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ariaste · 9 months

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The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2

(or: Neil Gaiman, Your Brain is Gorgeous But I Have Cracked Your Sneaky Little Code And Have You Dead To Rights*) (*Maybe)

***

Soooooo I just spent the last 48 hours having a BREATHTAKING GALAXY BRAIN EPIPHANY about Good Omens Season 2 and feverishly writing a fuckin16,000 word essay about the incredible magic trick that @neil-gaiman pulled off.

Yes, it’s long, but I PROMISE your brains will explode. Do you want to know how magic works? Do you want to know what Metatron’s deal is (I’m like 99% sure of this and it’s EXTREMELY FUCKING GOOD)? Do you want to know about the Mystery of the Vanishing Eccles Cakes and the big fat beautiful clue I found in the opening credits? Do you go through the whole inventory of Chekov’s Firearm & Heavy Artillery Discount Warehouse?

Here is the essay, go read it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/ When ur done u can tell me I’m an insane crackpot, and u know what, i won’t even be offended

In case you don’t know whether you want to bother reading the whole enormous thing on google docs, I’ve put the first couple sections of it under the cut. JUST TRUST ME OKAY, HEAR ME OUT, THIS IS VERY EXTREMELY COOL, NEIL IS GOOD AT HIS JOB--

Proem

A dark theater. The rustling of the audience: clothes, breathing, whispers of anticipation. The lights come up. A man enters, stage left. He is a magician—a master magician—and he performs for you a magic trick so good and so subtle... that you don’t even notice you’ve seen it.

You know there must have been a trick—after all, you came to the theater to see a trick performed, didn’t you? And he claims to be a magician. So there had to be a trick somewhere. There had to be.

But maybe there wasn’t. Maybe there was just a man on a stage, talking to you, telling you a story with a strangely unsatisfying ending you didn’t quite understand.

I know. This is a weird beginning to an analysis essay. But hear me out, because I have to explain the mechanisms of the stage before I can show you what the trick was, where the trapdoor was hidden, and how Neil Gaiman pulled the whole thing off so gently and elegantly that you didn’t notice a thing. Ready? Here we go.

The Facts As We Know Them

Let us begin by establishing a baseline—some fundamental, logical assumptions that underpin the magic trick. These will seem obvious as soon as I say them, which is precisely the point: They are self-evident, loadbearing foundations for my entire argument, and if I don’t point them out, I’m going to sound like a crackpot conspiracy theorist. (Which! To be fair, I might be. I could easily be wrong about all this—but I don’t think I am.)

Our baseline, loadbearing assumptions that preface my Grand Unified Theory of Season 2:

1. Neil Gaiman is extremely good at his job.

2. Neil Gaiman loves these characters and wants with all his heart to do them justice; likewise, he has a great deal of respect, love, and admiration for Terry Pratchett and is striving VERY HARD to write the show the way Terry would have been happy with.

3. The devil, as they say, is in the details: Neil Gaiman and the entire Good Omens cast/crew are fully capable of doing extremely subtle detail work, as conclusively proven in Season 1 Ep 6, specifically the whole sequence of the body-swap scenes.

With me so far? Great.

The Elephant In The Room

Season 2 was... odd. It was odd, wasn’t it. This isn’t a matter of whether you loved it or hated it—there was just something odd going on.

I spent the entirety of my first viewing very much enjoying myself and being very happy to be back with these characters and this world, but I was also liveblogging to my groupchat as I went, and a theme soon began emerging:

“Neil, what are you doing? Where are you going with this?” “What in god’s name is going on here? I’m so lost lmao.” “What is going on with the music situation?” “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE NEIL” “zombies, ok, I trust u to pull this all together in the end, Neil, but I still don't know what you're up to” “What is going on LOL” “Incredibly what is going on here” “NEIL! WHAT IS HAPPENING!” “Literally what is happening” “Neil Gaiman why have you constructed a regency au for mystery VIBES reasons” “just????????? lesbians????????? dancing what's HAPPENING. just all the background characters are gay here ok sure sure sure NEIL GAIMAN WHAT IS HAPPENING--” “mmmmmmm neil what u doin”

All these are copied verbatim from my liveblogging, and apparently I am not the only one to have this reaction. And to be clear, I was having a good time! I came out to this theater to see a magic trick, and this Neil Gaiman guy on stage is a master magician—but I didn’t see the trick, even though there must have been a trick.

At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the season. I wanted to like it! Indeed, there were many things that I liked about it! But I felt a bit muddled and jumbled up and confused—I felt like there was something I didn’t understand about it, and so I couldn’t yet understand how I felt about it either.

I started chewing on this question in a friend’s DMs: Why is season 2 so fucking odd? What is going on here, Neil? What are you up to? The matter of whether he was up to something was never in question. I knew that he had to be up to something. Writers are always up to something, and as I watched season 2, it was as if I was watching Neil scamper around the room with a mischievous expression as he messed with things here and there and made little tweaks and adjustments to the arrangement of all the Chekov’s guns he’s stockpiling on the mantelpiece.

You see, Season 2 has some very bad writing in it. HANG ON, DON’T ARGUE WITH ME YET! THIS IS NOT A JUDGMENT CALL!! This is the rug that the trick’s secret mechanism is hidden under!!! This is the hidden mirror that makes the trick work!!!!! This is the trapdoor in the stage!

Yes, of course I will explain myself.

Neil Gaiman is a master magician, but I am a pretty damn good magician myself—I’m a professional fantasy author who has published nine books, and I teach workshops for apprentice writers online and at universities—and if there is one thing I have learned about the process of achieving mastery of your craft, it is this:

Regardless of what medium they’re working in, the apprentice artist is concerned primarily with achieving realism via an expansion of their control—control of their brush strokes as they paint a photorealistic eye; control of their deck of cards, the mechanisms of their magic tricks, and where the audience’s attention is being directed; control of all the little factors of voice, plot, character, setting, suspense and surprise that go into writing a good story. However, the master artist has achieved that control—so much so that it often looks effortless to an untrained eye—and sometimes the master artist returns to a messy, amateurish style simply because they have control even over this too.

As an example, consider Picasso and his entire body of work. He begins as an apprentice focused on achieving control, doing portraits of people that look like people—like what we expect a portrait of a person to look like. Then, as he grows in skill and gradually achieves mastery, he pulls away from realism. He develops a style, he experiments with faces that don’t look like any human alive colored in ways that do not appear in nature. He expands his control. His work becomes abstract. Towards the end of his life, he starts experimenting with what’s called “Naive art”, something that a 5 year old could theoretically draw... but you have to achieve mastery before you can do it on purpose and have it look good.

On one hand, Neil Gaiman is extremely good at his job. On the other hand, Season 2 has bad writing in it.

What does that tell us?

Well, we know from our Baseline Assumptions that Neil Gaiman is simply too good of a writer to fuck up through garden-variety clumsiness and lack-of-control the way an apprentice writer would. Additionally, he cannot fuck up by accident in this case because I am positive that the man is scrutinizing his work on Good Omens far too closely to let anything slide—for Crowley and Aziraphale’s sakes, for David and Michael’s sakes, and especially for Terry’s sake. The stakes are sky-high, and he cares too much to write a weird, kind of “bad” season by accident.

Which leaves only one option: He did it on purpose.

(Am I sounding like a crackpot conspiracy theorist? Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. I’m gonna get SO MUCH MORE CRACKPOT.)

If he did it on purpose, then the natural question to ask is: WHY!?!?!??

It’s a great question. Not “Why?” in terms of why he as an individual person with emotions would decide to do that, mind you. More like, “What purpose does this serve for the structure of the narrative?” There is a story he is intending to tell, and out of all the choices he could have possibly made, for some reason this one was necessary and correct in order to achieve that end goal—so what was that reason?

See? Intentionality. He knows exactly what details he left in, and he did it on purpose. (Editing! It’s important!)

So there has to be a reason. It’s like when a master magician “casually” rubs an itch on his nose—why did he do that? What is he sneakily slipping into his mouth by hiding it under the excuse of this little gesture that does not even register to you as meaningful? (If you haven’t watched enough stage magic to know what I mean, watch this.)

This question is, of course, impossible to simply answer out of thin air without any further evidence. It is a dead end—so we must adjust the question and come at it from a different angle.

The one I settled on when I was chewing on this was: Well, okay, what do I mean when I say “bad writing”? What is it about S2 that makes it feel so goddamn odd?

The Pledge, The Turn, and... The Conspicuous, Expectant Silence

There are three parts to a magic trick: Pledge, Turn, Prestige.

First, the Pledge: You show the audience something ordinary. Second, the Turn: You make that ordinary thing do something extraordinary, like vanish. Third, the Prestige: You bring the ordinary thing back.

To quote the 2006 film The Prestige just after its explanation of the first two parts: “You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet, because making something disappear isn’t enough. You have to bring it back.”

You have to bring it back.

When I teach apprentice writers, I call this a “setup-payoff cycle”. Achieving control and dexterity with this tool is crucial, because the setup-payoff cycle is the engine of the story—it’s what makes the story run. You can have a setup-payoff cycle at any scale—I have read ones that were a single sentence long; I’ve read ones that were two books long. Additionally, all jokes, no matter how long they are, are structured on a setup/payoff cycle. These cycles work precisely the same way a magic trick does:

You set up the audience’s expectations. (Optional but generally considered stylish and elegant: You give those expectations a firm jolt to throw the audience off-balance.) You pay off the audience’s expectations in a way they weren’t expecting, while saying “TA DA!!!!” really loud with your arms flung wide.

Audiences really like this. A setup-payoff cycle executed just right makes the audience’s brains light up like Times Square and hammers on their mental “reward” buttons like nothing else. It’s like you’ve personally handed them a cookie and a gold star. They go wild for this.

Here’s an example of a setup-payoff cycle, though it’s not a perfect one—and you’ve probably heard it before, so you’re not going to be throwing chairs and tearing down the theater from sheer glee:

The Setup: Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? The Jolt: (the joke starts over and repeats several times without reaching the payoff (aka the prestige) while the audience grows more and more annoyed and frustrated about the unfulfilled expectations, until finally...) Knock knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? The Payoff: ORANGE YOU GLAD I DIDN’T SAY BANANA?

Good Omens Season 2 feels so fucking odd because the setup-payoff cycles are incomplete—nearly all of them are, and the ones that do close the loop do so in really weird ways which, as a professional author, make me feel kind of, “Bwuh?????? But where’s my cookie? Excuse me??? Sir???? Neil????? My cookie, tho???”

When I realized this, when I finally put my finger on why the whole season was giving me some uncanny valley heebie-jeebies, a chill ran down my spine. (The rest is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/ I’M GOING TO GO STARE INTO THE ABYSS NOW BYE)

#good omens #good omens season 2 #ineffable husbands #neil gaiman

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the-music-maniac · 10 days

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I just saw a take on zosan that was awful enough I had to block the person. They labelled their post "hot takes" and it annoyed me enough that I felt like hating on it from afar in a vague way would be less destructive than writing an entire essay in this person's comments section.

If you like treating Sanji like a babygirl - just say so. Nothing wrong with that. Don't act like uke-ifying him is accurate to his canon characterization though. If you don't like Zoro as a character, just SAY THAT. Don't act like your shitty understanding of him as a character should be common sense. Their premise was that zosan would work best as a non sexual relationship - sure I'm fine with that. Sounds like an interesting premise. Why tho?

The reasons were stupid.

1. Apparently bc Zoro is too much of a neanderthal and BC he doesn't shower frequently Sanji would never touch him blah blah (Sanji smokes ten million cigarettes a day, I assure you he doesn't smell good) y'all should stop treating him like a babygirl bc bleh Zoro stinky and likes drinking and where did that whole he's Nami's gay best friend thing come from, he isn't that, he doesn't deserve it. Okay??? First of all - last I checked babygirl didn't require certain qualifications - so fuck off? I've concluded that Zoro is the only babygirl and you can foam at the mouth all you want, I'm not changing my mind. Second of all, did you forget that NAMI can drink people under the table too?? Zoro does canonically have a very friendship/sibling-like dynamic with Nami. They argue and fight, but they care about each other. If there is anyone who would make sense as a headcanon of one of Nami's close friends? Zoro would be a candidate. Usopp I would argue would be a better option, but Zoro also makes sense. Third of all, Sanji spends all day cooking (often cooking SEAFOOD) in a three piece suit and then smoking like a chimney. He may shower more frequently than Zoro but I assure you he doesn't smell like a rose garden either. You also can't be a cook if you shy away from a little elbow grease and sweat. Getting dirty for your craft is something he understands. He also has atrocious fashion sense when it comes to clothes that are not suits and he's a lil crazy in the same way all the strawhats are but he hides it well. Sanji is a ridiculous man and I like him that way. Stop it.

2. Sanji isn't some fainting flower, and it annoys me that this person was trying to paint him that way as if it's a forgone conclusion. Their argument was that he screams at bugs, and they were using it as an argument on why Sanji is apparently a babygirl who could never top anyone (why in the world does sex position even play a factor here??). They also pinpointed that Sanji wears suits and swoons at women as a reason why he's likely not gonna top anyone and is gonna remain a virgin. Admittedly I stopped reading at that point bc I made the executive decision to block the person for my own peace of mind, so I perhaps misunderstood (I barely understood the argument in the first place) but I still don't see how any of these factors have anything to do with sex position, or a sexual relationship not working with zosan. I'm all for asexual zosan. But y'all need to stop treating Sanji like some frail twink. That man is badass. He has a strong enough kick to kill a man, his leg catches on fire, he can fucking fly, he gives as good as he gets when it comes to his interactions with Zoro, he survived years and years of abuse from his family and came out a kindhearted person with principles. He is strong af. Again. STOP. IT.

3. None of those reasons for why they wouldn't have sex make sense to me because they operate under an assumption that Sanji would find Zoro gross so obvi they wouldn't have sex. The person fundamentally misunderstood that most people who like zosan aren't there bc they want smut, they're there because Zoro and Sanji are equal and opposites and they understand each other in a very fundamental way from the moment they met. Yes, their relationship is antagonistic, but in the way that Brogy and Dorry are set up in that one episode. If you understand that, then you get that when it comes to rivals, when it comes to their competition and their interactions with each other, Sanji wouldn't give a shit about avoiding getting his hands dirty. That is not the type of person he is. Zoro is his one exception in that sense. He has etiquette and acts like a refined gentleman, and then Zoro issues a challenge and Sanji is there, IMMEDIATELY ready and willing to throw down. He swoons over women, Zoro says anything and IMMEDIATELY Sanji's attention is all on Zoro. I have to wonder if this person even fucking watched the show before deciding to pass a bunch of unfounded judgements.

Alright, rant done.

#zosan #sanzo #one piece #one piece nami #one piece usopp #roronoa zoro #blackleg sanji #cat burglar nami #god usopp #zoro x sanji #sanji x zoro

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starsbies · 4 months

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Hungry For Your Love (Coriolanus x !Plinth Reader)

Warnings: NON-CON, drugging, drinking, Coriolanus is his own warning, jealousy, breeding kink, manipulation, forced pregnancy, virginity loss, forced marriage (lmk if i missed some)

divider by @cafekitsune

porn w some plot or when coriolanus decides he wants you.

18+ only MDNI

wc - 4.4k

Coriolanus wouldn’t deny all the things he had in his mind. About all the things he would do to you. Especially in this very moment of time.

You were sitting right next to him at the dinner table. Ever since he got rid of Sejanus–and became the new son of the Plinths–he had to eat dinner with the Plinths every two or so weeks. Although he found their district status to be quite deplorable, their wealth wasn’t. And to be frank you weren’t either.

To Coriolanus, you were the epitome of class and obedience. Well, almost, the way your leg was bouncing wasn't classy at all. Under different circumstances he would just put his hand on your thigh to stop you. Then he’d slowly make his hand upwards and-

“Coriolanus, what do you think?”

The old man broke Coryo out of his train of thought. Suddenly his mind was going a million miles per minute. What were they talking about? Something about a project for.. No, that's not right. A new building? For the University maybe?

Then you spoke up, “Well Pa, personally I think a new cafeteria for the Academy is long overdue. It would’ve been nice to not have such a beat up cafeteria when I was a student.”

He looked at you in the corner of his eye. You had a strand of your hair tucked behind your hair and your leg was no longer bouncing. Had you purposely saved him?

Then he remembered that he still needed to answer Strabo. Coriolanus cleared his throat, “I think I’d have to agree with Y/N. The cafeteria dates back before the war so I believe it’s definitely overdue for a new building.”

Strabo nodded in acknowledgement before continuing to bite into his steak. Coriolanus decided to do the same and then took another peek at you. You looked so gorgeous to him, well you do everyday—but today was a treat.

You wore a red dress that went to your knees. It covered just enough to be considered modest. Your hair was down but he could see your dangling pearl earrings. He noted how you’d make a perfect bride for him. Beautiful, graceful, and heiress to the family business and fortune. In exchange he would give you status.

Together you two would be the elite of the elite.

“So Coryo,” the blond internally winced. He hated when Mrs. Plinth called him that. “How's it going being Dr. Gaul’s understudy?”

“Well, there’s a lot of work, you know.” He took a deep breath, “We’ve been working on remaking the Jabberjays, since they can’t reproduce on their own we have to make a whole new species of them. We want to use them in the next Hunger Games so-”

A sudden chair screeching interrupted him. He turned and saw you standing. You excused yourself from the table, claiming you needed to finish writing an essay. Coriolanus wasn’t dumb, he knew why you really left. Though you’re very different from your brother there were also some ways the two of you were similar. Your distaste towards the Hunger Games was something that he’d have to help you get over if you’re to be the first lady of Panem.

Coriolanus waited a few moments before also excusing himself and he found himself making his way to your room. As he started nearing your room he started asking himself, what was he doing? What would he say when you asked him why he was here?

He couldn’t just proclaim you as his wife and tell you to get over it. Not yet, anyway.

He eventually came to the conclusion that it was probably best to just leave. Grandma'am and Tigris were waiting anyway.

That night Coriolanus had dreamt of you. That in itself wasn’t really a rare occurrence by any means, but the things you told him—the things you did to him—in his dreams was what made him wake up rock hard and sweaty. You really are such a tease.

After a few seconds of laying in bed, Coriolanus decided that since a certain problem won’t go away any time soon it was time to get his day started. Once he stood up he nearly started to make his own bed. A bad habit of his. Before the Plinth’s started providing everything he needed, Coriolanus always had to make his own bed. He always had to clean up for himself. Now he has Avoxes to do that for him. Old habits do die hard.

When Coriolanus stepped into the bathroom he wasn’t surprised to see that the bath wasn’t drawn for him like usual. He was up way earlier than usual. He sighed and turned on the water. He started undressing and then checked the water temperature. Once he decided the water was warm enough he slowly started to insert himself into the tub.

Once he was fully submerged, he closed his eyes and eased his body. He recounted the images from his dream and subconsciously his hands started moving to his shaft.

“Sir, please.. Please let me see it.” you were in that slutty red dress that you wore last night. And you were on your knees for him. The thought of that was biting and delicious. He’d tell you no, just so you’d beg more.

In his dream, Coriolanus stood from his chair. Now towering over you, he unzipped his pants allowing his cock to spring free. You immediately took it into your mouth.

Would you be that desperate for him in real life?

Coriolanus needs you as much as any man needs air. He gritted his teeth, unable to hold on much longer. Slowly, the blond starts pumping his shaft. It was so animalistic and enticing, the image he had of you. He couldn’t help but choke back his wails of pleasure. He was afraid of being caught by Tigris, or even worse–the grandma’am–but he couldn’t help himself.

In his fantasy you’re swallowing him whole, deepthroating every inch of him. Your cheeks hollowed out and your tongue was swirling around him like a good girl. He grabs you by both sides of your head and starts fucking your face like an animal.

Soon enough Coriolanus can feel himself reaching his climax. His legs are weak as he tries to imagine himself pouring his seed into you, and not some bathtub. You’d most certainly look divine carrying his child.

After a few moments after his climax he realized how tainted that whole ordeal was. Yet, he thinks that he would do it again, and again. Until he had you.

Coriolanus sighs as he drains the tub and draws up another bath. This time around the bath was short.

The next time Coriolanus saw you–in person–was at a party hosted by Clemensia. He was surprised to see you. You weren’t usually the type to go out, especially to parties like these. Unless there was a good reason for you to come. Or had you finally made an effort to debut into Capitol society? Hopefully the latter.

He continued to observe you from afar. You were sitting with one leg crossed over the other. Seemingly deep in thought. Or you were, until a tall and pretty lean gentleman approached you. Your face lit up and Coriolanus wished you’d look at him like that.

Who is he? How did he know you, how did you know him?

Coriolanus quickly sought out Clemensia, it was her party so she must know. It didn’t take long to find the black haired girl. She was speaking with Festus and the two were clearly laughing about something that didn’t really seem too important. He approached the two and whispered “Clemmie,” a nickname he only used if he needed something, “Can I steal you for a minute?”

The girl stilled for a second before telling Festus to give them a second. She looked up at Coriolanus, “What is it, Coryo?”

He wasted no time in asking who the male that was with you was.

Clemensia sighed, “Her plus one, I invited her ‘cause she’s rich and the heir to her father’s business. It’s good to have her on my good side. Wasn’t really expecting her to come so I told her to bring a plus one if she wanted.”

Plus one? You not only came to a party, but brought a plus one? Were the two of you together? The thought of that makes someone churn in his stomach. “So who is he?”

“Don’t really know. Pretty sure they bonded over their hatred of the games, he was probably homeschooled.”

Coriolanus felt sick and Clemensia noticed. She took a step back. “Hey, you look like you might vomit all over the place.. You know where the guest bathroom is right?” He nodded. “Good. There’s a medicine cabinet in there too, if you want. Please don’t ruin my party, Coryo.”

Coriolanus nodded his head before making his way to the bathroom. He stood over the toilet for a couple of moments, and nothing happened. He figured that it would be best to take some medicine before heading out, just in case. He opened a few different cabinets before finding the right one.

He knew there’d be lots of different bottles, but he still wasn’t expecting such a variety. Coriolanus knew that Clemensia struggled a lot, mentally, after the snake incident so he knew there’d be lots of prescriptions in here. Curiosity got the best of him and he started going through each one. There were a few anxiety prescriptions, like benzodiazepines, which he expected. However, he took notice of all the insomnia medications. There were so many sleeping pills. The one that caught his attention the most was flunitrazepam. It’s a powerful sedative, and he’s wondering if Clemensia really takes such a strong drug to sleep?

There was a little voice in the back of his mind telling him to take some. Not for himself of course. To give to you. Coriolanus wishes that he still had a little angel on his shoulder, telling him it was a bad idea. A voice to persuade him not to. But there wasn’t. Has there ever been?

Before Coriolanus knew it he was unscrewing the cap and took out one of the small pills. He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and laid it beside the sink. He set the pill on top before smashing it into tiny pieces. He rolled the handkerchief—with the sedative still inside—into a ball and shoved it into his coat pocket.

Before Coriolanus left the bathroom he made sure to take medicine for his stomach ache. Just in case.

He made his way to the bar, where an Avox was bartending. He put up two of his fingers to the bartender. As it started making the drinks, Coriolanus sought you out again. Unsurprisingly, you were still in the same spot. The only difference now was that the male was sitting beside you, and Coriolanus could feel himself becoming more and more aggravated. He turned back around, not wanting to see you laughing at the other man’s joke any longer.

A few seconds later the Avox set two drinks in front of him and Coriolanus took no time in taking out his handkerchief and spilling the contents into one of the glasses. The Avox watched the whole thing happen and could only raise its eyebrows in response. Coriolanus smirked knowing it couldn’t say anything. Coriolanus took a glass into each hand, noting that the one with the sedative in it was in his right hand.

The closer Coriolanus got, the more nervous he became. Part of him felt bad, really. You're just an innocent girl, one who is easily swayed. That had to be it. Sejanus must’ve started your hatred towards the hunger games, and that man continues to spark that hatred. Someone needs to save you, to wake you up. He won’t let you do something stupid like Sejanus did. Coriolanus is saving you, and this is the only way he can do it.

“Y/N Plinth, what a pleasant surprise!” he exclaimed, as if he wasn’t already of her attendance. You looked up at him, and he swore his heart rate went up.

“Oh, Coriolanus. Good to see you too.”

You clearly were uncomfortable with his interruption. Was he the first person to approach you? Coriolanus was thinking about how to ease the tension when your plus one spoke up instead. “Hello, I’m Chiron. Nice to meet you.”

Coriolanus took a few minutes to soak in the male’s appearance. He had dark hair, and blue eyes. His jawline was square and Coriolanus took note of how his suit was lower end. Was he even Capitol? Then he turned back to you. You wore a simple black dress and heels. A timeless outfit. He noted that you did an updo with your hair, to show off your earrings. Stunning.

“Nice to meet you too, Chiron. Sadly, I only have two drinks, you don’t mind do you?”

The brown haired man shrugged and you finally spoke up again, “Oh, it’s okay. I don’t drink.” How cute, Coriolanus thought. “Oh c’mon, it’ll help you ease up a little. I can tell you’re a little tense.”

His tone was light, but he could tell he might’ve sounded more demanding. You sighed and gave him a tiny smile. He made sure he gave you the one in his right hand. You held it and eager to get you to drink it, he raised his glass. “To Sejanus.” A toast that you knew you couldn’t refuse.

You raise your glass afterwards and whispered, “To my brother.” Without waiting for Coriolanus to lower his glass, you took a giant swing of the drink.

After a couple minutes of small talking, he could tell that the drug was slowly taking effect. You were swaying and kept trying to steady yourself. Until you couldn’t and Chiron had to catch you from falling.

“Woah hey, are you okay?” the brunette asked and of course you gave no response. “What’s wrong with her? Did you do something?” the man gave Coriolanus an accusatory glare.

“No! Of course not.” Coriolanus paused for a moment, thinking of what he could say to sell his lie. “Wait.. I can’t believe I forgot she’s a lightweight. I should’ve realized when she said she doesn’t drink.”

“You did this on purpose didn’t you!” Chiron started shouting at Coriolanus. “Did you spike her drink or something? You did, didn't you!”

All the background chatter from the other attendees quieted down. Observing the scene before them. “Why would I do that? I would never even consider doing that to her, I-”

Then Clemensia stepped in. “What’s going on here, Coryo? I asked you not to ruin my party.” Her eyes landed on you and then up to Coriolanus, clearly expecting a good explanation.

He sighed. “This man is making very harmful accusations. He’s saying I drugged her. Y/N’s just a lightweight.”

“Is that true?”

He already knew she’d believe him and the brunette knew it too.

“Look, whatever. I’m taking her home.” he said, and started to pick you up before Coriolanus spoke up again.

“No.. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Do you think so Clemmie?”

“Well I don’t know I-”

“Clemmie, do you want her to be taken by some guy that nobody knows?” his voice was eager, he can’t let all of this trouble go to waste. “Who knows what he’ll do to her?” He whispered, only loud enough for her to hear.

Clemmie sighed. “I guess not, maybe she should just sleep in one of the guest bedrooms?”

After that people began to whisper and that felt more eerie than the silence.

“I’ll stay with her.” Chiron was clearly trying desperately to save you. Sadly for him, he doesn’t have nearly the same amount of power as Coriolanus.

Before Coriolanus could persuade Clemensia to say no, she did it on her own. Telling him that he needs to leave her party, since the reason he was even allowed to come—you—was no longer, technically, here.

And that was that. Two Avoxes wasted no time in escorting the man out. Coriolanus could only smirk to himself. He made a mental note to thank Clemensia in the future.

“I guess I’ll take her to the guest bedroom then?” He finally allowed himself a deep breath in and out. Everything he’s ever worked for has led to this moment.

“Coriolanus.” Clemensia’s voice was serious and blond found himself coming back to reality. “Don’t hurt her.”

He looked down and found that she was already looking at him. Her face was hard and eyes were cold and serious. Like a snake. Coriolanus gulped, “I would never dream of it.”

And she believed him.

Coriolanus took no time in picking you up bridal style. On his way to the bedroom, he passed the bar and made eye contact with the same Avox that watched him spike your drink. He couldn’t help but feel his pride grow as the Avox quickly looked away. Surely aware of what was going to take place.

In the past the blond felt bad about the seemingly inhumane ways the Capitol removed tongues from people who spoke out or rebelled. He always thought about the pain, and how cruel it was to take away their communication, then force them into servitude. That was him a long time ago however. Now he understands the importance of such policies. Power and control, two words that Coriolanus resonated with.

Once he made it to the bedroom he laid you gently onto the mattress. He didn’t immediately take off his clothes, or yours. He just sat there and studied you. You were so irresistible. How hadn’t he noticed earlier? Was it because Sejanus bothered him so much that he never noticed you? Whatever the reason was, Sejanus was now gone and you were going to be his–soon.

The thought that more nights like this—nights with you— were in his future made him grow hard. He couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He began by taking off your heels. He wondered how you could wear such ridiculous things, surely they were uncomfortable and he was proven right when he noticed the blisters on your feet. He mentally added that to his list of things he’d have to fix.

Coriolanus took time in taking off your dress. He carefully sat you upright just enough to unzip the back zipper. He even more carefully removed the dress from your body and then laid you back down. He took a moment to admire your almost bare form. You were wearing a matching black set. Nothing too much. You weren’t planning on this happening anyway.

He pushed your panties to the side and inserted one finger into you slowly. Absolutely divine, he thought. The way you felt around his finger was enough to get him drunk. He began to kiss up your legs while also thrusting his digit. Part of him wishes you were awake, just so he can see your reactions. You’d be moaning for more, begging for more, he knows it.

The blond inserted a second digit and began scissoring motions. Suddenly he hears a small whimper, so small he wasn’t even sure what it was until he heard it a second time. Were you waking up? Part of him hopes so, that way you’ll know and realize who you belong to. The other part of him wants you to keep sleeping. That way he won’t have to fight you, he already worked so hard to get here anyway.

Coriolanus momentarily stops his ministrations and removes his fingers from your wetness. He examines them, drenched in your juices. He licks his fingers clean and can feel himself getting impossibly harder. You make him so hungry, he’s starved. He can’t hold himself any longer, he tells himself. Next time, he assures himself, he’ll take his time enjoying you.

He quickly releases his length. It’s angry and red, begging for you. He huffs before finally removing your underwear. He contemplated stealing them before realizing he won’t need to after this. He quickly threw them somewhere and then he spread your legs.

He touched his cock a few times, then proceeded to coat his length in his precum. He could feel his heart pounding and his breath quickening. He aligned himself with your entrance and slowly pushed in. You were tight, and he cursed to himself because he knew he should’ve taken more time preparing you.

Once he was fully seethed inside of you, he took a moment and admired the blood on his cock. Pleased to know you hadn’t slept with that lousy Chiron guy, he slowly removed himself before shoving himself back inside of you. You were still whimpering like before, but now you wore a pained expression on your face. You could feel him.

“I know it hurts right now, love. Bear with me.” he whispered, although he wasn’t sure if you could hear him or even comprehend what he was saying.

Coriolanus could feel all the arousal pooling between the two of you. You weren’t as tight as you had been in the beginning. Now he could easily invade your gummy walls. If anything he wasn’t invading them because they sucked him back in. His lip twitched and he began to quicken his pace. After a particular thrust your body clenched around him and he let out a groan. “You like that, huh? You dirty slut.”

He began to aim harder at the same place that had you clenching around his length. When you let out a mewl he decided to go even faster. You were such a mess. A beautiful mess, one that he created and one that he will clean up.

The blond slid his hands behind your back and unclipped your bra. He quickly disposed of it and stared at your chest. Now you were fully exposed to him. He drank in the sight, no more secrets. He was going to memorize every freckle, every birthmark, every inch of your body by the end of tonight.

Every thrust made your chest bounce and he couldn’t help but take the left one in his mouth while squeezing the other. He swirled his tongue around your nipple before sucking on it lightly. In his other hand he was rubbing your nipple.

“C- Cor-”

He perked up, hearing your voice. You must be waking up. He removed his mouth from your mound, leaving a trail of his saliva, and looked at your face. You looked scared and for a second he felt bad. Then he reminded himself that you did this to yourself. In the long run, you’ll be thankful.

“Whats-” you furrowed your brows, clearly not fully awake. “What are you-”

He was quick to shush you. “Let me take care of you, okay?” He planted a kiss on your forehead, to which you tried your best to push him away. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t let your refusal be let off so lightly but you were just so weak. Instead he just took your wrists and pinned them above your head.

“Be a good girl or I won’t let you cum. Understand?” He looked into your eyes and he could tell you were about to cry. Your eyes were glossed over and your face was red, from the sex or the need to cry–he wasn’t sure.

After a mere second of eye contact you turned your head to the side. He growled, tired of your disobedience. He removed one of his hands from your wrists and moved it to your jaw. He forced you to look at him.

“Keep your eyes on me,” your tears started falling and he quickened his pace, “I’m gonna take care of you.. I promise.” he wiped your cheek with his thumb. Out of lust–or fear–you nodded. He could tell you were gonna climax soon, so he removed his hand from your wrists and moved it to your clit doing circular motions. You started whimpering, holding back her moans, “Go on, moan my name.. Don’t be shy.”

“C- Coriolanus,” he hummed, questioning. “Please.. Too much.” you begged.

He grinned in satisfaction and quickened his pace. You started to squeeze him more and he knew it was coming. You started to squirm, an unfamiliar feeling surely boiling in your lower abdomen.

After a few moments longer you came undone. Coriolanus made sure to study the pure ecstasy on your face. The way your mouth opened, revealing the most gratifying moan. The way your eyes squinted, your senses became too much. It was all so lewd and he gave you no comfort in stopping his ministrations, opting to fuck you through it. He was searching for his own climax now while you were a moaning mess underneath him.

He leaned down to your ear, “I’m gonna feel you up so nice, put a baby in your womb. You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

You didn’t answer him, unable to not be a blubbering mess. He took the way your cunt sucked him in as an answer enough.

There it was, the coiling feeling. He became erratic, chasing that all too familiar feeling of his high. Suddenly he was the moaning mess and not you. He examined your face, and noted that you were crying more than before and that sent him over edge. He spilled every drop of his seed into you.

Then he stayed there and the world felt silent besides the two of you breathing. Everything felt surreal.

His member was soft now, and he slowly removed himself from inside you. He pushed out the cum that was leaking out. Don’t want any of that getting lost, he thought.

He laid himself onto the bed next to you. He tried looking at you, only for you to turn the other direction. He sighed, understanding that you might need time to think about everything that’s happened.

“You’ve ruined me, Coriolanus Snow.” you said, so tiny he wasn’t sure you even said it until you turned your head back to face him.

“You’ve taken everything from me.” your face was tear stained and red. Your nose was runny and he just noticed that you were sniffling.

“Everything?”

You took a shaky breath. “My life, my fortune, my future,” you closed your eyes, “my brother.”

To that his heart sank, and his eyes widened. It wasn’t often that Coriolanus felt bad, to be honest he still didn’t, but the look on your face told him he should.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered, and reached out to wipe your tear-stained cheeks.

“Me too.”

#dark! coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow #hunger games #coriolanus snow x reader #tbosas fanfiction #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #dark! coriolanus snow #!dark coriolanus

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trianglesimpfordpines · 5 days

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ok so like 2 people said they wanted to see the "ford is the most realistic genius" post and that's all the encouragement i need. i'm probably gonna sound pretty full-of-myself on this post but that's just how it be like sometimes.

a lot of the time, "intelligence" is assumed to mean "knows more things." fictional characters who are supposed to be geniuses typically just...miraculously Know information they have no real way of acquiring, anticipate events that cannot reasonably anticipated, or every other character just suddenly gets stupid when the genius character is around so that the "genius" character just doing the logical thing comes off as particularly smart.

so you have a character who supposedly has a really high iq, but in practice they may as well be psychic.

as someone who actually has an iq of 147 (bear with me, because this isn't a flexing post), being "really intelligent" does not mean Just Knowing Things. what it means is that someone who's "smart" (in the traditional sense) can process more information, draw more conclusions, and do so faster than most people. it also usually means being really good at rationalizing things. so if you're someone who's well-adjusted and well-informed, that can definitely look like knowing all the right answers...but if you're someone who's not well-adjusted or well-informed, it can, if anything, make you even wronger. you get better at rationalizing your mistakes and digging yourself in deeper. and heaven help you if you have paranoid tendencies, because it's that much harder to convince someone they're being irrational when they're on a whole 'nother level of finding information to back up their irrationality.

ford is a genius. he learns incredibly fast and thoroughly. but he's also constrained by the information he has available to him, and by his own biases and past trauma and people issues.

that one writing advice post that made the rounds saying that a character's biggest flaw is usually their biggest strength in the wrong situation is very true of people who are very intelligent. it's why, for example, you'll sometimes see doctors, academics, experts buy into conspiracy theories. it's not because they're stupid; it's because they're smart enough to recontextualize all their knowledge to support their biases and beliefs.

and so many people do not understand this because they still think of "intelligence" as "knowing & being right about everything." so you get people arguing that ford isn't really a genius, because he was wrong and he made mistakes. but in my opinion, the mistakes he makes make perfect sense because he's a genius. that kind of recklessness is exactly what you get when you combine abnormally high iq with ford's myriad of personal issues. you get someone who's great at rationalizing, great at taking in information, and great at finding surprisingly well-thought-out reasons why their paranoia and antisocial tendencies are totally just the rational response.

think of it this way; the smartest people alive in the medieval era believed in the miasma theory. they weren't too stupid to understand what bacteria and viruses are; they just didn't have the tools needed to observe them. so they came up with a theory based on the information they did know, wrote essays and papers about it, made medical practices based on it...and it was completely incorrect, because genius without correct information leads to spectacular and very well-thought-out mistakes.

anyway, all this to say, as someone who could nominally be considered a "genius" but has been hella wrong about a lot of things in my life, i think ford is an incredibly realistic take on what most "geniuses" are really like. impressive in the right situations, not so much in the wrong ones, and very much not magical beings capable of mysteriously knowing all the correct information because they're Just That Smart. and very much not immune to emotional and personal issues getting in the way.

thanks for coming to my "i-just-slept-for-20-hours-and-my-brain-is-a-bit-scrambled-right-now" ted talk

#god this was way longer than i expected my brain really IS fried #anyway like i said the ''i have a 147 iq'' part is NOT a flex on my part #despite that high iq i was held back a year in high school then dropped out and am currently an unemployed loser living in my mom's basemen #so like. i'm not exactly the pinnacle of human achievement by any means #but i've always really related to ford in the sense of being able to pick up skills really fast except people skills #anyway #gravity falls meta #ford pines is the ''technically a genius personally a human disaster'' representation we need

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shifuaang · 1 year

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Conglomerate thoughts about Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 under the cut. Please do not read if you don't want to be spoiled! TLDR: I loved it.

I suppose I should preface this by saying Guardians Vol. 2 is my favorite MCU movie and that I hold no real affinity towards installments outside of the Guardians in the Marvel Universe. I used to be a pretty active and engaged fan, but Endgame swiftly put a stopper on that. I was very worried about how this film was charged with the task of picking up the pieces of a fractured and, frankly, careless and poorly written conclusion to Phase 3.

Long story short, I should have never doubted Gunn.

Gunn did an expert job at navigating the perimeters that Endgame thrust on him, ensuring that the plot didn't linger on what happened without neglecting the catastrophic weight of Thanos's actions. Bringing alternate universe Gamora into the fold seemed like a monstrous and difficult task. I have expressed before how much I hated the idea of Quill chasing down someone who isn’t even ‘his’ Gamora and trying to win her back, but Gunn handled this with absolute grace, assuring that everyone stayed in-character in their reactions and interactions. There was no backpedaling or continuity with how the Guardians were written in Infinity War and Endgame as I feared there would be. Gunn picked up from where we left off in Vol. 2 while still allowing us space to mourn Gamora's loss. Rocket's trauma and character development was taken seriously again. Every member of the Guardians had a well crafted arc and was given the appropriate amount of time to explore said arc.

The animal and child abuse was hard to watch. It felt way more violent than anything we've ever seen in the MCU, but I'm almost glad that it was. I feel that loss and violence is almost glossed over in the superhero genre. We don't quite get the full scope of devastation and impact that villains have caused in their quest for domination, colonization, and perfection. We've been desensitized to death and torture to a degree. Even the snap™, which most would site as the most evidentiary form of brutality in the the MCU, did not hold nearly as much weight as the actions of the High Evolutionary. Thankfully the plot never seemed like a hit over the head with a message of EUGENICS BAD! It was more a tragic exploration in what eugenics can do to an individual, how it desecrates the environment, and how the quest for perfection is gratuitous and futile.

In spite of the heavy subject matter and darkness of the film, Gunn still maintained the thread of humor that we love from the Guardians. I laughed out loud more than a handful of times, and every laugh came at a point in the film where it was necessary. There were no quips or jabs there to deflect from the seriousness of what was occurring, just enough to give the audience time to breathe. I am so glad that Guardians Vol. 3 was the first MCU movie to get the green light in the 'fuck' department. I can think of no franchise more deserving, and the way it was used was perhaps the funniest joke in the whole film.

I could write an entire essay on Mantis's arc and her development and how much she means to me as a character, but maybe (probably) I will save that for another day. To keep things short, I appreciated her continued empathy and sense of humor in such a bleak situation and after such a hard life. I see so much of myself in her, and it's incredibly moving to have someone represent aspects of yourself that you thought would never be portrayed in the superhero genre because they are more difficult to express emotionally and cerebrally. She's so important and so brilliantly acted by Pom, and I adore how much agency and confidence she was allowed.

As for people who say they didn't like the ending because it 'destroyed' the found family aspect of the Guardians, I never got the impression that these characters weren't going to meet up again and that they stopped being family. There was no discussion on how they were 'bad' for each other or that they'd be better off individually, which is normally the consensus when groups split in media. Quill should spend the remaining time his grandfather has with him. Mantis should go explore herself and her independence after years of captivity and compliance. Drax and Nebula should rebuild, and create, and love on the new occupants of Knowhere, as they've been forced to spend most of their lives being destroyed and being destructive. Rocket and Groot should carry on the legacy of the Guardians, protectors of the universe. And Gamora has clearly established a loving family of her own with the Ravagers, which is what she deserves. Everyone's ending felt pertinent and cathartic, and we were left with a sense of hope and a twinkle of potential for what could come in the future.

Thank you, Gunn and the cast and crew of this film, for making me cry the hardest I have in a theater since Toy Story 3, and for ending my favorite MCU series so beautifully. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better conclusion.

We'll all fly away together, one last time, into the forever and beautiful sky. 🚀

#guardians of the galaxy #guardians vol 3 #james gunn #anti endgame #just in case lol #review #gotg #gotg spoilers #gotg vol 3

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comicaurora · 2 years

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I didn't realize levels of context and such was something I wanted to think/talk on until I read today's page so I decided I might tap you about it if it's alright. Basically, I didn't realize how much I missed everyone Not Being Under Active Pressure until this page. It felt as though something's been made right with the world seeing Erin 0 concealment or hesitation taking notes about Dainix, and what really struck me and got my wheels turning was how this perfectly normal behavior hits so different off the heels of all the weight and pressure and such that Erin and everyone else has been under than it otherwise would hit. Obviously the framing of the page has something to do with the effect I described, but this page feels unique in its requiring context to feel the full scope of the impact.

However, that thought then bounced off a thing that happened where a contextless scene hit me like a truck and demanded I write it despite me having nothing else to apply it to, and I still read it back and need no context to prove to myself that it is a very solid and effective scene in spite of it being like. Five lines and two stage directions. This sort of thing happens with me on occasion where I have isolated moments, single loaded scenes that seem as though they come from context, and yet the context not only doesn't exist but doesn't really need to exist, yet the way it's structured, you think there would surely be grander story context around the scene.

(Sorry I seem to keep giving you walls of contextualizing [ha] before actually getting to the question part) What I wanted to ask you was: What are your thoughts on the relationship between story context and individual scenes/moments in a narrative? The sort of ins and outs of a scene as itself and a scene as part of a story, and a story as a whole and a story as a chain of scenes that give one another context.

This is a fun question, because the need for context to make moments hit was initially something that really frustrated me.

Like many people, my storycrafting started with a big pile of out of context Yo That Would Be So Cool moments - sweet one-liners, fight scenes, big flashy powerups. And I liked the Big Moments from the shows I watched, and wanted to know what made them hit so hard so I could replicate that emotional punch. Was it the kickin' theme music? The determined monologue? The speed lines? The yelling??

And I came to the frustrating conclusion that it was all the slow, often boring setup that had come before the big moment.

The sudden reveal of a superpowered evil side means nothing if we don't know what that character is supposed to act like. A character drawing motivation from a dead loved one tells us nothing if we don't ourselves know and love the person they lost. A jaded, powerful warrior will seem generic if we don't know the fun-loving child they spent two whole seasons being. A character backed into a desperate corner will reveal untapped wells of heroism we can't appreciate if we don't realize how rare this is for them. Powerful moments are in some way carried by what happens in them, but in a much larger way are carried by the contrast between them and the story that preceded them. Stripped of context, all the moments I loved - all the TVTropes "Crowning Moments of Awesome" - were either mindlessly flashy or oddly underwhelming.

In order to make the moment hit, even if the moment was so much more fun and interesting than anything else, the writer had to write all the buildup and pace it out enough that it stuck with the audience, and the audience had to experience that buildup. It just wasn't possible to write a story that was one amazing thing after another without the amazing things losing more and more impact.

We're all on tumblr here, so I'm sure we've all experienced That One Person We Follow getting into some new media property we don't know about. They post mini-essays about why That One Bit With Character A And Character B Was So Powerful, gifsets of two people standing in a dark room captioned with "they were in love here 😍" and extremely well-made fanart of people you don't recognize in vaguely saint-like poses, sometimes captioned with something you think cannot possibly be relevant. This is fine, because you're not the target audience for that fan content. That's for people who already know what the fanart is about - it's essentially referential art that doesn't stand on its own to an outside audience.

But I want people to watch and enjoy the things I watch and enjoy so I have people to talk about those things with. And that means I have spent long hours trying to figure out how to explain to a skeptical audience why a story I liked was so good, and what made the awesome moments work. This is a huge part of the impetus behind Trope Talks, and why the in-depth examples I use always have context as a preamble. Without the context, the moment doesn't work.

If you think a gutpunch is just the moment the fist connects, you're disregarding the windup that actually makes it hit.

#asks #aurora #behind the curtain

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le-panda-chocovore · 8 months

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"Say" Karma asks with his eternal strawberry milk in hand "are you a cat person or a dog person ?"

Gakushuu doesn't even bother to look at him. It's been month now that Akabane daily hangs around him, starts absurd conversation just for the love of it, and jumps on every single occasion to compete with him. Gakushuu is kinda used to it now, but he has yet developed a skill to fully ignore the boy.

"I'm a cat person myself, you know. I think cats suit you too."

Gakushuu doesn't answer, even if he knows that he eventually will have to. Akabane never gives up with his weird questions. He's only putting things off.

"Well I guess dogs are more convenient to you, since you love giving orders and everything. I mean, you're a leader, you want loyalty, dogs are great with that."

Gakushuu sighs. He's only trying to eat his bento in peace, but peace is a complicated things to reach when Akabane Karma is in your life.

"Are you going to write an essay about wether dogs or cats are more suits to me ?"

"Well I would if you don't answer, I have to make my own conclusion. So, dogs or cats ?"

".... Neither."

Karma rolls his eyes and puts his drink down on Asano's desk. Because of course he was sitting in front of him, he specifically came to disturb Gakushuu during the lunch break. It began a month after the start of the school year. At first it was one day every two weeks, then one per week, then three, then every day. The whole class was also used to it now, the weird rivalry-friendship-flirtous relation they have. Gakushuu still finds that annoying.

"You can't say that ! If you have to choose between a dog or a cat, what would you take ?"

"I don't know. Does it matter? I don't have a preference."

"Of course it matters !! How can you say something so stupid ?! It means everything ! It kinda define your personality but go off I guess !"

As usual, Akabane is dramatic. Gakushuu sighs again. Why such a fuss about a simple question ?

"I have never had a pet." He doesn't even know why he tries to explain himself. Isn't he allowed to just not have a preference? "I don't know what they're like."

"What ? How could you nev- Oh. Yeah. I guess your dad isn't the type to offer you a cat for Christmas."

"No, he really isn't." But the mental image makes him smile. Internally, of course. Can't be seen showing emotions when Akabane's looking.

"Well you don't need to actually have a pet to know which one you prefer. Imagine, a few years in the future, you live in your own apartment and you have a good job and enough money. You can do whatever you want, even adopt a pet. What would you choose then ?"

Asano thinks about it, he even stops eating to visualize the picture. What would he choose, if he can have anything ?

"I don't know."

"Asano."

"What ? I really don't ! Why should I like one better than the other ?"

Abakane seemed genuinely exasperated, he couldn't believe what he heard. How can a person not have a preference! It's a crime ! He should put the strawberry blonde under arrest, but he isn't a cop, and Gakushuu would probably be out in a matter of hours. He's way too perfect to stay in jail.

"Look at that" Karma shows him his phone, "and tell me that does nothing to you !"

It's a picture of a black and white cat stretching. Gakushuu looks unimpressed, which only increases Akabane's outrage. The red-haired boy keeps scrolling his phone to shows pictures and video of cats and kittens, trying to get a reaction from Asano. But the only thing Gakushuu does, beside frowning, is commenting a simple "okay I guess."

"YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD, THE FUCK YOU MEAN 'OKAY I GUESS' ????"

"Don't yell and don't swear."

He realized then that the whole class -more precisely the remaining students who don't eat at the cafeteria- were listening, and now looking at them. Hell he hates when Akabane makes a scene like this.

"Those are the most beautiful and cute and perfect creatures that have ever existed, and you DARE to say that they're only okay ???? What kind of psychopath are you !?"

"It's a pet Akabane. Besides, between us, you're the psycho one."

"A pet- A PET HE SAID. CATS ARE FUCKING GODS AN-"

"Oh my god, shut up, will you ? I didn't said I don't like cats, I just... I don't know."

It's Karma's turn to sigh. The boy is looking at him as if he was an alien inable to communicate with a human language. Gakushuu stares back. He isn't the weird one, he convinces himself, there's no problem in not liking pets.

"So dogs it is then ?"

"Well, uh... Not really. I don't particularly like dogs either."

That's when Ren joined the conversation. He hands his own phone which shows the Instagram page of one of his friend. A girl and her dog running in the snow. It was a pretty cute picture.

"Here, what do you think about it ?" Ren asks with a fake innocentsmile. He is clearly up to something and Asano doesn't like that. He feels like they're making an alliance against him. Akabane lean toward them to see the picture and Asano's reaction.

"Hm" said Gakushuu after looking at the screen for 5 long seconds. Ren laughed, Gakushuu frowns, and Karma protests.

"The FUCK you mean-"

"Stop swearing I said. You're insufferable."

"And you're fucking weird. How can you not react ? Do you have a heart ?"

Asano shrugs. He takes his bento and starts eating again, ignoring the look everyone is giving to him. Honestly, he's kinda satisfied to see the annoying human nuisance sighs. Karma seems desperate and the fact that the roles are reversed is extremely funny to him.

"You cannot not love pets." Karma groans.

"Well, obviously I can."

Ren gets closer with his chair and puts his own food on Asano's desk.

"You're neither a cat or a dog person but there must be a pet you like." He assumes with a thoughtful face.

"What are you doing ?" Gakushuu stares with murderous eyes. His childhood friend laughed it off nervously.

"I'm just curious ! I never got to know your favourite animal, that's all."

"Maybe I don't have one."

"That's sad" points out Akabane. "Or maybe you love hamster but you're ashamed of it."

This time Gakushuu sighs again. He sighs often when Akabane is around, and that means everyday since the beginning of the year.

"Well a little mouse maybe ?"

"No" Asano deadpans.

"Ew" Sakakibara comments.

"They're cute tho," Karma protests. "Wait I'm showing you a picture."

"My sister has an hamster." claims Koyama while handing his own phone.

Asano looks at it but doesn't say anything, fully aware that everyone was waiting for him to react. It's not that he dislikes being when people stares at him, they always do, but he isn't the kind of person who talk about themself. His father always reminds him to give private information carefully because we never know what people might do with that. And, well, he's father is not the best role model, but it's the only one he has.

However, the main problem right know is that Asano really doesn't know what pet he likes. Cats and hamsters and dogs may indeed be cute if you take the definition of the word, he can see that, but he doesn't feel any particular affection toward them by looking at those pictures.

"Well ?" asks Karma, staring at him curiously as if he's trying to read his soul -and he probably is.

"What ?" Asano really has nothing to say, and it shows. "Well, it's alive."

"Gods can you hear yourself ? You're the worst human alive." Karma takes back his strawberry milk and starts drinking obnoxiously.

"We should try mice then" Akira proposes. "You said you'd show a picture Akabane."

The cat lover looks up to him but before he could answer, another students appeared next to Asano's desk. Apparently, their classmates, who listened to the entire conversation since the beginning, took the Virtuosos' intervention as an autorization to join the debate as well. The most brave of them, a blonde girl with round glasses, gives her phone to Asano to show him a picture of three little mice.

"Th-their names are Iku, Aki and Uka" she mumbles.

"Oh. Well... Okay ?"

Akabane slams his drink against the desk.

"That fucking 'okay' again, is that the only word you know ?"

"I don't know what you're expecting from me !!" Gakushuu finally snaps.

"A fucking human reaction ! Is that too much to ask ?? When I look at cats, I'm like 'awwwwwww so cute I want to adopt them and cuddle them and feed them' but YOU don't give a shit about those little fluffy angels and I don't know how you can be so heartless !! Do you ever feel anything ? Are you a robot ?"

"I do feel things, thanks" Asano grunts. "I'm just not a pet person."

"All pets are differents, there's plenty races of cats and dogs. Maybe you could like one." Sakakibara fully ignores the deathly glare Asano has and keeps going. "Like a golden retriever and a bulldog are nothing alike."

After those words, in a matter of three minutes, the whole class gather around the poor student representative to show every pictures of their pets. There are plenty of cats and dogs from all races and age and Asano quickly lose control of the situation (not like he ever had it in the first place). He doesn't know where to look at, he's fully surrounded and is forced to stop eating again.

Despite that, he still doesn't really react to what he sees, and Akabane is know completly convinced that his rival is a future serial killer. Asano tries to reach his bestfriend for help, but Sakakibara is too busy trying to not laugh to hard to do anything. Betrayed by his right hand man, Asano turns toward the other Virtuosis, but they're no help either.

And that is the moment when the teacher comes back to class, only to see his students all gathered around Gakushuu's desk with their phones out.

Gakushuu is of course the first one to notice, and immediately stands up to greet him and to tell everyone to go back to their place. They groan but obey. Except, of course, Akabane.

"What happened here ?" Asks the teacher out of curiosity.

"Asano said he never had a pet before so we're trying to guess what he could like."

Gakushuu glares at Karma, who shrugs with a smile.

"He said he's neither a cat or dog person" Karma continues, "but he must be something."

Asano expected the teacher to dismiss the boy for starting irrelevant conversation, and to remind the class to stay serious about the work and everything. He certainly didn't expected him to hum with an amused smile and to answer "I knew someone once who had a bird pet. Do you like feathers Asano-kun ?"

He really doesn't expect that. What was he even supposed to answer ? And why was the teacher joining the circus ?

"I... Don't think so ? Birds are louds." Gakushuu explains finally, but he doesn't seem really sure about that. Karma notices and grins when he gets up to go back to his own desk.

"I guess they are." The teacher opens his binder to the lesson he prepared. "Well, you guys should talk about this outside of class hours. Let's continue where we stopped..."

Gakushuu is clearly relieved to go back to a serious subject appropriate for school. Little does he know that Akabane has no intention to stop this debate.

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showtoonzfan · 1 year

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My thoughts on the upcoming Disney brand sequel movies:

Zootopia 2: Hell yes, this is one of those Disney movies I believed actually DESERVES a sequel, unlike movies like Wreck it Ralph 2, The Incredibles 2, or Toy Story 4, because I actually thought the originals had decent or satisfying conclusions and we didn’t need more. However Zootopia is one of my favorite modern Disney movies, and there’s so much more to explore and expand regarding this world and it’s characters, and since there’s a shitload of issues going on in the world right now, I’m confident this sequel will touch up upon another great lesson and handle it really well because Jared Bush and Bryon Howard are very good directors and writers in my eyes.

Inside Out 2: FUCK yes. This has got to be the one I’m the most excited for. I can see why some people are skeptical because some think it could be another “Turning Red” where they focus on puberty regarding a teenage girl, and yes that seems to be the route Inside Out 2 is making, but I personally have no problem with that, for me it’s all about how good the first one was. I could honestly write a whole essay on how well written this film was and the emotional impact it had on me as a person. The lesson that being sad is okay, not just sad…but embracing your other emotions and allowing yourself to feel those other emotions is SUCH a good moral to teach younger kids, and the way they handled that lesson was just amazing in my opinion. Inside Out has got to be one of my favorite if not THE favorite modern Pixar films I’ve ever seen, and I’m confident that the second film will be just as good. I can’t wait.

Frozen 3: I’m not really passionate about Frozen, I remember being dragged to the theater to see the first movie when it came out, and while the movie was obliviously flawed in many areas, I do think it’s deserves its praise here and there, wether you think it was handled well or not I’ll always applaud the film for at least attempting to write a complicated sister dynamic, and yes…most of the songs are really good. I never saw the sequel but good GOD I heard about the production issues it went through, going through many rewrites and scrapped content (that btw, was better than the end result) and how the team was STILL working on it a mere month or two before the film would release. They made an entire documentary about it and how it was hell for everyone, and I couldn’t help but feel really bad. Despite me not really caring for this franchise, I think Frozen deserves a third movie because with the right amount of time and effort, they can possibly create a better movie.

Toy Story 5: No. Just no. We don’t need any more, while I never saw the 4th movie because even THEN I thought there didn’t need to be any more, in SOME way, from what I’ve seen it did try to pull off a satisfying conclusion, especially for Woody’s character. However I will admit, the audience reactions were always split between saying it was really bad and not needed, to how it was really good and a perfect sendoff. All of that doesn’t matter now however, since they’re making another one and this is a sequel I can clearly tell Disney is just doing for the money. I always hate it when people take a franchise I used to love dearly and then just DRAAG it for way too long, like Despicable Me or Hotel Transylvania. No matter how good the franchise, no movie like these should be going up to 5 freaking sequels and all, that’s just ridiculous. I’d say “wait and see” but I’ve honestly lost passion for this franchise, in my opinion the third movie ended with a really good conclusion for everyone and they should have stopped there.

#Disney #Walt Disney #movies #animation #walt disney animation studios #Pixar #Disney Pixar #frozen 3 #zootopia #Zootopia 2 #toy story #toy story 5 #inside out #inside out 2 #disney animation #Disney movies #unrelated

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demilypyro · 2 years

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Thinking about my diagnostic period. I don't know how things go in other countries, but here, to get hormones or surgery you need to have a year of discussions with a psychologist, and a second opinion.

They ask you about your family, your relationships, your feelings about them. They ask you about your view of women in society, question your awareness of misogyny and transphobia. It all feels like pretty "yeah, duh" stuff, but I guess it's good to have mentioned. They also had me write an essay on my life up to that point, the "life story" they called it, detailing my experiences and how they led me to transitioning.

I found the whole process... agonizingly slow. Most of the appointments were weeks or months apart, and yet much of the same was discussed in most of them. I feel like it probably could have been done faster, that that year period is just to scare away people who are unsure. I hear progress is being made in having it shortened. I used the time to work towards voice training and facial hair removal.

At the same time I draw a certain kind of... security from it. That multiple experts got to know me very well and drew the same conclusions I had. It's something I can fall back on, helps me feel like it's not just in my head.

Some of the words that came up in my final assessment were "unquestionable", "sensible", and "sympathetic".

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witsserviceablesubstitute · 10 months

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Doggedly chasing one IASIP storyline into a rabbit hole will certainly turn you into ConspiracyTheoristCharlie, but it's not silly to believe that there are complex layers of communication in such a self-aware and self-referential satire. The creators do seem to think hard about the implications of what they're using and why. How they want to say what they're saying and why. Really, you could write a lit essay on many of the 20 minute episodes of the show.

There's nothing wrong with applying that level of analysis to shipping on the shipping website. And while I still don't know if Mac and Dennis will end together, people aren't crazy for thinking they will. Or in wanting to pick them apart. Or at being excited about the prospect of it happening (though the excitement does make me feel a little sad— a watching Frank leading the twins to their empty Christmas presents sad).

IASIP continues to use Mac and Dennis exclusively as their toxic 'married couple', sending up sitcom romance tropes with their homoerotic 'friendship', pairing them to parody domestic horror in episodes like 'Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs'. Honestly, the best indication that they will end up together is that IASIP escalated that premise when Mac came out rather than slowing it down. They absolutely know the implications of what they're doing by using them this way, for teasing the sexual undertones of their relationship for as long as they have, and by making both their queerness textual. They also understand how it looks if they can't drag all that subtext into the spotlight (especially in today's anti-queer climate).

However, as much as I miss honeymoon era Mac and Dennis being joyful psychos together, if Mac and Dennis are the toxic married couple then they're in their divorce era imo. It feels equally simplistic to me to say Dennis is in love with Mac as it does to say he hates him. It's both, it has been both, much as it can be both in a marriage full of resentment and miscommunication.

My interpretation of their whole deal is that Dennis hates himself and is furious at Mac for being stupid enough to openly love him. What person of value would love Dennis? Would willingly give Dennis that much power over him? I think he'd treat Dee similarly if she ever openly loved him instead of being as emotionally unavailable as he is. Regardless, he does try to live up to what he thinks Mac's expectations and needs are while also keeping Mac at arms length. If he's the one in control of both of them, responsible for both of them, then he tries to fill that role even though it obviously stresses him out. It reminds me of the Dennis in 'How Mac Got Fat', the one that hurts himself to fulfil what he believed Mac and Dee expect of him.

My own prediction for them moving forward is that Mac either turns the tables on Dennis or leaves completely, but I'm less certain of what the fallout or conclusion will be. I suspect that the possibility of it being a romantic reconciliation like some (me) hope is about as likely as them deciding to crush those hopes altogether, but I'm happy to let them tell the story they want to tell.

#iasip #it's always sunny in philadelphia #dennis reynolds #mac mcdonald #macdennis #navel gazing #queerness in television

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rip-us-xoxo · 1 year

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Avalanche- Draco Malfoy x Reader (REPOST)

Posted NOVEMBER 26, 2020

Reposted APRIL 16, 2023

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

Request by @excuse-me-ima-princess- Could you write an imagine with draco x female!reader where it’s like a childhood best friends to lovers type of deal. Also if you could use the song Avalanche by walk the moon as a base for it that would be great! Thank you and congrats on 100 followers!

A/n- Thank you! Also thank you for requesting that song, i never heard it before, but now i’m glad that i have. It is so good! I hope you enjoy reading!

——————————————————————————

Warnings- Umbridge, that’s it. Also not really read through so sorry ‘bout that✌️

Song- 'Avalanche' by Walk The Moon

——————————————————————————

Eighteen thousand-year-old soul

Midwest shooting star

In the days she waits

But she moonlights rock'n'roll

Play the rain dance with her guitar

Sometimes you only get one chance

You and Draco have known each other since you were in diapers. Your mother and his mother were best friends in their years at Hogwarts, so just imagine how excited they were when they found out they were both pregnant at the same time! They knew you two were going to be best friends, and they were right. You two were attached at the hip.

Everyday when you two were little, you would play out in the garden for hours playing tag. You were one wild girl and he loved that about you, friend-like love of course.

Soon those days of just running around had to stop when you two had to go to Hogwarts. Now, you had essays to do and very little free-time to run around and play games.

Now, you were still that carefree girl. You ran around the halls not caring if you got in trouble and didn’t care what others thought about you. Draco on the other hand had to keep his head held high and his behavior on track so that 1. He could impress his father and 2. Show up Potter

As the years at Hogwarts passed by, you and Draco were still attached at the hip and many a times mistaken as a couple, to which both of you would laugh and inform the person that you two were just friends.

5th year was when things got a little rocky in the friendship though. Umbridge had taken over the school and Draco was completely fine with it, but you, on the other hand were not.

“Hey Draco!” you greeted him in the hallway. “Woah, Y/l/n, 8 inches, remember?” Draco moved away from you and kept walking.

“What the heck Draco? I’m your best friend,” you said in disbelief. “Well Umbridge says to stay 8 inches apart, so we will follow her rules and stay 8 inches apart,” he said ‘8 inches apart’ like you were a dumb little child who couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“You know what? Don’t talk to me,” you fumed and turned around to head to the Slytherin common rooms. Draco just huffed and kept walking.

The next time Draco saw you and tried to say hi, you flipped him off and walked in the opposite direction. He expected that to be the only time, but 1 time turned into 2 times and then suddenly you two just weren’t talking anymore.

He didn’t think much of it, being Draco Malfoy he thought he did absolutely nothing wrong, but after a while he thought, “Did I do something wrong?”. He inquired about that thought for a whole month until finally he came to the conclusion that he, in fact, did something wrong.

“I have to fix this,” he whispered to himself as he watched you eat alone at the Slytherin table. He then saw you stand up and start to head out of the Great Hall. But when you grabbed your bag, he saw something on your hand that didn’t look good.

Draco followed you out of the dorm and waited until you two were far enough away from people to try and talk to you. You felt like someone was following you so you looked behind you to see a tall, slender shadow. You yelped and almost fell over.

“Calm down, Y/l/n, it’s just me,” the person chuckled. You stiffened, “What do you want Draco?” you spat his name out like venom. It’s been over a month since you two had talked, and he decided to try and fix it now?

“Look, I just want to talk because I think I did something wrong,”, “You think?” you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms, completely forgetting about the words engraved in your hand from detention with Umbridge.

“Ah!” you hissed and looked down at your hand. “What?” Draco asked and ran up to you. His focus was brought down to your carved hand, “Who did that?”. When he went to go grab it, you pulled it away.

“Your favorite teacher, Umbridge, did it, you git. I got detention,” you spat. He stared at your hand with his jaw dropped, he thought that Slytherins were safe from her wrath but apparently not, “Why did you get detention?”.

“Since we stopped talking, all I’ve been able to think about is the fact that I’m mad at you, so she saw that I wasn’t paying attention and gave me detention,” you put your hand in his face, “‘I must not get distracted’ is what she made me write”.

He frowned, it really was all his fault. He put his hand on your back and led you back to the Slytherin common room. “Here, let me wrap it up,” he said and went to go grab some bandages. Draco came back a few moments later and began to tend to the wound.

While you had your attention on the pain of your hand being cleaned up, you didn’t notice Draco glancing up at you every so often. He never realized how pretty you were, your features were glowing in the little light that was in the dungeons.

You had always had the faintest crush on Draco but you knew it would never blossom into anything more, you were best friends and that was all he would ever see you as. So when you finally caught him staring at you, you were a little surprised.

“Um, Draco?” you questioned, making him shake his head and come back to reality. “Sorry about that, I just- I,” his eyes flickered down to your lips. Your breath hitched, causing him to come back to reality again, “Sorry, I don’t know what’s going on with me today,” he stood up, “Goodnight, Y/n, I hope you can forgive me”.

You nodded your head and gave him a friendly smile, “Yeah, I forgive you Draco”. He breathed a sigh of release and hugged you before walking up to his dorms.

When he got into bed, he didn’t think much of his behavior and nor did you. Everything was fine, you both had your bestfriends back and it couldn’t be better.

You got a look in your eyes

I knew you in a past life

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

You two had established very different reputations at Hogwarts. Although you both were in Slytherin, he became known as a jerk and you became known as the fun “party girl”, especially in your 6th year.

Neither of you had talked about that night or even thought about it. But one night, 6th year, he was lying in bed and the thought of that night wandered into his brain, “Why did hugging her feel different? And why did I want to kiss her?”. It was like he was in a trance when he looked into your eyes, it was familiar because he’s looked into your eyes many times, but that time, it was different. It was like a feeling of ‘it was meant to be’.

For years Draco never thought of you as anything more than a best friend. But ever since that night, he knew that that “friendly-like” love that he had for you was slowly turning into love-love. And it just did.

Ships pass in the night

I don’t want to wait ‘til the next life

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

Last call and everybody’s watching

A party was being thrown in the Slytherin common room after a win against Gryffindor and Draco was being celebrated for catching the snitch. “Really, it’s not that difficult to beat Potter,” he boasted and took a sip of firewhiskey.

“Congratulations Draco!” he heard from behind him. He turned around to see you in one of his old quidditch jerseys. He gave it to you in 3rd year after you had a nightmare, after he gave you his jersey though you were out like a light.

“Thanks, Y/n,” he hugged you and let go even though he didn’t want to. You gave him a smile that made him weak in the knees before Blaise handed you a cup of firewhiskey.

“Thanks Blaise,” you thanked him before downing the cup. “Woah, Y/l/n, slow down,” Draco chuckled and grabbed the empty cup from you.

“I want to dance, gotta get a little loose first,” you told him and shimmied your shoulders before walking to the center of the room while swaying your hips with the music.

You then started to dance like no one was watching and ignored all of the whistles thrown your way by boys who were only watching you for the way your hips were moving.

But Draco wanted you, he wanted all of you.

He looked around at all of the boys who looked like they were about to pounce on you and scoffed. He knew that you wouldn’t want to do anything with them, you weren’t that type of person, which Draco admired about you.

He only had one chance to go out there and claim you though, because another boy was already making his way towards you.

Her voice rings out like a storm

Sometimes the past echoes in the future

Started long before we were born

Sometimes you only get one chance

You started singing along to the song that was playing and it made Draco think back to when you two would hang out before Hogwarts and you would sing your heart out to whatever song came over the radio.

He remembered back to when he would watch you and his heart would thump at the sight of you smiling. Draco’s eyes widened when he realized that he was in love with you this whole time, he was just too dumb to notice.

Universe won’t wait for you

It’s do or die, whatcha gon-gon-gonna do?

“Woah, dude, you alright?” Blaise asked Draco. “I-I don’t know, but, I have to do something. Something that I should’ve done a long time ago,” Draco said and gave his cup to Blaise.

“It’s now or never,” he whispered to himself before walking over to you, everyone watched him as he did.

You got a look in your eyes

I knew you in a past life

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

You got a look in your eyes

I knew you in a past life

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

You noticed him coming your way but he had a look in his eyes like he was on a mission. Once he reached you, he stared straight into your eyes. You started up at him, not knowing the thoughts in his mind.

“She is gorgeous, how did I not notice before?” he thought. The same eyes he’s stared into his whole life, but once again, it was different.

He was in love.

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

Your hair was splayed out across your shoulders, your face had no makeup on it, showing all of your natural features.

Draco was in awe.

Ships pass in the night

I don’t want to wait ‘til the next life

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

One glance and the avalanche drops

One look and my heartbeat stops

“Draco?” you asked worriedly. Everyone was watching you two, waiting for something to happen.

“I can’t miss my chance again, I can’t wait any longer,” and before you could comprehend what he was saying, his lips were on yours. You gasped and leaned into the kiss.

His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him. After a few seconds, you both pulled away and Draco pulled you into his chest.

Everyone around you cheered, but all you could hear was Draco’s heartbeat.

“I love you, Y/n,” he whispered into your ear. You looked up at him and looked in his eyes, “I love you too”.

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

xoxo

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter characters x reader #harry potter fanfiction

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byleresque · 2 years

Text

here’s how I want a milquetoast breakup okay: they apologize for hurting each other and come to a mutual conclusion that they want different things. okay. this will be long and exhausting and they’ll probably bicker but at the end they do care about each other... maybe they can start over?

cue tail-end of a break up scene

...

“I just,” Mike heaved a sigh for the hundredth time this hour. “I really want us to be friends. We never really got a chance to be friends.”

Like a snowball rolling down a steep hill, their relationship picked up speed before either of them were ready. They had neither the time nor experience to brace themselves with when the weight of it came crashing.

El nodded. “So it was a mistake. We were a mistake.” Her eyes were rimmed with red and growing misty again. She tucked her chin down. This wouldn’t be the first cry of the day.

“No, no, hey! Not a mistake. Not at all. I don’t regret any of it. This is just... Life, I guess. Nobody is always doing the right thing.” He cringed inwardly at his lame speech and took El lightly by the shoulders until she looked up at him. “And just because we aren’t together together doesn’t mean I’ll like, hold a grudge against you or anything. We’re friends. We can be friends.” He said. El’s brows knit together in concentration; like she was solving a puzzle.

Mike continued, “Unless you hate me now. I mean, I mean if you hate me I guess that’s fair, but-”

“Mike.” A tear tracked down her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“Promise?” The word barely made a sound. “Friends?” Mike smiled down at her, brushing away her tears with the sleeve of his pullover. Sometimes he couldn’t believe this was the same terrified girl they found in pouring rain years ago.

She’d grown tremendously since.

Mike caught his reflection in the hanging mirror on his bedroom door. His face was red and blotchy, his hair a shaggy mess. But despite those things, he was proud of the guy in the reflection for the first time in memory. Even just this year, he’d learned many truths about himself-- what he wanted and didn’t want in this life-- El wasn’t the only one who had grown.

“Of course. Promise.” They linked pinkies like they were twelve again, giggling until Mike crushed them both into a much-needed cry-hug. “Can we start over?” Mike sniffled. When had he started crying?

“Start over?” El stepped back.

“Yeah. Like...” Mike held out his hand and put on his best introduction voice despite the warbly, weepy tone. “Hi, I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”

El snickered. “Mike, I know who you are.”

“I know, I know.” He said. “Pretend you don’t.”

She raised an eyebrow, but shook Mike’s hand regardless. “Alright. Nice to meet you, Mike. I’m Jane.”

“Jane... Do you wanna be friends?” Mike said, hoping he sounded as earnest as he felt. She beamed at him. Her eyes glistened with the tears spilling over.

“I--” She gulped. “I would like that very much.” And like that, the atmosphere in the room brightened. Mike stood up straighter; breathed easier. It was as if a boulder had been lifted off his back. He could finally think with a clear head. El looked relieved as well, hunting around the room for tissues and trying to bite back a grin. Thank god, Mike thought, thank god I can still make her happy.

“Do you... Wanna go to the mall?” Mike asked.

“You will buy the ice cream?” El cocked her head at him expectantly.

Mike gave a sideways smirk. “As long as you hack Joust for me at the mini arcade.”

“Deal!”

They left the Wheeler residence talking-- honestly talking-- like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Making up for lost time. Mike learned a lot in such a short time. El apparently did Will’s math homework in exchange for him writing her English essays, she once drove the pizza van for Argyle while he was “out of commission”, and a few months ago she burned off a chunk of her hair with Joyce’s straightening iron. Mike felt like an idiot for not realizing how dynamic El had been this whole time. And kind of weird. In a good way.

At the food court, El peered over her scoop of mint chocolate, quiet for the first time since they’d left the house. Mike felt her eyes on him.

“What? Something on my face?

“No.” She fibbed. His chin was covered in Rocky Road. “I was thinking about something Max said. And since we are now friends, I want to know...” She leaned forward secretively.

Mike gulped. Mischief twinkled in her eye that he’d never seen there before.

“...What’s going on with you and Will?”

#um. that's it #oh damn i forgot the mall has been bisected #or is at least not in operation lol #what's the name of platonic mike and el #elmike #found it #byler #haha just kidding i think their real break up will not end this smooth #they're messyyyyyy ahahaha #my writing

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tinogiehd · 1 year

Note

there's some essay on dnf and how anti-dnfers are actually being homophobic even as they're comfortable with shipping other mlm couples (including dnf with their other friends) but like the possibility of dnf actually being like /srs relationship has them shaking for some reason. i don't have the time to write that essay rn but it exists right alongside all the other essays on when some fans/fan creators are comfortable with the idea of mlm relationships in fandom but not actually in real life.

THISSSS dnf as a hypothetical is all fun and games for people to pretend to truth In that hypothetical but the moment there's genuinely a chance of them being in a relationship people run the other way. people got weird about it in april too after dream came out. like the minute there's plausible reason to believe dnf could be real people back off and it's weird as hell - obviously there's the whole discomfort of speculating on real relationship and that's valid but it's not speculating if they're straight up saying it 😭😭 it's not invasive or weird to look at consensually and recently released public media and draw a conclusion. that's just observing. that's just seeing kids in your high school holding hands in the hallway and assuming that they're a couple without asking. that's just celebrity gossip baby and it's free reign

#aya asks

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rolling-restart · 7 months

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I think we all agree that I'm Your Man is Nico to Toto, especially in your desecration prequel but I Love Me After You is when Nico finally wins and retires. Perhaps the most fitting lines and that made my brain explode are 'I love me after you/ King of all the land/ I'm king of all the land' mainly because Nico doesn't need Toto anymore, there's nothing more Toto can give him now that he finally has the championship

Feel free to ignore my rambling, I just needed to let it out after constantly thinking about it the moment I finished listening to Mitski's album

Bonus: The Frost is sooooo brocedes coded 'Now the world is mine alone' 'Now I have no one to tell how I lost my best friend'

I could write a whole essay about the parallels between Mitski songs and Nico, brocedes and nico/toto but in conclusion, the whole new album is so incredibly Nico coded as most of Mitski's discography😌

Okay, first of all, these are amazing!!!! I know when I see listening with intent and I really appreciate your catches. As I said, I didn't do a full listen of The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We but I listened to the ones you mentioned and you are so so so right. Now, you made me go back to Mitski and I'd like to share my own parallels and stuff I thought about while I was writing :')

This is for Nico, feeling suffocated by Toto's influence and money because even though we think them in a relationship, they are not equals and Nico is never free.

This is what I was listening to when I was writing desecration's part where George was having trouble with unprescribed medication :') it really does speak for itself.

This is more Galex more than anything and George's struggle of fitting back into a personality and image that could be acceptable and loveable by Alex. "And I was so young when I behaved 25" somehow fits George perfectly.

This reflects George's incessant need to be seen by Toto even though their relationship is actually very fucked. For George, nothing is really about one thing. He pushes his insecurities and the pain of growing up in his relationship with Toto.

This is... difficult to talk about. This was what I was listening to when I was planning a darker turn to the story but it never came to be. But I listened to it on repeat many, many times.

This is a reflection of later in the story when George almost gives up his sense of self and drifts away in the direction Toto shows him. He is pretty hopeless until the big Galex reunion.

This is definitely, definitely Nico/Toto. Their dynamic is built on Nico doing what he wants and being punished for it repeatedly :') In Toto's eyes, Nico will always be the villain.

This is just a cute princess cake break!! This is how I think Jenson admires Nico while they reconcile and finally form a healthy relationship.

This is also an unwritten scene, between George and George's mum. I personally like this one very much and relate, too.

Phew, you prolly weren't expecting this but here you go, Mitski inventory of desecration universe. Hope you enjoyed it. I might do one more after I listen to The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We fully.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the class, anon!

#tw: abuse #desecration: gr/tw fic #primavera: a desecration prequel #answered asks #mitski #tw: suicidal thoughts #🚩

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inf0dump · 1 year

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My Creepypasta AU That I Like Too Much ft. A Block of Text

It's been four years. Four goddamn years since I came up with this concept. That concept being re-designing and re-writing the creepypasta stories that I grew up with, i.e., Eyeless Jack, Jeff the Killer, Ticci Toby, etc.

It is just now that I know what to do with it, but I don't know how or where to put it. It's difficult to figure all of this stuff out because I've changed so much of it. I've changed last names, personalities, aesthetics, so a name within the fandom doesn't mean the same thing anymore.

I feel like it doesn't belong on fanfiction websites, but it's not my own thing either. I just really hyper fixated on it for many years, taking bits and pieces of information from the first stories and logging it into my really long fanfiction. To the point where it doesn't feel like fanfiction anymore. Has that ever happened?

I don't want to change the names because I love these re-designed characters with these specific names, and I have a hard time with change. It's in my nature. And I also want to express that I love where it came from (but not who it came from, dear god). I love the place and most of the people that are in this fandom because creepypasta people from the late 2000's, early 2010's, are really cool to me.

And I'm very nervous to share what I've made because of experiences in the past with the things I'm really passionate about, because I will sometimes ask stupid questions. At least I've been told they're stupid questions. But I get really invested in the things I really like, and I want to know everything and interact with other people. I'm so desperate to interact with other people and through the things I enjoy is the only way I know how to.

This may be a lot of infodumping, but that's what I'm good at. And we're just getting started. I feel like I should take this blog in the direction of information spilling and infodumping. I changed my name to that and infodumping is practically my love language. I do it to my girlfriend and my family, and if I were to have a group of friends I would also do it to them if they would let me.

ANYWAY, this is about a completely different thing, you're probably not reading this to hear about my social struggles as an autistic (but I will happily infodump about any questions anyone has because autism is a hyper fixation as well), so let's move onto the creepypasta AU stuff, or the title: The Abyss.

The Abyss is a mix of genres. There's a horror aspect, there's comedy (or at least, what I think is funny), there's drama, there's young adult aspects, mature aspects, some romance, there's probably more. It started as an idea for a comic series, and then I realized, I can only draw people and animals. I can't draw backgrounds or architecture. Honestly, I can barely draw a full-bodied person. I've been drawing for a long time, and it's always been living things, so the comic idea was, WOOSH, out the window.

Then I realized that I have been writing fanfiction for seven years and have been told that I'm talented as a writer. Not much of a reader, but I was in grade school, and then I discovered Wattpad in fifth-sixth grade. I write a whole bunch. I wrote a twenty-something page first chapter for a Five Nights at Freddy's universe that I published on AO3, then a month or so later, deleted it because I believed I could do better.

I'm able to write non-fiction pretty effectively, especially when it's topics I enjoy. I wrote a high school essay in my sophomore year about villain archetypes in books and movies and which one was the most realistic to reality. I don't remember the conclusion. I finished the essay a week before it was to be submitted and so I had nothing to do in my English class except twiddle my thumbs.

For this creepypasta AU project in particular, those four years was spent doing various research on race, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, religion, mental health, demonology, and other subjects that would help to make this world and these characters more believable and representative of the world that we live in. Representation is an important factor to me.

I've had multiple experiences with wanting to see my own type of person in what I love, and I know that other people would want to see that too. Especially in creepypasta. A lot of creepypasta is white anime boys.

I was diagnosed with severe Tourette's Syndrome (TS) last year after suffering for a year a with saying things that I didn't mean, or doing things that I couldn't control, and it affected my mental health severely. I couldn't get out of bed and when you act like that, people laugh at you. Sure, it can be funny, some of the things I say or do, but there's a level of anxiety that unrealistically high. Especially when it comes to that Tourettic OCD side of things. When it tells me "You're going to say this" and I have to fight in order to keep words or movements down.

I confided myself in a re-design of Toby. Toby is the problematic Tourettic representation that I had at that point in time. And I hated that. It wasn't problematic for me in the sense that he would swear, or he would do something taboo in front of people. He was problematic for me in the sense that what he had wasn't Tourette's. It was speech impediment. At least, that's how I remember it, correct me if I'm wrong.

If you are a person, you want to be recognized as a person. There are people that are social anxious to the point that they don't want to be perceived, but you still need to treat them with respect. I've always been taught that people will respect you if you respect them. That's not always true, but it's a positive way to live. To think, 'I'm going to respect this person in whatever form their respect looks like.' That could be respecting their religion, their culture, their gender, their sexuality, their form of expression.

Some people may be wrong in the way that they want respect. They could hurt people; they do not respect another person or a group of people. But they deserve respect because they are a human being. If they aren't going to get respect from you, they will get respect from others, that's how it works. If you don't like a politician, don't respect them in the slightest, they are still going to get respect from other people. That's what I mean. You don't have to respect everyone; it is up to you and up to other people who deserves approval.

You don't have to like anyone. For example, the creator of Ticci Toby, Kastoway, does not have my respect. That is my opinion. They don't deserve my respect and support.

That's part of the reason that I re-designed and re-wrote in the first place. I don't like Kastoway. Toby was the first character that I re-designed. I designed him to be my own representation, and then he took over.

Toby has been renamed to: Tobias (Toby) Goldberg (It feels a little strange publishing that name for other people that's not my girlfriend to see). Toby is my personal favorite. Toby is fifteen (15) when the story starts, he has severe Tourette's Syndrome, severe ADHD, OCD, and is autistic. He's the type of autistic that really likes cats and everything to do with cats. Toby is also high-risk to be a pyromaniac, which is an impulse disorder, and he can't be formally diagnosed yet because he's not eighteen (18) years old.

Toby is incredibly tiny for his age (4'9) because of pregnancy complications, underweight because of medication, and he's Jewish-Italian-American. He lives in the Bronx borough of New York City, has a very thick Bronx accent, a mess of freckles, his Italian grandfather thick, too big to fit his face, tortoiseshell-colored glasses, and very thick, curly, shoulder-length red hair that kind of looks like a wolf-cut, but it sticks out all over the place.

I feel like I shouldn't spoil his backstory, but it's very sad and very triggering. Speaking of triggers, there's a whole lot in here because characters need to suffer, but you shouldn't. Take care of your mental health. Mental health is extremely important.

If anyone has any specific triggers I should now about, let me know. This story is both realistic horror and fantastical horror, which basically means there's the fun horror (fantastical horror) and the devastating horror (realistic horror).

If there's any questions about specific characters, or the question 'what atrocities have you done to my favorite character?' comes up, don't worry, just ask me. And if it's a character that I have never heard of, I will do research on the character and maybe your favorite will make an appearance.

Toby's and Cody's (X-Virus) re-designs are maybe the favorites that I have. But now, we move onto the plot of this whole thing. If you've been waiting for the plot, thank you for sticking around!

The plot of The Abyss is very vague, it's more the description of a place. I was originally going to commit to an episodic structure for the comic, but now, if I'm going to be posting this to AO3, then it absolutely has to have a chapter structure. But if I might be posting the chapters only to here, then I might go back to the episodic structure.

The Abyss is about a group, a main cast, of people, featuring Jeffrey, Tim, Brian, Ben, Cody, Toby, and Sally in Book One (five books in total) living in an alternate plane of existence called the Abyssal Plane, or the Abyss, which is ruled over by a demon that they called the Emperor. The Emperor is tall, faceless, and wears the skin of whatever would fool a person the most effectively.

Their job in the Abyss is to provide retribution to those that the Emperor feels deserves it. Retribution means death. Each person has their own style of carrying out their job when they go on missions. We follow each of these main characters throughout their lives and struggles in and outside of the Abyss, so I guess it's also like slice of life in a sense.

The issue I find that I stated before, is that I feel like I've changed the characters too much in order for it to still be considered fanfiction. I fear that no one will be able to recognize these characters, the only thing I have not changed is first name and some design choices. That's why I have labeled it an AU, an alternate universe.

And another thing, I still have some learning to do, especially when it comes to people of whom I do not share experience with. I've done research, but there's only so much research that you can do that is not talking to people of different cultures, different races, different ethnicities, and I am horrible with talking to people. I fake it till I make it.

If anybody has any details with their life that is outside of my experience, I would love to hear about it. I love learning about people, all kinds of people. Even if it's information that I need repeated to me, repetition is important.

Thanks for reading, I would appreciate constructive criticism, feedback, and interaction. This is my favorite thing to do: talk about what I'm passionate about. Please tell me what you're passionate about!

#creepypasta #alternate universe #fanfiction #writerscommunity #actually autistic #actually tourettic #special interest #about writing #character redesign #jeff the killer #eyeless jack #please help #ticci toby

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