California or fucking Florida. Somewhere sun-soaked and foreign. Someplace so different from Philadelphia that he can forget he ever played for the Flyers, forget everything that happened there.

Or Nolan fucks up, gets traded, gets his shit together and falls in love. Not necessarily in that order.

why i love it: i cannot stress to you how much i love trade fics, and this one is one of my absolute favorites. the trade to the devils-so close to philly, still, but there’s more to distance than physical miles-was such an excellent choice and the split timeline adds so much to the narrative, and the emotions are real and messy and complicated in the best way

a couple of runaways (i’m glad you stayed) by overturnedgoal

summary: The person in the video he’s watching is super annoying. Some obnoxious holier than thou granola type who keeps talking about their environmental impact as if they aren’t driving a gas guzzler around, but the basic idea of living in a van, driving around wherever, camping all the time, just going hiking and swimming and seeing the whole country? It sounds pretty dope, honestly.

why i love it: i like to watch tours and conversions of vans/buses into tiny homes as a self soothing method, and this fic has the same impact that watching those do. it’s such a fun concept, and it’s so fuckin’ soft, and the dialouge between tk and nolan is just *chef’s kiss*

all candor and style in the crook of your smile by p3trichor

summary: It’s a photo of Nolan on his knees with someones’ fingers in his mouth, lips slick with spit. Travis flicks by it almost too fast and he’s only got seconds to decide if he wants to screenshot it, if he wants to just give up the ghost right then and there. Except Travis’s phone freezes momentarily and then the group refreshes, sidcros87, Bert59 and 14 others took a screenshot!

It’s gone before Travis even has time to process it and he already wasted his replay of the day on a stupid video of a stupid fish that Hayes caught.

Can you send me that screenshot Travis texts Bertuzzi before he can overthink it, his dick already stirring in his sweats. Tuzzi sends back the cry-laughing emoji and then the screenshot before Travis can be too annoyed at him.

Or, Nolan is being weird about Travis's break-up and TK is maybe not straight.

why i love it: i genuinely don’t think i have words for the amount i love this fic. it took me forever to actually read, but it’s absolutely one of my favorite fics, and it’s an absolutely riot to read. carter’s meddling and the presence of tyler bertuzzi both make it extra fun, in my humble opinion

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pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird · 3 years

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That person might not have said top ten but I would like to see the other five underrated animes 👀

(First post) I’LL KEEP ‘EM COMING, I LIVE FOR RECOMMENDING ANIME. I keep changing my mind on which ones to include because there’s so much good shit out there.

By the way, all of the recommendations in this list AND the last one are 26 episodes or less and tell a complete story. No cliffhangers, no “finish the manga to see the finale”, no “where’s the rest of it???” endings. That’s why, for now, Stars Align and Princess Jellyfish still get stuck with the honorable mentions even though what’s been made for both of them is incredible.

1. The Tatami Galaxy (Drama, Introspective)

The director behind Ping Pong the Animation and the original author behind Eccentric Family join forces to make Tatami Galaxy, which capitalizes on the best strengths of both shows. The protagonist is a lonely college student facing the prospect of graduating after having thoroughly wasted his college years. He bemoans how circumstances outside of his control, from conniving fake-friends to selfish and shallow extras, have conspired to ruin what should have been a “rose-colored campus life”, and wishes he could do it over again so he can get it right.

So he does, with the show using avant-garde animation and abstract storytelling to explore all of his threads of what-ifs. The plotlines seem separate but weave together and subtly build on each other, culminating to a finale that explores the meaning of relationships and who you are in the absence of outside forces that can define you. It’s heartfelt, funny, raunchy, and deep, and perfectly encapsulates the existential dread of being in college. I watched it for the first time when I was about to finish undergrad and it hit like an emotional freight train, then I rewatched it during quarantine and it hit like a truck. This is one of my top favorite anime of all time.

2. Re:Creators (Fantasy, action)

Most of the anime I’ve put on these lists get their spots for being deep, nuanced, and delicately crafted. This is not one of them. But, by god, is it one of the most over-the-top fun shows I’ve ever seen. Re:Creators is a rare reverse-isekai. Fictional characters from popular anime, games, and manga suddenly start turning up in the real world, instructed to “find your Creator and reshape the world you came from”. The soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano is bar-none one of the hypest things out there; seriously, just listen to Layers, the song for a character from a grimdark everyone-dies series begging her author to tell her why.

The characters in this show are so fun to watch bounce off each other, even if they’re not as “three dimensional” as others. Magical girls fight Stand users, mechs face down scifi-noir detectives, Lawful Good Paladins go toe-to-toe with Chaotic Evil light novel villains. But by including the artists who imagined these characters as characters themselves, it also has a lot to say about the creative process, the reasons people create, and the relationship between an artist and their work. Between the high-octane fight scenes, there’s a surprisingly human and genuine throughline.

3. Sora no Woto (Slice of life, music, post-apocalyptic)

This show is another of my favorite examples of worldbuilding done right. A young girl joins the army as a bugler because it’s one of the only ways she can learn to play music. The episode plots focus on how she and her tiny regiment of young women stationed at a small town in the middle of nowhere deal with day-to-day troubles, while the details of the world around them slowly fill and round out the picture of a broken society where people still just... live. They still create myths, they still have festivals, they still blow glass and tell ghost stories and make art. The plots seem inconsequential, until the world built into the background becomes too prominent to ignore. The background art and music is some of the most gorgeous I’ve seen. It’s part of a genre I’ve been calling “soft apocalypse” and it’s been one of my favorites for years.

BONUS MENTION: Girl’s Last Tour (Slice of life, post-apocalyptic)

Yes, I’m cheating, but listen. Girl’s Last Tour fits perfectly into the canon narrative provided by Sora no Woto, just set in the far future, a few apocalypses later. It’s got less of a main plot, because there’s almost nothing of society left, just two girls wandering together through an abandoned world. It’s soft, introspective, and bittersweet, showing how humanity is still humanity no matter how few people are left. Despite having nothing about their productions in common, it’s the perfect spiritual successor to Sora no Woto and they deserve to be recommended in the same spot.

4. Tamako Market (+ the movie) (Romance, slice-of-life)

This show is the platonic ideal of a soft, heartwarming, sweet-as-sugar, slice-of-life romance. It follows the daily life of Tamako, a high school girl who lives above a family-owned mochi shop in a shopping center, who is followed around by a talking bird trying to find a bride for his prince in a far-off land. But really the show isn’t about the bird. The show is about love in all its forms. The love that the other families in the shopping center have for Tamako, the love that she and her friends have for each other, the love they have for the activities they’re passionate about, the love you feel when someone makes you a cup of coffee, fated love, childhood crushes, family love.

Something about this show that also stands out is how gently and naturally it incorporates some of the best queer representation I’ve ever seen in anime. One of the shop owners is a kind and soft-spoken trans woman, who is never the butt of a joke, never questioned, never treated as different, loved all the same. One of Tamako’s friends is gay, and her crush on Tamako is treated with as much respect and care as every other moment in the show. This series never makes you flinch for fear of “representation” that turns sour. It’s the epitome of a feel-good show.

5. ACCA 13-Territory Inspection Department (Political, mystery, drama)

Yes, I keep saving my favorites for last on these lists. I can’t describe this show as anything but the perfectly written plot. As a rule, I don’t like political dramas, and this is one of my favorite anime of all time. It’s set in a fictional country, where 13 regions all exist relatively independently under one collective monarchical ruler, and follows Jean, an agent of the independent Inspection Department, which acts as a check and balance to each power. The series begins with Jean being assigned a full review of each territory while the powers-that-be field whispers of a coup. This show masters foreshadowing, intrigue, escalation, and mystery. The stakes build and overlap on scales from intensely personal to national. The pacing is amazing, keeping tension balanced with plot twists that answer more questions than they ask.

Plus, it’s got one of the most visually appealing and stylized openings out there. I realize that political drama isn’t exactly escapism right now, but believe me, this series is worth it.

#my posts #anime recommendations #acca 13 #tamako market #girls last tour #sora no woto #re creators #tatami galaxy #i literally spend HOURS on each of these lists #i love pointing people towards good anime #THERES GOOD SHIT OUT THERE #again if yall dont know about baccano by now just assume im always willing to tell you abt it #my asks #Anonymous

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phantomato · 3 years

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Five Tom Riddle Crossover Fics to Read

Tom Riddle is a difficult character to ship. For those of us who want to see pairings beyond the Big Two (Tomarry and Tomione), canonical options peter out relatively quickly. Sure, we can invent our own pairings by fleshing out side characters, but sometimes, the itch is best scratched by borrowing from another canon.

And it makes sense for Tom more than nearly anyone else in HP. Tom was born into an era that is the subject of so much literature, so it’s easy to find another person kicking around postwar Europe if that’s your goal. He’s an archetypal character, the villain seeking immortality, and can be matched against other villains with the same aims. Hell, even his quest to recover lost artifacts turns into the basis for two of these works—Tom Riddle has the perfect combination of a recognizable context and character model, plus the ambiguity of his canon timeline, to slot him alongside so many other fictional figures.

I want to pause on some of these themes for a second. Immortality or relationship to age, for one, is something that comes up in three of these pairings: the Darkling and Koschei the Deathless are both immortal characters in their own canons, and Edmund Pevensie is not immortal but has aged and de-aged repeatedly in his travels to and from Narnia. The HP series doesn’t give us nearly this wealth of different perspectives on age and immortality, which is fair—HP makes it clear that immortality is unnatural and undesirable, and Flamel is notably a ‘good person’ because of his willingness to accept his own death—but for a character as obsessed with the idea as Tom, some emotions can only be explored when you match him with another character who has a complicated relationship to aging. Even someone like Indiana Jones, not immortal and not trying to be, has an interesting perspective to bring to a story because he has seen so many other quests for power gone terribly awry.

Of course, the other thing we get from crossover pairings is the ability to match Tom with a villainous character. And whether you’re a fan of conflict at the start of a relationship or not, I think there’s something to be found in putting two villains together: moral arguments, when they exist, are rarely about whether death is necessary but about what kinds of death are best used when; the entire concept of either a redemption arc or a breaking bad arc can be thrown out a window. It’s a space wherein our two villains are allowed to be themselves, and the reveal of the extent of each character’s villainy becomes a strange form of celebration. This is challenging to achieve if one sticks to HP canon alone, whereas crossovers are a fruitful space.

My selection methodology was to read every crossover fic with a clear focus on Tom Riddle or Voldemort on AO3. I found crossover pairings by visiting the meta pages for the Tom Riddle, Voldemort, and Tom Riddle | Voldemort tags—I may have missed some pairings for Tom Riddle, as the character has over 300 child relationship tags and AO3 cuts off at 300 displayed. If you know of any ships I missed and should check out, do tell! I’ll also make a note here that one of these fics is my own—if self-recs bother you, skip Bluebird.

The following five fics are ordered by wordcount. Let me know what you think!

Neurotic Virtuosi, by skazka

Crossover: Hannibal Rising (movie version). The wizarding world exists, and Tom and Hannibal encounter each other in non-magical Eastern Europe.

Summary: Tom and Hannibal ride the same train when Tom is hunting down the diadem. Tom shares an apple and thinks about keeping Hannibal.

Mature, <1k, Graphic Torture Fantasies

Why?: This is one of those pairings that I wouldn’t have thought to do when the characters were both young, but it’s so much better for that choice! The length of this fic means we only get a taste of their interactions, but what a taste it is. Tom’s internal fantasies are horrifying and described in a very erotic way, which fits both characters.

This also serves as an interesting vision of what Tom might have experienced during his world tour to find the diadem, a period we rarely get to see. I particularly like that the author chose to write it as frustrating and mostly fruitless; a Tom who is stymied and unsuccessful is a particular weakness of mine.

Two Sides of the Same Coin, by Anonymous

Crossover: Chronicles of Narnia. Both Hogwarts and Narnia are real, and the characters meet in Britain. The magic isn’t the same, but there’s mutual recognition.

Summary: Tom tries to use sex to seduce secrets out of Edmund. Edmund sees something reminiscent of his younger self, the version of him who could join the White Witch, in Tom Riddle.

Explicit, 2k

Why?: Edmund and Tom are a pairing made in crossover heaven, both boys of a similar age born into war in the same country and whose discoveries of magical worlds help them escape it. Both lust for power and make poor choices; Edmund canonically recovers and finds redemption from his actions, and Tom does not.

This fic wears the hat of something pure smut, starting in the middle of a sex scene and tagged with top/bottom roles, etc., and it is that and does that well. But give it a shot for Edmund’s reflection at the end, his hopeful musings that he can apply the lessons learned from Aslan to help Tom before Tom’s utterly lost. It’s a crossover ship with unbelievable potential for both characters, and this fic makes me want so much more.

Shedding Skin, by electric_typewriter

Crossover: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. Both the wizarding world and the magic of Deathless exist.

Summary: Tom meets Koschei before splitting his soul. They keep meeting, and Tom keeps attempting to match Koschei’s immortality.

Not Rated, 2k

Why?: Immortality via relocation or storage of souls is an idea that easily predates Harry Potter as a series, and seeing two different versions of the some core idea interacting with one another is precisely what crossovers exist to enable. Koschei as an immortal being that found his immortality in a way he considers superior is a fascinating concept, because it creates a power imbalance between them that leaves Tom always running to catch up. And Tom, poor Tom, feels like a desperate man, finding sensation only when he’s around Koschei and feeling nothing at any other time.

This reads a bit like you’re dissociating. The author uses descriptive language to keep the reader a little distant from the grounded reality of the events happening, which has the effect of keeping you focused on the metaphysical question of what it means to have part of a soul.

Bluebird, by Phantomato

Crossover: Shadow and Bone. S&B summoning powers instead of HP magic, set in the real world, with characters’ histories preserved.

Summary: Tom is the second sun summoner to exist, born long after the first gave up her powers and lived out her natural life. He tracks down the Darkling, the shadow summoner who never really died.

Explicit, 17k

Why?: Tom is an immortal being for at least part of his life, and his character arc is about pursuit of immortality, but he is fundamentally a young immortal, and is killed before he can graduate to old immortality. Aleksander, the Darkling, is canonically an old immortal, and his character arc is about the burden of living with the knowledge that you will likely always be alone. That loneliness sets the scene for the relationship between Tom and Aleksander, driving Aleksander’s behavior—he fundamentally believes he will always be alone, even an immortal like Tom passes through his life.

There is a high proportion of smut in this, serving in place of the emotional honesty that neither character can muster, and I recommend it for that. But the story also relies on investment in quiet everyday moments shared between the characters. It’s a fic told through behavior because both men are so cautious around one another, where they nevertheless manage to find sympathy for the other.

Riddles of the Dead, by Maeglin_Yedi

Crossover: Indiana Jones. Blends together the wizarding world and the mysticism present in Indiana Jones films.

Summary: Tom Riddle hires an expert archaeologist and gentleman adventurer, Dr. Indiana Jones, to help him pursue an artifact that might grant him immortality. There’s fucking, fighting, magic, snakes, and some difficult choices in store for our leading men.

Explicit, 18k, Angst

Why?: Maeglin Yedi has been a mainstay of the Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort ficspace for nearly two decades, but an old crossover like this can unfortunately slip through the cracks. It shouldn’t! With an original publishing date in early 2005, this predates the concept of horcruxes, the knowledge of Tom’s early years at Wool’s orphanage, and, well, so much of what we would eventually learn about Tom Riddle as a person. It’s a testament to the author that the story manages to capture Tom’s character in such a way that he’s still fully recognizable to a current-day reader, despite working with so much less canon.

This fic is fun. It’s an adventure, featuring hazards and traps and assassination attempts that you would expect from an Indiana Jones film, but the magic and mystery never overwhelms the relationship at the core of this story. It’s set up beautifully, with a mirrored structure between the front and back halves of the fic that foreshadows the inevitable end of the story. Watching older, confident Indy seduce young, hungry Tom is a delight. One (possible) mark of a great Tom-centric fic, imo, is to be able to portray Tom enjoying the exchange of power, giving it to someone as well as taking it from them, and this Tom is able to revel in giving up some perceived power as he practices being vulnerable with Indy. The romance is quite sweet, especially considering that ‘angst’ tag at the top of the fic!

#tom riddle #tomato fic rec

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