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sevensoulmates · 25 days

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Buddie Meta 7x03 + 7x04 (Part 1 of 4)

Mostly 7x04 but I'm gonna include a bit about 7x03. So fair warning for a lot of talk about Buck/Tommy, but as always this will always be a Buddie canon/endgame positive space. Ain't no one jumping ship here. Once again, I apologize for my shitty screenshots and also warning: my meta does include some speculation and all of my meta are long AF, so this might be one you want to read in bits or when you have time to read something long.

Starting with 7x03. A lot of people speculated that the direction and blocking of this scene is likely foreshadowing, and I'm inclined to agree. First, we start with Buck and Eddie standing next to each other as they're known to do, and when Tommy joins them, he stands right in between them, foreshadowing that he'll be in the center of this speculated love triangle. Eddie is the first one to step away from the trio, leaving Buck alone with Tommy (foreshadowing how Buck and Tommy will have a romantic relationship).

Buck then has a solo moment with Tommy, which is already an interesting choice all on its own. It's a fact that Buck just met Tommy for the first time during this whole ordeal. It would make more sense for Chim or Hen, or hell even Bobby, to be the one to come talk to Tommy to say thanks. But the script called for Buck. This was done for a specific purpose, and now we know it's because they planned to put Buck and Tommy together romantically in the next episode.

Buck places his hand on Tommy's shoulders to say thanks. Up until this point, Buck and Eddie's primary way of sharing their feelings with each other has included shoulder touches. To me, this shows that Buck views these strong meaningful shoulder touches as a way to express strong feelings, something he's learned from Eddie (given that in all of the show, Eddie is always the one touching Buck's shoulder like this). This could also be interpreted as Buck unconsciously viewing Eddie's shoulder touches as romantic, so much so that Tommy picks up on it through Buck.

With that being said, with the context of 7x04, we also know that Tommy reads this shoulder touch as a sign that Buck might possibly be queer and/or possibly interested in him romantically. Interesting how this is the second time Buck's done something he views as "normal straight behavior" and queer men have interpreted it as him hitting on them (TK and now Tommy). And yet all of these things are actions Buck regularly does with Eddie and vice versa. So in-universe these actions have queer undertones according to the writers. Why wouldn't this then also apply to Buck and Eddie's relationship? At the moment, it's because Buck and Eddie themselves don't realize the extra meaning. But I predict they will eventually (maybe even sooner than we think).

Buck gives his unconscious "signs" by touching Tommy, and Tommy responds back by smiling flirtily and reaching back to touch Buck, almost to try and catch his hand, symbolizing Tommy responding to Buck's queer signs, and foreshadowing how he will be the one to take things a step further in the next episode.

Lastly, Buck walks away from Tommy towards where Eddie went earlier. This symbolizes how the Buck/Tommy relationship might have some missed connections (ie their hands never touching) and likely some miscommunication. And at the end of the day, Buck's attention will always be on Eddie. His path will always be to follow wherever Eddie goes. This is even more evident by the next episode which might be my new fave episode of 911.

Moving onto 7x04. The bachelor crossover call marks our first big season 2 callback. A bunch of beautiful women hit on Buck and Eddie at the same time. The last time this happened was in 2x04 Stuck when the 118 responded to the drunk girl with her head in the tailpipe. Women hit on them and Eddie says "I don't think I'm what you're looking for. I have a son" and Buck says "Thanks but no thanks I have a (invisible) gf". These are two very obvious and unnecessary excuses not to get with beautiful women that both the writers and the characters call out. And as we all know, this leads to the iconic "they weren't my type" "not mine either, not anymore" scene, and the rest of that episode is the catalyst for Buck and Eddie becoming as close as they are. The whole "they weren't my type" convo was a pretty obvious queer-coded scene. And this call-back in 7x04 isn't any different.

Eddie now has the (convenient) excuse that he's "taken at the moment" (note: he doesn't say "I have a girlfriend", another point for gender-neutral terminology in this episode). It's literally the exact same excuse as last time except this time Eddie has Marisol but she isn't even important enough to have a 2 second scene in this episode where he's all over another man, so. Make of that what you will. Additionally, Eddie adds a time limit to his relationship with Marisol by saying "at the moment", which means that subconsciously Eddie is aware that his relationship with Marisol will be temporary (however long that might be). He could've just said "Sorry, I'm taken, but he's not" if he really viewed his relationship properly as a long-term, possible forever relationship, but the "at the moment" is a purposeful line to let everyone know that Marisol is just a passing ship in the night. So for those who are still unsure about Eddie/Marisol rest assured everyone on every level knows it's gonna end eventually. Maybe even sooner than we think.

As a proper hetero wingman should, Eddie directs attention to Buck, who's surprised and actually makes up an excuse not to get with any of them because he "has a rule he doesn't date people (GENDER NEUTRAL) he meets on calls". This is a direct callback to Eddie during the cemetery scene in 6x15 when he says dating people on calls never works out, which ended up being a fulfilled prophecy given that Buck/Natalia break up in the interim between 6x18 and 7x01. This also comes up yet again later in the episode which I'll talk about later.

This provokes a weird reaction from Eddie, who doesn't understand why (single) Buck would turn down a bunch of willing single women. Additionally, I want to provide some context that the lovely @911bts mentioned which is that it seems like the network asked 911 to swap the bachelor call from 7x05 to 7x04. ((This is why we were getting info/stills about Hen/Henren but not really much of them in the ep. Their stuff was swapped with the Athena/Harry stuff). So there's additional context to this scene in that it was originally supposed to be Buck HIDING something (Tommy and their date) from Eddie and Eddie picking up on the weirdness of it. This then begs the question of why Buck would've wanted to hide this info from Eddie in the first place.

BUT it's now final that this scene is in 7x04, which loses some of the juicier context, but it's still showing that Eddie finds Buck's actions weird in that Buck appears to be losing interest in dating women at the moment, which is foreshadowing his lightbulb bisexual moment at the end of the episode.

This is tiny, but I find it interesting how Tommy follows very closely behind Buck's space, leaning his chin into Buck's shoulder as they walk, KNOCKING HIS ARM INTO BUCK'S FROM BEHIND (I don't need to explain that this is a Buddie thing), keeping near constant eye contact, and very obviously looking up and down Buck's body several times. Idk, I just appreciate the subtle queer hints even before the queerness is unmistakable at the end.

Tommy pointedly says "You didn't call me just to see the toys". From Tommy's perspective, he's unsure if Buck is queer/into him yet, but Buck reaching out to hang out might be the first indicator that he is. Or the hetero explanation is that Buck might be thinking of learning how to be a pilot. I really don't think we have anything to worry about with either Buck (or Eddie) leaving the 118 to be in air support, but it's an interesting metaphor. Safe and familiar vs. brand new and exciting and maybe a lil scary. The entire conversation is a thinly veiled metaphor for sexual fluidity which is later then proved by the ending. Also I want to point out that most of this convo pre-Eddie appearance has Buck appearing to have more of an awe/hero worship for Tommy, with the attraction being underlying, but that "so cool!" feeling still being the primary emotion we're supposed to pick up on.

I think these first real interactions between Buck and Tommy are a good indicator of where the rest of their relationship is gonna head. Buck asks a personal question about Tommy, and every bit of information he learns "I used to be a pilot in the army", Buck then relates immediately back to Eddie: "No way, Eddie used to be in the army!" Even when he's here, one-on-one with Tommy, with no Eddie present, before all of the jealousy starts, Eddie is always on Buck's mind. Tommy, at this moment, is still an afterthought. We'll see how long it takes Tommy to realize there's a reason Buck never stops yapping about Eddie (or maybe he's already picked up on it).

Buck then brings up his gender-neutral ex immediately (gender-neutral tally: 3), which leads me to believe that Tommy assumes Buck's train of thought brought him from Eddie to "an ex he rescued from a helicopter", which immediately links Eddie to potential Buck ex's, or men in general to Buck's exes. Tommy's eyes very pointedly flicker up to Buck's when he brings up an ex, which tells me that Tommy was very interested in knowing Buck's sexuality and relationship status from the very beginning.

Tommy then mimics the words from Eddie in the graveyard about not dating people they meet on calls.

(Gender-neutral tally: 5)

((Running tab on Tommy's similarities to Eddie: badass, competent, helicopters, army, and Eddie-coined phrases))

The rest of this conversation is a lot of flirting "ie. I can give you lessons" being a thinly veiled allusion to Tommy teaching Buck the ways of men loving men. And Buck is the one to offer Tommy a beer, which probably doesn't dispute the idea of Buck being queer in Tommy's head but...

Tommy's got a date with everyone's main man, Eddie.

Turns out Tommy and Eddie already made a friendly (offscreen) connection, enough for Tommy to invite Eddie out to an expensive and impressive date wrestling match.

I really want to talk about what this says about how Tommy (a queer man) views Eddie, but unfortunately, most of it would be speculation at this point.

First I want to talk about how one of the first things Tommy says in Buck's presence once Eddie shows up is calling Eddie "his man". This firmly places Eddie in Tommy's possessive. To be jealous is to desire something someone else has, or to be sensitive of someone else taking something that you view as yours. Which means two things: 1.) Buck wants what (he perceives) Tommy has: Eddie, and 2.) Buck believes on some level that Eddie is his and Tommy is trying to take away something that belongs to him. (Let's take away the fact that obviously Eddie is his own person and no one can actually possess him) in both scenarios the object of Buck's desire is Eddie. Not Tommy.

"My man" is also a vague term that can be used in both a friendly AND romantic sense. Which is the general theme we see with Tommy and Eddie's relationship, the vagueness of whether their budding new relationship is friendly or borderline romantic. Which is funny because this limbo between platonic and romantic is the same limbo Buck and Eddie have been existing in for six years. I think this is what Buck subconsciously picks up on, and it's the very fact that this COULD be romantic that triggers Buck.

As soon as Eddie shows up, Buck's entire demeanor shifts from excited, awed, and curious about Tommy, to confused, bothered, and even a bit uncomfortable. Keep in mind at this point, Buck doesn't know why Eddie is here, and yet he's upset at the prospect, even though he was just gushing about Eddie being super cool in the army.

Tommy's attention is now fully on Eddie. But Eddie is actually just as excited about Buck coming with them to the fight as he is by the idea of them going at all (his tone does not change). And yet this doesn't assuage Buck.

Second, Tommy says "I wish" almost as if he wished that he knew Buck had an interest in him before, so that either Buck could've joined them OR Buck could've taken Eddie's place. That doesn't inherently mean Tommy asked Eddie to go on a date (queer men can be platonic friends too!) but it's the fact that the line is unclear to BUCK that matters.

He also calls Buck "Evan" very casually, which is interesting to me. There are several plausible reasons why Tommy might call Buck "Evan", but I want to think of it from Eddie's perspective. "Evan" is a valued, special occasion, intimate moniker between Eddie and Buck, and Tommy's just using it willy-nilly. Eddie doesn't outwardly react to it, but he does show his own first piece of possessiveness over Buck in the next line.

God, I love Eddie's cunty lil raised eyebrows. Eddie jumps to the conclusion that Buck might be thinking of leaving the 118 and he immediately shuts that down, staking his own possessive claim on Buck in a plausibly deniable way (that Eddie is known to do, see: "do you know how much Christopher misses you?", "Christopher needs you", and "you're stuck with us (the 118)" all of which is Eddie saying he needs/wants/misses Buck without outwardly saying it, etc.) that is within their unspoken boundaries at the moment.

Buck then talks about his "options" and since we already know that Buck doesn't really want to leave the 118, the true subtext of this line is romantic options. Fluid is also not a word generally used with this phrase. It's typically "options open". The word "fluid" is more used when referring to the gender/sexuality spectrum, which is once again foreshadowing Buck's lightbulb bi moment in the end. "Options" also implies Buck has more than one romantic prospect, and since we know Buck's not really thinking about women right now, that points to men. If Tommy is a romantic prospect in this episode, that also implies that Eddie is a romantic prospect, or at least could be at some point in the future.

Buck appears to be stuck on how easily Eddie gets along with Tommy, apparently right from the beginning. Easily touching him, Eddie smiling super wide, excited as hell for something that Buck obviously doesn't know about. I can imagine that would grate on Buck's nerves because he and Eddie are supposed to be best friends who tell each other everything right? So why did Eddie hide the beginnings of this new friendship from Buck? Unfortunately, we don't know the timeline of when Tommy got these tickets to when he asked Eddie to go with him, but either way, Eddie didn't find it necessary to tell Buck. But WHY?

I would like to point out the last time Eddie seemingly "accidentally" forgot to mention something that should otherwise be easy for "just friends" to talk about: the will. Obviously, the will has larger implications than just going to a wrestling match, but it shows a pattern of "friend" things that Eddie doesn't tell Buck about. A lot of us have discussed how a large part of what puts the will scene in a romantic light instead of just something written off as purely platonic is the fact that Eddie did not tell Buck about it for a YEAR. Good friends would and SHOULD be able to talk to each other about something that life-changing, and yet Eddie can't bring himself to, risking the potential of accidentally dying at any point and leaving Buck and Chris blind-sided. Eddie must've had a reason to hide the will from Buck for so long. We know it's not because Eddie was afraid Buck would say no. He knew he wouldn't. So then, why? Most of us believe it's because Eddie's choice to put Buck in the will actually had a deeper emotional implication on Eddie's end that maybe he can't properly communicate to Buck, or even to himself. What could that implication be? In my opinion, Eddie was able to make this decision so easily because he's (unknowingly) in love with Buck, and he doesn't tell Buck because he's (subconsciously) aware that doing so reveals more about how Eddie feels for Buck than he's comfortable saying at the moment.

That long-winded tangent aside, I wanted to draw attention to it because this is another instance where Eddie seemingly has no reason not to mention to Buck that he's made a new friend in Tommy and that they've been hanging out a bunch and having fun. If anything, given how excited Eddie appears to be about Tommy and the wrestling match, you'd think Eddie would've been so excited that he would tell Buck right away. Instead, it gets to the day of and Eddie still hasn't thought to tell Buck, enough so that they're both equally shocked by their presence at Tommy's helicopter hanger. Not only that, but it implies that Eddie WOULD NOT have told Buck about it until the event passed (if he told him at all). But why? Why on earth would Eddie seemingly let this slip his mind so much as to not tell Buck at all. It can't just be oh I simply forgot or I'm having too much fun with Tommy. At this point in time, we still don't have any textual reason why, but I'm going to hypothesize that Eddie is aware (on some level but mostly subconsciously) that what he and Tommy are doing is basically going out on dates. And something in Eddie told him that he shouldn't tell Buck. Why? Perhaps because it implies something queer about Eddie that he's not ready to share with Buck yet? Time shall tell.

Additionally, it's interesting to note Eddie starts this episode hiding his friendship with Tommy from Buck, and it seems like the next episode is gonna start with Buck hiding his relationship with Tommy from Eddie. Much to think about.

Eddie also doesn't feel the need to tell Buck about the trip until after it happens and Buck has to be the one to ask. First of all, I want to say that Eddie should be given some grace here. Man doesn't have that many friends, and the last time a manfriend gave him this much attention Eddie gave him his son and built a forever home together so he just needs an adjustment period. Eddie is an intense bitch and tends to go all in with people (that he actually cares about *cough* not female romantic prospects *cough*), so I'm not surprised he's a little preoccupied with Tommy. Additionally, Eddie is a human. Sometimes humans don't pick up on the signs that others are in distress. It's not "ooc" that Eddie doesn't realize Buck is upset. It's a natural human mistake.

Now that that's out of the way this scene is hilarious because it's yet another parallel but this time, it parallels our very own Eddieana scene in 4x06 Jinx (written by the lovely Taylor Wong who also made a cameo in the bachelor scene as "tennis girl").

This is actually the second conversation walking to a scene that Buck and Eddie had about Ana, but both times Buck appears very interested in Eddie's dating life. In this same episode he also randomly asks what Ana's "love language" is despite knowing the man has had less than five whole conversations with her. What's important to note here is Buck's pattern of being overly interested in Eddie's romantic prospects. This is no different for Tommy (who Buck unconsciously realizes IS a romantic prospect for Eddie).

Okay looks like I've reached tumblr's limit on how many pics I can post so I'm going to be forced to make this into parts but I will make them all at the same time and post at the same time.

Find part 2, part 3 and part 4.

#911 abc #buddie #bucktommy #911 meta #buddie meta #evan buckley x eddie diax #buck x eddie #meta #7x03 #7x04 #speculation #911 speculation #buddie speculation

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barrenclan · 4 months

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"Arms Tonite" by Mother Mother, for Rainhaze and Asphodelpaw? It reminds me of them idjdjidi

Aw... that makes me sad. Rainhaze and Asphodelpaw is okay, although the romantic vibes of this song put me off a little bit. And Asphodelpaw, would she be okay with dying at Rainhaze's paws? There's some other characters, though...

"I died in your arms tonight I slipped through into the afterlife, it was nice White light in your arms tonight I lost sight in your arms tonight, it was nice"

"I cry in the afterlife I cry hard because I have died, and you're alive"

youtube

I see we both enjoyed that Shadowsight PMV...

"No, what they say it's "keep your eye on the money" No, what they say it's "keep your eye on the prize" Gracefully and suffocating on my lies We'll hear the love you gather all around When you're six feet underground"

"Make your peace Do a sacrificial dance All your jubilant intentions never stood a chance You see the coming on the end times"

youtube

I don't think I've ever heard of this band! I've been listening to a lot of old rock lately, so it's fun. I agree with you, too.

"I'm sitting here alone in darkness Waiting to be free, Lonely and forlorn I am crying I long for my time to come"

"Hate is my only friend Pain is my father Torment is delight to me Death is my sanctuary" <- lol yeah rainhaze

youtube

"Bewitched be delight, you'll reach the night Dancing and singing to my fiddle So take my hand, and understand That no-one will see you again"

youtube

That's a specific choice! I do like it, though. Rainhaze is pretty easy to fit with a lot of music in general.

youtube

Aw... if those two had it together a little more, I can see it very cleanly with them.

"There once was a time when we walked crooked lines But that's all over now I'll walk with you into the blue"

"You got any weekend plans? Can't help but wonder if you're still my pal But you told me once that you would follow me into hell And oh man, that place is far behind me now"

youtube

Oh yes, I can imagine Nightberry singing this chorus to Pinepaw!

"Don't ask your questions to the wall They keep their secrets locked inside If blood and bones are what you want I suggest that you look behind you"

youtube

Not to my memory.

"He goes to the desert, fires his rifle in the sky And says, "God, if I have to die, you will have to die"

"Every time you think you're walking, you're just moving the ground Every time you think you're talking, you're just moving your mouth Every time you think you're looking, you're just looking down"

youtube

Hm, what's the bad faith interpretation of that? I think it works! "Sleep" is practically his themesong, anyways.

"Another night and I'll see you Another night and I'll be you Some other way to continue To hide my face"

"Touched by angels, though I fall out of grace I did it all so maybe I'd live this every day"

youtube

Yeah, this one has been suggested before! Still holds up.

youtube

I can definitely understand the This Is My Blorbo instinct, very valid.

"We exercise the demons of the things we used to know The gnashing of the teeth become the remnants of our homes We think we're moving on from materials we long To forget we ever sold our souls to own"

"There's a chilling absolution that we're given from our birth A powerful delusion and a plague upon the earth"

Ran out of video embeds xoxo

#ask #anon #music #[spoiler name]#ranger #rainhaze #redpelt #deepdark #nightberry #pinepaw #slugpelt

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yourhighness6 · 5 months

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Zutara's Song is Definetely The Great War by Taylor Swift

I've seen a lot of Zutara songs and playlists out there and I wanted to share my opinion on my personal favorite

I want to start out by saying that this analysis is going to completely ignore Taylor Swift's intentions when she wrote the song and any analysis of the song in concurrence with her life. I'm also going off my personal feelings that the first verse and chorus are Zuko talking to Katara, the second verse, chorus, and bridge are Katara talking to Zuko, and the remaining parts of the song are them reflecting after the war.

My knuckles were bruised like violets,

Sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep talked,

For me, this was pretty typical season 1 Zuko. Angry at the world, fighting everything in sight, ect, ect. It's only after the first two lines that the song gets a little bit more specific.

Spineless in my tomb of silence,

Tore your banners down, took the battle underground,

That third line is really reminiscent of Ba Sing Se. He took himself out of the story, until, of course, he had to make a choice in "Crossroads of Destiny"

And we know what he chooses

It's almost phrased in the form of an apology, which connects it even further to their story. "Tore your banners down" could also mean the fall of Ba Sing Se in general. Aang is Katara's banner, the avatar who she put so much hope in, but the Earth Kingdom banner is also who she was fighting behind. Azula killed Aang, so I would personally say it's the latter, but I saw two meanings behind it so it's totally up for interpretation.

And maybe it was egos swinging,

The "egos swinging" bit resonated with me a lot, because at this point in the story Zuko isn't done with his character arc. He still seeks his father's validation over his own moral code, and although it seems to me like he's gotten over a lot of his entitlement, I think he still feels entitled to his throne. That's one of my favorite things about his arc, actually, that he comes from a place of privilege but eventually, unlike Azula, realizes that the right to rule isn't given by birth but by true care for the people you represent. (some politicians should take notes)

Maybe it was her,

To me, the "her" in this case is Azula, convincing Zuko their father will be proud of him if he returns to the Fire Nation, although it could also mean Mai. Again, open for interpretation.

Flashes of the battle come back to me in a blur,

This could mean a lot for different people. I've seen a theory about Zuko possibly disassociating (not unlike similar theories about Darth Vader), which I think is interesting. It could also maybe represent the guilt he still feels, which is my personal opinion.

Moving on, the chorus is fairly generic once again,

All that bloodshed, crimson clover,

Uh-uh, sweet dream was over,

My hand was the one you reached for,

All throughout the great war,

The hand part stuck out to me because of the part in the final agni Kai when they reach for each other:

(screencaps are bad quality but ya'll get the idea)

Then it goes back to the any enemies-to-lovers generic dynamic again...

Always remember, uh-uh,

Tears on the letter,

I vowed not to cry anymore,

If we survived the Great War.

And then we switch to Katara's POV:

You drew up some good faith treaties,

I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone,

You could argue that this is several moments throughout the series, maybe at the end of the war when she gets together with Aang, but I connected it most with her time spent on the ship after book 2. While Zuko was trying to fix his relationship with the Fire Nation and return to his family, Katara was isolating herself, worried about the war, about the avatar, avoiding her father and Sokka out of shame and feelings of abandonment. It was an extremely dark time for her, and although Zuko was trying to feel hopeful about his return, he doesn't even smile when he reunites with Mai. He knows he made the wrong decision.

You said I have to trust more freely,

This is after Zuko's redemption arc, during "The Southern Raiders" (which is probably my favorite ATLA episode, btw). Zuko encourages Katara to trust him, feeling that he is changed and is now deserving of it.

But she refuses to forgive or trust him

I would argue this is for good reason. She is clearly angry at more than just him, the entire Fire Nation, in fact, for murdering her mother and starting the war, but it is also very personal. When he betrayed her in Ba Sing Se after she revealed such a devastating detail of her life and they shared a connection, her abandonment issues probably came into play. It's similar to the trauma she had with her father after he left to join the war. She is scared that the people she cares about will leave her, just like her parents did, whether they had a choice or not, and just like Aang did when Azula shot him with lightning, again, without meaning to. Zuko left her intentionally to join the Fire Nation, even after she offered to heal his scar, a very important moment in their arcs. She is forgiving, optimistic, helpful, and kind to someone who hunted her and her friends for nearly a year, and he throws the offer of her most valuable asset back in her face and is instrumental in Aang's near death experience.

But diesel is desire, you were playing with fire,

He helps her. He uncovers her trauma, aids her in working through it, is supportive even when it was probably more than he bargained for.

And maybe it's the past that's talking,

Screaming from the crypt,

Telling me to punish you for things you never did,

Her mother did die at the hands of the Fire Nation, under Zuko's family's orders, whether they came directly from Ozai or not. But he wasn't the one who killed her or ordered her death, and he IS the one who is trying to defeat his father and end the war in favor of balance and peace. She realizes that...

So I just defied it,

...And finds it in her heart to forgive him.

After that, we start on the chorus again.

All that bloodshed, crimson clover,

Uh-uh, the bombs were closer,

I think that last line also refers to a different scene, much earlier in "the Southern Raiders", when Azula attacks the temple...

My hand was the one you reached for,

All throughout the Great War

...And Zuko saves Katara.

(I might do a separate post analyzing just this moment because holy crap there is A LOT there)

Always remember, uh-uh,

The burning embers,

I vowed not to fight anymore,

If we survived the Great War,

I think this refers to the agni Kai specifically, as does most of the bridge. The fire everywhere, the fear, the fact that it's the last battle of the war. It just fits.

It turned into something bigger,

Somewhere in the haze got the sense I'd been betrayed,

Your finger on my hairpin trigger,

Everything is depending on this battle. If they can't defeat Azula, what will happen to the Fire Nation? Will the people now just be under a new, arguably stronger and more powerful tyrant?

Soldier down, on that icy ground,

Looked up at me with honor and truth,

Broken and blue, so I called off the troops,

But they never learn what would have happened, because their combined efforts defeat Azula.

That was the night I nearly lost you,

I really thought I'd lost you

But not before Zuko (or rather, Azula) gives Katara the fright of her life.

(the love and concern on her face is so heartbreakingly beautiful it makes me want to sob)

And now everything is fine! The bridge is over and the next verse is full of hope.

We can plant a memory garden,

Say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair,

For the poppy part, I'd like to address a particular fan theory. In the final scene, Katara has a pink flower in her hair.

(I left the usernames on, but please lmk if anyone wants a different type of credit. screenshot taken from this post: x)

According to another source I found, this flower is a pink peony, which symbolizes prosperity and a happy marriage.

(flower analysis originally from this post: x)

I know that this is a peony, not a poppy, but close enough? Also, if it were a poppy, it would symbolize compassion and platonic love.

Either way, I think of this as a kind of goodbye from Zuko to Katara. No matter what the situation was at the end of the series, whether Zuko was in love with Katara, Katara was in love with Zuko, or they were in love with each other, "platonic love" and "happy marriage" were a goodbye. It's either wishing her the best with Aang, or saying they can only be friends because of Aang or because of duty, but that he loves her anyway. (oh look, I made myself cry) At least, I think that in canon context. But within the song, it's a peony and they're now engaged lol

Anyway, the verse continues.

There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair,

And we will never go back to that,

And then the chorus starts again, but it's tone is far more hopeful than before. The worst is behind them. The war is over.

Bloodshed, crimson clover,

Uh-uh, the worst was over,

My hand was the one you reached for,

All throughout the Great War,

Always remember, uh-uh,

We're burned for better,

I vowed I would always be yours,

'Cause we survived the Great War.

It's just so perfect! I love it! (psst, if anyone wants me to also analyze another "Zutara song" feel free to ask)

#zutara #atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #katara #zutara flower #the great war #zutara song #zuko x katara #katara x zuko

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pumpkinpuffgirls · 17 days

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hi there! i hope this doesn’t touch on too sticky a subject, and you’re welcome to not answer, but I just wanted to say I like your take on Bunny a lot! It honestly never occurred to me that someone could include her in an AU without making her look exactly like her sisters. It sounds a bit silly, I know, but I was so used to a particular image of her in fanart that it just never crossed my mind. Bunny in Power of Five feels very fresh and affectionate toward her as her own unique character.

I’m hoping this isn’t an inappropriate place to ask, but I’ve been ruminating on this recently as someone who is not physically disabled and has featured a stabilized Bunny in an AU of mine before. She still had a different base from the rest of the PPG and was still disabled irt her powers. But she was also significantly sized down, lacked her wide shoulders, and her face more closely resembled the PPG’s as well. It occurred to me recently that I might have been introducing a lot of hurtful implications by doing this

I know the original depiction of her wasn’t perfect in and of itself, so I know I’d like to change her in some fashion, but I don’t want to just lift your version of her wholesale, either. It’s hard for me to understand what to change where. So sorry for so much context just to get here, but did you by chance have any resources on hand or maybe things to keep in mind when creating your own portrayal of Bunny? Or maybe some advice on where to start/where to look when researching the subject? Thanks for reading.

Okay so, first off no worries i greatly appreciate you reaching out and going to the effort to explain your reasoning as it shows you've thought about this in great detail!

With how I designed my Bunny, I did so because after I made my version of Bliss, some people asked what my interpretation of Bunny would be. Specifically, and I don't remember who, someone asked if I could keep Bunny at a larger size to keep her visually diverse from the other girls and as representation for young girls on the larger side, and I absolutely was more than willing to honor that request.

My version of Bunny is intentionally neurodivergent, canonically (I'd argue Bubbles is too), and due to her size is tanky (like you mentioned). Considering how Bunny was originally it wouldn't be too far fetched to make her disabled to some degree. My main suggestion is don't make a disability her entire personality (i.e. just harp on it all the time) because that's where people will become frustrated.

As for what it could be, you could choose a real world one (like a developmental delay, or a disorder, or the like), or go the Bliss angle of giving her a chemical x/superpowered-related disability. It really depends on how you want to structure her personality and character development. I think that as long as you are careful and considerate with your depiction as you are here, you'll be okay. Do research, be open to feedback, and remember that what's important is how you plan to portray the character and their development.

I'm glad you reached out and I hope the creation of your own Bunny goes well!

#ask #asks #ppg #powerpuff girls #mun answers #Bunny

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nakanotamu · 1 year

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What's Kairi been like since she returned to Stardom?

When she first came back, she said "I was Kairi Hojo, then I was Kairi Sane, and now I'm just KAIRI" and honestly I think that's proved to be a rather good encapsulation of who she's been since she came back.

She doesn't shy away from her past at all, referencing past relationships and events, and frequently drawing on parts of her character that are very identifiably what she was like before. Sometimes she's very visibly Kairi Hojo, an overwhelmed underdog babyface pushing herself past the limits of reason. More frequently she's visibly still Kairi Sane, a bit of a weirdo and a huge dickhead who loves getting under people's skin, not seemingly out of maliciousness but bc she finds it entertaining, particularly when she's teaming with Nanae Takahashi. But there's a new, added element on top of it it too.

She's experienced now, and she's ~world travelled~, to be frank, she knows she's a big deal. She's a little aloof, and seems to see herself as a lot above everyone. (Except for maybe Mayu, but that's a more specific relationship than this post needs to get into.) She uses the suffix -kun for nearly everyone, which is extremely overly familiar to the point of rudeness. It's like when someone goes around calling everyone "buddy" in a way that makes it clear they are certainly not actually buddies.

And then, more recently, she started losing. (She only lost like 2 matches but, given she only wrestles infrequently and kind of assumes she can take everyone, that had her rattled.) Stardom is progressing and she looks around at an increasingly unfamiliar landscape that is catching up with her. The more she gets involved, the more clear it is how disconnected she actually is. When she first came back she quickly buddied up with Mayu, who was happy to team with her for a big return pop. But later last year, once they were set to actually face each other, Mayu was like, to paraphrase, "Yeah I can't fucking stand her. I think she's a bigshot who doesn't work for it anymore and picks and chooses her spots to look good and doesn't deserve the hype." So that's certainly not someone she can rely on to have her back. Her biggest ally so far had been Nanae Takahashi, based on a return to their tag team from like 8 years ago, and Nanae seems genuinely very fond of her, but also has her own stuff going on, and Kairi lost with her, so she's prioritizing that relationship a bit less after that.

So she reaches out to basically her only remaining connections at this point - Natsupoi, who is obsessed with her, and Saori Anou, who along with Natsumipoi showed up to save her from being shortstaffed years ago, when they first established their connections to Stardom, to challenge for the Artist belts. And sidenote, but even the connections she draws on sort of show how out of the loop she is. Like, this is stuff going back 6, 7, 8 years. Ancient history in joshi time.

They both agree to team together, obviously, but it's not just some perfect team that immediately comes together with everyone loving each other. Poi likes Anou, but is sceptical about teaming with such a major rival of hers, about even having her around. And, what's more, Kairi is her idol, but once she gets this opportunity, she needs to sit and think a little bit, because she realizes she's kind of just sad she's not teaming with Tam for it. And Saori seems perfectly content to team with them, but pretty quickly, the way I see it, tips her hand that she's actually there to be beside Tam again, and Kairi is almost more a means to an end for her, with how quickly she stepped up and told Tam she would join Cosmic Angels, before she'd even had her first match back in Stardom. (There's plenty of room for her to reveal herself to be much more selfishly motivated than that but this is how the story reads to me so far and I'm going to stick with that until they tear that interpretation from my hands.)

So anyway, bringing it back around to Kairi that is the most recent development of her story. REstart did win the Artist titles, so Kairi got the win she was looking for, but she also finds herself much, much more closely tied to Cosmic Angels than she perhaps intended or expected, and that's after herself admitting an interest in and similarity to Tam when she first came back. She pulled a team around her out of probably the last two people she figured would be totally devoted to her, only to immediately find they're actually more devoted to someone else. They're happy to be Kairi's teammates, but they already have a leader. So the question now is if after so many years away, and so much time seeing herself as kind of above the day-to-day goings on of Stardom, if she can make herself treat her teammates as equals and learn how to play nice again as a member of a team.

#Stardom #Kairi #Tam Nakano #Natsupoi #Saori Anou #long post

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meredoubt · 27 days

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I've been thinking about my paladin Dirge's adoption, and brood parasitism.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with the lore, so, grain of salt. But ever since i read that, traditionally, if there is a third son in a Drow family (or one of a pair of twins) he is usually sacrificed to Lolth, I've been unable to put that info aside. It's just been rattling around in my head, maybe because of my own culture's interpretations of our own myths surrounding child sacrifice (namely, that it was pointedly not to be done ever again, in comparison with neighbors, ostensibly). The binding of Isaac has been one of my favourite demonstrative stories for some time, and so this part of Drow culture is fascinating in a horrifying way, if you will.

It does give the Dark Urge origin an interesting set of seemingly competing circumstances, if you're playing a male Drow.

On the one hand, we know that the Dark Urge is adopted very young by a couple (how the Cult of Bhaal accomplishes this exchange of child for goods, who can say). The Drow parents seemingly give him a happy childhood, in their culture, until he murders them, thus starting his illustrious career and seemingly returning to the Cult of Bhaal, to be his father's prodigal son and head priest.

Given the xenophobia in Menzoberranzan, and the distaste for men in general, whatever compels this Drow couple (specifically the matron, to be clear) to seemingly adopt my boy Dirge must be significant. I was puzzling over what could convince these parents to adopt a mysterious boy, which societally, would be dead weight. Fodder for a useful marriage, maybe, at best, given they have two other sons and (hopefully) daughters. They would've just gotten rid of one son-

Ah. But what if we change the timing?

It was would-be-grief. It was shame-based, private grief for a natural son who they should've known better than to let themselves love. It was pre-grief, spiteful, for what was oathed to Lolth, by right. It was panic. It was attempting to cheat.

They wanted a sacrificial lamb.

That's what the Cult of Bhaal preyed on. I bet Dirge's adoptive parents reached out first, looking anywhere they could so they could try to spare their third, inconvenient but loved son. Every nasty contact they had, outside "proper" Underdark society. They had to keep it quiet among the houses. Thank goodness their youngest had always been so sickly that few knew him. They knew-the matron especially-that he made them weak. But even the Drow can have weaknesses like love. Doting on a boy who hadn't yet been honed to sharpness by Drow culture. Who never would be, for it would crush him.

The cult of Bhaal, well. They must come across orphans all the time, the matron thinks. Hell, they make them. She didn't ask enough questions, when whatever Bhaalspawn handler finally got back to them.

We've got a scrap of a boy, looks near enough to your sickly little thing, but he's a bit weird. You'll owe us, for "boarding" this "ward." A simple trade, once he's under their roof. He won't have to be there long, just long enough for appearances. And then they adopt the "ward." Kill any servant or lesser members who could talk. Easy enough. Price paid, son saved.

So, the matron agrees.

She installs the boy in her son's suite when he arrives, in a small sideroom, as would be proper, to instill friendship between the two boys. She wouldn't choose to, but it is expected, and it will make the switch easier. To make the boy from nothing disappear.

Dirge is a quiet Drow child, with unusually dark eyes, and he's scrawny. A little human in the face, she thinks, but then her son is pale from his illness, and the two boys get along immediately, like a house on fire. Her youngest child has never had a boy his age around regularly before, who'd laugh at him and boss him around and play with him.

For the first time, the family and servants have to make sure the third son goes to bed on time, instead of his usual habit of falling asleep right at the table. They have to remind the boys of their studies, chase the boys to their separate rooms every night. There is laughter in the afternoons, and whispers in the dark.

But it's not all playing, and the matron begins to dread the upcoming sacrifice, which will be presided over by the order of Lolth's priestesses publicly. She is not a stranger to guilt for her actions, to get where she is, but it shouldn't rear so ugly or painful now. Experience should have filed it down to dull.

He doesn't know. The boy doesn't know. He's happy.

Dirge watches the family carefully, until he can mimic the right etiquette and speech patterns. He is polite, smart, and quiet, except for his laughter with her son, and his fondness for music. When he hesitantly asks to join her son at music lessons, she notes his baited breath, and relents.

The boy lights up, and promises her he won't disappoint her. And despite herself...she starts to love the useless, pathetic thing. He clearly wants to be loved so badly. He's so disgustingly eager, so earnest. The houses would've eaten him alive, just as they'll do to her son if she doesn't set him up with protection.

But three, you see, is a significant number. There is a reason it is chosen, even by deities. Beginning, middle, end. It is a completion. It is a peace and agreement. Do not break the bindings of magic that simple, for the simplest magic is the oldest.

The matron should have known better, but her ward did.

And he listened. He listened more carefully than anyone, with the sharp critical ears of a child who loves music and abhors mistakes. He'd begun to hear whispers, of the role of a third son, and his large dark eyes took in clearly all around him. Other whispers, too, of a father he couldn't remember fully, crawled through his head, like fond fingertips carding his hair.

She must pay. He must die. You must thrive.

He knew he'd had been sent there to receive instruction on how to be Drow, and to do so quietly and competently. But he was studious. He was earnest. And in the way of all princes and priests, he was convinced he was righteous. Someday, he would be a perfect paladin, and some murky part of him held doggedly to the sanctity of temples, rituals and rites.

He knew temples and stories, knew he had the words to make everyone listen. And he was about to have the ear of every priestess of Lolth, including his benefactor's eldest daughter, in a public stage. The self-assuredness, the certainty, his heritage left in him left no room for nerves. What other boy could do what he was about to do? None. None were comparable.

The third son was dead already, his corpse already cold in Dirge's thoughts.

The houses would tear his adoptive parents to shreds for the chance to do so. Maybe Lolth would do it Herself for the sacrilege.

Maybe She'd let him.

And his would be older sister...she would be grateful, for his help rising. As long as he spoke up at the right time. Public scrutiny would ensure she felt compelled to raise him. She's a powerful priestess, diligent to Lolth, raising a boy who clearly knew their society better than those who'd taken him in. The rest of the family would be nothing, quickly, an afterthought. But he needed her, an adult with the position to keep him alive as he very publicly declared himself, just as she'd need him in the wake of the scandal.

And maybe, even better, in one fell swoop, she would fear him.

"What are you smiling at?" his first victim asks him now, dragging Dirge from his thoughts.

He turnes to the third boy, and impulsively hugs him. "Nothing," he sighs giddily into his friend's hair.

His father will be so proud of him.

#dirge of the dark urge #baldur's gate 3

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wetbloodworm · 4 months

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i'm still (slowly, occasionally) working on the notes from zenith's travels with his previous group. one thing i know though is that right at the end he gets into a fight with cobwynn (half-elf paladin). i've generally been assuming that he kills them but we'll see how that turns out when i get there.

essentially, he travels with this group for the equivalent of three levels, and this is before he gets the brooch that masks his creature type. from the beginning he's more worried about wiris, who is a monster hunter, considering by some definitions that could include him. while people might’ve had suspicions about him not being human before, no one's ever confronted him about it. he's unsure how it would go over, considering his understanding of 1) people being wary over Different things, 2) people being scared of the things that predate on them, and 3) the illegality of his being here. so largely he tries to avoid causing specific kinds of trouble around this group. hunts outside of the party unless they're camped too far from anyone else, mostly. takes extra care not to do... non-human things, like crawling up walls etc. still open about getting his magic from the far realm, still claims to have interacted with an aberration which caused this, but maybe avoids talking about that too much.

wiris definitely doesn't LOVE all that, think zenith is weird for it, but largely she figures it isn't her business as long as his aberration friend stayed where it was. with zenith being like ahaha sure sure. sure. cobwynn is more vocal about not liking all of this, being a bit skeeved out by some of the things zenith can do and disapproving of his continued interactions with this aberration. EVERYTHING is cobwynn's business, you see. zenith tries to avoid arguing with cobwynn too much but also riling them up is fun lmao. he still thinks of wiris as the bigger threat, cobwynn just has opinions on everything and hates fun, but he figures it'd be best to keep things on the DL as much as he can with everyone. (vinzin, the last member of the party, really couldn't fucking care less)

however. cobwynn finds out one time the group is split up. they cast detect good and evil, which zenith hadn't encountered before, and he pings as an aberration. cobwynn is incapable of being cool or biding their time so they immediately confront him about it. zenith tries to keep things chill and explain once he realizes what's going on, like okay yes he's an aberration, sorry for lying, he just had to be careful yknow? but it's fine! he's just here to explore and earn money and do fun things, just like the rest of them! and he's saying this with a smile but his eyes are on cobwynn's hand resting on their sword. cobwynn interrogates him and makes it clear that they're immediately interpreting him as a threat, and zenith tries to de-escalate, but the instant cobwynn starts to draw their weapon he attacks first.

i'm not sure how the fight goes yet because i want to play it out. if zenith wins and kills cobwynn I imagine it's a close fight, cobwynn is strong and has some buffs that could really fuck with him. but zenith can spiderclimb out of reach and has magical attacks. if push comes to shove, he also has no problem running. get the hell out of there. so either he kills cobwynn, loots and hides the body, then leaves the group without alerting the others, or zenith bolts when he gets a chance. first one is better for him because then cobwynn can't go back to the others and tell them what happened with their own spin.

either way, zenith leaves the encounter feeling like he really needs to keep the aberration thing a secret. people don't take that news well, apparently! researches how to get around that spell, finds his brooch. also avoids the general area where his previous party was stationed.

#zenith tag #cobwynn tag

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anothermonikan · 1 year

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A Glaring Problem With MatPat’s Original DHMIS Actor Theory Video

This a silly post about a silly thing for me to be upset about, but I am and I’m going to talk about it.

MatPat’s DHMIS theory from 6 years ago where he proposes the theory that the Red Guy scene in episode 6 is a flashback to before the show as part of the actors theory does not in fact make more sense to having it be set in present day

I don’t really mind the actors theory, I don’t really mind any theories really, and maybe I’m just having a knee-jerk reaction because of MatPat’s influence on the DDLC fandom and how people tend to take his theories on that as fact, but I feel as though he deliberately excluded a piece of information that could be used against this theory.

The only reason I feel he deliberately excluded information instead of not noticing it is because he jokes about going frame-by-frame looking for details and he does notice things that are kinda hard to catch unless you’re doing that. He notices Roy looking into the set from the top at the end of episode 5, he points out the exposed brains on Yellow Guy and Duck that only appear for a few frames in episode 4, he points out the cameo continuity in the digital dancing parts of episode 4, he notices all of that so I don’t believe that he simply just didn’t notice-

That Red Guy has hand-puppets of both Duck and Yellow Guy?

I gave him the benefit of a doubt going into the video for the first time in years, I thought maybe he’d mention it or try and fit it into his theory, but he just doesn’t bring it up, he ignores it.

How does Red Guy have hand-puppets of these two if this happens before the show? Perhaps some other person who believes this theory has an explanation for this that I haven’t seen, but I’m focusing on MatPat specifically rn with this point.

It feels a bit dishonest for him to just. Exclude information like this. I also have a bit of a personal gripe because I know people take what MatPat says as fact and I feel this scene just works way better character and story wise if you view it as happening chronologically.

MatPat presents this whole scene as Red Guy being stuck in a job he doesn’t want to be in because his dream is to run a children's show, he pitches this to the other Red Guys through the file song and they don’t like it, and then he goes on stage and does the creativity song and that’s where he meets Roy who helps him make the show he’s always wanted to make.

If you view this scene as happening chronologically, this scene is happening after he escapes the set, has tried to contact Duck and Yellow Guy to let them know there’s a way out to no avail, and has left

This episode is so tragic through this lens, Red Guy has left his friends and gone into a world where people are so cold and uncaring to him as a person, he misses his friends, like, really misses his friends, he reminisces over the nature of his old life, with random objects coming alive and singing songs, he makes hand puppets of the other guys. The scene where he gets up on stage and sings the creativity song means so much, the ‘No clothes’ line is very funny but I also think it’s supposed to be a visual metaphor for how vulnerable he’s being in that moment. He’s going up on stage and basically shouting that he misses his friends and how it used to be, despite all the hell he was put through with them.

The scene with the machine and Roy after is very visually simple which also makes it kind of hard to interpret. I do get the actors theory a little bit with this scene, it does make a little sense under it. But I’ve interpreted this scene as Red Guy going back and his fears about it. The machine is pretty hard to explain under this, I’d love to say that it’s a representation of how he feels he could make things worse, but it almost seems too detailed to be that. But Roy, Roy has no real control over Red Guy where he is, that’s why he’s so far away in the scene where he reaches out. Roy is a representation of the hellish nature of the house, everything that should stop Red Guy from going back, but he goes back anyway because he wants to save his friends.

My interpretation of the Machine scene still changes a bit, it’s been years and I should have a solid interpretation by now but I really don’t, so that’s still subject to change. However, I haven’t budged on my interpretation of the majority of episode 6, the way MatPat puts it just doesn’t make sense at all and it kind of upsets me that the emotional depth of these characters goes unnoticed because of it.

#WOOO IT'S FINALLY DONE #God I've been putting off finishing this for a bit #I hope this isn't like. A super controversial opinion or anything #I don't think it is shashashash #Hope you enjoy if you read? It's my most essay like thing I've posted yet sghsdhdgd #856 words according to microsoft word sdhsdhsdhd #Okay it is an hour past when I usually go to bed so I'm going to go xchcxhcdhsh #DHMIS #dont hug me im scared #don't hug me i'm scared #Android.txt

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titoist · 1 year

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"action precedes emotion" (let's try saying something obvious, wide-reaching, & a bit boring:) i've been turning that one over for a bit. (alright, clasps hands. delightful! now, as a change of pace, let's try a line of thought that's a tad bit more specific, though whether the 'boringness' value shifts is up to interpretation:) i've been turning around some good possible openers for a potential post like this. for example, here's one i like a lot, it's kind of piercingly dramatic & tends to hook one in: "i feel unstructured as a person". or, here's another one: "i have been so alone with only my own thoughts as my mirror to such a degree that i've conflated thought with action, & begun to suspect that simply thinking about a certain action for quite enough is equivalent to that action being made manifest." remarkably long-winded, isn't it? well, both are true, more or less, i think. my personal growth really has exclusively manifested as merely an autodidactic evolution of habits in my lifelong usage of computers. my self-development really has been so insular & detached from my milieu so as to evoke the feeling of me doing all of this in secret, under the very nose of God, the over-paid & under-qualified detectives of His Divine Kingdom not paying close enough attention to catch onto my dastardly ruse. i really do feel like i'm more-or-less unstructured in living, that i make no senses as a human person due to not having received an actual development, that i feel more alike to a genderless creature of indeterminate origin who simply goes from one day to the next, a vacuum of experience with no tangible separation between dreaming & living... it's true that i do tend to feel a bit inhuman, & that this feeling tends to hurt, a lot, like a gaping, gnashing wound. maybe what i need to do is stop attempting to have all of my thoughts & theories on living all lined up, prim & proper & in order, before going about my life... & simply concede to the necessity of developing my thoughts after the fact, admit that all my thinking is tantamount to useless without its necessary & complementary opposite? in other words: maybe what i really really badly need to do, beyond all else, is to just shut the fuck up already

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respectable-username · 3 years

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Based on the responses to my post yesterday wanting to know more, here's my guide to

🧑‍💻Code in Hermitcraft (and other SMP) Fanfic🧑‍💻

Note: This is just the interpretation of one Jr Software Engineer. If other developers have a different interpretation, I'd love to hear it in the comments or reblogs!

It's super common in Hermitcraft (and I'm assuming other SMP) fanfiction for the plot to revolve around errors in the game itself and how they affect players. The problem is, as a software engineer, this almost always immediately pulls me out of the story as the ways the game errors are described frequently don't make sense.

This is not a condemnation of writers who use game bugs as parts of their stories, as nobody expects all SMP fanfic writers to have a CS degree. Some even do it well and I adore those stories when I find them! But here are some high-level suggestions to have your glitchy plot points make a little more sense. Usually, it's just a slight change in wording that's required.

Code vs Data

"His code is glitched! He's evil now!"

"They carefully pulled at the strands of her player code, trying to find the bug that was causing her pain."

"Wow, your code is so ancient! You're from Alpha, right?"

These sorts of phrases are probably the most common ones I see that yank me right out if a story. Why? Because they're confusing data and code!

So, what is the difference?

Think of code in this scenario like the laws of physics. It's the rules that guide what can and can't happen in the world. It's what says "if you walk, you move forwards", "if you eat, you'll be less hungry", "if you use a shovel on a dirt block, it will end up in your inventory".

Data is the actual "stuff" in the world that the code changes via its rules. Data is the specific blocks in that building, that item hovering above the ground, the mobs staring at you from under the trees, the player character, the player's health, the player's inventory, the player's skin, and, in the fanfic context, the player's personality and memories.

In other words, if it's an action that can happen, it's probably code. If it's a specific thing, it and everything that makes that particular thing unique is data.

Of course, there can be bugs or glitches in the code which means that data does something it shouldn't, such as "if you put some TNT, some dead coral, and a minecart in this very specific configuration, you can duplicate the TNT." In this case, the act of duplication (ie the rules that let duplication occur) is a glitch in the code (the rules allow something they shouldn't), but the duplicated TNT itself isn't code; it's data. Data that shouldn't exist but does anyway because of that glitch in the code.

So, how could you rework the sample phrases above to make more sense?

"He got too close to a glitch, and his personality data got corrupted. He's evil now!"

"They carefully prodded at her player data, trying to find the broken property that was causing her pain."

"Wow, your data structures are so ancient! You're from Alpha, right? I can't believe you've survived so many updates without compatibility issues!"

Code vs Logs

"Xisuma looked through the code to find the source of the glitch."

This one's a little less clear cut, as there are circumstances where players could look at a version of the code. Some of the Minecraft code is Open Source (ie free to look at), and the rest can be decompiled from the Minecraft .jar (ie turned from machine-readable ones-and-zeroes back into words and stuff, although much less human-readable than what the original code would have been). The super-technical players such as the SciCrafters and I think Doc too will look at the code, which is how they make their super efficient farms and find and exploit glitches to, say, put 8 spawners in one chunk.

But generally, the code is not the first place you go when encountering a glitch. I mean, if it were that obvious from the code alone, it probably would have been caught before being shipped!

When something goes wrong, the first place to look is the logs. The logs of what the players have been doing, the logs of previous commands that have been run, the update changelogs for the game, the version history of the (admin-editable) config files, any warnings or error logs from the server itself. For example, if you have a malicious user such as, say, a Helsmit in your story, the logs would show when they entered the world and where, unless they also did something hacky to cover their tracks.

Personally, I also wouldn't say you'd have to stick to exactly what a server would realistically log if it makes your story more interesting. It's easy enough to hand wave that an admin has a mod in place that surfaces more information if it'd make the story better!

In a multi-server setting, this is also the point where the admin of your world could also reach out to the admins of other worlds and discuss if they've seen the issue before and how they solved it. The in-universe equivalent of looking it up on Stack Overflow or Reddit if you will!

Once the admin has looked at the logs and maybe chatted to others, if they still can't fix the issue via commands or config file changes, then it might make sense for them to try looking into the code if they can. Note that not all server admins are necessarily confident at programming as it's not a core part of their job.

But at the very least, at this point the admin should have a better idea of what part of the code could be bugged. This will make it easier to either a) make a patch for the bug or, more likely, b) understand what circumstances trigger the glitch and avoid those circumstances.

TL;DR: The code is not the first place admins will go when glitches cause issues; the logs are!

And as before, example sentence:

"Xisuma trawled through the logs, trying to find any indication of the source of the problem."

To Conclude

Code is the rules that govern what stuff can do and how stuff interacts. The stuff itself is data. When something goes wrong, that typically results in the data being in a state it shouldn't be in, wether that be because that thing's velocity is much higher than it should be after taking advantage of the ravager flight glitch, or because a player and a mob's data structures got combined on accident to leave them a player-mob hybrid.

Of course, this broken data is likely caused by a bug/glitch in the code. It could also be caused by somebody malicious who's purposefully trying to break things by messing with the memory in another way. It could also be because a cosmic ray hit a piece of RAM and flipped a single bit (this is an actual thing that happens believe it or not).

Either way, when something goes wrong, the admin's first point of exploration is the logs, not the code. The logs will give the admin a better idea of what the cause of the issue is, and talking with other admins could give them a solution without ever touching the codebase. But worst-case scenario, it is indeed possible for an admin to go spelunking through the codebase to find the cause of an issue and create a patch for it.

This just covers the most common code-related plot points that I personally see in Hermitcraft/other SMP fanfiction. If you have any further questions about writing code-related plot points, feel free to ask! And also, just to reiterate, this is all just my interpretation. Others may interpret differently, and if you do, I'd love to hear what your alternative interpretations are!

PS: I was also planning a section on hacking here, but this post is already getting long and that's complicated, and also I'm bad at hacking. But let me know if you have any questions related to that that you'd like to see in a follow-up post!

#and yes I did write this when I was supposed to be coding for work #hermitcraft #mcyt #shamelessly maintagging in case others find it useful #res writes #res rambles

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blossom-hwa · 3 years

Note

a little birdie told me to request surfer san at a party idk what that was about but i do kinda want to see skater boy yeosang there too if you're up for that 👀👀👀 heheheheh love u linaaaa <333

/chants/ surfer san surfer san SURFER SAN thank you very much mai for putting this in my inbox I adore you <3 skater yeosang will be up next so I hope you enjoy what I end up spitting out for that one too !

4 year anniversary drabble game: send me a Stray Kids/The Boyz/Golden Child/Ateez member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!

Set in the same universe as Kickflip (My Heart) (skater!Yeosang) and Hey, Hey - Let Me Kiss You (surfer!Juyeon) :)

I’m gonna cry this ended up being way longer than I thought it’d be but you know what I’m 100% turning this into a full scenario so fuck it it’ll be as long as it has to be

Title: Truth or Dare

Pairing: San x gender neutral!reader

Word count: 2.2k

Triggers: cursing, alcohol, shirtless woosan for a hot minute, implications of sex towards the end (NOTHING GRAPHIC)

Okay, so in hindsight, maybe coming to Hongjoong's party knowing you were going to be here was a mistake. In his defense, the water probably wasn’t out of his ears when he told Wooyoung he would come, despite the latter having told him specifically you were going to be there. It probably caused some temporary brain damage. That, and San has never really made the best decision when it comes to crushes.

Especially you. You’ve been the worst so far. Around all of the others, he’s been able to keep a measure of his confidence, able to flirt a little and initiate something here or there, if it’s reciprocated. But you...

You’re something else. Always have been, ever since Hongjoong introduced him to you in all your gorgeous glory. Which is probably why Wooyoung looked so surprised that San agreed to come without much trouble - he probably thought San would be chicken out immediately and he’d have to convince him.

San’s here, though, several drinks in and very much buzzed if not drunk, sitting in a circle of people that includes you. Even five or six drunk adults away, San can feel his face heating up when you look in his direction and throw him a wink with that gorgeous smile spread across your face.

His heart thumps a little faster.

“You look like an idiot,” Wooyoung hisses, jabbing him in the side. “What did I tell you about playing hard to get?”

San rolls his eyes. “Since when did your advice ever make enough sense for me to take it?”

Wooyoung huffs. “You look like a lovesick idiot,” he sniffs.

San doesn’t deign to reply.

“Okay, okay.” Hongjoong comes back from wherever he was and settles between Seonghwa and Mingi, a bottle in hand. “Shut up, everyone. We’re playing truth or dare.”

Someone raises an eyebrow. “What is this, high school?”

“The way you all act, I wouldn’t be surprised.” San stifles a laugh at your reply.

“Says you.” Hongjoong snorts.

You grin. “Did I ever exclude myself?”

Everyone breaks into laughter that Hongjoong has to calm before setting the bottle in the middle of the circle. “Rules are the same. Spin the bottle, if it lands on you, pick truth or dare. If you chicken out, take a shot.” He raises an eyebrow. “Got it?”

They all get it, even the ones who look a little like they’re on the way to passing out, and so truth or dare begins.

It’s fun. That might just be because San has been drinking, but when Seonghwa is dared for the second time to write some gross in the air with his butt, he and Wooyoung are falling over each other with tipsy laughter. Hiccuping with giggles, San answers a question about who in this room he’d lick peanut butter off of - “Hongjoong, I like his body.” - and then takes off his shirt for five turns and keeps it off because it’s kind of hot, anyway, and he doesn’t really want to bother putting it back on. Wooyoung isn’t much better - he got dared to take off his pants but Seonghwa forced Yunho to amend it to his shirt, and San pats his friend’s pecs affectionately before the next person goes.

Eventually, the bottle lands on you. You raise an eyebrow. “Truth.”

“Is there someone you like in this room?” Mingi blurts.

There’s a chorus of groans, complaints of ‘Okay, this is too high school for me,’ and ‘For real, Mingi? Seriously?’, but San’s attention is on you and the way your expression has turned slightly uncertain for the first time tonight. You bite your lip, staring at the shot glass in your hand like you’re really contemplating chickening out, but then your eyes flicker up and in his direction.

San’s breath catches in his throat. You didn’t look at him. You definitely didn’t. That was just coincidence. Don’t get your hopes up, San.

“Alright, alright, shut up.” You raise your voice above the noise of people teasing Mingi. “The answer is yes. I do.”

The complaints turn into oooooohs and wolf whistles and ‘Who is it? Who is it?’ but you’ve already got the bottle in hand and are spinning it in the center of the circle. San barely notices, even when Wooyoung’s hand squeeze his knee - who is the person that you like? There’s like fifteen or twenty people here. It could be any one of them. It’s probably Yeosang. He’s pretty and everyone has had a crush on him at least once. Or Seonghwa? Maybe even Wooyoung?

Cheers erupt all around him and San looks up, startled, to see you glaring at the bottle like it personally wronged you in a past life.

Because it’s pointing at you again.

“Truth or dare, Y/N?” someone yells.

Next to you, Yeosang whispers something in your ear. Your eyes widen. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, but I would.” Yeosang grins.

You glare at the bottle some more. “Dare.”

“Everyone shut up, I’ve got this.” San watches in confused silence as Yeosang sits up. “Y/N...” A grin that looks more suited to Wooyoung spreads across his lips. “I dare you to kiss the prettiest person in this room.”

San’s heart drops with every second that passes. He wants it to be him, badly wants it to be him, but in a room full of people who look like Seonghwa, who look like Dahyun, who look like Juyeon and Chaeyoung and Yeosang and - god, San can’t even list all of the names -

How would it ever be him?

You make a very rude gesture to Yeosang that has everyone cracking up, but you don’t eye the shot glass this time. Instead, you throw your shoulders back and let your eyes rake over the room.

“Wooyoung.”

San’s heart drops. Of course it’s Wooyoung, his best friend in every life, one of the prettiest people San himself has ever laid eyes on -

“Move over.” Suddenly, you’re up in San’s face, pushing Wooyoung away. He blinks. When did you come all the way over here? But he doesn’t even have time to ponder the answer to that question because your smile is so close, now, just half a foot separating your lips, and you’re reaching out a hand to cup his cheek and San is short-circuiting as you say -

“Stop me if you don’t want this, okay?”

San blinks. Don’t want what? His heart is beating so fast, faster even than when he catches the highest wave of the afternoon, you’re so close and this is all he’s ever wanted, why would you even imply that this is something he doesn’t want -

Your lips press against his, and San’s mind goes blank.

You’re kissing him. You’re kissing him. You’re kissing him because you think he’s the prettiest person in the room - he, San, Choi San, surfer boy who turned into a mess the day Hongjoong introduced him to you - you think he, of all people in the room, is the prettiest -

It occurs to him that he’s still shirtless. He doesn’t exactly know what to do with that information.

You pull away and San gasps for breath, eyes staring wide into yours. You smile at him softly, lips slightly swollen with the kiss, and like he’s underwater, San can kind of hear everyone screaming and whistling and whatever in the background, but when you speak, suddenly, everything is crystal clear.

“Was that okay?” you whisper.

Yes. Yes. Oh, God, yes - San nods once, twice, three times and then blushes when your smile grows wider and the sparkle he likes so much turns brighter in your eye.

Nothing he’s ever seen could be more beautiful than you right now, eyes sparkling and lips smiling under the dim lights of the party, pulling him forward for a second kiss.

. . .

The rest of the night passes in a blur. Truth or dare ends, San takes another couple of shots, and you’re somehow by his side the entire time until the party’s over. Both of you stay behind to help clean up a bit, but at around two, Seonghwa shoos the rest of you home, and Wooyoung meets up with San by the door to walk back to the apartment.

“Move it, Woo.” You appear again, shoving Wooyoung out of the way. “I’m sure San won’t mind if I walk him home instead.”

A horrible grin splits Wooyoung’s features and he nods quickly, giving San a very unsubtle wink made worse by the fact that he drank way more than San did after the game. “Sannie, do you mind?” he asks. Then, not waiting for an answer, he loops an arm through Yeosang’s, who looks very confused. “I’ll see you at home! Or not!”

You and San walk out of the house in silence, mostly because San has too many thoughts at the moment and they’re all jumbling up into one big mess. The euphoria from kissing you earlier has worn off slightly as the alcohol left his system - he’s mostly sober now - which means he’s thinking. Too much.

“San.” You look over at him, a streetlamp lighting your face. “Come on, I won’t bite.” You smile. “If you have something to ask me, you can say it.”

He blinks. Blinks again. Then, as though your words unleashed a flood in his brain, he asks -

“Did you really think I was the prettiest person in the room?”

You stare at him, eyes narrowed and surprisingly lucid given how the party went. “Yes, I did. I still do.”

Oh. Oh, okay. San feels a little like he needs to sit down. So the kiss wasn’t just a one time thing - you’d do it again, probably, if he’s interpreting your words correctly -

“Why?”

This time, you look a little incredulous when the word leaves his mouth. Then you shake your head. “You really don’t think you’re beautiful, do you.” It isn’t a question.

San ducks his head. For all his usual surfer bravado, the confident face and smile he presents when he’s about to hit the waves, he can’t seem to find the courage to look at you in this moment, to let you really see everything brewing behind his eyes.

Fingers settle under his chin and tip it up so that he’s looking at you again. “I don’t bite, San,” you remind him again, still smiling. “I happen to think you’re very pretty. Beautiful. And even though I still want to slap Yeosang over the head, I’m very glad he gave me the opportunity to show that tonight.” Your fingers walk upwards to cup his cheek the same way you did when you kissed him. “In case you were wondering, by the way, you were the one I was talking about when I said I liked someone. And I didn’t only kiss you just because you were shirtless.”

A small smile settles on San’s face. It’s strange, the way you seem to be able to read his mind without him saying anything, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it. “I like you too.”

“I know. It was a little obvious.” You laugh when San whines, going red under your touch. “I wanted to say something before, kind of ever since I saw you in that wetsuit when Hongjoong introduced us, but it felt like I’d scare you away.” You raise an eyebrow. “Am I scaring you away now?”

Are you scaring him? A little, kind of, but not in a bad way. It’s more like you thrill him, make his heart race faster and faster the longer your fingers linger on his skin. You’re not scaring him away. If anything, you’re scaring him towards you - it’s weird, but that’s the only way San can describe it. He shakes his head. “No.”

“Good.” You grin. “Because if I was scaring you, you probably wouldn’t want to kiss me, and right now I really want to kiss you again.”

Your lips meet once, twice, three times under the dull glare of the lamp on the empty street, San’s arms settling around your waist, your hands coming up to wrap around his neck. When you break away after the third kiss, eyes hooded and lips swollen enough to make San’s mouth go dry, a soft glint appears in your expression. “Want to come home with me?” you ask. “My roommate’s out of town.” San follows the movement of your eyelashes as you blink. It’s captivating. “Feel free to say no. I won't take offense.”

If it were anyone else, San doesn’t know if he’d believe them. He might stop it here politely, even tipsy as he is, and ask to just go back to his place instead. But he trusts you. Has trusted you from the day he met you. Because nothing in your words or your face ever seems to mask a lie, and besides, his fingers are itching to find their way up your shirt and somewhere else as he kisses you again and again -

He kisses you, laughing against your lips. “I guess I should let Wooyoung know I’m not coming back tonight.”

“Oh, he’ll get the message even if you don’t say anything.” Your grin is brighter than the stars. “Come on, pretty boy.” You kiss him again. “Let me show you how beautiful I think you are.”

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offtorivendell · 3 years

Text

The Significance of Elain and a Cup of Tea 🍵

Do not screenshot this post.

Disclaimer: these are my own interpretations, and obviously not canon - though I do think that the text supports Elain and Azriel ending up together. I'm sure I'm not the first to see this connection, but I had fun writing it, so... here you go.

It's another long one, sorry. Again, maybe go and make yourself a cuppa first.

In stories that involve Seers, they often read tea leaves, using the patterns they leave at the bottom of a tea cup to predict the future.

Elain, a Seer Made by the Cauldron, seems to have an interesting relationship with tea - it symbolises her/her life, and her reactions to her surroundings while she's written with a cup of tea appear to predict her own future.

The tea predicted Elain being Made

Elain lifted her teacup. “Whatever the reason, Feyre, we are happy to see you. Alive. We thought you were—” I pulled my hood back before she could go on. Elain’s teacup rattled in its saucer as she noticed my ears. My longer, slender hands—the face that was undeniably Fae. “I was dead,” I said roughly. “I was dead, and then I was reborn—remade.” Elain set her shivering teacup onto the low-lying table between us. Amber liquid splashed over the side, pooling in the saucer.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 23

When Feyre, together with Rhys, Azriel and Cassian, visited her family's estate in the human lands, Elain (and Nesta) discovered that Feyre had been Made into a high fae after she died at Amarantha's hands. They are grateful that she's alive - they'd understandably thought otherwise, but rattled by her transformation.

More water than seemed possible dumped out in a cascade. Black, smoke-coated water. And Elain, as if she’d been thrown by a wave, washed onto the stones facedown.

Alive, she had to be alive, had to have wanted to live— Elain sucked in a breath...

Elain’s ears were now pointed beneath her sodden hair.

Elain was still shivering on the wet stones...

From however Elain had been Made… Nesta was different.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 65

Later on in ACOMAF, after it is revealed that Elain and Nesta were kidnapped by the King of Hybern, Elain is lifted into the Cauldron by the Hybern soldiers, then washed over the edge a Made being, left shivering on the stone floor; in her relief that Elain was alive, Feyre noticed her newly pointed ears - a direct call back to Elain's reaction to seeing Feyre for the first time since she was Made. Feyre was shocked, this time around, and Elain was shivering on the stone ground, as opposed to her tea cup on the low-lying table.

The tea predicted Elain's failed engagement to Graysen

Nesta looked to Elain, still silent and wide-eyed. The tea she’d prepared—the finest, most exotic tea money could buy—sat undisturbed on the table. Elain thumbed the iron ring on her finger. “It is your choice,” Nesta said with unusual gentleness. For her, Nesta would go to Prythian. Elain swallowed, a doe caught in a snare. “I—I can’t. I …”

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 57

Elain, raised to be a fine lady, the prettiest (most exotic) of the Archeron sisters, will eventually lose the life for which she was "prepared," and is left "undisturbed on the table," i.e. Graysen, represented here by the iron engagement ring that he gave to Elain, refused to marry her after she was Made against her will. The ring is also important in that Elain spends a lot of her time in ACOWAR touching it, while she mourned what she lost with Graysen.

Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward. “No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.” A bramble of words. Her voice strained to a whisper. “He did. He saw me. He will not now.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Here Elain predicted, heartbreakingly, that Graysen would refuse to See her again - that her being Made fae would prevent him from not just loving her, but identifying with her. There are a couple of great analyses out there that discuss whether and why Elain truly loved Graysen, but what we cannot deny is that they shared a goal, and that goal gave her purpose.

All of that aside, I think we can all agree - his loss!

The tea predicted that there was nothing wrong with Elain

Nesta, sharp-eyed in the corner, had kept quiet. After a long minute, Madja asked us to join her in fetching Elain a cup of tea—with a pointed glance to the door. We both took the invitation and left our sister in her sunlit room.

“What do you mean, nothing is wrong with her?” Nesta hissed under her breath as the ancient female braced a hand on the stair railing to help herself down. I kept beside the healer, a hand in easy reach of her elbow, should she need it.

“What I mean,” Madja said at last, sizing up Nesta, then me, “is that I can find nothing wrong with her. Her body is fine—too thin and in need of more food and fresh air, but nothing amiss. And as for her mind … I cannot enter it.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

Madja, the Night Court's chief healer, informed Feyre and Nesta that there is nothing she can find wrong with Elain, other than a lack of food, which she is still refusing at this time. Nesta's words, to me, symbolised the concern that the IC and Lucien have for Elain - they're not 100% sure that she came out of the Cauldron with a sound mind - but Madja reiterated her point: there is nothing medically wrong with Elain, and she cannot enter her mind.

Is it because Madja is not a daemati, or something else entirely?

The tea appears to predict a failed relationship - and potentially a false bond - with Lucien

She’d [Jesminda] seen him not as a High Lord’s seventh son, but as a male. Had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been… thrown at him. He glanced toward the tea service spread on a low-lying table nearby.

Forced his hands to be steady while he poured himself a cup of tea and sat in the chair opposite Nesta’s vacated one.

For a long moment, Elain’s face did not shift, but those eyes seemed to focus a bit more. “Lucien,” she said at last, and he clenched his teacup to keep from shuddering at the sound of his name on her mouth.

But Elain blinked slowly. “You were in Hybern.” “Yes.” It was all he could say. “You betrayed us.”

She did not love him, want him, need him. Another male’s bride. A mortal man’s wife. Or she would have been.

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

The only time we've had Lucien’s POV (so far) in this series is significant, in that he almost immediately compared Elain to Jesminda, his late first love, and he mused that, while Jesminda had chosen him, had loved him without hesitation, Elain had been thrown at him - very romantic - and she certainly goes on to hesitate in any interactions she has with him. It follows, then, that Elain might not choose Lucien.

Additionally, Lucien forcing his hands to remain steady while pouring the tea, then clenching the tea cup (read: dealing with Elain), could be read as symbolic of the bond between them restricting them both. Lucien then went on to call Elain "another male's bride," which is (potentially, of course) Very Important.

Who might that other male be? We have our suspicions. 🦇

When discussing Elain's health, Madja said the following:

The ancient healer jerked her chin toward Lucien. “See what he can do. If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate.” “How.” The word was barely more than a barked command. I braced myself to warn Nesta to be polite, but Madja said to my sister, as if she were a small child, “The mating bond. It is a bridge between souls.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

The beginning of chapter 29 in ACOWAR had Feyre experiencing "the most uncomfortable thirty minutes" that she could recall; Elain and Lucien were having tea, so that he could attempt to sense if "anything was amiss" - as Madja had instructed.

Lucien and Elain sat in stilted silence by the dim fireplace, an untouched tea service between them. I didn’t dare ask if he was trying to get into her head, or if he was feeling a bond similar to that black adamant bridge between Rhys’s mind and my own. If a normal mating bond felt wholly different.

A teacup rattled and rasped against a saucer, and Mor and I glanced over. Elain had picked up the teacup, and now sipped from it without so much as looking toward him. In the dining room across the hall, I knew Nesta was craning her neck to look.

The sound [Amren in the other room] seemed to startle Elain, who swiftly set down her teacup. She rose to her feet, and Lucien shot to his. “I’m sorry,” he blurted. “What—what was that?” Mor put a hand on my knee to keep me from rising, too. “It—it was a tug. On the bond.”

Elain sidled toward Nesta, who seemed to be at a near-simmer. “It felt… strange,” Elain breathed. “Like you pulled on a thread tied to a rib.”

“There’s a bond—it’s a real thread,” he said, more to himself than us.

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 29

The words that signify what is between Lucien and Elain here seem quite telling - stilted, dim, untouched - a call back to the "undisturbed" tea service that Elain laid out for their meeting with the queens, which foreshadowed the end of her relationship with Graysen.

The stilted silence and dim fireplace suggest that there is no communication down their "bond," and that they lack the fire of other truly mated couples. More specifically, they could be referring to Feyre/Rhys (bond communication) and Nesta/Cassian (fire between them). Will touch play an important role in Elain's eventual romance?

Elain sipped her tea - read: will live her life - without looking to Lucien at all, while Nesta, Feyre and Mor all watched her/them. Feyre took a moment to wonder if a "normal mating bond" felt different to what she shares with Rhys, not knowing that what Elain and Lucien have may not be normal at all.

Not long after this, Lucien attemped to reach Elain down the "thread" (singular) of their bond and startled her; Elain quickly stood up, then shared that her bond felt strange - almost as if she was answering Feyre's thought. A "normal" mating bond should not feel "strange." What is wrong with the bond between Lucien and Elain? He was unable to sense anything, as Madja said a true mate would, and a little later on, Azriel figured out that Elain was a Seer.

I found my sister in the kitchen, watching the kettle scream. “He’s not staying for tea,” I said. No sign of Nuala or Cerridwen. Elain simply removed the kettle from the heat.

I knew I wasn’t truly angry with her, not angry with anyone but myself, but I said, “You couldn’t say a single word to him? A pleasant greeting?”

Elain only stared at the steaming kettle as she set it on the stone counter.

“He brought you a present.”

Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them. “And that entitles him to my time, my affections?”

“No.” I blinked. “But he is a good male.” Despite our harsh words. Despite this Band of Exiles bullshit. “He cares for you.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“You don’t give him the chance to even try to do so.”

Her mouth tightened, the only sign of anger in her graceful countenance. “I don’t want a mate. I don’t want a male.” She wanted a human man.

- Feyre, ACOFAS, chapter 18

I felt like this passage is partly prediction, and partly a way for SJM to let us into Elain's head; for Elain to speak her truths. A couple of lines did stand out to me, though:

I read Elain "watching the kettle scream" as synonymous with what must have been going on in her head at the time. Scream is an odd choice of word, as most would describe a kettle as whistling. As an aside, there is an interesting parallel that exists with Azriel, in his bonus chapter of ACOSF, where being with Elain makes the noise in his head quiet down.

Elain staring at the steaming kettle seemed to indicate that she might be evaluating her life - could the steam be a metaphor for the mist she will have to See through to find the fourth Dread Trove item? Lucien "not staying for tea" (read: Elain's life) sounded like confirmation (to me, of course) that they will not pursue a romantic relationship together.

Elain’s declaration that Lucien doesn't know her, and that he cannot buy her time or affection with gifts is *chef's kiss* good, though please don't read this as anti Lucien - it's more anti Feyre's poor choice of words.

I have discussed '"I don't want a mate. I don’t want a male.” She wanted a human man.' here, in depth, but a quick summary is that I think Elain wants someone to See all of her, including her humanity, and that her humanity will probably be helpful with her future love interest.

The tea appears to predict Elain's eventual relationship with Azriel, and maybe even a mating bond

She looked away [from Lucien]—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth. “When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.” Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward. “No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.” A bramble of words. Her voice strained to a whisper. “He did. He saw me. He will not now.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Firstly, and so significantly, Elain looked away from Lucien, and towards the windows, instead. We know that, earlier in that scene, Elain was talking to Feyre about being able to see the sea from where she sat, but I think that when Elain is mentioned as being around tea, her words tend to take on a deeper meaning - I interpreted this as Elain removing herself from the conversation she'd been having with Lucien. The next words out of her mouth, then - that "In my sleep, I hear your heart beating through the stone," appear to be spoken not to Lucien, but someone else.

Who do we know who always seems to be looking out windows to the garden, in search of Elain? Who could potentially be flying over Velaris, to or from the House of Wind? It looks like our flower grower might have started the trend!

Who sleeps at the House of Wind, where Elain and Nesta also stay? Aside from Lucien as a guest, there are two longterm residents. One of them is mated to Nesta, while the other one displays some strikingly familiar behaviour towards the middle Archeron sister.

Secondly, the tea burnt Lucien's mouth, then he thought to himself that there's a good chance Elain might not have been addressing him, may have intended to say that to someone else.

Lucien himself told us what was happening, which brings us to:

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it. “Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” “I’d keep that question from Lucien.”

- Feyre and Rhys, ACOWAR, chapter 24

In direct contrast to the tea that Elain and Lucien shared - stilted silence, dim fireplace, untouched tea service (i.e. their bond) - Elain and Azriel sit comfortably - we can assume, due to the lack of negative adjectives - in the sun, a cup of tea (read, once more: her life) "before her." The wrought iron table could potentially be symbolic; that Elain will be hammered into shape by the events of her life, ultimately becoming strong.

Elain is, however, "silent," which may have been indicating that she will spend some time not voicing her own wishes/being passive in her life - we have seen this throughout ACOWAR and ACOFAS, until ACOSF, where she finally started to speak up. It might also mean something else, which I mention further down.

Azriel is even sunning his wings. If you haven't seen it, this is how birds sun their wings - and they look hilariously comfy as they do.

Image source. Can someone please draw the Rhys/Cass/Az version of this?!). 😅

The pose makes them vulnerable; we know exactly how sensitive and possessive Illyrians are about their wings, and how private Azriel is in general, but he trusted Elain enough to expose himself (figuratively - and also, sort of literally) right from the start, just as Elain trusted his reactions at the first "family dinner," back in ACOMAF.

I discussed the relevance of how Elain, the sun, lays bare Azriel's shadows in this post, but the mutual trust and comfort here is, in my opinion, more evidence that Elain and Az share some sort of bond, be that mate or other, that makes him feel innately secure around her. Outside the Night Court, Rhys only ever showed his wings to Feyre, and while Azriel's wings can't be summoned at will like Rhys' can, the same principle stands - protect at all costs, so the parallel is there.

I also think Az may have been showing off his wings - just a wee bit. This is when Feyre uttered her iconic - and maybe prophetic - line, "Why not make them mates?" Feyre, who had thought from the start that Elain and Azriel would make a handsome pair. This is yet another parallel to a canonically mated pair, as we saw Cassian (not so) subtly showing off his wings to Nesta in chapter 29 of ACOWAR.

Oh, and Azriel knew Feyre was watching. So did Cassian. Perhaps they didn't care?

I know Elain x Azriel is not the most popular ship for either of them, but the evidence, to me, has been here all along - not just for a chosen relationship, but also a potential bond. Of course, this shouldn't stop people from shipping who they want. 🖤

The tea predicts that Feyre will become too overprotective of Elain

Rhys smiled at me over his shoulder. Enjoy your tea, you overbearing chaperone.

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 29

" You think I stifle her?"

- Feyre (in response to Rhys), ACOSF, Feyre's bonus chapter

No matter who you ship, the one thing that almost everyone can agree on is that ACOSF demonstrated that Elain is frustrated with being coddled, protected, and not seen; she wants to grow, to come into her own and to have her help be both welcomed and valued.

Unresolved/potential predictions

The following are just bits of text that jumped out at me, that could hint at future events (or could end up being nothing, of course).

Elain thumbed the iron ring on her finger. “It is your choice,” Nesta said with unusual gentleness.

- Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 57

A hint that Elain's story will be revolve around her making her own choices, both in terms of her love interest and role within the Night Court.

"And as for her mind… I cannot enter it.”

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 28

Elain apparently has an impenetrable mind - will this be important when she deals with Koschei, the queens and other future enemies? Is she an anti-daemati?

But Elain blinked slowly. “You were in Hybern.” “Yes.” It was all he could say. “You betrayed us.”

- Lucien, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Future foreshadowing?! I really, really hope not.

Slow blinkers tend to have quick reflexes, let's hope that this is suggesting Elain will be quick on her feet.

- Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Will Elain become involved with Azriel's spy service, or work with him in some capacity? Spies must be able to stay silent, to keep secrets - and we know from ACOSF that Elain is adept at secret keeping.

#elain archeron #seer #elriel #pro elriel #anti elucien #feyre archeron #azriel #azriel shadowsinger #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #lucien vanserra #divination #acosf #tea #tea leaves #spy elain #anti gwynriel

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kikyan · 3 years

Text

Secrets

Yandere Light Yagami x Reader

TW: Yandere, Mentions, and depictions of Sexual Assault towards the Reader,

I do not condone these actions in real life and this is purely fictional and should be taken as fiction.

Check at the end for the yandere discord link if you’re interested in joining!

A loud gasp left [Reader], eyes wide and sweat covering their body in fright. Same shit, different day. Another nightmare and one that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t run away. Sitting up in their bed, they held their head with their hands. Rubbing their eyes slightly to get accustomed to their surroundings. Turning their head slightly, they were met with their alarm clock that read ‘4:39’.

‘Shit…’

It was too early to wake up but they couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard they tried. They looked over to their desk to see their homework from last night. It was an essay about the justice system and morals/ethics that was based on a book they were reading in class. It wasn’t completed just yet because [Reader] lost the motivation to write it, but since they were awake they might put their extra time to some use. Walking over to their desk, they reached for the chair before stopping.

‘ I should get a drink of water…’

[Reader] quietly left their room, making sure not to disturb their mother who was surely sleeping in. As they went to the kitchen, they reached for a cup of water and gulped it down in one go. Rubbing their throat to soothe an ache, they went for another cup but took it upstairs. Sitting at their desk and looking over to obtain a pencil, scanning the contents of the assignment, requirements, and what was already written. It wasn’t a lot, just their name and date. Starting with a small thesis that highlighted their main points, they scoffed before looking out their window. It was pitch dark but what they were trying to see wasn’t anything in particular, except for the home that was next to them. It was abandoned and no one was inhabiting it at the moment, but there were so many memories that rest in the very pavement that makes up the home.

Glaring at the house and with a scoff, determination raged inside them as they looked over to their paper. They knew what to write, they knew the feelings they wanted to convey, they knew what justice they wanted at that moment, ethical or not. By the time they finished, it was almost time to get ready so [Reader] ensured that their paper was safely stored away before going about their morning routine to prepare for school. As they finished and were about to head off, they stopped right in front of the house next to them. It was pretty, but beauty isn’t judged from the outside but the inside, the only sad thing is that inside it was like the core of a rotten apple. Inside was horrid and distasteful, but that was downplaying what really transpired in that house. Whereas the outside of the apple was certainly more appealing and so was the house as if it weren’t untouched by time itself. [Reader] bit their lip before turning away from the house, it was best forgotten right now. Making their way to class, they sat down in their assigned seat waiting for the teacher. Looking to the side staring into space, they didn’t notice that someone took his seat next to them, none other than Light Yagami. It wasn’t until they turned to look at their peers did they notice him next to them reading a book. Light looked up and turned to face them, a small smile before saying ‘Good morning’. [Reader] nodded and returned the greeting, before facing the other way, until his voice woke them from his trance.

“ Are you alright [Reader]? You seem awfully quiet.”

“ Just tired, what about you?”

“ Same old. Did you have any trouble with the assignment?”

[Reader] was quiet for a second, Light reading into it but [Reader] noticed and quickly replied with a ‘No, not really.’

“ I see, did you write about anything particular?”

“ W-!”

“ Good morning class, I’ll be taking attendance now so please settle down in your assigned seat.”

[Reader] mentally thanked the teacher for making it in the nick of time. Light Yagami, was an exceptional student no doubt, taking both regular and additional classes yet still managing to get his assignments all turned in on time. He was often paired with [Reader] for group or partnered assignments so they developed a bit of an acquaintance. Friends maybe but anything else would be over-stretching it. They were left pondering his question, yeah they were a bit close but not that much, was there a specific reason for him asking them questions?

‘ No I’m just reading into it too much, it must be with the cases that are arising with these so-called criminals dropping dead. Maybe he wanted to know if what I was writing was directed towards that? Even then, what interest does he have with that-?’

A soft nudge on their arm woke them up, turning to look at Light in confusion.

“[Reader’s Full Name]”.

“ Here.”

The teacher went off to call more names, [Reader] turned to look at Light who just smiled in return.

“ Sorry, the teacher was nearing your name and you seemed out of it, thought I would get you back.”

“ O-oh, thank you I guess…”

That was the end of the conversation, Light facing the class and paying attention with [Reader] trying to do the same but their mind was clouded with both this morning and Light.

‘ What was that about….?’

It wasn’t until the end of class where the teacher offered to collect the papers but was called to attend an emergency.

“ Class representative, do me a favor and collect the papers and drop them off at my office. Excuse me.”

With that, the teacher was gone and the representative gathered the class’s attention. They began to pass up their paper and the bell for dismissal rang. Everyone proceeded to head out, groups forming and discussing after-school activities such as the arcade or a sweets shop. [Reader] packed their bags and proceeded to walk towards the entrance until Light stopped them.

“ [Reader]! Would you like to walk home together, I don’t have cram school to-!?”

“ Yagami! I was wondering if you wanted to help me deliver these papers to the teacher’s office?”

[Reader] saw this as a chance to deny his offer, “ Sorry Light, but maybe some other time?”

“ Sure.”

Light walked with the class representative and headed to the teacher’s office. The representative attempted to make an idle chat with Light, but he wasn’t interested. He replied softly and short, the walk there was awkward but it was even more when the teacher wasn’t present in their office.

“ I-ll goes and try to find them, are you okay with staying here until then?”

“ Of course.”

When the representative left, Light averted his gaze to the papers and lightly skimmed the names until he got to the one he wanted to read upon.

‘ [Reader’s Full Name]’

He grabbed their paper and skimmed the content of the assignment, intrigued with their interpretation of the justice system. While his ideas clashed a bit with theirs, he was understanding of their origin. No matter, he would just have to fix that, change it, he just had to show them how the world truly is and how better it would be without those fears. Upon further reading, he began to see how they agreed with Kira in terms of punishment for the criminals. There was more but this was certainly interesting to find more of their thinking pattern, was it possible that Light had found someone worthy of sharing his ideals?

He contemplated keeping their paper but he realized that if he took it [Reader] would probably get missing in their assignment. The teacher came into the room and thanked the representative and Light for helping them. They both excused themselves and Light proceeded to walk away, his thoughts on [Reader].

‘ You seem awfully interested in that other human. By any chance could it be that you’re willing to let them know about the death note?’

Light closed his eyes and avoided speaking, he still was in the city and not closer to the streets by the houses that were a bit more secluded.

‘ Hey, Light!’

“ How many times have I told you Ryuk, talking to me when we are in public is risky and as a matter of fact I may.”

‘ You think us talking is risky, isn’t letting that other human know riskier?’

“ Yes, sharing information about the Death Note is more than risky, but it may be better to have more than two people knowing about it. If our views match up they can be both a great partner and a good alibi when people start suspecting me. If our views don’t match up, then I’ll simply have their memories erased.”

‘You’re going to let them touch the Death Note too?’

“ In life, you have several people, those who have to see to believe or those who will place their faith blindly in some people. [Reader] doesn’t strike me as the latter so I’ll go with the first one. Besides, if I told them and they did turn, erasing their memories would be a bit more work and risky.”

‘Okay but why them?’

“ Because…[Reader] is someone who you can either bring up or break down. [Reader] is someone who won’t throw a hysteria when faced with the unknown and based on this essay I suspect that there is more to them than what they lead on. That is an advantage over them, but if they step wrong it could also be their downfall. Besides, I’ve always enjoyed my conversations with [Reader], they say so little but so loudly at the same time. Quite interesting.”

‘Light has a crush on someone!’

“ I won’t waste my time on such things, right now I can’t afford to fall for that. My priority is reshaping and rebuilding this world as their new God.”

The conversation was cut short as Light went inside his home and up to his room. He examined the essay through many viewpoints and established that there must have been someone that they hated or wanted to receive punishment, but who?

[Reader] walked to their room and with a heavy sigh collapsed on their bed. Their mother was nowhere to be seen but they were probably out shopping as groceries were lying about in their kitchen. They rested for a while before heading downstairs to put the groceries away, the T.V playing in the background. It wasn’t anything serious until the news segment was announced.

‘ Breaking news! It is rumored to believe that [Inmate Name] may be released this upcoming week for good behavior. It seems that there have been sever-’

Silence. The T.V was turned off as [Reader] began panicking and hyperventilating. Memories of that morning began rushing to their head and their body began to enter into an automatic response, their knees weak but adrenaline was pumping. There was no one around them to assist them so they began to assess the situation themselves. Their heart was racing but it wasn’t anything too serious, just a panic attack and not a heart attack. They tried to steady their breathing by counting and focusing their attention on an object of some sort. They turned to a small painting of a floral garden that their mother had on the wall, they began to engrave all their focus on it trying to steady their breathing. Slowly but surely they began to calm down, but the uneasiness was still there. After a while, they grabbed a glass of water and calmly began to drink the water. The groceries were almost all put away but [Reader] left the non-perishables out as they went up to their room and began to lie on the bed. Sleep slowly overcame them, their dreams turned into nightmares.

It was a hot summer, but the kids were out and still playing out by the park. [Reader] and some neighboring kids were out and about playing tag.

“ I want to be it!”

“ No! You were it last time!”

“ How about we play rock-paper-scissors to determine who is it?”

“ Fine!”

“ ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS!”

“ Aw darn it I lost!”

“ And I didn’t win this time either!”

“ Well, the rest of you hide and I’ll go count.”

“Okay!”

The kids scattered and began hiding in some spots, [Reader] struggled to find a spot that wasn’t already claimed by the other kids. Those were all her spots that guaranteed her success, but the other kids took them. [Reader] asked if they could hide with the other kids but they all shushed them away.

[Reader] was running out of time until they heard a voice.

“ Hey [Reader] are you playing hide-n-go-seek?”

“ Y-yeah. . .”

“ Here, why don’t you hide behind me?”

A man with a warm smile offered, the man wasn’t a stranger at all to [Reader] or their family since he was their father’s co-worker and best friend.

“ Okay!”

They were hiding and they were doing a pretty good job, they weren’t at all found until they all decided to call off the game.

“ We can’t find [Reader]! Where are they?”

“ [Reader]! You win so just come out!”

“[Reader]!!”

[Reader] popped out from where the stranger was and laughed, “ So I win again!”

“ Where were you? We were so worried!”

“ I was hiding behind him!”

[Reader] pointed at the man on the bench, he waved softly. The kids felt a bit uneasy but their mothers came to collect the kids. [Reader]’s mom showed up to collect her but stopped when she saw the man. She smiled and waved at him.

“ What are you doing out here?”

“ Oh, miss [Last Name]. I was going grocery shopping when I spotted [Reader] playing. Hope I didn’t interrupt or do something wrong.”

“ No that’s quite alright, I was just surprised. Though it’s a bit late for groceries.”

“ Yes work caught up with me but I’d figured I go get something to make my dinner tonight-!?”

“ Why don’t you come to eat with us? My husband isn’t staying overnight at work so he should be home soon. In the meantime, you can help me with dinner or hang around the house? It should be fine.”

“ I don’t mean to impose on you-”

“ Please I insist, it must be so hard for a single man to balance everything. You have friends so I suggest that you start learning how to say yes and let yourself be taken care of one in a while!”

“ T-thank you [Mom’s first name].”

With that, small chatter filled their home as they prepared dinner. [Reader] was playing with their toys and even invited their family friend to join them. When their father arrived home, they sat around and ate dinner. They all had a pleasant time, laughing and smiling. Telling jokes and even discussing life and the future. It wasn’t until it was a bit too late and past [Reader’s] bedtime did he leave and give his thanks for having him over. [Reader] lay in their bed, their mother tucking them in and bidding them a good night’s rest.

“ Mom, does [Family Friend] have kids or a wife?”

“ Why the sudden question?”

“ He looks lonely and I don’t see him with kids.”

“ [Reader], he had a wife and two kids. It’s just, they are no longer here. They left.”

“ Where did they go?”

“ They went somewhere better. Now sleep [Reader].”

“Okay mommy.”

The days continued like nothing else, there would be times where the [Reader] would be taken care of by [Family Friend] because their mother had a doctor’s appointment and their father was at work. [Reader] stayed at his house, eating small snacks that he prepared for her as he sat on the couch just staring at her.

“ Hey [Family Friend], do you have a wife or kids?”

Silence loomed the room before he turned to face her and shook his head.

“ Not anymore [Reader], they all left me.”

“ Why? You’re not a bad person.”

“ Thank you, but they didn’t leave like that. Something happened to them and they are no longer here with us, but enough of that, what do you want to do?”

“ Hm, let’s play a game.”

“ Okay, a game it is!”

It was days like these that the faith one had in another human was shown. Back then people slept with their windows open and some even with the doors unlocked, but that faith was stolen from [Reader]. It was a day where both her parents were busy so their neighbor was in charge of taking care of her for a couple of hours. Nobody knows how or why it happened, but nightmares plague that home as a grim reminder that the ones we trust are just another wolf in sheep's clothing.

“ Hey, [Reader]?”

“ Yes?”

“ I want to play a game. . . but it has to be a secret.”

“ A secret?”

“ Mhm, not many people know about this game so this can be our little secret, like a secret code.”

“ Okay, but what’s the game?”

“Well. . .”

His hand lay on her shoulder, rubbing it softly before his other hand rested on his thigh, he rubbed it lightly causing her to flinch before he let go.

“ [Reader], you know I would never hurt you. . .right?”

“ Yeah. . .”

“ This isn’t hurting you, I only want to play a game. It’ll be fun for the both of us I promise, I don’t want to hurt you. . . I love you. . .”

His hand placement resumed as he went higher and lower. That was when the nightmare began, and it didn’t end for seven years.

[Reader] awoke with a loud gasp, their hands instantly reaching to their body. No one was here in their room, they had to reassure themselves over and over again before reaching over to where their clock lay. It was almost 8 pm but they decided upon bathing before doing anything else. They went to the bathroom and proceeded to bathe, using the products they deemed necessary. Once they were done, they wore comforting clothes and went to bed. Though it was hard to fall asleep in fear of that dream.

The next day they awoke earlier than usual, going on about their day and proceeding to do their morning routine. They began walking to school promptly and proceeded to go to their seat. Light walked in moments later and took his seat next to them, smiling and greeting them. The teacher soon walked in and class started all over again, nothing new was changing so why should they worry-

“ [Reader’s Last Name], see me after class.”

[Reader] looked up and panicked slightly, was it about what they wrote?

‘ It can’t be, I mean this class is crawling with Kira supporters and those who don’t, mine must have been the least controversial-’

“ [Reader], is everything okay?”

“ Y-yeah. . .”

At the end of class, [Reader] walked to their teacher’s office and waited patiently for them. Thoughts running through their head, am I going to get called out? What’s going to happen, will everyone know wh-!

“ [Reader’s Last Name], I want to discuss with you something regarding your essay submission.”

‘Shit so it was about that! Fuck what do I say-’

“ You didn’t turn it in.”

‘Huh?’

“ W-what do you mean?”

“ It was not in the pile with the others, since this isn’t a rare occasion but I remember slightly. You pulled it from your bag so I’m assuming that either the class representative lost it or it was misplaced. Would you mind rewriting it? I’ll give you an extension on it of course, but I would like it submitted by the end of next week.”

“ S-sure.”

“ That is all, have a great rest of your day [Reader’s Last Name].”

They nodded and proceeded to walk away, but anger laced their face the moment they were out of view.

‘ You’ve got to be kidding me, lost? That’s not my fault, if anything I shouldn’t have to rewrite. If they saw me, they should give me full credit!’

“ [Reader], would you like to walk home?”

They looked up to see that it was Light Yagami. They were a bit hesitant and were about to say no until they realized that it might be nice to distract their mind.

“ Sure.”

They began to walk home, but awkward silence loomed over them.

“ If you don’t mind me asking, what did the teacher want to talk to you about?”

“ Just that. . . my assignment was missing and I have to redo it. I turned it in but it’s lost apparently, did you notice the paper was missing or if the rep lost it?”

“ No sorry, but I can help you work on it if you’d like.”

“ Thank you, I might take you up on that.”

“ Well we’ve arrived at my home, why don’t you come in?”

“ I shouldn’t impose-”

“ Nonsense, any friend of Light is welcomed here!”

They both turned around to face an older woman, one that held some resemblance to Light and was assumed as his mother.

“ O-oh I should-”

“ Please I insist!”

With that, it was decided that [Reader] would stay over and have dinner with them. In the meantime, they were up in Light’s room preparing to do the assignment. Once they got settled down and his mother brought up snacks, did the real purpose of his invite begin. Halfway through discussing the thesis and beginning, did Light begin to ask strange questions?

“ [Reader], how do you feel about Kira?”

“ Why?”

“ No reason, I guess it’s all the publicity Kira has been getting that I assume you may have your own opinion.”

“ Well. . .Kira punishes criminals so without a doubt yes, I guess you can say that I'm somewhat thankful that Kira is there. However, there are some flaws with that, let’s say petty crime and theft aren’t punishable by death, Kira would only be acting like an executioner, not a judge. Yet, I think that Kira is going about it the right way. The difference is that some people attempt to stop crime, you can’t stop what is happening because someone will always stand up or do something, but you can control crime.”

Light remained quiet before speaking silently, “ What would you do if Kira were sitting in front of you?”

“ What?”

“ What would you do if Kira were sitting in front of you? What would you do if Kira was me, [Reader].”

Silence overcame [Reader], thinking about their answer they spoke.

“ If you were Kira, I would question your methods and motives.”

“ Hm, interesting. Would you really like to see how Kira kills?”

“ What?”

“ Normally talking about this out in the open to a stranger would be a bit risky, I wouldn’t by any means do this, that is if I were Kira. Yet, it seems that if I were Kira I could trust you based on what you wrote in your essay.”

Light unfolded the essay that was in his pocket, showing it to [Reader]. They were a bit confused and in shock, why did Light have their essay, and what was he going on about?

“ Why do you have my essay? I didn’t think that this would be interesting for someone like you Light.”

“ Well, let’s say I’ve had an interest in you for a long time, ever since we met you could say. Unlike most of our peers not only were you more open-minded but you thought for yourself, not letting others blindly tell you what to think. Based on this essay, I can trust you. . .[Reader], I’m Kira.”

Confusion stuck them, did they really want to humor him, but even then Light might have been Kira. He not only had the brains to be in hiding for so long, but his ideas were lined up a bit with most people.

“ I’ll bite, are you really Kira?”

“ I am, now would you like to know who I do it?”

“ . . .Sure.”

[Reader] walked closer, watching as Light revealed a black notebook with the words ‘Death Note’ written on it. They were confused, to say the least, but they also knew better than to laugh it off and to let him explain.

“ This is a death note, a notebook that allows me to write the name of an individual and they die. I can choose the method of death and time, the only other requirement aside from their full name is an image of their face.”

Light stood there, with both a serious face yet a smirk lightly playing at his lips. Was this true? They were about to ask more questions until Light interrupted them, “ Upon reading your essay, I think that there is someone who you want gone. Here try it for yourself, touch the notebook.”

[Reader] stiffened a bit before nodding, they hesitantly went to touch the notebook. If Light was Kira and was telling the truth, [Reader] instantly became an accessory to the crime, to make matters worse now that Light told them, based on their reaction they could either die or live. Upon touching the notebook, they were met with a horrid creature looking at them with bloodshot red eyes and a smirk on their lips. They looked anything but human and as [Reader] was about to react, they stopped. Light smiled at the sight, they were smart no doubt about it.

‘ Screaming would alert the mom and who knows what that would cause. On one hand, I could tell his mom that I want to leave but I'll surely die by knowing his identity. If I tell his mom about her son being Kira I would be mocked at and made fun of, all I can do is play along for right now.’

“ Open the notebook, look at all the names. With this, we can rid the world of criminals and clean up the streets, isn’t it great?”

“ Isn’t your father a policeman? Why would you-“

“ Because what they are doing isn’t enough, crimes inspire other crimes and it will never stop. By controlling crime with fear we can make the world a better place for kindhearted people like us. You can’t stop crime because it will always happen, but you can control it, that's what my father and the others do. They try to control it through the system, but the system is flawed. With this, we can control it better than they can. Here [Reader], write someone’s name, I know you want to.”

[Reader] was given a name and the notebook was flipped to a blank piece of paper. Light was awaiting their actions as [Reader] looked uncomfortable at the concept. Who was to say that they could play judge and executioner? They were contemplating until the T.V was playing the news channel about [Inmate Name]. Their heart stopped and Light made note of that, he walked over to the T.V and turned up the volume. The sickening sound of his name being played over and over again was like knives or nails on the chalkboard. A horrid sound, the sound of the end, it was a grim reminder that their life was in someone’s hand.

‘ [Inmate Name] will be released today at 4 PM, here we have the news studio wanting to interview him. This was the man that escaped the death penalty due to lack of evidence-‘

‘ lack of evidence?’

The room went cold, their heart sank. He was leaving jail, because of the lack of evidence? Their breath started to increase as tears ran down their cheeks, they rapidly shook their head in attempts to calm themselves and began counting.

‘ aren’t I evidence enough? He abused me. . . I am the evidence. I am the walking and living proof of his crimes. . ‘

‘ I love you [Reader]. . .’

[Reader’s] heart stopped, his voice echoing in their head as the memories were replaying again tormenting them.

‘ You know I’ll never hurt you right?’

‘ I love you [Reader]. . . ‘

‘ Let’s play a game. . .’

‘ This can be our secret, like a secret code only we know!’

‘This can be our secret. . ‘

‘ This can be our secret’

‘ Our secret’

‘ I love you. . .[Reader]’

With a heavy sob that slightly confused and alerted Light, [Reader] wrote his name with such haste, with handwriting that was barely legible handwriting and his face clouded their mind like a rainy day. Tears slipped from them as they wrote his method of death, one that they deemed he needed. His execution was set and upon million watching the T.V, [Inmates Name] died a horrible and gruesome death on national T.V. [Reader] stayed crying as they watched the T.V through teary eyes, Light holding them close rubbing their back. He smiled, this wasn’t such a bad plan after all. Through the sobs, he was surprised his mother didn’t come up, but unknown to him she was outside talking to some neighbors and his sister wasn’t home just yet. As they started to calm down slightly, Light provided soothing words of comfort before whispering,

“ We can clean up these streets [Reader], don’t worry. . .this can be our little secret.”

I apologize to the anon that requested this because as you can see there is no NSFW and very little of what they wanted. I am prepared to write more to the story if needed just let me know as I would like to rewatch the series before continuing. I have also opened up a yandere discord server to interact and will be running it with other close friends and @seiyasabi. Please check their content because they are really good!

DISCORD LINK: https://discord.gg/ZMCfGCeN

#yandere #yandere anime #yandere fic #yandere fanfiction #yandere x darling #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere x you #yandere light #yandere light yagami #yandere light yagami x reader #yandere light x reader #Light Yagami #light x reader #light yagami x reader #yandere smut #yandere death note #Death Note

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elriell · 2 years

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The thing I hate about this ship war is that I’ll be reading other sides’ opinions and theories and sometimes I’ll think “oh, I see what they mean. I don’t really agree or interpret it that way, but I can respect this take on it.” And then I keep reading until the end of the post and they finish it with a jab or an insult to the opposing side…and I’m immediately turned off and honestly become kinda salty. Like, is it necessary to insult others while conveying your point?

Sadly it’s not even just one side that does this, and I feel like a lot of the more popular users specifically get followers because of this “no filter” attitude. But I feel like there’s a difference between tearing down theories with evidence or counter arguments (maybe even with a little bit of attitude granted) and straight up mocking and degrading people’s intelligence. If that makes sense…

Anyway, you’ve been in this fandom for a long time so you’ve had to deal with this stuff a lot longer than me so I wanted to hear your take on it 😕

Oh for sureeeee, I mean I think this is what makes communication between both sides a little harder and multi-shipping incredibly difficult for many, because you might attempt to reach out but it is met with hostility. I can count the amount of fandoms I have been able to participate in as a multi-shipper on one hand because of this atmosphere.

It is one of those really hard topics to discuss because I kind of walk the fence in some regards, I think a lot of it comes down to personalities at its base. I mean some people are simply more used to be brash and upfront, others not, cultural impact is another thing to be considered. As someone who has lived all over, in many countries across several continents, there are so many differences with how people present themselves and perceive others.

Some people are really sarcastic, and that is almost their love language, their comfort zone. Others might find it off putting. We have such a wide array of shippers from ALL over and it is hard too narrow it down, if that makes sense? Because what I find rude/abrasive might not be the same for you, and vice-versa.

However, there is most definitely a communication issue in this (and most) fandoms.

The problem only gets worse as time goes on because hurt and resentment towards a majority group builds and impact the overall viewing of said ship/individual. And to be clear no party is innocent in this.

I know for sure there are a lot of things I have seen have altered my perception, my enjoyment of individuals/ships. I know I have certainly lost my patience and felt at wits end due to the ship war and been a little snarky at times. It is hard not to when what filters through is so toxic. We as groups will always see and focus on the bad parts because realistically those are the popular things that get brought up and discussed.

Unfortunately I don't know where the solution lies, if I am honest. Other than finding you niche group of friends that agree and sticking with them, because after a year of back and forth is there any return? Would people even want it? We need a council lmao

I always try and step back and see the bigger picture, and the person behind the screen but all these things are easily said but harder to follow through over time... Another clarification though, insulting someone as a human or their intelligence is of course, never okay. Always be respectful of human beings as people not just a URL/account. I just mean that over time, feelings will build and fester, and there lies the difficult part.

Thank you for bringing this up, it is a wonderfully complicated topic and i would absolutely love anyone's add-on's on their perspective/experience since being in the fandom. I have been here a looooong time, and pre-ACOTAR many years in other fandoms and unfortunately it seems an all to common pattern people fall in to.

Someone needs to draft a peace treaty and settle the war hahahaahah

I hope at least 5% of that made sense.

#acotar fandom #m for ts #replies

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secretshinigami · 3 years

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All Noble Things

Author: @kiranatrix For: @resilicns Pairings/Characters: Near and Gevanni Rating/Warnings: Gen, no warnings Prompt: Near reflecting on his relationship with Wammy’s and L’s reputation Author’s notes: In How to Read, it says that Gevanni’s hobby is building ships in a bottle. So I imagined a scene where Near is observing Gevanni, now in the role of Watari, building a special ship. The time period is flexible but I imagined it after the C-Kira case and before the case with Minoru. This is a loose interpretation of your prompt but I hope you enjoy it!

—

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Gevanni.” Near didn’t look up as he carefully laid out another domino on the floor, perfectly spaced from its neighbor and approximately two centimeters from chaos. Pinched fingers pulled back carefully and twisted around a strand of white hair. “Two things, really.”

Gevanni looked up from his workbench as the long but comfortable silence between them was broken. Since Roger had died and he’d taken on the role of Watari, he was usually the question-asker. Would you like lunch now? Have you heard back about this or that piece of evidence? Did you have another nightmare last night?

He’d gotten used to it, to Near. To being the bedrock that an island could rest upon. “Two questions?”

No, he was more of a species imported to Near’s world and being gradually altered by the isolation, evolving to fill his niche. But he had no complaints–it was a quiet, stable life and Near paid him well. He didn’t mind the solitude. “You’re exceeding your daily allotment. I’ll have to demand a raise if this keeps up.”

“I believe I gave you a raise just three months ago. If these demands keep up, I’ll have to find another Watari.” Near deadpanned it but his eyes flicked up briefly, and Rester knew he was joking. Another domino clinked against the terrazzo floors, this one with hand-carved scrimshaw detailing a breaching whale.

Gevanni snorted and turned back to the ship in a bottle he was working on. “Good luck finding someone else to source those pajamas with the specific blend of Pima cotton you prefer. I’ve kept that a secret. Iron-clad job security.” He grinned as he carefully reached a long wire into the bottle to pat down blue and white putty mimicking ocean waves. “So, what’s question number one?”

“Can you tie back my hair? It keeps getting in the way.” Near flicked a long strand over his shoulder but it fell again, dangling dangerously close to his creation. “Mind the–”

“Dominos? Yeah, I’m practically a ninja at this point.” Gevanni pushed his loupe glasses to the top of his head before carefully making his way over spiraling lines of set-up dominos to Near at the center. He knelt and pulled a hair-tie from his pocket, holding it between his teeth as he gathered up all the silvery strands. “Holf spill,” he murmured around the band. Near was stone-still as he made a quick and slightly messy ponytail, leaving some loose hair around the face for twirling. “Better?”

“Much. Thank you.” Near very briefly made eye contact as Gevanni went back to his workbench before looking back to his pile of dominos. He sorted through them for another scrimshaw piece. Gevanni had made a special set for him on his last birthday but he always saved them for the end.

“Mmhm.” Gevanni slid back into his chair and picked up the little ship, a model of a 19th-century whaler. “So what was the second question?”

“I was curious what you were working on.” Near let a domino tumble across his knuckles, back and forth, back and forth. “You’ve never spent that much time on just one ship before.” He caught the domino with his thumb and placed it next in line.

“Oh, so you noticed?” Gevanni held up the little whaler on his palm, clearly proud of the highly detailed craftsmanship. All the masts were down and tied with an array of strings that could be pulled up once it was in the bottle to raise them. “I guess this one’s special since it doesn’t really exist. Thought I’d challenge myself. It’s…well, it’s how I imagine the Pequod to look, the whaling ship in–“

“Moby Dick?” Near stared at the miniature vessel, head slightly cocked as he smoothed a loose strand of hair. “The ship Captain Ahab used to chase his white whale.”

Gevanni smiled. “That’s right. It’s one of my favorite books. Have you read it?”

“Years ago. I remember not liking it very much. The whale killed him in the end.” Near placed the last couple of dominos and let out a long sigh. The moments before flicking the first piece were the ones he both cherished and dreaded. The satisfaction of creation could be drawn out like a monotone note, but when it was finished, the spectacular destruction was often over too soon. So, he hesitated and stood up instead, padding to Gevanni’s workbench to watch more creation.

“I bet you’d like the book more these days. Single-minded obsession to defeat a power past human control? Throwing all caution and sense of self-preservation to the wind? The thrill of the chase?” Gevanni arched a brow. “Can’t tell me that doesn’t sound familiar.”

Near frowned slightly and hunched in on himself. “I suppose you mean L. Or do you characterize me as so foolish?”

“You’re L now.” Gevanni disliked that he had to remind Near of that even now, years after the first L had died. “But yes, it reminds me of what Matsuda told us about your predecessor’s obsession with Kira. I never met the first L, but maybe I can understand him, in a way.” He quoted Melville, "All my means are sane, my motive and my object mad.’ You’re L but you’re not him, and I’m glad for it.”

Near wasn’t sure if he was glad for it or not. So many times over the years he’d compared himself to that avatar and wondered if he could measure up. Drily, “I guess that makes me Ishmael."

"You survived, didn’t you? Lived to tell the tale and learn what he couldn’t."

Gevanni turned back to the little ship, carefully threading another string through the rear-most mast. He worked quietly for a while, cognizant of Near’s focused attention and feeling sorry for bringing up the Kira case. It wasn’t often that Near took such an interest in his own projects, or perhaps the man was merely thinking about what he’d said. “Sit down, if you want to. I’m about to get to the exciting part.”

Near pulled a chair closer and slinked into it, one leg pulled tight to his chest and the other dangling off the end. “Which is the exciting part? Stuffing it into the bottle?”

“That’s part of it. The thrilling part for me is raising the masts and sails inside the bottle.” Gevanni pointed to the flat masts and the multiple lines of string leading from them. “If anything goes wrong or a string gets tangled…or some bit of glue doesn’t hold, well–”

“You’re screwed.” Near smiled faintly and rested his chin on his knee. “Hours of planning for one moment of glory. Or disaster.” It also sounded familiar, so familiar.

“Exactly.” Gevanni chuckled and looked over at Near, pleased to see that small, rare smile. That in itself was the product of so much patience, of hours spent in understanding and the slow building of confidence and trust. “Once I get the ship in, would you like to raise the sails?”

Near’s eyes widened and he rocked slightly in the chair. That was Gevanni’s moment of glory and he deserved it after so much time and hard work. The inlaid wood, the meticulous paint, the delicately carved and articulated ship’s wheel capped in brass. The hand-sewn sails and gold script that read Pequod on the ship’s side. Each detail was evidence that someone else had built this and he would only be stealing the best part, swooping in for the end of the trick.

“You built it so you should do it.” It didn’t help that he was worried about making a mistake and ruining it at the last moment. How would it even fit? Despite the masts lying flat, it seemed impossible that the ship would make it inside the bottle. “I don’t know how.”

Gevanni sensed Near’s hesitation and uncertainty, recognizing the subtle tics of anxiety. “I can show you. You’re great at stuff like this.” He motioned to the vast lines and towers of dominos filling the room. “Plus, I trust you.”

When Near didn’t answer, he turned back to the ship, placing a small line of glue at the bottom and oh-so-carefully maneuvering it into the narrow mouth of the glass bottle and onto the ‘waves’ of translucent blue putty. It was a very tight fit and when it stuck down in the right position, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Not bad, huh?” The strings dangled from the bottle’s mouth as he held it up to show Near. “Offer still stands.”

Near wanted to do it, to try. Honestly, he wanted to ask Gevanni to show him how to build one of his own, how to trump the rigid enclosure and build something impossible inside. To raise it up not by magic but by human ingenuity and patience. A creation not to destroy but to keep.

“Alright.” His fingers moved from his hair to tentatively touch the white strings hanging from the bottle’s mouth. “All of them?”

“Just these.” Gevanni pointed out several lines connected to the three masts. “Don’t yank, just pull slowly until you feel resistance and I’ll tape them up.”

“If it works.”

Gevanni laughed quietly. “It’ll work. Stop stalling.”

Near mumbled, “I’m not stalling,” but stalled a moment more before gently tugging the strings. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat when all three masts raised in unison, perfectly aligned and straight. He smiled as Gevanni secured the strings, then slid off the chair to gaze at the bottle from the side. This floating world, this impossible thing that’s bottled the sea. “I can see why you like these so much.”

“It passes the time.” Gevanni felt warm inside since it was rare that they connected like this, despite all the time spent in each other’s company. He glued the strings to the ship with a long wire and then cut them, leaving no trace of how it had really been made. Setting it on the bench to dry, he said, “Would you like to have it? I have about a dozen. I mean, if you want it.”

“As a warning against white whales?” Near smirked and climbed back into the chair. He fingered the hem of his specially-ordered Pima cotton pajamas, the exact blend he preferred. “Or for the memory of Ahab?”

“Neither? Or…maybe both.” Gevanni knew that so much had changed for Near when Kira died. Monster or not, that moment of destruction had ultimately felt unsatisfying. He knew Near struggled with assuming the name and reputation of L, a legacy that had become so confused in the mind of a world that would never know two L’s had died and a third now had to make peace with that. It was easier to bottle ships than emotions.

Mildly, “Or maybe just because it’s something we built together.” It was odd, but somehow it would mean a lot to him for Near to have it. “How about it?”

Near found a loose string at the hem of his pants and yanked it, snapping the thread. He got up and crouched beside the winding, spiraling rows of dominos and pressed a slender finger against the first one. That catalyst set off the reaction, the staccato clack clack clack! that echoed in the high-ceilinged room. It was over in seconds and silence crept in again.

“I’d like that.”

-End-

[The title comes from a quote in Moby Dick: "A noble craft, but somehow a most melancholy. All noble things are touched with that.” It reminded me of Gevanni’s rather solitary hobby as well as the occupation of solving cases as L.]

#fanfiction #death note #submission #near #gevanni #ratings: general #kiranatrix #resilicns #Near's Bday Finale 2k21

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