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#also two or three guys i see on youtube talking about science
mok-a-chino · 1 year
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I love that I get excited by other people getting excited about their interests.
Like yes give me your 93838382 facts about carrots while you jump of happiness and I'll listen with equal happiness watching your happiness.
Maybe it's because they remind me of myself jumping and laughing and being happy while talking about my interests. And it feels good to see there are others like me.
Maybe is our tisms colliding with eachother.
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try guys hot take that didn’t make wapo
In 2014, the Try Guys were a band of friends making YouTube videos for Buzzfeed. In short order, the four attracted a following for being unapologetically themselves. There was Eugene Lee Yang, the queer Korean American guy known for his wit. There was Keith Habersberger, who was tallest and from Tennessee, and Zach Kornfeld, who was a Jewish New Yorker. And, of course, there was Ned Fulmer, a wholesome Florida man who graduated Yale. The foursome entertained viewers by testing out ladies’ underwear, doing drag and attempting UFC fighting.
As the Try Guys grew older, so did their brands. In 2018, they would go on to start their own YouTube channel that now has over seven million subscribers, leaving Buzzfeed behind. Keith launched his own hot sauce for chicken and Eugene came out as gay in a well-choreographed music video commanding 20 million views. Ned, in particular, built his brand around being the ultimate wife guy, going on sweet dates with his wife, Ariel. Videos from the past few years were titled names like “Couple Tries Home-Cooked vs. $120 Roast Chicken,” a series that Ned continued until earlier this year.
It was this perfectly distilled brand of “good husband and father" that Ned cultivated over eight years that came crashing down on Tuesday afternoon, after cheating allegations surfaced. Fulmer admitted on social media that he had “a consensual workplace relationship,” after fans theorized he had cheated with Alexandria Herring, a producer on the Try Guys channel.
On Tuesday, Try Guys announced via all social media channels that Ned was no longer working with them. “As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together,” the channel said in a statement.
The fallout did not go unnoticed by viewers — some of them who had been tuning into the channel since the Buzzfeed days — days before Try Guys made any announcement. Fans claimed online that it looked like Ned had been edited out of recent Try Guys videos, such as the camera cutting to footage of three of the guys, but there being a fourth chair visible in the background. Starting last week, Try Guys videos began with montage photos that were missing Ned. Their Instagram account hadn’t posted content with him since September 4.
The ongoing media fury and obsession would not have happened if Ned had not built his entire career on being the perfect wife guy. Wife guys are men who are known for being extremely into their wives, and just won’t stop talking about how they are so married.
Ned had this branding down to a science, with his wife Ariel Fulmer featured prominently across most of his videos. He spent years going on public dates with Ariel in YouTube videos, even turning pregnancy announcements for his two sons, Wesley and Finley, aged 1 and 4, into content. In a video from 2016 titled, “Couples Break Up For a Week,” Ned laments how sad it is to pretend to be single for a week, while showing us wedding photos of him and Ariel. Removing his wedding ring, Ned cringes at the camera.
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Fans on YouTube have compiled the number of times Ned has said the words “my wife,” often in a Borat voice. In a video called “Couple Gets Trapped with No Internet for 90 Hours,” Ned proclaims, “There’s no one I would rather spend 90 years with,” while Ariel looks on at him sweetly.
Try Guys videos capture a certain era of the internet. It was the mid 2010′s, millennial YouTubers who had crafted very specific personas were taking off, especially with the financial backing of Buzzfeed. They were also pumping out videos at a fast and, some would say, unsustainable rate.
Ned and Ariel found the branding that worked for them, which monetized very well. It was the kind of wholesome content the internet craved more of, as fans declared them to be the perfect couple and a good example of a working marriage with two supportive parents. It’s the same premise that then captured viewers’ fascination when it all came crumbling down. What’s a wife guy without his wife?
Adultery alone wouldn’t sustain headlines and Reddit speculation for days. It’s the fact that being a husband and father is what we mainly know Ned Fulmer for. He was an unlikely person for people to suspect would be at the heart of a scandal like this.
Tuesday’s news had people on the internet asking which men they could trust. Increasingly, the internet finds examples of wife guys who just can’t be trusted. John Mulaney, a comedian who had been very public about his loving marriage, shocked onlookers when he filed for divorce from his wife last year and announced he was having a baby with actress Olivia Munn. Adam Levine, who had sang songs about his wife of eight years, admitted in September to sending flirtatious texts to another woman, where he asked if he could name his child after her.
If another Try Guy, say one that had built a brand around being edgy and rebellious (Eugene) had been caught up in a similar scandal, it wouldn’t have captured our collective attention the way that Ned’s quick fall from grace did. Ned’s own admission of guilt and subsequent departure from the Try Guys became the source of an internet meltdown because we want to have good role-models for fathers and husbands. They’re just hard to find.
In the parasocial relationships we form with celebrities, where we feel like we know them, it can be especially bizarre and captivating to see the mask fall away in real time. YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer drew outrage when they announced in 2020 that they had rehomed a child they had adopted and filmed life with for more than three years. When people’s public personas are so inextricably tied to their marriages, to being a faithful spouse and good parent, only for that to be revealed as a façade, it can start to feel like everyone’s business.
Try Guys really invited us into their homes, their lives and their relationships. And fans ate that up. Now that things have gone downhill, they’re still eating it up.
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ledenews · 4 months
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Santorine - 'Insufficiently Read' Is Far Too Frequent
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Ever have one of those epiphany moments when you realize something completely profound about yourself? That “Ah-HA!” moment that is not the element of surprise, but the instant where you add a level of self realization that provides a high level of personal satisfaction? I’ve always been a voracious reader. My Mom still thinks I ruined my eyesight reading “Tom Swift” novels by the night light when I was in elementary school. Not enough time in the day to get in the sports that Dad required, the piano lessons that Mom expected, dinner, homework and raising cane with the guys in the neighborhood. So I extended my day by laying on the floor next to my bed, with the blanket hiding the night light, reading until I fell asleep. For the past thirty years or so, my practice has been to have two books “going,” one for my personal enjoyment (science fiction is a favorite), and another that is work related (technical or managerial). More than that and “confusement’ (that’s a Dolphism - a combination of confusion and befuddlement) will set in and I’ll miss the point of everything I’m reading. This has worked out well for me. I mean, after all, there is only so much time you can spend in the reading room on that uniquely uncomfortable vitreous china seat, so the disciplined among us make time to read. I was and am still nearly religious about it. I’ve also preached the advantages of reading to those less experienced. I was talking about things entrepreneurial to a room full of about 50 high-performing university students and I asked them what they were reading for their chosen profession. Their silence made them uncomfortable. I was shocked. I followed that by asking what they were reading for fun. One hand shot up. ONE of 50. It made the entire room fidget. Their response was completely foreign to me. How many subscribed to a newspaper? None. How many business majors? About half the room. Subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal? Not a one. How about the free campus newspaper? Two. In their defense, they did say they check out the college newspaper online, but when I probed a little further, only a tiny percentage could remember the last thing they read, and if it changed their mind. I don’t think I need to state that this does not bode well for the upcoming generation. I’m the guy who, when our children were young, could only get one copy of the Harry Potter books when they were first coming out, and my solution was to cut the bindings in thirds. Eldest daughter would read the first third, and pass it to the the next daughter and so forth. I wish I could have found three copies to buy, but I was lucky enough to get a single early copy. That’s how much I value reading. My reading time has been under attack for the past 20 years, and has been fighting an all out war for the last 10. The protagonist is online and the smartphone. I see reading “on paper,” an “e-Book reader” or online as the same thing, and it many ways it is. There’s a need for a time-suck called social media, and it does not come close to replacing (or augmenting) reading. It’s a plethora of poorly written, misspelled snippets of thoughts. It’s the literary equivalent of gruel, and about as filling. So, what does this have to do with this column? We write like we read. We spell like we read. Reading effects how we make decisions, and how we process information. It effects everything we do, intellectual and manual. This summer, I’m going to lay some brick. I’ve never done it before, but I’m going to read up on it. I don’t have time for the YouTube videos, and I can consume the information I need much more quickly reading. It will be a decidedly “DYI” project. But it will be good enough, and I’ll have enjoyed another new experience. The best pipe fitter I know is well read. So is the best HVAC tech. The best mechanic has serious computer chops, and those come from reading.  That goes double for the best appliance salesman. It’s the same for the attorneys, accountants and damn near everyone. Being well read makes you the most interesting person in the room. It’s an instant basis for conversation. It makes the words you string together at a keyboard or with your favorite pen that much more enjoyable. It is more than that important. I’m questioning if I’m reading enough. I can, and will do better. Because I write like I read; I will read more quality works, which will allow my writing to be that much better. I owe you that. Read the full article
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spiked-tea-writing · 3 years
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and they were roommates?!
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SapnapxFem!Reader
Summary: Imagine being in love with your roommate, couldn't be you.
Pronouns: She/her
Warning: Swearing
Word Count: 2.3k
A/n: I don’t watch or know anything, I just like these people and I had a concept. Also, he and Dream aren’t roommates in this for the sake of I can’t figure that out. Also also, my timeline is probably fucked but who cares
The dynamic in the apartment was...interesting to say the least
In the two years of living together, it had shifted a lot
In the beginning, you and Sapnap had been... less than cordial to each other
Both eighteen, fresh out of high school, off to college thinking that you knew everything.
There was lots of fighting, to say the least.
All of the “No it’s your turn to vacuum”, and “I swear to god Sapnap I will punt you halfway across the world if you eat my pineapple again”
The only reason you didn’t slit each other’s throats was that if the other person was dead, who would pay rent?
It was the summer before college started at the time, and you were working long hours minimum wage so coming]’/ home to an annoying prick caused a crap ton of conflict
After a few months of being little bitches to each other, y’all got piss drunk in the apartment and it all just sorta fell apart
Got that good drunk therapy, spilling your deepest secrets
(y’all were underage but shhh)
So by the time college started, the two of you had become actual friends and started enjoying each others company
A few months into the friendship, you encouraged him to post the video of “Minecraft, but it’s Raining Cats and Dogs” on a whim
Lmao little did you know what you had created (we’ll get to that later)
You mocked his train of thought constantly, laughing at the timing of it all.
“Ahhh yes, I am Sapnap, the genius who thought it’d be great to become a YouTuber while in my first year of college.”
He’d always just laugh and roll his eyes, playfully shoving you while stealing your chips.
The next few months were a haze of studying, work, and him.
It was truly a friendship of convenience since you guys were so busy, him starting his youtube career, and you working restaurants, then school on top of that, it was just easy to find friendship in your roommate.
Of course, he had his close friends which he spoke to over the internet, and you had your friends from back home, but as for college, it really was only him.
You guys had a fun time just hanging around the apartment, and it became so easy to be friends with him
And it WAS truly platonic (we’ll get back to that as well)
The best thing he brought to the friendship was his animals
You got on fabulously with Cash and the cats
They were all so cuddly and honestly loved you more than him lmao
You guys were just trying to get degrees and not be too stupid, was that too much to ask???
Well to a certain 2020, it was
The beginning of that year was great.
He was sorta realizing that he liked putting himself on social media, but on top of that, it seemed like a great start to a year.
February brought him to twitch, which you loved
You found it hilarious how he would just sorta play games and have people watch him live.
But you were incredibly supportive, as a friend, of course
He really liked it so, you tried to ignore the shouting at three am, and the loud anthems at night
Sure you’d give him hell in the morning, but why kill his fun?
March started great, as it was his birthday.
You got him a glittery lighter as a gag, but it was the perfect gift for a broke-ass college student
Then a certain pandemic came a-knockin’ on y’all’s door
It was a hard hit on both of you.
An executive decision was made that you two would stay put, but being away from your families was incredibly tough.
That spring was the birth of The SMP.
It brought him so much joy, which in turn made you happier.
The rest of the school year was a blur of zooms and test
Nick nearly killed you on multiple occasions when you made fun of the fact that he was learning computer science over the computer or made him help you figure out what the fuck zoom was since it was tangentially related to his major
“SAP HELP ME YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS ITS YOUR FUCKING MAJOR!!!”
“NO, IT’S- AHHHHHHHHH”
Yall got more than a handful of noise complaints shhhh
That summer was fill was spent trying to fill the time in weird ways
Note to self, he can’t cook (which you learned the hard way)
Yall spent so much time trying to cook and bake, then sweating off the calories working out with The Fitness Marshall lmao
As sucky as the situation was, that summer was so incredibly fun for the both of you, and truthfully the only arguments were about what music to blast
“Y/n I swear if I listen to Cosmicandy one more time I will drown you.”
“Well if I hear American Idiot one more time someone’s knee caps are getting harvested.”
(that argument was settled with Elton John.)
When school started up again that fall, something shifted
After a year of actual friendship, you guys were no longer just friends, and the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife
You had watched every single one of his streams since day one, but within 2 seconds of his Love or Host, you felt the need to hurl for some peculiar reason
It was bizarre because there was no way you could ever like him, of course not.
Within the apartment, you guys suddenly got a lot more touchy, but only because it was getting cold with winter and all that jazz.
It wasn’t because yall were secretly in love, what is this, a romcom?
The number of times you guys woke up on the couch, definitely not cuddling was too many to count
You started sitting in his room while he streamed, definitely not watching him with heart eyes because of how excited he got
He always had a pot of coffee full and a 6-pack of monster in the fridge since he knew you ran on spite and caffeine, and definitely not so that he could spend more time with you in the early hours of the morning.
The laundry started getting all mixed around, resulting in just sharing any sweats, hoodies, or socks.
The same thing went for food.
No longer was anything labeled with a name, if it was in the fridge, it was fair game (unless there was a post-it because come on, yall weren’t monsters)
But no, y’all were just roommates, not dating, lets make that clear.
Feelings? We don’t know her.
This entire time, his friends have had to hear about you rip.
But they got front row seats to your relationship development
“OMG my roommate is the worst she ate all of the frozen strawberries”
“Y/n kidnapped Storm all day while she studied and I thought I lost the fucking cat asjvdk”
“I had to run down and talk to the landlord because we dropped a pot of pasta sauce all over the carpet and couldn’t get the damn stain out.”
“She is so nice in preparation for a family dinner zoom, she ran out to the local Filipino food place and pick stuff up.”
“Sorry I’m late I overslept and didn’t want to wake up Y/n.”
They weren’t stupid, and could clearly see how whipped he was.
Dream and Geroge teased him about it constantly.
“Woah, calm down Sap, you should probably tell her you love her before you propose.”
“Yeah Dream’s right, it’s kinda weird that you’re living together before ever dating.”
He always flushed and denied it with a shake of his head.
He wasn’t into you, are they crazy?
Quackity and Karl messed with him in more unorthodox ways
There are a solid number of clips where they are fake crying over how he’s cheating on them, and even more tweets to match
It only got worse when you met them accidentally.
He was chatting post-stream on a video channel with George, Dream, Karl, and Quackity, and just his luck, you came into his room.
Like of all the times you could walk in, it was the time he was with his five closest friends but I digress
“Yo I got some extra tips yesterday so I picked up some extra Red Bull if you want to do one of your weird all-nighter streams.”
“Y/n I’m on channel.”
“Oh shit sorry my b. Catch.”
All the guys heard was a thud and a groan from Sapnap as the six-pack hit him in the chest.
Dream was the one to recognize your name.
“WAIT IS THAT Y/N I WANT TO MEET THEM!”
You could hear Dream’s voice through his headphones
“Sap… who is that?”
“No one. I’ll be out in a sec to help with dinner.”
You could hear a British voice come through.
“Oh so we are no one now, huh.”
Another voice piped through.
“Common... ¿Qué intentas ocultar?”
You cut in.
“Your headset it shit my guy. I can hear everything. I’m down to talk to them.”
He let out a groan.
“Fine. But you’re gonna have to do the dishes tonight.”
“Deal. Now move.”
“What? No.”
“Fine bitch.”
You collapsed onto his lap, plucking the headphones off of him.
“Hello, Sapnap’s friends. I am Y/n. A pleasure to meet y’all. Can you hear me?”
You heard a series of laughs through the headset, and a voice came through.
“Yes, we can see you too. I’m Karl, it’s so nice to finally meet his girlfriend.”
A blush rose on both of your faces, and another voice came through.
“Yeah, we’ve heard lots about you. Plus we can’t see your face in that picture Sap sent us. I’m Quackity”
That remark stopped your embarrassment in its tracks.
“What the fuck? How do you guys know me? I’m not even his girlfriend? And what picture?”
Sapnap grabbed your arm to calm you down as another voice cut in, but his one you recognized as his friend Dream.
“Hey, it’s okay. He just talks about you a bit, and the picture I believe was of you holding like three cats with like a red bull can on your head.”
“Jesus fucking christ why do they have that photo??”
He looked guilty but chuckled.
“Because that photo is a damn masterpiece.”
Karl’s voice came back in with a giggled.
“Soooo, Y/n we’d love to hear about you. Specifically anything funny or embarrassing that you have learned by living with him.”
Sapnap let out a groan from behind you as you went off.
“WELL lemme tell y’all, he has no cooking knowledge, well I mean, now he does, but one time, about a year ago, I had I been keeping a pot of water boiling for about an hour, soft boiling eggs, cooing noodles, blanching bok choy, etc. but this fucking genius is like ‘oH tHe HaNdLe Is StIcKiNg OuT. LeMmE mOvE iT wItH mY bArE hAnD.’ Needless to say, he burnt the crap outta his hand and kept the bag of frozen blueberries on it for the entire night. It took me like a solid five seconds to actually help him because I was laughing.”
By the time you had finished that story, you had seen Nick roll his eyes like 5 five times while the rest of the guys were wheezing.
“Yeah, well remember the time you were trying to imitate Rapunzel after we had watched it over Zoom with my sister, and you swung the edge of the frying pan into our head and got a nasty bump on it? At least I moved quick enough to put some ice on it.”
“Ice? It was the damn leftover Slushy that I had been freezing.”
“True, but you got to drink it after, so it was a win-win situation.”
“Sap, I had a bump the size of a golfball coming off of my temple. There was no winning.”
“Fine, you’re just making me sound like such a shit roommate.”
“No that’s not true, you do all of the talking to the landlord, and you at least tried to muffle the noise when you stream.”
“I guess that’s true, but you do like 80% of the cleaning.”
“Yeah but only because you’re working. Plus in the past 6 months, you’ve made coffee every morning, AND made sure I was taking my meds.”
“Those things aren’t that hard and I do it to make sure you don’t die because I lo- care about you.”
“What?”
“What?”
You heard Dream’s wheeze laugh and remembered that you guys were still on call.
“Smooth.”
You both went red, and Sap moved his arm around you to leave the channel.
The next few moments were complete torture, the two of you just sitting in silence.
You were wondering if he meant what he was about to say and he was scared that you had heard it.
He was the one to break the silence. (mind you you’re still sitting on his lap lmao)
“I’m sorry about that.”
You weren’t sure how to respond. Should you ask him if he meant it? Because that wouldn’t be that bad. Or just pretend it never happened. Nah that’d be hella awkward. Or-
“I love you too.”
“You what?”
Wow, okay your brain is being a little bitch rn, but fuck it. Balls to the walls baby.
“I love you, and I have for a while now. I just want you to know.”
You finally looked him in the eye, and he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
“Thank god. I love you, and nearly fucking told you for the first time in front of my friends accidentally. Damn, I’m smooth.”
You laughed and he smiled wider.
“Can I kiss you?”
After a quick nod he swooped in and holy hell his lips felt great. His arm wound around your waist and your hands made their way to his jaw as he pulled you closer to him.
The only thing playing in your mind was “and they were roommates”
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trutrustories · 3 years
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Okay, this will be probably long and with many errors (my english isn´t very good) But I saw several posts here on Lokius tag, talking about this ship as result of gay fetish, and about non existing chemistry and  how this ship doesn´t make sense etc… And from what I understood there is tagged Lokius because of genuine interest to understand others point of view, so here is mine: I wil try to explain where my frustration comes from, and how I feel about Lokius, Sylkie, AND representation + some other things which I saw here somewhere. But first of all: I like Sylvie, I don´t hate sylkie shipers, and after so many years reading fan fictions, I don´t mind selfcest – I read weirder things. I have some issues with this ship (the mainlythe fact that it isn´t Lokius), but  this is not one of them. Also, I am not about to tell anyone, they shouldn´t ship sylkie.Ship whatever. And I LOVED the show as a whole. 
I just want to defend my standpoint, that Lokius does make sense, people shipping it does make sense and whether it will happen or not, (I don´t have my hopes very high, and I learned to be very skeptical in this regard ) it is more than just about crack ship, or fetish. I´m honestly blown away that people are still surprised that this ship became a thing :D First of all, let´s look at some romantic story telling and tropes: I mean the way they introduced them in the first two episodes set the tone for all series and how the heck this isn´t romantic? Somehow there are all these romantic tropes existing in a show. They´re just there. Just chilling between Loki and Mobius and large portion of audience can´t even see them. (and some of those tropes were used for Sylki as well, so you could actually see them side by side)
For example: 1) traveling to the apocalypsis 2) breaking law/rules for the other 3) literally changing for the better thanks to the other 4) arguing like old married couple 5) saying secrets, personal things to the other 6) sharing glances, touches, visibly being happy around each other - in case of Loki happier then we´ve ever seen him before 7) being completely themselfs around each other 8) One knowing everything (even the worst) about other and still accepting him completely 9) teasing, being comfortable and domestic around each other 10) one being literally enthusiastic FAN of the other 11) Mobius defending Loki whenever he has a chance 12) Freaking amnesia trope that they pulled of in the end??? (It could be different Mobius, but point is he suddenly doesn´t know him - and Loki knows more, in contrast with the beggining) 13) the jealousy in ep4 14) Misunderstanding - when Mobius thought Loki betrayed him and Loki (thanks to Ravonna) thought Mobius betrayed him... 15) witnessing death of the other and being absolutely broken afterwards 16) The goodbye hug with romantic music in the backround 17) Saving life of the one (even when it means problems for the other ) - like Mobius saved Loki´s ass at least three times when he was trying to stop others from pruning him. 18) sharing deep conversations about meanings of life, freedom and how it would be fun to make some chaos and ride that fucking jet ski!!! 19) Inspiring the other 20) looking for each other (Mobius didn´t believe for a second, that Loki would die in the Void and the way how in the last minutes of the series Loki run through all places they were together when he was looking for Mobius... and I could go on. Point is, even if they are not planning to make Lokius canon, all these things are used on a daily basis to describe romance in media and they are used here. On top of that it´s just very poetic and cute, that this drama queen and powerful god of Asgard who looked down on people would find his match in someone, who is so quiet, ordinary on the first sight, and basically is just human from 90s, who loves jet skis. Mobius can´t even fight. But is highly inteligent and he also happen to be as good manipulator, such as Loki himself. - That´s why they work together so well. Mobius sees right through him and once Loki understands that, he drops his evil persona. Almost nobody expected to ship it for real. But story itself and chemistry between them just made it probably the most exciting duo in the whole MCU. And I mean it genuinely. Third episode, even though it was beautiful and Sophie was great in it (and is literally dipped in bisexual colors), is the least favorite for a reason. And that reason being, there is no interaction between Loki and Mobius whatsoever. Lot´s of people though that series slowed down a bit. Even when in fact there was more action, then when we watched Loki and Mobius working at the TVA.
(and let´s just talk about evil!Mobius narative for a bit and how some people say he is manipulative and toxic for Loki: show itself explore heavy themes and one of them is in Loki´s line: no one bad is ever truly bad and no one good is ever truly good. And as a theme in a fictional world, it is working as it should, for the  story. When Loki and Mobius meet, one of them just killed lots of innocent people and destroyed almost whole city. The other one is a part of fascist organization – and in the beginning of the series they both believe what they´re doing is right. They´re both bad, they´re both good, they´re both broken. And they are changing with the help of the other.) From all reactions I watched - and there was many of them, lots of people actually didn´t see dynamic between Loki and Sylvie as romantic in the third episode. So it´s not like Sylvie and Loki had unequivocally love story right from the start.
The only difference is that lots of people won´t see romantic tropes, when it comes to two men in a mainstream show – show that isn´t primarily about relationships and problems that queer people has to face. Because in super hero story and science fiction we have to warn audience, that they´re about to watch two man in love, right? At this point It´s just frustrating really. There were many M/M dynamics that used similar story line, as for example Lucifer, or X-files, or Bone collectors. -  But unlike those M/M pairings, no one was making fun of people for shipping main characters in these shows. But when it comes to two men suddenly you´ll see from all corners of the internet: “why can´t it be just platonic?” “There is not enough platonic relationships” “why can´t two man just be friends?” (They can and they almost ALWAYS are) and “if you think there something romantic between them, you´re delusional” “fetishist“ “And for god´s sake just let them be friends, Loki needs a friend more then....” oh wait, but Sylvie is allowed to kiss him. Sylvie doesn´t have to be just friend. (And I must say, that I love Sylvie, I liked most of the interactions between her and Loki and I think she is a great character ((I hope we learn more about her in the future)) it just doesn´t work for me as well as Loki´s dynamic with Mobius. Maybe partly because of chemistry between actors, partly because combination of characters and they´re personality and also because I had two whole episodes to fall in love with the pair before Sylvie was even introduced.)
First of all: people can be friends and then evolve into lovers. Not only it is common romantic trope, but it is also the most realistic one. And those relationships are usually strongest. second: If people want to see Loki in a platonic friendship so desperately, why can´t it be a woman for a change? They were acting like chaotic siblings for most of the episode three anyway. The age gap aspect is also very funny. Owen is only about 12 years older (That is not that much. But I imagine, some people would get uncomfortable. But If it was man and woman, most of them wouldn´t even blinked. But two men, that has to be somehow automatically son and father figure dynamic) And If you want to dive into age of an actual characters, then good luck with that in a series about gods, variants and time travel. Almost nobody cares about age gap between Lucifer and detective Decker, or Bella and Edward. On top of that, it was heavily implied, that Loki slept with older, silver haired guy in Ragnarok, so it´s not like he would have problem with that.
Different standards are projected in a way how we see romantic dynamics between fictional characters depends on what we are used to, how are we perceiving world around us, what we are expecting to see and ALSO, what we would like to see, that much is true.  When people are used to make no differences between heterosexual and homosexual pairing, then everything what happens to the characters is measured with the same meter. (Even though I experienced queerbaiting many times (( Once upon a time, Sherlock, Supernatural, Good Omens – the last one hopefully is not the case, but I guess we´ll see)) I also saw lots of lgbt shows like Queer as folks and Sense8.) And when we are not used to see it the same way, well… then it looks basically like that one comment under Castiel´s “I love you” scene on youtube, that said  “what a beautiful friendship”.
If we forget about all that chaotic mess behind the scenes (all those articles and contrary messages)  What is happening in a show between Loki and Mobius can be objectively considered romantic and what is happening between Loki and Sylvie in a series can be objectively considered platonic (until the kiss) and vice versa.  And then to see comments about how absurd it is to even think they have chemistry, and about gay fetish - it´s hard to swallow. I read posts about absurdity of a ship and how there is absolutely nothing that would suggests romance.  Well there is, actually. But whether creators are going to work with it or not, that´s something we can only speculate. They already made Loki officially bisexual. So why should it be so absurd to assume, that there is an actual possibility of romantic subplot between Loki and Mobius? Oh right… it´s Disney and Marvel we are talking about.
So on a subject of bisexuality: Bi people can date whoever they want.  But It is a little frustrating, when there is so many heterosexual pairings in the mcu and disney but when there is a promise of lgbt character (speaking of endgame) we get one line about date from a man we´ll never see again. And when there is a promise of lgbt representation you can´t even blink during movie, or you´ll miss it (Star wars, Beauty and the beast). And then Loki said “A bit of both, I suspect the same as you”. And I won´t lie, I was happy. And I think creators made biggest step yet with this one line (which is honestly terrible, that “a bit of both” coming from Loki of all people, is the biggest step forward.) But they played it VERY safe. Obviously, both Loki, and Sylvie are bisexuals, and in three episodes, we had Loki flirting with female flight attendant, Sylvie talking about her relationship with POSTMAN and then they fall for each other. So the only thing that suggests they are really as bi as Lamentis 1 is that little sentence, that can be edited out, or easily overheard. It´s the bare minimum. And I think that frustration with how freaking slowly we´re moving into some progress is understandable. From all those great M/M dynamics I talked about, those, that could make great love story, nothing happened, because too many people “don´t mind gays but don´t need to look at them” or are scared for their children. In 2021.
It is not a fetish to wish for a gay love story in superhero movies/series. (But anyway, I don´t think there is anything bad about it. Some men like to watch lesbian porn, some woman like to read gay porn. AO3 wouldn´t be were it is today, without people reading and writing slash :D – but that has little to do with what we actually see on tv)
I´m not delusional. As much, as I love these two characters together, I know how little chance it has.  I´m not delusional. I´m just in the future, old and tired, waiting hundreds of years for at least one of my OTP to finaly become a fucking canon.
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annab-nana · 3 years
Text
Menstrual Mess - Peter Parker
Peter’s spidey senses were telling him that something was wrong with his newest friend, but he could not quite figure out what it was. When his problem-solving brain would not give it a rest, it proved to be more harm than good.
A/N: This is my first marvel/Peter Parker imagine so I really hope you guys enjoy it :) 
Warnings: some curse words; period talk (blood, cramps, tampons and such)
Word Count: 2.8k+
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Peter Parker was your newfound friend, possibly even best friend. Going to the same school and sharing most of the same classes is how you knew each other, but about three weeks ago when your last class got a new seating chart that placed you and Peter next to each other, your mere acquaintance became a really good friend. You both talked more, walked to your classes together, you started sitting with him at lunch, studied with each other. Y’all even started walking home together sometimes after realizing that you two didn’t live too far away from each other.
Now, Peter was still learning and getting used to his powers and senses. One day when his senses enhanced almost every time he was around you, he got a little suspicious. Something was different with you because this never happened before and it only occurred when he was around you. Something felt different and smelled different. Something was wrong with you and it worried him. He had asked if you were okay a few times throughout the day which you had noticed after the second or third time. You also noticed his worried glances and how his leg never stopped bouncing the whole day. His anxious tendencies worried you a little, but you tried to shrug it off.
“Are you sure you are okay?” Peter asked you for what felt like the millionth time just in the five hours you two had been at school.
“Yes, Peter,” you chuckled while closing your locker and looking into the boy’s big brown worry-filled eyes. “I am perfectly fine. Are you okay because you have not stopped asking me that all day long? You’re worrying me, Parker.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I- I’ve just had a weird feeling all day that I can’t seem to shake,” he told you honestly as his fingers fiddled with the bottom of his shirt.
“Did you have a bad dream last night or something?” you asked, walking next to the nervous boy to your next class.
“Umm yeah actually. You, Ned, and MJ were all getting hurt and I couldn’t help you,” Peter told you. It was a lie, but it helped to cover up why he was so anxious about you.
“So that’s why you’ve been asking if I was okay?” He nodded to answer your question and it warmed your heart. You thought it was adorable how he had a nightmare and his fears from it were carrying over into the day. He was genuinely worried that something bad would happen to you and it showed how much he cared.
“That’s really sweet, Parker,” you mumbled as your shoulders brushed each other. Your hands probably would’ve too if his hands weren’t stuffed into his pockets.
“I’ll talk to you after class, okay?” he said when you two reached the door of Mr. Dell’s class.
“Yep.” And with that, you two took your seats across the room from each other and began taking notes on the lecture your teacher was giving.
...
Peter hoped that his senses would have dialed down the next day, but they didn’t. In fact, they had heightened more, and it terrified him. He was worrying that he might have sensed a sickness or something else bad going on within you before you knew it or felt it. This time when he walked up to you, you looked a little more like something was wrong with you and not as bubbly and happy as you were yesterday.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked you with a chuckle when his eyes landed on your body that was leaned up against the lockers, your head held back, and eyes shut.
“No, I’m tired,” you mumbled, not opening your eyes. You just wanted to turn around and go back home to sleep, but you couldn’t do that.
“Didn’t get much sleep last night?” he inquired while leaning against the lockers as well, facing you. You turned your body to face his and opened one eye as you nodded your head at him. Last night, your monthly visitor came, and your cramps were a pure bitch, only letting you sleep in half-hour increments.
“Well, I heard that we’re watching a Civil War video in Mr. Miller’s class so why don’t you take a nap? He won’t be paying attention anyway and if he does happen to look up from his computer, I’ll hide you since I sit in front of you. You can get my notes on it later,” Peter offered as his eyes scanned over your calm face. Your eyes fluttered open to meet his and you nodded your head gently at him.
“That sounds nice. Thanks, Peter,” you whispered softly and gave him a lazy smile. He laughed at his tired friend before wrapping an arm around your shoulders, letting you lean into him.
“Come on, sleepy. Let’s go to history.”
Later on in the day after you had a refreshing nap and went to some more classes, you felt a bit better, but Peter’s senses were still going haywire. So, he asked once again if you were okay.
“I’m fine, Peter!” you snapped as you slammed your locker door rather loudly at the end of the school day. You both were taken back by your sudden outburst and an apology quickly flew from your lips. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“It’s okay, y/n. Uhh, what are you doing today?” he questioned, trying to change the subject.
“Probably work on my cell model. What about you?” you continued the conversation with the boy as you two walked out of school.
“Stark internship,” he reminded you with a smile, pushing the metal door open and letting you go through first.
“Oh yeah, how could I forget the one thing that occupies almost all your time,” you joked while you waited for him to walk with you.
“Y/n, you sound jealous,” he teased, poking at your side to which you quickly grabbed his hand and shot him a death glare. His laugh sounded through the air while you dropped his hand from yours and playfully rolled your eyes at him.
“You wish I was jealous,” you scoffed and grabbed onto the straps of your backpack. You were about to laugh along with Peter, but a cramp in your stomach caused the laugh to come out as a low groan which you tried to cover it all up with a cough.
“You good?” he asked genuinely as his eyebrows drew together in confusion at whatever just happened to you.
“Yeah, just had a tickle in my throat,” you said after you let a few more coughs out to really sell it. He slowly nodded his head, unsure of what to think but he brushed it off.
“Well, this is where we split,” he announced when you two approached the point in your trip home where he had to turn to go to his internship.
“See ya, Parker,” you told him while you waved and crossed the street to continue going straight towards your place.
...
“Something just doesn’t feel right, Karen. Everything in me is saying that something is wrong with her and I don’t know what. I’m scared that there could be something seriously wrong with her and my senses are trying to warn me to help her, but I don’t know what to do. Yesterday, I thought they were wrong, but today, she genuinely seemed off and that on top of my senses telling me something’s wrong is making me really worried,” Peter told his ‘suit lady’ while being perched on the roof of a building, overlooking the view of Queens.
“Have you asked her how she feels?” Karen responded to the worried teenager.
“I’m afraid I’ve asked her too much that I might be annoying her, but I can’t help but ask her,” he stated, his eyes scanning over the city below him. He turned to his left to look over that way, knowing your building wasn’t that far away. “I’m gonna go see if she’s okay now.”
Shooting his web at the next building over, he jumped and swung over as he repeated the process until he was crawling on the brick of the wall you always saw when you looked out your window. He glanced towards your window, seeing as you still had your curtains open. You normally kept them open to let the sunlight in, but the sun was going to set soon. Peter saw you laying on your bed, your body clothed in some black sweatpants and your big blue Midtown School of Science and Technology sweatshirt. You had the sweatshirt lifted slightly and your hand rested on the section of your stomach that was showing.
Peter jumped over to your building’s wall to get a better look in your window. Was he invading your privacy? Yeah, a little, but he was trying to make sure you were okay. He noticed that you were clutching at your stomach and you wore a pained expression on your face. There were two pill bottles on your nightstand, but the labels were turned away from him so there was nothing he could use from those to help answer his question. Against his better judgment, he tapped at the glass and alerted you of his presence.
When you heard the tapping, you were intrigued to say the least. You were pretty high in this building so it would be fairly difficult to climb up here, but when you saw who it was, it clicked as to how they got up to your window. You pulled your shirt down and furrowed your eyebrows before getting up to open the window.
“Hello?” you asked the masked hero who was in front of you who could probably be doing better things like fighting crime than coming to random windows. If Flash were in your position right now, you knew you’d never hear the end of it.
“Hi, ma’am. I was swinging by and noticed you seemed to be in pain. I wanted to make sure everything was alright,” he stated in a deep voice which threw you off. In the videos on YouTube, his voice seemed a little more high-pitched. Something about him brought you a sense of familiarity and comfort, so you let the change in voice go.
“Yeah, I’m good,” you told the man in red and blue as you rocked back on your heels. Peter looked a little to his right and spotted what looked to be your untouched cell model that has yet to be done. A light chuckle escaped his lips right before Karen told him that his help was needed elsewhere.
“That’s great, but I’ve got to go. Uh, stay in school!” he shouted awkwardly as he shot a web and swung away. You watched him disappear around the corner and shut your window before returning to your bed. You were about to lay there and think about what just happened, but the pain that has been ripping through your lower abdomen for the last twenty-four hours stole your attention as you groaned. After the pain subsided for a moment, you reached over for your laptop to put on Netflix to help distract you and maybe help you get some sleep.
...
You were the type to get actually dressed for school and you would even wear a little makeup, so naturally, when Peter noticed you fresh-faced with leggings and a hoodie on and your hair lazily thrown in a bun, he knew something was wrong. It was not that he didn’t like the look. He thought you looked cute, but it just wasn’t you. At least, it wasn’t you at school. Peter held off asking you if you were okay as much as he did the past two days, but he still had to check. It was not until you left your second to last class of the day to go to your locker that you began to grow very irritated by the constant interrogation of your wellbeing.
“You okay?” Peter asked again when he noticed your slightly widened eyes.
“Yes, Peter. I am okay. There is absolutely nothing for you to worry about so can we drop it please?” you muttered while you rummaged through your bag looking for one thing.
“Yeah, ummm… oh, do you want to come over to my place after school? We can work on our paper or do our trig homework,” he told you while you huffed, pushing the random things in your bag around to try to find the thing that you so desperately needed in this moment.
“I’d love to Pete, but I’ll probably just go home. I don’t feel too good,” you stated as you stood up and pushed the books in your locker to the side in search of the small bag you kept back there for emergencies like this.
“Are you sick?” That damn worried tone checking on you again sparked more aggravation, causing you to snap.
“No, Peter. I am on my period and there is blood dripping out of me as we speak, so if you don’t mind, I am going to go to the bathroom and change this,” you informed him while showing him the tampon you just pulled out of the bag and slamming your locker door shut before heading to the restroom.
Peter stood there for a second thinking how he could be so stupid. He should have known. You were never so moody or snappy before. You normally were never so tired and were much more chipper in the mornings. He also felt like an idiot for prying so hard, but he only did it because he cared. He felt like shit, so he ran to the vending machine. He tapped his foot impatiently against the floor as he watched the candy bar fall from its spot and land in the box below.
After quickly grabbing that, he dashed back to wait outside the restroom for you. Your eyes met his briefly when you opened the door before you rolled them and walked the other direction. You were embarrassed and agitated and seeing him only reminded you of it, so you tried to speed ahead to get to the last class of the day.
“Y/n, wait!” Peter called ahead while he grabbed your arm to slow you down.
“What, Peter?” you spat as you stopped walking and turned to face him.
“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry and get on your nerves. I just felt like something was wrong, so I wanted to make sure you were okay. I’m sorry if that made you feel angry or upset. I just care about you,” he apologized quickly as his brown eyes flickered between your own quickly, looking for a hint of forgiveness. You let out a sigh before speaking.
“It’s okay, I guess. Just next time leave me alone a little,” you chuckled lightly which brought a big smile to Peter’s face.
“You got it. Once a month, it will be like I don’t even exist,” he nervously laughed along with you as you both began to walk again to the class that kindled your friendship.
“I want you to still exist Parker, just not asking if I am okay every other minute.”
“I can do that,” he told you before stuffing his hands in his pockets until he felt something in his pocket.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I got you this. I heard that chocolate helps, or at least that’s how it is in movies and tv shows and stuff,” he rambled while he handed you your favorite chocolate bar.
“Aw, thanks Peter. That is really sweet of you,” you complimented, a slight blush dusting over his cheeks. His blush grew when you leaned over to press your lips to his cheek as another way to thank him.
“Uh, so Ned and I are having a Star Wars marathon tomorrow if you want to- oh wait, you probably won’t feel up to it. Forget I said anything,” he stumbled through the sentence as he looked at his feet.
“It’s okay, Peter. Thanks for thinking of me and I’ll let you know tomorrow if I feel like going,” you told the blushing boy as you both walked into the classroom and took your seats next to each other.
“Okay, that sounds good,” Peter nodded while speaking before he pulled out his notebook and you followed suit. You both took notes for your class while communicating with each other by writing notes to each other in the margins of your paper and smiling like idiots at the dumb jokes you’d both crack. It was the most peaceful hour or so you had in the last two days which proved that when Peter was not continuously asking you if you were okay, he was the only one who could distract you from your cramping stomach and for that, you were thankful for the caring idiot that sat next to you.
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floral-saturn · 3 years
Text
More modern GOT headcanons
Satin wears crop tops and so does Theon sometimes they go shopping together and sometimes they choose each other’s style.
Robb majors in law, he wants to be a lawyer just like his father was so he’s following in Ned’s footsteps
Satin studies photography and he takes very pretty and gorgeous photos of Jon and his friends
Theon majors in creative writing and sometimes he writes poetry and makes Robb proof read it, sometimes the poems are about him
Gendry would probably work in wood shop or something that has to deal with automobiles or something weird.
Arya is probably working in vet school so like something that has to deal with animals like cats, dogs.
Sansa works with fashion, and so does Margaery that’s how the two meet together
Yara is definitely like an artist, she paints stuff like nude bodies or like female figures and she hangs it up in her dorm room, it makes Theon uncomfortable for like....a tiny bit but he gets used to it.
Daenerys is a little complicated, but maybe she would be interested in studying history?, like think war of the roses, OH! And she listens to crime podcasts on Spotify
Pod takes soccer, Bran is a big techy who’s really smart so bran probably majors in something like computer science and probably looks up to Elon Musk to only be heavily disappointed when he figures out that Elon Musk is actually not that good—
Speaking of Lawyers!, Oberyn teaches law at Westeros university and his wife Ellaria works as an English teacher
DOMERIC IS INTO CRIMEOLOGY WE’VE DISCUSSED THIS ALREADY HE REALLY LIKES MURDER FOR SOME REASON
Ramsay is a college drop out but he works for his dad who makes guns
Roose literally tried asmr at one point in life
ROBB MAKES PLAYLISTS FOR EVERY SITUATION he also daydreams and just chills with music on while Greywind sleeps on the couch with him
Theon makes the most bomb ass pancakes in the morning, he took home-ec in middle school and cooking in high school so he would consider himself an excellent baker, in reality he just sends Robb recipes on Pinterest and Robb’s a little skeptical about the ingredients he’s always all like “are you sure you have enough ingredients to make this? And this looks like too much sugar for me” and Theon’s just like “it’s fine!, don’t worry about it!”
Margaery is very popular on TikTok, so is Joffrey think of him as like a straight TikTok creator like little huddy and Sansa has a whole phase where she becomes obsessive about him but it’s not like stalker obsessed she just follows him on all his socials and stuff
Oh yeah and speaking of the Baratheon Family Myrcella is also a TikTok creator think of her as like the Charlie D’amelio of Westeros in a sense, she also took dancing lessons from kindergarten and everyone’s just like: “How the fuck is she even famous like all she does is just flailing her fucking arms around and moving her body that shits not dancing it looks like a demon possession!”
Trystane Martell is a YouTube creator, think like David Dobrik or Jake Paul he’s really annoying and controversial like he gets in trouble every two to three weeks and he has to post an apology video of him fake crying for whatever weird shit he’s done
Samwell Tarly is a folk artist, think Angus and Julia stone or something that’s soft like Hozier
All the parents hate eachother because they tend to really like comparing their parenting skills so every time one has a fucking cook out or something it always ends up being a big fight over who has better parenting skills.
Oberyn: so how was your guy’s kids doing?
Roose: Well...you see, mine managed to take my credit card and buy a hello kitty switchblade knife on the dark web not really sure why, he just impulsively bought it
Oberyn: oh...uh, well, my son went to jail this weak for staying in a Walmart for 24 hours.
Ned and Catelyn always look at each other in these situations and they always make shit up like:
Ned: well, Arya brought home a fat raccoon that she allegedly stole from the Lannister’s garbage can.
Robert: well you know what Ned, my daughter makes weird videos of her dancing, don’t really know why, she just does
Balon: sometimes Yara draws boobs on the walls, I don’t know why she does it, and Theon wears skirts my children are two different breeds.
Jamie: hey, brienne remind me to not have a single kid with you
Brienne: Jamie, don’t have a single kid with me, even though you always have the same talk about kids as soon as we get home.
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spider-pxrkers · 4 years
Text
flustered || peter parker x reader
summary: peter decides to flirt with the new avenger, y/n. he doesn’t expect her to flirt back and fluster him, making him realize he needs to get the upper hand.
request:  can you do a peter x flirty reader where at first peter is flirting buts the reader flirts back making him flustered?
a/n: the BIGGEST thank you to the loml @drusilla-as-in-blackthorn who helped and co-wrote this fic with me! she has some amazing fics, go check her out!
warnings: making out, sexual tones, swearing, sam and bucky being sam and bucky.
masterlist || co-writer ||  add yourself to my taglist!
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i do not own any gifs used. all credits go to the original creator.
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“Just be cool man. We practiced for hours, she’ll totally be into it.”
Ned’s voice echoed in Peter’s head like a tape stuck on loop as he entered the Avengers Compound. He puffed out his chest as he stepped into the elevator, trying to assert some sort of confidence within him to prepare himself for what he was about to do.
Steve had called for an Avengers training session today, which meant Peter got to see you again. He’d first met you during a robbery in Queens where he’d gotten tangled up. The thieves would’ve gotten away had you not shown up and ever since that day, he’d been in awe of you.
When he found out you were an Avenger too, he swore he felt his stomach do flips. His crush on you began shortly after meeting you those six months ago and is still very much there. For a while, Peter didn’t know what to do about it, but around two weeks ago Ned convinced the boy to go old school and try the one tactic ‘all the ladies loved’, and that was flirting.
He was skeptical at first, but he eventually figured he’d give it a try. And so Peter spent the whole of the night before googling pick-up lines and watching ‘flirting 101’ videos on YouTube in preparation for today. He was satisfied with his research and felt confident.
As the elevator doors opened, he took bold steps towards the rest of the team and waited for instructions from Steve. Not everyone had showed up, but you were there, leaning against a wall as your fingers mindlessly played with each other, your eyebrows furrowed as you listened to what Steve was saying. He felt his breath falter as he looked at you, you wore simple grey sweats and a ‘Stark Industries’ tank top. It was a simple outfit but for some reason Peter couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Your eyes eventually wandered towards the boy, noticing his stare. You gave him a light wink, causing his cheeks to stain red, his eyes immediately looking away.
After the briefing, Steve announced today’s training would consist of sparring in pairs. Peter silently pleaded as he grouped everyone together and he felt his heart jump when Steve announced he would be paired with you.
Everyone made their way over to their assigned partners and he watched as you walked up to him. He mentally prepared himself, taking a deep breath as you approached. He was ready.
“H-hey, Y/N.”
Shit.
He stuttered.
Why did he have to stutter?
He glanced up at you to see if you noticed but all he saw was an amused look in your eyes, as if you could somehow tell he was beating himself up. “Hey, Parker.” You grinned at him. “You ready?”
“I-” He sighed. “Yeah.”
The two of you got into your own individual sparring stances.
He could do this. He was a man of science and he had studied for this. How hard could it be to flirt with you? He had watched other members of the team flirt with each other enough to know that he could play it off as a joke if you didn't respond well. That, or he could throw himself out the window of the forty-sixth floor, whatever would be easier. 
You threw a punch at him and he dodged it, then another, then a kick. You were on the offensive side which was fine with him, he could do defense in his sleep. It gave him time to think about what to say. He had to do this right, mostly because he knew you had at least four knives on you but he was also really worried about embarrassing himself. 
 "Hey Y/N,” He let out as he parried away from a kick, recalling one if the lines he'd memorized. “If you're enjoying yourself here, I know other ways we could use this much energy." He ducked under another one of your high kicks and punched at your stomach. 
You hadn't even faltered in your attack so he wasn't sure if you had even heard him. "Yeah, I do too Spidey, but unfortunately Steve frowns upon people fucking on the sparring mats." You eyed him, the corner of your lips tugging up at his expression.  He faltered at your words, not expecting such a direct comeback, and you took the opportunity to crouch down and took his ankles out. Suddenly he was looking up at your smug expression from the floor with, what he knew, was a violent blush on his own face. "What's wrong Parker? Cat got your tongue?" You asked tilting your head to the side, a look of feigned innocence coating you. You sauntered away back towards the starting point and raised your fists, obviously waiting for him to join you. 
You had both been sparring for about an hour and since he wasn't allowed to use his web shooters, you happened to be winning - in both the sparring and the verbal back and forth. He didn't understand how you were doing it, everything he said, you countered with something equally as clever. He was grasping at straws at this point. "Y-you sure you're not tired Y/N? Cause you've been running through my mind all day." 
He was throwing hits in your general direction with no real heat. You actually laughed at that one, no wonder. "Nah, don't worry about me Parker. I can go all night." He sighed as you landed him on his ass for the third time in a row, he wasn't going to concede but you weren’t giving him much of a choice.
"I'm not a genie but I can make all your dreams come through." He groaned as he tried to get back up.
 "Yeah and that’s if I rub you hard enough?" You lightly moved your leg to push him back on the mat. When he went to stand back up, Steve shouted that everyone could take a break. He sighed. 
You and he walked side by side to the cooler where the water bottles were kept. He went over to his gym bag and saw that he had three missed calls from Ned. He dialed back.
"Hey man how's it going? You ask her out yet?" Ned sounded excited on the other line, Peter smiled, he loved his best friend so much.
"Nah, buddy it's not working.” He sighed into the phone before bringing his bottle to his lips. “Everything I throw at her she hits me back with something better. I think I should just give up."
"What do you mean?" 
"Well, earlier I said to her 'Hey can I borrow a kiss, I promise to give it back?' and she pinned me to the mat and said I could have as many as I liked." Peter replied, looking at you from the corner of your eye talking to Steve.
 "Wait, okay, no, so she's flirting back with you? That's a good thing isn't it?" Ned asked.
Peter thought about it and how smug you looked whenever you managed to knock him down. "I don't know Ned, I think she was just doing it to get the upper hand in training."
 "Well are you still training now?"
 "No we have a break just now for a bit."
 "Well,” Peter could practically hear Ned smile through the phone. “I would say kick it up a notch, hit her with something and if she says something suggestive back then act on it, kiss her or whatever."
 Peter watched you move back to your own gym bag, watched you reach down to put your bottle in it. He thought about just grabbing you and kissing you, he wanted to, really, really badly but what if you stabbed him, or worse, laughed at him? 
 "I don't know Ned, I think I'm just going to give up." 
"Well okay man, but you have my opinion." Peter almost winced at the distaste in his friend’s voice.
"Yeah, yeah, bye bud, love you."
 "Love you too." 
Peter hung up the call, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't the kind of guy who could just make a move on someone, and he didn't even know if you'd ever actually thought of him that way.
You were walking towards him, looking beautiful as always, a ray of light in a dark world "I must be in a museum, because you truly are a work of art." He said in almost a whisper.
But you heard him, you had a playful look in your eye. "Well if you wanna pin me up against the wall then go ahead." 
Something came over him, he didn't even think about what he did next. He shot a web out and grabbed you as soon as the words left your lips, faster than the eye could see. He twirled so you ended up braced against the wall with Peter pinning you down, one hand holding yours above your head, the other holding your hip down.
His legs braced yours, with his super strength, you couldn't move even if you wanted to. "Well if you insist." He mumbled, his eyes darting between yours and your mouth that was currently parted in.. shock?
He was waiting on you kicking and screaming, or at least coming up with a witty comment or a joke. What he wasn't expecting was a fierce blush to rise up your cheeks and your eyes to avoid looking into his. "I, eh, I, uh well, h-h-hi." You were stuttering, he had actually managed to fluster you. The same girl who’d been spewing filthy lines back at him a few minutes ago looked so small under his lock now.
He opened his mouth to say something before hearing someone clear their throat behind him. Your eyes widened as you looked over Peter’s shoulder at Steve and the rest of the team staring at the two of you while Peter’s gaze still remained on you.
You pulled out of his grip, side stepping and moving away, quickly walking back to the training mats. Peter’s arms dropped to his sides, his eyes never leaving the wall he just had you flustered against.
You avoided Peter for the rest of the session, opting to spar with Natasha while he trained with Sam. You stood opposite Nat, dodging and throwing as many hits as you could as your mind wandered. Moments ago he was the one blushing after everything you’d said, you were sure you had the upper hand. But after he held you like that, something snapped. You could still feel his fingers brushing against your hip and you cursed yourself for getting so flustered. At first you thought his flirting was cute and just for fun, but something about the way his eyes looked into yours made you think differently. Was he taking advantage of you?
Or did he actually like you?
Training ended and you quickly gathered your things, darting out of the room. You made your way into the corridor to your room before hearing footsteps after you.
“Y/N, wait up!”
You silently cursed as you sped up your pace, walking into your room and turning to close the door before a foot appeared, halting it. You looked up to see Peter place a hand on the door as he tried to push it a bit more for him to enter. You placed your hand on the other side trying to close it. “Go away, Peter.”
“Look,” he pushed at the door harder but was met with you pushing back with equal force. “Listen I’m sorry if-” You pushed back again. “Sorry if I- would you stop?” He finally sent a stronger push this time, successfully opening the door and stepping in. You backed away from him, dropping your bag figuring he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
He shut the door behind him as he made his way over to you. “I’m sorry if I crossed a line back there, I just wanted to-”
“Why did you do it?” You asked, crossing your arms.
“Wh-why did I do what?”
You scoffed at him. “I don’t know flirt with me? Pin me against the fucking wall in front of the team?” You shook your head at him. “What? You think it’s fun messing with people like that?”
Peter’s stance grew defensive. “You flirted back!”
“Yeah, ‘cause I thought we were fooling around! Not that you actually-” You stopped yourself from finishing your sentence. You couldn’t do it, you couldn’t admit your feelings to him, that you actually thought he liked you back.
He seemed notice your uneasiness however, walking closer to you. “Not that I what, Y/N?” His tone was softer now, almost warmer as he now stood directly in front of you. His brown eyes bore into yours as your eyes wandered around his face, looking for any sign of insincerity.
You shook your head as you moved to walk away from him. Instead, you felt his fingers wrap around your wrist, pulling you into him as he kissed you. His arms moved to wrap around your waist, pushing you backwards until your back hit the wall by your bed with a thud. Your eyes widened before relaxing at his touch, your arms gripping his hair and neck. You felt his teeth nip your bottom lip before down to your jaw and eventually to your neck, where you let out a whimper as he began sucking on your skin, earning a smile against on your neck.
Your hands left the curls in his hair and trailed down his chest to dip under his shirt and pull it over him before discarding it to the floor. His lips reattached to your collarbone as his hands slipped down your hips to your legs, hoisting you up to wrap around him. He kissed back up your neck to your mouth where you moaned as his tongue met yours, moving you away from the wall and laying you on your bed. His forearm found its place by your head, holding him up as his other hand held you by the side. Your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer as he lay above you, the two of you caught in your make-out session as if you were the only two people in the world.
You finally pulled away after what seemed like forever, your chests connecting as you tried to catch your breath. A light smile found his face as his hands moved to cup your cheek, studying your shut eyes and now swollen lips and tangled hair while you lay under him.
“I was stupid,” he breathed out causing you to open your eyes and meet his. His fingers continued to tug at the corner of your mouth. “I thought these stupid pick-up lines would..” He trailed off as he gently shook his head, a small laugh escaping him. “Would finally make you like me back.”
You softly laughed at him, your fingers drumming against his bare chest. “Well it worked didn’t it?”
He chuckled as he leant down to press a kiss to the tip of your nose.
“Yeah, yeah it did.” He leaned back in to kiss you again.
“Hey Y/N, Nat wanted to know if you were- holy shit.”
The two of you turned to look at Sam at the door, his eyes widening at the sight before him before a grin covered his face. “Well I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said smirking as he leant against the doorway. Peter’s cheeks turned red as he pushed off of you, reaching to get his shirt.
You got up and glared at the man, clearly annoyed. “What do you want Wilson?”
Sam smirked at you as he laughed. “Oo, she ain’t takin’ it too well. Hey, Bucky!” He called out.
“Oh my god.” You pinched the bridge of your nose as Peter put his shirt back on, a light smile finding his face as he glanced between the two of you.
Sam kicked off the wall before winking at you, walking back down the corridor. You could still hear his voice as he walked off. “You owe me fifty bucks sergeant!”
Peter laughed as he reached his hand down to yours, pulling you up. “You alright?” He asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." You nodded your head as you smiled walking out of the room with him before clearing your throat. "After damage control,” you said gesturing with your head to the kitchen where Sam now gathered the entire team while your hands gently tugged at the waistband of his pants. “What do you say you and I pick up where we left off?” He froze as he stared at you, his eyes widening. You grinned at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek and pulling away, skipping down the hall and leaving a very very flustered Peter Parker behind you.
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icharchivist · 2 years
Note
LUCILIUS AS LUCIFER'S GAMER PERSONA I AM LOSING IT
How's it fewl not being the original twice huh
PEOPLE WOULD BELIEVE THAT. They have similar name, same face, people would be CONVINCED that it's just an attempt at rebrandin to hide the fact he's the Worst when he's playing video games.
Lucilius doesn't care about what people say but it does start to annoy him at some point and one day he gets called Lucifer in the chat and he snaps that there's no way he's like Lucifer. Belial, cameraman who accompany him in his streams, just goes "yeah he's way hotter than Lucifer!" and Lucilius kicks him.
(Viewers grow concerned about the cameraman until they realize he has his own channel, which was restricted by youtube for Adult Content. People are terrified of what it means but it's mostly just because he has a very vulgar tongue, nothing explicit happens on screen. Another brunch of people are extremely disappointed about that.)
Lucifer has a vlog channel where he just has gentle talks about nature and evolution but he's so gentle people are mesmerized by his words. And on top of that while it's made completely as vlog where he just rambles about how beautiful the world is, he always end up explaining scientific things about evolution so the viewership ends up feeling like they're learning so much from him and brand him an educational channel. Conspiracy anti science folks are spamming his comments and all of them are answered by a very violent Sandalphon telling them to shut the fuck up. Sandalphon joins his vlog a bit against his will, looking grumpy but always softening for Lucifer, especially in videos talking about coffee.
But that adds to the contrast as Lucifer talks very gently about the beauty of things while Lucilius is talking about DEATH DESTROY VIOLENCE DEATH on his channel. The fact people are convinced it's the same person makes them wonder who the fuck is the persona of who. They get really popular because they post videos around the same time and the "Top Ten Beautiful Things About The Sky" and "I KILL GOD AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD"* are on the trending tab at the same time with the "same person" in the thumbnail.
(*name written by Belial)
Lucio himself sees the chaos it creates and he makes his own youtube chanel which is mostly a prank chanel. he teams up with Shalem because just the idea of commiting chaos is enough to wrap her into it.
Which leads people to believe this is a Third Project by this one guy (they all believe Lucifer is the original) and it confuses EVERYONE because this is also a type of personality they learnt to NOT expect from either of the other two.
It adds even more confusion when he starts to pull pranks on Coffee-boy Sandalphon and that Sandalphon unleash his full fury on Lucio. This doesn't make sense with the lore of the Lucifer channel what the hell is going on!!! Viewership explode between those three channels, Lucifer doesn't understand what's going on, Lucilius doesn't care because he doesn't read comments unless Belial force him to do a Q&A video, and Lucio is having a bLAST. Belial finds the situation funny but irritating and Sandalphon is full blown irritated and starts to send death threats to Lucio to stop impersonating Lucifersama's beautiful face for this!!!!!! Lucio use it as fuel for his videos.
Lucio would do anything in his power to not let the internet learn FOR SURE that they're three different people, it's funnier this way. Shalem helps him by spreading rumors all over the interspace.
I See It In My Mind This Would Be Chaotic
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writing-fool · 4 years
Text
mlqc | let’s hit rewind
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What kind of videos would the MLQC guys make if they were YouTubers? I think this is a youtube!au, but to be fair, Kiro probably has a YouTube channel in canon. See it as you will? I won’t really talk about their life outside of YT/internet so you can decide for yourself whether this is an AU or not, and whether they’re a full-time YouTuber or not.
As always, enjoy, and requests are open!
Love,
R.
Warning(s): none
Victor
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Victor probably has a cooking channel
scratch that. he absolutely starts as one of those Aesthetic™ cooking channels like Cooking tree, HANSE, Sweet The MI or Nino’s Home.
his channel is called Souvenir because he’s not THAT original you can’t expect everything from a man, people. 
he starts off doing these voiceless cooking videos, but after a voice and face reveal at 2 million followers where he cooks something for his followers as a thanks...well, who wouldn’t want more of that sultry voice and glorious face
currently has about 4 million subscribers
Victor’s channel is kind of comparable to Junskitchen, a rather relaxed, casual atmosphere combined with exquisite, refined cuisine
if he feels like it, he does a voice-over, otherwise he just puts calm jazz, blues or r&b over his cooking
HAS done an ASMR special. low-key dislikes the video because he has to whisper voice-overs but people LOVE it
likes making all kinds of foods, but his channel features quite a lot of sweet foods and desserts because a certain dummy has a sweet tooth
a pretty popular feature during quarantine is Cooking w/ Sou, essentially a live stream where Sou (aka Victor) cooks a whole three-course meal while talking to and instructing his followers
his subscribers notice that he doesn’t really need editing to look clean during cooking because his technique is IMMACULATE
by the end, he’s made a themed dinner for two...which always raises a question mark
is Sou single? does he have a roommate? a girlfriend? a kid? WHAT?
after getting your explicit permission, Victor addresses the situation in one of his recent Q&As
“Why do I always make dinner for two? I have a fiancée, she edits my videos in her spare time. She works as a producer. *you wave your hand over the lens* Dummy.” he breezes over it like it’s no big deal even though he’s a tad nervous about exposing something personal like this
his fans blow up the internet, baffled but not entirely surprised that someone like Sou isn’t a bachelor
of course, some leave hate under the video honestly, people who do this to celebs who start dating are HORRIBLE
most subscribers are super supportive of your relationship and thank you for the editing that makes Souvenir such a well put-together channel...also did he seriously call his fiancée a dummy? such a tsundere!
sometimes, you’ll (well, your hands...we’re keeping a bit of privacy here) even be in the end shot of videos, munching away at the carefully plated food
one day, Sou will be making a video titled Wedding Cake.
Lucien
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Lucien’s channel LucidLight is a tad bit all over the place
he’s a man of many talents, and his channel reflects just that
i’m not saying it’s a disorganized channel, because the theme is very much there - the uniform theme in Luci’s content is a cozy background, a cup of tea and a soothing thumbnail
i mean that content-wise, his subscribers don’t really know what they’re going to get next...he has a slightly similar style to the YouTuber simon plant 
his content varies from interesting science theories to poetry reading sessions to ASMR to painting/sketching to cooking and much, much more
he has an heavenly soothing, smooth voice. it’s his trademark since Lucien doesn’t show his face on camera. ever. 
doesn’t have a TON of subs, because his channel is a bit of a niche thing, but I’d say he has 1,2 million subscribers and 400k followers on his added ‘business’ Instagram
he holds a lot of live streams on Instagram/YouTube (i know Moments exists in the game, but that’s more like a Facebook or Twitter kind of app...) and is always shown with just his torso and neck in frame. the lives usually include some poetry reading and generally just having a nice, relaxing chat with his followers. they can last up to 5 hours at once, and YOU know it’s because he doesn’t need sleep like a normal human being, but his fans are still asking questions about his timezone
his subscribers are strangely fascinated by his mysterious, gentle nature and also incredibly obsessed with his large, elegant hands
his ASMR videos are often roleplays of Librarian Lucien or Professor Lucien explaining to people why their rest is important
other times, they include soft affirmations, positive whispers, finger fluttering, hair touching and maybe kissing sounds...
Lucien paints a lot too, although he works primarily with ink and pencil sketches. you’ll find a watercolour or oil painting somewhere, but they’re not his most prominent media
his art videos are usually silent, although he might say something once in a while. there’s always some type of solo instrumental music playing in the background.
he does educational videos about biology and universe theories, but will also have reading sessions about scientific books
not intentionally secretive about your relationship, but he’s not one to mention it either
the first time you appeared on screen was when he was doing another live stream. he’s in his office talking about a play, when you come padding in to bid him goodnight.
“Yes, indeed. Laura’s glass menagerie, as the play suggests, is a symbol of fragility. Laura herself is very frail, but her favourite—”
“Good night, darling.” your soft voice rings through the room. viewers see Lucien’s torso turning a little bit, a hand on his shoulder and a curtain hair appearing from the top of the screen. his hand moves, presumably to cup the person’s cheek, before a soft kiss is heard through the mic. “Sleep tight, my love,” he murmurs.
“Ah. Laura’s favourite glass figurine is the unicorn, which...”
people are in uproar, but Lucien is a strong-willed man who refuses to explicitly announce the nature of his relationship.
his subscribers stop asking after a while, because it really isn’t any of their business, and they now know Lucien’s a taken man
you kind of appear on live streams accidentally a couple more times, but nothing’s really changed about Lucien’s content
the only thing he WILL say, and this is purely to give you credit, is “Ah. The background instrumentals in my art videos are played live. Yes, my lover’s very talented.”
you guys are the mysterious, talented, soft-voiced power couple of YouTube
Gavin
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Gavin’s channel probably starts as a joint channel with you, something like Rachel and Jun
it’s relatively obvious from the start that Gavin from Birds&Cops is in a relationship, since you guys have a vlogging-style channel
your channel is filled with gym vlogs, travel vlogs to other countries and a lot of self-defence and sport at home videos. 
you guys also post a lot of funny vlogs talking about your day, going on fun dates, of course food vlogs in restaurants, all that stuff...
you often sit down and talk about your life, and maybe you’ll even do a mukbang during it for someone so fit, Gavin does eat a lot of food. 
Gavin’s channel didn’t blow up right away, because vlogging channels aren’t exactly unique, and he looks like the typical ‘straight boy with a girlfriend’
but he started gaining followers after people noticed how cute and blushy he acts, and how incredibly respectful and caring he is towards you
one of the most popular videos is Boyfriend Does My Makeup and it’s adorable. Gavin’s handling your face with so much care, and comments like “I know what this is, I’ve watched you do it many times.” or “Babe, does it hurt? Should I be more gentle? I’m sorry...my hands are rough.” make everyone SWOON
toxic masculinity left the chat. Gavin loves taking care of you in any way, whether it’s getting pads, chocolate and hot packs during your period or braiding your hair
in those yoga/celebrity fitness routine challenges, subs get to see Gavin in a tight singlet and sweatpants/shorts, and it’s HOLY
you’re very much aware of the attention Gavin receives from female fans, and how lucky you are to have found such a sweet partner
Gavin will usually see this type of comment while scrolling and will turn to you and go “Babe, you know I’m the lucky one here, right?”
anyways, a feature that you do to show fans the extent of Gavin’s sweet personality is Pranking My Boyfriend, where you set up the camera for a harmless prank like pretending to have a nightmare (similar to channels like Farina Jo)
that particular video was so fun to shoot, because it ended up with Gavin softly singing a lullaby to calm you down in his arms
“Baby, wake up. I’m here, you’re safe.” Gavin knows how to deal with panicking people, but he hates this prank afterwards because ‘he didn’t like seeing you in pain’
fans squealed. Birds&Cops gained like 50k subs through that video. the channel’s currently at 999k subscribers
overall, it’s just a really lovely, family-friendly channel
Kiro
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Kiro knows his way around the web, alright?
not even just as Key, but he’s had a YouTube channel since the age of 15
his channel, CtrlAltChips is a hit with many people of many, many ages
he streams gaming sessions on Twitch and posts them on his YouTube channel afterwards
other content includes (primarily) covers & original songs, simple talking videos, thrifting & fashion videos, mukbangs and candid dance videos in a studio
think of chloe moriondo, doddleoddle, Victor the Drum Destroyer and Cat Strat
alternatively, for the ARMYs here, think of Jeon Jungkook as a YouTuber
Kiro has about 18 million subscribers, which is A LOT, but he’s been on YouTube for 7 years and he’s made a name for himself as a super likeable and bubbly guy with an angelic voice and killer moves
you’d think he’s just a cute boy when he sings acoustic covers, but his dance moves suggest that he’s not THAT cute
also how does he stay so fit with all those snack mukbangs?
he has a segment named In Our Kloset where he talks about social issues (because our boy uses his platform for good) around the world while customizing (not just pins. we’re talking patches, sewing, painting, embroidery) thrifted clothing to his liking. at the end he holds a little fashion show with his new outfits
after a while, you’ll see many of his outfits in giveaways or on sale for charity. Kiro tries to give back to his fans as much as he can, and how better than by sharing a piece of his unique clothing with them?
a great singer and performer. has held actual concerts before and has an actual music career (author-nim leaves it up to you readers to decide whether this is his idol career or some other musical project)
keeps his private life PRIVATE. he knows how the internet works, and he knows there’s no way he can keep your relationship a secret forever, but he’s not about to expose it to the world because of that reason
keeps tabs on information or rumours regarding you and makes them vanish
he’s simultaneously the most open and the most secretive out of the four boys. his fans know his favourite colour, what type of underwear he wears (trunks. Kiro wears trunks.), his birthday,...
but they know nothing about his past, his location, his close social circle or his family (teeechnically he’s an orphan but ig we’re talking about his mentor here. the blood of the covenant blah blah blah...y’know?). Kiro protects his loved ones fiercely
for someone who’s kept so secret, you’re actually really involved in Kiro’s virtual persona. you’re usually behind the camera during his In Our Kloset videos and are in charge of extra research regarding topics so he doesn’t spread any misinformation 
you also give pointers during filming (of course, these bits are edited out) because Kiro tends to trail off and get distracted when sewing
another way you’re involved is setting up the food during mukbangs. you have a great sense of aesthetics, so all of his videos in general will go through you.
while you like being low-key in Kiro’s life, you don’t want him to feel like he has to protect you from all the hate. 
he doesn’t particularly love keeping you a secret either, and it makes him feel guilty because he doesn’t want you to think he’s ashamed of you. he could never be.
you guys give it a good chat over how you’re going to announce it, and he just ends up making a video titled Miss Chips where the two of you sit down and talk to the camera
“Hello my little chips! Uhm, as you can see, there’s someone sitting next to me today. Maybe you already guessed from the title, but this is...my girlfriend, Miss Chips,” cue the cute jazz hands in your direction, “We’ve been dating for a long, loooong time, right, Miss Chips?”
“I just wanted to share this with you guys, since it felt wrong to keep such an important person in my life private. I hope you’re all kind to her, because I love her dearly, even to the point of giving up my snacks...so it’s serious.”
it really is that serious, hm?
Hope you enjoyed reading! 
222 notes · View notes
leelysian · 4 years
Text
Chan as your older brother AU 💖✨
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word count: 1.4k
genre: fluffiest of all fluffs, you’ll rot your teeth, bullet point fic
warnings: swearing
Disclaimer: I do not personally know Chan. This work is purely fiction and my own idea. I took inspiration from his on screen persona. Please do not translate or re-upload my work.
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☆ Let’s start with you two as babies. 
☆  Chan probably LOVED the idea of having a younger sibling he probably crawled to his mum with her baby bump and he'd softly talk to you "please come out quickly baby 🥺"
☆ Then he’d get impatient and ask “is it time yet?” Then he’d start whining and pouting “How much looonger? Baby is so sloooow”
☆ “is it gonna be a boy or a girl?” he wasn’t particular about the gender as long as he gets a playmate 
☆ Probably helped your parents pick your name even
☆ He was just THAT much invested in helping mummy raise the baby and in return he gets to play kill me I might just start crying just by THINKING about it asdfghjkl
☆ When he heard the baby is here, the Flash had nothing on Bang Christopher Chan as he literally ZOOMED through the corridors of the hospital to where his mum was staying to jump up on the bed. 
☆ There’s at least 10 different photos of Chan holding you on the hospital bed as soon as you were born. #cutie
☆ When your mum was discharged and everyone came home, he would cuddle you and just WOULD NOT LET GO
☆ And he'd sing lullabies to you
☆ He would speak in ᵗᶦⁿʸ and just talk ˢᵒᶠᵗˡʸ around you so he wouldn’t frighten you
☆ No jealousy whatsoever........ okay maybe just a liiiiiitle bit
☆ He’d feel a little jealous when he realised he didn’t get as much affection as he used to when he was the only child
☆ But that quickly changes when he receives attention from one of his parents preferably his mum Channie is a mamma’s boy I don’t make the rules
☆ When you were a newborn, your parents would have you sleep with them in their room. Chan would scamper out of his room in the middle of the night to sleep with the three of you because he was a wee bit jealous you got to sleep with mum and dad.
☆ It became a routine very quickly after that
☆ But your parents wouldn’t let him sleep next to baby because what if he accidentally hits you in his sleep. What a struggle. So he’d sleep on the edge of the bed cuddled in his mum’s arms. don’t touch me I’m soft
☆ Your mum would dress you two in matching outfits and take dozens of photos. “EW MUM WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” you two looked the absolute cutest so it doesn’t matter
☆ Slowly when you two grew up and you started crawling, you’d follow him everywhere because he was so intriguing to baby you
☆ He started finding you annoying “STUPID BABY”
☆ But he’d still cry if something happened to you
☆ Slowly he started liking you back again
☆ He liked the idea of someone looking up to him and from then on he was your little protector.
☆ He was your guardian angel, he was your hero. He’d do anything to protect you. Scratch that, he still is. He always will be.
☆ Now you guys are older as tweens/teens/young adults whichever you prefer
☆ Eats your share of food- looking into the little nook in the fridge to take out your hidden stash of candy but your favourite one is gone. 
☆ You confront him about it and he looks guilty. You're extremely annoyed but at the same time you can't stay mad for too long. 
☆  He makes it up to you by buying you two of your favourite candies or treats you to something else. 
☆ "Why steal my food in the first place if you're gonna treat me anyway?" He'd shrug "for some reason it tastes better" so you smack him upside his head and then it escalates into a mini wrestling match
☆  He's a very active guy who’s into a lot of sports but when you ask him to teach you he's very whiny "noooooo later" but then when you're chilling he'll show up "come on let's go swimming" and you're like "noooooo" he'd be like "I thought you wanted to go? Come on" and drag you along even though you don't want to and it’s like “why didn’t you do this WHEN I TOLD YOU?”
☆ But he makes it fun for you in the end and afterwards he treats you to ice cream. 
☆ Eats a lot. If your mum gives you both a bowl of food. He'll inhale it like he's never eaten before in like 5 minutes and you're confused like how did he finish it all and it was piping hot meanwhile you haven't even finished 1/3rd of your bowl 
☆ so he's done and he's staring at your bowl with greedy eyes "you gonna finish all of that?" *switches to puppy eyes* you're like "yeah" so you continue eating until you finish half then just hand the rest over to him and it's all gone in a minute. 
☆ Your mum has no idea he eats half of your food when she gives you equal amounts and you'll never tell her because she'll scold you for never finishing her food so Chan is like your personal eco garbage disposal because he eats everything
☆ It’s like a dirty secret between you two what she doesn’t know won’t kill her
☆ He'll be your emotional support human he'll be the first person you always go to when you need a pick me up. 
☆ And it's a guarantee he'll always make you feel better whether it's through his words or his actions because both feel like a huge, cozy and warm hug
☆ If someone bullies you, your normally sweet and gentle older brother will go on a rampage "WHO THE FUCK HURT MY BABY BROTHER/SISTER?! I'M GONNA KILL EM"
☆ He’s the Golden child of your parents because he's good at everything but it never matters to you because Chan never makes you feel lesser than you seem to think of yourself. He's always supporting you and uplifting you 
☆ Tries to help you with your homework and in turn learns a few things himself. 
☆ He's a big help with poetry, literature or creative writing homeworks (wbk)
☆ You two are really close and you always talk about random stuff he's not just your older brother he's also your best friend
☆ Even your friends ask about him and want to be his friend too because he's so cool, some of them have crushes on him and you’re like “ew what’s there to like?” *fake gags*
☆ He's always nice to everyone he sees. Elderly people love him too because he's such a gentleman.
☆ He's very proud to have you as his sibling he'll proudly show you off to his friends. “THIS IS MY LITTLE BROTHER/SISTER :D”
☆ If he's having fun with his friends but if something is wrong with you he will drop everything and race to you as quick as humanly possible to make sure you're okay because he's not okay if you're not okay. this is science ok
☆ Sometimes you two bicker a lot but it's sibling banter where you end up laughing
☆ Shows you funny memes or jokes he finds on the internet be like "that's you" or "this is so me lmao"
☆ Tags you in siblings memes be like "us"
☆ If your parents are angry at you for something he'll try to defend you if he feels it's not your fault 
☆ But if something IS your fault he'd try to calm his parents down and then tell you about how wrong you are to do something in private so your parents don't put you down even more
☆ You always go to him for advice first. Not your parents, him. His input, opinions and approval mean the most to you. Because he’s the coolest.
☆ You two goof around a lot. Carpool karaokes on the daily. 
☆ You two would sing/rap together to songs and have a blast
☆ You feel insecure about your voice but Chan makes you feel like a popstar
☆ You two would post anonymous YouTube covers together when you slowly grew confident with singing. Just a side thing for funsies 
☆ He’s your rock sometimes you feel like he does too much for you and you can't do anything for him in return
☆ But little do you know Chan is the strongest because of you by his side always cheering him on. Your very existence gives him strength for everything
☆ You two have each other's backs through thick and thin
☆ Because of Chan as your older brother you're a better version of yourself everyday 
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My thoughts on Dr. Stone’s S02E03 (“Call from the Dead”)
My thoughts after watching Season Two, Episode Three:
01. Taiju and Yuzuriha have different types of shoes – that’s a nice detail 😊
02. Leave it to Yuzuriha the arts and crafts club member to notice a detail like the dirt around the grave being different!
03. Day after day… I wasn’t expecting them to visit the grave THAT often. I like that they used the same phrase (“mainichi mainichi”) as last time – in Season One, Senku used it to describe Kohaku’s dedication to her sister, and now in Season Two, Nikki used it to describe Taiju and Yuzuriha’s dedication to their friend 😊
04. I liked Kohaku and Ginro’s excitement at hearing Taiju’s voice. This is the first time they’ve heard an outsider who they knew right away wasn’t an enemy! (Well, second time for Kohaku, since Senku saved her the day they met.)
05. The next time I’m on the phone with somebody, I’m going to imagine the same huge arc of electricity that Kaseki did 😁
06. Senku was so emotional – eyes shining with tears, smiling as he listened to Taiju – and then it all went away because he had to remind his friend that HE was Senku 😆
07. Just like how Gen is the stand in for the audience (modern timers, but generally clueless compared to Senku), Kokuyou and Ruri are the stand-ins for how incredible the phone must seem to Ishigami Village 😁 Come to think of it, Kokuyou’s had that role since last season – he’s far away enough from the main cast that he doesn’t know all of their adventures (and that distance makes him like the “normal” villagers), but close enough that he gets to share his thoughts and theories. It was through his eyes that we saw the big impacts that bottling and furnaces had on Ishigami Village 😊
08. I know it was short, but I like how Senku greeted Yuzuriha separately. They haven’t had that much screentime together since the anime began, but I like how Senku and Yuzuriha have their own friendship, instead of Taiju being their go-between or something like that.
09. “He’s been screaming all day.” All day? Have they been there longer than just the few minutes we’ve seen?
10. Kohaku noticed the defensive reason for why they had to speed things up! 😊 And I liked her observation about Senku and Taiju 😊
11. It’s could be easy to just write Taiju off as a loud blockhead, but it’s scenes like his allowing Tsukasa to hit him in Season One and his question about bloodshed in Season Two that really show you the kind of admirable, pacifistic guy he is 😊
12. “Gen will be back tomorrow or so.” Okay, so we have an estimate of how far the two kingdoms/empires are from each other. I’m glad they mentioned this!
13. Magma and Chrome’s loud conversation really shows how much anime can improve upon manga. When you’re just reading, you do know characters are talking and being loud, but when you’re watching anime, it drives home the fact that they’re being SO LOUD and that they need to SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! Poor Gen… 😆
14. Thank you for finally saying Ukyo’s name, Gen 😆 Anime only folks get important information, and manga readers can sigh in relief that another character’s name has been revealed 😁
15. I’m with Magma. Chrome’s so selfish, worrying about his own life like that! 😡 Not like Magma, who’s strong and noble and self-sacrificing and only thinks of others and their safety 😁
16. You have to feel sorry for Gen… he’s trying to get the two of them to just SHUT UP 😆
17. I doubt Magma was seriously thinking that Chrome would go along with that plan, so he must have been joking… and the fact that we have Magma JOKING around with main characters after being the main antagonist in the middle part of Season One… they’re really pals now, aren’t they? 😲😊
18. Chrome’s battery has 15V… how much is that compared to an AAA battery for a remote control? I'll look it up later 😁
19. I’m a modern era person and it would have never occurred to me to use a wire to connect two ends of a battery and throw it into the grass to start a fire. Either Senku told him that battery stuff fairly recently and it was stuck Chrome’s mind because he was in charge of the heating team, or he’s just that much of a genius that nobody explained that to him but he intuited it anyway… or I’m just that stupid 😆
20. It’s expected that Chrome would sacrifice himself, but Magma… very impressive character development 😁 (I mean, I’m a manga reader, so I knew this was going to happen, but still 😁)
21. Gen’s eyes are blue? I never noticed until this episode.
22. Poor Gen… first, in Season One, he had to run like the wind from the shed of science to the Cave of Miracles while he was SEVERELY injured, and he had to do it as fast as possible to help Senku stay safe, and he was the only one who could do it… and now, he has to run like the wind while dealing with the knowledge and guilt that two of his comrades sacrificed himself for him, and he has to do it as fast as possible to be able to start his extremely important deception mission, and he’s the only one who can do it.
23. Gen really needs to get Kaseki to build him some kind of cable car system or a limousine so that he can travel in style between the two kingdoms/empires instead of exhausting himself all the time running back and forth 😲 Or at least a bicycle!
24. Since it’ll take Gen at least one day, possibly longer, to reach the shed of science, that means that Taiju and Yuzuriha must have talked to Nikki one or more days after they spoke with Senku. Anime helps with some things (like sound), but it can sure confuse people about the passage of time…
25. Copper swirly! 😊 I like Kaseki’s name for it better than Senku’s name for it 😆
26. Kohaku’s eyes! She’s SO fascinated by how the copper swirly is being used 😁
27. Nikki’s SO hostile 😲 I get that she’s a guard and everything, but she doesn’t really have a reason to be this hostile to Taiju and Yuzuriha, does she? It’s weird O.o Unless maybe she wanted to do something else (hunting/training/etc.) but she was forced to be their guard specifically because she’s a woman and can stick to Taiju AND Yuzuriha like glue? (Like Brienne from Game of Thrones.)
28. Why are her eyebrows a darker shade than her hair? This is sort of like Kokuyou’s weird hair colors, but to a lesser extent.
29. The punches are… she’s really hostile. Maybe it’s just to emphasize how much she changes later on and the episode, but it’s still so weird.
30. Didn’t Senku “die” on a cliff, out in the open? Kohaku was able to see him from (presumably) far away, and all that stuff with the gunpowder and the huge rock… am I remembering it wrong? Was it NOT a cliff after all? Because the rocks around this grave make it look like some kind of natural, concealed fortress!
31. Senku’s Sebastian voice sounds so silly 😆
32. I wish they had done Lilian’s voice differently. Gen’s fake Lilian doesn’t sound like a native English speaker while speaking English. Maybe they’re counting on the people they’re talking to not knowing the difference between foreign language accents… but still, this could have been done better. Maybe the studio just didn’t want to hire a new person to speak just a few lines. Or maybe they did this on purpose so that Nikki could notice something was off with her voice?
33. Yuzuriha being quick on the uptake again! 😁
34. This has to be the most stressful, rushed, and mathematical estimating of CD sales and body measurements ever 😆
35. The video game music was used in such a fun, light way last season (choosing the third mining team member) that hearing it in this scene for this situation sounds so weird 😲
36. That crouching backwards, pointing straight ahead Lilian pose seemed really out of place when the music is this really soft, gentle song 😲
37. I wonder if the stadium they showed us is based on a real stadium in Japan?
38. “Lilian doesn’t exist in this world anymore. Am I right?” Oh, Nikki… 😭
39. Senku’s eyes were shining when he replied to Nikki… I wonder if talking about Lilian reminded him of Byakuya… somebody who was in space with Lilian and also doesn’t exist in this world anymore… 😭
40. I love how Senku doesn’t lose anything or inconvenience himself at ALL by making that promise, since he’s going to protect the glass recording anyway because of Byakuya 😆
41. Okay, after Nikki committed to the plan (welcome, Nikki!), they zoomed out and the grave is seriously surrounded by all those vertical rocks. There is NO WAY this grave is in the same place Senku and Tsukasa last talked. No WAY.
42. I was SO surprised when the episode ended there 😲 That was NOT what I was expecting. This episode felt so short!
43. I still love this ending theme! 😁
44. About the ending theme (“Koe” / “Voice” by Hatena), songs mean a lot more to me when I understand what the lyrics mean, so I went to YouTube hoping to find an English cover or English subtitles or something. I found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scv09Dtby-8) by a YouTube channel called AniComet Music, and from 0:12 to 0:34, the lyrics are, “I keep struggling and suffering, but still / I’ll gain strength from the feelings I’ve had for you / It’s a story that will never change / Even though I knew I’d never be a match for him.”
45. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel the song is from Senku’s point-of-view, and both the second and fourth lines could be about Byakuya (especially the fourth line) – in a father/son context, of course – of how he gets strength and inspiration from Byakuya and how he feels his father will always be beyond him and more than him 😭
46. With that said, even though my interpretation is really meaningful to me, it doesn’t really make sense, since “you” and “him” are obviously different people, and when you read more of the lyrics, “you” can’t really be referring to Byakuya. Maybe my interpretation will change when I listen to the song more and read more translations, but this is the first English translation of the ending song that I’ve read, and it really speaks to me 😊
https://firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr.tumblr.com/MyDrStoneEpisodeMangaThoughts
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I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost
Word Count: ~2.8k Summary: Four new friends decide to celebrate their recent meeting by doing some light breaking-and-entering at the local cemetery. They're looking for a ghost. They accidentally come out with the seeds for a YouTube channel. In which Gonff has done research, Rose brought the video camera, Martin's a little too comfortable with this, and Columbine wonders how a pre-med like her wound up stuck with two theater geeks and an enigma. read on ao3 Notes: Human AU, College AU. Un-beta’ed, all mistakes are my own. I’ve been sitting on this for like, over two years and the fact that the ‘verse is still bothering me and I still remember all the details to the set up means that I’m just going to have to exorcise it. Have a Halloween fic the day after Halloween.
The cemetery was on the western edge of town and looked not as a cemetery usually does, with neatly kept graves and graveled paths and mown lawns, but as a cemetery should. With the sun just below the horizon and night falling quickly, the overgrown graveyard with it’s off-kilter, lichen covered headstones and crumbling mausoleums looked like something right out of a horror movie.
“Hollywood called, they want their set back,” Rose said. All four friends were leaning against the iron gates at the entrance, nerving themselves up to go in.
“Oh, come on, this is B-list horror fodder at best,” Gonff countered. “More like Haunted Mansion or Hocus Pocus than—are you recording this?”
“Yep,” Rose said. She turned her phone towards him, zoomed in and out on his face, and stuck out her tongue. “You know how big a wimp my brother is about the spooky stuff, so I was going to send it to him. Congratulations, he just found out you’re a massive Disney geek.”
“Everyone likes Hocus Pocus—”
“Are you seriously going to do this?” Columbine interrupted, and rolled her eyes when Rose turned the camera on her.
“Scared?”
She sighed. “Of getting arrested for trespassing? Yes.” She reached out and made a swipe for the camera, but Rose avoided the grab. “Especially if you’re going to be recording us breaking the law—Martin!”
While they’d been talking, Martin had swung himself onto the top of the chest-high wall and sat straddling it with one leg to either side. “What?” he asked. “It’s not that high.”
“That’s not really her point, mate,” Gonff said. What was chest high on Martin was shoulder high on Gonff, and between that and a bit of extra pudge, it was a bit more of an undignified scramble up. Martin snagged the back of his shirt and heaved when it looked like he wouldn’t quite make it. “Thanks. C’mon, Columbine, you’re up next.”
She sighed again, but took both their hands and let them haul her up between them, with a neat little twist that left her sitting on the wall, feet on the outside.
“Here, catch,” Rose said. She tossed her phone up to Martin and waved off their assistance, bracing her hands on the top of the wall and hopping up, accepting her phone back with a grin. The group paused again on the top of the wall. “So,” Rose said, dragging out the vowel and turning the camera on each of them. “What do you think we’re going to find?”
“I was poking around in the library this afternoon,” Gonff volunteered, drumming his heels against the wall, “and turned up a couple of specifics. Apparently there was this chemist—and I use the term loosely, he wasn’t trained and it was the 1700s, I think—but when he died he said he’d be back.”
“And was he?”
“Well, he was exhumed at some point, and the body was unsettlingly preserved. Though I suppose saying the tomb was broken into would be more accurate; a curious medical student tried to cut off his head.”
“And you say it’s the theater geeks who’re weird,” Rose said. “When has a theater geek ever tried to cut off someone’s head in the name of science?”
Columbine just raised both eyebrows in Rose’s direction. “Really? We’re really going there?”
“Okay, but when has a medical student willed their skull to a theater so it can be used in a production of Hamlet?” Martin asked, and ignored how all three just looked at him in bewilderment. “Go on, Gonff. The body was unusually preserved, the student tried to take its head.”
“Which I contest, honestly,” Columbine interrupted. “You could get as good a sample without desecrating the corpse like that.”
“Anyway,” Gonff said. “As he was putting the head in the sack he’d brought with him, he heard whispers coming from the corners of the tomb.” He gestured, describing the scene with relish. “Whispers at the edges of reality, seeping through the cracks. When he turned around, there were shadows writhing and twining in the corners, reaching out as if they would pull him into the void itself.”
There was a beat of silence.
“And this tomb is in this graveyard?” Rose said, scanning the layout of the ground below them.
“Yep. The student ran, of course, and left the head behind. It’s probably still there, kicked into a corner by a panicked foot.”
Martin and Columbine exchanged skeptical looks. “Guilty conscience, obviously, and probably wind through the leaves,” Columbine said. “Look, there’s trees all along the wall, and there’s grass and stuff, too. When was this?”
Gonff blew out an exasperated breath. “I don’t really remember, a few years after the guy died?”
“So call it the 1810s at the latest,” Columbine said, crossing her arms. “Way before electricity was harnessed for things like flashlights. If he had a lantern or an oil lamp, those shadows were probably caused by the unsteady light source, and obviously an overactive imagination.”
“Speaking of which, anyone else have a flashlight?” Martin asked. “First quarter moon won’t be up for another few hours.”
There was another, longer silence.
“We are really bad at this,” Gonff said finally. “Martin’s the only person who brought a flashlight? Seriously?”
“I was just going to use my phone,” Rose said. “But that’s going to eat my battery, especially if I’m recording at the same time.”
“Lesson learned. When poking around old graveyards after dark, everyone in the crew brings a flashlight,” Columbine said, shaking her head.
“We’ll keep it mind for next time,” Rose decided, and hopped down into the graveyard without further commentary. “Come on, let’s go find this tomb. You remember which one it was, right, Gonff?”
“Yeah, it’s in the north corner. I’ll lead the way.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Martin said as he helped Columbine down off the wall, “I swung by earlier today to talk to the groundskeeper. Ghost hunters aren’t new to him, and we’ve got permission. As long as we don’t break anything, leave trash around, make too much noise, etcetera, he’s fine with it, if a little resigned.”
“I’m beginning to think you’ve done this before,” Columbine said, half joking, half accusing.
Martin shook his head. “No, I just don’t see any reason to take unnecessary risks.”
Gonff laughed from in front of them, and turned around to walk backwards and still face them. “Matey, I’ve known you for a week and I can already say with full confidence that that’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told.”
“I did say unnecessary risks,” Martin said with complete calm. “Besides, I haven’t been that reckless around any of you.”
“Yes, because jumping two flights of concrete steps is perfectly reasonable,” Rose said, giving him a very disappointed look.
“I was running late and took the landing on my shoulder like you’re supposed to.”
The deeper the four friends passed into the graveyard, the older the headstones became. What names and dates had survived the years were obscured by green-gray or orange lichen. At the very back were a row of small marble buildings, some with long fractures in their walls, some with craggy domes, some in eerily perfect repair but with the iron grate hanging askew. The casual back and forth banter grew quieter as they approached, until at last the muffled sound of shoes upon gravel swallowed it up entirely.
“That’s it,” Gonff whispered, nodding towards a mausoleum built into a low hill, the dark space where its door should have been framed by ivy and brambles.
Rose took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Break my phone and I’ll curse you,” she said, and thrust it into Gonff’s hands.
“Wait, what are you doing?”He fumbled it, checking the camera and keeping it trained on Rose. The image was becoming grainier as the light faded, but it was still enough to film, for now.
“I’m going inside,” Rose said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”
“Oh, no, not without me you’re not,” Gonff said, shoving the phone at Martin. “Here, you hold this.”
“I’m pretty sure this violates the 'don’t break anything' request we got from the groundskeeper,” Columbine said, rubbing at her forehead.
“Do you want to go in to explain every ‘experience’ they have, or shall I?” Martin asked. The video wouldn’t show the fond grin he wore, but it was clear enough in his voice as he trained the camera on Columbine, equally fond for all her exasperation.
“You’ve got the flashlight,” Columbine pointed out, waving him on. “I’ll stand guard on the off chance someone comes to run us out.”
“We can jump the wall and make for downtown if that happens,” Martin said. “Always have an exit strategy.”
“You’ve definitely done this before.”
“No, that’s just general life advice.”
They were interrupted by a low call from Gonff from inside the mausoleum. “Martin! Flashlight?!”
Martin fished the penlight out of one pocket with one hand, keeping the camera steady on the door as he approached. He knocked on the jamb with it. “Hello? Sorry for the disturbance, but we were just hoping to look around for a little bit, if you don’t mind the company. We’ll leave you in peace again soon.”
He flicked the light on, and startled back when it illuminated Rose, who was far closer than he’d expected. She also backed off with a pained protest. “Warn a girl before you do that, will you?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Martin said, angling the light a bit lower.
She rubbed at her eyes. “Were you talking to the ghost just now?”
“Look, if there is someone in here, just because he’s dead doesn’t mean we have to be rude,” Martin pointed out, following Rose into the crypt. “How’d you feel if someone came poking around your room without even apologizing for it?”
“You don’t even believe in ghosts,” Gonff pointed out, squinting around. The three of them drew closer together—ghost or no, they were in a small space with a dead body after dark, circumstances creepy enough to raise the hair on the back of anyone’s neck.
“I prefer to hedge my bets,” Martin said, sweeping the penlight slowly around. It was mostly empty, but for a few dead leaves in the corner and a low, rectangular construction in the middle of the room—the tomb itself. “I don’t see anything in here. Should we go a bit deeper?” They were huddled near the door, the blue-bright LED penlight aided by the distant starlight and the sickly yellow glow of a nearby streetlight.
“Yeah, why not,” Gonff said. His voice was a bit higher than normal, but he slid one foot forward, then another. Rose trailed behind him, looking closely around the room.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t go in front?” Martin asked.
“You’ve got the camera,” Rose said.
“Right,” Martin muttered, not sounding too pleased with that. “Of course.”
“I’ll curse you, too, if you break my phone—” Rose started, only to cut herself off with a gasp. “Did you hear that?”
“No?”
Another long moment of tense silence, before all three heard a rustling sound from beyond the tomb.
“I heard that,” Gonff said, this time with an almost manic sounding giggle. “It sounds like he doesn’t like curses. Maybe don’t talk about that right now?”
“Right,” Rose said. She swallowed. “Sorry.”
“There’re a lot of dead leaves in here,” Martin said, directing the penlight towards the corners. “It was probably the wind, or an animal. Something like—huh.”
The light illuminated a misshapen lump closer to the entrance, a bundle of something that looked like it might be cloth. The trio stared at it for a moment.
“Do you think that’s the head?” Rose whispered.
“It’s definitely something,” Gonff said. All three drew closer together until their shoulders were touching.
“You know, I sort of thought the head would’ve been moved, or missing, or eaten by now,” Martin said.
Gonff blanched. “Eaten?”
“Well, yeah. Animals, scavengers, that sort of thing. What, did you think I meant cannibalism?”
“No…”
“Well, only one way to find out,” Rose said. She squared her shoulders. Each step forward echoed hollowly in the empty mausoleum, and when she spoke, both Gonff and Martin couldn’t quite suppress a jump. “Martin, will you stop moving the light around? I’m nervous enough as it is.”
“I’m not moving the light, Rose. And my hands are steady, before you ask,” Martin protested, eyes on the video to make sure this was the case.
Rose halted without turning around. When she spoke, her voice was forcibly calm. “If it’s not the light, what’s making the shadows move?”
“Martin, are you getting that?”
“I’m recording the shadows acting like shadows, yes,” Martin said patiently. “They’re moving because you’re moving, Rose, and you’re between the light and the—oh,” he said, as the shadows trembled again and moved up the wall.
There was a crash of stone on stone from behind them, loud in the sudden stillness. All three screamed, Gonff and Rose both latching onto Martin’s arms. Martin had dropped the penlight to free one hand, and the light swung wildly about the mausoleum, chasing spiky shadows and weird shapes up the walls.
“I think we should get out of here,” Gonff said, already backing out and dragging Martin along with him.
“Good idea,” Rose agreed, matching Gonff pace for pace. “Great time and all, really interesting, but we ought to, you know, go analyze the footage, see if we got an EVP—”
“Not find out what that was?”
“A ghost angry about a joke about curses.”
“Don’t joke about curses, I was cursed once and it offends me,” Gonff agreed with another high pitched giggle.
“This is just for practice anyway, next time we’ll go investigate,” Rose said.
There was another rustling, and the penlight caught the reflective gleam of eyes at the other end of the room.
They broke and ran, bursting out of the mausoleum and almost bowling over Columbine.
“What, what did you—”
“Eyes, dark, something—”
“Just run!” Rose said, pushing the both of them ahead of her.
“Over the wall?” Martin asked the group.
“Yes, fine, just away!”
This wall was conquered far more easily than the first, the fear adding extra speed to all four friends’s flight.
“You really saw a ghost?” Columbine panted.
“No,” Martin said, at the same time Gonff said “Yes!”
“There were eyes, mate, actual, glowing eyes!” Gonff continued. “And the shadows, you saw the shadows!”
“I saw shadows move that weren’t caused by Rose,” Martin said.
“And the crash? And the rustling?”
“Coincidence. Dead leaves. There wasn’t a ghost in there.”
They stopped a dozen blocks away, Rose clutching a stitch in her side, Gonff with his hands braced on his knees, gasping for breath.
“Then what was it?” Rose asked, leaning her head against the wall of the closed coffee shop.
“I don’t know,” Martin said. He was breathing deeply, deliberately slowing his breathing back to normal. “But it wasn’t a ghost.”
“That’s… because… it was a fox,” Columbine said, also bent double and panting for breath. She waved her phone, which the other three only just noticed in her hand. “I saw it come out about two seconds before you did,” she said, straightening as her breath came back. “Snapped a few pictures. He’s a cutie, you probably scared him.”
“We scared him?” Rose repeated, scandalized.
“Oh, let me see,” Gonff said, leaning over her shoulder as she swiped through the handful of pictures.
“Wait, let me get a shot of this,” Martin said, a grin beginning to steal over his face. He raised Rose’s phone again, getting a good angle on Columbine’s. “Aw, he is cute.”
“What about the eyes—?”
“Probably a family,” Columbine said. “I mean, that’d be a great place for a den, wouldn’t it? Sensible people don’t go in.”
“Did I ever claim I was sensible?” Gonff asked her, turning to look at her indignantly with his chin still propped on her shoulder. “Did Rose? Did Martin?”
Rose shook her head, beginning to laugh. “So our first ghost… was actually a family of foxes,” she said.
“Apparently,” Gonff said.
“Stepping through leaves, knocking something over, moving around so that there were shadows,” Martin listed. “And our imaginations did the rest.”
Columbine shot them all a grin. “Good thing I didn’t come in with you guys, then, or I wouldn’t have evidence,” she said, waving her phone in Gonff’s face.
“Well, you’ll have to figure out a way to get evidence from the inside next time,” Rose decided. She put out a hand and wiggled her fingers. Martin passed her the phone.
“Next time?” Columbine repeated.
“Absolutely,” Rose said, and panned the camera around the group. “After tonight, we’ve got to find a real ghost. This is too embarrassing a note to leave on, don’t you think?”
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thelatelockdownlist · 3 years
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A Series on Series 04: Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy: A Discovery of Witches/Season 1
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Hi! I’m Alex, a YouTube Newbie and this is The Late Lockdown List where I talk about the list of things I’ve got on my mind since the lockdown started. 
Today, on the fourth episode of A Series on Series, I’ll be talking about Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy, starting with the first book,  A Discovery of Witches
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and the basis of the season 1 of the TV series. 
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Let’s dive a little bit into it. 
Why is it called the ‘All Souls Trilogy’?
I could do research, but having read the entire series, I think it’s because the male lead, Matthew Clairmont or Matthew de Clermont, in the book belongs to the All Souls College at Oxford University.  
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A bit of trivia: All Souls College does not have undergraduate members, and it’s unique in the sense that all members automatically become fellows -- full members of the college’s governing body. The examination for the fellowship has once been described as ‘the hardest exam in the world.” 
If you’re not familiar with the book or the TV series, just know that there are going to be a lot of spoilers. With that out of the way, first a primer:
The two main characters here are Diana Bishop 
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-- a Yale historian, visiting scholar at Oxford (where she also got her PhD) and reluctant witch. 
She’s the daughter of two very powerful witches, 
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but due to the tragic death of her parents she’s shied away from witchcraft and very seldom uses her power, if at all. After her parents’ death, she was raised by her maternal aunt Sarah and her partner Emily who are both witches. 
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They tried to teach her, but Diana’s grief at her parents’ death caused her to all but reject magic. 
Then we have Matthew Clairmont (aka Matthew de Clermont of the powerful vampire de Clermont family, aka Matthew Roydon), a geneticist, All Souls College fellow and 1,500-year-old vampire.
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There are creatures in this series: daemons, vampires and witches. They’re not HUMAN. That’s why they call themselves ‘creatures’ -- to differentiate themselves from us. Daemons 
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are blessed with creativity and cursed with madness. 
Vampires
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are -- well, the usual kind that we’re familiar with. Here, though, they mate for life, like wolves. 
Witches
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have magic -- different kinds like time walking, precognition, flight, transmogrification, telekinesis, witchwind, witchfire, witchwater, and manipulation of the elements.
Basically, if you’re familiar with Harry Potter and Twilight, then you know what witches and vampires are. Speaking of the whole Harry Potter and Twilight thing, The New York Times calls this the ‘Harry Potter for grownups’ 
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and NPR calls it ‘Twilight for the intellectually restless.’ 
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Make of that what you will.
For me, I don’t compare this with the other two. I think it stands very separately from those. Since this is written by an historian, the approach is markedly different. It’s well-researched -- as are most historical romance novels -- because it does deal with a certain time period.  
What I love about this -- and you’ll be hearing this from me a lot -- is the world building. I judge a book by the world it creates for me. I have to be able to LIVE in that world. And in most cases, I have to WANT to live in that world.
This is a world inhabited by creatures I’ve been fascinated with my entire life -- except for daemons. I did my first thesis on vampires -- let’s not talk about why it didn’t get accepted. It’s still a sore point for me even after so many years later. And as for witches, well… family tradition has it that my maternal great grandmother was a witch. In fact, growing up, I’d heard
whispers of her supplementing her income by being a ‘healer.’ I’m not sure how much of that is true but I like to believe that it is.
So vampires and witches, I’m sold. I can tolerate the daemons.
Another thing I love about this are the well-written characters. While I can’t actually relate to Diana Bishop, I don’t have to for me to like her. She just needs to be alive for me in the book. And she is very much so. I envy her graduate degrees -- I wish I had the discipline to obtain a PhD. And spending time at the Bodleian. *sigh*
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Anyway, I can understand her rejection of magic. After all, in a way it’s what took her parents away from her. But I like how she was able to adjust when she realizes that she’s got this power -- which is far stronger than anyone thought it would be. 
As for Matthew -- *sigh* -- I’m a sucker for vampires. Yes, I went there. I love him. He’s a scientist and he’s good with his hands. By that, I mean he used to be a stone mason so he can build things. What? I like a guy who’s handy.
I also like the love story. Matthew and Diana are equals -- in the sense that they are partners in the relationship. Of course, with Matthew having been alive for more than a millennia -- plus vampire, plus a guy, he has a tendency to be domineering, convinced that he’s doing all things to protect Diana. However, Diana is a POWERFUL witch. She’s a scholar, too. She can take care of herself. Matthew may be physically stronger, but Diana is a POWER. And as she grows into that, Matthew struggles to keep up as well curb his tendency to be overprotective. For the most part, they do keep this balance. 
On to the differences of the book from the show:
Overall, the TV series was faithful to the book. Most of the scenes in TV series are in the book. The show is gorgeous. I love the architecture and just the overall mood. I think Teresa Palmer makes a good Diana, but I love Matthew Goode. Period. But he is very, very good as Matthew Clairmont. 
I know Teresa Palmer is Australian and Diana Bishop is American so I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I do hear Teresa’s native accent here and there. It’s not distracting, but since I know that the one she uses for her character is not her original accent, I can’t help but hear the Australian one. Matthew Goode, on the other hand, is British, and Matthew Clairmont is as well. Well, for the last couple of centuries he is, but he’s originally French. But overall, I have no problem believing they’re really Diana and Matthew. 
As for Gillian Chamberlain,
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the other witch at Oxford who in the TV series is sort of Diana’s friend… in the book, they’re merely acquaintances. She’s played by Louise Brealey aka Molly Hooper in Sherlock. 
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I love the actress and I love that I found Gillian both slightly annoying and a bit pathetic. Because in the book, she is. So I love that that’s how she’s also played in the series.
Then we have Aunt Sarah. When I saw Alex Kingston, my first thought was, “River!” If you don’t know, Alex Kingston played ‘River Song’ in Doctor Who. 
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And I loved her in that. So I knew I’d love her here, too. I do have the same ‘thing’ with her as with Teresa. Alex Kingston is British and here she plays an American. I can hear the accent. It’s not distracting, but it’s there.
And then there’s Peter Knox. 
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In the book, I found him arrogant, condescending and just a generally irritating person. In the series, he is more so. And the actor who plays him played Ser Alliser Thorne in ‘Game of Thrones.’ 
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He was one of the Night’s Watch who tormented and had a hand, literally, in killing Jon Snow. But he got his comeuppance when he was hanged with the rest of the traitors. He was very convincing as a conniving SOB in GOT. And he is here, as well. In fact, he’s equal parts menacing and irritating. Which is a terrifying combination because if he’s just irritating, you can swat him away like a gnat. But because he’s menacing, you know you have to watch your back.
Satu Jarvinen 
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in the show is exactly how I thought she would look like when I read her in the book. In fact, the actress Malin Buska, infuses her with a somewhat edgy, emo attitude that really works. You can see why Satu and Peter work well because they seem to have something missing inside them that they think the other one has. It’s not a romantic connection -- more that of villains who don’t think they’re bad people.
And Ysabeau de Clermont. 
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Lindsay Duncan plays her, who also played Lady Smallwood in Sherlock. 
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She does have the whole ‘lady of the manor’ aura -- both regal and frightening. I really liked how she snobbishly said how modern day witches are so uneducated -- all because Diana even with her post graduate degrees didn’t speak Occitan.
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FAVORITE SCENES:
The rowing scenes: 
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This is very self-serving because I like rowing. I haven’t had a lot of chances to row in the water. I bought a rowing machine at the start of the pandemic and actually did a few months of rowing for 20 minutes three times a week. Then I stopped. I can’t remember why. But I love the scenes of Diana rowing -- which she does to rid herself of excess energy caused by her power -- because I imagine rowing along the Thames myself. 
Any time they’re in the Bodleian: I love libraries. I’ve loved them since I was a child. I loved them when I was in college. I was actually really excited that my university decided to extend the library hours on Fridays just so I could stay there and read to my heart’s content. Also, whenever I go to a foreign country, I always go to the national library.
This isn’t in the show, but in the book, but I love how everyone at the Bodleian scrambled to cater to Matthew when he went to the library. I liked how irritated Diana was that this guy took her spot… that they gave it to him solely on the basis of his being an All Souls fellow. In the TV series, they don’t really emphasize how much of a big shot Matthew is at Oxford. 
I like how Matthew, when he was talking to his daemon friend, Hamish Osborne, was self-aware enough not to immediately think that Diana had the same feelings for him as he did for her. Since he’s a 1,500-year-old vampire who knew Charles Darwin, of course he’s a great resource for a history of science researcher. 
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I love that part when Diana was trying to guess how old Matthew was and she asked, “Survived the fall of Carthage?” and he says, “Which fall of Carthage?” It was a playful exchange, and you can see that he was showing off a bit.
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Sept-Tours: 
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literally ‘Seven Towers’ and is the current family home of the de Clermonts. It must be hell to heat, but as most of the residents are vampires, it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s beautiful and like Matthew, I would probably claim my own tower as well. 
While it’s not my favorite scene, I think they did the part of Satu torturing Diana 
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-- in the pretext of trying to ‘open her up’ to see what her power is -- was done well. When I read that scene, I was wondering how much of it they were going to put in the book. So it was heartening to see that ‘horrifying’ scene there.
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I’m not sure how I feel about the ‘instalove.’ You know that thing that sometimes happens where the leads just fall in love at first sight? In the series, it feels like it’s instalove. Diana and Matthew first meet at the Bodleian -- the day after Diana experiences the magic in Ashmole 782. It’s a book all creatures have been trying to find. Matthew, in particular, has been searching for it for more than a century. It’s thought to explain the origins of all creatures. Matthew is initially drawn to Diana because she is able to “call” the book. 
Anyway, going back to the idea of ‘instalove,’ I mean, sure there was chemistry… but...  In the books, their connection was fostered both by the time they spent with each other and their curiosity about Ashmole 782. I was more convinced in the book about that part than in the TV series. Or maybe it’s my deep-seated and sometimes difficult to conceal bias FOR the book versus its live action adaptation.
~
The Congregation: Secret island! 
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It’s actually on an island in Venice, concealed from humans. It has nine members, 3 from each supernatural race. And since the de Clermont patriarch established it, one of the rules is to always have a de Clermont on the Congregation. It was created during the Crusades as a self-regulating body for the creatures. Because most of the creatures abused their powers and abilities to influence outcomes during the Crusades, they attracted unwanted attention from humans. Ostensibly to keep the creatures safe from humans, the congregation agreed to several covenants: the main ones being that they must not interfere in human politics and religion and for creatures not to mix together, especially in terms of romantic relationships. 
This is the covenant Diana and Matthew break. In fairness to Diana, she had no idea. She didn’t even know about the existence of The Congregation, much less the covenant. And so Matthew does this whole ‘noble idiot’ thing where he denies his feelings for her… but of course, in the end, they end up together.
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Moving on, the first book ends with Diana and Matthew going back to New York to Aunt Sarah’s and Aunt Em’s house. The original plan was for Diana to learn more about her magic from her witch aunts. The problem is that Diana’s magic isn’t the same as theirs. And they need someone to teach her so she can call the book again -- this time intentionally.
They’re joined by married daemons, Sophie and Nathaniel; two vampires: Marcus, Matthew’s vampire son, and Miriam, an ally of the de Clermonts and Matthew’s  colleague at the lab, and Hamish. As there are now 3 witches (Sarah, Em and Diana), 3 vampires (including Matthew) and 3 demons, this is in effect a ‘coventicle’ -- this will be important later in the books.
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They’re all gathered there for different reasons: Sophie, because she’s meant to give Diana something that has been passed down in her family for generations (and one that’s needed for the timewalk, the vampires to update Matthew regarding their research (and I guess for moral support as well), and Hamish both because he’s Matthew’s best friend and lawyer (real world legalities must be observed before one undertakes a timewalk). 
They leave for Sept Tour, which Matthew volunteered as their HQ of sorts, on Halloween. That night, Matthew and Diana are going to timewalk. And seconds before they could do so, Gerbert de Aurillac, Peter Knox and Satu Jarvinen arrive to stop them. 
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Of course, they don’t and we see our couple land somewhat shakily in 1590 London…
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And the season ends there, setting us up for the next one and The Book of Shadows.
FINAL NOTE:
I LOVE IT!
Like I said earlier, it’s faithful to the book in the sense that I didn’t find anything that was off.
If you loved the books, I’m sure you’ll love the TV adaptation as well.
I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t love it as much. I’d been burned before, you see. (I’m looking at you, American Gods. Even Ian McShane and Orlando Jones’ Mr. Nancy couldn’t keep me hooked.)
However, I wasn’t disappointed in this one. There’s a lot to love here and I’m glad that there’s a second season -- and now they’re even done filming the third.
So that’s it for the first book and Season 1. Catch you in the next episode for The Book of Shadows and Season 2. Bye!
9 notes · View notes
houseofsannae · 3 years
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A Fistful of Munny - Extended End Notes
Notes for A Fistful of Munny that don’t fit within the character limit under the cut!
Please, read the fic before reading this post
           All right! Welcome to the extended notes, in which I go into excruciating detail over a bunch of stuff that doesn’t matter, because I like the sound of my own voice!
           Let’s start with some more broad stuff that didn’t make the exclusive end notes space. To do the Fistful of Dollars homage, I needed a place where I could have two villainous factions intersecting for Strelitzia to play against one another. After some brainstorming and asking for help from other people working on the Entwined in Trine Sorikai zine (and ultimately ignoring all their very good suggestions (Sorry, guys!)), I eventually realized that the Wasteland from Epic Mickey was a perfect place for this story, both in the sense of having mooks to destroy without Strels committing actual murder, and in the thematic sense of forgotten characters. There was just one issue.
           I hadn’t played Epic Mickey.
           And that is how I spent my summer, playing both Epic Mickey games. Both, because I was looking for a good location to set the story in in-world. Since the Wasteland is based on the Disney theme parks, I was hoping to find one based on Frontierland, their Western section. Such a location did exist – Disney Gulch – but only in the second game. Which meant I had to play Epic Mickey 2, as well. (The first one is a better game, but that’s not really the fault of the developers; they were not given the time they needed to make it as good as the first one. Here’s a video with trivia about the series that goes a little into the development.) I also needed to learn the Mad Doctor’s ultimate fate, since I wanted his Beetleworx/Blotworx to be one of the two villainous factions. In the game, depending on whether you chose the Paint (Paragon) or Thinner (Renegade) path, the Doc is either redeemed… or dead. Neither of which was helpful, so I had to invent.
           But let’s talk about characters and why I picked them in order. The short version for why these choices, at least on the Final Fantasy side, is set-up for later. Obviously I can’t go into detail why. Before that, let’s talk about the Beanie Baby.
           Chi is, as I hope you were able to guess, Strelitzia’s Chirithy. I’ve brought it up several times, but I personally do not like mascot characters. There are a few exceptions, but Chirithies are not one of them. Like I said, KHUx isn’t what happened in this AU, so you’ll have to wait for in-universe answers on why it’s a cat now. Out-of-universe reason is this was the only way I could make it palatable for myself. I arbitrarily decided on a gender for it because as a real cat, it would have a sex. Canonically Chirithies appear to be genderless, and in Japanese refer to themselves with the gender-neutral (but masculine-leaning) boku. I would’ve left Chi that way, save for the fact that he’s a completely normal cat now. (And before you ask, no, not every real cat that appears in KHΨ from this point on is a Chirithy.)
           As for Strelitzia herself, it’s hard for me to pick up a character’s voice when they’re… not voiced. Intonation and cadence do a lot for me mimicking the way a character talks, so it’s a bit more difficult when they don’t technically speak. I tried for a mix between Sora and Kairi, while still keeping her defining character traits of being shy, but also impulsive.
           You may notice that while she’s started remembering faces, if not names, the Player’s name and face still eludes her, despite her (canonical. Deal with it.) crush on them. There is a story reason for this, and will become clear once Luxu takes centre stage.
           The name “Jane” was chosen with more consideration than just “Jane Doe” being the standard name in (at least my corner of) the English-speaking world for a woman of unknown identity. See, the Man With No Name actually has three names. In A Fistful of Dollars, he is referred to (by one character in one scene, once) as “Joe”. “Joan” might have been a more clear homage, but I figure Jane makes sense. And as you might guess, in the next fic, Strels will be going by a different name, still not her own. She’ll remember her name… eventually.
           One might think I could’ve picked any old Cid, and one would be wrong for reasons I can’t explain yet. In fact, I can’t explain much of anything surrounding him yet. What I can say is no, Cidney Aurum is not dead, she’s just not related to Cid Sophiar in this fic verse. An unfortunate consequence of where I wanted to put each of them in the narrative; making them not be related was the only way it made any sense, geographically speaking.
           Hyperion on the other hand, I can talk about. He’s one of the Gremlins in Epic Mickey, and… wait, first things first. Gremlins are from an abandoned Disney film based on a Roald Dahl book, itself based on the cryptids that supposedly haunted airplanes and caused them to malfunction, the earliest known written-down mention of the concept being from the 1920s. The film never got made, but the designs Disney would have used were adapted into a second printing of Dahl’s book, and they were later used in Epic Mickey. Hyperion is, like the publishing imprint that Disney owns, named after a street that Walt Disney used to live on. In-game, Hyperion is in Bog Easy (based on the Haunted Mansion), not Disney Gulch, but his name stuck out to me as being particularly fun, so I picked him instead of trying to figure out what Gremlins actually are in the Gulch (they have names in the files of Epic Mickey 2, but not in the actual game, so it would have been a hunt).
           Regardless of where the setting ended up, for the second villainous faction, I was always going to plop down the good old Don. More things I can’t talk about. For everything FF7, know that I’m always going to be pulling from a mix of the original game, Remake, and Machinabridged. Hence, Corneo’s outfit is a mix of his original and Remake designs (which basically just means he’s wearing blue jeans instead of brown). I didn’t think bringing in his three lieutenants from Remake was necessary, especially since this was supposed to be a kind-of small operation.
           Leslie is picked up and dropped from Remake pretty much unchanged. I needed someone to do the murders Strels couldn’t, and even if he’s not a complete asshole, he’s still mostly an asshole. Have we ever seen small, Materia-like balls used to cast magic before…?
           Onto the fun bits, which is the Disney characters. We’ll start with Percy, who is from a Goofy short called “How to Ride a Horse”, from 1950. And that’s about it. The conceit in Wasteland is that all of the Toons there were basically actors, and they wound up in Wasteland if they were forgotten (that’s not exactly correct, but I’m generalizing). This is interesting, since two of the Toons in Epic Mickey are Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, both of whom… are residents of Disney Town in Kingdom Hearts, having shown up in Birth by Sleep. So that’s an interesting continuity snarl that I’m going to just ignore.
           Persephone and Pluto, on the other hand, are from an earlier short called “The Goddess of Spring”, from 1934. It was one of the projects Disney tried as practice for Snow White. If you’re about to protest that his name should be Hades, not Pluto, then you’re going to need a time machine so you can tell them back in the 30s. The Goddess of Spring is a musical, in the sense that every single line is sung. Watch it for yourself. There’s a video with better quality floating around YouTube, but for some reason it’s the French dub. And that’s why both of them sing most of their lines. I tried matching the meter of their actual parts, but Persephone’s doesn’t actually follow a syllabic pattern that I could make out. I eventually gave up and just gave her the meter from the start of the short. Pluto’s was easier to manage (and more consistent).
           The skeletons are Disney veterans, presumably the same ones from “The Skeleton Dance” (1929), but more specifically they’re mimicking what they did in “The Mad Doctor” (1933), the first appearance of our other villain. They’re fun.
           The original Mad Doctor was supposedly named “Dr. XXX”, according to the name on his door. This was before the modern film rating system was put in place; it was a different time. In the original short, the Mad Doctor kidnaps Pluto (the dog) with the intent of cutting him in half and putting his front half on a chicken For Science!, and Mickey follows him to his castle to rescue the purloined pooch. The short wasn’t a musical in the same vein as “The Goddess of Spring”, but… the Mad Doctor’s only spoken lines were a song (aside from evil cackling). While I had already decided to do the “Toons that sang in their short can only communicate through song” with Persephone and Pluto before starting on Epic Mickey 2, I hilariously discovered that the game developers had done the exact same gag with the Mad Doctor, most of his lines in the game being sung. (In Epic Mickey there were no fully voiced lines, so he speaks as normally as anyone else does). Which made it easier to write his songs here, since I could just rewrite his songs from the game. I used to write alternate lyrics for songs back in high school, so this was an interesting trip back in time for me. They were stuck in my head for weeks afterwards, but it was worth it.
           I believe that’s everything for the characters. Let’s talk about Keyblades.
           It irks me that three people in KHUx have the same Keyblade. Ephemer, Skuld, and Strelitzia all have variations of Starlight. Now, in KHΨ, there is only one Starlight, and it belongs to Luxu, so I’m going to have to decide on different Keyblades for each of them. (Ephemer’s has already been decided, and I haven’t started brainstorming for Skuld yet. No I do not need suggestions, thank you). Pixie Petal bears a noted (by KHWiki) resemblance to one of Marluxia’s alternate scythes, so that tangential connection was enough for me. Both siblings have flower-themed Keyblades – it makes sense to me.
           You might notice a few disparities in the magic. These are on purpose, and will eventually make sense. And that’s all I can say on that at the moment. ;)
           Oh, yes, one important thing I probably should have said on the main notes: I’m not going for a realistic depiction of amnesia here. Anything I got right was entirely accidental, and I’m fairly certain there’s not much. There might be a story reason for why it works the way it does… and it might be the same reason why other people from KHUx have or had amnesia in the present day…
           You know what’s funny? Although Orcuses look more impressive than Invisibles, their stats in Days are actually worse. I’m fairly sure that this is because the only time we see an Orcus, it’s actually an illusion cast over Xion so that Roxas will fight her to the death. There are no other stats for them (according to KHWiki), since they’ve never been used elsewhere.
           A friendly reminder that Apprentice Xehanort invented the term “Heartless”, which was why Aqua didn’t know what to call them until Mickey told her. Thus, nobody from the era of the Keyblade War should know the term “Heartless” without being told by someone in present day. “Darkling” was the term they used instead. I’m fairly certain KHUx ignores the continuity on this (so why should we trust its continuity for anything else, hmm?)
           I think that covers everything! Or at least everything I’m willing to share at this point. If you’ve read this far, thank you! I appreciate your dedication! ^_^
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lamortexiii · 3 years
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Cryptic Mystic: In the End
To bounce off of the previous blog posting, I thought it would be fun to just hop right on into the topic of what happens after we die. After all, we just finished talking about souls and a bit of astral projection last time. From transcending to another place/dimension to reincarnation, there truly is a lot to cover when you start diving into the many beliefs and ideas that surround death and mortality/immortality. But what differentiates the scientific facts from myths and stories of olden days? For those who believe in one defined means to an end for us all, how do you know for a fact that what you believe is true? Have you ever questioned what is life after death? Hell, is there a life after death? Or maybe… it’s something else… something so obscure that our tiny human brains are nowhere near possessing the capabilities to understand it. In the end, readers can decide for themselves what is more likely to be true, or maybe… the answer to this cryptic question has been right in front of us all along? Maybe it is a combination of what we know but do not yet understand. Let’s talk shop, shall we?
Death. Happy for some, a time of joy and celebration for others, but likely a time of sadness and grief for most. Some welcome death with open arms, while yet others fear their mortality. The numerous speculations on what happens after we die is overwhelming. There are far too many ideas and beliefs that people hold in this regard. I’ll briefly cover a few of the more popular beliefs as to not make this blog super lengthy - because, ya know, your attention span and whatnot. 
Scientifically, there are two types of death: clinical death and brain death. Clinical death is characterized by major organ failure (e.g. heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) until the body is completely rendered of functioning and the individual is officially pronounced dead. In brain death, solely the brain stops functioning, but the other organs within the body continue to work within their normal capacities. Creepy fun fact for you: the heart can beat for up to 30 minutes on its own after all brain cells have died. Once the heart stops it’s adios amigo. The remaining major organs that were barely hanging on have now lost blood flow, and life has ended. More creepy death fun facts: the gastrointestinal tract can live on its own for up to 3 days, and the complete decomposition of a body takes roughly 30 years! Crazy science stuff. 
Now let’s take a look at some common beliefs and speculations of what happens when/after we die. Again, I want to remind you, readers, that in my eyes there is no right or wrong answer here. I am a firm believer in everyone having their own beliefs and respect all of them regardless of how obscure some naysayers may think that they are. I enjoy hearing stories from followers that help to further broaden my thought processes. If you ever have an interesting story or want to chime in with your thoughts please feel free to leave a comment here or shoot on over to Instagram and we can rap about it. 
The belief that we transcend to another realm/dimension has been around for thousands of years and has been studied for decades. There is a lot to uncover here between recent scientific discoveries and human belief. Many people believe that many other dimensions exist, however, scientific exploration hasn’t fully found the golden answer to if and what these other dimensions may contain if they do indeed exist. We know that Earth has at least three dimensions: space—length, width, and depth—and one dimension of time. Modern physics posits that there is at least a fourth dimension of space, but that we can’t experience it. Maybe we can? Maybe we do but just haven’t put a label on it? Maybe the odd phenomena that happen across the world that people describe as being ghosts, aliens, and other paranormal activities are actually from the next dimension or another. There has been speculation that extraterrestrials come from another dimension through a portal that is already here on Earth rather than from the sky (outer space). 
Give me an R! Give me an E! Hell, this word is too long and I’m not going to put you through reading a silly cheer for 5 minutes. Reincarnation - yet another commonly held belief of what happens when we die. For those of you who may have never heard of reincarnation, here is the quick and dirty version of the definition. Reincarnation posits that when we die our spirit/soul/whatever you want to call it, moves on to a new host. This host could be a human baby that is born the very second that you die OR you could possibly find yourself reincarnated as an animal, tree, flower, or any other living thing that you can find on Earth. Interesting concept indeed.
My favorite belief, that we go to Heaven or somewhere similar, is one that is believed by millions of people across the world. Wouldn’t it be nice to die and go to another world/place where nothing can do you harm, and just live out the rest of your existence in peace? Well, if you can believe it then it may just happen that way - or maybe not. I am fairly certain I have mentioned this in previous blogs, but religion can be thought of as a coping mechanism for that which we do not know or understand; the human way of putting a label on something to make ourselves feel better or like we are a part of something divine and much greater than us. Which, in all actuality, we very well may be a part of something divine and much greater than us, however, it is my personal opinion that we honestly have no fucking clue about the extent to which that is. 
Now, this next one I threw in here because I personally found it to be interesting. In 2017 I was having a conversation with a friend about mystical things such as portals, extraterrestrials, etc. My friend informed me of a research video on YouTube about a company called CERN. He described this Swiss company as having built a circular-shaped machine that when you throw something into its core it disappears. However, other items have come through this machine and into the room from… wherever the other side is? Basically, these people have created a portal and no one knows about it. You’re welcome for the information. Within this research video, the guy who was describing all of this stuff went on to talk about how China had gifted the statue that sits in front of the CERN building. This particular statue is reported to represent the end of time and hell on Earth. There is a whole mythical background story about this statue - you need to check it out. The irony between the statue and this machine they made is uncanny. It made my jaw drop. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I haven’t been able to find the YouTube video again, so I am not sure if it got taken down because the guy exposed something that was supposed to be secret, or maybe I just suck at YouTube searches. Either way, I encourage you to do some digging on this one, because this type of information could potentially support the whole soul/spirit transcending into another realm/dimension belief. I am not a physicist, so I could be explaining this all wrong. You’ll just have to check out their website for yourself and see what it’s all about. → home.cern
There is also the belief that when we die nothing happens. We are dead and it is the end of who we once were. This belief is often held by Atheists and some Satanists if we’re using labels. However, many people believe this who aren’t subscribed to a religion or don’t want to necessarily put a label on who they are/what they believe. This is the grim reality of our existence. Maybe it all means… nothing… Now isn’t that depressing. 
Then there are near-death experiences, which brings a whole different perspective into the mix. People all over the world have encountered near-death experiences. Many report shockingly similar experiences and stories. Some say they see a white light and follow it to a place of peace. I have heard people say that while they were legally deceased they found themself in a field of flowers or floating within the cosmos. A common theme found within these individuals is that once they have had their near-death experience, they aren’t afraid of death anymore - they welcome it with open arms. One woman on a documentary that I watched even went as far as to say that she didn’t want to come back from where she was and was disappointed when she was revived. These experiences could possibly support the theory of transcending to other dimensions or that there is a “heaven.” I can’t explain it, but I still find the information interesting to ponder upon. 
Our mortality is evident, but what really happens when we die? These are just a short collection of ideas and beliefs that have been around for ages, however, there are many more to consider I’m sure. What do you think? Or should I say: what do you want to believe? Ultimately it’s your choice. Whatever brings you peace, serves you well, and is the right answer for you is what I advise you to turn to. This flesh and blood will decay for each of us one day - it’s inevitable. It is for this very reason why I say live life to the fullest. Regret nothing. Do what best serves you. Do what makes you happy. Take chances. Above all else - be the best version of yourself that makes you happy.
Cryptic Mystic Blog by PsychVVitch
www.LaMorteXiii.com
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