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figgrrr0 · 1 year

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Hii im new here! Found your blog by chance and I love how you write! Would you be able to write wanderer x jealous!reader on valentines day? Lets say Wanderer has got a lot of admirers from the akademiya and reader is just silently furious abt it but doesnt say anything. When Wanderer finds out he fucks them nicely and praise them/ reassures them <333

Apparently I struggle to do angry jealousy, I just make it sad... but it's light this time! And soft.

Also it feels so weird writing Wanderer as a name??

Want to skip the lead up? Look for the NSFW sign that marks the smut!

Valentine's with Wanderer

Character: Top!Wanderer/Scaramouche

Reader: Bottom!Gn // Genre: Smut, angst

Cw: Classic Scara misunderstandings, praise/reassurance, fingering, soft sex, slight angst(?) it's more hinted I guess

Plot: A little // Word count: 1.9k

Valentine's Day: a day of love, gifts, and showing appreciation for your partner.

Usually, everyone tries to take the day off, freeing up their schedule so that they can focus entirely on the occasion, however it may be that they want to spend it. Which is why you were quite surprised to find yourself alone in bed when you woke up in the morning.

Now, that's not when you started feeling doubt. After all, maybe Wanderer, your boyfriend of the past few months, was in the kitchen. Breakfast in bed is a traditional start to Valentine's Day, and an easy way to get in anyone's good books. But, when you heard nothing after a few minutes of waiting, – no clanking of cutlery or slamming of cabinets – you just had to go see where he was.

Unluckily for you, all you could find was a little note, hastily sprawled and left waiting on the counter:

"I'll be gone for a while, don't wait up for me. I left you some breakfast in the cupboard, it might need heating up if you stay in bed too long, but that's not my fault...

–Happy Valentine's Day."

As usual, his handwriting is kind of hard to read; quick and messy. But, at least he did technically make you breakfast, even if he also alluded to you being lazy.

However, what most takes your attention, is the blotch of ink that splattered right at the end of "fault". It was as if he were hesitating to let go, to pick up the pen and leave it at that.

Which is why you felt oddly warm at the fact that the last part was perfectly legible and obviously had been written slower than the rest.

Even though you know Wanderer isn't particularly fond of outright expressing his feelings, you thought that surely, today of all days, he could push aside his own pride for you. Even just a little. Maybe that was too high of an expectation. His ambitions never let him take a break, so why would he take one for a made-up holiday?

Well... at least he's aware enough of your excitement for the day to acknowledge it first thing in the morning, even if he wasn't there to actually say it.

But, you knew that with Wanderer, everything would be awkward and touchy the first time around. You had to move slowly. Baby steps, you remind yourself, as you head back to your shared room to start getting ready.

It's only the start of the day.

...

You wish it weren't Valentine's Day.

Every street was lined with couples, each and every one of them holding hands, carrying flowers... things that you should be doing with your boyfriend right now.

And it didn't help that you felt like everyone was judging you for being alone, especially when most of them likely knew who you were dating. It's not like you hadn't seen them staring before now.

You couldn't blame them, really. Wanderer had shown up in Sumeru suddenly and didn't feel especially inclined to explain himself, so of course people would be curious. You just didn't like the way that their eyes would... linger after him. Even when you were there! And on the rare day that Wanderer was comfortable enough to let you hold onto him in public, the admiring stares turned to full-blown jealousy.

Now, what was wrong with that? Shouldn't that be an ego boost for you? You'd thought so too, at first. But then you realised that just meant they'd want to try and steal him from you.

You thought you could put up with it at first. After all, you knew that Wanderer wouldn't stand for anyone else touching him or getting in his way other than you. You trusted him just fine. You didn't trust the average Akademiya goer, though. They all seemed to think they were entitled to have whatever – or whoever – they wanted, just because they'd gotten into the prestigious school at all.

You'd tried to bring up your concerns to Wanderer about the whispers going around and the jealous looks you'd get when walking through the streets or halls of the Akademiya. Almost instantaneously, he shut down your complaints, finding the words so easily that it almost felt as though he hadn't even tried.

"Tch... they're annoying and only want to waste our time. Just ignore them like I do."

That response was actually exactly what you'd expected to hear, and while you were grateful for his straightforward answer, you'd wanted a more... passionate outcome. Something to show he cared.

That definitely isn't what you got, considering he didn't even look at you when he said it.

After that, you didn't want to bring up the same problem again. Especially not on Valentines Day, even though he'll probably come home having been confessed to over twenty times in the past hour alone. Okay, maybe you were over-exaggerating a little, but it really didn't feel like it to you. Plus, it's the day of love! You're allowed a little leeway for feeling paranoid, right?

Maybe this evening will be better, when Wanderer finally comes come.

...

As you walk through the door, you're instantly met with a faint smell that you recognised to be the lavender lemongrass scented candles that you kept around the house. Of course, this clued you in to the fact that Wanderer must already be home. But what solidified this, was that when you walked through the doorway, there he was, waiting for you standing next to a vase of beautifully arranged flowers. It was mainly made up of your favourite flower, along with some of the famous Valentine's flowers as well, such as roses, carnations, and even some daisies.

Most likely, it was thought up by the florist that he went to. But at least he knew your favourite flower, as well as followed the tradition of buying them for you at all.

Often times, it was unusual for him to initiate physical touch with you; even though he was comfortable with you, he still just wasn't used to it yet. Tonight, however, he seemed to have no trouble in walking right up to you, taking your hand to guide you into the living room, where you could both just relax in each other's company. The calming lavender lemongrass candles eased your mood quite well, and you were happy that your Wanderer had really tried for Valentine's day.

...

You had a lovely evening with your boyfriend, cuddling on the couch as you spoke in hushed voices about anything and everything (even if he was slightly apprehensive to start), the lovely atmosphere of romantic music quietly flooding through from the street.

And even though it had felt perfect, as you get ready to retire for the night, the candles having gone out a while ago, you can't help but feel the uncertainty from before start to overtake your thoughts again.

Resigning yourself to forget about it, you get into your side of the bed, your Wanderer already having been waiting for you to return. But he can tell that something in your mood has changed almost as soon as he lays his eyes on you again.

"What's wrong?"

"... Nothing."

He leans forward, showing his engagement. "Bullshit. If you don't tell me, there's nothing I can do to help you get over it."

"I just... those people from the Akademiya... they're still bothering me." You look down at your hands.

He sighs, closing his eyes for a second, "I've told you to just ignore them. There's nothing I can do to control how people think of you, or me, or us."

"I can't just ignore them!" You whine, "They're always looking at us when we're together... it's making me worried..."

At that, he looks over at you, his eyes scrunching as he thinks your words over. "Worried about what?"

Not sure how to say it, you move yourself to lay against him. Your back is pressed to his chest now, and the feeling of his warm breath on your neck helps to soothe your thoughts just enough for you to find the words:

"...I don't want them to take you from me..."

Now, it's Wanderer's turn to be silent. Now, he realises the mistake he'd made in telling you to just ignore those insignificant people; by ignoring the problem himself, he'd made you focus on it more. Of course you'd be feeling worried about this, he'd shut it down the first time you'd tried bringing it up.

You didn't need to just forget about it. You needed to work through it so that you could forget about it.

After almost a minute of tense silence, you're surprised when you feel his lips press gently to the back of your neck, accompanied moments later by his arm curling around you, pulling you ever closer against him. His hand rests over the place where your heart rests, while the other intertwines your fingers with his against your stomach, as if caging in the butterflies that start to flutter.

"Allow me to try again..." He presses a kiss to your ear before speaking again, "you don't need to think about them, or what I think about them." The hand on your heart shifts to cup your chest, your breath wavering when his hand brushes over your hardening nipples. "Because I'll never want anyone but you."

Then, the night is almost a blur.

Wanderer sneakily pulls a bottle of rose scented lube from under the pillow, liberally gathering some as he starts to stretch you out on his fingers. The scent slowly fills the room, intoxicating you on the heady fragrance, allowing it to pull you deeper into the moment.

He steadily pushes his fingers against the sensitive bundle of nerves inside of you, never slowing until after you've cum around his lubed up digits. Your hand finds purchase with the one on your chest, tightening your grip around him as you come down from the residual high.

He's whispering short encouragements to you while you collect your breath, the moans you'd been letting out dying on your tongue. Wanderer slowly lifts your leg, allowing him to guide his hard cock to finally, finally press against your hole, not making you wait to feel him as the slowly pushes in.

You don't need to adjust much, the lube and his attentive fingers having done the work well enough that only the comforting sensation of being full registers in your core. He starts thrusting when you signal that you're ready, his pace is easy and the power behind his hips is controlled enough to pull a soft moan from you with each stroke. It's different from what you're used to, but it's good. So good. And what makes it better is the hushed and stuttered, "I love you," and, "You're the only one that matters," that gets breathed into your shoulder as you both approach your shared climax.

The next morning, you wake up to find your Wanderer exactly where he ended last night; right next to you in your bed. You close your eyes contentedly, knowing you'll never have to worry about him being taken from you.

He's your Wanderer.

Want to send a request/brainrot with me? Check my rules!

Thank you for reading! 🩷

#genshin impact #genshin impact smut #genshin smut #genshin #genshin imagines #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin wanderer #scaramouche smut #scaramouche x reader #wanderer smut #wanderer x reader #genshin scaramouche #wanderer x reader smut #scaramouche x reader smut #genshin angst #genshin impact angst #Writing for an ask~🩷

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kiragecko · 1 month

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cherrystainedknuckles

I guess the only problem with being asked to take a “marie kondo approach” is that in order to find any fanfic that appears to be based in actual canon timeline and plot points and characterization (which does exist, and I’m not sure why fanon fans seem insistent that it doesn’t), I literally have to search for hours. I’m not joking, I consistently make fic rec lists, and I have to search for hours and hours for actual canonical basis. same thing with character tags on tumblr.

I’m not saying fanon fans have to stop enjoying fanon or making up their own content. I’m just saying that when the tags used for both fanon tim drake and canon tim drake are the same tag it just becomes incredibly annoying sometimes, and I understand why people who like to engage with canon (me, often) become frustrated

I have definitely had periods where I got incredibly frustrated with fanon! Around 2019, I was wondering if I needed to leave the Batfandom, because it had been so long since I read a new fic where the characters felt 'right'.

But, if you're willing to, I'd like you to consider what you mean when you divide 'fanon' from 'canon'. Because I struggle to find a hard line between the two, for several reasons:

1. Fandom is transformative. Every fanfic is going to have some interpretation of the source material. The line between what is too much interpretation and what is acceptable is different for every person. For me, I find it can even vary based on writing style or other odd things - lighthearted fic can have more noncanonical stuff in it than heavier fic, and still seem true to canon.

2. 'Canon' is subjective. I do not consider the movies or video games to be 'canon', and it annoys me when things from those creep into the fic I'm reading. (I'm okay with SOME Battinson.) Some aspects of the cartoons are okay. I consider precrisis Jason Todd to be an alternate reality version, but Donna's precrisis origins are more canonical than the dumb retcons. Wayne Family Adventures isn't my main version of the characters, but I'm not bothered if some elements show up in my stories. I'm ignoring most of the nu52, but I like Duke and I'm still watching this new Lian to see what happens. I doubt your divisions are identical to mine.

(Also, some things that I think of as 'fanon' have shown up in nu52 canon! I do not accept them as any more canon because of this.)

3. Most 'fanon' is based on canon. Canon Tim has weird sleep habits. 90s Dick is really lighthearted and joking around some characters in ways similar to fanon. Dick can canonically not be trusted to take care of himself if his mental health gets low enough. Jason likes classical literature. Etc.

These are exaggerated and/or twisted in a lot of fic, but where is the line where they stop being canon? I wouldn't bat an eye at a lot of this stuff, if it didn't show up SO OFTEN.

4. Most 'fanon fans' do know some canon. What line are you going to set where it will be 'enough'. And are they allowed to mention parts of the canon they haven't read yet? Is anyone allowed to talk about Dick's early Robin days, or only the tiny amount of people who have read the golden age stuff? A lot of the 'mistakes' I see are obviously made by people who have read ABOUT canon, but don't know quite how it fits together.

5. 'Canon' is FULL of contradictions. Yes, there are canon events. Yes, there is characterization that is consistent across 3/4s of comics. But. I'm still working on my sidekick timeline. I've devoted days to figuring out ages and passage of time. I've spent over a decade trying to figure out Jason Todd's motivations, and why Tim treats him the way he does. I've read all the 90s and early 2000s CANONICAL character assassination of Jason.

I spent years thinking that Donna's death was almost as foundational as Jason's, only to later discover that I had just happened to read the specific comics that focused on the fallout, and she only stayed dead for a short time. That happens to fans ALL THE TIME! We read a character summarizing an event we haven't directly read, and just accept it as what happened. But characters have biases, and not all writers care about accuracy.

I've read some Tim Drakes that I consider to be almost entirely 'fanon'. And quite a few that were so scarily 'canon' that I got chills. (Not all of which were similar to each other.) But the vast, vast majority have fallen somewhere in the middle.

I definitely do not want the responsibility of deciding which ones count as 'canon'! And I think I would strongly dislike anyone who tried to decide for me.

Being frustrated is logical, and I empathize. But the original post was about the impossible expectations some fans feel. The expectation to read thousands of comics, synthesize all the contradictions, and come to conclusions that match the 'true fans'. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to be complaining about.

If that's what some fans are experiencing, of course they're not going to want to engage with canon! There's no way for them to succeed, so why should they even try?

When you join THAT conversation to discuss your frustration about fanon, it strengthens that perception. When you call them 'fanon fans' it emphasizes their belief that you don't think they belong. And rather than trying to change, it's more likely that they'll double down. Canon is full of gatekeepers, so they'll avoid it.

#gatekeeping #fandom policing #fanon #canon vs fanon #usually don't do stuff like this anymore #I'm old and tired #but sometimes the words want to come out

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onesidedradiostatic · 3 months

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Staticmoth shipper here, I think it would be funny as hell if StaticRadio WAS friends in the past and Alastor is living the classic Aroace experience of "my brother in christ. That one?? Really??" About Staticmoth and later the V trio in general

Whether Valentino is abusive to Vox (at this point in canon it's just pure disrespect of his property, his phone and time) or just How Much Vox Complains About Valentino and his Antics, it's still the most puzzling "Ok so if you bitch about him this much why are you still with him??? Gurl? Leave??" "But they make me so much money and power ): " "You lose an iPhone everyday. You stay up at night watching the man fuck around in public so you can swoop in for PR damage control if he fucks up"

What the fuck would Vox act like if he realizes Alastor would respect him MORE if he ditched the Vees and went solo. The inner turmoil would be crazy.

Ditch your partners and get two powerful enemies and get Some Alastor Attention. Crumbs. Or stay where you are and win the idgaf war for once in your fucking life

Impossible Challenge

LMAOOO okay well this depends on like quite a few factors I think

when did vox and val start having this on-and-off relationship they have (was it already ongoing when vox and alastor were friends?)

exactly why alastor declined being on a team with vox

how alastor feels about the other vees (I don't doubt there's stuff he disagrees with, but those disagreements would also apply to vox himself)

I mean. okay like. vox is absolutely insane about alastor but I don't think he would actually leave the vees for alastor's respect. honestly IF alastor rejected his offer because of the other vees (or I guess just val, not sure the exact timeline since velvette came later) and vox found out, I think that would just make him even more pissed and probably go "IDGAF IDGAF IDGAF" even more and insist they're better than him anyways #fuckyoualastor #idontcareidontcareidontcare. I don't think this means him winning the idgaf war though bro still wants attention from him even if it's just through their rivalry and not actual respect from him, he's still utterly OBSESSED with him

I do think their falling out/alastor's rejection was more than just "I don't like the people you associate with" though, although I think it could be part of it, but possibly has to do with vox himself and alastor's own agendas

#ask #osrs.txt #sorry this took a while #I feel like there are too many unknowns at play and stuff I don't really have hcs for yet #radiostatic #staticradio #<- one-sided #voxval #staticmoth

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lurkingshan · 3 months

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10 Things I Love About Cooking Crush Episode 11

It's not every day that a Thai bl delivers a classic Episode 11 DOOM episode that fills me with joy, so I feel compelled to celebrate everything this show did right in its penultimate chapter. A list of things I loved about this episode, in no particular order.

All the conflict was external. This is how you deliver drama and tension without messing up your core relationships--let them stand together against external forces! When Prem told Ten he wouldn't let him take the fall alone for punching Chang Ma because they're a team, I cheered.

Ten and Prem continue to be communication kings. The way these two talk to each other is just excellent. In any other drama, Ten finding that sticky note would have led to him hiding it, starting to doubt Prem's love, and crumbling in a crucial moment. Not in this show! Ten asked Prem directly what it was about, named that it hurt his feelings, but then listened to the explanation and forgave him. We love to see it.

Struggles aside, all the pairs are so happy. I love how consistently we saw joy from Ten, Prem, Fire, and Dynamite this episode. The friends all cheering for Ten and Prem getting together was fucking adorable, and Fy and My look so content. I’ve never seen Prem smile as big or as often as he did this week. The couples have fun together and they’re all good for each other.

The villains in this episode were calibrated just right. The school bullies and Chang Ma were just on the right side of the line in terms of being assholes but not so harsh or irredeemable that it feels out of sync with this show's light tone. Chang Ma did the right thing in the end by taking responsibility for his own inappropriate behavior and ensuring the Three Must-Eat-Ers could stay in the competition. The bullies will surely get their final comeuppance next week.

The conflict with Ten's dad was appropriately nuanced. I am no fan of that man, but he was making some valid points! He wasn't entirely wrong in what he said to Ten about resorting to violence, though like most parents he is being a hypocrite with selective memory (no sir, I have not forgotten you using physical violence against your own son). Their relationship is so tense, and he continues to antagonize Ten about Prem, so it's no wonder Ten could not receive it calmly. I appreciate that even though Ten didn't listen to him in the moment, he still came to the right conclusions about how to address his mistake.

Fire loved up on Dynamite on national television. Y'all, when I tell you I almost cried to see that expression of queer love and joy from a boy who has previously been so afraid, to a boy who has previously been so unloved. Their relationship is setting them both free, and I am looking forward to Fire finally looking his mother in the face next week and telling her who he is.

Smart use of social media in the cooking show subplot. I like it when dramas use netizens well to create conflict, and I thought the way the fans of the cooking competition reacted to all the drama rang true. I'm glad the trio is going into the final with some fan goodwill on their side.

Prem has really grown into his vulnerability. I love the way Prem was able to express his feelings to Ten multiple times in this episode, having honest talks, asking for support, and sharing his fears. And of course Ten was there to catch him every time he took the leap.

The friendships continue to matter. I love the way Ten and Prem's friends are so involved in every important plot of this show. That scene of them all discussing the cooking show drama together and deciding what they wanted to do was tops. This is a big queer friend group who takes care of each other and I love them, your honor.

Ten and Prem made out in the kitchen!! Listen, I am a mere mortal and I like it when couples in romances are actually into each other. I never would have guessed that this would be the show to deliver more kisses than all of Off/Gun's previous shows combined, but I am living for it.

#cooking crush #thai bl #10 things #shan shouts into the void

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intuitivesef · 11 months

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A message from your future lover

Pick a card reading

Don't second guess yourself when choosing a card. Trust your intuition.

Take what resonates, leave what doesn't

Masterlist

Moodboard. Dividers.

Pile 1:

Hello Pumpkin! 🎃,

Today I finally got into the university I wanted. Right now I am working on finishing my masters, I’ve been focusing on engineering. I really wanna get my PhD in engineering so I can have a better career in the near future and of course to spoil you when we meet. I hope you don’t mind cookies, I love baking and I do it as a hobby. When I bake I feel as the world is slowly sinking away and my fingers are creating a masterpiece, oh! That reminds me, I am also an artist so I hope you’re aware that you will become my muse as well. It’s a big thing for me because I don’t actually do things like this but lately every time I look at you…well, I just want to draw you into a renaissance painting or something of Mozart. Yes yes I know he’s a musician but I’m talking about the beauty of his classical music and that’s what I see with you. Anyways, I have a lot to say but I’ll keep them for the future and for me to speak about it to you that is if you don’t mind. Anyways, take care my lovely dove. I’ll see you then. ❤️

Your one and only future prince/princess

ʚɞ

If you want to give tips, click this link. Thank you in advanced. -sef.

Pile 2:

Heyyyy prince/princess,

Hiiii, okay so guess what?!!! I finally and I mean finally graduated from college!!! Whooo!!! 🥳🎉🎊🎁🎈🍾. I’m so happy right now because now I finally get the opportunity to have my dream career EEEEKK. Anyways, well actually not anyways, I mean I’m always so excited with everything actually I’m sorry for rambling on I can’t even think properly where were we? OH right!!

Okay, I’m sorry—I just wanted to say that I love you very much and I’m sorry this is a short message and I’m sorry that I’m so hyperactive but that’s because I suffer with ADHD/ADD. You gotta forgive me baby, I’m sorry. Oh crap, shit shit, I’m sorry I’m rambling on again. UGH. Sigh, I’m really sorry.

Okay I finally calmed myself down. I was getting very anxious about this but anyways, I just wanted to let you know if your feel down in any shape or form to always know that I am here for you even though we don’t know each other yet. I just wanted to let you know that your loved because I’m madly in love with you—hey did you know that? I’m literally and I mean literally in love with you. Actually it’s kind of crazy. I just can’t get enough of you. OH CRAP I FORGOT TO FINISH MY MESSAGE—right! And if you feel alone know that I’m by your side because we both can feel the connection and I feel it very strongly so you need to stop doubting your intuition because its pushing me away and I don’t want that to happen because i really do love you and I need you because i just-yeah I just really love you. Kind of crazy about you but not obsessive like those weirdos. I mean seriously those weirdos are creepy you know? How can you be so possessive and controlling over someone like that? Geez Louise anyways uh I rambled on once again. Man I’m so sorry. I just want to keep going but i shouldn’t. Till we meet again. 🤪Angel, stars, galaxy. That’s your nickname by the way and you will understand in the near future.

Cya, don’t wanna be ya, I’m sorry I’m joking. Peace.

ʚɞ

If you want to give tips, click this link. Thank you in advanced. -sef.

Pile 3:

Hey, hi, hello, what’s up baby girl/baby boy, captain,

So today I got a new sick apartment, I mean it’s all that jazz you know? The cool comfortable movie theater chairs with a nice tv. My bedroom comfortable as hell. The kitchen lookin’ fancy and shit. The whole shabang. Anyways, enough to talkin’ about my apartment, I was kind of curious about where you would be staying when you get here you know? I was thinking you could just sleep on my chest or lap wink wink. Both meanings if you catch my drift. And no I’m not sorry for bringing it up. But yeah, I’m an affectionate person with a poker face you know it’s kind of hard to find girls/guys who like me n shit. People think I’m fucking weird and crap but I swear baby girl/baby boy I’m not. Promise it. I promise and hope to die if I’m lyin’. Now now that’s a big step you know what I mean? Like I’m putting my life on the line for this promise n shit and I’ll do it again just for you baby. Just for you, my devilish and handsome prince/ beautiful princess.

ciao (goodbye), bunny

ʚɞ

If you want to give tips, click this link. Thank you in advanced. -sef.

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goatcheesecak3 · 6 months

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Halloween headcanons 🎃🦇🕸🕷

Going thru a few of devon's characters and guessing what they'd be getting up to on Halloween

#1 Adam

He's most likely taking you to some frat party, nothing too special, but he does dress up - well kinda. He puts a little fake blood around his mouth, says he's a vampire and calls it a day. Halloween is more about the parties than the spooks for him.

#2 Freddy Klein

Halloween is a business opportunity for him, knowing that parents are gonna be taking their kids trick or treating, he organises a few spooky games and refreshment to try and get their attention to the dealership. You help the kids play games like bobbing for apples, while Freddy tries to sell cars to their parents. Once the night is over, the two of you celebrate some successful sales wrapped up on the sofa with a couple of beers.

#3 Casper Galloway

Casper HATES Halloween, he's a big scaredy cat. Even the doorbell ringing from trick or treaters makes him jump out of his skin. He's still pretty freaked out from the whole zemon thing, so you go out of your way to distract him on Halloween. You order a pizza and snuggle up in bed to watch anything other than a horror film - he usually picks a rom com because let's face it, this man is a huuuuge softie.

#4 Mike (rip picture quality)

You and Mike go to great lengths to make Halloween fun for Angel. You carve pumpkins together, make her a little boo basket and take her trick or treating. You let her stay up an hour past her bed time on Halloween, so she can watch a spooky film for kids, like monster House. Once she's been put to bed, you and Mike split a bottle of wine while watching a classic horror film and fall asleep on the sofa together.

#5 Dean Taylor

According to Dean, Halloween is just an excuse to go out and raise hell without getting in trouble. He's been known to graffiti people's houses, set people's bins on fire and even mug drunk party goers. He's kinda an ass.

Where are you while all this is going on? You're at home none the wiser, waiting for him to get back so you can watch a movie together. You're under the impression that he's just out getting some snacks.. but now he's been gone an hour and you're pretty sure the store is closed by now.. oh, never mind, he just got back. He always seems to show up juuuust when you start to worry.

#Rodrick Heffley (yeah i made you wait until the very end, I know that's who you came here for)

He's throwing a rager, and you better believe he's gone all out with his costume. He's painted his face to look like a skeleton and ordered a cheap robe off amazon so he can go as the grim reaper. He usually gets pretty drunk at parties, but on Halloween, every time without a doubt, he gets absolutely wasted. It ends up being your job to carry him up to bed and try to wipe his face paint off him so he doesn't ruin his bedsheets. He ends up getting very clingy and insists that you stay and cuddle with him instead of going back to the party - which you have no problem with at all.

A/n happy Halloween everyone! Hope you enjoyed these hcs, and let me know if you think I should do more "How different characters would act in a scenario" type headcanons- because this was a lot of fun to write!

As always, replies and reblogs are greatly appreciated, they help me figure out what sort of stuff people wanna see more of :^)

Requests are still open! Check my pinned post for details

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whateversawesome · 1 year

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now I’m curious about your predictions for the spy x family ending. how do you see it going down? 👀

Interesting question 🤔

It's still early in the manga, but l do have my little predictions. Here's my top 10:

1.Twilight and Yor will fall in love. That's an easy one because they have feelings for each other already 😌

2. We'll know about Anya's past almost at the end and it'll be devastating. We'll probably be crying for weeks!

3. Twilight's dad is alive. I believe he is a spy too and my writer instinct is yelling at me he's this guy:

4. At some point Yuri is going to choose between the SSS and his family (the Forgers). He'll choose his family, but at a great personal cost.

5. Neither WISE, nor the Garden and even less the SSS are the good guys. In fact, l suspect they are all bad, but the ultimate bad guy will be the SSS.

6. Not going to say a lot about this one, because it's still not clear to me yet, but since this is a spy story, there has to be a big twist related to a double crossing or betrayal. I have my suspicions, but I won't say much until I know more 😉

7. Not everyone will get a happy ending and I'm afraid some people might die 😔 Probably one of these will be devastating for the fandom. Who? Not sure yet, but right now my guess is that it could be this person (and it will probably be saving Anya):

8. Will there be a classic scenario (many times used in fanfiction) of a physical confrontation between Twilight and Thorn Princess? Yes, I think so, it'll mirror the fight they had on episode 5 of the anime, only this time it will be for real. BUT they won't hurt each other, for obvious reasons 💕

9. At some point, we'll be in the brink of war. It'll be very close, but the Forgers and specifically Anya will stop it.

10. Yes, there will be a happy ending for the Forger family and yes, they will stay together! There will be moments when we're all doubt it and everything seems lost, but I want to believe Endo planned this from the beginning. Those three deserve to be happy 😊

What do you think?

Thank you for the ask. I had a lot of fun answering this question 😃

#spy x family #Spy x family theories #twiyor #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #agent twilight #loidyor #ask box #thanks anon!

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giddlygoat · 8 months

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whatever. i keep thinking about dt17 LP and drake.

launchpad has been all over the world and made tons of friends and connections, but can’t seem to connect with anyone on a more meaningful level. i think it’s safe to say watching darkwing duck was his only constant in the time he spent traveling and he looked up to the character as a guiding light amongst all the uncertainty. iirc he was kicked out at a young age by his parents [in the classic shows at least] and honestly at this point that is cemented as part of his character for me. the majority of my LP hcs are total speculation bc we don’t have much to go off of but. i think the people who mattered to him most probably told him to get his head out of the clouds or get out of the house and the next thing he knows he’s up in them for good. isolation is launchpad’s nightmare.

drake’s autistic ass got bullied big time as a kid and darkwing imprinted on him heavily because he identified with the character and latched onto the idea that he would stand up against injustice and prevail because that’s the only option he has. he couldn’t even consider staying down after being beaten so many times, it just doesn’t register as a possibility for him. he would just get back up. he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who had much support at all growing up, but he still chooses kindness. you can’t separate drake from his natural inclination towards compassion. and yet ….. ! he absolutely FEEDS off attention. he’s starving for it. he just needs someone to notice him and look at him and listen to him or he will wither. he needs love and validation and respect or he becomes a shell. been there, buddy

do you think when he got the role as DW in the movie he even thought of it as a job at all. i think drake didn’t have to act. i think drake knows the character so well and embodies all he stands for to such an extreme that playing darkwing was like breathing. it’s not hard for me to imagine that drake had moments where the line between him and the character faded, and he would stand at the top of some high tower in the lonely shoes of his hero and look down at all the broken teeth and singed feathers waiting for him and it would not be this profound or unfamiliar thing. i think drake recognizes himself better in the mask.

or you know, maybe he’s a totally normal well adjusted person with no self image issues whatsoever, but somehow i doubt it.

launchpad, meanwhile. hewboy. what if your worth is inseparable from the services you provide for others? what if you give everything you have every chance you get and never ask for anything back? what if the pain and the loneliness that follows the headfirst run into the emotional divide feels more like home than any one place ever did. what if every night you watched a cartoon about a flawed and flamboyant hero who protects a whole city and never takes his mask off for anyone - except maybe a very close friend - because this silly and attractive man can provide the ultimate service on an extreme scale and still be deeply flawed and still be loved.

i think LP naturally needs to follow someone. he’s not a leader, and he doesn’t want to be one. he takes charge when he’s needed, he’s dependable and kind, he cares so much it hurts. but i think following a lead makes him feel secure. he needs to see everyone else rise into their best selves and become self sufficient and content in their lives, but he doesn’t know how to do any of that without someone to build up in turn. launchpad needs validation, especially from the ones he admires, but he’s so programmed to give that he doesn’t know how to ask for anything. i’m guessing half the time he doesn’t even know that he needs help.

launchpad has put himself apart from everyone else, not on a pedestal, but down in the well that never runs dry. he’s forgotten that being happy to help isn’t the same as never needing it.

when him and drake met i think something amazing happened. i think there were a lot of emotions but the strongest had to be relief. drake let launchpad praise and encourage him and launchpad had someone to support and take care of, with the same hyperfixation, no less. two people who had made themselves unreachable suddenly couldn’t separate from each other, and they both know what it’s like to need to look out for everyone else. i think letting their guard down with each other came naturally and vulnerability put itself on the table. they’re both experiencing an easy and strong connection for the first time and it’s beautiful!

i hope these characterizations aren’t too far off, but i wouldn’t be surprised if it seems askew. it’s very difficult for me to keep my thoughts in order but i hope it’s coherent enough. this post is long enough already so i’m going to end it before i talk myself out of sharing it lawl

#darkwing duck #ducktales #dt17 #launchpad mcquack #drake mallard #drakepad #i write everything with drakepad in mind so i think it counts even though i didn’t elaborate much on their relationship here #man. a little voice in my heads says this is ridiculous and delusional chicken scratch. that’s unfortunate #long post

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absolutebl · 1 year

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This Week in BL

April 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 9 of 10 - My biggest concern is that Uea left his sister in that house with a known abuser. Meanwhile, the office teasing was cute. I’m thinking that the final two episodes were mostly added to deal with the backstory resolution of the family drama, and to add a sappy proposal thing. I’m not necessarily mad about it, but I do think there’s probably would’ve been a better tighter story at 8 episodes.

Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 4 of 5 - There is nothing to this show but softness. Also we visited my old exclamation to the BL gods: please don’t make them act crying. It’s so difficult to watch. That said I still love this stupid show.

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) 6 of 12 eps - Wow. Sides kissing. Brave high school kid! Also mains. Wait. What is happening?

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - Having a rich boyfriend sure is clutch. Boss is smart to ingratiate himself with his boyfriend’s gaming team. Also there is no doubt that they are complete and total boyfriends, the most boyfriendly boyfriends ever.

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga & iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - I’m pretty much fast forwarding anything to do with the main couple I just find them so boring. Although my beloved side dishes have disappeared. So I guess I am watching it for the faen fatal?

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) ep 9 of 10 - Whatever. Good sex scene tho. Bummer about the, ya know, story.

The Promise (Thai Weds YT) ep 6 of 10 - ON HIATUS UNTIL APRIL 19.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - It’s just the best. It’s so sweet. Yutaka’s little smile because the kid likes him and wants to cook with him is probably the warmest most endearing thing ever to happen in JBL.

Unintentional Love Story (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 9-10 fin - sorry I won’t have a chance to watch this until early next week but I promise to post about it!

The Eighth Sense (Korea Weds Viki) eps 5-6 of 10 - Hyung mistakes made by constantly acting EXACTLY like bf in front of their friends is very cute. I don’t have much to say a this time. Narrative and characterization is unfolding as expected, staying tense as we get little nuggets of backstory. Lines will be crossed, one way or another. The trot part was VERY funny. Also we got us a on screen rep of a fairygodBLer. These two kiss well but all I can see when they do is how much pain is incoming. I don’t know what was up with the ending but we do have 4 more to go, so I don’t think we are actually in an H3:MODC situation.

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) - It’s a bit frenetic, camp, crazy, and outrageous, but I’m not mad about any of that because it’s classic Pinoy BL. So I think I’ll keep watching. This is the same characters as My Day. Which means they did break up the main couple from that series. So if that’s going to traumatize you, be aware. There are a lot of storylines going on. And I’m just not sure BL from the Philippines can handle this much at once, they may have bitten of more BL than they can chew.

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) - Japan is so weird. I mean that in a good way (but also sometimes in a bad way). Also sometimes just weird. Also embarrassing and cringe. I’m going to watch it but I don’t like it very much.

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi and I can watch him in Tin Tem Jai) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was cute, classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, it totally holds together as it’s own little short story too.

Make a Wish (Thai Weds ?) from WaGa Creative staring Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). Same as above.

In Case You Missed it

Cafe In Love 10 eps finished its run.

Destiny Seeker 10 eps also finished its run.

A First Love Story is on Gaga now. It’s my favorite BL short ever made, check it out. It’s wonderful.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:

04.18 Step By Step (Thai WeTV & Gaga) - 10 eps office age gap, I am all in!

04.19 The Promise is back!

Finishing: Bed Friend, Chains, Future

I might start watching Destiny Seeker or Cafe in Love, or both.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

En of Love franchise leaning into its brand (Future the series)

I love their friendship and their bromances and this was an adorable moment ... but now I want these two to lead out a BL together.

I love an “accidental” outing (both Boss & Babe).

Calling out tropes and characterization, as ya do.

Passing along the familial obligation of care.

(all Bed Friend)

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Block B’s Very Good, I TOLD you I’ve been dipping into the well a lot recently. I really miss Kpop’s 2nd gen insanity phase.

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alexmeeksmartin · 1 year

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red right hand

pairing: (kinda) ghostface ethan landry x gn reader, slight chad meeks-martin x gn reader

synopsis: the one where an oblivious y/n receives a call from ghostface. of course, chaos, fighting, and bloodshed ensues.

a/n: this one is obviously very inspired by casey becker, cici cooper, and tara carpenter’s various phone call sequences with ghostface throughout the franchise. does involve a good bit of violence and also the reader kinda being an idiot !

wc: 2.2k

it’s late and you’re in your new york city apartment, getting ready for a chill night in while your roommate, anika, is at her girlfriend, mindy’s apartment for date night. you had tried to make plans with your friend, ethan, but to nobody’s surprise he was spending the night studying. chad, like ethan, was also busy but instead with football practice, but he said he’d call you later. tara and sam were making dinner just the two of them. so, there you were, left all on your own, and bored out of your mind.

you’re about to settle onto the sofa for the night, thinking you could probably fit in a movie before chad calls, when the landline rings in the kitchen. you contemplate answering it, finding it odd that someone would be calling at this hour, but curiosity bests your doubts and you pick it up anyway.

“hello, y/n speaking.” you answer with a neutral tone.

“hello.” a raspy voice whispers back from the other end of the line. sounds kinda sexy, you think to yourself.

“who is this?” you ask.

“who’s this?” the voice repeats back to you.

“you called me.” you say with a slight laugh.

“i suppose so. what are you doing currently?” the voice questions, still at a whisper. you debate on whether or not to answer, but think to yourself that you’ve got nothing else to entertain you. could it hurt? no.

“i was just about to watch a movie. you?”

“me too. i was about to watch a scary movie. do you like scary movies?” the voice asks.

“yes, i do! in fact, i was about to do the same. it’s like we’re all synced up.” you laugh.

“what’s your favourite scary movie?”

“well, certainly not stab. the first few were good, but the series went to shit after stab 4. i quite like the halloween franchise. big fan of the strangers as well. how about you, mystery man?” you answer, an inquisitive tone in your voice.

“more of a friday the 13th man, myself. although, i do quite enjoy the stab movies. i guess they hit close to home.” he responds.

“oh, are you from woodsboro? that’s cool, i’ve got a couple of friends from there.”

“not woodsboro, but near enough. what scary movie are you about to watch?”

“i was thinking a classic. maybe texas chainsaw massacre or the original halloween. something along those lines.” you explain.

“laurie strode always made a great final girl, it’s a shame her friends had to die first.” something was starting to feel off, but you couldn’t put your finger on it just yet. so, like any stupid person would, you stayed on the phone. “what about you? do you think you can make it to the finale, or are you a victim of the villain? a traumatised hero or a body in the third act bloodbath?”

“i think i’m survivor material. i’ve got enough brains on me, i feel. either that or i’d be the iconic killer.” you laugh.

“hmm, interesting. i pinned you more as the cici cooper type.”

“cici cooper?”

“stab 2. she answers the phone while home alone, only to become a victim of ghostface.”

you let out a light laugh, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.

“only joking, of course. i think you’ve got the guts and bravado to be a leading character, a nancy thompson, sally hardesty. maybe even a sidney prescott.”

“aw, are you flirting with me, mystery man?” you tease.

“maybe, maybe not. would you like it if i was flirting with you?”

“i mean, i don’t think i’d mind. if your looks match up with the appeal of your voice then i’d be more than interested.” you say boldly, the confidence of not being face-to-face egging you on.

the voice chuckles. “so, you’re a fan of my voice?”

“yeah. got a sexy aura to it, totally my thing.” you continue, playing with a knife from your block while standing in the kitchen.

“do you happen to be in a relationship?”

you debate how to respond. you weren’t, but you’d also be lying if you didn’t acknowledge that you and chad had some sort of thing going. but you guys weren’t officially together, and probably wouldn’t ever be. again, could it really hurt?

“nope. never too late to change that, though.”

“sounds interesting. maybe we should plan a date.” the voice replies.

“ooh, that’d be fun. i always wanted to do blind dating.” you say, a smirk crawling across your face.

“what about tonight?”

“bit late, is it not? it’s like, 9:30.”

“well, you look stunning tonight, though i’d maybe have worn some more red. thought i might as well ask.”

“oh, thank you-“ you cut yourself off, having processed what was just said to you. “wait, how do you know what i’m wearing?”

“what was your name again?” the voice asks you.

“why?” you ask, fear starting to creep into your voice.

“i wanna know who’s apartment i’m in.”

you feel your skin crawl and a cold shiver shoot up your spine as soon as those words enter your ear.

“that’s not fucking funny. i’m hanging up now-“ you say, your voice trembling with fright at this stage.

“hang up and i’ll carve you like a fucking pumpkin!” the voice says, still in a whisper-like yell.

“good one, with halloween coming up and all. screw you.” you say, feigning confidence.

“nice comeback, y/n. maybe i’ll spare you and wait for anika to come home, and gut her in the middle of your living room. maybe i’ll find chad on his way home from practice and make a spectacle of him on the football field.” you pull out your phone and start messaging your group chat with tara, chad, ethan, mindy, and anika, warning them that someone is making threats. “maybe i’ll make a surprise appearance for tara and sam. or maybe i’ll crash ethan’s night in.”

“if you hurt them i’ll-“

“you’ll what, y/n? hurt me? punish me? kill me? you won’t do any of that, because you’re in my scary movie now, y/n.”

“you’re a fucking psycho. i don’t know if this is some sick fucking joke of yours, but either way you are disgusting.”

“the only disgusting thing tonight will be when anika returns home to find your intestines spilled across the floor and your blood splattered on the walls, y/n.”

“fuck you!” you yell through the phone at this lunatic.

“no, fuck you, y/n! it’s people like you who deserve to die. ready to whore yourself out to some stranger on a whim all because you were bored on a night in.”

“you piece of shit. go fuck yourself.” you say before finally hanging up. that was it, you were leaving. whether it was some stupid fucker joking around or an actual murderer, you weren’t going to stick around and find out. you stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife before making your way to the front door.

as soon as you turn the corner to the hallway, you see a shadowy figure standing there. you let out a gasp, notifying the figure of your presence. he turns around, showing you his ghostface mask, and you let out a scream. he tilts his head at you.

you’re frozen with fear until your instincts kick in. you hold up your knife, “stay the fuck back!”

“come on, y/n. i thought we were going on a date.” ghostface says, beginning to eerily step towards you.

“i’m serious! i will use this fucking knife!” you yell at the masked intruder.

“why don’t you put the knife down and come give me a kiss.”

he charges at you and before you can use your knife, he grabs your wrist and stabs you in the shoulder. you let out a blood-curdling screech before using your other arm to punch him across the face.

you start to run, but ghostface isn’t far behind at all. he stalks you, knife in hand. he lunges at you, but you duck out of the way and go behind the dinner table. you were truly fucked now, stuck between the table and the wall.

“i knew you would look good with a little more red.” ghostface says as you look on, petrified.

“fuck you.” you respond.

you make a run for the side of the table, but ghostface makes it before you do and slashes you across your arm. you retreat back behind the table, but now use all of your remaining strength to shove the table into ghostface, knocking him to the floor. you take your chance and sprint to the bathroom, locking yourself in.

you lean against the door, sliding down it until you reach the floor, letting out sobs of agony and fear. you were losing blood. a lot of it. what once was a white t-shirt was now almost all stained is a deep red, and your arm was covered in streaks of blood too. how long had he been in your apartment? had he been watching you all night? you frantically send messages to your friends, knowing that mindy’s place and where chad was doing practice are only five minutes away from you and anika’s place. just as your plead for help is delivered to your friends, your phone rings.

unknown number.

you pick up.

“leave me alone!” you desperately scream into your phone. you were an innocent. you’re not from woodsboro, you just happen to be friends with some people who are.

“not just yet, y/n. our date night isn’t quite finished.” ghostface replies.

“why are you doing this?!”

“your woodsboro friends deserve punishment.”

“i didn’t do anything! leave me out of whatever sick vendetta you have, you motherfucker!”

that’s when your neighbour knocked on your door.

“hey, i heard screaming, everything alright in there?” you hear his voice, muffled through the walls, shouting out for you.

“maybe i’ll send my message through him instead.” ghostface threatens.

“no, no, don’t hurt him! you don’t need to hurt him!” you plead with the killer, not wanting any more blood to be spilled.

“too late. i’ve already made my mind up.”

you quickly unlock the bathroom door and sprint out, reaching the hallway to your front door. ghostface opens it and drags your neighbour inside, slamming the door behind him.

ghostface covers your neighbour’s mouth before slitting his throat and throwing him the floor.

you let out a mixture of a sob and a scream before ghostface runs at you, tackling you into the armchair behind you and sending you both to the hardwood floor.

you get to your feet as quick as possible, but so does ghostface. he grabs you and then chucks you onto your glass coffee table, making you crash into it. you lay in the shattered and jagged glass around you as ghostface looms over you. ghostface stabs you in your calf, but your instinct comes in as you utilise your other leg to kick his arm away and then send another boot to his stomach.

you haphazardly pull yourself to your feet and pick up a vase, chucking it at ghostface before standing in front of your dining table. the vase seems to barely do anything, and ghostface just sprints up to your couch and uses it as a launch point to jump on you.

however, at the last possible moment, you throw yourself to the ground, allowing ghostface to smash through the table. ghostface lie: there lifeless down the middle of the split wooden table, and you know the best thing to do now is run.

the adrenaline is starting to wear off as you once more drag yourself to your feet, in constant agony from the pain induced by the stab wounds in your leg, shoulder, arm, and all the shards of glass stuck in your back. you stumble down the hallway, but trip over your neighbours body. again, you struggle to get back up. but you do so, feeling your calf sear with pain, pushing through it and getting to the door. you unlock it, and take a step outside, seeing anika, mindy, and chad turning at the end of your hall, relief filling you. your nightmare was over.

but suddenly you’re dragged back into the apartment.

the door is locked again.

and you’re being pinned against the wall.

you shriek as the knife enters your stomach, trying to shove ghostface off, but he slams you against the wall again and then chucks you to the floor. you hear your friends slamming against your door, and frantic shouting between them about anika finding her keys.

all this while ghostface gets on top of you, and begins stabbing again. brutal stabs to your midsection, the only noise your mind can focus on being the knife entering and exiting you and the squelch of blood. you let out ferocious and terrifying screeches, but to no avail.

then it all stops. you can’t feel anymore of the pain as ghostface stands and wipes the blood from his knife, giving himself a red right hand before he makes a beeline for the window, heading out the fire escape.

the door crashes down, and your friends rush straight to you. you can see their worried facial expressions and hear their rushed words, but none of it is registering.

chad begins to carry you out as you feel the blood starting to reach your mouth, coughing it up. you think anika is on the phone to the 911, but you’re not sure. she’s in tears, screaming about needing help while mindy runs ahead. the last thing you see before it all goes black is chad’s face, hearing him trail off with reassurance, “it’s all gonna be fine, we’re gonna get you help. you’re fine, we’re fine…”

and then it’s over.

a/n: i really enjoyed writing this and i hope you enjoyed reading it too! thinking of maybe making a part two to this where the reader survives, but i also think it does well as a stand-alone where the reader dies. the violence was so much fun to write, i can’t wait to write ghostface again !

#scream x reader #ethan landry #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #anika kayoko #mindy meeks martin #chad meeks martin #ghostface #scream #scream vi #scream 6 #Spotify

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punisheddonjuan · 29 days

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Over the last week I've been back in my hometown of Hamilton staying at my parents' house and sleeping in my old bedroom. I had that optometrist appointment earlier in the week, it's Easter on Sunday, and I need to order my prescription at the pharmacy here on Monday anyway. So, an extended visit was an obvious choice. It's been nice. This afternoon I did a little dig through my closet after my mom mentioned that she would like to clear out anything in there which I wasn't keen on keeping. So I took a look, and while there was definitely stuff in there I am fine getting rid of, and in many cases can't remember why I hung onto it for as long as I did, there was also a bunch of neat old stuff in there.

Everything in that closet is thrown into a few banker's boxes, I wasn't quite sure what was in each of them. The first box I dove into turned out to contain all of my university coursework, all five years of it, and much of it disorganized and in disarray. I must have just thrown things in there, because there were loose sheets of translation work interleaved out of order, folders stuffed to breaking with photocopied journal articles and book chapters from different courses, syllabi and unrelated essays in messy piles, and various notebooks, loose notes and revisions. Organizing it all is not a task I'm up doing any time soon, and part of me doubts that I'll ever get it done, it's hardly important anymore. Surveying it all made me think on what a shame it is that I never have any occasion or reason to write things out by hand. I miss using my fountain pens, and my cursive was really quite nice.

I also found my official transcript, of which I have seven copies for reasons that have been lost to time. Presumably I ordered more copies because of grad school applications, but I can't remember.

I guess I did pretty well. And even though grades don't matter at all after you graduate, I did have to do a double take and think back for a minute trying to remember how the hell I managed to bomb Beginner's Ancient Greek II winding up with a C after getting an A in Beginner's Ancient Greek I (and then back to getting As after that). The memory did eventually resurface; I had deferred the exam on account of illness, but when it came time to write the exam in the summer, I wound up running a fever anyway, and on top of that, I was writing it a little over a week after my girlfriend had broken up with me. To be entirely honest, that summer and back half of the year is something of a blur. Welp, oh well.

Oh and hey, in one of those messy piles I found the paper for which I won a departmental essay contest and then third place in the national CAC undergraduate essay writing contest.

The professor's comments were far too kind. It's an okay paper for an undergraduate, I'd change a lot of things looking back at it now. I wonder what Dr. Corner is up to these days and if he finally finished his book. We had lunch together when I first moved to Toronto but that was years ago now. He was the professor I was closest to, a real mentor.

Buried behind the coursework box was another banker's box containing something entirely unrelated but very cool, these:

It's my old iPods! The 30GB iPod Video is completely dead, but the 160GB iPod Classic booted after I found a cable and gave it a quick charge. The headphone jack is busted, if I recall correctly, I had already paid to get it fixed once, and then it died a few months later. By that point I was fed up with having it fixed, and replaced it with an iBasso DX80. The electronics in it are still functioning fine; I might give a go at modding it into something I could put to use. Modding iPod classics is a whole scene these days and you can buy custom DIY replacement parts like microSD card readers to replace the harddrive, and there's custom firmware that allows the iPod to support higher capacity storage. Modding it shouldn't be too difficult and wouldn't even require much soldering. I'd replace the headphone jack, pull the 160GB HDD and replace it with a dual or quad microSD card reader and cram as many 512GB/1TB microSD cards it can take, and replace the battery with a higher capacity one. I stream my music collection from my media server to my phone via PlexAmp these days, but it would be cool to have an offline option, or something I can just leave permanently plugged into the Aux port of my stereo. My dad says he's got a 120GB model that half works floating around too, maybe I'll mod both of them.

There were a few other neat things in that second box like playbills from when I used to attend the opera. Which is yet another thing I used to be able to do and now miss terribly. That double feature of Bluebeard and Erwartung was phenomenal.

There was also a copy from one of the godawful and glossy annual "All About Sex" supplements the University newspaper published. I won't share pictures of that because there are a lot of half-naked semi acquaintances in there, but be assured, it's godawful.

In a third box I found approximately half of my physical PC game collection:

Check out that copy of X-Wing on 3.5" floppies and the sticker advising Windows and Pentium users that this is a DOS game. That's the very first PC game I ever got as a kid, received it as a present for Christmas '95. What you see there is less than half of what I know for a fact that I own on CD-ROM. Just off the top of my head I know I have physical copies of Half-Life, Red Alert 2, Tiberian Sun, Dune 2000, Emperor: Battle for Dune, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Sid Meier's Civilization, Total Annihilation, Unreal Tournament, Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, Mechwarrior 4, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Doom 3, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Thief 2: the Metal Age, Deus Ex and most of those games' attendant expansion packs. I didn't find any of them while clearing out the closet, which means that they're almost definitely up in the attic above the garage, along with the sci-fi and fantasy novels I had from adolescence which I didn't take with me when I moved. Getting up into that attic is a pain in the ass though, and it's cramped and stuffy once you're up there. Maybe next time I visit my parents I can put aside a day to go up there and locate everything. I'd really have to be feeling up to it though. I'm pretty sure my hardback copy of Good Omens is up there, as is my copy of Neuromancer, and the Black Company omnibuses. None of which I've read in years.

The only other things of note were a bunch of pewter figurines of wizards I had for unknown reasons and a few nice and largely unused (with the exception of a few pages that I must have torn out years ago) notebooks that I can put to good use.

Actually, I just figured out the reason I owned these and hung onto them. It's because they're rad as hell. Wizards rule.

#blog #personal history

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doriandrifting · 1 year

Text

Mothergate: Alice Creel is B*lly Hargrove’s Mother

Forewarning that I hate Billy, but Murray Bauman said to follow the rabbit hole no matter where it leads, and who am I to doubt him? 🕳🐇

Let’s just get the big thing out of the way first:

Alice Creel died! …Right?

But that leaves a lot unexplained, including when Nancy asks Victor, “Who played the music?” Victor never gives us a straight answer. Which I think gives us a lot of room to speculate that Alice was fighting Henry and changing the music. Let’s also note that Alice’s phrase was, “It’s like a dream,” and the song that saves Victor is “Dream a Little Dream.” This seems like a subtle clue from the writers.

So what happened?

I think that Alice “betrayed” Henry, like El, and refused to join him in his quest for power which included killing their parents. This is the memory that makes him “angry and a little sad.” He uses it to harness his power. If this is the case, Alice’s eyes were bleeding, not because she was dead, but because she exhausted herself fighting Henry. We also see El’s eyes in the same state when she fights Henry. To me, it seems she somehow managed to fake her death:

There’s also some strange inconsistencies reported about her death:

There’s no way Alice was meant to be older than our main characters, and at least 3 years older than Henry. They show her running around on a playground, and overall acting and dressing like a little kid. And not in a struggling to mature way—just genuinely a child. What that means about her fake death, I’m not exactly sure, but something’s definitely off. (Sidenote, but it’s also weird that there’s issues with both Will and Alice’s 15th birthday, right?)

Anyway, let’s take a look at the description of Billy’s Mother:

In terms of the other main theory that Karen is Henry’s sister, Billy’s mother’s physical description more closely resembles Alice. Alice has blue eyes and blonde hair. Karen’s hair is a mousy brown in the first season and her eyes are brown. Alice wears a hat with a blue ribbon when we first meet her.

The red flowers are such an interesting touch considering the Creel’s iconic door:

Another subtle clue might be that one of the only things we know about her is that she has a friend named Wendy. Wendy—another classic fairytale name. What a strange thing for them to tell us, when we don’t even know her name.

The biggest, and my favorite clue happens throughout all of Season Four:

Surfer Boy.

This is so on the nose it hurts. (I hope you read that in Will’s voice. You were meant to.) Billy was literally a Surfer Boy in California, and we see this first hand in the memory of his mother. Why call back to this for no reason?

In Season Four, Max is being tormented by visions of Billy shown to her by Vecna, the Cali Crew is in a Surfer Boy Van, and Nancy is piecing together a puzzle about a “grandpa murderer” and a red rose door that she’s seen before. It all adds up as the perfect reference to this specific scene.

Besides the references to the actual scene itself, there’s a big clue that we see in Season Two when Max is introduced, and again this Season with Eddie—the Micheal Myers’ mask. In the Halloween Movies, Micheal Myers is suffering from “the Curse of Thorn” (another reference to roses). In order to break the curse, he must kill everyone in his bloodline, and the one he really struggles to kill is his sister. (Parallels Henry trying to kill his whole family, but failing because of his sister.)

Lots of references to 20 in Season Four and, in H20, Micheal Myers has a sister that fakes her death and relocates to California! Go figure!

That also addresses the biggest issue with the Karen as Alice theory. It would make no sense for Karen Wheeler to stay in Hawkins, because she’d be at risk of Brenner taking her too if she was Alice Creel. How the Hargrove/Mayfield family ended up back in Hawkins sans Billy’s runaway mother is anyone’s guess, but there’s too many coincidences…and it could explain why Billy and Max were such strong targets.

And let’s not forget that the episode where we first see the memory of Billy’s mother is called “E Pluribus Unum" or “Out of many, one.” A direct nod to Henry’s secret identity in the title of the very episode that we meet a random woman who’s sheer memory is enough to bring down the Mind Flayer? That’s Alice Creel, babygirl.

#byler #bc I want y’all to see it sorry GSJSJKSJSKS #stranger things #fan theory #vecna #henry creel #alice creel #mothergate #TW fake blood #tw violence

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bi-bats · 1 year

Note

When in doubt go for the classic bonding over various breakfast foods :D ☕️🥞🧇🥯🥐🧋🥤

Thank you for the writing prompt!!! I took some liberties with the definition of "bonding," but this gave me a cute idea for a one shot so I still think y'all will like it!!! Here we go, fic after the cut:

Tim hides his smile under the lip of his mug as Jason presses a kiss to his forehead. He peeks at the bagel being placed in front of him— toasted perfectly and with exactly the right amount of cream cheese. As Jason pulls his hand away, Tim puts down his mug and reaches for his forearm, pulls it to his chest. Jason tilts into it, leaning his warmth against Tim.

This thing between them is new. Not the touching itself, but the tenderness behind it. The way he just expects Jason to be on his couch when he gets home from work or stumbles in after his patrol, covered in grime and smelling like Gotham. The way he stays the night as often as he reasonably can. The way whenever he’s within an inch of him, Tim seems to be reaching for him. The way Jason seems to be less than an inch away from him an awful lot of the time.

Tim stares at his bagel and tries to think of when he actually taught Jason how to make it the right way. Maybe he just learned through osmosis. Just absorbed it from spending so many breakfasts together that he knows exactly where to turn the toaster oven knob between light and medium to get it that exact shade of brown Tim prefers.

His thumb rubs a track over the skin of Jason’s forearm as he thinks about exactly what’s going on between them, and the exact way they haven’t talked about it.

He’s almost brought it up a few times, but he doesn’t know how Jason feels about labels. How that conversation is going to go. And it isn’t all that important what they call this, really, as long as Jason is on his couch or in his bed or within his reach.

He’s only pulled out of his reverie when he feels Jason tuck his face into the curve of his neck, feels the pull of lips that mean he’s hiding a smile there.

“Are you feeding me breakfast, or are you going to let me go? I’m starving.”

A soft laugh falls out of Tim, and the sound is an echo of the blissful feeling that’s occupied his ribs for weeks. He nuzzles into Jason’s hold, humming like he’s thinking about it. “I don’t know, you’re pretty warm.”

“Well, you’re starting to look pretty tasty.” Jason’s voice is muffled and a little rough the way it always is in the morning, and he can feel the vibration of it rippling along his throat.

“Starting to? Haven’t you had enough of me yet?” The questions aren’t laced with anxiety the way they might have been weeks ago, before Jason did things like wake Tim up with coffee and breakfast. The questions are easy and light, because he knows the answer, even if he doesn’t know what to call this thing between them.

“Mmm, I don’t know,” Jason answers anyways, because he thinks he still has to pretend he isn’t going soft. He lets out a put-upon sigh, his breath hot and tickling on Tim’s skin. “Well, I am a zombie, so I guess it makes sense. Brains. Flesh,” he teases, tilting his head in. He lets out a playful, undead noise and lightly bites down on the skin of Tim’s neck.

A giddy laugh pushes out of his mouth as he squirms away, just lightly enough that he isn’t really going anywhere. Jason’s teeth release after a moment of them giggling together, and when he starts to pull away, Tim lets him go.

“Eat your breakfast, Zombie Boy,” he instructs.

“Guh,” Jason deadpans, turning to grab his plate as Tim snickers. When he sits down, he tangles their ankles together under the table and piles a bite of eggs onto his fork.

As Tim goes to pick up his coffee mug, his eyes meet Jason’s. There’s a soft, warm thing in them that’s sweeter than the sugary mocha he was about to sip, and his heart does a little flip as he thinks about how absolutely perfect things are-

And then the window behind him slams open.

There’s a noise like a body tumbling to the floor, a sigh he hears every time that particular body tumbles through his window—

And Jason freezes, the panic slamming down in his eyes as they go wide, and Tim knows his eyes are mirroring the expression. Tim thinks maybe Jason is trying to communicate something as they watch each other panic. He wonders if he should be trying to communicate something back, but it’s not like they can telepathically come up with a believable excuse as to why Jason is at his breakfast table, not wearing a shirt because Tim is wearing his shirt, and since Jason isn’t wearing his shirt you can see about fifty hickies in various states of fading-

“Ugh. Mornin’, guys,” Dick interrupt the silence.

And then Jason’s eyes aren’t on him anymore, they’re on Dick, tracking his every movement like he isn’t sure if he should run or pull a gun on him.

But Dick doesn’t say anything else, he just strides over to Tim’s kitchen and pulls out a box of cereal from the cabinet. Jason’s eyes are flicking between the two of them, still panicked, as Dick opens his fridge and sniffs the milk, makes a disgusted noise, then replaces the cap and puts it back in the fridge. He ends up just grabbing the box and going to sit at the head of the table, noisily digging pieces of cereal out of the bag with his fingers.

“Good morning,” Dick repeats pointedly, because no one actually answered him. Tim forgives Jason for looking like he’s leaning more towards option B, because he’s starting to think that shooting him isn’t the worst idea he’s ever heard.

“Good morning, Dick.” Tim says, in what is probably a more pleasant tone than warranted. He’s being incredibly patient. “Get out,” he says in the same pleasant tone.

A disappointed look flashes in Dick’s eyes as he purses his lips. “Don’t be rude, Timmy.”

“I’m rude? You didn’t even knock!” Tim says, his patience starting to fail him.

“I did, actually,” Dick starts, a knowing, antagonistic little smirk starting to pull at his lips, and Tim’s starting to actively wish Jason would pull out a gun or two. At least a knife. But he doesn’t, so nothing stops him from adding, “But you lovebirds looked a little busy.”

Tim’s eyes flick to Jason involuntarily, the word love seeming to detach from the rest of the sentence and suck all of the air out of the room.

Jason looks terrified.

But it’s not the kind of terrified Tim expects, not the kind that screams TOO SOON in neon, flashing lights.

Huh.

Tim forces his eyes back to Dick. He shoves the question, “Why are you here?” through his gritted teeth.

“I wanted breakfast.” He shrugs, but it’s obvious that’s not what he wanted. However, he has something far more interesting in front of him than whatever he came for, and he clearly isn’t going to be distracted. “The more important question is: what’s going on between you two?”

He pops another piece of sugary cereal into his mouth, his gaze locked on Tim. The smug grin on his face makes Tim consider grabbing one of Jason’s guns himself, and in the following moments, he treats himself to several violent, bloody fantasies that end in Dick begging for mercy.

Then there’s a clatter that pulls Tim’s gaze away, and his eyes instinctively lock onto the source: Jason’s fork has fallen out of his hand and onto his plate, a bit of egg scattering across the table in front of it.

“We’re dating,” Jason says, like he’s just realizing it.

And again, it leaves Tim pleasantly surprised to find that he doesn’t look scared of that.

“We are?”

Dick sucks a breath through his teeth like that was the wrong thing to say, but a smile is spreading across Jason’s lips, because he didn’t ask it like he was being forced into it. He asked it like he couldn’t believe it. Like he’s won a prize.

“Yeah, we are,” Jason confirms, giving him a warm, crooked smile. Then he drops his eyes to the table and grabs a napkin to wipe up the egg, his tone light as he continues, “I mean, unless you don’t want to-”

“No! I want to-” Tim realizes his interruption was just a little too eager, and color bursts across his cheeks. Jason’s eyes flicker back to him and he looks pleased, smug, and Tim realizes what he just did. “Oh, fuck you,” he huffs, even though he finds he isn’t all that upset about it.

Amusement glitters in Jason’s eyes as he starts, “I mean, last night-”

And those are all of the words he gets out before Dick drops the cereal box on the table and clamps his hands over his ears, letting out a loud, panicked noise to cover whatever Jason was about to say.

“Okay! Don’t need to hear that!” Dick says, his hands still over his ears. Jason snickers at him and picks his fork back up, apparently deciding to go back to his breakfast.

“That’s what you get for interrupting me and my boyfriend,” Tim tells him, because he knows Dick can hear him even with his hands covering his ears. Besides, he wants to see how the word tastes. And he wants to see the look on Jason’s face when he says it.

It’s his new favorite word, he decides. Jason’s eyes flash back up, and the heat in them hits him like a bullet. Suddenly, all he can think about is how very far away Jason is.

“Hey, Dick, I think you should leave.” Tim can’t look away from the warm look on Jason’s face. Dick needs to get out of the vicinity as soon as humanly possible, because in about 10 seconds, this is not going to be rated E for everyone.

“Fine. But I’m taking the cereal,” Dick groans, pushing away from the table and grabbing the box.

Two hours later, when Jason throws away the forgotten breakfast from earlier and starts over, Tim decides he’s glad neither of them shot Dick.

#jaytim #jaytim fic #batwrites #batsasks #☕ coffeeaddict #Thank you so much for the prompt!!!#Also I got your other prompt but idk if I have any ideas for that one so it might chill in my askbox for a bit #I did get another prompt from jpeg that gave me an idea but it's definitely going to be longer so I'm saving it for tomorrow!!!#I wasn't planning on posting these prompt fills to ao3 but actually I think I'm about to post this #this is cute and we all need a lil wholesome fluff so thank you for enabling me!!!

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reunionatdawn · 17 days

Text

My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 20: Non-AM Ingrid/Ashe)

Felix: If I were to die here, would you say something like you did when it was my brother? "That's the true end for a knight."

First things first, I personally think Rodrigue's comment came off substantially worse in Japanese than it did in the localization. In English, his reaction came off more as passive acceptance. Like, "well at least he died so honorably". In Japanese, I don't think it was quite as passive. The part "だ" at the end of the sentence implied the expectation or ideal of what a knight's end should be.

Dimitri: …And you would hold up such a painful end as an ideal? Ingrid: Painful end…? Even if it's Your Highness speaking, I cannot let that pass. Glenn gave his life for you. Yet, to put it that way…! Dimitri: You didn't witness his final moments. …That's why you can say that. Ingrid: …No matter what Your Highness says, he will forever be the ideal knight to me, the person to aspire to.

That was also what Ingrid thought of as the ideal death. It's how she hoped to die, when the time came. And at the very least, that probably seemed better to her than dying as a bored and lonely housewife to some nobleman she had to marry for financial reasons.

Ingrid: Now that I have parted ways with my father, there is nothing to hinder my dream. However, even if I become a knight in the future, deep inside my heart… I feel like something will always remain blocked. As someone born not as a knight but as a noble, I wonder if there was a role for me to fulfill…

In VW, Ingrid runs away from home to pursue her dream of becoming a knight. The Japanese word she used in her A-Support with Byleth was "つかえる" (tsukaeru). It means "to be blocked" or "to be obstructed." In this context, it conveys the idea of being unable to move forward emotionally or mentally. She says this no matter what route you choose. Even in AM, she had doubts about knighthood.

I believe AM!Ingrid is probably pretty happy. The Kingdom doesn't collapse, Dimitri survives to become a righteous king, she stays on good terms with her father, she can pursue her own goals instead of just getting married, and her childhood friends Felix and Sylvain are alive and well (unless you let them die in Classic Mode, I guess).

However, I also know that her non-AM endings—where she doesn't become a knight—are very popular and many consider them better than her AM endings. I completely understand why, and I actually agree with that notion very strongly. I don't think Ingrid becoming a knight after the war is necessarily terrible, especially if she has a life partner. I just think she probably experiences more positive character development and personal growth in Verdant Wind than Azure Moon.

Ingrid: ...Your Highness. I will not throw away my life for someone else's sake. ...However, would you permit me to live for someone's sake, Your Highness? Not in the sense of throwing away my life — I want to dedicate my life to you. Dimitri: ...Wait. How should I interpret that? Ingrid: ...? However you like, Your Highness.

In Ingrid's A-Support with Dimitri, you learn that her dream of becoming a knight was probably influenced heavily by her feelings for him. She probably had a crush on him ever since they were kids and she fantasized about being the Kyphon to his Loog. She probably thought that if she pledged her life a knight, she could be by his side, almost like a wife. And she sincerely thought that she wouldn't mind dying for him, either. It'd just be dying for the person she loved.

Dimitri: Ingrid. Once this battle is over, I want you to… ………………。...As a knight, I want you to support me. … I've been thinking of saying that for a while. We get along well, don't we? Ingrid: … As a knight? Um, well, no! It's nothing! Of course, even without being told, I intend to fight for Your Highness… I mean, for our country.

In her A-Support, she told Dimitri that she was finally able to move on from Glenn's death now because of him. And she basically proposed to him. But he turned her down, only asking her to be his knight, not his wife. She was disappointed, but still accepted. And she serves as a knight to House Blaiddyd in most of her AM paired endings.

Ingrid: Whatever the path, I will fight for my lord and believe in him. ……!

In VW, Dimitri was going down a dark path, and he was willing to sacrifice all of his childhood friends just to satisfy his personal grudge against Edelgard. An unrecruited Ingrid still clung to her dream and chose to go along with whatever path her lord chose. And it's definitely portrayed as negative development for her.

Ingrid: I apologize, Your Highness… I am not… like that person… Dimitri: Ingrid…….

I don't know why the localization changed Ingrid's VW death quote so much. But in Japanese, it gives off a completely different meaning than in English. She was, of course, referring to Glenn. It implies that she didn't feel like she could live up to being the ideal knight. When it truly came down to it, she realized that ideal wasn't what she aspired to, and she really wasn't content to lay down her life for Dimitri.

Felix: Those who want to die, step forward. …I'll cut you all down at once.

VW was absolutely NOT Felix's ideal death. His ideal death was to spend his life with Sylvain and grow old and die peacefully alongside him. Sylvain is actually the only partner Felix can't end up with in VW because he feels too guilty about living for himself. But left unrecruited, Felix will fight very hard to survive.

Felix: Gasping for air…… This place ……My place to die…… Dimitri: ……Felix.

Felix's VW death quote is very interesting in Japanese. The first time he used the word "place" he used "ところ" (tokoro) and the second time he used the word "場所" (basho). "Basho" primarily refers to a physical location. "Tokoro" is more flexible and versatile. It is often used in expressions related to time or states of being.

Sylvain: Finally… I can go to the place where they are…

Sylvain also used "tokoro" when he died in CF. This is the way I interpreted Felix's Japanese VW death quote. He was having a vision of being someplace else. Like an afterlife place. And he realized that the physical place he was in was where he was going to die.

Sylvain: Well… this is fate for you. Sorry, but… quietly accept it.

Sylvain's VW battle dialogue is a bit colder in Japanese. He tells the enemy to just accept their fate, the way he thought he had to when it came to his arranged marriage. He realized it's kill or be killed. And he didn't want to die. He apologized with the word "悪い" (warui). Specifically, the word translates to "bad" or "evil." But it can also describe moral judgments or expressions of regret. Like "my bad".

Sylvain: Hey, Your Highness… enough…let's put an end to the bad dream, yeah……?

Sylvain's unrecruited death quote in VW is completely different in Japanese. In English, they just reused his Classic Mode death quote for some reason I can't understand. But in Japanese, it's interesting because the standard word for "nightmare" is "悪夢" (akumu). It is the common way to refer to a frightening or distressing dream during sleep. But Sylvain used "悪い夢" (warui yume).

While grammatically correct, it's not frequently used to describe nightmares that way in everyday language. Sylvain's dream was to die alongside Felix. But not THIS way. And in Japanese, he could only cope by telling himself that it was all just a bad dream.

Dimitri: ………………。

There are many ways to interpret Dimitri's response to Sylvain's death. Unlike with Felix and Ingrid, he didn't say his name out loud. But I don't think it was because he felt less emotion when Sylvain died. Because he also just says "……." for Mercedes. But with Sylvain, it's a much longer ellipsis. Personally, I think that Sylvain's dying words were so disturbing that he was just rendered speechless.

Felix: …I've known that boar prince since before birth. Before I knew it, he was always by my side… Maybe he was even my close friend. Byleth: Maybe? Felix: …I didn't understand his hatred or his agony toward the Empire at all. If it were me… Could I have saved him? Could I have stopped him?

After Dimitri's death, Felix used the term "親友" (shinyuu). It means "close friend" or "best friend." The localization chose "best friend". But in this context, I personally believe he was using it to mean "close friend". "Shinyuu" implies a close friendship, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are your single closest friend like "best friend" does. Felix was saying that he used to consider himself to be close to Dimitri. But in hindsight, maybe they were never really as close as he thought they were, because he never truly understood his feelings.

Sylvain: There's nothing left after he wields his lance. It's like being hit by a great storm. …What drives him to that extent is probably his hatred toward the Empire, after all. Byleth: Wasn't he different before? Sylvain: Yeah... Maybe it's just that we didn't know him back then.

Sylvain has a similar line in CF where he admits that maybe they didn't really know Dimitri that well, after all. He used "we", so he was definitely including Felix and Ingrid along with himself.

Ingrid: I have known His Highness since childhood, but… I have never seen him like that before. The person we have known until now seems completely different…

And after the Holy Tomb, Ingrid admitted that she'd never seen that side of Dimitri before. She may have thought she was in love him, but she was in love with an idealized image of him based on who she knew as a kid. Not the person he really was as an adult.

Ingrid: Among the soldiers we captured in the previous battle, there were quite a few who served His Highness. One of them told me that the Empire was involved in the "Tragedy of Duscur." If that's true, then perhaps I should have fought alongside His Highness in the army as well… (Option 1) Byleth: Why? Ingrid: I also… lost the person who was most important to me in that incident.

After the battle at Gronder in VW, Ingrid made it clear that Glenn was the most important person in the world to her. He was the reason she felt guilty about not fighting alongside Dimitri with the Kingdom.

(Option 2) Byleth: Do you regret it? Ingrid: No, not now. I actually think it's better that I'm part of this army. We will carry on the wishes of those who perished. We won't let the Empire's atrocities happen again.

You gain Support points if you ask her if she regrets her decision. And she doesn't. She's glad that she survived. She spent so long idealizing a knight's death. But when it came down to it, she was glad that she didn't die mindlessly following the orders of her king. This is especially poignant if you didn't recruit her childhood friends Felix and Sylvain, who did die painfully, never fulfilling their own dreams.

Ingrid: What will happen to Faerghus… to Fódlan, once this battle is over? Byleth: There will be peace. Ingrid: Peace… you say. I don't wish for such grand things. But… I just want a world where people are no longer dragged into conflict and schemes, where there is no suffering, no loss of life. No… I believe it's our duty as survivors to create such a world.

Ingrid experiences very positive character growth when she lets go of her childhood dream to become a knight and finds a new purpose.

王道 (Ōdō): -王 (Ō) means "king" or "monarch," while 道 (dō) means "way" or "path." -王道 generally refers to the "right" or "proper" way of doing things, often associated with traditional or conventional norms, values, and principles. -It can also refer to the "path of the king" or the ideal path of leadership that embodies virtues such as wisdom, benevolence, and justice. -王道 emphasizes legitimacy, morality, and adherence to established rules and traditions in governance or leadership.

The developers said the CF represented 覇道 (Hadō) and AM represented 王道 (Ōdō). In that case, VW would be somewhere in-between. 王道 emphasizes moral, legitimate, and traditional leadership principles, whereas 覇道 suggests a more aggressive pursuit of dominance, often without regard for moral or ethical considerations. The positive side of AM is that Dimitri eventually does become a benevolent monarch.

Dimitri: Ashe, what do you think a knight is? Ashe: Huh? Someone who risks their life to protect the people, the king, and ultimately, the country…? Dimitri: Indeed… Many say that's what a knight should be… But the reality isn't so beautiful. Ultimately, a knight is someone who kills. The chivalric code preaches loyalty only to control knights and prevent them from betraying their liege.

But the downside is perhaps that it ends too conventionally. AM overall sticks to the "proper" and traditional way of doing things, which Claude was opposed to. And I would say that Claude was opposed to those traditions for good reason.

Ingrid & Ashe (Non-AM) Ingrid pleaded for the survival of the confiscated Galatea territory and was appointed its new lord. To support her, Ashe headed to Galatea territory. There, he faced the cold gaze of the people directed towards Ingrid, who had once fled from the Galatea family. Ashe supported Ingrid devotedly and worked hand in hand to reform the territory and improve agricultural techniques. Gradually, as people witnessed their efforts, the attitude of the residents softened. Eventually, the two, who had come to love each other, received a grand blessing from the residents and held a simple yet lively wedding ceremony.

I still think that Ashe is a fantastic partner for Ingrid in VW. And from an objective standpoint, I do think that this is a better ending than their AM counterpart. I think that helping Galatea become more fertile would be more fulfilling for both Ingrid and Ashe than becoming knights. But in VW, Ingrid's childhood friend group is pretty much decimated, which is a high price for her to pay.

#fire emblem #fe3h #ingrid brandl galatea #fe3h meta #ashe duran #ashegrid #fire emblem three houses

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sl-newsie · 2 months

Text

Query: Q x 00 Agent- Ch. 18: Constant Warfare

“Now he’s in Cuba,” I say as I hang up the phone.

Q gives me a confused look. “Does Mallory know?”

“Doubt it.”

“I think we should keep it that way.”

I do a double-take. “Wow. Quartermaster’s keeping secrets now, hm?”

“Learned it from you, darling,” Q replies with a slightly amused hint of a smile. “Are you going after him?”

I shake my head. “Bond can handle it. If Felix is helping him then I know he’s in good hands. Right now I need to stay here and keep an eye on M.”

“In that case-” Q looks at the clock and closes his laptop. “I say we clock out and go have dinner. It’s been too long since we’ve had a proper sit-down meal and I’ve been meaning to try a new recipe for weeks.”

The thought of food sounds fantastic. All day I’ve been too preoccupied to think about eating and the promise of Q’s cooking is too good to pass up. After Q packs his messenger bag and I my purse we step out and hail a cab. When we arrive to the cozy apartment all 3 cats greet us by sulking next to their food dishes.

“I guess they’re hungry too,” I joke. “Need any help in the kitchen?”

“Not at all, darling,” Q replies as he starts prepping some meat. “You go ahead and wash up. Dinner should be ready in about an hour.”

I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something up with Q. He’s got a mysterious look in his eyes that makes me wonder if there’s something I forgot. It’s not anyone’s birthday so what other occasion would I be missing? I take a quick shower, still puzzled over Q’s behavior, and go downstairs to find the table set and soothing music playing on the speakers.

“Why am I not surprised you listen to opera?”

Q looks up from the vegetables he’s chopping. “You should talk. I accidentally turned on your playlist and was overwhelmed with rock music blasting my ears off.”

I shrug. “If you don’t appreciate classics like Led Zeppelin then too bad. Can I help with anything?”

“I need you to sit down and relax,” Q instructs. “Then maybe turn on something to watch.”

“Are you serious? I can do something. I was asleep for 4 years, Geoffrey. I can do something productive besides sitting down.”

Q gives me a quick kiss to keep me from arguing further. “To put it simply I do my best work alone, both in the lab and in the kitchen.”

The hint clicks in my head and I nod. “Alright. I respect that.”

He squeezes my hand. “Thank you. For everything.”

I frown. “Everything? What’s that mean?”

“I mean for everything you do, whether it’s putting up with my odd habits or allowing me to be a part of your life.”

Q says it so simply but to me it’s a confession of deep trust and adoration. After 6 years of knowing him I can’t think of living in a world without him. When I woke up from my coma I thought things would change. They did, but in the best ways possible. If Q’s loyal enough to persevere life’s punches with me then maybe…

Beep! Beep! My phone goes off again and I see it’s an unknown number. Must be Bond.

“Levie. I’m sending you a signal for a camera here in Cuba. If anything happens then you must confront M immediately.”

Just like that I hear a ding from my laptop and see a new message. Bond hangs up and I click on the link. Sure enough an image of a fancy ballroom appears on the TV screen. Mindless rich folks wander about drinking and chatting while a band plays. Brilliant, Bond. He hacked into a security camera and gave me eyes and ears to everything.

“What program is this?” Q says from across the room.

“A gift from Bond. Tonight’s entertainment, if you will. We can still eat while we watch.”

My mind strays from the television as Q brings out the delicious-smelling food; a combination of stew, fresh apples, and deviled eggs.

“Wow! This is fancy.” I give Q a suspicious glance. “Seems too special to be just a regular dinner. Usually when you do this it’s for my birthday or you’re apologizing for something.”

Q chuckles and takes a seat next to me. “Actually, I wanted it to be special.” He keeps fidgeting his hands; a sign that he’s nervous. “I figured that, since Bond’s enjoyed retirement, maybe it’s time that we could-”

“Oh God.”

My train of thought derails when I catch a glimpse of the TV. Bond is standing in a sea of people crumbling to the ground as their faces seem to melt away.

Q gets confused by my outburst. “What? I mean, if it seems too strange-”

“Q. Look!” I point to the TV. The man sees where I’m looking and his face falls. “What in the name of Christ is that?” I ask in a shaking voice.

A few eerie seconds go by before Q answers. “Biological warfare.”

I need to make a call.

I don’t know how long it’s been. 2 minutes? 10 minutes? I’ve been staring at the TV, which is not glitching with static since the camera was destroyed in the fight during Bond’s escape, and trying to get my thoughts together. Is this what M’s been so on edge about?

I take out my phone and start to dial while Q frantically searches on his computer.

“Moneypenny, Bond’s in a bit of a situation. What’s going on?” I ask in a stern voice.

“Just a moment.” I hear her click a few buttons. “Here. 007 can tell you more-”

Now Nomi’s voice joins the call. “Bond has, shall we stay, taken the liberty to step in. I’m afraid he has Obruchev now.”

That’s the bloke who was taken from the lab!

“Told you, Nomi,” I reply coolly. “He doesn’t play by the rules.” I hear her hang up. “Now somebody better start being straight with me or I’m going to be deeply pissed off! Tell me what’s going on! Who’s this Obruchev fellow?”

“Obruchev developed Project Heracles,” Q speaks up. “A bio-weapon containing nanobots that infect like a virus upon touch and are coded to an individual's DNA.” A dark look clouds his face. “This weapon is lethal to the target and their relatives but harmless to others. It’s far more advanced than any other bio-weapon I’ve seen.”

A new thought surfaces. “That wouldn’t happen to be connected to the smart blood program, would it?”

“Turns out M had sanctioned the development of Heracles off the MI6 books,” Moneypenny says. “Not even the Prime Minister knows about its existence.”

I swear M’s one step away from receiving my resignation! All this time I’ve been working for someone who thought a biological weapon wasn’t going to go unnoticed.

“I’ll admit it’s impressive on a scientific scale,” Q remarks. “But for military purposes it’s likely to adjust into the next gold rush, the new nuclear war race.”

“Exactly!” I slam my hand on the table. “I know we’re supposed to speak softly and carry a big stick but then us good guys are going to be outdone when the bad guys get a bigger stick! It’s just a constant battle of trying to have the biggest stick, and this new big stick is one that poses a threat to not just us but the entire world.”

A few moments go by and Q lets me drain my anger while he questions Moneypenny further.

“What happens now?”

“Right now you two should avoid coming in. M’s not going to be pleased when he finds out you’ve been snooping into classified files. I’ll continue to send what little I can.”

“Thanks, Moneypenny.”

Q turns my phone off and gives me a few more seconds of silence. We’re both thinking the same thing: we’ll never be able to have a normal job.

“I always thought something would prove me wrong about MI6,” Q wonders out loud. “That our government isn’t as corrupt as it seems. At this point not much surprises me.”

“You and me both,” I grunt.

“But do you know what goes unaltered no matter what?”

I look up with an unamused frown. “What?”

Q leans in to press a soft kiss to my forehead. “My love for you.”

This makes me have to suppress a small laugh. “Seems a bit cheesy, don’t it?”

“Not at all. Would you like a lecture, or a demonstration?” Q quirks an eyebrow.

His playful expression also holds a soft question of consent. I can’t say I’m not flattered by the suggestion. Neither of us had ever engaged in high levels of intimacy until after my coma. When Q first proposed taking our relationship to a further step I was hesitant. After seeing how dysfunctional Bond’s relations turn out I never planned on having a deep relationship. But after thinking it over I decided this was more than just a simple suggestion. Q’s not the most emotional person and being the one he’s willing to go further with is an honor all on its own. I share his trust and didn’t see a reason to decline.

“A demonstration might be called for.”

Q’s face lights up, though still with a hint of anxiousness, and he takes my hand to lead me up the stairs. We’ve previously established that he’s in no physical condition to lift me bridal style.

“Are you nervous?” I ask.

“Um, a tad bit, yes. I- I know our relationship has established good communication and I really adore it, but I still get worried that I won’t be… good enough.”

I make him stop before we reach the top of the stairs. “Geoffrey, you have nothing to worry about. This is new to both of us and we both know our affiliation isn’t based purely on physical aspects. I loved you before I even thought of those things. You have nothing to prove to me.”

Q closes his eyes and nods, seeming to lose part of his nerves, then pulls me in for a simple yet grateful hug.

“Thank you, darling. That means a lot to me.”

Yes, the threat of biological warfare looms over our heads and Bond’s words of warning still ring in my ear. But as long as I’m with Q the whole world could fall into an apocalypse and I would still be happy.

“Never a dull moment with you, Q. Now how about you get started on that demonstration?”

#quartermaster x reader #quartermaster #q x reader #james bond #daniel craig #ben whishaw #skyfall #spectre #no time to die #007 #james bond 007

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