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justhereforthemeta · 9 months

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Romantic expectations and the story we didn't see: A magic trick hiding in plain sight

Here's a hopeful meta for all my fellow celestial brainrot sufferers out there. Cheers! :)

This idea started as a dead end, trying to track the movements of Crowley’s sideburns/tattoo because I thought time travel shenanigans were afoot. I had to abandon that theory when it was pointed out that David was simultaneously filming as the sideburns-having Fourteenth Doctor, and in-universe Crowley can do whatever he wants with his facial hair whenever he feels like it. But hey - null findings are still findings!

On the bright side, pausing the show to make notations in a spreadsheet forced me to slow down and notice other changes I'd overlooked the first time around: acting choices, costuming choices, references to book lore. And possibly a few surreptitious flicks of the wrist, in places where we’re meant to be focused on the magician’s other hand.

@amuseoffyre and @ineffablefood had a great exchange recently about romance and “the significance of misdirection and three-in-one (magic) tricks” throughout the show. I suspect Neil has done something brilliant with the audience’s long-standing expectations (since the 1990s, really) for the love story between Crowley and Aziraphale to develop. And while it is a wonderful story indeed, playing to this expectation lets Neil distract his audience from the blink-and-you'll-miss-them seeds he's planting for the final chapter.

Continued below the cut...

Let’s start at the beginning of Episode 2. First, context: In the previous installment, Crowley stormed out of the bookshop, was whisked away to Hell by Beelzebub where he learns about the Book of Life threat to Aziraphale’s existence, then returned to the bookshop to dance a little apology dance and hide Gabriel with an unintentionally massive joint miracle. In S2E2, we and Shax catch up with Crowley as he's snoozing in the Bentley.

Shax: “You’re in trouble”

A. J. Crowley, cool as a cucumber: “Obviously. Former demon, hated by Heaven, loathed by Hell. How will our hero cope?”

Interesting! Sarcastic? Yes, absolutely; but that’s also a good 4500 years and an averted apocalypse away from “I’m a demon. I lie,” wouldn’t you say? Someone is sounding a whole lot less depressed and aimless and navel-gazey (do snakes have navels?), and a whole lot more like he’s got a project to focus on, since his "what's the point?" ruminations on the park bench in E1.

And of course we all noticed the costume change right away. Hello, black turtleneck. Feeling cute today, thought I’d cover up my graceful long neck? That sounds unlikely. Let’s put a pin in this one.

There’s also an interesting acting choice going on here. Crowley speaks to Shax in a funny, drawling, too-cool-for-you voice that we haven’t heard in a while. Specifically, not since 1967. If you go back and give the S1E3 scene in the Dirty Donkey a listen, you’ll hear it (and if you know of another instance of it that I've missed, please let me know!). In S2E2, he keeps up this odd voice (if anybody knows what kind of affect this is supposed to be, please do tell!) throughout this dialogue with Shax, except for the brief moment when she first surprises him about the joint miracle having been detected.

1967 was a fun year. Crowley masterminded a heist! And seemed like he was having a ball doing it, right up until his little caper was called off after Aziraphale brought him the thermos of holy water. Crowley spoke to his co-conspirators in that same funny, very 60’s-caper-film voice. He wore a hip 60’s turtleneck. He bought petrol for the only time ever, so he could get those sweet James Bond bullet hole decals for his car (per the book, seen on the Bentley in the show).

Those James Bond bullet hole decals would of course have been part of a promotion for this 1967 release, which you just know our film-enjoying demon went to see in the theater:

Starring this suave, be-turtlenecked guy:

And now - begging your forgiveness - a brief rant.

There are a number of posts out there that refer to Crowley’s S2E2 turtleneck as a flirtatious sartorial choice - actually, ‘slutty’ seems to be the favored accusation. There are even a few posts floating around commenting on how sweet it is that Crowley swaps out his slutty, kinky, throw-me-over-your-desk-and-take-me turtleneck for a more dressy and appropriate collared shirt specifically to attend Aziraphale’s Jane Austen ball.

Now this is all in good fun, and Crowley does indeed look fantastic here, and I do love a good fangirling sesh as much as the next person. However, fandom’s collective tendency to interpret what we are seeing on the screen through the lens of romantic expectation can, at times, give rise to a kind of blinkered enthusiasm that obscures the original text in a haze that is part Mandela Effect, part unrestrained horniness, and part in-group code talking and identity reinforcement.

Respectfully, Crowley’s black turtleneck does not appear at all in S2E5: The Ball. In fact, it never appears again after the end of S2E2.

For Someone’s sake, let’s collectively pull our heads out of the romantic fog/gutter for a moment and focus on what we are actually seeing in the book and on the screen. For Crowley, this is an uncharacteristic within-period costume change. There is a surreptitious flick of the wrist happening here, out in broad daylight, and we are all missing it.

So here’s a thing. Aziraphale appears to have settled comfortably into life on Earth, his neighborhood, his books, using Crowley as an outlet for sharing his good deeds that he would once have reported to Heaven. Meanwhile, at first glance, Crowley appears stuck in a rut. There he slouches on a park bench with Shax in S2E1: a guy who lives in his car, stagnantly clinging to old familiar habits, mulling over the pointlessness of it all.

Setting aside the bit about living in the Bentley (I’m going to attribute this to well-documented issues between him and Aziraphale, discussed in many other excellent metas, and move on), Crowley has at least two very good, proactive reasons for maintaining his contact with Hell through Shax. First and foremost, it’s a source of information he can use to keep ahead of potential threats to Aziraphale and himself.

But also, I would posit…he kinda likes it.

Recall that book GO was first conceived as a parody, with Aziraphale and Crowley as spy-against-spy (but not really) field operatives in an ages-old cold war between Heaven and Hell. Their entire book dynamic is rooted in the trope of two opposing agents who have been in the field for so long that they now have more in common with each other than with their respective head offices. Their St. James’s Park meetings among other spies and ministers trading secrets are a sendup of what was once a well-known Cold War-era cliché.

Our contemporary Crowley still likes slick outfits and hellaciously expensive watches and high-performing vintage cars and pens that write underwater while looking like they could break the speed limit. He coaches Shax on how to blend in as a demon on Earth, and he helpfully redirects the wayward contact looking for the Azerbaijani sector chief. He loves improvising and getting away with shenanigans under the institutional radar. And boy golly was he impressed with Jane Austen: master spy, brandy smuggler, and mastermind of the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery.

And if you look at it a certain way, for as long as Crowley has considered himself to be on “[his] own side” - going at least as far back as Job - he could almost think of himself as a sort of double agent. It’s actually a very romantic sort of notion, befitting our hopeless romantic of a (professedly former) demon; but it’s romantic in a very different way than we, the audience, have been primed to watch for.

In other words, in a very “on my own side” kind of way, Crowley really gets a kick out of being a spy. Or at least, dressing up and accessorizing as one, and moonlighting as a good-doing double agent when he can get away with it. And also being a plotting criminal mastermind. Two sides of a coin, really. Just look at Jane Austen.

My point is: No, Crowley did not wait around for Shax to come find him in a turtleneck so that he could go flirt with Aziraphale later. He’ll flirt with Aziraphale no matter what. No, this:

is actually this:

Much like the one he wears to the Dirty Donkey in 1967:

whilst holy water heist-plotting. Here's a clearer shot with gratuitous Bentley, because I love them:

…and which he'll wear again, with appropriate camouflage, while infiltrating Heaven in S2E6:

That is the 1967 planning a HEIST turtleneck for committing ESPIONAGE and STEALING THINGS in. Because turtlenecks are what modern human master spies wear to get their hands dirty - after all, he saw it in a movie once.

Crowley dons his tactical turtleneck sometime during the first major break in the action (which doesn't happen until after the joint miracle to hide Gabriel) after he learns about the threat the Book of Life poses to Aziraphale. Loverboy started mentally preparing himself to go after that book immediately upon learning that it was in play as a genuine threat.

Now let’s pick up at the S2E2 Dirty Donkey scene, reading the story from this angle. Of course, Crowley enables Aziraphale’s delusions about Heaven by hiding information from him, and does not disclose the Book of Life threat when they meet again. They go into the pub, Aziraphale shamelessly paws Crowley’s chest like the seductive Bond Girl he is, and Crowley gets to act all smooth and suave and intimidating as he chases off the interloping Mr. Brown (or Mr. Collins for the Pride & Prejudice fans, take your pick).

Ergo, theory: beginning in S2E2, Crowley is already thinking of himself as a Jane Austen/James Bond action hero (“How will our hero cope?”), psyching himself up to rescue Aziraphale by getting his spy game on and stealing the Book of Life.

Now, watch closely...This is where Aziraphale and Crowley brainstorm their plans to solve the problem they both know about: getting Maggie and Nina to fall in love and thereby get Heaven off their backs. Crowley’s vavoom plan is drawn from yet another movie (“Get humans wet and staring into each other’s eyes - vavoom, sorted. I saw it in a Richard Curtis film.”). But Crowley also implicitly shares his solution to the problem he hasn’t told Aziraphale about. And true to form, Crowley’s Jane Austen solution isn’t the same as Aziraphale’s Jane Austen solution.

Two solutions that fail by the end of Season 2, and a secret third one that might still work...and there's our magic trick of three.

‘“I’m lost. Am I doing a rainstorm?” Yes, babe. And a heist, too - just not until season three. Can I get a wahoo!?

I won’t spend time on A Companion to Owls during this meta, except to note that in all three minisodes, we get to watch stories that involve Crowley acting as a double agent on “his/their own side” - successfully making Hell and Heaven think he’s fulfilling their will while saving Job’s goats and children; failing to fool Hell when he does a good deed in Edinburgh; and of course, collaborating with Aziraphale whilst evading detection as an infernal turncoat during the Blitz.

(Because this is getting long, I'll also skip over Crowley's interrogation of Jim in this episode - I'll probably come back to that in another meta. But interrogating is a rather spy-ish thing to do.)

When we catch up with Crowley again later, he’s already slipped out of the bookshop, having left Aziraphale to his biblical reverie about Job. He saunters snakily down Whickber Street as usual, but with a very pointed and swift glance over his shoulder (see pic above). This demon is up to something - possibly something we didn’t get to see, something that may have happened offscreen while he stepped out. In any case, knowing there’ve been unfriendly angels in the neighborhood that morning, he’s rightly concerned about being spied on.

From this point until the beginning of episode six, there isn’t a whole lot of opportunity for Crowley to make any next moves. He babysits the bookshop, during which time he manages to wring some crucial information out of Jim; he follows his Crowley’s Angel around like a puppy, and downs a bottle of red like a good old fashioned lovesick boy once that’s been pointed out to him. If any plotting or scheming is underway, this occult being is keeping stumm for now.

This has been a long one, so I’ll wrap up with Crowley’s infiltration of Heaven with Muriel. The turtleneck disguise works (Archer fans, be vindicated!) long enough to gather some information that will be crucial not just to the denouement of S2, but also to Crowley’s journey in S3 (previous post on Crowley's Fall, Saraqael, and memory wiping). And Aziraphale gets to enjoy that view exactly zero times. The point isn’t oh, a turtleneck! How flirty! So cunty! So cute! Y’all. Everything matters. The costume change was a deliberate choice. In-universe, Crowley’s decision to wear his special spy turtleneck for spying in is a signal that he is out doing spy things, even as we watch.

In sum: Beginning in S2E2 and continuing through the end of the season, Aziraphale and Crowley are actively living out the scripts of two parallel, concurrent, and completely different Jane Austen stories. But you and I, dear fellow audience member, we came here for a comedy with a hefty jigger of romance, and that’s what Neil gave us to focus on. And right up until the Final 15, that was the only story we saw.

Meanwhile, Special Agent A. J. Crowley doesn’t have time to mope around at the end of S2E6. He’s kicked down, but he’s not out. He's got a Book of Life to steal, a very serious bone to pick with a certain memory-wiping angel, and his Angel and the world to save.

“‘Heigh ho,’ said [romantic, optimist, former demon, hero, master spy] Anthony Crowley, and just drove anyway.”

#so honestly #I think the biggest mark against this conclusion is that Crowley sees his mirror Maggie taking a nap at the end of S2E6 #there is a strong chance of a depression nap before any further spying gets underway #but I am counting on Muriel to be a dorky ray of sunshine and snap him out of it with Clues #good omens #good omens meta #good omens 2 #crowley in a turtleneck #demon bookseller plantdad spy

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dulcesiabits · 9 months

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Oh my god I just love lyney and furina!! it's so nice seeing someone else who enjoys their (cringefail because they were trying to be romantic) personalities!! Your lyney fic...i May have like. Cried at it. A little. (full on sobbing 🫰) Also if I may suggest something? Both Lyney and Furina have a crush on you...and they've made it Fontaine's problem. Lyney offer you a rose with a wink and kisses your hand but then Furina appears screaming and pulls you into her chest and oh no...you're stuck in between them...what a Tragedy...(giggling and twirling my hair). They just won't agree to share you :( Furina tries to arrest Lyney 17492893747 times a day and he keeps trying to saw her in half. It's very amusing in the first five minutes but then it starts raining because both you and Neuvilette are crying out of embarassment. Just a little idea I had 🫶

LITERALLY CHOKED WHILE READING THIS BC IT MADE ME LAUGH SO MUCH.......

Being stuck between Lyney and Furina? Both cringefail tryhard romantics? Haha what a shame... haha oh NO who would ever want that haha......... (Me and you. We want it). It's the biggest scandal to hit Fontaine in years. Charlotte can't get enough of it because a famous magician and the literal archon fighting over you? It's great material!!! The imagery of Furina trying to dig up more and more outdated and obscure laws and even trying to pass her own ridiculous ones in order to find a legal reason to arrest Lyney is so good??? Meanwhile Lyney invites Furina to participate in his magic shows so he can stage an accident-- Uh, so he can :) find a normal way to get rid of :) his competition. No trickery afoot here! (Him trying to saw her in half but she's like. immune to his sabotage because she's silly like that is so funny. All his tricks just bounce off of her or she gets into some cartoon shenanigans to avoid them).

NEUVILLETTE BEING SO EMBARRASSED BY THEIR ANTICS that it starts raining is actually hilarious!! It's not just sadness that drives him to cry.... it's secondhand embarrassment because his archon humiliates herself and Fontaine daily bc she's trying to jail a twink. The taxes are going towards Furina's increasingly elaborate presents towards you instead of like. public healthcare and infrastructure. Lynette is so done with seeing Lyney stay up until 3am to feverishly plan his next great romantic overture towards you. They're both goofy like that!!!

Thank you for reading my fic too!! <3 Even if it moved you to tears.... I will wipe 'em away, dw!!!

#liya answers #genshin impact #furina #lyney #furina x reader #lyney x reader

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captainpondlilly · 4 months

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I saw a post with a ton of notes about the time quangle and I can't find it again

It's driving me up a wall because one of their big pieces of evidence was that Fig is late on her sophomore album.

The OP seemed to interpret it as a school project but that's not what sophomore album means

Fig's band is behind on their second album - this is a separate thing from school issues, sophomore in this context means second album, not a project for her sophomore year of highschool.

Also we already knew Fabian was older than other people his grade.

This doesn't mean time quangle shenanigans aren't afoot! Just, wanted to clear some things up because nobody else seemed to be doing so on the post.

#dimension 20 #d20 #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high freshman year #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #brennan lee mulligan #fig and the cig figs #fig faeth #fabian seacaster

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wolfgirlandfarmboy · 23 days

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SPEAKING OF MARRIAGE. have you ever drawn them at their wedding recently? what would their dresses look like.. what would be their song.. who would be invited.. would it be huge or lowkey.. would anything go wrong or would it go off without a hitch.. inquiring minds want to know!

I sadly haven't drawn them in their matching wedding dresses recently 😭 I think the last time I did was this Encanto Redraw

I really need to update them though especially since I had wedding lore for Lore itself more fleshed out.

AS FOR THEIR WEDDING SONG...maaan I really need to put time aside to specifically put together their actual wedding playlist. There are both SO MANY choices for them yet none because all the songs I have picked for them are too fast pace for a more traditional wedding vibes...I DID cheat a little while answering this ask and look up a list of good R&B songs to play at weddings and found out Jamie Foxx and Beyonce's duet "When I First Saw You" is a REALLY good fit for these two.

When it comes to guests, they would def invite all their close friends (so everyone in Briar Patch basically). Pinokuni is def Jack's best man with Kai being one of his groomsmen while Ashe is for sure one of Nana's bridesmaids along with Xia being a bridesmate.

I see Jack and Nana getting married as the cliche fairytale ending for Beanstalked so Jack SOMEHOW accidentally invites all the cool folks they met throughout their journey together. He'd do it in the "I wanna be nice just so no one feels personally excluded because all these guys were really nice and helped us save the world" and not really expect anyone to truly show up save for 3 or 4 people...

...and then Jack and Nana find out "Oh everyone we sent an invite to actually showed up and now we actually have to figure out how to seat 50+ people in one location"

So it started off initially planned to be lowkey only for it to become VERY highkey at the last second.

It isn't much of a problem though because the spot they have their wedding is outside. SPECIFICALLY at Nana's dad's final resting place..which sounds wild BUT LEMME EXPLAIN--

When he died, he purposely made sure he was in his big ass wolf form so that he wouldn't be hauled off by hunters and taken from his family. So there is a giant wolf skeleton that is located in the Lupine Forest that is kind of one with nature now so it's covered in greenery. It's a little unsettling to those unaware of the lore behind it while also still being serene. Nana goes there often when things get too hard so she can talk to her dad.

She wanted to have her wedding there so she could make sure her dad was present. And Jack was more than willing to oblige her.

Miraculously, even with the giant guest list, everything goes off without a too much of a hitch. I wouldn't say entirely smoothly since that's a lot of people and there's some shenanigans afoot especially at the wedding reception since that's when everyone parties.

BUT it's a very fun experience for them both, even for Nana who is the #1 antisocial of the village.

The couple did take a very well deserved honeymoon in a much quieter place afterwards though. Poor things had to recharge and fully process they were husband and wife now.

#i ready this ask like a microphone being held to my face #ask #jack #nana #wedding #beanstalked spoiler: jack and nana get married in the end #but this is a story based off fairytales so like...I AM SURE IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A SURPRISE

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xysidhequeen · 1 year

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Dick: I'm older than you!

Danny, time traveller whose prove of existence dates back to ancient cave painting: ohh? prove it.

Dick can't prove shit and it's going to drive him insane that he can't. He can't find out Danny's real name, his family history, even if this kid has a diploma because Tucker scrubbed every trace of Danny off any electric device in the world. (And via blackmail and bribes used various ghosts to clear out any physical copies) Of course, if Danny wants that information made available again, Tucker can do that

But. What Dick can find is what Danny requested be left. Which is only things from hundreds, thousands of years ago. Mosaics of him in ancient temples. Busts of him carved by long dead famous sculptors. Hell, he's even now heard rumors there's ancient art of Danny on other planets! He's even mentioned in ancient texts!

And. What's even worse. Is occasionally Jason shows up or is mentioned too. But Dick can prove Jason was born 18 years ago dammit so it's the only clue he has that there is shenanigans afoot.

Danny Nightingale, gaslight gatekeep girlbossing his way through making Dick question everything. Because Dick knows Danny is fucking with him he just can't prove it.

Now a snippet as a present for the ask

💚

"Did he take a thermos with him? I saw a thermos before he Leroy Jenkins himself out of my window," Dick demanded, opening said window to poke his head out and look around.

"That was a thermos, yes." Jason nodded as Dick, with a slight pout, closed the window, giving it one last suspicious glare, as if the window itself was the reason behind Danny's sudden supernatural departure, and turned back towards Jason.

#xy answers #tkahrk au #the king and his red knight au #tkahrk #the king and his red knight #danny phantom au #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #danny phantom #dc x dp #dp x dc #Dick uses older memes because hes a millennial in this AU #i have a lot of material of Danny just fucking w/Dick from this part. Danny has made it his mission to be the best little shit #Jason is still utterly delighted at this #and he will commit to the bit too #Jason: Whatcha mean Wing? Dannys been around for eons #Dick: No he HAS NOT I KNOW IT #Danny: But you cant prove it can you detective?#Dick: *incoherent screeching noises*

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tcfactory · 2 months

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I'm thinking about the timeline others have puzzled out for SVSSS/PIDW and about how 30-something is staggeringly young for sect leaders/masters in a setting where cultivation/golden core formation leads to immortality. Especially with the handwavy fantasy timelines, you can easily make a master hundreds if not thousands of years old, depending on how high you go with cultivation/how wild your setting is.

Not to mention that, while golden core formation is somewhere in the middle of the list of stages (there are variations, can be different names and number of stages, but here's one I kind of like: Qi Gathering, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, Body Unity, Void Boundary and Mahayana and then you can ascend to proper godhood), the stages are supposed to be exponentially more difficult and time consuming. The peak lords forming their golden cores in their twenties-thirties is plausible, if they are a generation of prodigies, but it would still make them lower-tier cultivators in the grand scheme of things.

But then again the setting does seem to be pretty lacking in higher tiers of cultivation - everyone relevant seems to be Core Formation stage (that is, they have successfully formed their golden core) with maybe the Old Palace Master as a Nascent Soul cultivator - so maybe this specific setting just cuts out the higher stages and allows ascension at the end of Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation? It's still strange that we have some of the most powerful cultivators (YQY) be this young, because 30-something is bizarrely early for even Nascent Soul level, unless there's reincarnation shenanigans afoot and he carried over his cultivation level from a previous life.

Anyway, it makes me wonder if something happened to one or more of the previous generation in the fight against TLJ that forced an early ascension. Maybe someone got severely injured (or potentially even killed) so they decided to ditch the Qing generation before they could start losing (more of) their members.

Kudos to the current peak lords if so, because managing to keep the sect running competently and maintaining CQMP's standing among the other sects is quite the accomplishment, especially if their training had to be cut short. Imagine starting an internship and then getting fast-tracked to CEO before you could even finish the orientation course.

#svsss #shut up tc #does this count as a meta post? eeeeh probably not #it could just be Airplane's lazy world building #but that's not as fun

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mollymagician · 1 year

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Okay, there’s an hour left of Valentines Day. I wanted to post a present, because I am so grateful to this fandom. You got me drawing again. You got me WRITING again. After YEARS.

I love you. Have some fic.

��………………………………………………………………….

If you asked Hob what he loved most about living, he could easily give you as many different answers as there were days contained in his 600 years of life. But there was one that he always came back to, again and again (and not just because he was a teacher now and felt obligated)- you just never run out of new things to learn.

Today, for instance, on his meandering walk home from campus, Hob discovered he’d finally learned how not to jump clear out of his skin every time Dream appeared next to him out of thin bloody air.

Dream’s boot hit the ground in perfect step with Hob straight out of the ether, as though they’d been strolling together for an hour. Dream quirked one of his small smiles, hands tucked in his pockets. And there it was. Another thing Hob had learned over the years. That certain…was it even a look? It was more of an aura, if anything. The aura that surrounded Dream of the Endless when he was attempting to look innocent.

“Hullo, love,” Hob said, and quirked an eyebrow. “Wasn’t expecting this pleasure today.”

Dream slanted him an amused look. “I found myself with unexpected free time”

“Did you now?”

“Yes. And unexpectedly…inspired.” The smile grew, just enough to crinkle the corner of his eyes. (Oh, some sort of shenanigans were obviously afoot.) He gestured at the extra load Hob was bogged down with. “Do you need assistance carrying any of…this?”

Hob laughed, the kind of laugh that would have come with a compulsive ear tug if he hadn’t been trying hard to break the habit for the past decade or so. Aside from the usual satchel loaded with laptop and papers and other academic debris, he was hauling a bag filled with what looked like half the candy aisle of Tesco, along with at least one bunch of flowers, a small balloon on a stick that read #1 TEACHER and some sort of furry stuffed creature. “Valentines day, “He huffed. “The kids are sweethearts, really. But I have no idea how I’m going to eat all of this. Probably going to have to leave half of it in the break room at the Inn, get everyone else as sugared up as I am.”

He barely heard Dream’s soft, rumbled laughter. “They appreciate you.” Hob grinned down at his shoes and Dream shifted to brush their shoulders just the smallest bit. A quiet moment, and then, very very softly, “You are very…easy to appreciate.”

Goddammit. Hobs breath streamed out in the snappy air as he opened his mouth, shut it, cleared his throat. If his face hadn’t already been red from the chill, it damn well would be now.

Dream went on. “Your student’s appreciation was very sweet. And. In some cases, very loud. Today.” He tipped back his chin to look at the clouds scudding by.

“Aha.” Hobs grin bloomed. “Inspiration, you said. I see. You were…appreciating how inspiring my student’s appreciation was.”

“Perhaps.” Innocent.

Hob felt a wave of something familiar and impossible to smother, a kind of unbearable fondness, well up from the core of himself. Acting on impulse, he thrust his hand into the sack propped against his hip and came up with a…heart-shaped lolly. Of course. Swirled in shades of blue and orange that looked like it would give you some kind of radioactive superpower if this was a comic. Lucky for him it wasn’t. He grinned and handed it over with a wink. “Well, I’d appreciate if you’d help me eat some of this. Seeing as how you’re here.”

Dream took it with an unreadable expression.

“It won’t irradiate you,” Hob said. “Er…probably.”

“Hmm.” Dream stated at it. He twirled it between his fingers. Then he tugged the wrapper off and, with great deliberation, slid it into his mouth.

Hob swallowed. “I, uhh-“

And was cut off by a loud crunch.

Dream removed the stick from his mouth, completely devoid of lolly. He crunched a few more times, thoughtful. “That was….not terrible.”

A laugh burst loose from Hobs chest, only slightly breathless. “Bloody hell, you’re one of those lunatics who just crushes it right off, aren’t you? That wins first place for best new fact I’ve learned today.” At dreams blank look, he elaborated, “Sweets. You’re a cruncher. Heh, you know, that’s something I wouldn’t have thought, love, considering how you….uh…”

Dream said, “Hob.”

“Home!” Hob clapped his hands together, brightly. “Right! Lets go home! I’m freezing.”

“That is,” Dream intoned, “an inspired idea.”

“What the hell flavor is that, anyway?” Hob asked. Dream looked down at the empty stick, thoughtful. “I honestly don’t know.” He raised his gaze back to Hob, eyes so very bright. And, oh, the crinkle was back. “Perhaps you can tell me.”

When their mouths came together it was nearly hard enough to upset the bag all over the sidewalk.

Later that night-

“Dream, love, what are you doing, digging through all that?”

“I….nothing.” Innocent.

“Heh. Okay, fine. Let’s dump it, I’m sure there’s another one in there somewhere.”

#dreamling #the sandman netflix #dream x hob #Dreamling fic #Valentine’s Day #my fic #my first fic in nearly 20 years #❤️❤️❤️#Hob insisted he take the flowers

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theminecraftloser · 11 months

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Thank you Grian for introducing the Proximity Mod to 3rd Life and subsequently Hermitcraft. (And then other SMPs implementing it too)

But also I hate you for it because now rewatching old seasons feels so empty.

Watching a prank play out without hearing little giggles in the background, the only way to scare someone you pass by is sneak up and punch them (or drop dead on top of them) instead of yelling boo, or using the custom horns.

There’s just less shenanigans afoot. Or when ppl meet up with each other there’s the awkward cut when they’re getting into a voice call together rather than just going right into it.

#mcyt #hermitcraft #grian #trafficblr #3rd life #hermitblr

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heraldeez · 1 year

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Mistletoe

Viktor x Reader | 2.4K | SFW

Warnings/Tags: KISSIN’, and some pre-relationship shenanigans

You want to steal a kiss from everyone's favorite assistant professor, and by the gods are you going to get what you want.

A/N: Happy holidays, folks! :] Though the season is busy, I wanted to put out some Viktor smoochin, to get us all through the cold months. Enjoy!

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Today, mischief is afoot.

Mischief in form of you, hauling a canvas duffle of metal poles and custom gearwork into the front doors of the Academy, winter wind nipping at your heels all the way through the grand arches. You quickly tap the clinging rime of powdery snow from your shoes in the drafty entry hall before heading to the stairs.

Despite your wind bitten cheeks, you have ambitions for the day.

And not ambitions for the custom miniaturized planetarium prototype in your bag, no. You have seasonal ambitions, ambitions for the mistletoe carefully tucked, to not knock off any fragile leaves, into the front pocket of your supply bag.

Today, you’re stealing a kiss.

Long enough have you admired Viktor from afar. Today, you’re making your intentions known, even if you have to use a bit of trickery to do so.

Not too much.

Nobody can really complain about mistletoe, right? It’s festive. Even Viktor, who can’t be pried from his work for love or money.

The heavy doors rasp over the floor as you push your way into the Hextech lab.

It’s a good hour to be here. Viktor’s desk sits in a sunspot, likely the warmest part of the lab right now, and he’s curled over his notes, soaking it all in. Gentle late-morning sun slants lazily through the windows, sending warm threads of light through Viktor’s hair to really bring out all those rich golden highlights. As though his profile is glowing, the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, the point of his chin all carry a halo of precious light from the cloudless day, even shut away in here, hard at work. You can practically see sparkles of it resting on the tips of his eyelashes.

Gods, you’re in deep. You could stare at him all day, but Viktor’s ears perk up to the noise of your entry, and he turns to face your way.

Viktor – thankfully alone, from the looks of things – raises a brow as you step in, one finger twirling aimlessly through his hair, the way he does when he’s swamped in work.

And like the methodical turning of clockwork gears, your plans grind into motion.

“I need a favor.”

Viktor’s other brow creeps up to match. “Not even a hello?”

You grin, easily, confidently. “You prefer when I cut to the chase.”

“Perhaps.” He snorts as he sets his pencil down, giving you a rare slice of his undivided attention. “What did you need?”

You jangle the sack of metal rods.

“I need your lab for testing. Mine isn’t big enough for this project.”

Viktor squints at the bag. “Be my guest, though in return…”

You pause – this wasn’t in your script. And, shamefully, your heart thumps a little harder thinking just what he might want of you.

“You’ll have to explain to me what you’re working on,” he says, simply.

Is that all? You clear your throat, nonchalant, shoving aside thoughts of illicit lab activities for a far more appropriate response, “Uh, yeah, sure! Of course.”

You heft the base of the mechanism out of the bag, setting it heavily in the center of the lab, beginning your explanation.

It’s a small scale planetarium, something Viktor probably could have made years earlier in his schooling. But it was a commission, easy cash and renown, so you’d readily signed up. A moving night sky, panels suspended on spokes, covered in a lightweight dome. A foreign noble had specifically requested it as a party feature, for guests to entertain themselves with while they have their fill of bubbly spirits.

“It’s looking a little… incomplete,” Viktor pokes, grinning at where you hold a single spoke instead of twelve or so.

You scowl. “That’s because it is. I’m just – this is the most energy efficient way of testing, okay? Get back to your own work.”

You aren’t actually here to argue about the proper method of creating a prototype.

You have ambitions, damn it.

And you really need him to turn away so you can go about achieving them.

Viktor raises his hands placatingly, though he’s still obviously laughing at you a little from the bemused smile on his face, but obediently twists his seat to face his own work again.

You watch, hawklike, until his shoulders square up, hunched over his work, telltale signs that he’s sucked back into whatever he was working on, before you whip out the sprig of mistletoe.

Deft fingers secure it to the end of the segmented pole, and you hurry to get it attached at the base, lest Viktor find any more teasing commentary within himself and turn around to deliver it.

Unlikely, with how his focus tended to catch while working, but better safe than sorry.

The air seems to still in your lungs as your finger hovers over the ignition switch.

By all your calculations, and perhaps unhealthy obsession, the poles should be the perfect length to span from the center of the room to arc directly over the workstations clustered around the room, Viktor’s desk included.

But if your mental measurements were off, or worse, the motor doesn’t function the way you think –

You just have to get it over with. No progress without a price.

The air wooshes out of you in relief as the motor revs on pleasantly, a quiet chugging hum as the spoke catches in the internal gearwork and shifts, beginning its slow rotation atop the room.

A rotation that passes perfectly, to the inch, about 10 feet above Viktor’s tousled hair, unbeknownst to him.

Victory is sweet. On this day… your ambitions pay off.

You step back to admire your handiwork, pleased that while in motion, it’s difficult to tell what the bundle of silvery green at the end is, all the way up by the ceiling. Even if Viktor were to look up, it wouldn’t be readily obvious what you were up to.

The thought fills you with giddy buoyancy, plucking out your lunch to enjoy while you wait for your plans to come to fruition. You hop up onto Viktor’s desk, all the luck thus far making you bolder, pushing your luck.

He glances at you, lips quirked up, but doesn’t offer any reprimand.

“How long do you intend to let it run?” he asks, scratching away at a complex looking equation on one of the many sheets of parchment littering the desk in front of him. His inkwell is nearing on empty, and his coffee mug already there.

“Oh, probably till I finish my lunch. I have a seminar to get to after this, so not terribly long.”

Viktor nods, and fades back into his work.

You swing your feet absently, watching the slowly spinning herb make its rounds, and take a big bite of your sandwich. A slice of thin cheese tries to chase your mouth as you pull away.

Ah, bliss. Everything was really going just as you’d planned. Good inventions. Good sandwich. Good company.

You cast your eyes over to peek at Viktor, hoping that you’re being subtle. He’s hard at work, like always.

The steady scratching of his pen gives you ample time to admire him. You relax into the warm sunlight draping across your shoulders like a shawl and drink your fill – of the soft cable-knit sweater, loose on his shoulders to ward off the chill of the lab, large buttons undone to leave his dress shirt exposed. The small ink stain on his shirt collar. The way his eyelashes really are sparkling in the light, this close. The deep bags under said eyes.

It wouldn’t kill him, to take a break.

“Do you intend to go home for the holiday?” you ask, lapping a bit of sauce off the side of your thumb where it had seeped out of the delicious crusty bread.

Viktor gives a little hum, to acknowledge that he heard you even as he doesn't raise his gaze, scribbling lines of formulas down. His handwriting gets smaller as he nears the bottom of the parchment. When he runs out of space, he finally replies, "No, not this year. We're close to a breakthrough, I just know it."

He neatly flips the page over.

To your surprise and great pleasure, Viktor pauses instead of resuming his work, pen midair, to glance at you curiously.

"Are you, eh, heading home at the end of the week?"

It gives you pause, the way that borders on asking if you’re available.

“Mmm, I’m still deciding. I could visit family, I suppose, but I am rather partial to the idea of taking an airship out to someplace warmer, a little weekend trip to take in the sights. I suppose I’ll just have to see how… open my schedule remains.”

If you’re being honest with yourself, you're probably going to veg out in your apartment and eat a bunch of junk food and holiday leftovers while trying to beat a record for ‘most time spent without leaving bed’.

But that leaves plenty of time, to hang around here. If Viktor is so inclined.

You slide eyes full of barely-restrained excitement over at him, even though you know they’re probably revealing your hand right now. “Why do you ask?”

His answer is too swift to be convincing.

“No reason.”

You fight not to beam with delight – not wanting to disturb the careful balance of teasing restraint that you and Viktor seem to have picked up – by popping the last of your sandwich into your mouth and drawing yourself to your feet. Balling the parchment paper wrapping in your hands, your feet carry you nonchalantly to pitch it in the bin before stopping at the base of your contraption.

Just a few more moments. Patience.

Twiggy green sails cheerfully through the air, just before his desk, and you subtly flip the switch as though you’d simply drawn a conclusion to your work. The spoke slides to a halt.

Directly above Viktor’s head, the bundle of vivid green and foggy white berries sits like a crown for your incumbent victory.

Your steps are light with satisfaction as you make your way over to his chair once more.

“Thank you, Viktor, for letting me use the space. Though, before I go, there’s just one more thing…”

Viktor turns, setting his arm on the back of his chair to look at you expectantly, but you merely point a flippant finger upward in lieu of words, sly grin on your face.

The way his eyes widen at the shock is endlessly satisfying.

Viktor seems a mix of guarded and flustered, the cutest flush rising to his cheeks. But his eyes hold a gleam that you can't quite parse.

Cautiously, he fixes you with a stern look, brows knit. "And you intend to partake in this, eh, tradition?"

Mysterious gleam or not, you barrel on. "Rules are rules."

"Ah, well in that case."

Like a switch had been flipped, Viktor's expression sets, determined.

He doesn’t even hesitate.

Capable hands seize your jaw, Viktor tugging you down to his level.

His fingers cup your jaw delicately and confidently, bowing you down to meet his lips and – and they're so soft –

And you can barely keep up with the change in atmosphere, his lips moving passionately against yours, a squeak leaving your throat only for him to hum it into his own, your hands seeking purchase in the sudden maelstrom and clutching at the front of his dress shirt for dear life.

Viktor is kissing you like an expert, and you're wondering just who is stealing a kiss from whom here, when he encourages your mouth open and – tongue! tongue! in an innocent mistletoe kiss! – his soft tongue slides delicately, exploratory against your own.

He tastes you, humming his appreciation as you reel to find balance and return his affections, twining himself tighter with you and for Janna's sake, when did your eyes close?

Who is this guy? What did he do with the shut-in, ‘couldn't make polite conversation for the first two months you knew him’ Viktor?

And who taught him to kiss like that?

Scratch that. You didn't want to know.

You just knew you never wanted him to stop.

But all good things must come to an end. Finally, finally, oxygen makes itself known as a necessity, and Viktor draws back, lips chasing purchase to the very last before finally parting with the softest noise of separation.

He looks at your mouth through long, low-drawn lashes, glittering above molten gold, before his eyes flick up to meet yours, your heart pounding tenfold as you consider that he might just go in for another round.

But his hands slip from your face.

"Mm, I suppose that fulfills our duty to tradition, then. Happy holidays."

Viktor turns to his work casually, clearing his throat, back to business as usual – only the slight flush of pink staining the tips of his ears and the creases at the front of his dress shirt saying otherwise.

"Don't you, eh, have that seminar to get to?"

You aren't sure if it's a cruel tease or if he's having mercy on your scrambled egg of a brain.

You grapple around for words. "Huh? I uh – yeah, yes, I do, that's – Well, now, yes."

So much for intellect.

You pack your things in a daze, shutting off the motor, folding spokes, fitting everything back into well worn canvas that smells of your own lab, your own home.

And your brain is stuck on loop.

Soft lips. Strong hands. Nimble tongue.

And cheeky.

He played you like cards. You’re going to be thinking about this for months.

"Ah, (Y/n)?"

Startled as you're heading out the door, you turn to find Viktor looking at you, that mysterious gleam in his eyes sparkling anew.

"If you do happen to find time in your busy holiday, perhaps we could," Viktor's lips quirk up in a self-satisfied little smirk, "do lunch?"

And all at once, it hits you, just what his eyes are holding.

A mischief, all his own.

Viktor continues, the death knell of your pride and the birth of something excitingly new between the two of you.

"After all, I'd love to address how you have obviously been dying to kiss me for months now."

#don't worry about who taught him that ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)#viktor x reader #viktor #viktor arcane #my work

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maolong · 2 months

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Yesterday I ended up spending too much time creating this diagram in order to describe yuri, and now I feel a need to actually go in and explain the description.For the purposes of this diagram, Yuri is described as some level of relationship between two girls (This will be explained why girls here is in part inaccurate) that is deeper in some form then their relationship is with others too a degree that it is an important aspect of the narrative, characters, and/or framing of the story in such a way that it can be construed as having a romantic or similar tone to it either in an overt or an implied manner. Similar tone here can be used to describe things such as rivalries, sexual attraction, pure lust, hatred, basically anything that is in some way an intense emotional relationship between the two. In this case, two characters who are friends may be excluded from being considered Yuri because they do not have an intense emotional bond in the relationship, because it is secondary to their relationship with other characters (In terms of emotional depth usually, narrative importance has never stopped yuri shipping or yuri bait from being applied), or because the friendship is largely unimportant in it's role for the story or the characters. Other reasons are possible but are often less used.

Now it's time for a definition of terms, I will try to use specific examples of relationships when discussing these, and as such it will contain spoilers. I will make an attempt to give proper warning but if Tumblr has a way of spoiler text I don't know what it is so expect spoilers to be forewarned but not hidden.

Starting off we have 'Pure Yuri,' I'll be using Sakura trick as an example later on so if you don't want to be spoiled for it (Not that I'm sure that you can really be spoiled about it). Pure Yuri is yuri that is emblematic of the common image of yuri from the mid to late 2010s online or in general culture that would be aware of such. Pure Yuri tends to be Yuri where both characters are aware that they have feelings for each other, and reciprocate them in a way that acknowledges both parties feelings, and in a way that has genuine affection involved. While it doesn't show a problem free existence, it's typically one in which issues that are a result of the relationship are quickly resolved and/or meaningless or alternatively ones in which they are primarily a result of others people not either of the people involved in said Yuri. Sakura Trick for instance, has the two main characters of it 'Yuu' and 'Haruka' engaging in a romantic relationship with each other through kissing and spending time with just the two of them as a solution to being split apart in class. The issues here are ones that are largely irrelevant, but they do serve as a framing for the focus which is on the relationship between Yuu and Haruka as well as how it's special compared to their other relationships. This focus on the relationship, and it's focus on it as something that is uniquely pure is the cornerstone of a lot of pure yuri. This applies to many forms of Yuri in which the focus is on a lewd relationship as well, and even in these cases it is often times framed as something that is more pure then other forms of lewd behaviors and even sex. Some forms of pure yuri that are focused on lewd behaviors, Virgin's Empire for example doesn't show those involved in the lewd shenanigans afoot as inherently pure (Often times quite the opposite) however, there is still a focus on it being something that all parties are aware of the emotional investment of desire and lust between the parties involved, and being more then happy to engage with those feelings. Pure Yuri ends up being something that is primarily about the relationship between the two girls in a way that is in many ways celebratory of the relationship as well, and this ends up being what defines it. This doesn't mean that the two will end up together, in fact due to some japanese cultural beliefs about the relationships young girls should hold and ideas of tragedy, it is common in a lot of works for them to explicitly not end up together. This has been changing as more and more works come out where the girls do get together in the end.

#yuri #pure yuri #yuri triangle #How much is too much to write about Yuri?#THere's never enough yuri #idiot yuri #toxic yuri

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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 2 years

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1am thoughts here I go

what if the Riddler's whole talk in The Batman about the orphanage and how hard non-rich orphans have it inspires Bruce to donate to local orphanages, like he gets really invested in rebuilding and supporting them

and maybe he gets stuck with some pr bullshit and can't just dump money and run, he has to stick around for photos and to shake hands and meet some of the kids face to face and give them fancy gifts and stuff

but there's one sour faced kid who wants nothing to do with it, apparently he's new to the orphanage, his story is still in papers even, an acrobatics 'accident' with suspicion of foul play, they want him in the photoshoot for added pr, he doesn't wanna be there, Bruce can relate

Bruce asks him what gift he'd like, the kid says he wants his parents back, Bruce of course says 'mood but I can't give you that champ', so the kid says 'then I want someone to take down their killer'

Bruce looks this kid dead in the eye and says quiet enough that nobody else can hear 'I'll see what I can do'

then we get a fun detective story as he tries to track down the killer and uncovers a more sinister plot afoot with added Villain of the Day for main plot business, all the while Dick is doing his own investigating and gets himself right in the middle of trouble, incidentally helping Batman out in a tight spot

Dick absolutely decides he's gonna be Batman's sidekick because of this, Bruce says absolutely the fuck not where are your caretakers why is nobody keeping you off the streets at night what am I even paying this orphanage for the fuck

his obvious solution to this problem is to adopt the kid and have Alfred babysit him while Bruce does Batman stuff, because that is the Only Reasonable Solution he insists to Alfred, whose response is something along the lines of Respectfully What the Fuck Master Bruce

Dick obviously has no issues climbing out of a three storey window and so Alfred has to go to increasingly extreme measures to keep him inside, shenanigans ensue, at some point he either finds the Batcave or figures it out while yeeting himself into Batman's Business

if this is not how Dick Grayson enters the scene in The Batman 2; Bruce Wayne Impulsively Adopts a Feral Acrobat, I will be rioting in the streets, thank you

#lula's headcanons #the batman

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thatgirl4815 · 7 months

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A few thoughts re. your post about Top/cheating double standards - I feel so bemused bout ppl who say they felt conflicted bout the Sand/Ray love scene cos it was cheating (if nothing else, just listen to the scoring! If you were meant to feel icky about it the music would tell you so! The way it was scored and filmed is 100% meant to convey a sense of romance and love and *fucking finally* - nothing about it indicates shenanigans are afoot!), because at this point literally EVERYONE knows Mew is faking his relationship with Ray - Mew knows it, Ray knows it, the audience has always known it. Just because they haven't explicitly verbalised it doesn't mean they don't know it. The last time they saw each other Ray accused him of still loving Top and Mew didn't deny it, nor did he try to stop Ray from leaving (some ppl might even consider that as good as a break-up...). Now compare that to Top: at the time of the Car Incident, both him and Mew have genuine feelings for each other and are genuinely having a go at making something of it; they are on good terms - they part on good terms. Like you said, yes Boston messes with his head, but that's literally all it takes to get him to cheat. Okay, ppl will bring their personal povs/experiences re. cheating to the table, as is their right, and I get that it's an emotive subject (and one for which I too have basically zero tolerance), but I'm not sure how anyone can say with a straight face that those two scenarios are comparable let alone that what Ray did was worse. I keep seeing ppl watch the Ray/Mew end scene and come away from it happily acknowledging that Mew consciously using Ray explains his indifference to Ray/Sand, whilst simultaneously still condemning Ray because they don't seem able to extend that reasoning to Ray's own behaviour - Mew's not the only one clued in! IMO there's no way Ray would be out there having ridiculously hot make-out sessions with Sand if he believed for one second that Mew was genuinely falling in love with him (or even genuinely trying to). Even when he's high as a kite in ep 8, it's obvious he knows what's up - when your so-called boyfriend (who up until a hot second ago repeatedly and flatly denied having any romantic interest in you whatsoever) recoils from you in private but plants one on you in front of his ex in public...like Ray said, you get the hint! You can argue semantics about cheating and sure, in an ideal world they'd have had that open and honest convo then and there because yes, it's always better to communicate your feelings instead of running away to interrupt a perfectly lovely platonic bestie sleepover, but have they MET these characters??? They're walking disasters! It just fascinates me that you have Mew, the so-called victim of Ray's nefarious betrayal, not only shrugging it off but actively giving Ray his blessing to have as much sweet sweet sex with Sand as he wants, and yet parts of the audience are still like 'I dunno, still feels wrong...'

As far as Top is concerned - like you, my issue with his character isn't so much the cheating, it's how two-faced he is: he's a completely different person in his interactions with anyone who isn't Mew/someone Mew is on good terms with. And to be honest, I like him the best in those scenes! I do believe he's trying to be a better person for Mew, or at least he thinks he is, but as other ppl have pointed out, at the moment it's only performative precisely because he doesn't bother when Mew's not around to see it/won't hear about it. Sand is the obvious example - even when Top's ostensibly offering him an olive branch, his words may be conciliatory but his tone of voice/facial expressions are anything but - they ooze scorn and smarm! And you could argue that he's making progress (not telling Mew about Ray/Sand, or bout him saving Ray from arrest), but to be honest I enjoy the Top that turns on a dime the second Boston or Sand show up (I love his chemistry with both of them - that little Top/Boston scene at the party in ep 8 cracked me up) because that keeps him interesting - you're always waiting for the facade to drop!

Excellent points all around! Your bit about the use of music and tone to highlight the purity and positivity surrounding the SandRay scene in Ep9 is really telling. Like you, I see a lot of people resisting the narratives’ attempts to guide us towards a positive/negative outlook on the plot—not to say people should not push back against these details when the characters’ actions are deserving of scorn, but these details give us a good sense of the characters’ head spaces. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t meant to inform our impression of these situations.

The entire RayMew talk is so necessary to the conversation of whether SandRay is considered cheating. I won’t fault the pushback to a certain extent, because I can’t say that anything in this show is the most straightforward. But like you said, these characters are messy. In a perfect world, yeah, they’d lay everything out on the table and have the “what are we?” discussion before going forward with other people in any way. But especially for someone like Ray who is so conflicted in his feelings (and so clearly struggling to accept that Mew has never, and will never, love him romantically), that just isn’t plausible. The most important point to me is that MEW DOESN’T CARE. He might as well have said it before with how blatantly obvious it was. Like, what is Ray supposed to think about the status of your relationship (which was never explicitly defined) when you refuse to kiss him in private but make out in front of your ex-boyfriend?

Gonna list a few of your claims here that I connect with a lot because you really said it best:

“…when your so-called boyfriend (who up until a hot second ago repeatedly and flatly denied having any romantic interest in you whatsoever) recoils from you in private but plants one on you in front of his ex in public...like Ray said, you get the hint!”

“IMO there's no way Ray would be out there having ridiculously hot make-out sessions with Sand if he believed for one second that Mew was genuinely falling in love with him (or even genuinely trying to).”

I don’t think anyone is arguing that what Ray has done is the best way to handle the situation objectively (at least, no one that I’ve seen), but just that the circumstances and evidence we’ve been presented with are not 100% aligned for Top and Ray and should thus not be treated as equally wrong. When the characters themselves are not only demonstrating these lack of feelings but calling them out verbally, there’s substantially less room for the “Ray is just as bad as Top” thing. And I do expect to get flack for this but honestly, in my viewing experience, viewing the situations as objectively as I can, what Top did is worse for the reasons you outline. And this is not me saying that Ray can do no wrong. It’s in consideration of what was expressly defined by each couple.

Regarding Top’s character in general; Top is two-faced, and I also enjoy that aspect of his character because it’s the only thing that really gives him any dimension. I wish Mew could see him when he interacts one-on-one with Sand and Boston because I have a feeling that would enlighten him to aspects of Top’s character that he’s hidden away. The funny thing is that Mew seems to have suspected this right from the start, yet he hasn’t ever seen this part of Top.

#thank you anon for putting it so eloquently #I know this discourse is a tricky subject for many people but I think we’ve gotten more clarity on it in Ep9 #ofts #only friends #only friends the series #sandray #raysand #RayMew #TopMew #only friends top #ask #only friends ask #only friends meta

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oletus-manors-log · 6 months

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OBSERVER'S NOTE:

" Happy Halloween! To commemorate today's occasion, I wrote something that is associated with the hide and seek mode. Although it was written months ago (as courtesy of my mutuals and how scared they got. Love you, Sam /p), I kept this hidden till today to post it.

This one doesn't involve any particular x reader shenanigans, but this is made in someone's perspective. I wanted to try and write this in her perspective, so I hope I brought her justice. Hope you guys enjoy it, because I have college haunting me this Halloween, haha! "

The Dentist's Swamp

No survivor has spoke of the horrors of Sacred Heart Hospital. For years, that is what she had understood-- or, at least, from her memories alone.

The abandoned hospital was not shrouded in fog like now, nor was it storming every time she came to visit. It was not teeming with danger, with walls showing signs of age- at least, from her memory alone.

No, it was different. Far, far more different than she could ever remember… Or imagine, for that matter.

Stepping afoot in the map now shrouded in darkness, the young journalist couldn't help but shiver. This was not like what she saw in the academy, and especially in her stay with others that resembled her. To her, this was different, and perhaps… Much worse than the last time she came here.

She has heard of rumors floating about, but the most common was the individual people called the 'dentist'.

—This is where the dentist used to reside in. Children go missing when they go to Sacred Heart.

—Really? How terrifying…

Indeed! After all, the only thing that is left here—

"—are children's teeth…" the journalist whispered, her legs moving to head inside the building. The lightning clapped in the sky as a bellowing sound echoed, making her jump.

She was never a fan of stormy nights. It reminded her of something so… Unsightly in her childhood. Something she could never forget, even in her time in the academy.

Step after step, she held the camera closer to her chest. All she needed to do was to get evidence, and then she can leave. That was all there is to it, right?

… So why does she feel her heart race like it'd pop out of her chest?

Clambering up the staircase, she noticed the various words written on the wall.

Get out of here!

The dentist lurks in his swamp!

Where is the truth?

The truth… How bitter.

Arriving inside the operating room, the blonde woman noticed something… Odd. From the sight of the body, it was gone— no sight of it remained. It wasn't surprising for her, but the thing that caught her eye was the jars around the place.

Some were broken as the lid rolled up to her boots, the contents spilling on some that were tipped over in the table. Her eyes widened when she saw what it was.

Teeth.

Children teeth.

Some jars were not broken, but she could see how some of the teeth were rotten. Like it mutilated in the skulls of the dentist's 'patients'.

She could vaguely hear the thunder roar outside, and the soft clink clink of the teeth that met glass shards. Some even jumped at her, making her gasp and shuffle back.

In her panic, she had hit the worn cabinet behind her, making it sway. She turned to see what she had bumped into, stiffening up as she saw what it was.

Then, she sprinted away from the scene.

She could hear the faint shattering of glass, the jars meeting its demise in the dirty ground of Sacred Heart. One by one, the shattering grew more louder than the last, echoing and haunting the journalist to no end.

And then, she hears it.

The eerie soft chimes of the children giggling… And the soft, almost inaudible calling of a man.

She could hear her heart palpating and beating like a drum, making her grow deaf. With paranoia seizing her, all she could think was to flee.

And flee she did.

She turned to leave the hospital, her footsteps growing loud in her haste. She could hardly remember if she had her camera with her, but she didn't care for it anymore.

For she could hear the children scream. Scream for her to leave.

To never be caught by the dentist.

Ah, in her haste to leave the place, she had simply forgot one such clue. Monsters roamed in the hunting grounds of Sacred Heart, not just the famed dentist.

… Which proved to be her mistake.

The Sacred Heart Hospital was a dreadful hunting ground for those that survived, much like the other maps she's seen and remembered. In her stay of Oletus, she has seen many of them fall in this place… And the eerie sounds that come with it.

The eerie sounds are always around. It always was.

Alas, as she reached the exit, she could see the gates close shut—

—Which caused the hands to reach out and grab her from behind.

She let out a muffled cry as she was dragged into the mist, covering the blood curdling screams that came right after.

…

As the mist died down, the exit gates open once more, and what was left in the wake of the 'journalist' was a camera.

… And a doll of Orpheus, marking the day yet another naughty child was 'caught'.

#✎ . . . 「 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙅𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙉𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 」 ➠ ❝ Alice DeRoss ❞#✎ . . . 「 𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙂𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙉 𝘿𝙍𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙎 」 ➠ ❝ drabbles ❞#identity v #identity v writing #idv #identity v survivor #identity v x you #identity v x reader #idv x reader #identityv x reader #idv x you #identityv x you #identityv journalist #identity v journalist #identityv alice deross #identity v alice deross #idv journalist #idv alice deross

45 notes · View notes