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inqorporeal · 2 years

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There was something odd about the bookshop. Well, specifically its owner, but the shop was weird, too.

"I dunno, I just get the oddest feeling every time I go in," Mona said through a mouthful of croissant. "Like it's just a piece of set dressing. Like on stage, you know?"

"The books are there to be seen and occasionally looked through, but not actually claimed," Stuart agreed.

Nicola folded her arms on the slightly sticky coffee-shop table. "You know what I think--"

"Not your MI-6 theory, again," Mona groaned.

"Look, all I'm saying is that the owner knows a disturbing amount about history and especially contemporary warfare and politics. He totally helped me with that one paper I had to do last year, and I swear he didn't look anything up, but somehow just pulled books off the shelf that had exactly what I needed. And--"

"Aw, here we go," Stu muttered, amd poured another cup of tea for himself feom the shared pot.

"Shut it," Nicola growled. "He somehow had a newspaper from the start of World War I, in absolutely pristine condition, that had an article about the death of--"

"He's a history nerd, so what?" Stu said. "He inherited the place from his Da, who was also a complete nerd. My Ma swears they're the spitting image of each other, it's a whole schtick they have goong on. Welcome to London, we have weirdos, if you look to your left you can see a skyscraper that looks like a cock and we call it the Gherkin."

"I'm telling you, he's like some sort of secret agent," Nicola insisted. "There's that one skinny guy all in black who's always around, never takes off his shades even indoors. And remember last month, Old George swore up and down the shop burnt to the ground and then reappeared as good as new?"

"Old George is ancient and forgets you're not his little sister's best friend from church," Mona said. She drained off her ridiculous coffee drink and wiped foam from her upper lip. "The building probably burnt down when he was a kid and he's getting confused because back then they tried to rebuild things as they used to be rather than ploughing them up."

"Besides, even the best secret agency can't just rebuild an entire building stone by stone overnight. He's definitely suffering something." Stu held up a hand in the face of Nicola's poisonous glare. "Okay, okay, Old George's faulty memory aside, what makes you think the proprietor works for bleedin' MI-6?"

"I was in not too long before that, working on that nightmare essay, remember?" She waited until the other two nodded, although Mona now had her mobile out and was rexting someone. "These two creepy guys in absolutely pristine suits came in and loudly asked after pornography. Just like that, really kind of stilted, and loud. You know the place as well as I do, there's no porn there."

"I dunno, some of the classics are pretty spicy," Stu joked.

"That's different. He doesn't exactly stock Playboys you know? And the owner got real uncomfortable-looking, like he didn't want to be anywhere near them, and then took them into the back room."

Mona's head came up. "No ody goes in the back room except--"

"And the skinny bloke, aye. And when they came out, they were thanking him for 'the pornography'." Nicola pulled out the scare quotes this time. "Nobody ever buys anything from A.Z. Fell's. It's a fucking library without the legal permits. I think they were foreign agents--"

"You can't expect us to believe that Mr Fell is a secret agent," Stu insisted.

Nicola rolled her eyes. "No, I think he's the middle-man between the creepers and that skinny bloke. They can't be seen near someone like that, right? So Tall and Skinny--"

"Is way too obvious to be a spy," Mona said, shaking her head.

"But that's the brilliance of it! If he's an obvious eccentric, nobody thinks he's a spook!"

Nicola was on a roll now, and Mona and Stu exchanged a look.

"He's like a foreign agent, yeah? And 'pornography'--" scare quotes again-- "is just one of those code phrases they use, right?"

Someone stopped by their table, casting a long shadow against the light streaming through the dusty front window. "if you ask me," the stranger said, "it sounds like you watch too many spy films." He smiled thinly and the lenses of his round dark glasses seemed to flash for a moment.

"Right?" Mona said. "How many times did you see the last Bond film?"

"That has nothing to do with it--"

"What's more likely," the stranger continued, sipping at a monstrosity of a drink that could only tangentially be called 'coffee', "is that the gentlemen in question were local mob shaking our poor bookseller down. You should avoid them."

"See?" Stu agreed. "That makes a lot more sense. A Z. fell has a reputation to maintain. They were definitely threatening him."

Nicola grumped for a moment, slouching in her chair. "Alright, you have a point. He didn't act like they were friends."

"Exactly." The stranger smiled and left his empty, sugar-smeared mug in the middle of their table and left.

Mona opened her mouth to protest when someone else huffed a little sigh. Mr Fell himself picked up the mug, muttering, "Honestly, darling," under his breath, and returned it to the dish drop.

Nicola stared at her plate. "Wait. Who ordered danishes? Do they even sell danishes here?"

#good omens #look i don't go here but the idea stuck in my head so here you go #apologies for typos i was writing on my phone on the train

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annoyingblondebracket · 5 months

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Round 1 | Poll 1

~ Note: This poll is being done out of a genuine love and affection for these types of characters! Please keep that in mind when adding commentary. Propaganda under the cut!

Tsukasa Tenma:

~ hes very loud and eccentric and multiple characters say he is annoying

~ He's an extremely loud theater kid who wants to be a world famous star. Anytime he's on screen he'll yell very loudly at least once. Most other characters have an 'oh... it's him.." moment whenever they see him. Others try (and fail) to avoid him so they don't get caught in his antics. He's a loser and the fandom loves him for it.

~ he's a theater kid who is 100% determined to become the Number 1 World Future Star!!! with absolutely zero volume control who is constantly screaming and laughing at the top of his lungs, to the point where you can hear him from pretty much anywhere in the school. several of his friends (who still love him) and random background characters talk about finding him annoying and intrusive at several points in the story. he's a genuinely really sweet guy who is mainly just putting up a front to hide his insecurities but also the man is constantly reciting a mantra that's just him telling you what his name means. also one time he tried to comfort a crying kid at a theme park by screaming his name at her in english (which he does not speak) and just wound up making her cry harder which tells you pretty much all you need to know

~ He is canonically so loud, like helicopter blades whirling levels of loud. He does not know when to shut up, and is just all around, annoying!!

~ generally very loud, overconfident, little self awareness of how silly he is. consistently found annoying by some characters (ie akito, nene, shiho) and can overwhelm others with his intensity at times

~ he is a very loud and slightly obnoxious theatre kid!! although he is a good person deep down, he's constantly bragging about becoming the world's greatest star. one of his close friends, kamishiro rui (not blonde), makes a lot of drones and robots and often brings them to school, causing quite a bit of chaos that tsukasa inevitably gets roped into. the two of them are referred to as the "weirdo wombo combo" (among other names, depending on the translation) and are found particularly annoying by the character shinonome akito, who mostly tolerates him just because they have a close mutual friend. outside of school, tsukasa works part time as a performer in a theme park, along with characters otori emu, kusanagi nene, and the aforementioned kamishiro rui. nene finds his antics very annoying, and regularly wears noise-canceling headphones just to drown out his voice. she also makes fun of him a lot, but it's all in good fun; they're actually very good friends. tsukasa can sometimes be annoyingly overprotective over his younger sister, saki, mostly because she has had health issues all her life and spent years in and out of the hospital. so although he means well, even she finds him annoying on occasion. not to mention he talks to himself, rehearses monologues, and paces around his room quite a lot. i love the guy but i'd hate to live in the same house as him too. most of this can be summed up by saying that he just gives off immense amounts of theatre kid energy, and if you've ever known a theatre kid during tech week or right after a show, you get somewhat of an idea of what tsukasa's peers have to deal with on a regular basis. and i love him dearly

~ He’s so loud and boisterous and cocky and dramatic that a decent chunk of the other characters actively describe him as annoying or loud. He’s a really good guy, he really is, he’s a great big brother and a nice dude, but unless you’re on his wavelength or a compatible wavelength, he’s completely fucking insufferable.

~ He is LOUD. SO VERY LOUD. The entire school he goes to knows who he is (maybe not by name, but as that-one-guy-who-never-stops-screaming) and will roll their eyes when they see him approach. He's a theater kid also if that wasn't bad enough. And stupid as hell. Ridiculous. I love him so much

~ He's extremely confident and almost always posing and/or screaming. Characters frequently comment on how loud or over the top he is and several characters make a point to try to avoid him when they see him out in public.

~ he's a loud, exuberant, overdramatic theater kid!!! 90% of the time he is shouting and loves to just strike poses whenever he can! tends to overreact and many many characters regard him as loud and annoying but he also has a really big heart and cares a lot about his loved ones and he also expresses that fact very VERY loudly. he's so STUPID (affectionate)

Sanji:

~ Fucking malewife. Horrid little man.

~ He simps so hard for literally every single women

~ everything about him [ is annoying ] pretty much (endearing)

~ be normal about women for once in your life king please

~ he swoons over every woman he sees and it annoys everyone around him (he is very stupid and i love him)

~ Creepy abt women

~ Obsessed with women to an insane level; he'd do anything for women including getting in their bed first because he "thought they didn't want to be alone"; also he's a better cook than me

#💛 | polls #💛 | round one #tsukasa tenma #project sekai #sanji #one piece #annoying blonde bracket

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jaijaitbinks · 1 year

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what r ur thots on Fubuki roping Tatsu into doing something with the main gang (Sai, Genos, King, Mumen and maybe Bang & Bomb) to do smth together and her gradually getting closer to them all and finding actual people she can rely on and trust and omg I'm having so many thoughts about this

First off: Y E S!

Second: I misread this at first and thought you were calling me a thot-

But, back to the idea: I love it. Tatsumaki would be so annoyed with it at first, only putting up with it because it her little sister's friends. But slowly she starts becoming friends with them all.

Saitama because his sense of humor (and by that I mean his typically dry humor) is hilarious most of the time and he's just good to talk to, surprisingly. He doesn't sugarcoat anything, and he says it how it is. Blunt, to-the-point, realistic, and shockingly wise sometimes.

Genos because his eccentricity and generally over-the-top behavior is fun to watch + she already had a leveled sense of respect for the borg after the Garou incident. The kid is all over the place in a sense thaf he would do anything if it meant going above and beyond. And while it's also funny to see, it also makes him (for the most part) reliable. His approach to heroing is also nice to see cuz half the people she works with she feels doesn't take any part of their job seriously.

King because he's very "calm" and down to earth, which is exactly the type of person she like the most (not specifically in a romantic sense, but it's also not unlikely). He's chill, sorta of similar to Saitama but with a more... emotional charm? Like, she feels she can look to him for advice (although she [probably] never would), more so than she can with anybody else. And King in general just has this energy around him that keeps her collected. Like an anchor, almost.

Mumen because his enthusiasm and golden heart is honsstly super refreshing (although she'd never admit to that). What with working in the Hero Association, dealing with them along side boring monsters and irritating peers, Mumen finds enjoyment in his job—has a passion for it. And while she thinks his optimism is sometimes detrimental to C-Class, she admires his friendliness and constant desire to help people. God knows how little of that she sees in the hire classes.

And Bang and Bomb because Bang has a sort of parental vibe while Bang is like that amusing uncle who's the annoying older brother of the dad. Their dynamic is annoying, but in that sort of affectionate way. Bang is this old guy always trying to give lessons and be... well, parental. And Bomb is an older guy that just likes to fuck around while still caring for Bomb. Sometimes she feels jealous that she never had that kind of bond with Fubuki, but she's not the kind of person to resent those old guys for it. Instead, she just silently admires it. Some of Bomb's jokes are funny, too.

And honestly? As a collective, it's so goddamn fun hanging around these bunch of weirdos. Every time she sees them it's always something batshit going on, everytime they're around there's entertaining chaos she's grown used to. They rope her into it all the time after the first time Fubuki did it, but at this point she doesn't mind it. And she can see why her little sister loves these idiots.

#opm #one punch man #tatsumaki #tornado of terror #fubuki #blizzard of hell #hellish blizzard #esper sisters #Saitama Group #saitama #genos #opm king #opm bang #opm bomb #mumen rider

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nappybones5 · 1 year

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A Terminal Redditor’s Interpretation of Team STRQ

Got rambly on Reddit about my interpretation of Team STRQ and again, thinking it might be fun for people into them. First sentence of second para is rehashing some of what was said in my last post, but everything after is all original thinkin’ thoughts. Without further ado!

——-

Does it count as a rarepair if it already happened in canon, i.e, it sunk before it even sailed? Because it sure feels like it. Anywho, reading my fellow Phoenix fics on AO3, and even a few Rosebird ones when I’m feeling desperate, I get the impression that my interpretation of Team STRQ is an outlier.

I don’t like to imagine Summer as Ruby lite, so I’ve written her as a woman on a mission, desperate to kill Salem for making a sole survivor of her. I’m surprised no one’s ever thought of the idea that Ozpin might’ve raised Summer, and I’ve got a lot of headcanons bouncing about in my head about the kind of person she might’ve been, raised that way. A high tolerance for eccentricity, a penchant for overly formal speech (I have had for weeks the idea of her saying ‘dross’ in front of Team STRQ and them looking at her like she’s a fucking alien), and loyalty towards Ozpin to a dangerous fault. And her having an initial approach to Team STRQ like ‘great, more meat for the grinder’ before she genuinely starts to grow to care for them, and her relationship with Ozpin starts to sour-by the time of the volume nine flashback, it’s her inability to sacrifice (what’s left of) her team, as well as her lost faith in Ozpin over the years, that leads her to go rogue, bringing Raven along as the only person she is comfortable sacrificing in a possible suicide mission.

Tai, on the other hand, I often see getting depicted as a fuckboy, end sentence. I find it the least interesting way to characterise him, although I suppose I can’t blame people considering canon gives very little to work with (why is he just SITTING there?????). My take: a neurotic mess who signed up for the Huntsman/Huntress gig to…place himself in a four-man situation in which some form of relationship is inevitable. In other words, to make friends, something that Raven immediately recognises and disdains because-this is my favourite part-because they have more in common than they think, because they are both desperate and idiots and cringe, because the fundamental distinction between them is that despite everything Tai is still holding out hope, and Raven thinks he’s an idiot for it, but if he’s right? If victory is in a simple soul? The more I think about it the giddier I get. Especially all the angst and hurt/ironic-comfort potential aaaaa

My personal interpretation of Qrow isn’t too different from other STRQ fics, I don’t think. Probably the two significant differences are that (1) his relationship with Raven is far more abrasive, they are more often than not indulging in each other’s misery. The bandit life wasn’t great on their conduct or morals, why would they be picking each other up? And consequently (2) Qrow finds a lot of refuge in Summer as a partner, developing a sibling-like bond with her that drives Raven up a wall. Raven is terrified that Qrow’s getting roped into all this “magic-maiden-relics bullshit” (her words not mine) without hesitation. He’d do anything for a sister that cared.

No one is writing these characters quite the way I write them. Which sucks, it makes me feel like the weirdo reading too much into the cutouts, but it‘s kind of a relief too. No ‘competition’, no rush.

#summer rose #taiyang xiao long #raven branwen #qrow branwen #rwby #strq #rwby phoenix #fanfiction #headcanon

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togethernow · 1 month

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WarioWare asks 4 and 10!

Hoooo boy y’all are really really REALLY making me want to ramble

Also very very sorry that this is very very VERY late, I was swamped with work irl and didn’t have time to really sit down and write anything

Anyways I’ll ramble about 4 in a later post (keep an eye out for that!

Here’s the short version though (still a bit long)

- All of warioware is one big found family! Cause sometimes a family can be a bunch of weirdos who get together and occasionally make games together! The gang hangs out regularly outside of work, go to each other for advice, and have parties at Wario’s house!

- Because of this, I don’t really like to ship anyone in Warioware. Spibble is an exception though because they were together from the beginning <3

In terms of headcanon relationships with each other, ehhh let me just say a few in no particular order

- Prior to the founding of Warioware, some of the cast already knew each other. For example, Dribble and Spitz heard of Crygor due to many customers recommending them to get some upgrades to their cab. However, they were a bit intimidated/scared due to his reputation of being an eccentric mad scientist. The dude lives alone on an island off the coast of the city with a bunch of robots! They became more closer due when they became coworkers though, cause of working on games together and their love of sci-fi

- The older kids help the younger ones with things like their homework! I have like, a whole system thing ish in my head as to how exactly the kids interact in terms of school, which I’ll probably say in another post. Outside of school, they still hang out, like having sleepovers at each others houses and such

- Mona gives the rest of the employees discounts at the various places she works at. This gets… kinda inconvenient for Joe to calculate when everyone comes over to hang out, but they’re still welcome nonetheless!

- Wario’s less of a boss and more of like… a supervisor. I mean, yeah, he’s the one who tells them when to make games, and yeah, he’s the one making most of them. But they still come in on their own (all the adults and teens have a key to the building) and make games even when he’s not there. And he’s obviously not paying them. So he’s basically just the one who sparked everything and all the other important stuff (like managing finances, files, and what not) is delegated to others

- And finally, this isn’t really a headcanon, but something I just really love. Deep down, Wario really is just the grumpy uncle. Although it might not seem like it to people on the outside, the whole crew knows that he truly does care for them. I could imagine him suggesting to take the kids out on one of his treasure hunting trips to “show ‘em how it’s done the Wario style!” but ended up stopping due to 5-Volt’s reprimands about how dangerous it is. Heck, I consider Wario to be Lulu’s pseudo dad. He has a bed for her in his house and lets her ride around on her motorcycle whenever she comes over

10- Orby :3

He’s my favorite little guy! Just a scrungly! A li’l blorbo!

On second thought, I might want to get one of Spitz too. Or Red. Or even Mike. Eeeyah, there’s so many options that I can’t choose!!

#again super super SUPER sorry this is late #I hope you enjoy the ramblings!#warioware #Umaruuuu~ (answered questions)

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delusionalmultifandomwriter · 4 months

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Beautiful Harlequin

Requested?: yes (see below)

Note: I do not want or plan to adopt this fandom to my usual writings, it was an interesting experience but i dont really vibe with it (You will notice, normally i write deeper stories). Thanks for the request though, i hope you like it!!

Request: A Kaptain Krazee x female clown reader story in which the reader wakes up with no memory of how she got there as Kaptain Krazee’s clown bride. Naturally, the reader is freaked out and wants to figure out a way home. Until then the reader has to cope with being married to a creepy clown for a husband. Will she figure out how to get back home or will she be forced to stay with her terrifying husband and his clown family?

You slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the bright, flickering lights above. The room was filled with colorful, striped wallpaper and bizarre clown decorations. Blinking a few times to get rid of the drowsiness before you shrieked up. How did you get here?

You sat up, looking around frantically, when the door creaked open. In walked a clown figure dressed in a blue-and-silved costume with large red shoes, complete with crimped red hair and a white-painted face that seemed permanently etched onto his face.

"Ah, my beautiful Harlequin!" Kaptain Krazee exclaimed with a high-pitched laugh. "Good morning, my dear! You slept through our wedding night."

Wedding? Your heart raced as you tried to make sense of the situation. You stammered, "Where am i? What's going on? Why am i here?"

Kaptain Krazee merely laughed. "You're in the Cavalcade of Clowns, my sweet. Don't act stupid. Isn't it marvelous?"

As the day passed, you struggled to adapt to your bizarre new life. You were surrounded by other clown performers who seemed just as eccentric and unsettling as Kaptain Krazee. Where did you come from? How long had you been here before? When did you get married to such a weirdo? And most important: Why?

Determined to unravel the mystery of your 'new' life, you slowly began investigating. You overheard whispers among the clown performers. As soon as they noticed you, they turned away their heads and laughed with eachother as nothing ever happened. Desperate for answers, you finally decided to confront Kaptain Krazee.

He chuckled, his smile widening. "My sweet Harlequin, you are here by choice. You willingly became my bride. When i first saw you in the ring, i knew you were the one. And now you're part of the Circus of Wonders forever."

Doubt and fear consumed your mind, but you refused to accept this twisted reality. Why would you ever marry a clown? Let alone a psychopathic one like this?! You dived deeper into the circus's secrets, forming unlikely alliances.

One night, you sat on a bench of the ring when a female clown approached you. Lucky you, you were not afraid of clowns, although they all seemed a little uncanny to you.

"Hello darling." She said while sitting down next to you. "Why making such a sad face?" She blinked with her lashes and gave you a sad smile. "Just overthinking something." You answered while you stared holes into the air. The clown leaned over a little. "Need a little help with escaping?" She whispered, suddenly sounding much clearer.

"What?" You asked irritated. The clown girl lifted two fingers and brushed over the white makeup on her neck. It rubbed off and under it showed lightly tanned and definitly human skin. Your eyes widened. "You are like me." You whispered. She pulled up her costume to cover the free spot and nodded.

"Let me help you." She whispered. You nodded. "Why are you here?" She hesitate for a moment. "I was Kaptain Krazee's bride once too. I blended in with the clowns and he lost interest. He is more into humans." She whispered. You nodded thoughful. "Let's get out of here together." You whispered back. The girl nodded solemnly.

You ecxchanged a hand shake.

Whatever would come, you could survive this. Together.

#kaptain krazee #haunted hour #afraid of clowns #requested #requests open #clowns #clown #kaptain krazee x reader #xreader #x reader #my writing

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darkestspring · 1 year

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[ just a drabble from Aegon’s POV, so enjoy~ ]

Aegon II had literally tried getting along with his beloved’s children, but most of them don’t exactly make it easy for him. They have awkward conversations, which this makes him miss it when they were little as chatty and unaware children.

Rhea and Aemond have bonded as they’d spend time training together or learning philosophies in the library. Probably talk shit behind his back. Viselon has obviously preferred the company of his actual son, Jaehaerys, and younger brother, Daeron, while Aella and Argella spend time playing conquerers together in the courtyard- or arguing who should be the warrior queen visenya until his youngest son, Maelor, would pop in reassuring Argella that she can be his Rhaenys… which resulting the black haired girl angrily smacking him on the head with her wooden sword.

Jaehaera was laughing hysterically at her younger brother from the bench.

Oh yeah, his own younger son has been spending time with Argella a lot lately whenever he gets the chance. But he’ll bring it up to baelon sometime in the future if Maelor becomes more persistent.

Rhaenar timidly follows Helaena around, both often found speaking cryptic conversations and exchanging rare bugs, which they both fit into the weirdo category to Aegon’s close observation.

Vevienne, Marleina, and Ilysaendra were definitely a group that plays together since their age gap were close. Often kept under their mother’s and grandmother, alicent, eyes as the three women either stitch and drink tea together. Although they like to pile onto him and repeatedly calling him “Eggy”/“Dada” (from Ilysaendra much to his discomfort) whenever he comes to ask about Baelon’s whereabouts.

He’d always noticed Argella spending most of her time down alone at the dragonpit with a pile of books in her arms, the courtyard, following her father anywhere he goes, cuddling onto her mother’s lap as Maris would tell stories about her childhood at Storm’s End while caressing her hair, or playing with her older half-sist—cousin Aella. And occasionally playing at flea bottom with the commoners children.

Aegon knows how much she was well loved by the realm and her doting parents, but two of her older siblings were a different matter, they treated her as if she was wildfire. And Argella getting extremely irritated at random times- it was actually like that since she was born. Increasing after he accidentally forgotten about her in the dragonpit when she was a toddler, he winces remembering that certain incident.

“It’s just our sister… very eccentric sometimes.” He heard Viselon mentioning to Maris at some point. “Argella is a great kid to hang around sometimes but… she also makes it hard for me and Rhea to spend a full hour with her. She’s not like our other siblings and cousins.” He wasn’t wrong about the second part.

And Daemon’s weird fixation with her. That was weirder than the time he was forced to marry Helaena. Good thing Baelon always sends him back to Dragonstone with a tail between his legs, or going over there to teach him a lesson himself, but the greens know the rogue prince will never learn.

Anyways, perhaps another attempt of spending time with the younger children won’t go wrong again. He just needs Daeron to keep himself in check, no need to forget another one of his beloved’s children again.

[ until the next ask where aegon and daeron looses two kids this time… 👀 ]

- 💜 Anon.

TWO KIDS????? aegon is going to get adult grounded if he keeps this up.

#💜 anon #baelon ii targaryen #argella targaryen #LOVELY AS ALWAYS!!!

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randomvarious · 10 months

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Today's compilation:

What Else Do You Do? (A Compilation of Quiet Music) 1990 Folk-Rock / Folk / Acoustic Rock / Lo-Fi / Outsider / Avant-Folk / Americana / Folk-Punk / Art Rock

Here's something fun from a sizeable movement and era that I've never really taken the time to dive all that much into before: that mid-80s-to-mid-90s Bohemian-open-mic-at-a-coffeehouse-or-independent-bookstore folk revivalist type of stuff. Lighthearted, tender, childlike, vulnerable, silly, intimate, acoustic, imperfect, eccentric, DiY, goofy, charming, absurd, and sometimes sloppy music. There was a pretty big underground subculture of this stuff that I feel like lived on self-produced and self-released cassette tapes that soft-spoken and idiosyncratic starving artist weirdos would take to their local shops or try to panhandle on arts district street corners and at shows. Of course, I'm basically describing the outsider king himself, Daniel Johnston, to a T here, but he wasn't the only one who was responsible for creating this beautifully strange type of fare, although his iconic talking frog drawing could certainly serve as its emblem, whose simplicity is akin to this album's own artwork.

And while Daniel Johnston, a native of Austin, makes an appearance on this comp, this release appears to actually be pretty New York-centric. And maybe this is just me, but I feel like when we generally reflect on this mid-80s to mid-90s era of New York, what we're usually thinking about is the hustle and bustle of that big city: loud, blaring, electronically-made dance beats, or the raucous rock of haunts like CBGBs, or some cerebral and gritty rap tunes; not so much this stripped-down folkiness that happens to make up most of this album here.

But it seems like this vein of artistry has been a part of New York in some form or another for a very long time anyway; it's just that pieces of it have been way more prominent and historicized, like the Beatniks of the 50s, or the folkies of the 60s. Really, this album could just be considered a darling, little early 90s snapshot of some of that ever-shifting Downtown continuum, I guess.

So, in addition to Daniel Johnston, within this odd collection you'll find some of his own contemporaries too, like Beck's former roommate, Paleface, who kicks us off with a tongue-in-cheek piece of nihilistically violent folk-punk in "Burn and Rob." Then there's the iconic counterculturalist and co-founder of legendary satirical rock band The Fugs, Tuli Kupferberg, who delivers the song with probably the richest and fullest sound of this entire set with "I Was Much Mistaken."

But where this comp really seems to truly shine is with its absolute nobodies who somehow managed to make it on here in the first place; it's like they've sauntered into an open mic and have stolen the whole dang show, which is what the spirit of this movement has always seemed to reflect: open-armed and open-minded egalitarianism. Some random cat could just come in off the street, play something great, and then never show up again, which, in a way, reads sort of like a folktale in and of itself, doesn't it?

And this album seems to capture a bunch of those types, like David Keener and the Hat Brothers, both of whose only ever released song is accorded to this album. They both deliver some pretty excellent pieces of acoustic folk in "Tip of the Iceberg" and "Dark as a Dungeon," respectively.

So, this is a very good and slightly weird early 90s folky comp from a scene and era that I haven't really ever given that much thought to. From New York's Shimmy Disc label, which was run by mononymous and iconic New York oddball Kramer, who was in The Fugs with the aforementioned Tuli Kupferberg, and was a member of, and also produced, a bunch of other off-beat acts as well to keep a lot of this avant-and-indie stuff thriving. Cool, creative, and non-commercial art that serves as something of a light, under-the-radar counterweight to some of the Big Apple's more striving, maximalist, and brash tendencies.

Highlights:

Paleface - "Burn and Rob" Dogbowl - "Rosemary in Red" Daniel Johnston - "1989 Blues" David Keener - "Tip of the Iceberg" Tuli Kupferberg - "I Was Much Mistaken" Azalia Snail - "Dual Control" King Missile - "Life" Hat Brothers - "Dark as a Dungeon"

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revivemyreverie · 2 years

Note

∅ for ur rosecrux baes opinions on cat & the hellhaven bros on arma !! (it’s a tall order so feel free to choose one if it’s too much)

NO ORDER IS EVER TOO TALL!!!!!!!!! Also yay I get to use my banners🥳🥳🥳🥳

“An annoying pain for my files, that Chessur. She’s never revealed her unique magic, not publicly at least. It makes her an anomaly, which is never good for a researcher like me.

However, there’s always a good trait in WHA’s leaders, and Chessur is no exception. I don’t talk to her much, just like every other leader. But as her classmate, she was quite helpful when I first… arrived at this academy. And, she appears to be quite a revolutionary, almost enough for Rosecrux.

Overall, a nice girl, but I’d rather know everything about her. After all, a mouse should learn to outsmart a cat before it eats them, no?”

“That weirdo dorm leader??

I mean, Cat’s a pretty nice upperclassman, but shes…quirky? Unique??? She scared the crap out of me once when I was looking for Tomomi once. Cat just popped out of nowhere, and I nearly whacked her with my training sword! She ended up being pretty helpful in the end, though, pointing me the right way and all.

I heard that she’s a rebellious gal, so that’s pretty cool. Maybe even someone to learn tips from! Tomomi wouldn’t like that though… eh, I’ll just tell her I was doing club work.”

“Miss Cat… an odd maiden, but in a cute kind-of-way, no?

I heard that she and miss Ali are best friends. With how they are, it’s like they were made for eachother. It’s so sweet— and reminds me of me and Kazue! She might disagree, though.

Those tattoos… Hm~ quite unprofessional if you ask me, even as a dorm leader, and especially as a lady. They don’t make her look quite noble or anything, rather, it feels inappropriate. The only people back in my homeland who wear tattoos are vagrants and criminals. Maybe she’s having a rebellious phase?

“A great businessman, and an even better dorm-leader. Doomsday is a fellow that I could learn a lot from. He’s certainly… eccentric, though.

He’s been offering to show me the Ink and Paint club to relax, but it’s always while I’m working, so I’ve been rejecting Doomsday every time. What I’ve heard, however, is that the drinks are phenomenal. If this rumor is true, I might ask him and his club to cater drinks for Caldera’s next party. Any price should do, they just have to be good enough for our tastes.

Other than that, he’s got quite the personality, puns and all. Mimia and Daryn don’t like the fact that Doomsday smokes, but I honestly don’t mind. I’m already used to that kind of smell back home. Of course, I don’t smoke myself, Kendrick might end up doing it then.

Huh? Kendrick’s having trouble with him?

…Haah, I’ll see if I can talk with my brother.”

“Upperclassman Arma? He’s so cool! I’ve been wanting to visit his bar, but I heard it’s got a roach infestation. Although, maybe I can grab my group and go when it’s fixed!

…Pfft, Ahaha! Sorry, I can’t contain it anymore, the image of that buffoon’s enraged face popped in my head! He was raging and ranting when he found out I spread rumors about his little club. Truly, Arma is a good dorm leader, but he’s total shit at acting. And being bold is fine, as long as it’s not with me. It was just a few questions, too. Not my fault he’s so sensitive about lending me some dirt.

I will admit, I’m pissed that he destroyed some of my undead, but it’s fine. After all, they always come back to me~. Andreas is probably gonna give me a lecture, so I’ll stop messing with that idiot eventually. But for now? Let’s get revenge for his little fight with my corpse friends this time.”

#nezumi= mouse this was the perfect symbolism moment #also don’t mind Tomomi💖 her toxicity is trauma-based🤡🤡🤡🤡#also I thought while doing Andreas’ part that Arma would love the Grimoire Badlands #twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #ask game!#andreas hellhaven #kendrick hellhaven #rosecrux

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oonajaeadira · 3 years

Text

A Girl Walks Into a Bookshop: Chapter 1: Something Tender Inside

Pairing: eventual Ezra (Prospect film) x f!reader

Rating: T for now. Soft AF.

Warnings: None.

A/N: @grogusmum put the idea of bookkeeper Ezra in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. (Although, I can’t stop thinking about Ezra just in general.) If y’all like it, his may be a soft little slow-burn series, not much will happen, just a pile of fluff to curl up with when you need something disgustingly soooooooooooft and chewy and dreamy (or if you’re @cannedsoupsucks and need a little Ezra + books to help you through a migraine). This is set a couple of years or so after the events of the film.

Summary: You’ve passed by this bookshop a hundred times. But today, Ezra convinces you to enter.

TAGLIST: you can always request to be on the taglist for this or any of my work. If you’d like to be on taglists for upcoming fic, please sign up here –> TAGLIST

MASTERLIST - BOOKSHOP MASTERLIST

_________________

The book is a work of art. Red binding, gold lettering, scrollwork. The Streamer Girl. When was the last time you sat down and read something new? Held a beautiful volume like that in your hands and smelled the pages? Watched the curling script fall over sentences and create worlds in your head? It might do you good, just to take an evening to let your mind wander away from things. You’ve been low for far too long. It really isn’t good for your health to fixate on your failures over and over….

But not this book. Not this expensive looking book in this quaint little bookshop window. You’ve passed by this shop a hundred times, meant to check it out, but tore yourself away. You had books back at your workshop you could read again. Points were scarce and new books were a luxury you weren’t able to justify at the moment. You knew if you ever entered the shop it would just break your heart for not being able to bring them all home with you. And so you usually tucked your head down and moved on. But today, that unexpected transmission from your ex…. You made bad choices, babe, told you you’d be sorry….You were in a haze of self-doubt and not really paying attention to your errands and this little red book just caught your eye. Took you on a stream-of-consciousness tangent. Screamed out “you need a little escape.”

What was this place called again? You’ve been staring at the book in thought for a few minutes now and when you lift your eyes to read the sign above the door, you jump when you catch instead the eyes of someone on the other side of the glass who’s obviously been watching you. Crooked smile under a rough mustache. Patch of blonde hair over one temple among a thatch of brown. He’s got a canvas apron on, must work here. Leaning forward over the window display not a foot away from your face. How long has he been there? Weirdo.

You huff a short laugh and give him the universal look of “you scared the shit out of me, buddy,” which only causes the smile to creep up further on one side of his face. He jerks his head, “come on in.” And you throw a smile that doesn’t travel up to your eyes and wave your hands, “no, just looking, sorry” and start to move on.

But as you pass the door, he’s leaning out, calling apologetically. “It seems you are in want of a good book, gentle wanderer. The volume you were sizing up is indeed a fine choice.” You might just harden, wave him off and pass by, but now that the door is half-cracked, there’s the whisper of a pull to enter the shop. There’s also something warm in his tone, a fringeling twang that you’re a sucker for, something you don’t hear often on Kassiot.

“Ah, thank you. I was just looking.”

“I could see that. You were looking, but you were also wanting. How many times have you passed by this establishment and fought within your fine person the want to come in and explore?”

He...has an eccentric way of speaking that you find both fascinating and a bit of a red flag. If you stop for a conversation, you might find yourself trapped with someone you can’t nicely break away from. But you also can’t resist a character and make the decision to engage with thinly veiled amusement.

“How do you know this isn’t my first time seeing this shop?”

“Well, I could answer that, but it might betray the amount of time I spend looking out of windows.”

“Hm. Sounds like a lot.”

“Enough to notice.”

Wait. What does that mean? Has this guy been watching you? Is it time to get confrontational? “Yeah? What have you noticed.”

“It is the nature of the human beast to detect the gaze of a face that turns their way, as yours does toward these windows ‘most every afternoon. You’re the one whose eyes linger when her feet will not. But today, they did. And here you are.”

Something in this sincere, poetic reflection softens you, tugs at you. Like he hears a yearning within that you thought was quieter than it was. But it’s not his job to analyze you. It’s his job to sell his wares.

“Honestly...I love books. I do. I just...it’s a luxury I can’t afford right now. And this is just the kind of shop I think would ruin me.” You look up to the sign--The Queen’s Lair--and behind him to the dark wood paneling and high ceilings and chaotic but tightly-packed shelves, exactly the type of shop you’d wrap around yourself for comfort, but would feel guilty about spending hours in without buying anything.

The man smiles again, this time not so crooked, but it crinkles his eyes and throws a light into them. “Well then, you’re in luck! We have a traders and borrower’s policy here--nobody should go without a story in their clutch if they are in need.” He steps out to open the door for you, and it’s here that you notice his right sleeve is neatly folded and pinned up over a missing arm. “If you would be so kind.”

You might have said no. But he’s the one asking your favor, asking to be the one to serve you, with that dialect and some kind of rough charm…. And so you step in.

It’s exactly as you feared, dense rows to get lost in, narrow passages weaving back Kevva knows how far, wandering paths lined with books from floor to heaven, shelves higher than can be reached. But above that, the ceiling is painted deep blue with gold stars.

He notices you gasp a little at the detail. “My niece’s embellishment. Insisted on it. Enchanting, are they not? You’ll want to step over this way. I’ll ask you to mind the stacks, if you would.”

You barely hear your footsteps on the floor as the space is so muffled, so softly deadened of all harsh noises by the masses of bound paper all around you, nothing but the welcome creaks of the wooden floorboards. There’s something in the air that’s giving off a clean smell over all the leather and old paper, something of fresh--you spy jars of fillianweed in some of the corners and on shelves. Of course. Filianweed is poisonous to book mites. Lightly fragrant and useful. The little jars stuffed all around give the shop a bit of an arcane apothecary feel.

He leads you over to a small side room of the store with books stacked up in piles on the floor, the shelves mostly empty but with a few loose volumes haphazardly thrown on. Looks like he’s in the middle of a re-shelving project here. You’re barely able to squeeze in next to him, a little closer than you’d like, being that you seem to be the only two in the shop. He’s a large-ish man, a little backwater roughness in him, but he doesn’t come off as untrustworthy. In fact, you feel oddly safe around him. He’s not what you would expect in a place like this. Seems too sturdy. Built for harder labor. Which, you suppose, could be lifting and staking books after all.

His voice brings you back to the matter at hand.

“This is the kipper’s room,” he gestures to the piles, “I hope you’ll forgive its not-so-temporary disorder. Volumes tend to come and go fairly regularly here and I have not had the time or help of late to make it more presentable. But you’re welcome to skitter things around at your discretion.” He picks up an impressive amount of books with his one broad hand and plops them on a shelf, uncovering a paperback that he grabs and wags at you, gesturing as he speaks. “Initiates can take a book from this room free of charge. If I never see it again, well, that’s on me. But you can return it for trade or bargaining. You do that enough times, and I’ll discount a newer model for you. You bring in more, well, then we’ll have a spirited conversation regarding worthwhile compensation.”

“Really? You just...give books away.”

“Well, if you can learn to look past an inelegant cover, you just might find something tender inside. As you can see, many of these are well-loved and worth more for their stories than for their looks. Hard to sell. Probably been on many a freighter trip. But a book’s a book. I’m not going to turn one away to the scrap heap if it means another soul might find some comfort in it. Now if it’s the one you’re pining for in the window, I don’t currently have that particular story on loan at the moment, but this one,” he hands you the paperback, tapping a finger on the cover, “may be on the same cue. Little mystery, little adventure, but a bit more of a...ripened theme. It’s got a hell of a love story will knock you back on your softer sections.”

You feel your stomach twist and you breathe out a nervous laugh to cover it. “Oh no. Thanks. Ah...I can’t do anything with romance right now.”

He’s quiet for a second, his eyes sinking into the slightest sad squint as his bottom lip purses his mouth and mustache up. Damn. That was revealing too much and now this peculiar man is pitying you. I don’t know you, sir, please don’t ask questions…..

But just as you’re about to backpedal and make unsteady excuses, he quickly lifts the book away in as much motion now as he was stock still just moments ago. “Okay. Then may I suggest--” he bobs his head searching a couple of stacks before grabbing and moving a few handfuls off one to uncover a smaller, less worn book. “This one starts off on an amorous note, but let me assure you, the man is a scoundrel and it does not take long for the heroine to kick him cleanly aside and find a more heartening adventure.”

The book fits into your hands like it was made for you to read. The Shillytern. The blue cover just shows a picture of a fairy tern, a tiny bird native to Kassiot, one that can fly over oceans without rest, but makes its nests in high places, building them out of rare purple bellflowers. There’s an old Kassiot song about a fairy tern that grows tired of purple flowers and flies out over the ocean to find those of pure white, never to be seen again. Rather than assume the bird has died, the lyrics imagine that she triumphantly finds a land of white flowers and better mates. An old classic for heartbroken lovers. Fly away, shillytern, go follow your heart’s desire. You haven’t seen a fairy tern or heard that song since you were a child and the picture twists a nostalgic dial within you. Happier memories. A means of escape.

You nod. This is the one you’ll take. “Do I need to fill out a loan card or something?”

He throws his head back just a little, his smile cocky enough to hold pride that he’s picked out the right book for you, but also kind--he’s happy to have been of service. “Not at all. Just need your name.” His voice is low and soothing; for someone who just met you, he genuinely seems to care and know that you’re not having the best day. He holds out his hand to you.

If you can learn to look past an inelegant cover, you just might find something tender inside.

You slip yours within his. But not with your opposite as in a handshake. Something grateful comes over you and you take his hand like a friend and squeeze it, give him your name and thank him, surprising yourself with this strangely intimate and awkward gesture in this cramped space.

His hand is warm and dry from handling books, it circles yours greedily, burying it, dwarfing it within his sturdy fingers. You can feel the heat rising to your cheeks. But you don’t care because this man magically appeared out of nowhere and just gave you something you didn’t even realize you desperately needed today. Just a small thing, just a book, the hint of a memory, the promise of a little tranquility, the invitation to enter an environment that closes around you like a warm hug and smells like a long ago you’ve never seen.

He chuckles softly and squeezes back. “Name’s Ezra. And I am more than delighted that we’ve found something to your liking, but I’ll be needing the book to mark it with a loan stamp.”

“Oh.” Of course. The book. That heat in your cheeks shifts to a different kind of embarrassment as you realize now what he was actually reaching for. “Sorry.” Shit. Now who’s the weirdo here.

“No need for atonements, gentle friend. Far be it from me to turn down a gesture of connection or kindness from one who gives it in sincerity, nor from one who seems to crave its return.” Ezra’s keen eyes search your own before he nods his head around you in the direction you came in from and the rest of him follows, stepping over a short tower of books so as not to crowd you as he moves through the passage. “Front desk’s this way.”

He’s an odd mix of arresting stillness and sporadic energy, mirroring both the quiet atmosphere and visually busy aesthetic of the shop. If you’d laid in bed after waking and had to guess what twisting turning kind of a day you’d have, you never could have written this plot. The stinging slap of the transmission from your ex. The low morning. The burned toast. And then the moment you zoned out on your way to the markets, it brought you this little adventure with this strange character and his wondrous shop.

As he fumbles with the balance of opening the back cover and placing the stamp one-handed, you avert your eyes back to the painted stars overhead.

“Is this shop yours then?”

“It is. Bought and branded. The whole caboodle.”

“Huh. So is there a second floor?”

“There is, but it is devoid of books. That is where I lay my head at the end of a day tending to them.”

“You live upstairs? I didn’t think this sector was zoned for living quarters.”

“Squatters rights. You privately buy and sell on a piece of land, you have a right to sleep on it as well. All the enterprises on this street enjoy that little luxury.” He taps the spine of the book on the counter to get your attention. “Your paper fantasy awaits. Treat her like you love her.”

The little book passes reverently from his hand to yours, your thumb catching the back cover to peek at the insignia marked there--a classic English Q with an integrated L surrounded by little stars. “Must be nice, living above a bookshop,” you muse. “If you can’t sleep, you just have to come downstairs and grab a story to help.”

His dark eyes read you, judging your own set of strangeness, as if nobody else would point that out. Surely it’s not a unique thought. He must get that all the time.

“It does have its perks.”

There’s that stillness again as he watches you benignly, warmly, as you examine the paperback. Nothing more to say. The transaction is complete, he’s done his job, got you in the door and a book in your hands. Although, it’s not like there was a profit or currency exchange. Just a… an exchange of… what? Time? Kindness? You’re suddenly a little overwhelmed by it, sorry you’d resisted at the beginning.

“Well. Thank you. Ezra. It's nice to have a place to…” You gesture generically to your surroundings. “I’ll be sure to come back to exchange it.”

“I have no doubt. I anticipate it and look forward to your thoughts on it. No need to be carrying a book to step through that door. The shop is always welcome to wanderers. The novels like to be surveyed from time to time, and I would not mind the company in the quieter hours.”

You suddenly notice how still the shop is, the way the dust rides the sunlight, undisturbed. You’ve seen more people here, seen folks step aside at the door as someone entering makes way for a patron exiting with an armful of books. There must be little pockets of slow periods like this, and you can imagine him tooling around the shelves, dusting, replacing the jars of fillianweed, lazily stocking and rearranging...even staring out the window in thought. You bet he whistles... If he’s inviting company, that means he must run the place by himself.

“Do you… need anything?” You ask before you even know what you mean.

Ezra’s head tips back as he looks down at you in amusement, and his body leans forward, his elbow on the counter. “That is a simple question with many complicated answers could fill several afternoons and easily keep me from my vocation.”

It’s the first time you’ve genuinely smiled today. “I mean. It seems you work on your own here. Do you need...I don’t know. Can I run and get you some lunch or something? A coffee?”

The crooked grin from earlier returns. “I do appreciate the offer. But I assure you that for today at least, I am wholly content.”

Weirdly on cue, the door opens and an older man totters in, grizzled and greying, carrying a paper bag smelling of something freshly grilled. “Hey Ez,” he coughs and grumbles, setting the bag on the counter as you back off to give him clearance. “Brought your order. Ma says hello and wonders if you have that new Caldwell novel.”

“I believe I do. I’ll return with it shortly.” A short nod and a small smile float your way before Ezra disappears between the stacks.

It takes a moment to adjust back to the warm sunlight and the sound of insects when you reach the street. Where were you going? Supply market for parts. Farmer’s stall to see what’s available for fresh vegetation. FrieghterPost...that’s right, there’s a paper transmit in your pocket, an angry message back to your ex. Hmm. Scratch the FrieghterPost. You’re only half the heartbroken you were this morning, and a lot less angry for sure; you’ll just recycle the paper when you get home. The book fits nicely in your jacket pocket as you head off toward the market, hardly weighing you down at all. In fact, you couldn’t feel lighter in your heart and on your feet. Day’s taking a better turn after all.

________________

Chapter 2: Has a Glow in It -->

I’d just like you to squee over this wonderful illustration Maia did of our boy and the bookshop:

Illustration by @mjpens Original post can be found here at here.

Taglist: @extraterrestrialdork @14mcmd1122 @grogusmum @cannedsoupsucks @melobee @bruschi3 Also tagging @honestly-shite because of this post and its comments....and mostly for the mutual love of Ez + books.

#soft ezra #ezra (prospect)#ezra x reader #ezra x you #ezra (prospect) x reader #ezra (prospect) x you #book keeper ezra #book seller ezra #pedro pascal #soooooft

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yaz-the-spaz · 2 years

Note

Do you think Joe Jonas and Sophie are really together and really have a baby? I’m curious what you think since you have followed three fake 1D pregnancies and I think you said you were a Jonas Brothers fan. Sorry if I’m mixing you up with another blog! I’m not in the JB fandom but I occasionally read about them and I like Joe and Sophie as people. But the way their relationship and Nick & Priyanka’s relationship have been portrayed in the media seems PR/bearding to me.

i am indeed an og jobros fan (been so since about '07) and i agree with you about the way both brothers' relationships have been weirdly pushed to the fandom and portrayed in the media (esp inserting all their wives into the music vids and whatnot and making most early comeback promo all about their marriages/wives, ugh no thank you). but i have to admit i've kinda tuned most of the relationship stuff out the same way i often do for ot5, though that tuning out is prob on a much heavier scale for the jobros these days cause 1) i just don't have the energy lol and 2) i've first and foremost ALWAYS been here for the music above everything else when it comes to any musicians i like. (my paying as much attention to personal lives or relationships like i have for ziam/ot5 was a novelty tbh, and probably a standalone from any other music/artist-related fandoms i have been or will ever be in)

that said, from the little i've seen/heard of things, nick's is absolutely a pr relationship and i believe that with my whole soul. i don't feel like i need a lot to go on to see that they don't really have much chemistry or seem compatible as people. ofc i could always remain to be surprised but i don't think i will. they'll probably get quietly divorced in another couple years/whenever the contract becomes less advantageous or they get tired enough of each other.

as for joe & sophie, it's harder to tell...again, possibly cause i just haven't paid close enough attention to things. but on the surface i will say they seem genuinely very compatible and warm/cute and friendly together so even if it isn't legit, i think there is some degree of friendship (or some sort of positive working relationship and some common interests/personality traits) there at least. although like i said, i could be wrong and just be being fooled by the few surface interactions i've seen and my not paying closer attention.

HOWEVER

the pics i've seen of them out and about with the baby were indeed what caught my eye and made me more genuinely start wondering if there was something a little odd there as it rings a little too closely with z's "family outing" pics wherein joe looks about as interested to be there as eleanope at a louis concert lol. which is to say he's often on his phone/looking away/standing or walking like 500 feet away with around 2 feet of space from sophie or the stroller when he's not looking bored af pushing it (or looking like he could care less about having to be out with them on a pap walk), and from what i could see never actually holding the kid himself. it definitely looks odd, but again i'm not as up on the details and from what bits i did see of sophie's pregnancy and their relationship beforehand from dating to the marriage things def looked a lot more "normal" than they ever did w/ z*gi or ch*am or laya (though ofc normal is relative lol, esp in the world of pr dating and closeting. but like at least joe&sophie had actual freaking baby bags and blankets while out, didn't take their newborn out in the middle of fucking snowstorms in the middle of the night where literally zero other grown adults even felt safe enough to be outside, and sophie got photog'd with a legitimate pregnant belly out and about multiple times and not weirdly trying to hide it, etc.). i will admit the vegas wedding was a tad weird and out of left field but at the same time still felt very much in character for joe's rather eccentric personality (and sophie who seems like a bit of a weirdo in a fun way too from what i've seen of her lol). so all that in mind i'm still inconclusive on them (the pics could just be happenstance cause maybe he just didn't want him or his family being dragged through obligatory pap walks by whoever greenlit it and that was his way of getting through it, or was genuinely just killing time while they walked, or maybe there really is something larger there idk)...i'm keeping a very tiny corner of an eye on it, and an open mind to multiple possibilities, but just don't have enough info (or motivation) to dive into it enough to really say anything conclusive for sure 🤷🏽‍♀️

#asks #anons #my thoughts #space #spaace #spaaace #theories #pr relationships #nick #joe #jonas brothers #joe was always the one with the most rampant queer rumors back in the day mostly he was a lot more flamboyant back then #*mostly cause #though nick had a little bit of his fair share too #so honestly the both of them potentially being queer wouldn't surprise me in the least #but remains to be seen if any more weird things crop up that ping my radar i guess #if anyone who's been paying more attention to all this than me wants to chime in w/ their observations feel free to leave a comment #(not an ask please i have enough of those rn lol)

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tonystarkbingo · 2 years

Text

SCRAP SPOTLIGHT!

Today's themed scraps are specifically non-Tony, so here's some scraps for the other characters.

Tossed in the box by: SomeSortofItalianRoast!

Steve drew Bruce with the Sceptre because Loki’s (still) in his head

- in a step behind, steve draws the avengers, and he draws Bruce holding the Sceptre on the helicarrier - it was supposed to be foreshadowing/reference to the fact that HYDRA had the sceptre - then i thought, what if Steve drew that because loki was (still) in his head - this was supposed to be a Steve/Loki fic with a happy ending, but it would work very well as a dark fic with an unhappy ending.

Tossed in the box by: rebelmeg!

Maybe the super soldier secret wasn’t in the serum. Maybe it was in the vita-rays. The serum won’t work without them, because they were an activating and stabilizing component. The serum is too unstable otherwise, which explains why it’s never been replicated perfectly.

Tossed in the box by: PoliZ!

Everyone assumed that Pepper Potts loved high heels. It seemed every interviewer at some point (yes, even the ones from Forbes and Fortune) asked her about the extent of her collection, if she had a favorite pair or what she thought of the latest designs from Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnik. She’d even autographed and donated several pairs to be auctioned off for charity, although she didn’t care to think about what might be their ultimate fate. After all, Tony wasn’t the only one who got weirdo fan mail.

The truth was -- Pepper hated them. It was mostly the fact that, as a professional businesswoman, it was expected that she would be wearing heels not only during the workday (no matter how long that actual day was), but at every public appearance or function outside of work as well - other than maybe the company picnic or a beach outing. And while she’d been blessed with the ideal combination of bone structure, musculature and tendon elasticity to be able to wear them for hours on end, standing, walking and even running — although as a CEO, she didn’t have to do nearly as much of that — at the end of the day, her feet still hurt.

Early in her career, she’d become adept at slipping her shoes off under her desk (and then back on at a moment’s notice), using highlighters or other thick marking pens as impromptu massage rollers. But now she spent very little time at a desk and even less of it alone; and she just wasn’t up to cultivating the eccentric personality needed to explain away her attending a meeting sans appropriate footwear.

Want to see the rest of the prompts, including a scrap by Amber about an AU with a violinist Tony and an especially evil-minded Obadiah? Check it all out on the GDoc!

#tonystarkbingo #tsb box of scraps #scrap spotlight #fandom event #not tony-centric

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lightsaberupmybutt · 3 years

Text

Three’s a Crowd - Reader/Ben Solo/Poe Damerson (Modern AU)

alright so Ben/Kylo is a big ego kid in this, because of course. Also, Rey is ACTUALLY Lukes daughter in this, making them cousins. Ive fiddled with the plot okay sue me.

Summary: Poe, Finn and their roommate have been living in a harmonious tenancy, but when Finn decides to move out for a year of travelling, the two are left with no option but to look elsewhere for their third body. Rey Skywalker, a friend of the group, proposes her cousin for the role. He's in a band, wears all black and all in all is somewhat of a social reject - but he's also all theyve got.

“I think that one was actually somehow worse than last weeks” You tell Poe, as he pours himself a juice and settles down next to you on the sofa. You'd just finished showing around another possible roommate and you felt exhausted in every sense of the word.

“How can he be worse than the neo nazi?” Poe shot you an unbelieving look and rolled his eyes, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table and knocking some of your papers in his wake.

“Alex was a she, and they asked if they could hang their deer head in the front room” you grimaced even thinking about it, weren't all artsy college students supposed to be vegetarians anyway? why did you have to get saddled with the only blood thirsty one on campus.

“Thats not so bad”

“Poe she showed me a picture of her taxidermied cat”

“Oh”

You had tried to find a polite way to stop her from passing you her phone, but you were too nice to make her feel uncomfortable, and now the image of the long dead tabby would remain behind your eyes for god knows how long.

“was she hot?” You shook your head, causing Poe to sigh wistfully.

“Not hot enough to cancel out her obsession with dead bodies anyway” you informed him, the hopeful look from his eyes gone.

“Face it Poe, were doomed” You let your head fall into your hands, Poe letting out a laugh before wrapping his arm around your shoulder.

“Hey we’ll get someone! who wouldn't want to live here?” You knew his question was rhetorical but when looking around the cleaner than usual flat, you had to admit it was missing something. Bare spaces on the walls from where Finn had taken down his pictures, the empty side of the kitchen counter that had once houses his overpriced coffees. You even missed picking up his empty cups after him, the room feeling like it had less character without them. It truly hadn't felt the same in the flat since Finn had left, and although Poe concealed it well, you could see it was getting to him too. Poe had, after all, known Finn first; Finn managing to get a very drunk and outspoken Poe out of a sticky situation he had found himself in when running across a local gang in a dive bar. The ‘first order’ as they so called themselves, had an infamous reputation around campus for being trouble makers and general doers of bad deeds. Ever since that night they had been an unstoppable duo, until they met you of course, and their duo became three.

You loved Finn, and you knew told miss him like hell, but you also knew that Poe must be feeling that ten times over.

“You wanna do something tonight?” You asked, changing the subject before his mind drifted to where yours had.

“what kind of something?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively,

“Gross”

“hey I'm serious!”

“what about Razor Crest, they are open late, we could grab some drinks and meet up with some people”

Razor crest was the only worth while bar in town; it was certainly nothing to write home about, but it played fairly decent music and it had a marginally less sticky floor than others. Additionally, your other friends lived just over from the humble saloon, making it the perfect watering hole for you guys.

It didn't take much convincing before you had Poe out the door and ready to socialise. Upon arrival, he headed to the bar while you were waved over by Rey, who had already found a booth and was already at least a few drinks in.

“Look, i think i have a solution to your roomie problemo” She told you, peeking over her straw, a gleam in her eye that made you feel not all too confident in her yet to be spoken plan.

“Go on” you told her, cautiously.

“My cousins back in town” She told you between gulps.

“The weird one?” You asked,

“Hes not weird, just ...eccentric” the last word was more of a question, but you could tell she was on a roll,

“He's just joined one of the college bands and Auntie Leia says him and Uncle Han are butting heads”

“ah cool, weve always wanted live music in our own flat at 2 am” Poe injected, rejoining the table and placing a drink in front of you before taking a sip of his own.

“hes not BAD at it, he just plays loud i think” She corrected him, “anyway, he's not a total twat, I'm sure he would be considerate of your sleep schedules”

“didn't he try and stab you with a stick when you were five” you asked her, you'd heard stories of this cousin before and none of them were quite savoury,

“that was ages ago! he's like way old now” she was starting to slur her words, but you had a feeling this was something Rey was quite set on. Rey was stubborn, and when she got something in mind she would move hell to make it happen; she was also your best friend, and someone you trusted the judgment off. Had she gotten you into some weird shit in the past? sure.

Did you have any other options; nay on that.

“Fine, get Han or Leia to bring him round at some point next week and one of us will give him a tour” You tell her, and she lets out a little happy shrill at her own personal win. Poe, not so much.

“Speak for yourself, weirdo cousin can see himself around” he crosses his arms and pouts, you give him a little nudge.

“Hey, maybe you'll be best mates” you offer, but when he shoots you a death stare you go back to your drink.

The family turmoil must have been more vicious than Rey had let in on; It was barely the next morning before you had a tall, intimidating male knocking on your door.

“Hey!” you offered him, in as cheery a voice as your hung over self would allow.

He looked down at you from his towering height, but gave no verbal response.

“You must be Ben?...” He offered you the slightest nod you'd had ever seen in response. Okay so, not much of a talker, noted.

You waved him in, shutting the door behind him. God, he looked even bigger inside? is that possible? Rey had failed to mention the sheer height on the boy. You'd seen pictures of her and her aunt and uncle, it seemed like Ben was a scientific and biological mystery. Like how did he get clothes to fit? did he have to shop somewhere special or

you were snapped out of your thoughts by a clearing of a throat.

“So, how much is the rent” so he DID have a voice,

You informed him automatically, still part dazed.

“Ill be in by the weekend” he told you, and with a nod he moved past you, making his way back to the door.

“But wait .. y .. you haven't even seen your room yet?” You stumbled, dumbfound by the lack of foreplay. The previous people you had shown around were full of questions; they wanted to know the ins and outs of the place. Ben had seen all of the door way and the front room and he was already signing the lease.

“See you then” he didn't stop, hand on the door knob as if you hadn't spoken.

“But i don't have your phone number” you don't know why that came to you first, but it was true. At no point had Rey offered you direct contact with Ben, probably assuming he would. It seemed reasonable, that you'd need his number before he moved in, didn't it? Poe was always texting you about random shit in the flat, arguably too much, but it seemed like the norm for people coexisting in such a small space.

He turned back at you and gave you a confused look,

“why would you need my number?”

“erm... to talk to you” your condescending tone not completely masked,

“but ill be living here” he stated, which, he had you there.

Before you could even think of a response he was out the door.

True to his word, Ben had his things over by that very same weekend. Although it was unsurprising considering just how light he packed. In fact, other than his bass and musical equipment, you couldn't really think of anything he had actually brought with him to the flat. You got to meet his parents when they dropped him off, both of whom seemed leaps and bounds more conversational than their son. Ironically, you got Leia’s phone number before her sons; her telling you to message if you ever needed anything. It felt like an indirect jab at Ben, a ‘if he fucks up let me know’, but you digress. The tension between Ben and his dad was blatantly obvious, them sharing no words before he got back into the car and Ben into the house. He did give his mum a small hug goodbye though, and you thought you saw a small tear in her eye before she managed to wipe it away.

Since his move in, Ben had kept painfully to himself. You barely saw him at all in those first days, just heard him through the walls the odd time he dropped something - or saw a plate or cup gone from their places in the kitchen. To be honest , it felt more like a paranormal haunting than a new roommate. Poe was vocal of his apprehension to the situation, sharing glances with you when you would both be in the living room and you'd see ben scurry by or passive aggressively texting you when his favourite cup had been used by someone who wasn't him. it was a relatively small issue, but Poe had blown it so out of proportion that you had ordered a new set of cups from Amazon and sent him the link, shutting him up for a while before he found something else to complain about.

it was the fifth day before you actually bumped into ben again. He was on the sofa with his base set up, twiddling with his amp. The sight surprised you so much you physically jumped back, causing him to look up. crap. act cool. act cool.

“hey” you offered him

“hi” hi replied back, looking back down at his amp.

right, yer. his space, give him his space. Just get your stuff and go back to your room. don't speak to him, leave him alone. he clearly wants to be left alone.

“nice day isn't it” you wanted to cover your mouth, the words coming out against your will. Truthfully, you had no clue why you said it. You hadn't even looked at the weather this morning. Its just what people say right?

“Erm” his eyes shot to the window and then back to yours,”no”

sure enough, it was pissing it down outside. The sky was actually comically grey and you'd have laughed if you werent so angry at yourself. You were unsure of what to do, and he was still looking at you, almost assessing you. His eyes were so serious and dark they felt like they were burning tiny holes into your skin. shit, you had to speak now right?

While regretting every single life decision that had brought you into this kitchen at this time, Poe sauntered into the room like your night in shining armour, ignoring Ben all together and coming straight over to you, placing a big arm around your shoulders. You saw Ben drop his head back down to this bass, and you used all your might to not let out a sigh of relief.

“Tonight, I'm taking you out” He offered, a cheeky gleam in his eye.

“Are you now”

“Razor crest, drinks and dancing, be there or be square” He lists off as if he's a paid promoter, causing you to let out a giggle.

“Whos invited?”

“just the gang” he said, causing you to shoot him an eye roll, knowing full well you ‘gang’ consisted of all of three people, yourself and Poe included in that number.

but then you remembered, there was another person now, whether they liked it or not. Poe’s eyes followed yours to Ben and then back to meet yours again, you saw the realisation change to disgust, as he shook his head silently at you.

you knew this look, the ‘don't you dare’ look, the ‘not in 1000 years’ look. But you couldn't help it, your lips were moving before you could stop them for the second time this morning.

“Are you free tonight, Ben?’

The look of sheer betrayal on Poe's face made you wince, surely he'd understand right? he knew you well enough to know your verbal diarrhoea problem.

Ben didn't even look up, but he did let out a small laugh that felt quite antagonistic.

“i dont go to Razor Crest”

“i don't go to razor crest ugh” Poe mocked, causing Rey to let out a hysterical giggle, and you a sigh.

You'd been out for all of three hours and you were all already feeling the effects of the alcohol. It was late and the bar was jam packed with students all raring to go. Poe had been making eyes at one particular red head almost all night and you were half surprised he hadn't already made his move. Poe put out, it was a fact. You and Finn had at one time made a fridge chart for him, a gold star awarded every time he brought girl home. Whether the goal was to make him feel proud of his conquests or embarrassed, you still weren't 100% sure, but after a month or so you had both lost count and given up. You told yourself it didn't bother you, that he was just a friend, and that he owed you nothing, but every time he left you at the bar for another girl something stung inside; something you pushed deep down but regrettably was still there none the less.

Sure enough, as the night progressed, you and Rey ended up fending for it alone, and instead of feeling sorry for yourself you decided to do the responsible thing and drink more.

After the third round of shots, Rey calls it in.

“I think I'm gonna be sick” she tells you sheepishly, and you can't help but belly laugh in response. She starts to shuffle towards the door and you go to follow.

“Hey don't leave on my behalf” she tells you earnestly, but you wave her off.

“Nah I've had my fill, I'm starting to forget which flat number i live at” you tell her, causing her to giggle this time.

You both stumble out the bar, past the smokers and up the cobbled road towards her flat. She unlocks her door and lets herself in, not before giving you a drunken hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

As you ready yourself to make your way back to your own flat, you come back past the bar entrance; a particularly prominent cobble causes you to trip ever so slightly and gain a whoop from a group of boys who were passing round a box of marlboro straights.

You suddenly realised just how dark it was and just how alone you were. Most nights you wouldn't stay out this late, and if you did, then you'd normally be walking back with finn. You let out a shiver, a mix of both the cold night air finally breaking through your drunken daze and a smidge of fear. The Razor Crests entrance lights were getting progressively further away, and although you know that you only had a maximum of a half mile walk back to your home, it felt like ample distance to get kidnapped or murdered in, most probably both.

How many true crime stories started with a young drunk girl, scantily clad and out alone at night? You could hear the police reports now, which photo would they use? you prayed it would be a hot one, at the very least one after your thin brow phase.

Being literally bumped back into reality, in almost a cruel humorous way, you felt yourself walk head first into a figure, their arms coming out to catch you as the sheer momentum bounced you back.

Oh god, I'm dead. I'm literally going to die.

“Hey, chill out” The voice made your heart beat both slow and race again,

“Ben?!” you shrieked, voice hoarse through pure anticipation of your thought to be demise

“Are you okay” he asked, and only then did you realise you were shaking like a leaf.

“Im fine” you let out in a small voice, looking down at your shoes. You could feel the redness in your cheeks through pure embarrassment alone. This was not an ideal situation for him to see you in, and you kind of started to with that he had been a murderer, at least then you wouldn't have to deal with the second hand embarrassment in the morning.

“What are you doing out here”

“why are you out alone”

you both asked simultaneously,

“I was coming out for a smoke” He told you, flashing his tobacco pouch at you from inside his coat. His very warm looking coat, might you add. Another shiver ran down your body.

“Im coming home from Razor Crest” you tell him, trying to be matter of fact but slurring your words just enough to spoil the show.

“Yes obviously, but why are you alone” he shoots back in some what of a patronising tone, it wouldn't sit well with sober you and it definitely doesn't go down well with drunk you.

“Im a big girl”

“clearly” he makes, making extra sure to look you up and down from his towering distance above you, causing you to huff.

“well i can take care of myself”

“you shouldn't be out alone around here, its not safe” he ignores your response, looking you dead in the eye.

You feel something inside you flutter, a warmth that you can't quite control. Okay, ben might be weird and a bit annoying it would seem, but he was handsome, thats for sure. The limited light danced off his strong features and dark shaggy mop of hair, making him look both dangerous and appealing.

As if you were standing here mentally flirting with the idea of being with Res cousin; you made a mental note to punish yourself for the ludicrous thoughts in the morning.

“Okay well I'm going home now” you tell him, attempting to push past him, but his large hand finds its way to your forearm and pulls you back,

“yes, you are, come on” If what he said before was patronising, he was now speaking to you like you were a dog he was walking.

“go have your nicotine, ive got this one covered” you tell him with a mock salute, causing him to roll his eyes. He lets go of your arm and you take your win, trying to step confidently away without falling. You're proud of yourself for handling the situation when you realise he's following all of 10 steps behind you, rolling a cigarette in his hands while holding a filter between his teeth.

when he catches you looking, he nods down to his hands,

“want one?” he mumbles between his lips, still holding the filter pride of place.

“no thanks” you snap, picking up pace.

Ben smirks at you, but you miss it, too focused on not embarrassing yourself and keeping your feet in line.

#Star Wars #Star Wars imagine #star wars modern au #kylo ren #kylo ren imagine #kylo ren x reader #Ben solo #ben solo x reader #ben solo x y/n #poe dameron #poe dameron x reader

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oumakokichi · 4 years

Note

Welcome back!!! I’m not sure if you’re taking any requests regarding analyses/meta, but if you’re looking for any ideas/when you have the time, do you mind doing a character analysis on Shuichi Saihara? I understand that he’s the main character but there is a lack of analyses about him. Although there are few, most explore his role as a protagonist/relationships with the others rather than digging deep into his character/personality. I just feel like there is more to him.

Hi anon, thank you so much! I’d be happy to write a character analysis for Saihara. I’m pretty sure I wrote some pieces specifically about his character back in the day, but those are all pretty old by now, and there’s definitely so much to talk about with his character.

Obviously discussing Saihara in-depth will cover spoilers for the entire game, so be careful when reading!

It’s interesting that you bring up the fact that Saihara tends to lack more character analyses, because I feel like this is kind of the result of a few different factors. First of all, there’s the fact that he was never originally advertised as the game’s protagonist. I know that the bait-and-switch with Kaede left many people conflicted; even years later, I see a lot of people saying that while they like Saihara a lot, they would’ve preferred for Kaede to live, or that they still don’t know quite how to feel about his role as a protagonist as a result.

Combine that with the fact that Saihara is simply so different in his role in the game than either Naegi or Hinata were, and I think this leaves a lot of people either uninterested in analyzing him as an individual character or unclear of where to start. Ndrv3’s themes as a whole are such a drastic departure from the Hope’s Peak arc of the first two games that Saihara himself sometimes tends to get overlooked, despite the fact that I firmly believe no one would have worked better as the protagonist of the game precisely because of these very different themes.

This itself is an interesting proposal, because at the same time, I also believe that ndrv3’s cast had the biggest potential for every single character to be the “protagonist” of their own narrative. Not only is this just straight-up alluded to with the reveal that Kiibo was actually the audience proxy, and therefore the “protagonist” through which most of the audience were experiencing the killing game in chapter 6, but we even get brief playable moments with both Maki and Himiko, further driving home the narrative that these characters all had the potential to be the main character. You could even argue that the abundance of ahoges in the ndrv3 cast is a tongue-in-cheek joke about how many people must have had “protagonist syndrome” when auditioning for the show.

But having a cast full of potential main characters still doesn’t negate the fact that Saihara was simply the best choice possible for the protagonist of ndrv3 specifically. I don’t believe we would’ve had nearly the same experience without viewing most of the events through the lens of his inner narration and character growth, and that his specific role in the story as the detective was the perfect way to encapsulate the game’s themes of truth and lies.

Let’s begin by discussing Saihara’s actual personality: he’s timid, riddled with anxiety, and incredibly prone to doubting himself and his own abilities. These traits are at the core of his arc of character development throughout the story, as he constantly struggles with his own feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-worth despite being the most vital contributor to everyone’s survival in the class trials.

Even before he’s revealed to be the true protagonist of the game, these traits are incredibly easy to see from an outside lens. By playing as Kaede, however briefly, we nonetheless get a good look at what Saihara is like even in chapter 1; his lack of self-esteem and debilitating issues with anxiety and doubt are, if anything, even more noticeable when put into such stark contrast with Kaede’s optimism, self-confidence, and attempts to bolster the group into working together and believing in one another.

In fact, it’s through Kaede that we first get a glimpse of Saihara’s backstory, and slowly come to understand that his timidity and anxiety are largely shaped by his past trauma. Saihara feels personally responsible for ruining a man’s life after accidentally uncovering the truth of the man’s crimes, then later learning that he was attempting to get revenge on the person who murdered his entire family. The knowledge that he not only ruined this man’s attempts at revenge, but that this person actively hates him with a passion, has left Saihara emotionally scarred and deeply afraid of even maintaining eye contact with others.

As simple as this little bit of backstory is, I really love it in all of its presentation, because even in chapter 1, it begins to paint a much clearer picture of what Saihara is like. His inability to say no to people and attempts to please everyone begin to make a lot more sense knowing that he is incredibly afraid of being hated or blamed by other people. His reluctance to come into his own as a detective or acknowledge his obvious talent makes perfect sense knowing that he can never fully “bring justice” to a number of crimes, and that his job is by definition one that sometimes makes other people miserable by shedding a light on the truth—even when, sometimes, it might be better to leave the truth covered up.

This established backstory also immediately sets Saihara apart from previous protagonists like Naegi and Hinata, by first shaping him into a separate character who we get to know in chapter 1, and only later re-introducing him as the actual protagonist of the game. This isn’t to say that Naegi and Hinata don’t have established character flaws, or that we don’t know anything about their life prior to the killing game. But these two are very clearly set up to be more of the “everyman” protagonist than Saihara ever was: characters who the reader can insert themselves into by some degree, and whose primary traits tend to revolve around feeling “average” or “mundane” in a way that your typical reader will usually relate to much more quickly.

This makes sense for the Hope’s Peak arc shared by both dr1 and sdr2. These games in particular are centered around the narrative of a “talent-driven society” where only the most talented, elite in their field are rewarded with entry into the “best school in the country”—a narrative that is no doubt supposed to be commentary on Japan’s extremely competitive academic system and society in real life.

With Naegi, we see perhaps the best example of a truly average, normal person thrust into a group of these whacky elites. We trust Naegi almost instantly as a protagonist, specifically because his lack of any particular superpower-like talent makes him more relatable to the reader. And his contributions to the trials and eventual friendships with the other students are meaningful precisely because they prove that you don’t need these incredible talents or make outstanding contributions to society in order to be a fundamentally good person who helps others and forges real, genuine bonds with people.

Hinata’s narrative takes this idea of averageness among “the elite” and takes it a step further in terms of narrative complexity: not only does Hinata lack any sort of talent or trait that would make him stand out, but specifically because of this, he desperately craves a talent of his own. Hinata is incredibly easy for readers to relate to as someone who, in a competitive society where talent is everything, feels useless and meaningless without an elite-level talent of his own. This struggle with identity and self-worth in a talent-driven society is something that most readers will also have experienced on some level, and so makes Hinata instantly relatable and likable for most people.

Which takes us back to Saihara—again, I want to stress how different the setup for his backstory and even his personality are from our previous two protagonists. Saihara isn’t meant to be a self-insert for the reader, or instantly identified with the same way Naegi and Hinata were.

Even other bits and pieces of his backstory and home life, which we learn from his FTEs with Kaede in chapter 1, as well as portions of their salmon mode together, show how incredibly eccentric Saihara is compared to the other two. Saihara doesn’t come from what one might call a “typical home life.” He’s estranged from his wealthy, celebrity parents, and lives with his uncle, who is also a detective. His FTEs reveal that he’s spent his time wrestling alligators and, to put it nicely, being a huge weirdo for most of his life. He’s not our “everyman protagonist” by any means; he’s yet another whacky Danganronpa character who happened to be thrust into the protagonist spotlight through his role as a detective.

In short, Saihara is not what most people would expect from a protagonist in any story, let alone a DR game. He’s certainly not the “everyman,” between his established backstory and somewhat eccentric home life. And he doesn’t have the usual set of traits most people would expect from a protagonist, either. Unlike Naegi and Kaede, who are by and large optimistic, cooperative, and somewhat confident in themselves, or Hinata, who is assertive and forward-thinking, Saihara is… extremely pessimistic, anxious, and lacks any confidence in himself whatsoever.

And yet, in spite of all this, I think many people can and do relate to Saihara. I know I certainly do. Having a character who explicitly struggles with issues like anxiety and depression, not only as the result of the killing game itself (which would understandably fuck anyone’s mental health up irreparably), but even before entering the game, is something I absolutely love about ndrv3. Saihara is hardly the only character to struggle with these issues within the DR franchise, or hell, even just within ndrv3 itself, but it’s hard to ignore how textually canon his depression is when he spends multiple scenes in chapter 5 lying in bed and thinking, “there’s no reason to live, there’s no reason to live” over and over again.

Saihara’s specific set of character traits may set him apart from the “average” reader, but for people who struggle themselves with mental health and self-worth, I think his character hits close to home in a very different way. Over and over again, throughout the narrative, Saihara is called “weak”—by the people around him and even by himself. This “weakness” is a fundamental part of his character that simply wasn’t there with Naegi or Hinata; while the two of them were certainly considered “average” in one way or another, they were never described as “weak” or “lacking what it takes to survive” the way Saihara consistently is.

And it’s true, on some level, that Saihara is what most people might consider “weak.” At the very least, he’s dependent: quick to latch on to anyone who shows him even the slightest sign of affirmation or support, reluctant to admit to his own talent or take credit for his own accomplishments, and unsure of whether he can actually meet other people’s expectations without some kind of helping hand or support.

We see him immediately grow attached first to Kaede, then later to Momota, constantly seeking out a larger, more charismatic personality to hide behind. He’s so unsure of himself that he would rather let other people who he sees as “more likable” or “more crucial” to the group get all the attention and the spotlight; we see this lampshaded somewhat in chapter 4, when everyone nonetheless begins to single him out as the main reason they’re still alive, and he’s clearly baffled and uncertain as to how to reply to the praise and recognition.

Even what little we see of his pregame self from his audition video fits within this framework. Despite a lot of fan portrayals of pregame Saihara (often called “Inchara” or “Kagehara” in a lot of Japanese fanworks) as someone undeniably “evil” or “irredeemable” for actively wanting to participate in a killing game… in the end, all we really know about him is that he is desperate to die. He talks about wanting to kill people, yes, but the emphasis is placed on how much thought and effort he put into his own execution. Even before entering the killing game at all, we can clearly see that Saihara went in with the specific intention of dying.

He wants to play a detective if at all possible, but it’s clear that he’s desperate, nearly feverish, at the idea of “being a part of the world of Danganronpa” at all, in any capacity. This obsession itself feels like a form of unhealthy attachment, and is a clear sign that he (and most of the participants, if we’re reading between the lines) is so damaged and downright suicidal that he views getting 15 minutes of fame on his favorite TV show as the absolute best way to go out. In a word, he’s still “weak,” long before becoming the fictional character version of “Shuuichi Saihara,” and it’s this weakness that Tsumugi herself says she wanted to encapsulate in the show, by making him “weaker than anyone else.”

It’s this “weakness” that I honestly love best about Saihara’s entire character. Because while a large part of his character arc is certainly about becoming stronger and more confident in himself, it’s also a fact that his “weakness” never explicitly goes away. His depression isn’t just magically cured by the end of the story, and he doesn’t wake up one day deciding that his struggle with suicidal thoughts or feelings of worthlessness are over. If anything, chapter 6 ends with a huge subversion of this “magically cured” trope in most fiction, by having Saihara embrace his own weakness as something that actually helps him arrive at a third option when presented with the seemingly black-or-white choice of “hope vs. despair.”

Saihara is, as he admits himself, “weak.” He’s unable to choose the forward-facing optimism that “hope” represents in the killing game—moreso if that “hope” only contributes to the cycle of the killing game itself, enticing people into wanting to see more and more of it. But he doesn’t pick “despair” either, exactly. His inability to choose between this forced dilemma is specifically because he realizes how sick and cruel it really is, and empathizes all the more deeply with the suffering he and his classmates went through. It’s this “weakness” of his that allows him to really put into words how much pain they all went through, and how their pain matters, regardless of whether they’re fictional or not.

It’s an incredible moment in the game, and probably the point at which he became my favorite protagonist in the DR franchise, as well as one of my favorite characters in the series overall. Saihara’s character arc, unlike Naegi and Hinata, was never about “moving forward” or “choosing hope.” He says himself that he’s not the kind of person who can simply make a choice like that. Rather, his arc is about toeing the grey line between “truth” and “lies.”

As we mentioned earlier, Saihara is a detective. In any mystery novel, a detective’s role is to seek out the truth and expose it, no matter how tragic or upsetting the outcome might be. So it’s interesting, then, that by the end of the game, Saihara ultimately comes to understand and even value the concept of “lies.” For someone who knows exactly how painful the truth can be, and who is unable to simply live life optimistically in spite of that truth, the recognition of “gentle lies” told for the sake of helping someone cope, of finding meaning in an otherwise meaningless or cruel life, is incredibly important.

Unlike the Hope’s Peak arc, which sort of placed “hope vs. despair” as some very black-or-white battle with a clear winner (even when some aspects of the series, like dr3, also sort of suggest the idea that it’s an ongoing cycle that keeps repeating itself), there is no real battle or winner between the concept of “truth and lies.” In the end, both are equally important. Saihara both embraces his role as a detective and acknowledges the power that the truth has on people, while simultaneously acknowledging that lies (and therefore fiction) also has power and can be used to influence people and even inspire the world.

This character development is just absolutely fantastic to see, after watching Saihara struggle with so much pain and grief over the course of the game. Seeing a character actually acknowledge the importance of “lies” and “fiction” precisely because of how important of a motivator it can be to depressed, broken people is incredibly satisfying, and not something we often get in most stories. The fact that Saihara is so undeniably “weak,” that he isn’t the type of character you would usually expect to live to the end given how suicidal and deeply traumatized he is, makes his survival at the very end all the more of an uplifting message.

You don’t need to be “cured” to find a reason to live. You don’t have to magically wake up with the most positive, forward-facing outlook in life. You can be “weak” and depressed and hurting inside, and in the end, you still deserve to live, and have the opportunity to find meaning in your own life, whether it’s through truth or fiction.

This has gotten pretty long by now, but I hope I could make it clear exactly why I love Saihara so much. I understand people’s dissatisfaction with the protagonist-swap, and while I perfectly understand that he isn’t for everyone, he’s still a fantastically written character in my opinion, with a wonderful and meaningful arc of development that really resonated with me, as someone who also has struggled with similar mental health issues. I think the decision to do something extremely different from Naegi and Hinata was an excellent decision, and while I still love both of them as characters in their own right, Saihara is just so compelling both as an individual character and the protagonist of ndrv3.

Thank you for the question anon, and thank you to those of you who read to the end! I hope I could offer a decent character analysis!

#danganronpa #shuichi saihara #saihara shuichi #shuuichi saihara #ndrv3 #ndrv3 spoilers //#ask #anonymous #my meta #okay to reblog

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angst-fairygodmother · 4 years

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Hi, I have a Diego x reader request if you’re still taking them. Reader stays over at Diego’s after a date with him and wakes up in the Morning to find a drunk Five asleep on the couch. Reader is uninitiated into the Hargreeves stuff so is supremely confused as to who this drunk child is. Awkward family introductions ensue. Thanks in advance if you write this

A/N: I probably shouldn’t be taking requests with everything else going on right now, but it will be a cold day in hell the day stress and work/school take away writing from me again. Also, Five is my newest Favorite, so I am happy to include his shenaniganary. Although it ended up not so much being drunk Five as Roastmaster Five. Still, I hope you like it. Word Count: 1404 Content Warning: swearing, reference to alcohol, references to season 2

The morning sun’s rays peeking through the only mostly-closed curtain fell gently across your face, their warmth and light stirring you from the most beautiful dream. Stretching languidly, you cracked open your eyes to discover that perhaps it had been less a dream than you thought. Curled up on his side, facing away from you, was Diego Hargreeves, snoring softly and more at peace than you had ever seen him.

It was a sight you could certainly find yourself getting used to, and you hoped you’d have the opportunity. The two of you had only been dating for a month or so, and were still getting to know each other in many ways (including the way you had spent quite a bit of the night…getting to know each other for the first time, which had led you to this very moment). So you didn’t want to get your hopes up, but you could really feel yourself falling for the man just barely waking beside you.

Unfortunately, any romantic thoughts you might have had were interrupted by biological needs, and with a sigh, you rolled out of bed feet touching the cold hardwood floor as you searched for something to put on, not comfortable enough in his place to walk around completely naked. Fumbling, you shrugged on his too-large turtleneck and padded out into the rest of the apartment.

Almost immediately, your eyes fell on a peculiar sight, that definitely wasn’t there the night before.

Hey, um, Diego?” you called over your shoulder, staring openly at the child asleep on his couch. “Why is there a teenager on your couch…?” you peered a little closer, registering the nearly empty glass bottle in his arms. “And who replaced his teddy bear with Smirnoff?”

“Dammit Five,” you heard him growl as he stumbled out of the bedroom, still buttoning his jeans.

“Oh good, so you know him?” you asked, still wide-eyed and curious as you turned back to your boyfriend.

“Yeah,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s my brother, Five.”

“Five? Like the number?”

“Yes like the number,” the annoyed voice startled you and you jumped, not realizing the teen in question had woken up. “Now could you two keep your imbecilic chatter down, I am trying to sleep.”

“You wanna tell me why you’re doing it on my couch?” Diego countered, glaring over your shoulder at Five, who flipped him off and slammed a pillow down over his head to muffle the sound of conversation.

“Why is your brother named after a number?” you asked, trying to keep your voice a little lower.

“We all were,” Five chimed in, voice slightly muffled by the cushion. “The others just chose to replace their numbers when our mother and monkey butler-slash-surrogate-father-figure gave them ‘real’ names when we got older. I chose not to. Because I am not ashamed of who we were.”

“Sorry what?”

“Oh did you not know you were dating Number Two?” the kid sat up, casting you a very uncomfortably judgmental look.

“I would be careful getting involved with this idiot,” he continued. “His last two girlfriends, one ended up dead and the other turned out to be evil.”

“Hey! She wasn’t totally evil, only…sort of,” Diego said, moving to stand protectively in front of you and jabbing a finger toward his brother. “And if anything, that was your fault, not mine. Which is why I was planning to keep you and our entire bullshit family away from Y/N for as long as possible.”

“Diego, I don’t understand,” you said, frowning. “What’s going on?”

“That’s right, I forget that you didn’t grow up around here,” Diego commented softly. “Did you ever hear about The Umbrella Academy?”

“Sure. That was that weirdo superhero family or whatever, occasionally showed up in the news or tabloids after some stunt why?”

Diego looked glum and a little sheepish as he waited for you to put the pieces together like he knew you would.

…oh shit. You mean, you’re…?”

He nodded.

“I’ll be honest, I never really paid attention to all that stuff, it seemed sort of…fake? to me. So I still don’t totally get what’s going on, babe.”

Diego sighed, and then gave you the rundown of their family: how they had all been born at the exact same time down to the second, to different parents around the world, and then they were adopted as infants by eccentric billionaire Reginald Hargreeves. They all had superpowers and Hargreeves had raised them to be an efficient crime-fighting team, at the cost of normal childhoods.

“Five,” he continued, pointing to his brother who was now, seemingly at least, back asleep. “Had the power to teleport, and kept pushing our father to let him try time-travelling with it. When he got shut down for the last time, he tried anyway, and ended up stuck in the post-apocalypse for forty something years before he found his way back.”

“So you want me to believe that the strange drunk teenage boy is actually your 58-year-old twin brother? But you’re not 58, just he is. Because he time travelled?”

“W-we’re not twins. We were just born on the same day.”

“Right…like twins?”

“No, at the exact same time, to different parents. Us, and a lot of other kids.”

“That’s not all that strange. People are born at the same time all the time…”

“She’s not very quick on the uptake is she? Perfect for you then,” Five commented with a smug smirk, evidently giving up on sleep in favor of joining you both in the kitchen.

“Hey!” you shouted, glaring at the littler man. “I didn’t come here to be insulted, okay.”

“No, I’m sure my brother had plenty of other things on his mind than insulting you,” he said, angling his head pointedly, with a raised eyebrow at your very bare legs, which you had frankly forgotten about in all the kerfuffle.

You felt the heat of a blush creeping up around your ears.

“I’m not awake enough to deal with this. I need coffee,” you muttered.

Five perked up at the word, watching you intently as you carefully measured out the grounds and set the pot, which Diego owned despite claiming that his body was in such peak condition that he didn’t need caffeine, to brew. When you silently poured a cup for the younger Hargreeves without asking, and it actually tasted rather decent, he regarded you again with renewed interest.

“What do you see in him?”

“What do you mean?” you studied him over the rim of your mug, not even noticing that Diego had left the room.

“You’re quite pretty, and obviously aren’t in it for the ex-celebrity thing since you didn’t know. Seven billion people on the planet. So why him?”

You sat there for a while, sipping at your coffee, pondering the question. Why had you agreed to go out with Diego in the first place? It had only been a month, but it felt like a lifetime ago for all that you could remember the reasoning.

Finally you shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s just something about him I liked, I guess. He’s always looking out for other people, and he’s sweet, and funny.”

“And he’s got a real nice butt,” you muttered into your coffee, smirking when Five made a disgusted face.

“Ugh!” he cried, setting his coffee down as if another sip after your observation would make him hurl.

“Hey, you asked,” you laughed.

Diego wrapped his arms around you from behind, having come back from getting fully dressed, kissing your cheek as you both watched Five pace and wave his hands around as if trying to fan away the image in his mind.

“I think you broke him,” Diego commented.

You chuckled again, turning to drape your arms over his neck and kiss him properly.

“I couldn’t resist. But I like this kid, he’s…interesting.”

“And you held your own against him impressively.”

You smiled.

“So does that mean I get to meet the rest of your siblings soon?”

“You still want to after that?”

You nodded. “Of course I do, Diego. They’re your family.”

He smiled softly down at you, eyes shining at your unspoken confession, that you wanted to share every part of his life, even the weird bits. And even more, heart feeling strangely fluttery at the fact that he found himself wanting to let you.

“I’ll make a few calls.”

#p.s. sorry it took so long to get to Nonny #look I know Diego canonically lives in the boiler room but there’s no couch in there. And I like visualizing an apartment #so we're just going to pretend he moved out of there and got a real place #TUA season 2 spoilers #references to season 2 #Diego Hargreeves x Reader #featuring Five Hargreeves #reader insert #The Umbrella Academy fic #I had so much fun with the Five sass that I kinda forgot this was a Diego fic...

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