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littlebluentebook · 3 months

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Alastor x Sewing!Reader

Hi everyone! This is my first ever fic but I have read far more than anyone should in a lifetime! Please let me know if theres any criticism. Im open to other ideas and fandoms (that I will eventually make a list for.) I'm merging some chapters I have just because they're short or make better sense that way and tried tot keep things gender neutral. If I slipped let me know and I will go back and edit! This is probably super out of character but I did my best! Hope you all enjoy :)

Chapter 1 <3

You and your husband had always gotten along like a house on fire.

Every other week a client would come in asking for costumes and repairs for a speakeasy she sung and danced at.

"-just say Anne invited you love n' they'll be bound ta let you in!" she exclaimed while picking up her newest order for the night ahead.

"Well darling I'll just have to see if I've got any sort of plans." You said knowing full well you were going to come up with new patterns until eventually falling asleep.

"Come on Y/N, Ive been coming to you for months! Don't you want to see where all your heard work goes to?" Anne was definitely pulling your strings taking advantage of your curiosity. She had a point.

"I suppose you've gotta point Anne. What time are you starting tonight?"

"Nine!" She was bouncing up and down in excitement. " I've got to get going now doll! See you tonight!"

The jingle of the bells on the door signified she was gone. You started to realize what you agreed to and panicking.

"Oh my goodness gracious!" you stressed out loud, "what even am I going to wear! Im going to look ridiculous- I don't know a single soul there! What if I make a fool of myself?!"

Your thoughts battles for longer than you would like them to eventually grabbing a paper riddled with measurements no longer needed and started writing pros and cons of visiting Anne.

Pros: Cons:

Meeting new people! Showing up alone

Can make friends Looking like a buffoon!

New possible clients

Deducting that embarrassment is temporary, your cons list could easily be eradicated by breaking out of your shell and talking to others. Plus, Anne would be there and she was your friend... kinda? You considered her a friend but was unsure if she felt the same way. Well, she did invite you to visit her tonight, at the very least she will introduce you to her friends! There shouldn't be a worry.

With your mind finally set you heard the clock strikes four. Ashamed of how long you let your thoughts get the better of you, you got back to work. The task was to complete a keepsake blanket from a wedding. You created the dress for the newlywed, sitting for hours with her finding the perfect materials and creating patterns and designs for her. In the family, it was a tradition to create a quilt from the dress of the bride using the grooms suit as a border. All the pieces were cut and you could not wait to sew them together and create a stunning memento.

Chapter 2 <3

you knocked on a door two streets over from your shop. A short lady opened the door raising an eyebrow.

"And who might you be?"

"Im Annes... friend," you tried. "She comes to me for her outfits and graciously offered me the opportunity to come a view her performance tonight."

The lady's gaze hardened, staring at you intensely.

"It looks like I have got the wrong place then, I am so sorry to waste your time," you stammered taking a step back away from the door.

"Oh Mimzy! You mustn't be giving anyone trying to see me a hard time now!" Anne's bubbly voice spoke from behind the short lady who must be Mimzy. "Y/N is a good friend of mine! Works far too hard for me and deserves a break, plenty of time to relax!"

Mimzy bursted into a smile and reached for a hug. "of course! Welcome! Sorry for being all prude- just had to makee sure you weren't anyone coming tottery and ruin what I've got going for me here" she drawled.

"No ma'am of course not! Im just here to watch my friends performance then I'll be outta your hair, away from your 'do," you explained to Mimzy while she dragged you from the door to the bar.

"Nonsense my dear! Please have a drink and stay awhile!" you sat at the bar with Mimzy talking about how difficult it was to be a female business owner. No one takes you lot seriously!

The lights dimming and shinning on stage caught the room's attention effectively hushing all conversation. Anne sauntered to the center of the stage, dress shimmering. You recognized it as the most recent dress that you crafted for Anne. It was stunning on her.

"My oh my! Look at the handiwork that went into making that dress. Must of taken days!" a familiar voice chipped. You were unable to put a name to the voice but luckily Mimzy did it for you.

"Alastor," Goodness! The radio broadcaster! You had always loved his voice, you would have his station playing while sewing- waiting patiently for songs to end just to hear him speak. "Our dear friend Y/N made that specifically for our lovely Anne!" Mimzy exclaimed.

She admired your work while Anne sung and waltzed around the stage. You were incredibly proud of your work. Every detail of that dress took so much time and effort and turned out beautifully. The fringe was all hand cut, the lace took countless hours of stitching for the perfect design and finally the beads. Each bead had to be placed individually in the right spot on the dress to shimmer. It was a fine dress indeed.

"Y/N, how would you like to make dresses and suits for the rest of those who preform for me?" As soon as the song ended Mimzy had dropped the question, ensuring she wouldn't tale any attention away from Anne.

"Oh my! Why I would be honored and ecstatic to! Thank you so much for the opportunity Mimzy!" You were so excited! Sure the flapper dresses were hard work and time consuming, but now, seeing how they looked on a stage, in front of an audience, made you realize you didn't mind all the time and effort it took into making them.

Mimzy left her seat in an excited hurry to go get paperwork for you.

"You know," the broadcaster- Alastor leaned over Mimzy's now empty seat, "she goes on and on about how beautiful Annes dresses on stage are." The comment caused you to blush but he continued, grabbing your hand gently. "I must agree with her, although the lady behind the creation of this wonderful attire is much more beautiful than what she creates."

With that Alastor kissed the back of your hand with his lips. You were speechless.

Mimzy came back with paperwork and Alastor smiled at you. The three of you spent hours conversing, telling both jokes and stories.

"Oh my!" You glanced at the nearest clock- almost one in the morning. "I have got to get going! I have to open the shop in the morning."

"Do you ever take days off darling?" Alastor asked softly.

"Only Sundays. No one is out on Sundays!"

"Goodness! -at least let me walk you home. You know its not safe for a lovely person such as yourself to be out alone this late."

"Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you at all Alastor."

"Of course I'm sure dear, its not an inconvenience if its you." The words were rolling off his tongue and you blushed so hard it could have matched his vest.

"Your performance was amazing Anne! You are so talented, I have definitely been missing out, I am going to come back to watch you! " Enthusiasm and pride towards your friend took over. You wanted to let her know what you thought before you suddenly ran off.

"Thank you for coming out tonight for me. Sure was nice seeing a friend in the crowd!" A jittery wave of happiness washed through you at her last statement.

"Im so glad to hear you enjoyed yourself!" Mimzy gushed to you giving a farewell hug. "Blessed to know you'll be coming back doll."

"Of course! You have an amazing place Mimzy. This is a pleasant change of scenery compared to what I'm used to!"

With your goodbyes concluded you walked out the door arm in arm with Alastor.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel 2024 #hazbinhotel #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor x you #alastor x y/n #x reader

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fourseasonsfigs · 1 year

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Hot Pot Beauty

I had to do some searching for the inspiration for this fig, let me tell you!

I went through every Gong Jun pic I had and then some, then searched and searched. I could not find any pic with a striped shirt and long red coat. I could find a striped shirt and short red coat...but no hat. I kept going thought, because if I know anything, it's that fig makers definitely follow details.

Finally, I took to Twitter and almost immediately found this wonderful source material from the talented and wonderful @manggaetteok96:

The name actually comes from this clip of GJ reenacting Na Na's “Hot Pot Beauty” skit on Happy Camp:

The "full" version of this Happy Camp with Gong Jun is here, but does not contain this clip.

A grainy copy of the original skit is here:

youtube

I searched and searched to try to find the full original airing of the Hot Pot Beauty skit but I couldn't find it. It may just have been extra bonus footage from Mango TV's VIP content. However, in the time honored tradition of clicking on just one more YouTube video, I did find this totally unrelated-to-this-fig extra bonus footage from the same Happy Camp, which is a re-enactment of the Light on You scene from Word of Honor. I had never seen it before, and it was just too entertaining not to share. So here it is!

youtube

I swear I have learned so much about this fandom and these actors from doing fig blog research. Speaking of which, back on task here!

I know I'm a broken record at this point, but this fig is CUTE. I love his huge laughing grin and now that I know where this fig comes from, it's even more funny and adorable. He really does go all in on everything!

His curled up, tucked up hand pose here is making me smile!

His expression from this side view is super adorable.

He actually will stand ok without the fig stand, but it's one of those situations where if you knock against the table he's on, he'd probably fall over. So on a standee he goes.

Perhaps a little silly to say I like the little details like the pleats in his costume coat, but I do! I like all the little details.

Not a very exciting angle, but might as well include it.

This is a much more exciting angle! Here you can see the extreme closeup of his colored stripy shirt, and the detail on the hat. CUTE.

Ah I love it! This fig is even more fun now that I know it's history.

This is the third of this set of (individually sold) figs. I posted about the Blue Flower Zhehan and Gong Jun yesterday, so stop on by that post if you haven't read it yet! The coal dust fig I did not buy for as it does not culturally translate well to the US. I think this might have been from Formed Police Unit when he was filming in Beihai, but not 100% sure if it was this or another show.

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 215

Scene Count: 18

Rating: Hot as a Chengdu pepper! or is a Jiangxi pepper hotter?

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#junzhe #gong jun #word of honor cast #shl cast #figthusiast #bg photo credit eder pozo pérez on unsplash

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cretonki · 2 years

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Tron legacy soundtrack club song

Tron legacy soundtrack club song update#

Tron legacy soundtrack club song full#

Tron legacy soundtrack club song tv#

Tron legacy soundtrack club song full#

Having worked on the soundtrack with a full symphony orchestra, I can’t wait to hear what the French duo have come up with.Ģ3. Judging by the song titles though it looks like we’re going to be getting a mixture of more traditional Daft Punk songs, like Outlands and Derezzed which have been leaked so far, but also more classical inspired pieces, with tracks like Adagio for Tron, and Nocturne referencing classical forms. sometimes some of us are bright enough to recognize a huge turd without having to step in it first.Titled Outlands, the tracks, as you can see below, is the 9th out of 22 songs set to be on the soundtrack, which so far looks set to be pretty fucking rad.

Tron legacy soundtrack club song tv#

star trek 2009 and terminator both sucked ass for removing thier original music (i would have been happy even with original classic tv show music than the terrible star trek 2009 score).i knew it would suck and was correct, im predicting it for tron 2. after seeing them remove the cool disc throwing and derezing, im borederline on skipping reboots in general. where would indy or jaws or psycho be without thier great soundtracks? im also betting the original cast is in less than 15 minutes of the reboot disguised as a sequel. sequel and reboot making is pretty much a no brainer. I am tired of shit reboot after shit reboot and shit sequel with 20 year old cokeheads aparently not bright enough to recognize music and costume continuity. At least lucas has enough brains not to drop. terminator, bond and and star trek all SUCK after removing original scores. music is 89% of a movie, dropping carlos's original score is one of the things that made tron 1 great. How many 20 year olds does it take to completely screw up a franchise? franchises do poorly when they drop original music scores that made them what they were. It's so easy to ruin a masterpiece by thoughtlessly rehashing it. Now they're going further and messing with its DNA. This musical choice is the first sign that the film project could be going horribly wrong.ĭisney, in characteristic form, used Buena Vista as a cover until they were sure "TRON" wouldn't embarrass them. (Many of the original film's references hark back further, to the mainframe era.) I'm not interested in seeing TRON advance to 128-bit multiprocessors. I suppose it's logical to try to "update" both the sound and look of the world inside the computer to address advances in the computer industry since 1982– but for me "TRON" is about the nostalgic beginnings of 8-bit home computing. Now, to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of both the film and the soundtrack, the duo has shared a. Its vision never pandered to popular audiences. The project delivered 22 tracks for fans to enjoy alongside the Joseph Kosinski-directed film. "TRON" reached iconic status because it was both artistic and entertaining. Also here is the most complete Tron Legacy Soundtrack Ive found. Would thoroughly recommend (1) OVERWERK - Create (2) Daft Punk - TRON Legacy Soundtrack Complete Edition HD 3 - You might find this similar. Wendy Carlos, on the other hand, was an inspired choice given her status as a pioneer and a highly original composer. The soundtrack to Oblivion also had Joe Trapanese as a collaborator, this time with M83 instead of Daft Punk. (Would it seem better if the "2" wasn't pretending to be an "O"?) Not to dis any artists, but there's no more justification for using them than say Tangerine Dream or… Journey. With the Daft Punk news, I'm now pessimistic about the "TR2N" project. What do you think about Daft Punk doing the score for Tron 2? Do you think that they are up to the task? Should they have gone back to Wendy Carlos to score the sequel? The original Tron featured an original electronic score by synth pioneer Wendy Carlos. “We’re always trying to do something that hasn’t been done, or ultimately, that we aren’t doing ourselves yet,” notes Banglater. The musicians, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter split their time between Paris and Los Angeles, where they have have assembled a new recording studio for the TR2N project. The “TR2N” score marks Daft Punk’s first foray into the studio since 2005’s “Human After All.” The film, currently in production, is tentatively scheduled for a 2011 release.

Tron legacy soundtrack club song update#

Billboard reports that Daft Punk has been signed to score the soundtrack for Tron 2 (TR2N):ĭaft Punk, the French electronica duo known for their robot personas, have been tapped by Walt Disney Pictures to compose the score for “TR2N”, an update of the studio’s 1982 science fiction classic “Tron”, Billboard has confirmed.

#Tron legacy soundtrack club song

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harrytheehottie · 1 year

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Idk I think the lack of pizazz in Harry’s gigs is an intentional, artistic choice. I get the argument for wanting bigger and better visuals and stage set up, etc. Cause the screens and the fireworks and spinning acrobats or whatever, they’re such an amazing spectacle and can elevate the show to like a full on sensory experience. But I feel like Harry’s ‘thing’ is keeping everything about the music as much as possible, and honouring the traditions of an old school concert where it was just the stage, the band and the crowd facing.

You could argue that the production theatrics are utilised so much now because the artist alone and the music alone, aren’t enough to capture and engage and entertain the audience. Like it’s a symptom of hyper consumerism and fans’ need for each gig to be bigger and better, it’s less about ‘oh I like this artist and I’d like to hear them play live’, and now it’s like ‘I’ve invested my entire soul into this person and so Im gonna need to see lights, costumes, choreography, graphics, set pieces, etc. to come even close to satisfying my dopamine receptors which require every single sense to be stimulated 100% to feel any kind of joy’.

It’s a real skill to be able to make 55000+ people feel like they’re at a small venue concert and tbh I think harry does achieve that very well. I went to his Sydney night 2 and this random older lady we passed in the lift was going on about how she was now a new fan, about how impressed she was and how it felt like an old school concert. And my friend who I went with said it was her favourite concert she’s ever been to and she’s a massive swiftie who went to the reputation tour and loved it. I was kinda surprised cause I knew she was a casual harry fan, but she said that she thought the atmosphere was super unique and buzzy just from his interaction with the crowd. So idk yeah sorry just wrote an essay in your inbox lol but I do thinks it’s interesting how the consensus seems to be that the bigger the production the better the concert, and I wonder how our current environment of constant stimulation might feed in to that belief?

no i totally get what you mean and are saying i have seen him dozens of times i would not have kept going back if i wasn’t having fun so I don’t want people to think I don’t think it’s fun! I also think older concerts didn’t have the same technology as we do now lol like I am not talking about him having a dancing break or whatever but even the visuals from his first tour where better imo 🤷🏽‍♀️ this tour the visuals are literally just the camera work with filters on them lmao I do think the feeling at one of his shows cannot be replicated but there is a genuine conversation to have when it comes to what male artists like him can get away with like people are paying $$$$$$$ for these shows and I don’t think the bigger the production the better the concert at all I just think you have to put on a SHOW and Harry does that but also limits himself imo 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

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mskatesharma · 3 years

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Hey sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask if you could rec some good sources on learning more about Indian Culture/history/customs. Movies books anything really. I have looked online but well, I always take things on the internet with several grains of salt. And considering I know very little on it, I can't say how reliable the information is. I would like to incorporate elements of Kate being Indian when writing about Kate (and Kate and Anthony) going forward and I want to do it in as respectful and accurate a way as I can. For example, I had a thought of Anthony seeing Kate and her fam celebrate Holi and falling in love with how happy and carefree she is and brushing some paint off her cheek before she dunks some pigment onto him or something 1/2

But considering I've never celebrated Holi or seen it celebrated before I don't think I'd do a good job to write it... I know I get annoyed when people get the basic customs and traditions of my culture wrong. Anyway sorry for rambling TLDR: I would like to learn more about Indian culture and idk where to begin so I would be grateful for any direction you can point me at 2/2

so this has taken me a while to answer because i needed to find time to sit down, think about it and answer it properly. it might seem like a somewhat simple question, but to me, at least, it’s complicated? (i’m probably going to be going over stuff you probably already know, but i’m trying to answer in a complete way.)

i need to start off by saying that my family is from north india (gujarat specifically), and because of that, i have a certain level of privilege, including how north indians and north indian culture is portrayed in the media (obviously including bollywood). i mention this because simone ashley is south indian, specifically tamil, and there is so much prejudice against south indians in general, and this obviously extends to how they are depicted and how their culture is shown in various forms of media; colourism (which simone has spoken out about) is just the start of it. (also, as someone who is north indian, i’m not the best placed person to talk about the prejudice and discrimination faced by south indians.)

a big part of why desi fans are so excited about simone’s casting as kate is because she a dark-skinned woc, and typically, dark-skinned women aren’t cast as romantic leads, and they’re not cast in shows anyway, especially when compared to light-skinned woc. so the fact that she’s going to be a lead in one of the biggest shows on netflix is a big.fucking.deal. in addition, they changed her character’s surname from ‘sheffield’ to ‘sharma’, which on the surface seems like a great idea, but if you look a little deeper, there are so many problems to be found.

(this got long so continues below)

sharma is not a generic indian surname; it’s specifically a north indian hindu name, which throws up questions. is kate going to be a hindu on the show? does this mean her family is from north india? are they going to talk about caste on the show because sharma is a brahmin surname? how are they going to explain kate being in england, and being out in society with the upper crust of the british aristocracy? (because of the time that bridgerton is set, and with them specifically setting up kate as indian, i honestly don’t know how they’re going to explain kate’s presence) i honestly think that the show didn’t think too deeply about it and they chose the name sharma because it starts with ‘sh’ and ~sounds indian. however, it’s thrown up so many questions that they can’t ignore, especially because they tried to explain race in the first season.

i talk about all this because you ask about holi, and incorporating elements of kate being indian when writing. and i’m not trying to be mean, but i would maybe hold off altogether? i need to point out that holi is a hindu festival, and is not specifically tied to being indian. i know i mentioned that sharma is a hindu surname, but we don’t even know if kate is going to be hindu, she may be a christian, or another religion or an atheist. also, because simone is tamil, they may decide to have kate be south indian despite the north indian origins of sharma, if they chose to address it at all. and depending on where in india you are from, and your religion, you will celebrate different festivals. even indians of the same religion celebrate different festivals, and some celebrate occasions at different times (e.g. gujaratis celebrate hindu new year the day after diwali. this isn’t the case for most other hindus. if we take holi, i know that it tends to be celebrated more in north india, and the image you describe isn’t necessarily universal).

there has been a lot in the tags regarding clothing, and seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing, and while i get it, it makes me nervous. personally, i cannot wait to see kate in the same style of dresses that everyone else wore in season one. why? because seeing an indian woman in that period of dress is something i have been longing for. i don’t want to see an indian woman wearing a lengha or a sari or sabyasachi in that time period, i want to see her in a bonnet and empire waistline, because that is something we haven’t seen much of.

also, talking about seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing has the potential to ‘other’ her, and tbh, can come across sometimes as fetishy, especially when you consider the time the story takes place in, and all the implications of colonialism. (there’s also the fact that unless the show has hired indian costume designers, it would be kinda gross for them to use any kind of indian clothing, and that includes adding elements to the era-typical dress that i’m hoping for.)

i’m going to be honest, i’ve seen pieces of fanart with kate wearing a sari and other indian clothing, while anthony has been in typical regency dress, and it makes me uncomfortable. it gives off coloniser vibes, and that’s a dynamic i have absolutely no interest in. there’s also the fact that i’ve seen art where simone as kate has been shown as light-skinned, to the point where she appears to be the same colour as anthony, and i mean, hello?!

full disclosure, i’ve made some posts regarding headcanons and music that i should have thought twice about. i’ve reblogged stuff that i should have thought more about before i did so. why? because they had overtones of north indian privilege, and/or orientalism. being indian (wherever in india that is) is part of someone’s identity, it’s not a gimmick to sprinkle onto things, and it’s not something to festishise, and i think, at least from what i’ve seen, that is the concern a lot of desi fans have, even if that’s not the intention of the original posters.

i realise i’ve gone on a seemingly massive tangent, but what i’m trying to say is, i don’t think there is a need to specifically reference kate being indian, especially when when writing canon-era fic, even more so when you consider we don’t know how the show is going to address it. now, i’m not saying i have faith in the show when it comes to kate and her ~indian surname, just that until we know how the show addresses it, i don’t see why it needs to be referred to? i understand why one might want to, but i just think there are waaay too many potential pitfalls, and the risk of coming across as orientalist/patronising/fetishy too high. some fans have fears when it comes to kate sharma and how she is presented, and for good reason.

sorry for not answering how you expected, and not giving you the resources you asked for (which, tbh, i’m not sure i would know where to start). i get what you were trying to ask, and i thank you for asking in the first place, but the question felt a little unfair tbh. but, i would encourage to read up on orientalism, also about the privilege that north indian hindus have, and honestly, the british colonisation of india.

ETA: i put this in the reblog but im going to add it here as well

also, something i forgot to add, even though i talk about north indians/north india and south indians/south india, it is obviously more complicated than that. there are many different states in india, and even then, different regions within those states will have different customs to each other. and then you have to factor in religion. likewise, there’s no one language that everyone in india speaks. basically, it’s not one universal culture that can be ‘boiled down to the essentials’.

#kate sharma #kate sheffield #kathony #bridgerton #anthony x kate #kate x anthony #simone ashley #kanthony #if i've got something wrong please PLEASE correct me #also if i've forgot to say something that needs to be said #idk anymore #i am once again wishing they hadn’t tried to explain race during season one #look at all the stuff it’s thrown up #ask

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chibimyumi · 3 years

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Kuromyu 2021 - First Review

So, yesterday 05-03-2021 was the First Day Performance of Kuromyu 2021, “The Secret of the Boarding School”. It is no secret that I am no fan of the Boarding School Arc, but even so I was very, very curious to see this arc being translated to a stage media.

This review shall not be without spoilers. Not just the story itself, because I think by now most people know how the story unfolds. I mean the execution of the stage play itself.

I shall not lie and admit that my review WILL contain my opinions, meaning it is by no means objective and might influence your opinions. For people who wish to experience the production entirely objectively for themselves, I recommend NOT clicking “keep reading” to reveal the spoiler section.

For now, I shall give my spoiler-free rating per category.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Script: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Acting: ⭐ ★★★★

Singing: ⭐ ⭐★★★

Music: ⭐⭐⭐★★

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hereunder I shall give the spoiler-section first preceded by “First Impression”, and then followed by the categories listed here above.

First Impression

The stream started, and seeing the Kuromyu logo in present day again after three years really was very exciting. Since 2010 on as always, Kuromyu opened with the contract scene, and I was positively surprised to see the stage set being quite elaborate! This set was the largest and most elaborate one so far without TOHO’s help.

After the contract scene the prologue gave a very quick recap of the Jack the Ripper, Circus, and the Campania Arc. I am not sure whether it was necessary to show the Jack the Ripper and Circus Arc as they provide no information needed to understand Weston Arc. But I think it was mainly inserted to speak to the nostalgia in Kuromyu fans, and as a Kuromyu fan myself, I have to say it did work. It did not take much time, I think maybe 1 minute per arc, so it was fine.

The recap of the Campania Arc was important as it served to equip the audience with the information that there’s a reaper who creates zombies. Undertaker was shown as the main antagonist of the Campania Arc and responsible for the bizarre dolls.

There was a short brawl between Undertaker and Sebastian, which is in fact a very good choice in my opinion to showcase the dynamic between these two supernatural powers...............except that only 10 minutes in, and the musical already MASSIVELY screwed up by portraying the fight as though Sebastian beat Undertaker. The ONLY reason Sebas is still alive is because Undertaker decided so. Normally I wouldn’t care that much about errors in a recap, but this time it serves as the exposition of Undertaker and Sebastian’s dynamic: It should have shown that Undertaker is an incredibly dangerous foe and that Sebas is scared shitless because of that. Especially because this ties in with how this arc was concluded.

“But okay, fine. Maybe the script has other plans, so I shall let it be,” I thought. Moving on. But it did “plant a seed” in me that this musical is either going to contradict itself, or that it is going to defy canon. That was the first impression.

The prologue transitions into the setup of the case quite smoothly, and I have to say it was skillful. You very quickly see Ciel change into the Weston uniform and the admission ceremony was swiftly started. Immediately you get introduced to Agares, the prefects and their fags, and the musical does a good job defining the atmosphere as: “something is off here”.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★

The overall musical was really quite faithful to canon. Most plot points were as they were in the manga, and enough so that I would recommend anybody who doesn’t understand Japanese to first re-read the arc as homework. If you have the arc fresh in your memory, it is very easy to trace every action back to the canon.

There are some details that were omitted or changed, probably done so in consideration for the stage medium or run-time, and done reasonably so. Unlike the previous Kuromyus, 2021 adds very little new elements that were not there in the manga. No added extra depth, but also no unnecessary additions.

There were a few things that were very off-canon, namely the characters. But I think that falls under the “acting” header, rather than this header.

Script: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

The script was a real disappointment. You might wonder how faithfulness to canon can be 4/5, and yet the script only a 2/5 in my opinion. WELL, most dialogue was based on the text in the manga, but told as dry as possible. It was also as though the script writers didn’t trust its audience intelligent enough to understand things on their own, or even remember something that was said literally 5 minutes ago.

Exposition Ad Nauseam

There was a tremendous amount of exposition, exposition, exposition, ad nauseam. There was exposition about who Ciel is and what the Queen’s Watchdog is and what his job entails, and that is entirely fine. That’s necessary background information for spectators unfamiliar with Black Butler. However, there was also a lot of exposition that could easily have been left out, or concluded through context. For example, there were quite many expositions about the history and status of the Weston College. In my opinion, a competent script writer could have let the audience known that the Weston College is really important just by giving the information that the blood relative of the QUEEN attends the school, and by showing the Red House, since their entrance is based on social status.

In this post I wrote about my following concern:

Unlike tennis, cricket is a very foreign sport to most people. Cricket cannot be shown without explaining the rules. So if Kuromyu were to happen, these expositions that were dry in the manga to begin with, are going to be even dryer on stage. Does an actor narrate the rules? Do we want Sebastian to sing us the rules??? Or do we want the kids to sing us the rules themselves while they are batting the balls?

And alas, true to my fear, Sebas indeed narrates the rules to us... But even worse, he also explains cricket by using baseball analogy... This is an incredibly ineffective and time-wasting method, because:

it takes the audience out of the moment,

it assumes the audience knows enough about baseball to let it help understand cricket,

and it assumes the audience actually cares about the name of every single strike....

Repetition Ad Nauseam

Then there is the problem where many info-dumps sounded like: “LIKE I JUST SAIDDDDD, DON’T FORGET!!!”. The script for Sebas is the biggest offender. There were many moments Sebas was just saying the same thing twice. At times he repeated the same information, and there were some moments where he regurgitated already given information. (Sorry I’m just being nasty here, but that’s what it felt like (;;≽▽≼;;) )

Sebastian has this obsession with constantly proclaiming himself an omnipotent, one hell of a butler, which makes him capable of doing anything... and after a while it just gets a bit tedious. I have the feeling the scriptwriter really has the hots for him, and therefore can’t shut up about how powerful he is.

While Sebas is the biggest offender, he is by far not the only one. This musical is guilty of doing a lot of very unnatural lines that no person would ever say. Soma for example, seems incapable of saying anything without shouting that he is the Prince of India and Ciel’s BFF. First time, FINE. But the entire time? My god....

Characterisation

Then there is the characterisation of characters in the script. Of course in great part the characterisation is dependent on the actors too, but no matter how amazing an actor is, you do as the script demands.

As discussed above, Sebas is done dirtiest by the script. This script also makes him incredibly arrogant and a bit too happy to be in his master’s service. Similarly, Ciel is also written entirely dependent on Sebastian, and equally happy that Sebas is happy to serve. In the first song between Ciel and Sebastian, without any prompt Sebastian asks his master for his orders, as though that’s what Sebas is looking forward to all day. And the first thing Ciel says in response is: “can you take on this reaper [Undertaker] and the large number of moving corpses?” to which Sebas responds: “Leave everything to me, because I am the Phantomhive butler.” ........and then he proceeds to defeat Undertaker effortlessly.........!?!?!?!?!?! When fighting Undertaker, Sebas also says: “what a bother” as though it’s just a bit of an unpleasant chore rather than a life-threatening fight. And just before Undertaker disappeared all the way at the finale of the arc, Sebas seriously says: “I really don’t get along with you”. SERIOUSLY, WHO WROTE THIS?!

Myu!Ciel is CLEARLY the master of this Sebastian as he seems to be on a permanent power trip. He “it’s an order”s Sebastian for the most trivial of things. At the beginning when Sebas was fighting intruders already, Ciel “it’s an order”s Sebas to take down the intruders.... HE’S ALREADY AT IT!!!

In chapter 70 where Sebas and Ciel simultaneously think of Soma, Ciel doesn’t give Sebas an official order. This shows the audience that there is a certain level of trust between master and servant that they’re on the same page AND that Sebas has come to a stage where he will actually do what’s necessary.

In the musical however, Ciel gives a full “Sebastian, it’s an order, get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College.”

This is also an example of how unnatural and repetitive the script is. Who would EVER say “get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College”???? Of course procedures need to happen first! And “here” alone would have sufficed, scriptwriters. We KNOW where “here” is! We didn’t forget since 5 seconds ago!

Lyrics

The lyrics are technically not the script, but they are ridden with the same problem as the script itself, so I shall take the liberty of discussing these under the same paragraph.

There is a LOT of repetition in the lyrics as well. The P4 especially sing “Weston” and “tradition” like the ENTIRE time. One song literally goes: “this is Weston, Weston, Weston, Weston, at Weston we uphold our traditions, traditions, traditions, traditions.” The other song is: “It’s cricket, it’s cricket, it’s cricket,” and another “I am Ciel’s BFF, BFF, BFF, Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel’s BFF.”...... *shudders* ((ﾟﾟ((Д))ﾟﾟ)) AAAAHHHH!!!!

Acting: ⭐ ★ ★ ★ ★

The acting was by far the most abominable in the musical safe for two gems: Chesslock and Derek. There are too many characters to discuss, so I shall keep it to the main/noteworthy ones.

The gems

Chesslock has this tremendous energy and something very wild about him, and his jumps are so incredibly precise it’s amazing! Derek has but a very small role, but the moment he showed up as the zombie you already immediately saw there was something “off” about him. It was very subtle, but still clearly unhinged. When he was acting living-Derek, you also clearly saw what type of prick he was. Amazing! These two were the brightest stars of the show.

The....... not gems

The most unwatchable ones were Soma and Harcourt. Soma doesn’t have a big role, but he bothered me so much he is ironically the most memorable one. It’s like Okada saw “loud and obnoxious (in a good way)” in the manga, turned it up to 12, and gave the worst portrayal possible. As said above, the script making him repeat “Indian prince” and “BFF” the entire time doesn’t help, but blaming just the script would be letting Okada off too easily.

Harcourt...... gave me so much secondhand embarrassment I literally got a cramp looking at him. When the diarrhea happened he was screaming like a pig about to be raped and slaughtered... and I am NOT making a rape-joke here. I would never. He really did sound like he was unwillingly aroused and terrified at the same time.

Sebastian

Let’s start with the good things: Tateishi’s Sebas did have his presence and his movements were fairly neat. He was never just standing there. He is quite elegant, and not swaggering or pulling spasms on stage unlike a CERTAIN someoneeeeee. He could work a BIT on the coordination of his extremities, but that’s only when I’m nitpicking.

But otherwise.... he was a bit underwhelming to be honest. The main problem is not necessarily Tateishi’s acting-skill maybe, but his interpretation I think... but I can’t say his acting was amazing even at knife-point. The way he acts Sebas makes him look like a complete fanboy of Ciel... which is just not Sebas. He is incredibly eager and at times I could almost see a puppy tail wagging. Whenever he is getting an order from his master he is just beaming. And with Undertaker there was not a single hint that Sebas is scared of the only foe who managed to mortally wound him.

His interaction with Ciel was also very SebaCiel heavy. In the manga where Ciel challenges Sebas why he didn’t go after Undertaker, Sebas is clearly emphasising the importance of the contract, and half-threatening his master not to dare “it’s an order” him to go after Undertaker.

In the musical however, Sebas is all UWU, as though saying: “I couldn’t let the big baddy hurt you... uwu”. Without exaggerating, Sebas caresses Ciel’s face THREE times and then embraces him.

Ciel

Ciel was very unbearable to watch in my opinion. Not as bad as Soma and Harcourt, but otherwise an “honourable” third place after them. In the manga it was a bit cringey to begin with because he is supposed to fake being (*ÓωÒ*), but seeing a 20 year old man do that... and play it up to 11 was just jarring. Ciel is like “tehe” very often, but never actively skipping like a forest fairy.

This Ciel also has tremendous mood-swings! He is either UWU or actively a ice-cold diva... and at times he is also being UWU when he’s not around others???? There was also not a single moment where I could see him cooking up a plan. No hint of intelligence or cunningness to be found.

Unlike with Tateishi I can’t really come up with anything good to say about him.

Undertaker

Undertaker was the best among the main three (not that the bar is very high). He is making efforts to tease-threaten Sebas, which I think is a very nice added detail (it’s just that Sebas reacts to none of them... sad.) and even though his role is pathetically small (he doesn’t show up as the principal), he still managed to present himself in the spotlights.

Greenhill had his energy, he was funny, and something really funnily militaristic about him. Though, I was missing nuance in his acting because at not a single point could you see Greenhill might have a trauma for killing people.

Redmond was Viscount of Druitt light and he had a very strong emphasis on the BL aspect with Maurice......which was just personally not my cup of tea. But I have to admit that aspect was played up too in the manga. So I guess he was faithful to canon.

Violet was quite charming and eccentric. He did play up the gothicness of the Violet house, which was actually kinda nice! He also had a deep friendship with Chesslock, which I really liked. When Violet didn’t do shit during the tournament Chesslock was really miffed about that, and challenged him. And then Violet showed Chesslock a portrait he drew of him, saying: “you just looked so cool I had to capture that.” That was amazing! He is a bit bitchier and sassier than in the manga, but I really don’t mind.

Bluer.... William light. He was the least memorable of all of them.

Singing: ⭐ ⭐ ★ ★ ★

Nobody really hurt my ears, but also nobody quite hit the notes... and the notes weren’t that hard.

Music: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★

Eehhhhhhhhhhhh I’d say the songwriter played most songs a BIT too much on the safe side. Not a single song was memorable, but they didn’t offend me either. The main theme was fairly nice actually, but only when just the instrumentals played. I think it might have been the singing just being too chaotic for me to actually hear the music.

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

Chesslock is an tremendously good dancer, his movements were precise and energetic. But otherwise.... nobody really popped out, but there was nobody who looked like a noodle on stage either.

The main problem is choreography; with some exceptions they were very underwhelming and messy. There were a lot of group dances, but often enough people were just a bit out of sync and messy.

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stage Set

The stage set was VERY good. It was well made and mobile; they could be moved around and functioned as different props. Examples include the cellar in which Derek and his gang were committing crimes, and the boat of the parade even. The set also had this really magical aesthetic about it which communicated the glamour of the Weston College well.

Costumes

The costumes were well made. The logo on the uniforms for example were actually embroidered rather than those iron-on plastic things. The wigs were .... very messy after jumping around a bit and they looked very greasy. But that’s fine. They did their job and I realise I’m just spoiled. TOHO makes their wigs using real human hair, and that’d be an astronomical sum for any normal 2.5D company.

My ONLY problem is Ciel’s “lord costume”. This photoshoot photo underneath is doable, but trust me, on stage it is a nightmare. There are no clear photos of this costume on stage, and I think I understand why.

It was glittery velvet which just SCREAMS cheap Halloween costume, it was ill-fitted, almost like it was 2 sizes too large. The costume makers didn’t take stage-lighting into account, so the fabric and details glistened all over the place. Under the limelight the “golden” aiguillettes were PISS yellow. And the suddenly black sock suspenders protruding from his white boots were just...... distracting.

BUT, this was just one costume and he only wears it in the prologue and the finale of the show. Even though it’s God-awful, the rest were well made enough to compensate for this abomination.

Conclusion

So now finally the conclusion! The musical was..... fairly faithful to canon, but the execution leaves quite a lot to be desired. The interpretation/acting of the characters were the most disappointing one, while the stage/costumes were the most charming.

Do I recommend buying the stream/DVD/BD?

Stream: Yes.

I personally do recommend buying the stream as it’s only 3800 yen, especially if you like the Weston Arc itself, and/or are curious to see how they did it. Even though I myself really hate the Weston Arc in and of itself, I was very curious to see how it’d be translated to a stage medium. Despite my mostly negative opinion of the musical, I don’t regret buying the stream at all!

The best reason in my opinion to buy the stream though; it’s a very good and legal way to get a “preview” to see if you want to spend approximately 10000 yen on the proshot.

DVD/BD: Depends on you.

I myself have decided not to buy the DVD because I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it after the stream-archive period is over. The DVD/BD are the most expensive so far, and to me the final product is just not worth that amount of money.

But if you like the Weston Arc, or the performers, or you think you will be rewatching it and you are a collector, I think it is a very nice addition to your shelve.

#Kuromyu 2021 #Kuromyu #Secret of the Boarding School #Review #Weston Arc #Musical

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yamigooops · 3 years

Text

Tire Tracks

pairing: street racer! bakugou x mechanic! y/n

words: 2.8k

warnings: language

Cars were your whole life. You grew up in your father’s mechanic shop and learned everything you knew from him. Customers came and went, some more frequently than others, but cars were the one constant thing in your life. You were able to lose yourself in the process of finding and fixing problems, speaking better with parts than with people.

You barely even registered the smell of oil and gasoline anymore. The thin layer of grime that coated your arms was like a second skin, and you were at home here. The cars all around you purred and multiple gaudy sound systems pounded in the crisp night air. The roar of engines was music to your ears, and you had spent the first 45 minutes of the meet up going around looking at the different setups people had.

Now, though, you were doing final checks on the one car that brought you here: Bakugou’s suped up racer. You rebuilt most of the engine yourself, put countless hours into making it faster and stronger. This car was your baby just as much as it was his, and you felt a twinge of nerves knowing what was to come.

“Everything ready down there?” barked the man in question. You finished double checking the last bolt before pushing yourself out from under the vehicle, only to find the blonde staring down at you impatiently.

“Yeah, it looks fine, no thanks to you,” you huffed, sitting up and wiping your hands on a nearby towel. “Listen, I get that you’re gonna go hard tonight, but if you fuck this car up again, I swear I’m done with you.” You put as much threat into your voice as possible as you stood, putting a hand to your hip and glaring at him.

A sly grin split his sharp features. “Aww come on, Y/N, we both know you wouldn’t give up that easy on her,” he taunted, placing an elbow on top of the car and rapping it with his knuckles. “You love her too much.”

He wasn’t wrong, this car was your pride and joy. “You’re right. It’s the person inside I’m worried about,” you rolled your eyes and turned away to open the hood. You had already triple checked everything underneath, but you needed something to occupy yourself with, so you didn’t have to be around Bakugou.

You had known the fired-up blonde ever since middle school, when his dad started coming to yours for maintenance. See, his dad was a local racer, and heard that your dad had the best service around. Well, he would often bring Bakugou in order to teach him about the inner workings of a car. Because of this, the two of you had practically grown up together, spending weekends at the racetrack and weekdays learning what your fathers had to teach you.

But that didn’t mean you liked one another.

Katsuki had always been full of himself. It could have been because of his looks or his dad’s success, or any other factor, you didn’t really care. All you knew was you hadn’t had a normal conversation in longer than you could remember. They always ended in one of you riling the other up, sometimes becoming yelling matches if things got really serious.

You sometimes questioned why you still worked with him, the little asshole. When you both turned 16, your parents decided to buy a junk car, and have you fix it together to test how much you had learned over the years. It took almost 6 months to get it into good shape, but you did it, the only setback being that you were constantly bickering. It was nearly impossible to make decisions about what to do because neither of you wanted to give in to the other.

After that, you continued to work on cars and decided to go to mechanic school after high school. Katsuki went to a traditional 4-year college, and you thought that would be the end of your tormented relationship with him, but no. He contacted you after two years and asked if you would help him with a project, which you agreed to. Ever since then, you’ve become somewhat of a team, travelling around the country to compete in race after race. Some were sanctioned and official, while others tore through backroads and had come to an end when the cops arrived.

Bakugou was one of the best street racers in the country, pushing himself and his vehicle harder than most were willing to do. His lack of inhibition and self-confidence were the keys to his success. Well, those and the fact that you were always there to fix up the damage he caused. You had been doing this together for four years, now each 24 years old, and you couldn’t help but admit that these races made you feel… alive. The whine of an engine as it shoots past you at near top speed, the screeching of tires as they skidded around tight turns, it was all like a fever dream.

The only issue with Bakugou’s racing was he tended to be reckless. Scuffed paint jobs, cracked tire plates, he always pushed his cars to their very limit and made you deal with fixing his mess afterword. Yes, sometimes he would help you, but seeing as you were the actual mechanic on the team you were stuck with the majority, if not all of the work.

“This race’ll be easy, Y/N. Don’t even worry. I mean, we’re gonna be on a dirt road in the middle of a field for god’s sakes, at least there are no buildings or streetlights to worry about,” he called from his place beside the car.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” you groaned. “You’ll look at that open road and think it’s okay to push as hard as you can!”

“Babe, that’s what makes me so good,” he chuckled, stepping up beside you at the hood.

He always did that, calling you pet names just to piss you off. It always did, making your insides squirm with distaste. At least, you told yourself it was distaste.

“You’ve already checked this thing like four times, just settle down it’s fine.” His voice, normally course like metal grating together, had a softer edge to it. You looked up at him, your eyes meeting his crimson ones, and nodded. Pulling the hood shut, you turned around and leaned against it, crossing your arms. You looked over Bakugou as he pulled out his phone to send a text.

He’d recently gotten a haircut, shaving the sides of his head short and leaving the top to its normal spikes, and you had to admit, you thought it suited him better. It showed off his sharp jawline, which had only grown sharper as you got older. His bare arms were cut, unsurprising as he spent a great deal of time in the gym. He wore his signature high-necked black cutoff with a bold red X on the front, with army green cargo pants that cinched at the ankles. As per usual when he raced, he did his dramatic eye black to intimidate his opponents. It usually worked.

“Listen, I just don’t want you messing her up again, okay? I put so much into this car and the past three races I’ve had to set aside hours to fix her. I can’t keep doing that when I have paying customers that need my help too,” you tried to explain calmly. His head snapped up.

“I’m a paying customer too, don’t I get the same attention that your others get?”

“You’re more of a…side hustle.” The words came out with a bit of a grin.

One of his arched eyebrows raised dangerously. “A side hustle? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Working with you is like a second job. I spend so much time on this damn car, and looking at your ugly mug, that it’s like working another part-time job on top of the shop.”

His lips turned down in a scowl and he took a menacing step forward. “First off, you get half the earnings every time I win. I don’t have to do that. Second, I’m hot as fuck, thank you very much.”

You scoffed. “You’re average at best,” you lied. You agreed with him of course, but you’d never tell him that even if you were on your deathbed. “Also, the earnings are the way you pay me for all the shit I do for you, remember? That’s the agreement. Plus, most of that money goes right back into her,” you smacked the hood. “So, in reality you pay way less than any of my other costumers.”

He paused at this, taking in your words. “Guess you like me that much, huh,” he chuckled after a moment. The words brought a flush to your face, and you silently thanked the fact that it was nighttime, and the only illumination came from the cars around you.

“No, it’s just because I’ve known you for years. Sometimes I consider upping your rates though, just to piss you off.”

That got him scowling again, an expression that made you much more comfortable than that devious smirk. “I hope you know your sense of humor really sucks.”

“Bakugou!” A rough voice called from behind the blonde, making him roll his eyes and turn around.

“What do you want, shark week?” He growled, facing Kirishima who was making his way over with a smile.

“Just came to make sure you were still up for this race,” the red head grinned, displaying his sharp teeth.

“You really think I’d back down against someone like you?” Bakugou crossed his arms and relaxed onto one leg. “This is gonna be easy as shit.”

Kirishima chuckled, “Don’t count me out so quick man, might not be as easy as you think.” He glanced over Bakugou’s shoulder and spotted you behind him. “Hey Y/N, you here to patch his ass up after the race?”

“You know me so well, Kiri,” you smirked. Bakugou let out a grunt, punching Kirishima’s shoulder playfully, the other man simply laughing at the disgruntled racer. “Best of luck out there,” you smiled genuinely. You had known Kirishima since high school, where he and Bakugou were best friends. They frequently raced these days, constantly trying to one up each other and keeping a running tally of who won. Currently Bakugou was up by two, if you remembered correctly.

“Thanks Y/N, your faith means the world,” he replied with another toothy smile.

“Hey, quit trying to poach my mechanic,” Bakugou yelled spiritedly.

At this, Kirishima simply laughed, turning to leave. “Just came to say good luck man, I would never try to steal her away from ya. You’re like a match made in heaven. I don’t know anyone else who could put up with your bullshit.”

“I don’t know of anyone else either, I’m really doing the world a favor, huh,” you called, loving the way your blonde partner whirled around and glared at you.

“See you guys after the race!” And with that, Kiri was walking back to his own car.

Bakugou stood there for a moment before turning around to return to the car. He was quiet for a moment before speaking up. “Y’know, you don’t have to keep working with me if you don’t want to. I’ll understand if you don’t…” he said, so softly you almost didn’t hear.

You looked over at him in surprise, “What do you mean, I never said I don’t want to work with you.” It was so unlike him to say things like this that you were completely taken aback.

“It didn’t sound like that just now,” he grumbled, not looking at you. “I know I can be a lot to handle, so I guess I wouldn’t blame you.”

You chuckled, making him look up curiously. “Bakugou, I’m a lot to put up with too. I’ve known you for long enough that it doesn’t even phase me anymore,” you said honestly.

He stared at you for a moment longer than necessary, making you flush slightly. “Yeah, whatever,” he growled in classic Bakugou fashion.

“Racers!” came a shout from nearby. The official of the race stood between the two cars, looking to the two men. “Are you both ready to go?” Both gave a thumbs up, and the man nodded. “Come line up at the start then!”

Bakugou took a deep breath before putting on his jet-black helmet and getting into his car with a sharp slam of his door. You moved away from the vehicle to let him go line up before returning to the side to say your final words to him. “Remember what I said,” you warned, leaning against the rolled down window. “Don’t fuck her up this time, got it?”

He smirked at you and narrowed his eyes. “There’s nothing to worry about Y/N, this is an easy course.” “It better be, for your sake,” you rolled your eyes with a grin. You loved how amped up he got at the starting line.

“See you on the other side, kid,” he nodded. You gave him a thumbs up and stepped away from the car. The official made his way into the center of the two cars, and you made yours over to your pickup truck to watch the race. You climbed up into the bed and leaned against the cabin to look over the field. From up there you could see almost the entire track, and since the cars’ lights would be on you wouldn’t have any problem keeping track of them.

You watched as the official signaled to prepare to start, the engines of both cars revving loudly. A crowd had gathered to watch, and you smirked, knowing that only got Bakugou more amped. Loudly counting down from three, the official dropped the flag and the two vehicles were off, tearing into the darkness as fast as possible.

Bakugou accelerated just a bit faster, edging in front of Kirishima, who swerved slightly to avoid him. They made their way around the course, Bakugou maintaining the lead for most of the time, but losing it several times. Nearing one of the final bends, you saw the headlights on Bakugou’s car dip dramatically and fall a bit behind Kirishima’s for a moment before pulling back ahead. You got a bad feeling in your stomach at that. However, it was over in an instant, the blonde coming in first by a decent margin.

As he got out of the car, Bakugou was swarmed by the crowd. It took you a moment to make it out in the semidarkness and jumble of bodies, but as you hopped out of the bed of your truck and made your way over to Bakugou, you spotted it. The left half of his front bumper was crumpled and scraped. Anger swelled in your stomach, and you pushed forward with renewed vigor, shoving people aside and coming to a halt in front of the man in question.

“What the fuck Bakugou?! What did I tell you literally RIGHT before you left?” You got in his face as he took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm. “Look at your fucking bumper! How the hell do you explain that, huh?!” Your anger at his carelessness blinded you to the way he was looking at you, the hunger in his eyes.

Just as you were about to go off again, you felt his hand grasping your chin roughly. This was such an unexpected move that your mind blanked in the seconds to come. “God you’re fuckin sexy when you’re mad,” Bakugou growled, pausing a moment before hungrily pressing his lips to yours. The first thing you registered was the heat. They were burning against yours, and they were soft, much softer than you would have guessed.

Snapping back to yourself, you put a hand on his chest – his muscular chest – and pushed away. You looked away, trying to clear your head. “Woah, you can’t just… kiss me…” you gasped.

“Why not?” He murmured in your ear, absolutely glowing with his victory. He was always an impulsive guy, but that doubled when he won. He was known to break things when he beat someone, so part of you wasn’t surprised that he did that, but it was so unexpected that you never would have thought it would happen.

You looked up at him and found a grin resting on his lips. You felt something in you snap, something that had been holding you back from what you’d wanted to do so many times before but never had the courage to do. Giving a minute shrug, you said fuck it and went in again. It wasn’t a sweet kiss though. He threaded his fingers through your hair, and the hand holding his helmet released it, coming to dig into your waist. It was hot and heavy, filled with anger and pent up emotion and victory. It was a kiss years in the making, and you couldn’t deny that you wanted it to happen. This man was leaving tire tracks on your heart, driving right through the barriers you tried to put up to block him out.

And you were okay with that.

#bakugou #bakugou x y/n #bakugou fanfiction #street racer au #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha fanfic #mine #my post

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all-might-can-smash-me · 4 years

Text

Exhibits

Toshinori Yagi / All Might x Reader

Summary: you run into a man at the hero exhibit on display at the museum you work at. You soon find out his name to be Toshinori Yagi and you two hit it off and eventually get married and what not...but little did you know that Toshinori Yagi had quite the secret.

Masterlist

The sounds of conversation fluttered softly through the whole exhibit. Children excitedly rushed from each case to the other, excitedly pointing to the mannequins that held their iconic poses with the most iconic hero costumes plastered on them or hardcore fans to geek out over seeing the details up close. Though the eye catcher of your little exhibit was the All Might display. Every costume from each age was displayed, lights illuminating each color and fiber beautiful for those small children or for anyone to get a closer look to the most iconic hero of all time in Japan. People would also stand in shock next to the cutout of the symbol of peace and gawk at the height difference between themselves and All Might. Thankfully, spare costumes were even provided in order for the visitors to touch and feel, so people were also letting their fingers graze over the fabric.

The exhibit was your pride and joy. Seeing all those visitors enjoying themselves and devouring and digesting every fact, detail, and color was amazing to observe as you walked about, name tag pinned proudly to your smart outfit as your heels clicked against the freshly waxed and polished floors of the museum.

“Sorry, but please, no touching the class cases and please stand behind the line we have on the floor right here.” You said sweetly to a few kids who had their faces pressed up against one of the class that protected one of the costumes. The kids, embarrassed, backed up with sad moans. “But....if you go around the corner over there...you can touch every age of All Might’s costumes...” you said, the kids giving their excited ‘thanks!’ As they hurriedly off to where you instructed them to go. You couldn’t help but giggle as you watched them disappear around the corner, you beginning to turn around, but let out a gasp as you found yourself almost running into someone. “I am so sorry!” You quickly gushed out as your hands automatically went to the other’s arms, balancing yourself before taking a step back.

“Oh no, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stop so close behind you.” The other man mumbled out as he held a hand up in reassurance, a small blush upon his cheeks, but he quickly cleared his throat before motioning a hand to the costume that sat off to the side. “So...um...Gran Torino, huh?” He said a bit awkwardly, but you only giggled as you turned to look to the costume on display.

“Yes, I had to track him down in order to ask to borrow it, but he happily obliged when I did meet him. It adds a nice touch, I feel we focus on what happens in our own years instead and not admire the hero’s that were prevalent in the years before us.” You commented, soon casting a glance to him, casting him a little grin with a shrug of your shoulders.

“Really? Tell me, who are your favorite heroes then.” The gaunt man before you asked, you taking in a breath before letting a sigh, a finger brought of your to you chin in though. Though you finally brought your hand back down from your face, prepared to answer.

“Well, All Might since he played such a huge role in everyone’s lives in Japan, including me.” You said with a little laugh, your tone so matter of fact. “His face and name is the one I found myself looking for in the media and news, but of course there’s Endeavor and Best Jeanist.” You listed off. Though the man before you nodded his head, but then moved to face you, giving a small bow.

“I’m Toshinori Yagi...” He introduced himself, which when you began to introduce yourself, he shook his head, motioning to your name tag. “Don’t worry, I got your name...” he said jokingly, causing a small giggle to erupt from you as you shyly looked down to your feet until back at him. “Well, can you give me a little tour of this exhibit?” He asked, you nodding your head before leading him through the different displays, jokingly and dramatically motioning to each one which gained a laugh from him as you went on. Though as the time went on, more and more people began to file out for the end of the day, the museum beginning to near its closing. That left you and him along before the All Might costumes that were on display in order for viewers to touch them. You couldn’t help but lean forward and allow your fingers to run over the fabric, a soft smile upon your face.

“Now this...this is what I’m most proud of.” You spoke out with a grin to him over your shoulder. “Imagine being able to touch something that makes the symbol of peace the symbol of peace.” You said as you looked back to the costume, admiration upon your face as you look to the display, arms crossed. “Plus cosplayers and designers who come to look for inspiration can get a better look at the materials and I know being able to touch it helps them quite a lot.” You said with a shrug of your shoulders, watching Toshinori reach out to give a small touch to the costume before retracting his hand. He was just about to say something, but the announcement that the museum was now closing interrupted him.

“I have to go...” he mumbled out as he listened to the announcement echoed around his head as he looked to you. He had to admit, he was disappointed that the time with you and talking with you was cut mercilessly.

“I’ll see you around, I’ll be here everyday for the next couple of weeks before everything is packed up and sent back to their original owners.” You said, a hopeful look glinting in your eye as you looked to him, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Definitely...”

And he was being truthful as he said that since the next day he was back again, matching suit jacket to his yellow, pinned striped suit draped over his arm as he made his way through the exhibit again, blue eyes staring up to those poses with wonder. Though you were excitedly walking up to him, a hand rested upon his arm.

“Hey!” You said, hand tucking away pesky hairs that had fallen from the pins you had in your hair, a grin upon your face. That became a routine between the two of you. Meet up, walk about and discuss different things. It was nice, but one day that announcement had become enough for Toshinori.

“Want to go grab something to drink? Or eat?” He asked, you quickly nodding your head.

“Yes! Yes, just...wait for me outside, I just have to go grab my things.” You said before rushing off, leaving him to smile away to the clomps of your heels. So with that he waited outside, suit jacket now upon his body as he shoved his hands into the depths of his pocket, waiting and waiting...until finally those familiars clicks reached his ears.

“Alright! I’m ready!” You happily chirped as you adjusted your purse on your shoulder, a grin on your lips as you linked your arm with his, letting him lead your down the sidewalks painted orange by the setting sun. The two of you decided on a small little rotation sushi joint, the two of your tucked away by the conveyor belt, cardigan and suit jackets tossed off to the side as the two of you laughed and giggled to something the other said.

“No! Honestly! This guy stomps into my exhibit and wanted to square up with me over the costumes being ‘fakes’ or whatever and that he knew it because of his years studying it in a ‘hero encyclopedia’ you snorted out as you took a sip from your drink, Toshinori laughing across from you, grabbing the plate that contained the sushi he had ordered from the little kiosk at the table.

“What got you into the museum life though? Not really a popular career path...not that it’s a bad thing.” He quickly elaborated as he continued to eat, looking to you to await your answer.

“I love museums...and my quirk played a role...” you said as you scrolled through the options on the menu absent mindedly, casting a side glance to him. “My quirk allows me to be really....um...perceptive with colors and lighting. I can see colors better than any human, animal, organism, you name it. So with that, I can really maneuver things in order to get the best view of it and obtain great lighting too to achieve it. That’s why my exhibits are always such a hit, especially when it comes to showing off clothing. Historical and traditional garments, movie costumes, heroes, a lot.” You explained, finally deciding on something from the menu before clicking the option, now facing him again. “What about you?”

“Me?” He said with a raised brow, clicking his chopsticks in his hands as he thought it over, arm lent forward and onto the table. “Just some lousy pawn for an agency..” he said with a little laugh. “I’m quirkless...so not really a lot of options in the playing field, so paperwork upon paperwork it is” He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he leant his cheek onto his leant up fist, watching you grab the sushi you had ordered.

“Well quirkless or not, I still like you, even if I don’t like the fact that you called yourself lousy.” You said with a grin as you grabbed ahold of your chopsticks. “Besides, once you really think about it, I just see a lot of color, that’s it, so really I could be considered quirkless too.” You said with a laugh as you began to eat again, Toshinori finishing up and now leant back into the booth, arms crossed over his chest. “I never had a chance at heroic work and whatnot.” You said after you swallowed the food in your mouth.

“Did you want to become a hero?” He asked, you scrunching up your face in thought before giving a firm nod of your head.

“Well yeah, who doesn’t as a child? I was certainly no different, but as I got older, I realized that with my quirk, I wasn’t going anywhere. So I enrolled in UA’s general studies...” you said, the two sushi roles left on your plate forgotten as you leaned back to relax too with your full and content stomach.

“Wait....you said you liked me.” Toshinori said with a small, little smirk upon his lips as he leaned forward on the table again.

“Well, yeah. What’s the point of me not being up front about it when I literally spent the past two weeks talking with you at the museum and excepting your offer to go out to eat.” You said with a shrug of your shoulders, now sipping from your drink, the condensation rolling off and dripping it’s little droplets of water onto the table. “Anyways, I went to college and studied art history and the fine arts.” You said as your drink was now set back down and forgotten off to the side, passing a napkin to clean up the water that had dripped off of your class and onto the table. Though a waiter had interrupted what he was about to say, Toshinori paying for the bill before getting up and slipping his suit jacket back on, helping you up from the booth and handing you your purse before walking out of the restaurant with you, your arm wrapped around his as the two of your now waited at the bus stop. On the bus you let your head rest upon his shoulder, a comfortable silence now resting upon both of you, even when you were now stepping up to your apartment door, the lights of cars dancing upon the horizon past the railings that lead down the walkway to each apartment. “Would you maybe...like to come in for a bit?” You asked as you pulled out your apartment keys with a jingle, a soft nod of his head answering you as his fingers hooked onto yours.

He didn’t leave until that morning, leaving his number and a note that he had work. Toshinori at your house had become a normal occurrence. To the point where now you had a little section of your closet just for him, extra pairs of suits hanging away in their protective bags and along with casual clothing, night clothes tucked away with your own in a drawer. It brought a smile to your face to walk in and see them, not being able to help but shove your nose into the fabric to get the wonderful serotonin the smell of the remnants of his cologne would give you. The best sleep of your life happened too in his arms and evenings were spent cuddled away on your couch watching movies or him working on paper work as you would cook dinner. It was a nice, domestic routine the two of you had formed and enjoyed immensely. It carried on for a few years until finally he popped the question, officially moved in, and got married. One day though, you were cuddled up into his side, watching some random stuff on the television when it was interrupted by a news segment show casing All Might. Honestly, it was pretty normal, so you kind of just decided to deal with the interview that was playing on screen.

“How do you think he manages all that? Interviews, teaching at UA, and then also with being a hero.” You said with a laugh as the interviewer tried to crack a joke and point out the mysterious wedding band that was on All Might’s finger that drove the world insane with how the mystery woman was. “AND be married.” You added, moving to wrap the blankets around you and Toshinori, the other only letting out a chuckle as he helped you.

“Why you say that?” He asked, arms resting back onto you after the blankets were to you and his liking, now looking down to you, pressing a kiss onto your forehead.

“Come on, he’s always jumping around fighting crime plus dealing with students at UA, his wife has got to be pissed that he’s away all the time, like she probably doesn’t want to do all the dishes or laundry by herself anymore.” You joked as you looked up to him before looking back to the tv, but something was up with Toshinori after that interview ended. He was...antsy, kept moving around. “Hey, so you need to walk around? You keep moving.” You spoke up as you looked up to him again.

“Hm? Oh, sorry.” He muttered out, now back to staring off to the tv, but something made you feel like he was only day dreaming, but you only shrugged your shoulders. “Actually....I have something to tell you...” he muttered out, you moving to sit up, looking to him now.

“Toshinori...you don’t have to feel bad.....I know you washed something red with the towels and that’s why they are pink....” you said, busting out with a little snort, gaining a little huff and a roll of Toshinori’s eyes as he watched you laugh.

“No, that’s not what I was going to say, but ok I did that, but no...” he said with a shake of his head. “I’m...I’m All Might...” he finally spoke out, you looking at him blankly before laughing.

“Oh har har Toshinori...nice joke, that’s a new one, I don’t think I’ve heard it in our last, what, six years of marraige?” You asked teasingly as you grabbed the tv remote to begin channel surfing again, but your husband had already took the remote. “Hey...!” you said with a pout, your husband now standing before you.

“I can prove it!” He declared, you raising your eyebrows up at him. “Remember the exhibit? How we met?” He questioned, you only giving a nod of your head, leaning back into the couch, hands pulling the discard blanket back onto your lap. “You wrote to my angency asking for the one and only support item that I used to direct air whenever I would use my force to manipulate it, but I didn’t send it.” He spoke out, you only rolling your eyes.

“You’re really good sweetheart, but any intermediate fan who studied his ages knows that one.” You said as you pointed a finger at him, he only looking at you in disbelief as you went to grab for the remote, but he only moved it away. That’s when a hiss sounded out and...smoke? It was like your husband was being inflated before you....

“I am here!” Came out that iconic voice, All Might, well your husband, stood before you, baggy night shirt and shorts now tight against the bulging physique of All Might.

“What the fuck!” You shouted, now grabbing one of the pillows on the couch to throw it at All Might, now crawling off the couch and running across the room and into the kitchen. “Ah!” You screamed again once you saw All Might begin to run after you, now proceeding in a constant cycle of chasing around the kitchen table.

“Stop running! I’m not going to hurt you! I’m your husband!” He shouted, you and him now twitching from side to side, trying to see which way the other would run from their side of the table.

“Six years! I slept in a bed next to you, cooked with you AND for you, made love to you, and have been married to you for six years! You tell me this after six years!?” You shouted at him from your place, hands gripping onto the chairs before you, but once again you and him were running, now he was where you were and you were where he was.

“When was I ever suppose to bring it up?! I didn’t want to endanger you! And I didn’t want you to think of me differently!” He spoke out, head almost hitting the hanging lights above the table as he leaned forward, hands pressed on top of the table. “Stop running!”

“Stop chasing me! You know I hate people running after me because I just run on instinct!” You cried out as you were once again running away, All Might now jumping over the table and following after you.

“Ow!” He yelled out as he bumped his head on the door way of the your shared bedroom, stumbling back a bit as his head went to the little gash on his head, you finally stopping your running.

“Are you ok?!” You gasped out, you now standing before him, trying to reach your hands up, but it was in vain. He was extremely taller than you. “Let me clean it up, Toshinori.” You spoke out as you grabbed onto his free hand, leading him into the bathroom, throwing the lid to the toilet down which he instantly sat on as he watched you pull out the first aid, already cleaning the gash on his forehead.

“I’m sorry...” he soon muttered out as you motioned for him to hold a small piece of gauze down so you could anchor it down with medical tape. “I wanted to tell you, but I was scared that you would feel differently or whatever, you know? I let myself think the worse would happen.” He spoke out, you sighing as you hopped up onto the counter space in between the two sinks of the master bedroom’s bathroom, legs swinging gently as you looked to your husband before you. It was strange to see All Might, the Symbol of Peace, and attach the title ‘Husband’ to him in your head.

“Hm...so that’s why All Might mysteriously had a wedding ring.” You finally spoke out as you used your foot to nudge at his hand with the ring, he only laughing and grabbing ahold of your foot to set it upon his knee, hands beginning to absentmindedly run at your leg. Though the man before you looked completely different from what your husband had usually looked like, his habits and actions were all the same, except that voice...that was gonna need some getting use to.

“Yeah...I didn’t want to take the ring off...” he said as he scratched the back of his neck with a little blush upon his face. “I still wanted to show off that I myself was happily married, so I just didn’t take it off, but it was hard to not just blab about you.” He said sheepishly, you blushing a little bit, hopping down from the counter, stepping up from him, though you brought your fist down to his arm. “Ow- I mean that totally didn’t hurt but what was that for?!” He asked as he brought a hand up to rub the spot you punched.

“That’s what you get for lying to me!” You said before tossing your arms around his neck. “But my husband is All freaking Might! That’s kind of cool...” you spoke out with a giggle as you pulled back from the hug.

“Yes...but also I got one more thing...”

“Oh no...what now” you said with a sigh, fear on your face.

“I want my students to meet you! And the teachers!” He gushed out as he held onto your hands.

“You want me to meet your students and coworkers? That’s an obvious yes”

“Oh hell yes!”

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

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The Mandalorian Chapter 14 reactions: HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME BUT ALSO I’M CRYING edition

- the good good din characterization is back after all the weirdness last episode!!!! that soft way he says ‘no, no, I’m not mad at you’? THAT’S din djarin, he would not be fucking impatient with his son having just been informed and seen for himself that he is terrified, go away mr filoni I know you’ve got all of canon memorized but you don’t get this lol. this feels much more right in how din being conflicted and still thinking he should give the baby away for his own good plays out too

honestly every line of dialogue for him in this one was perfect I was just whispering ‘I love this awkward clueless wonderful man just doing his best’ to myself any time he said anything. “...does this look Jedi to you?” sir I adore you more than words can describe

- we got din chuckling. asjdklfhsdkafghsdafsadhjkfsdahjkfh. fskahfksjad. side note: I can’t believe my joke post about din desperately trying to Force home school the kid with the one (1) jedi trick he knows about and the baby being delighted by it over and over anyway -- listen to his expectant excited laugh when din takes the ball and sets up the game!!!! -- was canon all along. and then the baby & mando music kicking in when he gently put the silver ball into the baby’s hands again and tells him he’s special (because he IS special. to din)? hmng. hmmmmnnnnn

they opened on the height of softness so we would all crumple under the weight of the rest of the episode and that was very mean of them in a way I sincerely appreciate

- nothing to see here... just a dad trying to walk through the literal manifestation of the unassailable underlying forces of the universe to get to his baby again and again........ the desperation in that, the love, the foolhardy devotion................... shit

- okay so I might be a dumbass, but I’d never noticed this before -- the silver ball has a blue spot on the top, like so:

and in addition we get the room where the baby goes full darth grogu (I have to laugh so I don’t cry okay) on those storm troopers, and there’s a red light in there dominating the room (and it did even more in the concept art):

in star wars blue means light side and red means dark side (it’s very sophisticated that way), meaning the visual storytelling here is that there’s a battle for the baby’s soul and gideon and all his nonsense (and the trauma bb’s been through in the wider sense) is pulling towards the dark, while grogu and din’s connection leads him towards the light. just... the image of the baby looking at his own reflection in the symbolic representation of his relationship to din? the way children find their sense of self through being safely reflected and held by their caretakers? god help meeeeeee I will go in there and fistfight gideon myself for disrupting that in any way

the smaller light seems to be blue too, like there’s still the presence of light even if it’s dimmed and small in that shitty horrible room, which is a change from the concept art!

- FENNEC SHAND SURVIVED BITCHES!!! I even called that she’d be back with new shiny robot parts back in season 1, could not happen to a cooler lady, I hope we get more backstory and interaction from her the next episodes -- sounds like she’s basically sworn herself to boba’s service in gratitude for saving her life, I wonder if that’s a cultural thing of whereever she comes from? does she live aboard slave 1 now too?? because that would be hilarious and amazing, it must be like two strange cats trying to get used to sharing the same space

- everything I could ever hope for about boba fett in this series came true, they went down the much more interesting and nuanced route with jango and boba’s identities as mandalorians, he looked cool as fuck and made din as a character shine rather than overshadowing him... amazing beautiful yesss

(I did 100% not anticipate just how ‘cool uncle boba here to help you fuck shit up’ he was going to be but I am delighted to get it anyway. uncle points deducted for getting someone to point a gun at the baby, but the main point still stands lol)

the power and brutality of his hand to hand fighting too... a w e s o m e , I enjoyed the action scenes a lot in this one

- they even recanonized him actually wearing jango’s armour. what more could I ask for. I’ve had confused parent & child feels about these two since I was like eleven and here we fucking go again. and jango fighting in the mando civil wars too!

- so I’m grieving the razor crest (and I always will be, rip you magnificent jalopy, always in my heart) but also there’s the grim satisfaction that my reading on it was sort of true -- it is (...was. oh god it’s going to take a while to sink in huh) a symbol of din’s self and life, and at this point when they take the baby it tears everything else to pieces. the only thing that’s left in the ashes is the beskar and the thing that connects him to the baby. and there’s... a strange solace in seeing that that’s all he needs to keep going? he’s fucking obliterated from orbit but he still has his love for the baby and the beskar and that can keep him going until he finds something new, everything else can be replaced?????? weirdly healing, though he is probably going to have a solid breakdown at some point after they get the kid back (shut up they are getting the kid back) and the cold distant fog lifts

also this scene/shot feels like it carries some Meaning, doesn’t it? I’m on record several times saying I never want din to be mand’alor and that’s still true, but there’s something about the framing of this and the way boba looks at him that’s like... hm. I’m not sure I have the words for it. there’s something heightened about it, anyway, for a moment he looks like something mythic there in the wreckage

(something I would be much cooler with is our clan of two growing a little bit and those new people rallying behind him, actually, that might be neat. imagine if a force user does show up for the baby and gets adopted into the clan somehow??? so many possibilities.)

- from the way he picks up the silver ball... din djarin is on his way to straight up murder some people huh

I think part of what reassures me about this scene is the music -- this mando flute is not distant, is not beaten, is not despondent, it’s clear and determined and strong.

I love this. I love when we get explicit baby POVs, it makes it feel so real and intimate and... like home. (I especially loved baby’s point of view inside the razor crest, which just made me tear up again. baby lost the closest thing he’s had to a home in a long long time on top of it all. everything is suffering)

Emotionally Significant Thumb Grabbing tm; the show

- din djarin looking for the ‘on’ switch on a magic rock fhsdakjfhsadlfhsdjah I can’t breathe

“Well, this is the seeing stone. Are you. Seeing anything?” fsafkdsajhfsa sdhfksjalhfkjsdahfkjsdhf

- the energy around the baby as he’s, in ahsoka’s words, ‘choosing his path’ is blue, and the force sort of works across time and space, right?? so there’s definitely still hope for our lil green bean to not have to come up with a really dumb unsubtle sith name for himself, as is regrettably yet delightfully tradition. darth babbu should never come to pass (I do like how they’re interrogating the normal dark/light side dichotomy in this series, seeing as this is a literal baby who can’t really be responsible for that stuff himself yet and has such capacity for both.)

- listen. listen, the way din says ‘can you please hurry up’ with no sarcasm or real impatience whatsoever, more like a harried worry, to his force-meditating son as he jogs off to make sure no one’s trying to kill them. is hilarious and also YES this is what the character is!!! weirdly and incongruously polite under stress sometimes and with a slightly odd reaction pattern to things!!! he’s not just quiet and badass, he’s a little strange sometimes and it’s so good!

- a friendly opening volley warning shot from boba there

also din uncertainly asking BOBA FETT if he’s a jedi... now this is the dramatic irony I’ve been looking for haha

I guess neither shand nor boba actually know din’s name after this either. baby you gotta start introducing yourself at some point it gets real confusing when there are two mandos on screen

oh the long weary sigh going through din’s frame when boba says he wants ‘the armour’ and he thinks it’s just someone trying to peel the beskar off his corpse again. sorry the galaxy’s so shitty dad

- “But fate sometimes steps in to rescue the wretched” is a killer line well done mr favreau. I like that boba actually offers din a good deal as well and seems to intend to deliver on it from how things are going.

- din using his beskar-covered bod to cover someone he’s fighting alongside!!! literal moving cover haha. also I love fennec’s costume design

- I don’t know where din got more whistling birds from and I don’t care, it was really cool haha

wow haha um so anyway --

(cue all the ‘who wore it better’ with cobb vanth’s ‘spiderman’s first home made costume’ look on one side and ABSOLUTE UNIT DADDY boba fett on the other side posts lol)

- aaaghh the music almost like a stunned desperate fluttering heart beat as din watches the razor crest be destroyed

- for someone who has willingly worked for them in the past boba sure sounds less than thrilled about having the empire back in any capacity

- oof the deadness in din’s voice when he says “The child is gone”. ooooh no that got me h e l p

- guessing next episode is at least partly a ‘gathering old allies and preparing the assault’ step before the grand finale, then! they cannot go for the season ender cliffhanger with this, I will fucking riot. anything can be up in the air except baby and dad being separated, I will not allow it

it would be very funny if the force user baby called out to comes stumbling into the middle of all this like the troy entering the room with pizzas meme too

- the music in the darth grogu scene is partially a dark mirror of the baby & mando music :’( is nothing in this world sacred

also from how he reaches out for it baby might have used a light saber before in the past with the jedi? ngl the idea of baby wielding the dark saber not when he’s all grown up but in like two episodes -- with all the chaos a toddler holding a laser sword would involve -- is all that is keeping me sane here

‘liable to put an eye out with one of these’ well gideon you sure have doomed someone to lose an eye with that one, here’s to hoping it’s you, for full dramatic payoff

he is a deliciously smug awful force with great musical cues tho, you have to give it to him

- okay so this

is obviously awful and horrible and it makes me so sad... but it is undeniably also very very very funny in how it’s framed. you know what? after all this bullshit baby grogu can have a little dark side tantrum, as a treat, we’ve all been there right

(forget finding a jedi, we need to go out there and find a child psychologist who can help him deal with this without adding the fear that he’s on the path to become a two foot tall evil space sorcerer to the mix Y_________Y)

- rip the razor crest except for the second time :’’’( gone but never forgotten

- the last thing din tells the baby is “I’m gonna protect you; I’ll be back soon”. and I hope that stays with the kid somehow and that it actually comes true, that din will be back for him as soon as humanly possible and all this pain and fear can be repaired. ggggghhhhh my emotions are too big for my dumb human body

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta #okay I'm gonna have to. go take a calming walk or something after this haha

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when-they-write-stuff · 4 years

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SterekWeek2020: Day 2 (Cozy Comfort)

When Stiles used to think of the autumn season, he’d think of three things.

Baking, pumpkins, and colored leaves.

Halloween used to be his favorite time of the year. He remembered the days when his mom would handmake his costume and they would spend the day decorating the house or pressing dry leaves into the pages of old notebooks. She’d bake more and more in the days leading up to Halloween and they’d usually end up having too many leftovers for a small family of three.

Stiles remembered trying to bake alongside her and always getting eggshells into the cookie dough. When his dad would come home, they’d carve pumpkins the day before Halloween, and Stiles had always been grossed out by the pumpkin guts. His mom would save the seeds, claiming she was going to plant them in the upcoming year.

She never did.

Stiles still lived for Halloween. Of course, he did.

Though, before werewolves, he had enjoyed it a lot more. Because back then, seeing a ghost or a monster on the streets was something that just happened once a year. Stiles didn’t take in each costume and unconsciously compare it to what he’d seen in real life. He didn’t jump when one was uncannily similar to whatever Monster of the Week they’d been chasing earlier, trying to pretend like he wasn’t internally freaking out.

There were still certain parts that reminded him of before, though. Stiles found himself in the preserve more than once looking at the red and orange trees. He dug through his mom’s old cookbook and did his best not to burn down the house, grinning at his dad’s reaction when the man caught the smell of her favorite cookies.

Sometimes, Stiles remembered that he probably wasn’t the only one with old memories that haunted the current season. And that might’ve been why he showed up at Derek’s front door without a warning one day, grinning brightly with one of those tiny pumpkins in each hand.

The man didn’t look impressed.

Because yeah, Stiles was pretty sure he still got underneath Derek’s skin. He wouldn’t call them enemies exactly, not anymore. Enough years had passed that Derek seemed to have accepted his fate and the teenagers that basically lived in his loft. Though, Stiles wasn’t sure if he could call them friends either.

Maybe. Sometimes, he thought. Like when he crashed on the couch after pack night and Derek would wake him up with a cup of coffee and a strange look on his face as the man pretended Stiles didn’t exist for the rest of the morning.

Right now, though, Derek looked more than confused at Stiles’s sudden appearance. So he didn’t give the man a chance to kick him out, ducking underneath Derek’s arm and moving into the loft.

“Good afternoon, Sourwolf. How are you doing on this lovely fall day?”

“Stiles,” Derek said, sliding the door shut and turning around. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Geez, dude,” Stiles said, plopping down on the couch. “Can’t a guy with tiny pumpkins show up for an unexpected visit once in a while and not get growled at?”

Derek narrowed his eyes. Stiles snorted.

“Fine, whatever, be like that. It doesn’t matter, because we’re gonna carve pumpkins!”

The man looked at him for a long moment, a little bit of red in his eyes. And Stiles figured if he was going to die in any way, this might be the most embarrassing. But instead of ripping his throat out or even growling a little bit, Derek just turned away and moved into the kitchen.

Stiles stared after the werewolf for a moment before shoving himself up and stumbling after him.

“Dude, Derek, where are you going? Hey! You’re a terrible host!”

Derek had his back toward him when Stiles stumbled into the kitchen. Coming to a complete stop, he blinked at him and then sniffed suspiciously, moving over to the man’s side.

“Why does it smell like chocolate in here?”

“Go away, Stiles.”

But Stiles ignored him, peering over Derek’s shoulder. There was a giant pot on the stove and Stiles blinked at it before looking at Derek curiously. “That’s hot chocolate.”

“So?”

“Can werewolves actually have chocolate?”

Derek did give him a red-eyed look this time and Stiles raised his hands in surrender, backing a step away. He figured it still wasn’t too late to get his throat ripped out and the last thing he wanted to do was step over one too many lines. But this… this was domestic. He noticed for the first time that Derek was in nothing but sweats and a red thumbhole sweater, a dishrag thrown over his shoulder. And it was so painfully domestic, Stiles felt like he might have walked into an alternate dimension.

He glanced around the kitchen, noting how quiet the loft was too. Usually, when he came over, there was at least one beta around somewhere. But it was completely silent now.

“So, have the rest of the werewolves abandoned ship then?”

“They’re at a movie.”

“And their Sourwolf alpha didn’t want to go along?”

Once more, Stiles got a red-eyed look. He swallowed nervously and willed his heart not to flip at that. He might have failed though, because Derek’s ears turned a little red too and the man turned away, stirring the stovetop hot chocolate a little more aggressively than before.

Stiles turned away, wandering back into the living. Dropping back onto the couch, he picked up one of the pumpkins and turned it over in his hand, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully.

A few seconds later, Derek came out with two steaming mugs. Stiles blinked in surprise.

“So I’m not getting kicked out then?”

“Shut up,” Derek said, setting down one of the mugs in front of him. The man glared at the miniature pumpkins. “And how are you planning on carving those?”

“It’s possible,” Stiles said, shrugging. To be honest, he wasn’t actually sure if that was true. But giving it a try wouldn’t do any harm, right? “Do you really think I could have lugged two normal-sized pumpkins all the way up here?”

“I don’t know why you’d attempt in the first place.”

Stiles dropped his gaze, chewing on his lip again. And to his silence, Derek raised a brow.

“Stiles?”

“It used to be a Stilinski family tradition,” Stiles said, shrugging. He really hoped he sounded as nonchalant as he was attempting to be. “Pumpkin carving. But my dad’s working the next few nights and there’s no way I’m touching pumpkin guts alone.”

Derek’s lips twitched. “Pumpkin guts?”

“Yes, dude, that’s exactly what they are. And no, I won’t be taking constructive criticism.”

“I don’t think those pumpkins are big enough to contain pumpkin guts,” Derek said, bringing his mug to his lips. Stiles glanced at the one in his hands and sighed.

“Yeah, probably not.”

He’d debated attempting to carry two pumpkins up all three flights of stairs, he really had. Because in the end, Stiles knew himself best, and there was no way he was taking two trips. But he also knew himself well enough to know that carrying both would end up in nothing but catastrophe.

Stiles set the pumpkin back down and picked up the mug Derek had brought him instead. Studying the man over the top of it, he took a careful sip and then grinned.

“Dude, this is actually really good!”

Derek rolled his eyes, but Stiles could have sworn his ears turned a little red again. And once more, Stiles thought it was some kind of miracle that he hadn’t gotten himself kicked out yet. But then again, watching Derek quietly, Stiles wondered if he had been sort of right.

Maybe Derek didn’t want to be alone.

It was the little things, Stiles supposed. Setting his mug back down, he pushed himself up and vanished into the other room for a second before coming back out with two sharpies. To Derek’s raised-eyebrow expression, Stiles grinned again.

“Just because we can’t carve them doesn’t mean we can’t do something. I hope you have one or two artistic skills, Sourwolf, because I have none.”

“You’re an idiot,” Derek said. “You realize that, right?”

“Or an unorthodox genius,” Stiles shot back, grabbing one of the pumpkins and tossing it at the man. Derek caught it with a surprised grunt and then glared. Stiles smirked. “I know I’m not the only one with a Halloween tradition. What did you use to do?”

He half regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but then it was too late. Derek’s face did something strange and the man glanced down at his hands for a long second before answering.

“There were little things,” he said quietly. “Laura and I used to do hot chocolate and scary movies. Back in New York.”

Stiles glanced down at his mug and then looked toward the TV before turning his gaze back to Derek. The man was still avoiding his gaze. “And that’s what you were gonna…”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

If there was any time Stiles was going to get kicked out of the loft, he figured it’d be now. But Derek just shrugged and Stiles couldn’t help the pang that struck through him. Glancing around, he grabbed the nearest blanket and wrapped it around himself, nestling the mug against his chest.

“Well, I guess the pumpkins will have to wait until later, then.”

Derek gave him a sharp, almost warning look. As if he expected Stiles to make fun of him or crack another joke or something. But Stiles just offered up his best smile and nodded toward the remote.

“I’m game for a good scary movie.”

For a moment, he was almost nervous that had been the line he wasn’t supposed to cross. Inviting himself into the loft had been one thing, but if this was too much—

“Stiles—”

“Derek,” Stiles said, taking one more step and cutting the man off. “I’m here.”

Derek looked at him for another long moment. And then there it was again. That small smile that seemed to tug at the corners of his lips, even if it never became the full thing. Derek didn’t do anything but grunt and grab the remote, leaning back, but Stiles figured he’d take it as a win. He’d take anything that didn’t involve getting his throat ripped out as a win.

“Just a warning though, big guy,” Stiles said, huddling deeper underneath his blanket. “I don’t do jump scares.”

Derek rolled his eyes. Stiles grinned.

And if there was a large lump pressed up against him less than half an hour later, Stiles wouldn’t say anything. No matter how much he really, really wanted to. Especially because there still hadn’t been any jump scares yet.

(And there were two pumpkins scribbled over in black sharpie by the doorstep when the betas came home.)

#sterek #teen wolf #sterekweek2020 #stiles stilinski #derek hale #derek hale x stiles stilinski #ficlet #cozycomfort #sterek edits #teen wolf moodboard #sterek au

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petri808 · 3 years

Text

Secret 🎅 gift for @tillythestrange @bkdksecretsanta

Secret Santa letter please don’t mind my crappy edit lol. Short but I think it came out cute 😊 Hapy Holidays! 💚💛☃️

“Aww, come on Kacchan, just enjoy the party!” Izuku smiles, bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of the grumpy blonde. “It was really nice of Endeavor to throw it for Christmas.”

“Tch. Must’a been Icyhot’s influence.” Katsuki shoves his hands into his pockets. “You’re lucky I let you drag me here.”

“There’s nothing wrong with supporting our employer, and besides it’s a good idea for us to keep up appearances.”

It’s customary for companies in Japan to celebrate the end of the year, but as part of rebuilding the public’s trust in Pro heroes, doing something nice for kids was a perfect idea. So, they decided on a Christmas themed party where local children from poorer neighborhoods were brought with their parents to attend. Just picture it, Endeavor in a Santa costume makes for a great photo opportunity. They get to spend an evening with the heroes, eat and receive a present from Santa.

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “This is so cheesy.” There’s even mistletoe hung. Why? PDA’s are just not something they do in their culture. A ten foot, noble pine was set up and decorated with lights and colorful ornaments. Garlands were strung around the room with large silver bells and red ribbons. Yeah, it all looked like it came out of children’s book.

“Baku nii-chan! Deku nii-chan!”

The two men turn to the loud calls of their names, knowing full well its sources. Neither men has seen the children in over a year due to how busy they were. But Mahoro and Katsuma Shimano were now 13 & 10 years old.

“Our mini me’s!” Izuku chuckles as he kneels down to embrace one child, then the other. “This really is a special occasion now!”

“Pfft,” Katsuki crosses his arms though there’s an evident smile on his face. “It just means we’re on baby sitting duty now.”

“Kacchan, be nice. I’m very happy to see them here.”

“Yeah, Kacchan,” Mahoro mimics Izuku with a smirk. “Be nice.”

“Still a brat I see.”

“She’s a mini you Kacchan.” Even the children giggle at Izuku’s words.

“Tch. She is not.”

Izuku shares a knowing glance with the giggling children. He takes Katsuma’s hand, “how about we show you around?”

Mahoro immediately jumps onto Katsuki’s back, demanding that he piggy back her.

“Oi! Aren’t you too old for that?!”

“Nope!” She chirps.

He rolls his eyes but acquiesces to her demands and eventually Katsuma too ended up on Izuku’s shoulders. The pairs were glued together for the evening, with the children, mostly Mahoro, chattering away about what they’ve been doing or how they love to see their favorite hero’s on the television. Katsuma had truly come to idolize Izuku and hopes to one day follow in the man’s footsteps.

“He keeps a scrap book of Deku nii-chan’s news clippings,” Mahoro tells them about her brothers interests. “Every time you’re in a newspaper or magazine, he bugs me to buy a copy.”

“Awww,” Izuku smiles, “I’m really honored you’d do that! You know,” he speaks directly to the boy, “When I was your age, I was the same way about All Might.”

“That’s an understatement,” Katsuki interjects. “You’re still obsessed with All Might.”

“So? You were just as obsessed as I was Kacchan. We even used to dress up as All Might as kids.”

The two children start giggling madly, especially at the way Katsuki was defending against the statement.

“I was 4! And I wasn’t obsessed, I studied him so I could surpass him. Which I have!”

“He was obsessed,” Izuku mouthes to the children and set off another round of giggles.

As the two heroes glare at each other, Mahoro, ever the trouble maker, leans onto the table and rests her arms on the surface. “So, are you two dating yet?”

“What?!” Both men instantly forget about the feud.

“W-Were not dating!”

Katsuki deadpans. “It’s not like that!”

“Uh-huh, sure looks like it to me. You two bicker like an old married couple in the movies.”

“Well that’s just bullshit!”

“Kacchan, language!”

“Maybe you guys are just idiots then.” Mahoro quips back.

Katsuki stands up from his chair, pointing a finger at the girl. “Listen here you little brat! Only I get to call Deku an idiot!”

Unfazed, Mahoro crosses her arms with a wider smirk. “See. You’re defending him because you like him. Just admit it. It’s okay, we think it’s cute.” Katsuma just nods along with his sisters words.

“I— y-you! Stop it!” The blonde shouts across the table. “We’re friends! We haven’t kissed or anything yet!” How the hell did this kid figure it out?! Katsuki’s sure he’s hidden his feelings for his best friend well!

“Yet?” Her brow raises. “So, you admit you like Deku-nii. That’s a shame you haven’t kissed him, what’s taking you so long?”

Izuku is in complete shock that this is where the conversation had gone. His face is heated and rosy, only made worse by Katsuki’s continuing argument with a 13 year old girl. “Oh, my god...” Izuku breathed out as his body slipped lower in his chair. Now would be a great time to have an invisibility quirk!

“There’s nothing to admit!!”

“Come on Baku nii-chan,” the girl continues teasing the man. “Just kiss him for Christmas. Here, lemme help you.” Mahoro creates a hologram of a mistletoe above Izuku’s head. “You don’t wanna break tradition, do you.”

“Eeeep!” Izuku shrieks. “Why are you doing this?!”

“Because I’m helping you both to admit your feelings for each other.”

Ugh! Katsuki didn’t know what else to do! It’s not like Mahoro was some villain he could beat up, she’s a smart-aleck 13 year old girl! He drops back onto his seat. “Will you talk some sense into her Deku?! Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

Based on the girl shaking her head, Izuku assumes the answer is a big fat no. So, he turns sheepishly to Katsuki instead. “I mean one kiss wouldn’t kill us if it’ll quiet her down.”

“Are you—,” Katsuki starts but quickly snaps his mouth shut. He knew Izuku all too well not to read it on his face that he is serious, but not just to shut the girl up, did he want him to kiss him?! All this time, Katsuki assumed Izuku just saw him as a friend, but the look in the man’s eyes, full of hope? Longing?! His own cheeks fill with warmth at the thought of kissing his crush. Something he’d only fantasized of doing... “Are you sure?” Izuku nods yes.

Katsuki groans internally and narrows his eyes at Mahoro. “If we kiss, you’ll back off, right?!”

“Yup!” The girl smiles.

Okay, it’s not like he’s ever kissed anyone before! And with an audience, Katsuki’s nerves triple. He faces off with Izuku calculating what the right way of pulling this off would be. Seconds turn to minutes as the staring contest continues. Ugh! He could feel his face on fire and his hands are getting sweaty. Any longer and soon explosions would start to go off.

Mahoro drums her fingers on the table. “Any time now Baku nii-chan, Deku nii-chan. I’m not gonna hold that hologram up all night.”

“Argh! Alright already!” Fuck it, just go in for the kill! Katsuki grabs Izuku’s face with both his hands and just slams their lips together so roughly, teeth clash, and the man gives off a squeak. Definitely not how he’d fantasized this would be, but the deed is done.

When Katsuki pulls away, Izuku pulls him back in for a second kiss, needier than this time. The crowd of party guests erupt into a sea of hollering and camera flashes as the two pro heroes locked lips. Such displays were unusual, but apparently there kiss is being celebrated. This time it’s Izuku who pulls away with happy tears in his eyes.

“Geez, don’t cry,” Katsuki chided the man. “It’s not like it was perfect or anything.”

“I thought it was,” Izuku sniffled. “I’ve been dreaming of it for years.”

Katsuki deadpans. So, that meant they’d both been thinking about each other?! He glares at Mahoro. “How’d you figure it out?!”

“Congratulations,” the sassy preteen smirked back, “you’re now officially the last to know.”

#bakudeku #bakudeku secret santa 2020 #bkdk #katsudeku #ktdk #bnha #bakudeku ficlet #bakudeku fan fic #bakudeku fan fiction

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frankendeers · 5 years

Text

Kylux and the Queer Literary Tradition

So, I have seen a lot of people talk about Kylux in terms of queer fetishisation or even labelling it a “crack ship”.

The discourse has somehow made Kylux out to be this straight-girl fantasy where two men are simply shipped because they are white and handsome. Such an unfavourable interpretation completely takes away from many Kyluxers being queer and/or poc themselves as well as shaming straight people for seeing queer potential where it’s not canonically stated to be. Since the comic came out, there has been much elation because it finally “confirms” some of the things that appeal to Kyluxers, therefore justifying the ship. I don’t think, however, that Kylux has ever been anything but rather conventional in its queer subtext. Kylux falls in line with a long tradition of homoerotic aggression between two men. I will try to put this into words as eloquently as I can.

First, let’s talk about how Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Armitage Hux are queer coded on their own before moving on to their relationship.

Armitage Hux is almost comically queer coded. The act of feminising a villain to subtly convey to the audience that he is gay and therefore “morally reprehensible” has been a practice since the Hays code era (in some respects even before that -as the Victorian Age marks the beginning of our modern understanding of gender and subsequently, its subversion). He is seen to be physically weak, petty, moving and snarling and “bitching” in a way society would stereotypically ascribe to women.

His British Accent, at least from an American point of view, already marks his sexuality as ambiguous. This is not helped by the fact that he speaks in an abnormally posh way, alienating himself from the common people.Hereby, the movies draw a well-established line between decadence/queer and pragmatic/heteronormative.

In the “Aftermath” trilogy Brendol Hux states his son to be “weak willed” and “thin as a slip of paper and just as useless”, robbing him of his masculinity – no matter how ridiculous of an endeavour this is when talking about a four-year old boy. Hux is very early on criticised for not fitting into a socially expected form of manhood. This is especially evident when one compares him to his resistance rival, Poe Dameron. Now, Dameron has his own set of queer coding, but he is shown to be what is commonly viewed as “acceptably queer”. He is masculine, trained and proactive. When he ridicules Hux at the beginning of The Last Jedi, there is this juxtaposition of the helpless, feminine villain and the dashing, superior male hero. Hux is supposed to be judged as vain and arrogant while Poe takes risks and although reckless, is somehow to be admired. Further, Hux is constantly abused. He is thrown into walls letting out high pitched screams, runs away in the face of danger (as seen in the recent comic) and is pushed around by his own subordinates. His strength lies in being cunning and calculated, not stereotypically masculine virtues.

Hux’s destructive powers, his monstrosity so to speak, also follow a long-standing tradition of queer villainization. Harry Benshoff’s The Monster and The Homosexual articulates this as follows:

“[...] repressed by society, these socio-political and psychosexual Others are displaced (as in a nightmare) onto monstrous signifiers, in which form they return to wreak havoc […]” (Benshoff 65).

And what other, than a socio-political Other, is Armitage Hux - the Starkiller?

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, too, is touched by the mark of queerness. It is no coincidence that despite his raw power and muscular physique, Kylo Ren has not been adopted by hegemonic masculinity in the same way Han Solo has, for example. When the logical is traditionally seen as masculine, the realms of pure and unfiltered emotionality is feminine. And Kylo Ren is unrestrained in his vulnerability, his tears, his pain – People make fun of the dramatic ways he gives words to his feelings precisely because it is regarded as weak, as whiny, as “womanly”. His long curly hair, full lips and dress-like costume only strengthens this impression. Kylo Ren is an amalgam of masculine aggression and feminine expressiveness. Some of his outbursts even remind of the pseudo-illness of hysteria. The gendered lines are blurred and unclear in Kylo Ren, diffusing any efforts to appease the binary. Benshoff describes this as a form of queer existence which does not only constitute itself in opposition to what is considered normal but “ultimately opposed the binary definitions and prescriptions of a patriarchal heterosexism” (Benshoff 63).

Both are not easily categorised. They are patched up by multiple, gendered signifyers. Kylo Ren’s masculine body in contrast to his femininized fashion. Hux’s slender body with his stiff and masculinised military get-up. Hux’s toxic tendency to avoid showing his emotions while also being shown as weak, womanly, cowardly. Kylo Ren is an excellent warrior, yet simultaneously being prone to emotional outbursts. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s famous work Monster Theory (Seven Theses) elaborates upon this further, while acknowledging that queer figures are most commonly depicted as the monstrous Other:

“The refusal to participate in the classificatory “order of things” is true of monsters generally: they are disturbing hybrids whose externally incoherent bodies resist attempts to include them in any systematic structuration.” (Cohen 6).

Nonetheless, many queer people feel empowered by these figures. Lee Edelman theorises in his polemic No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive about the nature of queerness as a force of cultural resistance. According to Edelman, the queer must always refuse societal expectations of a perpetual future and embrace the death drive instead. In this sense, queerness stands in direct opposition to futurity as it negates any meaning in sexual reproduction and marriage (cp. Edelman 13). When Hux destroys planets, when Kylo Ren proposes to burn it all down “The Empire, your Parents, the Resistance, the Sith, the Jedi”, they are not merely killing the past. They are also negating the worth of categories that make up future and present alike. They are resisting the heteronormative values of production.

Now that we have the puzzle pieces that illustrate how Hux and Kylo are queer figures in on themselves, it might be interesting to examine how they work together.

In her text “Epistemology of the Closet”, Eve Sedgwick talks about a common gothic trope where two men are caught in a feud full of mutual hatred. In this case, both men are mirror images of one another, making them especially vulnerable to the other’s advances: "[…] a male hero is in a close, usually murderous relation to another male figure, in some respects his 'double', to whom he seems to be mentally transparent."

Kylo and Hux are very clearly mirrors of one another. Aside from the gendered oppositions I have already illustrated, they are each other’s double in every sense of the word. Born on opposite ends of an age-old war. Both caught in complicated relationship with their fathers whom both have killed out of opposite motivations (loving them too much vs. hating them with a passion). They represent the opposite ends in the binaries for logic vs. spirituality, restraint vs. wildness, control vs. sensuality, technology vs. nature etc.

This shot from The Last Jedi shows both of them mirroring each other visually, henceforth strengthening this impression.

They are "mentally transparent" to each other, because they are different sides of the same coin which Snoke tossed around to his whims. Even their aggression takes on erotic forms. It is hard to deny the homoerotic implications in choking another men to make him submit, forcing him onto his knees. The breaching of personal spaces and looming over each other, the obsessive need to prove one’s own worth to the male other with which one is engaged in a homosocial bond:

“The projective mutual accusation of two mirror-image men, drawn together in a bond that renders desire indistinguishable from prédation, is the typifying gesture of paranoid knowledge.” (Sedgwick 100).

And through all of this, I have not even talked about the collaborative potential between the two of them. Their instinct to protect one another despite insiting the opposite. How both of them could overcome their trauma by engaging with the other, who suffered so similarly under family obligation and Snoke’s abuse.

Works Cited:

Benshoff, Harry: “The Monster and the Homosexual.” In: Harry Benshoff (ed. and introd.)/Sean Griffin (ed. and introd.): Queer Cinema, the Film Reader. New York: Routledge 2004. Pp. 63-74.

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)." Jeffrey Jerome (ed. and preface) Cohen: Monster Theory: Reading Culture (1996): 3-25.

Edelman, Lee. No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive. ,2004. Print.

Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky-Sedgwick. Epistemology Of the Closet. Berkeley, Calif. :University of California Press, 2008.

#Kylux #Armitage Hux #Kylo Ren #Ben Solo #General Hux #Hux #Benarmie #Kylux meta #sw #sw meta #sw analysis #tfa #tlj #long post #long text #hux comic #huxlo

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desdamona-evangaline · 3 years

Text

Karma, Kayano, Nagisa and Sugino were excited. Well. Kayano, Nagisa and Sugino were exited.

“Are we really going to spend our Friday night looking at bones?” Wines Karma.

“Come on, they got a new exhibit! It’s the fourth largest bone found ever!” Said Sugino.

“”I heard it’s a dinosaur hip.” Chimed in Kayano.

“Plus,” said Nagisa “Koro-sesei said it would be a learning experience”

“Fine whatever”

Kayano leapt to her feet “Forget the bones!”

Exclamations of dismay ensued. Karma had just gotten on bored.

“No, no! Apples releasing a new iPad! And giving away free ones as a promotion! All we have to do is make a video about apples to win!”

“Come on, I want to see the museum.” Said Nagisa.

“I’ll help” said Sugino. “We’ll get Okajima to film.”

“Yes! Get ready. I feel a brainstorm coming on”

They grabbed a napkin and started drawing their heart stopping Apple based videos. This would be epic. Tales of Apple drama, costumes, lighting. This would be bigger than the Titanic!

“Didn’t that sink?”

“Shut up Karma!”

Karma laughed at their antics. Nagisa on the other hand frowned. “I wanted to go to the museum. It’s closed for repairs for a week starting Saturday.”

“We can still go”

“Um....” Nagisa mumbled vaguely. Things had been a tad... awkward since Karma had come back. They hadn’t really hung out together for long since the whole.... friendship break up. He didn’t want to be stressed all evening.

“Look, it’s fine. It’s not like... a big deal.” Pointed out Karma.

“It’s just hanging out.”

“”I guess. Sure”

Kayano popped up smiling. “Aww, like a date?”

Nagisa nearly fell off his chair. Oh God. Mortified.

“No, not a date” hissed Karma. “Just. Hanging out.”

“Have fun on your .not. date.” She cooed before running for dear life. Sugino looked at Karmas face and made a swift exit. Nagisa’s was trying to fight his blush. Oh God he was all red. Idiot!

“It’s not a date.” Karma said again, rather forcefully.

“Just. Hanging. Out”

“Got it.”

“See you at 7”

Karma casually walked away praying his face didn’t rival the colour of his hair. He was not going on a date with Nagisa. And his heart certainly wasn’t beating any harder than normal. Nagisa buried his head in his school bag. It wasn’t a date. Stop panicking! What should he wear?

It took Kayano took zero seconds to convince Okajima to film their video. The thought of an IPad with high zoom camera filled him with glee. Disturbing glee but glee all the same. Nakamura’s blackmail sences were tingling. A date? Between the two most oblivious boys in the class? She new what she was doing this evening. She grabbed Hinano. Now her sights were set on the boys she needed a new accomplice. The girl was easy to convince.

“Finally!! My OTP!!”

“Whatever, bring your binoculars.”

“Trust me. We won’t miss a single second of this legendary meet up”

After school Kayano, Sugino and Okajima asked/begged/bribed Koro-Sensei to fetch them costumes. Their grand idea? An interpretation of apples through ballet. The competition would never see it coming. Kayano wore a green tutu, Sugino a red ballet jacket and shorts. Okajima stood by with the camera. The only problem? None of them knew anything about ballet.

“Don’t you like.... stand on your toes? And sort of spin?”

“I think I can do an arabesque.”

“Jumping is involved?”

The bone museum was just as eventful as one could expect. By which it wasn’t eventful at all and Karma was going insane.

“Are we done yet? It’s a rock! It’s not like it can move”

“It’s a fossil and I want to look at it a little longer”

“It’s a grey rock. I’ll find you 20 outside, can we go now?”

“Don’t you think it’s lovely?”

“It’s almost as picturesque as you my darling little bon...”

“I will hit you with the bone if you finish that sentence”

The Apple ballet plot line was fabulous. Stupendous. Electronic. But the skills? Less so.

“Just twirl. Twirl. Kayano for the love of God TWIRL!”

“I’m basically standing on my big toe do you think this is easy!”

“Sugino, you twirl then!”

No response came from the pile of body that used to be Sugino. Arabesque’s were harder than you’d imagine. Okajima dumped the camera and leapt onto the podium they were using as a stage.

“Just go on one leg and spin like this!”

Kayano didn’t know exactly what happened. After blacking out for a moment she came to under a desk, Sugino’s knee on her head and Okajima stuck in a broken floor board. Time for the good old YouTube tutorial.

Karma kicked himself internally. What was he doing? Why did he say that? This was supposed to be a causal meet up between friends and he was ... flirting? Could you even call that flirting? What ever it was it certainly wasn’t casual. Nagisa was staring straight ahead at the bone. Stop blushing stop blushing stop blushing. Karma was just teasing. This was not. A. Date. He didn’t really mean it. Blushing harder under Karma’s grin, he fought off any unacceptable emotion. But.

He had called him lovely.

Hinano and Nakamura lurked behind a display of elderly bow ties. They came armed with a romance magazine including a stage by stage guide to love. Stage one. The Compliments. Already a solid start. Hinano screamed internally.

“Lovely?” Thought Nakumura. Interesting choice. He’d have to up the anti if he wanted to get anywhere with Nagisa. The boy was completely oblivious. Get down on one knee and he’d ask if your shoelaces were untied.

“I’m hungry.” Announced Karma, formally ending their bone viewing.

Since it wasn’t a date they didn’t plan on getting dinner anywhere fancy. What they were getting was barbaque food. From a literal hole in a brick wall. The smell alone was enough to throw romance out the window.

“It smells like..”

“Best not to think about it.”

“My leg is broken”

“Your leg is not broken”

“It’s broken!”

“Sugino your fine! Do the jump!”

“I swear to God Kayano I quit!”

“If you quit I’ll make you wish you’d never been born!”

All in all, thought Okajima to himself, letting the camera roll through out the afternoon showed scenes more entertaining than traditional ballet ever could.

“That is the most disgusting food I’ve ever seen” hissed Hinano.

This couldn’t be right. Even Karma couldn’t be idiotic enough to bring a date to this mess of a restaurant. They were sitting on the side walk for goodness sake. And the guy running the place looked like he was considering a murder. Come to think of it that’s probably where the meat came from.

“This tastes terrible Karma. Amazing job!”

“Karma laughed and took another bite of the thing that resembled a burger. See? They could hangout. No feelings. Just good friends. Nagisa was just a good friend who was illuminated by the white street light like an angel. Who’s eyes almost glowed and who was sitting close enough to Kiss...”

“OTP for life!!!” Hissed Hinano as Nakamura punched the air. 10 more inches. 5! 4, 3, 2

Nagisa’s phone made all 4 of them jump.

He answered to hear Kayano’s frantic whispers.

“We need help. Susan needs a hospital!”

“Hospital? Who’s Susan?”

“We were pirouetteing” explained Kayano as she dodged a thrown plate, “and Sugino accidentally threw me into a tree, the branch broke and I fell on a deer. Her antler broke! Her names Susan and she’s trying to kill us!”

“I don’t think girl deers have antlers”

“THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU SHOULD BE TAKING FROM THIS CONVERSATION!”

“Alright I’m on my way. Karma, we need to go save Kayano and Sugino from a distressed deer.”

“Sure” he muttered. “Why not”

Nakamura comforted Hinano. She would kill that deer with her own bare hands. Or maybe with a baseball bat.

It took a long time to get the deer into an animal hospital. He (or she) was a biter. The nurses criticised Karma’s method of transportation. In fairness it did look pretty odd when they arrived dragging a basket full of deer tied up with fairylights. But, as Karma argued, they did arrive at their destination. All they had to do now what wait as the nurses got the animal painkillers and possibly anger management therapy. Now Nagisa, Kayano, Sugino and Karma were in the waiting room recovering.

Exhausted Nagisa rested his head on Karma’s shoulder. Not in a romantic way or anything.

“Awww” cooed one lady.”Your such a cute couple”

“Oh! No.” Said Nagisa quickly lifting his head.

“We’re just friends.”

“Why?”

“Ummm”

“You’d be great together” man joined in.

Karma shook his head “no, all the dating stuff wouldn’t work out”

“If I may chime in,” Said another guy in a hat.

“Are you avoiding romance because of your fear of separation?”

“My what?” Karma looked personally insulted. “I don’t have a fear of separation”

“Listen young man” said a women behind Nagisa.

“You need to reassure that red headed fellow you will always be there for him.”

“I don’t want to talk about this” said Nagisa, mortification flooding through him.

“Perhaps that’s what’s driving you apart” said hat guy. “Your worried he won’t appreciate and except your efforts”

Sugino and Kayano took turns holding vending machine popcorn.

“No, I just don’t want to date him. Karma’s my friend”

“Is he. Or is he just putting up with you” asked some girl to the left.

“Excuse me?”

“Hey, I’m just telling you what you tell yourself buddy”

Karma stood up angrily. “Let’s stop this right there, our love life is none of your business”

“So you do have a love life?”

Two nurses restrainted Karma from attacking the hat guy.

Nakumura crashed through the door with Hinano at her heels.

“Everyone shut up! It’s time for your moment! Stage 3 happens 4 hours into the date! You have 86 seconds!”

“The hell are you talking about?” Yelled Karma as Nagisa buried his head in his hands.

“Oh God!” Screamed one women, “It’s about to get real!”

“Lady you need to chill” hissed Sugino through his popcorn. “Karma! This is your time! Tell him how you feel!” Wailed Hinata.

“What is going on?” Whispers Nagisa.

“It might be too late soon!” Called hat guy.

“Am I dead?” Whispered Nagisa.

“Do it! We support you!” Yelled the nurse.

“Am I in hell?” Nagisa asked himself.

“Take the initiative Karma! Kiss him!”

Kamra threw himself at Nakamura with the sole intent to kill.Nagisa tackled him.

“No killing Nakumura. Or me after this”

The audience gasped. Hinata cheered. Kayano clapped. Nagisa kissed. And kissed. And kissed.Silence. Staring down at Karma Nagisa waited for his fist. It never came.

“I can’t believe this was our first date. Do-over?”

The whole room cheered.

The next day Karma and Nagisa headed out for first date round two. Nakumura and Hinata spread the news. Kayano and Sugino met to discuss their aid to the Karmagisa cause. It was worth it, even though they never got an iPad.

Then Sugino frowned

“Hey, what happened to Okajima?”

Okajima bowed as he received his prize. His short film “What two mental ballerinas would do for an iPad” won him first place. Life was good.

@darlingimawitch

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Final Fantasy’s Multiverse Fan Theory Will Change How You Look at the Franchise

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Many beloved video game franchises try to maintain a semblance of continuity and worldbuilding. Usually, those attempts consist of linear a-to-b narratives across sequels, but there are times when the connections between games in a franchise can be a bit perplexing. For instance, each Legend of Zelda game seems insular at first, but they actually take place in a shared world and timelines. The timeline barely makes sense, but it’s there. Final Fantasy, meanwhile, seemingly reinvents its wheel with each entry. Every title takes place in its own world with its own history and lore that is, on paper, completely separate from the rest of the series.

If you scour Reddit and other internet forums, though, you may eventually find theories that claim the Final Fantasy franchise utilizes one big, interconnected multiverse. A popular variation of that belief purports that Final Fantasy XIV sits in the center of that universe or that other titles sprung from that game’s world.

In fact, many players who have extensively explored Hydaelyn and the other worlds of Final Fantasy (not to be confused with World of Final Fantasy) eventually reach the same conclusion: Final Fantasy exists in some kind of multiverse. Do those claims and theories have any merit, though, or are audiences letting their apophenia take them for a joyride? Let’s try to find out together.

Final Fantasy’s Familiar Faces

We might as well get the most obvious evidence for a shared multiverse out of the way first. If you’ve played more than one Final Fantasy game, you probably know the series has a lot of recurring elements (such as Chocobos, Behemoths, and engineers named Cid). However, some common elements go deeper than shared names. Sure, every now and then unrelated characters will sport the same moniker for the sake of references and callbacks (such as Zeromus from Final Fantasy IV and Zeromus from Final Fantasy XII) but some recurring faces who only seem like they exist for the sake of tradition actually help tie the games together.

The first recurring character we have to talk about is everyone’s favorite pillar of buffoonery, Gilgamesh. In virtually every entry, he is portrayed as a bumbling wanderer who seeks power through collecting weapons. Moreover, most Gilgamesh incarnations sport the same red hood, kabuki face paint (sometimes a mask), and awesome battle theme that transcends music genres, but that isn’t because Square Enix is lazy. The majority of Gilgameshes tend to appear and/or disappear into an Interdimensional Rift (more on that later). That implies they’re the same character in an unending, world-hopping obsession for new weapons.

Indeed, after Gilgamesh is beaten in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, he cries out the name of Final Fantasy V’s protagonist, Bartz. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Gilgamesh claims to have dueled “strange opponents” countless times. If that’s not enough for you, consider that in later entries, Gilgamesh wields replicas of weapons from past Final Fantasy games. Gilgamesh doesn’t just talk about the Final Fantasy multiverse; he almost literally beats players over the head with it. However, Gilgamesh isn’t the franchise’s only cross-dimensional tourist.

Whenever you finish a Final Fantasy story and beat the final boss, each game offers additional challenges in the form of “superbosses.” One of the franchise’s most consistent superbosses is the quadrupedal robot known simply as Omega. Throughout its various Final Fantasy appearances, Omega’s physical appearance is portrayed with a startling amount of consistency. However, the robot’s true nature is a bit more up in the air. As some fans have discovered Omega has two possible incarnations: shards left behind to collect data and demi-knockoffs created by local geniuses who drew inspiration from the original Omega. Either way, Omega is a dimension-hopping robot whose sole purpose is to defeat its arch-nemesis, Shinryu. According to lore provided by games such as Final Fantasy XIV and Dissidia Final Fantasy, every Shinryu that players face is also actually a minor fragment deposited to help the original grow stronger.

It’s certainly harder to argue against a multiverse when you have three recurring characters that practically rely on it for their motivations and design.

Dissidia Final Fantasy Wouldn’t Exist Without a Multiverse

When Nintendo set the world on fire with the Super Smash Bros. franchise, other companies started making their own mascot fighter game that they hoped would print money. Square Enix’s Dissidia Final Fantasy set itself apart with a vastly different combat system. However, Dissidia’s bigger claim to fame is its story, which breaks from mascot fighter tradition by leaning on and expanding its source material’s canon (especially the parts that concern the multiverse).

Since Dissidia is a spin-off, you’d probably assume it exists outside of the Final Fantasy canon with character facsimiles standing in for the original protagonists. After all, that tends to be the industry standard (Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto once confirmed that Super Smash Bros.‘s characters are actually toys). However, Dissidia’s fighters are surprisingly the real deal. That’s because, according to the narrative, the real Final Fantasy characters have been summoned from their own worlds to fight on behalf of the gods in Dissidia’s World B. Every Dissidia game starts off with this statement, and, in fantasy properties, disparate worlds usually imply a multiverse. Since there are three Dissidia games (four if you count the mobile entry), the entire franchise is arguably one big multiverse confirmation.

Moreover, Dissidia goes several steps further since World B is a near-geographic replica of the first Final Fantasy’s setting, World A (albeit dotted with arenas ripped from the fragmented memories of its characters without rhyme or reason). For instance, one of the battlegrounds in World B is a blasted moonscape. Why is a location like that on a planet with an atmosphere? Well, it’s because it was pulled from the memories of Cecil Harvey: a character who traveled to the moon in Final Fantasy IV. Without a multiverse, there would have been no memories to pull from.

Now, since characters die left, right, and center in Dissidia, you might wonder how the series canonically fits into the Final Fantasy franchise without shattering the space-time continuum. Well, time works differently in World B, and that plot point is used to insert new canon into older titles. Everyone is caught in an endless cycle of battles, death, resurrection, and amnesia. They barely remember where they came from or why they are fighting and just know that they need to fight. But, after what is implied to be countless cycles worth of combat, the first game’s ending explicitly states that the various heroes and villains return to their respective worlds. Everyone except for the Warrior of Light, that is. He was created on World B by Cid of the Lufaine (a character retroactively added to rereleases of the first Final Fantasy) and retconned into one of the World A’s heroes from the original Final Fantasy. From there, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT pulls them all back for one more round.

Without a Final Fantasy multiverse, Dissidia wouldn’t make a lot of sense and would certainly be a very different spin-off series from a narrative standpoint.

Games

Was Final Fantasy Really the First JRPG?

By Matthew Byrd

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25 Best RPGs Ever Made

By Matthew Byrd

Final Fantasy XIV and the Collaboration Connection

Now that we’ve established the general existence of a Final Fantasy multiverse (or the strong possibility of its existence), it’s time to address a particularly popular fan theory question: Is Final Fantasy XIV the root of the Final Fantasy multiverse?

It’s no secret Square Enix loves to stuff Final Fantasy XIV full of collaborative content. Players have gone on quests and collected equipment ripped out of properties such as Yo-Kai Watch and Garo. Square Enix also tends to collaborate with…well…itself and place the results in Final Fantasy XIV. For instance, Lightning and Noctis showed up for limited-time events in the game, but those instances hardly prove that the game sits in the middle of some kind of Final Fantasy nexus. After all, Lightning can don the iconic getups of characters such as Cloud, Yuna, and Lara Croft in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Does that mean her tailor lives in the center of a Final Fantasy or Square Enix multiverse? Probably not since those crossover costumes are all optional DLC (and ultimately probably meant to advertise different Square-owned games). All Lightning and Noctis demonstrate in their Hydaelyn vacations is how the different Final Fantasy worlds are connected.

Lightning and Noctis visited Hydaelyn thanks to the Interdimensional Rift (the same one Gilgamesh, Omega, and Shinryu use to get around), and they aren’t the only characters who have taken an interdimensional tour. The Stormblood expansion introduced the Aetherial Rift: a raid dungeon hosted by a surprisingly friendly Omega (friendly in that he tests players before trying to stomp them out of existence). Thanks to Omega’s control over the Rift, gamers can square off against recreations of past Final Fantasy game bosses, including Chaos, Kekfa, Exdeath, and the Phantom Train. Again, you might assume these crossovers imply that Hydaelyn rests at the center of the multiverse. Instead, they most likely suggest that Omega either visited or used networked knowledge of different worlds to create these arenas, which lends credence to the theory that most Omegas seen throughout the franchise are either the same killbot or are linked in some way. Square Enix also apparently just loves to reference/advertise its older titles.

Now, some of you might ask, “What about Ivalice? Doesn’t Ivalice’s presence in Final Fantasy XIV prove the game is smack dab in the middle of the Final Fantasy multiverse?” Again, no. The Ivalice you’re thinking of is the world from Final Fantasy XII, while Ivalice in Final Fantasy XIV is just a kingdom. Confusingly, both Ivalices share certain elements, such as the Viera and Yiazmat, but those shared elements don’t necessarily demonstrate worlds colliding. Instead, they are likely indicative of design singularities you usually see in multiverses from other franchises (multiple Marvel universes have a Spider-Man/Woman, and multiple Final Fantasy universes have an Ivalice).

Final Thoughts on Final Fantasy‘s Multiverse

Considering the Interdimensional Rift and characters such as Gilgamesh and Omega, you really can’t argue against the likelihood of some kind of Final Fantasy multiverse. However, is Final Fantasy XIV really at the center of it all? Elements from different entries (as well as unrelated games, such as NieR:Automata and Monster Hunter: World) are certainly more likely to bleed into Hydaelyn, but does that make it the center of the multiverse? Signs point to no. Odds are Final Fantasy XIV’s above-average interdimensional crossover rate is merely a result of its MMORPG nature and good old-fashioned marketing.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which Final Fantasy world, if any, spawned the others. They all are clearly interconnected through countless narratives and world-building elements, so unless Square Enix reveals the identity of this fabled origin world, all we can do is speculate. Then again, if we knew which Final Fantasy universe spawned the others and exactly how the game’s multiverse elements work, that might suck some of the magic out of the series.

The post Final Fantasy’s Multiverse Fan Theory Will Change How You Look at the Franchise appeared first on Den of Geek.

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oscars-wifeyyy · 4 years

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Chapter 4 (The Innocent)

Masterlist

Halloween finally came around and traditional shut in was happening at Ruby’s, like usual, and the crew was there, sans Cesar. Monse, Jamal, and Elizabeth were in costume while Olivia was getting into hers inside her room. Monse was a lifeguard, Jamal was a hospital patient, Elizabeth was Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad, and Ruby was a vampire.

“Eighty-six the chat and focus,” Ruby interrupted the talking, “this is gonna be our best shut in ever. But we have to follow protocol,”

“Dude, we know the drill,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

“This year’s gonna be different. It’s not about our survival. It’s about Olivia. There was magic in our first dance,” Ruby sighed.

“Have you guys been to Brentwood?” Jamal asked from the dining table.

“I haven’t, J,” Elizabeth turned to face him.

“My parents are out so I set up touch control LED lighting,” Ruby turned the lights on, “Bordello Red. Nightmare on Elm Street us gonna get Olivia scared…” Ruby sat on the couch, “a little lappy,”

“You know that’s creepy, right?” Monse asked.

“One step ahead of you,” Ruby grabbed the blanket over the couch, “little cover in case of wood,”

“Speaking of wood, Brentwood sounds kind of fun,” Jamal tried to get his ideas on the table.

Elizabeth looked around at the couches, “where is Cesar sitting?”

“In Oscar’s Impala,” Ruby replied.

“He’s not coming? Why? It’s tradition,” Monse rushed out.

“Who cares?” Ruby shrugged.

The door busted open and Cesar walked into the house, “shut in!”

“B-but I thought you were with Oscar?” Ruby stuttered, looking horrified at the sight of his best friend in the house.

“Good to see you too,” Cesar smiled sarcastically.

“Nice costume, Julius,” Elizabeth chuckled as the two did their own handshake.

“No, it’s fine. It’s just…”Ruby sighed, “take a seat, any seat,” Cesar moved to sit on the loveseat, but Ruby quickly shoved him away, “not the loveseat and don’t block my scented candle,”

Olivia walked out of her room with her costume on, “What do you think?”

Ruby looked stunned and grabbed the blanket, “that looks nice,”

“When are we going out?” the new girl asked the group.

“Never. Trick or treating in Freeridge is a no go,” Ruby said.

“Why?”

“You might wanna sit down. I’ll be brief,” Ruby sat down on the loveseat with Olivia, “In 2012, Prohets rolled up on us. Glocks to our head and snatched our bags. 2013, we were kissing pavement all night. Caught in a drive-by. That night we lost our candy and perhaps out innocence,”

“Can we talk?” Monse asked Cesar.

“I’m good,” Cesar responded.

Elizabeth grabbed both of their arms and pulled them to the hallway, “listen here, estupidos. Y’all are going to talk and chop it up. Bye, I need to piss,”

By the time she got back, she realized that they were going to Brentwood for Halloween, but she wasn’t complaining because they gave out big candy bars. Abuelita came in and ushered the kids inside her car so she could drive them to Brentwood. After the hour drive, they arrived at sun down and the kids were exiting.

“Buena suerte,” Abuelita smiled at the kids.

“We don’t need luck,” Ruby chuckled, “It’s Brentwood. Nothing bad happens here,”

“How about OJ?” Cesar brought up, “no offense, Jamal,”

“Oh, I’m good. We don’t claim him,”

“So, we should be ready around ten,” Ruby leaned in the window.

“Good for you, but I have plans,” Abuelita said, driving off.

The six turned towards the neighborhood, “we are not in Freeride anymore,”

“We have lots of ground to cover, so to maximize candy efficiency, let’s divide and conquer then split our booty,” Jamal faced the crew.

“Great idea. Olivia and I will go this way. Meet back here at 10?” Ruby dragged Olivia in one direction.

“Jamal,” Cesar and Monse said together.

“On second thought, I’ll go with Eli,” Cesar walked to Elizabeth.

The crew split ways and once Elizabeth and Cesar were out of earshot from the crew she started asking Cesar questions, “wassup with you and Monse?”

“The night of homecoming, Monse said that I wasn’t safe,” Cesar sighed, “it sucks because it’s true,”

“Salad, I know it hurt when she said that, but give her time,” Elizabeth wrapped an arm around him, “after all you are a new Santo and she never dated one either,”

“You’re probably right,” Cesar smiled, “What’s up with you and my brother?”

“We are...getting closer,” Elizabeth cheesed really hard, “I told him about my dad and he took me to a pretty special place.

“You told him about tu papa?” Cesar asked, shocked with the fact that she opened up to Oscar that much, “well I hope you guys work,”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to do these things, like relationships and whatnot,” Elizabeth stressed, “I’ve never done this, but I’m starting it with this big bad gang leader,”

“I would tell you, but obviously mine isn’t going so great,” Cesar laughed.

“Headass,” Elizabeth laughed and caught sight of a familiar boy and girl, “ain’t that Ruby and Olivia?”

Cesar turned and saw the two, “yeah. Let’s go catch up,”

When the two finally caught up, they caught sight of the party across the street.

“You know what would be crazy cool?” Olivia asked Ruby, “if we crash that party,” she pointed at the house across the street.

“I don’t know. They look like the’re at capacity. We don’t wanna create a fire hazard,” Ruby stared at the house.

Elizabeth face palmed, but went to the two, “what’s up, guys! Olivia, if you could excuse us a second? Thank you,” “Compa,” Cesar looked at the short friend, “you need to not be you,”

“Me? What’s wrong with me?” Ruby looked at the two of them confused.

Cesar pointed to Elizabeth who started talking in a weird voice, “‘I don’t know. They look like the’re at capacity. We don’t wanna create a fire hazard,’ dude, be outside Ruben,”

“Take her to the party,” Cesar walked back to Olivia.

Ruby followed, “New plan. Let’s tear that party up!”

Ten minutes later into the party, Ruby was coming back to the group with a plate full of food and an excited expression on his face. He went to the couch where most of the crew was sitting at, “everyone here is so friendly. I told someone I was from Freeridge and got major props. Hood must be trending,” Ruby held out the plate out to Olivia, “here’s some napkins and lemon wedges,”

“You’re so thoughtful and always such a gentleman,” Olivia smiled.

“Gentleman, scholar, and a damn good swimmer too,” Cesar tried to hype Ruby up, but was going above and beyond.

Olivia handed the plate to Cesar, “Excuse me, it’s time for my adventure to find the restroom and wait in a long line,”

“I’ll come with,” Elizabeth smiled at the new girl.

“Awesome! Let’s go,” the two walked to find the restroom, “so, anyone special?”

Elizabeth chuckled, “maybe. I don’t know, we’re kinda just taking it slow,”

“Is it Cesar? You guys seem close,” Olivia looked down.

Elizabeth couldn’t help, but laugh, “definitely not. He’s just a friend, nothing more! However, this person that I’m taking it slow with is close with Cesar,”

The two finally arrived at the bathroom and paused the conversation until after Olivia was done using the restroom. After a few minutes, she emerged from the restroom and the two decided to go find something to drink and arrived in the kitchen, looking through the fridge, while Elizabeth settled with a soda in a bin.

“Is he in the group?” Olivia smiled big.

“Nope,” Elizabeth smirked, “you’re not gonna know, but I feel like you’re gonna end up finding out soon so I guess just wait,”

The two laughed when they made their way back to the boys, but saw a group of white boys talking to them. Elizabeth sat next to Cesar while Olivia stood next to her.

“Hey,” Olivia smiled.

The white boy dressed as a cholo saw the juice in her hand, “Where’d you get that?”

“From the fridge,”

“That’s my mom’s pressed juice,”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Olivia started.

“She’s on a cleanse,” the white boy stressed, “she knows exactly how many bottles there are,”

“I had no idea. I just wanted a drink and I just assumed…” Olivia got cut off.

“What? That you could just go in and take it? There are drinks everywhere. There’s a whole bin of soda right there. You should have been smart like your… very sexy friend here,” white boy winked at Elizabeth who rolled her eyes, “why were you in the fridge?”

“I was thirsty. It’s just juice. It’s not a big deal,” Olivia shuffled her feet.

“Don’t tell me what’s a big deal, ok? Do people go into your house and take stuff out of your fridge?” The white boy asked the underprivileged kids.

“Yes,” the group said.

“What the hell is wrong with you people?” the white boy chuckled.

“Hold up,” Elizabeth stood up and towards the white boy, “you people?”

“Hey, just let it go,” Cesar held Elizabeth’s arm, but she shook it off.

“No, I’m not letting shit go. This white boy wants to be a little racist shit,” Elizabeth glared at the boy in front of her.

“Don’t you have any respect?” the white boy glared

“Dice que el gringo se viste como un cholo,” Elizabeth stood her ground.

“Excuse me, hoe? Excuse me?” the white boy stepped closer to Elizabeth.

“We don’t want any problems,” Cesar stood and moved to stand next to the hot headed girl.

“Exactly,” Ruby interfered, “I got her. How much is the juice?” Ruby started pulling out his wallet.

“Ok,” the white boy nodded, “fifty two dollars a bottle and twenty dollars each for all the food and drinks you had,”

“We don’t have that kind of money on us,” Olivia said.

“Of course you don’t,” The white boy said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Olivia glared.

“Just stating the obvious,” the white boy sarcastically smiled at Olivia then turned to Elizabeth, “how about you stay and I can show you a real man?”

“Now you’re just being a dick,” Olivia seethed.

“Dude, control your bitch,” white boy said to Ruby.

“You better apologize,” Cesar stood up to the white boy.

“Nah, he doesn’t have to apologize,” Elizabeth winked at Elizabeth.

“Exactly, gorgeous. How are we gonna settle up?” the white boy smirked.

“Like this,” Olivia said, opening the bottle and spilling it all over the floor.

The four soon ran as a person came up to them and handed the white boy and his group eggs. Eggs started being thrown and hit the four people as they ran farther away from the house with the group following. They ran into Jamal and Monse so they quickly told them to run, but it was too late when eggs were thrown at them as well. After a few more minutes of running, the crew stopped running and started trying to figure out how they were gonna get back, but Elizabeth caught sight of Cesar focused on his phone.

“Whatcha doing, compa?” Elizabeth asked Cesar.

“Askin’ your novio to come and handle it,” Cesar turned to the group, “don’t get a Lyft. It’s handled,” everyone except Monse looked confused, “it’s handled,”

Ten minutes later, Cesar and Elizabeth walked up to the house party and towards the white boy cholo. They met at the top step of the lawn and faced off.

“You want some more?” The white boy asked Cesar, but he didn’t respond, “you think you’re hard, ok. As for you, gorgeous, you come back to let me show you a man?”

“No I didn’t, gringo,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

“I’m not, but he is,” Cesar looked back as the familiar Impala stopped in front of the house.

Oscar got out of the car and towards them as the music stopped and everyone looked scared. The Santo walked up to Elizabeth and held her chin to inspect her face and looked down to check out her body, “haces daño, bebé? Nice costume, too,”

“Yo estoy muy bien. simplemente hacer lo que tienes que hacer y vamos a ir,” Elizabeth crossed her arm as yolk ran down her cheek.

Oscar kissed Elizabeth’s cheek and wiped off the yolk before walking up to the white boy. He looked at his face before licking his thumb, wiping off the tear tattoo, and copied the action on his own, but his didn’t come off.

“This shit’s real,” Oscar glared.

“What do you want?” The white boy whimpered.

Oscar looked at Cesar who responded, “all of your pressed juices, candy, and an apology to Elizabeth,”

Those words caught Oscar’s attention, “what did you do to my girl, cabron?”

“Nothing, man,” the white boy stuttered, “boys, get what they asked already!”

“Boy, if you don’t stop lying,” Elizabeth glared at the boy, “didn’t you call me a hoe? Don’t back up now when an actual man steps up. You say you could show me a real man, right? Where is he now?”

“I-I-I’m s-sorry,”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but nodded before throwing her fist at his face and watched as he fell back on his butt with a mouthful of blood. His group walked back out with all the stuff and quickly shoved it into their awaiting arms.

Oscar laughed at the boy silently crying at the punch before leaning down, “so where is the real man? I’m curious to see how you could handle a baddie like her pero we ain’t gonna know,”

The group was now piling into the back of Oscar’s Impala with their own arms full of the things that were given while Cesar sat in the front with Elizabeth in between them.

“Where to, hermanito?” Oscar asked Cesar.

“Ruby’s” Cesar said.

The ride was quiet and after tonight’s events, Elizabeth was tired as she yawned and felt her eyes close when she felt something touch her left thigh, but she didn’t mind, knowing it was Oscar who laid his hand on it. She slowly drifted off as her head lolled to Oscar’s shoulder after a right turn and soft snores filled the air with the music playing softly in the background.

“Aye, anyone of you, grab the flannel that’s there somewhere and give it to Cesar,” the freshmen in the back shuffled fast and quickly handed it to Cesar, “Cesar, lay it on her pero don’t wake her up,”

Half an hour later, they were in front of Ruby’s house and Elizabeth felt the stop so she opened her eyes with a groan. Her eyes caught sight of Ruby’s house and saw the position she was in causing her cheeks to grow ablaze and quickly got out of the car to let the crew out while Oscar smirked at the girl, but saw the red on her knuckles. Monse left shortly after leaving the crew to go inside and Elizabeth was about to make her way inside, but Oscar called out to her.

“Eli! Get back inside. I’m gonna take you home,”

Elizabeth shrugged and went back inside the car. They drove in silence and arrived at Oscar’s house, but Elizabeth was confused.

“What are we doing here?” Elizabeth asked the man.

“I gotta patch you up, mamita,” Oscar grabbed her bruised hand and held it up, “now get your ass inside,”

“Bossy much?” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but a smile emerged onto her lips.

The two got inside and Oscar led her into the bathroom, lifting her up so she could sit on the counter. He shuffled through the cabinet to get the first aid kit as Elizabeth sat patiently while swinging her legs back and forth. Finally, Oscar got the kit and took her hand after he doused a cotton pad with alcohol to clean her knuckles before wrapping it in gauze to prevent infections. Elizabeth smiled at his gentle touch, but it didn’t get past Oscar when he looked up.

“Que?” Oscar raised an eyebrow.

“Nada,” Elizabeth shrugged, “it’s just Spooky got a soft touch for a gang leader,”

“Callate, pendeja,” Oscar scoffed, “it’s only ‘cause it’s you,”

“Oh my God,” Elizabeth put her uninjured hand on her chest, above her heart, “the Spooky is becoming soft because of me,”

The two just stared before laughing at the impersonation of the hormonal women that were afraid of him, but still swooned over his beauty. After they were done, Cesar walked in looking stressed, but Elizabeth pushed it aside, thinking it was over Monse. Oscar was staring at the girl that was in front of him when her eyes closed due to the events from that night.

“Are your parents gonna be home tonight?” Oscar asked.

Elizabeth shook her head, “my mom picked up double shifts,”

Oscar nodded, picking the small girl up causing her to wrap her legs around him so she didn’t fall on her ass. He walked the two of them into his room and plopped her onto the bed before taking off his tank top before laying down next to her. The two laid next to each other in complete silence until they let their eyes closed and their bodies give way to the sleepy feeling.

@lostgirl219 @love-me-91393

#on my block #Oscar Diaz #oscar spooky diaz #oscar diaz imagine #oscar diaz x reader #oscar diaz imagines #spooky diaz #spooky diaz x reader #spooky diaz imagines #spooky diaz imagine #julio macias #julio macias fanfic #julio macias fanfiction #cesar diaz #monse finnie #Jamal Turner #ruby martinez

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