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kokomyass · 2 days

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JJK Characters ☆ That time of the month...

JJK x Fem!Reader

Genre: ☁️

Trigger warnings ⚠️: swearing, crack

featuring: Gojo Satoru, Nanami Kento, Geto Suguru, Toji Fushiguro, Choso Kamo, Ryomen Sukuna

synopsis: in which, the jjk men are out buying you supplies for your period, some with more experience that others....

notes!: in sukuna's part, he is true form and has like a kinda palace thing going on yk....

a/n: thought of this idea, liked it and wrote it!!! I hope you enjoy 💜🍇💜🍇

~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~

Gojo

"Heyyy babe....so about those pads you wanted me to buy....you kinda failed to tell me that there are pads for every colour of the fucking rainbow!"

You had to use all your will power in you to not start laughing at Satoru through the phone, which would consequently lead him to hold a grudge.

"Satoru, I told you to get the ultra maxi pads with wings, remember? How difficult is that?" you nagged as you heard a frustrated groan through the phone.

"Well which colour is that? Cause there's no way I'm reading allat-"

"Gojo!!" you didn't usually call him by his first name it was an easy way to show your annoyance.

"Okay sorry!! Well, Y/N, there are like 5 different ultra maxi pads! How the hell am I meant to know which-"

"Satoru, with wings."

You heard the line go silent as you heard rustling assuming he had picked the pad up.

"So...um I found it....I'm gonna get myself out of this aisle because thanks to you I embarrassed myself in front of all these experienced women."

All you can do is giggle at Gojo's dramatic ass.

Nanami

You hear the door to your house open as you lay in bed curled over from the pain your cramps are giving you.

You hear your husbands soft footstep approach your bed as you open your eyes slightly to see him bent over cupping your face careful not to wake you up to violently.

"Hello sweetheart, how are you feeling?" you hear his deep, smooth voice whisper out.

"Well...I feel like shit, but now that your here I wanna cuddle with you. It'll make me feel better."

Nanami chuckles as he sat on the bed, extending his arm out to let you cuddle with him.

"Just to let you know, I went out to buy some night and day pads, tampons just in case your in the mood to use them and your favourite snacks to keep you going. They are all here if you need." Nanami said, as he gently brushed your hair as he felt you squeeze tighter.

Nanami looked down as he heard sniffling later realising you were crying after looking down at your face.

"Honey what's wrong? Did I miss something?" Nanami's heart dropped.

"No, the absolute opposite. You always get everything right. Nanami, have I ever told you how madly I am in love with you?"

"Frequently."

Geto

You had sent Geto out to do some period shopping and by that you meant shopping for pads/tampons and snacks.

When you were on your period, you were EXTREMELY snappy and emotional. This time of the month was one Geto feared all the time. One small thing could make you flip out.

"Hey babe! I'm home!"

You were sat on the couch wrapped in blankets as you watched TV.

"I got your stuff babe, snacks, pads and all..." Geto placed a kiss on your head before sitting next you. You took the bag from him searching for your favourite sweets.

"Thank yo-...Where are my skittles, Geto?"

Geto's heart dropped. He had completely forgotten to buy that and he regretted his life choices, but it was too late because you had already started crying.

"Ughh, I really wanted those skittles...why do you always forget Geto!" you sobbed angrily as Geto pulled you apologising profusely.

"I'll go out and buy more baby....I'm sorry...."

"NO. I WON'T WANT THEM ANYMORE!" you shouted at Geto as you stood up angrily walking to you bedroom as Geto sighed letting his head fall back on the couch, choosing to let you come to him in your own time.

Time Skip

You had guiltily shuffled out of the bedroom and sat next to Geto leaning into him as he let out a sigh of relief.

"So, you feeling better??"

"Yeah, sorry babe....I overreacted. My favourite sweet isn't even skittles..."

Toji

"So babe, what size is your pussy again?"

Toji was a man with no shame and clearly no brain. He went out to get pads for you forgetting to ask what type you needed.

"Wh- Toji!! How many people are in that aisle!?" You heard Toji chuckle at your very valid question, given what he had just said.

"Princess, listen, that doesn't matter right now. Just tell me your fucking pussy size."

Before you could scold Toji and maybe educate him you heard another woman's voice through the phone.

"Um sir, just to let you know you are rather loud...and pad sizes are based on the amount of flow not-"

"Did I ask?" Toji spat.

The woman's mouth shut as she spluttered trying to say something back before Toji diverted his attention back to you.

"There is like ultra large....do you want that cause I know how big-"

"Toji don't you dare finish that sentence. Just get me large ones please...and for the record it is based on your flow, so you had no right shut that poor woman down like that."

"I call it what I want to call it, and that's pussy size."

Choso

You currently had a stuttering Choso on the phone who was clearly pretending he wasn't embarrassed.

You had sent him out to get some snacks, hinting that it was your time of the month but you didn't ask him to get pads or tampons fearing it would be too much for him to handle.

"So....um...Y/N, do you....erm do you want me-"

"Choso, baby, please spit it out." you giggled at how flustered he was as it wasn't a common occurrence.

"Do you need...pads...?" he whispered the last bit so you could barely hear.

"What was that?"

"...pads...." you had made out that he said pads.

You let out a loud laughter that could be heard through the phone, shown by the fact Choso was hushing you.

"Y/N, stop laughing! Yes or no? If yes, what type?" you could tell he was trying to be vague.

"Choso you are so cute, yes I would like some please can I have some night pads? I have enough days ones."

"Okay! I got this....okay see you and love you!!" he cut the phone after chanting to himself that he had the power to pick one product off an aisle.

All you could do was chuckle and feel warm at how much he cared for you...even if it was embarrassing for him....

Sukuna

You were giving Sukuna his daily massage in his throne room despite your cramps from your period. You didn't want to tell Sukuna that you were on your period because whenever you did he became a bit too overprotective in a murderous way....

However the cramps were unbearable.

"My Lord...May I be seated?" Sukuna's head whipped around and looked up and down your body before nodding slightly, tapping his leg indicating for you to sit there.

You sat down on Sukuna's crossed legs resting your head on his broad chest as you sighed squinting your eyes at the pain.

Two of Sukuna's arms were wrapped around your waist whilst the other two were on the floor. He tighten his grip on your waist as if he knew you were experiencing pain.

Suddenly a sharp knock was heard at the door.

"You may enter." Sukuna's gruff voice sounded out.

"I have the pads and tampons and foods you requested, Lord Sukuna." Uraume entered with a box placing them at your feet. Leaving promptly.

"It is your time of the month, is it not?"

You eyes widened as you looked back at him to see him looking down at you.

"Y-Yes my lord...how did you know?"

"I keep track in my own manner." you didn't even bother to ask how that was.

You knew Sukuna wasn't exactly the loving type, but you couldn't help but wrap your arms around his neck.

"Thank you, my Lord!" he places one of his hands on your back not saying a word just letting out a huff. After a while he mumbles out.

"It's alright woman...."

~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~~•☆•~

a/n: I hope that was good and all those true form sukuna fans out there hmu 😜

love you!! 🍇💜🍇💜

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tokidokitokyo · 2 days

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Cool Kanji Party Tricks

Or “How I Use Kanji to Impress My Friends”

Learning kanji can be daunting, especially for those just starting out in their Japanese studies. There are two thousand standard kanji needed to read a newspaper, but Japanese people know and use many thousands more. There are several methods available to self study kanji (just do a quick Google search to find the most popular), but any serious study of kanji takes time. Lots of time. It can feel like studying kanji over and over is a waste of time, especially since you have the internet at your fingertips to look things up at any time. However, I really believe that having a good foundation in kanji is essential to mastering Japanese, and I wanted to share what I call "cool party tricks" to encourage you in your kanji studies.

What are "cool kanji party tricks"? This is just a list of things I have noticed that having a solid understanding of kanji will allow you to do. I have been studying Japanese for more than 10 years, and most of these things I just noticed one day in an a-ha moment, and even though someone had told me for years that learning and practicing kanji is important, it took several realizations for me to truly grasp what that meant. I would say that many of these require an intermediate grasp of the language to be able to use consistently, but I think that you can start doing any of these after achieving a basic foundation in the Japanese language.

So when your hand is cramped from writing the same kanji for hours, when on'yomi and kun'yomi have become swear words, and when you lost that one little point on the exam because the kanji you were supposed to use was only off by one stroke from the kanji you actually used... I hope you will remember this post and feel a little bit encouraged.

Find the appropriate kanji to use when typing in the romaji/hiragana on a computer/phone

Since I started my Japanese studies during high school, the formal classes I was taking had me writing out kanji for homework in order to remember it and to be able to pass the quizzes and exams. So I spent many hours writing out kanji only to end up with hand cramps and ugly looking written characters. It took ages and the stream of kanji that I had to learn seemed endless. However, one benefit I quickly saw was that I was able to quickly adapt to typing in Japanese on a computer/phone because I was able to correctly identify the kanji that I had practiced, and knew which one to select when several choices came up.

In Japanese, many words have the same sounds but different kanji and meanings (these are called homophones). So when you type in the hiragana or romaji for a word into the keyboard, it will prompt you with a list of kanji to choose from. Being able to correctly select the right one is something I suddenly realized I could do one day, even if I hadn't used the word often. I knew and could recall a larger number of kanji than I thought, and I could eliminate any incorrect kanji for the word I was trying to use. Having a good solid foundation in kanji characters means that you don't have to go look up every word in the dictionary to check that you have the right kanji, and you also don't have to leave the word in kana because you can't guess the right kanji, but rather you are confident enough to pick the correct kanji for the word on your own. This makes typing more efficient and saves time!

Understand the meaning of a word just by looking at the kanji

When you know a significant amount of kanji and what they mean, sometimes when you encounter new compound words you can guess at what they mean. Or if you are like me and sometimes forget how to read words you are already supposed to know, you can magically relearn them by looking at the kanji and interpreting the meaning. So sometimes when I am reading text in Japanese and I see a compound I don't know, I can interpret the meaning from context and from my understanding of the individual kanji, and continue through the text without stopping to look up the word. This helps you to get the gist of a text without having to look up all the words, and is how you can start reading more advanced books or manga.

Guess at the pronunciation of a word from the kanji

On the flip side of the previous cool party trick is being able to guess how to pronounce a word by knowing the on'yomi and kun'yomi of the kanji, and therefore being able to guess at the pronunciation of a word. Unless the word has 人 or 生 in it. This helps most when reading out loud in class or to another person. It will also help you to feel smug about yourself while reading a book that is of a more advanced level and being able to determine the reading of several compound words in a row.

Understanding a new word using kanji clues

As an extension of the previous cool party tricks, I eventually reached the point where I could hear a word in conversation that I had never heard before, and figure out the meaning using kanji clues.

For example, not all Japanese people know English (shocking, right?), and busting out your phone to look up every single word you don't know can become burdensome in continuing the flow of a conversation. So, if I hear a word that I don't know during a conversation (and the continuation or flow of the conversation hinges on my understanding of the word), I will stop the person and either ask what kanji the word is written with, or if I have a guess I will ask "is this using the kanji for X?" This way I can gain clues to the key word without stopping the flow of conversation too much. (It's also a fun way to show off to Japanese speakers.)

For example, if you hear the word jishin (じしん) in conversation, and you aren't sure which meaning the speaker intended:

自信 self-confidence

自身 one's self

You can ask:

"Did you mean 自信 (jishin) with the "shin" from 信用 (shin'you) or did you mean 自身 (jishin) with the "mi" (another pronunciation of 身) as in one's body?"

Then the person can respond:

"Oh, I mean 身 (mi)! As in, 自分自身 (jibun jishin), or one's self."

Then, you can continue the conversation, having an understanding of what the speaker is saying and not having to take out your phone to translate as often. This also can give the person you are speaking to a better sense of your level and help them to tailor the conversation to you.

[I hope this conveys what I am trying to illustrate ^.^]

TL;DR: Kanji is Fun

Honestly, when kanji clicks and you can read words or understand their meanings, it's like deciphering a secret code, and this is one of the things I find so cool about Japanese, and why I have studied it for so long. So if you are just starting out and are daunted by kanji - don't worry. I am still daunted by kanji, but I also find it a useful tool to improve my knowledge of Japanese and to communicate in a way many people cannot. I hope this information was useful and inspires you to suffer through learn more kanji.

#日本語 #japanese #japanese language #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #langblr #studyblr #learning japanese #learning kanji #cool kanji party tricks #kanji is fun #tokidokitokyo

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redxx95 · 2 days

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How Cherry Magic avoids romanticising self-sacrifice

Alright strap in boys, this is gonna be a long one.

Spoilers for the manga (mostly the english volumes but I will include a bit from vol 12. I'll mark it tho so yall may skip it if you don't want to be spoilered).

So in this one I want to examine how cherry magic does a great job at portraying self-sacrifice in a relationship as an actual flaw rather than a romantic ideal to aspire to. Very often you'll see characters in media putting their own needs aside for their lover. A lot of people will swoon at that because it is usually presented as proof of how dedicated they are to their partner and their wellbeing. (See... well the thai adaptation actually).

But what has pleasantly surprised me is how Toyota handles this in her manga.

Starting from the beginning, we all know the millions of things Kurosawa did for Adachi to get closer to him. After all, that is what's usually expected of him if we talk traditional gender roles. But one of the reasons Adachi even starts falling for Kurosawa is because of how he was for once able to do something for him.

For someone with very low self-esteem, being able to help this super-capable perfect man is a big boost in confidence and also raises his own selfworth.

So now let's look at a few instances of selfless action and the consequences resulting from them.

First one is the disaster-date in volume 4

Kurosawa does his very best to choose activities that he thinks Adachi will enjoy. That is his primary concern.

The effect this has on Adachi though is that the gap between them feels impossibly wide, only worsening his already low opinion of himself.

Whenever Kurosawa does something big, it makes Adachi feel that much smaller. That's why he'd rather them be equals in everything instead of one giving more than the other.

Next is the argument they have in volume 8

Kurosawa attempts to, very selflessly, protect Adachi from his lowkey homophobic parents. He doesn't want them and their opinions to hurt Adachi personally, so he ends up lying to him to keep the peace. The effect this has on Adachi though is disastrous. At first he's just generally worried about why Kurosawa would even lie to him in the first place, but then they have that fight in their living room and you really get a good look at how negatively this affects Adachi.

The very first conclusion he jumps to is that he's not doing good enough for Kurosawa to feel secure with him.

The next one is even worse, where he thinks he's not good enough in general. Both of these show how when pressed, he will default to blaming himself, believing that he is the problem first and foremost.

And then, if all of that wasn't bad enough, this happens next:

He's actually being self-deprecating again, something he hadn't done ever since Kurosawa told him not to in volume 5. And yes you can actually go back and check for yourself. Whenever he has negative thoughts after this point he's always pushing back.

So there's an escalation happening here, one that is entirely caused by Kurosawa not sharing his burdens with him, by making their relationship unequal.

I think it also hurts him extra bad because they've had this argument before, just with their roles switched.

So to him it must feel like Kurosawa is betraying the important lesson Adachi learned from that argument, which is that communicating with your partner is important, even when you feel like it might hurt them.

There's also something to be said about how most people would've probably stopped prodding when someone says "it's something I can't tell you", but Adachi knows that Kurosawa has a pattern of hiding his issues from him thanks to the mind reading, which is the whole reason they had that argument in vol 6 in the first place.

So, to summarize: Whenever Kurosawa acts selfless it takes a toll on Adachi's mental health. Because of his low self-esteem he needs to feel on equal terms with Kurosawa to be able to see himself as worthwhile. (And obviously he also loves Kurosawa and doesn't want to see him in pain just in general.)

So after all that, surely Kurosawa would have learned his lesson, right? Surely he wouldn't just do it again, right?

... Spoilers for volume 12 start here ✨

So volume 12 is all about Kurosawa overworking himself because he's been assigned this big project by their chief to oversee their company's spot at a stationery convention. (I didn't look up whether or not that's a real thing but it is in the manga universe I guess lmao.)

Adachi tries to help alleviate his burdens with mixed success.

(On the left he feeds Kurosawa because he needs to finish his work and doesn't have time to eat. On the right he tries to take a phonecall for Kurosawa but gets told that Kurosawa needs to hear it personally so relaying a message won't do.)

Then Adachi muses to himself how Kurosawa was always helping him out in the past and how Adachi can't do anything for him in return, especially since they're in different departments. He feels very useless, which is once again bad for his mental health.

Later at home, he offers to at least take over the chores for the time being, but gets told that Kurosawa actually enjoys doing chores so there's no need for him to help.

Kurosawa tells him that all he needs is Adachi to be close to him, while making out with him on the sofa. And right here we see how he only got half the lesson he was supposed to have learned in volume 8: In their fight Adachi told him that they should both be happy and he should share "all the hurt" with him, too. Well, the simple solution to that is not to see all his burdens as burdens, then he's not hurting and Adachi doesn't need to bother fussing over him! Win-win. Epic mind gymnastics 😎 (To be honest, I feel like this is actually very relatable to people that tend to give more than they take. We get so used to the weight of the burden that we don't notice it slowly pulling us down.)

So Adachi obviously notices what's going on and berates him about not having understood anything he said from that fight.

Throughout the volume Kurosawa gets more and more overworked, makes mistakes and is confronted with unexpected complications. He's very adamant about not asking anyone for help though, stating that he "can't be bothering his senpais any more than he already has" and that he's "doing this all for the sake of his future with Adachi".

He also still has some hangups about people seeing him as just a pretty face, as you can see in that flashback in the second page. He constantly feels the need to prove himself to others, which prevents him from ever seeking out help.

So when he inevitably reaches his limit, Adachi is finally able to be there for him, being the only one that sees through his facade.

(That hand kiss is so precious 😭)

Also, on that first page Adachi asks him whether or not he's fine, which reminds me of this panel from volume 6:

He really knows him so well.

Emboldened by his husband, Kurosawa finally does ask for help and is, of course, met with understanding and sympathy.

Spoilers for volume 12 end here ✨

So all this to say: Sometimes, when we try our best to be selfless and to protect the people close to us, we do more harm than good. Sometimes we cause harm to others (see volumes 4 and 8) and sometimes we cause harm to ourselves (see volume 12). It is of course a noble cause but it's not something to strive for at all times and can sometimes be actually counterproductive to what we wanted to achieve in the first place.

As someone who breaks themselves apart to help all the people around them, this aspect of the manga resonated very strongly with me and is probably the biggest reason I got so obsessed with this silly little BL romcom.

I know that this manga is not like, the best in quality. I know it's super niche and silly and cannot compare to the big popular mainstream manga with lots of depth and thought put into it, BUT.

A piece of art doesn't need to be "good" in order to resonate with people. You don't need to paint the mona lisa to reach someone and make them feel seen. You just need some sort of medium and a will to communicate something to the observer. (Something an AI could never replicate but that is a whole other discussion.)

This manga reached me when I needed it and it communicated a message that resonated with me and that is all it needed to do for me to love it to the point of obsession. 💖

Finally I'm done with this essay it is so long oh my god. If you reached the end of this, I'm so sorry. I hope you enjoyed it tho.

#cherry magic #happy pride month I guess #alternate title: adachi has 99 problems and kurosawa is all of them #he's also the solution tho so there's that lol

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edgeray · 1 day

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*presses my face against your tank* HELLO RAY !!! :D I AM FINALLY HERE !! MY BRAINCELLS HAVE COLLIDED AND PRODUCED A THOUGHT !!

or, er, sort of? more like a vague vibe, but i digress. basically, consider: pining arle. how does she realize her feelings for you? how does she cope? how does her behaviour around you change? does it? what is she thinking the whole time? when would she consider making a move? essentially i would like to see you psychologically pick apart this woman. go as in depth into her brain or inner monologue as you want !!! the set dressing can be canon or an au, i’ll eat it up regardless :)) and as a professional angst writer i know you can write some absolutely monstrous (/pos) yearning and i’m frothing at the mouth thinking about it 🤤🤤🤤 lookin forward to your thoughts but also take your time with it !!! godspeed 🫡🫡🫡

An Unfit Role

(Arlecchino x GN! Reader)

A/N - Oh sev… you spoil me too much. You truly do. Somehow this turned into very ‘Arlecchino is a person'-esque and I don't know how but oh well. I don't know if this answered your questions very well, but hopefully this is what you mean by psychologically picking apart her! Was this enough pining? Content warnings / info - uhh none I think. just a lil bit of angst, 1.4k words

Arlecchino is many things. The Fourth Fatui Harbinger, a Snezynayan diplomat, the head of the House of the Hearth, and simply ‘'Father.’ She takes on many roles, and enforces them with an iron fist, every facade meticulously practiced and rationalized. Perfected as if she were an actor on a stage, every action and step is calculated beforehand. And if external factors or unpredictable variables crop up in the midst of her play? Well, a good actor knows how to improvise. Arlecchino is well aware of her roles, has memorized the lines and drilled through every movement. The Knave has many feats from each character she plays. A flawless performer, in those aspects.

A lover is not a character she can play. Someone who loves. It is a role that she cannot hope to touch, one she cannot imagine assigning herself too. She is far too inexperienced in what it pertains to. Her perception would grossly mischaracterize it, painting a rather crude display of what she knows of but doesn't know. After all, how could one act without an adequate example? No actor would want to showcase a poor impression of an original source material, an actor presents only their most remarkable qualities. A good actor knows what they cannot act, and it is this where her talents reach their limit. It is what her role as a ‘Father’ stems from; this inability to express something far too fragile and flimsy for her to hold.

Of the few showcases of others playing the role, Arlecchino is knowledgeable enough that they are simply inept showcases. The Tsaritsa, who has shown the capability to act, and yet chooses to conceal her abilities from her audience. Crucabena, an unqualified actor, whose words dripped with far too much venom for the soft-spoken voice that she used. Perhaps Clervie was the only accurate and genuine actor able to play the part, but one cannot appreciate the traits of an unfinished story. And the naive Peruere, who could hardly imitate her counterpart, was maimed by Arlecchino’s own hands. It is here that she learns that the role of a lover earns no applause, because it adds little to the plot, and so it lacks a function in her story.

Despite this, she finds herself in this scene, where she plays a character unlike her usual, an entirely new character involuntarily thrusted into her by the cruel machinations of her mind.

It is a subtle thing. First, she was just the Knave to you. But somehow, among your presence, her facade slips, and she dons another character.

She becomes a character who knows of nothing but the way her sight is captured by a singular person, a character whose dead heart begins to beat, daring to flutter back to life after it was painfully wrenched out of her chest by her favorite story's ending. She becomes acutely aware of this role when her eyes linger on you a moment longer than need be, when she indulges your empty but no less engaging conversations, when she familarizes herself with the particular fauna scent you carry. When she closes her eyes, your smile flashes through her mind, she knows she's fallen.

An actor knows when to quit, when they misfit the character they're performing. And yet her mind remains stubborn. Acting a role one does not fit will only damage the actor's reputation, and she intends on abandoning it. But it is difficult for her to dismiss how much she yearns for a warmth that the blood flames in her veins cannot bring. It is difficult to deny that she is not momentarily blinded and stunned by your beaming expression, even when you are not looking at her. It is increasingly more difficult to control the pulsing underneath her skin. This is a character she cannot control, instead, it often feels that the character controls her.

It is an unseemly, disgusting appearance for her. If it were physically possible, she would plunge her very own cursed, clawed hands into her chest, to grasp onto this fickle, volatile organ and crush it just to exhaust the remaining embers of a futile hope. If only it were as simple as that. Love is far too much of a complicated role for her, and yet it is somehow inescapable. Some sort of torment placed onto her by the archons.

She can long, she can reach, she can prance around you, but never can she touch. For love imprints its scorch marks deeper than any weapon or assault. One of the lessons her story has concluded to.

So, instead, she reduces its role to a minor character. She lets her stares remain, but she observes you from a distance. She does not dawdle a second longer besides you if she needn't be. She dresses the role of a lover as an observer. Everything she touches with these wretched, blackened hands soon turns into nothing but embers and ashes, and so the only way that you will remain is away from her.

On her desk, sits a vase with a single flower. It is your favorite flower, the flower that you smell of. It does not move from its place, nothing is done to it besides being watered. Its stem is so brittle, and the petals are far too easy to wither away.

(It is a reminder, every time she sits at her desk. Oh, how'd she like to stroke the patels with as much tenderness as she could muster. How'd she like to cradle it in her hands, this source of life, despite being so delicate, is so beautiful. How'd she like to be able to wake up everyday, and view upon this blossoming flower. But she is not a gardener. She knows nothing of how to make a flower bloom.)

Humans are the only viable actors for the role of a lover. A curse is not.

(In her dreams, sometimes you are in place of Clervie. Yet, like Clervie, the only moment she is able to cradle you is when her sword impales you. She will not let another flower wilt, she will not burn another flower.)

It is why you baffle her. Why do you gaze upon her with that expression, as if her claws are not one one more inch from piercing your skin and ripping into your flesh? How do you take her hands in yours, somehow slotting them as if they were always meant to, when they’re soiled with vulgar blood? Her cutting words and sharp tongue, how do they not dissuade you? How do you see her blackened skin, and not be driven away by such a mark of impurity and depravity?

How could you not tell that she is improper for the role that you seek?

She wonders if a flower is a poor description of you. She wonders if you are instead a Sundew ensnaring a spider, unwilling to let it escape. No, perhaps that is not fitting for you, because you are unaware how effortlessly she can char you–unaware of the imminent danger that comes with keeping such a venomous creature.

Arlecchino is many things. She is a coward, if only for you. She cannot abandon her role, but she cannot perform better, floating in the state of inadequacy that she so despises. Playing a lover makes her foolish, and it is a compromising role.

She is foolish, but she is despicable. She is selfish. And though she is perfect actor, even performers must fail to succeed. One day, her mental will and patience crumbles. She requests you into her office, your doe-eyed expression widens when she gives you the flower that sits lone in a glass vase on her desk. She tells you that you plague her thoughts, every feeling and emotion is muddied when they concern you, a culmination of things not within her grasp, not within her control.

It is your performance that finally teaches her what she lacked before: playing the role of a lover requires another. It is a role dependent on another character, otherwise it cannot succeed. It matters not how experienced one is with the other, as long as the characters are committed to it.

There is another lesson that she learned from you.

“I cannot act as a lover.”

“Why must you act to love me?”

Love is a fickle, unpredictable thing. There is no words to be practiced, no actions to be scripted.

Arlecchino is many things. A lover may be one of them.

#arlecchino x reader #arlecchino x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin impact fanfics #genshin fics #arlecchino #edgeray.writes #edgeray.requests

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ssahotchnerr · 4 hours

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literally cannot stop thinking abt grocery runs with the family 🫠 Aaron will be carrying Ellie while she points out things she wants to add to the cart while jack is helping reader to push the cart 🥹 aaahhhh I cannot they're just so cuteee 😭😭😭

- 🪷

my heart is melting

hehe ellie simply refuses to sit in the cart seat. if aaron's in her line of vision, she must be with him, end of story. you'll put her in the seat anyway, to see if she'll actually choose to stay put, but every time: she's trying to wiggle out or she's holding out her arms for aaron to pick her up 🥹🥹🥹🥹

ellie's hoisted on his side, aaron's using one hand to grab items and toss them in the cart, showing/telling her what the food is, or what meal it's going to be apart of; "you see this? this is tomato sauce, and it goes with spaghetti. but don't tell your grandpa dave, this isn't the authentic stuff🤨" 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😭😭😭😭😭 and omg you know how cereals sometimes have certain characters on the box? ellie happens to see her favorite show, and is adamant it's bought. she's pointing at it and getting a bit whiny. aaron will take it off the shelf and she holds onto it for the rest of the shopping trip, wants to hold it in the car too 😭 the only problem though, she wants it for the character on the box 😭 say it's some fruity berry cereal, it's given to her at breakfast the next morning, and she detests it. refuses to eat it, jack doesn't like it either, so you and aaron eat it so it doesn't go to waste, although the two of you don't enjoy it either 😭 come the next shopping trip, ellie sees it and wants it again, and aaron's all, "but honey you didn't like it😭"

or when ellie's learning to walk/finally has gotten the hang of it, she holds aaron's hand and waddles down the aisle 🥰🥹😭 (depending on the aisle too, not near any jars or glass containers) she's grabbing anything off the shelf she can reach. aaron's just following her, putting things back 😭💞💓💕

and jack 🥹 hehe he can barely see over the shopping cart, but he's at that age where he wants to do everything himself 😭 he tries to push it as much as he can, but can't, which is where you come in 😭 hehe he's in front of you as you push the cart, standing on the lower level compartment and getting a free ride 🥹 but jack's sooo helpful when shopping, and wants to be 🥹 you and aaron tell him what to grab, are very inclusive when it comes to picking out dinners/snacks/special treats. like with ellie being young and in constant need of attention, it's a small way to make him feel special 🥹🫶🏻 if ellie's in the shopping cart seat - and not happy about it - jack's distracting and entertaining her too 🥹💓🫶🏻

#ellie hotchner <3 #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #aaron hotchner imagine #criminal minds imagine #let's talk aaron <333333 #🪷anon

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majaloveschris · 15 hours

Note

Hi Maja.

First of all, your blog is one of the only ones I’ve always felt was sincere, on point, respectful, and not toxic. I’ve always had a good feeling about you and how you are kind despite all the toxicity on here.

That feeling has never wavered and there is a big part of me that wants you to be right and win against these ridiculous anons that seem to want to put you down.

An opinion (which I don’t claim to be fact, just some thoughts here): I see a lot of takes on here popping up from blogs that claim they have PR knowledge and claim to be experts and read and follow along the gossip, but I think nobody really knows and they can only hypothesize on what they think is the truth.

I think CE being married (by public knowledge and Wikipedia) was the main goal here. I’ve always sort of felt this, which is why I ultimately was not surprised after he did his SMA spread that he went public with Fish girl and then later on “got married.”

The reason I say this is because HW and society is very judgmental and superficial. Being single or unmarried at a certain age always raises questions whether or not it is valid to do so. I disagree with this sentiment but unfortunately the world is how it is. It happens to regular people, so why wouldn’t it apply to celebs? Especially the ones who have basically become a pop culture icon of being an eligible bachelor/desirable.

Let’s think about this. After 2019, CE was no longer under the marvel umbrella. He had to start defining his post marvel career, and then Covid hit. So many things derailed. He randomly got an IG in 2020 but people found out it had existed as an account since 2019. Perhaps it was always the plan or it was a plan hatched by his PR team to keep him in the public eye. He became relatable internet BF with a Prince Charming storyline of when will he find the one? It was almost overkill from 2020-2022.

Now it’s 2024 and he’s supposedly been with this woman since 2021. It shows longevity and then eventual commitment. He now wears a ring in public so they see him as “settled down.” That’s the image he is now portraying for the public who doesn’t dig or care to deeper in his life.

I don’t think it’s about rebranding to attract a younger audience - if so, his pr team would have realized that gen Z actually does not fare well to age gaps and the subject of grooming and etc always comes up for this hypersensitive on PC/wokeness generation. Then add on the racism and weird ass crap from her/her friends. Definitely not boding well for a generation that lives on the internet and knows how to deep dive. His PR team would have looked at how the public reacted to other relationships like this and I feel, if it was simply he was in love with her and it was real real, would have told him to keep it on the DL DL until it was absolutely certain they had walked down the aisle. At that point, there would be no turning back.

But they marketed this before that happened. They wanted to portray her as the one similar to how in movies, they want to portray a main character and love interest as meant to be even if the audience may or may not receive it that way. How many times do we hear “this movie tanked because the leads had no chemistry and the relationship they wanted us to believe was not believable?”

But ultimately, the endgoal of if CE and his wife are a good couple or not doesn’t really matter. They have achieved their goal of he is now settled down and no longer on the market. If you choose to continue to follow him, stay for his career and not his personal life. Meanwhile, her - well, they’ll keep trying to make her happen because her end of the deal was getting more visibility and breaking into the American market. That much has been clear.

But you can lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink.

What she chooses to do with the opportunities given to her are left to be seen. Also, how the public and CE/her fanbases chooses to receive them are also left to be seen.

Will this marriage last forever? I have doubts. But I do think they considered many options and this is what they came up with. I also don’t believe CE’s actions show he is very happy with the arrangement, even less so than fish is. Because even from the subtle clues from photos and “videos” - body language does not lie.

To be fair to fish, I doubt she’s in love with him either. I think she’s getting more benefits from this because most of the negativity is being directed towards him, not her. His fans hating and harassing her are just a pinnacle of what he’s receiving from his own fanbase. Some people will disagree with me but he’s the one getting the P and G and disgusting comments and being called the worst person on earth because he married her. His own fans are turning on him and her fans can also blame him but victimize her. The general public doesn’t care too much but will say how he looks because he got with her. She remains “innocent” of any blame because at the end, she is young and he is older so he should know better. Do you see what I mean?

Meanwhile, her fans are just happy she’s getting attention and somebody to fund her poor attempts at becoming a fashion icon. She lacks in talent and work ethic but it’s an easy way for her to get engagement by being attached to him.

The day this ends and she no longer has his name will be interesting and that’s what I think his fans (remaining) are hoping for. They don’t want to reward laziness and clout chasing opportunist and I too support this. They want HIM to be better and find success and love himself more so he doesn’t continue to end up in these shitty situations. But again, he has to want that for himself. He has to want to deserve better so he can work on actually deserving of better.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone with this opinion. Just my thoughts and I support YOU. I hope things work out in the end in your favor because you are a great person and I selfishly want you to be right (haha). ❤️

I completely agree with everything that you wrote down.

I remember seeing people criticize him for saying he wants to get married and have a family, yet he is still single and childless. As you said, it's stupid that people are being bullied and judged because they haven't already settled down, even if they wanted to. Finding a partner is hard, and finding a partner in his shoes is even harder. I obviously don't know whether he actually wants all of that, but saying he must not want all of that because he didn't do so is not right. A lot of people struggle with finding a good partner.

I never agreed with people calling him by the P and G words. I guess these people either don't know what those words mean or are simply that mad as Chris that they feel the need to spread lies. He is not those things and never was. Yeah, 16 years is a lot, but she was a grownup when they allegedly met, and I think people exaggerate when they say she looks like a child.

I think the reason most people are hateful towards him is because they are disappointed in him. I think most people had an idea about the person he is based on the information we had, and him being married to someone like her or even dating someone like her doesn't really fit into that. People aren't disappointed in her because most didn't even know who she was before Chris. We were just presented with her actual self, and we didn't have any expectations from her. But we had for him.

I doubt either of them is in love with each other. Alba doesn't seem that happy or comfortable around him either. I think this is just business for both of them.

I still think he is a good man who made a terrible mistake. I just hope the best for him, to be honest, which I know is an unpopular opinion now because it seems like wanting the worst for him is what is trendy nowadays. Maybe I'm naive; maybe I'm just holding onto an image, but I don't think the last 20+ years were a lie. I hope he will prove me right.

Thanks for writing this down and for being there. ♥

#majaloveschris #chris and alba pr #cevans-love

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 days

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Hello! So I'm writing in first person, and I was wondering if you had any tips for tipping off your readers that someone is watching your pov character but that character not noticing until much later or not at all?

Tipping Reader Off in First-Person

When you're writing in first-person, the reader can only know what your character knows. If someone is watching your character but they aren't aware of it, your reader can't be either. That is the choice you make when choosing to write in first-person.

One thing to consider: are there a lot of things the reader needs to know while the POV character can't? If so, you may need to consider other options like multi-POV or third-person omniscient. Otherwise, if it's just this one moment or a few moments like it, here are some options:

1 - Have the character notice the person is watching them but think nothing of it. If they brush it off as no big deal, it's almost as if they didn't notice it, but now the reader knows about it.

2 - Slip into another POV. Is there another POV character who can notice the character watching the main POV character, but who wouldn't tell them for some reason? Could this POV character be utilized a few other times in the story?

3 - Slip into the POV of the watching character but in a really informal way... that might look something like this, at the end of the POV character's chapter:

I looked at my watch and realized I was running late for my job interview. I shoved my homework into my bag and tossed my soda into the trash as I exited the food court. The Cutie Shack was upstairs on the opposite side of the mall. If I hurried, I wouldn't be late. *** They watched her from the safety of their hiding place on the other side of the food court. She had no idea they were there--had been there since the moment she sat down with her large fountain drink and cracked open her biology text book, unaware of their very existence. But the clock was ticking, and Fey time didn't wait for anyone, much less a mortal. They would bring their oblivious queen back to the Fey World sooner rather than later. It was only a matter of time now...

So, that way you're slipping out of your POV character's first-person POV and, after a scene break, slipping into another character's third-person limited POV--in this case, the POV of the character who's doing the watching. But, you could just as easily switch into the POV of anyone who notices the one character watching the other. Whatever works for your story.

This method has the potential to be jarring, but one way you could make it less jarring would be to incorporate that POV in the same way, a few other times, when relevant. That way it just feels like a mechanic of the story and not something that's only there to make up for this one fault of your POV structure.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

#wqaadvice

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danieyells · 20 hours

Note

Hello! Thank you so much for posting the guys’ voicelines! If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask for Yuri’s and Ritsu’s? I’ve been especially curious about Yuri’s since reading his line at the beginning of the game if you choose him lol Again, thank you so much!!

(i posted ritsu's separately!)

no anon you may not study yuri. yuri studies you. how dare you. bad guinea pig! you get no experiment tonight!

the rest of you, however, may come appreciate the good doctor with me. You can come too studying anon i won't tell yuri

some of his lines really kinda subverted my expectations of his character? /affectionate) like i thought he would be quite different! not to say his profile is dishonest, but. . .idk lol i love him he's. . .he's special.

Default:

"What are you dawdling for? Change out of those rags and report to my lab immediately!"

"You should feel honored to be chosen as the test subject of Dr. Yuri Isami, genius and visionary!"

"Jiro! Jiro!! What on earth are you doing!?"

he calls for jiro the way a parent calls for their kid who's minding their business in another room--

"Lowbrow schools of thought with the gall to oppose my research will bear a mark of shame for generations to come. One day, the world will be forced to acknowledge me."

i realized this early on since i chose him in the pre-prologue so i always had access to him on the home screen but. since anomalies have to be kept secret from the world he kind of can't be acknowledged for what he does in the long run, can he? since he specifically works in anomalous medical sciences much of what he does and works with has to be kept only within the institute's understandings. . . .

"I always preserve the lives of my patients. I cannot make guarantees for any other parts of them, however."

sure you're a disembodied head in a jar but you are a living disembodied head in a jar! don't worry they'll get you a new body!!

"I ask their cooperation for the sake of the future of humanity, and this is what I get!? Jiro, how much do we have left in our research budget!?"

You've Got Mail:

"What madness is this? Why do you have unread messages!? Check them immediately! Research is a race against time!"

Affinity 1:

"What a bracing morning. Jiro, prepare my wake-up tonic."

is 'wake-up tonic' a fancy way of saying coffee or do you have some mixture of herbs and spices that wakes you up

Affinity 2:

"Are you injured or ill? Oh dear, how unfortunate. I shall begin the experi— Ahem, the treatment, immediately."

the way he says this is so incredible but tumblr will not let me upload the video for some reason he is so hype to try putting strange things in you.

Affinity 3:

"Jiro's not feeling well, you say? Very well. I shall test my latest formula on him."

Affinity 4:

"Oh, it's you. And here I thought I had a patient. I am currently reviewing today's lessons, so please leave unless you're here for treatment."

he's very studious for a genius. not a lot of the ghouls actually go to class.

Affinity 5:

"Wha... Wh-Where did you come from!? Th-Th-Th-This!? It is a medical journal! The Ace Doctor Wows Minds In Another World Thesis!"

MY GUY IS READING ISEKAI MANGA ABOUT DOCTORS AND PROJECTING do you think he reads like hentai about doctors and scientists too. probably not right he's too haughty to think about things like that before they happen

Affinity 6:

"The only blood I stain myself with is that atop the operating table. On missions, I have Jiro to fight in my stead."

it's okay to say you're just not much of a fighter lmao

Affinity 7:

"Anomalous medical science is uncharted territory. Should I become its pioneer, all will bow before my intellect until the end of time... Ha ha... Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Affinity 8:

"Hmph. We have no time to spare on your drivel. Hurry up, Jiro!"

Affinity 9:

"It's about time for Jiro's check-up... Hm? Wake up, Jiro! I've discovered an abnormality already!"

Affinity 10:

"Hmm, this case is somewhat complex... No, there's no need for my expertise here. Jiro, prepare to operate immediately."

'this is too complicated for a human but not too complicated to be jiro's problem!' disregard that jiro may be smarter than him. . . .

Affinity 11:

"Prepare the new formula, Jiro. A specimen has arrived. What? You're not here for treatment?"

listen sometimes you just wanna pay someone a visit! it's not my fault you live in a goddamn hospital.

Affinity 12:

"I will soon be finished with today's lessons— then I shall return to the lab to confirm the status of my latest test subject."

this is between 11 and 4pm, so you're basically just hearing him talk about his plans for after school lmao just normal student things!!!

Affinity 13:

"Why yes, I attended every lesson today, as always. All studies are linked, after all. Though it takes a mind such as mine to recognize that."

I DON'T THINK IT'S THAT HARD TO SEE THE LINK BETWEEN MEDICINE AND EVERYTHING. . .UNLESS YOU JUST DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ILLNESSES OR MEDICINE. . . .

Affinity 14:

"What is that slovenly visage, worm? Tell me, do you have an excuse for looking more emaciated than me when I spent all night researching? I didn't think so!"

would you like my laundry list of reasons i look tired yuri because i can get it

Affinity 15:

"I must personally administer Jiro's shots three times a day. The treatment is rather unique, you see."

'you see i use my peni--'

Affinity 16:

"You have business with Jiro? Not before bringing it to me, you don't. He is merely my assistant—as house captain, it is I who possesses the authority."

no talking to his son assistant without going through him first! sorry anon who asked for an appointment with jiro yuri has to approve it

Affinity 17:

"I'm busy with my experiments. Go back to your dorm and ready yourself for your next appointment. Jiro, see her home."

i feel like he doesn't want you to see what he does to his other test subjects. . .not because they die or anything, they always live, it's just a little gruesome to see. He's not as rough with you. And he needs to make sure you keep coming back. And he needs to make sure you get home safe, so he's sending Jiro with you.

Affinity 18:

"Even harmful anomalies can have use as medicinal ingredients... This is the sort of immeasurable value my work provides."

isn't that common knowledge in the medical world though. . .i mean obviously getting the right balance is crucial but that's not an entirely new concept, 'let's use the harmful thing for something good'--

Affinity 19:

"Don't forget that body of yours is a vital specimen! Is it not common knowledge that lack of sleep is the root of all illness!?"

DON'T YOU AND JIRO REGULARLY PULL ALL NIGHTERS IF NOT FOR DAYS AT A TIME?????? maybe yuri is just immune to illness. . . .

Affinity 20:

"Good morning, M... M... M... My, what an adequate morning it is, no!? Hmph... Don't confuse me like that..."

IF YOU DIDN'T CHOOSE YURI IN THE PRE-PROLOGUE IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW. . .when Yuri jumps he says "goodbye, mama."

In Japanese it's somewhat more apparent that he's about to call you 'mama' in the voiceline. Maybe it's just my interpretation based on lines 23 and 24, but I think something happened to his mother where he failed to save her with surgery and at higher affinity he begins to project that need to save terminal/cursed patients' lives on you in particular. And he starts to think of you the way he thinks of his mother, but also as his favorite test subject. That or it's a loop/timeline thing and you're actually his mother--do you guys think he'd be able to be convinced into mommy kink shit he clearly has mommy issues it might help

Affinity 21:

"Mark my words, I'll have those pompous, preening parasites at Frostheim kneeling before me..."

man they do not like frostheim here in mortkranken. the fact that this is so high up is like. . .i wonder if there's some serious beef here.

Affinity 22:

"Jiro's gone!? ...So be it, then. I grant you the privilege of being my assistant for the day. Be grateful, worm."

jiro will come back when he needs his medication, it's fine! woohoo! do we get a nurse outfit!?

Affinity 23:

"There is no life I can't save... There can't be... I am Yuri Isami...the genius visionary doctor..."

it sounds like he's downright scared to fail to save a life.

Affinity 24:

"My next surgery must be a success... I... I cannot afford another failure..."

i am once again assuming his mother died on the operating table while he was trying to save or otherwise help her and he's extremely traumatized by it. on the other hand would he say 'goodbye mama' if she weren't still alive? maybe she's alive but she's in a coma or hospice or critical condition or something. and he's studying anomalous medicine to figure out how to save her.

Affinity 25(max):

"You belong to me. I will never hand you over to another researcher... (gasp) N-N-N-No, you've misunderstood! I-I just...!"

i'm literally the doctor's favorite lab rat because i am so obedient and intelligent and-- he blushes in the second line--he meant it as a test subject/lab rat or assistant thing but he also accidentally said how he really felt at the same time. . . . But you're his, he will be the one to save you, when he stands atop the world as world renowned genius anomalous medical doctor yuri isami you will stand by him as his proudest subject who's helped him confirm many theories and save many others' lives and he will work so hard to keep you well you are his and he doesn't want anyone else to learn what he can learn from you--

Spring:

"Struggling with pollen allergies? I have a new formula here developed in Mortkranken, shall I test it on you?"

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm! Hmm hmm hmm! Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm! Pa rum!"

so i don't know enough classical music to be able to tell what the songs he hums are, but if anyone wants to give it a shot i can try uploading the audios of him lol just lmk

"Which house's ghouls are out in the field at present? Oh my, I do hope they come back with some exciting injuries."

i wonder who his favorites to fix up are. . .on the one hand, he hates frostheim. so he might wanna be rougher with them or subject them to more unique experiments and make them admit his intelligence and skill. on the other hand obscuary must be the most interesting ones to work on since they're so unique?

"When did the cherry blossoms bloom...? The changing of the seasons seems rather superfluous when I am engaged in my research."

Summer:

"Jiro, make a record of today's temperature. We need to take the changing climate into for illnesses particular to summer."

"Darkwick will provide me the materials I need for my research, provided they fall within our budget... But that is simply insufficient."

have you tried selling organs? taiga says it's very lucative. surely you have some lying around?

"Hmm...hmm...hmm...hmm... hmm hmm hmm hmm, Pa pa pa pa pa pa rum!"

"Why do you look so distressed? If the heat is proving too much for you, I can prescribe you something to lower your body temperature."

Autumn:

"Why must a peerless genius such as myself be saddled with performing piddling health checks for the new students!? It's asinine!"

aren't you the only legitimate doctor in this place by your own admission!?

"A trip to admire the fall foliage? Why yes, I am interested. After all, I'm sure Jabberwock's mountains possess all sorts of undiscovered ingredients. Let's get going."

just make sure you ask towa before taking anything. . .he might not appreciate you messing with his plants. . . .

"Sports...? Hmph, such nonsense is entirely superfluous to my life. Why needlessly expend energy in such a manner?"

"Hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmmmm!"

Winter:

"Freude! Schöner! Götter! Funke! Tochter aus Elyyyyyyysium!"

HE IS SINGING ODE TO JOY IN THE ORIGINAL GERMAN.

"Eureka! A new formula utilizing an anomalous plant that only grows in subzero temperatures has been discovered, by...! Jiro..."

c'mon yuri be proud of your vice captain!

"Our research budget for the new year is nearly spent... Come, Jiro! We're going to negotiate with the faculty!"

"I despise the snow. It brings nothing but revolting memories... There, we're done with today's checkup. Any other questions?"

. . .what happened between Yuri and Frostheim. Or did he hate the snow first and Frostheim just happened to have a lot of it and also piss him off? I WANNA KNOW. Jin also hates Mortkranken and gets mad if you suggest he go there when he's sick so it's possibly mutual???

His birthday:

"You...remembered my birthday!? Ahem... If you wish to give me a present, make it either a talented assistant or a useful test subject."

people don't remember his birthday much i assume. . .or they tend to stay away from him so much he just doesn't get much attention or appreciation.

Your birthday:

"I am here to celebrate your birthday. Do you feel honored? I've prepared a new formula for you. Let's continue this in the lab, shall we?"

your birthday present is being part of more experiments! aren't you honored???

New Years:

"Happy New Year. I am on my way to make my first shrine visit. You didn't think me the type? I-It's just a tradition!"

Valentine's Day:

"Hmm, my blood sugar was just starting to drop. I suppose you do have it in you to be considerate every now and then... Pardon? Valentine's Day? ...(gasp)"

oh he has never gotten valentine's day chocolates before has he. or at least not recently.

White Day:

"I suppose I can concede you have proven yourself useful in the lab, worm. ...This is a token of my gratitude."

he didn't blush when he got the gift but he did blush giving you one so. . .i'm taking it this isn't obligation chocolate.

April Fool's Day:

"Hmph, did you honestly think you could fool me? I won't fall for your cheap tricks. I've already been fooled by Jiro seven times today!"

comically jiro's says he doesn't remember pulling any tricks on yuri at all. . .so yuri may be assuming anything he dislikes or is inconvenienced by is a trick lol

Halloween:

"Trick or treat! I have coordinated the ultimate matching costumes for Jiro and I... Yes, perfect."

the fact that he wanted to match costumes with jiro is so cute. . .like he really has this goofy side that doesn't come out much, but it seems like he enjoys celebrations and relaxed things, he's just too busy to engage in them. he likes isekai manga and holiday traditions and costumes. . .then again there's coordination and order involved in a matching halloween costume. so maybe he just likes the order and structure of it all.

Christmas:

"Merry Christmas. You can hand me my present at your earliest convenience. You did prepare one for me, didn't you!?"

he's surprised you remembered his birthday and valentine's day but he expects a christmas gift???

Idle:

"I am a very busy man, so if you don't require examination, then we're done here."

"Hmph. You really think yourself important enough to make a genius like myself wait around!?"

Absent:

"Where on earth have you been, worm!? Next time you plan on taking an extended leave of absence, I expect you to inform me in advance!"

THERE WE GO. after yesterday where tumblr decided to freak out on me and just fuckin delete it all i'm glad it's out of the way today lol. I REALLY LOVE YURI HE REALLY FEELS SO. . .PATHETIC. he's the self-reinforcing type who really feels the need to hype up his own greatness and reinforce his authority while, as you get closer to him, letting you see how vulnerable he is and how scared he is of failure. and at first you're a specimen and a lab rat but after getting close enough he shoos you away from his experiments and you can even be his assistant(in jiro's absence) instead. . .his profile makes him sound very in control and aggressive but he doesn't really seem that way in his voicelines i guess? and here and there he's goofy and caring. . .he's kind of a loser(affectionate)!

one of my favorite characters lolol i am so looking forward to the mortkranken chapter because that's going to be so dramatic i bet. . . .

#yuri isami #tokyo debunker #tokyo debunker spoilers #datamining cw #danie yells at tokyo debunker #danie yells answers #danie yells with anons #I ONLY HAVEN'T DONE TWO CHARACTERS I THINK.#i'll do them eventually even if no one asks haha #i have so many asks and reblogs and things i need to get to haha i'm sorry i'm such a mess everyone

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sepublic · 2 days

Text

From Pilot to Canon, Luz and Eda

With my belief that No Tree Left Behind was boarded as part of the pilot continuity (hence Lilith's depiction), I want to bring up that I think there's kind of a subtle difference between Luz in that episode, or 'Pilot Luz', and Canon Luz as we got in the actual animated show.

With Canon Luz, she's a more brash, confident individual, who can get in over her head; King mentions that she smells of overconfidence, plus there's Luz recklessly getting into stuff like in Covention or Enchanting Grom Fright in the heat of the moment. She has this overwhelming energy and enthusiasm that's unstoppable, but as a result she can sometimes forget about the people around her, hence Wing it like Witches.

And a lot of that has to do with Luz's relationship with The Good Witch Azura in canon, because it means that the Boiling Isles is her fantasy!!! It's her chance, it's her adventure, it's what Manny would push her to go for! So she gives it her all. And in the latter half of the show, Luz's willingness to go at any cost, even to her own detriment, borders on self-sacrifice. In a way she's secretly atoning for her own existence, it's like... 'Socially acceptable' self-harm by risking herself.

So there's a difference in Pilot Luz during NTLB, who is much more averse to the martyr idea; She's a lot more scared and reluctant to fight for Arborgeist, and in a moment of crisis admits she doesn't quite get what Eda is so worked up about. And this makes me think of how the in the pilot continuity, there isn't that same relationship with Azura; The pitch bible reveals we would've had an episode where it's revealed to be written by an ex of Eda's about her, so you can guess that Luz drops it afterwards.

And as the pilot even shows us, Luz didn't choose to be in the Boiling Isles! And in lieu of my latest reblog, that feels relevant because Dana mentioned how in the final show, Luz choosing that was so incredibly important; It was a foundational change to the character's storyline. Luz wants to be here, she wants to risk it, this is the adventure and if she gets bruised up, it's okay. Us weirdoes have to stick together, she declares passionately as she rallies a bunch of strangers against Warden Wrath in the first episode. She becomes in canon the kind of passionate, righteous person who will talk your ear off about a thing and she's right about it.

So looking at the difference between first episodes, it tracks that Pilot Luz is much more reluctant and just trying to survive, hence her not 'getting' Arborgeist, in the sense that she doesn't see what's worth potentially dying over. Whereas with Canon Luz, I think she'd be more than willing to deep dive into this culture and play the hero, she's a social activist.

This isn't to trash on Pilot Luz btw, nor canon Luz; I just find it fascinating to consider how her character has changed and developed, how the story has, and how the difference in first episodes alludes to this. First episodes are very important, they can establish a lot of the core themes and ideas and Dana herself confirmed the significance of certain differences from the initial pilot. So it's fascinating seeing that difference in action, shown to us, rather than having to be told, since normally we couldn't watch the pilot storyboards to see for ourselves. Pilot Luz and Canon Luz are different characters with different flaws and circumstances, and they're both beautiful in their own ways for it.

I'd even argue that in a canon episode like WilW, Luz ends up playing the role Eda has in NTLB! And her stepping down after realizing she (might) hurt a loved one who was dragged into this, only for them to understand how much they care and come back to help for that reason... The story beats live on. Canon Luz would probably be thrilled to see Pilot Eda show so much care about something when she normally doesn't; Whereas Canon Eda becomes more of a practical guardian who's reining her kid in out of experience, because she's been hurt herself and is worried, and a tad pessimistic.

It's like the dynamics between Luz and Eda reversed from pilot to canon, with a scared and reluctant kid and her mentor who can push her too much sometimes; And now it's this overconfident, excited kid who wants to try everything and thinks she's invincible, with her jaded mentor who's a realist but also she cares more than you realize and wants to provide a safety net, being surprisingly thoughtful at times.

It makes sense, because again going back to my last reblog, Luz being more enthusiastic about the isles was to also help her foil other characters better, including Eda, and vice-versa. So it's possible Eda was changed to lean more into her pragmatic mentor role -Not that she doesn't still have her irresponsible, reckless moments- while bouncing off of Luz's new enthusiasm, which can lead to conflict like Luz wanting to try the newest magic and Eda not being in the mood, which leads to Luz being a bit reckless (take for example The Intruder).

Eda being more tired and jaded could also tie to the development of her curse as a disability that exhausts her, since in the pilot continuity the curse only made her age more; In canon, it does that AND messes with her magic stores, which leads to more exhaustion! In addition to becoming a beast. And with Eda becoming disillusioned with the isles due to her traumatic experiences, Luz acts as the light in her life to reignite her passion, which leads to Eda taking a more proactive role against Belos in S2!

She believes in her efficacy more because of how Luz changes the isles because of Eda, which makes Eda become more of an agent for social change as she starts to believe she can make a difference again, just as she did as a teen in IFWOT. Maybe Eda's curse isn't something to feel shame over anymore, maybe she shouldn't let it stop her from rallying everyone...!

Thus, there's not just a difference between Pilot and Canon Luz, but also Pilot and Canon Eda in NWLB. Though I imagine Canon Eda would still help to defend the Arborgeist tree, I'm not as sure about her confidence in attempting to rally others to do the same; She's got that loner vibe who assumes she has to do everything on her own because her own family and lover wouldn't support Eda in her defiance to the coven... But now she does have support in Luz. And King. And some of those loved ones are turning around too, no thanks to Luz's arrival inspiring some!

All this helps culminate in the S1 finale with Eda being used as a rallying cry against Belos, signaling the beginning of the end for his regime as she inspires not just a kid like Luz but other youths like Gus and Willow, and even helps chaperone Grom after avoiding Hexside for years; Eda’s really starting to believe again and she admits that Luz has gotten into her head as the cause.

#the owl house #the owl house pilot #luz noceda #eda clawthorne #edalyn clawthorne #meta #analysis #character analysis

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vivie-enne · 2 days

Text

Charles Leclerc : Lies

Pairing : Charles Leclerc and named character (Ariadne)

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Synopsis : charles wants ariadne to attend his races and she wants to spend that time at the hospital, doing her work. But someone has to give one of their desires up and ariadne chooses to be that person. Except it doesn't go as she planned, she terribly misses her work and that only gets in between her relationship with charles. Will it work out? Or will she continue lying about her feelings to him?

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Tags : angst-so mentions of yelling, crying, lying, hurt/comfort, happy ending though, f/mc is a neurosurgeon but nothing much about it mentioned per say.

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A/n : just a starter.

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Charles : why can't you so much as attend at least one of my races, huh? You barely even call me or talk to me anymore when I'm halfway across the world from you! Are you seeing someone else, ariadne?

Ariadne let out a breath as she rubbed her hand against her face tiredly before muttering

Ariadne : do I have to keep repeating the same thing over and over to you, charles? I am a neurosurgeon, I have serious work and I can't be throwing that aside every other month to travel 16 hours from here with you to watch a race.

Charles : I understand that! All I'm asking is maybe just one or two races per season? That's all I'm asking!

Ariadne : charles those race dates happen at inconvenient times for me! I have patients who are this close to dying without a surgery and I can't just leave them be to go watch a race that can well on happen without my presence there.

Charles : and are you the only doctor there?

Ariadne : they are my patients, charles. So yes! I am the only doctor there for them!

Charles let out an angry huff as he said

Charles : you are being so selfish right now. It's always about your work, your life, you being busy, everything is about you! It's never about me, never about celebrating my win, or comforting me when I lose! Everyone else's girlfriends are there at the paddock to support them, ariadne. Every time they have a win or lose, they have someone to hold them while I'm all alone in the fucking hotel room-

Ariadne : are you comparing me to the other ladies right now, charles?

Charles : that is not what I-

Ariadne : no that is exactly what you meant! How many of them are surgeons again, charles? How many of them are out here trying everyday to save someone's parent, someone's sibling or child or partner? Huh!

Charles : why are you bringing that in! Maybe they just know how to manage time between their work and their boyfriends! Maybe they just want to support their boyfriends!

Ariadne let out breath in disbelief as she said

Ariadne : you think I don't want to be with you, charles?

Charles : well that's what you're making it out to be right now ariadne! You’re making me feel worthless in this life of yours!

Ariadne stared at charles as he breathed heavily from all the yelling and fighting, rubbing his hand against his now teary eyes before looking away. Those tears, those tears that ariadne was the cause of, she hated them. Charles looked away as he sighed and said

Charles : you know what, this is all useless anyway. Maybe after this you'll come back to me, hugging and kissing me, telling me that you're sorry and you'll do better. But it'll all go back to the same shitty cycle again. I'm tired, pretend this never happened.

Charles turned to go back to his room as ariadne suddenly said

Ariadne : I'll quit my job.

Charles froze on his tracks, his eyes widening in shock

Ariadne : you want me to be with you, and my patients need immediate surgeries to so much as live. I cannot do both together anymore, it's either you or them. And I choose you.

Charles turned around to face ariadne as he said, shaking his head

Charles : no, ari I don't need you to choose-

Ariadne : yes you do. And if you don't then, those patients do. They have a family to live for, charles, a life to live. And if I can't be putting them as a priority, then I'd rather they get another surgeon that can. So I'll quit my job, they'll get a better surgeon and you'll have me at your races all the time. It's a win-win situation.

Charles walked closer towards ariadne, holding both her hands in his as he whispered

Charles : and what about you, chérie? You love your job, you've worked so hard for it-

Ariadne : I love you more, charles. And I know you need me more than I wish to work, so it is alright.

Charles opened his mouth to say something when ariadne cut him off with a hand against his lips

Ariadne : it'll be done tomorrow, I do not wish to argue about this now. I'm tired.

Ariadne gave charles a tight smile before kissing his cheek, walking past him and heading towards their bedroom to sleep. Charles let out a sigh, plopping down against the couch as he ran his hands through his hair.

Now he felt guilty.

_______________________________________

Ariadne drove her car towards their house as she felt her thoughts wander elsewhere, to past memories. Memories of her always dreaming to be a doctor as a child, studying hard for it and throwing every other high school party away to stay at home and study for her tests. She’d done so much, given up so much of her teenage life to get into Harvard med. And when she did, she gave up her early 20’s to study even harder to become a surgeon. She rarely attended parties, rarely went outside except to study. And when she finally became a neurosurgeon almost 10 years later, she had been so proud of herself. Her parents and her family had been so proud of her. Her work meant the world to her, it always had.

Until she met charles at the hospital she worked in, and then her entire life had changed. He had loved her passion for her work, refusing to give it up even when he told her he’d make enough to support them both.

But now…now she’d just given it all up. She’d sent in her letter of resignation and said her goodbyes to her patients and colleagues.

She felt like her world had come crashing down.

Ariadne parked her car as she stepped out of it, entering their manor as she heard the TV playing from the living room indicating that charles was home. Ariadne walked up to where he was sitting as she smiled at him, keeping her bag away before sitting down on the couch next to him

Charles : back so early?

Ariadne nodded, letting out a deep sigh as she buried her head in her hands. Charles frowned at that, sitting up straight as he asked

Charles : ari? Are you alright?

Ariadne nodded, not wanting to tell charles the truth as she said

Ariadne : yeah, yes.

Charles : is this…is this about you quitting your job? Have you done it already?

Ariadne : I told you I’d do it today morning, and so I did.

Charles felt his heart drop at her words, he knew she was a woman of her words but he'd still thought that maybe she wouldn't do it after all. She'd worked her entire life for this job she…she couldn't give it up so easily for him, could she? Turns out he was wrong. Charles pressed his lips together as he whispered

Charles : I’m so sorry, ari. I’m a terrible person for this.

Ariadne frowned as she lifted her head from her hands, looking up at charles as she said

Ariadne : no, charlie this isn’t your fault. This was my choice-

Charles : but I caused this. I didn’t…

Charles trailed off as tears filled his eyes, causing ariadne’s eyes to soften as she quickly held his cheek before saying

Ariadne : love please, I’ve done all this so I don’t have to see this. So you wouldn’t cry, you can’t be doing exactly that after all this. Please, Charles, please don’t cry.

Her words only caused more tears in his eyes as ariadne let out a struggle noise before saying

Ariadne : I’m the one who gave up my job, why are you the one crying charlie?

Charles : because you had to give it up because of me and I feel terrible for it.

Charles’ voice broke from the tears, his hands clenching against his lap as ariadne sighed and shook her head

Ariadne : darling, look at me.

Charles shook his head, making ariadne hold his cheek again before lifting his face up to look at her

Ariadne : look at me, beautiful.

Charles’ cheeks turned red at that, his lips pressed together as he finally brought his eyes to hers. Ariadne smiled, kissing his cheek before saying

Ariadne : you and your feelings mean more to me than my job, okay? I’ve said that to you before and I mean it when I say it now. There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t give up for you and our love, charles. Nothing.

Charles : but your parents-

Ariadne : shh, my parents will understand.

Charles : are you-are you sure you wouldn't resent me for this?

Ariadne felt her heart drop at how guilty charles sounded, and so she promised herself never to bring this topic up ever again. She leaned forward and kissed his tears away before whispering

Ariadne : I love you, charles. I could never resent you for anything, ever. I promise.

Charles stared at ariadne with teary eyes, making her chuckle as she spread her arms for him before whispering

Ariadne : come here you big baby.

Charles sniffled as he wrapped his arms around ariadne, his head rested against her chest as she ran her hand through his hair. Charles felt his eyes close as ariadne whispered

Ariadne : shh, it's okay.

Charles : I love you so much, ari.

Ariadne smiled sadly as she kissed the top of charles' head before saying

Ariadne : I love you too, baby.

____________________________________

A week later :

Ariadne let out a breath as she turned the TV off for the 6th time that day, feeling bored out of her mind. She'd finished reading 7 books this past week, cried 4 times over missing her work, and pretended every single time charles was with her as if she was happy and as if quitting her work hadn't left a huge empty void in her life that he couldn't fill despite all the gifts he'd bought her.

A G-wagon wasn't going to give ariadne back the thrill of working on a patient and making their lives better, a Van Cleef bracelet wasn't going to give her the happiness the tears of joy that her patient's mother cried when she told her that her son would live to 60 instead of 30. Nothing charles bought for her could fill that void in her heart but she pretended anyway. Anything to keep that beautiful smile on his face.

Charles : mon cœur I'm home!

Ariadne let out a breath as she sat up straight, switching the TV on again as she pretended to watch some show. She smiled at charles as he rushed up to her, leaning down and hugging her before giving ariadne a kiss on the cheek

Charles : I missed you.

Ariadne : I missed you too, my love.

Charles looked at the TV as he sat down next to ariadne on the couch before asking

Charles : how was your day?

Ariadne pressed her lips together as she said, trying to be as cheerful as she can

Ariadne : very good, and yours?

Charles : oh you know, the same team meetings and practice considering my next race is in barely 3 weeks.

Ariadne : oh yes, the one in Paris?

Charles hummed as he rested his head on ariadne's shoulder before closing his eyes. She smiled at that, running her hands along charles' hair as she whispered

Ariadne : do you want to go have dinner from outside today, charlie?

Charles frowned as he looked up at ariadne before asking

Charles : I thought you didn't like eating from outside? In the past whenever I'd ask you, you said we should just have something from home.

That was back when ariadne had an actual job and worked every single day of the week, she'd just prefer resting at home and having food in her own comfort zone after all that she'd do during the day. Except now it was different, she just wanted to at least get out of this house and see the world once again.

Ariadne : yeah, I know. I'm just feeling something different tonight, but if you don't want-

Charles chuckled as he shook his head and said

Charles : I want whatever you want my darling. Go get yourself dressed, I'll book us a reservation.

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3 weeks later :

Ariadne looked outside their jet window as she stared at the clouds with blank eyes, her mind elsewhere. Charles was going to have his race tomorrow and they were flying to Paris, ariadne should be happy. She was getting everything any lady would want, a loving boyfriend, expensive gifts, a free pass to watching F1 from the VIP area, fame, money, everything. All her needs were met without her having to so much as ask. But it wasn't enough.

Nothing was ever enough because none of this belonged to her, it was all charles'. The only thing that belonged to her was her job and that she had lost.

Charles : ari!

Ariadne flinched as she quickly looked towards charles, a frown on his face as he asked

Charles : where are you, love?

Ariadne : I'm sorry I was just…I zoned out. What were you saying?

Charles sighed, he had noticed how far off ariadne had looked this past month. She wasn't the same, she didn't have the same energy around her anymore.

Charles : darling is…is something wrong?

Ariadne : what, no. No of course not, everything is fine charles. You were saying?

Charles sighed as he mumbled lowly

Charles : I was just saying that I'm nervous about the race.

Charles' barely audible mumble was enough proof to ariadne that her not paying attention to him earlier and refusing to tell him the truth had caused him annoyance. She laid her palm against charles' cheek as she made him look at her before saying softly

Ariadne : I'm sorry love, did I upset you?

Charles shook his head as he looked away, that was again an answer to her. Ariadne let out a breath as she made him look at her once again before saying

Ariadne : look at me, baby. I'm sorry, okay? I was uh…I'm sorry for not paying attention-

Charles : that's not what this is about ari, I don't want your apology I…I want you to tell me what's going on. Is this about work again-

Ariadne : no it isn't, it's nothing about work. I was missing my mom, it's been a while since I met her. That's all.

That was a lie, ariadne wasn't even thinking about her mother but this was the only proper excuse she could find. Charles frowned as he asked

Charles : you miss your mom?

Ariadne hummed, praying charles would believe her lie, and he did. He chuckled, resting his head against her shoulder as he said

Charles : you could've just told me earlier, ari, I would've booked a flight for you to London immediately.

Ariadne : yeah um, you were already busy with your race so I didn't really want to bother you.

Charles : chérie how many times do I have to tell you, nothing is more important to me than you. You are never a bother to me.

Ariadne stared at charles, feeling her heart drop at how genuine charles was with his love for her. And she was just here lying to him, lying about being happy still. She wished it were different, but she couldn't do anything about it for now.

And so ariadne smiled again and nodded, not wanting to ruin his energy for the race by telling him about her stupid feelings.

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A day later :

And just like that ariadne was back in the paddock, watching her boyfriend race past as the crowds cheered for their drivers. She had missed a part of this, watching charles in his realm and how stressful it was to watch him and pray everything goes well. She wanted him to win, like she always had. And as she watched the race she kept her own worries aside as she focused only on charles.

The camera would pan towards her sometimes, considering that she rarely ever attended races before this but she would just smile and shy away, not wanting much attention. She always hated attention.

As the final lap approached ariadne stood up from her seat, her hands clasped together as she saw that charles was leading. And just like that he had crossed the finish line, emerging first as the crowds roared for his victory. Ariadne let out a laugh in relief as she clapped happily, moving towards the edge as she saw charles getting out of his car. Just as he removed his helmet he looked around for her, making ariadne's heart melt as she waved proudly at him.

Charles smiled and waved back, ariadne chuckling as she felt tears in her eyes from how happy he looked at his win. She blew him a proud kiss and waved at him again as he smiled at her one last time before he was surrounded by his team. And just like that charles was swooned away from her view, the people engulfing him and celebrating his victory.

Ariadne smiled as she stepped back, letting out a sigh as the people around her began to congratulate her as well. Soon she had finished with that, picking up her bag as she stepped outside to try and find charles. And she did find him, talking with an interviewer on the side. She waited for that to get over and was about to move closer when it did, but then another interviewer rushed up to him.

And just like that one interview led to another, ariadne finally letting out a sigh as she walked away from the area. She went up to the area where they were going to give away the trophy, hoping she could at least talk to charles there. But even then as he approached the place, he did not seem to look for her in the large crowd.

Which, ariadne supposed made sense considering that it was a really large crowd but it still hurt her. And as charles got up the stage, accepting the trophy while having the biggest smile on his face ariadne hated herself. There was the love of her life, glowing and being so happy about winning the race. The race that he'd worked so hard for to win. She should he happy and proud for him as well, she should be clapping with the others with tears in her eyes and smiling at him.

Instead all she could feel was her heart dropping as she stared around, feeling people push against her. She felt unwanted, she felt out of place. Another reason she'd disliked attending his races. She always felt like it wasn't her place to be.

As charles started with his speech ariadne turned and quickly left, small tears in her eyes. Oh she was a terrible girlfriend, a terrible terrible person. Charles deserved someone better.

As ariadne rushed out of the place she went up to a nearby pole, grabbing onto it as she breathed heavily with tears streaming down her cheeks. She stood like that for god knows how long, the cheers being heard from inside the stadium but ariadne could only cry and cry from the guilt and pain. Charles didn't deserve this, he deserved better.

Maybe he'll break up with her, maybe he will.

??? : ariadne!

Ariadne flinched as she heard the yell behind her, quickly wiping her tears and fixing herself so that he wouldn't know that she'd been crying. Ariadne turned around just as charles rushed up to her, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes worried as he held her arms

Charles : ari! Why are you here? I've been looking all around the place for you. Is something wrong? Did I say something wrong during the speech or something?

Ariadne felt a lump form in her throat as she realized that she hadn't even stayed back enough to hear his speech, oh she was a terrible girlfriend.

Ariadne : ch-charles…

Charles' eyes turned even more worried at her voice as he asked

Charles : yes? Chérie you have to tell me what's wrong, you're scaring me-

Ariadne : there were too many people.

Fuck it, she was lying again.

Charles : too-too many people? Ari if you'd told me that earlier I could've had them bring you up to the stand-

Ariadne : no that's alright, really. I just needed a breather, I'm okay now.

Charles scanned her face as he rubbed his thumb against ariadne's cheek before whispering

Charles : are you sure mon cœur, you look a bit pale.

Ariadne chuckled as she shook her head and said

Ariadne : that's just from the lack of sun that I've been getting.

Charles sighed, figuring he ought to just trust his girlfriend as he said

Charles : well in that case…

Ariadne yelped as charles suddenly picked her up in his arms, her eyes widening as he said

Charles : let's head to our hotel, shall we.

Ariadne stared at him in utter confusion

Ariadne : charles, what? But you have an after-party within half an hour or so-

Charles : that party can go on without me.

Charles started walking towards his car as ariadne said

Ariadne : charles it's your after-party.

Charles : my billboard self shall keep them entertained enough. Plus, I'd rather spend that time sleeping with you.

Ariadne frowned as she asked

Ariadne : sleeping with me? You're sleepy?

Charles laughed, looking at her as he said cheekily

Charles : yes mon amor, I am very, sleepy for you.

Ariadne gasped as she realized what charles meant, him chuckling as he opened his car door and lowered her down to the passenger seat before leaning down and whispering against her ear

Charles : don't you think I deserve a good reward for my win, mrs Leclerc?

Ariadne whacked charles' arm as she said, a blush on her face

Ariadne : I am not mrs Leclerc yet!

Charles smiled and kissed ariadne's forehead before saying

Charles : well you soon will be.

__________________________________

Ariadne stared down at charles who was now lying fast asleep against her bare chest, his arm wrapped around her waist as he breathed peacefully. He looked so serene like this, so unworldly, as if she was undeserving of him.

And maybe she was, because she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking of what she'd thought when he'd won, how she still missed her work despite all that he'd given her. She was so ungrateful, so undeserving of him and she hated it.

The more she thought about the amount of times she'd lied to him this past month, running away from his speech just because she felt like she was out of place, the more she felt the need to cry. She needed something, some outlet. Keeping it all inside was killing her.

And so ariadne slowly pushed herself out of the bed, being careful not to wake charles up as she quickly put her nightdress on before rushing towards the balcony. She slid down the railing as soon as she shut the balcony door behind her, the Eiffel tower glittering in a distance away from her as tears slid down her cheeks.

She hated this, she hated herself. Why couldn't she just be like everyone else? Why couldn't she just love charles and support him as he was, why did she keep getting her stupid feelings in the way of their love? Felt out of place when charles had just won an important race? And then proceeded on to lie to him about there being too many people.

Ariadne sobbed as she pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to muffle her cries, her face scrunching up as tears continued flowing down her eyes. She wished she was different, she wished she wasn't like this. She wished she could go back to her job, she had worked so hard for it so why didn't she deserve it? And the more she thought about it, the louder her cries became. Not realizing that it was loud enough to wake charles up.

Charles stirred slightly in his sleep as he heard faint cries, his eyebrows frowning as he let out a sleepy groan. But as soon as his ears focused more on the familiar sound of cries, he sat up straight, his eyes turning worried. Ariadne wasn't in bed.

He quickly got off the bed as he put his sweatpants on, rushing towards where the sounds where coming from as he called out for her

Charles : ari?

Charles soon walked up to the balcony before opening the door, his eyes widening at the sight of ariadne sobbing with her back pressed against the railing.

Charles : ariadne!

Ariadne flinched as she saw charles, her eyes widening as he rushed up to her and kneeled down before holding her face in his hands

Charles : love! What's going on? Are you hurt somewhere? Is something wrong?

Ariadne cried more at how concerned charles sounded, shaking her head desperately as she said in a broken voice

Ariadne : I'm so sorry.

Charles' worry deepened at her words, her cries scaring him as he asked in a softer voice

Charles : what are you sorry for, chérie? Why are you crying so much?

Ariadne : I-I don't deserve this. I don't deserve this from you charles, please.

Charles shook his head firmly as he rubbed his thumb against her tear-stained cheek before whispering

Charles : ari what are you saying sweetheart? Why would you not deserve me?

Ariadne : because I lied. Oh charles I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry I…I don't know what to do-

Ariadne cut herself off with another desperate sob as charles let out an exasperated breath, not understanding what this was

Charles : you're not telling me anything here, baby. I can't understand you. Put it in words that make sense to me, yes? Please?

Ariadne didn't know how to put it in words that wouldn't make charles hate her, she had no idea how to even bring a sentence out when she was trembling so much, crying and whimpering. But even then she tried, because she felt undeserving of charles' time

Ariadne : I…I st-I still miss my job.

Charles' face softened at that as he whispered

Charles : oh, ariadne-

Ariadne : and I didn't hear your-your speech charles because I was so…so obsessed with myself that I felt-felt out of place with all those people screaming for you and you were…you were looking at them and not me. And I felt unwanted and then I left because…charles I am such a selfish person you don't deserve this from me-

Ariadne cut herself off with another sob as her chest heaven in pain, small hiccups falling from her mouth as she could barely even see charles anymore from how blurry her vision was.

Ariadne : I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I-

Charles : sweetheart…baby. Look at me.

Ariadne whimpered as charles held her face tighter and lifted it up to make her look at him, his eyes now teary too as he whispered

Charles : I was looking for you, ari. I did look for you, but as you said there were so many people and I couldn't find you and for that…for that I am so sorry.

Ariadne shook her head quickly as she said

Ariadne : n-no. no no you mustn't apologize-

Charles : ariadne, love, you are not selfish for wanting the attention of the man you love. You are not selfish for feeling out of place in a world that you are not really familiar with yet. And most importantly, you are not selfish for wanting to work for your passion. That is human nature, chérie. It is not your fault, please.

Ariadne : but I am not supposed to be thinking that when you just won a race, charles! I'm supposed to be feeling proud of you, happy for you-

Charles : and are you not proud of me? Happy for me?

Ariadne sobbed as she said weakly

Ariadne : I am but-

Charles : then that's all I need from you, ari. I don't need you to always be happy, you are human and you are allowed to feel things other than being happy and proud. You can feel them and still be loved, sweetheart.

Ariadne lowered her head, tears streaming down her cheeks as charles held her head and pressed it against his shoulders before asking

Charles : why didn't you tell me this earlier, ari? Did you not trust me enough?

Ariadne : n-no, no I…I was scared. Scared that you might-might leave me after I told you all this.

Charles : baby why on earth would you think that, I could never leave you for something like this.

Ariadne looked up at charles as he wiped her tears away before saying in a final tone

Charles : we are going to get you your job back and you can work for as long as you want, okay? And for as long as you are not comfortable with it, you don't have to attend any of my races.

Ariadne : but charles-

Charles : ari, shh. You matter more to me, your feelings always matter more to me. Fuck mine, you're not doing this to yourself ever again.

Ariadne pressed her lips together as she felt fresh tears slip past her eyes from guilt, making charles sigh as he whispered

Charles : darling, please. Please stop crying baby.

Ariadne : you shouldn't have to do all this-

Charles : ariadne I love you, I love you what part of that do you find so hard to understand my love?

Ariadne looked up at charles as he pressed his lips against hers, giving her a long kiss before pulling back as he whispered

Charles : do you love me?

Ariadne : of course I do!

Ariadne laid her shaky hand against his cheek, rubbing her thumb against it before whispering

Ariadne : I always have and I always will.

Charles : then for as long as I breathe, you will have me ariadne. You always will.

___________________________________

#charles leclerc #charles leclerc angst #clarles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc ff #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc imagine #f1 angst #f1 fluff #f1 ff #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagines #f1 imagine

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The Music in RvB: Restoration Kinda Sucks. Here's how I'd fix it.

I gave this as a presentation the other night after my first re-watch of the finale, and it was a major hit so I thought I would share it with other people who think too hard about Halo fanfiction.

Red VS Blue has some truly fantastic music in it's 21 year history, and I think that the music here was pretty weak. Obviously this post has major spoilers for RvB19 / Restoration, so be warned.

So, under the Read More is a typed up and fleshed out version of my powerpoint presentation where I will dive in and not just bitch about the musical choices, but explain how I would fix things. This is...really long, but I hope you all enjoy my thoughts :)

This will be best enjoyed if you listen to the songs I'm talking about as a refresher. For your convenience, I have input links to the songs on Youtube when necessary.

So what's the problem?

Since the development of the finale overlapped with Rooster Teeth getting shut down, it's very likely that they had minimal funds. I personally think this was part of why Burnie/RT was/were [reportedly] so insistent on using stock music for part of the season rather than a whole soundtrack done by Trocadero - I'm not sure they had the money to properly compensate for a full soundtrack. And maybe it was just a stupid / dick move, and had nothing to do with money at all, but that's what I choose to believe if only because it makes me feel slightly better about it.

This means that besides the stock music, the Zero song for that cameo, and Waning Moon (the Barenaked Ladies song), all we have are four re-used songs from earlier RvB - these songs being the Trocadero Grifball theme, I Say Ooh and Round One by Jeff Williams, and Vale Deah by Trocadero. There's also a David Levy composition in there somewhere according to the credits, R U Ready, but I have no idea what it is or where it plays. It's bothering the hell out of me because it does not appear to be a reused piece as far as I can tell - at least not reused from RvB. If anyone has any leads on this please reach out, because it seems crazy that there's one random possibly original David composition mixed in there. I've checked Apple Music and Soundcloud, nothing by that name.

In this very Meta focused film, neither of The Meta's themes play in any shape or form - [When] Your Middle Name is Danger by Trocadero or Plagam Extremam Infligere by Jeff Williams.

Nor do any of the character themes, really. Most of the series' iconic recurring tracks are completely absent. Tex's various themes, Carolina's theme - hell not even Blood Gulch Blues or the iconic intro music.

Were there any highlights?

Of course there were!

Considering I was going into the finale having only been spoiled on Vale Deah, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Jeff tracks! That was totally unexpected, and really lovely.

Speaking of, I thought the use of Vale Deah was a really lovely touch. Fun fact: that song was used for the end credits of the Season 1 DVD, so it really felt like a sweet full circle moment.

I think that using a Barenaked Ladies song for that very sweet scene of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons reminiscing about Blood Gulch by the fire was a very lovely choice, and quite honestly it was my favorite scene in the whole thing. The BNL have been close to RvB and RT since damn near the beginning, and it was very nice to hear them attached to the finale in that small way.

I should also point out that the composer for the season is Carl Thiel - known for his work on Hot Fuzz and the second and third Spy Kids movies. I think he did a totally fine job. I liked the bugles that were under Sarge's death, but the rest doesn't really stand out much. Perfectly serviceable.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's break down those four returning songs a bit more - shall we?

Grifball Official Theme - Trocadero

This was a really funny choice. It's such a quick bit, but I respect Burnie's dedication to get in one last Grifball joke. Obviously, I would have preferred to hear a different song for something else, but this was totally harmless.

Vale Deah - Trocadero

Lo-fi Hip-hop beats to get divorced to.

God that scene was heartbreaking. I love this song a lot - I think a lot of Trocadero's strongest stuff is the stuff that just feels kind of melancholy. It's something Nico does really well, and I think Vale Deah is one of my favorite examples of that. Like I said above, I think this song was used really well - if I had to pick a different track for that same scene I would probably choose Half Life. While it was written during the Blood Gulch era, it wasn't really used in the show until Seasons 12 and 13 - notably, a version of it plays under Kimball's rally speech to the troops after Doyle's death. I just really like it, tbh. There's absolutely other songs that could work, but I think having it be a BGC-era track served the scene really well.

I Say Ooh - Jeff Williams

My feelings about this are pretty similar to Grifball. It was cute, it was nice to hear, but I wish they had used a different Jeff track somewhere else. Ultimately, it's pretty harmless. It is kind of an odd choice though - I'm pretty sure Jeff didn't write it for RvB. This was a song that he composed that was used in two RT Shorts (live action sketches that RT used to do). I think it would have been nicer to use one of his RvB tracks for the introduction of Niner - could have been a cute spot to use a track like I Am The Best or Forge World or hell, Come on Carolina would have been cute.

Round One - Jeff Williams

...Actually, I have a lot to say about Round One, so let's get everything else out of the way first.

Other Scenes that *should* have had returning tracks before I talk about Round One for a billion years

Sarge's death should have been scored with a version of Rally (Sarge's Speech). My vision is a version of it that's just the string section - familiar, but not enough to be distracting, and absolutely soul crushing if you do recognize it.

The scene with Wash and Dr. Grey in the hospital needed a hint of what Nico so lovingly calls the "Wash Trauma Theme" - which is closely related to the Trocadero Meta theme, fun fact. I think Limited Duty from the scene in Season 16 where Carolina tells Wash about the brain damage could have worked pretty well there.

The scene at the end with Wash and Carolina talking about Doc and the Freelancers really needed something. I think one of the variations of the Shizno trilogy Carwash theme could have worked very well.

Obviously the big scene with Tucker and Sigma on the ship would have really benefited from [When] Your Middle Name is Danger or one of the many themes that incorporates it, but I'd also throw Soul Clef XI into the ring! I think it's so interesting that the work around they came up with for not being able to get Elijah Wood back was to have epsilon!Sigma take on a more Felix-y type of voice. Partly because Felix was an incredibly ambitious villain so he fits it pretty well, but more importantly that was a very smart voice to pick to fuck with Tucker in particular! I think that was really smart, and I think having Felix's theme playing during that scene would have been really cool.

Bolt by Trocadero was never used in the series proper. However it was used in this ten year retrospective that they released alongside Season 10. I highly recommend giving it a watch, because watching it now that it's Over - RvB, RT, all of it - it's honestly kind of heart breaking. They're all filled with this deep optimism about the future of the company, and hindsight is a bitch on this one. They use it in a really sweet sequence at the end where they're showing a bunch of old photos. Anyways I think this should have played in the credits after Vale Deah finished. "We only want to have a good time."

Miscellaneous Trocadero Songs I would have liked to see them find a place for that I haven't already / will not mention elsewhere

Steady Ride (Gunmetal Green) - this is THE Grimmons song ever to me. I love it so much. Also fun fact: as of the interview Burnie did with Nico on the season 10 (I think?) dvd/bluray, this was Burnie's favorite Trocadero track. And you can tell when you watch the DVD cuts of the first 6-ish seasons - it plays all the time.

I like Good Fight a lot, not sure there was a great spot for it? but still would have been nice - It's used a few times as a Wash theme, I believe.

No One is my favorite Trocadero song and I wish it could've been there Somewhere. It was the elevator-music type song that played behind Vic in BG once or twice, I think was in the season 4 credits, and also played during the weapons demonstrations in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle. I just like it a lot, lol.

Okay let's get back to Round One.

Why they shouldn't have used Round One for the big fight in RvB Restoration

AKA: The actual bulk of the presentation

Okay so we've got some pros and cons to this track. Starting with the Pros;

It's a song from an iconic scene - the 3v1 training room fight from Season 9

Tex and Maine are both in the fight

Was a great "Oh FUCK yeah" moment for the fans

Great track

Cons;

Not really a song for Carolina or the Meta (or y'know. Tucker. He's there too), and only kind of a song for Tex

Honestly the fight makes me think about York more than anyone else, since that's the fight where he gets hurt

Not a cool thematic moment besides just Tex being a badass

Started too late into the fight - it's sad that Carolina got a cool track when she (finally!) showed up, but Tex just got generic music. Show my girl some respect :(

So what would be better?

It has to be something that makes you think of at least one of the fighters. A track that's good for multiple would be better, but not required.

I think it should start when Tex first shows up, not when her armor changes. that’s a cool moment, but it still means most of the fight is working with Thiel’s score.

It should be something with a note of thematic relevance - for example, the big moment right at the end of the fight is Tex reminding epsilon!Sigma that she's not based on the Director's memories of her failure this time; she's based on the memories of Grif, Caboose, and Simmons. And she Always kicked their asses.

Still needs to be a big "Oh FUCK yeah" moment.

While incorporating Carolina's theme would be nice, I think it's more important to get at least one of the others - but we'll do our best here. I think this is moreso a Tex v meta!Tucker fight in my heart than it is a Carolina fight.

So let's look over a few options, shall we? These are in no particular order.

Spiral - Jeff Williams

This is the song that plays during the Season 9 car chase when Maine gets shot. It incorporates Carolina's theme, because in PFL her theme is never too far behind whenever a Maine/Meta song is playing, which has always been interesting to me. It has all that freaky choral stuff that Jeff loved to use, and generally is just a great track.

Fragments - Jeff Williams

This plays during the Freelancer break-in in Season 10, and it just rocks so hard. Anything from the break-in would be cool because that was the last time Tex, Carolina, and Maine/The Meta were all in the same place, and of course was when The Meta was properly created. I think it was so sad that they used the instrumental of Round One, because the vocals are part of what makes the Jeff era of RvB soundtracks so iconic, and god this song delivers! Also this song has a kickass trumpet solo at the end.

Slingshot (from the Death Battle) - Trocadero

Man this song rules. This of course plays in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle from Season 14. It's a very different energy from the Jeff picks, but it rocks so fucking much. This is a fight between Carolina and The Meta, and would of course be a callback to a (marginally) more recent - and extremely popular - episode of the show. If you haven't watched the Death Battle in a while you really should, it still kicks just as much ass now as it did back when I was in high school.

Literally any other song from the 3v1 Training Room Fight - Jeff Williams

This includes;

Round One (feat Lamar Hall)

Bullfight (track starts about 01:32)

On Your Knees

I just think the instrumental to Round One is the weakest choice from this fight tbh! Bullfight is my favorite out of the three, because it sounds the most Tex-y. The guitars are very her, and it incorporates part of the Agent Tex motif. And On Your Knees would have had the biggest "Oh FUCK yeah" factor. But honestly even just using the versions of Round One with the vocals would have been way better.

EDIT TO ADD: a quick note - while it’s listed in the credits as Round One/Bullfight, that’s just how the instrumental is packaged on the OST. As far as I could tell in my two watches of it, they never actually make it to the Bullfight part of the track.

A Girl Named Tex - Trocadero

hold on, walk with me on this one.

I had a vision of Tex fighting meta!Tucker set to the "Yellow rose of Texas clad in black, lonely star tattooed upon her back. Double Tex she'll hit you like a truck. Double Tex and she'll mess you up." bit right after I watched 19 the first time and it's been haunting me ever since. (That bit starts at about 02:19)

This is her theme for the first chunk of the show - which just so happens to be the time period Grif, Simmons, and Caboose were primarily reminiscing about. It would have been cool as hell, and I can See the beginning of the fight in my head - the opening strums when caboose is saying his line about how he brought back someone even worse than church, and then the fight starts! I can see it in my mind, it would have been so cool!

I just think there should have been more Blood Gulch era music in here.

100 Tex Battle - Jeff Williams

This doesn't get you any Meta points, but obviously it incorporates little bits of Tex's, and a lot of Carolina's theme. Twisting a Tex vs Carolina fight - obviously, Carolina vs all the Tex bots in Season 10 - into one where they're fighting alongside each other would have been really lovely and a cool full circle moment.

This song is really cool, it's such a good fight. I do think it maybe sounds a bit goofy at points for this fight, but still a cool option.

Okay so now let's go over my top three-ish picks

Ice Fight (or maybe the revelations suite?) - Jeff Williams

Jumping to the end of Season 8, we have a fight that involves Tex vs The Meta! And Wash, Doc, and all the Reds and Blues (barring Donut and Lopez. Hmm. Doesn't that sound familiar.) are there! Ice Fight rules so hard, it's so good.

And it has some of that narrative theming I was looking for! While yes, Tex does technically lose this fight - so does The Meta. And how does she lose it?

By going into the recovery unit.

The main reason I suggest the Suite instead of just Ice Fight is because I think having a touch of Red Vs Blue would have been really nice.

Mental Meta Metal - Jeff Williams

Genuinely my favorite track from season 10. If you let the song play the whole way through, it has Jeff's themes for The Meta, Carolina, and Tex in it. This plays the first time we see Maine in a fight in Season 10, and is also Sigma's first time in the field after we see him pondering Meta-stability in the classroom.

It incorporates elements from both Spiral and Plagam Extremam Infligere, which is kind of Jeff's theme for the Meta that he established back in Season 8. It also plays during the Freelancer Break-in when he's tossing Carolina off the cliff. The Latin on that translates to “to inflict an extreme blow”.

It also has a very strong statement of Carolina's theme, which could have been a great opportunity to bring her in with her theme!

Now, before I go over my final pick, let's go over what we need again;

We need a song with thematic relevance to the fight, that’s from an iconic scene, has a good energy to it, and would give fans a big “OH FUCK YEAH” moment.

Well, isn’t it obvious?

youtube

Agent Tex (/ Tex vs Tank / Hell's Angel) - Jeff Williams

The first instance of Jeff Williams’ Tex motif, later used in Hell’s Angel and Tex vs Tank, etc. I would add the opening strum commonly heard in the later iterations, but keep it generally the Agent Tex version which was used in the S8 Warehouse fight, as seen above.

This is like. The RvB scene ever. So many people saw this before they watched the show, and many more never even watched RvB - just this fight, since RT uploaded it separately from the episode because they knew it kicked so much ass. It also helped draw in folks who may have been fans of Monty Oum's other work. Fun fact: This was RT’s outro music for a really long time, too. So it really has history with the company.

Part of why I think this pick would work so well, beyond it just being Tex's theme for the Jeff Williams era, is that it would be so interesting in terms of narrative theming. The Season 8 warehouse fight was Tucker, Grif, Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose against Tex.

This whole sequence was Grif, Simmons, Caboose, Carolina, and Tex against Tucker.

This was one of the other scenes being reminisced about around the fire - you can see it as one of the clips shown during the scene. I think it would have been a really powerful moment, and a fantastic "FUCK YEAH" moment for everyone whose stuck around this long. This track is so good, and I really do think it would have been the perfect choice for this fight.

It's not even my favorite, if I was just choosing favorites I'd have picked Mental Meta Metal or A Girl Named Tex.

What have we learned? Why Were We Here?

Red vs Blue is a show with a lot of really fantastic music in it's book, and a really strong history of musical callbacks - particularly with the Meta's theme and how it's so closely tied to the motif Trocadero liked to use as "Wash Trauma" music. Making a clever callback to a song you've used before can help strengthen the thing you're trying to get across to your audience. I think it's somehing that Restoration really struggles with, which is pretty sad. But I hope you found my deep dive / analysis of what could have been interesting.

I'd really like to dive in and do a long reflection about the series as a whole, but as it stands this is around 3,000 words and if I get started on that, this post will never end.

Thank you for reading all of that! if you enjoyed reading all of this, maybe you'd also enjoy taking the post-mortem survey that @asphodeldreams and I are running! Deadline for submissions is June 30th at 11:59 EST. We ask questions about things like your favorite characters, your favorite songs, when you started watching RvB, and more general thoughts like that. Once the survey is over, we will compile all of that data into something actually Readable (likely with charts and graphs and such) and post it so everyone else can enjoy the peek into the minds and sentiments of RvB fans.

#comet posting #rvb #red vs blue #rvb restoration #rvb19 #rvb finale #rvb music #jeff williams #trocadero #grimmons #rvb 19 #the meta #lavernius tucker #agent texas #tex rvb #tucker rvb #the meta rvb

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