#but I'm also not into it enough to go prove that assumption. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

manicpixiefelix · 5 months

Text

head, heart, hand. {Felix Catton/Reader/Oliver Quick}

Part 6.

Summary: Felix learns about what happened between you and Oliver at the club, and some jackass makes assumptions about you and Felix and your intentions towards Oliver. The interaction gets you worked up enough that you feel the need to repay Felix as when he'd defended you. With sex.

{ masterpost }

Need to Know: They/Them. Explicitly NB Reader. FWB!Reader/Felix. Reader is from a well off family but has pretty much been adopted by the Cattons.

Warnings: SMUT; AFAB!reader, d/s dynamics, felix being a chatty brat, assume the reader is on birth control, unprotected sex.

A/N: 4782 words. cannot go two chapters without having a felix/reader moment it seems. bare with me i swear we get more oliver as it goes on, but he's just watching through the blinds right now and collecting information. also forgive me, not only is this unedited, it's also the first actual, explicit smut scene i've written in years, and even longer since i've been intimate with someone with a dick. i also dont read smut so this might be weird pacing wise at the end. honestly the smut is just a backdrop for character development. have at ye, and please lemme know what you think!

TAGLIST IN COMMENTS!! // TAGLIST ALWAYS OPEN ! (just message or comment to be added)

----

Summer creeps in almost insidiously, days getting longer and warmer, humidity forcing it's way into every single facet of your lives. Afternoons outside of classes are spent doing not much of anything, hoping that when night falls, the temperature will fall with it.

This afternoon is the coolest you've had in several weeks, laying on Felix's floor, listening to him play the guitar while Oliver was draped over the foot of his bed, gazing at Felix's bookshelf. There's a sweet breeze through the open window and you hum along to the tune you recognise your best friend playing, letting yourself soak in the moment.

The quiet spell breaks as Oliver moves, reaches out for something on Felix's bookshelf.

"That's cute," he muses, "baby Felix." It must be the photo of Felix and his childhood dog, the you'd only met once or twice as a kid before he'd passed, before you'd been properly friends. But Oliver puts the photo back almost as fast as he'd picked it up, "there aren't any pictures of me as a kid," he muses.

"You and Y/N have that in common," Felix says idly, surprising both you and Oliver, though for different reasons; you hadn't even realised he'd remembered that about you. Your vapid, jet-setting, philanthropist parents had always been incredibly image conscious, and a child was never part of that image. Born out of obligation to their own parents to produce a grandchild to make eventual inheritance easier, they longed to distance themselves from the very idea of you unless they desperately needed to.

And they hadn't for as long as you've been alive.

"If there were baby photos of me, that'd prove that my parents had a child," you laughed, but there was no real humour in it, "and none of us wants that."

The invisible heir.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Oliver says faintly, an unfamiliar, unreadable look in his eyes as he gazes over at you. You give a blithe shrug.

"It means I got to find a home in Felix," you say easily, the wording sappy enough to make Felix himself laugh.

"You're such a sap, that's so much nicer than what I was going to say."

"Go on then, out with it," you prompted him, despite his faint, playful protest.

"I was going to call you another ward of the Saltburn Estate," Felix grins at you, "for better or worse."

"At least you had a family who loved you," Oliver turns away again, pressing his cheek to the duvet as his gaze focused back on the photo of Felix and his dog, "even if they weren't yours." There's a distinct discomfort in the air now, a reminder of how vastly Oliver's life differs from your own.

"I was lucky in a lot of ways," is all you can think to say. Felix starts playing guitar again.

These long days turn into long nights, parties, girls and boys and everyone in between, hazy chats and drinking games and hands on you - holding you, dancing with you, brushing past, tapping with excitement, always hands on you. The quiet way Oliver goes through these strange situations may be read as awkward to everyone else, but you're no longer under any such illusions.

"You're desperate to feel needed."

There was no hesitation in his voice the other night, his hands on you, his mouth on you.

"Then need me, want me."

How easily he'd made you flustered in the club, you didn't realise he had it in him. Honestly if you hadn't experienced it yourself, you wouldn't believe it if someone else had told you. There's been a change, however, a subtle, unnoticeable one to anyone looking in from the outside. Every so often, on nights out, you'll catch him watching you with that same hungry look in his eyes, but will never act on it, however much you wish he would.

"I do, but not like this, not now."

What the fuck was he playing at? You never knew how to bring it up, even when you were alone together. But he never stopped reached out for you, he never shied away from your touch. Apart from this one thing, it was the exact same as before.

If only that one thing didn't have the potential to change everything.

"Has Ollie seemed any different to you lately?" You go to the only person you know you can trust with this. Felix frowns at his hand of cards for a long moment before looking back up at you.

"Sorry, what was the question?"

"Ollie," you go a little slower, rearranging your own hand of cards, "does he seem... I don't know, different to you?" Then, as Felix was considering, "got any fives?"

"Go fish." You should both be studying for an upcoming exam.

"What do you mean? Has anyone said anything to you?" Felix momentarily put down his cards to relight his cigarette, fixing you with an intense gaze, "did something happen?"

"Did someone say something to you?" You pivot for the moment, still looking at your cards.

"Annabel."

"Annabel?"

"About her birthday thing."

"Are you taking your turn or what?"

"Oh, right," he's still frowning, picking up his cards with his free hand, "threes?" You swear as you hand over two threes, as he quietly cheers.

"Anyways, what about Annabel's birthday thing? Does she has a problem with Ollie?" At your question, Felix ums and ahs, and avoids eye contact, "yes then?"

"No-one else in the group is a huge fan of him," he even sounds guilty admitting it out loud, "everyone else can kind of feel how out of place he is and it makes things awkward. I know we think he's lovely," Felix tried to quickly placate you, or perhaps his own conscience, "but the man's got zero chat." This does, however, make you snort.

"Ollie's got chat," you smirk down at your cards, only realising what you'd said when you're met with a shocked silence. Looking up, Felix is staring at you with utter surprise.

"Does he now?" He sounds downright scandalised. You can feel yourself growing flustered, both under Felix's delighted, intrigued gaze, and at your own memories from the club, "so something did happen?"

"Nothing happened!"

"Something definitely happened!"

"I didn't fuck him."

"Between nothing and fucking there's a whole lot of somethings that could have happened," card game completely forgotten, Felix is enraptured as you begin to briefly explain the interaction at the club -

"- and well then, he starts calling me out while aggressively making out with me," you take a deep, final breath, finally looking Felix in the eyes, "and I desperately wanted to fuck him because of it." You sigh, and give Felix plenty of time to process the story and recover.

"But you didn't?" Finally, he speaks, and you groaned, throwing your head back to look at the stars.

"No," you sulked, "he disappeared into the crowd and I had to get myself off twice before I could sleep that night. Fucking tease," but you're heart's not really mad at Oliver.

"Always fascinated to learn what turns you on," Felix is desperately trying to hold in his laughter. It's not working, "many of them baffle me."

"That's not the point here, Fi," you rolled your eyes, leaning back against the gravel roof finally, laying back. You hear the pebbles shifting, and moments later Felix joins you, hands behind his head, "I don't know how to talk about it with him," you say softly. Then, tone much lighter, "and it doesn't surprise me that Annabel thinks he has no chat, he just doesn't want to fuck her, and she can't fathom a world where anyone doesn't want her."

Felix laughs, but unfortunately isn't able to offer any real advice to you about your Oliver situation.

Oliver Quick was an anomaly in your life, you should maybe have suspected his friendship to bring on further anomalous occurrences.

"Leave Oliver Quick alone," like the voice in the library that greets you harshly whilst you're hunting down a textbook. Spinning to see who it is, you lay eyes on a blonde man in dreadfully practical clothes; he's glaring at you like you've done him some personal offense.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he says sharply, gaze as unwavering as his tone, "you vapid -" he stops himself for a moment, face turning red with anger, "pricks," he settles on, "leave Oliver Quick alone, for his sake."

"Is this a joke?"

"Oh I'm not one for jokes, especially not with the likes of you; I know how you and Mister Catton operate. Selfish," he hissed.

"Do I know you?" Its genuine confusion, and for a moment the man's expression turned annoyed, his righteous indignation turning to faint disappointment as you refused to take him and his request seriously.

"Michael," like it should mean something to you, "Michael Gavey;" still nothing, "I was in the year below you at high school for four years."

"Well, Michael," you start slowly, bordering on condescending, "Ollie's a big boy -"

"I know you; you'll get bored, you two always do," Michael cuts you off with a sneer, some of that anger from just earlier returning, "he deserves more than to be a footnote in your frivolous little lives."

"Fuck off, Mikey." You say it as a warning.

"Michael," he corrects through gritted teeth, "Felix is a slag, which makes you the sensible one, so I thought you'd actually listen -" but the realisation hits you, right as you start to see red.

"You've already tried talking to Ollie," immediately, your tone ices over, humourless, cruel little smile twisting the edges of your lips. Noticing your change in demeanour, the fight seems to drain out of Michael before your very eyes, "and he ignored you, didn't he?" You asked, already knowing the answer from the way he was trying to stammer through an answer.

"Now, Michael," you tell him with a poisonous smile, taking even, measured steps towards him, as you turn his name over on your tongue with as much malice as you can manage, "Michael Gavey, I think I do know you," you're playing with your food, drawing out his discomfort with every slow word; you weren't cruel by nature, not unless someone found which button to press, "first year," you drop your voice low as you get into his space. He starts to shrink backwards, but you're practically on his toes until you're crowding him against the bookshelf, "math genius, shouts in the dining hall -"

"I didn't- just once-"

"If you ever," there's a furious look in your eyes behind your sinister smile as you stand toe-to-toe with Michael, "and I mean fucking ever, breathe the word slag in Felix's direction, or any other insult for that matter," you wet your lips, "I promise the only job you will ever get for the rest of your life will be that of a high school English tutor," you pet his cheek condescendingly, "for students with dyscalculia."

Michael actually shudders.

"You know I can do it too, don't you?" You press, and he nods, looking both furious and ashamed where he can't look you in the eyes, "we went to high school together, Mikey, I know where you came from, I can dictate where you will go." Stepping back, you clear your throat. Nodding to him, you turn on your heel to head further into the library, to continue searching for your book.

Trying to move past it doesn't work, it still irks you, you still can't stop thinking about his weaselly little face, the bitter sneer he wore, and the cruelty with which he spoke about you and Felix. It haunts you. The audacity.

Textbook in hand, you immediately head for the patch of greenery and trees near Oliver's dorm, where you know Felix and the rest of your friends will all be spending their afternoon.

"Ooh~ Y/N coming in hot," Farleigh called, spotting the metaphorical cloud of thunder above you before anyone else.

"What are you doing now?" Ignoring everyone else, you only have eyes for Felix. He grins up at you from where he was using Farleigh's thigh as a pillow.

"I assume whatever it is you're about to ask of me," he says blithely, while the others watch the interaction with amusement.

"I need to rant," was all you said, and Felix held out his hand for you to help him up.

"You're so sexy when you're angry," he says teasingly for the whole group to hear, "has anyone ever told you that?"

"I'm not kidding," you scowl, and his grin widens.

"I know, that's the best part, I could listen to you yell for hours, I usually never get to hear it." The banter continues on the way back to your dorm. The others know it's probably a cover, though none of them, apart from Farleigh of course, know the truth. Most assume you're moments from a breakdown and would like to have your best friend there for support.

The minute you're back in your room, you slam the door shut and toss the textbook to the side. Felix asks you what's wrong, tone still light, and you can feel that protective anger flaring up in you.

Slag.

"If you don't hold me back I might start getting into scraps," you tells him with seriousness, stalking up to him with intent, planting an almost bruising kiss on his lips as you fumble with the buttons of your shirt. It's not often that you're the one getting riled up; Felix is more than enthusiastic.

"Don't fight on my behalf," he laughs, frantically pulling off his sweater. Pausing for a moment to help him with the pullover, the minute it's off and tossed to the side, you're unbuttoning his shirt with one hand as best your able, as he's trying to tug your shirt off in the chaos. The two of you are moving to the bed, and he actually gasps when the back of his legs hit, when you take a beat to raise your eyebrows at him, silently asking permission.

He's already letting himself fall back with a wicked, delighted grin as your hand finds his bare chest.

Then he's breathless, with you braced over him, gazing down at him with a furious determination that you don't usually allow yourself to build up. Felix looks up at you with pure extasy in his eyes, like you hang the stars in the sky. His hands on your ass, his grip is firm and secure, but he doesn't move; he's letting you lead.

"Felix Catton, I ruin lives for you," you practically snarl; a breathy laugh escapes him, caught up in the moment, in the mood that's been building within you, "doesn't feel like enough sometimes -"

"You're so fucking hot," he groans like he can't even help himself, can't hold himself back, can't help but close the gap to your lips, kissing you with that same intensity you're giving him.

"If I hear-" you punctuate your words with rough kisses, "another word-" biting at his lips, "against you, I'm -" fumbling with his belt, "I'm gonna start cutting people -"

"Yeah?" Felix prompts breathlessly with a sharp grin, not even waiting to get your fly all the way down before his hand is in your pants, fingers at an awkward angle in your jeans but still finding your clit. It's like you're feeling everything tenfold with the earlier outrage still burning in your veins -

Vapid pricks. The likes of you. Slag. Watching Felix's hands on the girl in the club. The venom in his voice and fury in his eyes when he'd pinned Farleigh to the wall to defend you - Our Felix; Oliver's voice like honey in your ears, tempting that jealous creature in your chest that you'd gone for years ignoring -

"My Felix," you'd purred as your hand found his cock. For a moment, his breath came out as a stutter, eyes going wide as they meets yours. He looks almost incredulous, then, after a moment, hungry, wanting. It's captivating; he's captivating, like he's desperate to devour every part of this moment and you in it, barely holding himself back.

"One more time for me?" He requests, voice low and pleased, before he changes tactics, indicating for both of you to actually take off your pants.

"Everyone's fucking wrong about you," you tell him, kicking your jeans to the side, watching for a moment as he shimmies with his jeans, looking like he's made of ninety percent limbs. Still, your intensity holds.

"Even the people that like me?" Felix laughs, finally getting himself free of the jeans. Before he can remove his boxers, however, you're on him once more, thumbs hooking into the waistband and pulling them down slowly as you speak.

"Everyone else has these versions of you in their head," you begin to plant kisses along his inner thigh as you work your way up, looking up at him through your lashes, "where you're either an angel who can do no wrong," Felix is already hard when you begin to slowly work your hand up and down the shaft of his cock, "or the absolute devil who's a scourge on the female population," your lip curls for a moment, a derisive kind of amusement at their imagined expense.

"I can't look at you right now," he half chokes out, head falling back against your duvet, "fuck," he gasps. It's enough to bring you back to the moment, and you apologise -

"No, fuck, don't stop anything; the ranting, the -" he gestures to where your movements had slowed briefly, "any of it, I just literally," he laughs a little awkwardly, almost a little self-deprecatingly, "will not last more than a minute if I look at you right now."

Oh.

Oh! This is good!

"What's so different," he prompts through shaky breathes - you can't quite believe how much he's effected by you in this moment, how enthusiastically, how desperately he responds to your dominant intensity - "about the version of me in your head?"

After a beat, you climb off of him, already reaching for your drawer.

"Everything okay?" He asks, eyes opening as he tilts his head to look at you. Pulling out a tube of lube, you focus on opening it up, rather than Felix himself. You should be using protection, you know you should be using protection, but you want to feel all of him, only him.

"I can't talk with my mouth full," you told him, still maintaining that steely intensity, "so we're skipping foreplay." Felix, immediately understanding where you were going with all this, looks back up at the ceiling with a wide smile.

"Fine by me; right now I'm inclined to say that you can do whatever you want forever, honestly - cold!" He announced with shock, jerking up a little as you glided a generous amount of lubricant over his cock. There's a faint look of betray in his eyes, but you just gave him a thin, mean smile.

"Felix, stop talking."

The commanding tone is enough to get him back on board, groaning, arching into your touch as you once again were working his shaft, now so slick your hand glided easily up and down the impressive length.

"My Felix," voice once again low, you use some of the excess lubricant on yourself. Since leaving the library, however, your anger had known it's outlet; just the idea of fucking Felix in a righteous fury had gotten you going, and you were already wet, wanting, desperate for him.

"Don't make me beg," he all but whimpered as you finally straddled his thighs, "fuck, I'll do it for you, but -"

"Shut. Up. Felix." You leaned down, chest pressed to his lips inches from his, whispering, "I won't make you beg," as you sink down onto his cock, swallowing his moan with a kiss.

"I am under no illusions about you, Felix," you begin to murmur, hips rolling at a deep, consistent rhythm, "I don't have a version of you in my head, I just have you; I just want you, as you are."

Pace picking up, you sit, rake your nails lightly down his chest, watch as he pants and groans beneath you. When he holds your hips, your thighs, you can feels his nails digging in, burying himself deep inside of you with each rhythmic thrust. There's something primal and triumphant roaring in your chest, pushing you to sink your nails into him, your teeth -

"I don't care who you fuck," you tell him through gritted teeth, picking up your pace, thighs burning.

"You're a fucking liar," tumbles from Felix's lips as he looks up at you with a smirk.

"I don't, I'd be a hypocrite -" very suddenly, Felix sits up, and you go still with him still inside of you, adjusting to the change, wrapping your legs around him.

"Then you're a hypocrite," he smirks, gaze hazy, heady, euphoric in this moment, "and a liar," and he wraps his arms around you as he kisses you, pulling you back with him as he lays back down on the bed.

"I'm not jealous," you start again, softer this time, but still aiming for stern.

"I'll say I believe you," there's mischief in Felix's eyes as his hand snakes between the two of you, fingers rubbing circles against your clit as you pick your rhythm back up again, slower this time.

"Fi," for the first time all afternoon, your voice softens, and you let your stern demeanour break, instead looking over him, glowing with sweat and endorphins, in your bed, in you, looking up at you with nothing but love in his eyes, "I don't care if nobody knows it's me, but -" you wet your lips, wicked little smile on your lips, "I want everyone else you ever fuck to be jealous of the way you let me fuck you."

Something about your words, your request, perhaps your tone, sets him off again; you rake your nails lightly down his chest again and he arches up, swearing, almost breathless.

"Yes, fuck, yes," comes out alongside a breathless moan, "my Y/N, anything you want - please."

You paint him blue and purple and the deepest, prettiest red with hickeys, leaving him looking absolutely scandalous. Of course he returns the favour in the form of scratch marks up your back and his teeth almost drawing blood from your shoulder. When he comes it's with your mouth on his neck and his cock deep inside of you, holding you close, holding you steady, whispering incoherent praise into your ear. Always diligent, he doesn't move, doesn't pull out or away from you before his focus is on you, making sure you get off, delighting in watching you unravel on top of him.

In the afterglow, amid the sharing of a cigarette and catching of your breath, you apologise softly.

"What are you apologising for?" He immediately cracks a grin, "in fact, any time you ever start to get all worked up and mean like that, have me on speed dial -"

"I - no, Fi," you sighed, amused at his suggestion, though it was fading fast, "I just... try not to be jealous," there's faint notes of guilt now that you've come down from the adrenaline and endorphins of it all. Sitting against the headboard, you draw your knees up to your chest.

"I know," Felix says easily, sitting up beside you, resting his head against your shoulder, his hand on your knee, "I try too... I don't think I'm always that great at hiding it." Then, after a moment, his tone lightens, "I think this is why I don't want to tell people about us, I don't think I could begin to explain it in a way that makes sense." It gets you to laugh, leaning into him, tension and guilt easing.

"I thought it was the rush of sneaking around and lying to people."

"There's that too," he agreed with a chuckle. The two of you fall into easy silence as he takes a drag on the cigarette and hands it over. The afternoon is sticky-hot, especially in your room, curtains still half open but window shut. As you go to open it, not caring about potential onlookers in the twilight, past the sliver of your curtain, Felix speaks up.

"There's no version of me in your head? Not even a little bit rose-coloured-glasses tinted?" He grins at you, and you lay out on the bed, looking up at him through your lashes. After a moment of simply taking the moment in, you shake your head with a soft smile.

"I told you, I'm under no illusions about you, Fi."

"I think you're too good to me for that to be true."

"I want you as you are, dude," you shrug, as if it's the easiest truth in the world.

"As I am?" He wants to be sceptical but his tone and the look in his eyes betrays him. You've never heard him quite so soft you think, eyes wide and glassy and full of conflict and love; everyone wants him, everyone loves him, everyone wants to be him or be with him, he's reckoned with his reality a long time ago, even if he wasn't entirely conscious of it. Felix's life had been picked apart by everyone around him at the surface level for as long as he could remember, perhaps he'd thought that no-one would ever care to look deeper. Perhaps he'd gotten so used to it that he'd forgotten there was anything deeper.

"I want the Felix who can't keep a girlfriend for more than two months, and who's cheated on every single one of them with me," you start, wearing a grin despite his sudden frown, "I want the Felix who hugs and kisses strangers after just meeting them because he's bursting at the seams with affection, I want the Felix who won't admit that he sleeps better with someone next to him at night, and the Felix who recaps the books he's been reading to me like they're gossip. The Felix who uses people, and breaks hearts, who says he doesn't know he's doing it but I know you do," you laugh, sitting up on your knees and letting the blankets slide down your back as Felix looks up at you now with a fond kind of reverence, "I want the Felix that lights up every room he's in without even trying, who makes everyone around him feel like they're the only person in the world, and that same Felix who still shifts over, mid conversation with someone else, for me to sit down beside him without having to even ask, because you know we'll always come back to each other," you lean down, lips inches from his, burning intensity in your gaze as you take in the reverence in his eyes, "the Fi who fights for me, the Fi who loves that I'd ruin lives for him, my Felix -" You see the moment he can no longer hold himself back, arcing forward, moving from the headboard to be by you, capturing your lips in a tender kiss. For a long moment it's your mouth fitting perfectly against his, faint, desperate groan being pulled from the back of his throat as he takes your face in his hands, firm, warm, wanting, deepening the kiss.

"Some of those things were pretty shit," he laughed a little self consciously after the kiss breaks, both of you breathing heavy. In his eyes you can see the barest hint of conflict.

"People have said worse."

"And you got them expelled," he reminded with a faint smile, but again there's that conflict, "and they aren't you."

"You're my best mate," you laugh easily, "that shit, the good and the less good, makes you my Felix. Be pretty shit of me to want to chop and change who you are, you know?"

For a very long moment, you watch the way he slowly begins to smile, to take all your saying in drinking in this sun-drenched moment. Reaching out, he carefully touches your cheek.

"Say it again then," he prompts, sounding almost giddy, feather-light touches as if mapping your delicate features in this moment. For a brief second you're confused, barely angling your head to indicate as such before you can see his faint blush beneath his golden skin, creeping up his cheeks. When he laughs, almost self conscious, you realise, and grin back.

"You're a sap."

"Don't make me beg."

"My Felix."

#felix catton x reader x oliver quick #saltburn x reader #felix catton x reader #saltburn imagine #felix catton imagine #oliver quick x reader #felix catton x y/n #felix catton x you #head heart hand fic #oliver quick x you #oliver quick imagine #oliver quick x y/n #manic writer

474 notes · View notes

latoyalestrange · 1 year

Text

eternal glory

s. sallow x f!reader

summary: sebastian is selected to compete in the triwizard tournament during your seventh year at hogwarts. after he won the first challenge (by a landslide), you could've practically exploded with excitement for him. seeing you like that...wait, were his pants getting tighter?

words: 700ish

warnings: fluff, established relationship, aged up seb and mc, praise kink!seb?? soft!seb, not smutty just a spicy lil makeout sesh. not edited. minors dni!!

a/n: someone pls draw seb with the kisses all over his face how cute would that be!!

the triwizard cup, one thousand galleons, and eternal glory. that's what sebastian was promised. how could a slytherin resist? sebastian knew that as long as you were by his side, eternal glory was as good as his. however, this tournament was already proving to be easy enough. it also came with some...unexpected perks.

after defeating his appointed common green dragon, debatably the easiest to beat, you were obviously overcome with joy. as soon as he emerged from the player's tent, you launched yourself into his arms. a smile split from ear to ear on his face, seeing your genuine excitement for his win. he felt so much pride, so much love.

"you did so good, my love!" he instantly felt his heart flutter in his chest as he held you close to him in the air. you peppered exaggerated kisses all over his face, turning his cheeks and nose a bright red. he couldn't help but giggle as you wouldn't stop when he tried to plant your feet on the ground again.

"you were incredible! oh my days, i'm so proud of you!" the pure look of joy on your face still lingered as you continued to sing his praises in front of everyone, including the reporter for the daily prophet. with your lipstick now splattered around his face, he had an infectious smile that even he couldn't deny. he was blushing, hard, as much as he hated to admit it.

"it was easy enough." he smirked, keeping his tough exterior.

"i must interview this boy! mr. sallow--" before the man could get another word out, sebastian raised his hand to stop him.

"i won't be answering questions," as unusual as it was to say, his expression was casual--smug, even. "thank you." the reporter stood stunned for a moment as he watched sebastian usher you away by your wrist.

"sebastian? you're not going to talk to anyone?" he weaved through the crowd, reaching a clearing near the south exit.

"waste of time!" he answered, glancing back at you with a mischievous look.

"waste of time? are you late for something, sallow?" you teased, but he didn't respond. he only increased his speed to a jog, creating giggles between the two of you as you raced the halls. you quickly recognized that he was leading you to the slytherin common room. as you reached the dimly lit hallway, a familiar serpent slithered around the wall, and the grand door appeared beneath it. he quickly shoved it open, pulling you in with him before turning to push you up against the cold slab of wood as it closed.

"i don't suppose you were this excited to cuddle and take a nap?" you looked up at him teasingly as he towered over you, hands trapping you below.

"you know me well." his head dipped to leave love-marks at the base of your neck. your hands naturally raised to tangle in his brown locks.

"can i ask-- was it winning, or--" he chuckled at your assumption.

"no, hardly." he craned his neck to meet your gaze again with his dark eyes. the smirk still lingered on his lips. "tell me how good i'm doing." that same smirk turned downward as his he bit his lower lip impatiently. you also lost any sense of smugness in your face, and curiosity replaced it.

"oh?" he nodded, his eyes pleading for more as he continued nipping at your chest. you breathed out a sigh of contempt, feeling a fire beginning to spark to life in your lower-half.

"you look so handsome, leaving marks on me." he groaned into your skin, almost making you giggle from the vibration.

"you like it when i praise you, baby? you did so good for me today, looked so good in your uniform." that was enough to make him mad. he quickly crashed his lips into yours, needing to transfer some of the fire he felt to you.

"don't stop...never stop saying those things to me." his lips were swollen when you finally broke apart, and his eyes were anything but satisfied.

"never." you shook your head, promising him. he smiled innocently for the last time that day before your lips met once more.

he loved being so rough with you, who would've thought he liked it when you were so gentle? either way, you were happy to know how sebastian felt when he saw you crumble underneath him when he used you for everything you had. seeing him weak at the knees from just your words, you felt, leveled the playing feild.

1K notes · View notes

dezznuggz · 3 months

Text

The Parents Of the Friend Group |PART 2

Steve Harrington × reader

~moments where you and Steve do in fact argue like a married couple and moments where it clearly shows and proves how Steve is the mom and you are the dad.

Warning: mentions of the upside down, mentions of S2, S3, S4. A little emotional at the end, still slight bullying of Steve, mentions of possible death, use of y/n, reader pronouns she/her

------------------------------∆-----------------------------

Fall of 1984:

Your plan was to go on a date with some new guy and go home debating whether or not 'he could be the one' but your plans drastically changed when an anxious Dustin bangs on your door like a maniac. "Y/N! OPEN UP! HURRY! OPEN UP!" was the noise you kept hearing on the other side of your door that caused you to rush out of worry and swing open the door for the frantic kid. "OH MY GOD, what? What is it?" You say in a little annoyed tone but also in a little bit of a relief seeing that at least one of your many kids isn't hurt.

"We gotta go, fast and NOW!" Dustin practically screams at you before dragging you by your arm and out of your house. "Woah dude I can't, I have a date. He's already on his way" you say trying to resist and pull away from Dustin's hold, "I'm telling you right now y/n your plans can wait cause this is 10× more important than you making out with some guy" Dustin says still not letting go of you and dragging you out of your front porch. Dustin then halts in his tracks, "wait a date? I thought you and Steve had a thing going on?" Dustin says with a little bit of a disappointed tone, "what NO, never, we never and WILL never have a thing going on are you kidding!" You say trying to defend yourself from the stupid assumption that Dustin made about you and Steve. "Are you sure, cause every time I'm with y'all, you guys won't stop giving each other googly eyes" Dustin says which caused you to set your arm free and walk away, "you know what Dustin, call steve for this one, I already have plans and they're not going to be destroyed cause of some stupid joke you wanna pull on me!" You say loud enough for Dustin to hear as you walk off and head towards your house. "Okay okay I'm sorry but this is really important I won't say anything bad again" Dustin apologizes and pleads for you to come with him, "I don't wanna hear anything that will annoy me come out of your mouth do you understand me?" You say as you point a finger at his face, "yes I understand" Dustin says quietly, "I'm sorry what'd you say?" You say as you purposely try to prove a point that you're the one that's in control right now.

"I said I understand y/n now can we get going" Dustin whines and begs so you just let him grab your wrist and lead you to wherever you need to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here you were standing behind Dustin with an annoyed face and crossed arms, "son of a bitch, you know you're really no help" Dustin says in an annoyed and frustrated tone as he walks off which left me standing in front of mr.wheeler, "you outta put soap in that boys mouth, he's too young to be using that typa language" he says as he points a disciplined finger at you, "wont happen again i swear, its just he gets it from his mother" you say politely as you also walk off and follow Dustin.

"are those for Mr and ms.wheeler?"

No?- HEY!"

You heard Dustin and Steve talking but then Steve goes quiet as he sees you not so far behind Dustin, "what is she doing here? And why are you wearing a skirt?" Steve asks as he points at you and looks you up and down, "I don't know what I'm doing here, he just dragged me along" you say while raising your arms and dropping them dramatically. "Do you still have the bat?" Dustin asks Steve which causes Steve to break his stare from you in a skirt, "what bat?" Steve asks still trying to process what's going on, "the one with the nails Steve!?" Dustin says as he gets frustrated at Steve for being slow. "Ye-yeah I have it, it's in the trunk, what do you need it for?" Steve asks as he slowly catches on to Dustin's attitude and he's not liking any bit of it. "I'll explain everything in the car, HURRY UP!" Dustin says growing even more frustrated at Steve's slow movements, "okay Jesus dude, wait hey get in the back" Steve stops Dustin before he can sit in the front, "wha-?" Dustin gets cut off by a hand pulling his shoulder, "you heard him now get in the back" you say as you push him aside and sit in the front seat but not without hearing Dustin grumble about something.

After Dustin explains what he needs us for, he also gets in a little argument with Steve for not believing him, "how do I know it's not a lizard?"

"yeah how do you know it's not a lizard?!"

"because it's face opens up and ate my cat!!" Dustin says loudly which causes you and Steve to go quiet not knowing what to exactly say to that. The silence gets too much for you so you decided to break it, "what were you doing at the wheelers with flowers?" You ask Steve while looking at him, "umm...I don't even know man" Steve says while avoiding eyes contact but you can read and see through Steve, you know he's lying, "don't tell me they're for Nancy" you say and the only response you got back was a quiet sigh, "oh dude I told you not to apologize to her, it's gonna make everything worse" you complain to Steve for his actions, "okay I'm sorry but one simple apology wouldn't hurt you know and I was a little bit of in the wrong!" Steve says while trying to defend himself, "except it might hurt", you say and although it does sound a little harsh, it's the only way that your words are able to go through Steve's small little brain. "Okay alright I get it but why are you in a skirt?" Steve asks in need of changing the subject so he doesn't look stupid in front of Dustin. "Oh um....I had a date" you say hesitantly, "oh really with who?" Steve asks wanting to know who the 'lucky guy' was, "...um... Aiden.." you say quietly but not quite enough for Steve to not hear, "AIDEN?! The one I play basketball with!?" Steve says very loudly just for clarification. "Yea but he seemed really nice and he was gonna pay for dinner tonight so I couldn't say no" you say trying to calm Steve down.

"oh my God that dudes a total meat head, Aiden T, we're talking about Aiden T right? The one that chews with his mouth open. THAT'S THE ONE YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH?!" Steve yells as he tries to make a point that Aiden just isn't the right guy, "yes Steve that Aiden and he doesn't chew with his mouth open, he just chews loudly" you say mostly to not change your perspective of Aiden, "he's nice to every girl, trust me when I say this but he's just not the guy that you think he is"

"Jesus Steve you're just saying that because you had beef with him in like 7th grade, you're gonna have to get over it you know"

"that is not the reason I don't want you going out with him okay, first of all he only washes his hair once a week and second he doesn't brush his teeth, all he eats is mint gum."

"blah blah blah, Steve I can't hear you!" You say as you try to end the argument with Steve. Aiden might not be the ideal guy but it would atleast be fun to just play with him you know. With you making noises to block out Steve and Steve trying to talk over your noises it has Dustin let out his opinion, "I thought you guys liked each other" Dustin says loud enough for you and Steve to go quiet, "omg not again." You let out a groan and roll your eyes, "what not again, what are you talking about Dustin?" Steve asks now wanting to know why it causes you with such a dramatic reaction. "I'm just saying..." ,

"Dustin don't say it-"

"I thought you guys liked each other or something I don't know" Dustin says while completely ignoring your attempts to stop him from letting out his opinion. "That's so stupid henderson you know that" Steve says which causes Dustin wanting to prove his point more, "it's not stupid actually, I mean everyone thought you guys liked each other. Steve is always protective with you, y/n and she always defends you when you're not around. " Dustin once again had everyone in the car go quiet, Steve kept looking over at you to see your reaction but it's kinda hard to read your facial expression if you're covering your whole face out of embarrassment.

------------------------------∆------------------------------

Summer of 1985:

Dustin has practically called himself the match maker. With the conversation that you, Dustin, and Steve had back in fall, it kinda made you and Steve snap into the fact that you guys in fact like each other. Now with you and Steve together, you guys became inseparable. The kids found it cute for only a short time period until they kept walking in on you and Steve having alone time. Sometimes the kids would cockblock and join in on y'all's dates or sometimes they would call out of nowhere and ask for a pick up or drop off.

With Steve now working as an ice cream scooper at the new mall that just opened up, it was better for the kids to get through the movies without paying and today was one of those days. "Have a nice day" Steve calls out to the mom and her kid that just ordered ice cream before zooming to the back of the shop and telling Robin it's her break time. "Robin your turn to be up front I'm on break" Steve says frantically as he collapse his lips on your, "aw dude let me get out before you start making out..gross" Robin says as she walks out with a disgusted face.

"I missed you so much"

"you saw me an hour ago"

"I know, tell me about it" Steve says as he kisses all over your face which causes you to giggle and before Steve can kiss you on the lips again, y'all get disturbed by the sound of the bell on the front desk running non-stop. "Hey dinguses, your children are here" Robin calls out from the front also annoyed by the constant ringing of a bell. "Again seriously?" Steve says as he opens the little window of the shop to see the kids, "hi kids", you say in a cheery tone while popping your head out from behind Steve. You then open the back door for the kids to pass by and they all say hi to you before Mike makes a joke about your lipstick being smeared. "If anyone finds out-"

"we're dead!" The kids cut Steve off cause this isn't the first time that Steve tries to discipline the kids for how they're using Steve, "have fun" you say loud enough for the kids to hear, which they respond back with a wave to show that they heard you, "Jesus those kids are smart and all but they sure don't know how to say thank you" Steve says before walking back into the back room and sitting on the table, "they're just kids, they'll appreciate you one day" you say trying to cool down Steve from officially putting a stop to the kids ability of free movie access "I know but a little 'thank you Steve you're the best' wouldn't hurt you know" Steve says with a pout on his face, "aww don't get pouty now Stevie, they do say thank you just not to you" you tell Steve in a mocking baby voice and squeezing his cheeks as if he was a little boy. "Jesus stop" Steve says as he laughs a little.

------------------------------∆-----------------------------

Spring of 1986:

Nothing can compare to how you feel right now. With finding out that max is cursed, it completely has your whole blood run cold. The kids have dealt with multiple death experiences but this one is just max being on a thin line of death. It worries you to be honest, in fact it scares you. You don't wanna show that you're scared or freaking out cause you don't wanna scare the kids or Steve. So you try your best to keep it together for the sake of max and the kids.

Robin and Nancy are out getting information about this vecna creeps while you, Lucas, Steve, and Dustin are sat on the couch staring at the back of Max's head as she writes down God knows what. "I can feel y'all eyes boring into the back of my skull", max says which causes everyone to look away, you then started picking at your nails as if they needed to be fixed (they are doing perfectly fine). Max then walks in front of y'all with envelopes in her hands but no one looks at her in fear that they might make her uncomfortable with their stares, "you can look at me now" max says as if it was common sense, "thank you" "sorry" "yea sorry", was the response she got from them. She then hands everyone an envelope with their names on it but before she gave you your envelope, she hesitates and says thank you before giving it to you which leads to you being confused.

You and max both turn your heads when y'all hear the boys about to rip open the paper but completely stop when max tells them to. "Don't open it now, it's for later" max says quietly but that leads Lucas confused "later for what?" Lucas asks max, "just in case things don't end well or if I don't make it, I want y'all to read it until after" max says which causes you to feel sad and heartbroken and before you can say anything Lucas tells max that we're going to get through this together but that doesn't convince max, not after what she heard happened to the other people who were cursed just like her.

You zone out with your thoughts racing around your head until you see max walk towards Dustin's walkie talkie, "do you think this can reach till east Hawkins?", Max's question leads Steve to being confused, "why are we talking about east Hawkins?" Steve says while looking around but stops when he sees you have a sour expression on your face, this lets Steve know that it's another idea that he's gonna disapprove of, "oh no..no...No!" Steve says in an attempt to stop any new ideas to come in.

That didn't stop max as she speed walked out of the wheelers basement with everyone trying to catch up to her. Steve was practically running after her while complaining her ear off about not letting her go, "if you think I'm going to spend what is likely my last days in the armpit of Mike wheeler's basement then you're out of your mind" max says while still walking away from Steve (who looked back at you and the kids waiting for someone to butt in), "so you can either take me where I need to be or tie me down which is technically kidnapping of a minor and i swear to god steve if i live to see another day, i will prosecute" max stops Infront of Steve's car trying to open the door but seeing that it's locked, "open the door" max says demanding Steve "uh no" Steve says while still flabbergasted at max, "I know a good lawyer" max says while raising her eyebrows as if shes challenging Steve to go against her.

"woah okay let's calm down now guys" you finally step in. The kids practically walk all over Steve and it never usually ends with Steve's idea but instead it ends with the kids idea which is weird mostly knowing that Steve is older than them. With the kids knowing that they are able to take full control over Steve, it takes you to step in and put a stop to everything. "Alright let's talk about it and no one's calling any lawyers alright?", you say as you step in the middle of the little stating contest that max and Steve were having. "Max I totally understand where you're coming from but this is a life or death situation so we can't just wander around when your life is on the line. Okay I know that sounds bad but it's true and you're scared and we're all scared but I would rather prefer you staying in the Wheelers basement than leaving and going out in the public where anything can happen. So trust me when I say this but it's better to be safe than sorry" you finish your ramble as you step in front of Steve to show that your full attention is on max and that you're not taking anyone's side. Max doesn't say anything but instead she stares into your eyes. You don't wanna give in but staring into Max's eyes is like staring into a kicked puppy's eyes and you're currently trying not to give up but instead stand your ground. You couldn't stare into the eyes of a girl who you practically called a daughter and not feel guilty for not letting her go out on her (most likely) last days.

You close your eyes and let out a sigh then turn to Dustin, "Henderson...that super walkie talkie thing of your better reach to Penhurst" you say as you move to the other side of Steve's car and open the door to get in the front seat, "woah what!?!?" Steve says while being confused on how you went from going with him, to against him. "Babe I'm not on anyone's side alright just take her there and we'll come right back, promise" you say as you finally sit down in the front seat, "no one listens to me, THEY NEVER LISTEN TO ME!" Steve complains as he starts the car.

------------------------------∆------------------------------

Everyone had one hell of a day. Everyone was rather overwhelmed or exhausted from the shit they saw, dealt, or heard in the last 12 hours. Everyone was ready to call it a day and go to sleep but with max almost dying there had to be someone watching her, even if she was asleep. You volunteered to go first mostly cause you weren't sleepy at knowing that max could've died in front of y'all in just the matter of minutes. You stayed up for God knows how long until you started getting sleepy so you tell Dustin to take over night watch he complained for a little bit until he went quite seeing that you were stressed out and tired.

You went asleep on a chair that was way too uncomfortable with Steve having his body lean on the chair that you were sleeping on. You were woken up by the sound of someone calling for Dustin, "hello Dustin?!? Earth to Dustin!!??" The voice was coming for Dustin's walkie talkie thing, you got up carefully to make sure you didn't hit Steve or anyone without making noise. "Hey its me y/n what happened?" You asked still half asleep, "oh thank God, hey uh you think you guys can make a food delivery, I mean unless y'all want me to go out there and-" Eddie gets cut off by you, "no don't do that, we'll come by sometime today" you say as you look around the room to make sure everyone is okay but your heart drops to your stomach as you see the couch empty. max is supposed to be asleep on the couch.

"...cause you know a 6 pack could really cool my nerves right now-" you once again cut Eddie off by telling him you have to go, "wait wait don't go wa-!" You shut off the walkie talkie thing and immediately went to wake up Dustin. "Dustin, Dustin!" You say try saying loud enough for only Dustin to hear while also shaking him awake. Dustin eventually wakes up confused and looking around trying to figure out why you're working him up. "What- what happened?"

"were you the last one to night watch!?"

"yea why?"

Then where is she?!" You say impatiently with Dustin not taking a hint about what you're trying to find out of him. "She's right there-....well she was right there just a second ago" Dustin says before taking a look at his watch "I swear I was only asleep for......an hour" Dustin says with a long pause which causes you to let out a frustrated groan with how reckless Dustin became. You grab Dustin's ear and drag him up the stairs in a rush due to the feeling of worry and panic since a lot can happen in just one hour. Relief washes over you and Dustin as you see max at the dining table with holly while listening to music and coloring. After reassuring Ms Wheeler that everything's okay, "you know I think it's so cute that you guys decide to stick together while everything's going on right now" Ms Wheeler says with a jolly tone that is so heartwarming but mr.wheeler makes a dry and rude remark that ended with me walking to max and Dustin asking for some food.

"may I?" Dustin asks as he moves closer toward the pile of freshly made pancakes, "of course go ahead, you guys know you're very much welcome here" Ms Wheeler says as she gives Dustin a clean plate for him to get breakfast, "of course you guys are like family" Dustin responds to Ms Wheeler while adding some pancakes onto his plate, "sure why dont you take for all we're worth" mr.wheeler says in a very much sarcastic tone but that encouraged dustin instead of stopping him. "Thank you" Dustin says with a gummy smile and adds more pancakes to his plate, "Dustin!" You call his name before he grabs another pair of pancakes but instead he takes out 2 pancakes from his plate and puts them back in the original pile after you give him a look to act right, "sorry about that, he gets that from his mother" you say while smiling sweetly at mr and ms.wheeler hoping that you innocent look makes Dustin's actions acceptable.

Dustin sat down and started eating his pancake with his hand which you completely gave a disgusted look and gave him a napkin and a fork that was near Holly's plate. While you and max discuss what she saw when she was in a trance at the graveyard then Dustin decided to butt in, "maybe you infiltrated his mind just like how he did with yours" with Dustin's statement it made you think how that is a possible answer, "like freddy Kruger's boiler room" Dustin mentions and it caused holly to wonder who freddy Kruger was, "he's this super burned up guy with knifes as hands, and he kills people in their dreams-" you cut dustin off from continuing, "Dustin...she's a kid" you say the last part through gritted teeth and gave him a look to cut it out, "it's a movie, he's not real" Dustin says after looking at you for approval to make sure that his excuse to not scare holly was good enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later:

Everyone came back alive but mostly injured really badly. With max in the most critical condition Lucas didn't help the wheeler family pack up as he preferred staying at the hospital with max. Everyone evacuated Hawkins so people started packing their stuff up and leaving as fast as they could. You and everyone else were helping put boxes in Nancy's car when Ms Wheeler said something made you and Dustin perk up, "who ordered pizza?" You and Dustin looked up real fast mostly out of hunger but also out of confusion. Y'all see a pizza truck honk and pull up in front of y'all then see El, Mike, Will, and Jonathan get out of the car.

El runs into your arms as you start tearing up with joy. You then break the hug and look at El fully and correctly to see that she looks different from the last time you saw her, "oh my God what happened to your hair", you say while laughing to prevent your tears spilling out your eyes, "what happened to your face?" El says with a both worry and joking tone, "some type of monster beat my ass" you say laughing and going back to hugging El.

Steve was watching from afar with the most cheeky smile spread across his face. Seeing how happy you are when you're around the kids even if you don't say it often but you love them and you would do anything for them to be happy. With Steve seeing how welcoming and happy you are with the kids, it gets him excited about his future with you.

Request me more ideas and I hope you enjoyed it.

#steve harrington x reader #joe keery x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington angst #steve harrington #stranger things x reader #stranger things #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #will byers

151 notes · View notes

kradogsrats · 2 months

Text

Schrödinger's King in the Bird Box

Time for a return to the single topic that most torments me in this entire franchise canon: is Harrow in the goddamn bird or not?

Except not really. I'm not going to go over the evidence again. I've done it before. Almost everyone has done it before. It has only gotten stronger. At the absolute minimum, an attempt was made to put Harrow in the bird. That's not really disputable. I admit it. It's over.

This is actually the second time that I've struggled with narrative cognitive dissonance regarding a real core factor of this show (like not "what's the deal with Archdragon reproduction," but something that is clearly supposed to be thought about with the intent that it will eventually make sense), and eventually managed to rotate it so hard in my mind that the way I wanted to see it slipped out of my grasp and I saw it the way it's actually intended. Ironically, I think I may have been thinking about the Ocean arcanum at the time.

Anyway, what previously always bothered me about this question was mainly two things:

It would have a devastating impact on Ezran's character development if Harrow reappeared during s1-s3, but the timeskip and arc of s4-s5 made it so it would also be deeply weird for him to reappear before the show ends.

If Harrow is in Pip's body, both Viren and Pip's subsequent behavior, as well as how Pip is treated by the narrative on a meta level, make absolutely no fucking sense.

But... if Viren doesn't know whether the spell was successful or not? If we are meant to not know whether the spell was successful or not, because it's not going to get resolved in the show itself?

If we accept that the earliest point with any chance of the hooks for this plot being set is late s7—because yes, Aaron Ehasz would do an exact beat-for-beat repeat of Zuko and his mom—that both puts Ezran far enough in his growth for it not to be threatened by the "real" king returning, and keeps Harrow out of the loop for long enough that it doesn't really make sense for him to do anything but step down from the throne in favor of Ezran, anyway. As for Viren and Pip's behavior, if the show isn't going to advance that plot much further during its runtime, there's no reason for us to be constantly reminded of it. The setup has been made, and they can just let it stew because it's not actually relevant.

That being said, Viren's behavior actually does make a lot of sense if "is Harrow in the goddamn bird or not" is a question that is also tormenting him. To that end, I'll be doing some digging here on the nature and context of the body-switching spell, Pip/Harrow's behavior post-swap, and what the hell is going on in the Harrow section of Viren's dark magic dream.

The Spell is Made Up (Unlike All Those Real Spells)

First of all, I think there's been some long-term incorrect assumptions made about the body-switching spell. It's not a known spell: this is Claudia and Viren essentially flying by the seat of their pants... but we rarely stop to think about how that contextualizes the rest of the discussion around it.

The initial plan is to find the assassins and ambush them before nightfall. As Soren points out and Viren himself confirms: if they fail, the assassins will be unstoppable under the full moon and Harrow is as good as dead. Claudia decides to put her mind to that problem, so naturally she stops to flirt with Callum in the library and gets the inspiration for the spell from something he says.

(Fun fact: none of that happens in the novelization. Zero amount.)

She brings the idea to Viren, and they develop the spell from there. It's not really clear if Claudia actually knows whether something like that would be possible, but Viren does know that transferring the essence of a person can be done—he's got a nice little coin collection that proves it.

As for the snake, there's no way Viren "acquired" a two-headed soulfang serpent because he has a book somewhere on how to use a rare, malformed specimen of a dangerous Xadian creature to switch people between bodies. He probably thought "that's weird, but could be useful," or maybe whoever sold it to him just had a great sales pitch. A non-trivial amount of success at dark magic is in having access to rarer and more powerful reagents than your competition.

Anyway, what this means is that Viren has absolutely no idea what success looks like for this spell, particularly when using it on subjects of different species. When he describes it to Harrow, he is 110% talking out of his ass. He sounds like he knows exactly what the spell will do and how, and I think a lot of us kind of fell for that. He needs to sound confident, because if he admitted that he doesn't know if it will even work, with a possible failure condition of "snake eats your soul," well... a) Harrow rightfully wouldn't go for it, and b) he'd look incompetent, which is the worst thing ever.

When he goes to Harrow's room, he casts the spell... but did it work? I think that whatever it did, it did it in a way that Viren can't tell whether it worked or not. Maybe both Harrow and Pip passed out. Maybe Viren just didn't want to hang around for the aftermath—in the novelization, when he exits the room and runs into Callum, his eyes are still black from spellcasting.

Activities of Dr. Pip Harrow, Ph.D.

Probably the thing that has always bothered me the most about the entire Harrow-Pip theory is that yes, literally everything in the lead-up and immediate aftermath of the assassination points to that being exactly what happened... and then the narrative lens of the show completely drops the rope. Pip doesn't even appear in the novelization until Viren's pre-coronation scene, which is funny given his looming presence over half the scenes with Harrow in the show.

Pip appears exactly twice after the assassination—once in s1 and once in s2—otherwise he goes completely ignored. He's not in the background of Viren's office, or the throne room, or Harrow's bedroom. No one ever mentions him ever again. Ezran never mentions him again, in the show or in any supplementary materials. You'd think the boy who can talk to animals might have some interest in his dead dad's beloved pet... but who knows, maybe Pip has always been an asshole and Ezran's actually like "thank goodness I never have to speak to that dude again."

Anyway, in all of Pip's appearances, he behaves like... a bird. A trained bird—Harrow can rely on him not just fucking off—but he doesn't demonstrate human-like intelligence the way Bait does. That being said, Bait is essentially a main-cast character (at least as much as, say, Corvus... maybe even Soren) while Pip is a plot device, and even then it takes until well into the first arc for Bait to show the kind of complex reasoning and initiative that separates him from an unusually smart dog. Pip's human is also a stressed-out king, rather than a rambunctious ten-year-old, so he's probably a bit more sedate overall. I would personally bet, given the way the show has progressed with regard to Xadian creatures, that Pip is as intelligent as Bait.

The point of that is: even if Harrow's consciousness is occupying Pip's body, he's not really doing anything with it. He's pissy, sure:

But is that Harrow's pissy-ness or Pip's? Even if Pip is only as intelligent as a trainable bird, that's plenty intelligent enough for both grieving/confusion that their human is gone and holding a grudge against obvious assholes. Viren cages him, but is that because he flipped out and got bite-y? And was it Harrow flipping out, or Pip? Or is he caged just because Viren's of the general attitude that animals belong in cages? Those who fail tests of love... We just don't know.

A lot of us also, to circle back to assumptions about the spell, have tended to think of a body swap between Harrow and Pip resulting in Harrow flailing his arms around wildly and screeching... but again, we know literally nothing about this spell, nor do we actually know anything about Harrow's behavior after Viren leaves his room. Maybe his body sat catatonic on the bed until Runaan came in and shot him. Maybe Pip, being intelligent, was able to maintain the facade—once everyone's in the heat of battle, it would be hard to notice even significant deviations from normal behavior. Even if "Harrow" appeared to fight only halfheartedly, or give up entirely... well, he hasn't been the same since he lost Sarai. Maybe the spell only partially worked, and only half of his soul is inside Pip, with minimal or no influence over the bird body's behavior.

Viren does appear to take some precautions in case Harrow is alive inside Pip. The cage, for one... but he also has nearly all subsequent important conversations outside of his office. Like I said earlier, Pip's cage isn't rendered in the background of any scene, but since he escapes from Viren's office I'm assuming that's where he's been. Even if Pip was just out of frame in every scene in Viren's office post-assassination through end of s2, the only things he's seen are... Viren eating butterflies, and the conversation between Viren and Claudia about the mirror and her side mission to bring the egg back at all costs. He doesn't know about Soren's instructions to murder the boys. He knows about the mirror and Viren's obsession with it (which he could have known before), but he doesn't know about Aaravos. He may know that Viren stole his seal but only if Viren was stupid enough to stamp the letters with it in front of him (which... look, he could be). The only things he's really learned are that a) his sons are alive, and b) Viren lied to him and the egg is alive.

Now, realistically, if we were meant to hang on to the is-Harrow-in-the-bird plot thread because it's going to be significant within the scope of the show... I'd be expecting to see at least one cut to Pip glowering at some point during all these machinations. If it weren't for the mirror and Aaravos, I'd expect Viren to be yelling all his monologuing at Pip, too. But the show does none of that. Instead, the next time we see Pip, we see him peace-ing out of the show for at minimum the next three seasons, and possibly the remaining two, as well. If Harrow's in there... why? Did he go to find Callum and Ezran himself? It's not actually clear that he knows Ezran can understand animals, so it would be reasonable for him to think Viren is his only chance at ever not being a bird again. Maybe he thinks that chance is gone with Viren's arrest and would rather not spend the rest of his life in a cage. Maybe he really isn't in control of the body.

Back to Viren, though: since Pip refuses to demonstrate any behavior that could be taken as distinctly Harrow's, Viren actually has no idea at any point whether Harrow's in there or not. He doesn't know if Harrow lived. He doesn't know if he succeeded or failed. It's a constant reminder that he's almost, but not quite, in control. Almost, but not quite, good enough to achieve what he wants.

It probably drives him absolutely insane.

Did You Think You Were Somehow Getting Out of This Without Me Mentioning Kpp'Ar?

Just kidding, it's finally time to talk about Viren's dream. We've gone two entire seasons and a two-year timeskip without any mention of Harrow or Pip (though those maniacs dropped the fucking snake basket on us as an incidental but obvious prop early in s4), and then suddenly we get punched in the face by Viren's subconscious.

First, though, I do actually need to point something out in the scene with Kpp'Ar. Bear with me, I promise this is relevant.

Viren sealed Kpp'Ar's soul in a coin 12-ish years ago, and the coin has been sitting collecting dust in his secret dungeon for... some amount of that time. Now he opens the door and finds Kpp'Ar standing there, free—and I will note that I don't believe Viren actually knows how to free people from the coins, or whether it can even be done. His reaction is surprise, followed by suspicion and wariness:

When he encounters Harrow—dead—his reaction is horrified shock, which is fair since the last time he entered the room that way there was no surprise body chilling out waiting for him in it:

Then, when Harrow speaks to him, suddenly alive and unharmed, he drops straight into relief:

Some of this is undoubtedly due to the differences between Viren's relationship with Kpp'Ar and his relationship with Harrow. With Kpp'Ar, after that initial moment of confusion, he's absolutely determined to not show a single hint of ignorance or weakness—this is a trick, or a test, and a passing grade in "light verbal sparring with the mentor you're pretty sure you remember betraying" is a thing that is both normal to want and possible to achieve. For Harrow, who he wants so desperately to call him brother, who he walked into this very room ready to die for, before everything went horribly awry—he not only immediately and willingly goes to his knees, he literally prostrates himself.

... I'll give everyone a moment to get all the innuendo and suggestiveness out of their systems, because that's not the point. This time.

What is the point is that Viren's reaction to Harrow isn't disbelief, but relief. Hope. Kpp'Ar is supposed to be in a coin, and Viren immediately questions how he got out. Harrow is supposed to be dead but Viren doesn't give a second thought to how he's not. Fortunately, Harrow helpfully explains:

Fun fact: back in s1, we don't actually see Viren actually taking action against the assassins. We don't even see evidence that he re-entered the room at all—it's only Soren and Claudia who participate in Runaan's capture.

I haven't actually touched a lot on the complex shit going on for Viren, emotionally, throughout all of this—I mentioned it's was probably driving Viren insane over the course of the first two seasons, but let me elaborate. If Viren successfully switched Harrow and Pip, that means Harrow survived... but he expressed his feelings on the proposal in no uncertain terms, and there's a good chance he will literally never forgive Viren. I don't think Viren thought far enough ahead to consider how to get Harrow into a human body again, but I do think he's dragging his feet on it a little because if he can work things to his advantage—unite the Pentarchy against Xadia and follow through on the war Harrow was avoiding—he'll prove to Harrow that he was right all along. Any chance of that flies out the window with Pip at the end of s2.

If the body-switching spell failed, it means Viren essentially killed Harrow himself. That's the reality I think he grows more and more resigned to over the course of s1 and s2, when Pip remains unresponsive. He had no choice but to take the best chance at saving someone he loved—but this time, instead of saving Harrow, he murdered him.

In the dream, Harrow has not only survived, but credits Viren with his survival. He doesn't just dismiss Viren's show of remorse, but makes his own apology to Viren. He calls Viren brother. After an impossibly long nightmare, everything is okay. All is forgiven. Maybe there was nothing to forgive, in the first place. Maybe Viren was right all along.

Then it all turns sinister with the callback to the coin incantation, and we have a sharp return to reality:

The cinematography here treats Pip a lot more like how I would expect him to be treated in s1/s2 if we were meant to know he was actually Harrow. There's focus actually on him, instead of just other characters' reaction to him. He "speaks"—as I noted in another post—in raspy sounds very unlike his songbird chirps from s1. This is absolutely Harrow as Viren actually left him—even if he's not dead, he's in a warped prison of dark magic, a perverse mockery of himself.

Oh wait.

Harrow-who-is-both-human-and-alive was never an option, and what we've got now is mirror images of Harrow-the-dead-human and Harrow-the-live-bird, and they're going to do to Viren what he did to them.

Now, it's not that none of this makes sense if Viren knows for sure that Harrow is in the bird... but it makes a lot less sense and has less emotional resonance. If Viren knows Harrow survived as Pip, he'd be more likely to question Harrow's human form than his survival—the way he does with Kpp'Ar. He might be more guarded, expecting hostility—which, I will note, is what he gets when Pip enters the scene. Instead, because until now he believed that he actually killed Harrow in his attempt to save him, he's so relieved to see Harrow alive that for that one moment he loses all pride and is ready to beg for forgiveness at Harrow's feet.

Since legitimately none of this makes sense if Viren didn't at least attempt to put Harrow in the bird, we're left with Harrow maybe or maybe not alive, Viren having maybe or maybe not been the one to actually kill him (gonna be a fun one with the Runaan context), and a plotline that is definitely not going to be resolved in the remaining two seasons of the show. I'd be kind of surprised if they even did any more setup for it (like Callum/Ezran finding out it's a possibility, or even a hint drop like Runaan being all "it was fucking weird, he just sat there" or something) outside of future supplemental media.

Conclusion

Either Harrow is alive and in the bird, with the future intent being to do a spinoff story The Search-style, or we're in for a huge bummer of a "actually, it was Viren all along who killed Harrow, therefore Runaan is a good guy and we can all be one happy family" pile of absolute bullshit. Yes, they said Harrow's dead. Harrow's body is dead, we knew that all along. There's a note in the artbook that Viren was actually going to rip the shroud off at Harrow's funeral in order to publicly prove it's his body, because that is an extremely normal thing to do.

The show just treats it extremely weirdly because, even as the only person with any chance of knowing, Viren is in the same uncertain boat as the rest of us. (Actually more uncertain than the rest of us, since he's not genre-aware.) Also it's another chance to torment Viren emotionally, and they'd never pass that up.

Thanks for coming to my absolutely ridiculous TED Talk on this topic, I hope this screenshot now does as much psychic damage to you as it does to me:

#the dragon prince #viren #harrow #pip #for once i was wrong... but now i'm right #oh my god this is so long i'm so sorry

88 notes · View notes

twisted-tales-of-all · 6 months

Text

Just as the Kids Predicted

Summary: When the new student mentor catches first-grade teacher Mr. Yang’s eyes, he tries to keep his crush to a minimum. However, when they get too drunk at the annual holiday party and confess their feelings for him as he drives them home, he begins making moves, and a snowstorm during a staff-only workday helps them move things along even faster. Pairing: Yang Jeongin x afab!Reader Genre: fluff, smut, one-shot, collab Tropes: teacher!AU, forced proximity, mutual pining Word Count: 6k Contains: cursing, alcohol consumption, drunken confessions, snowstorm, pet names (babe, baby, love), lots of heavy kissing, sex in a classroom, unprotected sex, handjob, fingering, begging, teasing, praise, temperature play (cold room vs hot bodies), overwhelming orgasm (fem. receiving) A/N: Welcome all to Our first entry to the 16 Days of Smutmas! We hope you've all been enjoying everything so far and will enjoy this piece as well! Also, special thanks to @binniebeams for helping me figure out my banner<3

He never thought that simple things could affect his feelings, but seeing all the kids accepting you as the new mentor brought a smile to his face. Your general kindness to the staff and students alike warms his chest. Your offers of help never fail to cause the butterflies in his stomach to flutter. You affect him in ways the kids use as examples of true love, and he tries his hardest to keep things professional.

And he's done so well so far. Despite the strength of his crush, he breezes through the first four months of the school year without a slip-up. Even when you visit his class daily thanks to little Ethan acting up, he keeps his emotions in check. Even when his first-grade class begins shipping you two together and singing their little songs about your alleged relationship, and he sees you redden at the idea, he doesn't mention how cute you look.

"Morning, Mr. Yang!" Your joyful voice greeting him brings a smile to his face.

"When are you going to use my first name, Miss Y/N?" He teases you by calling you the same way the kids do.

"I'm sorry," You giggle out at his adorable fake irritation, continuing, "It's just a habit after working with the kids all the time."

"I'm starting to think you don't actually know my first name."

You puff your cheeks at his claim, jokingly upset that he'd even think that, but he stands there and waits for you to prove otherwise. To egg him on, you dramatically spin on your heel and walk away. Wondering if his assumption is correct, he follows, calling after you with an underlying disappointment in his voice.

"Oh, come on, Y/N! You didn't actually forget my name, did you?"

Stopping without warning, you turn around to confront him. Before you can speak, however, Jeongin runs into you, unable to stop his momentum quickly enough. You both turn red from embarrassment and stumble over apologies. In your apology, you address him using his first name, so he instantly feels butterflies in his stomach and stops talking.

"See, I didn't forget."

As the first bell rings, he bids you farewell for the time being. He walks over to his class with the joy of a little puppy thanks to the interaction. His class notices and tries to ask about it to distract from the tasks for the day, but he quickly brushes off their questions and starts the class.

Just before the first-grade classes go to lunch, Mr. Yang calls you over to help with a little boy throwing a tantrum. His whole class is so excited when you walk in that you have to scold them, but you look over and find their teacher staring at you as well, making you flustered. Bringing the boy to the far corner to talk, you hear giggles from other students as the teacher tries to remember where he left off. After calming down the boy, Mr. Yang sends them to lunch, leaving the two of you alone.

"Thank you for helping. He always responds better to you for some reason."

"No worries, it's just the job. I'm sorry that your kids get distracted when I come in."

He laughs and waves away your apology, explaining that kids will always be drawn to a new distraction rather than whatever they're learning at the time. Then, he asks whether you'd like to join him for lunch, assuming you don't get another call. You agree, walking with him to the staff lounge to grab your lunch. As you sit together to eat, the vice principal walks in and sees you, using the opportunity to talk to you both about upcoming events.

After reminding you of the schedule for parent conferences and holiday break, she brightens her tone to ask, "And you're both coming to the holiday party, right? It'll be so nice to get all the staff together to celebrate and let loose a little!"

You joke that you can't imagine certain staff members letting loose, even for a party, but you also confirm your planned attendance, "Not sure how long I'll stay, but I'll definitely show up. My car is out of commission right now until I can save up to fix it, so I have to figure out transport first."

Jeongin makes sure to take mental note of your situation before confirming that he'll be there whether he wants to or not, "The other first-grade teachers refuse to let me spend the holidays alone this year, so they'll bring a task force to drag me there if I don't show up."

"They'll drag you?!" Shocked that the teachers who act so nice to you would threaten violence against Jeongin, you can't hold back your reaction.

As the vice principal laughs and leaves the story for Jeongin to explain, she walks away wishing you well. Jeongin sighs at the thought of reliving the story but begins telling it regardless.

"I didn't show up to the holiday party last year. When they asked why, I made the mistake of saying that I've never had a good time at holiday parties before. Now, they're forcing me to join this one to break the cycle."

You can't help but laugh at him as he puts air quotes over the last few words and rolls his eyes after. You come to their defense, claiming, "Well, you don't know until you try. They're just trying to help you have a great time here - don't be too upset with them."

"Not you, too! I guess now I really have to go; even the new mentor is telling me to."

As the warning bell rings, you both finish up lunch. You're pleasantly surprised that you weren't called to a class for the full break, but right as you throw out your trash, you hear your name over the walkie. You respond before wishing Jeongin a good rest of his day.

Since conference week means shorter days for the kids, they get a bit hectic. So, you bounce around between classes all week, and Jeongin only sees you in passing or for a short time when his students act up. Although he can feel the empty feeling in his chest as he misses the small interactions between you, he pushes that feeling down and reminds himself that he'll see you at the holiday party tomorrow.

As the last day before vacation wraps up, you see him in the copy room, so you approach, "Hey, Jeongin, why are you working when vacation is starting?"

"I have to make sure I have everything ready for when we get back to work. I don't like to leave it for the last minute."

"Oh, that's smart. Get it done now so you can forget about work and have fun tomorrow~!"

"That's my only other stressor. Then, I'll be able to enjoy my break."

Lightly hitting his shoulder for his lame joke brings a cheesy smile to his lips that makes your heart skip a beat. You try to stabilize yourself long enough to tell him that you'll see him tomorrow, but your words don't roll off of your tongue as well as usual. Despite your choppy sentence, Jeongin happily says he'll see you tomorrow, claiming that he's excited to spend some more time with you.

As you go home, you question his phrasing. As you wonder whether he meant the comment towards all of his coworkers or specifically you, Jeongin beats himself up for letting such an obvious flirt leave his lips when he thinks you only see him as a friendly coworker. As you both wrestle with yourself over the conversation, you both land at the same - completely incorrect - conclusion: "We're just friends."

Following this conclusion, you also decide to use alcohol to forget your feelings, and, with the party quickly approaching, it's the perfect opportunity. Drinks with good company always go well. You go to sleep with that idea in mind.

Meanwhile, Jeongin stares at his closet as time ticks by, wondering what the perfect casual party outfit would be. He puts together a few outfits before falling back to the first one he put together - a pair of khaki cargo pants with a simple white turtleneck and a long black coat. He readies the outfit and goes to sleep hoping for a good day.

As you both get ready for the party, you can't get each other off of your mind. Even when you remind yourself it's just a day to drink with friends, his face keeps popping up. Despite his constant reminders that you don't see him the same way, Jeongin can't help picturing how wonderful you'll look.

He arrives right on time to save his coworkers from wondering if he'll show. However, this doesn't save him from constantly checking the door when people arrive, eagerly awaiting your arrival. As he slowly sips from the cup of mystery juice that was shoved into his hands by a fellow teacher, he keeps himself within eyesight of the door at all times, but he didn't even need to.

When you arrive about an hour after the party starts, an eruption of voices welcomes you, "The newbie is here!" "Hi, Y/N!" "Oh Y/N, I'm so glad you're here!" "Ooh, look at Y/N! Who are you dressed all cute for?"

As you laugh off the comments, you curse yourself for choosing the fancier outfit. Despite both of them being similar to what everyone else wears, you should've known they like to tease new employees at get-togethers like this. As Jeongin sees you, he takes a massive gulp from his drink, hoping for the alcohol to keep him from thinking improper thoughts about you.

By the time you reach Jeongin in your circle of hellos, someone already handed you a drink. You take a sip as you approach him, only to find that they threw extra alcohol into your cup. You try to hide the wince from the feeling of drinking such a strong mix, knowing your colleagues will use your reaction to tease you.

"Hi, Y/N. Glad you made it. Did they make your drink too strong? I can go get you a new one, if you want."

"No, no. They want to test me. I saw it in their eyes. I'm not standing down." You tilt the cup towards him slightly as a mini toast before taking another swig and letting the liquid warm your body.

As he watches the effects of the drink flush over your face, he finds that the alcohol is enhancing his feelings for you rather than burying them, so he decides not to drink anymore for the night. This also leaves him the opportunity to be a designated driver for you, since you mention paying for a taxi to get here.

You two spend a lot of time together, with plenty of teasing about being 'the lovebirds' from your coworkers. They also make sure your cup never runs dry, so that they can see what happens when you get properly drunk. Since you know your limits and love playing competitive games, you pace yourself enough to slowly give them their satisfaction, but never fully.

As the party begins dying down, you mention that you should probably call yourself a ride home, but a handful of people get upset about you drunkenly getting into a stranger's car. Silently thanking everyone for giving him an easy way to jump in, Jeongin offers to drop you off at home, stressing that he hasn't had any alcohol in over two hours and that he'd feel better knowing you got home safely. Although you fight a bit at first, you eventually agree, accepting his offer and saying goodbye to the rest of the group.

Despite being mostly stable, Jeongin stays close to you, ready to catch you or offer himself as a crutch if you need one. He opens the passenger-side door and helps you get in, even buckling your seatbelt for you. He's so focused on your safety that he doesn't even register how close he gets to you, but you notice and feel the thumping in your chest quicken. As he walks around to the driver's side, you take a couple of deep breaths in a sad attempt to stabilize your emotions.

As he buckles up and turns on the car, you thank him again for his kindness and enter your address into his GPS.

"Don't even worry. I'd much rather be certain you're safe. I don't know what I'd done if something happened to you tonight. Oh! You live close to me! How convenient!"

You mess with the radio a bit, landing on what might be the only station that isn't playing Christmas music. Even though you don't usually listen to the sappy love songs they play, you've had more than enough holiday cheer today, so you'll take it. Mindlessly, Jeongin sings along with some of the songs, leaving you in awe of his hidden singing talents.

"Wow, I love your singing voice, too." You blurt out, the mix of alcohol and amazement dropping your filter before you can notice.

"Too?" He chuckles, "What else do you love to say it like that?"

With a hazy mind, you forget that you've chosen to hide your feelings and erupt into your confession, "Well, your regular voice, for starters. Your face - especially your smile. Hmm... the way you act with the kids. Oh, even your fun little teases at me. There's a lot to fall for, you know! That's not even scraping the surface."

As you finish, you look up to see that the car has stopped. Looking over at the man next to you, you find him staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed in your direction. Suddenly, it hits you that you just admitted your feelings so strongly, directly to your crush. Your hands fly up to cover your mouth, but you babble out some apologies for your ramblings, insisting that he can forget everything that you said if it makes things easier.

"You like me?" He asks, an excited tone held back for your confirmation. After you nod, he adds, "I've liked you for a while now! I can stop hiding my feelings now, right? Thank you, fate and alcohol, for this moment!"

As excited as the kids at school when the cafeteria gives them cookies, Jeongin pulls back onto the road to finish the trip to your house with a giddy smile. Although it takes a bit longer for you to register his words, his smile contagiously reaches your lips as you recognize that he reciprocates your feelings.

Arriving in front of your home, you hesitate to leave, but Jeongin quickly unbuckles and rushes to open the car door for you.

"You're so sweet, Mr. Yang." You tease him as you exit the car by using that name again.

He pouts, asking you to call him a better name, "Anything but what the kids call me. Please."

Holding your chin to think up a name, you decide to lean into the lovey-dovey angle, "Okay, Innie~. I'll call you cutely from now on, I promise!"

His cheeks flush at the nickname, and he stumbles over his next words, "Ah, thank you. So, uh... Y/N, shall we call this day one? Er, I mean - do you want to date - er... Can I be your boyfriend?"

Out of embarrassment, he looks off to the side, but you ask him to lean in closer to you so you can whisper something in his ear. When he gets close, you leave a kiss on his cheek and giggle as you make your way to the front door, "Is that a proper answer?"

As soon as you're inside, you start dancing happily around your home in excitement. Jeongin smiles brightly the whole drive home and similarly begins excitedly flailing around in the comfort of his house. You both feel childish for feeling so strongly about the start of a new relationship, but neither of you cares since the overwhelming joy feels so great. When Jeongin gets to bed, he faces a bout of insomnia that he hasn't had since childhood - he's so excited for what's to come that he can't fall asleep. Even though he still has nearly a full week before the staff prep day - and he can't even be sure that you'll be there, since you might not have anything to prepare as a mentor.

As young, blossoming love tends to do, Jeongin keeps you on his mind all week long. He can only hope he's taken over your mind in a similar fashion, as the smallest things remind him of you out of nowhere. All sorts of questions come to mind: Does Y/N like sweets? What music is her favorite? Does she have any phobias? Do they prefer calling or texting?

Suddenly, while preparing a smoothie that begs him to wonder about your favorite drinks, Jeongin's phone dings. It isn't his usual text tone, so he grows interested immediately and unlocks his phone to find a message on the school's app. Since vacation started, only messages marked as urgent ping him, so he's even more confused. However, he can't help but laugh as he opens the inbox to see your name. Your email immediately apologizes for surpassing his DND protocols, but it continues on about how you'd like to thank him for driving you home and not having another form of contact. You leave him your phone number, suggesting that texting will be more convenient. Since the work emails are monitored, you leave no indication of anything beyond a friendly coworker relationship, but Jeongin smirks as he finishes reading it. He quickly adds your number to his contacts, saving your name with a heart in the notes.

Thinking up a witty first message, Jeongin lands on referencing your drunken confession: Couldn't wait all week to find out more things that'll make you fall for me?

Within five minutes, he sees you reply, snarkily asking whether he wants to wait all week before talking to his new girlfriend. He has to admit, he might've gone crazy if he went all week thinking about you without being able to reach you. Now that the option is there, he's quite relieved. Especially as the text banter between you two shifts to include compliments and flirts. You lay on your bed, kicking your feet the whole time; His smile never fades as he leans into the phone so intently after every new message.

The day passes quicker as you occupy each other's time, and he nearly forgets to ask about the prep day. When you say that you need to sleep soon, he quickly asks: Oh, before you go, will you be using prep day? I wanted to know whether a beauty would grace my presence on Friday :P

You roll your eyes at his comment before explaining that you sadly do need to prepare more disciplinary notes and good behavior cards, so you will be there. His heartbeat speeds up when he reads it. Giddy at the idea of seeing you again without the kids around, he responds by expressing his happiness and wishing you a good night.

Although you text each other throughout the day, it isn't taking over your lives like yesterday's conversation. You both have plans, so the messages are slow and sporadic, but reading every message brings a smile to Jeongin's face, and his friends point it out quickly. Since they've been friends for over a decade, these friends know Jeongin's cues instantly, even though he initially tries denying their teasing claims that he's finally dating.

"Come on, Jeongin. There ain't no way you can hide that smile. Out with it; who is it?"

With a sigh, he gives in, "You remember how I told you that we got a new mentor for the kids?"

"Told you he liked her!"

"Oh, shut up. Let him talk! We finally got the baby dating, it's a big moment."

"Baby? Big moment? Come on, it's not that big of a deal. They confessed while drunk, and now we're together. That's all. Nothing big."

"Nothing big? Dude, if you got a runken confession, that means she was thinking of you a lot."

"Probably kept it hidden for a while, too."

Taken aback by his friends' thoughts, Jeongin flushes as he entertains the idea of you having a crush on him for a while. Maybe they're right; maybe you liked each other early on and kept hiding it from the other person.

"Mommy! Mommy, look! That's my teacher! Mr. Yang! Hi, Mr. Yang!"

Quickly greeting his student and their mother, Jeongin's mind drifts away from the thoughts of you for a moment, only for the student to bring you up.

"Where's Miss Y/N? Are you not together today?"

As his friends try to contain their laughter, he explains that you aren't always together, even at school. As the kid dives into how you're together whenever you can be, Jeongin stumbles over trying to explain. Luckily, the mother makes up an excuse to pull them away, apologetically waving to Jeongin as they leave. Once out of earshot, his friends let their laughter erupt.

"Dude, even the kids ship y'all! That's so crazy!"

The rest of the meet-up consists of catching up on everything, including a massive focus on the relationship. It wears him out, so he falls asleep almost immediately after lying down. When he wakes, he quickly pulls on a casual outfit fit for the freezing weather to prepare his class materials.

He arrives and greets a few coworkers on his way to the copy machines. Walking into the room, he sees you alone, with your back to the door. Passing you, he slides a hand into the small of your back. You tense up, not knowing who touched you, but you relax when you see his face next to you.

"Morning, Innie. Do you have a lot to prepare?" Although you keep your focus on the machine, you quickly turn on the cute tone and nickname for him, which warms his heart on this cold morning.

"Not too much. I finished most of it before break. Only a few more copies and some work in switching up the classroom decor. How about you, babe?"

You quickly look around to make sure nobody heard him before lightly hitting his shoulder, "Not at work! I don't want them to tease us yet! I don't have much left to do. I can help you organize your room if you'd like."

"You sure you don't want to head home? It'll probably be really cold in the room since the heater doesn't run over break, and I heard that it's supposed to snow today. You're okay driving in it?"

"Oh, don't worry. I don't really think it'll be much snow, and I've handled snow plenty of times before."

As you both finish up in the workroom, he grabs his papers and leads you to his classroom. The clouds in the sky look thicker and darker than earlier, but you don't pay it much mind. Instead, after checking your surroundings for listeners, you joke that his breath shows more since he's clearly the hotter of the two of you.

"I can make your breath show clearer if you want to try me." He rebuts, making your brain freeze at the thought.

He unlocks the room and holds the door open for you as the lightest bit of snow begins falling. He quickly runs through the plans for the change but looks at you and loses focus. Even all bundled up in the cold, you look so cute that he can't resist.

"Can I kiss you? You look so adorable."

After you nod, he holds your face in his hands and leans in to kiss you. Even though people talk about sparks, this feels nothing like that. Instead, it's warm, comforting, and welcoming. However, as it continues and you snake your hands around him, the kiss blends into an urge for more. By the time he pulls away, your body has heated up in anticipation, with your breath pooling thickly into the air as you try to pace it back to normal.

"Told you I could make it clearer." He snarkily jokes, trying to move his focus off of his urges to learn you fully and completely.

Suddenly, something thumps against the door, making you both jump and separate. Jeongin approaches the window to see the cause, finding a snowstorm brewing outside and a pile of snow against the door.

"Uh, Y/N, how long were we kissing?"

You look at the clock to find that its hands have jumped quite a bit, "Maybe 15 or 20 minutes? Why?"

You rush to the door to look outside, but you can't push it open. Your eyes widen as you look at your boyfriend, wondering what to do now.

"We're stuck."

"Fuck. I have some snacks and water, but I don't know how long the storm will last."

With the snow blocking the exit, the room grows colder due to the lack of insulation. You bring out your phone to check how long the storm is predicted to last.

"It's a dead zone. I saw it as a blessing since the kids can't play on their phones in class, but it's the opposite now. And wi-fi is shut off for the vacation to save money, so we just have to wait."

He begins pacing as you curl into yourself on one of the desks, trying to get as much warmth as you can. Noticing you shivering, he stops pacing to offer his coat. You decline, insisting he'll just get cold instead.

"Well, I can hold you instead, then. Is that okay?" He holds his arms open as he waits for your response.

Although you find it a bit embarrassing to accept so quickly, you pull him around you before you can offer a proper verbal response. Whether the urge for warmth or the desire to move forward with your boyfriend drives your quick acceptance is unclear, but the feeling of being in his arms warms you in both your body and soul.

"Thank you, Innie. This really helps."

You settle with your head on his chest, becoming acutely aware of his racing heartbeat. However, he's far too distracted by the fact that you pulled him in between your legs to think about that. A tent begins to form in his pants, and he thanks everything for you being far enough back on the desk that it only hits the material and not your thigh. His luck runs out quickly though, as you become uncomfortable leaning forward and scoot into a more comfortable position. Feeling the warmth hit your thigh, you quickly joke about it.

"You sure are warm there. Share it with me, why don't 'ya?"

Looking up, you watch his face quickly turn bright red at your comment, and you feel his member twitch at your words. Unsure of the meaning behind your words, he looks down and meets your eyes. The lust in your eyes is anything but subtle, and he catches it as soon as he looks.

"Is that really what you want? You want me to warm you up more? The hug isn't enough?" The more he speaks, the more he teases, but all he wants is to confirm your consent.

When you lock your lips with his, it shocks him, but it answers his questions well enough. He lets you lead as you snake your hands under his shirt, the sensation of your cold fingers melting in the warmth of his back egging him on more than either of you expected. He deepens the kiss by gripping your hips, massaging small circles into the soft flesh with his thumbs. Instinctively, you grind your hips, but he holds you still, not wanting to move past the make-out session yet. As you melt into each other, the snow outside has already settled, and the storm quieted. But you'd never know - not when you're both distracted, with the heat of your actions clouding up the window and obscuring the view outside into a blur of grey and white.

The blur of your bodies becomes harder to distinguish where one ends and the other starts as you reach into his pants and set him free. As the air hits him, he winces, but the warmth of your hand quickly combats the cold air. You stroke his length as you continue to kiss, feeling his breath catch in his throat before he breaks the kiss, his head falling back as the sensations of your handjob overwhelm him. Your lips fall to his exposed neck, making him melt further into your touch. As you feel his body slowly lower itself, you stop and tell him to get ahold of himself or lay on the desk himself. He quickly puts his dick back into his pants in response.

Eager to prove himself, he grabs your arms and places them around his shoulders before tapping your legs to get you to wrap them around his waist. He lifts you up and brings you to his desk - one more solid, bigger, and a bit taller. Although you expect him to place you on top of it, he stops a bit before it, letting you down to stand leaning against it. He places a quick peck on your lips before turning you around to lean over it. He kneels down, pulling your leggings down with him. With a hand around you to keep you from leaning too far forward, he uses his other hand to tease you through the thin fabric of your underwear. You cover your mouth to hide the sounds you find embarrassing, but it only makes Jeongin more eager to hear them. Moving your panties to the side, his fingers rub between your folds, using your slick to lube up his digits. Slowly, he inserts a finger, curling it up once it's fully inside. Your sounds become harder to hide as he hits the right places, egging him on. He pulls it out completely, adding another finger as he enters again. The stretch of your walls earns him a barely-muffled moan. He continues moving those two fingers, feeling your body react as you rock your hips against his hand.

Kissing the soft skin on your backside, he coos, "Does it feel good, baby? You just need my fingers to become a total mess?"

Unable to form a full sentence, you simply whine in protest, with one word leaving your lips, "More~."

"Y/N, that's not how we ask kindly. Let's use our words properly, now, love." He halts his motions to let you speak.

"Jeongin, I need more. Please, can you fuck me?" You beg, your breathing heavy in between your words.

"Since you asked so nicely."

Removing his fingers, he undoes his pants, pulling his pants and underwear down together. Holding himself at the base, he runs the tip between your folds, teasing you a bit more. You beg him to put it in, but he doesn't listen. Instead, he rubs his length in between your folds, coating himself in your juices. He ignores your whines and pleas, taking his time to make sure it'll feel good and as pain-free as possible for you both. Although you're truly glad he knows how to prepare properly, your lust wins out, begging and bucking your hips in an attempt to rush him along.

When he finally feels ready, a silence pairs itself with him lining himself up as you both hold your breath in anticipation. As his tip passes through your entrance, a light pain surges through your body as he stretches you out. He praises you as he continues, bottoming out after a while.

"Good job, babe. I'll wait like this. Tell me when you're ready for me to move. You take me so well. You're so warm and tight, hugging me so nicely."

"Jeongin, less talking, more moving." Your lust still finding its way out on top, you know you won't be satisfied until he moves; the pain will fade into the pleasure.

"Are you s-?"

You grind back against him, cutting his words short. Finally taking the hint, he pulls back and thrusts back into you roughly. With your walls tightening around him the whole time, he tries to focus on something other than the sensations so that the experience lasts longer for you both. His grunts fill the room first, louder than you expect. When your moans join, it brings a cocky smile to his lips and some extra determination. He moves faster, hitting all the right places without trying.

"Jeongin, yes!" Just like that babe~ keep going!" The words fall mindlessly from your mouth, encouraging him well as you near your climax.

"Are you close, Y/N? Cum for me, baby. Cum on my cock."

The grit in his voice sends you over the edge, and your orgasm overtakes you so strongly that you nearly collapse. Your legs shake as the sensations ripple through you, somehow desperately forgetting how to hold up the rest of your body. Your vision goes white for a moment before returning to you as a blurry mess of color and motion. Noticing the strong reaction, your boyfriend stops his movements and holds you tightly to keep you steady and aware.

In a whisper to limit the toll on your senses, he coaxes you through it, "I'm right here, Y/N. You did so well, and now you can rest and relax. We can lie down for a bit to calm down, okay? Let me pull your pants up for you - there we go. Now, carefully, let's move back from the desk and lie down."

You don't even register when he removed himself from you. Usually, the emptiness strikes you as soon as someone pulls out, but your orgasm must've been too strong for you to notice. As your vision slowly refocuses, you notice that he's draped his coat over you as you lie there together. When you try to move it to cover you both, he gently stops you.

"Shh. Stay here like this for a bit, love. We have time, so you can take as much rest as you want. I'll be right here next to you."

"I wasn't getting up, Innie. I just wanted to share the coat-blanket with you."

"I'm warm enough. I just did a full workout, after all." He pets your head as he reassures you.

A thought pops into your mind that makes you sit up quickly despite your previous statement, "Did you get to finish?"

He shakes his head, "But it's okay. You seemed really overwhelmed, so I wanted to make sure you were okay. It felt really good; I don't need to finish when I had that good of a time."

Although you fight with him over it for a bit, he eventually convinces you to lie back down with him. You cuddle until you nearly fall asleep. To wake yourself back up, you get up to check the door. It's still difficult to open, but you manage to crack it open a bit. Jeongin brings you inside and slides through the opening, and you watch him shovel the snow out of the way with his hands. When he gets the door fully open, you greet him with a kiss before holding his ice-cold hands in yours, trying to warm them up for him.

"The kids will get a kick out of this story."

"Hell, I think they would've tried to plan this themselves if fate hadn't."

142 notes · View notes

c0la-queen · 1 month

Text

You | Tord x Reader

Here we go! I'm sorry if this isn't my normal quality, I wrote it while fighting off a headache... but also, I wanted to be a little silly! Because these are silly guys! I hope you enjoy the slight cliffhanger I left it on, hehe! Mwah, mwah!

Warnings: Tord is a bit of a weirdo, stalking behavior, obsession, Tord is 100% making assumptions about you and your personality, love this little freak <3

Words: 1.5k

---

Being a quiet person is not always an easy thing.

Some people would think it was. You never have to worry about saying the wrong thing. There were less chances of you offending anyone from your words.

Or, some people think the opposite. "I could never handle being so quiet" they say. It must be a headache to be around so much noise.

And… they were right, in Tord's opinion. It was nice to not have to get stuck in awkward conversations. He had the added bonus of being intimidating, so people eventually got the hint and stopped trying to talk to him. However, he also had to keep enough Advil on hand to tranquilize a small horse, considering he decided to live with the three loudest motherfuckers on the planet. Pros and cons, and such.

There were times when it proved to be nice, though.

Like right now.

The odd occasions where he had the day to himself. Tom and Matt were at work, Edd was visiting his parents, so that left Tord to his lonesome. What a great day.

As much as he would have liked to spend the whole day in the house, he couldn't. He needed to go grocery shopping - the fridge looked abysmal. At least it was warm and sunny outside. Still, he dragged his feet. He really didn't want to go to the store.

Ugh.

He was the son of the Red Leader. He had seen much worse shit. He had killed men in cold blood without batting an eye. He was not going to be bested by the looming possibility of social interaction.

…maybe he needed therapy?

…

Nah.

If Tord ever managed to invent a time machine, the first thing he was going to do was find the person who developed wireless earbuds and give them a kiss.

Being an intimidating looking person was a great way to ward off unwanted conversations. But there were always people who had no sense of self preservation and chose to try and talk to him anyway. Wearing earbuds while he was out helped with that. Nobody was stupid enough to try and deliberately get him to take his earbuds off. (Except Edd and Matt, but they know that they'll get away with it.)

The basket handle on his arm was starting to dig into his arm as he stood in front of the pasta aisle, watching his pet idiots (roommates) argue on the group chat over what type of noodles to get. Edd wanted Ziti, Tom wanted Angel Hair, and Matt wanted Bowtie… for some reason.

Tord was busy calculating the risk vs. reward of banging his head against the shelf until he bled out of his ears when it happened.

You happened.

Through his music, he heard the sound of laughing and giggling. He glanced to the side, expecting a gaggle of obnoxious, immature 20-something year olds with the sole purpose of ruining everyone else's relaxing shopping experience. And that's mostly what it was. But, standing in the middle of them was you.

Hello, you.

You were laughing, just like the others. But not the fake laughter of conformity - no, it was real, genuine laughter. Tord didn't think he had heard anything so beautiful. He even paused his music just so he could hear it in its pure form.

The more he looked, the more he saw of you. You were like the sun, so golden and bright compared to these others you were standing with. He could tell you weren't like them, he could tell you weren't using some made up personality to try and fit in.

What the hell were you doing with people like that?

Then, you were moving. Your little group had apparently decided the joke wasn't funny anymore, so you were moving on. Disappearing into the next aisle. Disappearing from his life.

Tord threw a couple boxes of noodles into the basket without even looking at it, shoving his phone back in his hoodie pocket and moving on to the next aisle. He pretended to deliberate over what brand of laundry detergent to get as he subtly watched your group at the other end of the aisle. He was able to get a better look at you.

You were wearing a brightly colored cardigan, wool by the looks of it, that perfectly matched the colors of your earrings and purse. You liked to coordinate your outfits. You had on a little skirt that teased just enough of your thighs to draw attention without being slutty, but you also had black tights on. You liked to look attractive while still feeling like you were being modest. Your earrings and the clip in your hair looked like they had been bought from the girls' department store in the mall right across from Matt's store, that was always playing mind numbing pop songs and had unicorns everywhere. You liked cutesy, almost juvenile things.

Tord wanted to know more. He wanted to know everything about you.

A peaceful day all to his lonesome where he would force himself to get groceries before wasting the day away on the couch quickly shifted - now, he was spending the rest of the afternoon with you.

Well, almost.

You and your friends were walking around town, enjoying the warmth and dipping into any stores that caught your attention. Tord was also walking around town, a good distance behind your group, enjoying your warmth and drinking in every detail he could get.

And he had learned plenty.

He had no idea why you were friends with these people. From what he could tell, you were stifled in this group. They would talk over you, ignore things that you pointed out, refuse to go to stores that you wanted to go to, tease and taunt you, and walk ahead of you. Despite it all, you always kept a smile. You kept shining, kept illuminating the area around you.

They don't deserve your light.

Oh, but you knew that, didn't you? You knew, but you were so sweet and gracious that you gave it to them anyway. Maybe if you shone bright enough, warmed their skin enough, they would finally give you attention.

Tord would give you that attention. He already was, and you weren't even giving him your sunlight.

And he never would ask you to.

No, your sunlight was going to be a gift that he had to earn. It would be a blessing that he was going to work hard to have bestowed upon him.

He would never exploit you.

Like they did.

Tord slipped into the coffee shop, running a hand through his hair. The warm weather was causing a light amount of sweat to gather on his skin.

He pretended to look across the overfilled menu, taking in the names of all the absurd drinks available. He already knew what he was going to get.

"Hi, welcome in! What can I get started for you today, sir?"

The barista was smiling at him too much. Her eyes drifted down his chest, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Her pupils her dilated. She was checking him out.

Not that he cared. On an objective standard, she was pretty. But she didn't shine. She wasn't sunlight. She didn't brighten up the entire room just with her smile. She didn't make the birds sing by just looking in his direction.

She wasn't you.

"Iced Americano."

"Will that be all for you? We have a whole menu of signature flavors. I'd recommend-"

"Just an Americano."

The barista blinked in surprise when he cut her off. Typical. A pretty person with a shallow mind that couldn't comprehend the idea of a person not being interested in them. She huffed softly before ringing him up and telling him his total.

He paid, then turned to go sit and wait for his order to be made. He didn't get very far, though, before he almost ran into someone.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I totally wasn't looking where I was going!"

It was you.

You were talking to him.

You were looking at him.

You were so warm.

"It's fine."

As Tord fled like a fucking coward, you gave him a sweet smile. You smiled at him. And he just walked away. Asgardians above, his father would have been so disappointed in him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as he sat at a window table, watching your friends snicker at the coffee shop mascot.

"Mate, you've been out shopping for like 4 hours. Where are you?"

Edd's voice drifted out from his phone speaker as Tord pressed the screen to his cheek.

"Something came up."

"Did you get the bowtie noodles? Did you? Tord?"

There was a muffled 'Matt, get off me' and some shuffling fabric before Edd's voice returned.

"The fuck do you mean something came up?"

Tord glared at the boy you were talking to, watching you give him an adorable pout. Oh, the things Tord would do to you.

"I found the perfect girl for us."

#eddsworld #eddsworld x reader #eddsworld tord #eddsworld tord x reader

51 notes · View notes

nervoustragedyluminary · 4 months

Text

Idk why calling transmasc people "cunts" & "bitches" in an insulting way is so normalised by fellow transmascs and trans guys in the Anti-Transmasculinity and transandrophobia tags.... like you realise you're just doing toxic masculinity and transphobia right?

Trans women never asked you to do this and it's pretty transmisogynistic and chauvinistic to claim you're doing it on their behalf or to fight for their liberation when it's actually the same self centred bullshit that predatory cishet men do when they go "I'm a feminist and all men are trash (but not mee I'm one of the good ones)"

the tone of many of these kinds of posts is very "I'm not like those other guys I'm one of the cool guys who is better than all the whiny boys who are behaving like girls (Derogatory) for talking about Anti-Transmasculinity and I'm gonna prove how feminist I am by calling them cunts and bitches and telling them they aren't real men because IMO 'real men' (white pericishet abled men) don't face gender based oppression or talk about facing it"

it's just very thinly veiled truscum "you're a transtrender for talking about Anti-Transmasculinity " BS trying to hide behind "I'm defending trans women & fighting transmisogyny by calling out these whiny bitchcunt tboys who won't man up and suffer in silence for the good of trans women like I do" when you're not even centring trans women in this kind of "advocacy";

you're just doing the classic thing of making it all about your own insecurities with masculinity and attacking other trans people for not being 'stoic' enough about transphobia and violence they face & claiming that trans women benefit from our erasure and silence .

Like you realise most trans women don't see you hurting trans dudes, misgendering them or mocking trans survivors of DV & SA and go "woo yeah this helps me fight transmisogyny & SA and DV against trans women please tell another guy that he deserves to be SA'd or detransitioned for being whiny"

and it's pretty telling of your unexamined transmisogynistic assumptions about how this behaviour must somehow benefit trans women that your first go to for "how can I be an ally to trans women? " is apparently to seek out trans guys and tell them they deserve sexual or domestic violence while calling them bitches and cunts and misgendering them to try to threaten them into silence on issues that effect them

... Just yuck behaviour like how to say you agree with terf rhetoric about trans women being pro DV and SA MRAs without saying it.

Seriously if you want to advocate for trans women and trans fems (and trans neuts) try to actually listen to them and stop trying to use them and their struggle for liberation (which is inextricably entwined with our own) as an excuse to play out this tired self obsessed "I'm more of a real man than you" dominance paradigm BS

And also maybe while you're at it listen to some of your fellow trans men and transmascs talking about their own issues and don't be so quick to assume without cause that they're blaming trans women for Anti-Transmasculinity existing in the first place or that they think trans women as a group are oppressing them.

Like there's a HUGE difference between talking about societal violence from cis people, lateral in community violence and anti transmasculinity and going into terf GC & radfem BS that claims that trans women are "using mAlE pRiVeLeGe to rule the trans community and oppress the poor TIFs" & listening to the good faith discussions and understanding what people actually mean when they talk about Anti-Transmasculinity and transandrophobia actuall helps you to quickly identify and discard BS terf rhetoric that tries to pretend to be pro transmasc rather than just writing off anyone speaking on these issues as "you're just a detransitioner (Derogatory) in waiting you're not a real trans man because real men don't have or talk about problems"

#transmisogyny #Anti transmasculinity #Transandrophobia #Rape culture #Toxic masculinity #chauvinistic saviour complex

70 notes · View notes

i-guess-im-into-this-now · 1 month

Text

The Apothecary Diaries

S1Ep2 First watch

Review with spoilers for episode 2 under the cut.

(Which is mostly me ripping into Jinshi.)

Jinshi. My man. I'm both exasperated and excited to see you try your plan to seduce Maomao.

I saw it in episode 1 when you easily maneuvered Maomao into exposing herself and confessing, so I knew you were somewhat crafty. Also, this being a palace intrigue story, I do expect some shady stuff. Even so, I was hoping you would be upfront and honest with Maomao. She was forthcoming with her background, skills, and why she stepped forward to help the sick infants (I'm of the opinion she may have additional secrets that she has not yet revealed, but even so), and yet Jinshi is planning on using dishonest methods to try and control her.

He's a handsome man in power, he's probably used to being able to influence women with seduction. However, I think this plan is likely to fail. Maomao nearly spontaneously combusted when someone joked about her becoming a courtesan, so I'm guessing his flirting will either fluster her in a way that doesn't seduce her or she will find it bafflingly or dishonest and do her best to ignore it. I'm here for anything, whatever goes down I know it's going to be entertaining.

I just met Maomao last episode and I already know seduction is the wrong method to use with her. He would find more success by appealing to her sense of responsibility, justice, or even just her curiosity. He's too smart. I predict that he'll figure this out sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I hope this seduction plan backfires terribly for him. I want him to end up seducing himself and for Maomao to gain that power over him, where Jinshi hoped to take it from her. I want him to suffer in his desire for her, and eventually I want Maomao to return his affection, but not until he gets what he deserves for trying to manipulate her.

Oh! Okay, I didn't guess that. She's grossed out by him. Maybe I've read this all wrong. *Me rethinking everything. Trying to see earlier scenes in new shades* I'm not convinced she won't like him eventually, but if she is repulsed by men it would explain a few things....

Oh no! Or if she has sexual trauma! That would explain things as well. Ahhh! I hope not! This show won't go that dark will it? *Remembers human trafficking and infant death in the first episode*

At first glance the other ladies in waiting seem nice enough. They are fast to fill in gaps with their own assumptions and immediately gossip about it, so Maomao will want to watch that, but they at least seem compassionate.

Once again we are reminded of Maomaos self harm tendencies with her experiments on herself. In a flashback her father simply laughed and said "that's my little mad scientist." I wonder if she's ever had someone looking out for her that truly cared about her well being? She seems very self sufficient but Maomao deserves to have someone who makes her feel safe and cared for, especially since she's not protecting herself.

For fucks sake Jinshi! Once again he is setting up tests for Maomao without her even knowing she's being tested. In this case he had the food presented in ceramic bowls rather than the more useful silver to see if she would mention it. She did, once again proving her reliability and knowledge.

Princess Peach (I haven't learned this lady-in-waitings name yet but her hair piece looks like PPs crown so I'm going with that for now): If you had spoken up earlier and told someone you were literate, you would have received higher wages.

Maomao: I was kidnapped and brought here against my will. And taking into account that part of my earnings get sent back to the people who stole me, I wasn't exactly eager to.

PP: Basically, you would rather take less pay if it means not supplying the scoundrels who took you with extra drinking money?

This exchange is interesting to me and I think could be seen a couple of ways. On the one hand it could be seen that Maomao would rather suffer herself to ensure that her enemies also suffer than to allow herself to prosper if it means her enemies could also prosper. It could be seen as an act of malice at her own expense. Which... it is. But, that view doesn't account for Maomao's feelings about it which I'm guessing are more self-sacrificing. She would gladly forsake better pay because it's the right thing to do. Evil should not be allowed to prosper and it certainly won't do so with Maomao's help. She'd pick her own suffering every time to prevent injustice.

Goddammit Jinshi! Did he knowingly give Maomao food with an aphrodisiac in it?! What an asshole. He plays so dirty. Thank goodness Maomao is too skilled to fall for that, and now she's on to him.

And Maomao casually solves another mystery, with minimal evidence. She's way too good at this. It could become a problem if she solves an actual crime instead of the two accidental poisonings that she's done up to now. We know someone has tried to poison the concubine twice already so there is someone nafarious in the palace to watch out for. Depending on who it is, if Maomao exposes their crimes, they will probably come for her too.

Jinshi, you bastard! He knows his flirting isn't working, and she easily avoided being secretly dosed with an aphrodisiac, but ask her to make one herself? Well shit, he can get her to dose herself.

Okay so the emperor deliberately placed Jinshi in the back palace to test his concubine's loyalty, but I've got no time to dwell on that because HOLY SHIT! Does Jinshi have a degradation kink! I love that for him!

Meanwhile, Maomao's kink is apothecary ingredients. Lol! She's too funny!

Maomao. Just what am I supposed to believe here. You act disgusted by Jinshi's attempts at seduction but then you think stuff like this:

If he were to come on to someone, blushing and with those looks, it's over.

I'm sure it would be enough to captivate anyone. Male or female.

Moving forward we get this ominous exchange from the concubine and princess Peach:

PP: so the new girl is capable of making drugs.

Concubine: what a beneficial skill.

Does Maomao even realize what it means that she can identify poisons and make them? In a harem setting?! She'll be suspect #1 if anyone gets poisoned, especially considering she's a commoner of low position, meaning she's expendable. Plus, people will be trying to manipulate her into using her skills for their machinations (*cough* Jinshi *cough*). I feel like this story is in the calm before the storm.

There are so many dangers around Maomao and she's so completely alone. She's got her knowledge, skills, and wit but she is so outnumbered and outmatched. I hope she will find a powerful or useful ally.

Fucking Jinshi! This dude's out here stroking her hair, kissing her neck, and whispering in her ear?! Maomao has given no indication that she would welcome his advances, but of course he doesn't care about that. He's out to seduce her. Dick. Joke's on him though, he's going to pay for stealing that chocolate from her. If for no other reason than he'll be left wanting more. Hmmm. That's probably a metaphor.

Actually, now that I've said that, I think that might be right. Jinshi is trying to his best to distract Maomao while stealing the fruits of her labor. Both literally in this scene as well as more generally in all of their interactions. Jinshi has been delighted as Maomao has risen to every challenge and passed every test. Unlike other women in the palace, Maomao doesn't swoon with a sultry look, she resists that, even if she isn't completely immune. He's intrigued already. And he'll be wanting more. I can only hope Maomao keeps him at a distance for awhile. At least long enough for him to really get to know her, understand and learn to respect her.

Her response to Jinshi this time was notably different from before when he flirted with her. This time he didn't use his looks (she couldn't even see him), or any flirty comments. Instead he gently brushed her braid aside and kissed the back of her neck then whispered his appreciation to her. I am once again curious about her past. Did she have anyone in her life to offer her physical affection? Also, thanking her and acknowledging her hard won skills? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's going to work on Maomao. So if Jinshi has a degradation kink then maybe Maomao has a praise kink. That should be fun for them.

But also, why did Jinshi want Maomao to make an aphrodisiac? Was it just for the concubines to use with the emperor?

Now that I've gotten to the end of the episode I've got to go back and ponder about the emperor sending Jinshi specifically to the back palace. Jinshi and his servant are chatting about an incident when a concubine invited Jinshi to her room and Jinshi describes the incident as

an indiscretion we cannot abide.

And I wonder who he means by "we." We as in the back palace? The empire? The harem hierarchy? The imperial family?

Then the servant states a little indignantly:

But to place you in the rear palace, and using your beauty as a means to test their true character...

Why so indignant on the behalf of the rear palace manger? He's got a high position. Power. Respect. By most metrics he's doing great and his placement in the rear palace should be seen as an honor. It would only be seen as an indignation if one were coming from an even higher position. And what's higher than the emperor's harem?

To which Jinshi laughs and responds:

Our emperor can be quite cunning. We all use whatever we're given.

What would be cunning about sending a handsome palace official to the harem to test their loyalty? Seems like a reasonable request. It's the emperor's perogative to appoint his officials as he sees fit. To use what he's been given. Is there some reason it is remarkable to send Jinshi specifically to the rear palace?

Then to what seems like a non sequitur (but isn't!) Jinshi starts talking, fondly, about how Maomao gave him a death glare.

I've never had anyone look at me so harshly in my life!

Really? Never? No one has ever glared at you? How novel... for a prince. I guessed that last episode with zero evidence just based on a twist I'd like to see, but I'm a lot more confident about it after this exchange.

It is also the link that explains how the conversation jumped from how unusual it is that the emperor sent Jinshi to the rear palace to his delightful experience of being glared at.

Jinshi being a prince also adds color to some of his behavior. His expectation that women will fall for his flirtations, his entitlement, sense of privilege, not to mention the deference he receives.

I'm so intrigued by this story. These characters are 💋🤌

If you liked this, you might like my review for episode 1.

Episode 1 review

Episode 3

#maomao #jinshi #the apothecary diaries #apothecary diaries #jinmao

28 notes · View notes

painted-bees · 10 months

Text

Good question(s) and I'm nervous to answer cuz it’s a lot it but lemme try my best to finally hash this out into words.

Mental health stuff regarding personality disorders under the cut.

So, Raf's diagnosis is paranoid personality disorder, which is characterized by severe mistrust towards others driven by paranoid thinking. In Raf's case, he genuinely mistrusts the notion that anyone actually loves him or cares about him as a human being, and that people go only through the motions of pretending they do in order to exploit him; fear of being abused is implicit.

He spends a looot a lot of time and emotional energy trying to determine what specific people want from him--initially so that he could interact with them in the 'safest' way possible. Sometimes that meant telling them flat-out that he will not do/provide the thing he suspects is the other person's goal (with the intention of making them leave him alone), or (if it's someone who's company he likes) he'd deliberately attempt to give the impression that there's a chance they'll get what they want out of him--for as long as he is able to until the 'inevitable' falling out. His inherent mistrust and desire to avoid getting himself hurt meant that while he had a lot of nice acquaintances, he had basically no actual friends.

Raf generally, to anyone acquainted with him, just comes off as a very aloof, quiet, and private person with a busy personal life that everyone else is simply on the outside of. He goes out of his way to preform kindness to anyone he interacts with, regardless of the situation, because relentless amiability was always conditioned into him as a core trait of his curated persona growing up, and--yanno--it's worked very well for him. But also because--he doesn't fall onto the default belief that all people are bad and unworthy of kindness. "No one actually loves me" hadn't become synonymous with "everyone is a bad person". It just meant that "everyone will eventually be bad to me if given enough time".

This was his unchallenged reality from late teenagehood until some several months(maybe even a year or so?) after he had graduated from university and moved in with his uncle. His uncle recognized that Raf was very skittish, anxious, distrustful and prone to 'jumping to the worst possible conclusion' about certain things--which would often lend to some very tense interactions. His uncle, however, chalked this up to Raf having grown up under the thumb of an extremely manipulative, emotionally neglectful, exploitative mother. The situations where Uncle Bill would have to calmly and patiently prove to Raf that he wasn't gaslighting him over his wildly inaccurate assumptions/interpretations had become a more and more common as their relationship otherwise grew more and more warmly familial.

Things came to heads after the realization dawned on Raf that his uncle intended on using him as the ticket to win his mother's endearment. If Bill could successfully deliver Raf back into his mother's grip, that would easily be currency enough to convince her to reinstate Bill as a core member of Ephrem Records--thereby ending his uncomfortable estrangement with the family. And Raf would be back to living his life as his mother's preforming puppet; no autonomy, no control over his own life, no rest, an absolute nightmare.

Raf had grown too comfortable and complacent--his uncle had given him literally everything, from a place to stay, to a job that treated him well, to all the space, peace, and quiet he wanted, and with absolutely no obligation. Raf didn't have to work, he didn't have to pay rent, he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do--uncle Bill had been willing to accommodate it all. Uncle Bill had once 'admitted' to Raf that 'guilt' was a factor motivating his charitable kindness. It hadn't quite sat right with Raf at the time--and now he knew why.

And, when it was made plainly obvious to Bill that Raf wasn't sticking around just to be hand delivered back to Monaco, Uncle Bill continued the charade, offering to provide Raf the car and cash he'd need to move as far away as he wanted to be. And--it wasn't until the morning after his first full day of driving across boarder into the states, on his intended route to Mexico, that Raf got into the car, sat there...and remembered that his grandmother, the largest financial owner of Ephrem Records, had been trying to entice his Uncle back to Monaco, back into the family--non stop--for years. Bill could go back literally any fucking time he wanted to, with or without Raf. And, Bill hated his mother--or so he was consistent in suggesting as much. Why would he want to endear himself to her in a manner that played to the traits he disliked about her?

Raf called up his uncle, tried to make head and tails of things over a long conversation over the phone, and--upon...not quite having enough shamelessness to straight up ask if going back to his place in Vancouver was ok, his uncle offered Raf the option to return--on the sole condition that he'll accept psychiatric help. With hesitation, Raf agreed to it.

Raf would consider bolting again a handful more times over the next few years, and each time, the 'situation' would pass with no horrible consequence for stubbornly electing to 'wait and see'/, or 'resigning himself', instead of repeating his mistake from the first time. It left Raf feeling more and more convinced that he cannot trust his own perception. Between this and therapy, Raf became pretty adept at not saying/doing anything that would be acting upon his suspicions/fears until he's had time to dissect the situation and get a second opinion from a designated person of trust--specifically, his uncle.

Basically, for better or worse, Raf has decided not to trust his own reality when it comes to his own (specifically negative) understanding/'interpretations' of his relationships and interactions with others, and has instead elected to replace it with whatever his uncle's is (a position of trust that Magritte eventually inherits). Raf figures his life is basically in his uncle's hands anyways--considering he's convinced himself not to leave Vancouver (he -did- move out into his own apartment, however) and has repeatedly resigned himself to being "cashed in” for whatever personal gain his uncle might be gunning towards with him.

AND SO, to finally answer your question ahaha: when Raf outwardly vouches against someone's character with as much straightforwardly committed plainness as "If you hire that guy, I will quit", that guy has committed a transgression that is awful beyond any reasonable doubt.

This is also why, as Raf and Magritte became more and more friendly over the course of their weekly jam sessions, Raf suddenly going chilly and quiet on her was a recurring problem she began encountering with more frequency.

At the core of his instincts Raf will always, beyond conscious thought, believe that people can only see him as an exploitable resource and will, without fail, harm him accordingly. But--there's now a layer of increasingly thick vellum that's been laid overtop of that core--a contradicting truth that's been asserted to him, that he is being asked to put more stock into and to internalize. He slips up, there are many many times where he doesn’t catch himself on time, or is feeling too strongly to employ meaningful countermeasures. When a situation aligns in a manner that allows his paranoid thoughts to really sinks its teeth into him, he can still have catastrophically ugly, fear-driven moments...but he's been working really, really hard to manage it. He wants that lightly obfuscating vellum to become so thick that it's opaque. He wants to believe that what Uncle Bill and, eventually Magritte, say is real is real. He can't trust them, but he will anyways. He has to believe that love is an action--a deliberate choice, and if love’s an action then so, too, is trust. Because regardless if they can really love him, he has decided that he really loves them.

And the reality can reward or punish him for it as it sees fit to do so. An endless frightened loneliness is worse than dying.

#long post #sorry if this makes no sense I tried my very best haha #Hi-Note #rafael

124 notes · View notes

ww2yaoi · 13 days

Note

Listen I want to be into Webgott because I see all your hype and I’m like obviously it’s great and every time I try I’m like , “eh” about it, like what am I missiiiiing why can’t I get into thiiiiis?

So like. What’s the thing. I think maybe I have a hard time because they’re not bffs but they also aren’t exactly like mortal enemies and I’m having trouble figuring out what the vibe should be.

So anyways if you’ve got something to pitch me the sale I’m all ears.

I won't pitch to you because if something doesn't click, it doesn't click and with ships I feel like you either get it or you don’t, so I'm not gonna try and convince you because I honestly feel like that’s a waste of everyone’s time and would be a lot of effort on my end and like why do I give a fuck if you don’t like it (to be brutally honest). However, I can explain what I do like about it. This is going to be kind of rambly and fractured but whatever.

I guess first and foremost I see them both as very interesting characters in their own right. Joe and Web both hate the Germans, but they joined the war for different reasons. Web wanted to write about it, considering himself a kind of warrior poet. He wanted to be on the ground and experience the war as it happened, in all its honest brutality. He comes from a fairly wealthy family, and goes to an Ivy League school, yet he forwent becoming an officer to be a lowly private and sleep in holes. That’s weird. He’s a bit bizarre for doing that.

Joe, in the show at least, is Jewish. So this is personal to him. He’s fighting because he has to fight, because someone has to kill these Nazis and he’s very much willing to do that. He’s a good soldier for the most part, he doesn’t answer to authority all that well and he’s bloodthirsty to a detriment at times, but he’s extremely loyal to his friends and protective of the group.

Arguably, Web is not that good of a soldier. He doesn’t volunteer for anything. He didn’t break out of the hospital to rejoin his friends. He’s kind of a loner, scribbling in his notebook. He’s intellectual and pretentious and he gets bullied for it. All this culminates in his and Joe’s fraught relationship in The Last Patrol which is kind of the crux of the whole ship. Joe sees the worst in Web, but Web eventually proves himself and is accepted back into the group by Joe. I don’t want to explain the whole episode, you get the point.

All this to say, they’re very different people, of different social strata, and they never would’ve looked twice at each other had the war not happened, which is kind of the hidden beauty of these worldwide conflicts if there is any. The mass mobilization of millions of people under the umbrella of one cause has a sort of equalizing effect where different social groups come together. Joe and Web literally come from opposite coasts. The symbolism is pretty obvious and poignant to me.

Anyways, I guess what appeals to me about Webgott is their similarities and differences and how these dichotomies produce a dynamic with a lot of potential for understanding and misunderstanding. You’re right that they’re not exactly friends and they’re not exactly enemies, but while this seems to put you off this is the whole appeal to me. They exist in this liminal space where they’re constantly feeling each other out and fighting to understand each other and correcting their assumptions of each other. It’s not easy, but there’s a draw there because they’re so inexplicable to one another. They’re mirrors to each other in a lot of ways. They’re both their own people. They both have this complex capacity for love and violence. I see them both as very passionate individuals with a lot of inner turmoil, and I think they could find love and comfort in each other if only they could break down each other’s walls or be brave enough to lower them themselves.

Ships should have conflict to be interesting. There should be some sort of barrier to having the perfect relationship or else the whole objective of storytelling and narrative is a pointless exercise. That gives people something to write about and chew on. And I think with Webgott there’s a lot to chew on.

#making me write long ass essays lord save me #webgott #ask #anonymous

21 notes · View notes

autisticsupervillain · 3 months

Text

Could the Wright Anything Agency catch Agent 47?

Assumptions

I'm analyzing this under the pretext that Agent 47 has killed someone and sticks around under the same cover to scope out another target in the same area. The person 47 was disguised as at the time gets framed for the murder and the WAA take the case, looking into this "Tobias Rieper" guy when it starts to seem like he might be involved.

Neither has any prior information on the other going in.

Pre-Disbarment Phoenix

Given the Timelines of both franchises, this is Phoenix going up against World of Assassination Era 47. That is.... not good.

Basically, 47 is at his prime both in his abilities as an assassin and his resources with the ICA and he's going up against Nick back when he still needed Mia's advice from time to time.

Okay, that is unfair. Phoenix has taken down some very tough cookies. Damon Gant, Manfred Von Karma, Matt Engarde, and so on. All of whom were either very connected, very intelligent, or both. 47 is very much both.

I do genuinely think 47 can talk his way around the Magatama. 47 at this point has a particular habit of speaking when undercover, where he'll tell technical truths as a little private joke to himself. Lies of omission. Much like how Matt Engarde got around it by technicality, I do think 47 could as well.

Example: "Hey, doc, what's in that shot you're giving me?" "Floral extracts. Mostly belladonna." "Uh, isn't that poisonous? Shouldn't I be worried?" "I'm not. Just sit back, it'll all be over soon." Etc.

Not straight up lies, just not giving an entirely upfront answer.

That said, the name "Tobias Rieper" mosy definitely would cause a ding, because 47 himself doesn't consider himself as having one. That'll probably be what prompts Nick into poking around.

47 takes care to avoid getting recorded or photographed, and takes time to destroy such evidence when he has to, so Nick's gonna have to rely on witness testimony to prove 47's disguise didn't match his client. His basic Pressing techniques should be enough on that front, getting them to mention 47's completely hairless physique, tall stature, monotone voice, etc by pressing for more detail.

That said, I don't think Nick can genuinely catch 47 out with anything. He was genetically engineered to not leave a trace behind, so he can't grow hair and might not even have fingerprints. He prides himself on the bodies either not being found until hours after he's gone or spinning his kills as elaborate accidents. Nick can definitely bluff and theorize his way into working out how 47 did it, but without any proof, all he can do is prove it couldn't have been his client.

Also, First Game Nick dies here. Dude almost got himself assassinated by the mafia and 47 won't hesitate with that fiber wire.

That said, 47 does play into Nick's hand a little bit. He's been known to concoct overly elaborate kills that only he could ever possibly pull off just to make things interesting and if there's one talent Nick has its untangling convoluted murder plots through logical leaps no one else is willing to make.

47 also canonically has an "aura of death" that psychics can sense because of how many people he's killed. Don't know if the Magatama or Maya can pick up on that, as that's not really in their wheelhouse, but it's there if you want to argue it.

Similarly, 47 has met ghosts before, so he's liable to put his guard up if Mia tries to interject. Hell, he's met actual Santa too.

Also, if Phoenix does get his man, he'll have incurred the wrath of the entire ICA so... lose-lose really.

Ultimately, I think Nick can get his client off the hook, but he won't be able to corner a man as slippery as 47. 47 covers his tracks too carefully. 5/10, would solve case, would not catch killer.

Post-Disbarment Phoenix

A lot of Nick's advantages from before still carry over, but with a few extra notes.

First off, timeline wise, this is Freelancer Era 47. 47 no longer has an entire international assassination agency backing him up and now relies on his contacts in the black market and Diana Burnwood to get around. He also has a home he can be traced back to while previously he moved around constantly.

This time, Phoenix is the one with higher resources, as he has connections to Interpol through Edgeworth and connections to Khura'in through Apollo. He has the means to organize an international manhunt if he has to.

Nick is also a lot more willing and able to play the long game. Take his seven year plan against Kristoph or his collaboration with Edgeworth to catch The Phantom, for instance. Nick won't stoop to the lows he did against Kristoph again, as that came about from him being at the lowest point in his life, but his plan there proves he's absolutely able to play the long term Chessmaster when silly bluffing lawyer man won't cut it.

Again, Nick won't be able to catch 47 on their first run in. He just runs too tight a ship. Unlike previously, Nick will have the means to conduct follow up investigation and won't have to do so with a massive target on his back because the ICA doesn't exist anymore.

That said, a 47 whose at the top of his game is still a bit more than the Interpol of Ace Attorney can handle. It will take a lot of planning to create a trao that 47 can't just shoot his way out of. Most likely by going after Diana, but it'll take awhile for him to figure out she even exists. Diana's a force to be reckoned with on her own.

In brief, he can, but he'd have to dedicate a significant chunk of his life to it, pulling every string he has through connections and friendships. 9/10

Apollo Justice

Gonna be blunt, perceive is not gonna work. Like, flat out.

47 doesn't have body ticks. He's unnaturally stiff at all times, even while relaxing and having fun. He doesn’t emote or react or change his tone of voice in a situation. There wouldn't be a microexpression to give away the lie because 47 barely has expressions.

That said, he's just as good at the classic approach as Phoenix is, so a lot of what I said there applies here. Press for more testimony and point out the physical discrepancies that come from that.

Of note, if the crime takes place in Khura'in, then the Divination Seance may screw 47 over. He's had entire conversations with targets before killing them, after all, so it could catch him right there if he's not more careful than usual.

That said, Khura'in by itself doesn't have nearly the presence or resources to catch 47 on the follow through unless he stays relatively close by geographically, so even with all of Khura'in's investigative abilities focusing him, 47 should escape afterwards just fine.

Unless you count Apollo bringing in Phoenix to bring in Edgeworth and Interpol, Apollo just doesn't have the right deck to play with 47. 7/10 because Divination Seance and death aura might get 47 in Khura'in though.

Athena Cykes

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Athena basically hard counters 47.

A seemingly emotionless assassin whose a master of disguise. Think I've heard that one before....

That said, 47 isn't just Phantom 2. He does actually have emotions. He just buries them deeeeeeeep in there.

Honestly, 47 is a massive trauma magnet with a lot of damage upstairs. He was genetically designed to be an assassin from the ground up, waa abused all his childhood in an attempt to purge all emotion and empathy from him, had to witness the first family he ever had he shot and killed in front of him to "teach him a lesson", was drugged into believing he killed his best friend and brother for years, and now has to live with the fact that he killed the parents of the one person left in the world that he cares about. Just... that's rough buddy.

Yeah, Athena would hear nothing when 47 talks about the murder and hear a biiiiiiiig blip when someone says the name Diana or Lucas and that's a big give away.

Could Athena talk him into giving up his career? That's a big if. 47's been kicking the can around in his head for awhile and he always comes back to "killing bad people is the one thing I enjoy in life" so... I'm not optimistic.

She also has no way of actually apprehending him, with none of Apollo's or Phoenix's resources (beyond having them in speed dial, at least).

That said, she'd shake him to his core in the way the other two could never. He'd come out respecting Apollo and Nick but shaken by Athena and that's a big win.

All of them:

Combine all those advantages and what do ya get?

That's a conviction several years in the making, my friend.

#ace attorney #hitman #agent 47 #phoenix wright #apollo justice #athena cykes #diana burnwood

31 notes · View notes

haru-chi · 8 months

Text

(I don't read their manga so all I'm gonna say is purely my theories and assumptions or maybe wishful thinking on my part to suit my taste, so I'd be really grateful if manga readers don't spoil anything for me be it I hit the nail or not)

in this anime the story really starts from Himmel's death and the impact his death left on Frieren more than she actually thought resulting in her being left with deep regret. His death left no impression on me at first tbh. I mean we don't know anything about him enough to care, Heiter's death was more impactful at least to me ...

but then the more I watch the more I realize the core of this story as much as it's Frieren's journey to understand human's emotions so not to repeat the same mistake twice as much as it's about getting to know Himmel's with her so it's gonna be the death that breaks you down later on kind of way.

I thought it was cleaver that we were put in the same boat as her, we actually know nothing about him like her, so through this journey we're also gonna get to know the "real" Himmel with her.

the more she'll learn about human's emotions the more she'll understand alot of things she might've brash it away cuz she either never pay attention or don't get the real meaning of his words/actions like the fact that he actually LOVED her :)

something else that got me thinking is this ..

at the end of his funeral, she was left staring to this ring for a while ... so LISTEN TO ME .. what if this ring here is a gift from him to her ...

what if it was from the time he confesses his love to her or even worse he proposed to her but she either didn't get what he actually meant or declined or something between those lines aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa STOP ME FROM DIGGING DEEPER OMG

so, through this journey she'll learn the true meaning of those words and feelings the more she learns about human's emotions .. and the worse part what if she realized she was in love with him too by the end of the story but never understand her own feelings ????

she said she's gathering new magics cuz he was praising her whenever she learned something new, also the ghost she saw was Himmel's ghost not her teacher as she was expecting so that proves she actually care about him more than she herself realize ><

this gonna be very tragic, yet I wants this to be the core of the story since I'm just weak for those kinds of stories AND I'M ALREADY CRYING EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF I'M RIGHT OR NOT YET I GET EMOTIONAL SEEING THEM TOGETHER YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND !!!!

I don't know how and why my mind decided to go wild with those ideas that now I see the anime and its story differently than what I signed up for at first ... WHY AM I IN LOVE WITH A DEAD MAN YET AGAIN !!!!! I THOUGHT I SURIVIVED WHEN HE DEAD BEFORE I DEVOLOP ANY EMOTIONS FOR HIM YET HERE I AM IN THIS HELL BECAUSE OF HIM AND FRIEREN !!!!! T^T

Did I hit the nail ?? did I ?? please say I did so that I can be happy this shaping up to be my kind of tragic story .. but then I don't wanna know or hear any spoilers ... I'm tempted to jump to the manga to see if I'm right or not but I must resist till the anime end at least ><

#sousou no frieren #frieren: beyond journey's end #frieren at the funeral #Himmel #Frieren #the more I think about this the more likely I believe it to be so ...#I don't know if I'm happy or sad beacuse I got myself into a new kind of hell ....#Why am I in love with a dead man again .... I'M CRYING NOOO!!!#my mind is a bit foggy so if I make no sense at all then don't mind my poor english ...#I had the urge to write about them so I did ...#this is me the rising up from my grave to scream about those two ...thank you for understanding

62 notes · View notes

sicklyseraphnsuch · 5 months

Text

RotG and HiJack Recs

Alright, I'm building this list because some of these fics are just a tad dusty, and they could use more love. (A lot more love, I am literally dying from how much I adored these.) But note that a good few are incomplete.

Let's start with:

INCOMPLETE FICS

The Long Road:

Presently Gen, but Hiccup very much falls for Jack. He does however retain his feelings for Astrid, so bear that in mind. There's the classic Viking mindset when it comes to homosexual relationships that's pretty much giving Hiccup like a lot of anxiety.

But beyond that! I cannot shower this fic with enough praises! It gives me the same sort of excitement that the RotG movie does. Jack's characterization is Spot On. He's friendly and outgoing and also incredibly secretive and flighty. It balances out Jack's blunt mannerisms with a joyous charm and just that hint of vulnerability (which he keeps so well hidden lol).

The plots take place after HttyD, during the Riders of Berk TV series. Jack is folded into the Dragon Rider group who considers him some kind of Elf. Yes, this is Jack Frost in all his frosty glory. The way the story builds on a solid foundation of camaraderie and friendship, giving plenty of scenes to show how Hiccup and Jack became great friends, lends well to the Hiccup's realization of: "Oh I'm into him". Without giving too many spoilers, that "oh" moment is forever ingrained into my memory because of how PERFECTLY timed it is.

This blends Guardians of Childhood book verse with HttyD book verse, mostly via cameos over lore. Overall, a beautiful, fun, and simply enchanting read. I cannot recommend this enough.

A Story about Ice, Dragon Fire, and Belief:

Another gen fic. Mostly, it's about North looking at Jack and going, "he's my son now", and Jack having absolutely none of it. When placed together with Stoik and Hiccup's relationship, it becomes an almost interesting study of contrasts. North is the guy who's trying to prove something to a boy that he disappointed. Hiccup is the guy who's trying to prove something to a man that he disappointed. But ultimately, it ends up the same with a schism forming between the two pairs the harder one of them tries to breach it.

Also, it talks about how Jack is a force of fucking nature? And his blizzards can kill and have killed in the past? There's a little bit of trying to reconcile that with his new ID as a guardian. North is not doing a great job helping here.

But really the Crown Jewel of this fic is North and Berk's reactions to North (and by proxy his relationship to Jack). We go a little into the historical Viking side of things (like the pillaging et al), and apply that lens to this jolly old man. Let's just say some troubling (hilarious) assumptions are drawn. Also...

Everyone loves the sleigh.

I think this is one of the few RotG and HttyD crossovers that really do a good job of merging the two movies. Primarily because it's not just Jack in Berk. And this just made me hungry for more fics where more of the RotG cast arrive as Berk, and be just 100% fantastical and strange as the bedtime stories they are. Put some respect on the Guardians name, if you know what I'm saying.

In the Shadows of My Mind:

This one is an RotG only fic. No pairings except for whatever's going on between Pitch and Nightlight (and by proxy Jack). It's not a for real pairing. That said, it's such a complex and intricate relationship that doesn't resemble a romance but remains markedly intimate. Basically, this fic takes advantage of Pitch and Nightlight's ridiculously long history then throws Jack into the mix. Alive, human Jack in an early 18th century colonial town wherein he very recently did not drown (and boy, isn't that suspicious?)

My favorite thing about this fic is how spot on the dialogue feels? The lexicon, the syntax feels true to the time its set in. Although, I can't say that it is accurate as I'm not an expert of this time period in this region. Regardless, it certainly appears that a good stack of research went into this.

All that said, this fic has captured Bill Joyce's writing style the best, but with a deeper, more complex, more mature layer underpining that bedtime like vibe. There's a good host of OCs but genuinely, I didn't notice them as OCs. I could really believe they were characters of Joyce's books. Not to mention, they feel like fully fleshed out individuals even if they have like maybe two paragraphs of screentime.

The entire premise hinges on the idea of "what if Jack survived the skating accident" and everyone's reactions to that, as well as... the hidden secret thing that involves Nightlight. GoC spoilers are hinted so beware. But the little interplay between Nightlight and Jack is such a delicious little mystery, and also makes me so sad. These two boys deserved better.

Then we throw in Pitch for fun, because Pitch is always fun, and he just makes the whole thing even more complicated or as Jack calls it, "unnatural". But he's not even the main villain. It's Christianity. JK. That said, the fic does explore the idea of well, how would a fairly backwater colony be able to explain how Jack survived or... the powers that's slowly revealing itself from within him. There's a particularly nasty boy (around Jack's age), who is an OC and I believe an exceptionally well placed one. The OC understood his role to play and he plays it fantastically. Everytime he shows up, I too feel scared and indignant and excited all at once.

Speaking of great OCs, shoutout to Jack's Da. His appearances are brief but the impact is maximized with each appearance. He has that sense of realism and whimsy baked into him that I could gush endlessly about.

Overall, just a pure delight to read. Will re-read again and again.

Zastruga:

Total Gen fic. And a classic in my opinion.

I started reading this when I was in college - note the publish date. Nevermind the update date. Because even after all these years, this story? Still good. Still very very good.

This takes the original RotG plot and makes it more epic, and also more sad. RotG was very joyful at its core, which this fic somehow manages to retain. But it's just under a layer of sad. It's not overwhelming angst though, just enough to really pinch your heart.

Also whereas the movie has a few epic battles before things go really wrong, this fic stretches that out into a proper war against Pitch (and Jack). That's right. Jack is with Pitch ala Mother Gothel/Judge Frollo style. Jack isn't locked up entirely. He's given just enough rope to hang himself with. Mind the Jack whump is what I'm saying. But also do note that Jack's character remains as steadfast and loyal as he ever was in RotG, so the whump just hits nicer since this Jack isn't so irrevocably changed.

I have re-read this before. I will re-read this again. Nevermind the incomplete status. There's plenty of chapters that simply give me great joy.

COMPLETE FICS

It's the Great Spirit Sleigh, Hiccup Haddock:

Gen fic, in that there's no pairing actively getting together. But remains faithful to the original canon's hinted love interests. So Hiccup has a big crush on Astrid and Jack leans towards Tooth. That said, the relationship between Hiccup and Jack is just plain adorable and also heart-wrenching. They care about each other. So Much.

Now this is just a good holiday cheer. It literally has the Hallmark movie template, which is the point really. You know, the whole "oh no, a holiday is ruined" followed by "clever and charming ways to fix the holiday". With Hiccup and Jack taking the starring roles.

If you know your Hallmark movies, then you know that the leads get together in the end. And they don't in this fic. But the amount of "Gosh do I care about you" is so good. It's a lot of hurt and a lot of comfort. And I am here for it.

Also, this fic was completed way before the HttyD 3 movie so it doesn't have a canon compliant ending. That may be a bonus for some of you.

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps:

Pre JackRabbit (Bunny/Jack). But honestly the pairing isn't the main focus, mostly that Jack and Bunny admit to liking each other (but not to each other). So their dynamic remains in the best bros category. The pairing mostly shows through the plot machinations.

So long story short, Pitch opens the Guardian-Verse and recruits the other versions of the Guardians - the corrupt versions. And it's good, action/adventure fun. There's some gore, so mind that. Because the corrupt versions are nasty little things that fight dirty. Which makes the action feel like there's legit stakes. Also makes for a quick read because you must know what happens next? Did they get out of this sticky situation? Are they going to be okay? That sort of thing.

#rise of the guardians #how to train your dragon #hijack #frostcup

36 notes · View notes