#also I’m very pissed about volume 2
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I’ve come to a very important conclusion
No one can change my mind about this
(I mean their names are practically the same ffs)
#not art#when worlds collide#our flag means death#edward teach#blackbeard#ofmd stede#ofmd edward teach#steve stranger things#steve harrington#eddie munson#steddie#blackbonnet#my two hyperfixations#also I’m very pissed about volume 2
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Lament of the Metatron
I did not have "become an amateur biblical apocrypha scholar" on my 2023 bingo card, but here we are, and I’m going to make you feel bad for hating the Metatron. No, really. A lot of different ✨clues ✨in S2 lead us to the Book of Enoch, which describes how the Metatron came to be. (If you would like to read what the Books of Enoch have to say about maybe-Crowley and maybe-Aziraphale, read this meta.)
There are three books of Enoch: 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, and 3 Enoch, and after reading them I’ve concluded that they are almost certainly a major source text for Good Omens, at very least with respect to the Metatron. The translation that I used is 116 pages and quite dense, so there will be multiple metas about it (I should also note that I’ve taken great liberties with reorganizing the source text, for brevity). This one addresses the origin of the Metatron and his likely S1 and S3 motivations.
The Story
To quickly summarize the backstory: after Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden, a bunch of angels go to Earth, transgress against God (by having children with humans) and piss Her off. So She decides She must flood the Earth to wipe them and all their children and human associates out.
During this age of angelic iniquity, Enoch, a righteous man, the 7th generation from Adam and great-grandfather of Noah, receives visions of the coming flood.
Later, Enoch is lifted up to Heaven by a whirlwind. He gets an angel-guided tour of Heaven and visits what I will call The Mountain of Souls. He sees a mountain with four chambers and asks what they are for. Raphael states that they are for the souls of the dead, where they will be kept until Judgment Day. Enoch asks why they are separated. Raphael answers:
One for the souls of the righteous
One for the souls of sinners, who are buried in the earth, to await judgment, and on that day they will be punished
One for those who complain to, or petition, God (including Abel, who was slain by Cain)
One for the souls of those who are not righteous, “but their souls will not be killed on the day of judgment, nor will they rise from here.” (so perhaps a permanent purgatory?)
Later in his journey, Enoch sees the Valley of Judgment. Again, Raphael answers Enoch’s questions, describing “this accursed valley, is for those who are cursed for ever… [for] all those who speak with their mouths against the Lord… and here will be their place of Judgment.” Enoch comments that it would be better for the sinners if they had never been born.
Enoch also sees where the righteous will go after Judgment: “And in those days my eyes saw the Place of the Chosen Ones of Righteousness and Faith… And I saw their dwelling, under the Wings of the Lord of Spirits, and all the righteous and chosen shone in front of him, like the light of fire…. There I wished to dwell.”
The Second Parable of 1 Enoch describes how God will open the Book of the Living when the Chosen One arrives, and so Judgment Day will begin.
Enoch is taken before God and violently transformed from a human into the Metatron, a celestial being: “And I fell upon my face, and my whole body melted, and my spirit was transformed; and I cried out in a loud voice, in the spirit of power.” After Enoch is transfigured into Metatron, he is made to write 366 volumes of what I will call the Book of Deeds, wherein he writes the name of all men, everything they have done, and what afterlife they are destined for.
After sixty days spent in Heaven, angels return the Metatron to Earth to dwell with his sons for… and this is where the different books of Enoch seem to disagree whether it was for one year or thirty days, but either way, he goes back to Earth with an explicit time limit to explain to his children everything he has seen and to teach them the ways of righteousness. Which he does. The fifth book of 1 Enoch, the Epistle, describes Enoch badgering his children to be not just pretendy-good but properly good, and advising them to suffer and turn the other cheek, etc., so that they are found righteous before God on Judgment Day. He knows that at the end of this visit, he will return to Heaven, will never speak to his sons or the rest of his family for the rest of their lives, and that a Great Flood is coming to wipe out everyone on Earth except for his great-grandson Noah and Noah’s three sons, and that whatever is written in the books by then is what his other sons and grandsons and great-grandsons will be judged by on Judgment Day.
It is worth noting here that a separate scholarly analysis points out that once Enoch is transformed into Metatron, he never eats again: “Since the time when the Lord anointed me with the ointment of his glory, food has not come into me, and earthly pleasure my soul does not remember…” This is meant to show how his journey from human to celestial is opposite that of Adam and Eve, who were nourished by celestial food until they left the Garden, and from then on had to sate themselves with “nourishment for the beasts.”
At the end of this visit to Earth, he issues a final warning to his children and neighbors about the coming Judgment Day, then ascends to Heaven to rule over all the angels and to keep the Book of Deeds.
So what should we take from this?
Enoch, a good man, God’s favorite, is given visions of the destruction of Earth, abducted and taken to Heaven where he is shown the Mountain of Souls, the Valley of Damnation, and the Place of the Chosen Ones of Righteousness, he is transformed into an angel so that he may never enjoy Earthly delights again, he is told that everyone he knows, including all of his children and their children, except for one great-grandson and three great-great-grandsons, will die, and that he has limited time to coach them on how to avoid being punished, tortured, and destroyed forever, and even if he succeeds, they will be trapped in the Mountain of Souls until Judgment Day, and then he is taken from them, and given the responsibility of maintaining the records by which souls will be judged.
So let's talk about motivation.
Here we find an incredibly powerful, incredibly lonely human-turned-angel (because the other angels are both afraid and disrespectful of him), whose entire family was destroyed before his eyes and who are as of right now, as they have been for *checks watch* 5,000 years, trapped in a celestial mountain of purgatory, and the only way he can ever see them again is to bring about the Second Coming, for only on Judgment Day may they be released from the Mountain of Souls and join him before the Throne of Glory, if they heeded his warnings and are found worthy in the sight of God.
This is a highly motivated, highly traumatized anti-villain. Which is possibly the worst thing to happen to Aziraphale because if Azi has a soft spot for anyone, it’s someone whose children were taken from them by God.
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For evidence of why we can selectively ignore/reinterpret Neil's statement re: the Metatron's human past, please read this meta
I read the Book of Enoch from front to back, twice, but if you want to check my work (or write a response meta!) you can find the source material here and here.
If you would like to read what the Books of Enoch have to say about maybe-Crowley and maybe-Aziraphale, read this meta.
#good omens#good omens 2#good omens meta#metatron#book of enoch#book of life#the metatron#ascent of enoch#ivoc
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ぐちゃ ! (Splat!) [Yoru x F! Reader] [4]
Heya everyone!
Just a quick note; if you spot a random 'You' halfway through a sentence, it's supposed to be 'Yoru' but it keeps getting autocorrected and it doesn't stop NO MATTER WHAT SETTINGS I CHANGE.
Anyway, that's it, have a good one!
❤ฺ·。
Yoru x F! Reader
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 4.5 / Part 5 / Part 6
Genre: Fluff, a tiny amount of angst. Very tiny. Trust me.
Synopsis: Hapless doesn't even begin to describe you. With your life flipped upside down within the span of a day; you're left to rely on your best friend Tala to help you pick up the pieces and build the new one forced upon you.
And this 'luck' seems to have caught the attention of one of her friends.
。+❤ฺ·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ· +❤·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ·
At first, you thought Neon was being dramatic when she talked about how the contingency of you having your own room was a terrible one. You had to have your own private space after all, right? You were a bloody adult.
Unfortunately, having your own space also meant that you were free to cuss and rant in Tagalog all you wanted while throwing your belongings around in a skewed sense of ‘organising’, or whatever ran through your mind at the time.
And that’s exactly what you’ve been doing since you escaped Omen’s sight.
Who the hell did Yoru think he was? That’s the question that you kept asking yourself, furiously grabbing your blanket and airing it.
You knew his type. The ones who think they’re entitled just because they helped you a few times? And even then, you didn’t ask for his help! He offered it! So why was he getting on his high horse?
Gah, it was all just so moronic, you thought as you set the blanket down and folded it to properly fit the small bed.
You didn’t notice that, over the course of the past few minutes; your voice increased in volume and so did the loud thuds as you threw your items around.
Which is the reason why two knocks on the door interrupted your incessant fury.
With a barely audible screech, the metal door slid open to reveal, thankfully, a familiar face.
“Oh, hey Neon.”
“Hoy, what’s going on here?”
You sighed and walked off to your vanity desk, organising the magazines you tossed.
“You heard that, huh?”
Neon laughed, already stepping in and running her fingers through the painting you had hung up.
Delicately, so as to not ruin it, though. You were already pissed enough and god knows that she could tell.
“You don’t know how thick the walls are here, huh, Y/N–” she shook her head, “sorry, A/N.”
Just as you met her gaze with a smile, you were quickly pulled into a hug. So quick, the tufts of your hair barely even had time to settle as she tightly wrapped her arms around you.
“By the way, welcome to the team! I’m so happy you’re finally with us!”
“I’ve been here for a week, dummy.”
Despite your sarcastic remark, you felt all of your anger melt away in an instant, promptly hugging her back.
God, she was just the cutest.
“I just thought I’d give you the welcoming nobody else was going to!”
Nobody else, huh? That phrasing reminded you of a certain someone.
Neon quickly pulled away. And immediately, just looking at her incredibly amicable round eyes stomped out any lingering hint of wrath you felt. And you couldn’t help but grin at this sight.
“Neon, seriously, what’s going on? Did everyone leave and you just have nobody to talk to?”
“Well, yeah, but since we have free time, we get to do something!”
…
Wait, she wasn’t joking?
“They’re actually gone?”
“Technically, they’re in a meeting right now. We’re just not a part of it.”
Your eyes widened in surprise.
How come there wasn’t even an announcement? At least some chatter from the others as they made their way there?
Is that why it was quiet enough for Omen to have heard you and Yoru arguing?
“There’s a meeting right now?”
“If you don’t know about it, then it means that you’re not gonna be in whatever they’re doing. Wanna go see?”
Before you could even open your mouth to answer, you were already pulled to the empty hallways and forced to march down with her, her grip on your left wrist as hard as it always is.
But this time, after all the training and the way Harbour would slap your back as a way to express his joy, safe to say that you were definitely used to it.
On another note, your shoulder blade definitely had a crack in it somewhere.
“Wait, wait, where are we going?”
“To check out the meeting room! I don’t think you’ve ever been there, yet!”
With how silent the hallways were, you could hear your very steps echoing. And it made sense after what she told you.
However, this silence would allow you to listen in on a very distant yet muffled voice in just a few seconds. And with how harsh the tone was, its recognisable pitch, you could tell it was Viper before you could even make out one word.
The closer you got to the meeting room, the more audible her voice was. And just like that, you both found yourselves moving towards a wide open door, the only source of light coming from the centre of the table, projecting something to them as Viper explained whatever.
Both of you took a peek inside to see what the fuss was about. But it was hard for you to get a look at the model of the building they were examining, seemingly surrounded by a body of water. Not when everyone sat in a circle around said table. You began glancing at many agents you both recognised and didn't recognise.
There was Phoenix, Jett, Gekko, Skye, and…
Yoru.
“Ugh.”
“What?”
You cleared your throat, forcing a smile, but not without questioning how Viper tolerated such a man’s presence, not when he sat like he owned the place.
Slouched on the chair, arms crossed, completely uninterested.
“I mean– is it, uh, is it usually this dark?”
“Not really. Whenever it’s dark like this, it means something serious is going on. Me and Sage actually made a little rhyme for it whenever we’d see Viper or Brim mess around with the light switch!”
As she went on her little tangent, your eyes bore into the back of Yoru’s head with unrelenting anger.
God, he just looked so punchable.
“It goes like this; if there’s light, then the workload’s light! If it’s dark, then you better get ready for some dark stuff! It’s not creative, but we were making up songs while we were surrounded by a bunch of rocks and had to wait for a rescue.”
Only after you observed the way his hair moved upwards did you realise that Harbour sat amongst them.
Uh oh. He was in on this mission, too? That means you won’t be able to talk about this bomb thing you discovered until he gets back, right?
“A/N?”
“Yeah– I was, uh, I was just listening to what Viper was saying. Freaky stuff.”
“I know! I wouldn’t want to be Yoru right now, but he says he’s used to scouring things near the deep ocean.”
You scoffed.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever he says. So, what’re we doing until they’re back?”
You met her gaze. And of course, she beamed with a smile, her brown eyes glimmering under the harsh lights above you.
“So, A/N, since we both have free time and money, you wanna go do what I’m thinking we should do?”
…
“Uh, I don’t think I should be wasting–”
“Hoy, don’t be such a wuss! We’ll finally get to buy you that makeup you always wanted!”
Though you perked up at this, it quickly died down once you had another reason not to do this.
“No way, what if we–”
“We have time, money, freedom, and no rent to pay. You’re out of excuses and coming with me.”
Before you could retort, she grabbed your wrist and pulled you down the hallway once more.
And, of course, with her contagious joy, you couldn’t help but also share her excitement for this trip.
It’s been a while since you had the freedom to dress the way you wanted. Wait, scratch that, you never really had said freedom unless you slept over at Neon’s house as a teen...
Huh, maybe she was right. With how everyone else around here dresses, what’s the harm if you decided to wear fishnet stockings, right?
❤ฺ·。
Most of the agents left the meeting room excited, chatting with each other about the plans they'd set and what they're going to do. Mostly, however, about the unique location of the base.
Even Harbour was excited, even though he had every right to be since it was in the middle of the ocean.
However, surprisingly enough, Phoenix wasn't one of them, following Yoru with an incredibly sour expression. Unable to read the room, he didn't realise the Japanese wanted to be left alone.
"Nah man, there's no way Viper took me out of the mission so quickly! I got cheated!"
"Phoenix. It's a base surrounded by water."
"And?"
"And the section we need to get into is submerged in water."
"So what?! Fire can still be useful!"
Yoru stared at him with a blank expression, before walking away. And Phoenix immediately followed. As per usual, with a preposterous counter-argument ready.
If he could, Phoenix would burn an injured person if it meant he’d somehow be able to heal them.
"Wait wait, hear me out, I heard from somewhere that if you put fire on ice, it burns instead of melting 'cause of some chemical jargon. What if, by some force of nature, the same thing happens to the water?"
"You'd just be boiling it, idiot."
"Oh, come on. You're making it sound so useless!"
Yoru stopped and met Phoenix's gaze, both of his hands in his pockets.
"Why don't you go check if Neon has something planned?"
There was a reason she, Sage and Jett always had those outings, she was the mastermind behind all of them.
"Nah, no chance, fam. I saw her and A/N leave before the meeting was over, she's gone gone."
Already? Yoru thought, before shaking his head and both of them continuing down their path.
"Then go shoot some bots, or something. I have stuff to do."
"No way! After the shouting match I heard there, I ain't touching that spot until tomorrow."
"Tch, what? Shouting match?"
"Yeah, fam. Shouting match. Omen and I were chilling in the lobby and we heard shouting from there. Dunno what was up, but..."
Phoenix then remembered a key detail.
Didn't Yoru tell him earlier that he would be training, and that's why he was unavailable most of the day? Then that meant…
He chuckled to himself.
"Wait, was that you? Mate, how feminine does your voice get when you’re mad?"
"Did you just compare my voice to A/N's?"
"Wait, that was A/N? Why was she yelling?! Nah, there's no way you started an argument with her! Weren’t you just getting along?"
Disinterested in the conversation, Yoru took out his butterfly knife and began flipping it, its clacking sticking out against the moderate silence around them.
Getting along is a stretch, he thought.
"Put down the tinfoil hat, Phoenix. There wasn't an argument. I just told her what was on my mind."
"Mate, what's on your mind can make the bloody president resign! Remember when you obliterated Sage for a small mistake?! I swear I saw her cry!"
"For the last time, she was sweating. And what's wrong with telling her to quit being passive?"
"That's not harsh?"
"She agreed with me, idiot."
"Look, I get what you mean, but I still think you should be nicer with your words, you feel me? A/N's kinda sensitive, unlike me."
Yoru immediately stifled a chuckle and cleared his throat.
“I’m already nice in one way. I’m not slathering my words in honey.”
“Mate, you’re hopeless.”
And with that, Yoru had no further retorts or desire to continue such a fatuous conversation.
But just because he shut himself up doesn't mean he didn't have ammunition upon ammunition of counter-arguments.
And the most important among all of them; this was Valorant, not some daycare. People here should be used to harsh words. Thankfully, he was one of them, which is why he was unconcerned when you snapped back at him.
Nevertheless, he took a turn and walked down the hallway, their shared path dividing into two.
"Whatever. I'll see you after the mission, Phoenix."
Phoenix stared at him walk down the corridor, crossing his arms.
And as per usual, despite his concerns, Yoru absolutely did not give a damn. It was evident just in the way he’d walk.
Maybe Phoenix should apologise for you, or fully scold him when he gets the full story.
❤ฺ·。
For the first time in a while, the fresh air of the outside world freely filled your lungs like mystical fairies sparkling some dust of serenity in you. And though it matched the one on the island you’d frequent for training, this one was different.
This air was littered with a sense of peace.
You had been out shopping for the past few hours, with nothing to worry about. Not money, not anyone, nothing, other than keeping an eye on Neon so that she doesn’t stray too far away and leave you alone.
It was a record for you to go so long without stressing about anything, at this point.
“You know, now that I think about it, that bracelet kinda adds to your look, doesn’t it?”
You held up your arm and lifted the long sleeve up in confusion, staring at it in the mirror. Of course, angling yourself in such a way so that the other customers couldn’t see what was going on.
And you could definitely understand what she meant.
“Oh, yeah, it does.”
She stepped up behind you, both of her hands behind her back as she sported a cheeky smile. Did you even need to say anything to know she had something in mind?
You flinched once she pinched your loose plain shirt and lifted it up, almost like she was grossed out.
“Jeez, this plant is so metal and stuff, your outfit is so boring in comparison.”
You rolled your eyes with a smile, waving her away.
“I know, you don’t need to say it.”
“What do you think of this?”
As if it was on cue, she immediately lifted a charcoal black top, its design carefully formed to fit the shape of a dainty hourglass figure.
High quality, multiple patterns delicately laid throughout alongside a few buttons that helped it pop, it was so pretty.
Without wearing it, you knew it fit you, and you already imagined what to connect this with.
But it wasn’t before you immediately shut this idea down.
“Neon, I’m not wearing a corset again!”
“Why not?! It’s not like anyone will say anything!”
“But it’s too much! I think I’ll just go with the choker this time. Maybe next month I’ll come back and get this.”
You pointed at the simple black choker you held. And immediately, you were met with an unamused expression.
“This doesn’t even have a pattern on it.”
“I wanna take it slow. What would Harbour say if I showed up in that?”
She giggled, putting the corset away.
“The guy dances with death every single day; seeing you in knee-high boots is not gonna do anything to him. Right…?”
You blushed, jokingly shoving her away and turning to the shelves where the chokers were set.
“Tumahimik ka! He’s like, forty!”
<Shut up!>
Neon laughed, refusing to take her words back.
Then, one choker caught your eye. One with a heart in the centre, holding the whole thing together.
Right next to a spiked one you considered getting, it was irresistible. And you flinched once Neon suddenly snatched it, observing said spikes.
“Why not this one? It looks cool.”
You rolled your eyes, putting back the plain choker in favour of the one with the heart. Then, you stepped away from the shelves, looking around for the cashier.
It reminded you of Yoru.
“I don’t like spikes.”
“What’re you talking about? You wore spikes all the time.”
“Not anymore. They look like they’d hurt.”
Neon cheekily smiled.
“Yeah, duh! Yoru has these gloves with spikes on them. And once, I saw him punch someone with it, I think he got a scar on his cheek from those spikes!”
You threw her an expression of disgust, before walking down the aisles and towards the cash register you found.
Neon took the choker with her and followed, intentionally holding it with her left hand so that it would be hidden out of your sight.
“Neon, that’s so crass.”
“But fighting is crass! You think we look like pretty ballerinas when we’re on the field? No way, we look like animals!”
You smiled and met her gaze.
“I’ve spent my entire life working in customer service. Nothing can shock me after that.”
Neon set the two chokers on the counter. Unlike you, she didn’t bother to look at the cashier as he worked, watching you take out your wallet.
“Oh, right, I forgot. Didn’t you work in a salon once?”
“Don’t remind me.”
You both continued chatting as you purchased the items. And being so distracted with whatever she was saying, you didn’t even notice that you were also buying the spiked one, the worker setting them both on a plastic bag.
And with a smile, he handed it to you, both of you immediately making your way out of the store.
Within the next few seconds, you already had the heart choker wrapped around your neck, angling your somewhat-messy bob so that it would cover some of it from the passerby.
It felt uncomfortable for the first few seconds, but you quickly got used to it once you saw your reflection on the nearby window. And pretty was an understatement.
Neon scrutinised you with a wide smile on her face.
“I can’t believe it, you look less like an NPC, now!”
Before you could retort, Neon’s phone buzzed and she quickly pulled it out. And immediately, she began rapidly typing back, her smile falling considerably fast.
Her sudden wide eyes immediately concerned you.
“What’s up?”
“I, uh– we should go back.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Phoenix’s telling me the mission went south, they’re hurt! We have to go back and check on everyone! Come on!”
And with that brief yet sufficient explanation, she grabbed your wrist and rushed down the sidewalk; bits of her electricity cracking with each rapid step.
You were pulled away faster than you could comprehend, now forced to share her panic.
❤ฺ·。
You came back to chaos.
The area was filled with the panicked voices of your fellow co-workers, most of them standing in the hallways just outside the infirmary rooms.
Each door closed, and there was no sight of the two healers.
“I can’t find anyone!”
Neon called out, the unnerving atmosphere clearly getting to her. And you couldn’t blame her, not when each voice was louder and less recognisable than the last, everyone clumped together into one blur of various colours in the medical wing.
None of them were people you knew.
Then, you heard a distant voice, high pitched, babbling in a language you couldn’t understand.
But you knew you heard that voice before.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Gah, there’s no time.
You grabbed her wrist and moved through the crowd, mumbling an apology with each person you gently pushed.
And with each step, that voice had gotten louder and louder with every room you passed.
But it promptly went silent.
Just as you ushered a blonde man out of the way, suddenly, the door on your right violently swung open to reveal Sage, holding a dishevelled Jett close to her.
“Jett! Jett, what happened?”
Neon quickly rushed to her friend, but you noticed how the door was immediately slammed shut behind them, giving you no time to see what else was inside.
Jett responded to her question, but it wasn’t a coherent string of sentences, Sage patting her back in reassurance as a teal aura wrapped around her hand and the Korean’s left shoulder.
“She’s gravely injured. Just give her a minute.”
Both of you noticed how she clutched her right bicep tightly, an odd discoloration blocked by her hand. And with her white skin, the harsh pink was obvious despite Sage’s efforts to heal her.
With the way her sleeve was violently ripped to bits, a deep black painting the edges, it was concerning.
“What happened? Who’s in there?!”
“Follow me. We need to get her to a quiet room.”
And with that, all four of you made your way down the medical wing, moving towards an empty area.
You gently shut the door as Sage quickly worked on healing Jett, the discoloration slowly shrinking to a more manageable size, enough for her to be able to fully cover it from you and Neon.
And both of you noticed how, despite her shock, she really wanted to keep it concealed. But only Neon had the guts to speak out.
“How bad is it?”
“Third degree burns. It was much more gruesome when it first occurred, but I have it under control.”
“Third degree burns?”
Sage met her gaze, strands of hair sticking out in a disorderly manner, alongside the sweat that dripped down her chin.
In every sense of the word, she was exhausted.
“I’ll tell you later. I just need to get this fixed, urgently.”
You nodded, understanding what she meant.
With the injury strong enough to put Jett in shock, you could tell why she didn't want to explain right next to her.
"Is everyone else okay?!"
You piped up. And thankfully, you both earned a nod.
"We managed to escape before the base completely exploded. I'm not even sure what happened."
"How? You weren't there?"
Jett winced once Sage's hands wrapped around her arm, forcing her to stop holding it so tightly.
And despite you both now being able to get a clear look at her arm, there was only a blotch of light pink that slowly shrunk as the healer worked.
It looked less gruesome than the glimpse you got just minutes before, thankfully.
And it seems like she’s gotten calm enough to be able to form sentences.
"I– I think I need a drink. Uh, Neon, can you help me out?"
"Sure, no problem."
And with her support, Jett and Neon left the room, walking extremely close side by side so as to keep the Korean from losing her balance.
Immediately, just as the door shut, your eyes darted over to Sage's.
"What happened, exactly?"
Sage took a deep breath, grabbing the nearby rolling stool and taking a seat.
One more second, and she knew that her legs would've buckled under her weight.
"I’m not sure, I wasn't with them, but I know something went wrong. When I arrived, Jett had a massive burn on her arm and Yoru was disfigured. From what she told me, sections of the base were falling apart."
Disfigured…?
You watched her rest her head on her hand, taking a deep breath.
"Is, uh," you started, nervous, "Is Yoru okay?"
"I– I think… he's stable. I have to go check in on him, nevertheless."
Sage suddenly stood up and immediately aimed towards the door, the conversation cut short. And just as she went to leave, you quickly caught her attention once more.
“Wait, is there anything I can do to help?”
She met your gaze, weakly smiling.
“Water would be great. But make sure you knock first. I’ll be right next door.”
You nodded. And with an even wider smile, she promptly turned on her heel and took her leave, heading towards the Japanese.
With a sigh, your mind drifted back to Neon and Jett. They should be in the cafeteria, right? She mentioned something about water.
Maybe you should go there as well.
❤ฺ·。
The serene silence amidst the HQ was flipped on its head. Now, despite escaping that constricted hallway where constant words dripping with anxiety were exchanged, you still felt tense.
What happened to Harbour? Skye? Was Jett okay, even after she was healed? What about Sage? She looked absolutely spent.
And…
What about Yoru?
A loud clunk snapped you out of your trance, and you blinked to find yourself in the doorway of the cafeteria, Neon standing right over the sink, a glass being filled up with water in her hand.
Just as you arrived, she turned off the faucet and faced Jett, neither of them catching on to your presence as they chatted.
Their tones low and melancholic, it only added on to the intensity of the general situation.
Jett seemed to have calmed down, judging by her relaxed posture as she took the glass from Neon.
There, she noticed you, weakly bringing up her good arm to wave.
“Hey, A/N.”
You waved back, awkwardly smiling.
“Hey… are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright, I was just telling Neon what happened. By the way, did Sage say anything about Yoru?”
You approached the sink, taking out a glass and washing it.
“Uh… She said he was stable. I’ll give her the water and check in for you.”
“Thanks, you’re the best! Also, nice choker.”
You smiled to yourself, muttering a ‘thanks’ whilst you worked.
Even in complete anguish, she somehow managed to notice it and even compliment it. What a sweetheart, you thought.
The water loudly swirled in the glass as you filled it.
“Is everyone else okay?”
“Nobody else got hurt, just me and Yoru. And he got the worse end of the stick, by the way.” She rolled her eyes, bringing the glass of water up to her lips. “Of course it’s us.”
“Seriously, what happened to Yoru?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re back.”
You groaned, turning to look at them as she gulped down, presumably, the second glass of water.
“Come on! Sage won’t tell me, and now you won’t tell me?”
To be fair, she didn’t know what happened.
“It’s– it’s awkward for him, okay? I don’t want him to get mad if I told anyone! And it’s not like I told her, all Neon knows is that a pipe burst on my arm!”
“What?”
“Yeah, straight through! Burned like hell!”
Now you knew why she was so desperately trying to cover her arm. It must’ve looked so grim.
You let out a huff, noticing the look of genuine concern over Jett as she explained. And it wasn’t the fact that she was hurt, more-so about Yoru, and how he’d go ape on her if she said anything.
Like that mattered in this situation.
“If this is how all missions are gonna be, then isn’t it fair that I should know?”
Neon awkwardly laughed. Clearly, she hoped you wouldn’t bring that one specific point up.
“Okay, A/N, wait, I know this all looks bad but I swear, not all missions are like this. This only happens, like, once in a blue moon!”
“And that moon came up right after I–”
Oh, right. Luck.
You held up the glass of water, a few droplets falling to the ground.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
You promptly left with the glass, heading back towards the room where Yoru was. And your mind was slowly dipped in turmoil with each conversation you had.
Sure, Jett was shocked, but she clearly came down from it and was ready to talk.
God, how big of an ego did Yoru have, and why did everyone just accept it?!
You sighed and took a turn, working to push these thoughts off of your head.
Yoru was hurt. Seriously hurt, by the way they talked about him. You shouldn’t be holding a stupid grudge when his life was in danger.
Maybe, just this one time, you could give him a pass…? Until he gets better, that is.
❤ฺ·。
The rest of the day, even after it ended, wasn’t easy for anybody. The lingering aroma of death still haunted the halls even after the break of dawn and you were marching down the hallways alone.
Out of everyone, you carried the most burden. Mentally, that is.
Yoru was completely unconscious. You were sure of it.
Even though Sage didn’t let you in the room after you’d given her the water, the entirety of the day went by without a single sound from him.
And you watched that door like a hawk. Only Sage left that room, but there was no sign of the Japanese.
You couldn’t help but think, was this all your fault?
You remembered how people back home would avoid associating with you because of your luck. After Neon befriended you and disappeared without a trace, your reputation was set in stone.
And with what just happened, were they wrong not to think otherwise?
According to Neon, this never happens. And Yoru, after insulting you, was subjected to a horrible fate.
Was he even–
You stopped in your tracks once you saw a familiar figure sitting at one of the tables of the cafeteria.
Back turned towards you, you recognised him by the spiky hair.
“Yoru?”
You called out, concern bleeding into your tone.
He turned around, glancing at you from the corner of his eye, before looking back at his food.
“Hey.”
You quickly moved up towards him, laughing awkwardly.
Relief overwhelmed you like never before at the sight of the grumpy Japanese. Just seeing him alive in front of you, it was cathartic.
And wearing a plain white tee, you would’ve never guessed it was him, either.
“Yoru! Juskó, are you okay?”
<Yoru! Oh my god,>
He ignored you as you approached his left, not turning his head all the way to meet your gaze.
And weirdly enough, instead of some gourmet food, he was drinking a glass of water with ice in it, swimming like pretty mermaids.
“What do you want, lady?”
You placed a hand on your hip, furrowing your brow.
Jeez, now you remembered why you argued.
“I wanted to check in on you, I thought you died! I was worried about you!”
“Tch.”
He lifted the glass and took a sip, and your eyes immediately locked on to his exposed right arm.
There was a harsh light-pink tone that overtook the entire limb. Ungloved, every single detail was free to be scrutinised.
…
Was he purposely not looking at you head-on?
With this in mind, you immediately moved in front of him. And now, you finally got a good look at his face.
And the sight was… incredibly hard to look at, to put it lightly.
The right side of his body, whatever wasn’t concealed by his shirt, was painted in the same pink, and it looked verbatim like first degree burns. And this was after Sage healed him, you couldn’t imagine how it looked when he was first found.
How did all of this happen…?
But you could see a deeper red near where his neck was, like that part wasn’t healed properly.
It must be so painful for him to even grab the water and drink… Ugh, okay, scratch that. Too vivid.
“Go away.”
He said through gritted teeth, snapping you out of your shock. And quickly, you cleared your throat with an awkward smile.
“Sorry– do you, uh,” you looked at his right arm, pink, seemingly useless, “do you want me to cook you something?”
He raised an eyebrow, insulted.
And it’s not like he didn’t catch on, either.
“I’m ambidextrous.”
…
“Yeah, but… I’m– I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He took another sip, breaking eye contact with you. And with that, you heaved a tired sigh, turning to the stove to your right, completely unused.
If he came down his high-horse and just admitted that the heat of the stove would get to him, there would be sympathy.
But how could you be mad at him in this state?
He was clearly helpless despite his aversion to showing vulnerability.
“Yoru, whatever you want, just say it, I’ll make it. No skin off my back.”
“I want you to leave me alone.”
God, he was impossible, even when you were trying to make amends.
You sighed, finally turning to the stove to make your own food.
Neon wouldn’t mind if you used some of her ingredients, right…? The grocery trip you would’ve gone to yesterday was cut short by… well, you know.
Hey, the choker made you feel confident, at least.
You moved to the fridge and got to work, taking out what was needed for your own breakfast.
It’s been a while since you’ve cooked your own food, so you might be rusty.
Yoru winced once the clunk of your plate ripped him from his day-dreaming, watching you as you sat in front of him with your breakfast.
Thankfully, no plate for him.
But as much as he didn’t want to admit it, the food smelled okay. Which was surprising considering the bland stuff he watched you consensually eat.
Yoru quickly recognised the dish as tapsilog thanks to Neon, who would usually make this whenever she was forced to cook.
“So, what happened?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You know, the mission, and stuff. Jett hurt her arm, and you…?”
You looked him up and down, noticing how the burns only took over the lower right side of his face, having grown threateningly close to his eye.
Just a few more inches, and he’d have a clouded lens. Would Sage be able to heal that?
Like an approaching wave of volcano, the sight of Yoru slightly smiling immediately caught your attention.
“Didn’t Jett tell you?”
“Uh, no? She didn’t want you to get mad if she did.”
“Tch.”
You rested your arms on the table and waited for him to continue.
…
Ugh.
“So?”
“It’s not a big deal. One of the pipes burst on Jett’s arm, I covered her from the upcoming explosion, and accidentally took the damage from the wall of pipes behind me. That’s it. Now stop–”
“Wait, wait, what?!”
A wall of pipes went off on him? The toxic fumes, everything? And he was so nonchalant about it?!
Just the burns on Jett’s arm, whatever you caught, looked agonising. And he had double that amount explode right on him.
If it weren’t for the existing marks on him, you’d definitely think he was lying.
“How aren’t you maimed, at least? You look fine!”
“Sage’s magic does wonders.” He proudly pointed at his neck, where the deep pink resided, “This spot was mangled when I woke up.”
To say you were horrified would be an understatement. No wonder Sage didn’t allow you to see him.
You really didn’t want to believe what he was saying was true, either.
“You’re saying that you covered Jett from the explosions, but it hit you. How?”
“I wrapped the rift around her front. But I swallowed the damage from behind.”
“What–”
Wrap the rift around her? What does that even mean? Like, a mystical shield?
“Why didn’t you– you know, wrap that… around both of you, all the way through?”
“Lady, I had two seconds to keep her safe. I thought I had my back against a wall, at first.”
…Keep her safe?
Did those words really just leave Yoru’s mouth without a hint of irony or sarcasm?
“But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You kept her safe. Do you care about Jett that much?”
Yoru wryly laughed at such a stupid concept, immediately dismissing you with a wave of his good hand.
“As if. I acted on instinct.”
And yet, his instincts demanded he put her before him? Even if those pipes weren’t behind him, he fearlessly covered her on both sides using everything in his arsenal; even himself.
Doesn’t sound very selfish to you, you thought.
Wait…
“Are you gonna hold this over her head?”
“What the hell do you take me for?”
…
Wow.
You really weren’t sure what to think about him.
Yoru pushed the chair back and went to stand, but you quickly held a hand up and stopped him.
“Yoru, wait.”
“What?”
You sheepishly slid your plate of food towards him, an awkward smile lifting your lips.
“You didn’t eat yet.”
He stared at you, and his hostile expression quickly softened at such an unexpected offer. Alongside that, you could also sense an air of confusion.
“I’m not eating that.”
“You need to eat something, Yoru. You’re hurt, your body needs it.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“One bite, at least? Please?”
“I don’t want your–”
“Just this once!”
He stared at you for a few seconds, clearly annoyed at how persistent you were.
Where did the coward A/N go, the one who couldn’t even tell Harbour she was too tired to go back to training? He thought.
…
He sighed, pushing the chair forward and taking the fork into his hand.
“Fine. Just so you’ll shut up.”
You beamed with a smile, watching him pick up a small piece of the beef with his fork.
However, your smile quickly fell once you noticed his face slightly twist at the sight of it, despite the steam that escaped it.
To you, it looked incredibly delectable, and frankly, it was a crime you weren’t the one eating it.
“What’s up? Do you hate the seasoning?”
“No. Meat’s just not my first choice.”
“But I thought you liked hibachi grills.”
He shook his head.
“Nevermind.”
He took a bite, leaving you even more confused.
You stared at his face as he ate, not realising how weird you looked, not when you really wanted to know what he thought of the food.
It’s not like you didn’t ask yourself why the hell it mattered. Wasn’t this the same man who called you spineless to your face just the day before?
And you felt bad just because he… saved Jett’s life, and didn’t plan on holding it against her.
You turned your gaze away, unable to stop yourself from smiling.
“What’s your deal?”
You shook your head, a quick and impossibly awkward giggle escaping you.
“Nothing. You know, now that I think about it, I should get back to training.”
Yoru watched you stand up and quickly walk off, escaping his line of sight within a few seconds.
And for a moment he questioned your sudden switch, before completely dismissing it and eating his breakfast.
Unlike you, his emotions had minimal control over him.
He didn’t care.
❤ฺ·。
As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you sort of understood now why people gave Yoru a pass on his abrasive behaviour. After putting his life on the line, allowing himself to get severely injured, all for the sake of Jett’s survivability?
How could you hate him after that?
You sighed to yourself as you worked, struggling to find the muscle that ejects sundew.
How did you do it last time? All you recalled was angrily pointing at Yoru… Wait, maybe it’s connected to your index–
Nectar suddenly engulfed your hand by accident, dripping down to the floor.
Wrong trigger…
You sighed and left the training range, moving towards one of the tables where a box of tissues sat, like they were waiting for you.
Then, a set of cyan slits caught your attention, and you turned to find Omen standing near the lockers. Just seeing him felt incredibly calming.
“Hey, Omen.”
He met your gaze, but his awkward posture quickly set you off.
“What’s up?”
…
“A/N. Nice choker.”
You grinned in pride, using two fingers to caress the heart choker once more. Second compliment on the accessory, already? And from Omen, too.
Maybe this thing’s paying off.
“Maraming salamat. Thank you. But are you okay?”
<Thank you so much.>
Omen shook his head, turning back to his locker.
“Nothing, I was… set off by the smell just now.”
You awkwardly laughed, quickly working on wiping the nectar away, desperately praying he didn’t read up on your abilities and didn’t know it was coming from you.
“I’d forgotten what you can do.”
Damn it.
“Sorry about that. Used the wrong muscle, and stuff.”
“What were you trying to do?”
He gently closed the door to his locker and approached you. Panicking, you immediately wiped up the remaining liquid and tried to find the trash before the scent could irritate him any further.
You really didn't want to be reminding Omen of his biggest fears. He was too sweet to be hurt like that.
Where was the trashcan?!
“I wanted to shoot that sundew bomb again, but I don’t know how I did it the first time.”
“I see. And… isn’t Harbour your coach?”
“Well–”
You really hoped he wouldn’t have asked this question. But at least it wasn’t Yoru asking you this.
It’s not like you didn’t think about it, either. But he was exhausted just like the other agents. You couldn’t bother him, not after what just happened.
“I– I wanted to practise alone, you know? I’m not in the mood to talk, and stuff.”
Omen stared at you in silence for a moment, before nodding.
“Very well. I was about to leave, anyway.”
Uh oh.
“Uh, wait–”
You quickly held up a hand and stopped him just as he took one step away. And thankfully, he did.
“You know, it– uh, it’s not so bad having you around.” You awkwardly smiled. “Mind staying? It’ll be fun just to talk.”
“Talk?”
You nodded, anxiously scratching at your bracelet.
And the few seconds that passed felt like whole hours, before he finally spoke up.
“I can do that. Let’s go.”
Even though Omen had a soothing aura, talking to him was also incredibly stressful.
At least you could go off of the eyebrow movements with Yoru. But him? There was literally nothing other than maybe the slits.
Nevertheless, you both entered the training room, and only now did you remember the puddle of nectar you accidentally left behind.
Omen stopped, took a deep inhale, before ‘clearing his throat’.
“I didn’t want to say anything, but I have half a mind to turn this scent into a candle.”
…
“Is… Uh, is that a bad thing?”
“Just tempting. The smell’s pleasing to the soul.”
You eagerly smiled and stopped right in front of him. In the vast area, your voices echoed like you stood in a massive field.
A massive dull, closed off and grey field, but I digress.
Separated into two classifications, poison and nectar, you were delighted to discover than he smelt the latter.
“Candles that smell like everyone’s favourite thing ever? I’m up for it!”
“I’ll need a cup-full of it first. Then, I’ll see if I remember the steps…”
You both continued chatting about nonsense as you tried to summon the sundew.
And for the whole hour that you were there, progress was naught. For some reason, you just couldn’t find the trigger for it. All you did was summon more of the nectar by accident.
But you avoided crushing the building to bits.
Omen even offered to leave to let you focus, but you couldn’t part. Not yet.
Not when he was exactly like Yoru, albeit a kinder version of him. One you could talk to without being looked down on for existing.
You sighed, pulling back your hand and staring at it.
Your arm started to ache with how much you kept it pointed straight forward, and how much pressure it took to keep producing the nectar, but nothing would come out.
However, your mind drifted elsewhere.
“Omen… you saw what happened to Yoru yesterday, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Is that, uh, normal?”
Omen met your gaze, and you could sense his confusion by the subtle tilt of his head.
“Yes, we all get injured in this line of work.”
“No, but, he had pipes explode right on him. He almost died. Does that usually happen?”
He crossed his arms and leaned on the wall once more, clearly pondering.
It’s not like he didn’t know the answer to your question. But considering the dread that bled into your tone as you spoke, he wanted to figure out how to ease this information onto you.
“...What happened to Yoru was a rare instance.”
Before you could let relief calm you, he immediately spoke up again.
“I understand how fun your friends make it seem, but, A/N, Valorant isn’t a fun get-together. Dying on the frontlines is still highly expected.”
All relief was squashed within a second, and you put down your arm in surprise. Omen noticed this, quickly continuing his sentence.
“Obviously Sage can bring us back should that ever happen, but my point stands.”
You awkwardly laugh, feeling panic suddenly engulf you like a flood. Something he also took note of.
“Kailangang magbiro ito…”
<This has to be a joke…>
You stretched your right hand, struggling to keep the poisonous fluid and everything alongside it at bay.
As much as you tried to keep yourself relaxed, your shaky voice gave everything away.
“W– well, is there, you know, a way to get out of this? This isn’t what I– it’s too much, you know? It’s– It's not– I don’t think this is something I can handle.”
“I… can’t say for sure.”
You put your hands on your temples, struggling to keep calm.
With how little they talked about it, you never realised how appalling the circumstances were, not until you saw it in action.
You saw the burns on Yoru, and those burns were after he was healed. You couldn’t not imagine what he looked like when it all first happened.
But most importantly, how did he feel? How much pain did he endure before he passed out? And how high were the chances of that happening to you?!
Amidst the turmoil in your head as you mumbled nonsense in Tagalog, you hadn’t realised that Omen stepped up to you, the slits combined with his presence snatching your attention with ease.
“You’re sure there’s no way out of this?! Mali ito, ako– hindi ako dapat nanatili rito!”
<You’re sure there’s no way out of this?! This is wrong, I– I shouldn't have stayed here!>
He put his hand on your shoulder, his touch slowly bringing you back to reality.
“Take it easy, A/N. You’ll be alright.”
“No I won’t, what if that also happens to me?!”
“It won’t. I guarantee it won’t.”
“But– but–”
“You let your fear control you too much, A/N. Half the things running through your mind are impossible scenarios.”
He saw the poison that dripped from your hand.
You didn’t notice it, but thanks to this, being around you forced him to remember his own array of problems.
“Wh– what? How do you know?”
His posture loosened, giving you an air of amicability.
“It happened to me when I first became… this.” He pointed to himself. “It’s only when you truly get on the field do you realise how repetitive things really are.”
…
How repetitive things really are? As in…
“So… I’ll– I’ll be fine?”
“You will. And you’ll even be laughing at yourself a few months from now. That’s what I did.”
His lighthearted tone took its toll on you in a positive way. Just by the softness of his voice, it managed to calm you down and force a smile to lift your cheeks.
Omen was just so… kind.
“How are you feeling?”
You sighed, running your dry fingers through your hair.
“I– I feel better.”
“Good. Now, how about those candles we talked about?”
…
“That– that sounds… It sounds great. Okay, yeah, let’s do it.”
With a friendly pat on the shoulder, you both walked out of the training room and headed towards elsewhere, ready to get your mind off of everything.
#valorant#x reader#fanfiction#yoru x reader#valorant fanfiction#yoru#female reader#yoru x f reader#yoru x female reader#valorant yoru#valorant x reader#ryo kiritani#valorant yoru x reader#valorant yoru x f reader#harbour#neon#valorant neon#valorant harbour#valorant omen#omen#valorant phoenix
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I'm just waiting for the Episode of Savanaclaw to show little Leona and the little lion getting his hopes and dreams crushed by everyone around him.
Also, this might sound weird but I always thought Leona and Dominique from The Case Study of Vanitas were kinda similar. Their both the youngest child of high-standing families and were viewed as inferior towards their older sibling(s) (In Dominique's case, 2 older half siblings and deceased older twin brother). But in the end, Dominique realised that her cryokinesis is actually way more powerful than even her older half siblings' because hers aren't violent like those of her half-siblings.
Now, I'm not saying Leona's parents are abusive/cruel (though it could be a possibility) and told Leona "You're brother can already do this, why can't you?" or "Falena's already unlocked his Unique Magic, why're you so slow?" (that's the servants' job) but it wouldn't surprise me if they did accidentally said something insensitive (or Leona misinterpreted what they were really trying to say) to Leona that crushed his already crippling self-esteem issues.
Maybe Leona tried to tell his parents how badly he wanted to be king and they said something along the lines of "You're brother's already going to be the king, so stop whining. You've been given everything you wanted." or "Falena's going be the next king and you can't change that." And maybe that finally caused him to snap and start being apathetic towards everything.
Again, this is just a theory I have and it may not happen. Hell, I probably got a few things wrong about Leona's character and backstory.
I’ve only read like one volume of The Case Study of Vanitas I won it in a raffle haha and I don’t know if I’ll continue reading it so 😅 not sure if I 100% get all the details about Dominique and how she parallels Leona. I like Vanitas x Jeanne only because Jeanne hates his guts while Vanitas simps for her and it’s so funny—
Personally, I've never thought of Leona's parents as playing a particularly significant role in his trauma (mainly because the game never showed either of them in his flashback, nor did it indicate the parents as being the center or the “trigger” that made Leona lose hope in himself). The focus of the flashback was on servants and Farena/Falena. The other boys' OB flashbacks also obviously feature major sources for their trauma such as Mama Rosehearts, Azul's bullies, the Viper parents, etc. so if Leona’s parents did play a big role in him being the way he is, it’s strange that they didn’t show up in his flashback.
Leona's parents are barely even mentioned; I only ever recall one instance where it was said that his dad is ill enough to the point where he cannot lead their country, thus Farena/Falena has to act as king. There is no mention of Leona's mother as far as I can tell, and neither parent has been really characterized. Maybe they'll actually get mentioned in the manga adaptation's telling of Leona's flashback?
I don’t doubt that maybe the parents may have said a few insensitive things here and there offhandedly (because everyone naturally makes missteps), but I don’t know about outright telling Leona to “stop whining” or “why are you so slow”. That’s just… very blatantly rude to tell anyone, let alone your own child. I’m not saying it’s not possible for a parent to say such a thing, but I think it’s a bit of a leap in logic to suggest that parents we barely know about would.
I totally buy that Leona would get pissed off and lash out at his parents for misinterpretations on his part though. When his self esteem is already low and he believes the world is against him, it’ll skew his perception of others’ words and actions as negative too. We most clearly see this exemplified when Leona acts bitter towards Farena/Falena, in spite of his older brother showing actually showing Leona a lot of genuine support. I’m more inclined to believe that the parents were also pretty supportive and well-meaning (if Farena/Falena is of any indication), but that Leona interpreted their good will as pity and/or backhanded compliments, or that they could never understand his plight. I’d at least like to think they were a little more tactful/wise with their wording rather than sound annoyed every time Leona expressed a grievance 😔 Alternatively, the parents were probably just never around much due to royal duties, so maybe Leona felt like he never got that social support from their end.
The nature of Leona’s struggle is also something that’s generally seen as more cumulative, rather than there being a single turning point that made him give up on trying. I don’t think you can really point at any singular instance and say, “yes, this part of his past is what made him ‘snap’.” It’s the constant rejection and being beat down by the world and the people he’s trying to get validation from that wears away at his spirit.
#Leona Kingscholar#Farena Kingscholar#Falena Kingscholar#spoilers#notes from the writing raven#twst theory#twst theories#twisted wonderland theory#twisted wonderland theories#The Case Study of Vanitas#twst manga#twisted wonderland manga
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No more than an hour after Buddy leaves neighbour calls and asks if I want to come over for a beer.
Sure, why not.
Put my hair up and off I go.
I walk around the back to the patio door, I see him through the door, give it a know and he waves me in. Tells me I don’t have to knock, just come on in anytime, that if he is home that patio door is unlocked unless of course he’s gone to bed.
Hands me a beer and we sit.
Chat a little, he seems not pissy but a little more tense than usual.
He mentions that he saw Buddy was next door with me, saw his car in my driveway…ahhhh, this is where the vibe is coming from. Now I see it, it’s not tense, it’s a tinge of jealousy.
That’s pretty odd all things considered but it occurs to me and through chatting, there is an aspect of him being involved each time and now it Buddy was there all by himself doing “who knows what” with me.
I told him that it really was none of his business what I do and with whom I do it, kind of pissed me off 😡
After chatting and reiterating that this was about me and my journey and that he just happened to be the happy recipient of that journey he seemed to get it. I also let him know that nothing changed that way just because Buddy had come over.
I also told him that if that, or any other situation I put myself into or allowed to happen, was going to be a problem we could go back to being neighbours with a fence between us. I kept it as light as I could but with the serious tone.
He said he liked what had been going on and looked forward to more possibilities with me and that he would adjust his attitude so as long as I was still up for it so was he. no kidding he is lmao.
I said deal, stuck out my hand to shake on it.
He said that’s not how to seal a deal like this, took my hand and pulled me up out of the chair and walked me into the living room….some very good recent memories in that room.
As I stood there he pulled my shirt up over my head, undid my bra and took it off, pulled my shorts off and commented on being a good girl for no panties.
Could feel things getting a little moist between my legs, well a little more seeing as since I started way back I have notice I am always wet to a degree. That and I’m still pretty horny from Buddy earlier and the whole situation of 2 different cocks in the same day certainly doesn’t hurt either.
He drops his clothes, and tells me to kneel, ok blowjob time but I’m not sure about my jaw, it’s still kind sore from the group thing, but I do anyway because hey, that’s what this journey is about. Then he tells me to bend over, alrighty face down ass up, one of my personal favourites and by now I am very wet.
He kneels behind me and slide his cock up and down my slit and again a good girl comment for being wet ready.
One quick thrust and he’s inside me, HOLY HELL I almost cum that instant but I want to try not to, I want to deny that part and just be a toy for him, a vessel. He’s good, he is taking his sweet time and because of the position he is hitting all the right spots, and because of the angles I feel him stretching me just a little bit….🤤
We stayed like that for a bit until he started to grab my hips harder, pushed his cock into me deeper, he picked up his pace and started to pump into me faster and harder until he was slamming into my pussy so hard with each thrust that it almost knocked the wind out of me, it was fantastic🤪
He buried himself deep inside me with very short hard thrusts as he was cumming.
Felt sooooo good, and not one orgasm for me which was oddly satisfying.
He pulled out, something felt a little odd, I straightened up and the next thing I know, I have his kids running down my legs and dripping onto the carpet.
A flash of what the FUCK darted through my brain and I guess the look on my face spoke volumes because the one on his was almost one of terror..which is funny because if you’ve been reading, I am very small.
When I looked, he had the remnants of what was a condom around the base of his cock so I guess it must have broke in the last hard thrusting moments.
So here’s the thing, after the initial flash of thinking he snuck in without one, I had this wave of satisfaction, of having been a real fucktoy, a receptacle even if by accident. 💦🫠
I felt so slutty and used, it was awesome.
He grabbed me a towel, apologizing the whole time.
Tidied up, got dressed, we finished our beer and laughed about it and went home.
Going to be honest, him using me like he did and cumming inside me did something to me, I little switch flipped and made me so horny that I played with my pussy for hours that night and made myself cum countless times but she just couldn’t get enough.
Woke up the next day with an uncontrollable ache between my legs.
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Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1-2, Chapter #10
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I’m doing a deep-read of the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read) side-by-side, and writing down everything I notice from small details, version differences, translation differences, etc.
The volume numbers will be mismatched for most of the remainder of Trigun, since the Japanese first edition is 3 volumes while all later versions are 2 volumes.
As always, here are the non-analysis panels:
And the rest is under the cut.
[link for if the images aren’t in horizontal rows]
A lot of annotation transcriptions for this entry.
My 3 girlies!!!!!!!!!!! Ever!!!!!!!!
I was waiting for Vash's antennae to go back up, but it looks like 2 of them are permanently bent now. I think it's stayed half-bent since his first encounter with Kaito in the last arc. Haven't double checked to make sure though.
Milly my beloved..... (I keep spelling it Millie every time. help)
In the Japanese version, the speech bubble is "good morning," but in a barely comprehensible yawn. The yawning onomatopoea is written in small text.
Various translation corrections -
「先輩は書いても絵ハガキ程度ですよねー」
"Ma'am, you only send postcards at most, right?"
「ソレが普通ですわよ それにもともと家訓からして「自立せよ」ですからね」
"And that's the normal amount.
Besides, our family motto was 'be independent!'"
「ドライといえばドライなのかも…」
"Maybe it could be a bit unemotional/pragmatic [now that you mention it], but..."
Badwick's first appearance. Just looked ahead to check his name... I forgot how stupid it is... Badwick......
The first time we see one of my favorite art style aspects, single forms!! Love seeing black blocks and non-distinguishable limbs!! This is used a lot with Wolfwood's suit and I love it so much...
I would say Vash's line here is more like "I get it now."
Images I can hear!! I loved this scene in '98... 聞いておるのかご老体！！
By the way, Vash uses polite speech here, but in a (half-)sarcastic way. (If that makes sense...)
The background mob in this panel is... unique for sure. Skin-and-bones, some guy holding (eating?) seaweed, and a sparkly prince?
Badwick's「笑うね！！」line here is more like "You make me laugh!!" or "Ha ha, very funny!!"
I know Vash jumping in front of the old couple is probably intended to just be an instinctive act of protection, but thinking about my analysis in the previous arc (#08 I think?), I can't help but think about his self-sacrificial tendencies...
On a lighter note, Meryl ends her rant with マヂ(ジ)で！！ which is kind of like... "FR!!" lol
Also Vash is literally dead. Honestly he might've been better off taking the bullet than getting bonked.
Classic MillyMeryl manzai routine (not a single braincell between them). Featuring a pissed Vash.
Milly's joke is a bit hard to translate.... She's actually saying an idiom wrong. The correct phrase (what she says in Overhaul) is 大事の前の小事, which literally means "a small event before/in front of the big event." (this idiom is also an contranym but I won't get into that lol)
However, the kanji she uses for 小事(shōji, small event) is switched for 障子(shōji, wood-and-paper sliding door). They look the same in romaji, but they have different tones.
Meryl's response uses English loanwords/Japanglish that's all slightly incorrect for the situation.
So, the Gramps's comments are about the fact that they're using the words wrong. Apparently Granny didn't notice!? lol
Another silly Milly...
Gramps's line is a sort of double-meaning, since ボケる(bokeru) means both to be silly (as in the funny man role in manzai)(which Milly has been doing throughout) and to go senile.
I love how Vash is 100% tired of this shit and just stares at us.
Japanese-only thing, but I love how he says「わーかってますって 超OKっスよ」. silly goober....
「ジオ・プラント―― 肥沃化プラントの影響を受けて植物が育つ事ができる土地の総称である」
"Geoplant— The general term for land that is capable of growing flora due to the effect of a fertilizing Plant."
The term "geoplant" is actually for the affected land, not the Plant itself. Which is... confusing to be honest....
The Plants mentioned here are the capital P generator Plants, not lowercase p flora plants. This line means that among the Plants on the ships, some of them were also of the fertilization variety necessary for geoplant land.
"Naturally" is continued into Gramps's line, so it should end with an ellipsis.
He says that the property became worth about the same as the area of a 300-yard radius around a ship (which I would imagine is INSANELY valuable), whether they wanted the price to rise or not.
These two lines are actually by Vash.
「おそらく地脈を伝って影響が『飛び地』したんだろうな」
"Perhaps the effects of a Plant spread along a mineral vein and ended up forming an 'enclave' here."
「でもここまでになるにはただそれだけじゃ駄目だ」
"But just that's not enough for it to get to this scale."
I love how quickly he could tell this is a geoplant and recognize how much work and love the couple has put into it.
「それにどれだけ我々が支えられてきたか言葉にならんよ」
"I can't even begin to describe how much hope it has given us."
The word he uses is actually "support," but I couldn't think of a way to make it sound decent other than the next closest word, "give hope."
Not really a translation fix - in Japanese, he says something more like "This is where our lives and hopes are."
I missed it during the annotation (will mark it later), but I think the article for "tycoon" should be "the" or "a," since Morgan hasn't appeared yet.
Gramps mentions that the incident from earlier that day was also one of Morgan's threats. (The annotation should be "like what happened this morning/noon." Will also fix that later.)
I feel like this line by Gramps comes across as a bit too harshly apologetic in English compared to the original? I'm not sure how to convey it accurately though... it's more of a Japanese cultural thing.
The first speech bubble is probably by one of the elderly couple, most likely Gramps, since it says "Vash-kun". Milly calls him "Vash-san."
Also about the "lover's quarrel" tease and Meryl's response:
A common tease for male+female character pairs (and real life...), but the nice thing about this is that there's no hinting of hidden romantic feelings whatsoever (stammering, blushing, etc.). Even through a Vash/Meryl truthing lens, I think at this point there truly is nothing (realized) there yet. There's no forced hetero-amatonormative romance!! (my pet peeve in manga)
These lines are actually an exchange between Badwick and Marilyn.
「うわーーっ いくらすっと思ってるんだその門柱！！」
"Aaahh!! [Watch what you're doing!] Just how much do you think that pillar's worth!?"
「ケチくせー事いいっこなし！！どうせアコギなマネして建てたんでしょ」
"Oh, don't be so stingy!! I bet you guilt it with shady money(/through shady means) anyways."
And that’s it for Chapter #10!
As always, the Japanese annotations will be in the reblogs.
#EDIT: I LABELED THIS AS CH9 (ITS CH10) AND DIDNT NOTICE FOR A MONTH SORRY#this ones kinda boring lmao#already said most of the stuff i want to say in the annotation...#btw all my annotations will be revised to match the bookclub entry before theyre distributed into pdf#thats what i mean when i say fix later#trigunbookclub#trigun annotation#trigun#trigun manga
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Lessons in Honesty Part 4
steve harrington x reader
Chapter 4: Master of Puppets
– other chapters: part 1 ⋆ part 2 ⋆ part 3 ⋆ part 4 ⋆ part 5 ⋆ part 6 ⋆ part 7 ⋆ part 8
– series synopsis: Being Robin Buckley’s younger sibling had always been uneventful, up until she got herself tangled with Steve Harrington. And really, you were happy for her. She deserved friends. What was bothersome was when he got let in on small secrets like your infatuation with Eddie Munson, and decided to take it into his own hands to try and get him to pay attention to you-- by pretending to be your boyfriend.
– notes: hello friends!! i'm so sorry this update took so long. school and life got very busy, but i should be back to more consistent posting for the rest of the summer. also don't worry about possible spoilers or anything for volume 2. if there are any in here, they're just minor references that you won't pick up on unless you've seen it. this chapter also has a tw for minor violence and minor blood mention, so please keep that in mind. enjoy!
read here or on ao3
_____________________________
Either you were terrible at math, or there were two more people in Steve's car than there were supposed to be.
And man, did you hope you were just shit at counting.
"Buckley, hey!"
There were two options here you could take. One, you could walk up to Steve's car where the owner was giving you a painful half-apologetic, half-exhausted look through his windshield while your sister climbed out of the passenger's seat, and Dustin's head was leaning out the open window offering you a greeting.
Or you could pretend like you weren't just planning on getting into Steve's car and hanging out with him behind your sister's back by running back into the house and feigning utter ignorance if Robin chose to question you on it.
You liked option two best.
Too bad the hand of God struck you down.
Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. By the hand of God, you meant your sister. And by struck down, you meant how she grabbed you by the collar of your shirt and yanked you back towards her. But hey, maybe this was a better option. The force of your shirt crushing your windpipe was enough that you might get a merciful death out of this awkward situation instead.
"And where are you going?"
You finally managed to wrangle her hands off your clothing enough to breathe, winding your body around to face her with a naturally irritated look that you were trying your best to turn into a look of innocence. By the odd feeling in your face muscles, it was safe to assume you were doing a terrible job. "I, uh-" you started, eyes flashing around as if your surroundings would give you an excuse for the lie. It did not. "I was welcoming you home? Bring it in—" Opening your arms up for a hug, you stepped forward towards your sister with a wide grin. She placed her whole hand on your face and held you back from advancing further. You dropped your arms immediately.
"C'mon, Robin, let them go. I don't want them crying in my car cause they're late to Eddie's gig."
Well shit. Way to let the cat out of the bag.
Robin gave you an odd look before turning her pouted, confused stare towards Steve. She pointed her thumb at you behind her shoulder as she asked, "and you're… taking Dustin and them there?" as if Steve was somehow confused about who she may be talking about.
Steve rolled his eyes, the picture on nonchalance. However, if the tightening grip on his steering wheel was any indication, he was just as nervous to say what he was going to say as you were to hear it.
"No, this twerp isn't coming. But I'm going accompany miniature Buckley. You know. Make sure they don't inadvertently piss someone off by just opening their mouth."
Nice excuse, but you wouldn't do that. Maybe. Hopefully.
Robin's eyes trailed back at you assesingly as Dustin and Steve bickered about what he'd said about Dustin's involvement. You were too focused on what might pop out of Robin's mouth to pay attention. For a second, you thought maybe she would try and come along. Not that it would necessarily be bad, but you would be dead nervous the whole time thinking she would accidentally say something to Eddie to indicate your crush on him. As it was, anytime she even got near the curly-headed boy in the school hallway, you nearly had a heart attack.
Instead, all Robin did was shrug her shoulders and hum an indifferent "whatever, don't get caught by Mom," before turning to walk into the house. She shut the door with a final goodbye of, "see you later, losers."
Your whole body felt like it had deflated all the nerves you had built up over the past few days. Steve looked at you with a wide-eyed, dazed and confused gape.
Okay. So maybe you were both being wimps, but you had every right to. You and Steve knew you eventually had to start getting Robin to fall for the fake-dating charade and let her see you guys hang out. However, whenever you thought about how to do it, you and Steve would mutter a resolute, "another time," and leave it at that. The only time you had been alone with Steve since he picked you up from your group earlier in the week was the two days Robin had band practice so Eddie and the others could see him pick you up.
The fear was that Robin would immediately see this for what it was and wouldn't stop pestering you both about it until you had no choice but to admit it. And while she had paused when Steve said he was taking you to Eddie's concert, it had gone away in a blink.
Oh well. You could overthink it until the end of days, but it was probably best to take it as a win.
Besides, now you had another slight problem to focus on instead. A Henderson-sized problem.
"So we're dropping Dustin off at home first?" You questioned Steve, slipping into the front seat of the car. Steve replied, "yes," while Dustin replied, "no."
You might have registered their words if you hadn't finally noticed what Steve was wearing. You must have looked a little horrified because after Steve shot a glare at Dustin in the back, he turned to look at you with a scrunched nose. "What?" he asked, looking down at his baby blue Henley shirt and plucking it between his fingers, looking for a stain or something.
"You look like you're going to a Wham! concert."
Dustin laughed. Steve sighed as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Yeah, that's nice. At least I'm not dressed like a dude named Rod who sells moonshine to kids in the back of my van. Who's tire did you steal to make that jacket from?"
You frowned, wrapping your dad's leather jacket around you tighter. It might be a bit bug, but it wasn't that bad. "Steve, it's a metal concert. You don't even own a black shirt?"
"I'm not driving back home just to change. We're already cutting it close as it is. Dustin showed up at my work, thinking he was going to come to this thing. I don't need his mom chasing me down with a rolling pin for exposing her little angel to the horrors of the world," he droned sarcastically.
"Hey, Eddie asked me to come too!" Dustin argued back.
Steve turned to dispute with him over his shoulder. "Oh, come on, that was just so it didn't seem weird that he suddenly was inviting Buckley."
"Oh yeah? And what about you? I don't remember him extending you an invitation."
"He's playing at a run-down bar that most has rats for patrons. They don't even give enough of a shit to ID anyone 'cause their beer is so watered down that there's almost no alcohol in it. Don't really think it's a 'by invitation only' kind of place." Steve shot back.
"I know what you're doing."
That admission had you and Steve turning to look at one another from the corner of your eyes. Steve asked as indifferently and sarcastically as he could, "and what's that?"
"Trying to make Eddie jealous by hanging out with Pip."
Well, fuck. That kid was always too smart for his own good.
"Why would we be trying to make Eddie jealous?" You sputtered out. In a sharp, quick-witted defence. Not.
Dustin put his hands on the sides of your seat and leaned in. "Dude, it's obvious you like him. We all know it. Well, except Eddie, I think. You should really just tell him, though. He's a cool guy."
You were beginning to think Steve's car was really cursed. Seriously, why did people say things that made you want to throw up your lungs whenever you were in here?
"What I can't figure out is what Steve's getting out of this," Dustin continued to mutter, ignoring that you were frozen solid and having trouble remembering how to breathe. Dustin's loud clap shocked you back into remembrance as you took a gasp of air through the jolt. "You're doing this to make Robin jealous! I told you I knew you wanted to date her! Just friends, my ass."
"What?" Steve loudly spoke, turning his head black to glance at Dustin so fast that the car slightly swerved on the road for a moment. You slapped your hand over his on the wheel to steady it while he turned his eyes quickly back onto the road. You only let go when Steve offered you a small look and a nod, both of you settling back in your seats.
One thing you and Steve knew was that Robin was most definitely not an option for Steve. Nope. She could make fun of you all she liked about Eddie, but she was just as obsessed with that girl Vickie in the school band with her.
"Just drop it, alright? You're wrong," Steve muttered as he finally pulled into Dustin's neighbourhood. Dustin leaned back into his seat with a huff. "Whatever. I'm not going to spill the secret. I can even help."
"Goodnight, Dustin," you merely replied as Steve stopped at the curb of his house. Dustin rolled his eyes, opening the door and stepping onto the sidewalk. "You two are hopeless," he muttered as he shut the door.
It wasn't until you saw him walk into the house that Steve finally spoke.
"I have a feeling him knowing will come back to bite us in the ass."
No doubt about it.
******************************************
Steve wasn't exactly wrong in calling The Hideout a shit hole. It was one. The taupe paint was chipped in places. The vinyl was ripped from the barstools. It had wood panelling that was graffitied by markers. The cement floor was so dark that you wondered what bacteria was living on it that had changed the light grey colour so drastically.
But as far as you were concerned, tonight, it was the promise land. And it wasn't because you didn't even have to pull out your shitty fake ID at the door.
Stepping into the bar's sticky floor when Steve had to run back and see if he had locked his car door (though you had assured him he had), you glanced around at the relatively empty space. There were some people in there-- A few older guys around the stage, some others face down in the booths or sitting at the bar. Two guys were arguing near the side exit, shoving each other back and forth on the chests. You swore you heard the word 'cat' get thrown around by them, but before you could really eavesdrop more, a heavy hand landed on your shoulder. Your body jumped in fright as your eyes zinged up.
Eddie's grinning face peered down at you, looking like he was the happiest he had ever been. But that was just him. He never did anything half-assed or without meaning, even if it was an action as simple as smiling.
"Pip, you actually came?" Eddie asked, sounding earnestly surprised by the fact. You let out a small laugh as he pulled you in for one of his tight hugs, his arms engulfing you in perfect safety. You'd barely wrapped your arms around him in return before he moved to grip your shoulders, pushing you back a step to look at your face.
"Did you really doubt me?" You smiled in a tease. Eddie's grin softened to a heart-stopping gentleness, counteracted only by his move to ruffle your hair with his hand. You managed to push it away with a weak-willed groan.
"Who knows, we might manage to scare you off yet," Eddie retorted, rolling forward on his feet closer to your ear.
"You? I'm not so sure. This place is more likely to accomplish that. I'm already planning on needing a tetanus shot after tonight, so you'd better make it worth it." It was a joke. Kind of. Your concern that you would step on a rusty nail increased the more you took in your surroundings.
Eddie shook his head with a small laugh, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and bringing you in close. "Oh, we'll make it worth it, alright. Hey, do you want to go check out the setup?"
Steve's exclamation of, "Jesus Christ, it smells like someone vomited in a shoe and lit it on fire in here," stopped you before you could accept Eddie's offer.
Eddie's smile fell, the tightness of his hold on you loosening.
"Harrington? If you're looking for JCPenney, you're off by a couple blocks, man."
Steve walked up towards you both, pocketing his car keys.
"Was it locked?"
"Yes," Steve muttered.
"Told you," you replied, trying to keep your self-satisfied tone to a minimum.
Steve still gave you an annoyed look.
"You invited him?" Eddie's voice brought you back to the present as you turned to look up at him, his own face tilted down towards you with a raised brow in question.
You nodded, chewing the side of your cheek as you tried to figure out what Eddie might exactly be thinking. "Is that okay?"
Whatever Eddie was thinking was quickly brushed aside because a tight grin replaced the contemplative look in the next moment. Stepping away from you, he clapped his hand on Steve's shoulder rather hard. "Of course. Probably time Harrington learned what real music is, right, big boy? Just try not to throw yourself on stage at us. Can be kind of distracting."
That made you laugh a bit, releasing some of the tension you felt. Steve shrugged off Eddie's hand, nudging you in the arm toward an empty table closer to the door than the stage. "I think I'll be able to contain myself," he replied dryly.
As Steve's nudging became more instant, you offered an excited "break a leg!" to Eddie and a thumbs up to the guys setting up on stage. Eddie winked in your direction, a half-tugged smirk on his lips as he said, "try not to throw yourself at us either. Or do. I don't think I'd mind your distraction that much." He turned to walk back to the stage as you and Steve made your way to the table. It was a good thing your back was to Eddie because boy, were your eyes wide.
"Did he just flirt with me?" You asked Steve, astonished.
"If you have to ask, then I'd say he did a pretty shit job at it," Steve muttered in reply, tugging out a chair so you could plop yourself down.
******************************************
Corroded Coffin had been on stage playing for around 40 minutes, and it was actually… good. Really good.
Not that you doubted Eddie or anything. He was always so zealous about everything he did—always so hard on himself too. He could never do something that wasn't impressive. But he seemed to be in his own world up there. Like actually his world, not those made-up ones that he creates for Dungeons and Dragons. It was strange to see him out of that element. He was the same Eddie, but… more. It was nice.
Even Steve didn't seem as miserable being here anymore. Not that he would probably go out and become a metal head after this, but he hadn't said anything negative since you first sat down. He'd even gotten up to join you to stand against the wall, getting a little closer but still out of the ring of other people.
Sometimes Eddie's eyes would find yours, and you would both smile.
You didn't mind those momentary invitations into his world. You didn't mind at all.
"Hey, I'm going to go get a coke. You want something?" Steve had to practically yell into your ear so you could hear.
You shook your head. "Thanks, but I'm okay."
Steve had gotten you a beer before Corroded Coffin started playing, and you were surprised that what he'd said to Dustin earlier about them not even checking ID for drinks was true. What he said about the beer being so watered down was also an unfortunate honesty. You'd only taken a few sips before you couldn't stomach the thing anymore. Not like you were much of a beer person to begin with. You didn't go to parties, so the only drinks you'd ever had were ones you and Robin occasionally stole from your parents or glasses of champagne on special occasions and holidays.
"Stay put, okay?" Steve said sternly, fixing you with a no-nonsense look before making his way to the bar. You gave a small laugh, calling over to him, "sure thing, Dad!"
Not like you would want to wander off anyway. You'd rather not risk bumping into some drunk people who might try and wrap you up into whatever non-coherent conversations they might be having.
Unfortunately, staying put didn't mean other people couldn't walk up to you instead.
"What's a little thing like you doing over here all alone?"
The man that approached didn't exactly scream danger, but his taller stature and the level of alcohol coming off his breath was enough to put you immediately on high alert. That, and the fact that he stood almost toe to toe with you, crowding you right against the wall.
"My friend is just getting a drink, but he'll be back in a second," you muttered, though you were pretty sure he knew that and had just been waiting for Steve to leave this entire time. Your eyes flashed away from his face to try and get a good look at Steve at the bar. The man moved to step back into your eye-line, cutting your search off.
"Why don't I keep you company instead? I can be a lot of fun," he hiccupped, reaching out a hand to wrap around your forearm. On instinct, you hit it away.
"I don't find harassment fun. Leave me alone," you threatened with a harsh bite, moving to step around him. Even though he was drunk, it seemed he had fast enough reflexes to grab your arm again. His grip was weak enough that you quickly broke it by shoving yourself away. Unfortunately, the force it took had you falling, the back of your head smacking onto the edge of the table before you fell to the floor on your butt. Bruised tailbone, here we come.
Everything that happened next felt like a blur. The music stopped with what sounded more like a crash than a vinyl scratch, and Eddie's voice rang out through the microphone. "Hey, get the fuck away from them, man!" He quickly swung his guitar to his back and jumped off the stage, shoving the man out of the way and crouching beside you. He rested a gentle hand on your elbow and helped you sit up better, your free hand moving to clutch the back of your head.
When you removed your hand, there was a bit of blood there. "Shit."
Blinking hard as you tried to focus your vision again through the headache, Eddie must have not even noticed your dazed reaction as he flusteredly hurled question after question at you, his hand moving around your body like a scanner looking for injuries. Eventually, his hands moved to cup both your cheeks, moving your head to look him in his very erratic eyes as he asked, "you're not dying, right? Or mute? Come on, say something!" You'd be sure he'd be shaking you right now if he didn't think you'd break.
"I'm okay, I'm okay—" you replied, just as yelling started back up again. Eddie's hands still squished your cheeks as you both turned to look at the new commotion.
Steve had just shoved the guy back by the shoulder.
"You need to get the hell out of here," Steve yelled at him, as the guy wasn't making any move to leave you alone. Really? He had practically shoved you to the ground and still wouldn't fuck off?
"Don't tell me what to do, kid," the man slurred, his hand lifting up, getting ready to swing. Swing. You tried to move Eddie's hands off you so you could stand up despite the protest of your bones and dizziness in your head. He moved his hands to your shoulders to keep you there just as the man punched Steve in the face. The impact of it had both you and Eddie rearing back and wincing.
It turned into a double wince when Steve recovered quick and hit the man back. You swore you heard his nose crunch.
Before anything else could get out of hand, someone joined in on your little circle, grabbing the back of the man's t-shirt and wrenching him away. "Damn it, Tom. I told you not to pull this shit anymore." Must be someone who works security. Pretty shit security if this Tom person had been allowed back in after doing something similar before.
Breaking out of Eddie's hold, you managed to stand up and weakly make your way towards Steve. He turned to face you after swiping away the blood trickling from his split lip with his thumb. His angered look quickly melted into concern as he moved to step closer to you as well, reaching out to hold the sides of your arms and support you as you almost stumbled right into him.
"I leave you alone for one second, and you try and take on some dude?" Steve chastised you, though you knew he didn't really mean it for a second.
You let out a weak laugh. "I would have won the fight too if you didn't step in, Rocky," you joked back. Steve muttered a curse under his breath as he began a similar inspection of injuries to your body as Eddie had.
Speaking of Eddie, you had almost forgotten his presence entirely after watching Steve almost get knocked out. You were reminded when a hand lightly pressed to the back of your sore head and informed, "fuck, that's a lot of blood. I should take you to the hospital. Let me tell the guys, and I'll go get the car—"
You stepped away from his hand and turned to look at him, slightly panicked as you cut him off. "My mom will kill me if the doctors tell her where I was and what happened. No way I'm going to the hospital."
"Don't be an idiot, Pip," Eddie fought back, just as a new pair of hands found their way in your hair. What the hell was it about being injured that apparently allowed people to think they could freely touch you? Jesus Christ.
"The bleeding's stopped, and the cut doesn't look deep. We can probably just clean it at your house if you have a first aid kit," Steve muttered, stepping back and putting a hand on your lower back, offering silent support if you needed it to walk.
Eddie frowned at that. "Jesse should have a first aid kit in the back. I can help—"
"Are you kidding me?" Steve cut Eddie off, a disbelieving look on his face. "This place is a petri-dish of undiscovered diseases. They'll get a brain infection if you try and patch them up here."
"And what, you think you can do a better job than me, Harrington? Knowing how to do your hair into a perfectly styled coif doesn't exactly make you a head doctor."
The arguing really wasn't helping with the headache you were rocking. You rubbed a hand across your forehead in irritation. "I'd honestly rather get a brain infection than listen to you idiots fighting," you shot back. Both went silent at that.
"Alright, alright. Let me just get you home," Steve muttered with a defeated sigh.
You nodded your head at him before turning back to Eddie. Now that you faced the reality of what happened, your cheeks flushed a bright red. How bloody embarrassing all that had been. "Sorry for ruining the show. You guys were really good," you offered, letting your eyes trail back down to look at your shoes. Eddie's hand moved under your chin as he used a finger to tilt your head up, forcing your gaze to his.
"You didn't ruin anything, okay? All metal concerts need a little chaos. You did good, Pip."
You let out an involuntary weak snort. "Glad I could be of service."
Eddie removed his hand and leaned up back to his full height. "Take care of them, alright Harrington? Don't know what I'll do if I'm down a sheep in my flock."
Steve didn't even give him a response, already leading you out the door and back to the cool night air.
tag list: @rexorangecouny @simonsbluee @felicityofbakerstreet @heytherejulietx @ohashley101 @youngflower @katsukiswrld @ramona-thorns @theblairwaldorf2 @fezco-mylove @hxrgreeves @jbcalway @heizenka @edenstarkk @greekktragedy @trishiepo0 @nonpoppin
#stranger things#st#stranger things season 4#stranger things 4#st4#steve harrington#joe keery#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington fanfiction#robin buckley#dustin henderson#eddie munson#eddie munson imagine#eddie munson x reader#steve harrington x reader#st fanfic#st fanfiction#stranger things fanfic#stranger things fanfiction#st imagine#stranger things imagine
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Overheard Convos
Author’s Note: I hope you guys like this! Also, I think I’m gonna make a part 2 to Sunshine!!
Pairing: Bradley “rooster” Bradshaw x reader
Summary: Phoenix is a bad influence, Bob is a sweetheart, Hangman is a flirt, and Rooster is a jerk (but not really)
Warning: I don’t think there are any!
...
“It’s just been a long time since I...ya know?” You whispered to Phoenix and Bob.
“No... what do you mean? Since you’ve what?” Bob asked, looking very confused.
“Since she’s been with a man!” Phoenix answered for you, very loudly.
“Shhhhhh!!” You swatted her arm. You three were sat in a booth at the Hard Deck. The whole crew was there but the rest of the group were either playing darts or pool so you three snuck away to talk.
“I don’t want the whole damn bar to know I’m not getting any” You whisper-yelled as you took a sip of your drink
“And why is that a problem, that you haven’t...gotten...any?” Sweet, innocent Bob asked.
“Because she wants to do Rooster, have you not been paying attention at all??” Phoenix said at the same volume as before. You turned beet red, hoping no one heard her.
“I do not want to do him! Well, I do want to do him but I also...sorta...love.. him.” You got quieter with each word you spoke.
Your two friends couldn’t help but smile at you. You started to feel embarrassed and excused yourself to go to the bathroom. As you were walking you heard your name. But not like someone was calling you, more like someone was talking about you.
“No man, stop, I’m not into y/n. Are you kidding me?? I would never date her!”
You knew that voice... it was Rooster. You looked up and saw him talking to Hangman. You quickly ran to the bathroom before you started crying, hoping no one saw you.
You don’t know how long you were in the bathroom but you didn’t care. You were so sad. Eventually Phoenix came in and called your name. She saw you and immediately ran to you.
“What’s wrong? Did someone do something to you? Who?” She started asking you a million questions. You told her what you heard and she was livid.
“Who does he think he is?? Saying that about you? You’re literally perfect and anyone would be lucky to have you” she got quiet like she was thinking, “Ya know what? I have a plan”
She told you her plan and you looked at her like she was crazy. She wanted you to flirt AND dance with Hangman. To show Rooster what he was missing out on. She eventually convinced you to do it and you both walked out of the bathroom and right by Rooster and Hangman who were still deep in convo.
“Hey you ladies were in there a long time, anything hot happen between the two of you?” Hangman smirked at you both. It’s now or never, you thought to yourself.
“No but you can follow me back into the bathroom and something hot can happen between us” You winked at Hangman, even Phoenix appeared shocked and you grabbed her hand and both went back to the booth.
You looked over at Rooster and he looked both shocked and pissed.
Hangman made his way over to you and asked if you wanted to dance. He led you to the dance floor and you started dancing.
You two were chest to chest and he had his hands on your hips. You whispered in his ear what you were doing and what your plan was, not wanting to lead him on.
“I knew it was too good to be true. But lets show him what he’s missing” He whispered back to you
He turned you around and pulled your butt into him as you both swayed to the beat. Before you could process what was happening, Rooster was getting in between you and Hangman.
“Come with me” He said, his eyes the darkest you’ve ever seen.
Reluctantly, you followed him out to the back.
“What the hell was that?” He demanded
“Excuse you?” You scoffed
“You know what I’m talking about. What was all that with Hangman” He said, slightly more sad this time.
“I wanted to have a good time, I don’t see the problem” You said back not missing a beat
“The problem is you should’ve been dancing with me and not him” He whispered
Now you were just confused.
“What do you mean? YOU’RE the one who isn’t interested in me! I heard your convo about how you would never date me” You were yelling at him now
A look of realization crossed his face. He started to laugh. This made you furious. He said all those rude things and then laughs?
“No, no, no you got it all wrong sweetheart. Jake was trying to get me to take you home tonight. I didn’t wanna get rejected by you so I told him no. He said he was gonna tell you that I liked you and “be my wingman”“, he air quoted, “but I was too nervous so I lied and said all that to get him to back off” Bradley finished with a small huff
“Oh” was all you could say.
“Gosh we’re both pretty stupid, huh?” He said, beginning to laugh again. You joined him this time and you both started laughing so hard you were bent over.
You both stopped laughing and just looked at each other.
At the same time, you both lunged forward to kiss each other. It was full of passion and love. You kept kissing until you heard some whistles.
Bob, Phoenix, and Hangman were all watching and cheering for you both. You two laughed and he put his arm around you, pulling you in.
“I am reeeally sorry about that, even if I was lying, it was pretty mean for me to say those things” Rooster apologized.
“I think I know how you can make up for it” You said, looking up at him through your eyelashes
“Oh honey you’re gonna be the death of me” Rooster said and pulled you in for another kiss.
*Later, back in the bar with everyone*
“So, you thought that Rooster said that and proceeded to almost get with Hangman?” Coyote asked, confused
“Hey, it was Phoenix’s idea!” You defended yourself
Rooster looked at her with an offended look.
Phoenix laughed like she got caught, “ha yeah, I can’t be trusted when I drink”
...
Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list :)
Taglist: @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @datingbtr
#rooster#rooster x reader#rooster bradshaw#rooster bradshaw imagine#bradley#bradley bradshaw#bradley bradshaw x y/n#bradley bradshaw x reader#miles teller#miles teller top gun#top gun#top gun maverick#rooster top gun#top gun fanfiction#bradley rooster bradshaw fluff#bradley rooster bradshaw imagine#bradshaw
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apologies for all the asks!!! I don’t have many folks I chat RWBY with so I turn to the folks who’s opinions I’ve come to respect on tumblr!
Anyways - with the final episode of Volume 9 rapidly approaching, what do you think needs to happen in the finale for it to be concluded in a satisfying way?
cheers!
You’re fine, I like answering questions!
As for what needs to happen, in my personal opinion, the things that I think need to happen are as follows, but not strictly in this order:
1. Ruby has a talk with her mother, at least in some fashion, which helps her realize that she doesn’t need to be a completely different person to be the hero she needs to be, which helps her complete her ascension.
2. We also go through Jaune’s ascension and he is changed into a younger version of himself, but specifically not reverted back to his Volume 8 form as that would be literal character regression. Also, he keeps the warrior’s wolf tail.
3. Both Ruby and Jaune retain all their memories after ascension, and get new looks, and either upgraded or new weapons.
4. Ascended Ruby and Jaune tag team Neko Neo and kick his ass.
5. Neko Neo dies/gets taken by the tree to ascend. Don’t give either of them a second chance or a redemption arc.
6. Everyone has a tearful reunion with Ruby, apologizing that they weren’t there for her when she needed them and she forgives them.
7. Team RWBY and Jaune walk through the door into Remnant, and either the episode ends there to leave us on a cliff hanger for V10, or they walk out into Vacuo to throw us right into the action at the start of V10. Bonus points if Juniper goes with them.
8. We see Little again at some point. Maybe they help fight the cat in their new ascended form. And we get a heartfelt moment between them and Ruby.
As a bonus these are things that I don’t think have to happen for the finals to be satisfactory, but I’ll be very happy if they do:
1: when Jaune returns Weiss hugs him or in some way shows relief that he’s okay. Bonus points if she comments positively about his new look. It shouldn’t be a moment that overshadows the big reunion with Ruby (though I’m sure some people will gripe about it regardless), just a nice little touching scene between them.
2. Ruby lands the fight ending blow on the cat with her Silver Eyes powers. I don’t know why her powers would affect the cat, but it would be bad ass.
3. Ruby says something positive about Blake and Yang’s relationship. Mainly to piss off everyone making ‘Ruby is homophobic’ memes.
4. We get Yang and/or Blake teasing Weiss about Jaune, maybe one of them asking her if he’s still ‘mature’ enough for her, and Weiss being flustered and embarrassed.
5. As team RWBY and Jaune leave, we get scenes of the Afterans going about their lives. The Genial Gems building a new home, the market place being repaired, Jinxy peddling more items, the Hunter mice catching a snake, that kind of thing.
6. Red Like Roses part 3 for Ruby’s epic arrival at the climax of the fight vs the cat.
That’s everything I can think of, at least for now. I’m sure five minutes after I post this I’ll have four more things to add to the list XD
#rwby#rwby volume 9#rwby vol 9#rwby spoilers#rwby vol 9 spoilers#rwby volume 9 spoilers#jaune arc#weiss schnee#white knight#ruby rose#yang xiao long#blake belladonna
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my many thoughts about milo’s feelings for bisco 🤔 VERY LONG, CONTAINS SPOILERS UP TO VOL 6
this is something i’ve been heavily thinking about ever since first reading vol 1, and i’ve had to re-think my opinion a lot as i got further in the series.
one theory i saw often from japanese readers is that milo and pawoo’s relationships with bisco are meant to be the difference between “ai” and “koi” respectively. i think this opinion was often formed after only reading vol 1, and in that context it does make sense. BUT over the course of the series, i feel like it quickly switches - milo becomes koi and pawoo is ai.
to briefly explain the difference between ai and koi:
愛 (ai) - used for both romantic AND familial love, implies a strong bond. the person you feel “ai” for is someone you deeply respect or admire, and/or someone you want to be around for a long time.
恋 (koi) - strictly romantic love, on a level higher than ai. you love this person so much that it’s driving you mad. you’d rarely, if ever, hear people use this word, because it implies some Extremely Serious Shit and might be considered creepy by some.
in volume fucking 1, after knowing bisco for only a month, milo says that he loves him (ai). before the iconic “aishiteru” scene even happens, PAWOO realizes that bisco and milo love each other - she also refers to their love as ai. her line was cut from the anime here:
on my first read thru vol 1 in english, i believed milo’s feelings for bisco were 100% romantic. after reading the japanese vol 1 and thinking about it some more, i realized that milo’s “aishiteru” is probably MEANT to mean both romantic and familial love.
however, when i say “familial love” i don’t necessarily think milo loved him like a brother - milo refers to bisco as his closest friend. to him, bisco is the closest thing to family without actually being family. if milo thought of bisco like a brother, it also wouldn’t make sense then why pawoo felt their bond was different from her own and milo’s.
for both of the boys, they’re each others’ first real friend their own age, and that alone helps bring them together. as they get to know each other, they also realize they make up for what the other person lacks. this is exactly what jabi talks about in vol 1 as well, when he tells bisco that he’s an arrow who needs to find his bow... and he does find that in milo. once again cut from the anime, at the end of the fight with kurokawa, bisco says to milo “I’m your arrow, and you’re my bow.”
overall, milo’s feelings for bisco in vol 1 are generally very sweet and wholesome. as we get further into the series, milo’s love becomes less and less innocent. it takes on a much more possessive tone, turning into an obsession. this starts becoming apparent very quickly:
Physically separates bisco from women flirting with him, sometimes threatening them with violence (vol 2)
Refers to bisco as his god (vol 2)
Says that he’d gladly go to hell as long as bisco comes with him (vol 2)
Refers to himself as a special treasure that only bisco possesses (vol 3)
While delirious and thinking they both died, is glad that he and bisco went to hell together (vol 5)
When bisco gives him a heartfelt compliment that shows what he sees in him, milo immediately turns around and declares that he’ll become exactly what bisco believes him to be (vol 5)
Gets pissed off when his hug with bisco is interrupted (though tbf bisco also gets angry about this) (vol 5)
Watches over bisco to make sure no one flirts with him or steals him away. threatens to kill bisco and himself if someone tries to usurp his role as bisco’s partner (vol 6)
IN THE SAME SCENE AS THE LAST POINT, admits point-blank that he misses the days when he first met bisco and had him all to himself, because everyone else in the world hated/was scared of him. only milo knew how cute and nice he really was
Takes his anger out on others who were completely uninvolved in putting bisco in a compromising situation (vol 6)
Threatens to kill people from bisco’s village when they severely injure him, and nearly does if not for jabi intervening (vol 6)
it’s pretty obvious that milo’s love for bisco has reached the “driving you mad” level.
AND YET, despite milo clearly being in love (and he himself is very aware of it), he often prods bisco about getting together with pawoo...... and i honest to god think he’s coping. going back to the “aishiteru” scene, the most important part of that scene imo is that BISCO NEVER HEARS HIM SAY IT. going by canon of the novels, milo never even says "I love you” out loud - he only THINKS it to himself. when pawoo kisses bisco, right in front of his damn face, he’s momentarily shocked... before immediately saying “that’s ok pawoo’s cool, she’s nice and has big bazongas so I think you’d get along with her :)”
the further i read, the more i felt he was at critical levels of cope. I feel like pawoo “getting to bisco first” kind of set him off on a course of “oh no i was too late, someone already took bisco but that someone is my sister and i love her and want to let her live how she wants so i have to be supportive.” but not only do milo’s words and actions clearly contradict themselves all the time, there are small moments later on where his supportive facade breaks down. they’re easy moments to miss but my god are they important:
After seeing bisco and pawoo have their first legitimate conversation where they were nice with each other, it’s noted that milo was looking at them with a “complex [bimyou] smile” (vol 4). bimyou is a weird word to explain in english but like... whatever face milo was making had a lot of conflicting emotions going on in it.
Pawoo makes a bento for bisco, who is touched that she did that. milo comments how bisco is lucky to have pawoo in his life, but that he’s also lucky to have milo......?? just needlessly inserts himself into a situation not involving him at all (vol 6)
i also highkey think milo was lying about having a lot of experience with women. it wouldn’t be out of character if he did that just to rile bisco/tease him, cuz they joke around with each other a lot or say shit just to make the other mad. bisco also ADMITS that milo is good at lying (vol 6). my thought is that milo was stretching the truth, because in other moments throughout the series milo tells stories of how he’s helped pawoo with even the most basic parts of life, like getting dressed or doing her hair. not only did he spend his entire personal life with an older sister who he had to care for, but he’s also a doctor who works on anyone who comes to see him, women included. like of course he has experience with women and would know a lot about them.... just not in the sexual way that phrase would typically imply.
i think it’s also worth noting that there’s plenty of stories about pawoo’s love life, but we never once hear about milo’s past. considering how protective pawoo was of him, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she kept girls away on purpose... or he’s gay and he turned girls down himself. in the course of the series he canonically flat-out rejected tirol, and also ignores any time chayka tries to flirt with him.
also like?? if milo and bisco aren’t meant to be love interests then explain the whole parallel between milo/bisco and domino/apollo (vol 3). there is literally no way to explain it other than them being reincarnated lovers. it’s mentioned in like every other sentence how domino looks identical to milo and acts exactly like milo. pawoo is his sister, making her just as close of a descendant of domino as milo is, but she is never once brought up.
pawoo’s change
conversely to milo, pawoo started off as the wild sibling who gradually became more chill over time (.... to an extent, but just trust me).
we hear multiple stories about pawoo’s past failed dating attempts, where guys would cheat or break her heart in some way and she would send them to the hospital in return. she’s sensitive to anything that could even vaguely look like cheating.. even looking at someone else in a way she doesn’t like. basically making her out to be a very controlling and demonic girlfriend.
when she first meets bisco, it’s as enemies. she learns that bisco isn’t that bad and falls for him almost out of nowhere.... despite knowing her brother has something going on with him already? it’s a very sudden obsession, seemingly based a lot on appearances.
after she and bisco get married, she becomes more gentle and feminine... at least outside of battle lol. she tries in her own way to be a good wife, even though she’s not great at “feminine” things like cooking nor do they actually spend much time together. she’s still a pretty jealous and protective person, but generally when bisco is around she does everything she can to have fun with him/be helpful. she comes to love him for more than just his looks, seeing how kind and caring he is for others and how he always stands up for what he believes in.
so, what was once her obsessive crush has now turned into a more calm and respectful love/admiration.
but what about bisco’s feelings?
i think it’s difficult in the first few volumes to gauge how bisco feels about milo, romantically vs platonically. it would be no surprise if he’s oblivious to milo’s irrational behavior being spurred on by romantic feelings. he barely knows what having friends is like, so how would he know what’s different between platonic and romantic love?
bisco also grew up only knowing the mushroom keeper way of life, where your hunting partner is in many ways what others might think of as a soulmate (you protect each other from danger, you’re together forever, when your partner dies you metaphorically die too, etc). from this perspective, what’s weird about milo saying he wants to grow old together, or milo doing what he thinks is right to protect him? to bisco, that’s just a normal tuesday.
for this reason, it’s hard to definitively say that bisco’s kind words or his actions that could be seen as romantic actually were meant to be romantic (from bisco’s intent/POV). it’s possible the feelings were there, but he didn’t realize.
however, i think sometime around the events of vol 4 is when bisco realizes that he loves milo romantically. they become much more openly intimate with each other - they start hugging a lot (often very long hugs accompanied by poetic compliments and reassuring words) before going off to do dangerous things or to provide comfort, gently touching each others’ faces, wiping dirt off each other, etc.
bisco nearly confesses when they’re about to die (vol 5), but it’s interrupted by another character showing up to save them. the fact this was about to be a confession is re-confirmed by the end of vol 6, where kurokawa’s proclamation of her love for bisco uses the EXACT SAME WORDING as what bisco had attempted to say to milo before.
bisco also wasn’t the type to ask for help, but in vol 6 we see him finally call out for milo when he's in trouble.... specifically in a scene where a woman is coming on to him against his will.
despite his rough personality i think bisco was always a nice boy, but having milo around made him into way more of a softie than he was before they met. bisco used to be the reckless one, but once milo started becoming reckless, bisco had to learn how to be the grounded and compassionate one. he’s even shown to have learned some basic first aid to help milo when he’s hurt badly enough that he can’t help himself, or when milo just isn’t around at all to give others first aid.
regarding pawoo: they got married for realsies in vol 3, but it takes him til vol 4 to really start being nice to her (he was overall mean/dismissive to her throughout 1-3), and the end of vol 6 to admit he’s into her on some level... but still not comfortable enough to even hug her. however, bisco is shown to have a very strong sense of duty towards others and always tries to live up to other peoples’ expectations of him. despite not liking pawoo very much when they’re first married, he still makes a conscious effort to do good by her simply because they’re connected via marriage and it’s the right thing to do.
this is like 95% unrelated but in vol 4, housen asks bisco to marry sisi which he rejects and is like “bruh im already married. i don’t need or want to marry her”. housen is like “yeah whatevs take this” and gives bisco one of his own rings. bisco just.. puts it in his pocket and it’s never mentioned again. i’m curious if it’ll ever come back
#sbkb summary series#sabikui bisco#im sorry this is so long and i went on like 34 unrelated tangents
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I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen in vol 2 because the duffers tend to accidentally write amazing things. But I don’t know if that’s enough this time with Choices.
Because this is like the One show keeping Netflix going (as is tua but that’s a different topic) and if they really do stuff that makes fans severely unhappy I’m not sure how many will watch s5, especially if they do a time jump which for me always seemed like lazy writing (ignoring the fact that I do that in my fics lol) because like is it gonna be used as an excuse for characters to not mourn other characters? (Kinda like Bob again)
At the same time I have no idea if they’re just saying body count and in reality all of our mains who we love are safe but people like parents or Brenner or Owens possibly Enzo and Murray aren’t. Or the blonde douchebag who’s name I constantly forget.
Like is it a body count we need to worry about or are they messing with us and pulling a s3 again but with more characters that we know well enough (ex. The doctors and parents, Murray, even Enzo)
I feel like a major major character is going to have to die this season for the stakes. The main characters have way too much plot armour. There is no way Hopper survived that explosion, we never saw how Brenner got attacked by a demogorgon and got just a scar and there's this general feeling that our characters aren't at any real risk. I get characters like Billy died but he was dead anyways like everyone else in the flayer. And all the other characters were kind of minor and were only introduced at the start of this season.
Characters like Eddie and Dmitri (or Enzo) are definitely at risk due to this pattern but I dunno, I kind of feel like someone needs to die. And I love all of these characters and would not wish death on any of them, but I feel like it's getting to the point in the show where they're not kids anymore and they're in serious danger so just kill one of them off. I think there's certain characters who are still safe because they'll be needed in S5, specifically Will and Eleven. They're needed for the origins of the UD so their plot armour doesn't feel like it's because they like them but because they're plot relevant.
On the other hand, there are some characters I will absolutely riot if they kill off and not just because I like them. If Will, Robin, Lucas or Erica dies I will be genuinely pissed off. This show does not have much queer rep and it only has two main black characters. They've all been sidelined way too much this season and their plot lines (at least Lucas and Robin's) were dropped so fast. If any of them die, the show is killing off representation and characters that black people and queer people can look up to. I get they shouldn't survive just because of their sexuality or race but if lots of straight/white characters get to survive, it just feeds into statistics about representation and takes away role models. This applies to Mike as well if he is confirmed as gay or bi.
I really hope that the Duffer brothers try to do what's right for the characters and the show and not what's popular. I get from a corporate pov this might not work but I think Netflix knows they just have to let the Duffers do their thing. If any of the characters listed above die, it'll be bad for the show. I also think it would be a huge loss for the show to have no Max or Steve because whilst it's sad, they're also very refreshing and integral to the plot and comic relief so it would hugely impact the show's dynamic and not nessecarily in a good way. I do in general have faith in the Duffers and Volume 2 though. S4 is one of the best seasons of the show and of television in general so far so it'll take a lot to screw it up.
Thanks for the ask (:
#stranger things#stranger things four#stranger things theory#stranger theories#st4#byler#will byers#robin buckley#byeler#mike wheeler#steve harrington#max mayfield#lucas sinclair#erica sinclair#eddie munson#dmitri antonov
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Oooooooookay. EAW episode 13 definitely has me spun. Quick thoughts, and more fleshed out after tomorrow’s episode. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS:
1) I saw on my dash a post about the fear that the writing is getting a touch trope-y, and I’ll admit, I am a little afraid of that, too. But that might be me being in denial that something bad is happening to Attorney Jung. He brings SO MUCH lift and equity to the show -- please don’t tear him down, writers.
[I did see some commentary about him maybe having a terminal illness (PLEASE NO), but I noticed he did a shot of soju* after his honeymoon reflection, so maybe not? Who knows. Please let this just be an ulcer, please. Hand over the Prevacid.]
2) I’m not seeing a redemption arc for Min-woo. Anything could constitute that parental reflection he made to Su-yeon. He clearly wanted Young-woo to overhear the news about Tae Su-mi -- he’s still on his bullshit. His idea of adulthood may very well be that you are an asshole** and you do whatever it takes to make it big/rich.
I’m lightly betting that he wishes he could be a better person, but doesn’t know how, but that’s not a strong bet. He seems thin-skinned enough to contemplate going for Su-yeon, but is not attracted to her resistance.
3) Speaking of trope-y, I’m a little afraid they’re setting Su-yeon up to fall for the wrong guys. She’s clearly looking around, and I don’t want the writers playing her insecurities like that. Don’t play my girl like that. Keep ya head up, Su-yeon.
4) Here’s where I think the writing remains strong and genius. I really like what they do with the naming conventions with people who clearly don’t respect Young-woo -- like the gigolo bastard in ep. 10, and now with Jun-ho’s sister. The sister even goes so far as to call out Jun-ho for calling Young-woo “attorney,” and the sister uses “Young-woo” as her naming convention.
First off -- I don’t think Young-woo and Jun-ho break up. Like the resignation at the start of the series, I think this is a moment of contemplation for them both. I place my bet.
Secondly -- the volume of his voice faded down as the shot turned away from him, but I noticed the strong tone in Jun-ho’s voice as the camera panned to Young-woo. Guy was pissed.
What I like about Jun-ho as a character is that he’s not understanding why anyone would NOT respect Young-woo. For him, it’s a fundamental understanding. She’s a badass. She’s cute AF.
HOWEVER. However. I think by now -- and maybe we’ll see it tomorrow, maybe -- I think I need to see Jun-ho reflect on the reality of how many people in society DO see Young-woo. I think he needs to reflect on that to himself and to her. If he insists that they’re dating, then date, because in dating, you talk, and this is something they’ll need to talk about. Seems like she’ll bring it up tomorrow, but he’s gotta show some balanced understanding, to her and to HIMSELF, that he’s aware of what happens in society. Because -- SHE’S AWARE. It’s going to affect her decision-making. He can’t be in denial to his sister or himself of what the disability biases are that Young-woo faces. Let’s see if we get that into words.
(I wonder if I’m pushing a Western culturally incompetent preference there, though. I wonder if I’m asking too much from the show.)
Okay, more tomorrow.
******
NOTES! Feel free to skip:
*They’re drinking Jeju soju! It’s sooooooo goooood, y’all. If you can find it, get it! I love those blue bottles. Also, this video from a few years back totally makes me want to visit Jeju and gain 10 pounds.
**Family member of mine once told me, when they first joined a law firm at the start of their career, that the lecture for first-year associates was that in order to become a successful lawyer, you had to be an “equal-opportunity asshole.” Don’t be an asshole to some -- be an asshole to all. Said family member quit that firm. The Tumblr fam may be right, we may very well see an exit of our faves from Hanbada.
*** Geu-rami! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
#extraordinary attorney woo#extraordinary attorney woo meta#woo young woo#lee jun-ho#youngwoo x junho
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1, 2, 4, 6? 📚
2) What are 2-5 already published nonfiction books you think you want to read in 2023?
Ok so I’m waiting for this one to arrive and I’m extremely excited :
And my dream is to read this one entirely :
She passed away in 2016 and her writings have not been published in years… I’m a bit of a paper fetishist (especially for people I adore) so of course I want the physical version 😭 but I’m afraid it might be hard to find and most of all very expensive. So either I keep waiting for a miracle either I accept to read the pdf version hehe…!
And finally these two :
These also are two very rare books I plan on finding and buying lol 🥲 ! These were supposed to be a triptych/trilogy but life is hard and making books costs money so unfortunately it didn’t happen. The first volume is about the international post-punk, cold wave, techno-pop, dark folk, gothic rock, electronic, EBM, industrial metal scenes, basically all the related movements that have appeared since the 70’s etc……. And the second volume apparently tackles the….French gothic scene ??? As well as other francophone gothic scenes such as the Swiss, Belgian and Luxembourgish, which I don’t know shit about. As far as I know these are THE MOST COMPLETE publications about the subject written in French !!!!
4) Do you plan to read any genres you haven't read much before?
Hummmm as funny/crazy as it sounds I’ve never read any horror novels lol ! (Except for Carrie when I was a preteen) I watch horror, I read horror mangas, horror comics, even theorical/philosophical stuff about horror in magazines but no horror novels. Reading horror novels sound way scarier than any of the other stuff I listed that contain CLEAR IMAGES 😭 ! But I’m ready and would like to give it a shot. Other than that any good books that contain magical realism ? English Gothic Literature, French romantisme noir. And more theorical/philosophical/scientific stuff about subjects I care about !
6) Do you have any conceptual reading goals?
E.g., I plan to read books on food history.
Yes absolutely, as you can see in the previous book choices & the answer just above, I would like to read more theorical essays about music genres and their historical and political aspects, same goes for genre cinema, and the different themes and recurring patterns found there .
But also more books about cultural studies and critical theory. A few years ago for a long time I was going through a very strong feeling of DÉSIDENTIFICATION (disidentification) which was painful at the time, but also freeing ! [ I am still and constantly going through it tbh but in a very less violent way, the freeing part is starting to kick in hehe !] so, I was saying this word constantly to talk about how I felt and I ended up doing research and learning that this term had already been invented/theorized by someone called José Esteban Muñoz, in his very first book :
It made me very emotional to know that someone had written an entire book around the topic lol and now I really want to read it ! I found myself wrapped in feelings of unbelonging since forever so I’m always very attracted to and interested in what other people may have said or thought about these matters.
I will probably go through these rollercoasters of identification and disidentification my whole entire life but that’s also what makes it exciting and interesting and worth living I guess !
Not being able to categorize and decrypt you easily or at all is something that always enrages aaaaaaaall types of people ! And this is something I absolutely love and hate and find very interesting.
Pissing of and disturbing people by my very existence has always been my little specialty ! At some point I even started cultivating this by trying to scare people (through my art, looks, and unconsciously, probably, some aspects of my personality and life ““choices”” such as isolation) as an attempt to protect myself and free myself from this weight loool ! Which in my experience really isn't always a good idea, and once again is as liberating as it is painful !! For myself and others !!
Partly for all these reasons i have always been very drawn to the idea of “monstrosity” and have identified with monsters in art for as long as I remember so I’m always very happy to come across writings/books about this ! (if any of you have any recommendations btw don’t hesitate 🤍 ! Except for Paul B. preciado’s book that I have already heard about)
Anyway !!! So yeah basically I want to read these 5 books 😂😂😂….The only link I see between them is the idea of community that I have loved and hated and loved and hated and LOVED again 🔄🔄🔄🔄🔄♾️♾️♾️ and that I keep deconstructing and reconstructing perpetually !!!!
Thank you very much for the very interesting questions, loved answering these and sorry if « 2023 book ask » might have turned into « over sharing » ?? I just thought that it was related, and wanted to explain the book choices !
Have a great night !! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
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I just read the sequel to old fashioned cupcake and it’s so cute! I love stories about established relationships.
Also this is the same anon from before. And I can’t believe I forgot about Love in the air!!
I have rewatched it so many times. I also have a special place in my heart for Rain and Payu. And I never think of it as thin on plot because the plot is their relationship?? The plot is seeing these 2 people fall in love??? Like. Why are people surprised when a romance show is a romance show. Also I’m always up for any relationship that involves only bisexual people. We don’t see enough of it and I want more. Also like. Genuinely some of the best chemistry I’ve seen in any show in recent memory. Like. Not just sexual chemistry. Emotional chemistry. Comedic chemistry. Physical chemistry. They really struck gold with both pairings from this show.
Also you’ve unlocked my feelings about doomsday and now I feel like I need to rewatch it and cry.
Ps. Is the Cherry Magic manga worth reading? Cause I’ve been debating it. But now I think I might need to.
Ooooooh good to know about the Old Fashioned Cupcake sequel. I just started volume 9 of My Love Mix-up and the sequel is next on the tbr. I also love established relationships. It's one reason why I enjoy romance books that are trilogies or part of a series so much.
Yeah I remember getting pissed off a lot when LITA was airing because there were complaints that there wasn't a plot. Like the plot is finding your person and falling in love. And sometimes those are way harder to pull off than if there's something else going on because you can fill the space with whatever else is going on in the plot. Just accept it's not for you and move on. And I'm very excited that FortPeat and BossNoeul are getting new series together because you are absolutely right. They struck GOLD with those pairings. The chemistry between them was off the charts good in so many ways. I'm a little sad they won't be in the shows together but I will take what I can get.
And I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not because I have all the feels when it comes to Rose and the Doctor. I still vividly remember when that episode aired. Gah. The pain.
As for Cherry Magic manga...I would recommend it personally! It's very similar to the show and there are 8 volumes out currently. I bought a bunch when Barnes and Noble was having a bogo on manga so I did get a couple on sale but I definitely don't regret reading them. They are super cute. They just got engaged in volume 7.
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So, what about Jaune? Is Pyrrha showing up again? Who was that Knight and was that purple horned thing the Jabberwocky or the God of Darkness?
SHRILLS
okay. fuck, ok
bear with me my brain is melting rn but—ok ok arkos is ozlem and jaune is salem, right? we’ve all grokked this??
the key difference between jaune and salem is that when pyrrha died, jaune had friends who held onto him and refused to let go, refused to let him stay in the deep black pit of self-loathing and helpless grieving anger that he slid into after losing pyrrha—salem was alone but jaune wasn’t, and that’s what saved him.
& jaune fell last. nobody on team rwby knows that he’s in the junkyard of the cosmos with them. assuming the girls find each other pretty quickly but don’t find jaune, they won’t even know to look for him—meaning, given that he is sir not appearing in this trailer, it is entirely within the realm of possibility that jaune spends a significant portion of volume nine ALONE with the guilt and anguish he feels over his role in penny’s death, his identity as a healer and protector wholly shattered—the identity quite literally defined by his journey of healing after pyrrha’s death!—by a mercy killing he was forced into by the cruelty and selfishness of entities so powerful he simply could not defend himself against them. [see also: the shattering of jaune’s aura by cinder’s hand.]
what im getting at here is: penny’s death was jaune’s extinction of humankind, and just like salem he is alone this time
i feel like everyone and their dog has pointed out the visual similarities between jaune’s armor and the armor worn by the knight in the trailer and it’s true that the cuirass at least looks pretty goddamn exactly like his but you know where where MY head immediately went?—here:
😐
this would not be the first time rwby drew direct visual parallels between jaune and salem but if the knight IS jaune, or connected to him in some way, then it’s by far the most blatant example—and
i think i’ve probably mentioned before the possibility of jaune, specifically, doing something in v9 that pisses off the gods and triggers a premature return? a jaune spiraling hard whilst isolated in void wonderland feels like a jaune with the capacity to do that in spades. even under the idealest of circumstances i think jaune could probably piss off the gods enough for them to decide genocide 2 electric boogaloo is the way to handle it because, lord, it’s not like their threshold for what constitutes unacceptably human behavior is particularly HIGH—but these are not ideal circumstances and we’ve already seen how jaune gets when he’s unhinged by grief. he screamed incoherently at cinder with the specific intention of baiting her into taking her sweet time murdering him so that she wouldn’t hurt his friends. like
its the same picture
ALSO, “What is WRONG with you? How can you be so broken inside? To take so many lives—and then come here and rub it in our faces like it’s something to be proud of! All with that damned smile on your face! I’m going to make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!”
…u feel me?
so all of this is very interesting for the volume i also am giving high odds of dropping a bomb or two about salem herself; it’s a suckers bet that we’re getting SOME kind of major lore reveal in v9—if only to answer the obvious question of what the hell the ever after actually is lmao—and any new information about the gods, about magic, or about salem has the potential to recontextualize everything we know now in a major way. seemingly plonking jaune into his own little arc (ahaha) isolated from everyone else—everyone who knows and loves him!—in combination with that is a very tantalizing choice.
as for THIS guy:
purple and horns says god of darkness; grey/white/metal animalistic mask evokes the white fang’s schtick of wearing masks that resemble the grimm. beige/yellowish stripes and physical body say… not the god of darkness, or at least not the god of darkness as he was in lost fable. he might be a new monster altogether—rwby’s jabberwock is a definite possibility—or we might be on the cusp of learning that the god of animals actually does exist and is in fact a distinct entity from the brother gods, which would be something of a surprise but not wholly unexpected in light of the talking animals situation?
but [insert conspiracy guy gif here] what i’m mulling presently is the possibility that this IS the god of darkness, but—changed somehow. realer, in a way? in the sense that he’s not this infinitely powerful blob of ethereal power sculpted into the shape of a person or a dragon however he pleases, he’s this… thing.
which is the possibility i like best because it—maybe—would tie in VERY well with what i’ve been thinking about with regards to the narrative endgame and like, what might have gone down between the brothers after they left remnant, because at this point i feel 50/50 about whether they stuck around each other after they fucked off or if they went their separate ways and have been doing… whatever it is that they do when they’re not slaughtering the human race lmao. and there’s the question of the relics, too, of whether the gods mightn’t have weakened or changed themselves in some way in making them. ooor—given the yellowish stripes here—maybe they took a crack at an ozma-like fusion and it’s going… poorly for them.
(another possibility i’ve been chewing on for a while—long before the trailer dropped—is that salem might have gone realm-hopping herself at some time or another, and the kids might be stumbling across her footprints, so to speak. which if true also raises the question of did whether there mightn’t be a nasty experiment of hers wandering around in the ever after, too)
but the bit of the trailer that’s really devouring my brain rn is—well, this (trailer screenshot color-corrected based on later frames to remove the dark fade) WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE
RWBY!!!!?
we don’t—the thing is—god i cannot fucking believe this never occurred to me before but we don’t actually know that all the daughters died that night. it’s heavily implied, but only implied, and the lost fable is an episode that lives and dies on implication and missing information and—HELLO?? i feel like ive been slapped
who is she
(almost certainly she’s—alyx or whomever alyx-the-fictional-character is based on, or in some other way connected to ‘the girl who fell through the world’—& i’d bet good money that skirt girl is the one narrating the trailer. but WHO IS SHE WHY IS SHE HERE!!!)
(given that this is rwby and given the general thrust of the character arc original, oz-books ozma goes through i am also not going to rule out the possibility that skirt girl literally IS ozma somehow which is also a possibility i am going to be laying awake at night thinking about)
my brain is ROTTING
in conclusion i think jaune is going to trigger the apocalypse
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The things in BL that don’t go unnoticed
Hello!
I have been thinking about what to write for this blog for a while, but came up with this when I had some manhwa that repeatedly have characters with these personalities and I started to put together some things that don't go unnoticed. These are some things you may want to take note of if you plan to read any of them, I guarantee that you find them in quite a few stories and it may annoy the crap out of you. I understand there are certain tropes that are used in stories a lot so even taking that into account, it does not make their personalities any better.lol.
So here I'm going talk about a few things I found in the webtoons I came across or have read that will guide you in your reading.lol. Basically trash talking about some irks that characters/writers/fans do that may piss other people off and to do that I will also including some examples. they certainly pissed me off and made me uncomfortable and maybe some of you can relate.
Warning 21+ only please
if you are offended by anything anyone says about your favorite character, this may be triggering for you and you should just not read it. These are just fictional characters and I don’t have to be considerate of their feelings so i'm just going t go all out. This is just for shits and giggles only so don't let what I'm saying go to your head cause these are just my thoughts alone and what bothers me in particular.
okay then, in no actual order
1) When characters are cursed with that alpha-like personality...the kind that wants surround their prey and dominate over them. I'm sorry this is unattractive in so many ways, I don’t really see how people like these characters. They act like entitled trust fund brats, grow up.
2) characters that get abusive when they don't know how to handle conflict, happens way too often and fans excuse this cause they had a bad upbringing...wtf. imagine this happening every time you have an argument, who would take this crap?
3) when characters get annoyingly jealous over the other character meeting other people, having friends...you know having a social life, which then leads to possible death threats. So ridiculous I can never deal with someone like that...how entitled do you have to be?
4) when they start accusing the other person that it is "their " fault that they are like this...No way in hell are you going to blame me for things you are insecure about
5) there's always a C*nt with too much money
but sometimes they get what they deserve...still waiting for pilwon’s demise.
6) using their partner as sexual outlets when they are frustrated at something they have going on, ends up turning into assault.
7) using BLACKMAIL as a scheme to get the other person to notice them and it usually leads to them being sex partners.
8) characters that are "sponsors" of another character, I know some people like this trope but it's used too often so the plot is very much predictable.
9) characters that go into a 180 change in personality in the middle of the story out of no where...like there was no progression in their character to lead to this point but it was like the switch flipped off and they are completely a different person. I’m confused cause where is the journey to this point? lol.
10) character has a tragic backstory that try to make the readers feel sorry for them, especially the antagonist...look if that man is old enough to drink they can make their own decisions, I don't need to feel sorry for them when they made those decisions on their own.
11) making the story majority on things that happen in the past and never tying it to the importance of the story in real time...this is mainly for those who read secret relationships, all those flash backs were like 85% of the story without any actual progress.
12) characters that have too many fan service scenes than actual story, sorry to call you out full volume but I don't know what to think of this webtoon, things get ...weird.
13) the older male preying on younger males....I hate this trope so much you don't even know, someone call the pedo police...look a little age difference does not bother me but if one is a minor...yikes
14) piggybacking on the last one, professors that have sexual relations with their students...barf...
15) Characters that are absolute trash but are excused by their fans because they are "hot"
please know that I had to revisit these horrible chapters just to get these ugly ass images, my fight or flight response was triggered.
16) when writers try to play the incest card with " they aren’t related by blood so it's okay" dude if your name is on those legal papers you are indeed siblings, regardless if you are blood or not...gross
17) when sexual tortures is used as a plot device, now it will just be torture porn the novel...I'm like okay this is too much that it is unbelievable
these images are nothing compared to the actual chapters.
18) When a story you started was really good and had the potential to be an inspiring story and all of a sudden something in the later chapter ruins the whole story just by being there when it didn't need to exist.
19) threesomes....LMAO why does this exist? you think love triangles are bad. I don't know about you but somethings you can't share lol. I'm sure there are some people who thinks this is okay...lol. I'm sorry but I don't get it
this example is of Liveta, absolutely great story, except this one part when victor, yohan and yohan's friend had a threesome, I don't know how close you are to your homies but this is not okay...lol. omg this concept is so funny to me.
20) last but not least....the ugly b*stards....WHY are you even here? who thinks a 70 year old d*ck is what people want to see? these men look like they should in a retirement home in a wheelchair and there’s so many of them...ewwwwww.....puke.
here are some lovely examples...if you regurgitate after seeing this I'm sorry lol. I personally don’t think anything beats number 20 TBH.
again these are just things that bug me and I've noticed going on with a lot of the writing from different stories, possible theories could include that the writers are using each other to make content, so all of these plots are recycled in some way...or some of this crap is happening to people especially young adults, and that is concerning. I know the whole sponsor thing is a possibility especially for young idols/actors that don’t have a following.
oh god, that was a lot, if you have any more to add leave it in the comments, I'm sure i missed a lot but this was all I could think of at the moment, hope you enjoyed reading cause there will be more of this trash talk coming your way.
if you just read this and want more content please do follow me on tumblr and read some other webtoon related posts, like my monthly favorites where I talk about some of the series shown here.
thanks for reading hope you enjoyed.
sheena.
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