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acourtofwhatthefuck · 2 years

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Crawling Back to You (Part 2) - Cassian x Reader Smut.

Part One

Hello, hello! A few people requested a part 2, so here ya go! November is clearly shaping up to be a smutty month for me thus far 😏🌶️

Warnings: Just SMUT. Just pure smutty smut. 🌶️ enjoy, ya filthy animals!

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Such a delicious, dangerous game you were playing.

It wasn’t that you were trying to bait Cassian, but—

Actually, yes, that was exactly what you were doing.

You’d had two days to ruminate on the feeling of his head between your thighs. Sobering up hadn’t brought with it any embarrassment or regret — just frustration. Longing. A mix of wanting to tackle Cassian to the ground…and either slap his face or ride it — again.

“Be on time for training on Monday, or you’ll have to show me how you apologise”. That was what he’d said to you…and maybe you were a glutton for punishment, but…knowing how much turning up late again would bait him, you’d gone one step further.

You hadn’t turned up at all.

You’d merely gotten up and gone about your day like Cassian and that damn training ring didn’t exist. You decided you would have a day of lounging in your underwear and pretending that Cassian had no effect on you whatsoever. Even if that was total bullshit.

You cooked, and read, and relaxed, listening to the clock ticking by and feeling more and more triumphant by the second, imagining what Cassian’s face probably looked like. How he may have reacted.

It served him right for being a total prick to you. One orgasm wasn’t going to make up for that.

It was a matter of minutes after the training session would have come to a close that three pounding knocks rattled your front door. You looked up from your book casually, not making any move to answer.

So he knocked — no, thumped — again.

After the sixth bang, you shucked on a light robe over your underwear-clad body and breezed to the door in no real hurry. You barely had it open an inch before a booted foot was shoved through the gap, and the door flung open, almost hitting you.

Cassian stood, huffing heavy breaths like he’d flown over here in one fell swoop. His hair was windswept, his tan cheeks flushed — and his eyes wild, alit with ire.

Those very eyes flicked over you. Over your flimsy robe that barely covered you, and the dark lace of your undergarments poking out from beneath. His eyes roved down, slowly down, and back up again. Met yours.

“Oh, you’re in trouble.” He growled.

And then he was surging forward to kiss you, one of his huge, muscled arms sweeping you up by the waist so your feet left the ground.

His lips slid over yours so hard, so bruising, that for a second, you forgot to breathe. His other hand gripped the back of your neck, and he walked the two of you further into your apartment, kicking the door shut behind him with his heavy boot.

You thought he might take you over to the sofa, but he instead flipped you around — so quick it caught you off guard — and boxed you in against the wall. Only then did he rip his mouth from yours, and he lay both his palms against the wall, either side of your head.

“It wouldn’t be so easy to surprise you,” he growled, “if you actually bothered to show up for training and learn things.”

You pushed against his chest, hissing when he did budge an inch. “A simple hello would have sufficed, General. Where are your manners?”

“My manners are reserved for people who don’t piss me off.”

You glared up at him, a delicious lick of warmth spreading through you. This — this was good. You and him volleying back and forth. A mutual temper for one another that danced just along the lines of attraction. Of lust.

A smirk played on your lips that Cassian’s eyes immediately dipped down to. “I really get under your skin, don’t I?”

His gaze flitted back to yours, his jaw flexing. “Under it. On it.” He grasped the back of your neck again. “I want you all over it.”

You had no time to retort before he was kissing you again. You could have kicked yourself for gasping — but Cassian chuckled deeply and took his opportunity, sliding his tongue into your mouth. The feel of him…the taste of him…you wanted to be worshipped by it all. Wanted every inch of you touched and teased by it until you were quaking.

“You,” He huffed a breath against your lips, “owe me an apology. You naughty, naughty girl.”

Right. Because that was what the outcome was always to be — to your decision to very blatantly, very notably, skip training. Or you’ll have to show me how you apologise.

You’d wanted him to come looking for that apology.

And now, here he was.

And if he was looking to be caught off guard, to be surprised…well—

He was distracted enough by kissing you hard, fast, that he wasn’t prepared for you slipping your hand into his breeches and wrapping it around his rock-solid length.

He jerked, hissing between his teeth as his hips naturally rutted forward. You smirked triumphantly.

And swallowed. Cassian was…big. Bigger than any other male you’d ever been with — and you’d grown up around Illyrian males. Lost your virginity to one. You thought they’d been big.

Their cocks weren’t even slightly comparable to the one you now gripped in your hand.

You tried to ease your thudding heart as you began to pump him with slow, languid strokes that were bound to infuriate him while he was so riled up, so desperate for release.

Cas bit down on his lip and lowered his heated gaze onto yours. “I,” He gritted his teeth as you pumped a tad faster, “am going to fuck you.”

There was no chance — no chance to decide your next move before he was gripping your wrist in his hand and yanking it from his breeches, away from his cock. He flipped you around with ease, so that your front was pressed against the wall, the surface cold against your cheek. You almost yelped as the hem of your silk robe was yanked up.

And then Cassian’s warm, callused fingers were dancing along the waistband of your dark, lacy underwear. The touch was gentle for the briefest of moments. And then fabric ripped.

You gasped, the unforgiving brutality of it only adding to your arousal. You bit your lip on a moan as Cassian slid his hand between your legs. Cupped you right over your now bare, dripping centre.

“So fucking wet.” He growled, his breath fanning your neck. “Does it turn you on? Misbehaving? Pissing me off?”

You breathed a dark laugh. “More than you will ever know—oh gods.”

You moaned as with barely a flick through your folds, he slid a finger into you — just like he had the other night. But this was better, realer, not marred by the fog of alcohol. Like everything you were, had ever been, centred in on that one finger that was now pumping into you.

Your fingernails dug against the wall, looking for any sort of purchase as you rose on the tips of your toes, your head falling back. How was he able to elicit such sensations, such reactions through your body, with just a single finger? You had no idea — but you never wanted him to stop. You wanted him to add another, another, to pump you until you were soaking his hand and trembling against the wall and barely able to keep yourself upright—

But he slid that one finger out of you. Chuckled so deeply you felt it reverberate through your back. The whine that broke through your lips didn’t sound like you at all.

“Problem, sweetheart?” He leaned down behind you, his teeth grazing your neck. “You didn’t think I would stand here and give you what you want when you’re supposed to be apologising to me, did you?”

Gods, you were going to fucking kill him. You whirled on the spot, pretending that your legs weren’t trembling as you faced him once more, your eyes drinking in his glazed ones, his swollen lips and flushed cheeks.

And he watched you just as hard. Studied you. Something darker flickered in the hazel of his eyes as you reached forward and undid the buttons that fastened his breeches.

And then sank to your knees, pulling them down with you.

His cock sprang free, large and proud and standing to attention. Flicking your eyes up to meet his, you tilted your head. And simply blew a breath against his rigid length.

Cassian hissed between his teeth at the sensation, and you smirked. Slowly — so slowly, it must have been torture — you poked out a pink, glistening tongue and allowed it to make contact with the head. Just enough to mop up the bead of moisture that had welled there.

“I wonder,” you hummed, teasing the pad of a finger along the pulsing vein, “if you would rather I start at the head and work my way down…or start at the base and work my way up.”

Cassian gritted his teeth. “So long as your mouth ends up around my cock, I don’t care.”

“Patience, General. You Illyrian males and your cocks — all sense goes out the window. I once had a lover—”

A warm, firm hand gripped your chin — hard enough that it teetered on the edge of pain. Cassian yanked your face up to look at him.

“Let me make one thing very clear to you.” His hazel eyes flared. “Anyone else that’s been between those thighs of yours? I don’t want to hear about them. I don’t want to know about them, to think about them. And if I ever come across them in the flesh?” His smirk was totally male, brutally rugged. “Then may the Mother help them.”

The possessiveness…it did something to you. Incurred such a strong, violent reaction inside you, that the tether connected to your patience, your control, snapped.

“You’ll just have to make me forget about them, then.” You said.

And leaned forward to take him into your mouth.

With the first inch that pushed between your lips, Cassian swore and braced a hand against the wall. You hummed a soft laugh around him and slid your mouth onto him further. Further.

“Gods.” He gasped, his other hand coming to rest on the back of your head. “Shit, Y/N.”

“Hmm?” Your mouth was so full around him, your jaw aching in the most delicious way. You worked your tongue around him, swirling it around the head, learning which ridges and indentations were most sensitive, which ones had his hips jerking and lips cursing.

His hand fisted in your hair as you ran that tongue down the ridge of him. Over the vein. He shuddered on a breath. “That mouth knows how to do more than just sound off, it seems.”

You showed him precisely what that mouth could do. Taking him in as far as you possibly could, bobbing your head and worshipping every bump and velvety-smooth bit of skin with your tongue.

“Gods—” Cassian grunted again, his hand tightening around your hair as you rolled your tongue around the head of his cock and wrapped your hand around the length. “Gods—no—carry on like that and I’ll cum.”

He was gasping, panting…growing so, so near. And yes, you wanted him inside you, thrusting into you, but you also wanted to feel him spilling into your mouth, spurting over your tongue. Wanted to swallow every last drop of him.

He had other plans, though.

He gripped your face again, pulling his cock from your mouth, and he dragged you up from your knees. His eyes were lethal as they met yours. But the way he took your hand into his was…gentle. Soft, despite the roughness of his palm.

That was — until he spun you around so fast, you almost lost your footing. He held your arm in a vice-like grip behind your back. Marched you over to the back of the sofa, his boots thudding against the wooden floor.

You were bent at the waist, your front pressed over the back of the sofa. Cassian placed both your hands atop of it, his body angling over yours.

“I’d brace yourself, if I were you.” He murmured into your ear. Brushed a kiss just below it.

That was all the warning you got before he slammed into you.

It was both pain and pleasure that rippled through you at once. Pain at being stretched and filled, the length and thickness of him too much, too full, that it burned—

But burned so, so good, that the moan that tumbled from your throat was entirely uncontrollable. Your lips fell open as he seated himself inside you to the hilt, and you didn’t think you’d ever felt so incredibly full.

His hands were a bruising grip on your waist as he stilled, giving you a moment to adjust to the size of him. He took that moment to untie your robe, and you were vaguely aware of him ripping it from your body and sending it flying across the room.

You didn’t care.

“Fuck—Cassian—move.” You gasped, arching your hips towards him.

He laughed darkly. “So impatient.”

But move, he did. He slowly pulled out, hissing with every inch that slid from your wetness, until just the head of him poked at your entrance. And then he slammed in again.

“Shit.” Your head fell back, your teeth gritting as he began to thrust. “Gods.”

“The Gods have nothing to do with this.” Cassian growled, yanking you upright, against him. “It’s all me.”

And it was. It was all, entirely him as he began to fuck you like the world was ending around you. As one hand slipped into your bra and palmed at your breast, the calluses scraping your nipple. As he squeezed, using the purchase to thrust harder, deeper, to slam into you so thoroughly that the sounds of skin slapping skin echoed around the room.

As he reached down with another hand and pressed against that sweet spot at the apex of your thighs.

“Fuck,” You jerked, the curse tumbling from your lips. Cassian’s dark, breathless laugh snaked over your skin in answer.

This — him fucking you like this…the times you’d imagined this scenario did the real thing absolutely no justice. You’d brought yourself to release so many times, imagining what it might be like to feel his hands on you, his cock inside you, to hear the filthiest words breathed into your ear—

“Do you know how many times I’ve thought about this?” Cassian grunted, as if he’d read your thoughts. His hips picked up their pace, his fingers rubbing ruthlessly against your clit as he breathed, “So many times. So many fucking times I’ve cum all over my hand thinking about you. Imagining you. What you feel like around me.”

You moaned, reaching back to clasp the back of his neck. “And the real thing?”

“Beyond expectation.” An answering moan — a whimper almost. “I feel like a fucking god right now, inside you.”

His hand squeezed your breast again, and you knew — just from the way his thrusts were picking up, and yet growing sloppy, the way his breaths kept hitching in his throat — he was close.

“How am I supposed to last,” He ground out, the words slurring into each other, “with you clenching around me? Fuck, I want you to cum.”

He pressed a finger down — right onto the most sensitive, delicious part of your clit. The part that made your body jerk in reaction, made both hot and cold skitter over your skin.

Made you throw your head back and shout his name as released barrelled through you.

Through your orgasm, his thrusting was relentless. You were too sensitive, writhing against him, and yet you couldn’t get enough of him stroking you, fucking you. You wanted more, more—

“Oh, shit,” Cassian groaned—

It was all the warning you got as he slammed into you once, twice — and stilled, his entire body racking and trembling as he roared and came inside you. Spilled every last drop into you. His front was shuddering against your back.

It seemed like an eternity that passed of neither of you being able to speak — to so much as murmur a vague noise. Your heaving breaths filled the room as the pleasure subsided and gave way to a weakness that left you unsteady on your feet. You leant forward, gripping the back of the sofa as you bowed over and tried to catch your breaths.

Even after he’d spilled everything he had inside of you, Cassian gave a few last, languid rolls of his hips, moaning softly beneath his breath, before he slowly pulled out of you. He seemed just as spent as you were, just as unable to speak—

You swallowed. Braced yourself against the sofa as you eased round to face him. Your hooded eyes met his.

The two of you stared at each other.

“…fuck.” He eventually breathed, his eyes shuttering. There was a vulnerability to his expression that hadn’t been there earlier. “That was—I’ve never…”

“No.” You swallowed again. Hard. “Me neither.”

Because somehow, you knew exactly what he was trying to say without him actually saying it. That you’d never had sex that seemed to rock you to your very existence, that seemed to push you off the edge of the world and send you freefalling into a blissful beyond.

It seemed to…to change something. To mould this tension between the two of you into something else. An understanding, maybe.

And whatever it was…you wanted his company. Wanted him to stay.

You cleared your throat. Felt awkward as you said, “…you don’t have to imagine anymore…what it’s like. I’m here — yours. If you want.”

You’d never felt so…bare. So vulnerable. You twisted your hands together as you studied his reaction.

Cassian stared back at you, drinking you in. Swallowing your words. His brow seemed to furrow for a moment—

And then he seemed to…to snap straight out of whatever tender moment the two of you had just shared. He smirked his signature Cassian smirk, all male and roguish and irresistible. Tucked himself back into his breeches and fastened the buttons.

“Your apology will suffice.” He said cockily — like you hadn’t just spoken the words you had. “But if you want to actually learn anything, you should show up to training.”

And just like that, he straightened the rest of his clothes out. Stalked to the door. He barely even glanced back as he threw a lazy wave over his shoulder.

“See you around.” He called. And left.

It hurt more this time, somehow — watching him walk away.

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hyperactivewhore · 4 months

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hi I love your blog we have very much the same opinions in everything except klamille is my favourite klaus ship and klaurora is second

I have been trying to enjoying klaus fics or any tvdu fics on wattpad but every thing I have read so far doenst show the characters accurately which is very annoying

I was hoping and want to request if you could give me some recommendations on fics on wattpad that are good. (Mainly klaus but any love interest would be good)

could you please give a short summary/review so far of any recommendation you give so I don’t waste time starting one only to not like ir

sorry if I am sounding rude English is not my first language but I can read it fully thank I you very much

Don't worry, you're not sounding rude at all, if anything you actually sound really sweet. I'm glad we share some opinions and I'm really honored you came to me for some suggestions.

I haven't read long fanfictions in a while outside works in ao3, I left Wattpad a few time ago but I'll still try my best, tho I'm not very good at giving summaries. Fair warning these are mainly fanfics I've read in Archive of Our Own, not Wattpad, but I hope it's not a problem. If it annoys you, send me an ask and I'll give you some Wattpad recommendations!

Patisserie (ao3, poly Mikaelson siblings x original female character, no incest) by @wickedlyemma:

Stats: (published: 2020-12-29), (completed: 2023-03-12), (words: 154,943), (chapters: 45/45), (comments: 4,385), (kudos: 8,469), (bookmarks: 1,799), (hits: 279,967)

Tags: Polyamory, Sugar Daddy, Self-Indulgent, Explicit Sexual Content, No Incest, Slow Burn, Not Canon Compliant

Summary:

I think we've all read those kind of tvdu fanfics where the main character is a teenager, usually related to the Gilbert or the Forbes, still in high school and who suddenly stops trying to make a life for herself just because she gets dragged into the supernatural world. Well, Patisserie is the opposite of that. For once, the main character isn't a teen but an adult around her twenties, who works at a bakery and is completely unaware of the supernatural world until Klaus decides to change that.

The slow burn is is truly worthy of a chef's kiss, the way the author describes and writes the Mikaelson is just so on point it hurts. Their family dynamic is so entertaining to watch, but it's as fucked up as it is in the show, which it's something not many authors can accomplish. The way they behave around the main character, a simple human, it's so amusing because they truly know nothing despite their age and she's just so easy to relate to, because for once the oc is not ridiculously overpowered.

The way we perceive the Mikaelson and the vampire world from a human pov is truly interesting, how she copes with all of it and eventually learns to love all of them individually while being aware of the danger is so well done. Kol and her, as well as her relationship with Klaus, are particularly interesting to read, especially considering how they all behaved around her at the beginning and especially because both of them are the most dangerous members of their family. They are all selfish creatures, and I love how it shows the more their relationships with her develop.

Apotheosis (ao3, Klaus x original female character) by atriums;

Stats: (published: 2022-01-01), (completed: 2022-12-13), (words: 158,264), (chapters: 31/31), (comments: 606), (kudos: 1,817), (bookmarks: 491), (hits: 69,472)

Tags: POV Alternating, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sex, Sexual Content, Devoted Reader, Author Rejects Canon and Substitutes It with Their Own, Cannibalistic Werewolf Cults, Nobody Is Good But Also Nobody Is Evil, These Characters are Flawed and Problematic (Probably), This Fic is Not a Bastion for Healthy Characters and Relationships, Reader/OC Especially, Reader/OC can be any ethnicity

Summary;

You know those fanfics who fix (almost) everything problematic in canon? Apotheosis does exactly that. In this story, Klaus isn't a complete irredeemable character for once, but he also isn't half as bad as his canon version, and due to the oc being a werewolf, this fanfic does expand on his werewolf side a little more than The Vampire Diaries or The Originals ever did. His family and him actually have a healthy bond, and Finn gets the recognition he deserves for once.

The story is set in season three of TVD, exactly when Klaus and Stefan are trying to make hybrids for his pack, and in a ironic plot twist, Klaus decides to take you with him when you're still a werewolf after you say you're not worthy to be a hybrid, at least not yet.

Her devotion to him is completely endearing and I absolutely love how Klaus actually cares for his pack, especially because they're all canonical characters who were killed way too quickly. Her relationships with the members of their pack are so well written, and this fanfic it's the perfect mix of humour and seriousness. It has a ongoing sequel, which I just adore. I warn you though, all the characters have several differences from their canon versions.

Twisted Obsession (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by rocket-queen98;

Stats: Originals, M, English, Romance & Angst, chapters: 16, words: 59k+, favs: 1k+, follows: 1k+, updated: May 6, 2023 published: Aug 13, 2016, [Klaus M., OC] Elijah M., Hope M.

Summary;

Lola is one of the most adorable mc I've read. She is human and around nineteen, if I remember correctly, and just a sweet girl and adorable. She's introduced into the supernatural world thanks to baby Hope, who is just the cutest, due to her needing a mother figure now that Hayley wasn't present in her life thanks to the curse placed on her.

Her relationship with Hope is my favorite part of the whole fanfic. She doesn't suddenly turn into her mother, she doesn't intend to either, but rather becomes her best friend and Klaus and her develop a bond thanks to this. The way father and daughter interact is so heartwarming too, the subtle hints of them being werewolves, and seeing a main character having a good relationship with her father for once is a good turn, especially in tvd fanfics.

It's clear Klaus and Lola have something going on, even if they won't admit out loud, but for some reason the people around them give the impression they don't actually want them to date. There is implications something more fucked up than usual is going on with Klaus and his relationships, and I'm pretty sure him and Cami were a thing in this fic too. Surprisingly, Hayley and Cami aren't turned into absolute bitches, but there is Jackson bashing though.

The Girl in the Forest (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by noblecrescent;

Stats: Originals, T, English, Mystery & Romance, chapters: 30, words: 311k+, favs: 232, follows: 176, updated: Feb 19, 2017 published: Jan 23, 2016, [Klaus M., OC] [Elijah M., Camille O'Connell]

Summary;

This fanfic is a tetralogy of books set in The Originals, I read those fanfics a while ago so forgive me for any mistake. Maleny is a witch who was cursed, if I remember correctly, and was constantly body-jumping every short time.

In one of her lives, she met Klaus and they fell in love, but she died, if I'm not wrong, and they end up meeting again in New Orleans time later where he has a child on the way and a kingdom to conquer.

I can't remember a lot more without giving you spoilers, but it's worth checking it out!

Now, I'll give no more summaries because I honestly don't remember a lot of the next fanfics, but it's your choice if you want to read them;

A Veil Between Love and Hate (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by MandalorianHybrid;

Stats: Originals, T, English, chapters: 57, words: 200k+, favs: 609, follows: 359, updated: Sep 15, 2019 published: Jan 30, 2014, [Klaus M., OC]

Summary; Another five books set in The Vampire Diaries, with a story that eventually moves to The Originals.

Allure (wattpad, Klaus x oc x Stefan) by @viavolterra;

Stats: 575k Readings, 20,5k Votes, 34 Chapters

Summary;

I just could not not recommend this fanfic. Mia comes to Mystic Falls to seek revenge after Damon kills her best friend Lexi, but she of course gets dragged by the problems in that little town.

The thing I like the most about Via's story is how there is no cliché: no bashing towards Tyler or Elena, Mia actually befriends them, Bonnie gets the recognition and love she deserves, Klaus doesn't suddenly turn into a different person just because he loves the oc, he continues to be a piece of shit, and how sweet and empathetic she is, not like those reused badass mc who are just rude.

I would recommend some more, but it's kinda hard to find fanfics with a good Klaus depiction. I'm pretty sure I left out a lot of amazing fanfics, though.

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paradoxlemonade · 5 months

Text

Mirror Mirror

Fandom: Double Life SMP

Dynamic: Etho & Joel

words: 1313

Warnings: body image issues, insecurity

Ao3: Here!

Summary: Etho doesn't like how he looks. Joel does not know this. Hurt/comfort ensues. (This is my @mcytblrholidayexchange present for @kyleknight! I hope you enjoy ^^)

— — — — —

Joel likes to think he’s a pretty funny guy in his own humble opinion, thank you very much. People laugh when he starts cracking jokes, and those that don’t are probably just peeved that they’re the subject of his mockery—after all, when there’s a punchline, someone has to be the one to get decked. It’s all in good fun!

It’s… disconcerting when someone who’s supposed to be in on the joke isn’t smiling along with it.

And it’s not like Etho’s even the one on the receiving end! The whole point of the thing is how they—as soulmates—can ruin everyone else’s thumbnails together!

It’s a bit of Etho’s that Joel has always found fun as long as he’s known about it: hiding another layer of visual data in his player code only visible upon lookup is a fantastic prank for messing with one’s friends, since it’ll only show up when they pull his image to build the thumbnail. Etho himself, who doesn’t bother with that sort of menial technicality and just whips out a camera from his back pocket when he spies a good thumbnail, is immune. And sure, sure, Joel doesn’t actually know how to replicate the effect and just went for a plain t-shirt with the face painted on in crooked lines, but it was still funny and would show up on the lookups (And Etho’s pictures, but that’s what hiding the shirt with armor is for).

Joel was grinning like mad as he showed off the creation, hands waving and detailing the concept. Etho gave an affirmation, but he hadn’t seemed particularly enthused with the concept; the mask hiding his face stretched with a smile even as his eyes skittered to the side and hid under knit brows.

So. Joel tries not to let it bother him and simply enjoy the thought of his friends being annoyed with him.

He picks at the hem of the t-shirt as he paces about the Boat Boys (not Small Etho!) base area. The day passes as usual: chaos reigns, problems are caused (all on purpose if asked, mostly on purpose in actuality), and Joel enjoys Etho’s company. Really, the man is a delight—Joel knew of him more than he knew him personally before the latest season, but every new interaction reveals something new about Etho that he didn’t know, and Joel’s actions and mannerisms in turn to him.

Everything seems fine, until. Until, until, until.

Etho removes the secret layer. Joel finds out about it in between sessions and tries (fails) not to take it personally.

It… stings.

The start of the next session and Joel’s ire do not roll in like thunder, but instead stumble in on unsure legs like a fawn. Sure, he’s irritated (and a little offended, and a little hurt), but it’s Etho. So Joel leans on the edge of The Relation Ship and drinks in the sight of the server.

A creaking floorboard from behind him and a gentle wheeze of breath belies Etho’s awaited arrival.

Without turning around, Joel begins, “I see that you’ve changed your skin?” It’s light as he can manage with a slight chuckle of incredulity, but from the tightness in his jaw, it does little to masquerade much of anything.

“I did, yes—”

“You took the face off? Was it because I—”

“Yeah.”

Joel huffs. “Wow, brilliant.” He pushes off and turns in a single motion, and—

Freezes.

…Any plans Joel has for a polite (but frigid, but pointed, but sardonic) questioning evaporate once he gets a look at Etho’s face.

He looks tired, bags like smudges of coal languishing, shifting with every blink. Every step is upheld with an air of casual nonchalance, but the slight tremble in his fingers betrays him. His pale hair is dull and falls over his scarred eye.

“...You look like a wreck.”

Etho scowls for a bare moment but beats it down to a practiced neutrality. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Joel snorts. “Considering that I hadn’t asked but you tried to deflect anyways, say that I don’t particularly believe you.” He grabs Etho by the wrist and slides past, leading him down to their chests. “Did you sleep at all between now and the last session? Because your eyebags have eyebags. Bet we could fit a whole stack of items in there.” Before Etho can respond, Joel pops the lock on a chest and picks out a loaf of bread. He drops it into Etho’s hands with a nod of finality.

“I slept just fine. And I ate too, if that’s what you’re getting at by this.” He gestures helplessly with the bread. “I told you, I’m fine.”

Joel shrugs. “And I said I didn’t believe you. I can play this game all day, especially since your face isn’t helping your argument.”

Etho scowls again. “Stop saying that.”

“Saying what? That you look like you’ve been fighting phantoms? And losing?”

“Joel, please…” His shoulders are drawn in close and his grip on the bread grows tighter, more desperate.

Joel falters.

“Are you… okay?”

Etho makes a face and stalks back onto the ship. “You don’t need to rub it in, you know.”

Joel trails behind him, his sense of assurance drying up. “You’re gonna need to be a little more specific than that, mate. Rub what in?”

He laughs. Laughs. Something dry, something quiet, something brittle. Etho keeps his gaze trained on the bread crust he picks at aimlessly. “I know I’m nothing nice to look at. I’ve known that basically forever. So you don’t need to rub it in; I already know.”

Joel blinks. He stops following Etho’s pacing and stands in place. What does he say to that? “You’re kidding, right?”

Mm. Probably not that.

Etho gives him an unimpressed look. “Why would I be kidding about this? You’ve been saying it yourself all morning.”

Wait, he thought that… and then Joel…

Oh, goddammit.

Joel rubs a hand across his face letting it trail up to drag through his hair. “You look tired, man, not ugly. You’re not a supermodel—so what? Neither am I. And neither is anyone else that we hang out with. You’re in pretty good company.” His feet finally unstick from the floor and he manages to scoot next to Etho, their shoulders brushing. “You’ve been thinking about this the entire break, haven’t you?”

Etho shrugs, as if it hides the way his shoulders droop with the weight of his thoughts. “I don’t… I try not to think about my face too much. Not ever since”—he waves his free hand at the long, ropy line bisecting his face—“that. No mirrors in any of my builds or anything. I guess your silly t-shirt just reminded me that everyone else is looking at me when I talk to them.”

Joel kinda feels bad for taking that personally, now.

He shakes his head. “If you told me what was up, I would’ve ditched the shirt. Here, like this.” He reaches up with one hand and yanks it off by the neckline, tossing it across the ship in the same motion. It hits the wall and slides to the floor in a crumpled heap. “There, now it’s gone.”

Etho takes a minute to gather his thoughts. After a pause, his eyes trail over to meet Joel’s. “Thanks.”

Joel leans over and bumps him, never breaking eye contact. “Bothering people is fun. Hurting them isn’t.”

The moment passes, and Etho turns his attention back to the bread. He slides his mask down and takes a hesitant bite.

— — — — —

Joel leans back and kicks a foot over his leg. “Besides, I can still think of, like, at least three different people who would throw themselves at you in a heartbeat if they thought they had a chance of getting you into bed with them.”

Etho chokes on a mouthful of bread.

#double life smp #trafficblr #life smp #boat boys #ethoslab #smallishbeans #joel smallishbeans #double life fanfic #mcyt #idea writes #idea original post

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bittersweetarts · 6 months

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Fanfic Recommendations ✴ by bittersweetarts (Volume I)

Fandoms: Harry Potter (Books), House of the Dragon (TV), The Bear (TV), Criminal Minds (TV)

As much as I like writing fanfiction, I love reading it even more! I enjoy a beautifully-written story as much as anyone does, and recommend the following for those looking for a wonderful read that will make you feel like you're in another world –

dirty old town – Regulus Black x OC

Author: WizardGod

Status: Complete - AO3 Page

One of my favourite stories that I have ever read.

Set during the Marauders Era, the plot follows a young woman named Finn Lynch, who lives a reserved life in rural Ireland, until her uncle, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, asks her temporarily house a war defector from a Wizarding World she is not part of.

Word Count: 286,984

Tropes: Slow Burn, Mild Enemies-to-Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family

Thy Wicked Torment – Fred Weasley x OC

Author: this_pendent_world

Status: Complete - AO3 Page

You know it's a good fanfic when the writing actually makes you feel like you're in Hogwarts, and this story is impeccable!

Set during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the story follows a young Slytherin named Evangeline Parkinson Rothchild, and the trouble she ends up finding herself in as she becomes involved with Fred Weasley, Gryffindor's resident troublemaker.

Word Count: 218,347

Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst, Found Family

Where the Gold Meets the Green – Aemond Targaryen x OC

Author: vhagarapologist

Status: WIP - AO3 Page

Well-written House of the Dragon fanfiction with romance, political intrigue and minimal Targ-cest?? Say less. This is a fairly recent-read and is still being regularly updated, but I am really enjoying it and look forward to reading new chapters when they come out.

The story follows Leona Lannister, the only surviving child of Tyland Lannister, during the Dance of the Dragons, as she navigates life in King's Landing and catches the eye of two Targaryen princes.

Current Word Count: 67,148

Tropes: Slow Burn, Enemies-to-Lovers, Angst, Toxic Relationship

The Fool and the Dragon – Aemond Targaryen x OC

Author: prince_aemond_targaryen / @prince-aemond-targaryen

Status: WIP (Almost Complete) - AO3 Page

The first Aemond Targaryen story that I adored (written before the episodes with him as an adult aired) - back when Season 1 was airing, I would re-read the chapters between the weekly episode premieres to tide me over; it's just that good.

Faune Follard, the valued lady-in-waiting of Princess Helaena Targaryen, navigates life in King's Landing whilst enduring the ire of the One-Eyed Prince.

Current Word Count: 99,899

Tropes: Slow Burn, Angst, Mild Enemies-to-Lovers, Toxic Relationship

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart – Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto x Reader

Author: justfantasy

Status: WIP - AO3 Page

Finding good Carmy fanfiction is akin to searching for water in a drought, and I do really wish there was more! This is my favourite one, but sadly there aren't many chapters and it hasn't been updated in a while.

Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a man of few words, has a one night stand which turns into something more.

Current Word Count: 11,345

Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining

The Keeping of Words – Spencer Reid x OC

Author: BryWrites

Status: Complete First Version on Fanfiction.Net + WIP Second Version Re-Write on AO3

I read this story originally when it started being published seven years ago, and I was obsessed!

The story follows an aspiring human rights lawyer, Bianca Brown, as she is asked to assist on a BAU case and ends up finding herself intertwined with a member of the BAU, an elusive man named Dr. Spencer Reid.

Word Count: 264,402 (FFN) / 202,439 (AO3)

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort, Second Chances, Slow Burn

This list is not very long, but like said, these are stories that I really enjoy and feel passionate about. Evidently I prefer self-insert fanfiction, but I do read anything and everything. If you have a recommendation (for any fandom and any pairing), feel free to share in the comments!

I also write fanfiction myself, and my masterlist is linked below incase you'd like to give any story a read.

– Masterlist ✴ by bittersweetarts

Until next time, Happy Holidays!

PS. I still don't know how to respond to comments on posts (as this is a secondary blog), but I read and appreciate them all! If you ever want a direct response from me, you can private message me or send a question in my ask inbox.

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writtenfangirl · 1 year

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Miracles

WOWZA THIS IS A DOOZY

I’ve written longer fics but this one’s pretty long too! 7623 words long.

Anyway, ENJOY!

“Why do you hate me?”

Y/N looked up and blinked in surprise, the paper she was sketching on momentarily forgotten.

“What?” Y/N managed to say cooly.

“You hate me. And don’t deny it,” Loki said quickly when he saw Y/N open her mouth to refute Loki’s statement. “You speak to me in clipped tones and you have never, not once, looked at me with anything but contempt in your eyes. What have I done to deserve your ire?”

Y/N pursed her lips before she slowly closed her sketchbook, her pencil stuck between the pages. She gathered all her strength as she stood up, raveling her breath like spun thread before she met Loki’s deep penetrating gaze.

There was fire in her eyes, a searing well of hate so deep that it took him aback. Loki could have drowned in her hate as easily as it could have burned him.

“2012,” Y/N said evenly without so much as a hint of heat in her tone. “74 people were killed in the Battle of New York. In the grand scheme of things, 74 lives lost are pretty good odds considering that millions of people lived in New York. We were told to be grateful to the Avengers for saving our lives. It’s hard to be grateful when everyone I loved died that day.”

And before Loki could react, Y/N had walked away.

It seemed, her ire was well deserved.

“So you hate them as well?”

“What?” Y/N asked, no longer bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. Her brow furrowed in annoyance, her lips slightly parted as air whooshed in and out in controlled even breaths. Her sketchbook was once again momentarily forgotten with Loki breaking through her once peaceful reverie.

“You said, ‘We were told to be grateful to the Avengers for saving our lives. It’s hard to be grateful when my whole family died that day.’ Those were your exact words.” Loki said, pulling up the chair across from Y/N despite her deep scowl telling him not to. “Your words imply that you hate the Avengers and, by extension, my brother. If there is anyone to be blamed for your family’s demise, it should be them. Their inadequacy caused the death of 74 people. And yet, here you are, a part of the very institution you despise.”

Y/N was such in a deep state of shock that for a moment, she forgot to be angry. Was he really blaming the Avengers for her family’s death? Then the rage began to settle in her. Her blood became hot, her skin suddenly feeling the hard bristles of anger poke within her as if her emotions were fighting for release. “What? You think I would blame the Avengers for what happened to my family?” She released a harsh bark of laughter, one that had Loki’s hair rising on end.

“I would have assumed—“

“You assumed wrong,” Y/N said viciously, any sign of mirth in her face replaced with cruelty. The fire in her veins was singing now, a savage song of nails and broken glass that had Y/N’s breath hitching in her throat.

She could throttle him, she thought. She could actually wrap her fingers around the god of mischief’s neck and squeeze as hard as she could and no one would be the wiser. The compound was currently empty with the rest of the team off on a mission, leaving only Y/N and Loki alone in their base of operations. Y/N had thought that with the compound being as large as it is, it would be more than easy to avoid Loki but it seemed, the god of mischief was eager to seek her out. If she killed him now and buried his body in the woods, no one else would know. She could kill him and she would do it with alacrity, she thought to herself.

Judging by Loki’s earnest face, he seemed oblivious to Y/N’s murderous thoughts. Maybe he just didn’t care.

Y/N took a deep shuddering breath. Even though Loki deeply unsettled her, he was still Thor’s brother. Thor likely wouldn’t appreciate it if Y/N went and offed his brother. In a fair and even fight, Loki would likely be able to fend Y/N off all by himself but Y/N rarely fought fair. She was a survivor and if there is one thing every survivor knew it was the futility of trying to fight fair. Life was never fair and a person should never limit their options by trying to be honorable. You fight with everything that you’ve got with anything you can reach and with whatever thing you can do, consequences be damned.

She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. She packed her stuff as she spoke in the hopes that maybe keeping her hands busy would mean that she would be unable to kill Loki.

“The only person to blame for New York is you,” Y/N huffed as she slammed her sketchbook shut. She gave Loki a steely glare. “The Avengers were the good guys. You weren’t. If there is anyone to blame for what happened to my loved ones, it would be you.”

And she walked away one again before Loki could say anything.

The chair across from her scraping against the floor had Y/N’s eyes rolling so hard, she was sure she saw her brain inside her head. Only one person would bother her while she was trying to finish her sketching.

“Loki, I would like to be left alone, please.” She said the words coldly, her voice unflinchingly hard. She kept her gaze steady on her pencil as it moved around the page, the shavings darkening her fingers as she used it to shadow and shade her drawing.

She really didn’t want to deal with Loki right now. Any time Loki came to speak to her, her memories attacked her, consuming her very thoughts until all she could think about until the wee hours of the night was her family. Reliving those memories were a special kind of torture Y/N wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even Loki.

But Loki didn’t leave her alone. Instead, he sat in the chair across from her, silent.

Y/N didn’t so much as acknowledge him. She couldn’t make him leave, that much was true, but she could ignore him.

“I wasn’t myself.”

Y/N’s pencil stopped on the page, her eyes still wholly focused on her drawing but her ears trained on the god before her. She waited for a breath and then another, her mind counting the seconds before Loki decided to speak again.

“I wasn’t myself when I attacked New York.”

Y/N glance up at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Loki’s face seemed impassive, his mouth set in a tight line, his eyebrows without any creases. But his eyes, so impossibly blue, swam with an emotion Y/N couldn’t describe. There was sadness there, yes, and perhaps there was even a little bit of regret but most of all, there was anguish.

Yes, that had to be it. Anguish. Anguish so deep and haunting, it was like seeing a tortured ghost in a haunted house. It would have been frightening had it not been so sad. She’d only seen that look on someone’s eyes on one person before and it was every time she looked at herself in the mirror.

He wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were downcast and faraway, his mind in the thrall of whatever unpleasant memory made him look so haunted.

“I do not know if you are aware of the history I have with my brother but I can guarantee, it had not been easy.” Loki said, his voice even, betraying none of the sorrow in his eyes. “When we fought for control over Asgard, I fell off the rainbow bridge and found myself in Thanos’ presence. He…” Loki hesitated, his eyebrows creasing. He cast a glance towards Y/N and when he saw that she was listening intently, he continued. “I was tortured. The knowledge of how long I was tortured was kept from me. A hundred years could have passed and I would never know. All I knew from my time with him and his brood was excruciating pain. There isn’t a day that goes by when I do not regret my actions in New York but they were the actions of a scared and broken man. It does not excuse me, I know but I am sorry, for whatever my apology is worth.”

Y/N often imagines what grief would look like if she decided to draw it. She could easily draw happiness, it was sunshine and flowers in bloom, the thawing of ice as spring began to awaken. She could draw anger, all broken glasses and smashed windows and fire consuming everything it touched. She could imagine envy, silken green sheets that wrapped around a person’s throat, stealing the breath out of a person’s lungs. She could even draw sadness, the image of a sputtering flame, smothered by a torrential rain. But she could never imagine grief. It was hard to imagine something abstract to compare it to when she saw grief in her face every day.

Right now, if she tried to draw it, all she would see was Loki’s face. His face turning soft, almost disheartened, a singular tear falling from his eye, as solitary as he most likely felt.

It was the first time Y/N saw him without any hint of his usual bravado and somehow, that thawed something in herself.

Her own eyebrows furrowed, a frown dashing the once impassive expression on her face. She gently closed her sketchbook before her hands reached across the table and clasped Loki’s hand around her own. He looked at their clasped hands, his skin pale against the darkness of the pencil shavings in her hands and Y/N could almost note the exact moment when hope crept in his face like a trickle of water.

“I forgive you,” Y/N said softly.

And before Loki could say anything, Y/N was already on her feet, rushing towards her room in an effort to hide her fast beating heart and the rock that lodged itself in her throat.

Forgiveness was no easy thing, of that Y/N was certain. It left her breathless, the memory of the event, sitting in the kitchen table, Loki’s mournful eyes, replaying itself in her mind like a movie.

She has forgiven him. She was sure of that.

But the anger that had become a leech in her life suddenly didn’t know where to go.

It felt like a beast trapped under her skin, a slithering monster constricting around her heart, fangs pierced through it and continuously pumping out copious amounts of venom, filling her with wrath.

It was funny how her powers manifested itself as fire, flames consuming everything around it. Her rage felt like that. Fire consuming anything good she could ever feel, would ever feel, in her life.

With a scream of rage, her arms swung, the fire that erupted in her fingertips flying through the air in a graceful arc that hit the target square in the chest in an explosion of sparks and flame. It consumed the target, its heat licking at the plastic of the dummy until it became a melted mess on the floor.

“Someone’s angry.”

Y/N spun, her anger momentarily forgotten as she stared at Loki, who’d been watching her from the entrance of training room.

“I must admit, it’s nice to see your anger directed at something other than me.”

Y/N turned her back to him, another crackle of flame erupting from her fingertips as she hit another plastic dummy with a blast of fire.

“Silence,” Loki noted as if Y/N’a silence was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Loki’s voice was starting to become grating. She wanted to be alone, as she always wanted to be when she was training.

Unfortunately, Loki didn’t get the memo.

“I thought you’d forgiven me.”

Another dummy went up in flames.

“I have,” Y/N said, her tone clipped and devoid of emotions.

“And yet, you are upset?” Loki’s words ended in such a way as if he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know the answer to his own question.

“Not with you.”

It was the most Y/N could say before she sent another dummy into its burning grave.

“Then with who?”

Y/N sighed. She wasn’t sure why she was so angry and in truth, she wasn’t really angry at anyone. She just needed an outlet to release all of her negative emotions and she’d rather kill plastic dummies than hurt any of her friends in a sparring session.

Y/N turned to Loki, ending her session for the day. Hurting defenseless dummies wasn’t doing anything for her rage anyway. “I just have a lot of negative emotions and I needed an outlet. Better I hurt these dummies than my friends. I’ve burned them enough times to know how painful it is to fight with me.”

“Have you burned my brother too?” Loki asked with a wry smile.

“Him more than most,” Y/N answered with a small smile of her own, “he always thinks he’s some kind of indestructible god so he always steps up to the plate whenever I need to train with someone. Unfortunately for Thor, fire hurts more than lightning. He’s been burned so often, it’s a miracle he isn’t covered in scars.”

“Asgardian skin is tougher than you Midgardians think.”

Y/N simply shrugged. “My sparring partner needs to be more than just indestructible. They need to be fire proof.”

At that, Loki seemed to smirk. “Perhaps I can be of assistance. Has my brother ever told you of what I am?”

“Frost giant, right? Not really Asgardian.”

Loki nodded. “I am a prince of Jotunheim. It lends me abilities that most do not have. We are creatures of ice, you see. Your fire would have no effect on me.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’d like to offer up my services as your sparring partner. If you’d have me, that is.”

Y/N considered this. Though she’s forgiven Loki, there was no denying that she was still upset with him. After all, she is only human and she lost her family because of his actions. It would take a saint or even an angel in order to truly forgive Loki for everything he’d done.

And she was anything but an angel.

“Alright then,” Y/N said as she walked towards the center of the room, “let’s see what you got, Loki.”

Loki seemed surprised at Y/N. “You wish to train with me now?”

“No time like the present. Now are you going to fight me or not, Loki?”

Loki stared at her as if wondering if she was truly serious. After finding Y/N’s face devoid of heistation, his pristine black suit transformed into full Asgardian fighting leathers as he walked towards Y/N, his skin shifting into a frigid blue, his eyes an enchanting red.

Y/N didn’t so much as blink at the strangeness of his alien form. She’d seen scarier and stranger aliens and Loki’s vaguely humanoid features was enough to remind her that underneath all of the strangeness was still Loki.

“You should know, Loki, I don’t let up,” Y/N said as she crouched, her body poised and graceful like a jungle cat.

“Let up?”

She often forgot that Loki and Thor were Asgardian, unfamiliar with Earth’s little turn of phrases. Seeing his brows brought together, his faced scrunched up in thought at her words had a wry smile stretching her lips. “It means I don’t stop until I win.”

At that, Loki grinned. “I should hope not. I would like a worthy fight, after all.”

“You never did say how you got your abilities.” Loki’s voice filled the quiet space, sucking Y/N out of her reverie.

Her eyes snapped towards him, heavy with lethargy. “What?”

“Your abilities. Midgardians aren’t born with the ability to control fire.”

Y/N’s eyes snapped towards the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the flurry of snow fall from grey sky. Loki and her sat on one of the expensive couches Tony purchased for the compound, a roaring fire crackling on the fireplace, their only source of light. They were alone again, the compound empty save for the god of mischief and the peculiar human. The team had decided to spent the holidays in their respective homes and with Y/N being alone and Loki refusing to come home to Asgard for the winter solstice, the pair had been forced to spend the holidays with each other.

It wasn’t as unbearable as Y/N initially thought. After the hours they’d spend training with each other, Y/N’s contempt at being around Loki had thawed. It wasn’t gone by any means but it wasn’t as bad as it was before. She can have a civil conversation with him now without feeling the urge to stab him in the chest.

She couldn’t remember the last time she spent Christmas with someone other than herself and if Y/N was being honest with herself, it was nice to not be lonely for a change.

Today, she woke up feeling better about herself in days, good enough that she even had the energy to put up a Christmas tree.

Well, she only had half the energy and so the tree was bare on one side and the side that did have decorations was a little disorganized but in Y/N’s defense, she hadn’t decorated a tree in years.

In fact, despite how unappealing the tree looked, it looked pretty against the orange light of the crackling fireplace and the backdrop of the falling snow.

“I don’t think you’d like the story of how I got my powers,” Y/N muttered, leaning forward to grab her mug of mulled wine. It had gone cold quickly despite the roaring fire but it wasn’t anything Y/N couldn’t fix. Her hands easily warmed up the beverage, heating it up until steamed danced in the air before her.

“I am bored and I will welcome any story you tell no matter how horrendous you think it to be.”

Y/N glanced at him, her previous feeling of tiredness melting away. She suddenly felt on edge by Loki’s words. What was it about Loki that had alarm bells pealing in her head despite her best efforts to remain calm?

She took a sip of her mulled wine, the alcohol like a shot of liquid courage straight to her veins. She placed the cup back down to the coffee table before facing Loki, who was looking at her with a peculiar expression.

“If I tell you this story, you have to swear to me that you would never repeat whatever I say to another person.” Y/N’s eyes flashed in severity, one that had Loki’s interest piquing.

Loki simply nodded, his own face losing the once mirthful expression upon seeing Y/N’s own seriousness.

Y/N took a deep breath, a faraway look gleaming in her eyes as she began to tell her story.

“I was always ambitious when I was a kid. I had big dreams for myself, the biggest dream being that I could follow into my parents’s footsteps. They were scientists, you see. The best in the world. So good in fact that SHIELD gave them grant after grant to continue their research. They were thermonuclear scientists. My parents thought that they could find a way to infuse the power of a nuclear bomb to people.

“I always thought their jobs were so cool. I strived hard to be as good as them, as smart as them. I graduated high school at the age of 15 and college at 18. I received my PhD for Physics and Chemistry when I was 22 and I worked under my parents ever since.

“On the day you attacked New York, I was away on business and on the way home for my birthday. They planned a party for me, my parents, my sister and even my friends were all there. Everyone that I loved was in our little loft, waiting for me to arrive from the airport after my plane was delayed. Then you attacked and they died and—“

The ball that lodged itself in Y/N’s throat left her silently gasping. Talking about New York, about her family and her friends, about how much she lost that day, always brought a fresh wave of tears in Y/N’s eyes. It didn’t matter how many years have passed since the genesis of her grief, her grief was a monster lodged in her heart, hissing and spitting poison at anyone who tried to dislodge it.

Something in Loki’s eyes shifted. He reached for her and Y/N briefly wondered if being comforted by Loki was what she wanted.

Before her mind could make up a response, her body acted instinctively. Her body seemed to cave in, allowing Loki to briefly touch her cheek to wipe away the solitary tear that rolled down her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Loki whispered, his eyes full of sorrow tinged with regret.

“Anyway,” Y/N said hastily, wiping away her eyes despite Loki’s frown. “I threw myself into my work and completed my parents’ life work. Unfortunately, there isn’t a long line of people willing to be turned into a nuclear explosion and so I buried myself underground and experimented on myself. Not exactly something I recommend. After three days of pure agony, I emerged and became a completely different person. Contacted Nick Fury as soon as I realized what I became and I’ve been working with the Avengers ever since.”

Loki was silent for a while as he processed Y/N’s words. “How do you do that?”

“What?”

Loki frowned, as though to say, isn’t it obvious? “How do you act as though your past doesn’t haunt you? I saw you when we first met. You hated me. There is no other word for the fire in your eyes. But you never said a word to the others about how you felt and even after I stayed here, encroached on your space, pestered you with questions about the past that you would rather forget, still you never said anything to the others in the hopes of relieving yourself. Why is that?”

“I distinctly recall yelling at you several times.”

“You said plenty to me but not to them. Not to your friends. Not to the people who could easily cast me aside and turn me away whether Thor wants them to or not.”

Of all the things he could have asked, that was the one she least expected. She lifted a shoulder in response. “I don’t know. I’ve spent a lot of my time dwelling on the things I wish I could change. The past… it sucks and it’s messy but I can’t do anything about it anymore. I can only control the now, change the today. I figured, since you joined us, you’d want to change too. Who am I pass to judgement on you because you want to change?”

Loki looked as though he wanted to argue with her and so Y/N spoke again before he could. “Enough talk about me. Tell me about you.”

If Loki was jarred but Y/N’s sudden change in topic, he didn’t show it. But she did get the lingering sense that their conversation wasn’t over.

“You wish to know about me?” Loki said with an eyebrow raised in question.

She nods. “It’s only fair, I think. I say something about me, you say something about you.”

Loki seemed ti hesitate before he spoke. “What would you like to know?”

“Do you have a girl back home?” She didn’t really want to know but it was the only thing her mind could conjure up at the moment.

“A girl?”

“Or is it a boy?”

Loki grinned at that. “Neither. I have no one. I am… alone.”

“Really?”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

Yes. No. Y/N wasn’t sure. Loki was handsome, too handsome really. Thor once told her that the Royal family was good looking, even by Asgardian standards and though Y/N had never seen Odin or Frigga, she had to agree with Thor the first time she saw Loki. Not only was Thor incredibly good looking, but Loki was too. But he was also the god of mischief and he couldn’t have been too popular back in Asgard.

She shrugged. “I figured there has to be at least one person you’ve fallen in love with before.”

“There has been a few individuals,” Loki said slowly. Like he’s picking out the right words to say. “Near immortality is too long to bear it alone. But, as of this moment, no. I don’t have anyone. Do you?”

At that, Y/N let out a derisive snort. “I’ve never even been kissed before.”

Loki’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Well believe it because it’s true.”

“I don’t understand,” he said with a quizzical frown, “I have seen how you act when you think no one is watching and your soul, despite the anger that resides in you, is one of the purest I’ve ever met. Surely someone else has noticed you.”

Y/N quickly stamped down the warm heat that blossomed in her chest at Loki’s compliments.

“I’m not exactly beautiful. I’m pretty much average in the looks department.”

“You Midgardians and your shallow definition of beauty,” Loki said with a frown.

She raised an eyebrow, almost in challenge. “Why? Do you think I’m beautiful?”

“Yes.” The word tumbled out of his lips as quickly as if he were saying the sky was blue. Like it was an absolute truth of the universe that couldn’t be contested. The sun was a giant ball of gas, the grass is green and Y/N was beautiful.

Fighting the rising blush in her cheeks, Y/N shrugs again. “I’ve never really found anyone worth it before.”

“Oh?”

“I want love, I do. I want the kind of love that could stop war in its tracks. The kind of love that is both the disease and the cure. I want the kind of love that could cheat death and breathe life into the earth. I want the kind of love that people write about in books. But I’m not stupid. That kind of love doesn’t come too often and I refuse to settle for less. I know what I deserve. I am not afraid of loneliness but I am afraid of wasting my time.”

“I thought you humans believe that it is better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all?“

“Most people do,” Y/N said as she took another sip of her mulled wine, ignoring the creeping flush on her cheeks. “I don’t.”

A thoughtful look passed over Loki’s features as he contemplated her words. Y/N wasn’t entirely sure what that meant so she continued sipping her mulled wine, still warm in her hands.

The quiet was nice. The crackling of the roaring fire, the warm scent of the candle she’d previously lit filled the room with the scent of Christmas. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine the laughter of old Christmas mornings with her family filling her.

For a moment, she almost forgot Loki was there and it was his voice that startled her out of her reverie.

“Do you think I’m a good person?”

She peered at him through a single eye, past her lashes. Despite the blur, Y/N could see that Loki’s eyebrows were furrowed into a frown, his mouth almost pouting as he looked at her expectantly.

“Does it matter, what I think?”

“It does to me.”

That had Y/N’s eyes snapping open.

“Your opinion of me matters very much.”

“Why? Why do I matter?”

Loki raised his shoulder in a shrug. “If someone who I’ve hurt—have taken everything from—can still think I’m worthy of redemption, then perhaps, I am.”

“God, what is with you and Thor and worthiness. I’m going to have to have a talk with Odin about drilling worthiness into his sons heads.”

“Y/N.”

She let out a sigh. “Alright, if you want my opinion so badly.”

“I do.”

Y/N let the mirth from her face drop. “I think everyone is worthy of being redeemed, even you. Especially you. We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. Shame coats this building thicker than paint. All of us who have ever lived in this building, have done things we regret and yet people call us heroes. Imagine how much they’d love you when they forgive you.”

“Do you think they can forgive me?” A look of hope filtered through Loki’s face, lighting up his features. Against the orange glow of the crackling fire, it made him look beautiful.

“I think that if I can forgive you, then they can too.”

Slowly, the Avengers began to trickle back into the compound. She greeted her friends with open arms, feeling lighter than she had in days.

Spending the holidays with Loki was a more pleasant experience than she initially thought it was going to be. After their… talk (it was more like a heart to heart, really) Y/N could comfortably be around Loki without wanting to tear her hair out of her head or cry or punch something.

In fact, in the rare occasions she could find some time for herself to draw, Loki was there, watching her in silence. Sometimes, he’d bring a book with him, a Midgardian book more specifically. Y/N wasn’t sure what he was reading, as Loki always magicked the book’s cover away into a generic leather-bound tome but he seemed to be enjoying it.

It was a little awkward at first. Truthfully, she found the parallels of their past situation hilarious. Wasn’t it only 6 months ago that Y/N was yelling at him for the murder of her loved ones at this very table? But it’s been nice, too. Quiet. Almost peaceful.

And that’s where they sat today, Loki and Y/N. It had been a grueling week of mission after mission and Y/N was thoroughly exhausted. So much so that Steve had even ordered her to stay in and rest while the rest of the team dealt with the problem alone.

Not that she was complaining. Time alone was rare and though she wasn’t technically alone, what with Loki mere inches away from her, it was still time she treasured.

He was reading again. His eyes scanning through the words on the page, his face almost earnest as he devoured his book. The sound of the pages of his book turning sliced through the quiet scraping of Y/N’s pencil against her sketchbook.

She’d been staring at him for the past fifteen minutes, her sketch momentarily forgotten, her eyes trained on the Asgardian whose eyes were furiously going from one end to the other of his book.

She wondered how long she’d have to stare before Loki finally realized that she’d been watching him.

Apparently, long enough for Y/N to grow impatient.

“Loki, what are you reading?” She asked, head cocked to the side in question.

Loki tore his eyes from the page almost reluctaantly. “Pardon?”

She fought a wry grin. “What are you reading?”

His once open face, turned sharp. Red tinged his cheeks, his smiling lips suddenly pursed, his eyes wide in… was that embarrassment? “Nothing.”

Oh it’s definitely something. “Loki, you look like a fourteen year old kid who was caught shoplifting. What are you reading?”

Loki slammed the book shut, schooling his face to be as still as stone. The only thing giving him away was his reddened cheeks. “Nothing of your concern, Y/N.”

“Ah. Is it smut? It’s okay if it is. I promise not to tell.” She said in an attempt to goad him into some kind of reaction.

But rather than reacting the way she thought he would, Loki’s brows pulled in puzzlement. “What is smut?”

Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to particularly describe that to Loki. “Never mind. I’m not sure I’m ready to get into that with you. You’re reading a Modgardian book?”

“Yes.”

“Do I happen to know this book?”

Loki narrowed his eyes at her and she watched, almost in amazement, as he stood up and walked away without another word.

“Are you seriously just going to ignore me?” Y/N called out, almost gobsmacked.

“Enjoy your sketching, Y/N.” Was Loki’s only reply before he disappeared from the dining room and into the living room.

“And then, he just walked away from me like a petulant child!” Y/N exclaimed, her hands flying everywhere as she recanted the story to Wanda and Natasha. “It was the weirdest thing ever!”

Natasha smirked. “Sounds like someone I know.”

“Oh please,” Y/N said with a derisive snort, “I have never walked away.”

“I don’t know about that, you do it quite often,” Wanda chimed in teasingly.

“Yeah, Y/N. You tend to avoid confrontation.”

“I do not.”

“Suuuuure,” Natasha said before shooting Wanda a knowing look.

“Besides, who even taught Loki about Earth’s customs and literature.”

“I did,” Wanda said, causing Y/N eyes to snap to her in surprise.

“You did?”

“Yeah. He came to me for help. He said he wanted to get to know Earth more. I lent him some of my books.”

“What were the books you lent him?” Y/N asked, a morbid sense of curiosity seizing her.

“The classics. Austen and Shakespeare to name a few,” Wanda replied with a shrug. “I lent him some modern books too but all I had were romances. I even managed to get him to read the bible. I wasn’t sure if he’d be interested but he took them from me anyway.”

A giddy smile spread across Y/N’s face at the thought. “You lent him romance books?”

“And the Bible?” Natasha’s eyebrows shot straight to her hairline in surprise.

Wanda nodded. “I did. He didn’t really like the Bible but he seems to be enjoying the romance novels. He gives it right back after he’s done with them so he can start another one. Finishes about three a week. I’m actually running out of books to recommend.”

“I didn’t realize he’d like reading romance books,” Natasha quipped.

“Neither did I.” And the grin that spread through Y/N’s lips could only be described as mischievous.

“You could have told me you liked reading romance books, you know,” Y/N fought the teasing smile that threatened to erupt from her lips.

Loki feigned indifference as he glanced at her from the top of his book. “I haven’t the faintest clue what you are talking about.”

“Jigs up, Loki. Wanda told me you’ve been borrowing books from her.” She pulled herself a chair, sitting down next to Loki, the image of casual grace.

“Now I understand your previous irritation with me upon my interrupting your reverie,” Loki muttered with an eye roll.

“I didn’t take you for a romantic,” she said, ignoring his jibe.

Loki didn’t so much as react, his eyes focused intently on his book.

“It’s alright, you know,” Y/N continued, ignoring Loki’s indifference. “I like romance books too. I enjoy them immensely.”

Y/N could almost feel Loki’s hesitation. “I quite like Austen.”

“She’s one of my favorites. My mom’s too,” Y/N grinned. “Though I prefer Pride and Prejudice to my mom’s Sense and Sensibilities.”

“I’m partial to Pride and Prejudice as well,” Loki said evenly. “Though I find many of its characters irksome.”

“Lemme guess. Mr. Collins, Lydia and maybe even Lady Catherine?”

“To name a few.”

“So what possessed you to start reading Midgardian romance novels?” As she said this, she maneuvered her chair until she was facing Loki, her legs coming up to rest on his lap almost absentmindedly.

If Loki was bothered by Y/N’s sudden feeling of comfortableness around him, he didn’t show it.

The seconds that passed before Loki spoke again had Y/N briefly wondering if she should repeat her question. “You once told me that you want the kind of love people write about in books. I wanted to see what that love meant.”

Of all of the things Loki could have said, that was the one Y/N least expected. “What? Why would you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Care about what I want.”

“Truthfully, I do not know,” Loki’s face was troubled, as though the very idea of caring about Y/N was concerning to him. But then he smoothened his expression with finality, as if in the span of a few seconds, he had come to accept that he truly cared for her.

Y/N didn’t know what to make of it and she ignored the fluttering butterflies that roiled in her stomach.

“I have come to care for you, Y/N,” Loki’s voice was soft and low, like Y/N was some wounded bird with a broken wing who needs soothing. He leaned forward earnestly, encroaching on her personal space. “I do not know when my heart decided to care for you or even why. I do not even know how you have accomplished where so many others have failed. But I do know that I care for you.”

“You care for me?” Y/N echoed dumbly.

“Most ardently.” Loki’s hand reaches for her, his knuckle brushing the hollow of her cheeks before his thumb glided across her open lips. “My body craves you, do you know that? It seeks you even when my mind does not. Every time I enter a room, I find myself looking for your familiar figure. When you laugh, it is the sound of my world hurdling through its axis. And when you smile at me… not even the explosion of a thousand suns could describe the warmth that burns in my chest at the sight of that smile.”

Y/N’s mouth was still hanging open at Loki’s words, her eyes wide and gobsmacked.

“I once thought you beautiful,” Loki’s eyes darted to her lips. His pupils were blown, the black like an island in the middle of a vast sea. “Now I know there are no words in any language to describe what you are. Your Midgardian customs, they are foreign to me. But I would gladly become a scholar and learn them all if it means learning you.”

Y/N had to swallow down the lump in her throat. Her tongue darted to her lips in an attempt to stave off the dryness but Loki’s heated gaze turned burning at the sight of her tongue.

She didn’t like how he made her feel, not after he said those things to her. But she would be a liar if she ever said she wasn’t the least bit affected by them.

She was too affected by them.

If this is how Lucifer felt before he fell then, my god, Y/N would have rebelled against Heaven too.

But rather than saying anything, Y/N quickly pushed Loki away, swiping her legs out from his lap and ran out of the dining room.

She left the matter alone and now it is a festering wound ripe with infection.

Loki’s been stealing glances whenever they were in a shared room and so she’d spent her free time holed up in her room, only leaving when her needs call for her or her job demands that she leaves.

She hadn’t spoken to Loki in a week and when she told Wanda and Natasha what had transpired within them, all her two friends din was smirk at each other.

“What?” Y/N demanded, her face pulled in a scowl of annoyance.

“Just that you proved us right again.” Natasha said nonchalantly.

“You ran away from him. That is avoiding confrontation.” Wanda added.

“I didn’t run away.”

“Pretty sure you did.”

“Nat!”

Nat raised her hands placatingly, further irritating Y/N. She was sitting by the desk in Y/N’s room, watching as Y/N wore the carpet down with her pacing.

“You can’t avoid him forever,” Wanda said.

“I know that,” Y/N said with a groan as she plopped on her bed next to Wanda. “I don’t know what to do.” Right now, all she wanted to do was hit something and with her avoiding Loki, she didn’t have her favorite sparring partner. It was enough to drive her nuts.

“Why not be truthful?” Natasha suggested. “How did Loki’s confession make you feel?”

Natasha’s question was enough to give her pause. She hadn’t actually thought about her emotions all that much.

Truthfully, Loki’s confession had her emotions racing. She couldn’t understand how she went from hating him, to reluctant allies, to liking him enough to be friends to this. Though, she wasn’t entirely sure what this was.

How did Loki make him feel?

There was only one answer to that question and upon realizing her feelings, she ran out of her room, ignoring Natasha’s irritated grumble. “There she goes again.”

Her feet ran throughout the compound, searching room after room for Loki’s familiar figure.

She felt like a thousand butterflies were ready to burst from her chest. Like laughter had been bottled up inside her for years and was finally yearning to be uncaged. Hers was a monster finally feeling the sun on its face for the first time in its life and she didn’t want to cage it again.

She skidded to a stop upon seeing Loki’s familiar figure, resting on one of the dining room table chairs.

The golden light from the setting sun hit him from all angles, casting him in a glow that softened his features. His body was relaxed, his breathing even but his eyes were far away. Y/N wasn’t even sure he noticed her watching him. But despite how quiet she was, something broke his reverie and his eyes slid towards her. It lit up in surprise at the sight of her and he stood up quickly. Loki’s lips began to form the first syllable to Y/N’s name but she interrupted him before he could.

“You make me feel alive.”

Loki paused, Y/N’s words silencing him.

“I am not a poet,” Y/N said, ignoring her fast beating heart, eyes focused on the man before her. “I don’t know how to use words like you can. I don’t know how to describe how I feel but I do know this. When I’m with you, I feel alive.”

Loki’s eyes widened in surprise at her words. He took a step towards her, one that had Y/N taking a step back, hands flying up to stop him. “I’m not done.”

Loki simply pursed his lips and let Y/N continue.

She took a deep breath before continuing. “When I’m with you, I feel alive. And… it scares me. I have never felt this way about anyone before and a part of me hates that of all the people I could have fallen for, it was you. You, who have hurt me more than anyone in this universe has. You have the power to hurt me even more than anyone ever will. And it scares the living crap out of me. I am terrified.”

Loki took another step forward and the look in his eyes had Y/N taking a step back, arms held out before her. As if to placate her, he bowed his head, attention to his feet but his ears still trained to her.

Without Loki’s penetrating gaze, the words came easily. They tumbled down from her lips like the dying leaves of autumn, falling slowly at first before you look up and realize just how bare the trees look. “I am terrified of the hurt and the pain. I am scared that you’ll make me feel alive and once you leave, you’ll leave me for dead. I can’t do that again. I can’t lose people like that again. But I am so tired of running. If I’m not too late and you’re still willing to try out whatever this is, then I am too.”

Ignoring her thundering heart, Y/N took a deep, shuddering breath. “You can say something now.”

But Loki stayed silent and Y/N’s pounding heart sounded like war drums in her ear.

“Loki?”

At his name, he looked up grinning like devil. He threw his head back, eyes trained to the ceiling, as if silent prayer. His lips were moving silently, saying words in a language Y/N couldn’t decipher. The glow from the windows made him look like an angel and it left Y/N breathless.

He finally met her eyes and his expression was lighter than she’d seen it in days.

“Loki, are you praying?” Y/N asked curiously.

“I am,” Loki confirmed as he closed the gap between them. “I do not believe in your gods but your words may finally convert me to religion. It’s nothing short of a miracle, I think, to hear you say what you said.”

“Funny you say that, I keep thinking you look like some kind of ethereal angel.”

“Angel? Darling, I am the furthest thing from it.” Loki was so close now, Y/N could feel the permanent chill emanating from his body.

“I know. I still think you look like one.”

He clasped his hands around her, that light smile on his face never leaving. It had the heart in Y/N’s chest thudding so fast, it was almost hard to count the beats.

“Thank you,” Loki said and Y/N knew nothing could wipe the grin off of Loki’s face at this very moment. “I am still unfamiliar of your Midgardian customs but I believe that in a situation such as this, confessions of love end in a kiss. May I kiss you?”

That elicited a laugh out of her ans Loki’s already light expression became even more joyful. “What I would do to hear you laugh like that everyday.”

“Yes, Loki. You can kiss me.”

And so he did.

311 notes · View notes

soyouareandrewdobson · 6 months

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Nintendo-vember Level 3: Dobson and his Toxic Nintendo Nostalgia

Nostalgia can be toxic. Now bear in mind, I did not say that it IS toxic, but that it can be toxic. This assumption that because we have pleasant memories of something, that it was always good all the time. A desire to get that back, ignores all the good that’s come since then. As well as all the bad stuff that was there too. And it poisons you. Making you more suggestible to deception and your own greed. Who is to say that your own past is more important than someone else’s future? And because you want something that may not have been real at all, the farther the goal post gets. Because you can’t really reclaim it. So it just gets worse and worse and you get greedier and more desperate for it, because what you really want is never going to come. Until in the very end, you become the thing you hated in the first place. Lewis Lovhaug – March 2018, Infinite Crisis

Everything I did for this month so far, was going to lead directly into today’s , actually long in the works, post. Cause today we go over the comic, that as far as I see it, may actually be Dobson’s most (in)famous one out there. The one that painted the public’s opinion of him more so than anything he would ever do when starting to draw “political comics” under Trump. The one that defined him for all of deviantart and kiwifarms from 2010 onward. A comic that will always show up, whenever someone online even remotely talks about him. The one that I have seen more times than any other being used for threads on /co/ for Dobson. A comic that is neither about politics, feminism or even part of any of his comic series. A comic that is truly centered around the concept of toxic nostalgia, rather than whatever Andrew Dobson was going for and that fits perfectly to the theme of this month.

Ladies, gentlemen and inbetween… I give you, the Localization one.

Released in 2010, a time when Dobson was still trying (and failing) to sell himself more on the image of just being a quirky nerd and Nintendo fanboy whose work you should support because he only wants to make others happy, this became a comic that genuinely cemented further in the eyes of others, how much of a self-indulgent and extremely manchildish prick with dumb taste he really was.

How, some here may ask who are a bit too young? Well, let me give you context…

For starters, by the time Dobson released the comic, he had already quite a bit of a reputation online for being a prick to other nerds. His infamous “West vs East” comic which he created “as a joke” to vent about the popularity of anime in the mid to late 2000s had been published three years prior and had, in combination with a lot of derogative journal entries and posts on deviantart and other pages, earned him the ire of many people. In addition, his failed or outright aborted “original” content had painted him as a quitter, who despite wanting all the fame someone could muster online, was not willing to put the necessary work in it.

Dobson was, for a lack of a better word, a bully among nerds who tried to use his platform to shame people for being “nerdier” than him or enjoying stuff he didn’t, while also playing the victim card for people not interested in purchasing his product or calling him out on his hypocrisies and flaws in opinions.

In that regard, Dobson was pretty much ahead of the curve to some “woke” companies. Insulting your customer and then being surprised when no one wants to buy your shit.

The other thing to be aware of, has to do with the history and popularity of Nintendo characters at least pre-1995 in America.

For the few not quite aware and as a quick reminder to everyone: Videogames back in the 80s and very early 90s (like 1990-92) did on average not necessarily have what we can call “complex” lore when it came to videogame stories and characters. At least not to a degree as we would get later in the mid-90s and onwards. Aside of (J)RPGs most games were simply focused on moving a character from one end of a level to the next and the story as to why we even bothered for Megaman to fight the Robo Masters and who the heck Dr. Wily was, was printed in the manual on a small page.

And Mario and Link were no exception to that. Mostly because they also had only very few genuine main titles under their name. By 1989, The Legend of Zelda had only two NES titles under its name, while Mario had (if we don’t account for non-jump n’run games in which he was shoved into because of his status as Nintendo’s mascot) the three main Mario Bros games for the NES, one game for the Game Boy, Mario Bros and the two Donkey Kong titles.

Lacking quite a bit in characterization game wise, Nintendo of America in order to sell the stuff had to partly make the characters appeal to the audience via localization done through merchandise and non-game related products. And early fans of these characters would obviously crave for it.

Enter The Super Mario Bros Super Show, a cartoon series produced on order of Nintendo of America by Haim Saban and DIC Enterprises (the same ones who would give us “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”, “Captain N” and “Inspector Gadget”) that ran from September 1989 till December of 1989. Using the first two Mario Bros games for the NES as basis for the character design of the show, the show itself had otherwise little to do with the games. Ignoring the live action segments, the actual animated episodes would have plots in which Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach (the later going by the then American official name of Princess Toadstool) traveled into whatever territory and had to deal with Bowser (or King Koopa as he was known) in a plot that had elements of some book, movie or anything else to parody.

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In addition the show would later have Legend of Zelda based animated segments, of which 13 were produced. Those featured Link living in Hyrule castle with a more active “power woman” Princess Zelda and a fairy companion named Sprite and the two having to deal with Ganon, who was more of a dark wizard than a warrior based demon.

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Overall, the shows were not really all that great compared to other stuff that existed cartoon wise, with some aspects of the characters feeling jarring nowadays. But honestly, for the sake of this article, I watched some of them and frankly they were not that terrible. They were typical 80s cartoon fanfare, which among other things included some animation errors and dumb slapstick. Especially the Mario segments were very slapstick heavy and Mario and Luigi were mostly characterized by Luigi being a bit of a scaredy cat even before the games did show him like that, Mario being rougher than you would think and dumb jokes about Luigi and Mario loving pasta and other Italian dishes. Because you know, Italians are only known for their cuisine!

The Zelda segments also had a bit of an “odd” character dynamic imagined for Zelda and Link. Zelda was a bit of a jerkass commanding bitch and Link could be a horndog trying to always flirt with her or trying to get a kiss.

There is one moment in an episode for example, where Zelda sits on Links bed after just having stopped some condor from stealing a piece of the Triforce guarded in Link’s room. Right then Link enters the room, sees the Princess sitting there and immediately says “smooching time” and tries to jump her to make out.

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Minute 3:15 – 3:20 more or less Yeah, I think Pepe le Hyrulian would not really sell well with more modern audiences and sensitivities.

All that said, I can understand people having a soft spot for the show and enjoying it unironically. It is just that I think most of them would also be intelligent and understanding enough to see, that these shows did NOT give the ultimate interpretation of who or what these characters and their games were. Truth be told, even back then those things weren’t really acknowledged by Nintendo. Sure, Nintendo of America may have given the okay to do those things. But in Japan, global headquarters gave more or less a rat’s ass about it. They were busy making the NES and Gameboy profitable and worked on Mario Bros 3.

Truth be told, the most “characterization” Mario even got in Japan at the time was as followed: Shigeru Miyamoto thought he should be Italian and from New York. The former because he “looked” Italian to him (as a result of the mustache), the later because Donkey Kong, the game Mario originated from, was inspired in part by King Kong and King Kong is set in New York. Mario didn’t even have a name originally, having been known by Jumpman once. The origin of his Mario name is, that after Minoru Arakawa (president of Nintendo of America at the time) got into an argument with a real estate developer named Mario Segale, who Arakawa owned rent money, the game developers decided to name the character Mario. Which may or may not have been meant as a “take that” against Mr. Segale. But if so, it’s one that backfired.

But I digress. Point of that entire elongated history lesson is, that Mario and Link were in terms of characterization mostly defined to some 80s kids, by their depiction in the American cartoon, which had however very little in common with what the games were about. It was e.g. the cartoon who popularized heavily the entire idea of the brothers being from Brooklyn and having been transported via a magic pipe into the Mushroom Kingdom, while in the actual games, such a backstory was never really given. As evident by even the actual American instruction manuals for Super Mario Bros 1 and 3 I checked out online for this. Look them up.

And again, most people, even the kids, could accept that the animated show and what the games were, differed.

Then came the 90s, and with more titles under their belt, Nintendo of Japan decided to flesh out their mascots more to increase their popularity, resulting in Mario, Link and others getting “official” personalities as shown by their behavior in games and not just the inofficial ones via non-canon foreign material. And again, most kids and people were okay with that. After all, the games were what really mattered to them in the long run. Plus I think that as long as the games would simply “capture” the spirit of whatever they liked in the characters iand games n the first place, they would be okay with it.

But not Andrew Dobson.

Born in 1981 and likely not owning a NES up until the cartoon aired, he jumped onto the show as an eight year old and became a fan of it. In fact he enjoyed the Zelda cartoon so much, even as an adult he would draw fanart about it

Nothing at all wrong with that in my opinion. You like something, you have the ability to create fan content for it, go for it.

But as we more or less already established via the Howard and Nester comic, Dobson was as a person dead set that only the thing he liked or was first exposed to counts and not whatever others thought. Something that supposedly may explain why he genuine hates Bowser Jr and Yoshi, as evident by these tweets made a few years after the Localization comic was made.

And yeah sorry, but how can one hate Yoshi? Yoshi is an adorable pet dinosaur you can ride. You know how many kids would have loved someone like that in their life? Gues if Yoshi was less into vore and more into inflation, Dobson would have liked him more.

Speaking of the comic -and to finally get back to it- even Dobson admitted years later that the entire point of it is to simply piss all over Nintendo and that he was annoyed that his “beloved” American continuity got erased in favor of the “dirty Japanese” one. Despite the fact that the Japanese one is, as he himself admits, official.

And boy does he take the piss on it. To the point I want to call him R. Kelly.

So lets dissect how his stand is just the typicla strawman affair, unfunny and at times quite frankly outright homophobic, sexist, hypocritical and racist.

First, the art. As always, it is just “great” to see the degree in animation being fully utilized here. No background but skyblue, everyone looking more like a doodle, the use of the fillbucket, the director having 5 fingers on his hand in the second panel, but four in the fifth, getting the numbers of fingers on Mario completely wrong, missing out on Peach in the last panel and so on… brilliant! How come Disney would not hire someone who could draw like that! Oh right, because standards. Though those have gotten quite low over the years

Every single person working on this needs to be blacklisted.

But of course, the true brilliance comes through the writing. Starting with the strawman executive coming off as if what he does is something new. That he is the “evil soulless corporation” who doesn’t care for his employees and creations true personality and forces them to fit into some mold for the audience to enjoy. The “audience” and consumers also being more or less indirectly insulted by the way Dobson presents the entire affair, as he seemingly wants to blame “those damn kids” for ruining his favorite childhood characters.

But Dobson, I thought you loved corporations hating on fans.

Then we come to what the characters are supposedly changed into.

(warning, upload of the comic for the third time, so you cna always see what I refer to)

First, Mario being no longer from Brooklyn and that he is supposedly an Italian stereotype. As a non American, I have to ask: Why is it so important that Mario has to be from Brooklyn? I get the feeling the only reason people like Dobson or Moviebob care about it, is because they want to deep down culturally appropriate the character. Assure he is in some way of American culture and doesn’t belong to some “dirty, foreign country”, even if they have to go for a compromise and make him a dirty half blood Wop. I mean, I will say this: Yes, Mario has an accent that is stereotypical. And? I take a stereotypical accent and being otherwise a determined but friendly everyday hero over him being stereotypically obsessed with pasta and no personality conveyed through his actions aside of being a bit mean and bossy to his brother, as was the case in that dang cartoon.

The thing here is, Dobson was genuinely convinced that Mario’s portrayal as given by Charles Martinet, Mario’s VA from the early 90s up until August of 2023, wasn’t just stereotypical, but also racist, harmful and culturally insensitive. Something he believed even back in 2017 and resulted in a minor twitter meltdown

Look, I will say this here: Yes, Martinet’s voice for Mario is kinda stereotypical. And I did my research. Unlike Martinet, Lou Albano, the original voice of Mario in the Mario Bros Super Show, was actually of Italian heritage. Born in 1933 in Rome, having immigrated to the USA shortly after he got baptized in the Vatican (you can’t get more Italian than that!), he certainly was more authentically Italian than Martinet, who was born in California. Heck, Martinet’s father is actually French and he spend more time in France in his youth than in America or Italy. The story of how Martinet got his gig as Mario is also well known and painted by a rather stereotypical joke involving Italian food.

But to paraphrase the twitter user Dobson argued with, I think that all things considered, Martinet gave Mario and all the other characters he voiced over the years just a certain warmth and fun to their personality with the way he delivered his lines, that he managed to convey and define the cartoonish true nature of Mario and Co for many generations to come. And even now that he has been retired from the role, he is still a name recognized for the character. A character no one, not even freaking nationalistic Italians, seem to have a problem with. So, mangia un cazzo, Dobson. You sound just like the assholes who tried to get rid of Speedy Gonzales and in doing so pissed off all of Mexico.

Next the way he talks about Peach. Okay first, the Popeye arms are again just something from the cartoons. Or at least he believes it cause…. Well

Does that look like Popeye arms?

Second, he is essentially saying that Princess Peach, unlike the cartoon version, is a bimbo. Why, because she is blonde and you have some sort of deep seated hatred for blond people? Also, Peach hasn’t fought with Mario together in really any NES videogame either, Dobson. Oh what, Mario Bros 2? Aka the reskinned version of Doki Doki Panic? The way he talks here about Princess Peach is just utterly sexist, as he essentially devalues Peach as a character, just because she plays a damsel in distress often times. Which doesn’t even necessarily mean, that she isn’t a badass in her own way, even in that role. I mean, she is still the sovereign ruler of an entire nation and in Super Princess Peach -which seems to be the game he references when it comes to her being “over emotionally”- she saves the day all on her own. Sure, she is emotional in the game, but the entire premise of the game is centered around everyone’s emotions going haywire along Vibe Island, including the villains. Bet Dobson hasn’t even played the game back in 2006 and just went off on some shitty rumor. Not to forget that this statement is utterly false. Peach has also been a great supporting character and fighter in games such as Super Mario RPG and Super Paper Mario, which were released BEFORE that comic. And nowadays she is also known as a great character in stuff like the Mario + Rabbids games plus she will get her own upcoming Princess Peach: Showtime game for the Switch. Lastly, let us not forget every game where, even if she played a damsel, was still important to the plot by defying the villain as best as she could. Not to forget the current movie, in which she still kicked ass while going out all in pink.

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So, after he has been racist towards Italians indirectly as well as sexist towards women embracing their brand feminity (boy, don’t want to know how 2011 Dobson would have then reacted to the Barbie movie of 2023), let Dobson be judgmental about anime fangirls and also rather homophobic, by the way how he tries to tear down “modern” Link.

There are four things I hate the most about the Link panel, which make it frankly in my eyes the one where Dobson’s hatred and own nastiness really shine through.

First, the accusation that the “changes” to Link’s design past “Link’s Awakening” can be attributed to anime fangirls. Showing both his true hatred for women when they don’t fall in line with his views and his stuck up shitty opinion about anime fans and combining it with latent misogyny. Look, I have seen thirst anime fangirls myself a lot over my lifetime. But they were not the demographic to “ruin” Link. If anything, I think that the popularity of Cloud Strife in general with others may have slightly influenced Link’s design for Ocarina of Time. Which in itself also had been in development at least since spring of 1996, till its release in November of 1998. And even then, that is a stretch I came up with, cause in my opinion someone in the development team likely just thought “Hey, what if we move on from the more cartoony look of the late 80s and early 90s and try some “darker” fantasy elements, without going full Berserk?” And that is how we got Link in that game. Because of some developers trying to appeal design wise to a general audience, not just a random group of made up strawmen. You want to see games pandering to actual Yaoi fangirls aesthetically? Play Enzai or Twisted Wonderland.

Second, again his hatred towards blond people. I really would like to know where that comes from, because I doubt it was only related to some random bully in school being blond.

Third, the way he uses the word effeminate and describes post Ocarina of Time Link essentially as “nonthreatening”.

For starters, considering Link rams his sword into Ganon’s skull in Ocarina of Time and slashes away at many of his enemies, which is way more threatening and violent than just poking them with a stick in 2D overhead view, I wouldn’t really consider him “non threatening”. I like to call him and many of his future incarnations, badass as fuck. Even the cartoonish, childlike Link from the Wind Waker continuity, who didn’t just stab Ganon in the head, but put his sword in there for good. It also is kinda laughable how Dobson uses the word “non threatening” in a negative manner, seeing how over the years ever since he sucked off Steven Universe, he would whine on twitter and other social plattforms again and again how males in media are always resolving conflict only via violence and are not in tune with their emotions. In other words, he once considered being more or less pacifistic a negative trait.

Also, “effeminate”? Okay first, Link looks like this in Ocarina of Time…

What exactly looks “effeminate” about male Link here, or at least let’s say more “effeminate” than for example in a character like this?

Second, we all know that if Link all off sudden looked more like Guts from Berserk or the protagonist of DarkSoul (you know, more “manly”), Dobson would throw enough of a hissy fit, he would likely come back from his sabbath and whine how Nintendo is embracing toxic masculine traits in his characters. All while also blaming PS3 games for some reason for that.

Third, how exactly would Dobson define effeminate here? I mean, the term is already defined as being derogatory, the most common definition I found by Merriam-Webter online being as followed

Effeminate: having feminine qualities untypical of a man : not manly in appearance or manner

Effeminate: marked by an unbecoming delicacy or overrefinement

So, Andrew “I hate all men” Dobson, has a problem with a character not being “typical” or stereotypical manly male? The same guy who praised the She-Ra reboot for its portrayal of Bow and fucking worships that fat fuck below as one of the best protagonists in a cartoon of the last decade…

Has actually deep down a problem with people embracing more female interests, qualities or just looking more feminine in appearance, even though the later may not be by choice but rather genetics? All while also having the audacity to say then this years later?

I find this just genuinely hate- and hurtful. Not just a simple complaint about a design choice regarding his supposed favorite fantasy game hero, but a “deep cut” towards people who just enjoy things not considered “stereotypically manly” or may feel not comfortable falling in line with gender expectations. I mean, what? Is a man now supposedly not manly in Dobson’s eyes because they like musicals, sweets are capable of showing empathy and other emotions or like to dress up in certain ways or take care of their appearance?

It is just disgusting to me, because I know people, both male and female, who had to deal with bullying and name calling a lot simple because they didn’t quite fall in line with expectations by others or struggle with their own identity partly because of expectations vs reality. And as evident by THIS comment TheHypocrisyofAndrewDobson received once it isn’t just “a joke” to people genuinely affected by that sort of mentality. And again, this derogatory use of the world and complaint towards “modern” Link comes from someone who years later would whine about toxic masculinity, put women on pedestals even if they are abusive, likely jerked it off to Link in Gerudo gear following Breath of the Wild and in the biggest ironic “twist”, loves the cartoon incarnation of Link, whose catchphrase is “Excuse me, Princess” and needs a restraining order as much as Warner Bros gave Pepe lePew.

And to finish this panel off (yes, we are still not at Samus), of course the next complain is how Zelda and Link are “no longer love interests” … now I apologize in advance towards any moderate shipper out here, but I am going full snarker mode now for this part. Okay?

Dobson… the fact that you cared so much about shipping two fictional characters in a series of children games, for a console primarily played by kids, while you were being in your 20s and above is pathetic as shit. I know that you have no one in life who genuinely loves you, because among other things you are incapable of either feeling or identifying true love while also being a selfish little shit, but to be so thirsty for affection that you project that need on some pieces of data or lines of color, makes you a bigger loser in my book than any republican who lost the primary against Donald Trump in 2015. The fact that you look at a piece of fiction and your immediate thought is “oohh, these two characters together would look very cute hugging, kissing and doing things I touch myself to at night”, while things such as plot progression and character development likely play second, third or fourth fiddle, only confirms to me that shippers (at least the once acting like you in that regard and other fields) are a fucking blight on any fandom and the world at large.

Now with that shit vented, I once again apologize for going that far, even for “comedic purpose” towards the people who actually can recognize when they go just a bit too far with shipping. But this isn’t just annoying in regard to this comic, it is annoying with Dobson in general. If you are even remotely aware of how he treats the LGBT subject for real as well as what he truly enjoys about Legend of Korra and Miraculous Ladybug, you know he is thirstier than someone stranded in the Gobi desert. Just look at his pic of Zelda and Linkle he made in honour of Hyrule Warriors.

I can kinda taste his urge to touch himself there.

To me it is just dumb to define any story out there and the characters in it by simply “are they getting together or not” because romance to me in storytelling is an additional flavor, not the main ingredient. It is one reason I really do not like Miraculous Ladybug for example. And the fact that Dobson seems to define Legend of Zelda a lot as a franchise by the “shipping potential” of Link and Zelda as implied by that panel, irks me in all the wrong ways.

I mean, for the most part the appeal of the Zelda games isn’t the “romance” between the two, it is traversing the land of Hyrule and saving it from evil while going on a big adventure. And let us be real here, Link and Zelda weren’t really an item pre-Ocarina of Time either. In the NES and SNES games they were essentially strangers to each other, with one filling the role of damsel in distress even a bit harder than Peach did. After all, Peach may be a princess, but she actually rules her kingdom. Zelda on the other hand is daddy’s little girl in those and other games post 1998. And the relationship they had in the cartoon, the one Dobson likes to call a “may they, won’t they” thing is in my opinion not cute, but toxic. She is a demanding bitch that calls him names at times, he is a horndog who needs a lecture by Sexual Harassment Panda and none of them improves character wise over the show.

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What a misogynistic piece of shit

There is a reason I consider Tetra, Zelda from Skyward Sword and the “Wild” Zelda the better interests, because not only do Link and Zelda here have better chemistry and are both nicer and more respectful to each other in a manner, they also support each other in very heroic ways. I mean, Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom willingly sacrificed her own conscious just so Link can have a shot at defeating Ganon and saving Hyrule in the future, while Link wants to do everything to save his friend. If that isn’t impactful, tragic and has so much romantic potential, I don’t know what else would count.

But hey, supposedly the cartoon is better. And the 365 Days Trilogy is a great love story with no unfortunate implications involving sexual relationships and abuse. *snark*

And then it is Samus turn. And I really have to wonder, if Dobson ever even played a Metroid Game before Other M anyway, as he hates games with scary elements and FPS.

Aside of once again whining about changing the hair color (Dobson seems to be something of a reverse Aryan enthusiast), he acts as if the addition of the Zero Suit in Metroid was a cardinal sin and “sexist crap”, to entice more men to playing her game.

Okay… for starters, the Metroid games were already enjoyed by a huge male demographic long before that or before even Metroid Prime. Samus wasn’t a “played by females thirsty for representation” only character, as that comic seems to imply. She was considered a female badass hero from the moment she first appeared and her design is deliberately inspired by Ripley from Alien. And skimpy? Again, Dobson doesn’t seem to know what certain words mean. Skimpy would be when the outfit would show more off her skin or was barely there. This is a skintight jumpsuit, that also has a function in the game as a less movement restricting suit compared to Samus armor. Heck, just watch this video, that guy gives some decent explanation on the suit itself.

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And yeah, I can agree that in certain cutscenes more so than the actual game, it does put quite a bit of emphasize on Samus “attributes” so to speak. But are we really trying to insinuate that the Zero Jumpsuit is more sexist than the character stripping off to her underwear as was the bonus ending content of the initial Metroid games?

youtube

And if the issue is that the skinsuit makes Samus more “sexy” and that Dobson does not want to see sexy characters in Nintendo games…

He should reevaluate the fact that he enjoyed the above later.

There is also this little tweet I found after the fact, Dosbon would make later in 2015, where he actually more or less confirms the idea, that he thinks the Japanese only care for Samus in a “sexy skintight” manner, by making this dumbass “joke” comparison

Ignoring the fact btw, that the pic on the left was drawn by Samus original designer Hiroji Kiyotake. Again, Dobson trying to discredit the Japanese. And don't get me even started that he enjoys Other M or takes more offense to the shoedesign of Samus in Smash Bros than anything

Finally, and to wrap this thing up, we reach the final panel, showing the executive declaring that the “old” stuff shall from now on be brushed off like Dobson tried to brush off his fetish artist days, all while the “new and improved, but truly despicable” pretenders of his favorite childhood heroes are behind him. Mario lobotomized to say MAMA MIA while his eyes look like he is possessed by the retardation of Talus, Link being a “silly girl who makes silly movements with her hands and likely just wants to hang out with cute boys”, while Samus looks pissed and just wishes she was in something less degrading for her than this comic. Like Other M.

Honestly, this comic just stinks of loser entitlement and as stated prior, toxic nostalgia. Dobson has never really been a creator of decent stuff, only a consumer who demands the next product as soon as he hungers for it and will be utterly judgemental to petty and spiteful degrees, when he doesn’t get what he wants or suddenly thinks he sees something “problematic” to it. And to him, already the fact that stylistic choices and aesthetics changed over time, a natural progression of things if you ask me, is “problematic” in his eyes. Dobson would have rather had for Zelda, Link, Mario, Samus and Co to be undefined postholders he could have projected himself on, or outdated 80s stereotypes and toxic men, because that is the first thing he was ever exposed to when it came to those characters. Why not go even further, Dobson? Erase the Switch, the Wii and any other game console post 1989 from history, so that gaming itself never evolves past the 8-Bit era. Let’s destroy Pokemon, God of War, Kirby, Sonic and many other franchises and characters, because they are not the “true heroes of the Golden Age of gaming”. Let’s see how you will like that, when they come for your beloved Skyrim.

Bottom line, Dobson is a nostalgic pig, stuck in a past he looks at through rose tainted, grease covered glasses and this comic more than anything written before and after that embodies the mentality quite as well. And even though he tried to play it off as a joke, anyone with half a brain saw through what it was really about. And they made Dobson know, partly through less words than I used here, why they thought his opinion and by extension he, sucked.

Dobson wasn’t just playing the overzealous Nintendo fan for shit and giggles. He was, this overzealous, almost destructive and utterly disrespectful fan, who believed in the superiority of his favorite childhood toy over the consoles of others, even if that included pissing off his own “kin” or accussing Nintendo of being problematic dirty foreigners. Just look at anything he would type in regard of Super Smash Bros for the Switch, like how pissed he was at the fact he had to put effort into getting his favorite character to play as. Essentially insinuating, the game and people enjoying it were crap, just because he was biased towards fighting games to begin with. And look, being critical of aspects of a game, is one thing. But some of the things Dobson found to complain about? Pathetic, childish and utterly irrelevant in the bigger picture of anything

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I want to punch him in the throat for this voice alone...

And if you think Dobson being an opinionated Nintendo fanboy is cringe, wait till we get to him being an opinionated PS3 hater.

But before that, I want to tear at least one of his shitty Zelda opinions a new one…

#andrew dobson #syac #so you are a cartoonist #tom preston #adobsonartwork #webcomic #youtube #adobsoncomic #nintendo #super mario #legend of zelda #link #samus aran #metroid #nintendo vember #Youtube

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ejzah · 10 days

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Collateral Damage, Part 9

***

Kensi spent the next two weeks recuperating. Realistically, she didn’t need quite that long, but had encouraged her to take the time, and for once, she listened.

Instead of counting down every second until she could get back in the field, Kensi found herself enjoying the time off for a change. The first few days were uncomfortable and even painful, but after that, she went for long walks and spent the afternoon with Rosa when she got home from school.

Thanks to Callen and Sam, Deeks also made it home earlier than usual most evenings, which meant they all had time together as a family. It was nice. Better than nice. For the first time in years, Kensi felt settled in a way that didn’t leave her looking for more; she no longer craved the constant danger and action.

The night before she was supposed to return from medical leave, she and Deeks were cleaning up in the kitchen after dinner.

“Hey, why don’t you go relax, I got the rest of this,” Deeks suggested, wiping down the counters.

“Baby, I love how much you want to take care of me, but I’m not going to be immobile for at least a few more months,” she reminded him gently.

Deeks smiled self-deprecatingly. Setting the rag to the side, he encircled her waist with his arms tugging her into him. “I know. You’re just doing all the work with growing the Pastry Babies, so it only seems fair that I make up for it somewhere else.”

“You do,” Kensi assured him. “In so many ways. You don’t have to do it all.”

“I’ll try to remember that.” He kissed her cheek, his eyes filled with a warmth that felt like home. “So, you ready to be back at work tomorrow?”

“Actually, no.” Deeks eyebrows raised at her admission. She shrugged. “You know how we talked about me maybe taking a few more weeks off?”

He nodded. She inhaled shallowly through her nose, fiddling with his shirt collar. “I think I might want even longer. Or to put fieldwork on hold for a while,” she said.

Deeks had remained silent, the only change in his expression a slight widening of his eyes.

“So, what do you think about that?”

“Are you sure it’s what you really want?”

“Absolutely,” she said adamantly. “Getting abducted and not knowing if I would ever see you or Rosa again, if the twins—” her throat tightened and she shrugged. “It put a lot of things in perspective for me. Nothing matters more than this.” She took his hand and laid it over her stomach, just ever so slightly bigger, and pressed her other hand to his chest.

His eyes filled with tears and he kissed her, his arms firm yet gentle around her.

****

“I’ll see you in a little bit,” Kensi told Deeks, squeezing his hand as they parted ways in the bullpen. It felt odd to be back, almost wrong in a way even though she hadn’t been gone that long.

Now she just had to meet with Kilbride. He hadn’t been pleased when he found out they failed to report her kidnapping until after she was recovered. Fortunately, Sam and Callen had accepted the brunt of his ire, and Deeks had offered to quit on the spot if Kilbride had an issue with his conduct. Kensi had smiled at Deeks’ retelling of that moment.

She walked up Kilbride’s office, and knocked on the door. He opened the door himself, his lips pursing when he saw her.

“Hm. I thought I’d be receiving a visit from you soon,” he grumbled. He gestured for her to come in and shut the door again.

“It’s good to see you too, Admiral,” she said, and he smiled wryly, perching on the edge of his desk. “It’s good to see you back. I hope you’re well.”

“On the mend,” Kensi allowed. She felt that absurd urge to ramble that still overcame her occasionally in times of stress. Instead, she steadied herself. “Sir, I know my leave is supposed to end as of today, but I’d like to extend it.”

Kilbride’s expression shifted to one of concern. “Were your injuries more extensive than you originally thought? Your pregnancy—”

“No, we’re all very healthy,” Kensi spoke up quickly, resting her hand on her lower abdomen out of habit. “I’d like to keep it that way.” She looked just past him, remembering the moments when she didn’t know for sure that the twins weren’t hurt, stumbling through the woods, fighting off a man intent on capturing her by any means. She shuddered and breathed in deeply, squaring her chin. “I have two little lives I need to protect. Being kidnapped made me realize how quickly they could be taken from me.”

“Agent Blye, every day and case is not going to end with an abduction,” Kilbride said, his voice turning a little stern.

“Maybe not, but there are always guns, and bombs, and every other calamity we regularly face every day. I’d convinced myself that I could handle all of that until I was farther along in my pregnancy, but I was wrong. I never want to feel like that again with my babies.”

“Well, that is certainly hard to argue with,” he commented. “Are you certain this isn’t just the result of your fear talking? You might change your mind later.”

“I have a family to think of and I don’t want to put this job before them anymore,” Kensi explained simply.

“So is this your official resignation then?”

“No. At least not for now. I’ve requested an extension to my leave. I might return to fieldwork, or I might pursue another career.”

Kilbride nodded, then to her surprise, extended a hand. His grip was firm, if brief as he shook her hand. “This agency will certainly feel your absence. I wish you luck in whatever you choose.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kensi said, offering a final nod before she turned for the door. As she walked back down the stairs, she felt a heaviness lift from her shoulders with every step. She stopped on the first landing, staring down into the bullpen. Deeks sat his desk, head bent over his laptop.

There was her past and her future in one place.

“C’mon, let’s go see dad,” she murmured, pressing lightly over her bump.

#ncis la fanfiction #marty deeks #kensi blye #densi #collateral damage #part 9 #au #ejzah fanfiction

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aiura-stan · 4 days

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2-17

Ah, the Toritsuka chapter. I actually kind of love his introduction. If only he hadn’t been such a slimeball. But then again, that would undermine the entire purpose of his character.

XD Master Saiki.

This once again reminds me of Mob Psycho. I can’t help but wonder if the two series influenced each other, both being highly successful comedies about vastly overpowered psychic teenagers and their journey to self discovery. I do wonder sometimes why Mob Psycho was so much more successful than Saiki k, at least here in the States. Maybe they *are* equally popular in Japan, but that’s not the case if the internet fandom is anything to judge by (Mob Psycho is much, much more popular. There’s so much more fanart, if you search for it using the Japanese words and fan slang.)

I do enjoy both Aiura and Toritsuka using their powers, each of them ostensibly unimpressive compared to his but both about the only major supernatural abilities he lacks, to find out about him. Lovely situational irony.

Ghosts gather to see Psy users… has anyone ever discussed that this might be the cause of Saiki’s bad luck? But ghosts are by nature well-intentioned according to Toritsuka, so you would think he would have much better than average luck… hmm

Or maybe evil spirits are a thing, and not discussed in the manga for one reason or another. Maybe because they are not human ghosts but Yokai, another kind of spirit.

I do love that Toritsuka comes into the whole thing knowing exactly how many powers saiki has and just how powerful he is, but Toritsuka isn’t put off by it in the least (rather the opposite.) It obviously throws Saiki off. He even seems intrigued… at first. Until Toritsuka reveals his motivations unhesitatingly. He may know everything about Saiki’s powers, but obviously knows nothing of his personality.

From the events of PSIowdown later on in the comic regarding demonic possession and literally stealing people’s bodies, I like the implication that Toritsuka could probably learn other powers… if he was even remotely motivated to do so. So he probably could banish ghosts, if only he’d stop thinking about tits for half a second. I mean, he did learn possession channeling in the first place, for the sole purpose of picking up girls.

this brings up the question, does Toritsuka have relatives? where are they? We never see them. I mean, everyone has relatives, but where are Toritsuka’s real parents? What about his grandparents?

still a really funny panel. Yes half of Toritsuka perv jokes aren’t funny, but this one is perfect.

one thing that I do like about Saiki k is it makes an effort to demonstrate that looks can be deceiving. You have a character like Toritsuka who has pure, clear eyes and good looks (headband aside) who by all social indicators should be a paragon of society, who turns out to be a total creep within 5 minutes of meeting him, and then you have people like what’s the teachers name Iguchi sensei who turns out to be a really good person, even though he looks like a pervert. I think you see this a little with all of the characters, Saiki included. His words never quite match his actions; he looks like a surly average kid but he’s secretly extraordinary and of course very kind.

And Aiura, someone with seemingly low regard for social rules, who by all rights should have a reputation as the school slut, and a failure for her grades, is one of the strongest characters and has a lot of integrity. People respect her for her powers and her self confidence. She’s not who she appears to be either. Even someone like Kurumi turns “monstrous” when her ire is provoked. It gives these characters a layer of complexity that so many gag characters just don’t have, and that’s what sets it apart.

I do wonder if what Saiki says is true. Can’t they be taught? I imagine not. Maybe Toritsuka could approximate something similar to x-ray vision with his own abilities if he was dedicated and studied how he might expand his powers.

despite all of that he still invites Toritsuka over again? Japanese politeness, even from Saiki who has no respect for the kind of person that Toritsuka is? Or maybe it’s a quirk of translation. Let me see.

Okay, to me it looks more like, “yeah, yeah, go home already.” (hai, hai, kae-ta kae—) So, more of a dismissal than an acknowledgement.

Another underutilized power… come on now this is so useable in ship fics. And gen fics too. Saiki would make an entertaining detective character.

Also, if Saiki experiences all five senses live, does that mean…?

XD old man ass. hahaha

end of 2-17💫

#read-saiki #read-saiki 2-17 #meta #I try to start every chapter with theorizing #and end it with something vulgar and inappropriate #Jk #but really #it’s always good to end a chapter in a gag I think

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neverlearnedtoread · 4 months

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Spinning Silver

⭐⭐⭐⭐; the staryk king and mirnatius with the word 'wife' on the board: there's only one thing more horrible than a wife.... *rips off paper* MY wife

Oh?? 👌😉😏

women are fucking amazing and wonderful and terrifying and unequivocal badasses. especially to their husbands. it's about the fantasy of a marriage you have no control over being perfectly suited to you in ways you didn't even know it could

inhuman fae creatures that actually have a separate culture and set of rules they are governed by. they're much more powerful than humans, of course, but they are bound to their laws, and if you're smart you can work with that

fairytale-esque magic system that relies heavily on (1) trickery (2) Having Audacity and (3) the rule of threes 😉. we love a soft magic system that rewards big swings and BDE!

not one, but TWO separate arranged marriages engaged in HEATED pvp AKA two people bound in hostile matrimony trying to kill each other while having 'wait, are they hot? fuck!' moments

you can be cold and practical and still be a good person. you can be strong enough to protect yourself without sacrificing others. with a good enough grasp of contracts you can force a demon to leave your kingdom AND husband unharmed in a 2-for-1 deal

No.. ❌🤢🤮

multiple POVs with no names for chapter titles so you have to figure out who it is from context clues - if you're like me and love a little puzzle to go with your reading time, you'll really enjoy it (Novik does it VERY well) but if you get confused easily or don't wanna put in the brainpower its annoying and overly complicated

if you don't like enemies-to-lovers where they actually argue and are ideologically opposed, you're not gonna enjoy the romance subplots. this is not a 'forbidden-lovers' kinda enemies-to-lovers. this is firmly in the 'my husband misses me a lot - but his aim is getting better!' zone

really quick wrap up - it gets tied up a little too fast after the final confrontation with the Big Bad. i wouldve liked at least to have irina POV at the end because her side of things just. gets left hanging

Summary: Miryem is a daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, and though her father doesn't have the hardheartedness to be a good one, she'd rather be despised for what she's owed than starve. Her knack for the trade, coupled with her sharp tongue, draws the ire of her village, and even more alarmingly, the Staryk's attentions; faerie creatures who only covet gold, they take her offhanded boast that she can turn silver into gold quite literally, and show up at her door to hold her true to her careless words - which, honestly, kind of backfires on them when she rises to the challenge and upends their realm into complete disarray, so maybe there's a lesson there for the next group of nonhumans to learn: don't bet the house against a human girl whose Had Enough Of All This Bullshit. She might win.

Concept: 💭💭💭 I don't know Rumpelstiltskin's story very well, and Ice Kingdom aesthetics aren't my favourite (you can blame it on my residual dislike of Frozen), but I DID read Uprooted before this. I wasn't as into the book blurb as I was with Uprooted, but I'm an experienced (and opinionated) enough reader to know when to trust my gut - if I find an author's writing style easy to read, and I enjoy how they handle their themes, I'm not afraid of diving into deep waters. If it's that bad, I can always DNF

Execution: 💥💥💥💥 As I've come to expect with Novik's writing, a wonderfully easy read; the storytelling voice flows smoothly and makes me want to keep on reading. No slogging through difficult to understand passages and too slow pacing for me! I instantly wanted to collect every POV character like puppies in a basket, no matter how brief their sections were. I will say the ending does forget what it wants to say and simply ends on a happy note, instead of a complete thought. It doesn't tie in the POV characters together strongly enough - I would've loved to see an epilogue scenes with the 3 main female characters supporting each other, or at least being three distinct Bad Bitches!

Personal Enjoyment: ❤❤❤❤❤ Mostly because of Irina and Miryem (and Wanda)'s absolute BDE. They truly brought their stories to life and felt very dynamic, constantly driving the story forward through their actions, especially because their personalities and characteristics were so well-suited to the challenges they faced (Miryem rules-lawyering the Staryk, Irina taking to politics, Wanda keeping faith despite all the shit she's been through). Honorary shoutout to the complete hilarity of Mirnatius's POV (though ultimately it IS more indulgence than necessity, I respect Novik for it) - may he spend the rest of his life desperately drawing his wife in vain search of her bad angles!

Favourite Moment: the running gag of mirnatius losing his fucking mind trying to prove irina isn't hot. you know that post that's like 'find a blorbo to draw and your art skills will start improving so much faster'? irina is his blorbo. special mention of the scene he gets jealous realizing a random guard has a crush on his behated wife and immediately jumps to the conclusion that irina would want to fuck the guard for the sake of the kingdom. babygirl the hoops you are jumping........where is this gymnastics routine even going 😭 this man is not beating the meow meow allegations..

Favourite Character: It's really a tie between Miryem and Irina, who are both so similar yet different at the same time. Miryem's BDE was enjoyably explosive - she throws it in everyone's face, which is perfect to play off of the Staryk's otherworldly impassiveness. Irina's BDE was a lot more...steely. Quietly coming into her own as she realized how adept she was at politics, and how perfectly well-suited that made her to being tsarina - and when they finally met each other? it was so funny when were like 'hey...why dont we kill our husbands via pokemon battle??'

#spinning silver #naomi novik #books #book review #booklover #bookblr #reading #my hot take is that the staryk king is not immune to double dog dares.#staryk king: please stop asking for anything else you have already taken EVERYTHING FROM ME. STOP FUCKING ASKING!#miryem: what are you - scared??#staryk king:#my OTHER hot take is that irina and mirnatius spend the next six months to a year irradiating (pun intended) EVERYONE in their castle with #life-threatening levels of pining angst and UST.#like theyre super into each other (everyone knows. fae living on the moon would know.) but theyre both like 'what if the other person #sees it as pity sex or thinks im just using them???' and instead of talking about it they simply. Dont. for ages #in a distant realm miryem wakes up to another day happily annoying her ice fae husband in new and exciting ways and is like.#'hmmm. somehow i feel like there's a disturbance out there. oh well not my issue'

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anime-grimmy-art · 10 months

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(not me absolutely forgetting to upload, nope)

Day 16 - Motives

Zet - Since Zet was taken in by the Guild at a very young age, becoming a hunter was more of an inevitability than a choice. When the Guild noticed her tenacity and proficiency with weapons, they made sure to train her to become an asset to them. Though, back then she was more a tool than a hunter, with no personal stakes attached to the title. Nowadays, in the New World, Zet finally defined for herself what it meant to be a hunter, which is someone that faces monsters and calamities to ensure the safety of their home.

Mei - Mei’s not a hunter but a rider. Motive would probably be just legacy? She did grow up in a rider village so ofc she’d become a rider one day. And with her grandfather being a legendary rider, it was destined for her to become one too.

Chidori - Chidori actually didn’t want to be a hunter at first. She really enjoyed growing up in Kamura and just, well, being there, and as a kid she really didn’t have any aspirations of becoming a hunter. But watching young Utsushi train and get better, and just generally being very inspired by him, she decided she wanted to walk down that path as well, only if to fight alongside him as the protectors of Kamura.

Day 17 - Temperament

Zet - Zet would honestly not notice or care if someone had a problem with her. She’s the kinda blunt but socially unaware person that could say something very offending without even noticing. She isn’t really someone that would actively start a fight or diffuse one, but she’s also very firm in her beliefs and won’t budge even if someone opposes her.

Mei - Mei cannot handle confrontation at all. She keeps a lighthearted and jokey attitude throughout, just to keep the mood uplifted. If she faces genuine anger or anything similar, she’s prone to just deflecting and running off. She’d rather leave than face negative emotions.

Chidori - Depending on who it is, Chidori would either apologize profusely or hide away. Either way, she panics just a bit (read: a lot). While she’s not opposed to making her ire known, she can mostly only handle it in a non-serious way. She often whines and complains to Hinoa and Minoto about stuff, but when she’s faced with someone actively bothering her, she shuts up and tries to defuse the situation by giving in or hiding.

Day 18 - Happiness

Zet - Again, her new home is the one thing Zet truly has close to her heart. It’s the first thing she actively knows fills her with happiness and what she fights for. So, just seeing her family safe and sound puts her mind at ease.

Mei - Anything, really. Mei is the kind of person that instantly lights up when you gift her anything. A new weapon? Awesome! An expensive item? You shouldn’t have but thanks so much! A shiny rock? AMAZING!

Chidori - Any kind of sincere praise. I know I’ve been joking that Chidori is an awful hunter while everyone thinks she’s amazing and sings her praises, but if she knows she did a good job and that gets validated, she gets incredibly happy.

Day 19 - Aversion

Zet - Unnecessary complications and indecisiveness. If Zet is anything, it’s efficient. If there’s a mission to accomplish, she’ll do anything necessary for that to happen. And if that mission is just deciding on what to eat, even that gets resolved quickly. So, if she finds herself waiting or hindered because someone or something caused a hold back, she does notice herself growing impatient.

Mei - Conflict. Mei cannot understand why people always have to fight each other, so it greatly upsets her when ppl have an argument. She also does not like diceitful people.

Chidori - As much as she loves her Master, the one thing Chidori will never like is his surprise training sessions. To make sure Chidori is always alert and ready, Utsushi, during their intensive training years, would randomly call out “the hunt is on!” at any point, and Chidori would have to be ready for him to jump out the shadows and attack her with a bamboo stick. Even at 3am in the morning. She still gets shivers remembering that time

Day 20 - Trauma

Imma just do this in one go, cos really, in this trio, Zet is the only one with legit trauma. Yeah, Mei and Chidori had some instances in their past that did shape who they are, but I wouldn’t call them scarred because of those moments. Zet, on the other hand, went through hell and back on numerous occasions, and she has visible scars to show for it. This poor gal was on death’s door more often than not, and had to face numerous Elder Dragons and Fatalis to boot. And she doesn’t even know what’s gonna happen to her after the events of Iceborne. Hooh boy, let’s just say, she took the idiom “sth costs an arm and a leg” a bit too literally.

Day 21 - Fear

Zet - She may not be aware of it, but Zet is afraid of reverting back to the way she was before the New World. She now has dreams and desires, goals she wants to achieve and connections she wants to cherish. She’s scared that leaving that life behind would mean she’d lose her new self as well and all the emotions with it.

Mei - Mei is afraid of expectations. The people of Mahana are her family and she loves them dearly, but there were always these underlying expectations since she was the granddaughter of a legendary rider. And through her journey, everyone was always talking about him and how she has to be like Red. It’s such a high order, but she loves Ratha so she’d do anything to reach that goal, but still, she sometimes felt like noone saw her as her own person which made her scared that all the love she felt for others wasn’t reciprocated.

Chidori - What isn’t she afraid of? She’s jumpy as all heck! Joking aside, if there’s anything Chidori is legitimately afraid of, it’s probably change. Things moved fast when she was just a little kid, so being taken in by Kamura and establishing a life there made her feel secure, but also made her scared for things to change. She did face that fear when she went off to the Guild for basic hunter training, and she would face that fear again when she decided to help out Elgado, but these decisions were backed with the thought that she can protect Kamura like this and eventually return home safely.

Day 22 - Spirituality

Zet - Zet doesn’t believe in any higher beings, she’s too logical thinking for that, but she does believe that nature and its monster have their own system and hierarchy and that everything balances itself out in some way.

Mei - I don’t think Mahana worships any specific deity, but I’d say their folk believes in the spirit of nature. Similar to how Zet thinks, but more on a soul-level, as in, if riders and humans can connect their spirits, then so can everyone.

Chidori - Chidori is spiritual by proxy, I’d say, since she spends a lot of time with Hinoa and Minoto, and next to quest handlers, they’re shrine maidens. I can see Kamura in general having a guardian deity or sth similar. So like, Chidori isn’t super religious, but she does participate in religious events and festivals and goes to make offerings at their shrines sometimes.

Day 23 - First Impressions

Zet - I wouldn’t say the first impression is bad, but it ain’t peachy either. Zet is stern and quiet and comes off really cold and unfriendly at first. Since she replies bluntly she could be seen as a bit offensive as well. It’s not totally accurate since she does not intend to insult anyone or be disrespectful, but she IS kinda muted and not very playful.

Mei - Mei is a “you get what you see” kinda deal, which, in her case, is amazing. She’s bubbly, she’s smiley and being around her just puts you in a good mood. You will feel liked and you can bet that you are.

Chidori - Oh boy, with Chidori the first impression could not be further from the truth. For some reason, Chidori gives off a very professional and competent kinda vibe because her stature is firm and gaze intent when you first talk to her. In truth though, she’s super nervous and high strung cos her instinct is to run and hide.

#monster hunter #monster hunter world #monster hunter stories 2 #monster hunter rise #mh oc questionaire #oc #zet #mei #chidori #mh

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accio-victuuri · 2 years

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The 95% verdict 💌 + commentary

since it’s 9/5, this will be the perfect opportunity to share some more details on the whole 95% story. @potteresque-ire already detailed it here but i wanna focus on the actual verdict. It’s so interesting how most of it sounds true, and the fact that this was shared back in 2018 when no one had any behind the scenes photos, videos or interviews to reference.

I am not really a 100% believer in stuff like this but I have to admit that sometimes it has some truth to it. It’s not hurting anyone either to read what these people have to say and get some direction / insight into things.

Here goes the details of that reading between ZZ/WYB 😌 It’s not just the 95% calculation, there was a whole reading between them.

There is light, harmony, and joy in this relationship, and both parties benefit from it. The comfort of the soul is very conducive to the development of intimate relationships. You may not want to please each other freely, enjoy each other's company, but deep inside have a deep love for each other. If you live together, you will often have good family atmosphere, with both comfort and beauty. They satisfy each other, need each other, depend on each other and can be happy because of each other's existence.

As soon as I read this first part, I knew I had to make a CPN post. The thing about both parties benefiting is so true! Never mind what haters say that they “use each other” ( lol. I mean it’s partly right but without the negative connotation ) They really do benefit from being together, even as friends, they both bring out the best in e/o. Also the part about having a deep love even if they don’t show it sounds so much like 2018 ZZ/WYB. All the play fights and interactions we saw that make us roll our eyes cause they keep dancing around the fact that they are meant to be together. Finally, that bit about their home life. Ugh. I love domestic ZZ/WYB, and I’ve talked about that here. From cooking/washing to folding clothes and everything in between.

This may be a romantic experience that is called “at first sight”. The possibility of love also means that you may establish a relationship like lightning. You may meet in some unusual situations or situations with strong the feeling of electric shock. It may be a time that makes each other highly excited and your relationship may also be unconventional or unusual. Yes, the way of getting along is often not the usual way, Xiao Zhan will be satisfied with Wang Yibo. The passion, freedom and new world brought by Bo have gained a lot from each other. You are also suitable for developing some unusual hobbies, such as astrology, science, occultism, ultra-modern art, etc. In addition, the more independent your minds are in this relationship, the higher the rapport will be, both can develop into like-minded good partners.

The whole at first sight prediction is giving me goosebumps. Only because this is what a lot of us have said. granted, they met in 2017 so the person making this reading might have taken some clue into that. However, this line : Xiao Zhan will be satisfied with Wang Yibo. Wait, satisfied? Satisfaction. Isn’t that ZZ’s solo song? How come. This reading was made 9/1/2018 and that song name wasn’t even out yet. Also the way it says ZZ will be the one satisfied and not the other way around. I also wanna know what unusual habits they developed because of their relationship. 🙃

There is a strong attraction between you, and even a sense of fate. Xiao Zhan - The appearance of Wang Yibo made him passionate, profound and full of desire. However, the relationship between you may not necessarily have too much relaxation, romance and comfort. pleasure, and more emphasis on strong emotions, complex experiences, overly obsessive— even a certain danger because of the fear of betrayal. In this relationship, Xiao Zhan needs to look directly at his inner demands, learn to give Wang Yibo trust and give himself a sense of security, otherwise it will be easy to have the feeling of being controlled and dominated by Wang Yibo. Maybe when love is too deep, it feels like that life is in the hands of the other party, I am even more afraid of being hurt. please remember, only trust can save the relationship from crisis and realize new life. If it is business partnership, when trust is established, you will dig out the hidden wealth and achieve win-win benefits.

and now we have come to a bit more controversial part of the reading. Do I believe that ZZ/WYB’s relationship is full of sunshine and rainbows? Of course not. I can only imagine what it must be like for them in the beginning. The uncertainty of it. Strong attraction? Fate? Definitely. and oh I love the bit here about Bobo making ZZ passionate. Yes. He definitely had that change in him when he met the gremlin and especially when they are together. Remember that this is only a reading, what is said about ZZ is here and the advice is not a fact. I wanna believe over time, as in any other relationships, they have found a balance that works for them.

The highlight of this relationship is the connection and communication that you have. In the future, Xiao Zhan can intuitively understand Wang Yibo's thoughts and intentions and produce greater emotional fluctuations. Wang Yibo is very willing to put his thoughts and express it clearly to Xiao Zhan and give Xiao Zhan good advice. In a sentence: It is not uncommon to meet love and sex in life, but the strange thing is encounter understanding.

I like this part because it talks about the future and how their relationship became what it is today. Well, as soon the 2019 promos we can already see this understanding between them. The intuitive way they communicate. This is scarily accurate. I also like how WYB is supposedly expressing himself clearly to ZZ — knowing how WYB is most of the time, quiet, it makes me somft thinking he made the effort because he wants to reach an understanding with his zhan ge.

It can be said that meeting TA is the most comfortable way to get along and the most gentle companion. Xiao Zhan will feel full of joy, the feeling of being appreciated and accepted,Also enjoy the way Wang Yibo sees himself. Wang Yibo speaks from the heart. I love Xiao Zhan's way of doing things and behavior, never stingy with his own compliment. The two can be more considerate, tolerant, and respectful to each other. Live in harmony, enjoy the intimacy and sharing with each other.

When it comes to emotional patterns, you have strong similarities. This includes similarities in psychological feelings and emotional fluctuations, the inner need for a sense of security. Together, we can always understand each other's thoughts. The needs of the other party, full of deep tacit understanding and dependence, can do spiritual communication. It is very beneficial to a long-lasting, stable relationship.

A stable relationship. BXGs like to say this when it comes to them and I wanna believe that this is true. It does not mean they don’t have problems — they do, but they work it out. You can feel the sense of calm in when you watch them and that happiness. It affects and shows in everything they do. I hope it continues and they can live peacefully. 😊

Again, this is not an avenue to aggressively speculate about their relationship/dynamics. The purpose of this post is to share more of the 95% story and why it’s such a popular part of fandom history.

- END.

#yizhan #bjyx #all of this is cpn

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girlwiththepapatattoo · 8 months

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The Unlikely Similarities Between Kittens and Vampires, Chapter 10

Warnings: Astarion being himself, fingering, vaginal sex

Summary: A very good way to wake up.

Notes: *chants to myself* I will not dwell on how vampire anatomy works, I will not dwell on how vampire anatomy works, I will not...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thanks to all you lovelies who've commented, each one makes my day. <3

Read on Ao3 here!

Previous chapter | First chapter

When Astarion had lain down to sleep after getting his new lover off for her first time, he’d forgotten that she’s a druid.

And they’re in the middle of a druid grove.

In the middle of nowhere.

So when he wakes from a rare full sleep, he’s surprised to feel something small, warm, and incredibly soft curled up right on his cheek.

He doesn’t jump, of course not. But he would admit to a brief, tiny moment of surprise upon waking to find Sable isn’t the only thing sleeping on him. His left eye opens and he sees something tiny laying on his face, covered in brown fur.

“Don’t move,” Sable whispers, and his open eye look at her. The morning sun lights up her features, makes her practically glow…though the absolute delight in her expression helps that along immensely.

So instead of pushing the whatever-it-is off of him like he’d normally do, he instead does his best to whisper without moving his cheek. “What’s on my face?”

Sable does her best to ignore the goosebumps running down her arms as she realizes that she really likes to hear Astarion whisper. “A baby bunny,” she replies, and she looks down.

Astarion follows her gaze. Tucked on top of and around them are a small family of bunnies, an adult female with five small babies, all of which are still asleep.

He blinks. “...there’s a baby bunny sleeping on my face.”

“Yep,” is her reply, and he can all but hear the giggle in her voice.

He has to resist the urge to sigh. “This is going to happen a lot with you as my bedfellow, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” She has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. One of the bunnies twitches a leg. “Think of it as extra warmth.”

“I’m thinking of all the potential animal hair on my clothes, actually,” he replies, but Sable doesn’t hear any real ire in his voice.

“Like I said, extra warmth.” But she gently reaches down and rubs a hand over the mother rabbit, who comes awake instantly. She says something to the small creature, who gets up and makes a short chirping sort of noise. The babies all wake quickly, the one on Astarion’s cheek giving a stretch, its tiny feet on one of his nostrils. His eyebrow twitches at how disgustingly cute it is.

The bunnies hop off, and Sable, to his surprise, leans over and presses a quick kiss to his chin. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks in confusion, trying to ignore how warm his chest feels from her kiss.

“For not scaring them off. You looked so precious, sleeping with a bunny on your cheek,” she says, and her smile is so fond that it makes his heart ache.

He clears his throat and props his head up on his hand. “Yes, well…” His voice goes low and suggestive. “I had been hoping for an altogether different way of waking up.” He pauses for a moment, as if thinking about what could have been. “But you’re welcome,” he finally says, smiling very faintly.

As he hopes, she blushes, heat flooding her face at his words. “I-I um…w-we can still…if you want.” The events of last night run through her head, and she gasps, her eyes going wide in horror. “Astarion, oh gods I’m so sorry!”

His brow furrows in confusion. “What could you possibly have to apologize for?”

“After you…” She drops her gaze and her volume. “After you…used your mouth on me. I just fell asleep! You never got…well, anything!”

He laughs, snuggling her up close. “My precious kitten, that’s where you’re very much wrong. I might not have gotten to spend myself inside your luscious body, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t avail myself of your other splendors.” He sighs, the sound half a moan. “Your taste…your scent…the way your insides felt, squeezing my finger as you came apart on my tongue…those sweet little noises of yours as I sent you to heaven…” He hums, the look on his face like he’d found nirvana. “Yes…oh, I was more than satisfied with what happened between us, darling.”

She stares up at him, dumbstruck. His words, his tone, leave her frozen in desire. She wants to say something, anything, but the only thing that gets squeezed out of her throat is a very articulate, “Hng.”

His lips tug in a slow, languid smirk, and he shifts. His movements unhurried, like a predator assured of a kill, he slings one leg over her, straddling her hips. His eyes don’t leave hers as he pulls up the opening flap of his tent and ties it shut.

Her hands press across his thighs, his form lithe, but she can feel the corded muscle under her touch. He leans down, his hands pressing to either side of her head, and she watches as his tongue curls out, pressing to her collarbone. She shudders, remembering exactly what that tongue is capable of.

He traces a pattern down, down, until he reaches the ties to the laces of her shirt. He takes one between his teeth and draws back, the loose knots he’d left last night coming undone easily. His hands cup around her hips and push up, and as they go they take the shirt with it, slowly baring her to his gaze. Her heart pounds, her hands squeeze unconsciously around his legs.

He pulls her shirt off and tosses it somewhere behind them. He says nothing, but his touch is reverent as his fingers trace over her sides and hips. He leans down further, nuzzling into her soft belly, leaving a line of cool kisses up her stomach and into the valley between her breasts. She whimpers softly, her fingers sliding into his curls, before she very gently pushes at his head. “A-Astarion…I want to…w-well, it’s your turn. Switch with me.”

He clicks his tongue. “You’re really going to make me give up my fun?” he pouts, before nipping playfully at the side of her breast.

Her breathy gasp makes him groan softly, his hips grinding down on her. “Ahhhhstarion, please, I-I want to touch you like you’re touching me,” she gasps, and starts tugging on his own shirt. “Please, let me, please!”

“Well, when you beg so nicely, how could I say no?” he purrs. He leans down and kisses her, a passionate meeting of lips and tongue that takes her breath away, before he tosses his shirt off and lays down.

Eagerly, much less gracefully, she straddles his hips this time. The sun illuminating the crimson fabric of his tent paints everything in soft shades of red, the color flattering on his skin. She bites her lip, looking at him as if he were almost too beautiful to stare at for long. Her hands press softly to his stomach, the lines of his abdominals softened after being at rest all night. She traces over his skin, nonsense patterns that slowly move up and over his chest.

His eyes half lidded, he watches her enjoy his body, an awed look on her face. It’s a look he’s seen hundreds, thousands of times, but right here, right now…this isn’t to bring his master back a meal. This is for him, with someone he’s starting to care very much for, who cares about him in return.

A sudden surge of emotion has his hands clamping around her hips, and he grinds up into her core. A soft cry leaves her lips before she could smother it, but she quickly claps a hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry, my kitten, my lover,” he all but pants, sitting up against her. “I don’t think I can wait any longer.” He curls his arm around her waist and flips their positions easily, smothering the beginnings of her protest with a deep, devouring kiss. His fingertips slide down her belly, relishing in the sounds she’s releasing into his mouth, and tug at the laces to her pants, pushing them down over her hips until she can kick them off.

He swallows her cry as his hand cups her, those clever fingers stroking, dipping, swirling until she’s a writhing mess of heat under him. He’s got her so thoroughly distracted that she’s not even sure when he takes his own pants off, only that suddenly he’s kneeling between her legs, her calf brushing up against his bare thigh.

“Are you ready, my kitten?” he purrs into her ear, tonguing at the shell, his free hand cupping over her mouth so that anyone walking by the tent would be none the wiser. “Are you ready…to be mine?”

“Yes,” she gasps into his palm, her warm breath puffing gently against his cool skin.

He smiles and pulls his fingers from her, where he’d be building her up, spreading her open gently and slowly. He spreads her legs wide, wrapping a hand around the base of his own cock and guiding himself to slide against her slick folds. The feel of his velvety head rubbing against her clit has her shuddering, her nails digging gently into the flesh of his shoulders.

He groans at how warm and wet she is, before he guides himself to her entrance. So aroused is she, so ready for him, that there isn’t an ounce of tension when he starts to push in. “That’s it, my sweet, my darling, just like that,” he moans, spreading his hand just above her mound as he works himself into her inch by inch.

Astarion has a nearly perfect cock. Not comically big, but not small by any means, he’s got just enough girth to be a wonderful stretch, with a lovely branching vein running just right of center and an upward curve. The only odd thing about it is, like the rest of him, it’s cool when he slides in at first. But he warms to her body temperature quickly, and then they’re both holding still and quivering.

“Gods, Sable,” he gasps, his body tense to not drive into her from the get-go. “You’re so tight, you feel so perfect around me…”

“‘S-Starion, f-fuck you feel…you feel so good, y-you…p-please move, please!”

He groans and kisses her again before moving his hips. He rolls against her, dragging his cock almost all the way out before pushing back in, the motion he uses and the size of him letting him hit every sensitive spot almost at once. She moans brokenly into his mouth as he loves her, as he traps her into this abyss of pleasure. She’s surprised her skin isn’t on fire, how warm she feels, how desperate she is for him.

He shifts, pulling her legs up and over his shoulders, and if she thought he was deep before…He hits a spot inside her now that makes her squeal, and he growls at the sound and speeds up, pushing and pressing into that spot over and over until she’s sobbing in pleasure.

He breaks the kiss as he snakes one hand between them, and all but snarls into her ear. “You’re going to come,” he rasps, his fingers finding her clit and beginning to trace quick circles over the engorged bud. “You’re going to come, and milk my cock, and I’m going to bite you and drink your pleasure.”

“Yes!” she cries, muffled into his shoulder, feeling that tightening in her lower belly already. “Yes, please, Astarion, oh gods oh shit I, y-you, I-I–!”

Her orgasm shatters her. He catches her scream into his left palm, his right still rapidly rubbing her clit, and he pulls her head to the side and bites down on her neck. His hips stutter as his own orgasm hits him with the force of the nautoloid crash, heightened by her blood bubbling up into his mouth. She tastes even better now, her flavor bright and thick with heady pleasure, and the cry he utters is nearly broken.

Neither of them know how long they writhe together, how long they stay high, soaring the bright skies of endless rapture hand in hand and bodies intertwined. When Sable comes back to herself, she finds Astarion nuzzling into the bite marks on her neck, every so often licking at them to get a lingering taste of her pleasure-addled blood. “‘S-Starion…” she all but slurs, sweaty and blissfully sore.

“Sable,” he purrs, shifting his focus to pepper kisses where her jaw and neck meet. “That was perfect. You’re perfect. Gods, what you do to me…”

They aren’t sure how long they lay together, basking in the afterglow, the vampire’s cock slowly softening and slipping out of her channel. They both hiss at the motion, before he presses one more gentle, fond kiss to the column of her throat and shifts off her.

He chuckles softly at her wine of protest. “Now now, darling, I’m just getting a rag to clean you up with. I don’t want you leaking all over my bedroll.”

She turns crimson and hides her face. “A-Astarion!”

“What?” He laughs softly, gently wiping her clean. “No reason to be embarrassed, darling. Spread your legs a little wider, there’s my good girl.” He hears her heart skip a beat when he calls her that, and his playful grin darkens to something slightly more…calculating. “Well now…won’t that be fun to play with one of these days,” he purrs.

But she doesn’t get the chance to say anything, because Shadowheart suddenly speaks from next to the tent. “Are you two lovebirds going to stay in bed all day? We have things to do, you know.”

“Ugh.” Astarion scowls at the woman’s silhouette. “How long have you been lurking there, Shadowheart? If you were hoping to hear something, you’ve missed the show.” Sable squeaks and immediately shapeshifts into her cat form, wriggling out underneath the tent wall and running away. “Now look what you’ve done!”

“Don’t blame this on me, Astarion,” she says calmly, already turning to leave. “You’re the one who said something perverted.”

There’s a rustle as he pulls his clothes on and unties the tent, and by the time he comes out the cleric has already walked off. He frowns in the direction he thinks she went, then looks around for signs of Sable. Nowhere to be found, and there’s too much going on in this place to track her by scent.

He sighs. “I’ll let her have some time alone,” he murmurs to himself. “Later on, I’ll make sure she’s all right. Honestly…this is why I hate fucking in camp.”

He grabs his sewing kit and heads off to find the group, and if his thoughts stray constantly to his skittish new lover…well. As long as no one uses the tadpoles to pry into his mind, who’s to stop him from fantasizing?

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion x tav #bg3 #my writing

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