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alyakthedorklord · 10 months

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Batman the Playboy

Justice League, not quite early days but before proper identity reveals, though everyone knows Batman knows theirs, bc he has Opinions™ and Constructive Criticisms™ on their secret-keeping.

The issue is brought up on random occasions. The most notable incident- the Justice League, including Batman, being Drunk for Bonding, and Batman, in a fit of paranoid good intentions because he CARES about these idiots, damnit, why must they be so careless, starts insulting them.

Batman, leaning heavily on the table: “GL, you’re a mess, I don’t even know where to start with you. And Arrow! Your goatee is so distinctive, it’s a wonder no one has called you out on it-“

Green Arrow, also drunk: “Alright, there’s no need to insult my awesome facial hair-”

Batman, in despair: “It’s so ugly.”

Green Arrow: (offended noises)

Green Lantern: “Okay, the only reason you know our secret identities is because you’re a rude nosy bastard who needs to know everything about us like a creepy stalker who needs an ego boost! We’re not stupid, Spooky, we’re just polite. We could figure you out easily if we wanted to. Superman can see right through your mask!”

Usually, Batman would have a good response to that. Something smart and reasonable like “villains won’t care for your privacy, I’m testing you,” or something cutting like “I don’t care enough about you to go digging, I set your secret identity as a training exercise for Robin.”

However, Batman is Drunk, because for some reason imbibing drugs that dampen higher brain function is socially acceptable and often, for some reason, expected, because it’s “team bonding” and “come on just loosen up a bit.” (Also for him, drunk=Brucie)

So what Batman ends up saying is: “I could kiss you full on the lips in my secret identity and you wouldn’t know a thing.”

Superman, plucking the glass from Batman’s hand: “Aaaand that is enough alcohol for you!”

Batman nods. Thank God. He wants to go home and sleep. But first: “Superman, yours is so stupid it’s almost impressive-”

———

Of course, Green Lantern has smelled a challenge. And Green Lantern must annoy Batman. It’s his true superpower. So, the next time they meet (sober) he brings up the issue again.

GL: “So about what you said at the party… the part where you could kiss us full on the lips without us knowing. You still confident in that without liquid courage, Spooky? Bet you your real name you can’t do it.”

Batman, regretting the fact that alcohol has ever passed his lips: “I could do it, but I will not.”

Flash, curious: “Why’s that?”

Batman: “Informed Consent. I will not risk making any of you feel violated, or manipulated, for the sake of a stupid bet and my ego.”

GA, still offended by the goatee comment, trying to back Batman into a corner: “So if we give consent, we’re fair game? Try me, Batman. Even you can’t pull this off. Anyone else game?”

Some of the Justice League laughs, raising their hands.

Flash: “Come get me, hot stuff! I’ll call you out!”

Wonder Woman: “It could be amusing.”

Martian Manhunter: “I would be far too difficult a target.”

Green Arrow: “Not just you. C’mon, Spooky, flirting well enough to get a kiss from me? I’m a classy lady.”

Black Canary: “D-class, maybe.”

Superman, wants a kiss in on the fun: 🙋🏻‍♂️

“So that’s it then!” Green Lantern says smugly. “Batman, if you can kiss… how many people raised their hands? Ah yes- HALF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, without anyone realizing it’s you, then you win.”

Batman scoffs and walks out, leaving the Justice League in stitches at their joke. Because- Batman? Being good enough at flirting to land a kiss on half the league, without it being forced or awkward, without them recognizing his body language, his voice, his build? How ridiculous!

The Batman is Autistic. The Batman does not understand jokes, especially not ones that are half truths. The Batman has consent, and something to prove.

And Bruce Wayne, billionaire, playboy, and sexy DILF, has targets.

(Please tell me how you think he gets each League member.)

Edit: there have been a bunch of awesome additions in the notes! My own take here.

#a few months later GL brings it up #like ‘ha ha remember funny joke’#batman: ‘…joke?’#justice league #😳#yes joke #autistic batman #batman #brucie wayne #justice leauge shennanigans #batman the playboy

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kitkatt0430 · 17 days

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Wedge, Lando, Mara Jade, and Chewbacca for the character bingo!

Wedge:

I know Wedge best from the X-Wing books I've read and a few other Legends books here and there. And I always get SOOOOO excited to see him pop up in the books. Usually leading Rogue Squad. Except when he's leading Wraith Squad.

He is absolutely the reasonable adult in the room and accidentally dad to his Rogue & Wraith squads. But oh, he gets the angst as bad as anyone who gets main character status in the extended Star Wars universe. At least one of his love interests is murdered :( poor dear.

He has to put up with being tangentially associated to Jedi nonsense through multiple characters - most notably Luke Skywalker and Corran Horn - but because he's a good friend and a good person to have your back in a crisis, he never complains. They're his people, he's gonna be there for them.

Lando:

He's a con man turned legit business owner, though it's a different business every time I check in on him in Legends. lol

So he spends some time in Legends dating Mara Jade. This is later retconned into the two of them going under cover with fake dating to do some recon and Mara was probably plotting his murder the entire time. Though she only wore his clothes (better than him) and probably stole a few of the man's true love interests (his cloaks). But Lando definitely sees himself as the suave playboy, which I enjoy about him so much. (Leia/Han/Lando please???)

Lando is often the adult in the room. He has no idea how this happened and is in perpetual fake it 'til you make it mode when it happens. I love this about him and I'm always excited to see him get put in a situation. Especially when Han and/or Leia are involved. And if he gets whumped... ;)

He introduced Luke to hot chocolate, canonically (Legends), and I adore that because he looked at this Jedi of growing legendariness and accurately diagnosed him with 'perpetually a farmboy at heart'.

Mara Jade:

Ah, my favorite Emperor's Hand, given the final mandate of killing Luke Skywalker upon the Emperor's death. Quite likely my favorite of Timothy's Zahn's Star Wars OCs, (though Karrde and Thrawn are close seconds) and she is absolutely a bit feral. Cryptid energy absolutely.

I adore that she spends so much of the Thrawn Trilogy (Legends) being driven by the Emperor's final command to kill Luke while also fighting it pretty hard while Luke is just, like... batting his eyes and going 'is this friendship? This is friendship. Leia, look at my new bestie!!!' (While Leia watches in bemusement before heading off on her own weird adventure. While being a badass pregnant woman the whole time.)

She is a trouble magnet in much the same vein as Luke too. Which is fun. I'd say she's an unapologetically Mary Sue character, which is well done here. She's a nuanced character with flaws, no one seems sure why they like her at first but she grows on them while she's actively fighting them growing on her too, and she is absolutely the one with the brain cell on Karrde's bridge every time he pulls some crazy stunt.

She's the only love interest Luke has that I don't wind up getting bored with, so it's convenient that she's the one he actually marries... and the way they go about it is they're besties and not romantic at all, but then realize that they're just... happier together and they get married once they're out of danger. Married QPPs anyone???

If not autistic then Mara definitely has some kind of neurodivergence going on, she has that ND putting up with nonsense energy so hard.

Chewbacca:

I love Chewbacca so much. Definitely can do no wrong. Oldest character on the OG main cast, fought alongside Yoda in the clone wars, taken from his home to be enslaved, rescued by this idiot child (Han) whom he becomes a parental/older sibling to because goodness knows Han would get himself killed once a week without Chewie there looking after him.

He's definitely playing up the Wookie stereotypes on occasion for the fun of it, exuding cryptid energy in the process. Is he feral? Is he just playing on stereotypes to win at space-chess? C-3PO & R2 would certainly prefer not to find out the answer.

#thanks for asking :D #blorbo bingo #kitkatt0430 answers #star wars #wedge antilles #lando calrissian #mara jade #chewbacca

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thebatfamfanatic · 3 years

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Six Times He Met Her

Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, guy taking advantage of a minor in first chap, mention of underage smut in fourth chap, making out?, violence, mentions of blood/injury, main character death, adult language, angst

A/N: First thing I’ve written on Tumblr!! Tell me if anybody likes it, or if I broke your heart. And yes, I know I’m evil.

The first time he saw you was around 2:30 in the morning. Jason was squatting on the edge of a rooftop in Gotham, surveying the dark scenery below him.

Somehow, there was still plenty of traffic on the dirty streets, plenty of cars honking and driving around. Jason always wondered who the fuck needed to be somewhere at 2 am.

He fiddled with a loose seam on the Robin uniform he sported each night, hunting down the assholes of Gotham (pretty much 70% of the city) and putting them in jail, where they belonged.

At 16, Jason Todd technically should have been in bed, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and doing some rich kid shit during the day. Of course, his adoptive (long story) father, Bruce Wayne, richest playboy in Gotham, employed him to be his little tweety bird sidekick at night, so here he was, at the rendezvous watching the streets. yay. A scream came from an alley nearby. Jason stood, stretched his legs, and leaped down from the roof onto the ground. He pinpointed the alleyway where the noise was coming from and raced into it. A girl, about his age, had been cornered by some bitch dude who thought he could take advantage of this girl. Not on Robin’s watch.

Before the girl could scream again, the guy was on the ground and Jason was helping her up. She shakily took the hand he offered her and looked him in the eye. Shit, she had gorgeous eyes. Jason froze for a second, lost in her beauty, before clearing in his throat.

“Hi. I’m Robin, uh, you probably knew that. Are you okay, ma’am?”

He hated the squeak that came out of his mouth. He sounded like a fucking 5 year old. The girl raised her eyebrow. She had recovered rather quickly. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. I’m not some rich-ass royal whatever from Britain.” Jason liked this one. Sassy, but just so. He inquired where she lived, and she gave him the address. With his grappling hook at the ready, Jason pulled her closer to him. She jumped at the sudden closeness, but seemed to enjoy it. Maybe? He didn’t know shit about girls.

Jason shot the hook, propelling them up in the air, and landed on a rooftop. They continued this routine until he got in front of her house. It was still several seconds before he released her waist.

She started to walk towards her door, before stopping.

“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Sorry, what?” Jason blinked.

“I thought you were smart, Robin. Its my name, dumb ass.”

Then Y/N disappeared into her house. Jason stood there foolishly outside on her front lawn for a while, thinking about the girl he had just met. She was unlike anyone he had ever met, and he realized 10 minutes later that he had forgotten to ask about where her family was and everything.

Oh well. Bruce would be expecting him anyways. Jason shot his grappling hook and started home, still dazed from the encounter.

The second time you guys met was two weeks later. Jason was just Jason Todd, a normal 10th grader living in the shadow of his (adopted) older brother Dick Grayson. Nobody paid much attention to him, and he didn’t really mind. Mostly Jason focused on getting A’s in class and then retreating into the library until Golden Boy’s after school clubs were over.

That is, until you walked in. It sounded as if you had just moved here, and for a minute, Jason felt a little sorry for you. I mean, Gotham wasn’t the greatest place to spend high school, or any grade, in his opinion.

You looked at your schedule from across the hall and then up at the locker next to him. For a second, your eyes met his and Jason was content. Lost in those brilliant colors. And then you looked away and started walking towards him. He realized just in time maybe he should stop leaning over your locker as you stopped next to him.

“Hi. Y/N. Just moved here. Looks like we’re locker neighbors.”

Jason was about to reply with “I know” but restrained himself. “Jason. Nice to meet you. Congrats on moving to this shitshow.”

He managed to not grin like an idiot as you laughed. The sound was music to his ears, like beautiful bells. God, he was being sappy.

“It’s not much of a shitshow when you’re here.” Ooh, she flirts too. Jason smirked as you opened your locker and dumped your stuff inside, pulling out the things you needed for your first class.

The first bell shrieked just as you closed your locker. “See you around, Jason.”

The small smile you gave him made his day, and he almost forgot to get to class. Yes, you were certainly one of a kind, and yes, Jason wanted you. The question was how to get to that point.

You guys had a couple classes together, and frequently sat at the same table during lunch, so it wasn’t long before you were quick friends with Jason. However, the next notable time you met was a little while after he got your number.

Jason was laying on his bed, scrolling mindlessly through Tumblr as he thought about ways to ask you out.

Y/N, would you grant me the honor of going out with me? No, too Romeo and Juliet.

Hey, want to grab ice cream? He had to make it clear what his intentions were. Then it wouldn’t be weird if he kissed you, right?

Oh, god, if he fucking kissed you….what would that be like? Before Jason could start fantasizing, his fingers were flying across the keyboard and he had sent a text to you. What did he do, what did he-

Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to see that new movie this weekend. It seems like something you would enjoy.

Hm. That was actually pretty good. Where did he come up with that?

Jason had just started inspecting his fingers for some kind of sign of being possessed by smooth-with-girls-syndrome when you responded. He looked up and read it quickly.

Sure, I’d love that! Thanks for thinking of me ❤️

A heart. You had put a heart at the end of it. Did that mean you knew it was a date?

Jason sighed. He certainly hoped so.

The weekend date went good. By the end of it, Jason was sure you knew it was a date. The second one passed, and then the third. The third one was when you hesitantly pecked him on the cheek. The fourth was when he kissed you actually. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was just enough for him to take you on a fourth date. An actual “will you go out with me on a date” kind of thing.

He took you to a restaurant in the fancy part of things. You two ate food that two broke 16 year olds technically shouldn’t have been able to afford, but Bruce helped Jason out.

Jason drove you home afterwards and discussed the topic of the upcoming summer during the car ride. What you were doing, where he was going. The entire time, Jason had butterflies in his stomach. He wasn’t sure how to act. Was he messing it all up, or were you actually into him?

Once he parked in front of your house and walked you up to the stoop, you looked at him. He noticed you were biting your lip nervously, and god, why did he think that was so hot? “My parents aren’t home.” It was the softest Jason had ever heard you speak, but he knew what you meant. He smiled gently, and kissed you again. This one was destined to last longer, and before either of you realized it, you had opened your door and you were leading him to your bedroom.

That night was one neither of you would forget, and by the end of it, Jason had officially asked out successfully.

You and Jason spent a lot of time together after that. You met his older brother, Dick (who was very happy for Jason, too happy in his opinion) and his dad, Bruce Wayne. Bruce was cool, but very busy all the time.

By two months, Jason still hadn’t told you his identity as Robin, and he was running out of excuses. One day, you confronted him, assuming he was cheating on you. He tried everything, but he had to go out on patrol.

Jason left that night assuming you were broken up. The entire patrol, he wasn’t himself. Truth was, he loved you so much he was afraid of losing you. That had become his greatest fear. It was that night everything went wrong.

You were out taking a late night walk. Down by the pier, a cold wind was blowing, and as you walked past warehouse after warehouse, you pulled your coat tighter.

You were affected as well, and confused about where you and your boyfriend stood. Did you guys just breakup? Did he love you? Did–

A scream echoed from one of the warehouses. You turned, afraid of stepping closer but afraid of leaving the person. Eventually, your curiosity won over and you climbed up several crates to peer into the window.

What you saw inside almost made you scream yourself. Robin, the hero everybody talked about, lay defenseless and bloody on the ground as a tall man-the Joker- whacked him over and over again with a crowbar.

You gasped, wanting to help, but you knew that would be foolish. You would just get in the way for a minute. Tears started to form in your eyes as Robin weakly cried out from the pain. He looked so…helpless.

Joker relentlessly beat him with the crowbar, and Robin’s mask began to come off. You rubbed the tears from your eyes just as the mask fell to the ground.

“No.” was the only thing that you could muster. Jason lay on the ground in the bloody Robin suit. Jason fucking Todd. There was your boyfriend, being beaten to death by the asshole of all assholes. That was why he kept disappearing at night, because he fucking protected the city!

You were mad at yourself for being so cruel to Jason without knowing what was really going on. You barely paid attention as Batman and Nightwing suddenly burst through the windows.

Joker laughed, and said something you couldn’t hear from the outside. Probably taunting Batman as he watched his apprentice get beat to death.

A fight broke out, Batman lunging at Joker as Nightwing rushed to Jason, laying broken on the ground. You had just enough time to duck as a Batarang came swooping out of the hands of the Caped Crusader and straight through the window you were looking through.

It was then you realized how close Jason was to death, and what you needed to do. The window pricked your jacket as you jumped through it, but you didn’t care. Gymnastics back in 6th grade helped when you landed awkwardly. Nightwing spun around, and it wasn’t hard to figure out that was Dick, which meant Bruce was Batman.

However, none of that mattered when Jason was half dead in front of you. Nightwing- Dick- made no effort to stop you as you knelt in front of Jason. “No, no, no.” You cradled his head in your hands, trying hard not to recognize how limp his body was, and how his chest barely moved as he struggled to breathe.

Jason’s eyes were closed, tears running down his face silently. You were crying as well, mumbling curses and things that made no sense.

“Please, don’t be dead. Please, I-I love you.”

You watched Jason make no acknowledgement he could hear you, watched him breathe once more. His chest rose and never fell.

You screamed and buried your head in his costume, not caring about getting blood on your face. Dick pulled you away wordlessly, out of the warehouse. You barely registered that the warehouse exploded behind you a few seconds later.

Dick let you sob into his shoulder for what seemed like hours. Him and Bruce exchanged a short conversation, both riddled with grief.

Six times you and Jason had met, and that was the last.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd angst #jason todd smut #jason todd fluff #dc comics #robin!jason

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writeshite · 2 years

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Krampusbesuch

Summary:

Running into the woods was never a good idea, much less in the middle of the night, with snow all around. There was also the fact that Tony couldn’t see shit, but hey, impulsive decisions led to shitty situations. At least the weather was nice.

Pairings:

Tony Stark x Krampus!Reader

Words:

Warnings:

Mild Smut

Author's Note:

I was thinking of what to write for Yule; then my gremlin mind was like Krampus!reader. Idk when this is set; let’s just say Tony is alive, he’s thriving, and so is everyone else, except Thanos, fuck him. Other people write fluffy Christmas fics; I, on the other hand, write atrocities like this. Originally this was going to be a naughty or nice kinda fic (if you catch my drift) the I remembered Krampus was a thing and bam! Also I have no idea where this was going but anywho. Enjoy :)

A particular type of curiosity came when one was being watched; for Tony, it came from being a billionaire, then Iron Man, then part of the Avengers. Much of it also came from his love life, or rather lack thereof; being a playboy didn't exactly lend itself to any meaningful relationships. Sometimes he’d hope the person/s he slept with would stay behind, that he’d wake up to find them still there; the closest he ever got to anything like that was with Pepper, but that had barely blossomed before being nipped in the bud. The city didn’t help either; there was still some loneliness despite being surrounded by people. He’d briefly shared these thoughts with Rhodey, who, in turn, suggested Tony take a break from everything. Get away from everything.

His choice had been his family’s old cabin in the Alps, excellent location, skiing, snow, just relax. He’d practically left in the next hour, leaving behind a message of ‘DO NOT DISTURB,’ and with only a handful of people with the knowledge of his plans, he was off. Ten hours and twenty-seven minutes later, and he was in Switzerland; another hour later, and he was standing in the cabin’s foyer, grimacing at the dust gathered everywhere.

Tony dropped his luggage off in the master bedroom, flopping down onto the bed caused a duststorm to encase him, leading to the most irritating sneezing storm he’s ever had. The first order of business; clean-up. As he began the dusting, he took note of the empty kitchen, the second order of business; food. Once Tony was satisfied with his cleaning, he moved on to the food portion of his to-do list; with J.A.R.V.I.S’ oh so lovely input, he had a grocery delivery system set up for his stay, which looked to be up until after New Year’s. The temptation to join the others back in New York was there, but he found it far more appealing to look over the scenery.

Back to the start, the whole being watched thing was something Tony was accustomed to, which is why he almost didn't react to it when he felt like he was being watched. Almost. But after two days of the feeling, he grew sick of it and decided to investigate; by that, he meant sending out a few smallscale drones to do the investigating. The first few came back with nothing notable- a few animals here and there, the occasional person skiing down the mountains - but then he opened the last one and nearly had a heart attack. A prominent dark figure encompassed the image, its form appeared to be running, and as Tony flipped through more of the pictures, he realized it was running at the camera. The last photo was too close for him to make out much, other than a pair of golden eyes.

The drone was in tip-top shape, practically unharmed. Now Tony’s not saying he believes there’s some kind of cryptid thing somewhere in the mountains; he’s a man of logic. So, logically he brushed it off as someone messing around. Promptly, he yelled out his lungs at the mystery person - who might’ve been the one watching him, and if so, by all accounts, this was an idiotic move - he assumed was out in the forest until he was satisfied, and he thought that was that.

Then the gifts (?) started showing up.

If he could even call them gifts, but what else would you call a dead deer on your doorstep? There was also the chopped firewood, snow constructions, wood carvings; if Tony didn’t know any better, he’d say he had an admirer. An admirer who was good at staying hidden. At best, all he could get from security footage was a fast blur here and there. Whoever was leaving him this stuff barely ever got close to the front of the cabin, taking care to keep themselves away from being seen. According to J.A.R.V.I.S, an admirer who may be a stalker and/or possibly, improbably, also be something of a cryptid. Pepper hadn’t been much help either, citing that Tony may be the subject of a werewolf’s affections if her numerous romance books were anything to go by.

“Werewolves aren’t real.”

“Tony, you’re on a team with a literal god and a giant green humanoid, and you don’t think werewolves are real?” Pepper asked in disbelief.

“Who cares about that?! The point is, I’ve got someone leaving me things, and I don’t know what to do about it!” he exclaimed.

“Why don’t you set up one of the suits to get better footage?” Pepper suggested, “Or better yet, come back before whoever this is hurts you.”

“I’ll be fine; besides, who’s stupid enough to take on Iron Man?”

After that, he’d taken the first suggestion, not only using the suits but also the drones. Once he was done, every inch of the cabin’s exterior and nearby forest was under surveillance. Even then, it took two days before he got an answer, but it wasn’t from all that. No, Tony got a live response in the form of two glowing eyes staring at him from outside the kitchen. Naturally, seeing that, he screamed, dropped his glass of wine, and sent out a suit in his stead to confront whatever was out there.

The eyes disappeared as soon as a suit touched down; the sound of thrusters was in the air for a bit before there was silence. Tony found himself standing near the back door, ready to gear up and go himself when he spotted the suit. It was leaned back on a tree, completely unharmed, with ice creeping up its bottom half. Officially, this situation had gone from mildly inconvenient to somewhat slightly terrifying. He was ready to book it to the nearest plane when he caught sight of the eyes again. They appeared almost hesitant; there was a low rumble before the eyes yet again vanished, and against all better judgment, Tony ran in that direction.

Of course, as expected, Tony lost his footing, tripping over a branch and nearly sending himself falling off a rather cliff. Though that never happened, a hand shot out and grabbed the back of his shirt, bringing him close to a solid body. Tony glanced up, his eyes meeting the now-familiar golden ones; he squinted his eyes to get a better look at the face. He could vaguely make out horns, pointed ears, and a set of rather sharp teeth from the slightly open mouth.

“Hello,” the stranger’s voice was deep and sent a shiver up Tony’s spine.

Your head tilted to the side as he curiously observed Tony, chuckling lowly as he breathed out a response. “Apologies for the disturbance; it’s been ages since anyone’s been up this side of the mountains.”

“Uh, it’s no trouble, I just didn’t expect to meet,” Tony gestured at you, mimicking horns on his head and fangs, “whatever you are.”

“Most humans know me as Krampus; I deal with the naughty children during this time of year,” you explained.

“So, Santa with horns?”

You sighed, “I suppose, except I don’t do presents. Sometimes I eat naughty children, and if I’m feeling generous, drag them kicking and screaming to hell.”

Tony would’ve taken that as a cue to turn tail and run, where the words not said with a low growl that had his mind supplying rather, shall we say, explicit thoughts. Now, he’s met a lot of people who tickled his fancy. Still, he’s never given being a monsterfucker any thought - then again, the average person probably doesn’t unless you read fanfiction like this, but I digress - but being this close to you was starting to give him some ideas.

“Then why all the, um, stuff around the cabin?” he asked.

“What else is one to do when faced with a vision of beauty?” you replied, pulling him closer. “If they are unwelcome, I can stop.”

There were barely any thoughts running through Tony’s head as of now, at least any useful ones. He stumbled through his words for a bit; he could practically feel the blush rising as you amusingly laughed at his predicament. At this point, he was probably running more on instinct than thought as he flicked your nose, earning him an amused huff.

“Careful,” you warned, “I might find you adorable, but in no way does it prevent me from devouring you.”

Ok, if he wasn’t blushing before, he most certainly was now, “What’s stopping you then?” he dared.

Without warning, he found himself held up by the waist, feet off the ground, and his face level with yours. “Is that what you want, Schatz? Would you like me to ravish you?”

Like any reasonable person, Tony agreed when faced with the proposition of sex from a devilishly handsome man in the middle of the woods. Quite enthusiastically. Your grip on his waist moved to hold his thighs, settling them around your waist. Your face moved to his neck, dragging your nose along his pulse and drawing out a breathless sound from the man in your arms.

“What was that?” you asked after he murmured a response.

“T-Tony. My name. And yes, if i-it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to be ravished, right this instant,” he sputtered, “please.”

He barely finished the last word as your lips caught his, tilting your head slightly to get your tongue space to explore. After a while, you move on to his neck, open mouth kisses and small bites strewn along as Tony’s moans fill the surrounding forest. At one point, he bites his lip to silence himself, but a well-placed bite brings the sounds back. Your claws make quick work of his pants; you half-heartedly apologize before inserting one finger. Slowly but surely, you add more two more fingers, increasing the pace; you move forward to support Tony’s body. Your tail comes up to hold him as your other hand moves around to take hold of his cock.

After two orgasms, Tony’s head was slumped to the side, his breathing slightly labored. You moved him from the tree to the forest floor, positioning yourself and slowly moving forward; the head of your cock went in, causing him to whimper slightly; you muttered words of encouragement into his skin. Stopping every so often to get him used to the feeling. Once it was all in, you didn’t move; Tony breathlessly told you to proceed, you drew out and back in, again and again. The thrusts were slow at first, picking the pace to become faster until growls and moans accompanied the sound of flesh against flesh. No words are exchanged aside from the occasional ‘fuck’ here and there; your movement halts as you release a load, and soon enough, you’re collapsing on top of Tony.

You come down from the bliss to hands roaming up and down your horns, “Next time, I want to hold these while riding you.”

“Next time?” you raised a brow, head moving up to glance at him.

“I’d like to hope I’m more than just a one-off for you,” Tony commented.

“I assumed you’d be returning to your home after this,” you replied, “but if you don’t mind, I’d be happy to follow along.”

“Good.” he exhaled. “Because after that, I don’t think I’d be able to settle with anyone else. Now, if you got us back to the cabin, we could go for round two.”

End Note:

I'm not saying Tony is a monsterfucker, but like idk what else to tell you. You're welcome though for this mess. Hope you enjoyed my shite. Stay Hydrated.

#tony stark x male!reader #marvel imagine #christmas fic #yule fic #krampus!reader #monster!reader

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springday-aus · 3 years

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SVT’s Jeonghan: Love, War and Everything Between || part one

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Fic Piece Written by: Admin Grandma of @springday-aus

Moodboard Link: Created by Admin Grandpa

Character Pairing: Y/N [fem. reader] and Seventeen’s Yoon Jeonghan

Other Characters: Nu’est’s Baekho [known as Dongho], Seventeen [Seungcheol and Jisoo, along with idiot squad!Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan], and more to be added along the way!

Genre: historical, romance, drama, royal!au, arranged marriage!au + gender role reversal

None of this is even remotely historically accurate. This is all purely fiction!

Type: series

prologue || part 01 || part 02 || part 03 → to be available! check the progress on our upcoming page!

Word Count: approx. 2.6k

Plot Summary: Korea’s most distinguished military general arrives home, carrying back glory and honor from the war. However, the general has been revealed to be a woman! Due to the prominent military accomplishments you have made as the highest ranking general, by orders of the Empress, you are arranged to be married to the second-eldest prince, Yoon Jeonghan. Only one problem lies between you two: your reputation as a ruthless killing machine, which scares the living daylights out of your new husband.

→ Inspired by: the Chinese drama, Oh My General (also known as The General Above I Am Below)

Warnings: graphic violence, glorified war, murder, sexual harassment, sex discrimination (mainly against women), poly-relationships (i.e. concubines), political corruption, and homosexual tendencies

It had taken six months for the final battle to commence, and three full years of ruthless war, before they finally conceded. Needless to say, the new recruits were lucky to be under your jurisdiction. Had they not, the body count would have been much higher.

Your grip tightens on the rein of your horse, feeling the guilt and anguish wash over you once more of those who have fallen. While it is inevitable to lose soldiers in war, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt any less.

You take a small breath in, calming yourself once more and settling back into the reality.

The war had begun in the fall, whereas now, it is well into the summer season. You close your eyes, feeling the sun shine warmly on your skin. Taking another breath in, you open your eyes once more to take in the sights.

White butterflies dance over the grass, teasing flowers as they move along. The flowers are in full bloom; even the dirt path, which was once wet and muddy, has patches of grass that pop out from the cracks. While you have traveled to many areas, you were never able to take in the sights—well, at least, the less violent ones.

Ah, war. Politicians may declare war as much as they please, but they have yet to have seen how it destroys the average person—even a general as distinguished as yourself.

“General?”

“Yes,” you say. “What’s wrong, Dongho?”

You don’t look back at him, but you can hear his horse’s footsteps catch up to yours—slowing down to remain a couple of paces behind.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

You smile to yourself. “Rather sentimental.” You turn to him. “When was the last time we ever allowed ourselves to take in nature like this?”

His smile reflects yours. “I believe it was the last time we had been called to fulfill our duty.”

You click your tongue, with a disapproved shake of your head. “We need to go on these outings more often.”

“Well,” Dongho starts. “It’s hard to go on leisurely walks as one of the nation’s most notable figures.”

“And this is why you’re my second-in-command.” You let out another sigh, a bit longer than the previous one. “It’s hard to roam around with such a large target on your back.”

“In hindsight, you are very skilled in many areas. Whether it’s swordsmanship, archery, or taekkyon, only a suicidal fool would challenge you.”

“A suicidal fool, such as yourself?”

“Yes, General,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m a suicidal fool, who has yet to have learned his lesson.”

Dongho has been by your side for as long as you can remember. The two of you lived as neighbors, and evidently best friends, for ten years. When your father and brothers died, there was a brief separation period until you turned fourteen—in which you had met again, when you were starting your military training on request of your grandfather.

Since then, you two trained together, side-by-side in combat for the next twelve years. You rose the ranks together—you as the General and he as the military counselor.

You hear a groan from your left side. “Are we there yet?”

“Kim Jisoo,” you call. “You should know by now how long these journeys are.”

Your bodyguard playfully scowls at you. “Pardon me for being used to having company on these trips.”

From beside her, Namjoo, your other bodyguard, directs a punch to her sister’s arm. “You speak as if I’m dead.” She makes eye contact with you, before rolling her eyes at her sisters antics. “Father would be upset had he heard your inauspicious words.”

Lieutenant Kim worked alongside your father and you’re lucky enough to have him by yours as well. He’s like another family member—practically a close uncle, who is more than aware of your peculiar situation. Along with Lieutenant Kim came his two daughters, Jisoo and Namjoo.

Because he spent all of his time in the military, so did they. They learned as he taught and trained the other soldiers, including yourself and Dongho. Then, when the time came, you gave the both of them the bodyguard positions.

Of course there was protest, especially from their male counterparts who wanted their positions. While the Kims had a good laugh, there were also rumors that spread on your part—you had become known as a playboy, who became desperate for female attention while serving in the military.

Eventually, those rumors had been shut down, considering how your military contributions outweighed the gossip that spread due to envious soldiers. Your status easily overpowered theirs (lack thereof) and you dealt with them... accordingly.

(No one died, but it didn’t mean you didn’t cause some emotional trauma for them. You were nicknamed the Devil for a reason).

But, alas, this is also the root of your predicament.

“You aren’t the company I was referring to,” Jisoo says.

“If you’re referring to those pretty boys back at the capitol,” Namjoo says. “You might as well be the dead one.”

You chuckle at their banter. Jisoo is right (although you would never tell her): it would be nice to have a pretty boy by your side. But, with the current conditions, you know it would only be difficult for him.

Granted, this would be made a burdensome situation for you as well—the only difference being that you’re made of the tougher materials in life and will not hesitate to kill a man when crossed against.

Their banter fades into the background, with Dongho attempting to separate the two before the duo of sisters suddenly becomes solo.

You look up at the bright and clear sky once more, enjoying the moment of peace before the storm strikes.

It’s been about three days before you determined a stopping point, in order to set up camp for the evening. Your soldiers have been on rotation since then; you figure that they should get a well-needed break.

You smirk to yourself. The joke’s on them, considering how the lower ranks are the ones who actually set up: the tents, the cots, the fires.

The sun has already set for the day; the moon shines brightly and the stars twinkle against the evening sky. It’s truly the countryside; in the city, you don’t get sights like these. Too much pollution and such. It only means you and your soldiers still have a long road back to the capitol.

A long sigh escapes you as you stand outside your tent—naturally, with Namjoo on one side and Jisoo on the other.

“What’s wrong, General?” Namjoo asks.

Jisoo turns to you. “Is something bothering you?”

You let out another sigh. “It’s less of a bother and more of a concern.”

“What kinds of concerns?” Jisoo asks. “Could we be of any help to you?”

“Considering we are your protectors,” Namjoo adds with a pointed look.

“And your best friends,” Jisoo says.

“Female best friends.”

You crack a small smile—one that rarely showed during this period. “When do you think…” Your words trail off, trying to find the correct words. “When do you think this charade should be over and done with?”

Namjoo blinks wordlessly, not seeming to understand your question.

“What do you mean, General?” Jisoo asks. “Are you referring to…? Possibly…?”

“When can I fully become (Y/N) rather than just a general?”

“You’re not just a general,” Namjoo says. “You have risen up to become the General. The one who serves and protects your kingdom best.”

“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied with my accomplishments. I’m proud of them, but I would prefer them to be my own rather than the son of the (Y/L/N) family.” You laugh inwardly at your own words.

Son. What a joke.

You did what you’ve had to, but, what was the real cost? The countless men you have killed? The women and children who were left with no one to care for them in this patriarchal society?

What about your own life? What would life had been like, had your father and brothers not been killed? Would you have been married off to a family as well? Or would you still be in the military, serving with the other soldiers like now?

There’s a moment of silence and the two struggle to find their words—whereas you’re left again to your own thoughts.

It’s Jisoo who speaks first. “I want to tell you it would all be okay and things would remain the same.”

“But?”

“But it won’t.” She tilts her head up, the stars shimmering in her eyes. “Things will be hard and things will be difficult. And, whenever you make that decision, we’ll be right here by your side.”

Namjoo elbows you with a mischievous smile. “Just as we have always done. We pride yourselves as your protector.”

Your smile grows. “That’s a relief to hear.” You turn away from them, taking a step back to push back the fabric of your tent to take a step in. “It’s too late to back out anyways.”

“Too late for what, General?” Jisoo asks.

Your head turns to her and your smile doesn’t waver. “The letter has already been sent.”

“Your majesty,” the Vice Premier says. “What do you advise us to do now?”

The King sits at this throne, setting down the newly passed message from General (Y/L/N)—only to come in view with the court.

While he may not be downright angry, he is well aware of how the court may feel. He is also unsure of what will result in his best military general, especially since the war is not exactly over and done with—considering how King Wu may still hold resentments due to the aftermath.

He glances at the letter once again, feeling his head throb. Why did you have to choose now of all times?

Just moments ago, the second messenger from your troops arrived—announcing his arrival and reading the letter aloud for the rest of the court to hear. Upon the King’s request, he had left the letter to the King, still in shock with the present state of affairs.

General (Y/L/N) is a woman.

“Your majesty,” Official Chun says, stepping out from his spot.

“Accepted, proceed.”

“It is unacceptable for a woman to be of such a high position, nevertheless a man’s rightful position. I propose we remove and replace the General.”

Official Lee steps out. “Your majesty.”

“Accepted, proceed.”

“If I may remind some of us here that we are forever indebted to the General. We continue to be so, considering the current circumstances. While he—” He pauses, before correcting himself. “While she may be a woman, she is of the (Y/L/N) family. Not only have they been loyal to the throne, serving our country for many years, they have made many great sacrifices.”

“Your majesty,” Official Kwon says.

“Accepted, proceed.”

“Official Lee is correct. We cannot just remove the General.” He pauses, not before glancing at Official Chun and his followers. “The war might be over but we still have to be alert. Allowing her removal is the equivalent of death for our country.”

Sensing Chun’s anger from the indirect remarks, Official Mae steps out. “Your majesty.”

“Accepted, proceed.”

“General (Y/L/N) is a woman. A woman with too much power shall be the root our demise.” He glances at the other side, spotting those behind the Vice Premier. “She must be put into her place before she gets too ambitious.”

Official Song steps out. “Your majesty.”

“Accepted, proceed.”

“From what we are aware, the (Y/L/N) family does not have any male heirs. Considering the circumstances, we cannot afford to replace her when there are still repercussions of the war to be settled.”

“Your majesty,” Official Chun starts to say.

However, the King puts his hand up, pausing the conversation from continuing any further. He has already made his decision: you were to keep your position. Your accomplishments have stacked up, leaving the entire country indebted to you and your trained troops. Your reputation in the military is the most impressive—no one can be compared to you.

Although, it might be too unsettling for the officials for you to remain in your position. There must be some punishment—some kind of way to appease the court while you can still maintain your position, but not harsh enough for you to refute.

“General (Y/L/N) is to keep her position,” the King announces. He continues, shutting down any more possible verbal opposition. “Our country is indebted to the General. She has obtained previous territories that have been lost in previous battles and she has won countless wars, including the one we have just won. Replacing her would only lead to our doom and, even then, we have no suitable replacement.”

Official Jeong steps out. “Your majesty.”

“Accepted, proceed.”

“I believe that’s a wise decision, as expected from our King.” He swallows apprehensively. “However, we cannot leave her be. After all, she has deceived us—including you. What shall we do with her then?”

The officials murmur and whispers are passed around. Removal is too drastic for the King, therefore an execution is already off the table. No one seems to have any ideas of a possible punishment.

That is, anyone from the court.

While the officials scramble for an idea, the Empress’ eunuch, Eunuch Hak, shuffles himself from her side to the King’s throne.

There’s a hush that falls over the court officials.

“The Empress requests an audience,” Eunuch Hak whispers to the King.

“Accepted.”

From behind her golden curtain, the Empress lifts herself from her spot and gracefully walks towards the court. Her head is held high with elegance and her footsteps are light—almost as if she’s gliding. The officials bow their heads as she walks between them, no one daring to look up at her.

She stops in front of the throne, smiling as she looks up at the King.

“Mother,” he says. “How do you suppose we deal with this predicament?”

“I am proposing a marriage.”

The whispers start up again, unsure of what the Empress is trying to plan.

“Your highness,” Official Kwon says. “To whom do you think the General shall be married to?”

Her smile grows. “I believe that the second nephew is the most suitable candidate.”

“Second nephew?”

“She doesn’t mean—”

“The second prince?”

The King straightens in his seat, intrigued with the idea. “You are proposing a marriage between the most distinguished figure in Korea and Yoon Jeonghan?” He takes a small breath in, leaning back with a cocked eyebrow as he contemplates the idea.

Official Jeong speaks up once more. “Your highness, can you elaborate more as to how this is a suitable punishment?”

“If you ask me, it’s explanatory,” Official Chun mumbles under his breath.

Official Mae smirks at the comment, whispering back. “Prince Yoon is nothing more than a joke to the royal family.”

The Empress lets out a small sigh, proceeding to pretend as if she didn’t hear the rude comments about her grandson.

“It’s not about punishment.” she says. “It’s about balance.” Seeing the apprehensive look from the King, she continues. “Jeonghan is rather unorthodox. He spends much of his time dancing at the brothels and admiring artwork rather than martial arts or sports.”

There’s a murmur of agreement amongst the officials.

The Empress takes it as a sign to continue. “While he is a healthy man with three lovers, he is still uncommitted and unmarried. If the two were to be married, it can help solve the problems that are occurring for both parties.”

The King nods silently, but awaits for the court.

“Your majesty,” Official Kwon says.

“Accepted, proceed.”

“Her highness makes a good argument. I agree.” He thinks for a moment. “Not only would the General be married off to produce a male heir, but the rumors of Prince Yoon could also settle down once he’s married.”

“Your majesty,” Official Lee says.

“Accepted, proceed.”

“I agree with her highness and Official Kwon. This is more advantageous on our part,” he says. “I mean no offense when I say this, but Prince Yoon’s reputation is rather…” He pauses. “Unfavorable, at the moment. The General can help with that change and his with hers when the news spread in the villages.”

“Your majesty,” the Vice Premier says. “Shall we proceed with the marriage then?”

“Yes, we shall,” the King says with a nod. “From this day, we shall begin the wedding preparations. Once the General arrives back to the capital, Prince Yoon Jeonghan will become her husband.”

The Empress moves herself to the sidelines as the King stands up, causing the officials to stop in their spots and lower their heads once more. He steps down from his throne, starting his descent down the stairs and onto the path laid out for him.

The Vice Premier follows him from the right and his majesty’s eunuch, Eunuch Boo, follows him from the left—their conversation continuing in hushed tones.

The Empress leaves shortly after the King’s departure with Eunuch Hak on one side and Court Lady Nam on the other, leaving the officials with themselves.

“Court Lady Nam,” she says. “You shall inform Princess Consort Yoon.”

“Yes, your highness.”

She turns to her right. “Eunuch Hak.”

“Yes, your highness?”

“Begin the wedding preparations.”

A/N: As always, thanks for reading! Please don’t ask for updates. If you would like status updates, check out the upcoming post we have with upcoming works that will be posted!

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scoutception · 4 years

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Ranking the next 5 animes I’ve recently watched

After many distractions on my part, including playing through Steins;Gate, something that has quickly become something I adore like few others, I’ve continued my descent into the world of anime with 5 more series. The stuff I watched was a lot shorter on average than last time, and my attempts to be “objective” and my personal biases align much more closely compared to last time. With that, I’ll begin. 5. Soni-Ani: Super Sonico the Animation

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: subs only. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll. When it comes to visual novels, nitro+ is one of the biggest developers out there, alongside Key. Whereas Key is mainly out to make you really, really sad, nitro+ prefers a different approach. To my understanding, at best, their works are really, really dark, and at worst, they’re going straight for your nightmares, with stuff like Song of Saya and Sweet Pool. So clearly, the best mascot for them is the pink haired, constantly headphoned, and downright adorable Super Sonico. Even if it’s not outright official, it’s pretty jarring. Anyway, with that little rant out of the way, here’s the only thing on this list I actually wouldn’t recommend. Produced by White Fox back in 2014, this anime apparently got slammed pretty hard, and honestly, I have no idea why I even ended up watching this one. Perhaps this’ll be a reminder to be less impulsive in my choices in the future. Soni-Ani focuses on, who else, Super Sonico herself, an energetic and kind, yet clumsy college student who should reasonably be dead from stress and exhaustion. Along with college, she’s an idol, gravure model, helper at her grandmother’s restaurant and guitarist and main singer in the band First Astronomical Velocity with her friends Suzu Fujimi, the witty and manipulative bassist and official leader of the band, and Fuuri Watanuki, the mysterious drummer single mindedly obsessed with food. The series just explores some of the odd, extremely fanservice filled days of her life. It’s ok idea on paper, but in practice it’s just not really anything special or even entertaining for the most part. While I can usually ignore fanservice, it’s downright distractingly prevalent in the earlier episodes, to the point of several episode premises pretty much only catering themselves to it. Even without that, there’s just not much to be found; aside from Suzu and Sonico’s manager, the honestly hilarious Kitamura, who constantly wears a hannya mask and is willing to attack people for attempting to take advantage of Sonico, the characters aren’t anything memorable or entertaining on their own, leaving a lot of episodes feeling dry. They do improve in the second half, featuring episodes like a fairly charming murder mystery spoof, and an episode focusing on Sonico’s cats, of all things, but they’re still not something going out of your way to watch. The voice acting and animation, while at least ok, don’t stick out much either. Overall, again, this is the one thing I’d say to just avoid. There’s tons of other slice of life animes out there that are way better. If nothing else, though, I’m kinda glad I stuck to it just for the surprise cameo by Kurisu Makise’s outfit, considering I was already playing Steins;Gate.

4. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub (video release only, apparently) and subs available. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix. Moving onto stuff I’d actually recommend, here’s a nice little anime adaptation of a gag manga by Izumi Tsubaki, produced by Dogakobo. Chiyo Sakura, a high school student who stands at an impressive 4′9″, confesses her love to the tall and mysterious Umetaro Nozaki, and gets his autograph, of all things, for her troubles. Trying again, Nozaki instead takes her to his apartment... to assist him with his manga. As it turns out, Nozaki is a popular romance manga author, whose interests in life start an end at manga, rendering him utterly oblivious to Chiyo’s feelings. Thusly, Chiyo officially becomes his assistant in order to grow closer to her crush, meeting his other associates along the way. The main thing that must be said is that this is not a serious anime in the slightest, and it’s all just big parody of romance manga more than anything, especially with the characters, like Mikoshiba, who acts like a playboy, but in reality is cripplingly shy, and Kashima, the “prince” of the school who is both actually a girl and an airhead who’s frequently on the nerves of the drama club’s president, Hori. A lot of the humor thrives on miscommunication, and it’s exaggerated enough that it works well. Every character is an idiot, in their own ways, but endearingly so, and each of them stands out, from Chiyo, who mostly plays the straight man but has her moments of over imagination, or the hilariously abrasive Seo. The plots are the right kind of dumb too, like Nozaki and Mikoshiba becoming obsessed over a helper NPC in a dating sim, or Hori gaining an intense hatred for people standing on boxes due to Nozaki’s attempts to fix perspective problems. The jokes can get a bit predictable after a while, especially with Nozaki, but overall it’s a pretty funny time. The voice acting is good, and the animation is charming. Overall, this is definitely a fun watch. If you want a good laugh, or just something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is definitely something to check out. 3. Angel Beats!

Number of episodes: 13 (+ some OVAs not on streaming services). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation. As it turned out, visual novels, or at least visual novel developers, became a theme in the things I watched this time around. As mentioned before, Key is one of the biggest VN developers out there, who specialize in making you really sad. From Kanon, to Clannad, to Planetarian, to Little Busters, Key’s made a lot of great stuff, and had some great anime adaptations made, particularly for Kanon and Clannad. Thus, Jun Maeda, co-founder of Key, conceived Angel Beats to originate as an anime, produced by P.A. Works in 2010. Angel Beats focuses on Otonashi, a teenager who wakes up in a strange high school with amnesia, only able to remember his last name. He soon meets a girl named Yuri Nakamura, who informs him that they’re dead, and stuck in a sort of afterlife, seemingly ruled over by a mysterious girl they only know as Angel. In this purgatory, they’re unable to die, as Otonashi finds out first hand at Angel’s hands, and the school is populated by fabricated teachers and students, but the real people stuck there are at risk of being “obliterated” if they act like normal students, ceasing to exist. Unwilling to accept this, Yuri leads class SSS in opposition of Angel and the assumed God that created this world for the cruel fates that everyone stuck in the afterlife met, Otonashi seemingly included. With seemingly no other path to take, Otonashi joins forces with the SSS. The main strength of Angel Beats is its cast of characters. From the pretty mean yet charming Yuri, to the reliable, yet often abused Hinata, to the crazy and energetic Yui, to even some of the side characters, like Shiina, the ninja girl with a crippling weakness for wind up dog toys, or TK, who speaks in gloriously mangled English and dances constantly. The premise as well is honestly fascinating to me, and makes for some very interesting episodes. It’s got some pretty entertaining action scenes, along with some really funny moments, mostly by playing the “nobody can actually die” tidbit for all its worth, with the second episode devoting a good amount of time to slowly killing off the main group in horrible, yet blase fashions. It delivers emotionally too, with the second half in particular having a good deal of touching episodes, especially episode 10. Unfortunately, there’s one giant problem with this anime that brings it down quite a bit: it’s only 13 episodes long. While I’m not a fan of 12 or 13 episode seasons, I can’t say that’s a problem by itself. What is a problem is that they were planning to have double that amount of episodes, causing the storyline to feel very rushed, and leaving nearly every character in the cast that isn’t part of the main group very underdeveloped. While there’s an entire expanded universe of stuff, good luck tracking it all down, and while Key themselves were making a 6 part visual novel of Angel Beats to expand upon it all, something that’s very promising, only the first volume has been released so far, back in 2015, with no word since, very likely because of Jun Maeda’s health issues. Overall, Angel Beats genuinely is a good watch, but it’s kinda depressing, just because of how much potential was cut short thanks to whatever genius decided to cut the episode amount in half. Unless the VN project really gets going again, it’ll probably just remain a bunch of what could have beens. 2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation. Continuing the theme I unintentionally set up, here’s this famous little thing, from the mind of Gen Urobuchi, who, among other things, has worked on several nitro+ visual novels, mostly notably Song of Saya, wrote the apparently horribly depressing Fate/Zero, and was a scriptwriter for Kamen Rider Gaim, which, to my understanding, is one of the darkest Kamen Rider shows out there. Will all this in mind, there’s no real hiding that this isn’t going to be anywhere near as innocent as it tries to appear. Even if you didn’t know that, its reputation probably far exceeds it by now. Madoka Kaname is an average middle school student whose life is thrown into chaos when a mysterious girl named Homura Akemi transfers into her class, whom Madoka later finds attacking a strange creature called Kyubey. After rescuing it, Madoka and her best friend Sayaka are attacked by a strange creature known as a witch, only to be rescued by Mami Tomoe, a “magical girl” given power by Kyubey. Kyubey sees much potential in Madoka, and offers to grant her any wish of her choosing, in exchange for her becoming a magical girl as well and helping fight the witches. Homura, however, is completely determined to keep that from happening. Thus starts a chain of event in the lives of Madoka and Sayaka that, suffice it to say, don’t go very well. Without getting too specific, what starts as a mostly typical, if slightly odd, magical girl show quickly goes to very dark and twisted places, comparative to Neon Genesis Evangelion, though not quite as in depthly depressing with it. Everyone takes a beating in some way, and even with just 12 episodes, it can get a bit much for some people, even when it doesn’t end quite as awfully as you might expect. Still, it’s actually very well done. The characters are complex and flawed, but ultimately sympathetic, the overall plot is fascinating, and it ends in a very fitting way. It’s emotional, and has surprisingly good action. The dub voice work is solid, and the animation by Studio Shaft is as well, especially helped by the abstract designs of the witches themselves. While I’m not quite as passionate about it all as some are, it’s definitely earned its reputation. It’s a great watch, and definitely a big recommendation. 1. Steins;Gate

Number of episodes: 24 (+ 1 OVA). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu, Crunchyroll. Finishing off my unintentional theme with an actual adaptation of a visual novel, there was no way I wasn’t checking this one out with how utterly passionate the VN made me. This is at least partially a bias placement, but this anime is a very, very good adaptation, and a great way to experience the story without the VN, and a great watch even having gone through it. Rintaro Okabe is a college student on break living in his “laboratory” in Akihabara. A self proclaimed mad scientist, he whittles his days away hanging out with his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru Hashida, inventing useless gadgets in a supposed fight against an evil organization. One day, Rintaro and Mayuri go to attend a press conference by Doctor Nakabachi in Radi-Kan, who claims to have invented a time machine, only for it to end horribly for all involved when Rintaro discovers Kurisu Makise, a young neuroscientist who had recently had her thesis published in a major science magazine, murdered by an unknown assailant. Sending an email to Itaru about the incident, Rintaro suddenly finds the world to have changed. According to everyone else, the press conference had been canceled due to a mysterious satellite that crashed into Radi-Kan, and Rintaro later runs into Kurisu, alive and well. Investigating, Rintaro finds that, by complete accident, his modified microwave has become a device capable of sending emails to the past- and that SERN, a French research organization, has been conducting time travel experiments of their own. In his attempts to understand the capabilities of what he’s invented, and his curiosity as to why his memories appear to be out of sync with everyone else’s, Rintaro rushes into a series of experiments that change his life, and those of friends old and new. This is something I could rant about all day, but putting it as succinctly as I can, I’ve never been as fascinated by time travel as Steins;Gate has made me. As fantastic as it, it’s also shown to be unpredictable, limited, and downright unsettling, especially when nobody knows just how time even works. It’s a story about the concept of time travel as much as a story about using it. The story definitely starts a bit slowly, but it’s well worth pushing past. As an adaptation, it doesn’t even need to sacrifice much, with the most that’s lost being some details in a few later arcs that aren’t worth much in the long run anyway. Beyond that, the main strength of the story is the cast of characters. Rintaro, with his rather severe case of chuunibyou, is a unique protagonist to begin with, but the events of the story turn him into an honestly fascinating and downright tragic character, and easily one of my favorite protagonists in a long time. The rest of the cast is just as good, with Kurisu being a great mix of intelligence, ravenous curiosity, and flusterability, with her and Rintaro’s interactions always being entertaining. As well, there’s the always kind, yet ditzy Mayuri, the outgoing, but odd Suzuha Amane, the endearingly gentle Luka Urushibara, and the energetic and wily Faris, just for some examples. The cast is downright loveable and very easy to get attached to. While I prefer the Japanese voice cast overall, the dub isn’t to be overlooked, with Trina Nishimura as Kurisu, Tyson Rinehart as Itaru, Cherami Leigh as Suzuha, Lindsay Seidel as Luka, and especially J. Michael Tatum as Rintaro giving great performances. Visually, White Fox did a great job giving it a distinct look. While the VN had a gorgeous and unique artstyle, it’s not really something that can be translated into animation. Instead, they used a whole lot of washed out colors and saturated lights that, combined with the sparse use of flashy effects and even music, gives a very subtle atmosphere to it all. Even beyond the style, it looks very good on its own, and it’s especially nice not having Rintaro look like a ghoul half the time, like he does in the VN.

Overall, this is very much something worth checking out. I’m beating a dead horse here since Steins;Gate is already wildly popular, but it’s that way for a very good reason. There’s also an extra OVA episode, along with a sequel movie, though both are only available via Funimation. They aren’t quite the best, but they make for entertaining watches worth checking out. And with that, that’s the end to my rambling. With the exception of, again, Super Sonico, everything here is very much worth a watch. I’m sure, once I emerge from the hell of Steins;Gate spinoffs, I’ll get to watching even more stuff. Till then, though. -Scout

#anime #steins;gate #monthly girls' nozaki kun #angel beats #puella magi madoka magica

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angelicfangirl · 5 years

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Thoughts while playing Rules of Engagement (currently about halfway through Book 2). All out of order because I’m typing things as I remember them xD

There will probably be more thoughts going forward, but I thought I better stop spamming poor @i-choose-liam and @springagainafter constantly because their inboxes are probably overflowing by now xD Time differences don’t help because they can’t defend themselves while they’re sleeping BUT I JUST KEEP MESSAGING

-Ugh Jess is totally pregnant isn’t she DAMNIT GUYS

-Pushing Paolo into the fountain was amazing, go Nicole you beautiful idiot

-Katie why do all three guys know you’re kinda half with all of them and yet they’re all fine with this that was a weird way to start this book.

-Leo, wtf are you doing with your life man. DO YOU ALWAYS INVITE WOMEN WHO OPENLY DATE OTHER MEN UP TO YOUR ROOM TO PLAY STRIP POKER AFTER THEY ARE HAVING A BAD DAY? (please don’t answer that)

-Oh snap Regina HATES katie yes I can get behind this

-Oh extra snap HI MADELEINE yes drag her (they can drag each other)

-I’m playing this game solely for diamonds for Perfect Match and Desire & Decorum and I’ve resisted every diamond scene so far...UNTIL ELENA WANTED A CAT BECAUSE THAT GIRL IS THE SUN AND DESERVES A CAT

-Oh that reminds me, Elena, babe, please calm down. Alex is obviously not going to work for the heartless bastard ARE YOU ALEX. ALEX PLEASE. I HAVE TO WAIT TIL TOMORROW TO PLAY THE NEXT CHAPTER DON’T DO THIS

-I also managed to resist buying the Leo scenes in Cordonia, even though I wanted more Liam facts. IT WAS HARD BUT I COULD DO IT I WAS STRONG (please come back Liam I miss you)

-How dare Liam be away while I’m visiting, oh well, at least that means he won’t attract Katie too lol

-Random thought - if the boys are six years apart, how did Leo get to like 30 before being forced into a social season? Because TRR clearly takes place barely a year later (must be after Leo’s social season) and there’s no way Liam is younger than at most 25. So Leo has to be pretty “old” for a Crown Prince of a country in crisis without heirs. Maybe it’s always like 30 unless a crisis like Liam being the only heir, thus why his had to be earlier?

-Regina is much cattier in these books and I kinda like her more than her “pretending to like you” schtick she pulls with Riley because forever bitter

-Oh and apparently Liam used to badly whistle the theme song to the Andy Griffith Show when he was younger thanks Leo that made me grin :D

-Oh hey Rashad nice to see you - you know you got a damn fine point but also rude. I do like how this book seems convinced to show you how bad an idea it is for all the men to date Katie - what’s Dean gonna have up his sleeve lol.

-Leo you are a gigantic disaster of a man and although you seem fun and idiotic I kinda wanna just give you a hug like dude what are you doing

-I do like the parallels between Liam and Leo both falling for the first girl to not know they are a prince and still treat them nicely and get that taste of being “normal” but also...Liam at least pointed that out in the same chapter. Leo waited for ages to say something so it just seemed super weird how immediately he’s like I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU and I’m just like “dude you’re cute and flirty there’s no way I’m unique to you there must have been 100 girls before me”.

-I mean I knew before I started, obviously, that he’s the prince but storywise it’s just so unnatural to have both William and Leo, notable playboys, immediately falling head over heels for a perfectly nice, but otherwise not really remarkable girl. I know that’s the fantasy for many of us, but at least Riley/Liam they made it work a lot faster, and there was a deeply personal experience at the beginning to make it important (if you choose to take Liam to the statue)

-I love how little time they all actually spend on this cruise though lol. Especially katie, just flying around all over the place.

-Leo please don’t abdicate for this girl who’s openly dating another man and needs to get married for an inheritance clause. I mean I agree that you should if it’s something you really want to do anyway (as much as it hurts Liam and Cordonia but we’re not focusing on that). But please. Dude. Think. Please

-Oh those were totally the actors from the Crown and Flame tv series I RECOGNISE KENNA AND DOM’S FACES BEHIND THAT DIFFERENT HAIR HELL YEAH MY BABIES

#choices: stories you play #rules of engagement #everyone in this book is a disaster

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rebeccaheyman · 4 years

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reading + listening 9.29.20

It was another week of soaring highs and middling mediocrity, but fortunately no DNFs. Notably, I’ve been dragging my heels on PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke, which has been sitting on my desk in gorgeous hard cover since release day. You ever want to love a book so much that you’re afraid to actually read it? No, no, me neither. Here’s hoping I get brave this week. In the meantime...

It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake (Claire Christian), eBook ARC (US pub date February 2021). I loved this book so much that I’m already looking forward to owning the aBook once it’s available, just so I can relive the magic in a new way. Here’s my five-star NetGalley review:

I have discovered the antidote to the unmitigated disaster that is the year 2020, and it is IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, NONI BLAKE. I inhaled this book in under 24 hours and feel soul-satisfied in a way I forgot existed. NONI BLAKE is a rom-com that's so much more than a rom-com; it's as much a character study as LESS and as much a travelogue as WILD, with the sweetness of Mhairi MacFarlane, the delicious heat of Sally Thorne, and the humor of every best friend you've ever gotten drunk with. It is, in a word, perfect.

When I say this book has it all, I am not kidding. In it, you will find: - an average-bodied woman finding sexual empowerment and body positivity - a Scottish book boyfriend for whom you do not need to travel through time - healthy adult friendships - A+ Bechdel Test score - adventurous, consensual sex that is at times hilarious and at other times really, really hot - situational comedy that will legitimately make you laugh out loud - adults who talk openly about their feelings in an authentic, mature way - portrayals of grief that range in severity from mourning the loss of an unborn child to coming to terms with years of self-criticism and negativity - rich, descriptive prose that does not drag down pacing - excellent plotting, perfectly balanced with the protagonist's complex internal journey

...the list goes on. This book is joy exemplified. I can't wait to give it to every woman I know. My only complaint is that the world needs this book immediately to inoculate us against the tidal wave of awfulness bombarding the globe, and yet it won't be released until 2021.

Notably, Australian readers have access to NONI BLAKE as of... today (!), so if you happen to be reading this in Australia, please do yourself a favor and buy this book immediately. And if there’s someone you especially like elsewhere in the world, maybe box up a copy and spread the love.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Talia Hibbert), eBook ARC (pub date March 2021). I know, I know -- how many contemporary romcoms with the exact same title structure can I read in a single week? Real answer: 2. But based on how fabulous both these titles were, I’m open to more. Here’s my four-star NetGalley review:

I've decided it's entirely impossible to read the Brown Sisters series without feeling amazing. Hibbert's writing is so smart, funny, and full of A+ banter -- not to mention scorching-hot heat -- that it almost feels like we don't deserve her books' nuances, diverse representations, and patriarchy-shaking feminism.

But we do deserve it, actually, and it's all there in ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN.

If at first Eve seems flighty and difficult to connect with, don't discount the intentionality of her characterization. In a tidy narrative trick, Hibbert gives us the very experience that defines many of Eve's friendships: while the youngest Brown sister may have made a great first impression in Chloe and Dani's books, her flightiness feels off-putting once she takes center stage. But sticking with Eve -- instead of pushing her to the margins of our two-person social circle -- has a massive pay-off, as she soon reveals herself to be intensely focused on helping others, spreading joy, and baking delicious cake. It's a side of Eve too many of her "friends" never get to see -- but Reader, we do. And it turns out, Eve is a wonder.

Many of Eve's quirks align with behaviors on the autism spectrum; while Jacob's autistic presentation is perhaps more conventional, Eve's traits are equally validated by Hibbert's sensitive, nuanced treatment of the disorder. Romance + autism usually means antisocial behaviors, rigidity, and/or Asperger's-like presentation (The Kiss Quotient/Bride Test, The Girl He Used to Know, The Rosie Project... the list goes on). But ACT YOUR AGE explores the all important "spectrum" side of "autism spectrum disorder," and urges us to resist believing we understand what these labels mean just because we understand one small aspect of a very large picture.

All of this happens while a truly compelling, heart-melting romance unfolds. Eve and Jacob are incredibly fun to watch, and Hibbert keeps things moving at a lovely clip. I especially appreciated her resistance to the "h/h have to spend totally unnecessary time apart after an argument/misunderstanding" trope in Act III, which is a convention I would happily see go the way of the dinosaur.

Fair warning to your TBR pile: If you don't reread Chloe and Dani's books prior to picking up ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN, you're going to want to afterward. There's simply no other way to maintain the rosy glow of post-Hibbert reading.

Finally, I'm predicting here and now that Mont, Alex and Tess are the next sibling trio to get the Hibbert treatment. (Please? Like...PLEASE please?)

Set My Heart to Five (Simon Stephenson), aBook (narr. Christopher Ragland, Rachael Louise Miller, Lance C. Fuller). If you combined the signature humor/love combo of David Nicholls, the deeply felt nostalgia of Ready Player One, and the bots-with-feelings hypothesis of Spielburg’s AI, you might come close to understanding what makes SET MY HEART TO FIVE so good. In the year 2054, the world has taken some unexpected turns: humans have accidentally locked themselves out of the internet, Elon Musk blew up the moon (also accidentally), and humanoid bots have been integrated into society as second-class pseudo-citizens. We meet Jared -- bot, dentist, cat-owner -- who has begun to experience curious malfunctions. With a friend’s help, and a heaping dose of old movies, Jared realizes he can feel real emotions. He resolves to journey west to Hollywood, where he’ll write a movie that changes the way humans view bots and paves the way for his bot brothers and sisters to enjoy the full range of human experience.

Jared’s explanations of human behavior provide a satirical commentary on our curious, often contradictory behaviors (”Humans. I cannot!”). Since films from the pre-bot age figure so prominently in Jared’s emotional awakening, that same satirical analysis is applied to movie synopses, which are rendered with necessary frequency but occasionally feel like overkill. The book relies heavily on a lovely trick of narrative reciprocity; Jared is on an archetypal hero’s journey, even as he strives to write a formulaic screenplay according to the “golden rules” of the fictitious script expert, R.P. McWilliams. But SET MY HEART TO FIVE never feels hackneyed, and in more than one way proves the rule that great stories are all in the telling.

With the innocence and clarity that can only come from being something of a stranger in a strange land, Jared embraces his existence with infectious enthusiasm and charm. It’s virtually impossible not to cheer for his success, even as we’re warned again and again that a great story will “eff us in the heart” at its conclusion. Audio is brilliantly narrated by Christopher Ragland, who manages to imbue the bot cadence we expect with believable nuance and big style.

Well Played (Jen DeLuca), aBook (narr. Brittany Pressley). I’ve got bad news for fans of WELL MET: If you wondered whether your enjoyment of Deluca’s ren-faire romcom debut of 2019 was due in large part to the book’s setting -- and more specifically, the way h/h’s interactions at the faire advanced the storyline -- the answer is yes. And why is that bad news, you ask? Well, because WELL PLAYED has none of the crackling Emily/Simon tension that carried the first book through its narrative stumbles. In book 2, the glacially slow Act I relies heavily on Stacy’s recitation of what makes her life humdrum, and a long series of email exchanges we *know* are coming from the conspicuously introduced Daniel -- even though Stacy, apparently suffering a traumatic brain injury, convinces herself it’s idiot playboy (and Daniel’s cousin) Dex. Sorry not sorry for the “spoiler,” which is impossible not to see coming from many miles away. Once this pseudo-conflict is resolved, the book boils down to situational fluff: a wedding, a squeaky mattress, the literal number of pumpkin spice lattes Stacy drinks over the course of a month. If it sounds like this is not a plot, that’s because it isn’t. The romance is low-stakes, the “uncrossable divide” that eventually separates h/h is the width and depth of a puddle, and the last third of the book is pretty much solely devoted to setting up a Mitch/April romance in book 3.

Notably, I found references to Stacy’s body-consciousness extremely strange. If we want to normalize average-sized women in romance, maybe we do that by not including, apropos of literally nothing, how “unflattering” woman-on-top sexual positions are?! Stacy is not characterized by self-consciousness, so the moments when her interiority veers toward self-criticism don’t feel necessary. I’m not saying these aren’t authentic thoughts and feelings plenty of women have, but an editor should have pushed DeLuca to answer the question to what end? Why include body hyperawareness in the precise moments when it appears? Like too much of the prose in WELL PLAYED, these inclusions felt like word-count boosting instead of dynamic character development or plot production. Sad as I am to say it, this book was a missed opportunity that shows the danger of rushing book 2 to market.

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Olivia Waite), aBook (narr. Morag Sims). This book has been on my radar since its publication last summer. Gorgeous cover aside, I’m always here for diverse historical romance. Sadly, for me, the external stakes here were simply too low, and relied overmuch on the baffling revelation that men -- especially in this historical moment -- underestimate and undermine women. I never felt discernible chemistry between Lucy and Catherine. This could be due, in part, to Morag Sims’ narration, which pitches Catherine’s voice in a low, husky range that accentuated the women’s age difference. From the outset, we learn that Catherine is the widow of one of Lucy’s father’s colleagues; while Lucy is the more sexually forward woman in this partnership, there’s something a little An Education about the whole arrangement.

On my radar this week:

Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)

A Deadly Education aBook (Naomi Novik)

We Can Only Save Ourselves ARC (Alison Wisdom)

Angel in a Devil’s Arms (Julie Anne Long)

The Project ARC (Courtney Summers)

The Love Square ARC (Laura Jane Williams)

#book review #ebooks #audiobooks #amreading #the lady's guide to celestial mechanics #well played #act your age eve brown #it's been a pleasure noni blake #set my heart to five

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jaenomins · 7 years

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plots based on exo songs

( links to the original songs are including for more lyrics, but some liberties were taken with the plots)

don’t go: muse a is totally in love with muse b, who flits in and out of their life, staying the night but always leaving before the morning comes. they are friends with benefits of sorts, but muse a has completely fallen, while muse b is complacent. Notable lyrics: “you sit lightly and i can’t take my eyes off you/ my eyes naturally follow each step you take”

peter pan: muse a and muse b used to date, but have been broken up for some time. muse a finds a scrapbook hidden away in their attic, and decides to take it out and relive the memories of their time with muse b. as the memories wash over, muse a decides that it is time to find their first love again. Notable lyrics: “it’s not going to be the end of our story/ because we will meet again.”

promise: (i got really emo making this into a plot oops) muse a has a lot of personal issues, whether it be with family or friends or other issues, and muse b tries their best to be there for them. one day, muse a has a breakdown, and muse b is not there to take care of them. hours later, muse b comes back to muse a’s house (or their shared house depending on the added relationship) and sees muse a still breaking down and does their best to comfort them. Notable lyrics: “trust in me like you do now/i’ll hug you, i’ll hold your hands/if your heart can be at rest.”

miracles in december: muse a and muse b broke up, but muse b is still tied up in their failed relationship, unable to let go of muse a. they have vivid flashbacks of their time with muse a. muse a meets up with muse b after a long time, and they get into a fight about their failed relationship. Notable lyrics: “the selfish me, who always only knew myself/ the heartless me who didn’t even know your heart.”

sing for you: muse a and muse b are skirting around a relationship, both of them too nervous to initiate anything. muse a is a singer, and decides that instead of trying to say all the words that they are thinking, they will write it down in a song. they send muse b a letter telling them to come to one of their performances, and surprise them with a serenade with muse a’s feelings for them. Notable lyrics: “i love you so much, but i don’t say it out loud/ it’s awkward, my pride won’t allow it”

unfair: muse a is alluring and extremely attractive, and muse b is totally smitten by them, to the point that they often act like an idiot around their friends when muse a is around. muse a knows this, and often plays around and flirts with muse b just to get a reaction out of them. muse a is just teasing, and trying to get a ruse out of muse b. Notable lyrics: “if my friends saw me like this, they would curse at me / seeing me be like this or say this.”

playboy: muses a and b are friends with benefits, though muse b is a total player and muse a knows it. muse a refuses to let anyone know about the fact that they are sleeping together. muse b knows that muse a can’t resist them though, and teases them about this fact often. muse a gets mad that muse b is sleeping with other people, but muse b just throws back that they already knew how muse b was when this started. Notable lyrics: “when you think it’s too late/ you’ve already fallen for me/ it’s out of your control (isn’t it?”

exodus: muse a is a dangerous person, no good for muse b, but muse b has fallen under their spell and is struggling to get out from under their control. they are trying to make themselves snap out of it, knowing that they are blind to most of what muse a is doing. they thought that muse a was good and kind when they entered into the relationship, but muse a has shown their true colors and now muse b is looking for a way out. Notable lyrics: “this is all a dream, you are a cruel queen/ because you hid thorns behind that beauty.”

#ok to reblog #rp #1x1 rp #indie rp #plots #plots.

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distant-rose-archive-blog · 7 years

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LOVED your fic recs! You mentioned that you had runner-ups, what are they? I'm curious because we have similar fic tastes and I've read most on your list.

Thanks mate! I’m glad you appreciated that and yes, I was originally going to post 15 fics, but I cut it down to 10 because I’m a lazy bastard. The following are honorable mentions to my treasure trove (or part two, view it anyway you want.)

Make a Wish by AcrobatElle

Rated: E

Noted Features: Wish Realm!AU, Canon Divergence (Season 6), Wish Realm Fix It, Older!Killian, Porn with Feelings

Author’s Description: Stuck in the Enchanted Forest after her wish was granted, Emma seeks out Killian. She doesn’t expect what she finds.

Rose’s Review: If I were a bigger cunt than I already am, I would just download this fic and sent it to A&E and be like “See this? This is what you should have done you bloody fucking wankers instead of going for the laugh!” (I’m not bitter I promise.) This isn’t just amazingly crafted Captain Swan smut, it’s amazingly crafted Captain Swan smut that rips out your heart and makes you weep for Wish!Hook because he’s just so unhappy but so gracious and in love with Emma (all Killians are in love with all Emma’s, let’s just face it). He really could have been bitter but he’s just so accepting and encouraging of Emma and his main verse self that it makes you want to curl in a corner with a bottle of rosé and weep to “White Flag” by Dido. It doesn’t make you cry because it’s angsty, it makes you cry because they just fucking love each other so much and Wish!Hook kinda gets the raw deal because he has no Emma of his own. He arguably doesn’t really exist but you still feel bad because despite the fact he was unhappy that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a good heart. Ugh. Just read it and have feels.

Put me in coach, I’m ready to play by killians-dimples

Rated: T

Noted Features: Modern!AU, PR!Emma, Athlete!Killian, Baseball & Killian

Author’s Description: PR Director Emma Swan moves to Pittsburgh intent on restarting her life. But playboy shortstop Killian Jones is making her job a hell of a lot harder with his antics.

Rose’s Review: Guys, baseball and Killian is my absolute weakness. I’m completely gaga for baseball player Killian. I honestly got a lot of Bull Durham and For the Love of the Game vibes from this (I don’t know if the author watches Kevin Costner baseball movies, but I sure as hell do because those are the only good Kevin Costner movies there are) with a twist of Trouble With the Curve (I love baseball movies, shut up!). This is unfinished and I seriously want to see where BK goes with it because I love it so and the tension between Killian and Emma is just getting started. As for usual, Killian is a hot mess with a heart of gold and Emma is the hard ass who is working to put him in line. There’s only a few chapters to this (and a super awesome smutty one-shot here: [LINK]) but I do love the tenderness displayed between them when they’re just hanging out and watching the Home Shopping Network. BK does an actually incredible job of giving Killian an air of loneliness without bluntly saying he’s a lonely guy during a scene where he’s having a conversation with a telemarketer he’s on friendly terms with. Before you even read Emma’s thoughts on the subject, it really just strikes you that this version of Killian has no meaningful relationships outside of David and Robin. I really hope she revisits it but it’s only five chapters in and I fucking love it.

Walking in a Straight Line by msgenevieve

Rated: M

Noted Features: Modern!AU, Drunk Kiss, UST, Slow Burn-ish (because they’re idiots), Roommates!Captain Swan, Lawyer!Killian

Author’s Description: It’s one of the oldest stories in the book. Two old friends have a few too many drinks, two old friends share a kiss. Happens all the time, right? But what happens when only one of them actually remembers it?

Rose’s Review: Technically this isn’t finished but where the author left off makes for a decent enough ending. This fic really pulls at you with the sexual tension and angst between Killian and Emma to the point where when they finally happened, I literally cheered in my seat and basically made a scene on the bus I was on. They’re so frustrating in this story and the rest of the cast (especially Mary Margaret and David) are notably agitated by it as well, which makes the ending result very satisfying. I am actually amazed that David and MM were friends with them for so long and just didn’t lock them in a room one day so they would finally just break all the damn tension. Walsh is positively wicked in this fic, knows all of Emma’s weaknesses and plays on them so well that you can’t help but flinch when he all but metaphorically stabs her and twists the knife. Killian is almost as much as an emotional mess as Emma is and the weight of his emotions is crushing, but not to the point where you start to hate Emma (which has happened to me with some fics.) All and all, the ending is worth the amount of emotional torture this fic puts you through.

Stardust in Your Skin by midwestwind

Rated: T

Noted Features: Soulmates!AU, One Shot

Author’s Description: Emma Swan may believe in magic and curses and fairy tales but she absolutely does not believe in soulmates.

Rose’s Review: I don’t usually read Soulmates!AU, but honestly this barely constitutes as an AU and the soulmates aspect is subtle, which is why I love it so much. The soulmates aspect is not overly played and I would argue meshes well with the whole OUAT True Love mythos. I love the constellation element to the soul marks and the added element of different constellations from different realms. Emma’s reluctance to buy into the soulmates thing is so characteristically her, and her mixed emotions of curiosity, anxiety and reluctance towards Killian’s soul stars is very palpable without being entirely in your face. The tenderness and vulnerability displayed in the final scene between Emma and Killian when she reveals her soul stars is so powerful and well written that it gave this one-shot a real place in my heart and a place among my favorite fics.

The Worst by alchemystique

Rated: T

Noted Features: Henry Centric, One Shot, Future!Fic, College!Henry, StepDad!Killian

Author’s Description: His life is so weird, weird weird weird, he used to think it was so cool but who the hell would believe him if he told them David Nolan was his grandfather - oh and also Prince Charming, no, seriously, like, the actual, real life husband of Snow White - and his mom is around here somewhere, probably figuring out the amount of time it takes to break in and sneak past security, or cataloging every emergency exit on campus. Weird.

Rose’s Review: I love everything about this one-shot here. It makes me laugh every time I read it because though it’s a much older Henry which we haven’t seen yet, the voice the author has chosen feels very organic and realistic. His exasperation with everyone, especially with Killian and David, is hilarious. Though Captain Swan is not the real focus here, I really love the depiction of Emma and Killian in this. They seem so comfortable with their relationship and I really love the lack of jealousy on Emma’s end towards all the co-eds and college moms ogling Killian. The ease and comfortability is just so refreshing because it’s Captain Swan and there’s always drama, and the lack of serious drama is a breath of fresh air. The banter is just so natural and loving and Henry’s lack of surprise/what-took-you-so-long-Killian reaction to their engagement is incredibly amusing. The best line: “Oh my god, my mom and Killian are literally True Loves, you actually can’t get any closer to it than those two unless you’re, like, Snow White and Prince Charming, and my mom could kill you with a toothpick for even having dirty thoughts about him”

The Dark Horizon by qqueenofhades

Rated: M

Noted Features: Black Sails!AU, Black Sails/OUAT Crossover, Pirate!Emma, Lieutenant!Killian, Pregnancy, Angst, Jones Family Dysfunction

Author’s Description: The Caribbean, 1715: Royal Navy Lieutenant Killian Jones and his brother, Captain Liam Jones, have just arrived to help pacify the notorious “pirates’ republic” of New Providence. But they have dangerous allies, deadly enemies, and no idea what they’re getting into when they agree to hunt the pirate ship Blackbird and the mysterious Captain Swan.

Rose’s Review: I’m going to admit it, it took me awhile to get into this fic and that’s mainly because I’m a terribly shallow bitch and for some reason huge paragraphs bug me (this is such a minor thing and something that is definitely easy to get over), but regardless I pushed through my bitchiness and actual read it because I love both OUAT and Black Sails, and goddamn. It’s very good fusion of the two worlds and it was fascinating to see a Captain Swan variation where Emma is more of the “moral corruptor” than Killian is and I do love the twist on that. I have to say the character I loved the most is Black Sam, who is just the unsung hero and moral support for everyone in this story. I was like “goddamn, I need this guy on the legit Black Sails show.” I’m more a Vane fan and he isn’t featured as much as Flint and Miranda are, but I could live with that. You really don’t need to watch Black Sails or have that much knowledge of it to fully enjoy this fic, which you definitely will because it’s so action packed. This fic is unfinished and I eagerly await to see what the author does with it.

#cs fic rec #cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan #captain swan fic rec #captain swan fanfiction #fic recs #ff reviews #anon #asks #answered #rose speaks

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untamedtempest-archived · 7 years

Text

One

“Should I tell the children it was love at first sight?”

Ororo thought her amused snort at Jean’s question was answer enough. With the occasional pass to enter her mind the telepath was well aware how silly she consider the notion. Especially since they’d yet to meet. Though interest was apparent, the redhead firmly in grasp she kept them aloft just out the fray while glowing gaze remained fixed on the avenger wielding a hammer and churning the clouds. How odd to feel the power of another's thunder echoing across the heavens. Alone in such feats for so long she'd stopped considering there could be another of similar talents, the news coverage during the Chitauri attack on Manhattan had been quite the eye-opener.

"Are you still masking our presence?”

"Unless you’d care to say hello.” The faint lilt earned the telepath an annoyed eye-roll. To remark any further would only encourage her supposed friend’s goading.

“No. We only came to observe and they appear to have this under-“

“Oops, nearly spoke too soon."

A henchman went toppling over descending at a rate that screamed eager for his date with the ground. A red blur blew by a breath after but the pack, adamantium plated armor and positioning… despite the thunderer’s effort it wouldn't see to a good outcome. She suspected he knew this yet still made the attempt. An intriguing deed that would have prompted her to action regardless of moral obligation, it also twitched the corners of her lips just enough for Jean to snicker.

“Perhaps a few introductions...” The draft she created sent the nameless man shooting back up till he leveled with the two women. Though screaming his head off he's in one whole piece, seemingly much to the surprise of the tailing prince.

Two

"No, first love," Clint snickered from over the rim of steaming mug, and before another word followed Ororo knew exactly where this conversation was going. For a moment she debated slinking back upstairs and departing from the roof, however that might give them some sick sense of satisfaction. Beside they couldn’t really be that bad, right? “The a ball and chained, and then a brat."

"Ok," Anthony nodded in agreement reaching cross the counter for the coffee pot. "But are they sitting a tree or cloud? I'd go with clouds, kissing in tress feels so… common, for weather royalty."

Nope, the archer and the playboy were actually far worse than children, and in rare form this morning to boot. Refusing to acknowledge them she made a beeline towards the pantry and immediately started combing through Bruce's stock of tealeaves. This morning called for something potent. "Do they carry on like this when he's around?"

Lately any prolonged time spent alone the thunderer’s company was soon followed by some form of innuendo or teasing from the chuckling pair. Curiosity and the natural ease she felt in his presence had fostered a fast friendship between the weather gods. Much as she liked the other Avengers the more time spent in his orbit the harder it was to gravitate towards anyone else, especially after their playful spectacle. With increasing frequency group outings turned into quiet hangouts for two and the end of missions often becoming the start some private downtime. Ororo hoped she hadn’t unintentionally offended, or more importantly caused any unnecessary trouble for Thor. The answer came in the form of sharp snort from the captain from the Sunday paper. "No.”

“So they believe I’m the pushover?” As suggested by her clip tone the notion didn’t amuse her in the slightest, and discerning man she’d recently discovered him to be Steve swiftly guessed she would only tolerate so much foolishness.

“And you're going to?"

“Oh, nothing terrible,” she assured. "Merely inform there’s been no smooching in trees nor clouds.” Last night she'd simply lost track of time track of time until Natasha called for Thor’s assistance. The way cerulean eyes lit up and gestures became livelier with mentions of certain names and places made his tales of home that much more enchanting, she refused to take blame for the continuous prompts believing anyone else would have done the same. “And no one is love."

To this Steve was notably silent, ocean blues fixed on the headlines and lips pulled into a queer thin mashed line before drawing the paper back up. "I'm not," she muttered after a moment taking the empty seat next to him. If she were even remotely in the right headspace for romantic entanglements it would still be far too soon for anything that deep. Admiration, respect and even a health dose of attraction were there to be sure, but she was certain of the declaration. And while she couldn't speak for Thor she suspected if asked his answer wouldn't be much different. “If all else fails, I’ll turn Antony’s workshop into the world most expensive kiddie pool.”

"Which one?" the captain chuckled as if the thought brought great delight.

Looking over a shoulder her brows narrowed catching the tale end of the childish rhyme coming together, complete with hand gestures and tailored with mentions of kissing in clouds and pushing lightning bolts in baby carriages. "All of them, simultaneously."

Three

“Robot is metal man, dolly in black dress is spider woman and this one Miss Ro must guess.”

Ororo took one look at the Ken doll with a crimson dinner-napkin tied around its neck and immediately started grinning. “Hmm…Thor?”

“Yes!” Clapping her hands Bo beamed with pride. “I find cape and make hammer with pop stick and tin.”

“It’s a very good likeness, and this one in the wedding dress?” The one ebony doll in the child’s elaborate setup had pieces of white yarn and a crown glued to the top of its head.

“Storm bride,” she answered giving the headmistress an exacerbated headshake, thinking it more than obvious. “Because first love, kissy face, wedding…and then babies!’ The girl broke out into a ringing of giggles as if the notion were the most amusing thing in the world.

“I see,” Ororo muttered quietly unsure of how to respond. She had no objections to Bo pretending whatever she liked; so long she didn’t confuse her dolls with real life. “Bo, Thor is my friend.” Her friend she was increasingly having not so friendly thoughts about. The friend who’d never failed to make her smile and never made her feel out place. Risking what they had by admitting there could be more certainly wouldn’t be the wise call for many reasons, especially when uncertain of his feelings. And musings of what might be was far cry from love; besides what would a child know about such things? “You understand, right? I’m very fond of him, but we’re not a couple. We're not-“

“Mister Thor looks at Miss Ro like princes in castle movies. And you smile bunches when he around,” the tot retorted very matter-of-fact, then proceeded to tune her out while making the bride and groom dance.

Four

The signs sleep had been elusive lately went beyond red puffy eyes and excessive yawning. For anyone paying close attention, and he always did, it must have been painfully obvious the stress of various duties were taking a bigger toll than ever before. If anyone could relate to the frustration of goals not achieved and the guilt of the lives that couldn't be saved it was the god softly murmuring reassurances against her temple. No need to explain the quiet tears damping his hoodie or the downpour blanketing the city. Her dreams haunted by failure and continuous heartbreak weary form took refuge in solid welcoming arms and finally allowed the weight of it all drag her down.

Wrapped her limbs round him as if the railing weren’t strong enough and held on like person who need fear falling, until calluses fingers found their way under her sweater… Lulled by the gentle caressing circles they make along her trembling back eventually the storm within calmed, the raindrops pelting the window soften, winds ceased howling, eyelids grew heavy and every muscles went limp.

A habitual hider of weakness it occurred to her utterly falling apart in front Thor should feel unsettling. Not much time had passed since he’d asked about rules and protocols and even less since boldly declaring the god off the dating market. Yet she’d sought him out when most in need, was trusting him to safely hold tattered pieces until she could put herself back together. When there were so many others who cared and shared years of history that had to mean something, nearly every moment since their first had. However in this mentally battered state she couldn't be certain the obvious answer was the right one. She also couldn’t bare thought of messing this up. So she told herself no, you are broken and exhausted, shook away all questions with a shuddering breath, tighten the embrace once more and kept holding wishing never to let go.

Five

“Why am I refusing? Well, for one I think he should be the one to do the asking,” she informed calmly, despite the internal sirens blaring. Like his son Thor’s father was a determined force the likes of which the weather goddess had rarely come across. An admirable quality when facing adversaries shoulder to shoulder, however, terrifying he when started talking wedding plans. “Call me old fashion but a royal decree just doesn’t sound like a romantic proposal. And second…” Arms tightly folded and lips pursed her mind rattled off the hundreds of what ifs. What if he'd been wrong, if she hadn't found him in time, if...he'd left her behind like everyone else?

Though the battle was over, won in no small part to his actions, and she’d been assured he’d recover by morning the sky directly above remained a forebodingly dark and thick as soup. Right now any celebration, wedding or otherwise, was far from heart's desire, she'd rather he wake up so she could have someone to yell at. “He’s an idiot,” she grumbled looking down on the slumbering thunderer, “Went off on his own when anything could have- no, I couldn't possibly love such a brash fool.” Whether she’d amused the king with words or the deafening crack of thunder that followed, his booming laughter struck a familiar cord that had the weather witch smiling despite herself. Leaving defensives completely down when shrew gaze and astute observation was aimed squarely in her direction.

“Anger can often be a reflection of one’s… affection.”

“It can be,” she sighed, slender fingers carefully brushing back an unruly lock of gold from battered cheek. The pained expression that briefly passed over her features gave more away than she was willing to say aloud. How pathetically cliché to finally face it now, to stop struggling against her heart and give in to just how deeply and utterly hopelessly in love she was when the urge smack him had yet subsided. “…With all due respect, the answer is still no.” A firm one, and would remain so… unless and until Thor asked, if and when he had the desire…then well...

@asgardianhammer

#asgardianhammer #omg how slow is rose lol #and she cheats too!#(so yeah really you should have gotten six things total and Ro kind of does and don't say #(cause reasons #(two of which are I'm almost done with this smut drabble that kind of covers same thing #(and we got that thread sooo...#(hopefully this is enjoyable anyways <3 #(thank for sending #st: you can't dodge our lightning (thunderstorm)#lone post #I queue for a dream

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