#and 2) i just had to make a character who would 100% be voiced by rhys darby
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Ok so I watched the interview with Stephen Rooney, Astarion's writer, and here are some highlights. (I'm an aspiring writer and current game design student who wants to write for games so I'm sorry if some of these insights aren't as interesting to you as they are to me <3)
He calls Astarion his "horrible little vampire boy"
He loves seeing the fandom around Astarion<3
He did write other characters in the game, but mostly NPCs surrounding Astarion or his storyline, so it mostly revolved around Astarion
Astarion is not as connected to other companions/Origins as, for example, Lae'zel and Shadowheart, or Wyll and Karlach are to each other, but he is still reactive to their stories, even if it's just to stand off to the side and laugh when something terrible happens
He had a clear sense of where Astarion's story would start and end, but it got "muddy in the middle", but those are also moments where the best ideas come from
They write from the general idea that every character has one "good" and one "evil" ending, in order to give the player choice. RIP Ascendant apologists :(
According to Stephen, two of the most important aspects of Astarion's character (to keep consistent when bringing him to Idle Champions, at least) is that he enjoys violence, but is also fun about it
"He has a certain appreciation for violence, I guess? A bit of a murdery streak. [...] He's a vampire, he's all about blood, and he's all about, kind of, those darker sides of humanity. [..] But at the same time, he is ... He is really fun, he's really fun to write, he's really fun to have in your party, and it's very important for me that that is also represented."
"He's gonna stab you, but will have a smile on his face as he does it? I mean, I dunno. That's kind of him in a nutshell."
Larian would not have allowed for Astarion to be a typical brooding Dracula type, and there were scenes that were shot down for not being original enough
The main thing about Astarion was trying to get a "sense of fun." It would be easy to write a character that was very unlikable, and they absolutely did not want to do that
Rooney says Astarion is consistently terrible throughout the game and awful in a whole lot of ways, but he also needed to be charming enough that you could tolerate his presence and wanted him around
Rooney also had a lot of input on Astarion's stats (meaning the 10 Charisma is probalby 100% intentional)
He also had input on how certain lines should be delivered, even though the writers didn't directly work with voice actors
The way Astarion moves and poses is "all Neil"
Apparently, Neil Newbon worked on the character for years and Rooney did not speak to him once, though his voice work did influence how Astarion's lines were written and it became a "feedback loop" (Possible context for "ONLY SLIGHTLY, NEIL")
There were no points where a line delivery drastically changed Astarion's writing; rather it was a constant, slow evolution
However, there was one very spoilery moment where Neil gave such emotion to some "basic" lines that it fundamentally changed the scene (WHAT IS IT OMG)
It's difficult to balance approval, as you don't want to straight up write a monster. Every character needs to have some humanity in them. So if it comes to leaving the party, it needed to be the result of something central to said character. They wanted to be mindful of situations that would cause actual rifts between characters. (I assume this is why most generic disapprovals/approvals are +/- 1 or 2, while character-related ones give +/-5 or more)
However, as they don't write straight up horrible people/monsters, it doesn't come up as often as one might think.
The interviewer makes a point about how characters like Astarion and Lae'zel are good examples of how to play "evil" characters, as they are maybe not the best people but are still eager and willing to stick around the other party members
They worked to make sure the characters would work as a group, no matter the configuration of the group. The characters needed to be on the same path, even if they don't always agree or walk that path the same way.
Stephen Rooney is very proud of the "climactic" scene of Astarion's story. (AS HE SHOULD BE.) He even had to step away from the computer and have an emotional moment. Me too, man.
He's also "extremely pleased" that there's a point where you can punch Astarion in the face. "Actually, that one might be my favorite part" A MAN OF THE PEOPLE!!
Stephen Rooney's tip on what specific thing you should try out with Astarion: When he's trying to get a "sneaky nibble" at night, you should "probably" let him bite you. Way ahead of you there, sir.
No discussion about Astarion's romance unfortunately, but that's that!
#bg3#baldur's gate 3#astarion#anyway ... after dragon age it feels so mindblowing to have writers who aren't apologists for their characters
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figured out a way to come up with ideas for more perpetua ocs and now im just rotating one who's 4'8 and started building mechs to cope with his height complex (among other things. they dont even have a name yet, it's all just purple led lights and gamer boy aesthetics.
#globeland perpetua#auri rambles#'you cant keep on making characters who are just blatantly parts of you. like you already have damien lmao.'#SHUT UP!!!!! this one is staying i think the height complex is funny#the other fun one is a very kiwi (nz) and high-strung engineer. he only exists because#1) i thought it'd be fun to loosely base some characters on mcyters due to the nature of the project#and 2) i just had to make a character who would 100% be voiced by rhys darby#ironically the rottmnt brain rotating has ended up spawning more perpetua guys. thats just how it works LMAO.#idk man donnie is my favourite character and then i realised that i like another character who's associated with purple and machines.#its scaramouche. so naturally it was blender time.
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Propaganda
Yvonne De Carlo (Frontier Gal, The Ten Commandments, Casbah)— Although most famous for playing Lily Munster in The Munsters, Yvonne De Carlo had a successful movie career throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in such films as “The Ten Commandments”, “Sea Devils” and two Munster movies later in life.
Setsuko Hara (Tokyo Story, Late Spring, The Idiot)— "'The only time I saw Susan Sontag cry,' a writer once told me, his voice hushed, 'was at a screening of a Setsuko film.' What Setsuko had wasn’t glamour—she was just too sensible for that—it was glow, one that ebbed away and left you concerned, involved. You got the sense that this glow, like that of dawn, couldn’t be bought. But her smiles were human and held minute-long acts, ones with important intermissions. When she looked away, she absented herself; you felt that she’d dimmed a fire and clapped a lid on something about to spill. Over the last decade, whenever anyone brought up her lips—'Setsuko’s eternal smile,' critics said, that day we learned that she’d died—I thought instead of the thing she made us feel when she let it fall." - Moeko Fujii
This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]
Yvonne de Carlo:
The woman who brought Burt Lancaster to his knees.
Setsuko Hara:
One of the best Japanese actresses of all time; a symbol of the golden era of Japanese cinema of the 1950s After seeing a Setsuko Hara film, the novelist Shūsaku Endō wrote: "We would sigh or let out a great breath from the depths of our hearts, for what we felt was precisely this: Can it be possible that there is such a woman in this world?"
One of the greatest Japanese actresses of all time!! Best known for acting in many of Yasujiro Ozu's films of the 40s and 50s. Also she has a stunning smile and beautiful charm!
Linked gifset
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She's considered by some to be the greatest Japanese actress of all time! In Kurosawa's The Idiot she haunts the screen, and TOTALLY steals the show from Mifune every time she appears.
"No other actor has ever mastered the art of the smile to the same extent as Setsuko Hara (1920–2015), a celebrated star and highly regarded idol who was one of the outstanding actors of 40s and 50s Japanese cinema. Her radiant smile floods whole scenes and at times cautiously undermines the expectations made of her in coy, ironic fashion. Yet her smile's impressive range also encompasses its darker shades: Hara's delicate, dignified, melancholy smile with which she responds to disappointments, papers over the emotions churning under the surface, and flanks life's sobering realizations. Her smiles don't just function as a condensed version of her ever-precise, expressive, yet understated acting ability, they also allow the very essence of the films they appear in to shine through for a brief moment, often studies of the everyday, post-war dramas which revolve around the break-up of family structures or the failure of marriages. Her performances tread a fine line between social expectation and personal desire in post-war Japan, as Hara attempts to lay claim to the autonomy of the female characters she plays – frequently with a smile." [link]
Leading lady of classic Japanese cinema with a million dollar smile
Maybe the most iconic Japanese actress ever? She rose to fame making films with Yasujiro Ozu, becoming one of the most well-known and beloved actresses in Japan, working from the 30s through the 60s in over 100 hundred. She is still considered one of the greatest Japanese actresses ever, and in my opinion, just one of the greatest actresses of all time. And she was HOT! Satoshi Kon's film Millennium Actress was largely based on her life and her career.
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I have tried to avoid discourse around this ever since November, but since people are once again upset at the ultimatum (which doesn't seem to trigger in game yet, though it has been voiced) I guess I will offer my defense of Halsin.
A lot of the anger at Halsin here boils down to "he's against Minthara, therefore fuck Halsin," ignoring that Halsin has very good reasons to not trust her. (And also purposeful misinterpretation of his comments about HER to be about all Drow).
So first of all: We need to look at what has happened to Halsin in his life before arriving at this point.
Yes, obviously, there is his captivity with a Drow noble house, but I think people are kind of just forgetting what that means here. It isn't "he hates all Drow now because of his trauma", which is an almost insultingly reductive take. Minthara is from House Baenre, the top house of Menzoberranzan for centuries. She is at LEAST 200 years old, and likely older; she witnessed the downfall of House DeVir, and was old enough for her to fully understand it, but "young enough that it left quite an impression on me", likely placing her between 200 and 300 years old. Halsin is 350, and was kidnapped as a young Druid- likely between 100 and 175. There is a very good chance that Minthara was a young adult when he was a captive, and he would have heard about her evil actions long before encountering her in the goblin camp. He would know who she was before the tadpole.
Halsin was a captive for at least a few days if not longer, tortured in his bear form (the goblin lashers are mentioned at least a few times, not to mention rocks being thrown at him, Gut mentioning threatening to cut him open and put maggots in his belly, etc), and had his Grove threatened by Minthara.
Most important, and most easy to miss: this ultimatum is planned for if the Rite of Thorns is carried out, hence the reference to Kagha's foolishness. He has lost his home, his place of worship, and the people he considers his family forever. Watch his reaction after you tell him the Rite has been carried out; his world comes crashing down, he lets out the tiniest "the Rite of Thorns? no", and he is so upset he no longer asks you to take out the leaders. He says he needs to be alone for a while. He is grieving the loss of everything he had, everything that got him through the loss of his original family, and it is directly because of the Cult of the Absolute.
Now, let me go through some rebuttals to arguments in Minthara's favor.
She doesn't mean Halsin any harm at this point.
Rebuttal: Halsin has no way of knowing this. Her actions have already demonstrated otherwise- she has caused him harm. He has no tadpole to see her true intentions, like the other players, and Minthara doesn't make her case particularly well. She simply says she "has no quarrel" with him. Not an apology for his sufferings in the past or the loss of his home. If she doesn't regret the harm she caused him, he has no reason to trust her.
And of course, Minthara DOESN'T feel any remorse, whether or not she raids the Grove; if she does succeed, she'll later say her only regret is not making the choice to do it herself. Because she is evil and that's how evil characters work.
2. Halsin works with Shadowheart/Lae'zel/Astarion/an evil-aligned player; Halsin is willing to sleep with the Seldarine Drow twins; Halsin is forgiving and wants a better world for all, this should clearly include Minthara too.
Rebuttal: by rescuing him and saving the Grove, the former four have shown themselves to be capable of good deeds. He is very consistent that his one redline is DO NOT FUCK WITH HIS GROVE. If you DO NOT FUCK WITH HIS GROVE, he will give you the benefit of the doubt. If you FUCK WITH HIS GROVE, he is done with you; if the player raids the Grove, he will hunt them down and attack them, no matter what the player tries to talk him out of it.
FURTHER, he very much calls the party out on any future evil deeds they do (I.E. Shadowheart slaying the Nightsong if she's on the Shar path), and will leave the party if the player sinks their approval low enough.
The Drow twins are Seldarine, not Lolthsworn, and having a one-night-stand is very different than trusting someone as an ally.
The "wanting a better world for all" thing is of course subject to the paradox of tolerance. In the epilogue, it is very specifically mentioned that their commune is "hidden from those who are not welcome, open to any who need shelter." I.E. those who want to cause harm are not welcome to it, because the "better world for all" can't allow, by design, those who DON'T want a better world for all.
3. Halsin hates her because she's a Drow.
He specifically mentions Lolth-sworn Drow here. "Cruelty comes to Lolth's followers as naturally as breathing. I have seen it- experienced it." Minthara literally only abandoned those ways because she was abandoned by Lolth first- only when it suited her.
She still supports all the same teachings (which is why she openly insults surface elf players the first time they meet, and will tell an elf player who becomes a mindflayer that it was an "improvement"), and she uses slurs against surface elves to boot. Minthara is far more racist against surface elves than Halsin EVER is against Drow.
4. Halsin is condemning Minthara to a fate worse than death (unspoken: out of spite) and this makes him not a good person.
Halsin fully believes Minthara to be a threat to himself and the player. He says in as many words that if it's a choice between Minthara's freedom and the player's, he picks the player. In his eyes, it's a choice between Minthara's freedom and the fate of the world since he knows the player is the only one who can defeat the Absolute. He's in a dilemma similar to the player having to decide whether to let Orpheus die or turn the Emperor into an enemy- it's just that people don't realize because we have meta-knowledge, as players, that Halsin doesn't.
5. That "viper" comment is hypocritical.
He isn't referring to Drow as a whole. He is referring to Minthara herself.
Remember, he knew Kagha before she went bad, and knew she was capable of better (better enough that he made her his second in command). All he would know of Minthara was what she did in the Underdark as a Baenre (including owning slaves, which I'm sure didn't do her any favors), what she nearly did to his Grove, what she allowed to happen to him, and that she's now claiming to have changed when showing zero remorse or actual interest in changing anything. Perhaps it was wrong for him to phrase it it as "cannot" change instead of "will not" change for her, but the sentiment is spot on. Minthara doesn't fundamentally change in any path the player brings her on- what changes is, at best, who she considers it acceptable to subjugate.
6. Halsin has no stakes here, it's wrong for him to demand Minthara go when she has more to lose.
Again, Halsin views Minthara as an existential threat to their plan to save the world. He is lacking in personal stakes by comparison, but remember; he also has lost the only home he knows. That is no small thing.
(From a meta perspective, I do think they should have done something like mention the Shadow Druids/Ketheric Thorm loyalists are still hunting Halsin, just to make it more fair, but this was clearly written with the main goal of enforcing the exclusivity. And honestly, I can't imagine all that many people actually want both in the same party on every playthrough? Mostly I saw people wanting to recruit Minthara on good playthroughs, and wanting to not have to abandon the Shadow Cursed Lands to darkness; many of the people I saw expressing this specifically said they wanted to dismiss Halsin after accomplishing that. This seemed like exactly what those players would have wanted, being able to spare the Grove, free the SCL, and then dismiss Halsin and travel with Minthara.)
7. Halsin owes the player his unquestioning trust after they saved him/his Grove/broke the Shadow Curse. He has no right to question their judgment.
This... really isn't a good way to think? He shows his gratitude by traveling with them to help (when he has no tadpole at all- he's doing this out of pure selflessness to thank the player for helping him), but that doesn't mean he should stop having thoughts on the goings-on. Where is this energy when other characters continuously question your judgment when you have them wait at camp?
8. Halsin is being stupid by allowing her to go be mind controlled by the Absolute.
This is one I will concede. It's not the wisest decision, and I can only guess it's because they didn't want to write Minthara automatically going aggro on the player if they choose Halsin over her. (I, on the other hand, think that would be brilliant, and would be a mark in Halsin's favor for this choice.)
9. This is manipulation of the player.
Halsin wishes the player the best, and leaves without fuss, if they choose Minthara over him; he thanks them for all they've done, and he even says he hopes he's wrong, but cannot stay to find out. He is being sincere; he believes he, and probably the player, will be killed if Minthara stays, which in turn puts the fate of the world in question. He will accept the player's decision if they choose her, but he feels threatened and won't stay himself. This is a boundary, not manipulation, not malice, not anything else.
10. Halsin comes across as uncompromising/unsympathetic; this is OOC for Halsin/ruins his character; he is being selfish; other assorted similar sentiments
I already addressed most of the other arguments with the points above, but I will say, truthfully: I don't find this particularly OOC at all. He has been very clear that his one and only rule is DO NOT FUCK WITH THE GROVE. Minthara fucked with the Grove. He has no reason to trust her. And he has ALSO been incredibly consistent: if you are in a situation where it's someone else or you, you have every right to choose to save yourself. He shows sympathy if Wyll has to let Ravengard die, he doesn't blame the player if they kill EVERY DRUID IN THE GROVE to save the Tieflings, he doesn't even blame the player if they order Orin-as-Lae'zel to kill Yenna, an innocent child he was very attached to. He is devastated at the latter two, clearly, but he blames the Druids for the second for forgetting their principles, and he blames Orin for the latter for making the trap. This is perfectly in line with his Druidic beliefs; you have every right to protect yourself first and foremost.
I get that a lot of people don't like the ultimatum (worth noting is that this has always been part of the series; in the first two games, characters of different alignments would outright refuse to work with each other), but it really doesn't make Halsin look as bad as people say, and I feel like a lot of people are being really callous/dismissive/reductive to what Halsin has been through here.
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Aziraphale and Forgiveness, Pt 1: Not Just A Word
This series is now complete! Here's where you can find the other parts.
Part 2 here.
Part 3 here.
Part 4 here.
There are a lot of aspects to Aziraphale’s character that, when I first watched the show, I vibed with immediately without really thinking too hard about why. He just made deep emotional sense to me as a character. It wasn’t until I waded into the fandom that I realized how much metaphorical ink was being spilled over the question “Why does Aziraphale do the things he does?”
I would always think, “Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” but then find that I didn’t really have the words to explain why I thought it was obvious. It was just this ongoing feeling of “Well sure, that’s exactly the kind of thing I did/would have done as a born-and-raised evangelical teenager.” But then I would try to articulate the actual reasons younger-me would have had for doing the thing (and by extension, what I assumed Aziraphale’s reasons were) and immediately fumble because I hadn’t thought it through that far.
One of these elements of his character is his whole deal about forgiveness. Why is he always telling Crowley he forgives him or wishing for God to forgive him? Why is forgiveness one of his favorite things? Why is this such a prominent theme with his character?
(Me: Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?
Everyone else: What do you mean?
Me: …uhhh well I definitely mean something, but yes, good question!)
So here’s my attempt at actually using my words to explain why I find this aspect of his character extremely relatable and realistic from an ex-religious-fundie perspective. And it's going to be in multiple parts because I have way too much to say.
The main point I want to make in this first part is that Aziraphale, like Crowley, has a ton of emotional baggage around the subject of forgiveness.
I see a lot of people ask things like "Why isn't Aziraphale more sensitive to the fact that forgiveness is an emotional hot button for Crowley, who fell?" And that's a fair question! But it's very clear to me whenever I watch the show that forgiveness is also an emotional hot button for Aziraphale, or else he wouldn't keep bringing it up. As with many of the things both characters have issues around, though, with Aziraphale it's less straightforward and less on the surface because of the amount of denial and rationalization his character runs on.
I think it's important to start here, because I firmly believe that when he expresses forgiveness:
He's not saying it glibly or meaninglessly.
He's not saying it because he's an angel and it's part of the brand/that's what angels are "supposed" to say.
He's not saying it because he's feeling smug and self-satisfied*.
He's not saying it because he's trying to put himself above the person he's forgiving.
He's saying it because forgiveness means something important to him, something very emotionally loaded and complicated.
*For the record, Aziraphale is 100% a smug, self-satisfied, holier-than-thou bastard sometimes. Exhibit A:
Seriously. Look at how pleased with himself he is while he gives Crowley that little speech about evil containing the seeds of its own destruction. This is Aziraphale being a smug bastard. (I say that with affection. It's one of my favorite Aziraphale moments. But he's totally talking shit here.)
But compare that to these:
Look at his face. He is not feeling pleased with himself (or anything) in these moments. I'm too low-tech to mess with video clips but it's the same with his tone of voice, which ranges from somber to devastated depending on the specific scene. Aziraphale brings up forgiveness when he's experiencing significant emotional distress.
This is already super long so I'm going to end this part here and start digging into what I think his specific damage is about forgiveness in the next post. But I wanted to start here because I've seen the take "Aziraphale is being a superior holier-than-thou prick when he forgives Crowley" several times.
(ETA: I’ve also seen the more positive take, “Aziraphale is just saying I love you the way an angel would,” and I also disagree with this because I don’t think it’s anywhere near that simple. But I digress.)
On the “superior holier-than-thou prick” interpretation: (1) Michael Sheen's acting choices in these scenes don't bear that out at all, and (2) as someone who was raised in a very toxic religious community from which I inherited a lot of Extremely Complicated Feelings about forgiveness that I'm still grappling with...I immediately saw a kindred spirit in Aziraphale in these moments.
Is it an ill-advised thing to say to Crowley of all people, especially that last time? Obviously. But is he being purposely cutting with his words when he says it? I think not.
Stay tuned for Part 2! I plan to write the next part about divine punishment and mercy in Good Omens, how powerless all the angels and demons in this world really are, and the beliefs Aziraphale has developed (especially about forgiveness) to cope with it all.
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LOKI SEASON 2 FINALE ... LET'S DO THIS
One last time. Let's do this. *hands out tissues*
HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE UNDER THE CUT!
Okay. Let's face it. I was sobbing, you were sobbing, we were all sobbing, right?!
This episode was so damn good. An absolute cinematic masterpiece and a finale worth a beloved character like Loki.
If you've seen my Instagram story today you'll know that I was ugly crying and struggling to breathe.
Honestly. I was a mess. I still am a mess. I'm tearing up again as I'm writing this. I'm still processing. And I have so many questions!
First of all... Loki learned everything O.B. knew about the Temporal Loom and the mechanics of the TVA, spent fucking centuries doing this? Can we please talk about the commitment? I realise there was a comical aspect to this but UM?! The commitment!
The winks throughout killed me. Betcha. His calm professor-like voice had me feral, thank you very much.
When he realised that there is nothing that could fix the Temporal Loom... I immediately thought he's gonna have to stop He Who Remains from dying. When he went back there... my heart almost stopped.
For a moment, I honestly believed that he would kill Sylvie. I thought that's where the conversation he had with Mobius (which was so damn heartbreaking and epic and such an amazing verbal conclusion to Loki's way of thinking and realisation... you could practically see him struggling with the right decision and the fact that he went to ask Mobius for help is just so damn heartbreaking and sweet!) was leading. That he'd sacrifice the one person who was truly like him, who he was on one wavelength with, an outsider like him.
(That conversation with He Who Remains... him saying he paved the way for him to be able to manipulate time... and Loki outsmarting him and finding a way to keep everyone alive?! PLEASE CAN WE JUST?!)
But instead... damn, talk about a sacrifice. Loki is a fucking hero. Even writing this is so damn satisfying. Loki is a hero. And you know why that is so damn special? It's not because we wanted to prove that he's not a villain, it's not because we desperately wanted to see something in him that we obviously knew was there but it's because we didn't need him to be. He's our Loki, our cheeky God of Mischief. We loved him regardless. And now he is a hero.
Loki, the God of Stories. Loki, the God of Time.
The very moment he went down there I started sobbing. I knew at that moment that there was going to be a sacrifice of some sort. As he walked out there... and the cape appeared and those HORNS. THOSE HORNS that looked just like the cracked marble of the Citadel and He Who Remains' TemPad... I was screaming, sobbing, ugly crying... is it silly when I say that I was actually struggling to breathe?!
Can we please talk about how powerful Loki is? The fucking most powerful being in the entire multiverse? He practically became the Temporal Loom. He controls everything now, sees everything, protects everything... I still can't wrap my head around this!
It is epic. It is so fucking epic and such an amazing conclusion to his arc. Is it the end? I'm not sure. I don't want to think so. There's gonna be a multiversal war, there's gonna be Kang Variants...
We saw purple light when Renslayer woke up in the Void and I'm sure as hell that was a Kang Variant who came to pick her up. So she's gonna make another appearance for sure. So I am 100% sure this is not the last we've seen of Loki or Sylvie or Mobius. There's gonna be more, I'm sure of it.
But it was epic. Epic, epic, epic. I loved it so much. When that throne turned golden and he sat down on it, I lost it. That last scene where he smirked? THE MUSIC? The fact that his cape turned into fucking time branches?!
I have so many damn questions still. Will he be there forever? Will he be alone? Loki said that he's afraid of being alone... and now he is and that is so fucking tragic and heartbreaking. Is that the true sacrifice? The true act of heroism here, the Loki lesson to be learned? Is that how it has to be for the rest of his existence? He doesn't deserve to be alone even if this was the most selfless thing of him to do. Selfless. Loki. Beyond him saving his family I never thought I'd write something like this. Gods, damn it. And what will happen once the multiversal war breaks out which, inevitably, it will?!
Guys... let's do a group hug. I think we all need it after this epic finale.
EDIT: I forgot to mention how epic I thought the Yggdrasil reference was. I immediately cried out Yggdrasil when I saw it!
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— daylight ⟢
when hoshi first opened his eyes, the singular impulse hard-wired into his circuitry is to dance. a performer in every sense of the word, he simply finds another stage to set foot on in the planet of salax after the escape. people never overstay their welcome here, but he unexpectedly meets you—a mechanic born and raised in a place where no one deigns to linger for too long.
★ FEATURING; soonyoung x reader
★ WORD COUNT; 9k words
★ TAGS; automaton!hoshi, mechanic!reader, a bunch of stray kids members make appearances bc HA!, mentions of sex work, mutual pining? angst, smut (MINORS DNI)
★ WARNINGS; implied dubious consent (with hoshi and a character that isn't the mc), mentions of terminal illnesses and surgeries
★ NOTES; fun fact! this collab was 9 months in the making and i am cramming this on the very last day of my extension :D very unprofessional of me, but here it is! p.s. little side note that the chan that's constantly mentioned in the fic is bang chan, not lee chan!
this is part of @idyllic-ghost's svt sci-fi collab!
★ SMUT TAGS; robot sex, unprotected sex, first time together, they're just so desperate for each other yk
★ PERMANENT TAGLIST; @cheolhub - @pretty-trustme - @just-here-to-read-01 - @idkmelkro - @dejavernon - @venusrae - @jyiiscool - @jiniesclub - @junhui-recs - @bldelaine - @featmia - @fruitzcup - @hoeforhao - @candidupped - @billboard-singer - @caratochan - @novalpha - @dahliatopia - @0717luv - @shiveringgaze - @toruro - @mixling-blog - @minnie-mouser22 - @homerunhansol - @mirtaspace - @ti--red - @zzucculent - @woozarts - @rubyreduji - @mozellerra - @lllucere - @cheolzip - @jjjzzzz - @lissiesykes - @dearjeonwonwoo - @meowmeowminnie - @colored-confetti - @partiallyinfluencial - @speaknowlwt - @flwrshwa - @lilylikesthat - @aurorahongg - @whippedforjihoon - @todorokiskitten - @immabecreepin - @98-0603 - @peachhiz - @dkswife
★ SOONYOUNG TAGLIST; @ak6ko - @nikkell - @yoonzinoooo
100 years ago it was thought that the Earth, as we know it, would disintegrate. That the sun would implode and leave everything in darkness. Miraculously, it didn’t. Due to some external force, human scientists still haven’t agreed upon what it exactly was, none of the planets in our former solar system were ever destroyed.
The Earth, along with the other planets, were pushed away from each other, and ended up in different parts of the universe. Earth just happened to come to a solar system with alien life. At first, we were cautious, and people were prepared to fight.
However, the aliens were welcoming of our planet. Those of us who didn’t die from ‘The Great Journey’ or from trying to fight the aliens, were welcomed into the new solar system.
Soon enough, we had integrated completely, and we received materials and assistance from our sister-planets in exchange for human labor. What humans knew of technology was very limited, but with the resources of the aliens we created artificial life forms. We named these robots Automatons, and they served as workers when humans couldn’t.
Eventually, there was no need for human labor at all. To pay back for the help the aliens gave us, we used Automatons. With the extensive development of these robots, we eventually managed to create artificial sentient life. These Automatons were human-like in looks and had human consciousness, but they could not bleed and were stronger than we ever could be.
At the present time, there are even different levels of Automatons. Level 3 robots are the workers, level 2 robots are the caretakers, and level 1 robots are the celebrities—
“That’s enough telly for one day, don’tcha think?”
A frown tugs at your lips when you hear the familiar voice of your next-door neighbor who also makes a living out of trading tech junk in exchange for money. Han Jisung is a bit of an oddball—even by your planet’s standards, and everyone knows how strange the dwellers of Salax could be. If he was on Earth, he would’ve been ostracized as a complete loon, but unfortunately the stack of television monitors right outside his shop is your only source of entertainment these days.
(Which might sound preposterous to some, since Salax is often dubbed as the planet of entertainment. Just not the kind you’re looking for.)
“Why are you even watching a documentary that’s nearly a decade old?” you huff, clutching a bag of tools you bought from the other side of town closer to your chest. “I thought you didn’t give a shit about Automaton celebrities—that Chan’s dancer trinity could outperform any machine?”
“Now, Giz, no need to be so stingy,” Jisung chuckles and your eye twitches at the condescending nickname. “You know that's not why I’m watching this old thing.”
As if on cue, the only working screen in the sea of television static before you flickers from a scene of breathtaking idol performances to a closeup on a familiar Automaton who’s been burning up the stage since he first opened his eyes.
“Hoshi looked so sparkly when he debuted,” Jisung comments as the documentary continues to play. “Actually, they all did. Makes me wonder why those idols thought it’d be a good idea to break out of their facilities. Weren’t they treated like royalty back on Earth? What’s he doing in a dump like this?”
“Jisung,” you sigh. “Why’d you ask me to come here again?”
“Oh. Right. I'll bring him into your lab, Giz.”
He calls you Giz because you’re known around these parts as someone who can fix any gadget and gizmo; every robot and Automaton that’s dropped into your care. It just so happens that, with the nature of his business, Jisung is the one who typically directs potential customers your way.
Which is what he’s doing right now.
“Didn’t he already come in here last week? And the week before that?” Your neighbor grumbles as he helps your mutual friend Minho heft a powered down Automaton on the table in your lab. “It was Hyunjin who brought him the first time. Then Felix. Now you?”
“He’s a bot, what’d you expect?” Minho huffs. “They break down every now and again.”
“You break down every now and again too, but you don’t visit the doctor every week, no?” Jisung quips. “Idol bots really have no business wanderin’ into the galaxy’s red light district when they can’t handle the heat.”
“Jisung, shut up,” you apprehend him sharply, all while getting to work on the Automaton lying on your work table. “I can’t fix anything when you’re running your mouth too close to my ear.”
Your neighbor simply chuckles before patting Minho on the back. “Oh, yeah. You’ve gotta be in your handywoman element and everything. Well, Minho and I are gonna pop open some cold ones from your fridge—”
“No.
“—from my fridge while you work on that dying star over there,” Jisung makes it a point to cast the same robot he’d just been watching a documentary of a pitiful glance. “Seriously though, won’t Chan-hyung just consider selling him to me? Bet this guy’s parts would make a great fortune in the black market.”
“And how are you going to explain that you managed to turn up Hoshi of 53V3NT33N’s body parts without getting arrested?” Minho barks before yanking Jisung by the ear to the entrance of your lab. “Sorry about him, Y/N. He must be a pain in the ass to have as a neighbor.”
"You're a pain in the ass for constantly getting me to fix this guy, too,” you mumble as you start to unbutton Hoshi’s shirt to access the panel concealing the circuitry panel underneath his chest. “I’m all for saving what can still be saved, but maybe Jisung is onto something. Why aren’t you guys just chopping up his parts if he breaks down this often?”
Jisung nods with a huff. “Can’t be good for business even if he used to be a famous idol, that’s for sure.”
The lab is silent apart from the whir of the machines mounted on your walls, and it’s this sullen atmosphere that makes Minho’s reply have all the more weight to it.
“You guys aren’t dancers. You wouldn’t be able to understand.”
The first time you met rogue idol Automaton Hoshi in his titanium-clad glory was during a rare night when Jisung coaxed you out of your lab to "have real fun for once". Your neighbor is easily one of the most overbearing people you know, so you simply tagged along for the sake of getting him to shut up more than anything else.
But when he droned on and on about this new recruit Minho managed to scour off the streets, you never expected that Jisung would be talking about a bot and not some fledgling dancer with little to his name.
Well, in retrospect, Hoshi is a dancer—a performer, even. Despite his group's intergalactic status as outlaws because of the simultaneous escape stunt they pulled several months ago, not a single soul in Salax wished to report his whereabouts to the concerned authorities.
Where the other bots from 53V3NT33N are, you haven't the slightest clue, but if your planet's natives have widely accepted Hoshi's presence even if he's been here for a month at most, who are you to dictate otherwise?
Passionate. That's the best word you can use to describe the way he dances. All the movements that his body makes are calculated, purposeful. Each roll of his hips, each snap of his limbs, every memorable expression that colors his face—the intensity of Hoshi's performance all bleeds into his passion for the art of dance.
In your many years of tending and tinkering with machines, this is probably the first time you wondered if a bot's creator infused part of his soul into the code. You know of a few Automatons that are being used as entertainers and even escorts for the lecherous visitors of Salax, yet none of them come as close to being human as Hoshi is in your book.
But on that same night, you managed to witness the polar end of the spectrum. The one where Hoshi's fiery passion crumbled into crippling anxiety. 
Automaton malfunctions aren't an uncommon occurrence here. The reason why not many Level 1 bots ever set foot on Salax is because the planet's electromagnetic fields mess with their delicate circuitry and sometimes even tamper with their code.
These Automatons are celebrities—meaning their parts are made out of sleek material to allow ease of movement and rid them of the rigid and bulky framework of infernal bots. But because of the flimsy hardware coupled with the harsh environment, you're not surprised to see an Automaton as intricately crafted as Hoshi break down in the middle of a performance.
He's a mess. The practiced choreography was seemingly wiped out of his programming as he convulsed on-stage, sparks flitting from the seams of his joints. The bar’s manager, Chan, was quick to bark out orders to bring Hoshi off the platform and just let the other dancers cover the rest of the routine.
You thought the immediate recall of an obviously defected Automaton would mean he was done for. But then again, Salax is a place with little resources to burn. As long as a bot can still do its job, the owner will have it fixed time and time again until its artificial nervous system shuts down for good.
That’s how Hoshi ended up in your lab the first time.
There’s a childlike curiosity in his gaze when he wakes up after you check if all his wires are in place and if his code remains uncorrupted. It almost feels like seeing a baby open its eyes for the first time, but you know better than to associate human traits with something that’s anything but.
“Horanghae,” Hoshi says without any real context as he bares his fingers at you, while Hyunjin, the dancer who brought him here alongside Jisung, groans in contempt.
“That’s the first thing he said when Chan-hyung booted him up too,” he sighs. “Is it like some starting screen sound effect or something? What does that even mean?”
As things stand, you don’t know either. But seeing that Hoshi isn’t glitching anymore makes a wave of relief wash over you in a rather unexpected way. While it isn’t the first time you’ve had to fix a humanoid robot, you don’t work much on machines that grin at you so wide, their eyes disappear.
Then again, there’s always room for firsts.
“Why’d you choose to go here after you escaped?”
You chose to ask Hoshi the question that’s been weighing on your mind despite having little to no reassurance of the ingenuity of his answer. You’re aware that though Automatons—especially Level 1’s—are sentient, you have zero background on their psychological makeup, the thought process behind their decisions, everything but the baseline components of their hardware.
Hoshi hums for a moment, wincing when you accidentally nick one of the wires directly connected to the nerves on his thigh. “I dunno. I just wanted to dance.”
“Hm. And you thought you’d be able to do that here?”
He nods as if it was a practiced response. Maybe it is. “Yeah. My old mechanic told me Salax is a place where all sorts of dancers flock together. I kinda wanted to go with Wonwoo when we all escaped, but…I wanted to dance even more.”
Whoever that mechanic was, they must’ve left out the part where your home planet is quite literally a den for one’s deepest, darkest desires. Dancers at clubs are just merely scratching the tip of the iceberg. The depravity of Salax’s denizens and visitors alike goes even further than that, but you suppose it’s not the right time to disillusion such an innocent bot so early in his new career.
After all, Chan’s club might be like any other salacious establishment out there, but from what you know about him through Minho and Jisung, he isn’t the type to just throw a clueless Automaton into becoming a nightly escort. You’ll let Hoshi live out his dream to keep dancing on whatever stage he sets his eyes on—even if that means he’ll start frequenting your lab for regular maintenance checkups.
“Where’s Jisung?”
The question surprises you a little when Hoshi articulates it while you’re in the middle of tidying up your work table. Normally, he’d be out of the lab once you were done and whichever human dancer is chaperoning him for the day would pay for the services you rendered and they’d be on their merry way back to the main district.
It’s completely out of character for him to ask questions. You weren’t even aware that he knew Jisung’s name, which makes you wonder…
Does he know yours? You’ve never really introduced yourself to the machines you end up tinkering with on your work table.
Choosing not to dwell on it, you instead respond with, “Jisung is…at the hospital. He goes there every weekend.”
“Hospital,” Hoshi repeats the word as if it was something he’s only hearing about the first time. “My mechanic had to go to the hospital because she was sick one time. I didn’t see her for a while. Will Jisung be okay? Why is he in the hospital?”
You didn’t think sentient robots would have such a complex sense of self that they’re actually capable of empathy. It makes you stare at Hoshi, who’s staring back at you with a look asking for confirmation, and the unreadable expression on your face melts into soft laughter.
Your reaction, however, confuses the Automaton a little. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just amusing for me that you care that much about someone who’s constantly threatening to disassemble your parts and sell them in the intergalactic black market.”
“Well, if he needs them, I don’t mind.”
“If you let Jisung do that, you wouldn’t be able to dance anymore,” you point out before locking your toolbox, casting him a pointed look. “Will you really be alright with that? Not being able to do the thing that brought you here in the first place?”
Hoshi’s face scrunches up for a moment—as if he’s taking his time to actually think about his answer. Another speck of amusement prickles your chest. He has such human mannerisms that if you didn’t constantly see what’s underneath the clothes the bar provides him with, you never would’ve thought he was a bot.
“It would suck, but… Automatons were made to serve the humans around us, weren’t we?” he wonders out loud. “If my purpose is to get chopped up for parts, then I don’t really have any qualms with that.”
“Your purpose was to entertain millions of people across the galaxy as an idol group,” you deadpan. “But here you are in Salax, light years away from the rest of your members. You can cut the moral bullshit, Hoshi. We’re all selfish degenerates here anyway.”
For the first time, his expression twists into a frown. “I’m afraid I don’t understand…?”
“You don’t have to. It’s not that much of a big deal.” You shake your head and at the same time, you hear the sound of someone rapping their knuckles on the door to your lab. “Oh, Felix is already here. Good luck with tonight’s show.”
“You didn’t answer me.”
You can almost hear the pout in Hoshi’s voice, prompting you to cast him a sidelong glance. “Answer what?”
“Why is Jisung in the hospital?”
You let out your umpteenth sigh of the evening, opening the door to your lab to reveal a dressed-to-kill Felix that smiles and waves at the two of you.
“His older brother is sick and Jisung always goes to the hospital to take care of him on weekends,” you explain as simply as you could. “Does that finally sate your curiosity?”
It takes him a few moments to process the information he’d just been told, but Hoshi eventually breaks into that familiar, eye-crinkling grin—clearly satisfied with your answer.
“It did. Thank you, Giz.”
Well, that’s not quite your name, but you suppose it’ll do.
For Hoshi’s next checkup, you immediately sense that something’s amiss.
Typically, the Automaton waltzes into your lab and hefts himself on your work table before you can even get a chance to say hello to both him and his assigned chaperone. Today, it’s Minho but unlike last week’s visit, Jisung is here to lighten up the atmosphere in his usual Jisung fashion.
Though it’s not enough to conceal the obvious discombobulation your patient is currently experiencing.
“You two,” you call out, referring to the only other humans inside the lab. “Can you step out for a while? I’m gonna talk to Hoshi.”
Jisung, of course, is quick to initiate his rapid-fire questions. “What? Why would you need some alone time with a sexy bot, Giz? You’re not becoming one of those deranged mechanics who gets off with their Automatons, right?”
“Quit yapping and just let her do her job,” Minho scolds before dragging Jisung out of the lab by the wrist. But he doesn’t leave before yelling over his shoulder. “Just call us when you’re done!”
When Minho pulls the door shut and the automatic locks come into place, you turn to Hoshi with an inquisitive look.
“What happened?”
The question is met with a wince—as if you took out a cigarette and burned his silicone skin with the smoldering edge. Hoshi makes it a point to avoid your eyes, which only further confirms your theory that something is most definitely up.
“I…had my first client the other day.”
Ah.
While you haven’t personally dabbled in the services being offered by the red light district, you’ve been friends with Minho long enough to pick up on the basics. With how much attention Hoshi has been garnering for himself, it was only a matter of time before Chan would let him entertain their club’s regulars in a way that he was probably never taught as an idol.
After all, Level 1s are considered the purest of all the Automaton classes. You’ve always wondered what would happen if they were exposed to activities of the sexual kind, but from the uneasy look on Hoshi’s face, you’re afraid it might not have been a great first time.
“Do you…want to talk about it?”
It feels a little silly, playing therapist for a literal machine. But the longer you serve as Hoshi’s regular mechanic here on Salax, the more you realize that things would be less stressful if you treated him just like you would treat any other human being out there.
He’s an Automaton—a robot—but because of the groundbreaking discovery of their ability to become sentient several decades ago, you’re more than inclined to hear him out.
“The other dancers helped me prepare. Chan told me time and time again that I didn’t have to do it if I didn’t want to but…” He starts, voice coming out softer than you’re used to—more reserved. “I wanted to. I wanted to be of use to them. I knew that lots of our customers wished for me to become their escort, so I just repaid Chan’s kindness by doing my job.”
Your lips tug into a grimace. “You don’t look very pleased with the outcome though.”
Hoshi purses his lips and that alone is already an answer.
You don’t pester him any further than that. Instead, you quietly instruct him to take off his shirt and lie on the table like he always does. Hoshi complies surprisingly quickly—following your orders with clockwork precision. He’s in position merely ten seconds after you gave the word.
When you perform your regular examination beneath his chest plate, nothing seems out of turn. Part of you wants to check the circuitry inside his head just to make sure he’s doing alright up there. It’s been a while since Hoshi has been brought here because of a breakdown, so you haven’t bothered inspecting the wires beneath his artificial skull. You wonder if he even wants to—
“It felt good,” your patient tells you all of a sudden, nearly making you drop the tools you’re using to poke around inside his chest cavity. “I didn’t think it was possible for me to even feel that way, but I did.”
Composing yourself, you manage a small nod. “Okay. Did you enjoy it at least?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you want to do it again?”
“...With her? Not really.”
Hoshi falls silent for the next few minutes once more, which affords you all the silence you need to concentrate on what you’re doing. After closing his chest panel and lubricating the screws on his external joints, he was more or less in the clear. But from the way his uncharacteristic silence still persists, you know that he still has a couple more things on his mind.
“I didn’t like the way she said my name.”
You glance at Hoshi with a quizzical look, implicitly asking him to elaborate, which he thankfully does in a heartbeat.
“When I was still with the rest of 53V3NT33N, the fans would call out my name and it always felt good. It felt euphoric, even,” he reminisces as he sits up on the table, dark eyes trained on the tiled floor. “But with my client…it was the first time I felt unnerved hearing it come from another person’s mouth. It’s like—like she only saw me as a thing to enjoy. Not someone she loves, like our fans love me.”
The honesty in his words makes your heart sink.
Turns out, ridding an Automaton of its figurative innocence isn’t so different from that of a real person. The glittering curiosity that’s always been present in Hoshi’s eyes is nowhere to be found and you feel a deep-seated anger pooling in the pit of your stomach at the knowledge.
“Can you give me a new one?”
Blinking the irritation out of your eyes, you stare at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“A new name,” Hoshi says softly. “I never really liked the name Hoshi. Our management just thought it would make for good business to base my image around tigers. What’s more is that this city has already tainted it for me.”
The bitter laugh that follows his words has your chest aching with an emotion you can’t name. When was the last time you became this sad on a machine’s behalf, you wonder…
“Are you sure?” you murmur. “I’m not your boss or anything. If there’s anyone who has the right to give you a name, wouldn’t it be Chan?”
Hoshi shakes his head. “No. I want it to be you.”
Humans are already hard to figure out, but with each session you share with Hoshi, you learn that Automatons are even more so. He stares at you with such intense desperation in his eyes that you find it difficult to deny him. So, with a deep breath, you say the first name that pops into your head.
“How about...Soonyoung,” you breathe. “You are powerful because of your innocence and glory combined. It’s obvious in how you haven’t tapped out because of that less-than-stellar time with your first client.”
“Soonyoung…” he whispers under his breath, as if testing how the syllables would taste in his mouth. When the corners of his lips twitch into a smile, you know you’ve struck gold. “Did you just invent what the name means or…?”
“That’s for me to keep and for you to find out.” You shrug. “Well? Do you like your new name?”
“It’s not just my name. It’s yours, too.”
“...That doesn’t really make a lot of sense.”
Soonyoung laughs. “You’re the one who gave it to me. So it belongs to you, too.”
I belong to you too, you can almost hear him say, but erase the idea from your brain before you can get any more silly thoughts.
“Well, I think we should go. My sensors tell me that someone is very pissed off on the other side and I’m guessing that Jisung must’ve said something that annoyed Minho again.”
“For a robot, you’re pretty adept at picking up on human emotions,” you point out teasingly.
“Of course I am. I always want to appeal to the emotions of those around me, Y/N. Why do you think I dance my heart out every time I’m in the club?”
Oh.
He does know your name after all.
That evening, you decided to tag along with the boys to the club—grabbing a table for Jisung and yourself as you watched tonight’s lineup of performers. Soonyoung, with his newfound confidence thanks to the name you bestowed upon him, looks just as breathtaking as he was in the prime of his idol years. You wouldn’t have thought he’d just had an unsavory encounter with a client with how brightly he grins at the audience.
He reminds you a little of daylight breaking through the horizon minutes after dawn—almost blinding in his brilliance, but too precious for you to miss out on.
“What’re you doing?”
Soonyoung sounds a little annoyed when he glances over his shoulder. Your most loyal patient came in alone for the first time in months for his weekly maintenance check-up, but for some reason, his trusted mechanic is much more interested in something else.
You’re still tinkering with a portable hologram projector that wandered into Jisung’s weekly junk stash—one that your neighbor gave to you as a little plaything that’s been taking up most of your morning trying to figure out.
“Give me a second,” you grumble as you attempt to salvage the inner workings of the worn out thing with a soldering iron. “I’ve only read about these things in books, and my old mentor said they usually contain the final messages of a ship captain whose spacecraft is about to get destroyed.”
“That’s weirdly specific of you, don’t you think?” Soonyoung huffs. “Come on. I’ve got a client to meet in two hours and Hyunjin’s being really annoying with this new routine he came up with. I need to go back and practice as soon as I’m done here.”
You let out a quiet laugh before giving up on the hologram projector. “Oh? Time sure flies, doesn’t it? I could’ve sworn you hated taking up clients just yesterday.”
He whines. “It’s been half a year since I started doing that!”
“Like I said—time flies!”
Your sessions have grown shorter and shorter with each passing week. Every time you fine-tune Soonyoung’s circuitry, you observe that he’s become less prone to internal malfunctions. You didn’t think it was possible for a Level 1 Automaton to fully adapt to the frequency of the electromagnetic waves in Salax, but Soonyoung has surprised you time and time again.
Now, he can go on for weeks without powering down to regain his energy. He’s as good as any dancer—both human and robot—can be, and you honestly consider telling him that he doesn’t really have to come in for his weekly check-ups anymore.
Soonyoung, however, doesn’t seem thrilled with the news.
“What do you mean I don’t have to come here anymore?” He pouts.
“There’s nothing left for me to check, big guy,” you sigh as you seal his chest panel back up. “You’ve been stable for months now. I don’t even charge Chan for your check-ups anymore since everything is relatively normal.”
“But if I don’t get any check-ups, can I still come here?”
You make a face at him. “What for?”
“To hang out! Minho and Jisung do it all the time. Although Jisung always barges into the club uninvited and we have to stop Minho from beating him up…”
His invite perplexes you more than it flatters you because… You’ve never encountered any cases where an Automaton would willingly go out of its way to spend time with a human that doesn’t hold any sort of authority over it.
They’re sentient, yes, but at the end of the day, those emotions that others trick themselves into believing that bots can feel are just a clever arrangement of ones and zeros. It’s easy to lose oneself into one’s own delusions when in need of a little company, but you know that you aren’t that desperate for companionship.
It’s always just been you and the bots and other machines you fix for a living. Well, maybe Minho and Jisung when they’re not busy trying to piss each other off. You don’t need to hang out with Soonyoung.
And yet…
“Fine,” you relent with little resistance, feigning nonchalance by fluttering back to the projector you’ve been trying to salvage. “Just don’t make too much of a racket or I’ll kick you out.”
Soonyoung beams at your agreement, tugging his shirt back on before shuffling towards you and embracing you from behind. The suddenness of the gesture obviously catches you by surprise. You nearly drop the portable holo projector, but Soonyoung’s reaction time is quite phenomenal.
“Hey, don’t drop it. It’s already been through a lot.”
Still unnerved by the feel of his beefy, synthetic arms wrapped around your frame, you glance at him warily. “You talk like it’s some sentient creature.”
“It is! Well, by some degree, I guess,” Soonyoung chuckles before flipping the thing over in his hand. “Machines are just like people too. If you listen close enough, you can hear what they want to tell you.”
“Uh-huh,” you drawl before disentangling yourself from his embrace before you could implode from embarrassment. If he notices just how flustered you are, he doesn’t show it. “What’s this thing trying to tell you then?”
“Its creator hid the switch inside the motherboard, but you’re damaging it with a soldering iron. You just need to look for it harder.” Soonyoung hands the gadget back to you with a warm smile. “Well, I’ve gotta go now. Hopefully, when I go hang out with you, that thing will already be fixed.”
Soonyoung prances out of the lab with a skip to his step before you can even give your own input. When you hear the front door of your house click shut, you grab your toolbox with a withering sigh before trying a different approach to your current predicament.
To your chagrin, it’s just as Soonyoung said—the switch was hidden somewhere beneath the motherboard and you were able to witness a space cadet’s last five minutes of life.
He talked about how much he missed home, how he wished he just died on Earth instead of being launched into space after the implosion of the sun of the first solar system. Then, he left a message for a woman that used to be his childhood sweetheart—saying that it was only a matter of time before they were reunited. Before you can glean any more information about the cadet, the feed was cut off and hologram flickered out.
The entire experience leaves you dumbfounded for about five minutes. A hologram from over a hundred years ago just wound up in Jisung’s junk stash. What are the odds?
“Giz? Are you in here?”
Speaking of Jisung, the devil himself weasels his way into your lab just when you’re done tidying up your little experiment for today. You’re just about to tell him what you saw in the holo projector, but the look on his face makes you pause.
The cheerful, pain-in-the-ass neighbor of yours seems a little…exhausted. There are dark circles beneath his eyes, and his cheeks look a bit thinner than you remember. Jisung is the kind of person that rarely lets the things that bother him show on his face, so you’re a little concerned to see him in such a state right now.
“Jisung, what’s wrong?”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “It’s Jieun… He’s—He needs a heart transplant. If he doesn’t get a replacement in eight weeks, he’ll die. I can’t handle that, Y/N. I can’t lose him. He’s the only family I’ve got left…”
You panic internally somewhat when Jisung starts rambling in front of you, tears streaking his face as the man who you thought was always a step ahead of everybody starts to crumble before you. You’re not expert in consoling people who direly need it, but you’re at least rational enough to lead him out of your stuffy lab and back to the comfort of your living room.
There, you give Jisung a glass of water and several minutes to catch his breath.
Once he calms down, he speaks.
“I’ve already outsourced a compatible donor,” he murmurs. “It should all be in the clear now, but the problem right now is money. The shitty healthcare system on this planet won’t greenlight any transplants unless everything is paid in full. I-I can’t come up with the money they want from me in less than two months.”
Fuck. He’s in a tight spot then. “Oh, Jisung…”
“But I’ve thought of a way that might work if you help me.”
You flash him a confused look. “What do you mean?”
Jisung’s throat bobs before letting out a shuddering breath. You only notice how bloodshot his eyes are when he leans closer to tell you about his so-called plan.
“Some intergalactic guards have been spotted around the main district lately. Word from the street is that they’re still searching for the other members of that idol group that escaped Earth and that a generous reward would be given to everyone who’ll cooperate,” he whispers conspiratorially, and from those few sentences alone, you’re already dreading what he’s planning. “If I lead them to Hoshi, I should be able to raise enough money for Jieun’s surgery. Enough that I can even split the reward between the two of us!”
“No,” you tell him sharply. “You’re not going to sell out Soo—Hoshi like that. He practically lives here already.”
“He’s just a fucking bot, Giz,” Jisung snaps. “The worst they’ll do if they catch him is give him time out for a few days until he’s back to being the idol that everyone knows and loves. If I don’t get the money I need for my brother’s transplant, he’s going to die.”
You hold Jisung’s intense stare despite not having a good enough comeback. He’s right. Soonyoung isn’t even supposed to be here at all. And if surrendering him to the cops meant Jisung would have the means to help his brother survive, the only logical thing to do is give him a hand.
But then you remember the way Soonyoung’s eyes disappear behind the widest of grins whenever he’s enjoying himself. How he trusted you enough to confide in his troubles during his first client booking, the way his eyes sparkled when you first called him Soonyoung—
It’s not just my name. It’s yours, too.
“I can’t help you, Jisung,” you murmur. “If you’re going to go about the situation like this, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”
Your neighbor and long-time friend nods once, twice before getting up from your couch. Guilt bites into your chest as Jisung leads himself to the front door, and you could’ve sworn your heart sank into your stomach when he closes it behind him.
In the ear-splitting silence, you wonder if there’s any way to save someone without sacrificing anybody else.
While it’s true that you’ve never taken up the type of entertainment that Salax is famous for, that doesn’t mean you’re completely unaware of what goes on during those sorts of transactions.
Despite himself, Minho can be a bit of a chatterbox especially when he’s had one drink too many. There was a time when he told you about how he was booked for the night by a married couple and they edged him until he was in tears on the mattress. Then, he proceeded to share that he was quite literally incapacitated for days because the wife had exceptional skill with her strap-ons.
You don’t really hear these kinds of stories from Soonyoung. The possible reasons are 1.) Automatons don’t have a sense of gossip and see no benefit in sharing the gritty details of their sex lives, and 2.) He just doesn’t see you as someone worth telling said gritty details about.
The second possibility gnaws at you more than it should. You don’t really care about Soonyoung’s nightly escapades. You’re just his mechanic. As long as he doesn’t fuck himself up like he used to when he first started working at the club, you’ll have no complaints.
But after a late-night grocery store run, you unknowingly run into Soonyoung and someone who you presume to be one of his clients. They’re right outside the building of Chan’s club, and Soonyoung is obviously romancing the woman who paid for his company that night by caging her against the wall, whispering something in her ear with a sordid smirk.
You’ve never seen him like this. Whenever he’s with you, Soonyoung’s all too-wide smiles and unprovoked hugs. The more he hangs out with you during his free time, the more difficult it is for you to picture him as that seductive dancer that has charmed everyone who’s anyone on Salax.
Part of you—an irrational part of you—wants to hide him away from the rest of the world. But then you remember you’re just his mechanic and that it would be weird to be feeling this way about an Automaton, of all things.
You manage to brush off the scene you witnessed for a few weeks. Soonyoung still shows up at your house to watch a few movies or help you fix some other bots that come into the shop. He’s excellent company because his robot-to-robot communication skills make your job easier than it used to be.
Until one night, he snuggles up to you on the couch a little too closely—your heart beating a little too fast at the close proximity.
“I don’t get why she has to give up her tail for a man,” he murmurs from where his chin is propped on top of your shoulder, pulling you closer to him whether he knows it or not. “Aren’t there any other mermen that Ariel could just get with?”
“That’s what makes the story interesting, Soonie,” you chuckle, trying not to melt in his embrace despite knowing that the heat of his body is all artificial. “She’s sacrificing everything for love. It’s all part of the human experience.”
Soonyoung scoffs at that. “But Ariel’s a mermaid.”
“Just shut up and watch the movie.”
Ever the obedient bot, your current company does as he’s told until the credits start rolling and you have to get up to rid yourself of a crick in your neck. You’ve been in the same position for over two hours, having forgotten that Automatons don’t need to move around to get comfortable in their seats. Oversight on your part, really.
But before you can even attempt to crawl out of Soonyoung’s secure embrace, he tugs you back down—forcing you to face him with a puzzled expression.
“I’m gonna get some water,” you tell him. “Let me go, clingy robot.”
He doesn’t budge. Soonyoung simply pins you in place with his firm grip and the heat of his stare, and it takes you a few moments to realize that he’s looking at you the same way he looked at that woman outside of Chan’s club a few nights ago.
“You saw me while I was working, didn’t you?” he murmurs. “I’m sorry.”
You swallow thickly. “W-Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I accidentally introduced myself with the name you gave me,” Soonyoung sighs, lower lip swelling into a pout. “I always go by Hoshi at work, but we’d just finished watching Pocahontas together before I timed in that night.”
“Soonyoung,” you address him warily, unsure of where you should place yourself in this situation. “What are you going on about? That name is yours.”
“And I told you that it’s yours as well, didn’t I?” His laughter is a soft noise that tickles the back of your neck, making gooseflesh prickle the skin of your arms.
“I’m yours.”
His words make a steady buzz resound in your head, making you second guess if any of this is even real. Did you drink too many pints of beer and are currently hallucinating a Soonyoung that might feel the same way you do about him? That’s not right. Jisung already emptied your fridge of alcoholic beverages months ago and you haven’t bought any new packs since.
But if you’re not intoxicated, why in the world is an Automaton speaking to you as if he’s confessing feelings he doesn’t even have?
“You’re just hung up on the movie, you bucket of bolts,” you grumble, trying to push him off of you to no avail. Fuck. This is all very much real then. “Soonyoung, I’m not playing around.”
“Neither am I,” he whispers. When he leans closer, you don’t feel his breath on your face, don’t hear his heart thundering in his chest because he isn’t human.
He isn’t human, yet why doesn’t that stop you from wanting him anyway?
“Tell me to get up and leave if you want me to stop,” Soonyoung proposes with a dangerous look in his eyes. “Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll leave you alone for good.”
You want him—you want him so fucking bad, it feels like a disease.
“Why’re you only coming for me with this now?” you whisper. “What prompted it?”
The handsome Automaton laughs quietly, caressing your face so delicately, you wonder if he learned to practice it from the countless clients he’s entertained. “I think I’ve always been a little attached to you since I first woke up after breaking down. You’re the one who cured my anxiety, Y/N. It’s only natural for me to feel drawn to you.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“Heh. Fine. Maybe it’s because Ariel inspired me to be a little more like her—to sacrifice everything love.”
…Love?
Soonyoung loves you?
It doesn’t make sense. He isn’t supposed to love. Automatons are sentient, but they aren’t capable of a full spectrum of emotions. The mere prospect of it goes against everything you’ve been taught ever since you decided that you wanted to become a mechanic.
But from the way Soonyoung is looking at you alone, you remind yourself that every now and again, there are outliers to all the facts printed on every Automaton textbook you’ve buried your nose in.
Rationality is your enemy at this point, and you toss all of it to the wind when you yank the front of Soonyoung’s shirt—mending your lips into a kiss that shouldn’t feel as good as it does. His mouth is soft on top of yours, and he moves to the cadence you’ve set so languidly, it almost feels fluid. You gasp into his mouth when Soonyoung curls an arm around your waist, pressing you as close to him as humanly possible.
“Soonyoung,” you whisper. “Want you.”
He pulls away for a second—not even looking a fraction of how disheveled you are from a single kiss. “Are you sure?”
The concern in his tone sends a rush straight through your skull. What kind of algorithm allows for an Automaton to express that kind of emotion on its own accord? Are the other idols that escaped with him the same way? You find out that you don’t really know the answers to these questions right now—nor do you want to know.
What you want is for him to be so deep inside you, you’ll feel him for days.
You yank him down for another kiss all while you desperately rid yourself of your once-comfortable and now-stifling clothes. They come off one by one until they’re but a heap on the floor and Soonyoung has the gall to chuckle at your impatience.
“If you wanted me this much, you should’ve just told me sooner,” he whispers, peppering your face with featherlight kisses. “I think I’ve had enough practice to be a good enough lover for you.”
“Mention that so-called practice again and I’ll deactivate your nervous system,” you growl and Soonyoung responds by trailing his mouth across your neck—suckling at the skin above your pulse with a conniving grin.
Just like any other humanoid Level 1, Soonyoung is soft in all places humans should be. His lips, his skin—everything. While the physics that surrounded an Automaton’s male genitalia are out of your scope of expertise, it’s infinitesimally interesting to know that their cocks work the exact same way as a human’s. Even if there’s no blood coursing through his non-existent veins, Soonyoung still gets hard with just the right stimulus.
That stimulus being the swell of your breasts because he hasn’t parted from them since he started suckling on the sensitive flesh five minutes ago.
“Soonie,” you whimper, grinding your sopping core against his thigh. “More. Give me more.”
He laughs—a breathless little sound before his gaze flickers up to you so lovingly, it almost hurts. “I thought I was the impatient one between the two of us.”
“Just shut up and fuck me, please.”
The raw desire in your plea makes the smile disappear from his face. When Soonyoung presses his forehead against yours, his gaze sears into your own so intensely, you’ll still be able to see him with your eyes closed.
“I never thought I’d ever get to hear you beg for me,” he admits, adjusting himself on the couch for your comfort. “I want to hear it again.”
Your Automaton lover doesn’t give you any forewarning that he’ll be pushing the head of his cock inside you. You’re simply greeted by the welcome intrusion of him parting your slick walls—little to no preparation needed because of how much you’re dripping onto the cushions. Soonyoung hisses between his teeth, a ravenous look that you’ve never seen sitting on his face, which has you clamping down deliciously against his length.
“Do you feel it?” he murmurs, sinking inch by fucking inch into you. “Do you feel me inside you?”
You feel him everywhere. All of your senses are overloaded with him, him, him. Right now, he isn’t Hoshi from 53V3NT33N or Hoshi, the rising star of the red light district.
He’s Soonyoung. Your precious, irreplaceable Soonyoung.
“Yes,” you moan out loud, fucking your hips back onto his to generate the friction you so direly needed. “Deeper, Soonyoung. Want you deeper.”
And he gives you just that.
Soonyoung pistons his hips with practiced ease, not a single pant to be heard from him as his cock plunges in and out of your wet heat. You pull him into your embrace like you’re afraid he’ll disappear if you don’t hold onto him tightly enough and your lover quickly picks up on the message—wrapping his strong arms around you as he mercilessly pounds you into the sofa.
Every word you know eludes you as the mind-numbing pleasure frazzles your brain. You can’t even articulate how good it feels to have him ram into you like he wants to leave his mark inside your body forever. You’ve never had sex this toe-curling, and it’s a little pitiful to make that discovery when the one who’s fucking you to an inch of your life isn’t even human.
But that’s what makes it feel right in the midst of its wrongness.
When you come apart on his cock the first time, it makes you wonder if that’s what it feels like to fall from grace. The creeping high leading up to your release as you free-fall into oblivion should’ve been daunting, but all that sings in your veins is pure ecstasy as Soonyoung fucks you through your orgasm.
He leans down to capture your lips, devouring your mouth in a way that only means he’s staking his claim. It’s a kiss that bruises—a kiss that persists. And you barely hear yourself scream his name into his mouth when you finally come down from bliss.
Just when you thought you could finally let yourself breathe, Soonyoung gently turns you around on the couch—forcing your back into an arch as he props you up by the knees. Still disoriented from your last orgasm, you don’t immediately process what he’s trying to do until you feel the hardness of his cock nudging against the ridge of your ass.
That’s when you remember that Automatons do not get tired.
Fuck.
“You better be ready for me,” Soonyoung chuckles into your ear before pressing a soft kiss to your temple.
“If you want me, you’re getting all of me.”
In the aftermath, you let yourself look at Soonyoung even with your eyes streaked with tears. He’s smiling at you like you’re the most precious thing in all the galaxies combined and you’re too fucked out to not melt into his embrace when he engulfs you in the heat of his arms.
You love him, you think.
Loving a machine that shouldn’t be capable of love is contradictory in every sense of the word. He’s a complete softie whenever he hangs out with you, but would pass as a predator when he’s with his clients. He’s a bot that loves to dance, but would give that up in a heartbeat if others needed him for another purpose.
Then again the lines have started to blur considerably since Soonyoung started fucking you into incoherence. Pain and pleasure, human and not human, love and lust—
“I love you,” you murmur, only half conscious as Soonyoung carries you to your bed. “Soonyoung, I love you…”
A soft laugh rumbles deep in his chest as he tucks you in—replacing the warmth of his body with the comfort of your blanket. You frown at the sudden change, but he’s tired you out too much for you to hold up any sort of protest.
As he stands before the doorway, you manage to wrench your eyes open just a tad—enough to see the ray of sunshine standing before you with a loving look on his face. He even does that little pose with his fingers clenched like a tiger’s claws—the one he did when he opened his eyes after you managed to fix him the first time.
Horanghae… That’s what he called it, right?
You’re too exhausted to notice the pained undertones that lurk beneath Soonyoung’s smile, but perhaps it’s something that you can deal with once morning comes.
If he’s still there at all.
“That took you a while.”
Jisung’s voice is clipped when Soonyoung emerges from your house with an indifferent look on his face. Standing right behind him are a bunch of familiar faces—namely 53V3NT33N’s main manager along with a handful of guards that used to keep them tightly locked up back in their main facility on Earth.
He never thought he’d have to see them again.
“If I’m leaving this place for good, I’m not going to go without giving her something to remember me by,” Soonyoung grumbles, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats as he rejoins his former colleagues. “Is it true? You’ll give Jisung enough money for his brother’s transplant if I come back?”
His manager nods once. “Positive. The reward money will be doubled since you returned without resistance. But I cannot guarantee the degree of the punishment you’ll be facing because of your escape.”
Right. Of course there’ll be consequences for his own actions. But Soonyoung is just glad that he got to have you at least once in his robotic life before he has to turn himself back in.
“Jisung,” Soonyoung—no, Hoshi calls out. “Can you promise to take care of her? If you don’t, I’ll personally fly back here to kill you with my own two hands.”
“Hoshi,” one of the guards grunts behind him, shoving his back with a warning glare. “No violence. Even minor threats like that will make your sentence even heavier.”
He doesn’t care. Not really.
“Just give the man his money and let’s go,” he grumbles, forcing himself to turn away from the direction of your house before his code malfunctions and he ends up bolting back inside.
His manager nods before one of the assistants presents Jisung with a suitcase full of enough wads of cash to fund his brother’s surgery and more. There’s a look on your neighbor’s face that Hoshi can only identify as regret, but there’s really no use for that now.
Even if Jisung didn’t need the money from turning over a rogue Automaton, Hoshi still would’ve surrendered eventually. When word got around that his hunters had finally tracked him down to Salax, he already knew his days were numbered.
But despite knowing all that, it doesn't stop him from wishing he had more time.
When daylight comes and the sun lights up the darkness of your room, you squint at how bright it shines even through the curtains. You’re sore all over and it only takes a single glance at your body to realize that maybe having multiple rounds of sex with a tireless Automaton wasn’t one of the best choices you’ve made in your life.
That, and you’re going to have to give Soonyoung a very long lecture about the physiological differences between his body and yours. And that leaving without waking you up is a major foul when it comes to sleeping with someone you care about.
Right after freshening up and soothing every bit of tender flesh, you go about your day like usual—doing chores, checking if Jisung is home (he’s not), and holing yourself up in your lab to work on a few projects you’ve been procrastinating long enough.
But just when you’re about to bust open your toolbox, you notice a familiar gadget sitting on top of your work table. The same work table that you could’ve sworn you made sure to clear out the previous evening.
It’s another portable hologram projector—one that looks exactly like the old artifact you managed to revive thanks to Soonyoung’s intervention. This one looks less shabby than the one Jisung gave you back then, and you realize that there’s a note stuck to the bottom.
The switch is right beneath the motherboard. Don’t forget! - S
Huh. That guy had the time to put together a hologram for you, but he couldn’t be bothered to wake you up before he left? The nerve of some Automatons, really…
None the wiser about your newfound lover’s actual whereabouts, you followed the instructions Soonyoung whispered into your ear several months ago before letting it play.
⟢ end notes: yay you're at the end of it! thank you so much for reading <3 thank you so so much to bee for being big-brained enough to put this collab together. i've always wanted to 1.) write a sci-fi fic and 2.) write more for soonyoung so this opportunity was a good avenue for both <3 i'm just bummed bc i procrastinated this for too long and kind of ended up with a subpar fic, but !! i still kinda enjoyed building the world around soonyoung and yn and their friends :') in another life, i would've fleshed this out properly, but for now, i'll leave you all with this! do check out the other fics in the collab bc it will definitely expand on this massive universe that we all worked hard to put together <3
this is part of @idyllic-ghost's svt sci-fi collab!
#seventeen smut#svthub#soonyoung smut#hoshi smut#seventeen x reader#soonyoung x reader#hoshi x reader#lovelyhan#📖 collabs#full length fic 📚
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In honour of Merlin trending for literally no reason today, I would like to share my theories that I came up with during my recent rewatch. (I'm only up to season 3 right now so there really aren't that many theories yet.)
1. Merlin and Arthur 100% fell in love with each other in season 1, but they aren't aware of it at all.
2. Merlin is so gay. I'm not sure if he knows it or not, but Merlin is not attracted to women. Every time he's seemed interested in a woman, it's because she's been a powerful sorceress or a magical creature. Speaking of Freya; his only real female love interest, what he loves about her is that he sees himself in her. He feels a sense of kinship towards her as someone who is trapped and hunted for something out of her control. I don't think he feels any actual romantic love for her. He loves her, sure. But I think he's confusing romantic love for something else. (But idk I could be wrong.)
3. I don't think the Morgana we got back after her disappearance is the same Morgana we had pre S2E12. I think she probably died and came back wrong. Because otherwise the personality difference is too drastic. Her relationship with Gwen for instance. It makes sense if she didn't forgive Merlin for what he did, but why is she so mean to Gwen?? Gwen was her best friend and maybe even her first love? Morgana was never classist before season 3, but afterwards she acts like Gwen is lesser than and it just doesn't make sense. Anyway that's my in-universe explanation for her terrible shift in character.
4. This is the most important one. Merlin doesn't realize he's in love with Arthur until some time shortly before the season 2 finale. Before the finale, Merlin is happy to cheer on the romance between Arthur and Gwen. Two of his best friends fell in love! Why wouldn't he be happy? Even if they think there's no future for their relationship, he's more than happy to help them get together because Merlin believes in loving who you want to love.
Now, I could go on about how falling in love with Gwen is basically Arthur's way of expressing his repressed feelings for Merlin since Gwen and Merlin are of the same social standing and since Gwen is a woman he can experience the love he could have had with Merlin if it was allowed, but I won't do that. This ain't about him. What's important is that Merlin, in the season 2 finale- knows he's in love with Arthur, and that Arthur can't love him back. After the finale, he's still happy to help his friends in their affections for each other, but his bright goofy smile is gone. It's replaced with this melancholy smile and a hesitant voice.
I'm so serious right now. If you don't believe me, just go rewatch seasons 2 and 3 and see the shift in his demeanor yourself. He actively avoids them when they're interacting in season 3. In- I think it was the changeling episode, at the end, Arthur and Merlin walk into a hallway at the bottom of the staircase. They both see Gwen on the staircase, and when Arthur starts up the stairs, Merlin immediately leaves. It's not a "I'll give them their space" moment. It's a "I can't be here right now" kind of moment. He doesn't even try to stick around to protect Arthur on their date in the episode where Morgana frames Gwen for witchcraft. (and don't even get me started on that episode of my god.) Normally, he would stick around in the shadows to make sure nothing goes wrong and they aren't attacked or anything. It's weird that he doesn't try to stick around!
And oh my God. There are so many moments where Colin Morgan's acting just makes my heart ache. In the crystal caves, Merlin trying to banter with an unconscious Arthur while trying desperately to heal him makes me want to cry. And any time he's encouraging Gwen to follow her heart and be with Arthur just makes me ache. In the "...you still have feelings for him." And the "you like him. He likes you. Isn't that all that really matters?" I just can't.
Honestly, I could go on, but this post is already wordy enough. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
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A list of details that show Agnes Montague can still win in the Magnus Protocol!!!
1. The fire on the Magnus Protocol logo and the fact the institute burned down. Seems self explanatory, there’s a theme of fire here.
2. Agnes died because she knew the ritual she was made for wasn’t going to work, so instead of doing the ritual, failing and having to wait multiple decades- she died “so her spark could return to the lightless flame and we could try again.” The point was for her to be reborn or for someone else to get that power.
The Magnus Protocol takes place in 2024. Agnes died in 2007, maybe there’s a plot point about the lightless flame now finally retrying the ritual or Agnes somehow having been reborn. (I am aware this is a altering universe and things possibly could’ve gone differently.)
3. In mag 114 a cleaner by the name Anya goes into Hilltop road and falls through the crack in reality, entering OUR magnus archive universe.
There’s a few things interesting about Anya’s universe. She doesn’t know the magnus institute despite having lived in Londen and there was a tree by hilltop road (despite this statement being taken after Agnes’s death.)
Its possible that Anya’s universe is the protocol universe, as it would make sense for Anya to not know a institute that had burned down in Manchester in 1999. Which would mean Agnes possibly didn’t die in that universe.
More in-depth theory here
4. Jonny said if there was a character he would’ve done more with after the fact it would be Agnes. (Season 5 Q&A I am pretty sure)
5. Celia being here for some reason.
So in mag 100 there’s a character called Lynne Hammond who is voiced by Lowri Ann Davies. She sees a fire lady hanging above her bed, often thought to be Agnes (who hanged herself in her apartment.) In season 5 Lynne returns but lost her name and now goes by Celia.
Now in protocol we have Celia Ripley voiced by Lowri Ann Davies, who would most likely be the same person. why she is here and why she still has the name Celia is unclear and suspicious to me cus it feels like a wild one to throw in here. (She would be my possible candidate for being the lightless flames new vessel.)
Most of these are just loose thoughts, there isn’t really enough info but I am still on high copium and I will believe my own wild theories.
Spoilers for Pilot
6. Red Canary finds a box in the Magnus Institute with weird markings. This maybe could be the hilltop road box that was under the tree and connected to Agnes. (Not that big of a connection, cus I am pretty sure the symbols are the alchemy symbols we’ve been seeing but it’s never said so who knows.)
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*SPOILERS FOR HOFAS* (even though it's been like almost 2 months guys get on it 🤨🤨)
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So the Cauldron was wrong 🤩 Isn't that something?
And by wrong, we mean it was corrupted by the Asteri / Daglan to create the most powerful offspring. Not necessarily bonds that are of the soul or formed by love or whatever. Not saying this CAN'T also be the case, two things can be true at once, but for sure-confirmed-the Asteri tampered with the Cauldron to fix pairings that would produce powerful offspring (for them to snack on, I guess).
What does that mean? Does it mean every single mating bond currently out there is wrong and created only for the purpose of the most powerful offspring?
No. Not necessarily.
We don't really know where mating bonds come from. The Cauldron, the Mother, etc.
Just based off the fact that Feyre or Rhys didn't go into the cauldron, I think their bond is not from the cauldron. Could it still be called into question? Maybe, but I think it's been shown they would've chosen each other regardless of the bond.
But Elain & Nesta, their mating bonds were only revealed after they were dumped out of the Cauldron. Could we say that their mating bonds were given to them by the Cauldron and are therefore tampered with?
Perhaps. That's a solid possibility.
The thing is, Cassian had a feeling as soon as he met Nesta in ACOMAF that she was his mate. He felt something before she even went into the cauldron. So maybe their bond existed before the cauldron, meaning they don't have a cauldron-given bond either.
Now let's look at Elain.
Elain's mating bond with Lucien was revealed as soon as she came out of the Cauldron.
You can argue that "oh he showed mate behavior and stepped toward her before she went in" but so did Tamlin. Tamlin said stop, Tamlin lunged for the King. So there's no way to discern whether Lucien also voicing his anger was "mate behavior" or Lucien genuinely being upset that Ianthe sold them out and kidnapped Feyre's sisters. Not if everyone in the room also reacted the same way.
Elain was in enough distress and struggling as it was. Lucien did not feel the bond snap and realize she was his mate then. Not until after she went into the cauldron.
I think just from the order of events, it's logical to conclude the Elucien bond is Cauldron-given. Not saying it's 100% true or right, but it's a plausible theory. Who's to say that if Elain & Lucien had crossed paths before the Cauldron incident, maybe Lucien would have felt the same attraction and feeling as Cassian had towards Nesta. Things did not play out that way, though, so we can't make that conclusion yet.
So to recap, here's what we have discovered:
Cauldron = Wrong
Feysand bond = Not Cauldron-given
Nessian bond = Not Cauldron-given
Elucien bond = Cauldron-given
Let's do some simple math. If the cauldron is wrong, and the Elucien bond is technically the only one that's Cauldron-given... wouldn't it mean theirs is the only one that is wrong?
And yes, I am aware, I have a huge Elriel bias. But the Elucien mating bond being wrong doesn't automatically make Elriel mates or anything. It just means there is something sketch about their bond. It is not like the others, and we can see that through the sheer way it has been written in the text since it was revealed.
Lucien & Elain avoid each other. Are uncomfortable around each other. Don't talk, don't communicate, can barely even be in the same room, are attracted to other people.
Did we see ANY of that from Feysand & Nessian?
I stand by my statement. One of these is not like the others: Elucien is not like the Feysand & Nessian bond. And it's not just because we haven't received their POVs. It's because:
"what if the cauldron was wrong" - voiced by multiple characters, and confirmed in HOFAS
"Why not make them mates" - Feyre, when she refers to Azriel and Elain
"Can you reject a bond?" - Again, Feyre when she considers how incompatible Elucien is. "she cringed when she thought of Elain subjected to that... fire"
Nesta observing Azriel's secret, the charged glances between the two
Nesta being so protective of Elain but allowing her to go with Azriel without protest
"death and the lovely fawn" - endorsement from the High Lady herself
"What happens if someone rejects their mate? What if the forces put you to be with the wrong person? It offers a lot to explore this concept of free will vs. true love" - SJM herself, on the today show.
But i thought it was obvious 🤷🏻♀️
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Hi! Just saw that your request is open, could I request for a HC of TFP characters (and the humans if you're comfortable with it :D) with a cybertronian reader who's a popstar.. like she used to be a very famous popstar in Cybertron before the great war! platonic btw, it's just how they will interact with em (This is just a bonus but: the reader has the same vibes with shining glitter cookie 😭) sorry if this is a bit confusing, thanks!
AHHHH I LOVE THIS!! I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR A WHILE. I did the autobots for this one, but let me know if you want decepticons aswell!
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Being a popstar was awesome! Until now, because of the war. Life was great before. Interviews, shows and interaction with fans filled your schedule everytime, but right now? You ran for your life to the closest escape pod what you could find. Shooting and screaming could be heard behind you, but you ignored it and ran faster. Jumping into the escape pod you activated it and left, but it put you into a stasis coma for safety travel reasons. After eons you wake up on a strange planet, but soon as your hearing recovered you heard shooting. Did you even escape Cybertron and fell asleep? You wondered. Hiding behind the huge pod, you let the fight continue until it stopped. You could hear an feminive voice speak so you peeked from behind the pod. You saw...AUTOBOTS! What a relief for you, but the autobots soon noticed you and held you at gunpoint.
Optimus
Optimus didn't realize it was the one and only popstar from Cybertron at first, until you tell who you were.
He grew comfortable really quick around you aswell :D
Didn't react at all at first, but surprisingly got really happy about seeing you. (His inner Orion pax woke up)
When he was Orion Pax he loved i mean LOVED your style in music and performing.
Would smile the whole time when you explaing happily about your music or about your past life to the team
He also loves your style of your plating and armor as they shine and glimmer in the sun.
Would have a secret soft spot for you and loves to go patrolling with you.
He would NEVER miss a performance from you when the team has any free time.
In short he would be a secret fanboy and who never shows it
Ratchet
Ratchet was shocked to see you. You! The famous popstar alive after all these years since the war started. He didn't know much about you tho.
He did not like your loud personality at first, but grew to it since Miko is even worse.
Does like the way you perform, surprisingly since you're a popstar for frags sake! But accuses of it being a waste of time.
He would sass back sometimes, since he's so grumpy all the time (grumpy old man!)
Would spare you from his small tantrums!
He rarely sees it, but when he does he absolutely is hypnotized by your shiny plating!
Bumblebee
Oh he would be overjoyed to see you!
He's such a fanboy he won't even think it through when he's already running to hug his biggest ex-idol (His present idol is Optimus 100%)
Would always listen about your stories from before the war. Or would help you make songs if you ever had time.
The moment you said that you want his beebs and boobs (heh nice) in one of your songs, he almost passed out at that moment.
Would spend as much time as possible with you, because who wouldn't?!
He absolutely would stare at your glimmery plating everytime you were outside
Every time you performed he would be dancing and beeping along with the music.
Arcee
Didn't grow fond of you until like 2 weeks.
She has heard about you before and during the war.
Somehow she did like your music after you played it around the base.
When she gets to know you the gossiping will NEVER EVER end.
She would also trust you enough to tell you about her traumas and all the loss she has gone through.
You two start to act like sister after a month or few.
She does like to watch you perform sometime, but might think it's a waste of time.
The moment she sees your plating shimmer in the light she would mention it IMMEDIATELY!
Would sing with you if you asked
Bulkhead and Wheeljack
OH THESE TWO WOULD LOVE YOU!!!
The way your armor/plating shines when it's in natural light, the way you sound and dance, the fact that you used to be popular! Would make them want to befriend you immediately. (Not in a bad way ofc!)
They would be the second biggest fanbots you would have on the team!
Dances for their lives when you sing or perform!
Would listen your music quietly when they're on patrol aswell.
Don't forget! If you need some ideas for songs these 2 would rush over even before you can finish your sentence. (They still make bad ideas xD)
The humans
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED!!!
Miko would love you the most from the kids ofc!
"A POPSTAR?! CYBERTRONIAN POPSTARS EXIST?!" Would be the first thing you hear when she gets to know what you used to do in cybertron.
Jack would find you cool (Not as cool as arcee. So he won't hurt her feelings)
Raf would love and examine your shimmering plating after a while he stared at it, but was too scared to ask so you mentioned it to him yourself
In short the kids would be inlove (platonically of course! They're kids!)
June would find you interesting, but never meets you that much so she doesn't get to know that well unlike the kids.
#optimus prime x reader#tfp x reader#bumblebee x reader#ratchet x reader#bulkhead#tfp arcee#tfp miko#tfp jack#tfp raf#tfp ratchet
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Propaganda
Kathryn Grayson (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate)— Gorgeous brunette whose singing voice was one of the best. Could've been an opera star.
Setsuko Hara (Tokyo Story, Late Spring, The Idiot)— "'The only time I saw Susan Sontag cry,' a writer once told me, his voice hushed, 'was at a screening of a Setsuko film.' What Setsuko had wasn’t glamour—she was just too sensible for that—it was glow, one that ebbed away and left you concerned, involved. You got the sense that this glow, like that of dawn, couldn’t be bought. But her smiles were human and held minute-long acts, ones with important intermissions. When she looked away, she absented herself; you felt that she’d dimmed a fire and clapped a lid on something about to spill. Over the last decade, whenever anyone brought up her lips—'Setsuko’s eternal smile,' critics said, that day we learned that she’d died—I thought instead of the thing she made us feel when she let it fall." - Moeko Fujii
This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]
Setsuko Hara:
One of the best Japanese actresses of all time; a symbol of the golden era of Japanese cinema of the 1950s After seeing a Setsuko Hara film, the novelist Shūsaku Endō wrote: "We would sigh or let out a great breath from the depths of our hearts, for what we felt was precisely this: Can it be possible that there is such a woman in this world?"
One of the greatest Japanese actresses of all time!! Best known for acting in many of Yasujiro Ozu's films of the 40s and 50s. Also she has a stunning smile and beautiful charm!
Linked gifset
Linked gifset 2
She's considered by some to be the greatest Japanese actress of all time! In Kurosawa's The Idiot she haunts the screen, and TOTALLY steals the show from Mifune every time she appears.
"No other actor has ever mastered the art of the smile to the same extent as Setsuko Hara (1920–2015), a celebrated star and highly regarded idol who was one of the outstanding actors of 40s and 50s Japanese cinema. Her radiant smile floods whole scenes and at times cautiously undermines the expectations made of her in coy, ironic fashion. Yet her smile's impressive range also encompasses its darker shades: Hara's delicate, dignified, melancholy smile with which she responds to disappointments, papers over the emotions churning under the surface, and flanks life's sobering realizations. Her smiles don't just function as a condensed version of her ever-precise, expressive, yet understated acting ability, they also allow the very essence of the films they appear in to shine through for a brief moment, often studies of the everyday, post-war dramas which revolve around the break-up of family structures or the failure of marriages. Her performances tread a fine line between social expectation and personal desire in post-war Japan, as Hara attempts to lay claim to the autonomy of the female characters she plays – frequently with a smile." [link]
Leading lady of classic Japanese cinema with a million dollar smile
Maybe the most iconic Japanese actress ever? She rose to fame making films with Yasujiro Ozu, becoming one of the most well-known and beloved actresses in Japan, working from the 30s through the 60s in over 100 hundred. She is still considered one of the greatest Japanese actresses ever, and in my opinion, just one of the greatest actresses of all time. And she was HOT! Satoshi Kon's film Millennium Actress was largely based on her life and her career.
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Viconia - Plot Support extraordinaire
Just to preface this as I don't want this to seem like I am hating on BG3 as a diehard fan of the original series because I really do love BG3. I've completed it twice now and think it will absolutely be joining my annual rotation of BG1/SOD/BG2 playthroughs but it has its problems, much in the same way that the originals themselves have problems as well.
So after my Sarevok post I wanted to treat Viconia to the same critical analysis as unfortunately I think she also gets the short end of the evil plot stick. I get it, evil characters can be hard to get right but again similar to Sarevok, in my opinion, her character regresses to evil Shar mook number one rather than actually being Viconia. Worse still she's entirely at the mercy of being wrapped up in ShadowHeart's backstory.
Anyway this is a bit of a deep dive into Viconia's issues in BG3. Spoiler warning for both BG3 and BG2.
1. No Grey DeLise.
Again, similar to Sarevok, another prolific voice actor that has done recent video game work seemingly not approached for the role. I can't help but think that some of this is down to the rushed nature of act three generally and Larian just having to get whoever they could for the job in the time that they needed it. Unlike Jaheria and Minsc there's no attempt to mimic her original VA or get someone who sounded like her so she ends up sounding completely and utterly different.
This version of Viconia sounds haughty and stuck up which while the original Viconia VA has a degree of arrogance, she is also pretty sultry. Haer'dalis even comments that she has 'the throaty voice of the most expensive courtesan' and Viconia deliberately plays on the stereotype of the sensual female drow with certain male party members for her own benefit e.g the male Bhaalspawn, Edwin, Sarevok and even Anomen (I cover this a bit here and here).
2. Her in game design...just isn't great.
Let's be honest, combined with the voice, Viconia's design basically makes her unrecognisable. She looks like a generic old drow lady to the point that I did have 'Is that meant to be Viconia?' moment when I first met her.
Now I appreciate there is minor controversy with Viconia's original BG2 portrait (which is probably the most recognisable image of her) because the artist actually used a famous porn star as the base for it.
For info, this was a common practice at Bioware at the time as they used to use lots of different images as bases for portraits. They finally got into legal trouble for it in NWN where due to various copyright claims they had to change quite a few portraits.
More recently, I think that Beamdog actually did quite a good job of recreating a faithful adaption of her original portrait in Siege of Dragonspear while presumbably navigating the original copyright issue.
In comparison to her BG3 portrayal, my first impression was she looks incredibly old. Now as far as I'm aware we've never been given a canon age for Viconia but we do know she was around for House DeVir being defeated by the Do'Urden house so she has to be at least 100 years old by the time of BG1... but her character level is between 2 and 6 (depending on the party's XP) so a relatively inexperienced cleric. With that in mind I definitely assumed she was on the younger side (maybe 200-300?). Either way 5e elves can live between 750 to 1000 years although there are instances in the Forgotten Realms books of drow living to over 2000. Now tack on the additional 120 years for BG3 in my mind it would definitely put her in the middle aged category but not necessarily anywhere near the end of her life. Critically she would be aging much slower than Jaheria but with those wrinkles she looks WAY older than her. I honestly feel cheated of an interaction between the two about how hagged and old Jaheria looks in comparison to herself.
In terms of her outfit, although initially she wears the Sharite mask and hooded outfit, which is good for concealing her identity, we eventually end up with Viconia in a spider adorned dress. This seems like a strange choice given the spider motif when she literally stopped worshipping Lloth for Shar - maybe she's being ironic? The lack of armour,when she's a cleric that knows there's a good chance she's about to have a fight seems kind of stupid. If you do choose to fight her, she then looks entirely comical in her light dress accompanied by an enormous oversized shield and mace.
For me though this really identifies her design problem: her leather armour was a critical part of her original design. Given that we only see portrait style headshots of BG characters, the decision not to include her leather corset with the three straps and the head band is really what makes her unrecognisable. It would be like removing Minsc's head tattoo or Jaheria's braids or Sarevok's armour (which even with all the problems I talked about in my post, at least he got to keep that).
My hope is that some enterprising modder out there makes a more BG2 accurate version of her in future. Larian, please give my lady her leather armour back or maybe even a justicar outfit!
3. Ignores her BG1/2 alignment, motivations and twists her original epilogue.
Now I do appreciate BG3 deliberately assumes that the events of BG1/BG2 are a little bit fluid, which Jaheria confirms this when she talks about the bards that tell stories of her slaying gods or bedding them depending on which one you listen to. But the game goes onto confirm certain events in Viconia's history that don't really make sense:
A.) The game confirms that Viconia did travel with the Bhaalspawn but not for the entirety of the game. Minsc informs you that after trying to dissect Boo she was expelled from the group. I have to admit this story didn't gel with me at all because it implies Viconia is some sort of chaotic evil idiot (reminder: Viconia is neutral evil with a 16 INT score and 18 WIS score in BG2) who would deliberately provoke a giant raging berserker man by murdering his beloved pet. Like that's the sort of thing I could see Xzar (who is completely and utterly mad) doing but not Viconia. What benefit would she get out of it? Maybe it would be a good tribute for Shar but that would be a pretty short term benefit. In fact in BG2 Viconia offers begrudging respect to Minsc for his effectiveness in battle, she knows he's powerful and she wants to be on the right side of that. Minsc for his part does what he does with many of the female characters, particularly in BG2 and makes her a proxy substitute for Dynaheir offering to protect her. That's not to say she won't insult people (Aerie and Jaheria or characters who she perceives as weak often get the brunt of it) but she's generally smart enough to stay out of an actual fight. Important to note that in any of NPC conflicts that end in a fight in BG1/2 (e.g. Kivan, Ajantis, Keldorn) it's never Viconia that's starts the fight.
B.) The Waterdeep cult.
In Viconia's epilogue, which you only get if you kept her for the end of Throne of Bhaal and you didn't romance her, Viconia goes on to do a few things which you can see below (obviously massive spoilers for BG2) :
So it feels like Larian has taken the first part of this ending but nothing else, which really leaves a lot of questions. We know Shar isn't entirely happy with Viconia based on her diary entries so why is Shar still giving powers to a woman that basically killed a whole bunch of her followers? Why is Viconia still working for a goddess that hates her? Why is she so accepting of Shar's plot to groom Shadowheart as her replacement? Why on earth hasn't Viconia got the fuck out of dodge, which is pretty much what she has been shown to do in the past? And this comes neatly onto my next point.
4. Viconia is just a plot device for Shadowheart.
I love Shadowheart and I love her arc but honestly Viconia being the Mother Superior just felt like a way of inserting her into the game in a way that didn't really fit especially when Viconia's diaries in BG3 show that she knows that Shar intends for Shadowheart to essentially replace her as one of her prominent followers/chosen. The whole plot ignores two critical points about Viconia and her backstory:
Firstly the reason Viconia left the Underdark in the first place was because she refused to sacrifice a child to Lloth and Lloth turning her brother into a drider after he saved her from being sacrificed. Now Viconia is many things, she's self serving, cruel and dedicated to her own survival at the expense of anything and anyone else (quintessential neutral evil through and through) but at the same time she threw away her position, caused the downfall of her house and got most of her family murdered to save a child. You're telling me she would then willingly go along with Shar's plan to deliberate plan to kidnap and repeatedly torture a child for YEARS whilst also training said child to replace her? My girl doesn't have many lines in the sand but harming children definitely seems like one of them. I actually wandered whether Shadowheart not liking to harm children / prefers saving them is not just about her being a secret Selunite but also a potential a hint of Viconia's influence.
Secondly, that plot seems to ignores Viconia's other primary driver, which is to survive: it's why she leaves the Underdark, it's why she travels with the Bhaalspawn, it's why she worships Shar and it's why she murders an entire cabal of Shar's followers after one person betrayed her. Now if we ignore that she has qualms about children, you're telling me that she would instead essentially train her replacement to be an amazing cleric who is 99% likely to murder her? I'm pretty sure Viconia would have tried to kill Shadowheart way before her becoming a justicar or simply skipped town as she has done before.
The alternative?
Personally I would have liked to have seen Viconia ultimately involved in a plot to overthrow the Mother Superior or maybe doing something even crazier like going after Shar herself out of revenge following her fall from grace after the events of the Waterdeep cult. Maybe she works with the Absolute to get her revenge and keep her divine powers - hell who better to help Ketheric with the Nightsong in Shar's temple then an ex priestess of Shar?
If not the Absolute then Shar's got plenty of enemies and Viconia has converted before. Maybe she could have joined the team to achieve a particular goal while giving fans of the original series the opportunity to have one of the original evil characters to join the crew. I would have loved to see the contrast with Minthara who is still fairly fresh from leaving drow society and a complete blunt instrument compared to Viconia's more subtle ways. Maybe Viconia would take the paladin under her wing, maybe introduce her to a new patron god (something I don't think is ever explained is how Minthara still retains her divine powers given neither Lloth or the Absolute are fueling them anymore). Shevarash the elven god of revenge, would be a fantastic fit for both of their back stories (which would also be a nice little throw back to Viconia's heated / sometimes fatal arguments with Kivan in BG1) presuming that Viconia could get over her disdain for the elven pantheon by that point in the timeline. The fireworks with Jaheria of course would be grand while Minsc I feel would be very conflicted given his mind's tendancy, as noted above, to sub in any female magic user as Dynaheir.
#baldur's gate#baldur's gate 3#baldur's gate 2 spoilers#baldur's gate 3 spoilers#viconia#viconia devir#discourse#spoilers
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The Promise of Eternity (Part 2)
Author: @astarionslittlejuicebox
Imagine: The reader helped Astarion ascend and became his spawn. After saving the world from the Elder brain and it’s destruction, the reader and Astarion set out to take on the world together. While he promised to never forget the gifts the reader has given him, Astarion has seemed to have changed his attitude towards the reader in the last century…. After someone breaks one of Astarion’s rules, how will this affect the reader’s fate?
Pairing: Astarion x F!Reader
Trigger warnings: potential for minor spoilers, suggestive themes, language, mentions of death, mentions of blood, abusive relationship, mention of slavery
Word Count: 1246
Imagine Series List
Side Notes:
This imagine series takes place 200 years after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3. Everything you read in here is a story from my mind outside of the original BG3 character Astarion.
In this imagine series, Astarion is a bit more unemotionally unavailable, and this series will follow the decisions and consequences of that change. This is not canonically accepted and it is just an idea I’ve had in my head! (I do believe Astarion might truly care for the reader after Ascension, but that is open to individual interpretation.)
In this series, TAV is mildly based on my first character I played in BG3; she is a drow and I will make references to her in her background and knowledge as well. I do apologize that it is not 100% your own imagine, but the name for TAV is up to you as well as anything else that I can think of leaving to you, the reader, to decide.
I appreciate everyone who reads the imagines and this series, and I hope you enjoy the story!
TAV POV
Breakfast time was a busy time for everyone in the castle. The chefs were busy preparing a large feast for the Lord of the castle and his exquisite taste buds. For the last two hundred years, Astarion has indulged and refined his taste for mortal foods, and the ever-rotating kitchen staff struggles to keep up with his desires. This morning, the chefs had prepared a feast of danish hens, caviar, fish, eggs in various styles, and other luxuries that only the nobility could afford in Toril. As I walked around the long dark wooden table that stood proudly in the center of an exquisitely decorated dining hall, I observed those who were hustling and bustling about the dining hall. Humans, elves, tieflings, and other people of all sorts of races rushed about to ensure that the breakfast buffet on the table would match the vampire lord’s meticulous standards. The silverware was polished and then examined before it was repolished several times until the silverware was finally deemed satisfactory.
I took note of the facial expressions of the servants as they all appeared to be frantic in their preparations. I was searching for any signs of deception or discontent with their tasks as servants placed two sets of plates on the table, one at each end of the table where an intricately designed chair sat proudly. One of the chairs belonged to the vampire lord himself, and the other belonged to his most beloved. I fondly glanced over at the chair I had sat in so many times over the last two centuries. Before I could reminisce on fonder days, a familiar voice agitated my drow ears.
“This fork is not shiny enough for the Master!” The voice sounded like the person only spoke from their nose—an impressive talent—but the voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to the ears of those who heard it. The tiefling made her way hastily to the seat I had been staring at, with two puncture marks still lazily bleeding on her neck. Upon noticing me looking at her, she narrowed her eyes and gave me a snide look. “Look away, spawn, or I’ll tell your master that you’re bothering me.” She let out a laugh that reminded me of a pack of gnolls, but I turned my attention elsewhere as I left the room. On my way out, I almost collided into the pale elf himself, Astarion. He didn’t even spare a glance at me before I was shoved out the way and into the wall. I caught myself before smoothing out my dress and continuing my path towards my bedchambers. I could hear the ridiculous hyena laugh echo through the hallways until I had gotten several more feet away. Several of the spawn had given me sorrowful expressions as I passed, but I merely smiled at them as I took longer strides. Pity was etched onto every one of their faces, and I could not bear the weight of it on my shoulders. Besides, someone in this castle had broken a rule, and I was tasked to find whomever had done so.
Arriving at my bedchambers, I hastily opened and shut the door behind me before my handmaiden, Kristiana, greeted me. Kristiana was a spawn without a vampire master who Astarion and I had taken in under our wings one hundred fifty years ago. She was a short human female with big brown eyes, golden brown hair, and a soft smile. She was totally devoted to serving me hand and foot.
“Good morning, Mistress, was the sunrise beautiful this morning?” She asked as she walked into the large dressing room attached to the bedroom. “What are we thinking of wearing today? A nice autumn themed dress or shall we wear something more comfortable today?” I slipped off my gown and handed it to her through the door. Before I walked towards the warm bath she had drawn me. I sunk into the heated water and my muscles relaxed into the hot water. Kristiana walked over and poured water on my hair and brushed the knots out before she proceeded to wash my hair.
“We are going to put on something more comfortable for today. After I am dressed, please take the day to rest and relax. You’ve been working so hard lately, and you deserve a break.” Kristiana’s hands paused in my hair.
“Are you sure, Mistress? You know there are still plenty of duties for me—“ I waved my hand to stop her.
“I am absolutely sure. I can handle myself. Besides, I have business in town, and I am perfectly capable of handling myself.” I gave her a smile, which she graciously returned.
“If you are sure, I shall take you up on that offer.” She then continued delicately washing my hair while I washed my body. The sweet aroma of peaches filled the air in my room as dirt and grime was washed away from my body. Once I was rinsed, I stood up and wrapped a soft towel around my body as Kristiana laid out a plain black shirt and black trousers for me, I put on a pair of black leather boots to finish my outfit then smiled at Kristiana. I sat in front of the mirror, even though I couldn’t see my reflection, as Kristiana stood behind me and ran a brush through my hair.
“Just throw my hair into my usual bun and we shall call it a day.” I saw her nod her head in the mirror before her skillful hands went to work twisting my hair into a beautiful bun. She placed small black pins into my hair to hold it in place before she pulled out two strands to frame my face. She took a step back to admire her work before she smiled at me.
“All done, Mistress, and you look as beautiful as you always do.” I gave her a small smile.
“Thank you Kristiana. You always do such a wonderful job. You are dismissed until tomorrow.” Kristiana gave a timid bow before she walked out of my bedchambers. I took a moment to sit in the complete silence of the empty room and thought about how my morning had started. My eyes watered with the familiar sting of tears as I recalled the small glimmer of how things used to be with Astarion, but the moment quickly dissipated the moment she walked into the room.
I sighed heavily as I looked out the window, reminiscing on the days when Astarion and I were on the same page, wanting the same things, and speaking the same language.
You will be my most beloved spawn, my right hand, my dark consort. I felt a single tear escape from my eye as his honeyed words rang through my head once again. Together you and I will be the most powerful people in the world. A few more tears slid down my face and collected onto my trousers. I had foolishly thought my little star had meant those words he had spoken, and I believe he truly did at one point in time. I wiped the tears that escaped my eyes before I straightened my posture. Regardless of how I thought he felt, he did entrust me with the task of finding whoever had stolen his blood. I grabbed my cloak and left my bedchambers as I set out to head towards my next destination: the library of Baldur’s Gate.
#astarion imagine#astarion x reader#baldursgate3#baldursgate3imagine#ascended astarion#imagine#the promise of eternity
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Otomedia Autumn 2022 - Mob Psycho 100 III Interviews [Translation]
Otomedia Autumn 2022 contains three interviews with Mob Psycho 100 staff - one with Character Designer Kameda Yoshimichi, one with the voice actors of Mob and Reigen (Itou Setsuo & Sakurai Takahiro), and one with the new director Hasui Takahiro. The interviews contain information regarding season 3 and what we should look forward to seeing.
Translation below!
Short interview with Character Designer Kameda Yoshimichi
Q: The key visual for season 3 is quite drastically different to those of seasons past, isn’t it.
“The order I received was, ‘just Mob-kun this time around.’ I wanted to make it a piece filled with the vibe of season 3’s climax… as a result there’s meaning to be found throughout it (laughs).”
The focus point of the piece is that flipping it 180 tells another story.
Plenty for people who have already read the manga to read into.
Q: How do you feel the response to season 3 will be?
“It’s a serious story, I feel like the atmosphere is a little different to what we’ve seen up to this point. We’ll be revisiting some of the deeper themes touched upon earlier, so I implore those of you new to the world of Mob Psycho 100 to watch seasons 1 and 2 before getting into this season! Season 3 is less about ‘fighting with the enemy’, and more about the relationships between characters, ie. ‘How have the people around me changed and how will they continue to?’ I think it’s the kind of story that will impact just about anyone.”
“A review thus far of Shishou and Deshi”
Itou Setsuo (Mob) x Sakurai Takahiro (Reigen)
Q: After 3.5 years, Mob Psycho 100 is back! Please tell us how you felt when you knew the third season was greenlit.
Itou; “For me it felt like ‘thank you for waiting!’, even though I was waiting too (laughs)”
Returning for season 3 felt completely natural to both Itou and Sakurai. It didn’t feel like years had passed, and since there was no huge change in who was primarily working on the show, the atmosphere was as if they had just recorded last week.
Q: Did you feel any change when you were recording your lines?
A big change for season 3 was that the cast were not able to record together thanks to COVID. Since the cast were unable to play off one another’s performances in a natural way, Sakurai worried about what this would do to the quality of the voicework.
Q: In season 3, Serizawa is added to the ‘Spirits & Such’ team.
Sakurai considers that Serizawa has become a bit of a mascot for Spirits & Such, alongside Mob. He then states they’re all kind of mascots.
He states how difficult a thing it is for someone to now be the boss of two people instead of one, and though you might have to squint, you can definitely see this as a visible culmination of Reigen’s growth. “He’s changed a bit. It’s difficult for me to put into words.”
Regarding Serizawa, Mob gets to experience exorcism ‘together’ thanks to him in season 3. In an upcoming scene where the two of them do perform an exorcism together, it’s a nice way to give tangible evidence that Mob’s group of allies has grown.
Itou describes season 2’s Serizawa as having “a low centre of gravity”, and follows this up by saying season 3’s Serizawa has lightened up.
With Serizawa’s arrival, Spirit’s & Such is now home to the strongest espers in the story (Mob and Serizawa given as the visual example).
Q: Please tell us more about the changes that the characters go through in season 3.
The changes the characters go through is said to be subtle, and this is where the story sources drama from this time around. On a total rewatch it’ll be clearer.
Q: Tell us what we should look forward to seeing in season 3 (mid-way only).
Season 3 will begin with a ‘slice of life’ vibe for Mob before delving into something deeper. Season 3’s overall atmosphere is described as “incredibly intense”.
A particular back and forth that Mob and Dimple have in season 3 is Sakurai’s favourite part of the series. “ONE-sensei really knows how to pierce you.”
Hasui Takahiro’s Directorial Recipe
Q: You’re the director now for season 3, how was this for you in practice?
More difficult than he thought it would be - lots of back and forths with Tachikawa Yuzuru.
One idea that Tachikawa came up with regards Serizawa. “At the start of the season there are some episodes that feature Serizawa and some action scenes that the manga isn’t explicit in showing us, so Tachikawa-san came up with the idea that Serizawa should utilise a particular item from the OVA in these scenes. This became a key item, and is Serizawa’s new ‘weapon’.”
Q: Tell us what we should look forward to seeing in episode 1.
“As it’s been a while since season 2, episode 1 of the new season acts as a kind of refresher/reintroduction to the world of Mob Psycho 100. [...] As in, an evil spirit appears, it gets exorcised, Reigen gets in a scuffle, then there’s the appeal of the crazy strong characters (laughs). Tachikawa-san is very good at understanding these crazy strong characters and making them even stronger.”
Q: Please tell us something you were picky about with season 3.
Seasons 1 & 2 are very important for season 3, so callbacks were necessary. You see it with the OP, and you’ll see it with the ED which is very reminiscent of season 1’s ED.
“Up until now huge-scale action scenes have been a selling point of the show, but season 3’s focus is on ‘Kageyama Shigeo’. Season 3 progresses with Mob as a person.”
“As the season progresses you’ll see that Mob hasn’t decided what path exactly he wants to take. How will he choose his path, and finally what perspective will he have? It’s the kind of story that’ll show you this.”
(A huge thank you to @noloryno for being so quick with the magazine scans <3)
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Good Guy, Bad Guy - Lloyd Hansen Series
Part 5
Character: Lloyd Hansen x Rich!Female Reader
Summary: Y/N got what she wanted. The status of CEO is in her hand. But the sudden confession from Lloyd made her think twice about the divorce. Did she make the right decision?
Words Count: 4,050
A/N: This chapter timeline is set after Lloyd confessed to the reader. This chapter will be focused on Y/N learning her feelings.
Hope you guys enjoyed it. Comment and Reblog from you meant so much to me. Thank you so much. 💓🥹
This chapter is from Lloyd Hansen's Series - 3 Billion Divorce.
Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 (Extra Story)
And check out my other stories from Masterlist.
A fool in love.
If someone called him that last year, he would laugh because, to him, love is a joke.
Lloyd Hansen a sociopath and the most dangerous man; he is the type of man who eliminates everyone in his way. He never let any task or mission affect his feelings.
But now, he looks clueless, thinking about which plan to get you back.
After everything both of you've been through.
You tossed him after the contract expired. No one ever plays with him like this. He waited three months, thinking you regretted it and will call him back. But no, nothing, Nada!
At first, Lloyd thinks you’re not his type, but he likes it each time you catch him off guard with your crazy ideas; he likes it when you become annoyed every time he provokes you.
And your love for money is also up to his taste.
Right now, he looks out of place at Carmichael offices. Carmichael knew his long-time friend was a chatterbox. But something felt wrong because this sociopath was silent the whole time. "What's wrong,Lloyd? Is this about your ex-wife?"
Lloyd clicked his tongue and then punched the table "Wife. I never signed the damn paper."
“Hahaha.” That laughing voice already made Lloyd's ears itchy. Her presence already makes his mood get worse.
Susan's sudden appearance worsened Lloyd's mood because of what she would say. "Y/N already found your replacement."
'Ouch!’ her words just added more salt to his wound.
"What do you mean b**ch?"
Susan gave him a middle finger. "Let me just say he's so much better than you. Wow, he still related to the royal family."
Lloyd snatched the phone from her hand. When he saw the photo of you hugging another man, his mind had already planned 100 ways to get rid of that person. He opened the photo comment and found the name of the person hugging you.
"Where did you get these?!!"
Susan grabbed her phone because she knew he would have smashed her phone into the wall. "It's trending on social media. Your ex-wife became famous after the divorce."
The truth is, she followed your fans' account.
That's one of the biggest secrets she won't tell him.
Susan is one of your biggest fans. She applauds anyone who could tame Lloyd. And her favourite part is you made him in a dilemma.
It's her turn to laugh at his misery.
He gave her a side-eye. "She's still my wife."
Lloyd grabs a keyboard and use CIA database. Carmichael doesn't even want to know how Lloyd knew his passwords. With facial recognition favourite, he could find out who it was.
Earl Thomas Kimberley. Thomas is a top photographer, travelling worldwide, famous in design, and shooting in a country with a refugee crisis that can move everyone's heart.
After his step-brother humiliated the family name, Thomas became the CEO of the family business in a shipping company. They owned 500 vessels, including travelling ships, car carriers, gas and oil tankers, submarines, and cruise ships.
A successful man with a bright future.
Compared to him, Thomas came from a prestigious family, just like you.
A light hum resounded in the silent room. Lloyd looked at the computer with an expressionless face.
“Something is off.”
“What?”
“Nobody has a perfect life. He must have a deep secret.” He grabbed his phone to give an order to his team.
Carmichael patted his shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
Lloyd told his IT team to dig deeper into Thomas. His habit of buying stuff online, his friends, his female friends, and even his porn history.
But after a few hours, they found nothing terrible about Thomas.
It made Lloyd anxious.
Looking out the window, where the sky is blue, Lloyd wishes it could calm his insecurity.
What if you like him? A good guy like Thomas.
Eight hours ago before the photo.
The sky is grey, and the strong wind gives the plane turbulence.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're experiencing some turbulence. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts."
You were in the private jet on the way to England. Your former professor invited you to give a speech. Of course, you agree.
Even if you must defeat your fears, plane travel still brings goosebumps.
Your hands gripped the armrest tightly when the plane got turbulence.
“You should listen to music for distraction.” Jimmy was sitting in front of you, worried, looking pale, and he could see the sweat on your forehead even though the inside temperature was cold.
Jimmy sighed heavily; there's nothing he can do with your stubbornness. He knew you needed Lloyd but didn't know why you let him go.
It was Lloyd's job to make you at ease every time you travel by plane.
Before Jimmy, one of the people who disagree with your choice of a husband even though it's a contract, of all the men in the world, you choose Lloyd.
But now, he became the parent who was sad because his favourite son-in-law had left the house.
Even though Lloyd could be selfish and childish most of the time, at least when you were in trouble, he knew exactly what to do.
“If I listen to music, I will forget my speech.”
“Were you able to sleep last night?”
“Only for a few hours." You try to find a comfortable position to close your eyes, not looking at the window.
You usually get at least 6 hours of sleep when Lloyd is beside you. Since you moved back to your childhood home, the bed feels strange. And nobody helps to calm down your nightmares.
When you moved out from the house shared with Lloyd, you said this would be a new start.
You finally became the official CEO and could live alone without any worries.
But something unexpected happened.
‘My dear wife, I love you more.’
Lloyd's confession caught you off guard, and his words echoed in your mind, making you unable to sleep.
You’ve been pushing the divorce and moving out, mainly because you started to feel comfortable with him. It was supposed to be fake marriage, but you made a mistake with a sexual relationship with Lloyd.
‘Kill your emotion. You need to be a ruthless f*ck to rebuild L/N & Co.’
That’s your grandfather's last word to you before he died. You promised not to get f**ked by feelings and to prioritise the company.
You know your weaknesses. Good at business but stupid in romance.
But since you spend time with Lloyd. You kept thinking about him. And it's suffocating because of your ego; you held back from calling him.
That's why you said yes when your professor invited you to be the speaker. Remembering the youthful memories you had back in college was nice. If you go back, you could put behind all your trauma and ex-husband.
At the Debating Chamber.
In front of hundreds of people, you were relaxed while giving a speech and answering all the questions because your former professors and classmates were present to help you.
It felt like you went back to being a teenager again. There's no family drama because of your grandfather's will. You just focus on your study—simple time.
After the speech was done, you immediately rained with questions. Even with Jimmy beside you, he can't just push them away.
Until a blinded camera flash made anyone close to you feel uncomfortable. Somehow it worked to make people move away from you.
But the photographer keeps taking pictures of you. "Excuse me,sir, could you turn off the flash?"
The person behind the camera laughed. "I'll stop if you give me 100 dollars."
His voice sounded familiar. When the camera is put down, you finally get a closer look. You knew who it was.
Thomas Kimberley, your former classmate. It's been years since the last time you met. From everyone in your class, you are much closer to Thomas.
Probably because he also has the same family drama. He's the second son of Kimberley's family, but his mother is a mistress. He doesn't get along with his stepmother and step-sibling.
How did you know his drama? His stepbrother announced it inside the class to humiliate Thomas since he failed to become an Oxford student.
But you didn't graduate together. Last semester Thomas suddenly left and followed his dream to be a photographer. You heard this is his way to rebel against his father.
It turned out fine; he got what he wanted, travelled worldwide, and became a famous photographer. His appearance also changed.
Back then, he only wore a cardigan with a dull colour and jeans. But now his appearance has turned him into a good-looking man, especially when he wears black suits and thin gold frame glasses.
"Thomas. You jerk." You gave him a playful punch to his shoulder before you gave him a side hug.
You didn’t know some students took a shot the moment you gave a friendly hug to Thomas and sent it to social media.
Thomas laughed, “When they told me, you were coming, I thought you would buy this place.”
He linked his arm with you. “Ah, that’s our friend, let's meet them.” His act caught you off guard because Lloyd was the only man who could be this close to you.
And there it is; you thought you could forget him, but everything reminded you of Lloyd. You let this slide for once because you don’t want to ruin the reunion.
It was supposed to be a quick hangout at the pub. But one of your friends got this idea to visit another pub then another pub. You've never been this carefree and hungover. Looking at your friends singing at the karaoke and being happy. You suddenly have a thought.
After graduating, you couldn't hang out with them since your grandfather dragged you back to the States.
You were having a second thought. If you stay back then, do you still have a chance to have a normal life?
You stop daydreaming when someone hands you a glass of water.
"Thank you."
"When was the last time you drank after you became the CEO?"
You sip the water while thinking about the moment you get the position; you become more ambitious and almost sleep daily in your office. "Hmm, never."
You put down the glass and rested your head on your palm while looking at him "Thomas, are you happy after you achieved your dream?"
"Wow, wisdom time because of the alcohol." He chuckled and then was silent for a while. "To be honest, I'm not 100% happy. Because it ruined my marriage."
Your eyes widened when you heard his confession. You didn't know he got married. "You? Married? Divorce?"
Thomas nodded; he stared at the wall of liquors. "She doesn’t like my job."
"Because you always travelled around?" You put your hand in front of your lips. That was a slip of the tongue. You were too honest because of the alcohol. "I'm sorry."
Thomas doesn't feel offended. "That's right." He put down his drinking glass and turned towards you. "It's my turn to ask a question. I want to know how the famous ice queen finally fell in love."
You gulped. You will not tell Thomas how you met Lloyd when he was supposed to kill you. You waved your hand and acted shy. "He helped me deal with my family. That's why I…"
You were silent when you wanted to say the following words. Your mind suddenly recalled everything that happened between you and Lloyd. Both of you have been through heaven and hell together.
"...love him." Your voice became softer; maybe only you could hear it. Is it because of the alcohol that made you say those words or because of something else?
You suddenly stand up from your seat, making people beside you almost jump. "I… I think I should go."
Thomas looks at his wristwatch. "You're right. It's already late." He stood up to grab his coat and yours. "My driver will drive us both."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing ,Y/N compare how often you drag me every time I get hungover."
You hummed, remembering he always got drunk whenever he fought with his step-brother.
While in the car on the way to your hotel, Thomas saw you looking at your phone screen, not doing anything; he asked, "Is your husband still awake waiting for you?"
You shook your head. "No. He didn't come with me."
"What a pity. I want to meet him."
You wonder if you heard it wrong. He sounded sulking. Did your friend want to meet Lloyd?
You waved goodbye to Thomas when the car arrived at the hotel.
When you enter the building, Thomas' smile disappears from his face. He took out his phone to make a call. "Cancel it. We chose plan B."
The next day you woke up; you weren’t that drunk. You picked up your phone to check on your schedule. There’s nothing. You remembered last night you told your secretary you want a day off.
It was a sunny day.
You decided to take a walk from your hotel to clear your head.
You don’t have any plans. When you saw the nearest coffee shop, that became your first destination.
The coffee shop has a lovely aesthetic and is not too crowded. After you order a coffee, pick a seat at the corner near the window that faces the street.
While you enjoy your drinks and cakes, other customers keep coming; you notice the queue line getting longer.
When you look up, a man has his hands full. One hand holding a laptop bag and one hand holding a baby. His kid was uncomfortable with his arms, making him unable to make an order.
“Kendal, please hold on a second.” He tried to calm his baby.
“Professor Watson.” You greet him. He's one of the professors you adore because of his intelligence and wisdom.
He turned his head and saw you. Both of you met yesterday but didn’t have the chance to talk.
"Y/N. Haii…" He struggled to hold his daughter. You can't bear looking at your favourite professor looking like a mess.
"Let me hold her."
"Thank you, but I don't think,-" His daughter already stretched her short arms towards you. That was unexpected.
"Both of us will be sitting there."
After a few minutes, Professor Watson joins your table with his coffee and cake.
"Thank you for your help."
"No problem. What happened? You look… lost?" Every time you see him, he always looks like a perfect scholar. It's pretty difficult to approach him. Even though he seems scary, he will help his students.
After ten years, his style has become easygoing, and he is more welcome. He never smiled at his students. It's been ten years, and now you see the smile stay on his face.
"Haha, today is my day off. But my wife suddenly got called to the hospital. I thought it would be a good idea to bring my daughter to the coffee shop while I make new material for my book."
Wow, his personality completely changed. Before, he never shared his personal life. But now he still tells you about his wife working as a doctor and his son joining the football team even though you didn’t ask.
He seemed happy after he got married. If you get married, will your personality change too?
“You’ve changed, Professor. Back then, if we asked about your day, you would say ‘Nothing besides crying myself to sleep.”
“That’s true.” He laughed. “I used to be pessimistic about life, especially marriage.”
Kendall, the cute baby, is still sitting on your lap. She is fascinated with shiny things on your head, which as your hairclip.
"Wa, is?" Her chubby finger pointed to your hair.
"Ooh, this is a hairclip."
"Hai,- cip,-" Kendall keep mumbling, ‘Hai,- cip,’ for a long time. You are weak to her cuteness. You take off your hairclip and let her play with it.
“I’m sorry, Y/N, she’s on the stage where she likes to play with sparkly things.”
“It’s okay.” You don’t mind if she breaks it. Anything to make her comfortable on your lap. The scent of a baby tickled your nose when you put her into your arms. Your maternal instinct suddenly kicked in.
“You’ve changed too Y/N.”
“Back then, we only talked about your assignment, but I could see that you carry an enormous burden. Right now, I can see that you have become more confident and brave.”
He pointed to your finger that was wrapped with a diamond ring. “Was it because of your partner who is the biggest support?”
After you heard his question, you remembered everything Lloyd had done to help you, guard you, and get your position right now. He didn’t ask questions when you asked him to do complex tasks. He just says yes and provides a great result.
Like today, you can enjoy your walk without worrying anyone could hurt you.
Even though you have to pay billions, with his help, you gain your freedom.
If that means excellent support, the answer is “Yes, yes, he is.”
You forgot about the time until Kendall made a fuss since it was her time to nap.
That means it's time to go back. You still carry Kendal in your arms until both of you arrive at Professor Watson's car.
On her baby seat, Kendal is still holding your hairpin, her father tries to open her palm, but she's persistent.
"It's alright Professor she can have it." You brushed her fluffy cheeks.
"Haha, you'll be a great mother, Y/N. Say, thank you to Aunty Y/N, sunshine."
Your body cringes when you hear the nickname. Damn Lloyd, for keep calling you that name.
He said while tightening his seat belt. "Let's meet again on your next visit."
After the car left, you went back to the hotel through the park. While walking, you sighed heavily. Your plan to travel so you could forget Lloyd failed. Because it seems like life doesn’t want you to move on from him.
“Did you enjoy your coffee sunshine?”
Your footsteps halted when you heard his voice.
He is sitting on the bench wearing a polo shirt, beige pants, brown loafers, and his favourite aviators.
"Lloyd?!!"
Lloyd followed you back to the hotel. When he entered your room, he jumped to the couch and rested his feet on the table.
He didn't talk on the way here; it's out of his character. If you look closely, he seemed to be sulking. After staying together for a year, you knew he would act like a child.
"Lloyd, are you alright?"
He scoffed and shook his head. "How can I be alright when I found my wife is getting close to her best friend?"
You were taken aback; did he just accuse you of Thomas?
"There's nothing between me and Thomas." You don't have romantic feelings towards Thomas even though he's a good guy.
There's a memory about Thomas that you buried.
Lloyd clicked his tongue. You are still clueless and dense with the opposite gender. From the photo, he could read Thomas' expressions towards you.
Lloyd took away his aviator and threw them on the table. He smiled softly, strode forward and stood in front of you.
You remained frozen, wondering what he was going to do. The next moment Lloyd stroked your cheek with his index finger and pulled you into his arms.
"Let's go to bed." He rested his head on your shoulder.
'Huh?'
Lloyd pats your back gently. "I'm tired. I haven't slept for 7 hours because I'm worried about you."
Without breaking the silence, you agreed with his request.
Inside the bedroom, you were nervous when you lay beside him. While you are anxious, the man beside you has closed his eyes.
You tried to twist out of his arms, but it was no use.
Lloyd brought your head to his chest. He held you tight as if to keep you from escaping.
"I missed my wife so much I thought I would die.”
You gently patted his back as if you knew what he was thinking. He buried his nose into your hair and took a deep breath.
"While I'm gone can you sleep?"
You sighed heavily. "No. Living alone made me more depressed."
He chuckled, "Stop pushing me away then."
You pinched his arms even though you knew it didn't affect him. Instead, he giggled more. But he was right; the answer for your insomnia is him.
But something has been bugging you for these couple of months. You break the silence by asking the big question.
“Do you think there’s something else after this?”
There was silence, but you felt Lloyd loosen his grip. "Like what?"
You gulped. "You know, like building a family?"
"..."
"Forgot what I said." You pulled your blanket and turned your body to the other side. But Lloyd's strong arm turns your position back to face him.
Lloyd didn't expect that question out of your mouth.
'Family.' Of course, that idea had crossed his mind. But the desire is getting stronger because of what he saw today.
He had arrived when you went to the coffee shop. From the car, he saw you talking with an older man; he didn't open the car door when he saw you holding a baby in your arms.
The image of you inside the house holding the baby. Their tiny hands touch your cheeks. And then you greet him with 'Good morning.'
He decided not to join your conversation and stay in the car. Looking at you holding the baby gave him a feeling of joy.
"Do you remember my confession?"
"Yeah."
You met his scorching gaze, and he smiled.
"The confession means I want to spend the rest of my life with you, sleep with you, have sex with you."
You remained frozen but still looking at Lloyd's gleamed eyes.
"It also means I want to get you pregnant, build a family with you."
Your heart began to race wildly inside your chest. Hearing his confession once again sounds completely different now.
Because you want to have the same goal as him.
It was dark inside the room, but Lloyd could feel your heartbeat.
"Tell me what I want to hear Y/N."
"I love you too Lloyd. I'll give you my everything."
Lloyd pulled you into his arms again, almost squeezing you. He finally found the answer.
The next morning.
The sounds of the alarm make both of you wake up together.
You grab your phone and see the notification that tells you the schedule for today. When you wanted to leave the bed, your waist suddenly got held.
"Don't go." Lloyd grumbled on your back while his eyes were still closed.
"I'm meeting the PM today. I can't miss it." Your finger tickled behind his ears. That's the sensitive part of his body. The technique makes you free from his hold. You immediately ran to the bathroom.
Lloyd growled while his hand ran through his face. He hates it when the quality time with you gets disrupted.
'RING.' He silently cursed; another interruption kept coming. He picked up his phone, turned out it was from Carmichael.
"Lloyd."
"Yeah?"
"I know you have plans to get rid of Thomas. But I suggest you don't."
"Give me one reason."
"Hermes."
Lloyd's breath hitched when he heard that name. Before he met you, he'd been searching for this weapon dealer called Hermes.
"The agency has been looking for this person for a long time. When you were looking for Thomas' flight schedule it's the same with Hermes everytime he made a deal and the description also matched."
So the agency finally got the answer. Thomas Kimberley is Hermes. He is hiding in plain sight using his famous status. No one would think a charities photographer was also a dangerous weapon dealer.
"You were right. He's not a good guy. But,-"
"What?"
"He seems pretty close with your wife."
Lloyd clenched his fist. “Don’t say anything that makes me want to kill you.”
Carmichael was silent for a while until he said “Be friends with him and make Hermes the agency's asset.”
A/N: Wow, Carmichael is heartless towards his friend, does he? What will Lloyd go to do? Is he going to help his friend or not?
Wait for the next chapter.
If you want to be tagged in the series, you can tell me from the comment. 💓💓💓
And if you have any questions or want to send any prompts and drabble, you could send them to my inbox. I'll be happy to answer.
This chapter is from Lloyd Hansen's Series - 3 Billion Divorce.
Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5,-
And check out my other stories from Masterlist.
Taglist:
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@evansce1
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#lloyd hansen x fic#lloyd hansen x you#lloyd hansen x reader#lloyd hansen#lloyd hansen x fem!reader#soft!dark lloyd hansen imagine#soft!dark lloyd hansen x y/n#soft!dark lloyd hansen x reader#soft!dark lloyd hansen#chris evans characters#chris evans x y/n#chris evans x reader#the grey man#3billiondivorce
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