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jamespotterismydaddy · 1 year

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Thicker Than Blood (Chapter 2) Aemond x OC

Word count: 901 words

Last part —> next part

The smell of salt fills the air as I look overboard and watch the waves rush by. We have been on the ship for what feels like weeks but King's Landing has finally come into view. I look back up and my eyes catch on Lucerys.

"Luke, you look green." I remark.

"No shit." He says as he holds onto his stomach, looking as if he's going to vomit for the 5th time during our voyage.

"Luke, don't you dare throw up." Jacaerys demands. "Because if you do, I will too."

"You both have weak stomachs." I say.

"Oh, really?" Jacaerys asks, stalking towards me and poor Lucerys walks away in search of mother.

"Jace, do not be a child." I scold, but to no avail as he grabs me by my sides and tickles me.

"Jacaerys stop right this instant!" I try to have a commanding tone but it comes out weak.

"No, I don't think I will." he says as he continues his assault. "You're looking pretty weak of stomach right now, my dearest sister."

"Get off of me!" I say and he laughs at me so I resort to other methods and stomp on his foot.

"Ow!" He yells out and cradles his foot.

I use my diversion to push past him and run for my life. I look behind and see he is chasing after me and as soon as I turn my head back, I nearly run straight into Daemon.

"Help me kepa! He's chasing after me." I say and stand slightly behind my stepfather, to use him as a barrier as he places one hand on my shoulder.

"I was not!" Jacaerys protests and I go to speak in my own defence but Daemon interrupts me.

"Remind me of your age again? I was sure it was ten and five but the both of you are currently acting like toddlers."

Jacaerys and I stand next to each other, looking like a pair of scolded children.

"Go away now. We're departing the ship soon and your mother is going to be furious that the two of you are not prepared." He shoos us away.

When we finally arrive in the Red Keep, we are provided with a pitiful welcome and I immediately make my way to my old room. I go out and sit on my terrace, breathing in the not so fresh air.

I had forgotten about the stench of King's Landing.

"Serra?" Luke calls out as he knocks on my door.

"Yes?."

"Jace and I are going to the training grounds, do you want to come?" He asks, sweetly.

"Sure." I give him a weak smile and stand to follow him.

When we get to the square, Lucerys mumbles about how it is smaller then he remembers and Jace immediately runs off, excitedly showing Luke a break in the stone wall.

"See? I told you this would still be here." Jacaerys says, excitedly. "And you thought you could swing Criston's morningstar. And you almost took your own head off." He ruffles Luke's hair.

"Scared me half to death." I grumble and Jace laughs.

Luke looks around, abashedly as people look and whisper at us. Jace, ever unbothered, asks him what his problem is.

"Everyone's staring at us." He mumbles and I place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Jacaerys, trying to distract our brother, playfully points a dagger at him.

"Hyah!" He exclaims but, Luke ignores his attempts.

"No one would question me being heir to Driftmark... if... if I looked more like Ser Laenor Velaryon than Ser Harwin Strong."

"Oh, Luke." I sigh and stroke his hair, mirroring what our mother would do.

"It doesn't matter what they think." Jace says and I try to give Luke a reassuring smile.

Jace looks like he has more to say but we are distracted by the crowds cheering as a duel behind us is just starting to get interesting. We walk over to see who gained this much attention.

My breath hitches in my throat as I see the white hair.

Ser Criston breaks the other man's shield as he brings his morningstar down upon it.

"Ooo." Luke cringes.

The white haired man turns, standing in a defensive pose.

"Aemond." I breathe out, only loud enough for me to hear.

Aemond dodges Criston's attacks before holding his sword to his throat. The crowd applauds.

"Well done, my prince." Ser Criston says. "You'll be winning tourneys in no time.

"I don't give a shit about tourneys." Aemond remarks and then looks to us. "Nephews... have you come to train?" He then looks right at me. "Viserra."

I am entirely speechless. Just hearing his voice is so bittersweet. Like salt in a wound, it burns so good. We haven't spoken in 6 years, he didn't send me one letter even though I felt like I had sent him hundreds. I never understood why, his last words were that he loved me and he couldn't find it in his heart to send me one godsdamned letter?

I open my mouth, as if to speak but I am interrupted by the announcement of Lord Vaemond Velaryon's arrival. I look back and Aemond looks as if he is going to approach me but I quickly usher Luke and Jace away, not wanting Lucerys to have to interact with the man that is trying to take his birthright. If I am being honest, it has little to do with that and more to do with my selfish need to get away from Aemond.

I pray that he won't follow us but I end up finding myself disappointed that he doesn't.

taglist: @valeskafics

#aemond targaryen #aemond #aemond fluff #aemond x oc #aemond fic #jacerys velaryon #jacaerys fluff #lucerys velaryon #lucerys fluff #daemon targaryen #daemon fluff #hotd #hotd fic

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guillemelgat · 1 year

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Hey hello I made a thing! As perhaps a few of you know, I have spent the last half a year being completely unhinged about Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin books, and I’ve always been particularly interested in the character Stephen Maturin and his relationship to Catalonia. I saw that there was a lack of stuff about this part of his identity, and, being me, I felt the need to fill it in the only way I could: compiling music and yelling about it for thirty pages. Hence this playlist.

You really don’t need to know anything about these books to listen to this playlist. You also don’t need to know anything about Catalan (I hope). Catalonia and the Catalan Countries in general (including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and parts of southern France, Aragon, and Sardinia) have a really interesting musical and literary tradition, and I wanted to make that more accessible, so I put together a few songs I liked, translated them, and wrote a bit about each of their significance, including the most important cultural tidbits I could. Some things don’t translate super well, and I hope my Catalan followers will forgive me for trying to adapt them more for English-speaking audiences than perhaps would be preferable; I usually don’t choose to do that, but in this case I wanted to open the door, and not to intimidate people.

Now that that’s out of the way, here is a link to the PDF of the liner notes (graphic design is my passion, as they say): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MUpRM84W8aypznEIrt0eA1jG5OxaRZvz/view?usp=sharing

Under the cut I’ve included the ephimera and unnecessary commentary that you know and love, feel free to read or ignore it as you will

These roughly follow the order of the songs and are varying levels of seriousness

If you like "Sant Joan, feu-lo ben gran" then I'd highly recommend listening to the whole Tornaveus album. I almost included the “Stabat Mater de Sudanell” and the “Goigs de Sant Julià de Lòria”, which are both from western Catalonia, and they also have more cançons de pandero, in perhaps a slightly more traditional style. A lot of the other songs have interesting cultural commentary in them, especially on feminist topics, and they’re very well-researched because literally one of the members of the group is basically the ethnomusicologist of Catalan music at the moment. Anyways, if people would like the liner notes perhaps next time I’m home I’ll scan them, they’re in Catalan and English and very well-written. Also note the legendary Lluís Llach song which has been turned into a polyphonic piece lol (and I did not include the “Goigs de la Nostra Senyora de la Llibertat” but tbh that might have been a mistake on my part) (Blorbo side note that I think this fits Stephen’s childhood very well which is mostly why I chose it)

“L’Hereu Riera” is one of my favorite Catalan folk songs I love it so much and if you want to hear the Catalan version (as opposed to the Valencian one included here) and see the dance and also see a cobla, I am including a link to this version by Germà Negre which is tragically not on Spotify. I chose the Valencian one because (1) Al Tall and (2) I think it fits The Blorbo better (specifically I was thinking of his fiancée who dies before Book One who idk if anyone ever remembers shdjfhskf). That being said, Stephen would probably know the Catalan one (and almost certainly not the Valencian one). Also, on a memey-er note, Hereu Riera bisexual king and literal icon <3 love how he has to remind his girlfriend on her deathbed that actually he'd technically be interested in both her sisters AND her brothers if he wasn't so into her that he never wanted to marry anyone else

I literally did put in Roger Mas just so there would be at least one person with a Lleidan accent, #diversity win

Many points about the “Cançó de pandero de l’Urgell” and “Jo no canto per la veu” so here we go:

I put these two songs in mostly because I got very obsessed with the cançó de pandero from Alcarràs (which is a great movie that came out last year about a farming family in a village near Lleida that is winning all the awards atm). Anyways, since Carla Simón has been too busy winning things to put up the gotdam soundtrack, I did a bit of digging and it turns out that it was written for the movie?? By her brother??? It's excellent and very anticapitalist and you can listen to it here and see the trailer for Alcarràs all in one! (Includes English subtitles)

The original “Canto per un amic meu que per mi daria la vida” is probably from a Valencian cant de batre, although I could not get any confirmation on that. But regardless everyone should listen to Pep Botifarra's version of it, which I would literally marry if it had a physical form it’s so so good. (I posted it here back in ye olden days but it's been long enough I think I can post it again)

Valencian music side note because I can’t stop myself: the second pair of verses in the "Cançó de pandero de l'Urgell" (starting with “vos esteu ben acotxada…”) are sung by Miquel Gil, who is a very famous Valencian traditional singer, anyways you should listen to this version of him singing “Del Sud” by Obrint Pas (you want to go down a Valencian music rabbit hole so so bad)

I firmly believe that Stephen would canonically be obsessed with Ausiàs March, and the fact that he has not yet recited any of his poems is Patrick O’Brian’s biggest failing in my eyes. Anyways I have more thoughts but I’m saving them for other posts shdfjsd

If you read this before listening to the playlist please just listen to "El testament d'Amèlia" and follow along with the lyrics in real time before reading the blurb, it's such a good experience to let that song hit you as it comes. I won't say more than that but you'll get it when you get it. (Also obligatory listen to Marala they're so good <3)

From the Càntut album, I also quite like the songs "El pomeró" and "El divino vull cantar", and Càntut in general is an incredible resource, it's a database of folk song field recordings from northeastern Catalonia.

Brief pause to scream about the fact that Maria Arnal and Marcel Bagés WERE ON NPR??? AND NO ONE TOLD ME???? Anyways link in the sources section, also they're great and you should listen to their whole discography

As the #1 Roba Estesa stan blog on Tumblr, listen to Roba Estesa. And Ebri Knight. And El Diluvi.

I chose this version of "La presó de Lleida" because I like it but here's a more traditional one sung by Joan Manel Serrat, another Catalan legend. Here's another one in Catalan rumba style with Sílvia Pérez Cruz singing, the sound is a bit wonky but it's also one of my favorites. The Valencian version of this song is called "La presó de Tibi" and El Diluvi have done a very explicitly anti-monarchical rendition of it (the Balearic one is "La presó de Nàpols").

I'm sorry for never putting the Sílvia Pérez Cruz version of "Corrandes d'exili" but if you want it here it is. Also note that the statue of the Virgin in the poem is a reference to the Virgin of Montserrat, it literally all goes back to her shfjkshdf (also apologies for being very bad at Christianity and Catholicism, if I mistranslated things let me know)

HOO BOY SARDANA TIME

Okay so I have a whole essay to deliver on this that I've been holding inside for the past like two months or so, I apologize in advance for my excessive pedantry on the topic.

In Master and Commander, Stephen delivers this speech:

"‘Then I must tell you that on Sunday mornings it is the custom, in that country, for people of all ages and conditions to dance, on coming out of church: so I was dancing with Ramon Mateu i Cadafalch in the square before the cathedral church of Tarragona, where I had gone to hear the Palestrina Missa Brevis. The dance is a particular dance, a round called the sardana.’"

I hate to be a hater but it is very, very unlikely that anyone would have been dancing a sardana as far south as Tarragona in this time period. The sardana as the symbol of equality and brotherhood emerged in the Renaixença and would not yet have been a thing; Stephen could well have heard sardanas in Ullastret, but they would have been a more typical folk dance, and not anything like the way they're described in the book. It's very ironic, then, that they've become THE Catalan music style for Aubreyad readers, but hopefully this playlist can change that a bit :)

(also sorry for being a sardana-hater on main, someone bring me to dance a sardana and maybe I'll feel better)

Songs that didn't make the cut: La cançó del lladre, Rossinyol que vas a França, La balanguera, La gavina - I'm always happy for more recs!

Originally, this list was also going to include songs in Irish; I quickly realized that I was in over my head with that one, but the working list of songs is here (may be subject to changes so save songs elsewhere if you like them!). Also I would add "Fé Bhláth" by Imelda May and Kíla if it was on Spotify but alas it is not; and "Amhrán na Leabhar" which I have not had time to add but was kindly recommended by someone. I'd love it if someone was interested in actually doing a proper playlist for Irish though—it's a gap in my knowledge that I'd love to start filling.

Aaaaaaand that's a wrap. I hope. Final comment to say thank you to everyone who voted in the cover image poll, turns out you all won :) (Pirineus did win and take the cover of the liner notes though)

#my masterpiece is done i have peaked i'm retiring now #jkjk but i've been working on this since like. november #so it is kind of insane that's it's finally done #please notify me of any mistakes or corrections <3 #and hopefully this is enjoyable for you all!#it's a little funky at times but i think it works???#it's not really a playlist. it's more like one of those weird compilation albums that i definitely didn't consume too many of as a child #did kind of want this to show up in the aubreyad tag but i wanted links more so rip :// anyways here goes nothing #aubreyad #catalan #catalan:general #catalan:music #catalan:reference #catalan:culture #general:music #general:reference #general:culture #there'd better not be any typos or i'm fighting someone

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despazito · 2 years

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What's the best way to get into the Trauma Center series?

ALRIGHT SO trauma center is absolutely wild. The games are about surgeons but they are also absolutely silly and ridiculous like operating on a time bomb, ninjas, the power to stop time during an operation and to hear dead people, pathogens that look like little aliens, and a surgeon who side hustles as an honest to god superhero in full spandex.

There's 5 titles in the series, 3 for Wii and 2 on DS. Chronological order of the series is:

Under the Knife / Second Opinion > Trauma Team > Under the Knife 2 > New Blood

UTK was the first game released in 2005 and it follows the series protagonist Derek Stiles. it's a bit rough around the edges, crusty controls, has no difficulty settings, and the art style looks a bit dated (although many fans find it charming). Several years later Atlus decided to bring the series to Wii and remade the game with a major facelift and most importantly they added a new side storyline introducing Naomi Kimishima aka everyone's favourite character. Not my bias there was a poll. That was released as Trauma Center: Second Opinion and under the fucking incredible name of "Caduceus Z: Two Super Surgical Operations" in Japan, so you can just play SO and skip UTK.

One disclaimer about the game is that pretty early on there's a teen girl admitted who's suicidal and instead of being reassuring and acting like a health professional Angie is a fucking ghoul and yells at her that maybe she should just die then??! It's in both UTK and SO and so out of nowhere, Angie is an unpleasant little gremlin at the beginning of the game but she mellows out. I'd say the rest of the series is pretty good about grief and stuff like that, it's just this one scene that sucks dick

Trauma Team happens two years later in-universe and you could technically play with no previous titles because it follows a completely new set of characters but with the exception of Naomi and her manservant, so I highly recommend playing SO beforehand so you know what her bioterrorism deal is. TT was the last game released and most ambitious tc title even having cutscenes, but they are not animated because Atlus won't spend more than 10$ to make a trauma center <\3

TT is my favourite. You have six playable doctors in surgery, first response, endoscopy, orthopedics, diagnostics, and forensics. The first four modes are similar to the classic TC gameplay, the last two are long form. If you like Phoenix Wright or the Edgeworth games I think you will enjoy forensics, it's literally solving murder mysteries. Diagnostics is basically playing House MD which sounds really fun but flicking between two identical CAT scans looking for a minuscule abnormality can get frustrating and I don't blame anyone just going to the gameFAQ walkthrough for help on that lmao.

The cast is also half men half women doctors with a pretty diverse background. You've got Maria who's latina, Hank is indigenous (although not divulged in the game itself so half points), Tomoe and Naomi are japanese, Gabe and CR-S01 are the cracker rep. It's definitely not flawless representation, like having the latina woman be the fiery aggressive one of the group and Hank be the hippy in touch with nature is a biiit questionable but still I commend the japanese studio for at least trying and both their characters are much more than that. This game was developed around 2009 before diversity in bideo bames became a nuclear topic on the internet. Btw it takes places in 2020 and a massive pandemic hits the United States and it all takes place in MAINE. Fucking wild.

UTK2 happens one year afterwards in-universe and is a direct sequel to UTK back to following Derek, it was outsourced to another studio and frankly it shows. Not a bad game at all and it’s the most important trauma center contribution to mainstream society bc the track gentle breeze that became a viral meme. If you really liked Derek & co and GUILT operations you'll enjoy it. I do not have much to say, only played through it once.

Lastly there's New Blood, another new cast of characters several years time skip, this time it's a duo of surgeons dunked in sepia tone. Again you can jump into New Blood without playing any other title although they do mention events in previous games. You can totally play NB single player but you can tell by level design it's tailored for two and imo the most difficult game in the series. It's also the only game besides TT to have full voice acting starring nyquil'd Troy Baker as Markus. NB was ambitious, you can tell they had a lot they wanted to say. Themes like wealth inequality, access to medical care, corporations mining in the global south, a common fan passtime is screaming about what NB could have been if they could neatly wrap all those topics up into a solid story. It's absolutely not a bad game at all and I totally recommend it, but it could have been More.

If you've got either of those consoles it's pretty affordable to buy the games used at some vintage games shop, especially the Wii titles. TT got a WiiU release in 2015 but I don't think the shop is up anymore? Nobody is serious about collecting TC, atlus didn't even make merch for the series and basically ignores its existance, nobody's bidding up prices for a copy Second Opinion. The Wii games can be emulated on Dolphin and DS games on Desmume, there's a dedicated discord server that's happy to help out and answer questions. Or you could just do passive and watch a yt playthrough.

After 12 years since the last release the fandom is incredibly small but very passionate and we get really excited about new people joining and discovering the series. There's no "wrong" way to play the games, nobody will give you shit for playing out of order we're just happy people play trauma center period!! It really is a hidden gem, there's no other series like it, and it was arguably one of the best implementations of motion controls for the Wii in the console's whole run. If you liked Shoji Meguro's compositions for persona or SMT soundtrack then you'll definitely find some new bops in TC.

The series sold better overseas than in Japan, but even then Trauma Team was a flop in terms of sales and never released in Europe. It's such a shame, I wish it could pick up some kind of cult following. I really really want a new game but at this point I'd settle for remaster of the old ones or even a cheap little trauma center keychain from the atlus store, but even that is wishful thinking 😔😔

So if you do play it and you enjoy them make some noise towards atlus and remind them they do in fact own IPs besides fucking persona.

#trauma center

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belltrigger · 1 year

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Hello again ! It is I, the anonymous headcanon guy !

(I'd like to thank you for your kind words from the last time, first. I am still trying to figure out how tumblr works, but hopfully i'll be able to not be anonymous anymore !)

I came up with another headcanon, i hope you won't mind too much about me sharing it with you !

I see often with the twins that Emmet, the little brother, is a little shit and irresponsible, whereas Ingo is the epitome of the Dad Friend(tm).

I don't think it should go that way. Twins are differents than normal siblings. First, they are born together, so the normal(tm) sibling behavior don't stick to them (it also bother me a little to see Emmet getting the full little brother instinct whereas Ingo only get the Dad Friend one. Older siblings often bullies their younger siblings, but we don't see that hmm ? Anyway-)

I think their personality towards each other should be more equal, like both goofy and responsible.

Also, and this one is a little more personal, i heard that siblings (often seen with twins) have some sort of pack thing going on, like one being the leader and the other following. It may seems like, since Emmet is the LB(tm), he should follow and Ingo should lead, but it doesn't feel right to me (i often see that Ingo will lead in discussions, or do some things like going to someone or things like that. I know that Emmet is heavily autism coded, but Ingo has been portrayed as well, and I don't see why, just because he is less heavily portrayed he should carry the "leader" role. It feels like, since he is more normal, he can function. I find that bad, for lack of better words)

I think they should both lead, as they share a job with the same responsibilities, and both are good trainers with diverses pokemons (meaning one didn't dictate how both of their teams should look like, they both chose).

Anyway, to make it short, i think that both of them should be equal, and not simply little and big brothers (especially for twins, this is kind of a stupid thing. I mean, I get the little and big brother jokes, but in all seriousness, it shouldn't matters.)

Sorry for the long, long post but it really is something that i wanted to share, as it is something that's very close to me.

I hope you found it interesting !

Hello AHG! ヾ(•ω•`)o I hope you are doing well! Tumblr can be a little bit different from other sites, this is true! Take your time, lurk where you'd like, and if you ever feel comfortable (or capable!) of coming off Anon, I'd love for you to let me know!

And yeah!! Send me your head-canons, even once you figure out how tumblr works! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ Or post them and let me know where you're doing it so that I can follow you! I love reading head-canons! It's cool to hear people explain why they have them and the twins are SO open to interpretation! (As a preamble to your head-canon, so much is fanon and sometimes it can be quite frustrating that a certain thing has taken hold.)

I do think official media with them, despite having quite a few variations (Anime Submas, Manga/Special Submas, Original Game Submas, Masters Submas are the big ones), is a bit more close to how you are thinking about it. They're both shown as responsible in certain ways, and goofy in others.

In fact, fanart on the Japanese side of things often interprets Anime Emmet as the responsible one. The only problem with that is the anime is also technically the source of your woes, as I am pretty certain that is where people found out that Ingo being the older twin is 'canon.' If you look at content older than that, you'll find it was pretty even on who was treated as the younger brother and/or it not mattering as much.

Personally, I have gone back and forth for how I like to portray them in my stories. Like you, I love them being equal, them reveling in the idea of their twinship, and being each other's biggest rivals.

Alas, I think we can "blame" Pokemon Legends Arceus for people treating Ingo like "the dad friend" in current fanon. Between people seeing him anywhere between a protective uncle to outright finding him attractive and appealing as a romantic partner, Ingo has become "an adult to trust" to many people. As I am older than the twins' accepted fanon age, I really and truly don't have any Uncle or Dad feelings towards him, so perhaps that's why I treat him more like a brother than anything.

Something I do like to note is the fact that Ingo (in the Japanese version of the anime) uses 'kyoudai (siblings)' to refer to them, and not 'futago(twins).' However, Emmet (also in the Japanese version of the anime) calls Ingo "Nii-san(older brother)." So, clearly the anime is hung up on creating older brother/younger brother dynamics between them, and despite people not liking the design choices of Ingo (not having the :< expression), it is a pretty sizable chunk of characterization and screen time. It's possible that people are leaning into that for their fanon.

I can't speak to the autism thing as I am not diagnosed with austim myself, but what I can say is that English fanon for how they speak is somewhat different from the Japanese tone of their speech is. It's clearly the work of localization, because honestly the way Emmet and Ingo talk is extremely heavily loaded with stuff that doesn't translate easily. None of this negates people identifying with the twins, assigning stim or tics to them, or any head-canons revolving around it. I just think there's fascinating tone changes between each version!

For example! English fanon says that Emmet speaks very stilted, which has been translated as him possibly scripting, not liking to talk, having anxiety, etc. And while it is true that Emmet speaks in short sentences, he also talks in childish, improper, and 'rude' ways in the Japanese version. This is counter-balance to Ingo who speaks in an incredibley archaic, old-man style, absolutely stuffed with politeness. (And Ingo's method of speech is entirely why I suspect *he* was the twin thrown into Hisui, if they only picked one.)

Interestingly, their method of talking about themselves in Masters is also fascinating! Everyone knows that Emmet says "I am Emmet." (I feel his 'Boku Kudari' in Japanese is cuter, but I am biased, I think). But he *also* talks like he's a dude who works at the Subway with his brother, although he really appreciates his position and feels so much honor and respect for it. Ingo, however, speaks like he is *intrinsically* part of the Subway, as though he is a fixture there and not a guy who puts on a uniform he greatly respects. The Subway is something bigger than him, and he is a part of it; Emmet on the other hand is himself and the Subway is part of *him.*

The above is just my interepretation of their speech patterns and how they carry themselves because honestly *there is just so much space to fill.*

This got SUPER BRAVO long, so-! Oops! But I do find your headcanons verrrrry interesting! When I am done working on my commission, perhaps I will think about writing a fic where they are equals! I would like to think some of my stories would suit your needs, but perhaps I need to make more! Eheh

Thank you so so much for your ask!! o(*°▽°*)o

#anon ask #submas #long post #Oops this got ridiculously long #If I should 'read more' it let me know!!!

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imperiuswrecked · 1 year

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Do you ever think about how Namor possibly rules one of the most diverse earth-bound empires in the Marvel universe? Between Atlantis, Lemuria, and other various settlements, Namor's realm has human-descended Atlanteans, Inhuman-descended Atlanteans, Deviants, and alien-descended Atlanteans. How do you think he keeps peace among them?

I think about the undersea world of Marvel far too much for it to be healthy, lol. Imo this is Namor trying to wrangle the Undersea Nations.

But seriously as close to that as possible because the oceans are vast, not every part of the ocean is survivable to live in even for the most hardy of Sea People, and Namor is one person, he can't be everywhere at once and many people do not follow his rule because they don't like him or think he's unfit for the role of ruler and that's without getting into the wars between Atlanteans, Lemurians, Sireanas, etc. However the best set of pages that describe Namor's policy is from Defenders (2012) #5, "You simply allow their egress, Namor?" "And why not? They are my subjects, and are free to do as they will. Save harm any of my other subjects. Do not forget where you are, Surfer. The below is bigger than the above. Our ways are by necessity more... hands off. One cannot police the entire world."

Namor has a set of Laws that he expects his subject's to follow, and for the Surface world to obey when they are in his waters. Namor enacts his Justice according to the crime committed. Which is why he kills poachers on sight but also is willing to have a Court for other issues among his people or hear out surface people if they cross him, like he can be talked to, Namor can be reasoned with. Like many fans and creators at Marvel think Namor is just "bleearrgghh mad! im angry! gonna fight with fists!" when he actually spends a lot of time trying to stop wars from both the surface and other undersea threats. Namor is a hot head and def jumps into many situations without all the information but misinformation is a common comic trope so the heroes can fight each other, etc.

So Namor keeps the peace among the Undersea Nations by not micro managing them, and there are most likely treaties, and promises between the different people they uphold. He would have ambassadors all over the seas and only step in if something really needed his direct attention.

I just have an issue with Marvel trying to constantly tie Atlantis/Atlanteans to the Cosmic side and the "Alien" Atlanteans such as the Vodans but I should save those thoughts for a longer post talking about the different origins and people of the undersea empire. However there are also other non Vodan aquatic aliens that make their home in the seas of Earth, and other origins of the Atlanteans being evolved of the Sea and not from the Land.

#namor #namor the sub mariner #atlanteans #imp answers #zdarsky can personally fight me because I will never accept that stupid vodan retcon and idgaf what the marvel wiki says #because his origin is not more special than the other 4 or 5 different origins that have been put forth over the decades

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on-stained-glass-wings · 2 years

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OOC: I may not have the energy to reply much at the moment, but I somehow have the energy to do a semi-serious shitpost about how the fandom portrays the Finlay and Malenia romance. Specifically in bed.

(Read more for fandom snarkery and NSFW/T talk. The following is my personal preference and I absolutely believe that all interpretations of the Ultimate Lesbian Ship:tm: are valid as fuck even if They Don’t Cater to My Particular Needs. I’m also going to use yuri terminology because I’ve been on the internet for over a decade.)

Okay, so like, am I the only one that kind of balks at the way most Malenia/Finlay fics are written--specifically in terms of sex scenes? Like, nothing draws me out of a Finlay/Malenia story like a sex scene, because it’s either Malenia acting like a mommy ojou-sama figure or her just becoming a full-on wilting submissive. Finlay, meanwhile, is nothing but an eager ‘imutou’ like figure, just so happy to be with Malenia-senpai that she’ll just do whatever her mistress wants. And Malenia’s almost inevitably a sex goddess if she’s not an eager little minx submissive. it’s just.

So.

Boring.

It’s like I’m watching a really outdated yuri/shojou-ai story from the 1990s/early-to-mid 2000s. Or Cinemax. People can’t seem to find a middle-ground to Malenia’s contrarian personality (in that she is somehow a BAMF, determined, assertive GOAT as well as passive, reactive, and surprisingly chill), and Finlay seems to have no personality aside from stern knight or ‘omg senpai i would die for you’. The sex scenes inevitably suffer as a result. Like, I get so many of us are desperate for that good Malenia/Finlay WLW kush, but come on. Give them some personality. Stop falling into banal yuri tropes.

I realize that part of the problem is that Finlay has no canonical personality outside of absolutely devoted and BAMF motherfucker who loved her boss enough to drag her across the continent on her back, but like, the fandom can’t seem to decide if she’s an eager uwu senpai type or if she’s a stern knight, and like. It’s like they can’t seem to find a happy medium in personalities for EITHER of them.

Please. Please. Try to diversity in both sex and character portrayals. I don’t want to feel like I’m watching Strawberry Panic when I’m reading an Elden Ring wlw fic.

(For anyone who is curious about my own portrayals, Finlay would die for Malenia, but she is also an uncooth, snarky, incorrigible little shit, and her antics either leave Malenia laughing and smiling against her will or doing the emotional equivalent of ‘rolling her eyes’. Finlay definitely likes to joke around in bed and Malenia’s like will lightly smack her head or tweak her nose and be all ‘look are you gonna keep making puns or are you going to go down on me already?’ Malenia’s on the bottom 80% of the time, both because A) it’s really nice to be taken care of when your entire existence revolves around you being an unshakable protector, and B) she suffers from chronic pain and mobility issues, so not only can positioning be difficult, but having sex with your metal prosthetic arm and leg on can be a bit of a buzzkill at times, so she’ll occasionally take them off. She can move around fine without them, but topping when you can’t balance yourself over someone is...tricky. They do a lot lying-on-their-sides sex.

Also, their afterglow is always affectionate but often peppered with Finlay’s puns or random questions. Like, they’ll literally both have just come down from orgasm, and Finlay will be like ‘hey Mal, if a tree falls down in the woods and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?’; and Malenia will resist the urge to smother her (lovingly with a pillow) and be all ‘of course it does, Finlay; just because you can’t hear something doesn’t mean it doesn’t obey the laws of physics.’ And then Finlay’s like ‘okay, but how do you know for sure if you’re not there to hear it?’ and Malenia DOES bring the pillow out and start to smack her on the head as Finlay cackles maniacally.)

#the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia)#loyal knight of the rot goddess (finlay)#about the rot goddess (malenia)#the dueling grounds (discourse)#nsft #golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons)

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protagonistheavy · 10 months

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I think Killer variety in DBD is important for the player experience, but when I hear suggestions that there should be a system in place to prevent running into repeat Killers, I think that's shortsighted and that people aren't understanding why Killer diversity is important.

Ultimately what I think BHVR needs to be doing is making Killer fun be balanced and consistent across all Killers. It's not a weird thing of chance that Wesker is one of the most popular characters by far, and also Blight and Huntress -- these Killers are fun and have mechanics that keep them engaging for both sides of the game. I mean yeah Wesker is also a really popular character, but he's remained relevant this long because his power is very well-designed.

And so they really should be looking at Wesker and using him as a template for future powers, as well as how to balance current Killers and possibly rework them. The fact is, multi-purpose powers are great. People want to use their power for different effects; it feels great to use Wesker's power to grab people and slam them into walls, but it also just feels good zipping around, either closing distances in chase or zooming around the map. Blight has been popular for this reason too, his power allows him to not only do fun stuff in chase, but when he's not in chase, he has a great way to get around the map and patrol gens.

The way these powers are designed keeps the game going. There's rarely points in time where the game goes quiet against these Killers, they're either engaged in a chase that requires them to use their power skillfully, or theyre using that power to find the next chase and stay involved. Compare that to the Knight or Skull Merchant, where they have these periods of time where they're either in a very long and boring chase, or they're just setting up little hazards and letting their powers effectively play the game for them. Pinhead is a similar issue where his power just drags the game down to a crawl; he's not actually doing anything, but him existing in the trial makes everything take longer. All of these powers have multiple purposes, but none of those purposes keep the game active and involved, they're straightforward obstacles that more often than not just delay Survivors from doing what they want to be doing and force them into bad positions, rather than feeling engaged with the Killer and the rest of the game.

I hope that going forward BHVR tries to follow Wesker's example more than, say, the Knight. Because Killer variety hinges on more Killers being fun to play as. I hope too that they can take a look at some older, weaker Killers and try to breathe new life into their kits with added features or options -- make these Killers feel good to play as so people will want to play as them, and balance their powers so that Survivors aren't instantly giving up against oppressive abilities.

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kinglyisms-archived · 1 year

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@worldly-diversity asked: Hearing Artemis call him Heart again brought back quite a few memories from that ball in Abarith, from the doorman's insult to the first time Artemis had called him that, and the wonderful night that had followed. So hearing it again now brings a light smile to his face, extending a hand out for the other to take. "I would be most delighted to show you the Heartslabyul dorms, Artemis~"

"Dire told me you're the Leader of the whatcha mccall it here?" Honestly, he wasn't really listening. Or trying all that hard anyway. Dire gave him a bunch of shit he didn't want, the uniform he did want, and then called for Riddle to come pick him up from the office. He was glad to have snuck away from Eric to be here, with the pretty boy he had gotten to face with at the King's Ball. A corpse really wouldn't have done nearly as well for a Dance Partner as Riddle did.

A true Queen that can dance as Royalty would expect.

Riddle was quite quick in picking him up, as if he was waiting outside the office. Artemis didn't ask if they were, he really didn't care. It would be cute if he was though. Artemis was still getting a bit of a feel for Riddle's personality. What he can and can't get away with. At the ball, he seemed to get away with quite a lot. Riddle hadn't even blinked in the face of the corpse and then talked about behedding people. Maybe corpses were common place for them? Dire said he can't murder the students though. Man was a buzz kill.

The bag he was given is tossed onto the ground as Artemis pulls the little greeting book he was given out from it. The book was supposed to tell him about Riddle's "section" or whatever he was calling it. The thick small print thing held apparently eight hundred and ten rules. And the only reason Artemis was even going to bother to try and figure them out was because Dire told him Riddle wrote them.

"I only read a couple, Heart." He tells him first off, because he had like five mintues to look at it while Dire was lecturing him. "And truthfully, this language is hard for me. I don't read it very well, and I can't write it properly. Translating it is difficult." He lowers the book down and tilts his head at the other boy.

"But what's with all the rules on cats?"

The book gets closed and he tosses it down into the bag, scooping it back up to tug onto his shoulder. He adjusts the strap a bit, fusses with the uniform, and then moves closer to Riddle. Instead of taking his hand though he loops both his arms around Riddle's own and presses into his side, clinging to him. "Do you hate cats?" He likes the rules on punishments, on beheadings. On trials and such. But the cat rules seemed a bit out of place. It amuses him to a degree. "Can I see your room first? Do I need my own room or can I just sleep with you?"

#♚ — resident; artemis.#♚ — inquires answered.#worldlydiversity

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thebibliosphere · 3 years

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So I'm currently unemployed because I got fired for taking too much sick leave (it was legally sketchy blah blah blah but in the end I just can't work and take care of myself and investigate my mystery health problems at the same time). So I've been spending more time writing!

I really admire your writing and loved Hunger Pangs. I'm looking forward to the poly elements developing and I'm wondering if you have any advice for writing about poly. I've made one of my projects a snarky take on "write what you know" ... Apparently what I know is southern gothic meets Pacific northwest gothic, chronic illness pandemic surrealism, and falling back-asswards into threesomes.

I know this is a very open-ended question and I don't expect an answer, I'm just curious about it if you have the energy. As a writer, trying to write honestly / realistically about polyamory/enm, I'm curious if you have any thoughts on what's different about portraying monogamy or nonmonogamy in books, romance or erotica or otherwise.

I'm trying to read examples but it's hard to find examples that fit the niche I'm looking at. Excuse me if this question is nonsense, it's the cluster headaches.

I'm sorry to hear you've been dealing with all that and solidarity on the cluster headaches. But I'm glad you're finding an outlet through writing! And I hope you're happy with an open-ended ramble in response because oh boy, there's a lot I could talk about and I could probably do a better job of answering this sort of thing with more specific questions, but let's see where we end up.

There's definitely a big difference between writing polyamory/ENM (ethical non-monogamy) and what people often expect from monogamous love stories.

Just even from a purely sales and marketing standpoint, the moment you write anything polyamorous (or even just straight up LGBTQIA+ without the ENM) you're going to get considered closer to being erotica/obscene than hetero romances. It's an unfair bias, but it's one that exists in our society. But also the Amazon algorithm and their shitty, shitty human censors. Especially the ones that work the weekends. (Talking to you, Carlos 🖕.)

So not only do you start out hyper-aware that you're writing something that is highly stigmatized or fetishized (at least I'm hyper-aware) but that you are also writing for a niche market that is starving for positive content because the content that exists is either limited, not what they want, or is problematic in some fashion i.e. highly stigmatized or fetishy. And even then, the wants, desires, and expectations of the community you're writing for are complex and wildly varied and hard to fit into an easy formula.

When writing monogamous love stories, there is a set expectation that’s really hard to fuck up once you know it. X person meets Y. Attraction happens, followed by some sort of minor conflict/resolution. Other plot may happen. A greater catalyst involving personal growth for both parties (hopefully) happens. Follow the equation to its ultimate resolution and achieve Happily Ever After.

But writing ENM is... a lot more difficult, if only because of the pure scope of possibilities. You could try to follow the same equation and shove three (or more) people into it, but it rarely works well. Usually because if you’re doing it right, you won’t have enough room in a single character arc to allow for enough growth, and if ENM requires anything in abundance, it’s room to grow.

And this post is huge so I’m going to put the rest under a cut :)

There's also a common refrain in certain online polyam/ENM circles that triads and throuples are overrepresented in media and they may be right to some extent. Personally, I believe the issue isn't that triads and throuples are overrepresented, but that there is such minuscule positive rep of ethical non-monogamy in general, that the few tiny instances we have of triads in media make it seem like it's "everywhere" when in actuality, it's still quite rare and the media we do have often veers into Unicorn Hunter fetish porn. Which is its own problematic thing. And just to be clear, I’m not including this part to dissuade you from writing "falling back-asswards into threesomes." If anything, I need more of it and would hook it directly into my brain if I could. I'm just throwing it out there into the void in the hope that someone will take the thought and run with it, lol.

I’d love to see more polyfidelitous rep in fiction, just as much as I’d like to see more relationship anarchy too. More diversity in fiction is always good.

Another thing that differs in writing ENM romance vs conventional monogamy is the feeling like you need to justify yourself. There's a lot of pressure to be as healthy and non-problematic as possible because you are being held to a higher standard of criticism. Both from people from without the ENM communities, and from the people within. Granted, some people don't give a shit and just want to read some fantastic porn (valid) but there are those who will cheerfully read Fifty Shades of Bullshit and call it "spicy" and "romantic," then turn around and call the most tooth-rottingly-sweet-fluff about a queer platonic polycule heresy. That's just the way the world works.

(Pro-tip for author life in general: never read your own reviews; that way madness lies. I glimpsed one the other day that tagged Hunger Pangs as “ethical cheating” and just about had an aneurism.)

And while that feeling of needing to justify yourself comes from a valid place of being excluded from the table of socially accepted norms, it can also be to the detriment of both the story and the subject matter at hand. I've seen some authors bend so far over backward to avoid being problematic in their portrayal of ENM, they end up being problematic for entirely different reasons. Usually because they give such a skewed, rose-tinted perspective of how things work, it ends up coming off as well... a bit culty and obnoxious tbh.

“Look how enlightened we are, freed from the trappings of monogamy and jealousy! We’re all so honest and perfect and happy!”

Yeah, uhu, sure Jan. Except here’s the thing, not all jealousy is bad. How you act on it can be, but jealousy itself is an important tool in the junk drawer that is the range of human emotion. It can clue us in to when we’re feeling sad or neglected, which in turn means we should figure out why we’re feeling those things. Sometimes it’s because brains are just like that and anxiety is a thing. Other times it’s because our needs are actually being neglected and we are in an unhealthy situation we need to remedy. You gotta put the work in to figure it out. Which is the same as any style of relationship, whether it’s mono, polyam or whatever flavor of ENM you subscribe to* And sometimes you just gotta be messy, because that’s how humans are. Being afraid to show that mess makes it a dishonest portrayal, and it also robs you of some great cannon fodder for character development.

Which brings me in a roundabout way to my current pet peeve in how certain writers take monogamous ideals and apply them to ENM, sometimes without even realizing it. The “Find the Right Person and Settle Down” trope.

Often, in this case, ENM or polyamory is treated as a phase. Something you mature out of with age or until you meet “The One(tm).” This is, of course, an attempt to follow the mono style formula expected in most romances. And while it might appeal to many readers, it’s uh, actually quite insulting.

To give an example, I am currently seeing this a lot in the Witcher fandom.

Fanon Netflix!Jaskier is everyone's favorite ethical slut until he meets Geralt then woops, wouldn’t you know, he just needed to find The One(tm). Suddenly, all his other sexual and romantic exploits or attractions mean nothing to him. Let's watch as he throws away a core aspect of his personality in favor of a man.

Yeah... that sure showed those societal norms...

If I were being generous, I’d say it’s a poor attempt at showing New Relationship Euphoria and how wrapped up people can become in new relationships. But honestly, it’s monogamous bias eking its way in to validate how special and unique the relationship is. Because sometimes people really can’t think of any other way to show how important and valid a relationship is without defining it in terms of exclusivity. Which is a fundamental misunderstanding of how ENM works for a lot of people and invalidates a lot of loving, serious and long-term relationships.

This is not to say that some polyam/poly-leaning people can't be happy in monogamous relationships! I am! (I consider myself ambiamorous. I'm happy with either monogamy or polyamory, it really just depends on the relationship(s) I’m in.) But I also don't regard my relationship with a mono partner as "settling down" or "growing up." It's just a choice I made to be with a person I love, and it's a valid one. Just like choosing to never close yourself off to multiple relationships is valid. And I wish more people realized that, or rather, I wish the people writing these things knew that :P

Anyway, I think I’ve rambled enough. I hope this collection of incoherent thoughts actually makes some sense and might be useful.

----

*A good resource book that doesn't pull any punches in this regard is Polysecure by Jessica Fern. It's a wonderfully insightful read that explores the messier side of consensual non-monogamy, especially with how it can be affected by trauma or inter-relationship conflicts. But it also shows how to take better steps toward healthy, ethical non-monogamy (a far better job than More Than Two**) and conflict resolution, making it a valuable resource both for someone who is a part of this relationship style***, but also for writers on the outside looking in who might have a very simple or misguided idea of what conflict within polyam/ENM relationships might look like, vs traditional monogamous ones.

** The author of More Than Two has been accused of multiple accounts of abuse within the polyamorous community, with many of his coauthors having spoken out about the gaslighting and emotional and psychological damage they experienced while in a relationship with him. A lot of their stories are documented here: https://www.itrippedonthepolystair.com/ (warning: it is not light material and deals with issues of abuse, gaslighting, and a whole other plethora of Yikes.) While some people still find More Than Two helpful reading, there are now, thankfully, much, much better resources out there.

*** Some people consider polyam/ENM to be part of their identity or orientation, while others view it as a relationship style.It largely depends on the individual.

#long post #writing #ethical non-monogamy #relationship styles #relationship models in fiction #also that kindle link is an affiliate link #because fuck giving amazon free recs

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sunfish-studies · 3 years

Text

Let The Games Begin!

✄・・・ Feathery Ink [Karasuno Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Karasuno x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: none

➜ Notes: This is a separate series from Crisp Leaves. Similar to Crisp Leaves, manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall. This is just my appreciation towards tall girls, you guys are amazing.

Previous: ‹ Celebration › | Next: ‹ A Simple and Pure Strength ›

↷ SUMMARY ↶

Preliminaries for Interhigh in Miyagi commenced today and Karasuno vowed to blast through and win them all.

“I’m sorry that you have to cheer from above, Hitoka-chan, [Name]-chan,” Shimizu apologized in advance because while she could watch the game on the bench, the two of you could only watch them quite far away. It couldn’t be helped, only one manager was allowed to be on the bench during the game.

“It’s alright, Kiyoko-senpai,” you replied with determination. “In fact, leave the cheering to us! Right, Hitoka-chan?”

“That’s right!” Yachi nodded in agreement.

“Then, we’re counting on you two.” Shimizu smiled at both of your eagerness. While Shimizu called you by your given name, you decided to ask her if it’s okay to call her also by her given name–she instantly agreed, seemed extremely happy even. Since then, you started calling her by her given name still with a suffix.

“H-Hinata, are you okay?” Yachi asked in worry because the said orange-haired boy was holding his stomach and trembling.

“Do you still feel sick?” you also questioned, immediately kneeling and rummaging through your back for medicine. Which made you aware of another trembling figure sitting on the ground. “Y-Yamaguchi-kun, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Hinata replied. “I threw up on the way here, so I feel better.”

“Of course you’d feel sick after eating all those katsudon for breakfast.” Tsukishima snickered.

“It’s normal to eat katsudon on game days!” Hinata defended himself.

“And by ‘normal’, you mean…” Tsukishima deadpanned.

“You dumbass! Hinata, you stupid dumbass!” as if adding more salt to the wound, Kageyama was there to yell at him–making you almost burst out laughing from the limited insult he had in his vocabulary.

“I-I feel like I’m going to puke too, after remembering Hinata puking…” Yamaguchi pressed a hand upon his mouth, speaking in a very low voice which you almost missed. Both you and Tsukishima immediately snapped your head to face him.

“Huh?” Tsukishima replied in disbelief. “Go to bathroom, already!”

“H-Here’s a plastic bag you could use!” you yelped thrusting the item into his palm. “There’s also a medicine if you want! Don’t hold it, Yamaguchi-kun!”

“I thought you were busy concentrating but you were actually trying not to puke!?” you could hear Sugawara exclaimed and now you could confirm that Azumane was somehow in a similar state as Yamaguchi.

“Do you need medicine, senpai?” you’re instantly kneeling on his side with yet another plastic bag (just for caution), a bottle of warm water, and a small package of medicine. “I also have warm water you could drink!”

“T-thanks, [Name]-chan,” Azumane whispered. “You’re a life-saver.”

Even before the game, your team was in shambles.

Your first game would be against Ohgi Minami High School–you made sure to keep in track of the games and read the whole pamphlet to know about the teams who could be your opponents in the future. The warm-ups were smooth until it was time for the game–the first official game of Karasuno.

“The spring tournament… Karasuno’s battle is about to start…!” You could hear Yachi muttered from right beside you–upon the wall, hung the pure black banner for the team. Just like her, the nerves were getting into you the moment all of them assembled to hear a little bit of advice from Coach Ukai and encouraging speech from Takeda-sensei.

“Oh, so you watch the game too, Ukai-sensei?” the older man beside you questioned, both of you looked to the side and you instantly recognized older man who helped Hinata nailing his control.

“Yeah.”

“Good morning,” you greeted, bowing down which Yachi hastily copied.

“Oh, so you’re the manager,” Coach Ukai also recognized you and didn’t think twice to reply. Although he looked extremely strict (and he does on the court that is), but he’s not an entirely stiff person. And from his history, you put an absolute respect for him.

“Ukai? Grandson?” Yachi tilted her head in confusion.

“He’s the former Coach Ukai,” you explained. “He’s the famous coach who brought Karasuno to nationals and also the current Coach Ukai’s grandfather. The Little Giant was in his team.”

“Hee!?” Yachi yelped.

“[Name]-nee-chan!”

“Yuu-chan! You’re here to watch, too?” Ogasawara Yuu was the little kid who’s watching Hinata and Kageyama practice the day before and before you knew it, the two of you became friends. He didn’t hesitate to ask you questions and you found yourself enjoyed in indulging his curiosity.

“Yeah! Nee-chan, you’re from Karasuno, too, right? What are you doing up here?”

“T-There’s only one manager allowed on the bench. You didn’t know that?” Yachi argued.

“That’s why I’m here too,” you added, pointing to yourself.

“Ooh.”

The game itself was a sight to see–everyone’s moves were full with confidence, they had a full control of their decisions and movements. For example, your captain was waiting for the opponent to do the feint and managed to received it cleanly.

“S-so fast! It’s like he was waiting for it!” Yachi commented.

“It’s because they have been practicing with powerhouse schools with different kinds of power in serves and spikes. The diversity of their opponents from the training and their defenses and high level of it, the team is already used to it.” You pointed out, which made your friend gasped in awe.

As the game continued, you were immersed with the thrill of it. Kageyama successfully pulled off another service ace. Yachi was bouncing giddily from it.

“Nice serve, Kageyama-kun!” you called out. He turned to glance at you and gave you a fist.

“Another service ace!” Yachi cheered.

“Now we’re on set point,” You added, looking at the score board.

The match was going on smoothly for Karasuno, sure there was a little bump but that’s because you felt Ohgi Minami didn’t really give it their all after knowing they would lose–sometimes, people who witnessed someone who’s more skilled than them felt a tug of helplessness. However, not doing your best isn’t acceptable.

Thankfully, they seemed to change and blasted through after their former captain pulled up a speech. Even though they still loss, you knew it would make them even stronger. The frustration would linger and push them into working hard to win.

That’s that and now, you didn’t even have a chance to bask in your victory because another threat was looming.

You peeked over Kageyama’s shoulder, your own shoulder trembled slightly–you didn’t even need to look to know how Hinata and Yachi were both terrified out of their wits from the sight. While waiting for the results, your team watched the on-going match and at the same time witnessing something downright terrifying.

Kakugawa’s #9 basically pushed the ball over the block with ease and it almost send you into an early cardiac arrest. Hinata and Yachi squeaked in fright.

“That’s creepy!” Tanaka commented, words muffled from how he munched on a banana.

“It’s a weapon…” Azumane muttered in disbelief. “His height is a weapon…”

“I think I’m the one who needs the medicine now,” you whispered, feeling your heart threatened to jump out from your throat.

“It’s just height,” Kageyama said, peeling on a banana.

“It’s almost astronomical on how you’re still calm after watching that,” you sighed.

“I guess we know who we’re playing next,” He then continued, chewing on his food. After the match was over, the team had slight break and decided to study the charts. Your next opponent would be Kakugawa High School, who has an absurdly tall member who messes with your depth of perception.

Yachi squeaked in fright when the said tall member walked pass by–clearly towering over everyone with his two meters height.

“T-two meters is super huge,” Hinata stuttered, shoulders trembling.

“201 centimeters and 162 centimeters, huh…” Yamaguchi muttered, looking at the orange-haired boy.

“I’m 163 if you round it up-!” Hinata argued.

“201 centimeters and 162 centimeters, there’s a 40 centimeters difference.” Tsukishima cut him off.

“Listen!”

“F-forty centimeters is the same size as Ketty-chan,” Yachi tried to cheer him up. “It’s not that big.”

“Is that an attempt to cheer him up?” Tsukishima commented.

“It sure is.” You confirmed, smiling nervously.

“Tekachu is also 40 centimeters,” Yamaguchi added.

“So is a Fujikujira,” Tsukishima followed, which made all of you confused.

“F-Fujikujira?” you questioned. “What’s that?”

“It’s a kind of shark.”

“You’re smart, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi praised.

Hinata sluggishly walked–face pale and filled with resignation. “I…want to combine with that shark… If I combined with a Fujikujira, I’d be two meters tall…”

“Hey, what are you talking about?” Kageyama was thoroughly confused with his antics. He rose an eyebrow. “Are you really scared?”

It made Yachi worried but Shimizu was quick to reassure her that it would be fine, half of it was directed to you too. You tried your best not to worry–he sure has height, but Karasuno had strategies. Everything should be alright.

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carrdfan · 3 years

Text

Venom/Eddie Brock x Reader

summary : when it all started, you had promised Drake that you would do nothing but stay by his side. Yet as time went on and he showed his truth, by the time Dora tells you about her future plan to stop Drake, you debating about risking it all once you come face to face with the intruder.

main tags : enemies to lovers , headcanons , gender neutral reader

At first, you were nothing but ecstatic to the fact that you were able to work at the Life Foundation

It felt like a deserved achievement, and the fact that you started at a reluctantly young age meant that this could be just the first few steps to a successful life

You were nothing but respectful to everyone at work, particularly to Drake since you commonly work with him

Yet, the bright flower for this job was to slowly wither away unbeknownst to you

Over the following few months, Drake's behavior turned into something more cynical. Especially once the symbiotes found their way to the planet

The fact that he showed no remorse to people all because they were on the less fortunate side disturbed you greatly. Unsettlement increased by the passing day and you became entirely concerned with Drake's well-being

One day, you ran into Dora while both of you took the elevator to get into work. You were familiar with Dora so you spoke up to end the deafening silence

The conversation was going relatively normal until you two got onto the topic of Drake and his recent actions

"Hey Y/N, has Drake been acting.. Strange to you?"

You took a moment, you had your answer, but it was more of the worry of if Dora was trustworthy enough to receive your truth

"...Yes, ever since the symbiotes came into the frame he's always been strange." You soon turned back and made strict eye contact with Dora. "Why? Got something on your shoulder?"

Though your last comment was more silly then serious, still, you felt relief you weren't supposedly the only one concerned over Drake's actions

Dora took a breath, "I do." Your eyes widen to the serious response

"Dora, what are you planning to do?"

She looked hesitant to tell, as if she was a child nervously having to admit they did something wrong

"I want to expose Drake of what he's doing. You know, he's testing humans like they're pure animals ever since those aliens arrived. I think it's better if we put him down."

You were impressed, the fact Dora wanted to go to such lengths to end this villainous of a man made you happy.

But then again, these same lengths were also what struck fear in you. The last thing you wanted to hear was Dora getting caught and punished.

Before you could reply, the elevator stopped and you both had to separate your ways. Time was moving too fast at the worst of times.

"Just.. Take in what I said. I'm gonna try and find someone to help me out tonight."

With that, Dora excused herself and headed off on her way. Leaving you to process the warning before quickly stepping out yourself.

Time had passed but there was never a moment where you didn’t think about Dora’s words. Was she really going to risk it and try to take down Drake?

By the time you were heading home, it was late evening. You were just a few steps away out the door before hearing a familiar voice.

From afar you could see Dora, still in the building mere hours after she should've been home. She was waving goodbye to a security guard before excusing herself.

When she turned and noticed you, you walked up to her and whispered, "Dora, what the hell are you still doing here?"

"We don't have time, we need to leave before they—"

Suddenly sirens went off, alerting that there was an intruder as both of you covered your ears. The alarm added nothing but more questions, yet you had to act fast

You soon placed a hand on Dora's shoulder and guided her to the door

"You get out of here, I'll see what's going on."

"Y/N, I can't let you do that, if you get caught they'll—"

"I'll be fine Dora, unlike you, I have a passable alibi. You should've been home hours ago. Now get going! I'll call you later tonight."

Dora resisted for a moment before nodding her head and leaving. That only left you to go and investigate what happened

You decided to rush through the back ally, catching a glimpse of security guards trying to hop over a fence, hinting that the intruder had escaped.

Walking up to them, you quickly asked what the hell was going on. To which they replied explaining how someone came in and took one of the symbiotes.

You expressed how you wanted to help, so you got in the car with the guards and proceeded to drive out in the middle of the nearby forest, where the supposed intruder was last seen.

After a while of searching, nothing prevailed. You stared out into the distance before being called by the guards to get back in the car so they can retreat and inform Drake on what happened.

Shockingly, you declined the offer, explaining how you still had a gut feeling that the intruder was close. Having no other choice, the guard nodded and all proceeded to drive back to the building.

You watched as the cars left your vision before looking around the area one last time.

You raised your voice, yet still being cautious if any possible guards being close, "I have a feeling your here. I'm not gonna turn you in, I'm with Dora."

There was nothing for a moment, you almost gave up before hearing creaking as a small branch suddenly fall to the ground. You looked up to see the alleged intruder at the top of a tree.

The man seemed extremely troubled, and you couldn't even blame him. You ran next to the tree and took the next few minutes slowly helping the man down.

After some time, you both managed to get into your car and leave the building safely. Both of you were still puzzled by what went down

"Dora told me about her plan, though.. If I was informed a bit more, this would’ve been more correlated." You told the man to simply reassure that he can trust you. You really didn't have any idea how to handle the situation, but you trying to come off as if you did.

"I'm Y/N by the way. Also, I kinda need the address to your place to drop you off..."

The man was still quiet, but then again you told yourself it was you who was rushing the conversation. You accepted the silence politely.

"..Eddie. Eddie Brock."

You had heard of Eddie before on the news, but he looked a lot more.. disorganized in person.

"Well Eddie, it's nice to meet you."

Both of you got to Eddie's apartment as he proceeded to bust through the door while trying to call Dora.

Sadly, your time could only last for so long before suddenly getting a call yourself.

It was Drake.

You dropped into a panic as you slowly closed the door and ran down to the ground floor before answering the phone.

"Hello? Drake?"

"Y/N, where are you. Guards are saying you stayed out looking for the intruder."

You freaked out as you tried to think of a diverse lie that could also match the testimony with the other guards.

"Yeah, I stayed out for a few extra minutes but to no avail. I didn't find anyone and left the building, I was getting off anyways."

You looked at yourself while making this final decision. You were lying to someone you had told many times that you would do nothing but share the truth with. You made it clear to Drake with the actions that he could trust you, and now here you were, covering the enemy.

"Y/N, I just wanna make sure, but you aren't lying to me, are you?"

Now was your last chance to turn back to the thing you had built so much to achieve. You were either going to save your career or save a thief. Yet thinking back on the outcome Life Foundation was going to be in with Drake's sinister ways, you gathered yourself and managed to tell him.

"No. I didn't see anyone out there. The intruder unfortunately is loose and his whereabouts are unknown."

With that, you and Drake briefly talked before hanging up the phone.

You wanted to go back and check on Eddie, but you convinced yourself not to and see him another time.

Right now, you needed to remain undercover yourself. You are an ally with the villain after all.

#venom x reader #venom imagine #venom movie #venom #venom headcanon #eddie brock x reader #eddie brock #eddie brock imagine #eddie brock headcanon #gender neutral reader #marvel #marvel fanfic

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jiminrings · 3 years

Note

what happened to mc after that?? JUNGKOOK I WILL WHOOP YO FUCKING ASS

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

the aftermath of stem koo breaking senior!y/n's heart

"do you need anything from us?"

yoongi asks you for the fifth time in the twenty minutes you've been home, heart breaking from the inside out when you haven't moved a single inch

he is begging that the thing you need from him and jin is to go beat j*ngkook up

HE CAN'T EVEN SAY HIS NAME WITHOUT BEING ANGRY AT HIM!!!!!!!

anything. anything to atleast make you sleep in peace tonight.

or them honestly,, either way

your body's facing the backrest of the couch and maybe that's for the better, because that way, seokjin won't feel the need to cry looking at the coldest person he's known to be openly vulnerable

you're still wearing your jersey!!! your stained dirty jersey that you've been in for the past three hours and the reason that it's still wet was that you've been using it to wipe your tears all the way to the dorm

"no. i'll be alright."

you mumble for the fifth time out of the five times you've been asked, and yoongi just has to grapple at his fist because he knows that being frustrated wouldn't help

you are the fURTHEST thing from okay

to be honest, it was only a miracle that you told the two of them what happened in the first place

it was in between sobs that you asked them why they were friends with you and they couldn't be anymore dumbfounded

it was in between violent tears that you mentioned hyeji that seokjin looked for a box of tissues because you've been intentionally rubbing your eyes raw

it was in between heaving that you said that no one wants to go the extra mile for me that yoongi started holding your cheeks and trying to get you to breathe with him in his panic too

it was in between hiccups that you uttered that no one wants to walk me home and that's when both of yoongi's and seokjin's throats started tightening, the dots hazy yet aligning nonetheless

it was in silence when you told that jungkook said that no one likes me, and that's when out of the three of you in the room – you're the one who's the calmest.

"okay. i'll bring you a blanket."

yoongi leaves it at that, standing from his spot on the floor to walk over to the kitchen where the blankets cLEARLY aren't there

no one really prepared yoongs for this

no one really is

there isn't a manual on how to act when the dearest friend that you have is crying their guts out for the first time

he can't explain his close bond with you and he's always seen you as his platonic girlfriend!!! his platonic girlfriend who has a bond with him that's closer than a sister's, more understanding than a mother's, and the utter admiration more than a friend's

you r literally yoongi's (platonic) soulmate and he would die on that hill

he would rather subject himself to torture via having to stay in a freshman's dorm equipped with the de facto led strip lights everyday!!! every single day, than to see you like this :(((

"what do you have on the bitch?" yoongi doesn't spare his words when he sits on the kitchen stool next to jin's figure

the dude is sTANDING and that means business

jin doesn't feel a single ounce of regret fetching his work laptop and scrolling through the files and tabs he has on every single student on campus, eyes only looking for one lee hyeji that's contributed to your anguish rn

jungkook is atleast 3/4 in this equation and seokjin will get to him of course

no one makes his emotional support best friend cry and nOT pay the consequences for it!!!!

in another life, vincenzo cassano's character is based on seokjin and the events in his life that definitely happened >:(

"she's daddy's money. can't fucking believe that sHE'S representing the school," he sighs in genuine annoyance, but not loud enough to pique your attention as he turns the screen so yoongi could clearly see her headshots, "must be a diversity hire. every university needs a fucking bimbo, apparently."

you see,,, yoongi would've SNORTED at that but now is not the time!!! he is still planning discreet retribution to avenge you!!!!

jin lets yoongi look at hyeji's entire file, wanting to get even the smallest bits even if the information he's taking in is against his will

he'll immediately delete whatever he learns about her right after it's served its purpose

"just messaged the faculty groupchat," seokjin himself didn't imagine the words coming out from his lips determinedly, but he knows that he's willing to do anything for the sake of this, "been crushing on jeon ever since the start of last semester. philosophy professor thinks it's because he once saw jungkook lending her a pen when they were in the topic of soulmates."

jesus christ

now THAT'S just annoying ://

this

whatever this is

seokjin and yoongi don't know what they're digging all this information for

they don't know what this unspoken plan is for, or if they even have a plan in the first place

if jin were to tell the faculty gc about this???

absolute mayhem

but he knows for a fact that they'd hate star student jungkook easily within a tap of a finger

the philosophy prof would lose all sense of rationality and reasoning and INSTANTLY point to jungkook as an asshole!!! no questions asked!!!! no elaborations!!!!

"i could get jeon eliminated from all the academic listings he's in."

jin pipes in at the silence that he and yoongi share, both listless in this situation that they never expected to encounter with you

"i could always spread a rumor and make him unlikeable."

yoongi toys with the rings that he wears, a heavy exhale tearing away from him

they could think of a thousand other ways to get back at jungkook!!! they literally can

seokjin knows a contract guy who leaves shredded paper with his contract's initials written on red ink (for a base fee of three dollars, he can switch up the ink for you!!!) right next to their side on the bed

yoongi knows a guy whose modus operandi is to discreetly follow people, have subliminals playing in the background (for an extra fee of ten dollars, he'll use wireless bass-boosted speakers), and continue doing so until the desired message is achieved!!!!

none of the people they have connections to could employ the same amount of pain he's caused on you

there's literally nothing that could hit home with jungkook besides you.

but there's no way to do that and even in your state of anger and sadness tHEN utter vulnerability, you can't even really think of hurting jungkook in the way he did

because you know and yoongi knows and seokjin knows and everyone knows that you aren't the type to wish ill

you admit that sometimes you're unavailable but you don't want that to be an asshole-reason to make everyone else around you suffer in the same way you do

the people around you aren't your shock absorbers!!!! that's why you hang out a teddy bear on your doorknob when you're mad so that neither yoongi or jin would have the possibility to be caught in your rage

that's why you call for a break when your soccer team is out of their game and make everyone drink their electrolytes before they speak to you!!!!

that's why you have the old heart of your even older build-a-bear stuffie in your pocket, one of the only reminders that your childhood even happened, one that you'd squeeze between your fingers in any remotely anxious instances that you find yourself in

jungkook's words hit home and it put you into a spiral if you even had one in the first place

your parents divorced when you were young and it's just that,,, no one from the two of them wanted you because you were the reminder of the other parent

you're a place marker for when a commitment started and ended and god did it make you grow up quickly

your aunt raised you!!!! she's an angel and she's the maternal figure in your life that you'd always be grateful for

you love her all the same and as much as you didn't wanna relate yourself to your parents in the same way that they don't, the feelings of being unliked hit you ever so often

lol it's quite a dashing mindset you have but you can't see any other interpretation you should employ

you leave before they could leave you.

it's not really as dramatic as it sounds

BUT IT COULD BE

there's always obligatory groupchats for projects and you're the first one to leave it instead of awkwardly waiting out for the conversation to dwindle and then leave one by one

when you and yoongi argue, you leave before he attempts to get the last word in

when jin is about to ask if you want to split the bill, you're already putting more than half of your share on the table

it's a nagging feeling of not wanting be unwanted in every situation you're in, but you aren't all that sure of wHAT you'd do to be liked

the only thing you could think of are lunchboxes, and even that gets taken away from you.

does no one really like you??

you're shifting in your position before you know it and the lone sound makes jin and yoongs come to your side immediately, looking at you in concern

you're looking up and you could just fEEL your eyes are puffy and even the light's hurting them

"i need to sleep."

"o-oh! m'kay, sure. i'll carry you to bed, let's go," seokjin wastes no time in responding, about to hook his arms underneath you when you repeat yourself again

you only chuckle but it's the driest and most painful they've ever heard, wincing when they can hear how breathless it was

"no. i mean i need to sleep."

jin blinks once

yoongi blinks twice

right

they get it now

you don't want to sleep, and you really can't, but you need it

"i'll get it!!" jin volunteers to grab what you need, leaving yoongi with you

oh god you could fEEL that he's going to cry

what a big baby ://

seokjin comes bearing the joint :D

he's about to light it for you because he knows that three specific short hits would lull you to slumber then knock you out cold for like a day lmao

he minored in chemistry actually but he cAN'T explain shit on why that's your body's reaction

you're all-good for literally anything besides three short hits lmao

yoongi was about to scold jin because he lights it and tHEN he's the one who takes the first drag, but there's an assuring wave of his hand

how romantic

jin just blew you a heart

they can't get anything from you besides the slight crinkling from your eyes but they don't mind at all — your eyes are atleast one degree less sad

you take your turn and even pass it to yoongi but he rEFUSES,,,,, not the least bit dejected that he decided not to because he wants to watch over you instead and not see every inanimate object with cartoon eyes on them while watching over you

"bake her a cookie if in case she suddenly gets hungry in the middle of her sleep. sneak a carrot in it or something," jin reminds yoongi and he's sERIOUS about the recipe, holding you in tow as he makes the way to your room

yoongi's about to break out the bowls, freezing in his steps when he hears the doorbell frantically ring

oh god

the ONE time that they didn't plug the door with a wet towel and now it's probably the hall manager outside about to do an inspection

that is not..... the hall monitor

that is a fucking asshole

jungkook's been pacing on his heels, his knocking loud enough to wake up the entire hallway at this point

he's SWEATING and he's not even wearing his hoodie

the door finally opens and the words start tumbling out of his mouth

"good evening. i-i wanna explain myself and-..."

that is not,,,,, you

it's his senior that he's disrespected probably too many times

yoongi leans to the door, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face that the junior's never seen before

"you ever had a sandwich before, jungkook?"

"w-what?"

the younger boy stammers, his eyes following yoongi's actions of looking behind him out of worry and then going outside to join him by closing the door softly without noise

yoongi only snorts, not even sure if he's up for conversation

"hyeji's never packed you a sandwich before?"

jungkook pales at the mention, mouth drying when he sees yoongi bring up the soft smile that doesn't comfort him at all

"the one that's all knuckle?"

#WHAT DO WE THINK BESTIES :D WHAT'S HAPPENING NEXT #stem koo #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #jungkook oneshot #jungkook oneshots #jungkook drabbles #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook au #jungkook angst #jungkook angst imagine

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clonerightsagenda · 2 years

Text

Trying to pitch Arden to my brother maybe 2 hours after his plane touched down inspired me to make a post about audio dramas I like that I think are criminally underrated. If you’ve been following me for any length of time you have heard about them all already, but now you get to hear about them again.

Arden: ‘True’ crime but the crimes are Shakespeare plays, hosted by two bickering co-hosts and their quirky billionaire sponsor. Season one (Romeo and Juliet) is set up as the in-universe podcast, complete with fake ads and editorial adjustments, while season two (Hamlet) is a more standard audio drama. Starts as a comedy and slides hard toward drama in season 2 - it’s smart, thoughtful, and has a lot to say about the ethics of mining the worst parts of people’s lives for entertainment. 2 seasons out, waiting on season 3, which will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Alice Isn’t Dead: By the same team as WTNV, but while I had trouble keeping up with WTNV because of the expanding cast and storylines, Alice is a lot more contained. A trucker goes in search of her missing wife, traveling through a landscape I can only describe as... American highway gothic? Think American Gods type vibes, where oracles lurk in highway stops and monsters dwell at roadside attractions. One of the podcast’s most stirring, beautiful speeches is telling us all to unionize. Love that. Complete and relatively short.

Janus Descending: This is a short one, although I can’t in good conscience say short and sweet. The logs of a two person space expedition, who we know from the beginning met with a terrible fate. But what happened? Clever use of chronology and narration keeps you guessing. I don’t know what the author’s intent was, but I took it as some pretty brutal commentary on the weaknesses and cruelty hidden in our own hearts. The space snakes are kinda secondary. Complete, like 2 hours.

Greater Boston: A podcast about the interconnectedness of community, as shown by a huge cast of characters as their lives become tangled up in the politics of Red Line, a new city formed when the Boston MBTA’s Red Line seceded. While other stories might be called anti-capitalist because they’ve got an evil corporation, this one really digs into how big business corrupts our politics and shatters our communities. Can be a bit of a slow start, but once it gets going it really gets going. Fantastic believable characters, and monologues that will break your heart. 3 seasons out, 2 to go, currently delayed because pandemic.

The Pasithea Powder: An interplanetary war ended when one side tried to weaponize the titular Pasithea powder, a substance that can erase memory. Two former friends - a war hero and a woman who helped create and then tried to destroy the substance - are drawn back together when they discover a conspiracy involving the Pasithea powder, an extraterrestrial threat, and the machinations of Sinister Space NATO who wants to consume both warring planets. Morally grey characters keeping lots of secrets - sometimes even from themselves. Ongoing. In places the audio quality has been an unfortunate victim of the pandemic, but you stop noticing it.

Ars Paradoxica: A modern scientist accidentally invents one-directional time travel, landing near the end of WWII and getting sucked into America’s Cold War maneuvering. A podcast full of complicated, nuanced characters (diverse, too, proving you can’t use ‘it’s a period piece’ as an excuse) and a fresh take on time travel (and a grim take on what governments would do with it). The ending annoyed me from a narrative perspective but overall, it’s really good. Complete, 3 seasons.

#the second citadel is an underrated podcast within a podcast #w359 but you care about the women is ALSO a niche podcast within a podcast at least fandomwise #can you tell what I think the REASON these are all criminally underrated is

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be-gay-do-heists · 3 years

Text

hello yall :) the holy month of elul started last night, which is typically a time for contemplation, so since it is impossible for me to stop thinking about leverage, i decided to write an essay. hope anyone interested in reading it enjoys, and that it makes at least a little sense!! spoilers for leverage redemption

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Leverage, Judaism, and “Doing the Work”: An Essay for Elul

When it comes to Elul and the approaching High Holidays, Leverage might seem like an odd topic to meditate on.

The TNT crime drama that ran from 2008-2012, and which released a new season this summer following its renewal, centers on a group of found-family thieves who help the victims of corporations and oligarchs (sometimes based on real-world examples), using wacky heists and cons to bring down the rich and powerful. In one episode, the team’s clients want to reclaim their father’s prized Glimt piece that had been stolen in the Shoah and never returned, but aside from this and the throwaway lines and jokes standard for most mainstream television, there’s not a ton textually Jewish about Leverage. However, despite this, I have found that the show has strong resonance among Jewish fans, and lots of potential for analysis along Jewish themes. This tends to focus on one character in particular: the group’s brilliant, pop culture-savvy, and personable hacker, Alec Hardison, played by the phenomenally talented Aldis Hodge.

I can’t remember when or where I first encountered a reading of Hardison as Jewish, but not only is this a somewhat popular interpretation, it doesn’t feel like that much of a leap. In the show itself, Hardison has a couple of the aforementioned throwaway lines that potentially point to him being Jewish, even if they’re only in service of that moment’s grift. It’s hard to point to what exactly makes reading Hardison as Jewish feel so natural. My first guess is the easy way Hardison fits into the traditional paradigms of Jewish masculinity explored by scholars such as Daniel Boyarin (2). Most of the time, the hacker is not portrayed as athletic or physical; he is usually the foil to the team’s more physically-adept characters like fighter Eliot, or thief Parker. Indeed, Hardison’s strength is mental, expressed not only through his computer wizardry but his passions for science, technology, music, popular media, as well as his studious research into whatever scenario the group might come up against. In spite of his self-identification as a “geek,” Hardison is nevertheless confident, emotionally sensitive, and secure in his masculinity. I would argue he is representative of the traditional Jewish masculine ideal, originating in the rabbinic period and solidified in medieval Europe, of the dedicated and thoughtful scholar (3). Another reason for popular readings of Hardison as Jewish may be the desire for more representation of Jews of color. Although mainstream American Jewish institutions are beginning to recognize the incredible diversity of Jews in the United States (4), and popular figures such as Tiffany Haddish are amplifying the experiences of non-white Jews, it is still difficult to find Jews of color represented in popular media. For those eager to see this kind of representation, then, interpreting Hardison, a black man who places himself tangential to Jewishness, in this way is a tempting avenue.

Regardless, all of the above remains fan interpretation, and there was little in the text of the show that seriously tied Judaism into Hardison’s identity. At least, until we got this beautiful speech from Hardison in the very first episode of the renewed show, directed at the character of Harry Wilson, a former corporate lawyer looking to atone for the injustice he was partner to throughout his career:

“In the Jewish faith, repentance, redemption, is a process. You can’t make restitution and then promise to change. You have to change first. Do the work, Harry. Then and only then can you begin to ask for forgiveness. [...] So this… this isn’t the win. It’s the start, Harry.”

I was floored to hear this speech, and thrilled that it explained the reboot’s title, Leverage: Redemption. Although not mentioned by its Hebrew name, teshuvah forms the whole basis for the new season. Teshuvah is the concept of repentance or atonement for the sins one has committed. Stemming from the root shuv/shuva, it carries the literal sense of “return.” In a spiritual context, this usually means a return to G-d, of finding one’s way back to holiness and by extension good favor in the eyes of the Divine. But equally important is restoring one’s relationships with fellow humans by repairing any hurt one has caused over the past year. This is of special significance in the holy month of Elul, leading into Rosh haShanah, the Yamim Noraim, and Yom Kippur, but one can undertake a journey of redemption at any point in time. That teshuvah is a journey is a vital message for Harry to hear; one job, one reparative act isn’t enough to overturn years of being on the wrong side of justice, to his chagrin. As the season progresses, we get to watch his path of teshuvah unfold, with all its frustrations and consequences. Harry grows into his role as a fixer, not only someone who can find jobs and marks for the team, but fixes what he has broken or harmed.

So why was Hardison the one to make this speech?

I do maintain that it does provide a stronger textual basis for reading Hardison as Jewish by implication (though the brief on-screen explanation for why he knows about teshuvah, that his foster-parent Nana raised a multi-faith household, is important in its own merit, and meshes well with his character traits of empathy and understanding for diverse experiences). However, beyond this, Hardison isn’t exactly an archetypical model for teshuvah. In the original series, he was the youngest character of the main ensemble, a hacking prodigy in the start of his adult career, with few mistakes or slights against others under his belt. In one flashback we see that his possibly first crime was stealing from the Bank of Iceland to pay off his Nana’s medical bills, and that his other early hacking exploits were in the service of fulfilling personal desires, with only those who could afford to pay the bill as targets. Indeed, in the middle of his speech, Hardison points to Eliot, the character with the most violent and gritty past who views his work with the Leverage team as atonement, for a prime example of ongoing teshuvah. So while no one is perfect and everyone has a reason for doing teshuvah, this question of why Hardison is the one to give this series-defining speech inspired me to look at his character choices and behavior, and see how they resonate with a different but interrelated Jewish principle, that of tikkun olam.

Tikkun olam is literally translated as “repairing the world,” and can take many different forms, such as protecting the rights of vulnerable people in society, or giving tzedakah (5). In modern times, tikkun olam is often the rallying cry for Jewish social activists, particularly among environmentalists for whom literally restoring the health of the natural world is the key goal. Teshuvah and tikkun olam are intertwined (the former is the latter performed at an interpersonal level) and both hold a sense of fixing or repairing, but tikkun olam really revolves around a person feeling called to address an injustice that they may have not had a personal hand in creating. Hardison’s sense of a universal scale of justice which he has the power to help right on a global level and his newfound drive to do humanitarian work, picked up sometime after the end of the original series, make tikkun olam a central value for his character. This is why we get this nice bit of dialogue from Eliot to Hardison in the second episode of the reboot, when the latter’s outside efforts to organize international aid start distracting him from his work with the team: “Is [humanitarian work] a side gig? In our line of work, you’re one of the best. But in that line of work… you’re the only one, man.” The character who most exemplifies teshuvah reminds Hardison of his amazing ability to effect change for the better on a huge stage, to do some effective tikkun olam. It’s this acknowledgement of where Hardison can do the most good that prompts the character’s absence for the remainder of the episodes released thus far, turning his side gig into his main gig.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where Hardison’s arc for this season goes. Separated from the rest of the team, the hacker still has remarkable power to change the world, because it is, after all, the “age of the geek.” However, he is still one person. For all that both teshuvah and tikkun olam are individual responsibilities and require individual decision-making and effort, the latter especially relies on collective work to actually make things happen. Hardison leaving is better than trying to do humanitarian work and Leverage at the same time, but there’s only so long he can be the “only one” in the field before burning out. I’m reminded of one of the most famous (for good reason) maxims in Judaism:

It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to neglect it. (6)

Elul is traditionally a time for introspection and heeding the calls to repentance. After a year where it’s never been easier to feel powerless and drained by everything going on around us, I think it’s worth taking the time to examine what kind of work we are capable of in our own lives. Maybe it’s fixing the very recent and tangible hurts we’ve left behind, like Harry. Maybe it’s the little changes for the better that we make every day, motivated by our sense of responsibility, like Eliot. And maybe it’s the grueling challenge of major social change, like Hardison. And if any of this work gets too much, who can we fall back on for support and healing? Determining what needs repair, working on our own scale and where our efforts are most helpful, and thereby contributing to justice in realistic ways means that we can start the new year fresh, having contemplated in holiday fashion how we can be better agents in the world.

Shana tovah u’metukah and ketivah tovah to all (7), and may the work we do in the coming year be for good!

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(1) Disclaimer: everybody’s fandom experiences are different, and this is just what I’ve picked up on in my short time watching and enjoying this show with others.

(2) See, for example, the introduction and first chapter of Boyarin’s book Unheroic Conduct: The Rise of Heterosexuality and the Invention of the Jewish Man (I especially recommend at least this portion if you are interested in queer theory and Judaic studies). There he explores the development of Jewish masculinity in direct opposition to Christian masculine standards.

(3) I might even go so far as to place Hardison well within the Jewish masculine ideal of Edelkayt, gentle and studious nobility (although I would hesitate to call him timid, another trait associated with Edelkayt). Boyarin explains that this scholarly, non-athletic model of man did not carry negative associations in the historical Jewish mindset, but was rather the height of attractiveness (Boyarin, 2, 51).

(4) Jews of color make up 20% of American Jews, according to statistics from Be’chol Lashon, and this number is projected to increase as American demographics continue to change: https://globaljews.org/about/mission/.

(5) Tzedakah is commonly known as righteous charity. According to traditional authority Maimonides, it should be given anonymously and without embarrassment to the person in need, generous, and designed to help the recipient become self-sufficient.

(6) Rabbi Tarfon, Pirkei Avot, 2:16

(7) “A good and sweet year” and “a good inscription [in the Book of Life]”

#leverage #miko speaks #jewish stuff #jumblr #leverage redemption #spoilers #lr spoilers #leverage redemption spoilers #written for a non leverage audience because i want my rabbi to read it alskdjflaksdjf #elul

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chilly-me-softly · 3 years

Text

Fake Proposal • John Stones

I saw a video on instagram and got the idea but as usual I got carried away, writing like a 4k long piece so read it at your own risk.

"Ugh" John sighs letting himself down on the couch resting his head on your lap, one of your hands immediately going into his hair as you smile.

"Your mother again?"

"My mum again" he sighs before hiding his face in his hands and holding back a moan in his throat, "She's been breathing down my neck with the whole marriage thing. Please help me"

"How? It's not like you can pretend to have a girlfriend and propose" you state slightly but his eyes snap open staring at you.

"No" you thunder, "No John. Get that look off your face. No" you shake your head covering his eyes as he squirms managing to lock your hands between his.

"Please, please (Y/N) help me" he pleads and you're the one who has to try not to meet his gaze so you don't give in to that madness.

"They'd never believe us John, everyone knows we're friends"

"That's exactly why it might work (Y/N)!" he sits up abruptly, "if I do it with a random person it would be suspicious" his gaze is lost somewhere, his eyes move as if he's picturing everything and you can almost see the wheels of his brain in motion.

"And then how are you going to do that? Your mother wants a wedding, she won't be satisfied"

"I'll buy some time, she'll be less on my back at least for a while and then I'll think about it" he looks at you expectantly, he seems really determined even though he would never have thought such a thing until just now.

"Please (Y/N). I don't like fooling my mother like this either but if I hear again how I'm getting older and need to start a family I swear I won't answer for me anymore"

"Fine" you sigh closing your eyes, missing his surprised expression and then his big smile before he literally throws himself at you.

"John! John John John" you giggle trying to get him off you, "don't get into something bigger than you"

"I won't, don't worry"

Don't worry. Sure. He makes it easy.

John seemed to take it all lightly, just happy to get his mother and her demands off his back for a while. He'd booked a cabin in the mountains for a couple of days ready to spring into action as soon as possible, counting down the days just like kids waiting for Christmas Day to open their presents.

You must have been crazy to have agreed to help him with something like this, you kept repeating it by packing your suitcase or letting people know you wouldn't be home or waiting for him to pick you up. And then you had decided that if nothing you would enjoy that couple of days' holiday at his expense.

You look around to see if you've got everything before you leave, when John honks. He gets out of the car to help you put your bag in the boot as you close the front door, but it's only when you're both getting into the car and you've fastened your seatbelt that he leans in to leave a kiss on your cheek.

"What's all this sweetness Stonesy, are you afraid I'm going to say no?!" you tease him as he starts the car, shaking his head.

You take over the radio, spending the ride humming songs and complaining about not finding the right one and asking John if you're there.

"(Y/N) I swear, you're a pain in the ass" he sighs before turning right heading into a driveway.

"If you had told me where we were going I would have checked it out myself" you retort looking around as a few houses finally start to appear under your gaze.

"You really need to learn how to chill out" he sighs, "And anyway, we're here"

"I'm totally calm" you state getting out of the car slamming the door on purpose earning you a warning look. Men and their cars.

And you leave him to pick up the bags you brought while your eyes don't know what to look at first. The swing next to the door strikes you immediately, you've always wanted one but never had the space so you immediately rush onto it climbing the stairs waiting for your friend with a huge smile on your face.

"Come on in, let’s go pick out your room"

"I get to choose?" you ask rhetorically following him, being captivated at first glance by what's in front of you. The place is similar to all the ones you see in typical Christmas movies, wood seems to be the main material of the whole construction and the fire in the fireplace is already lit giving the room a pleasant warmth.

"Sure. But only if you're quick" one look and you're already running down the stairs trying to pull him by the shirt and not fall at the same time.

"Mine!" you flop down on the bed panting deciding to go straight for the farthest room in the dark, "go get my suitcase now"

"We're not engaged yet, you can't boss me around like that" he argues leaning against the doorframe sneering but you dismiss him with a wave of your hand.

"What if the other room is nicer?" he asks returning and placing your bag at the foot of the bed, you don't hint at moving from your comfortable spot.

"I like this one" you murmur clutching a pillow to your chest.

"Yeah but what if the other one's prettier?!" his tone blatantly mocking as you roll your eyes giving in to curiosity, complaining loudly as you get up and make your way to the other room.

You open the door thinking you're going to find who knows what, but you find that it's a copy of the room you just left. And his bags are already there so he knew that, that bastard.

"But they're identical" you murmur confused, looking around for a sign of diversity but not finding it. "John! They're the same!" you complain turning to him and hitting him with an open palm on the arm receiving only laughter from him.

"Stop teasing me"

"Sorry sorry. I couldn't help myself"

"Keep laughing, I'll have fun later John Stones" you try to scare him but the smile on his face that doesn't hint at disappearing tells you that you failed in your intent, making you roll your eyes.

The first of the two nights you spend there goes by without a problem, well at least after you get familiar with the place and calm your brain because not all the noises you heard were due to thieves. And the next morning you and John have breakfast still sleepy before he proposes you to take a tour around there, the day before you had gone to the city to fill the fridge and you had stayed there and it didn't seem right to spend days away from the city without really spending days away from the city.

After getting ready, you take a path not far from the house and following the various signs along the way, you find yourself in a place that is stunning to say the least. You find yourself on a bridge built over a river, on one side of which there is a small waterfall, creating a unique and relaxing atmosphere.

"You don't want to do this now do you?"

"Ssh you have to look natural" he leaves a light kiss on your cheek before throwing a sideways glance and you call on all your strength not to follow his gaze, pretty sure you'd run into some guy intent on filming the moment.

"Now I'm going to pretend to tell you something cheesy so pretend to get emotional" he starts gesturing and you can't hold back the giggle that escapes your lips as he drops to his knees.

"(Y/N)" he gives you a knowing look and you cover your mouth with your hand trying to hide that smile, from a distance it will look like you're really excited instead.

"Okay so... I need to spend some time like this. It's uncomfortable and um blah blah blah will you marry me?" John starts ranting taking a small box from his jacket pocket.

"You didn't really buy a ring" you mutter shocked when he opens the small box, the surprise completely true at that moment at seeing that item.

"Are you going to hurry up and say yes? My knee is crying out for mercy" he presses you gritting his teeth as you then quickly nod and he gets back to his feet holding you close to him.

"You could have at least prepared a speech" you murmur in his ear tugging at his hair slightly as he laughs, pulling away to put the ring on your finger. His hands actually shaking as he does so and then he draws you to him unexpectedly, connecting your lips with his.

"I knew I'd find you here" you smile turning your head towards John, him handing you a cup of hot chocolate sitting next to you on the swing while you adjust the large blanket over your shoulders even around his as you can.

"What does your mum say?" you sigh blowing on that steaming drink looking ahead of you.

"See for yourself" he unlocks his phone quickly opening the conversation with his mother.

'Mum I did it' he had texted sending a picture of him kneeling in front of you and you hugging then.

'Johnny! Omg yes!!!!' 'Wait... is that (Y/N)?' 'I knew it' is mum's frantic reply making you giggle as he pulls back his phone not letting you see anything else.

"I'm glad she likes me" you giggle taking a sip of chocolate.

"She's always liked you" he retorts and silence falls between you two for a moment before he sighs.

"(Y/N) if you're upset about that kiss, I'm sorry"

"It's alright John, it was an act" you reach out to set the mug down, "after all which proposal is believable without a kiss" you joke elbowing him in the side as he sighs passing his arm around your shoulders pulling you to him. Both of you not so sure about it.

"I believe this is yours" you murmur taking off the ring and handing it to him, for some reason you didn't manage to give it back to him either the night before or over the course of that day and now that he's about to leave after driving you home it's your chance. It's now or never. But he is quick to shake his head and tighten that object in your hand. "No, keep it... in case my mother comes to visit"

"Don't" you point your finger at him making the most threatening face you have triggering his laughter. "I can't keep my mother at bay"

"John"

"(Y/N) listen, it's just a scenario. It's not going to happen"

"You can't be sure of that"

And in fact a few days later, when you had finally decided to go out grocery shopping, you opened the door and found the woman in front of you. The surprise had been such that you stood open-mouthed in front of her for a few moments before you shook yourself and made her come in.

"Were you going out dear?" she asks you going to sit on the sofa casually as if she was coming to your house every day.

"Just a bit of groceries, I can go later" you had dismissed it removing your jacket and sending a panicked message quickly 'I'm going to kill you!!!'

"Good" the woman looks around before congratulating you on the house, to which you reply embarrassed.

"Oh don't be embarrassed (Y/N), we're going to be a family soon after all" she states and you clear your throat, "Can I get you anything, some water or tea...?"

"A glass of cold water thank you" you apologise then and quickly go to the kitchen opening the fridge and hiding behind it you take the phone back into your hand.

'John Stones!!!' 'Your mother is here!' 'I'm going to kill you'

John doesn't even view the texts and you can't stand there forever waiting so you grab the water jug and take it to the woman.

"I don't want to take up so much of your time, you might be wondering why I'm here" the woman smiles after taking a sip.

"Um I can guess" you hide your nervousness around your glass, struggling however to down a sip of water.

"I assure you I'm not always this nosy" yeah right, "but with John I worry maybe a little too much" you smile at the woman's bluntness, taking time to observe her better you can see how much she actually looks like John.

"I never know how to handle him, he's always been so secretive about everything and I've always tried to push him because I want what's best for him" you don't know if you read right into it but it sounds as if the woman is trying to apologise for something. And you open your mouth to say something but she beats you to it.

"You've been friends for a long time, I should have seen it coming" you gasp with a suddenly blank mind, internally screaming at yourself to get yourself back into sense so you don't look even more hopeless. But apparently the woman is more focused on something else and doesn't notice your obvious discomfort.

You follow her gaze, caught by a photo of you and John from a few years earlier. You're not fond of pictures of yourself around the house, where everyone can have access to your memories, but John had given you the frame begging you to put it there, so you had pleased him.

"Can I just ask how long you've been together?"

"I don't know" you answer without thinking before widening your eyes trying to make up for it, "I mean... there was no specific date. It just happened I guess"

"I really should have seen it coming" for a moment it's as if she's lost in thought, shaking her head in disbelief, "there isn't a day we don't end up talking about you and he's always so fidgety when it comes to you"

"Really?" you ask surprised straightening up with your back as your phone vibrates but you don't feel the need to pick it up.

"Yeah, and he always has a smile on his face when it comes to you"

"John smiles all the time, I don't think that can be considered a one-off"

"Yeah but there's ways and means of smiling. It reaches his eyes"

"What happened? I was at practice I just saw the texts. I'm so sorry (Y/N), I'm going to have a good talk with her" John speaks sharply as soon as you pick up the phone and you have to raise your voice a little to make yourself heard and shut him up.

"It's okay John" you state around a spoonful of ice cream, the container in front of you.

"I'm sorry (Y/N) I swear, that woman crossed every line" he mutters and you can imagine his serious expression, his eyes a little darker than usual and half-closed, his nostrils flared.

"John no" you stick your spoon into the ice cream sighing, "don't do anything hasty, just calm down. Where are you? Are you driving now?"

From the other end of the phone only silence comes before you hear a sigh, "I'm on the road"

"Come to my place okay?"

The drive hadn't been that long to your house so you can still sense the annoyance in his figure and his gaze as he walks in and heads into the kitchen immediately eyeing the box on the counter.

"Why are you so annoyed?! Where's the carefree Stonesy from the last few days?" he looks around before stealing the spoon from your hands and taking some of that ice cream after sitting down on the counter.

"And why aren't you in full hysterics?" he retorts taking another spoonful of ice cream as you roll your eyes.

"I was at first, I wanted to kill you if you remember, but then we talked" you walk over to him taking the bowl out of his hands as he groans trying to take it back.

"If you're hungry I can make you something"

"That is fine"

"I don't think it's good for you" you put the lid on before setting the box down in the freezer before turning to him again, seeing him with his arms crossed giving you a dirty look. You do the same raising an eyebrow, you've become an expert at holding up his game over the years.

"What did she say to you?" he gives up shortly after relaxing his figure by swinging his legs, "she didn't treat you badly did she? She can be a bit-"

"Nosy? I noticed that" you shake your head opening the fridge just to do something as he pushes on. "Well?"

"Hmm? Nothing, I guess deep down she came to apologise because she didn't know we were together and apparently she's been pushing you into a lot of random girls' arms lately and stuff" you gesture shrugging and closing the door, giving him just a sidelong glance.

"Are you sure? There's nothing more?" John checks wary, it's your apparent calm and the bowl of ice cream you were practically devouring that put him on his toes. He'd practically been able to feel your panic through those texts you'd sent him and then he sees you and you seem to be a different person.

"You know me John, if there had been anything else or she had disrespected me in any way I certainly wouldn't have kept it to myself" you try to sound as calm as possible but your playing with that ring, taking it off and putting it back on, gives you away.

"Come on say it" he sighs, lowering his gaze to his shoes for a moment as you raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just say it"

"John I don't know what you're talking about"

"I told you. Just say it" and he looks like he's ready to be hit just as if you were going to do it with a punch or something. But you just sigh as you move closer to him, his ankles linking lightly to your legs seeking contact.

"How long are you going to keep this up? Because I'm with you, I'm in now and I'm going to keep playing along. But your mother is just that, an eccentric mother only concerned about her son"

"So if we actually get married..." he leans his head slightly to the side smiling innocently as you smack him on the forehead rolling your eyes.

"Did you hit your head lately? Did you even hear what I said?"

"You said you would like to be with me"

"I said your mother is a good person, and she doesn't deserve this" you retort without giving your brain time to process what he's telling you.

"But if you really think about it, it would be perfect. I'd solve all my problems by not turning out as a liar and you'd have me"

"Did you just imply that I can't get a boyfriend in a normal way? I hope not"

"Sorry, I didn't mean that" he chuckles at your threatening expression pulling you to him and leaving a kiss in your hair.

His gaze is lost somewhere, he's so easily distracted you almost read surprise in his eyes when he lowers his head and realises you're still there. "John, what's going on with you mh?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm starting to really think about what my mom says. And that she's right. When football ends, what will I have left? What's wrong with me? Why couldn't I find anyone?"

"Hey no John listen to me carefully now. At thirty you may be considered old in your profession but I can assure you that for the rest of us life begins at that age" you take his face in your hands gently stroking his cheeks with your thumbs making sure he sees and hears you above all, "you will have all the time in the world to find someone if you want to, to start a family and come to terms with the fact that you are getting older and your hair is getting white"

"Never" he quickly retorts, making you giggle, "I'll never have white hair"

"We'll see... if you can keep those curls, you'll be trouble even when you're old"

"Oh wow so you think I'll make it to eighty still on my own?!" he jokes strengthening his grip on your legs and moving forward slightly.

"Eighty? You have very high expectations for your life" you downplay by moving your arms along his neck.

"Aah what would I do without you" he sighs happily holding you close to him again, "Promise you'll always be by my side?"

At your non-response, his grip becomes more pronounced literally crushing your face into his chest. "Promise me"

"I promise. I promise" you giggle making his chest vibrate with your laughter as well. Quite often you're the one with the identity crisis and John has to play the therapist, calming you down and reminding you to get your feet down on the ground. But often the roles are reversed and you're the one putting the boy's pieces back together, happy that all those years of friendship have created a relationship where he's not afraid to be fragile and let himself be fixed.

"You'll always have me" you remember him in his arms, and when you pull away to let him know with your gaze too, he's already there looking at you. You see his face move closer to yours and instinctively you step back.

"Please I need to know"

"Know what?" his tone is almost a plea while there is confusion and nervousness in yours.

"If what I'm feeling inside is true" he knows you well by now and he can catch your eyes widening in surprise for a split second, a reaction that to unfamiliar eyes might not have happened.

"Can I kiss you?" you nod but you're already closing your eyes waiting for his lips to touch yours again.

"What are you doing?!" you ask giggling to yours and John's brother upon seeing the two of them exchanging some money.

"He bet fifty bucks your engagement was fake. And he lost" your brother is obviously very happy to have earned something in that whole thing, your brother-in-law is not so happy though.

"You bet on us?!" John asks incredulously at your side, an arm around your waist.

"Is that so unbelievable?" you hide your smile in the glass in your hand.

"You don't know John if you ask a question like that"

"Eh I can assure you I know him quite well" you two exchange a look of understanding as your brothers pretend to vomit. And you leave them arguing about the validity of that bet, turning away from everyone to have a moment alone in the garden of that facility that hosts you.

"Are we ever going to tell them the truth?"

"Who, to those two? Nah my brother deserves it"

"But mine doesn't" you quickly retort making John chuckle, "I'm sure we can find a way to take them off him"

"How?" you ask interested as he leaves a kiss on one cheek before moving closer to your ear, "We can steeal them"

"John Stones! You're such a bad influence on me... Let's do this" you rise up on your toes to search for his lips. "Anyway, your family is so damn crazy, nothing surprises me anymore"

"You're not completely normal either admit it"

"Hmm maybe you're right. I must have been pretty crazy that day to going along with you"

"Just that day?" he teases earning himself a hit on the arm before he draws you back to him to kiss you.

"I can't believe we actually got married" he sighs connecting your foreheads gently.

"Who knew my happy ending was always right in front of me"

"Sometimes I think if it wasn't for my mom we'd still be wandering around looking for someone"

"You mean your mother would still be introducing you to some girl"

"Are you jealous?" John smiles cheeky as you do the same. "Oh you know there's this little thing called a divorce"

"Oh no. No no no no, not now so many things seem to make sense. Don't even think about it" he shakes his head energetically tightening his grip on your waist as you laugh, running your ringed hand through his hair.

"I love you John Stones"

"I love you (Y/N) Stones"

#my writing #john stones #john stones imagine #john stones imagines #original #john stones one shot #football imagine #football imagines

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