#i do not have the time or patience to write a slowburn but that doesn’t mean they don’t haunt me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shotorozu · 3 years

Text

relationship realizations

— ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦ 3k followers milestone

character(s) : multiple characters (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns used, quirk not mentioned

note(s) : happy 3k ‼️ thank you all for all the love, and most especially those that continue to send love, and indulge in my works. further context, this is what the bnha boys/men learned by being with you :))

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midoriya izuku

↮ that his opinion does matter. okay— it’s not like you handed his confidence to him, no that’s different. but, you are a main contributor to the sudden increase of confidence in himself. before, he was just so used to be brushed aside, other people being told to ignore him whenever he does this, and for his rambles to be ignored like white noise— but after you showed up and spent some time with him, he realizes that it’s not the end of the world if he does ramble, and it’s not the end of the world to not be confident about your opinions 100% of the time, but what does matter is that his opinion was heard. which ultimately lead to him being more confident in expressing his own opinions, not caring if it’s apart of the vase majority, or the minority. he’ll forever love you for this.

todoroki shouto

↮ that taking your time isn’t abnormal. shouto, being someone that had little to no set example of what romance is, and being exposed to romance comedies, and tv shows— made him realize something. that people were already kissing on the first date, and he felt well,, under developed because of it. he was never the biggest fan of physical touch, it’s not to say that he never wanted to kiss you, he always does want to, but— he won’t just kiss you just because it’s the first date, or because the movies said so, even as much as he wanted to, no. that’s not what he wanted. he felt worried that he was moving too slowly, compared to the examples he’s seen online but— you say things differently. you allowed him to take his time, showing him patience as you peck him on his temples, and he couldn’t be more grateful to love someone like you.

bakugou katsuki

↮ that being vunerable isn’t a bad idea. you’re even aware of the many few boundaries katsuki has set up for himself— like no pda. which, you’re perfectly fine with, but katsuki hated the idea of being vunerable because well,, people shoved him onto this pedestal at a very young age, he’s thee bakugou katsuki, there’s no room for vulnerability (or so he thinks) besides all might and deku, you’re really the only one that has seen the vulnerable bakugou katsuki, not the loud and explosive one everyone is used to. he was repulsed by the idea, but after the first time he allowed himself to cry on your lap, shedding tears as he trembles in your caring embrace— he realized that he has someone, and that someone wouldn’t care for the world if he wasn’t this big and strong person 24/7. he won’t say it out loud, but he’s incredibly thankful

kaminari denki

↮ that people do take him seriously. nearly everyone sees this man as this.. class clown, goof ball, and that he’s ‘stupid’ or he’s ‘lacking braincells’ most of the time, and that’s all they make him out to be. denki doesn’t like drowning in self pity, but he can’t help it, why doesn’t anyone take him seriously? but wait, that’s when you come along. it was heartbreaking to say the least when you saw how shocked he was when you wanted to hear his plans and ideas. to anyone else, it might appear to be the bare minimum, but it’s everything to denki. to be taken seriously when the time says so, to be treated like the next person with ambitions. sure, he loves being a jokester, he loves making people laugh, but he can’t bite back the smile, when he sees you worry about him after every short circuit, and kiss him on the cheek whenever he comes back to his senses.

shinsou hitoshi

↮ that not everyone’s opinion is valid. okay hear me out, that might be considered a bad thing, but it’s really not. in fact, it’s a good thing. hitoshi’s just used to hearing sugar coated and backhanded compliments being thrown his way, people saying that “you’d be a good villain, at least!” but, he doesn’t want to be a villain. sometimes they’re not even backhanded, and he’s just used to accepting it as it is. because, everyone has been thinking that way, since well— he first manifested his quirk. but that’s when you come along, and blow away his expectations. you weren’t afraid to tell him the truth, that he shouldn’t have allowed all of them to insult him like that, since he deserved all of the good that was in the world. that wasn’t the part that stuck out the most, but it was the part where you told him that it’s the intent that mattered, and who cares if his quirk seems villainous, as long as he meant well? for once in his life, he stopped paying attention to the senseless comments, and focused on what really mattered— you.

kirishima eijirou

↮ that you don’t need a flashy quirk to be honorable. his quirk, while it took some time for it to be in the state that it is today, it has always been an insecurity of his, not that he’d admit that. that he can’t create big explosions or large glaciers of ice like bakugou or todoroki, or he can’t create whatever he desired like yaoyorozu, he just felt,, plain sometimes. which was something he never voiced out in such a blunt manner before, since he always presented himself as this cheery dude that’s always ready for the occasion. it might be easy, he probably curses at himself for being under your spell a little bit too easily, but he feels great whenever you praise him for his hard work, and especially his quirk. even when the insecurity slips out by accident, and when you’re questioned if you really meant that, you stay true to your statement, and that was an eye opener.

amajiki tamaki

↮ that there are other ways of being strong. look, it’s not like tamaki’s quirk is weak— in fact, it’s the very opposite, but his self esteem, and the absence of a sociable personality does take a toll on him sometimes. he feels like he can’t do anything right, especially when he mutters, messes up on what he wants to say, more importantly when he has an idea on what to say. he feels helpless, compared to the other two strong personalities of UA’s big three. and that’s why, you’ve showed him that shyness is completely normal and fine, and it’s not just him that struggles with socializing— and besides, tamaki does have other strong points, like his ability to be considerate with his actions, and his carefully selected words of affirmation whenever he sits next to you on a date. tamaki might be socially uh.. weak sometimes, but he’s come to realize that it’s fine, since he has other strong parts!

monoma neito

↮ that he won’t be forgotten, and also— that being nice to class 1-A doesn’t sound that bad. come to think of it, neito DOES have a nice side in him, but it’s just not exposed to class 1-A for several different reasons (that are layered) when he was younger, he was told that his quirk wasn’t that spectacular, people have underestimated his quirk a lot. not because it’s ‘boring’ but because it just ‘copies other quirks,’ and has no individual attributes. thus, lead neito to act out as an attempt to stand out and not be ‘boring.’ in reality, neito doesn’t realize that he’s anything close to that, and that he can be remembered in the best ways. like, when you first saw his room, and it was covered in pastels, and whenever he sees you, the first thing he says is a compliment. who would’ve guessed it from him? and most importantly, when he is nice to class 1-A, he finds himself laughing at amusement— and he thinks ‘hey! this,, isn’t bad.’ it’s a slowburn for him to finally act like how he is with his class but hey, process!

dabi todoroki touya

↮ that he needs someone. how ironic, a villain— needing someone, and all for what? just to be abandoned for someone better? no thanks. you didn’t actually shove it in his face for him to realize it but, you did contribute to it. his staples were starting to falling off again after another gruesome mission, dabi didn’t feel like plucking them out himself, but he knows that he has to— he went to go pick them off, until, you come in. a stapler in your hand, as you practically make him sit tightly as you replaced the staples. it stings, not that he’ll ever admit that, he’ll just stick to making fun at you in such dabi fashion. but ugh, there’s that warmth again everytime he looks at you. it’s not the cruel burn, similar to his quirk— but it’s,, gentle. it makes him want to disembowel himself, but he doesn’t mind it when you touch the cool metal. just,, get out of his face before he decides to flame you, all just because he learned that he needs someone (he won’t actually flame you but ugh, he’s still dealing with that kind of warmth you’re making him feel)

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chunhua-s · 3 years

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Tendou in an enemies to lovers situation 🥺

wew chile, eye— this was longer than i originally planned and that’s due in part to me switching from writing on mobile and my bad word vomit tendencies said ✨start the cameras✨ i originally had a bit of trouble coming up with the solid plot itself while i was losing myself on concepts (nothing new :D just my regular clown shit y’know?) and my sweet goddess @bootylikepeachy was there to tickle my braincells with this “got paired together with your enemy for a class assignment” idea!! bb thank you for brainrotting with me on this, honestly 🥺💖 i dunno if i could have made a final decision if it weren’t for you and your sexy ass brain. i decided leave the ending a bit open?? one to prevent myself from going over 5k words (cause wow, i really hit the slow burn on this one) and two because i kinda like the ambiguity of their relationship after the reader comes to her turning point. since it’s an enemies to lovers type of scenario, i figured it would be better to let things kind of trickle off instead of having it all happen on the same day?? or so it doesn’t feel too rushed or force and i really hope i was successful in doing it justice. i hope you guys will have as much fun reading this as i did writing it!! let me know your thoughts, okay? and as always, thank you for reading!!

SUNSET AND MIDNIGNT ➽ SATORI TENDOU x READER

genre: fluff, slowburn

au: enemies to lovers

warnings: uhhh slowburn? word vomit, ramblings..... that’s about it

tendou is the fall from an ocean cliff. he’s the feeling of the wind sweeping past your body, of your breath disappearing from your lungs and vanishing on the whisps of a blue sky. he’s the dread that wraps around your heart like a vine, the heavy rock that drags you closer and closer to a dive you can’t remember taking. and you, with your heart racing against your ribs so hard that it scars itself with blue and purple bruises, you’re terrified. you’re terrified of heights, of blue waters that run to the deepest parts of the earth and what they don’t show to you. you’re afraid of the heat that comes from a blazing fire and the embers that fly from it on red hazes. it’s the fear of that unpredictability that keeps you away, the fear of being burned and left for dead that leaves you feeling as if you’re walking on egg shells around him.

to you, he’s a variable that you can’t ever be prepared for. a step added to a dance you’d already learned by heart, he messes up your rhythm and throws off your tempo until the melody becomes something you can’t recognize anymore. he leaves you guessing about what comes next — it’s like a game of roulette that he’d dragged you into by a thin chord, wrapped so tightly around your throat that it makes it hard for you to breathe. you hate the feeling of it, hate the way he so easily turned your world on its head and cast the familiarity of monochrome into a scenery of blinding colour.

you’re pouting, a frown etched across your lips as you methodically stir over your pot, head cocked to the side and one hand resting akimbo on your hip. it’d been well over 30 minutes since you’d started boiling the ingredients over a low flame, and you were beginning to tire from stirring constantly; your arm ached and your shoulders were beginning to feel stiff as you tried rolling them to relieve some of the tension. frustration makes a loud groan slip from your lips as you throw your head back. normally, you’d consider yourself a patient person, yet that very same patience was beginning to run as thin as the liquid that should have been thickening by now. you couldn’t understand why it was taking so long, however. you’d done everything by the book! mixed each ingredient in the order that it’d said to, set the flame on the right level, measured everything correctly, so what was wrong?

you hear a snort come from somewhere behind you, but you don’t turn yourself to look at the red-headed male who sits comfortably atop the other side of your counter, well intent to ignoring him. you had neither the time nor the energy to entertain him right now, but your companion didn’t seem to understand that from the cold shoulder you’d been giving him ever since you two began working on your project together.

“you know you don’t have to keep stirring it, right?” tendou hums between bites of chocolate that slightly muffle his words. you don’t see the way his eyes close and his smile widens on delight for the sweet flavour that melts on his tongue. “you can leave it for about a minute before you have to check up on it again.”

you stubbornly roll your eyes, a huff coming from under your breath that disturbs the strand of hair dangling in front of your face. “that’s not what the book says.” your voice comes out evenly, though there’s nothing you do to cut the edge from your tone as you sigh immediately after. the frown on your lips only deepens with the next few seconds that pass you by.

“and that book was released in 2015.”

it’s invasive in its arrival, the question of why that spits on bitterness and undiluted anger. why were you so unlucky to have been paired up with the one person you couldn’t bear to be around? he was everything that dug under your skin, the symbol of chaos in a place where you’d rather solace and routine. he stands on the opposite end of the colour spectrum; where your life molds with deep purples and blues of a dark midnight, he’s the flaming oranges and reds of a burning sunset. your worlds meet on a collision, a burst of light that would consume entire dimensions and leave nothing but bones and ashes in its wake.

there’s a pettiness in your hatred for him, a one-sided scorn that bears its fangs on dark poisons that trip like ink. it tells its tale of irrationality in your law of reason, and, you consider, perhaps that was why you hated tendou. perhaps it was the way his voice could so easily insight the burning taste of anger and annoyance on the back of your tongue, where it forms on a large ball that stops inside your throat and makes it hard to breathe without feeling as if you would implode. it’s something you can’t understand, but you despise the feeling it leaves you with when your eyes meet his.

hot, as if you’d been cast into the open arms of hell.

“well,” you force behind gritted teeth, hearing the noise of them grinding in the back of your head. “i’m gonna stick to what the book says until it gets revised.”

there’s absolutely no reason for you to be so insistent on something that’s clearly not working, you know that. you’re sure tendou is thinking the same, if the long, drawn out sigh he lets out is anything to go by. it isn’t difficult to imagine his expression, lips pursed together, brows furrowed as his narrowed eyes burn holes into your skin. you’re not sure what exactly is pushing you to be so stubborn, but you blindly let it control your thoughts; you run on impulse and immature decisions that have no place in your life.

a silence blends with the sounds of your bubbling pot when he doesn’t respond, insighting an urge to glance around and see why he’d suddenly stopped talking that you force away from your mind. the quiet would give you some semblance of peace, you consider decisively: if he’s decided he would no longer disturb you with pointless musings, then what reason would you have to complain?

there’s a touch on your shoulder that causes your heart to latch inside your throat and rushes on uneven beats of a two-second fright that has you freezing on yourself. on instinct, your body turns to meet red eyes and a bemused grin as tendou’s fingers wrap around your wrist, catching the hand that held the mixing spatula you’d been using in your pot. “relax, will you?” he murmurs, a chuckle on his breath — the taste of his mint breath clouds your mind like a ghostly fragrance — as he pries the instrument from between your clenched fist. with narrowed eyes and your guard put up on a weak barrier, you watch closely as he gently sets the spatula against the counter before he finally releases your arm; it falls lifelessly to your side while the feeling of being burned slowly spreads across your skin. “just trust me on this.”

there’s a hidden promise on his voice, a teasing grin that pulls at his lips and leaves your curiosity ignited on hesitance and uncertainty. you glance at your still bubbling pot, though your gaze isn’t allowed to linger for long as tendou shoves his face into your line of sight with a light chime of “ah-ah-ah.” it was as if he was scolding a child, the thought quickly comes and goes before you can dwell on it — there’s not much chance for you to think about it when tendou’s steering you to your island counter by your shoulders. “sit down for a sec, alright?”

a scowl forms on your lips as he shoves you down into a seat, and you open your mouth to protest when you’re suddenly pacified by the sweet taste on your tongue. slowly, you begin chewing, letting the confusion you feel be washed away by the quickly melting chocolate that fills you with a sense of appreciation.

“better?”

it’s reluctant, but you give the red haired boy a nod and a small smile, all which he returns with his familiar grin. “i set a timer for one minute,” he informs you, lifting his phone screen to show the seconds counting down from 50. his actions are carefree and relaxed, with his arm resting on the edge of the chair and one of his legs folded beneath him, red hair tousled and flopping over his forehead just like he wears it on campus. he’s attractive, you won’t deny, though you wouldn’t let yourself ever say it out loud. helplessly, you sigh, your shoulders dropping to release the tension from standing for so long and you lift a hand to sheepishly run over your neck as you avoid his gaze.

“fine…”

tendou’s smile widens as soon as you relent, a pleased hum leaves him as he further leans back into the chair. “so,” he begins on a cheerful tone, and your eyes curiously watch him as he opens conversation. “what’re your plans after you finish the course?”

a short moment passes you by where you glance away from him, eyes drifting to the pot on your worry. was it really okay to leave it alone? “uh,” you mutter out on your distracted tone before you center yourself. you take a deep breath and let it out on a soft puff that has your cheeks pushing out slightly before you give your answer. “i wanna open up a coffeeshop.”

“oh?” when you meet tendou’s gaze, there’s a spark of interest in them, a sheen of gold that lights vermillion red on the afternoon sun. it causes you to become self-conscious suddenly, your hands tangle together in your lap as you avert your eyes almost as quickly as they’d met his.

“yeah,” you affirm softly. “i’ve always thought that it’d be nice, you know? and i’d be able to relax in a place like that.”

another hum comes from the man next to you, a low sound that dwells on pondering as he takes in your response. “you do seem like the kind of person who would work in a coffeeshop.” he muses, and his word leaves your mind on pause as the alarm goes off, the soft ringing of a song you don’t know disrupting your thoughts and prompting you to stand up. however, there’s a hand on your shoulder that hurriedly pushes you down before you’re at your full height. “no,no—” tendou urges you, “i’ll do it, you just sit there and rest.”

you’re not given the chance to argue as he breezily saunters over to your stove, reaching for the spatula while humming that same song from his alarm. it’s not one you’ve heard before, and it’s another thing that leaves you curious as you watch him stir over the bubbling liquid. you notice the way he holds his hand at a weird angle that leaves his elbow jutting out, the way his tall frame has to hunch as if to see the contents better. doesn’t he wear glasses? you’re lost on the thought as you try and recall whether or not you’d seen him wear a pair before. when he turns back to you, his smile is wide and triumphant, a show of all teeth as he moves himself to the side and just barely tilts the pot with his free hand. “would’ja look at that?” he sings, a telling smugness to his tone as he looks at you. you have to lean over the island counter to see the white liquid has thickened considerably more than when you’d been stirring it. “told you to just let it sit for a while and it’d do it’s own thing!”

unable to help the smile that spreads across your lips, you huff and wave a hand across your face in dismissal, harmlessly rolling your eyes at him. “alright, no need to rub it in now,” you chide as he replaces the pot and skips over to your side, large steps that have him swinging his arms back and forth like an excited child. there’s no hiding the glee in his expression when he sits down again and immediately turns to face you, as if he was waiting for you to admit something. and maybe that’s what he was waiting for, but you’re still stubborn when it comes to him, so you only turn your eyes away from him and cross your arms with a false pout. “just set the timer again, will you?” you grumble, and you’re rewarded with laughter that rang as pure and innocent as the sound of trickling water. it leaves you stunned for a moment, echoes in your mind and finds a home inside your chest so that it plays back for you to hear. it’s a beautiful sound, you think; there’s a part of you that wants to hear more. it horrifies you.

“what about you?” you shake your head as you lean your elbows on top of the counter top, eyes focused on your fingers wrapping around one another rather than to meet vermillion red. the cool feeling of the marble does very little to ease the warmth coursing beneath your skin. “what’re your plans after finishing the course?”

tendou’s laughter dies down like the wind comes to a pause, where the leaves stop rustling on an easy rest as he sighs long and full, his chest rising with the action as he leans backward ever so slightly. “i was thinking of making chocolate,” he tells, tilting his head and lending his gaze to the scenery outside your window. it gives you the courage to look back at him, at the sight of his figure bathed in sunlight where the gold bounces off his skin like a gem. with his expression set on pensive and his eyes bearing a wandering glint, he looks nearly ethereal inside your kitchen, a picture of immortality that you’ve never bothered to look at before now. he glows under a melting light, the picture of him robs you of air and leaves you gasping, desperate for your blood to start flowing the way it had before.

it’s when his eyes find yours that you relearn how to breathe.

his gaze is half-lidded, touched by a visual of content that makes him look at peace, nearly drowsy as his hand supports the weight of his head. the smile on his lips is slight, the kind that quirks the corners of your lips and tells you a story of effortless charm.

“is there any particular reason?” you hate that your voice comes out weak, that it breaks on it’s departure and tumbles out of your lips like white feathers flutter from the sky. the onslaught of emotion leaves you reeling, your center of gravity cast from your body and you struggle to find your footing over uneven ground, all while he watches you, red eyes picking you apart and leaving bear to him the parts of yourself you’ve never seen. a boyish smile settles over his lips as he turns his head to fully face you, leaning forward ever so slightly, but it’s enough so that you’re once again able to taste peppermint on his breath. it washes over your skin like an autumn wind, leaves a chill that reminds you of the first signs of snow on the throws of a mid-summer’s heat.

“not really,” he confesses with a shrug, carefree and unbothered while he leaves you as the perfect image of flustered. his voice is low, like a whisper. it’s hushed, and you’re able to hear something of a sigh on his words that leaves you to wonder about the way the sunlight reflects off of pools of red, how the golden hue makes them appear like the butterscotch candies you’d snack on between classes. “i just… like sweet things.”

“oh.”

you’re reminded of the taste of caramel when you think of tendou. it comes as a surprise when you take the first bite into a chocolate bar, an unexpected drop of golden sweetness that makes you pause for, if only, just a second to properly let its flavour spread across your tongue. he’s the warmth of sunset that embraces your body, the feeling of the waves that brush against your toes, the sand that fills with water and wraps around your feet. you’re left on the shoreline to watch in awe as flames of orange and red dance on the ocean’s surface, where the blazes and embers of a passion unimaginable to your midnight moon leave traces of ethereal gold in its wake.

there’s a sudden thought that invades your mind, slow like molasses and just as bittersweet; you want to sink beneath those burning waters, to let them cover you from head to toe and consume all that you are. until your heart learns his melody and your body falls to his tune.

there’s a part of you that yearns after satori tendou, and the realization if it scares you.

you’re the first to look away when the timer sounds once more, your face burns and you purse your lips together while your hands tangle together on your lap. beside you, tendou arises wordlessly to saunter over to the pot, humming once more to the tune that continues to play from his phone. it doesn’t sound like a typical alarm, and it leaves you intrigued by it’s upbeat melody. “what song is that?” you curse the way your voice breaks, clearing your throat and hoping that he didn’t pick up on it. why were you suddenly becoming such a mess?

tendou answers you a bit distractedly while he tilts the pot from side to side, his head cocked in contemplation and his expression pensive. “it’s called circus,” he glances at you from over his shoulder and uses his free hand to gesture you forward before reaching for the pair of yellow, sunflower-themed muffins you left to sit close-by. “bring the chocolate for me, would’ja?” you meet him just as he’s moving your pot to sit on your counter, the plate of chopped up chocolate bits in your hand while he moves to the side to let you dump them into the mixture. “i found it on this playlist from youtube and i kinda got obsessed with it.”

you take in his words over the light-hearted melody that plays from his phone, enjoying the sound of it before it cuts off and sets to snooze since tendou hadn’t turned it off. it leaves you wanting to hear more, and you wish it would have played on for a little bit longer as you set the plate to the side. “can i look it up?” you ask; the thought that it was silly to ask for his permission rings in your head before you can stop it, and you feel your face heating up when he looks up from mixing the chocolate to you, his eyes alight with amusement and his smile teasing.

“go ahead,” he chuckles, giving his attention back to the pot after casually waving a hand in the air. “mind bringing me the setting tray?”

it doesn’t take you too long to open up the youtube app, your fingers typing in the name of the song before you pause and glance over to your partner. “is it the one by showmore?”

“yup!”

soon, the familiar intro bleeds into your kitchen space, filling up the absence of conversation between you and tendou as he bobs his head along to its sound. you’re left to lean against the counter, your hands folded beneath you while he pours out your chocolate mixture into the little cube shapes in the tray. what you feel is a comfort, a type of quiet happiness that calms your breath on the sound of drums and the piano that blends with the singer’s voice. “it sounds nice,” you mutter quietly, unable to help the way your head nods in time to the melody.

tendou shoots you an excited smile. “it does, right?? i’ve been listening to it nonstop ever since i found it.” his enthusiasm draws a laugh from you, a grin stretches across your face as you watch him sway side to side. it’s an adorable picture of him dancing and smiling so brightly, and when he looks up at you with excitement in his eyes, you feel your heart skip a beat.

“wanna dance?”

“huh?”

the question catches you off guard, leaves you to stare wide-eyed at his back as he pops the tray into the freezer before turning back to face you. his grin widens and becomes almost teasing when he sees your stunned expression. “c’mere!” he urges you with an eagerness, his hand waving you over.

“tendou, i—” you avert your gaze, feeling your skin warm up once more as you murmur your answer. “i can’t dance…”

he makes his way over to you in a sequence of movements you can’t hope to describe — it’s almost like a prance, where his steps are exaggerated and his shoulders lift up in a kind of rocking motion while he’s snapping his fingers to the beat. “that’s fine!” he grins at you just as he reaches out for your hand, pulls you to your feet and coaxes you from behind your island counter. “i can’t either!”

for a moment, you’re caught between amused and hopelessly confused while the man before you lifts your arms like wet spaghetti, letting him swing them between your bodies as if you were a puppet, and he the puppeteer. he’s beaming at you so widely that it’s almost ridiculous, but he seems so vivid and joyous while he maneuvers your limbs, and it causes broad laughter to bubble up from your chest as your body doubles over. it’s a pure, weightless type of laughter that leaves you, like the chiming of bells on the summer wind. it echoes over the music, and when tendou joins in with you, there arises between you both a new kind of song, whose story is found at the evening time when the world holds her breath. it’s a harmony that’s carefree, like the fall from an ocean cliff, like the breath that vanishes from your lungs and cries on laughter beneath the blue sky. it’s the feeling of your fears melting, and when your body finally plunges between those fireset waves, you’re wondering why you were scared in the first place.

“that’s it!!” the excitement in tendou’s voice is infectious, his smile as bright as the sun itself when your fingers intertwine with his and your body finally moves on its own. here begins a dance between you two where he pulls you in closer, and when you pull away, your hands remain intertwined. an irresistible force that you can’t help being drawn to, that spins you around his fingers and wraps you in his arms, all while eyes of the sweetest sunset promise you gold on your midnight sky. the feeling inside your chest is warm, sets through your body like a quiet buzz and it leaves you wanting more, so that the yearning you feel would only ever be satisfied by him.

your hand in his feels like a slow burning flame, and as the both of you are laughing with a song you create with each other, you realize that you’re no longer afraid of its heat.

taglist: @aiiishiiiteru @bootylikepeachy @tsumue @waitforitillwritemywayout @mixxfi @shnnn

send an ask to be added or removed!! (also pls lemme know if i’m forgetting anyone? i think i got you all but just in case)

#tendou satori x reader #tendou x reader #tendou x reader fluff #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x reader fluff #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu!! spoilers #haikyuu!! au event 💫

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clearwillow · 3 years

Note

Prove me wrong >.>

Hey @omgitscharlie You picked a fun one!

Prove Me Wrong is a bit of a stretch for me, cause it's a high school to college, enemies to friends to lovers AU (might as well add slowburn in if it wasn't obvious)

In this fic, Inuyasha and Kagome absolutely hate each other. There is no lingering looks or misunderstandings. Neither of them can stand the other person's face - which is hilarious because their parents are essentially BFFs.

Something happened when they were kids (still unsure of the details), but there were safety scissors, glue, glitter, and badly cut hair involved. Since then, they haven't been able to be left alone when they're forced to interact. Someone always ends up covered in something and the other is crying, if not both.

By middle school, Sango and Miroku enter as transfer students. Shippo's their age, and has been the middle man in that hell for years. He warns them that trying to get them to make nice equates to trying to push the postive ends of batteries together, but they won't listen. Ever. They're stupidly persistent.

Jump forward to high school senior year, and Kagome is failing Algebra 2. Badly. So badly that she's competing with herself to see how bad she can do. Until she learns that it's a required course to graduate - then it's shitting bricks mode. She puts out a call for a tutor on the school bulletin board, hoping that someone will have a heart to help her. Most responses were jokes just to find out who it was that was needing help, and she's about to give up....

.....so when Inuyasha shows up on her doorstep, she doesn't expect him to say that he's there to tutor her. He'd overheard from some of the football players that had been cracking jokes about it in the locker room. She's mortified, but when he starts to gloat that Miss Perfect ain't so perfect after all, she loses her patience. Tells him that she'd sooner fail and repeat the year than beg him for help, because she's dealt with enough crap from the rest of their peers that have "reached out" about her bulletin post.

Inuyasha offers an olive branch. If she'll consider helping him complete his literature paper (because he's missing the underlying meanings in the works), then he'll guarantee that she'll walk across the stage to get her diploma.

Tutoring is awkward at best. There's arguments. There's stomping off. There's reconciling. It's not easy. By the time the exams come around, they're barely tolerating each other.

By graduation, there's some semblance of respect between them, and the snide comments have lost some of their bite. Their friends are like "thank fuck we can trust them alone with cutlery now" but they wouldn't exactly say that InuKag are "friends".

Friendship doesn't begin building until their senior trip to the coast. Because yes - just like every anime out there - we gotta do a beach trip in the fic. Not sure at what point it switches to them being friendly to each other though.

Hints of attraction don't really kick in until freshmen year of college. Apparently they handled being roommates so well during the trip that they're roped into helping go in on rent on a place near campus. But you know - they're both so dumb, that they write off the attraction as just being near each other for long amounts of time outside of class. Figures the other doesn't see them that way/how could they after hating each other for so long.

And that's about what I've got. No idea for the end game of the fic, what it'd be rated, or much else beyond that up there...but I think it could be fun!

#I also hate that tumblr ate what I'd typed up #had to go in and retype it all again cause I misclicked T_T #omgitscharlie

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itssolonelyhere · 3 years

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Happy to hear your back and queen is cont. Will you ever update dreams of a monomaniac or is it discontinued for good? I rlly like princess of zho and beheader but they haven't been updated in years but ill still have hope. i read kingdom because i liked them so much. your a good writer so im okay with whatever you. have you considered sakura x re8? That would be interesting and your rlly good with crossovers. good luck and welcome back ⊂(￣▽￣)⊃

AHello, anon!!!

Thank you for the kind words and I'll try to answer the best I can. It really has been a long time since I updated my old-old work... Dreams of a Monomaniac, The Last Princess of Zhao, and The Beheader were all started in 2015, a few years after I moved to help take care of my sick father. Fanfic was like my little corner where I could just take a break and escape reality for just a bit. After he passed away at the end of 2016, I had a really hard time continuing my work. I was devastated and fell into a deep depression that seemed never-ending. I did maybe one or two updates over the course of four years and wasn't happy with them. I only did it out of guilt after seeing messages from readers who missed them. Those definitely weren't my best by any means...

My passion for writing came back at the beginning of 2020 when I rewatched TDK and decided to give it a go one more time. It wasn't my usual crack pairings or crossovers, but something new which excited me. I do honestly want to finish my old work. It's just hard because when I reread them, it reminds me of a painful time in my life that I don't want to think about. Not only that but my writing was crap and I feel the need to edit them to hell and back lol (they're all pretty long and it'll take forever). They will be picked back up someday... just when I'm emotionally and mentally ready to. That might not be the answer you were hoping for but I'd rather be honest than giving a specific time frame and you being disappointed if it doesn't happen. I do appreciate you enjoying them, being patient with my irregular schedule, and even reading the Kingdom manga, which is pretty time-consuming.

As for Sakura and Resident Evil 8? Consider me mind-blown 🤯. I spend way more time than should be allowed daydreaming and coming up with weird ideas but I really like this one. Since I read this ask, I have all these different scenarios swirling around in my head. There are a million updates I need to work on but this kind of slide-lined my thinking process and got me excited. A one-shot? A full-on fic? Slowburn? Who's POV? What kind of pairing? How would any of this even work? You messed up my day 😤lol (jk). I like the idea of possibly doing a Lady Sakura x Heisenberg fic (no clue what kind of ship name they'd have... HeisenSaku, KarlSaku, Heiku? 😵) and changing up some of the game's original story. Hidan would make a cool Lord too. Maybe I can do a crossover and include two additional Lords into the fray (Sakura and Hidan). We'll see where that goes, I guess... It's an interesting concept I could plan out for a future fic.

Sorry this is a bit long... Anyway, thanks a lot for sending this in and being interested in my work! I know it can be frustrating sometimes when a fic you enjoy is suddenly abandoned. I'm grateful for your patience and for hanging in there with me. Hopefully sometime soon I can finally finish what I started years ago 🙏. I also appreciate the story ideas and I'm more than willing to hear you out or answer any other question you might have. Oh, and that kaomoji is really cute. Sending lots of good vibes your way! 💖

#asks #anon #Thank you!#my writing #Sakura Haruno #my muse #ideas #fanfiction #crossover #updates #Resident Evil 8 #Karl Heisenberg #oh the possibilities #crack pairings #Naruto fandom #fun stuff

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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Wish fandoms had as much patience for slowburn recovery fics as they do slowburn romance.

Like, I’m reading this one where I have no issue with the actual story, but it involves Jason having more than understandable trust issues and there’s a lot of impatience in the comments for Jason to just believe Bruce wants to help him and blah blah blah cut to me tearing my hair out going loooooooool it doesn’t WORK like that. Trust issues that are a lifetime in the making often involve just as much time in the unmaking. This fandom’s obsession with Good Dad Bruce Wayne but so often at the expense of his kids not being free to be as fucked up and traumatized as they really are without this being seen as some kind of SLIGHT against Good Dad Bruce and all he’s done for them even in fics rather than canon....blah.

I’m half tempted to someday spite-write fic where Bruce literally does everything right by his kids and yet still is on the receiving end of their caution and wariness because that’s just how they ARE and that doesn’t make them BROKEN, it just means, life happened, and theirs’ happened in such a way as to mean they’re not necessarily ever all gonna be cuddle-bugs or sprinting up to him Father’s Day card in hand and tears of gratitude in their eyes and none of this says that Bruce didn’t actually do a good job with them or that his hypothetical-in-these-scenarios good parenting wasn’t exactly what they needed....its that either he brings his parental A game from Day One purely because its what they need and deserve and with ZERO expectations beyond that.....

Or guess what? Turns out its not actually about them and what they need or deserve.

Like, its about framing and prioritization, and the fact that sometimes, two characters can not share equally in the spotlight and priorities and that’s why fics that rely on the premise that Bruce and Dick, or Bruce and ANY of his kids, are so often somehow ‘equally at fault’ for estrangement just flat out don’t work for me, because the kids should not be equally anything with Bruce, because the one thing that DIDN’T happen each and every time Bruce took one of these traumatized, grieving, IN NEED kids in and vowed to be their guardian and/or parent.....was these kids making a similar vow to be and do everything their PARENT needed. (Don’t @ me about that dumb crime oath, not what I’m talking about here and you know it, lolol.)

Stop viewing parents and children as interchangable, especially in fics where the parenting is a CHOICE made by Bruce towards kids who literally needed him because they had next to NO other choices, and thus things like obligation and reciprocation and what about Bruce’s needs are at best uncomfortable, at worst......much worse than that.

Like, if the real important part to people is just reading fics where Bruce is just the best-est dad in the whole world and everyone understands and agrees with this, yes he is, yes he is.....like, damn, just write the dude getting a puppy.

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canonconspiracy · 4 years

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Preview: Frozen (Zuko x Fem!Reader)

Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender AND My Hero Academia Pairing(s): Zuko/Fem!Reader, Shoto/Fem!Reader AO3: @rmorningstar21 Aged Up AU: [Reader and Class 1-A are all in their 20′s, same with Zuko, Sokka, etc.] Warnings: Possible Mature Content coming, violence, slowburn, angst, under heavy editing Quirk: Natural Disaster AN: This is currently an AO3 exclusive, and will be moved under my wattpad account (rmorningstar21) once I get further in the editing process. Please read the first chapter’s information page for more information on my crossover.

As she struggled to take her first breaths in this new world, y/e/c orbs landed upon amber ones, adorning a scar on one side of the male's face. Struggling in her first moments, she could not help thinking, Shoto? as she stared into those eyes. Vision blurred at first, she blinked once more to allow it to form into her view. It couldn't be. Her hand, for a brisk, second movement struggled to touch the face of her savior, a careful thumb gently caressing the man's cheekbone as a smile made its way to her face.

She over-estimated the male's patience as he let a huff escape his lips, practically dropping the woman who had just woken up in this new world. "She's probably useless, Uncle," he muttered as he began walking away from her. "Clearly not the Avatar."

"She holds incredible power," an elder male countered quickly. "You don't know who or what she is."

Finally dropping the woman back upon the ice below, he crossed his arms as his lips tightened. "I don't believe the Avatar would be this naive," he spat coldly, walking away from the woman and towards the elder male. "Let's go."

"Even if she is not the Avatar," Iroh chided, walking over towards the woman who had still looked dumbfounded upon the ice, "She could be a valuable ally. We also can't just leave a woman in the middle of the ocean."

"What we need is to find the Avatar," the younger male countered shortly. "Not to take in some stray, Uncle."

The elder man moved into the woman's line of vision, a smile stretched across his wrinkled face. "Please excuse my nephew's manners," he said kindly, reaching a hand out for you to take. "What's your name?"

Y/N blinked for a moment before taking the man's hand, clearly noticing the red garms the male adorned. Y/e/c orbs simply stared before she finally parted her lips, her voice hoarse from being unused in so long. "Y/N," she said finally, her voice cracking as she spoke. "I was once known as Natural Disaster, but I'm sure the world has changed." Standing to her feet, her voice still cracked and hoarse, she shifted her vision from the kind elder man to the rest of the world, her y/e/c orbs widened at the scene before her. She could feel a set of salted tears attempt to well in her y/e/c eyes that she held back as she noticed the differences of this world alone. "The quirk war...it's over."

A large hand moved to the woman's back as the elder male guided the woman onto a ship, clearly a war ship, though it was a great deal different than anything she had ever seen. In a kind tone, he said, "Let's get you some jasmine tea. That should help with your throat. It cures all ailment- well, not entirely, but."

"How long was I frozen for?" She murmured, half to herself as she was led into the ship before her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she admired the wall scrolls showing the fire nation. Slender fingers trailed the symbol as she slowly made her way in. "What is this symbol?"

"She doesn't even know what the Fire Nation is?" The younger male voice called out with a scoff following as the two walked into the main room of the ship. "Talk about useless."

"Nation-," she started, her voice still hoarse, though shock was evident in her tone. "Are you saying that you both have a fire quirk? That there's a nation of fire quirks, just like Endeavor...or the cremation quirk of Dabi?"

The elder man held out a cup of tea for her to take, which she did with a silent thank you as she sat beside the male. Sipping it carefully, she listened to the elder man speak, her heart breaking more with every word that escaped his lips. Y/e/c orbs fixated upon another fire nation symbol she had found in the room.

"We are fire benders, yes," the elder male stated. "My nephew is Prince Zuko, and I am Iroh. What you're speaking of made the history books, but…"

"But?" She questioned, her y/e/c eyes glancing over to him with an eyebrow raised.

Iroh cleared his throat, an uncomfortable look against his features. "What you're talking about is not well known," he continued. "And dates back over a thousand years."

Y/N's face dropped at the male's words, though she sipped her tea more to hide it. The scratchiness in her throat began subsiding from the hot, calming liquid, though her heart felt constricted. "I see," she murmured. "Did anyone say who won the war?"

"It is unfortunately unknown," Iroh replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "At least, the history books didn't write that portion in."

Y/N found herself laughing, her hand moving to her face to cover her lips as she laughed. As it subsided, she spoke, "My purpose in this world was to protect those people, the heroes, the civilians, my family and friends. Everyone wished to create a better world, even the villains who simply had a different view. What I'm seeing now, it seems, is that we destroyed ours."

"You speak from the view of a soldier," the male she learned as Zuko said, his attention drawn back over to her. Amber orbs suddenly looked interested in her existence, be it just a tool in his own quest. "Maybe you can be an asset."

"An asset," she mused, before allowing a chuckle to escape her lips. It was that of a hollow chuckle, a woman who had lost everything in the span of a few moments. Someone hardened by war to not allow her tears to shed in the presence of people she was unsure of their trustworthiness, she nodded in reply. "Surely," she spoke with a shrug. "I create the elements, ie, Natural Disaster. The heroes would typically rely upon my abilities in the form of hurricanes, but my abilities range to wildfire, tornado, flood, and earthquake as well."

"Uncle, are you sure this isn't the Avatar?" Zuko directed towards the elder man who sat beside her, his visible eyebrow cocked at the male.

Iroh nodded solemnly. "The Avatar has only been missing for one hundred years," he stated dully. "This woman has been frozen for at least a thousand."

"I'm willing to do anything that provides a service to you two," she finally said, her y/e/c orbs shifting between the two. "You two freed me, and everyone I loved is long passed. I'm indebted to the two of you."

As amber orbs met her y/e/c gaze, she could almost see the bit of pity that flickered in them. "Very well," Zuko replied dully. "If anyone asks, you're simply a fire bender. Uncle, find her a uniform."

"Understood," she replied with a soft smile, one that held back all the pain choking at her heart. After all, she knew she was indebted to the two males that made up the room. As someone who would have been considered significantly different from this time period, she was not inept to the idea of being used for the wrong reasons. Though she could not trust the males yet, she had no other options.

#crossover AU #reader insert #my hero academia #bnha heroes #BNHA au #zuko x reader #shoto x reader #shoto todoroki #atla iroh #atla #atla fandom #atla zuko #slow burn #AO3 stuff #ao3 author #ao3feed #ao3fic

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deer-hearted · 4 years

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My Reader OC

SO as I decided to post here my Pyre drawings too, I found out that they mostly feature my own version of the Reader, and. Well. Maybe someone would want an explanation of what exactly she is??

Warning: a fuckton of text. I roleplayed as her a lot, and thus have a whole bunch of thoughts and headcanons.

So here she is, my Reader OC!

She's a young human female (she/her), and her name is Agnia ("pure", "holy", a name close to Agnes). She's born under the sign of Geminian ("Star of the First Empress. Those born under it seek knowledge and new experiences.") and has a wit almost as keen as she herself is stubborn.

She has a very unhealthy pale skin, magenta hair (braided first, then cut to a shoulder-length) and light-green eyes. She’s not very feminine and can’t be considered beautiful by most people, as she has quite special facial traits. And most of the time she has either tired or a judging look. She likes to wear loose comfortable clothing and rarely accesorises.

Biography: crippled scholar. She has a very rare marble bone disease (osteopetrosis) which is inborn and has resulted in anemia and thoracic scoliosis (right shoulder is higher than the left). Due to this fact she was a stranger to other kids in her childhood, as she couldn't play with them, she grew up pretty lonely but also attached to her parents and self-sufficient. She studied the world with the help of the books she inherited from her father and through her own experiments she conducted at home. When she was banished to the Downside, she broke her leg and had some more injuries and wasn't able to walk at first, but has recovered well since. And also I hc that all Readers experience mild headaches from time to time due to their expanding psychic abilities, but in her case they become severe migraines.

The reason for participation in Rites: she just wants to free her friends. Actually, as she didn't have friends or even close pals back in the Commonwealth, the Nightwings became her first and only friends, as well as other people Nightwings are friends with (the Fate, for example). She was kinda aloof at first, but the first trio (Hedwyn, Rukey and Jodi) has shown her kindness and she took faith in them. The only person she doesn't like is Volfred, because she sees him as the intruder in her "family", and as he's stiff with her, she's stiff with him back and doesn't really approve and/or want to participate in his revolution schemes. She also is quite neutral to Archjustice, though she finds him rather annoying and arrogant, and has a stable mutual respectful relationship with Oralech.

What she would want to do if she was free? She'd want to travel the world as much as possible and uncover every single one of its secrets. And she'd also like to attend a college, or maybe just a simple real school (she's self-taught, so she doesn't know what it's like). But she never got any of that. Nightwings lost to True Nightwings in the Liberation Rite, and when she called Oralech on a tet-a-tet talk to ease his relationship with Volfred and Nightwings (and because she liked him) he decided to throw his freedom on her - and she threw it back angrily. So Oralech returned to Commonwealth and she stayed. And when everybody decided to finally part ways, she stayed with Bertruda as an apprentice so she finally would be able to actually learn from her, study the special properties of the Downside and learn how to make talismans. She also tries to study Downside's night sky and create a star chart with predictions of when will the next cycle of Rites begin and how long will it be. Surely, as she stays, her anatomy changes into one of a demon, but it surprisingly eases her pain and her state and actually allows her to become healthier and live longer (but will her life be really happy or miserable? who knows).

Personality: she's a proud one, a smart one, and she also doesn't like it when others offer her a special treatment by any means (even if it's just because they care or like her a lot, she suspects that the cause is her disability). She likes to think that she can do everything by herself and is slowly learning the ways of teamwork. She also has a great deal of patience, but can snap at you pretty hard when she can't bear it anymore. It's pretty hard for her to relax because she's used to thinking that the world's all hard work and no play, and she prefers reading to any merrier activity, and humour is kind of an alien thing for her, but she's getting to it too, though she's still pretty introverted.

She takes the idea of someone being in position high enough to evaluate others and judge them quite painfully due to her own condition and other judging her her whole life (which made her an excile one day, duh). So she doesn't like to think of her as of the Leader of the Nightwings, more of a friendly advisor. So when the Rites are over, she silently blames herself for not being able to liberate everybody - and thus for making wrong choices. She has a horrible panic attack when she discovers she's probably supposed to become the next Archjustice and has repeating nightmares since. This is the one and only time she egoistically truly wants the Volfred's Plan to succeed. And, well, she's glad it did.

Love life: with all that she finds a soulmate in Oralech, a union that is pretty harsh in the beginning (though she never thinks of him badly even after his boldest of moves) but gets better at the end. They didn't talk much during the course of the game, but I believe they have a great mutual respect and are very polite and attentive to each other if they happen to have a short conversation before or after the Rites. When Oralech's gone, she realises that she actually likes him and would be glad to talk to him again sometime (at least). So they establish a connection through mail and send a ton of potentially love letters to each other when Oralech excels his writing skills. He even suggests to descend to the Downside to join her at some point, but she gets angry and tells him to embrace his freedom and that if he ever tries to do this she won't ever want to talk to him or see him again. And she means that.

( I like this pairing with my own life and got my girlfriend to roleplay it with me. Together we did a great job at writing some slowburn AU where both Oralech and the Reader unexpectedly find themselves in another universe after they parted ways. Together they explore the strange half-fantasy, half-scifi world, temporarily become pirates, servants to local gods and whatnot. And started a relationship, obviously. )

Also her favourite flower is magnolia (she saw the trees growing on the embankment and liked them a lot but never got close enough) and her favourite food is jam-stuffed buns (they were too expensive for her or her poor enough family to buy on a regular basis, but she enjoyed them nevertheless). :>

#pyre #the reader #my oc #she's the first female oc i made in years myself being non-binary #the previous one was for reborn oc fanfic i wrote with friends lmao #my art #oralech #nightwings #old art #fawn writes

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babbushka · 3 years

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Hi,Z ✨from the 40 questions for fic writers would you please answer if you’d like of course #4,7,8,15,&16 ☺️

Hello my dear anon! Thank you so much for asking :)

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Oh my gosh in terms of chaptered fics, 9 or 10, I think! Lol. I have lots of plans for the new year, and I can’t wait to get cracking on some of them. There’s a lot of fun in just thinking about and daydreaming about the ideas though, so even if 1 or 2 of those actually turn into something, I’m still grateful for the time to mull over new AUs or ideas.

Currently the one that’s on my mind is Beyond Reasonable Doubt, which will be a Lawyer!Kylo AU chaptered fic in which Kylo is wrongfully accused of murder and needs you to represent him. Classic slowburn, enemies to friends to lovers, murder mystery court-room drama, lol.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

For this question I’m going to choose this scene from Each Eye, my Mob!Kylo Ren x Reader fic:

You were hunting, hunting him down. On your way to rip him apart limb from limb, on your way to gouge out his eyes and yank his heart straight out of his throat.

Snoke.

The man who had ordered your beloved to kill his father, which he had done! Which he had done so well, so deservingly – it hadn’t been enough. Not enough for Snoke, not enough for him who lured him into a trap for his sister to strike him down. The wretched old man, the monster who had taken your Kylo away from you, who had warped and twisted him into a puppet who had to obey.

Well, he didn’t have to obey any longer, not anymore.

Kylo was passed out, blacked out in your bed. You had found him had saved him, had sewn the chasm of his face back together with ugly fucked up stitches because you didn’t know how to do any better, you didn’t know. You had never done anything like this before, had never even seen it done. Nothing but sheer force and willpower had pushed your fingers forward, nothing but blind determination and fear had given you any sense of calm.

Were you calm?

For context, this story is about how Kylo Ren deals with the apparent news of a traitor within his family of organized crime moguls. The entire fic is shadowed by a sense of underlying tension between literally every character (other than Kylo) and you, but for the majority of the story there isn’t a clear reason why. The paragraphs above are the beginning of that why.

I’m proud of this whole setup because really it’s something that is set up through the entire story leading to this point. There’s a curiosity there -- why does everyone fear her? Why does everyone blindly respect her? Even Kylo submits to her, and he doesn’t submit to anyone.

Well, in the scenes that follow, you find out exactly why. It also unveils another layer to her character that we don’t see in the present. In the present, she is perfectly put together. In the flashback, she is absolutely unhinged, and that is a sort of simmering dichotomy that everyone in the story -- and now at this point, the audience -- knows can flip at any moment.

She is capable of sheer brutality, and you see that firsthand.

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

You know what I’m also going to choose a scene from Each Eye for this question lol, which as a matter of fact follows shortly after the scene mentioned above:

“Do you remember? Remember what I did to him?” You asked softly, removing the napkin from your lap, folding it and placing it on the table. You knew there was one last course coming, some sort of ice cream, but you didn’t care.

You wanted to go home, you needed to plan.

“Yes.” Rey said, voice barely above a whisper, because she did – she was there.

“Remember how I spared you?” You asked, snapping your finger and drawing her attention so that she could look at you, so that you could look at her, really look at her.

“Yes.” Rey answered, terrified.

You were no longer all smiles, all warmth. You were no longer sunshine and charm as you had been, as you tried to always be. No, no now you were angry, now you were impatient, now you were offended. Your eyes were cold and hard when you regarded her, when you bore your gaze into hers as you leaned in ever so slightly, leaned in just enough to make her lean in too.

“I’m starting to regret that.” You whispered, before pulling away.

The waiter arrived then with the ice creams, and you returned to your normally cheerful disposition, checking your phone and collecting your belongings.

“Shit, would you look at the time!” You laughed breezily, apologetically to the waiter. “I need to get going, Kylo will be expecting me back home soon. You know how he gets if he’s away from me for too long.” You said to Rey, who was stunned.

“Of course.” She said, mind racing, pulse jumping.

The waiter nodded, handed the ice creams off to someone else passing by so they wouldn’t melt, no use in wasting them on people who wouldn’t eat it.

You eyed the little piece of newspaper that was still on the table, and picked it up.

“Oh, would you mind holding onto this for me? He doesn’t like it when I fill in the puzzle without him, gets all sour.” You winked, folding it up and handing it to Rey.

“Did you finish it?” Her voice shook as she accepted the paper.

“No, there’s one left, I was hoping you could solve it.” You smiled warmly, standing up and putting on your coat, “It’s got me stumped I’m afraid. Forty-two across.”

There’s a lot of dialogue in the Tea Room scenes, because there’s a lot of unspoken truths being revealed. But I like this moment a lot, because it’s the moment that Rey realizes she is completely and totally fucked. It’s the moment where, without saying anything at all, you tell her that you know what she’s done, what she’s doing.

It’s also an example of that switch I mentioned above being flipped, how thin the layer of her patience is. It was all in all, just such a fun scene to write, that whole tea moment.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

This is such a fun question!! For those who may not know, I’m actually a spec screenwriter, and I use many of my chaptered fics as the base/starting point for some screenplays. So do keep an eye out, because there’s actually quite a few in the process of being tweaked and adapted into scripts.

But to pick just one for this question, the answer is definitely Two Doves, a Flip Zimmerman/Reader fic I wrote which gives us a glimpse of Flip’s time in Vietnam.

There are so many movies about the war in Vietnam, but in the updated for-screen version of Two Doves, that movie is more about veterans grappling with death and grief, humanity, morality, and what it means to be human. It’s very much an anti-war film that talks about the treatment of veterans after the war and how that’s a parallel to the treatment of vets today, as well as a commentary on the imperial militant industrial complex that has such a grasp on our country.

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Oh hands down Flip & His Darling Jewish Wife. I just have so much invested in that version of Flip, and there’s so so much that I could write about with them. Probably because that AU is also the personal AU put into prose lol, but idk. I’m just always very interested in seeing where they go, and how they handle the things life throws at them.

#<333 #thank you!#lol these are long im sorry #Anonymous #cowboy answers

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fonulyn · 4 years

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was tagged by @sparkie96! :3

Bold your Fav Tropes: (and i cheated lol it only wanted me to pick but i am incapable of shutting up much like krauser so i babbled :’D)

slowburn or love at first sight | this is a lil tricky bc if it’s too slow burn i lose patience :’D and I do like “very intense interest at first sight” lmao

fake dating or secret dating | fake dating has its potential I enjoy it too but secret dating hits closer to my heart

enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers | maybe i’m too strict in my definition of enemies lol. i do like “mildly antagonistic” to lovers tho :’D

oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance correspondence | ONLY ONE BED OH NO ALWAYS ANYTIME

hurt/comfort or amnesia | amnesia can be a good trope but i’m not super into it and h/c just has more room for a lot of things~

fantasy au or modern au | neither tbh, modern au doesn’t rly apply to this fandom lmao and as much as I love fantasy as a genre i rarely am very into it fic-wise

mutual pining or domestic bliss | both? but all the domesticity. all of it

smut or fluff | again both, at the same time, that is how i roll 8)

canon-compliant or fix-it | PIERS. NIVANS. LIVES. fuck you capcom.

reincarnation or character death | neither tbh. if I really have to pick then i guess character death

one-shot or multi chapter | depends on the story always, both are good, both have their merits, but i guess i usually tend to gravitate more towards oneshots

kid fic or road trip fic | I’ve always wanted to do a roadtrip fic?? why haven’t I???

arranged marriage or accidental marriage | I’ve also always wanted to do an accidental marriage fic :’D arranged marriage doesn’t feel like it applies to my fandoms rn tbh

high school romance or middle aged romance | give me old tired men over teenagers anytime. i get the appeal of first love and all, but i am old and tired lol

time travel or isolated together | i kinda wanna do smth with time travel tbh but isolated together is very me, i always tend to avoid having too many characters bc i suck at handling more than two at once

neighbours or roommates | neither is a big fave tbh

sci-fi au or magic au | isn’t RE sort of scifi to begin with? :’D

body swap or genderbend | bodyswap fic could be fun to write one day

angst or crack | I love angst as long as there’s a happy ending, if it’s a sad ending then pls don’t bother :’D crack-ish stuff is so much fun to write tho!

apocalyptic or mundane | idek again RE is sort of apocalyptic in a way anyway, when canon is so bad i rather want them folding friggin’ laundry together in fics

Unrequited Love or Lovers death | neither tbh. but I already did death and it’s maybe the fic I’m most proud of so 8)

omegaverse or child adoption | adoption, anytime. i’m not into abo at all.

I tag @tatsueli @lovelyleons @queen-kerosene @sfjessii and idk anyone who feels like doing it? :D seriously feel tagged if you want!!

#meme thingy #this was fun tbh #lol sorry i babble

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tachinanabananase · 5 years

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makoharu fic rec list? 🙏

Oh gosh, where do I even begin with this!! So many fics I love, and sooooo many amazing authors, some who I’ve even been lucky enough to become friends with! I’ll do my best to include as many as possible and that I remember (it’s been a while since I went through my favorite fics, and I’ve read so many that keeping track is difficult. Like you really have no idea. there’s 24 pages of history in my AO3 account, and that doesn’t include one’s I’ve read while not logged in. So you can imagine, it’s hard to separate them all in memory).

But first, a few quick things:

1. These are in NO particular order, just as I found them in my history :)

2. Sorry this took me so long to answer, I got caught up re-reading a few of them while I was trying to refresh my memory...

3. Don’t be surprised most of them are NSFW. I tend to filter my fics specifically looking for it because I’m a shameless hoe so sue me

4. My descriptions are super unhelpful and mostly just my thoughts about the fic but not actually a summary of it. I recommend reading the summaries and tags as they’re listed on AO3 for more details and sensitive content warnings!

Here we go!

(NSFW)

Frenzied by Thesis - I always always ALWAYS recommend this fic. It’s one of those ones I still go back to and read sometimes. It’s wonderfully suspenseful, so angsty and full of delicious smut and has a happy ending, so like, what’s not to like? 1000% a favorite fic of mine.

Dead Reckoning by furiosity - lol my AO3 history says I visited this fic 55 times if that doesn’t say how much I love it I don’t know what else will

I drove all night (to get to you) by maybeillride - This one is short, but I really like the way it reads, it has a great flow and overall the tone is just super captivating. The dirty stuff is brief at the end but it’s just descriptive enough to get you all warm and tingly inside :))))

Winter in the City by relativestranger - This fic. I followed its updates religiously and the chapter titles are a gem. I really enjoy how this author takes the time to create a world and really paint the picture of each scene, plus I love college AUs that don’t try too hard to overdo anything. Also, slowburn is the key to my heart

Coral and Bone by @macbetha - Okay sorry if this one is obvious but Macbetha is a fic writing god in this fandom and honestly, I like this one of theirs best. Talk about mermaid AUs. Very immersive, well written as usual. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had the chance to read the last few chapters, but I’m sure they’re just as good as the rest of it.

tomorrow, you might love me by nezumiprefersdanielleovershakespeare - Alrighty so I didn’t remember what this one was and I reread it and wow holy shhhiiiiiiiit this is something else. Mostly canon compliant with their high school storyline and domestic af. Plus the way this author writes is so captivating and also very Haru, it’s like spot on. Gives you the major feels, some healthy angst, and of course a wonderfully happy ending.

Just Friends by FruitsOfPassion- if you know me and read my fics, you KNOW this is my kind of fic. Sloppy drunk mistake hookups that lead to lots of miscommunication and angst before they both realize they’re in love with each other. Also if I remember correctly, this one is v dirty ;)

Touch Me by Gemmiel - okay there are so many good fics in this one series alone so I just recommend reading them all. The author is 10000000000%%% and there’s a really nice balance of smut and fluff and everything in between. Honestly just read everything by them it’s worth it!

connotation by magicianprince - this freaking fic. This is the fic that deadass inspired me to write my whole Hot for Teacher series. I have no other words, it holds a special place in my heart because of that :)

Can You See Me? by choking_on_roses (orphan_account) - another fic that heavily inspired me. I love Rockband AUs with all the glam and drama and of course, angst. Once again, fair warning this one is unfinished and I’m pretty sure abandoned (I know, I’m still sad about it too), but it’s a damn good read still.

Had we but world enough, and time by anditwasstinky (thewicked) - Mermaid au, hella long and an emo rollercoaster ENJOY

His Camera by LensMind - Makoto has a very dirty secret, and Haru happens to find out and simply cannot get enough of it. Very much a guilty pleasure fic, sooo juicy and the actual epitome of sexual tension and just ugh. I’d definitely consider it a favorite of mine...

Take Me Home by otp_tears - This one is really cool. A bit of sci-fi, memory loss, and a hell of a lot of angst. Basically Haru’s consciousness is transferred to a new body after he “dies” from an illness, and he has to deal with remembering who he is and his relationships while Makoto has to deal with separating the Haru he knew from the Haru he is now. It’s very sad but also a super interesting concept, the author did a good job tackling a difficult fic like this!

2/13189000 by tothemoon - this fic is the ultimate rec. I see it in everyone’s posts, but i can’t NOT recommend it because it’s amazing. So there you go enough said just read it k thxbye

Finger Slip by thoughtless_dreamer - phone sex fic ENOUGH SAID

safe landing by heinsou - I found this on my fic-rec tag on my blog. It’s the way that the fireworks scene SHOULD have gone. Emotional rollercoaster but wow soooo worth it because this author makes you feel shit real good

(SFW)

A Kingdom For You and Me by @datheetjoella - I have an unending amount of loving words for this fic and this author. Joella has been a fic writing inspiration for me for I don’t even know how long. I can pick out her writing style without even looking at this point. She’s incredible, and has written plenty for than just this fic which I also HIGHLY recommend (and not just because one of them is a special gift for me :3)

Me Too by Flightless_Bird - Ohh ho ho I remember the first time I read this, it gave me major goosebumps. Basically Makoto shows up for one of Haru’s swim meets and there is hella sexual tension right before Haru’s race It’s one of those fics that makes you wish there was a 10,000 word sequel for... other things...

Between the Raindrops by westgate - Makoto is home alone during a rainstorm and Haru is his knight in shining armour! I’m weak for protective Haru and first kiss fics, and this one is certainly a gem.

The Voltage of Our Heartbeats by @datheetjoella - another Joella fic (not surprising lmao) but this one really gets me because coincidentally, her and I were both working on power-outage fics at the same time when she wrote this. I really loved hers though, so I couldn’t resist putting this one down too hehe

Okay I’m running out of patience and quickly realizing theres so many fics I love I could work on this ask for days so here’s a second Fic Rec post I made a while ago with some repeats and a few others that are definitely worth a mention. It might be more helpful too because when I made it I actually was currently reading some of them or remembered a lot of them better.

I hope this is some sufficient reading material for you, anon! And please don’t forget to check out the fics of yours truly as well hehe

#asks #fic rec #makoharu #tachibana makoto #nanase haruka #harumako #free!#fanfiction #fanfiction recommendation #i wish i knew everyone's tumblr alias so I could tag them all #but that's a lot of work #so hopefully this is helpful #i'm assuming it will be at least a little #because that's a lot of fics lol #and I didn't even get through them all #I might add more later #when i'm less overwhelmed #thanks for the ask!

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comicteaparty · 4 years

Text

February 26th-March 3rd, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from February 26th, 2020 to March 3rd, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What generally makes the pacing of a comic too fast or too slow for you?

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

My favourite comic style are those large sized, panel and dialogue heavy European comic books, line Blacksad and Asterix. Since every 80 page book tells a complete story, every page is progressing the plot significantly, and the whole thing is pretty compressed and the rate splash page has an impact you don’t get in a more lose, decompressed comic. I love that kind of stuff and I look for similiar pacing in webcomics - heavier on the dialogue but without choking the art, low on wordless scenes (they tend to make me skim), taut and tight story-telling, every page asks and answers a question. I know it‘s a matter of taste and got told more than once that I am too dumb for comics because I don‘t have the patience to read through six pages of wordless, plotless mood-setting; but eh - that kind of stuff just doesn‘t work for me. I firmly believe comic‘s big enough a field that mood pieces and tightly plotted stuff can happily co-exist and find their own readership. I‘m just gonna be in the „plot, all the time!“ corner.

sagaholmgaard

The a comic starts focusing on minor characters that don't hold much importance for the plot I'll find it to be wayy too drawn out. While One-Punch Man is one of my favorite comics, some fights are pretty unimportant for the overarching plot, focusing only on random small-fry heroes fighting random small-fry monsters and it's just... a million action panels for be too read through while waiting for the main cast to return (this turned out to be pretty specific, oops!)

Ash🦀

Honestly, coming from a writing/literature background, I feel that most comics are too fast-paced for me;; I love the slow build up, it makes everything much more rewarding at the end, and the mood-setting that just lets you breathe and stare at the page, yes, a thousand times yes. I guess this is why I don’t like reading or writing actions scenes... so fast-paced and they feel more like “this is action for interesting action and the hero needs exp and not because it’s a necessary battle” ;; but this is more of a personal preference than anything, and... yeah, I definitely blame the books I used to read xD

Capitania do Azar

I'm a little confused with the filler concept introduced here, given that most webcomics are made by individuals (not teams)... What would they even be filling for? I think it's fair to talk about less interesting b-plots or when the scenes are focused on characters we don't like as much, but I would hardly call anything a single artist decided it was worth enough to spend hours drawing by their volition "filler"

As for the pacing question, it is sometimes hard to combine the two facets of webcomics: that they're published on a page-to-page basis but they are often read in bulk, when digging through archives. I don't know if it's possible to find the perfect balance between these two, which makes it possible to think that certain scenes are too slow (oh no, we've been at this wedding for three months now!) but when read in the archive are suddenly too fast... I think breathing room is necessary every now and then, even for faster-paced comics.

RebelVampire

I think you need to consider that just because an artist doesn't see something as filler, doesn't mean readers won't. I've known a lot of comics where the creator created a scene that they loved, but in the bigger scheme of things it served absolutely no purpose to the plot and felt super out of place

So while the filler wasn't intentional as a "I need filler", to the readers it comes off as filler

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

I like long paced, slow- burn type stories where there is an obvious carefully crafted plot with each stitch placed intentionally for a bigger reveal and payoff. Much how i like any relationship shown in stories, i love it when an author almost makes readers work for that payoff. It makes the re-read value go way up, and to catch on to the subtle nuances of plot reveal on the second or third go at the story is very rewarding both as a writer and reader!

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

You can easily have slow burn relationships in a faster paced comic. I actually like that better, because that usually requires the characters to have actions and interests outside of the relationship of interest, which leads to more well rounded characters.

A good example is the novel Clockwork Boys and it‘s follow up - slowburn romance, and while the characters figured THAT one out, they solved a huge mystery.

renieplayerone

Im a big fan of stories that are able to turn the pacing up to 11 on a dime without it getting old or lowering the stakes at all. It takes such talent to be able to tell compelling stories with high flying action at the same time, so I appreciate anyone that can manage that balance

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

My personal approach to writing pacing is that each page has to do at least two of three: further the plot, introduce/deepen story-relevant world building, deepen the characterisation. I aim for all three at once; if there‘s only two, there better be a good reason to keep that scene around, if there‘s only one, it gets cut and/or merged with another one. Eg. I have a scene where the character cook (food‘s relevant because there‘s a famine) and a scene where they argue about their plans, those can easily be combined.

Some scenes are still slower or faster than others, but they all matter to the story.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Def agree with Renie on that point too!

Ash🦀

Chalcara makes a good point too, and it’s something I definitely try to keep in mind in my own pages. I try to answer a question and ask another with my pages and pull as much double duty as I can wrench out of it. Now, whether I succeed every time? Absolutely not. But this is a good reminder when I’m going back to edit issue 3- keep the push and pull of questions and answers in mind.

RebelVampire

Ok so at this point I do want to jump in and remind people that as per Rule #1, this chat should mostly be about your experiences as a reader vs. your experiences as a creator. So just want to make sure the convo doesn't delve too far into that realm.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

My answer to this question is very much based on specific situations in comics. Pacing is SUCH a complex thing, and it's not always easy to see the impact in the grand scheme of things. To make a story seem too slow to me, a few things have to happen: the pages/ panels don't further the plot, don't deepen the characters/world-building, or the tension remains consistent for too long. Coming from a theatre background, I sometimes like to refer to this idea as beats. I focus a lot on the importance of every line having purpose. If a character says something, and it doesn't add anything to the experience, then perhaps the dialogue shouldn't be there at all. Or if a panel without dialogue doesn't add anything to the reader experience, the same thing applies. There should be no wasted space. Honestly, I am kind of a sucker for slow build-up (as long as there is actually build-up at all). So I'm not against slow-burn stories. To me, slow-burn shouldn't feel like it's dragging along, or like "nothing is happening," which is a common trap stories fall into. But we as readers need to see those slow moments in order to understand the fast moments too. Which brings me onto pacing that is too fast... Honestly, this is a much bigger problem to me personally. There is this influx in fiction of wanting to have the quickest jump into the action at the beginning of the story, and it always makes me want to stop reading. If the writer doesn't want to have ANY exposition at all or introduce the characters in any meaningful way, how am I as a reader going to give a shit about the characters? That's pretty much an instant story-killer to me. I don't mind if characters are introduced as we go, but completely glossing over them in favor of the biggest explosions never keeps my attention. All in all, I read comics (and fiction in general) for the human experience (which doesn't mean that your characters must be human, lol, fantasy and sci-fi writers).

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa] Thank you for mentioning that comics are big enough to accommodate all kinds of tastes. What I find to be too fast might be just right or even too slow for another person, and honestly, it's all valid.

FeatheryJustice

I like a coherent story. It doesn't matter if it is slow paced because I get to absorb the information. I don't mind if it is fast paced as long as I can understand it. If the story itself doesn't make sense because you want a slow paced story with weird inserts in the middle, you have lost me. If your story is too fast to the point of skipping scenes and details you lost me.

spacerocketbunny

I love slow building stories with larger payoff. Making sure that characters are fleshed out and given the chance to breathe while still facilitating the plot is a tricky thing to pull off but I've definitely seen it happen in comics like Shaderunners, TINF and Tiger Tiger for example. Shaderunners does an incredible job of showing a multifaceted inner conflict with characters while never missing a beat with super fun and high stake heists. TINF is one of my favourite romance stories that carefully builds up and constructs the characters and their feelings for each other while still maintaining that significant information on every page. Tiger Tiger is a slower paced story but keeps me on the edge of my seat every update. Petra utilizes space beautifully and I never feel like there's a need for condensing on pages. I boost these comics a lot but I personally find that pacing is a huge factor in my enjoyment for a comic, and I love these ones so much bc they suit my preference quite well!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There was a Korean professional webcomic (on Naver, though I don't think it ever got officially brought over to Webtoons) that I read, that had this interesting situation: seemingly fast pacing, very high tension, yet slow. It was a thriller that pitted a serial killer against the surviving wife of his latest victim. Once she got an inkling who the killer was, the tension skyrocketed, and it was a big game of chase. Problem was the chase part. It LOOKED fast paced if you just looked at like, one chapter of it. But they kept repeating the same scenario, just flavored differently. It was a rinse-and-repeat of this: "the wife found a new evidence; now everyone will believe her!" "oh no, the killer is about to catch her!" "the new evidence is lost" "wife finds another new evidence" etc. (It's been a while and my memory may not be accurate, but the idea is there) Nothing really changed throughout the repeated cycles. So yeah, repetition can be a problem.

Capitania do Azar

Haha, @keii’ii (Heart of Keol) I understand your frustration, but I feel like that kind of story is just aimed at a different audience... It almost feels like watching an episodic Tv show where everything has to come back to the starting point by the end of each episode

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That is certainly a type with its own audience. Though if that's what they were going for, they probably could've benefitted from a different way of starting the story so readers would've known what they were in for. And there were lots of things that really felt like could have gone somewhere, but never did.

Hmm, I guess that's another thing that could affect how pacing is perceived: loose threads?

RebelVampire

IDK I think there's a difference between something being episodic and something being annoyingly repetitious. For example, Detective Conan is arguably episodic. Each situation in the larger scheme of things is largely the same: Crime happens -> There are red herrings and twists -> Conan solves it. As a mystery comic, it's never gonna deviate from that formula. But if literally every crime had the basic same plot flow, like if the red herrings and twists were the same everytime, then it ceases to be episodic and just becomes bland and repetitive.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

OH and speaking of Korean webcomics, I wanna talk about a pacing-related concept that gets brought up a lot in their comment sections: yam vs sprite (they call it "cider" bu they really mean sprite/ 7-up). Baked yam is a common wintertime treat. It fills you up, it's delicious. But it's notorious for making you thirsty. It kind of clogs up & dries up your throat. Whereas sprite is a thirst quencher. So, the idea is you can't eat yams forever. You need sprite to balance it out. Yams are a metaphor for frustrating build-ups. There is a sense that you (and/or the protagonist) are being wronged. e.g. It's a sports comic, and the leader of the opposing team keeps trash talking, even cheats and gets away with it. Sprite is a metaphor for satisfaction. In the same sports comic example, the arrogant, cheating leader finally gets what they deserve. Most stories need its share of yams. But if the yam portion of the story goes on for too long, the comment section will be filled with "where's my sprite!!!" "I feel like I ate 1,000 yams and now REALLY need some sprite" etc.

spacerocketbunny

Ahh that's an interesting concept!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There are certainly stories that are big piles of yams by design. But I think when done well, readers who like a lot of sprite can tell what it is, and walk away pretty early on. So those comics attract readers who are into piles of yams.

(Of course, there's always gonna be That One Person who walks into a yam party and loudly demands a 5-gallon bottle of sprite... )

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

In that case, I definitely avoid yams! No matter how much I love a character or cast, I tend to go crazy if we stay in one location too long, or in one slow storyline for too many pages, or if I find myself going "COME ON, DO IT, DO THE THING, WE KNOW YOU'RE GONNA." To me, something new should happen on every page, even if it's a tiny plot progression or a tidbit of character info. I very much appreciate when a story takes time to breathe - and I find it's those quiet, cute, or slightly-unnecessary moments that are most memorable when I think of a comic - but too much of that will make me fidgety. I really need alternating paces to be happy.

kayotics

I think for me, it’s easier for a comic to go too slow than too fast. I’ve definitely seen comics go too fast, but the slow pace is more frustrating for me. What makes a comic slow for me are a few things: too MUCH focus on atmosphere (like multiple hand shots that don’t have dialogue), repeated events, too much buildup for an event, and the last thing is technical ability (like speech bubbles that are too large or in vertical scroll comics the panels being way too far apart). I’m pretty ok with letting things breathe, and I actually love that, but I need something to keep my interest, and those things above don’t do it.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't think yams are about repetition, though it can certainly involve repetition. It could be a new level of frustration on every page, revealing something new about the characters. But those would still be yams.

Deo101 [Millennium]

I'm also of the mind that its way easier for comics to go too slow than too fast. However, I think that its also really easy for a comic to introduce too many things too fast, without giving me the time to get to know anyone (contradictory, I know, hear me out) I think a lot of comics will start in a boring setting, before the initial action. It takes a very long time to ramp up to the ACTUAL story, because they want to get me to a baseline of knowledge before we get to all the action. This is really slow though because essentially nothing is actually happening, plot wise, and I think that the creators know this and so they try to do it all as fast as possible, so by the time we get to the action there are 10 characters and a ton of lore I don't actually know.... So I think there are two kinds of pacing, the actual plot/events of a story, and the introduction of new ideas. For me, the plot/events need to be relatively fast, but the introduction of ideas needs to be slow. I can't start a story with 6 people, it will feel too fast no matter what, and I can't start a story with slow action or it will feel like it's dragging. I don't know if this makes sense or not

kayotics

I think I agree with that pretty wholeheartedly. I want a comic to get me into the action pretty quickly, but introduce new characters and concepts slowly. Give me, like... 3 characters tops to start with.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, too slow AND too fast is definitely a possibility!

kayotics

Fantasy and sci-fi are both genres that can fall into that trap easily, and I think the comics that bring me into the world building best is the ones that don’t explain things IMMEDIATELY, but explain things over time as I need to know them

Deo101 [Millennium]

^ yes I feel this too. I think there is also a certain respect for a readers ability to suspend their disbelief that is oftentimes not taken into account... I think that, for the most part just being told something exists is fine, and learning how it works is what needs to take time. But, a lot of stories may try to justify things existing, which feels like overexplaining

kayotics

It’s like explaining why trees exist. Sometimes they just... do. I don’t question why they’re there

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Agreed, I think stories set in the real world have the advantage of starting with a bang, without much need for explanation - there's always a need for some explanation upfront in a fantasy/sci-fi setting, even if it's done through visual shorthand. You don't need to overexplain, but you definitely have to explain... more. Or at least make it abundantly clear that A) this is a different world, B) this is the general event that's happening, and C) this is how you should feel about it, even without living in that world.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yes exactly I feel like I see it most commonly in scifi/fantasy, like you said, where someone wants to explain why their magic exists immediately. This will sound rude but at this point I don't care why it exists, maybe way later you can tell me but I don't care when I'm only just starting .. it feels like reading someone's worldbuilding essay idk

kayotics

Yeah... that’s definitely a thing that can affect pacing negatively. I don’t need a world building essay on how the magic works right away. As long as the logic is consistent in magic I’ll figure it out as a reader. Then you can explain details later and I’ll be into it.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah cause later on it feels like connecting dots, almost like revealing the answer to a mystery

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yes yes! I love that sense that as a reader, you're being trusted to learn - not so much that you're being fed information, but that you're given enough to put the pieces together. Even done slowly, it's very satisfying.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I like my storys with some unexplained mysteries. I mean, how many people know exactly how the internet works, and yet we use it daily? Dumping down a dissertation on how x works more often than not kills pacing for me.

kayotics

I think it can be done well to keep the pacing going, but it needs to be combined with something. Sometimes you need to provide that info dump so the story keeps working

I can’t pinpoint any exact scenes but I seem to remember Gunnerkrigg Court doing that pretty well. There’s a lot of unusual concepts in that story that need to be explained, but it usually doesn’t feel like a slog

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah for sure. I do think it can also be used either in tandem with or as an instigator to moving things forward, if done right. Its not illegal to reveal information about the world

I think people tend to do this kind of thing better with Characters than the world. Because with Characters, we want to get to know them and this comes more naturally, but with worldbuilding... It often feels like worldbuilding should be a baseline knowledge rather than also a storytelling element I guess

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

One thing that really annoys me with pacing is when a single story beat that should be relatively simple takes way too long in real time. Like in one comic I read, the villains tell the heroes to urgently meet them at some location. And, like, the heroes are talking back and forth, deciding who they should send and such. But, like... it's been six months, and they still haven't left the house yet. I guess the urgency feeling is probably there if you're binging the comic? But, it really doesn't encourage me to follow along with the comic if it's such a slow read. I'm not saying that these sorts of authors need to update faster, but if your update rate is to the point where it takes months to finish an urgent conversation, maybe some things should be cut out? Or they should at least be walking out the door while they're talking? I guess it's just sort of a general "something should happen each page" thing though. Like if the conversation is just going in circles, there's really no need for it, and it can be annoying to follow along when it's seemingly so urgent.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I know it's not the same thing, but that reminded me of all the gaming comic strips out there that poke fun at "it's final dungeon time, the stakes are higher than ever, and the player spends the next 80 hours completing the minigames"

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I have a rule that if any piece of dialogue isn't either directly advancing the plot, giving the reader new information about the characters speaking, or is funny, it should be cut

Definitely agree with what people have said, that big infodumps right off the bat are not enjoyable. I honestly don't ever want the author to sit me down and explain something to me. It's much more interesting to see parts of the worldbuilding in action, or to see things that arent explained and have to theorize about what it is or how it works before the mechanics behind it are shown

Capitania do Azar

I very much second that notion, @sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD) , that's my rule of thumb when I'm writing

Deo101 [Millennium]

I have a similar rule with my pages, but with dialogue I like to have more fluff so we feel like we're spending a bit more time with them

Capitania do Azar

if the info is not something I need the reader to know (and character development is) then what's the point of forcing myself to draw more stuff

but @Deo101 [Millennium] , fluff IS character ;D

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah! But it's not always new information is all

You gotta reestablish stuff, let some things marinate, and repeat things for them to really settle in I think, so it can't ALWAYS be new stuff, even if the page as a whole is introducing something new. I mean usually you can do it alongside other stuff but yeah

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think sometimes it's the same for the characters. e.g. The same characters can have multiple conversations about the same topic, but their understanding/ feelings toward the topic can change as things marinate.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah for sure

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Meaningful conversations where you get to know the character’s personality would fall in the 2nd category

Sometimes its hard to judge whether dialogue will be interesting to someone who’s unfamiliar with the characters

Shadowmark Productions

Someone once told me that dialogue should reveal character and action reveals plot. If done correctly, both work in tandem to advance the story without exposition. I’ve found that to be very useful.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Ooh. True!

mirandalorian

That's a good way to put it. And it seems like that idea is pretty important in comics.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think it's 100% fine if dialogue isn't interesting to people unfamiliar with the characters -- as long as it's compelling to people who have been reading from the beginning?

I live for the kind of scenes where like... character A just smiles... it's an ordinary smile to people who don't know A, but it means the world to people who know the context and the character

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Action can reveal character too

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I‘d say it‘s even more important, I for starters love characters that say one thing and do another; it‘s a good way to show conflict!

(Inner conflict, I mean)

RebelVampire

For me whether I think the pacing is too fast or too slow are actually two different things. In regards to finding the pacing too slow, I generally base this on a character's progress for their goals. While I like to see characters face setbacks and don't expect everything to be solved immediately, I expect some progress to be had. So if I wind up reading a comic and it's basically taking more than 100 pages for any progress to be made in the protagonist's goal and growth, that's just way too slow for my personal tastes. It kind of just ruins my investment in their goal since it doesn't feel like they're actually working on it, and that kind of defeats the point of a goal. In a similar but different vein, pacing is too fast for me if the comic never stops to breathe to exposit or showcase character emotions. Obviously, expositing a whole bunch is bad, and you don't want to take 20 pages to show a character crying. However, these moments where you take a step back and say "Hey look this character is struggling and here is a hint of their backstory" are super important for creating a bond between the reader and the characters. Without them, it just feels like you're sprinting from Plot Point A to Plot Point B. In relation to this, another element that would make it too fast is if characters are getting over things way too fast because plot is to be had. When something emotional happens, such as a character dies, I should still be able to feel those affects much later even if its not at the forefront. Of course, these are clearly just to my personal tastes, which pacing generally is a subjective thing in most cases.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

For sure that thing about needing space after emotional events

not a webcomic but some of my favorite parts of One Piece are the crew goofing off after ever major arc

I feel like webcomics can fail at this sometimes, because things that feel tediously slow when writing week -by-week can feel fast when read back all at once

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #reader favorites #comic tea party #ctp

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xx-thedarklord-xx · 5 years

Note

What's some tropes you absolutely can't stand/squicks? And vice-versa! What're some tropes you absolutely adore?

For things I don’t like I’ll just give some basics. I have a lot that I don’t like but I don’t really like talking about it since I’m so picky, so I’ll mention just a few. Now, these are things that I don’t like, I’m not shitting on them, they just don’t do anything for ME.

-Slowburn. (not quite a trope?) I’m not a fan of slowburn at all, not even a little bit. It’s actually my number one nemesis. Idk if it’s a lack of patience on my part, or what, but it annoys me like no other. I can do slowburn if it’s due to the story plot and not pining. If you add on pining to a slowburn, I will run away so fucking quick. -Fake Dating/Pretend Relationships. I can’t do it. It’s the misunderstandings in them that get to me. It’s always the ‘I like them but they think it’s fake’ and I can’t do it. I really can’t.

-Infidelity. (idk if that’s a trope either) Not into that. Hard pass.

-If the fandom is NOT Drarry, then it’s Enemies to Lovers. I’m just not into that. I think I genuinely only like it when it’s Drarry. It rubs me the wrong way in other fandoms.

-Amnesia. If it’s temporary and it’s a short temp amnesia, then I can do it. But if it’s got the painful emotions with it, no, I can’t do it.

Things that I do like.

-Soulmates. My all-time favorite. I have read so many soulmate stories and I always love the different ways people go about it. Ugh, it’s making me want to read one right now.

-A bit controversial in some realms of fandom, but I like this if it’s NOT Drarry, and that’s A/B/O.

-Another NOT Drarry one is YouTube au or social media au. I have such a weakness for that, you don’t even know.

-Magical Creature fics. Sign me the fuck up. I love a good creature story. The more unconventional the better.

-Growing up best friends. That will always fuck me up too. I love love that in any fandom.

-De-aging fics. Another one that is good no matter the fandom. I will always enjoy the chaos of a good De-aging story

-Dark Harry is fascinating to me and I do enjoy that as well as Slytherin Harry which doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. I enjoy both separate or together.

-Bisexual Draco (not a trope). That one is a big one for me. I absolutely wish there were more bisexual Draco stories. But when there’s something you want to see and can’t find it, you write it. So I will.

#Asked and Answered #Sam Answers #I was asked what I don't like #not what you don't like #so if something I don't like #is something that you do #oh well #we have different opinions #Not everyone likes the same things #and that's oka

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fandomfanfics12 · 5 years

Text

We Are A Family-part 23

Title: We Are A Family. Pairings: Steve x tony, Peter x Wade, Nat x Clint, Sam x Bucky. Part: 23/? Warnings: swearing, fluff, angst, eventual smut, slowburn. Summary: When Nat comes into the avengers tower with baby Peter Parker, the avengers didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. But now that Peter is here,Steve and Tony both feel protective over him. It doesn’t help that Peter hates everyone other than Steve and tony. But as Steve and tony raise Peter, they start to fall for one another. Will this superfamily work out or will it all turn to hell? A/N: so it’s starting to look like i’m going to get more free time this year which should (fingers crossed) hopefully mean i’ll be able to update this fic more. also thanks for your patience, i’m such a slow righter lol.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22

It was almost unfair. That tony’s life and his marriage was falling apart, just as Clint and Natasha got to start their marriage. He knew Steeve had been shocked when Tony had given in so easily. But maybe Bucky was right, maybe Tony and Steve weren’t meant to be together. But through all of this, in the back of Tony’s mind, he couldn’t help but think, this can’t be over because I’m still in love with you.

“I’m so sorry Tony.” Steve whispered and for once, he had the look of love and adoration that Steve had always worn when looking at Tony. It was only there for a second before he looked away.

“What are we going to tell Peter?” Tony asked softly, Steve sighed and shrugged.

“He already knows that I cheated, I’m sure he already hates me, so I’ll deliver the news.” Tony shook his head.

“no. I’ll do it.” Tony hated the idea of his kid finding out without him being there. Peter would need Tony through this, Tony wouldn’t back out on his son now.

“we could do it together?” Steve offered and Tony squeezed his eyes shut. together.

“okay.” It seemed that Tony’s brain was now on autopilot. Anything else was too much.

“Steve?” Tony asked suddenly and Steve looked back at him.

“Yeah?” his voice was flat, his face stone, his eyes cold.

“Where did it go wrong?” Tony asked softly, he watched as an emotion floated to the surface of Steve’s face.

“I don’t know.” Then steve walked out of the house and tony resisted the urge to break down into tears.

The dinner was painfully awkward. Al had tried to ask about Peter’s dads again and Peter had shut them down instantly.

“they’re fine. Everything’s fine. They’ve just been working lots.” Both Wade and May shot him strange looks.

“Well that’s good.” Al then asked May a question and Peter allowed himself to zone out. He didn’t want to be at home but he certainly didn’t want to be in the middle of a dinner with Wade. Peter wondered if it was still too late to run.

“Is the food okay?” May asked and Peter forced himself to focus on reality.

“Yeah, it’s delicious.” May raised a brow at Peter’s food, he’d barely touched it.

“it is delicious May, thank you so much.” Wade told her and she smiled.

“Thank you Wade.” She said while glaring at Peter.

“it is delicious, now you boys run along, May and I have to catch up privately now.” Peter and Wade both rolled their eyes but stood, knowing it was better to follow Al’s orders than to ignore them. Peter and Wade dumped their dishes into the kitchen sink. Wade opened his mouth but Peter just walked out. He knew he was being an asshole, but he was allowing it for tonight. He just found out his pops had had an affair, his dads were probably going to break up and he hadn’t slept for the past two days.

“What’s going on Peter?” Wade asked and Peter groaned.

“Would you just leave me alone?” Peter asked and flopped onto the bottom bunk in the guest bedroom. May called it the guest bedroom, but it was really Peter’s room. Peter’s head hit a bag and he swore, when he pulled back he noticed it was Wade’s backpack.

“why is your stuff here?” Peter rubbed his forehead and Wade suddenly looked sheepish.

“May’s taking me in sort of.” Wade looked down at his feet.

“Taking you in?” Peter asked.

“Al asked her if I could stay here for the next six months and May agreed.”

“Six months?”

“It’s not a big deal Peter.”

“Six months is a big deal, what’s going on?” Peter asked and Wade took a deep breath. He began fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket and Peter knew to back down. He wasn’t ready to say whatever was going on.

“it’s-“ but it was clear he didn’t want to say it, so Peter interrupted

“It’s okay Wade, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Thanks Peter.” The room was silent and then Wade sat down on the bunk bed, Peter stared at the spot where his knee and Wade’s touched.

“still obsessed with wham?” Peter asked and he felt Wade relax.

“Best album of all time.” Peter rolled his eyes, but it was a relief. To know that even though everything in Peter’s world was changing and reshuffling, Wade was still the same.

“debateable.” Peter murmured and Wade bumped his shoulder into Peter’s.

“You’re such a dork.” It felt good to be smiling with Wade again. It felt good to simply be smiling.

“Why’d you take the bottom bunk?” Peter asked suddenly, and Wade began to fidget with his jacket sleeve again.

“A habit I guess.” Wade shrugged but Peter couldn’t help but smile. When they were younger, Peter always took the top bunk. Whenever he had nightmares he would jump up and stick to the roof, at least he didn’t wake up Wade then.

“I’m sorry for being such an asshole.” Peter said softly and he could feel Wade studying Peter’s profile.

“I’m sorry for being such an asshole.” Wade lifted hid head and looked at Peter. He’d forgotten how much he had missed Peter. How comforting it was to just be sitting beside him. Wade studied Peter’s profile, taking not of how exhausted he looked. He wished Peter would open up, tell him what’s going on. But things with Wade and Peter hadn’t been easy and good like that, not in a long time. Wade missed those days where he and Peter would just talk for hours on end about anything and everything.

“Peter…” but Wade trailed off, watching as if the world was in slow motion, as Peter looked at Wade.

“Yeah?” Peter’s big brown eyes were wide and studying Wade’s face. Wade memorised Peter’s face and hung his head.

“why did we stop talking?” Wade wondered, but he knew that answer.

“You were popular and when push came to shove, you chose your popular friends over me.” Peter shrugged and Wade shook his head.

“But you were my best friend.” He whispered, Peter didn’t hear it.

“But you’ve got Flash and I’ve got Ned and we’re both exactly where we’re meant to be.” Peter was now staring at the roof. Wade wanted to tell Peter that he missed him, missed their friendship. But the words died in his throat.

“Yeah, exactly where we’re meant to be.” Wade echoed, not believing it.

Steve wanted to scream, he tried to break the barriers in his mind, but he was trapped. He couldn’t tell tony the truth, he couldn’t tell anyone the truth. He’d tried talking to natasha and clint and bruce and any avenger he could find, but the words died in his throat every time. He’d tried to write it down, but his hand would just throw the pen across the room. He couldn’t communicate this to anyone other than Bucky, who was just as trapped as Steve was.

“Dammit.” Steve grunted as his hand suddenly spasmed, sending the pen across the room.

“Pops?” it was Peter’s voice and Steve inhaled sharply.

“hey Peter.” Steve forced himself to smile, but he couldn’t manage it.

“Can I talk to you?” Peter asked and Steve forced himself to nod.

“of course, what’s going on?” Peter let out a deep sigh.

“Dad told me, about you and Bucky. I want to know, are you guys getting a divorce?” Peter asked and Steve felt his stomach twist and churn.

“Tony and I agreed we’d have that conversation with you together.” Steve told him gently.

“I want to know now.” Peter said firmly and Steve swallowed. He twisted his wedding ring and took a deep shaky breath.

“it wasn’t an easy decision Peter.” Steve murmured soflty.

“So you’re breaking up?” Peter’s voice was shaking and Steve squeezed his eyes shut.

“It’s not as simple as you think.” Steve told him.

“Then explain to me how complicated it is. How could you do this?” Peter demanded and Steve began shaking.

“Peter-“

“Tell me how you could ruin our family!” Peter hissed and Steve felt tears prick his eyes.

“I didn’t want to ruin our family.” Steve swore but he knew Peter didn’t believe him.

“so you were hoping you wouldn’t get caught?”

“No! I didn’t plan on this Peter!” Peter shook his head.

“you’re despicable! How could you hurt dad like this? He loved you more than anything in the whole world! How could you?” Peter was crying and Steve was crying and then Peter walked out. Steve put a hand on his mouth, trying not to let the sounds of his sobbing escape. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Couldn’t believe that he was losing them and he couldn’t stop it.

It got worse with each passing day, the arguing just got worse and worse. Tony and steve didn’t mean to argue, but it just kept happening. Steve had moved out into the guest bedroom and Tony found he could no longer fall asleep without Steve lying beside him. Peter kept coming home to only hear Steve and Tony in the middle of a screaming match, he would simply say he was staying at May’s. then Peter was gone. Tony felt horrifically guilty for this. Peter no longer felt comfortable being at home and Steve could barely stand to be in the same room as Tony. There was a knock at the door and when Tony went to answer it was May standing in the doorway.

“May?” Tony raised a brow but she was scowling.

“We need to talk.” With a sigh, Tony let her in.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

“Do you want to tell me why I’ve got Peter staying at my apartment every other night?” May demanded and Tony sighed.

“Steve and i…” Tony trailed off and May crossed her arms.

“What about you and Steve? Because I’ve got a seventeen year old kid showing up at my apartment every night, freaking out because his dads can’t pull their heads out of their asses! I gave Peter to you and Steve because I couldn’t provide the life Peter deserved. So please explain to me what is going on.” May was furious and she had every right to be. Tony twisted his wedding ring and took several deep and steadying breaths.

“Steve cheated on me with Bucky.” He watched as May’s face softened and she gave him the look of pity.

“I’m so sorry Tony.” Her voice was soft and gentle, it made tony want to scream.

“Don’t pity me. I’ll be alright. But Steve and I are getting a divorce, there’s no point dragging it out. He wants to be with Bucky.” Tony twisted the ring again and May noticed.

“What do you want?” she asked and Tony squeezed his eyes shut.

“Steve. That answer will always be Steve, but I have to do what’s right by Steve and Peter. Steve wants Bucky and there’s no point keeping Steve trapped in this marriage. It will only hurt everyone.” May nodded.

“So why is it that Peter keeps coming over?” she asked and Tony ran a hand through his hair.

“Because Steve and I argue every night. We don’t mean to, but it just sort of happens. He said he’ll move out some time next week.” May nodded her head and Tony wanted to run and hide.

“so who gets custody of Peter?” May asked.

“We’re going to share. It’s only one year, there’s no point going to court about who get’s Peter.” May nodded her head.

“I’m so sorry that you’re going through this Tony.” She whispered.

“it is what it is.”

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a-shakespearean-in-paris · 5 years

Note

I was re-reading your Dragon Age works on AO3 and, if you don't mind, can I ask for advice how to write Cullen ? I'm thinking about how he is sometimes harsh, opinionated and stubborn but at the same time kind, quite calm, stoic. I think in your works you balance it really well. How do you decide when make him assertive and when gentle? How to not make Cullen too rude or too meak? I hope you understand what I mean.

First of all, thank you so, so much for your lovelycompliment! It’s very flattering and humbling to be told I write a characterwell, especially since Cullen is an important character to me

I won’t lie I find this question of how do you decide whenmake him assertive and when gentle? How to not make Cullen too rude or toomeak? tough to answer, not because I don’t understand what you mean, I do, butbecause sometimes Cullen can be very assertive, and he can be rude depending onthe situation. But that’s just par the course of being human. And of course,sometimes he is very gentle and loving, especially with his love interest. Mostof all with his love interest. However I’ll break this down as best I can and analyze a few key things about him that have led me to write him the way I do:

First of all, Cullen is the commander. This sounds obvious, but it’s important, and sometimes I think people forget this, heck even me. Ialso think it’s important to note that Cullen earned his title through hardwork. There’s a joke in fandom that Cullen is not qualified to lead the armiesof the Inquisition, but I disagree with those sentiments wholeheartedly. Afterthe battle of Kirkwall it’s established in world of thedas Cullen helped withrelief efforts and helped rebuilt the city, which caught Cassandra’s attentionsallowed him his position. I also think it’s important to note that Cullenearned his title as Commander through hard work. He’s a commoner, unlikeGaspard, and I imagine that makes him humbler and more down to earth when he’swith those under his command. He understands them, but knows how to inflict astern hand when need be. Around Skyhold there’s a pamphlet he puts up, where hetells his troops that they are the Inquisition, they need to learn how to getalong. This to me just epitomizes Cullen’s dad-like nature, which has somenatural assertiveness to it. But his assertiveness comes from his life of hardliving and being a commander. He has a natural assertiveness. Watch his body language throughout Inquisition. He exudes a natural leader-like energy. To me he’s totally a Leo. Look at how he holds himself when idly talking to the Inquisitor. He has great posture with his arms crossed and he looks into their eyes. He exudes confidence, except when he doesn’t (we’ll get to that.)

Early in Inquisition Cullen gets frustrated with the otheradvisors because he believes the templars are suitable to seal the breach, whenLeliana is pushing for the mages. This is rooted in Cullen’s natural practicality.Out of all the advisors I would argue he’s the most down to earth, (he suggestssneaking the lovers out in one operation while Josephine insists on a politicalmarriage) but he is not at all tolerant of crazy shenanigans. When he growsfrustrated early in the game it’s because in his mind, the templars are a surerbet. (at this point the Quiz hasn’t gone to Redcliffe and seen the magerebellion yet.) Later on he continues to push for the templars because they areunder the hold of Tevinter, and walking into Redcliffe castle is a clear, andcrazy dangerous trap. His frustration is born of worry. He is pragmatic. (But he is willing tobend depending on the situations. If you are a warrior and you send for Cullento pick up your prospective specialization trainers, he says he disapproves ofseeking trainers outside the Inquisition, but it’s irrelevant, you will havethe best.) I would never say he is too harsh or disrespectful to his peers, butsometimes in the war room he can become disagreeable and maybe a little harshwhen practical solutions are available, but not being considered. He also hasno tolerance for nobility, and we see his most passionate reactions when itcomes to their frivolity.

I used to see a lot of discourse about Cullenbeing violent as the Commander, the Perseverance quest line used as proof whenhe flings the lyrium kit and punches the bookshelf, but, and this to me is abig but, his greatest anger comes at himself. He is frustrated and angry whenhe cannot let the past go, cannot serve the Inquisition the way he wants tobecause of the bottle. He is hard on himself, and the Quiz assures him hedoesn’t have to be. He can do this. Overall, he is respectful to those who respect him.At Halamshiral he has no patience because the nobles invade his space and preyupon him. He is short because the nobles show no respect. And frankly I don’t blame him one bit.

Okay, now let’s talk about Cullen’s romance. I beg youplease watch it again and observe his body language and his expressions. He issoft, and he is devoted. Even when he surprise kisses the Inquisitor he cupsher face in his hands first. When it comes to his lover, Cullen is gentle andkind and always asks if she is sure. Part of this stems from the fact that hemay believe he is partly unworthy of her affections, (which is where his confidence can drop.) but I think it’s importantto note that he was once taken advantage of in Kinloch, and by Meredith who used his paranoia of mages against him. Cullen does not want to take advantage of his lover in any wayshape or form. But his assertiveness doesn’t drop, except in momentswhere he is unsure of the Quiz’s affections. Desk scene, shall we? Heapproaches the quiz softly, lovingly stroking her cheek when he informs her hedoesn’t want to move on from her after the Inquisition ends. His facial expressionsindicate worry and nervousness, and he can’t speak and moves away when he asksbut doesn’t asks if she wants the same. When she informs him, do you even needto ask, his assertiveness comes back, and we all know what happens. This is whyhis romance is so beautiful, she reassures him, brings out his naturalconfidence.

Cullen is always assertive, he merely has different shades,but he is always gentle with his lover, and he is certainly never a doormat. Lookat his reaction if the quiz tells him the absolutely unforgivable I’d rather webe friends in the romance scene. I also think there are some things he justwouldn’t let go that easily. For example, in my slowburn, at one point myInquisitor treads somewhere she shouldn’t have. She tells him flat out sheunderstands why he couldn’t write to his family, because he was a coward. I gota comment saying I appreciate that while he acknowledged his fuck ups, he didn’t let that go. I realize I’m treading into my story here, but I wanted to touchon it. Also towards the end, Cullen does something my Inquisitor gets angry at himwith. She kind of blames his behavior on his lyrium withdrawal (they had justbeen the shrine of Dumat and yeah there is no way he could walk in that placewith no problem, but that’s just my opinion, hehe.) And he gets upset. Ofcourse they work it out, but I did want to point out that Cullen is not adoormat, and he exists as a character outside the romance. The man is stubborn,assertive, and does not easily bend his beliefs and principles, though he isalways gentle with the Inquisitor as far as we see. He respects her and hewants to be respected in the romance in return, so when I wrote my romance, his few times of ire with Lydia draws from the fact that she didn’t respect him.

So, to summarize this monstrosity, Cullen has a few keyprinciples that always peek through, but overall he is a respectful man, aperson who has faltered in the past but doesn’t throw himself on the sword now,and instead does one hundred and ten percent currently. He lives in the now, and Ifind that admirable, and in fact he is an admirable character to me, and Iadore him and love writing him. I hope you like writing him too nonny. Thanks forcoming by, and thank you to everyone who made it to the end of this, lol.

#THIS TOOK FOREVER GAWD #cullen rutherford #shakes tries to advice #oh my goodness #replies #Anonymous #also sometimes characters just do things as you write them that surprise you #this is good #people are surprising #I have more to say but my brain hurts RN lol

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