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fivestar-outlaw · 9 months

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New Horizons (Park Seonghwa) (Ch. 2)

Chapter 2: Wishes

Pairing: Park Seonghwa x Fem!Reader

Words: 3.2K+

Warning(s): Mentions of rude customers, MC is stressed(tm), use of time jumps

A/N: Chapter 2 is here! I hope you guys enjoy it. I think its my favorite of the four <3 Not much else to say other than tadaaa and thank you for the love for the first chapter.

Reader is implied to be living in the US bc uh TIMEZONES ARE FUCKY and i didnt realize how reliant i was on mine (PST) when looking up KST

Summary: Attempting an all-nighter while playing Animal Crossing alongside your bias, you didn't expect your turnip prices to be such a high amount... nor did you expect Park Seonghwa to actually accept your offer to sell his turnips on your island.

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You got out of your last class for the day in the afternoon and ready to get your shift done at the bookstore next. It was a warm Thursday but you were glad it was slowly starting to cool off. Shifting your bag your shoulder you pull out your phone and see you got a message while in class. You smile and press the kakaotalk app. Seonghwa had sent you a message.

'Good afternoon for you, (Y/N). I just woke up. I hope classes have been well.' Followed by a cute emote of a cat yawning in bed.

After inviting Seonghwa to your island to sell turnips and take Marshal, you two began playing together. This was initiated by him, saying that he wanted more Animal Crossing friends. You and him swapped gifts for a few days in the game when he asked if you'd like to message through kakaotalk and here you both were now. At first most of your conversations pertained to Animal Crossing but gradually it shifted to you two learning about each other and talking.

And not just over text either.

When Seonghwa learned you were learning Korean he offered to help you out with verbal conversations if you helped him with English. At first you wanted to decline since you knew he would be busy and the time zones would make it difficult. He talked you into it, however, saying on the weekend when he has a shorter practice day and on your Friday nights when you could stay up layer you'd both video chat to show the progress you've both made for the week. Though, soon that would lead to sporadic video chats when either of you had free time.

'Good morning to you. I just got done with classes and I'll be heading to work in an hour. :)'

You replied and a few moments later he responded.

'Want to have a quick video call before I need to leave for practice?'

'Sure, let me find a spot to sit at.' You quickly found a small picnic table in the shade under a tree and put in your earphones. You hit the video call button and wait for him to pick up.

The screen shifted and you see his face. He seems to be at his deak with his phone set up to perfectly capture his face. You could faintly hear his Animal Crossing game in the background. You couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Hey, Seonghwa. How did you sleep?" You greeted.

"Hello, (Y/N). I slept good." He smiled. "Were classes good today?"

"A bit boring. We just did lectures today and got a good chunk of reading to do for homework. Did you have breakfast yet?"

"I grabbed something small." You watch as he reaches over off screen and he holds up a bowl of cereal in one hand and an apple in the other. "I'll pick up more food when we get to the building." He lightly chuckled.

"Ah, yeah. I was running behind so I didn't have much to eat this morning." You saw him give you a playful scold. "But I'll be sure to pick up something at the café by my job. I have some left overs from last night that my roommate made for us that I am looking forward to after my shift."

"Oh, Redd is at my island and the real artwork is one I already have, the beautiful statue, do you want it?"

"That would be great, Seonghwa. I am missing that one. Man, it seems like Redd really likes visiting your island. He rarely ever comes to mine."

"Well, you've been having the better turnip-"

"Hyung!" Three loud, distinctive voices cut him off and soon you're seeing San, Mingi, and Wooyoung bust in behind him. Seonghwa was clearly flustered as he stared at you then looked back at the three men in his room.

You haven't gotten to speak to the other Ateez members before, nor were you ever begging or asking to. You'd let your friend decide when you'd be introduced to them. Seonghwa frequently mentioned the antics Ateez gets up to and he's mentioned that he has brought you up to them before. You were curious to see how this video call would go.

"Is that (Y/N)?" You see Mingi bend down into frame, looking at the phone. Wooyoung and San crowd around the elder male, who's ears were turning red.

"She is pretty, hyung." Your faces flushes with warmth when you hear Wooyoung not so quietly say. You smile though when you hear his words.

"It's nice to meet you finally. Seonghwa-hyung is always talking about you." San smiled brightly next to a mortified looking Seonghwa.

You chuckle, "It's nice to meet you three too! I hope you've heard all good things."

"Only good things. Hyung never shuts up about you." Wooyoung said playfully, rolling his eyes.

"Want to swap KaTalks?" Mingi asked while already pulling his phone out. San and Wooyoung quickly follow suit.

"Hey-!" Seonghwa tried to speak but the youngest in the room cut him off.

"We want to talk to and get to know (Y/N) too, hyung. And she can help us with our English. Right, (Y/N)?" Woo smiled at you and you can see a hint of mischievousness in his expression.

"Will the schedule Seonghwa and I have for those work for-"

"Yes, it would." San interrupts. "So KaTalk?"

You simply chuckle and immediately exchange numbers with them. You start to see notifications pop up on your screen of them texting you their names and emotes as well.

"Let's be friends." Mingi excitedly said with San nodding along.

"I look forward to talking to you guys."

"I look forward to talking to hyung's pretty friend-"

"Okay, out you three." Seonghwa cut Woo off and glared at the three of them as he stood up from his chair. You watch him shoo San, Wooyoung, and Mingi away, who were all very vocal in wanting to stay in his room and talk to you. You heard the door close loudly and then see Seonghwa sit back down in front of his phone. His ears, cheeks, and the sides of his neck were blushing.

"They seem fun." You tease.

"Try living with them. I'd never get peace if Woo was living in the dorm too." He rolled his eyes but still kept a soft expression. "I do love them despite the teasing."

"So you talk about me to them?"

"W-well, yeah. I consider you a friend and all-"

"Seonghwa!" Suddenly you heard Hongjoong's voice in the call. "Woo told us you were speaking to your game friend!"

You see Hongjoong and Yeosang flank Seonghwa and kneel on the ground while Jongho and Yuhno stand behind them, leaning down a bit to be in frame. The eldest male looked so embarrassed as they started to greet you and asking you to exchange numbers, making sure to tell you how much Hwa has mentioned you.

----------

It was late one Friday evening as you got home from work. You were feeling especially exhausted from dealing with rude customers and from staying up late the night before getting homework done. Your professors must be collaborating to make your homework levels as stressful as possible with all the assignments on top of the readings and the studying for finals next week.

And you swear customers must have planned to be the worst this week with their rudeness or staying in the store way past closing. Today alone you had a lady almost hit you with a book she tossed directed at your head and had a group of teens stay an hour past closing trying to see if they could stay in the store over night.

It hasn't been a good week. You've been so tired and drained, you've hardly been able to really communicate with Seonghwa or the rest of Ateez at all.

You slowly trudged to your room, saying hello and goodnight to your roommate on the way there. You wanted nothing more than to get into comfier clothes and sleep, but you knew your mind was too stressed to fall asleep immediately. Maybe some catching up on youtube or some Animal Crossing will help.

You close your room door and immediately toss your bag in the corner. You quickly grab some clothes to relax in before peeling off the outfit you'd been wearing all day. Almost instantly you felt some of the tension leave your body. You let out a sigh and roll your neck, stretching your limbs in hopes it'll help.

Your phone started ringing.

You look at the screen and see that it was Wooyoung wanting to video call.

Despite it two months since you got to officially meet the rest of Ateez, you were close with all the boys. Though, outside of Seonghwa, you talked with Wooyoung and San the most. Both were very sweet with you and you appreciated them and Seonghwa in integrating you into their friend group with ease.

You go and sit down at your desk and press answer, but didn't turn your camera on. You see Woo and San. They seemed to be outside somewhere, snacking on something. Both smiled.

"Ah, turn on your camera. We haven't seen or heard from you all week." Woo pouted. You really didn't want them to see how haggard you look, but you've come to learn you couldn't say no to him.

"Fine." You say, dragging out the word. You tap the button and see you are now on camera. Bother either could speak you sigh, "I know, I look like a mess. I just got home ten minutes ago."

"Weren't you supposed to get off an hour ago?" San's brows scrunch in concern.

"You look really tired, (Y/N). Are you taking care of yourself?" Woo's voice was gentle. "Have you eaten yet?"

"It's...been a hard week." You bite your bottom lip, feeling tears sting your eyes. "Just a lot of school work and then bullshit from customers. I'm just happy its the weekend tomorrow for me."

"Do you want to cancel the language catch-up lessons?" You felt your heart drop at Sannie's question. "Practice ended a few minutes ago, we just wanted a moment on the roof the relax. After we are done up here we are going back to the dorms soon, we can let the others know for you if that's the case."

"I'm sorry guys. I completely forgot." You couldn't help prevent the tears from finally spilling over.

"No, (Y/N), don't cry." Woo coos. You hastily wipe the tears and make sure to take steady, deep breaths.

"Don't worry about today, yeah? It's okay, we understand." San's kindness and his smile made you feel a little better. "The others will understand."

"Thank you both." You shakily say with a wet smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry-"

"Don't apologize for that." Wooyoung tsk'd. "I wish we were there, I would be giving you a big hug right now."

"Me too, (Y/N)." Sannie spoke, his tone and face exuding sweetness.

"I wish you all were here too."

"Now go eat something. We'll let the others know about tonight." The younger male smiled.

"And we won't tell everyone the details either. Just that it was a tiring week for you." San assures. "Take care of yourself, (Y/N), and remember all of us are here for you."

"You both take care too. Thank you again."

They both smile and wave. The call ended and you let out a soft sigh, feeling a little better. You sit at your desk a little longer just to further decompress from the day. You were mindlessly scrolling on social media for a bit, letting your brain shut off.

---

Wooyoung and San returned to the dance studio a few minutes after their call with you ended. When they walked through the door they saw the others lounging around on the ground, some looking at their phones while others chatted.

"Woo and Sannie are back!" Mingi grinned and got up from the floor. "Now we can head home and talk to (Y/N)."

The two glanced at each other and then back at the others, who were getting up and grabbing their things to leave.

"We actually talked to (Y/N) while we were up on the roof." Wooyoung started. Seonghwa perked up when he heard they spoke with you. He and the others haven't heard much from you this week, which had them a bit worried.

"Is she alright?" The eldest couldn't help but ask, stepping closer to them. Everyone else looked at each other with knowing looks at his concern.

"She can't do the usual language lessons today. She told us she hasn't had a good week so we suggested she just rest tonight." San said. Everyone pulled out their phones and sent various supportive messages to the group chat you were in.

"That's too bad. I hope she is fine." Hongjoong crooned.

"She will be. Like we said, it was just a rough week." Woo nodded, his lips quirked up in a smile. "She needs rest."

"Let's get back to the dorms then." Hongjoong clapped his hands together.

Everyone let out several spunds of acknowledgment and started making their way out of the dance room to the garage to go home. Seonghwa lingered a bit, still looking at his phone before following the others at the back of the group. Wooyoung decided to move to the back with him to walk along side him.

"Are you messaging her?" The younger male asked.

"Yeah, she and I are going to video call and play Animal Crossing when we get back to the dorm and after she eats dinner." Seonghwa hummed, typing a few more things before putting his phone in his pocket.

"You care for her, don't you, hyung?" Woo's voice got lower so the others couldn't hear them.

"I do." Hwa smiled sincerely.

"Do you like her?"

"Of course I do. She's been nothing but a good friend."

"No, I mean as in you have a crush on her." Seonghwa looked to the younger males face, trying to discern if he was teasing him but saw nothing of the sort.

"No, I don't, Woo." The older male said softly. Wooyoung eyed him, but decided not to speak further on the matter. He could recognize Hwa was telling some truth, but he also could tell his friend wasn't completely aware of his budding feelings.

Wooyoung wasn't stupid and neither were the others.

Everyone else began picking up small things that gave it away. Seonghwa has gotten very happywhenever you two texted or video called. Whenever they took breaks during rehearsal, he'd immediately check his phone for any messages. He'd often laugh and tell the others a funny story you told him about your day before you told any of the others. Overall, he just seemed very happy.

And they were happy for him.

The boys were obviously wary at first and had expressed this to Seonghwa. He assured them that you've been nothing but genuine to him. And after them getting to know you on their own they came to that same conclusion. They just hoped Hwa could come to terms with his underlying crush and Woo hoped you could as well.

Only Wooyoung knew you had feelings for his oldest hyung and he hoped the two of you wouldn't drive him crazy.

---

The second Seonghwa walked through the door to his dorm, he immediately rushed into his room to wash up. He grabbed some comfier clothes and walked back into the shared space were Mingi and San were.

"I'll shower first." He smiled to them and didn't wait for an answer as he went into the bathroom. Mingi and San looked at each other before smiling while shaking their heads.

Seonghwa took the quickest shower he has ever taken. He felt less sweaty, clean, and relaxed from practice. He rentered his room and booted up his switch before he unlocked his phone. He sent a quick text telling you to call him when you were ready then got his phone set up for the video call. He did some fishing and bug catching as he waited.

When he heard the ringtone he quickly answered it.

You seemed to be lying on your stomach with your phone propped up at an angle, your switch in your hands. Seonghwa could see exhaustion clear on your face and he could see some puffiness to your eyes. Concern immediately filled his being.

"Hello, (Y/N). I'm sorry the week hasn't been kind to you." He crooned.

"How much did Woo and Sannie tell you?" There was almost a hint of worry in your voice.

"Only that it was a tiring week and you needed some rest." He gently smiled. "If... you want to talk about it, I am here for you. Only if you want to of course, don't feel like you have to share."

"It wasn't anything major. I've just been assigned a lot of homework, finals are next week, and customers have been a nightmare to deal with." You exhale. "I think today, though, stole the show with rude customers."

"What happened?"

"A lady tossed a book at me because we wouldn't accept it as a return and then some teens made me stay an hour late after closing because they wanted to hide in the store over night." You snort at the absurdity of it.

"I am so sorry its been hard for you. At least your weekend starts now."

"At least I get to play Animal Crossing with you. My mind hasn't been able to relax yet- Oh! And there is a meteor shower happening on my island!" Your face lit up and Seonghwa attempted to ignore the flutter in his chest. "Let me open up the airport for you so you can get some wishes too."

Seonghwa quickly had his avatar fly over to your island.

"Enough about me. How have you been, Hwa?" You lead him to a good vantage point on your island to wish on stars.

"The week has been good. We are practicing a lot for the various performances coming up and we've all been working hard. Sannie almost started a fire in the kitchen." He smiled when he heard you chuckle at that. "I'm glad to see you again, (Y/N)."

"I'm glad too. Sorry for being inactive-"

"You don't have to apologize for that. Life gets busy, we all understand. I just hope things in your life get less stressful for you."

"I'm already feeling better talking and playing Animal Crossing with you, Hwa."

"Good."

"Anything else happen this week? I know you can't say specifics but any antics with the guys?"

Seonghwa smiled as he focused on making his avatar make wishes. "Well, Jongho's been progressing nicely with his vocal training and practice. You didn't hear this from me, but he's been wanting to do a video call with you to show you that. Wooyoung and I did a home-cooked dinner for everyone on Wednesday this week. We all wished you could have joined for that. Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Yeosang engaged in a brief prank war from Monday to Tuesday. I had to put an end to it when the rest of us became collateral. And then Yuhno and San put together everyone in teams for a small free style dance battle..."

He was about to continue on but when he glanced back up at his phone, he saw that you had fallen asleep. His features soften at how adorable you looked, one arm supporting your head while the other outstretched with your Switch still in your loose grasp. He could faintly hear soft snores from your parted lips.

Seonghwa felt a tightness in his chest. He could feel his face and ears flushing with warmth. These are things that he has experienced lately when talking with you. His mind suddenly went back to Wooyoung's earlier question, making his eyes widen.

Oh.

Taglist: @stopeatread @hee0soo @pocketjoong-reads @seonghwaddict @tridkeys

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to-the-stars8 · 2 years

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Learning to Love Slowly

Parings; Jason Todd x Reader 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 A/N; GUYS, has anyone ever thought about a medieval Jason Todd as a knight?? Because that sounds like a good ass story to write or fucking regency Jason todd? Fuck yes! I am really considering writing a story on either one. Honestly tho I feel like this isn't my favorite chapter ever but I hope you guys enjoy it! Also pls excuse me I love using the A/N as an outlet to talk to yall!! I also am adding the under-the-cut part (did I say that right?) bc I feel like this chapter was kind of edgy, for the lack of a better term. It's just more or less gets into a bit of trauma but also gets a bit graphic with the violence, too.

17- Robberies and Grandmas

You had been robbed once before, on the street, and Jason could still remember the angry tears on your face--He didn’t want to see that again.

Several Months Ago

“Give us your purse.”

You were turning around when someone pushed you up against a wall, causing you to lose all focus. It hurt when your cheek made contact with the bricks, sending you falling to the ground. A bit shaken by the fall, you tried to quickly recover, but a hand grabbed your arm, yanking you forward. Letting out a yelp, you tried to draw back, finally seeing two boys standing above you.

One of the boys yanked at your arm again in an attempt to get your purse off your shoulder while the other flashed the gun in his waistband. Scared, you relented, letting them shake off your bag before running off with it. You scrambled to your feet and stood in that spot for a moment from the utter shock before your body reacted by running to the nearest police department.

Through shaky breaths and tears, you explained what happened to the police officer who only shared a glance with his partner with a slightly amused smile. He offered you some papers to fill out saying that they would look into it. Unfortunately, you knew that meant little to nothing, especially in Gotham. Purse stealing was at the bottom of the list of crimes that you knew didn’t matter.

Still, you did the paperwork with some hope that something would come of it, but anger started to bubble in your chest.

When you got home Jason was there already like an angel sent from heaven. The moment your eyes landed on him you instantly broke down in anger, not at him but at everything that happened.

You felt helpless like you should have done something to defend yourself--That, just a little bit, you felt like the fault was all on your shoulders. Then there those asshole cops that you knew would do nothing which left even more anger not just at yourself but that this fucked city. Jason knelt before you as you lamented all this to him, sobbing through your words as you tried to describe what happened.

Despite trying to remember what happened, it all seemed to fall back in bits and pieces, but it was enough for Jason to get the picture.

“I feel so stupid,” You wept. “I should have…”

Jason knew what you were feeling a little too well. He had blamed himself for months after his death. His mind constantly ran through all the things he could have done differently. “No. No, don’t say that. You’re not.”

“But I didn’t do anything, Jason,” You whispered, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. “I just let them…It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” He said more firm this time. “You did the safest thing you could have done. No one can or should blame you for that.”

You reasoned with yourself at his words. It was common knowledge to let robbers take the things they wanted, whether that be a purse or wallet, to avoid escalation of a situation. Slowly, you nodded, sitting back on your heels to wipe away your tears.

Jason watched as you calmed yourself down, wishing he knew the words to say to comfort you. Anger bubbled in his chest the longer he stared at you. Your eyes were glassy from the tears, a dark spot blooming on your cheek from being pushed into the wall, and you seemed just overall shaken by the experience.

“I need to cancel my cards,” You said, getting up. Patting around yourself, you realized what was missing.“Fuck! My phone was in my purse, too.”

Jason stood with you, putting a hand on your back, though remaining at arm's length, and walked you over to the couch to sit. You thanked Jason, leaning back in an attempt to relax for a second so your anger would bubble over again.

After a few seconds of silence in which he sat in thought, Jason finally spoke up. “Rest for now. I’ll be back in a little while.”

What he said was so sudden that it took you until he was halfway out the door to ask about what he meant, but when had finished the question he was gone. Slumping back into your spot, you tried to relax as he said.

It was easy to track your phone since it was something Jason had done before, not your phone that is. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop as he watched the dot on his phone screen move closer to his red dot. It eventually led him to an old run-down apartment building in Park Rowe. Jason knew the place well, it’s where he had met Bruce and spent most of his youth jacking car parts. It was up and coming thanks to the Wayne foundation, but a lot of it had yet to be fixed.

Sliding down the fire escape, Jason hopped through the first open window he saw. It was an old lady’s apartment and the sight of the Red Hood made her gasp. She cowered in her little chair, holding her robe closer to herself. Jason found it a bit cute, not that he would ever admit it.

“Sorry, Lady,” Jason said, walking toward the front door. “Didn’t mean to scare ya just looking for…”

The words died on his lips when he saw your purse on the counter of the serving hatch. Jason knew it was yours because he was with you when you bought it. You liked it for the pockets, you had said.

Turning back to the terrified lady, Red Hood jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the purse. “That wouldn’t happen to be yours, huh?”

The lady shook her head quickly, mumbling out a no. Nodding, Jason grabbed the purse and went through it, noticing instantly that your wallet was missing. He looked back up at the woman, but she seemed too old to be in on it. Plus, you had said it was two boys. Tucking it under his arm he started to open every door in the apartment, letting his anger show through every slam of the door.

“Say, lady, you wouldn’t happen to--” Jason started to yell before he opened the last door at the end of a hallway to reveal two older teenage kids huddled around the contents of your wallet. Cash and cards were displayed out for him and them to see. Horror crossed their faces when they saw the Red Hood standing at their doorway seemingly glaring down at them.

Jason thought it a bit of a pity that he found their reactions amusing, but ultimately decided he didn’t care if they were scared or not.

“I heard you kids were stealing from people,” He said, kneeling to their level.

Their faces turned nearly as red as his mask as they stumbled out explanations of how they would never steal, but he wasn’t having it---especially when the proof was in his hands. They were kids, sure, but they were old enough to know better. Still, Jason had stolen in this very part of the city before Batman entered his life, that was then. And he never tried to hurt anyone in the process.

Before they could finish their explanation he was ordering them to put everything on the floor back into the wallet. Even Jason was surprised by how stern his voice was, and for a second he felt like Batman when he was lecturing Robin.

When they presented him with the wallet, Jason put it back into the purse and then grabbed each boy by their shirt collar. They begged for forgiveness, but their pleas went willingly unheard.

“Hey, grandma,” Jason said as he entered the living room with the terrified grandma. Her eyes widened when she saw the boys in his grasp. “These fuckers have something to tell you.”

When they didn’t say anything he shoved their shoulders, hard. “Tell her!”

“Granny we, uh, we stole,” said the older boy, obviously humiliated.

Jason stepped up closer to the boy’s, leaning down to their height. “Tell her why you did it.”

The younger boy spoke up first, “We…we wanted to buy that new game console.”

Jason’s eyes couldn’t have rolled his eyes anymore and smacked the back of the boy’s head. Anything else, like needing food, he could easily forgive since it was a necessity. Even you would have been remorseful, but a damn game console? He reminded himself that these kids were that--Kids. They knew better, but they were still young and dumb. Really dumb. Sucking in a breath he started to say something before he was cut off.

The lady stood up suddenly, wagging her finger at them. “I work hard for you boys, and fuckin’ look at ya now! I got one of the Batmen in my damn living room.”

Snorting at the Batman comment, Jason let the boys go to endure the wrath of grandma, which he knew that there was no worse punishment. He started out the window, stopping to undo one of the guns on his holsters. The room fell into a terrified silence, watching as he took out the magazine to pop out two bullets.

Flicking each boy a bullet, he warned, “Clean yourselves up, kiddos, or that’s the bullet I’m putting in your fucking kneecaps. Do some honest shit before you end up in Blackgate.”

With that, he vanished into the night with your purse.

Jason returned to your apartment through the window, quietly stepping onto the wood floor, seeing you asleep on the couch. He put your purse on the coffee table so you would see it once you woke up, then grabbed a blanket folded on the corner. He put it over you, tucking it under your body so it wouldn’t fall off when you moved.

Watching you, Jason wished that he could just move to lay down in that big empty spot on the couch. He wanted to curl into your body to feel how warm you felt, and, maybe, sleep peacefully for once. Sighing, he talked himself back into reality. You didn’t like him like that. The two of you were just friends no matter how much more he wished it was more.

When he made a move to the window, you opened your eyes, making him stop. Sleepily, you sat up saying his name. It took you a moment to realize that your purse was now in front of you and, with a smile, thanked him graciously.

“Oh, Jason, I really cannot thank you enough--”

“Don’t mention it, please,” He asked, removing his helmet because, for some reason, he couldn’t meet your eyes under that damned thing. Explaining everything that happened, Jason watched as you lowered your head in embarrassment and shame.

“Holy shit,” You scoffed at yourself. “Some kids robbed me? Can’t feel safe from anyone in this city.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said because nothing else came to mind. After a second he continued. “You’ll call me if you’re in danger? Or, if you even feel like you're in danger? I would like to help you make feel a little bit safer.”

You nodded, looking down at your hands, mumbling something about buying some pepper spray and a taser. “You always make me feel safe, Jay.”

Ignoring the blush, Jason mumbled something about getting you the mace and taser, then hurried toward the window. What you had said made him feel something that made fear crawl through him. He wished he knew it was love back then. You followed him to the landing of the fire escape where you thanked him one last time.

“You’re welcome,” He said, finally. “Get some rest. I’ll be nearby so call me for anything. It can be a bit scary after something like this, so I…I want to help, okay?”

You smiled, feeling a bit better. “Okay.”

#jason fluff #jason todd x you #robin jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd #jason todd fanfiction #red hood x reader #romance #batfamily #batman

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callsigndragon · 1 year

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A Rebel in my Soul [2023 ver.] | Ch.1 New friends and old enemies

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x fem!pilot!reader (Call sign: Rebel)

Word count: 2.6k

Warnings: mention of Goose and Carole’s death, mentions of death, Jake being an asshole, mentions of drinks, Fanboy being a literal sunshine, you know the deal.

A/N: WELL WELL WELL. do i have self control? no. am i uploading this bc it is fun to sit and read my first series and think ‘i should’ve done this differently’ and changing loooots of things? yes. it is easier than just write a new fic? yep. And i’m loving every second of it. There’s gonna be major changes, i’ll be showing more rebel x dagger squad interactions and maybe this version will have more chapters than the original one.

A/N 2: reuploading this bc i realized MORE MISTAKES ugh

Tagging the usual people, if you want to be added, comment down below!

Masterlist

“Rebel shouldn’t be here”

Those were Maverick’s first words when he saw your face among the profile pictures of all the aviators called for the mission. He knew that the survival rate on this particular mission wasn’t exactly high; that's what they called him. He was an expert at going against the odds.

That's one of the many things you two had in common.

“Any particular reason why, Captain?” Cyclone inquired, already regretting following Iceman’s advice to call Mitchell.

“You know who she is.”

Cyclone pressed a few times on his tablet, making your picture occupy the whole screen. “That’s why she’s here, Mitchell. She’s as good as you, but not so prone to breaking rules.”

“Do you know where her call sign comes from, right?” Maverick hinted, not sure if he understood what was the meaning of ‘rebel’.

“It’s not because of you, Maverick. She never told anyone about her father,” Cyclone explained with a tired voice, wanting to end the meeting. “Look, you have no choices left. You either take this job or say goodbye to military life.”

How was he supposed to reject the mission? Not only because of his daughter, but also because Goose’s son, Rooster, was part of the team. He couldn’t risk the life of his best friend’s son. He swore to Carole before she passed away that he would take care of her kid. He followed his friend’s death wish, and the only thing he managed to get from it was losing the only Bradshaw left in his life and his only daughter. Maverick knew he was in no position to ask for Rooster and Rebel to be taken off the team, but he wished he could. Actually, no, that was a bad idea. He had interfered in their careers long ago. If he wanted to have a relationship with either of the two ever again, he couldn’t do that a second time. He had learned it the hard way.

Rebel was only a few years younger than Rooster. And, as if he hadn’t learned the lesson the first time, he tried to pull his daughter’s papers. He didn’t want her to become a pilot and risk her life every time she was in the air. Of course, when she found out, Rebel swore never to speak to her dad again.

Maverick knew that he had no choice but to join this mission as an instructor, to train the two of you, his kids, and pray that nothing went wrong when the time came.

This was Maverick’s hardest mission to date.

It’s been a while since you’ve been at the Hard Deck—at least two years. From what you’ve heard, Penny is now the owner of the bar. She is an old friend of yours, and having been in a complicated relationship with your father, you once dreamed that she would become your mom. Little Rebel was a very innocent girl.

Looking around the bar, searching for familiar faces, you spot Coyote and Hangman playing at the pool table. These two being here can only mean two things: one, the mission is really complicated, and they need the best aviators out there. Hangman is the only aviator you know with a confirmed air-to-air kill. And two, Rooster will be here, too.

“Rebel?” You hear a surprised voice behind you.

You could recognize that voice anywhere, so when you turn around to see the smile on Nat’s face, you can’t stop yours. “Phoenix? Oh my god, it is so good to see you. Are you here for the super secret mission?” you say while getting close to hug her.

“You thought that they could call the best of the best and leave me out of it?”

“Fair point,” you agree, hugging her again. “I missed you so much.”

“Missed you, too. Hey, let me introduce you to my friends,” she turns around to introduce you to the two tall men standing behind her. “Rebel, these are Reuben Fitch, call sign Payback and Mickey Garcia, call sign Fanboy.”

“Fanboy?” you look at him, “Quite the call sign.”

“Guess that’s what happens when you have a bit of taste,” he shrugs.

“Hmm… which fandom?”

“Trek,” he smiles proudly.

“Trek is the best,” you agree.

“Look at that, if it’s my new best friend,” Fanboy says, putting a hand around your shoulder and looking at Payback. “See? Someone with taste.”

“You’re not getting rid of him now,” Payback warns you.

“What would I want to get rid of him for?”

Mickey hugs you closer, almost choking you in his embrace. “Oh my, I found my soulmate.”

Phoenix looks around the place until she sees Hangman, then she sighs while rolling her eyes. “They really need to be desperate to bring an asshole like him.”

“Nat, he’s an asshole, but he’s a talented asshole. He’s really good.”

“Please don’t talk like him, I will throw up.” Fanboy and Payback laugh at Phoenix's antics. “Come on, let’s mess a bit with the cowboy.”

You and your new friends approach the pool table, with Hangman raising his eyes as you get closer. “What do we have here? If it ain’t Phoenix! Oh, well, well, good little Rebel is also in the building! And here I thought we were special, Coyote”

“Special like you? No thanks, I'll pass,” you retort, making Fanboy and Payback laugh.

“Fellas, this here’s Bag Man,” explains Phoenix, standing right in front of the blonde.

“Hangman” he corrects.

“Whatever. You’re looking at the only Naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill,” says Phoenix. You look at her, wondering why she decided to say that to the new guys. Wasn’t she trying to mess with him? Why is she praising him?

"Stop," Hangman responds, his ego inflated.

“Mind you, the other guy was in a museum piece from the Korean War.” There it is. Phoenix is roasting the shit out of Hangman. That’s your girl.

“Cold War,” adds Coyote, as if it could make Hangman look cooler. There’s something you never understood about Coyote and Hangman’s friendship. Coyote is a better person than Hangman could ever be. Why would he be attached to an idiot like him all day?

“Different wars, same century,” says Payback.

“Not this one,” adds Fanboy. You’re really beginning to like these two.

The look in Hangman’s face is priceless. See, Hangman got on your nerves every time you two were in the same room. But Phoenix was always ready to mop the floor with him because ‘nobody messes with my girl’. She was like the sister you never had. And by the looks of it, Payback and Fanboy will be joining Hangman’s roasting squad soon.

“Who are your friends?” asks Coyote, trying to change the subject and always defending his friend.

“Payback.”

“Fanboy.”

“Hey Coyote,” you say, looking at Hangman’s friend.

“Hey.”

“Who’s he?” you ask while signaling with your head.

“Who’s who?”

Your little group turns to look at the blond-haired man, who has been eating the whole time. He raises his head, looking surprised at all the attention he is suddenly getting. He is cute.

“When did you get in?” asks Coyote, noticing his presence for the first time.

“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time,” answers the man, smiling. He can’t be a pilot. Pilots are cocky little shitheads. He seems like the type of guy who brings your daughter home one hour before the agreed time just so he can earn her father’s approval.

“The man’s a stealth pilot,” jokes Hangman, always trying to be the funny man of the hour.

“Literally”

“WSO, actually,” he clarifies. A wizzo, of course. He kind of looks like it.

“With no sense of humor,” Hangman gives the pool stick to Phoenix and leaves.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” you say, approaching the bar. It seems like Hangman had the same idea.

“Penny, my dear. I’ll have four more on the old timer," you hear him say, looking at the poor guy who surely had made the bell ring before. You feel your stomach turn when you see the face of your father. Why is he here? What is he doing at Top Gun? Is he coming back as an instructor? That didn’t work the first time he tried; he didn’t have the free will he needed. And he couldn’t break the rules in good old Maverick fashion. Penny looks at you with a little pout in her mouth, knowing how this whole situation is making you feel.

You don’t make eye contact with him. Instead, you choose to converse with Hangman. “Need help with those?”

He glances your way with an eyebrow raised. “What, you’re afraid I’ll let them fall?”

“No, I was just offering,” you mutter, mentally scolding yourself for even trying to be nice towards him.

Hangman looks at you like you’ve grown a second head.

“What?” you grumble, not understanding why he is looking at you like that.

“...you okay?”

Wait, is he joking? Is he really interested, or is it just a joke? You decide to just follow. “Yes? Why?”

“Because you’re being nice to me,” he deadpans.

Before you can answer, you see Rooster walking through the doors of the Hard Deck. He’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt and his aviator glasses. He’s tanned, more than usual. You know the moment he sees Maverick, hell is going to break loose. You need to avoid the confrontation. As long as you can, at least.

"Roos!" you yell, sprinting towards him.

“Look at that, my favorite Rebel!” He catches you in his arms, hugging you. “Did they call you too? You didn’t tell me.”

“Well, it is a secret mission; how am I supposed to say anything?” you ask, stealing his glasses and putting them on.

“Fair enough,” he says, while letting you down on the ground. “The others are here too?”

“Yeah, even your best friend”

“Phoenix?”

“Bag Man,” he rolls his eyes and pats your shoulder.

“Let’s go with the rest,” you say as you walk away from the entrance, ignoring the feeling of your father’s eyes following you around.

“Bradshaw, is that you?” calls out Phoenix. You two get closer to her. “This is how I find out you’re stateside?”

“Yeah, I just thought I’d surprise you.”

Phoenix leans into the pool table, aiming at the next ball, before pulling the stick in the opposite direction and hitting Rooster. He bends in pain, and you can’t contain your laughter. Just like the old times. He looks up to her, smiling “It’s good to see you”

“Good to see you too.”

Hangman comes back from the bar, beers in hand, looking directly at Rooster. He gives one to everyone except you and Bob. Great, now you have to come back to the bar again.

“Bradshaw. As I live and breathe,” he says while stealing the stick from Bob’s hands.

“Hangman, you look... good.”

“Well, I am good, Rooster,” he says, hitting one of the balls, his aim never failing. “I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true”

You can see the rest of the aviators looking at each other, shaking their heads in disbelief. Fanboy looks at you, mouthing ‘what the fuck?’. Yeah, you stopped being surprised by Hangman's ego long ago.

“So, does anybody know what this special detachment is all about?” Payback asks.

“No, mission’s a mission. They don’t confront me” Hangman cuts in, always needing to say the last word. Sometimes you just wish someone punched him in that stupid face of his.

“As if he can care about something else that is not himself,” you whisper to Rooster.

"What I'm curious about is who will be the team leader. And which one of y’all has what it takes to follow me?”

“Oh, I can already hear the news, ‘Team leader Hangman leaves everyone behind,’” you declare, while taking off Rooster’s aviators.

“Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.”

“Whoo!” Fanboy says before sipping from his beer.

Hangman approaches you both with a smirk on his face and mischief in his eyes. The guy’s an asshole. Hot and good at his job? Sure, but you're still a jerk.

“Well, anyone who follows you two is either gonna run out of fuel," he says while looking at Rooster. “Or get themselves kicked off the team.” Hangman looks at you as he finishes his sentence.

It is true that you aren’t one to follow the rules to a T. You got Rebel as your call sign because of it. Your father always told you that sometimes you need to stop thinking and start doing. You have lived up to it ever since. It got you in trouble several times, but you were the first of your class, and even Hangman had trouble following you. You were really fast.

Iceman told you once that you were just like your father.

You really hope it’s not true.

“But that’s just you, ain’t it, Rooster? You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment that never comes. At least she has more balls than you.”

The group stays silent, Hangman’s words echoing in the air. Some of the aviators avoid your stare by looking at the ground. Seriously, what’s wrong with this guy? You walk closer to him, raising your head to look at him straight in the eyes.

“Well, at least we have people willing to follow us. Have you looked around? Nobody will follow you as a team leader,” you point out; not even Coyote tries to argue with your point. He knows you’re right.

If looks could kill, you would probably be dead by now. He leans over you, his face so close that you can feel his breath on your cheek. Green eyes piercing your own. If this guy were a bit less of an asshole, you wouldn’t mind having something with him. But hell will freeze over before you even consider being around him for more than ten minutes.

“I would never follow someone like you,” he reiterates, not moving an inch.

“Remember when I asked for your opinion? Oh yeah, me neither," you say, as you step aside, taking the stick from his hands and giving it to Bob.

Hangman goes to sit with Coyote, with Phoenix getting close to you and Rooster.

“Well, he hasn’t changed.”

“Nope,” Rooster adds, agreeing with Nat. “Sure hasn’t.”

“You know, everyone’s entitled to act like an asshole once in a while, but he sure does abuse the privilege.” Both of them laugh; you stay with Phoenix while Fanboy nods in the direction of the other aviators entering the Hard Deck. You don’t recognize most of them, but the ones you do are excellent pilots you’ve met on other missions.

“What the hell kind of mission is this?”

“That’s not the question we should be asking. Everyone here is the best there is.” Phoenix is right. These are the best of the best, actually. Hell, Hangman is one of the best, even if it’s hard to admit. You two are fast as hell; with you being the faster one and him having aiming skills out of this world. So, if you have been brought here to learn...

“Who the hell are they gonna bring to teach us?” Phoenix asks the question you were pondering. You were taught by the best and are now the best. Who can possibly teach you more than you already know? And then it hits you.

“Oh shit.”

The person who is going to teach you is the same old man who is going to pay for this round of beers your friends are having.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

@xoxabs88xox

@pono-pura-vida

@shrimping-for-all

@purplevortexx

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grxceful-ly · 12 days

Note

Hello there! I hope you're doing good!

19, 21 and 29 for the Fanfic Writers Ask Game!

hii thank you so much for sending me an ask!! i hope you're doing really well yourself. you picked some good ones and this got kinda long, i'm sorry 🙇🏻‍♀️

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

i'm going to take this opportunity to say that something in me does not allow me to fulfill all the multichapter, long fics of my dreams so i mostly share oneshots. i wish i could be like "this is from my [insert title here] au from chapter 14!!" or something. but alas. anyway, this is from my wip sequel to the sabezra secret relationship i wrote a while back. it's almost done, i'm excited to share the full thing soon!

Maybe the Ezra Bridger who wasn’t in a relationship with Sabine wouldn’t have said that. Maybe he would’ve been a little giddy—like, wow! Sabine is actually touching me! And isn’t completely averse to it! Maybe he should have said something like that. Or just. . .smiled? Or hugged her back? Sabine still wasn’t letting go. His heart ached a little. He let his arms come around her loosely, his gaze stuck to the floor. “So. . .” he started. But nothing else came out.

21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why?

yes and no. i don't think i've ever had to delete an entire scene--usually i will spend a lot of time writing a scene or two and i hate it a little more than usual so i end up losing motivation for the entire project. this happens often. i don't like it.

however, sometimes i'll write a line i really like but in my heart i know it won't work for the overall goal of the paragraph or scene, so i have to delete it :( i mourn for like three minutes and then move on lol.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

goodness, the amount of star wars time travel fix-it fics i've written in my mind. that's kind of where they stay. but occasionally i jot down a scene that has a chokehold on me until it goes away. i was going to share an anakin one, but for some reason i can't find my doc with that in it :') so you get this scene from my vostress wip where asajj goes back in time. this is kind of a cheat bc i don't know if it'll NEVER be posted, but as of now too little of it is written to share much more than these snippets. also there's very little interest in a fic like this versus my usual stuff lol.

Her eyes softened. “It is more important to reject that power and preserve those things. Understand me, Vos. Truly. There is no power that can take away the pain you feel. No power that is worth it for a fleeting sense of victory.” She realized she'd put a hand to his chest, naturally drawn closer as she tried not to plead with him. This was it. If he should ever listen to her, let it be now.

and for a bonus, here's an 'asajj takes omega to meet quinlan' snippet that was just for fun and will never again see the light of day lol!

“Your jedi?” Omega asked, eyes lighting up, glancing from one of them to the other. Vos flashed a lopsided smile at Ventress. “I love when she calls me that,” he said in that smooth, unserious but oh-so-truthful voice of his. Ventress's eyes slid to him, then went up to the sky in feigned annoyance as her hand fell to her side and she swiveled to walk away. “Come on.” Unfortunately, Vos and Omega were making quick friends. He was the type to do so; always had been, and it seemed she, too, was eager to befriend anyone she set her sights on. A horrifying pair.

#thank you again for the ask!#my writing #ugh i wish i had the mental capacity to write everything i wanted #some of y'all have like superpowers or something creating these entire intricate aus AND writing them #sabezra #vostress #star wars #star wars fanfiction #writing ask #dark disciple #star wars rebels #the bad batch #sorry if this post is actually Unreadable lol it's a mess

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fireemblems24 · 4 months

Text

Azure Gleam Ch 12

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that this is, by far, my favorite route. Spoilers below.

MAIN STORY

I forgot we had Claude on our "side" here.

Oh, here comes Byleth. This is AG's chapter for Byleth, right? And ugh, this time I need to actually recruit Byleth or else someone I love will die bc someone from Faerghus will die.

Oh, there's Randolph. Ready to die again. I swear to God this man is allergic to life.

He's hiring Jeralt, so yeah, this is the recruit Byleth chapter.

Adrestian nobles are real peaches. They're burning villages and looting, or a good handful of them are. I swear they have the worst nobility. Only Faerghus Western lords rival them.

If Randolph dies, than Jeralt's contract is terminated. So that means I have to trade Randolph for Jeralt and Byleth? Deal.

Man, that mint hair is a CHOICE. Whyyyyy. The darker blue hair is much better.

I like Byleth more after Hopes. I liked Byleth before, but Hopes has helped me see the characterization easier. It also makes the whole "one man army"/Ashen Demon seem more real.

And yep here's the sword again from the other routes.

I'm just so happy they gave Felix the high ponytail look.

Time to make Adrestia sweat.

Jeralt scars the Blue Lions way more than Randolph.

Leave it to Sylvain to strategize. Haha, Rodrigue says Sylvain reminds him of his dad, Sylvain isn't sure if that's a compliment.

I love how much you can tell all these people have known each other for so long.

OMG, there's so many side battles.

ANNETTE & FELIX B

Weird to only give them on support and it's only B given how popular their ship is.

Another support about Annette's songs lol. They really increased that in this game, but it's adorable so I'm good.

Dorothea and the church are performing operas for Faerghus.

Annette's "opera" song is about taking a hot bath when she's already hot. Felix is impressed with her mental fortitude. Lol.

Annette's flustered because it's supposed to be serious, not about bathing lol.

They basically set up a date to go see an opera together.

YURI & SHEZ C

I saw this in another route already (but forgot), so I unlocked it here too! But not going to write about it twice.

YURI & SYLVAIN B

These two rooted out spies together. Well, mostly Yuri lol.

Yuri's impressed with Sylvain's layers.

Neither of them are going to let Dimitri know what they're up to until after it's done lol.

Yuri's earned Sylvain's trust, but still threatens Yuri if he switches sides.

Yuri calls Sylvain out for being super loyal, which, yes, he is and that's often so overlooked part of his character.

Wait . . . Sylvain hit on Yuri with a bad pickup line? Lamo.

Sylvain mistook Yuri for a girl. Yuri is going to blackmail Sylvain with his back pickup lines for life lamo.

Yuri's open to a date with Sylvain though. Sylvain is into Yuri's flirting.

That would be a nightmare couple.

MERCEDES & SHEZ A

Mercedes looks at the little things and it reminds her of what it was like before the war - like tea parties with Shez and kids determined to get stronger.

Mercedes hates the war and wishes she could go back to those days. Getting really sentimental.

Mercedes used to just accept whatever happened and didn't realize how much she valued the past until peace got destroyed.

I had Shez be nice and tell Mercie that it's ok to get sentimental.

Mercie was happy with that.

Shez says she's always there to listen to Mercedes if she needs it.

So Mercie's like, let's tea party now! She bought new ingredients.

DEDUE & FELIX B

Their only support

Ohhh, Dimitri's in it too. They're talking strategy. Dimitri wants a head-on approach, Felix wants a sneaky one, Dedue withholds his opinion.

Dimitri tells Felix to stop pestering Dedue lamo.

Dimitri wants to head the mission, but Felix is like no, let me. Strategy resolved and Felix confronts Dedue.

Dedue values Felix's input and recognizes his unique role with Dimitri.

Dedue just stays amused the whole time and doesn't let Felix get to him.

Felix will not spit it out that he's so worried about Dimitri.

Dimitri returns and is about to tell Dimitri what went on but Felix cuts him off, which I'm sure just amuses Dedue.

I love how it's pretty much cannon that the vast majority of the cast never take Felix seriously when he's spouting his tsundere.

INGRID & MARIANNE C

MY HORSE GIRLS GET A SUPPORT CHAIN!!!!

OMG I'm so happy with this.

Ingrid's worried because her horse didn't eat all the feed. Marianne recommends hay and explains why.

Ingrid is happy and compliments Marianne, who of course downplays it and tries to get out of Ingrid asking more questions (likely about horses).

Of course, later Marianne tells Ingrid her horse (or pegasus?) is probably scared after acting up after being on the battlefield the first time. Marianne goes full horse whisperer and fixes the problem.

Then leaks that she's talking to the horse lamo. Ingrid catches it. Ingrid thinks it's awesome though.

Ingrid tries to give Marianne confidence; it doesn't work.

As a fellow horse-girl, I love this.

DIMITRI & BERNADETTA A

Dimitri catches Bernadetta out again, and ofc she gets scared, but Dimitri just wants food bc he's working too hard and missed dinner.

Haha, Dimitri hates being shut in all the time.

Bernedetta thinks Dimitri's work is spying on her, but Dimitri assures her that's not it bc he has too much work to spy lamo.

Bernadetta is amazed at what Dimitri puts on his plate because it'll taste awful, but like he can tell :(

So they cook together. And she tries to cook something he likes, which is kind of sweet actually.

She got too flustered and messed up the dish. I know where this is going lol . . . Dimitri and his iron stomach.

Yep, she's shocked that Dimitri just . . . eats it.

Oh, God, she's going try it, but of course she hates it.

Bernedetta thinks he'll have her executed now, and Dimitri's like "do you seriously think I do that?"

So I guess this is his Hopes "Dimitri can't taste anything" support.

I love how he seems immune to Bernedetta's antics though. He just calmly explains that her fears aren't true and moves on.

SYLVAIN & IGNATZ B

Ignatz figured out a general time period that Sylvain's painting came from.

Oh, geeze, it's a color made from crushed gemstones? That must've been $$$$. Geeze.

Sylain was reading up on saints to get more info on the picture and might've figured out who it was. An archbishop (was it one of Rhea's fake personas?)

Ah, they think she looks like Rhea. So I'm right. Hahaha.

They're confused about that. Never in a million years . . . .

So this does confirm that Rhea just keeps faking her death.

I'm pleasantly surprised by this support. I love Sylvain, but Ignatz is . . . not interesting, but I like how it expanded on Sylvain's studious side, and he's an art fan! Now I like him even more.

ASHE & FLAYN C

Ashe is fishing to feed the army. Ashe, sweetie, one fish is . . . not going to make a difference.

Naturally, though, Flayn is very interested. Because fish.

Does Ashe place well in the fishing tournament in 3H? Would be interesting to see if the lore stayed the same about Ashe's skills.

Poor Flayn isn't allowed to fish bc Seteth gets too nervous with her around water, but Ashe lets her fish like she used to.

Honestly, Flayn looks too young for most of the guys, but she fits Ashe's look (and personality) really well.

Flayn almost catches a large fish but fails to catch it. B support will be about her catching it, I'm betting.

DEDUE & CATHERINE B

Catherine comments that Faerghus now trusts Dedue and Dimitri more. Dedue gives all credit to Dimitri, lamo.

Apparently people gave Dimitri crap for choosing Dedue over everyone else.

Catherine isn't religious either. But I thought Rhea was a tyrant who only allowed religious people near her??? /s

Neither Dimitri nor Rhea get too wrapped up in their own titles.

Both spend their free time helping people out.

Catherine is like, maybe Dimitri is rested by helping people out like that. Something Rhea, Dimitri, and Byleth have in common.

Catherine and Dedue think they could be friends, as long as Rhea and Dimitri stay on the same side.

DIMITRI & RODRIGUE A

Not ready for this, guys.

Dimitri wants to know how Rodrigue felt when Lambert died. :(

Rodrigue didn't believe it at first, but accepted reality eventually and remembered the promise he made.

Dimitri then asks what if he'd died in Duscur too?

Dimitri also thinks Rodrigue intended to die with Lambert, but Rodrigue confirms that he never wanted to die, but wouldn't mind dying to protect Dimitri/keep him in line.

(hahahah, no)

Dimitri says losing Rodrigue would be like losing another father :( confirmation that Rodrigue is like a father.

Rodrigue calls Dimitri out for not valuing his own life enough :( (or that he doesn't even value it at all :( ) saying that he's only following his king's example then.

And Dimitri's response is like, yeah, guess you're right, I have no excuse - probably . . . not what Rodrigue was looking for :(

He's like, yeah, that was probably too harsh, but thinks Dimitri sounded a lot like Lambert :(

Rodrigue always wanted to tell Lambert that.

Dimitri's emotional about sounding like his father :(

Sounds like Faerghus people are always telling each other not to throw their lives away.

Haha, Dimitri's like, I'm jealous of your bond with your friends, and Rodrigue implies that Felix wouldn't like hearing Dimitri imply he's not close with his, lamo. Rodrigue is such a dad to Felix, like that teasing king, which is just perfect for Felix being so prickly lamo.

MAP & SIDE BATTLES

Sylvain would rather turn enemies into allies than attack them. He's talking about Jeralt's mercenaries, but it's just more proof that he disliked resolving conflict with violence.

The common folk find Dimitri more approachable now. He's working on being more relaxed lol.

Dedue and Ashe talked about how Dimitri broke a pen during a war council. Shez suggests they name the pens so Dimitri's more attached to them and is less likely to break them. I cannot with these people. (also, can you imagine how put out Dimitri would be breaking a pen he named?) They also talk about how some people are scared of Dimitri because of his freakish strength :(

Seteth is impressed with Dimitri, who asks him about tactics a lot (which, side note, I'm so happy to see this game heap more praise on Dimitri, I get that AM's plot structure didn't really allow it as much, but it's nice to hear. Also, that it's Seteth is so cool, because he's by far one of the most wise characters).

Back to Seteth though, he explains he knows so much because he's studied this military genius Saint Cichol and really recommends his book. No bias at all there, guys.

And the saga of Balthus being obsessed with fighting Dimitri continues, lamo. (nobody blames you, Balthus, because, same, how can you not be a little obsessed with Dimitri's body after seeing it).

Mercedes and Constance were friends! That's cool. Also, not two braincells between them. (and I say that with affection)

I love how the game is going out of it's way now to show that Dimitri is asking for advice from experts, then making a decision based on what he's learned. His FEH support was about that, and I always liked that, so I like seeing him do it here.

Also, it seems I can't use Rodrigue again :( Actually, here's here for the side battles, so maybe I can?

MAIN BATTLE

OK, guys, time to get Byleth. Please let this be easy.

Someone very kindly wrote up a guide for me in a message. I never posted it so I could reference it, so let's hope I get it right the first time.

We're in the weird dimension with Arval, who's on high alert bc Byleth. But this time we recruit Byleth.

"Defeat Randolph" - Don't mind if I do!

Ok, so step 1 is selecting "Locate Ambushers." But I don't see that?

Kidding. I picked it.

I can't use Dimitri??? Oh, shit. He's BY FAR, my strongest unit. This is a shitty battle to lose him for. And Rodrigue. So I'm down 2 of my actually trained units. This sucks.

No Felix either?? This is really bullshit at this point. I basically only have Shez, Sylvain, Ingrid, Dedue, and Mercedes and Mercedes can't do shit, Dedue is also pretty awful, and Ingrid always dies. Ugh. This is going to be impossible. So basically just Shez and Sylvain.

Honestly, if this is too hard, I'm just going to let Byleth die because, to be honest, I'm really sick of playing this game. This route IS the only one I actually care about finishing though.

Ugh, I knew I'd hate this chapter, but taking away 3 units with no warning is just total bullshit.

Dimitri following me around is kinda cute though. And I forget how good Shez is. It's just, Dimitri's so strong I'm used to one-shotting at this point, lamo.

I also love how when Dimitri's a green unit, he's still fighting and not getting protected like the other 2. He's also . . . not someone I have to worry about dying. He's, uh, level 57 and suggested level is 44 so um.

Ok, so far so good. I got Fleche to show up, which is the next step. Now I just have to kill her quick.

Defeated Fleche. Now I need to see a command to defeat a dude, and a side command I ignore (guessing either defeat Byleth or Jeralt, the side one that I ignore).

So pretty sure I messed up and I need to "kill" all the mercenaries attacking the base BEFORE Fleche.

Ok, got Alois before he invaded. Just got Fleche. Pretty sure what's left is to not engage Byleth and rush kill Randolph.

Took Randolph out because I saved up all my warrior gauges.

OMG, I finished Randolph before the side mission was even announced lol.

I DID IT!!!! I got Byleth and Jeralt 😭

And I did it without Felix OR Dimitri 😭

So Jeralt surrendered after defeating everyone bc they decided to use logic and know they couldn't win. Plus, they want new clients.

Jeralt doesn't care about the conviction with the Empire, only coin. But he wants to avoid Rhea because of their past, but Dimitri sets conditions to make sure that Jeralt and co avoid her.

Guys, I can't believe I'm seeing the recruitment and not character death (I know it's Rodrigue, I couldn't let him die, no matter what)

I just saw the Byleth is playable card 😭

Guys, I saved Rodrigue.

Most of the Blue Lions are like, this is weird, but good. And they want to bond by sparing bc that's what the Blue Lions do lamo.

Shez ran off though. She's talking to Shez and figured that's best done not with people around.

Arval is way more chill about it than I thought.

Shez still has a goal though, to win the war and bring peace with Dimitri and co.

Getting ready to attack the monastery. Still kinda wish Claude was our enemy like the other 2 routes.

Everyone is standing by Dimitri.

Oh . . . Mercedes thinking about Death Knight? Betting she'll run into him soon. Can you recruit him in AG?

xxx

#azure gleam #fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #three hopes #three hopes spoilers #azure gleam spoilers

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swifty-fox · 1 month

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I would just like to say that "my kingdom for a kiss upon your shoulder" tears me up every time you update (in that good way that really good fanfiction makes you feel of course).

You like perfectly write not just the kind of collective headcanon for Gale as a character but perfectly describe not just the inner thoughts and feelings of what you would expect from a character in that period and in that situation but also that kind of feeling of selfishness and dissatisfaction that a lot of LGBT+ people (especially young ones) get when they are crushing on someone and you question every single little interaction with them. Like, "oh, they touched me! Could they-? No, of course not, what a stupid thing to think." You like fantastically write this in Chapter 3 when John leans in to help Gale up and Gale starts to berate himself after for expecting him to do something. Like

"That John deigned to touch him at all, even in friendship, was testament alone to his character. How greedy of him, to still wish for more."

Jesus Christ, my heart, Gale's heart! 😭 I can't take it. (But like please don't stop on my account 👀👀 just saying.)

This fic has been such a passion project (and continues to be so!) and I'm just so delighted people are responding so well to it!!!

Gale is so interesting to me because he is so reserved except when we see these small bits of extremes. Anger, fear, tenderness. He's only able to express himself when it becomes impossible for him to mask it which says to me there's a LOT going on underneath. Especially in the context of trying to re-integrate back into civilian life....its just so fun.

It's funny to bc I'm so much more obsessed with john as a character (callum turner ur too hot stop it) but Gale is just SO fun to poke around inside of. Its like the car you like to look at vs the car you actually like to drive.

Gale was raised with a lot of shame for even existing. Compound that with a sexuality that could get him arrested or killed the idea of any sort of desire would have to terrify him. Would have to feel so beyond taboo. Especially when he already feels like John has done too much by simply not hating him/reporting him for being Gay. How could he not feel greedy and ungrateful? predatory even.

#gale has feelings!!!#talk to me about kingdom for a kiss I put so much thought into it #swiftytalks #gale cleven #kingdom for a kiss

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theysangastheyslew · 1 year

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Hey!!!

I want to share more suffering with you, homie haha *crying*

What do you think of the episode? Especially 132 part ofc!

Hi friend! :'))))))))) Ooooooh honey that gif is such a mood XD I’ve been trying to collect my thoughts and this is the best I can do atm. Sorry it’s kind of wordy but here we go 🥲

Ok! So ever-present pacing issues aside, the overarching story made for a solid episode and the animation was incredible. Hell, even the things I disliked objectively looked well-done out of context. Overall, that was no small feat to pull off, especially in such harsh working conditions. I truly do want to acknowledge that.

But in regards to 132, you guys already put into words how I feel better than I could. I may not have anything new to add, but I’ll say what I liked first and then put my issues under a cut.

As someone who actually really likes Yams’ art style, I loved that they consistently kept Hange’s face accurate to the manga. It was really inconsistent throughout the final season and they struggled to not make it too short a lot of times. Hange was always still stunning of course but the difference always stuck out to me. Here everyone was drawn well, but you can tell she got some extra attention.

The way they inched Levi closer to where Hange was sitting while talking with Yelena. Insignificant yeah but consistent with their past behavior. Also I’m glad they tweaked the position of his bandages so it looked less like they were painfully tugging upwards on his nose.

The pained expressions of the kids and Hange watching Levi struggle to even hold his gear

The “unrequited love” exchange. It had most of the softness and emotion from the manga even though the weight of that line will never be realized in non-written form. The camera lingered on each frame in a way that conveyed the sentiment. This is what got my hopes up that they would stay truer to the source material with DYH.

I'm so glad they left in Hange's lines to Flochroach about not giving up. Helps show—once again—that they wanted to live

The choked way Levi said “Devote your heart” + Hange’s widened eye and soft gasp at his words. Though not tearing up like in the manga, the shot still looked lovely for the half second it lasted. He doesn't pause halfway through saying it though so this one I'm still wrestling with.

Of course, the last stand. Onscreen, Hange took out at least 16 colossals (including the ones we see trip and get trampled) and definitely more offscreen (when they cut away to show other characters) and for the last few, did it while in the most pain a human body can feel. 7/10 for combat, my ass. Idk about y’all but I can’t stop hearing Romi Park’s screams in my head. I knew it would be nauseating and brutal but dear God. At the same time I cannot put into words how proud I am of them. That's my commander 💜

Ok “like” is definitely not the right word for this but I had wondered when I first read 132 how Hange’s gas tank was so well-insulated that it didn’t ignite, and.. well I got my answer.

I’m thankful that they didn’t show a glimpse of Hange’s bloody, crushed remains the way you see in the og panel. That at least felt respectful to me. This is wishful thinking I know but the defined charred outline makes me choose hope they fell more off to the side from where the titans were walking so at least there was maybe still a body left to recover someday.

The afterlife scene, the kids all sobbing their hearts out, Levi holding his own hand in the aftermath trying to process what just happened, and Onyankopon confirming the plane’s significance all really were appropriately gut-wrenching.

I really recommend taking a little break between The Rumbling and Sinners. It definitely makes the shift in emotion less jarring and less

When I did that with my rewatch it helped with the flow of things.

Ok, now twist me up and call me a pretzel bc here there be some salt :|

I’ll try to leave out my og issues with the manga chapter itself (like how painfully obvious it was all just to make Armin commander and how unnecessary Hange dying was IN THE FIRST PLACE and IF it had to happen at all how it could have been done at the final boss skelepalooza showdown, etc.) and just focus on the episode.

Goes without saying but it bears repeating: pacing. 75% of my issues with the execution of DYH would be gone if they just slowed down a bit. Just let the weight of it sink in a little. That this moment —all shreds of shipping aside— is the end of the line for these two heroes who have been supporting each other for ten years while bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. But Mappa completely reversed the timing of the sequence of events. In the manga we had a longer, more intimate farewell followed by a last stand that was so short even when you knew it was coming it left you reeling from how fast it was from start to finish. Whereas here they hurried it along to get to the “main event”. Hell, it flows better in gif sets than it does in the actual show.

To me, it felt like Hange’s demeanor didn’t really change from talking with the kids to speaking with Levi, making their false bravado seem like less of a front. I know their tone was meant to sound like they were keeping up appearances, but with how often Hange just gets reduced solely to being a titan freak the way they had Romi say the lines made it sound like actual excitement, especially with the way they drew Hange's facial expressions (more on that next)

Hange’s little smirk after the salute. I kinda get what they were trying to do here but to me it came off as very flippant and dismissive of Levi’s choice of words, especially since they all but got rid of their lips trembling and eye beginning to well up with tears. I wish we’d gotten the big fake smile and laugh because that would have shown better that Hange was overcompensating by trying to put their brave face back on after starting to lose their composure. Their fear is obvious in the manga but it just simply didn’t come through as well throughout this entire exchange.

Sooo Hange almost tears up when Pieck said their words inspired her yet minutes later when their Best Friend tries to say goodbye there’s nowhere near that kind of reaction? Sure, Jan

Levi’s face. Ok look. It’s not a lack of emotion on his part that bothers me. It’s that it’s an entirely different one to begin with. He looks bummed at first yes, but then that changes to what I’m guessing is supposed to be determination which comes off as anger or annoyance (kinda like what changed with his scene with Armin on the stairs). They removed what made this parting different from previous ones, which was the sense of open vulnerability and the dawning realization that now he’s going to have to let Hans go too. See it's not like they were in the middle of the battle just yet. This situation came on suddenly and unexpectedly; it wasn't "supposed" to happen. One second they were on track and the next Hange is being torn away by fate. And yes, the highlights play a part in that transition. Anyone who draws eyes knows the importance of placement and intensity and the major impact they have over the final expression. And when drawing a comic you certainly don’t take up valuable page space with three panels focusing on the hope draining out of someone’s eyes if it wasn’t supposed to be the focus. I mean for fuck's sake, even the Final Season!Nendoroid Levi got it right. Plus, if they could make a point of getting Eren's eyes right during the raid on Liberio they could have gotten it here.

When the camera cuts to the kids watching the titans fall the angle doesn’t let you see that Levi can’t bring himself to watch for more than just a second

NOT MAPPA’s FAULT but since I’m being whiny right now I’m going to add that while ACWNR is a mixed bag to begin with, WIT’s adaptation not including Levihan’s introduction saddens me bc Levi asking Hange to keep watching loses a bit of extra oomph.

Really it just comes down to the fact that there was nothing wrong with the original page. It wasn’t overdone or dragged out by any means but considering many other scenes got shot-for-shot depictions I don’t think we were asking for anything outrageous by wanting a faithful adaptation. The couple frames we got that were almost perfect were so freakin fast you barely had time to process them before it cut away.

I wanted to like it, I really did. Especially since MAPPA did so many things so incredibly well as a whole. My expectations weren’t high, and I did want to give it the benefit of the doubt. But when it came to DYH, it felt both watered down and disjointed, like a completely different scene.

But so it goes. At the end of the day, Hange still dies a horrifying death for plot convenience, and Levi is left behind to suffer once again. It was always going to hurt and I was never going to be ready for it, no matter how it was done.

#gahhhh i keep seeing posts that better verbalize what im trying to say #words are hard #tldr: basically i agree with what you kleinzoe kachuusa warm starlight murdergiraffe nenithil glassesandswords and mcxynth all said #now imma go listen to voices carry by lights and the world is ugly on repeat bc if i see 1 more ‘hange was suicidal’ take ill eat my hand #le me #replies #ramblings #rantings #snk #levihan #analysis

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wackus-bonkus-maximus · 8 months

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I am enjoying your book even more on my reread- every good book should be reread to have the context lacking the first time through- Lila is so gross.

So my question was and is: how is she controlling Gabriel? Actually, I’m wondering how she’s controlling all of them besides Adrien. I’d guessing for Gabriel and maybe Felix, it’s the threat of what she can do to Adrien with the Amok? I don’t have a good guess for why Chloe seems to have sold her soul to the devil for a piece of the wish…

🥺💘 and here i thought i couldn't be more grateful and honored to have my writing liked to such a degree! thank you for coming back for a re-read 💗 and thank you also for enjoying!

you kinda hit the nail on the head already. lila controls gabriel, and all of her teammates by extension, with adrien's amok. it's like a remote that she could make him do anything with. and they all go along with what she says for fear of her hurting adrien.

her control over gabriel (chapter 27):

Gabriel looked at him, and then at Lila. She raised her brows coolly, toying with the chain around her neck, and something in Gabriel’s expression hardened. “It’s already done,” he said heavily, and twisted the ring on his finger.

he's wearing a fake ring in this scene, and has been for years. she's hidden the real amok on her person, and when she wants adrien to do something, she makes it look like gabriel is giving the orders when really it's her.

her control over felix (chapter 31):

She had Adrien’s Amok, which meant she as good as had Félix’s, too. He doubted Gabriel had simply handed it over. The man was capable of many things, but not of that. He would not have relinquished his power with such ease. He would not have relinquished Adrien.

felix and adrien's amoks are a package deal in this au. if lila breaks adrien's amok, both felix and adrien will die. so basically felix sticks around to make sure lila doesn't force adrien into anything he wouldn't want to do under the influence of his amok, AND to make sure nothing happens to the amok itself. bc then they're both goners.

control over chloe (chapter 10)

chloe was afraid that, if she didn't help gabriel, lila, and felix, they would hurt her and her family. she pretended to be on their side out of a survival instinct - her own form of manipulation, coming from a sense of self-preservation.

There were a lot of things in Chloé’s life she knew she shouldn’t have done, but did anyway. Like turning to look as the fox and peacock Kwamis phased through the wall, or standing her ground as Félix, Lila, and Gabriel darted out of the office in hot pursuit. They all stared at her, and she stared back, refusing to let them know how hard her heart was pounding, or how much her palms were sweating. Pretend! said a voice in her head. It’s what you’re best at. “Bonjour, M. Agreste,” Chloé said, rather proud of how calm she sounded. She set her shoes on the ugly carpeted floor and stepped back into them, holding her head high and balling her shaking fists as she approached. She would not be afraid. She could not be afraid. She could never let them know. “I’ve come for my interview.”

but of course lila found out, and, well. you see the consequences chloe had to face! (chapter 19)

“Besides,” said Volpina, coming forward to slide an arm around Kagami’s shoulders. “We’d like to offer you a demonstration. An example, if you please, of what will happen if you break our trust.” “An example,” Kagami repeated, trying to shove down the sick lurch in her stomach. “I don’t need—” “Oh, I think you do.” Volpina winked at her, then inclined her head toward Mellona, letting her hair fall softly over her shoulder. “I think you've met her, too. Tell me, Ryuko, what do you know about Zoé Lee?”

not to mention lila headed straight over to kill chloe after she realized chloe had betrayed the team (chapter 30) 🤣

i hope this helps clarify! thank you again so much for reading 💗

#odnlb #one does not love breathing #chloe bourgeois #gabriel agreste #felix graham de vanily #felix f*th*m #ml fanfic #miraculous fanfic #if you're one of those ppl who downloaded my fic btw #pls note that i caught several errors while going back to read through these scenes ahhh #by this time you should know to re-download it at least twice a year to be safe

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sukehiroselei · 10 months

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BLACK CLOVER SPOILERS

Been a while since I've fully written out my thoughts on the recent BC chapters. (I think May was the last time I did?) Anywho, these are my opinions—and I stress, MY OPINIONS!—on the recent chapters. I have to admit that my feelings about them are mixed, and I'll get into why. (Probably gonna get cancelled over this but yolo I guess loool)

First, I'd like to address the difference between Tumblr & Twitter discourse regarding Black Clover. From my personal experience, I find that Twitter discourse is more focused on the fights & power-ranking system—which, of course, is absolutely essential to the genre. Power-ups are a tangible way of measuring character growth, after all.

On the other hand, Tumblr discourse is more focused on the relationships between the characters & the overarching narrative of the work. Now, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, because all of these elements are important. I had to talk about the distinction because my criticisms of the recent chapters might be better explained with this context in mind.

As someone who enjoys BC specifically because of the relationships between the characters and the world-building, I've found that the story post-Elf arc has been really... flat. I know Twitter folks will say that BC's pacing has always been quick, but I've been missing some moments where the characters just have room to breathe, you know? Like when Spade Raid ended, we had half a chapter of fun before immediately jumping into the next arc, and I feel like it would have been nice to get a little more exposition on how Spade changed character dynamics. Like, they could have given us a little Greyche moment so their current state in the manga would hit that much harder. Or more bonding time between Nacht and the Bulls, so we appreciate their determination to find Asta together a little more? Does this make any sense? Lmao

Adding to that, I think the quick pacing is detrimental to BC's strengths. A lot of people like the story because there are so many characters with very interesting backstories and motivations, but the nature of the storytelling doesn't leave a lot of room to explore the depths of these characters. Tbh, the Black Bulls' stories are just as important to tell as Asta's journey to becoming WK. Side characters enrich the world, so I'm not a huge fan of glossing over what could have been really impactful moments for characters other than Asta/Yuno/Yami to shine.

For example, someone brought up a great point that the BB fight against Damnatio was symbolic of the uprooting of Clover's caste system. You have this group of outcasts, some who were personally victimized by the corruption of the kingdom as represented by Damnatio, fighting to save the people who shunned them. It would have been nice to get flashbacks of the way that the kingdom has affronted them: Zora grappling with his dad's death and what it meant to be a Magic Knight, Gauche's history of being a convict and being separated from his only family, etc.

I'm glad that we at least had that moment with Nero, and we got to see how Asta specifically changed the trajectory of her life; how she sees Lumiere's vision of the world in Asta's ideal vision when he becomes WK. But I wish they had done the same for the other Bulls or even non-Bulls too, especially since Lucius mentioned that this whole timeline was affected by Asta. That's why I'm sort of disappointed that Asta came back right away to end things. I feel like it would have been more significant if Damnatio had been heavily injured and Asta were to deal the last blow than an unharmed Damnatio and Asta landing a fatal blow only once.

I'm still holding out hope that we'll get more of the Bulls in this arc, though there are currently a lot of loose ends and Asta's already back in the picture. I hope we get followups on Noelle/Acier, YamiChar/Morgen, and Mereo/Morris before Asta ends the battle, but idk what I'm talking about as usual 🤷🏻‍♀️

#e rants about bc #black clover spoilers #it's 1am and i'm sitting on the toilet microblogging about a fictional story #shit takes on the shitter? i'm making this a thing

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tired-reader-writer · 9 months

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Team Zahhak lair recerence. Very spooky— are those fetuses?

This panel makes my brain go brr bc yes this humanizes Hilmes but also there's a lot of factors contributing to that impression even outside of the dialogue— the panel is relatively small, giving off a vulnerable, subdued feel. His eyes (which often come across as inhuman or burning with an unearthly flame) are not shown, his expression is milder here than before, and the actual dialogue bubbles are also small to give a vibe different from usual: he is not the intense, terrifying man he usually is, he's a grieving person who feels responsible for Kharlan's family after what he's done for him. The result combined with the actual text of the dialogue conveys Hilmes' humanity even before we learn of his backstory. Good. Job.

Also, show us Kharlan's wife, Arakawa. Where is she.

He leaves, and his expression is difficult to see and he's shrouded in shadows. I wonder how he dealt with this loss when he gets truly alone. Does he keep thinking of Kharlan, replaying memories? Imagining an unusually quiet and subdued Hilmes all alone in a big room :(

Before, I used to wonder why the fuck Hilmes was rewarding Team Zahhak with gold of all things— I theorized on whether perhaps precious metals or the like could have a fueling effect on magic but turns out I was overthinking it. It's not bc money is somehow useful to Team Zahhak, no, it's because Hilmes does not understand Team Zahhak and what they're striving for. This scene was meant to convey that they definitely got their thing going on and are likely using Hilmes, and Hilmes is in the dark about a lot of things, including their intentions, going by how the Master dismissively flicks a coin away. It holds no meaning to him, it has no worth.

I kinda feel like a fool, lol.

So slaves are not meant to be seen on the main streets? I guess they have their own dedicated pathways? Or is this a Lusitanian invention? Hmm.

Not screencapped but the anklets make an appearance again!

Palace refs! This reminds me of the water garden in Otoyomegatari (which I screencapped in this post) which makes sense considering they're both drawn from the same cultural inspiration.

Yikes.

It should be that confessions brought forth by torture should not be trusted bc humans will just say whatever they think their tormenters want them to say just to make the torture end, it's not about obtaining accurate info or confessions at all, has never been. It's about the captors exerting their power over the captive, and it's disgusting.

The same principle applies here. People aren't converting out of genuine faith, they're converting as part of self-preservation. And while I'm not sure Bodin is consciously aware of it or not but it's clear that he just likes flaunting his power over the defenseless rather than wishing to make people see the true glory of Yaldabaoth or whatever.

God I hate this guy.

This must be the royal archives!

The burning of books still boils my blood, it's abhorrent. And Bodin even threw a fellow Lusitanian into the fire just because he suggested a sensible thing of, y'know, not setting these tomes on fire willy-nilly.

It's okay, it's okay, chapter 121 is there for us. It's okay. But god I hate this man.

Foreshadowing! :D Rereading Bodin's atrocities gave me even more satisfaction for chapter 121.

I don't really have anything interesting to say about this, just putting it here bc I find it neat.

This is the first we hear of Narsus freeing his household slaves— when we're first introduced to him we only learn that he's a master tactician who pissed off the royal court and left, and though we already had a favorable impression of him (and his anti-slavery sentiments are already apparent) this sheds a newer light on his character.

It is not enough to just flip an old system over like a table and say “there, done, everything's fine and dandy now!”, it doesn't work that way. It is not enough to have an uprising or a revolution or whatever, it is even more important to have a clear vision of what comes after and how to achieve it. Good ruling isn't about winning battles it's about competent administration and resource distribution and all that jazz. It is not enough to just destroy, you must create as well.

The slaves in Ecbatana did not have the means to act on their (supposed) freedom because they hadn't planned for it, they don't have the means to, all they could do was the uprising without the follow-up and... I do not blame them, they didn't know any better, but this just shows how important these sorts of things is.

This also sheds a light on Hilmes because... he doesn't have a vision for Pars' future beyond him ruling it. That is not enough.

And look at Daryun looking concerned for Narsus!

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #heroic legend of arslan #arslan senki reread #the master #hilmes #bodin #narsus #daryun #this post ended up being more thoughts-heavy #I'm not complaining though #this is a part that invites thought after all

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dnangelic · 5 months

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TSUN! I HAVE SOME CHOICE WORDS TO SAY TO YOU!!!!

you are such an absolute delight to see on the dash and interact with, and that is no exaggeration! I adore all of your muses and even if i don’t know any of their respective medias, i learn about them through your writing and your metas and you talking about them and thats so fun to do!!! ITS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE THING EVER! I appreciate you giving my dazai a chance despite not knowing bsd aswell as p much any of my other muses sknsksns you’ve been so sweet to me since we first became mutuals and i genuinely love seeing you around so much 😭 i see you on the dash and my day gets atleast 10% better without fail every single time. i hope u talk about your boys forever and ever . ITS SO FUN TO BUILD DYNAMICS WITH YOU!!! anyone is lucky to write with / plot with / interact with you i wont even lie and i genuinely believe that nsjsksnsjssn i appreciate that you show interest in so many of my muses it makes my heart so so so warm . I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE WRITING NOVELS TOGETHER FOREVERRRRR even though i know im the one who owes you like 2829922 things ksnsksns DW AB THAT . I ALSO WANNA SAY about you writing dark and daisuke specifically i think its so good how much care you put into a series thats really old and like Ive genuinely put the manga on my reading list BECAUSE of the interest garnered from your writing !! SOLELY BECAUSE OF YOU ! u are an absolute angel ( … hehehehensnensn … bejbwnw … get it bc … bc …!2&2!/@/!/82 s hehehehe ) AND YOU ARE ALWAYS SO KIND TO ME and always so interactive and i can’t even beginnnnnnnnnnnnnn to properly articulate how much of a joy you are 2 interact with !!! wishing you and daisuke and dark and yan qing and all ur muses the best day ever . 🙌

OH MY GOOOOOOSH and to think i was sitting here at ur post like 'should i ask permission for nine asking for permission. what if nine doesn't wanna say anything. i hate feeling like im ever panhandling for a compliment. nine should be pouring soup into my lap and slapping dark + calling him a bitch so i can finally apologize but youuuuUUU YOUUUUU ALL THESE FEELINGS R SO MUTUAL!!! I LOVE SEEING U TALK!!! IT BRINGS ME SM JOY TO SEE U POST!!! even the most random stuff. doesn't matter if its long or short. literally dont even worry abt owing me stuff ur presence alone is also a DELIGHT ur fr like such a funny mut and person BUT UR ALSO SO GOOD AT UR MUSES TOO??? LIKE i could go on forever abt how much i respect ur dazai alone and how even if i don't know bsd canon that's probably for the best, bc ur now ur dazai is The canon dazai to me, but u also have like nine... billion... (hehehesbhgbssnsjkdj x2) MUSES ON UR MULTI THAT U ALSO FLAWLESSLY INVEST URSELF IN AND!! WOWWWW WHAT A MUN!!! genuinely im so glad i found u even in this hellsite and that i can just toddle around following u like this everywhere 🐥 every like i leave on ur post is me picking at it for crumbs like a pigeon in a city being tossed bread. keep tossing that bread for me please please. IM CRYING. IM WAILING!!!! BUT SINCE U BROUGHT UP READING DNANGEL LET ME ACTUALLY HELP U OUT TOO??

scans are like absolutely everywhere and most places have the godawful quality fan translations. u can and frankly probably should read the official eng which is available here. dnangel had a weird run where the eng was only licensed and translated up to book 13. 14 and 15 (and beyond) are fan translations, but there's exactly one chapter that's ALWAYS broken on any website you go to except this one. this site doesn't complete the series though so the last link you'd have to hop to is this one. but the entire series is only 20 volumes in total. you could speedread through it in like a day. it's short and sweet and i love it even with its flaws. why else would i b here writing dark n dai. anyways. point is. tysm. im holding u and all ur muses tight. i wont leave u!!!! im so glad i met u!!! uve done sm for me already and i wont forget it!!! MY SO TALENTED FRIEND!!!

#*･ﾟ⊰ ANSWERED. ⊱#*･ﾟ⊰ 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒. ⊱ ✦ › OUT.#longerhuman #WAAAA WAAAAA blows my nose into a tissue #lkjdkgj u should save those links btw #in order #they take you directly to where each last link/chapter leaves off! so no looking for the right one or anything #im always like 'PLEASE DON'T READ THE FAN TRANSLATIONS' at ppl bc those were like. when scanners were just being invented #and all the translations are insanely choppy or questionable #eng isn't word for word and loses some things but that's how it always is with translations sometimes LOOOL #plus i kno u want to see dark's lamE CRINGE ASS GOTH FONTTTT #HIS ~WORLD OF DARKNESS~#ILY THOUGHHHH ILYSM #TYSM AGAIN #WAAAA

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littlenekosfan · 2 years

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so i know some people think jugo was thankful that yhwach killed his uncle in this fire, but he never showed any sort of gratitude about it.. lemme explain

we all know jugo’s uncle was abusive toward him, and its honestly hard to tell for sure what kind of abuse or how it would happen, he’s evil that’s without a doubt, but was he to jugo’s eyes? i know it was telling in that one panel, but abuse isnt just about hurting the other, there is that “affection” given there and there so it make it seem its “just a bad phase, he actually loves you” or sometimes you have the power imbalance that makes him not question his uncle's authority or even worse, jugo doesnt know better, he knows he doesnt like it, but perhaps he thinks its something normal or that he deserves it (for the useless child he is, we all know he has low self-esteem so)

so we cant know for sure what was happening between the two, all we know is that it was bad in our pov

when bazz shows up in the picture, jugo is exposed to another kind of love, a genuine friendship, and we see him how he needed that, he accepts and embraces it the moment he feels more than just a tool in the relationship (he wasnt so keen about it at first bc new relationship was not an option bc it would be troublesome.. if his uncle were to know, he knows it would end up bad). and so, during these 6 months, it was just.. better for him (not the best times but not the worst) even if he couldnt hang out with bazz all the time

when the fire happened, we see him being totally indifferent about it, and really, he didnt show any sadness nor joy, and i believe its because

no sadness: i already explained that one, but jugram didnt understand bazz’ relationship with his parents/home and how much it meant to him, and with his background, he simply cant feel sympathy even less empathy

no joy: this is fucked up and i know you guys dont wanna hear this, but maybe he didnt wish death to him, that he cared about him somehow, and im saying this with no intention to make you feel bad about his uncle, what im trying to say is,,as someone who can relate to jugo’s trauma, i can understand how he’s not one bit joyous about it, not even glad, maybe relieved and even then, that can be a big word for what he feels,, and this is what trauma is like, his uncle was still someone who gave him a home and fed him (arguably) when his very own parents abadonned him (whatever how that happened, jugo seems to not know himself) so all he had was his uncle, its hard to believe he would hate him with all his being and wish he was dead already… and i know some of you would think “no no he would hate him and run away” would he? we tend to project as adults.. , but adults who lived csa, they know they didnt know how bad it was when they were young, when you grow up, you start to realize a lot of fucked up things about that abuse and how it affects you as an adult, so we cant blame or expect jugo do have done something about it and even hate his uncle for it… its sad i know, but im pointing that out bc…

in friend 3 chapter, jugo did not show an ounce of hesitation when it came to yhwach giving him a position (he hesitated bc of bazz, not bc he thinks good of yhwach) nor did he ever mention him ever again after the fire, which is a sign he coped with his trauma, he put a term on it (although his actions still show signs of it, he simply doesn't think about Him anymore) and that’s a good thing! im really happy for him that he could grow as a person and have a healthy relationship with someone who doesn't see him as a tool but as a person

and also the fact jugo trained to hard to fight FOR bazz tells us how he values his friend wellbeing/goal more than his trauma, (god this sounds terrible, lemme rephrase that) after his uncle’s death, jugo didnt know what to do anymore, so bazz suggests him to kill yhwach, jugo isnt reluctant to that idea bc he’s the reason his friend lost everything, and he wasnt too into it bc he doesnt feel hate for yhwach like bazz did, so he joins him for bazz goal instead of just roaming around with no home, and as he grow to train more and more, he did it with the intention to help his friend, not to kill yhwach (bc if it was the case,we wouldnt have friend3), to make it short, jugo’s intention in friend3 (before and during the breakup) were always about helping bazz and not join yhwach bc he thinks he owe him or he’s grateful for what he did to his uncle

so to say yhwach saved him from his uncle is one thing, but saying jugo was thankful yhwach did that to him is not quite true, it was a turning point in his life which permitted him to have a new life (“so yhwach did save jugo”, yeah, by ruining his friend’s life and make them survive in a forest for 5 years all alone and have the worst breakup in bleach, he had to put up with exchanging powers for who knows how long and how much that didnt let him sleep or have the right mind, and to lose all the kingdom he build during these 999yrs, all that for ultimately regretting abandoning his friend for power… yeah, he “saved him”)

#jugram haschwalth #bazz b #yhwach #bleach #naki using her brain #now before anyone comes to my throat #i talked with my close friend whom also lived that kind of abuse #to have another pov #and she works with mental health services #and she thinks what im saying makes sense #if anyone takes that analysis out of context #i will k word you #anyways

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sungbeam · 8 months

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hi friend as your biggest fan u already know im always gonna hype u up so have my lengthy answers to the ask game:

1. My fav fic of yours - flight risk......im pretty sure its the first fic of yours ive ever read but oh god its SO good erics character and everything abt it ??? Had me feeling butterflies so many times i screamed and yelled into my pillow. Also inspired me a lot in my writing slump and like... i dont wanna be cheesy but helped me mentally bc i read it when i was having a rough time 😭👍 but also PARTY PEOPLE !!!!! so good. SO so good. oh and also the sunwoo hoodie drabble owns my ass i reread it like 5 times already

2. My fav chapter in my fav fic of yours - not my fav fic but the kiss scene in the practice room in off the record ??? slaps

3. The best character youve written for - swing my way eric honestly. so authentic to him imo TT i just adore his character in that fic a whole lot.

6. Something i remember vividly - that scene from flight risk when eric asked sunwoo if he wants to go skate w them and sunwoo goes "no, im down" and eric is like wtf and so sunwoo goes "no, im down. laying down in my bed" or something (the memory is not 100% vivid as u can see) but I legit slapped my knee that was PEAK COMEDY for me

7. Something that made me emotional after reading - that one chapter of somewhere only we know when intak describes how he wishes he could hear his brothers voice sometimes because if he missed him in that way maybe it would hurt less. That whole series is...very personal to me in sense of grief :,)

8. What i like the most about your writing - THE UNIVERSES U CREATE and like. The friendships and the characterization of each character and how theyre all their own person and not just a tool for plot. Also your comedy in fics it always has me giggling

9. A fic im excited for you to post - sangyeons love in unity fic bc i need to know whats up w that secret gf

12. A fic of yours ive reread - hoodie talk LMAO

13. Have i talked to anyone else abt your fics - yes i fangirled to my friend abt u multiple times also we talked abt rhapsody anonymous after it came out 😭👍

YOU. i will actually ksbfkenfkndkfnf 😭 i love u, bar !!! ur support of me has literally been the saving grace to my writing motivation; every time i write something, i always have u in the back of my mind and i wonder what you'd say/react and if you'll like it 🤧

makes me really happy to hear that my writing helped you through a rough time in your life 😔 i wrote party people and flight risk and even hoodie talk during a ,,, emotionally stiff part of my life where i felt super isolated and emotionally constipated, so it's good to know that the feelings i wanted translated *were* translated correctly, if that makes sense

HELLO I LOVE THE PRACTICE ROOM KISS TOO SKFNDKFNJFNF sorry coughs uhm haha def not like biased or anything *looks away*

OMG THAT LINE FROM FLIGHT RISK 💀 i actually thought i was so clever for that one, thank u for mentioning it and sknfkd YAY thank god u found it funny 😭😭 IN GENERAL, the fact that u find me funny at ALL is like ,,, im punching the sky rn im actually celebrating 🤧

ik i prob said this in the reblog of that one chapter of the intak fic, but that series also holds a really tender place in my heart :') grief is one of the things i feel like isn't written abt very much here, and i always seem to leave traces of it wherever i go, so it's nice to know someone can connect to the grief theme </3

thank you thank you thank you for all you've done for me (more than you even know), and for just being so flippin cool :'))) 💖

#sungbeam strikes again #moot ❧#bar 🎧#ask games !!

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ltcolonelcarter · 1 year

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I don’t even know if there’s any LEFT IN THAT WRITER ASK. So I’m making up my own questions.

Has there been a particular theme or part of one of your stories that you wished got more attention? Like a one-liner that has you !!!! inside every time you reread it?

If you had an OC crossover, which would it be and why?

If you could will the vibes from any of your stories into real life, which one are you most likely to do? And why is it last call?

I LOVE YOU BABE!!! ♥️🧡💛💚💙💜I’ve got my knife ready, just waiting for you😌

send me a fanfic ask

OH YOU.

I got inundated in the BEST way. I had such a good time yelling about writing last night oh my gooood. I was a bit dizzy by the end of it. I owe so many people messy kisses. anyway

Has there been a particular theme or part of one of your stories that you wished got more attention? Like a one-liner that has you !!!! inside every time you reread it?

you’re gonna be able to predict this, but the themes in a question of time are jUST. I work so hard on it. the themes are so self-referential in places: it feels a little ridiculous to write sometimes but it’s like it’s spiralling in on itself. that was the feeling I wanted to capture.

I’m not sure the full picture of what I’m trying to do in aqot is even visible yet, really, because… you won’t see the view until I’ve published chapter 8. I have SO many references to previous events, a few new bits of information that… change… what’s already happened. I wanted to create that sense (in multiple places) of the world shifting in response to new information - that moment where you see stuff DIFFERENTLY and can’t go back. from the perspective of the writer it’s hard to measure how successful I’ve been so far, but… there should be another drop coming. I’m excited to see what everyone thinks.

There’s a few lines of dialogue I’ve written that just made me want to punch something in joy bc they captured the essence of a character, or the vibe that I wanted, really really well. I always forget them until I reread, so I’ll just give you a smattering of my favourites.

This moment in aqot stands out:

Connor didn’t validate the question with a response, which only inspired a white-hot fury in Sixty. “You deviated, Connor!” Sixty screamed. “You failed!” “No.” Despite the circumstances, Connor’s voice was low. Gentle. “I didn’t fail. My mission changed.”

I can see Sixty in this moment SO CLEARLY. I love the moment a character breaks, and this is that: he’s done this too much, failed too many times, it’s just the raw nerves left. he’s barrelling towards rock bottom and he still doesn’t understand. sigh. especially bc (spoiler) sixty has _such_ a habit of following in Connor’s footsteps

two, from let him hear:

“Well, he could be looking at me. How could I blame him when the view’s this good?” You shoot Sixty a look, aiming for withering. By the flash of teeth, you know you weren’t convincing. “But I doubt it.”

listen, I’m not too proud to tell you I laughed myself stupid when I wrote that. Literally like: yep, that’s Sixty, no editing required

You don’t need to look at Sixty’s face. His grin is unmistakable in every word. “Oh, I’ve definitely seen her.”

This one I had written when I was working on the PREMISE, before I’d even started the fic. I could HEAR him saying it, that slight laugh in his voice. still tickles me.

from last call I could honestly pick a lot, bc I worked on showing a lot of emotion in hopefully subtle ways, but these stand out:

He bows his head closer to you when he speaks in reply, voice quieter, almost lost to the noise of the room. “I will attempt to satisfy you.” You don’t have an answer for that.

he surprised me with that one

“A cure for curiosity,” he smiles at you, conspiratorial, and you pin him with a questioning stare. “At least, a temporary one.”

@staticl0ve pointed this one out in her LOVELY comment, but I was SO SO HAPPY with this line. it sounds so much like Connor to me.

He keeps you company until you’re feeling like yourself. When the rain starts falling heavily and you jolt away from the spray of cold droplets, he steps back into the rain to give you back your space; surprised, you watch him, the raindrops that trail down his face, through the soft strands of his hair, and notice he’s prioritising you over himself again.

You reach out and pull him back under the shelter until you’re standing, shoulder to shoulder, listening to the rain.

SIGH I live the quiet moments of character growth. this is her admitting to herself for the first time that she’s attached, but more than that, that she’d rather keep him close than keep her barriers up. that he’s worth being seen. I’m going to smash something I just need a minute

OH also: honourable mention to any time I use the title in-fic. It’s PURELY self indulgent. I fucking love that shit. if I was still publishing under anon I’m p sure it’d give me away.

I could probably five seventy more little moments I've written that I'm really, really happy with, but I've been gratuitously self indulgent already, so i'll finish with one last part: there are a lot of little moments in the echoes and reflections prologue that will (eventually) hold a lot more significance than they do at the moment. I have a lot of plans for that fic: it's not going to be happy barely at all, but I'm so so excited about the exploration of character. they're all going to such a dark place. shout out to @dattebae not only for writing the middle ground, the au on which this au is based, but for letting me play with her iteration of sixty. I am so utterly full of love and bewilderment at the trust. give me an hour I simply must kiss my wife

If you had an OC crossover, which would it be and why?

OC CROSSOVER ASGAJAGAGSHA okay sO for starters I need them all in a room together, immediately, and if it’s the bar from last call I will Not complain. I have a few upcoming OCs I have not introduced…..but I’m very excited about them. unbruised has one arriving imminently, as you WELL know, and she’s my new favourite, I think: I think she’d be my pick for crossover bc she’s just SO irascible. I love her dearly.

it would be fun to see Ali in Let Him Hear. he can argue with the best of them. he'd love that environment (and the free drinks).

also Jo. I don’t need to explain that one. you get it. who DOESN'T love a giant carebear-ass IDIOT. no-one. obviously.

If you could will the vibes from any of your stories into real life, which one are you most likely to do? And why is it last call?

okay so this one made me snort out LOUD raya. I cannot believe you. this is absurd. stop it immediately.

you're fucking right, which is more annoying. I think last call is such a mundane setting, and it's so tangible, and what I didn't realise when I was writing it is that every part of it takes place in one location. it's a fucking bottle episode.

but I think that lends it something: by the second scene you know the place, have the feel of it, so it's so so easy to feel the place. I love that so much about it. rereading it feels like it felt when I'd walk through it in my head. it's a place I've visited. I could almost touch it.

honorable mention is let him hear, actually: the busy social scene in the yawning winter, bright streetlight in frosty air, the hum and swell of voices, and the thrill of meeting someone new and interesting who, despite the odds, sees you. there's something precious in that, I think.

#ask meme #fic stuff #blurredout10 #my LOVE #THANK YOU #oc questions 😭#asks #you're all going to make me emotional. it's too thursday for this.

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