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nobodyfamousposts · 5 months

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Do you think people cling on too much to Adrien's high road advice as a reason to salt on him?

Yes, especially when there are plenty of other reasons to salt him that have previously been ignored. But to that end, it DOES serve as the final straw for people after a SERIES of problems that had previously gone unaddressed.

Much like many aspects of the show, Adrien has displayed problematic behaviors that have been overlooked and waved off in the earlier seasons. This is likely or especially due to the way how in each and every incident, Adrien was narratively shown to be correct. In his stance. In his choices. In his behaviors. He was always right. It doesn't matter if he shouldn't be, because he is.

Now unless you're a hater or anti or salter or whatever negative name people tend to get for not liking a story as it's presented, readers and watchers tend to follow along with the narrative as it presents things and how it presents things. It's a common setup in any story. Protagonist Centered Morality, I feel framed best by Susan in the Discord series:

Susan: ...and then Jack chopped down the beanstalk, adding murder and ecological vandalism to the theft, enticement and trespass charges already mentioned, but he got away with it and lived happily ever after without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused anything if you're a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.

Pretty much this. Most people will follow what the narrative says because it's the narrative. If the narrative wants you to focus on Marinette being embarrassed, you're going to focus on how much she's cringe. And if the narrative wants you to view Adrien as a perfect sunshine boy who never does anything wrong, anything he does is going to be framed through that lens and it's difficult to break from that view and call out the times when he is wrong. Not unless he does something particularly severe.

It should be noted that outside of Chameleon, Adrien had, among other things: lied to his partner, caused someone to get akumatized and had his partner take the blame, was messing around during life-threatening and city-threatening situations, did nothing as Chloe tormented people right in front of him, DEFENDED Chloe after she tormented people right in front of him, bailed on an event with friends to set up a date with someone who said she had other plans and then got mad at HER for it, tried to flirt or confess in the middle of an active crisis which took necessary attention away from said crisis, caused himself AND his partner to get hit by akuma powers and needlessly be taken out of commission.

And yet people could mostly overlook these instances. They weren't his fault. Chloe is his friend. Marinette is worse. He's just a kid. He has a tragic backstory. So on and so forth. Easy to overlook. Easy to ignore in favor of the Sunshine Boy setup people were given and want to believe in.

But there were three major instances that really grabbed people's attention and stayed:

His attitude in Frozer. It probably wouldn't have been so bad except this rejection already happened in Glaciator, where he was supposed to have learned a lesson and accepted just being Ladybug's friend and now apparently didn't, despite it happening earlier that very season. Then in response, he decides to date Kagami as a rebound, drags Marinette with him on his date (without realizing how he's asking his friend to be a third wheel on a DATE) and focuses on her when he's supposed to be with Kagami, throws another tantrum in the middle of an akuma fight and refuses to work with his partner when the city is literally frozen, and requires Ladybug to apologize to him for hurting his feelings before he finally working with her. Again. But okay, he's a teenage boy in love. Not used to rejection and got his feelings hurt. Lovesquare is endgame so of course it'll work out anyway, so it's not like this bump in the road is really going to matter long term so we shouldn't hold it against him. Fine. Dumb, but fine. We've forgiven it in other shows and other poorly done teen romances, we can forgive it here.

His behavior in Syren in which he demanded to know secrets from people when the secrets were not theirs to tell him, and went so far as to attempt to blackmail his kwami (which was funny) and threaten to quit and abandon the Ring that the big bad is after while the city is flooded and people were trying to not drown (which was decidedly less humorous). But it was played for wholesome when Plagg reassured him and he got what he wanted by Fu revealed himself even if Adrien did nothing to actually show he earned it, so all's well that ends well, I guess? And people could justify it because "they're partners" and "part of a team" and "she should trust him" and "it's not fair he's the only one left out of the loop" and "he has a right to know" and just general "Fu is an idiot" (which is admittedly hard to argue). So people were disgruntled, but most were willing to overlook it.

His holier than thou lecture to Marinette in Maledictator over everyone being happy Chloe was leaving. When all Marinette was doing at the time was watching everyone else have fun. When Adrien specifically guilted Marinette and not any of the other actual partiers involved who were literally throwing a party over his friend leaving and probably should have warranted a lecture more than the girl just standing there. When the girl in question was also Chloe's main target and out of everyone had valid reasons to be happy that her bully won't be around to bully her anymore. When Adrien himself has historically been present to witness Marinette being targeted including twice he witnessed Chloe attempt to steal from Marinette, once he witnessed her try to blackmail Marinette, and numerous other times when she actively caused harm to Marinette and others. When Adrien then proceeded to sit in a corner and pout rather than do anything else or just leave if the party really bothered him. When Adrien, if he really cared so damn much, could have gone after Chloe himself! Or y'know...have stood up for Chloe earlier when she got upset in the first place. But fine, okay, Chloe is his childhood friend. So maybe he's just being biased and oblivious to the fact that his "friend" is a horrible person. But people can excuse and justify it in that they are friends and friends support each other, and the longer someone is friends with someone else, the harder it is to break from them. And that Marinette was probably just the target of his lecture because she was the one there in the moment (and the only one who would listen without arguing). And her calling Chloe useless was "mean" despite it being quite frankly the least of what she could have said about her in the moment (coughcough theft cough blackmail cough punished the entire school cough TRIED TO CRASH A TRAIN AND NEARLY KILLED HER AND HER PARENTS COUGH-FREAKINGCOUGH). Fine. Childhood friend means Adrien supports her in all her horrible and even deadly actions. Frustrating, but again, able to be explained and you can see where he's coming from.

These are all things that definitely got Adrien some side eye at best and some detractors at worst.

BUT if you really think about it, all of these examples are objectively worse than his lecture to Marinette in Chameleon. Not accepting being told "no" and continuing to chase a girl who isn't that in to him (while leading on another). Putting lives at risk over personal wants that could quite honestly wait until AFTER the crisis is over. Defending someone who is harmful and guilt tripping the victims. Compared to those, telling someone to leave a liar to their lying seems relatively minor.

So why this? Why here? Why is it Chameleon that has people saying enough is enough? Why is it this episode that is causing the sunshine boy to be so tarnished and the subject of salt in fan fiction?

Because this is the time when it couldn't be rationalized. There wasn't even a valid sensible canon-based reason for his stance. The arguments that Adrien "knew confronting her wouldn't work" or that he "handled her like paparazzi" or that he "knew Marinette previously failed when she tried" (even though he wasn't there and didn't know) or that he "didn't think anyone would believe him" don't come from canon. Those were fan arguments made after the fact to justify him after the base was broken and the outcry became too much to ignore.

This case didn't have any of the ties or rationales of the previous incidents. Adrien wasn't defending himself or his place in a partnership. He wasn't fighting for his love or his dream or an outcome he wanted and that we all knew was coming—if anything, he was fighting against her. He wasn't defending a friend like he did with Chloe—I mean, it's pretty evident he doesn't even really know or like Lila at this point, and for all intents and purposes, this is apparently only the second day he actually had any interaction with her. There was no notable reason Adrien really had for why he essentially chose to protect Lila over literally anyone else as she wasn't a friend and it wasn't in his interests to protect her from a consequence that wouldn't hurt her short term as much as it would likely harm everyone else long term.

And yet, he still defended her and her freedom to lie. Over Marinette. Over Ladybug. Over his friends. Over any sense of right and wrong he seems to have no problem throwing around when it comes to Marinette/Ladybug. Which seems like he targets her 9 times out of 10 compared to pretty much anyone else by this point. So it's little wonder then that people who didn't already hate the lovesquare because of the cringe factor from Marinette started to hate it for being incredibly unhealthy given that their relatively limited interactions tend to involve him lecturing her for failing to live up to his double standards that only seem to apply to her in any given situation.

This incident by itself doesn't seem like much, but when looked at as part of the series as a whole, it's when people couldn't keep overlooking this trend. Where he seems to admonish the wrong person. Where he acts like a mouthpiece rather than a person. Talks like he’s wise in a situation he seems to have a childish and one-sided view of. Acts like a brat but is treated as though he has no accountability in the situation he causes. Where he is wrong but no one and certainly not the narrative acknowledges it (not until season five and two seasons too late when it doesn't matter and he's still not the one facing consequences for it).

And it's not like he actually follows the stances he himself promotes. In Chameleon, canon presents him with this idealistic stance that Lila could change if given a chance, except he doesn't give her a chance. He doesn't push her to be a better person. He doesn't support or in any way help her to be the better person he insisted to Marinette she could be. He also doesn't do anything or warn anyone when she keeps lying and actively harms the people he says he cares about. He doesn't do anything one way or the other other than some lackluster encouragement to stop lying and a warning that goes nowhere. It just further gives credit to the argument that Adrien either simply doesn't care about other people, or that he doesn't care for Marinette specifically. Neither is conducive to the lovesquare or the increasingly tarnished view of the "sunshine boy".

And it could have worked. Canonically and intrinsically to his character. His idealism and trust in the wrong person comes back to bite him. He learns and grows from it. Except that, much like with nearly everything he does in canon, Chameleon set it up that Adrien was the writers' mouthpiece and thus was not "wrong". I'll grant that they did have him admit it and apologize to Marinette for it two seasons later, but it is pretty evident that during Chameleon, they intended his lecture to be right, with no foreshadowing and no implication otherwise. And I'm fairly certain they only backtracked and had him do that much because of the amount of fan outrage over the episode.

So yes, I think his lecture in Chameleon was really a final straw since unlike Chloe, Adrien has NO relationship with Lila to justify his defense of her. Especially when the argument is in favor of letting her lie to the people he's supposed to care about. That combined with how jarring it was how most of the class just sided with Lila over the seat issue in the first place, and I think people were less inclined to just ignore the problems in the episode specifically and with the series as a whole as they were compared to the first and second seasons. Not just with Adrien, as we see that Alya also started getting more callout and salt since then as well as more retrospective scrutiny over her behavior in earlier seasons.

But yeah...Chameleon was where things seemed to take a 180, so it's bound to be the deciding episode and deciding incident that sticks out in people's minds with these characters. That's probably why it ends up the go-to for salt and complaints on the characters involved instead of any of the other incidents that would arguably warrant it more.

#ml salt #adrien salt #chameleon salt #season 5 salt #ml analysis #ml essay #yes it's a lot of salt #yes i am doing this again

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matrixbearer2024 · 2 months

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I Hate Mondays

Vox x CollegeStudent!Reader

A/N: This interlude was probably WAAAAAY overdue- but here it is! I was thinking of how to continue though eventually decided to let Vox kind of just deal with the whiplash of his chill downtime with you and his chaotic somewhat unhealthy workplace. I didn't want to really include conflict, just him again dealing with things he has come to realize but not entirely accept- it's Vox, when will he actually genuinely accept that he'd fallen fast and fallen hard for someone because they treated him like a decent human being? Either way, it's mostly fluffy stuff for now before I add your interlude idea requests into the story soon :)

A/N: I've also seen people sometimes write Vox with a little bit of an impostor syndrome, so a lot of his doubts and anxieties will kind of be reflected in this interlude. It'll all be okay though I promise! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and happy reading!

There's a saying that everyone hates Mondays.

Manic mondays, monday blues, monday's monster, etc.

And for Vox, after the weekend he's had with you?

That saying couldn't have been more true.

From a relaxed and chill two days, back into an insanely stressful and borderline chaotic work environment.

And as he stared at the stack of documents in front of him-

He didn't even want to begin.

The overlord would've repeatedly hit his head against the table if it didn't risk cracking his screen.

The last thing he needed was to worry you because of something stupid.

"VOX! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS!"

"VOX! I NEED YOU TO DO THAT!"

"VOX! GIVE ME THIS THING!"

"VOX!"

Left, right and center-

His colleagues were definitely not short of any demands.

And it was slowly driving him insane from frustration.

They could be asking quite literally anybody else, but no.

They just had to bother him.

And the overlord was just in no mood to deal with the chaos right now.

With his packed schedule full of broadcasts and meetings-

Vox's patience was really running thin.

It got to the point where simply chose to ignore the other Vees after a while.

Not responding to their calls or texts as he holed himself up in his monitor room.

Was his daily life really this crazy?

It's such a jarring change from how he felt like during that weekend with you-

So much so that he was really having trouble believing it.

Still, he threw himself into work.

As the king of technology in pentagram city often would-

And he completely lost track of time.

So after a while just staring and tabulating some analytics on the many screens in front of him-

The last thing he expected to see was a notification from your chat to pop up.

"Hey, how you feeling? You seemed kinda off on your broadcast earlier."

Vox wasn't thinking of replying to you, he only noticed what he'd done after a reply was sent anyway.

"Color me surprised, I didn't think anyone would notice!"

He really had to stop reacting to you first and just think about it.

Still, his fingers were already flying across the keyboard before he could stop them.

"Vox, it's me. Of course I would notice. Did something happen?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary doll, just getting used to the grind again."

He cringed slightly reading that message over, did he really just send that to you?

You could be laughing at his poor attempt of using new slang for all he knew.

"That is how you use that word right?"

"Yeah it is lol. Can you drop by the hotel later when you're free? I know you're busy so it's okay whenever."

That made his heart skip a beat, something the overlord slightly berated himself for.

Sure, he'd come to the realization that he did in fact love you to some degree.

But it's not without clear hesitation.

He could very well be mistaken anyway.

You were just... friendly like that.

Yeah. Friendly.

"Why'd you ask? Miss me already dollface?"

"Don't be an idiot. I just wanna hang out with you."

Vox found himself needing to read your message over a few times after you sent that.

He still couldn't quite understand why you liked spending so much time with him.

Time was valuable and time was money.

At least in the literal sense when it came to his occupation.

And still you just wanted to spend yours with him.

Him.

No wonder Alastor made a jab at you having a bad taste in companions.

He was... not really the best in hindsight.

Not that he'd ever admit that fact, his pride wouldn't allow it.

But in regards to you?

You definitely deserved better than what you got.

"Besides, you need to take breaks from your work every now and then. Vel's been texting me nonstop that you already look like shit."

The overlord couldn't help but chuckle from the irony of that statement.

Velvette, though not as much as a certain moth, still contributed to his stressful day.

But it was still nowhere near as bad.

Vox dreaded having to go out and deal with the irate pimp again.

Another tantrum, maybe a screaming fest even?

His mood was souring even more just thinking about it.

"Actually, did you eat anything at all today? Or do you just skip your meals you workaholic TV demon?"

"That's pretty rude dollface."

"Am I wrong though? Anyway, answer the question Samsung."

Now how should he answer this?

It took one glance at his internal clock to confirm he'd actually skipped both breakfast and lunch.

Well, he didn't think you'd count just drinking coffee a good breakfast.

Would you really get upset enough to storm Vee tower if he replied honestly?

Actually you would- Vox wouldn't put it against your chaotic nature-

Hm... maybe he could lie to you just this once.

"I'm fine doll, seriously. Don't worry about it."

The overlord tiredly sighed.

He had another broadcast in a few minutes, whether or not he felt up to it.

It didn't help that there was this... heavy feeling in his gut that wasn't there earlier.

Was he feeling guilty...?

For lying to you?

And it wasn't even really a lie, just- an omission of some details.

A hand flew up to cover his screen, kind of like a facepalm.

You really have changed him, and he didn't catch it until too late.

"Vox, I worry about you regardless. When you throw your job into it as well, then all the more I'm concerned that you're not taking good care of yourself. I know what it's like to get lost in responsibilities, just... be more mindful of yourself okay?"

For someone who wasn't supposed to care, wasn't supposed to get close to anyone unless it had advantages-

The overlord couldn't help but feel genuinely touched reading your message.

Sure, you'd sent similar things before and even told him outright at times-

But it always had the same effect.

You cared about him, probably to the extent he unknowingly did for you.

Whether it was intentional or not, he found himself just a little bit happier because of it.

Most of the world he'd built up around himself was fake anyway, smiles and all.

So this little shot of genuine care...

Really struck him.

Though just as that train of thought went and left the station-

Vox just as quickly put a stop to it.

That fuzzy feeling in his chest had bloomed once again and he wanted none of it.

Well, more like he couldn't bring himself to continue entertaining it.

It was probably fine when the both of you were simply oblivious.

But now he felt like he needed to make a conscious effort to stop falling for you more.

Lest he risk wrecking everything just because he'd guessed wrong.

What would you see in a guy like him anyway?

"I will, thanks dollface. Anyway, I have a broadcast in a few minutes so I'm afraid I'll have to cut this short."

"It's fine go and do what you need to do, just drop by any time you need to okay? I'll be here."

Your flatscreen companion couldn't help but smile from your words.

Again, the way you treated him was just so... different from everything he was used to.

His tech empire, his company, his power and status-

It didn't matter to you.

Not at all when you were alive, and it clearly even carried over now that you were here.

How you could be so nonchalant about everything, Vox wouldn't ever understand.

Nor would he probably be able to comprehend.

But that wasn't really much of an issue compared to other things he felt towards you.

"I will. Thanks doll."

With that reply, the overlord went and got ready for his final broadcast of the day.

And it went as one would've expected.

Totally sideways off the rails and into a burning trash heap.

Fucking Mondays.

The broadcast itself would seem fine to the viewers, but behind the cameras?

It was practically a shitfest cranked up to eleven.

The cameras were rolling as usual and Vox was playing up his typical telecaster charm-

When Valentino decided to show up and throw a hissy fit then and there.

Sure, the viewers saw none of the chaos or madness-

But you knew something was up with your TV headed companion when his smile looked a little bit too strained on air.

It's not something everyone else would notice, but you would.

You always did.

And you were proven right when you heard some knocking on glass.

Ah.

There he was.

Vox was somehow sitting on one of the many ledges and railings that encompassed the hotel, it just so happens that this one was close to your room.

Didn't his broadcast just air?

You quickly shook off the surprise and confusion to open the window.

"Vox? What are you-"

"It's been a long day, wasn't in the mood to see the others. Just you."

"Then get in here, wanna talk about it?"

When your companion shook his head, that's when you knew his day was probably upside down when it came to anything going right.

Not to mention that for once, he actually dropped by and looked quite as bad as he felt.

His bow tie was undone, his shirt was untucked and messy-

Plus his coat and striped vest were nowhere to be seen.

Probably left at the tower you'd guess.

"Dude, you look like shit."

Vox rolled his eyes at you with a chuckle, moving to sit down on the floor while leaning back against the edge of your bed.

You would've told him to just sit on the mattress itself- but he probably wanted to lean on something so you just joined him.

"I've been told, almost nothing went right today."

"Guess that's why they call it a manic Monday huh?"

You both shared an odd look before laughing.

Of course it would be the stupid joke to lighten the mood.

But that was always how you both broke the ice, and if it works- it works.

"Perhaps, but I don't think it was ever this tiring before."

You simply shrugged, leaning your head on his shoulder and staring out in front of you.

Vox subconsciously moved an arm around you when he did.

He was way too tired to really care or stop himself though.

"Maybe it never was, or maybe you just got used to it. Vel did tell me that you never really took a break before you met me."

"Seriously? What else does she spill about me then?"

"Nothing too important, just that you're a whole lot different from how you were two years ago."

When your companion let out a thoughtful hum, that's when you knew he agreed.

Funnily enough, Vox wouldn't say much of anything when he was actually giving something a lot of thought.

So the fact he wasn't really talking as much as usual also spoke volumes to you about his state of mind.

Because as annoying as his comments and charming jokes could be sometimes-

It was fundamentally what made Vox well- Vox.

Which made him just shooting short replies and sentences a little bit more concerning.

"Hey, can I give you a hug?"

"What? Why would you need to ask that? You've already hugged me before."

"I know, but this time it genuinely looks like you really need a hug. This is different from the ones when we just joke around."

You almost wanted to smack your overlord companion when he just gave you a confused look.

Granted, this was hell so what the both of you shared was no short of peculiar.

But the point still stands-

Had no one ever given this idiot an actual hug before?

"Look, just tell me if something feels wrong okay?"

Vox didn't really know how to respond to any of your words.

What made your hugs from before so different from now?

Though when he'd suddenly found you straddling his lap, the overlord bit back a surprised noise.

What the fuck were you doing?!

He found himself tensing a little when you laid your head on his chest, your arms encircling behind him as well.

Oh what the hell was this-

"Just relax you weirdo, I don't bite."

You calmly laid there and listened to his pulse, it was a little faster than you'd hoped for but didn't mind.

The gentle hum of his circuits reminded you of a working desktop computer, which you found a little silly considering he was supposed to have a TV for a head.

Again with the bionic biology- you were getting more than curious-

Eventually though, Vox did calm down enough to actually live in the moment.

The smell of your shampoo, how warm and soft you were-

His arms moved of their own accord and reciprocated your hug.

His posture slackened and the overlord found himself properly relaxing with you.

It was just so... calm right now.

And he was so so tired.

What he would give to just be like this with you every day.

The next time you looked up to check on Vox, you saw his screen dimmed and a screensaver of his company logo just bouncing around the edges of his face.

Ah, so that's where he got it from.

You wondered what it was ever since he slapped it onto your laptop-

You couldn't help but smile when the reality finally hit that the tech overlord had fallen asleep during your cuddle session.

Sure, he was probably really tired-

But he trusted you enough to just let go and relax.

That made your heart swell with joy.

He didn't need to say anything about his day for you to know he needed comfort.

After all, he could tell you about it when he was ready to.

You did wonder why emotional comfort was such an odd concept to Vox-

But it was something you were more than willing to teach him.

Besides, you both had eternity down here in hell.

So you had all the time to spend giving your flatscreen companion the care he deserved.

Your pleasant thought bubble popped when you heard a weird noise from the overlord though.

When it happened again, you didn't take more than a second to connect the dots.

Especially given how late it was into the evening.

Did this idiot even eat anything today?!

No wonder he dodged your question earlier!

You'd let him sleep a little longer but you would wake him for dinner.

Seems like you were totally right to worry about this habits.

Stupid workaholic TV.

He was lucky you liked him.

#vox x reader #hazbin hotel #vox #get off my screen series #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin vox #vox x you #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin vox x reader #hazbin hotel vox x reader

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celestemagnoliathewriter · 4 months

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Knives and the House of Black

You know who loves knives? Members of the Black family, that's who. In my newer writings, I've been exploring knives and what they can do for the Black family. This is based in canon - Bellatrix has her handy dagger, which kills Dobby and wounds Hermione (and who knows who else), and Sirius gifts Harry a knife that can open doors (until the blade is destroyed). Personally I love the idea of the Black family having a love affair with knives.

In my micro fic for the @ladiesofhpfest's mini yesterday in honor of Bellatrix Black Lestrange, I introduced a tradition of Black family witches and wizards getting knives on their 13th birthdays. This tradition came out of the world building I'm doing in my Tedromeda/Remadora AU, Supernova. I've pre-written a good bit of the work, which includes some knife head canons. I'm happy to share them here, and if you're reading Supernova, you'll see how they all fit into the story as it goes on.

HCs for Black family knives:

Knives are goblin-wrought and imbued with a ton of familial magic. Droplets of Black family blood are folded into the silver to create a particular blood magic that prevents Black family members from harming each other with their knives. The blade dulls if it touches another family member.

How related do you have to be? The magic holds with concentration, so once you get past grandparents, it's lethal. E.g. Scorpius Malfoy and Teddy Lupin couldn't hurt each other because their grandmothers were Blacks, but their children could hack each other apart if they wanted to. This also means that Black family members' spouses are fair game - e.g. Bellatrix can play with Rodolphus as much as she likes (and she really likes).

The knives have magic of their own: when they're 13, the knives have the basic Black family magic, but when they turn 17, the knives have gotten to know their owner enough that a new, unique type of magic is revealed. (See below for each of their magics!)

The knife *always* returns to its owner unless its magic is modified or the owner is deceased. If the knife is stolen or lost, it'll come back the next day.

Black family witches wear their knives around their thighs. The holsters are lightweight and barely noticeable. The holster is made of leather and the blade cleans itself within. Black family wizards keep them on their arms or in their pockets. The witches usually get daggers and the wizards usually get pocketknives. Either way, they're self-cleaning so they don't have to worry about dirty blood on their bodies.

The Black family magic can't be taken away, even if someone is disowned.

The knives are long enough to pierce the heart, or can be extended to do so.

The witches' daggers tend to be very ornate looking, with flowers, stars, or other patterns engraved in the handles. They're innocent looking until you're being stabbed and losing consciousness. Yay!

The wizards' knives are handsome and practical-looking. They look like ordinary pocketknives most of the time until you realize that they're about to shank you.

Now, for specific HCs on what the knives can do for each family member when they turn 17 (this is an incomplete list - it's what I have so far for Supernova, which is mostly centered on the Black family witches):

Walburga: her knife BURNS. If she's stabbing you with her dagger, it's going to scorch your skin and make your blood boil. Ouch.

Orion: his pocketknife is Walburga's opposite. It freezes, so imagine getting stabbed in the heart and then having your heart grow cold at the same time. Goodbye life.

Alphard: his pocketknife is a dual-purpose compass. It can give him directions as needed, but also points to what he most desires (think Jack Sparrow's special compass).

Cygnus: his knife temporarily blinds its victim. Not only can he stab you, but you'll be blinded for a hot minute, which makes it hard to escape.

Bellatrix: her knife ALWAYS leaves a mark. She can carve whatever she wants into whoever she wants. That scar is never going away.

Andromeda: her knife doubles as an escape. She can swish it around and create a quick bubble with which she can Apparate away as needed.

Narcissa: her knife changes shape according to her wish. This is useful with potions, but extra useful if she wants to inflict maximum damage on someone by using a serrated blade.

Sirius: his knife is the pocketknife that opens any door. He's clever enough to change the magic on it so he can gift it to Harry, because he's had enough of his family and Harry has more use for it now.

Regulus: his knife becomes invisible to anyone but him. It's an excellent way of being able to sneakily attack someone. You think he's going in for a hug or a handshake and boom, bye-bye life.

Nymphadora/Dora: this is particular to Supernova, my story, as she's being raised under different circumstances. Her dagger will heal her. When she runs her blade against a wound on her body (and her body alone) it will seal itself.

It's all fun, games, and knives, until one of them is fucking you up with their knife and having a fabulous time doing so.

#the black family #nymphadora tonks #regulus black #sirius black #narcissa black #andromeda black #bellatrix black #orion black #cygnus black #alphard black #walburga black #the marauders #marauders era #knives #the black sisters #hp fandom #my headcanons

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writeforfandoms · 3 days

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The Name of the Wind 4

Find the series masterlist

Here we finally are continuing with this story! I'm trying to match up the timing on everything between these thee stories in the dragon riders 'verse. Yes, three. Our two special guests in this chapter will be leaving to their own story.

It'll be fun, I swear.

Warnings: Swearing, idiot in love, clueless reader, scheming riders, seriously the whole garrison is invested by now.

Word count: 1.8k

Dinner seemed nothing special, in the way that you'd become accustomed to meals here. There was the usual assortment of foods at every table, riders and staff settling down to eat.

Alejandro was at the table you'd unofficially labeled his - not in the center of the room quite, but still easy to get to. Some of the usual people were there already - Rodolfo and Marin both nodded to you.

The two new people were there as well, seated side by side across from Alejandro.

“Our guests for tonight,” Alejandro told you, motioning you to sit next to him. “Alex and Frank.”

You greeted them both, settling next to Alejandro. They'd both cleaned up since you saw them earlier, though Frank hadn't bothered to shave. You'd never seen them before, and you were curious as to how they got here, and how long they'd be here.

“You must be new here.” Frank eyed you, openly appraising.

“Yes,” you admitted, a little surprised.

“New rider?”

“Not exactly,” you hedged, on the border of being uncomfortable, and not sure why.

“She is a leather worker,” Alejandro answered smoothly, one knee pressing into yours under the table, his elbow gently jostling your arm. “Quite skilled, as well.”

You warmed under both the praise and the touches, shoulders relaxing even as you leaned ever so slightly into his space.

Frank held your gaze for a moment before he nodded. “Then we'll be seeing you around again.”

“Are you here often?” You took a tray from Alejandro, serving yourself food even as you glanced at the two men.

Alex shrugged, a secretive half-smile twitching his lips. “We come through every so often.”

You looked between the two, seeing clearly that this was some kind of joke. But Alejandro nudged your knee again under the table, and you didn't ask.

The conversation moved on from there, Rodolfo chiming in with daily reports. Another rider came over to talk to Alejandro for a few minutes, mostly ignoring Alex and Frank. They seemed content to be ignored, talking quietly to each other.

You squashed your curiosity back down and ate your dinner quietly.

Frank and Alex stood to leave in tandem, and Alejandro nodded to them.

“Who were they?” You asked very quietly once they'd left.

Alejandro hummed for a moment, arms crossed loosely over his chest. “You will see them from time to time,” he said slowly. “But you cannot ask what they do, or where they go. It is confidential.”

“Okay.” You could do that. No problem.

Well. Okay. You'd have to remind yourself not to ask, but you'd manage.

He looked down at you, amused. “You won't see them so often it will be a problem,” he assured you. “Don't fret.”

You chuckled. “Sure,” you agreed easily. “If you say so.”

Alejandro shook his head but smiled, getting to his feet. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Good night.” You watched him and Rodolfo walk out together, shoulders nearly pressed together.

The view was quite nice, after all.

Shaking your head at yourself, you cleared your place at the table and made your way back to your room. You had a little time before bed. Plenty of time to stuff your emotions back down.

You were still trying not to find Alejandro attractive… but it wasn't easy. He made it very difficult, in fact. Especially when he sought you out at meal times, and took you on a flight, and promised he wouldn't let harm come to you…

Really, how were you expected to not find him attractive?

You squished your face in your pillow to squeal, just a little bit.

The problem over the next few weeks wasn't work. It wasn't the dragons, as they had all learned that you were to be treated gently.

No. The problem was Alejandro.

He ate most meals with you. He took you on two more flights. He made a point of seeing you at least once each day.

He was distracting, but in the most pleasant way. Intriguing and courteous and funny.

He was a major problem.

You looked for him, almost automatically, every time you went to eat, or when you were in the dragons’ nesting area. Any time you heard his voice, you paused what you were doing to look.

Honestly, it was a bit ridiculous. You were embarrassed at yourself.

But you still looked.

One night after dinner, Alejandro asked if you'd take a walk with him. You agreed, heart fluttering.

“I will be gone a few days,” he said as the two of you strolled down empty hallways. “I need to go to the capital.”

“Oh.” You couldn't help the way your heart sank with disappointment.

“Rodolfo will be in charge while I'm gone,” he said, looking at you and away again. “It will only be a few days.”

“I hope you have fun?” It came out for too much of a question, and you grimaced at yourself.

He snorted. “I will not, but thank you. I dislike going, but I must sometimes.”

“Why do you dislike it?”

He shrugged. “Politics,” he answered dryly. “There is an overabundance of people who feel far too self-important.”

You laughed, unable to hold it in. “I'm sorry,” you managed, still giggling. “But the look on your face.”

He huffed, smiling. “It is never a hardship to make you laugh,” he murmured. “Is there anything you want from the capital?”

You blinked at him, taken completely by surprise. “I don't know.”

He eyed you for a moment before he nodded, just once. “I will find you something, then.”

You almost protested, except he turned to face you fully, two fingers under your chin tipping your face towards him. Your eyes went wide.

“I will think of you,” he promised, low and quiet. “I need to go, because I need to wake early. I will see you in a few days.” He leaned in, and for a wild moment you thought he'd kiss you. Your heart leapt and then pounded, lips parting ever so slightly.

But his lips landed on your cheek, soft and chaste. Your eyelids fluttered, a soft breath escaping you.

The two of you stood perfectly still for one moment. Then Alejandro stepped back, his fingers falling from your skin.

You watched him go, hand rising to touch the spot he'd just kissed.

You hadn't imagined that. He had really kissed your cheek.

Oh, you were way past trouble now. Now you were in deep.

You meandered back to your room, completely distracted and oblivious to the world around you, replaying those precious moments over and over again to make sure you remembered them.

You didn't sleep well, half-remembered dreams of flying then falling interrupting you through the night.

You were surprised when Marin sat with you at breakfast. She asked about your day, and seemed genuinely interested. Which was… weird, but okay.

But the weirdness didn't stop there.

Various riders popped in to your workshop throughout the day. Some just asked how you were doing, while some asked about bringing you things for repairs. One even brought you a canteen of water, saying she'd noticed yours was empty.

You were deeply, deeply confused.

But you didn't actually object.

Rodolfo gently herded you to the normal table at dinner, but he didn't try to make you talk. Just made sure you had food.

Alejandro left for a few days and the whole garrison went extremely weird.

Maybe they just needed some sleep. Or something. Maybe you needed sleep.

Except the next day passed in much the same manner. You hadn't had so much conversation… basically ever. And with so many people! Even one of the kitchen staff found you to ask if you had enough scrap leather to make a holder for a knife.

Which, of course, you did. Not that you'd tell her, the poor woman seemed easily flustered to begin with, but you weren't using scraps for this.

You were also debating between telling Alejandro the entire garrison went nuts while he was gone, or never mentioning any of this again.

You skipped breakfast the next day, sneaking some bread from the kitchen to tide you over until lunch. This, apparently, was a mistake, as what felt like half the garrison showed up at your workshop before lunch. Not all at once, thankfully, mostly alone with a few pairs or small groups showing up.

But still. Highly annoying while you were trying to work.

You were gearing up around lunch time to yell at the group of three hovering outside your door when a dragon trumpeted outside. All three riders perked up, and the youngest (and boldest) of them darted inside to grab you. You barely had time to yelp before the three were half-dragging you off, your feet barely keeping up.

Bright sunlight blinded you for a couple moments as they dragged you clear outside. But you felt the ground-shaking thump of a dragon landing.

You didn't even have time to ask before the three abandoned you. You nearly stumbled, but managed not to. Huffing, you shaded your eyes to look.

Your heart fluttered in your chest.

Caba stopped just in front of you, rumbling a friendly greeting to you, head lowering to breathe hot air on top of your head. You couldn't help but laugh a little, reaching up to pat his snout.

“You're here.” Alejandro sounded surprised but rallied quickly, throwing one leg over Caba's back and sliding down the big dragon's side. He landed easily, making you the teensiest bit jealous - you still nearly faceplanted every time.

“I am,” you agreed, a little perplexed but mostly just happy to see him. “How was your trip?”

He waved a hand, dismissing the question. “Uneventful. Not worth it, as usual.” He paused a moment before he smiled. “But I did find this.”

He produced a flower from nowhere, petals marbled pink and white.

“Oh, it's beautiful.” You smiled, leaning closer to see if the flower had any fragrance. It did, and it smelled wonderful too.

“It's for you.” Alejandro took one of your hands, curling your fingers delicately around the stem.

Your eyes blew wide and you jerked your gaze from the flower to him. He just smiled at you, warm and soft and so pleased.

Excited not-exactly-whispering behind you made both of you turn to look. Alejandro's smile dropped and he huffed softly.

“Excuse me, I have some riders to speak with,” he growled, much less happy now. But he paused and cupped your cheek, leaning in close to whisper, “I'll see you later.” And then he strode off, like a man on a warpath.

You dropped your gaze back to your flower and hid your smile behind it, inexplicably giddy.

#the name of the wind #dragon riders au #alejandro vargas x reader #alejandro vargas x you #f!reader

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fluidthoughts · 1 year

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König general/random headcanons

This is my first time literally ever doing this, so if it sucks I'm really sorry. This also took me freaking forever to put together cause my brains a mess, and even now I'm feeling like it isn't finished, even though it'd already SO LONG IM SORRY LOL. But it'll do for now. I'm also thinking about making a separate post for relationship and NSFW headcanons soon. I just uh. Haven't begun to really jot those thoughts down yet, eheh.

- despite his incredibly large size, if he doesn't want to be seen or noticed, he won't be. A good part of it due to his anxiety that brings a strong desire to avoid being the center of attention. Soft silent footsteps, slinking himself right into the most unnoticed parts of a place, encompassed in the shadows until by some chance, you catch a glimmer of those intense, unwavering, piercing eyes.

- those damn eyes, always scanning, observing, calculating. Staring right through your very soul. It'd be absolutely frightening if it weren't for his inability to not fidget slightly as he stared.

- not a man of many words either. Mostly made up of silent nods and gestures. Chit chat doesn't come easily to someone like him, so when he does speak, he speaks honest and direct. At times taken by others as too blunt or abrasive, contrary to his intentions.

- and of course once he's set loose on the battlefield, that quiet unnerving focus he exudes changes into something entirely different. Something *terrifying*. The embodiment of primal power, pure adrenaline, and even what may be a grotesque sense of humor and pleasure as he tears his way through the enemy

- part of it could be due to this sense of despair in his fellow man, maybe even humankind he feels. He knows too well of the evils that exist in this world, (and maybe the next he fears, for he is just as washed in blood)

- he admires his team a lot though, for their lack of judgement with him, and how they all work together so well, makes him appreciate their dynamics such as he appreciates pack animals in the wild.

- he deeply adores and respects nature and animals. And being the giant muscled athlete he is, lots of outdoor activities are very much to his liking. Hiking, rafting, climbing, etc. When in nature, he feels envy for the innocence and beauty he sees around him. As well as feeling a sense of relatability to the primal instincts and violence and death.

- because of the bullying he endured throughout his life, and because of his size, he would get into fights. A lot. To this day, it still happens actually. Usually ending up in bar fights. As much as he tries to keep himself from it, the habit is there, and he's never one to let rowdy douches in the bars get away with their nasty jabs and comments. He's also been known to get into some of these fights defending someone else. Can't stand to see bullying happen in front of him. But there's also this part of him that thinks he still goes out and gets into these fights because maybe deep down he enjoys it.

- can play the mouth harp. No I will not elaborate. Other than his deep love for music and desire to play instruments, but he always had a hard time being able to focus his hands. Often thought to himself his hands were only good for killing. Turns out he had a knack for the mouth harp though.

- I wouldn't go as far to say he's a religious or overly spiritual man, but he's very enthralled by things like old folklore, tales and stories of things in the wilderness that are best left unknown to man. Hes definitely experienced some things himself that he cant quite explain. One could say it's the cause of his respect and carefulness for the wild parts of the world around him. One could also say its just superstition. He's also very into learning about and hearing stories about such legends of other places, the countries his teammates are from, locals when he's traveling in an unfamiliar place, etc.

- if he is comfortable enough, like he is with his team, he's witty and snarky as fuck. He loves to banter and tell dry jokes and just being a little menace overall. Especially if he's enjoying some drinks and feeling loosened up.

- he has a soft side, and deep down is even a hopeless romantic, but even in his own mind, he's more monster than man. His gentleness is buried deep, except for his interactions with animals. He has always wanted a pet of his own, but knows with his way of life, it wouldn't be for the best. And something like a relationship, he doesn't even get any hopes up for.

- is also a bit of a pyromaniac.

- also a very prideful man. Which makes him competitive, and all the more reluctant to really open himself up. He hates feeling like anyone might be pitying him, and is forever in a mindset of proving himself, pushing himself, and becoming more and more stoic. The type to be most adamant about refusing help from someone.

- he's got an insanely quick wit, but also just incredibly smart and able to learn and pick up on things almost immediately. He's especially handy with things that are of the "take apart and put back together" variety. Hence why he was always fond of firearms.

- he knows women notice him, he notices them too. He knows he's attractive as well. But ever since a cruel joke played on him in his teen years, he finds it all the more difficult to trust women in any sort of romantic or intimate way. "Brawls with other men at least bring total honesty with them" he thinks. And all the better to keep him less distracted from work anyways, right?

- Roze basically forced him (and the whole squad) to learn how to braid to help her and Calisto before missions. König's actually pretty good at it too for it being a hand based task.

#könig #hes kind of sad #and messed up inside #könig imagine #könig headcanons #cod headcanons #mw2 headcanons #deff want to start some könig x reader type stuff soon #könig call of duty #if its giving you i can fix him vibes im on the right track lol #angst angst angst angst

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dustteller · 5 months

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I just finished watching all the available episodes of The Apothecary Diaries, and I have to say that it surprised me!

The premise of an apothecary working for the emperor's consorts and solving medical mysteries is already a gun one, but the execution really elevated the concept past entertaining romcom to genuinely fantastic storytelling. It's not revolutionary, but it's certainly deeply endearing, and I really enjoyed how it found a balance between lighthearted comedy and acknowledging the awful aspects of sex work and being a woman/lower class in a world where neither are valued. It doesn't explore the darker side in detail, at least not so far, but it still does a fantastic job in making the horrible parts feel like a real part of the setting while still making the choice to focus on the women's joy even when faced with hard situations. I guess I just appreciate these things being openly discussed without immediately having it be a psychological story about dealing with trauma?

The characters are also soo good, and while most lack depth (its been nine episodes, so for a cast this big, that can be excused), usually their schtick is strong enough that it can easily carry their appearances. You also get the sense that while a lot of these characters do fill out comedic roles/archetypes, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. Their schtick is fun, but its not all they have, its just there to help the audience familiarize themselves and bond with the charcaters while their entire personality is unearthed. The entire cast is genuinely absolutely delightful and reasonable and feel incredibly real while also being really funny.

The romance portion is also really really fantastic. Both Maomao and Jinshi are hilarious little freaks, and their dynamic is so fun to watch. Maomao is such a good take on the cold, blunt, genius character, who is socially challenged but very far from frigid. She's practical and logical while also keeping a very strong emotional core founded in empathy and genuine care for the people around her. Her obsession with poison is also pulling triple duty, as it 1) serves to break her cold facade and provides comic relief in the form of an ongoing gag, 2) gives the reader a strong understanding of her guiding motives/desires, and 3)gives her role as a medical investigator narrative justification. Of course she'd know what was used to poison someone, that's her whole thing! Jinshi himself is a counterpart to Maomao's colder tendencies, being very clingy and emotional. This show is not afraid of making him a pathetic little obsessed man, and it's all the better for him. Unlike other possesive and obsessed male leads, Jinshi manages to mostly stay away from the creep factor by being so uttely pathetic and cringe that he never really comes across as an actual threat. Couple that with him actually being very respectful of Maomao, only engaging in light flirting, and how he never actually wants to change her (most rapey MLs try to break the FL out of their feisty charcater or demean her for it while showing her how they're more powerful), and Jinshi makes for a very good love interest that also feels like a very safe comfortable person, which I feel matches the tone of the show very well. He's also as much of a freak as Maomao ("she wants to crush me like a bug <3333🥰🥰🥰), so they're very well matched there, too. He's such a petty loser, and that makes him a stronger character.

The story seems to be ramping up, and while I don't think it'll ever lose the lighthearted tone, I'm excited about how it already seems to promise a more in-depth exploration of the world it's set up the scaffolding for. For what it's worth, I also think the show has done a very good job at making the world feel expansive and mysterious, while also balancing that wholesomeness, which for a show centered around sex workers is quite the feat.

Anyways, long story short, I think the nine episodes that are out so far are really great, and the story thrives through how utterly endering it is. I am charmed by the world and the characters and what the plot has promised us, and while I don't expect it to revolutionize anime or whatever, it's still a masterclass in narrative shorthand and the act of balancing its heavy themes, especially when it comes to the characters themselves. There's so many of them that are so fun and memorable that I didn't mention, but who absolutely deserve their own posts, and that's only nine episoded into a comedy show, which I think goes to show how strong of a start this series has. Overall, I'd rate the show so far an 8/10, and I'm really excited to see what will come from the next 15 episodes.

#my thoughts #the apothecary diaries #maomao #jinshi

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pb-dot · 4 months

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WIP Wednesday Thursday Edition: Tomasz Gildebrant

Time is an iffy substance to work with at times, especially when you're experiencing the first writer's block you've had in years. I'm charting this one up to my explosive pace in November and perhaps some slight anxiety about writing one scene in particular but enough about that, time to talk about another important piece of His Impossible Brushstrokes. Today, we're talking about Tomasz Gildebrant, the man at the center of it all. Is he a spider in his web, a damsel in a dungeon, or something else entirely?

Tomasz was the first part of His Impossible Brushstrokes that I came up with. The idea came in the form of an image prompt of a handsome-looking man with a paintbrush and some splotches of multicolored paint. Several of the ideas of this book spawned from that image, and it has made Tomasz the most described character in the book as far as physical descriptions go. His inner life remains somewhat more of a mystery, and that is mostly by design.

Tomasz is, put simply, designed to be a mystery. He's a reclusive artist and all, but once our unlucky protagonist manages to arrange a meeting with him he does seem open and friendly, although there's no shortage of odd mannerisms or the sense that there are further circles to his mystery that even talking to the man doesn't really reveal.

This mystery is simultaneously my favorite and least favorite part of writing this man. On one hand, the ongoing secretkeeping through lies of omission and the odd deception and descent into arcana is very fun to work with. On the other hand, it's very difficult to talk about the guy.

I think I can say as much that I'm having a grand time with playing in to the various roles Tomasz could be argued to hold in the story. In the end, I think it'll be a bit uncharitable, or alternatively entirely too charitable, to describe him as a monster, a villain, an addict, a victim, a weirdo, a cultist or a sage.

So, how is it working out for me? Well, it's easy to write a main character who is at the same time mystified, scared of, and attracted to this man, I'll say as much, but I do worry at times that I'm making the fellow too cryptic to get attached to. It'll be a pretty impressive sleight of hand if I land it I though.

In closing I'd like to share a song I associate with the fellow. Constellation Of Tears by Cain's Offering is probably the closest match to his vibe and particular blend of artistic angst and energy that one would get from the fellow. If you could imagine a cover of Orville Peck's Daytona Sand played in the style of Romanian folk music with some occasional electronic elements and sung with a slight polish accent, you'd also get something pretty close to his personal theme song.

Tag List:

@teacupsandstarlight @jeahreading @frostedlemonwriter

If you want to be on the taglist for His Impossible Brushstrokes, please check out my tag list post

#his impossible brushstrokes #writing #writeblr #WIP wednesday

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dari-ede · 1 year

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Seven Times I Hated Kim Seokjin: Ch 1

CHAPTER 1: "All I Can Taste is This Moment"

Chapters : 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05(M) | 06(M) | 07

MASTERLIST

Summary: I was living a perfectly, normal, mundane life.... So why in the HELL did Kim Seokjin walk into it and ruin it all for me???

Pairing: Idol!Jin x Female Reader

Rating: M (language and future sexual explicit scene)

Status: Complete

AN: With Jin's birthday around the corner, I had the inspiration to explore this story. The main character is mentioned in my other story, "In the Middle of the Night". In my mind, I already had her and Jin's story made up, so I decided to write a short story centered on them.

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

This is not where I wanted to be. This is not where I needed to be. I needed to be at my desk, behind my monitor going over my project that was due tomorrow afternoon. Sure, I had finished it last week and all I had been doing lately was going over it and rehearsing it at least 10x a day, but there was no such thing as too much practice. I wanted to be prepping for tomorrow, not here where I was wasting precious time.

Not here, in this dressing room assisting my younger cousin as she went over different patterns and colors and textures. She was lucky I was such a good cousin and absolutely adored her. She had been given a last-minute opportunity at her job to show herself. If this project went great, then it could open more doors for her.

Because it had been last minute, everyone in her department wasn't answering. There was a bug going around and most were out sick. My cousin really didn't have another choice other than to call me and my sister for help. We came from a family of seamstresses, so we were familiar with the world she worked in.

Long ago I had made the choice to walk a different pathway than my family. I wanted a name for myself. I wanted to establish credibility due to my own personal talent that had nothing to do with my family's tie to fashion. Yet, here I was, helping my cousin at a style fitting that I knew was going to take at least two hours. She had stated it was for a very important figure in her company and had mentioned his name to us—he was some idol from a group that was apparently a big deal. Shame I didn't follow Kpop. My preference for music leaned more toward British rock and pop, so I had no idea who this Kim guy was.

"Be warned, the guy is incredibly handsome. Will probably have you mesmerized," warned my cousin.

My sister laughed. "Be serious." My sister also wasn't into Kpop. She mostly listened to alternative music--even when she was younger. She never knew any of the boy groups her friends were always obsessed over.

"Fine. Don't believe me. But never say I didn't warn you."

My sister and I shared a look and rolled our eyes.

"And you're sure it's not going to take more than two hours," I said with a tone full of irritation.

My cousin sent me a glare. "You've gone over your presentation at least a hundred times by now. How many more practices do you need?"

"At least a hundred more," I snapped back, not missing a beat.

"Unni, you need to give yourself a break," my sister said gently. "It'll do you some good to do something else other than obsess over this project."

"Yeah, like going out, drinking, and having some fun," my cousin muttered as she went over the outfits for the 50th time in the last hour.

I felt offended by this. "I have fun!"

"Not lately, you don't," my cousin accused with a slight pout. "You don't go out for drinks anymore."

A slight bit of guilt crept through me, but I tried to push it down as I gave my reasoning. "What do you want me to do, sachon? I'm incredibly close to a promotion. There is a position getting ready to open and I need to show that I'm capable. I've been working hard and diligent for over a year to get this."

"You've been working there since you graduated from university years ago. They know your loyalty and hard work," my sister tried to reason.

"There is no way they have overlooked how much talent you have as well," my cousin added.

They were trying to be kind and supportive. But in my field, that just wasn't going to be enough. I had tried telling them this in the past, but they never listened.

"You get too stressed out, unni. You've prepared enough for this project. You'll be fine," insisted my sister.

"Yeah, we can go out for drinks later to relieve some of the pressure," my cousin said excitedly.

"No way—" I began.

My cousin and sister immediately began to demand why I would reject their invitation so quickly.

However, before things got too chaotic, the door swung open, and in walked a very tall and dark-haired young man. My manners turned on automatically and I immediately switched to my polite persona. Just as I was getting ready to bow, I noticed the young man bow to us first. My cousin, sister, and I properly greeted the young idol.

My cousin made her way closer to him and introduced us. She made it clear we didn't work for the company and that we were here to help her out. She apologized for her boss being out sick and promised to do her best for him.

He gave her a kind smile. "I'm positive you will do well." He turned to my sister and then me.

The moment we locked eyes, I felt my breath stop in my chest. My heart fluttered and my entire skin began to shiver. He had the most gorgeous face. His dark, brown eyes were a perfectly round shape. His lips were plump and thick. His cheekbones met his jawline at the perfect angle.... Damn, my cousin had been right. This guy was incredibly handsome.

"My name is Seokjin, but everyone calls me Jin," his voice was honey-sweet sounding.

I snapped out of it and gave a bow, giving him my name.

"Pretty name fits the face," he said under his breath. And then a look of shock and embarrassment swept over his face. I had a feeling he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

His compliment sent a blush across my cheeks and at seeing his neck turn a bright red, I turned away and pretended not to see.

I had been called "pretty" a few times in my life. I honestly believed I was an average-looking person. I wasn't tall, I wasn't anywhere near skinny, and my face was very bland. The only ones who had ever called me pretty were my family and friends. A boyfriend or two had said it to me but that was only when I dolled up for dates. Today, I didn't have much makeup on, so I was very taken aback by this guy's—Jin—words.

I wasn't sure if my cousin had heard him or not, but if she had she was doing a good job of pretending she hadn't. She immediately started going over the selected wardrobe and planning which outfits he should be trying on.

Doing my best to stay in the background, I did some prep work away from them. My sister caught my eye once and gave me a teasing smile. Well, she definitely had heard him.

After Jin got into his first fitting, my cousin called me over to make some adjustments.

As I worked on his legs and pinned them to a better length, he asked me what year I was born. He then gave me his year; I was older, but not by much. He went on to ask me more personal questions as he switched outfits. The questions didn't feel intrusive or inappropriate. However, the more we talked, the more I was aware he didn't seem to be asking my cousin or sister as many questions as he was asking me. Of course, he was polite and spoke to them, but it appeared he was zoning in on me for some reason.

Keeping my eyes on him through the full-length mirror in front of us, I asked how comfortable he felt in the outfit he had on. We were near finishing. I had taken no notice we had passed the two-hour mark.

He brought his arms up and moved them around, testing the jacket he had on. "Is there a way to tighten around the shoulders? That's the second money-maker, so I want to be sure to showcase it."

I had gotten accustomed to his light and funny tone already. I could tell he was joking, but serious. For maybe the 100th time with him, I laughed. "What's the first money-maker?" I asked, not being able to help myself.

"My face, of course," he said with seriousness. His eyes met mine through the mirror and my heart did that flutter thing again.

Feeling my face get red—again—I pulled my face away and focused on the task he had asked of me. I tightened the material around his shoulders more.

"What? You don't agree?" he demanded in an almost-whiny tone.

The giggle came out of me.

"Don't you know what they call me?" His head turned towards me, giving me a perfect view of his beautiful profile.

I felt my breath catch in my lungs. "What?" I asked, not being able to help myself. My eyes got pulled into his perfect jawline.

"Worldwide Handsome." His voice was so low and sounded like butter.

My eyes moved north on his face, taking in his striking cheekbones, linear nose, thick eyebrows, and gorgeous round eyes. "I can see why," I breathed out.

A smile tugged at his lips and he cocked an eyebrow, looking quite pleased with something. "It sounds better, right?"

"Better?" I asked, finding myself very lost.

"Than 'Car Door Guy'." He pulled his face away, loosening the control he had over me.

"What?" I asked, completely confused. I shook my head, trying to regain consciousness.

His eyes went wide, and suddenly, that suave persona melted away as he gave the most genuine look of disbelief. "Can you believe that's how they first called me? Look at this face. The most handsome face in all of the country and that's what they wanted to call me?"

The overdramatic theatrics had me laughing again.

"I mean, between that and Third Guy From the Left, I'm not sure which is worse," he went on with a pout.

"What are you talking about?" I asked through my laughter.

"Don't you know? Those are the names they gave me?"

"Who's 'they'?"

"'They', the media of course."

"Why do you say 'of course' as if I should know this?" My stomach was seriously hurting from laughing so much. I wasn't sure how he was making me feel so at ease. I barely knew the guy.

"You should know this. I'm not Worldwide Handsome for no reason. You should know about me," he insisted in a teasing tone.

"Sorry, but I haven't heard anything about 'Worldwide Handsome'."

"Maybe that's because I just came up with it," he said as he laughed at himself.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. So you call yourself that, but no one else does?"

He paused to think and waited a good long moment before he answered. He placed his finger on his chin and gave a facial feature as if he was thinking. "When you say it that way, I think I understand what you mean...." He snapped his fingers as if he fingered out his dilemma. "I got it. I'll start calling myself that in interviews. that way, it picks up." He reached over and gave my shoulder a light touch. "Thank you so much. I owe you all my gratitude." He gave a slight bow.

My laughter had gotten too out of control. I started to clutch my stomach. Jin joined in and let out a weird sound. It only made it harder to breathe.

"Are you laughing at my laugh?" he asked in mock horror.

I could only nod.

In the distance, the sound of the door opening could be heard. Figuring it was either my cousin or sister, I ignored it.

"The members say it sounds like a windshield wiper," he managed to let out.

My feet joined in on the joy and stomped on the ground.

Jin's body was also fully embedded in the comedy. He reached out and gave me a slight shove. I felt my knees give a little and I took a step back. Suddenly, I lost my footing and began to tumble back.

Hands reached out to me and took hold of my arms, but it was too late. I was already falling.

The giggles died off as I felt something hard dig into my lower back. A warm liquid traveled under my leg.

"Noona, are you ok?" Jin's voice sounded alarmed and worried.

Finally, I reacted. "Ow."

"Hyung, let's get her up," said a deep voice.

I looked up to see a fairly tall, good-looking guy on the other side of me. He had eyes that could melt anyone with a simple look. Whoever dared put eyeliner on him should be arrested. He looked damn-near lethal.

The sound of the door opening now made sense. It had been this guy who had walked in.

"What hurts?" asked Jin, his face coming into view. His eyes were wide with worry.

A groan came out of me. "My pride," I said honestly.

The hot guy let out a small chuckle. "Is it ok if we help you up?"

I nodded.

Jin and the hot guy pulled me up with ease. Jin insisted I sit down.

The hot guy gave me a formal greeting. "My name is Taehyung."

I greeted him back and gave him my name. "Nice to meet you."

"I wish it was in better circumstances," he said with a smile that looked almost predatory.

A blush crept along my neck.

"Back up, Taehyung," Jin's voice sounded snappy and chilly. Nothing like he had sounded before.

Taehyung giggled, his smile turning boxy and boyish. "I'm sorry, am I overstepping?"

Jin rolled his eyes and pushed Taehyung back as he kneeled down. "I am so sorry, noona. Are you ok?" His face was still concerned.

I gave another nod. But he didn't look convinced.

I was about to answer him verbally, but another voice pulled our attention.

"Unni..." the voice sounded alarmed.

We all turned to the voice, which had come from the location I had fallen. And I saw why my sister sounded so concerned.

I had landed on my bag. My bag which contained my laptop. My bag which had been located next to my coffee. The liquid had not only spilled underneath me, but had managed to spill inside my bag. My laptop was now drenched in coffee. Ruined. My project. My promotion. My job!

My eyes slowly met Kim Seokjin's. He looked like a lamb about to get slaughtered.

Korea and the world might be fully in love with Kim Seokjin.

But I hated him.

Hated him for making me laugh.

----------------

MASTERLIST

Chapters : 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05(M) | 06(M) | 07

#bts fanfic #kim seokjin #jin fic #jin x reader #jin x oc #fluff #romance #idol!Jin #romantic #lovelife #crushes #idol!jin #idol!kim seokjin #jin x ofc #kim taehyung #bts v #idol!v #idol! kim taehyung #Seven Times I Hated Kim Seokjin

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projectastray · 9 months

Text

August Q&A with Questions from Patreon!!

hello hello & welcome to the

🎆 PROJECT ASTRAY QUESTION & ANSWER EXTRAVAGANZA : AUGUST EDITION 🎆

i asked my patreon discord for questions about project astray's development and, given the limited amount of info out there about the game (intentional), i was curious to see what kind of curiosities folks would have!

and now i'll share those here, too! enjoy~

Q from Raccoon:

Q: What was the kind of original idea for Project Astray, like how did you come up with the main idea?

A: This is gonna start way off target, but: Back when I was working at ArenaNet on Guild Wars 2, I designed a story quest that involved a sort of passive stealth system where you were invisible at all times to enemies, unless you wanted to interact with something, in which case you revealed yourself. I thought it was a fun way to solve the 'challenge' problem with stealth in an MMO, where there weren't real systems in place to do stealth that felt 'fun' in a traditional stealth game sense... but still let you feel sneaky. So it became an order of operations problem: if I open this gate with a switch, there's an enemy looking my way, so I have to knock them out... but another enemy is looking at THEM, so I have to wait for them to turn their back, knock them out too, then the way is clear to open the gate.

Anyway that was a fun little mission, but years and years later I still looked back on that design process fondly. I was also starting to think about thematic material for a 2nd game project after ESC... and I kept brainstorming various systems ideas for games centered around my experiences with social anxiety & social stealth. And so I thought that would be a fun idea to explore.

The actual systems that have come out of that initial spark of an idea are very different, but you can probably see some of the origins in there once I reveal the full game's mechanics.

Qs from Nicola:

Q: Are you composing all the music 100% yourself or are you collaborating with someone else one a song or two?

A: Mostly, yes! It's what I'd probably call at 99% me game, where I'm leaving room for possible collaboration or assistance if it sounds fun, but the vast majority of the music will be all me. Naturally! I do have one or two possible collaborations, though, which I'll think more about once I'm in the music phase of development.

Q: Are you still spending time on coding the core mechanics or have you already finished those for the most part, and are starting to assemble the game more? (Iirc in the last update you wrote about working on combat mechanics, so kind of related on its progress)

A: The core mechanics are about 75% there! Everything is in a place now where I can primarily build out content, and the remaining 25% is all stuff that is coming from any time I can't do something specifically as I'd like to, in which case I have to start adding more scripts or actions to enable me to do more with the systems. But the core is solid! I'm still on track to get 'chapter 1' fully realised this year, which is exciting.

Q: What kind of Ashtray is this? Is it a plain metal one, maybe a colored glass one, or a decorated painted ceramic one? (I think you've written something about the working name of the project, but I can't remember what exactly and where.)

A: One of those really old ones with the sort of bubbly glass texture, fully transparent, with a frosted crescent moon baked into the bottom of it.

In all seriousness, Astray!! Thematically it'll always feel relevant. Lots of things are astray in the game, its characters and setting. "Away from the correct path or direction". But who defines what is 'correct'? Where are they going? All important key words and concepts to think about.

As a bonus fun fact: the final game title also starts with 'A' but doesn't involve the word 'Astray'.

Qs from LaurentDS:

Q: what are things that you learned from your years of experience making music that helped you in the non music related aspects of Project Astray

A: Pacing, mostly. I always think of storytelling and gameplay and transitions in games in terms of the pace they take in a musical sense. What tempo is this all running on? How will it feel if it takes X seconds to happen, can I speed it up? Slow it down? Getting it all to feel right and 'in tempo' with itself is a really important part of design for me. And it also makes composition a lot easier, or even composition can help make finding the tempo easier. Because once it all meshes, nothing will (hopefully) feel out of place or rushed or sluggish.

Q: Your music and Project Astray are done in parallel. How do you juggle between those? Do you see it as a way to break artist block (work on one when you need a break from the other, etc)?

A: Yeah, absolutely. I still think of my music work as my 'main' job because it's for folks that have hired me for my time, so I always place a priority on that and fitting the development schedule. But when I do have a choice between game design work & music work, one absolutely helps me bounce back and forth if I'm feeling stuck in one area or the other.

Q: What has been the most fun aspect or detail of its development that you want to share?

A: Honestly, getting all the gameplay elements into a state where it's actually super fun to just sit down and play for a bit... There's still a lot of work to do, but seeing the possibilities now that it's in a state where you can play for a bit, it's so exciting to potentially get more friends in and testing it out so I can see how it feels for real people that aren't thinking about it every single day.

Qs from Jodie:

Q: what parts of Project Astray's development do you plan to share in things like teasers or update posts, if you choose to share anything? Will it be limited to character showcases and some screenshots or will we also get the occasional technical post if that interests you?

A: I'd love to delve into technical aspects once I am at a place where it makes sense to talk about those things!! Obviously not until I've revealed more about the game, but coding is a fun troubleshooting game that I'm always game to share anecdotes about.

Outside of that, yeah absolutely character showcases are among my next things to share... There's a lot to get into.

Q: Once it gets close to release, are you planning to release Project Astray as an early access title and release the game in chapters or do you plan to release it all once its 100% complete?

A: I definitely won't be doing early access. I don't think it plays well with a linear story game. The only early sort of thing I'm considering is doing a 'demo' of the 1st chapter before releasing the full game, but the timing & decision on that are pretty unknown until I get far enough along that I feel confident about it. And especially with a personal project that will be many years in the making, showing stuff earlier might help build excitement for the final thing. None of that is final, though, it's just me thinking out loud.

Qs from Aeris:

Q: What are your inspirations for the game's setting/world? And are there any aspects of magic/otherworldliness to the setting?

A: There's so much about this question that I can't quite share yet, but I will try to answer it without revealing everything: The sense of 'otherworldliness' is going to be very high. While there will be a concrete world to explore, not everything might seem logical or real. This has a lot to do with the setting itself. As a normal person in this world, things might change one day and leave you wondering if what you remembered is really true, or if it's always been like this. Time might suddenly advance with a gap in perception. You might dream of another state of existence, so real and tangible, and then wake up and go back to your usual routine. But there's a nagging in the periphery of your mind that it isn't right. That you were supposed to do something else. Our main characters have felt this deep down and have pushed past the instinctual drive to return to normalcy. They've chosen to EXIST, and whatever that might entail.

Q: also, not super important, but what engine are you using for the game?

A: GameMaker Studio!

Thanks so much to all my discord dreamers for their really thoughtful questions!! I had a lot of fun answering these, and hopefully they give you even more insight into the game at this early stage.

Until next time~

#project astray #indie games #indie dev #game dev #indie game dev #finding tag permutations is my passion #q&a

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prpfs · 11 months

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🐺🌠I still have insane brain rot for Wolfstar! Are there any Harry Potter fans interested in playing the Remus to my Sirius? I've listed a few plots below that have been on my mind lately.

A: Harry's third school year finally comes to a close and Remus comes to the sinking realization that both he and Sirius have nowhere to go. Even worse, face-to-face without the threat of Voldemort harming their godson, they struggle to deal with the fallout of wrongfully suspecting the other of betrail. Dumbledore's eyes twinkle when he makes the request that they surveil the countryside together, and they get the feeling that there's something he knows but doesn't want to share.

B: Remus is a freshly ordained Roman Catholic priest, and Sirius is the demon chained in the church's basement, tormenting his dreams and constantly taunting him away from the path to salvation. There's nothing more chilling than the realization that he accidentally lets him escape. It's only then that he learns why he'd been chained there for so many centuries. Sirius is the last incubi trapped on Earth and his current self-proclaimed objective? To deliver the priest who freed him firsthand into a life of corruption and sin. He's almost too excited to seduce Remus.

C: Remus starts to regret his decision to live with Sirius shortly after they leave Hogwarts. Constant late nights, yelling drunkenly when he comes home to their flat, clothes everywhere, plates of old food on the counters. It's ridiculous! That is until Remus walks in on him with a male partner. It sparks quite a few confusing dreams. Mostly wet ones. Okay, all of them are and Remus comes to the conclusion that he has to seduce Sirius before he moves out.

D: With the capture of Peter Pettigrew, Sirius finds himself begrudgingly acquitted on all charges and he's now a free man. Gaining custody of his godson is a dream come true. Especially when the tutor(Remus) he hires to help Harry better acclimate to the magical world over the summer proves to be particularly ensnaring.

E: In a muggle AU, Remus is the fairly antisocial scholarship student at a private boarding academy, and Sirius is the rich burnout on his last strike that's stuck with him for two weeks of weekend detention after a misunderstanding. They end up exchanging favors. Remus helps him with his school work, and Sirius shows him how to have fun in a place so boring.🍪

I'd also love to do something with omegaverse, slytherin!Sirius x ravenclaw!Remus🍪, sugar daddy!Sirius x sex worker!Remus, or maybe something with them in an urban or modern setting. I'm open to ideas and suggestions and my limits include scat, sexual gore, and plots or scenes almost exclusively centered around self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm not really a fan of mirroring, and I prefer my partners write what they need rather than forcing themselves to mirror. My length tends to fluctuate depending on what's going on, but lately, my replies have been lingering around 800+ words. I do not expect or need this in return!!

Regarding NSFW, I do NOT fade to black, so if you are uncomfortable with or uninterested in writing smut, I'm not the partner for you. I tend to prefer stories with around 40%(ex. plot D)-60%(ex. plot B) smut. Additionally, if you're looking to only write as a bottom, I'm not the partner for you. I love a submissive Remus just as much as I love a dominant one, just know that if you tend to portray him as constantly flustered with a stutter, then I'm probably not the partner for you. If you can't tell, I enjoy Sirius pursuing Remus just as much as I love the opposite, so make of that what you will.

Finally, I'm looking for partners that are 21+ and confident in their portrayals. I'm super excited about this, and my reply speed tends to fluctuate based on how busy I am IRL, so it'd be really nice to have a partner that's comfortable with this. Seriously(no, Siriusly guys), some days it'll only take me an hour to churn out some magic butter, and other times, it might take me a few weeks.

Leave a like, and anon will get back to you!

#harry potter roleplay #harry potter rp #fandom roleplay #fandom rp #cc x cc #dead dove #21+ rp

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findroleplay · 11 months

Note

I still have insane brain rot for Wolfstar! Are there any Harry Potter fans interested in playing the Remus to my Sirius? I've listed a few plots below that have been on my mind lately.

C: Remus starts to regret his decision to live with Sirius shortly after they leave Hogwarts. Constant late nights, yelling drunkenly when he comes home to their flat, clothes everywhere, plates of old food on the counters. It's ridiculous! That is, until Remus walks in on him with a male partner. It sparks quite a few confusing dreams. Mostly wet ones. Okay, all of them are and Remus comes to the conclusion that he has to seduce Sirius before he moves out.

I'd also love to do something with omegaverse, slytherin!Sirius x ravenclaw!Remus, sugar daddy!Sirius x sex worker!Remus, or maybe something with them in an urban or modern setting. I'm open to ideas and suggestions and my limits include scat, sexual gore, and plots or scenes almost exclusively centered around self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm not really a fan of mirroring, and I prefer my partners write what they need rather than forcing themselves to mirror. My length tends to fluctuate depending on what's going on, but lately, my replies have been lingering around 800+ words. I do not expect or need this in return!!

#rp #roleplay #harry potter rp

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catchingbigfish · 8 months

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author ask tag game

thank you so much for the tag @doublegoblin! i'll soft-tag @words-after-midnight, @ragnarokproofing, @horrormama, @winterandwords, and anyone else who wants to participate!

i'm gonna use these questions to introduce a new wip i'm working on! i don't know the name of it yet lol but i'm tagging it "wip: ttb" because i was calling it i tried to bury you but you wouldn't stay dead. a rough synopsis: novella-length, depressing af, dual-POV (duet-POV?), second-person litfic about a preacher's son and a town outcast who fall in love and tell select stories of their relationship before the preacher's son went missing.

(1) What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

i don't really write lessons into my work, but as far as themes go: what we replace it with when we lose religion, sex-as-religion, the limitations of identity and our struggles to break out of them, hauntings, ghosts-as-wishes, and the brutality of religion

(2) What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

i'm always a little unsure of how to answer this because it's not fantasy, but the setting is a small town i spent a lot of time in during my childhood in the south! it was a rural, 50k population, churches on every corner sort of place. i'm trying hard to nail that vibe as well as possible, including exploring it on google maps a ton

(3) What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person?

i think both main characters are mostly concerned with closure; i'm really just trying to tell the story, tbh!

(4) How many chapters is your story going to have?

i have a very specific vision in mind for this wip -- i have plans for 9 chapters, around 6k words apiece, each centered on a biblical place and a related theme from southern baptist teachings. it'll be somewhat evenly split between the MCs' versions of the same story with an interlude i'm tentatively calling lamentations, which is a very short "dream" the woman has of a way the man dies (hence its tentative title)

(5) Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

original content! not sure yet -- i'm contemplating whether i want to try trad publishing or potentially release it here on tumblr.

(6) When and why did you start writing?

i'm not sure if this means generally or this story -- so you get both answers. i don't remember when and why i started writing, but my earliest clear memory of writing is when i was ten. it feels like scratching an itch tbh. for this story, i would say it has roots in a similar story (another dual-POV, second-person, man disappears type story) i wrote for my first ever creative writing course which coalesced into this via various pieces of media i was consuming at the time -- way too much lana del rey, some david lynch (particularly blue velvet), and the book of eve, to name a few. the why, though, is because it just sort of popped into my brain and i'd be itchy if i didn't, to continue the previous metaphor

(7) Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow?

stop caring about the market, tbh. to borrow a line from community, caring is lethal. just write the story and find the audience later

#writeblr #wip: ttb #about elle #sorry my drafts is apparently where posts go to die

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ectonurites · 1 year

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sad rambling don't mind me

The passage of time just doesn’t feel real, man. Alaska would have turned 24 today. The last time I can distinctly remember seeing her alive she was newly 15.

It’s just this weird thing of like, yeah, I don’t think about it all the time anymore, not the way I did when it was really recent, but little things do still remind me of her. I can’t believe how close it’s getting to a decade since she's been gone.

It came up when Emme and I were talking about her a few weeks ago, but at the time she felt so grown up to us. I was a year older than her, but back then she managed to feel so mature regardless. She would nerd out with us (The last time we actually hung out was at the con the college in our town used to hold), but she also did all these grown-up things with people we didn't know—she'd tell us stories about it all though, she just seemed so cool. But god, she was a kid. A kid! Just a kid. She was 15. She was a kid. We all were kids.

So much of high school is honestly just a blur when I think back to it now, but things related to this are so distinct it's kinda scary.

Like, it’s been nearly 9 years! But I can still remember the exact seat in Jenny’s 1st period mechanical physics class I was sitting in when that first announcement about her attempt and coma went out over the loud speaker, it didn’t use her name or anything but just alerted everyone at the school that this had happened to a student. I already knew, I'd known for a few days, and I knew the announcement was probably going to happen that day, so it wasn’t a surprise. Our other friend got to stay home, but I had too many absences so my mom wouldn’t let me. I was in a class of mostly upperclassmen (only three of us were in my grade, nobody in Alaska's), and no one else in the room knew her or at least seemed to know this was about her, it was just whispers and speculation and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I broke down in tears in front of my math teacher the following period when he asked me about the homework I hadn't done and in hindsight it was almost kinda funny, because he just did not know what to do.

I remember sitting at Lily's house on the couch with her and Emme—having a sleepover to work on cosplay because that's what we did back then—when Lily's mom came home in the middle of the night and we knew something was wrong. And we got told the news that she'd passed a few hours earlier.

I remember on the first birthday after she passed, Emme and I went to the park across the street from the high school to let go of balloons. It had snowed recently, but we wanted to be in the center of the park, because otherwise they'd get stuck in the trees, so we trekked our way out there and laid on our jackets in the freezing cold and laughed and talked and cried.

I don’t know. I don’t know where I'm going with any of this, or what I’m trying to say. It's just like, time is supposed to make these things feel easier, and in a way I guess it does, but my brain just gets so focused on dates and anniversaries so every year when this day and the day she died roll around I still get hit with so much all at once.

(the anniversary of the day she died was particularly rough this past year because it was the same day Stranger Things Vol. 2 dropped and I went to a watch party thinking 'oh cool it'll be fun to watch this thing I like with my friends as a distraction' and promptly got punched in the fucking gut by what happened with Max, the hospital scene towards the end sent me spiraling for hours)

Anyways.

Happy Birthday, Alaska. I met you on a Tuesday afternoon in late August at the park I roller skate at now, two days after me and my mom finally called the cops on my dad and everything in my life changed. You were the first new friend I made after all that. I didn't get to know you for a long time, but you’re still on my mind even after all these years. I miss you. Happy Birthday.

#tw for irl death

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tanenigiri · 1 year

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My favorite manga got a drama adaptation and I don't know where else to freak out about it. So as a departure from the manga reviews I've been posting for this blog, here are some ramblings about Our Dining Table's first two episodes:

(There are some vague spoilers here about what might happen after these episodes based on the manga, so if you haven't read the source material, fair warning.)

Just need to get this out of the way first: they mADE AN OUR DINING TABLE DRAMA DSOIFHAWPOIHFAOIEH i'm glad we can have nice things

Probably my biggest praise for the show so far is how it's put Minoru's conflict front-and-center much earlier than in the manga. A significant amount of the manga's first half is focused on Yutaka's issues, with only a few scenes talking about what's going on in Minoru's end (the head patting scene mostly, and then some subtle assumptions about the fact that there's an absent mother). Episode 2 already sets up Minoru's conflict quite well with the additional scenes that weren't in the manga, and I think that's a fantastic decision in making the story explore its two leads more equally.

The shot of the four pairs of shoes at the entrance of the Ueda home in Episode 2 is by far my favorite shot of the show (at least so far). I don't know why footwear got me emotional but there you go.

Really appreciate the drawn out sequences of Yutaka cooking. We know that he's a great cook, but it's nice to actually see it.

Also really appreciate how it looks like we'll see more of Yutaka's work life. The final scene of Episode 1 was a slight deviation from what happens in the manga - no one sees Yutaka talk to Tane in the manga - so having the officemates be there tells me they're setting up something about Yutaka's work dynamic, which I am all for as I would love to see how his officemates gradually notice the change in Yutaka's behavior.

Hilariously, it's only while watching the drama where I find out that Yutaka works as an architect? I knew it had something to do with art because of a future scene but I didn't realize he was an architect.

I see those subtle indications of Minoru slowly (or maybe not-so-slowly) falling for Yutaka. Those lingering glances, the body language when it's just the two of them, the way he talks about Yutaka to his dad - it's a great call for his character!

There are so many references to future events where I've gone, "Oh when I see this it's gonna make me cry" that it feels like I'm gonna be in tears for 80% of the rest of the show.

Also want to point out that the Episode 3 preview seems like it's gonna deviate a bit from what happens in the manga next? Episodes 1 and 2 were pretty faithful to the first two chapters (with some scenes omitted that I feel like they're saving for future episodes) but I don't recognize the scenes at the preview at all (save for the very last one - I think I have an idea of what Yutaka wants to talk about but I'm not sure). Definitely understandable since this has 10 episodes, and I'm excited to see where else it'll take their dynamic.

TL;DR: The manga is my favorite for so many reasons and this show is only adding to those reasons. Really excited to see the rest of the episodes.

#our dining table #bokura no shokutaku

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idkaguyorsomething · 6 months

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Five Nights at Freddy's Fic Recs

In honor of the movie coming out, here's some rapid-fire fic recs for a fandom that definitely has a lot of high-quality stuff! (It'll mostly be retellings of the first game, with a couple of exceptions. And, since a lot of them were written as the main games were coming out, none of these are 100% lore accurate, whatever that's worth to you)

Starting with a classic, this one begins as some surprisingly sweet "Mike befriends the animatronics" stories before digging into the lore and giving us a really sweet resolution to a dark story. If you just wanna spend some time with some characters from your childhood, I'd highly recommend it. Definitely not as focused on the plot as some other fics on here, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing!

This one leans a lot more into the horror aspects of FNaF, and it has more of a focus on plot than After Hours, but it takes time to develop the bonds between its characters that make for a powerful emotional core with some surprisingly sweet moments. In regards to Mike's family in particular, let's just say that a lot of it is especially heartwarming (and funny) in hindsight. It's got some really cool and unique ideas in regards to how it tells its story, and Foxy is super important too!

This one probably has the most going on by way of themes, and the messages about family it has going on are very similar to a lot of the generational trauma stuff Disney's been putting out recently, so if that floats your boat, or if you wanted that but with more ghosts and child murder, this one might be for you. It's definitely the most deliberately AU, if that makes any sense, but it's a really really good AU.

This one's my personal favorite retelling of the events of FNaF 1. It's got more in the way of action than the others and falls between After Hours and Poor Little Souls in terms of plot-to-vibing ratio, but in my opinion it's one of those stories that just gets better and better as it goes. Mike gets a nice friendship with Jeremy Fitzgerald, and it feels very earned at the climax when he's able *SPOILERS*. It's super good and has a bunch of sequels, go check it out.

Aaaaaaand, this one probably has the least to do with the actual FNaF games themselves, but I couldn't leave it out. This one is actually post-games (mostly) and centers around Mike adopting the ghosts of the kids haunting the animatronics. Like After Hours, there's a lot of just spending time with the characters and getting to watch them have fun with each other, though this one is way, way, waaaaaaay longer. If you're interested in Dad!Mike, the ghost kids getting to live the lives they never got, and some great use of a very overlooked antagonist in the franchise that I'm not going to spoil, give it a read!

(Also whoa, I wrote a FNaF fic too! And it's a crossover with Disney's Cinderella, of all things! Sorry for the shameless self-promo)

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #fnaf fic #fic rec #go check them out

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