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ikarakie · 1 year

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part 1

eddie wakes up.

he doesn't expect to. not on earth, anyways. but he does, in a hospital bed, to dustin's scolding and the girls' smiles. he's told they won, vecna's dead. the government are working on clearing his name as they speak as a fucked up 'thank you', and everything is fucking okay.

he asks after red and the sinclairs. apparently, they had a run-in with asshole of the century jason carver, but sinclair had held his own with a mean right hook that harrington had taught him once. max had fought vecna off with the help of supergirl, who'd come into her mind at the last second via shenanigans that eddie didn't understand. though he was assured he'd have the story told to him by mike himself, since he, supergirl, and the byers' were on their way in from california.

everyone's crowded around his bed, minus one very pretty head of hair, firing off their accounts. robin's partway through how the vines had attacked them when it happens.

"and then they grabbed me and slammed me against the wall! so steve-" and she hesitates. widens her eyes and a looks a bit nauseous all of a sudden. eddie feels his stomach sink.

"hey, speaking of harrington, where is he?" he asks, hoping to fucking god it's not what he thinks. though the way the room falls silent, the way dustin's suddenly holding his hand a lot tighter, makes his eyes water.

"he got you out." henderson whispers, sounding so very broken. "he- he carried you back to the gate and sent you through, but it- it was closing." he's biting his lip so hard he draws blood.

"he... he's still there?" eddie asks, breathless, horrified. the image of steve harrington hauling his ass out of that backwards hell dimension only to get stuck there himself makes his head spin. robin breaks down next to him, bringing her legs to her chest on her chair. nancy puts an arm around her shoulder.

"he made sure we all got through first." she says, deceptively even. eddie can see how tense her shoulders are, and he gets it. because, for fucks sakes, of course he sent the girls and henderson through first. "i think... i think he didn't want to risk coming through when it was so nearly closed. so he stayed."

eddie takes a second. looks around the room, at everyone's sullen faces. wonders why steve thought his was the life to save instead of his own, when all these people loved him so fucking dearly. eddie liked robin, and he liked max, and nancy, and the little sinclair, but they were more steve's people than his. and yet the guy, for whatever fucking reason, thought eddie, who was barely clinging on to begin with, was the one who deserved to live?

if you told him three months ago that he'd be sat in a hospital bed, having been dragged back from the edge of death by steve harrington, who'd fucking sacrificed himself to do so, he would've laughed. even more, if you told him that, in that position, eddie's heart ached with affection for the guy, he would've punched you. probably.

not that his puppy crush on steve was a recent development, but this whole... seeing him in action thing had just exacerbated it. especially with all those lingering looks they'd shared. semi-flirty words and little signals that eddie forced himself not to read into. but now he wished he had. wished he'd said what he'd meant to, that last time they saw each other.

"it's okay, though." dustin said, breaking the silence. "because when el comes back, she'll just open a gate, and we can go and get him." he sounds so sure, that for a moment, eddie thinks he's right, but the way nancy sighs indicates this is an issue.

"we'd like to do that." she says, "but... we don't know if vecna dying means... the upside down did, too." god, she was right. what if it'd all collapsed in on itself? robin sobs harder, shaking her head, and eddie puts a hand on one of her knees. wishes, not for the first time, that steve was here, to hold her. instead of- of- wherever he was.

the next week and half passes in a blur. eddie gets discharged, despite everyone's protests, and just told he needs to rest while he heals. they all set up camp in steve's house, which feels fucking weird, but dustin reasons that they need to all be together to form a plan, to watch eddie, and robin had a key anyways, and the place was massive, and it's not like steve ever minded. (the 'when he was alive' goes unspoken. they don't want to talk like that, not yet.)

it's one more week before mike and his little crew get back. apparently, they got caught in some government bullshit that'd held them up, but they return with joyce byers and a back-from-the-dead chief hopper, so that's cool. there's hugs and reunions and stories are exchanged. when the bit about steve getting stuck in the upside down comes up, eddie sees how will byers' face falls. remembers dustin saying he'd been trapped there once, too, and supposes it's sympathy.

chief hopper looks ready to tear the whole place apart. he'd asked after steve the second everyone had gathered, strangely terrifying for a man who was skin and bones. he'd only settled and listened to the story after being assured steve wasn't dead. (not that they... actually knew that, but no one wanted to say it out loud again).

supergirl, eleven, wasted no fucking time. she grabbed a radio and a piece of fabric and apparently began 'searching for steve in the void'. though eddie didn't quite understand, he held his breath alongside everyone else. only relaxing when she smiled, and said, albeit a little wobbly: "he is alive. he is okay."

robin's sobs would probably be with him till the day he died. she'd collapsed into joyce byers' arms, mumbling incoherently. dustin wasn't any better, crying into will's shoulder.

after some safety briefings, and a begruding blessing from hopper, supergirl opened a gate in steve's living room and fucked off through it. eddie was astounded at the ease with which she entered the dimension. will explained that, because vecna was dead, it didn't 'feel as bad anymore'. though he still held mike's hand tightly and sat as far away from it as possible.

and so the waiting game began. they tried to make small talk, tried to keep the mood light, but the whole thing weighed heavy on them. watching the gate to hell that they'd just sent a little girl through, wishing every second she'd come back in one piece.

it was maybe fourty five minutes later when max perked up. they all turned to the gate at her movement, and sure enough, there they were.

he was pale, and tired looking, covered in some sort of goop or slime or something. holding eleven's hand the whole time- though for who's benefit, eddie wasn't sure. he stumbled a bit as he stepped through the gate and still, still, turned to help el through. though he was a bit slimmer, and clearly weary, it was him, it was steve, and he was alive.

robin was on him in seconds. screaming, clinging to him and asking him 'how dare you? how fucking dare you? never do that to me again, you piece of shit! i love you so much, you can't do that!' he buried his face in her shoulder and swayed slightly as he held her. murmuring things eddie couldn't hear. dustin wasn't far behind, squeezing between them and similarly blubbering. steve was hugging them both and gazing at them- at everyone who was crying- with such wonder. like he couldn't believe he'd been missed that much.

one by one, everyone had their fill. max whacked him on the arm and then hugged him so tightly it looked like it hurt. nancy brushed his hair back out of his eyes and called him an idiot. joyce byers gently wiped his face of dirt and grime before kissing his cheek. chief hopper held him like a father, strong and tight.

eddie sat back, just watched. wondered how someone could be so loved and not feel worth it at all.

then steve's eyes settled on him. they brightened, almost sparkled. "eddie!" he called. his voice was rough from disuse, but still sounding so relieved and happy it made eddie falter. he stepped forwards, feeling steve's dazzling smile pull the corners of his own mouth upwards. "you're okay!"

then he had an armful of steve harrington, and it all came flooding out. he felt a bit foolish, but only until he realised steve was crying too. "you... asshole." he muttered, holding him as tightly as his strength would allow.

"i told you not to be fucking hero." steve huffed, though it lost any of it's power with how his voice wobbled. "i thought you died, i thought-"

"you're one to fucking talk!" eddie cried, pulling away just enough to look him in the eye. "i woke up and you- they told me you dragged my ass outta there and then stayed behind! no one knew what had happened to you, it's been weeks, steve! i couldn't- why would you do that? why would you not just leave me-"

"i couldn't leave you!" god, he sounded so offended at the very idea. eddie felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. "i couldn't- i wouldn't do that-"

"i know you wouldn't." eddie lamented, because fuck, he did. he knew deep down even if he had died there, outside his trailer to those bats, steve still would've brought him home. "doesn't make it any less stupid. just makes you- makes you so-"

it hit him how close they were. probably an inch, maybe less, between their faces.

"makes me so what?" steve asked, a little breathless. eddie gazed at him, deciding that: fuck it. he'd be too close to death to not... see if whatever he thought they had was real. he sent a mental prayer to a god he didn't really believe in anymore: please, let him not have read this wrong.

he looked to steve's lips. pointedly. watched how his cheeks flushed and a shy smile crept onto them. how his eyes flickered down to eddie's as well. there was a silent, shared understanding: if we were alone right now, i'd like to have kissed you.

"so... stupidly perfect, steve harrington." eddie muttered, undeniably affectionate, pulling him in for another embrace. tucked his face into his neck so he could whisper. "you can't save someone's life and then die before they can tell you thank you." steve melted under his touch, pressing a kiss to where his shoulder met his neck under the safety of eddie's hair. it made him warm, and giddy, and so very fucking thankful.

"you can tell me now." he whispered back. eddie couldn't help but smile again. he'd tell him anything if he asked like that.

"thank you, steve." he muttered, squeezing him slightly. hoping his touch communicated what he needed it to: please, please, please don't leave me again.

"anytime, eddie." steve whispered back, hands balling into the fabric of the shirt eddie wore. i won't, as long as you don't either.

#part 3 where they kiss???#lol #stranger things #prompt #steve harrington #imagine #steddie #stranger things prompt #eddie munson #steddie prompt #steve and eddie #steddie fic #steddie ficlet #steddie hc #steddie headcanon #steve and the party #steddie angst #if u catch the low-key the smiths reference lets be friends

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fuckyeahisawthat · 20 days

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i rewatched Dune Part Two recently and one of the most striking shots for me was the one of the Fremen attacking the Sardaukar on wormback, while holding the Atreides flag.

Like, we just saw the Sardaukar forming up with their numerous flag bearers, even trying to maintain their flags raised after the nuclear detonation (in a shot that mirrored the famous "Raising the Flag in Iwo Jima" statue to me btw, nice nod to imperialism).

And then the Fremen arrive, but they're not bearing their colors, their flags, not fighting in their own names, instead it's the Atreides colors. The colors of their new, imperially appointed rulers. New pawns in the warfare between Great Houses, soldiers instead of freedom fighters. Urgh. Wish i could make gifsets.

Yeah yeah yeah it's horrifying!! You are watching a national liberation movement get successfully co-opted by a superpower and it's awful!

They did such a good job making it feel creepy and foreboding when the Atreides symbols and motifs start re-appearing in the last hour or so of the movie. The second Gurney shows up he immediately re-introduces the Atreides way of looking at the world, and it's disturbing how easily Paul falls back into thinking like that, seeing the planet and its people as tools to be used in an inter-imperial power play. (It's right after Gurney tells him about the family nukes that Paul has the signet ring out for the first time since the beginning of the second act and we're like OH NO.) This is before he drinks the Water of Life; he is already starting to think like a colonial duke again some time before he declares himself one.

After the opening montage where we see the piles of bodies being burnt, we don't see the stylized Atreides hawk symbol for most of the movie. The next time it appears is on a vault of nuclear weapons, which are never treated as anything but a curse. It's so important that Stilgar and Chani are with Paul and Gurney when they open the vault so we can see their horror at these weapons and the gleeful, casual way Gurney talks about them. Chani is also seeing an aspect of Paul that she hasn't really witnessed before--Paul, the Future of House Atreides--and she does not like it.

And then of course the whole ending battle is making the point over and over again with repeated imagery that Atreides and Harkonnens are exactly the fucking same. All the imagery from the initial Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen in Part One--which at least shows the Atreides as brave in the face of overwhelming odds--gets inverted into something that's supposed to make us shudder. That scene of Gurney hacking his way through the crowd of soldiers with someone carrying the Atreides flag behind him? Nightmarish.

All of this stuff is super important to what the movie is trying to say because it is very very easy for us to buy into the Atreides' propaganda about themselves being the good guys. If we're paying attention to what Chani tells us in the literal first 3 minutes of the first movie, we already know we should be viewing them with a bit of critical distance. And while I think there is plenty in the first movie to make us side-eye their noble image (Leto saying we will bring peace to Arrakis?? fucking yikes dude), it's easy to forget that because Leto generally seems like a good dude to the people close to him, and he dies tragically so we never get to see much of what kind of colonizer he would have become. And I think it's easy to start thinking well if only Leto the more reasonable parent had lived then things wouldn't have turned out this way.

But fucking desert power?? That was Leto's idea. This is Leto's dream being realized. The plan was always to use the Fremen as pawns in the power struggle between the Great Houses. Maybe not quite in the way that Paul does cause he definitely goes off with it, but the end result is just as much a product of Atreides imperialism as it is of Bene Gesserit religious colonialism. The Atreides aren't inherently any more noble or benevolent than the Harkonnens in their intentions, they just have better PR. But the end result is exactly the same: a pile of dead bodies being set on fire.

#dune #dune part two #paul atreides #house atreides #asks answered #thank you so much for this ask cause it gave me a chance to go OFF lol

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onestepbackwards · 3 months

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Love That Bites Pt. 11

Hi! Here's part 11 to my Dracula x Reader series! I apologize for the huge delay, I've had a lot going on IRL, so I haven't has as much time/energy to write as I would have liked. Still, I hope you enjoy! I hope to have more happen in the next chapter as well, hopefully some action! Summary: Dracula finally manages to get things running somewhat smoothly, only to run into a snag when it comes to the potions he's had made for you. Thankfully, it isn't as big of a setback as it could be, so long as he can see you beginning to heal. During all of it, he begins to recognize some old feelings...

CW: Injury mention, death mention, brief description of injury, thoughts of murder,

Word Count: 6244 Words!

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Tag List: @pumpkinvampie, @bethleeham, @mshope16, @sixsixtwenty, @haleypearce, @rvautomatic, @tinystarfishgalaxy, @marshmelloe, @maorizon, @ursamajor17, @sapphicsfordracula, @dame-sunflowers, @sleepyendymion, @starrlo0ver, @onewiththebeanbag First: Here! Last: Here! Next: Here! - - -

Dracula was beginning to wonder just how you had managed to survive so long on your own.

He wasn’t doubting your skills. In fact, Dracula could tell from a glance you were a powerful fighter, much like your ancestors had been. He wouldn’t be surprised if you were one of the strongest Belmonts yet.

No, he was concerned over how you seemed lacking when it came to taking care of yourself.

Sure, you had bandaged yourself on the way to his castle, and he was thankful you seemed to have some sort of survival instinct.

But he noticed you didn’t put in too much effort though in your own health overall.

It wasn’t just from how you came to his castle recently, but something he had noticed long before he had been freed.

After the first few times he saw you, it was clear to him. You would briefly mention your headaches, and your homelife, how you just ‘dealt’ with it.

You had mentioned to him in a joke how even though you had been sick at one point, you just pushed through it while sleeping in your car for a week.

He couldn’t ask you at the time why you did such things, being trapped in stone. Now, he felt it would be counterproductive to ask you. Not until you were comfortable around him.

But it was a horrifying thing you mentioned offhandedly while eating a sandwich, and you refused to elaborate. Why would you put yourself through that?

Add that to his mental list of reasons why he had to investigate your home life. If anything, that was blatantly unhealthy. How the hell was your immune system putting up such a fight on its own if that was how you handled being sick at your home?

How did you handle most injuries before you met him? A part of him really did not wish to find out, but he couldn’t help but feel the desire to know.

Dracula was at least thankful you mentioned a small cabin once. After you had mentioned it while he was stone, you realized what you had said, and were quick to try and change the subject. You had not meant to tell him about it, it seemed.

But he was thankful at least that you had a small place nearby to rest.

At one point throughout the day as he checked in on you, he briefly considered going to see this cabin, or sending a scout to see where it was. However, he dismissed this idea almost as soon as he had thought it.

You’d no doubt be upset if you found out he had done so, and he would be willing to bet you had traps all over the land leading up to your small sanctuary away from your home.

It was only logical to assume so. You had found his castle nearby your own property.

Something he didn’t fail to see irony in. Of course his castle would choose a place nearby a Belmont’s property.

Still, if it had been him in your situation, he would have placed traps on top of traps once finding out such a thing. Sending an underling was just asking for it to either be captured, destroyed, or injured. Or for such information to spread to less enthusiastic minions who were disgruntled about your stay here.

No doubt when you inevitably left, you would check the traps, or at least notice one out of place, if not finding a dead monster's remains on your land. Dracula couldn’t afford to have you lose trust in him just because he was curious.

Yes… Dracula would wait, and put his patience to the test. He’d try to get you to open up to him, and show him yourself.

You already were showing you didn’t detest him, something that was bringing an old warmth to his cold heart.

He’d even wager you opened up to him just a little earlier, when you had mentioned your injuries had been from something personal.

Sure, it wasn’t a large amount of information, but it was progress.

Now, he just had to keep this progress going forward, something Dracula knew was not going to be smooth sailing as he had hoped. There was already unrest in the castle, he could just feel it.

No one had said anything to him, but Dracula was more in tune with his castle and its magic than people gave him credit for. Every being here had energy that was woven with the castle’s in some way shape or form.

And people were anxious.

Some were restless, some were afraid. Many were irritated.

A Belmont being treated as a guest? He knew it would only be a matter of time before someone or something acted out.

Dracula just hoped it wouldn’t be at your expense. He could clean any other mess as need be, but he wouldn’t stand you being injured further.

Alas, he couldn’t act unless someone else acted out first, or he could see they were planning something that involved you. Dracula, loathe as he may to admit it, would only cause more unrest by acting too hastily.

That was fine though, he could bide his time.

The only thing that had him on edge was your current injuries. Or rather, he didn’t want you fighting with your injuries and making them worse, especially after your healing has been progressing nicely.

Speaking of which, You were healing incredibly quickly. If it wasn’t for your lineage, he would have guessed you had some sort of distant supernatural blood in your veins, such as vampirism.

Still, even though you were healing at an impressive rate, it still wasn’t enough. Your injuries by all means could have killed you, and they were still deep and fresh.

His fingers tapped on the wood of his desk in his study, concern no doubt etched clear on his features.

Those potions should be finished today, or at least the first batch of them. The stronger type usually required a longer amount of time to simmer for better healing effects. Time though, was not something he could afford, so a batch of the regular sort would have to do.

Of course, he’d have to thoroughly check them himself after his alchemists were finished. He had not explained who the potions were for when he had ordered it to be done, but now, there was no doubt in his mind the ones creating the potions knew it was for a hunter.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t even trust most of his underlings with this. Even his more trusted ones, he was going to be forced to keep an eye on.

The chances of his alchemists messing with your potions were low, but not impossible. Thankfully, he knew potions very well after studying them centuries ago. Dracula was confident he could catch any ‘unneeded’ ingredients that might slip in the finished batch.

However, he hated that he would have to check.

“How bothersome…” he mumbled as he pressed his face into the palm of one of his hands.

Looking for poison itself wasn’t the issue, it’s something he’ll gladly do. It was the fact this would mean it would take longer to get the potions to you that irritated him.

If the potions were tampered with, like he worried they might be, he’d probably have to make them himself. Something he would also do without pause, but again, he didn’t wish for you to stay injured any longer than necessary.

Dracula rubbed his eyes for a moment, wondering how he had grown so protective of you like a mother hen.

The last time he could remember fretting over someone, was whenever his late wife had gotten sick, or when his son fell ill once or twice.

Back before everything fell apart.

He sighed, feeling another migraine coming on. It wouldn’t do well to think of that now. The less distractions, the better.

At least one good thing came from this. You were receptive to him checking in on you. Dracula doubted you would trust any of his underlings to do it, or at least any of them bringing you meals.

Not without him there to supervise, it seemed.

It was small, but that amount of trust you had in him was a lot for the circumstances.

Dracula felt another sigh escape his lips, and he ignored the temptation to lay his head on his desk like a daydreaming school boy.

What were you doing to him? Had the Great Dracula really fallen for a Belmont?

His eyes widened slightly at his own thoughts.

Fallen? No. Though he detested the idea of admitting he had a schoolboy crush.

He could at least admit he felt fonder for you than some human teenager just figuring themselves out, thank you very much.

Deep down however, thinking about this unsettled him.

Dracula cared for you. He could admit that in his head whole heartedly. Somehow, the Little Belmont had wormed their way into his cold, dead heart without even trying.

But he feared to think about what that meant for him. His life. His future. Your future.

The trust between you two was rocky, but it was there. Could he really push to have you trust him more? Was that really a future he could hope for? Try for? To even care about?

Was it even worth it?

Dracula ran a hand through his hair, and debated summoning another glass of blood to sooth the migraine he could already feel forming in his temples.

Himself and your family had been doomed to fight for centuries. Would even trying to open up the possibilities of at least a friendship be very wise?

Looking from the outside, it seemed like something doomed to fail.

So why did he want to try?

His fingers began to thrum idly on the desk again.

The answer was still the same as before. It was you.

You were different. Different from most Belmonts.

Was wanting to bet on that difference really worth the possible pain? Heartbreak? Potential agony?

Vlad’s eyes drifted over to a portrait that hung in his private study. One depicting his precious Lisa.

Lisa had been worth it, even if his time with her had been so cruelly cut short. He knew her time with her would have been limited, as she had wanted to stay human. It was one of the things that had made her so precious.

One of the few things he regretted was not being there for her when she needed him most. Probably one of his biggest regrets, alongside not being next to Elisabetha when she passed back when he had been human.

So perhaps… This too, would be worth it.

He could not deny that this was a golden opportunity. If, by small chance, he could change fate…

Perhaps he would not have to suffer being killed once more, and this damned cycle between him and your family could finally break.

Dracula was no fool. He was sure this cycle affected your family just as much as it did him. Ever since Leon, almost every Belmont has had to learn to fight creatures of the night. Either to be a hunter, or to avoid simply being the prey.

No doubt not every Belmont liked this, and judging from the small glimpses of your home life he has seen, the Belmont clan seems to have fallen into disrepair.

There was a darkness in your eyes when you spoke about your home, one that had him worrying all over again.

That was something else he was going to have to focus on. Your life at home.

Given that your clan was full of vampire hunters, even if he did by chance get your home’s location, he doubted himself or any of his underlings would be able to get too close. Surveillance wouldn’t be an easy option, or most likely would not be an option at all.

Unless, of course, your family’s home and protections have also deteriorated. Perhaps getting close to the home wouldn’t be as big of an issue.

But alas, he wouldn’t risk most of his underlings finding your home like that. He has a few he trusts, sure, but he couldn’t in good faith let most of them know where you lived.

All it would take is one slip up, and your home would no doubt be swarmed. Even if it wasn’t monsters from his circles, it wouldn’t take much from other groups to learn and decide to exterminate you en masse.

Even if no one could penetrate your home’s defenses, it wouldn’t be hard to stage an ambush to have you assassinated the moment you left your property. Or anyone else that lived with you.

Dracula’s eyes narrowed at that thought. Oh, how that was tempting, just to see those who may have hurt you torn to shreds.

But he had to wait. He’d have vengeance for you one way or another.

Before he could contemplate who he had to murder, he heard a brisk knock at his door. Crimson eyes narrowed, and with his mask slipping back into place, he sat back in his chair.

“Enter.”

Large doors to his study creaked open, and one of the alchemists he had working on your potions stepped into the room. A young man who had answered the Castle’s magical call for power and safety.

The young man before him tried not to tremble under his gaze, barely making eye contact before looking at a different part of the room. Dracula had to hold back an annoyed sigh.

A shame those who could create potions were few and far between, leaving him with such a sniveling fool. At least he could get the job done, along with the few others he had working under him.

“Is the task I set for you and the others finished?” he asked, thrumming his fingers against the desk once again, a bored look on his face.

Swallowing nervously, the alchemist nodded, before remembering he needed to speak.

“Y-Yes, milord. The first batch of potions has finished, but…”

Dracula raised an eyebrow. He was already nearing the end of his patience.

“But?”

The young man flinched, and the vampire tried not to roll his eyes.

“I’m afraid, ah… this batch won’t be that potent, due t-to us having to rush…”

As if Dracula didn’t already anticipate that.

No matter though. What was important was getting you something to fend back the majority of your injuries. Even if it is just enough to help you fight infection and mend a few patches of skin, it was better than nothing.

“I’m aware of the effect of making potions on such short notice. Is that everything?”

For a split second, the alchemist’s heartbeat spiked, and he avoided looking at the Vampire Lord. Dracula forced his face to remain neutral.

How curious.

“That’s everything, sir.”

Almost immediately, the shadows in the room crawled forward, and the temperature dropped a noticeable amount.

Dracula stood up from his chair to his full height, and leaned over his desk. His claws dug into the wood, and his eyes grew black and red.

“Tell me, Alchemist, why are you lying to me?”

A squeak left the young man’s lips, and he physically shrunk in on himself. No one wanted to be on Dracula’s bad side.

“I don’t tolerate liars in my court.”

The Alchemist fell backwards onto the floor in a scramble, and shuffled backwards a few feet. The door magically shut behind him, and he looked as if he were to faint.

Dracula felt the air grow heavy around him, and the pathetic man in front of him began to pant and shake.

“Now, what is it you are hiding from me?”

The threat was clear as day. Should the young man in front of him lie, or do something foolish, he would not live to see tomorrow.

Swallowing thickly, the Alchemist shakily stood to his feet.

“I… As I was finishing up my batch of potions, I overheard a few of the witches talking.”

Dracula had the tension in the air lesson to a degree. The boy in front of him was willing to speak, so he may as well not make it too difficult, lest the coward faint.

Though he made sure his displeasure was apparent.

“Go on.” Eyes darted between him and other parts of the room, the Alchemist shrunk in on himself further before speaking.

“I… I overheard them talking about how they think the hunter has bewitched you. That the hunter is going to kill you, and everyone involved.”

Dracula wanted to scoff. Just mild gossip. He wasn’t surprised it was already making the rounds, though he’d have to keep an eye on it lest it fester into something unmanageable without conflict.

Rumors and resentment building would only cause unrest, and the less he had to deal with, the better.

“And just who were the witches who were discussing this?” The man swallowed. “I don’t know.” “So you didn’t think to get a look on who it might be?” He shook his head, fingers twitching idly.

“No sir. But…”

Dracula could feel the throbbing in his temples. Perhaps he should summon some wine…

“...The witches talked about wanting to do something before it was too late.”

Now that caught Dracula’s attention.

“They what?!”

The Alchemist winced, though straightened up a little now that Dracula’s ire wasn’t entirely directed at him.

“I-I have no evidence, nor was I able to follow them, but- I think some of them might be planning something, sir.”

The room’s temperature dropped further, and at the moment, the Alchemist felt like his soul left his body.

Dracula was well known for his fury.

How his anger was icy, yet his fury ran hot.

“Planning something?”

His voice was low, in a way that was like a growl. Like a predator readying to bite down on the neck of its prey. It was inviting, yet it had the survival instincts of anything around him screaming to run.

The wind picked up around the castle, and lightning began to strike across the clouded sky. The flashes of light only seemed to emphasize the anger on his face.

Briefly, The King of the Night hoped you weren’t bothered by the pick up of the storm. Surely you’d notice the change in atmosphere…

But that was something he could check in with you later.

“And do you happen to know just what they might be planning? Or which ones it even was?”

Dracula’s mind was beginning to work overtime. Which witches lingered near the Alchemy lab? He's going to have to do a sweep it seemed, and soon. At least Castlevania would give him some insight should he ask for it.

If some of his underlings were already conspiring against him…

The boy in front of him was eerily silent, and Dracula held back from snapping. Killing the fool wouldn’t solve any of his issues, especially as he needed him for now.

Then, a thought suddenly hit Dracula, and he sat back into his seat, his claws growing sharper.

“Boy, where is the finished batch of potions?”

The Alchemist froze for a moment, taken aback by the sudden question.

“Um… In the labs?”

Dracula’s eyes sharpened, almost glowing red.

“And is there anyone or anything protecting the finished batch of potions in the labs?”

“Ah…”

Running a hand across his face, Dracula fought the urge to kill something.

He was going to need that drink before visiting you.

—

Much to Dracula’s disappointment (and hidden fury), it was just as he had expected.

He had decided to check on the batch of the potion himself after that conversation, just to be sure it hadn’t been tampered with.

It was something he was already going to do, but now it was incredibly important to do so after hearing what the Alchemist had to say.

Just as he had feared, the main batch that had been left out had indeed been soiled.

The potion itself was a darker blue than it should have been, a first tell that something wasn’t quite right. Then there was the smell.

Potions already smelled a bit bland, with a hint of bitterness to them. However, he was able to catch the scent of something almost sour.

The texture itself was also a bit… thick. Closer to a cream rather than the liquid form it was supposed to have.

Dracula felt his brow twitch with thinly veiled disdain.

With a sigh, and barely hidden rage, he ended up banishing the whole batch. No point in taste testing when he could already smell the signs of tampering. The only thing he would be able to get out of a test would be what ingredients specifically had been added, but there was no point. Not when he already knew the results.

It seems he would have to keep a closer eye on things than he thought.

Even if the alchemists and potioneers he had working on this were as trustworthy as they could get, it seemed that there was only so much he could do before the rats began to poke their noses where they didn't belong.

As much as he hated to section off parts of the lab, it seems he would have to until you were healed, or he found all the idiots involved who dared try and pull a fast one on him.

Thankfully however, not everything was lost.

Dracula was thankful that moment for employing several alchemists to the lab for different batches of potions. He could just take from those, since they would have a similar effect.

The other alchemists were to keep working on different batches of potions, so he could have stronger ones brewing while the first batch was finished. This meant there would be less powerful ones, sure, but he would simply have more made.

What mattered was getting this first batch to you.

You may be healing relatively quickly and well, but he was quickly growing to dislike seeing you injured.

The shadows under your eyes, and how sunken in your face looked, added to your winces of pain… He hoped that he could help with that by taking care of your wounds.

It would be a long journey, he was sure. No doubt it would take more than just healing your injuries to actually have you looked… alive.

That was what had his cold, undead heart beating worriedly in his chest.

You didn’t look like you were living.

Sure, your blood pumped, your heart still beats, but you didn’t have a happy light in your eyes. Dracula could mistake you for one of his minions with how those eyes alone looked.

He was thankful though, seeing a spark in them. It was subtle, and only showed up on occasion.

However, he found himself yearning to protect it.

Ha. Him. Lord of the Night. King of all Vampires, wanting to protect his own supposed enemy. Even more so, with such… feelings developing.

Dracula still wasn’t sure whether to find it amusing, or pitiful.

The beast in his mind that he had embraced so long ago surprisingly didn’t fight him on it. At first, it had called him pathetic the first time he found himself wanting to help you.

But that same beast had quickly done a 180, quickly growing to respect you much like his logical side had.

And oh, how it had quickly grown protective.

Dracula felt his lips almost twitch upward at the thought, feeling the very same protectiveness stir in his soul as he approached your door.

He gave a brisk knock at the door, casting a brief glance to the living armors he had stationed near your room. Stone still as always.

After a brief moment, he heard your voice, telling him to come in.

Carefully he opened the door, and it was as if a weight was lifted off his chest just seeing you. The way you subtly perked up when seeing him, sitting up in your bed…

He tried not to let his pride get to him, how it was him that you were sitting up for.

‘One step at a time, Vlad.’

The scent of your blood though soon quickly caught his nose, and he felt himself stand straighter as he walked quickly to your side.

“Your injuries… did one re-open?” He was quick to ask, internally scolding himself when he felt the urge to have a taste.

For a Belmont, your blood was still such an intoxicating scent…

Sheepishly, you looked away from him after he arrived at your side.

“Ah… I fell on the way to the restroom. I accidentally pulled some stitches open, but I got the wound under control.”

If he had been a human, he would have sworn you were trying to give him a heart attack at this rate. How was it you were such a trouble magnet?

Gently, he leaned over you, his hands hovering over where your shirt was. Underneath, he could already smell the irritated wound and fresh blood.

His eyes met your own.

“May I?” He asked, desiring to see how bad it had gotten. His voice was soft and tender, not wishing to push you or make you uncomfortable.

You froze for a moment, and a glimmer of emotion passed in your eyes. However, it left as quick as it came, and you carefully pulled your arms up to give him access.

Even now, Dracula was still incredibly impressed with the trust you were giving him. If this had been any of your ancestors, or any hunter, really, he would no doubt be in a fight.

Gently, his cool hands brushed against your warm skin as he lifted your shirt upwards to see the bandaged wound. He pointedly ignored the shiver you have, no doubt his cold hands most likely the cause.

At least, that’s what he told himself, also ignoring how you tensed slightly. Or how he heard your pulse pick up as he got closer.

It was not the time to let his mind wander and theorize.

Dracula would give you credit, though. Your pain tolerance wasn’t anything to scoff at, and you were taking everything in stride, even now.

He removed the bandages with a gentle ease, and immediately internally stomped down the sudden hunger he felt.

The fresh scent of your blood still somehow managed to drive him crazy, even when he wasn’t starving.

To think he’d find a Belmont’s blood so appealing?

It took a bit of his will power to calm himself, before continuing to look at the wound. Pursing his lips, he let out a hum.

His hands held your midsection still as he observed the new damage, ignoring your sharp intake of air.

“Apologies…” He mumbled, knowing full and well his hands were most likely even colder the closer they were to your feverish flesh.

“No worries…” You breathed, your voice small. His eyes flickered up to your face, and your own were wide as you watched him. Still vigilant, even now. Cute.

Eyes back on your wound, he felt a bit of relief. Thankfully you hadn’t torn open as many stitches as he had feared, and you had cleaned the wound up well.

It seems getting rest and meals was helping you both physically, and mentally. You weren’t hanging on a thread, wrapping wounds with little regard to your life now.

Really, he shouldn’t be surprised. Even if he was worried about how you thought of yourself and your health in general, you of all people would know how to properly wrap a wound when in good conditions to do so.

After a moment, he pressed the bandages back onto your injury, and stepped back.

“Despite several stitches being pulled, it could have been worse.”

You pull your shirt down, and smile sheepishly.

“That’s good. It didn’t look too bad, but I’m glad you agree.” You spoke, rubbing the back of your neck a bit nervously.

It seemed you were still on edge, though he didn’t mind too much.

He looked you over for a moment as you fixed your shirt. You really were looking better than when you first arrived. Even from when he saw you this morning, you seemed to be improving.

At least, he was definitely thankful you no longer looked like you were dead on your feet.

Clearing his throat for a moment, he nearly smirked at how you almost jumped. Most would have missed how your muscles tensed, though he decided to count the fact he wasn’t outright scaring you a plus.

“I have something for you.”

Immediately your interest was piqued.

How you subtly leaned towards him and tilted your head, you were curious.

“You do?”

He stepped back for a moment, before holding out his hand. In a flash of smoke and light, a bottle appeared in his hand.

As he held it out to you, your eyes widened as you gently took it from his grip.

“A potion? You really made some?”

Dracula crossed his arms a bit in pride as you looked over the bottle.

“Of course. You’ll find I am not fond of breaking promises, or going back on my word.”

You took a moment to look over the bottle you now held in your hands, almost disbelieving. Dracula felt a pang of something in his heart. Pity? Worry? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t like how astounded you looked over the fact he would get you some basic potions.

“I do apologize in advance. Due to the fact your injuries were severe, I had this made as fast as possible. It won’t heal you completely, but it should heal the worst of your wounds.”

For a moment, you were silent, clearly thinking.

“If you are worried about it being poisoned-” he began, but you raised a hand to cut him off.

“No! No, it’s fine. Sorry. I trust it isn’t poisoned.” You spoke. After another moment, you pulled the cork off the bottle, and debated if you should take a sip.

“However, I do wish to warn you about something.” Dracula said, speaking before you could drink it. He may as well tell you now, before you take a drink. No doubt you’d be upset if he told you after.

You froze, looking at him expectantly.

“Yes…?”

Dracula let out a frustrated sigh, a hand coming up to his forehead just thinking about it.

“Someone has tried to tamper with one of the batches of potions I have commissioned to be made.”

Your eyes widened, flickering to the potion, but he held up a hand to try and calm you before you could panic.

“I tossed that batch out after testing it myself. I can assure you the potion you hold in your hand has been deemed clean by myself personally. That one you hold in your hand was not supposed to go to you today. It was a batch that was supposed to simmer for a few more days.”

“To become a stronger batch…” You murmured, and Dracula felt a small twinge of pride. He supposes it shouldn’t be a surprise you would know such things, given how often you probably used potions in general.

“So… Someone wanted me dead…?” You asked, still eyeing the bottle critically. Dracula’s face turned a bit more sour.

“Unfortunately so. I will not lie to you, having you as my guest has… ruffled some feathers. I’m currently investigating those I believe tried to lace the potion with poison.”

Bright eyes flickered to him, and he caught that look, one of near disbelief.

“Why? I don’t particularly blame them, I’m a hunter, after all…” You murmured once again, eyes glancing back to the bottle.

“Because you are my guest. I will not tolerate those who wish to go against my orders, and attempt to kill the company I deemed worthy to keep.”

Dracula wondered if you weren’t used to such thoughts, with the way he saw emotions flicker across your face, gone as quick as they came.

Summoning a chair from the side of the room, he sat down, placing his elbows on his knees as he rested his chin over his clasped hands.

“If you don’t wish to drink that potion, I will not force you. It will just take a longer period for you to fully recover. I will not blame you for doing so.”

After all, he just admitted someone tried to use a different batch to kill you. He wouldn’t blame you for being careful.

You seemed to think for a moment, and Dracula decided to keep speaking as you thought about it.

“I also wish to officially inform you that unrest is beginning to stir in the castle. However,” Dracula began, taking in your expression of slight alarm, “I once again wish to reiterate something. You are allowed to protect yourself. I will not vilify you if you defend yourself from an attack.”

It was the truth. He had means to see if it was self defense, or a planned attack. He doubted you would attack unprompted.

You look at him a bit confused.

“But… How would you know it was self defense? The monsters who want me dead could just lie as a group, right?”

Dracula felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards. You had clearly been thinking about this, though he could tell it was something that must have weighed on your mind.

Not so much you thinking you could get away with attacking his subordinate, rather, you were worried about being attacked and thinking ahead.

He felt his lips curl into a small, amused smirk.

“I have my ways of figuring out what happens throughout my castle without being present.”

It was through his close connection with Castlevania, really.

Thanks to his connection, he was able to loosely figure out just who had tampered with your potions. Needless to say, it wasn’t hard to get the two witches to admit it, with how weak willed they were.

His castle was now a few witches less. Not that it mattered.

It wasn’t all of them, he was sure. Dracula still had a bit of investigating to do. The two he disposed of were just the ones who admitted to it, and Dracula could tell more were involved. No doubt he would be busy later looking further into the matter.

Some certainly weren’t happy with him, but alas, that was what happened when you attempted to hurt those he was protecting.

You seemed a bit skeptical, or perhaps curious?

“Um… Is it through the power of Chaos you can?”

As soon as you asked it, a worried look appeared on your face.

“Uh, if that isn’t too personal of a question, I mean…?”

He almost wanted to laugh. You were trying to be respectful, unsure if that was too much information to ask for.

“Trying to figure out a way to one up your enemy, hm?” He asked, though his lips ticked upwards in a full grin, clearly teasing you. Dracula could tell that wasn’t what you meant.

“No! That’s not what I-! I didn’t- fuck, I mean-”

It was adorable how you sputtered, and tried to catch your words to apologize.

“Relax, I’m only teasing you. Yes, it’s partially through the power of Chaos. Though Castlevania itself is bound to my very soul. Not much gets past me, should the castle alert me about it.”

You instantly relaxed at his words, and seemed to perk up in interest.

Once again, your eyes flickered to the bottle in your hand.

“Is that how you found out the last potion was poisoned?”

Dracula hummed, leaning back in the chair.

“No. One of my Alchemists alerted me to the fact several witches were discussing how they were… unhappy about your presence. I decided to check on the potion early, even if it was finished. I simply had my castle assist me in finding out who had done it.”

Silence filled the room once more. It seemed you were unsure what you wanted to say next.

After a beat passed, you looked back at him.

“Thank you, then. For checking. And for giving this to me.”

Your voice was soft, as was your smile.

If Dracula still breathed, he just knows his breath would have caught in his throat.

That was a smile that was worth protecting.

After you thanked him, you brought the bottle to your lips, and began to drink down the potion.

The effect was almost immediate. Even if he couldn’t see most of your wounds, he could see how you changed.

You no longer favored one side, leaning oddly to the left. Nor did you hold your arm as close as before. In fact, your body seemed to relax even further, now that the worst of the injuries were finally repairing from the magic treatment.

When you finished the drink, you pulled the bottle away from your lips, a disgusted look on your face presumably due to the taste. You coughed for a moment, and shook your head a bit.

After gathering your bearings, you then looked back up to Dracula, and truly smiled.

For once, you looked happy. You looked alive.

Yes, Dracula thought. Pursuing a future where you two don’t have to fight, would be one worth aiming for, just to see you smile once more.

#castlevania #dracula #castlevania dracula #vlad dracula tepes #dracula x reader #castlevania x reader #vlad dracula țepeș #x reader #reader insert #Belmont!reader #love that bites #long post #zed.writes

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milaisreading · 11 months

Note

I don’t normally make requests so sorry if this sounds stupid but can you do one where the manager is like the biggest fan of Leonardo and Pablo and whenever someone mentions their names their like, Aren’t they so dreamy?

Thanks! Again sorry if this sounds stupid

Author: hope u like this one🩷 thanks for the request 🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura ⚽️

"(Y/n), can you please give me that water bottle?" Rin asked, not looking up from his shoes, but all he got was silence from the girl and then he heard a few giggles. The boy looked up at her in confusion, only to find her on the phone.

"What happened?" Rin asked, hoping it wasn't a boy or someone else making her laugh.

"I am sorry, Rin! I will bring you the water bottle, but look! Leonardo Luna posted a video and it's so funny!" At the mention of the blonde Spaniard, Rin grew agitated and nervous.

'Does she like that asshole?!'

"He is so dreamy~ I wish I got an autograph from him and Pablo Cavasoz back when they were her." (Y/n) pouted.

"You are a fan of theirs?!" Rin asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, who wouldn't be? They are so good on the field, handsome and seem like nice people. I wish I didn't avoid them like a plague when I saw them last time."

As (Y/n) continued talking, she didn't notice the way Rin's face turned into a horrified one. Pablo Cavasoz? Sure, he can handle him since he seemed somewhat nice, but Leonardo Luna?! No way will he let that man steal her attention.

"Haaa..." (Y/n) sighed as she read a football magazine Anri bought her. Bachira and Kurons raised their eyebrows and looked down at her in confusion.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, you have been staring at the magazine for 30 minutes." Blushing at how obvious she was and shook her head.

"I am alright! But recently Cavasoz had an interview here in Japan, and the pictures they took of him are so good! Look at him!" The two looked in boredom at the pictures and nodded their heads. Bachira was fighting so hard not to grab the magazine and rip it apart.

'Only I should get this reaction from her! Not this freak!'

'What's so great about him? He is so stoic and boring.' Kurona thought.

"He looks so good! Look at his cheeks!" The two let out silent groans as they saw the awestruck look on (Y/n)'s face.

"What are you two talking about?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow as her and Hiori sat down with Reo and Nagi to eat lunch.

"Nagi was talking about the time he played against the World 5 team." Reo explained as Nagi nodded his head.

"Yeah, that Adam Blake is really no joke when it comes to his speed. Silva's strategies were very intimidating as well." The albino said as the two nodded their heads.

"Don't forget Loki, that dude is a real beast. Imagine facing him at the World Cup." (Y/n) added in as the other three nodded along.

"What about that Luna and Cavasoz guy? They are pretty scary too?"

"And arrogant, especially the Spaniard." Nagi rolled his eyes and was about to continue speaking, but Hiori interrupted him.

"(Y/n)... re you alright?" The boy asked as Reo waved his hand in front of her eyes. She had that weird, dreamy look in her eyes as she sighed.

"Ahhh~ they are so talented. You can forgive the arrogance honestly." The trio looked at her in shock, knowing that (Y/n) usually doesn't tolerate that behavior from them.

"What? (Y/n), I thought you hate arrogant people." Nagi raised an eyebrow, a little bit annoyed at the look she had.

"It's alright~ they are cute when they act like that." (Y/n) giggled as jealousy started to rise among the trio.

'Are we losing to some assholes now?!' They thought.

"Baro, can you please not argue with Aryu and Chigiri?" (Y/n) raised her eyebrow as he yelled at them for not picking up their hairbrushes.

"No! It's disgusting!" (Y/n) sighed and shook her head as Chigiri poked his tongue out at Baro, all the while he kept hiding behind (Y/n). Her phone rang and (Y/n) turned her attention to it as the three argued.

"Hello?" She answered, expecting either Anri or Ego to be on the phone.

"What?!" She yelled as the three stopped yelling and looked at her in confusion and worry. Her face was all red and she had some weird glint of excitement I'm her eyes as she nodded her head.

"Yes! Yes! Everything is under control! I will go and prepare the bedrooms, Teieri-san! Will they need anything else?! Special food? Extra blankets?"

"Who is she talking about?" Baro wondered.

"I don't know... but why does she look soo..."

"So in love?" Chigiri finished Aryu's sentence as all three cringed at the idea.

Anxiously, the trio saw (Y/n) hang up and jump in excitement.

"What happened?!" Aryu asked nervously as (Y/n) turned to look at them.

"The World 5 team will visit us again! I can now ask for pictures with Luna and Cavasoz! Hopefully they will be alright with it..." (Y/n) said a little nervously as the three froze up.

"What?! Why are you so excited to see them?" Baro asked.

"Have you seen them?! Both are so handsome and talented, who wouldn't freak out!" (Y/n) thought as she was about to cry from happiness.

'Not them! Not those two!' Aryu thought as his eye twitched in annoyance while Chigiri was about to cry.

'What about me?'

#bllk #blue lock anime #blue lock manga #bllk x reader #blue lock x reader #blue lock requests #isagi yoichi #manager reader #chigiri hyoma #reo mikage #nagi seishiro #bachira meguru #rin itoshi #bllk hiori #bllk kurona #blue lock barou #aryu jyubei #pablo cavazos #leonardo luna

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strawberrymilk-sunshine · 1 year

Text

Don't ever scare me like that again...

Ahhhhh I'm having Floyd angst thoughts and need everyone to see them

Warning(s): mentions of drowning, reader almost dies, general angst (with a happy ending though :) )

Of course dating Floyd Leech was hard sometimes. He has little-to-no self control, is prone to mood swings, and will straight-up not do things if he views them as boring.

But despite that, you love him. He's wonderful, even if he does sometimes ask rather... morbid... questions about humans.

He gave you the best hugs when you were sad. It was very comforting. He was the first person you'd go to when you were panicking.

One night, as the two of you were cuddling in bed, Floyd asked you something you didn't expect.

"Hey, Shrimpy... what does it feel like to drown...?"

"Huh? What brought this on all of the sudden?" You asked.

"I'm just wondering." Floyd responded. "Y'know, since I'm a merman, I can never know what that feels like... so... what does it feel like?"

"Well, I've never experienced it before, but from what I've heard it's... scary. And painful, too." You explain. "At first you try to hold your breath... and when that fails, the water rushes into your nose and mouth as you try to breathe... there's a really bad burning feeling in your chest when the water enters your lungs. Besides that, though, it's kinda peaceful." You explained.

"So... you're in pain when drowning...?"

"Yeah, apparently it hurts a lot."

Floyd suddenly tightened his grip on you. As if something was threatening to take you away from him.

"Can I tell you something...?" He whispered. "I... drowned a human once. Accidentally. When I was a child, waaaaaaay before I knew that humans can't breathe underwater." He sighed. "Life under the sea is rough. The child mortality rate is waaaaay higher than it is on land. Jade and I had a buncha other siblings when we were hatched, but by the time we were four, it was only us two left. Not to mention that the two of us weren't even given proper names until we were six years old." Floyd explained to you, pausing for a moment before continuing. "I was a bit desperate for any kind of interaction as a child... and one day, I met a human... and one day, I wanted to show him the world under the sea. Mom was horrified when she saw me dragging a dead human around with me, haha... that night we had land meat for dinner, and I never really pieced together what it was until recently."

"You... killed someone...?" You asked, unsettled.

"Please don't hate me, Shrimpy..." He buried his face in your chest. "I don't want you to hate me. The truth is, I'm scared of you disappearing. I know I was just a stupid kid who didn't know humans could drown, but... what if something happens to you? What if it slips my mind that humans can't breathe water, and you're... gone...? Forever...?"

"Aw, you really care about me, huh?" You sweetly asked. His grip on you tightened again, not enough to hurt, but noticably tighter than before. "Well don't worry. I'll never disappear, I promise."

"I'll never disappear, I promise."

You can't just break your promise like this! You can't, it's just not fair!

He could feel your grip on his shoulders loosening as he swam as fast as he possibly could towards the shore.

"Floyd... I-I'm cold..." You managed to say.

He didn't know what to say to you. What can he do to comfort you in what might be your last moments? Say everything will be fine? Just lie to you?

"Just hang on, ok? I'll get you to shore, and I'll get a nice warm blanket for you, ok Shrimpy~?"

"A-a-alright..." He could feel you trembling and shivering from how cold the water was to you. Your breathing was slowing.

When he reached the shore, you were clearly not doing well.

"Wake up, Shrimpy!" He demanded. "We're here, we made our way to the shore, ok?? So wake up! Don't you dare freeze, (Y/N)! It's not even that cold! S-so you can't freeze, you can't die!!"

You reached up, and placed your hand on his slimy wet face.

"I... l-love you..."

That's the last thing you remember from that night.

You wake up to the harsh lights and undeniable smell of a hospital.

"You're awake!"

Floyd kissed you on the lips the moment he realized you were alive.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Shrimpy..." He squeezed you tightly, but of course making sure he didn't hurt you. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, got it...?"

"Got it..." You laughed to yourself under your breath.

"Don't laugh. I was seriously worried for you, Shrimpy...!" He told you. "You could've died, you know that? You were really close to freezing to death."

"Yeah, I know." You returned his hug, your arms still slightly trembling.

The two of you sat there in silence, jusr sort of holding onto each other.

"Hey, Floyd?"

"Hm?"

"...thanks for saving me." You whispered to him.

Floyd didn't respond, but you could tell he was content with how this all turned out.

#it's 1am so i hope this is good lol #floyd leech #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #floyd x reader #floyd leech x reader

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thosewildcharms · 2 months

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Hi:) thanks to twol I fell in love with richonne and im watching twd and I couldn't tell when exactly they fell in love when do you think it was? When did they realize it? (I feel like rick knew it long before her in that 6x10ep he was like "finally" when they kissed)

hi! first of all let me just say I love the fact that you started watching because of richonne lol THEIR POWER. how are you enjoying both shows??

second of all, thank you so much for asking me this question, because it is one of my favorite things to think about.

I'm gonna start with michonne because I think it's way more clear cut for her. I have always personally believed that she fell in love with rick when he bit the shit out of that guy joe's throat in order to protect carl (and michonne and daryl for that matter). danai recently said this as well, - that while this was a subconscious turning point for michonne. I think this tracks, considering the show goes out of its way to use this moment to draw a direct comparison between rick and mike, michonne's ex/dead boyfriend. in her scene with carl in the immediate aftermath of the bite scene, she tells carl that it's important to know how her first son died: because his father gave up, got high and was too weak and neglectful to protect his child. she, essentially, tells carl that rick is the exact opposite of that, and that he shouldn't think badly of rick because of what he did (and in turn, shouldn't think badly of himself either, which is lovely), that instead of thinking of rick as a monster, he should know that what rick did was necessary. for michonne to lose her first child that way, only to see rick find a way to protect his family with both hands (literally) tied behind his back? of course she fell in love with him then. that moment on the tracks with rick right afterwards ("I'm okay"/"I know"/"how?/ "because I'm okay too") is also a direct comparison to lori. lori was horrified when she learned that rick killed shane. michonne, by contrast, is just grateful. she does not judge him or look at him any differently. she just loves him for it. and the way danai played it, I think you can see it on her face in that scene.

I do agree with danai that this was subconscious for michonne until the scene on the couch in 6x10. the look on her face is such a blatant "oh" moment straight out of fanfiction that it's pretty clear (to me, anyway) that while she was already in love with him this was the first time she allowed herself to see it.

rick I think is a bit harder to pin down. it's well documented by pretty much everyone and their mother (including but not limited to: the richonne fandom, yvette nicole brown, norman reedus, andrew's lincoln's mom, etc) that rick was, at the very least attracted to michonne and looking her up and down as early as the prison. but, I think he fell in love with her when they reunited after the prison fell, when he saw that she was able to reach carl in a way that he himself could not. a long standing concern for rick at that point was trying to preserve what was left of carl's innocence, and it was something rick struggled with due to his own mental health issues/his responsibilities as a leader. so to see michonne break through to carl, and even make him laugh on the train tracks and act like a kid again? I think that was everything to rick.

rick basically, quite literally actually, asks her to co-parent carl with him at that point (the "if you need a break/I'm done taking breaks" scene), and from then on treats her not just as his equal within the larger the group, but as a co-parent in the smaller family unit between himself, michonne, carl, and judith. he makes decisions for the entire group based on her opinion and her needs (such as walking to washington solely because she asks him to, and then agreeing with her decision to trust aaron and go to alexandria). it's where the shift starts for him.

but, I'm also inclined to think that this shift was subconscious for rick too, up until the moment on the couch, or maybe just before it. I say this mostly do the jessie arc when they first get to alexandria, which while sloppily done, basically boiled down to rick projecting all of his unresolved lori-shaped guilt onto a lori-shaped stand in. I don't think he could be consciously aware of being in love with michonne until all of those issues were resolved. notably, richonne get together the episode right after jessie dies, so I think that tracks. I agree though, that the way andy played that moment on the couch be seen as a finally moment. so my best guess is that he consciously realized he was in love with michonne during the (two month? is that right?) time gap betweeen 6x09 and 6x10. you can see in the opening of 6x10 that rick, michonne, and carl are really overtly domestic and settled with each other, so I think it's totally plausible he was aware of his own feelings by that episode before the couch scene. BUT I also think an argument can be made for him also having his own oh moment on the couch too, the minute he touched her hand. I think that's debatable.

anyway, I'm so sorry for writing this novel lmao. when do you think they fell in love with each other?

#richonne #the ones who live #twd #answered #i love them sfm

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vidavalor · 1 month

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A handful of GO/food-related thoughts (66% of which came to me in insomniac semi-sapience at 3am):

1) Would the Ineffable Husbands eat burritos, and what might 'burrito' refer to in their coded language?

2) The rice in sushi is functionally analogous to the bread in a sandwich and now I am flailing about potential implications in relation to your Bread meta

3) You remember the bit in the book about one of the Other Four Bikers disliking anchovies and/or olives on pizza? There's an actual French dish a bit like that! It's called 'pissaladière' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pissaladi%C3%A8re), it's from the south of France (Nice/Provence sort of area) and it's actually rather yummy! (I made it for supper tonight ^_^) Granted, anchovies can be a bit of an acquired taste

Hi @jotun-philosopher The most sapient thoughts sometimes come in the insomniac semi-sapience at 3am, I find. What cool questions! Some fun with food, sexual euphemisms, and etymology for you. 💕

Burritos: What's extra Good Omens-y about this question, imo, is that "burrito" comes from the Spanish "burro", which means "donkey", so, a burrito is actually a "little donkey" and, by that measure alone, I will say odds are solid that the Ineffable Husbands have eaten burritos lol. That and they've been around forever and have probably eaten most things and burritos are so, so good... You might reasonably ask 'why the fuck is this delicious food named after donkeys?' and the answer is that it's thought to be because a burrito can and does hold so many different kinds of ingredients that it's kind of a "workhorse" of food. It handles so much at once by bringing in so many different nutrients and tastes that it's akin to the "workhorse" of animals, which is a donkey. The show also already aligns Aziraphale with donkeys and actually did so again pretty recently with Shax referring to Aziraphale as an ass and then that the elevator is in the doorway to the pub The Dirty Donkey (which I think we can all agree Crowley named? 😉).

[@procrastiel I saw your tags in my other, more depressing post about Aziraphale & The Dirty Donkey-- I was going for the above, not the more horrifying option. I'm sure you'll be relieved. 🤣]

As for food symbolism in burritos, there's just so many different ingredients, idk... I think they'd make innuendo out of what's ordered to be in the burrito on any given day. I can't imagine one of them not making a hot sauce reference, since sauce and its variety of meanings is a very Ineffable Husbands word and they've used it before in different ways ("gravlax in dill sauce"; "you dip it in soy sauce").

Sushi and Bread: You're right about the rice in sushi being functionally analogous to bread in that it's the starch but I think it's actually the nori or leaves used to wrap the sushi that is technically "the bread" of sushi. (So, on top of there being fish in the sushi, the "bread" is actually seaweed in 1.01... mmm🐟. 😉) But your point that sushi can be seen as a sandwich of sorts? Yes, totally. A sandwich being food between two or more slices of bread (or a stand in for bread that serves the purpose of containing the filling). A person then euphemistically tied to bread is then a person who is a participant in partnered sex. Mrs. Sandwich is "Mrs. Sandwich" because she "makes sandwiches" for other people-- she allocates slices of bread to one another.

The bread itself that has been mentioned so far is also interesting from an euphemistic standpoint. Besides the brioche looked at in Crepes, there's sourdough (mentioned in Lockdown as the only bread that Aziraphale has baked and, um, "has baked" in the last few days) and there's also the first mention of bread in the series... which is from God 😂 when she codes Crowley as black bread in 1.01. The joke there likely being that both sourdough and black bread are examples of the kinds of bread that are made through a process of fermentation-- the same way that alcohol is made-- reiterating alcohol and bread as euphemistic for sex.

Pissaladiere: Thank you for reminding me of it-- it's been ages since I had it and it's very spring. Might need to make one soon. Glad yours was delicious! Just a warning, though: I think Crowley would make you disappear if you ever tried to serve Aziraphale a pissaladiere, though. A French fish-topped tart? There's nary a more Ineffable Husbands dish in existence lol. Pissaladiere rooted from the Latin piscis, meaning "fish" and it reminds me of some wordplay in the show in Aziraphale's entry in 'The Demon's Guide...' that Furfur had in 1941.

The obvious joke with the entries in the guide is that they're supposed to be about angels from the demonic perspective and have to use language that is negative to describe these angels but... this just means it's an excuse for Crowley and Aziraphale to get their 'wily'/'smitten', etc. on and use words that have different, contradictory definitions. Everything in Aziraphale's entry-- that we all agree was written by Crowley (and in what we are shown of the Baraqiel one, that feels very 'written by Aziraphale')-- is actually complimentary or referencing their relationship in the fuller meanings of the words used under the negative connotation on the surface.

One of the descriptive details listed for Aziraphale is "suspishous ears", with an intentional misspelling of "suspicious" to look demonic, right? One of the parts of the wordplay there is that the misspelling is done so as to now include the word "pish"-- a bit of a Crowley & Aziraphale wily/smitten-type of word on a few different levels.

To say something is "pish" is to say that it's something you disagree with and/or that it is disgusting and it took on that meaning largely from being Scottish slang for urine (as it's a near-homophone for "piss"... see also, the British phrase "to take the piss (out of [x])" being to roast someone or something.) This is the negative connotation on the surface but where this is relevant to Crowley and Aziraphale is in the etymology of "pish"...

The word actually formed in the English language as onomatopoeia (words that are formed out of sounds like, among some of Crowley's other mentioned favorites in the show, "frou frou" and "whoop.") Out of what sounds, you ask? The "psshshsh" noises ornithologists and others make to attract small birds.

It's also thought to originate about equally with the bird-attracting sounds from "la peche"... which you'll be unsurprised to learn is the French word for fish.

In Mohegan-Pequot, spoken by the indigenous people of my neck of the woods in New England, and in a couple of other languages, use of "pish" is actually rooted from the English peas.

To have "suspicious ears"-- with "suspicious" spelled correctly-- is to be cautious about who you trust. "Suspishus ears", built to include "pish", then references fish, peas, and nightingales at once and would then be calling Aziraphale a good partner who listens.

A communication breakdown, though-- not listening-- also being a theme in S2 and its "I don't think your exactlys are my exactlys"/"aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear"/"no nightingales" misery...

#ineffable husbands #good omens meta #good omens #good omens 2 #aziracrow #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands speak

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gofancyninjaworld · 1 month

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Thinking about Garou

Question: "Compared to the first season, which draws attention to Saitama's exhilarating punches, the second season focuses on story development. Did you have any specific goals while drawing the story?" Murata: "There was one thing that I requested from ONE Sensei before drawing my re-illustrated manga. At first, there were plans to cut out Garou's childhood with the bully in my version, but that scene really left an impression on me. I thought it was a vital part of understanding Garou's position, so I discussed it with ONE Sensei and requested that I be able to leave it in for y version. And it was paced so well in the anime! I believe it ended up being a very high-quality scene." -- From the liner notes of One-Punch Man Season 2.

I'm including this because I feel it's fundamental to really talk about Garou with any depth. Garou without context does not make sense. He is a kind, sensitive, and thoughtful young man who wants to do good in the world. Yet, he caused a horrifying amount of harm, both directly and indirectly, and ultimately undermined his own goals.

I'm glad that ONE listened to Murata about keeping Garou's childhood flashback. Without it, he'd just have been a thug attacking heroes for no reason to us (pretty much as the heroes saw him). Not only that, but ONE has gone a lot further in the manga in showing us the context in which Garou grew up that's been very helpful for understanding who Garou is, what he saw, and making some sense of his powerful yet contradictory desires.

Ultimately Garou is Garou. He's his own person and the buck for his actions firmly stops with him. No matter what, I can't imagine him not being an independent thinker with the determination to put his thoughts into action.

But...

...the tragedy of his thinking becomes clear when we see his thinking of monsters as metaphors for what is misunderstood or unacceptable in ourselves (a popular enough one IRL where monsters aren't real) and compare it with the reality of his world in which monsters have won, successfully restricting humans to one continent, and people like heroes because they are reminders that sometimes, even apparently overwhelming evil can be defeated. Nothing good happens when you deny the reality around you.

You know Garou's rant about uniting the world with fear? It's a standalone rant in the webcomic. The manga gives us a snapshot of the context in which he came to this conclusion. As this is a place that is no stranger to natural disasters -- forget the monsters -- Garou has no doubt experienced at least one big storm, or flood, or earthquake, or volcanic eruption in his life. In those days and weeks that follow, he's no longer an outcast. Nobody cares about where you come from or who you are: people help each other. At least until normalcy is restored. That's something he's directly experienced.

That's just human nature: even in individualistic societies, for every report of looting in the wake of a natural disaster, there are hundreds of people trying to help. And this is a much more collectivist society that has to deal with disasters semi-regularly. That's the sense of looking out for each other in the face of a tragedy bigger than any person he wanted to recreate—only permanently.

Then we get bits of Garou through the people around him. We got nothing about his parents in the webcomic but in the manga, his parents refuse to see him or get him out of custody. They've given up on him. To make it worse, the audience ONE is writing for understands that Garou is a minor until he's 20 (the law recently changed in Japan but it wasn't even up for debate when ONE started writing OPM). So they've done the equivalent of washing their hands of a 16-year-old. That's got to have hit Garou very, very hard, even if he was estranged from them. He'd have liked it if his father cared enough to tell him what to do.

We see how Bang has literally taken on the role of in loco parentis. It's been interesting to see that the reason Bang has chased after Garou so relentlessly is because he sees himself in the young man. However, we also see that he deeply misunderstands Garou too. Bang beat up people because he was an extremely selfish young man who felt he was entitled to everything.

Garou beat up people because he is an extremely thoughtful young man who sees himself as bringing a great good into the world at the expense of some heroes.

It's definitely going to cause trouble but that's okay -- nothing in life is smooth and such differences are inevitable. With love, such struggles are worthwhile.

Garou's an object lesson in why the energy to do things in the world rarely comes with the power to make those changes. His overly simple solutions were disastrous. But one thing we can also say about Garou: he's a fast learner. He's literally rebuilding his life little by little in the webcomic by rebuilding the world around him. In the manga, he's been given the opportunity to sift through his thinking and find what's genuinely good. We'll see how it all shakes out.

#OPM #meta #Garou #manga #webcomic #the road to hell is paved with good intentions has rarely been truer when it comes to Garou #I am glad the manga has drawn out more context for us to understand him better #and also given him more opportunity to confront his way of thinking

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eggtartz · 1 year

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a/n : writing this instead of falling asleep, who needs sleep anyway

masterlist

summary : how you patched tenjiku members after their recent fight with toman (no one died in the incident don't worry we're all happy 🫶🏻)

cw : poly relationship where reader is dating tenjiku members, slight angst?, mentions of dying, reader is a bit too late to the fight and failed to stop izana, fluff 🫶🏻

"izana must you go and fight your brother? can't you just i don't know let go?" you said to one of your lovers that has been holding a grudge ever since he discovered the truth about his family. sure, izana has found family amongst his friends but he somehow feels like his grudge towards the sano is endless. only one way to end it is by killing them. he has heard that shinichiro has died, now he is targeting emma to weaken his main opponent, manjiro.

"y/n let's go, let izana think about it yeah?" rindou pulled your forearm and dragged you out from the hideout, leaving izana and kakucho inside.

outside, mucho sat you down on his lap "do you have to do this? i get it that this is the better for tenjiku but im worried. what if? what if tetta means ill? what if, what if i never get to see you again?" you sobbed on mucho's chest, soaking his uniform in the process. the other members gave each other looks to comfort you so ran kneeled down to face you, "you mustn't worry too much, bubs. tenjiku has more members than they do, your boyfriends here are the strongest guys in the are. nothing would go wrong, i promise". he hugged you and the others joined in a big hug, sandwiching you in their big arms.

the next day, you grew restless. it was the day of the fight between tenjiku and toman. izana has instructed his underlings to prevent you from coming at the location, however you have slipped past their security and diligently searched for the place.

you boyfriends has been awfully secretive with the locations or details of the fight so you had to find it yourself. after a while searching, you heard gunshots and car tyres screeching. you rushed to the source of sound and saw one of izana's recently recruits, kisaki tetta dead on the highway. panicking, your knees wobbled and you ran to a direction who knows where.

images of tetta's corpse, his red uniform now red with blood so horrifying that you imagined your boyfriends in the same predicament. your sobs came to a stop when you passed by an alley, where you saw people using the red uniform. rushing over them, you saw shion, mucho, mochi, ran, rindou blankly staring at the ground.

kakucho? izana? your eyes widened as the world fell deaf and everything felt like it was in slow motion. you running to your bloody lovers, bleeding to their death while the other was too stunned to move.

"oh my god, izana can you hear me? wait izana we can make it to the hospital don't close your eyes! kakucho? baby you need to stay with me okay? stay with me please!" you hold their intertwined bloody hands and kissed their knuckles. izana let out gasps of air, struggling to find words while kakucho cried so much, his eyes blurry.

"ran! call the ambulance, just goddamnit come here!" you urged your boyfriends that stood afar approach you so ran took your phone out of bag. ripping mochi's oversize shirt, you put pressure on the wounds on izana telling mochi to keep pressure there. you went to kakucho's side, him still crying "don't worry kaku-chan you'll make it. you have to, remember the promises we made?" you said while bending down to kiss his scar. you pulled shion to put his head under shion's lap, and to keep talking with kakucho so he won't lose consciousness.

"god all of you are all bloody, rindou is your lip okay?" you asked rindou that looked as equally as injured as the others, all beaten up. you raised to your feet when you heard ambulance sirens, some flee, some stayed.

your silently sobbed when you saw izana got on the stretcher as well as kakucho. riding the back of the ambulance with them, you held their hands and sobbed on their chest, hoping they would make it.

blinking his eyes, kakucho's mismatched irises adjusted to the brightness of the hospital lights. he awakened with a back pain, as well as pain at the ribcage but either than that he was fine. he looked at his right and saw his friend, still on a life support but stable. looking around again, he saw you dozing off on mochi's broad chest while shion head was on your lap. rindou and ran was leaning on each others shoulders due to lack of space in the room. mucho then entered the room bringing a plastic bag, the big stoic looking man now waking up everyone.

"oh god kaku? how are you feeling? ran, call the nurse please" ran went out the door and came back with some nurses and a doctor who inspected kakucho. he asked some questions to him and kakucho groggily answered, he wondered how long he was out.

the doctor then walked at you and gave great news "good thing is, his condition seems to be well. he can discharge by tomorrow if his condition gets better by tonight" all of you gasped in relief and said thankyou at the doctor as he closed the door.

"hey baby? we'll wait outside and pack his stuff. you talk to him okay?" rindou said softly while kissing the top of your head. ran kissed your temple, shion kissed your cheek. mochi kissed the back of your ear and whispered "everything's gonna be alright" while mucho pecked your lips. turning to kakucho, you sat down on the bed while staring at him. his eyes too are staring and soon, tears started welling up again.

arriving at the hospital weeks ago, the doctor wasn't even sure if they could make it. their blood lost was significantly high and luckily the hospital had blood supplies just enough for the two of them. izana had a worse fate, him having been shot had to go through surgery to discard the bullets. after the surgery, he fell into a coma. he doctor informed that he was doing fine, the bullet not hitting any major organs but he needed rest therefore the coma.

kakucho reached for your hand and you slowly hugged him. just thinking about losing him breaks you, how could you ever lived without them being here? "im sorry princess, i couldn't stop izana. you were right, tetta did betrayed us. im sorry princess, won't do anything like this again"

"you.. you better be! the others and me were worried sick! you weren't showing any responses at all, we were so worried. i couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. don't do that again, kakucho please i can't lose you. i can't lose either of you" you cried in his arms, now his hospital attire wet. while kakucho was mumbling apologies under his breath, you two stopped until you heard "tch kakucho im not here for a while and you're taking all her attention"

"IZANA!"

following weeks izana and kakucho got better and went to fight more despite your nagging. but the fight doesn't get too serious, the leader and his members went low and only participated in small meetings with other gangs, avoiding bigger ones.

"did y/n seriously pulled your ear shion?"

"yeah no shit! she was so scary too!"

"you're gonna get it again if you try to do anything smart madarame"

"she also climbed our laps what's up with that y/n?"

"shut your mouth the position was comfortable alright! your head was bleeding!"

"she gave you a lot kisses when you were out izana, maybe i should get into a coma too.."

"try doing that haitani you'll sleep on the streets"

truth is when they arrived at hospital the other members had to get treated too however the nurses there were ogling, no stripping the uniforms with their eyes not even bothering to hide the fact their staring at their abs and everything exposed. in frustration you forced the others to go home right that instant and took the job instead. it was free, quick and you don't have to be jealous all the time.

shion noticed your demeanour and teased you a lot about it, in return you pulled his ear and he whined in pain like a child. the other got patched up later, after taking a shower you told them to show you the wounds the got.

you were distracted for once or twice (lie) and was teased about it too making you blush furious red. you'll ended you having a full make out with them, pushing all your boysfriends away when they whined for more.

their whining resulted in their wounds got pressed harder.

it wasn't a perfect relationship between each of you but you try to be the best partner for them. even if they're deliquents and idiots, you still loved them. you loved them so much.

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nobody-nexus · 6 days

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The Masked: First Encounter

(CW for creepy imagery! You have been warned!)

First Encounter

Current Date: March 12, 1982

Date of Encounter: March 3, 1982

I was called into an old house down by the edge of town. It had been abandoned for a while by now, however just recently did I see reports of a teenager, a young man named Jeremy Jest, having ran away from the house, clearly traumatized by something. When officers tried to get answers, all he could saw was 'the face'. Of course, this seemed like another entity, so I decided to take a look myself. Going in, I noticed that the place had been turned into a sort of hoarding area. It was filled with various audio and music playing devices. Gramophones, tape recorders, radios, and the like. Curious, I went further in

Everything was fine... Until I went up into the attic. The ladder up to said location had already been opened most likely due to Jeremy, and going in and shining my light, it was even stranger. Ribbons were laid about, making the place look more like a mess then I heard it. It was a quiet sound, but in the silence, it almost slipped by. It sounded like crying. Or whimpering. Something in between perhaps? But I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from due to a mask falling onto the floor. It looked like a heavily simplified tragedy mask, but broken upon impact

It was above me, as it seemed the crying turned into a fleshier, sticky, guttural sound as a retched ooze began to drip onto the mask in front of it. I didn't look up. Jeremy's repeated phrase played again and again as I simply tilted by camera up and took a picture. This caused a gut chilling screech to come from the thing, so I ran for it. I never looked back. Never grabbed any samples, however I now have this picture. I've been planning for a bit now on going back but giving myself precautions as to make sure I NEVER see this face. It's one that leaves me horrified that I almost encountered it eye to eye

-Abel

#the amazing digital circus #amazing digital circus #the digital circus #digital circus #tadc #gangle #tadc gangle #gangle tadc #digital circus gangle #au #tadc au #digital circus au #analog au #tadc analog au #analog gangle #the condemned digital archives

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russenoire · 8 months

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in response to this post:

ONE-sensei is a bit of a troll, not gonna lie.

but... i actually like this ending, at least for comedy's sake. the stark juxtaposition of

'boy gets hit by a truck and his unexamined jungian shadow self flattens a city before he finally makes peace with it'

with

'and everything was just fine six months later'

is funnier than spelling out exactly how we get from point A to point B, because we KNOW — as the audience — that it wasn't 'just fine'. after everything we saw, how could it be?

subverted expectations underpin a lot of comedy, even dark comedy, especially absurdist comedy. MP100 is practically built on both. this story wrings a lot of humor out of sad, if not tragic, situations: witness shigeo's 'who told you you could pass out?!' after his home has been reduced to kindling. or ritsu's admission that he only recently stopped crying himself to sleep at night over his inability to bend spoons like his big brother. while he's letting shigeo know just how much he supposedly hates him in that alley.

not expanding upon the real-life consequences of said city-flattening is funny precisely because dropping 'i wrecked my hometown after nearly dying in a car accident on the way to ask out my crush when i was a teenager' in a conversation and just... leaving it there? would be fucking horrifying in real life. here, in the elastic magical-realist context of MP100, it's more darkly absurd than anything else...

more to your point, OP: in this particular series, ONE-sensei tells so much of this story by implication. the answers to some of your questions are in the text, only... alluded to.

this might get long. bear with me:

the fact that joseph from the government exists? and that he's an esper working in secret? implies that the knowledge of destructive espers might need to be concealed from the public at large, perhaps to prevent wide-scale panic or ostracism of espers themselves. i doubt the government was forthright with its citizens about the confession arc disaster or the actual cause, for the same reasons.

that suzuki's broadcast-hijacking world domination announcement is met with public disdain and ridicule, especially over social media? outside of our cast, no one actually takes his threat seriously until it happens. reigen's trash-talking claw's seventh division down to earth also shows how little respect espers who don't make themselves useful to society actually get here. he is, after all, just another member of the public.

that reigen agrees to take on haruaki amakusa as a client after the world domination arc in part because he's worried about losing business? people have begun to move away from seasoning city in the aftermath; whatever the threat amakusa's hyakki present, neutralizing them as soon as possible is best for reigen's continued financial health. i can see even more residents deciding they've had enough and leaving after shigeo's last brush with death. would you stay?

how many people know shigeo is connected to reigen, apart from the people they both know? out of his own inflated and fragile ego, reigen presents himself as a sole proprietor on his website; it doesn't seem his business or its reputation would be directly affected at all.

and the injuries caused? possible deaths? we get a taste: early on in chapter 100, several people are trapped and unable to move in a 地盤沈下 (jibánchinka, literally: 'land subsidence', which can apply to a sinkhole, a landslide...) shigeo has left in his wake. we only find out because a cop is being briefed on this and its cause while trying to detain the suspect for questioning.

but like all other bodily harm caused in this story, we aren't treated to the fallout. did the elderly ishiguro survive shou plowing him into the earth? did miyagawa die after teruki flipped his barrier onto him and broiled him in his own flames? did those high school bully boys live after shigeo cracked their heads open on the pavement like eggs? like, these are good questions. (i'm inclined to believe that all these people died, but many would call me harsh for saying that about an otherwise kind story. we never see them again, either way.)

shigeo actually has a healing factor of sorts; his jungian shadow self keeps plucking him from death's arms. we have no way of knowing if this is true for anyone else, because that isn't the story ONE wanted to tell. if nothing else, the mangaka's lack of desire to engage with this question of lethal consequences is at least consistent across MP100.

any questions that aren't answered either directly or that can't be answered by easy extrapolation can foster continued engagement with the material.

for example: we don't know what shigeo's parents think about much of anything in this story, besides how little they expect from him and how ritsu sets a standard they feel shigeo should live up to. this boy goes through hell multiple times and is never shown to confide in either of his parents about it, instead suffering in silence for some time until he finds someone he feels safe enough to talk to. all this gives me the distinct impression that shigeo just isn't that close to his mother or his father. i can understand why. it's actually kind of sad, even as readers' frustrated expectations of real-life parental involvement with — and confusion over — his and his brother's shenanigans also generate some dark humor.

this also establishes a precedent: since we never check in with them, by the time the confession arc rolls around, their opinion hardly matters. (but i'm sure someone has written a fic fleshing that out! i'm somewhat curious myself.)

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vegaly-art · 27 days

Text

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Spoilers for Reforming a Sadism Demon

VEGA- MY LOVE- MY SWEET- HE IS BACK AND HE IS BROKEN AND THIS IS HORRIFYING. And also I have some retrospectives on a bunch of theories I had/saw that were proven/disproven in this video. Starting with disrpoven theories, then proven, ones, then some additional lore.

Disproven: This incident happened before Inversion.

This is the first time I think it was mentioned that the Closeknit branch in Dahlia is the ONLY ONE THERE. There have been mentions of other branches, but I don't think it's ever been explicitly stated that there's only 1 in Dahlia unless it was in the very very first or second Blake video. I believed due to the timeline it could make sense this happened a bit before Inversion, but Vega coming back may be after? Or it happen around the same time as Inversion did. However, this is not possible since Closeknit was fully operational when the Inversion struck. They only abandoned ship after Blake sacrificed himself, and Elliot got that location reported, both of which happened at least a week after the Inversion based on the site timeline. I am a bit sad about that however it makes sense that adding Vega in retroactively may be a pain, and frankly he has more than enough to feed on in the aftermath regardless, for years at least surely. :P.

Proven: Vega was the very first Sadism Daemon.

This is VERY FUCKING COOL AND I LOVE THAT SO MUCH AND HATE IT IN EQUAL MEASURE. Obviously this explains a lot about him. He is old, he is strong, he has seen the world and has known the taste of pure magic and was obviously a very very powerful fighter, who likely had been hurt, abandoned or betrayed many many times. And it explains why he feels the burden of remembrance is on him. He is one of the first Daemons EVERY. The Chorus are likely some of the only Daemons around his age and who's to say how much of their memory they still hold. But I am glad it was confirmed that's what Anacrusis meant :P. Also the fact that

Also man- Warden and Vega and Hush meeting again happened sooner than I thought- I cannot even imagine the whiplash. Poor Warden :(((.

Semi Proven?: Hush's connection to the Sovereigns/Meridian.

Hush is an Egregore, which is an entity brought to life by force of thought alone. While it's unclear yet WHICH sovereign(s) he is connected to, I stick with my theory that he is more closely tied to the pair in the Meridian. It is unlikely that the dreams of gods trapped below the river could form something so whole, and so HUMAN. Also Hush's connection to Avior, as I wrote about before, makes me think this as well. He may well be formed from the idea of Avior, and from his and Starlight's years of hell. Their agragate humanity collected, and their concept, their personalities, their very being as physical creatures gave the idea to Min'ara and E'laetum. Again, technically not proven TRUE, but now it is very clear what Hush is at least. He is a creation of Sovereigns, created VERY recently (likely around the time of Inversion, and specifically after it) from the emptiness that always has been.

And now Additional thoughts:

"Vega. Stellar-formed, Congruent of D’Deridahn, bound in his Madrigal. Anacrusis of his Phrase. First-formed of Gravity." is Vega's full title. Now, what I find interesting is this comment about Gravity. This could technically mean 2 things.

1. Literally it's just a restatement of his being first formed. As in he was the first star who collected enough particles and gravitational force to fully coallese from the stardust.

And/Or

2. D’Deridahn is actually the Sovereign of Sadism Daemons, and Gravitons. It has been confirmed that we don't know of every sovereign or type of daemon, but it's pretty well accepted that each sovereign ruled over one magical domain of humanity, and one daemonic type. So Rak'Xit is the creator of the Inchoate, and his sacrifice is what created freelancers and is the reason why they're so much more common than other empowered groups. A'Xerahn is the Sovereign of all Concubi, and also created Vampires. Now, these two make sense, of course. And we don't know exactly which sovereign matched up to which magic type and Daemon. We know one, and in rare cases, both. But this connection between feeding off human cruelty and gravity has some merit to me. Gravity is all about strength, and power. Gravity pulls on everything around it, and the heavier an object is, the more pull it has, and the more things it can collect upon itself, further increasing it's mass and gravity. But at a point, gravity is a risk. It can pull towards it things which are destructive. Fast, heavy, or both. It can crush and crumble, burn and eventually explode in it's own strength, creating stars, supernovas... and black holes. It is powerful, and keeps things as we know it on earth in line, but it is also destructive if unchecked. And Cruelty is the same. It exists in every person, to some extent, and some level of cruelty is natural, and even needed. Envy, schadenfreude, and so forth are pretty common in people, and can actually help humans coexist. But when someone is cruel enough, they impose themselves on others. They collect people whom they have hurt, and can hurt around them, and it brings risks. Because those people CAN leave... if they're strong enough. Or they can lure someone too strong, who brings them down. Or they may simply destroy themselves through their cruelty to others, or to themselves... just as Gravity would. Maybe it's a bit too philosophical but it makes sense.

And it well could be both. I'll have to see. I didn't get to finish the Blake video so I may update if there's anything substantial in this connection in that video, proving or disproving it. But I have a feeling there won't be much.

But yeah. This new lore is great >:333. Also love that Doc was right about how Vega would be angry at being brought back. And the whole "You are young, shortsighted, and short remembered. Find one who has known me longer" is so good. Vega is back on that wordiness >:3333. WARDEN GOT THE SPOOK OF THEIR LIFE AND THEN IS GETTING ANOTHER WITH A WEIRD VEGA IN TOW- I wonder how their relationship will reform... this feels like that whole "If I lost all my memories, what's the first thing you'd tell me about myself" kind of deals and I am HERE FOR IT.

Also honestly... I love this arc. While more... literal, it expands upon the concept Vega explained of "The Vega that crawled out of that Elission well, is not the one that stands before you today." I mean he LITERALLY DIED, and was put back together incomplete, with many memories lost... but he still kept those oldest ones. Probably not all the ones he wished to keep, obviously. Many of his important memories are implied to be VERY painful... but this does kind of show his determination, even without knowing himself, that he has to remember. To be the keeper of all that knowledge, to be the keeper of all that HURT that made him him and made the world as it is, because it MATTERS to him. And I hope if/when he does get even a fraction of his old memories, or even just an idea of what they were, back... that he is able to grow from the pain... into someone even greater. :,)) And Warden too.

#also I hope I'm not the only one who sees the imp!vega connections in this new incarnation of vega without most of his memories #a vega who was not scared as badly by humans as to distrust them. imp vega had MORE knowledge but not nearly as much hurt as prime vega did #idk food for thought #redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted demons #redacted warden #redacted vega #redacted hush #redacted doc

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