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mxvladdy · 3 years

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I would like to request! Can I request? Well I wish for you to consider what type of person/what kind of situation would cause the brothers to make a pact with someone. Maybe even what they would request in exchange? This can be before or after they met MC. With that out of the way, I totally binge read all of your works after my sister gushed to me about the True Form series, and just thank you??? It made me really happy reading them and it's always impressively detailed and well thought out.

Awww thank you! I’m glad it’s rave-worthy! I plan to add to it soon bc it was an absolute riot to write and research for lol

And wow this one is a toughie! I’ve actually never thought of what would make them want a pact! Hope ya like it!

Lucifer- Pact of Success

Absolutely the hardest brother to do business with, but that is probably a good thing. He is incredibly selfish with his contracts. Sure, they’ll benefit from his pact mark, but he will get the most out of it. Aside from MC he only takes requests for contracts from the human “elite”. They make wonderful feathers in his cap.

But also he takes some enjoyment in breaking them. They always get so cocky with his contracts thinking that they have him on the ropes and at their beck and call. It gives him a good chuckle, humans are so brazen considering their very short lifespan.

He destroys them slowly over time- all the little minutia he peppers in his legal bindings adds up. Not that his normal clientele ever read the fine print. But he designed it that way to make sure they don’t. All their requests are the same and so simplistic. Big boats, fancy cars, climbing the proverbial ladder faster than their friends or enemies - blah-blah-blah. At least the paperwork is easy to complete.

Very rarely does he find a contract he is excited to make. Those contracts are given to artists and craftsmen he sees potential in. He loves good art, and every artist should take pride in their work.

When it comes to the “price” of his pact it is worryingly simple. All he wants is some of their time. It sounds simple, and it is. Which is why it’s dangerous. The contract doesn’t specifically say how or the rules of it. How he takes your time is completely up to him.

Sometimes he simply comes for a drink and to ask how business is going. Or with the pacts he gives a damn about- he pops in to see progress on their artist visions or listen to their latest musings.

Other times if he grows tired of his pact holders’ ever-growing demands or ludicrous requests he comes and takes time right out of their lifespan. His visits leave them weak and fatigued though they can’t place why. He is a slow siphon of death and they are too foolhardy to notice. If he is feeling especially cruel, or sentimental he takes memories, things that a demon generally wouldn’t want.

Time with family, the first time they met the love of their life, a child’s birthday. He takes them all and leaves them with only a blurry recollection in his wake

When MC crosses his path though he is very apprehensive. He doesn’t want a pact or anything that could jeopardize Diavolo’s upcoming plans. But they make his skin itch with want. He doesn’t want them to be another trophy on his wall. He wants a mutually beneficial pact, one that almost leans in their favor and it grates him. Should/ when a pact is made he won’t use his powers on you as then he would have to take something in return. Instead, he takes his time and coaches them to be successful by their own right, though if he has to eliminate some obstacles- well they don’t need to know that.

Mammon- Pact of Riches

I love his man with all my heart, but even when he isn’t losing bets or getting tricked into pacts he still isn’t the most selective with who he conducts business with. He is the avatar of greed, after all. I guess it comes with the territory.

He scouts for already wealthy humans or people with a good head for numbers and is money smart. Some are too smart to deal with him, knowing that whatever monetary gain they are granted from him will backfire in the end (or their mama’s taught them not to make deals with strange demons). But a sucker is born every minute, and he has nothing but time on his hands.

His pacts are pretty simple and upfront. Sign on the dotted line and they get some of his wicked gamblers’ luck and more riches than one human life span could do much with. While he gets a glorified accountant and a nice percentage of their profits. It’s a win-win… for him.

See he forgets to mention that there are two sides to every coin, and his flip side is particularly detrimental to one’s health. He just so conveniently glosses over that his luck will wear out over time depending on how frequently the pact holder uses it.

But the hunger for more doesn’t. If anything that particular sensation grows into an all-consuming fire in the pit of their pitiful guts. It forces them back into the seedy basements or griming gambling halls. One more roll, one more stack of bills, just one more time and they will hit pay dirt surly! But the losses just keep coming. If one of his pact holders ends up face down in a ditch after one too many bad hands and uncontrollable greed… well ain’t nobody’s fault but their own.

He has a softer spot for humans that seek him out and treat him like a living being instead of some tool to be tossed around at will. It’s refreshing. He will actually take some care with these pacts and tell them to temper their use of his magic so they can get the most out of it in the long run. They still might run into misfortune and he is genuinely sorry for that but there is only so much he can do in the end.

With MC he doesn’t even tell them about what his pact can do or how to use it. He doesn’t want anything bad happening to his human. If they want something tell him he will do it himself no magic or pact summoning required. He wants to keep them happy and healthy for as long as his lifespan will allow.

If MC should find how to use his pact mark he will get pissed. Not so much at them but the situation in general. He’ll be upfront about the whole thing, judge him how they want but he refuses to let greed consume them too. He focuses a lot of time and energy on learning how to reel in his magic with them so they get some of the perks but none of the major downsides. Unlike with his other pacts where he lets it all just run wild (just means they use up their contact faster and he can move on to even bigger fish).

Leviathan- Pact of Wisdom and Skill

Surprisingly, despite his antisocial tendencies with “normies”, he gets around when it comes to contracts. Perhaps it’s jealousy at his other brothers or perhaps he finds collecting contracts a bit of a game on its own.

He has a small niche of people interested in his pacts. Pacts with him give people a strategic advantage in nearly any situation. Seemingly overnight his humans turn into near tactical geniuses. Because of that, he is very popular with military leaders and humans with dangerous careers.

He also makes mini contracts with foot soldiers and humans with dangerous oceanic jobs. They just want to make it out alive and he gets that. With contracts like these, he is more lenient and doesn’t ask for much. Make an offering of fancy food to Henry 2.0 or wait in line for a rare human figuring he wants. Wam-bam thank you ma’am kinda business.

This is completely different from his larger contracts. With the military contracts, he expects them to continue with their duties until they die in the field. Simple as that, he doesn’t mince words in his contract. It’s what he would do as General so he expects it from them. Should they try to define him he will get rid of them.

He takes delight in defiant contract holders. They think they are as clever as he is now. But they forget that they are using his magic. He could take his magic away right after they defy him sure...but he won’t. He lets them stew for a bit, thinking they have had the last laugh on envy. If they wish to play games with a General then he will make sure it’s good.

With MC he plays on easy mode, granting them insight and little touches of his magic during exam week or when playing a game against his brothers. He wants nothing in return from them but some quality hangout time.

Satan- The Pact of Retribution

As the only pure-blooded demon out of the seven, he does these pacts out of necessity like most other demons. While the others do it more so out of monetary gain and an obligation to the crown. Or if you’re Belphie, sheer enjoyment.

He does it because he hungers, it a hole in his very self that he is trying to fill. He hunts for one reason only- relief from his cardinal sin. He will never feel the calm after a storm of rage naturally. Patience and tranquility are the antitheses of his very creation. So he gets it artificially through his contracts.

He looks for the downtrodden, angry, and the most bitterly despondent humans he can find and gives them the chance to seek vengeance. He is very upfront with what his pact entails. Once the vengeance is complete his rage will consume them and they will become another soul for him to consume.

He isn’t cruel about the process or tries to trick a human into a mark. Very few of the ones he approaches turn him down even after hearing the details. It is possible that humans once shot to get even and he gets to feel bliss, to feel calm. He finds out that the longer or more obscure the plan for retribution is the sweeter the outcome is for Satan.

If he is feeling super ornery he will go after people affected by the outcomes of Lucifer’s pacts. They are easy prey and almost as wrathful as Satan himself. Bonus it aggravates Lucifer to no end when he has to go out of his way to clean up the mess Satan’s contract made of his own. Anything to piss him off makes Satan feel all the better.

With MC he doesn’t need to use his pact magic. Mostly because they are always around him in the Devildom, and no one is stupid enough to mess with someone Satan favors. If someone or something does irritate his MC he will take it out before it can fester into something his magic will try to latch onto. Keeping you calm and happy makes him feel almost tranquil as well.

Asmodeus- Pact of Gratification

Another very popular pact to try to get, and how could it not? He is fabulous~ But as much as people try to find him, he only goes for a certain type of contract. He has his perfectly manicured fingers on the pulse of the fashion and beauty industry.

His name is a whisper among the up and comers in the business. Many-while not looking for a pact - at least want to see him at least once. Many never will, they get cut from their agency or quit before they could get a foothold. It happens, and he hates to see it. Everyone deserves to feel gorgeous, or at least get a chance to be in the same room as him!

But for the ones the perceiver and climb the ranks get invited to one of his many parties. They can only get invited by someone wearing his mark. He trusts them to know who would be amenable to his contract.

His pact grants its bearer a glamor that can’t be broken by any meer mortal or mage. It makes them absolutely irresistible. How they wield that power is completely up to the user, he won’t judge or intervene.

Once they sign the contract all his holders see him frequently. He absolutely loves dropping in on their shoots or fancy dinners to say hi or get a recap on how they are fairing. Not because he is a nice demon or just super friendly (though they would like to think so). No, he just likes to watch.

His payment is slow, methodical and no one sees it happen until it is already complete. In exchange for beauty and the graduation of getting whatever their little hearts could as for he gets their ability to love, whether that be familiar or sexual. Asmo loves the feeling of being loved; he wants it in all ways possible.

Some pact holders don’t have an issue with this. They got their looks, a successful career, and people to manipulate to their heart’s content. Not having strong contentions with anyone works in their favor. But others don’t and while they search for him to try and get that little slice of humanity back he is long gone. He got what he wanted anyway.

MC is his darling. He can and will make a special contract just for them (reviewed by Lucifer). A beautiful new contract for a beautiful soul! He wants you as unchanged as possible because this MC is the one he fell for.

Beelzebub- Pact of Prowess

His pact is a very elusive one as he isn’t keen on going and looking for one. Beel isn’t a big fan of these trades, but he needs them every once and a while. Nothing is more filling than a contracted soul.

His trade is basic, make a pact and you get his strength. He, like Satan, is upfront about what his payment is and what side effects will plague them. He sees no reason to lie about it. The more they draw on his power the more the host's body gorges itself. Their bones will collapse in on themselves from the stress of it- the magic feeds on anything in the host bodies. It will deplete the iron in the blood, go after the calcium in the bones, sink its teeth in their muscle system.

It’s all rather gruesome and Beel does feel bad about it. He tells though who are still adamant about binding with him ways they can negate some of the side effects by taking supplements and augmenting their diets.

But it is like patching a deep cut with a bandaid, it just won’t work. His stomach is near bottomless- humans most certainly aren’t. They simply can’t eat enough to sustain their body like he can.

It surprises him that people still seek him out. To some, the pros outweigh that very huge cons. Some really do believe that they can find a loophole or find the right mix of medication to offset it.

He doesn’t get beaten up about it anymore but it gets on his nerves how obstinate humans can be about his very clear warnings. When his magic finally consumes them he takes both the body and soul back down with him and feasts on both.

With MC he keeps an eye out on them. Consistently checking in, making sure they don’t skip a meal, and join him at the gym often. He wants them to be strong and healthy enough to not ever want to use his pact. Though he does speculate that their angelic bloodline buffers both his and his brother’s magic a good bit.

Belphegor- Pact of the Visionary

Dreamers come in every shape and size and from different walks of life. But they are are all suckers to Belphie. He is known as the Lord of Decet for a reason.

He will promise them everything and anything their heart desires. That invention that will change the world? Done. A patent that is long overdue. Easy enough. A sudden rush of ingenuity to complete that nagging project. He is a devil of his word, it will be done. It- just won’t be done in the way they would want it.

See manipulating the physical realm is hard work. Like a lot of hard work. More than he would ever do for some stupid little human. It’s a lot easier to control outcomes in his realm.

The moment the contract is signed his hosts fall under his control and he takes it from there building a perfect little dream world for them to frolic in and believe they are getting what they want. He feeds off of them here, taking little sips from their energy and exploring these new fresh dream worlds. His dreamscapes get boring every once and a while, so having a new human under his influence is always refreshing.

While his humans thrive inside their minds their bodies waste away in bed as his magic draws them further and further into an endless sleep.

He doesn’t see anything wrong with his contracts. Who would argue with him that the dream realms aren’t real in their own sense? Did his humans not accomplish their goals in the end? He doesn’t think of the outside effects of his magic and pacts. Belphie really doesn’t care about what families he broke apart or lives he inadvertently affected.

MC is different to him though. He doesn’t keep them under his spell hardly ever (maybe if they are spending too much time with Dia or Lucifer. But he doesn’t push it with them.).He still walks into their dreams whenever he feels but he comes just to visit, not to change. He simply just enjoys keeping you company and relaxing in the little mini paradise you always seem to create in your dreams.

#obey me #request!#obey me luficer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #headcanon

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i-need-entertainment · 3 years

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Haikyuu!! Boys and what kind of clumsy they are

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi and Daishou

Akaashi Keiji: He trips over his own two feet

I’ve seen it headcanond before that Akaashi is actually clumsy, and I love it.

I see him as someone who could be perfectly stable one moment, but either step on his laces on sOmEthiNg and now he’s going down.

And as someone who has sprained an ankle by stepping on my own foot, I can attest that it DOES HAPPEN.

It doesn’t happen very much during games when his focus is at 100%.

But I do think on some practices he’s stepped back to set, and accidentally stepped on himself and *boom* Akaashi’s down again.

I can see the tips of his ears turning red when the coach or Konoha asks ‘You good?’ and he just kinda mumbles ‘yeah’ and tries to move on like nothing happened.

Washio Tatsuki: He is constantly stubbing his toes

I don’t think he’s super clumsy, but the guy is 6′2, and due to him being quite far from the ground I think his toes (specifically the pinkie toes) like to catch the edges of tables, couches, you name it.

I don’t see him necessarily cursing when it happens, since he’s pretty quiet.

But I do see him sucking in a quick breath, and just....pausing.

His mom probably asks if he’s okay and he just nods and lets our a pained ‘yeah’ and tries to go on with his day.

Konoha Akinori: Constantly tripping down the stairs

Like in the pet peeves one, he’s definitely the type to laugh at someone when they trip or hit their head or something.

Buuuut it’s only because he himself is clumsy and he knows it.

I think he most often trips down, and up, the stairs.

I don’t think it’s a daily occurrence, but I do think he has a nice fall at least once every two weeks.

Like, he’ll be at home and his family will all be in the living room and all of a sudden all they hear is a series of thuds and they know.

They just know ‘Yup, Akinori just fell’ and after making sure he’s fine they go on with their day with a shake of the head and a sigh.

Kita Shinsuke: Doesn’t quite fall, but he is known to stumble

He’s another one that is aware of his surroundings and is usually quite put together.

So imagine the team’s reaction when their careful captain stumbled into the gym.

At first they just brushed it off.

Figuring there was something in the way or he had just had an off day.

But they soon noticed he stumbled a lot.

He never falls, just loses his balance and then 5 seconds later it was like it never happened.

Suna Rintaro: Runs into a lot of doors

I’m not talking about the door frame, I’m talking about getting hit by doors.

Like, he’ll be headed to class (not paying attention to anything around him) and *BAM* he’s now waving off the apologies of a poor underclassmen or staff member and heading to class with a red forehead.

It’s partly his fault since he’s never really aware of what’s going on around him.

But he’s also just really unlucky/attracts doors swinging into him like a magnet.

Depending on how hard he was hit, I see him being the type of person to shout when they get hurt.

So when he is hit in the face with a door at school all that level hears is a single curse yelled by Suna.

The teacher that hit him with the door can’t find it in themselves to give him detention though.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: Hits his head on a lot of door frames

Seeing as he is over 6′2 and the average height for men in Japan is about 5′7, it’s not hard to believe that his face has met quite a few door frames in his time.

Unlike Suna, he doesn’t really get hit by doors (doors get hit by him), he runs into the door frame.

I do feel bad for him, but being someone with a father who is 6′5, as a child it was incredibly entertaining to witness.

He probably lets out a string of low curses, as he grabs his head and just waves off anyone asking if he’s okay.

He probably just says ‘I’m fine’ before he continues doing what he was doing.

When this happens at school of course, no one but Tendo really laugh laughs at him.

But Reon and Semi have been known to let out a few light hearted snickers here and there.

Yahaba Shigeru: Closes his fingers in car doors and cabinets

He doesn’t know why this happens so much.

Maybe his reaction time is too slow? Or maybe it’s cause his hand-eye coordination isn’t the best.

Either way, he tends to nip his fingers on/in stuff a lot.

Like getting a cup out of a cabinet but shutting his finger in the door, or closing the car door on his hand.

He also tends to burn his fingers a lot.

Like picking up a mug that’s too hot, or grabbing a pan that just got out of the oven.

Probably curses when it happens, he doesn’t shout like Suna (cause he has a younger brother not a death wish) but something probably slips when it happens.

Iwaizumi Hajime: Drops his phone on a regular basis

Overall I don’t think he’s very clumsy.

But when it comes to his phone? All bets are off.

He doesn’t know wHy but to his hands his phone is like butter.

Doesn’t matter where he is.

It could be in the comfort of his home or McDonalds, that phone in his hand is not long for this world...

Curses like a sailor when it happens, then just huffs and picks it up.

He seems mad, but he’s really just mad at himself.

Mostly cause he could have scuffed the Godzilla phone case he has on it smh.

Futakuchi Kenji: Loses things like nobody’s business

The type of person to ask ‘where’s my phone?’ only for it to have been in his hand the whole time.

It’s never anything important like homework, more like little things you don’t think you need, but then later you end up REALLY needing.

Think items like spare glasses, or chemistry notes, things like that.

It’s not even that he’s messy he just misplaces a lot of things.

It’s come to the point where if he walks in the room to ask his mom where something is she just points, especially since he lost the same thing 2 days ago-

Daishou Suguru: Gets bumped into like a piñata on the sidewalk/school hallways

He isn’t a small guy, he’s 5′10.

So it is completely BEYOND him why everywhere he goes he gets rammed into and shoved.

It’s kinda like he’s invisible sometimes.

He even tried paying more attention, but alas he till got pushed and shoved.

Doesn’t fall down often, because of his size, but if he ever had a particularly bad collision he’d probably let out a few curses and get up. (Depending on who it was and if Mika was with him, he might apologize, but that’s completely circumstantial)

#akaashi x reader #washio x reader #konoha x reader #kita x reader #suna x reader #ushijima x reader #yahaba x reader #iwaizumi x reader #futakuchi x reader #daishou x reader #y/n #hq headcanons #hq imagines #Haikyuu!!#haikyu x reader

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kaeyastopmakingicepuns · 3 years

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Hey, I suck at writing fics that have a plot, so here's a little Diluc x Reader prompt, for anyone who wants it.

It occurred to me that Diluc's character had been MADE for a fake!married trope, and this scene popped into my head, but I didn't know how to go further with it, so if anyone wants to continue it, or use it for inspiration, please be my guest! :)

Diluc x Reader Fake!Married AU

"There you are," you said, paying no mind to your fancy clothes as you plopped yourself down on the dusty floor to lean against the cold, stone wall of the wine cellar. You had found Diluc right where you had expected to whenever the winery held these public festivals.

Diluc, seated on the ground next to you, merely grunted in response, taking a swig from the glass bottle he held before he nestled it back into its place in the crook of his arm.

"People are looking for you, ya know," you commented idly.

Another grunt. Honestly, having a conversation with this man could be like pulling teeth at times. It was a good thing that you had known him long enough to have learned that once you did get him talking, Mondstadt’s grumpiest bartender was actually a huge softie with a droll sense of humor that never failed to have you clutching your sides with laughter at least once or twice before he inevitably clammed up again.

“There’s a new bard in town.” You tried again. “Goes by the name ‘Dandelion.’ Wants to woo you with a special poem he wrote just for you.”

And yet another grunt punctuated by a long swig from the bottle. Time for drastic measures.

“Hey!” Diluc cried, uttering the first word you’d heard from him all evening as you snatched the bottle from his hand and helped yourself to its contents. You lowered the bottle as soon as the drink hit your tongue and spat the sip you had taken to the side.

“This is just stale grape juice,” you said in disgust. Honestly, you should have known, but the way he was nursing the drink had you convinced it was something stronger.

Diluc rolled his eyes as a plucked the bottle out of your grip. “Wait ‘til you find out what wine is,” he remarked drily.

You laughed. There was the Diluc whose company you had sought out. “Connor would cry in shame if he ever heard you say that.”

Diluc winced. “Please don’t tell him,” he pleaded.

“Of course not,” you agreed. “No way I could break his heart like that.” You grabbed the bottle again and took a proper drink this time. Now that you were expecting the sweeter beverage, it was actually quite good. Dawn winery didn’t get its reputation for nothing, its grape juice was just as good as its wine.

“How much longer do you suppose I have?” Diluc asked with a grimace as you passed the bottle back to him.

“What, before they come bursting down here trying to marry you off to their sons or daughters? Oh, not long at all,” you teased, accepting the bottle as he passed it back to you.

Diluc groaned. “Archons, I hate this. I wish they’d just leave me alone.”

You gesture in his direction, using the neck of the bottle to point at him, ignoring the way the juice sloshed around dangerously inside, threatening to spill on Diluc, who leaned away from your waving arms with a frown. “You know what you need to do?” you asked playfully. “You need to get fake married.”

Instead of laughing at your joke, Diluc’s brow scrunched up in puzzlement. “I need to get what?”

You sighed. Leave it to Diluc to not be aware of classic story clichés. “You know, disappear for a week or two, then return with some pretty thing on your arm and just tell everybody that you’ve eloped.”

Diluc scowled. “But I don’t want to get eloped.”

Archons, but he was lucky he was pretty. Diluc was generally an incredibly smart guy, but sometimes the way he failed to employ common sense baffled you. Like when he had used slime bait near his own vineyard and had to fight off a few curious slimes every few hours for a week. Still, being (secretly) big of heart and dumb of ass was what made Diluc, well, Diluc, and you wouldn't have him any other way.

“You wouldn’t actually get eloped,” you explained slowly. “You would just pretend to. You and whatever idiot you persuaded to be your fake spouse would know, but no one else would. That way, you get to be free from all the hassle of being a bachelor, and some lucky sucker gets to, I dunno, live in the manor rent free, or something. I’m not really sure what you would offer them to make it equitable, but I’m sure you can think of something, you’re rich, after all.”

It seemed Diluc still wasn’t getting the joke as, judging from the contemplative look on his face, he was actually giving the idea some serious thought. “That... might actually work,” he said thoughtfully.

Of course he would think this was a good plan, this was the same guy who thought it would be better if the city of Mondstadt was attacked from two fronts at the same time, rather than him revealing himself as the city’s so-called ‘Dark Knight Hero.’

“There is something you do have to be very careful of, though,” you said gravely, schooling your expression into something serious.

Diluc looked at you with concern. “What?”

“You have to make sure you pick someone whom you will absolutely not fall in love with, and will not fall in love with you under any circumstances,” You said. finally passing the grape juice back to him as you realized you were still holding it. Diluc took it and set it on the floor between you. “That’s how these things always go, someone falls in love with the other one and suddenly bam!” You punched your hand into your fist for emphasis, pleased to see that Diluc had been listening to you intently enough that he started a little. “The whole scheme goes up in smoke,” you said dramatically.

Diluc rolled his eyes. “Someone I won’t fall in love with?” he repeated. “How about you?”

“Ouch!” You put your hand to your chest in mock offense. That was clearly payback for making him jump.

Something flickered behind Diluc’s eyes and you hurried to make a teasing remark, knowing that if Diluc thought he had actually hurt your feelings his social awkwardness would instantly turn him back into Mr. Tall, Dark, Silent, and Brooding.

“And you call yourself a gentleman,” you said, lightly shoving his arm.

Diluc smirked back at you, visibly relaxing as soon as he was reassured you weren’t actually insulted. “I can be a gentleman,” he said, “when the situation calls for it.”

“I’ve never seen it,” you scoffed.

“Do you want to?” he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

You did, weirdly enough. At least a little. But rather than say that you snorted and said, “Archons, no.”

“I thought as much,” Diluc said confidently. He picked up the bottle again and finished it off, before giving you a sidelong glance. “You didn’t say ‘no.’“

“I didn’t,” you admitted. But that didn’t mean you were saying yes. After all, there had to be a reason this stuff only happened in stories, right? It’s not like this kind of game could work if attempted in real life.

“How would it even work?” you asked. “I mean, this kind of thing can only stay a secret for so long. It just takes one person learning the truth, and suddenly everyone knows. And it’s not like you can just explain away the fact that we have separate bedrooms to your staff, so that right there is where it all starts to fall apart.”

“No, it’s not.,” Diluc insisted. “It’s not at all uncommon for a husband and wife to have separate rooms. Royals do it all the time.”

You barked out a laugh. “Oh, so you’re royalty now? I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you took that ‘uncrowned king of Mondstadt’ thing so seriously. And all this time I’ve been calling you by your first name. Is ‘your majesty’ too informal when we’re alone? Is it to be ‘His Esteemed Royal Highness, Diluc Ragnvindr of the Grape-Growing-Greats’ at all times?”

Diluc sighed. “Stop that, I just meant it’s not without precedent. My parents had separate rooms here when I was a kid, it’s not unthinkable.”

You blinked. You hadn’t known that. “They did?”

“Yeah,” he said. “They rarely made use of both of them, but they did. It’s expected of nobility, somewhat.”

Huh. There might be something to this plan, after all.

“And you still haven’t said ‘no,’“ Diluc said.

You hadn’t. Were you actually considering this?

“If you lived at the winery, you wouldn’t have to walk down here from Mondstadt every day,” he pointed out casually. Damn him for knowing your one weak point-- your hatred for your daily commute.

You were saved from having to answer by the torch on the wall going out with a pop, plunging the two of you into darkness. You squeaked and instinctively grabbed onto Diluc’s arm.

“Sorry,” Diluc said. “It must be a faulty torch. That’s the third time it’s gone out this week. I’ll get it.”

You felt Diluc wave his hand, and the torch flared back to life, illuminating the small corner of the cellar once again.

“Thanks,” you said, letting go of Diluc’s arm, wondering at the way Diluc’s face seemed to flare blight red in the glow of the firelight.

Suddenly, your eyes widened. “Archons, Diluc, you’re on fire again!” Was there a single pyro vision wielder in all of Teyvat that had mastered the art of not setting themselves on fire whenever they used their vision?

Diluc swore under his breath and began frantically patting his arm in an attempt to smother the flames. You helped, and, between the two of you, managed to get the small flame put out in a matter of seconds. Just another day at Dawn Winery.

Diluc stood, making sure there were no other embers lying around that could burn the whole manor down. “I should get back to the party,” he grumbled, offering you a hand to help you to your feet.

You followed him up the stairs, your earlier conversation seemingly forgotten. You were confidant that once the pressure from the party was gone the next morning, Diluc would never bring up the thought again, and you would both carry on with your lives.

But, still, neither of you had said ‘no.’

#genshin impact #gi diluc #diluc x reader #diluc #diluc ragnvindr

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dalamjisung · 3 years

Text

team wang ❃ jackson wang

word count: 1899

genre: slice of life, fluff, team wang!jackson

member: jackson x reader

description: this is it– all he’s ever wanted: jackson is his own boss now. Team Wang will now have his undivided attention and, well, you couldn’t be prouder. You’ve always been Team Wang, anyways.

“Delivery,” A voice calls through the building’s intercom, and you try to remember of any recent purchase made from Amazon, but you just can’t.

“Whom for?” You ask, and if Jackson was here, he’d be proud. He always told you to be more aware of security, considering the amount of ill intent directed towards public figures like him. You’d always roll your eyes whenever he lectured you about opening the door for the food delivery man without asking for an identification from the other person, but you’d let it go whenever he hugged you and mumbled in your ear, I just want you to be safe.

“Uh… Jackson Wang?” The man responds. “From Team Wang…?”

The uncertainty in the man’s voice is enough to make you frown, but you tell him to wait downstairs, that you’ll go get the parcels yourself. Putting your shoes on, you go down, passing through Mr. Min, the building’s security guard.

“Can you sign here, ma’am?” The delivery man asks, giving you an electronic pad. You do as instructed and he starts giving you the many boxes piled behind him.

“Wait… is that all for Jackson Wang?” You gasp, looking behind to wave the security guard over. “I might need some help, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, Ms. Y/L/N,” Mr. Min smiles and both of you work on taking all twelve large boxes to your apartment. After you’re done, you send him back to his post with a ‘thank you’ sandwich and cup of coffee; he’s always been incredibly helpful and kind to you, during the years that you and Jackson had been together, and you can’t help but see Mr. Min as a friend. He’s seen you at your best and at your worst, and if not for his comforting words, sometimes you don’t know what would’ve happened to you after a fight with Jackson, or after a particular hard day at work. He’s always spared you a few words of wisdom, a few moments of hope, and he’s never let you walk out the door with unresolved issues.

“Ah, Seun-ie,” You tut under your breath, looking at the three piles of boxes. “Why did–“

“I’m home!” His melodic voice echoes in the apartment and you chuckle at his clear excitement. “Is it here? Did it arrive? Y/N, did something arrive for me today?”

“Uh,” You turn around to face your fiancee. “I’d say so, yes.”

His eyes shine with contained happiness and he drops his bag by the entrance, running to the many boxes to inspect all of them.

“Babe can you get me a knife?”

You roll your eyes, walking to the kitchen and coming back with scissors instead. You didn’t want him to get lost in his packages and end up hurting himself.

“Here you go, babe,” You help him move the boxes to the living room, where together you cut through all the cardboard. As you two work, he tells you about his day at the studio, about the songs he’s producing, about all the content he’s posting on social media– and you soak it all in, loving the way he rambles on and on about all that he did, all that he couldn’t do before. Because of the restrictions of his old agency, Jackson always talked about all the things he wanted to do, but rarely ever about the things he did. It’s been a week now, and ever since their last performance under their past contract, Jackson’s been much more open to trying out all of the things he talked about before. I’m my own boss now, baby, he’d giggle at random time. I can do what I want.

“Jacks,” You call, looking at him while resting your chin on your hand, a small side adorning your face.

“Yes, my love?” He looks at you from behind a large box, eyes wide and round.

“I’m proud of you,” You tell him, and he blushes. “Really proud of you.”

“Thanks, Y/N,” He mutters, looking down at the deliveries. “It means a lot coming form you…”

“Well, then you should believe it,” You get up and kiss his cheek on the way back to the kitchen, making some coffee for both of you. “Want milk or not?”

“No, thank you!”

Routine feels like this– this normalcy that you sense from having Jackson in the living room, humming random tunes that are bound to become singles, while you make some coffee; the same normalcy you felt this morning, when he woke you up with breakfast in bed, and the same normalcy you’ll feel tonight, when you both scroll through twitter together, like you’ve done most nights, enjoying the fact that now Bambam has nothing better to do than roast people publicly.

“Y/N, love, come here!”

“Just a second!” You put his coffee in his favorite lime green mug, and, taking your own mug, you waddle back to the living room. “Yes, honey?”

According to the other guys, you and Jackson had always been the most lovey-dovey couple, abusing pet names like there is no tomorrow, but you to always laugh it off, enjoying the little world you create every time he calls you a different lovely nickname.

“Can you try this on for me?” He holds a black velvet puffer jacket and throws it to you. “It’s a size up than your usual, but I think you’ll look fire with an oversized one.”

His enthusiasm is palpable and when you take off your hoodie to try on the jacket, you hear him giggling.

“Are you filming me?” You question once you notice the phone in his hands.

“Of course I’m filming you,” Jackson scoffs as if you had asked the most obvious question in the world. “You look hot wearing Team Wang design.”

You only realize you are wearing Team Wang from head to toe once he points out; you have one of their sweatpants that you hastily put on this morning to finish some work due in the afternoon, and underneath the hoodie, also belonging to your beloved’s company, you had one of their white t-shirts.

“Oh my god,” You gasp. “I feel so expensive.”

“Wha–“

“I could never afford this,” You mumble under your breath, laughing at his reaction.

“Just try the jacket on,” He grumbles, and when you finally do what he says, the excitement is back. Jackson gets into business mode and soon you are being prepped for a photoshoot by your fiancee. He positions you near the window, and, using the sunlight in his favor, gives you one of the new collection’s cap. Now you truly are Team Wang from head to toe, and he snaps picture after picture, directing you to the best of his abilities. You laugh at the faces he makes, and you enjoy the attention, still not being used to receiving so much of Jackson for so long. Usually, he’d been whisked away already, something about a schedule to follow through. But now, as he showers you with compliments, feeling proud of his work, you feel like he is truly happy.

“Let me see, let me see,” You say after he’s done, jumping where he is sitting on the couch looking through the many photos he took. “You’re not going to post that, right?”

His head snaps up at you, and he is quick to put his phone aside and pull you to sit on his lap.

“Why not?” He questions, looking deeply into your eyes. “They came out amazing, baby!”

“Jackson,” You chuckle, loving his playfulness. “You can hire the best models out there to promote and display your creation if you want… you are not posting a picture of me as a model.”

“But you are a model,” He raises the phone for you to see the album he already created for the shoot. “My model.”

“Jackson–“

“No, I think you don’t understand,” He chuckles a bit, looking down at where one of his hands hold one of yours. He is blushing, and you caress his face with the other hand. “You’ve been my model for a long while now, Y/N. On many different aspects of life. The way you think, the way you speak, the way you act– It’s always been a huge influence for me; always pushing me to be a better version of myself. I love you, yes, but more than that, I admire you. You’re my idol, baby.”

You don’t know how to express yourself in words– you think there might be none, as you kiss him senseless. With a permanent smile, you kiss him, the man of your dreams and the man of your reality. The one that always tried to fix everything, even if there is nothing to fix; the man that works so hard to provide only the best for himself and those around him; the man that promised to love you forever. You kiss him the only way you see possible. You kiss him with all you have. Love. Passion. Admiration. It’s all a mess of emotions that you can hope get through to him. He pulls away first, pecking your lips slowly and firmly, and then snuggles into you, pulling you down to lay on the couch, and you almost laugh at how comic you two must look, surrounded by boxes.

You can’t help but notice six boxes left unopened.

“Jacks,” You poke his cheek and he hums. “What’s in those boxes?”

He raises his head to look where you are pointing.

“Ah,” He smiles and wiggles his brows. “Those are special treats for the guys. I always sent them previews, ever since I started Team Wang… I don’t see why not keep tradition. I also added some things for their girls, now that they can publicly wear them.”

“That’s really nice of you, my love,” You smile at him, hugging him tighter. “I’m sure they’ll love it. They always comment on it whenever I wear Team Wang.”

“Do you think they’ll like it?” He suddenly asks, a bit nervous. “I designed the bucket hat thinking of Jaebeom hyung, and I think Bam will really enjoy the velvet vest but–“

You shut him up with a kiss, straddling his waist. When you pull away, you can see the anxiety in his face; with Jackson, it’s always in the eyes– all his fears, all his accomplishments, all his feelings. You can read him like a book and you think it’s adorable how much he still dories about his group’s– his family’s– opinion of his endeavors, even though he proved himself again and again that no matter what, GOT7 will always walk beside him, supporting him during everything.

“I think they will absolutely love it,” You scoff, hands holding his face in place to look straight into his surprised eyes. “You know they’ll absolutely love it.”

He nods.

“And do you know why?”

He nods once again.

“Why?” You ask, wanting to hear if from his mouth.

“Because they love me,” He smiles, hands moving up and down on your thighs. “And because I love them, too.”

“And?”

“And because they’re proud of me,” Jackson’s voice grows stronger and more confident with each word that leaves his mouth. “And because I’m proud of me.”

“That’s right, baby,” You soften at his wide smile. “We’re all proud of you. We’re all Team Wang.”

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

Well... we really are all Team Wang ;) What do you think of this one, my lovelies? I can just imagine Jackson with his cute smile, getting hyped up. If you liked this story, please please please share, comment, like, or anything you feel comfortable doing ❤️ thank you for your endless support, lovelies💕

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five-rivers · 3 years

Text

Long Night in the Valley chapter 12

The scene shifted the moment Tempest woke up. They were outside, on a street in the middle of the city. Storm clouds circled overhead.

Tempest stood in front of them, hands in her pockets, a bland expression on her face.

“So,” she drawled. “You’re Nine’s friends.”

“Uh,” said Ochako, taken aback. Right after Four had said she wouldn’t talk to them, this was disconcerting. “Yes?”

“I’m his teacher,” said Aizawa, stepping forward.

“Yeah? You think you’re doing a good job raising up little child soldiers?”

“Excuse me?” said Aizawa.

“You heard me.” She shifted her gaze to Ochako, then to Todoroki and Iida. “I bet Souma told you I wouldn’t be talking to you.”

“He did say something along those lines, yes,” said Iida, even as Ochako worked very hard to elbow him.

“I can follow why he’d think that,” Tempest said. “I spent most of my life fighting against the government. Lord knows I wouldn’t have approved of him choosing a ‘pro hero’ to follow after him.” She took her hands out of her pockets to make air quotes. She was wearing brass knuckles. “Whatever a pro hero is supposed to be. Government lackeys. Cops and war criminals with a different name. I’m shocked he pulled a halfway decent person from the muck.”

“We’re not war criminals!” protested Iida.

“Oh, yeah? I forgot, the Geneva convention was nixed, wasn’t it? They had this big meeting and decided none of it applied to metahumans, and then, bam! Everyone’s a metahuman, so it doesn’t apply at all, huh? Neat, right?”

“What we’re doing now might not be what you’re used to,” said Ochako, “but it’s the way society works, now.”

“And we’re not killing people, like you did,” said Iida. Ochako winced at his combative addition.

“I did what I had to, to get people out of the torture camps,” said Tempest. “People like my little sister. You know what they did to her? They thought her power was just controlled by her voice. So, they cut out her vocal cords.”

“They don’t do that anymore,” said Todoroki.

“You think a government like that is just going to stop doing things? Without people making them? Without being forced?” Tempest laughed and looked up at the swirling sky. “Maybe you do. You’re just kids, after all. But tell me this, do you think they didn’t know exactly what was happening to your family, Todoroki Shouto?”

Aizawa cleared his throat. “What’s your point, here?” he asked. “What do you want from us?”

Tempest looked back at Aizawa. The coldness in her brown eyes made Ochako shiver. “We could have kept you out,” she said. “That Suzuki idiot, too. Do you know why we didn’t?”

“Enlighten us,” said Aizawa.

“Because the way we do it would cause irreparable brain damage. We know, because we’ve done it before. I thought it was worth it, but the others didn’t want to hurt ‘Nine’s friends.’”

“Are you implying that we aren’t Midoriya’s friends?” asked Todoroki, frowning.

Tempest huffed and wind whipped down the road, making Ochako cover her face.

“No. To be honest, I’m not completely sold on Nine, either. He wanted to part of the system so bad, and that’s not to mention—” she huffed again. “At least he knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the equation. You four, though… I’m stuck with Nine. I don’t owe you anything and you’re causing all these problems. What I want from you—”

Behind her, lightning snapped down from the sky.

“—is to prove to me you’re worth it.”

“Vlad, the police were able to find your car,” said Powerloader, holding his hand over the receiver of the staff room telephone.

“Oh, thank goodness,” said Vlad. “I hate taking public transportation.” He paused. “I mean, uh, did they find Yagi? Is he alright?”

“No, they didn’t find Yagi.”

“Great,” said Vlad. “So, ask them when I can pick it up. Why are you making that face? Did Yagi total it? I bet he did. ‘Symbol of Peace,’ my—”

“No,” interrupted Powerloader. “Yagi didn’t total it. Or crash it. It was parked in an alley near the Musutafu entertainment district.”

“Where Midoriya had that fight with Hawks,” said Vlad, putting his head in his hands. “It got wrecked by one of them, didn’t it?”

“No,” said Powerloader. “It was parked in an alley. They found it on a security camera. It isn’t there anymore.”

“They took it again?”

“The League of Villains took it.”

“You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

The bus felt empty with half the class missing. The remaining 1-A students (plus Shinso) were all huddled together at the front, mooching off of the teachers mobile hotspots.

“Did my email go through yet, kero?” asked Tsuyu, leaning over her seat to look at Denki’s computer.

“Not yet,” said Denki. “I’ve got all the pictures you guys sent arranged, but I wish we had more video material. Ashido was the one with the most…” He sighed. “Ashido, gossip queen, when you wake up I will apologize for all my comments about your hobbies.”

“I have some videos of Midoriya.”

“Trust us, Mineta, no one want your videos,” said Yaoyorozu.

“Huh? Why not?”

“Tell us this. How many of your videos are actually of Midoriya and don’t just have him incidentally in the background while you try to film girls.”

“None of them,” said Mineta, obviously not seeing why this was wrong. “Why would I film Midoriya?”

“Mic,” said Midnight, “please remind me to sign up the walking lawsuit for some sensitivity classes. How did Eraser miss this?”

“Unfortunately, Shouta is about as sexual as the average rock, so…”

“Remind me to sign him up for some training, too, then.”

“Will do.”

“Walking lawsuit?” asked Mineta.

Everyone else sighed. Then Denki’s laptop pinged.

“Huh. I just got an email from Principal Nezu.”

The adults, including Green Light, the bus driver, blanched. Adults were bothered by the weirdest things. In the end, Nezu was just a guy with a quirk, right? A hero, even! Principal Nezu, the Education Hero!

Okay, he’d scared Denki (Mr. Terrible Grades) a lot in elementary and middle school, but really.

(Okay, the crane thing at the Final Exam had been high-key terrifying, but he was trying to get past that.)

“Huh,” repeated Denki, having read the email. “That’s interesting.”

“What is it, my electric friend?” asked Aoyama, drapping himself sideways across his seat.

“Aoyama-san,” said Midnight, “don’t put your feet on the windows.”

“Principal Nezu sent me a link to an ‘All Might adopt a kid’ fanfiction, and it’s by—”

“Midoriya writes fanfiction?” asked Shouji, evidently surprised into using his real mouth to speak.

“That’s cute, kero,” said Tsuyu. “It must have been before he met the real All Might, though.”

“No,” said Denki, “it was last updated just a couple of weeks ago, and, well… Midoriya didn’t write it.”

“So, who did?” asked Yaoyorozu.

“Not Nezu, right?” asked Jiro, winding her earphone jack around her finger.

“There’s no way, right, Kaminari-san?” asked Present Mic, nervously.

“Uh, no, no, it’s, uh, it’s All Might. According to Nezu.”

A beat of silence.

“What?”

Denki inserted his pinky into his right ear, trying to clear it. Man, if the Bakusquad had been here rather than the quiet half of the class…

“Yeah, it says here that this serves All Might right for working on this during school hours?”

More silence.

“Green Light, the road!”

“Oops, sorry!”

“Hey, guys, are we sure that All Might didn’t, you know, kidnap Midoriya rather than the other way around? Guys?”

Gran Torino, also known as Torino Sorahiko, was an active hero. That meant late nights and late mornings. He was also an old man. A very old man. Late mornings often turned into noons and afternoons.

Sometimes, during those noons and afternoons, he liked to ignore technology and the outside world for a good long while. Maybe read the paper a little bit. Or one of those terrible romance novels Nana had left him in her will.

Still, he was a hero, one wrapped up in something best described as a two-hundred-year-long shadow war, so eventually he did turn on the news.

Only to see Toshinori’s boy fighting Hawks on live television.

Not to mention Toshinori hanging out in the background with a shaved head.

And the ticker said UA student Midoriya Izuku kidnaps Symbol of Peace.

(Which was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and under other circumstances, he would have been rolling on the floor laughing.)

Gran Torino was an old man, but, luckily, he only felt like he was simultaneously having a heart attack and a stroke. His body was more than functional enough to place a not-at-all panicked phone call to one Tsukauchi Naomasa.

Tsukauchi Naomasa was incredibly busy. That busy-ness was divided mostly evenly between desperately trying to find his best friend (who had evidently decided to make a hopefully brief foray into kidnapping teenagers) and trying to figure out what the commission was taking, because it had to be illegal. Oh, and putting together a complaint that the commission was infringing on police prerogatives.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how much traction that last would get, since pro heroes had been steadily gaining more and more responsibilities even as the police were losing both them and the power that came with them. Not to mention Midoriya’s stunt with Hawks… Which… Naomasa just wanted to know why? What had the point of that been? On either side?

(Sometimes he wished he were friends with normal people. Like… he didn’t know… an accountant, maybe?)

(Not that he would give Toshinori up for the world. Just, some normalcy would be nice, too.)

He took a deep breath, remembered what he always told Toshinori about stress, and took a mouthful of room-temperature coffee.

In that thirty-second period, two more problems presented themselves to him.

One, his cell phone began to ring, displaying the contact information for Gran Torino.

Two, his email softly pinged, and a message from Principal Nezu asking for any images or videos Toshinori might have sent him slid into his inbox.

Briefly, Naomasa considered ignoring both of them, but that wasn’t a realistic option and was irresponsible besides. Contrary to his character.

He picked the lesser of two evils and answered Gran Torino’s call.

Garaki was going to have a mental breakdown. This was fitting because his car had broken down. Midoriya Inko was asking him if he thought that his ‘friend’ might come pick them up, if it was safe. If his ‘friend’ had a car.

This last had almost sent him into hysterics. Gigantomachia in a car oh-ho!

Except it wasn’t funny at all, as this was almost certainly going to result in his death at the hands of All for One. No matter that he considered the man his very dearest of friends, he was under no illusions about what All for One would do to him over this inexcusable error.

Perhaps he should just cut his losses and get one of the remote-activated noumu to come for them.

Then, inexorably and inevitably, things managed to get even worse.

“Stop the car!” shouted Tomura.

“But you said not to—”

“I know what I said! Stop the car!”

Tomura twisted to see out the rear passenger window. Everyone else turned to follow his gaze, effectively blocking his view.

“Get out of my way!” demanded Tomura.

There was some awkward, half-hearted shuffling.

“Does that look like anyone to you?” Tomura hissed.

“Yeah! Like the doctor!” said Toga.

“I’ve never seen him standing up, though,” said Spinner, dubiously. “It seems out of character.”

“I didn’t know he owned a car,” mused Compress, rubbing the bottom edge of his mask.

“Not him!” snapped Tomura. “The woman!” He pointed angrily at the rapidly approaching woman with green hair, narrowly avoiding dusting Mr. Compress’s top hat.

“Eh? What about her?” asked Spinner.

“Doesn’t she look familiar to you?”

“To be honest, everyone without mutation quirks looks kind of the same to me.”

“Someone without face blindness.”

“Oh! She looks like Izu-kun! Do you think that’s his mom?”

The woman knocked on the window of the car. Twice, unhelpfully rolled it down.

“Thank you so much for stopping, we—Oh!” She took a step back.

She apparently recognized them. Joy. He was going to unpack his feelings about this woman later.

“Hey, doc,” rasped Tomura, annoyed. “What the hell have you been doing?”

“Ahem,” said Garaki, finally stepping out from behind the car. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Shigaraki Tomura.”

“Because you blew us off and stranded us in the middle of Musutafu?”

“No,” said Garaki, in a way that absolutely meant ‘yes.’ “I knew you were resourceful enough to safely make it out of the city.”

“Oh, yeah? Really? You—”

Compress chose that moment to slam his face into the back of Tomura’s head. Tomura steadied himself automatically on one of the car’s uprights, which cracked dangerously under his hand. He pulled back as if burned.

When he looked up, the gremlin’s mother was halfway to the tree line with – What was that in her hand?

He looked back over his shoulder.

That was Twice’s goddamn mask.

Compress, for some reason, was also missing his stupid mask (and covering his face like the dramatic weirdo he was), and Toga basically had hearts in her eyes. Spinner was being Spinner, and therefore ninety percent useless. He was lucky he was fun to play games with.

How to make her stop?

“Hey!” he shouted. “We have your son!”

This was a lie, as far as he knew (unless Dabi had snatched him on his way back; it wasn’t impossible), but, he was a villain.

The green-haired woman stopped and turned back, allowing Tomura a full view of her expression.

He decided that he regretted everything.

“Okay,” said Izuku, multitasking by letting Two pick the lock on the League’s safe, “considering Gigantomachia’s ability to track by smell and the questionable running water, we can’t just sneak out. He’ll find us. So… I think our best play is getting him to attack Shigaraki, and then when they’re both distracted, we run for it.”

Toshinori nodded and sighed. “If only we had a giant jug of perfume. We could throw it at his face and disrupt his ability to smell us.”

“I mean, I found a whole bunch of garbage a way back. That isn’t perfume, but it does stink.”

“No, no, your plan is superior. We’d draw too much suspicion if we attacked him like that. Perfume could be written off.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Because perfume is a ‘nice’ thing.”

“Indeed.”

“It isn’t actually very nice to have it all over you, though,” said Izuku.

“No,” agreed Toshinori. “It isn’t.”

The safe popped open.

“I won’t ask if you don’t.”

“Deal.”

“But, anyway, assuming we do get away, what then? Where do we go? And—Wow. The League of Villains is broke. I almost feel bad.”

“I was going to say Deika, but that’s too far, now, and we don’t know if Gigantomachia will come after us,” said Toshinori. “Drawing him to a place full of civilians would be irresponsible.”

“Yeah,” said Izuku. He frowned, pulling his head from the safe, and glanced out the window. “What about the Wild Wild Pussycats?”

“What about them?” asked Toshinori.

“They’re near here, aren’t they? And they’ve got that whole complex, so, I mean… I don’t know how they feel about us right now, but it wouldn’t be a terrible place to hide. Would it?”

“I’d hate to bring all of this down on them as well,” said Toshinori. “But… That being said, I don’t believe they’re actually there. They were taking some time off because of what happened to Ragdoll.”

“That makes sense,” said Izuku. “Should we take the risk?”

“I’m unsure if we have a choice, my boy. We could try roughing it, but that puts us in a very vulnerable position.”

“And we can’t stay here, with the League.”

“No, we can’t.”

“Okay.” Izuku sighed and started to thumb through the League’s collection of fake IDs, looking for something he could use. “Wild Wild Pussycats it is. We’ve got to convince Machia to attack Shigaraki, and… then we sneak out the back while they’re fighting.” He shook his head. “It sounds really unheroic when I put it that way.”

“Under these circumstances, I think heroic is the set of actions where no one dies.”

His mentor was right. Izuku still felt weird about this, though. (The pettiness was completely different.)

Not to mention…

He put the last of the fake IDs away and massaged his temples. “They’re doing something weird in there,” he said. “I’m going to check on them. I might be out of it.”

“Don’t worry,” said Toshinori, patting Izuku on the shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”

(Perhaps all of this could have gone unsaid, what with their connection, but saying things out loud made them easier to organize.)

“Hey!” shouted Izuku over the roaring wind. “Stop that!”

“Are you going to fight me, Nine? All by yourself?”

“No,” said Izuku, somehow contriving to look down his nose at her despite the height difference and the fact that Tempest was floating several meters in the air. “I won’t have to. Because I have a secret weapon.”

Ochako could almost see Tempest roll her eyes.

“And,” shouted Izuku, “do you seriously think I just wanted to be part of the system? Are you serious? I wanted to help people. People the system failed. It isn’t like they’re responsible for the system either!” He waved his hand to indicate Ochako, Iida, Todoroki, and Aizawa.

“I’d argue about your hobo teacher. Is this your secret weapon?”

“No, this is, Great-Aunt Miranda.”

Tempest opened her mouth, then closed it again. The wind began to die down. “I’m – I don’t know what the point of that was—"

“Neither do I! What’s the point of this?”

“The point is determining whether or not you have people you can rely on, or a bunch of backstabbers who’ll hand you over to a government lab as soon as it’s convenient!” She stabbed a finger at Ochako. “She’s just in ‘heroics’ for the money!” She pointed at Iida. “He’s only here because it’s traditional for his family.” She gestured at Todoroki with her other hand. “He’s doing it mostly out of spite. And who knows what your hobo teacher is doing this for!”

“There’s nothing wrong with any of that!” protested Ochako. “You must have your own motivations, too!”

“She does!” shouted Izuku. “Considering what they are, you have no room to be criticizing Iida! Besides, you don’t even like me!”

“This isn’t about liking you or disliking! You’re the—” Tempest visibly cut herself off, then took a deep breath. She set herself down on the street. “Knowing what we do now about certain things, a fourteen-year-old would not have been my first choice.”

“Excuse me! We’re all sixteen!” said Iida.

“You’re sixteen now, it’s – The fact of the matter is that you’re children. Naïve children.”

“Oh my gosh, you were younger than I was when you—”

“I was kidnapped and tortured—”

“I know, but why are you taking it out on—”

“By the government that you are trying to lick the boot of—”

“Did you see what they did to Suzuki?”

Ochako felt like she was spectating a very passionate tennis match.

“If it means anything,” said Aizawa, dragging himself out of the pile of rubble he’d been thrown into by the wind, “I’m just trying to keep my kids alive as long as possible.”

“Then expel them! Stop them from becoming literal child soldiers!”

“I do,” said Aizawa.

“He does,” confirmed Ochako, who was well acquainted with Aizawa’s reputation.

“He really does,” seconded Todoroki.

“I used to see Tensei’s group chat, and every time he expelled someone…” Iida shivered.

“Huh,” said Todoroki. “Is that why you’re so… insistent about rules?”

“Of course not! Rules are important regardless of why so many students were expelled during the first month of school!”

“So, why didn’t you expel these ones?”

“If you honestly believe the problem child wouldn’t have flung himself at the first villain he saw after that and dove straight into vigilantism, you don’t know him very well.” He sighed, standing, and brushed dust and pebbles out of his tracksuit. “That goes for these three as well. They’re insane and it’s not my fault.”

“Isn’t saving others what heroes do?” asked Izuku, walking closer to Tempest. Ochako wanted to run out and grab him, but this whole ordeal had just shown how useless that would be. “No matter what?”

“Not no matter what. This is why I…” She shook her head, sighing. “Not no matter what.” She leaned forward, her hands on her hips. “Don’t die. You do realize what will happen if you die, right? I don’t have to spell it out for you?”

“N-no,” said Izuku.

“Besides which, I’m not a hero.”

“You saved people,” protested Izuku.

“And, as your friends pointed out, I’ve killed, too.”

“I know,” said Izuku. “But you aren’t a bad person.”

“Lots of people kill during wars,” said Ochako, going to stand by Izuku, “and that’s what you were fighting in, wasn’t it? I mean, I don’t know a lot about that time, but…”

“You wouldn’t. It’s been over a hundred years.”

Izuku nodded. “This fight isn’t doing anything, though. None of us want them here if the vault opens.”

“The what?” asked Iida. “The vault.”

“Hopefully,” said Izuku, “you won’t have to worry about it.”

“The fight did do something, though,” said Tempest.

“What?” asked Izuku.

“For one,” said Tempest, “it made you think. For the other…” Her eyes flicked over Ochako and the others. “Everyone you fight will have their own reasons. Remember that.”

As they walked down the street, storms still brewing overhead, Ochako kept catching glimpses of children in the alleyways and cross streets.

“Who are they?” she asked, unable to help herself.

“My sister and I,” answered Tempest, brusquely. Ochako, watching the back of the woman’s head, saw her twitch slightly towards one of the alleys. “About the time we were taken.”

“Taken by who?” asked Todoroki.

Tempest laughed. The sound was entirely humorless. “That government you’re so eager to serve. You’ve noticed, I hope, that my sister and I aren’t completely Japanese?”

“Yes?” said Todoroki. “I’m not blind, after all.”

“Todoroki,” said Aizawa in a warning tone.

“Good for you. Our mother was Japanese. Dad was American. We went back and forth to see the family. Problem was, everyone on Mom’s side quirks. We didn’t even realize it. The government tracked the weather disturbances to our movements and raided our family reunion. Never saw my parents again. Never saw anyone, for that matter, except my sister and my aunt – Dad’s side – who tried to smuggle us out and got shot for it. We spent four years in that hell before Ryuji rescued us.”

“You’re more open about this than I would have expected,” said Aizawa.

Tempest sneered. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m a terrorist, and people only become terrorists if they want to make a statement. Which I did. Trust me when I say this, Nine, if the hero commission took you into ‘custody,’” she spat the word like it was dirty, “you’d be in the same boat. What do you children think they do to all those high-profile criminals in Tartarus? The ones that are held indefinitely in a private prison without even a show trial?”

“I know, Three,” said Izuku, far more calmly that Ochako would have been able to. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a hero. It’s easier to change systems from the inside.”

“Not this system.”

“No,” said Izuku, “but then I had no idea this part of the system even existed. They do a lot to hide it, after all.”

“Hm,” grunted Tempest, skeptically.

The buildings began to thin out, interspersed with wilderness. The road rapidly graded narrowed into a one-lane road, then gravel.

“Is this normal?” asked Ochako.

“We have more control over our environments than the other ones. You’ve noticed that only Eight and Nine had multiple versions of themselves running around and being confusing.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose,” said Izuku.

“Exactly. Any of us could send an army of ourselves against you. Only those two don’t have a choice about it. Amateurs.”

“Shouldn’t they have had the same amount of time as—” started Ochako. She broke off as a series of concrete walls topped with barbed wire rose up in front of them, scraping at the surrounding trees, shedding clumps of dirt.

The trees fell away, leaving a clear, baren space between the walls and the trees. Slightly beyond the structure moonlight glinted off the surface of a lake.

“Well. Welcome to Jinoshi Lake Camp, kids.” Tempest turned, putting her hands on her hips. “This is where I met Ryuji. And…” She glanced up at the walls. “This is as far as I go.”

“You aren’t going to show us where to find this ‘Ryuji?’” asked Aizawa.

“I promised myself I’d never go back there.” She jerked her head over her shoulder. “I’m not revisiting it for you.” She started walking away. “Have fun.”

#bnha #boku no hero academia #fic #my fic #long night in the valley

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genaleah · 3 years

Text

ANSWERING WILDCARD QUESTIONS

For the first time in about a year maybe??? Some of these might be even older than that.

Yes, it is Korka! I definitely want her involved, she’s a wonderful character and there is a *lot* of fun paranormal stuff going on in this setting that she can help them research. Also, I’d just love for her and Nelson to become friends!

Thank you! I love him a lot, and it’s fun to picture him interacting with the other guys. They’d all make for some interesting uncle figures, but they might not be that great in terms of role models.

OHOHO. Devilish laugh. That’s a wonderful idea, and a good way to keep him occupied at some point. He’s a great character, but he’s incredibly powerful, and I want these dudes to solve their own problems whenever possible.

A good question! I don’t remember most of my dreams, but there’s usually a consistent look to the vivid ones. Lots of water, mountains, creeks, and high, winding roads. There are also a lot of buildings that are closely integrated with nature, even though I have almost never seen construction like that.

I had not, but now I have! Here’s a trailer, for anyone else that missed it:

https://youtu.be/33HXHaaagsw

I really like these new models! I’m looking forward to watching a playthrough when that’s available. Just like with Rhombus of Ruin, I don’t think I’ll be able to play this one myself.

DOUBLE FINE, I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU- no, I’m kidding! I think great minds think alike. But I’m really excited to learn more about that character and possibly involve them in this whole au eventually.

I’ve actually tried to avoid almost any info about Psychonauts 2 so I can go in mostly-blind, and a lot of the characters are vague to me. It’s fun to look forward to, but it’s also a little harrowing because I don’t know how to anticipate for it!

N...NO..... I NEED TO... Honestly those are old enough that it might be a good idea for me to re-make them, as well as the playing cards I made for the mega playlist cover. I think it’d be nice to remake them as vectors... that might make for a nice art stream sometime. I’ll mention publicly if I start doing that, and sharing any of these conceptual Wildcards arts when they’re done.

And if you’re just curious about what the tarot cards for the other characters are going to be, it’s this:

Eddie: Judgement, The Magician, The Emperor

Manny: Death, Justice, The World

Sam: The Chariot, The Tower, Strength

Max: The Devil, Wheel of Fortune, Joker

Although! I may actually give the Moon card to Max instead of the Devil, and replace the missing card from Nelson’s selection with the High Priestess? 🤔 I’ll decide when I get to it.

Could be! I’ve flip-flopped occasionally on if I want the split-a-cab gang to participate much in the story. I think they deserve a break, and splitting an apartment in New York seems like a good situation for the four of them.

Oh boy, that must be so disorienting for him. The Psychonauts deal with a lot of hippy-dippy weirdness in a seemingly organized way, but it seems like they’re not as paranoid about safety as a real federal organization would be. Not necessarily a good thing, considering one of their camp counselors went AWOL one day, and the head of the Psychonauts got kidnapped the next. They kinda need to get their act together.

Fun fact, in one of the earlier drafts of Chapter 3 I was actually going to make Nelson get scanned by the equivalent of a metal-detector for malevolent thoughts at the door and get really spooked by it, but I decided against it.

YEAH IT’S ON THE LIST

Honestly, a big bulk of the plot in this just regards characters having to face their mental health struggles... via facing it as literal internal demons, unstable powers, etc. It’s going to take a little while for any of Eddie’s teammates to realize how MUCH he has going on under the surface because he does a pretty good job of hiding it. “Needing to help others above ever helping themselves” is a hard issue to notice if you’re not looking for it. But it’s a guarantee that once they find out he needs help, they’ll give it; whether that’s making sure he’s not working himself too hard, or fighting off demonic cultists. Care comes in many forms.

SHE NEEDS TO REST.... POOR SYBIL (on the upside, they don’t TECHNICALLY work there, so she might be fine most of the time.)

Strong Bad isn’t a Psychonaut! He’s just a vlogger and a petty (psychic) criminal. It’s honestly not very different from canon.

Free Country, USA is a smalltown hotbed of psychic activity. Nearly everyone there has some mild capacity for supernatural powers, but nobody really notices or cares. Strong Bad just pops the tops off of cold ones and.... sometimes alters reality, a tiny bit. But mostly just in regards to media. The cartoons, comics, etc, that he invents and talks about have a tendency to suddenly voip into existence and nobody knows how. I swear, there’s actually a line of him saying something to this effect, but I can’t find it anywhere. Don’t worry about it! Nobody in town is ever going to do anything truly nefarious with their powers, so it’s not a high priority on the Psychonauts’ radar, just a weird footnote.

The only reason Homestar is an actual agent is because he seems like exactly the kind of guy to sign up for a job like that on accident and then stick with it. And he’s a talented telekinetic! None of his other friends know about his job or notice his absences.

And just for fun, here’s some weird instances of psychic overpowering that happened in the cartoon:

---

(Poor Strong Sad)

I’ve actually answered this one before! BAM Pretty sure all of it is still accurate.

Nelson: He sees floating sheets of paper containing notes, questions, etc. Anything that he wants to know more about regarding that person. The notes are subject to edits, cross-outs, ripped pages, etc.

Guybrush: He sees the item that the person is carrying that he wants most. As he gets to know people better, he sees them for their useful skills first.

Manny: His view of most living people is not very kind...

The people he’s closest to will eventually look a lot less garish. More like a flattering, camera-ready versions of themselves.

Eddie: Sickass sketch drawings that look like they belong in the margins of a composition book. The illustrations improve as he gets a better picture of where they’d fit in the internal lore of his mental world.

Sam: A lot like Nelson; Sam pictures case files, though his are a bit more in-depth.

Max: Max’s visions of people are highly personal and uncomfortable for those who witness them. He sees Nelson as a puzzle with a piece missing. Guybrush is a ripped up voodoo doll. Manny is a forgotten ofrenda. Eddie is a powder keg with a long, lit fuse. Sam is Sam, but he’s the wrong one.

I also got two questions that were pretty big subjects, or that I didn’t want to repeat, so I’m gonna cover them pretty broadly:

REGARDING [X] CHARACTER OR SERIES INCLUDED IN THE AU

Sure, I support it! I’ve gotten this question a few times in regards to things that I haven’t had time to delve into yet, or I’m not interested in, so I’m not going to include it into the AU myself. But if you want to explore an idea like that, feel free! This AU is pretty dang collaborative.

My main focus is just on the main 6 properties: Psychonauts, Puzzle Agent, Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, and Sam & Max.

But my general rule of thumb for “characters that exist somewhere within the background of this story” are any other properties owned by Telltale, Lucasarts, or Double Fine. And considering all of the licensed games that Telltale was getting into before it kicked the bucket, that includes some really weird characters, even up to the Venture Bros. I loved that series, but I’m not really interested in doing anything with them for this story! Partly for my sanity, the canon I’ve picked are already a lot of content to play with.

ASSORTED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WILDCARD AU DISCORD

There’s no particular criteria needed to join the discord, and it’s not strictly on a need-to-know basis! Because it’s been a long while since anyone has joined, I've been hesitant about adding new people in... But I‘ve decided to try sending invitations again! Everyone who had asked about it in the past will be getting a ping by me in about a day or so, since I want to double-check if you’re still interested. If you’ve been nervous to ask you can reply to this post or message me privately.

Some things to keep in mind before asking or accepting the invite:

If you’re not a friend or a follower I recognize, I will likely double-check your tumblr along with some other current members before sending the invite.

Here’s the Rules page, so you know what to expect before you join:

Be Mindful - Respect other people's boundaries, don't do or say things that would cross the line. If your behavior makes other people feel uncomfortable or unsafe, I will remove you from the chat. In most cases I will try to resolve things with you and offer a chance to do better, but that will depend on the severity of the situation. And if you have any concerns regarding another member of the chat, you can contact me privately.

Health Boundaries - While discussions of mental health do occasionally pop up, do not rely on the chat for help. None of us are equipped to handle serious mental health concerns, and it will only cause distress for everyone. Please seek real help if it is needed! If you rely on people beyond the point that they have asked you to stop, I will remove you from the chat.

NSFW - Generally speaking, try to keep NSFW talk to a minimum. Swearing and humor is fine, but don't get too explicit please! Discussions should usually keep to a PG-13 / occasional R, but no NC-17.

Spoilers & Censorship - Please use the spoiler function to hide story spoilers, as well as discussions and graphic depictions of gore/excessive blood/body horror/severe psychological horror. Include a content warning so that people know what they could potentially be seeing when they click on the censored content. If the spoilered content is the subject of a back-and-forth discussion, please use another warning when you are switching to a different spoilered topic. (Note that these rules were added to the chat later, so be careful when using the search function or back reading.)

The canon series involved with the Wildcard AU are Psychonauts, Puzzle Agent, Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, and Sam & Max. Please be mindful of story spoilers!

Channel Organization - Also be mindful of which channel you're in and move a discussion over if need be! That way they don't get too clogged with unrelated info.

Creative Criticism - When it comes to writing, art, or character creation; try to be open to suggestions from others! Nearly all of the creative work in the chat is collaborative, so input from others is important! Creative criticism is not the same as judgement, and is not a personal attack.

Have fun! - Discussions move quickly in this chat! Don't feel bad if you ever need to step back, whether it's because of the speed or a disinterest in whatever current topic we're focusing on. If you ever want to come back, we're happy to have you and can give quick explanations if you feel out of the loop! :thumbsup:

We’re a group of approx. a half dozen to a dozen people, either posting very very quickly in a span of a few hours or barely anything for a few days. We’ve been in an activity uptick lately and there’s about a year and half of back content, too. If it’s hard to keep up on, not that interesting to read through, or you just have a hard time gelling with the group that's already there, there’s no shame in just lurking or dipping out if you need to.

We also talk a lot about Psychonauts OCs, so anticipate that.

#wildcard au #wildcard hcs

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themymoonyblog · 3 years

Text

just iced latte | something more quiet

series: just iced latte

genre: fluff, college!au

pairing: mark tuan x reader

warning: drinking, awkward reader

word count: 1,8k

prev. // next

summary: coming to a coffee shop almost every day just to see rather than attractive barista that works here you dont have a courage to ask him out. however, universe seems to be on your side when you bump into him on one of your friends party. will you be able to ask him out now?

You yawned as you watched your friend Jia straighten her hair. Waiting for Jia while she styles her hair and puts some make up on practically became your day-to-day routine since you two lived together. To be fair it’s not an everyday thing but it did happen a lot since you two plus your third friend Yoonah hang out a lot. At this point you wondered how Jia didn’t go bald taking in consideration how much she straightens her bleached hair. You got torn out of your thoughts when you heard a sound of notification coming from your phone. Reaching out for the phone you saw a message from Bambam on your lockscreen.

will u be in time at least once? - you chuckled reading a message from your friend. It's not like you were always late but you didn’t manage to come in time a lot, no matter how hard you tried.

its not my fault. jia is taking too much time to get ready, - you quickly replied and looked at Jia hoping that she was at least almost done. A sigh of relief escaped your mouth when you saw her putting finishing touches on her look and standing up. Excitedly you stood up from the bed and both of you headed out of your shared apartment. You were glad that she finally finished since you were not sure how much more patience left in you. By now it should be more normal to you, however the amount of time that Jia took to get ready bugged you from time to time. It’s not like you were not getting all dolled up too but you were just much quicker and didn’t know what to do all this time.

“Oh wow, you really didn’t invite that many people” Bambam chuckled hearing your words. You smiled at him taking a plastic cup with beer in your hands.

“Is that surprising?” he raised his eyebrow while sipping whatever he had in his cup and you simply nodded. It actually did surprise you. As much as you remembered the parties that Yugyeom and Bambam threw, this is the smallest so far. And you wondered what was the reason behind the sudden change. However you enjoyed it, it was much more comfortable around a couple of people that they were actually close with rather than some strangers. The two of you were sitting at the kitchen table and chatting, Jia was long gone since she saw someone she shared a class with.

“You aren’t seriously drinking just beer right now” you heard Yugyeom’s voice as he entered the room. “You drink vodka in a class in the morning but you come to a party and drink beer?” Yugyeom rolled his eyes and Bambam burst out laughing.

“I just like beer. What’s wrong with it?”you replied trying to hold in your laughter.

“You are a weird woman, y/n” he simply replied for what Bam started aggressively agreeing. You shot a glare at him and sighed.

“Betrayer” the only word that left your mouth as you left the room and heard two of them laughing.

You wandered through the living room looking from more or less quiet place to sit. You had your last final just today and you really were looking up to rest peacefully but you already made your promise to friends that you would come. So here you were trying to lay down for a bit, at least there were less people than usual. You saw Jia chatting with a guy with a somewhat familiar face and you tried to remember his name. You remember that Yuggie once introduced you to each other when you ran to them at campus but you definitely forgot his name. Giving up on that you just went to Bam’s room knowing that he wouldn’t mind your presence there. You stumbled when you saw someone already in a room and were about to leave the person alone when he turned to face you and you saw a rather familiar face. Cute barista guy from a coffee shop that you went so often. Cute barista guy definitely was not someone you expected to see there. Then you found out how dumb you actually were. First time you saw him you were with Bam and he looked like he already knew Bambam, you just didn’t pay much attention to it. Pulling out of your thoughts you realized how awkwardly you just stood here.

“Uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt” you embarrassingly smiled and were about to leave him alone when he spoke up.

“No-no you can stay if you want. I was just hiding from all the noise” he smiled a little and you found yourself not being able to look away from the way the tips of his lips crawled up.

“Are you sure? I don’t really want to disturb you” you were double checking just in case and he simply nodded. So you went with it. Closing the door behind you sat down to a chair still with a beer in your hands. Silence fell down the two of you. It wasn’t comfortable but it wasn’t awkward either. It was just silence. You sipped from your cup and looked around trying not to stare at him too much. However, it was a little harder since he was sitting right in front of you a couple of steps away and looking at his phone. It was weird, being alone with him in a room since you got used to just seeing him at the coffee shop only. You wondered if you went to the same university or not since you never see him at campus but somehow he knew Bambam and Yugyeom probably too. As you were deep inside your thoughts you didn’t realize how much you were staring at him. As if he felt that he looked up from his phone to you and chuckled.

“Can I help you?” he asked with a smile on his face. He definitely caught you red handed and knew that you were indeed staring. However his words and smile were not mocking.

“Uhm, I’m sorry I dozed off a little, sorry” you replied as your cheeks turned a little pink and you looked away.

“I’m Mark, by the way” he introduced himself and your eyes went back to him as you introduced yourself as well. “You have a beautiful name, latte girl” you almost choked on your drink after hearing the end of a sentence. Latte girl? Did he actually notice you in a shop and remembered you? He seemed to spot your confused face and continued, “I saw you at a coffee shop quite often ordering iced latte” he said looking straight at you, “and maybe staring from time to time.”. And that’s when your face really turned red. Good lord did he actually catch you looking at him? Like some creep? He probably thinks you are one. The thoughts were running through your head and you definitely didn’t know how to get yourself out of that situation.

“Don’t worry. I think it’s cute”, he laughed at your panicked expression and you relaxed a bit. However, panic never left. Now thinking about how he called you cute. Well, technically he said how you acted was cute but it still counts, right?

“Thank you I guess”, you smiled incredibly embarrassed and looked back at him.

“Are you hiding from someone here?”, he changed the subject seeing your awkwardness and you internally thanked him for being considerate.

“I just don’t feel like partying right now but I already promised to boys that I would come, and they can get really annoying if you don’t keep your promises”, you said honestly and he laughed at your answer and nodded.

“Yeah, these two are something else”, he shook his head thinking about all the times Yugyeom would whine when Mark would forget about something. You smiled at his words and suddenly felt amazingly comfortable, all of the embarrassment and panic long forgotten.

“Why are you hiding?” you asked him back.

“Same reason. I’m not a party person much, prefer something more quiet”, you nodded at his response and wondered how he, someone who prefers quiet and calm atmosphere more, became friends with someone like Yugyeom and Bambam. You know how you started friendship with them, being as much of a mess as your two friends and the same age, it was meant to happen. But Mark? He seemed like a polar opposite of them to you. But you didn’t know him that much to judge so you decided just to ask rather than guess.

“And how does someone who prefers quiet places become friends with people like Bambam and Yugeom?”

“Is that twenty questions?”, Mark tilted his head a little and you couldn’t but think how adorable he looked that way.

“I was just wondering bit it can be if you want”

“We got to know each other through some other friends and just clicked, I guess. They might be too much sometimes but it would be way too boring without them”, Mark answered after thinking for some time, “Now my turn. What’s your favorite drink? And if you don’t say iced latte I’m gonna be really disappointed”, he joked.

“Well, the barista that I found cute did it so well that i can’t but love it”, you smiled at him wondering where that confidence came from. Couple of days ago you couldn’t even ask his name and now whole flirting? Who is that girl?

“That cute barista must be really putting an effort into that iced latte of yours”, he smiled back at you. Was he flirting back? Oh god- Is that even real? Maybe he drank too much..Did he even drink? Mark laughed at your face expression. “Your turn”.

You thought about a question to ask him but after realizing that he indeed was flirting back you couldn’t really think straight. You shifted uncomfortably in a chair feeling your legs getting numb. Mark seemed to notice it and he shifted a little making place for you.

“Come here”, he waved at you and you stood up taking a place at a bed near him. You just realized how close the two of you were when you sat. You could smell the scent of his woody cologne with notes of citrus. You looked up to him and there was a silence between you two. This time it was a rather comfortable silence. God, he looked even prettier up close. You bit your lip and wondered what id would feel like to put them over his incredibly soft looking lips. Mark noticed your gaze as he leaned a little closer. The atmosphere between the two of you suddenly becoming more intimate and heavier. Your heart skipped a beat as you felt him so close and your eyes wandered through his face.

“There you are!”, you heard Yugyeom’s voice as the door opened behind you. Mark and you pulled away from each other as Mark looked openly annoyed with his friend. “I didn’t invite you here for you to hide in my room”, Gyeom didn’t seem to notice anything as he approached both of you and took your hand dragging you with him out of the room. You scoffed following him and smiled when noticed that Mark was coming right after you.

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serenadeonacanoe · 3 years

Text

Waiting for something. (Namjoon x OFC)

Pairing: Namjoon x Original Female Character

Genre/Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Angst, too tired to beta

Summary:

Me: [12:24 AM] Soo... is this actually Namjoon then? Namjoon: [12:39 AM] It is. Me: [12:41 AM] I think I need proof. [...] Me: [12:51 AM] Okay, I am convinced. Namjoon: [12:52 AM] And how do I know this is Olivia? [...] Namjoon: [1:02 AM] Alright, yeah. I think that is the girl RM apparently not so low-key flirted with a few weeks back. Ollie hadn't planned to have her music show blow up when Namjoon jokingly flirts with her at a red carpet event, how could she? But now the footage is out there and yesyesyes all very funny... but wait... why are they still texting?

More chapters on AO3

CHAPTER 1

The truth was that there was something a bit gross about red carpet coverage. Yes, it was exciting and nervewracking in a good way, sometimes actually interesting conversations were held and most of the time - with the help of a little editing of course - the result was worth it. But there was also just a lot of waiting. Standing around. Constant screams around you. A. lot. of. fake. laughter. And that made sense in a way, who could keep their energy up for so long... well not me. Between interviews, I would just drop my shoulders, trying to relax my shoulders a little, just to cheer up again moments later, when I suddenly had another chance. Minutes of fast speaking, cheeriness and ... well, sometimes, yes, fake laughter would follow and then back to dreaming you could please take a nap on the sidewalk behind you.

"Cheer up! You forgot that you love this!" Nick, my cameraman murmured, his head still hidden from my view behind the camera on his shoulder. Still, I looked in his direction, my mouth fell open for a second. Jesus, he was right. Why was I complaining... when had I gotten used to all this spectacle to a point that I forgot that I was so very lucky. I was doing what I loved, just as much as the people I interviewed. How many people studying journalism and obsessed with music would actually end up where I now was. My own music show for a year now. Okay, online, not regularly on TV, but still financed by a network. But this was the 21st century and streaming numbers were probably more important to some than their own grandmother's life, yeah... I should have been more grateful. And while I stared at Nick, I could see a grin in the corner of his mouth, even though most of it was hidden. And then I grinned as well and interviewed Harry Styles. You know, casual Friday, some might say...

Somehow Nicks comment had saved my night. I forgot about the fact that I was tired, or that I had promised my mother three days ago that I would call and had never gotten around to it. Or that my ex-boyfriend was currently at the Great Barrier Reef with the girl he had told me nothing was going on with while we had been dating. It was me and people passioned about the art they were making, which hyped me enough to actually feel like I was doing a pretty good job of asking the right questions at the right time.

And still, Nick just hissed a hasty "Step it up!" at me when he realized that we had a pretty good chance at interviewing BTS next, even before I realized that they had gotten so close. I had definitely realized they were here somewhere, the screams had gotten so loud when they had stepped out of their car. But - bam! - suddenly a stern-looking woman pointed towards me and seconds later they were standing in front of our camera. Matching suits, polite smiles, super professional and me just in awe. Some clever editor would later play it up, as if I had actually gone into stand by mode, inspired by the fact that I turned around to the camera the next second and pretended I had lost my shit, before snapping out of it moments later, turning around again. "Oh my God. It's BTS, how are you guys?" They were professionals, but so was I.

I got two questions in before the woman tried to rush them away from me, but I pretended to not hear her and got one more question out there before we said our good-byes. Jimin waved at me like a toddler and for some reason, it made me "dawww". He didn't hear, but Namjoon, the last to move over to the next interview, did, turned around again and chuckled, before winking at me. I blinked. And then they were gone.

"Did Namjoon just low-key flirt with me?" I asked Nick, who was still recording me. "You wish..." he said, which made me laugh, and I nodded slightly, eyes closed as if to say "Guess so". Nick stopped recording and I dropped my shoulders again. Man, who was I to complain about fake laughing when I could go from quirky-hyper-music journalist-me to energy-saving mode in about five seconds? Checking my phone I realized it was time. I had to head inside, otherwise, there was no way I would make it backstage before stuff got really really hectic there.

The award show was alright. We didn't actually do any interviews backstage, the truth was that these things we so incredibly organized that there was no time to waste on the sidelines, no time for a chat unless it was pre-planned. This was all to show how much fun I was having, probably to be edited into a montage or something. And I mean... I was having fun... but then again it just sometimes felt a bit goofy, jumping around, clapping for people when they came off stage as if we were friends. After a while Nick and I had found a good spot where we weren't in anyone's way, could see the side of the stage and still had a monitor close to us that was showing us what the audience on tv saw. I finally relaxed a little after Nick had decided that he had enough material. He had set the camera down, and we were having a beer while watching the rest of the show.

It was towards the end of the show when the evening's hostess was giving a little speech about how much fun the event had been, followed by a montage of scenes from different celebrities getting ready to the red carpet. Nick said something about the fact that the turn around time for the clips was pretty fast, considering that some of this had happened only two hours before and I just made a "mmhh" sound to answer him when I was really checking my phone. Moments later he had kicked my shoe with his and I looked up confused. For a second I thought he was upset because I had not given him proper attention, but he gestured towards the screen and for a good reason. Because I was on there. Seemed like the behind-the-scene camera people had been standing right behind Nick when I had interviewed BTS. They showed my little "OHMYGAWD, IT'S BTS" moment and I had to smile, then there was a hard cut and next thing I saw was the whole "Did Namjoon just flirt with me?"-moment, just from a different angle. And with the knowledge that the whole audience inside the hall saw the same thing as well. I could hear the laughter and then while there was some sad applause, the live camera was in front of BTS, zooming in on RM... who was still looking up at a screen and seemed a bit overwhelmed, before acting all nonchalant about it towards the camera. The other boys were laughing their asses off, Hobi looked as if he was about to fall off his seat. Namjoon played the coolness up, even more, nodded into the camera, holding a hand up to his face, mouthing a "call me", before looking a bit uncomfortable the next second, maybe because he couldn't believe himself that he had just done that. And then they cut back to the hostess and I only realized that I had moved my hand in front of my mouth when I turned to Nick. He had laughed through the whole thing as well.

Okay. So, nothing about this whole bit had been particularly clever or as funny as everyone was making it out to be. Award show humor. What was funny was that everyone had seen my childish comment. Including the person, it had been about. It was harmless after all and so now I started laughing as well and I didn't stop for a good while. Yeah, I was a bit embarrassed. But at least they had made me look more relatable than desperate and Namjoon had taken the joke well.

When I got to my hotel room - several glasses of sparkling wine later - I realized my best friend, back home in New York, had texted me.

Lauren: [12:13 AM] So who is the new boyfriend? Me: [12:42 AM] If everyone who ever winked at me once was my boyfriend... Lauren: [12:47 AM] You'd still be single! ha!

More chapters on AO3

#namjoon fanfic #bts fanfic #namjoon x reader #namjoon fluff #namjoon angst #namjoon smut #rm

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mcyt-transcribed · 3 years

Text

youtube

transcript of “where I've been”

TW for discussion of cancer and Covid-19

Here’s the Google Doc link or you can click on the read more.

Techno: Yo, Technoblade here with another upload, oh my God I can’t believe it. We’re back, we’re playing Bedwars, uh, I don’t know why I said that in the present tense because I actually recorded these Bedwars games a few days ago. I have- I’ve played like, almost no Bedwars since the win streak, which was like, I dunno, years ago - so, you know, forgive me if I’m a little rusty. These are literally just the first three games of Bedwars I played, recorded them, and then just threw them in this background footage because, you know, I like live commentaries a lot, but I feel like sometimes, when you have a topic to talk about, having to play a video game simultaneously can sorta- it can sorta detract from the commentary, you know?

But before that: a plushie commercial filmed on my iPhone.

We got the first one - it’s Technoblade. He’s in a flying pose. He’s flying to save some civilians or he’s falling flat on his face. Depends on who you ask. Alright. We got the- We got Technoblade. He’s sitting down. He’s- He’s seated. He’s seated. It’s incredibly exciting. Uh, we got- we got Technoblade but he’s- he’s a giant- he’s a gigantic pillow. It’s Technopillow. This is actually- This is actually really- This is really soft. You’re gonna have to take my word for it.

These plushies go on sale on September 3rd at 3 PM EST at youtooz.com. The last ones sold out in around eight hours, so be prepared. I mean, one of them was like, two minutes but ehhh, it’s not happening again.

So where has Technoblade been? I know I’ve been gone since like, June. I was actually being really productive in July, which I know you guys are gonna- You’re not gonna believe me when I say that because I made no content. But I was! I was, you gotta believe me, okay? I was getting so much work done IRL; I was like, filling out paperwork, making business moves, working on merchandise, buying new equipment to make new videos. ‘Cause I really wanted- I really wanted to increase the rate at which I was making videos, ‘cause I kinda spent- You know, I kinda spent like, all this time becoming a famous YouTube and then instantly like, stopped uploading. Which, I mean, to be fair, I guess that started more in like 2018. So, that’s more just a pattern now.

But I figured, you know, this whole thing where I go two- you know, one or two months without uploading- I don’t want that to be me, man. I wanna be uploading at least once per week. So I spent a lot of time preparing to do that. And the plan was that I would start doing that in August, but I took a- It didn’t- It’s, uh- It’s not going great, I’m not going to lie to you.

So in the last two days of July I noticed that my right arm was starting to hurt a decent amount and I thought- My best guess was that it was some kind of repetitive stress injury, ‘cause you know I’ve been playing video games since the age of like, five. It’s pretty much nonstop. I was gonna get carpal tunnel at some point but, uh, I took a few days to rest my arm and it really didn’t… really didn’t feel any better after that. And so after a few days of that, I looked at myself in the mirror and I noticed that my right shoulder was starting to swell like crazy and I was like, “Oh my God! I must’ve broken a bone, this is-” I mean, this- It looked- it looked crazy.

So, you know, the next day - August 2nd - I, uh, headed over to the doctor to see what was wrong and uh, they ran a couple of scans and then they came back and they told me that, uh, the reason my arm hurts is because I have cancer.

That really couldn’t have gone worse, I don’t think. I feel a bit silly talking about this with, uh, Minecraft in the background; it feels a bit out of place. But I’m a Minecraft YouTuber - I don’t- I don’t do a face cam. Which is I guess how most people would talk about serious things, with a face cam. I also probably, uh- *chuckles* Also probably a bit weird to plug my merchandise in the- in the same video, like, “Hey, guys, I have a- I have a terrible disease, also buy my plushies, bro.” But uh- *laughs* Listen: I’ve been waiting so many months to sell those plushies, bro. And it keeps getting delayed and now cancer thinks it can stop me. No no no no no. I’m trying to make some bank, bro. I wanna get paid, also they look fantastic, I mean just look at them, they look incredible. Alright?

I mean, I guess it would be ideal to like, split up the announcements, but I’m going back into chemotherapy next week; I don’t got time for this, man. We gotta go!

To be fair, I could make this a lot weirder; I could have like, the thumbnail be a giant red arrow pointing to my tumor with the caption “Might die! Not clickbait!” *laughs* Yeah, just the ultimate- the ultimate YouTuber, bro. We’re clickbaiting the whole process.

So after the scans come in, I get transferred to another hospital which has an oncology award, so it’s a lot more specialized towards what I need. And I’m sorta like sitting there in the bed for a couple of days like, “Hello. Could I please get some healthcare? Could I- Could I just get a- Could I just get a crumb of healthcare? Please! Like, I *stutters* I wanna see people sprinting, you know? I feel like I want to see some urgency, you know? If you guys gotta- *stammers* You know, there’s like, this tumor on my arm - if you guys could just- if you guys could just get rid of it. Just get rid of it right now! Could we just go? If you gotta cut off my arm, cut off my arm, bro - do what you gotta do. I won’t complain, man, I’ve won enough Minecraft tournaments. I’ll just play Minecraft with my feet from here on out, bro. I’ll still be B tier at least, okay? It’s fine. Do what you gotta do.”

But then the doctors are telling me, “Oh, well, we can’t- we can’t do it immediately. We gotta- We gotta find out what it is, we gotta run some tests, do a biopsy.” I’m like, “Okay, do the biopsy.” Like, “Oh, well first we gotta do some scans.” I’m like, “Alright, dude, the scans.” And so it took a couple of days and then they did a biopsy, uh, three days later. And then I was like, “Alright. Let’s go!” And they were like, “Oh, well, the biopsy is gonna take like, a week or more to get back.” And I’m just sitting here like, “Bruh, please. Please, just treat me.”

I mean, it makes sense. It makes a lot of sense and I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but I’m just sitting there in the hospital like, “Please. Please, healthcare.” So they get the biopsy and they send me home and they’re saying like, I’ll come back in like a week or so when they have a treatment plan prepared, and so I- It was a very fun week at home ‘cause I was sitting there still not getting treated and I was just like, looking at my tumor like, “Alright, Mr. Tumor. You know, you need me to survive so it’s in your best interest to just- to just chill out for a little bit, you know? We don’t wanna go too crazy.”

And faintly- Faintly if you strain your ears, underneath my skin you can hear:

[Dream’s speedrun music plays for a few seconds]

Techno: Yeah, it was a really fun week. But I did finally get started on chemotherapy, which is a wonderful process. Let me explain chemotherapy. So basically uh, you know how society has progressed for thousands of years of technological and medical innovation? So basically, one of the top three ways we have to fight cancer is uh, for you to go to the hospital and then they uh, plug you into a machine and then they inject poison directly into your veins for several days. That’s uh, that’s one of the best ways we’ve got of going about this and the poison- it’s supposed to kill the cancer - it uh, also kills things like, you know, blood. But ehhh, does anybody really need blood? I feel like it’s pretty optional, you know? Uh- *small laugh* Blood for the Blood God as it were, alright? Uh, I’ll take what I can get.

I, uh, you know, I used to have a channel meme- ‘cause back in the day- you know how my motivation always goes up and down in, like, cycles? I used to have a meme where whenever I’d get super motivated I’d, ya know, I’d start uploading, like crazy. I’d also do things like get a haircut. And, so, I joked that, uh, the less hair I had, the more I’d upload. ‘Cause that’s- the hair was holding me back. And so, if that’s still true, I gotta say, chemotherapy, that’s gotta be daily uploads or something, bro. *laughs* It’s gonna be- Chemotherapy Arc is gonna be fantastic for content.

Well, ya know, after I got diagnosed, I, uh, I’ve been making a lot of phone calls- ya know, informing all of my distant family members about the situation- and, I gotta say, of all the phone calls I’ve made, nobody took the news worse than my health insurance provider. They’ve been inconsolable for weeks. They were like, “You got what!? No!”

I mean, I had no idea they cared so much. They’ve just- oh my God. I- I think they’re the real victims of this. I mean, could you imagine? Could you imagine? Like, look at me! I was a healthy twenty-two year old, I, like, barely went to the doctor, even for, like, regular appointments. I- I guess I went to the dentist, that’s the one thing I did. I was the freest paycheck they’ve ever seen in their lives. They could’ve been milking money off of me for decades. And then, bam, cancer, bro. *laughs* Oh, those poor guys.

Uh, the one- the one favor I- I do wanna ask- If you guys could all do one small favor for Technoblade- uh, you know that coronavirus thing you been hearing in the news for the last couple of years? Uh, I want you guys to get rid of it. Just, uh, I want it gone. Just a couple days should be sufficient for you guys to do that.

No, but, seriously. I’m kind of, uh, immunocompromised right now, which means, uh, if a bacteria touches me or, like, a virus touches me, I will explode. So, yeah, uh, I wanna- get the vaccine, is what I’m saying.

I’m gonna get cancelled by the anti-vaxxers for saying it, but it’s such a good vaccine, bro. Pfizer got full FDA approval, this week, for people aged sixteen and up. I think you- you can also get it if you’re eleven to fifteen if you’ve got emergency approval or whatever. Uh, I mean, if you have any concerns, don’t listen to a Minecraft YouTuber, but, please, at least talk to a doctor. Because it’s- it’s so good bro. It’s so good.

The hospitals are currently getting flooded by unvaccinated people. I’m gonna go ahead and speak on behalf of all cancer patients when I say that it is incredibly annoying when the- when the hospitals are getting overworked by people dying of preventable diseases. I’m just saying- we got dibs on those hospital beds. So, ya know, you- you probably don’t- you don’t even want them really. You don’t even want to need them. So, I think the vaccine… what is it? It, like, reduces the chances of you needing hospitalization from Covid by, like, ninety-six percent? I mean, it’s so effective, bro! Come on! I mean, you might still get, like… I mean, you could still catch coronavirus, but, like, the symptoms are gonna be so much milder, bro, I’m just saying. Think about it. Think about it. Talk to a doctor.

I remember when I first went in for chemotherapy, A: I was thrilled, ‘cause, like, yo! Healthcare! Inject it into my veins, bro! Let’s go! But, also, like, the first couple of days were actually pretty chill. I was like, ‘Dang! This is easy, bro!’. And then it kicked in. And then it kicked in. My energy levels were zero; they were absolutely nothing. It’s hard to describe how tired I was, but I think my one example is- so they let me go back home. And after several days of resting, I had a virtual appointment with a doctor. And, so, they were, like, ‘Alright’. And I was just sitting there, like, ‘Wait a second. You guys want me to sit upright in a chair for an hour? What is this, the Olympics, bro? I’m going back to bed! What? What?’ *laughs* ‘Wha? Let’s calm down here. Sitting in a chair? Am I Superman? Like, come one, bro.’

As you can probably tell, I’m feeling a lot better right now. Which is, uh, I think that’s part of the process, is, uh, you get a little bit of recovery time to, uh, ya know, eat a lot of really good food- get the weight back- and get ready for the next round.

And, uh, before we go back for the next round, I’m gonna be playing a lot of video games, uh, making some content, seeing if I can get some more videos prepared, because, uh- I know people are gonna be like, ‘No! Technoblade! You don’t need to make videos for us! Please rest!’

Nah, this isn’t about you, bro. This is about me. I enjoy this, man. This is, like, one of the safest and most fun things I could be doing right now, bro, I’m gonna do it. I don’t know how much content I could make, ‘cause I’m kinda slow, but we’ll see. We’ll see.

I already have a video prepared for next week, uh, September third. You guys are gonna love it. It’s, uh, it was actually- it’s kind of, kind of an old video. It was, uh, from a few months ago, but it’s very good. So, yeah! You guys have that to look forward to.

And, for the record, I know I’ve been complaining a lot in this video, but I just wanna clarify that the doctors I have are, like, insanely good, bro. I’m gonna be getting some of the finest healthcare in the world, so don’t worry about me too much.

I think the treatment has already started to show some results. I- I mean, it’s been so short of a time, so the results aren’t gonna be insane or anything, but, at the very least, the speedrun music has stopped playing.

So, yeah, that’s where I’ve been and that’s what I’m gonna be doing for the foreseeable future. Wish me luck, and, uh, wear a mask, I guess. Ya know, standard coronavirus procedures. All that coronavirus stuff and like, getting vaccinated - that goes double for Californians, okay? But it helps everywhere.

Uh, that’s all I’ve got for today. See you guys next time!

#transcribed #technoblade #video #bedwars #mod parker #mod garlic #cancer tw #medical tw #needles tw #(he talks about getting vaccinated)

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rigelmejo · 3 years

Text

Dude I was on the language learning forms as I do sometimes, and someone was lamenting the lack of Chinese content to immerse in (watch, read etc). And how it was hard to find and they didn’t have this problem with Japanese what should they do?

Well. 1. I get their frustration on one level, as I do think Japanese content is so much more mainstream to watch in English speaking countries (at least anime and Japanese video games), that trying to find content in a language where it’s harder to just find content right on Netflix or from a friends recommendation does bring up a new challenge. Whereas with Japanese, probably you could accidentally stumble onto it or have a friend recommend you something, then at least explore deeper with some idea of what you liked/where to start finding it.

However. The person also sort of thought the lack of content was due to Chinese just not having as much content or as interesting content. Again I’m going to assume their key issue was just - it can be a new challenge finding media if you have a harder time just starting.

Because lol?? Chinese has SO much content. Like as far as language content on the internet alone??? Chinese has been eons easier to find than Japanese for me, and in terms of sites I actually use regularly is much closer to my experience of English online (there’s so much Chinese content online... so much... an incredible amount... like in chinese I’ve even found free movie watching sites FOR shows in English - like the way I find sites in English to watch Chinese shows IN chinese lol! Like you can use English to search for Chinese stuff, and literally do the reverse to find English stuff, there is so much Chinese stuff... I found more stuff in Japanese using bilibili in chinese than I could find of Japanese using YouTube In English). And Chinese drama land is HUGE it feels as active as American television, so you have endless genres to dive into and companies and actors and writers etc (there is a distinct lack of sci fi though as far as I’ve seen, but to be fair america isn’t making a Ton of sci fi compared to like Detective shows either - it’s just English speaking sci fi has had some more good ones in recent years). There is no lack of Chinese content out there. There’s audiobooks, dramas, audio dramas, talk shows, radio, fanfiction, novels, fanart, manhua, sites to find other stuff, forums, weibo, search sites, just a lot?? Like, if you think Japanese has enough internet content then there is an adequate amount of Chinese content on the internet too lol. You just may have to do a touch more initial exploration.

I just. Thought the assumption “can’t find media means their media sucks” was funny. Because also? I have not found that to be true. I know very little about Thai media. I just happened upon SOTUS cause of a friend talking about it. So like someone watching anime conveniently - I got into it. It was good, so I dug, and found a lot of amazing Thai shows (and some I didn’t love cause lol genres all have a mix of quality depending on show etc). There IS a ton of amazing Thai shows that exist right now. But if all you ever found was SOTUS? While it was great when I saw it to me, once I found more I realized there was a LOT better stuff. So like if you see one cdrama on Netflix (if that’s how you first easily find the media), that does not mean all shows will be that quality or anything like them! And just cause it’s the first one you found doesn’t mean they’re all like that ones quality.

Like I had a similar experience with jdramas growing up, so I get it. I was into anime, saw some (trainwreck) live action adaptations. And as a teenage just blanket assumed all Japanese live action media was gonna be around that quality. And then in recent years, I checked out some Japanese live action media - to see if new stuff was better. YEAH IT SURE IS (and I would imagine some old stuff was great I just gave up after one not-wonderful one lol). SO MANY AMAZING jdramas exist now! Even the ones I most feared would not be great - live action adaptations of anime’s? They’re so much better now, some of them are genuinely loved in their own right as standalone live actions. So like. One not-great show experience is NOT representative of the entire plethora of shows available and their quality. Now that I’ve realized how MANY good jdramas I missed out on? I have so much catching up to do ToT

2. If you’re in this boat of “content seems hard to find, so I feel like there’s none or no good stuff” what to do?

First ask some friends for recommendations?

Check Netflix, Amazon, YouTube (YouTube has a ton of cdramas), Viki, iQiyi app. Like how some people get into anime, maybe you just need an easy conviennent show in your recommended to get into more content.

Check out rec channels on YouTube like Donghua Reviews and Avenue X to hear about some shows and figure out the kinds of ones you’d even want to check out (I imagine other languages also have review channels like for kdramas).

Go to MyDramaList.com. Search genres you like, read recommendation list posts. if you’ve seen a show at this point already you can look it up and see in the “Recommended” section what other dramas are like it, you can see it’s genre tags to see WHAT genres you even seem to like. Use this to start DIGGING and finding stuff you might really like. Since like with anime, you’re only going to find the most popular stuff at first just based on Netflix or friends (which might not match up to your personal tastes as well as finding stuff that Is more your favorite genres).

Try out new stuff. And if it sucks, you don’t like it? Drop it, learn that about yourself, start another new thing. You’ll figure out what you like and dislike pretty fast (like I personally hate bad pacing or bad writing specifically characterization, and I can notice when the specific things I love are gonna be in a show pretty fast).

Check out genres specific to that language’s media. Because if it’s new to you, you might not know if you even like it or not, and if you like it then which things you personally prefer in it (since even within a genre there will be wildly different content and feels). For Chinese this might be wuxia, xianxia, palace dramas, costume dramas, republican era dramas, tomb raiding dramas etc.

*That’s how it worked for me, SOTUS led me to the bl drama fans, eventually they recommended Guardian so bam I guess I was learning chinese, YouTube recced me more cdramas from there to continue with, and mydramalist.com helped me find other shows with actors I liked from guardian (and other bl related shows which led me to Go Princess Go of all things for the bi lead), and that site helped me find more genres and shows I’d like, as well as friends continuing to rec things. Didn’t take long to figure out what I liked, didn’t, and to start noticing what upcoming stuff I’d probably be excited for. And now there’s so much good stuff found I don’t have enough time lol.

As for non show media: use shows as the jump off point. Just like using “easy to find shows” can be used to break into finding more shows. Once you have a show you liked a lot - look up it it’s based on a book, if it has an audiobook, an audio drama, a manhua, a donghua. Chances are it DOES have some of this stuff, because cdramas do a PRETTY regular amount of the time. Often cdramas have all or nearly all of these other story types. So jump into those, then find more novels or audio drama or manhua etc by branching off from the one you liked to others like it. Novelupdates.com is good for doing this with novels (it has a recommendations section), I imagine manhua sites have rec lists too, ximalaya starts recommending stuff once you’ve listened to a few audio on it, etc. And if you get into fandoms of those x media types, those fans will start recommending more too. And again, even if you just stick to media related to shows you liked - so often shows have so MUCH related media that would definitely keep you busy. (Like I didnt wade into non-show connected novels until I looked up more novels as recommendations afte show-related novels, like MDZS and Guardian leading me to SVSSS and 2ha and Can Ci Pin which at the time had no show adaptations, and then eventually found just-novel rec lists - which is still the main way I find fanfic).

#rant #June #discussion #I just. I both get why they were frustrated #but also lol it is a bit funny to me to read that #someone thought chinese has very little media and it sucks #because??? lol Chinese internet has been the most similar for me in terms of comparison to English internet #just because there’s SO much it’s like as big as my English shows to wafch/books to read lists god #there is no shortage of media #and also?? seeing the few easy to find cdramas or donghua #doesn’t mean they’re all the same quality?#that’s like finding family guy and thinking all American cartoons can only be like that #not realizing Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse or Xmen Evolition or Rugrats or Danny Phantom or Avatar exist #like?? just look more lol

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classic80sand90smovieloves2 · 4 years

Text

Meeting and Dating Melvin Moody

(Not my gif)(Requested via message)

- You met Moody in your gym class. As a friend of Clifford's, you’d heard a lot of rants about the boy but you’d never actually met him until you walked into class on the first day of school.

- Joining all the other girls on the bleachers, you watched your friend and the rest of the boys in class play a game of basketball. That was when Moody began pushing the smaller boy around.

- Clifford was thrown to the floor and you promptly rushed out onto the court to check if he was okay, feeling your blood boil as Moody and the other kids laughed. Obviously, Moody was shocked to see you at the boys side; he couldn’t understand how a loser like Clifford managed to get a hot chick to be around him, let alone care about his well being.

- For the most part, your first meeting was pretty anticlimatic. You took Clifford to the nurse and that was that. ...Except Moody began to constantly flirt with you, so much so that it was beginning to annoy the hell out of you.

- Overtime, Clifford noticed that Moody was always looking at you whenever the two of you were together. For a while, he thought that he was the reason Moody was looking, after all, the boy would glare at Clifford half of the time he caught him watching.

“He’s staring y/n. He wants to destroy me, I just know it.”

- Then he realizes it wasn’t him Moody was staring at. He asked you to get him a drink, watching the bully who was now focused on your moving form. When you returned, he had this nervous, almost embarrassed look on his face.

“Y/n... I have another favor. Now this one is incredibly important, okay?” He was speaking like he was in pain.

“Geez Clifford, you’re scaring me.” You replied worriedly.

“I need you to date Moody.”

“What the fuck Clifford.”

“No really y/n. He’s constantly staring at you. If you go on a date with him you can convince him to leave me alone.”

- You called him insane, refusing to even entertain the idea as you began to finish your lunch. He told you to look over at the boy who; when you turned, was in fact looking at you. After a significant amount of begging and pleading, you sighed and finally agreed, telling him that he owed you.

- And so, you stood up and made your way over to Moody who instantly locked his eyes on you with a smirk plastered across his face.

“Hey there doll.” You could already tell he was enjoying this. You had to give him credit, he could be pretty smooth when he wanted to be.

“Moody...It’s come to my attention that you find me attractive.”

- Your comment wiped the smirk right off his face. He gulped; hoping that you didn’t notice his nervousness, and tilted his head with a questioning glance.

“Is that so?”

“Sure is. Now Moody, if I agree to a date with you will you leave Clifford alone.”

“Kissing included on this date?” A smug grin made its way onto his face.

“...We’ll see.” You gritted your teeth. For Clifford, this is for Clifford.

“I guess you have yourself a deal then sweetheart.”

- So after school, the two of you walked to the sandwich shop that everyone went to when class ended. At first you just about wanted to kill yourself, doing everything in your power to stick it through. That was until he dropped his cocky exterior; noticing that you really didn’t enjoy it.

- Once he started acting like himself, you actually found him charming and funny. You actually began to like the boy which made you feel evil in a way.

- He walked you home, asking when he could take you out again as you stepped inside your front door. You thought about it for a moment. This was the school bully, your friends bully.

- As much as it made you feel like you were missing out on something and like you were a horrible, fake person; you turned him down, saying goodbye and shutting your door on him. He took it well, if well mean’t storming off and bullying Clifford even worse after that.

- The boy seemed to be perpetually angry, glaring at the people around you and being even more of a menace than he usually was. You still felt horrible weeks after the situation but what could you do?

- Then it happened. After class one day; one you unfortunately had with Moody, another boy came up to you as you were leaving the room, complimenting you and confessing that he liked you as he asked you out on a date. You replied that you would get back to him, quickly excusing yourself and heading to your next class.

- You thought nothing of it until you found Moody tormenting the kid in the hallway later that day. The boy didn’t back down which was the worse thing you could do when Moody picked a fight with you, especially with his goons around.

- You cringed as Moody’s fist connected with his jaw. He would’ve thrown another punch if you hadn’t stepped in and gotten between the two. Moody; already sporting a few bruises and a bloody nose, was panting angrily as you put your hand on his chest to keep him from moving forward.

- Curses and insults were hissed at the boy as he got up behind you. Before you knew it, Moody had seized you by your wrist and wrapped an arm around you, smashing his lips to yours in front of everyone.

- He made a few comments to the boy about how “you were his” as you stood there stunned. He then proceeded to grab your arm, dragging you away from the crowd and outside the school doors. He did ask you out properly after that, and you finally agreed with a promise from him that he wouldn’t beat up anymore people.

- You’re pretty much known as the school’s saving grace. With you around, Moody actual makes an effort to be nice, or at least not bully anyone.

- Constant pda, this boy does not leave you alone at any given time.

- He’s actually a really soft guy, even if it’s just with you. In public he might act like a jerk but you’re his girl and the only one he knows really likes him without having to be threatened so, to him, you’re an angel that should be treated as such.

- He’s definitely pulled a fire alarm to get you out of class so that he could see you or because he knows you don’t want to be there.

- You’re basically his mirror 90% of the time.

“Babe does my hair look fine? What about my jacket?”

- You’re called a lot of pet names; babe, sweetheart and hotstuff are just a few.

- Since he was one of them, he knows how playboys think which usually results in him being jealous of any guy that tries to flirt with or compliment you; or just about anyone who looks at you a little too much for his liking.

- Wearing his jacket.

- His arms draped loosely around you as you sit between his legs.

- Your poor neck is constantly attacked. He’s constantly kissing and teasingly nipping at it. You do the same to him, thinking it’ll get him to knock it off a little but he genuinely enjoys it so you just have to put up with it.

- Getting pushed up against deserted hallways walls.

- Any class you have together, you can rest assured that he’s going to have the seat next to you. He will not allow someone else to have it; he just won’t.

- Teasing poking his chest or dragging a finger along it whenever he wears one of his unbuttoned shirts. It gives him goosebumps every time.

- Cute conversations while cuddling. The two of you cuddle either spooning or in the “honeymoon hug” position.

- You force him to work things out with Clifford. His apology isn’t the least bit sincere but Clifford accepts it since he knows it’s the best he’s going to get out of him.

- He acts all cocksure in public but blushes and stutters if you hold his hand or hug him. He’s a total nerd but only you’re allowed to know that.

- Innocent affection; in general, makes him nervous. He isn’t used to it though he knows he likes it; at least when it’s you.

- Getting surprise gifts; most of them are little and inexpensive but you adore them all the same. Just don’t ask where he got the money.

- Calling him Melvin just to annoy him.

- Getting flexed and winked at during gym class. You bend over in his line of vision in retaliation. You’ve genuinely made him get trampled during basketball because of said retaliation; he stopped and stared as the ball came towards him then BAM.

- Affectionate insulting.

- Jokingly making fun of each other.

- He’s usually gets pretty bored when you’re not around. Before you started dating, he was fine, but then you came along and showed him how much fun he could have, now he knows he could be having a better time and it annoys the hell out of him.

- You can actually tell the moment he sees you because he instantly straightens, his eyes lightening up and a smirk gracing his features.

- He’s pretty protective in general but god forbid you get sick or injured. He’s at your side in an instant, threatening people and making demands as he looks you over.

“Stop breathing, she needs more air.”

- No one dares mess with you so it isn’t very often that you have problems with people. Most of them tend to treat you like you have some kind of disease, keeping their distance as much as possible.

- He’s not a very open person but you can tell that he trusts and loves you, even if he isn’t keen on using his words to express it.

- Small prank wars.

- Occasionally he’s just going to have to act like an asshole; even to you, just to try and keep up his touch guy reputation. You don’t know how many times he apologizes when the two of you are finally alone together.

- Most of the girls in school are envious of you, you think it’s sort of funny since they don’t even know the real him.

- Sexual innuendos.

- Sometimes you’ll just grab his hand and doodle on his arm. He pretends like he hates it but he wears his sleeves up for the rest of the day.

- He’s sort of jealous of Clifford and very jealous of Ricky. He fucks up a lot and figures that one day you’ll just get sick of him and give up, moving on to one of them. He never lets you know this but you can tell from the bitterness in his voice when he asks if you “had fun” while you tell him who you were hanging out with.

- When you’re alone together, he’s really interested in what you have to say and actually likes hearing about your day.

- He kind of hates when you ask him about his because he’s self conscious, thinking he’ll seem boring, dumb or just like an asshole to you. He tends to just brush off the question, hoping you’ll just let it go.

- Teach this boy how to handle his emotions and feelings, just please teach him. He’s so used to being a jerk-off and pretending to be someone he’s not that he doesn’t know how to functionally be himself.

- He doesn’t really like not being in control, it makes him sort of uncomfortable because he’s completely out of his element. Like he’s fine with affection when it’s him doing it to you but how is he supposed to act when you do it back??

- Him jokingly acting all tough with you, especially while doing something particularly affectionate.

“Love you.”

“Love you more.”

“Now listen here you little shit. I love you most, do you understand me?”

- He just tells you when you’re going to go out. No asking what you’re doing, no proposal; no nothing.

“Dinner with me today. Six o’clock.”

“Cafe after school. Meet me in the front.”

- He’s the type of asshat to flirt with and gawk at other girls while he’s with you, then not understand why you’re mad at him. You do the same with different guys just to prove a point and this bitter realization hits him so hard. He doesn’t do it anymore after that.

- Fights are awful arguments that result in the both of you avoiding each other. He purposefully tries to make you jealous by flirting with other girls; hoping it will make you talk to him first, while you don’t really have even try to make him jealous.

- He definitely rants to Clifford while the boy tries not to look entirely dead inside. He literally has his head in his hands the entire time and is sighing every other minute.

- Apologies are made a few days later when he can’t stand not having you constantly at his side. He’s grown accustomed to your company and everything just feels off without you around.

- Is he too much of a dick to be a long term boyfriend? Maybe. You’ll just have to find out won’t you!?

- It’s fun while it lasts, even if it’s only for a year or two though I’ll be the one to tell you that he’s not too keen on letting you go anytime soon.

#melvin moody #melvin moody imagine #melvin moody headcanons #melvin moody headcanon #my bodyguard imagine #my bodyguard #My Bodyguard 1980 #my bodyguard imagines #my bodyguard headcanons #80s movie imagine #80s movie imagines #80s movie headcanons #80s movie headcanon

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alyssamaystewart · 3 years

Text

Mental Health Talk

Well it's been a little while since my last post but I thought now is probably a good time to post again especially with all of the craziness of the world still going on and life stresses on top of this, it may be a good time for a brain dump.

My last post was my first ever post putting my mental health down into words which was such an unusual thing for me and still even doing it now just feels so unnatural, there is that voice in the back of my mind saying "Why even bother? What is this even going to achieve? Whoever reads this is just going to see some girl whining about her problem thats probably insignificant to them... People could look at this and think 'who gives a shit, look around at the people with the bigger problems, stop complaining', It's not even going to help you or anyone else.. so why do it?" but I also put that down to my anxieties surrounding this due to the fear of judgement from the people I know and love as well as strangers, which is also a symptom of anxiety and something that is also present in general everyday tasks. I guess that gives a little insight to a small portion of what someones mind goes through when they do suffer with mental heath issues, and thats not even touching the surface...

Where I last left off I spoke of my diagnosis, the age, the possible triggering factors, my current thoughts and feelings on my own personal situation. In looking back at that, I still have no idea as to what triggered my spiral into my poor mental health and I don't think I ever will and this is something I dwell on a lot of the time because I really just want to know, what circumstances in my life led me to here? Where did that downhill spiral really start to show and if it had been picked up at that point in my life, would I be like I am now? I know this is not something I should dwell on, I know I need to forget about this and look forward and look at how to manage the feeling I am dealing this in the present day but its just so hard to do sometimes especially when you are someone that just likes things to get done, I want to pinpoint the trigger or triggers, I want to know the fix and then I want to have it fixed.. so really I look at my mental heath kind of like an object or toy thats been broken and you can look and see whats happened to it, find the right way to fix it and bam, fixed! If only fixing your mental health was that easy..

In looking back over the past few weeks, I feel my mental stability has defiantly taken a blow. Living in NSW (Australia) and working in QLD with all of these COVID outbreaks and lockdowns has left me having to work from home while QLD closes its borders which itself is me working out of my bedroom because I don't have any other space to set up my computer. I had a week in September that my partner and I were going to go away for my birthday for a week to which he had set up this lovely get away to QLD which was to be a surprise to me which unfortunately we had to cancel due to NSW lockdowns and QLD closing us out, and then I was to have a week and a half in October to go down to Tamworth for my brothers wedding and then take the time visit family in Tamworth and Narrabri (NSW) but again due to COVID, they had to postpone the wedding due to friends and family residing in QLD and in lockdown areas. We fortunately took some time off over the October long weekend (weekend just gone) and took a trip to Yamba (NSW) which was lovely to get some time away from home and work but still didn't feel like a break, we blinked and then the trip was over... 4 days can go very quick and I feel like it can take 2-3 days to even wind down for me but all in all it was a good break even though short, it was much needed as I hadn't had a break from work for myself for over a year but now counting the days until I can have that long Christmas Break!

Something thats always been on my mind is how I would like to spend 3-6 months working on just myself, without the worry or work and worrying about how to live. I have actually had this conversation with my therapist and as beneficial as it would be, is also impossible unless you have a strong savings behind you to support you for this time as well as covering any expenses associated with doing this. But then I see people taking advantage of Centrelik benefits and doing absolutely nothing to help themselves (obviously not everyone, but the minority) when there are peple like myself out there wanting to improve their life and find themselves again but we are stuck working full time because we don't meet the standards because we are functioning, but we do this because we have to, we have a what I like to call a "functioning mental illness", we know we have to do these things because people rely on us, because this is what we need to do to live, because if we don't, we don't earn to live and we don't have any option to stop because we don't qualify for the help. Just because we function does not mean our illness is not debilitating, we just don't have any other choice.. but to what cost?

I know that the part I play in my life right now is not sustainable. I work full time on a 38 hour a week contract but work probably 45-50 hours instead, in a job that is constantly growing and incredibly stressful, the way I am at the moment I cannot sustain this for the long term, I am tired, stressed, exhausted and completely drained every week so by the time the weekend rolls around I don't want to do anything else but lay around and recharge. That's not living, thats existing for another person purpose. I want my own purpose..

Want to look at a new carer path? Well you need to study full time for 4-6 years (if you are looking to do uni), but you also need a roof over your head and food to sustain you? Oh well you need a full time job to do this also. So how do you find your own purpose is this day and age? As well as afford the everyday living costs? At the moment, I don't see how. But maybe one day I might.

Well, I think I should wrap this up now. If you are reading this, thank you and I hope in some parts of my blabbering there is something that resinates with you and makes you feel less alone.

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #mental health #depression thoughts #anxiety depression #anxiety sucks #mental illness #therapy #coping #overwhelmed #depression tumblr #mental breakdown #tired #anxitey #depression sucks

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dereksmcgrath · 3 years

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Y’all are talking up Star and Stripe, while I’m impressed how this series finally gave interiority to Stain.

“No Man Is an Island,” My Hero Academia Chapter 328. By Kohei Horikoshi, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by John Hunt. Available from Viz.

Content warnings regarding rape and violence against women.

Before I get to Stain, let’s start with the end of this chapter, given how much of a splash Star and Stripe, our newest character, has made so far with readers.

Is Star and Stripe All Might’s student? I don’t want to bring out the Todoroki red-string board determining a list of All Might’s potential offspring, and I don’t think that’s her role in this story, as calling her mentor her “master” is far more a student-teacher relationship than anything else. But if she is All Might’s student, what does that change in what I have considered about All Might up to this point? I have frequently derided his skills as a teacher, and nothing in the story has suggested otherwise that he isn’t used to it: flashbacks we’ve had of Nezu talking with All Might implied teaching would be something new for him, his innate learning clashes with someone like Izuku who prefers things explained to him, and the series has made gags about how he needed the equivalent of Teaching for Dummies to know basic pep talks to give to Izuku’s classmates. That’s not to say he was never a teacher to Star and Stripe--but it is to say that it has not been obvious to me that he had such experiences, or was that suited for it. It may be that All Might, despite himself and what he thinks of himself, was indeed a teacher to Star and Stripe, or at least she thought he did a good job as one, whether directly or, as is just as likely, serving as the role model, literally the person she has modeled her look and theming around.

You’ll also forgive me if I look at that chapter’s title and not still think how much All Might isolated himself for so long, so it’s rich to have such a title like that, when it’s too little, too late, for All Might to suddenly engage in the collaborative work that heroes should engage it, that has been part of Izuku’s ethos for so long, that is at the heart of One For All, when All Might has kept trying to handle everything on his own with no help from others. Granted, I’m being unfair: All Might has seemed to have more coordination with the police than other Pro Heroes from what we’ve seen in the comics, and it’s not like they can’t retroactively change that (Big Red Dot refers to All Might as a “friend” in this chapter, so maybe All Might is a more collaborative hero than I’m giving him credit.) Weirdly, All Might’s tendency to work alone kind of makes him and Stain alike in a lot of ways--but we’ll get to Stain later. And yes, I can also see the island conceit is referring to Tartarus, but I’m looking at the subtext first before the text.

But turning back to Star and Stripe, and without whining too much about this point, it is bizarre this late in the game to get yet another character who was influenced by All Might. But it’s not unbelievable. Of course there are more than just Izuku and Bakugo who modeled their look or name after All Might. Of course there are more than just Melissa Shield and Nighteye inspired to go into support or hero work by his example. And of course, when All Might studied and practiced in the United States, and whose theming is built around Superman, the quintessential United States superhero (albeit one co-created by a Canadian creator), of course we’d get a US Pro Hero inspired by him. And she’s a woman, and I appreciate that inclusiveness and representation.

Too bad, as usual, including another woman in the story leads to two problems I have with fans’ reactions: one, for fans who are fixated on objectifying women characters, and two, for an Edgar Allan Poe scholar like me who keeps reading into things, rightly or wrongly, and thinking everything is going to turn into killing off a woman character to motivate the men characters.

I really wish I wouldn’t have to write this ridiculous disclaimer, but the “horny on main” crowd on social media gets tiresome. It’d be nice to have a new woman character be introduced without immediate reactions being primarily “she’s hot.” Sometimes you just want to enjoy a new character like Star and Stripe as a Captain America-style pastiche and their superpower work without just seeing her as another freaking waifu for someone. Nothing precludes her from being someone that people find attractive; I just find it tiresome when it seems like still that this tends to happen to women more frequently, especially with the long history of reducing women, in real life or in fiction, for objectification and not seeing them as fully realized people where, yes, any sexuality or asexuality is part of them, but just a part, not all of them.

And while I criticize the “horny on main” crowd, it’s not like I don’t have my own problems in writing these reviews regarding women characters: I have set a countdown clock for how long before Star and Stripe gets fridged, because that’s my fear. At least recent art in the newest My Hero Academia volume in Japan features new artwork of Nagant, so fingers crossed she’s not quite dead following All For One’s inevitable explode-y betrayal. And it’s not as if this series lacks diverse representations of girls and women, especially in roles they take (Pro Hero, Villain, Vigilante, or civilian) and personalities. And it’s not fair for me to risk limiting the story’s potential by insisting a character not be killed off. But when I think popular culture at large still limits roles for girls and women in action stories, especially in superhero stories and shonen, it’s hard for me not to cringe with worry that, shortly after a girl or woman character is introduced to the story, that she’s going to be sidelined in some way, whether objectified or killed off, largely for the sake of boys and men fans and characters.

Or maybe I’m just annoyed seeing as this chapter starts with a Tartarus escapee shouting about “females” like Quark from DS9 before Stain kills him. Thoughts and prayers for that dead jackass.

Still, that character’s presence is troublesome. In Horikoshi’s works, and spinoffs like Vigilantes, violence against women perpetuates as a way of identifying someone as really super-duper evil. It feels like that Mark Millar quotation referring to rape as one of the ways to really clue in the audience that this person is evil, no different than if a villain decapitated someone. It’s far more complicated than that when writing in fiction for two reasons. First, it’s victimizing women for a story so that it traditionally falls upon the protagonist, usually a man, to avenge those women--so, Stain killing this guy kind of fits that cliche. Second, it’s not believable, and it does a lot of harm acting like a rapist is that obvious villain over there rather than a lot of people that we keep thinking are nice guys before, bam, we realize they’re fucking awful. It’s the banality of evil that perpetuates, to ignore that rapists in real life are not just mustache-twirling villains but can be people of all types, even people in the highest levels of government, entertainment, and business who are supposed to come across as reasonable, normal individuals who contribute to society but instead are also freaking monsters who committed sexual violence against someone else.

I wish I had any sort of transition to get back to other parts of this chapter, so the best I can say is, let’s turn back to Stain.

I do appreciate what this chapter does with him, especially giving us something we haven’t had from him in a long time, if ever: interiority. Getting into Stain’s mind should be petrifying, like how his stance against the Pro Heroes froze them in place, with or without use of his Quirks. (If it turns out he actually had a “Quirk awakening” like Toga and Shigaraki, I’m throwing copies I have of this manga against the wall.) Instead, Stain is weirdly rational. He assesses the situation, sees how chaotic things are in this prison, realizes things must be chaotic outside, so his first stop is to see who has information, such as any computer data, and that’s where he’s lucky enough to find the last surviving Tartarus guard protecting the hard drive that he passes onto All Might. He’s even weirdly honorable to not take that weapon on his way out, not kill this dying guard, and not just be evil for evil’s sake. As Stain himself said, he’s an ally, but also a beast.

It’s incredible. What character progression.

I was ticked off with the last chapter having Hawks dismiss Stain’s note as a “love letter” to All Might: that’s right up there with UA dismissing Shigaraki initially as a “man-child.” These characters are more complicated than these off-putting insults that seem to be more about criticizing men for failing to stand up to some expected behavior. Like, if you’re going to go after Stain and Shigaraki, I would start with the fact that they are freaking murderers before lambasting one as looking up to All Might and the other as enjoying video games and being immature for his age.

So, after how annoying those character derisions are, I’m impressed how this chapter took us through Stain’s thought process in a way to have him be more than the crazed vigilante we saw in Vigilantes and the Hosu Arc. It added depth to him without negating what evils he has done. It showed his thought process beyond cliches of some Death Wish hyper-violent weirdo without, again, retconning those aspects as if they were never part of him. This chapter isn’t quite a retcon, so much as a fleshing out of a character to show how he was able to get the jump on Pro Heroes and kill or disable so many of them. This makes him look smart and capable rather than, as I will continue to complain about Villains like All For One, just lucky and the beneficiaries of plot contrivances. That contrast, to have Stain looking at All For One, who stands before escaped prisoners like the Messiah (or Anti-Christ) figure he thinks he is, just cements for me how well Stain is written, and how poorly in contrast All For One comes across.

Then again, Stain did just happen upon the guard having those drives of digital information, so he could have just been the lucky beneficiary of a plot contrivance. Or, as at least one person online wrote, All For One planted that evidence to trick the Pro Heroes into thinking Shigaraki is nearing his finalization so he can draw them into a trap. For now, though, I’m choosing to take this as an example for how an antagonist should be written: capable, smart, and not just getting by on the plot deciding they should win.

I had said about the previous chapter how that one felt incomplete. But I can’t say that any of Stain’s story in this arc has felt incomplete. I usually hate bouncing back and forth between flashbacks and timeskips in stories (but I’ll say more about that later when getting back to some Episode 7 posts), but going back to explain how Stain got the information from Tartarus worked for me. It wasn’t just to fill in back story; it also clarified what Stain thinks his role is right now, after what he did in Vigilantes and what he did to Iida’s brother: at least to me, or maybe because by now readers are more familiar with him, he seems to have more self-awareness. There is no glee like there seemed to be when he took down crime bosses and unintentional Villains in Vigilantes, or when he disabled Tensei. He seems oddly more rational--which is terrifying, given how much to shit society has gone in the manga, where someone like Stain seems reasonable compared to All For One gathering enforcers from Tartarus. It’s kind of fitting that the chapter that really re-introduced Stain to this series was titled “Who Are You Really?” which is pretty much the question that surviving Tartarus guard said to Stain, whether he will be a hero or another villain.

(Speaking of that guard: we’re told pretty much all the guards at Tartarus died, whether killed by the prison escape, the building’s damage, or drowning. But wasn’t there one guard that All For One’s team took with them to pilot their escape? I’m not getting my hopes up that Shishikura’s father survived, but it would be a waste to kill him off just to motivate Shishikura instead of that motivation being in part to rescue his dad. Granted, I’m skittish around killing characters before their usefulness is exploited, as awful as that is to phrase, but unfortunately, I just complained about fridging, so I’m being annoying right now.)

After that back story for Stain, we catch up to All Might returning from his pep talk to Izuku to meet with Tsukauchi. For a lot of reasons, Tsukauchi has been criticized by fans, some of inspired for good reasons by our moment of reception (many police not meeting the standards set for them in the wake of their unjustified violence, especially against marginalized people) and some that are either plot-based (he is not the biggest fan of our protagonists in Vigilantes and actively upsets their work) or undeserved (he’s actually been competent by this point in the manga). So, it’s weird to hear him complain about needing Stain’s help--when, given how bad things are in Japan in this story, he’s not exactly doing that great a job himself.

Also, poor Sansa back there has a head scar now.

Where this chapter falls apart a bit for me is its attempt at worldbuilding. I appreciate that we are learning along with All Might just how One For All works. He himself didn’t quite get what Izuku was seeing of the Vestiges way back in the Sports Festival Arc, so it makes sense that he is our audience surrogate to explain to Sansa and readers just what he can and can’t sense of them when near Izuku. The problem I’m having is that this is information related to about a month or so ago when he was with Izuku in the hospital. It wasn’t as clear to me then that All Might had this much of a deep understanding of One For All, so to now have it explained in this detail feels like we’re skipping some steps in logic. It’s not unbelievable that All Might needed that month to finally understand all of this; it’s just bothersome as a reader to have the info dump happen in this manner. I understand that info-dump would have disrupted the narrative flow in those earlier chapters; I also think delaying that information until now is frustrating, the equivalent of having to set down this chapter to go back to the earlier ones. It’s not the joy of re-reading a story with new appreciation for something else to discover in the earlier chapters; it’s more like reading a textbook and having to skip to endnotes at the back of the book to read something in more detail.

And speaking of getting buried in needless confusing self-contradicting explanations: the manga then cuts to a Pro Hero version of the United Nations, full of shadowy people explaining how it’s too difficult to coordinate nations to convince them to let their Pro Heroes go to Japan and help with relief efforts. It’s bad enough how much I hate “shadowy people in government” as a trope: it felt lazy in the first Avengers film, and after more than four years in the United States having to hear deep state bullshit by hucksters and far-right fascists, no, I’m not up for such symbols that don’t put a face on the people responsible. I know I’m invoking Avatar: The Last Airbender so soon after talking it up in the previous chapter review, but we delayed showing Ozai’s face to make him faceless so that, when it is finally revealed, and he looks like a normal guy, we realize how this evil can come from even the most normal looking person, especially as a contrast between his unscarred face and Zuko’s scarred face, where the scar in a lot of stories is traditionally used to mark someone as ugly and therefore evil, while Avatar shows how obviously prejudiced, wrong, and illogical such mental and symbolic associations are. I know it would take more work to draw designs for all these bureaucrats, but give them faces, make them known, make them actual characters. I get that making them relatable causes as much of a problem as making them too relatable and therefore making their absurd points logical, but I can’t stand to keep perpetuating “deep state shadow government” nonsense in destabilized times.

Then again, when it comes to the delays in sending out the Pro Heroes, it’s not that unbelievable or unrealistic, given how bureaucracy hampers international relief efforts all the time in the real world. But it’s just bizarre, for a work of fiction that has shown Pro Hero society making so many advancements yet still bogged down by something so quotidian in a fantastic setting. Granted, I’ve repeated over and over again in these reviews how I thought this setting was a utopia--a world where people of different abilities and sizes had accommodations with regard to clothing, housing, and buildings--only to have later chapters undermine all of that--housing for giant-size people is in inconvenient locations, subsidies are not easy to get for being giant-size, people with non-human appearances are abused and tormented.

But, to the story’s credit, ending with Star and Stripe ignoring such bureaucracy, so, this is very much Horikoshi having his cake and eating it, too.

And I hate to end this review on a down note, but I am cringing at potential unfortunate implications incoming. Star and Stripe is riding atop what looks like a futuristic fighter plane that, I have to imagine, within this plot, is related to the United States government and, if not, at least by her entire US-patriotic theming, might as well be. And she’s flying a couple of these fighter planes to Japan. I really, really am trying not to cringe at potential invoking of the United States’ attack on Japan during World War II, and I’m really trying to hope the story won’t make some misguided references to nuclear bombing. I know this is a stretch, but after the trouble Horikoshi rightly faced for how he named All For One’s doctor, it would not surprise me. Plus, it’s not as if this hasn’t been a difficulty in localizing these Japanese works in United States audiences: I play that Bungo Stray Dogs mobile app game all the time, but there’s a reason that game, upon initial release in the United States, almost immediately changed a special move’s name from “Kamikaze” to “Beatdown.” And seeing as that Bungo film ends with Agatha Christie almost carpet-bombing Japan, yeah, you’ll forgive me if a lot of these thoughts are circulating in my mind anticipating what could happen next in this series.

#my hero academia #mha spoilers #stain #star and stripe #manga review #cw: rape #cw: violence against women

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lavender-lotion · 3 years

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3, 4, 16 (DON'T say cherik), 22, 28

oh my god i absolutely hate you for asking me these aha you’re my favourite person in the entire world

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

to date, it’s been X-Men (alt timeline movies, ofc) despite the rocky beginning I had. in this fandom I’ve learned so much about my own writing, and my writing style has grown SO greatly since I first joined and has taken shape into... well whatever the hell it is now, which is something I really like (most of the time)!

I fairly quickly created a small, tight circle of people I really enjoy being around in this fandom, and have since cultivated my own little fandom space that I really, really enjoy. it’s filled with people I love chatting with, people as open-minded as accepting as I am, and it’s a place that I strive to make feel welcoming for all who join, as well! I run an 18+ X-Men Alternative Timeline Movies focused discord, so if you’re interested, join us here!

I am trying to branch back out into The Fandom a little more after feeling a type of way for some time, and I’m honestly enjoying that a lot too! it’s been interesting to follow some more folk, and I’m really happy to see my dash start to thicken up after being close to barren for so long.

currently, I have a small group of close friends I care a great deal for (hi, Mid!) that has absolutely made this fandom into one of the best i’ve been involved in.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

very very very simplified and slightly unture answer: no. every single bad experience has taught me something that I’ve carried into my other fandom experiences, just like life lmao, but for more of a meaty answer to this question: yes.

so much yes.

I have SO MUCH regret around teen wolf, actually, for so many different reasons, but I’ve also learned SO much. seeing a server ran in a way I Did Not Like has helped me better mod my own fandom spaces, and I am very anti-totalitarianism and am VERY against showing abject favouritism to specific members, while I also always try incredibly hard to ensure no one feels ignored. I was reminded of how finicky friendships are, and learned not to be the person who puts in the sole work to keep ‘em going (and how to recognize if I am) because... when you stop the friendship might stop, too. I learned NOT to hit on close friends, no matter how much I might want to, and I learned the importance of open, clear and precise communication in romantic endeavours, which was actually a very good life lesson because I’d never been in a situation that could teach me it before. I’ve learned, or, am LEARNING, not to let personal experiences with one-on-one relationships taint my view of a fandom—this one is hard, and is something I am trying very, very hard to work through as I’ve recently been hit with a very strong and very sudden wave of inspiration for teen wolf.

but like, with that all said, I still absolutely LOVE the teen wolf fandom and have had so many amazing amazing amazing experiences that I wouldn’t change for all the bad, and that the bad experiences are really localized to the ship-focused spaces I was in and the personal relationships that I had, NOT with the fandom as a whole which I am slowly dipping my toes back into! I learned so much about myself and my writing during my time in the fandom, and that is another thing I absolutely wouldn’t change for the world. I am over the moon that I’m writing here again, honestly, and the reception I’ve gotten has been SO insanely amazing.

starker is another one I regret-but-don’t-totally-regret-because-I-learned-shit. starker taught me the importance of 18+ fan spaces, and showed me what can happen when people... aren’t careful. when mods are minors themselves. I learned that cross-generational nsfw spaces are a RED flag, and that they mean GET OUT, and that anyone who would willingly allow minors and adults to mingle over explicit content are people I Do Not Want To Be Around. I learned a lot about myself there on an interpersonal scale, and I found out a lot about my sexuality and kink preferences, too (which was a wild time). while I do very much enjoy the lessons I learned from being in the space I was in, I could do without some of the more negative things I witnessed, even if they taught me a lot.

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

SINCE I CAN’T SAY CHERIK I’m going to have to dig a little deeper and talk about Sterek, lmao. I was really, really, really into Sterek starting around... 2014? I read... fuck tons. absolutely insane amounts of Sterek fic. and I wanna say... around 2015? maybe? there was a really popular trope in Sterek, wherein Derek would push Stiles away (by being mean, by pretending to date one of the Pack (usually Erica), by bullying him, by telling him the pack didn’t want him, etc, etc) so that he could... keep Stiles safe? it almost always went the same way. there is a threat no one told Stiles about, Derek did “what he had to do” to keep Stiles safe (i.e cutting him off from all his friends and massive, obvious crush) and then when Stiles got hurt, the pack would come to his rescue and save him (only after Stiles got a little beat up), and then Derek would care for him, or not leave his side, or check up on him, and Stiles would wonder why he cared after everything that had happened and... bam. Derek would admit his undying love. And Stiles would just like forgive him and they’d get together and be happily ever after as a pack and...

that was so damaging lmao??? I can’t even tell you how many fics fitting into this trope that I read, to the point where I was like... “wow Derek loves Stiles so much he’s such an amazing person for keeping him safe by pushing him away and making him feel isolated and alone and hated” BUT LIKE WHAT. WHAT. that’s horrible??? so so so horrible??? I am so fucking thankful it isn’t something I really saw too much of when I came back around to the fandom around 2017, but.... oh boy. for a ship that I considered an OTP and read like the entire tag of, I have VERY few sterek fics of substance (when compared to the rest of my teen wolf writing) and this is the reason why.

this trope and it’s absolutely ludicrous popularity a few years ago really, really turned me off the ship.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

content-wise: no. very, very easy no. I don’t regret any of the pairings or kinks I’ve written & I don’t think I ever will (I’m very anti-shame, lmao. if you like it, flaunt it).

but... I do regret some of the emotional labour I’ve put into works? the emotional attachment I have with certain fics, or genres, or pairings, and how I’ve tied them to a specific person or persons. like, I can’t write ageplay anymore, because of how strong the association of ageplay is to someone I cared for deeply and no longer have in my life (and even if I ever manage to write it in general, I’ll never be able to write Steter ageplay). I have 13k of a fic that was supposed to be a surprise gift to a close friend that I hadn’t heard from in... ages, to the point where I gave up on sending the occasional monthly-message. I have one thing I wrote for a dear friend (who never interacted with it) and now I can’t help but feel like the story is awful, despite not doing horrifically stat-wise.

I write because I love it. I write for people I care about, because writing is a labour of love, and it’s a way I can show them how much I care for them, but... sometimes that bites me in the ass, I guess.

I’m working on it, lol.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

god okay there is NOTHING better than the idea of this. I’ve had a few mood boards made for me here and there, which are always SO loved and cherished and massively appreciated down to my BONES, but I don’t know if I’ve... ever really gotten fan art? I had someone make some really, really cool like... OG bit-moji type art of a couple of my fics, which is amazing and I have it on my phone still, and @hd-hale once drew me a GORGEOUS sheriff stilinski inspired by Daddies’R’Us, but to get FAN ART i would CRY lmao

right now, I think something from to love and be loved by you would feel really, really extra special because even at 6/17 chapters posted, it’s my longest work ever. what would it be a picture of?? hell if i fucking know but probably something that hasn’t happened yet, lmao

#wow this got really long im sorry #these are just my personal experiences and i've had LOTS of them #im a very emotional person can you tell?#can you also tell im not over some stuff lmao #im working on that too #listen i'm working on a LOT right now #i can't believe mid asked me THIS series of questions thinking this wouldn't happen #why did i write a fucking NOVEL #about lav #writing meme #ask meme #writer meme #midrashic #lav answers

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