#I mean they won't because they're cowards but what! IF!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brackenfur · 29 days

Text

okay so i kind of.......wrote a lot more than i really intended to, but long story short - years ago i had this headcanon/au of sorts that birchpaw/fall saw ashfur and hawkfrost at the lake together, standing over firestar. mostly because when you squint at that whole sequence it kinda doesnt add up in canon, but its not canon that birchfall saw anything - it's just me taking this what if scenario and expanding on a side character

anyways this was kinda a quick project so its not perfect buuuuuut i wrote something so ! enjoy :)

birchpaw is back at camp doing everything he can to avoid the worried looks of his clanmates when his mentor stops him.

"hey, birchpaw," the fur on the back of birchpaw's neck stands up, and he slowly turns to the other tomcat. "are you okay?"

birchpaw does the best he can to keep the nervousness out of his voice as he answers: "i'm fine, ashfur. really. i- uh, i mean, i really just wish i had...been faster, that i had..."

he can't look at ashfur's face. not now, maybe not ever again. he knows that as soon as he meets his eyes, he won't be able to stop asking questions:

what were you doing with a riverclan cat? why didn't you help firestar? did the other cat threaten you? did you-

"you did the best you could, birchpaw," ashfur tells him gently; he pauses, flicking his tail-tip, before murmuring: "come on, let's go over to the apprentice's den to talk. i can tell you're shaken up."

and you're not, birchpaw wants to say, but he's a coward. this is his uncle, his mother's twin, and he doesn't really know what he saw, anyways. maybe ashfur had been standing there, sure. and maybe firestar had been clearly injured, clearly dying - well, ashfur isn't a medicine cat. he couldn't have known that, even if birchpaw had been making a lucky guess. but maybe hawkfrost threatened him, or maybe he lied to him-

you don't believe that at all, he thinks.

but he follows his uncle all the same to the apprentice's den; whitepaw is comforting her father at the medicine cat den while leafpool treats firestar's wound. no one is around - they're all either out searching the territory to make sure hawkfrost didn't have any accomplices, or with firestar's family on the other side of camp.

"you did the best you could to get help as soon as possible, birchpaw," ashfur tells him softly; birchpaw is staring at the grass between his paws, not looking at the other tom. "everyone knows that. i'm sure firestar does, too."

"right."

"but i could scent your fear-scent," ashfur continues, "and it does seem like you didn't go straight back to camp after telling firestar about blackstar. why?"

birchpaw's whiskers quiver. he shouldn't be scared - if anything, ashfur should be worried. he's the one who didn't do enough to help.

but the look in ashfur's eyes. the blank, distant stare as he watched firestar gurgle at his paws.

even the badgers didn't look at sootfur like that after they killed him, birchpaw remembers.

"i....," birchpaw's voice wobbles. "i thought i scented another cat, and i was worried," he clears his throat, trying to stop the shakes, "about you. i thought- i thought maybe you were...in trouble, and i...."

ashfur is quiet for a long time; if birchpaw wasn't so scared - why should i be scared? he's my uncle and my mentor, he wouldn't....he'd never.... - he'd look up, joke with him. pretend like it's all a big joke.

but those eyes. that look. the sounds firestar was making.

"so you didn't go straight back to camp," ashfur says with a disappointed sigh, "and firestar lost a life."

birchpaw's heartbeat skips. his paws shake. "wait," he says, his voice becoming shrill. he doesn't want anyone else to hear, but- what ashfur's saying, it's not...that's not right. that's not how it went. "wait, i- i did go back, as fast as i could, and i told squirrelflight-"

"you waited to tell her, you mean," ashfur tells him, frowning. "and he lost a life because he lost too much blood."

"but i didn't....i'd never..."

"it probably wasn't your intention," ashfur murmurs. "but that's how it happened. what if it was his last life? firestar and i trusted you to do one simple task, and you couldn't do that. you can't even look your uncle in the eye when he's talking to you."

birchpaw quivers as he slowly lifts his eyes to look into his uncles. ashfur's dark blue eyes stare back at him, just as emotionless as they did hours before.

"that's better," ashfur tells him, but it doesn't feel better. all of this is wrong.

"i was just trying to help," birchpaw whispers. "i didn't....i saw..."

"what did you see?" ashfur asks him, with a tone that birchpaw's never heard him use before: it's low, angry.

it's terrifying.

"um," birchpaw stutters. "i don't- i don't know. i don't know what i saw."

i saw you. i saw you and hawkfrost.

"if you don't even know what you saw," ashfur says slowly, "then maybe you shouldn't say anything. not to me, or to your mother. not to firestar."

birchpaw slowly lowers his gaze. how did today end up like this?

"you didn't see anything out there, birchpaw," ashfur continues. "you're an apprentice - you don't know your left paw from your right paw."

"okay."

ashfur stares at him for a long moment, sighing. "i'm not trying to scare you, birchpaw," he murmurs, "but i don't want you to get in trouble for firestar losing his life. sometimes we make mistakes; i don't want this one to be the defining moment of your apprenticehood."

shame burns through birchpaw - shame that he can't stand up to his uncle and tell him that this is all wrong.

but more shame that there's a part of him, deep down, that knows ashfur is right. if birchpaw had been quick enough, firestar wouldn't have lost a life. hawkfrost would've been stopped quicker.

and maybe....maybe ashfur was just trying to help firestar. maybe in some way, he's embarrassed because he couldn't help him, either. is that what this is about? trying to save face, because brambleclaw once again saved the day when ashfur couldn't?

"i want to be a good apprentice."

"and i'll help you do that," ashfur tells him, his voice becoming warmer. "and we'll start by making sure that today stays behind us, forever. okay?"

"okay."

it doesn't feel okay.

the rest of his apprenticeship goes by largely uneventfully. ashfur isn't exactly the same as before he and squirrelflight drifted apart, but he never speaks to birchpaw the way that he did the day firestar was injured.

he becomes a warrior by the name of birchfall. he makes friends, falls into an easy routine. he even still spends time with his uncle - with each passing day, the events from that afternoon become a faded memory. sometimes it plays out differently in his mind - there's days where he thinks he did see ashfur try and help firestar. where he heard him tell hawkfrost to go away.

(and maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it was back then if the memory keeps changing. if it really was so awful, wouldn't it be the same? was he just trying to make ashfur out to be a bad cat?)

everything in thunderclan is mostly calm, until ashfur gets lionpaw as an apprentice.

he's heard cats joke about being jealous when their old mentor gets another apprentice - how it's weird, seeing the cat who taught you everything teaching someone else the same things, telling the same jokes.

he's still ashfur's nephew, so he knows that his former mentor still holds a special place in his heart for him - but it's not exactly that jealousy that other cats talk about that he feels towards lionpaw.

he feels...strange, seeing them together; there's this weird fluttering feeling he gets when he catches ashfur's expression as lionpaw walks away from him.

sometimes he can hear a voice in the back of his mind, screaming at him to go and get between the two of them. to protect lionpaw.

but ashfur....well, it's ashfur. outside of that one afternoon moons before, he's a normal warrior. he wouldn't...

so birchfall does what he did over a year prior; he buries the feelings. he can't trust his eyes - that's what ashfur told him before. he doesn't know his left paw from his right paw.

(except that he's a warrior now, and a damn good one, so why-)

that changes one day, when the talk of thunderclan is how lionpaw and ashfur got into this huge fight - claws drawn, teeth bared. ashfur scratched up pretty badly, spiderleg had told him, shaking his head.

i knew that was going to happen, he's not a medicine cat or particularly gifted, but he knew. he knew, he knew, he knew, he knew.

i knew he was going to hurt him, birchfall watches as lionpaw trudges into camp, surprisingly fine physcially - ashfur is the one with the injuries, blood dripping on the camp floor as he trudges to leafpool's den.

lionpaw is standing there after all is said and done, after cats talk to him to ask him if he's okay. standing there in the center of camp, alone.

birchfall is only foxlengths from him, watching, and the thought slips into his mind easily: i should tell him that i know what ashfur is really like. that i saw the same look in his eyes that he probably saw. that he watched firestar die inches from his paws and did nothing to help him.

he almost does it, too. the memories from that day come back, flooding his vision - ashfur's dark expression. the white flash of hawkfrost's teeth. firestar's gurgles.

i'm so sorry, firestar.

"why are you staring at me?"

birchfall snaps out of it quickly; lionpaw is staring at him, amber eyes narrowed.

"what?" birchfall blinks. "i wasn't staring at you."

"yeah, you were," lionpaw tells him, shaking his head. "weirdo." lionpaw hisses under his breath.

and before birchfall can say anything, do anything, hollypaw and cinderpaw bound up to him to talk to him, stealing the moment away.

birchfall watches the apprentices for a couple more seconds before he turns away.

he didn't see anything that day. it's his fault that firestar lost a life, anyways. that's all anyone would be able to see - firestar is one pawstep closer to being gone forever because of him.

birchfall keeps his word for the moons to come; lionblaze becomes a warrior with hollyleaf and cinderheart. whitewing - his longest friend, the molly who withheld her warrior ceremony for him, just so he wouldn't be alone,

(and was there for him on the nights when all he dreamt of was the lakeshore, never asking him what woke him up shaking)

well, they become closer and closer until they're not really just friends anymore, and one morning she bounds up to him to tell him that she's carrying his kits. that leafpool had just told her moments before, and she couldn't wait to find him.

and it finally feels like maybe birchfall is at peace - maybe starclan isn't angry with him after all. maybe that one thing that birchfall didn't do years ago - it'll be okay. firestar is alive and happy, with grandchildren now.

the fire rages through thunderclan not long after, but thankfully there's no casualities - he grew up hearing the stories of the one from years ago, back in the old territory before he was born, and he's glad that everyone was okay this time.

well.

he heard berrynose say that everyone had been looking for squirrelflight, her kits, and ashfur for awhile - that ashfur had turned up, laughing. he wouldn't say what was so funny, though.

he didn't think much of it, until he saw the way ashfur was acting after the fire. the way he leered after squirrelflight and her kits; hollyleaf's eyes glaring back in defiance, lionblaze's hackles raised, jayfeather's avoidance.

i don't want any part in this, he thinks, focusing on whitewing and their future together. i didn't see anything. i don't know anything. ashfur isn't dangerous.

he repeats the mantra more often than he'd like; at night, he dreams of the lakeshore for the first time in years and wakes up shuddering against spiderleg's side. his older brother shakes him off, confused, but birchfall can't meet his gaze, or anyone elses.

i didn't see anything. i didn't see anything. i didn't-

and then just like that, one day ashfur is found dead on their territory.

someone said that a patrol found him in a river, throat torn out.

it doesn't feel real to birchfall until he sees his uncles body laid out in the center of camp, with ferncloud's muzzle pressed into his fur.

that's my uncle, he thinks as he watches spiderleg lead icepaw and foxpaw to their mother, trying to comfort her. he was my mentor.

you don't know what you saw. it's ashfur's voice, clear as day in his mind as he watches his clanmates gather around the tomcat. you don't know your left paw from your right paw. you're just an apprentice; how can anyone trust you after what you did?

firestar walks over to ferncloud and dustpelt, murmuring a few kind words to them. birchfall can hear his leader's voice carrying over the wind, mentioning something about dogs, about bravery.

he watched you lose a life, birchfall wants to scream, but he can't move. he stood there and watched you gargle for breath and did nothing.

birchfall shuts his eyes. no. no, it was because of me, because i decided to take too long to go back to camp, his mind can't decide what's right or wrong. it's my fault, that's what....that's what ashfur says, and...and now he's dead, so....

"birchfall," whitewing's voice is soft; he jolts, eyes wide as he looks at his mate. she leans against him, whiskers drooping. "this is so sad. i mean....ashfur, i just- i just talked to him yesterday. he was asking me about the kits, if i was feeling okay..."

you wouldn't want to be with me if you knew what i did, ashfur had never threatened him after that day, but birchfall knew that was what his uncle was conveying to him every time they talked after that day. that he could tell everyone, and everyone would know it was birchfall's fault that firestar lost a life.

or....or wait, maybe that wasn't right. not anymore.

maybe he should blame himself for not saying anything all these years. he could've told firestar and had ashfur punished, and he didn't.

the realization burns deep in his chest; he can barely register what whitewing is saying.

ashfur knew that if you said something, any cat could probably figure out that something about his story didn't add up, birchfall thinks, his heart thudding. and you were just too stupid to realize you could have said something years ago.

"birchfall?" whitewing says, frowning. "hey, birchfall. are you okay?"

birchfall's fur raises. "i'm okay," he tells her, taking a deep breath. "all things....you know, considering, i..." he shakes his head. "i'm gonna get some air, okay?"

whitewing touches her nose to his. "i'm here, you know that, right? i've been here for you since we were 'paws."

that stings more. i could have told you years ago, birchfall touches his nose back to hers, and turns away. i can't say anything now. she'd never trust me again, i kept this secret from everyone because i was too scared of my uncle. and now he's dead, and now....

birchfall resigns himself not to think about it anymore. he can't.

he can't. he won't.

after his daughters are born, birchfall wants this to be his new purpose in life.

forget about the lakeshore. the foxtrap. hawkfrost. ashfur. firestar is fine now; thunderclan is fine. sure, maybe there's been some earth-shattering secrets that have been revealed, but- all in all, they're mostly fine.

ivypaw and dovepaw mean the world to him; he can't imagine being without them.

he looks at them and wants to do right by them; they'll never know the fear he's carried for all this time, the same.

he'll teach them to say something if they see something; to be outspoken, brave.

but he can barely keep his head above water; it started when he met a cat from the dark forest one night. who promised him that he could make up for the mistake he made years ago; that he could do right by firestar. by thunderclan.

he trains every night but it doesn't make the shame go away. it won't scrub off after he bathes himself. nothing works.

it's not until the wall is lifted over his eyes - after his daughter, ivypool, a warrior grown - tells him what the true intention of the dark forest was.

all the moons he spent there, training, trying to prove that he could make up for what he did - gone.

and after the battle with the dark forest, both his mother and firestar are dead - killed by the cats that birchfall wanted to impress. wanted to show that he could be better, that he could be stronger.

how did everything go so wrong? he thinks as he watches his father crouched over his mother. dustpelt won't even look at him; he doesn't know about firestar, but he knows about the dark forest. and he hates him - despises him for training with the cats who are responsible for ferncloud's death.

he's right.

"birchfall," whitewing's voice jolts him out of his thoughts. "please. i want to talk."

it was inevitable - he knows that it's over between them at this point. he follows her out of camp regardless, deep into the territory. there's birds in the trees, chirping quietly amongst themselves, and everything is in bloom, yet nothing is beautiful to him at this moment.

whitewing turns to face him, her green eyes sad. "can you just tell me why?"

birchfal looks down at his paws, just like he did years before when ashfur told him to keep quiet.

"i'm sorry," he tells her, and she scoffs.

"i'm sorry isn't an explanation," she meows. "just....why, birchfall? why would you train with cats like that? and why- our daughter was there too, why wouldn't you try and convince her not to? what's wrong with you?"

i'm a coward.

"that's still not an answer," he hadn't realized he said it aloud. he finally looks up at his mate - probably soon to be ex-mate. "you need to talk to me. you're not a 'paw anymore."

and for some reason that burns more than anything else.

you're not a 'paw. you should have said something. you should have told everyone what you saw. and you didn't. it's your fault. all your fault. everything-

"i need to tell you something," he finally says; the story is bubbling at the surface. ashfur is long dead. firestar is dead. his family hates him. whitewing is going to leave him anyway; what else does he have to lose? brambleclaw might exile him, might not; he might not care what birchfall does.

whitewing is silent; birchfall opens and shuts his mouth a few times, trying to find the words, until he meows:

"i saw what happened to firestar on the lakeshore, that day when hawkfrost from riverclan died."

whitewing frowns; she looks taken aback, and blinks a few times.

"i....ashfur...he told me that he scented blackstar on our territory," the memory comes back hazy at first, but starts to clear as he goes on: "he said to tell firestar about it. i did, but....a few minutes later when i was heading back, i could scent another cat. and i remembered ashfur was out there, and i was worried for him, so i followed him and the other cat so i could protect him. and..."

the gurgling. the look on ashfur's eyes. the sound of the water lapping at the shore.

"ashfur was standing with hawkfrost over firestar's body. he was caught in the foxtrap and....ashfur, he...." birchfall shuts his eyes. "you should've seen how he looked. he didn't care at all that firestar was dying. i ran away, i didn't....i didn't know what to do. i thought maybe i didn't see anything at all, so i just told squirrelflight what ashfur had said about blackstar when i saw her. i thought....i thought maybe if she caught ashfur and hawkfrost, it'd....she'd know what to do, more than i would....."

birchfall stares at his paws. "when i got back to camp and brambleclaw had killed hawkfrost, ashfur told me....he said i didn't see anything, and it was easier to pretend i didn't see anything. and he was...he was right - i should've just gone back to camp right away. i should've just done the right thing, not been a stupid 'paw. i should've...it's my fault that firestar lost a life. he'd still be here right now if i just had listened back then, 'cus he'd have an extra life, and..."

birchfall trails off, shaking. "so that's...that's why i wanted to train at the dark forest. because i let firestar down. because i didn't say anything all these years, and i should've....i mean, what if ashfur had hurt someone else? and i just sat there and let it happen."

it takes him a moment after everything spills out to realize that whitewing is very quiet; he finally looks up at his mate.

she looks so sad watching him; and there's a bit of anger in there, too.

"he threatened you?" whitewing finally says; birchfall winces.

"i don't....maybe, it doesn't really matter."

"you were his apprentice and his nephew," whitewing tells him firmly. "of course it matters. he knew he was manipulating you, and that you just wanted to please him, so you'd do anything to make sure you wouldn't make trouble."

whitewing's tail lashes, and she shakes his head. "that- i can't believe he did that to you, that he made you think...."

"whitewing, it's-"

"it's not your fault, birchfall," her voice is gentle, yet he can tell she's holding back so much rage, rage for ashfur, pain for firestar's death. "if you really think for one second that you have anything to do with firestar laying in that clearing right now, you're completely wrong. that was tigerstar, first of all, and ashfur's fault years ago."

"but-"

"you went to help your mentor, and you were intimidated into keeping this a secret," she tells him, stepping closer. "and now you think that because you didn't say anything, that that's worse than what he did."

"i should have said something," birchfall tells her, harsher than he means to. "i mean - for starclan's sake, whitewing, i- i saw, and i didn't do anything. i'm no better than he is-"

"you are twice the cat that ashfur was," whitewing meows firmly. "and if i had even....if i saw him right now, i'd slash his ears for doing that to you."

whitewing shakes her head, looking at him. "all these years," she whispers, frowning, "all these years, and we- when you were in the apprentices den, having nightmares..."

"you couldn't have known," he mumbles. "i didn't tell you."

"and then....birchfall, i..." she presses her noses into his neck; birchfall is stiff from shock.

"i thought you were breaking up with me," he tells her, aghast; whitewing sucks in a breath, pulling away.

"what?"

"why not? after the dark forest, all of this...."

"i'm disappointed in you for training with the dark forest," she tells him softly. "but your mother is dead, and you....you've been holding this in for years, birchfall. i can put off asking you about the dark forest for awhile; i.....i didn't know. all these years, and i had no idea you were punishing yourself for ashfur's crimes."

when she puts it like that, a small - a tiny one, really, nothing huge - light begins to flick in his mind.

i've been punishing myself, he thinks, and it strangely makes a lot of sense - thinking about the lake all these years has felt like punishment. refusing to get close to firestar out of shame was his way of punishing himself, telling himself what he did was wrong.

"i don't know if i can tell anyone else," birchfall tells her in a whisper; whitewing nods, brushing her muzzle against his.

"that's okay," she meows, "because now i know, and now i can shoulder it with you."

"it's not a very romantic secret." he doesn't say it like a joke, but she still smiles a little.

"it's not," she shrugs. "but no one helped birchpaw back then; i'm here for you now."

#i ended it a little abruptly cus i just needed to finish it lolll #wc #shark noises #if it doesnt necessarily flow well im sorry its just a quick project

218 notes · View notes

neonscandal · 1 month

Text

Manga With Me: JJK 0, A Coward's Goodbye

Because these thoughts haunt me while I do my dishes, you have to suffer them too. The brain rot is so insidious, it seeps its way into the mundanity of my life and I've apparently managed to convert a few of you so, in case you missed it, let's talk about the final scene between Gojo and Geto in the JJK 0 movie.

This is the face of a man who thinks he's won the breakup.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: JJK 0 movie

I feel like I don't have to wax poetic about the details of the JJK 0 movie at this point for everyone to be on the same page. Subsequently, we can all agree on the following:

Gojo realized Geto's plan. 10 years means nothing when you know someone, apparently.

Upon learning of Yuta's lineage and, subsequently, what limits he could potentially surpass, he made a calculated risk and sent Panda and Toge in rather than facing Geto himself. You know, for Yuta's character development.

At the close of their fight and upon the safe escape of Geto’s family, Gojo finds him in the alley. Suggests in equal measure that he could have gone to him at any time in the last 10 years the way he clearly has an AirTag on that ass (and the way he quickly located Riko Amanai post-Toji fight...).

Geto articulates that Gojo intentionally sent Toge and Panda in to trigger Yuta's power up (see above re: 10 years means nothing) to which Gojo isn't exactly forthright in intimating that "it's called trust. People with beliefs like yours won't kill a young sorcerer without reason." to which we get the below panels:

One, the exchange over Yuta's ID. Even in this instance and with ten years of distance between them, they're still so silly. But from Geto's retort, we see that, while Gojo seems to speak broadly, Geto knows Gojo's generalization is meant to be received rather specifically. This leads us to this last panel:

... COULD HE NOT JUST HAVE SAID

"I NEVER HATED YOU."

- Suguru Geto

We KNOW Geto assumed that his defection was the end of their friendship. He had to believe there was no going back in order to propel himself forward. But how incredibly sad that, even at the imminent close of his life, he couldn't be honest or direct about his guilt or his affection?

So he died. Too proud to reconcile properly with Gojo. Sheepishly thinking Gojo had hated him during those ten years, barring whatever his censored last words may have been. It's something we don't see resolved until much, much later and only in what I assume to be the inner machinations of Gojo's head. Is that not devastating? Does this realization deserve a place on THE LIST!? Of course it does.

Friendly reminder that Gojo gets jump scared by Geto’s corpse in Shibuya where they recognize same-sex unions.

#manga with me #manga with me jjk #satosugu #we are the strongest #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #suguru geto #geto suguru #satosugu brainrot #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #stsg #satosugu angst #jjk brainrot #jjk angst #meta #jjk meta #satosugu meta

111 notes · View notes

redclercs · 11 months

Text

DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

iii. one for the money, two for the show.

— the one where you were never ready, so you watched him go.

warnings: war flashbacks to the miami gp, more insight into y/n (look i have to give a lot of context for my own sanity), not really proofread sorry, 2.4k words.

masterlist ✢ next

FROM “WHAT’S NEXT FOR AIDAN KIM?” POSTED IN THE US WEEKLY YOUTUBE CHANNEL MAY 2023

You are looking at the top comments.

aidanbabes nooo my baby😭 he looks so sad!

flowerbedkim I swear to god y/n better count her fucking days

halleyc don’t come at me but this sounds like he proposed

ynbby why is he talking about this though? y/n has been super private and he’s telling US WEEKLY THIS?

ynaidan i hate being a child of divorce😭

Miami, Florida May 6th

GRAND Prix number two with Elix, attempt number two by Mr. Stuart Schafer to get into your pants. Can it get any worse?

Yes, yes it can. Because as long as you have “a job” you don’t have to come to these sponsor events. Which sucks for you, not having an acting job for the moment has never felt more like a punishment from the universe.

Artists, from actors to singers are here promoting their gigs while all you do, again, is take pictures with men in jeans and loafers and try not to barf every time you consume Elix.

You’re watching your career crumble in front of your eyes and you can’t do anything to save it from burning when it hits the floor. Mildred has called you several times during the course of the weekend to inform you of canceled interviews, revoked invitations and “sorry we’re just looking for something else” calls from casting agents.

Part of you is in disbelief that a five minute interview from your ex-boyfriend is feeding the fire, part of you expected it all the same. Women are the preferred villain in the narrative, and if it means putting a man above them, the media has had the choice made for a while.

Did you really have it coming, though? There have been endless comments about how it was about time people realized the type of person you are.

But what are you? Who are you really?

You’re a coward. You tell that to yourself in the mirror first thing in the morning.

Many people have the luxury to say they can’t pinpoint the exact moment where they went wrong. You can’t afford the pleasure of such obliviousness, because the exact moment everything went wrong was when Aidan got down on one knee.

And when the question that left his lips went from "Will you marry me?" to "Why won't you?" You knew there was no turning back.

Marriage wasn’t a foreign concept to you, but while it is generally seen as a milestone, for you it was just another stepping stone. The roles of The Wife and The Mother were something you might eventually grow into, but on the night of your third anniversary, you realized you weren't even ready for that of The Fiancée.

Was it genuinely a surprise for Aidan that you had to close the velvet box he was holding in front of you, hiding the diamond ring from your sight, before he dropped his other knee to the ground and whispered 'Why?'

Never, in the three years you'd been together, had you seriously talked about marriage. It was another bridge you would cross once you got there, and in your mistaken calculations, you thought it would be around the time your relationship turned five. That's the limit for romantic relationships without a ring involved according to most women's magazines, and your own mom. At least neither know the ring was the cause of the breakup.

It's a little pathetic how lucky you consider yourself that the tabloids don't know you rejected an engagement. They're cruel enough as it is, things can only go further downhill, straight to hell.

"You good?"

Your best friend in the world, Victoria Presley, is able to join you in the VIP area of the Paddock thanks to a couple pictures on instagram where she tagged Elix. God bless the era of influencers. Or, family connections. Being the daughter of Sony Music executive Luke Presley and celebrity life coach Claire Walker can open many doors. Well it isn't Vic's fault being born into a rich and influential family, at least she's doing her own thing with her beauty products.

"Yes, I am," you shrug. Q3 is going on right now and although you try your best to keep your focus on the two red cars around the circuit, you find it hard to get out of your head. Plus it's so hot in here you feel sticky and gross.

"I lost you for a moment there," she insists, sipping her glass of champagne, the eyebrow raise she gives you after means she needs more info into what was going through your head just seconds ago.

"Not getting any call backs right now," you sigh, taking the flute from her although all it would take for you to get your own is a few steps. "I'm kind of frustrated."

"I'm sorry babe," Vic rubs your back, unbothered by your stealing. "You'll get something soon."

"And E! cancelled my interview, AND—"

Tires screech and an 'ooooh' goes through the grand stands before the screens show a red car embedded in the barriers. A groan of "It's Leclerc!" passes through the people around you in the VIP Lounge.

You grimace, focused on the circuit again as Charles leaves his car, shaking his arms before hitting the halo several times, frustrated.

"See everyone has bad streaks," Vic has gotten her own champagne again and is pointing to the screen, where the Ferrari driver is being followed on his way out. "It's his second crash, no?"

Other people's disgrace doesn't soothe your own, so you give Vic a stern look, causing her to shrug.

Q3 is done and Ferrari has mixed feelings about their two drivers' results. As for you, the faster you can get back to your hotel, the better.

─────────

Vic drags you to dinner with a couple of her influencer friends. Everyone and their mother is in attendance at Miami, and they’re here to have fun.

"They're here!" the girl to Vic's left whisper-yells, stretching her neck to look over at the entrance of the restaurant.

The place has been completely full the whole time you've been here, which has been a while, you're done with your dinner and have a few drinks on you, yet Vic has begged you twice to stay 'just a little longer'.

Of course Vic is having the time of her life, talking about promotion agreements and posting schedules, and although you hang out with lots of influencers and social media stars on your daily life, you're not clicking with any of them tonight. Have you become bitter? No, of course not.

"y/n knows them, she can just introduce us," another one giggles, and she cheers with her tequila sunrise to your own half-empty drink that's resting on the table.

"Hmm, what?" you chuckle, unsure of how you missed the part where you entered the story.

"The Ferrari Drivers," the first girl answers in that 'obviously' tone you hate when people use with you. "You're with Ferrari all the time lately, aren't you?"

"I'm with Elix," you clear up, best as you can as they're not really paying attention, their eyes following the group of men that are being escorted by a hostess to their table. "So you know, it's not really—"

"But you've met them,"

"Well, yes but..."

Yes but, you've seen them in scattered moments where they nod and smile at you passing by and the three times you've had to take pictures drinking Elix. You don't even get to the coworker level of knowing them.

"Well let's go!"

"Hold on Holly," Vic speaks up for the first time, "I mean, they literally just got here."

"Which is why we came here," Holly can't seem to get rid of that know-it-all tone, and it's frankly starting to annoy you even if she has a different target now.

It's time to use the angry eyes with Vic, again,in less than 24 hours. That's why she kept asking you to wait just a little longer.

"How did you know they'd be here?" you question, although you already know what a cleveage can do to get any information you want. Can't blame a girl for using her tools.

“I have my ways,” Holly says, and does in fact, fix her cleavage. Fair enough.

"Vic..." you whisper, as the rest of them regather in their own conversation. "What's happening?"

"I just– they said they really wanted to meet the Ferrari guys, y/n," Vic half whines. She's doing the most to impress the other girls, which is a very Vic thing to do, but still you don't like it. "And since you work with them, well it would be easier to approach them, right?"

Wrong.

"I- Vic, I don't work with these guys. We don't even work for the same people, and... it would be weird to approach them while they're trying to have dinner peacefully."

You are not a big fan of interruptions because you've heard enough of your coworkers talk about how annoying it is. As for yourself, sometimes you mind, sometimes you don't. It all depends.

You can barely distinguish their table with all the movement around the restaurant, but you manage a peek at Carlos' hair. Both of them are there, surrounded by a bunch of other Ferrari guys.

"So? Let's go," Holly is speaking again, downing the rest of her alcoholic Shirley Temple.

"I have to use the bathroom," you announce, dropping the napkin that covered your lap on the table.

"Right now?" the other girl—you feel guilty for not remembering her name— groans.

You refrain from replying, and try not to stomp to the bathroom like a toddler throwing a tantrum. If there’s anything that you hate is feeling used, and it hurts a lot more when it comes from Victoria.

It’s something else when she uses her doe-eyed stare and says “please, please, please” to get her way even with you, rather than set you up to impress her other friends.

You take your time to reapply lipstick in the bathroom and soothe your annoyance. You have told Vic before that she needs to ask for things, not just push you into awkward situations. At least she didn’t follow you to the restroom.

Taking a deep breath, you step out of the bathroom, wondering how to go on about this. It’s very likely that things get twisted and it is you who’ll look like she wants to brag about knowing the Ferrari guys, which you’re sure they’re used to—being bragged about. But you don’t want that.

There are many clichés that you have experienced, both as a character in RomComs where the biggest makeover that is done to your character is to apply a little mascara and remove the glasses (you hate that, what’s wrong with wearing glasses?). And in real life, with big romantic gestures like receiving a bouquet with a hundred roses and one is artificial… Blah blah.

This cliché is a little more ridiculous, though, as you crash into Charles Leclerc while leaving the restroom.

“Oh, sorry,” you half-smile back at him, he’s already smiling, showing dimples and everything. You see his appeal no matter how much you don’t want to notice it. Tall, green-blue eyes and those stupid dimples. Not to mention the fact that you suddenly find accents charming. Again, stupid.

“Hey y/n,” he says still smiling, “Did you just get here?”

“Uh, no actually we’re leaving in a few minutes,” you move out of the way of a lady that wants to get into the restroom, she eyes you both for a moment before continuing on her way.

“Are you here with your friends? Or is it with Elix?”

“My friends. Thank God I get to be away from Elix for a few hours.”

Charles chuckles and the moment runs long enough to become awkward. You’re still outside of the bathrooms and another guy has too given you an off look as he made his way inside.

"Let me walk you back to your table," Charles offers as a way of breaking the silence and you shake your head no.

"You don't have to, my friends are probably on the way out already, anyway."

Are you being selfish by keeping Vic's friends away from him? It doesn't matter to you, not really. But really a small part of you doesn't want things to go their way.

Charles doesn't listen to your refusal anyway, and asks you to lead the way with a gesture.

"I didn't see you at the Ferrari Suite after Quali," he mentions as he follows you a step behind.

"I was in the VIP Lounge with a friend," you explain, "I'll be at the Suite tomorrow, though."

You stop at your table, where the three girls are still doing their best to ogle at the Ferrari guys.

"Hey," you get their attention back and not one in the three of them even attempt to hide the pleasant surprise that Charles' presence gives them. "Are you ready to go?"

It's Vic's turn to give you a look. One that tells you to not be unfair, things have just started to go as they planned.

While you return the pointed look to Vic, Holly strikes a conversation with Charles. Lightning quick.

"Let's go," you repeat, "Gotta be up early tomorrow."

"Can we get a picture, though?" the other girl—lord, if you could remember her name you'd feel a little better —adds quickly.

"Do you mind?" you ask Charles before he can reply. You don't want to make a fuss and have half the restaurant acknowledging his presence and his disposition to take pictures and sign autographs while he's trying to have dinner.

"Not at all," he shakes his head and waits patiently for everyone to be camera-ready while you stare. "Aren't you getting in the picture?"

"I'll take it," you hold your hand out for an iPhone, and get Holly's bedazzled one. Charles frowns but you just say 'okay, ready?' before pointing the camera at them.

No one else argues the fact that you're not in the picture.

A chorus of 'thank you's' passes quickly as you return the iPhone and the three influencers start checking the picture. They're probably better photographers than you, you can accept that.

"So I'll see you tomorrow, y/n," Charles leans towards you, leaving the group to their own thing after he pleased their request. "Right?"

"I'll be the one drinking Elix," you joke, half-whining.

"I'll be the one in the red car," Charles jokes back, a wide smile spreading on his face.

You laugh, fighting against the sudden shyness caused by the familiarity.

"Goodnight," he calls quietly, and the girls wish him a goodnight and good luck for the race before he snakes through tables back to his friends.

Not another thank you is directed at you as your group leaves the restaurant to wait for the Uber back to the hotel.

─── team principal radio: ❝hello! thank you for reading! I'm really grateful for everyone who has interacted with this story, I hope you're enjoying it so far ♡❞

#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fanfic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagines #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #f1 x y/n #cl16 imagine #cl16 x reader #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 x you

690 notes · View notes

hopefullygettingtaller · 5 months

Text

When The Amazing Devil wrote "You will scream, 'I won't forget you' but I'll cover my cold ears, It cannot be a lie if no one hears. 'Cause although you say good day to me, I know I don't belong. And although you hold my hand and say I love you, you are wrong. 'Cause love does not exist in this garden, there's no feeling. And you say the words so often that I barely know the meaning. And when the flowers are rotten and all cannons shot, I'll scream but you won't hear, 'forget me not'" and when they said "Pray for me, oh children, pray for what I've done, I'll haunt the very wrinkles of your skin" and when they yelled "God made all man in his image, Honey I'm no man, I'm what's left when children go to war" and when they cried "The cracks you made, I filled with mortar, a broken pot can still hold water" and when they whispered "These hands are growing old, they're running out of things to hold" and when we all weeped with them "If I'm good will you come back, If I'm good will you come back to us" and when they scribbled "Let foul men band and heed your hum for that ancient hymn you heard me strumming's nought but fumble-falls and guns and tumbleweeds, love run. It's nought that rum won't solve though some would harm you, none, not one, no one would raise to you a hand nor thumb, not while by you, I stand and hum" and expected people to just go on about their days, and when they said "If I have to be who I was (You're not) Do I have to be who I am" and then they said "'Cause I will suffer silence for the strings you tune. And I'll withstand what's written for the writer in you. Write me well, my love, write me weird, write me willing, write me well." And when we all sang "Shoulder the sky (I can't wait to show you how much) Open those eyes (I know you can be, just let the rain come) There's a kind (Let the rain come down, darling) (Can't you hear it howling) Of calling" and when they made me freeze right where I stood with "Back then, I wasn't hopeful. But now my ink's blood red, not black. And I'll blink like ripping envelopes in the hopes that you'll write back" and BACK TO BACK they wrote "Cause I'm between that just-one-more and drank-too-much again" "And I promise you I'll write I love you with my fingers on your sleeping hand" "And when I think I'm fine you'll visit, and then you'll happen to me, happen to me all over again" and then had the audacity to say "And I'll sing silence, and ask my glass of wine for guidance. I might not make it tonight" and then "They'd paint your eyes with sunsets (my saints, my sigs, my upsets)" and ON TOP OF THAT "You're not a coward 'cause you cower. You're brave because they broke you, yet broken, still you breathe." AND SOMEHOW WROTE "'Cause I'm not trapped with you, you see. you're the one who's trapped with me." IN THE SAME FUCKING SONG ALONGSIDE "Sometimes I fall to pieces just to see what bits of me don't fit" then decided to break some hearts with "We didn't talk, we made universes out of bitten lips and broken hands. You said I love you less than when it all began, and I said fewer cause I make jokes to show how broken I really am" and then they were both the man their fathers never were and more than what their mums told them to be. And then there was the utter heartbreak of "If I don't make it back from where I've gone, just know I've loved you all along" being repeated for an entire outro. AND THEN THERE WAS "Remember me I ask, remember me I sing. Give me back my heart, you wingless thing." with "Think of all the horrors that I promised you I'd bring, I promised you, they'll sing of every time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child. Witness me old man I'm the wild." "How bold I was, could be, would be, still am. By God still am" AND THEN THE SHEER FORCE OF THE LINES "Welcome to the storm, I'm thunder. Welcome to my table bring your hunger"

AND EVERY TIME THEY COMPARED THEMSELVES TO THE SAINT OF THE PAINT THAT WAS LEFT IN THE POT, YOUR ANGEL ELLIPSIS, YOUR DEVIL OF DOTS, THE HEARTBREAK THAT ACHES FAR TOO MUCH TO BE SHUNNED, ALL THOSE LETTERS UNSENT, AND THAT GARDEN UNGROWN, THE CAPTAIN OF COURAGE THAT YOU'VE ETERNALLY LACKED AND THE JESUS OF WISHING TO CHRIST YOU'LL COME BACK AND SO. MUCH. MORE.

"This here is not make up, It's a porcelain tomb. And this here is not singing I'm just screaming in tune" ARE YOU KIDDING ME "You try so loud to love me, I cannot seem to hear" and "'Cause If we join our hands in prayer enough, to God I imagine it all starts to sound like applause" IN THE SAME ALBUM WITH "And these plates they smash like waves (place your hand in mine) And on the wind, it howls (how long can this last?)" AND "'Cause these plates, they smash like waves (Place your smile in mine) And the wine stains, hide the tears (Why stay? Hide the-) But that breathing you hear, don't mistake it with sighs. Don't you realize, they're just battle cries, my dear?" And then, when they said "And you, you follow philosophies, but me, I laugh, I choke. 'Well hello my hollow Holofernes' I wink but you don't get the joke" and while we were all busy processing, they reminded us "Your eyes aren't rivers there to weep, but a place for crows to rest their feet" AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON "I chipped my teeth on every joke you cracked" In this essay I will-

#the amazing devil #joey batey #madeleine hyland #I WILL FOREVER MOURN THE FACT THAT I CANNOT PROCESS THESE LYRICS AS WELL AS THEY DESERVE TO BE UNDERSTOOD BECAUSE I'M NOT A NATIVE SPEAKER #I AM NOT NORMAL ABOUT THIS #I CAN NEVER BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS #THE FACT THAT I WROTE MOST OF THESE FROM MEMORY

224 notes · View notes

rottenpumpkin13 · 2 months

Note

The Turks and SOLDIER now share an entire floor with each other, and their bosses (Rufus and Lazard) have offices on said floor. How "On Fire" is everything?

• Sephiroth and Tseng now share an office, something which Sephiroth only discovers when he arrives there at 6AM and finds the whole room rearranged.

Sephiroth: ....What have you done?

Tseng: Feng shui.

Sephiroth: Why was my desk replaced with a giant cat bed and a scratch tower?

Tseng: There was not enough enrichment in your enclosure.

Sephiroth: But—

*Tseng sprays him with water*

• Genesis is moving into a completely different office with Reno because the budget cuts are crazy.

Genesis: Oh no! The shelves won't have enough room for my limited edition copies of Loveless: The Screen Play and my 80s hyperpop records! Do you know what this means?

Reno: That the closet is made of glass.

• Zack ends up being the most bothered by all of this. He finds the Turks occupying the training room 24/7 and acting like they own the place completely ridiculous. Yet, his last straw is...

Zack: THAT'S IT! WHO ATE THE LAST ICE CREAM SANDWICH IN THE BREAK ROOM FREEZER!? HUH? SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD.

Rufus: I ate it. Is there a problem?

Zack: None at all!

Rufus: Really? You're turning blue.

Zack: My favorite color!

Rufus: If you have a problem with me eating the last ice cream sandwich, just say so.

Zack: I'm fine! Will you accompany me to the freezer for just one second?

• Meanwhile, Angeal has been put in charge of Dark Star and is walking her around while keeping an eye on the move.

Angeal: Isn't this such a nice day? Everyone's getting along so well.

*Genesis and Reno crash through the glass window of their office. They're on the ground choking each other*

Genesis: ADMIT IT! THAT BOX OF RED HAIR DYE IS YOURS!

Reno: NEVER! THE BOX WAS ON YOUR SIDE OF THE OFFICE! DOES MY HAIR LOOK FAKE TO YOU?

Genesis: YES!

Reno: YEAH, WELL AT LEAST MY HAIR ISN'T LIGHT BROWN AND I TELL EVERYONE IT'S RED!

Genesis: YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

*They get up and crash into the window of the next office*

Angeal: Come on Dark Star, let's go call the doctor.

*There's an explosion from within the office*

Angeal: And the fire department.

• Meanwhile, Lazard is frantically running around trying to find the culprit who locked Rufus in the break room freezer.

*He opens Sephiroth's office door*

Lazard: Sephiroth! Have you seen....

*Sephiroth is sprawled out in his giant cat bed playing with what looks like a sock of catnip*

Lazard: What are you doing??

Sephiroth: Enrichment.

#ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephiroth #ffvii crisis core #final fantasy vii #genesis rhapsodos #ff7 crisis core #angeal hewley #zack fair #lazard deusericus #tseng ff7 #reno ff7 #rufus shinra #storytime

121 notes · View notes

mackjlee9 · 1 year

Note

i must know..

nsfw alphabet..

yuji, megumi and gojo..

a, i, o, r

N$FW Alphabet Mini Event

(7/10)

Itadori Yuuji x Top!Male!Reader

Fushiguro Megumi x Top!Male!Reader

Gojo Satoru x Top!Male!Reader

A= Aftercare (what they're like after sex)

Yuuji| he is pretty chill, he can clean himself up while you fix the bed, however, he is a little tired and wants to sleep soon, so he does it haphazardly almost, so you have to clean him after he lays on the freshly changed sheets and he just lets you because he fell asleep instantly.

If it was something more rough, then yeah, you would have to take care of him, usually run him a bath and he'll be there silently, just soaking in the warm water until you come and wash his body gently, but yeah, he doesn't think he needs aftercare that often.

Megumi| a mess. His whole body trembling and he can barely keep his eyes open, tears still running down his face.

Megumi has a sensitive body so he always ends up fucked dumb, sometimes he even passes out from the overstimulation, so you clean him up, take care of his shaking body and hold him close after grabbing some water and painkillers in case he needs them when he wakes up.

He needs a lot of love and aftercare, so stroke his hair, wipe his tears, and place kisses on his eyelids, and he'll instantly cuddle up to you.

Gojo| he really thinks he can take care of himself, you look at him skeptically and sigh with a small smile when his wobbly legs fail to get him up from the bed.

Then he looks up at you with a cheeky smile and lifts his arms toward you, "could you pick me up?"

You do it without complaining and get him to sit on the bed while you prepare a bath for both of you to enjoy and relax in.

I= Intimacy (how are they during the moment?)

Yuuji| well... If Sukuna isn't being a little bitch, it tends to be more of a silly cute moment, Yuuji gets a little embarrassed when it comes to romance and fluffy stuff, so he's more comfortable when something funny happens and doesn't ruin the moment.

Megumi| he pretends to hate it, but when you're holding his body close to you and whispering praises to his ears, he can't help the whimper that escapes him as he holds you closer to him and doesn't let you go.

The moment is romantic in itself, even more when Megumi looks at you with teary eyes and tells you he loves you.

Gojo| I mean, it depends. This man likes to rile you up and tease you, so he's a little shit most of the day, and then you have to fuck the brat out of him.

But then there are times when Gojo is so sensitive and stimulated he just wants you to hold him gently, reassuring him that you love everything about him.

O= Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill)

Yuuji| he doesn't have good technique when giving, but he's eager to learn! So go easy on him until he's used to the feeling.

But he does enjoy receiving more for the time being, probably because his jaw hurts afterward, so does his throat and he tends to choke quite a bit.

Megumi| he gets so shy and whiny when you go down on him, so he rather give you a blowjob instead, it actually gets him so turned on since he has an oral fixation.

He will not gag, and he will take every drop of chm because he loves the way you taste.

Gojo| he loves both, so a 69 with Gojo is the best way of giving head and having you go down on him, so it's a win-win.

And you bet this man gives the best head known to nan, you could legit fuck his mouth like a flashlight and he will not even flinch.

R= Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks?)

Yuuji| maybe he'll take risks if Sukhna annoys him enough, mocking him that he's too much of a coward to have sex in such a public place. He'll take the risk, but he won't if you don't want to.

He's not too fond of experimenting unless he's interested, it'll take a long time to assure him that you'll stop the moment he doesn't like it anymore.

Megumi| not the riskiest guy, the farthest you've gone was fucking his thighs in a dark alley because of the effect a small curse had on you when you lowered your guard, that is as far as he's gotten risky.

Now... Experimenting? He loves it, he's willing to try anything as long as you're okay with it since he's the one suggesting new things every few weeks.

Gojo| he's a huge pervert on both of these.

The biggest risk was when he created a veil pretty small and had you fucking him in public, a pretty crowded place where there were always people around, and he loved the illusion of those civilians knowing what you were doing in such a place.

Always up to try something new, he likes the thrill that trying something new gives him, which has led him in developing quite a few kinks.

#.zeke~#.lee's mini event.#itadori yuuji x reader #itadori yuuji x male reader #fushiguro megumi x reader #fushiguro megumi x male reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x male reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen x male reader #male reader #reader insert #x reader

622 notes · View notes

sir-adamus · 7 months

Text

whenever i think of Ironwood's 'grand plan' after he gets spooked by a piece from a board game i always have to laugh because it was never gonna work, it was unsustainable from jump and only got progressively more unfeasible as volume 8 progressed

"we're going to use the staff to lift Atlas into the atmosphere where Grimm can't reach and leave everyone in Mantle to rot because if the poors didn't want to die they should've been born with money like the rest of us"

yeah cool bro, so given what we (finally) see of Atlas in volume 8 they've got some atmospheric control to accommodate for the temperature and presumably thinner air at the height Atlas is already floating at

and what powers that again? right, Dust. cos Dust powers everything

and you would have to assume that to maintain the current level of atmospheric control in a much higher altitude, that machinery would have to be cranked well the fuck up, which means more Dust is needed. and they can't mine for more because... they're up in the atmosphere, and their supply chain and underpaid exploited labourers got left to die on the ground

so power's gonna run out real fast and everyone's gonna suffocate and die slowly (guess Jimmy really wants to beat out Mountain Glenn on 'World's Largest Tomb')

but let's say by some miracle they do last longer than a week up there - food's gonna run out and they're not gonna be able to keep up supply and demand because they can't import any, supply chain is gone and they abandoned the rest of the planet to die to Salem. hell, water is gonna run out

and then the most ridiculous argument for the plan "Grimm can't fly that high". cos like. no. Grimm don't fly that high, because they don't need to. none of y'all were up there. just like none of y'all lived in the snowy tundras of the north so there weren't Grimm up there. until there were - funny how that works. and Salem's specifically been shown to be able to alter the Grimm without much issue - this wouldn't be a "one day the Grimm will adapt and fly that high" it's "give Salem maybe an hour and she'll make something that can get that high"

so yeah, the whole plan is stupid and it's basically just handing Salem the Staff because all she would have to do is wait out everyone dying from lack of air and then just going up there and taking the damn thing (and then dropping Atlas and causing mass devastation on a global scale)

and then volume 8 makes it worse - the shields go down and Monstra gets parked on Atlas. the plan was dead right there, she's already on the goddamn rock my dude - if you lift the rock now then she's still going to be on it and you will die even faster than you were already going to; like even after Oscar blew up Monstra and Salem was reforming, The Coward in Chief wasn't making any effort to scrape her off the side of Atlas before leaving, he just went back to making threats (which included the baffling logic of "Penny, unless you give yourself up now, i am going to blow up Mantle, and then you won't have any reason to not do what i say anymore anyway" as if Penny wouldn't have justifiable reason to decapitate him for doing that)

'the great general Ironwood' who grew up and came into power in peace time - strategically unsound, incapable of taking criticism and dumber than a bag of hammers

what a hero

#RWBY #if there's a lesson to be learned from this #it's that Jimmy's a dumbass #couldn't be trusted with a bag of cupcakes let alone a kingdom

151 notes · View notes

bruciemilf · 2 years

Note

I'm sorry but. Aunt Diana. With the baby batkids. Dick's the oldest at fourteen and Damian’s like three.

Damian bites her once, she doesn't flinch and he feels a sudden intense amount of respect for her. He stomps over to Bruce and demands that he introduce Diana to his mother (Talia) because "they are both mighty warriors, Baba."

Steph's almost nine and has the biggest and most obvious puppy crush that she denies with her whole heart, only for Diana to smile at her and she trips over air, lands flat on her face, and chips a tooth. Diana finds it amusing and very adorable, Steph is mortified.

"It's fine, Stephanie, it was an accident," Bruce reassures as he holds a crying Steph. "Diana thinks it was cute."

Steph wails. "She thinks I'm a baby!"

Dick sticks his head in, snickering. "She won't be really wrong-"

"Go die in a HOLE, Dick!" Steph yells, shoving her face farther into Bruce’s shoulder and sniffling.

Tim's eight and content to simply watch her from a distance like the little stalker (affectionate) he is

"Bruce," Diana says worriedly, "young Timothy has been following me all day, yet whenever I turn to look at him, he runs away. Have I upset him in any manner?"

"He's observing."

Diana blinks. "What?"

"It means he likes you," Bruce explains. "He did the same to Dick, Jason and I during his first few weeks in the Manor."

"Oh." Diana beams. "I'm glad."

Cass is (probably) almost twelve and very happy to just stare at her in wonder. She takes mental notes while Diana tells her her powers and nods very politely.

"I would die for her," Diana tells Bruce seriously.

Bruce nods. "As would I."

Jason’s eleven and in awe. Complete and utter awe, like serious hero worship. Can't be in a room with her without vibrating out of his skin with nerves.

Diana thinks he hates her. Jason thinks she hates him for avoiding her. Dick thinks they're both ridiculous and drags Jason begging and kicking to come say hi properly.

"This is Jason, my oldest little brother," Dick says cheerfully, as if Jason isn't actively clawing at his arms to get away. "Say hi, Jay."

Jason, pushed forward by his older brother's steel grip on his shoulder, is beet red. "Hello. You're Wonder Woman, and, um. I think- think you're really cool."

"He's very shy," Dick says. He pushes away Jason’s face that attempted to bite his hand. "Ew, Jay, gross! Don't be like that in front of the princess!"

Diana is touched and immeasurably relieved that Jason doesn't hate her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jason."

Jason shuffles his feet. "...Can I have your autograph?"

"Of course."

"You're so cool," Jason whispers.

Duke is six and turns invisible the first time he meets her out of nerves.

"Oh my God, that was so embarrassing," Duke frets to Tim later, on the verge of tears.

Tim pats his back. "At least you didn't avoid her for almost a month like Jason did."

Duke sniffs. "That actually makes me feel a lot better."

"I thought it would."

Dick's fourteen, has known her since he was four, and is very amused watching the other batkids freak out about his Auntie Di.

"I'm the best big brother ever," Dick says proudly to Bruce.

"You sure are, chum," Bruce says fondly.

AUNT DIANA WITH THE BABY BATKIDS

AWWWW THIS IS SO ADORABLE! Damian works harder than God when he tries to parent trap Diana and Talia together. Sadly, they're permanently in " I'm In love with Bruce Wayne and I'll never truly erase it" mode

(Seriously, let Talia be pathetic ex husband coded!! Give her the Harvey Dent treatment, cowards)

Diana with her sunstream smile, carrying bandages, uniquely themed, for the batkids, because one of them will almost always injure themselves when they play.

Jason's are pink with flowers. Always on his nose and knees. Dick hurts his elbows a lot when doing flips, so blue bandages with little birdies for him!

Cass can be spotted showing an amused Bruce her sunflower bandages, soaking up her bleeding eyebrow after Jason pushed her off a swing by accident, " I hope - I, get... Cool scar. Like papa."

" You're always cool."

Damian tries his best to be still under Diana's loving hands as he proudly receives his frog bandages like they're a medal and he's a soldier who earned them bloody. " You saying it makes it uncool."

" I think you're the coolest, then."

" Baba!"

Years later, when they almost all outgrow her (short Diana rights, unfollow me about it. or pin me against the nearest surface with a dagger and make out with me. Execute me or shut up.) It does not change.

" Does that feel better? Dick?"

" Chillin' like a pepper, mommy-o!"

" Steph?"

" I'll live, mother."

" Cass?"

A thumbs up.

"Timmy?"

" Just a scratch, mom, jeez. You're worse than dad."

"Duke?"

" All fixed up, Mrs. Batmom."

" Damian?"

Damian sniffs, because god damn it, it stings. He can't wait for Baba to kiss it better. " I've had worse."

" Jason?"

" All good, Wonder Woman."

Diana raises a brow, folds her arms and taps her foot. Jason, full red hood get up, slumps his shoulders as bubbles of ' Oooo' from his annoying siblings surround him.

" Wanna repeat that?"

" No," he sighs, " I'm alright. Thank you, momma."

" Good. You'll be joining us for dinner tonight."

" Yes, momma."

" And you'll spend the night."

" Okay, momma."

Diana finally smiles and pulls him down to press a kiss on his forehead as the others snicker.

#bruce wayne #diana prince #wonderbat #wonder woman #batman #dick grayson #jason todd #damian wayne #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #batfam #batfamily #text post #text #writing #moots!!

1K notes · View notes

burr-ell · 11 months

Note

"the tendency of this fandom to only engage with what THEY want these characters to be#as opposed to what their creators are trying to do and the stories they want to tell" slap this on a bumper sticker, you just summed all cr discourse (about PCs at least) in 2 sentences

It truly is maddening (and it's not by any means exclusive to the CR fandom). The reason why the discourse always goes the way it does is that at the end of the day, the loud fanwanky people only see what they would do, if they were self-inserted into the story, as a valid choice; and they are, more broadly, fundamentally disinterested in what others think or feel. There are several examples of this, and the variety of spaces within the fandom that produce these ideas is an indicator that this isn't endemic to one specific group of people.

-Keyleth is an important character whose feelings and choices are validated by the other PCs and cast even if they still disagree with them, in spite of how she and her preachiness get in the way of the Murderhobo Jubilee? It's not because the cast are all friends and they genuinely believe Keyleth is valid and are interested in how these discussions and choices can guide the story. It's because Marisha is the DM's girlfriend, and also here's my totally unbiased theory that my pet favorite players Sam and Travis secretly hate Marisha and Keyleth.

-Vax's presence is still felt and nodded to in the post-canon VM oneshots? It's not because he was an important character who mattered. It's because Liam wants to make everyone talk about his tragedy because he has Main Character Syndrome. Scanlan Wishes for Vax to appear at the wedding? It's not because he cares about Vex or because Sam and Liam wanted a sweet tribute to Vex and Vax's relationship and by extension Liam and Laura's friendship. It's because Liam thinks Vex's life should always revolve around Vax, and Sam wants to enable him and jerk himself off as the one who facilitated it.

-Beauyasha and Fjorester become canon? It's not because the players wanted it and it happened naturally. It's because there was a secret behind-the-scenes push to "force" those ships to become canon instead, and like, Dani Carr is some sort of shipping puppetmaster who made the players do it, and "they" (whomever "they" is) decided to sink Beaujester or Widojest because it was "obviously" going to become canon before the pandemic hiatus gave them time to "make the corporate-approved ships happen".

-Beau and Caleb try to reform the Empire and dismantle the Cerberus Assembly from within? It's not because it makes sense for their stories or that people who would take this position regarding a corrupt government might have a valid perspective that differs from your own. It's because the people at Critical Role Productions LLC are all spineless neoliberal cowards who won't commit to real activism. The best activism, after all, is violent, and violent revolutions have always resulted in stable aftermaths, and the real world has never demonstrated that this mindset is foolish.

-Relatedly: Caleb doesn't kill Trent personally? It's not because the most poetic justice would be to deny Trent the thing he wants most from Caleb. It's because "Limo Brain" is too obsessed with tragedy to have the stones to do "what needs to be done".

-Asmodeus, DnD Satan, turns out to also be CR Satan? It's not because it fits with the cosmology and the lore; it's because Matt Mercer is too attached to the "establishment", and the Prime Deities should have actually turned out to be the bad guys because of my personal baggage about Western religion and Christianity they're a little mean to my blorbo sometimes.

There's a pattern here: fans had expectations that they'd built up for themselves after projecting and building up fanon and deciding what players meant before they explained themselves fully, and when the players strayed from that, they were derided for all manner of reasons. I think we're seeing that same pattern play out in C3 as the story progresses in a way that fans dislike, and in fact we have seen fanwank spread whenever someone does anything that interferes with personally catering to a) the favored ship and/or b) the favored philosophy. (Orym, Ashton, FCG, Percy, Pelor...all valid when they affirm the Fandom Opinions and all disdained when they don't.)

Don't get me wrong, I think there's a place for comfort stories that deliver a personal catharsis. And I'm not going to dismissively say "well if you want it so bad make your own" because, as an artist, I am very familiar with the fact that creating is hard and draining and sometimes you just need to consume instead. But when you become so wrapped up in yourself and your feelings to the point where your perspective is the only valid one, someone else's feels like a betrayal when it isn't. It's always "They aren't doing what we wanted and here's why they're terrible people because of it" and never "Hmm, why is this what the cast wants? Let's examine that."

This isn't a new phenomenon, but I think it ultimately stems from not assuming that other people can differ from you in major ways in good faith. There are a lot of reasons for that (some more understandable than others), but I think you rob yourself of the potential to enjoy something new when all you do is demand what you already want. No matter what you're doing or where you are in life, you tend to become a better and wiser person when you open your mind to what other people have to say, no matter how mundane the subject matter. Sometimes the stories people have to tell are challenging—and the only healthy way to deal with that is to engage with them on their own terms.

#critical role #cr discourse #asks #long post #for the record i think VLD fandom became such a shitshow partially for this reason #but also. and admittedly i'm biased. VLD was basically a show for no one #this by the way is part of why a faction of fe3h fandom capes so hard for crimson flower (which is basically a glorified bonus route)#and absolutely abhors the idea of byleth being religious and enjoying her job as a teacher #and why some cr fans are so vehemently opposed to the prime deities being good and characters being connected to them #religious trauma that leads a character to reject religion and that being framed as a valid choice is okay to want to see #but it is also just as valid for a character to find religion to be a healing and positive experience #seriously 'gods bad' stories are not that difficult to come by. they're just not doing that in THIS story and you're mad about it #instead of doing the work of finding a story that WILL do that meaningfully

297 notes · View notes

mj-iza-writer · 3 months

Text

Because I read about a defiant Whumpee earlier and I want to write one now. -MJ

Caretaker rolled his eyes as Whumpee tore off the blanket and crawled into the corner of the room.

"Okay, you're right, I overstepped by covering you up", Caretaker sighed, "the blanket is yours, if you like, you looked a little cold."

Whumpee buried their face partially into their arms and glared at Caretaker.

"Or not", Caretaker frowned.

"Alright I'm going to get some work done in my office, if you need anything let me know", Caretaker turned to leave.

"Okay", Whumpee finally uttered.

"It's not you or them, it's the trauma", Caretaker whispered to themself as they walked to their office, "there is nothing you can do about the trauma, you can only show them they're safe, that's it."

Whumpee's eyes wandered the room, they didn't see any threats, but they knew to be on the lookout. They couldn't rest, no, something would happen if they let their guard down.

Whumpee hadn't slept in days, after Caretaker would leave the bedroom Whumpee would sit up. They would quickly lay down and fake sleeping if Caretaker came in.

'Why won't he just do it and get it over with. Beat me up or something', Whumpee would often think to themself.

Whumpee's eyes grew tired, they shivered a little.

'The blanket is right there', they thought to themself, 'you can't chance getting comfortable though. You'll let your guard down.'

Whumpee felt their head fall a couple times, they were getting so tired.

Whumpee jumped when a loud bang shook the wall.

They let their guard down. What was happening?

Lightning lit the room they sat in.

"No, no, no", Whumpee panicked, rain started to pelt the side of the house.

They covered their ears before more thunder could crash. Still shaken as it rattled the wall they sat beside.

Rain poured outside now.

Whumpee cautiously looked out the window when another flash of lightning lit up the sky.

They dunked under the blanket they had abandoned earlier and waited for the loud boom.

A small yelp escaped their lips as the floor shook with the thunder.

They used the blanket to wipe a tear before getting up and wrapping the blanket around themself.

Another flash of lightning warned of the incoming thunder. Whumpee quickly ran to get away from the window.

Caretaker looked up in shock as Whumpee hurried into the room, and shut the door behind them.

Whumpee turned to Caretaker, they made a petrified face.

Whumpee tripped and fell to the floor when a long-winded thunder shook the house.

Caretaker quickly got up and went to help Whumpee get back up.

Whumpee cowarded away from his hand and lifted their arms in defense of their face.

More thunder and Whumpee wrapped the blanket around their head.

"Please make it stop", Whumpee finally begged, "I'll do anything, please."

Caretaker watched in shock as the most difficult case they had ever had shook under the blanket.

"Okay, uhh", Caretaker panicked and realized suddenly that Whumpee was actually asking for help, their help. This never happened, "I can't make the storm stop, but I can make it quiet for you."

Whumpee uncovered their face and looked at Caretaker, "wh-what do you mean?"

"I need to go grab something. Can you wait right here?", Caretaker went to the doorway, "I'll be right back."

Whumpee made a fearful expression and almost felt like reaching their hand out. They gulped and nodded yes.

Whumpee looked around the room, their was no way of seeing the lightning in here. They could still hear the thunder and rain though.

Caretaker came in carrying a pair of headphones. He was adjusting the sides when he showed Whumpee.

"Wh-what is it?", Whumpee shook.

"These are noise canceling headphones", Caretaker moved them around for Whumpee to see them, "they cancel out noise, you won't be able to hear the thunder with them on."

Whumpee looked at Caretaker weirdly, but quickly grabbed them when another bang shook the house.

"How do they... how do they work?", Whumpee whispered with a shaky voice. Their throat felt dry and tight from trying not to cry.

Caretaker gently grabbed the headphones and placed them on Whumpee's head. He adjusted them to where they covered Whumpee's ears comfortably.

"Can you hear me?", Caretaker watched Whumpee as they realized they couldn't hear anything.

"Huh?", Whumpee lifted one side off their ears.

"I was asking if you could hear me", Caretaker grinned, "you can use them, I didn't know you were afraid of storms. I apologize for that."

Whumpee nodded, then put the part back over their ears.

"I don't like loud sounds", Whumpee finally admitted.

Caretaker nodded.

Caretaker cautiously reached for Whumpee's shoulder. They wanted to help Whumpee off of the floor.

Whumpee gave a weird look and pulled away, but then they looked at Caretaker.

Caretaker gave an understanding smile, it felt like they had finally gotten somewhere with Whumpee.

Whumpee looked down and nodded, letting Caretaker reach for their shoulder again.

Caretaker gently led them to a chair.

Whumpee looked at the chair worriedly, then at Caretaker. They had never been allowed to sit on furniture until Caretaker started taking care of them.

Caretaker patted on the chair inviting Whumpee to sit.

Whumpee looked at the chair and gulped as they went to sit down.

The chair reclined back, making Whumpee jump and knock the headphones off their ear.

"It's okay, the chair reclines. You can sit here and relax. I won't leave you alone", Caretaker promised before readjusting the headphones.

Whumpee watched silently as Caretaker took the blanket they had had and covered Whumpee up.

Caretaker grabbed Whumpee a water and a snack before they went back to where they were sitting.

Whumpee watched Caretaker for a while until they started to feel their eyes get heavy again.

They were thankful for the noise canceling headphones. The house shaking occasionally was the only way they knew the storm was still going on. This room had no windows.

Whumpee fought to stay awake for a few minutes before letting their head fall to the side.

Caretaker looked up when they saw Whumpee's head fall.

Caretaker sighed in relief, "finally", Caretaker looked back at their work, "I can't imagine what happened to make you scared of storms and loud noises."

Whumpee sighed peacefully.

"You actually let me take care of you", Caretaker smiled.

The next morning, Whumpee woke up they slowly looked around. They jumped when they saw Caretaker sleeping on the couch nearby.

Caretaker opened their eyes and smiled when they saw Whumpee looking at them.

Whumpee cautiously pulled part of the headphone off their ear.

"It's no longer storming", Caretaker spoke above a whisper, "there are no loud noises."

Whumpee took the headphone off.

"Wh-why are you sleeping on the couch sir? That doesn't look comfortable at all", Whumpee watched Caretaker sit up and stretch.

"To be honest, it's not, but it wouldn't be the first time I slept on this old thing", Caretaker chuckled, "I promised you I wouldn't leave you alone."

Whumpee felt their hard exterior break a little.

"Plus, I know you haven't gotten any sleep since you came here", Caretaker grinned, "you're not that great at faking, and you can't hide those dark circles around your eyes. I didn't want to disturb you finally getting some sleep."

"Why didn't you out me for that, I would have been badly punished if my abuser found out something like that", Whumpee looked at Caretaker with frustration, "why aren't you like them?"

"I'm not like them Whumpee, I'm here to take care of you and protect you", Caretaker stood, "you have been through a lot. I know you're angry, you're hurt, you're scared. It's understandable that you would have a hard time feeling comfortable."

"It will take time for you to feel comfortable around me and this house. Easy or not, it is my job to show you that you are safe", Caretaker sighed as he stretched more, "you can keep those headphones with you if you like."

Whumpee looked down at the headphones, "this last week I've been on edge. I've been waiting for you to hurt me, to do something. I didn't want to be hurt", Whumpee looked back up.

"I know you were trying to push me away, hurt me before I could hurt you", Caretaker stepped closer, "I'm just going to get closer to you, don't worry. Honestly, you've been one of my harder cases, but you've also seen the worst out of all the others I've had."

Whumpee breathed out the frustration, "but you've never lost patience. I've been so mean. How come you've never even threatened to hurt me?"

"I'll be honest. There have been times this last week when I questioned if I was going to get anywhere with you, I wondered if you would feel comfortable with someone else", Caretaker admitted, "sometimes certain patients might not match up right with a caretaker, and a different one might."

"You deserve the best services I can offer you", Caretaker smiled, "you deserve my best. I would never threaten you."

Whumpee looked at the headphones, "I'm sorry... for how I've been acting."

"No need to apologize, you were in survival mode. That's how you've had to be for a long time. I didn't expect you to be easy, I didn't expect your trauma to go away the minute I started taking care of you", Caretaker now crouched in front of Whumpee, "I will work to gain your trust, maybe then you can relax more and not be on edge."

Whumpee listened quietly as they fiddled with the headphones.

"Is that possible?", Whumpee sighed.

"I'm sure it is, in time at least. That is my job as your caregiver though", Caretaker smiled, "I don't ask for your trust, I work for your trust. I have to earn that from you. Okay?"

Whumpee whimpered as crying was becoming harder to hold back.

"I know this will be hard for you. We will work slowly until we get you more comfortable", Caretaker patted Whumpee's leg, then stood, "if you don't like something, then let me know, okay?"

Whumpee nodded trying to hold back crying.

"Okay I can see you are having a hard time with emotions, and you don't like to show those yet", Caretaker started toward the door, "how about breakfast?"

Whumpee nodded, then got up. They clutched the headphones close to them as they followed Caretaker to the kitchen.

Taglist: As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all. @villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived @sacredwrath @porschethemermaid @monarchthefirst @generic-whumperz @bloodyandfrightened @freefallingup13 @notpeppermint @cyborg0109 @idontreallyexistyet

#whump community #whump stuff #whump writing #whump ideas #whump #whumpee #whumper #whump scenario #caretaking #oc #caretaker #caretaker and whumpee #defiant whumpee #trauma

90 notes · View notes

cherrysmokesaconha · 2 months

Text

Dear Eddsworld fandom. Just because a headcanon is very popular, DOESN'T mean it's canon.

"You can't ship Paul x Tord or Tord x Patryck cuz they are father and son!" NO. DO A FUCKING RESEARCH.

This can be debunked in the PowerEdd episode, where Tord and Paul appear together as CHILDREN, implying that they are ALMOST THE SAME AGE.

Are you sure they are "father and son" even though they appear as CHILDREN in the SAME FUCKING CLASSROOM? No they are not.

SAME THING GOES FOR THE "2004 Eddsworld are teenagers!!" THING.

DO. A. FUCKING. RESEARCH.

In the Christmas Special 2004 and in Zombeh Attack 2005, there's no mentions of their parents or even their school.

Also, do you see this?

This is the Eddsworld STUDIOS.

This is NOT A SCHOOL. THIS IS NOT A HIGHSCHOOL. THIS IS A STUDIO. A JOB. A COMPANY.

And also, did you know that the real people ages AREN'T the same to the characters? THAT'S RIGHT!

The real people are in their 30s, cool. But what about the characters?

This was confirmed by Oblivian Downing (one of the Eddsworld illustrators) in his Twitter.

Do you see birth year here? Do you see anything to prove their age here? Of course not? ME EITHER.

This just prove that the characters have vague age. THEY DON'T HAVE A CANON AGE. AND THIS GOES FOR ALL. THE. ERAS.

Do you think it makes sense for them to be an unknown age in one era, but their age in another?? I do not think.

Just because someone made ship art of 2004 Eddsworld, DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE DRAWING P3DO. Just because someone drew Paul x Tord, DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE DRAWING 1NCEST.

Edit cuz i forgot this

Another reason that makes people think that the teenager hc is ""canon"" it's because of Tord's tombstone in Zombeh Attack 2, where it appears that he was supposedly born in 1989.

BUT that DOESN'T MAKE IT CANON cuz: Tord had not yet left Eddsworld at that time. Tord left in 2008 while Zombeh Attack 2 was posted in 2007, one year earlier.

The characters weren't separated from the real people at that time because Tord hadn't left EW yet due to the hate he was getting (it was Tord who said that fans should separate the real people from the characters, and then the crew themselves said this later).

And nowadays this is no longer canon, because the characters are separated from the real people and nowadays they don't have a canon birth year or even a canon age (confirmed by Oblivian in this same post).

THOSE ARE JUST >>H E A D C A N O N S<<. If you really want to shove this shit down people's throats like it's "canon", how about you PROVE it's canon? How about you send screenshots of the EW crew confirming this? How about you send prints that confirm that Paul and Patryck are Tord's parents or that they are minors in 2004? You won't get it as it IS NOT CANON IN ANY WAY.

Before you attack someone because they allegedly drew something illegal, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Ask Kasafraz, ask Oblivian, but don't believe other people's words. I did ask Kasafraz about the 2004 Eddsworld and she said that "they don't think there anything that proves that they're minors", and Kas also said that the best for me to do was confirming that I don't headcanon then as teenagers.

And that's what I'm going to do. I DON'T HEADCANON 2004 EW AS TEENAGERS AND THAT SHOULD BE RESPECTED.

It's totally fine if u headcanon 2004 Ew as teenagers or Paul and Pat to be Tord's parents, but please, DON'T FORCE THAT HEADCANON INTO PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THAT HC FOR THEMSELVES. This will just make you look like an ASSHOLE.

Don't be a coward. Do some research. It may take a while, but it will bring you a lot of knowledge.

#eddsworld #eddsworld 2004 #i am so sick of this.#cherry talks

64 notes · View notes

cheatsykoopa98 · 5 months

Text

Theory About Abstracting

long text below (the amazing digital circus)

I saw people taking the meaning of abstraction in TADC as "to remove certain parts of a program" and theorize that they get corrupted because they're losing parts of their virtual self, their sanity and stuff, but what I actually believe happens when one abstracts is you lose 100% of your original self to the virtual one.

Ragatha says going insane itself isn't what makes you abstract, but it's part of the process. It's when you reach your breaking point that you abstract. But what breaking point? If you're already insane it means your mind is already broken, right?

So let's look at Kaufmo, he's a clown, he likes to tell jokes, and according to Gooseworx he was a little bit too positive, like Ragatha, that fits his character within the circus, but apparently his jokes weren't good, and when people did laugh, they were faking it

We don't know how long Kaufmo knew about that, but it appears to hurt him badly, both by Ragatha saying he called her out for fake laughing and Gangle saying he got mad at her for not laughing.

So what am I getting at? I think Kaufmo only abstracted because he "gave up", like Zooble puts it. His room shows he was obssessing about the exit, but like, a negative outlook on it, like "I know there is an exit, but I won't ever be able to reach it, it's hopeless". I think the moment his spirit breaks and he gives up the last bit of himself to embrace his clown persona fully, he abstracts. The abstracted parts (that is, the removed parts) aren't the virtual ones, but the real part of his mind as a human. That's why he turns into a beast, he's not human anymore but just a jumbled code of what used to be a player

(basically abstractions are the source games error model lmao)

So when his mind is gone and he's just the avatar Caine made for him, he abstracts (probably not intentional since we know Caine isnt malicious, just incompetent). Caine is smart and knows how to make NPCs for the adventures like the mannequins, Bubble, the Moon and the Gloinks, but he can't comprehend fully how a human acts, so in his logic "humans are unpredictable, chaotic, so since Kaufmo is giving no player input anymore I'll just replace him with an NPC that is unpredictable and chaotic" which is the monster we see, and since he fails every time to recreate a human but can't really (isn't allowed or is unable) to kill or let the humans leave, he just throws them into the cellar

So in conclusion, I don't think anyone in the main cast will abstract because as much as their avatars do give away what they were probably like in the real world (someone who masks their sadness, a person figuring out their gender, a coward who is important in their ambient, a yes person, a troll, a person who likes to make people laugh and the person who is butt of everyone's jokes) as long as they don't give into being just that, but real people with depthful personalities, they will be fine. Probably miserable, but fine.

(TL/DR): Abstraction is AFK mode, Caine can't have a circus if the players are brain dead not doing anything after giving up on their individuality completely, so he tries to recreate the player as an NPC, fails, buries his mistake in the cellar and moves on

#the amazing digital circus #theory #tadc theory #long text #kaufmo #caine #abstraction #afk abstraction theory #tadc kaufmo #tadc caine #I know it's really early in the morning so I'll bump this post later

90 notes · View notes

thegreymoon · 3 months

Text

The Story of Minglan

Nice 💛

***

LMAO, "chief of a brothel" 🤣🤣

Madam Wang is brutal. Poor Gu Tingye, he will never shake his poor reputation.

***

Who is she again?

***

Sis, you are so barking up the wrong tree.

No amount of calling Gu Tingye "Second Uncle" and being mad your brothers don't follow suit will make him interested in you.

***

Who the hell are all these new people?

I can't keep up.

***

She really does love making a fool out of herself.

***

Wait, what?

They STOLE it from her?

***

Was the stepmother the one stealing her things?

***

Why are everyone's siblings such assholes in this drama?

I need to call my brother and tell him I love him because he's awesome.

***

Not drunk, just a selfish imbecile.

***

OH MY GOD 😐😐

LIKE, THE SHIT YOU WILL GET HER INTO, DUDE.

***

I know we're supposed to be on her side here, but I'm already sick of her whining. SHE ALLOWED THE PIN TO GET STOLEN AND LOST. AND NOT JUST THE PIN, BUT MULTIPLE ITEMS.

She seems incompetent and dumb and they are making the sister evil just to generate this fake drama. The Sheng siblings are much more nuanced, even when they are bad, we see reasons for their behaviour. This just plays on, "Hurr durr, children of the second wife are mean to the poor orphan!"

It's annoying because the main storyline is already all about that and they are not doing anything new here, they're just regurgitating the same theme, only worse and with a less sympathetic heroine.

***

I mean!!!

Cartoon villain behaviour.

If this was Molan and Rulan being petty and one-upping each other just because, I could buy it, because we have precedent for their bickering that feels realistic, and they are actual rivals because of their mothers' rivalry. They are both equally at each other's throats, they match each other's energy. But this? There is no conflict here. Yanran is such a soggy doormat of a person, she is no threat to the sister, she's just insignificant, so we end up with this situation where the sister seems to be having a one-sided feud with her for no reason except that she can. They are artificially upping the stakes with "But it's her dead mother's heirloom!!" to make us care, but it isn't working because the whole thing feels so contrived. If it had been ANYONE ELSE playing against her for the pin, I would have found it more believable and the tension for the purpose of this whole scene would still have been there, because she can't just go up to a random woman and demand that she surrenders her prize if she wins.

Recently I learned a hilarious Chinese idiom, "draw snake, add feet", which warns against overdoing things. This is a prime example.

***

LMAO, shows how much you know the woman you claim to love.

***

His stupid face 🤣🤣

Go fuck yourself, Qi Heng.

***

This spineless coward.

Also, there is no chance Gu Tingye won't let Minglan win, he's so amused by her and already interested in Yanran. The evil sister set herself up here.

***

LOL, stanning madam Wu!

***

OMG, DUDE, STAY IN YOUR FUCKING LANE

***

SO TAKE A FUCKING HINT!!

Everyone in this episode is being so stupid and annoying, except for Minglan and maybe Tingye (but the jury is still out on him).

***

Oh, fuck all the way off.

***

Oh, Jesus Christ 🙄

I haven't been this annoyed by so many people at the same time since this drama started. I want to stab them all. Gu Tingye is the only one who gets a pass (OK, and Rulan too, because she was the only one there genuinely having fun).

#the story of minglan #tsoml spoilers #tsoml ep16

46 notes · View notes

sky-fire-forever · 4 months

Text

Ya'll need to learn to love more than one character. Like someone loving a certain character does not take away your ability to love a different character or even their ability to love a different character

Izzy's my favorite character, yeah. But why are people assuming I hate Ed?? I fucking love Ed. I adore him so much. He's so baby girl. He tries so hard to be good and a lot of his worse actions are fuelled by his self-hatred and loss. He's fascinating to me and I want to study him like a bug. The way he distances himself from his cruelty ("technically the fire killed those guys") and how he presents himself differently to different people (the party boy to Jack, the sensitive sap with Stede, the ruthless captain to Izzy) are both things that I fucking love analyzing and talk about to my partner constantly. I love how hard he tries to be a good person! I love how he is slowly learning how to care about people on their terms instead of his own. I love his growth and how much he WANTS to grow

You know who else I love? Stede! His compassion and care for the people around him is so touching and I love that he takes so much pleasure in the little things. I love how we've watched his confidence build since the first episode, where he was constantly panicked and nervous, to a capable captain who still loves his crew but will defend himself and won't take as much shit from people like Nigel. He'll defend his crew instead of hiding like a coward. I love how he delights in details like fancy wardrobes and a cursed suit because he takes pleasure in small things like that! In marmalade and puzzle chests. He's a sweetheart and he rejects the idea that he has to be cruel to be capable

Oluwande was my favorite character when I first watched season one (though I dislike a lot of his season two writing because it feels like they dumbed him down) because he's kind and very intelligent. He cares a lot for the crew and he's extremely capable while also being a little goofy and being soooo bad at addressing his feelings. I love that he was so obviously in love with Jim, but had that first instinct of denying it if questioned because that's so often how crushes work! His little "What? No! Shut up!" When the chief pointed out his feelings for Jim still makes me giggle. He's a little awkward, but he's sweet and he's supportive. He also can be a little shit when he wants to be, like when he basically made Jim confront their past because he was petty about them not telling him about it. He's always got people's backs and there's a reason he was chosen to be the captain during the Izzy mutiny.

Jim is a character who means SO much to me as a trans person. Their arc is so special to me and they're also just... so fucking cool. I love their journey of figuring out who they're supposed to be versus who they WANT to be. Their struggle with what's expected of them and them wondering if they even want what they thought they wanted is so touching. Them defending Izzy is actually so great to me because it shows their loyalty and their need to defend their family. It didn't have to be Izzy, it could be any member of the crew and they would have their back. Because that's what family means to them. "Our dick" says a lot about them, as does their little "He was your friend" line. Jim cares about people even when they're quiter and more closed off. Hell, they stabbed a man in the first episode for insulting Frenchie and they didn't even talk yet! Them being the one to tell the Pinocchio story to Fang was so great because it shows just how soft they really are and want to be.

Speaking of, I also adore Fang so so so much. He's such a sweetheart and he's sensitive and he cares so, so much about his friends. He's a big softie and I wanna hug him. I bet he gives such great hugs. As soon as he's given the allowance to be soft, he takes it. He misses his dog that Ed forced him to kill (which I feel like no one talks about?) and gets blushy and giggly about Lucius finding him attractive. He's just!! So fantastic

I wish we knew more about Ivan because I love him and I have so much fun imagining stuff about him. Like how I hc him as a trans woman

Archie as a character is so fun and I wish wish wish we got more of her because I fucking LOVE everything about her. She's so fun to watch and I want to know how she gets along with Oluwande and I want to see her interact with the rest of the crew so badly. The way she fell in love with Jim because of their hope makes me CRY. I love that she kisses Jim while they're covered in blood and there's a rotten leg like a foot away and she doesn't care. I love her energy and her excitement and every scene with her just makes me grin like an idiot. I'm still so mad about the season being cut because I feel like we could have gotten more scenes with her

Roach is fucking great. My partner and I will quote "meat is meat" at each other constantly. He's so ridiculous and I love him. I love how obsessed with Zheng's soup he is. I love his bitchy "how am I supposed to cook here?" when Stede moves them to live under a bridge. I love how chill he is and the faces he makes when he's reacting to things. He's so funny and I love him

Frenchie is my fucking beloved. His mind box is something I think about so often. How he doesn't want to think about all that has happened to him, but doesn't. How hurt he is. How he fucking deserves every bit of becoming captain of his own ship. The fact that he sings and plays an instrument (I do not know what specific instrument he plays. Is it a ukulele?) and sings about how they're all gonna die with a grin on his face. He's a dork and I love how he hides Izzy at great risk to himself because he cares about his family as much as Jim does. The way he expdcts Ed to kill him and basically offers to do it for him just to get it over with (if I'm remembering correctly). I love his superstition and how he believes it's supported by fact! I think his superstitious beliefs are so, so interesting and I want to know where he learned them.

Wee John is so fucking great. How long has he been doing drag? What happened to his mother with whom he used to make dresses? I need to know! I love that he just wants to set things on fire all the time. I love his line about "I'd love to be stabbed by Jim". I love all of him! He's such a fun character

I love Lucius and how trauma genuinely changes him. He's a bitch and he's petty and he loves gossip. He's the first person to insert himself into a shitty breakup, helping both Stede and Ed at different points. Him keeping Jim's sex a secret and him helping both Stede and Ed is so interesting to me! He's a supportive friend and he's a slut (affectionate) and he's a bitch (affectionate) and everything about him makes me obsessed. I like that Stede has to talk to him about opening up about his trauma! I like that Lucius genuinely loves Pete and how his trauma has made him more bitter. I love how he's still the first person to call bullshit on Ed.

Black Pete actually used to annoy me, but he's grown on me. I love that he's such a dork who struggles with insecurity to the point of making shit up about himself. I love how much he loves Lucius! I fucking adore his one-liners and his delivery of them. He's so fucking funny

I could spend fucking hours talking about Mary Bonnet. I love her so much. Everything about her makes me feral. How she refuses to take Stede's bullshit. Her paintings! Her relationship with Doug that seems so fucking sweet. I love this woman. Please bring Mary back. Please. I'm begging

Buttons is Buttons. Everything about him is fucking fantastic and I want to chew on him like a chew toy

Me enjoying a certain character does not take away from my absolute love of other characters. I tend to talk about Izzy most because I find active displays of tragedy more interesting and Izzy and Ed are the most outwardly angsty characters (which is also why I'm usually talking about Kraken Era Ed when I discuss him). They outwardly express more dramatic feelings rather than characters like Stede or Frenchie who bury a lot of those feelings or express them in different ways. Izzy is from the dramatic genre and I love dramas. Comedy writing is not my specialty

But I can recognize that while I think about other characters a lot, I don't talk about them as often. So expect more metas and discussion of more characters in the future (hopefully. I just write things as I think of them and them to my queue tbh)

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #edward teach #stede bonnet #wee john feeney #frenchie #frenchie ofmd #roach ofmd #nathanial buttons #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #archie ofmd #lucius spriggs #black pete #fang ofmd #ivan ofmd

57 notes · View notes