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beezusvreeland · 5 months

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dear reader - chapter 1

summary: Miguel took the reader’s love and friendship for granted. Something he learns reading her column, when it’s too late…Or is it?

ship: miguel o'hara x f!reader // matt murdock x reader

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Chapter 1

The tears falling from your eyes should be happy ones. It was a huge accomplishment, a dream you never thought would come true. You got a scholarship to attend the University of Edinburgh summer writing course. Almost two months of writing and learning for free in a city you’ve wanted to visit long before Outlander was even a thing.

You would have the opportunity to focus on your writing while exploring the town that inspired so many writers before you. It was all you ever wanted.

Yet you were laying down on your bedroom floor, all the lights off in your apartment, the outfit you spent so much time trying to find (and so much money to buy) still on your body. You felt paralyzed. No heartbreak has ever felt like that before, not even the ones also caused by Miguel.

When people asked you what type of relationship the two of you had, you just answered friends. It was easier, usually killing any follow up questions. You know that was his answer too, you’ve heard it before. His tone, however, was much different than yours. Miguel would play it down, as if it was a ridiculous question, more ridiculous than the idea that the two of you could be more to each other.

But friends don’t go home together after the bar closes late at night, laughing and whispering, drunk on more than the drinks you had. Friends don’t flirt with each other crossing all the lines, just to leave you hanging, wondering to yourself if you imagined the whole thing, if you saw more than it actually was.

But also, regardless of any time of messiness, friends don’t bail on each other at the last minute, making up some excuse which you can quickly find out is a lie.

“Is mr. O’Hara joining us anytime soon?”, the waiter asked you politely. It was obvious you had never gone to such a nice restaurant, but it was a celebration. You wanted to dress up and share your news with the person you cared about the most. Earlier you had been so excited you barely slept, hoping that things went smoothly, that maybe a change of scenery reminded him of what the two of you could be.

You had been waiting for an hour, sipping from the least expensive soft drink on the menu, when Miguel sent you a monosyllabic text saying something happened at Alchemax. Your body was familiar with that disappointment. Miguel was a prolific scientist, head of the biotechnology and genetics department, always doing important work. Things that could actually save people’s lives. You were so proud of him, but couldn’t help feeling sad. You scheduled the dinner almost a week prior, checking in with him several times during the week to make sure he could go.

On the Uber home, you tried not to think about the pang in your chest so much. You opened Instagram and scrolled for a bit, then started watching some stories, without paying much attention. Until you saw him. It was his assistant’s, Lyla, profile. The video showed people singing happy birthday to someone called Scott. There was Miguel. You recognized a few faces from Alchemax, but couldn’t for the life of you remember any Scott — and Miguel loved telling you all the company gossip. Next story, still from Lyla: people dancing to “Party in the USA”, by Miley Cyrus. Far back, Miguel said something in a woman’s ear. It was Dana, a pretty brunette with short hair, brilliant like Miguel and also crazy for him, which you couldn’t blame her for. In the video, she hands Miguel a bottle of beer. He then kisses her.

You loved Miguel O’Hara, was there for him every single time he called and waited years for him to realize you were the one for him. The soul crushing truth was that he never would. The only time you asked for him, where all he had to do was show up, he didn’t. He went to some random guy’s birthday instead of being there for you. There was your answer.

*** “C’mon now”, Miguel flexed his back, a red drink in his hand. “You know I don’t kiss and tell, buddy.”

“I think you and pretty Dana have been doing more than just kissing and that’s what you ain’t telling”, Hobie had a smirk on his face.

Pavirt approached the group holding two beers.

“Two beers? Are you in a rush, mate?”

Pav took a breath, trying to open one bottle without letting the other slip from his hands.

“You know, I should have, it’s packed today and it’s not even game day”, Pav looked around The Bar, the place Miguel and his friends would go to after work almost every day.

Miguel preferred the nice bars downtown, but after going to The Bar a few times to meet Hobie, the place started to grow on him. It had been years and The Bar just got bigger and better. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who noticed, the place was becoming such a staple that now there were lines to come in. Thankfully, Foggy, the owner, always made sure to find a spot for his “day ones”.

“Passing through, passing through!”, Gwen made her way to the group, followed by a tall guy with glasses who looked slightly disoriented.

“Am I seeing right?”, Miguel pointed at the man, who smiled back at him. “If it isn’t Peter B motherfucking Parker!”

“How many of these have you drunk?”, Peter approached his friend, giving him a hug. “Oh shit, he is hugging me back, this is really serious!”

Miguel laughed, patting Peter’s back. He had no idea how many drinks he had at that point. They were all just so red and sweet.

“Friends, this is Pete, a friend of mine and Gwen’s from college.”

Hobie and Pav nodded at Peter, who smiled at them.

“What are you doing here, buddy? Haven’t seen you since your Daily Bugle days.”

Gwen had taken the second beer from Pav’s hand and opened it. “I found him wandering around like a lost puppy”, she pointed at Peter.

“I spent some time abroad, now I’m back in the city, taking photos here and there”, Peter shrugged, looking uncomfortably at Hobie, who was squeezing his eyes and seemed to be whispering something to himself.

“Hobie, are you ok there, pal?”, Gwen asked, arching one of her eyebrows.

“The math isn’t mathing”, he answered.

“How much have you drunk?”, Pav asked his friend.

“Just a bit, smoked a lot though”, Hobie was still analyzing. “There is someone missing…where is y/n?”

Miguel’s eyes widened. “Shit, I was supposed to reschedule this thing with her”, he grabbed his phone from his pocket, struggling to type his password correctly.

“Don’t bother”, Gwen told him. Her arms were crossed and she glared at him while taking a sip of beer.

Miguel realized he was indeed very drunk and confused. He noticed Gwen hadn't looked at him since she arrived, but he hadn’t thought anything of it at first. He felt weird, like he was being reprimanded for something.

“What do you mean?”, Miguel’s brows furrowed.

“As we speak, she is flying across the pond.”

“Oh, shit, already?”, Hobie sobered up for a moment.

“What is the time difference again?”, Pav asked.

“What are they talking about?”, Miguel froze. They were speaking as if she was far away. They were speaking as if they already knew she was going far away.

“She got the Edinburgh summer writing program scholarship. She left tonight”, Gwen answered.

“I don’t remember her saying anything about it.” Miguel wondered if you were mad at him because of the dinner and didn’t tell him because of that. You would do that sometimes, ice him out. That annoyed him, but you were more affected by it than him. He was always able to charm his way out of it.

“Of course you heard, mate, c’mon, she took you to dinner to celebrate”, Hobie sounded frustrated.

“Which didn’t even make sense, if anything, you should have taken her out to celebrate”, Pav added, giving Miguel an exasperated look.

“I canceled the dinner, something came up at work.” Miguel looked at his feet, still confused, but feeling the weight of the guilt.

He looked up, only to find Gwen’s eyes, full of anger and disappointment. She knew he was full of shit. Miguel wondered how she would even know…unless you knew it too.

“¡Mierda!”

“I take it your friend is a writer, then. That’s really cool”, Peter said to Gwen, Pav and Hobie. “She writes fiction?”

“Non fiction, mostly”, Gwen answered, her expression softening. She was so proud of you. Your writing barely paid your bills and less people were reading nowadays, but you took your art seriously, refusing to give up such an important part of yourself. “She is a freelance writer these days. She just published a profile of Mary Jane Watson, the actress who’s all the buzz on Broadway, in Bliss magazine.”

“Wait, that is the y/n you are friends with?”, Peter got excited. “God, I love her interviews. Honest to God, I cried when she told Mary Jane that it’s ok to express your opinions, that they can be fleeting and not set in stone.”

“Ugh, I love that part!”, Pav agrees, putting his hand on his chest.

“Did you read it, Miguel?”, Peter asked gently. He was clearly trying to light up the mood, Miguel kind of hated him for that. Peter didn’t even know you and seemed to know so much about you already.

“No”, Miguel answered coldly.

“Miguel refuses to spend US$ 5 on the paywall”, Gwen snorted.

“Buddy…aren’t you, like, rich?”, Peter looked at him.

“That’s how he stays rich, alright!”, Hobie clapped, drawing the attention of the people around them.

“What the fuck…?”, Miguel’s head started to throb. It might’ve been the drinking, but he had the impression his friends were ganging up on him. It was annoying. Especially because they were (mostly) right. “I’m not paying that for an article”, he grunted.

“It’s a subscription!”, Gwen rolled her eyes, growling. “It’s a way to support the writer's and editor’s work, so y/n can keep writing profiles, think pieces and her great col…her great work”, Gwen corrected.

While the group kept discussing what they had been reading lately, Miguel tried his password on his phone a few more times, eventually getting it right. He was pretty sure Gwen was about to say you had a column, so he typed bliss magazine + column. The first result was “dear reader: the advice you didn’t know you needed”. He clicked on the link: the pop up alerting that the content was behind paywall appeared.

***

Dear reader,

I’m a firm believer in the power of words. It’s what moves me and what both excites and terrifies me about writing this column. The same word can be heartfelt or cutting, it all depends on the delivery. Speaking out loud can be just as important of a tool as listening attentively to what people have to say.

I guess I have spent so much time looking for words, either from myself or others, that I haven’t always paid attention to actions. They matter too. There is a lot of meaning in what is left unsaid. If the actions don’t match a person’s words, it’s time to take a step back and think deeply about it.

That’s a lesson I learned too late. I wanted someone so badly I was willing to accommodate it all, the excuses, the absences and the stolen glances that never led nowhere. It took me years and many mornings waking up by myself to realize that if he wanted to, he would. It seems obvious, but things are so much more complicated with matters of the heart.

And our hearts are precious, no matter what others say. So, in truth to my words, I decided to share a big accomplishment in my life with people who I knew would celebrate me and recognize what this goal means to me. And in truth to my actions, I’m on my way to a big adventure.

When your heart breaks, there is only so much you can do. I’m doing it.

Protect yours and remember, never take advice from someone who’s falling apart.

Love, The writer

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>> chapter 2

all chapters

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dear diary playlist

#dear diary fanfic #miguel o'hara x reader #matt murdock x reader #miguel o'hara fic #matt murdock fic #miguel o'hara #matt murdock #unrequited love #second chance romance #Spotify

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pommunist · 1 month

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feeling iffy on the egg merch because on the one hand lumi said that she hasn't been contacted about getting paid with the proceeds from the merch but on the other hand it does make sense to an extent. if they say you will get x% of the proceeds, and then that specific egg doesn't sell as well, which would suck. or for the eggs that have had multiple admins getting an exact percent would be difficult, so i understand them not getting an exact number for their likliness. but also would it be that hard to confirm a portion of the merch revenue (general) would be? i'd like to assume it is but im not confident

unfortunate because i did want to buy one if it was confirmed to be going to them.

My thoughts on egg merch are :

-First it’s important to remember that it was in the works way before the admins situation was revealed (this was confirmed by the artist and also it’s easy to guess simply because of the time it takes to design/produce merch).

This means 3 things : That it wasn’t a direct response to the « how do we pay admins » question, that for this very reason we don’t know if revenue will go towards their salary, and also that the merch release is most likely not some PR move to make people forget about what’s happening with a shiny new thing (I’ve seen people have that theory and while I agree timing is horrible you just can come up with merch that quickly).

-Second, IF the revenue from the merch goes towards the admins who stayed (and I hope it does), I agree that it shouldn’t be on a system like you get X% of the revenue of YOUR egg. Not only because pay would then be very popularity reliant but also bc as you said, how does that work when a character was played by multiple admins or by an admin that left the studio

-Imo, the way to go is to just use all the revenue, regardless of which figure generated more, and put it in a fund that can be used to help pay ALL admins, regardless of who they played, and that’d include also builders, writers, community managers, devs, translators….

One sad thing that most likely will stay true no matter what they end up doing is that the money generated by the likability of some eggs will never go towards the people who made said character likeable in the first place because they quit/were fired. That’s why I personally won’t buy any of the merch (that and 35$ a piece ? I don’t have that kind of cash 🥲).

However I don’t think anyone should judge or be unkind to people who buy the merch, there is no point to do so, especially if it’s later revealed that the funds will help pay remaining admins fairly.

Finally reminding you all once more that the figures were designed by the wonderful french artist @/Foxie_Fern on Twitter and I encourage everyone to check her work !

#qsmp discourse #support the artist and be kind to each other basically #but also be critical of the situation it really should have been said what the money from the figures will go towards imo #even just a vague like it will help pay the staff or something

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knullanon · 2 years

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REDO: Symbiotes being assholes

ok so I noticed a few of you guys wanted a part 4 to that symbiote series, the one that ended off with Anti-Venom getting reader, and another for the one of playing uno with toxin. but after reading both, I realized I cannot just let them be written like that. I think I've become a better writer since then, and tbf it's almost been like. 2 years since then. so I've decided to re-write both of them! probably next week will either be another of this series or of the toxin one, but either way I wanted to give another chance at them because they bring so many happy memories but also. I can't stand to read the things I used to write lol. so here's the first part to the symbiotes being assholes series, but a re-written version!

summary: after eddie takes you from your comfortable life with your family, you can say that you absolutely hate him and his stupid symbiote. but after a realization, you begin to think that your original decision was wrong.

words: 4286

warnings: talk of murder, kidnapping, stolkhome syndrome, cussing, lmk if I missed any!

The walls were an ugly tan, it was uglier than your own room when you left it. The ceiling was one of those popcorn ceilings, the windows were somehow tinted brown, and the floorboards creaked whenever you stepped somewhere in your room.

You hated it. You wanted to say you disliked it, as negativity was everywhere in this apartment, but you hated it. You hated the smell, you hated the look, even the damn traffic outside.

And you certainly hated the man who brought you here.

Eddie Brock, he was a reporter and journalist on certain violent crimes, however, after losing his job when he went snooping somewhere he definitely wasn’t supposed to, he has had to resort to his own jobs, and finding different opportunities himself.

And most importantly, you hated him. He left you in the apartment for hours on end, with nothing to do, besides maybe turn on the TV, and watch the same channels over and over again.

The only thing that kept you sane in this hole they called an “apartment” was, surprisingly, his books. He had tons, and tons of books. Mostly collectors or true crime books. You didn’t really care for them before, but they’ve gained a new appreciation from you.

Everyday, you would read the books, sometimes switching in between different ones, and trying to figure out the pieces yourself, even if the answer was given to you.

Other times, you would feel a little dumb when you read them, as you couldn’t figure it out within the first few chapters. It was hard for you to not just flip to the ending of it and read those pages with those books.

Whenever he left, you would grab one or two, and hide yourself in your room. Sometimes, if the day was less cloudy than usual, you would sit in front of the living room couch and read them there.

Going through the pages, reading every word, plot twist, and analyzing every character. With your favorites, you would re-imagine the stories with yourself in them. You would begin to think you’re crazy sometimes, thinking like this.

But you didn’t care. You had long learned that no one was in your mind, reading your thoughts. It was just you. Alone.

Sometimes you would stare outside, through the dirty window, and wonder to yourself what would you do if you got the opportunity to go outside again. You could go downtown, there was that little cafe you and your friends would visit. There was the city park, while dirty, you remember what the grass felt like when you would run around barefoot. Oh, and the movies! Your family liked to watch any latest movie, as it was a fun outing for all of you.

And then, it would get too overwhelming. Those nights always made you cry.

Of course, you would never tell him. Or Venom. Besides, even if you did, they were always out. With some exceptions, they would leave around noon and come back at 8 or 9 in the evening.

This was also the reason why they would be present for the first few hours you would be awake. Everyday with them was almost a routine. They would gently wake you up, let you get dressed, eat your breakfast that they made for you, brush your teeth and hair, and then you would be with them until they left.

Sometimes they would just talk absently to you, like they didn’t expect you to answer. Other times, they would ask you questions about what you wanted, what you liked, and just try to have basic conversations.

Of course, you never really participated. At least, you tried not to. Your spite and anger were stronger than your fear, and you would glare at them whenever they tried to talk to you.

They would keep trying, however. Every day was a new topic, or sometimes they would bring up a previous talk to try and engage you. However, nothing was as bad as when they decided to get physical.

While you were relieved their anger wasn’t as present as yours (if they even had any towards you), they would force you to cuddle with them. Even if you tried to push away, you realized that fighting against a big man with a bigger alien was not a good idea. So, you would just let them sit there and hold you, never letting go.

Eventually, they would let go, and you would try not to show how eager you were to get out of their hold.

You remember one time, it was late at night, and they had had a bad day. Something about some weird guy making them mad, if you recalled. They had just grabbed you and hugged you on the couch.

While you were uncomfortable at first, you started to feel yourself relax for the first time since you were taken. You felt your shoulders drop, your jaw unclenched. It almost felt like going into a warm bath on a chilly night. It was… pleasant.

You had closed your eyes, ready to fall asleep when you heard their small chuckle. Your eyes never shot open as quickly as then, and yet, you found yourself wanting to go back to sleep.

Unbelievable! You screamed to yourself, trying to rationalize with yourself: this isn’t right.

But unfortunately, you didn’t win that night. You had told yourself, it’s only one night, it won’t kill me, even as your morality was sitting in the back of your mind, even as it was screaming at you to get up and go, you didn’t listen.

It was too comfortable, it was too cozy, you didn’t want to leave. The thought hit you before you went to sleep.

You didn’t want to leave.

---

The first slap in the face was the fact that you stopped checking the date every day. It was just something you remembered, before you realized why it was so important.

How long has it been? 3 months? 4? You tried to remember the date you were taken. It was a Wednesday, right? Or was it a Thursday?

Eddie had started to let you watch the TV with him. Mainly just news channels, as he would give a basic summary of what he would have to do that day. This morning, he had made you eggs and hashbrowns. He had apologized for the little amount of food he had, as he still had to go to the store. You had a little laugh to yourself, “I don’t really care, your food usually tastes good.”

He gave you a small smile, “Well, so long as Venom doesn’t cook anything.”

“I make great food! I don’t even need this food, I can eat both of you!”

You and Eddie laughed with each other, before he gave you his mini summary of what his day was going to be.

“... so apparently, they think her mom is behind all of it, but they aren’t sure.”

“Hasn’t she been found, though?”

“Yes, but apparently the whole time they kept her in a sealed room and when they would enter, they would wear masks over their face.”

“Damn. That doesn’t sound easy to find out.”

Eddie was trying to find his sweater, and you had opted to help him find it. The bedroom, living room, even the bathroom, you couldn’t find it.

“Well, it might be easier to figure out than finding my damn jacket.” You had given him a small chuckle, before Venom suddenly jumped in. “I can be the sweater!”

Before either of you could respond, he wrapped himself onto Eddie, giving him an almost jet black jacket, the same as his other one. Just, of course, this time it was Venom.

Eddie walked back to the kitchen, before returning, this time with his little bag he carried his stuff in.

“I’m gonna be a little late today, they all live in the upper state. Hopefully, since I’m leaving early, I’ll be earlier than expected, but we still have leftovers from yesterday's dinner, too.”

You picked up your plate, and went to grab his. “Don’t worry, I won’t starve.”

“Good. If you wanted me too, I could grab something from the way home?”

You thought about the idea of your favorite takeout, your mouth watering at the image in your mind. “That would be great, actually. Thank you.”

He unlocked the front door, before he turned to meet your eye. “Remember, late day today. I’ll be back this evening, though.”

And with that he closed the door.

You brought the plates and dishes to the sink, cleaning off any little bits left, and then set them out to dry on the little rack you had on the counter.

When putting down the last plate, you realized that that was probably the most you’ve ever talked with them. You also realized you weren’t angry at all towards him.

---

Every day you were becoming more and more compliant with your situation. You were hiding it, almost as good as your sadness from the nights you would think about the outside. Actually, you hadn’t even wondered about your family for a while. Or your friends, or your favorite places.

And it was starting to scare you. Really scare you.

You had tried to make yourself wonder about your previous life, but then, all the negatives popped up. The work of school, your own actual work you would attend, your doubts in your friends' trust.

It was weird for you to think about. Every time you wandered back to those memories, something negative would pop up. Even when you thought of the more positive memories. The cafe you remembered when your friends forgot about the meetup and didn’t even show up. The park has always been dirty, you just didn’t remember it. And the movies were really only for your parents, never to take into consideration on what you wanted.

You tried to go back to when you hated the place, to when you would cry yourself to sleep and wonder if you were ever able to leave.

It was harder and harder to go back to that mindset.

Today was another day you just decided to go with it. You were too tired to fight against your exhaustion of wondering what you should feel, so you would just act normally in front of them.

Today was another early-late day for him.

“This time, I don’t think I’ll be able to get anything from a restaurant, sorry.”

“That’s fine with me, I think I can make dinner myself tonight. How about stir fry?”

He walked past you, putting on his shoes at the door. “That sounds great. You can make it early, I can just reheat it.”

You smiled, gathering up the dishes you had left on the table.

“Oh, hey, by the way.”

You stopped and looked at him. “You haven’t had anyone come to knock on the doors lately, right?”

You shook your head, “No, the last time someone knocked on the door was around 3 weeks ago? Can’t remember.”

He hummed, “Well, if someone does, and you can’t see anyone through the viewport, don’t answer the door.”

Laughing, you put the glasses in the sink. “What, is some serial killer going to knock on the door waiting for me to answer?”

There wasn’t anything from the doorway. You turned around, confused, only to almost jump. His face was worried. Like he had just seen a ghost.

“Don’t answer the door. In fact, don’t even make a noise if someone does.”

Your heart started to quicken, not only from what he was saying, but also because of the sudden switch in mood.

“Oh… ok.” You awkwardly shuffled around, trying to get the rest of the plates without meeting his gaze.

“Alright.” he sighed, turning back to the door. “I’ll be back this evening. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” the door closed and you could hear the lock turning, before you heard his footsteps towards the stairs.

Walking back to the living room, you decided to yourself the dishes could wait. You wanted a nap. You absentmindedly thought of what he said. Why was he so worried about the knocking? Was there a news story that scared him? He had told you sometimes, with stories that were too graphic, he would wonder about if someone like that was going to go after him or you.

Well, he seemed alright when you both said bye-

You said you loved him.

---

That afternoon, instead of doing anything you were planning on doing, you had a mini mental talk with yourself.

You had to decide what you wanted. No, you had to decide if you wanted this or your old life back. This was getting out of hand.

First, you let yourself relax around them, then you started being friendly with them, and now you're acting just as they want you to: to be a good kid who does what they're told and doesn’t make a fuss.

You even said you loved him! Like a real family…

Did you want that? No. No, not at all. You wanted your old family, your old friends. But, this was so much more comfortable. I mean, no job, no worries, you used to think about all the worries you would have when you graduated your college, now the most you worry about is what you will have for food that night!

Is it that bad? The thoughts in your head clashed together, and you soon realized that it had been a few hours since they left. 6:04. Had you really been thinking about it this long?

You wanted to tell yourself you’d get over it, that it was going to just pass, but the more thoughts rushed into your head. This is not something that can just pass as easily as a test, this has to be a conscious decision.

But you couldn’t do it. You realized you had far too many indecisive thoughts and feelings at that moment. Everything you had been thinking about was solely based on your situation. You turned on the TV to try and get some static, barely listening to the reporter, who was spouting off some weather reports for the next day.

“-and breaking from Michelle here, we have more info on the Midtown Murders.”

What?

Turning up the volume, you listened. “Well, police haven’t said who their suspect is, but they believe that whoever is responsible is still loose. Reports say that the killer walks around the evenings from 6 in the evening all the way to 5 in the morning. I mean, really, can all we do is wait for them to kill us all?”

“Well, while the city council has asked the city for a curfew time from the evenings to the mornings, they have been very lenient on what they want. However, what we can tell is that-”

Knock knock.

Startling yourself, you jumped for the remote, putting the TV on mute. You listened again, and before you could convince yourself it wasn’t anyone, you heard it again.

It was almost like a loud boom. But it was just someone at the door.

Quietly, you sneaked up to the door. It felt so weird. It shouldn’t be this scary. It was just someone at the door! You looked through the peephole, hoping to see someone there.

To your relief, there was someone you recognized. The apartment owner, Roger, if you remember correctly.

“Eddie? Are you there?”

Straightening up, you said, “No, he’s not here at the moment.”

“Who- oh. Uh, when will he be home?” He said.

“Around 10 probably.”

“10?! I- Alright, I’ll just come back tomorrow. Would you let him know that?”

“Yeah, I will.” You relaxed your shoulders, and let out a sigh you didn’t even know you were holding.

“Well thank you anyway.” You heard his footsteps go away from the door, when you suddenly remembered your whole decision talk.

This could be your chance! You haven’t talked to anyone besides Eddie and Venom since… Well, it felt like forever!

“Wait!” While you instantly regretted it, the rational part of your mind pushed away your embarrassment.

He seemingly stopped in the middle of the hallway. “What?”

You stood silently for a moment. Should you? You knew he had the keys to the apartment. He could get you out. You could be free.

“Did you, uh, need something?” You didn’t realize he had walked a little closer back thinking you were going to say something.

“Uh.” Should I? Turning outside the window, you saw the almost beautiful city, glowing and gleaming, even if it was a tinted window.

“Could you open the door for me?I lost the extra set of keys we had, and he changed the lock so it could only be opened with a key.”

You heard sputtering, before, “He did WHAT? He didn’t even tell me!”

While you thought he would drag into you, you heard the door lock open. “Well, I’ll see if I have a spare, but you have to be more careful with these things, you know. They’re not cheap.”

Getting out of your trance with the lights, you quickly replied, “Thank you, I’m sure I’ll find it before you get a spare, though.”

He grumbled something, “Well, don’t count on me for one if you can’t find it.”

And with that, he walked off.

---

It was another hour before you finally faced the door again. Originally, your mind didn’t even want to face it, too scared of the planning and thoughts that rushed to your head. But you soon realized that it was too stupid to hide in your room, so you walked back outside.

You didn’t even sit at the couch, you just plopped yourself in front of the door. You were trying to reason with yourself, with one side telling you to make a run for it, while the other saying to wait, that you needed to think about this.

What is there to think about? You’ve been thinking this whole day! In fact, you haven’t even had anything to eat or drink, you haven’t done any chores, you’ve just been sitting on the damn couch and pondering on what your decision was going to be!

And that got your mind going. What’s gonna happen when Eddie comes back home to you having not done anything all day, you haven’t made any dinner, you haven’t even eaten or taken care of yourself yet, and to top it all off, the door was open.

You wouldn’t be able to make an excuse. There would be no excuses. He would find out. He would get mad. What would he do? Would he finally let go of all the anger? Every single time you cussed at him, that you yelled at him, hell even when you were in your no talking phase: is he going to remember all of that and actually attack you?

You didn’t even realize you had grabbed some random bag you found and filled it with clothes and snacks. You didn’t have much to bring, really:

Standing at the door, with the bag in your hand, you were about to start crying.

Do it! Your mind screamed. Get out of here before he comes back!

But he’ll find you! The other part yelled. He’s gonna be so mad, and everything that you’ve worked for will be gone!

You looked back to the window, the whole thing that you could theoretically say started this whole mess. It didn’t look so pretty now. In fact, it looked ugly. There were no stars, there were no pretty colors in the sky: just black, with the city lights peaking out.

But you didn’t want it to look pretty: it looked like freedom. It looked like the outside. You could almost feel the ground beneath you, the smell, even if it wasn’t that great.

You could see your family again.

Turning back to the door, your mind screamed in all directions. Don’t leave! Why do you want to be in some prison for the rest of your time? You’ll be safe here! You’re only gonna rot in here! Who’s gonna love you outside, anyway?

Do you really want to spend the rest of your life tucked away?

You turned the knob of the door, and quickly rushed outside, thinking someone was going to grab you and drag you back inside. You stayed still for a moment. There was nothing. No one was there. Just you, and your pacing heart. You wanted to cry.

Looking at the time, it was only 7:30. You had at least 2 hours before he even got home.

I mean, if you really regret it, you can just return right back on time, right?

You didn’t need any more motivation. You closed the door and ran down the hall.

---

You don’t know how long you’ve been running for. After you got out of the apartment, you ran all the way down the street, ignoring anything and everything in your way. But after what felt like eternity, and after your lungs started to burn until you couldn’t take it, you sat down at some random city bench.

You were out. You were free. You didn’t know what to do, either. You had just been running for, what, the past 10 minutes?

You sat there for a good while before your mind finally caught up to you.

What could you do? Did you want to go back? You could theoretically ask someone for help, get back to your family…

Right? Because that’s the reason you left. You want to get away from Eddie, from Venom, it doesn't matter how much your heart hurts, or how your feelings hurt, you have to get away.

Resting your head in your hands, you silently screamed to yourself. You didn’t know whether you should jump for joy or if you should collapse sobbing to yourself.

God, you thought, everything is against me…

“Are you lost?”

Shooting up, you turned to the owner of the voice, which revealed some middle aged looking guy. He had red hair, and was pretty skinny.

“Uh, no.” You sat back down, embarrassed you were so startled by a guy you should have already seen. “No, I’m just… resting.”

“Hmm.” he walked closer, and while your instincts told you to walk away, you were too tired. You wanted to cry and scream at the same time, and you really wanted to go to sleep.

“Sorry, you just seemed like you didn’t know what you were doing.”

You would’ve laughed at the irony if you weren’t simultaneously scared and sad. “Yeah, yeah, I’m… just tired.”

He sat down on the bench with you, albeit on the other side. You both sat in a semi comfortable silence, with him just staring off into the distance, like he didn’t even realize you were there, while you were going through the five stages of grief all at once.

“Are you from here?”

Getting your shit together, you said “Uh, yeah, I am.”

“That’s nice. What’s your name?”

“______.”

He hummed, and it went back to silence for a minute. Then, he asked, “Do you know someone by the name Eddie Brock?”

You stiffened. What? “Excuse me?”

“Eddie Brock.” He repeated, turning to you. “You know, famed journalist and reporter, was into discovering true crime cases, decided to go behind his wife’s back and look up secret info that spiraled his career downward, but now he just does job to job?”

You quickly sobered yourself, and while thinking of what to say, he stood up abruptly.

“I know you do, don’t worry. I was just wondering how you knew him.”

You quickly realized how fucked you actually were. This guy was skinny, which probably meant he could run faster than you. There wasn’t anyone around, which was great for your whole mental breakdown, it wasn’t good for being alone with some random guy.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Before you could even think, his face almost morphed into one similar to Venom. But this time, it was blood red, and he wore a smile on his face that stretched ear to ear.

“Oh, but I know you do!”

You didn’t even need to think about the different options you had then, you just ran.

Of course, it didn’t do you much good, as you were picked up within a matter of seconds, and tossed into the air like some toy.

“I know you know what I know!” He sang in a sing-song voice, grabbing you by the waist. You realized he was perched on top of a street light. You realized he had doubled in size and went from some skinny man to a huge symbiote, almost bigger than Venom.

“I can smell him all over you, y’know! There’s no need to lie!”

Looking down, you couldn’t even say anything as it felt like you were going to be dropped at any second, only focusing on your balance in his hand. Trying to pry his hand open wasn’t working at all as he laughed.

“Well, unfortunately for you, you’re gonna have to deal with me now!”

You felt yourself getting thrown over his shoulder and your head beginning to get a headache. Your whole body lurched from one side to the other, and you realized you were in the air.

“We’re gonna love you!”

As you felt the wind rushing in your face, the smells of the city around you, and your heartbeat pounding in your ears, you comically thought that all of this could have been avoided if you just listened to your feelings.

~~~~

#yandere eddie brock #yandere eddie brock x reader #yandere eddie brock imagine #yandere venom #yandere venom x reader #yandere venom imagine #yandere marvel #yandere marvel x reader #yandere marvel imagine #yandere cletus kasady x reader #yandere cletus kasady #yandere cletus casady imagine #yandere platonic

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aeoki · 1 year

Text

Grand Slam - Prologue

Location: Yumenosaki Grounds Characters: Tomoya, Eichi & Wataru Season: Summer Writer: Akira

TL Note:

This is a Japanese proverb for putting one’s own children through severe hardships in order to test their spirit and raise them to be respectable human beings.

< The latter half of September, the first year ES was established. At the Yumenosaki grounds (the “Old–Fashioned Sports Festival venue) up in the sky. >

Tomoya: GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?

Eichi: “Now, it has finally begun! The first category of the traditional event “The Old-Fashion Sports Festival” at Yumenosaki Academy: Sky Blue…☆”

Tomoya: I’ve never heard of this ridiculous event before! This is completely different from the sports festivals I’ve been in!

Eichi: “It seems one of the players is saying something, but we’re too far away to hear. Let’s not mind him and continue with the live broadcast.”

Tomoya: That’s so meaaaaan!

Eichi: “Also, your MCs for the event are fellow alumni of Yumenosaki, Eichi Tenshouin from “fine” and…♪”

Wataru: “Your very own Wataru Hibiki…!”

Eichi: “Fufu. Both of us have already graduated from Yumenosaki but for ES, the four great agencies can be rather competitive when it comes to the ‘Old-Fashioned Sports Festival’, after all.”

“We are graduated students so we don’t have the right to take part, but we’ll be cheering and supporting the current students as part of the staff.”

Wataru: “Amazing! I hope you’ll have a wonderful time watching the lovely tragicomedy that is the high schoolers living out their youthful days…! ☆”

Eichi: “But the sports festival is indeed nostalgic. It’s truly hard to believe only a year has passed.”

“A lot of things happened, such as our graduation and the establishment of ES; it’s been a very jam-packed time.”

“My recollection is already fading in the distance.”

“However, the fun memories of my youth will always remain.”

Wataru: “I had thought you would have nothing but terrible memories of the sports festival, where muscles and stamina are everything, as you were born with a frail body.”

Eichi: “That’s not true. Those who are weak have their own means of enjoying things. In actuality, one cannot participate in all the events by themselves.”

“Just because you are a ‘weak character’ with no stamina whatsoever doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the sports festival at all.”

“Last year, I enjoyed tactically guiding and moving those around me. It felt as though I was playing a game of chess, it was rather delightful.”

Wataru: “Ohh, that’s a very Eichi-like thing to say! It appears the ‘Emperor’ of Yumenosaki is still alive and well!”

Eichi: “That is simply my nickname. I’m not that sort of arrogant figure at all. Fufu.”

Wataru: *Whispers* Oh? I touched upon a risky topic but you dodged it quite gracefully. As expected of you, Eichi ♪

Eichi: *Whispers* Fufu. I’m probably a “compassionate and lofty idol” in the eyes of the world, though.

*Whispers* It’s not interesting if you’re a straight-laced person, so I need to sprinkle a few jokes here and there.

*Whispers* Besides, ever since “Crazy:B” appeared, they spread and exposed everyone’s weaknesses, so I may not be able to maintain my clean image forever.

*Whispers* That’s why I’ll let a few “maybe-I’m-actually-a-little-bit-black-hearted” phrases slip and make the fans' perception of me grow closer to my actual image – until it has thoroughly blended together.

Wataru: *Whispers* Right. It’s because of such tactics that I commented and said the “Emperor” is still going strong ♪

Eichi: *Whispers* Fufu. I’m no match for you, Wataru ♪

Tomoya: You murdereeeeeeers!

Stop chit-chatting and explain what’s going on! I’ve got no clue~!

Why did I get taken up to the sky in a helicopter, was told no ifs or buts and then thrown off!? Just what did I do to deserve this~!?

Wataru: “...Oh, we must direct our attention to Tomoya-kun soon.”

Eichi: “You’re been working very hard, Wataru.”

Wataru: “Tomoya-kuuun! My Tomoya-kun! Can you hear me?”

Tomoya: I don’t ever remember becoming yours but, yeah, I can hear you, dammit!

Wataru: “Then, please listen carefully! The first category of the “Old-Fashion Sports Festival” is called ‘Sky Blue’ and, just like the name suggests, it will be held in the sky!”

Tomoya: What do you mean by that!? Humans can’t fly, you know? The only movement we can do in the sky is “falling”!

Wataru: “Rest assured! By introducing a variety of new equipment, it is now possible to hold a new ‘Sports Festival in the Sky’!”

Eichi: “We can fly through the air using the wings of an aircraft, after all. While we’re on that subject, the Tenshouin Zaibatsu are the ones responsible for supplying that new equipment.”

“It’s technology that can only be used for children to play with or in war, but I’m deeply moved to have the opportunity to showcase it this time.”

Tomoya: You guys can actually hear me, right? Then, why did you ignore me earlier and just start talking between yourselves? Are you guys heartless or something~!?

Wataru: “Tomoya-kun, Tomoya-kun! Can you see four different coloured mats on the ground? Currently, you have been tossed out into the open air but…”

“Find the colour of your agency – you’re in RhyLin, so that’ll be pink! Please land on the pink mat skilfully!”

“Once you do, that’ll count as a huge success and RhyLink will gain one point! That’s what this event is all about!”

“It’s the first event in ‘Sky Blue’ – Meteor Impact ♪”

Tomoya: Okay, okay! So I’m a meteor! I just have to let gravity do its thing and fall, right?

I’m most definitely going to turn into minced meat but is that fine!? This year’s sports festival is being broadcast on TV and the internet, right!?

Ahh~ I’m doomed! ES and Yumenosaki are doomed too! It’s going to be a huge incident that’ll go up in flames online and everything’s going to be done for! It’s game over!

Wataru: “Don’t despair, Tomoya-kun! Remember the days of our training!”

“If you remember your experience and handle it calmly, you will – for sure – succeed in this event!”

Tomoya: Yeah! Unfortunately, I do remember you tossing me out into the sky numerous times!

From the number of hot-air balloons that you’ve got! You said it was all for me to “build courage”...!

Wataru: “Fufufu, lions will toss their precious children into a steep valley[*], after all ♪”

Eichi: “If you were to think about it normally, no matter how strong their bodies are, anyone would die after falling from such a high place, though ♪”

Tomoya: Daaaammit! I’ll never forgive you for this!

If I die and get reincarnated, I’m coming straight for you two for revenge!

Wataru: “Amazing! I’ll be looking forward to it, Tomoya-kun ♪”

Eichi: “Fufu. I’m curious to see how the event will turn out, but we’re just in time for a commercial break ♪”

Tomoya: You monsterssssss!

(Oh, jeez! Why is this happening!? Wasn’t the Sports Festival a peaceful event for Yumenosaki~!?)

Next Chapter →

#enstars translation #grand slam

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archiveikemen · 9 months

Text

Harrison Gray Main Story: Chapter 3

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection. I do not own any of the original content. Please support CYBIRD by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

❥･• Warnings and FAQ

Victor: Hey, Kate. Harrison too.

Kate: Yes?

Harrison: What?

Victor wore a wide grin and his eyes sparkled, he looked like he was up to something.

Victor: I just had a brilliant idea…—

Harrison: I don't want to hear it.

Victor: Now, Kate. Do you remember what Harrison’s curse is?

(Victor’s sleuthing skills are impressive…)

Kate: Erm, I’m sure it’s—

– Flashback Start –

Harrison: I have the curse of a lying fox. … Is that the truth or a lie?

Kate: … I’m guessing it’s the truth?

Harrison: Hmm, you think so?

– Flashback End –

Kate: The curse of a fox, right?

Victor: That’s right! Your memory is very good.

Victor: It’s said that since ancient times, a certain number of cursed people have been born into this world.

Victor: If that were true, there should be a large amount of research materials and information about them. However, that’s not the case.

Kate: And why is that?

Victor: There are various reasons… some of them hide that they’re cursed, there are also those who never realise that they’re cursed. c

Victor: Amongst them, a significantly smaller amount of information is known about the fox curse. Therefore—

Victor: Here comes the Victor Quiz ♪ Yay, come give it a shot!

Harrison: …

Victor: Why is there so little information known about the fox curse?

Kate: Is it because they have many secrets? And it becomes difficult to grasp their true nature.

Victor: What a pity! Your answer is incorrect, but it’s very close to the correct answer.

Victor: Well then, the correct answer is…—

Harrison: Because we’re liars.

Victor: My, you went for the best part, Harrison. You’re so greedy.

Harrison: I can’t stand it when you tell others about my business without my permission.

Harrison: Many of us who have the fox curse are excellent at lying.

Harrison: Foxes are often used to describe liars in fairy tales, right?

I thought about the numerous foxes in fairy tales and nodded in agreement.

Harrison: It seems that those authors took inspiration from the fox curse. … Geez, it’s quite bothersome.

Harrison: “People with the fox curse are liars”.

Kate: Does that mean reference materials about the fox curse became unreliable, because they only contain fictional information from fairy tales?

Harrison: Yeah, and it can be fatal when it comes to literature where information has to be reliable. Literature filled with lies shouldn't exist.

Harrison: Oh well, knowledge about curses has no practical value whatsoever.

Victor: I don’t think so, Harrison.

Victor: Developing a deeper understanding of curses may give “cursed people” freedom.

Kate: Freedom?

Victor: At the moment, there are no known methods for them to escape their curses. However, if research can lead to them being liberated…

Victor: Having the freedom to live however they like is an important form of freedom that should be respected, right?

Victor: I mean, I love all of you cursed people from the bottom of my heart!

Harrison: … Stop that. Don’t hug my arm, don’t snuggle up to my face, and don’t pat my head.

(I thought that the things I have to write are important because they serve as activity reports to Her Majesty, but…)

Kate: So what I’m understanding is that, as the fairy tale writer, my written records will benefit everyone born with curses.

Victor: Exactly! Mmm, you’re so wise and intelligent. Could you have been a goddess in your previous life?

Kate: Erm, thank you for the compliment. … By the way, what’s the “brilliant idea” you came up with?

Victor: Since you’ll be working as a fairy tale writer from now on, it must be rather challenging to observe and record the activities of eight people, yes?

Victor: There is only one person who’s as wonderful as you with unrivalled intellect, Kate. Therefore, I thought of having you be Harrison’s personal fairy tale writer.

Kate: What?

Harrison: … Huh?

Victor: You will feel less burdened with a smaller workload, hence improving the quality of your records.

Victor: In other words, it's like killing two birds with one stone. Mm-hmm, I’m a genius.

(Harrison's personal fairy tale writer. That means I’ll always be spending time around him, right…?)

Before I could say anything, Harrison spoke in a cold voice.

Harrison: No thanks. It’ll be annoying to have her hovering around me all day.

(Well, that’s true. But having that said to me so bluntly makes me feel disheartened.)

The complete opposite of my disheartened self, Victor’s eyes were still sparkling.

Victor: A brilliant idea will only be a fantasy if it's not put to work. And thus, I’m not going to give up on it.

Harrison: I don’t have the kind of free time to be going along with your foolish whims.

Victor: No matter what?

Harrison: No matter what.

Victor: I see. Hmm… there's nothing I can do about that… I guess I’ll just have to ask Her Majesty for a favour.

Asking the Queen for a favour would turn that suggestion into a command he has to obey regardless of whether he wants to.

(It feels kind of good, yet so childish.)

A look of frustration flashed across Harrison’s face and he turned his mint coloured eyes towards me.

Harrison: Hey, you.

Kate: Yes?

Harrison: Are you okay with that?

There was no doubt that writing records for eight people would be a difficult task, so I was personally in favour of the idea.

Kate: Although the proposal was very sudden and unexpected, I understand where Victor is coming from and fully agree with him, but…

Victor: Look, Kate gave her OK. Now all you have to do is nod your head.

Harrison shot Victor an icy glare and said with his arms crossed.

Harrison: Three days.

Kate: …?

Harrison: I’ll give you three days.

Harrison: Within that time frame, as the fairy tale writer, I want you to obtain at least one useful piece of information about myself “from me”.

Kate: Useful information?

Harrison: Yeah, information that can be used for your report about the fox curse.

Harrison: If you can do that, I’ll let you write down whatever you want about me and hang around me as you please.

Kate: What will happen if I can’t?

Harrison: I don’t have to spell it out for you, do I…?

That definitely meant “never get involved with me again”.

(And yet, if I back down now, I’ll never get another chance to get to know Harrison. And so…)

Kate: Understood, I’ll definitely do my best to win this game.

Harrison: Hmm. Oh well, if you want to. … You’ll definitely never be able to beat me.

…

The next day, my three day long game with Harrison began.

(If I want to get information from him, I have to speak to Harrison no matter what!)

To my surprise, Harrison agreed when I asked to have a chat with him alone.

However—.

(He told me he'd wait for me in the dining room…)

Kate: Hm… I guess he’s not going to show up.

…

(He must’ve forgotten about our meeting the last time. This time, we’ll definitely have a proper conversation!)

Kate: … He’s not here.

…

(Third time’s the charm. This time, most definitely…!)

Kate: …

Kate: He’s not here!

…

I was deceived again and again. I couldn't even get to meet Harrison.

After somewhat hounding him, I finally got him to make some time for me—.

(This should be the mansion Harrison told me to meet him at…)

– Flashback Start –

Harrison: Tonight, I have something to attend to in high society. It’s to obtain some information Will wanted.

Harrison: I guess I can spare you some time before that.

– Flashback End –

Wearing an unfamiliar dress Victor had prepared for me, I looked around in search of Harrison…

Harrison: Kate.

Kate: Harrison! Thank goodness… you really showed up this time.

Harrison: Of course I did. I promised to.

Harrison smiled tenderly and wrapped his arm around my waist, he then spoke to the butler with the guest list.

Butler: You must be Sir Oscar and his companion. Please, enjoy yourselves.

After the check from the butler, Harrison let go of my waist…

Harrison: I can’t enter a high society event without a companion. I’m saved.

Kate: Wha— h-hey… Harrison!

Harrison: Shh… right now, I’m “Oscar”.

Harrison smirked and walked into the venue illuminated by a luxurious chandelier.

(Could it be… no, that’s not possible, did he just make use of me!?)

(B-But I won’t back down just yet!)

I went after Harrison, pushing my way through the crowd.

Aristocrat’s Daughter 1: Look at that person with milk tea coloured hair, isn’t he gorgeous?

Kate: Wah..!

Aristocrat’s Daughter 2: I saw him first! Excuse me, care to chat for a while?

Kate: Waah…!

A group of aristocrats’ daughters shoved me aside and before I knew it, I had lost sight of Harrison.

(...)

(You liar…!)

…

Time flew by mercilessly as I continued to be pushed around by his lies…

(Today's the last day. The moment this day ends, I lose. But until then, I won’t surrender.)

After I had calmed myself down and thought about my next move, I realised a loophole.

(Hm? Why don’t I ask other people for information about Harrison, instead of asking him directly?)

I felt my withering heart revitalise almost instantly.

(Yes! I’m winning this game!)

…

Liam often went on missions with Harrison, and so I went looking for him in the basement.

Liam: Oh, it’s Kate. Hi!

Roger: Hey there, young lady. You don’t often come down here.

The basement served as Roger’s research laboratory, as well as an infirmary.

Liam had a large wound on his arm, and Roger was in the midst of treating it.

Kate: How did you get injured, Liam?

Liam: Ah… I did something stupid to satisfy my curiosity. But I’m fine, it doesn't hurt.

Roger: Hey, stop moving. He has the curse of a cat, so he has to periodically satisfy his curiosity or things will get messy.

Roger: But he gets himself injured all the time. He’s adding on to my workload.

Liam: Yeah, I’m sorry. Ahaha, I got scolded again.

As Liam smiled, his eyes briefly had a look that seemed to see through what was in my heart.

Liam: So, what did you come here for, Kate? I’d gladly accept if you’re going to ask me out on a date, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Kate: Um, actually…—

It seemed that all of Crown already knew that Harrison and I were challenging each other…

Liam: You just need information about Harry, hm. OK, you can count on me for that.

Kate: Really? Thank you so much.

Roger: …

Liam: What's the matter, Roger? You’re making your already very scary face even scarier.

Roger: Young lady. Before you get overly excited, you should recall the conditions Harry stated.

Kate: Huh…?

Roger: Conditions set by that cunning guy can’t possibly be simple, right?

(That’s right. Back then, Harrison said…)

Kate: “I’ll give you three days.”

Kate: “Within that time frame, as the fairy tale writer, I want you to obtain at least one useful piece of information about myself “from me”.”

Roger: Haha, I get it now.

Liam: Huh? What do you mean? I don't get it at all.

Kate: Unfortunately, me neither.

Roger: Harry explicitly mentioned the words “from me” as his condition for the challenge. In other words—

Kate • Liam: … Oh.

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil main story #harrison main story

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what-do-1000-swords-look-like · 3 months

Text

So I was in the Jonsa tag because I'm slowly getting back onto my Jonsa bullshit and this popped up as one of the latest posts:

And then I see the ever-so smart tags of someone else when reblogging said post:

To be fair, this op and reblogger didn't tag this post as Jonsa and obviously Tumblr is at it again with their algorithm but I found the content of said post and the assertion that Jonsas are "idiots" and "delusional" to be utterly fascinating.

For one, when the show was airing its final season, I never ever saw any Jonsas claim that it was Emilia's fault that Jonsa didn't get an HEA together at the end. Not in the circles I traveled. That's a ludicrous claim. Emilia had no investment on what Jon's or Sansa's endings would be, together or not.

What Emilia did change however that many have been (correctly) critical of was the dialogue in the throne room scene before Jon 🗡️ Dany. Rather than let everyone see exactly who Dany was, who she had become, she asked D&D to add in the lines of the whole "I couldn't count to twenty" bit. She admitted as much in an interview, stating that she wanted fans to remember who Dany was in the beginning of the show, and D&D obliged. That's a major problem, whether you're a fan of Dany or not, especially if you're a fan. That negated Dany's dark turn completely and her entire arc as a character. It negated why she chose to take such actions and the true ending that she deserved. While I respect Emilia as an actress and as a human being, she was wrong to ask D&D to do that. She's not a writer and/or showrunner. She should never have had that part added in because season 1 and season 2 Dany even was not who season 8 Dany was (or even season 7 or season 6 or season 5). That is the only thing I've seen Jonsas (and other sections of the fandom) be rightly critical of.

The "delusions" and "idiocy" I see coming from some of the Dany stans, though, is truly confounding to the rest of us. "Dany was never supposed to go dark!" "It was bad writing!" "Even Emilia knows!" "That's not how it goes in the books!"

Dany was always supposed to go dark. That's the entire point of her story. Go back and watch the show again. It's always been there. They have always framed her actions as just when really they were anything but. They've always shown the darkness waiting inside her to be unleashed. She was always going to be the final boss in the end.

While the last season was not most people's favorites and things were rushed & mistakes were made, Dany going dark in general is not bad writing. It's actually good writing because it closes up what they've been setting up for her since season 1 (mind you GRRM was involved in writing episodes of the show from seasons 1-4 so even if his books end differently, that part of Dany's darkness is still in there, just saying).

Emilia has self-admittedly blurred the line between herself and her character for some time now. And it's understandable. She played the character for 10 years (another example of an actor I can think of sharing this sort of blurring approach is Jensen Ackles with Dean Winchester after 15 years of him playing that character) and she underwent some intense and dangerous health issues during that time that thankfully she survived and was able to heal from. She has talked about drawing strength from the character during these times and she naturally is protective of the character for all of those reasons. But even she has stated that now when she looks back, she sees where the show was leading Dany all alone. She may have her own thoughts on why the dark turn happened when it did but again, she is not a writer, producer, or director. She also defers to the work D&D did despite being honest about her emotional reactions to Dany's ending when she first read it and afterwards.

"That's now how it goes in the books!" This is probably the most common argument point many Dany stans make that just causes me to repeatedly roll my eyes. This is the show, not the books. Two different universes essentially. Did you not realize the show was adapted from the books? Do you know what adapted means? Do you know that adaptations happen because a story is being transferred from one medium to another? Did the Twilight, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games films all follow the books to the last letter? No. Why? Because they were adapted from a written medium to a visual medium. This has been happening since your parents were toddlers. And did you not notice how there was no Lady Stoneheart or Val or Dacey Mormont or Harry Hardyng or Young Griff? Did you notice how it was Sansa that married Ramsay and not Jeyne? At what point were you going to realize that the show was going to go its own route? Should they have changed the names to Jansa Jark, Son Show, and Myra Jark in order to get your attention? Nanerys Margaryen perhaps? Jyrion Nannister? Black Beetle? Come on now 🤡

I will never understand why people refuse to see what's right in front of them, even when their fave is saying it. And yet they call Jonsas delusional. Okay, then.

Then again:

"Sansa Stark will die screaming"...okay, then.

#i saw this a while back #its been sitting in my drafts #i just find dany stans hysterical sometimes #theyre so hard up to disprove jonsa for anyone who might dare ship it by pointing to Emilia or the books #not a reliable point in either case #because it has nothing to do with what happened in the tv show #too funny #anti dany stans #got #gotposts #fandom bullshit

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eff-plays · 7 months

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can we get more of your feelings about the durge/astarion stuff pretty please?? because i feel SO vindicated after reading your thoughts and am almost resentful of durge/astarion stuff having everyone so "they're made for each other!" and "they're canon!", it feels so invalidating towards tav/astarion. i really don't like durge either; i have one canon character when i play rpgs and dark urge does not fit them in the slightest 😓

if i wanted to put an understanding spin on it, i guess that's the trade off for having your own custom character with a back story you've created, and at least astarion is so incredibly loving towards tav and talks repeatedly about how incredible they are and how much he cares for them. but i do absolutely have SO many created scenarios in my head where my tav breaks down with their own traumas and ptsd, and astarion is there to comfort and help them through it, because god knows we don't get any of that in the actual game 😭 (i hope this made sense omg, i just love your opinions and want to hear them all)

Honestly I am not generally in the business of having too many opinions on things I haven't personally tried or experienced, so what you've seen so far of my opinions on Durge/Astarion is basically the extent of it, and my reasoning for deciding not to try it in the first place.

However, I can offer some further vindication in that I think saying "they're made for each other" or "they're canon" is such a dipshit and factually incorrect take that it's pretty much not worth getting upset over. People can say and think whatever they want, that doesn't always make it true, particularly not when it comes to RPGs that are meant to be played as you want them. People who say this are fundamentally misunderstanding the concept of an RPG, and they're probably stupid, and their opinions aren't worth considering or taking seriously. Or, they're just trying to upset you and they feel smug about their own choices, in which case you should still ignore them.

Like, I hate Ascended Astarion, but I'm not gonna say Spawn Astarion is canon. If I do say it, I will clarify that it's canon for me, because it is, but canon in general? It would be literally, factually untrue. So why would I say that unless I'm wilfully obnoxious and smug about my choices? Or just dumb? Which I am, but not like that.

Iirc Larian encouraged people to play custom origin for their first playthrough, and people did, and most people tried going for Astarion. That means that, statistically, a shitton of people have Tav/Astarion as their main pairing. Why would they encourage this if it's apparently not canon? Why shoot themselves in the foot by offering an apparently inferior experience first?

Also, just because one writer wrote stuff for one character because they had the time to do so, does not make it somehow the definitive answer. It was clearly not intended to be the only romance where Durge gets a specific variation, I doubt Larian would do that, so it's basically an accident, or at least unintentional.

That being said, even if it was intentional, who's to say it's a good thing? Harkening back to my Dragon Age days, I remember people saying that Andrastian human was clearly the intended experience, and the game struggled to accommodate any other race/class. Does that make it canon? Or just bad game design/writing?

Obviously not saying Larian did a bad job, clearly they did a good job if people are going to bat for it this obnoxiously, but the logic is equally flawed.

I do have issues with Durge in general as a concept (mostly cuz I just don't understand the logic behind including it aside from ... previous game fanservice?) but I haven't even graduated from gamer school yet so I won't get into that.

Also, one thing abt Tav I love that Durge misses out on is just the sheer ballsiness and comedy of rocking up to Bhaal's secret temple and killing all his guys and just not even being involved in any of that shit at all. Durge gets all that angst and drama, sure, and Orin is soo important apparently, but she died in two rounds for me. TWO. Imagine being just some fucking guy who fucks up your shit so bad that you have to restart everything. That amuses me to no end.

So ... there's that, lmao.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #cazador was a harder fight than orin lmao #all that buildup and then she just fucking croaks #misogyny tbh #but also i thought she was so annoying tbh so it was still fun to kill her #more fun that it was so undignified #like yaas girl go give us nothing #durge: ouhgh ... orin ... my enemy. tav: lmao yeah some rangom crazy bitch i shanked #tbh all the villains in bg3 are kinda mid there i said it #cept for maybe the emperor he can hang

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suzuran777 · 5 months

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BLVN Review: Psychic Eclipse (C-Garden NEXT-B)

I finally decided to play this VN after seeing a lot of information about it in Cool-B magazine! It was released in 2021, by a BL visual novel company called C-Garden NEXT-B. It's their first visual novel, but the scenario writer and artist have both worked on some BLVN related projects in the past. I played the PC version, but it also has a Nintendo Switch port now.

The game takes place in the near future, in a world in which humans developed psychic abilities. It was believed that these new psychic abilities would lead humanity to a brighter future, however, one incident changed everything. "On that fateful day, the sky was stolen from us".

The protagonist of this story is Kei, a young man who lives together with his childhood friend Subaru. In this game, a person's psychic ability is ranked on a scale from 1 to 6, and Kei has a level 2 ability which is considered quite weak. His ability allows him to sometimes predict an event in the near future, but since he never knows if his visions will really come true, it sometimes causes more bad than good. After a certain incident, all humans started living in domes, controlled by an AI called Polaris. Six years ago, people suddenly started transforming into creatures called "eclipses", who are known for their aggressive nature. Once a person turns into an eclipse, it seems like they completely lose their humanity and it is unknown how the disease is transferred. Some theorize that it is contageous.

This game has three main routes and a fourth extra route, I recommend playing Subaru's route first because I think it doesn't go too deep into some of the plot elements yet. I played Licht's route first which kind of spoiled the other two routes, so I think it's better to pick Subaru or Sirius first. After playing all three of them, you unlock a fourth route, which focuses on some of the side characters (unfortunately no Mikage route but they pair him up with a side character who appears later).

Subaru is Kei's childhood friend, both of them lost their parents when they were younger and they currently live together because they don't really know anyone else. Subaru has this ability to control blue flames, though he rarely uses it because those living within the domes are told to not use their psychic abilities. He seems to know a lot about technology and Kei gets a bit suspicious why Subaru seems to be hiding certain things from him...

The second character who has his own route is Sirius, an AI who Subaru created. He has a cheerful personality, a male idol who enjoys singing. He talks to Kei through Kei's phone, but he often also shows up as a hologram. This made me wonder how the romance in Sirius's route would even develop since Kei can't touch him, but I kinda liked having a non-human love interest. I've played a lot of visual novels but the only AI/robot character I can remember right now is Clear (from DRAMAtical Murder), so I would love to see more of that.

Kei's first encounter with the other two characters, Licht and Mikage, happens one day after Kei finds a dead body of an eclipse at work. Licht immediately uses his psychic ability to stop him from moving (he's the only person alive who has a level psychic 6 ability, who can use psychokinesis) and later Mikage also threatens him, so Kei doesn't have the best first impression of these two. In his route, Licht actually turns out to be pretty nice, he just has no idea how to interact with people normally because he only talks to Mikage and his own father... One thing I should mention is that psychic abilities do come with certain side effects, they take a huge toll on the body of the user and if they use it too often, it can lead to permanent injury and eventually death, which is also a big theme in this route.

Each character has three kinds of endings: good, normal and dark. The normal ending is the one you'll most likely get first, though don't be fooled by the name because some dark stuff usually happens to the characters in these endings too...! The dark end is basically a mad end, but it's a bit more difficult to get. Luckily each route only has 3 different choices, so I figured it out with a bit of trial and error.

This game is technically "all-ages" but they do occasionally mention explicit topics and some...stuff happens during the human experiments, so I guess "all-ages" just means they won't show any explicit CGs. I think a 17/18+ rating would be better, as some of the endings also get really dark and some CGs can be a bit gorey (limb amputation, decapitation, etc.) I think it doesn't look too bad in this artstyle but it's probably good to be aware of it before playing!

This is the company's first game, so there's a couple of things that could be improved. For example, all side character models are silhouettes, which makes it hard getting attached to some of them, this includes the enemy robots/eclipses. The side characters & extra scenarios you unlock later also aren't voiced. I don't know if I misunderstood some of the endings, but I sometimes felt like all of the problems get solved a bit too easily and suddenly everyone's happy again (well except the characters who died...) but they might explain more of this in the fandisc, which they are currently working on. There's a lot of things about this game I did like though, the game was much darker than I expected and I really enjoyed seeing what would happen in the "normal" and dark endings. I also quite like the artstyle, and the game's OST is really good! Apparently the guy who composed the music used to work for Capcom and has created music for the Monster Hunter games in the past.

They recently tweeted that they would postpone the release date of the fandisc to 2024 because of the large number of scenarios they were adding to it. It seems like they're going to focus a bit more on two side characters I didn't mention before, who only appear in the final route: Licht's brother Kanade and Mikage's acquaintance Kousaka. I might check out the fandisc when they release it!

#psychic eclipse #blvnreview #vnreview #blvn #visualnovel #review

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fancyfade · 5 months

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Been reading your posts and saw the meme about how other dc characters act when they are around a Batfamily member and they loose all their critical thinking skills

Has that been a problem in comics for decades? I noticed that with Damian in titans stuff…to the point I became annoyed because it just making him a mini Bruce rather then played with the potentially interesting dynamics he could have.

Do Dick and Tim suffer from the mini Bruce approach in their titans stuff a lot too? It gotten to a point in Damian’s stuff for me, that there should be an editorial mandate saying “Just because they are Batman legacy characters, doesn’t mean they are clones of him.”

for Damian, it's been a long time since I read his teen titans stuff (and I didn't read a ton b/c most of it wasn't good), but I do remember that in the intro arc it did feel very Damian centric, and some of it was like.. the other characters powers were too easily cancelled out by some random gadget. like the gun that shot kory when introducing the capturing the team part of the plotline. that was stupid. (and in general, characters powers get randomly cancelled out by a gadget is a common thing in the batfam characters stuff). I can't remember WRT critical thinking, been literal years since I read the comic, but I do narrative focus was disappointing.... even for being a Damian fan while reading it.

for Tim in YJ I guess it felt like he was the leader for no reason, but I can't remember who had the general critical thinking skills or if none of them did. But he also got randomly super tough in one plotline in a way that made me give up on the series for a bit (where he was treated as like. the only person capable of standing up to Harm for some reason which was 9_9). However, in Titans / Young Justice Graduation Day Tim definitely felt like he was the only YJ character who was allowed to be portrayed as "right" (in which "right" obviously means listening to Dick, the paragon of reason) , because everyone else's recklessness had to be exaggerated to explain why the YJ team is so terrible. But god forbid Tim be slandered with the rest of the team 9_9

Dick it definitely holds so true, he was part of the inspiration for me reblogging it :P like the whole "robin is the default leader" thing doesn't start except with Dick, and it wasn't just because Dick was such a logical choice. It was b/c the writers decided to not let anyone else have ideas besides him in the original teen titans series. I've heard it as "everyone had one character trait and his was leader" but like... many characters didn't even have one character trait. Donna's was "girl". like the writing was clearly not balanced or good. and it's sooooo conspicuous because even in NTT, which is generally a pretty good series, the other characters will come across investigations when doing stuff while Dick is absent and be like ":C :C :C oh no dick our critical thinking person is gone whatever shall we do". Like multiple times! and IIRC that happened in the 1966 Teen Titans comics I read too in 1 issue where Dick was off screen. but like "dick is the smartest teen titan" "dick is the best leader" "dick could take out the other titans with planning but just won't b/c he's nice" - any of these situations existing is basically because he's writer's pet a la bruce. inb4 - I'm not saying any instance in which Dick is a good leader shouldn't count. but like. him being the obvious choice over other people is writer's pet-ism and Marv does not give other characters a chance to shine in the role, yet gives Dick plenty of chance to shine. So there is no fair comparison or way to say "he's best".

Anyway, I'll say Dick is by far the one I have noticed it being most true of. If you want to just read Teen Titans comics and have fun he is fr like the Batman of teen titans comics.

#ask #dc comics #anon #teen titans #the new teen titans #dick grayson #damian wayne #tim drake #robin

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sgcairo · 7 months

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Heya! Wanted to ask a question, hope you don't mind! Oh, and also I wanted to gush about this idea.

In your universe, is Dottore from Sumeru or is he perhaps mixed in ancestry? Yesterday I came across this fantastic fan-comic of him as a kid, and the artist headcanoned him as just albino, with both of his parents being dark-skinned.

I've read the Mamatorre stuff and I woke up my dad from screaming with joy. I'm not one to praise representation much because most of the time it's butchered, but, the fact that Dottore being Sumerian is canon in the game is what makes him such a curious case to me.

Oh, and- Dottore speaking Arabic is nice to think about-

Now, this is a tricky ask, and I definitely sat on this for a while so I could give a good and accurate answer, sorry about that. But what I have come to the conclusion of is that the Dottore in my mind and the Dottore that Hoyoverse officially let out of gay baby jail are very different.

First and foremost, I do not agree with the fact that they took all the melanin from his skin, give it back you cowards- and they made him so... I don't even know how to describe it. They made him squishy, I was expecting pointy. His design is also very random, and I think this plays into this ask fairly well, as I believe very firmly that his clothes would take after a more Snezhnayan design, but have touches of Sumeru woven into them for emotional comfort, rather than the uh... The thing that we got. I can't even look at it, it haunts me. I'm definitely not vibing with the in-game design for very specific reasons.

Now, no matter how angry I may be as a writer and artist about his official design, one thing stands true in all my renditions of him: His mother is from Sumeru. Her parents are descended from the people of the desert, and while she may live tucked away in a western corner of Avidya forest, she belongs to the lands of Sumeru, and very much looks it. Her skin has a coppery color to it, her hair is bleached a bit from the sun, and her accent is quite a bit stronger than her son's, but she's been living in the rainforest since she was little, and doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon.

But, as much as I hate saying it, I actually can't say all that much about Dottore's father, but only because I kind of threw him in a corner and forgot about him for a while. He collected dust while I fawned over Dottore's eccentric mom, and I'm still working out the details of his backstory. What I can say is that he worked in mechanics, and met Dottore's mother while on a business trip to the Akademiya, which included him nearly fainting of fright after she popped out of a flower bed covered in dirt and muttering ominously to herself. But as for where he's from, I'm not putting down a definitive answer, but mostly because I'm still deciding in that aspect.

Not to worry about his physicality though, Dottore got everything from his mother (except for his height).

For some more juicy details, because I love digging into the meat of Dottore's backstory- Dottore's mother is named Hikmat, though she does insist that outsiders call her Magdalena. Why? It may have been due to her husband, and his quite frankly horrible demands, but that is a statement to be speculated over. However, Dottore just calls her ma', or "mother", if he's with Pantalone. It's rare that the segments use her name either, as Dottore's own affection has rubbed off on them quite a bit. But she has names for all of them, and nicknames (she calls them all "habibi" a lot, and they all love it) that she remembers distinctly for each.

As for Dottore's connections to Sumeru, he does not like the cold. At all. He's not used to it, and certainly won't admit to being miserable with little to no sunlight from the eternal winter in Snezhnaya. When he does visit his homeland, he's rejuvenated to the point that Pantalone has remarked several times that he's like a whole different person. The same can't be said for his mother, she's never seen snow before and loves it. It helps that the Tsaritsa is there to enable her curiosity in that regard, and the first time she came to Snezhnaya, she spent hours running around outside Zapolyarny, and had to be lured back inside before she froze to death when night fell.

Dottore can also definitely speak some Arabic, or the Teyvat equivalent of it. His Snezhnayan is still a little rough, even after centuries of practice, and he falls into the habit of cursing and muttering to himself in his mother tongue when he's extremely focused or stressed. He knows many languages, and has reason to use them, but he'll always fall back to his roots, as many a poor Fatui soul has learned, after being cursed out in a language they may or may not even know.

As such, the point stands: if you ever ask Dottore where he's from, he'll 100% say he's from Sumeru, without a doubt. No matter where his father is from, he loves his mother and what she has given him too much to let that part of him go.

I'm sorry this wasn't a hard stop answer, but I hope this answered your question at least a little! I'll be sure to reblog this when I come to a final conclusion, but I'll have to see where my brain takes me on this one.

#il dottore #mamatorre #il dottore's clones #genshin impact oc #genshin impact headcanons #fatui headcanons #genshin impact #fatui harbingers

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britesparc · 1 year

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Weekend Top Ten #558

Top Ten “Weird Al” Yankovic Songs

In retrospect, I should have done this last week and the Tarantino list this week. But really, what is more Al than just randomly getting something very, very slightly off? Because there’s a fillum out and I want to celebrate. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story stars Harry Potter as “Weird Al” Yankovic in a hard-bitten biopic of drugs and excess that is only available on a streaming service you’ve never heard of that isn’t even accessible in the UK, and is both the true story of Yankovic’s rise to success and also completely made up. And as someone who’s been a huge Al fan for over twenty years, this is incredibly exciting, hilarious, and rather frustrating in equal measure. Anyway: to celebrate, here’s a list.

Yankovic is an incredibly gifted musician and performer, something that I think is often hidden by the fact that he’s most famous as a parodist. But it’s one thing to just change the words of a song to make a joke; it’s another to spend forty years adapting multiple genres and styles of music, as well as expertly recreating famous videos, as well as making parodic references to everything from Star Wars to Santa Claus. The breadth of his talent and musicality, to say nothing of how funny and effective he is as an overall writer and performer, is frankly astonishing; in his career he’s turned is hand to everything, from gangsta rap to piano ballads and all sorts in between, to say nothing of his legendary polka medleys of popular songs.

All this brings us to the list itself, which at the end of the day is just my favourite of his songs. And I tell ya, it was hard! This was one of the hardest ones I’ve done, I think! Like with all kinds of music, really, you veer towards different songs at different times, so how does one compare American Pie to Pretty Fly for a White Guy, the works of Billy Joel to the works of Coolio? So we just come to my basic criteria, which is: how much do I enjoy the song? How funny is it? And, if it is a parody, how well is it doing with the parodying? Because one of the things I love about Al is that, as well as homaging different styles of music or plots of films, he often peppers his songs with lyrics that reference so much stuff. It’s a delight unpacking them from a comedic standpoint. Sometimes it’s not even a reference, sometimes it’s just hilarious wordplay. So that’s all factored into my complex algorithm. And this is the result!

The Saga Begins (1999): whilst I was broadly familiar with his work, this is song that really made me a fan. I remember it being a news story on the Empire website, and trying to watch it on my flaky dial-up at the time – probably the first music video I ever watched online. And I still think it’s just hilarious. I think the funniest thing is that, unlike some other songs, it’s not really parodying Star Wars; it’s actually a fairly straight retelling of the events of The Phantom Menace, just sung to the tune of American Pie. But the lyrics are golden; “My, my, this here Anakin guy/Maybe Vader someday later now he’s just a small fry”. It’s so perfect that it’s not only damn funny, not only a beautiful love letter to Star Wars, but also it just works as a song. I’ve sung it so much I know all the words and it was actually a bedtime lullaby I sang to my kids. And however much I love some of his other songs, I can’t say that about The Night Santa Went Crazy.

Dare to Be Stupid (1985): is it possible that I love this one so much because it was the first Al song I heard? That it is, in fact, featured on the soundtrack to The Transformers: The Movie? Almost certainly yes, but I don’t care. I am not, in truth, very familiar with Devo, so the intricacies of its parody are mostly lost on me; I get that he’s doing a bit on their songs and the video is referencing them too, but for me it’s just a really catchy song full of terrific, hilarious lyrical gags and references. And it’s played when Hot Rod and Wreck-Gar are dancing on the planet of Junk.

Don’t Download This Song (2006): rather than lampooning a specific song, this is a satire on a genre, perfectly parodying the pretensions of those Band Aid-style charity singles by earnest celebrities. As well as skewering the style so succinctly, it also has a tremendous target for the early noughties – the downloading of “free” music from file-sharing sites. Whilst incredibly of its time, it’s full of on-point references, including Lars Ulrich’s famed disdain of downloaded music, as well as mocking celebrity excess. This is all incredibly hilarious for me as, after really getting into Al in 1999, it was finding more of his music via Napster when I was at university that really made me a huge fan of his back catalogue. And don’t worry – I’ve also bought it on CD, too.

Jurassic Park (1993): this song is probably unique in the annals of all parody songs by virtue of it being more sensible and making more sense than the song it’s a parody of. The genius realisation that “Jurassic Park” scans perfectly with “MacArthur Park” is just the start, as it runs through the events of the film in hilarious manner (“I admit it’s kinda eerie/But this proves my chaos theory”). Apparently the stop-motion video was approved by Spielberg himself! Nobody leaves a cake out in the rain, however.

White and Nerdy (2006): talk about your references, this is the motherlode; and, quite frankly, it speaks to me. A veritable spreadsheet full of nerdy ephemera, the hilarity obviously coming from the juxtaposition of edgy rap with, well, Al Yankovic, almost every geeky IP or pastime is namechecked: Star Trek, Wikipedia, D&D, bubble wrap… the exquisiteness of the lyrics and speed at which Al cycles through them means it requires multiple listens to catch all the gags. And it has perhaps my favourite of all his lyrics: “The only question I/Ever thought was hard/Was do I like Kirk/Or do I like Picard”.

Ode to a Superhero (2003): ah, now we’re back to the soft gentle ballads and another recounting of the events of a summer blockbuster. Somehow singing a song about Spider-Man to the tune of Piano Man is perfect; after all, both Peter Parker and Billy Joel are New York legends (one’s from Queens, the other’s from the Bronx). Like The Saga Begins, it’s funny not just because, well, singing about Spider-Man is funny, but also the specificity of the references; like Mary Jane preferring guys “who can kiss upside down in the rain” or Norman Osborn wearing a “dumb” mask but being “scarier without it on”.

It’s All About the Pentiums (1999): another fabulously fast-paced rap about something exquisitely geeky; except this time it’s honing in on millennium-era computing technology. It’s another example of playing spot-the-reference but one thing that I find increasingly delightful in this case is that it’s so fabulously outdated; references to Y2K, newsgroups, “a hundred gigabytes of RAM”, and even the very fact that it’s got “Pentium” in the name. I can’t help but feel that this one’s just gonna get funnier as it gets older.

Pretty Fly for a Rabbi (1999): again we see the comedy emerge from the collision between a fast-paced, hard-edged style of music (in this case, millennial American punk) and frankly ridiculous lyrics. It’s not just the silliness of something as benign as a rabbi being the focus of an edgy rock song; it’s also the incorporation of Yiddish and stereotypically Jewish turns of phrase into the lyrics. Partly responsible for my assumption that Yankovic himself was Jewish!

Amish Paradise (1996): an infamous Weird Al song in that, whereas usually the original songwriters are chuffed to have him parody them, this one actually pissed off Coolio (RIP). But it’s part of the genre of tough songs about silly shit, the gangsta rap ballad of inner-city life and crime transmogrified into the badassery of the Amish, raising barns and milking cows. Perhaps it’s a bit mean to the Amish, in retrospect; but “you know I’m a million times as humble as thou art” is still a cracking lyric.

Bedrock Anthem (1993): I don’t think I’ve really expressed enough just how on point his parodies are; how well he raps, how closely he mirrors the style of the homaged artists, even in videos. But this is exquisite; somehow Al even looks like a Red Hot Chilli Pepper. And it’s just bonkers; I mean, how on earth do you get The Flintstones from Under the Bridge? I’m guessing – and this is just a wild guess based on nowt – that it was doing the “Yabba-dabba-dabba-dabba-do now” to the chorus that spawned the rest of the song, but who really knows? And once again we have lyrics that give me such joy, especially the way he throws in – out of nowhere – references to Bedrock life, such as “got a baby elephant vacuum cleaner”. Joy!

Now whilst I am gutted I didn’t find room for Bob, Yoda, or Santa, I’m also a bit gutted that I never got round to one of his polkas. These are really impressive works, how he manages to translate such a wide variety of songs into a polka style, and then turn it into a big medley, bouncing from track to track and even from genre to genre within the same song. Seriously, the man’s a musical genius. Maybe that’s why only Daniel Radcliffe could play him; he’s used to playing wizards.

#top ten #weird al #weird #al yankovic #daniel radcliffe #songs #music #comedy #movies #weird the al yankovic story #weird al yankovic #two simpsons gifs in a row

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corruptedroses · 1 year

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hi, i saw reqs were open!

nsfw novelist hcs with a fem reader 👀

⌞ask box open⌝ | ⌞commissions open⌝ | ⌞ko-fi?⌝ | ⌞Patreon coming soon⌝

— “A little research goes a long way, darling ❤„

Fandom — Identity V

Featuring — Orpheus / The Novelist

Content Warnings — AFAB reader [no pronouns], mentions of scratching, mentions of biting, temperature play, a suggestion of Nightmare joining in on the fun.

Author's Note — at the time of writing this we still do not know Orpheus' real name [as the name Orpheus has ben confirmed to be his pen name], in the near future I may end up coming back to fix this to include his real name but for now, he shall just be Orpheus.

As the title of this post suggests, Orpheus isn't a stranger when it comes to the concept of intimacy or topics regarding sexual intercourse. While this man may be a bit frigid himself, he certainly wouldn't deprive himself of the chance to learn new things. As a writer, research is a vital role of writing, and thus research means divulging in desires that would make even the devil himself sweat in pure sin.

While he leans on the vanilla side of the spectrum, he isn't afraid to experiment on his beloved or himself; while scenes like this don't usually appear in his books given that he is an author specialising in the detective genre, you have noticed that if he does something like tying you up, it usually ends up in the next book. It's weird but oddly enchanting. His personal favourite of these scenarios has had to be when he had watched your skin pebble as he dragged an ice cube across your exposed bosom. He really did like seeing you tremble

Being a bit of a frigid person, you will have to guide him at first; use him how you see fit, guide his hands, his legs, his arms to hold you tightly, squeeze you, embrace you, allow him to absorb the scent of your skin and the taste of your sweat into his brain to the point that he cannot forget it. He will not forget it. As a fast learner, one that tends to save every little detail to his memory, it wouldn't be too shocking that he ends up finding himself knowing your body like the back of his hand by the fifth time you fuck.

Talking about his fingers, he's got some long ones, he likes to make you sit in his lap, watching your face as he touches you ever so slowly, gentle circles, beautiful melodies, he's a man that likes to watch his pieces come together [and apart] with his fingers. From his years of typewriter and pen, he has callouses that also provide some nice texture. He wants to make you drip all over his thigh whether you like it or not.

He really, really likes to see evidence on each other's bodies that you two have danced the tango only meant for the most desperate of people, scratch his back, bite his skin, and he will return the favour in a way that no other man would do. He wants to leave evidence that he was there, for you to remember how he felt against your skin even long after the bruises and scratch marks have faded, he wants to remember how your heels felt digging into the small of his back as he made you sing broken syllables of his name. His true name.

When he begins to run out of ideas on how to best keep you on your toes, do not be surprised when certain books of a certain genre start appearing in his home; it's all important research to him.

There are certain nights, however, that he tends to forget, ones where his notes have already been done and you lay sound asleep. Those are the nights that make Orpheus think that he must've given into his most basic of instincts, the yearnings of the living man. As long as his notes are presented nicely and well in case of future projects, he best not dwell on them for too long.

#Anonymous #Identity v smut #idv smut #identity v #idv x reader smut #idv orpheus #idv Orpheus x reader #idv novelist #orpheus/reader #idv orpheus smut #idv novelist smut #smut #x reader headcanons #idv orpheus headcanons #idv novelist headcanons #idv orpheus smut headcanons #idv novelist smut headcanons

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mariaashby64 · 2 years

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(I meant to get started this post closer to when issue #2 dropped but I guess later is better than never) Anyway...!

Since that scene between Cassie and Cissie in the last yj dark crisis issue was clearly ripping off a scene from the original ‘98 run so I decided to dig around and compare them.

First of all here are the panels from the Dark Crisis run:

Now the team nagging Cissie about returning to archery is nothing new. Cissie reconciling with the bow was it’s own thing back in the ‘98 run. (Particularly in the arc where she went to the Olympics.)

I’d like to think this exchange in Dark Crisis is more the writer’s reminding the reader about the whole Cissie quitting, but still honing her bow skills. Or acting as a recap for new readers unfamiliar with Cissie’s storyline. However I’m not familiar with Cissie’s appearances beyond the ‘98 run so I’m not sure how accurate this characterisation is post N52.

The scene from ‘98 starts similarly.

For context, the reason for Cassie’s visit here is because they’re being called to help out in a big galactic war going on. (This is post the Olympics arc)

Now, Cissie’s argument in the ‘98 run is more of a personal one: Reaffirming her position on Arrowette despite the global need for her skills. Keyword here is personal. Cissie is a character that carries a lot of themes and veiwpoints (I rambled about this in another post) but it’s tied so closely to her character and identity that you couldn’t change these viewpoints without fundamentally changing her character.

Later, Cissie tricks Cassie into bailing after firing an arrow at her (Which I think is nicely contrasted with Cassie catching the arrows in the Dark Crisis issue) Cissie gives her this remark.

It’s got a lot to do with the title of Arrowette being a symbol, and how she’s become a tainted symbol due to Cissie’s actions and mistakes.But I think you get the point. This convo is all about Cissie.

In the Dark Crisis run Cassie is obviously talking to Cissie about finding the boys.

This is where the conversation changes from Cissie’s personal story to a critique on the 98′ run.

Now it’s been a while since I’ve read the run, so I don’t remember every villain. There were definitely villains that were misunderstood. Heck the boys’ very first villain was a kid who just wanted to play ‘nintendo’. They’ve also fought some very comically simple, evil, villains. (The baseball arc is a good example.)

But also, like, they fought Darkside. That was the climax of their series. Not to mention they also fought the people to kept Greta captive and freed a bunch of her friends from them as well.

Anyway,Cassie acts at the defence argument:

The line about the Boys is obviously there cause that is Cassie’s goal in this moment (To find them) but it also sets up this retort from Cissie:

Now the toxicity line is technically true. Cissie did have a toxic relationship with Arrowette, driven mainly by her mother and generational trauma. The next line is where cracks in the writing start to show. While it’s true that Cassie is the only one who stayed on with Tim, Bart, and Kon, (post YJ‘98). During the time that the run was still happening, Greta, Anita, and Slobo were all still major players within the team. (And might I remind you this writing is specifically a critique of the 90s run. Not the stuff that came after.) This could have been interesting if Cissie were to advocate for Greta and the others who were forgotten.That it’s not fair that the boys continued to get so much attention over them.

Instead Cissie is used to throw more shade at the boys.

It’s a shame the meta commentary comes off so heavy handed. I think Cissie’s point here could have been made a lot stronger if the writers had shown she’d kept in touch with Greta and Anita and really highlighted the fact that Cassie had disconnected with the friend group through her heroism. It would have grounded the argument within characterisation, rather than using Cissie as a prop to talk so directly about how the female characters were treated.

By the way this her stance in the ‘98 run: (Note the similar pose)

(Again, personal character motive)

The way these scene’s wrap up seem similar at first but there’s some key differences.

In Dark Crisis Cissie relents and agrees to help Cassie. Very begrudgingly, but she does.

And again giving her this attitude towards helping Cassie find their friends just makes her come off as cold and unlikable. Especially with all the meta talk about not wanting to sit in the same comic about three privileged white guys. These guys are her friends, and she’d never let them down like that, nor even pretend to not care

In ‘98 it’s all about her and Arrowette again. But here she doubles down on her stance and refuses to join.

This causes Cassie to leave without her and the conversation ends. In Dark Crisis, Cissie is the one to have the last word.

She acts really cold and refuses to be of much help later in the comic. She complains about her uselessness as an ordinary human.

But here’s the real kicker.

In ‘98, CISSIE STILL TURNS UP TO HELP THE TEAM AT THE END.

The whole set up is about her finding a way to help people outside of being Arrowette. It validates he character’s position on the matter while finding a loophole that allows her to still be part of the comic and team dynamic. Even if she is just a girl with a bow, when the cards come down to it, She Cares.

I kinda wish the convo in Dark Crisis was able to get a few more pages. The ‘98 scene was able to show this entire scene in about 5 pages whereas Dark Crisis had to over the same thing in only two (Talk about scraping for attention). I also respect it’s hard to write both characterisation and commentary on those characters, when said characters haven’t interacted in a comic for who knows how long. Plus ‘98 had the advantage of being in the middle of an ongoing run with ongoing character arcs.

I think the Dark Crisis scene could have been better if there was more focus on the loss of connection between Cassie and rest of the leftover ‘98 cast. It could have given readers more sympathy for the characters rather than the meta commentary. Even if they somehow manage to pull a “Ahah! Cassie was in a fake world the whole time too!” twist, it would have connected us more with Cassie and given her character more to reflect on personally. And you could have still related it to the meta critique, it just would have put character first.

I don’t envy the writers. They clearly want to give some commentary on the 1998 run, but are having a hard time portraying the characters... as characters, and not just mouthpieces for their viewpoints. If they really did use this scene from ‘98 as a reference, they did a poor job of understanding why that scene worked within it’s issue/run and clearly struggled to distil it into the two pages they had available.

There’s more I could talk about but I think I’ll leave it there. This post is long enough. I’m disappointed but curious to see if this series if going to be able to pick these characters up again.

#young justice #yj #young just us #dark crisis #cissie king jones #arrowette #cassie sandsmark #wonder girl #long post #meta #text post

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