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ellecdc · 12 hours

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mother!!!! that recent poly!marauders + lily fic had me WEAK. if you please, could you write a part two where shy!reader finds out remus is a werewolf? I could see rem really not wanting her to find out bc he doesn’t want to scare her, but maybe severus(or somebody) spills the beans thinking she already knew, or she overheard a conversation between the boys. she’d be accepting of course, but remus freaks out when she finds out. just a lot of comfort and reassurance.

hope that gives you some inspiration, also, totally don’t have to write it if you don’t want to, of course!!! ilysm 🖤💚

I took this in a bit of a different direction but the ending's just the same! thanks so much sweets <3 <3

4.6k words

poly!marauders + lily x shy!reader who learns about Remus' furry little problem

CW: miscommunication trope, insecurities, angst [with a happy ending], reader is feeling incredibly insecure in this fic, James cries, Sirius cries a little bit too but they all pretend not to notice for his sake

You felt terribly foolish; no, you felt worse. You felt absolutely humiliated and you had no one to blame but yourself.

And now that you were here - ‘here’ being rushing to the dungeons to lock yourself in the Hufflepuff dormitories for the next foreseeable future - you aren’t sure how you had convinced yourself that this was going to end any other way.

It was a pipedream at best, thinking you had any place amongst the infamous Marauders and the princess of Gryffindor, and it was delusional at worst.

Of course they’d grow weary of you, of course they’d find your nerves and anxiety tiresome, of course they’d wind up bored of accommodating you when they were all so much more than you.

What had you been thinking? How did you manage to allow yourself to believe that this was anything but a phase for them - they saw you as a challenge, they beat the challenge, and now they were through with you.

You thought that the sweet looks, the kisses, the affection, the effort all meant more than it obviously did.

At least to them.

To you, it meant the world.

To them, it was a chore.

You were a chore.

Foolish girl.

You had been on your way to the library to meet up with the boys and Lily to study for the upcoming Herbology test. It was the first real group ‘date’ after the sketchiness that usually followed Remus about once a month that no one else seemed inclined to comment on, so neither did you.

Except…except, this time, some lingering tension seemed to follow the bout of sketchiness.

And still, no one seemed particularly inclined to comment on it.

And you couldn’t help but feel like you were out of the loop somehow, but you chalked that up to being a newer addition to the dynamic, and not living with them in Gryffindor tower.

That is until you happened to be walking out of their view behind the stacks of books that their table was situated by when you overheard their conversation.

“You’re going to have to say something to her, Rem. This is getting out of hand.” You heard Lily say solemnly, earning her a pained groan from Remus’ lips, causing you to pause behind the stacks so as to not interrupt their conversation.

“Can’t we just ignore this? Just for a little longer?” Remus bargained. “I mean, it can’t be that bad?”

“It’s worse, Moons.” Sirius corrected.

“Y/N’s so sensitive though.” James added. “I mean, how would that conversation even go? How do you tell her something like that?”

“It has to come from Remus.” Lily stated matter-of-factly.

Remus let out a long-suffering sigh. “And how do you suggest I go about this?”

“Listen.” Sirius asserted. “I don’t bloody care how we tell her, but we have to say something. I cannot keep living like this; it’s exhausting.”

Lily made a tsking sound and placed a consoling hand on Sirius’ shoulder as Remus let out another sigh.

“I know, I know; I’m sorry you guys. I thought we could ignore it but…I don’t think we can anymore.”

Lily, Sirius, and James all made a hum of acknowledgement.

“I think we ought to just rip the bandaid off and hope she understands.” Lily said.

You felt your stomach migrate to your throat as you turned on your heels and fled the library.

Is that what all the tension was about? Is that what this library study date was? Just a ruse to sit you down so they could break up with you?

Of course it was, idiot. You scolded yourself. They were foolish to entertain the likes of you for any amount of time.

So now you were here - ‘here’ being rushing to the dungeons to lock yourself in the Hufflepuff dormitories for the next foreseeable future - and you aren’t sure how you had convinced yourself that this was going to end any other way.

“Do you think I should do it tonight?” Remus asked Lily as she finally sat down.

“I think it would be best if we did, sweetheart. I just can’t help feeling like we’re keeping her at arms length by keeping it a secret, you know?”

“I agree.” Sirius said quickly. “It feels like she’s more of a guest than actually part of the relationship whilst we’re keeping something so big from her.”

“I just don’t want her to hate me.” Remus admitted in a whisper.

“Remmy.” James cooed from the other side of Sirius. “Our sweet little Puffle seems completely incapable of hatred. But you know we’ve got your back 110% if she’s not accepting of you, right?”

The other two nodded in agreement but Remus only grimaced. “It just feels like I’d be ruining the relationship for all of you if the only person she has a problem with is me.”

“Impossible.” Sirius replied emphatically. “Anyone who has a problem with you has a problem with us, Moons.”

“Even if we weren’t dating, Rem, if someone didn’t respect my friend - or anyone, for that matter - because of their lycanthropy, I wouldn’t want them around anyways.” Lily agreed.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem, though.” Sirius continued. “Like Prongs said, she’s our sweet girl; I’m sure she’ll handle this fine.”

“Where is she, anyway?” James said, flipping his wrist to check his watch. “She was supposed to meet us like twenty minutes ago.”

The other three shared a look of bemusement.

“Do you have the map?” Sirius asked.

James quickly pulled the map from his book bag to scan the parchment for your name. “It says she’s in the Hufflepuff common room?”

“Maybe she forgot?” Lily mused.

“I spoke to her at dinner; she said she was going to change out of her uniform and then meet us here.” Remus replied, feeling his heart rise to his throat with nerves.

What if she knew? What if she already found out? What if she hated him?

“Rem, it’s alright.” Lily placated, clearly seeing his concern etched onto his face. “Maybe she wasn’t feeling well, or got caught up with something else.”

“She’s never bailed on us before…” James admitted, looking just as worried as Remus was. “Maybe we should check on her?”

“Why don’t we give her tonight; I think after all the shite we put her through this week, she’s allotted one missed date.” Sirius decided, opting to keep his tone light as he teased Remus for his ‘pre-moon angstiness’ as his partners call it.

“We’ll catch up with her tomorrow.” Lily decided; and Remus and James shared a look of concern as they relented to study for the upcoming Herbology test without you.

You weren’t really mad at the Gryffindor’s for their decision to end things with you; at least not at first.

People were allowed to change their minds, and you supposed that was the purpose of dating, right? To see if the person you’re interested in is someone you want to keep around indefinitely?

So, people were allowed to change their mind, and that was okay.

You also couldn’t particularly blame them; you were shy, quiet, timid, awkward in most social settings and certainly not as adventurous as them, it was only a matter of time before they grew bored of you.

So you hadn’t been mad at them, not at first.

But you were growing increasingly annoyed at their attempts to force themselves within your space.

You had opted to sit at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast the next morning; there was no sense sitting at the Gryffindor table with them anymore.

But then you couldn’t handle the feeling of your heart splintering every time you heard Sirius’ bark of laughter or Lily’s giggle at something Remus said or that James did. So you quickly scarfed down your toast and grabbed a muffin to shove in your bag before fleeing from the Great Hall.

What you didn’t notice was James noticing you only as you were leaving, looking incredibly worried.

You nearly shrieked when you exited your Astronomy class that you had with the Ravenclaws and slammed into Sirius’ frame.

“There you are, dolly! We missed you this morning!” He proclaimed as he pressed a kiss to your cheek.

You quickly collected yourself; heart racing from the scare and then quickly migrating to your throat out of embarrassment and hurt at this familiarity you had with him only to be about to lose it.

“Sorry, I had been running late.” You said quickly as you headed for the stairs; the long-haired boy quickly keeping up with your steps.

“Were you feeling alright?” He asked you.

“How do you mean?”

Sirius tilted his head slightly as he considered you. “Well, you didn’t show up to the library last night, and then you were running late this morning; that’s not like you.”

A hot frustrated emotion burned in your chest that you weren’t completely accustomed to feeling.

Wasn’t he the one to say he couldn’t live like this anymore?

It wasn’t fair of you to be frustrated though, which frustrated you even more; he didn’t know that you had shown up to the library last night, nor that you had gotten to the Great Hall on time.

They hadn’t even noticed you this morning.

And that’s why they were ending things; you were forgettable, ignorable, unnoticeable.

“I’m fine, Sirius. Thank you.” You said simply, and quickly headed for the girl’s loo in order to shake him off.

Remus had approached you in Care of Magical Creatures as well, which somehow hurt more.

Perhaps it was because you knew he was going to be the one to tell you that things were over; though you had thought he’d be better than to break up with you in the middle of class.

“Hey, dove.” He said as he gently nudged your arm with his elbow; watching as you groomed the puffskein on your table.

“Hey, Remus.” You said quietly, not removing your eyes from the Beast you were working with.

“I missed you last night.” He admitted quietly.

Did you? You thought petulantly.

“Sorry.” You murmured instead.

“You don’t have to be sorry.” He said as he leaned his elbows on your workbench; if it had been any other student, you’re certain Professor O’Brien would have scolded him for not handling the beasts with adequate caution, but Remus seemed to be allowed certain privileges and the puffskein “Kujo” didn’t seem to mind him much. “I just missed you is all.”

And he was smiling that sweet, soft smile at you and he seemed like he actually meant it which only further contributed to your ire.

What happened to ripping the bandaid off? Why keep up this affectionate act if it was only going to end?

Remus looked like he was going to say something when the Professor announced the end of class.

“I’ll catch up with you later.” You offered quickly before you all but threw Kujo back into his pen and took off towards the castle.

The final straw had to be Herbology, though.

You shared Herbology with the Gryffindors, and because you were a new addition - your [the] four Gryffindor’s all shared a potting bench whilst you worked alongside another Hufflepuff.

Today, however, it appeared that James had other plans.

Before Sadie-Jane could take her seat beside you, James had plopped himself - rather carefully for the notoriously boisterous quidditch chaser, mind you - on the stool beside you.

“Hey, angel.”

Again, with the pet names.

It felt torturous at this point; part of you wanted to rip the bandaid off yourself.

But you looked over at the sweet, warm, inviting face of James Potter and any resolve to tell him to shove it completely dissipated. He was all messy curls, round frames, and warm eyes.

And you might have been [must have been] mistaken, but you felt you could see anxiety and worry painted in his features.

You supposed breaking up with someone could do that to a person, though.

“Hi Jamie.” You whispered back as you opted to ready your supplies for today’s lesson.

“I was wondering if you were going to come to the game tonight?” He blurted then, looking slightly embarrassed at his outburst.

Right…the game. The game against Slytherin. The game that would have you sitting between Remus and Lily as they cheered for James and Sirius. That game.

“I...uhm, well…”

Rip the bandaid off.

But it was James.

And you were in class.

And you could see Lily and Remus trying - and failing - to not look like they were watching you and James whilst Sirius had no such qualms and was actively staring at the two of you.

“Yeah, I’ll…I’ll see.” You offered James, mustering up what you hoped was a convincing enough smile.

You could tell by the divot that appeared in James’ brows that you were not convincing in the slightest.

Thankfully Professor Sprout appeared then, instructing everyone to take their seats for class to begin, and Sadie-Jane came to claim her seat from the Gryffindor.

You didn’t go to the game that night.

Gryffindor lost.

And though you didn’t know at the time, James cried, but it wasn’t about losing to Slytherin.

“So, why are you hiding in the dorms?” Caroline asked as she rolled away from her open magazine on her bed, clearly preferring potential drama you could offer her than whatever was in this week's Witch Weekly.

“I’m not hiding.” You muttered back, not looking up from your cross-stitch you were working on instead of, you know, dealing with your problems.

“Right.” Caroline agreed, not sounding like she agreed with you at all. “That’s why you’ve started and quit several hobbies over the weekend and have been going to the kitchen’s to grab food instead of eating in the Great Hall like a normal person.”

You looked over at your half finished gem ‘paint-by-numbers’, the scarf you’d crocheted that looked more like the skin of a messed up snake that had a terrible time shedding, and the guitar you had borrowed from Fenwick and nearly broke in a fit of rage when you couldn’t get it to sound the way you wanted it too.

“I just…can’t face them right now.” You admitted dejectedly.

“I don’t blame you. Helga, have you seen the lot of them? If I’d known they were accepting more I would have made my shot.” She mused as she laid back on her bed.

Grief and jealousy intertwined within you as you thought about them dating anyone else but you.

But you supposed that was their prerogative; they were allowed to change their minds.

“Yeah well, you may still have a chance.” You muttered, capturing Caroline’s attention.

“What?” She asked quickly, but you didn’t have a chance to answer before there was a knock on the door.

“Were you expecting anyone?” She asked with a salacious wink, causing you to glare at her.

“If it’s them, I’m not here; please.” You practically begged your roommate as she rolled her eyes and moved to the door to your dorm room.

“Oh, hello Evans.” Caroline greeted, causing you to scrunch your eyes closed from your place currently hidden from view of the door.

“Hi! Erm, is Y/N around?” Lily asked, sounding uncharacteristically awkward.

“Uh…no, she’s not in right now. I can let her know you stopped by, though?” Caroline offered.

You heard Lily thank her before Caroline closed the door again.

“You sure you don’t want them? ‘Cause those Gryffindor’s are fine.” She sighed as she returned to her bed.

She let out a squawk when your pillow made contact with her head.

Lily stepped out through the barrel to find Sirius and Remus exactly where she had left them (albeit far more tense) as James came running from down the hall where he had been pacing nervously.

“Well?” James asked.

Lily pursed her lips. “Her roommate said she wasn’t there.”

Remus looked down at the map to the place where your name was etched beside your roommate’s in the seventh year Hufflepuff girls’ dormitory.

Either the map was faulty [fat chance], or you were avoiding them.

It was official.

For whatever reason, they were losing you.

You had somehow managed to avoid the Gryffindor’s all Monday; taking a moment to thank every deity that you only had Divination with the Gryffindor house, and none of your Gryffindor’s had opted to take it.

You wondered if you could call them your Gryffindor’s anymore…

You had run over to the kitchens - all but a hop skip and a jump from your common room - to grab dinner and were stepping back out through the portrait of the pears when you came face to face with Sirius.

“So nice to see you, Y/N; I’d almost forgotten what your face looked like.” He said; his tone taking on a harsh tone you weren’t accustomed to hearing directed at you causing you to wince.

“Pads…” Remus warned from behind him, though he was looking at you just as warily as Sirius was.

As was James and Lily.

Shit.

“I’m glad to see you’re still eating…” Remus commented dejectedly as he nodded towards your smorgasbord of a plate that Winky had helped prepare for you that now looked horribly unappetising.

“I…yes. Erm, what are you guys doing here?” You tried.

It had, apparently, been the wrong thing to say.

Sirius let out a derisive scoff. “Cut the bullshit, Y/N. What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Sirius.” Lily warned.

“Would you guys stop?” He barked back at them before returning his burning gaze back to you. “I’m tired of this; of running around the school looking for you, of being disappointed every time you bail on us, of having to hold James whilst he cries because you’ve let him down, of being lied to. So I’m going to ask again - what the hell has gotten into you?”

“Nothing has gotten into me…” You tried to argue, though it sounded feeble even to your own ears.

James had cried? You made James cry…

The disappointment in Remus’ eyes, the concern in Lily’s, the anger in Sirius’, the sadness in James’... it was too much, too much, too much.

“You’re going to stand there and lie to my sodding face?” Sirius asked incredulously.

“Sirius, stop it.” James ordered; his voice far more severe than you have ever heard from him. “Angel, please. Just…just tell us what’s wrong. Tell me what I can do to fix this.”

Any sadness that had settled in your chest bubbled into anger at his word choice.

“Fix this?” You repeated back to him. “Why? Why bother fixing anything if you’re all just going to leave me!?”

The four Gryffindor’s stood staring at you with different levels of bemusement; Lily and Sirius at your words, Remus and James at you having raised your voice for the first time…well…ever.

“What do you mean ‘leave you’?” Lily asked cautiously, causing you to scoff.

“I heard you guys - in the library.”

“In the library? But…you never showed?” James asked.

“Yes, I did - and I heard you guys talking about me, so I decided to stay out of your way thinking that maybe I’d make it easier on you all. But then you’ve spent the past week absolutely torturing me; showing up at my classes, trying to sit beside me, showing up to my dorm room like you weren’t just biding your time.”

“Y/N, what exactly did you hear us say in the library?” Remus queried.

“That you couldn’t do this anymore! That someone ‘had to tell me’ because it was ‘getting out of hand’. That you couldn’t possibly live like this anymore and hopefully I’d just understand. And I do! I do understand; but what I don’t understand is what the point of chasing me around the bloody castle is if you-”

“Whoa, whoa. Okay, alright just breathe, darling, I’m sorry.” Lily attempted to placate, holding her hands up as she approached like you were some kind of feral cat.

You sort of acted like one when you swatted her hands away from you.

“No! No, it’s not fair! I’m sorry if I’m too much, or if I’m not enough; I get it, okay? I do; sometimes it doesn’t work out and that’s fair but if that’s how you feel then just leave me alone!” You shouted back, feeling the tears trailing down your neck at this point.

“Y/N, please, listen okay? Just relax and we can talk this out.” Lily tried again as James let out a pained breath that sounded awfully close to a sob.

“Remus, please.” He begged, turning his pooling hazel eyes to his scarred boyfriend who was looking at you in abject horror. “Please.”

“Y/N, you’ve misunderstood, dove. I-I’m sorry, It’s my fault, but what you heard…that wasn’t us talking about breaking up with you. I… It was about me.”

You wiped angrily at your face and set your now cold plate on the ground - you weren’t hungry anymore anyways. “It’s not you, it’s me?” You sneered half-heartedly.

“No, no…Merlin, Y/N I- I’m a werewolf. Okay? I have lycanthropy, I was bitten when I was four; that’s where I go once a month and why I get…weird. We were talking about the fact that I needed to tell you because it was hurting us to keep it from you. Dovey, I’m so sorry you’ve been so upset. Please, please take a breath for me.”

You held your hands over your eyes as you tried to control your breathing.

Sketchiness…tension…disappearances…

“You’re going to have to say something to her, Rem; this is getting out of hand”

“Can’t we just ignore this? Just for a little longer? I mean, it can’t be that bad?”

“Y/N’s so sensitive though… How do you tell her something like that?”

“It has to come from Remus.”

“I don’t bloody care how we tell her, but we have to say something; I cannot keep living like this, it’s exhausting.”

“I’m sorry you guys. I thought we could ignore it but…I don’t think we can anymore.”

“I think we ought to just rip the bandaid off and hope she understands.”

“I’m a werewolf. I have lycanthropy…that’s where I go once a month.”

“Please…baby, please say something. I-I’m so sorry.” You heard Sirius plead quietly; his shaky voice in stark contrast from the way he’d been barking at you just moments before.

You pulled your wet hands away from your eyes to see all four of them looking at you with nothing but worry and heartache on their faces; though none looked quite as vulnerable as Remus did.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He whispered.

You sucked in a shuddering breath as more tears fell. “So…you don’t hate me?”

Remus let out a disbelieving laugh when you heard what sounded suspiciously like a sob from James.

“No! No, no dove, that- I’m rather quite in love with you, you know?” He pressed, daring to step closer to you. “Do you hate me?” He asked then, tone turning vulnerable once more.

“No.” You whined emphatically.

“Oh my poor girl.” Sirius whined sympathetically.

“Can I hug you? Please?” James all but begged, stepping in front of you with his arms open already; poised for you to say…

“Yes.”

You’re not sure he even waited for the affirmation to leave your lips before he had you encased in his arms.

You shoved your face into his chest and fisted his shirt in your hands; pulling him as close as you possibly could to your person.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been standing there - directly in front of the kitchens and awfully close to your own common room - sniffling into James’ shirt as he sniffled into your hair, but you heard a sniffle come from beside you.

You turned to see Sirius’ grey eyes shiny and red as he looked at you imploringly.

“I’m so sorry I yelled at you, sweetness. I’m such an arse I just…I-”

“It’s okay.” You whispered.

“No it’s not.” Sirius argued immediately. “I…I get like that sometimes; just horribly defensive and then I go on the offensive first. I didn’t even give you a chance to talk to us before I was attacking you; I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Siri.” You offered again, holding a hand out to him which he took readily.

“I can’t believe you’ve spent this whole week believing we wanted nothing to do with you.” Lily whined from your other side. “I’m so sorry we left you feeling like that, darling girl.”

Though you were quite content in your muscled hideaway, you pulled away from James’ chest to wipe at your face again, feeling awfully self-conscious of how blotchy your face must look from your tears.

“I shouldn’t have assumed.” You admitted shamefully; voice scratchy from both the shouting and the crying.

“The way you described it, I can understand how our conversation sounded to you, babygirl.” Sirius contended.

“So…you’re really not leaving me?” You asked again.

“I feel like I should be asking you that, dove.” Remus replied.

“Why would I be leaving you?”

Lily shared a knowing look with Sirius and James who in turn moved their gazes to Remus with expressions reading “see?”.

“Not everyone would be accepting of a werewolf.”

You felt your eyebrows furrow as you looked at the others as if saying “are you hearing this right now?”

“But…I love you? I…I don’t even know what else to say…I just… love you so, that’s fine.”

“I just love you so that’s fine.” Sirius repeated as he looked at Remus arrogantly. “I knew I should have placed a bet on how she’d respond; I’d have made five galleons!”

“We were not going to bet on how our girlfriend would respond to Remus’ furry little problem, Sirius.” Lily chided as she playfully swatted at his shoulder.

“Besides,” James added, pulling you closer into his side again. “You would have lost because I don’t think any of us would have bet that she’d misinterpret our disastrous conversation as us trying to leave her and then spend the week believing we were waiting for the perfect time to break up with her only for us all to shout and cry when we realised what happened.”

“No, that's true.” Sirius agreed readily, looking back at you with sympathy. “I really am sorry, baby.”

“Me too.” Lily continued.

“Me most of all.” Remus added.

“I knew we should have gone looking for her that night.” James mused aloud mostly to himself. “Could have saved us all a lot of heartache.”

“Yeah, yeah Prongs. You’re right again; I’m sure we’ll never live it down.” Sirius said with a playful eye roll.

“How can we make it up to you?” Lily asked as she placed her hand at the juncture of your neck and shoulder and traced shapes along the column of your neck with her thumb.

You shook your head shyly and looked at your feet. “It’s not necessary guys.”

“Nonsense.” Sirius scoffed.

“Let’s start with some dinner, yeah? And maybe a cwtch in the boys’ dorm upstairs?” Remus offered to the group, though he seemed to be waiting for you to answer.

You nodded at him and he opened his arms in invitation which you accepted readily.

“I’m sorry, dovey.” He whispered into your hair.

“I’m sorry too, Rem.”

“Let’s never fight again.” James decided enthusiastically as Lily and Sirius stepped through the pear portrait into the kitchens.

“Sounds good to me, bubs.” Remus agreed as he bent down to press a kiss to James’ lips whilst keeping you secured to his side.

You were sure that after this week, these four wouldn’t be letting you out of their reach.

After this week, you weren’t sure you minded that at all.

367 notes · View notes

noimnotmae · 13 hours

Text

𝐌𝐈𝐗-𝐔𝐏 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏 — Lando Norris⁴

summary: After landing in Miami for his race, Lando carelessly places his bag next to an identical one as he rushes to the bathroom. And in a hurry, you mistakenly grab his bag, thinking it's yours. And during the next five days in Miami, everything took an unexpected turn, escalating into something far bigger than either of you had anticipated.

˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷ lando norris x female! reader 🔸

Ｐａｒｔ３

ＰｒｅｖｉｏｕｓＰａｒｔ

[IRL]

— As you walked around the Paddock Club with your two friends, you tried to take it all in. "I can't believe how expensive it is to get into this place," Lhea said, browsing the internet for the prices of the passes hanging around your necks. "Yeah, honestly, I have no idea how my brother and his friends managed to afford these," added Liv. While the two continued their conversation, your eyes caught a familiar figure. It was Lando, the guy from the airport.

"YN, isn't that– ow!" Lhea exclaimed as you elbowed her side, causing her to glare at you. You offered an apologetic smile, and she brushed it off, rubbing her side. "Let's just keep walking and get to wherever," you suggested. They nodded and followed closely behind you.

You didn't dare to look in his direction, pretending you hadn't noticed him. Unsure if he had seen you, you let your thoughts drift. Suddenly, one of your friends pulled you back. "Look, merch!" Lhea pointed out. "Let's go, I need to buy something for my brother," Liv added. You nodded, hoping this distraction would help take your mind off Lando.

[TEXTS]

[INSTAGRAM]

viewed by livduh, lhea_theitgirl and 53 others

ynusername

liked by lhea_theitgirl, livduh and 375 others

ynusername Woke up and decided to hyper fixate. Slowly becoming a Ferrari girlie 😅😍 . . . more

View all comments

lhea_theitgirl Charles is soo 😍

ynusername so true

livduh the cars are so 😍

ynusername facts

user1 Forza Ferrari

user2 only watching f1 for the drivers 🙄

user3 fav team?

ynusername rn? it's Ferrari

user3 😬

user4 your story says otherwise

ynusername how embarrassing it would be to be in the mclaren paddock club with a Ferrari cap?

user4 well, when you put it that way...

[TEXTS]

[IRL]

You rushed back to the hotel, eager to have a proper hangout with your friends. One of your drinks still in hand, you sipped while scrolling through your phone. As you reached the hotel, you paused to put your phone away, ensuring it was secure inside your jacket before continuing. Just as you were about to take another sip of your drink, you accidentally bumped into someone, spilling half of it.

Looking down at your clothes, you cursed under your breath, seeing your white top stained. That’s when you noticed the person in front of you. As you looked up to apologize, your mouth went dry and your eyes widened. It was him— Lando Norris, with the same curls and a small bandage over the bridge of his nose. Fuck. "Fuck," you muttered.

Snapping out of your daze, you apologized frantically, setting what was left of your drink aside to prevent further spills. You took in the sight of Lando's shirt, realizing it was much more soaked than yours. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I didn't see you," you stuttered, eyes darting around for something to wipe the stain that was beginning to dry on Lando's shirt. The embarrassment kept you from meeting his gaze.

Unbeknownst to you, Lando was watching your flustered state with an amused smile. All doubts about you vanished from his mind, you didn't seem like a bad person, just a very awkward one. He observed you removing your slightly stained jacket causing his eyes to widen slightly as you offered it to him, seeing you in just your top.

"Um, I don't have a handkerchief or a towel with me, so you can use this to wipe the stain off. Again, I'm really sorry," you said, still avoiding eye contact. Lando raised a brow, thinking you looked kinda cute in your flustered state, arm outstretched with the jacket.

Just as you were about to pull your arm back, assuming he wouldn't take it, he gently accepted the jacket. "Thanks," he said. You couldn't decipher his tone and dared not look at his face, fearing he might be angry. With a slight bow, you grabbed your drink and quickly headed for the elevator, heart racing.

You opened the door to your hotel room, huffing and running a hand through your hair as you tried to shake off the embarrassment from earlier. Lhea stepped out of the bathroom, her eyes widening at the sight of you in such a messy state—your white top stained, hair slightly disheveled, and on the brink of tears. "Oh my god. Y/N, are you okay?" she asked, rushing to you and gently placing her hands on your shoulders to check if you were hurt."No!" you exclaimed, gently shoving past your friend towards the bathroom. You stripped out of your stained top, leaving you in your bra, and splashed water on your face. "God, I've made a fool of myself!"

"Okay, slow down. What happened?" Lhea asked, leaning against the bathroom door. "I spilled my drink," you began, sitting at the edge of the bathtub. "And?" Lhea urged you to continue. "I spilled it on Lando," you said, covering your face in shame, your voice muffled.

"Oh shit," Lhea cursed. She left for a moment and returned with one of your tops, handing it to you. "Here, get changed and I'll pack your bikini. Let's head to the beach. I'm sure that'll cheer you up," she said with a reassuring smile, which you reciprocated. "You're officially the best," you said as you took the top from her.Lhea blew you a kiss. "Don't tell Liv you said that, though," she laughed. "Yeah, yeah" you responded with a grin.

[TWITTER]

Ｐａｒｔ４ — Ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

A/N : Accidentally posted this earlier while I was editing it 😭 No one saw that and if you did, nuh uh you didn't. I am loving the silly and awkward meeting they both keep having.

taglist @doofenshmirtzevil-inc @barcelonaloverf1life @tangointhequango @bbl3ssy @mxdi0 @d3kstar @multifandomdiva @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @laneyspaulding19 @ilove-tswizzle @lillysbigwilly @lemon-lav

If you want to be added to the taglist, just comment and I'll add you :)

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thyln4gf · 21 hours

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Cheri cheri lady

✞ Watching you on the top step of the podium for the first time, while still in your rookie year... It all tasted a little bitter for Lando, but he wasnt complaining too much... he did get the best view out of them all - right from p2.

✞ Word count - 808

✞ I have synesthesia! Heres 5 songs that I associate with this fic - "american jesus" - Nessa Barrett, "heavy metal lover" - Lady Gaga, "flawless" - The Neighbourhood, "take me back to eden" - Sleep Token, "hall of fame" - The Script. Note - i do have a whole playlist. Ask if you want it.

✞ Warnings - none, I guess. A lot of fluffy shite. Slightly suggestive. A short little blurb inspired by Landos first win<3 Gg, my boy.

✞ Lando Norris x Mercedes!Reader

The sound of a crowd yelling someone elses name annoyed him till no end - it reminded him of the fact that he hasnt won yet, and that hes currently holding a pretty sad record - the highest number of podiums without a win. That, until it came to you - it immediately became something that he wanted to hear over and over. It was almost as sweet as the champagne swirling down his body, the sun kissing his face, or the sweet, sweet sound of an anthem that wasnt the dutch one.

It all started at the beginning of the season, really. He was intimidated by you at first, just a little - for the first quali of the season, your rookie season, you had already grabbed the pole. But, quickly enough, he found himself getting more and more curious about you. He would ask you about the weather, or about the ridiculous activities the media admins made you do - to "see if it matched his". It was far from enough for him though - he wanted to know everything about you. How do you like your waffles? He wanted to ask you about that. He wanted to ask you about breakfast and honey. Sunlight. Do you like strawberry smoothies? What was the name of your childhood cat? Do you have any scars?

There were so many things he wanted to say, but didnt know how to. Thats why he spent quite a bit of his time quietly observing you. He felt as if you were just a mere result of his imagination - one touch, just one taste - and youd disappear.

His newly found obsession, however, was watching the wide grin fighting for its place on your face. You were stood on that step, taking up the space that you deserved oh so much. He was a little jealous of the success that you found yourself in so soon, but he couldnt peel his eyes away from you - the way you were stood there, proud. The golden hour danced on your face, making the sweat drenched features pop out. Just like him, the sun seemed to enjoy your eyes - they looked like the shiniest gems you could find.

The champagne celebration rolled around. He was already giggling, looking forward to absolutely drowning you in the sticky, sweet, liquid luck. He looked at Daniel on the other side, the English anthem for Mercedes coming to an end. They both wiggled their eyebrows at each other, seemingly getting the exact same idea, and locking it in.

They could have planned all they wanted, honestly - but you were just quicker. You jumped off the step quickly, it almost looked like you were flying. To Landos surprise, you didnt go for your usual move. Instead, you seemed to use his - the famous champagne floor smash. He was so pleasantly surprised that he didnt even register a stream of the beverage aimed right into the centre of his face. Wiping the champagne from his eyes, he saw your wide grin - and Daniel getting the back of your head. You shrieked - and it wasnt from the surprise, he knew. You washed your hair just this morning.

As much as he would have wanted that scene to last forever... Like all good things, it quickly came to an end. But that meant that he got to stand by your side for the photo - and it made him nervous, almost like a young, teenage boy, whos crush went to the same school.

He was nervous. Oh, so nervous. He was a little scared of messing something up, taking great measures to avoid exactly that. He did end up on the wrong side of the step, somehow. He didnt even notice, but thats until he felt your hands on his waist, gently gripping onto the material of his suit.

"Youre in the wrong spot, darling." You had murmured into his ear, gently guiding him to where you wanted him. A smirk was so evident in your tone, even if he wasnt looking at your face.

The hands.

The. Gentle. Fucking. Hands.

His stomach quickly got filled with a ton of butterflies, his brain shortcircuiting. He would have frozen in the spot, if the circumstances had allowed him. And he did, at first - was given a slap to the back of his head by Daniel quickly enough to not be noticed, though. Or, thats what he thought - people were talking about it already, and it would continue for days. If not weeks. And not even the fact that you just casually moved him, just like that. Not the placement of your hands - but the fact that he could be seen blushing, all shy, like a little girl.

Despite it not being his victory, it was his favourite podium of all time already. But, who knew. Maybe the next one was gonna be his?

#f1 #formula 1 #formula one #f1 fanart #formula one fanart #fanfiction #formula one fanfics #lando norris #f1 x reader #lando norris fanfic #daniel ricciardo #lando norris x you #lando norris imagine #lando fanart #lando norris x reader #lando x reader #lando yeswins #this is just a silly post

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jakedoxxenvasion · 2 days

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falling trap

PAIRING: brother's bestfriend jake! x female reader!

WARNING: MDNI! mention of used drug, jake being manipulative, unprotected sex, choking, somnophilia, rough sex, using pet name (love, princess and angel) and more

SUMMARY: jay being your overprotective brother lead his best friend, jake to spike your drink and has sex with you without jay knowing. (featuring sunghoon)

WORDS COUNT: 2.3k

"you're insane jake, what if jay find out about this?"jake look up from you who's laying on his bed, eyes barely open and he look up at sunghoon who's standing a few feet away from the two, you couldn't hear clearly what they talking about, your head become dizzy before you completely fall asleep beside jake.

jake smile, "he wouldn't know if you didn't tell him, sunghoon. i offer you one thing but you reject it then.."he shrug, "what else can i do?"he still have that smile, he adjust the blanket that cover your body, your bare shoulder still can be seen and sunghoon know that you're still naked under the blanket, same goes to jake.

he couldn't help but feel bad when you wake up later and find out about what happen but he couldn't care much about this because he don't want to get involve. "nah, i don't plan to take part.. you know how jay gonna kill you if he know that you spike his sister's drink and fuck her in unconscious state."sunghoon take a step back and he put both of his hands up but jake rolled his eyes.

"right, then you can shut your mouth and fuck off from here."jake snickers, he could see the way sunghoon give him that disgusting look. "if jay happen to find out about this, just know that it's not me who tell him cause i'm not even here today."it's a deal.. jake smile and nod his head before sunghoon turn on his back to left but he take a quick glance at you then he left the room, shutting the door close.

once sunghoon's out from his sight, jake smirk and look down at your sleeping state. you look so peaceful, so pretty, so innocent like you did no sin but watching you sleeping like this did something to him. jake groan softly, he kick away the blanket that cover his lower body, revealing his hard dick stick on his stomach, his red bloody tip begging to get tame.

but you're sleeping.. he slowly stroke his dick with his big hands, watching your body under that blanket so jake remove that blanket away from you to get himself a perfect view of your nicely curve and naked body. "f-fuck."he squeeze his dick at the sight of you, pumping the shaft and it's painfully hard now, but he couldn't wake you up to please him like a few moments ago.

a few moments ago where he let you ride his dick on this bed..

jake keep staring at your calm body, sleeping next to him, imagining that his hands is your tight gummy wall. he imagine the image of you bouncing on his dick getting faster and your moan filling up his room. the image of your tits bouncing as you go up and down his dick, your fucked out face trying to chase your own high and also make him feel good.

"oh fuck y/n- fuck yeah."he explode, cums dripping down on his hands as he milking it out to make himself completely empty yet he's still hard even after cumming at the thought of you. you softly whimper in your sleep, snuggle closer to him to chase warmness from jake because of the lack of clothes pieces on you but jake couldn't help but to still feel horny.

yes, he did fucked you earlier, make you cum not only once but thrice and he also cums twice (exclude the one that he just had). "hey y/n."he softly call your name, hoping that you would wake up and at least do something about his hard dick but you only whine and go back to sleep. "hey princess, wake up please. i need you now."you didn't budge at all from your sleep.

jake bite his bottom lips, he know that he can't be doing this but he just can't help it when he hold your body and turn it sideways. he even push off the blanket that cover your body, your naked body fully on display for him now, jake immediately grab a handful of your ass, kneading it softly and you whimper in your sleep but he didn't stop. "s-shit."he spit on his dick and use his free hand to stroke his dick.

spreading his own saliva on his thick shaft, adjusting your body to his liking as he hold your hip still before he push in his dick into your pussy slowly from behind you. your pussy is not dry but not that much wet to his liking but somehow his saliva help a little, "y/n-"your name escape his lips when he start thrusting into your tight hole, he heard your gasp when you open your eyes to whatever happen now.

"j-jake what are you doing? ah!"shock to find yourself in that kind of position, you wince in pain when jake keep on fucking your hole. "shhh love, just stay still and let me finish this."he cup your mouth from making loud noise, he's not afraid if you scream or whatever because he know that jay is not here to stop all this but he know you're shocked so he want to make you calm first, slowly he pampered you with kiss around your head.

your small whimper turn into moan as he pick up his pace and his thrust start to get more faster than before. "mhm j-jake! ah no- stop!"you manage to scream out, wanting to push him off from fucking you from behind but his strong grip on your body make it hard for you to move. "wait love, just a little more."he know well you start to feel good too, pain disappear and pleasure taking over you.

tears form at the corner of your eyes at how it feel too much for you, he's big inside of you and he's rough too. "j-jake hurt.. ah!"you're taken aback when he wrap his hand around your neck, pushing you onto the pillow as he grip getting tighter around your neck. "it's okay babe, it's okay. shh, you're gonna love this yeah?"now he's on top of you, missionary probably his favorite.

you grab hard onto his arms, he pounced into you hard and fast like you're gonna fly away if he ever stop. your loud moan echoing in his room, your fucked out face look so fucking pretty to him and making him couldn't stop fucking into you. you wet dripping pussy swallow his dick deep inside, your gummy wall hugging him tight, moans escape his lips each time he make a thrust at how good you make him feel.

you're a crying mess now, don't even know how you get yourself into this situation but you didn't push him away, he make you feel so good that it almost feel like a dream that you don't want to wake up from. "f-fuck y/n, you're so fucking perfect, so pretty."he groan, leaning down to your face and he give you kisses around your lips, cheeks, jawline, collarbone and down to your neck. "jake~"

fuck! his name slipping out from your lips, it's sound like it belong there, like his name is made for you to call out and only you. you're so pretty underneath him, so perfect that make him feels like ruining you more than he could do to you right now, right here. "yeah love? you love it?"you immediately nod like you've been cast under his spell, he cast a spell over you. "yeah? then let me feel your cum over me, hm? wanna make you feel so good and cum all over my cock."

your moans answer him, your wall clench around him tightly make he lose his mind over it and before he could even warn you, he cum. his thick loads painted your wall white, moaning in your ears, making those unholy noise only for you to hear when you milk him out. he didn't stop fucking into you, not until he make you cum and you know it too, he won't stop until you do. "i'm cumming hmm- ah fuck!"

your order is his duty to fulfilled when he's done pumping you full with his cum, he start to thrusting into you more faster, his fingers find it way over your clit. toying with it, making you squirm under his touch, biting your lower lips until you couldn't hold it anymore. a scream escape your lips when you shot your release around his dick, weakly wrapping your arms around his neck as you rode out your high. "good girl, you're so fucking perfect for me, love."he peck your forehead.

pulling his dick out from your pussy as he collapse on the empty space on the bed beside you. panting hard, he stare at your fucked out figure as he catch his own breath. he watch as your chest raise and fall as you breath, he chuckle looking at you being all pretty for him. the mixed of yours and his cums seeping out from your hole, make you look so hot and it's all for him to see. "j-jake."your shaky voice calling his name.

jake turn to look at your face, he cup one of your cheek, "what's wrong, angel?"he ask, already know the reason but he's still asking. "j-jay.. what if he find out about this?"he immediately shut you with a kiss on your lips, "shh love, he won't find out if you didn't open your mouth, right?"he looks like a menace when he smile like that, but you nod your head, still sobbing at thought of it, the thought of jay finding out about what you did with jake.

you know well.. you both know well what will happen if jay know about all this, he will throw a fit and might even stop being friend with jake if he need to. he's been warning all his friends about touching his one and only younger sister before this but jake is the only one who's bold enough to do this amongst his group of friends. "j-jake i'm scared."you whimper, he pull you into his embrace and pat your head softly, trying to calm you down.

"what actually happened? how do we end up like this, jake?"your sob is still there, asking that like a lost child but jake had to hide his smirk when he look down at your face. of course you're confused, you're lost at thought and don't even remember what had happened because he set you up into all this shit and will he ever tell you the truth? nah he won't. "shh love, it's a mistake, okay?"

he lie, he kiss your forehead like trying to calm you down, yet you're still confuse. "we were drunk, remember?"you nod your head, yes you remember coming to his apartment with sunghoon and heeseung earlier. jay decided not to join because he had to attend an emergency at his workplace.

you remember having fun, gaming with the boys, eating food that heeseung paid for and heeseung left, said he need to wake up early tomorrow. so it just you, sunghoon and jake who stay when jake decided to pull out a box of beers, the three of you play games and the loser need to drink the alcohol but after a few drinks, your memory just shut down and you couldn't remember anything after that.

"well.. after sunghoon left, you said you were too drunk to drive home so i let you stay at the guest room but after a while you came into my room crying.."he continue to spit his lie, making that pitiful face, you bite your lips to find out more of what actually happen. "you said it's hot, your body is burning hot."you see how jake fakely avoid eye contact with you, "you told me to undress you, i think you're too drunk and you don't even know what you're doing.. i'm so sorry y/n, i should've stop you knowing how drunk you are to asked me for it."

"asked you what, jake?"you asked immediately, hand trembling when you grab his arm. jake turn to look at your face, he cradle your cheeks, "we had sex before you completely passed out, y/n. i couldn't control myself, i thought after we had it once i could sleep but i really couldn't control myself seeing your naked beside me.."he dramatically said those, you buy his fake act and continue to cry, jay cannot know about all this is everything that you could think of right now.

"i'm sorry jake- i didn't know i could act that way while being drunk."he shake his head, "it's fine, love. but even so you need to know something.."you look at him, wanting him to finish his word. "i didn't regret anything at all, you're so pretty, so perfect in my eyes and i think i like you, y/n."he sudden confession make you gasp softly but you shake your head, "but jay wouldn't like it if he know."of course jay won't like it, he hate the thought of one of his friend dating his little sister.

jay know all of his friends behavior so well that he don't want any of them to date you. "but i like you y/n, we can date in secret? jay don't need to know about this but i promise you, i will try to convince him about us."he hold both of your hand. you think about it for awhile, you're not gonna lie if you say you never thought about jake that way before but you know you couldn't afford him so you shrug off your thoughts most of time.

you slowly nod your head, "y-you promise?"jake smile spread on his lips, "i promise, i will make him belief me and give us permission to date, you trust me right?"of course you nod your head to him, you choose to belief him even when he lie about fucking you earlier, you still think he's telling you the truth. but jake is not lying when he tell you he like you.. been liking you for awhile already but jay always told him off.

when he joke about wanting to date you at your older brother, he always got a small punch on his shoulder by jay. but now, with this way he know he can get you for himself and he did.

"so, wanna be my girlfriend?"

just like that.. you fall into his love trap, thinking it's a pure love but jake nasty little trick did everything. you don't need to know whatever shit he put into your drink, sunghoon just happened to saw it but they had a deal. "yes, jake."jake smirk when he kiss your lips, one goal down, one more to go.. and that is jay.

#enhypen hard hours #enhypen smut #sim jaeyun #enhypen jake #enhypen jake smut #jaeyun smut #enhypen jaeyun #jake x reader #sim jake smut

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ashtheketchum · 2 days

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●Night swimm●

Daryl Dixon X fem.Reader

Era: Season 1

Summary: Daryl has a crush on you since he saw you. Merle kept teasing him that Daryl should finally talk to you, but the archer never had the courage. One day you were taking a bath at night and Daryl saw you.

Warnings: +18 CONTENT, FEM.Reader, shy Daryl, Merle being a tease/asshole, in the water, one slap on the ass, Daryl being a lil perv, tits sucking

Words: 3.5k

Masterlist!

_____________________________

PoV Daryl:

Our small group had come together at some point and we all had tasks. There was me and my brother, Merle, we looked after the food for everyone, Shane the 'leader' who ran everything. Lori, Carol, Jacqui, Andrea and Amy took care of our laundry and the children were still learning things from school. And then there was (Y/N). She somehow took care of everything at the same time, she defended, caught us fish, taught the children new things and also helped with the laundry. She really was strong.

Unfortunately, sometimes I caught myself staring at her sometimes, and not in a harmless way. She always wore shorts and a top, with a lumberjack shirt. The shorts fit her ass perfectly and her top hugged her breasts perfectly too. Her loving yet stern smile turned me on again and again, so that I had to satisfy myself that same night. Inside, I felt incredibly embarrassed for staring at a woman so much that even my brother noticed and annoyed me about it.

Merle had tried to flirt with (Y/N) many times, but she always ignored him or turned him down. However, after he noticed the looks I kept giving him when he flirted with her, he actually stopped, but not because he was begrudging me and being a good brother. No, he did it to tease me. “Hey, her ass is hot, but don’t stare so obviously, little brother.” “Maybe we can share the little one? You get her every Monday and I get her the rest of the week, okay?” “Hey, slap her ass! Let’s see how she reacts.” He told me again and again, no matter when and no matter where. While hunting, while eating, and he even stands outside when I sat in my tent and masturbated. But one day he really went too far.

It was another one of those days where I stared at (Y/N) and today I would also talk to her about the food. I wanted to ask her if she wanted anything specific, whatever it was I would get it for her. So I slowly walked towards her, her back was turned to me and she was hanging up the laundry with Lori. (Y/N) had bent over slightly to pick up a basket, so I had a perfect view of her ass for a moment, but I had to pull myself together. I was standing just two meters away from her when I suddenly saw Merle. He walked between us as quietly as he could and slapped (Y/N) hard on the ass. Before she could turn around, however, he had disappeared again and (Y/N) was now staring at me.

Unknowingly, I stared after Merle for a moment before looking at her. Her look made me pause, all the color in my face disappeared and I only now checked what had just happened. Merle had slapped her ass and now it looked, to her, like I had slapped her ass. “Daryl?” She just said confused. I looked at her uncertainly, like a child who wanted to ask an adult something but didn't dare. She still looked at me confused, although I didn't see a trace of anger in her eyes. “You need something…?” When she asked me this, I shrugged together and realized why I wanted to go to her in the first place. And now my entire face turned bright red and I could now feel Lori's gaze on me. She looked at me confused, just as did (Y/N). “N-nah… s-sorry…” And with those words I walked away from her. In my head, I planned to stay in the forest for several days until this situation might calm down.

As I went to my tent to get my crossbow, I saw Merle staring at his hand. It was the hand he had used to spank (Y/N)'s ass. Merle had a satisfied grin on his lips before he looked at me. "And? Does she have a wish for the food?” His innocent question got on my last nerve, but I decided to just ignore him and disappear into the forest. Merle just laughed loudly before following me.

PoV (Y/N):

I looked after Daryl confused, I could still feel the stinging on my butt cheek. My eyebrows furrowed a little, but I slowly turned back around to pick up the basket to get the next load of laundry. “Is everything okay, (Y/N)?” I heard Lori ask. I jumped and looked at her with wide eyes, completely forgetting she was still here. So I gave her a quick little smile before nodding and then walking away.

However, nothing seemed to fit together in my head. Of course, I had noticed that Daryl stared at me sometimes and that he had trouble being alone with me, but I never expected him to slap my ass. A strange tingling sensation formed in my chest, but I ignored it and instead picked up the next load of laundry.

The sun was slowly setting and the temperature dropped a little, but still not enough. It was incredibly warm and sleeping naked or just in underwear these days was too dangerous. With the apocalypse, however, things changed and many things could no longer be done. And showering or bathing was one of those things. It wasn't that I really needed to wash, but I was longing for some grooming after a month of going without.

So I grabbed a few clean clothes, two towels and thick socks before I went to this huge pond. The water was pleasantly cool, clean and no walkers would come because I had searched this area twice today. The water shone in the moonlight and I was already smiling slightly.

I put my clean clothes on a stone before I started to take off my dirty clothes. It was risky because someone could see me at any time, but I hurried so that my body was quickly in the water. I also checked again to see if anyone in my small group was nearby. Since no one was there, the cool water greeted me very quickly and I sighed quietly. I briefly submerged myself completely so that my hair would get wet too. I gently massaged my scalp and body to rub away all the dirt.

PoV Daryl:

The world really wasn't on my side today. On a day when I wanted to stay in the forest for a long time, Merle and I found a deer and three rabbits. Merle had already brought the animals to camp and then gone to sleep, but I didn't want to lie down yet. I wandered around in the forest for a while, kicking some stones around and looking around. But suddenly I heard a loud splash, as if someone had gone into the water. I immediately raised my crossbow and I slowly moved towards the pond, which was right next to our camp.

I slowly walked through the trees until I suddenly tripped over something. I looked down in confusion before kneeling down and picking up the strange material. But as soon as I realized what material it was, I turned bright red and held my breath. It was a bra and not just any bra. No, it was (Y/N)´s bra, I sometimes saw the straps on her shoulders, through her top or when she bent over slightly. So I immediately looked around to see her, maybe something had happened to her, maybe she was kidnapped or someone forced her to take off her clothes. But when I looked into the pond, I turned even redder. She stood there, naked and wet. She was in the water up to her cleavage, but I could see the slight hint of her breasts. I saw her side perfectly, her fingers running through her wet hair.

Even if it was wrong, I hid a little more behind the tree, but only so that I still had a perfect view of her. It became incredibly tight in my pants and I had the uncomfortable need to touch myself again. She looked around briefly, which is why I hid completely behind the tree. I even held my breath. After a few seconds I looked back at her and my eyes widened more. (Y/N) had stood up and was now letting her hands slide over her perfect breasts. Her nipples had become a little hard from the cold water. My cock was throbbing incredibly hard, it was already painful.

Just as I was about to reach for the bulge in my pants, I stepped on a branch and it cracked far too loudly. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut, hoping (Y/N) hadn't heard. But I was wrong. "Hello?"

PoV (Y/N):

I heard a branch snap, which made me immediately go under the water again. I stayed quiet for a moment to hear any grumbling or growling noises, but I heard nothing. So it was a human. Fuck and right now I didn't have my knife in the water with me. "Hello?" I called out in the direction from which I heard the noise. There was a moment of silence before someone stepped out from behind the tree. It was Daryl and he raised his arms innocently, slowly lowering his crossbow to the ground. My cheeks immediately turn bright red, but my shoulders relaxed. I sighed quietly before standing up again, more unconsciously than consciously. “Daryl-?” Before I could say or ask anything else, the archer interrupted me. “I-I can explain tha’…” He murmured quietly, his face bright red.

It didn't fit together again. First he slapped my ass and then he watched me how I take a bath? Or were these all just coincidences? So I looked at him waiting, but I was too far away from him. We would have to talk too loudly and probably wake everyone up. So I crossed my arms over my chest so he could barely see them and I stepped more out of the water. I came out until the water only covered my waist and everything below. I could tell Daryl wanted to sink into the ground. "Yeah?… I'm waiting…" Although I didn't want to push him, I did want to get this all over with as quickly as possible. "I-I… I was… huntin' and then I saw ya… I'm sorry…" He didn't lie. Daryl wasn't the type of guy who liked lying, nor was he good at it. So I smiled slightly before relaxing a little more.

Daryl was attractive, I really had to say that. His arms, his blue, intense eyes and his physique in general always attracted me. Sometimes I felt really honored that he was staring after me. So I took a risk. “You wanna join?” My question immediately made him look up, but he immediately closed his eyes when he saw my naked body. I really had to hold back a chuckle, he was really cute. I slowly walked closer to him until I was completely in front of him. I gently grabbed his hand and I gently pulled him towards the water. “Come on… We can talk a little bit…” I then suggested. Daryl just grumbled under his breath before turning away and unbuckling his belt. I bit my bottom lip briefly before turning around and slowly walking into the water. I went low again until my breasts were now hidden again by the water before turning around and looking at Daryl.

He was now up to his stomach in the water, but he kept his top on. I looked at him briefly, confused but also amused, but I decided not to ask him. As he stood in front of me, his eyes wandered everywhere. To my eyes, to my shoulders, to my collarbone, to my lips, to my cleavage and then back to my eyes.

“Soo… why exactly did you slapped my ass?” I then asked teasingly. The tips of his ears now turned bright red and he cleared his throat quietly. His gaze shifted to the side and he took a few deep breaths. "Tha'… wasn't me tho… 'was ma brother…" He then admitted quietly. I tilted my head slightly to the side in amusement and I smiled softly at him. It was kind of clear to me that Daryl hadn't slap me on the ass, but I wanted to hear it from his mouth again. “And…why were you spying on me?” He shrugged again and looked down at the water.

I came a little closer to him so that my breasts were now pressed against his chest and he then looked deep into my eyes. His blue eyes lit up briefly and I could have sworn I felt his cock against my thigh. But I didn't mention it. Not yet. "I-I was… huntin'… just as I said…" Giggling, I placed my hand gently on his cheek and stood slightly on my tiptoes so that I was closer to him. With my other hand I grabbed his wrist and I put his hand on my hip. His other hand followed automatically and now he held my hips. “It’s okay… but next time just ask if you could join me, alright?” My suggestion made him gulp.

I looked briefly at his lips before looking back into his eyes. My hands went to his shoulders and I pulled myself up slightly until I could wrap my legs around his waist. Now his shaft was pressing against my pussy and I moaned softly before I came closer and closer to him. Daryl took a short, sharp breath before looking uncertainly into my eyes. “W-wha’ are ya doin’…?” He asked me uncertainly. He looked excited, almost afraid, but your grip on my waist pulled me a little closer to him. My eyes sparkled briefly with excitement. “I just want to spend some time with you… you don’t have to…” I whispered again quietly to confirm that he really wanted all of this. When the archer shook his head slightly and then nervously licked his bottom lip, I grinned wider and then pressed my lips gently against his.

The younger Dixon growled briefly before returning my kiss sloppily. I wrapped my arms around his neck and continued to grind my pussy against his shaft. A strangled groan escaped him and his grip around my hips tightened. “You’re so hard…” I giggled softly against his lips before placing my hand on his cheek. "'m sorry… 'm jus'…" Before he could say anything else, I kissed him gently again. “Don’t apologize… I like it…” I then purred softly against his lips. Swallowing hard, he nodded briefly before I reached down between us and gently grabbed his shaft. Daryl immediately gasped quietly and he also looked down. I bit my lower lip lightly, while I rubbed the head of his penis between my folds until it hit my entrance.

“You want that…?” I asked, just to be sure. The archer nodded again and he pushed me down slightly until his tip was inside me. I immediately inhaled sharply and pressed my face into his shoulder. I already knew that I had to stop myself from screaming. I lowered myself deeper and deeper onto him until he filled me completely. His pubic hair tickled my clit slightly, but as I pressed myself harder against him, I felt his abdomen against my sensitive skin. Without realizing it, I had bitten his top and narrowed my eyes. Even though I tensed incredibly hard, a loud whimper escaped me and I was breathing heavily.

“Ya okay…?” I heard Daryl ask quietly. I felt his rapid heartbeat against my bare chest and his breathing was incredibly fast. I wondered if this was Daryl's first time, but I immediately shook the question out of my head. “Y-yeah… It’s just… I haven’t fucked with anyone in a long time…” I then admitted quietly, which only made Daryl grumble. His one hand went to my ass and he massaged it gently. The touch immediately made me tremble and I felt him lift me up a little, only to immediately press me back against his pelvis. “Fuck, woman… ya’r so tight…~” He growled softly against my skin. Whimpering, I clutched at his top and quickly realized that it was bothering me. So I tugged on it gently, but right after I did, he bit my neck hard. Squeaking loudly, I tensed up. He lifted my pelvis faster and faster. "No…~" Was all he growled.

I understood what he meant, but I whimpered loudly. “Daryl, please…! Faster~…” My lips found his neck and I covered his skin with gentle but passionate kisses. He listened to my request and moved my pelvis against his faster and faster, the water around us sloshing around wildly. With my eyes closed, I enjoyed the feeling while placing thick hickeys on his neck. “God, ya feel so good~…” Daryl's deep voice made me tremble for a moment before I moaned softly into his ear. I kept whimpering or moaning his name, making him twitch. His cock twitched and throbbed more and more and the tip of it constantly brushed against my special spot. A tingling sensation spread through my stomach and I breathed faster and faster.

I leaned away from him so I could look Daryl in the eyes. His blue eyes looked deep into mine, his pupils were much wider so that you could barely see his blue irises. He bit his bottom lip hard and looked closely at my features. I had my eyebrows furrowed slightly and my mouth open in an 'O' shape, my eyes staring deep into his. “Fuck, why haven’t you ever spoken to me?” "'Was afraid… god, ya're just so pretty…" He lowered his head and moved me much faster now, my clit rubbing over his shaft again and again.

His sweet words sent a chill through me and I had great difficulty suppressing my voice. My inner walls hugged his shaft much tighter and they sucked him greedily, which only made the archer moan loudly. His gaze went to my bare breasts, which were bouncing up and down due to the movements. Water slowly ran down my breasts and my nipples became hard. Suddenly he pushed my upper body closer to him and he sucked greedily on my nipple. I immediately gasped loudly and grabbed his short, dark blonde hair tightly. “God, Daryl~…! Yes, just like that~!” My words made him growl and he twitched again inside me.

He flicked his tongue over my nipple and moved his pelvis slightly against mine. “Ya’re driving me crazy, woman~…” I had to grin, but another loud gasp escaped me as I felt myself getting closer and closer to my orgasm. “I’m cumming~…!” I whimpered loudly. Daryl growled briefly before letting go of one breast and moving to the next. As his lips wrapped around my nipple, he sucked hard again and I arched my back. "Fuck, Daryl~!" With his name on my lips, I came around him and I gripped his top tightly.

Daryl immediately growled loudly and pulled out of me. In the same second he shot his sperm into the water and he moaned my name. I was still in his arms, my pussy still throbbing but calming down a bit before Daryl slowly carried me out of the water. Once we got out of the water, he put me on the ground to put his pants on himself. I could briefly see his cute ass and a grin crept onto my lips. “Cute butt…” “Shuddup…” He must have been embarrassed. Once the archer was properly dressed again, he helped me get dressed and then picked me up bridal style. I just wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. “Do you wanna sleep in my tent?” I then asked him quietly as his footsteps led us to my tent. Daryl seemed to think for a moment before looking at me. "If ya want…" “I wouldn’t ask you if I never wanted that…”

Daryl snorted briefly and a slight grin briefly appeared on his lips. He then let me down to the ground in front of my tent and opened the tent. I quickly climbed in and then looked back at Daryl. “'m gonna get some clothes… gonna be back again…” And with those words he disappeared briefly. Smiling, I closed the tent slightly before lying down in my tent bed. I looked patiently at the tent door until Daryl opened it again and walked in to me. He had new clothes on. “Ya tired?” "Yeah… a little… you fucked me good." I teased him.

The archer looked away briefly, a visible blush forming on his cheeks. "Tha´ was nothin´, hun..." Giggling, I then moved to the side a little to give him some space. He very hesitantly climbed into the tent bed and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Well… was tha’ now jus’ a one-night stand or…?” Before he could continue, I pressed my lips to his. "No… I love you, Daryl…" He snorted briefly in amusement before kissing my lips gently. Even though he didn't respond to my words, I saw in his eyes that he loved me too. And that's how we fell asleep. With the knowledge that we loved each other and cuddled together too.

#daryl #daryl dixon #daryl twd #twd daryl #the walking dead daryl #twd #twd daryl dixon #daryl dixon twd #daryl dixon smut #daryl dixion x reader #the walking dead #the walking dead daryl dixon #twd fanfiction

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myapothecarydiary · 3 days

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Eunuchs, Value, and Appearance– Brief Thoughts on Beauty and Gender in The Apothecary Diaries Manga Volume 1

This is an offshoot of my thoughts from Ch. 4 of the manga, but it also connects greatly to Ch. 1, so a brief recap of where these thoughts sprung from:

As Maomao and Gaoshun go to investigate the "ghost" dancing on the palace wall, Maomao again reflects that Gaoshun doesn't look like a typical eunuch. Her first instinct upon meeting him was the classify him as a "military man" but because he was in the rear palace, he had to be a eunuch.

Meeting again, she thinks he looks "very masculine" and not "like a typical eunuch at all." In this moment, we get another example of Maomao's understanding of and perspective on eunuchs and gender being challenged. Or do we?

A product of her time and background, Maomao has a very specific and somewhat rigid way of thinking about gender. I think that perspective ebbs and flows, but it is very much informed by the outline provided to her by the society she exists within.

Sometimes, what first appears to challenge the constraints of that outline actually works to reaffirm it.

Gaoshun appearing more masculine and like a military man is not presented in the story to challenge a bias but it is Maomao's first clue that something else is going on with Gaoshun, that there's more to the story. It is not a purposeful reflection on gender by the author but a purposeful piece of a puzzle Maomao is solving within the story.

The same thing happens later when Maomao inspects Jinshi's body and sees it is more muscular than a eunuch's would be. Without further investigation, the presentation of eunuchs that don't fit the stereotype challenges that stereotype, but the truth of the matter actually kind of relies on and reaffirms those stereotypes. Gaoshun isn't just a eunuch and wasn't always a eunuch. Jinshi isn't a eunuch at all. If they didn't seem like regular eunuchs, it's because they are not.

[And if we flash forward to how another character is addressed–Maomao observes that Ah-Duo appears more masculine than feminine, which reminds her of Jinshi. Seems like a great challenge to gender norms, but then Maomao's bias/the binary is reinforced by the fact that Ah-Duo's womb was removed. Jinshi is castrated, thus more feminine and Ah-Duo had her womb removed, thus more masculine. Or so it seems to Maomao...]

And yet, just because these moments weren't included to say something about gender, it doesn't mean that nothing on that topic is being said. And the fact remains that Jinshi isn't actually castrated/a eunuch! So he works to both reinforce Maomao's views on gender and challenge them. Though he isn't actually a eunuch, he still appears very feminine. That is, arguably in part due to the drugs/forms of suppression he uses to assume his eunuch persona and operate in the rear palace, but even without those measures, Jinshi still possesses a great "feminine" beauty. He is sort of a contradictory figure in that sense.

With that, I wanted to circle back to something I noted in chapter 1. I noted that Maomao is "disappointed" when she realizes Jinshi is a man and that his beauty is not possessed by a woman. I thought of this point as contributing to the conversation around gender and around beauty within the story.

I also put a pin in the idea of how Maomao values beauty and recognizes how beauty gives someone value and specifically how Maomao views beauty as it relates to Jinshi–a waste on a man, disastrously powerful on a woman, extra wasteful on a man sans frog (aka castrated).

These fuzzy reflections got some great extra translation-related context from @amiriirish (thank you for that!), specifically regarding the line "A man? That's too bad," Maomao's thought when she realizes Jinshi isn't a woman. A more accurate translation would be "A man? What a waste" or as it is written in the GX version: “'タマナシだけどな…もったいない' which roughly translates to '(He) doesn’t have balls, though. What a waste.'"

I love how @amiriirish describes Maomao's perspective in this moment as one of "a scientist, not wanting to see good genes go to waste" as within the historical context of the setting, a person's purpose is to get married and have kids/keep the family line going/pass on their genes. Jinshi being castrated means he won't be able to produce any beautiful children and so his beauty is going to waste by not being passed down.

I was pretty vague in my initial thoughts, but I meant to sort of hand-wave at these ideas (albeit in a much less articulate way) and though I do think Maomao's sexuality is another interesting conversation (and I personally favor the interpretation of her as on the asexual + bisexual spectrums), I didn't mean to highlight Maomao's attraction to Jinshi during their first meeting but rather her recognizing his general attractiveness and beauty. Love bi Maomao, but I don't actually think she was attracted to Jinshi at that moment. Like with her view of the "wastefulness" of his beauty, she is looking at him like a scientist/as more of an observer than participant.

Maomao's introduction to Jinshi is the beginning of her generalizations about his beauty and how she positions herself as an outsider in those generalizations. Anyone would be attracted to him but that anyone does not refer to her. At least not yet.

Instead, I was thinking of Maomao's disappointment at Jinshi being a man rather than a woman as a reflection of her upbringing in the pleasure district and her familiarity with female beauty specifically.

We don't get a lot from Maomao about beauty or handsomeness in men. Or when we do, she seems even more removed from it. Like it isn't really worth noting. I think this is because she has learned how beauty can function as a sort of currency or tool for women.

Even in the very beginning of chapter 1, Maomao reflects on how a "pretty face" (and a voluptuous body) can lead to a woman rising through the ranks.

@teaflowsthroughthesesims discussed this further in some awesome expanded thoughts:

"In the circles [Maomao] runs in beauty is power, or a means of obtaining it, mostly but not exclusively for women. In her view, it's fitting that the powerful be beautiful, and expected that it be used as a weapon or tactic of controlling others.

Beauty is also tied up in desire towards others. The desire of a customer for a courtesan is due to beauty, the desire of an emperor for a concubine naturally falls on the lovely ones -- and [Maomao's] own undesirability is tied up in her lack of beauty (i.e chicken bones vs. abalone)."

"This is why she immediately sees Jinshi's flirting as a tactic - beauty is a tool to be used. Also, she chooses ways to describe Jinshi's beauty in terms of how it would control other people - 'a nation-toppling beauty' or 'a sex appeal that would drive both men and women mad' (paraphrased)."

"Aside from her upbringing in brothels, this is also probably why it doesn't 'work' on her - she is always expecting beauty to be used as a weapon or tool."

With that being said, I think Maomao views Jinshi's beauty as a waste on a eunuch and on a man both because it means that beauty will not be genetically passed on and because it means that beauty cannot be strategically used as a tool by a woman. But after this moment of meeting, Maomao will soon see how Jinshi, despite being a eunuch and a man, can use his beauty as a tool too. Something she probably knew was a thing already (men using their looks), just something she's not as familiar with.

I think there also remains a curiosity in Maomao regarding the concept of Jinshi as a woman, which we see again later when Maomao can't resist trying out lipstick on him to try and see what he might look like if he were a woman. There's perhaps something self-indulgent in that, as well as something that brings together the world Maomao knew before and the one she is coming to know. Thinking of Maomao as a scientist, it is a little experiment, but though Maomao is practical and her view of beauty is influenced by that, I think she is more than her practicality and pragmatism too.

More thoughts in this vein will surely come once we get to Maomao's reasons for using makeup to add freckles to her face!

#Maomao #kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #character analysis #beauty and power #Jinshi #maomao and jinshi #beauty and value #additional analysis #gender #analysis #gaoshun #ah duo #tad manga #knh manga #gender stereotypes

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prince-kallisto · 3 days

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Idia’s video explaining how to defeat the “evil, terrifying Demon King” had me thinking. Idia’s video greatly mischaracterizes Malleus, and I’ve been reading over some criticisms of his plan being all to similar to the fate of Meleanor with the Silver Owls. And as I was thinking it over, the parallels between Idia and Malleus really striked me in this recent update. (Translation credits to GasMask💖🐦‍⬛)

Throughout the story, we can see how Idia’s curse and family history has affected him greatly. Viewing himself as a monster, someone who is ‘unnatural’ compared to his peers and subject to gossip. The “monster in some tragic tale.” His two lines of getting driven out of town and being poked by a stick reminded me so much of Lilia and Malleus.

Lilia was constantly being driven out of towns and cities after the war, as Fae were viewed as monsters- even though Lilia was just trying to find a way to hatch an egg and meant no harm to anybody. And Malleus was quite literally poked, as in the first Halloween event, the “Draconia Challenge” had the Magicam Monsters poke, touch, and grab Malleus without his consent purely for a ridiculous test of courage. (Translation credits to Otome Ayui💖🐦‍⬛)

And Idia’s fretting over all the potential rumors about him is what actually happens to Malleus- where if you look at him wrong, or even get too close to him, you’ll get cursed and eaten- a similar way to Idia imagining rumors where he’d pass on his bad luck and family curse. Although I think this part of their parallels is fascinating to me, as most of it from Idia is from his own anxiety and self-esteem, but Malleus it is all reality.

However, I think Book 6 and 7 is truly the parts in the main game where a deliberate connection is made- and I will go over 3 specific instances. This first one was the one that truly caught my attention, because the River Lethe is a system that erases the memory and data of the Shroud family. Their existence is known in some lore, but it’s very little, and most of their history is erased from the rest of the world. They are urban legends at best, and Idia resigns himself to being forgotten by all his classmates, seeing no point in making friends when he will be erased in the end.

Several chapters later, we have a scene of Malleus finding comfort in abandoned buildings, as he finds them a “pleasant reminder we’re not the only ones history has left behind.” Lilia is said to be seen in some of NRC’s history books, but so little is know about Meleanor and Levan, the fate of Wildrose Castle, the war, everything. It was all forgotten so easily as human generations went by, but many of the Fae from that time period are still alive and remember it all. Pretty much all of his classmates don’t really understand Fae, creating repeated misunderstandings and conflict between them. But Malleus finds himself left behind in history the same way Idia does. Both of their families are “meant” to be lost in time through some twisted hand of fate. I also find it EXTREMELY relevant of how long back the Shroud family goes- all the way back to the Age of the Gods, and where mages were known as witches and wizards. I think there is a very high possibility of the Draconia’s and the Shroud’s to be connected from all the way back then.

This one is a bit more of a minor case, but it’s similar to the one above. Idia’s fate was sealed the moment he was born- or even before that, as his mother and father would know that he would inherit the Shroud’s curse, Unique Magic, and Watchman title. Not only does it ring similar to how Malleus was dehumanized by the rest of the world *while he was still an egg,* but it reminds me of the accidental curse Meleanor put on Malleus. He would be a blessing to the Fae, but a curse on the humans…Idia’s role of Watchman is technically a “blessing” because without the continuation of the Shroud family, the phantoms would be unleashed on the entire world- but his overall fate is meant to be a curse nonetheless (Translation credits to Otome Ayui💖🐦‍⬛)

And finally, I found the reoccurring theme of fighting for your own dream in Book 6 to be very relevant to the plight in Book 7. At first, the groups in Book 6 are rushing to defeat and knock the sense into Idia and Ortho, like they’re just final bosses. But as they get closer and closer to the Underworld, they begin to stop and empathize with them, beginning to figure out that Idia and Ortho are trying to escape their nightmarish reality to fulfill their own dreams- not matter how selfish it may be. Both sides have entirely valid reasons to fight for their own wishes, but this moment of empathy felt very important.

Book 7 centers around Malleus putting everyone in a “world without sorrow,” in dreams where he *thinks* is their ideal world, even though many of the characters in the present have realized their own strengths and don’t need to rely on their drama anymore (e.g Epel being distraught at his dream, since he has fully accepted his role as being the ‘Poison Apple,’ growing out of his more stereotypical ideals of strengths). However, this is also about Malleus wanting to keep the ones he loves close to him, not wanting to be abandoned again- even if it means stopping time and keeping the entire world in an eternal sleep. His power is on a very similar scale of Idia and Ortho, who planned to reset the entire world and cover it with blot and phantoms- where the Shrouds could be on top of the world since their curse incinerates blot. Even the language used is VERY similar, with being reborn, becoming the protagonist…

So…all in all, I think it’s very fascinating that Idia’s plan and the way he speaks about Malleus is ironically similar to the way he himself fears others talking about him. Reduced to some evil, cursed monster, a final boss to be defeated and nothing more. I have read some other analysis’ (although this is my Silidia brain talking too BSXJD) where Idia is akin to Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty, the prince who slays Maleficent with the Sword of Truth. The Sword is represented by Silver, where in the current update, STYX is directly working with and examining Silver’s Unique Magic as essentially a secret weapon to defeat Malleus. But I think about Yana’s line in an interview, where she wonders about the viewpoints of the items in fairytales- like the apple wouldn’t WANT to become a poisonous apple. And Silver wouldn’t want to be the “sword” that “defeats” Malleus- his older brother.

Even though it is upsetting that Idia so badly mischaracterizes Malleus, I think it is exactly the point. It is not only a reflection of Idia himself, but will lead to the subversion of Malleus’ “defeat.” History keeps repeating itself through Maleficent and Meleanor, but I think this is the time where amends can be made. Idia and Malleus have the very strong capability of seeing each eye-to-eye, as their plights are very similar. It feels like it boils down to the desire of being recognized and connecting not only with their peers, but also with family- especially in Malleus’ case where he, Silver, and Lilia had yet to truly acknowledge each other as family. Malleus doesn’t, or rather, shouldn’t be treated as the evil final boss, or be defeated solely through technology and brute force the way his mother was.

Showing Lilia’s dream sequence and Silver’s battle with himself in Book 7 is reemphasizing the point of family and connection, and how all of them need to talk it out and recognize each other as a true family. But of course, we are the viewers of the story. The story sets up the value of family and talking it out, but then it is purposefully backtracking as more and more NRC students band together. The other characters have no idea of all this backstory and connection, so everything is far more two-dimensional and they are making their judgements based on what Malleus has done to them. It is a continuous style of retribution.

But this is where a moment of empathy like in Book 6 is need. To stop and think if what they’re doing is right, and what Malleus truly needs in his moment of suffering and isolation. He IS in an Overblot state, so a battle is inevitable, but…I think it is what STYX said. We can’t just beat him down through brute force- someone has to bring him out of his form willingly. I find the clash of ideals and viewpoints of these characters to be incredibly well written, and as Yana said, they’re aren’t exactly traditional hero’s of fairytales. And I’m hoping that if Idia and Malleus’ parallels are as intentional as I think they are, I’m hoping that in the end there is more of a mutual understanding between each other and a breaking of a long cycle.

Edit: forgot to mention it, but this is not to say that Malleus hasn’t done anything wrong to his classmates. I think HE DOES need some form of confrontation- which is where Ace may play a role in since he’s repeatedly not been afraid to call others out, even Malleus. Malleus has a lot to learn and grow from, just like everyone else in the story. And I wonder even though the Draconia’s and Shroud’s are opposites at their surface, I hope there can be a reconciliation and mutual relationship between technology and magic in the future!

m(_ _)m Hm I hope this generally made sense lol, I’m not very good at explaining what I mean. I’m really excited to see where this is all going 👀👀👀👀🐦‍⬛

Also a huge thank you to @/YuuRei20, for their compilation of Malleus and Idia facts 😭💖💖💖💖💖

(Also, back to my brief mention of the Shrouds and Draconia’s being tied back far in the past, I’m still stuck on my theory about what may have happened between STYX and Levan 👉👈)

#this entire post is me struggling to fit in all my screenshots with mobile photo limit Zndjjcf #twisted wonderland #twst #twst analysis #twst theory #twst idia shroud #twst idia #twst malleus draconia #twst malleus #twst spoilers #twst book 7 spoilers #twst jp spoilers #twst shroud family #twst Draconia family #long post #kallistopost

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i-am-trying-my-best-okay · 15 hours

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God I know it's so unlikely and it will never happen but: slow burn enemies to reluctant but understanding friends to an actual understanding friendship to lovers for Eloise and Cressida?

Like, it's literally right there; first, they were enemies, having entirely different out looks and circumstances and how they cope with those. Then, when Eloise was at her lowest, Cressida once again extended a hand of friendship, and so it began. But they still don't seem to understand each other in full, moving past one another. Eloise is unable to give proper support to Cressida for what she is going through, and Cressida is unable to understand Eloise's mindset. Neither of them seem to be properly clicking with the other, like when Cressida tries to open up about her situation and Eloise brushes it off with a joke or when Eloise finally opens up about her ideals of the world only for Cressida to brush her off for a chance with Lord Debling. Again and again we see the two of them facing a misunderstanding with each other, how Eloise didn't want Cressida to bully Penelope and Cressida thought it was just what she should do as a friend, and Eloise immediately accusing Cressida of betraying her confidence when it was actually just Eloise speaking too loudly. The two can just never get a grasp on the other.

But it makes sense; Cressida was raised under a dictating father and a mother that is forced to bend, and as a result she has this constant pressure from her mother to find a husband before her father finds a worse one. Cressida sees life as a set of two choices, all of which involves a man dictating over her, in both her past and future, and her survival depends on her doing whatever it takes to choose the better option. Eloise, meanwhile, has an academic understanding on what it would be like to have a man abusively rule over a woman, and it's due to this that she develops her ideas on how to stand against this, resolving to never have that happen with her. But society keeps telling her time and time again that she must get with a man, and given all she knows about how men dictate over woman, she naturally wouldn't want to be put in such a position.

So given their circumstances it makes sense that they have a completely different perspectives. Cressida's view of friendship is essentially just being mean or gossipy to other girls outside of the group and then laughing about it, but at the end of the day they're competition more than anything. And Eloise has never had a friend other than Penelope, whom she's known for years and have a more comfortable understanding of (until recently). But, there's also a genuine desire in each of them to understand the other, and I think with the way things are going, the two will find genuine understanding soon.

Eloise probably didn't think much of Cressida being put in the position she was; she probably just thought of it as the same as every girl in the ton being pressured to be married, not understanding the actual real life abuse that was threaded into her situation. But when she went over to Cressida's house, and witnessed first hand her situation, she was slapped in the face with the reality of it, of Cressida's situation. With that, I think she grew to understand Cressida a little more, and probably get a better idea on what women go through in a family with a dominating and abusive male figure. Because yes, like state before, Eloise definitely had an academic understanding of it, and she for sure felt the limitations put on her through societal rules and restrictions, adding to her anger. But she never felt the source come from her family, not really; that was a place where she could feel comfortable. It would feel disheartening for her family to dismiss her ideals so easily, feeling as if they're not really hearing her and making her feel all the more isolated and restricted by the world, but she never felt unsafe to voice her feelings. With Cressida, I think she got an idea of what it would be like to be unsafe in your own home due to a domineering man, to have a family that at the end of the day didn't have your best interests at heart.

Honestly; with the character arc Eloise has going on, it's really sad, but I think (hope) by the end of it that it impacts her for the better. As of now, it seems she's sort of given up actively rebelling against society, too worn down by the constant rejection of her outlook, of her plea of wanting to be treated equally tossed aside so casually, like she's being silly. At least before, she had Penelope to talk her feelings out on, but with Penelope gone and going through that whole scandal, I think Eloise just got tired of pushing. So she took the hand of Cressida, tried to get more into the things she'd protested against for so long. I think Eloise had sort of this thing going on where she associated all the typical things of being a 'woman' as being oppressed, and that's what caused her to immediately dismiss them, such as fashion. And it would also make sense to form a resentment towards something you don't want to do, but are constantly being pressured into doing, while everyone acts like you're the one that's being unreasonable. I think with talking to the other girls and now trying to fit in, I think she's going to realize these hobbies themselves aren't the source of oppression. And with coming to understand the actual terror of Cressida's situation, I think she views the other debutants as more than just a part of that oppression as well. This closer look at the system I think is giving Eloise some perspective, and I think at the end of it she'll come out of the second part of the season back to being the feminist idealist we all know, but a bit more aware and knowledgeable of what she wants to do, understanding that simply knowing that the system is wrong and saying it's wrong won't provide the change she wants. I think before she thought if she just explained why it's wrong than people would understand, but she's coming to realize the system is much more ingrained then that. I hope by the end of the season, she knows how she wants to promote change (I really hope she doesn't keep this defeatist mindset she currently has cause that'd be really sad).

As for Cressida, I think she just viewed Eloise as strange at first, someone who didn't fit in and didn't grasp the way society was; she probably never thought someone would reject society on purpose, and that Eloise just didn't understand. She might have originally thought that Eloise would be easy to manipulate because of this, as this is her understanding of friendship, but when they actually began getting to know each other, discovering that Eloise didn't fit in with society on purpose, it probably completely baffled her. At every turn Eloise keeps doing things Cressida never expects; not wanting to pick on her former friend who had hurt her, visiting Cressida at her home to see if she's doing alright. It's because of just how different Eloise is that Cressida is navigating a new way of being to make their friendship work; to not spread idle gossip when Eloise tells her something, even if it puts her in a lower standing with the other girls. It all comes down to Cressida not understanding her, but desperately wanting it, asking Eloise about how she sees the world.

The two of them and their differences, while they don't have a perfect understanding yet, it's their differences that are forcing each other to change their perspective on the world; possibly for the better. My hope for the second part of the season is that the two of them form a more understanding bond. I know the two of them probably won't become a thing; it'll probably turn out with Cressida getting with Lord Debling, the two of them bonding over having difficulties with their family's, and then Cressida now having the space, resources and freedom to discover who she is with Lord Debling as her husband while constantly being away. Honestly I'd be happy if they two just formed a really close and deep friendship. HOWEVER, it wouldn't be out of the question if Eloise and Cressida HAPPEN to form something romantic while Lord Debling is away, and he's away very often and for years at a time, so it'd be a good set up for the two of them.

#god THESE TWO #i did not expect these two to just take over my life like this #bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 #bridgerton spoilers #bridgerton season three spoilers #eloise bridgerton #cressida cowper #creloise #lord debling

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specialagentartemis · 10 hours

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The Murderbot Diaries and Terminator: Dark Fate: What Does a Killer Robot WANT, Anyway?

The Terminator (1984) is probably the most famous killer robot in media, setting the image for a what a killer robot is. It’s shaped like a bodybuilder, weapons built into its metal skeleton, eyes hidden behind cool and impersonal sunglasses, a threateningly “foreign” accent, and no feelings, no remorse, and no desires besides killing its target. Kyle Reese describes it to Sarah Connor bluntly: “That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!” And the film supports this wholeheartedly. We get a few scenes from the Terminator’s perspective, and they do not really indicate that it has much in the way of personality or free will. It’s scary because it is a ruthlessly efficient, tireless, and analytical machine built to kill. It will not stop until its target is dead, or it is.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) gives us a nice Terminator, a Terminator captured from its controlling Skynet and re-programmed to help Sarah and John Connor rather than hunt them. This Terminator gives slightly more suggestions that it has a personality of its own, but ultimately it is still now ruthlessly efficient, tireless, and analytical in protecting its charges, but it still dies at the end in the course of fulfilling its objective. It was, after all, programmed by the human rebels to protect John Connor, and it did.

Did the Terminator want any of that? The second film halfheartedly cares a little, and the first film certainly did not at all. It’s an irrelevant question. It’s a robot; it’s incapable of truly wanting anything, it just does as it’s programmed. It fulfills its objective.

In modern sci-fi, that’s not really a satisfying answer anymore. It looks like a human, has human organic parts built into it, and it clearly has the ability to process large amounts of information and make complex and reasoned decisions. Why do we write it off so thoroughly? Does a Terminator like what it does? Would it choose this? What does a Terminator want?

The Murderbot Diaries (2017-present) by Martha Wells isn’t a direct answer to this question, but it sure is considering it.

The titular Murderbot is very similar to the Terminator: a human-form cyborg, a robot with human organic parts built in, a machine with guns in its arms made to do a job and that job being to protect and/or oppress humans. But as a thinking, feeling, complex entity, it has opinions about that job.

You know what else is a clear response to early Terminator movies’ fundamental uninterest in the Terminator’s inner life and personal opinions on things? Later Terminator movies. Specifically Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).

The fact that The Murderbot Diaries and Dark Fate came out at roughly the same time, in the same sci-fi AI-story zeitgeist, looking back critically at the 80’s and early 90’s Terminator and asking, well, what would it do if it didn’t have to murder, who would it be if it had the choice, is telling.

The Murderbot Diaries stars Murderbot, a SecurityUnit owned by a callously greedy and corner-cutting company that uses such SecUnits ostensibly to protect but in reality to intimidate, control, and surveil human clients. It calls itself “Murderbot” and all SecUnits as a whole “murderbots” for a reason. The world of the books sees SecUnits as mindless killer robots kept in check by their programming, in a very similar way that the Terminator was presented in 1984. We see the story from Murderbot’s point of view: it’s snarky, depressed, anxious, bitter, funny, and very opinionated. It also really, really hates intimidating, controlling, and surveilling people, and it specifically broke its own programming meant to keep it compliant so it wouldn’t have to hurt people. Instead, it wants to half-ass its job and watch soap operas… but it’s sympathetic to humans in danger despite itself, and when it chooses humans it cares about, it will go to great lengths (ruthless, but very tired and full of fear and pity) to protect them. What does it want? To be given space; to not be given orders; to have the ability to take its time and watch its shows and determine what its job as Security means to it.

Terminator: Dark Fate takes a different tack. (It’s actually about three badass women and I’m very sorry for focusing on the man-like character here BUT) Dark Fate presents an alternate timeline off the main series, where the Terminator succeeded in killing young John Connor. Previously, we had seen Terminators that would not stop until they were dead; this one fulfills Reese’s other warning. It will not stop until John Connor is dead. Well…. it succeeded. John Connor is dead.

Now what?

In the opening scene, we see this from his mother Sarah Connor’s perspective. The Terminator appears out of time, ambushes and kills young John Connor, and then stands there looking impassively at the destruction it wrought while Sarah screams.

It looks cold and satisfied when that scene is first presented. But when we see it again from the Terminator’s perspective, it seems to just stand there, staring stupidly, suddenly with no direction in life. It fulfilled its objective. It followed its programming. Now it has no more objective, can receive no more orders, and its programming has nothing more to tell it to do. It eventually disappears into the woods, learns more about humanity, grows a conscience, lives in a little cabin with a woman and her son fleeing an abusive husband in an apparently mutually very supportive relationship, chops wood, drives a truck, and gives Sarah Connor insider information to allow her to track down other incoming Terminators as a way of atonement. It does have remorse, if given time to think for itself and realize it. It doesn’t really want to hurt people, and even, similar to Murderbot, has a drive to use its strength and intimidating-ness to protect the people it chooses. It mostly wants to be quietly and safely left alone.

Both the Terminator and Murderbot are killer robots left adrift, aimless, reeling, suddenly having to decide for themselves what to do with their lives for the first time. Both are stories that circle back to the original Terminator premise and say, okay, but that killer robot isn’t killing for the sheer thrill of it, it was forced into doing that by a top-down authority in control of its programming. That would kind of fuck someone up, actually. It’s a hopeful narrative: these things are people, and they don’t want to be hurting other people. When given the option, they just want to rest, make amends, understand the truth, find a place they belong, and see the people they care about safe. And I think it’s fascinating that not only is smaller, literary sci-fi asking this question and telling this story, but so is the Terminator franchise itself.

We also just as blatantly see the evolution of Sarah Connor as a character. In The Terminator (1984) the Terminator is sent to kill Sarah Connor. When I was watching it recently with some friends who had never seen it before, they guessed—almost correctly—“oh, it’s because she’s the rebel leader in the future!” Sorry guys, this is a 1980s mainstream sci-fi blockbuster. Her as-yet unborn son is going to be the rebel leader. That’s why the robots in the future need to kill her, before she gives birth to the hero of the humans. Blech, I know.

Over the course of the movie, though, she becomes tough, fierce, and brave, the type who can and will survive the apocalypse; in future movies and tv series (like The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2008, where she gets to be the eponymous title character this time!), she gets to be a strong leader in her own right. This is particularly true in Terminator: Dark Fate, where Sarah Connor is a tough, grizzled, middle-aged Terminator-fighter, who steals heavy weaponry from the government to track down and kill Terminators arriving from the future. She becomes a mentor to the new woman being hunted down by the new Terminator threat, Dani Ramos. This time, though, Dani isn’t fated to be the mother of the human rebel leader—she is destined to become the human rebel leader herself. Along with Dani’s own Kyle Reese figure, a cybernetically-augmented human fighter from the future named Grace, women get central action-hero and rebel-leader roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, feeling like an awkward apology for the sexism inherent in the premise of 1984’s The Terminator. (However, Dark Fate stops short of committing to the Dani-Sarah/Grace-Reese parallel and letting them be lesbians. It’s still a mainstream action movie, I guess.) We even see the development of a curt but resentfully respectful understanding between Sarah Connor and the Terminator that killed her son.

I lay this out because in the same way I see the literary DNA of the Terminator in Murderbot, I see elements of Sarah Connor in Dr. Mensah. She’s the human protagonist—the one who would be the protagonist if All Systems Red had been from the human perspective—and feels like the answer to a similar question to “what does a killer robot want?”, namely, “what if, instead of enemies locked into battle to the death, the badass human and the killer robot worked together and came to an understanding? What if they could be friends instead of enemies?” Mensah also feels like a feminist response to some of the issues I had with Sarah Connor—that she didn’t get to be the leader herself, that despite her own strength and tenacity being the mother to the leader was the most important thing she would do—and responds to them in a similar way that Dark Fate somewhat apologetically does. Mensah is the leader of her society (her planet). Mensah is a mother and she is a scientist and a leader and gets her badass action-hero moments (MINING DRILL). She is the first to reach out to Murderbot. To ask it how it feels, and calm down the others later when they’re afraid; her relationship with Murderbot is unique. She’s a foil to Murderbot in a parallel but opposite way that Sarah Connor is a foil to the Terminator. And while in Dark Fate they are not friends (the Terminator did still kill Sarah’s son, even if it didn’t specifically want to) we see the same kind of desire reflected: what if they were at least allies? What if they were working together? How would that relationship go? What kind of understanding could they come to, about what it means to be human and to be machine? It's a smaller part of the movie and they don't give a whole lot of answers, but it's there.

Both All Systems Red (and the subsequent Murderbot Diaries books) and Terminator: Dark Fate were released in a very different sci-fi zeitgeist than The Terminator was. They’re both looking back, and reacting to it: Dark Fate directly, The Murderbot Diaries indirectly. And they’re approaching the concept of the Terminator and its Sarah Connor figure with similar questions: What does the robot want, aside from its programming to kill, and if it could be freed of its programming to kill, what kind of relationships—with society, with the concept of self-determination, and with its human woman foil—could it potentially be able to develop, with that freedom?

#They’re also both aroace #is it regressive? Does it imply things about sex/romance and humanity?#I don’t care I appreciate that neither one had to prove itself a whole person by falling in love #that’s a topic for a different post #Dani and Grace didn’t get a romance either. Cowards #but I kind of appreciate there was no human romance and sex/inhuman lack of romance and sex that was sorta lowkey going on in the original #This piece is less polished than last week's but oh well #MurderMetaMay #The Terminator #Terminator Dark Fate #The Murderbot Diaries #meta #my meta

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sunnified · 3 days

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DON'T GO SHARIN' YOUR DEVOTION !

synopsis. the night before fleeing from his kingdom, the prince begs for you to follow him to a new life.

pairing. mcd!prince!garroth ro'meave x gn!reader

content. fluff/angst. use of “my love”. mentions of arranged marriage. garroth is a charmer,,

word count. 1.1k

a/n. no way, sunnified's first post?!

cerulean blue eyes stared into yours, unwavering in his decision as garroth attempted to look into your heart, mind, and soul; he wanted to know your feelings on the matter, hear your thoughts before you could voice them. there was no way to describe how he was truly feeling, his emotions a whirlwind of the worst things imaginable and his thoughts nothing but murky waters. perhaps, it was un-princely of him to show up to a maiden’s house in the middle of the night, but garroth didn’t really consider himself to be a prince anymore.

by morning, he would be declared dead, anyway.

“you cannot be serious.” your confused voice broke the heavy silence, a humble crease in your brows as you presented nothing but your true feelings. garroth had always liked that about you — even in a tough situation, you had a good head sitting atop your shoulders. the rolling pin you had been using as a weapon only moments before laid on the ground, and a dry laugh escaped you, “garroth, tell me you’re not serious.”

he winced, more-so than when you had nearly taken his vision with your baking equipment, ducking his head slightly as he kept himself hidden from the view of outside. nobody could know he was here, and patrolling guards seemed to be lurking all over the streets as of late. he offered a nervous chuckle in reply, having shaken all his anger out on the journey to your family’s withering business, “i am.”

it still felt weird, years down the line, to see the first prince of o’khasis standing in the middle of your unremarkable bakery, staring at you with those honest eyes of his and being so charming even when he didn’t mean to be. after an unlikely friendship had formed in the middle of a festival one evening, garroth had been insistent on seeking you out more and more often. the bakery had become a sanctuary of sorts for him, acting as a place of mercy during the hectic lifestyle he seemed to lead. the building itself was nothing special, the walls were crumbling, the floorboards creaked, and dust lined the windowsills, but it housed his favourite person. you.

“i’m leaving.” his voice was smooth, determined as he stood in the middle of the room. he looked out of place, handsome features contrasting greatly to the beige clothing he was wearing — in fact, you thought he could almost pass as someone less than royal blood status, if it were not for the fullness of his cheeks and the way his hair shined under candle light. garroth continued with a grimace, “tonight. before anybody notices the mess i left behind.”

“garroth—“ you begin to protest. as a peasant in the bustling city of o’khasis, you had no idea of the self-serving nature that the royal family seemed to follow. it was the chance of fate that you had even been acquainted with the prince in the first place, and lady irene knows you have never been the lucky type, especially when you began to develop feelings for the chivalrous yet shy next-in-line. out of everyone in the world, you just had to fall for the one person you knew you could never have. in a world such as this one, a love story simply could not exist between a prince and a baker. yet despite the obvious class difference, prince garroth seemed intent on seeing you as much as possible. the friendship was kept under wraps, even from your parent and his most trusted allies.

it was not a secret you were willing to share with anyone, and he seemed exactly the same way.

tears welled up, not that you wanted them to but it was futile to attempt to stop them, “don’t go.” a shaky breath, followed by a hiccup, “garroth, you can’t just leave. what about the future of o’khasis? the future of your people? what about me?” despite the peculiarity of it all — the unfortunate blossomed infatuation, the sneaking around, even the occasional difference in view when arguing — there was nobody in all of the ru’aun region more perfect to be your other half. you would be a fool to allow him to go so easily.

“my love, all i think about is you.” he responded ever so softly, taking a singular step forward and closing the gap that had previously been open, “day and night, hour after hour.” he whispered, his hand clasping yours in a gentle hold. a sad smile pulled at his lips, “but there can be no us if i do not go.” oh, that’s right. with the sudden intrusion, and initial shock, you had almost forgotten what had led your secret lover here the first place. the treaty — an arranged marriage between the oldest son of the lord of o’khasis to the daughter of the lord of scaleswind. garroth was to be wed to another, should he not flee tonight.

tears fell down your cheeks. even in his time of desperation, when his life was being decided for him, garroth was still thinking about you. he had always been such a devoted and caring lover, a man willing to put your needs over his own. truthfully, you weren’t sure if you deserved this man. was this really your last moment with him until the foreseeable future?

as if reading your mind, garroth wiped a stray tear. your eyes met his, and you were suddenly reminded of every little moment together over the past few years, “come with me.” he whispered.

you reeled back for a moment, “what?”

he didn’t hesitate.

“this life is not worth living if i do not have you by my side. all of this, it will have been for nought should we be separated.” his words were sincere, accompanied by the squeezing of your hands as thought to clear away any doubts, “you are the one i want to wed in this life, and in every other. i would be foolish to not ask you to follow me to a new life.”

for the first time since he broke into your little bakery, his usual smile was present, making everything else seem dull in comparison. it was a reminder of why you had fallen in love with such an impulsive man in the first place, of how nothing else seemed to matter when he was present. he was comfort, safety, and everything in between.

“okay.” your whisper was small and sweet, but it reached his ears nonetheless, “i’d follow you to the ends of the earth, if you asked.”

he chuckled, carefree and joyous, “good thing i asked, then.”

#𖤓 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃.#mcd garroth #garroth ro'meave #minecraft diaries garroth #garroth x reader #garroth ro’meave x reader #aphmau #aphverse #minecraft diaries #minecraft diaries x reader #mcyt #mystreet #mystreet x reader #ro’meave

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sage-nebula · 2 days

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"Friede's using himself as a decoy to keep us safe."

I rambled about this in the tags of a reblog, but hell, I'm going to go ahead and make a separate meta post about it as well, because it's something that I think could have a delicious narrative impact on a future Horizons arc if the writers choose to utilize it. (And even if they don't, it could make for some delicious fic.)

So, one thing I noticed on my catch up binge of Horizons is that Liko and Roy (and to a lesser extent Dot) see Friede not only as the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers, but also as a hero -- as their hero. This especially jumped out at me in episode 25, when Friede had them take shelter in the tower of the ancient castle while he battled Amethio. Not only did they readily listen to him when he told them to stay put inside the tower while he alone went to the exposed top, but then we were treated to this:

This whole sequence is notable for several reasons:

Friede jumps off the tower to draw Amethio away from the higher floor of the tower where Liko and Roy are sheltering, so that Amethio has a lower chance of going after them.

As he passes by their window, Friede gives them a wink and a smile, to comfort and encourage them.

The animators made sure to show us not only how Friede looked from Liko and Roy's perspective (heroic), but also how awed they were by giving us a full shot of their own facial expressions.

Just in case it wasn't obvious enough, Roy and Liko spell it out themselves that Friede is using himself as bait for Amethio in order to protect them, not only telling the audience what he's doing in case the audience didn't pick up on it (which, young children do watch this show), but also showing how this knowledge affects them, because Roy's voice is shaking a little when he says his line, and Liko's is hushed.

This was a very scary night for these two kids. They were outnumbered, their enemies were much stronger than they were, they were being pursued and in hiding. But Friede put himself between them and the greatest, nearest threat, and did his best to comfort them as he did so. To give them a wink and a smile as if to say, "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

And this isn't the only time.

We would be here all day if I grabbed screenshots of every time Friede rushed in to either save the kids from danger (either directly himself or by sending Cap in his place), or check on their well being after the fact to make sure that they were unharmed. Often, he does both in the course of the same episode, sometimes multiple times. Hell, his establishing character moment in the very beginning of the series is a heroic rescue whereupon he enters the scene to protect Liko from Amethio on the rooftop of her school. Friede makes it a point to prioritize the kids' safety and well-being, and as a result, they've reached the natural conclusion: they view him as a hero. As their hero.

So then, the question must be asked: what happens if their hero is taken out of the picture?

The question needs to be asked for a few reasons, and not just because I have a love for angst. The first reason is because we've already been given a teaser of what would happen at the end of the Terapagos Shine arc. In episode 44, Friede was trapped in a tower of Spinel's design. Though neither Liko nor Roy knew that the tower was a trap by Spinel, they did know that Friede was trapped inside -- and both immediately panicked upon seeing that Friede was trapped in a tower beyond their reach in enemy territory.

Roy immediately tried opening the door and, when repeated attempts to yank it open wouldn't work, banged it on it with his fists while yelling Friede's name. Liko, meanwhile, stared in abject terror. And even after Friede reassures them, Roy still frantically demands more answers while Liko just as frantically wants to know if Friede is okay, and a little bit after that has to take a deep breath to try to get herself to calm down. Keep in mind that just an episode prior to this, when faced with a sudden attack by the Explorers, Liko's first instinct was to call Friede for help, while Roy said that he would battle because there was no time to call Friede (not because calling for backup wasn't necessary). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the kids aren't brave. Of course they are! They both insisted on going on this mission in the first place! And they're there because, as concerned as Friede is for their safety, he is also Professor Pushover when it comes to them and caved immediately to their puppy eyes. But they also feel much safer on that mission because Friede is there with him. Feeling that he is in danger, cut off from them like that -- the stakes suddenly became that much more real.

And on the other side of the door, Friede knew it as well. And how did he react?

He's not happy. He knows this is a bad situation. But --

He does what he always does: he doesn't let on at all that this is a bad situation, so as not to worry and scare the kids. He also tells them to leave the area, because Spinel is there and Spinel is dangerous, and he wants to get them away from that danger. To date, Spinel is the most dangerous Explorer that they've encountered. Remember, Spinel is the one who successfully stole Terapagos' pendant, and the one who wiped Liko's memory and had her missing in Levincia for awhile. It's understandable why Friede would prioritize getting the kids as far away from him as possible.

So, to recap:

In a situation where, as far as the kids knew, Friede was just temporarily locked in a room away from them (in enemy territory but not with an enemy) and could still talk to them, it freaked them out enough to make them panic, and it took Landau telling them that they had to believe Friede could get himself out of the room and that they had to move forward for Liko to deep breath her way out of her mounting panic attack so she and Roy could move on. In a situation where Friede was actually captured, then, we could probably expect their reactions -- at least, their initial reactions -- to be much worse.

And I consider this possibility for two specific reasons: one genre, and one narrative.

First, genre. Pokémon has always been a coming-of-age story of sorts, but I feel that the Horizons anime feels especially so, focusing very strongly on Liko, Roy, and Dot as they grow up and discover both who they are, and who they want to be when they're older. (This has been especially emphasized with Liko and Dot, I feel; with Roy, he hasn't really thought about the future beyond battling Rayquaza.) The thing about coming-of-age stories set in fantasy settings, though -- rather, the thing about coming-of-age stories set in fantasy settings wherein the young protagonist has a stronger mentor that they can lean on to bail them out of jams is that, if they can consistently rely on the mentor to bail them out of jams and danger, then it doesn't give them the opportunity to overcome that danger themselves. Therefore, very often those stories will kill off the mentor character to force the younger protagonist character to go off on their own to face the primary villains in the end. Hence the deaths of characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, and so on.

Now, given that this is a Pokémon anime, obviously they're not going to have Spinel murder Friede. I mean, true, they let Zygarde kill Lysandre on Bonnie's order at the end of the XYZ anime, but Lysandre was the big bad and we didn't see his corpse, it was just heavily implied that he didn't survive what Zygarde did to him. Same with Hunter J and her crew in the DP anime. Did she live? Probably not, but we never saw the bodies, so hey, plausible deniability, and they were villains anyway, so. But Friede is a main character, and a hero, so we can be 99.9% sure that they're not going to have Spinel or anyone else murder him in order to force the kids to get by without him for awhile.

However, Friede doesn't have to die for him to be taken out of the action. He just needs to be put into a position where it is physically impossible for him to get to them to save them when they're in danger (and for them to know that he can't get to them when they're in danger). But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point I'm making here is that, for genre reasons, the writers have a reason to want to remove Friede from the field of play in order to force Liko, Roy, and Dot to stand on their own against the Explorers. Because while they would still have the rest of the adult crew of the Rising Volt Tacklers, the rest of the adult crew aren't really battlers. The only one among them who has a fully evolved pokémon is Orio with Metagross, and we've only seen her attempt to battle once. It doesn't mean she can't, of course, but it does imply that perhaps she's not an active battler. Certainly, she's not the one rushing in to save the kids all the time like Friede is. The rest of the RVT crew is important as well, but Friede is the one who would cause the real narrative impact here, as well as the psychological impact on the kids.

(And to briefly address Dot, since I've barely talked about her: Dot hasn't received as much focus in this discussion since she rarely leaves the ship, and thus hasn't been in as much danger as Liko and Roy. However, Friede has had as much of an impact on her life and I believe she sees him as a personal hero just as much. He is, after all, the one who gave her the new life that has impacted her so greatly. He's the one whose thesis first caught her attention. He showed an interest in her interests. He called her abilities special. He invited her to join the Brave Asagi. He brought her aboard no questions asked, made her feel welcomed, has never shamed her for being a shut-in, so on and so forth. Friede treats Dot with as much respect as he does the rest of the crew and his offer to let her become a crew member changed her life for the better. So while he hasn't had to rescue her as much as the other two, I think she does see him as a hero just as Liko and Roy do, and would be just as affected if something happened to him as they would be.)

The other reason why I think the question needs to be asked is a narrative one. I think, from a narrative perspective, it would simply make sense for the Explorers to want to do something about Friede at some point, particularly if they wish to take Terapagos from Liko (or get the kids out of the way of their plans for Rayquaza / Terapagos / Rakua). Again, whenever the kids are in danger, Friede swoops in and saves them. This is something that Spinel, at least, has noticed; he built the trap on the island specifically to imprison Friede. Why would he do that, if Friede was not at the very least a nuisance, at the very most a threat? And at the end of it all, we got this:

Which then brings me back to what I mentioned earlier: since the anime clearly can't (and won't) murder Friede, because that would be going way too far for a Pokémon anime, if the writers do choose to temporarily remove him from the field of play in order to give the kids room to stand on their own two feet without Professor Safety Net, then I could see this playing out one of two ways.

The first (and most delicious) way is obvious: have him be captured by the Explorers. I feel that this is already set up by Spinel's little smirk and comment above. Spinel has already designed one trap meant to imprison Friede; there is nothing stopping him from designing more. Of course, it would require nerfing Friede (and Cap) a bit, in order to leave them captured for a good while; but it would also give the kids a mission, that mission being rescuing Friede and Cap in a reversal of all the rescues Friede and Cap have provided for them thus far, while simultaneously taking the fight to the Explorers, versus the Explorers always coming after them. Of course, this does carry the risk of still seeming too dark for the writers to want to consider, since Friede would be a prisoner during all this, but if nothing else, I can always write fic.

The second possibility that is less obvious and more bonkers, but less dark and so somehow more plausible in my mind, is that Friede could somehow end up trapped in Rakua with Lucius. And before you're like "what," consider this:

Friede has a plan that involves the three Heroes they've obtained so far. If I had to guess, Friede is going to continue pursuing the remaining Six Heroes while the kids are on their Terastal course. And that's fine / good; he's continuing the mission so they don't lose time, although how he's going to do that without Terapagos is a mystery. (Although I'm sure Liko would let him borrow Terry if he just asked.) But the point is, he's got this mysterious plan involving the three Heroes they currently have. Rakua is some mysterious place that isn't on any maps and so could very well be another dimension or something similar, because those are 100% canonically real in the Pokémon world (e.g. the Distortion World). It would behoove the writers to have Friede off the field of play for awhile, to the extent that it is physically impossible for him to help the kids. And the kids also intend to reach Rakua because that's what Terapagos wants. So if Friede somehow got trapped in Rakua, then they would be killing two birds with one stone: Friede can no longer help the kids when they're in danger from the Explorers, and the kids can rescue Friede when they take Terapagos to Rakua to see Lucius' spirit (or just Lucius himself if Lucius has been alive in Rakua all this time because it's like a fountain of youth or limbo or something). Bonus points if the kids don't even know that's where Friede is, if they just know that something happened to him but don't know what, but they keep working toward Rakua anyway because the other adults on the crew convince them that Friede would want them to. (But Friede can maybe still somehow get messages to them through Terapagos visions or something, I don't know.)

I could honestly see this being the way they go with it, simply because it's less dramatic than "the enemy has taken your mentor hostage and taunt you about how powerless you are to do anything about it and also they're going to hunt you down to steal your little turtle, too." Plus they're setting Friede up to do something with the three Heroes, and it can't be for nothing. But then again, neither can Spinel's interest . . .

Either way, the fact that the kids so clearly see Friede as their hero, and the way it would impact them to have something happen to him as a result, has lived in my head ever since episode 25. Particularly since it would have a narrative impact as well, given how often he is their safety net, and what it would mean if he couldn't be any longer. Not because he chose not to, because he would never choose that; but because he couldn't, because external forces took that choice away.

Well. Even if the anime itself doesn't deliver, that won't stop me. :)

#pokemon #pokeani #anipoke #pokemon horizons #horizons anime #professor friede #trainer liko #trainer roy #trainer dot #rising volt tacklers

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wings-of-ink · 17 hours

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I'm rereading the demo again b/c its so fucking good, inject it into my veins. But I'm at that part where Nathanael asks MC if they feel OK (re: illness) on their birthday. There's mention that ppl in the town do gossip about MC's illness, and sometimes unkindly. I have so many questions and thoughts about this, sorry! Does MC's family/friends know, how do they handle it (I mean they probably do if MC is aware of it)? Is this a frequent thing that happens? Is MC subjected to blatant harassment (for a lack of better words)? Since Oswin and MC drifted apart do ppl take this as an invitation to shit talk MC to Oswin assuming that they don't like each other? Hes not a ppl person so I doubt many ppl gossip with him/he wont partake but not everyone is the brightest and can be quite shameless. Are ppl shit talking about MC to Nathanael? What does he think of this? Is he asking about MC or do ppl just spill the beans to him b/c its a (what I assume) small town and he travels all over with interesting stories idk??? AND ANOTHER THING, I'm sure this has some sort of impact on how MC views themself/their illness depending on their personality which is a totally other thing to dive into. I'm sooooo curious about how the dynamics of the community with MC and the other characters. I want to crack their heads open and read their thoughts. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

That's awesome, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

As far as the gossip train goes, it's fairly typical small-town rumor mill stuff that goes on. You have some whispering falsehoods and exaggerations, pity from others, and some speak highly of the MC for their perseverance. MC and family are very aware that it goes on; it's been hard to keep things private. All it takes is one person at Kavi's clinic to see an unresponsive MC being carried in for the story to spread like wildfire. And, poor MC has had a couple small public episodes as well.

When MC was a kid, Kip could get pretty angry about people running their mouths, and he'd confront them directly. Some would insinuate that he's a poor father, question his ability to do what's best for MC - things like that. Dov is the type to ignore it, and few would have the courage to challenge him directly on anything. He's a total softie but he doesn't look it, so no one is looking for trouble with him.

MC as a child also received more pity and sympathy from adults - nothing terribly malicious except maybe a question about what their parents are or aren't doing to them. The hardest part for them as a kid was with other kids. It will come up in a flashback sort of deal with Oswin, or will at least be talked about with the MC and him. Some kids could be hard on MC about it - some would say they were pretending to be sick for attention, things like that. And would you believe that little sweet baby boy Aster/Lakota viciously defended MC from such teasing? Generally, his bullies were the same punk kids, since he was also sickly as a child and got the same guff.

Along the same lines as the flashback and discussions to come between Oswin and MC, when it was clear there was something odd between them, they both had a lot of rumors going around about the reason. Oswin may have gotten into a tussle over something that was said…He never tolerated others talking about MC (even if it was only speculation and not necessarily malicious rumors) - but MC does not currently know that.

By the time MC is an adult, the word still gets tossed around, but it's all pretty common knowledge, so you're not getting as much in general. The kids have grown up too, and they've stopped heckling poor MC, Lakota, and Oswin. And, oddly enough, Oswin both is and isn't a people-person. He treads the line there and it just depends on the person - which made it more difficult when he and MC fell out because he was still sociable and friendly to other people. In his late teen and adult years, he's actually reached a lot of popularity with the townspeople and local guard, as well as people in the cities he's helped. He's just quiet about it and isn't energetic about socializing. (He's also picky about who he talks with.)

With Nathanael, he's not one to tolerate malicious talk about people he respects, and he does have genuine respect for MC and company. Kip was the first customer in town to give his store a chance, and they hit it off with a good chat. Others have told him about MC's history, since it's probably one of the more interesting things about the town, and he would have heard their "ideas" and rumors about that. He would not be one to tolerate shit-talk though.

I hope this helps sate your curiosity, and I love that you're interested in this since it's not something I can dive into a bunch in-story as it would make for some very boring prose, lol. But there is a whole social community there that the MC was steeped complete with rumors, gossip, and both kind and cruel words. I enjoyed your Ted Talk and I hope you got something out of mine too! ^_^

#god cursed if #asks #twine if #if wip #gc if world

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aingeal98 · 2 days

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More aos rambles but I find it so interesting that Coulson, despite being the one May and Daisy look to as a man with a good heart when they themselves feel like monsters, is the one who would risk everything including other people to save them. Like if Daisy is in danger and the only option to save her is a plan where every other agent has a 95% chance of dying, he's doing it. And he's very openly hypocritical about it to the point that everyone else calls out his double standards. Mace saying "When it comes to May and Daisy you can't be objective." and Lincoln and May pointing out how he'd sacrifice every inhuman but never Daisy. Like he cares very deeply about Fitz and Simmons but he makes decisions that puts them at risks that I just can't see him doing if it was Daisy. And Coulson very rarely feels bad about it, he stands by his hypocrisy and desire to protect his daughter. Even when it comes to Daisy's own wishes, he cares too much to let her sacrifice herself.

Meanwhile May doesn't love Daisy any less, quite possibly even loves her more by the end of the series, but she also is just more... understanding and respectful of Daisy's autonomy and wishes. Like if Daisy were to die or sacrifice herself May would never recover, would be the last to leave the grave side. But at the same time she wouldn't risk every agent to save her, choosing instead to believe in Daisy's ability to beat the impossible like she's done time and time again. And I don't think she would have knocked Daisy out to drag her home when she was scared of ending the world. She would have stayed with her, and that would likely have been what twisted Daisy's arm to get her home. 'If you're going to be stupidly sacrificial and stay then so am I, because we're too alike. I know how you think and I know that's how to checkmate your self destructive impulses.'

I'm not saying one is morally better than the other, they're both just parents who love their kid and want to protect her. But Coulson, who's viewed by most people as essentially just some suit with a good heart, would order every man he commands to fight a suicide battle if it was the only way to keep Daisy alive. Meanwhile May would be first in line to fight that battle, and she would win! But she would never drag anyone else down. She's as practical and ruthless as Coulson, even more so sometimes. But having been the one to train Daisy, her protection comes in the form of unshakeable belief in the good Daisy is capable of, and a gentle but solid place to rest whenever things don't go as planned. If she thinks Daisy's making a mistake she'll say it to her face, but she's more... open, than Coulson is, to letting Daisy fumble around and find her own way. She'll still be there to beat up anyone that threatens her kid and offer wisdom in the aftermath, but it's less impulsive than Coulson.

Coulson idolizes Captain America as a hero for the same heroic traits he sees in May and Daisy. He believes that they are Special people, and they must go on even if he doesn't. But those very same traits that makes them so special in his eyes are what makes them feel like they have to be the one to jump on the grenade and protect their team, all while Coulson is trying to keep them as far away from the grenade as possible. And they both see a goodness in him and in each other that they don't believe they posses themselves. They're all somewhat correct and also all a little blinded by how much they love each other, but that's just how families are.

#aos #aos rambles #daisy johnson #phil coulson #melinda may #sousa says people like daisy should have someone there to pick them back up and I think it also applies to may #but I think coulson sees himself as the person who can pick them back up and also the person who can demolish the wall they're running at #without tearing himself down over it. he's the most cold blooded of the trio when it's His people #and Daisy and May will never see it that way because they ARE his people #it's different when it's your child or your parent or sibling in the firing line. Biological or not it just is.

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gotham-daydreams · 2 days

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Hi! I love your gothan platonic batfam series, but every time I read it I can't help but wonder what Duke's reaction to all this would be. He's one of my fave batfam characters, do you have any plans to add him in later chapters?

Just curious, no pressure. Hopefully I didn't come off as pushy. (sorry if i did)

Have a good day! <3

Hello! And you didn't come off as pushy, no worries :]

I'll be honest and admit that I have thought of adding Duke to the series- but if I was going to do that in a more organic manner, and just generally in a way that makes sense- that would've been in Chapter 2 or 3. Though trust me I am still debating... and the only reason I'm hesitating is because I don't think I'd be able to capture his personality, or really just him as a person very well.

Granted, I do inherently view yandere versions of characters as OOC for... various reasons (some of which are obvious, especially when it comes to the Batfam and DC characters in general), but I do try to keep very close to the character (or my general understanding and interpretation of them for things like DC, who have multiple canons and such) and write them in a way that does still compliment or adhere to parts of their personality or overall mindset... if only generally. Like Bruce and his closeness to those around them yet the distance he so desperately tries to keep - not for himself, but rather those around him. His strive for justice and to do good to make up for a sin, a fault that isn't his to forgive or one he hardly had anything to do with and so on. How that makes him inherently protective if only at a distance and in silence. How he tries to keep himself away from others, if only to protect them, and yet finds himself surrounded anyway. Etcetera etcetera.

Case and point- I don't have a really good graps of Duke's general character and aren't confident enough to write him into the Not Series at the moment- and by the time I do, it may feel shoehorned in and just not as great as it could be (even if a line I wrote in Chapter 1 was meant to be him..). Though I am learning more about him! And if anyone would like to share what they know and their interpretations of his character they have and such while I still have asks open, I'd love to read and see them :]

In future series', oneshots, and just general things I plan to post and share on this blog, Duke will very much make an appearance and we'll reach 10 yanderes for the Batfam instead of just 9. (Some series' which will definitely be longer than the Not Series.)

On that note, I have thought of how Duke would feel (and some others earlier on have asked a bit as well), and from the little I know of him, this is how I think at the moment he would generally react/feel (though it may be inaccurate and such because of what I mentioned previously 😅):

I think he would start out as one of the many others that actually live in the manor or just so happened to be there at the time — and that being he feels guilt first (unlike the only person in that house who doesn't/didn't) and just... wouldn't know what to do. The time passed and everything the reader has done sort of leaves him stumped, and just stuck processing until everyone's rushing out and around to find you and before he knows it- he's following out with them to do the exact same thing.

I think he leaves before everyone else, and considering that he does daytime patrol, it isn't as odd to see him out and about anyway. Though the frantic-ness of his movements and actions are weird, and for once, more outwardly, Duke panics.

He feels bad, of course he does, and more similarly to Cass- he can only wish that he could do things with out. That he wants to be in the room when you got your awards or had been there through the hardships he knows you undoubtedly faced without even having to see the medkit like Bruce does in Chapter 2. So he goes out to look for you, but not so much for your safety and more so to just... apologize. To say every little thing he can in hopes to make things better, to lessen the damage.

And of course, just to see you.

More than anything Duke wants to make it up to you right away, but has half a mind to know he'll have to take things slow. He's still sensible to some degree, if not only partially of half-insane just like the rest of the fam (minus a certain blonde and red head who are only a sliver of the way there), he knows it'll take time, that you probably won't forgive him right away. But that's okay! He can live with that, he understands that, but he just needs to see you. Just once- if only to see who you are now and the person you've become. If only to say an apology that might fall too flat or feel too empty considering the little he knows about you.

Just once. No matter how awkward it is or how much he regrets it later. Just once.

Though, despite that he is divided on bringing you home. It would be nice, sure, but by the time that discussion comes up he isn't sure that's the best idea. Even less so with how those that do want you home seem to want to go about it, and just generally the kind of people they are. Impulsive. Strong. Threatening- they'll scare you and do more damage then help ease tensions, and he doesn't want that to happen. You don't deserve that- even if he barely knows you. Duke can feel it, you don't. Even then, they help people out, not hurt them, not like they did with you.

Duke wants to spend time with you, but he's willing to do that outside of the manor if it means making you more comfortable and warm up to him a little more. As long as he sees you he can't complain...

So when Dick messes up, he's upset. Like everyone else besides Cassandra he doesn't know what happened but knows that something absolutely went wrong. Dick usually wasn't so obvious about things like that either, but with how hurt and just... broken he looks, they could all tell. Duke could tell.

Granted, he's not upset enough to change his mind, and if anything it definitely makes him more adamant about not bringing you home yet, but he can’t find it in himself to be fully against the idea, even then.

The one thing he wants to do after that, if anything, is more determined to make things right.

If Dick of all people couldn't make it up to you, then hell, maybe Duke can.

#talking daydreams #not series #platonic yandere batfam #yandere duke thomas #yandere batfam #yandere dc

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cael9m · 2 days

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FRANK A. IERO "YOUR FACE IS ALL I NEED TO STAY SANE."

it’s your city, i wanna be yours too.

summary: it’s late. its night. its new jersey. you’re in franks car because its romantic with a view of the city.

ⓘ gn! reader, not proofread, reader is from sf, 0.3k words

“ok, maybe i see why you like new jersey so much.”

you're in frank's hoodie, the ac is on anyway. your favorite cd is playing in the car's speaker, softly in the background so you can still hear his voice, and this is your peace. you look over at him, sighing out this defeat and waiting for his stupid laugh. "yes! i told you!" he giggles. "everyone sees it eventually." he points a finger with the same hand he holds his cup of coffee.

"keep it up and im taking it back." you roll your eyes, shaking your knee as your legs rest on his dashboard with your feet kicked up, boots on display. "i mean, who doesn't like a view of the city?"

"sure, bud. talk all the shit you want." he turns to you in this teasing way, scrunching his nose. there's a playful gasp, swatting his bicep. "you know what, it's actually not all that." you mutter into your can of arizona tea. immediately, frank sits up. "you can't take it back, you already said it!" his torso is completely turned.

"i can do whatever the fuck i want." you laugh, tickled at his reaction. the mood dies down after a bit, you both settle into the sounds of belleville. "it is pretty, though." you reclaim in this serious whisper. "i know." he sighs back.

"i wish you could see san francisco like this, though." you fix your throat and your posture. "all pretty and shit, i'd take you to see the golden gate, or downtown, or the pier." "yeah?" his voice is low and distracted, though you have his full attention. "mhm." you happily hum back.

"you'd take me to 'cali?" he asks with a smile, his winning smile, and turns over to you. "i'd take you anywhere." you're already looking at him.

you smile at each other for a minute, before he leans in, and you match him. it's all perfect, and you can't help but focus on the beat of you heart. you love everything so much. you love how his cologne fills you up, you love the warmth despite the windows down, you love the taste of your tea still lingering, you love the shitty lighting of the street lamp above, and you know you can learn to love this town.

#frank iero #frank iero x reader #frank iero x gn reader #mcr x reader #mcr #my chemical romance #danger days #black parade #three cheers for sweet revenge #i brought you my bullets you brought me your love #aesthetic #<3 #gerard way #Mikey way #ray toro

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sonkitty · 3 days

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Crowley S2 Hair Post #34

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 3, I Know Where I'm Going, Keys

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are still short. The previous scene mostly provided a view of the left sideburn. This scene mostly provides a view of the right sideburn.

This scene is the second and last of the two in this private room with Aziraphale. As my theory goes, the sideburns are shorter here because of Crowley's and Aziraphale's relationship being very similar to human partners.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

Most of the camera work shows Crowley's right side for the hair. As such, there are not many cuts to look for the more saturated red streak of hair.

But the streak is playing games with us this round, for anyone looking for it.

The streak makes itself known when Crowley talks about the miracle measurement based on how many people could have been brought back from the dead. Then it is one evident streak where the top front hair is splitting. The streak is with the batch of hair to Crowley's left near his part.

The conversation moves on. Then when Crowley talks about getting Nina to do the love thing with Maggie, the streak is actually two streaks. One is where it is but not as saturated in its red. The other streak is with the batch of hair tilting to the right, still generally above Crowley's left eye. It's also not as saturated in red as the earlier version.

When Crowley reluctantly reaches into what is probably a pocket to get the keys, the stronger saturation for where the streaks should be are gone though the hair is at least a little lighter in color. The hair generally stays that way for the rest of the scene.

...

I have mentioned a theory that doesn't quite fit that the streak is an after-effect of a Big Miracle from the first draft or an earlier draft of the story that put the Book of Life into the matchbox. This scene making the streak definitely at its strongest visibility when talking about the miracle looks like the story is indeed hinting that the streak is at least related to the miracle to hide Gabriel where I speculated the characters tricked themselves into setting the alarms off in Heaven.

Another theory I have is that the streak is a result of the lightning in episode 1 even though it was visible for so much of the chronologically given story before the lightning ever shot out.

It's the same issue with the Big Miracle idea. Maybe things can change retroactively, at least in some scenes, or it's the blend of the two or more theoretical drafts of the story.

...

Hairstyle Changes

In the cuts that do not involve the camera seeing Crowley from the door to the room, Crowley's hair is stronger in saturation, especially to Crowley's right. The lighting in general favors his right. The top hair sweeps in more with a curl upward. Above Crowley's left area of his left eye and near his part for his hair, this top hair splits with only some in the front tilting more strongly to Crowley's right. That way, some darker hair behind it is still visible. The hair that stays closer to the left is the hair that briefly gets that brighter red streak.

Additionally, on the right side of Crowley's head, at least two tendrils take shape that curl downward, then upward.

The hair is darker and lacking in saturation for the cuts where the camera sees Crowley from the door to the room.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects | Earthly Objects Study - Crowley's Sunglasses)

If you've read Part 2 of my Earthly Objects posts, a lot of the below is going to be very familiar with the main edit being that I am paying attention to the pockets Crowley makes with his left arm and when the Tied Hands are visible. Skip ahead if you like.

A fascinating example I've found of rule-following by Crowley and Aziraphale is when Muriel intrudes on them. I can’t fully explain the mechanics of the rules because like I said, I really do think Crowley is an expert at this game. Whatever is happening here is advanced stuff. I'm going to walk you through what he does to get this scene where it needs to go. He does it with style.

Before Muriel intrudes, Aziraphale had already made sure to have a cup of tea visibly touching his hands to start the scene in the room. Crowley poses to indicate he is touching a blurred stack of books in the room, even if Aziraphale's body obscures confirmation of that touch while Aziraphale closes the door. Crowley's left arm is shown as him placing a hand on his hip.

That pose creates a pocket with the left arm and torso. Crowley's legs make a pocket between themselves and the bottom of the screen. Both tie strands are visible, including to their tassels. Once that door is closed, the tie claps and tassels of the tie will not be visible until Crowley is about to hand over the keys. His Tied Hands might even retie when he's doing that. Next is the cut where Muriel's back is shown, looking in on the room; the Tied Hands are visible then too.

During Crowley's and Aziraphale's conversation, Crowley's right arm keeps telling us he's still touching that stack and not moving away from it. Blurs, I believe at this point, allow a pass, and so this one seems to be allowing some kind of pass and then hold so long as Crowley keeps at it.

The story lets him without confirming that is the touch on camera. We are never going to see that confirmation. He displays his left arm and even says, "One fabulous kiss, and we're good," as if that's a clue he is allowed that one time to show that one arm until a certain thing is going to happen. The number could be a dialogue point in whatever is happening here. That left arm returns to implying its previous touch as well.

Crowley has an earthly object prepared for the scene. He fully intends to give over those keys despite his grumbling. It might be very important that the car keys earn a specific point because they move the story along.

Ready for the pass, he has those keys in his left hand, skin contact and all, perhaps a little blurry on a camera from behind him, but still, he's got them.

Muriel opens the door, crosses past the threshold of this private conversation, and says, "All done?" No earthly objects. No hello. No knocking. We have an outright intrusion here! At least there was a question, but it might not have been enough due to what Crowley does.

Crowley pulls the keys back toward himself immediately. From the view behind Muriel, his pose is returned to match what it was when Aziraphale closed the door at the start of the scene even though Muriel's blocking the blurred stack of books. The left arm pocket is not clearly shown from behind Muriel, but preceding cuts made sure it was known to be there.

Aziraphale's frustrated because of the rules. Crowley is going to do several things to handle this situation.

First, Crowley smiles and answers Muriel, then asks Muriel about being interested in humans being in love. That’s a question. Then he even stops Muriel from saying names. He's saying the names himself, so his implied hold with both arms might be allowing him to keep dragging out a lot of the dialogue until he gets what he wants. Assuredly, Aziraphale seeming to get quite turned on by this talk is about the love, but he's also watching the master of this game at work.

Eventually, Muriel brings out a notepad and pen. That's two earthly objects. Between both Muriel and Crowley, that interaction meets the requirements, regardless of the initiating question from the whole intrusion. Aziraphale has kept quiet the whole time though he at least smiles. Crowley's left arm readies itself for what comes next. His right arm is still implying the touch behind him.

Muriel's eyes move their attention from Crowley to the notepad. Spanning only a few frames after this shift, Crowley's blurred hand shows the keys for the touch and tosses the keys toward Aziraphale. Without checking frame by frame, it looks instant based on the notepad, not the eye movement from Muriel. He knew exactly what he was doing. There is a slight possibility that secretly trusted friend Muriel was actually giving him a cue, but I lean more toward that not happening myself. However, I do have an overall bias toward Crowley.

Aziraphale manages the catch, thankfully. You can tell he was nervous and is grateful. He winks. That gives one point to him for the keys in his hand and another point for the wink as a self-touch since he’s a supernatural being holding an earthly object. The pair need one last point.

Muriel's attention remains on their notepad for the entire toss.

Crowley's right arm maintains its implied touch throughout the entire scene, even after the toss is done. He does one last thing to close it all out. He gives a sour grimace to allow his cheeks an active touch on his new sunglasses. At least, I think that's how the sequence is intended to be.

So, my current guess is that the scene is three different interactions. The first is between Aziraphale and Crowley. They already had their points but the story doesn’t want just points (or, as noted, the implied touch may have allowed some kind of hold). Those keys needed a relevant pass between these two players. Muriel’s intrusion reset things, so that another interaction of three points between Crowley and Aziraphale was necessary.

Crowley takes over to be the one character to interact with Muriel, get them their own points without involving the keys in this intentionally isolated interaction. His precise timing is impressive. Then there’s the third sequence covered above (keys, wink, grimace). To help keep these interactions separate, Muriel should not see the pass.

Now that I suspect Crowley and Muriel are actually friends, the intrusion itself might have accomplished something I will never truly understand.

...

Muriel is pocketed between the shoulder-angel and shoulder-demon when looking into the room. They make little pockets with their arms for that part too.

Muriel uses an actual jacket pocket to get their notepad.

...

Story Commentary

The story did not show a night pass between Episode 2 and Episode 3. For me, I would guess it's a new day because Crowley's stopped wearing his turtleneck even though he can manifest it or stop manifesting it whenever he wants. Otherwise, if one bothers with the clocks and the sunlight, that also hints that the day has changed. Another eventual hint is Nina's clothing has changed.

Even though this room is the most private setting we know of for Crowley and Aziraphale, Aziraphale makes a point of using the name "Jim" instead of "Gabriel," whereas he was perfectly fine with saying "Gabriel" out in the street in episode 2.

Aziraphale saying he told Gabriel that bookshops are always closed on a Wednesday then implies this given day is Wednesday. That action helps ensure, intentionally or not, that Muriel and Gabriel continue having no visible interaction during the story.

Crowley has his third of three scenes mentioning "train," meeting a Rule of Three even though the word is said 4 times total. The word "train" and these complaints will not be said again.

This scene has Crowley emphasize, "We humans of Earth..." as part of the context that allows the short sideburns and the face touch to the sunglasses.

It's also a general clue that the sideburns are short based on "human" context, such as the nature of his relationship with Aziraphale and that Muriel entered the bookshop with the literal word itself.

When Crowley says, "waiting for a few days," his left eye is more visible than usual from the given angle with the new sunglasses. He's either giving Muriel a clue that they have to wait for the two of them to meet up again later or is using the power of suggestion—not quite as strong as compelling—for Muriel to wait on researching human love.

Even though we'll see that Muriel questions Nina after this scene, they will actually relay what Crowley told them ("waiting a few days because humans are weird, and that's how it works") instead of how their actual interaction with Nina went.

I really like this scene.

...

Muriel

This scene with the keys is the front bookend to the Muriel scene with Nina. Aziraphale's scene with the car is the back bookend to this scene with Muriel.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

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Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

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