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meteorrites · 6 months

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Hi! this is my first time posting here.. and I wrote this at like 2 am so it’s probably all jumbled up + I’m learning English (like actually) had to translate some stuff too :p

Wrote this for my friend so shout out to them, also this is somehow super long?? I don’t know how I managed that so it isn’t proof read.

Sub! Neuvillette nsfw

Furina tríes finding Neuvillette for a meeting but it seems he’s too busy (tried making it gender neutral but— yeah.)

warnings: office sex, reader has a dick but just imagine it’s a strap if you’d like, idk you fuck his ass basically, teasing

——————————

“Neuvillete!”

"Where could he be?" Furina muttered under her breath, a hint of worry breaking through her usually confident demeanor. "Leaving me alone with someone like that."

By “someone like that” she referred to Arlecchino one of the 11th fatui harbingers.

They had arranged a meeting to discuss matters of the state but it seemed Neuvillette was late, which was oddly out of character as he had always been punctual especially matters this serious.

As Furina waited nervously in Arlecchino's presence, her mind raced with concern, Furina swore she checked everywhere… everywhere but the most obvious place where you could find the chief justice himself, his office.

Arlecchino continued to scrutinize her with her piercing gaze. Furina finally blurted out, "Neuvillette should be here to assist me in this matter, but he seems to have vanished into thin air."

Arlecchino's expression remained stern, and a hint of amusement danced in her eyes as he responded, "It appears your capable assistant has chosen an interesting time to disappear. How... unfortunate for you, Furina."

Meanwhile, in Neuvillette's office, the atmosphere was thick with tension as his lips met yours.

Neuvillette's urgency was palpable as he hastily closed the door to his office, his eyes locking onto yours with a mix of impatience and desire. Without wasting another moment, he turned to you, his voice husky but still filled with longing.

"Please, Y/n, do not delay any longer. I’ve been waiting for days."

Your lips curled into a knowing smirk as you approached Neuvillette with deliberate steps. The air between you two was charged with anticipation, your desires converging in the small, private space.

"Is that so?" Your voice was low and sultry, a stark contrast to his formality. Your eyes, however, remained dark with desire as you closed the distance between the two of you.

Neuvillette's fingers twitched at his sides, his impatience barely contained. "Do refrain from teasing, my dear Y/N. I find it rather challenging to contain my desires any longer."

Y/N's hands, however, moved with a deliberate slowness as they undid Neuvillette's belt, their gaze locked onto his. The anticipation in the room was electric, but Neuvillette couldn't help but feel a thrill in playing this particular game.

"Ah, but patience, Neuvillette," Y/N purred, their fingers tracing along his waistband, a teasing glint in their eyes.

Neuvillette's breath hitched, and he fought to maintain his usual composure as Y/N's touch sent shivers down his spine. "I’ve been patient enough."

Y/N's lips curled into a knowing smile as they finally freed Neuvillette from his pants. Neuvillette's arousal was evident, his desire on full display as he stood before Y/N, his usual formality slipping away.

"Then let’s not waste any more time.." Y/N's voice carried an air of command, and yet there was a mischievous playfulness to it that made Neuvillette's heart race.

Neuvillette's back met the edge of the desk, the cool surface a stark contrast to the heat of his skin. Y/N's hands were everywhere, exploring, caressing, and igniting every inch of Neuvillette's body.

Neuvillette's fingers tangled in Y/N's hair, and he pulled them into a fierce kiss that mirrored the urgency coursing through their veins. Their mouths collided, tongues dueling for dominance as their desire spiraled higher.

Y/N's hand slipped between them, wrapping around Neuvillette's hard length, and he couldn't help but moan at the sensation. His hips bucked instinctively, seeking more of Y/N's touch.

"Y/N," Neuvillette gasped, his voice laced with desire as Y/N's grip tightened around him. The formal facade was slipping further, giving way to the intoxicating pleasure of the moment.

Yuri’s lips trailed down Neuvillette's neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses in their wake. "You're mine, Neuvillette. All mine."

Neuvillette's head spun, his arousal and need blurring his thoughts. "Fuck, yes," he managed to breathe, his grip on Y/n’s hair tightening.

In the heat of the moment, Y/n leaned down to capture Neuvillette's lips in a passionate kiss, their mouths melding together with a hunger that mirrored their desire. Neuvillette's moans of pleasure were swallowed by their kiss, the intensity of their connection deepening.

And then, Y/n's fingers found their way to Neuvillette's mouth. They slipped their fingers inside, and Neuvillette's tongue eagerly met them. With a sultry smile, Y/n withdrew their fingers, glistening with Neuvillette's saliva.

Using Neuvillette's saliva as a makeshift lubricant, Y/n continued their preparations, Y/n couldn't resist the urge to add another layer of sensation any longer to their passionate encounter. With one hand firmly gripping Neuvillette's hip, he used his free hand to slide his fingers between Neuvillette's cheeks, teasingly circling his entrance.

Neuvillette gasped at the unexpected touch, his body quivering with anticipation. Y/N's fingers dragged along the velvety walls of his ass, exploring and stretching him in tandem with his thrusts. It was a sensation that sent waves of pleasure coursing through Neuvillette's body, intensifying their connection and bringing them both closer to the brink of ecstasy. But he couldn’t release, he wanted more.

Neuvillette's voice quivered with need, his words a plea for more. "Y/N, don't tease me like this. I need you."

Y/N's response was a wicked grin as he continued his careful exploration, coming tantalizingly close to Neuvillette's prostate without quite hitting it. He could feel the heat and desire radiating from Neuvillette's body, and it only fueled his own arousal.

"Patience, Neuvillette," Y/N murmured, his voice husky with desire. "I want to make this unforgettable for you."

As Y/N stretched and prepared Neuvillette's eager ass, their connection grew even more intense. Neuvillette's moans of pleasure filled the room, his body responding eagerly to Y/N's skilled touch.

Y/N couldn't help but revel in the sensation of Neuvillette's tightness and warmth around him. It was an intoxicating feeling, one that he had longed for, and now that he had it, he intended to make the most of it.

Their passionate encounter continued, each moment filled with unrestrained desire and a playful teasing that had Neuvillette's mind in chaos. The office, once a place of formality, was now a sanctuary of shared passion, with no room for restraint or decorum.

As Y/N's fingers continued to work their magic, Neuvillette's moans grew louder and more desperate. He couldn't contain his desire any longer, and he longed for Y/N to take him completely.

"Y/N," Neuvillette gasped, his voice desperate and filled with need. "Please, I can't wait any longer. Take me."

Y/N's approach was deliberate, and as he pushed inside Neuvillette, he didn't fully enter but instead teased him by rubbing just the tip against his eager warmth. It was a calculated move, one designed to drive Neuvillette wild with desire.

Neuvillette's reaction was immediate and intense. He gasped, his body quivering with need as he desperately sought more of Y/N's touch. "Y/N, please," he begged, his voice filled with longing. "Don't tease me like this."

Y/N's grin was wicked as he continued to tantalize Neuvillette, the head of his cock dancing against Neuvillette's entrance. He could feel the way Neuvillette's body clenched around him, the walls of his ass gripping him tightly in response to the teasing.

Their connection was electric, desire and pleasure coursing through both of them. Y/N's voice was low and husky as he whispered in Neuvillette's ear, "You're so responsive, Neuvillette. I love how you react to my touch."

Neuvillette's moans grew louder, his control slipping away as Y/N's teasing pushed him to the brink of insanity. He arched his back, seeking more of Y/N's touch, more of the pleasure that only Y/N could provide.

"Y/N," Neuvillette gasped, his voice desperate and filled with need. "Please, I need you inside me. Take me."

Y/N's grin grew wider as he finally relented, pushing himself deeper into Neuvillette's eager warmth. A guttural moan escaped Neuvillette's lips as he was filled by Y/N's presence, the sensation overwhelming and exquisite.

Y/N's desire for a better position overwhelmed him, and without a word, they decided to take matters into their own hands. Neuvillette, lost in the sea of pleasure, was caught off guard as Y/N suddenly flipped him over, his chest pressed against the smooth surface of the desk, his ass now fully exposed to Y/N's hungry gaze.

Neuvillette's gasp of surprise was muffled by the desk, and he found himself in a position of vulnerability, completely at Y/N's mercy. Y/N's strength was surprising, and Neuvillette couldn't help but admire his assertiveness.

With Neuvillette now face down on the desk, his ass exposed and inviting, Y/N had full access to his most sensitive areas. It was a position that left Neuvillette trembling with anticipation, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Y/N to take him completely.

Y/N wasted no time in taking advantage of the new position. His hands roamed over Neuvillette's back and hips, his touch both tender and demanding. He leaned over Neuvillette, his lips trailing hot kisses along the curve of his spine.

Neuvillette's moans of pleasure filled the room as Y/N's lips and hands explored every inch of his exposed skin. He couldn't contain his desire any longer, and he pressed his ass back against Y/N, silently begging for more.

Y/N's fingers brushed against Neuvillette's ass, teasing and tantalizing. He couldn't resist giving Neuvillette's cheeks a playful squeeze, earning a gasp of pleasure in response.

"Y/N," Neuvillette whispered, his voice filled with need. "Please, I need you."

Y/N's response was to position himself once again, this time pushing into Neuvillette with a single, powerful thrust. The sensation was overwhelming, and Neuvillette cried out in ecstasy as Y/N filled him completely.

Their connection deepened as they moved together in perfect harmony. The pleasure they shared was intense and all-consuming, and as they surrendered to the ecstasy that bound them together, they knew that this encounter would be one they would both cherish forever.

Y/N leaned over, his lips grazing Neuvillette's ear as he whispered, "You feel incredible like this, Neuvillette. You're mine, and I'm going to make you scream."

Neuvillette's moans filled the room as Y/N continued to thrust into him, their passion reaching new heights with every passing moment. The office, once a place of formality, was now a realm of shared desire, where they could give in to their most primal instincts without restraint.

Their movements were fervent, urgent, driven by a need that had built over days of anticipation. The desk rocked beneath them, a testament to their unrestrained desire.

Neuvillette's hands gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles turning white as he met each of Y/n’s thrusts with equal fervor. The pleasure was exquisite, every sensation magnified by their raw need for each other.

Y/n’s voice was a low growl in Neuvillette's ear, their words driving Neuvillette closer to the edge. "You're so damn responsive, Neuvillette. My cock knows exactly how to make you scream."

Neuvillette's pants were fully down now, leaving him exposed and pressed against his desk, the situation utterly scandalous. Y/N's grip on him tightened, their desire evident in the way they pressed their body against him, their groin firmly against Neuvillette's exposed rear.

The friction and heat between them were undeniable, and Neuvillette's gasps grew more intense as pleasure coursed through his body. His arousal was evident, his cock hard and throbbing, pre-cum glistening as it dripped onto the polished surface of the desk.

Y/n's relentless desire and teasing had pushed Neuvillette to the brink of ecstasy, and he couldn't deny the intoxicating sensations that coursed through him. The office, once a place of formality, had become a sanctuary of shared passion and irresistible temptation.

In the midst of their passionate encounter, Y/N couldn't resist teasing Neuvillette further. Their voice dripped with seduction as they whispered, "What if Lady Furina walked in right now, Neuvillette? What if she saw the Iudex of Fontaine in such a compromising position?"

Neuvillette's thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he struggled to maintain some semblance of composure. His usual formality had been abandoned, and he was now fully immersed in the intoxicating moment.

"I-I..." Neuvillette stammered, unable to form a coherent response. Y/N's teasing was driving him to the brink of insanity, but he couldn't bring himself to stop or resist.

Their passionate encounter continued, with Y/N's relentless teasing pushing Neuvillette further into ecstasy. The office, once a place of formality, had become a sanctuary of shared passion, where restraint and decorum had no place.

Y/N reveled in the control they had over Neuvillette, their voice a seductive whisper in his ear. "Tell me, Neuvillette, what would you say to Lady Furina if she walked in right now? How would you explain this?"

Neuvillette's mind was a whirlwind of desire and pleasure, and he struggled to form coherent thoughts. "I... I would..." he began, his voice trembling as he was unable to finish the sentence.

Y/N's laughter was a sultry melody as they continued their relentless assault on Neuvillette's senses. "Would you tell her how much you enjoy being taken like this, Neuvillette? How you crave my touch, my every command?"

Neuvillette's moans grew louder, his resistance crumbling with each passing moment. He couldn't deny the truth of Y/N's words, and his desire for them was all-consuming.

As their passion reached its peak, Y/N's voice took on a commanding tone. "Tell me you're mine, Neuvillette. Say it."

Neuvillette's breaths were ragged, his need overwhelming. "I'm yours," he finally gasped, surrendering completely to Y/N's control.

Y/N's desire was insatiable, and as their passionate encounter with Neuvillette continued, they couldn't resist the urge to explore every inch of his body. With heated urgency, Y/N found himself wanting to feel all of Neuvillette, to experience every sensation in their shared moment of ecstasy.

Their lips locked in a fiery kiss, tongues dancing in a sensual rhythm as they continued their fervent lovemaking. Y/N's hands roamed Neuvillette's body, tracing the contours of his chest and shoulders. His shirt had become an inconvenient barrier to the sensations he craved, and he couldn't bear to wait any longer.

"Turn around, Neuvillette," Y/N whispered breathlessly, his voice dripping with desire.

Neuvillette, lost in the intoxication of their passion, complied, his chest rising and falling heavily. He couldn't help but wonder what Y/N had in mind, his curiosity piqued by their urgency.

Y/N's desire to feel all of Neuvillette was undeniable, and as he attempted to remove Neuvillette's shirt, he found it to be a more complex task than anticipated. The fabric clung to Neuvillette's body, and in his haste, Y/N decided on a more direct approach.

With a swift motion, Y/N slid his hand under Neuvillette's shirt, fingers eagerly seeking the warmth of his skin. His palm pressed against Neuvillette's chest, feeling the rapid rise and fall of his breath, and his fingers traced the contours of Neuvillette's pecs.

Neuvillette's gasp of surprise and pleasure was music to Y/N's ears as his hand explored further, fingers brushing against the hardened nubs of Neuvillette's nipples. Their shared ecstasy deepened as Y/N's touch elicited a moan from Neuvillette, his body reacting to the exquisite sensations.

Neuvillette couldn't help but break the passionate silence with a trembling voice, filled with desire and curiosity. "Y/N, what are you doing?"

Y/N's own desire was palpable, his breath hot against Neuvillette's ear as he replied, "I want to feel all of you, Neuvillette. Every inch."

Their bodies pressed together, their connection intensified by the intoxicating sensations coursing through them. Y/N continued to pound with unrelenting fervor, each thrust driving them closer to the brink of ecstasy.

"Haah," Neuvillette moaned, his pleasure building with each passing moment. Y/N's touch and their shared intimacy were overwhelming, and he could no longer contain his desire.

Their passionate encounter continued, the office now a private realm of shared desire and irresistible temptation. The complexities of their desires, the urgency of their actions, and the fervent dialogue between them created an unforgettable tableau of unrestrained passion.

As their passionate encounter reached its climax, Y/N couldn't resist the temptation to tease Neuvillette one final time. Their shared desire had pushed them both to the edge, and Y/N was determined to send Neuvillette over the precipice of ecstasy.

Their breaths were ragged, and their bodies glistened with a sheen of sweat as Y/N whispered provocatively, "I didn't know dragons could be so responsive, Neuvillette."

Neuvillette's moans of pleasure and desire filled the air, his body trembling with anticipation. Y/N had discovered his most sensitive spot, and he was now utterly at their mercy.

With one final, powerful thrust, Y/N hit Neuvillette's prostate with precision, sending shockwaves of pleasure coursing through him. Neuvillette's eyes widened, and he saw stars explode behind his closed eyelids as pleasure consumed him entirely.

A strangled cry of pleasure escaped Neuvillette's lips as his vision exploded with stars. The sensations coursing through his body were overwhelming, and he couldn't hold back any longer.

His release was powerful, an eruption of pleasure that left him seeing stars as he came, coating his own stomach and shirt with his essence. The intensity of the climax was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and he was left trembling and utterly spent.

After their passionate climax, Y/N couldn't help but look down at Neuvillette, his face flushed with desire, a fine sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. He was a vision of post-orgasmic bliss, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he caught his breath.

With a mischievous smile, Y/N leaned down and left a lingering hickey on Neuvillette's neck, a mark of their intense encounter. Neuvillette gasped at the sensation, a mixture of pleasure and surprise coursing through him.

But before Y/N could savor the aftermath, Neuvillette's expression shifted from one of post-orgasmic bliss to sudden realization and panic. With a start, he quickly sat up, his eyes widening in alarm as he asked in a frantic voice, "What time is it?"

The urgency in Neuvillette's tone was palpable, and Y/N glanced at a nearby clock. His eyes widened as he saw the time, and he couldn't help but curse under his breath. Neuvillette was incredibly late to the meeting, and the implications of his tardiness were not lost on either of them.

Y/N quickly gathered his clothes and helped Neuvillette do the same, their movements hurried and frantic. They exchanged hurried, breathless kisses in between pulling on their clothes, the taste of each other still lingering on their lips.

As Neuvillette finally managed to get dressed, he glanced at Y/N with a mix of regret and longing. "I wish I could stay," he murmured, his voice filled with genuine desire.

Y/N smiled, his fingers tracing Neuvillette's cheek affectionately. "I know," he replied, his own desire evident in his eyes. "But duty calls, and Lady Furina awaits."

Neuvillette nodded, his expression torn between his responsibilities and his longing for Y/N. With a final, lingering kiss, they reluctantly parted ways, knowing that the world outside was waiting for them.

———

Extra:

"Well, well, Neuvillette," Furina purred, her voice laced with sarcasm. "You certainly took your sweet time getting here. Care to explain why you're so fashionably late?"

Neuvillette, still slightly breathless from his passionate encounter with Y/N, struggled to find the right words. He knew that any excuse he offered would likely be met with more of Furina's sharp wit… and probably her wanting to take him to court for being late.

Y/N's earlier teasing echoed in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement despite the situation. It seemed that both his assistant and Lady Furina had a penchant for teasing him mercilessly.

With a composed facade, Neuvillette finally replied, "My apologies, Lady Furina. I was... caught up in a matter of utmost importance."

Furina's lips curled into a sly smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Oh, I see. A matter of utmost importance, you say? Well, I do hope it was worth the delay."

#sub!neuvillette #neuvillette #genshin impact smut #genshin impact sub #neuvilette smut #sub genshin #sub!neuvilette #genshin smut #dom reader

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sonkitty · 3 months

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Bookend Buddies - Crowley and Muriel

Introduction

Alright, I'm going to talk about Crowley and Muriel.

My starting theory was that these two knew each other as at least acquaintances, not necessarily friends, in the first draft of the story. This first draft would have resolved the matter of the cardboard box Gabriel brought much sooner. Then a second draft, or even more drafts, act as the cover for whatever happened the first time around.

After looking over Crowley and Muriel scenes, something like that could indeed be true, but certain other messages from the story emerged that seem to make that idea secondary when looking at the pair specifically together.

Trust

For one, a far understated thing about their relationship is that these two trust each other, even if they don't seem to know each other very well. It hits really hard once you get the level of trust Crowley has to have in Muriel for their assistance in the Triple of The Bigger Thresholds Trick. Their part together is for the Heaven elevator, and pockets are involved.

Pocket usage combined with threshold usage in Good Omens 2 amounts to a nightmarish puzzle that I will never truly solve. I have solved just enough to know what to look for, and I see it all over their entry into Heaven. Pockets require precise framing, and they both have it.

This trust level would put their relationship as much more likely to be actual friends despite Crowley's intense claim to the contrary in episode 5 when he tells Gabriel that Aziraphale is the only friend he has.

Bookends

The other weird message was something I found in looking for a small pattern I noticed. That pattern was that Crowley scenes tend to bookend Muriel scenes. I started to log and verify that pattern. It's not on both ends every time, and I could find only one Muriel scene where there's no bookend of a scene with him on either side.

When they both get back from Heaven in episode 6, this pattern goes into hyper-drive. It becomes a game in and of itself to see how Crowley can bookend or share Muriel scenes all the way up to the end of the episode and overall season.

Along the way, Muriel likely assists Crowley in the Single of The Pocket Trick. Muriel then ends up having bookend scenes to all 6 of Crowley's own Threshold Tricks.

Memory

I don't know how both their memories were edited or altered, but I'm left to guess that it happened and was partly voluntary with making sure they remembered just enough to maintain their trust in each other or have a way for that trust to quietly activate, as if it has a switch.

Boxes

Boxes are a theme with these two, so I'm going to discuss the boxes among the other stuff below.

...

Episode 1: The Arrival

There are 3 Matchbox Muriel scenes. Two of them happen in episode 1.

Before Muriel is shown on screen, there is a cut of Gabriel with the fly that's implied to be an extension of the scene where Aziraphale called Crowley to invite Crowley to the coffee shop.

Then Muriel finds the matchbox. I'm not going to get too much into the quote and stuff, but one could easily link it to Crowley if what I've read of its relation to "leviathan" is true since leviathans can be associated with snakes. There's also the fire-breathing Crowley pretending to be Aziraphale in season 1. Then of course that hopping and shouting with the lightning forcing the power outage on the coffee shop that comes later. The matchbox itself might be evil or borderline evil.

Muriel's hand is just as deliberate as Crowley's can be when it comes to managing the touch because part of a thumb is shown with the thumb tip itself hidden and the thumb obscured specifically by the end of the touch.

After this scene, the immediate next scene is Crowley's arrival at the coffee shop, which is also The Perfect Entrance Trick.

So, that's one Muriel scene book-ended with Crowley scenes. One could find the first part debatable, and indeed, that will happen again. Still, almost every time, there will be a Crowley scene at least before or after a Muriel scene.

That's also the first scene for Muriel to bookend one of the Threshold Tricks.

Take note.

These things add up.

We're going to take a quick break from Muriel because of the cardboard box.

In episode 1, there is an extremely important sequence of at least one Likely Fake Crowley, possibly two, storming out of the bookshop. In that sequence, the fake who looks most likely to be Aziraphale passes by a prominently displayed cardboard box and does not touch it.

Actual Crowley is a top tier player in Earthly Objects who is incredibly deliberate in what he touches, especially with his hands. He's also someone who tends to ask questions.

Remember the cardboard box and that the fake did not touch that box and did not question it. Both Crowley and Muriel are going to follow this pattern with the exception of Crowley retrieving the box during episode 6 of course.

Let's get back to Muriel.

The next debatable front bookend Crowley scene to a Muriel scene is that after Crowley shoots out lightning, his torso is shown and does not include his head. The scene cuts to Nina and Maggie realizing they are locked in. For some reason, a blurry red-headed figure wearing black is ensured to be shown in the background as if it could be Crowley. This figure is a possible fake because we later find out that Crowley lost so much of his red in his hair. Plus, there's some general confusion about the car being parked in front of the coffee shop. The car itself seems more bluish. He doesn't enter or leave and is shown to be with the car later on a different street. This possible fake allows for a stronger bookend connection to the incoming Muriel scene nonetheless.

The next cut is of Michael and Uriel for a bit before Muriel enters, but it is the same scene. Now we are at Matchbox Muriel Scene #2.

When the matchbox is set down, it does not make the sound that an empty matchbox makes. In fact, it sounds like a disguised magical book. The music gives more of a mystery vibe than a stronger intensity and possibly evil vibe it will give later in episode 5.

We learn the name of the game, Earthly Objects, and are shown an extensive touching sequence. I don't know if it's a tutorial. If it is, I can't tell you what it teaches. I can mainly tell you it makes sure to show most of Michael's digits during the sequence. Thumbs are shown, but the thumbs don't actually touch the matchbox itself. Thumbs are a big deal in Earthly Objects. A thumb tip can even set certain things into Door Mode. If that matchbox is an evil book hiding in disguise, a thumb tip could be like a password that would have accessed it. Muriel avoided doing that or avoided it in just the right way.

As this Muriel scene wraps up, Uriel says, "I think he's gone to Earth."

We're supposed to guess and assume they mean Gabriel, yet the story cuts to Crowley entering his car before he is summoned to Hell. So, this Muriel scene is given a clear back bookend Crowley scene.

Muriel does not show up again in episode 1.

But...let's get back to the cardboard box.

When Crowley returns to the bookshop, the prominently displayed cardboard box is no longer prominently displayed where it was. In fact, for a good long while, I thought it had disappeared as much as the plate of Eccles cakes, but no, it was just moved out of the way in a less obvious spot.

Now, here's something I found interesting while drafting this post. My own question to myself was, "Was the box moved out of Crowley's line of sight?" for the scene.

I was quite surprised to find out that in almost the entire scene, the box is not in his line of sight. There is only one tiny part of the scene where it is.

The box is in Crowley's line of sight briefly during the apology dance.

So, the dance might have been a clue to Crowley to know where the box was but still not visibly touch it or question it. Remember, later in episode 6, it's going to be weird when he acts like he knows about the cardboard box he never acknowledged in the whole story up to that point.

...

Episode 2: The Clue

Not that it's hard being one of the two main characters of the story, but Crowley has another front bookend scene before a Muriel scene in the minisode that starts off the episode. He is at least prevented from having a back bookend scene this time.

The episode opens with the scene of the big giant scroll and pretending to kill off the goats while actually turning them into crows instead, as Crawley.

Muriel is later shown reading a big giant scroll. I don't know if it's the exact same scroll, but it's at least supposed to be about the same thing.

Muriel does not appear again for the rest of the episode.

...

Episode 3: I Know Where I'm Going

At long last, Muriel arrives on Earth. They have a scene without Crowley scenes book-ending either side of it.

The front bookend is Gabriel drinking hot chocolate. Soon after, Muriel is the subject being seen through the window for Mrs. Sandwich. Then they start their scene with Aziraphale. One could probably estimate this scene's end as Aziraphale closing the door. So, finally, no Crowley though Crowley himself will be part of the scene immediately after.

It's possible that Muriel has had a memory wipe though how recent is hard to guess. My own guess would be that it's actually relatively recent because as stated, I think they and Crowley knew each other in the first draft of the story.

Aziraphale seems to have a moment of quiet recognition, that could be either from the recent Job minisode or if he knew Muriel in the first draft as well. I would guess that he did, but this bookend thing Crowley and Muriel have is not quite the same as what can be found between Aziraphale and Muriel. Aziraphale moves the story along without any further acknowledgment.

After Muriel enters, the cardboard box is given more focus from its designated place than usual with a blurred Muriel in the foreground. The camera work forces a shift such that Muriel receives focus, and the cardboard box is blurred. While I'm sure many people have picked up on this thing happening, I'm going to add that that particular type of blur was used in the first shared complex window scene Maggie and Nina had looking at Crowley through a window in episode 1. The blur type share was also done with Crowley and Gabriel in episode 1 when Crowley finds out Gabriel is in the bookshop. So, Muriel is given a notable share with a cardboard box instead of an actual full other character in the story. It's also a box that keeps having no touching or questioning from Crowley. Muriel doesn't touch it or question it either.

When Crowley arrives, he does sound grumpy as he complains about Aziraphale not taking the train. He soon stops, realizes Muriel is there, and says, "Who's this now?"

Take note of the "now" because this story is both deceptive and deliberate in its methods. These are the types of little clues it scatters around compared to the bigger ones. The "now" hints he knows of a "who" Muriel was from some other time.

Just as Muriel glows, Crowley is actually more cast in shadow than he already often is upon stopping to find them there. His body makes sure to stop with the shadow covering much of his upper body area in a diagonal manner.

Crowley has short sideburns despite Muriel being an angel because the bookshop literally took their claim as human. Interestingly, Crowley is also lacking his more saturated streak of red hair that is often found over the center of his left eye during the present day story.

Crowley himself quickly warms up to Muriel in a more friendly manner.

Muriel's body blocks the cardboard box from our line of sight for a good amount of the scene but not the entire time. In turn, Crowley is bound to have it in his own line of sight much more easily than in episode 1 when he returned to the bookshop. So, by now, Crowley probably knows it's there and is still just generally ignoring it while being near its presence.

There's some kind of light near Muriel that keeps flickering. While neither Crowley nor Muriel use pockets here, they both do at other times. Pockets use lighting as clues. So, I'm not going to log every single line and every single flicker, but I did notice the flicker when Muriel said "200 years". That number could mean something like when these two actually met or became friends.

Another noteworthy thing about this scene involving both characters is that it is one of the few times the story shows a person reflected in Crowley's sunglasses before The Window Trick at the end of episode 6. Muriel's reflection can actually be found, quite likely because they were intentionally showing off their cup of tea.

Crowley exits first, allowing for a scene between Muriel and Aziraphale. After Aziraphale leaves, Muriel is left alone momentarily. While they do not get the same blurred share from earlier, they are still shown specifically with the cardboard box while not touching it or questioning it.

Later, Muriel intrudes on Crowley and Aziraphale. I've actually written about the scene in my "Rule Following" section for Earthly Objects.

So, I'll mainly say that this scene does not really have a hint of them having known each other. Instead, it has Crowley manipulating the scene and Muriel to do what he wants so he can give Aziraphale a proper pass of the car keys. The toss is incredibly precise because he waits until Muriel's eyes move to the notepad, not just for them to get out their notepad. The only possible hint is if Muriel actually looked at Crowley before their notepad intentionally as a cue for when he should be ready for the toss. Then the toss isn't as impressive, so my bias prefers to think that was not the case. Head canon as you please.

Even though the two had an actual scene together, the story makes that scene a front bookend Crowley scene of yet another Muriel scene with Muriel's stop at the coffee shop.

Muriel is not seen again for the rest of the episode.

...

Episode 4 does not have Muriel. It does have Crowley touching the cardboard box of the plants. Sorry, I couldn't help notice that cardboard boxes are a thing because of the matchbox and the mainly featured cardboard box, so we may as well take note since Muriel was given that shared blur with such an important cardboard box.

...

Episode 5: The Ball

During episode 5, there are two important scenes shared between Crowley and Gabriel. The first scene is where Crowley ultimately tells Gabriel to jump out a window, then stops Gabriel from doing so. He offers to make hot chocolate. This scene is a front bookend of the last Matchbox Muriel scene. It also includes mention of an actual matchbox.

Finally, we are back to our ominous borderline evil matchbox itself with Matchbox Muriel Scene #3. This scene further manages to act as a back bookend to a touch of The Sunglasses Trick. In this matchbox scene, the subtitles say "intense music" and it is intense. The matchbox is given immediate focus to introduce the scene.

The intensity settles. Muriel is giving their report to Michael and Uriel with no Saraqael around.

In this report, Muriel says Crowley's name, including calling him, "Mr. Crowley," and describes Crowley as Aziraphale's "grumpy friend." Well, Crowley was grumpy when Muriel first saw him yes, but most of the time we saw them together, he was not grumpy. In fact, he was rather friendly. Muriel is also shown to be unaware that Crowley is a demon. When they say Aziraphale's "Mr. Fell" name, Uriel gives Muriel a look that makes Muriel definitely not say Crowley's name—not even partially.

Aside from Aziraphale, Shax, and any character involved in the 1941 minisode, the story itself seems to have some rather strict rules on who can say Crowley's name and when. If I remember right, Muriel never says Crowley's name again.

We, the audience, were never shown anyone giving Muriel Crowley's name before that point either. In addition to that, mysterious music plays while the angels stop in confusion as they grasp at the assistant bookseller they can't quite remember. The matchbox is not easily seen during all of this time, but we know we saw it first with the intense music.

We never saw Muriel see or speak to an assistant bookseller, Gabriel going by Jim, in the scenes given. Muriel's memory and the story's memory do not match with what we have been told is happening. And some possibly evil matchbox is making that happen...maybe. That thing gives off "trying to get back to its master" evil ring vibes towards Crowley. It's creepy. No, I'm not venturing too far down that road. I'm admitting it's just vibes.

The back bookend scene here is Crowley actually giving Gabriel hot chocolate.

After this point, Crowley's sideburns stay a medium-to-long length until right before the credits at the end. Part of my sideburns scheme theory is that Aziraphale and Crowley borrowed each other's homes to form a special connection that affected an invisible supernatural border that existed between the car and the bookshop. They then made their preparations for the ball through the invitations, and Crowley had his scenes with Gabriel to force this sideburn status into place.

That means a lot of pieces were moved around so that the next time Crowley encountered Muriel, his sideburns were longer despite Muriel's earlier claim of being "human" and the bookshop's reading from that.

Let's skip ahead to that Crowley and Muriel encounter.

Crowley finds Muriel near the pub. In fact, he finds Muriel at, I believe, where he parked the car in episode 2. That's quite the coincidence.

After he convinces Muriel to "arrest" him, for some reason, Crowley makes sure to enter the elevator first. Ever since I realized Crowley's sideburns respond to thresholds, I have taken note of Crowley's deliberate decisions in so much of what he does, especially in season 2. He is rather strategic overall. Him entering first sets off alarms in my head. That is not the typical way he does things. He goes alone or Aziraphale leads. In the Edinburgh minisode, Elspeth entered first, followed by Crowley, then Aziraphale. Not long before this Muriel encounter and probably not a coincidence, Crowley left with Mrs. Sandwich first. They went together. He still did not go first as only himself.

But for some reason, at this particular threshold, it is a priority that he be first. I wish I knew why instead of just constantly sensing it.

This entry into Heaven is the first part of the Triple in The Bigger Thresholds Trick. It is also the only one that expands over two episodes.

When looking at Crowley and Muriel together, here are some things I think are worth noting.

First of all, Muriel was convinced to begin with. Why would they trust him? He's a demon, and they were even given a specific look of not even saying his name. Yet still, they find Crowley convincing enough to do this arrest. Crowley told Shax in episode 2 that he was a "former demon," but when it comes to Muriel, he actually drops the "former" part of his own self-description.

Now, I do have this theory that when it comes to the longer sideburns, they are like a mark of rank on Crowley when he is around angels. I usually associate that theory more with their longest length and specifically when in the bookshop. If that theory has any merit even outside the bookshop, then latent memory in Muriel could actually be recognizing Crowley's rank from before his fall and why they ultimately abide. If I'm wrong, then Muriel still finds a way to put their trust in him, such as a latent memory of whatever they did together in the first draft of the story or past friendship they had. If there is no latent memory, Muriel just trusts him anyway.

Crowley himself is having to trust Muriel here. It is no small amount of trust either. This segment is incredibly important to performing the Trick. He trusted Aziraphale for the other two, and with Aziraphale not here, Muriel is the one he turns to for help.

Unfortunately, I do not have a desired simplified explanation of how this threshold is being tricked, but I can at least tell you I know what to look for and the deliberate methods both characters use for entering. The more simplified ways are that Crowley manages to not touch the buttons and not touch the pub doors before going up. Muriel is the one who both summons the elevator and closes the pub doors for him. When he is later seen going down, he maintains touch with his back at where the edges of the elevator doors meet.

Well, that's the easier stuff. There is something far more complicated happening with shadows, lighting, and pockets. I don't know what it is. I'm just going to tell you I see it, and I know it when I see it because I at least know what to look for. With pockets involved, that also means framing.

I won't bore you with too many of the details. It was hard to write in my initial draft. Muriel is deliberate in how they get themselves framed alongside Crowley. Probably about the most noteworthy things of such framing are a look down as if to check they are positioning themself properly and getting their right arm so close to being over the middle edge of where the elevator doors meet and still not doing that. That part might have to do with whatever was necessary a to align with a reflection in a window pane, and that reflection being over a lock.

Speaking of windows, they are both deliberately framed through the window panes. I'm not going to describe it. If you're interested and can see, I advise you just go take a look. It is assuredly intentional. Their heads and upper bodies are in a grid or something. "Gridlock" might be the simplified word I'm looking for, but I'm not fully convinced and couldn't explain it to anyone.

Here, I have at least made a GIF because the glance down helps show it's intentional:

Pockets of light were involved. Muriel used a pocket. Crowley made touches on his clothing suspiciously like when he uses pockets. His tied hands might have been tied. His belt head might have activated. It's ridiculous. I can't believe this Earthly Objects game.

Before Muriel entered, they looked at Crowley and asked, "You aren't trying to trick me, are you?"

Now a lot of people would see that question and be, like, yes, of course he is.

It definitely looks that way.

But...these two are actually tricking a threshold together. It is likely a clue to the audience to look for the Threshold Trick that's happening right in front of their eyes instead of Crowley tricking Muriel.

Even though we saw Muriel close the doors, we did not see any miracle touch to activate a button. We just see the elevator go up.

...

Episode 6: Every Day

As the two arrive in Heaven, Crowley makes sure to exit the elevator first. His foot decidedly makes sure to not touch the lower threshold of where the doors slid open. His shadow can be seen to his left side. When Muriel follows, they don't have a shadow to their left side at all.

Now on they go where probably a million important things happen since pockets were involved on the way up, but let's focus on three things.

Crowley quickly refers to Muriel's rank when asking about records. We've already seen Muriel know Crowley's name without us knowing how they got it. Now we see Crowley know Muriel's rank without us knowing how he got it. We're even going to see both of them receive each of these pieces of information later on this trip in Heaven.

Not long after the rank reference, one of the lines Crowley says is, "You're forgetting about the bees."

Crowley, how many times has Muriel helped you break into Heaven by this point?

I hope it's not more than one, but it's going to be awhile to get such an answer.

Muriel's "forgetting" are they? Does he know that Muriel knew about the bees before? Did they talk about it? Did they work together?

As the conversation continues, it leads to Crowley changing his appearance. Of note in this appearance, his newly manifested gold tie is...pocketed into his newly manifested gray jacket. If his "tied hands" activated at the entry, he's putting those hands in a pocket here and now. And he's doing that because Muriel led him to that decision.

Neither one seems to truly remember the other, but both are guiding each other to certain ends.

At some point, Crowley asks Muriel a question about if they knew why Gabriel would not want another Armageddon. They shake their head and answer "not yet". We were never actually shown Muriel's assignment for why they were on Earth. We were just led to believe it was to confirm the miracle that Aziraphale performed since all actions shown by the characters said so. Muriel has no problem admitting this "yet" part of their answer to Crowley.

Saraqael arrives and shows us one way Muriel could have gotten Crowley's name by addressing Crowley by name.

Later on is when Muriel actually gives the rank. Crowley gives them a friendly fist bump to the shoulder. They smile. Both of them are shown to be on friendly terms in what might be an earlier draft of the story. Even if it's not an earlier draft, I'm glad to see Crowley be on friendly terms with an angel who is not Aziraphale. He reached somewhat friendly terms with Gabriel, but the story made sure that Crowley and Gabriel had zero direct interaction on Gabriel's side once Gabriel recovered his memories. The same could be said of Muriel, now that I think about it.

There's footage of the cardboard box they both watch. Muriel's memory of the matchbox is shown in focus as an assumption it was whatever Gabriel really dropped.

On the exit to Heaven, I've long theorized that Crowley is invisible and Muriel looks scared and amazed by such a thing at the same time. I haven't really changed my mind. If Muriel is doing something to help because Muriel is in the middle on one side, and Crowley is in the middle on the other, I don't know what it is. I can just tell you that a pattern is indeed found between the two if one looks for such a thing.

I can also bring back the pockets.

When the light goes up and Crowley's appearance changes, something about his re-manifested clothes is decidedly different than usual. His tie strands are pocketed into his vest, which then means his thumbs and thumb joints are hidden. I don't know exactly what that means, but it's deliberate on the story's part. Thumbs do things to doors, and these thumbs are hiding themselves while Crowley has his back to a door. That's somehow doing whatever needs to be done for this Threshold Trick and Muriel convincing Crowley to change his appearance earlier contributed.

Also, there was a rainbow when the light went up.

We missed whatever led to Michael and Uriel joining Muriel, Saraqael, and Crowley in the elevator.

When Crowley and the angels arrive at the bookshop, Muriel quietly closes the doors without anyone asking. I'm left with the impression that those doors being opened when they were and while Crowley was in Heaven is supposed to be important. So, the timing of this closure and who is doing it is also important.

Muriel stays out of the way and on their own quite a bit throughout their time in the bookshop as they turn their attention to a book.

In turn, that means their attention is not on the cardboard box when it is retrieved to help Gabriel recover his memories.

When Gabriel recovers his memories, something strange happens. If Crowley is where the story told us he was—next to Aziraphale, Gabriel is acting like Crowley isn't there. Aziraphale glances where we were told Crowley was. Gabriel briefly follows this gaze, then changes course. In the next cut, he blinks as he passes over where Crowley would be. He names more characters, including Michael and Uriel. While he doesn't remember Saraqael's name, they are given an interaction. With Muriel on their own further back—just like Crowley—they, too, are ignored during this sequence. They are at least shown on screen. Eventually, Gabriel reacts to seeing Beelzebub, and we are informed that Crowley is still there by Aziraphale. Of course, with the scene cut the way it is, maybe he wasn't there, and all of these drafts are blending together but still telling us Crowley was ignored, possibly invisible, cloaked, or forgotten.

Even with Crowley visibly on screen as Beelzebub refers to Aziraphale by name, neither Gabriel nor Beelzebub acknowledge Crowley as having played any part in helping to look after Gabriel—or anything else for that matter.

Again, the cardboard box was notably ignored by Muriel. They were given a specific shared blur with the box. Why give the focus if nothing of fruition was to come from such a thing? That was a shared blur that Earthly Objects uses in its game, and that box went untouched.

Things move on with Crowley escorting Maggie and Nina out.

Now it really gets hard to track how Crowley is book-ending Muriel in the scenes at the end, but he is. I think he is doing it every time. He is shown to approach a window and look inside while several angels and demons are arguing. Aziraphale rings his bell, which is enough to grab Muriel's attention as well. Soon after, Crowley is shown looking through the window again and smiles.

Then they actually have a scene together where neither one of them talks. It is the Single in The Pocket Trick. The Pocket Trick is a difficult, confusing collection of puzzles that uses word play. Because Muriel wears all white and The Pocket Trick has a Rainbow Connection mechanic that uses non-rainbow shades, there is a very strong chance Muriel is helping Crowley with yet another Threshold Trick. Whatever it is, it probably has to do with the alignment of Crowley's sleeve and jacket through a window frame since that's when Muriel's white can be seen and then when Crowley's sunglasses appear in one of the window panes at a certain point since that's the exact frame where all-white-wearing Muriel is no longer on screen. Muriel's white probably held onto something the Trick needed during that part.

Muriel ends up bookend-ing both sides of the Single of the The Pocket Trick while also being in it. That means Muriel is pocketed into the last touch of The Pocket Trick.

From this point, I consider them both part of a much bigger scene between several characters that ends with the demons leaving. I also consider it the back bookend to that Pocket Trick Single.

The story cuts away to the Metatron and then back to another scene that Crowley and Muriel share with other characters. By the way, the angels and Crowley seem to have generally changed positions overall.

Eventually, everyone leaves, giving Crowley and Muriel a chance to have their own scene together.

Now Crowley is more grumpy. Even so, near the end of their scene, he throws a book at Muriel and says, "Go for it. Here, you'll like this one." How does Crowley know Muriel would like the book? Has he known that book to be liked by a past version of Muriel? Does he just generally know Muriel because they are either friends or decently acquainted even before this scene ever took place? Even if both answers are no, he is probably guiding Muriel to read that book. I have never read that book, The Crow Road, but I have read what other people analyzing Good Omens 2 have had to say about it. That book has characters who communicate in non-verbal code with each other.

That's something both Crowley and Aziraphale do frequently during Good Omens 2. Crowley is actually giving away how he and Aziraphale communicate to Muriel by choosing that book. That could be dangerous with someone he doesn't trust...but he trusts Muriel. He trusts Muriel so much he is trying to tell them something about himself without saying it out loud—or is reminding them.

The story moves on.

In the next Muriel scene, at first glance, it looks like Crowley does not get a front bookend scene with it. Instead, that's given to a mix of the Metatron and Aziraphale as Aziraphale walks away and enters the bookshop. Blended with that scene, Maggie and Nina leave the bookshop with Nina shown to be passing by the Metatron. If one goes back and looks very closely—and I definitely would have missed this part were it not for a Tumblr post I'm happening to remember, a small bit of Crowley can be found in the background when Maggie and Nina were leaving the bookshop.

Muriel has their scene with the Metatron about reading a book. This part allows Muriel's scene to be a front bookend to the last two touches of The Sunglasses Trick, which take place while Crowley and Aziraphale have their argument.

At the same time, Crowley's scene of those touches becomes the back bookend of another Muriel scene. This stuff is happening on purpose as a game from the story.

Crowley leaves. Sometime after, Muriel can be seen looking through the window with a big question of how much they saw of the argument. They saw enough to look sad—like someone who cares about Crowley as a friend would.

Muriel is barely part of the scene with the Metatron and Aziraphale yet still gets book-ended between Crowley scenes.

After that scene, Crowley is shown standing alone as he starts The Door Trick. So, again, we have Muriel acting as a front bookend to a Threshold Trick, and Crowley acting as a back bookend to a Muriel scene.

Muriel is not on screen during the entirety of The Door Trick, The Door Catch, and The Window Trick. They manage to stay out of the way during these important moments in the story even though, as best we can tell, they are somewhere nearby.

In Muriel's last scene, they still get book-ended by Crowley scenes. The Window Trick finishes. Muriel opens the door and enters the bookshop. That makes their scene a back bookend to the last Threshold Trick. Crowley's car is seen driving away. Before the credits start, Crowley is shown driving with short sideburns as the last scene of the season before the credits truly start to roll.

If I understand yet another pattern from this little game, starting from when I said this bookend thing went into hyper-drive, Crowley's supposed to be a front-and-back bookend to Muriel scenes whereas Muriel doesn't do that for as many of Crowley's scenes. They have a special pocket version for The Pocket Trick and a front-and-back bookend to the argument, which was the conclusion of The Sunglasses Trick. One could find Aziraphale's moment alone before the Metatron arrives as debatably its own scene, then Crowley just doesn't front-and-back bookend Muriel at that point. Otherwise, Muriel's supposed to bookend one side or the other of Crowley's scenes but not both.

I wasn't even looking for yet another game, but I found one.

Anyway, I think they're friends—good friends even. It's hard to say how long the friendship existed before season 2. This trust they share would also explain Muriel's last scene with Crowley trusting them to look after the bookshop as he leaves.

...

More here:

Bookend Buddies Part 2 - Crowley and Muriel

#good omens 2 #crowley #good omens #good omens s2 #david tennant #good omens season 2 #good omens analysis #good omens meta #good omens crowley #crowley good omens #muriel #quelin sepulveda

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jigujellee · 2 years

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THROUGH WITH YU -> karina yu hates your guts and you don't really know why. | read part 2 here!

karina x reader angst word count: 3.8k warnings: there might be a swear word or two, nothing crazy

a/n: wow, another fic in less than 2 weeks? who is she? lol i'm jk but the first part to the karina enemies to lovers college au is here! there's only two parts, so hopefully, i should be able to get it out soon. don't worry, i'm also working on the requests you've all sent me so please look out for those. take care everyone, thanks for reading!

smu was home to numerous intelligent and hard working students who were slowly losing their sanity every day in order to achieve their future. if they weren’t burying their faces in their laptops or textbooks, students were drowning themselves in caffeine as they desperately try to work through the hell known as university. it’s definitely not easy for most, but then there are people like karina who make the university life look so easy.

karina yu graduated from kwangya high as valedictorian and received a full grant scholarship at smu where she is now a biomedical student with a dream to pursue a career in medicine. she also manages to maintain the top spot in the entire school while being the captain of the swim team and balances a part time job. the girl’s credentials are unmatched, you’d think she doesn’t have a social life but no. everybody and their grandmothers know exactly who karina is, and with a god given face, brain, and talent like hers, who wouldn’t be drawn to her? dubbed as the campus goddess, she captures the hearts of anyone who glances her way. karina could care less about the title though. she was nice to everyone she encountered and remained humble despite being treated like royalty at school. so when everyone’s attention is focused on something else, or rather someone else, karina suddenly becomes intrigued.

“alright class, that wraps it up for today. don’t forget, your assignments on DNA mutagenesis are due next Friday so i hope most of you have at least started on it”

as soon as the campus goddess finished typing up her last few notes, she sets a quick reminder for herself to finish the references for the assignment. karina’s work ethic was something every student dreamed to have in a perfect world, hence why it isn’t uncommon for students to ask her for help every now and then. her best friend ningning is a perfect example of these said students.

“so you’re going to help me with my assignment, right?” the blonde says, not even sparing a glance to karina as her eyes remained glued on her phone.

“ning, why do you still have to ask? i’ve been helping you with your assignments since we were in high school. but let me remind you that you’re smart enough to do it on your own. maybe if you spent less time on your phone, you would’ve gotten it done early”

“thanks for the ted talk but you know i gotta stay updated with the tea around here”

“right, so what’s new gossip girl hm?”

“well, jeno recently got injured after their last basketball game so he’s sitting out for the next few. then there’s yeji and ryujin who got into a pretty nasty fight and people are saying they still haven’t talked it out”

“isn’t it gonna be their 3 year anniversary in a few weeks? i hope they resolve things soon”

“well well well, would you look at that? seems like someone is fairly updated too” ningning chuckles and finally tears her eyes away from the phone to find karina putting her stuff away into a tote bag.

“you live and breathe tea and drama, and unfortunately, i’m the only one who has to hear all of it since i’m pretty much the only friend you have,” karina jokes.

“you make me laugh miss yu,” her best friend says dryly as rolls her eyes and continues to scroll through her phone once more. “oh, and there’s a new student coming in today. apparently they’re coming all the way from canada,” ningning turns off her phone and grabs her bag before sticking her arm out so that karina could link arms with her. the latter didn’t care much about the new transferee, not with her empty stomach practically ringing in her ears.

“yeah yeah whatever, let’s go grab lunch. i’m starving” she links her arms with ningning and the two make their way to the campus cafeteria.

they were greeted with crowds of students, which wasn’t a new sight to the two. almost all of campus knew karina ate in the cafeteria during lunch so they would always have an audience as they ate in peace. what was surprising to karina was that the students weren’t swooning over her like they usually do. instead, they were running right past her and making their way to the table where karina and ningning usually sat. confused, karina looks over at her best friend.

“why is everyone rushing to get over there? we’re not even there yet”

“you think i would know? i was beside you this entire time. but it looks like someone is sitting there already, i can’t see who it is though”

a girl in front of the two overhears their conversation before realizing who it was and immediately moves out of the way to let them pass. everyone else followed suit and the two manage to get a clear view of who was causing such a big crowd. they walk towards the table, but even as they get closer, they are unable to put a name to the face sitting in their usual spot.

as soon as they approached the unfamiliar person, ningning doesn’t hesitate to speak, “hi! i’m ningning and this is my friend karina!” the purple haired girl’s eyes widened at her friend’s sudden introduction, but not wanting to be rude, she just smiled and gave a small wave.

“hello! i’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you both” you say with a big smile plastered on your face.

“ah! you’re the new student, right? from canada?” you eagerly nod your head and continue to answer ningning’s never ending questions about your home country. meanwhile, the girl beside her stayed silent and just stared at you. you couldn’t tell what she was feeling, her face remaining stoic the entire time you were talking with her friend. you open your mouth to address her and try to include her in the conversation, but another student calls your name and invites you to eat lunch with them.

“karina and ningning usually sit here, so just sit with us for lunch” the student then whispered in your ear. you look back at the two girls and realize that they’ve been standing this entire time, so you immediately get up and allow them to sit at their respective table.

“well i’d be glad to answer your questions about canada some other time ning,” you chuckle. “i hope to see you both around more! sorry about taking your seat,” you say as your gaze lands on karina, who just quickly bows her head out of respect before taking a seat at the spot you were just in. ningning quickly hands you her phone for you to put your number in before letting you go. as you leave, you turn to take a look at the purple haired girl one more time.

you now understood why she was called the campus goddess.

funnily enough, the campus goddess wanted nothing to do with greek gods and goddesses, or any greek mythology in general. she hated history classes. the only reason she was taking it is because she needed an elective that wasn’t related to her major, so she chose ancient greek mythology and apparently, it was a really easy course. but even if this course was super easy, she got bored so easily. it was the only class that she rarely paid attention in and it made her want to fall asleep.

it doesn’t help that this class was a dreaded 3 hours of her professor going on and on about information that had nothing to do with what karina wanted to do with the rest of her life. oftentimes, her thoughts loved to wander off during class, and to her surprise, you are the one currently taking up space in her mind. karina couldn’t help but think about your smile, your dark brown eyes, your soft voice, the way your hair sat perfectly against-

“miss yu?” karina shakes her head and brings herself back to reality. was i really just thinking of the new student just now?

“sorry sir, what were you saying?”

“i asked which two groups fought during the battle of cynoscephalae?”

karina couldn’t bring herself to answer. she should know this, she did her readings on it so why couldn’t she remember? oh right, because some new girl was distracting her, that’s why.

“it was fought between the romans and the antigonids,” you spoke up after minutes of silence from karina. she looked back in shock, finding you three rows behind her. great, the person who’s been wrecking my train of thought is also in the same class as me.

you shoot her a wink with a smile, causing karina to immediately turn back around to the front, hoping you wouldn’t see her cheeks heating up out of embarrassment.

“that’s correct y/n, thank you. pay more attention karina, this isn’t like you”

“yes sir, it won’t happen again” karina sinks into her seat and groans internally for letting herself get distracted and embarrassing herself in front of you… and the class.

and now, she despised you for making her feel this way and decided that she wanted nothing to do with you.

so any attempt you made in trying to be her friend, whether it be buying her snacks, coffee, cup noodles, and even a whole cake, or trying to follow her on instagram and her other socials, karina shut all of it down. she couldn’t afford to be embarrassed like that anymore and she tried her best to avoid you, but she quickly learned that you were stubborn and you weren’t going to stop until you two were at least acquaintances.

“hi karina! i grabbed you a triangle kimbap and a choco pie in case you were hungry,” you hold out the snacks in front of her, hoping she’ll actually take them this time. but as usual, she just stares at them and her hands remain still by her side.

her eyes shift from your hands to your own eyes, and you could feel a bitter coldness being emitted from her dark brown orbs. “i’m going to make this very clear, y/n. i do not care who you are or where you came from, but i do not need you around me. buying me snacks is not going to get me to be friends with you, so drop the act. we are never going to be friends,” she says, words hitting you like a knife. your hands that are filled with snacks drop to your side as you watch the campus goddess walk away from you. from that moment on, you do your best to avoid her, hoping that you are finally giving her something she actually wants.

it’s only 9 in the morning, and karina is already having a horrible day.

“what? what do you mean i’m failing? that’s nearly impossible-”

“calm down karina, you’re not behind by much. with a little tutoring and some catch up assignments, you’ll be able to bring your grade up in no time,” her english professor says.

karina huffs in frustration. how could this happen? she swore she handed in all her essays on time and they were all done very well, so she had no idea how could she be failing the class.

“i asked the student who will tutor you to come in today so that i could introduce you two,” and as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“perfect timing. come in!”

karina doesn’t bother turning around to see who it was, still trying to rack her brain over how she could possibly be doing badly in english class.

“you wanted to see me professor lee?”

the purple haired girl’s eyes widened and her mouth falls slightly agape. she didn’t need to look at who it was; the voice said it all.

“thank you for coming, y/n! i wanted to introduce you to karina, have you met before?”

“yes, we share a few classes together” you say dryly.

you were aware that you had to tutor someone, but you didn’t know it’d be her. from where you were standing, you could see that she didn’t want to be in this setup either. she was avoiding your presence, putting all her attention onto the stack of papers on the professor’s desk and studying it as if it were the most intriguing thing in the world right now.

“with all due respect professor lee, i’m sure there are a number of other students who would be willing to help karina out. not to mention countless other students who speak english at a much higher level than i do, such as aeri, chaeyoung, jennie, yunjin, jisu, seungkwan.. need i list more?”

for the first time since entering the office, karina looks at you with a confused expression; she didn’t expect you to turn the opportunity down, not after all the nice things you’ve done for her just to be her friend. your focus remains on the professor as you wait for a reply, ignoring the other girl beside you who was trying to figure you out, the stack of papers on the desk now long forgotten.

“nonsense y/n, what better way to learn english than from someone who’s just transferred from canada? besides, english is your first language, correct?” you nod your head, unable to lie because the records were right there in front of the prof.

“then it’s settled! think of it as a way to get closer to one another. karina, i promise you won’t regret this and your grade will improve in no time! you two are dismissed, i’ll see you both on wednesday”

both of you bow your heads, and karina is the first one to get up and leave. you follow suit, rolling your eyes once you’re at the door because she didn’t even have the courtesy to hold it open for you. once you’re both outside of professor lee’s office, you’re about to retreat to your own dorm but karina stops you.

“hey”

you say nothing and just turn to look at her, waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say.

“2pm tomorrow at the library. don’t be late,” she says sternly.

with no ounce of emotion on your face, you turn around and leave the purple haired girl standing in front of the prof’s office.

you hoped this tutoring session will go somewhat smoothly.

no, it’s not going smoothly.

karina was the one who said not to be late, yet she’s the one who came almost 20 minutes late. she blamed it on ningning for asking her to accompany her while she talks to one of their other professors.

and now, karina hasn’t spoken a word to you since she got here. she didn’t bother asking for any clarification or any questions and just began working on her assignment, but you couldn’t care less. if she didn’t want to fix her grade, then so be it. you allowed yourself to enjoy this quiet time by catching up on your favourite book, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.

“here, check this for me”

you scan the paragraph writing assignment she had to do. with a pencil, you lightly circled her mistakes and even wrote down some comments on things that could be improved. when you hand it back to her, you watch as her eyes scan over the paper and she huffs in frustration. you continue to watch the campus goddess scribble onto her paper, erasing and rewriting things every other second. your eyes move to the paper and you notice her making the same mistake again.

“you did the same thing aga-”

“shut up, i got it” but even after she erases it, she does it again. this time, she realizes what she wrote.

“not a word, y/n”

“rina look, i just-”

“first of all, do not call me that. we’re not close, okay? and second, i don’t care that you were asked to help me. i just need to pass english and then i’m through with you,” without missing a beat, she continues writing her assignment.

you won’t lie, it hurt whenever karina dismissed you like that. you don’t even understand why she hated you so much. was it because you answered for her in class? or was it because you stole her seat on the first day? whatever it was, it still hurt. but if she was going to be like this towards you, then you figured you should be the same back.

and that’s how the rest of your tutoring sessions go. you both arrive at the library, not uttering a single word to each other. you immerse yourself in your book or in other school work, and you only say something if karina asks you. as you meet up more and more, however, you notice karina is slowly starting to ask more questions and actually initiate conversation but you always gave her a dry reply, not even bothering to look up at her as you answer. why should you? you were just here to help her.

after one of your tutoring sessions, you were walking back to your dorm when you suddenly receive a phone call. the caller ID was enough to make you decline the call, but you answer it anyway. you don’t bother saying hello, and just wait for the other party to say something.

“not even a hello? wow, who do you think you are?”

“what do you want?”

“jeez, what’s gotten into you? i just called to check up on you”

“i never asked you to check on me”

“god, you’re unbelievable. you should be thankful i’m even checking up on you even after what you did to your-”

“stop trying to act like my mother. you are not her and you will never be her, so just shut up and leave me alone,” you angrily say as you hang up, not letting her get a response in. you shove your phone back into your pocket and stormed off to your dorm, but you don’t notice the girl behind you who heard everything.

she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. if anything, she blames you for stopping in the middle of the hallway and answering the call, and even putting it on speaker phone. but she heard it either way, whether she wanted to or not. karina watched as you stomped away and she felt a heavy feeling in her chest - it was guilt. she’s been rude to you all this time when all you wanted was to be her friend. you even agreed to tutor her (though it was pretty much forced) and she was still acting like such a bitch to you. but after hearing the conversation, she couldn’t help but feel sad. she didn’t have the best relationship with her mom either, so in a way, she kind of related to you. she starts thinking that maybe you weren’t so bad after all.

a few more tutoring sessions and three assignments later, karina manages to get her grade back up. once she hears the good news from professor lee, she immediately goes to find you.

“y/n!”

you turn around to find an ecstatic and smiley purple haired goddess coming your way. she crashes into you and wraps her arms around you, but you just stand there and look straight ahead, leaving your arms glued to your side.

she finally lets go of you after what seemed like minutes of hugging, and she shoves a paper in front of your face.

“look! i got my grade back up, and it’s all thanks to you!”

“good. now we can go our separate ways,” you try to walk pass her, but she grabs your arm to stop you.

“wait! let me treat you to something to eat! as a thank you for helping me”

“i’ll pass,” and you try to walk by her again. she doesn’t stop you this time, but she starts following you instead.

“how about tomorrow? or next week? i’m free whenever, just let me kn-”

“what’s your deal, hm? why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? just because you got your grade up or what?”

karina’s smile fades and a nervous expression appears on her face, scared to tell you why she was acting this way. she fidgets with the paper in her hand, avoiding your gaze and biting her bottom lip.

“so what do you want?” you ask, trying to get an answer out of her.

“i..” she starts. “i overheard your phone call with your mom. i didn’t mean to, it’s just you were right there and you even put it on speaker phone so i just happened to hear everything..” you say nothing, and you wait for her to continue.

“i feel bad for how i’ve treated you all this time. the truth is, i get it. i know what you’re going through, and it’s okay to-”

“stop,” karina looks at you, and she looks scared but she’s not scared that you were angry, she knew you’re probably pissed at her. what was scaring her is the lack of emotion you were showing. she wanted you to scream at her, to cuss her out for being such a bitch, but instead you’re as calm as ever and it terrifies her to her core.

“she’s not my mother. that was my stepmom who tries way too hard to be my mother,” you say calmly. you start making your way to her, making sure that she hears what you have to say next loud and clear. once you're right in front of her, you continue.

“don’t act like you fucking know me just after hearing one phone call. if you’re being nice to me because you feel bad for me, then just save it. i don’t need your pity and i don’t need you around, got it? i’m through with you” you’re close enough to feel her breath on your lips, but you back away as soon as you’re done talking to her and you leave her in the middle of the hall with people were staring, but you didn’t care. you didn’t need karina or her pity, and the campus goddess got that message loud and clear. but it still hurt her. it hurt enough to make tears fall from her eyes, and karina rarely ever cries. she wipes away whatever tears were on her cheek and starts making her way to meet with ningning.

karina didn't want you to be through with her, but she deserved it. especially since she's the one who said it first.

#kpop scenarios #girl group scenarios #kpop imagines #gg scenarios #gg imagines #aespa #aespa karina #karina yu #yu jimin #karina angst #karina scenarios #karina imagines

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seosejun · 2 months

Text

Soloist SEO SEJUN debuted at the beginning of last year with the critically acclaimed mini-album, NEW GAME, which achieved immediate success. The album sold nearly half a million copies, and his debut song, MELODY, took home seven music show wins. He followed this up a few months later with another EP, to much of the same success. His meteoric rise to fame and fortune is an obvious by-product of the little over a year he spent in 1V1, a fan-formed group from survival show Last Act. By the end of their fifteen-month temporary contract, 1V1 was on even ground with the show’s winners, ENCORE, having sold over a million copies with their first and last full-length album.

The ten months since his last music release have come as a surprise. While it was obvious he wouldn’t maintain the breakneck pace of 1V1’s releases, the quick turnaround between his first two albums seemed like a promising sign. Now, it looks like those signs were misplaced.

That isn’t to say Sejun has spent the last ten months in radio silence. He’s active as a model and an influencer, gracing the covers of Vogue and Elle Korea to name some examples. He also co-wrote the debut album of former group member KIM CHAN late last year. When it comes to his own music career, he seems to have become completely inept.

With each passing day, it becomes increasingly evident he’s moved on to greener pastures: his streaming career. Sejun’s Twitch and personal YouTube channels 세유화 (SEYUHWA)—a portmanteau of his name and Kim Sowol’s poem “산유화”—made their debuts last summer. Since then, he’s streamed almost every day, sometimes for ten to twelve hours at a time. He spends most of that time playing video games—namely Overwatch 2—and occasionally engaging in the usual parasocial conversations with fans. Given that his appearance on Last Act and 1V1’s entire concept both revolved around video games, it was only a matter of time before his solo career did the same. Inheriting the group concept is not enough, Sejun needs to wholly embody it.

From an outside perspective, C Entertainment appears to support his new ventures. His streams sometimes features his manager, KWON INSOO, as a gaming partner rather than a supervisor. Sejun has yet to speak out or complain about his new management. Knowing his propensity for talking shit, his complaints would be known if he had complaints to make. Viewers were also quick to notice that he seems to be happier and more animated streaming than in either of his solo promotional periods, leading fans to wonder if he still wants to be an idol.

Not everyone is as enthusiastic as he is for his new career. He gained notoriety during Last Act after a recording of him flaming his League of Legends teammates in voice chat surfaced. Although tame by gaming standards, it was not the best look for an idol hopeful. Similar controversies would continue to plague him throughout his time in 1V1, though they did nothing to hinder the group’s success. With his freedom to apparently do whatever he chooses, Sejun has once again found himself the target of those who dislike his disregard for an idol image. Some of his streams also feature former 1V1 member ALEX KANG, who retired from the entertainment industry after the group’s disbandment. Though these collaborations were once celebrated by casual kpop fans and die-hard Supports—1V1’s fandom name—alike, Alex’s insistence on distancing himself from the kpop industry and his tendency to ban people in his Twitch chat who ask too many questions about his idol experience have furthered soured some netizens’ opinion of Sejun.

When asked about the state of his music career or if he’s preparing for a comeback, Sejun is uncharacteristically vague. In responses to comments on his Instagram posts of his latest brand deals, he's “working on it” and hopes fans will “wait a little longer.” He elaborated a bit further on streams, assuring fans it isn’t the fault of his management like many of them assume, but rather his own choices. He doesn’t say much more on the topic.

For now, there's nothing for fans to do but wait as he's asked.

#( ⌖ ) CURRENT OBJECTIVE : MEDIA.#kpop oc #fictional idol community #kpop fanfic #idol oc #bts addition

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albatmobile · 1 year

Note

Head empty just Roy and jason being submissive while high with reader ehueheuhe

(Ignore this if you want)

definitely more of this prompt to come in the next chapter!

romance and return policies

next: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] || ao3

𓅪 Rated: M | TW: weed | 1.7k includes: alternate universe no powers, modern au, eventual polyamory, eventual relationships, eventual smut, gamestop au

𓅪 established roy harper x koriand'r eventual: jason todd x reader, Roy Harper x reader, koriand'r x reader endgame: Jason Todd x reader x Roy Harper x koriand'r

It's not your fault you always want the latest games, exclusives and merch for the fandoms you're in.

In your old town, certain GameStop’s had even banned you from trading due to how much you were in there, something you’d never understand. Other stores sneered at you for always buying up the good shit before the employees even had the chance to stake their claim on it.

Since moving nearly across the country, the new GameStop you’ve started going to definitely seems to be the most chill of the bunch.

It's a small, podunk town in Arizona, which means you never have to beat the lines like you had to in the hustle and bustle of the East Coast cities. The town's big enough to stay somewhat anonymous but small enough that if you visit a place once a week, by week three, everyone will know your social security number.

Needless to say, the GameStop workers know your car by now, as evidenced by the way Roy sees you pull in and attempts to snuff out whatever he’s been smoking.

You don't normally use their back parking lot, but the DMV next door is extra packed today and spilled over into the shared lot. You figure he’s been smoking a cigarette until you step out of your car and smell it.

“I’m telling,” Is all you say. He flips you off easily.

Roy had always been overly welcoming and easy to joke with right off the bat, something you appreciated since you knew no one here.

“At this point, you may as well fucking work here. Your word would mean more than mine,” You laugh and make gimmie hands, which he goes to oblige easily, then stops. He regards you silently for a moment before looking around, then up at the security camera that he was just out of view of before finally holding out the joint to you. Fucking paranoid stoners, you can barely contain your eye roll. “Didn’t take you for the smoking type, darlin’.”

“Considering you don’t know me, that seems about right,” He laughs easily at your prickly humor as you sidle up to him in the blindspot of the camera, blushing slightly when your fingers accidentally brush in the hand-off. “My ex was a huge stoner kinda formed a habit that I can’t even maintain.”

“Money?” He winces only after the question comes out, seeming only then to realize it’s a bit of an invasive question for the circumstances.

You’ve been coming to this GameStop at least twice a week, though almost always more, for the past few months since you moved to AZ. Whether it be to browse or trade- Roy, a redhead named Star and some brooding dick with a grey streak always seemed to be there (you’ve never seen him wear a name tag, but he seems to be the manager). Regardless, your relationship hardly seemed to go past customer service ever. That is, until now.

Roy doesn’t seem like the type to have a filter, so you know he means no offense. You can’t lie, though; seeing him all flustered is doing certain things to you.

You snap yourself from your thoughts.

Roy has always been extra touchy-feely with the beautiful red-headed employee who always offers you kind smiles and excited opinions on your choices. However, she has a special affinity for plushies and always seems to push more on you. At this point, you could run a shelter for plushies with the way their cute dead eyes watched you from the growing pile on your bed.

Who are you to tell this seven-foot-tall goddess no?

“No,” You chuckle lightly as you inhale. “I never learned how to roll.”

It's a lie.

A total, complete lie, but you know one thing: men love to think they're teaching you something. Plus, if it means someone will roll you free weed, who are you to turn it down?

“Oh, babe. I’ve got you,” Roy’s silky voice stirs arousal within you as he pulls out the decrepit remains of a smartphone. Android or Apple, it’s too far gone to tell, but the screen still brightens when he bangs on the home button, so it couldn’t technically be considered completely trashed…

“Won’t your girlfriend be mad?” You ask, looking hesitantly at the sharded screen he was pushing your way.

“Kori?” Roy gestures to the store behind the two of you before waving off your concern. “Nah, she’s chill.”

Kori, huh? She always wears a name tag that says Star, but you should’ve known it's just a nickname.

With all the basement creeps that come in and try to hit on you while you're here, you can’t imagine Kori’s position. Hell, you didn’t want to wear your name tag at the diner half the time if it wasn’t for Pam forcing you to ‘play nice.’

You raise a dubious brow, “I think you misunderstand my question: is Kori single?”

He snorts easily, eyes crinkling around the scattered freckles on his face. “Fucking figures that I’d finally get your number and you’re more concerned with the redhead inside.”

“Finally get it?” The deep voice startles you as the ‘Employee Only’ door whips open to reveal skunkhead.

“Get what?” You ask with a tiny tilt of your head.

Name-tagless dude gestures down to Roy’s cracked screen, “We had a bet going on.”

“Yeah, man. I got the number, but she wants the other babe,” Sexy brooding skunk, fuck- you have to learn his actual name, laughs. “Also, stop spying on me during my break, fucking weirdo.”

“I’m your boss,” He grabs the joint from your fingers and takes a long drag. Your eyes remain wide while his close into green slits, taking you in with the smoke, closing his eyes with the exhale. “How else would I know you’re corrupting our best customer?”

“Corrupting!” Roy exclaims, gesturing to you as his eyes rip open. You immediately hold your hands up in surrender. “She came up to me! You know how the ladies get with this hair, Jay.”

Your face wrinkles in obvious disgust, “Is it too late to delete my contact?”

Roy huffs and yanks the blunt from ‘Jay’ and shoos him, “Jay, you’re ruining my shot, man.”

“Yeah, me,” Jay rolls his eyes and motions you in before retreating back inside. “What do you want?”

This time, you don’t contain your eye roll as you attempt to catch up to his quick pace. “What happened to the monotonous ‘Welcome to GameStop’ I used to get?”

“You’ve got half of my employees stockpiling the good shit for you. That’s what happened,” He glances at you over his shoulder, his usual emotionless eyes glinting with the slightest bit of amusement.

You don’t bother with a response as you follow him out of the elusive break room you’d seen them disappear to in the past.

“Not my fault you only have like four employees,” You shrug with a faux-innocence he sees right through. You’re cute, though, so he’ll let it slide.

“I have three employees and all of them would probably return this overdue shit for you without question,” He gives you an unimpressed look as he underlines the ‘return by’ date on your receipt and flips it around for you to see. “Two days, a bit irresponsible, no?” He exhales dramatically as he clicks obnoxiously around on the computer on the counter before shaking his head. “Don’t know if we can help even a loyal customer such as yourself in an incident like this.”

You don’t know Jay well enough to know if he’s joking or not, but before you can even respond, the bell chimes and welcomes in one of the other usual customers.

“You always come in on Tuesdays,” The man winks at you and starts toward the counter, but Jason shakes his head and points toward the door. “What? I didn’t do anything this time!”

“Buddy, we’ve already talked about you scaring off my customers.”

“Three strikes doesn’t apply?” He disappears off between the shelves before coming toward the counter again with a box in hand. Once he’s back in sight, your eyes drop to the counter in front of you, wishing he would just leave you alone.

“Pretty sure you’re at your limit and,” He cuts off the man before he can interrupt. “I’m not going to argue with you about my own strike system, so kindly fuck off.” There’s nothing kind about the dark timber of Jay’s voice. The other man seems to think better of questioning the manager who makes the GameStop uniform look like a stripper outfit through his muscles alone.

“Just came here to get this, man,” He drops the box on the counter and you recognize it as the new, limited edition final season statue worth over $400.

Jason seems to realize this, too and looks to you with a silent apology before quickly checking the man out and personally escorting him to the door after.

“Just because you’re a big spender doesn’t mean you won’t be banned if you don’t start treating her, let alone any other woman, with some fucking respect,” The look he gives the man is enough to send him scurrying out without so much as a glance back at you.

“Thanks,” You say quietly in the wake of silence that follows the door’s bell. The tinkling noise echoes around in your ears.

“Don’t thank me for shit like that,” His tone leaves no room for negotiation. You say nothing else as he processes the late return without question.

As soon as he hands you your receipt, Jay walks you out to your car, holding the door open for you, all while making sure the man hasn’t lingered in the parking lot or anything. Luckily, it seems like Jay’s warning has sufficiently warded the creep off. He makes sure you’re completely in your car before shutting your door, then watches you peel out of the lot until your car is a mere fleck in his vision.

A/N: this was a spur of the moment fic i really had a craving for a gamestop au after i was forced to go in there to return some shit and was like o... i know what i need to do now, hence ^

let me know what you think and check out my pinned for my other content!

[next] || ao3 || pinned || my ko-fi / tip jar

#reader x jason todd x roy harper #reader x Jason Todd x Roy Harper x koriand'r #jason todd x reader #reader x roy harper #reader x koriand'r #answered #albatmobile prompts #my fic: Romance and Return Policies

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raspbeyes · 1 year

Text

ace good character question mark (not really morally but yes)

(another one of my longer ones, this one more self-indulgent than actually analytical sorryyy i might just be spouting off stuff already said)

okay out of the gate i love ace as a character and i had to just spit out words into the void of why such an asshole of a character just rose to the top of my list of fav drdt characters

now drdt definetely has a lot of assholes in its cast: arturo, arei, j, charles, and recently teruko herself as of chapter 2. now while i do love the latter three, i cant help but say i dont really love arturo and arei as much and find their asshole tendancies more aggrivating

SO WHY ACE? what did he do? out of anyone, he's the one who's become actually more of an asshole compared to ch 2. at least teruko has ch 1 and a reason for being a jerk, j has her redeemable moments and isnt inherently bad, just coarse, charles was redeemed as was arei, and arturo hasn't done anything that made him inherently worse from ch 1 (i can hear u say "what about the whole j thing?" and my point still stands ... he's still just as insufferable lol). meanwhile, ace has turned from a comedic relief who swears profusely to an actual bully, who while still is probably just bite, actually threatens nico's life several times during ch 2.

i think its the sparse moments of "calm" between his hectic swearing that makes him so much more compelling to me. when a character, especially a character as far gone and stubborn as ace shows these slight moments of awareness of themselves, i think it reveals so much to their character beneath surface level without overtly doing a full reveal, making them sm more interesting to me. what makes ace compelling is where the expectations of his supposedly hot headed demeanor dont add up

rambling time ~

ace has a strange relationship with his talent. for someone who is a red headed, athletic, and foul mouthed character is already signing the alarm bells of a leon kuwata character. those three major traits signal to some sort of pride ace would have for his talent. and while in some ways he is like leon in that he doesn't train much, its actually ace's fear of failure that keeps him pushing past his fear of horses. ace has a habit of supplementing one fear for another, like how he overcame his fear of levi with his fear of the killing game. but at the end of the day, ace lives not by any level of cockiness like his brash character design may suggest, but rather by constant fear.

though ace is aware of his cowardice, as seen in his dialogue in ch1, ep2

Ace: Damn ... I know I'm scared of everything, alright? You don't gotta point that out to me. I wanna overcome my fears, but it's really fuckin' hard!

Right away, when called out, ace admits to knowing of his flaw and even more, he wants to improve! it's wild that a character who seems so bull-headed would even comprehend the thought of self-improvment, especially coming from ace. ace doesn't just have the desire to be safe, but he also has the desire to grow past that mindset (though clearly not enough to actually change). moreover, his line of saying how teruko doesn't have to "point that out" will show up again later

i dont have much to say on the trial outside of the obvious ace being a dick and going along with popular concensus. tho his outburst on levi is interesting. especially where he calls levi a coward

Ace: That's right. Shut your damn mouth, you coward -

I wonder how ace now is the one calling levi a coward when ace previously was terrified of levi. he seems especially peeved off by levi's peacemaker attitude the most. honestly, this is some good ol' fashion projection. Ace is well aware he's a coward, but he calls out levi for somehow the same thing.

personally, i think ace is pissed off that someone as intimidating as levi manages to maintain his anger and fears when ace cannot. We know Levi has a darker past that we aren't aware of and with the slight collpase in his character after ace's sharp remarks, it's clear levi isn't as much of a pushover as he lets on. ace noticed this from the start due to his own paranoia - which is why ace feared levi intially sm - and seeing levi somehow being the better person infuriates him. he wishes to be better, but when he fails, seeing levi further rubs salt into that wound.

a clear but inevitable change occurs within ace from chapter 1 to 2, with the creator (i believe i cant find the screenshot sorryyy) mentioning that ace hasn't been dying his hair red like he usually does to hide away his grey hairs, probably due to the stress. out of anyone's reactions following min's exection, ace's is the most vocal

Ace: Get me the fuck out of here! I don't want to be here anymore! Someone, anyone out there, please help me!!

Because everything, from the body discovery, to the trial, to the execution, were all something ace feared would happen and kept wanting to deny by having outbursts and trying to gain some short-term joy in picking fights. but now, every one last of his fears have been proven true, justifying all of his negative emotions. next we see him in chapter 2 is believing the food eden and levi prepared is poisoned and jumping to the conclusion teruko died when she arrived early.

during the motive reveal, ace says off-handedly

Ace: You've been nothing but a complainer this whole time, Teruko, and that's coming from me.

Again, small detail, but shows ace's awareness that he often complains. just adds to how ace views himself.

Tho more concerningly ace says later

Ace: You know what, fuck it! Fuck this motive, fuck investigating, fuck this killing game, I'm just going to walk around randomly and get my head blown off by whatever's waiting for us. Who cares! Buh-bye!

I will touch on this more later, but here we get the first glimpse of ace's self-destructivness. perhaps in some desperate way to escape his fear of death and everything from the last chapter, ace chooses apathy as the solution to facing death

during teruko's exploration at the gym, ace constantly brings up levi's threat from the trial. but unlike before, where he might cower away, ace shows no fear in snatching levi's stretch band and running away. it seems that while before ace may have wanted to improve by following levi, seeing levi do something ace would have done while facing no reprucussions from the rest of cast drives ace mad. after all, levi did threaten to actually harm ace, while ace only makes cowardly attempts to fight, but somehow people are way more willing to look past levi compared to ace.

however, after teruko calls ace "utterly useless" and "volatile, a coward" and "will die quickly" ace comes rushing back into the gym

however, when confronted and teruko only doubles down on her statement, ace is taken aback before saying

Ace: Tch, I should have realized it from the start. In this killing game, everyone is out to get me. Especially people who love picking fights with me, people like you and Levi (side note: in all of my talk of his self awareness, ace still doesn't realize he's the one starting fights smhh). I can't believe I wasted my time with all that dumb shit like arm wrestling and running around screaming at meaningless stuff. I was fucking stupid to not take this killing game seriously from the start. I'm done with being everyone's kickable scaredy cat. The only thing I should do is look out for myself and myself alone.

His previous awareness of his cowardly-ness now has transformed to self-loathing, as he is angry at himself for not "taking the killing game seriously". it sure seems like he did, judging by his fear of it; but it seems to me he more means trying to let himself get caught up in miniscule conflicts to distract from bigger problems. in some ways, it's like teruko in which ace tried to open up (not a lot, mind you) to distract from the looming fear of dying. but now that it has been confirmed, he feels like he has been played for a fool. his awareness of his "scaredy cat" label further intrigues the audience, because it seems ace truly does loathe how much of a coward he is, but is unable to truly overcome it. before, he seemed more willing to openly express it, and his desire to change, exposing himself slightly. but now he realized how much of a weakness that was for him, as pointed out by teruko, so now ace is determined more than ever to mask his fear with more destructive tendancies.

next we see ace is with what becomes the start with his rivalry with nico. we do get a hint in chapter 1 of ace picking on nico, but here, it fully explodes to actually bullying.

when asked what set ace off, nico recounts how he mentioned that if ace keeps on yelling, people will "keep thinking you're dumb". now idk when this happened, but likely right after teruko said pretty much veratim what nico is warning ace about happening. with it already proven true, ace is already prepared to fire back and now direct all his resentment towards his classmates of their perception of him on nico.

Ace: You all think I'm damaged in the head. But more than that ... Levi, Teruko, Nico, Veronika, and everyone else. You all think you can say whatever the fuck you want to my face, right? I'm stupid, irritating, a good-for-nothing, and a spineless coward. Is that what everyone really thinks of me? And it's fine that you drill it into my head over and over again, because you think that I'll forget about it in 5 minutes like you do? Ha! Ha ha ha ha! You're sooo funny! So fucking funny, did anyone ever tell you that? You think I act like this for fun, and then I go to bed and sleep soundly at night, you dumb piece of shit?

THIS! THIS IS WHAT MAKES ACE SO COMPELLING! Because as much as it seems like Ace is rejecting what everyone is saying from the list he made of negative traits, I'd argue only Teruko hands-down affirmed what Ace says about himself. Levi apologized multiple times, Nico further explained he meant it as constructive critcism, and well ... idk Veronika is just thrilled so she doesn't care. Honestly, while it might be true the cast thinks that of him, only 4 people have mentioned it, and two already apologized. But that was enough for ace, because form this dialogue alone, it inadvertenly reveals this is how ace views himself constantly

that's why i love ace's character writing. he can outwardly seem like such a jerk (and he is, no denying that) from being a coward, but with his dialogue, it reveals so much about it without him ever uncharacteristically acting vulnerable. he fully weaponizes his own self-hatred and chooses to instead reframe it as everyone else's full hatred of him. he is constantly hating himself, but at the same time, it conflicts with his want to be seen by others better. due to his own self hatred however, he believes that everyone already looks down on him, which creates its own self-fufilling prophecy

(SPOILER FOR THE RECENT EP 9) this even connects with his relationship with food. while jockies do develop eds due to the strict weight limiations to correctly ride the horse, that quickly can spiral to body image issues, and thus how people view them. ace's ed likely further adds to his hatred to not just himself but his own body, an ed that is further justified by said talent. moreover, we know previously how it is his fear of being viewed a failure that pushes him to become a jockey.

but instead of being able to better himself, he chooses to project and cover these self-loathing thoughts as not just his own, but everyone else's. and with nico - someone ace despises due to nico being the coward ace likely fears he is seen as (get it ... scaredy cat ... cuz ... cuz nico looks like a cat ... hehehe ill see myself out) - to point it out to him right after being told off by teruko is what broke the camel's back for him.

moreover, with how ace questions the others about him choosing to act the way he does "for fun" hints to the actual lack of control ace feels he has not just on the world, but himself. he cannot find anything in himself to like, but because he doesn't know how to be better, he's left constantly internalizing it. it may be why he constantly causing a stir and lashing out, in order to never be left alone to think about it like he would at night

it may be why ace threatens to "bash" veronica's "brain out", so veronika, in all her psycho analysis, only points out the surface level fear of the killing game pushing ace to act the way he does, treating ace like a coward. and he is, but ace knows that more than anyone else about himself and the constant treatment of him as pathetic infuriates him because in his eyes, they all aren't pin pointing anything ace doesn't know about himself that he may be able to control.

(tho before i continue on, just know whatever i've been rambling on about is not a justification of any of ace's actions, especially him being a massive asshole to nico, only due to his own insecurity and not because of nico himself. while ace didn't deserve to be attempted-murder-ed for it, he is the one who took the first shot and people have the right to be upset, especially nico. pls dont take this post as me justifiying ace's actions or his words at all T^T he's an intersting characters and i just like watching characters cause interesting conflicts)

During the cafeteria scene, when david intervenes in ace exposing nico's secret, ace says

Ace: Tch. Of course. You always need people like David to save you from mean bullies like me, huh? What a pathetic weakling. The truth is, you're nothing but a spineless whelp who can't stand up for yourself.

Nico: Why are you so cruel?

Ace: Go ahead and cry. Let everyone swoop in and help you.

Nico: You're ... You're the worst.

Ace: Yeah? And?

Ace refers to himself as a "mean bully" and accepts the label as "the worst" from nico fully, showing how he plans on only "looking out for himself". Ace is aware what he is doing is wrong, which is interesting from the bully archetype.

And as others have mentioned before, his line of calling nico a "pathetic weakling" feels less just directed at nico, but more himself. Ace, in his perspective, finds it unfair that Nico has aroused others' pity while ace only manages to drive them away (here's a thought: don't start a fight first chance u get lol). he believes that nico and him are both equals in terms of "patheticness" but nico, in ch 1, is sought after by xander and teruko (something ace interjects into). In some vain way to gain an edge over what ace views as his worst qualities, ace antagonizes nico, but it only leads to more people supporting nico (obviously lol). we'll see often ace referring to nico as a coward, 100% projecting.

but after david, hu, and nico run out the cafeteria, i think ace's interaction with rose is particularly interesting and definitely worth looking into.

Rose: Ace, you definitely went too far.

Ace: Haah? You wanna go --

Rose: You're doing it again. How do you have so much energy to fight all the time?

Ace: Tch - Look, I just ... I struggle to control myself sometimes when I get angry. Or something.

Levi: Still, that in no way warrants what you said to Nico -

Ace: Oh, like you're one to talk. Why am I sticking around this dump? I'm leaving.

I have to wonder what Rose said that caught Ace off-guard. this is speculation, but initially ace seemed fired up to fight. But when Rose instead poses a question rather than a statement of ace's character, it's what manages to cool him down enough to admit his own anger issues. In a way, Rose may have been a lingering question Ace often thinks himself, and for Rose to verbalize it manages to cool Ace down. But when Levi makes a statement about ace, that and what ace views as levi's hypocrisy is enough to put ace back on the offensive (or defensive... idk he's just angry all over again)

now onto nico's attempted murder (also have to say this, but omg i love ace's va, Seth Raffield. especially during ch 6. bro put his everything to sound actually in pain its incredible work all throughout!)

while most of ace's reaction is in line of what you'll expect ace - hell anyone really if they were nearly murdered - to say (ie swear profusely and scream).

however, for once, ace is offered help from levi and eden (idk about teruko lol but ig she gives advice in telling ace to give up on finding nico.

Ace: Don't bother. I'd rather bleed all over my room than accept any sort of help from you.

Levi: Don't say that. Your injury is serious. If you don't get medical treatment right now, you're going to make your situation worse -

Ace: Then I'll let it get worse! I'd rather die alone than accept your help! It's inevitable anyway, so why should I take your pity on top of everything else I have to suffer through?! Don't talk to me ever again!

Levi: ...

Eden: Don't say that ...

Ace: You know ... Heh. I've always wondered which is worse, dying young or living a long shitty life of suffering. But it turns out neither of those options are as bad as this.

Teruko: What's 'this'?

Ace: Don't ask stupid crap. And also? Go eat shit. [Ace proceeds to pass out]

This always confuses me. LIKE WHAT IS 'THIS' REFERRING TO? The killing game? Being murdered? Nico getting away with murder??? WHAT AHHH?

It's so puzzling I cannot for the life of me figure out what ace is alluding to by what is so bad from dying at nico's hand. Whatever it is is clearly important since teruko points out ace's vague phrasing BUT I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT!! ( T^T )

Though from what i do know, ace clearly still holds a deep resentment for levi, rather wanting to die than get his help. And that's a huge jump from ace of ch1 who was terrified of death, and perhaps he still is. but we did see early in ch2 after the motive reveal this self-destructive attitude he has adopted since the min's execution.

He fully accepts his death, calling it inevitable, which may be even more true for ace's case with the understanding of his ed. with his body "falling apart" and eds being known to get in the way of a body being able to properly recover, ace's paranoia of death becomes something not just delusion but a constant reality for him. Death is always present in his mind, with it seeming he has spent a long time questioning whether dying young or old is better or worse.

I don't have much to say as of newer material since it's pretty expected of ace's reaction. tho its really jarring how people are fully unwilling to accept the possibility nico attempted to kill ace WHEN HE WAS CLEARLY INJURED. it's wild. i can't say i agree with him fully going after nico during the investigation, but i cant say i think ace is in the wrong since LITERALLY NOBODY IS WILLING TO BELIEVE ACE, not even eden nor teruko choose to back him up on what they saw.

so uh tl;dr (don't blame u)

soo ...yeah ace cool character maybe? idk if anything i really said was anything ground breaking i just had to compile them all together in this big ol' post. ace is a character who idk resonates with me in all of his frustration. a lot of what he says feels like a very human feeling of knowing his wrongs but feeling powerless to make a change, creating a cycle of bitter frustration. it's what really makes ace stand out, as while at first he appears to be a one off hot headed joke, ch 2 takes the breadcrumbs laid out in ch 1 and truly expands on the implications it means. He's the bully trope, but instead of bullying out of confidence, he bullies from insecurity. And not just that, he is very aware of it and hates himself for how he acts. A bully who wants to do better but can't control himself is just intriguing and i cant wait to see more ace development

now anyway ill be off in my sacrifice circle to manifest survivor ace

#danganronpa #danganronpa despair time #drdt #despair time #drdt ace #ace markey #drdt spoilers #character analysis

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brocktonbay · 1 year

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HALFTIME SEXYMAN REPORT

ROUND ONE IS OVER AND THE RESULTS ARE IN!

The bottom seeded three-way matchup between Flashbang, Kevin Norton, and Gregor the Snail has ended in a decisive victory for Gregor the Snail. With his sultry looks and unconventional underdog status, Gregor has captured the hearts and twisted imaginations of the wormblrinas. Though his odds going into round two against Sexyman Favorite Jack Slash are exceedingly low, Gregor stans should remain hopeful. There's plenty of him (and his slime) to go around.

In an outcome that's sure to please the serial killer flower crown edit side of tumblr, Jack Slash has handily defeated Eidolon. Fans of sopping wet meow meows, Harry Du Bois, male pattern baldness, and @datmoongamer were heartbroken at these results, though not entirely unsurprised. Minority voters of this massacre of a match are advised to seek refuge with the Danny Contingent. Should they organize well enough, they might just be able to make it out of the upcoming DILF bracket alive.

The dubiously moral "heroes" conference was fraught with sexual tension, thanks to canonical gay representation and some… particular artistic choices from @heyitschartic. Armsmaster came out on top 😏 of Legend, but if he wants to advance to the semifinals, this tinker techbro is gonna need more sponsorship than a Larry David cryptocurrency Super Bowl commercial.

One of the most surprising games of the weekend saw wormblr-favorite Accord struggling to maintain an edge over Lung’s smoking-hot physique. After a sloppy first quarter, Accord managed to pull ahead and secure a win. But with his confidence shaken going into round two, Accord might not be a shoe-in for finals as predicted. Can he get himself together and stick to his numerous game plans? Or could we anticipate an upset?

The closest match of the night was in bracket five, where Danny Hebert beat out Crawler by a slim 2% margin. Artists both rejoiced and despaired at the fact that Crawler would not need to be drawn in any further rounds. Fans of Crawler take heart; though he may have lost early in wormblr’s 2023 sexyman tournament, us commentators suspect this won’t be the last we see of this monsterfucker-friendly face. Some athletes are growers, not showers.

The bishi showdown between Marquis and Mr. Gladly ended in a definitive and widely predicted win by Marquis. It seems that voters who are hot for teacher just couldn’t face the raw sexual charisma of Amy Dallon's father. Inside sources at the Birdcage have told us that Marquis is also pursuing a career in modeling, so stay tuned for next year's cellblock leader calendar, where he'll be starring as Mr. May AND October!

Trickster made excellent use of his top hat and gamer knowledge, defeating a colorfully costumed Nilbog in bracket seven. But unless he can pull a new trick out of that hat, our analysts aren't too optimistic at his chance of advancing into the semifinals.

Last but certainly not least was the Thinker Off between Coil and Number Man. Thanks to an aggressive pre-season campaign from @cpericardium and subliminal bulge messaging, Number Man golden ratio'd his way to 79%, leaving the remaining 21% of voters (sexually) confused at Coil's cake.

#sorry this took me forever #see you all in round two!#miss tumblr sexyman 2023 worm edition #worm #worm parahumans #parahumans #worm web serial #long post

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themattress · 1 month

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Dameon Clarke as Perfect Cell: A History

0:01 - 1:55 : Dragon Ball Z 1:56 - 2:11 : Dragon Ball GT 2:12 - 2:50 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2:51 - 3:12 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 3:13 - 3:18 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 3:19 - 3:24 : Dragon Ball Z: Sagas 3:25 - 3:47 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3:48 - 4:06 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 4:07 - 4:23 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 4:24 - 4:28 : Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 4:29 - 4:36 : Super Dragon Ball Z 4:37 - 4:51 : Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit 4:52 - 5:11 : Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World 5:12 - 6:43 : Dragon Ball Z Kai 6:44 - 7:11 : Dragon Ball Xenoverse 7:12 - 7:39 : Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 7:40 - 8:02 : Dragon Ball FighterZ 8:03 - 8:14 : Dragon Ball Legends 8:15 - 8:25 : Dragon Ball: The Breakers 8:26 - 9:35 : Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

From his debut in Dragon Ball Z through his minimal input in Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dameon Clarke had a consistently smooth and charismatic yet intimidating voice for Perfect Cell. However, starting with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, his voice seemed to gain an extra level of bass and his shouting got raspier. I'm not sure what was going on with him, but while a step down it didn't become a problem until Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, where he gives the only two bad performances in the role. The sound of his voice and line delivery in Burst Limit is wretched and nigh impossible to take seriously, while for what little he had to do in Infinite World he somehow managed to briefly use his lisping Semi-Perfect Cell voice instead of his Perfect Cell voice, in what is supposed to be a huge dramatic moment! After this, he unsurprisingly retired from the role, which was taken over by Travis Willingham, a competent enough replacement although obviously not quite the same.

But then, much like Cell himself, Clarke ended up returning more powerful than ever! His performance in Kai is chillingly good, with him having mastered that extra bass and raspy shouting in a way that makes it work in the role and breathe all new life into the character. He kept this up in most subsequent video games, although he sounded a little overtly raspy and hammed his line deliveries up too much in the first Xenoverse game...most likely since the material there was practically begging to be goofed on. He dialed it down in Xenoverse 2, doing it only when appropriate. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, however, is a fascinating case where he tried to shake things up again, maintaining a guttural, bestial growl in his voice. The effect is wonderfully unnerving, making Cell sound like a true monster who is only playing at a relaxed, gentlemanly demeanor, but his true sadistic intentions leak through all too clearly.

Dameon Clarke: truly the perfect voice actor for Perfect Cell.

#Dragon Ball #Dragon Ball Z #Cell #Dameon Clarke #Comparison #Analysis #I love this bastard

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giffenprep · 5 months

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Losing the Landlady Game

That first time, I was so hopeful! I’d always dreamed/ wondered/ fantasized about being spanked but never had been. When I got to college my new landlady made it clear how she dealt with violations of her many rules.

With the slightest amount of planning I figured I could get myself spanked, maybe a lot, maybe whenever I wanted! The biggest challenge, I estimated, would be to not be too obvious. A quick naked dart across the hall from room to shared bathroom when I heard her footstep on the stairs should get me what I want!

And it did, in a manner of speaking: I got my butt walloped. She seemed to be out to demonstrate that ‘the old girl’s still got it’ and boy, did I get it! It was a shock, and I even cried, but afterward the fantasy was just as strong, and the desire to do it again sometime, nearly so.

Barely over a week later turned out to be ‘sometime’, and not by manipulation. Mrs. Lawrence threatened to wash out my mouth for bad language she overheard but offered me the option of a spanking. I may have made the right choice, since a mouth full of soap would be awful, but she really outdid herself!

About that time I thought maybe Mrs. Lawrence’s spankings could be fewer and far between. And at first they were. I went so long that, getting a crazy thought, I set up another one rather blatantly. I assumed that with how much I’d bawled, there was no way she’d figure out it was on purpose. And as hard as she spanked me that time, it should have been a good guess!

So I needed to find a girl to spank me, or at least a woman with a lighter hand. That didn’t happen. I had a string of bad luck, which combined with forgetfulness and falling behind a lot, mostly due to ‘student (underage) drinking’. One minute I was partying happily, the next I was going over Mrs. Lawrence’s knee with alarming regularity. And the butt-whippings I got related to drinking made me wish she was only using her hairbrush!

I got my behavior (and drinking) under control and managed to bring down the frequency and severity of her still-occasional spankings. When I did ‘trigger one’ (on purpose, that is), I had to be super-careful for weeks to avoid another, unplanned, over-lap session, but I managed to only ‘earn’ three unintentionally during most of the second semester (still no luck on the finding-a-lighter-spanker front).

In May I was faced with a tough choice to renew our contract for the next schoolyear. Ever the optimist, I hoped 1) to meet someone over the summer who would spank me and 2) be able to avoid any behavioral mistakes in the next year (for one, I’d be 21 and old enough to drink legally). These two assumptions balanced each other out, but in the end I figured I’d hedge my bets on meeting someone (especially since a girl I met over the summer probably wouldn’t follow me to school) and ‘re-enlist’.

Maybe that tipped Mrs. Lawrence off (I still had a sore butt when I said ‘yes’) or maybe she just thought she’d miss my naked physique for two months, but she managed to contrive and provide two barn-burner trips over my last three weeks on the flimsiest pretenses. I spent a nervous few weeks dreading my return to her boarding house before I started wishing I could pay her a summer visit. I wondered how long I would have to be there before I could get my first one of the new schoolyear.

The answer was, not long. We maintained the pretense of ‘you’ve broken the rules’ but, between the two of us, managed to ‘meet’ for my discipline about every three weeks. I avoided any true butt-whippings but the spankings I did get, often delivered with me fully naked, featured the full force of both her arm and her resolve!

#landlady #post #story #asking for it

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star-filled-arcade · 9 days

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On the Road Again: Chapter 2

CW// Violence, blood, assault, murder, verbal abuse, swearing

Rating: M (Mature)

~~~

Anthony knew the guy he was beating up. They had been friends as kids, wandering the streets of East Harlem together, cigarettes in hand and sneaking into the local movie theatre to watch Mickey Mouse cartoons. Anthony hadn't yet been recruited into his father's footsteps back then, something he had tried to hold off for as long as possible. Anthony's brother Sal was already out on the streets selling alcohol or extorting the neighbours or whatever the hell he got up to, while Anthony spent his time playing hooky with his friends and being a general nuisance to the rest of New York. He was a typical gang kid, not much of a threat to those already with street smarts, but fearless of the law and with a keen desire to impress his father. Caught at a bad moment, those were dangerous traits for him to have, and Anthony considered himself to be pretty ruthless as a teenager. When he wasn't messing around with friends, that dangerous side of him came out in an instant, and many rival gang kids were terrified of meeting him in a dark alleyway. He was Henroin Angelo's kid, after all, the pansy little brother of Sal and the disappointment to the family name, but a killer nonetheless. Some say he could stab someone in cold blood without ever letting go of the cigarette in his mouth.

Regardless of whether that was true, a young Anthony had tried hard to maintain some kind of threatening image. He had spent his whole life in the shadow of his older brother, and he was desperate to prove himself as someone worthy of his father's admiration. It didn't matter that he was the skinny little kid who looked like a girl and used to cry over sad songs, because he was still an Angelo. That name meant something, and it was his duty to uphold it.

It's why he was now beating the shit out of a guy he used to call a childhood friend. His name was Georgie, and he used to be the clown of the group, always making them laugh with dumb jokes and slapstick routines at the expense of his own dignity. He was the gang's punching bag, but he never seemed to mind that everyone laughed at him, as long as they were laughing. He loved laughter, and Anthony couldn't remember a time that Georgie ever wore a frown.

Well, he certainly wasn't smiling now, or even frowning, since his face was so bloodied up that his expression was entirely obscured. According to Sal, Georgie had been encroaching on his turf, trying to sell cocaine for cheaper prices and messing up his business. Georgie needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, and perhaps it was a moment of cruelty that Sal entrusted the job to Anthony. Sal could have finished Georgie off in a moment without even getting a speck of blood on his polished shoes, while Anthony could have mourned him in silence, but of course not... Sal had a sick sense of humour, and it was far more satisfying for Anthony to do the job instead.

"He better be dead by the end of the day, you got it?" Sal had hissed, and Anthony had firmly kept his expression as blank as possible, a façade that now felt like second nature to him. "I don't need no fucking clown mooching off my customers."

"Can't you just buy him off, Sal? Do we really gotta kill him?" Anthony knew the plea was hopeless the moment he said it, but as usual, he was still too weak to shut off his emotions completely. He couldn't quite manage to stop his heart from squeezing painfully in his chest at the prospect of killing an old friend, but he knew saying anything was a fool's game. Sal slapped him across the face, as familiar an action to him as rolling one's eyes. It was his typical way of saying "don't be so stupid" without the mercy of simply saying the words.

"Are you fucking braindead?" He spat. "Buy him off? And let him come crawling back a few months later thinking he's slick enough to fall under the radar?" Sal flicked his cigarette onto the floor and stepped even closer towards his brother, his eyes flashing with barely contained anger and his breath hot against Anthony's cheek. "Besides, I ain't spending any money on that slippery piece of shit."

"I know, but can't you—."

"Shut up." Anthony fell silent at the deadly tone in Sal's voice. Arguing was pointless. It was either him or Georgie, although Anthony was beginning to think he no longer cared about self-preservation. Georgie's life seemed far more important than his, and yet he still kept his mouth shut. Like the good little foot soldier he was. "Grow the fuck up, Anthony, and quit your goddamn whining." Anthony didn't even need to look up to see the scathing expression of disappointment on his brother's face, a permanent fixture whenever the two interacted. "If you honestly think you can disobey a direct order, then you're even stupider than you look."

"Sure, Sal." Quiet agreement was his only option. As it always was. "I'll kill him for ya. Ain't no trouble."

"It better not be, cuz I'm getting damn sick of babysitting you." Sal shoved past him, already done with the conversation. "Screw up one more time, and I'll finally kill you, got it? You're lucky I ain't already done so with how much of a weak link you are." His words didn't even register in Anthony's mind anymore, and he was sure Sal was simply saying them out of habit. Lord knew he'd heard them a million times before.

"I won't let you down, Sal." Sal simply scoffed at him and skulked out of the room.

"Yeah, right." Anthony was left alone in the cold, quiet room of their apartment, a meeting ground that neither really used much on account of the fact that they fucking hated each other. Rent was cheap for two, and Anthony barely had a penny to his name after the War had ended, so he'd shacked up with his brother for a single night before spending every other night on various couches around the city. Occasionally he was called back to carry out a job, and Anthony did what he always did when that happened. He shut off his heart and his mind, got as high as he could without passing out and headed off to interrogate whichever poor fucker had wronged his family. With luck, he wouldn't even remember their name by the following morning.

Georgie wasn't moving anymore. Anthony didn't know if he was dead or just unconscious, but he couldn't really register much except the blood spattering his knuckles and the hard concrete below. It was almost hypnotising, the way pale skin turned to red, sorta like that fairytale he'd read to his sister Molly when they were kids. She had a whole book of fairytales that she couldn't sleep without, and Anthony was the only person around who cared to read it for her. He'd tuck her into bed and painstakingly read out each word, tracing it with his finger until he'd half memorised each story. Sometimes he thought that book of fairytales was the reason he could read at all, since his whole family were school dropouts. It wasn't their fault exactly. They just didn't suit academia, all of them far too flighty to be contained in classrooms for long. His dad and brother never saw the point of school, and Sal had been expelled long before he could even think about stepping foot in high school. Perhaps in another life, Anthony would have liked to stick at it more, but he bore the brunt of the family name, and they were destined to walk the streets forever.

Except Molly. Molly was smart, and attentive and good in every way. Anthony had always encouraged her to stay in school, because he knew she was the only member of their family who had a chance. She could make something great out of herself and leave behind this wretched city for good. All Anthony had wanted was to get his sister away from here, like one of the princesses in those damn fairytales she'd loved so much. Then she'd died, and his last hope had died with her.

Georgie groaned lightly and Anthony snapped out of his head for long enough to notice the pain shooting up his wrist. Christ, he'd really done a number on Georgie. He couldn't even see his face anymore, and the short, raggedy breaths gurgled sickeningly with the blood pooling in his throat. Anthony stopped and stood up. He hated himself for taking the weak route, beating Georgie up in the hope that he'd survive it instead of one clean gunshot to the head like his brother would have done in a second. It may have been heartless, but it was far more merciful. Anthony took the handgun from out of his back pocket and held it up. Georgie was still alive, though barely so, and if Anthony had any humanity left he'd put the bastard out of his misery. He didn't know what he'd been thinking... a part of him had hoped that a good beating would scare him enough to get him to skip town and never show his face here again, but Sal would know. Sal always knew.

Anthony's finger hovered over the trigger, as warm tears streamed down his face.

"I'm real sorry, Georgie," he whispered, his voice shaking along with his body. God... a life in the mafia, four years in a world war, and his body still shook every time he looked someone in the eye before he shot them. Usually he was fine as long as he saw the other person as nothing more than an object, an enemy, something to get out of his way, but looking a guy in the eyes and seeing that last bit of hope die in them was enough to break him down into a quivering mess. This guy used to share his cigarettes with him and buy him cokes down at the drugstore on a hot summer's day.

"You were a good pal, Georgie, you really were. One of the best. I'm sorry I ended up being so lousy, but... we always knew that was gonna happen, huh?" He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The bang rattled in Anthony's ears, but all he could focus on was the consequential silence. The raspy, choking breaths had ceased, and all Anthony felt was relief that he didn't have to hear them anymore.

It was late when he returned to the apartment. He wasn't expecting Sal to be there, but he was sprawled out on the couch, chain-smoking cigarettes, looking for all intents and purposes that he didn't have a care in the world. He glanced up when he heard Anthony enter, gave him a once over and cracked a grin.

"You look like shit," he said casually. Anthony glared back, feeling something inside him finally snap at the joking tone to his brother's voice after forcing him to kill his best friend. This was all a game to Sal, a sick, twisted game that Anthony had never agreed to in the first place. Yet here he was, squashed under his brother's thumb with no hope of escape if he wanted to survive. Well, fuck that. He'd been through a fucking war and he was not ready to go back to the same old shitty life he'd tried to leave behind. He was a fucking war hero, and his brother was a dirty, arrogant coward.

"Fuck you," Anthony spat, and he grabbed the gun, still hot under his palm, and pointed it directly at Sal. "I ain't being bossed around by you anymore, you sick bastard." Sal simply smiled, his cigarette hanging lazily from his mouth. He walked over, clearly confident that Anthony wouldn't shoot, which only made Anthony even more determined to prove him wrong. His finger remained on the trigger, however, even when Sal blew smoke in Anthony's face and laughed that low, scratchy laugh of his, devoid of any humour.

"You don't have the balls," he crooned softly, licking his lips, before adding: "You didn't last time." Anthony's knuckles turned white as his grip around the gun strengthened, but Sal grabbed it in one fell swoop as if he was stealing a lollipop from a baby. He hit Anthony in the head with the gun's grip, causing stars to explode in front of Anthony's eyes as he groaned from the shooting pain. All he could do was clutch his head in his hands as Sal slinked away into his bedroom. "Clean yourself up," he called. "I don't want blood on the carpet."

Anthony ducked down onto his knees, already feeling a lump rising underneath his hair, his fingers damp from the beginnings of an open wound. That fucker. He could have killed him in one shot, get rid of his smug face for good and bounce out of this town on the back of the next freight train. Lord, had he dreamed of doing that every single night in his bed, laying awake as he imagined himself out in the countryside, free from the suffocating city life and never having to worry about doing his brother's dirty work ever again. He'd have his own farm, maybe raise some animals, live out the rest of his life gardening and breathing in the fresh country air into his smoke stained lungs.

Sure, that could work. He'd just have to change every aspect of his personality first to fit into that kind of life. Anthony roughly wiped away the angry tears falling from his eyes.

"You know what?" he screamed, not caring that his brother could hear him. "You don't deserve a shot to the head anyway...! You don't deserve the damn mercy, and Lord knows Hell's too good for you anyway!" He stood up, swaying slightly from the bump on his head and marched out of the apartment before his brother could retaliate. He slammed the door so loud that a neighbour poked their head out to see what the commotion was about. "Those damn Angelo brothers," Anthony heard in muttered Italian. He didn't even glance at them. He only had one destination, and it was out of Harlem and into the only bar that would serve him alcohol right through the night.

~~~

Read on Ao3!

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanfiction #huskerdust #angel dust #hazbin hotel husk #husk #husk x angel dust #fanfiction #violence #blood #murder #assault #verbal abuse #abuse #swearing

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ferhog · 8 months

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Signalis Playthrough Update 1

I started my first survival-horror game Signalis about 2 days ago, and after beating the first boss last night I thought it would be fun to post my initial thoughts.

So I avoid the horror genre in all mediums because I'm a weeny little baby, hence why this is my first horror gaming experience at age 24, other than playing a bit of my younger brother's FNAF copy as a teenager. But within the first night that I started playing the game I started appreciating how the genre uniquely immerses you in the world and story. I presume this is because good horror is much easier to create through narrative and atmosphere than through pure gameplay, and that that's why the main gameplay challenges aren't combat encounters, but puzzles that require actively paying attention to your environment. So far I've also managed to do every puzzle without looking anything up (Which I really don't want to do for the sake of maintaining immersion) which has been really satisfying. However getting stuck when you don't know what abstract thing to do next is my least favourite thing in video games and at points the game has seemed on the verge of that, so I really hope it never goes over that line and forces me to look up what to do next.

I understand why staples of the genre like Resident Evil and Silent Hill famously have limited ammo. Trying to sneak or run past enemies because you don't want to waste ammo is bad enough, but knowing that the enemies you have killed could get back up at any moment is truly nerve wracking, and adds a feeling of time sensitivity to figuring the puzzles out. But I really wasn't expecting health to also seemingly be in limited supply, so there's also a real risk to not gunning them down. I'm curious if the game has some kind of countermeasure to running out of healing items and leaving you stuck on the verge of death, but I suppose not wanting to end up in that state is adding to the fear. Thermite may be one of those items I just never use because of its potential value. It doesn't help that when I first tested it out on an android that was in an important hallway and seemed like a smart obstacle to remove, I then finished the floor like 5 minutes later so it felt like I wasted an item in truly short supply.

I went in knowing what Elster's relationship is to Ariane since it's one of the most talked about parts of the game, but I otherwise knew nothing about the story. I enjoy learning about the society and system of this authoritarian government and the people within the facility, but the mystery of what happened to it looks like it's just going to be the generic "They uncovered ancient eldritch evil" but as long as the personal stories are satisfying that shouldn't be a problem.

My enjoyment of both the gameplay and the story and how they perfectly interweave to create one of the most immersive gaming experiences I've ever had so far has had me waking up each day eager to play more, but forcing myself to wait through the day so I could play at night for what feels like the ideal experience. Ironically yesterday I went through this and then within half an hour of playing wanted to stop out of fear, but I thought to myself that Elster doesn't have the luxury of just leaving and going to bed. It made proceeding to find all the elemental keys and facing the first boss feel like even more of an accomplishment.

#signalis #elster

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edoro · 10 months

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thinking a lot lately about the very fun experience of technically being able to work, but not consistently or enough to make a living

recently i took five days off from my (extremely easy, simple, online, wfh) job because i had hit the point of being burned out that thinking about it made me Literally Want To Kill Myself

i spent those days cleaning my house, playing video games, and writing original fiction that i’m going to try to sell, and also doing things like “crying into my salad while i washed the leaves” and “laying on the floor thinking What if I Was Dead Instead” because none of the stressors that made me get to that point were actually gone and in fact taking this time off of working was making a big one (the fact that i live on a very narrow margin of financial safety where i am usually just BARELY able to pay for everything i need) significantly worse

now i have to get back to it and i can already physically FEEL the stress returning, although thankfully the constant mental loop of “what if i just killed myself instead” is mostly gone and i just feel kind of shitty about it

but this is a pattern for me, and it’s a deeply frustrating and demoralizing one. get a job, hope that this time this will be the job i am Able To Consistently Do And Live Off Of, and then from there a few things have tended to happen:

1) i’m actually really good at the job but doing it drives me insane because it hits all of my anxiety and trauma buttons and every working day involves psychologically torturing myself for several hours straight (anything involving phones)

2) i like the job but i suck at it and the knowledge that i suck at it drives me into a despair spiral that ends with me quitting before i get fired

3) i like the job and i’m okay to good at it, but either something external happens (car dying while working as a delivery driver, covid) to force me out of it OR i just hit my burnout point anyway because there is something deeply broken inside of my brain wrt my ability to function as a person in the type of society i currently live in

And Then I Don’t Have A Job Anymore. the longest i’ve managed to keep a job is not quite three years, and then covid happened and i had to choose between continuing to work in retail or keeping myself safe from getting the fucking plague. the specter of “having to go back to working around the general public, none of whom mask anymore, and also no one is really vaccinating anymore either” looms over me constantly.

every time this happens it makes me feel even more like a useless garbage person AND it makes it much harder to get another job, because my employment history is full of three to six month stays at jobs that most people would find incredibly simple and easy, and i have to try to find a way to explain that without saying “i’m insane and probably going to have a mental breakdown under the crushing weight of light clerical duties, but i prommy i’ll do a good job up until i hit that point”

and meanwhile while i AM working, i have absolutely no energy or motivation for anything else. i can’t keep my house clean. i can barely maintain my own hygiene. i can’t write. i can’t engage in any hobby that isn’t passively absorbing information through a screen. AND i can barely make enough money to live on with the number of hours i’m capable of working, so it doesn’t even feel particularly worth it.

anyway. idk. it just sucks. it’s really hard and i’m tired of living like this but the only solutions seem to be “win the lottery” or “stop being disabled” or maybe “find a sugar daddy.”

#personal #if you're a sugar daddy hmu

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sonkitty · 5 months

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Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 1 (Good Omens 2)

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

This post was last updated 05/17/2024.

All theory. I could be wrong and make corrections later.

This post is still messy but hopefully not as confused and wrong as the previous draft.

Touching a window with a hand or a finger is a basic physical earthly object touch.

But...windows have specific functions on Earth in that people look through windows to see things. That being the case, looking through a window itself is an earthly object touch, provided the camera sees that touch in the proper way, as done for doors. Since the story itself is a work of deception, it's very hard to trust how it manages windows at all.

I feel obligated to note that my understanding of Crowley's sight is that it works differently than how most people think of seeing. He senses people with his eyes to the point that it is nearly identical to how seeing works. The eyes move the same way. He knows how to look, where to look, when to look, and will even use the word "look" or variations ("Looking where the furniture isn't"), but it's still not quite the same. This understanding comes from the care taken in what is and is not reflected in his sunglasses. So, if I end up saying Crowley "sees" something in all this mess below, know that I mean he senses that something with his eyes.

Oh, and I think I found that certain blurs allow a pass or share, depending on context.

While not every scene in the story is linked by chains of points, most or all of the more complex ones I discuss here are.

I have not checked every window scene, and I won't. I hope I have checked enough to piece together the following. Earning a point for looking through a window requires three steps in certain more complex scenes covered in this post. It is actually still really complicated for each step, but as I understand it, the game wants three things.

Simplified description of the steps for a complex scene nonetheless:

(1) The looker looks.

(2) The window sees.

(3) The looker is seen behind the window with at least part of the window frame visible.

Here are more complex descriptions for the complex window scenes:

(1) The looker looks. If there is more than one character looking, they might have to work harder to earn credit for looking as a shared touch. In the examples of this post, when the scene is going to have the looker continue earning points related to looking through the window, the initial look does not have them visually holding or touching an earthly object even if it was implied earlier. In fact, some characters remove a touch to initiate the look. As such, I'm led to believe that type of camera shot is considered being at the threshold for looking through a window. Nearly every such shot has no dialogue from that character either with the one exception being a character who is actually being seen and interacting through the window.

(2) The window sees the subject. That means the camera observing the scene has to indicate something like a window frame somewhere while the subject is shown through that window on screen. Sometimes the subjects are doing things that might earn them points, and sometimes they aren't. It seems like it doesn't really matter unless they are interacting with the looker. In a unique case not covered in this post, the subject seen (Nina) actually earned three solo points while the looker maintained a threshold-only touch (Crowley). That's part of The Window Trick.

(3) The looker is seen behind the window pane with at least part of the window frame visible. The looker can actually still be shown from their front or their side within the space they are in, but the main thing is for them to actually be behind the window pane from which they were looking and some of the window frame visible. The frame is allowed to be blurry. I was really hesitant on this aspect, but it was the only thing resembling a consistency I could find when comparing windows with Maggie and Nina in episode 1, Mrs. Sandwich in episode 3, and Crowley and Gabriel in episode 3, when Crowley was explaining his plan. If the scene wants that looker to keep earning points based on looking through the window and still feature the subject as what the window is seeing at times, then the view actually does have to be from in front of the window pane with the looker(s) behind the window. Some of the window frame should be visible as well.

I have barely looked at the more simple window looks. The initial one below has a Step 1 and Step 3 combined in a single camera shot from in front of the window with no Step 2. There's also then no threshold moment in the initial look either.

The bold headers below are for readers who are very familiar with the show to zone in on which part of the episodes I'm talking about. They have no other meaning.

...

Episode 1:

Just get in.

When Aziraphale resigns himself to letting Gabriel in the bookshop, the camera sees him looking out the window. I think that's a simple window look for 1 point as the last of a set.

...

He's smoking.

Later in the episode, when Nina first sees Crowley through the window while touching a chair, I cannot figure out her points and how she is passing or sharing with Maggie in ways that appear to happen later. The most likely thing seems to be that so long as Maggie earned the points to share for the both of them and Nina was still behind the window pane with Maggie, it didn't really matter.

Regardless, I want to focus on Maggie and Crowley because that's what the story itself does.

When Maggie's been told to look and her gaze goes toward the window, that's her being at the threshold, not yet earning an earthly object point for the window. She is on camera and what she is about to see is not on camera yet. She was implied to be holding a drink, but it can't be seen during her actual look.

Since she is blurred when she does see Crowley, that's like the game putting in a pass for her to earn a full three points later, whether alone or with another character. Though seen, Crowley himself still has to earn three solo points next. Of note, when seen, the shot indicates the structure from which Crowley is being seen. I assume that is supposed to be the window seeing him.

He earns the first of three points for hopping in place. The second is probably him shouting the number "Ten!" The third is probably the lightning hitting the coffee shop twice from outside. I'm conflicted about the ten and the lightning hitting twice for which point goes where.

Now it's time for Maggie to earn her three solo points. That pass from earlier is ready to earn its point for Maggie looking through the window. She is shown clearly from her front and behind the window pane. That's, theoretically, the actual window point in action finally being earned for point #1. Then she gets a point for holding a cup, point #2, and another point for her hand in a fist touching the window pane. That's #3. Even though I said "clearly," there is a little blur due to the lightning, which is not the same as what I see for the blurs I think the game is using for the passing and sharing.

Crowley's torso is blurred, so now he has been given a pass for earning points.

The lightning in and of itself earns its own 3 points on the door.

Then Crowley's lightning is channeling out of his own neck and striking him. Now I am confused by how specific this story is trying to be here because there are actually three specific points on his body where the lightning is channeling out from him, like little nodes. This game loves the number three. There are even nodes for where it then does hit his clothes. So, am I supposed to actually count how many lightning things are happening here because lightning shoots out multiple times and not in sync for the scene? I sure hope not because I won't.

Hopefully, the lightning striking his clothing is enough for one point instead of some complex set of three, six, nine, or anywhere in between or whatever. He's going to get at least one point for all of that because lightning striking someone or something is something that lightning does on Earth, as Maggie will soon remind us. Crowley brings his teeth together, like a chomp, so that's a self-touch for point #2. He jolts in place, letting the smoke hit him for point #3.

Next, Maggie is seen clearly and says, "I think that man was just struck by lightning!" That comment looks to be point #1 of a new set she shares with Nina. This post, for a long time, said she seemed to earn a new solo set. I have since changed my mind on her and Nina moving onto a new interaction set.

When deciding the above, I questioned if any of that was an interaction between Crowley and Maggie instead of each receiving solo points. My gut leans more toward the smoke is supposed to be a third point for Crowley. There's almost a rhythm to this game, and that's where it feels like the three beats would stop, especially with how the story likes to cut things. But I definitely don't know that. I had a lot more trouble finding this rhythm in other parts.

...

Hold out your sign.

Later, in the coffee shop, Nina earns a point for having her arms folded, then leaning against the counter. A blur shifts to Maggie to indicate sharing is happening again. Maggie has a self-touch already on her with a thumb in her mouth. That's three points for the two of them. The sharing nature of what they do will now be more obvious as well.

Maggie removes the thumb from her mouth. She is indicated to be looking through the window. That's her at the threshold for the look.

Next, the camera shows an extra who is the person being seen through the window. They do not receive any points and are just the current subject.

Nina comments that "someone" is coming. Since Maggie was at the threshold and Nina is making the comment, they are sharing Step 1 of the look thanks to those things and the blur.

As noted earlier, there seems to be a rhythm. I've had past drafts of this post break down what they are doing in more complex ways with the touch on the paper and the words on the signs. I am hoping the following correction is true. Even though they are not shown on camera at the same time, they are still actually sharing points but will still need to both be on camera for the eventual window point.

So, it goes something like Nina pushing her sign against the window with the words clearly displayed is touch #1 of the set they are doing together. Maggie uses the paper a little differently and ultimately pushes her sign against the window with the words clearly displayed as touch #2.

Then they are shown together on camera behind their respective window panes for their shared looking-through-a-window touch and point #3.

While they were earning their window point, the extra was blurred and starting to wave so was given a pass until the incoming cut.

The wave acts as a non-verbal "Hello," but the extra keeps walking. During the extra's wave, Nina is quite blurry from behind. Again, the rhythm suits things so that Nina touching the paper to remove her sign is point #2 of the set she is sharing with both Maggie and the extra. Maggie doing the same is point #3.

After all of that, both of them release their signs at roughly the same time to indicate the end of this general shared part of the scene with that extra. Their next touches are not as in synch with Nina touching the counter and Maggie then pointing out the window as if to start a new window look set.

...

Record shop.

Nina's touch on the counter could be point #1 of an interaction between her and Maggie. There is no obvious blur and no obvious threshold look compared to before. Possibly due to neither clearly looking away from the window yet, they are continuing as an interaction between each other and now going to get a window point each as individuals.

We see what the window sees again, which is the record shop and the extra still walking away. Maggie is seen clearly behind the window pane for point #2 of the set.

Nina is seen behind her window pane for point #3 of the set.

Finally, Maggie stops looking through the window. Nina does too, and the scene shifts into a different non-window interaction.

...

It's him.

Later, Crowley arrives.

When Nina spots him, that is her at the threshold of the window since she is seen looking, but the window itself and who she sees are not on camera yet. As has been standard the past two times, she is not visibly touching an earthly object. Maggie looks where Nina did and comments that someone is coming. There is not an obvious blur to suggest a share or pass, but the situation still seems to require one, and at least Maggie was blurred from the back when facing Nina when Nina first spotted Crowley.

Nina also comments on Crowley. She receives one point for the mention of the number "six" for her point #1.

Maggie puts her sign with the words clearly against the window for point #2.

Nina makes a self-touch with her mouth that is more clear than her hand as it knocks and the words on the sign, so the self-touch might be what is considered to be getting the point. The knock would make more sense to me since it is what gets Crowley's attention. Regardless, she gets point #3 for her and Maggie.

Reminder that for Nina, the sign is blurred, but that's going to work out for her interaction with Crowley.

The camera shows a blurred Maggie from behind and a more clear Crowley pausing to turn and see what is happening. Him being seen is part of the eventual window touch, but it's not going to happen yet because of what he does. Maggie's blur is a pass for her at the moment.

Crowley stops with a heel to the ground for his point #1. When he stops, his body obscures Nina. As such, no one here is getting credit for that window touch...yet. Next, Crowley asks the question, "Oh, really?" That's his point #2. He is looking through the window when he looks at Nina for the interaction. Remember that. It's a Step 1 for his own window look. It's also the only time a threshold part has dialogue in this entire post, so I could be misreading things of course. The third point for an interaction between Crowley and Nina is probably from the sign's clear words as she nods even though we can't see Nina's hands holding the sign up. That's point #3.

Up next, there are Nina's blurred fingers from behind the window. So, in full context of the scene, that looks like a pass. I would typically assume it's a touch, but I think it all rounds out soon enough.

I'm warning you. I am somewhat saying these things because they suit what I want to see. It's not like this game came with a manual. Okay, this episode is kind of a manual, but it's still hard to read, okay?

Here's what happens.

Because we saw Nina react to Crowley with her nod, that means that we saw what Crowley looked at through the window. The window saw Nina. That's Step 2 for Crowley's window touch. Nina doesn't seem to get credit for a window point yet because it's still going to be shared with Maggie.

The next time Crowley is seen from where Nina is, that's actually Crowley getting his own looking-through-a-window point. He is seen clearly behind a window pane with part of the window frame visible. That's his Step 3 in earning his point #1 of a new set he's about to complete for himself.

Nina is blurred during the above. Crowley's hand goes up in a blur. Maggie is blurred. Blurs can mean something like sharing. Maybe? I hope so because it makes the most sense to me. Crowley has already received his one point that he'll conclude soon, so his blur might be for his own move he's making.

If the blurs for Maggie and Nina allowed a share, that explains both of the characters as Crowley walks away. Both Maggie and Nina finally receive credit for looking through a window together because they are both seen clearly behind the window panes. The camera shows them both hopefully to alert us of how they are sharing that window look touch. Maggie, meanwhile, touches the paper to the sign for point #2 and her hand to the window pane itself for point #3. It's enough for both Maggie and Nina to earn a shared three points again. So, in that case, it looked like it was not required they each do something for the last two points.

The main reason I hope the credit has to be shared is because of the camera making sure both Maggie and Nina were visible.

Crowley gets his own last two points with actually turning the power back on, specifically a lamp seen in the reflection where Maggie was, and a step to the road.

Whoa.

That's uh...a lot and very hard to keep track of and of course, possibly wrong.

The door earns its own three points when fixed as well.

...

Episode 3:

Somebody's got a sense of humor or an interesting kink.

Mrs. Sandwich looks through the window threshold and comments on Muriel. Muriel is shown twice and not earning points at all since they're just being seen. There are actually two cuts of Muriel to assist Mrs. Sandwich until earning the point. Mrs. Sandwich won't earn the window point until she is actually facing Nina. That's the shot that will tell us Mrs. Sandwich was behind the window pane when looking at Muriel. Nina is doing other touches while Mrs. Sandwich is talking. I can't figure out the sequence between the two, but that's at least how Mrs. Sandwich should earn a window point.

...

Operation Lovebirds

Later on in the episode, Crowley has Gabriel following him as he looks out the window. Just looking alone is being at the threshold, but now he's talking about Nina and Maggie. The camera shows Nina who could easily be earning points but wait, no, that doesn't matter. She's just the subject being seen here. If it does matter, I don't know how.

Once the camera is back with Crowley and Gabriel, they are behind the window pane. It's hard to tell because of the angle and the camera being in front of him instead of the window pane, but they are effectively where they need to be, assuming I'm right with the whole "behind the window" thing.

Tracking the points here is difficult. I believe they started with, "Right, so the plan: Operation Lovebirds" to say the plan has a name as point #1. Due to the context of the scene with them both looking at the fly earlier, they earn a shared window point for point #2.

Now that they are looking, they are touching an earthly object so can do self-touches for more points.

Gabriel is doing the looking when Crowley smacks his, Crowley's, hands together. That's their shared point #3.

While Crowley was talking, Gabriel's arms moved to put his hands on his coat. The camera confirms the touch after the preceding set finished. Given that, now a new set starts with Gabriel earning point #1. He earns another point with the question, "Vavoom?"

Crowley implies a pocket touch, but I'm guessing enough it is obscured that he actually receives credit for the self-mouth-touch he does.

Throughout these sets, Crowley keeps occasionally looking. That would theoretically be maintaining touch, so that both of them can keep at their ongoing self-touches.

Crowley even still makes sure to look toward the window right before the transition away from the scene.

...

Awning of a New Age

Even later on in the episode, Crowley is on the phone with Aziraphale when he sees Maggie approaching Nina through the window. Since he has a phone, he can't be at the threshold yet. He hangs up with Aziraphale and gets a look in without visibly touching an earthly object, making him at the threshold. The scene cuts away to Aziraphale.

Crowley putting himself on the threshold seems to allow a pause in the game where he can go straight to a self-touch in the next cut.

When the scene is back to Crowley, he basically rubs his hands together in three different ways. The first to switch them top to bottom, then the second is to just keep rubbing them instead of switching them, then the third is to shift them so that they are being next to each other instead of one on top of the other. That's theoretically three points. No, wait, it isn't. This story tricked me again. Maybe Crowley just knows how much the game likes the number three. This is his first point. How do I know that? I don't, but it suits the rhythm better once we see that coffee cup getting rained on. I'm looking for that 1-2-3 beat.

The scene cuts to Nina and Maggie without a window pane, so they are presumably having their own interaction.

Then the scene cuts to Crowley with his eyes following their movement as we watch him through the window pane. That's his point #2 as a window touch.

The scene gives him another assist with the window view of what he's looking at.

Maggie and Nina continue to have their own separate interaction from him.

Next is "Lovely rainy raindrops" for point #3.

The window sees the clouds forming. That's an assist to the next eventual window point.

I think since the camera takes extra care to show coffee with raindrops, a human with raindrops, and that human's glasses with raindrops, in three different shots, those might be considered 3 points for the rain itself.

Maggie and Nina keep having their own interaction that is not Crowley earning window points but just them doing their own thing.

The next window point arrives with Crowley and his "under the awning" comment. That's point #1.

The scene gives him another assist with the window watching Maggie and Nina.

The next window point is already here with "Proper hard rain!" Point #2.

The scene goes back to Maggie and Nina with their own interaction.

There is no assist. The scene goes back to Crowley with a subtle mouth movement as he keeps watching. Point #3.

There is yet more of Maggie and Nina without an assist.

"Oh yes. It's working." for point #1.

The awning breaks, and the rain drenches Maggie and Nina.

Crowley says, "Oh! Ooh..." for point #2.

Nina and Maggie are drenched and moving away from the awning.

Crowley earns point #3 from the window when the rainbow appears. There is also an additional part of the window frame that had not been shown before. The new view seems to indicate that the overall window-looking is done, along with Crowley himself finally looking away.

If the points are correct, his window-looking total here is 9, which is funny. What's better than three? How about three times three? This game loves threes.

...

For more on windows, check out the following:

Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 2

This post will get updated if and when I figure even more things out, FYI. I tend to do that.

...

Again, for reference:

The Earthly Objects Game

...

Sort of the real reason I’m going through all the trouble understanding the earthly objects thing:

The Sideburns Scheme (Good Omens 2)

#crowley #good omens 2 #good omens s2 #david tennant #good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens earthly objects #good omens analysis #good omens crowley #crowley good omens #good omens theories #good omens theory #good omens meta #good omens clues

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