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keyotos · 1 year

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if this was a movie

summary — your book trope w/ hsr men!

includes — dan heng, gepard, blade, sampo, & jing yuan

tana's words — i watched project x and let me tell you I WANT THOMAS SO BAD. something about a skinny nerdy white guy will ALWAYS GET ME. and then it inspired me to write different tropes bc project x is very 2010s trope type shi

also check out my note at the end!

dan heng

⎯ you guys are: grumpy x sunshine

⎯ i feel like out of all grumpyxsunshine duos you and dan heng would be the most chaotic grumpyxsunshine because to some extent the both of you are equally as unhinged.

⎯ if you ever need someone to pull you back when you get too erratic? leave it to dan heng! if dan heng needs someone to make him not sound as assholeish? leave it to you! you two balance each other out in the most perfect way

⎯the two of you reminds me of that one tiktok sound where it's like

"that's just the way he sounds, he has an asshole voice. tell him he's okay."

"everything's great."

"dude."

⎯ you two are my FAVORITE kind of grumpyxsunshine couple because you two are both so chaotic??

⎯ your energy is just so bouncy?? like you can bounce all over the place and you're just so energetic and he's over here like meh...

needless to say, he does appreciate your energy. most of the time, he usually fuels it (he says something purposefully boring bc you always refute his his boring response). your entire being makes him smile (which is rare), and that's why you guys work out so well.

and to add to my point, dan heng is just as important to you as well. you have a lot of energy, which is a good thing, but sometimes it can lead to distraction/erratic behavior/etc. dan heng is always the person who tugs you back to earth. he's your rock in every situation: he's the logical reasoning behind your ideas, he's your pragmatist, and he's your gravity, keeping you still and calm when needed.

— and i also wanted to indulge more in my hc that you and dan heng are so chaotic together

he doesn't shut down your ideas. he just adds logical reasoning to them. those are two very different things. if you have a good idea (you usually do) that sounds reasonable (it doesn't even have to be extremely reasonable either), he'll full on encourage it.

— so you could literally have the most random and out of pocket idea ever, and as long as you back it up with some evidence (doesn't even have to be good), dan heng will approve. i think that's true love.

⎯ such a chaotic duo like you would sacrifice yourself for the world but HE would definitely sacrifice the world for you.

gepard

⎯ you guys are enemies to lovers

⎯ ik a lot of people expect like friends to lovers or something softer but NO you guys are enemies to lovers.

⎯ gepard is so HEADSTRONG and STUBBORN which is why i think he’s the perfect person for the enemies to lovers trope. like ofc his love is going to be so sweet and kind later, but the beginning…

you two are both going to be very determined and you will both fight for what you believe in. that passion makes you two such a good couple, and it also makes your love exhilarating and ongoing, bc that stubbornness you two share will never go away.

you guys definitely have silly little banter and those moments where you guys accidentally brush hands and you guys both blush. lingering touches that may insinuate another feeling that gets you hot

⎯ but you two are like stubborn af. so no confessing anytime soon! it would definitely be a slow burn romance because of your stubbornness and you two are just in denial

⎯ i want to talk a bit more abt you two being enemies: i guess you ideals differ because gepard is so devoted to his orders while you are more of a carefree spirit. you’re more of a rule breaker and he’s more of a rule follower.

⎯ at first you would have rather died than ever spoke to him. his uptight nature and the way he acted so proper utterly pissed you off. serval would have to be the only way you could converse w/ gepard w/o biting his head off

⎯ in the end, after some forced proximity, you two would def be developing some feelings.

⎯ with enemies to lovers, there will be lots of pining. which is why i think enemies to lovers is the perfect gepard trope.

since he’s captain of the silvermane guards at such a young age, he probably doesn’t have a lot of experience in the relationship department. so he’s stuck dealing with being hopelessly and utterly in love with you

everything abt the enemies to lovers trope describes your relationship. the initial hatred, the touches, the PINING, the middle ground.

⎯ after you guys have like a hot make out session i think all the feelings will be cleared up (LMAO)

blade

⎯ your trope is: second chance romance

hear me out: you guys both met in the past because you two were both stellaron hunters. however, the paths you two chose were different. you two were so in love with each other, but destiny had other plans.

now we are in the present, where blade sees you once again, and all his feelings come crashing back down into him. everything he’s suppressed about you: your face, your smile, your laugh; it’s all coming back up

⎯ ARE YOU GUYS SEEING THE VISION!!!!

⎯ you guys make your first encounter, and (depending on your own scenario) it either ends in longing or pain. blade hasn’t seen you in (probably) years.

when you end up spending more time together, the tension is THICK. old feelings are obviously not gone. body language is all pointing to you. breathing gets faster and why do you really want to kiss him????

⎯ something abt intense pining and sexual tension just gets me y’all

there’s obviously past feelings in the air, and none of you want to acknowledge it. so, you two suffice on brushing each others’ hands when you walk past each other, long stares from across the room, and watching each other’s every move.

between the both of you, you would make the first move. it’d be like an accident; it would be one of those movie scenes where the girl/guy asks, “is this weird?” and the guy goes IN and he’s like “not at all.”

⎯ and then the next day you both are freaking out bc what if fails like last time??

idk something about longing and missing someone dearly just screams blade to me. the thought of someone on your mind 24/7. blade having you on his mind 24/7??

sampo

⎯ you guys are: fake dating

⎯ i’m a little on the fence but hear me out

⎯ you two agree to fake dating because it’s both mutually beneficial. it would be no strings attached. plus, you would be able to get away from that one guy who keeps flirting with you, and sampo has evidence that he can commit to something.

⎯ but when does “no strings attached” turn to more?

suddenly, the once friendly arm around the shoulder makes your heart beat quicker. the wink he always gives you makes your stomach explode with butterflies. the friendly offering of a rose makes you blush more than you should.

you aren't the only one affected. sampo swears he feels his heart skip multiple beats after he hears you laugh at one of his jokes. when you took his hand into yours once (it was an act to fool others), his heart nearly stopped in his chest. and suddenly he finds himself making more quips and trying to get closer to you, even though he knows the risks.

⎯ now, you both are left confused with your feelings bc BOTH OF U DON'T WANT TO MESS IT UP.

⎯ you both did not think it would turn out this way. before this, you were friends making a beneficial agreement. you guys were fine.

�� that is a lie. i just lied. you guys always had some thought about dating each other. sometimes sampo looked a little too good, and sometimes sampo found your eyes a little too mesmerizing…

back to present time. there is so much tension to the point where you both want to explode. and then there are thoughts. maybe you want sampo to be your boyfriend for real. maybe sampo does want commitment. scratch that, because he doesn’t want commitment. he wants you. he just wants you, and that’s all.

⎯ now how do you confess? or do you just hold in the feelings

jing yuan

⎯ CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS. I WILL NOT BE ELABORATING BC THIS HAS BEEN IN MY HEAD FOR A WHILE.

⎯ ik he was training hard asf in his childhood, but that doesn’t mean u couldn’t have snuck in (i haven’t got far enough in the game to know if you can or not LOL)

⎯ you guys are cute little buddies, because the both of you probably had no friends! and bc of that, an adorable bond formed between the two of you.

growing up, that bond would remain unchanged. even though you lived down w/ everyone else while jing yuan was living seclusively, that never stopped you from seeing him

honestly, you thought you were always going to be best friends. but when someone asked you if you were ever going to get a boyfriend, you realized that the only person you could really see yourself with was jing yuan.

⎯ teenage you had a CRISIS. like you were freaking out after you uncovered your recent revelation. bc you can’t see yourself w ANY GUY EXCEPT YOUR BEST FRIEND??? YOU WANT TO DATE YOUR BEST FRIEND????

⎯ you think you are the only one that feels this way but it’s a LIE. bc JING YUAN FEELS THE EXACT SAME WAY.

after his training, once he rests, his mind constantly flutters to you. sometimes he scolds himself for not focusing on criticism or improvements because he’s too distracted by the fact that you’ll be coming over that day. his thoughts are literally you.

⎯ there was a period in time where you both thought about confessing, however, the whole fiasco w/ his mentor got into the way of that. it was messy, it was sad, and it was not a good time for the both of you. bc of that, you two both set back your feelings due to personal reasons (you wanted him to be emotionally better, he didn’t want to be a burden).

it was years later when you two confessed your feelings for each other. you two were both looking at a photograph of the both of you when you guys were younger, and you confessed you had a crush on him back then.

bro goes, “i have a crush on you too.” and you were like, “haha we should’ve told each other,” but then you’re like PRESENT TENSE!?!?!?

⎯ eventually it is a happy ending in the end! obviously. hehe.

tana’s words ⎯ sorry this was a little vague 😭 if you would like for me to elaborate on some of these scenarios, lmk in my ask box!

#tana writes (∗´ ᨔ `∗)#honkai star rail #hsr #honkai star rail x reader #dan heng x reader #dan heng x you #gepard x reader #gepard landau x reader #gepard x you #blade x reader #blade x you #sampo x you #sampo x reader #jing yuan x reader #jing yuan x you #book tropes #tropes

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indigovigilance · 8 months

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A Nightingale Sang in 1941

This is my inaugural meta (yay!) Eventually I will learn how to add gifs and whatnot to make this more interesting but today, I give you a wall of text.

I need to give credit where credit is due to three existing metas that I’m drawing upon heavily here:

A speculative continuation of the 1941 story, which includes an almost-kiss while “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” plays on the gramophone,

A behavioral analysis of Aziraphale during the S2E6 finale (will find ref later if possible)

A meta-analysis of the way in which “coffee” is used as a symbolic equivalent for liberty and freedom of choice, a running theme of this show (will find ref later if possible)

I’m going to expand upon meta #2 and #3 and explain why I think there is are very compelling reasons to believe that #1 will be canonized.

At the end of S1E6, an instrumental version of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” plays diegetically, but the lyrical version plays non-diegetically over the credits (we hear it but the protagonists don’t). So we the audience could plausibly say “that’s their song,” but as of the close of S1, we have no reason to believe that they know that it’s their song. Even Aziraphale’s S1E3 (1967) suggestion that they dine at the Ritz could be a reference that only he gets, or just a fancy restaurant suggestion.

So when I was watching S2E6 and Crowley said “no nightingales,” I was jarred. What does that even mean? We know it has something to do with dining at the Ritz, but what does it mean to them? The reference only works if they know it’s their song. But we’ve only ever seen them hear it together after the averted apocalypse; if this is the direct reference that Crowley is making, it leaves our 1967 reference contextless and twisting in the wind.

If we assume that there was a romantic story beat in 1941, wherein “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” (which, incidentally, was written in 1939 and saw the height of its popularity at the end of 1940, so timeline-wise it’s spot-on) became their song, then a lot of events get renewed interpretations through this lens, in a way that makes this story much more cohesive and the “no nightingales” comment even more soul-shattering than it already was.

Let’s presume that immediately after this became their song and just as they were discovering their romantic potential, they were forced back into hiding. Forever after, references to the song serve as a macro for “I’d like to pick up where we left off that night.”

The 1967 suggestion of “dining at the Ritz” now becomes a directly romantic suggestion. It also gives better context for “you go too fast for me.”

Actually going to the Ritz in 2019 is not simply a celebration or even a callback to 1967, it’s a callback to their almost-romance of 1941.

When Crowley says “no nightingales” in 2023, this isn’t to say “we’re not going to eat together at the Ritz anymore.” It’s saying that the romance that began that night, the precious, fragile romance, is over.

I’ll give you a moment to dry your eyes before we move on to metas #2 and #3.

In light that this is what has been going on - they know they want a romantic relationship but have gotten so used to hiding and denying it that they are more comfortable keeping the status quo static and quo-y then trying to achieve their ideal - a lot of S2 behavior can get a fresh view.

Crowley’s reaction to Nina isn’t a realization that he’s in love - he knew that already. You can only ask someone to run away with you so many times before you are forced to admit some things to yourself. No, he’s realizing that trying to hide it (which was justified by survival), hasn’t been working, but despite failing at being stealth nothing bad has happened. He’s realizing that it may finally be safe to show it.

Crowley’s confession, then, is not a revelation. It’s making the subtext text. He’s not telling Aziraphale anything he didn’t already know. He’s saying it now because he thinks he’s safe to do so. Pin in that.

Lots of people have lots of theories about Aziraphale’s motivations in the S2 finale, which can more or less be divided into 4 camps: the genuinely held belief, the coffee theory, the lie theory, and the mutual trick theory (some version of the body-switching at the end of S1). Let me start by saying that I love all the fans and all their theories and I find their analyses to be insightful. The genuinely held belief theory, while I believe it to be erroneous, has been incredibly conducive to so many wonderful conversations and I love being in a community that has those conversations. But I’m going to explain why I think the lie theory finds the most support in canon.

Re-watch the finale (when you feel like you can) from 35:18 to 36:19 and then from 40:45 to the end, paying very close attention to Aziraphale’s words and his eyes. Michael Sheen is telling us a LOT with his eyes, and in the back half of the finale scene, with pacing.

For 60 seconds of footage, this setup is doing a lot of work. If Neil Gaiman wasn’t doing enough to beat us over the head with how evil the Metatron is, that glare at Crowley at the end with the non-diegetic ominous horns should convey the message. But again, focusing on Aziraphale. He initially refuses to talk to the Metatron; he’s made his position quite clear. There is no hint of regret or wavering; this is not someone who’s aching to return to the fold. The Metatron ignores his refusal and functionally forces him to accept a “cup of coffee.” The coffee isn’t spiked, but it is a metaphor. It is symbolic of choice. The Metatron is going to force Aziraphale to make a choice. Meta #3 does a great job of exploring the idea that a choice between anything and death is never really a choice. Hang onto that thought.

Notice I had you start up again 3 seconds before “The Conversation.” That’s because it’s important to note where the Metatron is right now. He is across the street, staring straight in through those giant windows to where our protagonists are about to have The Conversation. He is watching.

When Aziraphale returns, Crowley begins his “let me talk” riff. Aziraphale ought to be interested in what Crowley has to say, since the preamble is pretty compelling. You’ll notice that Aziraphale quickly turns to the window and back, through which he (but not we) can see the Metatron standing there, watching them. Aziraphale is then doing his best to get Crowley to STFU without raising the suspicion of the Metatron, eventually having to cut him off.

Because unfortunately, Crowley’s entire impetus for speaking up now is that it’s safe to do so. Only Aziraphale knows that they are in very real danger (or at least, Crowley is, but I’ll come back to that).

You might take something from the fact that he’s shaking his head while talking about “incredibly good news,” and seems to self-censor his criticism of Metatron (or more specifically, he takes ownership of any criticism of the Metatron, censoring out Crowley’s role in that, with the emphasis on I in “I might have misjudged him”).

Notice in the flashback that he begins the conversation reasonably relaxed. The Metatron also says a series of things about him that not only are false, but everyone, including the Metatron and Crowley, know are false: Aziraphale is not a leader, he’s a defector; he’s not honest, he lies all the time, in fact this entire season revolved around his one huge lie of hiding Gabriel. Not only does the justification not make sense coming from Metatron, but it shouldn’t make sense that Aziraphale would accept these reasons and it shouldn’t make sense to Crowley either. So is Aziraphale including these details in his recounting to Crowley so that he will get suspicious and figure out the jig? Maybe. Let’s continue.

Immediately upon being offered the job of Supreme Archangel, Aziraphale says “but I don’t want to go back to Heaven.” This is direct evidence against the genuinely held belief theory. If returning to Heaven and making a difference was a genuine motivation, we would have gotten a different response at this moment. But then we get something more.

“Where would I get my coffee?”

This is a beautiful response for a number of reasons; coffee should be trivial compared to the opportunity to be a Supreme Archangel, so it serves to highlight just how little interest Aziraphale has in returning. Taken at face value, it’s the Aziraphale equivalent of “not even at gunpoint.” But remember that coffee is a metaphor for liberty in this universe and this season. So what Aziraphale just said, in the language of Neil Gaiman metaphors, is:

I don’t want to go back to Heaven, I would rather have free will.

What does the Metatron do next?

He brings up Crowley.

Watch Aziraphale’s eyes before and after the mention of Crowley. He goes from confused to eye-flicking panic in the space of two syllables. Aziraphale already understands that his “no” is not being accepted, and that bringing Crowley into it can only possibly serve as a threat.

So the coffee, the choice, is a false choice. No one ever orders death. The Metatron has forced Aziraphale into a situation that looks an awful lot like a choice (it comes in a blue cup, after all) but it isn’t.

We definitely have some reliable narrator problems here. I’m going to presume for purposes of analysis that these cut-outs are accurate but incomplete, and that a more explicit threat about what would happen to Crowley if Aziraphale did not return to Heaven was made.

If we assume that Aziraphale has been made aware of a threat and is trying to hide that from Crowley, the rest of this scene reads very differently. Aziraphale cannot say, “you are in danger but you will be safe if you swear your allegiance to Heaven” or “I have to go, no matter what, and the only way we can be together is if you come with me,” but nonetheless he now has to convince Crowley to do the one thing he ought to know Crowley definitely doesn’t want to do all through subtext. Which we’ve spent an entire season establishing that they can’t communicate well when they are allowed to use their words. Disastrously, this is not a magic trick that Aziraphale can make work when it counts. Their failure to practice good communication means that, right now, when it counts most, they are not going to pull it off.

We see that Aziraphale is very hopeful that Crowley will pick up on his cues and play along. Obviously, he doesn’t.

If the whole riff about Hell being bad guys and Heaven being the side of truth and light is taken as genuine, it discards a massive amount of character development that we’ve witnessed in Job, Edinburgh, etc. (again, to all the genuine belief subscribers, I think it’s a compelling argument but it simply doesn’t account for the evidence). So if it’s not genuine, why say it? Again, to alert Crowley that something is Off, because Crowley should know that Aziraphale doesn’t actually believe that. They saved humanity from Heaven and Hell. They hid Gabriel from Heaven and Hell. Crowley knows that Aziraphale knows that Heaven and Hell are just two sides of the same coin. Notice again that Aziraphale glances out the window while he’s talking up Heaven; he knows the Metatron is watching, he can’t not defend the position of Heaven. I think it’s also worth noting that Aziraphale forcefully glances and gestures off to Crowley’s left (away from the window) when talking about Hell, and then turns his head to Crowley’s right (towards the window) to try to get him to realize that a representative of Heaven is literally standing right over there, just look out the window please dumbass!

When Crowley is asking Aziraphale if he said no, and we see the back of Aziraphale’s head, again we can see him turn his head to glance out the window. This is also when he changes strategies, and admits that Heaven could use a little reform. Because now there’s a problem almost as big as getting caught, which is that he won’t be able to get Crowley to go with him.

Which unfortunately makes the next part of this so much more heartbreaking. Because when Crowley begins his speech about being a team, Aziraphale wants to hear it. He can’t bring himself to shut down Crowley again, even though it could get them both in massive trouble. Notice that he glances out the window again during this, and the look of panic on his face. He begins to shake his head when Crowley mentions that Heaven and Hell are toxic; this can be taken a lot of ways but I’ll argue for the interpretation that he’s trying to get Crowley to STFU and stop saying shit that could get him destroyed.

After Crowley puts on his sunglasses we are in the “back half” and Sheen is doing a lot with phrasing here, specifically pregnant pauses.

“Come with me… to Heaven!”

“We can be together… as angels!”

Based on the pacing decision I am thoroughly convinced that the first half of each of these statements is intended to be the message to Crowley and the second half is always a qualifying statement to satisfy the Metatron.

Unfortunately, these pregnant pauses are completely backfiring in their effect on Crowley. The sentiment gives him hope and the qualifying statement crushes it again immediately. He is being taken on a horrible emotional rollercoaster with these declarations which are only further amping up his instinct to run away.

The only truly genuine, unaldulterated statement I think we get from Aziraphale is

“I need you!”

When it becomes clear to Aziraphale that there’s been an irreparable breakdown of communication between them and the subtext is not getting across, he says:

“I don’t think you understand what I’m offering you.”

He means this literally. Crowley has not understood that Aziraphale is offering him protection from whatever threat the Metatron has made.

Which makes this part extra-devastating and also absolutely in keeping with a major running theme of this season.

“I understand. I think I understand a whole lot better than you do.”

Your understanding and my understanding are different understandings.

Crowley views the offer to return to Heaven through the lens of his trauma. He understands what life in Heaven would be like. But he doesn’t understand that Aziraphale is offering him protection.

But Aziraphale just heard Crowley say that he understood everything, and he’s still going to leave. There might be a little suspense of disbelief here to believe that Aziraphale really interpreted the statement this way, but we know that Aziraphale isn’t always the brightest battery-operated candle in the drawer. So under the assumption that Crowley did understand him and is still rejecting the offer, rejecting him—

“Well, then there’s nothing more to say.”

Please pay very close attention to Aziraphale’s body language for the next part. He’s active, agitated, turning side to side, arms swinging. This is a very fidgety angel.

“No nightingales.”

Aziraphale is now completely still. He’s feeling that feeling. You know it. The one where your entire body is getting sucked into the pit of your stomach. The aching paralysis.

This is their song, the one that began their romance in 1941, the secret code for all other attempts at flirtation. Crowley has walked out on him before, Aziraphale has been stubborn and obstinate before. But they always came back together, sometimes with an apology dance or other rituals that belonged solely to them.

But now the song is over.

By saying this, Crowley has broken up with Aziraphale. We can see in Aziraphale’s sudden transition from fidgety to paralysis that he has understood it this way.

Then he turns away from the window so that the Metatron won’t see him cry.

The kiss was heart-wrenching already. But we’re not done with this analysis.

During the kiss, Aziraphale has a choice to make between two very compelling bad choices. This is the Job dilemma. But worse.

If he doesn’t kiss Crowley back, he will let Crowley think that he doesn’t love him. He will have missed out on this (maybe/probably their first kiss?) and regret it forever.

If he does kiss Crowley back, in full view of the Metatron, they are in deep trouble.

He seems to do his best to split the difference. I would even go so far to say that the awkward arm waving is Aziraphale acting for the Metatron’s benefit, to try to portray that he doesn’t want this even though he absolutely does (just not like this). The anguish when they break the kiss is absolutely real, and the first thing he does is glance out the window. Through all this he has remained painfully aware of their spectator.

He wants to say I love you. He mouths it. He breathes it.

But the Metatron is watching.

He can’t tell Crowley I love you. So he has to say the only other thing that has always unequivocally meant “I love you” when he said it to Crowley. He has to hope that Crowley understands him now, even though he never has before.

Spoiler alert: Crowley doesn’t.

My forgiveness and your forgiveness are not the same forgiveness.

One more point against the genuine belief fans (I love you): if the offer to let Crowley back in is what changed his mind, then Crowley declining removes that incentive. Aziraphale should/would have consequently retreated to his last stated position of “I don’t want to go back to Heaven, where would I get my Crowley—I mean, coffee?” [post-publication nod to @theonevoice for a great little meta] It simply doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

I think a lot of fans were already making these assumptions about the use of the nightingale song so this meta may not feel revelatory, however, it isn’t canon (yet), and I’m sure I’ll find company that agree that canonization of this connection would strengthen a lot of these story points, as evidenced by how it is already assumed by many fans.

If you made it to the end - omg thank you! Please leave a note and tell me your thoughts!

Bonus: somebody already made the song connection here

~~~

if you liked this, you may also like:

Book of Life and what it means for Crowley

The Erasure of Human!Metatron

Baraqiel and Azazel

~~~

Recommended related (lie theory) metas by other people:

making the subtext text by @theonevoice

Aziraphale's Decision Matrix by @yowlthinks

Nothing Lasts Forever: META by @phoen1xr0se

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vagabond-umlaut · 1 year

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gojo satoru x reader fic recs (I)

‣ now that i've got loads of free time, thought why shouldn't i use it well by showing (few of) my fave authors their much well-deserved love, respect and attention? ^_^

‣ this is merely a list of works i've enjoyed reading. kindly heed the tags and warnings in each of them and consume content responsibly, at your own discretion. that being said, i own neither these fics nor the characters nor the above gif. enjoy reading! 🥰

⌀ all that is solid [series] by GrilledTandooriSmoke on ao3

one of the best series there is. period. the fluff, the angst, the drama, the humor, the romance, the friendship, the plot, the dialogues - everything is top-notch in this series, i'm telling you. bonus points for being narrated in both reader's and gojo's pov.

⌀ The King is But a Man [series] by Petrichorium on ao3 (@petrichorium on tumblr)

royal!gojo who's terribly in love with the reader x reader who's equally (but way more discreetly) in love with gojo. add to that, the trope of childhood sweethearts reunited as adults, excellent communication between the couple and a wonderfully-crafted world and dialogues - what more could you ask from a series?

⌀ Ten to None (Soulmate AU) (oneshot) by Oreosmama on ao3

a fic which i adore with every fibre of my being. i will not say anything more about this, except to request you to go read this. you'll love it. (especially the fantabulous ending. btw, did i already say how much i'm in love with how well-written this fic is?)

⌀ Scarred [oneshot] by cainis on ao3

one of the best angst-with-a-happy-ending fic there is. i wish i could give thousands of kudos for the heart-wrenchingly amazing way the author has portrayed gojo's character here.

⌀ Mother of otherness, Eat me [oneshot] by itsbaby on ao3

one of the most beautiful works i've read so far. told from yuuji's pov, it explores gojo and reader's relationship and its nuances in a way seldom done before. however, what stole the show for me, was the soft and sweet mother-son duo the reader and yuuji grow to be in this fic. i really love this one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

⌀ something sweet [oneshot] by heresan on ao3 (@pretty-toru on tumblr)

i love love love this fic. it's so fluffy, so funny, so cute, so heart-warming... just read this fic, people. you won't ever be disappointed by the dynamics reader and gojo have in this one. one of my all-time faves, tbh.

⌀ teen dad Gojo [series] by pantao on ao3 (@seravphs on tumblr)

a sweet and realistic depiction of reader and gojo being teenaged parents to young megumi, all the while they try to figure out their feelings for each other. a perfect mixture of fluff, angst, drama, slice-of-life and romance, imo. (also, the author's notes are pure gold. whatever you do, please don't miss reading them! :D)

⌀ To see those eyes I prize above mine own (twoshot) by koyama on ao3

if you wish to watch godlike!gojo willing to let go of his powers, out of guilt and immense, immense, protective love for the reader, this is the ideal fic for you. i'm in awe of the way the writer wrote gojo's complex persona and the way the sorcerer realized his feelings for the reader. (the second chapter's the cherry on the cake. it's so good!!!!)

⌀ keeping up with the fushigojos (series) by @augustinewrites on tumblr

fluff? A+; angst? A+; drama? A+; characterization & dialogues? A+; humour? A+++++. a sureshot way to end a long hectic tiring day on a happy note is to read this series. (my go-to comfort series, ngl. :])

⌀ CAT & DOG (oneshot) by @mimiriko on tumblr

an adorable fic of gojo being in love with the reader, who knows, yet doesn't really know, much about it. plus, the feline-like features of gojo are sooo cute... and this fic is sooo sweet... the story left me smiling when i finished reading it.

⌀ surely summer wasn't over yet [3 chapters] by 3rdgymbros on ao3

an amazing fic set against the backdrop of the hidden inventory arc. the portrayal of the characters and their dynamics is simply impeccable. despite my kind-of-dislike towards this particular arc of the manga, i really enjoyed reading this one.

#gojo x you #gojo x reader #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru x reader #jjk x you #jjk x reader #gojo fluff #gojo angst #jjk fluff #jjk angst #kit's fic recs 📚

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spockandawe · 1 year

Text

You know what I can't get enough of? Speculation about what the fictional novel Proud Immortal Demon Way says about its fictional author. Because it would be completely possible to make a story like this without that connection. I'm not sure I've read any other transmigration story where the author was a character, so just that addition adds a lot of interesting texture to the situation even without getting deep in the author's head, but it's so interesting how deep I can speculate in so many directions if I think about getting in his head.

And oh man, I could talk for AGES about how Shang Qinghua and his iconic protagonist reflect each other, but a lot of people have written about that already! Including in the medium of fic, which is my favorite way to consume that kind of crunch. So let's talk about familial neglect and mistreatment and the author's favorite character.

Honestly, when I look at how iconic this ship is, I'm astonished there aren't more hit novels where the author gets yeeted into their own book and has to navigate platonic or romantic relationships with their own characters. A lot of the parallels between Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe are about them being alike in ugly and vulnerable ways, ways I don't think either of them likes about themselves, and regarding aspects of their personalities that I don't think they'd be happy discussing period. Like, Binghe very much hates himself, that's right there on the page. And Shang Qinghua is a ridiculous character, he's very funny, but he's also not stupid. He's very aware of who he is and what he is, and makes a decision to behave the ways he does. I'm typing this up because I was scrolling through an old chat looking for something and tripped across a conversation about shang qinghua and fawn trauma response.

He knows he does this thing! He has an easy opening to turbokill Mobei-jun while he's unconscious and decides to go the route of begging for his life and trying to ingratiate himself after Mobei-jun wakes up instead, which is a much trickier process. He says it himself, that Mobei-jun is his ideal, that he embodies everything Shang Qinghua wants to be, that etc. And that's hilarious and all, especially in light of the eventual romance and the clownery it takes to get there, but in classic svsss fashion, it also becomes a lot sadder when you add up all the pieces and see everything Shang Qinghua hates about himself.

In some ways he's an even more avoidant narrator than Shen Qingqiu, he deflects and jokes like a motherfucker, so it really is a matter of assembling all the pieces and seeing where there are gaps. But what really underscored the connection for me was Mobei-jun's reaction to parental neglect. Because that's what pushed Shang Qinghua into being an author in the first place, his parents divorced and remarried and kinda just.... forgot about him.

Mobei-jun's dad doesn't exactly do that, but he is operating without a mom in the picture, and rather than remarrying, he just chooses to ignore the thing where his shitty brother is persistently trying to kill his son. That really sucks! But Mobei-jun never shows the smallest hint of weakness or vulnerability over this, even when it would have really helped to use his words, like 'hi my uncle is coming to kill me and i trust you to protect me.' He's everything cool, aloof, arrogant, proud, all a bunch of adjectives that really do not apply to Shang Qinghua. Mobei-jun honestly looks like a boring character if you just stick to the main story, because he's so self-contained and controlled. Compare and contrast to Shang Qinghua, who accidentally outs himself as a transmigrator like two minutes after showing up and proceeds to be hilarious for the rest of the book.

(Brief aside to say that I don't think Mobei-jun is necessarily a happier or healthier person for all of this, lmao. The conversation that fawn reaction thing came from was talking about freeze (tee hee) versus fawn in response to threats or stressful situations. But that goes along with the svsss theme of people used to engaging with this universe as a fictional property coming to terms with the depth and complexity of other people's emotions and not just seeing them as simplistic not-real characters in a book)

(Additionally, this makes the ship hilarious as a take on 'opposites attract,' but also it gives me actual Emotions that Shang Qinghua's ideal who he wishes he could be, purely incidentally, he is able to value and love Shang Qinghua in a way that Shang Qinghua can't and doesn't seem to totally understand)

And what's very interesting here. Is that Shang Qinghua made these two characters, Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun. His protagonist ultimately reflects a lot of his own vulnerabilities and insecurities (secretly and quietly in pidw, much more.... overtly in svsss), and Mobei-jun corrects for his vulnerabilities and insecurities. He's the person Shang Qinghua wishes he could be, which is basically... the opposite of Shang Qinghua, to an almost comical degree. And he then gives Mobei-jun the VERY BEST plot armor he can devise. It's hard for a male character to exist near a stallion protagonist without getting swept up in rivalries/suspicions/etc and getting killed by the protagonist, but he makes sure that his favorite character is safe from these things. He's protecting the character he wishes he could be from the character whose faults most reflect his own. That is very sweet and weird and sad, and that's very reflective of the svsss experience, I think.

#mobei jun #svsss #shang qinghua #moshang

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dduane · 9 months

Text

The Novel as Cake

I was reading through the 'writing' tag on your blog, and came across your wonderful post about how you outline your novels using Cherryh's 'Shopping List' technique. My question is - how do you decide/come up with the 10 things in the novel? I have about 3-4 things I know must happen in my idea, and other random details about the world. But what is important enough to be one of the 10 things? And also, how do you generate your ideas for those 10 things? - Asked by Anonymous

…Okay, let’s take this from the top. (And for convenience’s sake, let’s stay in the shopping-list idiom; it’s useful enough.) (ETA: the blog entry that discusses the Shopping List outlining method is here.)

Let’s say you want to make a cake. …This cake also being your novel.

To have a solid story (in the western-novel tradition, anyway), you need at least two things: plot and theme. The plot is what happens. The theme is the why of what happens, and (to a certain extent) the book-wide spectrum of thought and emotion that underlies that; the answer to the question “But what’s the book about?”* …Think of this duality, for the moment, as the equivalent of having both liquid and solid stuff in your cake. You’ve got to have both or it won’t rise. A book with a plot but no theme has no soul.

So: you’re going to make a cake. What kind?

As an example, I’m going to ease myself out onto a limb here and equate “chocolate-chip devil’s food with chocolate buttercream frosting” with “epic-fantasy quest fiction with strong political, exoreligious, and quasiromantic components.” (A favorite for me, over time, as some folks will have noticed. I just can’t get enough of those chocolate chips…)

So how do you determine the ten things you need (or whatever number you like, but ten works for me) as major ingredients / sections?

Well, ideally from some familiarity with what has gone in other/similar cakes/works of fiction in the past: because (in genre fiction, anyway) you have at least some reader expectations to manage. If you haven’t been reading in your chosen genre, you really should be. ...Now, this doesn’t mean you have to do what other people working in the genre have done. Indeed, at all times you remain at liberty to “flip the punchcard” and do exactly the opposite of what everybody else has been doing, if that’s what suits you. But they’ve set out possible recipes for you, so (as a beginner at this work) it'd seem wise to examine those recipes and see what’s in them that might be useful for you. Once you’ve been doing this for a while, you don’t need to go looking, just as an experienced baker doesn’t need to run for the recipe book every time they want to make a cake.

Naturally you can substitute ingredients, add some or lose some, when you’re creating something new; just as you like—while always making sure you don’t throw away anything routinely required/expected in your genre. (Such as, for example, the Happily Ever After at the end of a genre romance.) But certain basics must be in place, things that make what you’re creating recognizably A Cake, as well as your own additions and embellishments.

In this case, that could be:

For a cake: flour, milk, eggs, butter, baking powder, cocoa, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, seasonings, a little bit of salt (because without that, even the sweetest cake tastes just a little insipid somehow)

For a novel: a protagonist/pairtagonist (is that a word? It is now…); an antagonist (not necessarily a character: an antagonistic or stymie-ing situation that keeps the antagonist from easily getting what they want/need will do just as well. This is where at least some of the interior drama will derive from); a change in interior or exterior conditions that sets events in motion; a “ticking clock” or similar construct that means the desired result must be achieved within a certain time or before certain conditions change or expire; various reversals or hiccups in the flow of the story that will inject a sense of realism (because when does anything ever go perfectly smoothly…?); a crisis point at which everything assembled against the protagonist rises up to be dealt with, and the protagonist rises up to meet the challenge and deal with it; and finally, a set of resolution events that (even if it doesn’t absolutely finish the story proper) brings about an end state that will leave you, and any theoretical reader, satisfied with the completion of the current story arc.

…Needless to say, this is an incredibly oversimplified take on the kind of strategizing needed when you’re creating the recipe for a novel that won’t simply collapse the minute you take it out of the oven. But starting simply is often best. The more you do this kind of work, the easier it gets.

Now: “How do you generate your ideas for those 10 things?”

There are a lot of possible answers to this, but the simplest is: Make them up out of nothing, as usual. :)

…This isn’t meant to sound like sass. You made up those first three or four things you came up with out of nothing, and now (because they’ve been there for a while, probably) they may well have started to acquire a kind of secret, temporally-based superiority in your mind—starting to feel somehow more valid than what needs to come next to fill in the gaps. This kind of creeping sense of validity-via-temporal-primacy is a commonplace when you’re in mid-process, and I invite you to ignore it.

Just insert those three or four things into your shopping list in (roughly) story-temporal order, and then spend some time thinking about what kinds of events could usefully come between / flow from them. Hints:

Events that could realistically have been caused by the ones you’ve got already, and could also realistically be seen as causal to later ones you’ve already established, are always useful. Ideally, you’re trying to establish a chain of events in which none of them look accidental, or coincidental (because readers are rightfully sensitive to plots that only work because all the characters are idiots, or keep having “lucky accidents”). What you’re working toward is an event flow that seems, when viewed in completion, inevitable: as if it couldn’t have happened any other way. You will almost certainly not achieve this easily, early on in your novel work, and maybe not at all. But it strikes me as a good thing to be striving for.

Events that badly screw things up for the main characters are also always useful. Heroes do not become heroes by having everything go their way. Their heroism is achieved and manifested by having things go to shit around them again and again and AGAIN, and nonetheless still finding their way through all that shit to do what needs to be done. The lines attributed to the Confucianist philosopher Meng-tse (sometimes translated from Japanese into English as “Mōshi”) are a touchstone in this regard:

When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering and his sinews and bones with toil: it exposes him to poverty and confounds all his undertakings. Then it is seen if he is ready.

So put your protagonists through the wringer. This is the greatest service you can do them: showing who they are by showing what they're made of.

A variant on this theme: Spend a little time thinking, “What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to these characters in this story / in this world?” And when you’ve figured that out, stick it into one of those gaps as a Main Thing—ideally one between the story’s midpoint and its already-planned crisis, if you’ve got that in place—and then start thinking about how to best exploit it to show how terrific your characters can become if you kick them around a bit. (Addendum: you are allowed to have one Absolutely Terrific and Beautiful Thing happen to assist your characters in recovering from this awfulness. Because they deserve it; but also, all invented worlds [if you ask me] should have beautiful things in them—things to long for, things that make your reader wish they could live there. And that you find beautiful, and worth returning to. You are absolutely allowed to keep yourself entertained, and emotionally refreshed, while you’re creating.)

…Anyway, take your time about getting those gaps filled in. It may take a little while: laying down basic story structure is worth not rushing, if you can avoid it. Once you’ve got everything major in place, the secondary lists will follow more easily.

HTH!

*This is a hilarious oversimplification, but my job at the moment is not (as the saying goes) to explain the workings of the entire universe while standing on one foot. :)

#writing #outlining #the Shopping List #how-to #suggestions #writing process #themes

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in1-nutshell · 2 months

Note

Hello, how are you?

Can I get a TFA request?

A gender neutral bot Buddy who is Bumblebee's twin sibling and who ends up dating Prowl later on?

Bumblebee and his twin look exactly the same, same body-type, same paint job, they even have the same alt mode.

However, you can tell who is who by watching how they act, Bumblebee is loud and outgoing while Buddy is quiet and introverted around anyone who isn't Bumblebee or Bulkhead.

"Buddy" is not their original designation, their designation used to be "2.0", they changed it to Buddy because Sari called them that one time and they ended up loving it so much that they urged the rest of the team to start calling them that.

Also, when Buddy Bumblebee and Bulkhead met prowl, Buddy slowly approached him kinda like-

Buddy: Hey.

Prowl: …

Buddy: Are you… okay?

Prowl: Do you mind?

Buddy: Oh! You are alive!

Buddy thinks that Prowl is very cool and has a tiny crush on him.

Prowl didn't mind Buddy that much in the beginning, he just saw them as the calmer twin.

However, the more he got to know them, the more he wanted get closer to them.

Yeah, Prowl also has a tiny crush on Buddy.

I think this become too long so I'm gonna cut the request here.

I will the send you the second part soon!

I can just see Buddy explaining to people and bots on the daily that they aren't Bumblebee. They are exhausted.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy who's Bumblebee's twin

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Hinted romance, Cybertronian reader

TFA

It was hard having a twin like Bumblebee.

It’s not that they didn’t love him, they loved him to bits.

It’s the problems that always seemed to follow him around.

Being from the same protoform mold, same horn, and even the same paintjob; mix ups were bound to happen.

The best way to figure out which twin was which was to listen to them.

Their twin was loud, extroverted, and much more sociable.

They on the other hand were much quieter, calmer, and less of a chatter box.

Thankfully their twin took responsibility for most of his mistakes.

Most of his mistakes.

How their twin managed to rope them into coming to the Autobot bootcamp was beyond them.

They knew they weren’t going to end up in the Elite Guard or even in the bootcamps.

They didn’t even want to be in the Elite Guard, that was their twins’ dream, not theirs.

But being too loyal twin they were, they followed.

They ended up getting recruited to being one of the maintenance bots for the bootcamps.

It wasn’t the ideal job or position, but at least they would be a bit closer to their twin. The job mainly required them to clean around and occasionally fix ships that would head out for space bridge repairs. If they were lucky enough, they would head out to space with the repair crew in case something went wrong.

Their twin didn’t like being away from him, but he managed to convince himself that this could be a good thing.

He was going to make top marks, letting him have some more freedom to roam around and then have more time to spend with them.

Full proof.

His twin slapped him upside down his helm when they heard his logic.

Everything was going great for him until he met Bulkhead and got his name.

It’s not like he didn’t like him, it was just that he didn’t want to associate himself with the guy so he wouldn’t look bad.

Sentinel was already bad enough; he didn’t want to add to the list.

He did end up meeting his twin a couple of times for cleaning duty though.

That’s where they got to meet Bulkhead.

Bumblebee’s twin waves nervously as the larger green mech waves enthusiastically.

“Woah! Bumblebee look it’s another you!”--Bulkhead

“That’s not another me Bulkhead! That’s my twin!”--Bumblebee

“Bumblebee?”

Bumblebee flinched a bit but quickly covers it up with a chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s my new name now. Hey, weren’t you going to get named today?”--Bumblebee

His twin nods a bit.

“Oh, cool what’s your name?”--Bumblebee

“…2.0”—2.0

“What?”--Bumblebee

“That’s my new name now. 2.0”—2.0

“Oh… but it could be worse right?”--Bumblebee

2.0 huffs a bit.

“I guess it can.”—2.0

Bulkhead reaches their servo and shakes it.

“Well nice to meet you then 2.0! I hope we can be best friends like me and Bumblebee!”--Bulkhead

2.0 smiles at him and shakes back.

“I hope that we can be friends too—”—2.0

“2.0! I thought you were going to clean my office! Or do I have to name you Maintenance bot!”--Sentinel

2.0 flinches at the loud noise.

“Was that…”--Bulkhead

“Sentinel Prime? Yep…”—2.0

“He named you? But I thought your boss was supposed to do that.”--Bumblebee

“He was but after a little ‘discussion with Sentinel Prime… he got the rights to name me…”—2.0

Bumblebee’s servos clenched.

2.0 quickly holds his servo.

“Please don’t do anything dumb for me? Please?”-2.0

He looks angry but eventually lets it go.

For his twin’s sake.

After that talk, 2.0 wouldn’t see Bumblebee again for the rest of the month due to their schedules being more demanding on cleaning and repairs.

Soon enough 2.0 was going to be sent out on their very first field repair with their new team.

Imagine their surprise when they saw Bumblebee and Bulkhead’s names on the roster.

“Bumblebee! Bulkhead!”—2.0

Both bots turn around to see 2.0 come towards them.

Bulkhead happily waves at them.

Bumblebee shrinks a bit seeing some fore behind though soft optics.

Optimus and Ratchet look at the two smaller yellow bots.

“…What?”--Optimus

2.0 looks at the newer bots and quickly goes over to them.

“Hello there. I’m 2.0 and I’ll be your maintainer and ships repair bot.”—2.0

Ratchet looks at them and Bumblebee.

“Definitely a lot quieter than the other one.”--Ratchet

“Hey!”--Bumblebee

The older pair quickly found the difference between the twins, much to their relief.

They didn’t know if they could handle two Bumblebee’s.

The day they met Prowl was memorable.

It was 2.0 and Bee who got the cyberninja’s attention and had convinced him to come with them.

2.0 found themselves gravitating more to Prowl than anyone else on the ship.

Not that they didn’t like their team.

2.0 already hung out a lot with their twin and Bulkhead whether on duty or not, much to some of the team’s dismay.

But didn’t mean that they would join the two in their shenanigans.

2.0 looking at their twin and Bulkhead with arm’s crossed.

Prowl is right next to them mirroring the same stance.

Both of them had somehow gotten intangled in Bulkhead’s wreckingball wires.

“…”—2.0 and Prowl

“I know this may look bad—”--Bumblebee

“Understatement of the year.”--Prowl

“—But wouldn’t you like to hear how we got into this and get us out?”--Bumblebee

2.0 raising an optic.

Bumblebee doing his best puppy dog eyes.

“That won’t work on me Bumblebee. Try again.”2.0

“Please 2.0?”—Bulkhead

2.0 looks at Prowl and sighs tiredly.

“…Fine. But I’m doing this for Bulkhead.”—2.0

2.0 starts getting their tools out to fix this mess.

“Wait why just him? I’m your twin!”--Bumblebee

“Yeah you are, but I also know that he got literally roped into this mess because of you. Prowl, mind holding this wire for me?”—2.0

Prowl sighs but holds the wire as 2.0 starts loosening the pair.

“I hate you.”--Bumblebee

“Love you too Bee.”—2.0

2.0 got along well with Optimus.

Being the default leader of the group, 2.0 did have to report to him a lot of the time.

They often saw the poor bot looking stress and they made it their mission to help him with that invisible weight on his chassis.

“Hey Prime.”—2.0

Optimus looking up from his history videos.

“2.0. Is there something wrong?”--Optimus

2.0 just takes a seat next to him.

“Nope, well not yet at least, you seemed a little lonely and looked like you could use a friend.”—2.0

“I’m perfectly fine 2.0.”--Optimus

2.0 raises their optic at him.

“No one is ‘perfectly fine’. But I do get it if you don’t want to talk about it. I just want to be there for my friends, even if its as small as a conversation.”—2.0

“We aren’t having a conversation.”--Optimus

“We are talking back and forth. This is a conversation, checkmate Prime.”—2.0

Optimus sighs a bit, but a little smile does peak out.

“You’re usually hanging out with Prowl by this time, something show up?”—Optimus

2.0 shrugs a bit.

“He thought I was Bumblebee and kicked me out. I’m just waiting till he realizes his mistake.”—2.0

“Really?”--Optimus

“Give him a few minutes, that’s how long it usually takes him to realize.”—2.0

Ratchet and 2.0 had grown a special type of bond.

It had formed while looking through the ships wires making sure that everything was running smoothly.

Some things were some hidden stories that popped up, but never explored more in depth.

2.0 under one of the panels as Ratchet was in charge of handing them the tools.

“These circuit breakers need some replacing soon. These are as old as the war.”—2.0

Ratchet huffs a bit.

“It’s not that old.”--Ratchet

Buddy raises their optic at this comment but ignores it.

“Pass me the wrench, I need to bust some of these—”—2.0

“You will be doing now such thing to him!”--Ratchet

“…”—2.0 and Ratchet

2.0 rolls out from the panel and gives him a sad smile.

“This isn’t your first time on this ship, isn’t it?”—2.0

Ratchet huffs but doesn’t answer.

“If it makes you feel any better, I just the wrench to hold a screen in place while I run some diagnostics. Nothing major, just want to make sure the ship doesn’t stop on us while we’re outside the ports.”—2.0

“…Fine, but be careful with him.”--Ratchet

2.0 smiles and gives him a thumbs up before going back into the panel.

Ratchet smiles when they go back into the panel.

Prowl comes into the room.

“Ratchet have you seen 2.0?”--Prowl

2.0 pops out of the panels.

“Hi Prowl! What can I do for ya?”—2.0

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for kicking you out of my room.”--Prowl

Ratchet raising an optic to the both of them.

2.0 takes time to clarify.

“He thought I was Bumblebee and kicked me out.”—2.0

Ratchet nods.

“The kid can get annoying.”--Ratchet

“Yeah, and I forgive you Prowl. It’s a common mistake.”—2.0

Prowl was different from the rest.

He was one of the quieter and calmer souls on the ship.

Prowl did find 2.0 annoying at first.

Mainly because he thought that Bumblebee had come over to mess around.

It took a while for him to finally tell apart which twin was which from a glance.

Their personalities were like night and day, but physically that was the challenge.

2.0 and Bumblebee standing side by side in front of Prowl.

“What are they doing?”--Optimus

“The kid is trying to see if Prowl can figure out which twin is which after being blindfolded.”--Ratchet

“Good luck with that. Unless one of them talks, there’s no telling—”--Bulkhead

Prowl points at 2.0

“2.0.”--Prowl

“How?!”--Bulkhead

“Lucky guess, next time we’ll get you!”--Bumblebee

Timeskip to after Starscream’s attack and Optimus reviving again

To everyone’s surprise, Sari was the first person to tell the twins apart after the first mistake.

Of course, no one had ever got it the first time, but second time was a first.

“So, your name is 2.0?”--Sari

“Yep. I’m Bumblebee’s twin.”—2.0

“2.0 doesn’t suit you.”--Sari

2.0’s shoulder sag a bit.

“Yeah, but that’s the name they gave me.”—2.0

“But what if we gave you a new name?”--Sari

“A new name?”—2.0

“Yeah!”--Bumblebee

Bumblebee throws an enthusiastic arm around his twin’s shoulder.

“That sounds great! What do you think?”--Bumblebee

“Let’s give it a shot.”—2.0

“Oh how about—“--Bumblebee

“Buddy!”--Sari

All the bots look at Sari.

“What? They are super friendly, and they look like they would be nicknamed Buddy. So why not Buddy.”--Sari

“That has to be the—”--Bumblebee

2.0 carefully holds Sari up smiling.

“—The greatest thing ever! Everyone! My new name is now Buddy!”--Buddy

“But—”--Bumblebee

“Buddy! I like the sound of it.”--Buddy

The team was fine with the change in the end.

Sure, there were a few hiccups here and there but the name 2.0 soon left everyone’s minds when they thought about them.

Sari was also thinking about giving Buddy a new paint job in the future.

Maybe something Prowl might like…

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #tfa x reader #tfa x platonic reader #tfa optimus prime #tfa bumblebee #tfa ratchet #tfa bulkhead #tfa prowl

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byeoltoyuki · 1 month

Text

✧memories of us ✧ We meet again

↳ Pairing: Jisung x Reader

❧ Genre : romance / smut /fluff / 1st love to strangers to lovers

❧ Summary: Sometimes memories are just that. Memories.

A series of drabbles about you and Jisung, about your love and your heartbreak and a second chance.

❧ A/N: Likes and reblogs are appreciated ♥

Because you asked me @rylea08 :)

Masterlist / previous /

It was another of those sunny days. You sat at your favourite spot at Soyeon’s cafe. The sun was gently caressing your skin while you were drawing in your sketchbook with music in your ears and a cup of cappuccino. Just what you needed. You hummed happily; your muse the inspiration had finally visited you last night and ever since you couldn’t stop yourself from drawing.

For the past few days you tried not to think about the BBQ party, about Jisung. You managed, not easily, to keep it to yourself. You weren’t ready to tell Yunji that you had seen both Minho and Jisung - she wouldn’t be pleased. Changbin, on the other hand, you bet he already knew but didn’t confront you about it and for that you were grateful.

You didn’t know what to think of the encounter with Jisung. You couldn’t deny that a part of you, and sadly a rather big one, was delighted to see him again and see what kind of man he became. But another part of you was worried. Those feelings you had buried deep inside you since the night you left him at the restaurant, were begging to show up. Not ideal.

“What are you doing?”

Your whole body tensed at the sound of his voice. Did you somehow summoned Jisung just by thinking about him?

You blinked, confused as he took seat across from you, smiling sheepishly.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” You blurted, forgetting all about your manners. You were just so stunned to see him here. You had spent hours in this café without ever seeing him. So why now?

“Grabbing a coffee of course!” And yet he had none with him. To that you cocked a brow and waited for him to confess the real reason. Jisung sighed in defeat. “Fine. I bribed Soyeon. She refused to give me your phone number but she told me I could catch you here.”

His confession left you even more confused and yet at the same time your heart clenched painfully, longing for something that would never happen again. Maybe.

“You bribed Soyeon?” You repeated, unsure you heard it right.

Jisung propped his chin on his hand, his smile turned into a mischievous grin. “Yep. She likes you a lot. Not that I’m surprised. She threatened to kick my ass if I ever do something to you.”

Your heart swelled with love for your friend. You hadn’t told her your story with Jisung but she still understood and worried for you. “I’ll let her hold you while I’ll do the beating.”

Jisung burst into laughter, imagining the scene. “Please, have mercy on me. I’m just a man.”

A handsome one, you wanted to add but refrained.

“So, now that we established that, what are you doing?” He tried to have a peek but you hid it from him. “Oh come on!”

Jisung, whenever he wanted something, always knew what to do to make you give in, today was no exception. The moment he did his best puppy eyes, you came to realization that no matter how many years passed, you still couldn’t deny him anything. And it sucked.

You shook your head, disappointed with yourself for being so weak as you pushed the sketchbook towards him. “I usually come here when I need a good coffee and to draw. Something about this place helps me.”

Jisung looked through your sketchbook with a little frown that showed how serious he got. He took his time, observing the different kind of sketches until he reached the last page. You hadn’t finished it but he could recognize Soyeon’s garden and the different shapes of people.

He glanced from the sketchbook to have a good look at you. “When did you get so good?”

“A lot of practicing I’d say.” You smiled. You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear, feeling a little embarrassed. You liked your drawings and you knew others did too, you didn’t become an artist just because it was a hobby. But something about showing it to Jisung made you feel shy. “Remember my roommate Hyunjin?”

“Yeah. I” Jisung cleared his throat, “saw his work recently. He’s really good.”

You didn’t think Jisung would be interested in art but apparently there were still things you didn’t know about him. This thought made your lips quirk. “Yeah. He is. He helped me a lot and pushed me to switch majors.”

Jisung gasped loudly. “You did? When?”

“Shortly after we broke up.” You admitted, wincing at the memory.

Ending things with Jisung had left you broken and miserable. And yet, it was also this pain and sadness that fuelled your inspiration. You poured all your feelings into your work and it paid. Hyunjin, knowing your reluctance to show your work, stole it to show it around. the day he told you his teacher wanted to meet you, was the day you finally broke down and cried. The poor man didn’t know what to do to calm you down; he lent you his shoulder until there was no more tears left.

“Hyunjin showed my work to his teacher and then made me meet him.” There was so much fondness in your voice at the memory. “I was angry at first but he still convinced me to go. Best decision I had ever made.”

“I’m glad you had someone like Hyunjin by your side.” Jisung admitted. He didn’t have the chance to meet the man that often but from the little he had seen, he knew that Hyunjin was a good friend to you, who pushed you to achieve your dreams. “Any chance I get to see more of your work?”

You hesitated. There was something you, indeed, wanted him to see but you weren’t sure he would like it. You stared at Jisung for a moment, not averting your eyes when he looked back.

“Come to my exhibition.”

#stray kids #han jisung #stray kids fic #stray kids x reader #han jisung x reader #han #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fluff

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hard-core-super-star · 11 months

Text

sneaking out into town, holding hands, just killing time. [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x reader

summary: amidst the chaos of the across the spider-verse press tour, and the unavoidable PR stunts she has to do to cover up your relationship, your girlfriend finds comfort in you.

warnings: pure fluff; a few curse words here and there; anxious hailee; PR stunts; bad descriptions of new york from someone who went there once two years ago

wordcount: 1.9k

a/n: i was supposed to post this the week across the spider-verse came out but shhh. there's so much more i wanted to add to this fic but it's already way too long so...maybe there'll be a part 2? we'll see. shoutout to this song for getting stuck in my head and inspiring most of this fic. this is dedicated to that one lovely anon who requested more hailee fluff. hope you like it!

* * * * * * *

You had never been one for fate.

You’ve always found it romantic, of course.

The idea that every step you take is leading you toward the place you’re supposed to find and the person you’re supposed to be is beautiful and downright inspiring. (You’re not a complete cynic, after all)

However, you had written fate off as something that only affects people in rom-coms and those trashy romance books that are all about how finding your soulmate will fix everything in your life.

So, yeah, needless to say, you weren’t a huge believer.

That was the case for most of your life until everything, including the planets and the stars themselves, seemed to align in just the right way that allowed you to cross paths with the most incredible woman you’ve ever met. You sincerely have no idea what you did to please the cosmos so much that they decided to put you on the same path as Hailee but you are not complaining in any way.

You would do everything all over again, including all the bullshit you had to go through, if it meant you could keep calling Hailee yours at the end of the day. All the pain and loneliness of your past fades away into nothingness every second her eyes are on yours.

That isn’t to say that the present doesn’t still have its difficult moments, even with Hailee by your side.

Being closeted is hard enough on its own but being a closeted celebrity adds a whole new layer to such a complicated situation. You still don’t fully understand why your girlfriend is so against the idea of publicly coming out (although you have your suspicions that the decision isn’t hers to make at the end of the day) but you support her regardless…even when it means spending a whole night alone…in your New York City hotel room…while your girlfriend is seen having dinner with some random guy you’ve never seen before in your life.

It certainly isn’t ideal but you know it’s just one dinner and a couple of paparazzi photos. Just something simple to take the public’s focus away from the fact that you and Hailee have been spotted together every single day she’s been in New York. Plus, with the Across the Spider-Verse premiere a few days away, and the matching outfits already decided on, it’s no wonder her team scrambled to find some way to cover up how obvious you two are getting.

You’re not the biggest fan of the idea but you would do anything for your girlfriend so you sucked it up and didn’t say anything when she left for dinner a few hours ago.

And that’s how you ended up here, cycling between paying attention to the random movie playing on TV and scrolling through your phone in an attempt to control your growing impatience.

You’re finally rewarded with the sound of the hotel door opening and you sit up from your position on the bed, eager to spend time with Hailee.

She quickly comes into view, looking as stunning as ever. She greets you with a half-smile while she begins to take off her blazer and her shoes.

“How’d it go?” You ask, your eyes scanning her face for an answer.

She sighs in response before moving to climb onto your lap once the articles of clothing are off of her body. Your arms wrap around her waist and pull her close, allowing her to rest her head in the crook of your neck. You don’t press her any further but you do run your hands up and down her back in an attempt to comfort her.

A comfortable silence settles over both of you for a long moment until finally, Hailee speaks up. “This was a bad idea.”

“It went that well, huh?” You reply in an attempt to make her laugh a little.

You feel her soft breath hit the skin of your neck before you hear her laugh. The sound brings a small smile to your face even though you feel a little unsure about what to do to help her right now.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t the best choice to make and leave it at that.”

You can tell she’s trying to poke fun at the situation but her voice lacks any real humor, leaving her words to sound more self-deprecating than anything. Your heart hurts a little at that fact although you don’t comment on it….yet.

“At least you got a good dinner out of it.”

She lets a huff of air before she lifts her head up from its resting place. You stare up at her with furrowed eyebrows while she takes your face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I should’ve just taken you out to dinner instead of agreeing to that mess.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize.” You lean up to place a few quick kisses on her cheek. “I’m not upset.”

“You should be. I’m a coward. I’m spending every day preaching how important it is to ‘live your life unapologetically’ while I hide who I am from everyone.”

“Not everyone,” you correct her. “And there’s nothing wrong with not being ready to come out yet. You know I would never hold that against you.”

She looks away from you, her hands dropping from your face to your shoulders as she does so. You barely catch the thin layer of unshed tears in her eyes but it’s enough to push you into motion. You reach up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek with your hand. You don’t force her to look at you right now, you just attempt to comfort her in the only ways you know how.

“Hailee, listen to me, I love you. It doesn’t matter to me whether I get to take you out on stupidly expensive dates or not. I don’t care about the photos or the interviews or the tweets from your fans. All I care about is you. Who gives a shit if we’re the only two people who know the truth? We’re the only two people who matter when it comes to this relationship.”

A beat of silence goes by before she speaks again, the corners of her mouth quirking up into the smallest of smiles. “How do you always do that?”

“Do what, Lee?”

“You always know what the right thing to say is.” Her voice is a soft whisper as she turns to look at you again.

This time, you're the one who smiles.

You lean forward, gently wiping away a few of her stray tears until your foreheads meet. “It's my superpower. Sorry, but you're not the only superhero in this relationship.”

She laughs. A real laugh that makes the corners of her eyes crinkle in the way you love so much. You expect her to make fun of you or call you a dork like always but she doesn't.

Instead, she leans in. Her movements are slow but you don't make any attempts to rush her. You take the opportunity to let everything about the moment sink in.

The feeling of her breath against your lips, the way her eyes flutter closed, the gentle hand that holds the back of your head and pulls you in to close the few inches of space between your mouths.

It’s all beautiful and soft and full of the love you both feel.

You pull away after a moment, not wanting to ignore the genuine feelings the situation has brought out in your girlfriend. “I meant what I said, by the way. All I care about is you.”

“I know.” She gives you one more quick kiss before moving off of your lap and onto her feet. She holds her hand out for you to take, that usual sparkle back in her eyes. “Come on. We’re leaving.”

You tilt your head in confusion but take her hand anyway, already knowing there’s an idea brewing behind those brown eyes. “It’s one in the morning.”

“When has that ever stopped us before?” She replies as she pulls you up and into her arms. “We only have two days left here before we have to go back home and I intend to make the best of them.”

“Lee, it’s a business trip, not a vacation.” You attempt to keep your tone light but it’s obvious what your words really mean.

It’s not just that Hailee is here to do press, not sightsee, but it’s also the fact that going out together is always a risk. No amount of last-minute PR stunts can cover up the obvious love that flows between both of you. Especially with the heart-eyes Hailee can’t help but throw your way all the time.

She gives a small nod to let you know she understands your point but the smile doesn’t leave her face.

“That doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to have some fun. Just you and me.”

“And the hundreds of tourists walking around Times Square.”

“No one will notice.” She pulls you in closer, leaning down until her forehead rests against yours. “And it doesn’t matter if they do, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

You're about to protest, ready to tell her she doesn't have to do anything more to prove how she feels about you when she leans down to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

Your complaints fade away pretty quickly at that.

Her next words are spoken in a whisper, her breath hitting your lips. “I just want to go out with you. Treat you like you deserve to be treated.”

You're pretty sure your heart is going to beat out of your chest if she doesn't stop being so adorable right now.

“Well…when you put it like that, how am I supposed to say no?”

You don't think you've ever seen anything shine as bright as her smile. She gives you one more quick kiss before rushing to get ready, changing out of her fancy clothes and into jeans and a hoodie in the blink of an eye.

You admire her for a few seconds before following suit, putting on the closest pair of sneakers you can find and slipping on a sweatshirt that you totally didn't steal from your girlfriend. She doesn’t say anything when she sees what you’re wearing but the small smirk on her face tells you everything you need to know.

She holds her hand out to you again and you take it without any hesitation, letting her lead you out of your hotel room and toward whatever destination she has in mind. You realize very quickly that you don’t care where she’s taking you as long as her hand stays in yours.

She ends up leading you out of the hotel and into the busy New York streets. Even in the middle of the night, Times Square is chaotic. And that's putting it mildly. It's bright and loud, and slightly overwhelming. It's a sight you don't think you could ever get used to despite how often you and Hailee end up in the city.

And yet, it's exactly that chaotic energy that makes you feel at peace. There's so much going on, so many different things to look at, that most people don't even spare a glance your way. You blend in among the bustle of the street, allowing Hailee to walk with her arm wrapped tightly around your waist.

For once, you don't have to pretend to be anything less than what you are.

You're in love.

You're free.

And you're sure there's nowhere else in the world you'd rather be right now.

#hailee steinfeld x reader #hailee steinfeld x female reader #hailee steinfeld x y/n #hailee steinfeld x you #hailee steinfeld imagine #hailee steinfeld fic #hailee steinfeld fanfiction #hailee steinfeld fluff #hailee steinfeld #across the spiderverse #hawkeye #marvel #mcu #mcu imagine #mcu fanfiction #wlw #wlw fic #writing #if you made it this far happy pride month!

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uroboros-if · 7 months

Note

seeing your rant about how difficult it is to be somewhat rude without ruining your relationships in ifs WAS SO RELATABLE! It doesn’t feel real to be always good or nice to characters to be liked

I’m not saying you should be able beat them up and still romance without consequences but romance/relationships aren’t always perfect and peaceful!!! Disagreements/arguments should be something that can happen without it being at the cost of the relationship itself ugh because that’s normal come on >:| as an angst enjoyer, its so hard to have fun without the character being like “you dont agree with me? perish then”

so I’m even more excited for the game now that I saw your take on it because LETS GO!!!!!! <3

You succinctly explained what I struggled to! 😭

I will confess it's half self-indulgent, because I really enjoy relationships where the two must confront their conflicting ideals! I understand most seek other like-minded people, but what of characters who like to be challenged? Characters who can't help but be attached to someone they shouldn't be?

Even setting that aside, you are completely correct! As long as that topic isn't sensitive to someone and neither party is inflexible, people won't automatically like you less.

So not only does such an approval system lose out on angst potential, sometimes it's also unrealistic. There is truth in it as our opinions of others do adjust based on their actions, and those things add up! However, it's a problem when it's applied to even arbitrary choices, or it unnecessarily severely impacts your approval.

Under the read more is my "theory" on why some ROs in IFs are defined by a dynamic trope (rivals to lovers, childhood friends to lovers, etc)!! 💕

It is difficult, if not impossible for a numerical approval system to qualitatively judge your relationship dynamics; it can only judge based on the weight of each choice. It can't, for example, see you've transitioned from being rude, to softening up to the character after realizing they're not so bad. The game only sees the sum of all your negative and positive points.

Without a way to label your actions by anything but a number, a system that purely relies on numerics is incapable of interpreting the dynamics of your relationship, and therefore customizing future interactions with the RO.

Of course, I think most IFs don't purely rely on numbers. Some do a hybrid in which important decisions are tracked qualitatively and lesser ones are tracked numerically. However, even then, some romance is limited by a baseline approval you must achieve in a certain timeframe, and that leads to pressure to meet that mystery number.

Furthermore, these qualitative "important decisions" often have more to do with the plot than how it defines your relationship specifically -- things like "did you kill their father?" rather than "What were their first impressions of the MC?"

So I believe that without a way to interpret the MC's actions meaningfully, there's only one way to play a romance route. There's only one dynamic with that character, one way the relationship can really be. You can be different genders, have your relationship contextualized differently as the story changes from your actions, but rarely does it dramatically differ solely on personality. Rarely does it examine how your relationship varies from the different ways you interact with that character.

I think it's fine that some characters are like that! In fact, it's realistic that some dynamics don't suit certain characters. For example, it's not possible to have rivals to lovers with Salvatore, because they have no reason to see you as a rival, even if you hate them or try to compete with them.

However, taking Sal as an example, your relationship can vary widely by your attitude towards them. It can be a case of friends who lost touch and regret having lost touch; it can be one-sided, as Sal may view MC as a friend, but the MC is bitterly jealous of them. Perhaps MC doesn't think much of them at all.

That's the kind of meaningful interpretation of relationships I aim for--different dynamics rather than boxing in Sal as the typical childhood friends to lovers. There is no one way to play their romance; it should change as the MC is different.

I see how it's not for everyone, and I acknowledge that it is a Herculean task that may, in time, reveal the full extent of its complexity. But I strive for it because such a complicated relationship is central to the conflict of Uroboros. There is nothing more important an undertaking than character relationships in the IF.

Extremely long theory and rambling, but I am so happy someone shares my thoughts, at least as far as disagreements with the ROs!! ❤️❤️ Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share even more of my opinion, Anon! I'm thrilled you are so excited for the story!

#uroboros-if #uroboros #asks #anon #i adore these asks 🥺💕#meta #interactive fiction

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thelonelyshore-if · 2 months

Note

Is coy flirtation the only way to raise romance with the ROs or are we able to do so by raising their approval in general? Mainly asking because my current MC is a very pragmatic woman who wouldn't be the one immediately engaging in flirting because 1. She feels like she's going a bit crazy atm since she doesn't believe in supernatural stuff and is trying to deny everything 2. She's still absolutely confused as to where willow is.

So far I've been avoiding flirting options in favor of her being polite to strangers but slightly detached. Very tired.

I know sometimes people add in oblivious routes or ones where the mc is the more withdrawn one in the romance so I figured I'd ask. If there's not that's fine I just wanted to know my options! Thanks for your hard work.

Currently, the most direct way to raise romance is to flirt or to pick options that indicate interest. Though, to be honest, there aren't many of those at the moment!

Once chapter 2 rolls around there will be more opportunities for romance (especially considering that the MC is currently kind of Going Through It and also just met everyone), and those opportunities will be more varied.

Also, I think I'll use this ask as a bit of an opportunity to go into my plans for the romance system, because it's something I'm super excited to get into. Apologies in advance for the amount I'm about to write.

Explanation of planned systems beneath the cut <3

Currently I'm planning on using a system with three different parts.

The first part is interest, which is a base indicator that the MC is interested in a RO (or multiple ROs) romantically/sexually. These will be options that straight up say things like 'I think (RO) is cute'. Once interest is toggled on, the RO(s) are able to develop a crush and/or pursue the MC of their own accord. Interest being on will also activate certain flavor text.

The second part is flirting, which directly raises the romance variable. These are things like flirtatious dialogue, grabbing a RO's hand, acting flustered around them--that sort of thing. Actions that are observable by the other character(s). Flirting doesn't automatically turn on interest, but since it raises the romance stat it means that you can flirt with a character/choose romantic options throughout the game and, once interest is on, you can have built a bond.

I plan to have different flavors of flirting. At this point I think I'll mostly stick with the typical shy/direct options, though we'll see. I might get a little silly with it.

Finally, there's approval, which is your character's general relationship stat with each RO (as well as Willow and a few other npcs). Approval can be gained whenever the MC does something the character likes or generally builds the relationship. Tbh I'm a little iffy on sticking with 'approval' as the term, because I don't want to write characters who only like the MC if they agree with everything they do, but it's the only word coming to mind atm lol.

All this to say, I hope that with this system you can have characters like your MC, who are maybe a little more oblivious or withdrawn, who can mark interest in a RO and have the RO be more forward (raising the romance bar that way). Plus having more subtle 'flirt' options that also raise romance without being super direct flirting.

I'm so sorry to have taken your ask and run with it, but I hope this explains the vibes I'm going for a bit!! The system still needs to be actually implemented, so take it with the usual caveat that this is a WIP and these are just my current plans, but it's ideally what I'd like to do!

#asks #interactive fiction #( i hope this answers your question 😭 )#( im very excited to start building the system )#( and to start writing the romances )#( i also hope this all makes sense )

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iamadequate1 · 13 days

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"Discomfort in a Married State" What does this mean?

In Discord, I jokingly said I'd do the Webster's Dictionary trope to start a post.

youtube

But... was I joking?

Webster's Dictionary defines marriage as "an intimate or close union," or closely, marry as "to unite in close and usually permanent relation." Taking about marriage is not just about a literal spousal union, and it is not just about romance. You have aspects and ideas in your life that you are married to even though you don't put the word to it. "Marriage of flavors", "married to your job", "marry academic disciplines,"... I had a teacher who said "I'm not married to this idea" when writing something in scratch work as a possibility.

The title "Discomfort in a Married State" is pulled from a quote from the real Stede Bonnet at his trial, and it's repurposed in the show, used at the start of Fictional Stede's pirate journey rather than the end. To me, I do not feel like the adjective is used in the episode as actually being about a spousal union. Stede is not a good fit with Mary, no, and the episode opens with both Stede and Mary both being pushed into the marriage by their parents because of societal expectations and goes on to show that their marriage doesn't work. However, Mary's not alone in Stede's horror dream, and it doesn't just feature his failures in their marriage: the "married state" title drop slides directly to his father mocking Stede's aversion to violence (and weakness, in his, the father's, eyes) and Smoke Blackbeard and Alma serving as a callback to his naive pirate dreams becoming more starkly real when he was stabbed. Mary wasn't what Stede left; unfortunate as it is, as a man, he had other less extreme options to make an unhappy marriage more comfortable for him. The "marriage" Stede has is the life that his father and role at birth pushed him into, and initially, Stede planned to take Mary with him in leaving it. Stede pushed out into what he viewed as a more idealized lifestyle, even though he's finding out its not the final destination in his journey.

On Ed's side, his parallel is not his relationship with Izzy. In his first big conversation with Stede (the one in the library), he says plainly what his "discomfort" is:

Ed: You ever feel trapped, like you're just treading water, waiting to drown? Stede: Yes, I very much have felt that way. Ed: Blackbeard always wins, that's the thing. He can't fail. It's not even a challenge anymore. People just see the flag, and they freak out, Blackbeard!, and they basically just give up, they surrender. What's the point? I don't even need to be on the boat. I'm a ghost. There's no chaos, there's no drama, there's no fucking life! Stede: Look, I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you ever considered retirement?

Ed's "marriage" is with the Blackbeard persona and the pirate life. He's not happy, and he is also looking for a way out. He's idly mentioning death as an alternative (e.g., the "I haven't died yet, have I?" outburst with Izzy, and "I'm thinking about packing it all in". It can be a bit of a grind"" to Stede before Stede introduces Ed to retirement). He then pivots to the brief identity theft escape, then the China plan with Stede. There is a parallel of the marriage -> finding escape pipeline. Ed and Stede were both intrinsically bound to lives they do not want, and they had to take dramatic steps to leave them.

Izzy narratively differs from Mary in that Mary isn't an antagonist (bless you, DJenks). This is a storytelling medium without monologuing voice overs or Shakespearean soliloquies, and something needs to be in story to represent that conflict. Izzy is the representation of the external antagonistic force that adds fuel to Ed's internal conflict, analogous to the function that the Badmintons (instead of Mary) have for Stede. This is what we mean when we say Izzy is a plot device for Ed's (and to a lesser extent, Stede's) story: most of his scenes (all in S1?) revolve around keeping Ed in a life he doesn't want while also functionally servicing as a conventional reaction to Stede's brand of captaincy (characters like Lucius or Frenchie have their own independent quirks, so that's why they don't get this same comparison). Izzy is in story as the obstacle that keeps pulling Ed into that life, into that marriage with that persona. The story is not literally saying Ed is married to Izzy or that they were former lovers, but as the representation in story, Izzy is going to act like a jilted spouse. (And Ed's not into him and views him as a father figure, so... not a literal spousal marriage.)

In the end, the "married state" is not literally about Mary or Izzy. Stede would still be unhappy with a different wife or as a bachelor in the same stagnating lifestyle. Ed would still be unhappy with a different first mate but still living as Blackbeard. Ed reacting strongly in 2x7 when he thought there would be a conflict of a possible deal breaking choice of staying with Stede and leaving piracy show that it isn't just about the right person but making sure that the two perfect people who found each other are both in a position to live a life that makes them both happy outside of their relationship. This is also a romcom very pointedly leading toward a climatic wedding of Ed and Stede, and the message is not that Stede and Ed don't like being married at all: they need to work together to reach a "married state" that satisfies all facets of their lives. They're so close!

We're joined to one another. Intertwined. We wrote our names on each other in permanent ink.

They're working together on their relationship ("the inn" at the end of 2x8 isn't literally about the inn), and they're finding the path to go on that takes them both to a place to where they want to be.

Also, "Comfort in a Married State", calling it as an episode title after WBD collapses and OFMD gets a pick up 🥰

#our flag means death #ofmd #stede bonnet #ed teach #mary bonnet #izzy hands #discomfort in a married state #i can't wait for wbd to collapse #don't stream on max #Youtube

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ghouljams · 4 months

Note

Youtuber, Author and Ace Icon Rowan Ellis does some amazing video essays on queer and online culture.

One of which focuses on the ideals and impact of the Omegaverse and I highly encourage anyone and everyone to watch it.

Especially if you feel strongly about assault fetishism.

So! I fully support any and all video essays but I am also a language nerd and I would be remiss to not comment on the phrasing of "assault fetish".

It always makes me flinch hearing CNC, free use, and similar kinks called "rape/assault fetishes" because it feels like a bad faith interpretation of what is usually a fairly complex and well negotiated kink. As I said in my other post, in a society where people have their sexual agency taken away to the point where saying "no" is what's expected, we cannot fault people when they go "Alright then I'm going to make that my kink." People who engage in CNC do so with the full understanding that rape is morally reprehensible, which is crazy because they're engaging in... consensual sex between adults with rules and safe guards in place... hm... wait that isn't right, is it?

I haven't watched Rowan's essay, so I can't comment on it, but I'll add it to my list. I'm interested to see what they have to say on the impact of omegaverse. I know I have my own opinions on the impact it's had on Fandom, mainly the way that it has become a sort of... meme? But also it's become something that is treated as a lower form of au because of its reputation for smut fics and dubcon. And yet we see a lot of omegaverse staples in a lot of new adult fiction, and supernatural romance that's being published.

I will say that if Rowan takes a hard stance against "assault fetishes" then I'm not interested. Moralizing kink doesn't actually help anyone, and shaming people for their kinks doesn't stop them from having them. In my opinion as long as two consenting adults are engaging in safe play, I don't fucking care what their kinks are. As long as you're not involving children, animals, or strangers; as long as you're safe sane consenusal/risk aware I don't see what the harm is.

#ghoul speaks #discourse #omegaverse is just kink play i dont see the issue #i dont actually want to be raped if i like cnc #or if i read dubcon fic #but i will watch the essay and see what rowan has to say

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 5 months

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so i've been thinking about horde prime and what a wasted potential he was. when we were first introduced to horde prime, we are led to believe that he is an intimidating and heartless dictator, the biggest threat adora has faced so far.

and yet, as the series progresses, we are just left with questions as to WHY this guy is so powerful and feared. all adora has to do is save catra and horde prime is already fuming and frothing at the mouth. literally all his clones could be taken out by just hitting a weak spot, as demonstrated by catra and glimmer. any of the etherians (i.e. the princesses) who were brainwashed were also easily reversed. catra basically died but not for more than 5 minutes, before adora brings her back to life. basically, there's nothing long-lasting about horde prime's actions and nothing intimidating about him.

i've already mentioned some of the other problems i have with horde prime's character, the main one being that.. he's just boring. it's so clear that horde prime was only created because catra and hordak were on their way to redemption, and the show needed a new threat. but horde prime is so lazily written, you barely register him as an actual villain.

in my opinion, there are three things you can add to a villain in order to flesh them out:

sympathetic qualities: the typical tragic backstory, misguided intentions, moments of humanization and compassion. it's an overdone trope but if utilized well and in moderation, it can be very compelling.

complex motives: even if you don't agree with their way of carrying out their plan, you do agree with their ideals or morals. you get where they're coming from and you can relate to their reason for doing what they're doing.

parallels with protagonist/hero: if your hero and villain have similarities or something that connects them, the stakes are automatically raised. there's the fear that the hero could end up like the villain, if they're not careful. even if we know that the hero is not gonna end up like the villain, there's still something satisfying about seeing two characters who are fundamentally the same person but on different sides with different experiences to back them up.

good ol' personality: if you want to create a pure evil villain who is just evil for the heck of it, that's fine. just make sure you give them something that makes them stand out, whether it's a flamboyant personality, witty quip or even a catchy musical number. this is the reason why most disney villains are so memorable despite having no complexity or redeeming qualities.

so, which one of these would work best for horde prime? any of them, honestly, but i would probably choose not to give him a tragic past, just because of how both catra and hordak already got those. i don't want to redeem all the villains of this show.

the other three are very applicable and can even be used all together. horde prime can have a complex motivation, parallels with adora (or heck, even catra) and have a compelling personality.

but honestly, just one of these is enough to flesh out a villain. for example, bill cipher from gravity falls has no tragic backstory, complex motive or parallels with the heroes. but what makes him so likeable and interesting to audience is his personality alone. he's humorous, he's snarky, he's chaotic and calmly admits to being crazy. his unique character design and insane power also makes him stand out from regular villains.

for another example, lord viren from the dragon prince is not very compelling, personality-wise. however, his goal of protecting and fighting for humans at any cost, and his parallels with callum make us want to see more of him and how his story ends.

in all these shows, the villains aren't just a decorative piece thrown into the story last-minute. whether they were introduced from the beginning or later on, they have a purpose. they pose a real threat and the main plotline is about defeating them. the romance is only secondary.

but in s5 of spop, the main conflict isn't “will adora stop horde prime from destroying the world?”, it's “will adora make out with her abusive sister?” or “can catra act like a responsible adult for once?” (hint: the answer is no.)

so either, you could explain why horde prime does what he does. all we know right now is his vague past with mara and the first ones, and his egotistic desire to “purify” everyone. while this is a good start, the show never elaborates on it. horde prime's character supposedly has themes of religious trauma but it's portrayed in an almost cartoonish way. we could have gotten more details about why he thinks his actions are justified. what he hopes to accomplish by purifying everyone.

or they could have given us a connection with horde prime and one of our protagonists. preferably adora. but no, the only character horde prime had a direct connection with was hordak. they could have expanded on that and shown more of their relationship. but instead of showing religious guilt and trauma through hordak, they replaced that with chipped catra. because of course, the only character whose trauma is acknowledged by the narrative is catra.

there were some clear-cut parallels between catra and horde prime (brainwashing people to turn them into weapons, abusing a family member, attempting to destroy the entire world) but they never even mentioned that. because that would mean reminding the audience that catra was just as bad as prime. it would have made for an interesting narrative, especially if catra acknowledged all of this and felt insanely guilty for doing all that she did, trying to do better so that she won't be like horde prime.

or, as a last resort, they could have given horde prime a personality. because in canon, his personality is just evil™ and egotistic. that's it. he's just a garden-variety villain and while his character design is interesting, there's nothing that stands out about him. (not to mention, giving him a hairstyle that resembles dreadlocks when he is supposed to be a representation of a white dictator)

i just feel like they could have made prime a really intimidating and complex villain but they completely missed the mark. horde prime is just a minor inconvenience in s5, the real threat is the “gay pining and angst” between catra and adora.

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti spop

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notgivingafuckopolis · 7 months

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Spoiler for those who have not played baldur’s gate 3 or haven’t finished playing everything yet for Astarion. Idk if things happen with each companion’s story regardless of who you romance (I’m thinking like Otome games when you pick someone and everyone else’s story falls to the background )

So tiktok got me in a rabbit hole that is romancing Astarion from Baldur’s gate. And I’m gobbling up as much fanfiction as I can on tumblr and ao3. It’s so crazy bc I can’t play this on my laptop it’s a simple school laptop I’ve had for a few years so I doubt I could. And I think I seen something about it being playable on ps5 and I don’t have it like that. Took a long minute just to get a switch. So what I’m saying is it’s crazy how obsessed I am over a game I can’t play. So I’ve been watching cutscenes and edits and reading fic. As much as I would love to add by doing my own fics I don’t feel confident with my limited information about the world of the game in general so I rather share an idea I have an idea for a fic instead.

So I’ve been hearing about ascended vs non ascended Astarion and I think the general consensus is it’s better in the long run not to especially with how he treats the player(or tav??) and how vastly different than preascension or if you never ascend him. So hear me out. Time travel.

Like Tav ascends Astarion and they realize when it’s too late that it’s was a wrong idea. He turns tav into a spawn and he promises never to control them as he was before. But he’s high on power and let’s say tav realizes this isn’t the same man they fell for they may want out or they don’t jump to agree to do things he’s wanting them to do. Then he does the unthinkable and forces tav to do something they don’t want to, it doesn’t have to be r*pe (I prefer it not to) it could be he forces tav to kill someone or bring him pray (bringing that abuse with his old master full circle). Or maybe he’s feeling himself as a powerful and attractive vampire he can have anyone, why ‘settle’ for tav? What if takes another ‘consort’ and tav is betrayed. This is the thanks they get after helping him ascend?

So tav could somehow end up dead, maybe the new consort murdered them with their guard down, maybe in despair they step into the sun. They don’t want eternal life if they can’t be his only. They don’t want forever with a man they don’t recognize. They wished they can do things differently. Or (like some transmigration theme manwha) they go to bed crying and hurt thinking ‘if only I stopped him, this isn’t the Astarion I knew’ and they’re filled with regret. Or they can even stumble across a magic item (again idk what kinda magic or what’s possible in this universe I’ve only seen random cutscenes on tiktok). Anyway tav wakes up back in time. Back from before it can be right before the ritual or ideally it can be further back. Tav is shocked, confused they just died/went to sleep after getting the worst betrayal of their life. How can they be back with all their companions and Astarion and they have to make different choices with him to be able to guide him off the path of darkness that will come with ascending. The back in time thing is literally the same as when you restart a save file bc you wanted to see the outcome of your choices before committing to them. Only in this story tav gets one shot of course. So it’s like tav goes back in time and they choose if they want to romance him all over (depending on how far tav goes back) or just save him and never look back (but like of course tav stays bc this is the Astarion they love and remembers so by the end they’re so happy when they get all that sweet stuff with non ascended Astarion. Rather if he or anyone else other than tav finds out about the time jump is up to you, the writer. Maybe he gets random moments of dejavu and perhaps when the outcome changes he’s a bit confused. Maybe right before shit hits the fan he has a nightmare about the old timeline I could see that being how he remembers. And like the guilt (bc by this point he’s in love with tav) like how could this have happened? He cause so much pain to the one he loves. And like maybe he chooses himself not to do the ritual rather than others trying to stop him. That’s a fun idea to toy with too. But I think tav being stressed about making the choices all over us fun too.

Anyway someone please write this. Or if someone has and you’ve seen it link me tag me whatever I gotta read.

#text #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #fic idea that I can’t stop thinking about but I don’t think I can pull off

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misscrawfords · 6 months

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Strong Girl Nam Soon is falling into that sweet spot for me between being good and entertaining enough to make me invested in it and having sufficient flaws to make me deeply frustrated.

So obviously I'm going to analyse it way more than it deserves!

I think

The characterisation (or lack of it) of Nam Soon herself. Quite a lot to delve into here. She started off with a really intriguing origin and character with lots of directions in which she could go in... and she just hasn't developed at all really. She starts up very idealistic and naive which is understandable considering her upbringing. She acts charming in a childish way. She is rash and thoughtless but fundamentally good-hearted and on the side of the underdog and uses her powers for good. All of these are qualities that make sense in who she is but she is very immature. The show keeps these qualities but instead of interrogating them and allowing her to mature realistically while suffering inevitable set-backs and challenges to her idealism, she keeps all of this, is somehow incredibly attractive to both the hero and villain (despite her child-like tone and mannerisms - I genuinely find this so odd) and adds being a super spy to her list of accomplishments. (Surely being a good spy is literally the opposite set of skills to being good at brute force and not thinking before you act?) Dare I say it... she's a Mary Sue! Which leads onto the second issue with Nam Soon which is she is both over-powered and not given enough to do with her powers. The first few episodes showed her frequently using her super strength and it was very cool and superhero-like and fitted the apparent theme (and name) of the show. But she's rarely used them in the latter half of the show. Meanwhile she also has super speed, super vision and I'm sure something I'm forgetting. If she's got these skills, she needs to use them frequently and to advance the plot or it feels quite pointless. Instead, we see her playing the role of a spy which feels totally OOC. How is she so good at lying all of a sudden? It doesn't fit at all with the character we were introduced to in the first couple of episodes. Someone who just builds a ger in the middle of a public park and beats up everyone who tries to stop her without any thought for consequences is... not going to be good at a danger-filled spy mission in a high security mafia joint. Right???? It's hard to care too much about Nam Soon because there seem to be no consequences to her actions, she doesn't seem to respond realistically to what happens around her based on her own established character, and she doesn't seem to have developed from the beginning to close to the end of the drama.

Second issue is the way the romance(s) are being played. Look, I'm happy for the grandma and all and I think it's lovely she's getting a romance with sweeping soundtrack and dramatic moments but it is a bit odd that this is the relationship that is getting the most attention in the show. Nam Soon and Hee Sik are adorable and I can get behind a cute relationship without ridiculous manufactured impediments but very little attention is given to it and just as Nam Soon's character is very static, so is the relationship. There are no issues between the pair of them (and there easily should be) and their relationship doesn't seem to impact the other at all and make them grow individually as well as together, which a really good fictional relationship should do. It's cute - and that's it. As for Ryu Si-o, hmm, another puzzle. I'm usually behind villain romances and redemption arcs (I'm a Reylo shipper, for goodness sake) but I'm struggling to see it here. Mainly because Nam Soon acts so childish, I feel a bit icky shipping her in a relationship that is so adult coded. I know she's an adult (I'm not some weird purity shipper who can't deal with a bit of an age gap) but the way the actress plays the character makes her come across as so immature that I just can't read it romantically. And she has no interest in him. Nothing he says seems to sway her or interest her. She's a good little foot soldier and nothing else. Which is very boring, but that's the characterisation... Frustating. And don't get me started on the bizarre way Nam Soon's family is gunning for this "you have consummate this relationship and have strong girls when you're 22". Any normal person would be running for the hills! Why is this not creepy and an issue? Very bizarre.

The way the characters are forced to be unbelievably stupid to make the plot work. Like, it seems TOTALLY unbelieavable that Nam Soon has not been caught. She's really unconvincing as a spy - why is nobody running better background checks on her? How has Si-o not found Nam Soon before? Like, with his resources, it can't be hard! Why is nobody suspicious? Why did the police department let their supervisor lick a known deadly drug then believe him when he said he was okay and not take him to hospital etc.? Absolutely clown behaviour. Why does Geum Joo take the trouble of putting bodyguards around her family because they are all in danger but her closest confidante doesn't come into work on a very important day and won't answer the phone, just texts to say "she's ill" and Geum Joo is like "Sure, that sounds legit"? Why did nobody communicate about Nam In and the symptoms of the drug? The whole Nam In plot altogether... Why are the men in the family not just "not strong" but completely emasculated and massive losers? We're apparently dealing with wealthy and successful people but they're all behaving like complete incompetents! Which would be funny if the show had retained the comic tone it started with but it's got quite dark and so it's tonally off.

Okay. Enough whinging. Under the cut, I'm going to give some suggestions for how I would rewrite aspects of the show to try to make it less frustrating. (I'm so close to writing fanfic but I know I won't haha.)

First, the things I'd definitely keep:

The grandma's entire plot

Geum Joo being a total badass

Nam Soon's initial characterisation (and her plaits)

Cute romance with Hee Sik

Si-o's characterisation and tragic backstory

The drug plot - I don't mind it at all

In other words, I'd keep the show telling the same story but I'd alter the characterisation.

Nam Soon would have a lot more inner conflict, which she can have without losing a fundamentally optimistic outlook. She finds it very hard to living in Korea. Her homeless friends play a much bigger role and she dedicates herself to trying to make social changes to make society more egalitarian and is continually frustrated by her inability to make progress within the system. It leads to clashes with her mother after an initial honeymoon phase of being reunited who cannot understand why she can't just throw money at individuals and consider it done and why Nam Soon even grows to resent her own family's wealth. It also leads to clashes with Hee Sik, whose role as a police officer means he is upholding the very social order she finds so unfair. On the other hand, it drives her towards Ryu Si-o who she discovers knows more than anyone else in her life about destitution and who is willing to operate outside the law to effect change.

I also think it would be very interesting to have Si-o discover very early on who Tsetseg is. She is a terrible liar and not sneaky at all so he realises first that she is planted as a spy but she is so obviously terrible at it that he is more amused than angry and then he digs around and realises she is Nam Soon. He realises all this before/as he develops feelings for her. He decides to keep her around to keep the enemy close but quickly finds her straight forward attitude which comes through despite her best intentions and frustrations with many of the things that frustrate him too compelling and he ends up getting distracted from his business with the drugs in order to do big bad mafia villain type things like funding soup kitchens. And of course, social justice warrior Nam Soon who is learning about class inequality and really trying to do something about it is shown to mature by her dropping her childlike tone and mannerisms over the course of the show.

Honestly, can this end up being a Hee Sik/Nam Soon romance when he has so little he can contribute to her development? I'm honestly not sure. It depends how far down the redemption path you're willing to take Si-o. And I don't know how the show will end but redemption by death is so boring...

More exploration of strength and how Nam Soon and Si-o parallel each other. Oh botheration, no matter how I try to look at it, they ought to have the most compelling dynamic for a ship! It's just Nam Soon's mannerisms that stop me shipping it. :( On paper, it's a no brainer! Maybe I'll just plan a superhero/villain original romance instead!

Anyway, I just wish this show made more sense and was more coherent because I do like it enough to be engaged and invested. And the ideas and initial characters were so cool. Geum Joo - what a bamf! A whole series about her but without her strange lack of attention to issues with people near her... or deal with it properly as a significant character flaw.

#strong girl nam soon #long post

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