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hp-imagines-07 · 4 years

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Sirius Black x Fem!Gryffindor!Reader

Universe: Harry Potter; The Marauders era

Type: PURE FLUFF, ok a bit angsty but really, nothing much

Summary: [y/n] had been overwhelming herself with plenty of stuff and Sirius just wants to help her because he loves her.

Request: yes|NO - pls send more requestssss

Prompt: xxx

Warnings: just cursing really

Song: xxx

Word Count: 1.3K (kinda of a blurb)

Posted: 15th of October 2020 - !PART OF 500 FOLLOWERS' CELEBRATION!

A/N: ok, i wanted to write a pure fluff one for Sirius and here it is!! it's not really big but i hope you like it bc it's just cringing fluff

My Others Accounts: @imagines-07 (Principal Account) | @obx-imagines-07 (Outer Banks) | @stit-imagines-07 (Stranger Things & IT) | @cm-imagines-07 (Criminal Minds) | @mcu-imagines-07 (Marvel Comics Universe)

MY MASTERLIST

!!hp-imagines-07's 500 FOLLOWERS CELEBRATION!!

As [y/n] felt her eyes heavy and starting to close as an instinct, she dropped her quill at the table and rubbed her eyes on the hardest way possible (without hurting herself, obviously) to take all the sleepiness far away from the bloody busy girl she has been being the last couple of weeks.

After a long breath, [y/n] grabbed the quill again and came back to the essay Slughorn had asked for everyone - except for his dearest students fucking dipshit - to the next class. Well, he had asked for this essay more than a week ago, but just as [y/n] started to read the book about the topic asked, the full moon got before she had time to think anything related to classes.

The Marauders never let her help them outside, so [y/n] would always wait for them at the common room, but this one was by far the worst of the year. Remus had transformed before they got to the safe place in the forest and where he couldn't come back to Hogwarts and attack people there, so they (basically James and Sirius, because Peter couldn't help much on his animagus form) had to contain him the farthest away from the castle, what caused a lot more bruises than the expected.

[y/n] first helped an almost-passing-out Remus, who couldn't remember what happened outside but was feeling so bad with himself that not even all of them made him feel a little bit better. Then, after Moony and Wormtail went to sleep, [y/n] helped James and Sirius with their worst bruises and cuts until the very late night.

Besides the fact that [y/n] was tutoring a third-year in Charms almost every day (because, oh, the little boy needed help with the new spells...), McGonnagal had been overwhelming her with Prefect duties. It wasn’t on purpose, Minerva just never thought that it was too much for her because [y/n] never said anything and always accepted any challenge.

But the girl was so overwhelmed…

The first one to notice was Marlene. She saw how [y/n] was barely getting any hours of sleep by being awake in the middle of the night plenty of times with the girl cursing under her breath while getting something wrong on the paper. Then Marlene talked to Lily, who is a heavy sleeper and didn't notice the missing hours of sleep from their best-friend.

After Marlene talked to Lily about [y/n], the red-headed started to notice the big bags under [y/n]'s eyes, the tiredness on her voice, how she dressed the first clothes that appeared in front of her, the way she was always looking so stressed over something that no one could point to…

Lily then, warned Sirius about how his girlfriend needed his help more than ever and she also told him to not ask her if she wanted his help to anything, because the fucking stubborn woman would never accept help from anyone else.

And when Sirius saw [y/n] almost crying with angriness over her essay at the other side of the common room, he knew that was the moment he should act as the perfect boyfriend he was and help his love. Ignoring all the questioning looks the other three Marauders sent on his way by suddenly getting up and forgetting all about the prank they were planing on a few Slytherins, Sirius got up from the chair he was sitting at and walked in the direction of [y/n].

As the girl started to write again with her quill and the harder part being to keep her eyes open, Sirius sat on the chair beside her making [y/n] jump in surprise. "My God..." She muttered with her hand above her heart and trying to calm it down.

"Sorry for the little scare, love," Sirius said and grabbed [y/n]'s quill from her hand and closed her book before she could even protest. "but now, I'm taking you to bed..." Sirius started putting all [y/n]'s belongings on her bag while she tried to hold a few things back and protest with him, but Sirius wouldn't just give up.

Just when he had finished, Sirius began listening to her. "What the fuck, Sirius?!" The girl said furiously at her boyfriend, that gulped with her angry expression. "I need to finish this essay today! What do you think you're doing?" Sirius didn't give himself the work to answer all the questions she was throwing at him, but just threw her over his shoulder instead. "Sirius Orion Black put me down right now! I swear I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!" [y/n] screamed at him, while struggling to make him put her back down.

"[y/n] [y/l/n], shut up and let me take care of you." He simply said and she just groaned out in frustration, [y/n/n] knew that whatever she did to make him put her down wouldn't work, and just let him take her to wherever Sirius wanted for her to be.

Sirius started to walk towards the girls’ dormitory but just as he stepped his foot, the stairs became a slider and he found himself being grateful that he wouldn't be able to take [y/n] to her dorm, where there were plenty of tired girls already sleeping. So he turned around and walked upstairs to his still empty dorm with [y/n] over his left shoulder and her bag over his right one.

The first thing he did after passing through his door was to put [y/n] down. "Thank God, I was becoming nauseated on that position..." She muttered under her breath when her feet touched the floor. "Why did you bring me here, Sirius?" [y/n] asked with a monotonous tone and sat at his bed, knowing that he wouldn't give [y/n]'s bag back to her.

"You need to rest my love..." He started while walking to his bed and standing in front of her but just as his girlfriend was going to protest with him, he continued. "Don't worry about your Potions essay, I'll finish that for you tomorrow while you take care of the tasks Minnie gave you… Just don't worry, ok?" Sirius asked with both of his hands on [y/n]'s cheeks, making her look at him right in the eyes and she softly nodded at him, already feeling her eyes heavy with his caring and loving touch.

In a matter of minutes [y/n] was wearing just one of Sirius' favourite muggle-band shirt and sleep shorts and Sirius was getting ready to bed with her.

Both of them laid on his bed, under the warm and comfy blankets and held each other as close as they could. "How long has it been that we didn't do this?" Sirius muttered with closed eyes and sleepy voice.

"I don't know… But I'm never letting you go again." [y/n] whispered back against his neck and softly sighed. "It feels like it's been years since I got relaxed like this for the last time..."

Sirius just hummed back at her, but too focused on her touch to care. [y/n]'s body was laying above his, with their legs tangled together, her head buried on the crook of his neck, his nose feeling her scent coming from her hair, her soft hands resting on his bare shoulders and his hands under her (his) shirt caressing her back.

"I love you." "I love you, my love."

[y/n] fell asleep in a question of seconds while Sirius was trying to memorize this feeling of their bodies pressed against each other.

It was in moments like this that Sirius knew that home wasn't a place where you lived and it was comfortable, home was a person who you can always ask for help when needed and it doesn't matter where you'll feel like you're home.

[y/n] is Sirius' home and he couldn't be more grateful to be hers.

☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾

Taglist:

@cheapglitter @Weasleysmuch @missmulti @writtenbypics @littlemaladaptivedaydreamer @dralf0yy @buff-bork @rd155 @seppys-return-to-madness @luciferedits @old-soul-young-mind @pxtrickhxckstettxr @sleep-i-ness @marauderswhisperer @liberty01 @gweaslvy @weasleytwins-41 @siriuslysirius07 @turtlepad @ilovewinter101 @monimillion @simonsbluee @smokey102 @aberette13 @yourbloodyqueen @loverboyreid @eeshea @susceptible-but-siriusexual @weareloserstogether

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braveandunbreakable · 2 years

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GUIDELINES

Rp is my hobby. I will not tolerate being pressured for replies in any way, shape or form. Time between replies and length may vary.

For my own comfort, i do not follow blogs without a rule page or blogs who do not feature bios for their oc. Before following, i need to go through the rules and also see if i can picture my muses interacting with yours in a way that won’t be necessary for me to give up on key moments that forged their character.

When it comes to shipping, i go by the chemistry between muses and writers. I will not be shipping with someone i do not talk to ooc because plotting is essential when it comes to shipping with my muses. i need to feel the other writer and i are vibing on the same creative wavelength to start considering romantic shipping between muses. I much prefer any kind of dynamics over romance.

If i follow you, please don’t be afraid to reach out. Please, do not attempt reaching out if i don't follow you back. and following and unfollowing is SO NOT the way to get my attention (this will earn you a hardblock). if you’ve been following me for a while and i notice we’ve never interacted, i will most likely soft-block for my own peace of mind. This place is my safe space and i wanna be mutuals only with people i write with. If you don’t intend to write with me, please do not follow, it’ll save everyone involved some precious time and anxiety. I soft-block all personal accounts that follow me (again, for my own sanity) unless i’ve been made aware they are main blogs attached to rp blogs i interact with.

If you wanna drop a thread or if you feel uncomfortable with the way things are unfolding in said thread, please reach out and i’ll be happy to adjust. My priority is your safety, always. Rp is for fun and, if you’re not having fun, then there’s no point in it.

Triggers will be tagged TW TOPIC. Please, let me know if you want anything tagged. Currently tagging: tw sa, tw sexual assault, tw abuse, tw child abuse, tw ed, tw eating disorder, tw pregnancy, tw fire.

Do not use me as a therapist. Do not trauma dump on me. I’m currently healing from my own traumas and i’m trying to be kind to my body and mind. If you cross that boundary, i will have no choice but to block you.

ooc interactions take a lot of my mental energy. I’m highly selective with whom i talk to ooc because of bad experiences. I’m not intentionally ghosting anyone or being hurtful by not responding to certain messages, i promise. I’m just protecting myself and preserving my safe space.

Fuck J/K R.owling. I don’t wanna hear about her work or the new HP merch you just bought or got as presents. And i don’t want anything related to this universe on my feed either.

Please, do not interact with this blog if you’re under 21. I don’t really do NSFW content but i’m still not comfortable with minors following me because predators will be looking for minors who befriend adults easily online, even in the rp community. Stay safe.

Anti-Plec but i'm willing to interact with muses from the various shows (TVD, TO, LEGACIES) if the person i’m writing with is also anti-plec. I’m okay roleplaying with an Alaric Saltzman if he’s been recasted and the character is canon-divergent and/or mostly headcanon-based and/or if he’s book-based. But, please note that grishaverse muses will only be interacting with canon or original characters from the grishaverse.

BANNED FCS: ANYONE DECEASED, AMBER HEARD, MATT DAVIS, NATHANIEL BUZOLIC.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Sage, 28 yo and use they/them pronouns. Ace, queer as fuck and polyam. Struggles with depression and anxiety. Writer and larper. Been roleplaying since 2008 (outside of tumblr). Nice meeting y’all! <3

#guidelines

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itsyetanotherpotterhead · 3 years

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My masterlist

Marauders era

Golden era

Next generation

NEW MASTERLIST

Yes, I am a Harry Potter blog. By this I do not mean that I support JKR or her transphobic views in any way, shape, or form. Anyone who discriminates against someone else based on their gender (or sexuality, race, etc) is not welcome here.

I now take requests for these, though it may take some time before they are posted.

If a link is not linked yet it means that I intend on posting that post soon, if you notice that it is that way for more than a week please let me know.

If you want to be tagged in anything just ask me (if you want to be tagged in a specific category tell me please).

(3-3-2021) Up until now I always made posts for every generation (mainly marauders era, but still) but due to some things from within the app I make the social media AU´s with, from now on I will only be making Marauders Era social media AU’s. I have one last post sitting in the drafts for golden trio era, but that will be it. Maybe in the future I will switch again, but for now this is it.

(10-4-2021) As a 300 follower celebration you can now request social media au's with the marauders until April 30. They can be scenarios between the marauders (friendships, ships, etc), and maybe even with an oc or y/n.

ALL OF MY WORKS SET DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS ARE SET IN A UNIVERSE WHERE COVID IS NOT A THING, UNLESS IT IS STATED EXPLICITLY SO. FOLLOW THE COVID GUIDELINES IN YOUR AREA AND STAY SAFE.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: A Marauders Band Au!

Archive of Our Own: reallyjustafanperson

DISCLAIMER: None of the pictures used in these are mine unless stated otherwise. If they are yours and you want them removed please message me.

DISCLAIMER: none of the characters in this are mine, I simply borrowed them from the HP universe.

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m88n · 3 years

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tag games yay ! 🖤💙

tagged by miss @luvdsc ty as alws lovie !!! 💞 💞 💞

tag game 1 (interview game)

name: call me ti !! <3

pronouns: she/her/they/them

star sign: leo sun, aquarius moon, cancer rising

height: 5′2 / 157 cm woops yea ima shordy

time: 8.37 pm

birthday: 11/08 (dd/mm)

nationality: indonesian

favorite bands/groups: kpop - dpr, nct, blackpink, skz, itzy, red velvet

favorite solo artists: kpop - iu, dpr live, crush, sik-k, taeyeon

song stuck in your head: coin by iu heh heh heh 💗

last movie you watched: from up on poppy hill !! i watch a lot of ghibli repeats during my downtime/when i’m experiencing some sort of slump

last show you watched: non non biyori nonstop

when i created my blog: somewhere around september 2020

last thing i googled: “how to stop facetime calls on mac” LMAOOO it ws driving me crazy . finally ive disabled it phew

other blogs: t-shrt (personal blog)

why i chose my url: i love & identify with the moon due to many reasons and i love the number 8 also due to many reasons, so i made a wordplay from them cos i can lmao

# people i follow: 6

# followers: 407 omg yall ... literally n genuinely thankful that each and every one of you decided, for whatever reason, to stick by, and i’m so honored to be graced by your presence really!! mwah 🥺🥺🥺

# hours of sleep: 6-9 heh

lucky #: 8 !! also occasionally 11

instruments: piano, ukulele, guitar (been ages), bass guitar (been ages)

currently wearing: my usual black lacy nightdress lmao

dream job: a visual artist who spreads positive influence through storytelling !!

dream trip: bro literally japan again... every trip back there’s a dream to me

favorite food: sushi

favorite song: eternal sunshine - jhené aiko 💞

top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: naruto, harry potter, and probably bnha. naruto bc im a huge naruto fan and i’ve made an OC growing up LMAOO so safe to say i want to live in that universe p bad (even now too perhaps). i too made a hp OC growing up, and just cos i loved harry potter growing up. bnha bc i’ve always loved the idea of each person having their own unique superpower !!!

tag game 2 (catch up)

rule: tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better or catch up with

last song: literally still repeating coin by iu since the mv was released like an hr ago LOL

last movie: from up on poppy hill

currently watching: ah hem hm *straightens out this season’s watch list* attack on titan final season, non non biyori nonstop, yuru camp, horimiya, dr stone: stone wars, jujutsu kaisen, that slime anime season 2

currently reading: nothing tbh LOL

currently craving: tbh watermelon cubes HAHAHAH

tag game 3 (bartender)

rule: create a drink based on your blog’s theme using this picrew! the Amount of thought i put into this ..... i lov a good drink hahahah

tag game 4 (picrew)

rule: make yourself with this picrew!

💗💗💗

tag game 5 (color test)

rule: take this quiz and share your results

i did this before but posting it agn just cos haha !!

tagging @starsuh @neocitycafe @d-nghy-ck @prettyjaems !! 💞💞

#tag game #moony.txt #💭

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moonyinchaos · 3 years

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no problem and i would really love to see what you wrote about snape so if its not a problem share

Alright, I’ll put the Keep reading thingy, because I think this will be a long one. If you’re not interested in my opinion on Snape, please, keep scrolling. We can have a constructive argument about Snape as a character, but I won’t ever tolerate character bashing (with the exception of Dolores Umbridge, Peter Pettigrew and Fenrir Greyback). If anyone disagrees with me, I respect that, and I would really like to know why :)

It’s so funny to write my opinion when someone actually asks for it! So here it is my opinion on Severus Snape...

I think that Severus Snape is one of the strongest characters; both mentally and magically. Possibly even the strongest one right next to Harry. He is really determined, devoted, self-controlled, but most importantly he is emotional. Of course, he doesn’t show it, but he is really driven by his emotions. The main thing which made him change was his love for Lily. Love is the purest emotion, and I don’t think it was an obsession. His patronus was the same as her, she was something what made him happy, something that protected him. It was just unrequited love, and that happens in real life. But you can’t just push an off button, and stop feeling something for someone. We can see him showing exactly how he feels in some occasions. For instance, when he was mad that Sirius got away at the end of the PoA. Or when he refused to teach Harry occlumency after Harry saw his worst memory. But let’s go back in time for a bit...

Judging someone according to something they did while they were teenagers, or really young adults is not really fair. But let’s start from his hostility towards the Marauders. It’s completely understandable since they were mocking him all the time, and without any real, valid reason. Even if they did have a reason, bullying is never justified. What James did to Snape in his worst memory is something that can make a serious trauma on a person. He, again, acted on emotions. He was humiliated, frustrated, angry, and he let it out by calling Lily a Mudblood. Was that right? Of course not. Did he regret? I think he did, until the day he died. But, teenagers say a lot of dumb stuff, and should never be judged by that. I would most gladly slap 16 years old self because of some things I said when angry and emotional. And with what he said, he lost the most important person he had in his life. I think that was the worst punishment ever for saying one dumb word. People often mention his invention of Sectumsempra. He invented the powerful spell to keep himself safe. Is it brutal? Yes. Could he kill someone with it? Yes. Did he ever? No by what we find out from the canon. Sirius, who is one of the most loved characters, endangered Snape’ life because of his teenage rashness, and lack of sense for consequences. The fact he literally sent Snape to transformed Remus was more dangerous than any spell Severus invented. Why? Because transformed Remus can’t be controlled, and what he can do cannot be undone. As we saw clearly, Sectumsempra has a counter curse, since Malfoy survived Harry’s experiment. If you’re judging Snape for inventing Sectumsempra, and using it against the Death Eaters to save Remus and George, then Harry is way worse than Snape because Harry used the spell purposely to hurt Malfoy. He could easily kill Malfoy, and then what? All the characters in the whole HP universe did at least one stupid thing, and we can’t judge them just because of that. Because if we do, write out Remus, Sirius, James, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and many, many others as good characters :)

As we all know, Snape joined the Death Eaters. Kind of expected because, let’s be serious, most of the then Slytherin house did. Peer pressure is a nasty thing + Snape wanted control/power. He was naive to think he’ll get it from Voldemort, but look at all the people that followed Voldemort. Snape was among the smartest there, if not even the smartest one. Was that a mistake? Yes. And again, he did it when he was what 18? As I said before, people do stupid shit when young, and that’s a fact. Alright, he did really, really stupid shit, but it was a moment of naivety. If someone is judging him plainly on that, remember what Sirius said about the world, people and the Death Eaters :) From the moment he realised what he did when he told Voldemort about the prophecy, Snape did everything in his power to make up for that. He risked his life in various occasions, he lied to one of the most powerful wizards ever, who can read minds, torture, and kill people just for fun. But he did that for years. Snape always did exactly what Dumbledore told him to do, and even killed him, knowing that the deed will make him an enemy number one in the eyes of the Order. But he did that with a higher purpose, and on Dumbledore’s order. If Order wasn’t so judgy towards Snape, maybe they would know about this plan, and they would handle it better. Snape was a Death Eater for what, a couple of years, but he spent seventeen years trying to redeem himself for what he’s done. You can at least respect that. As my best Skyrim friend Paarthurnax wisely said “What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?” :)

The only thing I can’t justify is his teaching methods towards a particular group of students. We never see Snape teaching a bunch of Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws, so we don’t really know what was he like in those classes. He is a mastermind with potions, and has a potential to be a great teacher. I don’t justify his behaviour towards Harry & co., and never will. His teaching methods were questionable at best, but lets take a look on who he “bullied” as a teacher.

Harry - son of a man who bullied him, and a woman he loved. The Chosen One. The Boy Who Lived. It occurred to me that maybe Snape didn’t want Harry to forget what was important in life, and since Snape grew stronger from being treated poorly, maybe he wanted to do the same effect with Harry. I think he didn’t like Harry in particular, but I don’t see him as having bad intentions in long term. Nothing comes served in life, and I guess that was Snape’s point. Teen James was pretty spoiled, and vain, so maybe Snape didn’t want Harry to turn into teen James.

Ron - Ron was to Harry what Sirius was to James. In Snape’s eyes, the same thing, and he deserves to be treated the same. Still, can’t be justified.

Hermione - I guess she really did remind him of Lily. The fact that Snape didn’t want to hear anyone call Hermione a Mudblood tells us all. Emotions got the best out of Snape in this one, since he obviously couldn’t really control them.

Neville - a soft kid who needed some strengthening for real. Well, not really in that way. Snape’s treatment was just too much. Was the fact that Neville was terrified of him good? No. But Neville got stronger, and learned to stand up for himself. And don’t forget, the prophecy could easily be about Neville, and if it was, then Lily wouldn’t be dead.

As I said before, I don’t support his teaching methods, and can’t justify them because it was his choice to act like that, when he could easily be someone better than that. And that is the only thing I don’t understand about him. Maybe Dumbledore told him to be nasty :’D And of course he was biased to Slytherin. I think that doesn’t need any arguments. I would love to see what Snape was like when teaching young Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs because I’m sure he wasn’t that bad. Strict? Sure. Snarky? Always. But I highly doubt he treated Cedric, or Padma Patil, like he treated the students I mentioned.

To conclude this, I think the anti-Snape fandom need to at least respect what he did because the man did some great things, and he was one of the main links in a chain that led to Voldemort’s downfall. Voldemort who was deceived by Snape. And as far as we know, Severus Snape is the only person in this world who did that long term (kudos to Narcissa Malfoy for lying to Voldemort’s face)! You don’t have to love, or like him, but he doesn’t deserve the bashing he gets. He deserves respect. I made him close to Gwen, my OC, to show the softer side of Snape. The emotions he hides, and how he is surely capable of them. I made him mentoring Gwen to show how he has a potential to be a great teacher. And I have a great plans for Snape in my fic because he, as a character, really gives an opportunity to make an interesting story :)

#severus snape #my thoughts #chaos speaking

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aha-my-villainous-thoughts · 4 years

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Please, keep me. (Good Omens)

I’m back, and armed with pain killers for my tendons. This chapter comes with a warning attached, but for a real life issue rather than a fictional issue. This chapter takes place in the Harry Potter universe, which is something I thought a lot about on. Unfortunately J K Rowling has decided she will not educate herself and apologise for her transphobic and hurtful remarks, so please be aware that the setting of this chapter, and the next, are not in support of her, but merely a tribute to growing up loving the wizarding world. I re-read the first few books over and over, and was always entranced by Diagon Alley and many of the places they visit, and I couldn't do a story visiting my favourite children's books without visiting HP. I hope anyone reading who may be affected by Rowling's continued discrimination will understand my intention is not to dismiss or disregard their validity. Trans right are human rights, and as a member of the LGBT community, I hope these two chapters only bring some happiness. Thank you x

Link to the whole fic on ao3 so far!

Part 17

Two days later and Crowley was still sulking. After their speedy departure from Barton Park, Aziraphale had not shut up about how wonderful their visit had been, how lovely and polite the humans had been, and how agreeable in particular Colonel Brandon had been.

It had started simply enough, with Aziraphale going over and over the various sisters, and then talking about how beautiful the Park was, how much fun croquet had been. The dress he had brought back with him was carefully put away somewhere safe out of the way of where others might find it, and Aziraphale had spent far too long talking about the buttons, and the soft muslin, oh and of course, the lace -

Then he had bundled them off to the part of the library where all of the books written by the same author responsible for the Colonel was, and spent the next day and a half reading them outloud to Crowley. First, of course, was Sense and Sensibility , followed by Pride and Prejudice , and then on throughout Emma, Persuasion and - spare him, Mansfield Park . It wasn’t that Crowley didn’t enjoy being read to (he did), or that Aziraphale wasn’t a delightful angel to listen to (he was), or even that the books were boring or insipid (they weren’t). It was more that every so often, Aziraphale would break the flow of the story to compare each of the dashing male leads to the Colonel, which not only interrupted Crowley’s rapt attention, but also left him getting himself into quite a twist as he sulked in Aziraphale’s lap.

Eventually, he resorted to coiling himself back up around Aziraphale’s neck, tucking his head under his tail and huffing his grumpiness directly into the crook of the angel’s neck. It didn’t take Aziraphale too long to notice.

“Are you alright, little thing?” came a soft voice somewhere from above Crowley. A hand rested against his side and squeezed gently. “Are you done with Jane Austen for today?”

Crowley huffed again, and wriggled his head a little further in between the crease of his tail and Aziraphale’s skin.

“Do you not want to talk to me today, little thing? Is that it?”

No, never that , thought Crowley, hissing softly.

“You’ve been a grumpy little gremlin today. I think I know why,”

Crowley could hear the smirk in Aziraphale’s voice, the teasing note in his voice and hissed again, giving one last loud huff. Hands wound into his coils and he was gently, but firmly, untangled from his hiding spot. He hissed again, trying to stay in his little hiding spot, but Aziraphale wouldn’t let him.

“Oh, who’s a jealous little snake?” came the angel’s smug voice, as Crowley found his face cradled between two broad hands. He refused to make eye contact, trying to twist his nose away.

Not jealous!

“Oh, aren’t you just so appealing when you’re in a little stormcloud, my little grump?” Aziraphale continued with the soft baby voice, and his hands didn’t let Crowley wriggle away. Instead the snake was subjected to a lot of kisses being given all over his snout, head and neck as Aziraphale continued to tease him.

“Oh, my moody little one, oh what a sweet little fiend you are!”

Crowley fought to keep his sullen expression, but found himself enjoying the attention far too much. The kisses continued, until Crowley simply gave up trying to squirm away, and let Aziraphale gather him all up in his arms and kiss his nose over and over again.

“Oh, what a jealous little delight you are,” Aziraphale told him when Crowley finally conceded the playfight. “Fancy you, being so clever and wonderful, being jealous of a fictional human like the Colonel,”

Crowley narrowed his eyes at the mention of the Colonel, but Aziraphale’s smirk and twinkling eyes confirmed that Aziraphale had been right about Crowley’s sullen mood.

“Come on now, little thing, let’s see if we can find something to brighten your mood,” Aziraphale smirked, tactfully changing the subject. “I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for something sweet!”

Read the rest of the chapter, and the whole fic so far, on ao3!

#ineffable husbands #good omens #good omens fanfiction #good omens fanfic #fanfic #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable lovers #ineffable idiots #serpent crowley #librarian aziraphale #enchanted library #children's literature #please keep me #please keep me part 17 #world building #Angels

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randomfandomimagine · 4 years

Text

Broke Another Rule (Percy x Reader)

Character: Percy Weasley, Cho Chang (briefly)

Fandom: Harry Potter

Categories: Gender Neutral Reader, Rivalry, Enemies to Lovers, Ravenclaw!Reader, Prefect!Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.6k words

Requested by anon: Can I request a Percy Weasley x reader where the reader is the prefect of ravenclaw and the two kinda have a rivalry against each other (but have feelings for each other as well) for some reason until they get into a heated fight which ends in them apologising and admitting their feelings

Notes: I feel like I took some creative liberties with this one (maybe a Ravenclaw would behave differently from how I portrayed, etc) to ignore possible inconsistencies with the HP universe, but I like how this turned out. Enjoy reading!

REMEMBER THAT IMAGINES/ONESHOTS REQUESTS ARE CLOSED!

I gasped in outrage when someone bumped into me, stopping me from walking. I recognized the combed mop of red hair and rolled my eyes.

“Gryffindor” I muttered, glaring daggers at Weasley.

“Ravenclaw” He deadpanned, looking me up and down. “What where you’re going”

“Ha!” I exchanged a glance with my friend Cho. “Maybe you should, or is your snobbish nose pointing so high that you can’t?”

My fellow Ravenclaw giggled next to me, to which I smirked proudly. When he struggled to reply with a witty comment, he looked at me with contempt. My smirk only widened.

“Perhaps you won’t be as smug when we win the House Cup” Percival mockingly tilted his head. “Like we do every year”

“You wish, Weasley” I continued walking, deliberately bumping my shoulder into his, until I left him behind.

“This rivalry of yours never ends” Cho muttered, catching up with my furious strut. “Maybe there’s something behind it”

“What do you mean?” Intrigued by her words, I stared at my friend.

“There’s a fine line between love and hatred” She said with a causal shrug.

I rolled my eyes at her, but did look over my shoulder. Percival was watching me too, but quickly changed his demeanor when he saw me staring. He scowled at me, lifted his chin up with dignity and continued walking. He probably couldn’t even see where he was going, and I had to suppress laughter when I pictured him falling to the ground.

Cho was still talking, mumbling about us two. But she was wrong, I couldn’t think of Weasley as anything other than a nuisance. Maybe if he was friendly and kind instead of mean and competitive. We were both prefects, but I didn’t guide my house with such iron fist. Besides, one thing was making sure the rules were followed and another one was believing oneself to be above everyone else because of the power we had. We were prefects, not the Headmaster.

If he changed, maybe then I could start to consider seeing him with new eyes. And even then, I didn’t think it was possible after so many years of rivalry.

I was so close to making the perfect essay! All I needed was a few sources to back up my arguments, so I headed to the library.

I smiled when I was received by the familiar scent of books, parchment and wood. There was a constant low murmur as students quietly talked amongst themselves and turned pages.

After taking a few books from the shelves and scamming over them, I realized their contents weren’t what I was looking for. If I wanted to write an impressive paper for our Dark Against the Darks Arts class, I would have to look for something a bit more… grim.

Walking calmly, I took a look at Madame Pince. She was busying herself with reading a book, so immersed in it that her nose nearly touched the pages.

I took advantage of that moment and hurried to the forbidden section. I instantly saw the book I wanted and quickly snatched it from its place. A second after, I hid it under my robes and continued innocently walking along the library.

Guilt consumed me immediately, but I knew it was the best way to do it. Our professor could be quite mild and may not agree to sign a permit for me to access the forbidden section. In any case, I promised myself to return it as soon as I had consulted what I needed.

When I dedicated Madame Pince a smile and walked out of the library, I huffed in relief. However, I wasn’t quite safe yet.

Not truly watching where I was going, too preoccupied with being caught still, I walked into someone. We collided, sending all the books I carried to the ground.

“Y/L/N” A familiar snobbish voice called me. “Watch where you’re going!!”

“Same goes for you, Gryffindor” I angrily plopped down to the ground to gather my books.

Weasley rolled his eyes and crouched down to help me, heaving a sigh. I was surprised that he didn’t simply laugh at me and leave. As I watched him in astonishment, his eyes never met mine.

Our hands nearly brushed as we gathered my books, yet we quickly pulled away before that happened. I couldn’t help thinking about Cho and her adamancy about my feelings for Percy, which were allegedly reciprocated. As if I harbored feelings for him at all.

“Thanks” I mumbled as we both rose to our feet. “I suppose…”

Weasley’s eyes traveled from mine down to my books. His expression, mildly tame, immediately shifted to his usual vexed scowl.

“I knew I saw you doing something bad!” He suddenly exclaimed, leaning closer.

I was startled as he took one of the books from me by the force. I felt myself blushing when he showed me the cover, tapping it with his finger to reinforce his point.

“Did Madame Pince allow you to pull a book from the restricted section?”

I shushed him when people began glancing our way, taken aback by his loud voice. I reclaimed the book, which I held safe in my arms, and glared at him.

“It’s for class!” I excused myself, just then realizing I owed him no explanations.

“Is it now? It doesn’t matter… You stole it, didn’t you?”

“I did not!” I exclaimed, matching his loud tone. “I merely borrowed it!”

“You Slytherin!” Weasley spat out, looking me up and down.

I gawked at him, feeling insulted by the way he was treating me.

“At least I have some initiative, Weasley!” That said, I faced my back to him.

I heard him stomping his feet as he followed me to the staircase. There weren’t as much people there.

“You broke the rules! We are not allowed on the restricted section unless we have a permit from one of the professors”

I rolled my eyes and continued walking. Of course I knew that. But it was simply too much trouble for such a quick query.

However, I yelped when the books flew out of my hands all of a sudden. Moved by a hunch, I turned around to face Weasley. Indeed, he firmly wielded his wand.

“What about you, prefect?” I scolded him, forgetting about the books. “You broke another rule! We are not to use magic outside of class!”

Unfazed by my reaction, Weasley only held my glance, defiant.

“So you do know the rules after all” He sarcastically said.

I was so angry and exasperated, how could he be so bothersome? I felt tears of pure frustration gathering at the corner of my eyes.

“Why do you hate me so much, Weasley?” I shoved him, wishing he stopped watching me like a hawk. All I wanted to do was finish my essay. I never meant any harm.

I despised that my eyes were becoming watery. I pushed him a little more, trying to vent all that pent up aggression.

Suddenly, his expression drastically changed. His frown softened and his mouth opened in awe. Weasley then furrowed his brows again, this time in confusion.

“I… I never hated you…” His voice lowered as well, now nearly a whisper.

“Yes, you did” I averted my gaze, rattled without knowing why. “You keep pointing out every single thing I do wrong”

I… I wanted him to like me, I realized. Instead of seeing my flaws, I wanted him to congratulate my achievements instead of condemning my failures.

“I thought… Weren’t we doing this to bring out the best in each other? As students, as prefects, as… people” Percy blinked repeatedly, watching me carefully. There was utter astonishment reflected in his eyes. “I thought you enjoyed it like I did”

“No, stupid, I didn’t!” Once again, I leaned down to gather my books.

This time, he nearly threw himself to the ground to help me. He gestured with his hands, silently asking me to let him do it on his own. I let him, thinking it was the least he could do.

When we both stood to our feet, there was a newfound kindness in his expression while he handed me back my books. Our fingers touched, and this time we didn’t pull away.

“I… admired you” As he spoke up, breaking the tense silence, he begrudgingly looked away. “You are smart and determined and…”

“Stop” I asked him, feeling uncomfortable with his sincere words. “It feels weird when you compliment me”

He laughed. That sound was completely new to me, and I felt like the person before me wasn’t Percy Weasley anymore. At least not the one I used to know.

“Maybe you’re not so bad yourself” I muttered, needing to let him know how I felt.

“You’re right, it feels weird” Percy grimaced, shaking his head with disgust.

“That is” I completed to fix it. “When you’re not being a jerk”

His smile returned, and I found myself liking that sight. I hated to think what Cho would say when I’d tell her what happened.

“Are you saying you like me, Y/N?” It was the first time he used my actual name. At least the first time he uttered it without any traces of mockery.

“Ugh” I sighed, rolling my eyes at him like I always did. “You’re so annoying, Weasley”

For just a moment, Percy grinned to my comment. However, he soon scowled again, almost making me wonder if that smile was a product of my imagination.

“You are annoying, Ravenclaw” He walked away, deliberately bumping his shoulder against mine.

We both headed opposite ways, pretending nothing had happened. Nonetheless, when I looked over my shoulder I found with his glance. He was smiling again.

Tag list: @dancewaterdance02 / @raararasputin / @thisismysecrethappyplace / @bitchingpretty / @lookinsidemyhead / @c-taylor-wanna-be-a-glader / @welcome-here-in-my-world / @x-joie-x / @under-the-clouds // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, let me know!! // Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

#imagine #oneshot #hp #hp imagine #hp oneshot #harry potter imagine #harry potter oneshot #percy weasley #percy weasley x reader #percy weasley imagine #percy weasley oneshot #reader insert #requested #rfi writings

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monstersdownthepath · 5 years

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Spiritual Spotlight/Theme Finale: The Monad

True Neutral Overseer of Creation, the Infinite, and Truth

Domains: Artifice, Darkness, Knowledge, Void Subdomains*: Toil, Night, Aeon, Stars

Concordance of Rivals, pg. 11

Obedience: Spend 30 minutes in meditation, clearing your mind of needs and prejudices. Then briefly wander and observe your surroundings, seeking a source of excess, accomplishment, or emptiness. Spend at least 30 minutes counteracting that phenomenon in some way, such as by creating something where nothing exists, providing comfort to a morose stranger, or thinning the excess population of ants in a field. Benefit: Upon completing the Obedience, select two Knowledge skills; gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus to the selected skill checks.

(*IMPORTANT NOTE: The Subdomains are my best guess; Subdomains are not listed in Concordance of Rivals. Anywhere!)

What a delightful Obedience! Meditate for a bit, and then help balance out the world! Awwww :)

Don’t worship the Monad if you’re a Ranger, or any other class with a Favored Enemy-Esque mechanic, because it won’t end well. I do enjoy that the Monad still allows its followers to pursue wants, though I’m sure that wasn’t the designer’s intention and likely just me toying with loopholes I see in sentence structures. Such as the loophole that you can view just about anything as excess, accomplishment, or emptiness.

Destroy a building, or help build a new one. Steal from the rich and give to the poor, or do the exact opposite (and be hunted down by me, personally). Kill bugs or introduce new ones to an environment. Destroy someone’s most prized possession, or give your own to someone in need. Comfort a stranger, or antagonize an ally whose ego is becoming unbalanced. Help to grow a crop, or take a torch to the whole thing. Really your imagination is the limit here, which could potentially lead to choice paralysis... but this also makes it incredibly easy to just Background Detail it without a need to elaborate. If your DM rudely demands details, you can turn it around and ask them details about the environment in order to find something you could correct. Two can play at that game!

Don’t be needlessly rude to kind or curious DMs, though. That’s not cool!

What IS cool is that benefit. While it’s not outstanding, becoming just a bit better at being a smart guy is always nice. Choosing Arcana and/or Dungeoneering is usually the way to go, but you can tailor your Knowledge bonuses day by day if needed. Heading into the wilderness? Pack Nature. Going into town? Might as well get Local and Nobility! The possibilities are endless! (actually there’s only ~45 combinations but y’know)

Boons are gained slowly, gained at levels 12, 16, and 20. Servants of the Monitors, though, can enter the Proctor Prestige Class as early as level 8. If entered as early as possible, you can earn your Boons at levels 10, 14, and 16. You MUST take the Monitor Obedience feat, NOT Deific Obedience. Monitors grant only a single set of Boons.

Boon 1: Aeon Arbiter. Gain Unseen Servant 3/day, Spectral Hand 2/day, or Gaseous Form 1/day.

Well right off the bat, Gaseous Form is painful to use most of the time. It reduces your speed to an agonizingly glacial 10ft, making it useful for getting into or out of a sticky situation but basically nothing else. You can’t really properly scout with it since you still look like a you-shaped gas cloud, but the defensive bonuses it confers means that if you get trapped in a tiny room or with a monster you don’t want to be with, any space that isn’t airtight can’t contain you. The fact it has no components also means you can cast it while grappled or restrained, so if you think you’ll end up snatched up and/or tied up, surprise your enemies by changing matter states!

Unseen Servant was, is, and always shall be one of my favorite spells in the game, even if it’s not a particularly useful one when you’re facing down a dragon, or even a single bandit. Your invisible buddy can perform all your menial tasks you require since it has an enormous 1 hour/level duration, and there’s a LOT of items that weigh less than 20lbs you could have your pal cart around. If you can’t foresee needing them later in the day, conjuring all three of them at once and setting them out on various tasks will multiply your own productivity immensely. I recently read a cute little guide online that pointed out a shovel weighs only 5lbs and a shovelful of soil will rarely surpass 3, so having a team of invisible workers digging trenches can help fortify any positions you hold. It’s just a fun spell! And it rewards knowing exactly what you can do with 2 Str and understand the limits of the servant’s manual dexterity.

Which leaves Spectral Hand, which is probably the most useful thing on this list, if less fun than UnSe. Using touch spells that aren’t Save-or-Suck is always dangerous when you’re a squishy caster, but Spectral Hand allows you to stay safely at a range to deliver them. With a range of Medium (100ft + 10ft/level) and a decently lengthy 1 min/level duration, Spectral Hand can likely last through one to three encounters to let you slap multiple foes with spells you’d otherwise never get to use. Don’t forget you can also use it to deliver buffs and healing to your allies, too! At 2/day, the only reason NOT to take Spectral Hand with this ability is if you adore Unseen Servant as much as I do, or are already in a situation (like a prison) Gaseous Form could save you from.

Boon 2: Immaterial Flesh. You gain the constant benefits of the Moderate Fortification armor special ability. If you already have a similar defensive ability, you increase that ability's chance to negate the additional damage by 10%.

This means that critical hits and Sneak Attacks have a 50% chance of doing no additional damage, for those who can’t keep track of all Pathfinder’s wild armor enchantments. It’s a boring ability, but a lifesaving one that can shear hundreds or thousands of points of damage off incoming attacks over the course of your adventuring career. Most creatures armed with Sneak Attacks have low damage on their normal attacks, so this ability can mean the difference between taking 4 damage and taking 40. Sure, it’s a coin toss as to whether or not it works, but a coin toss is better than having no way to avoid it at all!

I like the fact that if you’re already fortified or have some other method to dodge precision damage (it works on SIMILAR powers, not just fortification!), it’s increased. If you can get your hands on some Armor of Heavy Fortification, the chance to block the incoming damage becomes 85%.

I’m sad that no flavor details are given regarding what this power does to your physical body. It says ‘immaterial flesh,’ but what does that mean? Do you become a gaseous nebula or crystalline formation like the other Aeons? Do you get all swirly and galactic like the Monad? I wish it gave us more details, because it’d lighten up an otherwise bland but useful ability.

Boon 3: Creative Destruction. 1/day as a standard action, you can touch two creatures adjacent to you, or yourself and an adjacent creature. One takes 150 points of damage (Fortitude half; DC=10 + half your HD + your Cha modifier), and the other regains a number of hit points equal to the damage taken by the first target.

Ever wanted to just reach over and slap someone hard enough to kill them instantly? 150 damage--150 untyped damage, I should clarify--is not something to be taken lightly. That instantly kills most humanoids at that level and severely damages hardier monsters, with CR 16 creatures rarely exceeding 280hp at the highest. Hitting a squishy enemy caster with this power can end a battle faster than Power Word Kill, though with the downside that you must get close enough to boop them on the nose... but you aren’t required to make a touch attack. No, no attack roll is required. The only way this ability can miss is if you can’t physically touch your target, meaning incorporeal enemies are immune, and a DM may rule that certain gaseous creatures are, as well. While this ability may also intend for you to use your hands to do the touching, it simply says “touch two adjacent creatures.” You can technically use this ability by tackling someone, kissing them, or just poking them with your foot!

Now, this ability grants a saving throw for half damage, negating some of its burst potential... But that’s still 75 untyped damage that works against ANY CREATURE you can touch. Constructs, Undead, Outsiders, demigods, Great Old Ones, creatures with resistance or immunity to every element in the game and every negative condition you can think of, anything! 75 is less impressive but still impressive! It’s an enormous chunk to shave off any foe and you can indeed shave it off any foe, and they don’t have the option to avoid or lessen it at all! The fact it bypasses all forms of immunity and requires only a touch is AMAZING, and we haven’t even covered the fact that the second target regains HP equal to the damage the first victim took!

Like... 75 HP is big enough by itself. It can take a normal encounter two or three rounds to deal 75 damage, and you only need one action to undo it. And 150 HP? That’s typically enough to take someone with a d8 or smaller hit dice from 0 to full in an instant and restore anywhere from half to 75% of a Fighter or Barbarian’s health bar. But, here’s something else important: much like the destruction, the healing is also universal! Constructs are notoriously difficult to keep running due to their specific healing requirements, and Undead are similarly finicky, but Creative Destruction’s health transfer is accepted by ANY creature with an HP bar. Even yourself! That’s the best part! Even without an ally or another enemy nearby to transfer the health into, you can siphon it into yourself to beat down a bad guy!

And I suppose you could also transfer your own health into an ally that really needed it, but uuuuhhhhh 150 damage is a lot. That tactic should only be use if you have no other option!

And all you need to do to obtain all this power? Remove all your prejudices and help keep the world running smoothly. Perfect for a character of any alignment! except probably chaotic evil.

You can read more about it here.

#Spiritual Spotlight #Neutrality Notes #pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons #Theme Week 19

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theangrypokemaniac · 4 years

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@nyarthsis

If Team Rocket 'always had a heart for unpopular Pokémon', that's an admission their Alola catches aren't particular loveable creatures, so I'm not thinking anything too controversial.

You're saying they take pity on the animals no one wants, as in it's normal for me not to find them adorable.

Some Pokémon, such as Lucario, become fan favourites without the advertisement of a regular role the anime. With Wobbuffet, Bewear, Stufful, Mareanie and Mimikyu, do people like them for themselves, or because of their association with Team Rocket?

I think its the latter. I can't imagine there would be such interest in them were they to be owned by a Twerp or appear as a one-off. Really then, it's not what or who they are, it's to whom they belong that matters.

Alola has really devalued catching. Rather than be true to the source material, so battering a Pokémon into submission, as Ash did with Bulbasaur, Primeape, Muk, and many others, now you have to ask their permission!

Bewear didn't even get that. She hung around for no reason, and her 'friend' Stufful was belatedly tacked on. I see why those two were left behind, as Team Rocket had no right to take them elsewhere.

In terms of welfare, Mimikyu and Mareanie are better off staying with them, free and safe, rather than locked in the insalubrious depths of H.Q., but then it never bothered the writers sending previous Pokémon into an uncertain future, so what difference does it make now?

It can only be that, like their predecessors, there is no intention to ever bring them back, but unlike the rest, the fans can't even be allowed the vain hope of a return, not with this rather awkward disposal.

It's feasible that Jessie and James could call their base and request old monsters to join them, but it's difficult to imagine they'd fly across the world to Alola, wander through the woods, pick 'em up and go all the way back again. Why make parting so final and irreversible?

It does imply that Game Freak don't like them, so why should I?

I keep noticing this fickle attitude. A new era starts, we're expected to fall instantaneously in love with every element, beg for more and yet more. Then, once the next region arrives, this adoration asked of us is meant to evaporate and immediately transfer to the next batch.

Well why start to like them, if eventually the makers don't care, to the extent you wouldn't even know previous Pokémon had ever been alive?

Have you heard one mention of Seviper, Yanmega, Dustox, Cacnea, Carnivine, and Mime Junior since they left?

Why were they happy to chuck Wobbuffet after Sinnoh, yet fetched for Kalos?

How could Team Rocket live without it for an entire generation but suddenly it's indispensable again? What do you imagine the rest of their Pokémon felt about that?

Have Jessie and James wondered allowed how Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung and Victreebel are doing?

What of the last two generations?

What is this nonsense where every character is so detached from the past?

Supposing I was to force myself to appreciate them: since they've gone, never to return, I'd be dissatisfied with the show, thus no better off than I am now.

My feelings don't run on a switch. I can't find myself besotted one minute then dump the object of affection without a second thought, just because Nintendo want it from me.

Even if I had a more positive opinion of the current interpretation, there's no benefit to becoming involved when it's all so fleeting.

Mareanie is ugly, with three teeth. I think he's a sea anenome, so ought to be more attractive, but it's covered in nipples instead!

It looks like a bonsai tree growing breasts, reminiscent of the hideous content lurking within an Hieronymous Bosch painting.

The idea that all Mimikyu copy Pikachu, the most famous Pokémon, when in their world it's nothing special, is too stupid for me to accept. How could that be coincidence?

It's referencing reality, acknowledging the real world's view of Pikachu as the star, so if it's breaking the fourth wall, it invites disbelief.

Wobbuffet does sod all. It's a complete dead weight and has no attacks. Yet it's the one to survive generation after generation. Where's the logic in that?

I suspect his popularity rests on being there so long he's considered part of the furniture, the sole catch in which you can invest an emotional connection whilst fairly certain he'll remain around.

By now it ought to have developed some semblance of a personality, but it's as faceless as ever. Other Pokémon that have been and gone had a bit more about them, but Wobba's so bland no one can summon the energy to write him out.

If he went, what would you miss? Breaking out of his ball and hissing 'WAAAAAHBUHFEH'? Is that so integral?

I have several objections:

What is it meant to be?

Why does its tail have eyes?

Why is that never mentioned?

Is it a sort of quadruped, or has it only one foot with four toes, arranged like the bottom of a medical walking stick?

A lot of my reactions to Pokémon are influenced by encountering them in the games. With Wobbuffet, I remember first coming across it in the cave near Blackthorn City, and just as you're winning the fight, it pulls out Destiny Bond and suddenly you're both down.

When you finally get one, it's tricky to train. You have no choice but to guess whether the opposition will launch a physical or special move, and mostly you get it wrong. He never learns anything else and doesn't evolve, so it's that forever.

Persevering with Magikarp is worthwhile, but what's to be gained from taking any time out to fight with Wobbuffet?

The anime eliminates this problem. You're aware of the nature of the approaching onslaught because you can see it coming, and the opponent said it aloud.

In this context Wobbuffet should be the most powerful Pokémon in the universe. Come on, it can deflect every attack!

Is it? No. It has a successful defence about once a generation, and still loses the battle. I can't say if it's worse to be utterly pointless, or to not fulfil one's potential.

I resent it muscling in on the motto, as if it's considers itself of equal rank to Meowth. No it's not!

When I was young, there was a tendency for magazines to refer to Team Rocket as a duo. Meowth was judged to be in the same position as Pikachu: a main character yes, and valuable enough to be accorded the privilege of liberty, but still very much owned by people.

You would see references to Jessie and James as his Trainers, though how they assumed this worked went unexplained. Even if shared, one had to have to caught him, thus be his proper owner.

Later on this developed into them being three equal members, and the term 'TRio' emerged, but now, although perhaps not officially recognised, there's an attitude of treating them as a quartet.

It's just wrong! Wobbuffet's not been around since day one. He didn't join Team Rocket voluntarily because he had nowhere else to go. It was a choice made for him by his original Trainer, so out of his hands, or rather his flippers.

If he was an independent Pokémon who just tagged along one day, that would be different, but it belongs to Jessie. Promoting one of hers means James is lesser, and no longer equal.

In each generation Team Rocket catch at least one local Pokémon, but as Wobbuffet's there, it ends up with Jessie having more on her side than James, and I dislike the imbalance. Plus the one he does get is violent.

It can't be solved by giving him another new one, as then he's captured two in the region, and she has only one, so again it's skewed.

Whilst Wobbuffet does count in numbers, he's not on the level of the rest, who fight regularly. He's both there and not simultaneously.

I'm still irked the way Lickitung was ejected to make room.

It was the best Pokémon they ever had! It took out Pikachu, Vulpix and Bulbasaur with one move! It would've won those Princess Dolls for Jessie if the writers hadn't changed the rules so that Lick only affects those of sound mind!

It was as if they realised their mistake too late, and so Lickitung was featured less and less to avoid it dominating a fight, then hurriedly traded away for something reliably feeble.

The following analogy you may not understand, but I think it fits rather aptly:

There's a game called Final Fantasy VIII. One of the side quests involves you racing through a castle under a time limit. If successful, you are rewarded with Odin as a Guardian Force, which is a deity that will provide a defence.

Unlike others, he is out of your control, but every so often, as you enter battle, he turns up and annihilates your opponents. It's very welcome.

Unfortunately this game was programmed by bunyips, who clearly didn't want the last section of the game to be accidently easier for you. Oh no. If you're progressing, it ain't gonna be through luck, or turning the console on and off until he arises.

Therefore, towards the close, you come up against ex-friend Seifer. Odin is fixed to rush to your aid, but when he does, bloody Seifer slices him in half, horse and all!

He killed Odin, the ancient King of the North! The Lord of Valhallah! The Father of the Vikings!

It's not normal fighting death, it's irreversible. He's gone for good.

After this Gilgamesh introduces himself as a replacement. He too will randomly appear and set about the enemy.

The problem is that whilst Odin destroyed monsters unfailingly, with Gilgamesh it's a rarity.

He uses four swords, and which you get is also a lottery.

One is the same as Odin's, two deal average damage, but not death, and the worst one depletes 1 HP, so it might as well not have bothered.

Not only does it arrive but a fraction of the time, but it's in a fraction of those times that it's of any assistance, which is something of a comedown.

Lickitung is Odin: didn't see it often, but it tore the place apart!

Wobbuffet is Gilgamesh: once in a blue moon it provides rescue, but it's on a lot lower percentage than it's predecessor.

It's difficult not to be disappointed.

#team rocket #wobbuffet #mareanie #mimikyu #bewear #stufful

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writcraft · 5 years

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Racism, Tone-Policing and Speaking Out in Fandom

Unequivocal condemnation of fanfic or art that glorifies or romanticises the Nazi regime and/or promotes a narrative which erases its significant horrors feels like it should be an easy position to take. A no-brainer. This wasn’t an example of art designed to make us uncomfortable or to provoke discussion; it was an unthinking, romanticised depiction of a regime that committed galling atrocities, swiftly followed by the lightwashing of a canonically black fictional character. We inhabit an online space where misinformation travels rapidly, where white supremacism thrives. This should be a something people can publicly condemn without worrying unduly about any potential backlash.

The fact that even speaking out on this topic has caused people - including queer, Jewish people - to feel silenced, attacked, tone-policed and chastised as they share their reaction to something they consider abhorrent is symptomatic of a much broader issue in fandom spaces broadly and it is that which I want to talk about in this post. I don’t want to conflate racism in fandom with the now two instances of Nazi-themed Harry/Draco art, but I think a lot has been said on the latter and want to take the opportunity to use what has happened over the last two days as a jumping off point to think about the former. When it comes to callout, to speaking out and to our responsibilities as fans, I think there are important connections.

The unfettered protection of freedom of content creation is something I have passionately defended and will continue to do so throughout my time in fandom. This is demonstrated by the spaces I have either created or moderated for several years, most notably HP Kinkfest and HP Horror Fest. However, protecting that position is often the point at which conversations get closed, the trump card played to end all other discussions that might make us - and by us I mean white fans like myself - uncomfortable with the conversations being instigated. I’m not convinced that ‘unfollow me now’ posts are ever particularly helpful, as they have an air of performative allyship about them, leading to echo-chambers and knee-jerk responses, and one thing we are particularly bad at these days is engaging with any difficult topics with nuance.

As ever, this post is long, and there are some resources at the end should you wish to keep reading.

Difficult conversations in fandom are those which force us to critically interrogate our own modes of fannish engagement, and the extent to which we listen when invited to consider if the things we uphold as progressive are really progressive at all. Perhaps the fallout from this latest debacle is a good time to sit back and consider the things we speak out about, the things we don’t speak out about, the centering of white voices and perspectives, the privilege that comes from being able to leave certain discussions to other people simply because they are difficult and, by extension, the groups we expect to take on the responsibility and emotional labour involved with speaking out. Perhaps this might prompt us to examine the way we react to things without thoughtful critique of broader socio-political structures in place that become part of fandom’s hierarchy of conversation and content creation.

It is not enough to react to a something that creates a visceral response from the majority of people in a fandom but then ignore the less comfortable questions that flow from it. To assert a position on extreme examples of something that is not okay but then refuse to listen to people who express discomfort about things which might harsh your own fannish squee or might force you to consider the less instinctively obvious ways you might be contributing to racism in fandom is an inconsistent, safe way of engaging with the complexities that come from critiquing fandom spaces. The appearance of now two pieces of art that provoke almost universal fandom-wide disgust cannot be the only time we actively demonstrate an interest in expressing vocally that racism and white supremacy has no place in our fandom spaces.

We are ten years on from Race Fail ‘09 yet conversations around race are still being derailed, tones being policed, POC fans being portrayed as particularly angry, impolite or prone to complaint. I have seen this happen on multiple occasions, where the platform for critical discussion of content creation in fandom has been stripped away, or people have been silenced, in pursuit of protecting the fun part of fandom, the right to produce content unfettered, protecting the ability for women to create uncensored. I fundamentally believe the latter is an important, joyous and political act of fandom experience, but it loses some of its politicised resonance when that starting point is used to silence others trying to start critically nuanced discussions.

Freedom of content cannot be the point at which we disavow ourselves of any responsibility to question the things that inform our own perspectives. We cannot allow our passionate defence of that position to cloud our ability to listen to other perspectives. I’m not here to protect the children, but we must not conflate resistance to conservative-leaning narratives that advocate for sanitised and problem-free content, with the issues fans from marginalised groups try to raise about the way fandom has work to do when it comes to having proper conversations around queerness, race, misogyny and so on. We cannot on the one hand rush to condemn a pretty obvious issue, and on the other fail to think about the other questions it raises because it might stop us from having a good time.

The difficult conversations that spring to mind – the ones that get immediately shut down – include thinking critically about objects of fandom, the tendency to approach questions of social justice through an American (frequently white) lens, the continued dominance of white, cis-male slash ships, inability to critique - or listen to critique of - the things we love when canon or creators make decisions that leave people distressed. The conversations include thinking about how fictional characters are romanced or sanitised to the point at which their fanon portrayal erases any of their past political choices, tokenism, shutting down conversations around racebending and failing to understand why – for some POC fans – that doesn’t feel representative when it is handled unthinkingly in fanfiction produced by white authors.

To refuse to engage with these questions often involves shouting over or silencing people who are trying to explain why something makes them uncomfortable in pursuit of protecting freedoms afforded to us as we create unfettered content. I’m not suggesting that we should not be free to create content – we are, all of us – aware of the slipperiness of that particular slope, but with that freedom comes a responsibility. If we care about the voices frequently talked over within our fandom, we – and I include myself in this – need to be better at listening when people force us to examine our own modes of engagement. This involves taking the time to conduct our own research, to take that responsibility upon ourselves instead of expecting others to educate us. It involves researching political posts we put on our blogs together with assessing the fandom content we produce and engage with. Are they accurate? Are they correct? It involves labour, time taken to educate ourselves, and balancing speaking out with knowing when that becomes speaking over, knowing when to sit down, shut up and listen.

I am writing this because I have been culpable. On many occasions I have remained silent on issues or refused to confront difficult situations for fear of losing friendships or to protect my own status within fandom. I have found certain conversations uncomfortable and have therefore avoided them altogether for fear of being seen as a trouble-maker, or someone who is trying to police or gatekeep fandom content whilst simultaneously wanting to so fiercely protect freedom of content creation. I have had several friends call me out on this, and my discomfort with taking on fraught topics when feelings are involved is something I have had to re-examine. Thank you to the friends who have challenged me on this. It is a brave thing to do, something I haven’t always responded well to, and I appreciate you for a much-needed dose of honesty. This post by @dictacontrion (rightfully) made me uncomfortable because it has called me out. In particular, this:

If we are not willing to speak up and take action, if we are not willing to risk our comfort, risk our status, risk our ease in order to defend freedom and equality, than we are not defenders freedom and equality. If we are not willing to speak up and take action in defense of our principles, our principles mean nothing.

I am working on my own methods of fandom engagement. I apologise for all of those conversations I have taken myself out of because they were hard, and I promise I will strive to do better. As noted above we are a decade on from Race Fail, but these patterns continue to occur. I want to conclude by noting that the perspectives I have outlined above do not come from my own work. They come from the – often free and emotionally exhaustive – labour that has been put into raising these issues and asking those difficult questions within fandom space and within the broader sphere of fan studies. The work of Dr Rukmini Pande, Stich’s Media Mix and the many guests that have featured on @fansplaining episodes have been instrumental starting points for me and I have included some of the links below for that I would encourage people to consider listening to and reading together with exploring the links in the show notes and the Twitter accounts, blogs and tumblrs of the featured guests.

Episode 22A - Race and Fandom Part 1: Fansplaining’s Flourish and Elizabeth follow up on the last episode’s questions about the impact of racism in the Star Wars fandom—and how it’s a microcosm of fandom at large. They interview Rukmini Pande and Clio, and they hear clips from Holly Quinn, Shadowkeeper, and PJ Punla. Topics covered include the historical presence of fans of colour, space nazis, femslash and its discontents, and the Filipino perspective on the whiteness of media.

Episode 22B - Race and Fandom Part 2: In the second and final installment of Fansplaining’s “Race and Fandom” episodes, fans of colour continue to speak about their experiences in fandom. Elizabeth and Flourish interview Jeffrey Lyles and Zina, then hear clips from Roz, Traci-Anne, and zvi LikesTV. Topics covered include being Black and Jewish, Star Wars weddings, cosplaying characters of color, and why kink is never divorced from the real world.

Episode 89 - Rukmini Pande: An episode where Dr. Rukmini Pande, a fan studies scholar whose new book, Squee From the Margins, explores race in both the field as well as fandom at large. Topics discussed include defining the boundaries of “fandom,” how queerness and gender structure fan studies while race typically does not, closed vs open digital platforms, how fandom discussions of racism are often relegated to “crisis points,” and more.

I also recommend the Transformative Works and Cultures Journal special edition on Fans of Color, Fandoms of Color (Vol 29 (2019)) which is freely accessible and edited by Abigail De Kosnik and André Carrington.

#racism in fandom #fandom raceism #nazism #white supremacy #drarry

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bentenharuki · 4 years

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I generally don’t do these but...

I will do this because it’s a badge of honor and a thank you for @todayintokyo who gives me a daily vibe out of my second fav Country in the world (first one is my own, of course. My messy, chaotic, genius Italy).

So for everyone interested (I won’t tag people either... if you are among my 250+ readers, do it as freely as you like to share this unexpected hard time along others. Sharing makes us all feel less stranded I guess :))

1. Are you staying home from work/school? Yep. My University (Milano Bicocca) holds in-house lessons and curses and also exams and testing are/will be online. What I miss most are the lab works and the exchanges with foreign schools. I took one a few months ago in London and I was supposed to have another in May but... NOPE, of course.

2. If you’re staying home, who’s there with you? I am alone in my apartment. At first it was supposed to be shared rent with somebody else but then my parents just bought this out and lent it to me. I know. I am spoiled. But very grateful for what I have. I always try to give back the best I can because no one has merits in being born in a family instead of another. (pieces of second-rate philosophy in all my LONG answers courtesy of my mum and her influence on me. She’s a University Professor and her field is.. guess what.. ETHICS PHILOSOPHY)

3. Do you have pets to keep you company? Nope. Not allowed. But I like cats. Cats. CATS. They are elegant, refined, very clean, and they give you consideration and affection ONLY if they like you. I prefer to conquer somebody’s love instead than to have it by default. Then I am naturally a cat person instead of a dog’s. But I like all animals (I like snakes as well, so my range is pretty wide ;)), even though I don’t feel missing any in house. Generally I would be out of home most of the day and no pet would be happy in staying that much alone. I miss my grandparents’ kitty tho :)

4. Who do you miss the most? Family. Friends. Meeting new people when out. And... (is it fine to say it?) Well... in these lockdown times I miss... human touch. (You get what kind). I was seeing a guy when this all started and my old boyf also came back into the picture somehow. All on hold. And I avoid to think how that makes me feel because even in case I’d figure it out, what comes if one can’t act on the awareness? Exactly. So I put it all in a LONG pause. But yeah... I miss contacts. A LOT.

5. When was the last time you left your home? I go out every Thursday to buy all my grocery stuff. I am very methodic. My supermarket is pretty near and it’s BIG and I get there right before it opens (well... one hour almost before it opens, so I can be among the firsts in line). I look like a ninja: very sporty and technically dressed (like for a running competition!) with clothes and shoes which are easy washable, tech mask (it is for cycling competition, with filters specifically medical: the mask is washable as well after you’ve used it, while the filter is obviously not), cotton fit gloves and over them medical gloves (I can’t wear directly medical gloves because my skin is very sensitive and I suffer from nickel allergia, which makes latex gloves a NO NO directly on skin), teck googles which cover also the side of my face (those are from cycling items too) and of course PODS in my ear because I can’t live without music :)

6. What was the last thing you bought? I bought online a few garden tools for my biggest balcony. I have ZERO skill with plants (and I am supposed to become a biologist... the nerve! LOL) but I am keen at making grow at least rosemery for my recipes. I have a little peach tree and it is all fine so far. I have hope I can do better and anyway I have time now ;)

7. Is quarantine driving you insane or are you finally relaxed? I try to keep my routine as it was before. I wake up and perform all my tasks exactly as I was doing before this all started. I am VERY organized and to lax on that would ruin me, so I carefully focus on what I can control the best I can. It feels strange to say it maybe but... this way my mood isn’t particularly affected by this heavy revolution in my (and everyone elses’s) life.

8. Are you a homebody? NOPE. I love people, I love my Milan and its being always full of people everywhere. I love living in my town a TON, I love meeting friends anywhere, go dancing, I love to live my University life in this beautiful and renewed part of Milan; I like being surrounded by my people and meeting new ones. So being stuck at home would seem insufferable for me. But I learnt from this (there’s always something to learn in any experience) that I can be surprisingly ok with staying home too. I came to know better my neighbors. I feel a sense of community with everyone living nearby and I have come to love my domesticity too. It was a surprise for me first ^.^

9. What movies have you watched recently? In Italy, Italia 1 channel has had the WONDERFUL idea to rebroadcast all Harry Potter saga every Monday and Thursday. Today and tomorrow there are the last two installments, so I can say that is what I looked out the most for as in movie things these past weeks (funny how I never particularly adored the books of HP, I mean, I liked them but... being a Tolkien’s devotee Rowlings’ literary efforts always seemed lackluster to me.. and still I have always liked the movies. It’s incoherent I know ;)). But I have Sky at home so I can watch whatever movie I like to whenever I want to. And that leads to VERY little watch actually. I am reading a ton though. I watch what passes on in the National channels actually, out of digital and cable and decide to watch it or not. For instance last Friday Rai 1 (main Italian Channel) broadcasted one of my fav movies from the past three years, GIFTED (with Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer) and I rewatched it with immense pleasure.

10. An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled? OLYMPICS. I was supposed to be back in Japan with a a couple of friends and my bro for experience the Olympics (especially the volleyball tournaments) between July and August and that got (of course) cancelled. We plan to move it all to next year of course. But it hurts SO MUCH because it was easily what I was looking forward to BEST for all 2020. Hands down.

11. What’s the best and worst thing you’ve had to cancel? Look up. For the other question, I never plan things I don’t like (or at least I try my best not to) and I almost never find myself in the position of being happy for something I had going on which I had to pass due to circumstances. I am a very honest (sometimes to the point of bluntness, though with age I got trained in the fine art of diplomacy, which for me is declined especially in the “IGNORE WHAT IS NOT WORTHY degree) person and if there is something I don’t like I tend to not get involved with it in the first place.

12. Do you have any new hobbies? Eh... the longest list... I love so many things. Sport don’t count as hobbies to me because I treat them as part of my daily life constantly. So take them off. I like to write, to draw, to paint... I like reading, I like learning... I am a tech geek; I like gaming (but that I have to cut it or it would absorb me too much)... I like TRAVELING (that is cut off too of course nowadays), and many other things so I guess I don’t literally have SPACE for new hobbies. My many ones makes it impossible to fall for new things though lately I am becoming a better cook out of needs ;)

13. What are you out of? My lists are made as soon my things become “two items in from having 0″. This way I can’t run out of anything. Did I say already I am a HUGE control freak? THAT ;)

14. What music are you listening to? My itunes collections lists so far 12376 ALBUMS. Then I have the random songs. Latest one I bought (because I buy them all) is Achille Lauro’s latest 16 Marzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb-9RESbeWA

I am also listening a lot to one of my bro’s fav bands Radiohead and as usual a lot to my beloved Imagine Dragons. My mum and dad are also telling me to listen to Bill Withers (who recently passed away) whole discography because he was amazing. I love many music genres. I love ALL which makes the spirit soar and rage and evolve and love and cry and hope.

15. What are you reading? So far in quarantine I read 5 books. I have now to start ORIGINS by Dan Brown. I pick the books I have left unread randomly and that was the pick this time (people gift me with books constantly because they know I am a bookworm when I have spare time).

16. What are you doing for self-care? Keep loving myself and life and the world exactly the way I used to before this all started.

17. Are you exercising? Yup. Tapis roulant, golf training, stepper (all in my house lucky me) and mat and weight training. I have a routine for which I have to train at least one hour a day. NO EXCEPTION. I miss swimming but I will do. I am also in recovery after January’s knee meniscus intervention so my schedules are also taking that into consideration.

18. How’s your toilet paper supply? I'm OK. :)

19. Have you made any changes to your hair during quarantine? Nope. I love to stylize my hair but I don’t have specific cuts. It grows long and then I play with them hairstyles: braids, buns, ponytails, partitions and the likes.. But I have bleached hair and I had to follow my hairdresser advice because I can’t allow ugly roots to take dominance of me ^.^ So I bought the necessary to self bleach them. No need to say as soon as I will be able to, Hairdressers and Massages and SPA will be my first destination ^.^ (beside visiting family and friends of course).

I am fairly sure I put lots of typos and mistakes in this but I have my online lesson just starting in 8 minutes and I can’t review this (I generally never do it anyway). So forgive me and have a beautiful day ;)

STAY SAFE OUT THERE!!! Hugs K.

#ask list #wow my first one #and probably my last #covid19 #quarantine #lockdown #italy #milan #tag your friends #coronavirus

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rainoverthemountains · 5 years

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More of the Twist Story

Summary: There’s a cure for LV (probably). It’s completely safe (probably). It’s a highly unpleasant experience (definitely). Twist only cares about that first statement. He probably should have paid a little more attention to the other two. But what does it matter? He’s getting what he wants, and he has the best friends and family in any universe to help along the way.

Here’s more of my story about Twist from @itsladykit ‘s Twistfell AU. It should probably have an actual title, but title writing is a writerly skill that I haven’t yet developed, so it gets the same title that it has on my computer.

chapter 1

Chapter 2

It doesn’t take long to finish the car, sign out of work, and head to the lab. Iggy hands Twist a pile of paperwork on a clipboard as soon as they arrive. “Here, just sign these and we can get started. I’ve already filled in all the subject-specific information for you, so you just need to sign where I highlighted and-”

“Now wait just a minute, sweetheart.” Twist frowns. “’M not just gonna sign a bunch of papers with no clue what I’m signin’. Gimme a sec’ ta look through ‘em first.” He turns to the first page and scowls at all the medical and legal jargon. “Not ‘xactly user-friendly, huh? You’d almost think someone was tryin’ ta hide somethin’ in here.”

“Oh don’t be silly.” Iggy waves him off. “That’s just how these are always written, just a bunch of legal requirements to make sure everything is written out precisely for the review board. Most of it is nothing you need to worry about.”

Twist snorts at that suggestion. “Think I’ll decide that fer myself, darlin’.”

“Fine, suit yourself, but I doubt you’ll get much out of it.” Sighing, she crosses the room to check on another project. This could take a while.

Twist resumes reading, frowning in concentration. The frown worsens as he re-reads the same page several times, finally stopping to rub his sockets in frustration. Iggy glances back towards where he’s standing.

“Are you really trying to read the whole thing?”

“Yep.” He already sounds defeated, though.

“Do you read every word of everything you sign?”

“Nah, but the meltin’ thing makes me think I should look a little more closely at this one.”

“Ok, I mean, that makes sense, it really does, and normally I’d say that’s a really smart thing to do, but it doesn’t seem like the best idea right now.”

“Ya seem pretty insistent on that, sweetheart. Sure there’s not somethin’ in here ya don’ want me ta see?”

“No, no, no, nothing like that, it’s just… I mean… can you actually read it? I mean not that I don’t think you can read! It just seems like it’s taking a while, and it’s got a lot of technical terms, and how long are you really wanting to wait for the treatment? I mean you could take it home and spend however long you need to read it all, but wouldn’t you rather go ahead and get started and avoid taking that risk? What if something happened before we could get started?”

“Could get someone else ta look at it. I’ve got some friends who could prob’ly figure it out.”

“And what would those friends say about you being here? What if they don’t approve? Then they’ll either talk you out of it or you’ll get in an argument, and is that really what you want?”

“Yer awfully determined ta keep this a secret. Sure this is somethin’ yer really s’posed ta be doin’?” His sockets narrow. Blackberry would throw a fit if this is half as dangerous as it seems like it might be, but Edge would be more reasonable, or Cash. Papyrus might be able to figure it out too, but he might be a little too worried about the ‘dangerous’ part. “It doesn’t seem like the kinda thing that needs ta be done in secret, unless there’s somethin’ goin’ on that yer not tellin’ me.”

“It’s not a secret! It’s just easier if no one’s around to argue about it.”

“Who’s gonna argue? Not like curin’ LV’s a controversial issue.”

“No, but the treatment is unpleasant, and still a little experimental, and family members tend to complain about that kind of thing, even when it’s in the subject’s, er, patient’s, best interest. It’s way too easy for someone to get upset about something and interfere with the protocol, which can interfere with the results. Everything runs more smoothly with no one around with any emotional investment.” Is that supposed to reassure him? It really, really doesn’t.

“So what’d’ya suggest? Signin’ off on somethin’ that could be donatin’ my body ta science, fer all I know?” Everything about the whole setup seems like a bad idea. On the other hand, it’s a cure for LV. What choice does he have? It’s not like he has ten years to wait around for another one.

“What about a compromise? I’ll tell you the highlights of each page, and you can look at the page while I’m talking so you can see I’m not making anything up, and then you sign it?”

“Pretty easy ta brush over anything ya want me ta ignore when it’s all written like that, darlin’.” His resistance is fading, though. What if it works? The lure of an impossible future is calling, and really, what else is he going to do?

“It’s the best you’re going to get,” she echoes his thoughts.

Now he’s the one who sighs. “Fine, fine, start with this overview section. Seems like there’s stuff I need ta know in there, but it’s mostly nonsense.”

“Sure, just let me pick out the key points.” She scans through the section. “Ok, here’s what you need to know.”

“A newly developed drug containing a compound specifically formulated to dissolve LV will be injected directly into your soul. The compound will gradually diffuse throughout your soul, dissolving concentrations of LV while theoretically leaving the rest of your soul untouched. Your treatment has been calibrated to specifically target LV 17 to minimize its effects on the rest of your soul, so when your LV drops below 17 the treatment will stop until I administer a new dose. Once the drug has been administered it can’t be stopped until your LV decreases, at which point you will be given the option to have the drug re-administered or discontinue treatment. Known side effects include pain, fever, weakness, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, delusions, emotional instability, and possible significant HP loss which can be corrected with magic infusions. All side effects are temporary, and LV reduction is stable over time. All you have to do is let me administer the treatment, let yourself be monitored throughout the treatment, and answer occasional questions regarding your subjective experience. Signing here indicates that you’ve been given this information and you understand it.”

“Well that sounds fun.” Twist signs in the highlighted section. “Got it so far. Why’d that take three pages ta write? Never mind, keep goin’ so we can get started.” Not like there’s any point in looking for anything she might have skipped. He’s going to agree. What else can he do?

They go through each section in the same way, a bunch of legal jargon that Twist has trouble following even in summary form, until finally they reach the end.

“Signing here means you consent to the treatment and to being part of the research study.”

Twist barely hesitates before signing. “Let’s get going, sweetheart!” His grin is a little strained, but still genuine. Getting rid of his LV will be worth whatever shit he has to go through to do it.

“Great, then let’s get started.”

***

“Take off your clothes, then lie down. Get in bed, get comfortable; you’re going to be here a while.”

“Didn’ know ya felt that way ‘bout me, sweetheart. If ya wanted ta get me in bed all ya had ta do was ask! No need ta wait for an excuse! I’m up fer anythin’.” Twist grins while complying, not looking too closely at any strange equipment scattered around the lab.

Clearly determined not to let Twist’s nonsense interrupt her work, Iggy maintains a strictly professional tone. “Good, now manifest your soul.”

“Now wait a minute, don’t ya think this’s movin’ a little fast fer a first date?” Twist jokes nervously.

“I need access to your soul to administer the treatment. Please manifest your soul so we can get started.”

“Ok, ok, no need ta be so pushy.” Twist manifests his soul inside his ribcage.

“How am I supposed to work with that? Do you want me working inside your chest?”

“Darlin’, you can work inside any part a me…”

“Stop.” She glares. “We aren’t here to flirt, we’re here to get rid of your LV. Do you want this cure or not? I can find some other experimental subject if you aren’t willing to cooperate and you can wait around until this is approved for mass production. That is, assuming you can even last that long. You wouldn’t have agreed to this if you were confident in your own self-control.”

“Ok! I get yer point. Fine, have it.” He re-manifests his soul outside of his ribcage. “Don’t usually show it ta anyone. ‘S kinda a mess.” He suddenly feels very vulnerable and exposed in a way that he hadn’t from getting undressed. He can’t even count the number of people who have seen him naked, and plenty of those are associated with good times. The same can’t be said for exposing his soul.

It’s worth it, he reminds himself. Anything that happens will be worth it. It’s not a big deal. Just like going to the doctor. This whole thing is a medical procedure. Just let her have it. Before he can, though, she reaches out and takes it. He’s heard some monsters say letting someone they love touch their soul is one of the most intimate things they’ve ever experienced. This just feels like a violation. Nothing new, he’s dealt with worse before. There’s nothing he can do about it. She has it now and he won’t back out for anything, so he just needs to stay calm, just detach from the situation.

Detaching gets a lot harder once Iggy starts poking around for a crack or weak point in the calcification to get the monitor wires into his soul. “This is some of the thickest calcification I’ve ever seen, at least on a soul that’s still functioning correctly!”

“That’d be the 17 LV for ya. Not a pretty sight.” He grins darkly, more embarrassed than amused, but it is funny to see how surprised such a self-proclaimed expert on LV can be at seeing that LV as high as his affects a monster’s soul.

“How are you even able to function? This much calcification should affect emotional range, self-regulation, reasoning capacity, everything! The whole body-soul interface should be disrupted!”

“Why d’ya think I’m here, darlin’?”

“Right, right, I know. I’m just surprised. I shouldn’t be. It’s just… The amount of effort it must take to function in any way remotely resembling normal!” She shakes her head, actually seeming somewhat impressed. “But enough of that. That’s what we’re here to fix, so let’s get on with it.”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart. An’ if ya could stop squeezin’ my soul while we’re at it, I’d ‘preciate it.”

“What? Oh, sorry. Unfortunately, I’m actually going to have to squeeze it some more for the next part. There’s no way I’m getting wires or a needle through all this so I’m going to have to break it up and remove it.”

“Shit. Well, ok, if that’s what ya gotta do.” No one said this would be easy. Worth it, though. It has to be worth it.

“Will you be able to control yourself well enough to let me do it or will you need to be restrained?”

“No! I mean, I can control m’self. I’ll be fine. No need fer any restraints. None.” He glares at her. “Wasn’t in the agreement. I don’t agree ta that.” Well, it probably wasn’t in the agreement. Not like he has any way of knowing for sure, but surely she would have mentioned that part.

He searches for something to brace himself against and finds low metal bars along both sides of the bed. They look strong enough to at least take some effort to break. Why’re there bars on a hospital bed maybe he should be concerned. Laying back against the thin pillow, he grips the bars tightly and holds back his protest as Iggy carries his soul over to a lab bench. His eyes remain locked on his soul as she holds it in one hand to open a drawer with the other. If she drops it… If she drops it, he’ll be fine. There won’t be any intent behind it, and he can handle a little soul damage. It’ll be worth it. No doubt about it. A cure for LV is worth anything anyone can do to him. Anything. Even…

He cringes as she sits his soul down on the countertop to free up both hands for digging through the drawers. That… you don’t do that with souls! The cold seeping in from the counter makes him shiver. In that moment he’s almost grateful for the protection of the calcification. The feeling of the countertop against his bare soul would be disgusting. Worth it, though. Still worth it. Whatever she needs to do is worth it and how exactly is leaving his soul laying around on a countertop necessary to cure his LV?

“Hey, uh, if ya don’ need that right now I can hold onto it fer a while. I’d rather ya not…” He struggles to keep his voice steady. She’s helping him. He never expected her to be considerate about it.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll need it in a minute. Just as soon as I find that clamp. I could’ve sworn it was in the center drawer.” His soul scrapes against the bench top as she pushes it aside to make room for the contents of the drawer she’s emptying. That… is not a good feeling. His grip on the bars tightens. Where does she get off treating his soul like some fucking paperweight? He doesn’t have to put up with this. Who does she think she’s fucking with here? He could just…

No. Absolutely not. She’s not an enemy and she’s not attacking him. It doesn’t matter what she does to his soul. He can take a little discomfort. Monsters don’t dust through carelessness. There is no intent. There can’t possibly be any intent. She’s trying to help him. He agreed to this. It’s worth it.

This time she picks up his soul to set it behind the growing pile on the counter to move on to the next drawer. Out of sight, the unfamiliar sensations seem even more threatening to his increasingly agitated mind. He grits his teeth until they creak as his focus narrows onto the hands that keep touching him, keep pushing him around like they’re in charge, like he’s theirs to do whatever the fuck they want with, like he’s helpless like he’s already been defeated he’ll show her who’s helpless he’ll-

No. No. There are no enemies here. Iggy isn’t the enemy. She’s helping him. She’s curing him. She’s like a doctor. He isn’t so far gone that he’ll attack his doctor. He knows why he’s here. It’s his choice. It’s worth it. Still, his eyelight remains locked on his captor doctor.

“Ah hah! Found it!” Her voice is grating as she pulls something metallic from one of the drawers. “This will help me break through the calcification without doing much damage to the interior. It’s much better to do it this way than manually because it’s easier to control the amount of force applied, and the treatment itself does enough damage to the soul without starting out with any unnecessary bruising or deep lacerations.” She sets something on the counter that looks like a clamp with hundreds of little curved teeth. His soul is not going anywhere near that thing.

“Give. It. Back.” His voice grates harshly.

***

“Just a minute. I just need to break up the calcification so I can peel if off, then I can put in the wires and give you the injection, and then I’ll put it right back where I found it, promise.” She turns back to give him a reassuring smile, only to freeze at the sharpened bones inches from her chest.

“Give. It. Back. Now.” He’s out of the bed, tensed for an attack, eyelight shrunken to a pinprick and broken socket leaking magic. It looks like the situation is a little more critical than she’d thought. Not totally out of control; she’s been working with monsters who’ve lost themselves for years, but most of them don’t start off calmly chatting while unrestrained in the same room as her. Why didn’t she involve Undyne in this one? She should know better. She feels panic welling up, but forces it back down.

Too late to get Undyne now; she’ll have to save herself. Fighting a monster with his stats does not have a high probability of success. Is he still capable of reasoning? He was a few minutes ago, but how long ago did it start going downhill? She has to admit she wasn’t really paying attention. He hasn’t actually attacked yet, so it’s worth a try.

“You know attacking me won’t get you want you want. Do you remember why you’re here?” He doesn’t respond, but doesn’t attack either, so she continues. “You’re here so I can cure your LV. So you don’t have to deal with problems like this anymore. Remember? I’m trying to help you.”

“Don’ see much help happenin’ ‘ere. Mostly see some bitch thinkin’ she c’n play aroun’ with my soul.” The bones inch closer. Iggy flinches back and raises Twist’s soul as protection against an attack, hoping he’s still close enough to in control to care about self-preservation. He glares, but the bones stop moving forward, suggesting that he is.

“If you attack me, you’re never going to get the LV cure. Or I’ll lock you up like the other monsters who lost themselves and you can go through the treatment in a cell.”

“Jus’ try it.” His eyelight flares but he still doesn’t move.

“I don’t have to try anything. I’m holding your soul. I can lock you up. I’m also the only one with the treatment. I can refuse to give it to you. If you kill me, the treatment will die with me and you’ll still never have it.” Twist snarls, but the bone attack doesn’t move any closer, so she continues.

“You have three choices. Try to kill me, and get locked up with or without the treatment. Back out of the study, and get no treatment. Or put those bones away and cooperate, and never be affected by LV again. Is that worth the effort to get control of yourself?”

“Worth-?” Twist gives a full body shudder and the bones back off a few inches. “Worth it? Shit,” he gasps. He puts his face in his hands. “I…” Iggy lets herself relax slightly, and he shoots to attention at the sound of her shifting. “Don’t. Move.” he bites out. Iggy stills instantly. “Unless ya still wanna fight.” A manic grin splits his face.

“I never wanted to fight in the first place. I’m trying to help you. You were trying to get yourself under control for the LV treatment, remember?” If she can just get him to release the bone attacks she can get out of there.

“Right,” he sighs, hands returning to his face. “Right. ‘m tryn’a calm down.” Claws digging into his skull, he focuses on breathing, but it only reminds him that his soul isn’t in the right place to feed the increased oxygen into his magic.

“Not very good at calmin’ down,” he admits.

“I can see that. Maybe try letting these bones go?” Iggy suggests nervously.

“Huh? Oh, those. Sure. Don’ try anythin’.” He abruptly glares at her while releasing the bones.

“What would I try? I’m not attacking you. I never was.” Maybe it would be best not to argue with him, but it seems like an important point to keep making.

“Well don’t.” His hands return to his face, rubbing what may have meant to be soothing circles on the sides of his skull but seem more likely to cut his face open.

“Would it help if I gave your soul back?” she asks tentatively.

“What? Give me that!” he demands, already reaching to put it back in his chest.

Having his soul in place does seem to calm him. Iggy takes the chance to start backing out of the room, but Twist notices.

“Wait!” She freezes at his shout. “Wait. Don’t ya need this?” He re-manifests his soul and holds it out to her.

She shakes her head. “Um… you keep it for now.”

“But it’s not ready for the treatment. Don’ ya need ta get it ready?” His hostility has been almost entirely replaced with confusion and a hint of desperation.

“I think we should wait a little while. Don’t you want to calm down first?” she suggests, reluctant to do anything that might produce that reaction again.

“No!” he gasps, horrified. “Ya can’t… please don’ make me wait! I need it! Can’t ya see I need it?”

“And you’ll get it!” she reassures. “Just not right now. I really think we should wait for a little while, give you a chance to calm down and me a chance to come up with a better plan.”

“No, please, I need it. I can’ believe how fast tha’ came on. I wasn’ even mad, jus’ kinda freakin’ out, an’ then ’m tryna kill ya? What if I was home with my bro? I can… I can avoid fights, but I can’t avoid every single thing that might bother me. Please. I don’ care what it takes. Even… even lock me up if ya haveta.” He shudders. “I won’ blame ya. Jus’… do what ya need ta do. I won’ fight it. I need this. Ya know I need this.” Iggy certainly hadn’t expected to ever hear him beg. She can feel a small amount of compassion welling up for him. Only a little, he did just try to kill her, after all, but isn’t this the whole point of her project?

“Ok, ok, we’ll do it now. You won’t even be dangerous once the drug starts to work. We just need to get through the administration phase. Now about locking you up, would that even help? Locking you in a cell would be too much separation between you and your soul. I don’t want to risk any unnecessary damage on a mostly intact soul, and I’m really not set up to work in that part of the lab right now. Our other option is chaining you to the bed,” Twist’s fists clench but he otherwise doesn’t react, “but you refused that earlier and it wouldn’t do anything to prevent bone attacks.”

“Might even make ‘em worse,” Twist agrees. “Don’ really react well ta bein’ tied down.”

“Well, then, that just leaves us with you controlling yourself until I can get the injection in. Can you do that? It didn’t work so well before.”

“Yeah. I can do it. Jus’ don’ spend so much time messin’ around this time. That’s when I started ta lose it. I c’n hold on fer a little while.”

“I wasn’t messing around! I was looking for equipment that I didn’t know I’d need. Would you rather I’d tried to break it open by hand? You wouldn’t be in good shape by now.”

“Jus’ sayin’ ya could stand ta be a little more organized.”

“You’re awfully critical for someone who needs my help. I didn’t realize your soul would be such a mess or I’d have already had it prepared. “

“Really? Thought ya’d been workin’ with high-LV monsters fer years. Ya really didn’t realize my soul’d be messed up?” he scoffs.

“Not that badly. Every other soul I’ve seen in that condition belonged to a monster who’d already lost their mind, and I didn’t need to be so careful about avoiding damage.”

“‘Cause you were jus’ plannin’ ta melt them anyway, right?”

“I didn’t plan to melt anyone. It was an unfortunate side effect of the early forms of the treatment which I resolved as soon as I could. If you have such a problem with it, you can just go home and-”

“No!” Twist interrupts, panicked. “Sorry, no, sorry, didn’t mean ta argue with ya. LV must still be actin’ up. Makes me wanna pick fights over stupid shit. I want the treatment. Don’ wanna go home. Please, I’ll shut my mouth an’ you can do what ya want.”

“That’ll be the day. But fine.” She sighs. “You can have the treatment if you can keep yourself under control long enough for me to give it to you. Don’t attack me, and don’t pick fights. And tell me if you feel like you’re losing control. We can find another way to do this if we have to and I’m not going to stop treating you just because you give me a heads up that you’re starting to feel like killing me.”

“Could try not tossin’ my soul around like a paperweight,” he mutters.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’, nothin’, jus’ get on with it.”

“Well hand it over, then.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. Never thought ya’d ask.” He gets an eye-roll in response.

“I still need to get the calcification off. Get back in the bed and brace yourself; it’s not going to be any more fun than it would have been last time we tried this.”

chapter 3

#twistfell papyrus #Twistfell Alphys #more skeletons but they aren't here yet #hurt/comfort #LV problems #LV cure #medical treatment #careless treatment of research participants causing unintentional harm #Those ethical rules and guidelines exist for a reason Iggy #I still don't know what to tag #soul damage #altered states of mind #remembered trauma #brief mention of suicidal thoughts #it's not my fault; Lady Kit got her boy into this situation and he needs rescuing #well actually I got him into this specific situation but I didn't create his problems #this is a terrible way to rescue someone #unfortunately he's very whumpable #and also very badass #but also very wonderful and deserves all good things #honestly most of this story is Twist being surprisingly ok with a shitty situation and his friends and family taking care of him #my version of fluff #except we haven't quite gotten to the fluff part yet

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

Text

MY THREE PARTNERS AND I RUN A SEED STAGE INVESTMENT FIRM CALLED Y COMBINATOR

I thought I'd already been cured of caring about that. It would be easy to do better. I know of zero instances in which he has behaved badly. Gradually employment has been shedding such paternalistic overtones and becoming simply an economic exchange. A year after the founding of Apple, Steve Wozniak still hadn't quit HP. But I know my motives aren't virtuous. But if you control the whole system. Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Paul Buchheit, Jeff Clavier, David Hornik, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, and he pointed out that operator overloading is a bigger win in languages with infix syntax. The best notebooks I've found are made by a company called Miquelrius. A variant is to stay in touch with other YC-funded startups.

ITA presumably does, you can fix it yourself. You can't say precisely what the miracle will be, or even for sure that one will happen. The electronic parts distributors are trying to squash them to keep their monopoly pricing. Work in small groups. It's arguably an instance of scamming a scammer. In some countries this is the preferred way to solve the problem in a different way, but to surpass it. We're moving back to Minnesota, but we're going to keep working on the startup. I doubt they could do it yet either. We're not hearing about these languages because people are using them to write Windows apps, but because it's the same company as before, plus it has a strange syntax as because it has no syntax; you express programs directly in the parse trees that get built behind the scenes when other languages are better than either of them? There is only one real advantage to being a member of most exclusive clubs: you know you wouldn't be missing much if you weren't. It's easy to let the days rush by.

Actors and directors are fired at the end of last year. A founder leaving doesn't necessarily kill a startup, so don't compromise there. He will smite you in his just wrath, but there's no malice in it. They're a product of unusual circumstances. Software should be written in C. A lot of those companies were started by business guys who thought the way startups worked was that you had some clever idea and then hired programmers to implement it. Not because making money is unimportant. Octopart, they seemed very smart, but not great. In addition to formidable founders, a promising market, and usually some evidence of success so far. Palo Alto, the original ground zero, is about thirty miles away, and the number of users and the other half are going to die if they didn't get their money.

The secret to writing on such narrow pages is to break words only when you run out of apartments. So it's not surprising that we've found the relative prestige of different colleges useless in judging individuals. That's pretty alarming, because his friends are the ones you never hear about: the company that would be the best supplier, but doesn't bid because they can't spare the effort to get verified. Your target market has to be designed to be better, for certain problems, than others. Good does not mean being a pushover. Once you start to get the first commitment, because much of the difficulty comes from this external force. But often it requires practically an act of rebellion against the organizations that employ them. Did it alarm some potential acquirers that we used Lisp?

And I think that's what we should tell kids. But if you look at the problem from the other end. The world market in programmers seems to be becoming dramatically more liquid. This bites you twice: in addition to the power of the forces at work here. You don't have to prove you're going to fail makes you stop working, that practically guarantees you'll fail. A couple weeks ago I finally figured it out. A lot of people, probably the majority of people in America, because the harder it is to sell something to you, especially if you deserve them. And you might have about the average Harvard undergrad. Much was changed, but there was still that Apple coolness in the air, that feeling that the show was being run by someone who really cared, instead of comparing each character.

Too little money means not enough to make it, and that assumption turns out to be 13: Pick good cofounders. Singapore would face a similar problem. You have to assume it takes some amount of insecurity about where, or whether, they went to school. You can start to ask other interesting questions. Bob's going to grad school at Harvard to cure you of any illusions you might have trouble hiring hackers on that scale. Barring some cataclysm, it will always be true that most people who are genuinely good. If someone had launched a new, spam-free mail service, users would have flocked to it. In the more common case, where founders and investors are very sensitive to it. What we mean by a programming language is something we use to tell a computer what to do; they'll start to engage in office politics. Usually we don't have a speaker at the last Y Combinator dinner of the summer.

Really Scared of Prefix Syntax? What did he say to do? If you win the users, everything else will follow. What happened next was that, some time in late 1958, Steve Russell, one of McCarthy's grad students, looked at this definition of eval and realized that if you don't let people into it. There are just two or three to one would be enough to guarantee that you'd always be behind. Colleges are a bit like exclusive clubs in this respect. There's room not merely to equal Silicon Valley, but to surpass it. Ramen profitable means a startup makes just enough to pay the founders' living expenses.

As for libraries, their importance also depends on the application. These things don't get discovered that often. In the scrap era I was constantly finding notes I'd written years before that might say something I needed to remember, if I was bored, rather than carry a single unnecessary ounce. It also means no one university will be good enough to act as a mecca, attracting talent from abroad and causing startups to form around it. N; public int call int i; public static Inttoint foo final int n return new Inttoint int s n; public int call int i s s i; return s;; This falls short of the spec because it only works for integers. Economies are made out of people, and most people have. You might have fewer libraries at your disposal. But it's all based on one unspoken assumption, and that assumption turns out to be a cost, and send them looking for it. You see it in Diogenes telling Alexander to get out of his light and two thousand years later in Feynman breaking into safes at Los Alamos. Maybe. I didn't mention anything about having the right business model. It has for me.

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ddaenggtan · 5 years

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jungkook

j | write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

You didn’t pick and I’ve been sitting on this for a while sO y’all get to know how From Eden was supposed to end before I wussed out and decided Nah Romance Y’all! I’m putting it at the end, though, because this is long enough as it is!

u | share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

ryn i know u sent this and i hate you for making me pick anyone at all for anything sO YOU’RE RUDE, BLOCKED AND REPORTED, I’M MAKING YOU ONE OF THEM AND I HOPE IT GETS CHUMMY FOR YA

@fortunexkookie - ryn is easily one of my favorite writers, because everything they write is very real. like. each mc is relatable in their own way, they’re all very human and flawed and realistic, and i really love that. each of their iterations of the members are also very distinct, like their Falling Skies Jungkook is very different from their The Turing Test Jungkook, while still maintaining, I think, the things that make them them. Both Jungkooks are, at heart, very much like I imagine the real Jungkook to be, while still being distinct characters. If you dropped them both into a room, they’d have their own personalities and quirks and traits, but they’d still be JK. And the way Ryn does their world-building is simple and understated but it can’t be denied that it’s some of the most beautiful worldbuilding I’ve seen. And we’re not going to start on the prose part of their writing, because I will legitimately never stop talking about the way Ryn consistently puts in lines that just. Echo. In your brain. Like. It flows and it emotes and it’s perfect for the scenes, but then they just hit you with these specific parts that just stay in your heart for so long that they grow roots. I’m never not going to be in love with Ryn’s writing.

@junqkook - Yara is an ICON. Like. HOW she read something I wrote and thought it was good I still don’t know because I legitimately am floored every single time I read something by her. I’m pretty sure I’ve gone through her masterlist at least twice, and every single story is so unique and creative, even the ones that are inspired are published series, and I’m just. In awe. The characters she creates are always so varied and intriguing, and the worlds are so interesting and fascinating, and I am consistently envious of the way her work flows so smoothly and so naturally. It all has such a natural progression, the dialogue is genuine and real, and I’m just. I’m in awe. Literally in awe, I love it so much, and I can only hope that my shiny garbage can one day be like that.

@gukyi - i don’t think we’re actually mutuals, because I could only wish for someone like Guyi to know I exist, and the only reason I’m keeping the tag is bc she deserves all of the love and praise. If you want good fics, especially if you’re not one for the smut, then you really need to be following Guyi because the worlds she creates in her fics are absolutely astounding. Her entire HP au series is absolutely phenomenal and creative and stands out from every single hp au I’ve EVER read, which is rare because while they all tend to be good, they also all tend to be very similar because there’s only so much you can usually do in a hp au, and I haven’t read a single fic from her that I didn’t love. Victorious? Iconic, the worldbuilding she did to add onto HTTYD was phenomenal, and she blew the childhood friends to enemies to lovers trope out of the park. Her horror fics are some of the only ones I’ve read because they’re just that good. THE WEDDING PLANNERS? Truly iconic. I honestly WISH I could write like Guyi.

n - answered here

g | do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I’m a dumb bitch, so I have to write my story from start to finish. I tend to ramble in my notes about various scenes I want to include, and maybe some random notes about the relationship or their personalities, but like.

o - answered here

k | what’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

That’s gOTTA be Forever Rain, like. I’m not usually an angst person, so I’m not super good at coming up with angst prompts, but Forever Rain is EASILY the most angsty thing I’ve ever come up with. I’m getting sad just writing it, like.

From Eden Alternate Ending

The aftermath of the fight with Demeter changes everything. Hoseok and Hades don’t see Yoongi before he gets dragged back to Olympus, which shouldn’t be possible in the first place, but Zeus has always tended to side with anyone who wasn’t the Queen of the Dead. No one is even sure Yoongi’s alright until Hermes comes down to tell them about Zeus’ decision, and Hoseok is pretty sure he’s never seen Hades angrier than that night. They haven’t spoken since, not really; he knows that she visits him when she thinks he’s asleep, knows that she runs her hands carefully through the air above his fractured wing even as she has to work to stitch her own body back together out of shadows and the memory of what hope felt like. The guilt shoves from her in waves, until it cloys in his throat and drowns out his own. Hades is focused on her own pain; how she should never have gone to Zeus, never have sought out what Yoongi was so afraid of, never trusted that Hoseok would be able to stay with him when Yoongi could convince anyone of anything. She doesn’t talk to anyone, doesn’t do anything but the work expected of her; the dead are piling up, slower than during Demeter’s rampage in the mortal world, but without Hoseok there to pass judgement, the Council is forced to, and they take far longer than he ever did, and she doesn’t know what she’s going to do because he was hurt because of her.

Hoseok, meanwhile, is on bedrest, forced to spread his wings over several chairs so that they stay put, so the bones don’t break further and they set correctly. He’s a god - one of the oldest gods - but Demeter knew what she was doing when she twisted his wings beneath her and laughed as they cracked. In this story, Hades does not talk to him softly as he heals; she’s too afraid to see the accusation in his eyes, the blame that does not exist. She doesn’t tell him that she thinks its her fault, so he isn’t able to convince her otherwise. He doesn’t shed any tears with her in the darkness, she doesn’t hear his whispered confession that he blames himself because if he’d stayed...if he hadn’t flown off to try to protect his queen then maybe, just maybe, Yoongi would still be there. He’d still be safe. She doesn’t wipe his tears with her thumb, she doesn’t press a gentle kiss to his cheek after asking for his forgiveness, he doesn’t slide his lips across her knuckles and tell her there’s nothing to forgive. Instead there’s only Hoseok, stuck in a room and in pain, wondering if he’s condemned Yoongi to death because he couldn’t follow orders.

In this universe, Hades is too afraid to send warnings to Olympus about what might happen to the dead if Yoongi returns hurt or upset. She doesn’t want to meddle more, doesn’t want to cause more damage to the flower god that she loves so much, doesn’t want to watch him crumple like the blossoms around her pomegranate tree. Can’t bear to think about where the golden drops that decorate the ground there came from, but can’t bear to have it covered, either. It’s a reminder, of just what happens when she gets too close. Of what happens when she lets herself forget that she carries Death on her fingertips and Tragedy in her footprints.

In this universe, when Yoongi returns, he isn’t waiting in her room to tell her that he loves her and Hoseok. He doesn’t hold her, doesn’t show her how much he missed her in those months. In this universe he comes back quiet and solitary. He doesn’t visit Hoseok at the gates anymore. Yoongi can’t bear the reminder of the pain he caused. This time, Yoongi stays in his room. He visits the tree and his flowers, tends to them until the remnants of his blood are visible no more and the only reminder of that night is the taste of pomegranate on his tongue. He doesn’t visit Hades, doesn’t make jokes with Hoseok, and neither of them seek him out, too ashamed or guilty or grief-stricken to be faced with the hope he holds in his very skin. None of them can bear it, so none of them do.

Hades stops wandering the Meadow. She doesn’t visit the gates, either, ignores the whines of Cerberus when he misses her, refuses to pass anywhere near the courtyard where the tree sits, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of color that she’s grown to hate. The smell of pomegranate surrounds her, as it always has, but it turns her stomach now more than ever. She cries more often than before, and no one notices.

Hoseok doesn’t let the Council take over again. There’s a backlog of spirits, that’s the excuse he sticks to, and there’s too much work to be done. He pets Cerberus when the dog whines, letting all three heads lick wounds in him that no one can see, and he pretends that it’s okay. He doesn’t look at the flower crown hanging on the peg nearby, pretends it’s not there and that it’s as faded and withered as the ones behind it. His judgments become harsher, less forgiving than they were, and people stop asking for them. He stands with the dog at his back and the anger on his face and pretends like he’s healed. He doesn’t acknowledge that more broke that night than just his wing. Or that it never really healed.

Yoongi doesn’t speak. He’s silent and steady in the darkness, hands moving on instinct. He misses Cerb, misses the way he would cajole Hoseok into judging more souls, misses the way Hades would smile as she worked on the flowers. But he knows better, now. His mother spent six months reminding just what would happen if he ran again, what would happen if he let himself think he was safe again. He has nothing else to do so he thinks, about what he should’ve done. How he shouldn’t have convinced Hoseok to leave, how he shouldn’t have been in the Meadow, how he shouldn’t have asked about the pomegranates, how he shouldn’t have gotten attached when he knew she wouldn’t let him stay. How he shouldn’t have run. The pile of flower crowns beside him grows with every day, and they mock him with their refusal to wither. They stay, bright and full and hopeful, a light in the dark of his room that refuses to go out. When he leaves to go back to his mother, he doesn’t take them with him.

#answered #ask game #about bette #fic: from eden #ahahahahahaha pain #lots of pain #i hurt #a lot #probably i should turn this into its own little post so its easier for people to see but!#oh well!#this is sad #bUT LOVE THOSE AUTHORS OKAY SEND THEM ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT #Anonymous #questions

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