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leviathanspain · 1 month

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you NEED to write more for Tom 😭😭😭 like I’ve been thinking so much about age-gap f!assistant tropes with Tom it’s actually insane, like Tom asking you nonchalantly to ride his thigh (or him) in his office 🌸🌸

skin tight

tom wambsgans x assistant!reader

synopsis: tom knows how to push your buttons perfectly, and you let him

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tom wambsgans was a total asshole. he was arrogant, thought himself to be the hottest piece of ass to ever come out of ATN and you were stuck working for him, bringing him coffee just to never drink it, or to make you run all around the city looking for a bagel that didn't exist. it was an endless cycle, but you found him to be the most tolerable associate of the roy family, and decided that between him and kendall, being tom's assistant wasn't all that bad.

if you ignore the obvious sexual tension of course.

"here is that-" you didn't get to finish your sentence before tom waved you away. you sighed, rolling your eyes as you spun on your heel and stepped out of his office, tossing the scalding cup of coffee into the nearest bin before settling back down at your desk. that had been the third time today that tom had made you get things for him, just for him to send you and it away. normally you wouldn't let this behavior phase you, but it was starting to get to be too much.

there had been a break in your thoughts and you turned to glimpse into tom's office, and found him already looking at you. you gasped slightly in surprise and stood up, knowing that this had been no coincidence.

you kept your head bowed as you stepped inside the office. you could feel his eyes on you, feeling the irritation coming from his gaze. you swallowed thickly, "tom?" was all you could manage, unsure of what to say, especially to him.

"close the blinds," he spoke quietly, not whispered but a quiet, and serious tone. you did as he said, moving to first close the one directly facing your desk. you watched as the life of the ATN office was shut away by the white blinds. your hands shook slightly but you finished the rest. you turned around, silently waiting for him to speak.

he finally did speak, after a minute of unbearable silence.

"now come fuck yourself on my thigh." his words had left you speechless, but you weren't exactly opposed to not doing as he said. you stared at him for a moment and he shrugged, "clearly you've been angry with me. i am giving you an opportunity to release that anger." he spoke cooly, glancing over at his computer, as if this was like any other work conversation.

you waited, thinking.

"okay." you decided, and watched as tom looked up in mild surprise, as if he hadn't expected you to agree. how could you not? not when he's been subtly hitting on you since your employment. tom wambsgans was an asshole, and cheating on his wife had been nothing new at this point. nearly everyone in waystar royco had heard of shiv and tom's marital problems.

tom watched as you walked over to his desk. you were wearing a tight black pencil skirt, so tight that he could see your hip indentations. you leaned against his desk, his thigh next to you. "i need you to pull my skirt up. It's-" you didn't finish, his fingertips grazed your skin as he shucked your skirt up, seeing your lacy underwear peeking out. he looked at you and you remained unmoving, letting him proceed to remove your panties, gently pulling them and letting them slide down your legs.

he patted you to step out of them. you inhaled a breath as his finger ran once over your slick folds. your breath shook slightly but your thoughts were clouded by lust. all you could think about was how good your cunt will feel against his thigh.

tom didn't remove his pants. he was going to let you fuck yourself on his hundred dollar suit pants.

you hovered over him, and his hand found it's way to graze your cheek, brushing your hair back as you finally sat down on his leg, feeling the friction of the fabric against your cunt. you shivered, and tom's hand moved to your waist, gripping it.

you inhaled sharply as your hips began to move.

"i was doing it on purpose." he spoke, eyes glued to the sight of your pussy grinding down on his thigh. tom smirked, "watching you listen to my demands like it was the word of god.." he trailed off and you grunted, "shut up." you whispered weakly, too focused on the pleasure to defend yourself properly.

you knew tom saw you as nothing but his young female assistant, nothing other than someone to fuck. what you were currently doing did not help your image. in his eyes, you were weak, a plaything, a punching bag.

you moaned, unable to hold yourself up, you grabbed onto his shoulder to steady yourself. tom grunted softly, "mmhm, let me hear you baby." he whispered, hand brushing through your hair. it was slightly romantic, and it made you feel uneasy. romance was something that had to be avoided at all costs with tom wambsgans.

you panted, and gripped his shoulder tightly as you felt yourself getting close. he chuckled deeply. "you're so wet, you're seeping through." he loved it, he loved how good his thigh was making you feel. he could only imagine how you would look stuffed with his cock.

you shivered, moaning loudly as you came all over his thigh. tom gripped your waist, and he was smirking, watching as you fell against him. he was warm, the fabric of his suit felt nice against your cheek. even his hand had been rubbing your back.

you jolted up, and awkwardly leaned off. you stood up, deciding to struggle to get your skirt down as he looked at the mess you had made on his thigh. you were blushing red, hot and absolutely bothered. you stared at him, and at your crumpled panties that you had forgotten to slip back on. he followed your gaze and picked them up.

tom stuffed them into his pocket, and scooted back behind his desk. he began to work as if nothing happened and you remained planted, quiet and exhausted.

tom didn't glance at you, "you can go. and don't ever roll your eyee at me again." you began to walk away, "yes, sir."

asshole, you thought silently, letting his office door slam behind you as you walked past your desk, deciding to take the rest of the day off.

#tom wambsgans x reader #tom wambsgans smut #tom wambsgans angst #succession fanfic #succession hbo #succession #tom wambsgans #tom wambsgans imagines #roman roy x reader #kendall roy x reader #lukas matsson x reader #greg hirsch x reader

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save-the-villainous-cat · 8 months

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Hiii, just dropping a request<3

There's nothing I adore more than a good, old, sweet betrayal so pls make the villain offer a lot of money to superhero just to turn the hero in and have them all by themselves. Make the superhero and the league betray hero, drug them and take them to villain. For whatever reason. May that be to take their time to break them or due to possessiveness. It's one of my really loved tropes so I'd love it a lot if you wrote it. Make it extra angsty for us pls

That's all, thank you for providing us with your amazing work but make sure to rest well and stay hydrated. Much love to you sweetheart 🩶🩵

“I’ve missed you,” the villain said softly, their hands landing on the hero’s shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Their hands ran down the hero’s throat and with one finger, they lifted their chin. Despite their raw nature, the hero was much too tired to fight it. The drug had exhausted them.

“Look at me,” the villain said. “It’s such a pleasure to have you here.”

And the hero did meet their eyes. Lingering longer than they wanted. It wasn’t easy to escape the villain but that one moment of hope when they’d gone back home a month ago, was insignificant now.

They realised, they couldn’t win. The villain would do anything to possess them. They’d break their knees (they’d done it before), they would drug them (had also happened), they would break into their apartment (more than twice, actually) and do absolutely anything in their power to have them.

And they’d gotten their wish.

“You know I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Living with the villain sounded like a secure future. They’d take care of anything, literally anything but the hero also knew how lonely it was.

There was the villain and nothing but the villain. No friends, no family. The villain was greedy and stupidly in love.

So, the hero’s fingers curled around their nemesis’ hand. It was a fake kind of security but, god, they preferred it over whatever had happened to them. Where had friends led them? Right back to the start, right back to zero. It was a cycle, an endless one.

“Am I really that replaceable?” they whispered, staring in horror at the security footage the villain was showing them. The villain raised their hand to kiss the hero’s.

“Sweetheart, you know you’re not. Everybody knows,” they said.

“Why did they give up on me? I don’t understand, I don’t…” The hero looked at their nemesis, searching for an answer, searching for something. A moment of clarity, a moment of complete and utter clearness. But everything was blurry, everything was falling apart. They were unwanted, unloved.

They didn’t feel like a person anymore. The villain wanted them in a shallow way, they didn’t care about them. Not really.

Bleeding out like a sacrificial lamb.

The villain’s fingers traced the hero’s spine, all the way down and the hero was quite aware that they admired them. Wanting and deserving are two very different things.

“What does it feel like?” the villain whispered. “Knowing that you’re with me again?”

“Like I’m back in hell,” the hero answered. They swallowed and let themselves sink into the villain’s office chair, rubbing their face with the palm of their hand.

“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.” Again, the villain’s hand was on them, touching their throat and going down to their collarbone. They weren’t scandalous, never tried more than that. As if they wanted an actual relationship with consent and love. But the hero knew that this would never happen, that they would never break to become a pawn.

“It is, I resent you.”

“I saved you. I showed you what these people did to you. They don’t care about you. They knocked you out of their heaven, so they could live more luxuriously. These people love money more than company. I don’t,” the villain said, angry now. “The word became flesh.”

The hero looked at them, frowning.

“Are you religious?”

“Not in the slightest,” they answered. “But when I look at you, I sometimes believe that I am.”

The hero hated that answer more than anything.

#we need you #forgive me for the religious themes I don’t know what’s wrong with me #writing snippet #heroxvillain snippet #heroes and villains #heroxvillain prompt #hero #villain #hero x villain #heroxvillain #an answer for an ask #request

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thestartax · 2 months

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Armin Arlert x Reader

Synopsis: you’ve been in Marley for a couple months now , you’re finally seeing Armin again

Tropes: long hug, eye contact, pre-existing relationships, yes the lowercase is intentional, first person pronouns because it’s you

i’ve been in marley for a couple of months now. i’ve only risked contact with eren once. he made me promise to not ruin this mission, he said he had everything in place to make it work. still, i didn’t love the idea that he was bringing everyone here to, very suddenly, bring ruination upon this town.

i’ve seen children running around. families, friends, relationships. the eldians have formed a community, everyone on the eldian side of the gate knows one another. they’re a family. to think that eren intends to destroy this town of eldians—not even the marleyans—even if they will be there these are still eldian homes he will destroy. it makes me nauseous to think about it.

reiner is here. he has a cousin who he treats more like a sister. she has a band of friends. they all want nothing more than to prove they’re good eldians and kill everyone back on paradis which, i’ll admit, makes me more than a little violent when i think about it for too long. but i always remind myself that this is all they’ve been taught, it’s all they know. i remember my boyfriend is back on paradis and the feelings of violence come back but then i see this girl and her own personal blonde and i have to remind myself once again. it’s an endless cycle.

i haven’t been able to come into contact with eren again—it’s too much of a risk, as he continuously reminds me. but i’ve been watching, very closely, from the sides. he’s been talking to that little blonde reiner’s cousin/sister is going to be stuck to for the rest of her life—assuming they both survive this. it makes me nervous seeing eren with him but i don’t think he’d go out of his way to hurt the boy so i’ve yet to intervene.

on the day i know eren intends to ruin these people’s lives—worse than they have already been ruined—i’m anxious beyond repair, i’ll just have to sit with it. even if this goes perfectly we’re still sure to lose some of our own and kill entire families on this mission. i’m nauseous again.

eren convinces the boy—falco to bring reiner to him. i sit just out of range of the explosion eren will surely set off when he transforms. i can’t hear them but i know what’s being said. eren’s revealing himself, reiner is scared out of his mind, and falco is shocked. i just hope that when he does transform that falco will be okay. he’s a good kid.

some long haired blonde man who’s very clearly important to all of these people is giving some speech about killing the island devils on paradis when eren finally transforms, decimates half of the people gathered together, and then eats said man. this, of course, causes the actual war hammer titan to make herself known. there is something of a fight between them but really eren just gets his ass handed to him by being skewered a few times. but that doesn’t stop reinforcements from coming.

i can hear the odm gear zipping by. i know my friends are here. it makes me smile but then it makes me nervous. i would prefer they all be out of harm's way—eren hasn’t allowed that. so we’re all fighting for our lives in unknown territory. the goal is to spare as many of our own lives as possible, capture zeke, and get eren out of here alive.

honestly, we look like we’re going to lose. they have the war hammer titan, the jaw titan, the beast titan, and the cart titan. if zeke were actually against us we’d surely be dead. but still, it looks mildly bleak. but i know what our power play is. i know what eren will have forced them to do. forced him to do. even though knows he hates it. even though he knows it goes against everything he believes in.

i see it in the distance. i hear it everywhere. i can almost feel it in the air. the explosion. i know what it is. i know who it is.

without thinking, i take off running towards the blast. i’m zipping around on my odm gear, reaching maximum speeds. i’m weaving through and around all the buildings and straight to the port.

by the time i get there, everything is decimated. things still shine with the light of a burned-out fire. these people were scorched and all of the land in a five-mile radius is crushed. there will be no survivors. no one will live through this if they’re not dead already. no one but the boy who caused it.

he’s just ripped himself from the nape of his titan's neck when my feet hit the ground. i stand before his titan, the size of a small bug from where he sits atop it. i look up at him, overcome with emotion and frozen in place.

when he looks down and spots me i can feel his eyes. i can feel his gaze upon me. it warms me everywhere his eyes travel. he’s slowly registering it’s me, he doesn’t believe it yet. he doesn’t want to get his hopes up if it’s not me and instead someone who’s about to shoot at him.

i smile despite myself, feeling my eyes pool with tears. i don’t try to blink them back like i usually would. he knows me then.

he inhales sharply and in the next moment he’s zipping down from his titans body and towards me. “y/n!”

i laugh helplessly and dart towards him. we’re running at each other with all we have, really. i’ve never run faster. this is the new record. i thought i was fast getting here. this beats that by a long shot. i can see him. he’s 100 feet away from me. 80 feet. 50. he’s so close, how could i not run as fast as i possibly can? 20 feet. then 10.

as soon as i can see every cut and bruise on his face, his titan marks, the blue of his eyes—it’s like as soon as i see him it’s like i leave battle mode. it doesn’t matter that we’ve both been fighting for our lives out here. we’ve nearly won now. we’re going to leave with only a few casualties of our own, eren, & the war hammer titan. it will be successful as long as we continue as we have been. my resolve dies and we’re just so close now. i’m jumping over charred corpses & rubble from the destroyed town. i’m running as fast i can to my favorite blonde. “armin!” i choke out, suddenly so close to sobbing i can feel the tears falling.

i’m sure it’s jarring to see me like this. usually so stoic and unmoved in the fast of terror or tragedy, reduced to a puddle of tears at the sight of a boy i’ve loved all my life.

his breath hitches again and when we embrace it’s with such equal force we stand completely still, absorbing each other's energy. we’re panting and holding each other like the contact is the only thing that allows us to breathe. one of my arms is wrapped around his neck, hooking it in the bend of my elbow while my other hand is pushed into the hair at the back of his head. he’s holding me so tightly around the waist that he’s nearly lifting me off the ground—i’m on my tiptoes.

i squeeze my eyes shut and take shaky breaths to stop myself from crying. i’m surely shaking in his arms, not to say that he’s not shaking too—because he is. i just can’t stop.

“armin, armin, armin,” i whisper it again and again like a chant and a promise.

i can feel his heart beat against my own chest. our hearts are working to match the other's pace. our breathing synchronizes, our hearts beat as one, it’s like we’re one being.

he pulls back just enough to look me in the eyes before wiping away my tears. his own eyes are filled with so much emotion it almost brings my tears back. he closes his eyes and leans our foreheads together.

i reach up and cup his face in my hands. he opens his eyes and does the same to me. when our eyes meet and hold contact i can’t help but let out a weak, wet laugh. my thumbs gently trace over his titan marks with a feather-like touch. the only sound is of our breath & the ocean behind us at the port. “hi,” i say without thinking.

he laughs quietly, “hi.”

for a long moment, we stay like that. wrapped up in each other and the moment. i’ve gone soft around the edges, i’m no longer alert and sharp. i don’t know exactly where the sound comes from when i hear it—and that makes me nervous.

it’s a voice that calls for us. it makes me pull armin to me, holding him tightly, shielding him. i look around to pinpoint where this voice is coming from. it makes me uneasy to be on a battlefield but feel so at home just because i’m in his presence. it makes me nervous to not be so sharp, so prepared, so ready.

finally, i spot jean. he’s off in the distance. we can’t quite hear him but it’s easy to make out the waving arm that tells us to get to him quickly. he’s not very calm about it.

i relax a little, happy it’s a friend who requires an answer to their call versus someone with a gun. my hold on armin doesn’t loosen much. he sighs against my neck, he’s relieved too.

“i think it’s about time to catch our ride home,” armin says softly.

i nod against his shoulder where i rest my forehead. i smile a little. “i’ve been missing home… missing you.”

he slides his hand up from its place on my back to the back of my neck. “you won’t have to miss me again. we won’t be apart again.”

“that’s wishful thinking,” i joke sadly.

he doesn’t say anything because he knows i’m right. he just pulls away and takes my hand. when he starts to lead us over to jean i quickly use our joined hands to pull him back to me. i put my hand on the back of his neck—mostly to steady myself and then lean on my tiptoes to kiss him. it’s long and emotional but really that’s all it is—emotional. there’s no deeper meaning behind it, no lust. it’s just something that says, “i’m so happy to have you back. never leave me again. i love you more than anything. let me keep loving you.”

when i pull away i simply take the lead in walking and pull him along behind me—he’s still a little dazed for the time being but he snaps out of it quickly enough. we walk together to jean. i’m sure we’re supposed to be in a hurry, i know this airship will leave without us, but we can’t seem to make ourselves run.

when we get to our friend he shoots armin a look i don’t quite understand but he says nothing of our joined hands, which i appreciate. he doesn’t hesitate to remind us that if we don’t make it to the rooftop rendezvous spot we will not be going home. on that very blunt note, the three of us book it to the roof.

armin’s hand is soft and warm in mine. he’s like home for me. he’s safety and happiness personified. he’s always been there. he’s been the love of my life since the moment i laid eyes on him and i don’t ever intend to take my eyes off of him now. not again. he and i are in it for the long haul… assuming we all survive this.

#armin arlert #armin x reader #armin aot #armin arlet x reader #attack on titan #aot #aot x reader #yn #x yn #armin x y/n

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nateofgreat · 6 months

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Since Baylan's revived the whole " It's an endless cycle of war caused by the meanie Force :( " nonsense I'm going to bring up the same points I did with Darth Traya.

Ahem.

-The "cycle" actually just refers to different authors writing different Star Wars stories. Stories need conflict and thus usually revolves around the Jedi fighting the Sith or another evil force. It's a storytelling trope, not a commentary on the nature of the SW universe.

-The "cycle" (if we insist on calling it such) is honestly not even that bad because the Jedi win everytime and there's centuries of peace after each victory they win. So if there's a cycle at all it's that good triumphs over evil.

-Baylan's method of "ending the cycle" requires him to do the same things that (in his eyes) perpetuate the cycle in the first place, in his case, he's helping restore the Empire when he could help stop it and thus prevent the cycle from continuing in his lifetime.

-The Force doesn't perpetuate the cycle because the Sith abuse the Force; they're not guided by it like the Jedi are. And the Jedi the ones who always restore peace every time. So the logical outcome to the Force being killed is actually more war with all the planet killing weapons we see popping up.

-The Force isn't an alien entity that's inflicting itself upon the Galaxy as presented in KOTOR 2 by an egotistical writer who seems like he's afraid of anything spiritual. it's present in all life and dying is described as becoming one with it. So if you killed the Force, everyone would die, and death is described as becoming one with the Force so I fail to see how that would help.

It's easy to take an innocuous storytelling trope and feign complexity by slapping the word "cycle" onto it. But really the whole universe has to be built around it for it to be effective. Like say the Dragon Dogma's universe, it doesn't work when you shove it into a universe like Star Wars.

Now I'm with a character in-universe having stupid ideas about how everything works but I don't trust modern day Lucasfilm to not present him as being in the right.

#Star Wars #anti Ahsoka series #Ahsoka critical #Baylan Skoll #anti Darth Traya #anti Kreia #KOTOR critical #KOTOR criticism #anti KOTOR

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nyxi-pixie · 2 months

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yosano is so dear to me because as much as i usually dislike the trope of 'one of the only regular female characters in the show gets healing powers because what else would a woman have' i do really like when that trope is turned into an insidious distorted mess.

I'm putting a readmore bc holy fuck if i start talking about yos i DO NOT know how to stop.

Like she has healing powers but the ability ITSELF is horrendously violent (needing people to be basically dead before they do anything), and she is not the kind of person you would associate with traditional healing character traits. Most of the time, they're maternal, and friendly, and soft spoken, and reserved.

Yosano is none of these things.

Quite frankly, she's a hater. and that's not to say she's unpleasant, necessarily, because she isn't. but she's a little demanding, and a little unhinged, and a lot prone to violence.

(and the dislikes on her profile refer exclusively to men. (shes an icon))

And shes like that because she is the outcome of what an ability like that, a responsibility like that, would do to a person.

Because every time she faces someone dying, there are two options: unbelievable guilt that comes with Not saving someone, or the perversion of death that comes with bringing them back. That complete and utter refusal of the natural order.

What do you do when respect for life hinges on a person's ability to die, and you have not just the power, but the expectation, to take that away?

which leads us to her backstory.

she's eleven. ELEVEN. what eleven year old has any understanding of life and death? of the importance of endings and letting people rest?

she's basically playing god and she barely even understands what that means. Or perhaps more accurately, she's playing puppet for mori playing god.

So she's there, and it's kind of a boring task at first. Like a very cavalier 'I'm here to save you all that's my job you should congratulate me bc im sm cooler than u losers.' But then she speaks to the soldiers, grows to care about them, and suddenly this ISNT a job. Its saving them out of compassion, out of a desire to see them alive. to make sure theyre okay.

and then they keep dying. and she brings them back, and they die again, and again, and again, in an endless cycle that can never end and while she's doing it unwillingly by that point, the reason they can live to suffer again is because of her.

And in realising that, in trying to put an end to that pointless cycle and Mori preventing that by shooting someone she cares about in front of her, she cannot give them reprieve because of the very ability that got her into this position in the first place. By that ability, and, ironically, by that compassion of hers.

"You are too just."

She cares too much to do what she knows is right, what she knows is kindest for the soldiers. She hasn't grown used to losing people (partially because she's eleven, but mostly because death doesn't exist to her) so she can't accept it.

and when everything goes down hill, she still thinks of it all as her fault. (even though technically its mori's, and whomever was in charge of their unit for not surrendering)

even fourteen years later, shes still haunted by what happened. even fourteen years later, the balancing act between using her ability, and letting nature run its course, is a delicate one, and one that is only facilitared by her position in the ADA.

its incredible that with that position threatened, the very reason shes learned to live with herself being put in jeopardy, she keeps herself as stable as she does.

so. she's a little bit batshit. very violent when she wants to be. ready to beat a mfer within an inch of their life at the earliest opportunity.

her very capacity to heal is twisted and messy and terrifying. it isn't soft and delicate and sweet, or even reassuring. it's practical. it's useful. but it's deeply unsettling.

and i think thats a very realistic portrayal of what it would be like to have such an unnatural control over life and death.

#yosano akiko #bsd yosano #also when women have healing powers theyre often put on the back burner (“bc theyre too valuable to be in the field!”)#aka 'we dont wanna give them screentime' coughshoko (i mean.its an in-text ISSUE that she cnt be arnd. but still. GIVE HER MORE SCREENTIME)#BUT bc of the way yosanos ability works; with the only-healing-from-near-death stipulation.#she isnt just *useful* in the field. shes practically *necessary* in high risk situations (which is why she HEAVY carried s4)#anyway. yosano makes me chew on my walls etcetc #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #guys im so normal about her i promise

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electraslight · 1 year

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got any gwevin headcanons?

here ya go!! sorry if i have less of these my gwevin thoughts are borderline incomprehensible if youre not down w the liz lore.... most of my gwevin shit is so far divorced from canon theyre completely different lawl

-when gwen moves away to go to college kevin comes over to her house w toiletpaper and lightbulbs bc you never remember those when youre first moving out

-gwen actually distrusted kevin heavily when they first met because of their prior meeting but was civil and friendly because she'd been burned before by being outright rude to people she distrusted. this in turn made him obsessed with her bc people are nice to him so rarely

-kevin actually wears more makeup than gwen (whos more of a tinted lip balm and moisturizer type girl) so he does her makeup for special events

-kevin and gwen don't actually ever get married in the series (this is actually canon) and i think its bc even though kevin has a longer lifespan than someone like ben, he'll still die long before gwen does, and shes scared of leaving someone she loves behind. both kevin and gwen r very against the 'saintity of marrige' as well bc of their families so they just stay unmarried for the rest of their lives. they get ben to be a surrogate for devlin though :))

-kevin is very empathetic but not very good at social cues, so he often does things that he feels will help/ empathize with people but doesnt understand the signals they're putting out, if that makes sense, so he'll often try to be affectionate with gwen when she's mad at him and it will just make things worse. gwen knows he's trying to be loving but her inherently judgemental nature makes her go through this endless cycle of confronting bad assumtions about him and trying to knock them down for the sake of the relationship. kevin sees this and appreciates that shes trying, but still feels like hes not worthy of her effort. theyll get through it dont worry

-gwen is a fucking HORRIBLE driver, and has crashed cars multiple times including kevins, but he forgives her no matter what bc she just makes big eyes at him and he forgets that he was mad at her

-gwen grabs kevin's padlock to yank him down to talk to her. 99% of the time this cuts off the air in his windpipe but he gives zero shits because he gets to look at her face to face

there you go!! again, this stuff is purely brain speculation lol. i hate the heteronormative fixer upper type trope so much but theyre so cute i cant resit it, so i make up shit in my head lawl. gwevin is only good when gwen is the boyfriend and kevin is the girlfriend methinks. thanks for the ask!!

#gwen tennyson #gwevin #kevin levin #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 uaf #ben 10 original series #ben 10 headcannon

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dandylovesturtles · 1 year

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Chello~! So I was reading your amazing fic “I May Be Invisible but I Still Look Good” and I was wondering, just outta curiosity. What inspired the concept for the fic in the first place? It’s a really cool concept- a spell that basically tears the soul out of the body and makes a person a “ghost” (sorry, Leo, I’m using the word ghost), but there are restrictions to what they can go through and stuff.

And another note- is there a specific reason you chose which one of Leo’s brothers broke which part of the spell? Like, Mikey broke sight, Raph broke sound, and Donnie broke touch. I see the parallel with Donnie, since he’s typically pretty adverse with touch, but I was wondering about Raph and Mikey.

I also wanted to say that your writing is beautiful and the fact that I can’t leave more than one kudos-es on Ao3 is cruel 😤.

Keep up the amazing work and have an absolutely wonderful amazing supercalifragilisticexpialidoshus day/night/afternoon/2am/endless white void :,]

Hi! Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I've answered some of this but I'm too lazy to dig through my blog so I'll answer again! lol

I've written a fic similar to this before for another fandom (One Piece) over a decade ago - it's a trope I've always enjoyed haha. Though that fic was definitely more of a comedy (the character who got ghosted ended up possessing another character's body so they had to share), while this one leaned more heavily on angst. Although both OP and ROTTMNT are comedic canons so there's still a lot of jokes in both haha.

Anyway I thought of doing this with Leo because even though Donnie was (and still mostly is) my favorite character, Leo is the one I like putting through the spin cycle, because I think his character is a really interesting one to dig into. Leo has a lot of layers to him, and he has a hard time showing his real self to others and asking for help, and this sort of trope is great for forcing characters to do exactly that. Take away their ability to communicate and it makes them want to communicate more! lol

I ended up rambling so I'm putting a cut here.

I actually went around and around for a bit coming up with exactly what the restrictions are for how Leo can move. Like, I spent way too much time trying to decide if he can climb ladders and in the end I just avoided ever mentioning it (he probably can, like he can climb stairs, because otherwise getting out of certain parts of the sewer would be hard). But a lot of it came out of practicality, like I needed him to be able to ride in the tank properly so he could go home with them in the first chapter. But when I thought of the scene where he and Mikey get separated by Meat Sweats I just pushed that to the logical conclusion of "well he can ride in the car but he isn't actually constrained by the frame of the car besides the bottom" and that turned into car surfing.

Initially however I was going to have it so he was restricted to the immediate area around his body and so to leave the lair with Leo the brothers would have to Weekend at Bernie's him around. I eventually gave up on this idea because it caused too many logistical problems lol... Like I would have to establish that either his body can survive because it's just in a form of stasis (which I didn't like because it retroactively killed some of the first chapter's tension and also killed later tension) or they would have to cart around some kind of ventilator and that's a logistical nightmare. But I didn't want Leo to be confined to the lair because, boring. So that's where the idea of him being tied to them after they regained a sense came from, which has worked out great because I ended up using it for way more drama than I anticipated at the start haha.

Here's my writing tip no one asked for: when coming up with the rules for any kind of magic anything, narrative utility always trumps realism - as long as you have internal consistency it's fine.

AS FOR WHO GETS WHAT, well, I always planned for them to regain the senses in the order Mikey > Raph > Donnie (I feel like it just makes the most sense that Mikey is first and Donnie is last so Raph is naturally the middle), but originally they were going to get the senses in waves, like once Raph broke part of the spell both Mikey and Raph would get hearing, etc. And I already planned on it going sight > hearing > touch as well. But then I decided to split the senses up because I felt like it was more interesting that way. See the tip I posted above LOL

But as for why I picked sight > hearing > touch, well... I needed Mikey to see him first for narrative utility but also since Mikey is the one who is best at emotions, I liked having him get sight, because that way Leo can't really hide from him, and so Mikey can get a sense of how Leo is dealing with everything through this ordeal. Like Leo can hide his emotions from Raph by being quiet or from Donnie by not touching him but he can't escape Mikey. The other two obviously know Leo is not having a good time, but Mikey is the one who has the fullest picture of how badly this is affecting him, and Mikey is also the best at communicating that to the others and helping Leo through it just by being there. That's why you get a lot of Mikey literally guiding the others to him, too - he's good at helping that way!

As for Raph, I made a joke at the time that I wanted to force the dumb-dumbs to actually use their words lol. Which is a lot of the motivation! Of course, Raph and Leo are at a better place than they were pre-movie anyway, but I still wanted to put them in a place where they have to talk because they literally don't have any other options. Also, I really love the co-leaders vibe, or at least Raph being his right hand man, and I wanted the two of them to be able to talk strategy, which was of course easiest if they could actually, ya know, talk. Leo may be leader but he still looks up to Raph and turns to him for advice, or as a sounding board to work out what he's thinking through, so it's really beneficial for him to be able to talk to Raph.

And yes finally, Donnie is touch averse so he gets touch and we all laugh. LAUGH. But also Donnie would be most frustrated by not having a more direct way to communicate with Leo, but also the most determined to actually make it work. Also this way he is given a problem to fix. Leo is touch-starved and it's not good for him to be like this for too long, because he's losing his grip on reality. Donnie can fix that problem by touching him, and so he will, because Donnie fixes problems. Even if it requires giving his dumb-dumb twin shell scratches (he doesn't mind) (he won't admit it though).

Also the ouija board jokes are very funny. If it works for zozo why can't it work for Leo!

Sorry for all the rambles aaaaa thanks for the ask!

#fic: i may be invisible but i still look good

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katyspersonal · 7 months

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That one interpretation about Micolash’s fate now lives rent free in my head. I’m not opposed to the notion of him dying once and for all, and I like the irony of a scholar obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge spending his last moments in ignorance. But being forever trapped in his own mummified body seems like the perfect punishment and suits the theme of hopelessness so well. For someone who despised his humanity so much, who went above and beyond to escape the limitations of his body, being forced back into his pathetic, frail, powerless body must be pure torture. Once Micolash’s consciousness is brought back, he’ll have all eternity to ponder over the fact that his efforts were fruitless and he’s nothing but a withered corpse, a manifestation of human fragility and mortality. But in contrast to the situation with Lovecraft’s priest, there’ll be nobody around to destroy his brain and end his sufferings.

No, this is absolutely valid, and from the standpoint of a person that gives "proper" judgement to Bloodborne characters - yeah, he "deserved" it!

I just have a completely different way to look at the things, and Soulsborne games offer me the most freedom in this. Like I said, the whole theme of 'fate worse than death' applied to the war criminals we meet in these games just doesn't do anything to me. Doesn't make me mad (because, again, they probably "deserve" it) but also doesn't really excite me... The problem with Soulsborne settings is that things are so chaotic and flipped upside down that morality, principles and and judgement as we know them no longer apply in my opinion- heck, I always said I can't really guilt characters like Aldrich or Rykard for how much atrocities they've committed, because the world they're in is so fundamentally broken and doomed that in the end, what they'd have to do to escape it no longer matters...? Elden Ring didn't touch upon it well enough, and even gave us *gasp* OPTIMISM!!!!, but Dark Souls totally falls for this... mess.

On the other hand, characters like Allant or Shabriri in my interpretation I'd totally say deserved "real" judgement. And Micolash is kinda complicated... He falls exactly in the middle. Dude did quite the unthinkable things to break free from the humanity, but also his setting kinda falls for the trope of "humanity is doomed anyways" and his only fault is that he tried to escape, whatever it takes, rather than pull the whole 'I will perish but at least not lose my human decency uwu' thing. For most people, choosing the latter feels like an axiom and they don't need reasoning to why it is "the only acceptable way", but for this type of high IQ investigators not necessarily so. Because hooooow many tiiiiimes you fuckers need an evidence that huge intellect caaaaaan be as much of a cuuuuuurse.

But, again, Bloodborne setting is less obviously... that. Dark Souls IS doomed, yes. Bloodborne is, like... well, he is (presumably) stuck in the city that will wither under endless cycle of the hunt no matter what. So I speculate his problem (and many other characters') is witnessing the knowledhe humans were not meant to see - and losing the sight of worth of his humanity as a result. Again, the smarter you are - the more damaging this effect will be! More simple-minded people would be able to withstand the comprehension of futility of humanity and the cyclic trap that deems both beasthood and Kinship meaningless because "but humanity is still important just because". (Also love how Bloodborne itself addresses this complexion by the fact that the higher person's Insight level is, the stronger Frenzy damage they take!)

__________________

Basically, what I am saying is, this is a "satisfying" fate for Micolash by common logic.. But I personally would rather either let the guy die a real death, or let him be reborn into something else. His setting and the things he learned make his pursuit to transcend humanity at all cost not only fair in my eyes, but even couragerous, in a way. Actually.....

^^^ what really skewed my perspective on most of the Soulsborne's "war criminals" was Miyazaki himself perceiving Fauxsefka as a heroine xD I was instantly able to decipher it as the fact that her courage is doing a 'morally reprehensive' thing (turning people into cosmic Kin) for the greater good (so they lose any chance to become the beasts instead). Not everyone will "dirty" their own hands for some greater idea. But, yeah, Micolash is likely not 'heroic', as he simply cared for helping himself. The only other Mensis scholar we know of is Damian, who actively works against Mico's goals (which is very telling); the other participants of his ritual are prisoners (damn, Miyazaki, can we go against the dilemma of "deciding for everyone else" for ONE game??).

I am glad that you've found a resolution for Micolash's arc that is very satisfying and exciting for you, though! This sorta thing always feels cathartic!

#bloodborne #micolash host of the nightmare #ask replies #I feel like I could never properly explain the way I (and Miyazaki too at this rate) judge the soulsborne babygirls (war criminals) xd #it is just too complicated #there IS a personal bias from me against 'eternal hell' because that's counter-productive and purgatory is a way better concept #but that aside I just think Micolash is a victim of his own high intellect #the call means nothing without the receiver!#if someone else saw what he saw they easily would've turned it down and told gods to fuck themselves with this 'knowledge'#hahaha in fact I do have an OC in Bloodborne that is able to reject 'ascension' through this logic too!#funny enough she is in open hostility against Mico #shit where did I put that post??#but yeah the cornerstone here is that high intellect puts you in a hazard when you are presented with 'this' sort of knowledge

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jessaerys · 1 year

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I think what gets me about the popularity of mattmello as a ship historically tied to the late 00s early 2010s is that by virtue of how little background we get from the source material it is almost entirely based on 1. aesthetics and 2. speculation/fanon

which like i understand (very common phenomenon. remember jeanmarco) and i am definitely not immune to fall out boy looking ass anime boys (specially at the time when i would’ve been like 14-16) but imo it is categorically the kind of engagement with a source material thats akin to me to like. coffee shop aus. more about coming in with pre-established tropes you enjoy and assigning them to blorbos than truly intellectually engaging with what makes the characters compelling in the first place within the narrative. which is a perfectly valid way to engage with fandom its just very boring to me

so like coming into the second half of death note for the very first time in my late 20s and having this wealth of more than a decade of fanworks to explore just makes mattmello so funny and absolutely baffling to me because on the one hand you have what is this very sharply written unique set up for this lopsided rivalry ripe with intense freudian issues and sexual tension in which both characters are bizarrely obsessed with each other. whatever crack cocaine they put in that one control room scene. yes yes the picture of you i keep on me at all times. dear mello. near threatening death note murder-suicide at the drop of a hat. the fascinating narrative cycle of juxtaposing a new generation of genius minds that mirrors light & l, separation by death but this time by working with each other rather than against each other, the triumph and tragedy of sacrifice in the name of the greater good, the endless ramifications of being shaped together and against each other for a specific purpose. one of them was always doomed from the beginning and it was never in his hands! it didn't have to be this way but it always was going to. something something about the inevitable downfall of intellectual twin flames.

and on the other hand you have 60 second best friend anime boy who admittedly races cars and smokes cigarettes. which. to be totally fair. is pretty much two of the sexiest activities an anime boy can do. but my point remains

anyway you may think i am relitigating decades long shipping discourse but my actual real thesis for this whole post IS that i would bet real life money that 00s yaoi history would’ve gone down DRASTICALLY different if near had looked a bit more like a slut. literally. imagine if his character design was, like, a tattered wifebeater and some spiky silver chains. thumb rings. white shirt draped around his elbows (i also think this would solve 80% of the shallow "near is just a secondhand L" takes but this post is already too long)

anyway, tl;dr society if near had shown some shoulder

#sorry to see and percieve the truth but i am right #death note #brothercrush.txt

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outoutdamnspark · 1 year

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I HEARD OMEGAVERSE AND I MUST HEAR YOUR HEADCANONS OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE ABOUT IT!

Aaaa it’s one of my favorite tropes, and I just get stupid excited with anything about it, and to hear one of my favorite writers does too aaaaaaa

- noodle

*ascends*

Dude, I fucking love omegaverse!!! I have an in-progress fic with platonic a/b/o, featuring dad!Warden Ingo if you want some world building in action, but please allow me to regale you with my personal headcanons!

(I had to split this up into pieces because it was getting kind of long, so I'm gonna keep the first few entries SFW and probably do a separate thing for any NSFW~)

and shgkjhdsjhg bro, buddy, honey, what do you mean one of your favorite writers?!! 😭 no you!!

(cw: one brief mention of children. SFW)

Part 1: Biology

Ω I don't personally like writing anything that portrays all alphas as aggressive assholes that can't take no for an answer. Likewise, I don't like writing when omegas are portrayed as helpless or incapable of making their own decisions - in any situation but especially when in heat. (It's a writing preference, is all.) I also don't particularly like versions of omegaverse where omegas are treated like second class citizens, some kind of rare commodity, or just outright property. All three secondary genders are equally prevalent in the world, all are treated equally (minus the usual shitty people, of course), and accommodations for each are the norm.

Ω Betas have heightened senses just like omegas and alphas, but they aren't nearly as affected. It's a bit of a misconception that betas can't smell an omega's heat or sense an alpha's rut - they can, their instincts just don't react the same way as the other two secondary genders might. This is so, in the event of an emergency or someone else's instincts going haywire, there's a reliably neutral and calming option for an alpha or an omega to seek aid from. Generally, betas have a pretty even disposition and often take on roles of protection or peace-keeping - or things like daycare and social work.

Ω In my head, secondary genders are actually a residual biological trait - leftover from previous generations that dealt with harsher conditions and fewer resources dwindling the populations. (Probably in places like Hisui, I'd imagine.) Back then, the secondary genders would insure there were always at least a handful of members in a community that could potentially produce new offspring; adolescents would present as a specific secondary gender relative to their environment. (Like those frogs that can switch between male and female depending on the population. ...Kinda.) Too many betas and not enough "breeding pairs"? Boom. Half a generation winds up presenting as omegas. Food scarce and you need stronger (and more "disposable") members to go forage and hunt in potentially dangerous areas far away from the rest of the group? Oops! All alphas! Nowadays, with modern cities and different pack/community dynamics, it's honestly just a roll of the dice as to what you present as. Genetics can play a part in it, as well as environment still, but since it's residual now, there's no longer a set pattern.

Ω (Brief mention of babies and pregnancy.) No mpreg unless we're counting trans individuals - simply because "traditional" mpreg in general has always made me a little uncomfortable, and also... how??? do I even begin to make that work here? I choose not to try. Anyway. Basically, if you have the right parts and they function normally, then you can have pups. Yes, alphas are more likely to get somebody else pregnant, and omegas are more likely to get pregnant (especially during ruts/heats), but it still varies from person to person for the most part. Any gender can get any other gender pregnant, any gender can be pregnant, and any primary gender can present as any secondary gender. The possibilities are endless!

💥💥💥

Next up! Heat/Rut Cycles (SFW)

#smallestapplin #noodle anon #spark writes #a/b/o dynamics #omegaverse #the next part is already typed up so stay tuned~

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wttcsms · 1 year

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✧ wttcsms works in progress;

a look into what's in my drafts because yes, i do write, thank you very much!!! please feel welcome to scream at me in my askbox and make me tell you more about any of the wips here

last updated apr 19 2023

it always leads to you — sae itoshi x f!reader

most likely a mini multipart series (probably around 4-6 parts, each only about ~6-7k words each). nsfw + plot (porn w plot)

current stage: prologue finished, outline needs to be done

current wc: 4k

current tags: exes to fwb/situationship to strangers with a history to awkward co-parents to lovers (relationship status: it's complicated!), pregnancy, child is part of the plot, angst, character study into sae, timeskip, homesickness, nsfw

started off as a one shot (5 times you can't escape the memory of your ex, sae, + the 1 time he comes back) but while writing it, i realized that the reunion between the two of you opened the doors to a lot more possibilities. originally, i just wanted to have it leave off at him on your doorstep whenever he decided to stay in japan bc he heard of blue lock and wanted to stick around & since he was in the area, he would find himself coming back to you. (he breaks up with you before high school graduation when he decides to go to spain). however, that scene spiraled into you & him reconciling, and eventually, there was an open sort of ending where sae decides that maybe the two of you do have a fighting chance of working out.

HOWEVER, i wanted to explore this dynamic even deeper, so the fic kind of spirals away from the canon timeline + i'm introducing a timeskip. you & sae have this weird ass long distance situationship where the distance feels like too much of an obstacle to overcome, the two of you are always on the brink of a "break up", he ends up visiting, the two of you kiss & make up and have renewed hope that this shitshow of a relationship can still work, and it's just an endless, toxic cycle, really. there's genuine love, but he's too in his head & in an entirely different country — world, really — from you, and things are hard and he's shitty at feelings. at this point, sae is 20 & making his debut into the world of professional international football.

on the same day he's about to sign with a great team, he receives a phone call from you.

you're pregnant.

he hangs up without a word. (asshole behavior but seems p in theme with what we're shown so far abt him)

the next part following that is another timeskip. this time, sae is 27 and moving back home to japan. he's in the middle of recovering from an injury, one so bad that he will never be able to play soccer again, especially at the level he was it. now he's back home, licking his wounds, and having to face everything he's spent so hard trying to run away from.

i think this fic is my first attempt at redeeming a character; i know we don't know much abt sae or his internal thoughts + intentions, but i'm having fun with fleshing him out as a flawed person who actually had good intentions. he fucked up, majorly, and reader isn't keen on taking him back. you're colder to him than you ever were, and you barely want anything to do with him. swapping the dynamic on him is also really fun to do as a writer; sae goes from the one who's out of reach and reader is the one chasing after him but now, reader is the person out of reach & sae is the one doing the chasing.

song inspiration: renegade - big red machine ft. taylor swift, cardigan - taylor swift, betty - taylor swift, exile - taylor swift, best - gracie abrams, i know it won't work - gracie abrams, the last time - taylor swift, tis the damn season - taylor swift, right where you left me - taylor swift

married (with benefits) — rin itoshi x f!reader

most likely a loooong one shot (~13k, hopefully not over 20k) nsfw / porn w plot

current stage: outline in progress

current wc: tbd

current tags: fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope, wag culture, single dad!rin, son's teacher!reader, BREEDING KINK, falling in love, mutual pining, oh no there's only one bed!!!!, jealous!rin, protective&possessive!rin, "don't speak to my wife like that" trope

original post talking abt this can be found here

basically reader is FLAT BROKE LMAO and is given the opportunity of a lifetime bc rin itoshi needs to save face and beat his awful ex-wife in their custody battle for his son.

my heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue — jean kirstein x f!reader

nsfw / porn w plot one shot (~8k)

current stage: first scene that sets up the mood for the fic is completed

current wc: 1k

current tags: fwb to lovers, toxic relationship (not w jean), college/modern au, praise kink, love confessions, jean is just so sweet & so boyfriend ok, idiots in love, mutual pining, insecure!reader, nsfw

this was a request from a follower <3 basically reader originally likes eren and they're in a toxic situationship and reader is crying over eren at a party, you run into jean, he gives you the best dicking down of your LIFE. essentially, u fall in love w ur situationship but get a happy ending this time around lol

#wttcsms wips

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torturedpoetemotions · 10 months

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so, having watched the first 6 seasons… what did you think of riverdale? did you like it? i'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the show :))

I genuinely cannot believe a show with the premise of "edgy grimdark take on Archie comics" is so fucking good. It has no business being this good. No business whatsoever.

Season 1? A murder mystery in a small town full of odd characters and secrets, family issues and generational traumas. Pretty standard CW fare, but with an added element of class commentary that was surprisingly thoughtful. Every character is so interesting and well fleshed out. Every episode feels so intentional. Fantastic balance of plot and character development with an ending I TRULY did not see coming. 10/10

Season 2 is more of a thriller, or a slasher even. Funnily enough though the plot got more sensational, the characters felt more grounded. The story felt very character focused and driven. Every insane detail made perfect sense in the context of what the characters were dealing with. They also really built on the class commentary from season 1 and fleshed out the world of Riverdale. Iconic Jughead moments in every episode. 11/10

Season 3 focused far more on plot, sometimes to the direct detriment of characters in ways that frustrated me. But the plot was interesting enough to keep me from being too bitter about that, especially as the season went on and the character-driven storytelling started to reassert itself. Overall I preferred seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 is iconic in its own way for sure. Betty supremacy this season! 9.5/10

Season 4 was a welcome return to what I genuinely consider to be the central theme of Riverdale as a whole: class struggle and the wicked excesses and abuses of the capitalist elites. I loved the return to more grounded, character-focused storytelling, and the boarding school mystery is a classic trope. It was also nice seeing the characters less siloed into separate stories and more in pairs or groups. There were definitely storylines I cared about more than others (Veronica's endless cycle with her dad began to grate after three seasons of the same shit over and over; I wanted to see her win!). But overall it was a fantastic season that made incredible use of its non-linear storytelling device. Also? Cooper-Jones family absolutely owned this season for me. 12/10

Season 5 was hard for me at first. I balked at the state of everyone after the time jump, especially Veronica ans Jughead. But eventually I realized that the thing that made me balk so hard was how heartbreakingly realistic it was. Once I got past that, I was able to truly enjoy this extremely grounded small town political drama. Archie and Veronica really shone this season, though I continued to be frustrated by Ronnie and Hiram's storyline. This was definitely the season where Archie came into his own, though, and in my opinion Veronica's true victory over her father as well. Toni had a much more central story as well, given how deeply entwined with Riverdale and the Serpents she is, which I loved. This felt like a more adult take on seasons 1 and 2, with the characters now adults who are fully responsible for how their community turns out, rather than kids just trying to survive it. 10/10

Season 6 was pure unfiltered wackadoo in the best way possible. The writers have never adhered to genre conventions, but in this season they took genre as a concept, ran it through a crosscut paper shredder, burned the scraps, and scattered the ashes. The addition of magic made an odd kind of sense given Riverdale exists in the same universe as Greendale, and the Rivervale episodes had me riveted and horrified. The fact that magic in Riverdale is grounded in pre-existing worldbuilding and character development certainly helps. Like of course Betty can see threatening auras and Pop's is the final battleground between good and evil! Of course the devil is a businessman and angels are comrades! Of course the police are corrupt agents of violent control! Riverdale really said the ultimate battle between good and evil is fought with unions, mutual aid, and class solidarity. Chef's kiss. 27/10

I cannot wait to see how it all ends. Though I'll be sad that it's over.

#riverdale #riverdale spoilers #ask box #sonyarebecchi

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scabopolis · 1 year

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fic recs: l/v non-linear timeline fics

In anticipation of the upcoming 2023 Logan x Veronica "New Year, New Fic" fest, I bring you a small selection of fics inspired by Logan and Veronica getting busy and getting in fights in a non-linear timeline fashion (think flashbacks, think time loops, think in media res).

Day 1 of the challenge is February 1, 2023 so be sure to check out the #2023 LV New Year here on tumblr or the AO3 collection for more fic and art.

As a reminder, there are so many fics that fill these tropes. These are just a smattering, so make sure to make note of the ones you love the most and next week, when the challenge starts, maybe go drop those you love a kudos, a comment, or both to share the joy.

Fic: Slipstream by @cheshirecatstrut Rating: M, for smut, and it making me feel mature love feelings for both Logan and Veronica Tropes and Themes: It's Groundhog's Day but in a sexy way, team detecting, and this really being the true definition of "in every reality I choose you" Read if: You like nice things

Fic: How the powder burns by @scabopolis (it's a me! Mario!) Rating: T, for some swears, and some unfair jumping to conclusions that ultimately are resolved Tropes and Themes: There's only one bed (but they're mad about it), the author has never met a story she couldn't tell in media res Read if: You like unnecessary and copious amounts of flirting over margaritas Fic: Five Lives Never Led (or, everything in Time should be either titillating or epic) by lovesrogue36 Rating: E for "bow chicka wow wow" Tropes and Themes: A classic five times fic you will want to devour in one single setting, angsty as as all getout but so delicious (really, heed those tags) Read if: A recommendation by the fair @thelillykane who is never wrong - so read it if you like to never be wrong Fic: A Fine and Endless Cycle by kartography Rating: E for sexiness, and two college students who really need to get their ish together Tropes and Themes: non-linear as it jumps back and forth in time, two people finding their way, sexy makeout times Read if: You like reading fics that feel like catharsis and that give you a heavy reward at the end (if that makes ANY sense). Another rec by @thelillykane who reports that this fic makes her "scream, claw, etc." Fic: Knowing the Difference by @vmsteenbeans Rating: T for Terrific, and sometimes Terribly frustrating (because of EMOTIONS) but that is ultimately Tremendous Tropes and Themes: Expert use of flashbacks, classic post-s3 AU, these two work at it and holy hell is that great Read if: You want a true classic VM fic; the world of VM fic for years and years was built on post-s3 future fics and Steen's is a gold standard

Fic: I'm the hero of the story by monroeslittle Rating: PG technically, but emotionally it's a gut punch in the best way so idk, man Tropes and Themes: It's amnesia fic baby!, domestic delightfulness, and adorable child, Piz getting dumped AGAIN Read if: You want to see character growth in such a beautifully succinct way; probably in my top-10 most read fics Fic: Choices: How to Make a Life by TXQuill Rating: T, as in "TXQuill only wrote this one fic for VM and that is a TRAGEDY" Tropes and Themes: Growing up and growing smarter, is it a dream or is it real?, man they EARN that happy ending Read if: You never have before because I think it's a gem. I still remember all the feelings from when I first read it.

#2023 lv new year #logan echolls #veronica mars #vm fanfic #logan/veronica fanfic #logan x veronica #otp: the one person

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ghooostbaby · 1 year

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watching everything everywhere all at once made me have so many thoughts about what it is about the connections between hua cheng and he xuan that hit me so hard. it’s this sidestepping of the importance of origins and fate. it moved me so much when it was revealed that joy just wanted her mom to be with her, to share with her the horror at the “everything”, infinity, meaninglessness. and in an inversion of that, evelyn wanted to push her daughter away from her and the nothing, void, meaninglessness of her own life, so she wouldn’t be like her. their origins from each other pulls them together in the future. and i guess they healed together, like a cycle coming back around. so much of this is because of the way evelyn fights for her daughter, and learns from her husband the tools she needs to fight - laughter, kindness...

so what if that doesn’t happen? what if those bonds just fade away, the parent doesn’t fight for their child. i think of hua cheng, unconnected to his family of origin, with his mother gone, the family he has doesn’t seem to be his people at all. the things he attaches to are outside of them - remnants of his mother who is long since gone by the time he is only ten years old, and xie lian, a complete stranger who shows him compassion. the notion of hereditary cycles and healing that is such a popular trope just falls away when it comes to him (and most people who have survived child abuse). the family you come from has nothing to do with you, there is no healing to be found there. there is no possibility of return, or desire to. (and what a queer act it is to figure yourself into a lineage, generational connection, or any deep family-like bond with someone who is not a blood relation.)

(side note this is a reason why i really resent when people insist on making jiang cheng and wei wuxian of mdzs reconcile, when the fact that wei wuxian never reconciles with the family he grew up with but DOES find healing, purpose, and love in the end with other people, particularly a group of people he had seemed completely incompatible with at the start, is one of very few stories that offers a possibility of healing for people who cannot return to their original family.)

i was reading this book studying the concept of what ‘home’ is by interviewing refugees, specifically refugees from cyprus who had been settled in the UK for decades, how they enacted the work of creating a new home in a new place after having left the original home ... and it struck me how the ocean is this non-place in between from the original home and the new home to be created when people migrate from one to the other. and to occupy the ocean as a home is to reject ‘home’ and stay in the liminal in-between space most people only come to in order to move through. which of course reminds me of he xuan, and ghosts in general, occupying the liminal space of death that most people arrive at only move on to the other side.

i get more and more interested in ghosts all the time. and how in tgcf they’re really this archetype of profound hope, desire, passion, sincerity, and goodness, contradictorily, while the gods are cynical, self-serving, small-minded, tiresome, mundane.

the pathways he xuan and hua cheng as ghosts take is so interesting for what they abandon, the way they abandon their origins and even themselves (or their original selves). they don’t move forward in a trajectory toward a resolution or return that makes sense on a scale of linear progress that is (supposedly) typical human pattern. they move into endless transformation and expansion, into other forms, other beings, becoming a something else, an other and an other and an other ... they follow a twisting path that goes nowhere in particular, as long as it follows their own desire deeper and deeper into itself, wherever that leads, whatever that is.

(gotta write something about he xuan and hua cheng’s malleable, transforming, non-stable, non-fixed bodies soon too!!)

he xuan and hua cheng are very different as well, and don’t fit perfectly, as much as they are parallel and connected by the coincidence of how they end up as similar beings. that’s what interesting to me about their connection - it’s not fated, it’s not a return. it’s something else. their bond is not something that makes sense of their past or fixes anything, it’s a complete chance that they end up in the same place at the same time, with complementary goals and skills.

unlike hua cheng, he xuan has this rootedness in his family and a sense of who he is in his connection to them, but he loses them and becomes a ghost and the way he adapts to the circumstances of the centuries, his desire and determination to stay and live and fight has him transforming and shifting away from the person he was in the past. huaxuan don’t seemed meant for each other in the sort of way that hualian has this beautiful symmetry, the way most romances have this demand for symmetry and balance, ordering something sensible and meaningful out of heartbreaks of the past that are returned to and answered for by this romance of the present/future.

it’s like the shore that meets the ocean is just land that happens to be there. at the end of a journey from a home that is no longer safe, the traveller finds a place to make a new home that is just a place that happens to be available for them that they might not necessarily like or want, it may not have poetic connections to their original home that soothe them that it will all make sense, it’s just a place that’s there that they will have to make a home out of. and i really have come across so few stories when an original home, or a foundational relationship are truly truly lost and gone forever, and it’s still ok, miraculously. and huaxuan is that story in my mind. it just seems miraculous to me to create a home out of anything, anywhere, by your choice to make it one.

#huaxuan #tgcf #everything everywhere all at once #hua cheng #he xuan

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